CONVERT

Bush supporter Janet M. Stroble has decided to wave the white flag. Frustrated with the current state of affairs, she's decided to join the other side.

That's it. I'm exhausted. I can't push back
anymore.

For five and a half years, I have met the
onslaught of daily criticism against George
W. Bush, the man I voted for President twice,
and challenged his foes. I can't do it. I give
up. The Left and the mainstream media's
unrelenting drumbeat has won me over, like
slamming my head repeatedly against a brick
wall. I know how good it will feel if I stop
slamming and admit they've been right all
along. So I'm throwing in the towel and going
to join the other side. Now I believe.

Read the rest. Good stuff.

Link

ET TU, NEWT?

I saw this linked at the Drudge Report:

Gingrich at USD: Pull out of Iraq
VERMILLION - Newt Gingrich, the former
RepublicanSpeaker of the House, told students
and faculty at the University of South Dakota
Monday that the United States should pull out
of Iraq and leave a small force there, just
as it did post-war in Korea and Germany.

"It was an enormous mistake for us to try to
occupy that country after June of 2003,"
Gingrich said during a question-and-answer
session at the school. "We have to pull back,
and we have to recognize it."

Sorry Newt, but if we pulled out of Iraq right after toppling
Saddam, the country would have degenerated into chaos. It'd
make the problems we see there now look like peace and
tranquility by comparison. And then the Iranians would move in.
And al Qaida. I agree that occupation isn't desirable,
but it's better than the alternative.

Link

THE "SIXTEEN WORDS" REVISITED

Today's must read column is this one by Christopher Hitchens about the Iraq-Niger-yellowcake controversy. But don't hold your breath waiting for this aspect of the story to get much play from the mainstream media. They're too busy trying to win an election to cover such "old news."

HITTING THE NAIL ON THE HEAD

I was getting caught up on my blog reading during lunch when I ran
across this brilliant quote by Dr. David Yeagley:

The news is a mindless misanthrope of culture,
a plodding mesh of kaleidoscopic relativism.
Outrage is worn out, and the outrageous becomes
normal. The masses become numb. The media, a
competitive business, leads inevitably downward.
There is no standard of value, nor consistency
in presentation. It's all about selling interest
and excitement. The industry must sell news.
Ratings are all that really matter. The media
seeks the greatest number of consumers. Thus the
herds become hordes, and dollars demigods. Beware
the media.

Damn. Is that dead on, or what?

BACK TO THE ROUTINE

After two weeks of military active duty that included a trip south for a big exercise, I'm finally back to being a full time civilian again. I've been scanning the news and it looks like I have a lot of catching up to do. That figures. Every time I'm out of the loop for a little while, the world goes to hell in a handbasket. They do this to me on purpose, I'm certain of it. It's a conspiracy. I'd better let Cynthia McKinney know about this.

MORE ON RECONNAISSANCE IN IRAQ

The Tactical Airbrone Reconnaissance System (TARS) is being used to provide photo recon for our troops in Iraq.

BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- A little-known capability here is paying big dividends for warfighters on the ground. Air National Guard F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 332nd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron are using the Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System, or TARS pod, to provide high-quality still imagery to ground commanders to help them achieve their tactical objectives.

The TARS pod, mounted on the centerline of the F-16, contains a sophisticated photographic system that records high-resolution images which can be exploited by users on the ground within hours of landing. Because the pod is mounted on the centerline, the aircraft can still carry a variety of munitions under the wings to perform close air support for ground forces and air-to-air missions if necessary.

TARS, a capability exclusive to the Air National Guard, is being used in a variety of ways in Iraq. One of these is to help ground forces with their mission planning, providing them up-to-date imagery of roads, houses, structures, neighborhoods and other areas of interest.

"Many of the images being used by the ground guys for mission planning are Falcon View satellite images that are often dated," said Lt. Col. Kerry Gentry, commander of the 332nd and member of the New Jersey Air National Guard. "A lot can change over time in terms of new construction of buildings and roads. We can provide our JTACs and other ground forces up-to-date, high-resolution images they need to execute their missions."

Just how good is the resolution? The TARS pod is the equivalent of a 36-megapixel camera, said Staff Sgt. Jeremy Fisher, 332nd Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and a guardsman from the 122nd Fighter Wing in Fort Wayne, Ind.

To put that in perspective, most handheld digital cameras range between two and five megapixels. The resolution of the TARS images, however, is only one of its advantages.

(emphasis mine)

Our folks in Iraq are rewriting the book on how to fight a war. They're kicking ass and taking names, but you won't hear much about it from the folks who pass themselves off as the news media. I guess it'll be up to the blogosphere to get the word out.

ILLEGAL ALIENS

OK, let's cut through the B.S. They're illegal aliens. They're not immigrants, migrants, or any other euphemism. They're here becuase they broke the law. Period. For an interesting perspective on the subject of illegal immigrants, check out Davide Yeagley's latest piece on the subject.

Illegal immigration is an affront to the very idea of nationhood. That Mexicans have found allies (i.e., avaricious businessmen) inside America is no cause to honor them, no cause to justify them, and no cause to reward their aggression. It is cause rather to imprison the businessmen as the traitors and treasonists they really are. They should be deported to Mexico, forever. And every law Congress changes to accommodate the businessmen and the Mexicans is evidence against the Congressmen as well. They are the fundamental traitors of the country. They should be imprisoned for life.

The Mexicans have taken their own risks, willfully. America owes them absolutely nothing. If there is a concern that American produce will fail without Mexican labor, then let it fail. Let Americans plant their own onions, or do without a little extra flavor on their hamburgers. No foreigner has the right to force himself on another country, and to expect full rights as a citizen, just by being there. This is the most arrogant attitude in the history of nations. To sanction it, to encourage it, is suicidal for the nation that would indulge such "irrationality."

As usual, Yeagley pulls no punches. As well he shouldn't. This is a serious subject. The future of our country depends on how we handle it. The time to handle it is now.

INNOVATION IN THE "QUAGMIRE"

Our military has has been in a state of transformation in recent years. The war on terrorism has accelerated change. Necessity, as the saying goes, is the mother of invention. Check out this example of innovation:

Air Force drops more data than bombs in Iraq

Reconnaissance work from above lets military branch, ground troops work more closely.

BALAD, Iraq -- Air Force Lt. Col. Pete Gersten, an F-16 squadron commander here, is presiding over air operations that have surprisingly little in common with those of other recent wars.

In the 1991 Persian Gulf War, or the bombing campaigns in Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s, Air Force B-2 bombers commonly flew 8,000 miles to drop their payloads. These days, fighter jets based at Balad air base, in Iraq's Sunni Triangle, sometimes drop 500-pound bombs just two miles from the fences and watchtowers that surround the base.

Gersten says he spends most of his time in the cockpit of his F-16 helping U.S. troops below with reconnaissance and intelligence. He recently helped track an automobile for half an hour through the streets of the northern city of Mosul before the suspected insurgents driving it were apprehended. Piloting a high-performance aircraft while keeping an eye on traffic in a busy city was "a surprisingly complicated mission," he said.

The F-16s, with sensors and imaging devices, are also proving useful at detecting roadside bombs -- and sometimes at bombing the insurgents planting them. Air Force planes also are being used to patrol oil pipelines, electricity transmission lines and convoy routes. As a result, most of the Air Force's time aloft is being devoted to what it considers nontraditional missions.

SENATOR HILLARY GETS RELIGION

READING ASSIGNMENT

Here's some good stuff for your reading pleasure.

Dr. David Yeagley addresses the plight of a religious "criminal" in Afghanistan, and the news media's hypocrisy in covering the story.

La Shawn Barber rips a study designed to validate the liberal conventional wisdom about the value (or lack thereof) of fathers.

Bill Tierney looks at the Saddam tapes, and how the media has dropped the ball in covering them.

Christopher Hitchens -- that notorious (insert sarcastic tone here) right wing extremist -- points out how the war in Iraq is not a distraction from our war with al Qaeda.

Jonah Goldberg looks at our reasons for invading Iraq. He also descibes one well-known Washington press corps member as " that thespian carbuncle of bile." I'll give you three guesses who he's talking about.

ALBERTO MARTINEZ UPDATE

I got a tip from a reader that there was a new development in the Alberto Martinez case.

Hearing set for suspect in 'fragging'

Chester - Military officials have set a court date to consider more charges against the man suspected of killing 1st. Lt. Lou Allen and his friend, Capt. Phil Esposito of Suffern.

