DO THE WRONG THING

I was expecting this to happen. I just knew some of the anti-war left would become hopeful for more "fraggings" in the wake of the actions of alleged murderer Alberto Martinez. Check out this quote from the Worker's World website (that's what communists read when they can't get a copy of Newsweak):

Meanwhile, the Pentagon made it clear it considers the recent deaths of two officers in Iraq a case of "fragging." It has charged Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez with murder in the deaths of Capt. Philip Esposito and 1st Lt. Louis Allen.

Whatever the details of the case, this sends a shiver up the generals' spines. While there have always been examples of killings not by enemy fire, in Vietnam this reached the level of political protest, which many war resisters saw as a legitimate tactic against warlike or racist officers. Between 1969 and 1971, the U.S. Army reported 600 fragging incidents, which killed 82 officers and non-commissioned officers and injured 651.

The Pentagon knows the high level of discontent among U.S. troops, and fears that fragging will become a more popular method of opposing the tour of duty in Iraq.

(emphasis mine)

I'm waiting for the lefty moonbats to start praising Martinez for killing two of his officers and to call on other troops to do the same. For all I know, it's already happening over at DU or Daily Kos.

Mark my words, this is going to turn out to be a plain, old-fashioned murder case. If he's guilty, Martinez is just a crook. Nothing more.

SORRY SEEMS TO BE THE HARDEST WORD

Well, it's official. Senator Dick Durbin is sorry. Was there ever any doubt? He shall henceforth be know as the Sorry Senator from Illinois. Or just Sorry Senator Durbin, for short.

MORE ON THE 42nd ID "FRAGGING" INCIDENT

Apparently SSG Alberto Martinez, the alleged murderer of his Commander and XO in Iraq has what you might call a less than perfect record. According to this story in the Albany Times-Union, Martinez was suspected of arson in a fire that destroyed his home in Cohoes, NY.

A Schaghticoke soldier accused of killing two of his superior officers is in a legal dispute with Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. after the insurer accused him of burning down his Cohoes home in 2002 to collect on a policy whose value had been doubled six weeks before the fire.

On Sunday, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the motive for the alleged ``fragging'' in Iraq is unknown. ``I don't know of any of the dynamics behind it. It may come out at trial. We have to wait for all the facts to come out.''

Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez previously told fellow National Guardsmen, ``If I can't sell my house, I might as well burn it down,'' the insurer said in court pleadings obtained by the Times Herald-Record of Middletown.

Martinez, 37, denied any involvement in the fire. Police records show the cause was determined to be accidental. Martinez is suing Liberty Mutual for payment on the policy.

``We believe that the plaintiff, utilizing his knowledge of electrical wiring, has cleverly created the impression that this fire was of electrical origin,'' Liberty Mutual lawyer Thomas O'Connor wrote in court papers in September.

Martinez has an associate degree in electronics.

A guy is suspected of arson, and he gets deployed to Iraq? What was his chain of command thinking? Martinez is a supply NCO. Supply types often have access to arms, ammunition, and explosives. Not exactly the kind of job you want to give to a suspected arsonist.

Somebody screwed up when they decided to deploy this guy. When the whole truth comes out, I have a feeling it won't be pretty. Not that it's pretty now, but it's going to get uglier.

UPDATE
There's more on the Martinez story at the Insurance Journal website.

Court papers reviewed by the newspaper also show that Martinez was five months behind on his mortgage payments and his electric service was being turned off for nonpayment when the fire damaged his home. Neighbors said the family moved out about two weeks before the fire.

The civil lawsuit in the case was scheduled to go to trial in September, though what will become of that given his arrest is unclear, his lawyer in the civil case, Eugene Spada, told the newspaper.

Cohoes Detective Tom Ross told The Troy Record that 18 months after the fire, a caretaker overseeing rehabilitation work on the house reported finding in the basement a 47-pound bomb. Police contacted the Army, and the bomb was removed. Cohoes Police Chief Joe Fahd said firefighters had immediately found in the house several unarmed artillery shells, which were checked by a Watervliet Arsenal demolition team and eventually confiscated.

After the fire, Martinez moved his wife and two teenagers to his parents' house in the Schaghticoke, just outside of Troy. He worked at the Watervliet Arsenal before going full-time with the National Guard.

(emphasis mine)

A bomb? This story is just going to get weirder folks.

A SAD DAY FOR THE RAINBOW DIVISION

Tragedy struck my former unit recently. Not the usual tragedy you expect in war. This time, the enemy was one of our own.

Soldier charged with murder
A member of Troy's Rainbow Division has been charged with murdering two members of his unit.

The Department of Defense has charged 37-year-old Army Staff Sergeant Alberto B. Martinez with two counts of premeditated murder.

It stems from the June 7 deaths of Captain Phillip T. Esposito and 1st Lieutenant Louis E. Allen.

The soldiers died at a base near Tikrit, in what was first reported to be an enemy mortar attack, but a criminal investigation found inconsistencies with that story.

If this jerk is convicted, I hope they throw the book at him. Hangin's too good for this dirtbag.

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE

Complaints of abuse, torture, mistreatment, and poor living conditions by people who are incarcerated is nothing new. To get an idea of how often this happens, go to this site. Type the word "inmate" into the search box and click the search button. You'll get about five hundred matches. Most are lawsuits or motions brought by inmates against the State of New York in the New York State Court of Claims. Five hundred. The database only goes back five years. And most of those poor souls in NY's state prisons are innocent. Just ask 'em, they'll tell you.

No one is calling for us to close the prisons in NY. Maybe we should. Let 'em all go. Folks like David Berkowitz, Lemuel Smith, Reginald McFadden, and Patrick Baxter. Maybe they can all move in with Senator Dick Durbin. He's a millionaire, he can afford to support them.

DICK AND FRIENDS

I've spent the last couple of days fuming over all of this rhetoric from the left about the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. This BS from Dick (boy, were his parents prescient, or what?) Durbin is the straw that broke the camel's back. If crap like this had been going on in World War II, we would have lost. The truth is, if we lose the GWOT, it's going to be because of folks like Durbin. When they go on TV and say the things they have been saying, it emboldens the terrorists. They think the US is losing its resolve.

Durbin & Co. can't not know the harm they're doing. The only other alternative is that they want us to lose the war. I know these folks like hardball politics, but putting American lives at risk is inexcusable.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; war is a holistic thing. The military can't win it alone. They need the entire country behind them. People like Durbin are trying to sabotage this. There's a word to describe people who try to sabotage their own country during wartime: traitors.

CHILD MOLESTATION RAP? JUST BEAT IT!

I'll be damned. So, Michael Jackson is "innocent." As soon as I heard the "not guilty" verdict on the first count, I turned to my wife and said "watch, he'll skate on all of the charges." Sure enough, he did. The question now is this: How long will it take before parents line up outside Neverland trying to get their kids next to Michael? After all, Micheal's been declared "safe" by the court, right? Or is he just a smooth criminal?

WEEKEND MILITARY HUMOR

Having just moved into his new office, a pompous, new colonel was sitting at his desk when an airman knocked on the door. Conscious of his new position, the colonel quickly picked up the phone, told the airman to enter, then said into the phone, "Yes, General, I'll be seeing him this afternoon and I'll pass along your message. In the meantime, thank you for your good wishes, sir." Feeling as though he had sufficiently impressed the young enlisted man, he asked, "What do you want?"

"Nothing important, sir," the airman replied, "I'm just here to hook up your telephone."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

An Air Force Chief Master Sergeant and a General were sitting in the barbershop. They were both just getting finished with their shaves, when the barbers reached for some after-shave to slap on their faces. The General shouted, "Hey, don't put that stuff on me! My wife will think I've been in a whorehouse!"

The Chief turned to his barber and said, "Go ahead and put it on. My wife doesn't know what the inside of a whorehouse smells like."

WHO WANTS THE TERRORISTS TO WIN?

Last week I read an excellent column by Jim Simpson over at Defensewatch. The column was titled "Who Wants the Terrorists to Win?", and was posted on the site on May 16th. For reasons unknown, the column has disappeared from the archives of the site. This is a shame, because it is well worth the read.

In light of President Bush's recent Russia trip to celebrate victory over Germany in World War II - or the "Great Patriotic War" as the Soviets called it - it is useful to ask: Why do historians, pundits, journalists, politicians the world over, and even Hollywood, celebrate World War II as the last "Good War" in American history?

How does that conflict distinguish itself from Korea and Vietnam, wherein we faced anti-war opposition both at home and abroad? Why do we today face such vicious resistance to the Global War on Terror from many of these same sources?

At first, the disunity of our war effort today seems inexplicable given the unity that existed during World War II. The similarities between the two are striking.

In both wars, we joined with global allies to fight fascistic fanatics who committed mass genocide. In both cases, we were attacked by surprise, completely without warning, in a strike that killed thousands. In fact, 9/11 can be seen as the more barbaric, since the attackers chose defenseless civilian targets. In both cases, Western civilization itself was targeted.

