An awesome update on Haleigh Poutre

Recap: Haleigh Poutre was an 11-year-old girl from Massachusetts who had been severely beaten by her stepfather. Doctors diagnosed her as being in an irreversible persistent vegetative state (like Terri Schiavo) and the Massachusetts Department of Social Services fought for and won a court order to remove Haleigh from life support - i.e. to kill her. Just before the order was carried out, Haleigh started breathing on her own. She eventually came out of her coma and has been receiving recovery therapy.

Now Michelle brings us another inspiring update about now 14-year-old Haleigh - she's speaking again:

Defying all odds, the brain-damaged Westfield girl who was days away from a state order to remove her from life support in 2006 is now communicating information about the horrific abuse that nearly killed her, according to new court documents.

Although once thought to be brain-dead, Haleigh Poutre, who turned 14 on Sunday, is now ‘making statements alleging abuse” by her stepfather Jason Strickland, according to a motion filed in Hampden Superior Court last month by Strickland’s attorney, Alan Black of Springfield.

Haleigh is recovering at a Brighton rehabilitation hospital, where her condition has reportedly vastly improved since the legal battle over her life captured national headlines in 2006.

...

Eight days after Haleigh’s near-fatal beating, DSS sought a court order allowing Haleigh to be removed from life support. Jason Strickland objected, but in January 2006, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that DSS could remove Haleigh from life support. The next day, DSS announced that Haleigh was breathing on her own, and it had halted plans to remove her feeding tube.

News reports last year indicated that Haleigh could eat, write her name and flex muscles - all activities that doctors once said would never be possible.

From a diagnosis of no hope to a court order authorizing the state to kill her to breathing, eating, moving, writing and talking within 3 years. Pretty amazing!


Previous posts:

Haleigh Poutre proves miracles DO happen
Haleigh Poutre continues to recover
Haleigh Poutre turns 12; receiving physical therapy
Haleigh Poutre continues to improve; Michelle asks where Tookie's supporters are
The sanctity of Haleigh's life

More bad news for the "global warming" nuts

Temperature Monitors Report Widescale Global Cooling

Twelve-month long drop in world temperatures wipes out a century of warming

Over the past year, anecdotal evidence for a cooling planet has exploded. China has its coldest winter in 100 years. Baghdad sees its first snow in all recorded history. North America has the most snowcover in 50 years, with places like Wisconsin the highest since record-keeping began. Record levels of Antarctic sea ice, record cold in Minnesota, Texas, Florida, Mexico, Australia, Iran, Greece, South Africa, Greenland, Argentina, Chile -- the list goes on and on.

No more than anecdotal evidence, to be sure. But now, that evidence has been supplanted by hard scientific fact. All four major global temperature tracking outlets (Hadley, NASA's GISS, UAH, RSS) have released updated data. All show that over the past year, global temperatures have dropped precipitously.

This or any other scientific data won't shake the "global warming" kooks' faith, though. Believe it or not, I have actually seen them defend "global warming" in the face of all this information by claiming that "global warming" will cause "global cooling." They are also claiming that this is just "one datum," so it doesn't mean there's a trend. (Never mind that that's exactly what they do all the time.) These clowns are so brainwashed that they can't even conceive of the possibility of being wrong and they ignore any and all "inconvenient truths."

The end of one era and the beginning of another

Captain Ed is closing up shop and moving to Hot Air. Read Ed's "farewell message" here. Best wishes to Ed! He'll always be the Captain.

Indy returns!!!

Great video about Iraq

I saw this coming from a mile away

The other shoe just dropped:

Bus crash suspect identified as illegal

A 23-year-old woman who drove a van into a school bus, killing four Minnesota children, is an illegal alien who apparently was driving without a license and provided police an alias, according to a Twin Cities TV station.

The woman, who identified herself as Alainiss N. Morales, allegedly an alias, remains under investigation in the Lyon County, Minn., jail, according to authorities.

