When I get to it...

I am going to post on reading Ann Coulter's book "How to Talk To A Liberal (if you must)." I started reading it at my Mom's and haven't gotten back to it. I have a terrible cold. It is driving me crazy. I did want to mention something at the beginning of the book though.

As everyone here knows I have a thing about PERSONAL behavior. Politics is one thing, but how you act in your own personal life is really what defines you as a person. People can get angry over issues and policies but at the end of the day I want to know what kind of person you are. (Please save me your whining over how AWFUL Ann is, you don't know her and neither do I)

Anyway, remember when Bush first took office and the stories went around about the Clinton staffers vandalizing the offices? I heard they took off all the "W's" in the keyboards. Well, that seemed childish to me, but what could you really expect from those guys after all. Bush just brushed it off in his usual nice way. I read in Ann's book that the accounting office shows that the Clinton staffers did $15,000 worth of damage to the white house offices.

$15,000!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just couldn't believe it!!! It's like they were some punk rock band trashing a hotel room! How....redneck can you get????? These guys are suppose to be ladies and gentlemen. They are suppose to be professionals. There is just no excuse for that kind of behavior.

Am I the only one appalled by this? It shows the utter lack of class those people had. I cannot believe that it was just brushed under the rug. It might seem like a little thing to most of you, but to me something like that tells me all I need to know about someone.

I had to get that off my chest. Now, if I could only get this cold off of it.

Update: In an effort to dispute this, jandrew looked up the report from the incidents Ann mentioned in her book and in fact confirmed all that Ann Coulter said. A Summary of damages is on page 2. A listing of costs is in there too. They could never arrest anyone in trashing our White House, which is a national treasure, because no one would admit to it and the Bush administration would not seek damages. This report just proves to me what trashy people these guys were.

Political Correctness Gone Wild.

LONDON - "Has anyone ever actually seen a rainbow-colored sheep? That's surely what a few British toddlers are asking.
Teachers at nursery schools in Oxfordshire, England, have asked children to change the words of "Baa, Baa, Black Sheepto avoid the possibility of offending anyone."

Whatever shall the pot call the kettle then????

via NRO

Open Thread.

I"ll be busy this morning.

Saddam's Last Stand.

Here is "a special, double-length article from the upcoming May/June issue of Foreign Affairs, presenting key excerpts from the recently declassified book-length report of the USJFCOM Iraqi Perspectives Project." It is described as this:

"For the first time since the end of World War II, American analysts did not have to guess what had happened on the other side of a conflict but could actually read the defeated enemy's documents and interrogate its leading figures. To make the most of this unique opportunity, the U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) commissioned a comprehensive study of the inner workings and behavior of Saddam Hussein's regime based on previously inaccessible primary sources. Drawing on interviews with dozens of captured senior Iraqi military and political leaders and hundreds of thousands of official Iraqi documents (hundreds of them fully translated), this two-year project has changed our understanding of the war from the ground up. The study was partially declassified in late February; its key findings are presented here."

It is fascinating. Saddam absolutely believed that France and Russia would never allow the U.S. to invade Iraq. Then during the invasion Saddam also believed that he was winning. He hid his air support in the belief that he would rather save them for securing regional power. Even more amusing (if it weren't so sad) is Saddam's cat and mouse game with WMD's. He was so determined that the Arab world think that he indeed had WMD's, that he sent memos that only increased suspicion by international intelligence. The whole regime seemed to be a plot from some ridiculous comedy. Over and over there are made up operations and reports. Take this for example:

"One senior Iraqi official alleged that the commission's leaders were so fearful of Saddam that when he ordered them to initiate weapons programs that they knew Iraq could not develop, they told him they could accomplish the projects with ease. Later, when Saddam asked for updates on the nonexistent projects, they simply faked plans and designs to show progress."

Why did they lie? Well, you would too. This excerpt explains:

"A 1982 incident vividly illustrated the danger of telling Saddam what he did not want to hear. At one low point during the Iran-Iraq War, Saddam asked his ministers for candid advice. With some temerity, the minister of health, Riyadh Ibrahim, suggested that Saddam temporarily step down and resume the presidency after peace was established. Saddam had him carted away immediately. The next day, pieces of the minister's chopped-up body were delivered to his wife."

