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November 29, 2005

The Economist Weighs In On Iraq

The Economist has presented their own list of reasons why our military should maintain its presence in Iraq until the job is completed.

Iraq is not Vietnam. Most Iraqis share America’s aims, and the Sunnis, who boycotted the first general election in January, are now taking part in peaceful politics.

President Bush’s efforts to spread democracy in the region are starting to bear fruit.

The Arab world may be turning against extremist elements in the insurgency – the jihadists led by al-Qaida’s leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) has argued that American troops are now a barrier to further progress, and a withdrawal would deprive Zarqawi of the one thing that unites the Sunnis and jihadists.
"This has seductive logic, but flies in the face of the evidence,” The Economist states. "Most of the insurgents’ victims are Iraqis, not American soldiers. There are still too few American troops, not too many. And the Iraqi forces that America is training are not yet ready to stand on their own feet.”

A fixed timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops would embolden the insurgents.

By leaving Iraq, the U.S. would not buy peace. Zarqawi and his fellow fanatics have vowed to attack America around the globe.

An American "retreat” would grant militant Islam an enormous victory, and Arabs who want to modernize their region would conclude that they cannot count on the U.S. to stand by its friends.
"The cost to America of staying in Iraq may be high, but the cost of retreat would be higher,” The Economist concludes.

"Yet it is also well past time for George Bush to spell out to the American people much more clearly and honestly than he has hitherto done why their sons and daughters fighting in Iraq should remain in harm’s way.”

As regards the last point, I believe this would be much easier to accomplish if the media was honest and not biased so far to the left that they are cheerfully derelict in their duty to report anything resembling the truth if it means reporting that something, anything the Bush Administration has a hand in is even remotely successful, and if they were above the sins of misquoting him or pulling random lines out of the context of his speeches.

Posted by Seth at 10:30 AM | Comments (2) |

Go Lieberman!

Joe Lieberman, Democrat, has an Op-Ed in today's Wall Street Journal that gives his position on our presence in Iraq after visiting the country and seeing things first hand.

His opinion differs greatly from those of his fellow high profile Democrats, their liberal masters and the Mainstream Media.

He believes we should stay until the job is finished.

Progress is visible and practical. In the Kurdish North, there is continuing security and growing prosperity. The primarily Shiite South remains largely free of terrorism, receives much more electric power and other public services than it did under Saddam, and is experiencing greater economic activity. The Sunni triangle, geographically defined by Baghdad to the east, Tikrit to the north and Ramadi to the west, is where most of the terrorist enemy attacks occur. And yet here, too, there is progress.

There are many more cars on the streets, satellite television dishes on the roofs, and literally millions more cell phones in Iraqi hands than before. All of that says the Iraqi economy is growing. And Sunni candidates are actively campaigning for seats in the National Assembly. People are working their way toward a functioning society and economy in the midst of a very brutal, inhumane, sustained terrorist war against the civilian population and the Iraqi and American military there to protect it.

We're failing over there, huh? The Bush policies are not working, huh? We need to cut and run, oh, sorry, I meant "redeploy," huh? According to Lieberman, we aren't, they aren't and we definitely shouldn't, in that order.

It is a war between 27 million and 10,000; 27 million Iraqis who want to live lives of freedom, opportunity and prosperity and roughly 10,000 terrorists who are either Saddam revanchists, Iraqi Islamic extremists or al Qaeda foreign fighters who know their wretched causes will be set back if Iraq becomes free and modern. The terrorists are intent on stopping this by instigating a civil war to produce the chaos that will allow Iraq to replace Afghanistan as the base for their fanatical war-making. We are fighting on the side of the 27 million because the outcome of this war is critically important to the security and freedom of America. If the terrorists win, they will be emboldened to strike us directly again and to further undermine the growing stability and progress in the Middle East, which has long been a major American national and economic security priority.

How is it that a Democrat who spends some time over there comes away with a view that is in total counterpoint to those of most of his same party colleagues?

It could be that he's neither a liar nor a coward, or that he is simply more concerned with the wellbeing of Americans and a secure future for his country than he is with partisan politics.

Still, I wonder what kind of pressure this article will earn him from the other folks on the left and if there is indeed pressure, if he'll bluntly stay the course rather than sacrifice patriotism, honor and truth to the liberal party line, which acknowledges none of these.

In this case, my bet's that he'll stick to his guns.

In the face of terrorist threats and escalating violence, eight million Iraqis voted for their interim national government in January, almost 10 million participated in the referendum on their new constitution in October, and even more than that are expected to vote in the elections for a full-term government on Dec. 15. Every time the 27 million Iraqis have been given the chance since Saddam was overthrown, they have voted for self-government and hope over the violence and hatred the 10,000 terrorists offer them. Most encouraging has been the behavior of the Sunni community, which, when disappointed by the proposed constitution, registered to vote and went to the polls instead of taking up arms and going to the streets. Last week, I was thrilled to see a vigorous political campaign, and a large number of independent television stations and newspapers covering it.

None of these remarkable changes would have happened without the coalition forces led by the U.S. And, I am convinced, almost all of the progress in Iraq and throughout the Middle East will be lost if those forces are withdrawn faster than the Iraqi military is capable of securing the country.

They say we have no plan.

Does America have a good plan for doing this, a strategy for victory in Iraq? Yes we do. And it is important to make it clear to the American people that the plan has not remained stubbornly still but has changed over the years. Mistakes, some of them big, were made after Saddam was removed, and no one who supports the war should hesitate to admit that; but we have learned from those mistakes and, in characteristic American fashion, from what has worked and not worked on the ground. The administration's recent use of the banner "clear, hold and build" accurately describes the strategy as I saw it being implemented last week.

And as to our brave military personnel in Iraq?

I cannot say enough about the U.S. Army and Marines who are carrying most of the fight for us in Iraq. They are courageous, smart, effective, innovative, very honorable and very proud. After a Thanksgiving meal with a great group of Marines at Camp Fallujah in western Iraq, I asked their commander whether the morale of his troops had been hurt by the growing public dissent in America over the war in Iraq. His answer was insightful, instructive and inspirational: "I would guess that if the opposition and division at home go on a lot longer and get a lot deeper it might have some effect, but, Senator, my Marines are motivated by their devotion to each other and the cause, not by political debates."

Thank you, General. That is a powerful, needed message for the rest of America and its political leadership at this critical moment in our nation's history. Semper Fi.

Thank you, Joe, for bringing home the truth and sharing it.

Posted by Seth at 09:41 AM | Comments (4) |

Hillary Vs. "A Simple Question"

Senator Hillary Clinton, who is widely expected to make a run for the Presidency in 2008, evidently finds that answering a simple "yes" or "no" question, a real "no-brainer," can be a complex intellectual exercise.

That, or maybe she just forgot to do her homework before she voted to send our troops to Iraq, and is reluctant to 'fess up. Oops!

Posted by Seth at 03:20 AM |

O'Reilly On San Francisco

Abrasive, outspoken conservative columnist, creator of "The O'Reilly Factor," author of the book by the same name and FOX "Talking Points" host Bill O'Reilly, a man despised by the left and not astoundingly popular in the Blogosphere on either side due in part to offensive, pompous and dumb remarks he made a couple of years back that sounded more like they could have come from John Kerry, has written a column titled San Francisco Blues which is too accurate for me to avoid giving its due for its sheer agreement with my own views on San Francisco. I live here, though I am leaving in three days to return to America, and it's rare to run into such an on-point description of San Francisco, so...

Here are three excerpted paragraphs, to give an idea of what's to come:

It is hard to figure out the mindset of many Americans living in the secular-progressive paradise of San Francisco. A couple of weeks ago, they voted to oppose military recruiting in the city's public schools, including colleges. In the middle of a vicious war on terror, the City by the Bay says no to the people who volunteer to protect us.

And,

In the recall of former California Gov. Gray Davis, 80 percent of San Franciscans voted to keep him, while the rest of the state voted overwhelmingly to boot him out. So you could say that not only is San Francisco out of touch with traditional America, it is out of touch with its own liberal state.

AND,

It has been said that people get the government they deserve, and in San Francisco's case, that could not be more true. The city's streets are chaotic, quality of life has deteriorated, and the prevailing wisdom would please Fidel Castro.

Read the entire column if you want a condensed-but-spot-on look at what the "City By The Bay" has become over the last couple of decades.

My own description, somewhat shorter than but easily as definitive as O'Reilly's, can be conveyed in four words: A depressing liberal shithole.

Posted by Seth at 01:33 AM | Comments (2) |

November 28, 2005

What The Hell?

Now, is this funny, or what?

Even though I must confess that I did kind of chuckle about it, when you stop to think about it, I'd have to say it's a lot less funny than it is "what?"

I mean, how does it come to be that U.S. Border Patrol uniforms are hecho en Mexico? Is the contractor that supplies the uniforms an idjit?

The labels inside the U.S. Border Patrol uniforms have been making many federal agents feel uneasy. It's not the fit or feel of the olive-green shirts and pants, but what their labels read: "Made in Mexico."

"It's embarrassing to be protecting the U.S.-Mexico border and be wearing a uniform made in Mexico," says T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, a 6,500-member union.

I'll just bet it is, T.J., I'll just bet it is...

Posted by Seth at 09:03 PM |

Mubarak's Take, Naturally

Naturally, Ariel Sharon's intentions to "give away the farm" are more than enough incentive for Hosni Mubarak to throw his two cents into Sharon's corner.

BARCELONA - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is the only Israeli politician capable of reaching peace with the Palestinians, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in an interview published here yesterday.

Mubarak's comments come days after Sharon quit the Likud party, saying he could not push for peace with the Palestinians while wasting time battling far-right rivals.

"Sharon, of all the Israeli politicians, is the only one capable of achieving peace with the Palestinians," Mubarak said in an interview with Spain's ABC newspaper. "He has the ability to take difficult decisions, commit to what he says and carry it out."

Mubarak pointed to Sharon's success in pushing through Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip despite opposition from settlers and from within Likud.

Sure, real success as illustrated here and here {Hat Tip, Israpundit}. Oh, and remember this?

At any rate, the fact that Sharon has apparently committed himself to a course of capitulation that would do France proud would naturally make him the favorite of any Arab leader. Here is, after all, an Israeli leader who is willing to do for his overt and covert neighboring enemies what they themselves have been unable to accomplish in fifty seven years, that is, get some momentum going on the unravelling of the Jewish state -- once a downhill roll commences, it's difficult if not impossible to stop -- and the handing over of what were once retained by Israel as buffer zones against repeat invasions by hostile neighbors to a murderous enemy whose ultimate goal is the total annihilation of Israel.

Middle East Newsline (MENL) reports in the name of "political sources" that Sharon has begun briefing senior U.S. officials of his intention to withdraw unilaterally from more than 95% of Judea and Samaria. Sharon is hoping to be elected Prime Minister for a third time - this time not in the Likud, however, but as head of his new Kadima Party.

One of the most valuable "acquisitions" of the Kadima Party, MK Chaim Ramon, formerly of Labor, said openly last week that Sharon will unilaterally withdraw to final borders in Judea and Samaria if Palestinian terror continues. IMRA reported that Ramon said this on a live interview on Channel 10's "London and Kirschenbaum" news program just hours after he announced his decision to join Sharon's Kadima.

Mar Sharon and his cronies are determined, it would seem, to add a geographic definition to the term downsizing.

Posted by Seth at 10:44 AM | Comments (2) |

NOLA Restaurants After Katrina

I ran across this article at the Journal News website and, Nawlins cooking ranking right up there near the top in my personal culinary esteem, had to comment on it.

