Un-Common Sense

Maurice Clemmons

2009-11-30T18:51:00.000-08:00

Update: Looks like Clemmons won't get to waste any more tax payer dollars. His last meal was a steady diet of hot lead - and deservedly so. Congratulations to the police who put him out!

When they catch him, they need to release him on the 50-yard line at Qwest Field. Next to him, they can put the judge who saw fit to set an easily reachable bail amount for him - freeing him to kill four Lakewood Police Officers in cold blood.

Fuck you, Maurice Clemmons. I hope you - and everyone who made it possible for you to continue on after eight felonies and child rape - rot a slow, painful death; however, not before they rape you with a rusty chainsaw.

Israel Defends Itself

2009-01-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

When some asshole drives down your street and randomly shoots bullets into your home, what do you do?

A) Run out the back door
B) Call the police and pray they show up some day
C) Diplomatically engrave an invitation, requesting they formally cease firing
D) Fight back

Clinton, McCain et al vs Obama

2008-09-26T05:46:00.000-07:00

A leading campaign fund-raiser and Senior National Political Advisor for Hillary Clinton, Miguel Lausell, is now endorsing John McCain.

Bill Clinton says he "thinks" Obama is going to win, but we all know - damned good and well - that his actions and his words betray the faux "I think Obama will win" support. Let's not pretend that Obama's satellite-attendance Clinton's Global Initiative compared to McCain's personal-presence wasn't another show of support from Clinton.

A question for Clinton supporters...

If you're actually Clinton supporters, will you be following their lead in the voting booth this November?

McCain | Palin -- For Change

2008-08-29T08:15:00.001-07:00

'nuff said

FNC

Obama's Acceptance Speech

2008-08-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

"I believe that as hard as it will be, the change we need is coming. Because I've seen it... the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb." -- Barack Obama

Is it possible that the soldier who re-enlists even after losing a limb has seen the change that President Bush has delivered to 27 Million now-free people in Iraq?

Someone 'splain me what change, exactly, the Senator supposes he has seen in the re-enlisting soldier. Be specific and prepare to defend your answer, or - more likely - simply just admit that Obama was talking out of his ass and very likely NEVER has watched a soldier re-enlist, let alone a soldier who has lost a limb. And let's not pretend that Obama isn't already prone to turning his back on wounded soldiers.

Just say, "Germany."

Don't pretend to stand on my side, Senator, when you wont even pretend to understand why we believe in our mission - that very same mission that you despise so much.

China's Olympic Upside-down Flag

2008-08-08T23:33:00.001-07:00

I know I'm not the only one who noticed little Lin Hao carrying an upside-down Chinese flag during the Olympic Opening Ceremonies...

How appropriate for China... an upside-down Communist regime with their flag "under duress" in front of the world.

Ain't karma a bitch?

To Democrat Dismay: Economy Grows

2008-07-31T07:28:00.000-07:00

For the second consecutive quarter, the economy has grown; however, the pro-left media manages to pretend that "growth-below-projections" is still a negative.

Someone prove me wrong when I say that the left's greatest hope for political victory is for the United States to sustain economic and military failure. Since they can't have the real thing, they've pinned their political aspirations to their ability to sustain perceptions of failure at the White House.

Perceptions.

WTF?!

Test

2008-06-19T22:27:00.001-07:00

Balls

2007-02-24T16:57:00.000-08:00

Considering the strategic Muslim backlash against the Dutch printing of cartoons mocking their Prophet, one would think the Dutch would be gun shy about taking them on again. Nevermind the fact that Libs ~~think~~ suppose it's perfectly ok for Muslims to demonize the west, while they ~~think~~ suppose it's entirely wrong of the west to call a spade a spade or, God-forbid, defend our way of life.

So, Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch anti-immigration party (another ballsy distinction in and of itself), plans to call for a no-confidence vote regarding two Muslim government ministers next week on the account of their dual citizenship. The balls kick in when Wilders called on Muslims to ditch half the teachings in the Koran and said he would chase Islam's Prophet Mohammad out of the country if he were alive today.

Iran calls the comments "spiteful."

Cheerful beheadings and joyful jihad may follow, compliments of the moderate and peace-loving government of Iran.

Iranian Agents Targeting Americans

2007-01-30T22:00:00.000-08:00

On Drudge:

NBC NEWS confirms a secret U.S. military report that says 'Iranian Agents' may be behind a deadly ambush in Karbala, Iraq that left five American soldiers dead. The report also claims the Iranian revolutionary guard is providing intelligence on U.S. and Iraqi military to Shiite extremists, in addition to sophisticated weaponry. Developing...

Attention peaceniks, kumbaya crowd, those prone to burying your head in the sand (read: "Progressives"), partisan hacks, and the rest of you who are going to cry about dee-ploh-muh-see for Iran in about 10 years:

Iran is choosing to defy the dee-ploh-muh-see you'll be crying for on their behalf... so how's about you cry for the first of 17 UN Resolutions that Iran can break over the next twelve years (you know... like Saddam did) so that when Congresspersons and Senators from both sides of the aisle (AGAIN) vote in favor of an actions against Iran, we wont have to listen to you bitch and moan about giving yet another chance those who aggressively target American Soldiers and Citizens who are fighting for our way of life.

Better yet, let's have your plan now. Let's have your plan to avoid a confrontation with the Government of Iran, which wants the people you claim to support (you know... the troops?) dead. Rather than waiting for someone else to come up with a plan so you can armchair quarterback it to death, let's see what you've got up your sleeve - besides appeasement, isolation and capitulation, that is.

Until you have a plan, how's about just letting us do our job? Get off your soap boxes, realize that JFK was right when he said, "The mere absence of war is not peace," and just give thanks for the Freedom that someone else delivered for you while you and your ilk cowered at home and spat at those of us who put our lives on the line so you wouldn't have to.

Un-Random Thoughts...

2007-01-06T21:25:00.000-08:00

Saddam Hussein is not a martyr. He's a murderer and world-class tyrant whose execution was conducted with metric assloads more dignity than he offered his hundreds of thousands of victims. Some people need to get that through their ultra-thick skulls. Why the hell are these people crying for Saddam and not his victims?!

Walter Veltroni, left-wing Mayor of Rome (that's in Italy, yo) has managed to go all "UN" on the world in a form of protest that, I guess, is supposed to shake the world to it's knees - or at least to Atlas' shoulders. Veltroni has gone way out on a limb and - you may want to sit down for this - he lit up the Colosseum. That's right... it's probably Armageddon if they don't shut the lights out on the Colosseum in the next few minutes. Say your prayers, cleanse your pores, or do whatever it is you need to do before the Coroner finds you in your dirty skivvies... this is it! Veltroni's point? He wants to lead a world-wide protest against Capital Punishment. He's one of those who are more worked-up over Saddam's execution than over the execution of hundreds of thousands of Saddam's victims. (Want to make a wager on whether or not Veltroni was in line for Oil-for-~~Food~~-Kickbacks that he's no longer going to receive because Uncle Saddam hadn't paid-up yet?)

Italy reportedly has drawn-up plans to nuke Iran. Which would be the greater travesty... hundreds of thousands dead in Iran, or a botched execution of the person who authorized the strike?

Hosni Mubarak also ~~thinks~~ claims Saddam was made a martyr.

(Could it be.... Oil for Kickbacks again?! Is Mubarak not getting his Kickback check from the Bank of Saddam either?)

Oh... there will be more... just wait until the "progressive" leadership circulates opinions to their constituency and they start repeating the opinions they've been issued.

Every day, I'm more and more convinced that the problem isn't the "leadership" of the left (or the right), but the apathy and ignorance of their constituents who would rather not be bothered with actually having to think for themselves.

Teacher-Student Fornication ... The New Black

2007-01-05T18:10:00.000-08:00

Female "teachers" screwing their male teenage students... it's the new black.

In another bout of situational ethics (so what else is new?!), we're not going to hear a peep from the Democrat leadership about this latest ruling ... or wave of rulings - as it's turning out.

What I want to know is - if, according to conventional wisdom, girls "mature" faster than boys, then why is it wrong for a male teacher to ... uh, "Love" his teenage female student (and vice versa) when it's not only "ok," but celebrated when a female teacher "Loves" her teenage male student? Isn't the teen girl "more mature" and therefore "more capable" of making a decision on whether or not she wants to drop trou with her teacher?

Yes, nothing new here... the situational ethics of the left continue to grow like wildfire.

Conservative Utah isn't off the hook, either... the ruling took place in Tooele Co, Utah.

What the...
Fornication
Under
Carnal
Knowledge?!

_______________

* 29-year old female "teacher" Cameo Patch (no word on whether that's her stripper name) will serve NO time in jail for bumping uglies with her 17-year old male student - in front of her two year old child - despite the fact that the judge on the case acknolwedged that a male teacher would have received jail time if the genders were switched! Perhaps we'll hear liberals on this one since the ruling took place in ultra-conservative Utah.

The persistent victimization of males by female teachers is beginning to make me feel disenfranchised. I'm going to have to start demanding reparations...

Touching the Koran

2007-01-04T21:41:00.000-08:00

Watching the self-proclaimed, "most powerful woman in America" prance about with that ... smile... while ceremonially swearing-in new members of Congress brought yet another round... two, actually... of situational ethics... situaitonal cultural sensitivity... or whatever you'd like to call it today. It's all situational anyway...

1. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, a Roman Catholic, touched the Koran with her bare hand.

2. Congressman Keith Ellison, a Muslim, touched the Koran with his left (unclean) hand.

So... who recalls the furor from the left when American non-Muslim Soldiers touched the Koran with their bare hands... and worse, with their bare left hands?!

Where's the furor now?

3... 2... 1... Swing!

2006-12-29T16:08:00.000-08:00

Swing high, shit flake.

It's only too bad you're not executed
the way your victims were murdered.

Any rope is too good for you.

The Donald Smokes Rosie

2006-12-20T18:18:00.000-08:00

The Donald absolutely slams Rosie in this interview.

While I suspect another ratings grab on The Donald's part, he calls Rosie out for everything she is... and isn't.

It's about time someone puts that woman, who admits to marrying for spite - as opposed to marrying for love, in her place.

She's nothing short of evidence that "Ugly is as Ugly does."

___________________________

And now, get this...

Mothers Against Drunk Driving has decided to sever their ties with Miss Teen USA - Katie Blair because they don't feel she could be an effective spokesperson on underage drinking.

Uh... so, at 18... they had her representing MOTHERS against drunk driving? Seems to be a bit of a mixed signal. Shouldn't they have chosen an actual mother in the first place? Or are they promoting teen pregnancy? (Geez... if teens can't drive when they're drunk, what else do you suppose they're gonna pass their time with?!)

Nothing but more Free Press for The Donald... and for MADD, whose name I haven't heard called in the press in over a decade.

It's Ok for a Politician to Promote Religion When...

2006-12-13T16:37:00.000-08:00

... the politician is a Democrat.

The Hill reports that Burns Strider will join Billary's years'-old-but-still-unannounced 2008 Presidential campaign. Strider currently heads ... "head" probably is a poor choice of words when it shares a sentence with "President" and 'Clinton" ... the religious outreach for the House Democratic Caucus and is the lead staffer for the Democrats' Faith Working Group (created by Nancy Pelosi in 2005 when Democrats discovered they lost significant ground to those of us who vote based on our consistent principles and morals).

Also, Democrats Obama and Brownback recently appeared at the evangelical Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA.

That Senator, Hanoi John, also recently hosted evangelical leaders and traveled to California for a four-hour meeting with Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church and author of "The Purpose Driven Life."

Three of the Democrat front runners for the 2008 Presidential Food Fight will have aides and advisors who specialize in religious outreach.

You wont hear the MSM or rabid anti-religion constituents bitching about it though. It's only a bad thing when Republicans do it.

Duh!

That Senator's "Apology"

2006-11-01T14:20:00.000-08:00

That Senator writes on his blog:

As a combat veteran, I want to make it clear to anyone in uniform and to their loved ones: my poorly stated joke at a rally was not about, and never intended to refer to any troop.

I sincerely regret that my words were misinterpreted to wrongly imply anything negative about those in uniform, and I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended.

It is clear the Republican Party would rather talk about anything but their failed security policy. I don’t want my verbal slip to be a diversion from the real issues. I will continue to fight for a change of course to provide real security for our country, and a winning strategy for our troops.

Look more closely... That Senator does not apologize for his mistake. He apologizes that other people, he suggests, misinterpreted his words. This is nothing but a wannabe elitist trick to fool the people into believing that he has made an appropriate apology.

Guess what, Senator. One of the dumb ass troops you refered to has your number and sees right through your ~~apology~~ tripe.

Apology not accepted, asshole. This is nothing but a lame-assed attempt to put the blame on others while ignoring your own wrong doing. That you still think we're too stupid to see through that further solidifies what you think of us.

Fortunately, for us, our morale does not hinge on the actions and opinions of dolts like you and your apologists.

See: Michelle Malkin's post.

That Senator

2006-11-01T08:28:00.000-08:00

That Senator's blog is DELETING comments critical of what he said about us troops.

And here... I thought "to criticize" was not only our Right, but Patriotic. Now, That Senator's blog policy does not support our Rights and Patriotism either?!

Are you kidding me?!

My comments left on That Senator's blog (and surely, soon to be deleted along with the others) are as follows:

Retired LTG Kennedy and That Senator speak NOT for me,
nor most of my brothers and sisters-in-arms.

That Senator didn't stumble on his words, nor did he "botch" a
joke. That's tripe. Nothing more, nothing less. He said what he meant
and he meant what he said.

This soldier doesn't demand That Senator's apology, NO... this Soldier demands his resignation.

Posted by: Army Sergeant November 1, 2006 11:14 AM

Several service members are having to re-post their highly critical comments to That Senator's blog... further clarifying what they think about us service members.

Even his own party members are calling for him to apologize, but that's not good enough... That's right. I don't want an apology. I want his resignation. Nobody who thinks like Kerry has any business serving in a position of public trust, let alone the United States Senate!

John Kerry Slams America's Finest

2006-10-31T13:10:00.000-08:00

Whether we're razing villages like Genghis Khan in Vietnam, or terrorizing Iraqi women and children, John Kerry "thinks" highly of the troops.

So "highly," in fact, that he had this to say about us troops:

You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.

Well, at least we know what Kerry means when he suggests that he supports the troops.

Kerry, the self-admitted war criminal (Meet the Press, April 18, 1971), later claimed his comments were part of a mis-spoken joke regarding the brand of decisions that the "un-educated" (implying President Bush) make - which get us into predicaments like Iraq. I remind you that President Bush not only received higher marks than Hanoi John Kerry and graduated from Yale and Harvard Universities.

I, for one, didn't enlist in the United States Army because I didn't study hard and make the most of my education. If that was Kerry's excuse for joining, then that's his problem. I certainly didn't re-enlist at the beginning of this year because I thought I might get "stuck" in Iraq.

John Kerry, YOU owe every single service member and our families a very public apology. Do NOT expect a single one of us to accept it, however. Your lame-ass attempt to divert attention to the Republican party was NOT missed. YOU made the statement. YOU own it. Stand up, show some integrity - for once - and do the right thing. The alternative is to continue being an utter shitbag.

Kerry supporters, this is the guy you take seriously?! Let's talk about your education...

What the fuck?

Les Enfants Terrible - Screw Liberals - The Red Voice

Defend Christmas

2006-10-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

Liberty Counsel is circulating a petition to help protect the rights of citizens to celebrate Christmas.

Last year, Liberty Counsel handled over 200 anti-Christian hostility cases like: defending Wisconsin and New Jersey schoolchildren who were told they couldn't sing "Silent Night" and other Christmas carols unless Christian references were removed; Boston trying to rename its Christmas tree to "Holiday tree"; and defending city bus drivers in Boise, ID who were ordered not to display "Merry Christmas" on city buses to avoid lawsuits. You can find out about dozens more cases just like these - here.

Do your part to help Liberty Counsel (who even the L.A. Times acknowledged as leading the fight to help save Christmas). Click here to sign the petition.

A True Sign of Desperation

2006-10-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

Democrat Harold Ford Jr. recently showed up, uninvited, at a campaign event for his rival Republican Bob Corker. Ford suggested he wanted to talk about "the Iraq thing." Corker, who had actually scheduled a press conference, didn't take the bait, but handled and dismissed Ford.

Ambush politics just wont work. When will Dems learn?

Perhaps Ford will change his campaign slogan to "No integrity. No character. No class. No clue. No plan. No hope. And no future."

Maybe losing the election will give Ford time to go back and study for the bar. Maybe he'll actually pass this time so he doesn't have to repeatedly lie about being a lawyer.

Global Warming

2006-10-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

Plucking a feather from the cap of Global Warming alarmists and "the sky is falling" enthusiasts, Detroit and Chicago have set records for their earliest annual snow fall, beating previous records from 1909 and 1972, respectively.

Yeah, I know the daily weather isn't "climate change," but this is the same kind of anecdote the alarmists are using when they gripe about the hot weather on any given day. Turnabout is a bitch.

Show me a credible scientific report with a methodology that isn't so utterly bollixed that it reeks of John Heinz-Kerry and Chappaquiddick Ted's ultra-partisan politics, and on top of record-early snowfall I'll show you reports of growing glaciers resulting from increased snowfall and lower average summer temperatures as the result of this "global warming" - soon to be published by the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate.