As was obvious during the invasion, the Saddam army was not exactly a force to be reckoned with. In order for Saddam to inspire his troop leaders, he decides to invoke Allah:

"Saddam told his officers that Allah wanted to insult the United States by giving his strongest personal abilities to the materially weak Iraqis."

Although it was well known that Saddam was not a relgious man, he seemed more than willing to invoke Allah if it would garner loyalty to him. The thing that sticks out to me in this report is that Saddam was so delusional with trumped up power mainly based on fear, that it is a scary thing indeed to imagine him with any real access to obtaining more power in the region and hurting the United States.

The left will never admit it, but Al Queda would have happily given him what they could and he would have happily accepted it and ordered those so afraid of him to do even the unthinkable.

A power hungry man is a scary thing, but a delusional power hungry monstorous dictator is something that should never be allowed.

Michelle Malkin interviews Sheehan and other war protestors.

You have got to watch this video.

Sheehan answers the question of why there is still no headstone on her son's grave.

via Ace.

Why Feminist Talk Radio will never work.

Because most women in America don't share the values that these women share:

"Led by former FCC Commissioner Susan Hess and Jones MediaAmerica exec Edie Hilliard, a Seattle-based MoveOn.org supporter, the fledgling operation claims its programming will focus on lifestyle topics, rather than politics.
With Jane Fonda, Rosie O'Donnell, Billie Jean King and Gloria Steinem providing financing, in addition to Hilliard's far-left background and that of its newly-hired hosts, however, will this really be possible?"

Simply put, we don't want to be preached to by women who took a movement designed to liberate women in the workplace and provide equal opportunity for them and turned it into an abortion loving, man hating, sexual exploitation driven, prozac taking coalition of losers in life.

The story is here.

via Ace.

In case you missed it...

Here is the Press conference with the President this morning and his exchange with Helen Thomas. Always fun. But I think this is what we call a smackdown.

Here's the transcript.

The Helen Thomas exchange:

BUSH: Helen, after that brilliant performance at the Gridiron, I am...

QUESTION: You're going to be sorry.

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: Well, then, let me take it back.

QUESTION: I'd like to ask you, Mr. President -- your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime.
Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is: Why did you really want to go to war? From the moment you stepped into the White House, your Cabinet officers, former Cabinet officers, intelligence people and so forth -- but what's your real reason? You have said it wasn't oil, the quest for oil. It hasn't been Israel or anything else. What was it?

BUSH: I think your premise, in all due respect to your question and to you as a lifelong journalist -- that I didn't want war. To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen, in all due respect.

QUESTION: And...

BUSH: Hold on for a second, please. Excuse me. Excuse me. No president wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it's just simply not true.

BUSH: My attitude about the defense of this country changed in September the 11th. When we got attacked, I vowed then and there to use every asset at my disposal to protect the American people.

Our foreign policy changed on that day. You know, we used to think we were secure because of oceans and previous diplomacy. But we realized on September the 11th, 2001, that killers could destroy innocent life.

And I'm never going to forget it. And I'm never going to forget the vow I made to the American people, that we will do everything in our power to protect our people.

Part of that meant to make sure that we didn't allow people to provide safe haven to an enemy, and that's why I went into Iraq.

(CROSSTALK)

BUSH: Hold on for a second. Excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for Al Qaida.

BUSH: That's where Al Qaida trained and that's where...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BUSH: Helen, excuse me.

That's where -- Afghanistan provided safe haven for Al Qaida. That's where they trained, that's where they plotted, that's where they planned the attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans.

I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council. That's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed.

And the world said, "Disarm, disclose or face serious consequences." And therefore, we worked with the world. We worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world.
And when he chose to deny the inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did. And the world is safer for it.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir. Secretary Rumsfeld...

BUSH: You're welcome. I didn't really regret it. I kind of semi-regretted it.

via Hugh Hewitt

Operation "Negative Media Coverage."

