Fascinating reports from Iraq

This is the best behind the scenes look at the progress in Iraq I've seen in a long time.

Also, and as usual, we look to an Australian for a round-up of unreported news from Iraq.

The China Problem

Mark Styne addresses it better than I can...

How long can these two systems co-exist in one country and what will happen when they collide? If the People's Republic is now the workshop of the world, the Communist Party is the bull in its own China shop. It's unclear, for example, whether they have the discipline to be able to resist moving against Taiwan in the next couple of years. Unlike the demoralised late-period Soviet nomenklatura, Beijing's leadership does not accept that the cause is lost: unlike most outside analysts, they do not assume that the world's first economically viable form of Communism is merely an interim phase en route to a free - or even free-ish - society.

My question has always been: How can a communist country pretend to be marginally capitalist? And how long can China continue flaunting every atrocity they commit without repercussions from the sane parts of the world?

I try to avoid buying anything from China, if possible. Anyways, go check out Styne, who is brilliant as usual.

On a different note, now that I'm back on active duty, my time to actually blog has gone down a bit. I'm still going to post, and I'm not giving up blogging, but don't expect three or four posts from me every day. They don't exactly have an internet connection during a field problem.

Anyways, see ya when I see ya.

The Discovery Channel's - Greatest American

Cast your vote online. You can vote 3 times per method (text message, call in, etc) for 1 candidate or 3 different ones every sunday in June. See FAQ for more. Git 'r done.

al Qaeda in Lodi

A friend of mine asked what I knew about the recent arrests of terrorists in Lodi, California, and I had to admit that I didn't know very much. I did find this report from AP and right away noticed this line:

"Other experts also questioned the FBI's version of events."

Nowhere in the article is one "expert" cited, however. You would think these so-called news services would learn, but they haven't as of yet. Meanwhile, the article goes on to give the suspects' family's version of events and completely leaves out the FBI version. I wish I could say that I feel more informed now, but I don't.

The Oakland Tribune does a little better in that they cite an expert, if you consider someone who has called for an intifada in the United States an expert (via littlegreenfootballs).

Who's paying these reporters' salaries, al Qaeda? Bah! On to more newspapers.

According to the Sacramento Bee,

"Hamid Hayat initially denied to FBI agents that he attended terrorist training camps and voluntarily agreed to a lie-detector test, according to the criminal complaint. After results deemed "indicative of deception," Hayat changed his story and gave details about the camp."

At least now I feel somewhat informed. As for the charges, lying to a federal investigator was good enough to lock up Martha Stewart so it's plenty good enough to put away a couple of confessed al Qaeda jihadists, too. Here's the criminal complaint.

If you actually do want to be well informed on this one, I would suggest checking in on the Jawa Report. In addition, Varifrank has some interesting observations and speculation about terrorists in Lodi and the surrounding area.

JN36TN license plate is too religious according to state

Burlington Vermont - JN36TN license plate is too religious according to state

The Scream

Israel is outside the box.

Israel is considering using an unusual new weapon against Jewish settlers who resist this summer's Gaza Strip evacuation — a device that emits penetrating bursts of sound that leaves targets reeling with dizziness and nausea.

Security forces could employ the weapon to overcome resistance without resorting to force, their paramount aim.

Interesting, but what's with the "paramount aim" thing?



FOXNews.com - U.S. & World - Israel May Use New Weapon on Settlers

Regurge, Democrat Style

Why anyone would be talking about Terrell Owens and Desperate Housewives these days is beyond me, but this guy is, as is this guy.

Excerpt:

Perhaps it is just sheer hypocrisy, I don't know. But, the fact is that somebody in the red states is watching Will and Grace and somebody is watching Girls Gone Wild and a whole bunch of somebodies are downloading pornography. I'm sure they tut-tut those terrible liberals while they pass the popcorn and laugh over The Bachelor's latest catfight. The biggest hit of the TV season is the sexually adventurous Desperate Housewives and it ain't just because people in New York and LA are watching it.

Hypocrisy seems to be a requirement these days for American citizenship.

Silly, and simple.

If everyone who voted for John Kerry in red states Texas, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, and Ohio watched the next episode of Desperate Housewives, it'd be the most watched television show EVER.

Ever.

Let's flip the warped thinking around, 'kay?

Democrats advocate better education. Democrats advocate economic justice. Democrats advocate peaceful living.

Yet if you search America to find the rancid elixir composed of illiteracy, poverty, and violence, where do you find it?

In America's blue-voting Cities, which have been under the control of Democrats for 40 years, that's where.

Whaddya think?

"Hypocrisy"?

Once in a while...

...you get a peek into a crevice of someone's character and you kinda tilt your head and say "hunh?". I'm tilting at present, having read John Hawkins on breast feeding in public. Bizarre.

Janice Rogers Brown

Here she is:

Curiously, in the current dialectic, the right to keep and bear arms – a right expressly guaranteed by the Bill of Rights – is deemed less fundamental than implicit protections the court purports to find in the penumbras of other express provisions. (citations omitted) But surely, the right to preserve one’s life is at least as fundamental as the right to preserve one’s privacy. [Concurring opinion in Kasler, 2 P.3d at 602]

I say long live our political differences -- keeps the government from moving too fast.

But what kind of nummie takes issue with that excerpt?

People for the American Way dislike her. That gives some people comfort.

Moi aussi.

Sweet Rachel's Redux

lgf: Guess Who's Coming to LA

Optical Illusions and Visual Phenomena

Neat site

In my not so humble opinion...

George Soros can fucking rot in hell.

Why the fuck do we allow a European Socialist to meddle in American affairs? Judging by the fact that Soros and the Democrat Party are joined at the hip, Soros is going to be in American politics for years to come. That should scare people. He's made billions across the world, and now that he's made his money he sees no reason for anyone to make any money for themselves. He's backing Left-wing fanatics, loons, moonbats, shitheels, cockwads, jizzbubbles, and even worse (like Hillary Clinton) with his money, and now he's trying to enforce his twisted view onto the WTC memorial. When can we break out the tar and feathers for this shithead>

Found at DANEgerus.

Another Blogger gets Fired

Here's a question - Why is it whenever you hear about a blogger getting fired because of their blog, it's always a conservative blogger?

I mean, Acidman, Gay Patriot, now Joe.... how many liberal bloggers have been fired because of their blogs? None that I've heard of.

Found at RNS.

Strange

A vintage blue taxicab converted into a seagoing vessel and carrying several Cuban immigrants was intercepted Tuesday off Key West by the Coast Guard.

But that's not the strange part. What is odd is that the Coast Guard is still searching for the flotilla of Americans risking death to gain asylum in Castro's Eden of literacy, free health care, and Bushlessness.

Just as Busy as a Donkey

Suggest you scroll here.

Speed, technology have reduced mortality among U.S. troops

This is a great, great, great article.

Howard Dean's Long Slippery Slide...

...into irrelevance continues:

Three top fundraisers at the Democratic National Committee have resigned at a time when its chairman, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, has come under fire from fellow Democrats for controversial comments and his Republican counterpart has raised more than twice as much money.

Democratic sources link the resignations to Dean’s decision to focus on raising money in small increments through the Internet, as he did during his 2004 presidential bid, and building up the party’s grassroots infrastructure while paying little attention to major Democratic donors.

But other Democrats say the first several months after a party’s losing presidential campaign are naturally a time of transition and it will take time for committee officials to get their “sea legs.”

Dean’s defenders also note that DNC fundraising is ahead of where it was at this point after the last presidential election, when Democrats could still raise unlimited amounts of soft money.

Hillary has him right where she wants him. He was competition for 2008 so she got him out there where "opening his mouth and removing all doubt" was a requirement, and the bleating little bumblestick foolishly obliged her.



