Nothing but badass cool

I know. I know. I cussed. But how else to describe this? It's US Army Special Forces fighting in Sadr City, Baghdad, Iraq.


via Blackfive and Ace

MLK holiday and history

I just heard McCain speaking today in Memphis and he said that he made a mistake when he voted against the MLK holiday in 1983.

I wonder if this will do anything to stop that particular talking point on the left side of the blogosphere? Probably not. But I wonder if those same people know that John F. Kennedy voted against the 1957 civil rights act when he was Senator?

It's an interesting world, isn't it?

Fair and Balanced

We report, you decide.

From Time:

In a recent appearance on Fox News—not exactly considered friendly territory for the Democrats—he congratulated the network for having done "the fairest job [and] remained the most objective of all the cable networks." In an interview with me, the governor was again in media-critic mode. "It took Saturday Night Live to bring some fairness to this election," Rendell said, referring to the show's now famous skit lampooning the media's crush on Obama. "It's stunning. Does Keith Olbermann get checks from the Obama campaign?"

via Media blog NRO

Muslims converting??

In droves, says this author. Very interesting and hopeful read.

via Instapundit

Bill Clinton gets choked up talking about Ron Brown

First Read:

“Today won’t be marked in the same way, but it’s the 12th anniversary of the death of Ron Brown, who was my secretary of Commerce,” he said.
He noted Brown died when his Air Force plane crashed into a mountain in Croatia in the midst of the Bosnian War. He said he has a rock from the mountain where the plane crashed, complete with fragments of the plane. He said Brown’s wife, whom he spoke to earlier today, has one as well.

“That’s when America’s best,” Clinton said. “These people over there, they loved him, because they thought he was trying to get them out of war and into peace, out of poverty and into prosperity. And they thought of America as a place that stood for that.”

Clinton then appeared to get choked up.

“And every time I go home, I look at that rock, and I think of my friend, and the life he should have had,” he said.


It isn't the first time Bill got choked up on cue regarding Ron Brown.

Bill has been on a roll appealing to the black community:

Speaking somewhere near center court at Assembly Hall, Bill Clinton outlined the four main reasons he said voters should pick his wife in the state's May 6 primary. The final reason -- that she is the "best change-maker," inspired Clinton to recall Kennedy's legacy, particularly the role he played after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. 40 years ago.

"When I was the age of a lot of you, I sat with tears in my eyes and watched Bobby Kennedy give that speech here in Indianapolis, when Martin Luther King was dead and I didn't know what in the living daylights had become of my country," he said. "Now, we got all these terrible problems, I know it, but you wanna talk about terrible, that was terrible."
......

Clinton said that he was a student at Georgetown in DC at the time of King's assassination. "The city exploded into flames and I turned my car into an ambulance and I took supplies to the African Americans that were burned out of their homes and were hiding in church basements," he recalled. "It was a long time ago. But I always thought America would have been a very different place if Robert Kennedy had lived, because he wanted to be the candidate of people who had hopes and dreams, and also the candidate of people who could barely keep body and soul together."

Robert Kennedy was also the one who had Dr. King wiretapped and investigated by the FBI on suspicion of being a Communist. But don't let those facts mess up a good story.

Eating their own.

It's been fun to watch the Democrats go after each other, but it's getting way dirty. I saw this over at NRO. Air America (which I didn't know was still chugging away) has suspended Randi Rhodes for calling Hillary a "big f***ing wh*re" and in addition calling Geraldine Ferraro "David Duke in drag".

Classy.

Update: The classiness continues over at Huffington Post, but this time it's aimed at McCain. via Radio Equalizer

Candidate safety

If you saw on the news the guy who was harassing Obama for a picture yesterday, it really got me to thinking about the safety of our candidates.

Now I know that they can't live in a bubble, but I do have concerns for them. Especially Obama and McCain. Obama because he is an historic black candidate and there are always violent racists out there. McCain because of his support for the war and far left radicals have proven to be violent on this issue.

While I was watching this rude guy bother Obama, I couldn't help but think how easy it could have been for him to injure Obama. I know security was there, but security was there when Reagan got shot as well.

