I totally agree with Juan Williams???

"Banish the Bling" at the WaPo:

"Have we taken our eyes off the prize? The civil rights movement continues, but the struggle today is not so much in the streets as in the home -- and with our children. If systemic racism remains a reality, there is also a far more sinister obstacle facing African American young people today: a culture steeped in bitterness and nihilism, a culture that is a virtual blueprint for failure."

This past weekend I was standing with a group of white college kids waiting to cross the street when a car pulled up ahead of us and parked. It's bumper sticker said "Good people come in all colors." Someone read it out loud and another voice in the back said, "And bad people only come in one color." Everyone laughed. I turned around to say something and caught my daughter's desperate look of "please don't embarrass me" and I didn't say anything. I learned a long time ago that it's useless to try to argue with smart alec kids in a group anyway. But it stayed on my mind, this generation that grew up with diversity and yet still has a stereotype of black people. Reading this article of Juan Williams helps explain why there is still this stereotype. Although I have had friends and co-workers of all colors who are smart, intelligent, and living the American dream, many black Americans don't live the American dream. We have to ask ourselves why given all the strides the black community has made in the last 30 years. I think Juan Williams answers it pretty well.

Check out Hot Air Today!

One of my favorite writers, Mary Katherine Ham from Townhall.com, is standing in for Michelle on the Vent (Video blogging!) Take a look not only because Mary Katherine is very cute, but she is good.

My editor at my Houston Chronicle blog, TexasSparkle, has been encouraging us bloggers over there to videoblog. The Chronicle has it's own group.

Mary Katherine has inspired me. I might try it this week. If I do, you guys will be the first to know.

YouTube Elections.

It really could change everything.

It use to be that a politician might say something stupid and it was reported on once on the nightly news. Now, with cable news, it is repeated quite a few times. But with YouTube it's a forever kind of thing. Anyone, anywhere, can pull it up at anytime.

According to the NYT's article, YouTube didn't even exist until 2005, so we have yet to see how it will affect elections. But rest assured, dumb statements, mistakes, and misspeaking will forever be repeated. As the story points out, there is no editor who might decide not to run the story because he doesn't want his candidate to look bad, or he feels it is shallow or not newsworthy. The power of the decision is up to anyone with a computer.

Just ask George Allen.

Happy Blogoversary to ME!

Two years ago yesterday I started this blog. If I had known how much time it was going to take up and how addicted to it I would become, I never would have started it.

Thanks to all of you for reading me. I'll never understand why you do....;-)

I can see you guys had fun...

while I was away. Regarding the banning of trolls. I am reluctant to ban anyone unless they keep breaking the rules. This is what I think we should do. If someone makes a civil point of disagreement then answer them in the same fashion. If they are just ranting, using talking points or making over the top ridiculous assertions just type "ignoring trollish behavior" and then IGNORE THEM. I know this is hard to do when you want to point out how idiotic something they said is, but unless they can write it in a debatable form without a bunch of snarkiness and ranting, then they don't deserve to be answered anyway and they will eventually leave.

That's my suggestion anyway.

Open Thread Weekend.

I'm going out of town again to get my oldest son moved into his new apartment at college. Discuss whatever you wish and have a great weekend!

The Coming Wars

The Jerusalem Post has this:

"So while all eyes are glued on Lebanon, the Palestinians may well start the next war. And we know exactly how that war will look. They will use missiles, mortars and rockets that they will smuggle in from Egypt to kill Israelis in their homes in the South. They will infiltrate Israeli cities by digging tunnels under the security fence around Gaza, and from Egypt and from towns and cities in Judea and Samaria and murder us in ever growing numbers. They will receive money, weapons and combat instruction from Hizbullah and Iranian operatives in Gaza and abroad and they will attack us while protesting their everlasting dedication to jihad and their anger over Israel's "aggression."

Then there is Syria. Syrian President Bashar Assad's address Tuesday was a watershed event. After 14 years of beating around the bush, Syria finally came clean. Peace, Assad said, is dead. We hate Israel and we want to destroy it. If not us, then our children will destroy it. All the Arabs that want peace with Israel are traitors. Long live Hizbullah and we're going to war to conquer the Golan Heights as a first step towards destroying Israel.

She goes on:

"If Iran is allowed to attain nuclear weapons, there is no reason to doubt that it will use them. If Iran attacks Israel with nuclear weapons, then of course we are looking at a future war scenario involving not thousands of dead, but millions."

And then this regarding the leaders of Israel, that I am afraid is all too true:

"There is no missile that is capable of penetrating their walls of self-deception and delusion. They are blind and deaf to all evidence that their way of appeasement has failed."

There are dark clouds on the horizen in the Middle East I'm afraid. A storm of which we have not seen in our lifetime. It will certainly wake up those of us unaware of this hate. A storm that will make Iraq look like a skirmish. Make no mistake about it, this is our problem as much as it is Israel's. If they can "wipe Israel off the face of the earth," they will look with their black heart to the West. Of that, I have no doubt.

via Powerline

Interesting and Disturbing

Vital Perspective has this:

"Police in Tehran have begun dismantling satellite dishes from the city's rooftops - part of a campaign to prevent Iranians from watching Western television. The move follows a recent police order that all satellite dishes - officially banned but tolerated until now - be removed. The campaign against satellite television was launched by the Minister for Culture and Islamic Orientation, Hassan Saffar Harandi, who said "we have to halt the West's cultural offensive," on Iran.

Some observers believe that the clampdown is aimed at keeping the government's control over news regarding Iran's dispute with the international community regarding its nuclear program."

I keep getting this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think of the President of Iran. I keep telling myself that nothing bad will happen. But I can't shake this feeling.

via Powerline

“NSA eavesdropping program ruled unconstitutional”

Since my lefties here seem to be chomping at the bit to comment on this, here is your post. First let's get the "activist judge" thing out of the way. Because her background does speak volumes:

Judge Diggs Taylor's biography says she was married to Michigan Democratic Representative (1955-1980) Charles C Diggs, Jr. (divorced 1971) and S Martin Taylor (active in both the Coleman Young and Jimmy Carter campaigns) and was named to a Michigan federal court in 1979. She was the first black woman appointed to a federal judgeship in Michigan and the first black black woman to be named chief federal judge in the Eastern District of Michigan, where it says she used her positions to advance civil rights throughout the United States.

Had to add this from Powerline:(emphasis mine)

"One of the serious weaknesses of our federal judicial system is that in many cases, plaintiffs can forum-shop for a favorable district or judge. Here, the ACLU, the plaintiff in the case, could have brought the case anywhere in the United States. The ACLU naturally avoided the circuits that had already upheld warrantless surveillance as an executive power; the Sixth Circuit, which encompasses Michigan, has not ruled on the issue, to my knowledge. The ACLU was able to get its case before Judge Taylor, a 1979 Jimmy Carter appointee who was described by the Detroit Free Press as "a liberal with Democratic roots."

Powerline also says this:

"Consistent with unanimous precedent in the Federal Courts of Appeal, I would expect the 6th Circuit to reverse Judge Taylor's ruling and uphold the NSA program. That's a year or more off, however, and in the meantime the ACLU and the Democrats got the headlines they wanted from one of their own."


See the focus of her opinion here.

Jeff at PW (from whom I gathered the above info) says this (with update):

"If this program, from what is known publicly about it, can be said to violate the Fourth Amendment, there are certainly a number of other security procedures that should be held unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment. [update: see Volokh here on this point]

Which is one of the reasons why I think this ruling will be overturned on appeal.

