Some Common Sense

Living in Two Worlds

2009-03-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

Nancy Pelosi is clearly very hypocritical, or very confused. Originally I had her figured for the former, but as she has become more prominent in the daily news cycle I'm becoming more convinced she simply doesn't realize she lives in two worlds.

She (or at least one of her aids) recently got very heated with the military when there were no more G5 planes available for transportation between DC and California. Despite being offered a military version of a Boeing 747, which by any honest assessment must be more than adequate for her purposes, Pelosi's office found this to be "totally unacceptable."

It's one thing to need speedy and reliable transportation to properly fulfill your duties when you're a high ranking politician, it's entirely another to act as if you have the right to use the most luxurious, most expensive version of that transportation. And if the first thing I think of after hearing Pelosi's reaction is Tropic Thunder and Les Grosman's bribe offering ownership of a G5, there's something definitely wrong.

Nancy Pelosi operates in two worlds: her public role as Speaker, and her private role in high-society. Publicly she backs spending packages and the need for the government to "aid those in need" (as vague as that sounds), but privately she isn't willing to give up any of the luxuries she currently receives as part of her position. If she wants to ask me and other common Americans to pay higher taxes and foot her spending plans, she needs to at least be willing to make some sacrifices of her own. Not the least of which should be the demand for the same plane that Jay-Z currently uses.

The Law School Gamble

2009-01-20T11:04:00.000-08:00

I've often wondered how sound of an investment it is for me to be attending Law School. Apparently, there is much more risk involved than there used to be:

The two disillusioned attorneys were victims of an unfolding education hoax on the middle class that's just as insidious, and nearly as sweeping, as the housing debacle. The ingredients are strikingly similar, too: Misguided easy-money policies that are encouraging the masses to go into debt; a self-serving establishment trading in half-truths that exaggerate the value of its product; plus a Wall Street money machine dabbling in outright fraud as it foists unaffordable debt on the most vulnerable marks...

The one certainty: The average law grad owes $100,000 in student debt. "There are a lot of aspects of selling education that are tinged with consumer fraud," Sander says. "There is a definite conspiracy to lead students down a primrose path."

This only makes the pressure of landing a well-paying job after graduation that much greater. Im personally expecting at least ten to fifteen years of repaying loans once I complete law school. The worst part is that I'm not convinced there is a good remedy available for this situation right now. Costs of both undergraduate and post-graduate schooling rise every year; my own undergraduate institution now costs at least 15% more than it did my freshman year. In many cases, schools have simply been forced to raise tuition to make ends meet.

As schooling costs continue to grow, there is a growing risk for many young people that college and graduate studies are bad investments. Certainly there is a sense among many (especially in the middle class) that a four-year degree is something non-negotiable that must be attained in order to make a decent living. It's what high school guidance counselors and college recruiters preach on a regular basis. The truth is that some young people would be better off avoiding the costs of college (and the necessary debt) and pursuing trade jobs or other careers where they can be trained specifically on the job.

At this point it seems I'm stuck enough that I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed.

The Return from Sabbatical

2009-01-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

I haven't written in this blog for a few years but it seems I've got the itch to begin again.

The entries will probably be more sporadic, but I intend to keep the content reasonably fresh. The blog itself will certainly have a different tone and cover a wider array of topics than it did before. I intend to focus the entries more on my own reactions to various issues or events and be less inclined to simply report the daily news. In any case, I hope that the thoughts I provide here will be entertaining or thoughtful enough to sustain an interest from those who visit this blog.

Thanks in advance for reading.

Hayden Gets Confirmed

2006-05-26T17:12:00.000-07:00

Gen. Michael Hayden was confirmed as the 20th CIA director today. The Senate approved Hayden by a vote of 78-15.

Meanwhile, Sen. Arlen Specter getting dramatic:

Breaking with the White House, Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter voted against the four-star general. The Pennsylvania Republican said he was protesting the administration's failure to inform Congress of intelligence operations, particularly its warrantless surveillance program.

"I have no quarrel with General Hayden," Specter said on the Senate floor.

I don't really understand the point of this kind of manuevering. First of all, there has been a great deal of work done in justifying the NSA's warrantless surveillance program, so there shouldn't really be a need for more clarification in the legal sense. Second, there are reasons why the Senate was not told of certain aspects of the NSA program, namely that many of the details were sensitive to national security.

It has never and will never be the duty of the Senate to pretend it is the military. There are always things that the Senate will be kept in the dark on, because it is simply not their job to know certain things. This feels like only the latest in a series of "we are privileged" stunts by members of congress (like the recent uproar in Congress over FBI searches thanks to the Jefferson incident). Sen. Specter needs to stop grandstanding and focus on doing his job; voting with the majority of which he is a part may also be nice.

Bush Orders The Jefferson Documents Sealed

2006-05-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

This is the kind of thing that just baffles me:

President Bush stepped into the Justice Department's constitutional confrontation with Congress on Thursday and ordered that documents seized in an FBI raid on a congressman's office be sealed for 45 days.