NEW ORLEANS — Breakfast at Brennan's, a tradition since 1946, is postponed until next year. Dinner at Antoine's, a French Quarter delight for 165 years, won't be served until January or later. Same story at Galatoire's, the century-old Bourbon Street landmark. In this city where two favorite pastimes are eating and talking about eating, Hurricane Katrina caused a massive case of indigestion for the world-renowned restaurant industry.

These days, instead of serving up shrimp remoulade and trout meuniere, owners are installing new coolers, fixing roofs and trying to replace wait staffs and cooks.

At least they're all working hard to reopen, but even still they'll most likely need a lot of local support owing to the fact that it will take some time to re-attain the comfortable cash flow of strong tourism they enjoyed prior to the descent of Hurricane Katrina on the Crescent City, if they are to even begin recouping both their losses and the costs of preparing their restaurants to begin serving again.

One prominent victim was Commander's Palace in the city's Garden District, where folks craving dishes such as fresh Gulf fish served with a potato crust in a caper beurre blanc will likely have to wait until March. The distinctive turquoise building received heavy damage when Katrina roared ashore Aug. 29.

Commanders Palace is one of my favorite among the most famous eateries in Nawlins, and their Sunday Jazz Brunch was{hopefully will someday be again} a really special experience. Their food is wonderful in every way and a trip through the upper Garden District by streetcar adds volumes of ambiance to the whole experience. I lived there for years, and my own sensation as such never diminished.

Commander's is the jewel in the crown of the local Brennan family of restaurants, and not the only one of the group that suffered physically as a result of Katrina's visit from hell.

Food isn't the only concern. At Brennan's, a wine expert is evaluating its 36,000 bottles of wine, which were left untended in soaring heat after the storm.

But let's not forget the low-end economic concerns.

Finding waiters, bus boys and dishwashers is another chore, and wages are extremely competitive. Restaurateur Ralph Brennan, for example, is paying $10 an hour for dishwashers, up from $6 pre-Katrina.

This is interesting, since the national minimum wage was raised well above $6.00 long before Katrina came to call, but then, living in Nawlins for a few years can easily make you forget that you're in the United States, anyway.

Maybe that's why the food they serve you down in New Orleans, and for that matter the state of Louisiana, in addition to its mega-deliciousness, is completely different from the cuisines featured in other parts of the country. Because in spite of its membership in Congress and its presence on maps of the United States, the Pelican State really is a foreign country...

Posted by Seth at 09:35 AM | Comments (2) |

Palestinian Self Determination

Yeah, right.

They're off to a flying start.

Posted by Seth at 09:17 AM |

November 27, 2005

RightMarch Print Ad

RightMarch now has a great new full-page print ad out that highlights the positive results (that never seem to make "the news," fancy that!) of our troops' continuing success in Iraq.

The ad is here.

Posted by Seth at 01:11 PM |

November 26, 2005

A Note To Readers

Anyone who reads the three posts that have, thusfar, constituted the posts I have entered today is welcome to place them in any category they so desire.

Right thinkers such as myself would classify them one way and, no doubt, those whose views are set in the opposing camp will classify them another way.

A liberal Democrat recently referred to my blog as shrill, indubitably because of my undeniable outspokenness where my conservative political beliefs are concerned. This is typical, though.

The left has been attacking nearly every value dear to patriotic or God-worshipping Americans in the course of a merciless, unending and omnipolitical assault-based campaign for many years, a campaign that has intensified profoundly since George W. Bush was elected President and has redoubled since he was reelected.

They have often countenanced rhetoric that any thinking person would consider shameful and extreme.

Yet any conservative forum that refutes their assault on right-thinking doctrine is labelled "shrill," whether reasonable or not.

It is perfectly acceptable to the left to publish opinions that give aid and comfort to the enemy in time of war, to keep racism alive and use it as a political tool and to challenge the very concepts upon which our country is based and has succeeded in order to keep pushing America towards a more socialist and, in the context of the principals upon which our form of government has always existed, an opposite position in the annals of civilization.

Either they just 'don't get it' or their goal is a society in which they no longer enjoy the freedoms they now have.

The left has been demonstrating, for years, that they don't believe in freedom of speech unless it echoes their own beliefs. Just go to most liberal websites and venture a conservative comment. You won't get a balanced argument, you'll get a gang attack by leftist readers lacking in any reasoned argument. Then go to a conservative blog, and find that most of the same types of proponents offer evidence-based arguments.

Yet according to them, they are "reasonable" and we are "shrill."

The left owes the freedom of speech they enjoy to the same factors they want to stomp into oblivion, which is more the pity.

They seek not to encourage debate, but to silence dissent.

Totalitarian regimes discourage freedom of speech(see "but to silence dissent"), seek to take guns out of the hands of citizens(so they are unable to defend themselves against government suppression of their freedom) and remove religion from all public forums(God cannot come between the proletariat and the supremacy of the government). So does the American left.

The aims are the same, yet the left continues their full court press, and either they don't understand what they're pushing on America or they seek to shatter our form of government and plunge us into totalitarianism.

Bummer.

If some uninformed, brainwashed or treasonous American wants to call me "shrill," he is entitled to do so, but I hope for his sake that we never end up in the hell of the kind of government he or she advocates due to pure ignorance of the realities of life.

I think the term "reality" sums up my own views, versus the term "Utopia" that defines the doctrine of the left.

Posted by Seth at 07:44 AM |

Propagandizing School Children

It's unfortunate that the modern liberal establishment that dominates the educational field deems it necessary to indoctrinate their captive young audience, there but for a legally required, important basic education, into the realm of leftist politics, the children's parents' views not a factor. As the left moves us further and further into their liberal political spectrum, they also seek to remove the rights of parents with opposing views to impart those views on their own children. In fact, they apparently prefer that children receive a "state education and upbringing" rather than one based upon their mothers' and fathers' doctrine.

The Nazis did the same thing in occupied countries during WW II, "the big one" and the U.S.S.R. also, as standard basic schooling procedure.

Michelle Malkin talks about one perfect example.

Fortunately in the case in point, the actions involved were those of an individual teacher as opposed to those of many entire faculties or school policies, but the point is there. It's a shame that a parent today has to worry as to what indoctrination his/ her children might be exposed to at the hands of those paid to educate them.

Posted by Seth at 06:35 AM | Comments (2) |

Repeat A Lie Often Enough....

Former Oklahoma Representative(R), J.C. Watts, a man both active in and intimate with the labyrinth of today's political quagmire and an impressive, right-thinking intellect has a few things to say regarding the effect of the liberal propaganda machine on public opinion.

For example: global warming. I'm neither a scientist nor a meteorologist, but I know enough to understand that our climate has cycles. It's true; we have experienced somewhat of a warming trend in recent years. Given this, Al Gore and his buddies who believe automobiles are the greatest threat to civilization today have found willing accomplices in the mainstream media, and now have many of us believing our world is melting like the Wicked Witch of the West.

The next time a good old-fashioned nor'easter sweeps across the Atlantic Coast, shutting down commerce, industry and education, you'll probably find our old friend Al huddled in front of a fireplace belching unfiltered ash into the once-pure air we are forcing our children to breathe.

But that's another column.

This one is about another big lie, and the consequences of unanswered attacks.

Just as the big media has had a field day with global warming, they have really teed it up on the war in Iraq. They have repeated the revisionist history offered up by Democratic leaders nationwide as if it were fact.

And it's working.

Read on...

Posted by Seth at 05:55 AM |

Selective Reporting, MSM Style

I absolutely love it when liberals I meet tell me they believe -- no, strike that, when a liberal expresses his or her beliefs, he or she states them as indisputable fact and will consider no suggestion that there is any possibility to the contrary -- that the Mainstream Media favors conservative politics.

Face it, he or she is either brainwashed, lying or simply obtuse.

If the media is pro Republican, news reports should minimize any mistakes made by the Bush Administration in, say, Iraq while playing up the positive news, such as infrastructure improvements, good Samaritan activities by American troops, new schools in Iraqi cities and good fellowship on the part of the rank and file Iraqi citizen. Their editorials would emphasize the enthusiastic response of the Iraqi people to the opportunity to embrace democracy.

If, on the other hand, the media is pro Democrat, the opposite will certainly be true. Bush Administration errors or perceived errors will be brayed forth for all they're worth and positives would be blatantly ignored. MSM journalists will play "see no positive, hear no positive, speak no positive," just like the three little monkeys, where all things Iraq are concerned.

If the media is actually doing its job, which is fair, accurate and balanced reporting, the reports we read, watch or listen to will include, in their entirety, both the negatives and the positives.

Hmmm, pick up the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Las Angeles Times or the San Francisco Chronicle on any given day and take a gander at the headsheet, or tune into the CNN, NPR, CBS, ABC or NBC news. Then compare what you see and hear with the above three paragraphs and decide which best fits the news reporting before you.

If you cannot acknowledge that you find that the middle paragraph best fits, well...

Mona Charen's offering up, once again, a spot-on column.

One Marine, Sgt. Todd Bowers, who did two tours in Iraq, described the attitude of many press types. "They didn't want to talk to us." Why? I asked. "Because we were gung-ho for the mission." Bowers, who was saved from grievous injury when a bullet lodged in the sight of his rifle (a sight his father had purchased for him), is chary about the press.

In his first tour, he noticed that members of the press were reluctant to photograph Iraqis laughing, giving the thumbs up sign, or cheering. Yet Bowers saw plenty that would have made fine snapshots. In Baghdad, Al Kut and Al-Nasiriyah, Bowers reported no signs of anti-American feeling at all among Iraqis.

You would think the press might be interested in the observations of this Marine, seeing as Sgt. Bowers is a two-tour veteran of the war they are covering in Iraq, for the purpose of informing the American public. Does this make sense? I mean, if a soldier or an Iraqi civilian makes a statement disparaging or otherwise casting anything other than a positive light on our involvement in Iraq, it always, somehow, seems to rate a prime piece of real estate right there on the front page or as the top story in the evening news.

There was plenty of progress to report, if the press had been interested. When the battle of Fallujah was over, the Marines set up a humanitarian relief station in an abandoned amusement park. Together with Iraqis locally hired and trained for the purpose and with an assist from the Iraqi ministry of the interior, they distributed rice, flour, medical supplies, baby formula, and other necessities to thousands of Iraqis. For six weeks, Bowers reports, the distribution went beautifully, "like a well-oiled machine." Not worth a story, apparently. Only when something went wrong did the press see something worth reporting...

When a liberal argues that he or she has developed his or her opinions by consulting diverse news sources, you can pretty much take that to mean one of the "Big 3" networks or CNN over breakfast, the local liberal newpaper or NPR, perhaps, during the commute to work and more of the same at ten o'clock on the tube. Between dinnertime and the news, prime time sitcoms are interwoven with the politics of mainstream Hollywood liberals.

And yet, despite this unending uphill public relations battle conservative America is forced to undertake, the majority clearly favors our point of view by going to the polls and electing significantly more Republicans than Democrats to public office.

Go figure.

Posted by Seth at 04:26 AM | Comments (1) |

November 21, 2005

Brand New Photo Essay By Michael Yon

Here is a set of photos taken in Iraq by Michael Yon that we'll never see in the New York Times.

The left, after all, wouldn't be interested in the exponential improvements our "human killing machines" have helped the Iraqis enjoy in education for their children and in the sheer numbers of children now able to attend school for the first time.

Do they look happy to see an American, or are those the expressions of bitter hatred from young Iraqis who want us out of their country?

You decide.

Posted by Seth at 07:13 PM | Comments (2) |

How True!

And this one just in from my beloved Aunt Brenda.