Even still, it's amazing that we've reached the nuance point where only by revealing secrets can we show the the secrets in question should not be revealed, lest they damage programs meant to protect us from attacks, which only work while details of how they work remain secret.

Perhaps we can just tie stones to the NSA program, put it in a lake, and see if it floats. If it does, it is clearly unconstitutional and should be hanged. If it drowns from the weight of its own revealed legality, everyone will know for certain that it wasn't, in fact, unconstitutional. Which, helluva lot of good that does us, sure.

But it's the thought that counts. " **** update 2: Eugene Volokh:

[...] I think (as Orin’s post suggested), the real foundation of this decision is FISA. If Congress prohibited this sort of eavesdropping via FISA, and didn’t carve out an exception under the AUMF, then the program is indeed illegal (since I don’t think the President’s inherent power argument much works here, even as to violations of a statute). If FISA doesn’t apply, though, then the program is permissible, because there’s no First or Fourth Amendment violation here.

See also, “NSA Eavesdropping Opinion and the Fourth Amendment,” and “NSA Eavesropping Opinion and the First Amendment”


I'm not lawyer (which is abundantly clear here) I'll let those who know more than I do, defend or not defend this program, but this part bothers me a bit:

From CNN: "A federal judge ruled Thursday that the governmentÂ’s warrantless wiretapping program is unconstitutional and ordered an immediate halt to it."

So.... if there is an immediate halt to it and let's say... down the road a bit, we are attacked and it is revealed that it was because we couldn't follow up on information because of this, won't all hell break loose? And who would pay for all that hell breaking loose? That would be the Democrats, who are dancing the snoopy dance right now, and where would they pay? At the voting booth.

Like I always say, be careful what you ask for, you just might get it.

Leiberman Leads.

The Quinnipiac University poll has Lieberman leading Lamont among registered voters 49 percent to 38 percent.

Wow, it really shows how off base the left was in choosing Lamont. I guess Lieberman knew what he was doing when he went the independent route. I don't think Lieberman will soon forget who scorned him. Not only the hard left, but those in Congress also.

Bloggers, the thorn in the side of the MSM.

Patterico has this on a LA Times article on Murtha:

I heard back from General Hagee’s office yesterday regarding my inquiry about when Gen. Hagee briefed John Murtha about Haditha. The bottom line: Gen. Hagee’s office has directly contradicted an assertion by the L.A. Times that Gen. Hagee briefed John Murtha on Haditha before Murtha accused Marines of killing civilians in cold blood. Gen. Hagee’s office confirmed to me that the General’s first briefing to Murtha took place a week after Murtha had already made his public accusations.

The background is here. Briefly, Murtha made public statements on May 17 in which he accused Marines of killing civilians at Haditha “in cold blood.” On May 26, the L.A. Times reported that Gen. Hagee had briefed Murtha before his May 17 statements:

Hagee last week briefed key congressional leaders on the upcoming report. One of those, Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.), a retired Marine colonel, said later that Marines “killed innocent civilians in cold blood.”

I have bolded the word “later” to emphasize what The Times claimed: first, Hagee briefed Murtha, and then “later,” Murtha made the “in cold blood” accusation.

Based on news reports, I suspected this was wrong. Murtha’s “in cold blood” statement was made on May 17, and I believed that Gen. Hagee had briefed Murtha well after that. Later news reports — in particular this one from Reuters — appeared to confirm my suspicions.

But when I wrote the L.A. Times Readers’ Representative, she insisted that The Times’s report had been accurate, despite my having provided her with evidence to the contrary, including the Reuters story. Some suggested that Reuters might have gotten the story wrong, or overlooked an angle. So I contacted Gen. Hagee’s office directly.

Read the rest.

Perhaps papers should just start going with a generic retraction: "We regret the error. We were caught by the bloggers again."

I know that Rueters and the AP are thinking of Little Green Footballs every time they decide on a photo to use now. Scrutiny is a whole new way of thinking to them now.

If bloggers accomplish nothing else, we will bring back some integrity to the msm, even if it is just by keeping an eye on them.

via Ace

Must. Have. Funny.

CRACKED magazine is back and has a deathbed (we wish) confession of Fidel Castro:

Here now, directly from my notepad, are Fidel Castro’s deathbed confessions.

When he came to power, he accidentally based Cuba’s government on the philosophies of Groucho Marx, rather than Karl Marx.

- Months later, while trying to correct the error, he mistakenly based his government’s policies on the philosophies of John Lennon, rather than Vladimir Lenin.

- During a tequila bender in the late 1960’s, drunkenly placed an embargo on Cuban cigars, sending the economy into a recession.

- For a while there, thought the camouflage made him invisible.

- Three days after the Cuban Missile Crisis, Castro drunk

-dialed Kennedy, asking for relationship advice. When Kennedy provided none based on the fact that Fidel nearly sparked a nuclear war, Castro began crying and shouted, “Maybe I did that because I love you so much!”

- Thinks Katie Couric is in over her head at CBS.- Experimented with ‘mutton chops’ and a ‘handlebar moustache’ before finally settling on a long beard.

- Joseph Stalin – brutal and cold hearted dictator, yet a passionate kisser.

- Once gave a 6 hour speech, furiously denouncing Pepsi for ceasing to make Crystal Pepsi.

- Shortly after being returned to Cuba in 2000, Elian Gonzales nearly floated back to the United States, when a game of Marco Polo got out of control.

- In the event of death, requests that all of Cuba be buried with him.

- Once ate 100 tacos in 100 minutes.

- Survived 638 assassination attempts in good stride, but nearly killed the man who switched his “Head & Shoulders” with the leading brand of medicated dandruff shampoo.

- Original plan to defend The Bay Of Pigs: put a Canadian Flag on the shore, making invaders think they had reached the wrong country.

- Loved 50 Cent’s first album, but was lukewarm about the second.

- Once contacted Kellogg’s, trying to get a cereal named after him called “Castr-O’s.”

- Doesn’t really get how communism works.

Ah, the wonderful world of .....

abortion.

I was thinking that if Iraqi children or children in Lebanon were aborted instead of being killed by suicide bombers or bombs (with that somehow being our fault), the Democrats would have no problem with it. Just part of the upside down world of Democratic outrage.

h/t David

Charities finding it difficult to raise money for the displace of Lebanon.

TimesOline has this:

"The poor public response is in sharp contrast to other recent British Red Cross appeals. One for the Darfur region of Sudan raised twice as much in its first four weeks, the Pakistani earthquake appeal brought in ten times as much, and the Asian tsunami a hundred times as much. After the Beslan massacre in Russia, the charity raised as much in one day as the Lebanon appeal has in a month."

The last line is interesting:

"The only charity to raise substantial funds is Christian Aid."

Computer expert faces jail over 'made-up' child porn images

A COMPUTER expert who altered indecent images of naked women to make them look like children has been warned that he faces a prison sentence.

Stafford Sven Tudor-Miles scanned photographs of adult porn stars into his computer and used sophisticated digital equipment to reduce the size of their breasts.

The images, which Tudor-Miles also manipulated with graphics software so that the women were partially dressed in school uniforms, appeared to be of girls aged under 18.

The 38-year-old fine art student was charged with possessing indecent pseudo-images of children. His barrister argued that the pictures were of adults and, therefore, no offence had been committed.

Xeni over at boing boing seems to think this is silly:

"His crime? He scanned photographs of adult porn stars into his computer, and photomanipulated them to reduce the size of their breasts and add schoolgirl costumes. Again...pictures *of adults* photoshopped. No actual children involved, and no one is asserting otherwise."