The stock answer is that during World War II, we were all united in a common cause: to counter an imminent threat from a barbaric enemy and defeat the only genuine "Axis of Evil" that ever existed.

Simpson goes on to examine the political left and why they found it in their hearts to support World War II. And why they are opposed to the Global War on Terrorism. While the original post on Defensewatch is gone, some wise poster on the Military.com forums had the foresight to post the column there in it's entirety. You can check it out here. And just in case it dissapears from there too, the Google cache of the text is located here.

LAW AND (LEFTWING) ORDER

Apparently one of (how many of them are there now, anyway?) NBC's Law and Order shows took a swipe at Rep. Tom Delay on Wednesday. I missed the show (like I always do), so I didn't hear it myself. I can't say I'm shocked. The folks who produce this (formerly entertaining) show have a history of liberal bias. In 1995, former star Michael Moriarty left the show due to a disagreement with producers over attempts to censor the show at the behest of then-Attorney General Janet Reno.

Hell, who cares what they say on that show anyway. If you're up at 10 PM on Wednesday nights, you should be watching CSI: NY. It's a better show. And besides, star Gary Sinise is a major supporter of our troops and veterans.

DEAL

Our wonderful Senators have apparently reached a deal on the judicial filibuster fight.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A bipartisan group of senators reached an agreement after days of talks to avert a showdown Tuesday over President Bush's judicial nominees, Sen. John McCain announced Monday evening.

Standing with a group of 13 other senators, the Arizona Republican told reporters the seven Republicans and seven Democrats had brokered a compromise.

"We have reached an agreement to try to avert a crisis in the United States Senate and pull the institution back from a precipice that would have had, in the view of all 14 of us, lasting impact, damaging impact on the institution," McCain said.

Under the deal, judicial nominees would only be filibustered "under extraordinary circumstances," McCain said.

McCain said the group of 14 pledged to vote for cloture -- an end to debate -- for three judicial nominees: Janice Rogers Brown, William Pryor and Priscilla Owen.
He said the group made no commitment to vote for or against cloture on two nominees, William Myers and Henry Saad.

"We will try to do everything in our power to prevent filibusters in the future," McCain said.

"This agreement is meant in the finest traditions of the Senate it was entered into: trust, respect, and mutual desire to see the institution of the Senate function in ways that protect the rights of the minority," he said.

Democrats filibustered 10 of Bush's 218 nominees in his first term, saying they were too radical for a lifetime appointment to the bench.

Of course "extraordinary circumstances" will be defined as circumstances where the President nominates anyone for the Federal Judiciary that Democrats don't like. And isn't it funny that nominees Brown, Owens, and Pryor are suddenly not "too radical" anymore.

It's too bad that Republicans didn't have the guts to make the Dems engage in a real filibuster, rather than this "virtual" filibuster. I guess they think that this deal will buy them some goodwill when they are in the minority again. Fat chance guys.

NEWSWEAK

This Newsweek BS has my blood pressure so high, I could blow the dial right off the sphygmomanometer. Every time these a$$hats in the MSM get wind of a story that paints a negative picture of the US military, they can't wait to run with it. It turns out that the "journalists" that produced this creative writing piece had nothing more than one anonymous source (who has since backed out on them), and a couple of "no comments" from the Pentagon. That's weak as hell, by anyone's standards. Especially when we're talking about a story with the volatile potential this one had. But they ran with it anyway.

I'm not sure what prompted this lack of adherence to basic jouralistic standards. Are they that blinded with hatred for President Bush that they've tossed caution - and ethics - to the wind? Or is it that they find it so easy to believe that military personnel are all prone to behaving like thugs? My guess is that it's a combination of both. As someone who has spent the last eighteen years serving in the military in one capacity or another, I find it hard not to take their attitude toward us personally.

Newsweek has since "retracted" the story. While Al-Jazeera has reported on the retraction, the damage has already been done. People are dead and it's Newsweek's fault. More people will die, and Newsweek bears some responsibility for that too. Maybe it's time to put America's trial lawyers to good use (for a change). I'm thinking we need a class action suit against Newsweek and it's parent company on behalf of those dead or injured in the riots.

FRIDAY THE 13TH: DODGED A BULLET (SO TO SPEAK)

It looks as if the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) storm clouds have receded from my base. Others weren't so lucky. A number of Guard and Reserve bases in NY are being closed. I figured we'd lose a few, including at least one Air Guard unit since NY has five flying units (more than any other state). I was kind of surprised it was Niagara Falls though. They had a Guard wing (refueling) and a Reserve wing (airlift) there. Both are leaving. I hope that the folks who want to stay in can find other units in which to continue their military careers. The process still has to go through the BRAC Committee, Congress, and the President, but previous BRAC rounds have shown that the DoD's list is usually how things wind up in the end.

If you're interested, you can read more about the BRAC process at the Defenseling BRAC website.

CHAMPIONS OF THE WORKING MAN

Linda Chavez has an excellent column out today about how labor unions are abusing members' pension funds for political ends.

Unions are losing members and clout at the bargaining table, but that doesn't mean they aren't still powerful players on the political scene. Now, Big Labor is trying to stop Social Security reform, even if it hurts union members. Unions are supposed to represent their members' interests by negotiating higher pay and better benefits, including pensions. In fact, union pension funds are the single biggest source of investment in the stock market, amounting to an estimated $6 trillion in 2003. Now, the AFL-CIO and individual unions are threatening some investment firms and corporations with pulling out their pension fund investments unless the companies withdraw their support for President Bush's plans to overhaul the ailing Social Security program

In the old days, unions just used the pension funds to back mob casinos. At least the casinos made a profit.

The problem with many of these actions, however, is that they actually hurt the union pension beneficiaries, who get lower returns on their investments because the union is pushing policies that lower profits and stock price. Pension fund managers have a moral -- and legal -- duty to invest retirees' money wisely. Their fiduciary responsibility is to act prudently on behalf of those whose funds they manage. They are supposed to invest funds to ensure a good return, not to promote the political or organizational goals of the unions. When a union pension fund coerces a company to adopt policies that make it less profitable, union retirees lose money. The only thing fiduciaries are supposed to consider is the return to the pension fund on the investment made -- certainly not the unions' desire to sink a key element of the president's domestic agenda.

The unions have been abusing member dues for years. When I was a union member, I used to get a newsletter that often featured stories about the union's efforts to convince Wal Mart employees to form their own union. I could never understand why I was paying to unionize Wal Mart. Not to mention the money spent supporting political candidates I didn't support.

This thing with the pension funds is much worse. These power-mad thugs are playing games with their members' futures. When Wall Street firms do that, self-styled corruption-busters like Eliot Spitzer go after them hammer and tong. Why don't they care about this? Oh yeah, that's right. Eliot Spitzer is a Democrat, and labor unions always give money to Democrats.

BRAC FRIDAY

It looks like Friday's the day when we'll be seeing which bases made the cut on the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) list. I have no idea whether my base will be closed or realigned. The rumor mill has been running in overdrive for months, but you never know what to believe. I guess I'll just have to be patient. I suck at being patient.

GREAT QUOTE ON THE FILIBUSTER

"Again and again in recent years, the filibuster has been the shame of the Senate and the last resort of special interest groups. Too often, it has enabled a small minority of the Senate to prevent a strong majority from working its will and serving the public interest."

-Senator Ted Kennedy, 1975

My how times have changed. Too bad the MSM doesn't seem to know about this quote. If you know anyone at the New York Times, send them this link.

WHY EVEN BOTHER WINNING ELECTIONS?

It's looking like some of our intrepid "Republican" Senators may be ready to flinch in the game of chicken that's being played out over judicial nominees.

May 9 (Bloomberg) -- A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is discussing a possible agreement to avert a showdown over President George W. Bush's judicial nominees, said Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins.

Collins is among a half-dozen Republican senators who have voiced reservations about Republican Leader Bill Frist's threat to try to bar Democrats from blocking Senate votes on Bush's choices for the federal bench.

In February, Bush resubmitted the names of seven appeals- court nominees Democrats had blocked in the last four years by using the filibuster, a tactic that permits unlimited debate. Democrats have threatened to bring Senate business to a standstill if Frist succeeds in changing Senate rules to eliminate the use of filibusters against judicial nominees.

"Attempts are under way" to try to avert a showdown, Collins said in an interview. "I have had discussions with colleagues in the Senate about the possibility of that. I haven't signed off on anything."

Collins didn't discuss the details of the discussions. Roll Call, a publication about Congress that is distributed on Capitol Hill and electronically, reported that six Republicans offered to oppose the rule change to eliminate judicial filibusters if Democrats agreed to allow votes on four of the seven disputed judges.

So, Susan Collins finally wants to play a leadership role in the Senate. Her first strategy? Surrender. I only wish I was surprised. You can read the rest of the story--including the role Trent Lott may be playing in this fiasco--here.

What is wrong with these people? And what's the use of being a majority if they're going to let the Dems go on running things?

