Al-Guardian Outdoes Itself

Adam Curtis vents in the Guardian warning us: "We dreamed up 'al-Qaida'. Let's not do it again with 'evil ideology":

This is exactly what happened in the reaction to the attacks on America in 2001. For years after 9/11 we were told that we faced a powerful, well-organised enemy, who had established a centrally coordinated command structure that needed to be sought out and crushed. We went storming into Iraq to prevent a rogue state from supplying WMD to this organisation. This would make the world a safer place. But the enemy was not an organised network, and going into Iraq has done the opposite of what we intended. Our actions have inspired resentment throughout the Middle East and Iraq is now the world centre of terrorist activity.

Uh, no. Al-Qaeda has always been known to be a loosely-based organization that would undertake acts of terror that would only be known to the leaders. We are, in fact, not just fighting al-Qaeda, but a group of jihadi's who are inspired by groups such as al-Qaeda.

As for the world center of terror being Iraq, I believe that this was the point.

Last year I made a series of documentaries for the BBC, The Power of Nightmares, which showed how a fantasy image of the "al-Qaida" organisation was created. The films told how the response to the shocking events of September 11 2001 swung out of control, and the threat became exaggerated to a dangerous level. Although there was a serious terrorist threat, the films criticised the apocalyptic vision of what lay behind it - the "nightmare" of a uniquely powerful network, unlike any previous terrorist danger and capable of overwhelming our society and our democracy.

Wrong again. The danger to democracy and our society comes from radical Islam as a whole, not al-Qaeda in particular. Al-Qaeda is a symptom, Islamofascism is the disease.

The Power of Nightmares said bluntly that this was a fantasy. The real threat came not from a network, but from individuals and groups linked only by an idea. Our energies were going into fighting a phantom enemy. We were looking for a network that didn't exist when we should have been dealing with an idea that does.

The guy is of course hawking his movie, which is admirable in the capitalistic world we live in. How did it do in Saudi Arabia? Anyway, we didn't put "our energies" into "fighting a phantom enemy," we took away their base of operations and as a consequence removed the oppressive Taliban regime.

The evidence we have of what lies behind the London bombings confirms that this was the real nature of the threat. It is fascinating to see how suddenly all the terror "experts" have changed their tune. For three years they told us breathlessly about a terrifying global network. Now, suddenly, it has gone away and been replaced by "an evil ideology" that inspires young, angry Muslim males in our own society.

Pay attention, Adam, this gets a wee bit complicated. I do agree with you on the evil ideology (note, no scare quotes). If you had been paying attention for the last four years, quite a few have been screaming at the tops of our lungs that it is angry young Muslims, led by angry old imams that have been the enemy. We know that the only organized global networks of terrorists exist in places such as "Palestine" where murdering bands of thugs such as Hamas and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade murder with impunity. Or perhaps Lebanon, where Hezbollah lobs missiles into innocent kibbutzim.

Modern Islamism is a complex political movement with a history that goes back more than 50 years. Its most influential ideologist was an Egyptian school inspector, Sayyid Qutb. In the 50s he wrote a series of books that put forward a powerful critique of modern western culture and democracy, and called for a new type of utopian society in Muslim lands in which Islam would play a central political role.

Emphasis mine. Sayyid Qutb did not espouse radical change in only Muslim lands, he raged that all lands should be Muslim lands and that infidels should be murdered or reduced to dhimmi status. We saw how his teachings played out in Afghanistan, didn't we?

Out of this has come a movement for revolutionary change in the Islamic world that includes an extraordinary range of groupings and variations on Qutb's original arguments. It is only a tiny minority in the Islamist movement who have developed these ideas into a politics that advocates terrorism against the west. Historians of Islamism have shown that this minority, grouped initially around Osama bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri in the late 90s, turned to attacking the west only because of the failure of the wider movement to achieve its revolutionary aims in the Muslim world.

An "extraordinary range of groupings" yet no organizations? It seems as though that tiny minority you speak of must be also the vocal one as well. I've not heard the silent majority speak against what the "minority" is currently doing.

We must be aware of this distinction so as to avoid a witch-hunt against the whole Islamist movement. We may not agree with its reactionary vision of the political use of Islam and the pessimistic, anti-progressive beliefs that lie at the heart of Qutb's teachings, but it is essential to realise that there is no inherent link between these ideas and terrorism. There are worrying signs that journalists are confusing the murderous beliefs of a genuinely destructive minority with the political ideas of a much wider movement. By lumping Islamism into a frightening, violent, anti-western movement led by the "preachers of hate", they risk exaggerating and distorting the threat yet again.

Qutb's teachings speak for themselves, and they do indeed incite terrorism. I'm sure that al-Zawahri and bin-Laden would disagree with your synopsis. As for the "preachers of hate", have you ever heard a sermon from a mosque in Damascus, Jerusalem, Mecca, Cairo or Teheran?

Coulter Denied Free Speech

The Arizona Daily Star is dropping Ann Coulter's syndicated column:

In a column announcing a wide range of changes in the paper's opinion pages Monday, Editor and Publlisher (sic--you'd at least think a site named Editor and Publisher would use the former before sending it to the latter--Scott) David Stoeffler revealed that the paper was dropping Coulter's syndicated column.

"Many readers find her shrill, bombastic, and mean-spirited. And those are the words used by readers who identified themselves as conservatives," the recently appointed Stoeffler wrote.

Coulter may be shrill, but people like Mr. Stoeffler are generally known as "pussies" where I come from. I wouldn't shed a tear for Ann, she generates more revenue from books than Stoeffler does from his paper (which is right up there [link in PDF] with those other Pulitzer winning rags the Morning Call in Allentown, PA and the Post-Standard in Syracuse, NY) . Editor and Publisher has talked of Ann before and it seems that this is another stunt to generate some interest in a sorry, sinking tabloid.

Update: Is MoDo not shrill? Helen Thomas?

Please Don't Dominate the Rap, Jack

Rappers are a curious breed. With the violence, misogyny and hate they spew, it's surprising that more rappers aren't involved in incidents such as the shooting of Marion "Suge" Knight.

The police, however, are having a hard time getting the witnesses to speak up:

A police report described the man who shot Knight in the leg Saturday at a party held in conjunction with the MTV Video Music Awards as black and wearing a pink shirt.

Miami Beach police spokesman Bobby Hernandez did not return a call Monday from The Associated Press, but he told The Miami Herald that the investigation was being hampered by witnesses' unwillingness to talk.

"We don't have any physical description. We don't know how many subjects were involved, which is mind boggling, with all those people around," Hernandez told the newspaper.

Yeah, it sure is "mind boggling." All those partying folks around and no one saw a damn thing.

"It's disturbing that someone can let off six shots in a packed club and can escape without being arrested," said Elliott Wilson, editor in chief of the rap magazine XXL. "The hip-hop community doesn't trust the police to confide info to them, and in turn the police have done little to make us feel like they give a damn about our safety. It's a vicious cycle."

The police are to blame, okay, I get it now. It seems as though you would've been alot safer by not attending a party with a roomful of rappers and their collective posse's, especially if the bullet magnet Suge was around.

At the awards ceremony Sunday night, one rap star downplayed the shooting.

"I don't think that what happened was any different than at any other event where you have a lot of people," said David Banner. "It's tragic that it happened and that the media magnified this so much."

You know, I haven't been to a party where someone was shot in at least three whole weeks. It's normal, you know? BTW, what kind of rapper is named David Banner? His street cred must be low, and the fact that the media played up a shooting is the tragic part, but the fact that a dude walked into a party with a gun, walked up to Suge Knight and popped a cap in him is not at all tragic.

Another thought, where was Suge's posse? You know the guy has to have some type of body guards and this idiot still got close enough to put a slug in his wheel.