See ya! Wouldn't wanna be ya.

Fundraisers jilt Dean

Yale grades portray Kerry as a lackluster student

Absolutely classic.

''I always told my Dad that D stood for distinction," Kerry said yesterday in a written response to questions, noting that he has previously acknowledged that he spent a lot of time learning to fly instead of focusing on his studies.

Kerry's weak grades came despite years of education at some of the world's most elite prep schools, ranging from Fessenden School in Massachusetts to St. Paul's School in New Hampshire.

It is noteworthy, however, that Kerry received a high honor at Yale despite his mediocre grades: He was chosen to deliver his senior class oration, a testament to his reputation as a public speaker. He delivered a speech questioning the wisdom of the Vietnam War, in which he would soon see combat.

Kerry gradually improved his grades, averaging 81 in his senior year. His highest single grade was an 89, for a political science class in his senior year. Despite his slow start, he went on to be a top student at Naval Candidate School, command a patrol boat in Vietnam, graduate from law school, and become a prosecutor, lieutenant governor, US senator, and presidential candidate.

In fairness, my freshman grades sucked too, though in my case, my Dad told me:

"D stands for 'Don't expect me to pay for next year unless you do better'."

Yale grades portray Kerry as a lackluster student

From the Rose Garden

Okay so some of the rosebushes are dead and others are blackspotted -- nonetheless, great conditions for photography Saturday morning. Today's topic: Droplets on Lamb's Ears.



Zooming in:



And in a bit more:



I just cannot seem to come up with the nine hundred bucks I need for a good Nikon digital that will work with my lenses, elsewise I'd macrophotograph my way to bankruptcy.

Kerry to begin impeachment proceedings

Along with Ralph Nader, Al Jazeera, and Democratic Underpants:

Kerry said of the memo: “When I go back [to Washington] on Monday, I am going to raise the issue. I think it’s a stunning, unbelievably simple and understandable statement of the truth and a profoundly important document that raises stunning issues here at home. And it’s amazing to me the way it escaped major media discussion. It’s not being missed on the Internet, I can tell you that."

Seared.

Right Thinking from the Left Coast

And then there is this from the NRO piece Lee linked to:

Of course, the memo simply contains the impressions of an aide of the impressions of British-cabinet officials of the impressions of unnamed people they spoke to in the United States about what they thought the president was thinking. It is sad when hearsay thrice-removed raises this kind of ruckus, especially since a version had been reported three years ago. As smoking guns go, it is not high caliber.."

Oy!

"Make Capitalism History"

Classic stuff out of, ummm, Europe.

Natalee

Toleja this would be a huge story.

Here is a recently-reported story about a woman who was found hiding in Kentucky after going missing in Texas seven years ago. It's amazing how many people vanish without a trace.

One thing about those "Liberals"...

...mentioned in the comments a couple posts back:

It seems to me that today's American Leftists today really AREN'T "Liberals". A true "Liberal", in the classic sense of the word, would revile the idea that (in the context of The Issue of Our Time) American prosperity trumps human rights elsewhere. "NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE" really meant something when it was being shouted by Liberals demanding an end to profits gained by investment in Apartheid. Today it's a slogan that Leftists yammer when they want to appear like they are seeking justice when what they really want is their lattes, chardonnays, mountain bikes, and Pell Grants and who really gives a shit if someone elsewhere cuts the tongues out of mouths that dare to utter dissent?

To be fair, that's a stance that has been taken by many of all political flavors over the years, and I am not necessarily convinced that it is either right or wrong.

The point is that "Eff the oppressed over there -- we're running up debt and cutting Arts programs!" is a distinctly illiberal view of America's role in the world.

Who we see today where the Liberals used to be are:

a) politicians and other shysters who know they can make a buck if they say the right words,

b) young people who think they understand the world, and

c) Leftists -- anti-property, anti-religion, anti-profits, anti-industrial Leftists.

Ain't a whole lot of Liberals around anymore, it seems to me.

George W. Bush - Avatar of Liberty

Johnathan R. at GOP Bloggers brings attention to the following news report from Azerbaijan:

About 10,000 opposition protesters chanted "Freedom!" and carried pictures of President Bush as they marched across Azerbaijan's capital Saturday, urging the government of this U.S. ally to step down and allow free parliamentary elections this year.

In anticipation of an in kind response from the left similar to their response to the Lebananese rally demanding an end to Syrian occupation (that has already taken place) which they vociferously denied had anything to do with liberation of Iraq or George W. Bush I present the following photo from Publius Pundit with accompanying text:



Some 10,000 anti-government protestors rallied in the capital of oil-rich Azerbaijan calling for regime change in the former Soviet republic on Saturday.

In the first opposition rally not to have been crushed by police since 2003 presidential polls ended in violence, protestors carried signs with the phrase “we want freedom” superimposed onto portraits of US president George W.
Bush.

The Azeri government has, in the past few weeks, really cracked down on opposition leaders and arrested hundreds of people.

So while the mainstream media in this country desperately attempts to turn Iraq into Vietnam by showing only our set backs and rarely if ever even acknowledging our successes, they have no influence over peoples affected by oppressive rule that have been inspired by our success in Iraq and Afghanistan and the free elections that same success has afforded those we have have liberated.

Reading the Words

With the Left desperately trying to pretend that they are a political ideology actually worthy of some respect, I think that the efforts of Mr. de Havilland and Mr. Shirazi cannot be spread out enough. There are too many people who forget that just a few years ago, the Left was doing anything and everything in it's power to prevent American success in the War on Terror. Mr. Shirazi has helpfully dug up some of the arguments the Left presented. Does anyone remember the "Afgan Pipeline" argument that the Leftists tried to put forward?

The antiwar press in Britain, however, was sane and rational when compared with the Asia Times, which describes itself as “a quality Internet-only publication” that looks at issues “from an Asian perspective”. Many of its articles, nonetheless, are written by authors whose names have a decidedly un-Asian ring to them, such as Pepe Escobar, a tawdry hack who styles himself as a “roving” international correspondent. In addition to flirting with 9-11 conspiracy stories, Escobar had no doubt whatever that the real objective of the military campaign in Afghanistan was to enable the construction of an oil pipeline from central Asia to the coast of Pakistan, thereby giving the US access to a vital non-OPEC oil source. Three years later the pipeline was triumphantly unveiled: unfortunately for “Pipeline Pepe” its route does not pass anywhere near Afghan territory, as indicated by the map helpfully printed in his article.

And yet, the Left will not admit that they were wrong, nor will they abandon the type of thinking that allowed them to be suckered into believing the pipeline story. Because at the root of their thinking, the USA is evil and any story that reinforces their point of view, no matter how preposterous, is held up as an example of just how bad they think the USA is.

Now the Left is trying to pretend that they never got suckered by that story, or any of the other stories that vindicated their drug-addled worldview. They're trying to pretend that they wanted the USA to win all along, and we need to hold up their words and rub their damn noses in it.

First Impressions

Hey everyone. Things are finally starting to come together down in sunny Puerto Rico. I won't go into detail with everything I've done and seen so far, but here are a few brief items that I've noticed so far.

Driving - the "rules of the road" down here are more like mild suggestions, which everyone promptly forgets the moment they get behind the wheel. Traffic lights, driving lanes, and speed limit signs are all things that native Puerto Ricans pay absolutely no attention to whatsoever. Driving in South Korea was worse, but this runs a close second. To survive down here you drive as if everyone is trying to kill you, which may or may not be the truth, but I can't tell from the way people act in their cars. In any case, take your average American, run him through a four-week no sleep speedball bender and then put him in a car. That would be your average Puerto Rican driver.