A native of Chester, Allen, 34, was killed with Esposito, 30, on June 7 by an explosion allegedly detonated by Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez, a supply specialist with their unit. All three were deployed with the New York National Guard's 42nd Infantry Division in Tikrit Iraq.

The deaths are considered the military's first "fragging" case in Iraq. Fragging is military slang for when a subordinate intentionally kills a superior during a time of war.

An Article 32 hearing to review the two charges of premeditated murder against Martinez, 37, of Troy, was held in Kuwait in the fall. A second Article 32 hearing will be held on April 3 at Fort Bragg in North Carolina to review additional charges, including failure to obey orders and unauthorized sale, loss, damage, destruction or wrongful disposition of military property.

In particular, Martinez is alleged to have wrongfully disposed of printers and copiers to an Iraqi national. The hearing is expected to begin at 9 a.m.

(emphasis mine)

This development is in line with the info I was getting from my second-hand, but reliable, source. It's looking like Martinez is just a crook who committed murder to avoid punishment.

It's worth noting that Google News only has ten hits for a search for "Alberto Martinez" and "Iraq." Would that be the case if Martinez appeared to have an ideological motivation for his crime? I wonder.

For more background on the case:
Soldier charged in slaying of Army officer from Suffern to face more charges

CAPTION CONTEST

OK, this picture was taken at the demonstration I posted about earlier. I thought it was so strange that it needed it's own post. It also needs a caption. Any ideas?

ANNIVERSARY--THE PROTEST

There's no way that the antiwar crowd would let the day go by without some sort of demostration. The Northeast Peace and Justice Action Coalition planned a big one for today to take place in Albany. According to their website, the plan was this:

We will surround the Federal Building in Albany in protest of the 3rd Anniversary of the War.

The demonstration was scheduled to run from 4-6:00 p.m. I drove by at 5:15. There were several dozen protestors there--a couple hundred short of what they would need to surround the Federal Building. It was on the cold side, so I guess only the most dedicated showed up. I figured I'd take a few pictures for my scrapbook (click on the image for a larger version).

And don't forget to tax the rich!

GIVE ME A FREAKING BREAK!

My definition of abject stupidity: too stupid to know how stupid
you are. A good synonym for abject stupidity: celebrity.

Peace just a breath away, says Sharon Stone

A peaceful co-existence between the peoples of the
Middle East is but a breath away, Hollywood star Sharon
Stone said after a highly publicized visit to Israel.

"It feels to me that we have an opportunity ... to choose
understanding in a new way," she told a press conference
in Paris when asked about her trip.

"And it really is just a breath. It's just an agreement that's
just a breath. We are not far apart. We can choose to have
this alternative kind of growth that is a collective nuance of
understanding.

"We are just that breath away from a peaceful co-
existence," she added after her visit to Israel as a guest of
the Peres Center for Peace, a foundation run by Nobel
laureate and former Israeli primeminister Shimon Peres.

"Not that far apart," are we? Notwithstanding our minor
disagreements concerning the existence of Israel and the right of
its people to live. Yeah, just a breath, Sharon. Dumbass.

Link

h/t: Drudge

ANNIVERSARY--THE WAR IN IRAQ

In a column on Military.com, retired Navy CPO Jeff Edwards examines our national will in regards to the war in Iraq. He asks whether the cost of what we are trying to achieve there is too high. Is even one American life too high a price to pay?

I want to agree with this idea; I really do. The idealist in me wants to shout from the rooftops that even one fallen Soldier is too many. Even one drop of spilled blood is too much. But the realist in me knows that such a declaration amounts to saying that I will pay no price for freedom. I will risk nothing for liberty. I will accept equality and justice if they come to me without cost, but I am unwilling to sacrifice anything to obtain or defend them.

No doubt the antiwar left will focus on the number of lives lost in the war as they hit the streets for their protests today. Edwards' column puts the casualty statistics from the war into perspective. You can read it here.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"What is a moderate interpretation of (the Constitution)? Halfway
between what it says and halfway between what you want it to say?"

-Surpeme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

http://www.wfsb.com/Global/story.asp?S=4639042

INFORMAL SURVEY TIME: QUESTION FOR FELLOW BLOGGERS

Which best describes your blogging habits?

1. I blog exclusively during the workday from my workplace.

2. I only blog from home during non-work hours.

3. I blog from home and work, during the workday and on my own
time.

4. I blog from home and during the workday, but I leave work
to post from a remote location (internet cafe, library etc.).

5. I work at home and blog whenever I damn well please.

6. None of your damn business! Now quit asking stupid questions
and post something critical of Hillary Clinton!

I'm kind of curious as to how and where bloggers do their thing.
Feel free to leave your answers in the comments section. If your
blogging M.O. doesn't fit into any of the above categories, I'd be
interested to hear about it too.

LESSON LEARNED

So, Sen. Russ "Free Speech Control" Feingold wants to censure
President Bush. I shouldn't be surprised. That's actually kind
of tame compared to all the impeachment talk that has been going
on amongst the far-lefties. In a way, I'm actually somewhat happy
about Feingold's censure talk. We can all learn a valuable lesson
from this type of behavior:

SITUATION
Terrorists have attacked our country and its interests. Thousands
have been killed so far, and there have been indications that the
terrorists would like to acquire WMD's for use on U.S. soil. The
terrorists have shown they will not hesitate to kill innocents,
including children (like they did in Beslan). They have also shown
a willingness to die in order to advance their goals.

THE BUSH SOLUTION
President Bush has shown time and again that he is willing to use
any legal means at his disposal--the military, intelligence,
security, and law enforcement--to stop the terrorists in their
tracks.

THE CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRAT SOLUTION
The Democrats in Congress have shown that they are willing to use
any legal means--the courts, censure, and impeachment--to stop
President Bush in his tracks.

Even though I haven't been happy with President Bush on a number
of issues (immigration, "No Child Left Behind," the prescription
drug plan), the alternative is so totally unacceptable it defies
description. Thanks for making my choice easier come election day,
Russ.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS

Retired Lt. Col. Gordong Cucullu has an excellent column at
Frontpage Magazine today. This one is a must-read:

"Whenever liberals dislike or distrust anything, they label it as
stupid. Hence Ronald Reagan was a buffoon, Bush a moron, and
today's soldiers are called ignorant, incompetent, and incapable
of finding employment anywhere other than in a military
establishment that will recruit anything with a pulse as long as it
will kill. It is the ultimate in sophomoric snobbery from a bunch
of moral and physical cowards who are content to slop at the trough
of freedom that is filled by the blood and sweat of patriots they
despise.

In fact today's soldier is a cut above any that the country has
produced, including the properly honored 'greatest generation' of
the Second World War. The troops who bravely crossed the beaches
at Normandy were young conscripts, average age 19. Few had
graduated high school. They accomplished the mission given them
and won the war. Today's soldiers patrolling remote Afghan
villages, crowded Baghdad streets, Columbian jungles, and Abu
Sayeff strongholds in Mindanao are older, better educated, more
mature, and more technologically savvy than any of their
predecessors. They are accomplishing a more complex mission
equally effectively. And they are winning this war."

You can read the rest here.

KEEPING UP WITH THE TIMES

As I wrote in this post:

Are we trying to use a 19th century mindset to deal with a 21st century problem? I think it may be time for a new paradigm.

Retired Lt. Col. James Carafano, a former professor of history at West Point spelled out one of the things we need to change about the way we do business in this column:

The controversy over whether the president has the power to authorize the National Security Agency to monitor international communications with terrorists obscures a simple fact: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is no longer adequate.

Passed in 1978, FISA didn't anticipate the development of global communication networks or advanced technical methods for intelligence gathering. Congress should amend FISA to provide for programmatic approvals of cutting-edge technologies -- including automated monitoring of suspected terrorist communications.

While pundits and politicians are already passing judgment on the president's actions, many of their comments are premature. Not enough is known yet to justify many of the factual assertions and legal conclusions being offered. And, because of the highly classified nature of the methods used in this particular program, the only proper forum for reviewing these actions in detail is in the appropriate congressional committees with suitable safeguards for national security and with the full disclosure of all relevant documents and briefings by the Bush administration.

Reforming FISA is a great, and necessary, first step. Wouldn't it be nice if our congress-folks could put aside their games of political "gotcha!" long enough to get it done? Unfortunately, 2006 is an election year. I'm sure they have more important things on their respective plates right now. Maybe they'll reform FISA next year. If we don't get nuked first, that is.

OSCAR NIGHT: AND THE WINNER IS...

