According to this article by Yahoo! News: Soldiers wounded in Iraq stay in Iraq or return to Iraq. Some have been injured a number of times. Some are in pain. Some are suffering from the consequences of injury. But they’re still in Iraq. They chose to return or stay in Iraq. They’re there by choice.
I can't understand this. But seeing their dedication, it makes some sense. In any case, they certainly make me feel very, very small.
Bravo to them all. May God bless them.
The UN reaches Darfur. The people cry for help and protection. Northern Sudanese say they will launch a jihad if the UN gives the people the help and protection they're asking for.
What should be done?
My father and I were driving in Chicago proper a year ago and we saw many signs for a NeoCon fair. My father and I, who agree with the neo-conservative agenda, were quite excited. That is, until we realized what the convention was really about.
NeoCon: Trade fair for interior design, facilities management, and workplace communications.
Pity. I was so looking forward to rubbing shoulders with the world's evil rulers.
The signs are up again in Chicago, taunting me with their empty promises of political fraternization and camaraderie.
Howdy, folks. I'm Mrs. Peel, another guest blogger RWS has recruited. I'm from Texas and a recent graduate of Texas A&M, where I studied engineering, and I currently work as an electrical engineer.
Let's kick things off by reading about how Democrats are like monkeys.
But that's such a broad topic, you might say. So many possibilities, you think.
Ah, but this news story tells all:
Republican U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave's re-election campaign was already heated, and it just got smelly as well: Her staff accused a Democratic activist Thursday of leaving an envelope full of dog feces at Musgrave's Greeley [Colorado] office.A "Weld County Democratic volunteer," huh? So, just a random loony who happens to ally herself with the Dems? Just like all the random loonies the Republicans have campaigning for them, right?
Musgrave spokesman Shaun Kenney said someone stuffed the envelope through the mail slot in the door on May 31 and then sped away in a car. Kenney said most of the preprinted return address was blacked out, but staffers used the nine-digit ZIP code to trace it to Kathleen Ensz, a Weld County Democratic volunteer.
Ensz told The Associated Press she left the envelope at Musgrave's office but said it "wasn't in the office doors, it was in the foyer." Asked what she meant by the act, she declined comment.
[Democratic opponent Paccione's spokesman James] Thompson said Ensz, vice chairwoman of a state Senate district committee for the county Democratic Party, has no formal ties to the Paccione campaign. [Emphasis added.]Thanks to Dafydd at Big Lizards for the article and the monkeys comparison.
RWS has graciously asked me to be one of her guest bloggers while she tends to other things out-of-town for the next week. I will endeavor to bring you as thoughtful and provocative writings as she does.
I was born in Los Angeles, raised in the San Fernando Valley and Orange County, and continue to live and work in the Southern California area. Interestingly, while California has the reputation of being a "blue" state, the blue areas are almost exclusive to the LA and Bay areas. We are a state that usually fields a legislature that is not only heavily Democrat, but many of the Democrats are neo-socialists; yet, we tend to elect Republican governors. This November Republican moderate Schwarzenegger faces far-left Democrat Phil Angelides. It promises to be an interesting summer.
Let this thread be one in which you can ask me any question you'd like. I may not be able to answer them right away (no Internet access at work...but I am home for lunch) but I will answer them.
Darleen
Had to post it.
Zaqawi wasn't really important anyway....Al Qaeda turned him in probably.
Good grief.
I am going out of town tomorrow (Friday) and will be gone 6 days. I have some new faces blogging for me while I am gone, so you guys be nice to my guest bloggers!
I'll be checking in when I can.
Claudia Rosett sums it up perfectly: (emphasis mine)
"The first and most basic stems from the command position he enjoyed. While the leaders of al-Qaeda like to dispatch suicide bombers, they themselves are not inclined to suicide. Their larger strategy in launching terrorist attacks on everything from police stations to mosques to wedding parties is to destroy the bonds of trust on which decent societies depend, erode the will to fight back, and clear the way for a takeover of power. Bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, issue bloodthirsty messages from their hideaways, but they have not offered themselves up for the kind of sacrifices they require of their followers. It is the capture or killing of such terrorist kingpins - and Zarqawi was one - that serves as the real disruption and deterrent.
