ISRAEL UNDER ATTACK

Israel is under attack. But who is attacking them? Is it a gang of criminals? Should they go to the world court and file a criminal complaint? Or a lawsuit? Hardly. This isn't about crime, this is war. Israel is under attack by Iran. From GlobalSecurity.org:

The Qods (Jerusalem) Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is responsible for extraterritorial operations, including terrorist operations. A primary focus for the Qods Force is training Islamic fundamentalist terrorist groups. Currently, the Qods Force conducts training activities in Iran and in Sudan. The Qods Force is also responsible for gathering information required for targeting and attack planning. The Pasdaran has contacts with underground movements in the Gulf region, and Pasdaran members are assigned to Iranian diplomatic missions, where, in the course of routine intelligence activities they monitor dissidents. Pasdaran influence has been particularly important in Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.

The largest branch of Pasdaran foreign operations consists of approximately 12,000 Arabic speaking Iranians, Afghans, Iraqis, Lebanese shi’ites and North Africans who trained in Iran or received training in Afghanistan during the Afghan war years. Presently these foreign operatives receive training in Iran, Sudan and Lebanon, and include the Hizballah ["Party of Allah"] intelligence, logistics and operational units in Lebanon [Hizballah is primarily a social and political rather than military organization]. The second largest Pasdaran foreign operations relates to the Kurds (particularly Iraqi Kurds), while the third largest relates to the Kashmiri’s, the Balouchi’s and the Afghans. The Pasdaran has also supported the establishment of Hizballah branches in Lebanon, Iraqi Kurdistan, Jordan and Palestine, and the Islamic Jihad in many other Moslem countries including Egypt, Turkey, Chechnya and in Caucasia. Hizballah has been implicated in the counterfeiting of U.S. dollars and European currencies, both to finance its operations and to disrupt Western economies by impairing international trade and tourism.

The Office of Liberation Movements has established a Gulf Section tasked with forming a Gulf Battalion as part of the Jerusalem Forces. In April 1995 a number of international organizations linked to international terrorism -- including the Japanese Red Army, the Armenian Secret Army, and the Kurdistan Workers' Party -- were reported to have met in Beirut with representatives of the Iraqi Da'wah Party, the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, Hizballah, Iran's "Office of Liberation Movements," and Iran's Guardians of the Revolution. Tehran's objective was to destabilize Arab Gulf states by supporting fundamentalists with military, financial, and logistical support. Members of these and other organizations receive military training at a Guardians of the Revolution facility some 100 kilometers south of Tehran. A variety of of training courses are conducted at the facility for fundamentalists from the Gulf states, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, and Lebanon, including naval operations, mines, and diving operations in a special camp near the Orontes River.

The State Department asserts that Iran supports the Lebanese Hizballah, as well as Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas, groups labeled as foreign terrorist organizations that are active in Israel.

Hizballah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qasim appeared to confirm the importance of Iran to his organization during a late-July ceremony in the town of Tulin, when he said "We must stand side by side against the Israeli enemy, because Lebanon's strength is part of Syria's strength, and Iran's support and [Hizballah's] support for Palestine are an honor for us."

(emphasis mine)

Hizballah is nothing more than a hand puppet for Iran. The mullahs are waging war against Israel by proxy. Just like they are waging war against the coalition in Iraq through their support of insurgent groups. If you want to shut down Hizballah and other IGRC-backed terrorist groups, you need to shut down Iran. I'm not talking about invasion. Or occupation. I'm talking about knocking down the Iranian theocracy. Let the Iranian people figure out how to run their country in the post-mullah era. Will chaos ensue? Probably. But better a chaotic Iran than an orderly Iran spreading chaos throughout the world.

SEE YOU IN COURT. NOT!!!!

Well, well, well. So Valerie "Double-O Soccer Mom" Plame and Joe "My 15 Minutes of Fame are NOT Up Yet" Wilson are going to sue, are they? Well isn't that special? I guess Cheney, Rove, and Libby are all shaking in their boots.

Look for this case to go nowhere. Not because the Special Prosecutor found no evidence of leaking. Not because Plame's position didn't meet the criteria for an "undercover" job. And not because Bob Novak says that he saw no evidence of a smear campaign. No, this case is going nowhere because Joe and Val don't want to answer questions like this:

"Mrs. Wilson, what role did you play in your husband being selected for this mission to Niger."

"Mrs. Wilson, considering that you were allegedly working undercover, do you think it was wise for your husband to go on such a mission? And to write about it in the NY Times? And to become a high-profile critic of the President and the war? And to put your name in his 'Who's Who' bio? And on his company's website bio?"

And my favorite:

"Mr. Wilson, considering the national security importance of your mission to Niger, what made you think that you -- a man who lacked military, intelligence, or investigative experience -- were qualified to go on such a mission?"

It's not that I think that Joe and Val lack answers to these questions, it's that I don't think they have any answers they'd want to try under oath.

HOW LOW CAN THEY GO?

After endless whining about how President Bush uses the war and the military for political purposes, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has produced a video that uses images of flag-draped coffins to push their candidates. More proof that there is no depth too low for these folks to sink to in their single-minded quest for power.