RINO Roundup Posted

The latest installment of the Carnival of the RINO's is up at Big Cat Chronicles. Go read the excellence of the RINOsphere.

Katrina Krashes

It seems that New Orleans escaped the brunt of Hurricane Katrina (although they still got walloped). Alabama seems to have been hit the hardest.

Links to coverage at Terry Teachout, Wizbang! and a local TV station with the ominous blog entry:

4:26 p.m.: Do Not Come Home Until Further NoticeJefferson Parish officials are reminding residents that they are not to come back to southeast Louisiana until further notice. Many of the roads are underwater and conditions are extremely dangerous. Officials will probably not be able to make an assessment until at least Tuesday. -- WDSU.com Web Staff

Say a prayer for those effected if you are so inclined. If not, think a good thought for them.

The Racism of the Anti War Left

Here's an excellent essay by Jim Forsyth at WOAI:

By holding this sign, I presume they would favor that the Iraq war end the same way the war in Vietnam ended. I also presume that this means they would not oppose the same fate for the people of Iraq that befell the people of Vietnam and Cambodia after the end of US involvement there, which was one of the more horrible in the sorry annals of twentieth century tyranny. But in 1975, we were told by the anti war crowd that, after all, they were only Asians, they probably couldn't understand democracy anyway, and knew it wouldn't work 'for them.' Its sad to see the same attitude repeated today, that its not worth the blood of white Americans like Casey Sheehan to win freedom and democracy for 'those people,' in this case, brown skinned Arab Muslims.

They feel the same way about blacks in this country. They are not capable of competing with the rest of the country so quota's must be implemented. The bigotry of the left is astounding.

The Looney Right

The vile Rev. Fred Phelps and his band of scumbags are at it again:

SMYRNA, Tenn. (AP) - Members of a church say God is punishing American soldiers for defending a country that harbors gays, and they brought their anti-gay message to the funerals Saturday of two Tennessee soldiers killed in Iraq.

...The Rev. Fred Phelps, founder of Westboro Baptist in Kansas, contends that American soldiers are being killed in Iraq as vengeance from God for protecting a country that harbors gays. The church, which is not affiliated with a larger denomination, is made up mostly of Phelps' children, grandchildren and in-laws.

The church members carried signs and shouted things such as "God hates fags" and "God hates you."

About 10 church members protested near Smyrna United Methodist Church and nearly 20 stood outside the National Guard Armory in Ashland City. Members have demonstrated at other soldier funerals across the nation.

Unfortunately, being that America is the land of free speech, there are very few options for stopping this outrage.

The way they are referred to, this band of roving psycho's is portrayed by the MSM as legitimate and will be used to portray us on the right as sharing their evil thoughts.

That is why the Bush administration and the Republican party must appeal to the more mainstream, secular supporters. Especially now with Pat Robertson and others spouting stupid rhetoric. These "men of the bible" have nothing to do with Bush or his administration but are lumped in by association.

It's time we make abundantly clear that the Fred Phelps and the other fringe-rights groups are not part of what we believe. This is one thing the left has not done, they've grabbed the far-left groups and welcomed them in with open arms.

Vacation Hangover

I'm back froma week on the beach. While I get the sand out...well everything we brought, here's a list of some good links until I get back in post mode.

Dave Justus on NoKo, Iran and carrots and sticks.

Kesher Talk is up and running with numerous good posts.

Chrenkoff on Sheehanoia and the kooks about to converge on Texas. More on the loonies coming out from under their respective rocks in the Canada Free Press.

Florida Cracker has the low down on a sorry, sorry hoax playing out in Illinois.

More from me later.

Gone Fishin'

As I write this, I am sitting at a condo, one block from the beach in Ocean City, NJ. I plan on reading about five books while sitting on the beach drinking Coor's Lights and boogie boarding. Posting will be sporadic, if at all and will most likely happen in the evening hours.

See ya Sunday.

Dribs and Drabs

Links from around the Web.

The Insta-Wife takes a step forward and that's great news.

Katinula has an excellent post about pay-to-play and more Dem shenanigans that fits nicely with my previous post. For the record, Dems are not the only ones who are committing crimes, it just happens to be they are the ones in charge in NJ. The Republicans of Ohio are taking a similar beating.

Ken Wheaton on the media's propensity to label soldiers children.

Shocking, shocking news: UN elections chief charged with breaking rules.

Robert Mugabe still does not get it.

Update: Exactly, although they'll never get it. Useful idiots is the term as I recall.

New Jersey Politics

Gay Patriot has news from my home state about some funny business with Homeland Security funds:

This evening, I can report exclusively that this scandal will result in impeachment proceedings against NJ State Attorney General Peter Harvey, perhaps as early as Thursday.

Sources in NJ tell GayPatriot that the AG will be accused of misappropriation of homeland security funds in a time of war. Recent news reports have revealed that Harvey’s office determined where the funding went.

Keep watching for more developments as NJ Democrats are revealed for the true anti-American partisans that they are.

New Jersey is the bluest of the blue states and has been for a long time. Sure, Christie Whitman and Tom Kean were recent governors, but the real politics takes place on the county level, which essentially is run by the Democrats. Like neighboring Philly, they've been entrenched and are involved in the shadiest of shady deal with relative impunity.

Hopefully that's beginning to change.

Amazing

Mini Pundit, whom I've had many disagreements, says this:

By the way, the reason we haven't been attacked since 2001 is because, quite frankly, 9/11 was a fluke. Terrorism just isn't a major threat to the U.S.

He points to a piece in Reason that has been debunked numerous times. You may notice that this may well be the new line of the left now that Clinton is the appearing to be the main culprit.

Do you believe that if we are the victims of an attack tomorrow that this guy wouldn't be the first to blame Bush?

How can that statement be made with a straight face? I can only point the poor misguided lad to this post.

T.O. Returns

Len Pasquarelli on T.O's return to the Eagles today:

Philadelphia brass remains hopeful that Owens, in time, will regain his passion for the game. And, sure, Sunday afternoons at 1 p.m. evoke a ton more emotion than Wednesday mornings at 9. But if his first practice back was any kind of indicator, Owens will go through the 2005 season with little rise in his pulse rate. That isn't to suggest Owens won't play hard -- or that, at some point, his well-documented personal pride won't kick into overdrive -- but rather that his pursuit of a championship is more about delivering a Super Bowl ring to his finger than securing a Vince Lombardi Trophy for the throaty fans of the city where he works.

He will try to be a productive pariah because, let's face it, that is now his lot in life.

No problem with me. If Owens shows up every week and plays without any distractions, I'll be happy to see the guy off next year for a nice draft pick or trade. $200K per game is serious scratch to lose and Owen's damn well nows it.

Able Danger Latest

The Able Danger story just isn't going away and the editors at the NY Times know this is a significant story:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 - A military intelligence team repeatedly contacted the F.B.I. in 2000 to warn about the existence of an American-based terrorist cell that included the ringleader of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a veteran Army intelligence officer who said he had now decided to risk his career by discussing the information publicly. The officer, Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, said military lawyers later blocked the team from sharing any of its information with the F.B.I.

Colonel Shaffer said in an interview that the small, highly classified intelligence program known as Able Danger had identified by name the terrorist ringleader, Mohammed Atta, as well three of the other future hijackers by mid-2000, and had tried to arrange a meeting that summer with agents of the F.B.I.'s Washington field office to share the information.

But he said military lawyers forced members of the intelligence program to cancel three scheduled meetings with the F.B.I. at the last minute, which left the bureau without information that Colonel Shaffer said might have led to Mr. Atta and the other terrorists while the Sept. 11 plot was still being planned.

Over to you former Secretary Cohen.