Second, Zarqawi was found with the help of Iraqis, some of whom have been dancing in the streets to celebrate his death. In Iraq, that is a sign not only of opposition to terrorists but of the courage to stand up and defy them. It is of a piece with the decisions of millions of Iraqis over the last two years to turn out, despite death threats, to vote. They are telling each other, and the world, that they are willing to take large risks to build a decent, free society."
And then she adds:
"Finally, this is an excellent moment to step back and look at just how far in this war we have come. Five years ago, al-Qaeda's commanders, from their safe haven in Afghanistan, were training thousands of terrorists and planning the Sept. 11 strike on a sleeping America. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein ruled by terror, with a record of exporting brutality and war from Baghdad at any opportunity to wherever he could reach - invading his neighbors, rewarding Palestinian suicide bombers, and openly rejoicing over Sept. 11.
Today, elected governments lead Afghanistan and Iraq, which has just completed its cabinet lineup. Bin Laden is afraid to venture out of hiding; Saddam, pulled from his spider hole, is on trial in Baghdad. And now, Zarqawi is dead, and the circumstances of his death may encourage decent people not only in Iraq but elsewhere to help hunt down his collaborators."Mudville has it!!!
Also from Mudville, here's the video of Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman MG William Caldwell addressing reporters in Baghdad about the killing of Zarqawi.
Blogger has been out and it's been driving me crazy not to be able to post some stuff. Here goes.
Powerline has this:
Our friend Tom Bevan of Real Clear Politics wrote to point out this excellent analysis of the impact of Zarqawi's demise by Peter Wehner. Here are a couple of excerpts:
What happened in Iraq yesterday was not only a severe blow to al Qaeda and Islamic fascism, it was also an important moral moment. A man of almost incomprehensible cruelty and savagery has met his end; his days of orchestrating murders, beheadings, car bombings, and assassinations are over.The death of Abu Musab al Zarqawi also underscores the difficulty al Qaeda terrorists have been encountering in Iraq. Most of the media narrative about Iraq has been on the difficulties the United States faces. Those difficulties are real -- but they are far from the full story. What goes almost unnoticed is the enormous series of body blows our enemies have sustained. We have by now intercepted several key communications among terrorists in Iraq over the years -- and we keep learning about their despair at the progress of democracy and their unhappiness with the course of events.
The death of Mr. Zarqawi will add immeasurably to their troubles.
Earlier today, we noted the bizarre reactions of most of the Democrats who post at Democratic Underground to the news of Zarqawi's death. It would be easy to dismiss those comments as the ravings of a few fringe lunatics, except that there are so many of them. Actually, though, the DU posters aren't too far out of sync with some of their party's elected leaders, as the Washington Times notes in "Democrats call Zarqawi killing a stunt":
Some Democrats, breaking ranks from their leadership, today said the death of terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi in Iraq was a stunt to divert attention from an unpopular and hopeless war."This is just to cover Bush's [rear] so he doesn't have to answer" for Iraqi civilians being killed by the U.S. military and his own sagging poll numbers, said Rep. Pete Stark, California Democrat. "Iraq is still a mess -- get out."
Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Democrat, said Zarqawi was a small part of "a growing anti-American insurgency" and that it's time to get out.
"We're there for all the wrong reasons," Mr. Kucinich said.
Bam. Plus: 17 other raids.
Powerline also has pictures of Iraqis celebrating Zarqawi's death.
Zarquawi dead.
Yes!
Thanks to my commenters for letting me know. Summer and kids keep getting into my reading time.