Me!!! That's right folks. I consider myself a big winner on Oscar
night. I'm a winner because I didn't waste hours of my life
watching Hollywood honor itself. Instead, I watched A&E's marathon
of "Dog the Bounty Hunter." I spent hours watching self-
destructive drug addicts winding up with a pair of stainless steel
handcuffs as a reward for their efforts. As opposed to the Academy
Awards, which gives such people a gold statue.

One thing I did miss, however, was the opportunity to learn that
"It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp." Apparently it isn't easy being a
thug who lives a parasitic life off women who work in the sex trade.
I never would've guessed that. Where's the justice in this world?

POLL POSITION

A recent poll conducted by CBS news (the fake National Guard memo
network) showed that only 34% of Americans approve of the job that
President Bush is doing. Another recent poll showed that only 28%
of Americans could name two of the five rights guaranteed by the
First Amendment to the US Constitution.

More than six in ten Americans think the president is doing his job
poorly. More than seven in ten are idiots. Depressing. I'm at a
loss as to which is more depressing. I was already depressed.
This doesn't help.

YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT

The Rolling Stones song by that title has been running through my
head all morning. I got an email today about a deployment
opportunity to Iraq. The deployment, which is for six months,
looks like something I'd really like to do. Unfortunately, I won't
be available to deploy until three weeks after the "report-by"
date. The needs of my unit have to take precedence over my
personal desires. Another opportunity missed. Oh well. I
guess the Stones were right. Proving once again that even
a broken clock is right twice a day.

HILLARY CLINTON'S AMERICA

I heard this speech by Hillary on Hannity & Colmes last night:

"Suppose that you were meeting today to decide who got the vouchers.
First parent comes and says 'I want to send my daughter to St.
Peter's Roman Catholic School' and you say 'Great, wonderful
school, here's your voucher. Next parent who comes says, 'I want
to send, you know, my child to the Jewish Day School. Great here's
your voucher! Next parent who comes says, 'I want to send my child
to the private school that I've already dreamed of sending my child
to.' Fine. Here's your voucher.

Next parent who comes says, 'I want to send my child to the school
of the Church of the White Supremacist.' You say, 'Wait a minute.
You can't send...we're not giving a voucher for that.' And the parent
says, 'Well, the way that I read Genesis, Cain was marked, therefore
I believe in white supremacy. And therefore, you gave it to a
Catholic parent, you gave it to a Jewish parent, gave it to a secular
private parent. Under the Constitution, you can't discriminate
against me.'

Suppose the next parent comes and says 'I want to send my child to
the School of...the Jihad.' Wait a minute! We're not going to send a
child with taxpayers dollars to the School of Jihad. 'Well, you
gave it to the Catholics, gave it to the Jews, gave it to the private
secular people. You're gonna tell me I can't? I'm a taxpayer. Under
the Constitution.'

Now, tell me how we're going to make those choices."

So, there you have it. Hillary would like to trust you with the
freedom to choose where your children should be educated, but she
can't take the chance that you might make a bad choice. That's the
nanny-state mentality for you. They want what's best for you.
They know what's best for you. They'll do what's best for you.
And you'd better like it, becuase you don't have a choice*.

*Unless, of course, you want an abortion.

Hat tip to Michelle Malkin for posting the transcript.

DUBAI-OUS PROPOSITION

The question of whether to let a UAE based--and government owned--company take control of several major ports in the US was such a no-brainer that I wasn't going to bother posting about it. But since even Rush Limbaugh seems to be in favor of the deal, I just have to say something. I have two major concerns about the prospect of Dubai Ports World taking over ports in New York, New Jersey, New Orleans, Miami, Philadelphia and Baltimore:

REASON #1
Having a UAE-based company running the ports would give terrorists an excellent opportunity to place personnel in a position where they could gather intelligence about our port security. Information like security strengths, weaknesses, and shipping schedules would be essential in planning any large scale terrorist operation. We're already weak in the port security department. Why make the terrorists job any easier?

REASON #2
Look who's in favor of the deal. Jimmy "Punked by Islamic Extremists" Carter.

"The overall threat to the United States and security, I don't think it's exists," Carter told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

"My belief is that the president and his secretary of state, the Defense Department and others have adequately cleared the Dubai government or organization to manage their ports," Carter added. "I don't think there's any particular threat to our security."

Considering his track record in dealing with Islamic extremists, anything Carter suggests is most certainly wrong. This is a really (really) bad idea folks. Lets not put dollars ahead of sense.

MORE GITMO CONTROVERSY

A recent UN report criticizes the US over the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

The 54-page report also urged the immediate shutdown of the prison complex. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the detention facility would have to be closed "sooner or later ... hopefully as soon as is possible."

"The United States government should either expeditiously bring all Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial ... or release them without further delay," read the UN Commission on Human Rights report.

As hard as this is to believe, I sincerely doubt that the UN has the best interest of the US in mind. And I can't, for the life of me, recall mass trials for all of the Axis POW's during WW II. If I recall correctly, we held onto those guys until the end of the war.

For some perspective on the issue from someone who has a clue, check out Mike Gifford's column at Defensewatch.

There's a fact that everyone needs to wake up to--the men we've detained at Gitmo are not common soldiers. They aren't conscripts fighting as soldiers in an Army that were captured in some obscure battle, like so many of the Iraqi soldiers you saw surrender en masse during war. These people are out to bring down the United States at all costs, and often have information that can help destroy the network that's out to destroy us. They will never fight by the same rules we do, and they know how to use our rules of warfare against America, Britain or anyone they consider an enemy. (5) We're not the bad guys here--they are--but in our panic to be completely fair, I'm afraid we're going to make deadly and potentially irreversible concessions.

MUST-READ ITEM FOR THE DAY

As you may have already surmised, I am less than impressed with
the media's handling of Dick Cheney's hunting accident. They
haven't exactly covered themselves in glory this week. The best
analysis I've seen about this to date can be found in Thomas
Sowells' latest column. I'm posting by email, so I can't post the
link. I'll put the url below. You can just copy and paste it into
your browser's address box. Or you can find it at Townhall.com.

http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/thomassowell/
2006/02/16/186735.html

THOUGHTS ON STUFF

-Anyone who is a parent, and who has lived through the "terrible
twos," probably experienced deja vu upon seeing NBC news
personality David Gregory throwing a tantrum over the Cheney-
hunting accident story. And they probably empathized with Scott
McClellan.

-I read over at Drudge's site that Madame Hillary finds the way in
which information was released about the Cheney hunting accident
"troubling." As troubling as perjury by a sitting president? As
troubling as unauthorized access to FBI files for political purposes?
As troubling as campaign contributions from communist China? As
troubling as dozens of questionable last-minute pardons as payback
to supporters and donors from an outgoing president (and his
candidate wife)? As troubling as the illegal transfer of technology
to communist China? As troubling as a thirty hour delay
in releasing the suicide note of a senior administration aide? More
troubling, no doubt. It was a hunting accident, after all.

-The cartoon riot in the Muslim world continues. The mainstream
media has apprently lost interest in the story, or are busy with
more important things. This begs the question: If a tree falls in
the forest, and the American media isn't there to cover it, does it
make a sound? You bet your ass it does.

-Some snot-nosed punks at the University of Washington don't want
a memorial to UoW alum, and WW II fighter ace, Greg "Pappy"
Boyington on campus. Maybe they have a point. A campus full of
whiney, self-absorbed, left-wing asshats isn't good enough to have
a memorial to a hero like Boyington.

YOU LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY

Always looking for a hidden lesson in everything, I've been giving
serious thought to the media meltdown over Dick Cheney's hunting
accident. Here's what I came up with:

Dick Cheney accidently shoots one of his best friends in a hunting
accident, and a thirty hour delay in reporting it to the almighty
Washington press corps is a mortal sin. "Coverup" is the word of
the day. NBC's David Gregory is ready to duke it out with Scott
McClellan during a press conference. No doubt we'll hear calls
for a Congressional investigation--and maybe utterances of the "I"
word--in the near future.

Rewind to the 1990s. President Bill Clinton has "sex with that
woman, Miss Lewinsky" and lies about it, under oath and in a speech
to the nation. "It's ok", we are told, because it involves his
personal life. None of our business anyway.

Thousands of FBI files on Clinton poltical opponents wind up in the
hands of a political hack at the White House. "It was just a
mistake," we are told. Lighten up already.

White House travel office director Billy Dale is arrested and
criminally prosecuted so a Clinton cousin can be installed as
director. A jury acquits him after a mere two hours of
deliberation. "Billy who?" the media elites asked at the time.
"Ancient history" they tell us today.

So, what's the lesson in all this? The lesson is that there is no
bias in the mainstream media. It's all just a paranoid delusion
of the right wing. Nothing but b.s. cooked up by talk radio. So
there you have it. Any questions?

