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2009-05-11T16:46:00.001-04:00

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The Palin Factor

2008-09-08T21:13:00.001-04:00

It is absolutely stunning how quickly Sarah Palin has altered the political landscape. What remains to be seen, however, is if this truly is a landmark change or simply exuberance at a new, unfamiliar face.

Iranian Outrages

2007-04-01T20:16:00.000-04:00

Its hard to believe that -- 28 years later -- we are once again talking about an Iranian "Hostage Crisis".

I'm going to sum it up in just a few sentences: the Iranians are the ones who started this whole Islamic fanatic movement. They have been the ones who have done more to foment strife between the Islamic world and the West. They are responsible for most of the problems we have faced in post-Saddam Iraq. Now they are on the verge of attaining a nuclear weapon.

Read my lips: WE ..... NEED....A.....REGIME.... CHANGE....IN....TEHRAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, its time to get back to work.

2007-04-01T20:14:00.000-04:00

I've largely dropped out of the blogging game over the past 2 years or so, mostly due to job and commute constraints. However, I think its time to get back in this, as world events seem to demand comment.

More posts to come!

The Greatest Diplomatic Retort in U.S. History

2006-07-15T22:02:00.000-04:00

This has to be one of the greatest diplomatic retorts -- ever!!

The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution on Saturday imposing sanctions on North Korea's dangerous weapons and condemning Pyongyang's recent missile tests.

North Korea immediately 'totally rejected' the resolution. Its U.N. Ambassador Pak Gil Yon said Pyongyang's missile development served 'to keep the balance of force and preserving peace and stability in Northeast Asia.'

In response, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton told the council that Pak 'set a world record in rejecting it within 45 minutes after its adoption.'

He added: 'I could exercise the right of reply on behalf of the United States -- but on the other hand, why bother?'"

Reuters Looks for the Silver Lining in Zarqawi's Death...

2006-06-08T10:00:00.000-04:00

In typical fashion, Reuters is looking for its own "silver lining" relating to the death of Abu Mussab al Zarqawi.

"Arab and Western security analysts were agreed on Thursday that Zarqawi's death in a U.S. air raid would not end the insurgency, even if it represents a rare triumph in Iraq for the Bush administration.

'There will be people that will be mobilized to join the caravan of martyrs, to emulate his example and to honor him,' said Magnus Ranstorp, an al Qaeda expert at the Swedish National Defense College."

UPDATE:

More blathering from Reuters, again citing "experts" no one has ever heard of:

CAIRO (Reuters) - The death of Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in
Iraq showed deep splits on Thursday between Arabs who see the Iraqi insurgency as resistance to occupation and those who say al Qaeda gives Arabs and Muslims a bad name.

But few ordinary Arabs or analysts expected that the killing of the Jordanian-born militant would have much effect in reducing the level of violence in Iraq.

Some Arab citizens hailed Zarqawi as a hero for his role in the insurgency but others welcomed his death as a form of justice for the civilians killed in bombings by his group, which calls itself al Qaeda in Iraq.

Another view was that the United States, anxious to find a scapegoat for its troubles in Iraq, deliberately demonized him and exaggerated his significance as a militant leader.

Zarqawi was killed on Wednesday night in a U.S. air raid in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad.

"He died for the sake of God. After giving so much and having such incredible courage, Abu Musab the lion left us after humiliating the Americans. Pray for his soul," Khaled al-Saleh wrote on the Web site Montada.

"Thank God this wayward infidel is dead," wrote a chatter identified as Azizi on another Web site. "All true believers have been relieved of his evil."

Abdullah, a 29-year-old Saudi secretary, put the third point of view: "I consider Zarqawi as nothing more than propaganda for the Americans. He's just a name, a rumor so that they have somebody to blame everything on."

Arab analysts were also skeptical about some of the high hopes expressed by western leaders including President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Bush said the killing of Zarqawi was a severe blow to al Qaeda and offered a chance for the Iraqi government to "turn the tide" in the struggle against the insurgency.