The wall that Jamie Gorelick constructed between agencies and the overall tone set by the Clinton administration allowed something like this to occur.

Mary Jo White should be commended for at least attempting to end this dangerous policy. Too bad Gorelick didn't listen.

Update: The looney's all went nuts when a whisper, never proven, of conspiracy about what Bush knew and when he knew it concerning 9/11 and his (alleged) attempts to cover it up until after the election. With the new info on Able Danger, will they slam Clinton, Allbright, Cohen, Berger and the the like? Don't hold your breath.

Lileks on Sheehan

James Lileks tackles the Sheehan kerfuffle:

Just for the record, then: She has the right to her opinions, she certainly has the right to her grief, and she has the right to say provocative things. She even has the right to ask for a second conference with the president in order to accuse him of killing her son. This is not about that. No one is suggesting she be stripped of the First Amendment and forced to sing patriotic Irving Berlin tunes.

Now that the preambles are done, a question: Is anything she says subject to criticism at all?

Your first response might be a wince and a shrug: Who are we to judge, the woman's clearly in pain, best to leave it be, please change the channel. But if she wants to be a spokesman for the anti-war cause, is it beyond the pale to examine her remarks? If she blames the war on, say, Zionist fiends, ought not one wonder why the anti-war crowd seems deaf or indifferent to the loathsome underpinnings of her remarks? Perhaps they agree with her when she says this is a war for Israel. David Duke certainly does.

I feel for Mrs. Sheehan, I really do. This woman will never hug her son again.

That said, he joined the military of his own free will, he was not drafted. He joined for the reasons that so many others have, the responsibility he felt was his to defend freedom and fight tyranny. That's why I joined and that's why 90% of the others who served took that oath.

No one held a gun to my head and made swear allegiance and promise to protect against all enemies. Perhaps Mrs. Sheehan should take a step back and realize that she's a pawn in a sick political game. She is being manipulated in a way that would probably cause her son to feel embarrassment. I know I would if it were my mother.

India Will Take Over the World

With thinking like this, the Indian's will be the worlds ruling democracy before long:

AN Indian firm has launched a vitamin-rich beer which it says protects the body from the harmful effects of alcohol, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

Ladybird Bio Beer contains aloe-vera extracts as well as the normal ingredients of barley malt and hops, said its inventor B. Srinivas Amarnath.

He said research showed that it did not harm the liver or cause ulcers and gastric illness.

If it tastes good and gives you a buzz, it's sure to be a hit. This guy could've used it.

Nannystate Inanity

POV has a post on a proposed smoking ban within 25 feet of public places in Louisiana:

First off, are we really ready to spend police resources toward enforcing laws like this? Of course not, and the Baton Rouge city council admits as such. So why pass a law that can't be enforced? To pander to the health & safety hyper-activists who'll soon convince us to wrap our children in plastic bubbles lest they pick up Ebola in the public park, which will at least be smoke free. To me its the same as passing gun laws - everybody feels better despite actual results or the ability to effectively enforce the law.

Second, per councilwoman Burgess' statement: "You can smoke -- with limitations. You can drink -- with limitations. You just can't go wild", what exactly is going wild? If I'm 25 feet away from a "public" place (and when wouldn't I be) would I be a law abiding, upstanding citizen with a poor choice of habits? Apparently so, but 24 feet away and I'm a crazed chain smoker exhaling my carcinogens on every man, woman, child and pet I can attack in my tobacco fueled carcinogenic law breaking bender. Bar the doors and close the shutters, we got a smoker in town!

Nice screed, Scott.

The Words Arianna Comforts Herself With

The HuffPo is dreaming again. They link to a Vanity Fair article and title the post:

Vanity Fair's Wolff On Plamegate: It's The "Biggest Story Of Our Age"...

Wow. Bigger than 9/11, Clinton impeachment, the Iraq war, the Afghanistan war, al-Qaeda and the myriad other things that are millions of times more important?

How deluded does one have to be to even begin to believe this garbage? The Rove story is gone, just like the summer will soon be.

Jerry

For no other reason than I just listened to a great Estimated Prophet.

Feminism Laid Bare

I guess the feminists will attack me for the title alone.

Here is feminism in one paragraph at Pandagon:

That said, this is a particular sore spot, because feminists know all too well that our appearance is scrutinized to death and then our enemies make proclaimations (sic) that all our motivations can be correctly assessed by our appearance. I've been told by countless people that I wouldn't be a feminist if I weren't ugly and when they find out I'm not, many of them will flip around and claim I only "get away" with having feminist politics because men indulge me because of my looks. That kind of crap can really scare you off the entire topic of examining how women present themselves and what that might mean. And that's what Malkin is capitalizing on, sadly with an audience that mostly thinks, "Feminists are too ugly to get a man" is an actual argument.

The entire feminism debate is a joke in 2005, as it was in 1975. You have all the rights that men have, and thanks to the feminist movement you actually have more.

In the business world, I don't give a damn if you are good looking or not. I have only one question: will you be able to help me make money? That's all I give a damn about. I'm a dirty Capitalist. More:

That said, on Ring of Fire on Air America yesterday, the (sic, again) took a look at conservative female pundits, with Rachel Maddow as a guest, and Rachel convinced me that there is a legitimate purpose to examining the way that female pundits present themselves without being sexist or shallow. Of course, most of the examples that Malkin links to are both, but I have little doubt that she is trying to lump all critical looks at her and other conservative women's self-presentation together so they can continue to use their looks to their advantage without being called out for it.

I can't comment on the conversation because Air Scamerica is broadcast on, like three stations and none of them are in south Texas. This brings up an interesting point; if a guy stole near $800,000 from Alzheimer's patients and kids, you'd at least think he could get it on the air in small cities like San Antonio.

Anyway, this is an inane post and serves no other purpose than to take a few cheap shots at Coulter and Malkin, the favorite lefty whipping girls who do nothing other than beat you all with logic and intelligence. Here's an example with the last paragraph:

Maddow described the way that Ann Coulter presents herself as drag. Maddow was exactly right--Coulter is female, but she is still play-acting at being female much like a drag queen does. But her goals are completely different. A drag queen does that for fun, for play, and in part to sort of fuck with gender roles. Coulter does it for essentially wicked reasons--to reinforce gender roles, to exaggerate them and to trap other women with them. It's not bad to comment on costumery in and of itself, it's just bad when you do it to hurt someone who is just being him/herself and not harming anyone else. But female conservative pundits wear these costumes with the end goal of quite a bit of harm, so I don't see the problem with criticizing them for that.

Does that even warrant a response? I surely hope not.

Links and Such

Smash says "We need more Dirt Sailors." Indeed we do buddy, indeed we do.

Perspective from Joe.

Mark Steyn for no other reason thatn he's the best.

More on the Drug War...sort of.

Update: Jeff Goldstein channels Neil Young.

Yeah I Noticed, Thanks For Bringing It Up Though

Dan at Searchlight asks if anyone noticed that there's been a spate of plane crashers lately. Yes Dan, as a matter of fact I have. I flew on Sunday and fly again in a few days. Your post has put me in a nice, calm state.

People are People

I've traveling alot lately, too much for me because I'm a homebody and really miss my wife and kids. That said, I find it amazing how everywhere you go, people are...what's the word I'm looking for--good. That's it. People are just good people.

I've just returned from dinner at the local Chilis, good fare for a good price if you ask me. I don't put on any airs, I am a small business owner, unless I'm entertaining a client, I'm happy eating fajitas or a burger.

I spent the last hour talking with a girl who was the bartender and a guy pounding beers on a gift card his boss gave him. The bartender talked about seeing System of a Down and the Mars Volta at the local SBC Center arena. Me, her and the dude pounding beers debated what System album was the best. Useless banter with the locals.