Authorities said she faces four felony charges of criminal vehicular homicide as well as various traffic counts, according to KMSP-TV.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said they were trying to determine her real identity, where she came from and how long she had been in Minnesota.

When I first learned she didn't have a driver's license, I wonder if she was an illegal alien. My suspicions obviously have been confirmed. Doesn't make me happy, though. You know, if our elected officials in Washington had been doing their jobs over the past couple decades and making sure our borders were secure, this would've never happened.

Bad data fueling "global warming" hype?

It certainly seems to be the case at least in part:

A meteorologist performing a comprehensive study of temperature-monitoring stations that provide data about global warming says the official facility at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is riddled with problems that render it useless to scientists.

But the data collected there is being used nonetheless.

Anthony Watts concludes in his investigation that the station at O'Hare is affected by an urban heat effect that would make temperature readings inaccurate as an indicator of what is actually occurring regionally.

"The community around O'Hare was much smaller during World War II, when the airport was built, than it is now," says Watts. "The area had a significantly less-urban population and lacked the acres of concrete and asphalt that exist there today."

The problems at O'Hare are similar to those found by Watts around the country in his study of temperature stations used by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

As everyone knows, urban surfaces - asphalt, cement/concrete, etc. - are hotter to be around than natural areas (e.g. grassy parks). Additionally, if you've ever been around an air conditioner or central air exhaust, you know the kind of heat they kick out. So why in the world would scientists think it's okay to have temperature-monitoring stations in urban areas?

So Watts decided to take up the challenge himself. After surveying a few randomly chosen temperature stations and being shocked at the shortcomings, he set forth on a plan to survey all 1,221 stations, taking photographs along the way. With the help of volunteers, Watts has systematically surveyed one-third of the official weather stations.

The vast majority of the stations surveyed to date fail to meet the prescribed standards. Using a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 reflecting proper maintenance and standards and 5 representing facilities that are severely compromised, Watts says 70 percent of those stations surveyed received a 4 or 5 rating, while only 4 percent received a grade of 1.

All of the most egregious violations he has observed in the study would result in artificially higher temperatures being recorded.

Only four percent of 400+ stations meet the standards for placement and yet they are trusted to provide data on supposed "global warming?" Are these people insane or stupid? Either way, they certainly aren't practicing good science. Incredible!

LB:EF - Mission 21

Mission 21 was a lot easier than the last one in as much as the GCP forces don't actively seek you out unless you get too close. In this mission, you're charged with seeking out four evangelists who have just concluded a secret meeting. The areas where the evangelists are located are heavily populated by GCP musicians, recruiters and soldiers and, before you can reach the evangelists, you will need to counter them. (If you've followed my posts about the game, you can easily guess how, although there's a slight trick to it.) As I said, the GCP forces won't attack you unless you get too close, so you've got plenty of time to recruit and build. You also need to keep your newly acquired vehicles safe, which is not the least bit difficult.


Mission 21

Find evangelists, protect vehicles, recruit, train, build, and survive.

VE: 0
CK: 0
PS: 34 (another wash since nothing is encouraged either way, but at this point it should be obvious what the most effective solution to countering the GCP forces is)


Previous posts:

LB:EF - Mission 20 (incomplete)
LB:EF - Winning a few battles in my modest fight for the truth
LB:EF - Giveaway of LB:EF for a limited time
LB:EF - Free upgrade to Tribulation Forces
LB:EF - *snicker* EF's ratings vs. Golden Compass game's ratings
LB:EF - Eternal Forces on HSN
LB:EF - Some screenshots
LB:EF - What neutral reviewers have to say about the game
LB:EF - The latest brouhaha and the left's continued lies
LB:EF - Revisiting my earlier concerns (by request)
LB:EF - Mission 19
LB:EF - Mission 18
LB:EF - More falsehoods spread in the media
LB:EF - More response to criticisms
LB:EF - Mission 17
LB:EF - Mission 16
LB:EF - Missions 13, 14, and 15
LB:EF - Mission 12
LB:EF - Missions 9, 10 and 11
LB:EF - Addressing an opening animation criticism
LB:EF - Easter egg?
LB:EF - Email from the game's senior producer!
LB:EF - Missions 6, 7 and 8
LB:EF - The first few missions
LB:EF - Tutorial
LB:EF - the manual
New S&B; series: "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" in detail
The left's lies about "Left Behind: Eternal Forces"