The video is not only shameless and offensive, it's disingenuous. Did you see Tom Delay's mug shot in the video? It looked something like this:

So, where'd that come from? This is Tom Delay's mug shot:

Check out the number on the fake mugshot: 9110GOP. Hmm, I wonder what the significance of that is. It's obvious why they used the fake mugshot, it's less flattering and makes a more emotion-packed statement. But what does that say, when a political party has to use photoshopped pictures of its opponents in a campaign ad? How many other images in the video are faked? Are the coffins even real? Only the DCCC Ministry of Propaganda can provide an answer to that. Don't hold your breath waiting for one.

h/t: Blackfive

FROG MARCH THIS! (UPDATED)

This is too good. Drudge is reporting the following:

BOB NOVAK, My Leak Case Testimony: 'I learned Valerie Plame's name from Joe Wilson's entry in 'Who's Who in America'... MORE Published reports that I took the Fifth Amendment, made a plea bargain with the prosecutors or was a prosecutorial target were all untrue... MORE... My primary source has not come forward to identify himself... Bill Harlow, the CIA public information officer who was my CIA source for the column confirming Mrs. Wilson's identity. I learned Valerie Plame's name from Joe Wilson's entry in 'Who's Who in America'... I answered questions using the names of Rove, Harlow and my primary source... I considered his wife's role in initiating Wilson's mission, later confirmed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, to be a previously undisclosed part of an important news story. I reported it on that basis.
(emphasis mine)

I wonder whether blowhard partisan hack Joe Wilson is going to turn himself in for revealing the name of a "covert" CIA employee. If so, will he frog march himself down to the local FBI field office?

Update: This quote at FrontpageMag is priceless:

One former senior clandestine officer scoffed at the claim that Valerie Plame had ever been truly covert. “How can you be [covert] when you are married to an ex-U.S. ambassador and work for the State Department overseas?” Somebody looking at her from a hostile power (say, Iran) would have to have a brain the size of a pea to miss her connection to the U.S. government, he added.

Classic.

THE RETURN OF TIMOTHY MCVEIGH

Remember those radical right wing hate groups? You know, the ones we were told posed the greatest threat to our nation's security? The ones that the Clinton administration and the news media focused on all through the 90s while bin Laden and friends were recruiting and training the next generation of Islamic extremist terrorists? Well, they're back:

The military may be meeting its recruiting goals by relaxing standards that prevent “racist extremists” from joining, the Southern Poverty Law Center says.

Just on Monday, the Defense Department reported recruiting goals had been met for the 13th consecutive month.

The Montgomery, Ala.-based center has asked the military to crack down. The new concerns are based, in part, on a report from a military investigator based at Fort Lewis, Wash., who told the center that he and other defense officials have uncovered an online network of 57 neo-Nazis in the Army and Marine Corps, some of whom are recent combat veterans. They are spread over five bases: Fort Lewis, Fort Bragg, N.C., Fort Hood, Texas, Fort Steward, Ga., and Camp Pendleton, Calif., the center said

“Because hate group membership and extremist activity are antithetical to the values and mission of our armed forces, we urge you to adopt a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to white supremacy in the military and to take all necessary steps to ensure that the policy is rigorously enforced,” SPLC president Richard Cohen said in a July 7 letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

OK, first up, the military already prohibits membership in racist organizations, hate groups, and street gangs.

Secondly, the Southern "Poverty" Law Center (whose assets are estimated at over $120 million) is a less than credible source, to say the least. The SPLC spent the 90s telling us that white supremacists were poised to overrun the country. More recently, they've turned their army of lawyer-thugs loose to open our borders to illegals and punish anyone who opposes them. For all their monitoring of hate groups, the SPLC hasn't noticed any of the radical Islamic groups out there (with the apparent exception of the Nation of Islam).

Now, SPLC leader Morris Dees, the "country lawyer" who pays himself a salary of $300,000 per year, is apparently setting his legal dogs on the military. Look for Islamofascist propagandists and antiwar moonbats to use this report to further bash the military. Asshats.

SMASH: REPORTING FOR DUTY

Smash has arrived at his duty station. Where is it? I'll give you a few hints:

-It's hot there this time of year.

-It's riddled with sectarian and ideological conflict.

-It's dangerous.

Anyway, good luck Smash. And thank you for your service to our country.

COURT STICKS TO THE LAW (FOR A CHANGE)

I was pleasantly surprised by the recent ruling by the New York State Court of Appeals on the issue of same-sex marriage. Unlike the 2003 decision by the Massachussetts Supreme Judicial Court, this decision was actually based on law, rather than some esoteric concept of "fairness." From today's Albany Times Union:

ALBANY -- There will be no wedding bells in
New York for lesbian and gay couples after
the state's highest court ruled Thursday that
same-sex marriage is not legal and it is up
to lawmakers to decide whether it should be.

"New York's statutory law clearly limits
marriage to opposite-sex couples," which
is consistent with the state constitution,
Court of Appeals Associate Judge Robert S.
Smith wrote.

"Whether such marriages should be recognized
is a question to be addressed by the
Legislature," Smith added.

(emphasis mine)

Regardless of how you feel on the issue of same-sex marriage, there is no reasonable argument that courts should be allowed to unilaterally change the definitions of words. Marriage has had a specific meaning since the founding of this country, and for centuries, even millenia, before that. If a word that defines the basic building block of our society is going to take on new meaning, it should be up to the people to decide what that meaning should be, not a small group of judges. Once judges are allowed to change the definitions of words at will, any law passed by the legislature, even the Constitution itself, become meaningless.


Court: No to gay marriage

WORLD WITHOUT AMERICA?

If you're as sick as I am of hearing leftists and European sophisticates (is that redundant?) calling the US the greatest threat to global stability, you should check out the latest column by Peter Brookes posted over at Military.com, in which he examines the state of affairs that would exist if the US was not in the picture.

The picture isn't pretty. Absent U.S. leadership, diplomatic influence, military might, economic power and unprecedented generosity, life aboard planet earth would likely be pretty grim, indeed. Set aside the differences America made last century -- just imagine a world where this country had vanished on Jan. 1, 2001.

On security, the United States is the global balance of power. While it's not our preference, we are the world's "cop on the beat," providing critical stability in some of the planet's toughest neighborhoods.