Jack Kelly quotes Army veteran Bill Roggio on the news coverage in Iraq:

"The reporting on Operation Swarmer is a microcosm of the sub-par reporting on the Iraq war," Mr. Roggio said. "Events are immediately placed into a political context. Commentary is often mixed in with reporting. There is little understanding of operational intent or how the military even works. Operations are viewed as individual events, and not placed in a greater context. Failure and faulty assumptions are the baselines for coverage and analysis. Success is arbitrarily determined by a reporter or editor's biases. The actions of the U.S. and Iraqi military are viewed with suspicion and even contempt."

via Blogs for Bush

What do you think Roggio is referring to? Well, let's see. Here is a description of what happened with Operation Swarmer from Operation Iraqi Freedom:

Operation Swarmer included more than 1,500 troops from the Iraqi Army’s 4th Division, the U.S. 101st Airborne Division and 101st Combat Aviation Brigade. The Soldiers isolated the objective area in a combined air and ground assault.
More than 50 Attack and assault aircraft and 200 tactical vehicles participated in the operation. Troops from the Iraqi Army’s 4th Division, the “Rakkasans” from the 187th Infantry Regiment and the “Hunters” from the 9th Cavalry Regiment assaulted multiple objectives. Forces from the Iraqi 2nd Commando Brigade then completed a ground infiltration to secure numerous structures in the area.
Initial reports indicate a number of weapons caches were captured, containing artillery shells, IED-making materials and military uniforms. Iraqi and Coalition troops also detained 41 suspected insurgents.

And what about the Iraqi forces we have been training?

The Iraqi security force continues to take the lead in operations – last week 35 percent , 174, of the 502 operations were ISF-independent operations which were completely planned, rehearsed and conducted by Iraqi forces.
One example of a fully-independent operation was a counterinsurgency operation March 15. Soldiers from 7th Iraqi Army Division conducted the operation in an area known as the “Triad” region in western Al Anbar Province. It was the first time an operation was planned, rehearsed, and executed entirely by the Iraqi Army in this area. A Coalition Military Transition Team accompanied the Iraqi soldiers as they searched for insurgents and weapons caches in the towns of Albu Hayatt and Khaffajiah.

But THIS is how Time.com reported Operation Swarmer with the headline "On Scene: How Operation Swarmer Fizzled":

"But contrary to what many many television networks erroneously reported, the operation was by no means the largest use of airpower since the start of the war. ("Air Assault" is a military term that refers specifically to transporting troops into an area.) In fact, there were no airstrikes and no leading insurgents were nabbed in an operation that some skeptical military analysts described as little more than a photo op. What’s more, there were no shots fired at all and the units had met no resistance, said the U.S. and Iraqi commanders."

No mention of the insurgents captured or IED making materials found (which probably saved untold number of lives) Which story do you think the American public will read? And we wonder why the American people are discouraged with Iraq. I don't expect the stories to be all positive, just fair.

Too much to hope for I suppose.

The Prime Minister of Iraq..

gives his vision for Iraq.

"Ultimately, I will work to secure the reality of a democratic, liberal, peaceful Iraq -- a beacon for freedom in the Middle East. This is not merely a wish but an article of faith."

Amen brother. Amen.

The Anti-war protestors....

you never seem to see in the MSM.

The Remarkable Miss. King.

I remember the days when I use to wait patiently for my political magazines. I would snatch them from the mailbox and read them cover to cover. My favorite for some 20 years was National Review. Oh, how I loved reading Florence King. I would read her column first. "The Florence King Reader" is one of my favorite books. (If you haven't read it, go buy it and do so now)

I haven't heard from her in a long while. NRO found a article written recently by her with her usual southern wit and scorn. It is for the ladies I'm afraid. Not about politics, but "female troubles" and a subject that I never write about but will tell you now..... Doctors. I hate Doctors. I hate Doctor appointments. I hate the red tape. I hate the way Doctors are only in it for the money now. I hate hate hate everything medical. Miss King gives you the reason why.

Enjoy.

Tastes like chicken....

"How Do You Properly Cook an Alligator?" is the subject of a front-page story in today's Wall Street Journal by Jane Zhang. This one is "glazed and spiced teriyaki-style." Yum.

via boing boing

V for Vendetta. (or Very Stupid)

Right Wing News saw the movie:

"V for Vendetta begins in England, 2020, which is run by fascist Christians
who murder gays, exaggerate the threat of terrorism, and who literally appear to
listen in on everybody in Britain. If that sounds like some sort of Chomskyian
vision of America, that's because the filmmakers intended it that way. In fact,
the film goes out of its way at every turn to draw parallels between the bizarro
world left-wing view of America is becoming and the dystopian Britain of the
future.