This is a town that has a really heavy Mexican influence and I imagine that both these people could speak fluent Spanish. They accepted me and the joking got more intense as they were Cowboy fans and I enlightened them about the NFC champion Eagles.

It was the quintessential American moment and shows what a truly unique place America really is.

An Intriguing Idea

Cal Thomas thinks Bush should meet with Sheehan:

Here's the reason he should meet with her, but not alone. Other relatives of dead and wounded soldiers and some of the soldiers, themselves, should be included. He might also invite a few Iraqis who support the effort to free a people long held in bondage by Saddam Hussein and who face new bondage under the totalitarian dictatorship of Islamofacism if this effort fails.

The president should hold the meeting in a public place. Let the criticism flow, but let Iraqi women tell their stories about rape and torture at the hands of Saddam's now-dead sons. Allow Iraqi men to tell about life under Saddam and how grateful they are that he is gone. Wounded soldiers and families of the dead would speak in support of the war effort. Members of Sheehan's own family could come. They posted a letter on the Drudge Web site in support of the president.

Perhaps they can invite Mohammed.

Someone with sanity has spoken at the Huffington Post. Greg Gutfeld says the Sheehan saga is not about anything to the left except the "Brody slap".

Hat tip: The Recovering Democrat

Good News From Iraq

Arthur Chrenkoff has compiled his latest installment of under reported good news from the Iraqi theater. You can read it at his site, WOC or Opinion Journal.

Arthur puts alot of time and energy into this series (this is part 53), please take the time and read what you may be missing.

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Badges

Trey Jackson has one of the better sites on the web. I borrowed this from a link at her site and am proud to display it.

News and Notes

Links from around the blogosphere.

Kannafoot on the failure of the Iraqi's to forge their constitution. A very good blog BTW.

Here's an interesting site I've never read until today.

The Rottie has some thoughts on the Sheehan situation.

A shirt that I just have to buy.

Mindless idiocy from Minipundit.

A Great Reason For Hydrogen Celled Cars

I'm a firm believer that W. should be pushing really hard for alternate fuels. Set a timetable of ten years to produce a practical hydrogen-fueled vehicle that will change the way we travel in America.

I know that the oil industry will bitch and moan, but eventually they'll adapt, just as other industries did when circumstances warranted.

Here's another great reason:

Oil exports to the US could stop amid growing tensions between the two countries, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said.

He described recent US government actions as "aggressive" in a speech at a youth festival in Caracas.

As a result, Venezuelan oil "instead of going to the United States, could go elsewhere," he said.

Venezuela exports about 1.3 million barrels a day to the US and is the world's fifth largest oil producer.

The brief goes into the issue of drug trafficking and the Venezuelan complicity. I honestly couldn't care less about the drug situation. Chavez will stir up major radicalism in our hemisphere. That is why we should be concerned.

It's time for the US to procure more oil from the mideast in the very short term to show Chavez the power we have over him and his economy, and get serious about alternate fuel sources in the long term.

Hitchens on Sheehan

Christopher Hitchens is never subtle. A man who wrote a book about the bad that Mother Theresa did titled The Missionary Position is a man who doesn't care about the mean words that fly at him. He has his usual biting take on current events with this piece on Cindy Sheehan:

I am at a complete loss to see how these two positions can be made compatible. Sheehan has obviously taken a short course in the Michael Moore/Ramsey Clark school of Iraq analysis and has not succeeded in making it one atom more elegant or persuasive. I dare say that her "moral authority" to do this is indeed absolute, if we agree for a moment on the weird idea that moral authority is required to adopt overtly political positions, but then so is my "moral" right to say that she is spouting sinister piffle. Suppose I had lost a child in this war. Would any of my critics say that this gave me any extra authority? I certainly would not ask or expect them to do so. Why, then, should anyone grant them such a privilege?

Sheehan has met the president before and has favored us with two accounts of the meeting, one fairly warm and the other distinctly cold. I have no means of knowing which mood reflected her real state of mind, but she now thinks she is owed another session with him, presumably in order to tell him what she asserted to the Nightline team. In pursuit of this, she has set up camp near Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, and announced that she will not leave until she gets some more face-time with our chief executive. This qualifies her to be described by Dowd as "a 48-year-old Californian with a knack for P.R." Well, I think I have to concede that if Dowd says you have a knack for PR, you have acquired one even if you didn't have one before. (I am not entirely certain, for example, that the above letter to ABC News would count as a delicate illustration of the said "knack.")

Read it all, as they say. I have nothing to add.

Kelo and the Left

A good article by blogger Matt Welch in the LA Times:

The project would displace, among other businesses, the Bernard Luggage store, which has stuck by the neighborhood through thick and mostly thin over the last 55 years. According to City News Service, at a City Council meeting Garcetti said the city would not use its powers of eminent domain to force property owners to sell, unless the developers were unable to reach a deal with the landowners. In other words, the government won't take your property unless you refuse to sell. How comforting.

In California, private-property eminent domain transfers must be conducted under the legal cover of "blight," which has come to mean "prime real estate in a rapidly gentrifying area."

In downtown Alhambra, where city officials have been jealously eyeing the success of old towns in Pasadena and Monrovia, the "blight" includes the Museum of Contemporary Arab Art and 60 other businesses. All stand in the way of proposed luxury condos and up-market shops. Similar stories are percolating in places as diverse as Palmdale, La Puente and Newhall.California City, in the Mojave Desert near Edwards Air Force Base, came up with a novel interpretation of blight to separate a landowner from some real estate coveted by Hyundai — it declared a patch of unused desert as "blighted." So where is that Democratic Party concern for the "little guy" we've heard so much about? Subsumed by paranoia about the right. "The Kelo backlash is tempting, but it's wrong," warned Alyssa Katz in American Prospect Online. "In seeking to limit public power over urban planning, well-meaning community activists are lending strength to [the] conservative movement."

I know Matt probably hates being known as a blogger, but he is.

Never Underestimate Human Ingenuity

This has got to me my favorite story of the day:

The first urine-powered paper battery has been created by physicists in Singapore. The credit-card sized unit could be a useful power source for cheap healthcare test kits for diseases like diabetes, and could even be used in emergency situations to power a cellphone, they say.
Testing urine can reveal the identity of illnesses, and the new paper battery could allow the sample being tested to also power the diagnostic device.

“We are striving to develop cheap, disposable credit-card sized biochips for disease detection,” says Ki Bang Lee, at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore. “Our battery can be easily integrated into such devices, supplying electricity on contact with biofluids such as urine or blood.”

You have to love the fact that someone saw potential in using urine to power anything.

Hiroshima Redux

I found a good quote that is timely being the recent thoughts expressed about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki:

"If we fight a war and win it with H-bombs, what history will remember is not the ideals we were fighting for but the methods we used to accomplish them. These methods will be compared to the warfare of Genghis Khan who ruthlessly killed every last inhabitant of Persia."-- Hans Albrecht Bethe (b. 1906)

The State of Radio

Let's be honest with one another, broadcast radio pretty much sucks. I have a friend who is a DJ on local rock station. He is forced to play a list of music that must grate on him daily. DJ's today have no input into what they play with the exception of specialty shows such as this one.

There's talk in Philly that once Howard Stern--a staple of rock radio morning programming--goes satellite, this station may switch formats as has happened previously. Perhaps even KRock in NYC will switch.

The vast wasteland that is over the air radio (at least on the FM side) will be reduced to Top-40, R & B and Rap.

The Commissar posts about just this at his site and at Enrevanche.

RINO Roundup

The official Carnival of the RINO's is up tomorrow. Since I didn't get my post in, I've decided to round up some great RINO posts.

I-magery has a post explaining the difference between the original RINO's (Republicans in name only), Neo-Cons and Paleo-Cons.