What makes this even better was that Zarquawi's location was given to us by Iraqi intelligence. We should brace ourselves for some revenge killings. But chopping the head off the snake (so to speak) will hopefully prove to be the beginning of the end for these monsters.
*And how does the msm choose to cover this awesome news? NRO gives us a taste:
"It's sad that within minutes of announcing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death, the network morning shows were already carrying criticism of the Bush administration. Not only did NBC invite Sen. Joe Biden so he could attack Bush incompetence (funny day for that!), ABC's Bill Weir reminded the audience that Zarqawi beheaded American Nicholas Berg, and then replayed Berg's left-wing dad saying at the time that he had no desire for his son's killers to be killed. Weir then reported that he spoke to Berg's father this morning, and he condemned the Zarqawi killing as part of an endless cycle of retribution."
Sad and sick. Really.
Update: A timeline of Zarqawi's atrocities. Also, Hugh Hewitt tells us: "Prime Minister Malaki followed the announcement of the end of Zarqawi with the completion of the cabinet process."
As Hugh says..."A very good day in Iraq."
Richard Cohen writes in the New York Daily News:
"The pontiff went late last month to that place where 1.5 million people, mostly Jews, were murdered and this is what he said: "In a place like this, words fail. In the end, there can only be a dread silence - a silence which is itself a heartfelt cry to God. Why, Lord, did You remain silent? How could You tolerate all this?"
Others have asked how the Vatican under Pope Pius XII could have remained silent during the Holocaust. Some have asked how the Polish church could have remained silent even when Poles massacred around 40 Jewish Holocaust survivors. This was in July 1946, almost two years after the liberation of Poland. The police stood by. The army stood by. The church said nothing.
Now, though, Benedict has actually said something. He said more or less what I did after visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau. And, before that, Treblinka, and afterward, Buchenwald and Terezin: "Why, Lord, did You remain silent? How could You tolerate all this?" Only I put it differently. Where were You, God? I don't think You were silent. I don't even think You were there."
This is the kind of thing that convinces me that it is in the interest of many media types to smear our military by any means possible. A mistake? I don't think so. I think they just got caught.
Read the whole thing.
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Charles Schumer, who has likened $7 million in federal cuts to New York's bioterrorism programs to "rubbing salt in an open wound," voted to cut those programs by 10.4 percent last year, according to Senate records.
It gets better!
Schumer also voted for a $123 million bioterrorism cut during a preliminary vote on the package that passed 94-3 in October. He was joined by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton both times.
via BigDog.
Oookkk...strange:
"Fresh from rehab, Rep. Patrick Kennedy said yesterday he wants to be treated like an African-American from Washington if and when he gets charged for crashing his car on Capitol Hill.
Denying that he was drunk and or that he asked the Capitol Police for preferential treatment, Kennedy, a Rhode Island congressman, said he's prepared "in terms of bookings, in terms of mug shots, fingerprints, whatever they might have me do."
"It's what anyone else would have done to them if they were an African-American in Anacostia," Kennedy said in a shaky voice, referring to the mostly minority neighborhood in southeastern Washington.
Later, Kennedy fretted that "there are probably people who want to throw the book at me a little more to prove that they're not treating me special."
Keany sent me this prayer that Paul Harvey said on air. It doesn't say when, but here it is in part and it says a lot in a short form:
"... 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment...."
Ted Kennedy:
"A vote for this amendment is a vote for bigotry pure and simple," said Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, where the state Supreme Court legalized gay marriages in 2003.
This is what ticks me off. I don't believe for one second that if Ted Kennedy's sons were ever to tell him that they were gay that he would be just fine with that. I just don't believe it. I think he would be SICK about it and try to hide it. He talks the talk, but I don't believe that he would walk the walk. Not like Dick Cheney, the supposedly "dark lord" of the Repbublican party, who treated his gay daughter just as I would treat a gay child, with unconditional love and affection. A wise man once told me that the greatest gift you give your children is to love your spouse with all your heart. Dick Cheney did that as well. Ted Kennedy did not.