Without the U.S. "Globo-cop," rivals India and Pakistan might well find cause to unleash the dogs of war in South Asia -- undoubtedly leading to history's first nuclear (weapons) exchange. Talk about Fourth of July fireworks . . .

In Afghanistan, al Qaeda would still be an honored guest, scheming over a global caliphate stretching from Spain to Indonesia. It wouldn't be sending fighters to Iraq; instead, Osama's gang would be fighting them tooth and nail from Saudi Arabia to "Eurabia."

Check out the rest, it's good stuff.

HAPPY 230th BIRTHDAY, USA

The Declaration of Independence

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred. to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

UShistory.org

SMASH: DEPLOYMENT CITY

I was surfing the blogosphere today when I noticed this post over at The Indepundit. It appears that Smash is deploying again. He's shipping out on Saturday. No word yet on where he's going. Based on his scrupulous attention to OPSEC during his last deployment, we may not know exactly where he's deploying to until after he gets back. Not that I can blame him for that. If you get a chance, head on over and wish him luck.

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING?

Have you ever watched a slasher movie? You know the kind;
Halloween, Friday the 13th, and so forth. Near the end of the
movie, the same kind of scene plays out in most of these flicks.
One of the characters, and it's usually a woman (hey don't blame
me, I don't write the things), escapes the house where all of
her friends were killed. She gets to the sidewalk, and what does
she do? She turns around and goes back inside the house. The
house where she found all her friends' mutilated bodies. The
house where the killer is. And you're screaming at the screen as
she does, "don't do that!!! What the hell are you
thinking?!?!" But it's ok, it's only a movie. Right?

Well, I found myself yelling those same lines at my computer
today as I read about the SCOTUS' decision in the Hamdan case.
Am I the only one who sees this as a war? Am I the only one who
believes our country is in danger (from something besides global
warming, that is)? I wish this was only a movie.

LEAKERS OR WHISTLEBLOWERS?

Are these people who are leaking information to the news media
leakers, or are they whistleblowers? I guess the answer depends
on whom you ask. Supporters of the Bush administration generally
refer to them as leakers. Administration opponents call them
whistleblowers. I'd like to find a less ideologically-based
answer; an answer based on a reasoned analysis of what these
people are doing.

So, what are they doing? They are people whose jobs give them
access to classified information. The information is classified
for national security reasons. We are currently at war. They
are giving the information to people who are not authorized to
have such information (the news media). They do so for personal
reasons (political reasons, seeeking "justice" etc.). The
information always winds up coming to the attention of our
enemies (through normal news outlets). The information benefits
our enemies.

Based on the information in the preceding paragraph, it would
appear that these folks are engaged in what we used to call
espionage. Consequently, they are neither leakers or
whistleblowers. They are traitors. Arrest 'em. Try 'em.
Execute 'em. That's what you do to traitors in wartime.

SSHHH, IT'S A "SECRET"

Well, the NY Times is at it again. Another story about a "secret"
government program designed to thwart terrorists. So what is it
with these clowns at the Times? Do they not grasp the reasoning
behind keeping the program secret? Do they think it's ok to
report on such programs because there's no way the terrorists
will see the story in the paper? Do they not want the terrorists
thwarted? Or have they just not given any thought to the
consequences of reporting such a story? It has to be one of
these. There's no other possible reason for doing what they've
been doing. Any way you look at it, it doesn't paint a very
flattering picture of the folks at our country's "most respected"
newspaper. Either they're thoughtless buffoons, grotesquely
stupid, or treasonous bastards. I don't know about you, but
I find myself leaning toward the third option.

LOOK WHO'S TALKING

I don't know about you, but I'm getting sick and tired of the
left whining that they're being called "unpatriotic" by the
GOP when they push their cut and run strategy -- if you can call
what they're suggesting a strategy. Aren't these the same folks
who are constantly telling us that Republicans want to poison the
air, poison the water, and bring back slavery? He who lives by
the hyperbolic sword, dies by it.

WHAT'S OLD IS NEW AGAIN

No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. I've changed templates again. The one I changed to previously wasn't working for me. I changed to that one because I thought that the wider text field would prevent the sidebar from being forced to the bottom of the page every time I included a link when posting by email. It didn't work. And since I didn't like the way it looked anyway, I figured I might as well switch back. Now all I need to do is find the time for some substantive posting.

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

MORE FROM THE NANNY STATE

Teresa has an excellent post over at her blog about the American Medical Association calling for a reduction in the amount of salt in processed food. This is just the latest in the war the "health nazis" have been waging for control of our diets. This whole mentality is why I'm opposed to nationalized healthcare. If you think it's bad now, wait until the taxpayers are footing the bill for your doctor visits. It reminds me of this parental admonishment: "As long as you live under my roof, you'll live by my rules." Well, I'm a big boy now. I'll pay for my own roof and my own healthcare. And I'll make my own rules, thank you.

http://technicalities.mu.nu/archives/181537.php

TODAY'S MUST READ

For an interesting perspective on the war on terrorism, check out
the short story by Stephen Coonts posted on Military.com. It's well
worth your time to read it.

http://www.military.com/forums/0,15240,100262,00.html

SOME QUESTIONS FOR LIBERALS

Or progressives, or whatever name you're going by these days.

1. You want us to close Guantanamo. You have a fit when we send detainees back to their home countries (rendition). Exactly what are we supposed to do with the terrorists we capture overseas?

2. You constantly decry the fact that the upper classes aren't pulling their own weight in regard to serving in the military. To that end, when will you stop trying to block access to college campuses by military recruiters and ROTC programs?