I think we all need to pray for the safety of our candidates.

A former terrorist asks fellow Muslims to renounce terror

Hassan Butt, who was once a member of radical group Al-Muhajiroun has this to say in The Guardian:

I remember how we used to laugh in celebration whenever people on TV proclaimed that the sole cause for Islamic acts of terror like 9/11, the Madrid bombings and 7/7 was Western foreign policy.
By blaming the government for our actions, those who pushed the 'Blair's bombs' line did our propaganda work for us. More important, they also helped to draw away any critical examination from the real engine of our violence: Islamic theology.
......

...what drove me and many of my peers to plot acts of extreme terror within Britain, our own homeland and abroad, was a sense that we were fighting for the creation of a revolutionary state that would eventually bring Islamic justice to the world.
How did this continuing violence come to be the means of promoting this (flawed) utopian goal? How do Islamic radicals justify such terror in the name of their religion? There isn't enough room to outline everything here, but the foundation of extremist reasoning rests upon a dualistic model of the world. Many Muslims may or may not agree with secularism but at the moment, formal Islamic theology, unlike Christian theology, does not allow for the separation of state and religion. There is no 'rendering unto Caesar' in Islamic theology because state and religion are considered to be one and the same.
.......

Many of my former peers, myself included, were taught by Pakistani and British radical preachers that this reclassification of the globe as a Land of War (Dar ul-Harb) allows any Muslim to destroy the sanctity of the five rights that every human is granted under Islam: life, wealth, land, mind and belief. In Dar ul-Harb, anything goes, including the treachery and cowardice of attacking civilians.
.........

If our country is going to take on radicals and violent extremists, Muslim scholars must go back to the books and come forward with a refashioned set of rules and a revised understanding of the rights and responsibilities of Muslims whose homes and souls are firmly planted in what I'd like to term the Land of Co-existence. And when this new theological territory is opened up, Western Muslims will be able to liberate themselves from defunct models of the world, rewrite the rules of interaction and perhaps we will discover that the concept of killing in the name of Islam is no more than an anachronism.

This is a fascinating read. First it dismisses the myth that policies of the U.S. or Britain cause Muslims to commit terror. It explains how some Muslims are brainwashed into believing that killing is the answer in their religion. And it calls upon peaceful Muslim scholars and clerics to re-address their theology and emphasize the peace they must embrace and reject the terror, so they can exist in harmony with a world of many faiths.

h/t dave bones

Hillary isn't the only one...

saying Obama can't win the general election.

I totally agree with Taylor Marsh on this. The polls bear this out as well. Obama up against McCain looks like a complete rookie. Hillary will not look like a rookie.

As this Quinnipiac poll points out Hillary can take the blue collar white vote, but Obama cannot. The Wright controversy has damaged Obama in that way and it will continue to damage him in the general. The swooning of Obama is over. It took a SNL episode to wake the media to their fawning of him, but they have started treating him like a regular candidate.

By the looks of things it seems that Obama has this wrapped up. It pleases me to no end that Hillary will lose. I won't believe it though until the convention.

But....there is still the chance that Hillary can show the superdelegates the truth of the above. She is the stronger candidate in the general.

I hope not. Please. Please. I hope not.

A real biography

I heard a pundit say on TV this morning something I thought very profound.

We all know that Hillary lied about sniper fire in Bosnia to make herself sound more ready for battle. Obama claimed his parents were inspired to have a child because of the march on Selma, only problem, the march was in 1965 and Obama was born in 1961.

Both Hillary and Obama feel the need to "pad' their resumes to show street cred in one way or another, McCain doesn't need to do that.

He has the biography.

Also, the pork numbers are in for Congress. Republicans who are porking up bills for their state need to be replaced. I'm sick of them. Hillary chalked up $296.2 million. Obama chalked up $97 million.

McCain chalked up ZERO.

Just two very important reasons why McCain should be our next President.

Enough with the 3am phone call

Good grief.

Oh, that funny Hillary!