It's fucking HOT! I knew it was going to be hot and humid before I came down here, but knowing about the heat and humidity isn't anything like actually living in it. I'm drinking at least a gallon of water a day, most of the time it's more like two gallons. I sweat so much I turn into the human waterfall. Even the Puerto Ricans sweat down here. It's insane.

Once you get out of the city, it's beautiful. In the city, it looks like a bombed out third world country in some areas, and like a tourist trap in other areas, with a few nice looking areas mixed in for color. It's an odd mix. The country is beautiful. El Yunque Rain Forest was breathtaking.

Individuals down here are some of the most helpful people you can meet. Almost every person I've met on a one-on-one basis has been great. That being said, doing business with a company in this country makes me want to throw up. Puerto Rico Telephone acts like a communist run organization who regards their customers as a nuisance rather than actual customers. When the people in the company are almost hostile to you when you call up, you know that it's going to be a bitch. Nothing gets done without either a damn long wait, or a lot of yelling. The cable company was a bit better, and the base is paying for our electricity, thank goodness. That's one less hassle to deal with.

Oh, by the way, when a soldier starts talking about how dealing with the US Army is less hassle than the civilian equivalent, be scared. Be very, very scared.

And don't even get me started on the transportation company. Let's just say that I'm not allowed to talk to people in that office any more. My first line supervisor is going to do all the talking while I glower behind him. And I'm not the only person who's had problems with them, I'm just the latest in a long line of US soldiers. The guy before me was actually pushed out the door by his supervisor, who then came back and informed these people, "Listen, I have a pissed off sergeant who is about to go off, and if you don't give him his truck right now, I'm going to let him back in to do whatever the hell he wants."

It's probably a good thing that I'm going to be busy Monday. My wife will be picking up my truck, unless they get stupid and force me to come back to the office.

I need to brush up on news and politics, because I've spent the past month so damn busy that I haven't had time to breath, much less watch the news. We finally got cable TV installed, so that I can watch the news while I exercise in the morning. One thing that I do recall is Mad Howie Dean blathering to some group of fuckwits about the "dark plan that Republicans had for America".

I had to laugh. President Bush talks about freedom, and the Donks call it a dark plan. President Bush talks about owning your own retirement funds, and the Democrats call it a dark plan. Well, I guess when you're nothing but a fucking parasite who's entire life depends on you sucking off of my tax dollars, I suppose that me being allowed to keep my own money would be a dark plan for you.

President Bush nominates judges who actually follow the Constitution, and the Democrats call it a dark plan. Well, when you can't get your socialist dreams through congress, and can only enforce your ideology through judicial fiat, I suppose Constitutionalist judges are a pretty dark plan for you.

At this point, you can almost hear the Democrat Party's foundations cracking. But when you do nothing but pander to communist fuck-nozzles and anti-American shitheels, you're bound to have problems sooner or later. At this point, I can't say that I'm sad to see them destroy themselves. I just wonder who will spring up in their place.

So anyways, as you can see, I'm pretty much set up. You can expect regular posts from me again. I trust I'll have plenty to get outraged about.

Looked at Henry Aaron's hitting stats lately?

Probably not, why would you?

Well, I was surfing and came upon them. 1955 through 1973 inclusive, Aaron averaged about 145 of 160 games played per year and while doing so averaged about 35 homeruns a year. Just thought you'd wanna know.

War Torn Iraq

Pictures of the devastation born of our occupation (that the recentely elected Iraqi government just requested we maintain) --> Here Notice the high definition flat panel televisions. Mmmmmmmmm.

From the "Where Are They Now" files...

Jeff Baxter played psychedelic music with Ultimate Spinach, jazz-rock with Steely Dan and funky pop with the Doobie Brothers. But in the last few years he has made an even bigger transition: Mr. Baxter, who goes by the nickname "Skunk," has become one of the national-security world's well-known counterterrorism experts.

Baxter is the one with the facial hair.

WSJ.com - Rocker Jeff Baxter Moves and Shakes In National Security

Seen on Powerline

Lies and Damned Lies

Regarding those dual use facilities, equipment, and chemicals that were:

- dangerous when Rummy sold them to Iraq decades ago,

- ceased being dangerous when Bush Lied and People Died, and

- are now dangerous yet again:

AlphaPatriot has a solid post up. Make sure you read the linked AlphaPatriot (I almost just abbreviated "AP", then realized the undesirable connotation of same) post regarding Syria's Bekaa Valley. It's the kind of reporting one would once see reporters doing, back when reporters still reported.

U.N. - Weapons Equipment Missing in Iraq

Something else for the left to ignore:

He said the missing material can be used for legitimate purposes. "However, they can also be utilized for prohibited purposes if in a good state of repair."

Sure it could have been used for "legitimate purposes". But, seeing as Saddam felt it necessary to scuttle it away before the war, it obviously was not. As this is coming from the vaunted U.N. weapons inspectors, the fantasy based community will be confounded!

Missing in Aruba

Aruba's hunt for missing teen intensifies

Border Volunteers Not So Welcomed in Texas

The proverbial Money Quote:

"I don't think that there's any doubt that there's a tinge of racism beneath the surface in their attempt to try to stop immigrants from Mexico. Why don't they do that in Canada?"

-- Texas state Senator Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa (D)

Classic.

Yahoo! News

To the Gulag with him!

Oy!

One hundred days into his tenure as the high-energy, higher-decibel chairman of the Democratic Party, Howard Dean is in trouble with party moneybags. The former Vermont governor seems to be doing a better job flaying the Republicans than bridging the cash chasm between the parties. Given Dean's 2004 run as a populist crusader, moderates were never wild about his takeover of the Democratic National Committee. So some big donors are sitting on their wallets.

Oh, dear.

But hey just kidding about the Gulag - the vein popping twit will disappear himself just by running his yap. It's one thing that American Leftists are really and truly good at.



So long, Harmless!

Howard Dean's Raised Voice Isn't Raising Cash

About that Gulag....

Who is Amnesty International donating to?

Nothing beats rock

Drumwaster finds an interesting irony.

Buyin' votes...

...in East St. Louis:

She said Ellis, a party stalwart and then director of regulatory affairs, told Kern he was perceived in the predominantly-black community as a "racist' and might need to spend $10 per vote to get support. She said Ellis described a need "to pay the voters to come out."

Oy!

Gateway Pundit: ESL Makes Voter Fraud a Business

Seen on Instapundit

Circus Blogging

Went to a circus this past weekend. Here are some pics.


This guy was walking blindfolded on some rotating drum that was
about 30 feet up. Later, he and his wife did the old "motorcycles
in an iron sphere" thing.



Colonel Hanneford tries to mount his smiling horse just moments
after said horse had removed the good Colonel's pants.



This woman juggled hoops and flaming torches 25 feet above the
ring while suspended by her hair. It was great.



Pardon both my Fascism as well as my indelicacy, if you please,
but any comments regarding Molly Ivins, Barb Mikulski, and
Ted Kennedy sans strap-ons will be deleted as soon as i
stop laughing at them.


What a show!

Bosom Buddies

Tremendous pair of finds by Lee at Right Thinking.

Pacifism and the War

"Pacifism is objectively pro-Fascist. This is elementary common sense. If you hamper the war effort of one side you automatically help that of the other. Nor is there any real way of remaining outside such a war as the present one. In practice, ‘he that is not with me is against me’. The idea that you can somehow remain aloof from and superior to the struggle, while living on food which British sailors have to risk their lives to bring you, is a bourgeois illusion bred of money and security. Mr Savage remarks that ‘according to this type of reasoning, a German or Japanese pacifist would be “objectively pro-British”.’ But of course he would be! That is why pacifist activities are not permitted in those countries (in both of them the penalty is, or can be, beheading) while both the Germans and the Japanese do all they can to encourage the spread of pacifism in British and American territories. The Germans even run a spurious ‘freedom’ station which serves out pacifist propaganda indistinguishable from that of the P.P.U. They would stimulate pacifism in Russia as well if they could, but in that case they have tougher babies to deal with. In so far as it takes effect at all, pacifist propaganda can only be effective against those countries where a certain amount of freedom of speech is still permitted; in other words it is helpful to totalitarianism."