STUFF

Some observations on the goings-on in the news:

Judging by the media feeding frenzy over the Dick Cheney hunting
accident, I'm inclined to suggest that Scott McClellen borrow the
VP's shotgun for his next news conference. Some birdshot in the
ass of a couple of the snottier reporters may serve as a warning to
the rest. Then again, maybe not. They are pretty dense.

On a side note, statistically speaking, it's still safer to hunt
with Cheney than it is to hitch a ride with Teddy Kennedy.

It looks as if former VP Al Gore and DNC Chair Howard Dean are in
a footrace to the looney bin. Who will win? Damned if I know.
It's too close to call at this point.

Senator Hillary's leftwing-moderate-antiwar-hawkish-tax-and-spend-
fiscally responsible act is wearing thin. In her bid for the
presidency, she's trying to wear too many hats, a tough trick to
pull off. Even for someone with a head as big as hers. It's
starting to appear that she won't even get the nomination, let
alone win the election in '08.

Since Cindy Shhehan has decided not to run against DiFi for US
Senate, I wonder if we could convince her to move to New York
and take on Madame Hillary. I'd actually register as a Democrat
in order to vote for Cindy in the primary.

RIOT IN TOONTOWN--REAX

A sampling of some columns on the Cartoon Jihad:

Kathleen Parker

The cartoon implosion now rocking the Muslim world - featuring embassy burnings, threats of 9-11 sequels and the Arab street equivalent of the Terrible Twos - is based on equal parts fake photographs and a default riot mode looking for an excuse. Extreme propaganda on one side and a lack of fortitude on the other have brought us near the brink of extinction through a global act of accidental self-mockery.

David Yeagley

Any so-called “moderate Muslims” there are have simply made insufficient effort to distinguish themselves, or to alter the horrid image of Islam. The “good” Muslims have no place in the press, and have either not made the effort, or are simply incapable. If they are the majority, as apologists like to assert, then why haven’t they taken over Islam? Why don’t they control it?

Nobody believes in this “vast majority” of moderate Muslims. This is a fantasy, until proven otherwise. Many of these “moderate Muslims” hardly practice Islam at all. They left it by the wayside, along with the other chronic restraints of a socially retarded culture that justifies its deformity in the name of religion. They prefer freedom. Islam is only for weddings and funerals, or personal prayer. It is no longer a way of life for the “moderate Muslims.” There are no “moderate Muslims.”

Fred Siegel

Why have so many Europeans submitted (to) this kind of blackmail? Anti-Americanism is part of the answer. Like the Arab world, Europe is deeply resentful of American power. In order to counter balance the United States and increase their dwindling welfare state populations, Europeans have, ever since the oil shock of 1973, entered into a close relationship with the Arab world. The so called Euro-Arab dialogue produces regular meetings designed, in principle, to bring modernity to the Arab world while easing the way for Arab immigrants to be integrated into Europe. In practice, as in the case of the Danish cartoon affair, the Arab world has been little modernized, but it has successfully exported its hatreds and world-view to Europe.

Claudia Rosett

What’s noteworthy about the latest violence is not that it is unusual — but how very ordinary in so many ways it has become. Yes, of course, the grimly whimsical surprise is that this time the lightning rod has turned out to be not the famous London underground, or the grand train stations of Madrid, or the twin towers of New York, but a set of cartoons out of Copenhagen. The Danish drawings did not trigger some previously nonexistent fury. They have simply become the latest litmus test of how very much the worst thugs of the Islamic world believe they are entitled to get away with, whatever the pretext.

The inimitable Ann Coulter

The rioting Muslims claim they are upset because Islam prohibits any depictions of Muhammad -- though the text is ambiguous on beheadings, suicide bombings and flying planes into skyscrapers.

My take? The evidence is mounting that these riots aren't that spontaneous. The cartoons are five months old, and they're only now causing an uproar? The three most offensive "cartoons" were never even published, and are almost certainly fakes. And how does every asshat with a zippo in the Muslim world come to have a Danish flag? I've spent a little time in the middle east, and I've never seen or heard of a "Scandinavian flag superstore" in the region.

For what it's worth, I don't think that the American left is alone in viewing the war on terrorism as a "quagmire." The global Islamic revolution that was supposed to be set off by the US response to 9/11 hasn't happened. The terrorists are still out there and they're still active, but they've made no progress. It's going to take more than a few thousand fanatics to make bin Laden's vision come true, it's going to take millions. I believe that this whole thing is meant to serve as a recruiting drive and a pep rally for Islamofascist anti-Americanism. Let's hope it's not successful.

CARTOON BLOGBURST

"Freedom isn't free." It's a phrase I've heard many times, and said myself on more than one occasion. Oftentimes it is meant as a reminder of the sacrifices made by others so that we can be free. It is also a reminder of the costs we all must bear in order to be free. One of those costs is having to tolerate that which we find offensive. The benefit for paying this price is freedom of speech. To that end, I've decided to take ranks with the other bloggers who have elected to show their support for freedom of speech by joining The Muhammad Cartoons Blogburst.


If I can tolerate the likes of Ted Rall, Michael Moore, Al Franken, and others of their ilk, Muslims can tolerate these cartoons. Even the "Christian Right" managed to deal with Piss Christ and Kanye West posing as Jesus without rioting or threatening to massacre anyone.



And while I'm showing my support for freedom of speech, I'd like to show a little support for the people of Denmark. I think I'm going to buy (and drink) some Carlsberg Beer this weekend. Buy Danish!

NEW PARADIGM TIME

A government agent can't search your person without a
warrant or probable cause. If you're carrying a suitcase, he
can't search it without a warrant or probable cause. If you're in
your car, he can't search your car without a warrant or probable
cause. Unless you give them permission, government agents can't
search you without legal justification (i.e. a warrant or probable
cause). Ever! Right? Not so fast.

What if you're entering the US at a border checkpoint? Can they
search you? Your suitcase? Your car? With no warrant? No probable
cause? No problem. I've seen it with my own eyes. When I was in
college, three of my friends and I spent about an hour at the US-
Canadian border while my friend's car was tossed by Customs
Inspectors. Why? Because we were college kids, and they probably
figured that we had some drugs in the car. Turns out we didn't.
When they were done searching the car, one of the Customs guys
said "OK, you can go now." No explanation. No apology. They didn't
even put back the stuff they threw on the pavement during the
search. That's just the way it is at the border. Anyone, or anything,
entering the US can be searched. It's been that way for years and
years.

With this in mind, I'm curious as to why phone calls and
communications are any different. We're in the information age.
A lot can be done with the transfer of information. Why should it
be allowed to enter the country unchecked? Are we trying to use
a 19th century mindset to deal with a 21st century problem? I think
it may be time for a new paradigm.

GOOD QUESTION

Retired marine H. Thomas Hayden wrote a that appeared on Military.com today titled by The Need For Counterintelligence. Go check it out, it's well worth the read. In it, he asks a damn good question:

Can someone tell me if there is a section in the US Constitution that guarantees the right to national suicide? I surely must be missing something that some of the liberal national news media, ACLU, and some politicians on both sides see.

CELEBRITY MOONBAT WATCH

Compassionate actor-director George Clooney was one of several filmmakers interviewed recently by Newsweek. I expected that Clooney would be the man with the best quote. He didn't disappoint:

But on the other hand, I'll wager that every one of our films, when you first tested it with an audience, tested much lower than after it was reviewed. Sometimes people need reviews to explain what a film is, to put it into some sort of perspective.

(emphasis mine)

Yup. You read that right. Us poor stupid rubes need film critics to tell us what movies to like. Thank God for Rex Reed and Roger Ebert. But not Gene Shalit. He, apparently, has no perspective.

If us ignoramuses cain't be trusted to know what movies to like, how can we be trusted to know which polytishuns to vote fer? Hopefully, the good folks in Hollywood will let us know.

TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET

I take a couple weeks off from blogging to focus on my educational pursuits, and look what happens. The world blows up. Again. I should have known.

AND THE WINNER IS...
Hamas! Yeah, big surprise. The punditocracy calls the outcome of the Palestinian election "shocking." Well I'm not shocked. This is about what I expected. I must be psychic. Or maybe I'm just paying attention. The Palestinian people had two choices: the party that is dedicated to destroying Israel (Hamas), or the party that is dedicated to destroying Israel (Fatah). Fatah talked peace--to the Americans and Israelis. But they still spoke about an Israel-free world among themselves. Hell, their schoolbooks even deny the existence of Israel. If you were fooled into believing that Fatah wanted peace, you must've fooled yourself. The Palestinians were barely putting up a front. The only real difference between the two parties is who gets to run the show.