How Government Works

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert.
Congress said, "Someone may steal from it at night."
So they created a night watchman position and hired a person
at $18,000.00 a year for the job.
Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job
without instruction?"
So they created a planning department and hired two people,
one person to write the instructions for $22,000.00, and one
person to do time studies for an additional $22,000.00 per year.
Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is
doing the tasks correctly?"
So they created a Quality Control department and hired two
people. One to do the studies for $31,000.00 and one to
write the reports for an additional $31,000.00 per year.
Then Congress said, "How are these people going to get paid?"
So they created the following positions, a time keeper for
$35,000.00 annual salary, and a payroll officer for an
additional $35,000.00, then hired two people.
Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable for all of
these people?"
So they created an administrative section and hired three
people, an Administrative Officer at $155,000.00 per year,
Assistant Administrative Officer $125,000.00, and a Legal
Secretary for an additional $100,000.00 per year.
Then Congress said, "We have had this operating for one year
with a budget cost of $574,000.00 and we are $18,000 over
budget. We must cutback overall cost."
So they laid off the night watchman!

Posted by Seth at 07:29 AM | Comments (2) |

C'mon, Condi!

So having been mostly raised by my grandparents, who were European Jews who both immigrated into the United States of America more than 80 years ago and being a Jew myself(a Conservative Jew and a Conservative American), I have a problem with the message{or lack of same} being delivered by my fellow Jews here in America.

It would seem that despite the lessons learned in the course of our heritage, which spans considerably more than a score of centuries, the "intellectuals" among us still haven't learned any lessons from history.

An alarming percentage of Jews in the U.S. represent the left side of the global political spectrum, a failing, I have observed, that dates back to at least the early 1900s, when too many Jews belonged to the Communist Party and served the Kremlin. Intellectualism is an integral part of our faith, and for some reason certain brands of totalitarianism attract intellectuals to the point that they forsake reality in favor of the cloistered netherworld of false Utopian discourse.

To those of us who honor and observe our religion(I'm not a golden example: I fast on Yom Kippur while asking God to forgive my sins of the previous year, avoid leavened food products during Passover and try to live as the Talmud directs, but I love pork and I miss a lot of our holidays), the security and continued existence of Israel is of paramount importance.

Israel is the capitol of my faith, just as America is the land of my birth and the country to which I owe my allegiance(while I am an American first, and the U.S.A. is my country, Israel is the capitol of a community of which I am a member that is spread across the globe, a nation that took over two millenium to recover). So while I don't live there, it is as important to me as a Jew as Washington, DC is to me as an American.

Pretty recently, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ceded the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians, as dumb a move as Bill Clinton made with the assistance of the late terrorist/ Palestinian leader, Yassir Arafat, helping a man who had been a terrorist for almost three decades "win" a Nobel Peace Prize.

Israel is being given to the Arabs, component-by-component, by a Prime Minister who is apparently in leave of his senses.

I can't lay the blame on too many things he does, because I don't live in Israel, but I will say that a huge amount of the anti-Israel rhetoric we are bombarded with comes from the left and can be lain at the doorstep of influence generated by some of my fellow Jews.

Jewish American leaders urged Rice to change tactics and directly impose on Israel an agreement to re-open the Rafiah border, but even liberal leaders worry Israel's security has been breached.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week broke her previously stated policy of "guiding, but not directing" negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Rice used "unusual personal involvement" to pressure Israel and the PA, according to the liberal New York Jewish daily The Forward.

Under the agreement, Israel agreed to drop its demand for direct surveillance at the Rafiah border and to rely on video cameras without having authority to intervene on matters of security.

Our government(the United States Government), particularly the State Department, is involved heavily in peace negitiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. We know this and approve, assuming that our officials are sincere about wanting peace to reign in Israel.

The problem is that like the Global War on Terror being prosecuted by the Bush Administration, the very defense of the Jewish State is under attack by the left, not only in Israel and the United Nations, but by Jews here in the United States.

HOUSTON, Nov. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Representatives of the 1.5 million Reform Jews in North America voted overwhelmingly today to oppose the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito Jr. to the Supreme Court of the United States because it "would threaten protection of the most fundamental rights" that the Reform Movement supports.

"On choice, women's rights, civil rights and the scope of federal power," Alito would "shift the ideological balance of the Supreme Court on matters of core concern to the Reform Movement," according to the resolution adopted by the more than 2,000 voting delegates from more than 500 congregations in all 50 states. The vote came at the closing session of the Union for Reform Judaism's Biennial Convention, which met in Houston Nov. 16-20. The Union represents the largest branch of Judaism in North America.

Yes, the same folks who oppose the confirmation of a conservative SCOTUS justice candidate in the United States, someone whose beliefs echo those of our founding fathers and a political system based on the Constitution that has made America the greatest country in the world, include a more than significant number of Jews whose view, in and out of Israel, of a perfect world does not include the existence of Israel.

At least, their actions do not indicate any serious interest in any future for the Jewish State. I cannot say that all of these people, or even the majority of them wish harm to Israel, but I will say that too many of them are living in some fantasy world or other

These leftists, most of whom would indubitably resent being referred to thusly, are either living in some Utopian dream world where the general belief is that there is some remote possibility that the Palestinians will be satisfied with having a part of Israel as their own, and that once they have this parcel of real estate and the sovereignty of such political ownership, there will be peace.

They couldn't be farther from the truth.

How could they, when they are such avid proponents of the Rafah Agreement, which negates important security features of the agreed-upon Roadmap treaty, so strongly undermining Israel's authority to defend itself?

Muhammad Dahlan, one of the PA signatories on the agreement, emphasized in a post-signing press conference, "It was agreed that Israel will have no right to prevent any Palestinian citizen to pass through the Rafah Crossing after it is re-opened." Wanted terrorists could thus pass safely between Gaza and Judea.

Israel will be able to monitor those who enter, via a joint control room in Kerem Shalom, to which data and video images will be sent from the Rafah Crossing in real time or near real-time. However, if a suspected terrorist is noted, Israel will not be able to demand that he be kept out or detained.

Further,

According to the agreement, however, Israel will no longer be able to unilaterally close the crossings in such situations. In case of terror alerts, Israel must first notify the US embassy in Tel Aviv, provide the specific information that motivated the request for a closure, and then wait for Washington to approve or refuse the request.

I fear that my fellow American Jews who embrace this idiocy(picture someone lying on the pavement with cardiac arrest, and the law stating that you must first call an 800 number and weather interminable telephone menus in order to obtain permission to administer CPR) are either completely out of touch with the world's more brutal realities or, though I would hope to be wrong, anti-Israel.

The fact that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, a woman I hold in the highest respect and esteem, went along with the Rafah Agreement confuses and disappoints me to no end, because she is more than conversant with all things terrorist and knows that the more you give them, the more they'll attack, considering concessions as signs of weakness and/or victories on their part.

Fatah(the party of the Palestinian Authority), Hamas, the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, Islamic Jihad and the rest of the Palestinian terrorist organizations(yes, I include the PA's party) will not stop terrorizing until they have obliterated Israel. In the meantime, they play their game, patiently leering as the Israelis make concessions to the Palestinians that the U.S. Government pressures them to make while the Arabs concede nothing, in fact do quite the opposite, continuing to attack Israel.

It is unfortunate that so many of my fellow American Jews have taken the leftist approach to politics, whether they call themselves liberals or progressives, because the left's dogma apparently requires that its practitioners suspend any notion of free thinking and go with the collective's thinking 100%, in for a penny, in for a pound. Whatever the left's agendas might be, there can be no exception to any detail, there is only one drum to march to.

The followers of the left march behind their leaders into the same brand of slavery and speech restriction, suspension of freedom and individual rights that the Russians did when they succumbed to the lure of communism.

And they don't seem to perceive this reality.

And where is Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the man who is ceding territory to terrorism, in all of this?

My government is not giving me unmitigated support, so I need to create a new government!

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will announce on Monday that he intends to quit the Likud and form a new centrist political party, sources close to Sharon said on Sunday.

Sharon is to visit President Moshe Katsav on Monday and ask him to dissolve the Knesset. This would set off a process that would lead to elections in 90 days, unless an MK succeeds in forming a new coalition within the next three weeks.

Sheesh!

If this man is allowed to continue and if the Israelis keep going along with the plans for it as outlined by the U.S., there will be no more Israel and we Jews will once again be without a political subdivision of our own.

WTF is wrong with these people!?

Posted by Seth at 12:03 AM | Comments (10) |

November 18, 2005

The Cut And Run Party....

....is the title of Mona Charen's latest column, and I probably don't have to elaborate on who she is referring to, but I will.

She makes a point that really should be considered by the American left, but of course won't be, because while the Bush Administration is prosecuting a global war on terror, the liberals are prosecuting a domestic war on the Bush Administration.

During the 1990s under Clinton, remember Somalia, where Bubba panicked and withdrew our troops in a tail-between-their-legs manner at the first whiff of American casualties, he labelled the U.S. a bluff, and subsequently allowed terrorists to bomb two U.S. embassies and the U.S.S. Cole without executing any notable retaliatory measures. Well, Mr. Hillary did manage to destroy an aspirin factory with a well placed cruise missile, but if that accomplished anything at all, it was to piss off some Muslims who, if they hadn't been jihadis before, well....

My point being that Clinton managed, in his own special way, to make the richest nation with the most powerful military machine in the history of the world look kinda sorta, well, toothless. Yellow. Impotent. Weak. Vulnerable. Moot.

George W. Bush, on the other hand, has let the world know that the U.S.A. is still the same strong nation it has been for a very lonnnng time, and that we are willing to make great sacrifices to advance the cause of freedom on our planet.

Since we went into Iraq, however, a sizeable chunk of our voting public, the politicians they support and the profoundly biased media that in turn supports them have done all they can to sabotage the war effort by demoralizing our troops by making their sacrifices and accomplishments appear to have been either worthless or for an evil cause and sending signals to terrorists that the majority of Americans are against our fighting them and the fascism they represent.

Leftist politicians are even demanding a timetable for our withdrawal from Iraq, a sure way of letting the enemy know when we'll be gone so they can lay back, conserve their strength, assets and ammo and wait to attack the new Iraqi government after we've gone.

This would play right into the hands of anti-Bush, anti-war liberals, because the Iraqis would almost certainly be defeated by the fanatics and bitter Baathists in their midst, and then the left could crow that Bush screwed up in Iraq, because we "lost."

And these people call themselves Americans?

But now we are in Iraq. The full prestige and credibility of the United States is on the line. Iraq has been liberated from Saddam, yet remains under assault from jihadists, dispossessed Tikritis, and a variety of other assassins and terrorists. Al Qaeda's ringleader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, maintains a network of suicide bombers and saboteurs who blow our people up when they can and cut off hostages' heads when they require added amusement.

If we were to withdraw in the face of this onslaught, the message to al Qaeda and to the world would be obvious: defeat. Osama bin Laden took credit for chasing the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan and gloated that his forces had frightened the U.S. out of Somalia. How much more decisive would it appear to the jihadists if they were able to chase the U.S. out of Iraq? And not just to them, but to any potential adversary anywhere on the globe? Don't Democrats ever consider these matters? If they do not, can they really be considered mature or responsible?

Whether the liberals like it or not, we are in Iraq now and if we turn tail and cut out we will lose not only the respect of all those other nations that joined the Coalition and fought at our side, but also that of our enemy, who would view our evacuation of Iraq as a weakness and an indication of cowardess, and the next chapter might well be 9/11 revisited.

It does not bide well for our country when one of our two principal political parties considers attacking POTUS more of a priority than spreading freedom to countries that haven't previously had any.