Click here for a special audio message for the Republican "Lions" of the Senate.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Unlike "Secretary's Day", Mother's Day was not the creation of greeting card companies and florists looking for a new market for their wares. Mother's Day in the United States can trace its origins back to the Civil War. If you're interested, you can learn more about it here.

In the meantime, if you aren't going to see your mother today, make sure you give her a call and wish her a happy Mother's Day.

A PLEA FOR LYNNDIE

PFC Lynndie England pled guilty yesterday to abusing Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib. Even after pleading guilty, the blame game wasn't over for England.

At one point on Monday, England said she posed with the leashed prisoner because her then-lover, Charles Graner, sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection to the abuse scandal, had told her to do so.

"I assumed it was OK because he was an MP (military policeman). He had the background as a corrections officer and with him being older than me I thought he knew what he was doing."

So she's guilty, but it's not her fault she's guilty. Duty, Honor, Country...not! England, Graner, and the rest of these yahoos have not only disgraced their fellow service memebers, they've given boatloads of ammo to the anti-war America crowd, who have in turn given hope to the Iraqi resistance and foreign fighters who are killing Iraqi civilians and coalition troops. Inexcusable. Totally inexcusable.

The question now is, what's next. Will they go after the NCO's and officers who were supposed to be providing leadership to these dim-bulbs? I'm hoping so, but I'm not holding my breath.

THOSE THINGS'LL KILL YOU

I saw this story linked on Drudge today:

Burrito Leads To School Lockdown, Armed Officers On Roof Tops

CLOVIS, N.M. -- A 911 call about a possible weapon at a middle school prompted police to put armed officers on rooftops, close nearby streets and lock down the school.

All over a giant burrito.

Someone called authorities Thursday after seeing a boy carrying something long and wrapped up into Marshall Junior High School.

The drama ended two hours later when the suspicious item was identified as a 30-inch burrito filled with steak, guacamole, lettuce, salsa and jalapenos. It was wrapped inside tin foil and a white T-shirt.

"I didn't know whether to laugh or cry," school Principal Diana Russell said.

Russell said the mystery was solved after she brought everyone in the school together in the auditorium to explain what was going on. Afterward, eighth-grader Michael Morrissey approached her.

"He said, 'I think I'm the person they saw,"' Russell said.

The burrito was part of Morrissey's extra-credit assignment to create commercial advertising for a product. "We had to make up a product and it could have been anything. I made up a restaurant that specialized in oddly large burritos," Morrissey said.

What I want to know is whether the burrito was equipped with any of the following:

-Folding or telescoping stock
-Pistol grip which protrudes conspicuously below the action of the burrito
-Bayonet mount
-Flash suppressor or a threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor
-Grenade launcher

Even if the burrito wasn't equipped to be an "assault burrito", it might still be banned from school grounds in the coming nanny-state.. Those things are dangerous.

A VOICE FROM THE PAST

"...the opinion which gives to the judges the right to decide what laws are constitutional and what not, not only for themselves in their own sphere of action but for the Legislature and Executive also in their spheres, would make the Judiciary a despotic branch."

-- Thomas Jefferson

A smart man, that Thomas Jefferson. The only thing scarier than a despotic branch of government is one run by know-it-all lawyers. Another point to keep in mind when considering nuking the filibuster so we can get judges appointed who will follow the Constitution, rather than rewrite it.

NUKE THE FILIBUSTER

I've had it with the debate over the filibuster of judicial nominees. It's time Senator Frist & Co. do what needs to be done and change the Senate rules. A number of arguments have been made about why this would be a bad idea, but I'm not buying them.

You shouldn't abandon over 200 years of Senate tradition.
Two hundred years? Not quite. According to the Senate's own website, the first continuous filibuster took place in 1841. The cloture rule to end filibusters was adopted in 1917. A two thirds majority was needed to end debate (for those of you who may be mathematically challenged, that's sixty-seven votes). This rule was changed in 1975 - when the Dems ruled the Senate - so that sixty votes could end the filibuster. Why, you ask, did the Dems abandon "tradition" in 1975?

In 1975 the Senators changed the filibuster requirement from 67 votes to 60, after concluding that it only takes a simple majority of Senators to change the rules governing their proceedings. As Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (D-MT) said at the time: "We cannot allow a minority" of the senators "to grab the Senate by the throat and hold it there." Senators Leahy, Kennedy, Byrd, and Biden, all agreed. Nearly a decade ago, Lloyd Cutler, the former White House Counsel to Presidents Carter and Clinton, concluded that the Senate Rule requiring a super-majority vote to change the rule is "plainly unconstitutional."

There could be negative political fallout.
So? If doing the right thing was easy, everybody would do it. If you do the right thing you could lose your office, and we need you in office so you can do the right thing. Which you won't do, so as not to lose your office. Am I the only one who finds that "logic" asinine. If we're going to wind up with Democrat-style results anyway, why do we need Republicans in office? Make your case to the American people and then do what needs to be done. If you lose your next election, so be it. Victory belongs to the bold. There's no room for pussies in the winner's circle.

If we change the rules, the Dems will shut down the Senate.
Again, so? Let them. They saw that strategy backfire on Newt and the boys in the 90's. They'll have a tough time picking and choosing what to shut down and what to let through. Besides, Dems are even bigger pork addicts than Repubs, let 'em go cold turkey on pork for awhile and see how long they last. This threat is a lot like a child threatening to hold his breath if he doesn't get his own way. He might make good on the threat, but he can't hold his breath forever. The Dems will cave quickly enough without their snouts in the trough.

Dems will look to get even when they are in the majority again.
A strategy designed to cushion your defeat is a sure way to guarantee that defeat. Besides, what Republicans do now is irrelevant to how Dems will treat them in the future. First the GOP had the nerve to "sieze control" of the Congress in 1994, then they "stole" the election in 2000. The Dems have gone ballistic. The GOP has committed a mortal sin; they took power from them. There can be no atonement for this sin. No matter what Frist & Co. do, no quarter will be give to Republicans if the Dems ever get back in control of the Congress.

The filibuster is a good idea.
No, it's not. What is it? Unlimited debate? Thorough debate can be a good thing. Unlimited debate is a good way to avoid doing anything. Filibusters aren't usually used for debate anyway. They are used to stall action. And now they are being used to obstruct. The filibuster is a trick. The folks in power have enough tricks to thwart the will of the people. Let's chuck this one.

Trivia(from C-SPAN)
The term filibuster comes from the early 19th century Spanish and Portuguese pirates, "filibusteros", who held ships hostage for ransom (how appropriate).

UPDATE
Dick Morris wrote an excellent column today on this subject. His idea is to force the Dems to help make it easier to nuke the filibuster.

Frist just needs to end the “virtual” filibuster and make the Democrats stage a real one, replete with quorum calls, 24/7 sessions and truly endless debate covered word for word by C-SPAN for all the nation to see — and ridicule.

Frist should bring up a judicial nomination of little consequence for the nation — say Charles Pickering — and let the Democrats explain, at tedious length, why they are tying up the entire nation over a judgeship for Mississippi. While the public would possibly tolerate a filibuster over a Supreme Court nomination or over a particularly important piece of legislation with enormous consequence, they would never allow a filibuster over so inconsequential an item, and the backlash would be fierce.

To force the Democrats to filibuster over such a matter would be akin to the way President Clinton forced the Republicans to shut down the government in the budget fight. In the era of 24-hour news and cable TV, the Democrats will find that they cannot stage a real, red-blooded filibuster without hurting themselves politically each day they talk.

This is a great idea. I can just see FOX News playing video clips of Teddy Boy or Sheets Byrd reading from the phone book on the Senate floor. I hope Senator Frist read Morris' column.

MY DOG ATE MY HOMEWORK

Last night I wrote a post about the death of several American civilian contractors in Iraq last week. More specifically, it was a rant about this comment over at the Daily Kos website. The post took me over an hour to write. Blogger dumped it on me (dammit!!!) I am disinclined to write it again, but suffuce it to say that this commenter - if it is indeed a commenter, and not a sock puppet for Kos (looking to avoid another "screw them" controversy) - doesn't know jack sh*t about the military, defense contractors, and Special Operations personnel. It scares me to think of how many people with limited military knowledge read this excrement and believe it.

WHILE WE'RE ON THE TOPIC OF DISENFRANCHISEMENT...

According to Michelle Malkin's April 13th column, Senator Hillary Clinton was in Minnesota preaching to the faithful recently :

Singing from the same hysteria-promoting hymn book in Minnesota this week, Sen. Hillary Clinton further stoked Democratic madness. Sarcastically praising the elections in Afghanistan and Iraq, Sen. Clinton pounced: "I believe that the right to vote and the obligation to count all the votes should be promoted not just in the Middle East, but in the Middle West! And in the Northeast! And in the Southeast! And in every. Corner. Of. The. United. States. Of. A-MEH-rica!"