Cuban flag hanging Obama supporter dodges questions

I've no doubt that she's responding just as Obama's campaign told her to respond.

Global weather debunks global warming... again...

In 2007, the Antarctic ice cap reached record growth.

This year, it was revealed that the Arctic ice cap not only returned to near-normal size, but it also currently has one-third more ice than it normally does at this time of year - all due to the unusually cold winter the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing.

And let's not forget the snow and growing glaciers around the world from earlier.

LB:EF - Mission 20 (incomplete)

Alright, I decided to skip ahead to level 21 (which I can do due to the "Tribulation Forces" upgrade). Level 20 was proving to be difficult for me to get through. Enemy units were just coming to attack my meager group too quickly and my units were getting slaughtered physically and spiritually. I kept losing the game either to a major character getting killed or turned neutral.

So anyway, this mission was about acquiring 3 GCP vehicles for the Tribulation Forces to better get around the city in. You start out with Rayford Steele, a builder, a spy (who honestly sounds like William Shatner to me) and a few soldiers. Despite having the soldiers, one of the goals of the mission is for it to be peaceful - i.e. no deaths on either side. Indeed, as with every other level, it is far, far easier to survive using musicians to turn enemies neutral than it is using soldiers to blow them away.


Mission 20

Build, recruit, train, acquire vehicles, and survive.

VE: 0
CK: 0
PS: 33


Previous posts:

LB:EF - Winning a few battles in my modest fight for the truth
LB:EF - Giveaway of LB:EF for a limited time
LB:EF - Free upgrade to Tribulation Forces
LB:EF - *snicker* EF's ratings vs. Golden Compass game's ratings
LB:EF - Eternal Forces on HSN
LB:EF - Some screenshots
LB:EF - What neutral reviewers have to say about the game
LB:EF - The latest brouhaha and the left's continued lies
LB:EF - Revisiting my earlier concerns (by request)
LB:EF - Mission 19
LB:EF - Mission 18
LB:EF - More falsehoods spread in the media
LB:EF - More response to criticisms
LB:EF - Mission 17
LB:EF - Mission 16
LB:EF - Missions 13, 14, and 15
LB:EF - Mission 12
LB:EF - Missions 9, 10 and 11
LB:EF - Addressing an opening animation criticism
LB:EF - Easter egg?
LB:EF - Email from the game's senior producer!
LB:EF - Missions 6, 7 and 8
LB:EF - The first few missions
LB:EF - Tutorial
LB:EF - the manual
New S&B; series: "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" in detail
The left's lies about "Left Behind: Eternal Forces"

Obama: the same old politics is "change?"

Obama's using spin just like the good Democrat he was trained to be. Someone actually interested in change would've admitted the faux pas, apologized and moved on. What we're seeing with this is Classic Liberalism 101. No surprise, really.

I'd still vote for him over McCain, though, not because I support Obama, but because I prefer knowing what I'm getting, seeing it coming from a mile away and not getting stabbed in the back.

"Indoctrinate U" review

I was first introduced to Evan Coyne Maloney's work via conservative blogs. The first video of his that I watched was of him interviewing Bush-, conservative- and America-hating peace protesters in New York City. All he did was ask sensible questions and let the protesters dig themselves into a deep hole with their bizarre answers - that is, if they gave answers. Unsurprisingly, a lot of these people hemmed and hawed and "uhed" in response to questions that they really should've had answers to. Another video explored the liberal ideas and ideology of San Francisco peace protesters (still Bush-, conservative- and America-hating, of course). In his "Stop Bitching, Start a Revolution" video, Evan's sharp wit and wry humor was showcased in his giving "consolation prizes" to liberal protesters for losing the 2004 presidential election: action figures of Hillary Clinton, Michael Moore, Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden.