Mustafa Alani of the Gulf Research Center in Dubai said: "Maybe the bloodshed will decrease in Iraq now. But the problem is that whenever an extremist leader dies, he is replaced by a more radical leader. Zarqawi is a central figure but I believe that the organization will survive."

EXAGGERATION

"It will have some impact on the security situation but it won't be enough. Let's not exaggerate the impact," he added.

Diaa Rashwan, an expert on Islamist groups at the al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, said the United States had repeatedly exaggerated the probable effect of their occasional successes in Iraq and would do so again.

"Zarqawi in recent times did not represent an important element in violent operations on the ground in Iraq. Other groups which are not extreme, resistance groups not terrorist groups, have grown in strength," he told Reuters.

Several ordinary Arabs expressed strong hostility toward Zarqawi and welcomed his killing. But just as many others said he was a martyr who died fighting for the noble cause of ending the U.S. occupation of a leading Arab and Muslim country.

"We should have no regrets over the killing of a terrorist like him. He was mutilating the image of Islam. Hopefully bin Laden is next," said Lebanese Shi'ite student Sana Abdul-Nabi, referring to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

What's the Admax Over-Under?

2006-05-05T00:59:00.000-04:00

Zacarius Moussaoui is heading to the Alcatraz of the Rockies to serve his life sentence for his involvement in 9-11.

So what are the odds in neighboring Vegas that a lawsuit will soon be filed claiming that the solitary confinement that he will soon be experiencing is a violation of his constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.

Already, the ever-vigilant folks at Human Rights Watch have voiced their concerns that such confinement is "problematic" and "not humane".

Yup, not only have we spared the life of a criminal who gleefully admitted his role in facilitating the attacks of September 11th, but I'd bet my house that we will soon be treated to a suit asserting that Mr. Moussaoui deserves better than is his new lot in life at the Admax Detention Facility.

I hate to give the left any pointers on how to win elections, but if they were ever to temper their politics with even the smallest dose of common sense (i.e., don't rock the boat when it comes to an admitted terrorist whose life very well should have been forfeit), they would reclaim control of our elected branches of government in a heartbeat. That's right Democrats... don't place all your political capital on admitted terrorists, partial-birth abortions, protests against the Pledge of Allegiance, and racial charlatans such as Al Sharpton and Cynthia McKinney, and you will blaze your way back to power in an instant. I'd also bet my house that the Democrats won't be applying common sense anytime soon...

Military Tribunals Anyone???

2006-05-03T17:40:00.000-04:00

Over five years of court hijinx, expenditures of millions of dollars, and a soapbox for an admitted terrorist results in a sentence of life in prison for Zacarias Moussaoui. Military tribunals sound a tad more attractive right about now...

McCain Has a Train to Catch

2006-05-02T17:05:00.000-04:00

So if forced to choose, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) would prefer a clean government over one where 1st Amendment rights of free speech are respected. Apparently, he would also be happiest if the trains ran on time.

It must never have occurred to the good Senator that the 1st Amendment is our best buffer against corrupt government. The 1st Amendment does more than merely remind us of the rights that we, as free men and women, enjoy; it also serves a therapeutic function that imposes a check against those who would arrogate power to themselves by allowing the electorate to hold even the most powerful of our leaders to account for their actions.

Senator McCain would rather have us believe that money is the root of all that is evil in government. Money, however, is neither good nor evil. Indeed, the true source of corruption is not the huge sums available to our political office seekers, but the increased lack of accountability of our elected representatives. Lack of political accountability necessarily leads to absolute political power. And Lord Acton had it right over a century ago: "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Tragically, Senator McCain's campaign finance law, by substantially infringing on our right of free speech, especially political speech, only confers greater power upon the already powerful who are firmly entrenched in their seats of power. All this at the expense of one of our most cherished rights.

Because of McCain-Feingold, an incumbent no longer need be worried about political broadsides from a concerned citizen in the run-up to an election. No, those days are long gone. And the citizen who dares raise his or her voice to influence the outcome of an election during the waning days of a campaign risks more than just humiliation at the polls, facing instead the real prospect of criminal sanctions for having the temerity to weigh in on an election.