The president directed that no one involved in the investigation have access to the documents under seal and that they remain in the custody of the solicitor general.

Bush's move was described as an attempt to reach a cooling off period in a heated confrontation between his administration and leaders of the House and Senate.

"This period will provide both parties more time to resolve the issues in a way that ensures that materials relevant to the ongoing criminal investigation are made available to prosecutors in a manner that respects the interests of a coequal branch of government," Bush said.

This sounds way too much like the President is just buying time for Congressional members to hide away whatever it is they don't want to be leaked out. I don't buy the excuse that it is to "get their affairs in order." More here.

The House Gets It. Will The Senate?

2006-05-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

The House has voted once again to open ANWR for drilling:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Citing the public outcry over $3-a-gallon gasoline and America's heavy reliance on foreign oil, the House on Thursday voted to open an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling, knowing the prospects for Senate approval were slim.

Drilling proponents argued that the refuge on Alaska's North Slope would provide 1 million barrels a day of additional domestic oil at peak production and reduce the need for imports...

The House voted 225-201 to direct the Interior Department to open oil leases on the coastal strip of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - an area of 1.5 million acres that is thought likely to hold about 11 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

But the action may be little more than symbolic. Arctic refuge development, while approved by the House five times, repeatedly has been blocked in the Senate where drilling proponents have been unable to muster the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

There's always a chance that the Republican majority will finally start acting like a majority. I'm hesitant to call the House's move for ANWR drilling a success, however, because of the Senate's poor track record on the issue. Nonetheless, we have some reason to be encouraged with the Senate's recent passage of the Immigration bill, and what looks like a cloture vote on DC Circuit nominee Brett Kavanaugh, giving him a chance at the up or down vote he deserves.

Bipartisan Hypocrisy

2006-05-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

For some reason, many congressional members have been very upset by the discovery of $100,000 of bribe money on ice (literally) in representative William Jefferson's freezer:

House leaders of both parties stood in rare election-year unanimity Wednesday demanding the FBI surrender documents it took and remove agents involved in the weekend raid of a congressman's office.

"The Justice Department must immediately return the papers it unconstitutionally seized," House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.

The leaders said that the congressman, William Jefferson, a Louisiana Democrat, should then cooperate with the investigation.

Earlier, Hastert had said any FBI agents involved "ought to be frozen out of that (case) just for the sake of the constitutional aspects of it."

This all seems a bit hypocritical. Glenn Reynolds explains why:

I say, search 'em all. Now. They must have something to hide, right? They certainly don't mind much more intrusive paramilitary raids on the rest of us, even though the Fourth Amendment provides a lot more reason to doubt the validity of those than the Speech and Debate Clause provides where Congressional searches are concerned...

The leadership -- of both parties -- should be ashamed of this stunt. They should remember that the Constitution forbids titles of nobility, too, despite their effort to transform their positions into something very much like that.

I side with Glenn in that legislators don't deserve any special privileges here. If there is reason to believe they are guilty of bribery or have anything else to hide, they need to be investigated. Congressional members are not "protected" from the ordinary way things work and must actually be held to an even higher standard.

The Immigration Bill Moves Forward

2006-05-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

The Immigration Bill compromise comes one step closer to becoming passed legislation:

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to limit debate on election-year immigration legislation, clearing the way for final passage later this week of a bill that calls for tougher border security as well as an eventual chance at citizenship for millions of men and women in the country illegally.

The vote to advance the measure was 73-25, 13 more than the 60 needed.

Despite the controversy surrounding the bill, the outcome was not a surprise. Even some of the bill's opponents said they were satisfied they had been given ample opportunity over past week to try and give the bill a more conservative cast.

Final passage would set the stage for a difficult negotiation with the House, which passed legislation last year that exposes all illegal immigrants to criminal felony charges.

President Bush has repeatedly urged Congress to approve an immigration bill that generally follows the approach taken by the Senate, and some senators expressed optimism that a deal could be reached.

Hayden Moves Closer To Confirmation

2006-05-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

Gen. Michael Hayden moves through the Senate panel confirmation and now heads on to a full vote in the near future:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Gen. Michael Hayden moved a step closer Tuesday to becoming the nation's 20th CIA chief, where he will take over a spy agency looking for a leader to steer it through troubles ranging from al-Qaida to Washington politics.

The Senate Intelligence Committee recommended confirmation, 12-3, with three of the panel's seven Democrats voting against him. If the Senate approves him before Memorial Day, as expected, Hayden could be sworn in by the end of the week.

"We think he is an outstanding choice to head the CIA," committee chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said after the vote. "He is a proven leader and a supremely qualified intelligence professional."

Meanwhile, we get the usual uninformed rhetoric of the Dems:

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., joined Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Evan Bayh of Indiana to vote against Hayden. "General Hayden directed an illegal program that put Americans on American soil under surveillance without the legally required approval of a judge," Feingold said in a statement.