Argghhh! links to a site that is created for a great cause. Project Valour will equip our injured servicemen with voice actuated computer technology. What a great idea.

Eric at Classical Values has thoughts on the unwinnable Drug War. I say unwinnable as it it currently being "fought".

Kevin has thoughts on protectionist policies in Louisiana with regard to catfish sales.

Dave Justus has thoughts on the continuing Cindy Sheehan saga.

POV on the latest events in the "struggle" to prevent Iran from acquiring nukes.

Phillies Rolling

The resurgent Phillies have won 5 out of 6 on the west coast (sweeping the Padres again) and now return home to face the Nationals in a crucial series.

They have gained on the Braves in the division and are pressing the Astros for the wild card lead.

They've gotten great pitching from Robinson Tejeda and Brett Myers and Ryan Howard is making fans say "Jim who?"

We'll revisit this topic after the Nats series.

Iraqi Insurgents and Chemical Weapons

Tigerhawk--who I should link to more--has a report on a chemical weapons manufacturing facility uncovered in Iraq:

One is almost forced to wonder where the insurgents got the equipment and expertise to build a chemical production facility. We eagerly await news of the chemicals that were being produced there.

What the Biggest Story Should Be

August is known as a month that no news is made, it's manufactured. Hence we have the Sheehan non-story. The media and the left side of the blogosphere is so into this story that an astounding number of posts at Arianna's site are slamming Bush. The MSM is covering this story with as much vigor as they are using to ignore the Air Scamerica scandal.

But that begs the question, why would the media cover the Sheehan story and ignore what is one of the bigger news stories of the year--the non-inclusion of information that Mohammed Atta was identified in 1999 and the committee knew about it but chose to not include it in the final report? I know why, that was a rhetorical question.

Mark Steyn sums it up succinctly:

How'd that happen? Well, as Felzenberg says so disarmingly, "this information was not meshing with the other information.'' As a glimpse into the mindset of the commission, that's astonishing. Sept. 11 happened, in part, because the various federal bureaucracies involved were unable to process information that didn't "mesh" with conventional wisdom. Now we find that the official commission intended to identify those problems and ensure they don't recur is, in fact, guilty of the very same fatal flaw. The new information didn't "mesh" with the old
information, so they disregarded it.

Of course you must read the whole thing.

John Podhoretz doesn't agree.

Road Blogging

On the road again, this time in San Antonio. It's hot here too. If anyone says "it's a dry heat" I'm gonna crack them upside the dome.

I Can't Possibly Top This

I've wondered how to approach this whole Cindy Sheehan situation. I decided to take the cowards way out (actually I didn't, I'm too damn busy to post let alone think about what to post) and pretty much mute my opinion. Some didn't and Jeff comments on Redstate, Atrios and others. A truly brilliant post.

Summing Up The T.O. Situation In Pictures

Last year, the Philadelphia Eagle signed this man to a contract for 7 years and $49-million.






Eagles fans were gleeful and a great happiness settled throughout the city of brotherly love. He got along with his quarterback and all was right with the world.





Then came the off season and T.O. began complaining that his contract wasn't enough. He began saying mean things about the good quarterback. He had this evil man whispering despicable things in his ear and T.O believed him.


This man is known as one who is not to be trifled with and has proven he abhors dissent. He suspended T.O. when T.O told him to "shut up".





This man finds himself in the spotlight because T.O. feels the need to smack him.








T.O. is now being booed by people like this and it will not stop until he's gone or quiet. These are not very nice people, I know because I happen to be one of them.



T.O. seems to be more suited to this team of losers.




Update:

Donovan--doing his best Hannibal Lecter imitation--tells T.O. "keep my name out of your mouth."

















More to come as the story progresses.

French Economy in Tailspin

France has had some serious economic issues in the last several years. There was optimism that they were starting to edge their way out of it. Alas, they're sinking deeper:

The French economy fared worse than expected in the second quarter of 2005, growing just 0.1 percent, the official statistics agency Insee said Friday.

Economists had forecast growth of 0.3 percent for France's gross domestic product for the second quarter.

The result means the French economy is not growing fast enough to deliver the government's annual growth target for this year of close to 2 percent of GDP. It also means France is lagging behind other nations using the euro.

The growth estimate came a day after the European Union's official statistics agency Eurostat said that euro zone GDP grew 0.3 percent in the same period.

This is even more telling:

Flagging consumer spending, however, which has been inhibited by a loss of confidence amid consistently high unemployment, remains the main cause for France's slowing GDP growth and is a key reason for concern in coming months.

The high unemployment puts a heavy burden on the liberal social policies that are a trademark of the nation. Here's (link in PDF) a dated, yet good report on British and French policies with regard to unemployment.

While the ASA did not survive the worsening of the economic climate in the late 1970s, benefits for the French unemployed do seem to have remained considerably more generous than those of
their British counterparts, in terms of both their level and their duration.

In 1997, the median replacement rate of unemployment benefits in France was 56% of previous income, while the equivalent figure for the flat-rate British benefits can be calculated at around 25%. While benefits under the JSA regime are paid without a means-test for a maximum of 6 months in Britain, the duration of benefit entitlement can be as high as 5 years in France, notably for the older unemployed (Holcman, 1997:45).

56% of a citizens base pay for a period of five years is a significant onus placed on the government. The incentive to create jobs or to seek new employment is severely limited.

'Round the Blogosphere

Quick hits and blogger comments:

John Cole on ineffective eyewitnesses and other yhoughts.

Chicago John has a good post about Cindy Sheehan. More at Fred Fry.

Maobi has a post about Palestinian attempts to build a large sandwich and a story about fairies, cowherds and clothing theft.

It's White Trash Wednesday...at least it was yesterday. Nothing like a slam on the loser of all losers, Axl Rose.

Libertarians are sounding more like conservatives than Conservatives.

Shameless Scumbags Soak State

Pennsylvania state lawmakers skirted the law and voted themselves a large pay raise:

Public outrage over a hefty pay raise Pennsylvania lawmakers voted themselves a month ago -- in the dead of night -- has nagged them throughout their summer vacation and shows no signs of going away.

Not only did legislators increase their salaries 16 percent to 34 percent to at least $81,050 -- more than any state except California -- they crafted the package in secret without debate or public scrutiny, then left town.

Even more galling to Pennsylvanians, lawmakers found a way around a constitutional provision barring them from collecting any salary increase during the term in which it is approved. The pay raise bill -- based on the authority of a court ruling nearly two decades old -- lets lawmakers start collecting the raises 16 months early.

The public is rightfully pissed and one voter in particular sent an e-mail explaining his views. The replies were not what he expected:

Bill McIntyre did not expect many replies when he e-mailed a tongue-in-cheek greeting to members of the state General Assembly on the one-month anniversary of the vote to give themselves a raise.

"I thought they would just ignore it," McIntyre said.
About a half-dozen replied.

One suggested he walk a mile in their shoes and run for office. Another asked if McIntyre had ever supported a legislative pay raise. Still another sent a two-page letter explaining why he voted for the raise.

Then there was the reply from Democratic Senate leader Robert J. Mellow, D-Lackawanna: "Why don't you get a life? Please do not mail my office another e-mail."

The Patriot-News examined the e-mails on McIntyre's computer. While there was no way to verify the author of the messages, the "from" line in the messages read "Senator Robert Mellow" and carried his e-mail address.

Nice reply Senator. What a dirt bag.

Give a Little Bit

Chris Muir, the excellent artist who draws the Day by Day strip is asking for some easy assistance. Help him out and Clik 4 Cathy.

