Blog Links

Lots of new posts below, but here's some good links:

Ted Rall is "surprised".

Mullah Jeopardy!

A great reason to not blog. Congrats my friend.

Indymediawatch has more on the bombing in Tel Aviv.

And last, but certainly not least, Tim Blair because...well, because he's the best at this. Just click and keep scrolling.

The Lefty Blogs Are Silent on Lebanon

A quick perusal of some liberal blogs turns up nothing about the historic events in Lebanon today. Screw 'em Kos? Nada. TPM? Nil. Rittenhouse Review? Again nothing. Atrios has some lame post with a link to Yglesias about Egypt but doesn't posess the huevos to mention the goings on in Lebanon. What of Oliver (like kryptonite to hot chicks) Willis? Yeah right.

The beginnings of a democratic revolution in the city that was once referred to as the Paris of the Mediterranean and these idiots can't even bring themselves to comment, because one good comment would mean that they feel they'd be praising Bush. Cowards all.

Liberals will find themselves on the wrong side of history again.

Bush is Right

The people who said that the Arabs weren't ready for democracy or other such nonsense are in the midst of a major comeuppance:

25,000 protesters massed outside Parliament in a dramatic display of defiance Monday that forced out Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister and Cabinet.
Minutes after Prime Minister Omar Karami (search) announced he was stepping down, jubilant demonstrators — shouting, waving flags and handing red roses to soldiers — demanded that Syrian-backed President Emile Lahoud (search) bow out, too, and pressed on with their calls for Syria to withdraw its troops from the country.
Like their counterparts in Ukraine (search), the Lebanese demonstrators took their ground and held it — they planned to stay in Martyrs' Square again Monday night. And like Ukraine, their movement had trademark colors: the bright red and white of the Lebanese flag, waved high in the air and worn as a scarf.
The White House welcomed Karami's resignation, saying it opens the door for new elections that are "free of all foreign interference" from Syria, but called again on Damascus to pull out its soldiers.

Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestinians, the UAE and Egypt...I'd say that they are more ready for it than even the most optimistic Bush supporter realized. Democracy is the greatest peace initiative the world can offer and the US is at the forefront of ensuring that it spreads as far and wide as possible.

Update: Much, much more about the events in Lebanon can be found here. As an added extra bonus, Chrenkoff has the latest good news from Iraq. Among the bad news from Iraq, a suicide car bomber killed 115 and wounded numerous others:

HILLAH, Iraq — A car bomber blasted a crowd of police and national guard recruits Monday as they gathered for physicals outside a medical clinic south of Baghdad, killing at least 115 people and wounding 132 — the single deadliest attack in the two-year insurgency.
Torn limbs and other body parts littered the street outside the clinic in Hillah (search), a predominantly Shiite area about 60 miles south of Baghdad.

The Baathist's and jihadist's are gasping their lasts gasps and won't go out quietly. It's time for a new offensive.

Update II: Ed Morrisey says it much better than I.

Even the NY Times Says It Wasn't Illegal

Liberals and Democrats believe as gospel the whole Valerie Plame/Joe Wilson fiasco was an example of Bush acting illegally. Well wake up lefties, even your bible, the NY Times, admits that it wasn't a crime:

Meanwhile, an even more basic issue has been raised in recent articles in The Washington Post and elsewhere: the real possibility that the disclosure of Ms. Plame's identity, while an abuse of power, may not have violated any law. Before any reporters are jailed, searching court review is needed to determine whether the facts indeed support a criminal prosecution under existing provisions of the law protecting the identities of covert operatives.

(Emphasis mine) I've always felt that this story was blown way out of proportion, but as the recent Gannon/Guckert non-story has shown us, the Donks have so little on Bush that a story about a web writer with a Whitehouse day pass gets them all worked up into a lather.

James Taranto has much more on this.

Not Anti-American, Just On the Other Side

Citizen Smash, the Indepundit is the leader of San Diego Protest Warrior. I support them whole-heartedly and you can read why right here:

The “Iraqi Resistance” had assassinated my college roommate just a few months earlier. He was shot in the back of the head, in broad daylight, when the civilian SUV he was riding in stopped at an intersection in Baghdad (his assassin was later apprehended by Iraqi police, and eventually was convicted of his murder). My brother also lost one of his best friends in the war.
And here, in the middle of San Diego, was a woman boldly claiming to support these same murderers, and detailing her organization’s plan to “bring down” the “US military machine,” just like what happened in good ol’ Vietnam.
Needless to say, I was furious. But what could I do? I was stuck in hostile territory, without backup. Standing up and denouncing this woman would have brought momentary satisfaction, but would accomplish nothing in the long run.
I resolved, at that very moment, that I was going to do everything I could to expose the true goals of this radical movement, and to counter their seditious agenda. Fortunately, I had a good start – I had thought ahead to bring a tape recorder that day, so I had Rebecca’s words recorded for posterity.

I wish I still resided in San Diego and could attend and assist. Sadly, I now live a continent away but I am there in spirit. If you are near San Diego, join Smash and show the bastards that we don't agree and furthermore find what they say offensive and, dare I say it, un-American. I'm not insinuating that they are unpatriotic, I'm straight out saying it. Don't espouse the rhetoric of supporting the troops by bringing them home, as a veteran I feel I can say, SCREW YOU! they don't want your kind talking for them.

Sunday Reads

Brian at Spartacus has a great post on the "progressive" APAF and their dealings with Hannidate.

Mark Steyn, but you've probably read him already.
Update: Steyn commented at Austin Bay's site with a rebuttal to Bay's critique. The wonders of the blogosphere.

Andrew Sullivan on Hillary and her shift to the center.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review just doesn't get modern Conservatism.

Robert Mugabe--friend of Monsieur Chirac and leader of Africa's largest thugocracy--has enlisted his military to cow the nation.

Venezuela Update

Jimmy Carter left Venezuela after declaring Hugo Chavez' "election" legitimate and had nothing but praise for the Communist dictator. Now the farce that Carter helped perpetuate may well be coming back to smack him:

No one has demoralized Venezuela's democracy more than America's worst-ever president. The only legitimate reason he has to go to Caracas is to beg Venezuelans for forgiveness after that sorry show he put on last August, endorsing an election that was clearly stolen with his complicity. The Carter Center's shoddy election monitoring and mendacious spin control in the aftermath turned a profound exercise in democracy into a miserable affair swept under the rug, while Carter prepared to move on to the next election. But something happened along the way to the next election: The State Department declined to endorse Carter's recall referendum observational results, as it had announced it would, and nobody important wanted the Carter Center's business anymore. Carter was conspicuously absent from the dead-serious elections in Ukraine and Iraq recently. Ever the vindictive little man, Carter "participated" in those by sniping at these great human events from the sidelines. For that, President Bush didn't care to call on him to lead tsunami relief either, as he did all other able-bodied former presidents. That's not all. The Carter Center seems to have fallen on other hard times since its name began to reek in the wake of the Venezuela fiasco. Carter's top lieutenant, Jennifer McCoy, is trying to sell a book and the lecture circuit on her Venezuelan experiences. That's hard to sell when no one believes you. But in Venezuela, as in the U.S., there are usually reasons when no one believes you. The Carter Center brushed off studies by top economists like Ricardo Hausmann conclusively showing the extent of the fraud. And arrogantly, McCoy herself rebuffed a group of liberal-leaning Venezuelan bloggers in the Boston area, who painstakingly attempted to ask polite questions to claify how the Carterites came to their conclusions during the recall referendum. She didn't have the time of day for them, and added that there were "so many" bulletin boards. That certainly was convenient for her career purposes. But it came at the expense of the Venezuelans' legitimate interest in an explanation and their valid civic interests. Quite a tradeoff for someone who claims to be a peacemaker. But no surprise for someone affiliated with an insincere weakling and coward like Jimmy Carter. Rightwing blogger Alek Boyd wasn't impressed with her e-mailed responses to his questions either. In short, the Carter Center's blown off every Venezuelan they've come in contact with.

Read the entire thing.

Black State of the Union

Black "leaders" met in Georgia to develop a contract with America:

For his sixth annual State of the Black Union symposium, talk-show host Tavis Smiley challenged assembled black leaders to examine developing a contract with black America.
The resulting discussion had a crowd of about 2,000 on its feet for repeated ovations as the Rev. Al Sharpton, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, the Rev. Joseph Lowery, and others traded sermons on the topic.
Smiley, the late-night PBS personality, challenged panelists to discuss the viability and potential content of "a working document" that would be designed in part for political gain.
"The next time you come calling on our vote, you come correct on the contract or you don't come at all," Smiley said of politicians who seek black support.
The idea for a contract grew out of the large rift among African Americans created during the 2004 presidential election over issues such as gay marriage, Smiley said.
Lowery, the former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, suggested the document be called a covenant.
"We've got to recapture that spirituality; that's our strength," he said.