This is an upside down world. Night is day, right is wrong.
Crazy.
I don't know what can be added to the political issue of gay marriage that has not already been said. I do not believe that we should re-define marriage for any reason. It will only open up a pandora's box and we all know it. Polygamist will be the first to demand marriage as well. We have already seen this. Our efforts should be on strengthening marriage as it is. I think the divorce laws are far too lax and make it too easy to walk away. How to strengthen marriage is another post though.
I do believe that gay couples should certainly have the right to have a union where their partners decide medical decisions if they are not able to do so themselves and all other legal rights of a partner in a civil union. The problem is that marriage is a religious issue at it's heart. To most Americans marriage is seen as sacrament blessed by God (even if many Americans don't treat it as such) Our faith tells us that marriage is between a man and a woman. Naturally that would bring much emotion into the issue as the definition is attempted to be changed. Although the state does regulate and approve marriage, it is still defined by most Americans, as a religious vow to each other before God. I realize that many gay couples feel they have done that as well, but it is quite different to ask a society to change a fundamental belief to accommodate a small portion of the population. In the end, I have to say, that I see the gay rights advocates wanting this more as a stamp of approval by society than any real desire for marriage.
Shakespeare said "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." So what does it matter to gay couples if what they have is called a civil union as long as their rights are respected?
People have a right to share their life with whomever they wish. Gay people , although sexually different, are not different from straight people when it comes to being men and women of character or not. I have a problem with society in general with our obsession with sex. Sex is but a part of life. With many people it isn't a part at all. It is not our soul. It is not who we are. Who we are attracted to does not (or should not) define us. How we live our lives is what defines us.
I don't like how fighting for a gay marriage ban alienates gay people from the Republican party. There are so many wonderful talented people who happen to be gay. Should their sexuality be what we think of them? Or should it be their talent and kindness and intelligence? Which do you think they would rather be known for?
There are so many other issues that we should focus on that matter to all people. Issues that we, as conservatives, can agree on. As as seen on this blog, there are many gay conservatives. People, no matter what their sexual orientation or color or religion, can believe in and fight for smaller government, lower taxes, less regulation, a stronger military, a better educational system, and a belief in the sanctity of life.
One thing I know. God loves each of us without end. It doesn't matter if we are gay, straight, full of sin, or lost in grief or substance abuse. His love and mercy looks past all the things that haunt us. His love soothes and smoothes the rough edges of our lives. When people tell me they can't give up something in their life they think is wrong, I say don't worry about that. Seek God first. Fall on your knees and offer it all to him. He will show you the path clearly and it is never what you expect it to be. Never.
In the end, the things in this life that the world tells us is so important; sex, money, fame, and even comfort, are not who we are. They are not what gives us peace. They are not what our soul thirsts for. Whether we believe or realize it, our soul thirsts for the one who gave us life.
It is in that union we find all that matters.
From Newsbusters:
People magazine, another publicity engine of the Time Warner empire, gives a box to Al Gore (page 35, I believe) to explain "How I'm Saving The Planet." People asked: "His film 'An Inconvenient Truth' warns about global warming. So what is Gore doing about it?"
Here are Gore's answers for the publicity box:
"1. I turn off lights in my house [to conserve energy]. We're getting sensor switches that automatically turn them off when the room is empty.
2. We got a hybrid car recently.
3. We try to live a carbon neutral life. On climatecrisis.org, you'll find a calculator which can add up the carbon dioxide you produce and give you options for neutralizing that.
4. This movie saves carbon dioxide because I don't have to fly and drive places to get my message across."
That's it???? I'm thinking this has to be some sort of a joke. As one commenter pointed out, he could have shown his movie on TV so people didn't have to drive to the movie theatres.