The MSM Wakes UP

When the 9/11 Commission was interviewing and investigating, the media and the left side of the Internet and blogosphere got all worked up about a Personal Daily Briefing concerning bin-Laden:

The PDB article did not warn of the 9/11 attacks," the White House said in a statement released Saturday night. "Although the PDB referred to the possibility of hijackings, it did not discuss the possible use of planes as weapons."

The memo, titled "Bin Laden determined to attack inside the U.S.," had been described by the White House as a largely historical document with scant information about domestic al Qaeda threats.

The memo includes intelligence on al Qaeda threats as recent as three months before the attacks.

That PDB mentioned bin-Laden and hijackings, that was pretty much the gist of it.

Well, it turns out that there's alot more to this story, it may involve lies and stolen documents that will further erode what's left of the Clinton legacy. With the investigation into 9/11 about to restart and the information being held back from the commission finally coming to light.

WASHINGTON - The Sept. 11 commission knew military intelligence officials had identified lead hijacker Mohamed Atta as a member of al-Qaida who might be part of U.S.-based terror cell more than a year before the terror attacks but decided not to include that in its final report, a spokesman acknowledged Thursday.

Al Felzenberg, spokesman for the commission's follow-up project called the 9/11 Public Discourse Project, had said earlier this week that the panel was unaware of intelligence specifically naming Atta. But he said subsequent information provided Wednesday confirmed that the commission had been aware of the intelligence.

The information did not make it into the final report because it was not consistent with what the commission knew about Atta's whereabouts before the attacks, Felzenberg said.

Commission member Jamie Gorelick was the genius behind a Clinton administration policy that may have allowed Atta to continue his plans to hijack aircraft and fly them into the WTC and Pentagon as well as a failed attempt at the White House or Capitol:

On April 16, 2004, a Washington Times’ editorial questioned the presence of Jamie Gorelick on the Sept. 11 Commission investigating the worst terrorist attack against the United States in history. It was Gorelick who was “personally responsible for instituting a key obstacle [the so-called 'wall of separation memo'] to cooperation between law enforcement and intelligence operations before the terrorist attacks” and the Times editorial held that her presence on the Commission “raises disturbing questions about the integrity of the commission itself. Ms. Gorelick should not be cross-examining witnesses; instead, she should be required to testify about her own behavior under oath.”

...So, a year before the 9/11 attacks, a special unit in the U.S. military was aware of the presence of an al-Queda cell in Brooklyn, New York, and sought to share its information with the FBI but was stopped cold. Why? Because (as described in the April 16, 2004 Washington Times piece) “on March 4, 1995, [Jamie Gorelick, the then number 2 official in the Clinton Justice Department, sent a 4-page directive] to FBI Director Louis Freeh and Mary Jo White, the New York-based U.S. attorney investigating the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. In the memo, Ms. Gorelick ordered Mr. Freeh and Ms. White to follow information-sharing procedures that ‘go beyond what is legally required,’ in order to avoid ‘any risk of creating an unwarranted appearance’ that the Justice Department was using Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants, instead of ordinary criminal investigative procedures, in an effort to undermine the civil liberties of terrorism suspects.”

So now we have a he said-she said with the timing of the information and who received what prior to releasing the report.

Meanwhile, Sandy Berger was caught with his pants up and stuff with documents that have not been fully recovered. What information was contained in those documents Mr. Berger, and why did you steal them?

Capt. Ed has more.

Update (8/12): A very comprehensive timeline here.

Hazardous Waste Fire in Michigan

The Environmental Quality company averted catastrophe at their Romulus, MI solvent recovery plant. It seems that solvent recovery tanks, probably acetone and other non-halogenated solvents, caught fire and exploded. Luckily, no employees seemed to have been injured and only several cases of irritation appear evident in the population surrounding the facility.

Some incredible video here.

I've worked with EQ on numerous occassions and know they are a very safety-conscious company. I will comment further as more info becomes available.

Many people ask what I do for a living. Mainly, I train employees and facility personnel at plants like this to avoid this type of disaster.

Update: The facility is located in what appears to be an industrial area that does have some residential. It's also quite close to the airport.

More here (with a picture showing the awesome destruction that a fire can cause) and the most updated info can be found here.

The EPA gave fire fighters permission to battle the blaze and it now appears to be mostly contained.

Mohammed Atta and Berger's Pants

Congressman Curt Weldon has ignited a firestorm with revelations that the Clinton adminstration knew of an al-Qaeda cell in 1999. An excerpt:

Hamilton said members of the commission could issue a statement by the end of the week after reviewing claims that more than a year before the 2001 attacks defense intelligence officials had identified ringleader Mohammed Atta (search) and three other hijackers who were inside the United States.

"The Sept. 11 commission (search) did not learn of any U.S. government knowledge prior to 9/11 of surveillance of Mohammed Atta or of his cell," said Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana. "Had we learned of it obviously it would've been a major focus of our investigation."

Hamilton's remarks Tuesday came after the findings of Rep. Curt Weldon (search), a Pennsylvania Republican who serves as vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, made front-page news.

In June, Weldon displayed charts on the floor of the U.S. Senate showing that a classified military intelligence unit known as "Able Danger (search)" identified the men in 1999. That unit repeatedly asked for the information to be forwarded to the FBI but apparently to no avail. Various news outlets picked up on the story this week.
Weldon told FOX News on Wednesday that staff members of the Sept. 11 commission were briefed at least once by officials with Able Danger but that he does not believe the message was sent to the commissioners themselves. He also said some phone calls made by military officials with Able Danger to the commission staff went unreturned.

"Why weren't they briefed? Was there some deliberate attempt at the staff level of the 9/11 commission to steer the commissioners away of Able Danger because of where it might lead?" Weldon asked. "Why was there no mention of Able Danger?"

Could this be the information that Sandy Berger removed from the National Archive and never returned? I fear we will never know unless the 9/11 Commission reconvenes and pointedly asks Berger just that question.

Other thoughts along this line here and comments also found here.

Why I Wish I Owned an RPG

Just finished the DC to Baltimore to NJ drive and I have to say that Maryland drivers are by far the most irritating in the nation. The left lane is not a passing lane in MD, it's a lane to get in front of Scott and drive the exact same speed as the person in the middle and right lane so Scott can't pass. By the way, just because the guy fifteen car lengths in front of you hits his brakes does not mean you have to hit yours you friggin' jerkoff. Just ease your foot on the gas a bit and that should do the job.

After a couple of days away from home, all I want is for your dumb ass to vacate the space in front of me so I can eventually get there. To all the people who slowed my progress today, I give a hardy F%$K YOU!

**End of rant**

Philly Loser Rails

Fables of the Reconstruction:

South Philly boy who lives with his mother or in the next rowhouse down. Is the 14th highest billing attorney at the Broad and Diamond Sts. Ambulance Chasers, Inc. Goes to South St. to ogle the 16 year olds on Friday night, probably standing outside Jims steaks or fat Tuesday. Still goes to Eagles games wearing a kelly green Mike Mamula jersey and swears that given another year Mamula would've been great. To earn extra money, he sells cotton candy at Citizen's Bank Ballpark but seems to have problems making his drawer balance. During Philly Mardi Gras celebration, always comes home with as many bead necklaces as when he left.

Link via Bill INDC.

Building, Building Everywhere

I'm currently sitting in Washington DC and looking out of the hotel I see a whole lot of building going on. It's the same in every city I visit it seems.

The economy is truly booming and the MSM can't bring themselves to give credit where credit is due. Bush has done a bit of understated crowing crediting the true reason that the economy is up...tax cuts. Some in the MSM choose not to accept this and have stated so without compunction.

This is the oldest argument in American politics, to reduce taxes, thus spurring economic growth and more jobs, or increasing taxes and expanding federal programs.

If history is any harbinger, the tax cut argument easily wins. Think tax cutters such as Kennedy, Reagan and Bush. Now think tax and spenders; Carter and LBJ. The evidence is pretty clear. Tax cuts are progressive to a great extent.