3. You constantly criticize the president for not "getting bin Laden." When old binny finally gets whacked, are you going to downplay the significance of the event the way you have with Zarqawi's demise?

4. Why does John Murtha's service as a Marine in Vietnam give him absolute authority to comment on the war, while Oliver North's does not?

5. Why are our troops automatically presumed guilty of any war crime they are accused of, while Tookie Williams and Mumia Abu Jamal deserve the benefit of the doubt?

6. If our troops are really committing all these war crimes, why do you support them (as you claim to)?

NO VIRGINS FOR YOU!!!

As it stands now, it looks like they finally got Zarqawi. Personally, I'm glad he's dead. Catching him alive would've generated more problems than it would have solved. Of course it remains to be seen whether this dirtbag's death will have an impact on the insurgency in Iraq. If nothing else, I think it'll make the other terrorist leaders in Iraq more cautious. If the big kahuna of terrorism there can be gotten to, none of those bin Laden wannabes is safe. With the perception of a less permissive operating environment, they may slow down for a short time. The key for us is to keep the pressure on.

I caught an interview with former White House terrorism advisor Richard Clarke this morning on GMA. Clarke, of course, is the original expert at not getting bin Laden. He tried to downplay the role that Zarqawi played in the Iraqi insurgency. While I've never been a big fan of the mindset that "cutting the head off the snake" will put an end to terrorism, I do think that nailing some of the top dogs gives pause to the rest of their fellow travelers. Giving them pause robs them of the initiative. And that creates openings for us. I think Mr. Clarke misses that point. But then missing the point has always been his modus operandi.

EVEN A BROKEN CLOCK IS RIGHT TWICE A DAY

Check out this quote regarding the FBI search of Congressman William Jefferson's office:

"It [the speech and debate clause in the Constitution] ought to be construed narrowly," said Barney Frank. "It should not in any way be interpreted as meaning that we, as members of Congress, have legal protections superior to those of the average citizen. So, I think it was a grave error to have criticized the FBI. I think, what they did, they ought to be able to do in any case where they can get a warrant from a judge."

http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-05-25-voa67.cfm

SICK AND TIRED OF BEING SICK AND TIRED

I haven't had a good online rant in awhile, so I think I'm due. I'm sick to death of the following things:

"Objective" Journalism
The primary responsibility of a journalist is not to be "objective", "fair and balanced", or to "report both sides" of the story. Their primary responsibility is to be accurate. They need to get the details right, and let us worry about attaching meaning to them.

Jimmy Carter
I used to think he was a decent man who was just a lousy president. Now he just looks like a vain old man trying to salvage his place in history. Sorry Jimmy, but your place in history is assured, and there's nothing you can do to change it. Just go home and polish your Nobel prize before you do any more damage.

The GOP
I'm a firm believer in the two-party system, but we've been one party short for years. If the Republicans don't get their act together soon, we're liable to be two parties short.

Calling Illegal Aliens "Immigrants"
By definition, immigrants are those who immigrate, not those who sneak in. Calling the debate over what to do about the border and illegal aliens an "immigration" debate is just an artful way to change the subject.

The R-bomb
And speaking of the "immigration" debate, I'm sick of the left resorting to accusations of racism every time they can't come up with a cogent argument. The R-bomb is their doomsday machine, intended to end every argument as soon as it's detonated. The S-bomb (sexism) and the H-bomb (homophobia) are variants of the R-bomb.

Opinion Polls
The only polls that really count are taken at the ballot box. The rest is just filler for news droids that are too lazy (or lack the skills) to actually research or investigate a story.

Polling has gotten so ridiculous, I actually saw a poll on the MSN website about the outcome of the American Idol season finale, which is itself based on a poll. Yes, that's right, they did a poll about a poll.

American Idol
I don't care who won, I'm just glad it's over. For now, anyway. This is the most over-hyped show since Survivor. I hate that one too, by the way.

The da Vinci Code
The book. The movie. The controversy. Tom Hanks' hair. All of it. Enough already!

The Kennedys
Need I say more?

Courtroom Dramas as News
We have a new "trial of the century" every couple of months. Once the TV news trucks pull up outside the courthouse, justice (or anything like it) go right out the window. If it was up to me, it would be illegal to point a TV camera at a lawyer.



The above list isn't exhaustive, but it's what comes to mind at the moment. How about you? What are you sick of?

A NEW LOW?

Exactly how low can pop culture go? Well, someone actually made an animated movie called Lil Pimp. It's about a little boy who wants to be a pimp. I saw a refernce to it somewhere recently and I thought it was a joke. And a sick joke at that. Apparently it isn't. You just can't make this stuff up.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0291311/

UPDATE TO YESTERDAY'S POST

Yesterday evening, Drudge updated his site by saying that the DNC denies any interference in the New Orleans mayoral primary. Drudge basically said that he took them at their word on this. The story linked in my previous post was taken down. So, there you have it. Apparently, it was all just a dream.

Now, repeat after me: We are at war with Eurasia. We have always been at war with Eurasia. Eastasia is our ally. Eastasia has always been our ally...

THE GANG(S) THAT COULDN'T SHOOT STRAIGHT

Well, this little story posted over at the Drudge Report is interesting:

DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE WORKED TO DEFEAT
NAGIN
**Exclusive**

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) secretly
placed political operatives in the city of New
Orleans to work against the reelection efforts
of incumbent Democrat Mayor Ray Nagin, the
DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

DNC Chairman Howard Dean made the decision
himself to back mayoral candidate and sitting
Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu (D-LA),
sources reveal.

Dean came to the decision to back the white
challenger, over the African-American
incumbent Nagin, despite concerns amongst
senior black officials in the Party that
the DNC should stay neutral.