Well, now that the elections have passed, President Bush's term is coming to an end, and the protesters have become (if they were ever anything else, that is) meaningless ways for Bush-, conservative- and America-haters to get together and make each other feel good while accomplishing nothing (or as Shakespeare put it, "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"), Evan's focus has turned to the liberal bias in America's universities.

In "Indoctrinate U," Evan once again combines interviews and his wit and humor to create a documentary that is both shocking and entertaining. The first few seconds of the film set the tone of exposing the stupid liberal ideals that saturate campuses. Professor David Clemens of Monterey Peninsula College talks about the course outline form that each instructor is required to create and how it is expected that every course from sociology to physics to - bizarrely enough - horticulture must teach students about "race, class and gender issues."

Now, it is no secret that campuses are overwhelmingly populated and run by liberal instructors and officials. What is a big secret, however, is that these instructors and officials have been indoctrinating students into their liberal politics and they wish to keep that fact a secret. This is shown in the video as Evan tries to interview various people only to have the police called on him and he is escorted off-campus and told to stay out. (Imagine if that happened to Michael Moore in his movies. The liberals would cry bloody murder!)

Evan also shows how any viewpoint - particularly conservatism - is attacked and shut down in various ways on campuses around the country - from "affirmative action bake sales" (protested) to conservative instructors, students and speakers (slandered and threatened) to conservative campus newspapers (stolen) - all while campus officials do virtually nothing. Does anyone honestly think universities would sit on their hands if liberals were treated the way conservatives are on campus these days (i.e. with discrimination, derision and outright visceral hatred)?

One thing from the film that really stuck with me was how one university banned a Christian group from showing "the Passion of the Christ" because it was R-rated and younger students might be exposed to it, yet they had no problem with a disgusting, pornographic, blasphemous play being performed on campus. This actually is not the least bit surprising. Just look at Yale's fourth annual "Sex Week," which just ended, where promiscuity, pornography and perversion were celebrated. Do you think Yale, a university founded by ministers to train ministers, would have a "Religion Week" where religious values are celebrated? Hardly.

To be honest, I just can't do this film justice. "Indoctrinate U" is a film everyone should see, particularly conservatives students in college and conservative parents with kids in college or planning to go to college. It will open your eyes.

For my family, in remembrance of Dad

It's been 10 years, but I still remember it like it was yesterday.

I remember Dad getting sick again and going to the hospital.

I remember going into the waiting room at the hospital and finding out the diagnosis and his decision that it was his time to go home to be with the Lord.

I remember comforting Mom and each other and going in to go cry on Dad's shoulder like we were all little children again.

I remember his strength, both of spirit and of his physical embrace.

I remember him being at home where he wanted to be.

I remember Mom's strength, devotion and love in taking care of Dad.

I remember Dad's faith in the Lord shining brighter than it had ever shone before.

I remember God never leaving or forsaking Dad.

I remember Mom literally being right at Dad's side when he died. (That was no coincidence.)

I remember Mom coming to wake us to tell us Dad was gone.

I remember us crying and comforting Mom and each other.

I remember Mom asking the Hospice nurse to wash Dad's body just as Jesus' body was washed.

I remember saying goodbye one last time when the Cremation Society took Dad's body away.

I remember crying with and comforting friends as they came by to grieve with us.

I remember planning Dad's memorial and how "the Anchor Holds" couldn't have been a more perfect song choice.

I remember putting out all the pictures and mementos of Dad (especially that "Uff da" shirt and the suspenders).

I remember how the church was filled beyond capacity at Dad's memorial by people who had come from far and wide to remember and honor him.