The crowd went wild. Sen. Clinton continued: Too many minorities and college students have been "denied an equal right" to vote, she exclaimed.

Malkin also includes a recent quote from Senator John Kerry:

''Last year, too many people were denied their right to vote, too many who tried to vote were intimidated.''

There you have it. Two Senators who believe that everyone should have the right to vote. That being the case, why don't these two champions of enfranchisement lead the charge in ending the filibuster on judicial nominees in the Senate. After all, what is a filibuster? It's disenfranchisement, plain and simple. Senators, both Democrats and Republicans, are being denied the right to vote on President Bush's judicial nominees. Don't like the nominees? Then vote them down. But don't steal the vote from those who disagree with you. Not only have the Senators been disenfranchised, their constituencies are being disenfranchised. Why should the people send a Senator to Washington if said Senator won't be allowed to do the people's bidding.

They say that charity begins at home. Maybe justice does, too. It's about time Hillary & Co. start practicing what they preach.

I CAN SEE CLEARLY N0W (THE RA1N IS G0NE)

Damn. It's been over a month since I last posted on this blog. I had LASIK surgery last month, and it made it difficult to read anything on the computer screen for any length of time. I got a mile behind in my grad course. When I finally got back to using the 'puter, the blog had to take a back seat to schoolwork. Hopefully, I'll be back to regular posting now.

H&C HIGH POINT

Dick Morris was just on Hannity and Colmes discussing one of my State's Senators. Alan Colmes asked Morris why he is dedicated to preventing Hillary Clinton from being elected. His answer: "Because she would be an awful (emphasis placed on the word by Morris) President." Not a positive thing coming from someone who knows Hill well.

Later Colmes said to Morris, "Maybe she (Hillary) is not shrill, dishonest, and partisan. Did you ever consider that?" Morris replied "only if you don't know her."

TAMING THE BLOGOSPHERE

For several days now, the blogosphere has been abuzz about a comment made by a Federal Elections Commissioner concerning federal regulation of blogs.

WASHINGTON, March 5 - Federal election commissioners are preparing to consider how revamped campaign finance laws apply to political activity on the Internet, including online advertising, fund-raising e-mail messages and Web logs.

Anyone who decides to "set up a blog, send out mass e-mails, any kind of activity that can be done on the Internet" could be subject to Federal Election Commission regulation, Bradley A. Smith, a Republican commissioner, said in an interview posted Thursday on the technology news site Cnet.com.

Right on the heels of that story came this one:

In a case with implications for the freedom to blog, a San Jose judge tentatively ruled Thursday that Apple Computer can force three online publishers to surrender the names of confidential sources who disclosed information about the company's upcoming products.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg refused to extend to the Web sites a protection that shields journalists from revealing the names of unidentified sources or turning over unpublished material.

Apparently, only "real journalists" are afforded the full protections of the First Ammendment. The question is, how do we determine who the approved free speakers are? Let's take a look at the First Ammendment to the Constitution and see if we can find an answer.

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Not much help there. I guess the framers didn't forsee blogs. Maybe we can devise a licensing scheme like we have with guns (perhaps free speech is a collective right, like we have been told the right to keep and bear arms is). I guess we'll have to ammend the First Ammendment. Let's try this on for size (proposed changes are in bold):

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the right to apply for a license to exercise freedom of speech, or of the licensed press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

There. That's much better. Now the constitution won't get in the way of "free" speech regulation anymore. All you have to do if you want to blog is to apply for a license. Look for speech license fees to be really high. After all, ya gotta keep the riff-raff out. Start saving your pennies. Some day you too may be able to express yourself in the well regulated brave new world.

As for me, I won't be applying for a license. I'll just scrawl my political ramblings onto pictures of naked people and post those on my site. Regulating political speech is one thing, but pornography is downright sacred to the American judiciary.

STATING THE OBVIOUS

According to news reports, bin Laden is reaching out to his biggest fan in Iraq.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden recently asked his chief ally in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to consider the territory of the United States as a target for terrorist attacks, a U.S. counterterrorism official said on Monday.

"There has been communication between bin Laden and Zarqawi, with bin Laden suggesting to Zarqawi the U.S. homeland as a target," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official called the bin Laden communication "a fairly recent development" but declined to provide details for fear of compromising U.S. anti-terrorism efforts.

Let's put on our analyst hats and figure out what this means. As near as I can tell, this development has two implications:

1. Bin Laden is at a point where he has no operational capability. The Godfather of Islamic terrorism would not go to a relative newcomer and ask said newcomer to conduct operations on his behalf unless he had to. Bin Laden has either run out of assets, or his network has been disabled leaving him unable to communicate with his assets. Either way, he is dead in the water. At least for the time being.

Bin Laden's anemic pre-election terrorist attack--a video taped message that essentially endorsed John Kerry--lends credence to this theory.

2. The "insurgency" in Iraq is failing. If it were accomplishing its intended purpose, there would be no need to divert increasingly scarce resources to another front. The tactics being used by the terrorists in Iraq tend to confirm this theory in my mind.

Suicide attacks against civilians (like the one noted in the previous post) are not the act of a military force that is on the verge of victory. On the contrary, such actions are an act of desperation. It is worth noting that the Japanese started fielding large Kamikaze forces toward the end of WW II. They knew that the end was near and were counting on a "divine wind" to save them from imminent defeat. It didn't.

DO YOU GET IT YET, MIKEY?

In the words of the infamous Michael Moore:

The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not "insurgents" or "terrorists" or "The Enemy." They are the REVOLUTION, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow -- and they will win.

Minutemen? I don't recall the Minutemen doing anything like this:

At least 105 persons were killed and 133 wounded in a car bombing today outside a medical centre in Hilla, south of Baghdad, the deadliest attack in Iraq in a year, medical officials said. “Our definitive toll after taking away the last victims is 105 dead and 122 wounded,” said Dr Mohammed Dia, head of Hilla’s General Hospital. The car bomb blew up in a crowd of civil servants gathered outside the medical centre in a packed commercial district.

What kind of revolutionaries kill the people that they are trying to free? Killing innocent civilians and Iraqi civil servants is noble? When Timmy McVeigh did it here in the U.S., he was (correctly) labeled a hatemonger and a murderer. When is our news media going to acknowledge that these "Minutemen" are no such thing? They are nothing but vicious thugs who kill indiscriminately. They don't give a damn about the Iraqi people. They just want to stick it to the U.S., and to any Iraqis who are trying to rebuild their country.

DAMMIT! (MORE MULTIMEDIA STUFF)

Damn that Cowboy Blob! He's gone and done it again. Check out this post. It's funnier'n Michael Moore falling down a flight of stairs.

MULTIMEDIA STUFF

Cowboy Blob has a new flash animation creation up and running. If you like our new SecState, you'll like this.

THIS JUST IN! (LIKE YOU REALLY CARED ANYWAY)

According to Sky News, Queen Elizabeth II will not be attending her son's impending nuptials.

QUEEN WON'T GO TO WEDDING

The Queen will not attend the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, it has been announced.

But Buckingham Palace has denied that the Queen is snubbing her son's wedding.

I will not be attending the wedding either, and I want it understood that I am snubbing Prince Charles. I've been feeling out of sorts lately, and I thought that snubbing a royal wedding would be just the pick-me-up I've needed. Maybe her Majesty and I can get together for a marathon game of Trivial Pursuit that day. Then again, maybe not.

MUSICAL INTERLUDE

I found this MP3 on the net this morning using the Alta Vista Audio search. This song was used in the soundtrack to the movie Snatch. Geat tune. Its called Golden Brown, by The Stranglers. If you want to check it out, you can find it here.

Oh, and if you haven't seen Snatch, check it out. It's well worth the two hours it takes to watch it.

OUR OWN WORST ENEMY

Froggy's post yesterday about former POW's suing Iraq over injuries that they suffered during Desert Storm got me thinking about one of the greatest threats to our country. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this threat is larger and more multifaceted than I had previously imagined.

I have often said--only half jokingly--that American citizens with law degrees have done more damage to this country than all of our foreign enemies put together. I don't mean to suggest that all lawyers are bad, but there are more than a few that seem unaware of, or unconcerned with the damage they are doing.

Much of the damage has been obvious for years. Ambulance chasers have filed frivolous lawsuits that have bogged down the courts and driven up the cost of everything from insurance to healthcare. Some criminal attorneys (is that redundant?) seem to think that there is a constitutional right to get away with a crime. Now we have class action suits where the lawyers get millions, while the victims get a few dollars woth of coupons.

The war on terrorism has given us a whole new threat from our lawyers. Many are now arguing that terrorists that have been captured overseas deserve to be treated like US citizens who have been arrested. How can we fight and win a war if the people we capture on the battlefield have to be treated like drunk drivers, drug dealers, and shoplifters? Imagine this potential scenario:

ALLIED FORCES IN TROUBLE
August 6, 1944
NORMANDY, France--Just two months after landing here, Allied troops find themselves back on the Normandy coast, caught between the English Channel and a fierce German counteroffensive. The counteroffensive is spearheaded by four reconstituted German Panzer divisions. The divisions were reconstituted when POW's were released by Allied Forces. The release was ordered last month by the US 9th Circuit Court. In its decision, the court cited the failure on the part of Allied troops to provide the POW's with access to legal representation.