Political dissidents are jailed, criticism of the government is not
allowed, gays are murdered, you see prisoners in Abu Ghraib style hoods, the
government carries out germ warfare attacks and blames terrorists for them, the
media is controlled by the government, and art is banned. All of this is done by
the cartoonishly evil "Conservative" Party which is supported by at least one
pedophilic priest, government operatives called "fingers" who apparently rape
women for being out after curfew, and armies of generic government thugs."

It just so happens that I was watching MTV last night where they were interviewing the producer, director, and actors in the movie. If I had not seen those interviews I would have thought that RWN was exaggerating. Trust me. He is not.

The producer openly admitted that he was trying to draw parallels between the government in this movie and the Bush admininistration. The book this movie was based on was written 25 yrs ago in reaction to the Thatcher administration in Great Britain. But I suppose all conservative governments are alike to those who see the world throught leftwing looney glasses. The actress in the movie even says that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Maybe in this actress's leftwing world one can't tell the difference, but the rest of us can.

The sad thing is that the people who made this movie, people like Michael Moore and the rest, honestly believe Christians would murder gays, ban art, and take away all civil liberties if given the chance. I don't know which is more pathetic, believing such garbage or trying to convince the American people to believe it.

They are free to keep trying to make us believe it. (unless we truly do take over and kill them of course) It only makes them look more ridiculous than they already do.

Did you mean adoption?

God Forbid.

The NYT article is subscription, so here is the gist of it: (I don't think I need to comment)

Amazon.com last week modified its search engine after an abortion
rights organization complained that search results appeared skewed toward
anti-abortion books.

Until a few days ago, a search of Amazon's catalog of
books using the word "abortion" turned up pages with the question, "Did you mean
adoption?" at the top, followed by a list of books related to abortion.

Amazon removed that question from the search results page after it
received a complaint from a member of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive
Choice, a national organization based in Washington.

"I thought it was offensive," said the Rev. James Lewis, a retired Episcopalian minister in Charleston, W.Va. "It represented an editorial position on their part."

Patty Smith, an Amazon spokeswoman, said there was no intent by the company to offer biased search results. She said the question "Did you mean adoption?" was an
automated response based on past customer behavior combined with the site's
spelling correction technology.

She said Amazon's software suggested adoption-related sources because "abortion" and "adoption" have similar spellings, and because many past customers who have searched for "abortion" have also searched for "adoption."

I'm Back!

Many thanks to BigDog, Dave in Texas, and MacStansbury for guest blogging for me! I haven't even had time to read what they posted (I admit I'm a bit scared to) Heh. I had a wonderful time at the beach. I may post some pictures tonight or tomorrow.

The only thing that I really hate about traveling is the unpacking. Ugh. I haven't watched the news for a week so I need to catch up today.

Hey BD, I wanted the last guest post

punk.

One Last Post

Was just sent this joke by a friend:

The Barber

One day a florist goes to a barber for a haircut. After the cut he asked about his bill and the barber replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The florist is pleased and leaves the shop. Next morning when the barber goes to open there is a thank you card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door. Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The cop is happy and leaves the shop. Next morning when the barber goes to open up there is a thank you card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door.

Later, a Republican comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The Republican is very happy and leaves the shop. The next morning when the barber goes to open, there is a thank you card and a dozen different books such as "How to Improve Your Business" and "Becoming More Successful."

Then a Democrat comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the barber again replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week." The Democrat is very happy and leaves the shop. The next morning when the barber goes to open up, there are a dozen Democrats lined up waiting for a free haircut.

And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between the right and the left.