THE EVIL BUSHITLER IS VIOLATING OUR RIGHTS
Be still my heart! President Bush and his evil minions at the NSA are violating our God-given, constitutionally protected rights to chit-chat with terrorists overseas who are plotting to attack the United States. The founding fathers must be spinning in their graves! Stopping the terrorists is priority number 2 to some of these leftwing yahoos. Filling out the paperwork is priority 1. My opinion? That's backwards. But since it appears that the majority of Americans agree with me on this, I hope the moonbats keep bleating about this. It hurts them politically, and I don't trust them to run things with the bad guys still looking to hurt us.

"THE CULTURE OF CORRUPTION"
Yeah, it's called Washington, DC. Let's do the math:

would-be lifelong politicans
+the need for money to stay in office
+strict controls on campaign financing
-------------------------------------------
=corruption

Term limits anyone?

AUNT HILLARY'S CABIN
The smartest woman in the universe, Hillary Clinton, tells us that the House of Representatatives is run like a plantation. Really. Are our congressional representatives slaves? Are people being whipped? Worked to exhaustian in the fields? Doubtful. Hill needs to learn some history before she tries to make historical comparisons. The lamestream media gave her a pass, though. Shocking! Like a Hamas victory!

SOMEBODY PLEASE BUY HER A FREAKIN' DICTIONARY!
Since I'm bashing Hillary...
From a speach on the Senate floor yesterday:

"I fear that Judge Alito will roll back decades of progress and roll over when confronted with an administration too willing to flaunt the rules and looking for a rubber stamp."

OK Hill listen up. Time for a quick vocab lesson.

Flaunt: To exhibit ostentatiously or shamelessly.

I think that the word you're looking for is flout.

Flout: To show contempt for; scorn.


OK. Enough for the current events. I have a final to study for.

"STUPID IN AMERICA"

John Stossel, who wrote the column I cited in my previous post, is doing a report titled "Stupid in America" on ABC's 20/20 tonight. It looks like it's well worth watching. If you go to the 20/20 website, there is a video preview of the report, and an interview with Stossel on Good Morning America. There's also a poll there about school voucher programs. So far it is 71.8% in favor of vouchers, 28.1% in favor of spending more on public schools instead of vouchers.

SCHOOL CHOICE

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you probably know that I send my daughters to a private school. It's not easy, as we aren't rich, but I think it's well worth the effort. Knowing that, it should come as no surprise that I'm an advocate for school choice. It's not a topic that gets a lot of play from the punditocracy these days, but it is an important one. That's why I was happy to read John Stossel's latest column.

Remember when the Postal Service said it couldn't get it there overnight? Then companies like FedEx were allowed to compete. Private enterprise got it there absolutely, positively overnight. Now even the Post Office guarantees overnight delivery sometimes. Competition works.

Why can't education work the same way? If people got to choose their kids' school, education options would be endless. My tiny brain can't begin to imagine the possibilities, but even I can guess there soon would be technology schools, cheap Wal-Mart-like schools, virtual schools where you learn at home on your computer, sports schools, music schools, schools that go all year, schools with uniforms, schools that open early and keep kids later, and, who knows? If there were competition, all kinds of new ideas would bloom.

Damn right. School choice would revolutionize education in this country. Unfortunately, there aren't many politicians out there willing to make it happen. When it comes to school choice, the vast majority of politicians fall into one of two categories:

1. Bought off by the teachers' unions.
2. Spineless.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that all these folks are opposed to private schools. Many of them have sent their own kids to private schools. But they'll be damned if they lift a finger to help working class folks to do the same.

READING ASSIGNMENT

Today's assignment is a story that's not getting the play in the
media that it should. It involves the violation of the civil
liberites of American citizens by an out-of-control Presidential
administration. Read it and pass it on. Every American needs to
know about this.

Report implicating Clinton: Will it be hidden for good?

CHRISTMAS CONCERT

I went to the Christmas concert at my children's school last
night. It was a CHRISTMAS concert, not a generic "holiday"
or "winter" concert. The kids all sang Christmas carols. Most
of these carols were religiously themed--"We Three Kings", "Silent
Night" and such. The ACLU was nowhere to be seen. Ditto the
Americans United for the Separation of Chrurch and State. I didn't
expect to see them there. That's because my kids go to a Catholic
school. I can send them a Catholic school because I can afford it.
Many people would like to send their children to private schools,
but they can't afford to. It's too bad that so many of our political
"leaders" are too spineless to push for a voucher program.
Apparently, "freedom of choice" extends only so far.

ORGANIZED LABOR, OR ORGANIZED CRIME?

There's something about the NYC transit strike I don't get. The Transit Workers Union has called a strike. NYC is nearly gridlocked. As of this writing, the city has lost about $400 million because of the strike. The strike is illegal--as in against the law. So here's my question: Why is the Transit Workers Union still a recognized labor union? They are an organization that is engaged in a conscious effort to commit a crime. This, by definition, makes them a criminal organization. So why hasn't the National Labor Relations Board decertified them as a labor union? Unions aren't sacred. They should be held to the same standards as anyone else. Maybe, if this organization got decertified, it would send a message to other unions that their days of being above the law are over.

And while we're on the subject of the law, how about some criminal charges here? NYS Penal Law secion 195.05, Obstructing Governmental Administration in the second degree:

"A person is guilty of obstructing governmental administration when he intentionally obstructs, impairs or perverts the administration of law or other governmental function or prevents or attempts to prevent a public servant from performing an official function, by means of intimidation, physical force or interference, or by means of any independently unlawful act, or by means of interfering, whether or not physical force is involved, with radio, telephone, television or other telecommunications systems owned or operated by the state, or a county, city, town, village, fire district or emergency medical service or by means of releasing a dangerous animal under circumstances evincing the actor's intent that the animal obstruct governmental administration. Obstructing governmental administration is a class A misdemeanor."

I'd say that this strike meets the criteria spelled out in the law. And I'm sure that there were several people involved in the decision-making process when the union decided to strike. Which brings us to NYS Penal Law section 105.00, Criminal Conspiracy in the sixth degree:

"A person is guilty of conspiracy in the sixth degree when, with intent that conduct constituting a crime be performed, he agrees with one or more persons to engage in or cause the performance of such conduct. Conspiracy in the sixth degree is a class B misdemeanor."

So let's have some union leaders arrested, cuffed, and "frog marched" into central booking on live TV. Mayor Bloomburg and the respective D.A.s of the five boroughs would be heroes, the strike would end in short order, and "labor leaders" would get the message that they're not above the law.

DECEMBER 7, 1941

Sixty-four years ago today, US forces at Pearl Harbor were struck by the Japanese Navy in a surprise attack. Prior to the attack, many Americans -- most notably a group known as The Committee to Defend America First -- expressed serious opposition to our involvement in World War II. Many prominent Americans were members of the America First Committee, including aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, most America Firsters -- including Lindbergh -- got behind the President, our military, and the war effort. That's what you call a "loyal opposition." My, how times have changed.


Picture found at Sacred Cow Burgers.

CHANGES TO AIR FORCE BASIC TRAINING

This is welcome news, found at Defensewatch:

Longer, Tougher Basic Training for Air Force Recruits

by Paul Connors

The Air Force finally seems to have taken notice. After almost a decade of operations using its own Air Expeditionary Force concepts and models, the nation's junior service finally realized that it needs to train the way it will fight. As a result, the Air Force concluded that it must change its basic training and as of the time of this writing, is doing just that.

Gone are the days of learning how to fold t-shirts into six inch squares (an exercise designed to stress attention to detail). Air Force Basic Training, the shortest of all the services at just six weeks had long been viewed as a cakewalk compared to Basic Combat Training for the Army and the legendary boot camps of the Marine Corps. Training cadres in the know even admitted that Coast Guard basic training, held at that service's Training Center in Cape May, N.J. was more difficult and stressful than that experienced by incoming airmen.

Now the focus, curriculum and length of time a trainee spends at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas have all been revamped. The service's newest incoming enlisted trainees will face a basic training program that is seven weeks long, with a curriculum that emphasizes the "warrior ethos," and ground combat skills.

I've never attended AF basic training (my military career started in the Army), but as a member of the Air National Guard for the past nine years, it has become painfully obvious to me that USAF personnel are in serious need of more tactical training. In this era of asymmetric warfare and joint operations, technical proficiency in one's job is no longer enough. This isn't a huge step, but it is a step in the right direction.