"War or no war, there is no excuse for not following proper legal procedures" said Morris Q. Broadbottom, attorney for the POW's.

At a press conference in London yesterday, General Eisenhower predicted that Allied Forces would prevail. "Our troops are holding their own, and I have no doubt that we'll be pushing the Germans all the way back to Berlin in no time, once we get those paratroopers back in the game" Eisenhower told reporters.

The paratroopers the General was referring to are the members of several airborne divisions that were withdrawn from Europe last month due to a court order. The troops are currently scheduled to testify before a grand jury about rumors that some German POW's were shot in the first few days after the Allied invasion of Normandy. There is no word on when the grand jury procedings will conclude.

"While I'm sure we all take the Nazi threat seriously, it should not be used as an excuse to short-circuit the legal system" said attorney Broadbottom.

Thankfully, the United States didn't face this threat from within during World War II. Unfortunately, it looks like we're facing it today. Let's hope we win.

CHECKIN' MY BLOGROLL

Got a chance to look around the blogosphere recently. As usual, I found some interesting stuff.

DarthVOB has returned to the blogosphere after a two month hiatus. I was worried that he had been deployed to outer Mongolia. Luckily, he has not.

Baldilocks has also returned to regular blogging after a brief hiatus. Apparently, work got in the way of her blogging (I hate it when that happens). She hasn't lost her edge, though. Today, she handed a cyber ass-kicking to Eason "they're shooting at us, they're shooting at us!" Jordan.

Phoenix points out a really funny cartoon about bloggers. She also comes clean about her name and her bedtime attire.

I mean, I'm not even a pajama kind of girl. I'm more the silk nightie and satin teddy type. Does that put me in the same bracket as that dirty DC blogger who I won't even link to? Ick. Creepy.

Froggy, who has not disclosed his jammie preference (since he's a SEAL, I'd guess he has two sets; one neoprene, the other rip-stop cotton), has an interesting post about yet another way in which lawyers have insinuated themselves into our war effort. Haven't those blood-sucking SOBs done enough damage already? (apologies to the honorable lawyers out there)

The Laffin' Woof has an interesting idea about how we should treat the death-grip with which the powers-that-be are holding on to the Davos tapes that would prove once and for all what Eason Jordan said (or didn't say). He also has a link to a really cool wolf picture.

Tammi ponders relationships.

Teresa's son is being deployed.

Blackfive tells us that Scott Ritter has found a new job.

Smash has a post about a Popular Mechanics article that debunks all the loopy 9/11 conspiracy theories.

Damn, there's a lotta good stuff out there. The Pajamahedeen have been busy.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

America's favorite child molester has some exciting and romantic news:

SEATTLE -- An online bridal registry says Mary Kay Letourneau and her former sixth-grade pupil, Vili Fualaau, have set the date for their wedding.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports in Monday's paper that 43-year-old Letourneau and 22-year-old Fualaau plan to wed April 16. Letourneau served 7.5 years on a 1997 conviction for raping Fualaau.

Letourneau was a married mother of four when she began a sexual relationship with the then-12-year-old Fualaau after meeting at Burien's Shorewood Elementary School in 1996, when she was 34. She was pregnant with Fualaau's first child when she was arrested in 1997 and ordered to serve a six-month sentence for second-degree child rape.

One month after she was released, Letourneau was caught having sex with Fualaau in her car. She pleaded guilty in 1997 to two charges of child rape, and gave birth to the couple's second daughter while serving her sentence. Fualaau's mother is raising their two daughters, aged 6 and 7.

Shortly after Letourneau was released from prison last August, the pair successfully petitioned a King County judge to lift a no-contact order that had barred them from seeing each other.

A family friend says they became engaged when Fualaau proposed last fall, but they have been trying to keep wedding details a secret. Noel Soriano says the wedding will likely be held in a Seattle-area church.

I caight the tail end of John Gibson's show on FOX News tonight. He had an interesting take on this story during his My Word segment:

This kid was a father twice while he still needed a father to show him how to get merit badges in Boy Scouts and how to tie a bowtie for the high school prom.

She served her time, seven and a half years. He's now 22 and she's now 43 and they're getting married.

We needed to hear something uplifting in the love department for Valentine's Day, didn't we?

The wedding is going to be in a church — what church marries rapists and rape victims? — and their two daughters are going to be flower girls. I'm sorry this is just too weird for me and I was born in California!

And how is young Vili going to be supporting his wife and children? He's getting his GED now and talking to gallery owners about exhibiting his artwork.

My, his teacher sure did a great job getting him started in life. No high school diploma, no hopes for college, dreams of an art career, two babies and a wife who will be on Social Security when he turns forty.

Give that teacher a medal!

That's My Word.

No shortage of sarcasm there. It's warranted, though. Every bit of it. And then some.

Note that the "happy couple" has an online bridal registry. I don't see some of the really important items listed. Like an education and a future for Vili. And some serious psychotherapy--and maybe some ECT-- for the pathetic Mary Kay.

All we can hope is that young Vili doesn't waste too much more of his youth on that sorry excuse for a woman. If he does stick around, I have an idea for a present that the young husband can get his wife on their seventh anniversary.

NANNY STATE LIBERALS GONE WILD!

I got this link from a co-worker today. This is funny and more than a little scary. Check it out here.

MUSICAL TAG; I'M IT!

Phoenix, at Villains Vanquished got tagged for a musical meme. She, in turn tagged me, so here goes.

Random Ten:

AC/DC-Back in Black

April Wine-Nature of the Beast

Boston-Don't Look Back

Van Halen-1984

Bon Jovi-Slippery When Wet

Black Sabbath-Heaven and Hell

Led Zeppelin-Led Zeppelin II

The Ramones-Greatest Hits

ZZ Top-Eliminator

Aerosmith-Toys in the Attic

1. What is the total amount of music files on your computer? Six. A couple songs I downloaded and the theme songs to a few TV shows I found at Sound America.

2. The last CD you bought is:
Jet-Get Born.

3. What is the song you last listened to before this message?
Mary Had a Little Lamb, as played by my daughter on the piano.

4. Five songs you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.
Aerosmith-Walk This Way
Depeche Mode-Personal Jesus
The Ramones-Sedated
Cheap Trick-I Want You to Want Me
Jane's Addiction-Been Caught Stealing

5. Who are you gonna pass this stick to (five persons and why)?
That's a tough one. Phoenix only came up with me, so I guess I won't feel pressured in the numbers department. I guess I'll try:
Tammi, Bloodspite, and Teresa.

MADAME SECRETARY

After debating it to death, the Senate finally voted to confirm Condoleeza Rice as Secretary of State. The final vote was 85-13 with two abstentions. All of the opposed were Democrats, except Jim Jeffords ("I"-VT); but lets face reality, Jumpin' Jim has been a Democrat in everything but name for years anyway. The following Senators voted no on Secretary Rice:

John "I can't believe I didn't win" Kerry (MA)
Ted "I'll drive you home right after I finish this drink" Kennedy (MA)
Daniel Akaka (HI)
Evan "No, really I am a moderate" Bayh (IN)
Richard Durbin (IL)
Jack Reed (RI)
Barbara "Liar, liar, pants on fire" Boxer (CA)
Tom Harkin (IA)
Robert "Sheets" Byrd (WV)
Frank Lautenberg (NJ)
Carl "My glasses are about to fall off the tip of my nose" Levin (MI)
Mark "The other Senator from Minnesota" Dayton (MN)
James "I'll prove my independence from the GOP by doing whatever the Dems tell me to" Jeffords (VT)

The following nadless wonders (supposed GOP members) abstained:
Judd Gregg (NH)
Conrad Burns (MT)
What's the deal boys? No opinion?

I'm not surprised that the Dems did what they did. They are desperate to beat President Bush in the 2004 election. Problem is, the election is over...they lost. Now we finally know what is more pathetic than a team trying to win using an outdated playbook; a team that is trying to win a game that is long since over.

The part of all this that really steams my clams is the conduct of several Senators before the vote. It's legitimate to ask tough questions. It's even legitimate to vote no. If you think it's the right thing to do, then do it. But calling Dr. Rice a liar - repeatedly - was way off the map. Like it or not, she is now the Secretary of State. She will be our country's face to the world. She will be our messenger. And a number of US Senators, some whom command (for reasons I can't fathom) widespread respect, just called this woman...a liar.

If you ever doubted that some of these people are willing to do damage to this country to win at politics, this episode should put those doubts to rest.

ROE V. WADE

Last Sunday marked the 32nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that struck down all state abortion laws. I recently read an excellent piece by David Kupelian at WND about the true nature of the abortion movement. The outright lies used to sell us on "freedom of choice" are appalling.