Posted by Seth at 08:29 AM | Comments (2) |

Heidi's Stud Farm

Ex-con Heidi Fleiss is back in the news, this time in partnership with a Nevada brothel owner in a project to turn Cherry Patch Ranch, an old and established Nevada "house of ill repute" -- legal in that particular one-in-fifty U.S. subdivision -- into a women's brothel where ladies in heat can rent "working boys" by the hour.

Now, given that feminists have a really big problem with women degrading themselves by plying the world's oldest profession, what say you, Gloria Steinem and Camille Paglia, about females pimping males?

Posted by Seth at 06:16 AM | Comments (3) |

Throwing Good Money After Bad

So Kofi wants money for renovations and upgrades at Turtle Bay.

November 18, 2005 -- The renovation of the United Nations' aging East Side headquarters could cost $1.9 billion — more than a third above previous estimates, U.N. officials said yesterday. Secretary-General Kofi Annan blamed skyrocketing Manhattan real estate and construction costs, expensive security and the balky state Legislature for pricey revisions in previous plans.

He said it was "critical" for the General Assembly to approve a new scheme for the 53-year-old building, which he said had serious fire code, environmental and hazardous materials problems.

There is one member nation the U.N. has done nothing for and everything against, it is that same country that seems somehow to foot most of the bills for that corrupt, overbureaucratized, underachieving, expensively useless quagmire, in addition to being its host.... Wait, isn't that the United States?....

We can see where Kofi's going with this: New York{an American city} is to blame for high costs of real estate and renovation and the New York State{an American state} legislature is to be blamed for "pricey revisions in previous plans," and oh, let's not forget the high costs of security{provided by Americans}.

What do you bet that in view of all this, it will, in Kofi's estimate, be the job of the American taxpayer, since the high costs are "America's fault," to finance the majority of renovation costs so that various and sundry tinpot dictatorships, socialist governments and Islamofascist states can condemn all that America stands for, on American soil, in increased comfort and "safer" conditions?

Well,

The United States would likely end up paying for a large share of the increase. U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said yesterday his staff was studying the newly released figures.

John, how 'bout letting France pick up the tab for a change?

Posted by Seth at 05:34 AM | Comments (4) |

A New Post By Michael Yon

Freelance journalist Michael Yon's latest online magazine entry covers the soiree held by the fierce warriors of the Deuce Four, celebrating their return home from Iraq, and is titled, The Punishers' Ball.

Bruce Willis, one of the few right thinkers in Hollywood and truly supportive of and popular with U.S. troops, attended as a guest speaker.

Posted by Seth at 05:06 AM |

November 17, 2005

Speaking Of Clinton...

What should we make of this...

Former president Bill Clinton praised Saddam Hussein's lieutenants and their underlings on Tuesday, saying they were mostly "good" and "decent" people."

and this...

Clinton offered praise for Saddam's lieutenants during the same speech where he criticized the U.S. invasion of Iraq as "a big mistake."

...in view of this?

"Their mission is to attack Iraq's nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and its military capacity to threaten its neighbors," said Clinton.

Clinton also stated that, while other countries also had weapons of mass destruction, Hussein is in a different category because he has used such weapons against his own people and against his neighbors.

Posted by Seth at 01:47 PM | Comments (4) |

Where Was The Mainstream Media?

It's funny how liberals argue that the Mainstream Media(MSM) is either politically neutral or "right wing biased," when anyone with an IQ in the single digits who can read or watch TV can see that the media are biased so far to the left that they totally ignore any relevant, hell, downright important information that doesn't favor their liberal socialist reporting agenda.

They perpetuate disproven lies by ignoring their "disprovenness"{sorry about that one, but I had rather a late and actively social evening prior to today's bright new period of consciousness}, so that even after an anti-Bush accusation is debunked, they continue to go with the original story.

Of course, the same can be said for the majority of Democrat politicians. It's already been proven, for example, that Bush did not lie about the weapons of mass destruction(WMD)in Saddam's Iraq. He acted on intelligence data that was corroborated even by the intelligence communities of numerous other countries and yet, funny as it seems, some of those same countries, even after voting "yea" on deposing Saddam, waffled at the Eleventh Hour, when they realized Dubya wasn't playing games, and opposed the invasion.

Of course, some of those countries opposing, like France, were doing so because they had a lot of under-the-table deals going with the dictator, some of which were in direct violation of U.N. sanctions they themselves voted for, and there was, of course, the thieves' gold mine called the Oil For Food Program, from which French officials profiteered in self-generous fashion.

Yet, our portside politicians and the MSM are still running the "Bush lied" myth. They do this because, sleazeballs that they are, they figure that if you repeat a lie enough, people will begin to accept it as truth. But then, Bill Clinton and his supporters, back at the end of the last century, showed us that the Democrats don't have a problem with lying politicians, as long as they're lying from the left.

Even so, there have been reports of WMDs out of Iraq, but the MSM and the liberals ignore them because such reports are contrary to the lies they employ in their never-ending assault on the Bush Administration.

For example, I don't recall reading anything even remotely related to the discussion in this interview in any MSM venues.

Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Bill Tierney, a former military intelligence officer and Arabic speaker who worked at Guantanamo Bay in 2002 and as a counter-infiltration operator in Baghdad in 2004. He was also an inspector (1996-1998) for the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) for overseeing the elimination of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles in Iraq. He worked on the most intrusive inspections during this period and either participated in or planned inspections that led to four of the seventeen resolutions against Iraq.

This interview of Bill Tierney by Jamie Glazov is a must read for anyone with even mild curiosity regarding the truth about the WMD in Iraq.

Here is an excerpt:

The Iraqis had stopped the third group of our inspection team before it could close off the back of the installation. A few minutes later, a soldier came from inside the installation, and all the other guards gathered around him. He said something, there was a big laugh, and all the guards relaxed. A few moments later there was a radio call from the team that had been stopped short. They could here truck engines through the tall (10”) grass in that area. When we were finally allowed in, our team went to the back gate. The Iraqis claimed the gate hadn’t been opened in months, but there was freshly ground rust at the gate hinges. There was a photo from overhead showing tractor trailers with missiles in the trailers leaving the facility.

When pressed, Tariq Aziz criticized the inspectors for not knowing the difference between a missile and a concrete guard tower. He never produced the guard towers for verification. It was during this period that Tariq Aziz pulled out his “no smoking gun” line. Tariq very cleverly changed the meaning of this phrase. The smoking gun refers to an indicator of what you are really looking for - the bullet. Tariq changed the meaning so smoking gun referred to the bullet, in this case the WMD, knowing that as long as there were armed guards between us and the weapons, we would never be able to “find,” as in “put our hands on,” the weapons of mass destruction. The western press mindlessly took this up and became the Iraqis’ tool. I will let the reader decide whether this inspection constitutes a smoking gun.

Of course, the Newspaper of Record would never consider the contents of this interview "fit to print." It goes against their liberal, anti-America political agenda.

A great big hat tip to Kender.

Posted by Seth at 12:46 PM | Comments (4) |

November 16, 2005

From Moving America Forward

This alert from Moving America Forward actually arrived the other day, but I was behind on reading email due to much busy-ness of late.

The author of the alert, Joseph Williams, is a Vietnam vet himself and the father of a United States Marine who died fighting for the continued freedom of the Iraqi people.

Fellow Americans:

I'm so very proud of my son who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He knew the mission was important, and he understood that the war in
Iraq was central to the war on terrorism.

Sadly, my son (Lance Cpl. Michael Jason Williams) lost his life in
combat in this war. My life changed forever when I got a knock at my door,
informing me that Michael had been killed in action. My son is my hero.

As a father, I can't tell you what a gut-wrenching blow it was, and
still is. Not a day goes by I don't think about my child. But the
Anti-American, anti-war crowd that pretends to 'support the military, but not
the mission' are a pack of liars.

Some people, like Cindy Sheehan and Michael Moore, have tried to
exploit the death of Michael and others who lost their lives in Iraq, in
order that they might advance their far left political agenda.

If we don't stand up to the Cindy Sheehans, Michael Moore's and the
politicans who are using Michael's death to further their agenda of
undermining our Commander-in-Chief, then Michael Jason William's devotion to
this great country will be rendered meaningless.

I know from bitter experience.

I am a Vietnam veteran.

I don't know what is so hard for the people in today's anti-war
movement to understand. Radical Islamic Extremists are determined to kill
Americans and destroy our way of life.

In Iraq the terrorist insurgency is led by a fellow named Zarqawi, his
position is the leader of "Al Qaeda in Iraq" yet the anti-war crowd
marches through our streets proclaiming that the war in Iraq has nothing
to do with the war against terrorism.

Well, I've had enough of the misguided, anti-military and even
anti-American rhetoric from the anti-war crowd. They seem to be rooting for
our enemies more than our own troops at times.

So I've decided to help fight back.

I've leant my voice and my story - and the story of my son's sacrifice
for his nation - to Move America Forward, for them to use in a national
radio ad campaign.

You can hear the ad here:
http://www.moveamericaforward.org/Link/audio/7452

Right now we're trying to raise enough money to purchase the time on
radio stations around the country to make sure this message is heard.

Please, support this effort by making a contribution to help pay for
the airtime for this radio commercial. I would be honored to have you
help get this message out.

Contribute online here:
http://www.MoveAmericaForward.org/Contribution

Or mail in a contribution to this address:

Move America Forward
ATTN: Pro-Troop Holiday Ad Fund
P.O. Box 1497
Sacramento, CA 95812

Thank you for reading my letter.

Sincerely Yours,

Joseph Williams
Vacaville, California

Posted by Seth at 05:16 AM |

Fighting Back

On Veterans Day and the day after, George Bush and Karl Rove each finally launched a counterattack on the Democrats and their liberal socialist masters, responding to incessant attacks the Bush Administration has been weathering for years, including the disproven accusations that Vice President Dick Cheney coerced the CIA into altering intelligence to indicate there were WMDs in Iraq, in order to create a defensible reason for invading Iraq and deposing Saddam.

This sudden offensive posture on Mr. Bush's part is quite understandable, given the fact that spineless Republicans we mistakenly voted into or reelected to Congress haven't been giving the boss any back-up, too busy as they've been arse creeping for the Democrat minority or preening for their next reelection campaigns.

We really need to give a lot of thought to these career ruling class do-nothings when next we go to the polls and consider bringing in some newbies who haven't had the opportunity to become complacent like those now purporting to represent us.

But as I am well known to do, I digress.

Back on track, one of the things I've always liked about reading Cal Thomas is that I find his columns are always spot-on.

In a Veterans Day speech in Tobyhanna, Pa., President Bush took on his critics who have said he lied about intelligence to justify deposing Saddam Hussein. While acknowledging it is ''perfectly legitimate'' to criticize his conduct of the war, the president said, ''Some Democrats and anti-war critics are claiming we manipulated the intelligence and misled the American people about why we went to war. These critics are fully aware that a bipartisan Senate investigation found no evidence of political pressure to change the intelligence community's judgments related to Iraq's weapons programs.'' The president said the stakes in the global war on terror are too high ''and the national interest is too important for politicians to throw out false charges.'' He said too many of his critics are ''deeply irresponsible'' and sending the wrong signal to America's enemy and to U.S. troops. Democrats reacted immediately, accusing the president of using Veterans Day to politicize the war. What have they been doing the other 364 days of the year, if not trying to undermine the war effort by playing politics and contributing to disunity, thus encouraging the enemy?

And Carl Rove?