I remember how I was first to speak at the memorial and how I just looked around at all the people and said, "Wow!"

I remember how we kids each took turns speaking, sharing poems and memories.

I remember choking up when Mom was presented an American flag in honor of Dad's Army service.

I remember family and friends coming together afterwards and doing what we Scandinavians always do at times like this: have a potluck.

All these memories bring tears to my eyes, but I wouldn't ever not want to have them. They make me sad, but it's the good kind of sadness that you don't mind having. I don't know if that makes sense, but that's how I think of it.


See more at my big brother's blog.

Coming soon: my review of "Indoctrinate U"

"Indoctrinate U" is Evan Coyne Maloney's exposé of liberal bias on U.S. college campuses. A one-word preview: "shocking."

LB:EF - Winning a few battles in my modest fight for the truth

So for a few months, I've been following what bloggers and journalists have been saying about Eternal Forces. Unsurprisingly, much of it is still based upon the falsehoods originally concocted by Jonathan Hutson of the Talk2Action website (which I will not link to on principle) and mindlessly repeated in the media and by left-wing, anti-evangelical groups. Virtually none of the people who have and are criticizing this game have ever seen it, much less actually played it. As I previously highlighted, neutral reviewers (and even one hostile one) utterly disagreed with the false portrayals of this game being spread around. I've been attempting to correct the record as much as I am capable.

For example, I recently found this article on Ars Technica - one of the neutral websites I cited. Originally, the article included this wrongfully altered screenshot originally created by the Talk2Action nitwits:



The religious symbols have been photoshopped in and absolutely do not represent what is actually going on in the scene. The armed and armored figures under the crosses are actually the Antichrist's forces who are targeting and killing Christians (i.e. the characters under the Jewish and Islamic symbols). Talk2Action couldn't even find a real, unaltered screenshot to fit their lies so they had to fabricate one. Utterly, sickeningly pathetic.

I brought this information up in the comments for the Ars Technica post and lo and behold they changed the screenshot! Of course, they didn't bother to note the change or issue any sort of apology to Left Behind Games for using the altered screenshot. Ah, well. The fact that they changed it is satisfaction enough for me. My thanks to Ars Technica for the correction and the restoration of my opinion about your website.

Sadly, not everyone has been so open to correction. Most of the people have chosen to continue to believe the lies because their hatred of evangelical Christians trumps their acceptance of facts. That doesn't surprise me in the least, however. Neither does it dissuade me. I will continue to spread the truth about this game as long as people continue to lie about it.


Previous posts:

LB:EF - Giveaway of LB:EF for a limited time
LB:EF - Free upgrade to Tribulation Forces
LB:EF - *snicker* EF's ratings vs. Golden Compass game's ratings
LB:EF - Eternal Forces on HSN
LB:EF - Some screenshots
LB:EF - What neutral reviewers have to say about the game
LB:EF - The latest brouhaha and the left's continued lies
LB:EF - Revisiting my earlier concerns (by request)
LB:EF - Mission 19
LB:EF - Mission 18
LB:EF - More falsehoods spread in the media
LB:EF - More response to criticisms
LB:EF - Mission 17
LB:EF - Mission 16
LB:EF - Missions 13, 14, and 15
LB:EF - Mission 12
LB:EF - Missions 9, 10 and 11
LB:EF - Addressing an opening animation criticism
LB:EF - Easter egg?
LB:EF - Email from the game's senior producer!
LB:EF - Missions 6, 7 and 8
LB:EF - The first few missions
LB:EF - Tutorial
LB:EF - the manual
New S&B; series: "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" in detail
The left's lies about "Left Behind: Eternal Forces"

Al Qaeda documents show defeatnik liberals full of it

Read the good news:

A diary and another document seized during U.S. raids show some Al Qaeda in Iraq leaders fear the terror group is crumbling, with many fighters defecting to American-backed neighborhood groups, the U.S. military said Sunday.