I have more to write, but I've gotta go warm up my SUV...

North Korea Tests Nuclear Weapon

2006-10-09T01:52:00.000-07:00

North Korea has conducted an underground nuclear test despite international and UN Security Council warnings.

The US Geological Survey detected a 4.2 magnitude tremor at 10:35 local time. China, Japan and South Korea confirm the test; however, Tony Snow has yet to confirm the test.

As Drudge would say, developing...

Escondido: "Red, White, Black, Brown, You're Illegal, Outta Town"

2006-10-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

Three of the five on Escondido's city council have balls. Big balls.

Under a proposed ordinance, landlords will be required to submit documentation of their tenants' immigration status to the city, which would then verify the information with the Federal government. Escondido's city council voted in favor of the ordinance last night, 3-2.

Landlords whose tenants are illegal immigrants would have 10 days to remove the renters, or face penalties - including the suspension of their business licenses and misdemeanor charges for repeat offenders.

Escondido Mayor Lori Holt and Councilman Ron Newman voted against the proposal. A second vote is required before the ordinance can be adopted. The vote occurs October 18 and, if approved, the ordinance will take effect 30 days later.

A representative of the San Diego ACLU supposes this is unconstitutional and an "open violation of fair housing laws."

Councilwoman Marie Waldron said she introduced the proposal "to do what we can on a local level" to combat illegal immigration. "The Federal government has let us down by not enforcing our borders," she said, "We should not be ashamed of standing up for our nations and our laws." Ms. Waldron's got balls!

Another councilman, Sam Abed - an immigrant from Lebanon, argued that the ordinance was necessary to relieve overcrowding and eliminate slumlords.

Protestors on both sides gathered outside City Hall during the vote. Some supporters carried signs reading "Red White Black Brown... You're Illegal... Outta Town." Some opponents resorted to extreme hyperbole (thus diminishing their position) and carried signs reading "USA Not Nazi Germany."

It's good to see that when the Federal Government chooses to not adequately address the problem of illegal immigrants, that cities like Escondido will not sit idly by watching as the parade of illegal immigrants continues into their city.

Story completely snagged... er - "re-written" - from a piece appearing on 10news.com.

Lee Giles - Child Rapist

2006-10-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

August 2006 - Retired Tacoma Police Officer and former Crimestoppers Spokesman Lee Giles and his girlfriend Maureen Wear are accused of creating more than 20 videotapes of themselves sexually abusing children, to include Wear's son who claims "he was made to perform sex acts with his mother." Giles is charged with repeatedly raping the boy over close to 9 years.

September 2006 - Prosecutors have searched Giles' home and found videotapes from a child molestation case Giles had investigated in 1991. The perpetrator in that crime, Robert Miller, pleaded guilty to child molestation and videotaping the crimes. Prosecutors say there are 21 new tapes that will be used to file new charges against Giles.

October 2006 - Giles' tally of charges includes: 26 counts of child rape, molestation, voyeurism, child pornography, and possession of stolen property. These charges include the sexual abuse of two young girls entrusted to Giles' care, who were only 3 and 7 years old at the time.

Police say Giles video taped everything. Court documents also state "there are also multiple videotaped incidents of Giles assisting and filming (his girlfriend) molesting (the two young girls)." ... "(The 3-year old girl) cries through portions of the molestation that follows."

Unfortunately, the child rapist and former police officer is being kept away from the general population in the Pierce County jail. That's too bad... it's about time someone like that becomes someone's bitch.

Writhe in hell, Giles. I hope one of your many new boyfriends rips your junk off, then shoves it down your throat and suffocates you with it - you piece of shit!

NFL: Inexcusable

2006-10-03T04:37:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, the Tennessee Titans' Defensive Tackle Albert Haynesworth committed a criminal act against a fellow player when he brought thug-life to the field and stomped - twice - on the face of a helmet-less Andre Gurode of the Dallas Cowboys.

Haynesworth, by the way, has a history of on-field incidents to include: kicking his own teammate, Justin Hartwig, in the chest during a team practice in 2003; getting into a fight with another teammate later that year - and being suspended for the final game of the season; and while in college, leaving the field after getting into it with team mate Will Ofenheusle, then returning to the field with a long pole resulting in a half-game suspension by the University of Tennessee.

Haynesworth was ejected from the game and the NFL informed the Titans of the "penalty" on Monday afternoon.

The NFL is immediately suspending Haynesworth for 5 games without pay. That's it. As far as the NFL is concerned, Haynesworth is eligible to return to the field on November 19th.

Titans' coach Jeff Fisher had said that if the NFL's punishment were insufficient, the Titans would take the matter into their own hands. Unfortunately, Fisher says he believes "what the league has done right now is adequate."

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell understands "There is absolutely no place in the game, or anywhere else, for the inexcusable action that occurred in (Sunday's) Titans-Cowboys game;" however, Goodell saw clear to punish Haynesworth only 5 games.

Financially, Haynesworth will lose a mere $190,070. Apparently, Haynesworth is actually deliberating whether or not he will appeal the suspension.

Great!

Here's the plan.

Professional sports ought to immediately implement a plan whereby players who disgrace themselves and the game (drugs, alcohol, assault and other crimes) are presented with their penalties by the League. The player should then have the option of immediately accepting their routine pittance of a punishment, or the player can appeal... to a panel of fans.

Sure, I know fans are not "peers" (if we want to stay in line with the American jury system), but the NFL, MLB and other professional sporting organizations consistently demonstrate their inability to effectively deal with their rule and law-breaking athletes.

I want to be first on Haynesworth's panel. I'd give him nothing less than a lifetime suspension from the NFL, all of its facilities, and revoke any privileges he may have had in using the NFL (and associated teams) name - meaning he may not profit from activities where he is billed as a former NFL player a la OJ Simpson. On his way out the door, he would have to apologize to his victim in front of a full stadium on Gurode's home field.

Perhaps I'm a dreamer... suggesting that the NFL, MLB, etc.. grow a sac and actually punish their players who, like Haynesworth, repeatedly demonstrate their disregard for the law, the rules, and the safety of their fellow players.

In this case, the only thing more disgraceful than Haynesworth's inexcusable attack - is the NFL'S even more-inexcusable "punishment."

Diet Coke and Mentos

2006-09-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

See what happens when you mix 200 Liters of diet Coke and over 500 Mentos...

Snagged from EepyBird.com

Brandon Scott Burke

2006-09-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

Justice, like lightning, ever should appear
To few men's ruin, but to all men's fear.
- Swetnam

So, 20-year old Brandon Scott Burke showed up Wednesday at an apartment complex in Dallas and finds it within himself to display pornography to four of the tykes on the playground.

And what to Brandon's wondering eyes should appear, but a pissed off mother and 15 angry men ... who proceed to kick Brandon's ass.

Beautiful.

That he's being held on only $6,000 bond?

Not so beautiful.

It's no wonder the good citizens of Dallas realized and executed their civic duties in the manner they did...

Photo: nbc5i.com

Jose Luis Rubi-Nava

2006-09-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

President Bush, RINOs, Democrats and other defenders of "good hearted, hard working" illegal aliens, lend me your wilting brain stems...

Jose Luis Rubi-Nava was arrested a couple nights ago on the suspicion of murder. Not just any murder... no. The victim, Luz Maria Franco-Fierros, was brutally dragged to death behind a vehicle with a rope, leaving a trail of blood over a mile long, and leaving the victim unidentifiable. Interestingly, some "citizens" display more compassion for the likes of Rubi-Nava than they do for the three motherless children left behind by actions of a persistent law breaker.

It turns out this well-intentioned "guest worker" has already enjoyed the fruits of a government that hasn't the testicles to deal with people who broke the law to get here in the first place, then continue to break the law. Rubi-Nava was arrested back in April on a traffic charge, but was released despite being an illegal immigrant. In fact, the arresting officer reported that Rubi-Nava's Mexican identification was forged (its picture had been cut out and replaced), but the judge saw clear to return the bogus i.d. to Rubi-Nava.

You see, Denver was one of the Sanctuary cities that refused to turn-over illegal immigrants to Federal authorities. Now, Denver has an accused murderer on their hands... and if Rubi-Nava is found guilty, the people responsible for the sanctuary-policy to release him ought to share in his fate - or better - in the fate of the victim they failed to protect.

So, if you're one of these people who want to continue giving a free pass to people whose first act on American soil is a crime, you don't deserve the Freedom you make it possible for these criminals to steal from others - and you are just as disgusting as the crimes your "good-hearted guests" commit, so get yourselves a rope, line up behind Rubi-Nava's vehicle and don't ask to see his license. Just enjoy the ride!

Driver's wanted.

Sources: San Luis Obispo Tribune, The American Daily, Rocky Mountain News, Washington Post

Arrest Ahmadinejad

2006-09-19T14:16:00.000-07:00

Should the US arrest Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

- for murder?
- for torture?
- for financially supporting terror organizations?

The September Fund

2006-09-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

Harold Ickes, advisor to Bill and Hillary Clinton and confidant of George Soros, has started a liberal [527] shadow group - The September Fund - to promote the left-wing agenda - read "to fund GOP attack advertising," because we all know... well, the far-left knows ... if you can't beat them with stronger principles and better plans, then sling mud!

Ickes, the "Svengali" of Clinton-Gore campaign finance scandals, hopes to raise $25 Million to influence Congressional and other Federal and State races and initiatives.

Bring your bullshit deflectors... it's going to continue flying.

By the way... 'The September Fund' also is the name of an already existing memorial fund to support families of emergency responders who were killed on 9/11/01. How sweet of Ickes to do his homework and ensure that his group's name capitalizes on the good name of an already existing group.

Where Are They Now?

2006-09-12T07:03:00.000-07:00

Had today's attempted terror attack against the US Embassy in Damascus gone off, we'd have been listening to leftward partisans pile it on about the "failing" war on terror... and probably about how we're the only one's left fighting it... etc, blather and yawn, etc...

Where are these same leftward partisans now, when the attempted attack was foiled? Four people (three of them - terrorists) were killed when four terrorists tried to rush the US Embassy with a van loaded with explosives.

Yes, I know they're back at the drawing board. Conspiracy theorists are drawing up plans now to prove how there wasn't really an attempted terrorist attack... that Bush needed to divert attention from his allegedly politicized 9/11 address of the night before, so the "attack" was nothing more than a ploy to create a "win" in the war on terror and divert our attention.

Isn't that how it works?

After all, the story is being reported by FNC ... and the suspected Al Qaeda offshoot is named Jund al Sham. "FNC," "Sham," ... what else do you need to hear?! "October surprise?"

Doesn't that prove the conspiracy? Clearly, Chimpy McHitlerburton would need these clear reminders to stay on top of what's conspiracy and what's reality... being the big dope that he is - and all. Right?

Nah.

Screw the suddenly silent leftward partisans - and hooray for the war on terrorism!

Never Forget

2006-09-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

Never Forget

Jimmy - Peach - Patrick - Jen - Beth - Mosie

Payday Loans R Us

2006-09-09T09:45:00.000-07:00

You, too, can sabotage a soldier in the fair state of California!

Does collecting on 400% interest rates turn your crank?

What about you anti-military types? Does undermining military readiness, degrading the morale of US service members and their families, and increasing the cost of fielding an all-volunteer military sound like enough subversion for you?!

A state bill in California called for a 36% cap on interest that lenders could charge their customers, the same rate - by the way - that many states set in their usury laws to ban loan sharks, but the banking committee recalled the bill. Given the opportunity to actually protect the people, the banking committee saw fit to strip the 36% cap from the bill.

Payday Loan lobbyists are overjoyed. This kind of "leadership" from state legislators means their constituents, Payday Loan companies, can continue to collect an average... an average of $660 on a $255 loan.

You don't suppose for even a second, do you, that people who are taking a $255 loan have $660 in reserve?

California's legislators apparently have NO inclination to prevent the Payday Loan industry from targeting their number one victim - the young and financially inexperienced soldiers showing up at military bases across the nation.

Perhaps US Senators Jim Talent (R-Missouri) and Bill Nelson (D-Florida) can get their 36% cap (still too high!) to stick in a Defense Bill waiting to go before a House-Senate conference committee.

Until then, do your part and do not support your store front loan shark (payday lender)... especially in California.

Support SA 4331: Consumer Credit for Service Members
(Amendment to S2766).

More info: The Center for Responsible Lending

Too Close for Comfort

2006-09-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

September 3, 2006 - Amman, Jordan

A gunman (read "likely terrorist") has opened fire on a group of tourists visiting the Roman Amphitheater in the Jordanian capital, Amman, killing at least one. (BBC, WaPo)

Just one day earlier - Amman, Jordan

Yours truly spent the day touring downtown Amman - including a stop at the Roman Amphitheater in downtown Amman.

It just goes to show... just because OIF was one day behind me and I was safely out of Baghdad, it doesn't mean I was somehow safe. The islamofascist grip reaches much farther than Afghanistan or Iraq and neighboring countries like Jordan... and as far away as countries like... the United States.

Remember 9/11? Or is complacency your middle name, too?

I recommend going out on a limb and supporting the War on Terrorism...
...rather than politicizing it for a cheap partisan win.

What if...

2006-08-07T23:19:00.000-07:00

What if an artificial timeline brings Lance Corporal Reyes home before his job is done?

What happens to the children?

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Andres M. Reyes greets Iraqi children while on a patrol in Haqlaniyah, Iraq. Reyes is from Company K, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.

Department of Defense photo by Cpl. Brian M Henner.

OIF News

Troop Survey

2006-07-19T06:11:00.000-07:00

The charts below appear in a Stars and Stripes survey of deployed US servicemembers and civilian (primarily in Iraq and Afghanistan) who responded to a six-page readership survey. MORI research, whose clients include USA Today, The Washington Post, Knight Ridder and The Seattle Times, compiled the survey results.

_____________________

76% of respondents tell us that fighting the war in Iraq is either "very" or "somewhat" worthwhile. Even more, 80% say the same about Afghanistan.

It appears the "support our troops through attempted demoralization" campaign continues to fail... like many of the far left's grassroots programs.

Could it be that only 2% of Senior Officers and 5% of Junior Officers are astute enough to realize how much "worse" things are here in Iraq while 66-69% of the same "ignorantly" suggest conditions have improved?!

The "anything to embarass the President" crowd must be stark raving mad!

Clearly, at 4%, things are twice as bad as in Afghanistan where only 2% of respondents indicate that conditions are worse than when they first arrived!

Surely, the left can exploit this little factoid?!

(Don't ask me, it's political math...)

Respondents just aren't getting the message from home if they think only 5-7% of the US population is poviding weak support! Mainstream Media must triple their calls to action. More protests! More Mother Sheehan! Get Sean Penn on the horn, now!

Interestingly, only 7% of respondents claim to be ill-informed about what the public is doing to support troops in the Middle East.

That's because everywhere I go, there's another sign, another care package, another wall loaded with pictures from school children... every one of them with stories attached.

_____________________

Looks like the anti-administration "troop supporters" have found themselves ineffective...

So what else is new?

The Devil Wears Prada

2006-07-09T00:14:00.000-07:00

Jerry Holbert
Boston Herald
July 7, 2006

The Declaration of Independence

2006-07-04T00:41:00.000-07:00

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

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

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

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

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

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

Column 1

Georgia:

Button Gwinnett

Lyman Hall

George Walton

Column 2

North Carolina:

William Hooper

Joseph Hewes

John Penn

South Carolina:

Edward Rutledge

Thomas Heyward, Jr.

Thomas Lynch, Jr.

Arthur Middleton

Column 3

Massachusetts:

John Hancock

Maryland:

Samuel Chase

William Paca

Thomas Stone

Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:

George Wythe

Richard Henry Lee

Thomas Jefferson

Benjamin Harrison

Thomas Nelson, Jr.

Francis Lightfoot Lee

Carter Braxton

Column 4

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris

Benjamin Rush

Benjamin Franklin

John Morton

George Clymer

James Smith

George Taylor

James Wilson

George Ross

Delaware:

Caesar Rodney

George Read

Thomas McKean

Column 5

New York:

William Floyd

Philip Livingston

Francis Lewis

Lewis Morris

New Jersey:

Richard Stockton

John Witherspoon

Francis Hopkinson

John Hart

Abraham Clark

Column 6

New Hampshire:

Josiah Bartlett

William Whipple

Massachusetts:

Samuel Adams

John Adams

Robert Treat Paine

Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:

Stephen Hopkins

William Ellery

Connecticut:

Roger Sherman

Samuel Huntington

William Williams

Oliver Wolcott

New Hampshire:

Matthew Thornton

It's Here...

2006-06-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

I promised, and now I'm delivering... dashing the hopes and dreams of those who would happily sacrifice an Administration loss for a partisan "win."