Senator McCain foolishly supposes that restrictions on political speech will lead to cleaner government. The opposite is assuredly true as valid political opposition will be snuffed out in the name of finance reform. And left unchecked, our elected leaders will edge ever more closely to absolute power and succumb to absolute corruption.

And as certainly as the night follows the day, the restrictions on speech that have begun with such supposedly benign intentions will become ever more onerous as the politically entrenched find even more cases of corruption to be cured by even greater restrictions on speech. In fact, after reflecting on the enormous impact that virtually unregulated 527 Groups such as Moveon.Org and Swiftboat Veterans for Truth had on the 2004 presidential election, Congress has already begun murmuring about the need for additional regulations to curb the influence of these political advocacy groups.

Significantly, John McCain has not lobbied so heavily for these speech regulations because he can point to any particular scandal involving fundraising (though it is a delicious irony that he was a founding member of the Keating 5) or other evidence of corruption. Indeed, there have been no allegations of clandestine payoffs or backroom payoffs. Rather, we are constantly informed of the climate of corruption that envelops Washington because of the enormous sums of money contributed for political campaigns. And somehow this is supposed to be remedied by imposing restrictions on speech...

Judging from the reaction to groups such as Moveon.Org an Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, the real crime according to Senator McCain is not the corruption caused by these groups, but their unregulated message. Of course, in this age of hyper-partisanship, isn't it just a bit odd that Democrats and Republicans can agree on at least this one issue? John Kerry's campaign was devastated by the message of Swiftboat Veterans for Truth while Republicans recognize that Moveon.Org will be a thorn in their side for years to come. Is there any wonder that the two parties are in a race to see which can pass the most comprehensive restrictions on political speech?

In his supreme arrogance, Senator McCain seemingly is blinded to the impact these these speech restrictions have on the liberty of Americans. While Senator McCain and his like-minded cohorts on the Supreme Court invent increasingly new rights that lack any foundation in our Constitution, they are ready in an instant to abandon those rights clearly delineated in our Bill of Rights. In their upside-down world, the right to engage in sodomy is afforded greater protection than the right to voice one's opinion on a presidential campaign.

And our liberties continue to be eroded as a result. Senator McCain would do well to remember another quote from Lord Acton: "Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end." Unfortunately for all Americans, Senator McCain is more concerned that the trains run on time.

Do You Feel the Urge to Convert?

2006-04-30T00:34:00.000-04:00

The ACLU is going to court.

The organization has brought a lawsuit on behalf of a resident of Haskell County, Oklahoma demanding that the large stone tablet setting forth the Ten Commandments which was placed in front of the County Courthouse be removed. As usual, the ACLU claims this display violates the 1st Amendment which prohibits Congress from making any "law respecting an establishment of religion...."

And if the past is any guide, the ACLU will likely win.

But why is that? What religion exactly does this display purport to establish? We all know that that the 10 Commandments were given to Moses following the Israelites exodus from Egypt. Does this mean that Haskell County is attempting to convert its populace to Judaism? I suspect not.

We also know that Jesus was a Jewish rabbi who deferred to Jewish teachings, adding the Golden Rule to the 10 Commandments. Does the ACLU conclude that because Jesus was a Rabbi that somehow the display of 10 Commandments represents an effort to convert the citizens of Haskell County to Christianity since Jesus certainly approved of and taught the 10 Commandments to his disciples? Doubtful.

For that matter, because Muslims claim that Mohammed can claim kinship to Ismael, Abraham's second-born son, is this display some underhanded effort by the leaders of Haskell County to promote Islam in America's heartland? Hmmm...

In all seriousness, what religion is alleged to have been established by this monument to the 10 Commandments? As a Catholic, I certainly do not feel compelled to convert to Judaism after viewing a monument to the 10 Commandments, nor do I feel any strange urge to become a Baptist, a Methodist, or a Muslim. If the Constitution is going to be called upon to overturn an otherwise valid legislative enactment, shouldn't the constitutional harm that would otherwise result be detailed with particularity? Is it too much to ask for the ACLU to at least identify the religion that is supposedly being established by the good folks of Haskell County?