Yeah.

What we need

MaryKatharine Ham has the text of John McCain's speech yesterday in Meridian Mississippi where he describes his family legacy. Read the whole thing. It is moving and it allows us more understanding of McCain's deep love for this country.

He ends with this:

I am the son and grandson of admirals. My grandfather was an aviator; my father a submariner. They were my first heroes, and their respect for me has been one of the most lasting ambitions of my life. They gave their lives to their country, and taught me lessons about honor, courage, duty, perseverance and leadership that I didn’t fully grasp until later in life, but remembered when I needed them most. I have been an imperfect servant of my country for many years. But I am their son, and they showed me how to love my country, and that has made all the difference for me, my friends, all the difference in the world.

It is in our darkest moments that we reveal to ourselves who we really are. Where do we turn? How do we handle the pain? When did McCain need to remember the lessons of honor, courage, duty and perseverance and leadership that his parents had taught him? It was in his darkest hours, being tortured and beaten by an enemy in ways you and I can only imagine in our nightmares. He remembered and he overcame. He sacrificed when he didn't have to. He displayed all the qualities of bravery and leadership that is so lacking in most politicians today.

He admits he is imperfect, as we all are. He doesn't pretend that pretty words or empty speeches will lead this country to where we need it to be. McCain understands this place we find ourselves. We may not always agree with him, but we respect him. And we know, without a doubt, that he deeply loves this country.

He is what we need.

"I don't take money from oil companies."

It's a good soundbite Obama. But guess what? No one takes money from oil companies since there has been a law since 1913 that prohibits corporations from giving money to federal candidates.

Accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from people and their spouses who just happen to work for oil and gas companies, well that's completely different, right? It must be, because Obama has.

Don't you just love the rainbows, butterflys, and unicorns that come out of this man's mouth?

My McCain on Letterman

Cute.

Flying under the gay radar

It seems to me that Obama has avoided addressing the gay rights issues. According to this article at The Advocate, Obama has only granted one interview with a LGBT outlet since running for President. But Obama did attend a private LGBT fund-raiser in NYC Thursday night at the apartment of GLSEN founder Kevin Jennings and his partner, Jeff Davis. Obama raised $170,000.

Sources at the party had this to say about Obama's support of the gay/lesbian/transgendered community. Many want the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to include the transgendered.

Obama said he did not think it was “politically feasible” to secure marriage rights for same-sex couples in the country at this point. Sen. Obama acknowledged that the community wanted full marriage rights but said that he favored civil unions for now while leaving open the possibility that his position might evolve in the future.

In terms of ENDA, Obama said he supported an ENDA that included transgender protections but that he didn’t believe a fully inclusive bill had enough votes to pass the Senate at this time.

So, in case you were wondering. It seems Obama is for same sex marriages and for including the transgendered in the ENDA, where employers cannot refuse to hire someone because they are a transvestite, he just doesn't think it is "politically feasible" at this time.

Good to know.

America is in ruins

This statement of Alice Walker (author of The Color Purple) sums up all that is wrong with her and Obama's worldview:

Even if Obama becomes president, our country is in such ruin it may be beyond his power to lead us to rehabilitation.

In such ruin? Really? Many years ago I had a housekeeper from Mexico who seemed to really love her job (She became a citizen while working for me). I asked once why she seemed to enjoy her work so much. She said that when she was growing up she had to pick beans in the hot sun of Mexico all day. She slept on the hard ground in a hut at night. She said,"Now I clean in beautiful homes with air conditioning. I love my job." Many might see her as poor. But I can promise you that my housekeeper did not feel that way. Her family owned a house, 2 cars, and a TV.

The United States offers people such opportunity and such kindness. We require that a person be treated at a hospital whether they can pay or not. We offer free food, shelter, and education for anyone who needs it. Beyond what the government offers in food stamps, welfare, and job training, we have hundreds of thousands of ministries in Churches and charities that offer shelter, clothing, food, and educational, and job opportunities.

And yet...Walker sees this country in "ruin." What is in ruin is Walker's own view.