Sorry. No sympathy from me. Why would a grown man photoshop an image to make the body of a porn star look like a child? BECAUSE HE IS A PEDOPHILE. This is what pedophiles do, they get off on sexual images of children ( and then move on to the real thing), and I don't care if they or real images or not, IT'S SICK AND WRONG. I'm glad to see this guys face jail time and I hope he keeps that jail time in mind if he ever decides to act out on any of his perverted desires.

I have no idea what the law is here in the United States. I would be shocked if it were illegal with the ACLU hanging around to protect every perverted person's right to perversion, but I hope I am wrong.

I was wrong.

In a earlier post I said that if mothers ran wars there would be no wars.
I was wrong because there are mother's like this:

"Scotland Yard police are questioning a husband and wife who allegedly planned to hide a liquid bomb in their baby's bottle to bring down an airliner.

They are among the 23 suspects arrested over the plot to blow up airliners headed for the United States in mid-flight.

Mr Keelty today expressed dismay at the alleged plan to use a child in a suicide mission.
"The phenomena of suicide bombings as a new way of taking part in terror attacks is in itself concerning, but to think or imagine that anybody would use an innocent child to join them is even more disconcerting," he said"

I wrote this in an earlier post called This Life:

"When I held my first son I thought "you can't even speak to me, you are helpless and messy and I have only seen you for a few hours, but my love for you is greater than any love I have ever known. How is this? I don't really even know you, yet I would throw myself in front of train this minute if it was to save you."

Where does this love come from? We love our parents, but they have taken care of us and loved us. We love our friends who stand by us. We love our spouses because we fell in love with them. But a baby has given us nothing to earn this love. Yet it is the largest love. It is a love that fills every nook and cranny of the heart. How do we explain it?"

I know there are a few exceptions, but most mothers feel the same way about their children. It is instinctive. Yet, this ideology of murder and terror that we are fighting overcomes that instinct. I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that this woman was willing to kill her baby in order to kill innocent people that don't fit into her worldview. It goes against every good and decent thing about humanity.

Are we getting this? Are. We. Getting. This. No amount of diplomacy, conversation, campfires, or U.N. resolutions are going to change these radical Islamic monster's mind. They want to kill us. Period. We have only two paths to take. Both equally important. First, we kill those trying to kill us. Second, we bring the idea of freedom, equality, and liberty to a people who have been brainwashed for far too long.

This will not be easy. This will not be without great sacrifice and pain. This we already know. Do we have the will to continue? Because leaving will only allow this cancer to grow. And I am not talking about staying in Iraq. We need to stay in the region, not only militarily, but in a hundred other ways. We need to continue to build schools and hospitals. We need people of all faiths to go into the region and share our different views of faith. We need to educate people on the greatness of liberty. We need to open minds stuck in the middle ages.

They need to know us. And we need to know them.



crossposted at RWS

Should a biased AP reporter report?

Media blog dicusses AP's reporter, Bassem Mroue. He points out that Mroue has a personal blog full of anti-Israeli sentiments. It seems My PetJawa reported on this back in July and Mroue then deleted many of his more biased posts. But if you surf through his blog, it's quite clear who he is rooting for.

Media blog finds more reason to be skeptical of everything you read:

"Sami Moubayed offers his "expert opinion" as an "independent journalist" on the Washington Post's PostGlobal site."

Just an independent journalist giving his expert opinion, that's all. Well, no, that's not all:

"Taking a gander over to his personal site, however, reveals another side to Moubayed — this article, "Terrorists in Tel Aviv...and Washington?":

An open letter to George W. Bush

Sami Moubayed

Mr Bush, you have ruined the Middle East. I am writing to you from Damascus, watching the images of 37 dead children in the ill-fated village of Qana in Lebanon.

No words can describe my anger at what the United States is tolerating in the Middle East.

Even more damning from this article, "There is only one Hasan Nasrallah":

History however, is written by the victors. So long as America and Israel continue to write history then Nasrallah will be remembered in the West as a "terrorist" like Osama Bin Laden.

If the Arabs write their history - or the Americans write it freed of Israeli influence, then Nasrallah would get his due place in history as a selfless uncorrupted nationalist."

I'm sure he will show no bias in his "expert" opinions, right? My God. Did we EVER hear the truth before the internet???

Good news for all.

We are so close to handing over complete policing power to the Iraqis.

I get discouraged.

Sometimes when I am arguing over this war on terror here on on my TexasSparkle blog, I feel so discouraged that so many people don't get it. They don't see the danger we face. Dan Barnett over at Hugh Hewitt at first made me feel better by reminding me that very few people "got it" just before WWII:

"In 1938, those who accurately perceived Hitler were a tiny minority. Those who understood the aims of Imperial Japan were an even smaller minority. The countries that would win World War II had no idea what was coming.

AT LEAST TODAY, we have a debate. Every time someone mentions 1938 or 1939, it warms the cockles of my heart because it means someone else gets it. And happily, those of us who get it aren't a fringe minority - we may even constitute a thin minority."

He goes on with appreciation that the news finally does seem focused on highlighting the dangers of terrorism around the world. But then he ends it with this:

"The bad news is that the right side may not win it. In America, Europe or Israel."

Which discourages me again, because I know it's true and it doesn't have to be.

I'm thinking Rush Limbaugh is having a good laugh tonight.

Karma payback is hell.

Not good.

No one has come forward in the kidnapping of Fox News reporter Steve Centanni and his cameraman. Fox is being very quiet about it as it pursues avenues of information. The other news outlets seem to be following suit by request of Fox News I am guessing.

Keep them in your prayers.

Head of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought in London thinks terror plot may be a hoax.

Media Blog at NRO has this:


"Meet A Guy Who Thinks The British Terror Plots Are a Hoax

This post on Hot Air reminded me of a clip I recorded yesterday but never got around to posting. In the clip, Tucker Carlson interviews this guy who thinks the London terror plots are a hoax. Posted here without comment, just check it out:

Video here."

via LGF

Al Gore's Penquin Army.

h/t Cormac

So very weird and sick.

So I'm looking around this site Women's voices. Women's vote. (associated with Rock the Vote) geared toward getting young unmarried women to vote and I click on "activist tools" This is where it brings me:

Useful Links

So you want to get involved? Get out on the ground and get people voting! Here are some good pleaces to start:

Visit One Vote - A Short Film About Women and Voting to see a wonderful movie about women and why it is so important that they vote.

Check out SheVotes.org for great info on women and the electoral process.

I decide to check out this short film about women and voting and where does it bring me? A porn site. A very bad porn site. That's right. A site that illustrates EVERYTHING that women should be against, exploitation of women, underaged girls being used, and women being looked upon as nothing but sexual objects. Someone has a very sick sense of humor. Maybe it does tell us how important it is for women to vote so we can get someone in office that gives a flying monkeys butt about this sick porn stuff.

Has the site been hacked? I called and left a message for them.

Geeze.

Ok, this explains so much.

You know, I don't throw around the word "commie" like many do. Every leftist is not a communist, but if the shoe fits, then Ned Lamont should wear it.


"His great-grandfather, Thomas W. Lamont, was chairman of J.P. Morgan. A wealthy progressive pacifist, he was the sugar daddy for the American Communist Party and other extreme left-wing organizations. His wife, Florence, belonged to such subversive groups as the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship and American Committee for Friendship with the Soviet Union.