The DNC teams actively worked to defeat
Nagin under the auspice of the committee's
voting rights program.

So, the party machine that is going to retake the House and Senate in '06, and the White House in '08, couldn't beat Ray Nagin? The guy who played the blame game while his fleet of school buses drown in a parking lot, and they couldn't beat him? The most incompetent mayor in the country (and maybe the world), and they couldn't beat him? Funny, huh?

With a track record like this, I would say that the only thing standing in the way of a Republican victory in November is the Republicans themselves. Not much of a morale booster, is it?

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash5no.htm

WORD FROM ON HIGH

OK, I know that many on the left don't celebrate Christmas. Some celebrate Hannukah. Others celebrate Kwanzaa. Still others celebrate the winter solstice, or somesuch pagan holiday. Just the same, I think that the members of the American left, especially the extreme atheist secualr left, should make it a point to send Pat Robertson a Christmas card this December. After all, they owe him so much. If Robertson didn't exist, they'd have to invent him.

Preacher: God told him about storms, tsunami

THE NSA AND YOUR PHONE RECORDS

From a column posted on Military.com by former Intelligence Officer/DoD offical Peter Brookes:

General Michael Hayden is going to get an early
Memorial Day BBQ-ing on Thursday. The CIA
director-nominee will appear before the Senate
Select Committee on Intelligence, and the senators
are sure to go ballistic over the National
Security Agency's telephone-calling-record
database.

Yet, despite the nonsense that the politically
motivated mainstream media and the left have
been spouting on the NSA program, this critical
counterterrorism effort isn't intrusive,
illegal -- or unnecessary.

In all honesty, we still don't know the details of the program, just what's being reported by the lamestream media. Hell, two of the phone companies named in the USA Today story claim that they've not turned over any records to the NSA. The newspaper is standing by their story. But then again, Mary Mapes still stands by her Air National Guard documents story too. So take it with a grain (or ten) of salt. But based on what's been reported so far, Brookes has done a reasoned analysis of the issue. Something we haven't seen much of from the "Fourth Estate" (and how unsurprising is that?).

http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,97439,00.html

INVASION OF PRIVACY

So, do the news media and the Democrats (are they even separate entities?) have you terrified about losing your privacy to the evil Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld Axis of Evil yet? After all, a recent USA Today story contained the revelation that the NSA was obtaining phone records from several telecom companies. Does that knowledge make you long for the good old pre-Bush days, when your personal information was private? If so, I have some news for you. The era you long for is further back in history than you may think.

As someone who has spent a chunk of his professional life working as an investigator -- an occupation that is devoted to the gathering of information -- I can tell you for a fact that you don't have as much privacy as you thought you did. In their eternal quest for the almighty dollar, private companies may have surpassed the government in gathering information on you. Let's take a look at a few of them. First, here are some of the better-known commercial databases:

LexisNexis

Mortgage and Real Estate Tax Info

- The property you own
- The address of the property
- Square footage of the property
- Square footage of building(s) on the property
- Number of rooms
- Who you purchased it from/who purchased it from you
- How much was paid for it
- Lien holder on the property

Voter Registration Info

- Your name
- Your address
- Party affiliation
- Which of the last few elections you've voted in

Bankruptcy Info

- Every bankruptcy you have filed for
- The court it was filed in
- The current status of the bankruptcy

Court Cases -- Decisions and Settlements

Ever filed a lawsuit or an appeal? Ever been sued? It's all here. Many of the decisions listed carry background info about the case and reference the evidence put presented.

Motor Vehicle Registrations

- Car, boat, and RV registrations from most states
- License numbers
- Year, model, make, and color of vehicle
- Information includes the names/addresses of registered owners

Individual Search

- Name
- Address
- Previous addresses
- The people known to have lived with you at the various addresses
- Phone numbers associated with each address (including unlisted numbers)
- Vehicles associated with each address
- Neighbors at each address (and their addresses and phone numbers)

News Sources

Archived stories from thousands of newspapers and magazines

Corporate and Business Info

- Names and addresses of incorporated entities (including incorporated small businesses)
- The names and addresses of corporation owners/CEO's

ISO Claimsearch

A database on insurance claims filed nationwide. Includes
- The name(s) of the claimant(s)
- The name(s) of insured individual(s)/entities
- Information on claimants and insured (including addresses, date of birth, and social security numbers)
- Type of claim
- Location and date of claim
- Injuries claimed

Experian

Credit reporting service. Information avaliable on:
- Name
- Addresses
- Spouse
- Previous addresses
- Employer
- Previous employers
- Credit reports (running a credit report without the subject's permission is illegal)

And where do these companies get their information? Public records, mortgage companies, banks, insurance companies, credit card companies, and others who have information on you. I learned about a most unusual data source at a training session I attended that was offered by one of the big database companies. The company trainer referred to it as the "pizza database." You know those pizza places that have caller ID? Once you've ordered from them, they store your name, address, and phone number for the next time you call. Makes it easier for them to process your order and deliver your pizza. And, according to the database company trainer, some of them are selling the information. Yes, you read that right. Your local pizza shop may be spying on you.


OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER

Do you have one of those check cashing/discount cards for your local supermarket? If you do, every time you use it, your shopping habits are being tracked. And possibly sold.

And speaking of shopping, most large stores have some sort of closed-circuit video system in operation in order to catch/deter shoplifters. They're also watching their employees.

Is your employer watching you? It's easy if they care to. Miniature cameras can be disguised as smoke detectors, alarm clocks, motion detectors, wall clocks, paintings, speakers, and even Teddy bears. I've used such cameras before. They're very hard to detect.

And speaking of video, many cities and state highway departments have put video cameras in place to aid in criminal investigation, crime prevention, and traffic management.