In his speech to the Federalist Society on Nov. 10, Rove gave a brief history of the consequences of judicial activism and how it has violated the separation of powers clause of the Constitution and contributed to disrespect for the courts and the law.
He noted the changes to the courts that were made in Texas when citizens realized their will and constitution were being frustrated because of ''millions of dollars from a handful of wealthy personal injury trial lawyers'' that were ''poured into (Texas) Supreme Court races to shift the philosophical direction of the Court.'' He noted the court ''earned the reputation as 'the best court that money could buy.' '''

It's a great column, read the whole thing.

Posted by Seth at 04:34 AM |

Is France's Present Problem Just An Hors De Ouvre?

The online Opinion Journal reran an 8 November Op-Ed yesterday by Joel Kotkin that gives thoughtful insight into the poverty that has been attributed as a root cause of the Muslim riots in France(we all know what I think about that), and from my read doesn't indicate any sort of optimism regarding any economic turn for the better for either French Muslims or for France.

The French political response to the continuing riots has focused most on the need for more multicultural "understanding" of, and public spending on, the disenchanted mass in the country's grim banlieues (suburbs). What has been largely ignored has been the role of France's economic system in contributing to the current crisis. State-directed capitalism may seem ideal for American admirers such as Jeremy Rifkin, author of "The European Dream," and others on the left. Yet it is precisely this highly structured and increasingly infracted economic system that has so limited opportunities for immigrants and their children. In a country where short workweeks and early retirement are sacred, there is little emphasis on creating new jobs and even less on grass-roots entrepreneurial activity.

Since the '70s, America has created 57 million new jobs, compared with just four million in Europe (with most of those jobs in government). In France and much of Western Europe, the economic system is weighted toward the already employed (the overwhelming majority native-born whites) and the growing mass of retirees. Those ensconced in state and corporate employment enjoy short weeks, early and well-funded retirement and first dibs on the public purse. So although the retirement of large numbers of workers should be opening up new job opportunities, unemployment among the young has been rising: In France, joblessness among workers in their 20s exceeds 20%, twice the overall national rate. In immigrant banlieues, where the population is much younger, average unemployment reaches 40%, and higher among the young.

Read the rest of the Op-Ed here.

Posted by Seth at 04:08 AM |

November 15, 2005

The Truth vs A Liberal Lie

The Bush Administration has been assailed, since going into Iraq, by a "Bush lied, people died!" platform on the left, the single strongest point in the entire liberal anti-Bush arsenal of rhetoric.

The so-called "lies" are pretty interesting as they were all supported, vociferously, along with the need to oust Saddam Hussein, by the same portside politicians that now deny having ever uttered the opinion that Saddam had WMD or accusing the Bush Administration of tampering with intelligence that led them to the above opinions.

They are bald-faced, politically motivated liars. Even if Bush or Cheney had managed, for whatever reason, to manipulate the conclusions of the CIA regarding the presence of WMD in Iraq, one would have to say, then, that France, Germany and the other countries that opposed us going into Iraq also altered their intelligence, because their leaders all believed, based upon reports from their own intelligence agencies, that the WMD were there and that Saddam was expanding his NBC warfare inventory on an ongoing basis. And all agreed, until we invaded Iraq, that the weapons posed a threat to the immediate region and to the west, since in the latter case it was believed that Saddam might pass some of the weapons of mass destrucion on to terrorists.

The actual crux of the gripes I have is the fact that the left has totally lost its conscience and any semblance of honesty, and in pursuit of goals not compatible with the objectives of America's founding concepts, they have no problem where ignoring facts or outright lying, and that includes the news media, which supports them, is concerned.

Dubya did not take us to war in Iraq lightly, he had justifiable reasons that have since manifested their purpose, though the Mainstream Media, out of political bias, does not report any of these positives.

However, Norman Podhoretz puts the entire situation in perspective.

The very idea that the Democrats would turn around and pretend that they never endorsed an invasion of Iraq and overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the denial motivated by the War On Bush, pretty much demonstrates the lack of honesty, truth and soul on the left side of the political spectrum.

Among the many distortions, misrepresentations and outright falsifications that have emerged from the debate over Iraq, one in particular stands out above all others. This is the charge that George W. Bush misled us into an immoral or unnecessary war in Iraq by telling a series of lies that have now been definitively exposed.

What makes this charge so special is the amazing success it has enjoyed in getting itself established as a self-evident truth even though it has been refuted and discredited over and over again by evidence and argument alike. In this it resembles nothing so much as those animated cartoon characters who, after being flattened, blown up or pushed over a cliff, always spring back to life with their bodies perfectly intact. Perhaps, like those cartoon characters, this allegation simply cannot be killed off, no matter what.

Nevertheless, I want to take one more shot at exposing it for the lie that it itself really is. Although doing so will require going over ground that I and many others have covered before, I hope that revisiting this well-trodden terrain may also serve to refresh memories that have grown dim, to clarify thoughts that have grown confused, and to revive outrage that has grown commensurately dulled.

So read the column.

Posted by Seth at 05:09 AM |

November 14, 2005

Applied Islam

What are our friends, the Saudis up to these days?

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) -- A court sentenced a teacher to 40 months in prison and 750 lashes for "mocking religion" after he discussed the Bible and praised Jews, a Saudi newspaper reported yesterday.
Al-Madina newspaper said secondary-school teacher Mohammad al-Harbi, who will be flogged in public, was taken to court by his colleagues and students.
He was charged with promoting a "dubious ideology, mocking religion, saying the Jews were right, discussing the Gospel and preventing students from leaving class to wash for prayer," the newspaper said.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, strictly upholds the austere Wahhabi school of Islam and bases its constitution on the Koran and the sayings of the prophet Muhammad. Public practice of any other religion is banned.
A U.S. State Department report criticized Saudi Arabia last week, saying religious freedoms "are denied to all but those who adhere to the state-sanctioned version of Sunni Islam."
The newspaper said Mr. al-Harbi will appeal the verdict.
A similar case was cited in the State Department's International Religious Freedom Report for 2004.
"During the period covered by this report, a schoolteacher was tried for apostasy, and eventually convicted in March of blasphemy; the person was given a prison sentence of 3 years and 300 lashes. The trial received substantial press coverage," the report said.
A 2003 report by the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom, the world's only government-sanctioned entity to investigate and report religious-freedom violations, named Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest violator of religious liberties.

Oh, okay, SSDD.

And this is a nation that exports its "religious" beliefs via mosques and schools to countries all over the world, where despite their claim that they are friends of ours, they preach hatred and scorn for all but Islam to their young, naming the United States and its citizens as one of their two worst enemies, the other being Israel.

Islam, the Religion of Peace.

Tell it to the French.

In scattered attacks overnight into Monday, vandals rammed a car into a primary school in the southern city of Toulouse before setting the building on fire. In northern France, arsonists set fire to a sports center in the suburb of Faches-Thumesnil and a school in the town of Halluin.

A gas canister exploded inside a burning garbage can in the Alpine city of Grenoble, injuring two police officers, the national police said. Three officers were injured elsewhere.

The rioting, sparked by the accidental electrocution deaths of two teens who thought police were chasing them, began in Paris' poor suburbs, where immigrants from North and West Africa live with their French-born children in housing projects.

Sunday was the 18th straight night of unrest, but the storm of arson attacks and other violence has lost steam since the government declared a state of emergency on Wednesday.

The number of cars burned nightly has steadily decreased — from 502 overnight into Saturday, to 374 overnight into Sunday, to 271 as Monday began. A week earlier, 1,400 cars were incinerated in a single night.

What really irritates me about the way the liberal media has been handling the above events, collectively, is that they all but justify the property destruction, school and car burnings and other violence, including cop killing by focusing on the failure of the French to assimilate these Muslims into their society, citing the high rate of unemployment and poor living conditions in Islamic neighborhoods in France.

The Mainstream Media has actually excused these rioters and reduced, in tacit manner, what they've been doing to the status of peaceful protesters demonstrating against a government that has made them feel oppressed.

Right, so there's no harm in burning a few thousand cars belonging to individuals who more than likely have had no influence in anything having anything at all to do with the Muslims' situation, burning some schools, go figure -- throwing gasoline all over a woman on crutches that burned the skin over a large part of her body -- beating up senior citizens and attacking police.

We need to try and understand the poor dears, examine the reasons, the very motivations that created this atmosphere of violence, etc, etc...

Let's hear it! "Kumbaya my lord, Kumbaya..."

So as is always the case, the portside media manages to turn the victims into elements of an evil society{well, it is France} that is unfair to its Muslim citizens, who are merely responding to the unfairness, and voila! the rioters are now the victims.

Leave it to the left to define a situation thusly. If the ACLU had a Paris branch, they would probably be suing the French government for setting curfews and arresting rioters, thereby obstructing their rights to express their hate and anger.

Still, it must be a tough call for the left, since their appointed villains belong largely to the socialist government liberals so look up to.

What the truth boils down to is that gangs of young Muslims have been running amok, commiting violent, destructive felonies and there is nothing they can use as an excuse that will justify their acts. They are, indeed, scum.

If the French courts don't deal harshly with those arrested in the course of their terrorism -- yes, that's exactly what this is -- it will only make them appear weak and vulnerable to these animals, who view leniency as spinelessness and therefore contemptible. This lesson has been learned the hard way by many, not least of whom are the Israelis, but the left still hasn't picked up on that. They won't, in fact, until they are living under Sharia law and no longer have the right to criticize the powers that be, and their women are eighth class citizens, chattel who can be beaten bloody by hubby for the slightest infraction.

Dealing leniently with these "people" will only let them know that the threat of future rioting will be accepted as a bargaining chip by the French government. And there will be future rioting as a result.

What western supporters of and apologists for the actions of militant Islamics refuse to accept is that we are dealing with a mindset that is 100% intolerant of any religious beliefs that differ from theirs, believing that they are false and that it is the God given right of Muslims to go to any country they please and attack its customs, religious symbols and heritage in order to force it to comply with their own culture. It is acceptable to lie to infidels(non-believers), even to the point of signing treaties with full intentions of violating them when it is strategically advantageous to do so.

The centerpiece/ mastermind of today's global Islamic terrorist front is, of course, al Qaeda, and those extremists have become so excessive as to alienate a few Muslim countries and communities through the none-too-bright practice of murdering their own. Witness the beach resort bombings in Egypt not long ago and, the other day, their hotel bombings in Jordan, the latter leading to a declaration of war on them by the king of Jordan himself.

JORDAN'S King Abdullah II vowed to "take the fight" to Iraq-based Al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose group Jordanian officials say carried out suicide attacks in Amman this week that killed 57 people.

"We are going to crack down and take the fight to Zarqawi," the king said in an interview with CNN television.

"We have been very successful in taking down his operations in the past ... (when) he used Jordanians. Now he has changed tactics, he is using foreigners. That means that our security services have to change tactics too."

Authorities have arrested 12 people suspected of having had a hand in Wednesday's bombings and have questioned scores more.

Jordanian-born Zarqawi was released from jail in 1999 as part of general amnesty granted by King Abdullah but was last year sentenced to death by a Jordanian court for the 2002 murder of a US diplomat.

Good, let the SOBs get their own people after them, at least those fellow Muslims of theirs are folks who understand what they're up against, unlike western governments like our own who simply refuse to realize that we are addressing an enemy whose thought patterns are totally alien to our own, especially in regard to such items as the sanctity of human life or the value of their word when given to any person or political body that exists outside their own faith.

And our political leaders really don't seem to have a clue. One piece of supporting evidence for that statement comes from the pressure we are putting on Israel to expedite their capitulation to the Palestinians.

A sharp dispute arose on Monday between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over the issue of Hamas participation in Palestinian elections slated for January.