Their son, Corliss Lamont, was an unapologetic Stalinist and atheist. Congress once declared him "probably the most persistent propagandist for the Soviet Union to be found anywhere in the United States." As national chairman of The Friends of Soviet Russia, he refused to condemn Josef Stalin's show trials in the 1930s. For 22 years, he was director of the American Civil Liberties Union, which has been financed by communists and dedicated to advancing Marxism since its inception and to this day seeks to impose socialism and atheism on America. He also chaired the National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee for 30 years, during which time he fought efforts to root out Soviet spies and sympathizers in the U.S. government and military. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate from New York in 1952 with the American Labor Party and in 1958 with the Independent Socialist Party; both parties fronted communist causes. Near the end of his life, he befriended Cuba's Stalinist tyrant, Fidel Castro.

According to one recent commentary, Corliss' nephew, Edward M. "Ted" Lamont Sr., embraced liberal-socialism "and passed his religious devotion to atheistic materialism along to his son." Ned Lamont, in turn, has surrounded himself with people who may be characterized fairly as dedicated socialists and borderline communists."

via Ace.

Politicians can be so dumb.

What was he thinking????

George Allen calls a 20-year-old volunteer for his opponent, who is of Indian descent, a "macaca," which means monkey. I've never heard the term before, but I ain't buying that he didn't know what it meant. Shame on him.

It's ironic though that we demand such polite purity from our politicians when the political landscape is awash with derogatory name calling. Maybe we in the blogosphere shouldn't be so hypocritical and try to adhere to the standard we require of the ones who lead us.

Update: RCP has the video of Allen.

Anti-War Rally.

RWN has more of Zombie's pictures from the latest rally in San Francisco. Check out the Jewish slur in the last shot. It's like it's ok to do that now and I guess all the tolerant lefties there just don't mind. If you click on Zombies site you will see ever more nuttiness.

I think Republicans seem to have prettier mugshots.

CQ Politics rates Ohio's 3rd congressional district as Safe Republican and, according to the AP, it just got safer for Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH). Challenger Stephanie Studebaker (D) was arrested along with her husband on domestic violence charges over the weekend.

Studebaker's mugshot isn't going to make campaigning any easier if she chooses to continue.

Compare and contrast.

Heh.

via Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

Update: I know this seemed kind of harsh considering it dealt with domestic violence. I have worked with women who are victims of domestic violence, so I don't take that lightly, but as the story points out she was the one doing the hitting. Here is the audio of the 9-11 call that sheds more light on her problems.

Here is her 9-11 call. Trust me, that isn't how a victim of domestic abuse calls 9-11.

The Dems try the security angle.

This is the latest from the DSCC. I saw it at Americablog.

It is to laugh.

Look! My name in zombies!

My "Nothing to Do With Politics" post.

Because, frankly, I am sick of it.

Are you a fat guy? Does you butt crack show when you bend over like a plumber? Well, I have the shirt for you.

Awww...look at this cute wittle itty bitty gun.

Well, thank God the airlines are allowing lipstick. Because if we can't carry our lipstick the terrorists will have won.

If you ever need to fake a serious wound, I have the website for you!

via boing boing

More!

This may give the term "frozen embryo" a whole new meaning.

I must be sexy.

Men, guess what? Size only matters to you.

via Fark

Fox News reporter and camerman kidnapped in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian gunmen ambushed a car carrying a Fox News crew in Gaza City on Monday and kidnapped two of the journalists inside, according to witnesses and Fox.

"We can confirm that two of our people were taken against their will in Gaza," Fox News said in a statement.

ON DEADLINE: Journalists grabbed in Gaza

A Fox employee in Gaza, who declined to give his name because he was not authorized to release information about the incident, said the two kidnapped people were reporter Steve Centanni, a U.S. citizen, and a cameraman from New Zealand.

via Cotillion e-mail

Check out the Democratic Underground's reaction. Ugh. How about the one the says "Who do I root for?" Sick, sick people.

via Hot Air

Some Monday links.

The most excellent writer of all things Cuban, Val Prieto from Babalu blog has been guesting at Michelle Malkins place and today he writes on "Harlem Residents In Support of Slavery." That's right. Go read. It's good.

The ongoing loss of integrity of the New York Times.

A McCain ticket I am most certainly NOT for.

The Captain reminds us Catholics that today is feast day for Saint Maximilian Kolbe (my favorite saint!) and gives us information on how he became a Saint. I wrote a bit about him and other things in this post at TexasSparkle. Steve Janke provides some interesting background on Father Kolbe and why he should also be the Patron saint of bloggers!

Fighting the war on terror. What the left seems to have forgotten (or ignored).

I just saw Ned Lamont on the news saying "The war in Iraq has nothing to do with the war on terror." Keep in mind this is the left's golden boy. And this is what I hear a lot from my lefty commenters.

Who flew those planes into our WTC? al-Qaeda

Where did we kill the head of al-Qaeda, al-Zarqawi? Iraq.

Where was one of Iraq's most-wanted al-Qaeda terrorists, Kassim aka Qasim Al-Aani, who was a senior aide to the Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader, Al-Zarqawi captured? Iraq.

Where was Salah Hussain Abdul Razak a/k/a Salah Hussein Abdelrazzaq, also a senior aide to al-Zarqawi capatured? Iraq.

During that time another senior al Qaeda in Iraq member was captured by Jordanian Intelligence. Iraqi citizen Ziad Khalaf Raja al-Karbouly a/k/a Ziad al-Karbouli and Abu Houthiyfah was arrested after being lured into Jordan.

So can the left just drop this ridiculous talking point? It's just a lie obviously. How can they deny the truth that you have just read?

Update: To just reinforce the truth of this I decided to link to articles that prove the point even more. All these things occurred in Iraq.

Several Terrorists Killed, Captured in Iraq; Weapons Caches Found

4 terrorists killed while planting roadside bombs

Suspected Terrorist Killed, Iraqi Police Nab 152 Others

Terrorist Killed, 16 Detained During Iraq Raids

IRAQ: Terrorist Killed, 16 Detained During Iraq Raids

Post-al-Zarqawi Raids Kill 104 Insurgents

Iraqi Hostage Recovered; Terrorist Cell Leader Captured

Coalition Forces Kill, Detain Terrorists in Iraq

A senior Saudi militant on Riyadh's most wanted list has been killed in battles against American forces in Iraq

Dozens of Terrorists Captured in Iraq

Ten Terrorists Captured in Iraq

I could go on and on, but I think I made my point. Iraq not being a part of the war on terror is more than a farce, it's lie and a dangerous one at that.

Update: Ok, I have to go and on. Many say and will argue that the terrorists weren't there before we invaded. Let's just drop that too. You all know about my reference to "Operation Viking Hammer" where we defeated a international terrorist training camp the first week of the invasion, but I just had to add some more proof. Because it is just so frustratiing to continue to see this false talking point being repeated over and over because it isn't just moonbats or lefty columnists. It's people like the man who would be President now if the Democrats had gotten their way.

In an interview with Time magazine during the last election, Kerry claimed that the 9/11 Commission found that Iraq had "nothing to do with al Qaeda." But according to numerous press reports, the deputy director of Iraqi Intelligence, Faruq Hijazi, met face-to-face with Osama bin Laden in 1994. Bin Laden asked for anti-ship mines and al Qaeda training camps in Iraq. (although there is no evidence that Iraqi responded to the request) That same year, according to internal Iraqi Intelligence documents authenticated by the U.S. intelligence community and reported in the June 25, 2004, New York Times, a Sudanese government official met with Uday Hussein and the director of Iraqi Intelligence to facilitate the relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda.

check out this article from Telegraph.co.uk has this from April, 2003:

"Papers found yesterday in the bombed headquarters of the Mukhabarat, Iraq's intelligence service, reveal that an al-Qa'eda envoy was invited clandestinely to Baghdad in March 1998.
The documents show that the purpose of the meeting was to establish a relationship between Baghdad and al-Qa'eda based on their mutual hatred of America and Saudi Arabia. The meeting apparently went so well that it was extended by a week and ended with arrangements being discussed for bin Laden to visit Baghdad."