Electronic toll collection systems like E-Z Pass can record your comings and goings on toll roads.

Do you surf the net? If so, your internet service provider has a record of all the sites you've visited. And the sites you visit can track the IP addresses of the people who visit them. And search engines have a record of your IP address and what you've searched for.

Do you use a cell phone? Cell records were being sold long before USA Today raised the alarm about the NSA getting the records. At least they weren't charging the government for them.

Here's a new one. I bought some Sudafed at Walmart this weekend. They no longer stock it on the shelf, so I had to get it from the pharmacy. They needed to see my drivers license before they'd give it to me. My license number and phone number were entered into their computer. This is done to prevent meth-lab proprietors from stocking up on the stuff for the manufacture of illegal drugs. Now I'm in another database, all because I had a stuffy nose.


There it is, folks. No reason to get all worked up about the arrival of some new Orwellian era. It's too late for outrage. We're already there. We have been for years. Invasion of privacy? What privacy?

GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM--HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Jamie Glazov of Front Page Magazine recently interviewed historian Joshua London, author of the book Victory in Tripoli: How America's War with the Barbary Pirates Established the U.S. Navy and Shaped a Nation. London's study of the US war with the Barbary Pirates contains a number of lessons we should keep in mind in our current war. Such as:

There are some very basic historical lessons, the validity of which has been verified in conflict after conflict down through the ages, that hold equally true in this context. Such lessons are easily reduced to truisms or even clichéd slogans. For example, “Wars are best fought by Generals in the field, not Politicians at home,” “Unilateral Action is better than Multilateral Inaction,” “If you desire peace, you must prepare for war,” and the always popular, “there is no substitute for victory.” These are all quite true and substantively so, and easily emerge from the history if the Barbary conflict. There are several other, no less weighty, lessons of this sort that can be readily learned from this historical experience.

To strike a broader note, however, I’d say that first, and perhaps most importantly, we need to be honest about the enemy we face before we can seriously try and understand what they are really doing and trying to accomplish. It handicaps our efforts to presume that our enemy is like us, or shares our world-view and our cultural understandings, or, for that matter, to presume that most of the world wants “peace” and will rationally side with us, or even aid and abet us, given the chance.

The Barbary pirates were engaged in jihad first and foremost, and moneymaking only secondarily. The powerful nations of the world were content to endure this Barbary terrorism for reasons of national self-interest and out of a mercantilist understanding of the world. It was thought to be much simpler for them to bribe the pirates to stave off unwanted commercial competition than to actually neutralize the threat.

In contemporary terms, for example, was it really all that surprising that the French, Germans, and Russians stymied our efforts to go after Iraq at the United Nations? Is it really in our best interests to tread this sort of path with Iran?

You can read the rest of the interview here. So read it. Then get someone else to read it. Too many people in this country are seriously lacking a clue about the people we are fighting. And we need one. Desperately.

NEWS OF THE RIDICULOUS

I saw this totally ridiculous story linked on The Drudge Report this morning.

Mother Charged With Lacing Cookies With Ex-Lax

A woman from New Portland is charged with helping
her daughter and two other teenagers bake cookies
laced with a laxative.

SKOWHEGAN, Maine (AP) -- The cookies were left
on the teacher's desk on April tenth.

Julie Hunt, who's 43, was arrested Friday after
an investigation into the prank that sickened
four seventh- and eighth-grade children at
Carrabec Community School in Anson.

A police affidavit filed in court indicates
Hunt told three girls how to crush the laxative
pills and mix them in with the cookie batter.

http://www.wlbz2.com/newscenter/article.asp?id=35053

Note to Ms. Hunt: Your daughter needs a mother, not another "friend." Being a mother is a job for an adult, not a 43 year old adolescent. We have too many "cool" moms in this country, and not enough good ones. So grow the hell up already.

READING ASSIGNMENT

Do you like conspiracy theories? Personally, I love 'em. They provide a window into the minds of the insane, the paranoid delusional. I'm not talking about the crazy people in mental hospitals. We refer to them as mentally ill. I'm talking about the whackos who walk the streets among us. The ones teaching and studying at our institutions of higher learning (or is it indoctrination?). The ones who (unfortunately) vote in our elections. If you too have an interest in these folks and what they believe, drop whatever you're doing and read the latest column by Mike Adams posted at Townhall.com. It's funny. And scary.

http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/mikeadams/2006/05/08/196479.html

OPEN BORDERS TALKING POINTS

Since the big "Day Without (Illegal) Immigrants," I've been giving some thought to some of the arguments put forth by the open borders crowd.

"We are a nation of immigrants."

Not exactly. For this to be technically accurate, the majority of the country's population would have to have been born somewhere else. In reality (anybody remember reality?), this is not the case. Most of us are descended from immigrants. Hell, all of us really are. Even the ancestors of American Indians came here from somewhere else, probably Asia. The fact of the matter is this: we are a nation of laws. Some of those laws specify the procedures one must go through to come to this country. If you choose to bypass these procedures, then you have broken the law. You are then, by definition, a criminal. An illegal alien, to be more specific. Stop trying to change the subject.

"This country was built by immigrants."

This one probably originated in the same place as the previous quote. Immigrants and their descendants did play a major role in building ths country, but they were legal immigrants.

"It is immigrant labor that drives our economy."

If abundant cheap labor was the driving factor in building a world-class economy, Mexico would be a superpower, rather than a corrupt third world country.

"We didn't cross the border, the border crossed us."

As a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, the U.S. did wind up with territory that previously belonged to Mexico. So, if you did live in this territory when the treaty was signed, then technically, this statement is true. And you are at least 156 years old. Congratulations on your longevity.