Who else attended this event?

The panel included former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, Princeton professor Cornel West, and former Detroit Mayor Dennis Wayne Archer, among others.

Also, John Conyers of Michigan. Is this a group that is truly representative of Black American leadership? Arguably the two most powerful African-American's, Condi Rice and Colin Powell must not have been asked to attend,the author didn't even think to include them in the piece. Of course the representatives couldn't help but take a shot at GWB:

The Rev. Eddie Long of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta, host of the forum, was kidded about accepting a White House invitation from President Bush, but Long countered, "Just because we went to the house does not mean we had intercourse."
Farrakhan mocked Bush for going to war against Iraq because "no dark nation should have a weapon of mass destruction" when other nations viewed by Bush as less threatening possess such weapons.

Truly stirring words by the revered group of leaders who represent the worst causes in the black community.

The Flawed Treaty that is Kyoto

The Kyoto Protocols--the extremist, anti-business and unsustainable Kyoto Protocols--have been a thorn in the side of GWB since his first year in office. Watermelon Dems (Green on the outside, red on the inside) will use this or global warming in general as ammunition during any discussion concerning Bush and the environment.

Finally, saner voices are being heard and the real effects of Kyoto; enormous costs with little benefit, no viable way to ensure compliance and dubious science supporting the entire global warming theory, are being exposed to the public.

Miranda Devine has a good piece in the Sydney Morning Herald about the image tarnishing of scientists who go against the wishes of the Greens:

Proof of just how free a pass has been given to the global warming doomsayers came in the recent demolition of a hitherto unquestioned mathematical cornerstone of their theory. The so-called "hockey stick graph" published in 1998 by University of Massachusetts geoscientist Michael Mann became an article of faith, and underpinned the Kyoto Protocol. It purported to plot average surface temperatures of the Northern Hemisphere for the previous 1000 years. Temperatures appear to remain constant until 100 years ago when the graph takes a sudden upturn, supposedly showing the Earth heating up as the industrial revolution kicks in.
It took six years and several sacked scientific journal editors before doubt was thrown on the hockey stick. Last year Canadian scientists Stephen McIntyre and Ross McKitrick discovered a fundamental flaw in the computer program which produces the hockey stick. It seemed, whatever random data it was fed, the program almost always produced a hockey stick.
The Canadians couldn't get their work published by a scientific journal but they put it on the web for all to see.

This One'll Get You Choked Up

The ever changing world of law and precedent hasn't seen this before:

A man who says his former lover deceived him by getting pregnant using semen obtained through oral sex can sue for emotional distress — but not theft, an appeals court has ruled.
Dr. Richard O. Phillips accuses Dr. Sharon Irons of a "calculated, profound personal betrayal" six years ago, but she says they had the baby through sexual intercourse.
The Illinois Appeals Court said Wednesday that Phillips can press a claim for emotional distress after alleging Irons had used his sperm to have a baby, but agreed that however the baby was conceived, Irons didn't steal the sperm.
"She asserts that when plaintiff 'delivered' his sperm, it was a gift," the decision said. "There was no agreement that the original deposit would be returned upon request."

It was a gift? Delivered by the guy? I can honestly say I've never thought to use that line before. I guess asking for an agreement that the deposit be returned upon request would not qualify as sensual foreplay.

Catching Up

While on the road this week, I didn't have a chance to post, or for that matter really read what was going on except for snippets here and there. Here's some things I would've linked to if I'd been posting:

The Churchill story continues and now he's looking like a plagiarist.

Germany enters a very dangerous game with Iran that I don't think they're ready to play.

Hunter Thompson went out in...well the fashion you'd expect.

Over at Miller's Time, a few thoughts on the Michael Jackson jury selection:
I don't mean to be insensitive, but seeing as how the defendant has not been black in more than a decade why is there a problem with no African Americans on the jury?

Crushing of dissent or not?

Lorraine asks: What is an American.

Hypocrisy at the Village Voice

Russ Smith has a take on Fox News rejecting an ad for The Nation:

While Fox rejected the spot, Bravo, CNN, MSNBC and TBS/TNT accepted the dough, not objecting to this promotion: "[The Nation] peels away layers of obfuscation. Shreds lies. Slices through White House fog. And you can try it for four weeks absolutely free. It's The Nation—America's hottest, most widely read journal of opinion. Nobody owns The Nation—not Time Warner, not Murdoch. So there's no corporate slant, no White House spin, just the straight dope."
Fox, which advertised in the Nation last year, causing serious tsouris among many of the magazine's readers, told Murphy, "I guess we're more selective than others."
It's a little hard to believe that the business department of Fox nixes spots "all the time," but in any case it's their prerogative. TBS/TNT accepted the ad only after the reference to Time Warner and Rupert Murdoch was excised.
Anyway, this minor advertising controversy wouldn't have caught my attention had it not been for a somewhat similar incident back in the mid 90s before the Voice switched to free circulation. New York Press attempted to buy a full-page ad in the Voice, willing to pay its highest rate, promoting the annual "Best of Manhattan" issue. After some hemming and hawing, our publisher at the time was told that then-owner Leonard Stern's management team had rejected the ad. Which, frankly, was what I expected; nevertheless it's kind of funny to see Murphy on his high horse about the evil Murdoch empire when in fact this is the sort of business that goes on all the time.

I bet the lefties will be howling about this but I find the part about CNN and TBS having to take out the reference to Time Warner and Murdoch hilarious.

Iranian Happenings

Liberals are wringing their hands about the Bush administration's tough stance concerning Iran. A couple stories stuck out today concerning the former land of Persia. This first:

A teenage girl and two young men in Iran have been sentenced to lashes for having sex.
The court dismissed the girl's claim that she was raped. It said she had sex of her own free will, the official Iran Daily newspaper reported.
The girl was sentenced to 100 lashes because her accusations of rape and kidnap could have landed her partners a death penalty, the Tehran judge said.
Sex outside marriage is illegal in Iran and capital punishment can be imposed.
The young men in the case were sentenced to 30 and 40 lashes each.

Where's the outrage from the uptight women from NOW? They've nothing to say on this. If a woman in America accuses a man of rape, the NOW picketers are outside the guys office in 15 minutes.

This story brings us another reason to shut down the Mexican border, an issue that President Bush is very wrong about:

Three members of an alleged ring accused of attempting to sell fake immigration documents to Iranian nationals pleaded guilty in federal court to various counts of fraud and identity theft.Port Isabel residents Roberto Aburto, his wife Azalia Gaona, Miriam Palestina and Rutilio Marquez are accused taking $1,050 to make fake Social Security cards and green cards in August for three Iranian men.Aburto, 31, Gaona, 27, and Palestina, 26, were arrested during two Sept. 9 raids in Port Isabel, but Marquez remains at large and is presumed to have fled to Mexico.

Hmm...Why would three Iranians need fake US documents? I'm stumped.

Home Again

Took the red eye in this manana and posting will resume after about twenty cups of coffee.

Road Blogging

I'm on the road in Sacramento and blogging will be limited.

Debunking Katinulas

Katinulas has taken up the flag and attempts to rebut this post. Game on! I'll answer some of what she says:

19 al-Qaida terrorists used planes to attack America. Their leader and mastermind of the attack is still at large

My response: He wouldn't be if Clinton took him when the opportunity arose, before OBL hit the caves in Tora Bora. This should also answer her fourth bullet.

As it wasn't GWB's fault or Israel's fault, it WAS NOT Clinton's fault. Blame can never be lain at anyone's feet, however, historical policies could show pattern of behavior that led to the generation of the hate-America crowd--it is valuable to study these policies.

Historical policies? They don't hate us because we are imperialist, they hate us because we are a liberal democracy that pushes capitalism as a way to enrich the lives of all people. The rulers of the Arab world are authoritarian, dictatorial kleptocrats that have used the US and Israel as the carrot to lead their oppressed citizenry away from the the idea of revolution and stuck in the sinking farce that in pan-Arabism. America is not the greatest evil in the world, in spite of what is a concrete belief in the liberal mindset.

Two words, Strom Thurmond. Just because he's dead, doesn't mean you get a pass on a man who championed segregation and fathered an out-of wedlock, adulterous child with a black servant of his household. He'd still be in the Senate if alive and healthy.

How about two more words, Trent Lott. The new conservative movement (and neocons) saw that he could not be the leader we need and refused to allow him to ascend to that position. How is Clintons sex life off-limits but Thurmonds isn't? As for segregation, what party was the real impediment to the Civil Rights Act? 80% of Republicans versus only 61% of Democrats voted to pass the Civil Rights Act. Your former standard bearer, Al Gore's own father led a charge to stop its passage.