Then there is the published report from March 2001 in a Parisian Arabic newspaper, "Al-Watan Al-Arabi, about the arrest of two suspected Iraqi spies -- based on a tip from the CIA (boldface mine):Iraqi Spies Reportedly Arrested in Germany 16 March 2001Al-Watan al-Arabi (Paris) reports that two Iraqis were arrested in Germany, charged with spying for Baghdad. The arrests came in the wake of reports that Iraq was reorganizing the external branches of its intelligence service and that it had drawn up a plan to strike at US interests around the world through a network of alliances with extremist fundamentalist parties.The most serious report contained information that Iraq and Osama bin Ladin were working together."

The Weekly Standard had this in June:

THE FORMER IRAQI REGIME OF Saddam Hussein trained thousands of radical Islamic terrorists from the region at camps in Iraq over the four years immediately preceding the U.S. invasion, according to documents and photographs recovered by the U.S. military in postwar Iraq. The existence and character of these documents has been confirmed to THE WEEKLY STANDARD by eleven U.S. government officials.

Ok, I will stop now.

Dead Children

The Green Helmet guy identified as PR guy/civil worker. The AP says he is a civil defense worker, not a mortician. Click on the video below and you will see the PR part. It is sick and disturbing though. Be warned.




Let me make a few observations here that I haven't seen elsewhere. Although what this man is doing is unforgivable, using dead children in such a way, we must remember after all, they are still dead children. Something we mustn't gloss over in our attempt to show this PR campaign. Aren't the images taken without direction enough though?

I try to understand this. I can see how one would want the world to see this tragedy. I can understand why he would want the images shot. But you just don't use the dead like that. You just don't.

There is one negative that I have read about George Bush that I completely agree with. I don't think he fully understands the different mentality that exists in the Middle East. Not only are they use to death on a daily basis (enough to be able to carelessly pick up a dead child's face for a better angle for the camera. Can you imagine such at thing here?) but they don't have a clear idea of what living in true peace means. We telling them about Democracy is like explaining to someone what chocolate tastes like. Impossible really. One has to actually taste it to understand. Which is how it will have to be in the Middle East. They will have to experience years of Democracy before they truly understand how wonderful it is. Oppressed is a skin not easily shed.

Liberals seem to think that we on the right imagine that everything is going well in Iraq. We do not. We only pray things go well in Iraq. We know that there is a perilous experiment happening there now. A bloody birth. It's awful. And we are aware that it could fail. The difference between the left and and the right is that we don't want it to.

This life they live in the Middle East has to change. We cannot live in a global economy, and in a world where technology has made us all neighbors, with one side living in the 21st century and the other side living in the middle ages. We just can't. We tried. I think America tried to ignore them for far too long. They cannot be ignored any longer.

Only time will tell if anything we did will make a difference for our children. Many people I talk to say we will never change the barbaric ways of the Middle East. They say we should leave them to kill each other as they have done for ages. But the radical ones made the big mistake of killing some of us. There is simply no going back.

We could leave, as the left wishes us to, but it won't change the faces of dead children there. They will still be blown up in bombs, whether it be in Iraq or Lebanon, or Israel. The dust of the land will still run red.

This is an effort that we should all be behind. Even if we disagree. But I fear we don't have the stomach or will for it. If we leave the beast of hate that attacked us on 9-11, he will wait patiently again to attack us.


Update: More proof of photo staging.

UPDATEII: The green helmet guy is injured:

"Two rescue workers, including the chief of the Lebanese Red Cross in Tyre, Salam Daher, were wounded by shrapnel during raids near the hospital where they had been rushing to help extinguish the fire, police said." via LGF

Good News

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert endorsed an emerging Mideast cease-fire deal late Friday, after a day of dramatic day brinksmanship including a threat to expand the ground war in Lebanon.

The agreement calls for the deployment of 30,000 Lebanese and U.N. troops along the
Israel-Lebanon border. It falls short of some of Israel's demands, including a strong mandate for the U.N. forces to take on Hezbollah guerrillas.

Oh Man. via Ace

"BRITISH police claim to have found a "martyrdom video" in which one of the 24 British Muslims arrested over an alleged plot to destroy up to a dozen passenger aircraft sets out his reasons for joining the planned suicide attack.

British officials said the damning evidence had been found in the home of one of the suspects, who include a 23-year-old biochemistry student and a Heathrow security guard with an all-areas access pass.

The guard was in his airport uniform when he was arrested and led away in handcuffs.
The suspects are mostly of Pakistani origin but two are white converts to Islam. Abdul Waheed, 21, changed his name from Don Stewart-Whyte six months ago after growing up as the son of a Conservative Party official. "

Three Middle Eastern Men Found With 1000 Cell Phones

(TV5) -- Around 1:00am August 11th three men purchased cell phones from the Wal-Mart store on M-81 near the corner of M-24 in Caro. Wal-Mart places a limit on the number of cell phones that can be purchased at once, that number is three. The three men allegedly bought 80 by purchasing them three at time so that an alert wouldn't be triggered by the cash register. They also paid cash.

An alert clerk grew suspicious and called Tuscola County central dispatch. The Caro Police Department sent a unit and stopped the rented van on M-81 just east of Caro. The suspects were headed towards Bad Axe on M-81 where there is another Super Wal-Mart.

The three men were described as being of Pakistani descent but live in Texas. Police say the three, ages 19, 22, and 23 appear to be naturalized citizens. One man was driving while the other two were in the back opening the phone packages with box cutters throwing the phones in one box, batteries in another and the packaging and phone charger in another container. The suspects had 1000 other cell phones in the van. There was also a bag of receipts showing that someone was in Wisconsin the day before.

Good grief.

via LindaSOG from the Cotillion e-mail

Too funny

Remember in the recent post regarding Cynthia McKinney's loss and the Jewish slurs her black panthers group hurled at a Jewish Fox News producer? ( We will miss her just for the comic effect) In one of those ironic moments you can't just make up, I discover at Disturbingly Yellow that the anti-war song that Cynthia was so passionately singing along with in her concession speech is sung by Pink, who is....you guessed it...Jewish.

Heh.

Why we can't afford for the Democrats to win.

The WSJ sums it up:

"British antiterrorism chief Peter Clarke said at a news conference that the plot was foiled because "a large number of people" had been under surveillance, with police monitoring "spending, travel and communications."

Let's emphasize that again: The plot was foiled because a large number of people were under surveillance concerning their spending, travel and communications. Which leads us to wonder if Scotland Yard would have succeeded if the ACLU or the New York Times had first learned the details of such surveillance programs.

How do the Democrats respond to our near miss? With relief? With maybe (God forbid) appreciation?...... of course not:

"Ted Kennedy chimed in that "it is clear that our misguided policies are making America more hated in the world and making the war on terrorism harder to win." Mr. Kennedy somehow overlooked that the foiled plan was nearly identical to the "Bojinka" plot led by Ramzi Yousef and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to blow up airliners over the Pacific Ocean in 1995. Did the Clinton Administration's "misguided policies" invite that plot? And if the Iraq war is a diversion and provocation, just what policies would Senators Reid and Kennedy have us "focus" on?