In a Monday morning meeting in Jerusalem, Sharon said that allowing Hamas to take part in the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council would be a grave error, and would only weaken Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, rather than strengthening him, as Palestinians have argued.

"We will not interfere with the elections," Sharon declared, "but neither will we coordinate the elections with [the Palestinians], and will not allow Hamas people to operate and move around differently from what is happening now."

We are pushing Israel to interact with the Palestinians in the same manner the United States would exercise diplomacy with, say, Norway, Germany or Greece, but the reality they face is alien to that of diplomacy with the average civilized country.

Very real security concerns prevent the Israelis from going with a program that could get innocent civilians killed. As many of us expected when Ariel Sharon ceded the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians and evacuated all the Jewish residents, Gaza has been morphing itself into an armed camp from which terrorists of such esteemed murder organizations as Hamas and Islamic Jihad can launch attacks against Israel without even having to travel. They can telecommute by mortar.

Condi, I love you and will vote for you for President in 2008 if you're our candidate, but please, don't treat the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians like the relationship between the U.S. and Canada, for Chrissake!

While we argue with the political panjandrums in Ottawa over things like steel manufacture or Mad Cow, the Israelis exist in a completely different reality.

Late Sunday night, tanks lined up outside the northern Gaza border targeted the sources of the attacks.

According to IDF officials, the reprisals would continue into the early hours Monday morning, "because the Palestinians must understand that we will not ignore mortar fire."

The army began firing at the terror cells after a mortar shell landed near the security fence north of the Karni crossing Sunday night. No one was wounded and no damage was caused in the attack.

"Our response will be exaggerated and disproportional to the [mortar] fire," a senior IDF official said, according to Army Radio. If the Palestinian cells continue firing mortars, he added, Israel's response will even intensify.

Israel has gradually escalated its response to the attacks from Gaza since its withdrawal from the strip. During the first half of September, during Operation First Rain, Israel stationed a row of tanks bordering the Gaza Strip to discourage attacks. When Palestinian attacks continued, however, the army was given the go-ahead to respond to fire with fire.

IDF officials explained that the object of the current operation was to drive the terror cells away from the security fence, and thus render the mortar fire ineffective due to the limited range of the shells.

The major worry here is that Hamas, a terrorist organization by any definition, has become an important political party among the Palestinians and if they win any major posts in upcoming elections they will be a terrorist organization with political authority that will undoubtedly be acknowledged by the U.N. and member nations that encompass, among others, western countries, including the United States.

To add to all else, we have ongoing problems with Syria and Iran.

We are at war with radical Islam. We initiated our two main fronts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and despite the mewlings from the left as to how "Bush lied and people died," and the down-playing and downright ignoring of our highly positive results in Iraq by the Mainstream Media does more to hurt our country than to help it -- they would rather spin, omit and lie than tell the truth, all for a political agenda that's more important to them than the security of our form of government and the well-being of Americans in America.

Sad.

Since the beginning of Islam, the "faithful" have attempted unsuccessfully to force their beliefs and lifestyles, para-militarily and militarily, on the Judeo-Christian world. They have failed miserably. Today, however, they are taking advantage of advances in technology and travel to pursue their ages-old agenda via terrorism.

We are fighting a global war whose stakes comprise our freedom and the continuity of our very way of life, and it would greatly benefit us all if those Americans on the left side of the aisle went beyond the limitations of partisan politics and stood up for their country and for the freedom these fanatics are fighting tooth-and-nail to take away from us.

Posted by Seth at 03:24 AM | Comments (4) |

November 11, 2005

Moving America Forward

Melanie Morgan and Move America Forward need our assistance, at least those of us who believe in America. Liberals{socialists, marxists, etc} need not apply, as they'd just as soon see the United States emulating the U.S.S.R. in their efforts to destroy America.

Fellow Americans,

Wednesday's terrorist attacks against innocent civilians in three
hotels in Amman, Jordan demonstrates why it is so important for us to step
up the war against terrorism.

We either defeat the terrorists - by killing them overseas and showing
them that the United States will not back down - or else we will face
more terrorist attacks here at home.

Appeasement and surrender is no option. Just look at the streets of
Paris, France, which are lined with burning automobiles by Muslim youth
who feel slighted by the French government. Not only have they shot and
killed a police officer, but they also doused a woman in gasoline as
she attempted to escape the riots. She was on crutches, and thus could
not outrun the attackers. She now suffers burns on over 60% of her
body.

Right now the most prominent frontline in America's war against
terrorism is Iraq. And we MUST prevail there - even though some people are
determined to get the United States to give up and pull out of Iraq.

Friends, this is EXACTLY why we are running our radio ads across the
nation rallying Americans to support the war in Iraq.

We've so far raised a little more than $25,000 for these ads. That's
simply not enough - especially since the ads will expand to markets
around the country NEXT WEEK. We must be well into the hundreds of
thousands of dollars to truly have an impact and give Americans the "shot in
the arm" to return to the fold and support the mission our military men
and women are serving in.

Let us please pull together and double the $25,000 we've raised in the
next 24 hours:

http://www.MoveAmericaForward.org/Contribution

Or help us with a contribution via U.S. Mail:

Move America Forward
ATTN: Pro-Troop Holiday Ad Fund
P.O. Box 1497
Sacramento, CA 95812

Come on people, let's step up our efforts.

Sincerely,

Melanie Morgan
Chairman, Move America Forward
http://www.MoveAmericaForward.org

Posted by Seth at 03:18 AM |

Misfortunes Of The Feckless French

Are the French in a bad spot, or what?

Their chickens have come home to roost, as the saying goes.

They have spent generations cultivating the perfect socialist society that combines copious unemployment, massive welfare, anti-semitism, anti-Americanism, high level corruption, national cowardice and general-purpose spinelessness and a come-one-come-all Muslim immigration policy that has structured their population to a ratio of more than five followers of Islam to one hundred multi-generation native Frenchman.

On top of that, they have treated their Muslim population to the same sort of pontification to which they treat all other non-Frenchmen; unfortunately, the Africans take things a little more seriously than most folks and have no respect for the property, lives and rights of others, so there are those tragic riots going down over there... The French weasels should learn from this, but I doubt they will.

The awesome Suzanne Fields has great perspective here regarding the political, military and economic failure known as France.

This is a source of renewal of the long-standing anti-America sentiment in France: How dare the cigar-chomping, loudmouthed vulgar American bore, who knows nothing about fine wine, haute cuisine or couturier fashion, ride to the rescue of the land of 300 cheeses? Unable to accept their own weakness, they turned on us. A taker hates a giver. French polls repeatedly show how little the French think of America. Anti-Americanism is the first refuge of the French scoundrel.

"What we mistakenly see as a craven, anti-Semitic, insecure, hypocritical, hysterically anti-American, selfish, overtaxed, culturally exhausted country, bereft of ideas, fearful of its own capitulation to Islam, headed for a demographic cul de sac, corrupted by lame ideologies, clinging to unusually unsupportable entitlements, crippled by a spirit of multilayered bureaucracy," writes Denis Boyles in his book, "Vile France: Fear, Duplicity, Cowardice and Cheese," is "actually worse than all that."

What I see in all this, despite all the media attempts to put a human face on the rioting, is a throng of animals who, having nothing, entertain no respect for anything others have worked for. They are merely scum using shallow excuses to go on a rampage, victimizing, as all Muslim terrorists do, innocent people without the means to defend themselves. They demonstrate blatant cowardice, but that figures as it is compatible with French politics.

Mona Charen also weighs in accurately on France.

Through a combination of socialism at home and appeasement abroad, the French believed they had found a viable alternative to, in former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's phrase, "jungle capitalism," as practiced by you know who. Jacques Chirac was more direct, condemning "ultra liberal Anglo-Saxon" economic policies, while also famously boasting that France would anchor a European pole in a "multipolar" world, with American influence vastly reduced. With 300 French cities in flames, French pretensions lie singed and shriveled.

Unfortunately, the same Islamic terrorism -- sorry, "rioting," is occurring on smaller scales in Belgium and Germany -- two of France's fellow weasel states -- so it seems that there is a pattern: Let Islamics take over a few neighborhoods, open a few mosques, etcetera, and as soon as they feel strong enough, they'll let you know that while your country has national borders, Islam has no borders, Muslims own the world.

Period.

So we have a choice, from the standpoint of immigration. Do we want to emulate France, or would we prefer to learn from their mistakes?

Posted by Seth at 01:56 AM | Comments (2) |

November 07, 2005

A Real Asset For Disaster Response

In the aftermath of the disasterous wave of hurricanes we were recently slammed by, acts of nature that turned thousands of U.S. citizens into "refugees" of a kind as they flooded cities and destroyed homes, there is still much recrimination from both sides of the political spectrum as to who was to blame for what has been termed an "inadequate response."

Face it, no matter how much a government plans for natural disasters, until one comes down on us with a vengeance as Katrina and her siblings did, we really cannot know whether those untested rescue and relief measures we have planned are going to be adequate to the task.

Now our response system has indeed been tested and found wanting, and we know more -- ain't hindsight wonderful -- about how bad things can get and what we need in the event of another "worst case scenario."

So what happens now? Do a bunch of politicians sit around and do what they do best, which is jaw the subject around for a few months{before and after the coming congressional recess -- boy, I'll bet a lot of working Americans wish they could enjoy the lengthy holiday vacation Members of Congress are entitled to} -- and then produce some wordy page of legalese only an attorney can understand, full of doubletalk, pontification and little else?

Or will they look here?

So, you want to see what these old girls will be able to do? Here's a list of only a few things we can provide during a Coastal State disaster (such as flooding or a hurricane)

----Service a disaster area of up to 10,000 square miles (up to 100 miles inland) with minimal (if any) outside support

----Provide complete berthing facilities for up to 400 emergency responders "on scene" at a disaster site

----Fully integrated communications system serving all local, state, and federal agencies, as well as cell phone coverage and military band frequencies--allowing for seamless communications between all disaster scene personnel, no matter what radio frequency or cell phone is being used.

----Daily provide 110 tons of bagged and palletized ice to the disaster region

----Daily generate, bottle, and palletize up to 50,000 gallons of fresh water

----Provide refueling station and loading platform for helicopters operating in the disaster area

----Carry over 7,000 tons of food and supplies for a disaster area

----Store (and provide delivery of) 700,000 gallons of diesel, gasoline, and aviation fuel for use in the disaster area on emergency vehicles and critical needs generators (hospitals, emergency operation centers, etc)

We now have the opportunity to add a couple of these eminently mega-useful ships to our disaster response effort, but in order for this to take place, Congress must give it a thumbs up. Congress will only be available for another two weeks before their next session opens in 2006.

So there is a rush on this, and all of us can be instrumental, with a simple email or telephone call, in making it happen.

Below are those to contact:

Senator Cochran, (R-MS) (Chairman of Appropriations)
Phone: (202) 224-5054
Internet Contact Form

Senator DeWine, (R-OH)
Phone: (202) 224-2315
Fax: (202) 224-6519
Becky Watts has the legislation for his office
Internet Contact Form

Senator Shelby, (R-AL)
Phone: (202) 224-5744
Fax: (202) 224-3416
Ryan Welch has the legislation for his office
senator@shelby.senate.gov

Senator Sessions, (R-AL)
Phone: (202) 224-4124
Fax: (202) 224-3149
Stephen Boyd has the legislation for his office
Internet Contact Form

For further information and links to other sites posting on this, please visit Phin's Blog.