Whereas, the Army has surpassed its recruiting goals for the 12th consecutive month despite the ever popular brand of "support" we receive, especially in regard to our mission and Commander-in-Chief whose orders we follow; and

Whereas, one of the Kennedy clan has finally had to own up to Kennedy's Driving Badly; and

Whereas, President Bush made his second successful trip to Baghdad, this time - in support of the new government; and

Whereas, the Press - eager to leak such a story given their partisan... er, "journalistic"motives - were held in complete bewilderment of the President's whereabouts; and

Whereas, Karl Rove has been told by prosecutors that, despite Harry Reid and Howard Dean's presumptions of guilt, he will not be charged with any crimes in the investigation of the leak of a CIA officers (already public) identity; and

Whereas, a University of Colorado panel has recommended that Ward "little Eichmann" Churchill be fired; therefore

Let it be resolved that thousands... maybe tens of thousands of American's hearts have been ripped out, spirits trampled, hopes dashed, and visions of a brighter partisan tomorrow have been extinguished by the aforementioned series of extremely 'unfortunate' events.

"Hillary in 2008," anyone?!

It's Coming...

2006-06-11T09:50:00.001-07:00

In a disaster of epic proportions, thousands... maybe tens of thousands of Americans are about ready to have their hearts ripped out, their spirit trampled, their hopes dashed... and their visions of a brighter tomorrow extinguished.

Stay tuned...

It's Coming...

2006-06-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

In an epic disaster of epic proportions, thousands of Americans are about ready to have their hearts ripped out, their spirit trampled, their hopes dashed... and their visions of a brighter tomorrow extenguished.

Stay tuned...

The Price of Liberty

2006-05-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

The cut and run crowd have their Liberty...

...ask them how they got it.

Memorial Day

2006-05-29T01:55:00.000-07:00

If those who went before us had capitulated from their dream to secure the Blessings of Liberty for Ourselves and our Posterity...

... where would you be today?

... what Quality of Life would you have?

... who would even care?

____________________

War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feelings which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.

-John Stuart Mill

Morning in Iraq

2006-05-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

It's morning in Iraq, again...

_________________________

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced a 34-point program Saturday to bring peace and prosperity to his nation. The program, outlined in a speech to the Iraqi Parliament, is based in democracy and civil liberties.

Below is the program:

The Program of the National Unity Government of Iraq

May 2006

The government sets forth this program to preserve the unity of the Iraqi people of all creeds and ethnicities and to build a constitutional, democratic, unitary, and pluralistic Iraq that will abide by the Constitution and the law and that guarantees the rights and freedoms of all Iraqis, ensuring the active participation of women as well as strengthening the role of civil organizations by encouraging their development and ensuring their independence.

The National Unity Government is composed of all the winning slates in the election who also declare their commitment to the principles and basics of this program, which are:

The composition of the National Unity Government based on the representation of all the components of Iraqi society according to the election results and the interests of the country.

To work according to the Constitution and abide by it, and that any future changes will occur according to article 142 of the Constitution. (Article 142 stipulates that Iraqi voters shall determine any constitutional amendments.) (Download Constitution PDF)

To pursue a policy of national dialogue and work to widen political participation within a constitutional framework in order to build a free, pluralistic, unitary, and democratic Iraq in the spirit of honesty and reconciliation.

The rejection of violence and the clear denunciation of fascist and sectarian agendas. Denouncing terrorism in all its forms and joining all efforts to fight it by implementing anti-terrorism laws in an effective way through the judiciary and related state institutions. Creating the right conditions to establish an atmosphere of love and tolerance amongst the citizens of the country with respect for international standards of human rights.

Protecting the sovereignty of Iraq and reinforcing its independence and unity and dealing with the issue of the presence of the Multi-National Forces according to Security Council Resolution 1546, and speeding up the plans of completing the preparation of the Iraqi forces in accordance with the Constitution and the principles of professionalism and national loyalty. Speeding up the process of transferring security responsibilities and powers to the Iraqi Army, police, and security forces. Also emphasizing the principle of cooperation between Iraq and the Multi-National Forces in a way that will enable the achievement of self reliance in accordance with an objective timetable so that the Iraqi forces may assume the security task in full and the end of the missions of the Multi-National Forces and allow their return to their countries.

Strengthening state institutions and building a state based on the rule of law. Espousing principles of administration and institutionalism and rejecting autocratic and arbitrary decision-making, regarding ministries and state institutions as national entities that are the property of the people and not a particular party's or minister's dominion, and preventing the monopolization, domination or control of government, administration, or public institutions by any sect or group.

Rejecting autocracy, dictatorship, sectarianism, and racism in all its forms and incorporating this attitude in all government policies and practices.

Women constitute half of society and are nurturers of the other half, and therefore must take an active role in building the society and the state. Their rights should be respected in all fields.

The youth are the hope of the future, therefore all necessities to create a good and suitable atmosphere for them to develop their talents and capabilities should be made available, in what helps to build a patriotic Iraq and values.

Maintaining religious shrines, developing them, and providing full support for their security and the security of pilgrims as well as promoting religious tourism.

Supporting universities and ensuring their independence. Reviewing the syllabuses at all stages of education in order to update and rid them of fascist and sectarian ideology, thus reinforcing national unity.

Ensuring the independence of the Iraqi Media Network, and the National Communications Council and preventing Government interference in their affairs, and adhering to the laws that regulate their work.

Drafting a comprehensive plan for reconstruction and development, taking into consideration the reality of deprivation, injustice and underdevelopment that affected the areas and their inhabitants as a result of the policies and the despotism of the previous regime.

Reinvigorating the process of reconstruction and giving priority to damaged and deprived areas.

Speeding up the reconstruction of the electricity sector.

Regulating the hydrocarbon (oil and gas) sector by issuing legislation that ensures the rights of future federal units and provinces in relation to it are upheld in accordance with the Constitution.

Encouraging investment and attracting national and international capital in a way that helps development and reconstruction and preserves national unity.

Giving utmost attention to the agricultural and industrial sectors, issuing suitable legislation and providing government support necessary for their development.

The government is a single united body representing Iraq and the people of Iraq that is selected through the mechanism of free elections. The relationship between the federal government and the local government and council is to be regulated in a way that reinforces the principle of federalism and decentralization in building the country and developing the relationship between the federal units of Iraq .

Building a relationship of friendship, mutual respect and cooperation with neighboring countries and the world in a way that achieves the common interests of Iraq and those countries without interfering in their internal affairs. The adoption of dialogue and negotiations to solve any outstanding issues.

Reinforcing the essential role of future federal units and the provincial councils. Holding free and fair elections for provincial councils and relying on them to run these provinces and federal units and regulating the relationship between them and the central government according to the Constitution and the laws regulating this matter.

The government commits itself to the implementation of article 140 of the constitution, that relies on article 58 of the TAL that specifies 3 stages: normalization, census, and referendum in Kirkuk and other areas of unresolved status. Following its formation, the government will start taking the necessary steps for the normalization procedures which include returning towns and villages that were originally part of Kirkuk , this stage ends on March 29, 2007, then the census stage starts from July 31, 2007 and the last stage which is the referendum will be finalized on Nov. 15, 2007. (This point deals with resolving territorial issues created by the tyranny of the former regime of Saddam Hussein.)

The government commits itself to tackling the security situation through the adoption of a comprehensive plan that incorporates security, economic, social and other elements, and all the elements are to be followed up with the same level of attention.

Adopting the principle of justice and efficiency in running the country and in the distribution of responsibilities and employment in government offices, the army, the police, the security apparatus and embassies in a way that allows fair participation and the improvement of professional standards.

Setting up effective mechanisms for monitoring expenditure and dealing with administrative and financial corruption, and acting on the relevant constitutional articles and adhering to them.

Developing a social welfare system to deal with issues of poverty and underdevelopment.

Developing the institutions of education and scientific research that serve the construction of the new Iraq and being in line with the needs of progress and development.

Reviewing the structure and the laws governing the independent commissions and supporting their roles, which includes the Supreme National Debaathification Comiittee and the Anti-corruption Committee, in a way that does not contradict the constitution and its amendments.

Reviewing the electoral law and the formation of the Electoral Commission.

Work to control the international borders and their crossing points and the utilization of relevant constitutional articles in this regard.

Work to stop forced deportations from all parts of the country, and return deportees to their original habitats.

Fostering scientific talent and providing the secure atmosphere and suitable living standards to prevent migration outside the country and attract those that have left to return.

Setting up of a governmental committee immediately following the formation of the cabinet with a task of following up the issues of the detained, involving the judicial system by referring the accused to the courts, and immediately releasing those who were detained without a court order and encouraging Iraqi and international organizations to follow up the files of the detained and visiting detention centers and meeting detainees without obstacles.

Implementing law 91 relating to the militias. (This point deals with the dissolution of militias and integrating their members into Iraq security forces.)

Hometown Heroes

2006-03-11T23:29:00.000-08:00

Meet Stacey Kelley: Hometown Hero.

If anyone knows how to track down Stacey, please let me know. I want to donate (up to) the $1,000 cost of the fine to one of her neighbors for putting up the same sign. Or, if the Kelley's are fined over $1,000 - I'll send the first $1,000 to her instead. Whatever works to keep the sign(s) up.

Really. I'm not kidding.

Also, if anyone can find the mailing and e-mail addresses for the Westchase Homeowners Association, please let me know. (Normally, I'd be more than happy to get this information for myself, but I'm just a little busy here in Iraq - as you might have noted from the lack of posts to this site). I have several thousand close friends here in Iraq who might be interested in exercising their Freedom of Speech, which the Homeowners Association is trying to prevent.

Sound Reveille. The Bull Shit Flag riseth.

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

WESTCHASE, Fla., (March 10) - When Stacey Kelley's husband, Army Pvt. David Kelley who is serving in Iraq, sent her a cardboard sign expressing support for U.S. troops overseas, she put it up in the yard of her suburban Tampa, Fla., home.

Kelley, 24, never imagined that it would raise controversy, or that she would be threatened with a $100-a-day fine if she refused to take it down.

"I've been in tears. I couldn't believe that they wanted me to take it down," she said. The Westchase Homeowners Association threatened her with the $100 a day for up to 10 days because the sign is in violation of association rules, but Kelley said she was ready to pay.

"If I have to pay, I'll pay the fines. My husband says the same thing," she said. "If we have to pay them, we'll pay them. If they're gonna try to give us more than a thousand-dollar fine, there's enough people out there that are willing to help me out."

It was an issue that caused a conflict for the association's president, who is also an Army reservist. Daryl Manning, an Iraq War veteran, said he hoped that some compromise could be worked out.

"I've been there. I know right where her husband is. I've been in [the] country. I was over there for 20 months," he said.

A compromise was reached Thursday night, but it doesn't mean Kelley won't be facing a fine -- just one a lot lower than the amount originally threatened. Instead, the seven-member board voted to impose just a $1-per-day penalty for as long as the sign stays up.

The fine will eventually go up if Kelley doesn't take the sign down, Manning said.

"There's a violation to have any sign in any homeowner's yard, regardless of what it says," Manning said.

Manning said the association's rules about signs, which only allow "For Sale" or "For Lease" signs, were in place to keep the community clean and keep the peace.

"The problem could arise where it could be a neighbor across the street or across the road that says, 'Bring the troops home. Get out of the theater. Cut and run.' What happens when that occurs? So we cannot make exceptions in this case," he said.

"All my neighbors told me this morning they're willing to go out and buy signs today and start putting them in everyone's yard because that's how it should be," Kelley said on Thursday.

Some neighbors said they didn't agree with the homeowners association's objection to Kelley's sign, despite the community rules.

"Of course, they say that there are rules, but in this particular case I think we should overlook that particular rule and give her the moral support," resident Ed Drost said.

"Gee whiz, the sign says, 'Support our troops.' OK?" said Merv Shiner, another neighbor.

[WFTS TV, Tampa]

From Baghdad

2006-02-08T06:43:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Al Faw Palace, where the two-room bathrooms (which are larger than most hotel bedrooms) have their own waiting rooms, where a brutal dictator can no longer call home, and where Coalition Forces invest their lives in returning a stable way of life to the citizens of Iraq. It's a privilege to finally be here.

Allow me to dredge up a couple bygone discussions...

Cindy Sheehan may be upset over the loss of her son, but before she postures for yet another meeting with the President - perhaps she and her followers ought to talk to any one of the Iraqi citizens who are grateful (to the point of my embarassment, sometimes) for our efforts on their behalf. // How Letterman could possibly suggest that Bill O'Reilly was somehow missing the point by not feeling for that woman who clearly enjoys and exploits the partisan spotlight is beyond ludicrous. Pardon me for asking if Letterman has spent a single day of his life giving up his Freedom so an entire country might enjoy theirs... all while some dis-involved "mother" could high-jack her fallen son's sacrifice while denouncing the mission he believed in so much.

I can't say how long I'll be here, or what I'm doing - but I'll update as I can!

Re: Enlistment

2006-01-26T07:18:00.000-08:00

Because Duty is more than a buzzword, today - I have the privilege and honor of re-enlisting in the military.

I can imagine nothing more exhiliarating for those who understand that our Rights come with Responsibilities and that "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" ought to be everyone's Right - not just the Right of those fortunate enough to find their feet planted on American soil.

For those who are content to shortchange that Right for others, I hope what goes around comes around...

Joel Stein Doesn't Support The Troops

2006-01-24T14:55:00.000-08:00

"I don't support our troops."

- Joel Stein, LA Times

Pakistan Demands an Apology

2006-01-19T06:20:00.000-08:00

Pakistan's Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz, and his ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q condemned the U.S. airstrike against a village where al-Qaeda #2-man Ayman al-Zawahiri had been invited for a meal.

Fists pounding, they demand an apology!

Meanwhile, Aziz is still coming to the U.S. to encourage foreign investment and discuss security issues despite the lack of an apology for ruining a few terrorist's peaceful supper.

Yes, Aziz wants us to apologize for nailing an al-Qaeda nest... and he wants our money, too.

In only one of two nations created for a religious people (this one being an Islamic state - the Islamic Republic of Pakistan), I'm perplexed by the "surprise" some Pakistani's express when we target the Islamic Extremists (read "terrorists") they harbor.

Where is the surprise in that?!

Uh, Pakistan. "No apology for you!"

Down on Hillary's Plantation

2006-01-17T19:51:00.000-08:00

Show me anyone with the slightest interest in politics who is giving Hillary a free pass on her MLK Day statement describing Congress as being "run like a plantation," and I'll show you someone who would Go Tell it on the Mountain about a Republican's "bigotry" if that same comment were made by a Republican about a Democrat-held institution.

This isn't Hillary's first "plantation" reference, either. Oh no... In November '04, Hillary charged that "they're running the House of Representatives like a fiefdom with Tom DeLay as, you know, in charge of the plantation."

Hillary seems to know all about the plantation - and apparently, so do those who are giving her a free pass.

I guess it's all good so long as Hill's the whitey playing the race cards.

Fo shizzle, yo.

See: Les Enfants Terrible: Hillary Knows Oppression

Image: The Old Plantation. Courtesy of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, Williamsburg, VA. - Snagged from common-place.org at Representing Slavery: A Roundtable Discussion.

School Vouchers

2006-01-13T22:38:00.000-08:00

If I can take my Montgomery G.I. Bill money and apply those tax-payer dollars toward a private religious school, then why can't parents of minor-students take their education dollars and apply those tax-payer funds toward a private religious school?

It's the same thing... tax-payer funds marked for education, going to private religious schools.

Whose Line Is It? - II

2006-01-11T03:31:00.000-08:00

In a free society, there's only one check on political speech and that's the judgment of the American people... so I ask all Americans to hold their elected leaders to account and demand a debate that brings credit to our democracy, not comfort to our adversaries.

Who said it?
- No fair looking it up!

Answers to Whose Line, along with other quotes, will be posted at Res Publica.

What's Wrong With These... Teachers... Today?

2006-01-07T06:45:00.000-08:00

The line used to go, "What's wrong with these kids today?"

The seemingly obvious answer (to me, anyway) always seems to have been "Their parents."

But.... No.

Some of their teachers are busy preying on them in their early teen and pre-teen years, while some of their other teachers simply wait for the end of the business day to - uh - get down to business.

In Pennsylvania, Patrick Collins, 54, and Angela DiBattista, 50, have reportedly been placed on paid leave while an investigation continues surrounding allegations these two school-house rabbits bumped uglies in the classroom while other teachers stood watch at the door.

No word on whether their Union contracts protect school-house fornication... but I'm sure it's their "Right."

Tsk.

Free Booze for Homeless?

2006-01-05T07:06:00.000-08:00

A 'study' published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal indicates that free hooch may improve the health and lives of homeless alcoholics.

I'm not making this up!

Seventeen chronic alcoholics were offered a glass of wine or sherry every hour from 7am to 10pm at an Ottawa shelter over a five-month period. Three quit and three others died; however, eleven reported improved sleep, hygiene, nutrition and health.

Naturally, those reports are coming from the eleven who no longer have to worry about how and where to secure the next bottle of hooch, not from scientists or physicians.

At press time, there was no word on whether Canada would soon offer $100 bills on an hourly basis to chronic bank robbers, 14-year old girls (hey, that's their age of consent law!) to touring international sexaholic-pedophiles, or heroin to...

Wait. They do have that free heroin program. Maybe those other two ideas aren't far behind. Those silly Canadians justify all of this by suggesting they're saving more money in the long run by keeping people stoned and drunk, than by paying to scrape them up off the streets once they've tapped out or become a nuissance to the local sexaholic-pedophile tourist cash cows who demand aesthetically pleasing vacation hotspots.