Surveillance? Hmmm. Democrats and their media allies screamed bloody murder last year when it was leaked that the government was monitoring some communications outside the context of a law known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. FISA wasn't designed for, nor does it forbid, the timely exploitation of what are often anonymous phone numbers, and the calls monitored had at least one overseas connection. But Mr. Reid labeled such surveillance "illegal" and an "NSA domestic spying program." Other Democrats are still saying they will censure, or even impeach, Mr. Bush over the FISA program if they win control of Congress."

The important ending:

"As the time since 9/11 has passed, many of America's elites have begun to portray U.S. government policies as a greater threat than the terrorists themselves. George Soros and others have said this explicitly, and their political allies in Congress and the media have staged a relentless campaign against the very practices that saved innocent lives this week. We doubt that many Americans who will soon board an airplane agree."

And this, my friends, is why the Democrats have no business being in control while we fight this war on terror.

For God's sake, tell your friends.

Uhh...Wow.

Allah has put together all you need to know about the most recent terror plot:

The Guardian has this:

"When the jets were in midair over American cities, they planned to combine the explosives and detonate them using an electric charge from an iPod, the security services believe. [British Airways] flights were among the targets. US officials said the bombers had been seeking to hit New York, Washington, San Francisco, Boston and Los Angeles. Other airlines targeted were thought to be United, American and Continental."

the Independent says different:

"The suicide bombers allegedly intended to carry out three “phased” attacks on nine or 10 jets over a period of several months. The plan, it is understood, was to blow up the aircraft over the sea so that investigators would be unable to discover how the explosive - possibly a peroxide-based liquid explosive - was taken through the airport security without being detected."

the Blotter says the Brits had a man on the inside:

"They had an undercover operative deep inside the group of at least 30 terrorists who had developed a simple, effective and potentially devastating plan to close the world’s busiest airport, Heathrow, by carrying on small but deadly bombs concealed in sports drink containers and detonated by the flash of a disposable camera, intelligence and law enforcement officials told ABC News…
When the arrests were made Thursday morning, the plotters had reached the point of identifying airlines and routes, but had not yet picked flight numbers. An arrest in Pakistan two days ago prompted authorities to begin to their round-up of suspects."

Allah snarks a bit about the NSA implications of this:

"In the two or three days before the arrests, the cell was going operational, and authorities were pressed into action. MI5 and Scotland Yard agents tracked the plotters from the ground, while a knowledgeable American official says U.S. intelligence provided London authorities with intercepts of the group’s communications."

Take that, you "our civil liberties are being eroded" crowd. It's called National Security.

This is chilling:

"A British government source said an intercepted message from Pakistan telling the bombers to “go now” had triggered the arrests."

Allah goes on to ponder this:

"Curious. As is the claim of a senior Pakistani official, who told the Times of London that at least three of the people arrested were linked to AQ. As is the report in the Blotter that “two of those arrested in London came [to Pakistan] in the last few months for explosives training with known al Qaeda commanders.”

Allah also has a partial list of the suspects and their ages.

Allah also links to the TimesOnline article that has this stunning observation:

"Michael Chertoff, the US Homeland Security Secretary, said that the British plot was “getting really quite close to the execution stage”. For British and American crisis planners, the date August 22 looms large. This year it corresponds in the Islamic calendar to the day in 1427 which Muslims commemorate as when Muhammad took flight on the winged horse Buraq to the “furthest mosque”, usually assumed to be Jerusalem. Bernard Lewis, an expert on the Middle East, writes: “This might well be deemed an appropriate date for the apocalyptic ending of Israel and if necessary of the world.”

President Ahmadinejad of Iran has cited August 22 as the date on which he will give his final answer on nuclear development. The suggestion that the foiled British plot involved blowing up aircraft over towns and cities corresponds with a longstanding ambition held by al-Qaeda."

Good God. I think we might have dodged not just a bullet, but a firing squad.

Let's Say Thanks!

Craig sent me this awesome site sponsored by Xerox where you click on a card, sign your name and hometown, write a message (or click one of their pre-written ones) and they send it for free to a soldier overseas.

GO DO IT NOW!

Ouch to Ned Lamont

WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) -- Sen. Joe Lieberman set out on his go-it-alone re-election campaign Thursday and seized on the terror arrests in Britain to argue that his Democratic opponent, Ned Lamont, does not fully understand the danger facing the nation.

More:

He seized on the terror plot in Britain to criticize Lamont's opposition to the war in Iraq.

''I'm worried that too many people, both in politics and out, don't appreciate the seriousness of the threat to American security and the evil of the enemy that faces us -- more evil or as evil as Nazism and probably more dangerous than the Soviet communists we fought during the long Cold War,'' Lieberman said.

''If we just pick up like Ned Lamont wants us to do, get out by a date certain, it will be taken as a tremendous victory by the same people who wanted to blow up these planes in this plot hatched in England. It will strengthen them and they will strike again.''

There is no doubt in my mind that Lieberman will win. Bets anyone?

"I'll pray for you, you filthy Jew"

Ok, I'm paraphrasing. Did you catch the anti-semitic slurs hurled at a Jewish Fox News producer after the Cynthia McKinney loss by her gang of black panthers? Geeze. I just love how one of them is saying "I'll pray for you" as the one beside her is slurring him. Next thing ya know she will be referring to New York as "Hymie town."

Hot Air has it here.

Bomb plot.

First reported. Via the BBC and NRO:

"According to BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera, the authorities believe the target of the plot included US as well as UK airlines flying to all parts of the US and it seemed to have involved a number of waves of simultaneous attacks. It is thought there could have been three waves of attacks on different days, targeting three planes each time. It is believed that the plot may have revolved around liquids of some kind. Officials say the explosives could have been sophisticated and extremely effective. It is possible they could have been carried in fizzy drink bottles or cans. The plot was expected to be carried out soon - not on Thursday or in next couple of days, but not much later."

I'm just going to link good posts on this:

JunkYardBlog reminds us of a very similar plot.

Congressional reaction.

Good short summary.

Good to know...

that I was completely wrong about the fake photo scandal not being put out there for the general public to see. Hot Air, LGF, and Ace are on the news shows and still blogging about many other photos. At the very least we can praise our guys for making sure that in the future the MSM guys will be checking their photos very closely. And that is a win for truth and for all of us. (Even the one's on the left whose only response to this seems to have been, "but does it change the story???")

Hizballah

I heard Charles Rangel the other day on the news pretty much comparing our military to the henchmen that controlled the prisons under Saddam. He said that Gitmo was no different. I see this attitude among many on the left. They feel our military, and now Israel's military, as really no different than those we fight.

Time magazine has an excellent article on Hizballah. I think that two photos tell the story though. The first is here. These little boys are members of al-Mahdi scouts. They cannot be more than 10 or 11 yrs old. These scouts train as future leaders in Hizballah. They pledge their commitment to martydom. Notice the hand salute. The picture is chilling.

Click enter to the first photo of the series. A scout leader teaches survival skills to the youth. As you can see in the photo there is a Star of David made of stones on the ground so that anyone entering the tent has to step on it.

I would like to say to Mr. Rangel that his comments are offensive to me as the daughter of a man who not only served in the armed forces, but attained much of his integrity, honor, and character there. He was a man on the road to nowhere and the army changed his life. Our military does not teach hate. It does not denigrate someone else's faith from the time you are a little boy. It teaches a person not to sacrifice for one's own self, but to sacrifice for others, so that they may be free. Most importantly, It teaches to fight against tyranny, not to fight to achieve it.

Mr. Rangel may not see the difference, but I certainly do.