Hussein, Mugabe and Castro...does this mean we're going to Cuba next? There are numerous leaders around the world that inflict pain upon their citizenry; are we savior to all? And if we are going to go around the world bringing peace and democracy abroad, there are several countries that would have been in front of Iraq in the 'hell on earth' category.

We are not the savior to all, democracy is. The world now has two new democracies in a part of the world that does not adapt well to new types of anything. Will it work? time will tell. What if Iran, Syria and the emirates hold true elections in the next few years, will you concede that perhaps Bush had it right? I hope so, but highly doubt it.

Not supporting GWB's policies does not make you a traitor, unAmerican, or mean that you do not support the troops.

Granted, but your party is in a precarious position whereby if we have success they can't cheer because it's good for GWB, if we have a bad situation, the lefty community gets downright giddy because it's bad for GWB. That's not support. In the minds of the left, the only solution is to bring home the troops and any future use of those troops shows that we are imperialistic and hegemonic. Here's a simple question, how hard do you search for the good our troops are doing in Iraq? Would you even consider posting Chrenkoff's updates? I dare you.

The reason we live in a representative republic is because majority does not rule. The rights and priveledges (sic) of the minority must NEVER be subjected to the will of the majority.

How true, except the majority actually does rule, that's why they lead the committees that make up our legislative branch. Name one right or privilege that has been taken away from the minority party. As I said in yesterday's post about the Japanese internment, that was an enormous violation of civil rights.

Now, I didnt include any of my own reality such as Texas redistricting, Valerie Plame/Joe Wilson, free press (or paid pundits?), GWB's dubious at best military record or the tactics of fear-mongering to get elected.

What of Texas redistricting? If it involved Delay it must be illegal, right. Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson are nothing but fame-seeking nobodies involved in a case that was overblown. I see you neglected to add Sandy Berger stuffing classified documents into his pants--documents that would've implicated Clinto era decisions in 9/11--among your reality. As for GWB and his military record, I have the utmost respect for anyone who served, active duty or not. Flying a fighter jet at the speed of sound is not an office job. And finally, fear-mongering has been a part of politics since the Roman Empire was in diapers. How about this for fear mongering, remember that? That was the most disgusting display of fear mongering I've ever seen.

Hariri's Murder

Arthur Chrenkoff, as always, has all the important facts about the events in Lebanon:

Somebody else who's also blaming the Israeli intelligence services - or the Lebanese or the Syrian ones - is Al Qaeda, or at least somebody purporting to be Al Qaeda's local franchise, the previously unknown Al Qaeda Organization in the Levant group, which posted a statement on the internet saying: "Blaming the Jihadist and Salafist groups for what happened in Beirut is a complete fabrication... The priorities of the jihadist groups in the Levant are supporting our brethren in Iraq and Palestine, not blowing up cars." Which will come as a surprise to Iraqis, among many others.Well, OK, maybe it wasn't the Zionist mini-nukes (why use a slegehammer to crack a nut?), but the West is certainly trying to take the advantage of the situation, according to K Gajendra Singh: "The US attempt to organize a franchised 'Cedar' revolution in Lebanon, like the Orange revolution in Ukraine and the Rose revolution in Georgia, is to counter Moscow?s return into Middle East. Russia would be soon delivering short range missiles to Damascus, to ease US pressure in Ukraine, Georgia and elsewhere."

Meanwhile, Tom Friedman nails it again:

But we have to be very sober about what is ahead. There will be no velvet revolutions in this part of the world. The walls of autocracy will not collapse with just one good push. As the head-chopping insurgents in Iraq, the suicide bombers in Saudi Arabia and the murderers of Mr. Hariri have all signaled: The old order in this part of the world will not go quietly into this good night. You put a flower in the barrel of their gun and they'll blow your hand and your head right off.

Friedman is an excellent writer and knows the Arab world as well as anyone. When he writes a straight forward piece he's as good a writer as anyone and actually makes the rest of the op-ed hacks at the Times look minimal by comparison. Keep up the good work, Tom, and stay away from the solipsistic ramblings that turn so many folks off.

A Blast From the Past

I was going through my archives to see what was still alive and dead with regard to my links. I came across this Lileks screed. Look at the picture on the bottom of Madeline Albright and the "Beloved Leader". Man, I have written so many posts about North Korea and wish I had remembered to link to that picture.

Iwo Jima Remembered

60 years ago, the Marines stormed Iwo Jima and thus began a bloody month-long battle to claim an important piece of real estate. Blackfive has information here and here.

The island battles during WWII were brutal events that showed the Japanese that we were not to be denied. By this point in the war, Japan knew it was do or die and they refused to be taken alive, so they fought to the death in alot of cases. This sums up the attack:

The 36-day assault resulted in more than 26,000 American casualties, including 6,800 dead. Of the 20,000 Japanese defenders, only 1,083 survived. The Marines' efforts, however, provided a vital link in the U.S. chain of bomber bases. By war's end, 2,400 B-29 bombers carrying 27,000 crewman made unscheduled landings on the island. Historians described U.S. forces' attack against the Japanese defense as "throwing human flesh against reinforced concrete." In the end, Iwo Jima was won not only by the fighting spirit of the Marines, but by the meticulous planning and support provided by the Navy and Army through supply efforts, medical care, and air and naval gunfire. Twenty-seven Medals of Honor were awarded to Marines and sailors, many posthumously more than were awarded for any other single operation during the war.

That, my friends, is a gallant effort by our armed forces. These were some tough men who fought with the spirit of an American, the spirit of the armed forces, the spirit of a US Marine.

Around the Blogosphere

Powerline on the air.

Wizbang is at the CPAC conference and takes a nice whack at Ana Marie Cox. Outside the Beltway is there too.

Attention Lefty bloggers! The Commisar has issued a call to arms.

Jeff Goldstein is on a roll. Just keep scrolling.

Jack at Tigerhawk has a great post on a possible connection between the Theo van Gogh murder and al-Qaeda. Almost a perfect day for Jack; an instalanche and his Hawkeyes almost beat the Illini. The game was closer than the score indicates.

Outing anyone is scummy business. It seems as though outing Republicans is about to be the new Lefty sport.

Congratulations Ed and the First Mate (I think we really know who the Captain is)! 13 years for me. You're a lucky guy and I hope there are many, many more.

Ali has an interesting take on the assasination in Beirut.

Chrenkoff on sexual assault in the military.

Figures I'd Be a French Dog

I'm surprised I am a Beauce Shepherd.

Spring Training Dreams, Regular Season Reality

As a Phillies fan, I must say to GM Ed Wade: Thanks for nothing, Dude. The biggest Phillies signing in the off-season was Cory Lidle. Yeah, Cory Lidle, a guy who is six games over .500 for his career and has never pitched more than 200 innings in a season. Needless to say, I can appreciate this sentiment from POV.

Blogroll Updates

Down on the right you'll see I've linked to two good blogs. Go now and read The Royal Flush and Chad Adams, they're worth your time.

I'm also going to link to some specialized links in the near future.

Japanese Internment Vs. the War On Terror

Lillian Nakano is an American of Japanese descent whom was held against her will during WWII because the Roosevelt administration felt that she and other Japanese-Americans were security threats. This was by far the most anti-American policy initiated in the 20th century and the people who were effected deserved compensation that was eventually granted them.

Ms. Nakano however, declares that there are parallels in the internment of the Japanese and the plight of Muslims living in the US:

Today, many in the Japanese American community will attend the annual Day of Remembrance events in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities, with the goal of teaching new generations the lessons from that painful time. Some of my fellow Americans are now being targeted because they are Muslim, Arab or Middle Eastern. When the attacks of Sept. 11 happened, I mourned for the innocent lives that were lost. But I also began to identify and sympathize with the innocent Muslim Americans who immediately became victims of the same kind of stereotyping and scapegoating we faced 63 years ago. They too have become targets of suspicion, hate crimes, vandalism and violence, all in the name of patriotism and national security.

This comparison is wrong on many levels but I'll state just a few. To begin, the internment during the war was government policy and became legal when FDR signed Executive Order 9066. To my knowledge, GWB has yet to go this extreme. Perhaps he, in conjunction with Alberto Gonzales has secretly signed an executive order and the Muslims are being secretly held in Utah. I think we probably would've heard something about this from the families of the internee's.

Second, the incidents of "suspicion, hate crimes, vandalism and violence" that she refers to seem to be isolated, but it's the last part of that sentence that bothers me; "all in the name of patriotism and national security". The natioanal security part would indicate that the government was complicit in the hate crimes, vandalism and violence and that is just not the case.