So... Visit Ottawa! I hear it's nice this time of year.

Whose Line Is It?

2006-01-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as Freedom should not be highly rated.

Who said it?
- No fair looking it up!

- No one guessed right this time... The Answer.

Saddam Prefers Death by Firing Squad

2006-01-03T10:32:00.000-08:00

Saddam Hussein informed his lawyers that he prefers death by firing squad if he is sentenced to death in his murder trial. He requests that he not be hanged.

The tyrant insists he is still the Commander in Chief of Iraq's Armed Forces, and that death by firing squad is they way a military commander ought to be executed.

Interestingly, Saddam thinks the way non-military commanders ought to be executed is torture via the kind of WMD he used against his own people.

Perhaps we should have a hearing on whether he is still the Commander in Chief of Iraqi Armed Forces - and then fulfill his wishes... the way he executed those same wishes upon others.

NATO Strike Contigency vs Iran?

2006-01-01T01:13:00.000-08:00

On December 31, The Jerusalem Post reports that German press indicates that NATO is contemplating prospects for a military strike against Iran, to include DCI Porter Goss' request to use Turkish military bases as assault launch sites.

I'd like to know if German reporters think this is breaking news, and I'm anxious to see how it plays out in the press here at home.

I can't say I'll be surprised when Howiecrats come screaming about our bellicose plans to "occupy" another country, but then - they're upset about Dubya's intelligence collection over the phone lines as they ignore the same activity by Clinton and Carter who weren't backed by a War Powers Act the way Bush is.

No worries, though. Iran will get their 17 U.N. Resolutions over 12 years first... the same way Iraq did.

And maybe Iran will learn a little faster from history than Iraq's former government or the Howiecrats did...

If Italy Can Get Away With It...

2005-12-29T00:12:00.000-08:00

Italy has barred hockey player Daniele Veggiato for life from the national hockey team on the account of Veggiato's screaming of racist slurs at a Cortina defenseman, Luca Zandonella.

As if the player's names mean anything to anyone in the U.S. (up until the day the U.S. Hockey team plays Italy during the Olympics, that is).

My point being - if Italy can ban players from the National team for life over racist slurs, then maybe we can take the cue and bar our own athletes who's "game" consists of racial slurs.

"Nigger" for example. When is the last time you suppose that hasn't been the greeting of the day on an NBA court?

And if we can ban them for slurs, maybe professional sports will put some teeth into their anti-drug policies. Three strikes for steroids?! Try one strike! It makes no sense that Pete Rose gets banned for life for betting (on his team to win, no less) when the Darryl Strawberries of the world are on their 17th chance.

So, hooray for Italy - for growing a pair. Maybe someone in U.S. sports will pay attention...

Christmas Music

2005-12-21T10:59:00.000-08:00

Click here.

Media Biased - So Sayeth UCLA

2005-12-21T06:21:00.000-08:00

While the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal is conservative, the newspaper's news pages are liberal, even more liberal than The New York Times. The Drudge Report may have a right-wing reputation, but it leans left. Coverage by public television and radio is conservative compared to the rest of the mainstream media. Meanwhile, almost all major media outlets tilt to the left.

These are just a few of the surprising findings from a UCLA-led study, which is believed to be the first successful attempt at objectively quantifying bias in a range of media outlets and ranking them accordingly. - UCLA News

I'm excited to see how the media apologists respond to this.

Frequently, what apologists don't say is more interesting than what they do say... so I wont hold my breath for a substantial rebuttal from any of the usual suspects.

Meanwhile, the report quantifies that 18 of the 20 major media outlets scored left of center with The Wall Street Journal, CBS Evening "News," NY Times, and LA Times scoring most-liberal. (Pardon my utter shock and dismay over the finding that CBS scored only second most-liberal).

On the other hand, FOX News' Special Report with Brit Hume scored the fourth most-centrist of the studied outlets. FOX, being the channel the left loves to finger as being oh-so-right-leaning. Surely, FOX commentary leans right; however, at least this viewer has no problem distinguishing commentary from the news. Over at CBS, LA Times, et al - even the "reporters" seem to have trouble distinguishing between the two!

And now, a word from media apologists...

"mum"

And that's the way it is...

Those Who Matter

2005-12-20T04:01:00.000-08:00

TIME supposes the Vanity Fair "model," stands a better chance at coming across as someone who matters by dressing her up in a pair of jammies.

Fair enough, I guess...

I'dathunk they'd have projected ol' Joe as a forward-leaning arch-administration fist waiver, though. That, and color him in all nice and blue-like.

Meanwhile, none of these people made TIME's list of those who apparently mattered: John Kerry, Chappaquiddick Ted, Clinton, Monica, the other Clinton, and Screamin' Howie.

Their consolation lies either in that Cindy Sheehan made the list, or that the American Sailor, Soldier, Marine and Airman did not.

Iran: 'Holocaust a Myth'

2005-12-14T09:25:00.000-08:00

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says, on live state television, The Holocaust was a myth.

"They have fabricated a legend under the name 'Massacre of the Jews', and they hold it higher than God himself, religion itself and the prophets themselves," he told a crowd in the southeastern city of Zahedan on Wednesday.

See: Washington Post

... standby for George Bush's condemnation of these comments, soon to be followed by Howard Dean's explanation of how Ahmadinejad's words are "being taken out of context."

Screamin Howie's Flag

2005-12-09T04:13:00.000-08:00

Finally...

... a flag Screamin' Howie can be proud to salute.

Go Army, Beat Navy!

2005-12-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

Who's going to be the First to 50?!

The Army Black Knights,

or the Navy Goats...

er... Midshipmen?

"In a rivalry that pits two of the nation's service academy football teams in a series that dates to 1890, the players share a unique bond knowing that their common objectives lie beyond the field of play. The players in this Saturday's game, particularly the seniors from both West Point and Annapolis, could ultimately be deployed for combat service in either Iraq and Afghanistan." - GoArmySports

AOL's Calacanis: "Pull the Ads"

2005-11-26T23:53:00.000-08:00

Weblogs' Jason Calacanis, now part of AOL, is now calling for a removal of the Ambush Advertising on paying customers' AOL Journals.

He writes in his blog:

What happened: AOL added a big-old advertisement to the top of everyone's blog on AOL Journals--without warning them in advance. These leaderboards (an IAB standard size) are fairly large, but not uncommon on the Internets (we have them at the top of all our blogs). Some bloggers were shocked when they had these advertisement sprung on them a week ago, and a small group of folks (less than 100) defected from the service in protest.
From what I've read the service has 600,000 users so losing 100 isn't a big deal on a pure numbers basis, however it's bad from a PR standpoint and I would suspect these are some of the best users of the product.

What we did wrong: The main issues: a) the advertisements were added without user permission (just like the AIM buddies last week!) b) the adverisements were added without warning, and c) when the issue boiled up we had the PR department give the following canned statement:“
The decision to implement banner advertising on AOL Journals is consistent with our business and advertising practices.”
Now that was bad--really bad. We sound like we're freakin' robots, and bloggers do not want to talk to robots. They want to speak with a human being, preferably one who is also a blogger!

Moral of the story?

Someone at AOL gets it - and has the gonads to say so! Now we just need to see if any of AOL's decision makers have the capacity to listen to Calacanis, since they're not listening to us!

AOL Keyword: Clueless

2005-11-22T22:18:00.000-08:00

Kathie Brockman of AOL tells the Washington Post that their new practice of invading paid-customer's Journals with unwanted advertising is "consistent with the practices of other major blog providers on the Internet."

Update:

The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) has picked this story up as well.
And The Journal News.
And Biz Report.
And The Blog Herald.
And The Austin American Statesman.
And The Alameda Times-Star.
And Inside Bay Area.
And The Inquirer (UK).

Stand back and salute. The Bullshit Flag riseth.

I don't see any unwanted advertising here on blogspot.

Guess where a lot of AOL's former long-time customers have gone after AOL ambushed their customers?

AOL apparently considers this part of their "audience strategy" - where they aggressively remain completely oblivious to their audience, pretend to listen to them (while hearing only that which they want to hear), and refuse to give them the courtesy of a reach around.

Is it any wonder AOL is losing customers at break-neck speed?!

Check back soon for an update on whether the AOL Corporate site sets-up shop at AOL Keyword: Clueless.

(Thanks to Yuki Noguchi for hearing our case and running our story!)

The McCain Amendment

2005-11-16T08:01:00.000-08:00

We should be asking this question of each and every member of Congress who claims to support the McCain Amendment: If we had credible information regarding an ongoing al Qaeda plot to detonate a nuclear weapon in the continental United States, and we had just taken into custody an al Qaeda militant who was in a position to know where and when the attack was to occur but who was refusing to cooperate, are you saying we would need to let thousands of Americans die rather than harm a hair on the terrorist's head in an effort to extract the information that might save them?

If the answer to that question is "no," you have no business voting for the McCain Amendment. If the answer is "yes," you have no business serving in a government whose first obligation is the security of the governed.

- Andrew McCarthy, National Review: Say "No" to the McCain Amendment

AOL Exodus

2005-11-16T07:37:00.000-08:00

Unsurprisingly, there isn't a lot to update you on regarding AOL's "upgrade," but here goes:

AOL has chosen to remain irresponsive.

Various people tell me they have called AOL HQ and were told the advertising was not coming down. (I have not verified this).

Scalzi and Editor Joe are pretending to be happy go lucky about "helping" us work through the recent "upgrade" while focusing on a few minor splinters despite the plank in their eye.

My e-mails to the Executive Office have been read. No response.

I have approached National Press about this. There is some interest.

That's all for now. More to come...

Tag: AntiJournalsAds

Boycott AOL Journals

2005-11-15T07:52:00.000-08:00

Silly, to have to post even this entry here... but in anticipation of AOL deleting my entry, or my entire Journal again:

JOIN THE BOYCOTT OF AOL JOURNALS!

- Until the advertising is gone, you will find me at http://armandt.blogspot.com/

__________________________________

Pardon my flair for the obvious...

AOL has thrown-down with advertising on our PAID Journals?!

Not that I pay while "enjoying" 18 free months of service compliments of an AOL "ERROR" (see keyword: SNAFU), but mine is a 'paid' account.

What if I have moral objections against the companies AOL is advertising on my journal?

What if I simply don't want that crap on my journal?!

WTF, AOL? Take that shit down!

Come to think of it, I do have a moral objection to the Bank of America advertising on my Journal. Bank of America does an absolutely horrible job of managing the Government Travel Card program that service members are REQUIRED to use. I don't want my journal used to advertise - especially for companies that are held in such low regard by service members like myself!

That didn't take very long, now, did it?
Comments left - so far - at Magic Smoke:
Joe,

The advertising on our paid Journals is INTOLERABLE.

The advertising goes, or your customers go.

Armand
http://journals.aol.com/armandt/sense

Comment from armandt - 11/15/05 8:08 AM

I will add one more voice to what is going to be a large list of complaining customers. Please tell AOL that the advertising on our journals... that which we have already paid for, is disgusting and unacceptable. Its like a slap in the face. If AOL doesn't learn quickly from this mistake, I will be looking elsewhere to journal. I am a long long long time AOL member (since 1993!), and this is the most offensive thing AOL has done.
Virginia

Comment from ecori - 11/15/05 7:36 AM

Journals now look like trash this morning. If I wanted a seizure-inducing ad at the top of my blog....... well............ I Don't. This is ridiculous and I would like to know who thought it was a good idea to ruin the look of OUR journals with YOUR advertising. I am completely disgusted Joe and cannot believe that someone even dreamed that this was acceptable.

I also cannot ad or save an entry to my journal....... is it because of this tinkering overnight????????

I want these ads off my journal.

judi
Comment from judithheartsong - 11/15/05 7:22 AM

Dear Joe,

I pay AOL-HELL $54.95, a month for my broad band service and this morning I wake up to ads on my journal headers. ???? Joe, I want these off of my journals. As much as I pay for my service I should not, nor should my readers be subjected to spam advertising. If they are not removed, I will be moving my journals elsewhere and going with another server for broadband that is exactly $20.00 cheaper than AOL-Hell a month.

Gabreael

http://journals.aol.com/gabreaelinfo/GabreaelsBodyMindSpiritJournal/

http://journals.aol.com/eparanormal/EasternParanormal/
Comment from gabreaelinfo - 11/15/05 7:12 AM

Joe, I cannot ADD / EDIT my own journal??? But I certainly can read the new add on top of it that AOL kindly put there. Whats wrong with this picture??? I need this fixed - I Pay for this service , I dont need an advertisement on my own blog.

Ellen
http://journals.aol.com/eml625/Onedayatatime
Comment from eml625 - 11/15/05 6:51 AM

I am going to repeat what the others said, I am unable to update my journal and what's with the add banners? I thought only AIM users had to see that???? Please let us know when we will be able to use our Journals again, thanks so much!

Gwen
aka Jadejonez04
Comment from jadejonez04 - 11/15/05 6:50 AM

Joe, Joe, Joe, I have a complaint to make . . . why does AOL feel they can advertise in our journals that we keep now?? I pull up my journal this morning to find that Bank of America is prominently displayed at the topof my journal. We PAY for this service correct? Why do we have no say on where and how AOL uses advertisements? I mean, what's next? Advertisements for Viagra on my journal?! I am not surprised people are leaving AOL by the thousands. This is not good customer service at all!
Lisa
http://journals.aol.com/lisbnjvi/LisasMommyJournal/
Comment from lisbnjvi - 11/15/05 6:46 AM

Well, I'm logged on to my screen name "bookncoffee" but for the life of me CANNOT update my journal as there is no "button" to do so. And I also see we are running ads at the top now. I don't like that b/c it defaces the journal and takes away from how we want it to look. I'll log off and log back on again. I came to your journal hoping to see what was going on. You know we always let you know when we don't like something...but I will say that I enjoy AOL and enjoy journaling and know that you all try to fix things we have trouble with or don't like.
Thanks for that.
Sonya
Comment from bookncoffee - 11/15/05 6:32 AM

Tag: AntiJournalsAds

He Finally Said It...

2005-11-11T10:49:00.000-08:00

"while it's perfectly legitimate to criticize my conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began."

- President Bush, Commander-in-Chief
Transcript: WaPo

Freedom Costs a Buck-o-Five

2005-11-09T23:32:00.000-08:00

Freedom isn't free.

Therefore, your friendly Presidential Administration has implemented new plans to finance the truly-global war against "Freedom Fighters" who just want someone to hug their nuts while they lop our heads off and round-up our daughters for their pool of virgins they owe to yesterday's "martyrs."

Did I mention I'm intrigued by the disparity in the vocalized anger between what a relatively few bad soldiers do (and actually pay the price for), as compared to the same people's anger over what these mere "Freedom Fighters" are doing every time they get the chance? But I digress...

A few weeks ago, the McHitlerburton Administration resolved to create victims of opportunity in order to garner additional financial support to accomplish it's goal of global domination. As you know, suicide bombers presented themselves in Amman, Jordan shortly thereafter.

Surely, the King of Jordan's ire will result in a small tip for King George's tip jar... probably somewhere around a buck-o-five.

Ok. So I pulled that out of my fourth point of contact and it's completely unsupportable tripe that no one would sign-off on. Right?

Probably not. Let's see how long before the conspiracy theories start floating in from the Michael Moore crowd. If you see one, drop a link in comments for me, huh?

Meanwhile, I'll be putting-in my buck-o-five and maybe antagonizing the spitting protesters if I can find them this weekend at Veteran's Day observances.

Image: The Statue of Freedom, which now resides atop the U.S. Capitol Building

Bigamist Judge Walter Steed

2005-11-03T12:36:00.000-08:00

Meet Walter Steed:

- Judge
- Husband
- Husband, and...
- Husband.

That's right. Steed the Stud has three wives... who are sisters. He likes it that way and supposes he can do his job just fine, despite the fact that he is breaking the laws he swore to uphold.

Utah's Judicial Conduct Commission placed their flare for the obvious on the line by finding him to be a bigamist; however, studly Steed is not being placed on administrative leave. Apparently, third-degree felonies punishable by up to 5 years of milk and cookies and the local country club (ok, so they call it "prison"... I call it what it is) are not enough to remove a judge from the bench.

I guess it's all ok, though, because the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints (a Mormon break-away sect) says it's ok - and Utah is not the boss of them!

A-yep. If you kin gitcherself a reelijin t' say "m'kay," den you gots no worryin t' do... 'ts all good.

A-no.

We are a nation of laws for a reason. We don't pick and choose what laws to follow when and if we want, and people who choose to break our laws must be subject to the penalties for breaking those laws.

Steed suggests he can still do his job despite his disregard for the law, and wants to know why he should be removed as long as he can do his job.

"Can?" Try "May." Anyone "can" do their job after robbing the local kwik-e-mart, beating their wives and step-children, or firing up a joint, but that doesn't mean they should get to stay on the job. What they "may" not do is break the law simply because their religion says it's ok.

Think I'm full of it? Stick to those guns when Usama bin Rapin' moves next door to your house and takes a liking to your 13-year old daughter who he thinks is meant to be one of his 72 virgins. His religion told him it's ok.