"Part of the southwestern U.S. rightfully belongs to Mexico."

Should we give it back? What difference would that make in the long run. California has a higher standard of living than Mexico because it is in the U.S., not because of its geographic location. Mexico's lower standard of living is due to corrupt and incompetent government. Extending that government to California would not raise up Mexico, it would just serve to lower the standard of living in California. The solution is to clean up your own yard, rather than extending your mess into your neighbor's yard. As to the "rightful owner" of the southwestern U.S., the war ended 156 years ago. We won. Get over it already.

"(Illegal) Immigrants do the jobs that Americans won't do."

And why won't they do them? Because they pay substandard wages, that's why. This whole argument is just politically correct code for "we need these people here so we can exploit them." I can hardly believe that so many members of the "we need to raise the minimum wage" crowd sign on to ths argument. Further proof that leftism=hypocrisy.

THIS EXPLAINS A LOT

If I've had one complaint about the way we have waged the Global War on Terror, it's that we've been hesitant to apply the necessary force to win. My philosophy on war is best summed up in this quote by the late General Curtis E. Lemay.

"If you are going to use military force,
then you ought to use overwhelming military
force. Use too much and deliberately use too
much... You'll save lives, not only your own,
but the enemy's too."

Like every firearms instructor I've ever trained with told me, when you shoot, shoot to kill. Forget this shoot-to-wound crap. If you have a legitimate reason to use deadly force, use it. Don't half step. If you can't justify it, don't pull the trigger.

So why are there so many Americans who don't get this concept? Even after 9/11, we seem to want to pussy foot around with these terrorists and the people who support them. "By all means, get the terrorists. But don't make a mess in doing it."

Hoover Institution researcher Shelby Steele takes a look at why this is so in a column entitled "White Guilt and the Western Past. Why is America so delicate with the enemy?" Rush Limbaugh read the entire piece on his radio show today. Good stuff. Highly recommended.

Link

BOYCOTT THE BOYCOTT

Well, today is the day. The illegal aliens and their sympathizers are refusing to work or buy anything all day. This is intended to show us that life itself is impossible without them. I'm wondering whether my job will get done today. All this time I thought that I was doing it. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe there is some illegal alien actually doing the work behind the scenes, and I'm just getting the credit for it. I guess now I'll finally find out. I do know that the immigrant gal (a legal immigrant) that works for building maintenance is working today. She just stopped by to pick up the recyclables. I guess she's too busy making a living to make a political statement. What do you expect from someone who was actually foolish enough to go through the immigration process? Sucker.

As for me, I'm going to work hard today and spend money on something I wouldn't have otherwise. And I'm going to make it a point to use the term "illegal alien" in conversation at least five times today. How are you going to celebrate "the day without (illegal) immigrants?"

UPDATE ON ALBERTO MARTINEZ CASE

Here's the latest on the case of Alberto Martinez, the National Guard soldier accused of murdering two of his officers in Iraq.

Fort Bragg, N.C. - A hearing officer recommended yesterday that additional charges be sent to trial against a New York National Guard sergeant already accused of killing two officers in Iraq.

Col. Patrick K. Reinert recommended that charges against Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez of Troy, N.Y., of failure to obey orders and giving military office equipment to an Iraqi be combined for trial with murder charges.

Martinez is charged with killing company commander Capt. Phillip T. Esposito, 30, of Suffern, N.Y., and the company operations officer, 1st Lt. Louis E. Allen, 34, of Milford, Pa. Esposito and Allen were killed June 7 when a mine and grenades exploded in their room. More than a dozen of their officers' relatives attended the hearing.

You can read the rest here. The news media's lack of interest in this story is making it hard to track. Fortunately, I've received some good intel on the case from alert readers who are following the story. I'll keep you posted as I become aware of developments.

"IMMIGRATION": DEFINING THE PROBLEM

So why are we having a debate on "immigration?" Isn't the point of contention the people who enter this country illegally, or the people who come here legally and overstay their visas? Immigrants are people who go through an immigration process. Those who fail to go through the process are not immigrants. They are illegal aliens, plain and simple. Calling them immigrants is just ducking the serious questions by changing the subject. No one in his right mind would refer to burglarizing the local Holiday Inn as "checking in to a hotel." And no one would refer to the interloper as a "guest." He is a burglar. Or, at the very least, a trespasser. So let's get it right, and stop letting liberals (and their lap-dogs in the media) neutralize our position by letting them deny us the proper terminology to define the real problem here. We need to have a debate on illegal aliens and on securing our borders. Immigration is a different subject. And a debate for another day.

GIMME A BREAK

The ACLU, that fearless warrior for the rights of criminals and terrorists is at it again.

NYCLU Lawsuit Challenges DoD’s Unauthorized Military Recruiting of High School Students

NEW YORK -- The New York Civil Liberties Union brought a lawsuit against the Department of Defense in federal court today, charging the Department with violating American high school students’ privacy rights and federal law by maintaining an unauthorized database of personal student information for use in military recruitment efforts.

“We knew that our military was desperate for soldiers and that recruiters had gone to great lengths to pressure students to join the ranks,” NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman said. “But we could not have guessed that the Department of Defense would pursue a recruiting tactic that would so completely disregard the boundaries that Congress had laid down to protect student privacy rights.”

Link

Privacy rights, eh? What about my privacy rights? How about the databases that are kept on me - and pretty much everybody else - by those freakin' credit card companies. Not a week goes by where I don't get three or four (or more) credit card offers. "You are pre-approved!" Yeah, right. How do they know that they should pre-approve me? How do they know how high to set the credit limit in the offer? Hell, how do they know my address? Databases, that's how. Personal information is being bought, sold, and traded every day. Information on me. On you. On everyone you know. And sometimes that information winds up in the wrong hands. And the ACLU couldn't give a damn. Until they see a chance to score a political victory. Asshats.