Ms. Nakano is being disingenuous by comparing the two and the LA Times Editorial Board knows this. I know it is an opinion piece, and I for one support the rights of citizens to air their views. I also believe that if someone states an opinion that is intellectually dishonest, it's my right to question it.

Friday Rant

Lately I see alot of Lefty sites labeling themselves as "Reality Based". You know Libs, they must always label themselves as something, be it progressive, intellectual, pro-choice, blah, blah, blah...

The whole "reality based" thing is a friggin' joke. You want reality my little lefty buddies? Here's "reality based"; and I'll say it slow enough that Oliver (Kryptonite for Good Looking Chicks) Willis gets it:

Reality is:

• 19 Muslim terrorists flew three planes into two buildings and a fourth into the ground as a way of attacking America;
• It wasn't our fault;
• It wasn't the fault of George W. Bush;
• It wasn't the fault of Israel;
• A sitting president of the US was too busy getting hummers from some skanky intern to do his job and arrest bin-Laden when he had the chance;
• Fidel Castro, Robert Mugabe and Saddam Hussein are bad men and should all be convicted of genocide for what they've done to their citizenry;
• The Soviet Union and Communism didn't work and there's no good way of establishing and maintaining a Communist utopia;
• Jimmy Carter was the worst president the country has ever survived;
• We are still living with the after-effects of his failed presidency;
• Bush does not equal Hitler;
• Stalin was a more murderous dictator than Hitler;
• Your senior member of the Senate was a proud marauder in the KKK;
• Ted Kennedy allowed a woman to die and didn't have the balls to help her;
• Supporting the troops does not mean mouthing a few good words about them, it means supporting their mission;
• The majority of those troops actually believe in their mission;
• You have been beaten in two straight presidential elections because the majority of the country doesn't like what you espouse;
• The Dem majority leader of the Senate was voted out;
• Kerry did not lose because he was a bad candidate (although he was), he lost because he mouthed the words your party stands for and the majority didn't care for it;
• Howard Dean will not lead you anywhere but into a hole you won't climb out of for twenty years;
• Religion is not the reason you are a minority party, basic morals and honesty are;
• Minorities are not buying your bullshit anymore and are voting in greater numbers with the majority party;
• Hillary Clinton is not the answer;
• Neither is Barack Obama;
• Neither is John Edwards;
• Nor Howie Dean;
• Nor...Hell, you get the point
• Maureen Dowd has nothing of consequence to say;
• Paul Krugman is deranged;
• Screw 'em Kos backed fifteen candidates and they all lost;
• Ted Rall is scary and anyone who believes anything he writes is dealing with serious issues;
• The UN is a festering sewer of corruption led by a man who would sell out women and children if it enriched him or his family;
• The only countries who contributed anything of significance to the initial tsunami relief effort did so because they have a strong military and used it to great advantage;
• France was not one of those countries;
• Nor was Germany,
• The Iraqi and Afghani elections were legitimate elections;
• The elections in Venezuela and Iraq under Saddam were not;
• The Iraqi of this year and Vietnamese elections during the war are not comparable and the facts prove this;
• The Kyoto Protocols are a sham and will only harm economies of western nations who supported its ratification;
• Michael Moore is not a real smart guy;
• He was smart enough to get you to spend good money on a film that has been proven to be a big lie; and
• Bloggers on the right are much more significant that bloggers on the left as has been proven time and time again.

How's that for reality based? Liberals, or as they choose to label themselves hilariously, Progressives delude themselves into thinking again and again that people agree with them. Reality has clearly shown that most don't.

Three Great Articles

Three excellent pieces appeared today in two different papers. First in the Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan hits it out of the park:

When you hear name-calling like what we've been hearing from the elite media this week, you know someone must be doing something right. The hysterical edge makes you wonder if writers for newspapers and magazines and professors in J-schools don't have a serious case of freedom envy.
The bloggers have that freedom. They have the still pent-up energy of a liberated citizenry, too. The MSM doesn't. It has lost its old monopoly on information. It is angry.

On the same page, Russ Smith on Maryland and Baltimore politics:

Not surprisingly, the Sun's ginned-up plight drew sympathy from liberal journalists and Democrats who reflexively blow out of proportion any imagined infringement of liberties by conservative politicians like Gov. Ehrlich and President Bush. Last month, for example, the New York Times entered the provincial fray, editorializing that the Sun was "obliged" to muck up the judicial calendar and protect the First Amendment.
Given the hysteria whipped up by the Sun's editorial staff, one might think that Gov. Ehrlich had actually closed the paper down, rather than exercise his prerogative to withhold comment from two Sun employees.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles dismissed the lawsuit, saying, "The Sun seeks a privileged status beyond that of the private citizen." The newspaper escalated the skirmish yesterday with an editorial claiming that Judge Quarles gave Gov. Ehrlich's "foolish and undemocratic notion a legitimacy it never deserved." The editorial's opening sentence--"These are sad days for those us who cherish the First Amendment."--summed up just how melodramatic this "controversy" has become.
As a longtime journalist, I also "cherish" the First Amendment; but it's distressing when a newspaper cheapens its value by echoing the ongoing cries of left-wing Americans who interpret every decision by a conservative administration--at the federal and state level--as "shredding the Constitution."

Finally, on a normal day I would say you can't compare the op-ed page of the WSJ and the opposite NYT op-ed page. The WSJ is more relevant and coherent (hello MoDo and Krugman). Fortunately for the Times, they still have Tom Friedman in the stable and he can sometimes produce excellence as he has today:

About two weeks ago, a friend of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri stopped by my office to update me on Lebanon and pass on a message from Mr. Hariri, whom I have known since reporting from Beirut in the late 1970's. The message was that the Lebanese opposition to the Syrian occupation was getting united - inspired both by the example of Iraq and by the growing excesses of the Syrian occupation. Mr. Hariri, his friend said, was planning to use the coming Lebanese parliamentary elections, and a hoped-for victory by the opposition front, to send a real message to the Syrians: It's time for you to go.

...Message from the Syrian regime to Washington, Paris and Lebanon's opposition: "You want to play here, you'd better be ready to play by Hama Rules - and Hama Rules are no rules at all. You want to squeeze us with Iraq on one side and the Lebanese opposition on the other, you'd better be able to put more than U.N. resolutions on the table. You'd better be ready to go all the way - because we will. But you Americans are exhausted by Iraq, and you Lebanese don't have the guts to stand up to us, and you French make a mean croissant but you've got no Hama Rules in your arsenal. So remember, we blow up prime ministers here. We shoot journalists. We fire on the Red Cross. We leveled one of our own cities. You want to play by Hama Rules, let's see what you've got. Otherwise, hasta la vista, baby."

Emphasis mine. Friedman gets it even though at times he panders to the liberal base. All these essays are worth your time and show what newspapers can truly be if they choose to be.

Intelligence or Not?

This from the Washington Times but could well be from any newspaper:

I disagree with most slamming of the intelligence community because of several reasons:

A) It's highly partisan and tends to be based on only the known facts. What of the facts that have yet to be released or won't be for years? Let history judge if it was an intelligence failure or a systemic failure or both.

B) The people who work in the business are looking for a needle in a landfill full of needles. Information that looks so clear today probably didn't add up to anything when it was discovered. These are good folks for the most part and do not deserve the abuse they receive as an easy target for the SYSTEMIC breakdown of 9/11. It is a different intelligence community and the fact that you don't know that means they're doing their job.

Briefs

From Stars and Stripes, an Iraqi Staff Sgt. said:

Ultimately, there is only so much the Americans can do, Akram said. The difference between his men and U.S. soldiers is something far more abstract than weapons or training.
"It's heart," Akram said. He'll know the Iraqi army is ready to take control from the Americans when his fellow soldiers quit joining for a paycheck, he said.
"When we're like the American soldier," Akram said. "He never worries about money. He's worried about his country."

To which James Taranto quips "It nice to know that someone supports the troops".

It's W's fault.

My goodness, the entire Democratic Underground now has an excuse for crime.

Don't worry about being "stigmatized" worry about wearing a damn condom.

A Great Cartoon

Cox and Forkum are a daily read for me and they should be for you too. Today's cartoon is excellent.

Connected is Not

I tuned in to the new MSNBC show Connected-Coast to Coast with Ron Reagan and Monica Crowley. Monica Crowley is good (and pretty hot if I may say) but Reagan is irritating and the dude has bigger canine teeth that any of my three dogs.

The show is pushed as "connected" with the blogger/internet generation and they try to be as hip as an MSNBC show can be. They even have a segment on what bloggers are posting with Joe Trippi, the former guru of Howie Dean's campaign. Why this guy was even involved is anyone's guess but hey, that's why MSNBC is in last place.