If you don't like our laws, then work to change them - through your LEGISLATOR, not your judge. And if you are a judge, you don't get to legislate from the bench and you DON'T get to pack your three wives into the car for the family vacation. Defend our laws or get off the friggin' bench!

Meanwhile, the Utah Attorney General and Washington County Prosecutor both decline to prosecute Steed. These two need to go down for some kind of Accessory crime. Period.

Steed is free to go on expressing his religious beliefs, but breaking the law comes with a price.

It's time for Steed to pay.

Despite Media Battle, Terrorists Fail to Stop Progress in Iraq

2005-11-01T03:43:00.000-08:00

By Donna Miles

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31, 2005 – Despite a desperate media battle in Iraq, terrorists are failing to stop Iraqis from advancing on the political and security fronts, a senior military official in Baghdad told reporters Oct. 30.

"To the terrorists, the media is a vital force multiplier," said Air Force Brig. Gen. Donald Alston, director of strategic communications for Multinational Force Iraq during a briefing at the Combined Press Information Center in Baghdad.

That's why terrorists targeted Baghdad's Palestine Hotel, a base for many media outlets, during an Oct. 24 car bombing, Alston said. He called the bombing a signature al Qaeda attack, set to inflict as much death and destruction as possible while guaranteeing maximum media coverage.

"(Terrorists) attempt to use the media to appear more capable than they really are and to intimidate others with attack videos and Web site postings," Alston said. Desperate because they can't gain credibility any other way, they resort to "mindless destruction at the media's front doorstep," he said.

A letter from al Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, reflects that desperation, Alston said. Intelligence operatives intercepted the letter before it reached its intended recipient, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the main leader of terrorists in Iraq.

"We are in a media battle in a race for the hearts and minds of the (followers of Islam)," Zawahiri wrote, acknowledging that it's al Qaeda's only hope of success in Iraq.

But despite their efforts, "Zawahiri, Zarqawi and others have failed to stop the march toward democracy time and time again," Alston told reporters.

Terrorists failed to stop January elections, the seating and meeting of the Transitional National Assembly, and the drafting of the constitution and the referendum approving it, he said. "They will also fail to stop the elections in December," he said. Iraq's parliamentary elections are slated for Dec. 15.

Alston congratulated the 10 million Iraqis who voted during the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum. Eight million supported the draft constitution, and 2 million opposed it. These people, regardless of how they voted, seized the opportunity to decide their country's future and build a new Iraq, he said.

"A new Iraq is what they will have with the December elections when they select a permanent government," Alston said.

As the political process advances, Iraq's security forces are gaining in numbers and capability, he said. More than 207,000 Iraqi soldiers and police are patrolling the country's streets and borders, and the number of Iraqi battalions taking the lead in combat operations has jumped 50 percent since July.

"These additional forces allow us to continue to put pressure on the enemy every day of the week, and it is paying off," Alston said.

Meanwhile, the "un-biased" media and MoveOn.DemocratUnderground@NPR.DNC will tell you that we're making NO progress in Iraq and that we need to pull out yesterday.

Bush Nominates Alito

2005-10-31T09:08:00.000-08:00

President Bush has nominated Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr to replace O'Connor on the Supreme Court. (Transcript)

"Civil rights and womens' Rights groups vowed to defeat the nomination, declaring that they will not allow a conservative on such social issues to take the seat of moderate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor." - Washington Post

Civil rights and womens' Rights groups strategically-misunderstand is that it is not a Judge's prerogative to legislate from the bench. If Civil and womens' Rights groups want particular Rights they don't already have, they need to urge their legislators to draft Constitutional Amendments. Let's leave legislating to the legislators. - Armand

We have a process here, ladies and gentlemen, and our three branches of government are SEPARATE for a reason. What do you say we try and stick with that?

What are your questions at this time?

See:

Planned Parenthood v. Casey - spousal/parental notification
ACLU v. Schundler - First Amendment, establishment clause
Sheridan v. Dupont - discrimination complaints
Saxe v. State College Area School District - First Amendment, anti-harassment
Ronald A. Williams v. Price, Fisher - granting Federal Court Review due to racial bias of juror
The Pitt News v. Pappert - First Amendment, advertising alcohol in media assoc. with educational institutions
Shore Regional High School Board of Education v. P.S., on Behalf of P.S. - Individuals with Disabilities Act

Rosa Parks

2005-10-28T00:33:00.000-07:00

She could have played the victim card, but where would that have got her?

She could have just walked to the back of the bus, but where would that have got her?

She could have just waited for someone else to stand up, or - in her case - sit down, and fight for what was right, but where would that have got her?

Rosa Parks wasn't about to settle for the back of the bus on December 1, 1955, and Congress has the opportunity to ensure that she doesn't settle for the back of the bus now, either.

The Senate approved a resolution last night to allow Parks the honor of lying in the Capital Rotunda. The House will pass the measure later today.

Parks will be the first woman to ever lie in the Rotunda and one of the few who did not hold elective office.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 61 (not yet published) passed the Senate by unanimous consent.

See what happens when you don't hide behind a victim card and fight for what you know is right?

Image: Bruderhof Peacemakers Guide

For the Record

2005-10-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

This is too surreal to pass up.

You need to read Dave's comment - here.

Dave, who claims to be a PETA member, assumes that a "man" receiving anal intercourse from a horse constitutes consensual sex.

Man. Horse. Sex. Consent. PETA. Dave.

Any questions?

Wait. - He was "kidding" again, right?

Strengthening Anti-Terrorism

2005-10-26T06:57:00.000-07:00

There is current legislation before the House that aims to strengthen the USA PATRIOT Act, with 5 versions of H.R. 3199 and 2 versions of S. 1389.

This legislation triples the number of terror-related crimes (from 20 to 61) that would be eligible for the death penalty. These, being a major bone of contention between House and Senate negotiators who are stumbling for a compromise.

Critics suggest unwitting terror supporters could be put to death despite their complete ignorance of their support.

In unrelated news, monkeys were seen flying out of these same critic's collective ass this morning.

What I didn't see in the legislation was a provision to lace every form of mass transportation, every large gathering space, and every terrorists grave with pigs blood. It's an exceptionally cheap deterrent and, whether they actually did this or not, the mere suggestion of planting pig lard on busses in Israel has apparently reduced the number of terrorist suicide bus-bombings there. (If anyone has hard data on this, shoot me the link!)

I'll be taking your pig lard donations starting next week.

Short of that, I support strengthening our anti-terror laws.

Tolerating the ACLU

2005-10-24T09:40:00.000-07:00

How long should you stand by while your neighbor plots significant ill-will against you and your family, or your neighbors, or people who look like you? Should you sit there and "tolerate" their Right to talk about it all day long? Should political action groups defend their kind of "speech" that virtually terrorizes large numbers of particular demographic groups?

The ACLU defends NAMBLA's Right to advocate man-boy "love" - pro bono - for free.

Let's save the point that NAMBLA ought to call themselves what they are, the North American Man Boy Lust (not "Love" - as they say) Association, for another day. They advocate the lowering of the age of consent for minors in an effort to legalize sex with minors. In short, they want to legalize the rape of children they can confuse into saying 'yes.' The ACLU states they don't join the advocacy of the groups they defend, but they defend their Free Speech

Will Prussian Blue's rise to racist-music infamy have the ACLU pounding down the girl's door soon, as well? These two 13 year-old twins (Lamb and Lynx Gaede) have their second album on the way, a music video, a grip of fans, and are used by David Duke to draw large crowds with their racist views of white nationalism. (By the way, their "music," like their message, sucks).

Ted Shaw, President of the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund isn't so happy about Lamb and Lynx' "spewing out that kind of garbage" and points out that they aren't espousing their own opinions, but ones they're being taught.

Still, the ACLU probably isn't far behind. When the girls attempted to help only the white victims of Katrina, they received enough angry responses that they ended up dropping off their supplies with a local Confederate memorabilia shop, rather than facing the angry mobs. Also, last month, the girls were dropped from the line-up at their hometown county fair when enough people in the community protested about the message these girls were sending. I wouldn't be surprised if the ACLU hasn't already contacted the girls about the "disenfranchisement" of their Freedom of Expression.

It's interesting - the strategic-anger that some will display over a tax policy discussed (we're talking Freedom of Speech, now) by the political-right, when compared to the inverse level of tolerance those same people display over NAMBLA or Prussian Blue's Free Speech.

Gimme an 'H' ...
Gimme a 'Y' ...
Gimme a 'P' ...

Fun with Bestiality, Washington Style

2005-10-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

Here in Washington State, Bestiality is perfectly legal.

That's how people like James Tait get-off... er, get away with hosting little bestiality parties in their neighbor's stables.

In July, James Tait and another of the farm's residents became the subjects of investigation after a Seattle-"man" (the Seattle Times called him a "man," not me!) died of acute peritonitis due to perforation of the colon after one such escapade with a horse in the neighbor's barn.

Guess which crime James Tait has been charged with here in the great Blue State of Washington?

No, really. Guess!

Ok - I'll give you a hint. This happened on his neighbor's farm.

That's right, Jimbo! James Tait is being charged, NOT with bestiality or cruelty to animals, but with trespassing!

Now, wouldn't you think that the extraordinarily strong representation of Democrats in Olympia would take note and make fast work of criminalizing bestiality here in the Evergreen State?

Right. There you'd go thinking again. Democrats are doing nothing of the sort.

Leave it to Republican State Senator Pam Roach to finally plan legislation to finally criminalize bestiality here in Washington State.

Freedom, War and Abortion

2005-10-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

U.N. elections chief Carina Perelli estimates between 54 and 58 percent of Iraqi voters showed up on Saturday to vote on their proposed constitution despite legitimate fears of militant reprisal.

Does that turnout seem low?

Compare registered voter turn-out in the U.S. during the last several Presidential Election years. (FEC, Infoplease)

2004 - 55.3%
2000 - 51.3%
1996 - 49.1%
1992 - 55.1%
1988 - 50.1%
1984 - 53.1%
1980 - 52.6%
1976 - 53.6%
1972 - 55.2%

... and we have to go all the way back to 1968 to find a year in which over 60% of registered voters turned-out. 60.8% turned out that year.

And - in none of those years was our turn-out affected by legitimate fear of militant reprisal.

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

Soldier death-count fans will tell you that 1,976 U.S. troops have died in getting Iraq to this point. (This averages to approximately 2.1 U.S. troop deaths per day in Iraq). (http://icasualties.org/oif/)

Now, compare that to the 29,247,142 legal abortions that were performed in the United States between 1970-1995. (That's about 1.2 Million abortions per year, or over 3,200 abortions per day). 7% of reasons given for those abortions are attributed to "health problems of the mother or baby", or "pregnancy caused by incest or rape."
(Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 47 No. SS-2), (http://www.guttmacher.org/presentations/abort_slides.pdf)

2 U.S. Soldiers per day
vs
3,200 U.S. Babies per day

26 Million Iraqi's are facing Freedom and some would rather focus on those two deaths per day.

29 Million Babies (plus!) will never know Freedom and some would rather focus on ... those same two deaths per day.

Kumbayah...

To Ayman, From Abu - With Love

2005-10-13T06:32:00.000-07:00

From the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, a letter between two senior al Qa'ida leaders - Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Highlights of the letter include:

The centrality of the war in Iraq for the global jihad.
From al Qa'ida's point of view, the war does not end with an American departure.
An acknowledgment of the appeal of democracy to the Iraqis.
The strategic vision of inevitable conflict, with a tacit recognition of current political dynamics in Iraq; with a call by al-Zawahiri for political action equal to military action.
The need to maintain popular support at least until jihadist rule has been established.
Admission that more than half the struggle is taking place "in the battlefield of the media."

These people aren't interested in singing Kumbayah. When you're done reading the letter, read it again.

Or, you can simply ignore the issue and I'll see you on the news in a few years crying for your daughter (who they have other plans for) as you nash your teeth and cry, "why me?"

¤ ¤ ¤ ¤ ¤

In the name of God, praise be to God, and praise and blessings be upon the Messenger of God, his family, his Companions, and all those who follow him.

.................................

The gracious brother/Abu Musab, God protect him and watch over him, may His religion, and His Book and the Sunna of His Prophet @ aid him, I ask the Almighty that he bless him, us, and all Muslims, with His divine aid, His clear victory, and His release from suffering be close at hand. Likewise, I ask the Almighty to gather us as He sees fit from the glory of this world and the prize of the hereafter.

1-Dear brother, God Almighty knows how much I miss meeting with you, how much I long to join you in your historic battle against the greatest of criminals and apostates in the heart of the Islamic world, the field where epic and major battles in the history of Islam were fought. I think that if I could find a way to you, I would not delay a day, God willing.

2-My dear brother, we are following your news, despite the difficulty and hardship. We received your last published message sent to Sheikh Usama Bin Ladin, God save him. Likewise, I made sure in my last speech-that Aljazeera broadcast Saturday, 11 Jumadi I, 1426h, 18 June 2005-to mention you, send you greetings, and show support and thanks for the heroic acts you are performing in defense of Islam and the Muslims, but I do not know what Aljazeera broadcast. Did this part appear or not? I will try to attach the full speech with this message, conditions permitting.

Likewise, I showed my support for your noble initiative to join with your brothers, during a prior speech I sent to the brothers a number of months ago, but the brothers' circumstances prevented its publication.

3-I want to reassure you about our situation. The summer started hot with operations escalating in Afghanistan. The enemy struck a blow against us with the arrest of Abu al-Faraj, may God break his bonds. However, no Arab brother was arrested because of him. The brothers tried-and were successful to a great degree-to contain the fall of Abu al-Faraj as much as they could.

However, the real danger comes from the agent Pakistani army that is carrying out operations in the tribal areas looking for mujahedeen.

4-I want to keep corresponding with you about the details of what is going on in dear Iraq, especially since we do not know the full truth as you know it. Therefore, I want you to explain to me your situation in a little detail, especially in regards to the political angle. I want you to express to me what is on your mind in regards to what is on my mind in the way of questions and inquiries.

A-I want to be the first to congratulate you for what God has blessed you with in terms of fighting battle in the heart of the Islamic world, which was formerly the field for major battles in Islam's history, and what is now the place for the greatest battle of Islam in this era, and what will happen, according to what appeared in the Hadiths of the Messenger of God @ about the epic battles between Islam and atheism. It has always been my belief that the victory of Islam will never take place until a Muslim state is established in the manner of the Prophet in the heart of the Islamic world, specifically in the Levant, Egypt, and the neighboring states of the Peninsula and Iraq; however, the center would be in the Levant and Egypt. This is my opinion, which I do not preach as infallibile, but I have reviewed historical events and the behavior of the enemies of Islam themselves, and they did not establish Israel in this triangle surrounded by Egypt and Syria and overlooking the Hijaz except for their own interests.

As for the battles that are going on in the far-flung regions of the Islamic world, such as Chechnya, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Bosnia, they are just the groundwork and the vanguard for the major battles which have begun in the heart of the Islamic world. We ask God that He send down his victory upon us that he promised to his faithful worshipers.

It is strange that the Arab nationalists also have, despite their avoidance of Islamic practice, come to comprehend the great importance of this province. It is like a bird whose wings are Egypt and Syria, and whose heart is Palestine. They have come to comprehend the goal of planting Israel in this region, and they are not misled in this, rather they have admitted their ignorance of the religious nature of this conflict.

What I mean is that God has blessed you and your brothers while many of the Muslim mujahedeen have longed for that blessing, and that is Jihad in the heart of the Islamic world. He has, in addition to that, granted you superiority over the idolatrous infidels, traitorous apostates, and those turncoat deviants.

This is what God Almighty has distinguished you and your brothers with over the mujahedeen before you who fought in the heart of the Islamic world, and in Egypt and Syria to be precise, but this splendor and superiority against the enemies of Islam was not ordained for them.

God also blessed you not only with the splendor of the spearhead of Jihad, but with the splendor as well of the doctrines of monotheism, the rejection of polytheism, and avoidance of the tenets of the secularists and detractors and inferiors, the call to the pure way of the Prophet, and the sublime goal that the Prophet @ left to his companions {. This is a blessing on top of blessing on top of blessing which obliges you and your noble brothers to be constantly thankful and full of praise. The Almighty said: (If ye are grateful, He is pleased with you) and the Almighty says: (If ye are grateful, I will add more unto you.)

B-Because of this, we are extremely concerned, as are the mujahedeen and all sincere Muslims, about your Jihad and your heroic acts until you reach its intended goal.

You know well that purity of faith and the correct way of living are not connected necessarily to success in the field unless you take into consideration the reasons and practices which events are guided by. For the grandson of the Prophet Imam al Hussein Bin Ali }, the Leader of the Faithful Abdallah Bin al-Zubair }, Abdul Rahman Bin al-Ashath ~, and other great people, did not achieve their sought-after goal.

C-If our intended goal in this age is the establishment of a caliphate in the manner of the Prophet and if we expect to establish its state predominantly-according to how it appears to us-in the heart of the Islamic world, then your efforts and sacrifices-God permitting-are a large step directly towards that goal.

So we must think for a long time about our next steps and how we want to attain it, and it is my humble opinion that the Jihad in Iraq requires several incremental goals:

The first stage: Expel the Americans from Iraq.