-- George Orwell

Poor little Lionel Tate

Really couldn't hold him accountable for killing that 6 year old girl, you know. Here's how Amnesty International UK covered the little darling's release from a life sentence for killing a girl he outweighed by 130 pounds:

While remaining fully mindful of the tragedy that befell Tiffany Eunick and her family, Amnesty International has campaigned on Lionel Tate's behalf since before his sentencing.

Lionel Tate's lawyer has asked for his thanks to be passed to all who took action on the teenager's behalf. In a message just received, the lawyer writes:

"Thanks again. Your entire organisation is to be commended for the help and assistance. Your organisation 'kept the spotlight' on this case and assisted us in favorably resolving this matter. Lionel shall be out of jail before his 17th birthday. Your support helped make the difference. Please let everyone know of our thanks. In light of the good work you all do, I trust we shall soon again join together to fight for children's lives."

The lawyer has also expressed his deep thanks for the 3,000 cards and letters for Lionel Tate from children and others that have been received at the lawyer's office, and which in themselves generated media attention in Florida.

Little Lionel's in trouble again.

Screw Newsweek

The Madison Avenue Maverick has a good thing going. They are keeping track of Newsreek's advertisers so you don't have to. Now you can voice your displeasure where it will not be ignored, and exercise your freedom of choice in how you spend your hard-earned money in a more informed way. (Dang! Both Microsoft and Apple are listed. Guess it's time to give Linux a try.) As the Maverick herself puts it, "Newsweek’s real customers are its advertisers. So as I see it, when our mainstream media starts to take after the late Lord Haw Haw, it’s time to take serious action. For now, that means encouraging Newsweek’s advertisers not to associate their brands with such an irresponsible, seditious media outlet."

Death of a Marine

On the day he died, Rafael Peralta was 25 years old, a Mexican immigrant from San Diego who had enlisted in the Marines as soon as he became a legal resident. He earned his citizenship while on active duty and re-upped in 2004. He was a Marine to the core, so meticulous that when Alpha Company was training in Kuwait, he would send his camouflage uniform out to be pressed.

He was no less passionate about his adopted country: His bedroom wall was adorned with a picture of his boot camp graduation and replicas of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. ''Be proud of being an American," he wrote to his kid brother Ricardo, 14. ''Our father came to this country and became a citizen because it was the right place for our family to be." It was the first letter he ever wrote to Ricardo -- and the last. It arrived in San Diego the day after he died.

Go'head. Read more.

Jeff Jacoby: Death of a Marine

The Arlington Ladies

Amazing story.

ONE AFTERNOON towards the end of March, 200 mourners slowly trekked under a bright blue sky to the plot where 20-year-old Army Pfc. Michael Anthony Arciola was about to become the 123rd soldier killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Arciola, a recipient of both the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star, was shot and killed on patrol in Al Ramadi on February 15. The larger than usual crowd was no surprise. The young man had been so well loved in his hometown of Elmsford, New York, that more than a thousand people came to his memorial service there. Dying young carries with it an implicit sense of tragedy that draws people -- emotionally and physically -- to it.

Nevertheless, Pfc. Arciola was not the only one laid to rest that Friday at Arlington. Sixteen other servicemen, most of them veterans many years older than Arciola, were likewise buried. An average week at Arlington will see between 80 and 100 burials on its 612 acres, and the final week of March was within that margin. Arciola's funeral was the largest the cemetery had held in a few weeks. Others attracted dozens or fewer mourners. A smattering had no friends or loved ones in attendance at all.

As in most matters, however, the military prefers to focus on cohesion rather than dissension; on the ties that bind rather than the walls that separate. This is as true of funerals as it is of boot camp. Most people are aware of one aspect of this, the Honor Guard. But there is another unifying element, much less publicized than the 21-gun salute, but just as important in both a practical and symbolic sense. It comes in the form of a conservatively dressed woman who -- whether amongst a throng of mourners, seated alongside the family, or standing as the sole attendee -- is there to help shepherd the fallen soldier during his final mile.

These volunteer women are known as "The Arlington Ladies." They attend every funeral at Arlington to ensure, first and foremost, that no soldier is ever buried with no one in attendance, and second, to serve the needs of family members, whether they are present at the funeral or not.

Normally it isn't difficult to get someone to go on record about a noble pursuit. The first reaction to the prospect of a laudatory article is rarely reticence. But this group of no-nonsense women did not jump at the chance to talk about themselves. In fact, they were surprisingly difficult to track down at all. This is probably at least partially because the vast majority of Arlington Ladies are either retired servicewomen themselves or from military families, a culture not given to bragging.

"They don't seek publicity," Army Major Kevin Stroop, a regimental chaplain who performs funerals at Arlington, said. "What they do here is absolutely vital to our mission, but those moments they share with the families and our servicemen and women are intensely personal. The Arlington Ladies, as a group, really are committed to keeping those moments and their work sacred."

Amazing people.

The American Spectator

Have some Links

It seems to me that controlling our borders would be a priority in winning the WOT, therefore, I'm with these guys: Minuteman Project,
and these guys, too: Veterans for Secure Borders.

Here you will find an English translation of the al Qaeda training manual, wherein they are instructed to claim "abuse" upon release.

Here is a breakdown of the countries who armed Saddam's regime.

It wasn't very long ago that many prominent demonrats were making alarming claims about Saddam's WMD.

Let's not forget how the NY Times ran the story of the century, "Abu Ghraib," on their front page (almost all above the fold) for 32 consecutive days, yet they couldn't care less about the beheadings and other atrocities done by those on the other side.

Here is the text of the Geneva Conventions, which explicitly do NOT protect terrorists. To understand why the Geneva Conventions do not protect illegal combatants, please read this.

Here is the best 9-11 website ever created.

And finally, your required reading for today: Orson Scott Card. Enjoy.

Viva l'Evolution

Finally, a theory of evolution I can fully endorse. Via QuickRob's Weblog: "The wall between the reporter and the consumer is eroding. And, most fundamentally, the readers and the consumers are climbing that very wall and they are taking control of the flow of information. The filter is being removed from the system, and now the flow will be pure. What we do with it is up to us, but the new system…the blogging system, by it’s very nature should be able to sustain the purity of the information simply by the theory of evolution. What is false, and what is adulterated, will be discounted. A million minds at once will edit."

Kind of gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, doesn't it?

Busy as hell

I apologise for not posting more, but I still don't even have a phone hooked up at my house yet.

As I've been told by many other soldiers down here, there's US Army time, meaning when you say 0900 hrs., you mean 0900 hrs., and then there's Puerto Rican time, which means if you say 0900 hrs., you mean "Maybe sometime today, but most likely a few days from now."

Yeah, my little type "A" personality ass is having a grand old time.

Other than that, things are going well. I'm enjoing all the fresh fruit down here, and I've lost an inch off my waist from all the excersize I've been doing. Once I have my own damn internet connection, I'll be back to posting on a regular basis. I just don't want you guys to think I've forgotten you.

I have some good news and some bad news

First the bad news: Despite earlier reports to the contrary, the New York Times now says that Zarqawi is feelin' fine. Now the good news: There is still a good chance of his capture and agonizing death by Bubba.

Update: According to this report, Zarqawi has limped across the border to Iran. Hmmm....What to do....

Iraq 'Human Shield' Challenges Fines

As well he should.