What blogs do you think Trippi featured? Wait for it...Atrios, Seeing the Forest and their post concerning Gannon, and this MSNBC train crash. All liberal blogs. What of Glenn, Tim Blair, LGF, Michelle Malkin, Captain Ed, Stephen Green... and the list goes on. Could they not have featured one center-right or right-wing blog? And why focus on a post written in a blog that is not even that good about the Gannon/Guckert non-story?

In defense of Monica Crowley, she has a definite future, as for Reagan; he is not even remotely charismatic and mostly is unlistenable.

Again, that is why MSNBC is in last place and sinking. Chris Matthews, Keith Olberman and now Tucker Carlson waiting in the wings; MSNBC as a network makes one cringe at least three times per hour*.

*Wording changed after initial post because author felt like it.

The First Mate is Doing Well

Captain Ed's better half is doing well. Say a prayer for the First Mate.

Update: If she's laughing at the Captain's jokes, you know Marcia is getting better.

The Case Against Mumia

Officer Daniel Faulkner was shot by Mumia Abu Jamal in December, 1981. He was convicted by a jury and sentenced to death. I linked to this story of the despicable actions of the Street administration with regard to visiting french politicians who gleefully told of how they named a street in Jamal's honor.

I feel sick everytime I hear anyone defending this murdering thug. Former celebrity types such as Ed Asner, Tom Morello-- formerly of Rage Against the Machine and currently with Audioslave-- and others have taken the side of Mumia. If it effects me so much to have this dredged up, what must it feel like to his widow, Maureen?

Please take time to research the case against Jamal. It is airtight and has withstood scrutiny from every direction.

I propose that every blogger who reads this post link to this website and read the the details of the case, it will be crystal clear that Mumia Abu Jamal is the man who murdered Daniel Faulkner.

Michelle Malkin has already linked and I hope this gets much wider play in the blogosphere.

Philly radio talkshow host Michael Smerconish has been the hammer against Jamal for a long time. You can read his page here and link at the bottom to Danny Faulkner info.

Update: Maureen Faulkner was interviewed by Michael Smerconish yesterday and she said that Mayor Street apologized and said that he knew Mumia Abu Jamal was guilty of murder. In his official statement however, he was less certain.

Mayor Street’s spokesman, Daniel Fee (sp?) was interviewed by Smerconish this morning and said that the French were given the miniature Liberty Bells because they were giving a gift to the mayor, a crystal or glass object, and were only accorded the honor of being seen in the City Hall anteroom near the mayor’s office because it was a “crowd control” situation.

Later in the program, Pam Africa, of the far left-wing back-to-nature group MOVE, called the show and said the whole affair, including the inclusion of socialist groups, was pre-planned and organized by her. She further said that Mayor Street would never admit that Mumia was guilty. MOVE has supported Jamal for years.

More later when time allows.

Update: For those who want to know more about MOVE, click the link above. They have quite a history in Philly, they were ousted once by Mayor Frank Rizzo in an assault where Officer James Ramp died (sadly, I could not find a website dedicated to his memory). In the city's second confrontation with the group, Mayor W. Wilson Goode dropped an incendiary device on a rooftop bunker that caused the death of MOVE members, including women and children, and the loss of 61 Osage Ave. homes. 2 members of MOVE survived.

Here is the MOVE Commission's report.

This is a ton of information and I went off on a tangent about MOVE because of Pam Africa being on Mike Smerconish's show today. The point of this whole exercise was to explain that this is a wound in Philly and the scab is pulled off repeatedly. We have to get the true story out and stop the egregious assault on the memory of a dead cop and end the suffering of his widow.

Update: Thanks to Jack, Susan, The Watcher, Hubes Cube and Captain Ed ( who was hospiblogging) for linking and doing everything possible to get this story out. The Ombudsgod has a quiz.

Tracking al-Zarqawi

Terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has eluded capture for a long while, perhaps the noose is tightening though:

Iraq's most wanted terrorist, the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is hiding out in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk after fleeing from Mosul, according to police sources.
The claim comes barely days after the Iraq's interim government said that it was close to catching the jihadist, whose group has been behind the beheadings of foreign hostages, including Briton Kenneth Bigley, and suicide bombings.
'He came to Kirkuk from Mosul,' a source in the Kirkuk police department told Reuters yesterday, speaking anonymously. 'There's a possibility that he might be captured at any moment.'
The claim follows the disclosure by Iraq's interior minister this month that Iraqi security forces were tracking Zarqawi and had recently come close to capturing him. 'We are following him,' said Falah al-Naqib. 'I think we missed him two or three times, but hopefully next time we will be able to capture him.'

Capturing the man who is responsible for beheading numerous people and inciting uncountable acts of terror that have killed women and children would be a good thing, right? Not according to Talk Left:

What then? What difference will his capture make? Apparently not much, in terms of the war.

I'll answer that TL. Al-Zarqawi is the leader of a shrinking group of insurgent terrorists that have as their sole goal the undermining of a blossoming democracy in an Arab country. This is of course unprecedented and would not bode well for the dictatorial regimes in the rest of the Arab world.

On a more basic point, do you not think that a man who has beheaded non-combatants and murdered innocents should not be caught? Should an evil man who stands against everything you do not be brought to justice.

The more salient question would be this: Do you hate G. W. Bush so much that you would rather see al-Zarqawi remain free to attack and kill without remorse than give Bush a victory in the Iraq war? At least one of your commenters is sane enough to see that.

Good Sunday Reads

Michael Barone on the Blogosphere:

So what hath the blogosphere wrought? The left blogosphere has moved the Democrats off to the left, and the right blogosphere has undermined the credibility of the Republicans' adversaries in Old Media. Both changes help Bush and the Republicans.
Update: Michael e-mailed Powerline and had more to say.

Another reason to hate the French and Philadelphia Democrats:

French politicians and activists seeking a new trial and freedom for convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal were welcomed in a Friday rally at City Hall and given replicas of the Liberty Bell.

Bush and tort reform.

Mark Steyn on...well, alot.

Andrew Sullivan on the UN.

The BBC is wrong about the Eason Jordan story.

Video of the 40mm grenade launcher that shoots around corners.

Amina Waddud Has Something To Say

Amina Wadud, Professor of Islamic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and author of Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective, was speaking in Toronto to 300 people. She had some interesting things to say:

She had barely finished her talk when a long line of people lined up at the microphone to ask questions. One woman, who identified herself as a professor of Arabic Language at a Toronto University, took the mike and started lambasting Wadud, suggesting that she had come to her conclusion because she did not understand Arabic and that she had misread the Qur'an, saying, "You know only one verse of the Qur’an." Instead of a question, Wadud was subjected to a rant that was largely incomprehensible. The professor continued, accusing Wadud of supporting illicit sex, when Wadud had made no such reference.
"That is the most idiotic nonsense I have ever heard," Wadud replied.
When Amina Wadud referred to the 9/11 tragedy and the fact that some Muslims deemed it Islamic to crash planes into buildings and kill innocent people, a section of the crowd interrupted her. "What about Israel killing Palestinians," they yelled. One middle-aged heckler said, "She is a CIA agent." Other men and women lined up at the mike to accuse her of all sorts of things.
Another man, angered by Wadud's 9/11 remark, came to the mike and lectured Her. "Let me remind you that no Muslim was involved in the 9/11 attack." Wadud did not dignify his remark with a response.
One young man, with his oversized shirt hanging out, mimicking a rapper, took the mike out of its stand, twirled around, and started addressing the audience, with his back towards Wadud, accusing her of not knowing the Qur'an.
Wadud responded to this outrageous display of rudeness by intervening and saying, "This young man is uncomfortable with what I have said and so instead of asking a question, he wishes to give a speech... why don't you come up on the stage and I will go and sit in the crowd." Then she stepped down from the podium and asked the young man to take her place, which he did. Holding the mike in his hand, he harangued her and said she did not know enough about Islam.

I don't agree with everything she says (only blacks can understand racism. etc.), however she is saying things that I don't believe are said enough when the subject of Islam is discussed.

An Askew Take on NoKo

Some former squid has some thoughts on the North Korean admission to having nukes:

In the post-Cold War world where actual diplomacy and trivial stuff like that was working, in rode a posse of idjits who had seen one John Wayne movie too many.
Countries around the world that might have respected American economic power over military, might have once listened and maybe even been persuaded to be reached out to, and join the community of Nations. Now, if they can, they're arming themselves to the teeth; they at least learned the lessons of the Cold War. There's no deterrance, like deterrance based on Mutally Assured Destruction.
Haven't we seen this movie before?