When she was young working for civil rights in the South, she had bottles thrown at her. Blacks were beaten and killed. Voting was a dream. Yet now, we have a black woman as Secretary of State, Black Supreme Court judges, and now a presumptive black running for President on the Democratic ticket. To have come so far in such a short time is stunning really. And it makes it clear that we are a people who make mistakes, but we keep trying to make it right.

The United States keeps trying to make it right.

Does it bother anyone else that this common thread weaves it's way into Obama's life? From his Pastor who sees the United States as controlled by white supremacy to Obama's wife, who has never been proud of the United States in her adult life until now.

All the generosity of America, from helping victims of Tsunami's across the world, to Katrina, to bringing down a brutal dictator who mass murdered his own people, to billions of dollars of aid to Africa for AIDS research and help. All these things don't make Michelle Obama proud. Do they make Obama proud? It would be nice to know the truth.

These are just a few of the hundreds of things America does to help the world every day.

This is an amazing country of freedom and generosity. Everyone close to Obama doesn't see it that way though, and I don't believe Obama sees it that way either.

Black Men Can't Bowl

Everyone knows this.

At least on the left they know this.

Good grief.

via PW

The choice between the lesser of two evils.

That phrase has always bothered me. Mainly because in almost all cases we are really talking about the choice of two not so great choices. But in this case with the Democrat candidates, Obama and Hillary, it really is a choice between two evils. And there really is no "lesser."

Hillary is evil in all her lying, manipulative, and power hungry ways. Nothing and no one matters to her except her own ambition.

I don't have to recount the ways of Hillary being evil, but the link gives you at least one good one.

Obama is a different kind of evil. He is the evil with a smile. He is the wolf in sheep's clothing who pretends to be good. His charisma and charm blinds us to his true self. He may have been able to fool most about his relationship to a racist church, but it's clear to me that he shares pastor Wright's worldview. I believe that. His radical view of abortion convinces me that he has no respect for the value of human life.

I use to think that the biggest danger of an Obama presidency was his lack of experience and his lack of understanding of the war of terror. But the biggest danger he represents is actually convincing America that he does understand these things. He does not.

Yesterday I was watching C-span and listening to Congresswoman Heather Wilson from New Mexico speak about the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act would be the first to go under an Obama administration. Wilson reminded us of the date August 11th, 20006. It was the day that terrorists had planned and were about to implement a plane to hi jack 10 jets leaving Heathrow heading for the United States. She said that had that plan succeeded, many more Americans would have been killed that day than on Sept. 11th. She said we don't remember the August date because that horrific tragedy never happened. It was thwarted by U.S., British, and Pakistani intelligence. We don't have to mourn those dead in the sky because our intelligence worked. Do. We. Get. That?

She said that The Patriot Act prevents the horrors that the terrorists would bring to us. We are a people who take these things for granted. If the planes had blown up we would remember, but I doubt that Americans even remember the uncovering and arrest of these monsters.

Here is what she said on the floor of the house. It's a bit long but important to understand how Obama and the Democrats would fail to protect us:

All of us remember where we were the morning of 9/11. We remember who we were with, what we were wearing, who we called first, what we had for breakfast. But very few Americans remember where they were the day the British Government arrested 16 people who were within 48 hours of walking onto airliners at Heathrow and blowing them up over the Atlantic. If they had succeeded, more people would have died that day than died the morning of 9/11; but you don't remember it because it didn't happen, and it didn't happen because British, American, and Pakistani intelligence were able to uncover the plot and arrest those who were going to carry it out before they had an opportunity to. Good intelligence allows us to prevent another terrorist attack, and electronic surveillance is one of our strongest intelligence tools. The Protect America Act just allowed Americans to listen to foreigners in foreign countries without a warrant. If we don't have that authority, it is sometimes impossible to get to the standard required to get a warrant. It is almost a waste of time. It is an incredible frustration for our people who are working in intelligence. I mean, you think about this. If you are going to get a warrant on somebody who is a narcotics trafficker in Chicago, you can send the FBI out to talk to their neighbors; you can go to their place that they are working; you can talk to their landlady. You can develop probable cause for a warrant. But if you think you have got somebody on the Horn of Africa who is affiliated with al Qaeda, you can't send the FBI to talk to their neighbors. Sometimes you can't reach that standard of probable cause. So, intelligence doesn't get collected against people who are foreigners in foreign countries who have no rights at all under the Constitution of the United States, and the people who are hurt by that are the American citizens we are failing to protect. The majority of this House wants to pass a bipartisan bill that has already cleared the Senate that would make the provisions of the Protect America Act permanent, and the Democratic leadership of this House is blocking consideration of that bill, to the detriment of the people of this country.