DELICATE WONDER

"Who knows what delicate wonders have died out of the world for lack of the strength to survive?" -- Han (Kien Shih), Enter the Dragon

In recent months, I've become concerned that our country is turning into a "delicate wonder", too "evolved" to engage in the dirty, and sometimes brutal, business of surviving as a nation in a violent world. Any bloodshed or suffering are unacceptable. If we can't do it bloodlessly, we won't do it at all. This pie-in-the-sky idealism may sound good in an Ivy League classroom, but it doesn't work in the real world. Pacifists will tell you "it takes two to make war", but violence only requires the effort of one. Stopping violence often requires the decisive use of force. Too many Americans seem to have forgotten this.

Retired Lt. Col. Gordon Cucullu, a special ops veteran of Vietnam, addresses this in his most recent column, appropriately titled "Mythology of Clean War."

Watching the Democrats in Congress -- abetted by some ill-informed, poorly disciplined Republicans -- engage in the politics of betrayal most recently was grim. Seeing so many supposedly intelligent, dedicated, patriotic individuals engage in infantile defeatism was maddening. They are attempting to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory and many of us are frustrated and upset.

Part of what drives these individuals -- aside from Beltway poll watching, and unchecked ambition -- also troubles many Americans: our obsession with achieving the impossible. We want to have a clean, crisp, sanitary war in which we suffer few casualties. We want our enemy's pain to be minimal possible to achieve desired results. We want the unfortunate deaths of civilians -- euphemistically called “collateral damage” -- removed from the process completely. Additionally we wish that all deaths inflicted by internal errors -- “friendly fire casualties” -- be prevented. We want a Clean War Pill to cure our foreign policy ills and will accept no hangovers or unpleasant side effects. And, by the way, we want the entire thing from beginning to end wrapped up by next Thursday.

Even though Iraq since July 2003 has been a frustrating experience it has been relatively positive. Regardless, American media conveys much the opposite impression. Compared to previous wars casualty levels are extremely low considering that 50 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan are free of brutal, mass murdering dictatorships. Elections, that took years to take place in liberated Japan and Germany, have been occurring with reassuring regularity and have included increasingly large numbers of the population. Disaffected Sunni citizens -- who held all the cards during Saddam's vicious reign -- are accepting the reality of living with other Iraqi citizens as equals. The terrorist campaign has shifted focus from American troops to Iraqi civilians and first responders, particularly police. And the terrorists are now mostly foreign fighters imported from Saudi, Yemen, Jordan, Chechnya, and other Arab/Islamic states.

So why are Americans so disconsolate about the state of affairs? The obvious answer is that we receive precious little positive news from the battlefield. We are told that casualty rates are high, though they are not. We are told that the “insurgency” is gaining popularity among Iraqi people while the converse is true: insurgents have declared war on ordinary Iraqis and the civilians recognize the threat. Massive demonstrations in Jordan see the “Arab Street” -- which up till now has been deafening silent -- out chanting “Zarqawi, burn in hell!” Inside Iraq civilians who may have given tacit support to the terrorists are no longer intimidated and are informing to American and Iraqi forces on the hideouts of the Al Qaeda thugs.

Check out the rest of Lt. Col Cucullu's column. He's a guy who has "been there and done that", and knows more about counterinsurgency warfare than Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, or anyone at moveon.org.

POLITICS IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF NY

From yesterday's Newsday

Rep. Sweeney: GOP should delay vote on statewide candidates

WASHINGTON -- New York U.S. Rep. John Sweeney said Tuesday that GOP leaders should put off a Dec. 12 vote to endorse candidates for governor and U.S. Senate in 2006, saying the party needs more time.

The comments by Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, echo those made Monday by state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno as the beleaguered state party seeks to mount viable campaigns up and down the ticket.

New York's 62 county GOP chairmen are due to meet Dec. 12 to settle on their endorsements for the two top races in the state next year. State GOP Chairman Stephen Minarik has called for the meeting and vote.

"I think it's just too risky right now," said Sweeney. "I respect that it's their choice, but my gut tells me that it's a little premature, that they just need a little more time to establish a clear picture for the committee chairmen to make their choice."

Sweeney, a former executive director of the state party, said that without more time, the party risks alienating key voters who may either back other candidates or simply stay home on Election Day 2006.

"We still have a little bit of time, I believe over the next four or five months we need to develop our candidates," said Sweeney.

Damn right. As it stands right now, Democratic candidates for statewide offices are the only ones with name recognition. AG Eliot Spitzer appears to be running unopposed for Governor. Westchester County DA Janine Pirro appears to pose minimal threat to Madame Hillary's reelection bid for US Senate. On that note:

Bruno: Pirro should quit anti-Clinton race

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The most powerful Republican in the state Legislature called Tuesday for Jeanine Pirro to give up her quest to unseat Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2006 and run instead for state attorney general.

Pirro, in a statement, declined to heed the advice.

State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said the Westchester County district attorney could win the attorney general's race, while in running for Senate, "she's going to have one of the most competitive races in the state."

Independent polls have shown the former first lady well ahead of Pirro.

"I hope that before this procedure gets too much further along that Jeanine Pirro would reconsider and run for AG.," Bruno told a state Capitol news conference.

In a statement issued by her campaign, Pirro said: "Senator Bruno is a respected majority leader and I appreciate his confidence in my abilities. However, I am a candidate for U.S. Senate."

Democrats were quick to pounce on Bruno's statements with state Democratic Chairman Herman Farrell saying, "This is clearly a major blow and an obvious indication of how difficult top Republicans believe it will be to defeat Senator Clinton."

The GOP in NY better get its act together, and soon. Many of us are sick and tired of the also-ran candidacies we've seen from Republicans in this state. I'm thinking specifically of the sorry run against Chucky Scummer for Senate in 2004. Chuckie won with over 70% of the vote. Since then he's been more unbearable than ever. Landslide victories tend to take these arrogant libs to new heights of jackassedness. If Hillary wins one, she'll start believing she's indestructible. Then you'll be seeing her--and her pathetic narcissistic hubby--on the national stage 24/7. They'll be running their mouths incessantly, lecturing us on everything; assuring us that they can solve all our problems. I don't know about you, but the very idea makes me nauseous.

The GOP needs to start playing for keeps in this state before their supporters start staying home in droves. And their party ceases to exist here.

REMEMBER, THE LEFT SUPPORT THE TROOPS.

Cartoonist Ted Rall (who draws about as well as my dog) is at it again. The "compassionate" Mr. Rall, the man who portrayed the late Pat Tillman as "an idiot" and took a racist swipe at Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, is showing his support for the troops with his latest "cartoon."

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Rall appears to have a hatred for military personnel that borders on the pathological. But that's OK, Ted has a right to do what he does. The first ammendment guarantees that right. A right he can claim thanks to the efforts the military he despises so. A military made up of better men than Ted Rall. Many of those "better men" are actually women, but most women are better men than Ted Rall anyway.

h/t: Michelle Malkin

IT'S JUST GOOD HONEST DISSENT. RIGHT?

Whenever criticism is directed toward the antiwar crowd, they scream bloody murder. After all, they tell us, dissent is essential in a free society. I agree. The problem is with when and how they choose to dissent. War is not like a football game. In football, the constant chatter of the sports-guy talking heads in the broadcast booth is irrelevant to the outcome of the game. The game is going on down on the field. The players won't know what's been said about them until later.

In war, the game isn't just played by the folks in the field (the military), the entire country is part of the game. The troops can only win the battles. It takes the entire country to win a war. Look at Vietnam. We won all the battles, but we didn't win the war. Our troops kicked ass, but our politicians gave up.

If you think I'm dead wrong about this, consider this story:

The overwhelming assessment by Asian officials, diplomats and analysts is that the U.S. military simply cannot defeat China. It has been an assessment relayed to U.S. government officials over the past few months by countries such as Australia, Japan and South Korea. This comes as President Bush wraps up a visit to Asia, in which he sought to strengthen U.S. ties with key allies in the region.

Most Asian officials have expressed their views privately. Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara has gone public, warning that the United States would lose any war with China.

"In any case, if tension between the United States and China heightens, if each side pulls the trigger, though it may not be stretched to nuclear weapons, and the wider hostilities expand, I believe America cannot win as it has a civic society that must adhere to the value of respecting lives," Mr. Ishihara said in an address to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Mr. Ishihara said U.S. ground forces, with the exception of the Marines, are "extremely incompetent" and would be unable to stem a Chinese conventional attack. Indeed, he asserted that China would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons against Asian and American cities—even at the risk of a massive U.S. retaliation.