A peace activist who went to Iraq to serve as a "human shield" against the U.S. invasion is challenging $8,000 in federal fines. Ryan Clancy, 28, filed a lawsuit against the Treasury Department in federal court Thursday.

The department alleges Clancy went to Iraq in violation of sanctions and offered his services to the Iraqi government to shield its facilities from possible military action.

The charges seem like bullshit to me. To the United States Attornies I say "Drop the charges!"



I'm sure Ryan is positively itching to get back there and shield the markets and police stations.

Go get 'em, Tiger!

Yahoo! News

Onward, Christian Soldiers!

Or, at the very least: Prepare to Riot !!! *** So, if you think your Liturgy is bad

*** Incitement is figurative, not literal.

NBC clashes with Tom DeLay on Law & Order

Heh.

U.S. House of Representative Majority Leader Tom DeLay accused NBC on Thursday of slurring his name by including an unflattering reference to him on the NBC police drama "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."

DeLay's name surfaced on Wednesday night on the show's season finale, which centered on the fictional slayings of two judges by suspected right-wing extremists.

In the episode, police are frustrated by a lack of clues, leading one officer to quip, "Maybe we should put out an APB (all-points-bulletin) for somebody in a Tom DeLay T-shirt."

As I said: Heh.

But that's not the really funny part.

In a letter to NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker, DeLay wrote: "This manipulation of my name and trivialization of the sensitive issue of judicial security represents a reckless disregard for the suffering initiated by recent tragedies and a great disservice to public discourse."

The Texas Republican went on to suggest the "slur" against him was intended as a jab at comments he had made about "the need for Congress to closely monitor the federal judiciary."

NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly responded in a statement that the dialogue in question "was neither a political comment nor an accusation."

You got that?



Yahoo! News

It looks like The Onion...

...but it's not.

I remember when banning steak knives was a sneering and pointed joke trotted out by gun nuts to make a corollary point during gun control debate. Not no more.

Al Sharpton...

...exposed (safe for work).

Why there cannot be an old fashioned filibuster

I'm sure you've heard it suggested that we should "force Democrats to read from the phone book". That isn't going to happen.

It is important to understand that the old-fashioned filibuster of the '50s and '60s went by the boards when the rule to invoke cloture – the process of ending debate – was changed in 1975, from requiring a vote of two-thirds of those present, to a vote of three-fifths of all senators.

In the old days, if the Senate was held in session around the clock, the party wishing to block a vote had to be present because 51 senators are necessary to constitute a quorum. However, now that three-fifths of all 100 senators (60) must give their approval to end debate, it is no longer necessary for those wishing to hold up a vote to even be present.

Nobody said that breaking this filibuster would be easy. The way Senate rules are written, it is next to impossible to break one without some backroom deals – and Democrat leaders are not willing to deal.

So when you see someone suggest that Republicans could force Democrats to do this, show them that they cannot. This has always been about Democrat Obstruction. Any debates that have transpired since they began their unprecedented use of the filibuster is soo much smoke and mirrors. The filibuster is THE obstructionist's tool and the Democrats have been employing it with impunity.

[UPDATE - Tim:] Speaking of 1975, here are two quotes from the Congressional Record:

"It seems to me that a not-so-subtle difference, a profound different [sic], between 66 2/3 percent and a simple majority could be the different between an active, responsible U.S. Senate and one which is dominated by a small minority."

"May a majority of the Members of the Senate of the 94th Congress change the rules of the Senate, uninhibited by the past rules of the Senate? I firmly believe that the majority has such a right — as the U.S. Constitution, the precedents of this body, the inherent nature of our constitutional system, and the rulings of two previous Vice Presidents make clear."

Who uttered those two nuggets?

Walter Mondale

And the funny thing is that where the filibuster is concerned, they were against it before they were for it.

Pathological Liar Harry Reid

Democrat Minority Leader Harry Reid (moments ago) after a failed cloture vote to end debate on John Bolton (President Bush's nominee to be Ambassador to the U.N.):

Democrats are "not here to filibuster Bolton..."

Followed by Bill Frist calling the failed cloture motion a filibuster (because it is).

"This is the first filibuster that's been conducted in this Congress"

The FIRST?

What is a filibuster?

The use of obstructionist tactics, especially prolonged speechmaking, for the purpose of delaying legislative action.

When a bunch of Democrats vote against a motion to end debate of Mr. Bolton it's a filibuster. Reid later admits as much. How many filibusters do you think there have been in the 109th congress? Take bets. I'm hitting the congressional records.

Contstructive Critisism

Do I feel Republicans are above critisism? Nope. In the case of the recent compromise on the unprecedented filibuster of judicial nominees, there are seven of them deserving of wrath not just critisism. Then there are the other 48 Republican Senators that have done their best, stood on principle, and fought for a strong conservative agenda during their time as our elected representatives. Our elected representatives have limits set forth by the rules of the institutions in their charge. The good ones work within the rules to reach goals, the bad ones make up the rules as it suits them (like filibustering judicial nominees as a way to prevent them from attaining a vote on the Senate floor). If we spend all of our time tearing ourselves down because a small number of our elected representatives blew it for the whole all the while Democrats continue to tear our society apart at the seams, then we will not only get the electoral failure some (on our side) are predicting/hoping for, they will be responsible the damage that is done to our nation as a result. Advocates of the former as a means of punishing Republicans as a whole for the transgressions of a few should keep that in mind.

Dems Won't Take Part in Medicaid Panel

Jeez.

Democratic lawmakers said Thursday that they would not participate on a commission that will recommend how to trim Medicaid by $10 billion over the next five years.

What a cadre of babies. They sure do make it easy on the cartoonists.



Yahoo! News

Pentagon says detainee retracts Koran allegation

Rove must've gotten to him. Guantanamo Detainees Full Coverage on Yahoo! News

Linkdump

There Howard Dean Goes Again

Newspaper union leader: U.S. military targets journalists

Flag in a Trashcan



Have a nice day.

Strange Coincidences in Madrid

Readers remember, no doubt. 11 March 2004: a series of ten explosions aboard four commuter trains at the height of the Madrid rush hour, 101 dead, over 1,800 wounded. Find a compendium of information here, if you wish.

<

Moving images here.

Al Qaeda, right? That's what they say.

Yet a new theory is emerging.



Excerpt:

The cellphones used in the bombing came from a cellphone shop owned by Mausilli Kalaji, a Spanish police officer of Syrian descent, and a former member of Al Fatah, with strong ties to Palestine, [who was] trained in Russia as an intelligence agent, [and] whose sister is a police translator [who] was responsible for translating wiretaps on the terrorists before the attack. Kalaji's ex-wife is also a police officer, [who] was one of the first on the scene of the bombing, and [who] found the 13th backpack -- which had the disconnected wires and the easily traceable phone.

Hmmm. Who had more to gain by bombing train stations in Madrid in 2004? Al Qaeda? Or Spanish Leftists?

Black helicopter stuff? Maybe.

Read on: The Adventures of Chester: Strange Coincidences in Madrid

Pearls of Wisdom from the German Ambassador, and a Response from a Right Wing Wacko

Wolfgang Ischinger, German Ambassador to the United States, says: "As older societies, we tend to think of ourselves as more experienced in the way societies evolve, and we tend to be skeptical of Americans who seem to think that if you believe hard enough, and you muster enough resources, you can change the world...In the last year or so, as we've engaged in discussions about the transformation of the Middle East and democracy, I have told my American friends that the region in this world that has seen the most transformation and change is Central and Eastern Europe--without shedding a drop of blood. So don't preach to us. And don't think transformative change will work according to mechanistic rules. This is very complicated. Changing the way people think often has to do with religious and cultural issues--we tend to think of them as long-term, and Americans think, Let's solve the problem in the next four years!"