Looking at the faces of those little boys we see the faces of those who will grow up wanting to kill Jews and Americans if given the chance. To me the war in Iraq and the war going on in Israel and Lebanon is all about removing from power those that teach little boys to raise their hands in a Nazi like salutes and to hate those who are different from themselves.

How can so many here in this country be against Israel in this? I understand the concern for civilians. Certainly. But I don't see the left wanting Israel to fight this enemy at all. I don't understand it. It is an enemy that makes their dreaded "religious right" here in this country look like pot smoking Harley riders. Do they not see the radical Muslim as a threat at all? Was 9-11 nothing? Did it teach them nothing?


It would be easy to walk away from all this. To welcome our boys home, pat ourselves on the back for creating a Democracy in the Middle East and keep our fingers crossed that it sticks. But then I look at the faces of those little boys and the countless others like them caught in the web of terrorism dressed up in a "holy war." I look into the eyes of women like the ones in the 8th of the photo essay. I can't look into their faces because they are covered head to toe in a burka that hides their lives. An oppressive place that I can't even imagine being in as a woman. I think to myself that there must be a different future here. There has to be.

All my life I have heard liberals say that we must "effect change." Why is it that in the most oppressive part of the world they have no interest in affecting change at all? Especially when not changing will lead us back to the kind of thinking that brought us 9-11.

The great Michael Moore speaks!

Jeff at PW did such a good job at fisking this that I had to just swipe his whole post:

From Michael Moore’s website, “It’s All About Who You Sleep With ... a Cautionary Note from Michael Moore”:

Friends,

Let the resounding defeat of Senator Joe Lieberman send a cold shiver down the spine of every Democrat who supported the invasion of Iraq and who continues to support, in any way, this senseless, immoral, unwinnable war. Make no mistake about it: We, the majority of Americans, want this war ended—and we will actively work to defeat each and every one of you who does not support an immediate end to this war.

...by painting you in blackface or calling you a Zionist toady. You hearing us, Jewlovers?

Sorry, but that’s just how the “moderates” roll!

Nearly every Democrat set to run for president in 2008 is responsible for this war. They voted for it or they supported it. That single, stupid decision has cost us 2,592 American lives and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives. Lieberman and Company made a colossal mistake—and we are going to make sure they pay for that mistake. Payback time started last night.

I realize that there are those like Kerry and Edwards who have now changed their position and are strongly anti-war. Perhaps that switch will be enough for some to support them. For others, like me—while I’m glad they’ve seen the light—their massive error in judgment is, sadly, proof that they are not fit for the job. They sided with Bush, and for that, they may never enter the promised land.

You see, one must must be pure to withstand the purge. The rest of you are on the list.

Sorry, but that’s just the “moderate” way...

To Hillary, our first best hope for a woman to become president, I cannot for the life of me figure out why you continue to support Bush and his war. I’m sure someone has advised you that a woman can’t be elected unless she proves she can kick ass just as crazy as any man. I’m here to tell you that you will never make it through the Democratic primaries unless you start now by strongly opposing the war. It is your only hope. You and Joe have been Bush’s biggest Democratic supporters of the war. Last night’s voter revolt took place just a few miles from your home in Chappaqua. Did you hear the noise? Can you read the writing on the wall?

Uh, we can’t really forgive Kerry and Edwards. But we’re willing to forgive you if you take the proper stance. Because we could really use a chick as a candidate in ‘08.

To show how enlightened we are. And of course, “moderate.” So you see, you’re useful. NOW DO AS WE SAY OR PAYBACK WILL BE SWIFT AND SEVERE!

To every Democratic Senator and Congressman who continues to back Bush’s War, allow me to inform you that your days in elective office are now numbered. Myself and tens of millions of citizens are going to work hard to actively remove you from any position of power.

If you don’t believe us, give Joe a call.

But do it now, please. Because by November he’ll probably be back in the driver’s seat. Whereas Mike will be wading in a kiddie pool filled with custard and chocolate sprinkles.

Though the custard will be of the low fat variety. Because that’s just the “moderate” way.

(via conservative voice; h/t tpeters)

Some jokes just aren't funny.

Who else? Keith Olbermann.


Keith Olbermann
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
MSNBC Friday, July 28, 2006 July 28, 2006

Letters to the Editor
MSNBC

Dear Mr. Olbermann,

We are deeply dismayed by your ongoing use of the Nazi "Sieg Heil" salute, both on your program and in public appearances -- including the recent Television Critics Association press tour -- while holding up a mask of Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly.

While we understand that your aim is to entertain your audience by taking pot shots at Mr. O'Reilly, your repeated use of the Nazi salute has resulted in many complaints from our constituents, including Holocaust survivors and their families who find the use of this gesture offensive and repugnant in any context.

The Nazi salute is more than just a remnant of history, but serves as a calling card for modern-day neo-Nazis and white supremacists. We believe that the use of gestures and imagery associated with the Nazis – even in jest – only serves to trivialize the Holocaust and denigrate the memory of the six million Jews and others who died as a result of Hitler's Final Solution.
As a respected and well-known media personality, your actions have consequences and can set a standard for others to emulate. We are especially concerned that young people viewing your program might take their cues from your free use of the "Sieg Heil" salute.

In light of these concerns, we hope that you will reconsider your use of the Nazi salute in the future.

Sincerely,
The Anti-Defamation League

h/t Cormac


I've said it before and I will say it again. Using the Nazi and Holocaust reference lightly just diminishes the horror we need to teach our children of the history of true hate. And that goes for all sides of political debate.

Why Lieberman lost.

Last week Ron Rubin wrote an article at The Jewish Press called "Why Lieberman will lose" and he was right on the money of why he did in fact lose. The last two paragraphs say it all:

"Politically, it would have been far less costly for Lieberman to join the guilt-ridden “illegitimacy of military power” wing of his party. But to overlook the brutality of hate-filled fanatics would be to betray his bedrock religious principles and expose this country and the Middle East to an even more likely terrorist threat.

The conclusion to be drawn from Lieberman’s pending defeat is that his party’s self-styled “progressive” human-rights base is ideologically bankrupt when it comes to fighting the most bigoted enemy of our time."

Oh yeah....

The video below is a ITB Graduation Speech by LTC Randolph C. White Jr. As Blackfive says it will be the best 12 minutes and 11 seconds you will spend online.





Here is the text.

Here is my favorite part: (forgive the caps, that is how it was typed) (emphasis mine)

THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST ARE NOT NECESSARILY ON CAMPUS OR IN THE CORPORATE BOARDROOM RIGHT NOW. THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST ARE YOU MEN! …YOU OUT THERE ON THE PARADE FIELD. DON'T EVER THINK THAT THE KIDS RUNNING AROUND ON SOME COLLEGE CAMPUSES PROTESTING AND WHINING HAVE ANYTHING ON YOU. YOU ARE PRIVILEGED TO HAVE THE ONE ADVANTAGE THAT ALL COVET... YOU WILL KNOW MANY OF LIFES TRUTHS – YOU'LL KNOW ABOUT THE GOINGS ON IN IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, DJIBOUTI, THE PHILIPPINES, THE BALKANS AND MANY OTHER PLACES. YOU WON'T HAVE TO GUESS OR BASE AN OPINION ON SOME BESPECTACLED SO CALLED EXPERT, OR HOLLYWOOD “PROFESSIONAL PRETENDER” WHO DEFINES DANGER AS CROSSING THE STREET, LEAVING CAMPUS, OR HAVING A DECAF LATTE INSTEAD OF A REGULAR. YOUR HEAD WILL NOT BE FILLED WITH THE EMPTY THEORY OF THE OLD PATHETIC SLACKERS WHO TEACH ON MANY CAMPUSES... THE ONES WHO RAN TO CANADA, OR HID OUT IN EUROPE, WHILE MANY OF THE VETS WITH US HERE TODAY PUT IT ALL ON THE LINE IN A PLACE CALLED VIETNAM. THE SNIDE ARROGANT CROWD WHO SPEND THE DAY BLAMING AMERICA FOR EVERY WRONG IN THE WORLD BEFORE GOING HOME TO SLEEP AT NIGHT UNDER THE BLANKET OF FREEDOM PROVIDED BY BETTER MEN! ...BETTER MEN SUCH AS YOU STANDING ON THE GRADUATION FIELD.