Posted by Seth at 12:01 PM |

Economics 000

Despite the apparent naivety of the “liberal in the street,” the one who soaks up and believes all the dramatic nonsense preached by the likes of Howard Dean, John Kerry, Al Franken, Jesse Jackson, Michael Moore, Dick Durbin and the rest of that dubious crowd who claim to be Americans of some sort, there are some pretty sharp thinkers lurking in the background over there on the left who know how to orchestrate situations that enable their political and media lackeys to blare accusations and innuendo at the GOP and the eeevil corporations in an attempt to draw votes to the left side of the aisle.

I don’t believe these strategists are creating any of their own strategies, but they are simply following guidelines set down by leftists of decades past.

Before I go on, I must once again say this: I was raised in what would today be called a Conservative Democrat family. Back then, the Democrats were a viable party that stood for real ideals, stood behind the concept of America and could be respected for their political beliefs, if not agreed with. They, like the Republicans, were true patriots.

Somewhere along the line, however, they were hijacked by far left liberals – the folks who nowadays prefer to be called “progressives,” and since then they’ve been allowing these liberals to do their talking for them. As a result, we have the privilege of listening to grown men, senators and reps, no less, comparing our Armed Forces members with Nazis(JFK would neither have condoned nor kept silent over something like that, but he was a genuine war hero and a true patriot), calling the president a liar and a fascist, comparing Camp Delta, the detention center where we store captured terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, with the “killing fields of the Pol Pot regime” – my favorite Durbin idiocy – and a ration of other innuendo that only a total moron would listen to and then vote to reelect the politician who said it.

That said, my topic here is more an economics related commentary than anything else.

It must be understood that liberals, whether it occurs to them or not, support a socialist or, in as many cases, a purely communist itinerary for the United States. Everything they stand for literally screams this.

America is a capitalist republic. We were founded on the concept of limited government , which means that the Fed’s responsibility is to protect and govern the country on a “big picture” level and leave social and “detail” issues to the individual states. Where local disputes as to law arose, the Supreme Court ruled based on the Constitution. This policy served us well for a long time. We became the wealthiest and most powerful country on the planet, the world’s manufacturing dynamo and a nation whose benevolence has helped numerous poor countries develop independent means of economic survival, even to the point of lending them megabucks we have never even collected interest payments on.

Enter the left:

The left believes that as many jobs as possible should be unionized, even unskilled positions, so as to milk companies for as much of their profits as possible. I am in favor of unions for skilled personnel in jobs that present physical risks that might shorten their career spans, such as carpenters, roofers and so forth{my best friend was a carpenter for nearly three decades, and before turning 48 his knees were shot – if it weren’t for the union, he, his wife and four children would be screwed – his disability retirement is due exclusively to the union as his condition, which included internal replacement surgery, was the result of many years’ high impact work rather than a single incident that could be cited at a hearing}. I am not in favor of someone who has no skills and performs a function anyone could do being compensated according to a union scale that is well beyond his value to the marketplace. That is absurd.

The left believes differently, and they back the unions 100%.
The left believes that the government must micromanage business, whenever possible saddling corporations with costly regulations and taxing them mercilessly.
The left believes in “going after” companies that have become industry leaders, because success means independence to a certain degree, and independence brings any entity farther away from government control – who needs any kind of subsidy funds or tax considerations when they are worth a ten digit figure?
The left believes in bribing people not to work, so that the continued bribery(welfare, anyone?) will get them votes.
The left believes that their every whim should be a federal case, ignoring states’ rights, that the federal government is mom and dad.
The left believes that those who bust their touchases, gamble, sacrifice and achieve financial success should divide their profits with the lazy, who have contributed nothing and have no intention of contributing anything, ever.

We go to the company in which the unskilled people are “earning” $35,000.00 per year plus an impressive package of benefits and perks, all paid by the employer due to the union. On top of everything else, for those who don’t know, an employer has to match the Social Security tax paid by an employee, including the overly compensated employee.

The liberals and their labor unions, all for the sake of gaining votes, make this unskilled labor too expensive for the firms involved, and in order to make it affordable, the victimized companies seek out foreign labor, lay off employees , and suddenly the guy making over twenty bucks an hour in a nine dollar job has no job at all.

Here in California, where liberals rule the roost, financially smothering regulations and high corporate taxes run many businesses out of the state and into more business friendly states. They often leave behind four digit newly unemployed figures.

The sad part is that they really don’t give a damn, and I mean they have no feelings one way or the other, for those families and individuals who go through financial hell as a result of their actions. To the liberals, more unemployment and more misery, despite the fact that they caused it by design, are completely insignificant. They just don’t give a damn about the victims of their political plays, and that’s exactly what they are: To liberals, unemployment and/or poverty they’ve caused is perfectly acceptable as long as they can blame it on the Republicans and those eeevil corporations I mentioned earlier.

My whole point here is that the socialist left has acquired the recipe for sabotaging big business and then blaming it for its survival-oriented responses, all in the name of sleazing out a few additional votes. It is both pitiful and tragic that the Democrats, under the control of their Marxist liberal associates, feel no shame when they manipulate people out of jobs in order to blame the political opposition and attract votes to their side of the aisle.

The goal is financial chaos, anything they can do to be able to blame or attack{at present} the Bush Administration or (at any time) the Republican party, capitalism or any vestige of American business tradition they can label negatively in order to gain popularity for their cause.

Their cause is obvious to anyone who really pays attention to the left’s activities: The end of the American way of life and the beginning of the sort of collectivism we see under the heading of socialism.... Or worse.

If only those mindless twits that support “liberalism” were smart enough to understand exactly what they are trying to drag this great and free country into....

Posted by Seth at 11:44 AM | Comments (4) |

November 03, 2005

Fighting Back Against The Eminent Domain Fiasco

Here is a RightMarch alert on H.R. 4128, the proposed "Private Property Rights Protection Act" that will deny any federal funding to cities or states that exploit SCOTUS' notorious Eminent Domain ruling{Kelo vs. City of New London} by taking away a citizen's home, place of business or other property for the purpose of commercial development:

ALERT: As you know, the Supreme Court has decided to allow city governments to take land from one private owner and give it to another. In "Kelo vs. City of New London", five Justices (led by David Souter) ruled that "eminent domain" allows any local government to TAKE anyone's private property if the government will generate greater tax revenue -- or any other economic benefits -- when the land is developed by the new owner.

Thank goodness, someone in Congress has moved quickly to counter this dictatorial and ANTI-constitutional decision by the Supreme Court -- but WE have to make sure this effort passes!

Last week (on October 27), the House Judiciary Committee approved legislation responding to the Kelo ruling: H.R. 3135, the "Private Property Rights Protection Act" was approved 27-3, and prohibits the use of federal funds by state and local governments that use eminent domain for the purposes of commercial development. House Judiciary Chairman Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI) was the bill's sponsor; House Resources Committee Chairman Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) also held a parallel hearing on HR 3405, the "Strengthening the Ownership of Private Property" (STOPP) Act.

Both of these bills would be GREAT, but the BEST news is that the two bills have now merged into H.R. 4128, the "Private Property Rights Protection Act." Prior to the merge, both bills had strong bipartisan support -- H.R. 3135 with 136 cosponsors and H.R. 3405 with 112. This means we have a GOOD chance of getting this bill through!

Rep. Sensenbrenner's bill reads, "No State or political subdivision of a State shall exercise its power of eminent domain, or allow the exercise of such power by any person or entity to which such power has been delegated, over property to be used for economic development or over property that is subsequently used for economic development, if that State or political subdivision receives Federal economic development funds during any fiscal year in which it does so." In other words, if they take away your property, the Feds will take away their funding.

Wow -- a single bill that makes common sense, that seeks to counteract an out-of-control judiciary. This is a RARE opportunity.

We've got to move this legislation QUICKLY -- greedy local governments have already started taking advantage of this court decision, in order to pad their own pockets at the expense of the citizens. For example, John Fund reports that "Officials in the beachfront town of Freeport, Texas, announced they would move forward with plans to commandeer property owned by two seafood companies in order to allow the construction of a 900-slip private marina."

We need to FLOOD Congress NOW with messages of support for this legislation, so that it can move to the President's desk right away!

TAKE ACTION: What the Supreme Court has just implemented in America is FASCISM. The actual definition of "fascism" is "state control over the individual and the economy using regimentation and regulation... fascism prefers state control over ostensibly private property rather than nationalization."

Do you get it? Once again, the judiciary is tyrannical and OUT OF CONTROL. We've GOT to take action to stop them --It is CRITICAL that you ACT TODAY! If we can FLOOD the offices of all our Congressmen and Senators with TENS OF THOUSANDS of messages, telling them to QUICKLY pass this legislation, we CAN stop this dangerous Supreme Court ruling dead in its tracks. But we need YOUR help. Click below to send a FREE message to your U.S. Representative and BOTH of your Senators, urging them to SUPPORT H.R. 4128, the "Private Property Rights Protection Act":

http://capwiz.com/sicminc/issues/alert/?alertid=8191521&type=CO

NOTE: Be sure to send this Alert to EVERYONE you know who wants to help RESTORE the private property rights that the Supreme Court took away! Thank you!

Sincerely,

William Greene, President
RightMarch.com

If you'll recall, the oppressive Supreme Court ruling was the work of left leaning justices while those of the conservative persuation dissented.

This didn't come as a surprise to me, it was just another example of ways the left is endeavoring to give the government more control over our lives, in this case surrendering our property rights to the whims of opportunistic, corrupt, unctuous, seedy, sleazy, kickback-taking local politicians like those in New London, Connecticut.

As Bill Greene pointed out in the above alert, the decision enables a condition that amounts to fascism, the very label the left is constantly placing on conservatism. It's amusing that while those misguided souls call us Republicans fascists, their actions speak loud enough to let us know whom the real fascists are.

Please call, email or fax your senators and representatives, make some noise to let them know that their constituents are most aggressively behind the passage of H.R. 4128.

Posted by Seth at 01:36 PM | Comments (2) |

Why Didn't They Think Of This Sooner?

The Transportation Security Administration{TSA}has come up with a plan that will definitely eliminate a lot of hassle for travellers when they pass through airport security checkpoints.

WASHINGTON -- The government wants to offer airline passengers the chance to avoid extra security checks.

The Transportation Security Administration plans to make a "registered traveler" program available nationwide, agency chief Kip Hawley said Thursday in prepared testimony to Congress. The initial rollout is scheduled for June 20.

The program, which was tested at five airports, allows people to avoid random pat-downs if they pay a fee, clear a voluntary background check and provide some form of biometric identification, like a fingerprint. It's designed to let people who travel often avoid delays and to free up screeners to focus on other travelers.

"We believe that a nationwide registered traveler program can provide expedited screening for many travelers and enhance aviation security as well," Hawley told the House Homeland Security subcommittee on economic security.

Hawley said the TSA is considering adding benefits to the program, such as letting registered travelers keep their shoes and their jackets on, or setting up special screening lanes.

Yay!!!!