In marketing wars, the party that frames the terms of the debate almost always wins. And the early abortion marketers brilliantly succeeded in doing exactly that – diverting attention away from the core issues of exactly what abortion does to both the unborn child and the mother, and focusing the debate instead on a newly created issue: "choice." No longer was the morality of killing the unborn at issue, but rather, "who decides."

The original abortion-rights slogans from the early '70s – they remain virtual articles of faith and rallying cries of the "pro-choice" movement to this day – were "Freedom of choice" and "Women must have control over their own bodies."

"I remember laughing when we made those slogans up," recalls Bernard Nathanson, M.D., co-founder of pro-abortion vanguard group NARAL, reminiscing about the early days of the abortion-rights movement in the late '60s and early '70s. "We were looking for some sexy, catchy slogans to capture public opinion. They were very cynical slogans then, just as all of these slogans today are very, very cynical."

Besides having served as chairman of the executive committee of NARAL – originally, the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, and later renamed the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League – as well as its medical committee, Nathanson was one of the principal architects and strategists of the abortion movement in the United States. He tells an astonishing story.

The "facts" they used were anything but. According to Nathanson:

"Repeating the big lie often enough convinces the public. The number of women dying from illegal abortions was around 200-250 annually. The figure we constantly fed to the media was 10,000. These false figures took root in the consciousness of Americans, convincing many that we needed to crack the abortion law.

"Another myth we fed to the public through the media was that legalizing abortion would only mean that the abortions taking place illegally would then be done legally. In fact, of course, abortion is now being used as a primary method of birth control in the U.S. and the annual number of abortions has increased by 1,500 percent since legalization."

NARAL's brilliantly deceitful marketing campaign, bolstered by fraudulent "research," was uncannily successful. In New York, the law outlawing abortion had been on the books for 140 years. "In two years of work, we at NARAL struck that law down," says Nathanson. "We lobbied the legislature, we captured the media, we spent money on public relations ... Our first year's budget was $7,500. Of that, $5,000 was allotted to a public relations firm to persuade the media of the correctness of our position. That was in 1969."

New York immediately became the abortion capital for the eastern half of the United States.

The article goes on to detail the grisly truth about abortion procedures that the pro-chioce sloganeers do not want you to know. You can read the rest of it here (WARNING: some of this is not easy reading).

H/T: Michelle Malkin

The Silent Scream: At this site you can see the video NARRAL doesn't want you to see (WARNING: graphic).

BACK TO WORK

I received my study guide and text for my next course this week. Probation, Parole and Community Corrections. Joy. I thought that the last course was demanding. This one is even worse. I'm not sure if this was the intended outcome or just a coincidence, but the courses seem harder as you go along. It's like I'm walking up a hill and the closer I get to the top, the steeper it gets. Oh well, nobody ever said that getting a Master's degree was supposed to be easy.

I'll be halfway there when I complete this course. Then only six more 3 credit hour courses to go. I'm hoping to be done by the end of this year, time and circumstances permitting. Another deployment in '05 won't help things, so I'm hoping that won't happen.

I guess blogging will go from infrequent to really infrequent. It's hard to keep up with current events when you're so busy. Between work, family, the military, and school, I find myself losing track in a hurry. Worse comes to worse, I can always blog about my daughter's basketball games. Even that would be more interesting than Probation, Parole, and Community Corrections.

SUGGESTED READING

A US Army officer serving in Iraq has written an excellent piece about the people who are really failing in Iraq: our news media. This was written by LTC Tim Ryan, Commander of Task Force 2-12 Cavalry, First Cavalry Division in Iraq.

All right, I've had enough. I am tired of reading distorted and grossly exaggerated stories from major news organizations about the "failures" in the war in Iraq. "The most trusted name in news" and a long list of others continue to misrepresent the scale of events in Iraq. Print and video journalists are covering only a fraction of the events in Iraq and, more often than not, the events they cover are only negative.

The inaccurate picture they paint has distorted the world view of the daily realities in Iraq. The result is a further erosion of international support for the United States' efforts there, and a strengthening of the insurgents' resolve and recruiting efforts while weakening our own. Through their incomplete, uninformed and unbalanced reporting, many members of the media covering the war in Iraq are aiding and abetting the enemy.

The fact is the Coalition is making steady progress in Iraq, but not without ups and downs. So why is it that no matter what events unfold, good or bad, the media highlights mostly the negative aspects of the event? The journalistic adage, "If it bleeds, it leads," still applies in Iraq, but why only when it's American blood?

As a recent example, the operation in Fallujah delivered an absolutely devastating blow to the insurgency. Though much smaller in scope, clearing Fallujah of insurgents arguably could equate to the Allies' breakout from the hedgerows in France during World War II. In both cases, our troops overcame a well-prepared and solidly entrenched enemy and began what could be the latter's last stand. In Fallujah, the enemy death toll has exceeded 1,500 and still is climbing. Put one in the win column for the good guys, right? Wrong. As soon as there was nothing negative to report about Fallujah, the media shifted its focus to other parts of the country.

More recently, a major news agency's website lead read: "Suicide Bomber Kills Six in Baghdad" and "Seven Marines Die in Iraq Clashes." True, yes. Comprehensive, no. Did the author of this article bother to mention that Coalition troops killed 50 or so terrorists while incurring those seven losses? Of course not. Nor was there any mention about the substantial progress these offensive operations continue to achieve in defeating the insurgents. Unfortunately, this sort of incomplete reporting has become the norm for the media, whose poor job of presenting a complete picture of what is going on in Iraq borders on being criminal.

Much of the problem is about perspective, putting things in scale and balance. What if domestic news outlets continually fed American readers headlines like: "Bloody Week on U.S. Highways: Some 700 Killed," or "More Than 900 Americans Die Weekly from Obesity-Related Diseases"? Both of these headlines might be true statistically, but do they really represent accurate pictures of the situations? What if you combined all of the negatives to be found in the state of Texas and used them as an indicator of the quality of life for all Texans? Imagine the headlines: "Anti-law Enforcement Elements Spread Robbery, Rape and Murder through Texas Cities." For all intents and purposes, this statement is true for any day of any year in any state. True — yes, accurate — yes, but in context with the greater good taking place — no! After a year or two of headlines like these, more than a few folks back in Texas and the rest of the U.S. probably would be ready to jump off of a building and end it all. So, imagine being an American in Iraq right now.

You can read the rest of LTC Tim Ryan's piece here.

FAHRENHEIT .44 MAGNUM

I've always been a Clint Eastwood fan. Now I like him even more:

Clint Eastwood squinted like Dirty Harry Tuesday night as he took aim at Michael Moore.

"Michael Moore and I actually have a lot in common - we both appreciate living in a country where there's free expression," Eastwood told the star-dotted crowd attending the National Board of Review awards dinner at Tavern on the Green, where Eastwood picked up a Special Filmmaking Achievement prize for "Million Dollar Baby."

Then, the Republican-leaning actor/director advised the lefty filmmaker: "But, Michael, if you ever show up at my front door with a camera - I'll kill you."

The audience erupted in laughter, and Eastwood grinned dangerously.

"I mean it," he added, provoking more guffaws.

Sitting well out of range at a table in back, Moore - who received a special "Freedom of Expression" award for his anti-Bush polemic "Fahrenheit 9/11" - chuckled.

So Michael, are you feeling lucky...punk?!?!

NY Daily News article

THE "COMPASSIONATE" LEFT (CAUTION: REALLY HARSH LANGUAGE AHEAD)

I make a habit of reading Michelle Malkin's blog every day. I've been a fan of her newspaper columns for several years and was happy to see that she had started a blog last spring. I can't say that I've agreed with every thing she's said, but her writing always makes me think. One of her posts today really made me think. She shared some unabridged examples of the hate mail she receives. For instance:

Hi Self hating flat nosed Filipino Bitch! As we used to refer to your kind - little brown Fucking Machines. Looks like this little LBFM learned to whore in a different way to make some pesos. How sweet.
*********************************
I just hope that I am still around when the karma catches up to those of you that have spread the lies and attacked the innocent. I hope your fate is somewhat similar to the women of the Phillipines when the Japanese invaded. Then Michelle you can drop the "media" from "media whore" when someone asks your occupation.
*********************************
You're just a Manilla whore shaking your ass and waiting for the Republican fleet to come in, aren't you? You've even got the lip gloss about right. Maybe if you love sailor long time, he bring you home to big American house? I don't think so. Just like in Manilla, Honey, they'll pass you around 'til they've all shot their load in you, and then they'll try to scrub off the stench so they can sail off in their crisp, white uniforms to the land of W.A.S.P.
*********************************
Here's a tip. We know you are lyin' pond scum and a whore to your profession......and, not a very expensive whore at that. So............when we get rid of you neocons; how will you ever pay your rent? You're not good enough to make it as a real writer. fuck you; I hope you get cancer & die a horrible painful death all alone, with your collegues shunning you and the rest of us reading how wrong you are AND WHAT A CRUMMY WRITER YOU ARE.
*********************************
Malkin, you're a dumb fucking whore. You're a philipino piece of shit who should be wiping my ass. Go back to the massage parlor. Sucky sucky long time. How dare you thing you have any right to express any opinions in this country. You're a joke. Go back to nursing school. Whore.
*********************************
You're a filthy whore.