I suspect the ACLU is once again simply demonstrating its opposition to all things religious. That no reasonable person would perceive this display as an effort to establish a religion is apparently of no importance. Instead, the mere fact that these Commandments are rooted in religion is enough to prohibit them from public display. And of course, we must also conveniently forget the critical role that these Commandments had in the development of Western Civilization and the foundation of the very laws that the ACLU now seeks to use to remove them from the public discourse. Apparently, the ACLU is of the opinion that respect for individual rights first came to the fore with the adoption of the Bill of Rights. Who would guess that they owe their existence to the 10 Commandments that are now sought to be banned....

Al Qaeda suspect objects to Guantanamo treatment - Yahoo! News

2006-04-26T16:54:00.000-04:00

Reuters reports on the sad case of an al-Qaeda terrorist who doesn't like his new housing arrangements at Gitmo.

"An al Qaeda suspect who earned top privileges for good behavior in the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, asked a military judge on Wednesday to overturn a camp rule that detainees who face trial be held in maximum security.

Sufyian Barhoumi, a 32-year-old Algerian charged with training two other al Qaeda militants to build remote detonators for car bombs, had been granted communal living, up to 14 hours a day outside his cell and family-style meals in an area reserved for detainees considered "highly compliant."

But weeks before his pretrial military tribunal hearing on Tuesday, Barhoumi was suddenly transferred without explanation to a maximum-security facility where prisoners spend 22 hours a day locked inside cement cells and have little contact with fellow detainees."

Aaawww, poor guy. How 'bout we place him and all of his friends in a building, say about 110 stories tall, then douse the floor, walls, ceiling, furniture, even them, with jet fuel, set it on fire and challenge them to find a way out? Anyone who can escape before their prison collapses can have their freedom!

Judge: Moussaoui death penalty trial still on - Yahoo! News

2006-03-14T16:17:00.000-05:00

This story is Exhibit A-1 as to why the criminal justice system is NOT the way to handle terrorism. Moussaoui should have been brought before a Military Tribunal, convicted of war crimes and executed.

Its that simple.

Wishful Thinking

2006-03-04T23:36:00.000-05:00

Headline: Music phones to slice into iPod growth - Yahoo! News

Uh huh...and buggy whip sales are still strong, too.

Just Wondering...

2006-02-21T12:58:00.000-05:00

From news about the Dubai-based company selected by the Bush Administration to run certain U.S. ports:

"U.S. lawmakers will seek quick action in Congress to block a deal under which a state-owned Dubai company would manage major U.S. seaports, they said on Tuesday."

I wonder how many of these same lawmakers are absolutely opposed to profiling?

Does anyone else see the hypocrisy here?

Insulting Infidels

2006-02-11T17:40:00.000-05:00

"In Indonesia, about 400 protesters from the radical Hizbut Tahrir group held a noisy but peaceful rally at a Jakarta intersection, demanding that Denmark apologize for what they said was an insult to Islam.

They unfurled anti-Western banners that read 'Western infidels never can stop insulting' and 'Regret is not enough to pay for the insult to the Prophet.'"

Ah, so we're "infidels".

And, of course, that's not an insult.

What a Great Idea!

2006-02-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

From CNET:

"The National Football League is giving fans of Super Bowl commercials a way to see all the new ads without sitting through the entire game. The league announced Monday that after the game ends on Feb. 5, it would re-air the commercials shown during ABC's broadcast of Super Bowl XL."

al-Qaeda Prison Break

2006-02-05T15:55:00.000-05:00

"Interpol has issued a global security alert for 23 dangerous convicts, at least 13 of them al-Qaeda linked, who broke out of a Yemeni jail on Friday.

The group includes a man said to be a mastermind of the 2000 attack on the destroyer USS Cole."

Wonderful...

(from the Beeb)

The Diplomad

2006-02-05T14:48:00.000-05:00

Just a passing note: Its been one year since our friend(s), The Diplomad, signed off. We miss his/her/their wry insight into the diplomatic passing scene.

Someday, I hope he/she/they will return from exile. For now, be thankful that The Diplomad's posts are still available for perusal.

