Speaking of … recent discussions about the issue of the press, specifically the American press, not publishing the Danish cartoons of Muhammed, I don't think I've ever been more disappointed with them than I was during this issue. Had all the papers and magazines printed the cartoons, the Muslims would have blustered and carried on. But, it's much more difficult to threaten a lot of people. Little people have power when other people don't do things. And the more silent people are, the more power they gain.

It's easy to threaten a couple of people. It's the bully mentality - and it won't stop, doesn't stop, until people stand up to them, a lot of people. As it is, they are getting what they want. They keep flexing their muscles and we keep backing down. Think of it like a war and the soldiers are to keep a piece of land. Every time they fall back, they lose a bit of that ground. Keep falling back and at some point, the ground is lost. Whether it's lost little by little or in one fell swoop, it doesn't matter. In the end, it's lost....

Except, in this case, it's not a frontal attack. It's backdoor ... but it doesn't mean they don't gain ground.... they are and they have. Until or unless the mainstream media (MSM) begins stepping out on a limb, there is going to be precious little left of our highly valued free speech, what's left of it. Some of them may not notice it now, because, for the most part, much of what the MSM writes is based on current public opinion or PCness. But, that's not what the press is supposed to be about. I mean, due to concerns about racist allegations, there are things they won't talk about either - except in the most cursory way.

I get a thing from the media everyday. About the media ... some interesting, some minutiae. For the most part, the people who report on the media are aware of these problems ...and, they are problems. But again, the more people write about these things, the less power they will hold ....

And, this is America - big brother to all. Ready to step in and right a wrong. Ready to stand up for the little guy. Ready to stand up for it's ideals. You see, one of the problems as I see it, is people are looking at it incorrectly - they're looking at it as offending their religion. But, even if that was the case, if one is to be sensitive about another's religious beliefs, they should be equally so of others'. Nary a week will go by without Christians or Jews being berated or made fun of in one publication or another. Yet, regardless how offensive something may be, one doesn't fear for one's life or safety.

But, it's not really religious. It's just under the guise of religion...it's political. People seem to have a difficult time understanding that. It's not like Christians or Jews who have a political agenda. With Muslims, with Islam, it's one and the same. All from the same source ... a lot of people don't seem to understand that, including much of the media. Without them knowing more about the Qur'an, it's a difficult concept to explain. Trying to seperate their political agenda from their religious beliefs is like trying to seperate one from their skin color. It can't be done. In the case of skin color, it may not define who they are or what they are capable of (both good and bad), but is an integral part of who they are and what they have become.

Just being a Muslim doesn't necessarily make one a terrorist of jihadist. There are many Muslims who are peaceful and adapt, or want to adapt to whatever culture they're in. However, in all cases, these Muslims are considered apostates ... in order to retain their beliefs they must ignore huge chunks of their holy book and hadiths. The political ideology we see in "extremists," is in fact, an integral part of their religious beliefs - all straight out of the Qur'an. And which they are taught from birth.

In a funny way, I think the MSM has become a part of the problem by acquiescing to the terrosits' demands. As many know, doing nothing in many cases makes one complicit. Which, perhaps unwittingly, the MSM has become -