So, what have we learned from Ms. Malkin's mailbox? Let's see, compassionate, multiculturally inclined, left-wing champions of women's rights apparently believe:
-Any member of a minority group that is not in lockstep with liberal groupthink is a self-hater.
-All Asian women are whores.
-Women who disagree with them are whores.
-People who disagree with them are dumb (apparently lefties aren't so brilliant after all, since you only have to be not "dumb" to think like they do).
-People who disagree with them deserve to be raped, like the women in the Philippines were raped by Japanese soldiers during WW II.
-People who disagree with them deserve to "get cancer & die a horrible painful death".

Sexual harassment. Racial harassment. Perpetuating racial and gender stereotypes. Damn, sounds like these people need some of their own bullsh*t sensitivity training. I guess that they think such behavior is justified in this situation because they are fighting "evil". The irony is that these are the same folks that tell us executing murderers is wrong because it makes society no better than the killers it is punishing. More proof that you have to be a hypocrite to be a left-wing extremist.

MEMOGATE AND A ONCE-RESPECTED WARRIOR

The news that CBS canned four of its employees, including producer Mary Mapes for their conduct in the Bush/Air National Guard memo story is the big story of the day. The internal investigation report's failure to cite the role that the blatant partisanship of those involved in the story played in the scandal was no surprise to me. I hadn't been paying too much attention to the story today. Until I read this.

Mapes said that she asked Colonel Hackworth to “look at the back and forth” in the Killian documents because he had worked in the Pentagon and knew about Pentagon politics. Even though Colonel Hackworth was never in the TexANG, did not know Lieutenant Colonel Killian or any of the other relevant individuals, had no personal knowledge of President Bush’s service in the TexANG and had no personal knowledge regarding the Killian documents, he reached some highly critical conclusions in his interview regarding President Bush’s TexANG service based solely on the purported authenticity of the Killian documents and his general knowledge of the military.

First, Colonel Hackworth concluded that the documents were “genuine.” He reached this conclusion by relating his own experience at the Pentagon during the Vietnam War when he was running the “Army input system for . . . basic training.” Colonel Hackworth said that, while in that post, he received and refused requests by members of Congress and generals to assign certain men to particular units and wrote “cover my own butt” memoranda in many cases to document his refusals. Colonel Hackworth then concluded that Lieutenant Colonel Killian was “in the same kind of pickle that I found myself in” and proceeded to discuss what Lieutenant Colonel Killian was thinking at the time he wrote the memoranda.

Rather asked Colonel Hackworth whether there was any doubt in his mind that the documents were real, and Colonel Hackworth replied, “Having been down that road before I would say that these are genuine documents.”

Second, Colonel Hackworth concluded that, by not taking his physical, then-Lieutenant Bush was “insubordinate” and would have been treated more harshly had he been “an unconnected Lieutenant.”

Third, Colonel Hackworth stated repeatedly throughout his interview that then-Lieutenant Bush was “AWOL” and that a person would have to reach that conclusion when reviewing the documents “unless you’re the village idiot.” Colonel Hackworth appeared to be referring to the fact that he had seen no evidence that President Bush was “present for duty” once he left for Alabama in 1972, although he did not articulate clearly how he reached his conclusion. Finally, Colonel Hackworth concluded that “the bottom line here is – is the abuse of power.” He said that “[I]t’s how people up at the top can . . . lean on the little people.”

Rather thought Colonel Hackworth was a “strong and valuable expert witness.” Mapes also believed that Colonel Hackworth was important for the Segment and included excerpts of his interview in early drafts of the September 8 Segment script. These excerpts were ultimately cut from the final script by Heyward and West.

So, COL David Hackworth is an expert on the Air National Guard now? Obviously, he isn't. COL Hackworth served in the Army, not the Air National Guard. They are not then same - trust me, I've served in both. To the best of my knowledge, he isn't an expert in examining questioned documents, either. Hackworth must know his own limitations. Yet he had no qualms about going on TV and leveling a serious accusation against the President of the United States while our country is at war. Totally inexcusable. Thankfully, the segment he was in wound up on the cutting room floor.

I used to respect COL Hackworth. He is one of this country's most decorated soldiers. As a young soldier in the 80's, I read About Face, his book about what was wrong with the US Army and how many of the lessons of Vietnam have gone unheeded. "Here is a guy who gets it", I thought.

In the last couple of years, my respect for COL Hackworth has eroded. His criticism of the war in Iraq sounds startlingly similar to what is coming from the looney left. "Chickenhawk" (I hate that freaking word!) seems to be his favorite word when describing many members of the administration. Last year he wrote in a column that "green card holders" made up the bulk of our troops in Iraq (total bullshit, BTW). Around the same time, he wrote a column asserting that Al Qaida would sooner ally itself with Israel than with Saddam Hussein - a statement so ridiculous that it would be a waste of time to argue with the person who made it.

I've spent more than a little time wondering what happened to COL Hackworth. He spent the entire Clinton years criticizing the administration's military policy. Now the Bush administration is his favorite target. Originally, I came to the conclusion that the COL was nothing more than a professional iconoclast - making a living off the controversy he creates. Let's face it, controversy sells books.

As I thought about this story today, I began to consider a different possibility:

David Hackworth got his start in the controversy business in 1971 when he went on national television and predicted that Vietnam would be lost. He made this prediction while still an officer in the US Army. Anyone with any sense would know what a bad idea this was. After criticizing the US military operations in the Balkans in the 90's, he endorsed the presidential campaign of the military architect of our operations there; GEN Wesley Clark, a man Hackworth had previously labeled a "perfumed prince". This didn't make much sense to me. He followed this up by talking up John Kerry, a man who testified that troops in Vietnam were routinely committing atrocities. This also appears to make no sense.

Maybe COL Hackworth just enjoys being at the center of a controversy. Maybe he's desperate for the attention. If this is the case, he's found a way to get what he craves. The media loves retired military officers who criticize Republican Presidents; especially officers as highly regarded as David Hackworth.

Whatever the reasons for COL Hackworth's recent behavior, it is disheartening to watch. I'll always respect his military accomplishments - there's no denying he is a soldier's soldier - but I can't respect the man. Not anymore.

EAVESDROPPIN'

Conversation overheard at lunch today:

-"Did you hear that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston broke up?"

-"Yeah, I couldn't believe it. Who'd have thought that two self absorbed people couldn't live together?"

I found it shocking too.

WAAAHHH!!!!

I saw this story linked on Drudge's site:

Sen. Barbara Boxer , D-Calif., wipes away a tear as she announces with Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, that they will object to the certification of Ohio's electoral votes during a joint session of Congress today Thursday, Jan. 6, 2005. It would be only the second time since 1877 that the House and Senate were forced into separate meetings to consider electoral votes. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

What a bunch of crybabies - literally, in this case - some of these Dems are. Note to Boxer & Co.: Get over it. Grow up. Move on (as the name and web address of one of your favorite organizations implores). Hillary Clinton was elected Senator in my state in 2000. I didn't cry about that. Chuckie Shumer just got reelected with a record 71% of the vote. I didn't cry about that either. Seeing the Dems behaving like such sore losers just reassures those of us who are "red" voters that we did the right thing last November.

TECH SUPPORT(?)

I emailed Blogger on Wednesday night as to why my background changed color and why my comments are above the post they apply to instead of below it where they belong. Still no joy on an answer. For now I guess I'll just go on posting as is, but this is really annoying.

THANKS BLOGGER (YOU SUCK!!!!!!)

I was planning on changing my blog template the other day. I decided against it and did NOT save any changes I made. Blogger decided to change it on me anyway, even though I did not save the changes and did NOT republish the F*CKING thing. I lost all my links and my comments. THIS SUX!

UPDATE
Check out the top: "Views on life, culture, politics, and national security from a reservist recently returned from the Middle East." I had changed that description a couple months ago, but Blogger pulled the old one out of its ass and put it back up there. Apparently the thing has a mind of its own.

UPDATE 2: OK, I got the link thing fixed. Still need to figure out how to get the Haloscan comments back.

UPDATE 3: I got the comments up and they're in the wrong place. Plus, it changed the color of my blog. Oh Joy! That "DELETE THIS BLOG" button is starting to look really good about now.

THOUGHTS FOR THE NEW YEAR

I got this list from a friend of mine. Not sure where it originated, but I found it amusing.


12. Life is actually sexually transmitted.

11. Being healthy is merely the slowest possible way for someone to die.

10. Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich!

9. Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.

8. Some people are like Slinkies.....not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.

7. Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying there in hospitals dying of nothing.

6. Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

5. All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

4. Why does a slight tax increase cost you hundreds of dollars while a substantial tax cut saves you a few cents?

3. In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now that the world really is weird, people take Prozac to make it seem normal.

2. Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. Have you ever noticed that it bears a very close resemblance to the first?

AND THE # 1 THOUGHT FOR THE NEW YEAR:

1. Many terrorists come to America legally and hang around on expired visas (some for as long as 10-15 years) and the government can't seem to catch them. However, consider Blockbuster, for example. If you're just two days late with a video rental, those people are all over you. Maybe we should put Blockbuster in charge of US immigration.

THE BLOOD OF THOUSANDS ON MY SUV?

I checked the news after taking a break from it for a couple of days and saw this. I should have seen it coming.

Global Warming, Pollution Add to Coastal Threats

Mon Dec 27,12:29 PM ET Science - Reuters

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

OSLO (Reuters) - A creeping rise in sea levels tied to global warming, pollution and damage to coral reefs may make coastlines even more vulnerable to disasters like tsunamis or storms in future, experts said Monday.

Few coastal ecosystems are robust enough to withstand freak waves like the ones that slammed into Asian nations from Sri Lanka to Thailand Sunday, killing more than 22,000 people, after a subsea earthquake off Indonesia.

But global warming, poorly planned coastal development and other threats over which humans have some control are weakening natural defenses ranging from mangrove swamps to coral reefs that help keep the oceans at bay.

"Coasts are under threat in many countries," said Brad Smith at environmental group Greenpeace. "Development of roads, shrimp farms, ribbon development along coasts and tourism are eroding natural defenses in Asia."

Scientists say a build-up of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere from human burning of fossil fuels threatens to trigger more powerful storms and raise sea levels, exposing coasts to more erosion.

It's not enough to call us "stingy", they have to find a way to blame us for the whole thing.

"Damn those Americans!! What do you expect from the people who invented AIDS in a lab and then unleashed it on an unsuspecting world, armed and trained the Taliban and Al Qaida in Afghanistan, conspired with the Israeli Mossad to fly planes into their own buildings to frame Al Qaida, and faked evidence of WMD's in Iraq so they could topple a peaceful regime and inflict suffering on a happy people. Bastards!!!! They'll probably find a way to make billions for Haliburton off this disaster."

OK, I admit it. It's all my fault. All of those people could have been spared if only I had bought an electric car. While we're on the subject, the common cold and slow internet connections are my fault, too.

That's enough ranting for now. I have to go fill my SUV up with that cheap gas (insert sarcastic tone here) we "stole" from the Iraqis so I can cause another natural disaster.

DANGER: MAD FROG AHEAD
Matt, over at Froggy Ruminations is pissed. Apparently there is another fake Navy SEAL in the news. Another dirtbag who claimed to be a SEAL is wanted for a violent crime. This on the heels of the story about Sheryl Crow's alleged stalker who was purportedly a Navy SEAL. As it turned out, he wasn't one either.

Phony veterans are nothing new. People have been claiming credit for things they haven't really done for years. SEALs are a particularly attractive target for fakes due to the impressive reputation the teams have gained in recent years.

What has Matt really peeved is how the news media swallows the claims hook, line, and sinker without making even a token effort to fact check. Unfortunately, this is not a new story either. Media malpractice in reporting on veterans goes back to at least the Vietnam War. Thanks to our lazy-assed (or is it just plain old biased?) media, the image of the Vietnam veteran has been forever tarnished. The media repeated the lie that Vietnam vets were pathetic, PTSD-afflicted, drug addled, chronically unemployed, homeless losers so often that this myth has become conventional wisdom. I've met a lot of losers in my travels, and I've met a lot of Vietnam vets; I have yet to meet someone who was both. I'm sure there are a few out there, but they are a small minority.

Our only recourse is to hold the MSM's feet to the fire. Rather-gate was just the beginning. We may not be able to correct all of the wrongs done to the Vietnam generation by these jackals, but we can prevent them from doing it to the next generation.

NEWS FROM TAMMI

Tammi, over at Road Warrior Survival has been logging a lot of time at the hospital for a couple of days now. Her Mama Vi was visiting her for the holidays and fell ill. Apparently, the hospital staff has been less than helpful. If you get a chance, head on over and send your regards via her comments section. If you have any ideas on how to handle the bureaucratic jackasses at the hospital, let her know (any doctors, nurses, or lawyers out there?). The link to her latest update is here.

POST HOLIDAY READING ASSIGNMENT

OK, by now you should have cleaned up that shredded wrapping paper on the living room floor, wrapped and stored the leftovers, and returned the really ugly sweater that your great aunt Hildegarde gave you as a present (you can donate it to Goodwill if you don't have the receipt; then someone else's great aunt can give it to them next year). It's time for a reading assignment.

Cliff May has an excellent column today about the war in Iraq and how it is undeniably a part of the war on terrorism. The column includes the following quote:
" There surely is only one side to be on in what is now very clearly a battle between democracy and terror..."
-Tony Blair

Truer words were never spoken. You can read the column at Townhall.com, the link is below.
Link

Michael Ledeen's December 24 column is must reading as well. Leeden points out some of the myths of the Iraqi insurgency that have been elevated to the status of "conventional wisdom" by the hacks who inhabit our news media.

"The notion that we are fighting an "insurgency" largely organized and staffed by former elements of Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime is now fully enshrined as an integral piece of the conventional wisdom. Like earlier bits of the learned consensus - to which it is closely linked - it is factually wrong and strategically dangerous."

I've been saying the same thing for months. Unfortunately, too many people have been listening to the misinformation of the MSM. You can read the rest of Ledeen's column at the link below.
Link

Part 1 of your assignment is to read the columns listed above. Part 2 is to get someone else to read them. Education is the only way to end the cycle of ignorance that has afflicted milllions of Americans (and most of "old Europe") in their thinking about the war.

MERRY CHRISTMAS
UPDATE: I took the pic that was here out. It was too big for the blog. Oh well, it's January 5, anyway. About time I took the tree down already.

NEW JOURNALISM AWARD

The brilliant economist, Dr. Thomas Sowell has created a new journalism award: 

 

 Events of this past year have shown the need for a special award in journalism for those who think that the purpose of reporting news is to cause the public to adopt the political views of those who do the reporting. Therefore this column announces the first annual Joseph Goebbels award for that journalist who best exemplifies the spirit and the practice that Dr. Goebbels pioneered.

 For people too young to remember or too unschooled in history to know, Dr. Joseph Goebbels was the minister of propaganda in the Nazi regime back in the 1930s and 1940s. Facts never distracted him from his mission nor did a lack of facts inhibit his zeal.

 Had there been such an award in 2003, "Baghdad Bob" would have been the clear winner for his repeated bold assurances that American troops were nowhere near Baghdad and never would be. That man could have had a great career in advertising. Holding the same official position as Dr. Goebbels, Baghdad Bob would have been the perfect first winner of this award. But such are the lost opportunities of history.

I won't tell you who won this year, you'll have to read Dr. Sowell's column to find out.   Even with so many highly qualified candidates in the American news media, I'll bet you already have a good idea.  You can find out here:

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/ts20041224.shtml

LOVE EXPLAINED

Harvey, of Bad Example explains the concept of love in a guest post over at IMAO. Check it out for a better understanding of this complex human emotion.

Fun Facts About Love

IT'S BEEN
three weeks since I last posted. I've been at a crossroads as to what to do with this blog. Since the election, I've tried to stay away from the news. War, politics, international affairs; they all give me a headache - not to mention a backache, neck ache, chest pains etc. I took a physical exam for my reserve unit right after the election. I had high blood pressure. I went a month without news or talk radio and took a physical with my personal physician. BP was back to normal. I guess I just take these things too seriously. It's hard not to when you know what the stakes are. It's hard to blog about current events when you aren't keeping current.

I can't blog about work. That would be a big no-no; my job isn't "secret" per se, but it requires a low profile. I can't really blog from work either. I have tried to blog via email from work, but that hasn't worked out too well. Something about the fonts that our email program uses messes things up.

I could blog about my personal life, but I don't have much of one. I spend most of my spare time working on my Masters Degree via a distance learning program. When I'm not actually working on that, I don't even want to think about it, let alone blog about it.

There are a few things going on that have broken through my news blackout and have really pi$$ed me off. I guess I'll have to blog about those, but it'll have to wait. I have an assignment to finish for my research methods course (I HATE THIS COURSE!!!!!)

BTW: Some blogger claims that I "was one of the people early on who urged (her) to start blogging." I happened on her blog by accident. It seems that she forgot to email me and let me know that she started a blog (insert an "I'm very disappointed in you young lady" look here). I guess I'll need to keep this blog going so I can add a link to her blog to my sidebar.

RETURN OF THE ANTI-DOONESBURY

Chris Muir's Day by Day cartoon returns today after a two and a half month break.  You can read it at  http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/