More on the Cartoons

2006-02-05T14:44:00.000-05:00

I think Hugh Hewitt and Jim Geraghty hit the nail on the head: the Danish cartoons lampooning Mohammed were idiotic, but that is no excuse for violence directed against the Danes and Norwegians by the Islamists.

World War III?

2006-02-04T14:42:00.000-05:00

Please tell me that this is not going to be how World War III starts, over a stupid (and I mean that) cartoon:

"Furious Syrians set fire to the Danish and Norwegian embassies on Saturday as protests over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad showed no signs of abating despite calls for calm."

Seriously, I think the Muslims need to check their emotions on this. Depicting a religious person is NOT blasphemy. However, Kanye West's Rolling Stone cover is. Christians are not torching anyone's embassy and would have a lot more reason to do so.

Muslims: get over it.

UPDATE: It looks like this furor is not dying down at all. One of Michelle Malkin's "trackbacker", UrbanRepublican, has picked up on my thoughts on this being the start of WWIII. I honestly don't know how it is that we extend any tolerance to Muslims. They are so blasted intolerant of EVERYTHING else...

Finally, please note all the protest signs in English in the photos on Michelle Malkin's various posts on this subject. Aside from Palestine (now Israela and Jordan), Pakistan and Iraq (the latter two, a long time ago), I don't think English was the official language of any Muslim nation. This is, then, obviously being done for American consumption.

Grasping at Straws

2006-02-02T06:16:00.000-05:00

Reuters gleefully reports this morning that Samuel Alito might be a liberal! Or at least that's how I take the following:

"New Supreme Court JusticeSamuel Alito broke ranks (emphasis supplied) with the court's conservatives late on Wednesday, refusing to allow Missouri to execute a man convicted of kidnapping and killing a Kansas City teenager 17 years ago, CNN reported.

Alito sided with the majority in a 6-3 vote rejecting a last minute request to allow Missouri to carry out the execution of Michael Taylor, 39, by lethal injection at midnight, CNN said."

Come on. Now, I don't know the details of the case, but this decision can hardly be seen as "breaking ranks" with the conservative justices. My impression is that Justice Alito probably took the prudent course here for someone who also doesn't know the full details of the case. You can always lift the stay of execution later if the merits of the case so warrant. However, you cannot undo an execution. My gut tells me that Justice Alito probably preferred to evaluate the case on the merits, when he had the benefit of time to study it, along with a full complement of law clerks to assist him, neither of which I'm sure he has had after 1 full day on the Court.

In other words: I'm going to cut him a little slack on this one.

Nice try, Reuters and CNN.

Byrd Does the Right Thing

2006-01-30T22:32:00.000-05:00

I never thought I'd see the day when I believed Robert Byrd to be correct about anything:

"Last week, Byrd decried the highly partisan tone of Alito's confirmation hearing, held three weeks ago, saying 'something is wrong with our judicial nominations process, and we in the Senate have the power to fix it.'

The West Virginia lawmaker admonished his colleagues from the Senate floor, telling them their votes should be based on Alito's qualifications not their party affiliation."

Lakers' Kobe Bryant not chasing 100-mark - Yahoo! News

2006-01-30T22:21:00.000-05:00

"Kobe Bryant feels a bit sheepish about his sensational 81-point performance and says he is not caught up in a chase after Wilt Chamberlain's magical record mark of 100."

Uh....right.

Iran Gets a Timeout

2006-01-30T22:16:00.000-05:00

Well, its a start...

"The permanent five members of the U.N. Security Council agreed on Tuesday that this week's meeting of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog should report Iran to the Council over its nuclear programs ***. "

Mighty Sporting of Iran!

2006-01-30T12:30:00.000-05:00

It sure is a big concession from Iran to let UN "inspectors" view a former atomic site:

"VIENNA (Reuters) -Iran has allowed U.N. nuclear inspectors to check equipment from a former military site in an apparent effort to avert a crackdown by the U.N. atomic watchdog (IAEA) this week, a senior diplomat said on Monday."

It's just like: "Don't look at the man behind the curtain!"