The second stage: Establish an Islamic authority or amirate, then develop it and support it until it achieves the level of a caliphate- over as much territory as you can to spread its power in Iraq, i.e., in Sunni areas, is in order to fill the void stemming from the departure of the Americans, immediately upon their exit and before un-Islamic forces attempt to fill this void, whether those whom the Americans will leave behind them, or those among the un-Islamic forces who will try to jump at taking power.

There is no doubt that this amirate will enter into a fierce struggle with the foreign infidel forces, and those supporting them among the local forces, to put it in a state of constant preoccupation with defending itself, to make it impossible for it to establish a stable state which could proclaim a caliphate, and to keep the Jihadist groups in a constant state of war, until these forces find a chance to annihilate them.

The third stage: Extend the jihad wave to the secular countries neighboring Iraq.

The fourth stage: It may coincide with what came before: the clash with Israel, because Israel was established only to challenge any new Islamic entity.

My raising this idea-I don't claim that it's infallible-is only to stress something extremely important. And it is that the mujahedeen must not have their mission end with the expulsion of the Americans from Iraq, and then lay down their weapons, and silence the fighting zeal. We will return to having the secularists and traitors holding sway over us. Instead, their ongoing mission is to establish an Islamic state, and defend it, and for every generation to hand over the banner to the one after it until the Hour of Resurrection.

If the matter is thus, we must contemplate our affairs carefully, so that we are not robbed of the spoils, and our brothers did not die, so that others can reap the fruits of their labor.

D-If we look at the two short-term goals, which are removing the Americans and establishing an Islamic amirate in Iraq, or a caliphate if possible, then, we will see that the strongest weapon which the mujahedeen enjoy - after the help and granting of success by God - is popular support from the Muslim masses in Iraq, and the surrounding Muslim countries.

So, we must maintain this support as best we can, and we should strive to increase it, on the condition that striving for that support does not lead to any concession in the laws of the Sharia.

And it's very important that you allow me to elaborate a little here on this issue of popular support. Let's say:

(1) If we are in agreement that the victory of Islam and the establishment of a caliphate in the manner of the Prophet will not be achieved except through jihad against the apostate rulers and their removal, then this goal will not be accomplished by the mujahed movement while it is cut off from public support, even if the Jihadist movement pursues the method of sudden overthrow. This is because such an overthrow would not take place without some minimum of popular support and some condition of public discontent which offers the mujahed movement what it needs in terms of capabilities in the quickest fashion. Additionally, if the Jihadist movement were obliged to pursue other methods, such as a popular war of jihad or a popular intifadah, then popular support would be a decisive factor between victory and defeat.

(2) In the absence of this popular support, the Islamic mujahed movement would be crushed in the shadows, far from the masses who are distracted or fearful, and the struggle between the Jihadist elite and the arrogant authorities would be confined to prison dungeons far from the public and the light of day. This is precisely what the secular, apostate forces that are controlling our countries are striving for. These forces don't desire to wipe out the mujahed Islamic movement, rather they are stealthily striving to separate it from the misguided or frightened Muslim masses. Therefore, our planning must strive to involve the Muslim masses in the battle, and to bring the mujahed movement to the masses and not conduct the struggle far from them.

(3) The Muslim masses-for many reasons, and this is not the place to discuss it-do not rally except against an outside occupying enemy, especially if the enemy is firstly Jewish, and secondly American.

This, in my limited opinion, is the reason for the popular support that the mujahedeen enjoy in Iraq, by the grace of God.

As for the sectarian and chauvinistic factor, it is secondary in importance to outside aggression, and is much weaker than it. In my opinion-which is limited and which is what I see far from the scene-the awakening of the Sunni people in Iraq against the Shia would not have had such strength and toughness were it not for the treason of the Shia and their collusion with the Americans, and their agreement with them to permit the Americans to occupy Iraq in exchange for the Shia assuming power.

(4) Therefore, the mujahed movement must avoid any action that the masses do not understand or approve, if there is no contravention of Sharia in such avoidance, and as long as there are other options to resort to, meaning we must not throw the masses-scant in knowledge-into the sea before we teach them to swim, relying for guidance in that on the saying of the Prophet @ to Umar bin al-Khattab<: lest the people should say that Muhammad used to kill his Companions.

Among the practical applications of this viewpoint in your blessed arena:

(A) The matter of preparing for the aftermath of the exit of the Americans: The Americans will exit soon, God willing, and the establishment of a governing authority-as soon as the country is freed from the Americans-does not depend on force alone. Indeed, it's imperative that, in addition to force, there be an appeasement of Muslims and a sharing with them in governance and in the Shura council and in promulgating what is allowed and what is not allowed. In my view-which I continue to reiterate is limited and has a distant perspective upon the events-this must be achieved through the people of the Shura and who possess authority to determine issues and make them binding, and who are endowed with the qualifications for working in Sharia law. They would be elected by the people of the country to represent them and overlook the work of the authorities in accordance with the rules of the glorious Sharia.

And it doesn't appear that the Mujahedeen, much less the al-Qaida in the Land of Two Rivers, will lay claim to governance without the Iraqi people. Not to mention that that would be in contravention of the Shura methodology. That is not practical in my opinion.

You might ask an important question: What drives me to broach these matters while we are in the din of war and the challenges of killing and combat?

My answer is, firstly: Things may develop faster than we imagine. The aftermath of the
collapse of American power in Vietnam-and how they ran and left their agents-is noteworthy. Because of that, we must be ready starting now, before events overtake us, and before we are surprised by the conspiracies of the Americans and the United Nations and their plans to fill the void behind them. We must take the initiative and impose a fait accompli upon our enemies, instead of the enemy imposing one on us, wherein our lot would be to merely resist their schemes.

Second: This is the most vital part. This authority, or the Sharia amirate that is necessary, requires fieldwork starting now, alongside the combat and war. It would be a political endeavor in which the mujahedeen would be a nucleus around which would gather the tribes and their elders, and the people in positions, and scientists, and merchants, and people of opinion, and all the distinguished ones who were not sullied by appeasing the occupation and those who defended Islam.

We don't want to repeat the mistake of the Taliban, who restricted participation in governance to the students and the people of Qandahar alone. They did not have any representation for the Afghan people in their ruling regime, so the result was that the Afghan people disengaged themselves from them. Even devout ones took the stance of the spectator and, when the invasion came, the amirate collapsed in days, because the people were either passive or hostile. Even the students themselves had a stronger affiliation to their tribes and their villages than their affiliation to the Islamic amirate or the Taliban movement or the responsible party in charge of each one of them in his place. Each of them retreated to his village and his tribe, where his affiliation was stronger!!

The comparison between the fall of Kabul and the resistance of Fallujah, Ramadi, and Al Qaim and their fearless sisters shows a clear distinction, by God's grace and His kindness. It is the matter towards which we must strive, that we must support and strengthen.

Therefore, I stress again to you and to all your brothers the need to direct the political action equally with the military action, by the alliance, cooperation and gathering of all leaders of opinion and influence in the Iraqi arena. I can't define for you a specific means of action. You are more knowledgeable about the field conditions. But you and your brothers must strive to have around you circles of support, assistance, and cooperation, and through them, to advance until you become a consensus, entity, organization, or association that represents all the honorable people and the loyal folks in Iraq. I repeat the warning against separating from the masses, whatever the danger.

(2) Striving for the unity of the mujahedeen: This is something I entrust to you. It is between you and God. If the mujahedeen are scattered, this leads to the scattering of the people around them. I don't have detailed information about the situation of the mujahedeen, so I ask that you help us with some beneficial details in this, and the extent of the different mujahedeen movements' readiness to join the course of unity.

(3) Striving for the ulema: From the standpoint of not highlighting the doctrinal differences which the masses do not understand, such as this one is Matridi or this one is Ashari or this one is Salafi, and from the standpoint of doing justice to the people, for there may be in the world a heresy or an inadequacy in a side which may have something to give to jihad, fighting, and sacrifice for God. We have seen magnificent examples in the Afghan jihad, and the prince of believers, Mullah Muhammad Omar - may God protect him - himself is of Hanafi adherence, Matridi doctrine, but he stood in the history of Islam with a stance rarely taken. You are the richer if you know the stances of the authentic ulema on rulers in times of jihad and the defense of the Muslim holy sites. And more than that, their stances on doing justice to the people and not denying their merit.

The ulema among the general public are, as well, the symbol of Islam and its emblem. Their disparagement may lead to the general public deeming religion and its adherents as being unimportant. This is a greater injury than the benefit of criticizing a theologian on a heresy or an issue.

Of course, these words of mine have nothing to do with the hypocritical traitors who are in allegiance with the crusaders, but I wish to stress the warning against diminishing the ulema before the general public.

Also, the active mujahedeen ulema - even if there may be some heresy or fault in them that is not blasphemous - we must find a means to include them and to benefit from their energy. You know well -what I am mentioning to you- that many of the most learned ulema of Islam such as Izz Bin Abdul Salam, al-Nawawi, and Ibn Hajar - may God have mercy on them - were Ashari. And many of the most eminent jihadists, whom the Umma resolved unanimously to praise such as Nur al-Din Bin Zanki and Salahal-Din al-Ayyubi - were Ashari. The mujahedeen sultans who came after them - who didn't reach their level - whom the ulema and the historians lauded such as Sayf al-Din Qatz, Rukn al-Din Baybars, al-Nasir Muhammad Bin-Qallawun, and Muhammad al-Fatih, were Ashari or Matridi. They fell into errors, sins, and heresies. And the stances of Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiya regarding al-Nasir Muhammad Bin Qallawun and his extolling of him and his inciting him to jihad - despite the prosecutions and prison which befell the sheikh in his time - are well known.

If you take into account the fact that most of the Umma's ulema are Ashari or Matridi, and if you take into consideration as well the fact that the issue of correcting the mistakes of ideology is an issue that will require generations of the call to Islam and modifying the educational curricula, and that the mujahedeen are not able to undertake this burden, rather they are in need of those who will help them with the difficulties and problems they face; if you take all this into consideration, and add to it the fact that all Muslims are speaking of jihad, whether they are Salafi or non-Salafi, then you would understand that it is a duty of the mujahed movement to include the energies of the Umma and in its wisdom and prudence to fill the role of leader, trailblazer, and exploiter of all the capabilities of the Umma for the sake of achieving our aims: a caliphate along the lines of the Prophet's, with God's permission.

I do not know the details of the situation where you are, but I do not want us to repeat the mistake of Jamil al-Rahman~, who was killed and whose organization was shattered, because he neglected the realities on the ground.

(4) The position on the Shia:

This subject is complicated and detailed. I have brought it up here so as not to address the general public on something they do not know. But please permit me to present it logically:

(A) I repeat that I see the picture from afar, and I repeat that you see what we do not see. No doubt you have the right to defend yourself, the mujahedeen, and Muslims in general and in particular against any aggression or threat of aggression.

(B) I assert here that any rational person understands with ease that the Shia cooperated with the Americans in the invasion of Afghanistan, Rafsanjani himself confessed to it, and they cooperated with them in the overthrow of Saddam and the occupation of Iraq in exchange for the Shia's assumption of power and their turning a blind eye to the American military presence in Iraq. This is clear to everybody who has two eyes.

(C) People of discernment and knowledge among Muslims know the extent of danger to Islam of the Twelve'er school of Shiism. It is a religious school based on excess and falsehood whose function is to accuse the companions of Muhammad { of heresy in a campaign against Islam, in order to free the way for a group of those who call for a dialogue in the name of the hidden mahdi who is in control of existence and infallible in what he does. Their prior history in cooperating with the enemies of Islam is consistent with their current reality of connivance with the Crusaders.

(D) The collision between any state based on the model of prophecy with the Shia is a matter that will happen sooner or later. This is the judgment of history, and these are the fruits to be expected from the rejectionist Shia sect and their opinion of the Sunnis.

These are clear, well-known matters to anyone with a knowledge of history, the ideologies, and the politics of states.

(E) We must repeat what we mentioned previously, that the majority of Muslims don't comprehend this and possibly could not even imagine it. For that reason, many of your Muslim admirers amongst the common folk are wondering about your attacks on the Shia. The sharpness of this questioning increases when the attacks are on one of their mosques, and it increases more when the attacks are on the mausoleum of Imam Ali Bin Abi Talib, may God honor him. My opinion is that this matter won't be acceptable to the Muslim populace however much you have tried to explain it, and aversion to this will continue.

Indeed, questions will circulate among mujahedeen circles and their opinion makers about the correctness of this conflict with the Shia at this time. Is it something that is unavoidable? Or, is it something can be put off until the force of the mujahed movement in Iraq gets stronger? And if some of the operations were necessary for self-defense, were all of the operations necessary? Or, were there some operations that weren't called for? And is the opening of another front now in addition to the front against the Americans and the government a wise decision? Or, does this conflict with the Shia lift the burden from the Americans by diverting the mujahedeen to the Shia, while the Americans continue to control matters from afar? And if the attacks on Shia leaders were necessary to put a stop to their plans, then why were there attacks on ordinary Shia? Won't this lead to reinforcing false ideas in their minds, even as it is incumbent on us to preach the call of Islam to them and explain and communicate to guide them to the truth? And can the mujahedeen kill all of the Shia in Iraq? Has any Islamic state in history ever tried that? And why kill ordinary Shia considering that they are forgiven because of their ignorance? And what loss will befall us if we did not attack the Shia? And do the brothers forget that we have more than one hundred prisoners - many of whom are from the leadership who are wanted in their countries - in the custody of the Iranians? And even if we attack the Shia out of necessity, then why do you announce this matter and make it public, which compels the Iranians to take counter measures? And do the brothers forget that both we and the Iranians need to refrain from harming each other at this time in which the Americans are targeting us?

All of these questions and others are circulating among your brothers, and they are monitoring the picture from afar, as I told you. One who monitors from afar lacks many of the important details that affect decision-making in the field.

However, monitoring from afar has the advantage of providing the total picture and observing the general line without getting submerged in the details, which might draw attention away from the direction of the target. As the English proverb says, the person who is standing among the leaves of the tree might not see the tree.

One of the most important factors of success is that you don't let your eyes lose sight of the target, and that it should stand before you always. Otherwise you deviate from the general line through a policy of reaction. And this is a lifetime's experience, and I will not conceal from you the fact that we suffered a lot through following this policy of reaction, then we suffered a lot another time because we tried to return to the original line.

One of the most important things facing the leadership is the enthusiasm of the supporters, and especially of the energetic young men who are burning to make the religion victorious. This enthusiasm must flow wisely, and al-Mutanabbi says:

Courage in a man does suffice but not like the courage of one who is wise.

And he also says:

Judiciousness precedes the courage of the courageous which is second

And when the two blend in one free soul it reaches everywhere in the heavens.

In summation, with regard to the talk about the issue of the Shia, I would like to repeat that I see that matter from afar without being aware of all the details, I would like my words to be deserving of your attention and consideration, and God is the guarantor of success for every good thing.

(5) Scenes of slaughter:

Among the things which the feelings of the Muslim populace who love and support you will never find palatable - also- are the scenes of slaughtering the hostages. You shouldn't be deceived by the praise of some of the zealous young men and their description of you as the shaykh of the slaughterers, etc. They do not express the general view of the admirer and the supporter of the resistance in Iraq, and of you in particular by the favor and blessing of God.

And your response, while true, might be: Why shouldn't we sow terror in the hearts of the Crusaders and their helpers? And isn't the destruction of the villages and the cities on the heads of their inhabitants more cruel than slaughtering? And aren't the cluster bombs and the seven ton bombs and the depleted uranium bombs crueler than slaughtering? And isn't killing by torture crueler than slaughtering? And isn't violating the honor of men and women more painful and more destructive than slaughtering?

All of these questions and more might be asked, and you are justified. However this does not change the reality at all, which is that the general opinion of our supporter does not comprehend that, and that this general opinion falls under a campaign by the malicious, perfidious, and fallacious campaign by the deceptive and fabricated media. And we would spare the people from the effect of questions about the usefulness of our actions in the hearts and minds of the general opinion that is essentially sympathetic to us.

And I say to you with sure feeling and I say: That the author of these lines has tasted the bitterness of American brutality, and that my favorite wife's chest was crushed by a concrete ceiling and she went on calling for aid to lift the stone block off her chest until she breathed her last, may God have mercy on her and accept her among the martyrs. As for my young daughter, she was afflicted by a cerebral hemorrhage, and she continued for a whole day suffering in pain until she expired. And to this day I do not know the location of the graves of my wife, my son, my daughter, and the rest of the three other families who were martyred in the incident and who were pulverized by the concrete ceiling, may God have mercy on them and the Muslim martyrs. Were they brought out of the rubble, or are they still buried beneath it to this day?

However, despite all of this, I say to you: that we are in a battle, and that more than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media. And that we are in a media battle in a race for the hearts and minds of our Umma. And that however far our capabilities reach, they will never be equal to one thousandth of the capabilities of the kingdom of Satan that is waging war on us. And we can kill the captives by bullet. That would achieve that which is sought after without exposing ourselves to the questions and answering to doubts. We don't need this.