The military revealed two documents discovered by American troops in November: a 39-page memo written by a mid- to high-level Al Qaeda official with knowledge of the group's operations in Iraq's western Anbar province, and a 16-page diary written by another group leader north of Baghdad.

We ARE making a difference there. We ARE making headway. We ARE winning. Don't let the Bush-bashing, troop-hating imbeciles tell you otherwise.

"Transgender" insanity! 8-year-old boy returns to school as a girl

This is just a sick, sad story:

An 8-year-old boy is preparing to return to his home school district in Colorado as a girl, so school officials are designating two school restrooms as unisex facilities, and preparing to counsel other students on the issue of transgenderism.

The report comes from KUSA-Television in Denver, which did not identify the third-grade student or his family in the Castle Rock suburban district.

But the report said the student had attended his home district several years ago, as a boy, and then had taken classes in another district for a time.

One parent, identified by the television station as Dave M., said children in the elementary school are going to wonder what's going on.

"I see this as being a very difficult situation to explain to my daughter, to explain why someone would not want to be the gender they were born with," he told the station.

Someone on the Digg website had the perfect response:

Where the H$!! are the "mental health professionals" that should be helping this Boy deal with his family and personal issues to come to grips with the fact that he needs a male role model as a father, needs a loving mother who models the proper roles of a wife and woman, and the FACT that his true gender is not in question?

Yep. They'll "counsel" the other students (i.e. brainwash them into accepting this situation), but they won't dare counsel the obviously maladjusted boy. How backwards!

The Mayor is a Fink(beiner)

No surprise that this jerk is a Democrat:

A company of Marine Corps Reservists received a cold send-off from downtown Toledo yesterday by order of Mayor Carty Finkbeiner.

The 200 members of Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, based in Grand Rapids, Mich., planned to spend their weekend engaged in urban patrol exercises on the streets of downtown as well as inside the mostly vacant Madison Building, 607 Madison Ave.

Toledo police knew days in advance about their plans for a three-day exercise. Yet somehow the memo never made it to Mayor Finkbeiner, who ordered the Marines out yesterday afternoon just minutes before their buses were to arrive.

"The mayor asked them to leave because they frighten people," said Brian Schwartz, the mayor's spokesman.

"He did not want them practicing and drilling in a highly visible area."

More from Michelle Malkin and Wizbang.

LB:EF - Giveaway of LB:EF for a limited time

On the heels of the free upgrade to "Tribulation Forces" comes a giveaway of copies of "Eternal Forces." All you have to pay is $6 for shipping or $5 for a download (which some people think is a dastardly, nefarious scheme for the company to make money - whatever).

Meanwhile, as far as my coverage of the game goes, I actually haven't been doing much gaming lately. I think it's the mid-winter blahs or something.


Previous posts:

LB:EF - Free upgrade to Tribulation Forces
LB:EF - *snicker* EF's ratings vs. Golden Compass game's ratings
LB:EF - Eternal Forces on HSN
LB:EF - Some screenshots
LB:EF - What neutral reviewers have to say about the game
LB:EF - The latest brouhaha and the left's continued lies
LB:EF - Revisiting my earlier concerns (by request)
LB:EF - Mission 19
LB:EF - Mission 18
LB:EF - More falsehoods spread in the media
LB:EF - More response to criticisms
LB:EF - Mission 17
LB:EF - Mission 16
LB:EF - Missions 13, 14, and 15
LB:EF - Mission 12
LB:EF - Missions 9, 10 and 11
LB:EF - Addressing an opening animation criticism
LB:EF - Easter egg?
LB:EF - Email from the game's senior producer!
LB:EF - Missions 6, 7 and 8
LB:EF - The first few missions
LB:EF - Tutorial
LB:EF - the manual
New S&B; series: "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" in detail
The left's lies about "Left Behind: Eternal Forces"

Gosh, imagine if this had been an abortion mill

Do you think the cops would've stood about being "neutral" while pro-lifers blocked people from entering?