Limo liberals are the worst, aren't they? I'm not a "tree hugger" like Al and I do more to help the earth. I recycle everything. I make my kids bike to most places. I carpool all the time. I have always conserved energy in the house by keeping the thermostat on 80 in the summer and on 68 in the winter. And needless to say, my limo and private jet flying is way below that of Al's.
Geeze.
I have little interest in sports in the United States, much less European sports, but I happened to be watching ESPN with my son when they did a story on racism in football over there (what we call soccer) The story told left me in disbelief.
It seems two of the best players in Europe are black and when they play they are faced with fans holding up Nazi flags and putting their hands up in the Nazi salute. Not just a few either, but a whole crowd of them. One black player became so frustrated with the "monkey sounds" the fans were making, he said he would not play. (I don't blame him!) Then they show video of the coach of the Spanish team telling his player to "show that black piece of sh*t that you are better than he is."
One sign held up during the game with the black player said "Bananas and peanuts are your payment for infamy."
Unfreakingbelievable! Can you even imagine for a moment ANY of those things happening in a sports stadium in the United States??? Before anyone could get the sign up or their hand in the air we would have them on the ground and that would be BEFORE the security got there, but the Europeans don't seem to have a problem with allowing large number of skinheads and racists to hold signs, make their salutes, and make "monkey sounds" at all!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't tell you how sick this makes me. It also reinforces my belief of why we are so much damn better than Europe. (sorry to generalize an entire region, but there should be an outcry about this and according to this story on ESPN, there doesn't seem to be)
While much of the focus this week has been on the killings in Haditha, it may be easy to forget or overlook one vital important fact. We are killing terrorists almost every day in Iraq. We are killing men who would come into your home and slit you children's throat if given the chance. Do. We. Get. That?
One may argue that that is unlikely. But we also thought the same thing about 9-11. One might argue that these terrorists are over there and not here. But then we hear about this in the news today:
"A Canadian counter-terrorism investigation that led to the arrests of 17 people accused of plotting bombings in Ontario is linked to probes in a half-dozen countries, the National Post has learned. Well before police tactical teams began their sweeps around Toronto on Friday, at least 18 related arrests had already taken place in Canada, the United States, Britain, Bosnia, Denmark, Sweden, and Bangladesh.
The six-month RCMP investigation, called Project OSage, is one of several overlapping probes that include an FBI case called Operation Northern Exposure and a British probe known as Operation Mazhar.
The Toronto busts are linked to arrests that began last August at a Canadian border post near Niagara Falls and continued in October in Sarajevo, London and Scandinavia, and earlier this year in New York and Georgia.
The FBI confirmed Saturday the arrests were related to the recent indictments in the U.S. of Ehsanul Sadequee and Syed Ahmed, who are accused of meeting with extremists in Toronto last March to discuss terrorist training and plots.
The intricate web of connections between Toronto, London, Atlanta, Sarajevo, Dhaka, and elsewhere illustrates the challenge confronting counter-terrorism investigators almost five years after 9/11."
And in the "Bush was also right about this" category, you might be interested in how they broke up these terrorist gangs:
"Linking the international probes are online communications, phone calls and in particular videotapes that authorities allege show some of the targets the young extremists considered blowing up."
Wiretapping works?? Who knew?
We would do well to remember why we haven't been attacked again. Why at least 10 attacks from Al Qaeda have been thwarted since 9-11.
Imagine the news focusing on these things instead of the negative? Imagine being thankful for what our boys in Iraq are doing. Imagine being thankful for what President Bush has done to make us safe.
via Powerline
crossposted at TexasSparkle
Update: Ace has the reaction to this story from the left side of the blogsphere. Which is pretty much crickets singing.
for *gasp* using an interview clip in his movie "Fahrenheit 9/11" that is taken out of context and made to look like the soldier was anti-war and not behind Pres. Bush and the war, both of which are not true.
I'm shocked. Piecing together clips to create a false picture? Oh wait. That's the whole movie.
Silly me.
via LST