Posted by Seth at 11:35 AM | Comments (2) |

November 02, 2005

Copy & Paste

An item that came up in email correspondence earlier this evening inspired me to whip up a reply that illustrated the workings of the mind of a San Francisco liberal, and my friend Kender suggested that I post it, so here goes:

Hi, thailor! I'm Lionel! Bush lied, an' he won't let me marry my Bubba! Save the animals, let people die instead, cause people ruin the environment and animals don't. Save spotted owls, too, and all the little fishes. Free Mumia! Bush lied, so we have global warming, and 'cause of that, we got Katrina, Bush's racist hurricane that killed ten thousand black people -- oooh, dark meat! -- in Noo Orleans. I love the ACLU! And Bush killed two thousand U.S. troops in Iraq, single handedly, including Cindy Sheehan's son. I know, 'cause she said it an' she's friends with that great patriot, Michael Moore. Yeah, Bush lied, so we're in Iraq instead of keeping our soldiers safe. We need to disarm our soldiers, anyway, and instead of those nasty guns, rearm them with the yearning to reach out to those people in al Qaeda and strive to understand them. And to show our good faith, we should release all those political prisoners from Cuba and restore Saddam to his rightful place, leading his people, and pull all our troops out of everywhere. With the money we save, we can raise welfare payments, or use the money we save to open government run free abortion clinics or maybe buy cars for undocumented aliens to make it easier for the poor, poor things to drive to work. Maybe we can also open a socialist learning center and pay for buses to take our preadolescent children on progressive school outings to mosques, where thay can learn all about our friends, the Muslims and how much better their religion is than Christianity or Judaism, and if Islam takes over the country, we won't have any more worries about seperation of church and state, because those damn Jews and Christians will be all gone. Yes! Then we'll live free under Sharia law with no more stupid Republicans around to try to take away our liberty. YES!!!!

Believe it or not, I've actually gotten into arguments with local liberals whose entire existences seemed to be based on their burning hatred for George W. Bush, and their blatherings were nearly identical to the above.

I suppose that's what happens when one restricts ones' sources of news and information to the Mainstream Media.

Posted by Seth at 08:14 PM | Comments (2) |

November 01, 2005

RightMarch Alert -- Support Alito Nomination!

This is an alert just in from RightMarch re the coming fight to get Judge Sam Alito confirmed as associate justice, and how we can help Bill Greene and RightMarch counter some of the tsunami of trashy innuendo, targeting this right-thinking nominee, that the left will be spewing from now until the day of the Senate vote.

ALERT: Wow.

President Bush just made one of the most important -- and gutsiest -- decisions in his term of office. He nominated Judge Samuel Alito to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court.

He obviously made the RIGHT choice. Now WE need to stand up and FIGHT for a fair hearing and vote in the Senate:

https://secure.responseenterprises.com/rightmarch/?a=7

How do we know it's the most important decision? Because Justice O'Connor has consistently been the most liberal "swing" vote on the high court for many years now -- and we needed a strong CONSERVATIVE vote to take her place, and bring the court back to its Constitutional foundations.

How do we know he made the RIGHT choice? Because every single liberal Senator and far-left organization IMMEDIATELY began to squeal like stuck pigs:

"If confirmed, Alito could very well fundamentally alter the balance of the court and push it dangerously to the right, placing at risk decades of American progress in safeguarding our fundamental rights and freedoms."
--Sen. Ted Kennedy
"It's sad that [Bush] felt he had to pick a nominee likely to divide America."
--Sen. Charles Schumer

"Has the right wing now forced a weakened President to nominate a divisive justice in the mold of Antonin Scalia?"
--Sen. John Kerry

"President Bush has... made a selection to appease the far right-wing of the Republican Party."
--Sen. Barak Obama

"Last week after Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination, I asked the President: Who was in charge? Today, the President answered: the radical conservative right is in charge of this Administration."
--Rep. Nancy Pelosi

"I look forward to... learning why those who want to pack the Court with judicial activists are so much more enthusiastic about him than they were about Harriet Miers."
--Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid

"Alito is a notoriously right-wing judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He has consistently ruled to strip basic protections from workers, women, minorities and the disabled in favor of unchecked power for corporations and special interests."
-- MoveOn.org

"Alito has compiled an extensive, right-wing judicial record on numerous matters of importance to the protection of the rights and interests of ordinary Americans... Alito's judicial opinions demonstrate that he is an out of the mainstream opponent of fundamental legal rights and protections for all Americans and must not be confirmed to the Supreme Court."
-- People for the America Way (PFAW)

"Judge Alito's position on each of these issues has been more hostile to civil liberties than positions taken by Justice O'Connor. His nomination therefore calls into question the court's delicate balance that Justice O'Connor has helped to shape and preserve."
-- American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

"On Halloween George W. Bush handed ultra-conservatives a treat with his nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, but he won't trick women and girls with a nominee who opposes our rights... we are most concerned by Alito's position on the far right of the judicial spectrum, distinctly outside the mainstream. If Alito is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, many of our fundamental rights will be at great risk."
-- National Organization for Women (NOW)

"Samuel Alito, Jr. of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is an anti-choice jurist... Alito, who has been called 'a favorite son of the political right,' would likely vote to eviscerate or eliminate the protections of Roe as a member of the Supreme Court."
-- NARAL

"If confirmed to the pivotal O'Connor seat, Judge Alito would fundamentally change the balance of the Supreme Court, tipping it in a direction that could jeopardize our most cherished rights and freedoms."
--Alliance for Justice

WOO-HOO! With that kind of talk coming from 100% of the left-wing fringes, Alito MUST be the best Supreme Court nominee to come down the pike since Scalia and Thomas!
In fact... most pundits have called Judge Alito by the nickname "Scalito" for years now!

With this pick, Bush got it RIGHT! THIS IS WHAT WE FOUGHT SO HARD FOR in 2000 and 2004!

But as you can see from all of these quotes from the far left, this is NOT the time for you and me to sit back and relax -- NOW is the time to get up and take ACTION to support President Bush's solid nominee.

TAKE ACTION: According to dozens of media reports, left-wing Senators like Ted Kennedy and Chuck Schumer, along with their radical liberal friends at groups like MoveOn.org and the ACLU, are launching an all-out WAR to block President Bush's conservative nominee. They're calling Judge Alito every name in the book, and they're already talking about trying to FILIBUSTER against his confirmation in the U.S. Senate.

RightMarch.com is FIGHTING BACK against the likes of Kennedy and MoveOn.org -- but we need YOUR help.

In these next two crucial weeks, we're launching a MAJOR MEDIA BLITZ to demand a FAIR hearing and a FAIR vote for Judge Alito. Our first radio ad is scheduled to be broadcast to THOUSANDS of stations across the country, with a potential to reach literally MILLIONS of listeners -- and it's READY TO GO! Click to listen now:

http://www.rightmarch.com/media/AlitoAd1.mp3

We're also creating print ads to run NATIONWIDE in newspapers and magazines... plus we're already creating television ads to run ACROSS AMERICA, to counter the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars the Left is already pouring into their own ad campaigns against Alito.

WE MUST FIGHT BACK -- and you KNOW that RightMarch.com NEVER pulls back from a REAL fight, for REAL conservative issues. And right now, NOTHING could be more immportant to fight for than this fight for the Constitutional heart and soul of the U.S. Supreme Court.

WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW! These ad campaigns -- plus more plans that are in the works for the nomination hearings week in D.C. -- are NOT cheap! But this is the fight we've been waiting for -- the one we elected George W. Bush and the GOP Senate to engage in -- and we CANNOT hide from it now!

Please give your BEST contribution right away, so that these ads can be fully-funded to run across the nation! Our average donation is only around $35 -- we appreciate every single contribution, but if you can make up for others who can't give as much, maybe by contributing $50, $100, $500, $1000 or more, then we CAN win this fight! Please click here to contribute now:

https://secure.responseenterprises.com/rightmarch/?a=7

NOTE: Last week, after Harriet Miers withdrew her name from nomination, we asked our members to call or write President Bush, and ask him to please keep his campaign promise to nominate a strict constructionist -- a REAL conservative -- to the Supreme Court. HE LISTENED TO YOU -- so now it's time to FIGHT BACK against the forces of the radical left, and MAKE A STAND for Judge Alito's confirmation! Help now with your best contribution:

https://secure.responseenterprises.com/rightmarch/?a=7

Be sure to forward this Alert to EVERYONE you know who wants to help demand a FAIR hearing and a FAIR vote in the Senate for the President's conservative pick, Judge Alito. Thank you!

Sincerely,

William Greene, President
RightMarch.com

If anyone can help in any way, no matter how small, please do so. The Democrats will be putting up a hell of a battle over this, one of the left's worst nightmares, and our Repulican senators will have no real choice but to get up on their hind legs and fight for this Bush nominee(unless they plan to retire after the next election), and they'll need all the support we can rally for them among our fellow voters -- you know, the kind of support that breeds the pouring in of telephone calls, emails, faxes, shouts and letters to senators' offices from the people who will soon be voting yea or nay on these politicians' continued employment.

Posted by Seth at 04:08 PM | Comments (3) |

Alternative To Surrender

French rower finishes 'record-breaking' solo Pacific crossing: team

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - French rower Emmanuel Coindre ended a landmark 129-day solo voyage across the Pacific Ocean between Japan and the United States, setting a new record, according to his team.

Annnnnnd:

His reported feat comes 14 years after fellow Frenchman Gerard D'Aboville became the first person to row across the Pacific, rowing from Choshi, Japan, to Ilwaco in Washington state in 134 days.

It would seem that the French have this market cornered, wouldn't it?

Could these folks actually be taking part in a secret military experiment on behalf of the French Navy, who may have decided that they needed a second option in their arsenal of combat tactics?

I mean, so far, the only tried and true tactic in the French military strategy manual, which of course includes their navy, has been the Surrender Option, usually the wisest course for implementing the saving of their skins, so perhaps now they're experimenting with a back-up plan, that of a Retreat Option, in which case these personnel seem to be succeeding in their quest:

They're discovering doable ways by which the French Navy can escape the necessity of surrender, by bravely beating feet across the sea, away from the looming menace of any violent confrontations.

Go, France!

And keep on going..

Posted by Seth at 07:27 AM | Comments (2) |

New Post From Michael Yon

Michael Yon writes another of his always eagerly awaited posts in his online magazine, this one titled Paying Respect to Those Who've Earned It

Posted by Seth at 06:03 AM |

A Thought

I wonder what our founding fathers would've said had they known that one day, a certain major American political party's greatest criteria for placing justices on the highest court in the land would be that the candidates were enthusiastically in favor of mothers being permitted, by law, to murder their babies.

Posted by Seth at 05:54 AM | Comments (2) |

Radical Conservatives? Where!?

It's pretty pitiful that one of our two major political parties, I won't tell you which one except to say that it's not the Republicans, continue to refer to conservatives as "radicals."

Radicals.

radical

In politics, someone who demands substantial or extreme changes in the existing system.

That's funny, considering that we conservatives are the folks who are battling to maintain an America based upon the Constitution, as written, and an America based upon the blueprint drawn up by our founding fathers.

So what's happened?

The left and their Mainstream Media propagandist allies have an interesting strategy: They ignore reality in favor of politics, pretending in speeches, interviews, newspaper "reports", columns and newscasts that, despite Republicans winning a significant majority of elections the last few years, from the Executive Branch and both houses of Congress to governorships, that the far-and-away, vast majority of Americans despise all that conservatives stand for and are in total agreement with the Democrats' "message" -- they are not deterred by the bald fact that they don't seem to have any sort of message -- and that whatever the Dems do, whether it's having one of their judges legislate from the bench to set a precedent that is not in keeping with the letter of the Constitution or simply slipping some Utopian ideal or other through as "what the Constitution meant" in a given case, is ironclad, The Law, a done deal.

When the Republicans attempt to set the record straight, the left then accuses us of being "radicals" by "trying to change the Constitution(boy, this is really Beatles Week for me, isn't it?)"

So they change something, we try to put it back in its original state and we're the radicals.

Hmmmmm.

Doze Dems, dey shaw gotta lotta bawls!

Democrat definition of a "radical": Anyone attempting to prevent America from pursuing a socialist agenda.

Posted by Seth at 04:50 AM | Comments (2) |