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW

In a not-unexpected development, the White House announced a personnel change today:

WASHINGTON-- President Bush on Wednesday named
conservative commentator Tony Snow as White
House press secretary, putting a new face on
a troubled administration.

Snow, a Fox news pundit and former speechwriter
in the White House under Bush's father, replaced
Scott McClellan who resigned in a personnel
shuffle intended to re-energize the Bush White
House and lift the president's record-low
approval ratings.

Link

This was a smart choice. Snow has considerable experience working in politics and for the news media. He's a keen observer of the political scene, and he's not afraid to speak his mind. He'll bring a fresh perspective to the table, something that is desperately needed in the Bush White House. He'll also bring the kind of verbal sparring skill that has been sorely lacking (and desperately needed) for the last few years. I'm sure Scott McClellan is a nice guy, but he looked like a drowning man at most of his press conferences. I think Tony Snow has what it takes to hold back the jackals that we call the Washington press corps. Time will tell, I guess.

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

OPERATION EAGLE CLAW

Twenty-six years ago today, U.S. special operations troops attempted a rescue of the American hostages being held in Iran. Mechanical difficulties and sandstorms led to the mission being aborted. A collision between one of the helicopters and a C-130 resulted in the deaths of eight servicemembers -- five Air Force personnel and three Marines. For a good look at the planning of the operation and the way it unfolded, read the book Delta Force by COL Charlie Beckwith (who commanded the unit) and Donald Knox. On the web, check out Specwarnet.

TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR(S)

Retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North weighs in on the recent
"attack of the retired generals."

Set aside for a moment that these are all men
who helped plan various aspects of the war
they now say was poorly planned. With the
exception of Zinni, who served as CENTCOM
commander during the Clinton administration,
they all accepted promotions to "serve" under
Commander in Chief Bush and helped carry out a
plan they now claim to be irreparably flawed.
If the jawing generals felt then as they say
they do now -- why didn't they just quit --
before their promotions and pay raises?

It's been done before. On April 21, 1980,
Secretary of State Cyrus Vance tendered his
resignation and privately confided to President
Jimmy Carter, "I know how deeply you have
pondered your decision on Iran. I wish I could
support you in it. But for the reasons we have
discussed I cannot." The secretary of state was
referring to the mission -- three days later --
to rescue American hostages -- an operation he
had steadfastly opposed. Unlike the "six-pack"
of generals now castigating the war they helped
plan and execute -- Vance had the integrity to
make his views known during planning for the
Iran operation -- and the courage to quit when
the commander in chief decided to proceed over
his objections.

North actually took some time to research this story and ask
the hard questions -- things that our illustrious media can't
be bothered to do.
Link

APRIL 19, 1995

Today marks the 11th anniversary of the bombing of the Federal
Building in Oklahoma City. The bombing killed 168 men, women,
and children.

The Feds pinned it all on two right wing extremists named
Timothy Mcveigh and Terry Nichols. But did they have any help?
In her coverage of the story, investigative journalist Jayna Davis
uncovered a possibleMiddle Eastern connection to the bombing.
For instance:

-A witness places Terry Nichols at a meeting in the Philippines
with Abu Sayyaf Group members (The ASG is a Muslim extremist
group that is affiliated with al Qaida).

-Also at this meeting was convicted WTC bomber Ramzi Youssef.

-Witnesses saw a man in the passenger seat of the Ryder truck
that Timothy Mcveigh was driving just before the blast.

-Some of the witnesses have identified that man as a former Iraqi
Republican Guard soldier named Hussain Al-Hussaini.

-Hussain Al-Hussaini was employed at Logan Airport in Boston on
9/11/01. Two of the planes hijacked that day were flying out of
Logan.


Many have dismissed Davis' story as just another conspiracy theory.
Maybe it is, for all I know. But she did do her homework on this,
and she makes a compelling case. Hell, it's more believable than
almost anything Cynthia McKinney says. It's definitely worth
checking out.

JaynaDavis.com

A Letter to Military Children from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

I received this via email from my unit's family support office
today:

A Letter to Military Children from the Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff

I want to take this opportunity to recognize the extraordinary contributions of our Nation's military families, who have face many challenges-from family separations to frequent moves-with great courage. I would especially like to acknowledge a special
source of inspiration: children of military families.

You are patient and understanding when duty calls and your Mom or Dad cannot attend a soccer game, music recital, birthday party, or other important family or school activity. You are heroes in a quiet, thoughtful way, and I am grateful for the unconditional love you give your Mom and Dad. Many of you have experienced the sad and sometimes frightening experience of having your Mom or Dad far from home, serving around the globe in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Through your personal courage and support, you serve this Nation too - and I am proud of you!

Frequent moves are a way of life for the military child. It is never easy to say goodbye to friends and familiar routines, to begin again in a new school, a new neighborhood - and sometimes a new country! But your resilience and self-confidence are strengths that others admire, including your parents.

Growing up in a military family offers some challenges, but it also provides some special rewards. You can be proud of your Mom and Dad for their brave defense of this great country. Your love and support sustains them. So thank you for being there for Mom and Dad. You are American patriots and role models for us all.

PETER PACE

General, United States Marine Corps

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

ENOUGH WITH THE "MALAISE" ALREADY

n his latest column, former Clinton advisor Dick Morris takes a
hard look at the Bush administration's current predicament. While
I don't agree with Morris on a number of issues, he makes a
strong case for the administration getting off its ass and going
on the offensive, rather than continuing to pursue its current
strategy of "twisting in the wind." It's well worth the read.

Link

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.