I have been a little angry lately, things are not going right in Afghanistan and I want everyone who reads me to know why. This isn't going to be too long, because I need to get a bike ride in this morning.

The furor over the Islamic center near Ground Zero has led many to conclude that the right wing has rediscovered its passion for Muslim-bashing, and some predict more to come. But what strikes me most about the recent outburst of Islamophobia is its exceptionality. Nine years after 9/11, the once preeminent obsession of American foreign policy and Republican politics had been all but forgotten. Even the attempted bombing of Times Square failed to generate much rage from the right.

Via Palingates:

You just aren’t American if you aren’t protesting something.

News/Politics

More Bad Eggs: Remember, if you’re going to make an omelet, you’re going to have to give a few thousand people salmonella.

NEW YORK – Ann Thomson, an 83-year-old widow, was awoken last last night to screams of protests by angry conservatives at her her home on 39th Street, in an area known as Hell’s Kitchen.

The protesters were angry that Thompson, a long-time liberal, had told a friend that she didn’t mind the Islamic Center being built two blocks away from Ground Zero.

Over at Alan Colmes Liberaland, I was reading about protests near the Islamic Center two blocks away from Ground Zero, when this struck me:

Opponents chanted “No mosque, no way!” and carried signs reading, “9-11-01: Never Forget,” as Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” blared over loudspeakers.

America faces few problems worse than where and when Barack Obama goes to church. Sure, there are environmental catastrophes to worry about, an economy that shows no interest in bouncing back, wars on God knows how many fronts and unemployment high enough to make Herbert Hoover cringe.

But this is America. And Christ matters.

Nowhere in the bible does it say that Jesus isn’t a raptor.

News/Politics

Pakistan: A slow-moving tsunami wrecks havoc, as help is slow to come.

How many times have we heard the phrase War on Terror over the last nine years? How many times have the very people who are now frothing and screaming about the Cordoba House community center (the alleged "Ground Zero Mosque") also screamed the words "War on Terror," and frothed at anyone who they felt was not acting (and I do mean acting) seriously enough about that "War?"

I'm offended.  So, naturally, that places me amongst the majority of people living in the world today.

First off, it feels good to have outed myself as one of you.  After all, the present condition of the "national dialogue" begins to make one feel rather left out when one is merely an observer of completely unrestrained outrage.  Now that I've made my position known, I feel a lot better.

This may come as a shock to many of my most loyal readers, but I am, in fact, a conservative.

Yes, my friends, I am well aware of my reputation as a liberal. But those days are now gone. Because I have had an ideological shift, and now embrace Conservatism. Here are my core beliefs:

Sarah Palin talking with “Nicolas Sarkozy.” We must never forget.

I posted this as a comment over at TPM, but I think it bears repeating here:

Shockingly, turning the population upside down and shaking them to collect loose change isn’t working out as well as the EU or Greece hoped. From Der Spiegel:

When you have the money to paint your churches gold, you have enough money to pay income tax, says I.

I always try and promote young new artists here at the Chronicles. Today, we look at singer Mark Gormley and a girl who looks REALLY uncomfortable:

Bats. Why did they have to be bats?

News/Politics

Pakistan Floods: Capitalism not stepping up to the plate to help out Pakistanis stuck in a watery hell.

A good blog is a back-and-forth experience between writer and reader. When a blog reaches its apex, commentary and conversation meld together, making reader and writer one.

Of course, sometimes, this tight of a relationship can mean a level of complacency can creep in. Things can go unsaid. Which is why today, I’d like to send out a thank you to my readers.

Thank you, dear readers, for not killing anyone.

Nothing quite showcases the hallowed ground near Ground Zero better than Thunder Lingerie.

Aging Mussels dine on Raw fish in Las Vegas.

Your turn.

–WKW

Crossposted at William K. Wolfrum Chronicles