I would like to respond:
You, Mr. Ischinger, must be the most hypocritical man on the planet. “Four years?” “Without shedding a drop of blood?” What the hell are you talking about? Was it not Germany that invaded Poland and launched the world into war, requiring the Americans to destroy the vile and cancerous national socialist (i.e., Nazi) movement in Europe? Come to think of it, wasn’t it Germany that started both World Wars? If Germany hadn’t, in its great experience and wisdom, invaded every country in its vicinity, those poor eastern and central European countries wouldn’t have had to exist in a Soviet slave state for the ensuing 50 years, but because of Germany, they did, and more than a few drops of blood were shed. Millions of human beings in these central and eastern European states were butchered (and not just Jews) thanks in large part to the “experienced” Germans. And do you actually believe that it was the Germans that caused the U.S.S.R. to splinter, allowing the eastern bloc states to regain their identities and become free nations again? Hilarious! It was the U.S. that provided the sustained military and political pressure that caused the end of the Soviet Union, and it was the U.S. that provided economic assistance both to Russia and the eastern bloc countries in their transition towards democracy. The Cold War may not have had many spectacular battles (though the Korean and Vietnam Wars do ring a bell), but it was expensive and the United States bore its financial burden almost exclusively. The Europeans as a whole couldn’t even handle that bloody little spat in their backyard, in Bosnia and Kosovo. You had to call on the Americans to fix things. Why should we Americans shed our blood in Bosnia and Kosovo, we asked? Because Europe is a tinderbox and the conflict in this tiny part of Europe could spread. At great cost, both financially and in blood, Americans spent their treasure and continue to do so to protect European interests. Now, not after four years but after 60 years, the US has plans to finally pull its military out of Germany itself and guess who is kicking and screaming about it… the Germans! Talk about changing people’s minds! Guess what, ass-wipe, we Americans have been changing the world through blood, sweat and tears for a very long time now, not that you would give a damn. Don’t lecture us, Wolfgang.

[UPDATE FROM TIM]: I reckon one of the measures by which we can gauge "evolving societies" is how well they receive those who come from other societies. Insofar as Arabs are concerned (I suspect Ambassador Ischinger's remarks are based in part in what is happening in the Arab World) let's see:

In general, Muslims living in Europe—of which Arabs constitute a significant proportion—are poorer, less educated, and in worse health than the rest of the population. In the Netherlands, the unemployment rate for ethnic Moroccans is 22 percent, roughly four times the rate for the country as a whole. In Britain, the Muslim population has the highest unemployment rate of all religious groups. The failure of Arabs in Europe is particularly worrisome given that 10 of the states or entities along Europe’s eastern and southern borders are home to nearly 250 million Muslims—most of them Arabs—with a birthrate more than double that of Europeans.

So the Enlightened Evolving Societies of Europe really aren't handling Arab immigration well at all, are they. Golly.

And racist violent jingoistic hegemonic imperialistic capitalistic America?

How do we receive Arabs into our filthy and degrading culture?

Click to find out.

Define Extraordinary Circumstances!

Of these 14 Senators that signed on to the "compromise" we should be asking one question: How do you define "Extraordinary Circumstances". For if it is vague what the hell were they fighting for? It wasn't the nominees because the Democrats agreed to let some of the "radical" ones pass. It wasn't the principle because they have no principle to support their unprecedented filibuster of judicial nominees. So if it isn't these mysterious "extraordinary circumstances", then what the FUCK were the Democrats fighting for? Make them answer in specifics! Oh! And somebody inform Senator Warner that the only thing that happens when you end the unprecedented use of the filibuster to deny votes on judicial nominees, is that we return to the usual business of the Senate. Imagine that! As this great unknown was Mr. Warner's guiding principle (as stated) in this affair, his way should then be clear to vote in favor of ending the unprecedented obstruction by the Democrats.

Revenge of the RINOs

Could someone please explain to me what the repubs get out of the judicial filibuster compromise agreement? (See Roger L. Simon for the text. The comments are interesting, too.) What we seem to have here is seven RINOs selling out their party for a little media praise. "Good doggie." Fifty-five republicans in the senate and they have to get the 45 demonrats' permission to vote on a judicial nominee? Bah! So much for democracy. When it's 60 repubs in '06 will it make a difference you think? I wonder. How badly do the demonrats want to die as a serious political party? Do they honestly believe they can continue as the Party of No? Their media support isn't working anymore (more on that later). I'll tell you one thing, I am officially joining Patterico in his pledge: The next time John McCain runs for any elective office, I pledge to support his opponent. I know how scary that sounds, but I have had enough. If it's him against Darth Rodham in '08, I'm voting libertarian. I've had it. Any other republican, fine, but not McCain or any of these other seven RINOs (John Warner, Mike DeWine, Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Lindsey Graham, and Lincoln Chafee) who gave the demonrats what they wanted and got nothing of substance in return. Who are they to decide that these three judicial nominees get a vote and the rest do not? And Frist, he sure demonstrated what a leader he is, didn't he? What a hero. NOT. I wish I had written this letter. At any rate, tons of info and commentary on today's bit of political suicide out there in the blogosphere. I'll post a dozen or so links in the comments. Even Steven Den Beste is talking.

Update: Thomas Sowell nails it, again: "The most fundamental decision is: Who is to decide? Democratic self-rule is what Americans have fought and died for, for more than 200 years." It is depressing, but we need to face up to what just happened, and stop it from happening again.

In case you missed it

450 Economists on Reforming Social Security:

"More than four hundred-and-fifty of America's top economists, including Nobel laureates Milton Friedman, Robert Lucas, Robert Mundell, Edward Prescott and Vernon Smith, are calling for the nation's troubled Social Security system to be reformed by giving workers the option of shifting all or part of their payroll taxes into privately invested accounts."

Hey! Private accounts are one of the key ingredients in The Ryan-Sununu Bill. Ryan-Sununu also satisfies the recommendation of President George W. Bush. It's the Republican answer to the issue of Social Security solvency.

"Democrats should have a plan and they should talk to the president and Congressional Republicans about it." - Bill Clinton on ABC's Good morning America

Back to work...

Our media is selling hopelessness

Hi. This is my first post here, and I’ve been traveling a lot lately so this first post will just be some thoughts that have been rattling around in my brain for a few days. I am currently posting from the beautiful Pacific Ocean (I am literally on the beach right now), but one week ago I was in Potter County Pennsylvania for a funeral – no cell phone connectivity, no internet (Wi-Fi or otherwise), almost no TV. After an incredibly long day (two days with almost no sleep thanks to greeting and grieving with nearly every single resident of small-town, USA, and thanks also to the incredible wideness of this country of ours), I finally relaxed in my motel room (one of the two motels in Potter County, PA) and turned on the idiot box, and flipped through the channels (all 5 of them) and the only thing even mildly interesting on the boob tube is this See-BS evening “News” story on, I kid you not, “BS” (I was pretty tired at the time, but I think they used the actual word “bull-sh*t” and bleeped out the profanity about a thousand times). I’m not really surprised that no one in the blogosphere picked up on this event since the only people who still watch CBS News are those who have no other alternative, like the residents of Potter County. At any rate, this was Sunday evening, 5/15/05. Was this a self-parody, I wondered? Apparently not. This story seemed the absolute pinnacle of hypocrisy, but maybe I should not be so quick to judge. The upshot of the story seemed to be that we are, all of us, swimming in a sea of BS and those in power tend to be the best BSers (using as examples Clinton & Bush – Bush being the worse of the two because, get this, he actually is stupid enough to believe his own bull-sh*t). The implication was that there is nothing but bullsh*t in our modern world at least as portrayed by politicians and the media, nothing of substance, no truth, no reality, no hope of any kind, so we should just sit back, relax, and enjoy the bull-sh*t. Personally, if I want BS I’ll watch Comedy Central, but hey, maybe CBS producers have a plan. Perhaps See-BS is attempting to cement its position as America’s ultimate King of bull-sh*t, and defending itself from stiff competition from the likes of Newsweek magazine. Maybe there is still time for the New York Times or CNN to catch up. Who will win this race for the bottom of the port-a-potty? Has CBS become the official church of bull-sh*t? Is it any wonder that nobody is watching anymore?