Around the Web

Various article of interest by bloggers and non-bloggers alike:

John Corzine is getting some serious heat over some suspect payments. Too bad the Republicans have the worst candidate available to oppose him.

Dave Justus on evolution and God.

Voluntary Xchange on the Chinese attempt to take over Unocal.

Katinula on the downfall of religion.

Hillary has some competition.

Where's the ACLU When You Need Them

Feminists are rioting in the streets, civil libertarians are outraged and Title IX supporters are calling for a boycott. Uh, not really, this is the acceptable kind of misogyny I guess:

BLACKSBURG - About 60 faculty members from a Saudi Arabian university are taking courses on Virginia Tech's campus this summer. But the program's setup is a bit different than a typical Tech class.

Men and women from King Abdulaziz University are taking identical faculty development courses at Tech, but meet in gender-specific classes. Tech officials said administrators from the Saudi university separated the sexes to mirror classroom settings at their home institution, which operates separate campuses for men and women.

"This is the way they teach their courses over there, and this is the way they wish their courses to be taught over here," said Tech spokesman Larry Hincker. The university chose to respect the Saudi culture "rather than impress our culture on them," he added.

Why is there no outrage? Is it because non-Americans don't deserve the rights of American citizens?

It provides an interesting juxtaposition when you note how outraged the ACLU and other civil rights groups are about Gitmo--being that the detainees are not American citizens and hence don't share the rights of American detainees--but haven't raised an eyebrow about the goings on at Va Tech. More:

Sedki Riad, a professor of electrical engineering and director of the Tech College of Engineering's international programs, said Tech tries to be sensitive to the cultural and religious needs of students and faculty in Blacksburg as well as its partner institutions.

Va Tech is a state-funded institution. They don't mind making concessions for religious and cultural traditions, as long as those concessions are not extended to Christians and Jews. If those groups so much as asked for accommodations on a lesser scale than the Saudi's, the ACLU would have an injunction in place before the first class met.

H/T: James Taranto (fifth item)

The Carnival of the RINO's Is Up

Searchlight Crusade hosts the latest version of the RINO Roundup. Nice work as usual.

Lots of great posts by an excellent cross section of the blogosphere.

A Gathering of Idiots

A gathering of the usual knuckleheads met in rejoiced in their chronic state of losing to the hated George W. Bush:

A featured speaker at Saturday's civil rights march in Atlanta said the Bush administration and Republican Party leaders are "thieves" who "need to be locked up" for stealing the past two presidential elections and presiding over federal budget deficits and the war in Iraq.

"They all need to be locked up because they are all criminals and they are all thieves," said Judge Greg Mathis, the star of the syndicated television program "The Judge Mathis Show."

That of course is the typical rhetoric spewing forth from the mainstream wing of the donkey party. Why were they gathered, you ask?

Mathis made his remarks to an enthusiastic crowd assembled in Atlanta to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Participants are launching a two-year campaign to extend and strengthen key aspects of the act when it expires in 2007.

For crying out loud, the right to vote is not going to be taken away from blacks. They have a constitutionally guaranteed right. The idea of strengthening and extending it is nothing but a chance for the Democrats to bellow about their support of black causes but essentially means nothing. More:

Entertainer/activist Harry Belafonte also used charged rhetoric during the march when he referred to black members of the Bush administration as "black tyrants."

Mathis, whose speech drew the largest and most raucous reception from the crowd, also chastised the Supreme Court for its role in the 2000 presidential recount. "[The] Supreme Court was an accomplice to the biggest election crime in history in 2000.

And I call it a crime because indeed that is exactly what it was," he said to applause. The Bush administration was equated with past policies of slavery and segregation and labeled "the enemy of our (black America's) progress" by Mathis.

"They shot and missed when they enslaved, segregated and oppressed our people. They shot and missed when they stole the past two presidential elections. They shot and missed when they denied our right to vote," Mathis said.

Um, Judge, the late George Wallace was a Democrat, as were most of the politicians (including Al Gore Sr. who has had a makeover thanks to revisionist history) who oppressed blacks throughout the south. Ever hear of the word "Dixiecrat"? They weren't talking about Republicans. You know Republicans, the party of Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. You would know that if we were allowed to teach real history in the US schools as opposed to the politically correct garbage our kids are learning today.

BTW, here's the real facts about the Civil Rights Act:

Congressional Quarterly reported that, in the House of Representatives, 61% of Democrats (152 for, 96 against) voted for the Civil Rights Act as opposed to 80% of Republicans (138 for, 38 against). In the Senate, 69% of Democrats (46 for, 21 against) voted for the Act while 82% of Republicans did (27 for, 6 against). All southern Democrats voted against the Act.

Update: More on the repulsive Belafonte here.

The Power of Life and Death

The sad case of Art Teele, the Florida Commissioner who committed suicide last week, gets sadder still. The reporter who broke both Florida state law and the tenets of his employer forced the man to take his life and caused immeasurable pain to his family.

Here's background:

Teele supporters said they are particularly upset with the coverage of Teele's political and personal life over the past year. It was within that time that Teele was arrested three times, indicted on both state and federal charges and convicted of threatening a Miami-Dade County police officer.

Protesters are also upset over the 14-page New Times article published the day Teele took his own life. The cover story, which is entitled "Tales of Teele -- Sleaze Stories," is mostly a re-printing of a timeline kept by police investigators, who followed Teele as part of a corruption investigation.

There were also unsubstantiated reports of homosexual activity that, regardless if they were true or not, were not even remotely part of the story. That is where I have a major issue. If a politician is dirty, he deserves to be excoriated by the media, that is a major part of their job. But where does an investigation into the facts end and a smear job begin?

The media see no issue with this and have backed the reporter, going so far as to demand the Miami Herald rescind his firing.

Reporters must learn that the words they write have meaning to someone. I have written thousands of posts at this site and have never written anything that is likely to cause harm to an individual. Many bloggers have standards that would never allow them to cause harm to those that have not done something to bring that harm, upon themselves. Unfortunately, not all bloggers feel this way.

As we've seen this week, major media scions have not gotten the word that there is a line that should never be crossed. Politicians are fair game, that is the nature of the business. But, they are fair game to a certain point. That point was crossed in this case, and in fact the media is supporting a man who broke the law to get a story about a man who was accused of breaking the law:

Just hours after Teele shot himself in the lobby of the Herald, DeFede was fired after he told the newspaper's publisher that he had recorded a phone call with Teele without the late commissioner's permission. Recording without both parties being informed is against the law in Florida and it is also against The Miami Herald's policy.

The MSM had better wake up and see that they have an awesome power in their hands, a power that may well control life and death. The idea of gotcha journalism, or in some cases blind partisanship, forces a reporter to pry so deep into the lives of their targets and the consequences they face are nil.

The Brilliance that is Indy Media

The Watcher has been watching world wide Indy Media sites for a while now. He reported on this event and now that the documents have been unsealed, we realize that Indy Media was too stupid to figure out what the subpoena asked for.

To Unbelievable to be True

When last we visited with Mansour El-Kikhia, he was whining about Cal Thomas and had some other nice thoughts, such as:

I am fed up with the ceaseless requests by columnists, religious personalities and other American public figures for Arabs and Muslims to apologize for terrorist acts committed by thugs and murderers in the name of Islam.

As far as I am concerned, the final straw came a couple of weeks ago when the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, paid for a national advertisement repudiating terrorism in the name of Islam.

In reponse to last weeks article, Mr. El-Kikhia received alot of correspondence. He decided that he would attempt to top himself this week:

I have never seen a mainstream publication in Arab or Muslim states condemning Christianity or Judaism.