Update:

Same friend sent me a joke for the Dem's amusement:

George W. Bush and a secret service agent are taking a stroll whenthey come upon a little girl carrying a basket with a blanketover it.
Curious, Bush asks the girl, "What's in the basket?"
She replies, "New baby kittens," and she opens the basket toshow him.
"How nice," says Bush. "What kind are they?"
The little girl says, "Republicans."
Bush smiles, pats the little girl on the head and continues on.
Three weeks later, Bush is taking another stroll, this timewith Karl Rove. They see the little girl again with the same basket.
Bush says, "Watch this, Karl --- it's really cute."
Theyapproach the little girl. Bush greets her and asks how the kittens aredoing, and she says, "Fine."
Then, smirking, he nudges Rove with his elbow and asks thelittle girl, "And can you tell us what kind of kittens they are?"
She replies, "Democrats."
Aghast, Bush says, "But three weeks ago you said they wereRepublicans!"
"I know," she says. "But now their eyes are open."

So long and thanks for all the fish

Well it's been a fun week-weekend guest posting here with RWS' blessing. I can't think of anything she'll feel like she has to edit, I can think of a few things she'll wince about. Good for me.

I tried to irritate the snot outta of the regulars, but I only scored with ck. She cracked me up though, so it was a good week.

Will leave you all with this. I learned this week that out of 300 million Americans, it is estimated that 100 million of us are related to someone who inprocessed through Ellis Island. Think about that for a moment. From the late 1880s until 1956, some 22 million immigrants came through Ellis... and saw this when they arrived.

Some were sent back. Some families were separated for years. But 98% of them came through, and became us.

We are truly a nation of immigrants. Loveable, faithful mutts.

God bless you all, on the left and the right. Thanks Sparkle, for the invite.

Dave

Civil War....

A reason to believe

So what's the truth? The principle in determining truth should be to apply the factual indicator test. A civil war is a visible event whose indicators includes the insubordination of armed units, mass refugee flows, the rise of rival governments, etc. The test is whether those events are being observed. What famous individuals say about a situation is a shortcut for encapsulating a factual assessment; it describes reality as public figures see it but is not the reality itself. That remains a mystery until developments unfold. One interesting indicator of how the US military sees the situation are its plans to turn over large parts of the country to Iraqi forces.

Cont'd:

Instead of insurgency the talking points have changed to how
Sunnis might soon become victims of an ethnically hostile Iraqi army in a Civil
War. Going from a boast of conquest to a portrayal of victim is usually an
indicator of something. In my view, the shift of meme from the "insurgency" to a
"civil war" is a backhanded way of admitting the military defeat of the
insurgency without abandoning the characterization of Iraq is an American
fiasco. It was Zarqawi and his cohorts themselves who changed the terms of
reference from fighting US forces to sparking a 'civil war'. With any luck,
they'll lose that campaign too.

Now, if the medea loses their campaign. Like Vietnam, we can win everywhere but at home.

Left of Sane

Anti-war protesters in SLC, elsewhere lament apathy

Conceit Alert!

''There are not enough young people here,'' said Paul Perchonock, 61, a physician. ''They don't see themselves as having a stake.''

Or..... They simply don't agree.

''It's very disappointing, especially in Washington, D.C.,'' she said. ''You think this is the place where people come to make things happen. I'm just not sure why there aren't more people here today.''

Your opinions are a distinct minority. Glad I could help.


More conceit from the Left: 'Law & Order' actor: I know more about war than troops

According to actor and comedian Richard Belzer, American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are too uneducated to be expressing support for the U.S. military mission since they're just "19 and 20-year-old kids who couldn't get a job" and "they don't read twenty newspapers a day."

In one sentance, he demonstrates his ignorance.


Leftists p***ing match: Senator fires back at U.S. family upset with seal hunt

In her response, Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette said that what she finds horrible is "the daily massacre of innocent people in Iraq, the execution of prisoners – mainly blacks – in American prisons, the massive sale of handguns to Americans, the destabilization of the entire world by the American government's aggressive foreign policy, etc."

What a hoot! I wonder why she bothered to reply. Apparently all the other Senators got a letter too, she was the only one to respond.

In their letter, the McLellans said they love Canada and have Canadian ancestors but cancelled a trip to Canada last year because of the seal hunt and will scrap plans for one this year if the spring hunt goes ahead, La Presse said.

Canadian ancestors?? Cancelling a vacation is an empty threat/gesture at best.

Update on Swarmer: Iraq Assault Was Military, not Political Effort, Officials Say