The governor said the U.S. military could not counter a wave of millions of Chinese soldiers prepared to die in any onslaught against U.S. forces. After 2,000 casualties, he said, the U.S. military would be forced to withdraw.

(emphasis mine)

Our ground forces are "extremely incompetent?" I guess hearing our antiwar politicos and media talking heads always squawking about how we're losing the war has had an impact on the world's opinion of our military. And withdrawal after "2,000 casualties?" Yeah, I'm sure that number is just coincidental. No connection with the cries of the antiwar crowd. Right?

Officials acknowledge that Mr. Ishihara's views reflect the widespread skepticism of U.S. military capabilities in such countries as Australia, India, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. They said the U.S.-led war in Iraq has pointed to the American weakness in low-tech warfare.

"When we can't even control parts of Anbar, they get the message loud and clear," an official said, referring to the flashpoint province in western Iraq.

The people of the world are learning from the Kennedys, Deans, and Murthas of America. And what are they being taught? They're being taught that the USA doesn't have the will to wage and win a war. That's a dangerous thing to do. Especially now.

NOVEMBER '05 MARTINEZ UPDATE

Alberto Martinez, the Army National Guard NCO who is accused of murdering two officers in Iraq, has been in the news. But not much. A Google News search done at 8:00 on Monday night yielded 123 hits. Compared to Natalee Holloway, which yielded 1150 hits, that ain't a whole lot. The national media has shown a marked lack of interest in this story. It's not hard to figure out why. Since there appears to be no political/antiwar motivation behind the murders--"fragging" just doesn't adequately describe this heinous act--the news media would rather devote it's time to other pursuits. Pursuits that bash the Bush administration, the war effort, and even the troops themselves.

Fortunately, there are some news organizations covering the story. The most recent report comes from The Journal News, of Rockland County, NY.

The widow of Capt. Phillip Esposito of Suffern hopes military authorities will seek the harshest punishment for the soldier accused of killing her husband and another officer in Iraq.

Siobhan Esposito, 31, made the comments a day after returning from Kuwait, where a pretrial hearing for Staff Sgt. Alberto Martinez was held last week. He is charged with two counts of premeditated murder in the killings of Esposito, 30, and Lt. Louis Allen, 34, of Milford, Pa., on June 7 in Tikrit, allegedly because he had been reprimanded.

"I hope it is tried as a capital case," Esposito said. "I would be disappointed if it is not."

Col. Patrick Reinert, the officer investigating the slayings, recommended a general court-martial, which carries a maximum sentence of life without parole. But he said enough evidence existed to try it as a capital case, allowing for the death penalty, and left it to higher authorities to make that decision.

Reinert's recommendations are nonbinding. They will be forwarded to Lt. Gen. John H. Vines in Baghdad, who will decide whether to seek the death penalty.

The pretrial investigation under Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice was required before any court-martial could take place. The hearing, which is similar to a civilian grand jury proceeding, took place at Camp Arifjan in southern Kuwait.

Esposito and Barbara Allen, Allen's widow, spent two days listening to witnesses and criminal investigators who testified before Reinert. Martinez and his wife, Tamara, also were present during the hearing.

Witnesses testified that Martinez, 37, of Troy, was openly antagonistic toward Esposito. He is said to have told at least one officer that he hated Esposito and wanted to "frag" him. He is said to have told another that he wanted Esposito killed.

The above referenced story was filed on November 6, 2005. I understand that there may not be any new developments to report at this time, but that's never stopped the intrepid news-hawks of the "fourth estate" from reporting a story into the ground. I guess they're all waiting to get their marching orders from the New York Times before they feel the story worthy of reporting. Unsurprisingly, the "paper of record", which is published in the home state of the murdered soldiers, doesn't have a single story in the current Google News loop (which goes back about a month) about Martinez. Not one. Disgraceful.

In the meantime, I haven't heard any more news from my back-channel source about the case. I've been told that there is more to it than has been reported, but it would be irresponsible of me to put this info out there with a case pending. I don't want to do anything to endanger the prosecution of this guy. If he's guilty, and I'm inclined to believe he is, he needs to go down.

If you need to get caught up on this story, check out these previous posts:

A SAD DAY FOR THE RAINBOW DIVISION

MORE ON THE 42nd ID "FRAGGING" INCIDENT

DO THE WRONG THING

MARTINEZ UPDATE

LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE (UPDATED)

The Prez finally started fighting back over the left's "Bush lied" mantra. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say "It's about frickin' time!" I was at the end of my rope on that subject. I recently saw a car with a bumper sticker that read "When Clinton lied, no one died." It was all I could do not to slash that sumbitch's tires.

This whole meme is predicated on an extreme level of stupidity. First off, what, exactly, is a lie? From Dictionary.com:

1.A false statement deliberately presented as being true; a falsehood .
2.Something meant to deceive or give a wrong impression.

(emphasis mine)

Note the emphasis on intent. Just saying something that turns out to be untrue isn't lying. Is the weatherman a liar when he gets the forecast wrong? How about the talking head sports guy on ESPN who incorrectly predicts that team A will beat team B; is he a liar? Of course not. Deception and innacuracy are not the same. Anyone over four years old understands this.

The only way one can be certain that President Bush lied is to know what he was briefed in the run-up to the war. To listen to Cindy Sheehan and others of her ilk, you'd think that they all had received intelligence briefings from the CIA. The President receives such briefings daily. It's safe to assume that the editorial staff of the NY Times does not. They might get bits and pieces, but not the whole picture. They can make educated guesses, but in the end it's just pure speculation. Selling speculation as "news" is irresponsible journalism, at best. Treason, at worst.

The best indicator of whether "Bush lied" about Iraq's WMD program is the response of the one man who has been the recipient of a Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) in the recent past: Bill Clinton. Many in the blogosphere have been quoting him of late. They remind us of what he was saying in the late 90s about Iraq's WMD program. I'm not as interested in what he said in 1998 as I am in what he has been saying since the invasion of Iraq. So what has he said? Very little. And he hasn't called President Bush a liar. The one man who is in a position to effectively make that argument, and he hasn't even tried.

So why hasn't Clinton jumped on the Bush-bash bandwagon? And why did Senator Hillary vote in favor of the war? Neither one of them was in a position to be "duped." They had insider knowledge. And both of them have been quick to criticize the President on practically everything else. So why haven't they joined the pile-on? Because they know that the accusation isn't true. And Bill and Hill know that the truth can be like a time bomb. Neither one of them wants to chance that bomb going off when Hillary is gearing up for a Presidential run in '08. So they let others do the dirty work while Team Clinton steers clear. You'd think that other Dems would take note, but they're too insane with BDS, too drunk on Kool-Aid, to figure it out.

There's another point to keep in mind regarding the Clinton response. Bill Clinton is fully cognizant of the fact that his administration bears at least as much blame--if not more--for the "intelligence failures" that occurred in the run-up to the war. After all, Bill Tenet was his boy at CIA before he was W's. And intel databases are built over years, not weeks. Shortfalls in Iraq intel predated the Bush administration by a good chunk of time. The former Prez is way to smart to open up that can of worms. They don't call him Slick Willie for nothing.

So there it is. The answer is as plain, and as obvious, as the nose on Bozo the Clown's face. There are probably some folks on the left who can't see it, but I think most of them just don't want to.

Update: Well, he's at it again. Via Drudge

Clinton says Iraq invasion was a big mistake
The United States made a "big mistake" when it invaded Iraq, former President Bill Clinton said Wednesday, citing the lack of planning for what would happen after dictator Saddam Hussein was overthrown.

"Saddam is gone. It's a good thing, but I don't agree with what was done, " Clinton told students at the American University of Dubai.

"It was a big mistake. The American government made several errors ... one of which is how easy it would be to get rid of Saddam and how hard it would be to unite the country."

Clinton did however say that the United States had done some good things in Iraq: the removal of Saddam, the ratification of a new constitution, and the holding of parliamentary elections.

I took the liberty of pasting the whole article here. Note the lack of reference to lies, intel, and WMD. What does that say about a team whose captain won't use, or even publicly endorse their preferred tactic?

19 YEARS AGO TODAY...

I boarded a plane in Syracuse, NY bound for Newark, NJ. Seated a few rows in front of me was Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, instantly recognizable in his red beret and Guardian Angels T-shirt (yes, he wore them on the plane). After a short flight to Newark, I boarded a bus to Fort Dix, NJ. Within the next 24 hours, I would lose my civilian clothes, my first name, and most of my hair. And so began Army basic training and my career in the US military.