Diplomacy? Like the diplomacy that Jimmy Carter crowed about with regard to the very same North Korea. You remember that, don't you? It was Carter's version of "don't ask, don't tell", except in Jimmy's case, it wasn't the trivial sellout of the gay community that Clinton's DADT was. Under Carter's plan we continued to send them money which was then used to buy and produce more weapons and possibly build more light-water reactor capacity.

Oh, and a note to the PhD Progeny at State: Honey, if the rulers of North Korea haven't given a shit about their starving masses to date, what makes your slightly disfunctional NeoCon brain believe that the North K's are gonna care tomorrow? These are not rational actors, and they don't actually give a crap about you, China, South Korea or anyone else. I think that you might have just heard Beloved Leader (NK) say "Bring it on!".

Doesn't the fact that they are not "rational actors" disprove everything you are saying? How will "diplomacy and trivial stuff" work when your dealing with a psychotic despot? As was proved when Secretary Albright and Jimmy Carter attempted to negotiate with the "Great Leader", the father of the mad little tyrant in charge today, these people will take and take and look for any reason to tear up an agreement.

It's easy to blame Condi Rice or W. for this mess, but at the very least be intellectually honest and put the blame where it squarely belongs; at the feet of Jimmy Carter and the Clinton State Department.

By the way, you've earned some nice commendations, I have many of the same ones, however I was raised to wear your medals when in dress uniform and keep them in the box when not. But then I have nothing to prove with my medals.

Un Sex Scandal Update

The increasingly inept and rotting (if they possibly could be more inept) UN is the news again:

A scandal about the sexual abuse of Congolese women and children by U.N. officials and peacekeepers intensified Friday with the broadcast of explicit pictures of a French U.N. worker and Congolese girls and his claim that there was a network of pedophiles at the U.N. mission in Congo.ABC News' "20/20" program showed pictures taken from the computer of a French U.N. transport worker. The hard drive reportedly contained thousands of photos of him with hundreds of girls. In one frame, a tear can be seen rolling down the cheek of a victim.

A tear running down the cheek of a rape victim who has probably seen her share of horrid things prior to the UN arriving. I bet she even had some hope that things would be better for her and her country because Kofi's army was coming in to to help them. I imagine that any hope she had was washed away by that tear on her cheek.

Rape, pedophilia and pornography, the new resume of the UN.

Update: Michelle Malkin has a round-up on this scandal including this from the Times UK in December:

In July 2002 the rebel commander Major-General Jean Pierre Ondekane, who subsequently became Minister of Defence in a postwar transitional government, told a top UN official that all that Monuc (the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo) would be remembered for in Kisangani was “for running after little girls”.

Nice legacy, UN.

Driving Off a Cliff

Howard Dean is to be crowned the leader of the DNC this weekend and the Dems are ready to follow him in a march of the lemmings:

Democratic Party activists, recovering from a stinging November election loss and a fresh round of soul-searching, rallied around Howard Dean on Friday and promised a grass-roots drive to make the party competitive in the South, Midwest and Mountain states.
With the election of the former Vermont governor as chairman set for Saturday, Democrats put aside lingering doubts about the party's future and opened a two-day party meeting with promises to keep the heat on President Bush.

Read the entire article and see if they put forth one idea that will convert anyone over to their party.

Driving Off a Clift

Eleanor Clift, the diva of Newsweek, wastes ink with a schmooze piece about Rahm Emmanuel:

Emmanuel is a centrist Democrat, a former professional ballet dancer and a man in a hurry—attributes that reflect his drive and discipline and that have sparked his rise in the House Democratic ranks in the few short years since his election in November 2002. A veteran of the 1992 Clinton campaign and a top aide in the Clinton White House, Emmanuel now holds forth from a less-visible pedestal as 41st in seniority among the 41 members on the House Ways and Means Committee, and he couldn’t be having a better time. An interview this week was interrupted twice by calls on his cell phone from Clinton-era colleagues James Carville and Paul Begala wanting his take on the Bush budget. Hit Bush hard on the exploding costs of the Medicare prescription-drug bill, he told them. Waiting to be ushered in next to see Emmanuel was John Podesta, Clinton’s former chief of staff and founder of the Center for American Progress, a new liberal think tank.

Emphasis mine. A centrist Democrat? Rahm Emmanuel? Maybe he's centrist when compared to Clift but this guy is a hard core Lib. They keep pushing this guy--along with Barack Obama--as the next great hope of the Donkeys yet he's just not a likeable guy. Watch Chris Matthews interview him, Matthews throws the most hittable of softballs and Emmanuel hits a little dribbler back to the pitcher. He has no charisma and even worse ideas but this is the state of the minority party today.

Eason Jordan Resigns

I've not gotten into the Eason Jordan affair as it has been covered by much better bloggers than me. Jordan, while talking at a forum in Davos, Switzerland made comments to the effect that the US military targets reporters. The NY Post can take it from there:

Only one panelist, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) challenged him, causing Jordan to start backtracking to retract what he'd said.
There's no transcript of the remarks, but a video does exist which Davos forum sponsors won't release.
Jordan's remarks triggered a widespread attack by more than 400 bloggers, led by a Miami businessman Rony Abovitz, who heard Jordan's comments firsthand. The bloggers demanded CNN fire Jordan.

Kudos to Barney Frank for challenging him and his absurd remarks. For remarks from all over the Blogosphere, click here and scroll.

Bloggers are a force to be reckoned with. From Trent Lott and Howell Raines to Dan Rather and Eason Jordan, you can't escape the myriad tentacles that the blogging community has out there.

Update: Soon to join the world's great secret organizations that includes the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, the Masons and Jews; I introduce the Blogger Cabal. This secret organization led by Charles Johnson and Glenn Reynolds (it's a rotating presidency) will select members of the media who intentionally lie, suppress stories or are just plain irritating people for blogger targeting. The evil right-wing minions then write posts and constantly link to each others stories about the target. When asked to comment on the validity of conspiracy claims, President Johnson said "BWAHAAAHAA" and Supreme Leader Reynolds exclaimed "HEH".

Krauthammer

Charles Krauthammer has a great piece today on the Palestinian situation:

Was not Barak the good guy? And Sharon the tough guy? Surprise. Arabs respect toughness. Sharon launched a massive invasion of the Palestinian territories after the Passover massacre of 2002. Western experts and the media were practically unanimous that this would achieve nothing.
Completely wrong. In fact, it is precisely Israel's aggressive counterattack against Palestinian terrorists, coupled with the defensive fence (which has prevented practically all suicide attacks wherever it has been built), that has brought us to this point of hope.

...The second intifada was fought under the old land-for-peace slogan: The terrorism would stop only when Israel agreed to full territorial withdrawal to the 1949 lines, a Palestinian state, Jerusalem as the capital and God knows what else. The Palestinians got none of this. They got death and destruction instead. What do the Palestinians now demand from Israel in return for a cease-fire? That Sharon stop hunting down and killing terrorist leaders. Not land for peace. Peace for peace.
Sharon agreed. And a tenuous truce has begun. Of course, at some point Hamas and other terrorist groups will surely try to destroy the cease-fire. (They tested it yesterday in southern Gaza, firing rockets and mortars at a Jewish settlement. Luckily, no one was hurt.) At that point Abbas -- and the Palestinians as a national community -- will have to decide whether to take them on. If they do, they will have their state. If they don't, they are back on the road map to ruin.

Exactly right. The Arab world does respond to toughness and power, a crystal-clear fact that the Left fails to grasp. On second thought, maybe they do understand this worldview but lack the resolve or mind to utilize the power we possess.

Here's one simple question; what major peace initiative has ever been enacted in the Arab world where the will of the US was not brought to bear?

Perhaps the Camp David Accords signed by Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, but all that did was get Sadat murdered and forced the Egyptians to go covert against Israel (I.E. weapons tunnels into Gaza).

I'll say it for the three thousandth time; Afghanistan and Iraq woul not be democracies if we took the tack of negotiation over military force. Although the Afghanis are not Arabs, they too understood the power of raw force.

Red Ken the Anti-Semite

Ken Livingston, the Mayor of London and unapologetic Communist had this pleasant exchange with a reporter:

LONDON (Reuters) - London's outspoken Mayor Ken Livingstone has refused to apologise for calling a Jewish newspaper reporter a war criminal and concentration camp guard, despite complaints from Britain's main Jewish group.
"Are you a German war criminal?" Livingstone was heard saying on a tape recording of the exchange with the Evening Standard journalist at a event to mark the 20th anniversary of former cabinet member Chris Smith announcing he is gay.
When the journalist said he was Jewish and was offended by the mayor's remarks, Livingstone replied: "Actually you are just like a concentration camp guard."