E-I would like you to explain for us another issue related to Iraq, and I think without a doubt that you are the most knowledgeable about it. Can the assumption of leadership for the mujahedeen or a group of the mujahedeen by non-Iraqis stir up sensitivity for some people? And if there is sensitivity, what is its effect? And how can it be eliminated while preserving the commitment of the jihadist work and without exposing it to any shocks? Please inform us in detail regarding this matter.

F-Likewise I would like you to inform us about the Iraqi situation in general and the situation of the mujahedeen in particular in detail without exposing the security of the mujahedeen and the Muslims to danger. At the least, we should know as much as the enemy knows. And allow us to burden you with this trouble, for we are most eager to learn your news.

G-I have a definite desire to travel to you but I do not know whether that is possible from the standpoint of traveling and getting settled, so please let me know. And God is the guarantor of every good thing.

5-Please take every caution in the meetings, especially when someone claims to carry an important letter or contributions. It was in this way that they arrested Khalid Sheikh. Likewise, please, if you want to meet one of your assistants, I hope that you don't meet him in a public place or in a place that is not known to you. I hope that you would meet him in a secure place, not the place of your residence. Because Abu al-Faraj - may God set him free and release him from his torment - was lured by one of his brothers, who had been taken into custody, to meet him at a public location where a trap had been set.

6-The brothers informed me that you suggested to them sending some assistance. Our situation since Abu al-Faraj is good by the grace of God, but many of the lines have been cut off. Because of this, we need a payment while new lines are being opened. So, if you're capable of sending a payment of approximately one hundred thousand, we'll be very grateful to you.

7-The subject of the Algerian brothers at our end, there are fears from the previous experiences, so if you're able to get in touch with them and notify us of the details from them, we would be very grateful to you.

8-As for news on the poor servant,

A-During an earlier period I published some publications:

(1) Allegiance and exemption - A Faith transmitted, a lost reality.

(2) Strengthening the Banner of Islam - an article emphasizing the authority's commitment to monotheism.

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

(3) Wind of Paradise - an article about: Most Honorable Sacrifices of the Believers - Campaigns of Death and Martyrdom.

I endeavored in this article to include what was written on the subject as much as I could. I also strived to verify every word in it, and it's an issue that took me almost a year or more.

(4) The Bitter Harvest - The Muslim Brotherhood in 60 Years - Second Edition 1426h - 2005m.

In this edition, I wanted to delete all the extreme phrases for which there's no proof, and I referred to the book a number of times, then I wrote a new preface. In it I pointed out a dangerous trend of the Brotherhood, especially in the circumstances of the New Crusader War which was launched on the Islamic Umma. In my opinion, this edition is better than the first with respect to the calmness of the presentation instead of being emotional. The Brotherhood's danger is demonstrated by the weakening of the Islamic Resistance to the campaign of the Crusaders and their supporters. God is the only one who is perfect.

(5) I have also had fifteen audio statements published and six others that were not published for one reason or another. We ask God for acceptance and devotion. I will enclose for you the written statements and what I can of the audio and video statements with this message, God willing. If you find they are good, you can publish them. We seek God's assistance.

(6) I don't know if you all have contact with Abu Rasmi? Even if it is via the Internet, because I gave him a copy of my book (A Knight under the banner of the Prophet@) so he could attempt to publish it, and I lost the original. Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper published it truncated and jumbled. I think that the American intelligence services provided the aforementioned newspaper with it from my computer which they acquired, because the publication of the book coincided with a publication of messages from my computer in the same newspaper. So if you can contact him and get the original of the book, if that is possible for you all, then you can publish it on your blessed website and then send a copy to us, if that is possible.

B-As for my personal condition, I am in good health, blessings and wellness thanks to God and His grace. I am only lacking your pious prayers, in which I beg you not to forget me. God Almighty has blessed me with a daughter whom I have named (Nawwar), and Nawwar means: the timid female gazelle and the woman who is free from suspicion, and technically: it is the name of my maternal aunt who was a second mother to me and who stood with me during all the difficult and harsh times. I ask God to reward her for me with the best reward, and have mercy on her, our mothers and the Muslims.

9-My greetings to all the loved ones and please give me news of Karem and the rest of the folks I know, and especially:

By God, if by chance you're going to Fallujah, send greetings to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

In closing, I ask God entrust you all with His guardianship, providence and protection, and bless you all in your families, possessions and offspring and protect them from all evil and that He delight you all with them in this world and the next world, and that He bestow upon us and you all the victory that he promised his servants the Believers, and that He strengthen for us our religion which He has sanctioned for us, and that He make us safe after our fear.

Peace, God's blessings and mercy to you.

Your loving brother

Abu Muhammad

Saturday, 02 Jumada al-Thani, 1426 - 09 July, 2005.

Will the MSM Report on This?

2005-10-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – The first relief supplies from the United States ready for departure aboard here on a U.S. Air Force C-17 less than 48 hours after the devastating earthquake that left thousands dead and thousands more injured. The C-17 and its crew from the 7th Airlift Squadron, McChord Air Force Base, Wash., delivered 12 pallets -- weighing almost 90,000 pounds -- of food, water, medicine and blankets from Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. Two aerial port specialists from Bagram's 455th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron were also on the flight to coordinate and manage cargo at Islamabad. Airmen and soldiers at Bagram, with only a few hours notice, worked feverishly to palletize the supplies and prepare them for the flight. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. James H. Cunningham)

Will the MSM report on this?

Probably not... at least not with 5% of the vigor they'll happily report on the latest wounded soldeir... being that it serves no politically expedient purpose to report on our success stories, that is.

If we want stories like this in the news, we'll have to tie an American-death toll to it...

Nagin's Big Sleazy

2005-10-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

New Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin proposes a casino zone near the French Quarter to put some legs on the city's economic recovery.

The one casino in the area wasn't exactly enjoying financial success prior to Katrina, so the good Mayor now wants to prey on the misguided hopes of the locals - and the few who visit the city during the rebuilding stages.

So long as Nagin is planning to drop the city's pants, why not legalize prostitution while he's at it? Even better, he could really move redevelopment forward by legalizing "medicinal" crack for those who can not cope with their self-diagnosed PTSD.

Ol' Ray can turn the big easy into the big sleazy - and run the Mardi Gras show year round!

Who'da thunk it?!

Leandro Aragoncillo

2005-10-06T06:48:00.000-07:00

The FBI and CIA call this the first case of espionage in the White House in modern history.

Leandro Aragoncillo allegedly used his Top Secret clearance to steal classified documents from White House computers. Ironically, Aragoncillo was interviewed by Phillipine television in 2000 and stated, "I think with they like most is our (Filipino's) integrity and loyalty."

Aragoncillo is accused specifically of passing dossiers (with damaging information on the president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) to opposition politicians in the Phillipines who were planning a coup in the Philippines.
Aragoncillo has admitted to spying while working on Vice President Cheney's staff.

Traitor.

I hope we drag that shit-flake back into the Marines and throw the Uniform Code of Military Justice at him. And when he is sentenced, I hope he's suffocated with his own skid-marked skivvies, then strung-up by his own colon to the highest tree in the Nation and left to swing there until the fire ants are done picking his traitorous bones dry.

"Quick and Painless" is too damned good for for that maggot.

... just wait till I get mad ...

/ad hominem

Harriet Miers

2005-10-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

So - President Bush has nominated Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Does anyone want to pretend that President Bush could have nominated anyone the left would have been happy with... Hillary, Screamin' Howie, Hanoi John Fonda, The Kopechne Killer? Take your pick among anyone who would guarantee to legislate from the bench on behalf of Les Etats Bleus d'Amérique, and it's virtually certain that the überleft would object based solely on the fact that it was Bush's nominee.

That's how intense these people are about gunning for Red State losses. They're certain to be nonplussed about Miers' dossier. That is - until MoveOn.MichaelMoore.Salon.com and DailyDemocratUnderground.Kos.net issues them their Griping... er, 'Talking' Points.

Then, once they're told what they "think" about Miers, we're going to hear all about it.

Ms. Miers' Legal Qualifications include:

"In Her Time In The Administration, Ms. Miers Has Addressed Numerous Legal And Policy Questions At The Highest Levels Of Decisionmaking, Most Recently Serving As The Counsel To The President Of The United States." (The White House, Fact Sheet, 10/3/05)

"In 1985, Ms. Miers Was Selected As The First Woman To Become President Of The Dallas Bar Association." (The White House, Fact Sheet, 10/3/05)

" In 1992, She Became The First Woman Elected President Of The State Bar Of Texas. Ms. Miers Served As The President Of The State Bar Of Texas From 1992 To 1993." (The White House, Fact Sheet, 10/3/05)

"The Women And The Law Section Of The State Bar Of Texas Has Awarded Its 1993 Sarah T. Hughes Women Lawyers Of Achievement Award To Louise Raggio And State Bar President Harriet Miers." (Bruce Vincent, "Honors," Texas Lawyer, 3/22/93)

"In March 1996, Her Colleagues Elected Her The First Female President Of Locke, Purnell, Rain & Harrell, At That Time A Firm Of About 200 Lawyers. She Was The First Woman To Lead A Texas Firm Of That Size." (The White House, Fact Sheet, 10/3/05)

"Harriet Miers, President Of Dallas' Locke Purnell Rain Harrell, Was One Of 20 Other Women Nominated For The [1996 Texas Trailblazer Award]." (Tara Wilkinson, "Newsmakers," Texas Lawyers, 10/28/96)

"[In 1997] She Was Named To The [National Law Journal's] List Of 100 Most Powerful Attorneys." ("50 Top Women Lawyers," The National Law Journal, 3/30/98)

"[Miers] Received A Distinguished Alumni Award From The SMU Law School In 1997." (SMU Website, http://www.smu.edu/newsinfo/releases/00171.html, Accessed 9/29/05)

In 1998, National Law Journal Named Harriet Miers One Of The Fifty Most Influential Women Lawyers In America. ("50 Top Women Lawyers," The National Law Journal, 3/30/98)

In 2000, National Law Journal Named Harriet Miers One Of The One Hundred Most Influential Lawyers In America. ("The Most Influential Lawyers In America," The National Law Journal, 6/12/00)

"Miers Was Given The Women Of Excellence Award By Women's Enterprise Magazine In 1997 ..." (Bush-Cheney, Press Release, 1/5/01)

Miers Was Awarded The Sandra Day O'Connor Award For Professional Excellence By The Texas Center For Legal Ethics And Professionalism In 2005. (Texas Center For Legal Ethics And Professionalism Website, http://www.txethics.org/oconnorinformationcourses.asp, Accessed 10/3/05)

Maybe the left will finally start to catch on that there's more to Leadership and than leading lemmings over the far-left abyss, and that there's more to Political Influence than expecting judges to legislate from the bench when they have rendered their own party exceptionally weak.

But don't count on it.

Chief Justice Roberts

2005-09-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

Three hours after a 55-22-1 Senate vote, John G. Roberts was sworn in as the 17th U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice.

Hillary, John Fonda, the Kopechne killer and the rest of the Court Jesters simply couldn't muster the consensus of their own party.

Perhaps the far-left will grasp the hint and pretend, at least, to creep back toward reality.

Don't hold your breath...

Statement By The President On The War On Terror

2005-09-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

Good morning. I just had a good meeting with Generals Abizaid and Casey. We discussed the war on terror in which this country is engaged. General Abizaid talked about the global scope of this war. He talked about the nature of an enemy we face, an enemy which is ruthless and brutal, an enemy which has got strategic goals and tactics necessary to achieve those goals. We also talked about the fact that we're determined to defeat the enemy. We discussed our strategy for victory in Iraq, as well. After all, Iraq is a key battlefront in this war on terror.

I asked the Generals to go up to Capitol Hill to brief members of the House and Senate on our strategy for victory, on our operations in Iraq. They updated me on what recently took place in Baghdad, in which Iraqi and coalition forces tracked down and killed Abu Azzam, the second most wanted al Qaeda leader in Iraq. This guy is a brutal killer. He was one of Zarqawi's top lieutenants. He was reported to be the top operational commander of al Qaeda in Baghdad. He is one of the terrorists responsible for the recent upsurge in attacks in the Iraqi capital, which is part of their campaign to stop a referendum on the Iraqi constitution, and is part of their efforts to break the will of the American people and the will of our coalition.

Our strategy is clear in Iraq. We are hunting down high value targets like Azzam and Zarqawi. We're coordinating aggressive counterterrorism operations in the areas where the terrorists are concentrated. We're constantly adapting our tactics to the changing tactics of the terrorists. We're training more Iraqi forces to assume increasing responsibility for their country's security.

The growing size and increasing capability of the Iraqi security forces are helping our coalition address a challenge we have faced since the beginning of the war. And General Casey discussed this with us in the Oval Office.

See, it used to be after we cleared the terrorists out of a city, there wasn't enough qualified Iraqi troops to maintain control -- so when we left to conduct other missions, the terrorists would move back in. Now, the increasing number of more capable Iraqi troops has allowed us to better hold on to the cities we have taken from the terrorists. The Iraqi troops know their people, they know their language, and they know who the terrorists are. By leaving Iraqi units in the cities we've cleared out, we can keep the cities safe while we move on to hunt down the terrorists in other parts of the country.

We saw such success in the country's northwest region, where Iraqi and coalition forces recently targeted an area that was one of the main routes that foreign terrorists use to enter Iraq from Syria. During the operations in the key town of Tal Afar, Iraqi security forces outnumbered coalition forces for the first time in a major offensive operation. General Casey brought us up to date on that operation. Because of our joint efforts, hundreds of terrorists have been killed or captured or flushed, which makes it more difficult for the foreign terrorists to enter Iraq through the northwest route.

As part of General Casey's strategy, Iraqi forces remain in Tal Afar to ensure that the terrorists are not allowed to return and regroup. Coalition and Iraqi troops are on the hunt for terrorists in western Iraq. We're on the offense. We have a plan to win. We're working to stop those terrorists from crossing into the country through Syria, and we're denying safe haven to al Qaeda in the Anbar province.

Members of Congress will get the latest information about our strategy. And I want to thank them for taking time out of their schedules to listen to these two -- to these two Generals. They will hear about the strategy and the progress in increasing the size and capability of the Iraqi security forces. At this moment, more than a dozen Iraqi battalions have completed training and are conducting anti-terrorist operations in Ramadi and Fallujah. More than 20 battalions are operating in Baghdad. And some have taken the lead in operations in major sectors of the city.

In total, more than 100 battalions are operating throughout Iraq. Our commanders report that the Iraqi forces are operating with increasing effectiveness. As Iraqi forces show they're capable of keeping the terrorists out, they're earning the trust and confidence of the Iraqi people, which ensures the success of a free and democratic Iraq.

The terrorists have a history of escalating their attacks before Iraq's major political milestones. Two key elections are fast approaching. As these milestones approach, we can expect there to be increasing violence from the terrorists. They can't stand elections. The thought of people voting is an anathema to them. You see, democracy and freedom are the exact opposite of what's in their mind, in their vision.

Next month the Iraqis will vote on a democratic constitution. If that constitution is approved, they will return to polls later this year to elect a fully constitutional government. The terrorists will fail. See, the Iraqis want to be free. They proved that last January when over 8 million citizens, in the face of violence and threats, voted. And the terrorists are going to fail this time. But we can expect they'll do everything in their power to try to stop the march of freedom. And our troops are ready for it.

I urge the members of Congress to attend the briefings with Generals Abizaid and Casey. I urge them to ask questions about our efforts in Iraq and to listen carefully about the type of war we fight. The support of Congress for our troops and our mission is important, and Americans need to know about the gains we've made in recent weeks and months. They need to know the way we're adopting our tactics and the way we're changing our strategy to meet the needs on the ground.

As members of Congress speak with Generals Abizaid and Casey, I'm confident they'll see what I see -- our leaders, these two Generals are men of vision and determination, and it is their leadership that is helping bring victory in the war on terror.

Thank you, very much.

gop.com

Guilty

2005-09-26T19:07:00.000-07:00

Lynndie England isn't smiling any more.

A military jury found her guilty on six of seven counts (conspiracy, maltreating detainees x4, and committing an indecent act).

She faces a maximum of only 10 years in military prison; however, under civilian law, she likely would have paid the hefty price of a promotion and re-assignment to the location of her choice.

Now, if it were only legal to sentence her to the conditions she set for the prisoners she was guarding. She obviously didn't think it was too cruel or unusual...

DNC 2008 Rally Cry

2005-09-24T17:10:00.000-07:00

Partisan Opportunists Anxiously Await Rita

2005-09-22T04:40:00.000-07:00

When Opportunism Knocks...

2005-09-06T16:55:00.000-07:00

For those who want to skip every level of government and point the finger directly at the President, this is for you:

The Louisiana Disaster "Plan," p. 13, paragraph 5, of Jan. 2000 states:

The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating.

There are 255 busses in this lot. At 60-66 per bus, that's 15,300-16,380 evacuees who could have got the hell out of Dodge... and a helluva lot of gas and oil NOT contributing to the environmental hazard.

Moreover, that's 255 busses the local and state governments (who have the FIRST responsibility to provide aid in situations like this) could be using to distribute supplies and people. Instead, these busses sat dormant in the lot due to local-leader ineffectiveness and have become environmentally-hazardous expenses rather than valuable and re-usable assets!