YOU'LL SEE THE SMILES OF IRAQI'S HAVING THE CHANCE TO VOTE, OR TO MAKE A SIMPLE CHOICE, OF AFGHANI CHILDREN RECEIVING 21 ST CENTURY MEDICAL CARE OR GOING TO SCHOOL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THEIR LIVES. YOU'LL SEE MORE IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS THAN MANY WILL IN A LIFETIME, AND BECAUSE OF THIS YOU WILL KNOW SOME OF LIFE'S HARD TRUTHS AND SOME OF ITS PUREST DEVOTIONS. YOU'LL NEVER HAVE TO GUESS.

and this:

I FOR ONE WILL NEVER...EVER... APOLOGIZE FOR BEING AN AMERICAN AND DON'T YOU EVER FEEL THAT YOU HAVE TO. WE'RE NOT PERFECT BUT I CAN THINK OF NO PLACE BETTER. WE DIDN'T BECOME THE GREAT COUNTRY THAT WE ARE BY ACCIDENT....WE EARNED IT! ---- AND WHILE WE WERE AT IT--- WE KEPT AND CONTINUE TO KEEP A LARGE PORTION OF THE WORLD FREE. AMERICAN BLOOD AND SACRIFICE IS THE INDISPUTABLE PART OF THE WORLD EQUATION. MORE PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD ARE TRYING TO COME TO OUR SHORES THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY. WE REMAIN THE BEACON OF HOPE FOR MANY, AND GOD WILLING IT WILL ALWAYS BE SO. WE'RE NUMBER 1...DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR IT – BE DAMN PROUD OF IT!

The left's funniest guy...

Jon Stewart shows us "the other Iraq." He makes fun, but nice to hear about all the same.

Reader Joe Wierzbicki sent this video and has this to say:

"The 3 Iraqi provinces that make up Iraqi Kurdistan have built a peaceful democracy modeled after Western nations. Not one single Coalition soldier has been killed in Iraqi Kurdistan. No westerners have been kidnapped. And just this past week, Iraqi Kurdistan's regional government passed a new investment law designed to encourage investment by Americans in the region - as they seek to embrace free markets and economic growth. It's all part of Iraqi Kurdistan's effort to reach out to Americans and other westerners as part of their "The Other Iraq" campaign.

So what does someone like Stewart do when confronted with such progress - well, there isn't much else to do but poke fun at the success being made by the Iraqi Kurds. Stewart's schtick is funny, and his humor will bring a smile to your face. But the even bigger smile should come from the recognition that at least part of Iraq is moving forward with the potential for a very bright and promising future. Watch the 1 minute and 35 second clip here:"

Staged photo???

I don't know...what do you think?

I honestly don't think I will trust another picture coming out the region.

via Michelle

Bloggers on Fox!

We finally get to see the mysterious Ace, all 10 seconds of him discussing the fake photos scandal.

Charles Johnson of little Green Footballs was on Dayside. (video .wmv) I love Charles and all the hard work he does for the journalists who end up using his stories, but he needs some nice shirts. Ya'll hit the tip jar for him or something...;-)

Michelle has a good roundup on her vent today.

You know it's bad....

when a well known liberal and former counsel to President Clinton Lanny Davis discusses with concern the hate filled left. Here he is on the anti-war lefties running the Ned Lamont campaign:


"My brief and unhappy experience with the hate and vitriol of bloggers on the liberal side of the aisle comes from the last several months I spent campaigning for a longtime friend, Joe Lieberman.

This kind of scary hatred,"

More:

"A friend of mine just returned from Connecticut, where he had spoken on several occasions on behalf of Joe Lieberman. He happens to be a liberal antiwar Democrat, just as I am. He is also a lawyer. He told me that within a day of a Lamont event--where he asked the candidate some critical questions--some of his clients were blitzed with emails attacking him and threatening boycotts of their products if they did not drop him as their attorney. He has actually decided not to return to Connecticut for the primary today; he is fearful for his physical safety."

His safety.

If Lamont wins it will be a win for the worst of the Democratic party.

via Powerline

Update: I wanted to add something Michelle quoted of Mark Levin that I think perfectly illustrates a point I was trying to make in the comments:

"And while Davis correctly condemns the poison flowing from his own side, this is a serious problem for the Left, not the Right. Our nuts are on the fringes; his nuts run the DNC, their PACs, and their think-tanks."

I could not have said it better.

I just closed my eyes after reading......

this and prayed that someone somewhere near Cindy Sheehan will get her the therapy she needs. I do not mean that in a sarcastic way. I mean that sincerely. Everyone here knows that I have great sympathy for this woman. But it is clear to me that she is drowning in her grief to the point where reality is no longer an option she chooses.

Put aside all the "heart" thing. Put aside her "fast." She has made a home where the President lives. (and will live permanently when he is no longer President) Does no one else find this beyond weird? She has left her whole family behind. Divorced. And now purchased land with Casey's insurance money to live next to the President.

This is not a well person.

via LGF

Madonna's contribution to world peace.

Will this chick ever go away?

Hillary Clinton

“Lying b**** . . . shrew . . . Machiavellian . . . evil, power-mad witch . . . the ultimate self-serving politician.”

Yeah. Can you believe this horrible namecalling!!? I would be all over my party for resorting to such language, but...hey, it ain't my party.

Heh.

via NRO

I know what you many of you will say. Obviously Hillary won't get the Democratic nomination. WRONG. She will.

Remember the green helmet guy parading the dead......

at Qana and elsewhere for the past 10 yrs??

He may be identified as this guy:

"Mark MacKinnon of The Globe and Mail reported from nearby Tyre, Lebanon on July 26, describing the many difficulties caused by the rising death toll in that city. "Abu Shadi, the mortician at the government hospital in the city, agrees. He's processed 100 bodies -- many of them grotesquely mangled and burned -- and on his pickup runs has been forced to leave behind many more that he can't recover from cars and destroyed buildings.[...]Based on these descriptions, it seems highly likely that Abu Shadi the mortician and Abu Shadi the green-helmeted "civil defense worker" are one and the same. And, in the double role, Abu Shadi was among the first to arrive, before the media did, with his refrigerated truck that in recent days had been carrying around corpses."

Well now, how convenient is that? It makes one wonder if he was dropping as many off as he was picking up?

via PW

P.S. I'm not back yet, but the photo stories buzzing around the net is just amazing.

Update: Check out this woman who keeps losing her home in the war. via MVRWC

Another debunked photo.

Update: Rueters has pulled all of Adnan Hajj's 920 photos. Allah has the full story and every update you can imagine. Including another proven doctored photo(the one with the fake "missles" you have been seeing.)

Unfreakingbelievable! I predict this is the beginning of the fake photos scandal...

that the general public will probably never hear about . I have been too busy having an actual life to blog, but this fake photo thing just boggles the mind. Who can we really trust here? Geeze. And what other photos have been doctored and sent out by the MSM as real?

Ace has more.