Update: Oh, and speaking of Newsweek, just in case there was any misunderstanding or doubt whatsoever about Newsweek's duplicity, check out this Japanese edition of Newsweak. On its front cover, the American flag is proudly displayed in a trash-can and the headline, roughly translated from Japanese, states that America is dead. Get it? Koran in the toilet - BAD, American flag in the garbage - GOOD. Nice of them to clear up any lingering confusion for us. No?

Power Line: Pepsi's moving finger...

When a corporation like PepsiCo offends a racial minority (or at least offends Jesse Jackson), it customarily pays a monetary tribute by funding one of Jackson's organizations. Maybe PepsiCo can make good on its apology by finding a way to assist the brave Americans who have sacrificed during America's efforts to extend a hand (not a finger) to those who have suffered from oppression in Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe PepsiCo can extend its own hand to the liberated but still suffering people of those countries.

Power Line: Pepsi's moving finger...

Interesting. It says here that PepsiCo gave "a multimillion dollar donation" to the Ludacris Foundation after dropping the rapper as a spokesperson.

Here, PepsiCo bows to Al Sharpton.

PepsiCo also has a "Minority and Women Business Program" (whatever the heck that means).

Maybe they could set up a program for Veteran Owned Businesses. There's a long list of supported groups on their site; no Veterans' groups. Maybe it's time.

The Board can be reached here: BoardofDirectors@Pepsi.com.

Rather accepts media award with nod to allies

Heh

With thanks to two former colleagues who left CBS in the wake of a scandal, CBS News' Dan Rather accepted broadcast journalism's most prestigious honor on Monday for the "60 Minutes Wednesday" story that exposed the shocking conditions inside Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

"Most prestigious"

Wow.

Rather took pains to acknowledge Mapes and former CBS News senior vp Betsy West (who also attended the ceremony), among others. Mapes was fired by CBS News, and West was forced to resign in the wake of another "60 Minutes Wednesday" report, which aired in September and used questionable documents as part of the sourcing for a highly critical report on President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard.

"Questionable documents", eh?

Naw.

FORGERIES

"They did most of the work, bore the heaviest burdens and took most of the criticism," Rather said of Mapes and the other producers who did the front-line reporting on the Abu Ghraib story. "It took guts, and they had them."

It tooks guts to use forgeries to attack a President during a Presidential campaign.

Got that?

Rather received extended applause after telling the crowd, "Never give up, never back up, never give in while pursuing the dream of integrity filled journalism that matters."

"Integrity"

As if the snide old coot knows the meaning of the word.

Hollywood Reporter

Kilpatrick's expenses exposed

Detroit has had solely Democrat mayors since 1952. You'd think it'd by now be the best place to raise a balck family in the Contiguous 48.

The two-day hotel stay, which was charged to the city MasterCard, totaled $7,696.45.

That's a lot of books for poor black kids.

Detroit Mayor's expenses exposed

NEWSWEEK LIED*. PEOPLE DIED.

Not much to add to this.

Hugging Ban Sparks Dispute at Oregon School

I love the final line about right to hug.

Mudville Gazette

Must read from Greyhawk.

Orange Barrels, Orange Barrels...

...looking back at me. Orange Barrels, Orange Barrels, why can't I be free?



For some reason that picture makes me chuckle. How many numbskull drivers does it take to molest, oh I don't know, four out of every ten orange barrels on a road like the one depicted above???

And it's not even New Jersey!

Annan Failed to Disclose Key Contacts - Yahoo! News

Golly gee.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan did not initially tell investigators in the oil-for-food probe that he met twice with representatives of his son's employer as the Swiss company began soliciting United Nations business.

Annan's omissions last November raised credibility concerns with the chief investigator, Robert Parton, that persisted even after Annan later provided his recollections about the meetings. Investigators had uncovered the contacts in calendars recovered from computers, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

Dirty as a skunk.

Annan Failed to Disclose Key Contacts - Yahoo! News

From the 'What Liberal Media?' Files

When Lee Enterprises Inc. agreed to purchase Pulitzer Inc. for $1.46 billion, it also agreed that the flagship St. Louis Post-Dispatch will keep its longstanding liberal editorial slant for at least the next five years, according to the purchase agreement mailed to Pulitzer shareholders Friday.

'For a period of at least five years following the Effective Time, Parent (Lee Enterprises) will cause the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to maintain its current name and editorial page platform statement and to maintain its news and editorial headquarters in the City of St. Louis, Missouri,' the agreement states.

The Post-Dispatch platform statement, adopted in 1911, includes the pledge that the newspaper 'will always fight for progress and reform, never tolerate injustice or corruption, always fight demagogues of all parties, never belong to any party, always oppose privileged classes and public plunderers, never lack sympathy with the poor, always remain devoted to the public welfare, never be satisfied with merely printing news, always be drastically independent, never be afraid to attack wrong, whether by predatory plutocracy or predatory poverty.'

Unreal!

In Unusual Agreement, 'Post-Dispatch' Will Remain Liberal Under Lee

HE LIVES!!!!

Yep, believe it or not, I'm still alive. I'm on Ft. Buchanan, Puerto Rico, where I'll be living for the next three years.

And it's frigging hot down here, people. And humid. It's like a swamp, unless it rains, in which case it's like a really REALLY wet swamp, which isn't much of an improvement. By the end of my three years here, I'll be wanting to see some snow. But it's an experience I would have kicked myself for missing if I had let it go.

I'm in a computer lab, so I have to keep this short. I'll do a nice big long posting when I have internet access at my house.

"Venido Adentro"

This is just sick.

I disagree with Lee though regarding the efficacy of voting to change this. The Federal Bureaucracy is entrenched and unionized and it seems as though they do as they please irrespective of the demands of elected politicos.

MOVE

Today is the 20th anniversary of the assault by the Philadelphia Police Department and Pennsylvania State Police on the "home" of a radical group called "MOVE".

A state police helicopter this evening dropped a bomb on a house occupied by an armed group after a 24-hour siege involving gun battles. A 90 -minute shootout this morning came after a week of growing tension between the city and the group, known as Move. Residents in the western Philadelphia neighborhood had complained about the group for years. The only known survivors from within the house were a woman and a child. The fire spread to 50 to 60 other houses in the neighborhood, said the Fire Commissioner, William Richmond. He declared the fire under control about 11:40 P.M.

Police Drop Bomb on Radicals' Home in Philadelphia WILLIAM K. STEVENS Special to The New York Times 14may85


More:

Twenty years ago this Friday, Philadelphia became "The City That Bombed Itself."

On the evening of May 13, 1985, in the Cobbs Creek section of West Philadelphia, police dropped explosives onto the headquarters of the radical group MOVE. The explosion started a fire that city officials allowed to burn.

When the blaze was out, 61 homes were gone and 11 people, five of them children, were dead inside MOVE headquarters.



The days that followed were a period of sadness and shame unlike any in the city's history, the start of a civic funk that lasted for nearly a decade.

Day that forever changed the city

I could see the smoke from my neighborhood.

What followed the event itself was an exercise in Old School Philly Graft, where the City paid a premium price to rebuild homes, and the rebuilt domiciles turned out to be of, shall we say, questionable quality. Some people got killed, some people got jailed, a few got fired, and a few lined their pockets.