Nice work, Ken. Of course to al-Reuters, he's not an anti-semite, he's "outspoken". More:

"The discussion between the journalist and the mayor escalated, from relatively light hearted comments of the mayor asking whether the journalist's previous job had been as a war criminal -- given the paper he was working for -- to the journalist eventually telling the mayor to 'f**k off'," it said.
The Evening Standard is part of Associated Newspapers, a group whose owner in the 1930s, Lord Rothermere, showed some support for Adolf Hitler.
A frequent, outspoken critic of Israeli policy, Livingstone has denied in the past that he is anti-Semitic.

Red Ken has been quite "outspoken" in his support for jihadi's and Jew haters.

New Strain of HIV

Authorities in NYC are reporting a new strain of HIV that can develop into full-blown AIDS in a few months:

``We've identified this strain of HIV that is difficult or impossible to treat and which appears to progress rapidly to AIDS,'' said New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden.
Frieden said the case, diagnosed in a man in his mid-40s who reported multiple male sex partners and unprotected anal sex -- often while using the drug crystal methamphetamine -- was ``extremely concerning and a wake-up call.''
Antonio Urbina, medical director of HIV education and training at St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center, site one of Manhattan's largest AIDS clinics, said at a news conference that the patient's use of crystal methamphetamine shows that the drug ``continues to play a significant role in facilitating the transmission of HIV.''
The drug reduces peoples' inhibitions and their likelihood of using condoms or other forms of safe sex, he said.

Why are we not hearing about this more? This is a fully preventable disease that can be stopped by condom use, abstinence or to a lesser extent monogamy. Is the liberal press so afraid of GLAAD and other homosexual interest groups that they will not put the blame where it truly belongs: with people having unprotected sex?

We have to get back to the mentality of the late eighties and early nineties of warning people to protect themselves and their unknowing partners, especially in the homosexual community where HIV transmission is more prevalent.

The New Third Rail of Politics

The "third rail of politics" up until recently was Social Security. No politician had the balls to even approach the idea of tinkering with Roosevelt's legacy. Bush put that issue to rest and it's now a national argument.

The new "third rail" is the War on Drugs. This strategy of spending more and more money to fight drugs has proven to be the biggest scam on the American taxpayer since the advent of welfare. No politician, regardless of popularity will even utter a single word about the failure of this entrenched program.

I'll say it however: the War on Drugs is a complete and utter failure! We pump ungodly amounts of money into this program (and it is a program just like Medicare or Head Start) and all it does is keep more and more law enforcement folks from focusing on other more important issues.

The new Bush budget for the drug war has increased by $268,000,000 from the already burgeoning amount of last year and we have what to show for it? Nothing.

Treatment and prevention is the way to reduce drug use, and granted some of the funds go toward that cause, but eradication programs in foreign nations and sending agents to Afghanistan isn't going to work if we can't reduce the demand in the US.

How many people are in jail for drug posession that shouldn't be? We are paying entirely too many tax dollars to incarcerate non-violent drug users who can be better served by treatment or intervention programs.

That concludes my Libertariam screed for the week. Thanks for listening.

Update: I was contacted by the author of the site I linked to above. He set me straight on this point:
One minor correction. The federal drug budget has increased BY $268,000,000 TO $12,431,000,000. Oh, and that's not counting incarceration or federal court costs.

The post above has been corrected.

Around the Blogosphere

Scroll down for lots of new posts. Today's round-up of different bloggers and their post. I may not agree with all of them, but that's what's great about the Blogosphere:

Indymedia Watch has a nice post on Turkey.

Al Franken is not running for Senate. This is quite unfortunate.

The UN "pre-bukes" the US.

"Blogging is a solvent that makes the world more transparent. And nobody owns its power."

Mad Mikey--currently attending my alma mater--is shocked! shocked! I tell you, that the NoKo's have nukes.

The UN's Flesh for Food program.

Why the African AIDS Crisis Will Never End

The nation led by friend of France Robert Mugabe is in the midst of the HIV/AIDS crisis that is ravaging the African continent. Someone had the great idea of introducing female condoms into the country to try to curtail the spread of this horrible disease. What do the good citizens of this fine nation do with the condoms?

In Zimbabwe, enterprising traders are making money by turning female condoms into brightly-coloured bangles.
The rubber rings are removed from the condoms and made into fashion items.

..."We get them for free from hospitals and clinics. Then we cut the plastic off, just leaving the band, which we repaint in bright colours - pink, yellow, red."
The government makes condoms available free of charge at health centres throughout the country as part of the fight against HIV/ Aids.
An estimated 25% of adult Zimbabweans are HIV positive.
Zimbabwe is one of the leading users of female condoms in southern Africa, using almost one million every year.

Emphasis mine. 25% of the adult population is HIV positive and what are they using the solution for? Bracelets. One million annually I'd imagine.

BTW, read the caption to the accompanying picture:

Zimbabweans are creative and resourceful people

How about being creative enough to utilize the condoms to save your life. Sheesh!

The Donkey's Still Don't Get It

This form the Christian Science Monitor:

Unlike the beginning of Bush's first term, when Democrats faced real rifts over whether Al Gore had run too populist a campaign, strategists this time around say the challenge lies primarily in the communication, rather than the substance, of the party's message.
Certainly, exit polls showing that values were a top concern for voters who backed Bush have raised some debate within the party. But most Democrats say the solution lies in better anchoring the party's positions and beliefs in the language of values, rather than actually shifting its positions on social issues such as abortion.
Whether Dean, as the new party chair, will add to or detract from this effort to expand the party's appeal remains to be seen. Certainly, supporters and critics agree, he's likely to inspire Democrats and offer a staunch voice of opposition. Many cite Dean's ability to raise large sums of money over the Internet during his presidential run, and note that he has a clear ability to inspire grass-roots activists.

All right Dems, this is simple, the majority of Americans just don't agree with your positions. You've communicated it adequately--perhaps too adequately--and it rings hollow with at least 53% of the voting public. The carping of the NOW and NARAL crowd when a hideous subject like partial birth abortion is brought up turns folks off. The idea that certain minorities should be given preferences is as anti-American as anything the average person can think of. The thought of taking tax money from people making more than $140,000 because they are "rich" bothers alot of citizens because they expect to make more than that someday.

I'll say this slowly: your message is getting out, it just isn't resonating.

I can draw the hardcore lefties a picture since they are ill-equipped to comprehend this.

The Latest Conviction in the War on Terror

Terrorist abetting attorney Lynne Stewart has been convicted:

Veteran civil rights lawyer Lynne Stewart was convicted Thursday of helping terrorists by smuggling messages of violence from one of her imprisoned clients -- a radical Egyptian sheik -- to his terrorist disciples on the outside.

Not just any terrorist; Omar Abdel-Rahman, a player in the first WTC attack, along with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and Ramzi Yousef:

Abdel-Rahman was sentenced to life in prison after his 1995 conviction for conspiring to assassinate Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and destroy several New York City landmarks. His lawyer was Stewart, whose client list includes Weather Underground radicals and mob turncoat Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.

I'm a bit surprised that Newsday uses "New York City landmarks" instead of World Trade Center. Actually, no I'm not, but I digress. Stewart has represented some shady characters and has a long history of radicalism and extreme leftism. Granted, every indicted person deserves representation and Stewart filled that role, but in my book she's the same as Ramzi...er, Ramsey Clark. Stewart broke the law and bordered on treason:

Stewart repeatedly declared her innocence during the trial, maintaining she was unfairly targeted by overeager prosecutors. She testified on her own behalf as well, saying she believed violence was sometimes necessary to rid society of evil -- even in America."To rid ourselves of the entrenched, voracious type of capitalism that is in this country that perpetuates sexism and racism, I don't think that can come nonviolently," she said.Prosecutors said Stewart broke a promise to the government by letting outsiders communicate with the sheik, who was in solitary confinement under special prison rules designed to stop him from communicating with anyone except his wife and his lawyers.

The blind sheik had some nice words that should've helped spread the word that Islam is the religion of peace:

The evidence, though, included video images of bin Laden at a meeting with one of the sheik's sons and a bin Laden associate who spoke by telephone with Sattar. Another piece of evidence was a fiery message sent by the sheik with the words, "From the American Prison.""Drown [American] ships, shoot down their airplanes, kill them on earth in the sea or in the sky, kill them everywhere you find them," he said, according to the government exhibit.

Guaranteed to Make Libs Wet Their Pants

President Bush again called out Iran. This time in much harsher terms:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) said on Wednesday Iran with a nuclear weapon would be a "very destabilizing" force and that it was important for the world to speak with one voice against Tehran's program.
"The Iranians just need to know that the free world is working together to send a very clear message: Don't develop a nuclear weapon," Bush said.
"And the reason we're sending that message is because Iran with a nuclear weapon would be a very destabilizing force in the world," he said during a meeting with Poland's president.
Bush said he looked forward to discussing concerns about Iran with European allies. "It's important we speak with one voice," he said.