Detriment? I call it danger.

If you want to understand who is targeted without a warrant, which is what the left goes crazy about it, read it here.

But Rep. Wilson pretty much sums the problem up here:

So we have the liberal Democratic leadership thwarting the majority of this House and compromising the safety and security of this country, and I believe they are doing it largely at the behest of trial lawyers who are eager to sue telephone companies, who can't defend themselves in civil court without compromising the way we collect intelligence.

It is in these complicated but vital things that we cannot afford to have a leftwing rookie leading the country.

Obama thinks a baby is punishment

I honestly thought that no one could be worse than Hillary.

I was wrong.

via Darleen at PW

Obama...

Stop trying to pretend you aren't what you are. A far left liberal.

Pro Troops Rally at Berkeley

As usual, Zombie has great photos.

I find it funny/ironic that the place that is known for it's protests in the 60's is now being protested against.

I love the fact that we can disagree in this country without violence. I love that it's possible to do this. I even love that we disagree. Somewhere in the discussions and in the debate maybe we can find common ground. And maybe we can't. But truth can be found in our passions.

I love America.

via PW

With friends like these...

Who needs Republicans?

Good grief. It is a very effective video. This video is posted by MyDD in order to show how Obama will be defeated in the general. Obviously this is someone who wants Hillary in. Here in part is his e-mail to Instapundit:

I just wanted to let you know my thoughts from the horse's mouth itself. As far as your correct discernment that the video would impact Dems, just read the comments from the Obama supporters in the diary. Many things are said, but the inescapable conclusion is "Oh man, this kind of video could SERIOUSLY hurt us."
......

The bottom line is this: Wright is not 'over with,' and as a Dem I wanted to make sure that everyone understands that who is drinking the Obama Kool Aid, including any possible Dem party leaders who might drop in to check out the MyDD scene (it is far more popular these days, it seems, since the "strike" of Daily Kos, which I am part of.

Once I saw the video, I knew I had to post it on MyDD. It saved me thousands of keystrokes, and got the point across -- if we nominate BHO, this is where we're going.

Buckle up my friends, it's going to be a bumpy ride. And as you can see, we Republicans don't need to lift a finger. Let's just watch the Democrats do to each other what they normally reserve for us.

Clinton camp says....

Obama lies too!

Another Iraqi war movie flop

You would think Hollywood would learn by now.

The WaPo asks this question:

A spate of Iraq-themed movies and TV shows haven't just failed at the box office. They've usually failed spectacularly, despite big stars, big budgets and serious intentions.
The underwhelming reception from the public raises a question: Are audiences turned off by the war, or are they simply voting against the way filmmakers have depicted it?

As Hugh Hewitt points out:

It would require a movie depicting the heroism and nobility of the mission in Afghanistan and Iraq to get a real answer to that question, and none have been made.

The Baptism of Italian journalist and author Magdi Cristiano Allam

In case you wondered why Pope Benedict highlighted his baptism on Easter. It was about the conversion of Muslims.

Magdi Allam tells us that he has found the true God and forsaken an Islam that he regards as inherently violent. Magdi Allam has a powerful voice as deputy editor of Italy's newspaper of record, Corriere della Sera, and a bestselling author. For years he was the exemplar of "moderate Islam" in Europe, and now he has decided that Islam cannot be "moderate".

Read the whole thing. Very interesting. via Instapundit

Dead babies

A very profitable business.