Meanwhile, the Governor played politics with the White House over the Federal Aid offer. She needed 24 hours...

Some people think.... well, "suppose" the Federal Government should have just moved-in and taken over. Let's not pretend for a second we wouldn't be hearing about "abuse of power" had the Federal Government forced itself upon the state. Shit don't work that way, people!

Here's a clue:

"First Response to a disaster is the job of local government's emergency services with help from nearby municipalities, the state and volunteer agencies. In a catastrophic disaster, and IF the governor requests, federal resources can be mobilized through theU.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for search and rescue, electrical power, food, water, shelter and other basic human needs."
- http://www.fema.gov/library/dproc.shtm

No, the Federal Government does not get to wash their hands of this; however, those who are strategically skipping the obvious blameline for a perceived partisan gain are no better than the looters who are/were "saving themselves" with carts-full of high-end electronics, clothing, etc.

Someone explain to me how that kind of opportunism is "American!"

Sean Penn Starring as...

2005-09-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

Sing along to the tale of our favorite Film Actor's Guild star...

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, That started from this Gulf-state port, aboard this tiny ship. The mate was a mighty actin' man, the Skipper brave and sure. Five passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour. A three hour tour. The boat started taking l'eau (What? You thought I'd write an entry on Penn without a french word?!), the tiny ship was double-crossed. If not for the "courage" of the clueless crew, the Minnow would be lost. The Minnow would be lost. The ship set ground three feet off shore, with Gilligan, Spicolli too, the Millionaire and his ex-wife (Madonna), another Film-Actor's-Guild star, the Professor (Mr. Hand) and Mary Ann (Robin Wright), here on Gilligan's Isle.

Poor Sean Penn. Federal authorities might have had a friggin' reason for warning people to not self-deploy to the region in order to provide their own brand of "help." This warning included Commodore Sean Penn!

Why would Federal Authorities tell us something like that, you ask?

Simple - to prevent incapable, unprepared and ill-equipped "helpers" from becoming victims in need of rescue themselves... like Mr. Penn, who - I'm sure - received help on the account of his skin color.

All together now: "Skin color, our ass!"

After the S.S. Penn's boat motor failed to start, the crew set sail under oar-power - sans clue - to deliver "aid" in whatever way they could. (Isn't it a little early for Comic Relief?!) Take note of our favorite Film Actor, however... he's bailing water from the Titanic with a plastic cup! In the midst of the Film Actor's Platfrom-o-"Aid" capsizing, he's not wearing a floatation device, but a virtual lead weight! That's a flak-vest he's wearing!!

Is he trying to die?!

Way to go, Gilligan!

Way to make yourself - as usual - part of the problem, Sean!

You sure have a strange way of kicking-off your 2008 bid for the Presidency...
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...by bailing it out!

Randy Cohen - "Merely Unsightly Ethicist"

2005-09-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

Until this morning, I had never heard of Randy Cohen. He writes a Q&A Column, "On Ethics," which apparently has something to do with - ethics. If he'd title it something like "the lack thereof," he might have a hit.

The Socialist People's Republic of Seattle Times attempts to buy him some credibility by noting that Cohen is the author of "The Good, the Bad and the Difference: How to Tell Right from Wrong in Everyday Situations."

Cohen's e-mail address is even ethicist@nytimes.com.

Jeze... and I haven't even told you what this guy had to say yet... how rude.

The title of this week's column is Dealing with Dealers, and Cohen misses the pot the moment the urine starts to flow from his scat encrusted lips.

The question from 'Anonymous in Brooklyn':

I live in a gentrifying neighborhood. Someone on the block is dealing drugs that, I recently learned, are less benign (WTF?!) than I'd assumed; he's dealing crystal meth. I believe that the drug laws are overly punitive, and I've never had a problem with the dealer. But I would like to see the block cleaned up and the drug traffic gone. What's the morality of narcking on the neighbors?

Cohen's "answer" (in part):
...with my commentary in gray:

If your local drug dealer is merely unsightly, do nothing.
"Merely unsightly?" What the...?! Show me a drug dealer who is "merely unsightly" and I'll show you a hundred crack whores who's so-far unaborted children are destined for an encore of their drug infested womb-provider's (no, I didn't say "mother's") so-called-life. And that is a hell of a lot more than "merely unsightly."

I would be reluctant to invoke laws that can be both inflexible and ineffectual.
Laws that are not applied swiftly, surely and severely are ineffectual and "merely unsightly," Mr. Cohen. There's a reason we call them penitent-iaries and sending these people off to a country club to be coddled and share the tricks of their various trades is NOT, NOT, NOT what anyone in their reasonable mind refers to as "Justice."

If this drug dealer is a nuisance -- attracting a raucous clientele, perhaps -- you might consider measures that do not involve the police: speaking to your community board or local church groups or other neighborhood activists, for example.
How many "community boards, church groups and neighborhood activists" have successfully removed law-breaking drug dealers from our communities and at what percentage, Mr. Cohen? We're a nation of laws for a reason. If people choose not to abide by those laws, we have prisons that ought not resemble the aforementioned country clubs that I'm sure you advocate. It's all too unfortunate that people who "think" like you don't have to live in the squalor that your ludicrous "policies" would dictate.

Ethicist? ...someone gag me while I puke!

Mr. Cohen deserves nothing better than a taste of his own medecine. Perhaps he'll get lucky and find himself the neighbor, or - better yet - the landlord of a meth cook. Then, let's hear what he has to say about right and wrong when HE is stuck, by law, paying for the $10,000-plus clean-up and remodelling job.

One can only wish...

And if there's anyone at NY Times with a clue, they need to issue a pink slip. Let Mr. Cohen make his money a more ethical way... rather than delivering this kind of tripe as "ethics," let him spend a day as a first responder so he can find out first-hand what is and what is not "merely unsightly."
He can start with the guest model in the picture above...

Kanye West

2005-09-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

Kanye West chose to break from his NBC-provided script in order to complain about the way they ("us") are portrayed in the media.

By "us," it seems he means black people.

I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, "They're looting." You see a white family, it says, "They're looking for food." And, you know, it's been five days [waiting for federal help] because most of the people are black.

I wondered myself if there weren't people of other races who are looting for reasons beyond self-preservation (food and water). Having not been there (yet?), I - like Kanye West - have no first-hand knowledge about who is and who is not responsible for the looting. I doubt that blacks-only are responsible for the looting.

However...

Isn't it a bit silly of Mr. West to complain about how he is portrayed by the media when his lyrics speak no better of the "us" he considers himself a part?

If this is your first time hearing this
You are about to experience something cold man
We never had nothing handed took nothing for
granted Took nothing from no man, man i'm my own man
But as a shorty i looked up to the dopeman
Only adult man i knew that wasnt a broke man
Flickin starter coats man, Man you ount [sic] no man
We don't care what people say
This is for my niggas outside all winter
Cuz this summer they aint finna to say next summer im finna
Sittin in the hood like community colleges
This dope money here is Lil Treys scholarship
Cause aint no to tuition for havin no ambition
And aint no loans for sittin your ass at home
So we forced to sell crack rap and get a job
You gotta do something man your ass is grown

Ah. So his words dignify black people, but the media robs them of that very dignity?! Is that what Mr. West is trying to say?
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The moment he drops the N-bomb, he loses that battle.

In fact, if Mr. West wants to blame anyone, he needs to blame himself for glorifying the thuglife that has come home to roost.

He doesn't get to have his Thug-frosted cake and eat it, too.

MoveOn Cindy

2005-08-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

Hey Cindy,

Guess what?

As you pathetically attempt to highjack your son's honor in a MoveOn-guided attempt to establish your faux-credibility, Tammy Pruett has come along and trumped your victim-card in fewer words than the mainstream media are committing to your every bit of spoken excrement as if they were pearls of absolute moral wisdom. Mrs. Pruett's husband and five sons have each served in Iraq and she has this to say through President Bush:

I know that if something happens to one of the boys, they would leave this world doing what they believe, what they think is right for our country.

President Bush responds:

And I guess you couldn't ask for a better way of life than giving it for something that you believe in. America lives in freedom because of families like the Pruetts.

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MoveOn's puppet likely will find no solace in Mrs. Pruett's "absolute moral authority," but what did she "think" was going to happen? I mean - come on. (Or MoveOn... whatever).

The Hyde Park Declaration

2005-08-17T06:43:00.000-07:00

In 2000, the Democrat Leadership Council (DLC) met and signed the Hyde Park Declaration, which identified the following Social Security and Medicare "Goals for 2010":

Create Retirement Savings Accounts to enable low-income Americans to save for their own retirement. (Democratic Leadership Council, "The Hyde Park Declaration: A Statement Of Principles And A Policy Agenda For The 21st Century," http://www.ndol.org/print.cfm?contentid=1926, 8/1/00)
Honor our committment to seniors by ensuring the future solvency of Social Security and Medicare. (Democratic Leadership Council, "The Hyde Park Declaration: A Statement Of Principles And A Policy Agenda For The 21st Century," http://www.ndol.org/print.cfm?contentid=1926, 8/1/00)
Make structural reforms in Social Security and Medicare that slow their future cost growth, modernize benefits (including a prescription drug benefit for Medicare), and give beneficiaries more choice over their retirement and health security. (Democratic Leadership Council, "The Hyde Park Declaration: A Statement Of Principles And A Policy Agenda For The 21st Century," http://www.ndol.org/print.cfm?contentid=1926, 8/1/00)

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Guess what the signatories to the Hyde Park Declaration are saying now?! (You might want to snag another cup of coffee first... the flip-flops are going to carry on for a while).
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Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA), Chairman Of Democratic Leadership Council:

"[I]t's Not Enough To Simply Talk About Social Security Because, Frankly, There Are Many More Problems With Healthcare Security At This Point In Time." (Tim Grieve, "Life Of The Party," Salon.com, 5/18/05)

"You Can Add A Few Bucks To My Social Security Check And I'll Be Pleased As Punch ... But If I Can't Afford Health Care, What Good Is It Going To Do?" (Robert Tanner, "U.S. Governors Consider Medicaid Reform," The Associated Press, 4/25/05)

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA):

Kerry Called For The President To Stop "Pushing The Privatization And Admit It's Not Going To Pass And It's A Failure ..." (CNN's "Inside Politics," 3/15/05)
"Private Accounts Won't Work For Social Security, And They Won't Work For Small Businesses ..." (Kent Hoover, "Democrats: Social Security Reform Would Hurt Small Business Owners," San Francisco Business Journal, 6/27/05)

"We've Been Wasting These Months, Frankly, Over This Issue Of The Private Accounts Without Any Real Discussion Of Solvency." (Fox News' "Special Report," 4/26/05)

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA):

"[The President's Plan] Will Only Lead To Reduced Benefits For Everyone, Increased Risk, And Would Serve To Undermine The Current System." (Bill Walsh, "Bush Touts Investment Accounts In Shreveport," [New Orleans, LA] Times-Picayune, 3/12/05)

"[The President's] Proposal Reflected More Of The Same Risky Approaches To Retirement Security He's Been Touting For The Last Several Months." (Bill Walsh, "GOP Pushes Forward To Act On Social Security," [New Orleans, LA] Times-Picayune, 4/30/05)

Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT):

"President Bush's Plan To Privatize The Program Would Do Nothing To Save Social Security -- In Fact, It Would Hasten Its Day Of Reckoning" (Peter Urban, "Democrats Hold Social Security Unity Rally," Connecticut Post, 4/27/05)

Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR):

"[Lincoln] Said She Hoped Senate Democrats Would Act In Unison To Prevent The Diversion Of Social Security Taxes To Private Investment Accounts. 'It's Critical For What We Stand For,' Lincoln Said." (Warren Vieth and Richard Simon, "Democrats Vow To Block Bush On Social Security," Los Angeles Times, 2/2/05)

"I Do Not Support Individual Investment Accounts ..." ("On The Issues: Social Security Proposals Divide Federal Candidates," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, /20/04)

Rep. Jim Davis (D-FL):

"Social Security Has A Cold, Which Must Be Monitored And Carefully Treated Before It Becomes A Serious Illness." (Jim Davis, Op-Ed, "Private Accounts Would Worsen Social Security Problems," The Tallahassee Democrat, 3/3/05)

"[E]ven If The Cost Of The President's Plan Was Magically Covered, Retirees May Gain Nothing From Private Accounts." (Jim Davis, Op-Ed, "Private Accounts Would Worsen Social Security
Problems," The Tallahassee Democrat, 3/3/05)

Rep. James Moran (D-VA):

"The President Continues To Travel Around The Country Pushing His Scheme To Privatize Social Security ... Virginians Are Not So Easily Convinced By This Road Show, Though." (Jeffrey Kelley, "Bush's Visit Draws Praise And Protest," Richmond Times-Dispatch, 4/30/05)

"This Is A Manufactured Crisis." (CNN's "Crossfire", 1/26/05)

Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA):

Schwartz Said The President's Social Security Plan Would "'Really Dismantle Social Security As You Know It' For Children And Grandchildren, And Would Lead To Great Inequities Among The Generations." (Robin Toner, "Appeal To Young On Pension Plan Draws The Attention Of Their Elders," The New York Times, 2/23/05)

Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (D-CA):

"We Don't Have To Come Up With A Plan Until We Defeat Theirs ... [The President] Doesn't Have A Plan, Either." (Marie Cocco, "Half Credit," The American Prospect, 5/05)

"[Tauscher Said] That Democrats Have 'Lots Of Good Ideas' On [Social Security], But That They Are Keeping Them Quiet Because They Want Bush To Settle On A Plan So That He Can't 'Steal' Their Good Ideas And 'Get All The Credit." (Dan Hatfield, "Childish Partisanship Hijacks Social Security Discussion," Contra Costa Times, 3/20/05)

Anyone want to take a swipe at 'why the flip-flops'?!

Dean "Supports" the Troops

2005-08-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

"It looks like today, and this could change, as of today it looks like women will be worse off in Iraq than they were when Saddam Hussein was president of Iraq."

- Howard Dean, 'Face the Nation', 8/14/2005

Frisco Vies for All-America Status

2005-07-12T04:47:00.000-07:00

Following-in, or - since one never can be quite certain who's leading the bandwagon and who's piling on - perhaps redirecting the footsteps of Amy Hagopian along her anti-military recruiter parade route, San Francisco is apparently vying for their very own 'All-America' status as they "support the troops" by "patriotically" targeting the recruiters.

That's right. Anti-war activists submitted a ballot measure for the November ballot that, if passed, would encourage city officials and school administrators to exclude military recruiters from campuses - even if it means losing federal funding due to the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Expect the far-left to expedite the circling of the bandwagons on the "failures" of "No Child." Do not, however, expect the near-left to call BS. I mean: Come on! Who likes to jeer at a parade?!

Besides... wouldn't be prudent...

"We do not see George Bush's daughters signing up," says a member of the International Socialist Organization - which seems to be the band leader of this shining moment of pride for San Francisco and soon, again, the People's Socialist Republic of Seattle and Amy Hagopian.

Notice the ISO sign doesn't identify what "lie" recruiters supposedly tell. I'll give you three guesses why.

The initiative must be certified within 30 days by the Department of Elections, but only 10,400 of the 15,000 signatures must be certified. If San Fran is anything like Seattle, then dead people and felons may freely vote (or sign) early and often if it means maintaining their strangle-hold on power. Therefore, we can expect the initiative to be certified - and for Socialists to gain more political standing in another "All-America" city.

Just one more reason my children are going to be home-schooled if vouchers (meaning ::gasp:: competition for my tax-dollars) aren't approved by the time I have children who are school-age.

Afghanistan: Tons of Munitions Collected; IED Suspect Captured

2005-07-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

A News Release from CENTCOM HQ:

July 11, 2005
Release Number: 05-07-07

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - Afghan National Police officers turned in more then 1,000 rockets and other munitions to U.S. forces near Ghazni on July 7 after having collected them from around the region.

In addition to the rockets, police collected more then 400 mortar rounds, more than 200 recoilless rifle rounds, 150 machine gun rounds, 75 rocket-propelled grenades and four anti-tank mines. Ninety-five percent of the munitions were reported as serviceable and one quarter were still in their original packing materials.

Coalition forces transported the weapons to a nearby base for destruction.

"We are seeing district and provincial governments across the country prepare for the National Assembly Elections in September. Part of that process is vetting candidates who want to run for seats in the parliament," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mike Fenzel, deputy commander of the Coalition's Regional Command East. "But in order to be favorably considered as a candidate, former warlords, fighters, and citizens with caches of weapons have to demobilize and demilitarize to even be considered. We've watched a steady flow of weapons and ammunition being turned in and collected by the Afghan National Police around our area of operation, all as part of the democratic process. These are very clear signals that democracy and security are taking hold in Afghanistan.

"Elsewhere in Afghanistan, U.S. Soldiers patrolling near Qalat captured a man believed to be responsible for the detonation of an improvised explosive device that was triggered as their convoy passed July 7. The detonation caused no injuries or damage.

The man believed to be responsible for the attack was being questioned.

U.S. forces pursued a second individual believed to be involved in the attack but were unable to apprehend him.

Comment: Guess who wants to pretend that employing IEDs and hiding in Mosques is the mark of the "winning" side? And - notice his "uniform" then go read the Geneva Conventions.