In Diplospeak, that's pretty harsh. A nuclear (nucular?) Iran would be destabilizing not only to neighbors Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, but also Israel, Saudi Arabia and Syria. An Osirak type operation seems definitely to be in the offing, however this time it won't be Israel conducting the raid.

Deconstructing Kerry

Thomas Lipscomb eviscerates John Kerry:

It has been a rough ten days for Senator John Kerry. First Democratic Party moneybags George Soros said Kerry’s name on the Presidential ballot was a dead loser. Then Teresa Heinz Kerry decided to borrow a dead winner’s rather than a live loser’s last name, reverting to “Teresa Heinz” for public appearances. But the worst day Kerry had was a Sunday answering Tim Russert’s questions on Meet the Press on --- (what else?) ----Vietnam.
Asked about his Christmas Eve in Cambodia “seared, seared” in Kerry’s memory, according to one of his Senate speech transcripts, Kerry tried a half-baked variation on the theme: “Was it on that night? No, it was not on that night. But we were right on the Cambodian border that night. We were ambushed there, as a matter of fact. And that is a matter of record, and we went into the rec-- you know, it's part of the Navy records.”

Ouch, but let's read on:

It gets worse. Under Russert’s questioning Kerry has a burst of sudden recall. “But we did go five miles into Cambodia. It was on another day. I jumbled the two together, but we were five miles into Cambodia. We went up on a mission with CIA agents--I believe they were CIA agents--CIA Special Ops guys. I even have some photographs of it, and I can document it. And it has been documented.”
Unfortunately there is no indication “it has been documented” and no one has ever reported seeing “some photographs of it.” Admiral Roy Hoffman commanded all the Swift Boats in Vietnam and had the responsibility for parceling the missions assigned to him to the commanders of his bases. According to Hoffman, who commanded Kerry for the four months he served in Swift Boats, “In all the time I served in Vietnam, I never assigned a Swift Boat mission for the CIA to a South Vietnam base like Kerry’s at An Thoi. I assigned Swift Boats for several missions for the CIA infiltrating North Vietnam but I believe they are still classified.”

Kerry seems to be digging himself in deeper, and unfortunately for him, he lost. No one will come to his aid now. As Lipscomb says, Hoffman is a Kerry antagonist but why would he lie about something that can easily be proven through records?

And not one of Kerry’s faithful crewmembers who stood on the stage with him at the Democratic Convention and exactly none of Kerry’s commanders confirmed Kerry’s first story of Christmas in Cambodia and so far, none confirm the Meet the Press revision, and neither does Douglas Brinkley.

Again, his "Band of Brothers" are not going to be offered cushy White House jobs so they've evidently bailed.

...Kerry proudly told Russert and the world what his top secret mission was. “We delivered weapons to the Khmer Rouge on the coastline of Cambodia. We went out of Ha Tien, which is right in Vietnam. We went north up into the border. And I have some photographs of that, and that's what we did.”
If that is true, the United States should have shaken up the CIA 35 years earlier. The “Khmer Rouge,” so named derisively by Cambodian leader Prince Sihanouk, were the Cambodian communists who were later to murder millions of their fellow citizens in the “killing fields” in 1974. “Ridiculous,” snorted a former CIA station chief from neighboring Laos, “That is the equivalent of delivering arms to the Viet Cong.” Robert Turner, an expert on North Vietnamese and Vietcong affairs at the embassy in Saigon at the time and now a professor at the University of Virginia says: “Kerry has gone delusional. This is hilarious.” When Kerry was in Vietnam in 1969 the estimate of Khmer Rouge strength was only 2500. They would have been hard to find, much less deliver weapons to, scattered around a country of 10 million almost the size of Oklahoma.

Indeed. If Kerry did deliver weapons to the Khmer Rouge as he said, that is a fact that was hidden for 30-years and revealed by Kerry on national TV.

As a born again Christian, professing compassionate conservatism, the least President Bush can do is appoint Kerry U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia before this gets any worse. Perhaps then Kerry can find out what really did happen before even CBS finally figures out who ran for the Presidency based on dubious statements about his military record.

Brutal finish, Tom.

Briefs

Senator Mark Dayton is not going to run to keep his seat in Minnesota. Maybe they should put up Walter Mondale again. "Screw them" Kos sums it up in his usual intelligent style:

Shit.

Kos puts the optimistic spin on it by thinking they may get a candidate with "less baggage". I tend to think that whoever they find will be beatable. This is a definite opportunity for the Republicans. BTW Markos; ask the former Senate leader on the Donkey side about incumbency.

Idiocy in my old neighborhood:

(Scroll down) JAMACHA-LOMITA – A 25-year-old man died yesterday after he tumbled off his skateboard while his brother towed him in an SUV down Jamacha Road.
A back tire of the Ford Explorer ran over Cecilio Miguel Soltero of Spring Valley. He was not wearing a helmet, San Diego police said.
San Diego police said the two were going west on Jamacha Road, just west of Car Street in the Jamacha-Lomita neighborhood about 3:50 p.m. The younger brother, Patrick Soltero, 21, pulled over, and his brother hopped out and got on the skateboard.
Cecilio Soltero held onto the passenger side of the Explorer while his brother drove about 20 mph down a steep hill for perhaps half a block. Cecilio Soltero fell off his skateboard, hit his head on the pavement and was run over, police said. He was declared dead at a hospital. Police later arrested his brother on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter.
Wear a damn helmet. Please!

Joke away about the Year of the Cock.

Wonder if they are already missing Terry McAuliffe?

What is a Pipe Hitter of the Month? Click here and find out.

How Did the Truth Arise?

This is funny:

Zimbabwean sporting authorities were this week shocked to discover that one of the country's top female athletes is actually a man.The discovery came when multiple medal winner Samukeliso Sithole was outed as a man while waiting with friends for a train at the Zimbabwean railway station, the Herald reported. Melita Mudondiro, a fellow athlete has filed charges of crimen injuria and impersonation against Sithole, saying she had frequently dressed and undressed in front of him, believing he was a woman.Sithole was subsequently arrested in the Midlands chrome-producing city of Kwekwe, where a government doctor confirmed he was male. However, the athlete claims he was born with both male and female genitals. He told a Kwekwe court that his parents had consulted a traditional healer in the eastern district of Chipinge and the healer had provided herbs which made him female.

I guess the athletes from the former East Germany should've used this approach. Ah, but the truth always comes out:

However because his parents had only paid half the fee due to the healer, his male genitalia had reappeared. In fact, he said, on the day that he appeared in court he had been due to pay the settlement amount and if he had been able to do this, his male genitalia would have gone away again.

Voice of Islam?

This guy was lurking around this site and if he's extolling the virtues of Islam over Christianity, they had better find another spokeman:

This is not freedom of speech my friends. If the Constitution is based on Gospel principles as Christians claim, then why is this country the richest in the world, the most war-mongering country in the world, the fattest country in the world, the most sexually deviant country in the world (a rape every six seconds, one in ten men is a Sodomite), and the most hated country in the world (by other "Christian" nations)??? Don't hide behind the Constitution and claim that it is a "Christian" document; every preacher I hear on television like Pat Robertson and his boy, want to abolish the separation between church and state!

And this:

The Jews' interest in Christians is purely financial. American evangelical dollars fund the back-bone of the Israeli war and propaganda machine against Muslims and Arabs. The Christian Zionists, on the other hand, believe it to be a fulfillment of God's plan that Israel should be protected and defended in order to facilitate a number of so-called prophecies found in the convoluted book of Revelation. What Christians don't tell the Jews, or perhaps the Jews are aware of this and simply don't care, is that according to the New Testament, only 144,000 Jews are admitted into Paradise, and only those who weren't "defiled by women," meaning virgins (women defile men according to the Bible; Rev. 14:4).

...I heard a Jewish Zionist say on a television program the other night, "It's time for Christians and Jews to come together as brothers in love and stand united for Israel." Translation: PAY ME YOU DIRTY GENTILES. - Do you think this comment is too harsh? Believe me, when I say that this is only child's play when compared to what the Talmud says about Jesus, Mary, and Christians in general. Jesus is not even called by his real name in the Talmud. According to the Pshitta, the Syriac (late Aramaic) Version of the New Testament (circa 300 CE), Jesus is called Eesho M’sheekha in his spoken language. The Qur’anic appellation, ‘Eesa, is derived from the same tri-literal root. The Talmud, however, calls him Y’shwa – an acronym consisting of the three Hebrew letters yod, sheen, and vaw which stands for “Yamach shmo w’zikro,” meaning, “May his name be blotted out forever.”

There's alot more where that came from.