In the following weeks, I would find myself wondering why I chose to enlist in the military after graduating from college, when most of my peers were starting their civilian careers. Their big worries consisted of stuff like trying to decide whether to buy a Camaro or a Firebird. Or an (UGH!) Pontiac Fiero. I cursed my decision to enlist on more than one occasion, but in the long run, I'm glad I served. In fact, I can't imagine not having been in the military. I didn't join becuase I was poor. I didn't get duped or brainwashed. It was just something I had to do. I guess it's just the way I'm put together. Maybe it was the way I was raised. I can't really explain it. It just is what it is. I can't speak for everyone who has been in the military, but I'm sure I'm not alone in how I feel about it.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED (FOR NOW) -- UPDATED

Well, I survived the training deployment and arrived home completely exhausted on Tuesday afternoon. We spent yesterday squaring away the shop. Today I returned to my civilian job. I have tomorrow off. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on my sleep and my blog reading. Until then, here are some random thoughts generated by my deployment.

-A KC-135 can get you to your deployment site faster than a C-130. It's a little quieter (only a little) and a lot roomier too.

-MOPP Level 4 can get really uncomfortable.

-Time slows down at MOPP 4. I can't explain why. It just does. I think it's some sort of quantum physics thing.

-Some people worry about having to urinate when at MOPP 4. Once you've been in the gear long enough, you realize that you're sweating too much to have much fluid left to worry about. Unless, of course, you had to go badly just before putting on the gear. In that case, you're shit out of luck. Speaking of which, defecation can be problematic as well.

-And speaking of fluids, "HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE" while at MOPP 4. If you have trouble using the canteen tube on the mask at first, you'll have it figured out after 4-5 hours in that mask. Or you'll pass out.

-You'll get more from the training if you take it seriously and act like it's for real.

-The idea of having nerve agent shot at me scares the shit out of me.

-I need to get into better shape. It'd sure be helpful while trying to get around in that gear. Pretty much all I've done since I got back from Qatar last year is eat junk and watch TV. Not good.

-BDUs can get pretty heavy when every square millimeter of the fabric is soaked with sweat.

-On a four or five day exercise, you are usually just getting used to working the night shift when the exercise ends.

-I was nostalgic for MREs on day one. By day two, I was sick of them already.

-Whoever came up with the idea of putting the little Tabasco Sauce bottles in MREs should get a Meritorius Service Medal, or a Presidential Medal of Freedom, if they're civilian.

-When hydrating, drink water, not Heineken.

-After the exercise ends, drink Heineken, not water.

-When I'm exhausted, it only takes two Heinekens to do me in.

-No matter how fast your flight home is at the end of a deployment, it never seems fast enough.

-When the aircrew breaks out their personal Dunkin' Donuts stash and shares it with the pax (passengers), you know you're going to be landing soon. Fifteen to twenty minutes is a good bet.

-I'm glad I went. I'm glad it's over. I get to do it all again next spring. And thanks to this deployment, I'll do it better next time.

UPDATE
Teresa said the following in the comments section:

Oh and the hot sauce thing - it MUST be something to do with the military... is it from basic??? LOL - I only ask because every single military person I know LOVES hot sauce... Just an observation mind you.

Good question. Since her son is a soldier, it's important for her to understand the importance of the favorite seasoning of American service members.

When I first joined the US Army in 1986 (back when Miami Vice was still on TV), there were no miniature bottles of hot sauce in MREs. Also, there was a more limited variety of MREs available in those days. While MREs weren't bad, they got old in a hurry. After a couple of weeks, you weren't sure whether you should eat the plastic container, or the food inside it. To combat this gastronomical dilemma, I used to carry a bottle of Tabasco sauce with me whenever I went to the field. I always carried it in my left breast pocket. The way I figured it, if some commie bullet was going to take out my hot sauce, it might as well keep going through my heart. After all, who wants to go on living without hot sauce?

At first, my fellow soldiers all laughed at me. After a couple days, the laughing stopped. By the end of the first week in the field, they were asking me if they could have some of my Tabasco. Team player that I was, I shared it with these less fortunate, less prepared troops.

Toward the end of my enlistment, the powers-that-be, in their infinite wisdom, started putting itty-bitty bottles of Tabasco in the accessory packets of MREs. A couple of years later, they started putting chemical heating packets in the MREs as well. I claim no credit for the heaters, but I suspect that they stole the hot sauce idea from me. I think I should have some money coming too. How does a nickel for every bottle of hot sauce placed in an MRE sound? Damn, I'll be on Easy Street.

Actually, the hot sauce craze in the military probably pre-dates me by a generation or two (or three, or four). Military food has a reputation for being bad. This is not always the case (sometimes, it's actually very good), but there is a sameness to it after awhile. Hot sauce can combat that blandness. With enough hot sauce, even the aforementioned MRE plastic wrapper would taste ok--though it would be kinda hard to chew.

At any rate, while we should take some time this Veteran's Day to thank our veterans for their service, on behalf of veterans everywhere, I would like to thank the folks who invented hot sauce. Their creation has made life for American military personnel around the world just a little more bearable.

DISTRACTED BY REALITY

Time for blogging and following the news has been rather limited of late. I've spent the better part of this week in uniform prepping for a military training exercise. I'll be glad when it's behind me. This has been more stressful than prepping for my deployment to Qatar last year. Oh well, it'll all be over in a few days. In the meantime, I won't be doing much blogging. There are a few things that have been aggravating me that I need to rant about before I go.

VALERIE THE SUPERSPY
OK, this one's been bugging me for a long time. Fist off, I have trouble swallowing the bullsh*t that Val was working undercover. Her neighbors all swear they never suspected she worked for CIA, but as far as I'm concerned, that's proof positive that she wasn't working covert ops. CIA covert ops go on overseas. Why weren't her neighbors suspicious when she was away for months on end? Because she wasn't away for months on end. I'm a lowly reservist, and I've been away for extended periods on two separate occasions since 9/11. I've missed birthdays, soccer seasons (including my youngest daughter's first soccer season), concerts, and recitals. I'm not around for months on end, and friends and neighbors take note of that. But not Agent Val. Hot damn, she must have her one o' them Star Trek transporters in her basement. Either that, or she's not working undercover.

JOE WILSON: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY
This guy is a total idiot, and I don't just say that beacuse we disagree politically. First off, he and the media lapdogs cry foul because the administration "smeared" him. So, am I to understand that discrediting ones political opponents and critics was invented by the Bush administration? Or that such things aren't tolerated in Washington? Where was all this concern when the Clinton administration went after its opponents? And don't try to sell me the BS that Clinton never did such things. Who do you think Terry Lenzner's most famous client was in the '90s? Billy-boy wasn't paying Lenzner all that money to shine Hillary's shoes (that was Matt Lauer's job).

On the issue of Wilson's concern about his wife's safety and career in the wake of her "outing", what'd he expect? When you work in a sensitive job, there are certain things you don't do. One of the biggest no-no's is maintaining a high profile. With this point in mind, you do not want your spouse writing op-eds in the NY Times and going on cable news shows attacking the administration over the war. Sure, he has first ammendment rights, just like the rest of us. But you can't be on TV and in the papers and expect to keep something like your wife's employment at the CIA a secret. That's kind of like eating 40 Big Macs a day and expecting to be skinny. It ain't gonna work out that way. Valerie Wilson should have known better. Even her media whore husband should have known better. Freakin' clowns.

SPINELESS REPUBLICANS
I wish our Republican Congress-folks (especially the Senators) would stop pussy-footing around. Confirm Alito. Nuke the filibuster if you have to. Do what you think needs to be done, and stop worrying about what the Dems and the media say about you. The MSM doesn't have a stranglehold on the flow of information anymore. The truth will get out. But you have to have the courage to speak it and the tenacity to hammer the message home. Besides, the Dems are close to a meltdown. There is no measure to how far off the deep end they'll go if they don't get their way. Then they can rant in the media all they want. When you see Howard Dean on TV accusing George W. Bush of doing abortions in the White House basment with a salad fork, you'll know that you're seeing the end of the left wing's influence on American politics.

BILL CLINTON=ROSA PARKS (AND THEN SOME)
Our esteemed former Prez is perhaps the most narcissistic man on the face of the earth. In a speech honoring civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, he said:

I remember as if it were yesterday that fateful day 50 years ago. I was a nine-year-old Southern white boy who rode a segregated bus every single day of my life. I sat in the front. Black folk sat in the back. When Rosa showed us that black folks didn't have to sit in the back anymore, two of my friends and I who strongly approved of what she had done decided we didn't have to sit in the front anymore.

Yeah, that's right. It's always about you.