State controlled Al-Jazirah and the Arab News pop to mind. However, there's no need for the Arab media to condemn Christianity or Judaism, they have US papers to do that, such as the NY Times, Washington Post, LA Times, etc.

He couldn't stop there however:

Even the majority of fundamentalist publications do not touch either negatively. However, a few do, but these remain on the fringes and many can only publish their diatribe outside the Arab world.

I think the response to that can be found here, here and here.

Daniel Ortega to be Tried For War Crimes

Former Sandinista leader, Daniel Ortega is to be tried for crimes against humanity. Hey John, I guess I was right.

RINO Sitings

Quick links from around the RINOsphere:

The excellent Don Surber dissects the AP. He also has a column in the Charleston (WV) Daily Mail.

Mark at Decision '08 has thoughts on the release of the latest al-Zawahri tape.

As long as they didn't make him wear those "Choose Life" t-shirts that they wore.

Evolution is on indefinite hiatus. Good luck, bud.

The Recovering Democrat has a take on the Air Scamerica scandal.

Is John Roberts pro-gay for advocating for his client?

Dems Hit Bottom, Keep Digging

Just when you thought that the donks could go no lower, they've topped themselves once again. They are looking into the adoption records of of SCOTUS nominee John Roberts children:

The NEW YORK TIMES is looking into the adoption records of the children of Supreme Court Nominee John G. Roberts, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

The TIMES has investigative reporter Glen Justice hot on the case to investigate the status of adoption records of Judge Roberts’ two young children, Josie age 5 and Jack age 4, a top source reveals.

Judge Roberts and his wife Jane adopted the children when they each were infants.

Both children were adopted from Latin America.

...One top Republican official when told of the situation was incredulous. “This can’t possibly be true?”

Yes, yes it can be true. These are people who preach diversity then will not allow anyone with another opinion speak. These are people who talk about rights for homosexuals and then "out" any homosexual who is not liberal. These are the people fight to uphold the right to kill millions of unborn, innocent children and fight harder to keep alive convicted murderers. These are the people...ah, screw it!

Remember how the press rightfully stayed away from any story about Chelsea Clinton when she was growing up the White House?

14 Marines Killed

Today in western Iraq, 14 Marines were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their humvee:

Aug. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Fourteen U.S. Marines and their civilian interpreter were killed in a bombing by insurgents today northwest of Baghdad, an area of intense resistance to the American presence in Iraq. Pentagon officials later said bombs being used by insurgents have become more powerful and deadly.

The Marines died and another was wounded when their lightly armored vehicle hit a large roadside bomb during combat operations 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) south of Haditha, the military said in a statement from Fallujah, Iraq. Twenty-one Marines have been killed in the region in the past three days.

My prayers go out to their families and as one of their father's said (I paraphrase): He was a poster boy for the Marines.

Rest in peace my brothers and thanks for doing your duty as only the US military can.

Is the US Getting Serious About Mugabe?

The Bush administration today put dictator Robert Mugabe on notice that he will be watched:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday froze the U.S. assets of 26 Zimbabwean entities it said are controlled by key members of President Robert Mugabe's government, accusing them of undercutting democracy in Zimbabwe.

Under an executive order issued by President Bush the Treasury Department' "designated" 24 commercial farms and two businesses controlled by Mugabe administration officials who the U.S. government says are undermining democratic processes in Zimbabwe. The move freezes their access to the U.S. financial system and prohibits U.S. citizens from doing business with them.

Good news. Mugabe has been destroying the country from within through racist policies and oppression. Now pay more attention to the Sudan.

Steven Vincent Murdered in Basra

Reporter and blogger Steven Vincent was killed in Basra. James Taranto has thoughts as does Charles Johnson, Greg at Toe in the Water and Tigerhawk.

Charles has a follow up post indicating that Muqtada al-Sadr's hitmen may be to blame.

Paul Hackett and All Democrats Lose

Paul Hackett--a former Marine in Iraq--ran in the special election in Ohio for the House. Mr. Hackett appealed to the mainstream of his party by calling President Bush a "son of a bitch" among other classy things. He stuck with this strategy until he figured out that it wouldn't work. Once that reality hit him, he decided to use that "son of a bitch" Bush in his final, strongly Republican-looking ad.

The Donks made this election out as a referendum on Bush, as the election took place in a staunch Republican district. If Hackett wins there, the Dem thinking goes, Bush has lost his credibility and...blah, blah, blah.

Hackett did not win, in fact his challenger Jean Schmidt won with 52% of the vote.

The looney's, as is typical, call a loss a win. This is politics, boys, there are no moral victories here. Especially for you Armando:

New Ohio Democratic superstar Paul Hackett went into the lion's den of pure Red Southern Ohio and scared the pants off of the GOP losing by less than 4 points in the face of a NRCC promise to "bury him."

No spin - the GOP is on the run.

Congratulations to Southern Ohio Democrats, the Lefty blogs, especially Swing State Project, and Dems everywhere. We have delivered a lesson - Fighting Dems will win the day.

On to 2006, when we take back the Congress.

Not likely, loser. By my count, this makes Kos zero for sixteen when backing candidates. If I was a Democrat running in an election, the first thing I would do is call Kos and ask him to never mention my name on his site.

Update (6:05 PM): Kos had better watch out, George Soros may pull his money out of his losing venture also.

Drew at the Jawa Report has more.

The Air Scamerica Coverup

Ed Morrissey--writing in the Daily Standard-- is hot on the story of the Air Scamerica scandal. What, you didn't know there was a scandal? Ed isn't surprised:

WELL, FOR ONE THING, we have thus far neglected to name the corporation involved. The company that took money from poor kids and Alzheimer's patients to pay off its high-priced employees is Air America and the CEO was its original founder, Evan Cohen.

Air America broadcasts its liberal views on American politics in several cities around the country, attempting to compete with the much more robust conservative talk-radio industry and mostly failing.

The mission of the mainstream media to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, to tell truth to power, and to hold the reverse Robin Hoods accountable for their malfeasance wouldn't depend on the politics of the criminals.

Would it?

More at the Captain's Quarters.

Real Reporter's Views on Iraq

The North County Times, a northern San Diego County newspaper, sent a reporter and photographer to cover the war. Camp Pendleton--one of the largest and nicest miltary facilities in the country--is in this geographical area and the main paper on base is the North County Times. They did what very few reporters do nowadays, they reported the war including the good with the bad.

Arthur Chrenkoff has more and has a link to buy the new book that evolved from the two reporters plight.

Democrat Voter Fraud

You know the typical donkey line; the elections in both 2000 and 2004 were stolen and voters were widely disenfranchised, especially minorities. Most sane people just blew this talk off and the reasons why are being discovered:

WASHINGTON-The American Center for Voting Rights Legislative Fund today released the most comprehensive and authoritative review of the facts surrounding allegations of vote fraud, intimidation and suppression made during the 2004 presidential election.

The ACVR Legislative Fund report, "Vote Fraud, Intimidation & Suppression In The 2004 Presidential Election," finds that while Democrats routinely accuse Republicans of voter intimidation and suppression, neither party has a clean record on the issue. The report finds that paid Democrat operatives were far more involved in voter intimidation and suppression activities than were their Republican counterparts during the 2004 presidential election. Examples include paid Democrat operatives charged with slashing tires on GOP get-out-the-vote vans in Milwaukee and an Ohio court order stopping Democrat operatives from calling voters telling them the wrong date for the election and faulty polling place information.

The ACVR was started this year and was attacked from the very first minute they were on the scene by lefty looneys.

The full report that the above article references is here and they break down their findings by city. It seems that the City of Brotherly Love is not when it come to elections, hell, Frank Rizzo probably voted twice in the last election.

This report ought to get the moonbats whirling like dervishes.