After the Bomb

Life, as they say, "in the Big City".

 

 

 

 

Matador

Great stuff regarding Matador from The Fourth Rail and, natch, Belmont Club.

Note to self: change the blogroll.

Religion in Politics

Whilst surfing last week, I found an interesting point about how political speech in church is portrayed differently depending on who's doing the speaking. When Republicans do it, it "theocratic. When Democrats do it, it's "outreach". Hmmm. That got me doing more surfing, and I found the following, and the accompanying pictures. "Let's take a look at our Constitution — it says ‘freedom of speech,'" said William Murray, president of the Washington D.C.-based Religious Freedom Coalition. "It doesn't say ‘freedom of speech unless you are in church on Sunday.' [Opponents] want to pass laws that say when we have freedom of speech and what we can say and society doesn't have a problem with that?" "Despite the push for a change, a September Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life poll found Americans sharply divided over whether they wanted their religious leaders to get directly involved in politics. Critics of the bill, who have been largely successful in foiling Jones' previous efforts, said giving tax breaks to churches who endorse or denounce specific candidates violates the doctrine of separation of church and state and is unfair to other nonprofits that are bound by the same restrictions. In fairness, some anti-church-poltitical-speech do try to play it down the middle: Complaints and investigations are more commonplace and often target churches on both sides of the ideological spectrum. In, February the IRS announced it is investigating the Friendship Missionary Baptist Church (search) in Florida, based on a complaint by Americans for the Separation of Church and State. The group said the church was in violation of IRS law when it allowed Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and Rev. Al Sharpton to make their pitch for Kerry to the predominantly black congregants during an August service. The pastor had introduced Kerry as "the next president of the United States." Odd, isn't it? I don't recall that coverage. I've never been particularly vested in the participation of churches in politics, but it does ring true to me that the kind of political speech the Left seeks to restrict most ardently is political speech wherein advocacies are steeped in religion. Or is it all a fan dance? -- as the accompanying pictures (of the last four Democrat presidents, seeking support in church) might seem to indicate. It's all very strange to me, this Liberal Media thing. FOXNews.com - Politics - Lawmaker Hopes to Open Churches to Political Speech

Coalition of the Bribed Update

Quel suprise.

Citing contracts, letters and interviews with former Iraqi leaders, the probe set out evidence Wednesday to back the claim that British lawmaker George Galloway and former French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua accepted oil allocations under the scheme.

Doy!

FOXNews.com - Politics - Senate Panel: European Pols Took Saddam Bribes

Was World War II worth it?

Pat Buchanan steps in it:

If the West went to war to stop Hitler from dominating Eastern and Central Europe, and Eastern and Central Europe ended up under a tyranny even more odious, as Bush implies, did Western Civilization win the war?

In 1938, Churchill wanted Britain to fight for Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain refused. In 1939, Churchill wanted Britain to fight for Poland. Chamberlain agreed. At the end of the war Churchill wanted and got, Czechoslovakia and Poland were in Stalin's empire.

How, then, can men proclaim Churchill 'Man of the Century'?

Intriguing, and why we'll not know if Iraq was the right move for a decade or two.

(I say Buchanan "steps in it" because the camps are not mentioned).

BTW, do you know that we have our very own camps??? Where the Democrats go, once we install our HalliPuppets on the Supreme Court, I suppose...

Where's Dave?

The last thing Raging Dave posted is here.

He'll return, all in due time, and I've a feeling that, if he can get 'net access, he'll be putting forth some interesting stuff.

WTF???

Heidi Klum, Seal Tie Knot in Mexico

T.H.O.N.G.

In a place where you can view human buttocks without fear of repercussion?

Topless Humans Organized for Natural Genetics

Go'head. Click it!

Stevie Wonder releases video for blind

No, really.

CNN Lexicon Update

Is there bias at CNN?



Monday 9 May: Judicial Watch goes after Hillary Clinton



LINK: CNN.com - "conservative watchdog group with a history of dogging the Clintons"

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---

---

Tuesday 10 May: Judicial Watch goes after Dick Cheney



LINK: CNN.com - "two private groups"



CNN - They Report, We Deride, but hey -- standout work by Judicial Watch -- they progressed from Clinton Doggers to a Private Group in just one day.

Nice pickup, Lee.

UPDATE: Reader Fred Simmons notes that the stories are bylined "AP", not some CNN Staff Writer. True that. Reckon I'd still like to see some of that "Review Process" that CCN has and bloggers don't.

Police question 'person of interest' in child slayings

I am guessing it'll be another kid.

I am not usually into capital punishment, but this person when convited should die, and painfully if possible.

Great Stuff from Lee

"What liberal media?" he asks.

Couldn't get him at the polls

Where there's a will, there's a way, or so they say.

Mr Blair's position has been called into question by several MPs since last Thursday's General Election, when Labour won an historic third successive term in power but saw its majority cut from 161 to a projected 66.

Mr Blair - who was finalising the post-election reshuffle of the ministerial ranks - will seek to shore up his position on Wednesday when, in an appearance before the Parliamentary Labour Party at Westminster, he is expected to underline his commitment to serving a full third term and call for tighter party discipline.

But the chorus calling for him to step down continued to swell.

The Invincible Poodle, in a manner of speaking.

Blair faces growing chorus to quit

Reminiscent of Tim Blair reminiscing.

Is it just me, or....

...has Right Thinking from the Left Coast morphed into a Love Shack for a tiny number of self-flagellating "libertarians"?

You'd think...

...that a link dumper like me wouldn't require much time to keep his blog fresh.

You'd be right. But I don't even have that much time these days.

All I've got at this here moment are:

This site is almost a tribute to the Main Battle Tank - M1, M1A1, and M1A2 Abrams. Fascinating, if you've a mind to be fascinated by such stuff.

And then: some quotes from the past about the Horrible Three.

Buh-bye.

Number Three Captured?

Looks like the Pakistanis ghraibed him up a bit.

USATODAY.com - Senior al-Qaeda suspect arrested, Pakistan says

The site is not safe for work...

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RE: Google

True or False: "Google policy does not permit ad text that advocates against an individual, group or organization" ?

lgf: Google Says No to Conservative Ads

Heh

Did anyone catch...

...Amy Goodman being savaged by a Marine sergeant who has served two tours in Iraq during a Los Angeles Times Festival of Books forum televised on C-SPAN?

During Q&A he asked her what qualified her to talk about Iraq. She wouldn't answer. She decided instead to ask him two questions, one about the legitimacy of the war and one about morale issues.

He stated, drawing some catcalls from the crowd, that WMDs didn't matter. Earlier, Goodman had made the point that if Americans could see the pictures of dead and maimed Iraqis we'd call for an immediate withdrawal. This Marine countered that of Americans had seen picutres of life under Saddam Hussein that the invasion would have been more widely supported here. He also stated that low morale tends to be the province of those who are stuck in rear bases without contact with Iraqis and without the first hand experience of building a school or repairing a water main.

She just let it all slide by.

Strange Bedfellows?

Of all the places C-SPAN could direct people to to learn about the Online Freedom of Speech Act, they choose KOS.



Perplexing.

They all do it Redux

A congressman who is not an ex-exterminator right wing wacko, took a trip paid for by lobbyists.

The one and only Bruce

Creep!

Springsteen chose to be fairly economical with his comments between songs, although he did...lambaste the "dinosaur" mentality of the Bush administration... He ad-libbed a "That's right" after one audience member yelled "(Expletive) the president" at one point.

Bruce Springsteen, born 23 September 1949, still strumming for a living, calls someone else a "dinosaur".

Oy!
Springsteen captivates Glendale crowd with acoustic show

Leftists March in Berlin

They march on May Day, naturally; you simply must read what they were chanting. Poor dumb bastards.