When are they going to face the case law and give up attacking the NSA program?

Bird Flu Goes Human To Human

2006-05-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

Some alarming news from Indonesia:

May 23 (Bloomberg) -- All seven people infected with bird flu in a cluster of Indonesian cases can be linked to other patients, according to disease trackers investigating possible human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus.

A team of international experts has been unable to find animals that might have infected the people, the World Health Organization said in a statement today. In one case, a 10-year- old boy who caught the virus from his aunt may have passed it to his father, the first time officials have seen evidence of a three-person chain of infection, an agency spokeswoman said. Six of the seven people have died.

Almost all of the 218 cases of H5N1 infections confirmed by the WHO since late 2003 can be traced to direct contact with sick or dead birds. Strong evidence of human-to-human transmission may prompt the global health agency to convene a panel of experts and consider raising the pandemic alert level, said Maria Cheng, an agency spokeswoman.

"Considering the evidence and the size of the cluster, it's a possibility,'' Cheng said in a telephone interview. "It depends on what we're dealing with in Indonesia. It's an evolving situation.''

Another Bureaucratic Screw Up

2006-05-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

It seems as though the personal information of over 26.5 million veterans has been "misplaced":

WASHINGTON (AP) - Thieves took sensitive personal information on 26.5 million U.S. veterans, including Social Security numbers and birth dates, after a Veterans Affairs employee improperly brought the material home, the government said Monday.

The information involved mainly those veterans who served and have been discharged since 1975, said VA Secretary Jim Nicholson. Data of veterans discharged before 1975 who submitted claims to the agency may have been included.

Nicholson said there was no evidence the thieves had used the data for identity theft, and an investigation was continuing.

"It's highly probable that they do not know what they have," he said in a briefing with reporters. "We have decided that we must exercise an abundance of caution and make sure our veterans are aware of this incident."

What's worse is that this is only the latest in a series of serious security breaches, including the disclosure of highly sensitive information related to the NSA program. Yikes.

Hopefully Gen. Hayden can at least help out the CIA to keep its information secure.

The Message In BC's Commencement

2006-05-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

While about 50 students stood with their backs turned as the Secretary of State was introduced to give the commencement address for Boston College, the rest presented her with sound applause and a standing ovation. That in itself is at least worthy of mention, but what struck me most was what Rice said before the ceremony:

"People have the right to protest, but I hope when they protest they realize also that people now have a right to protest in Baghdad and Kabul, and that's a very big breakthrough for the international community," Rice said Monday before the BC commencement.

This sums up in a sentence the difference between the center-right and fever swamp lefties. The leaders of the Democratic party blindly rage against the president and his administration, and place intense emphasis on painting the GOP as a bunch of bad guys. Yet while they are screaming they ignore the many successes that have come from the war on terror and the war in Iraq.

It is truly that simple.

Why Al Gore's Documentary Will Flop

2006-05-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

Via AP:

Is President Bush likely to see Al Gore's documentary about global warming?

"Doubt it," Bush said coolly Monday...

"New technologies will change how we live and how we drive our cars which all will have the beneficial effect of improving the environment," Bush said. "And in my judgment we need to set aside whether or not greenhouse gases have been caused by mankind or because of natural effects and focus on the technologies that will enable us to live better lives and at the same time protect the enviroment."

I think most people who are even moderately informed on the issue feel Bush's sentiment. They are not intimidated by Gore's scare tactics and thus will not succumb his feverish push of the global warming issue. Gore is really just a boy crying wolf about something that has been overplayed for years.

Bjorn Lomborg's book, The Skeptical Environmentalist, has done a lot of work in proving this.

Controversy Over New Orleans Mayor Race

2006-05-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

The DNC is vehemntly denying charges that it backed mayoral candidate and sitting Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu (D-LA) in favor of incumbent bonehead Ray Nagin. Drudge Reports:

The Democratic National Committee strongly denies it placed political operatives in the city of New Orleans to work against the reelection efforts of incumbent Democrat Mayor Ray Nagin.

Well-placed DRUDGE REPORT sources claimed DNC Chairman Howard Dean made the decision to back mayoral candidate and sitting Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu (D-LA).

The DNC says the report is "unequivocally and absolutely false."

DNC Communications director Karen Finney explained: "The DNC does not as a policy get involved in Democratic primaries... The only thing that the DNC did was a campaign helping ensure that displaced voters had an opportunity to vote."

The DRUDGE REPORT takes chairman Dean and his spokesman at their word.

It just seems a little hard to believe (as Drudge notes) that Dean isn't telling the truth. Nagin was a disaster in the aftermath of Katrina, and was one of the major people getting in the way of the Dems plan to blame the disaster on the president. He spells nothing but bad news for the DNC, and his reelection can not be seen otherwise.

UNC Terrorist Update

2006-05-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

The radical Islamist who drove his SUV into a crowd of people at UNC-Chapel Hill has been indicted:

A man charged with trying to kill students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by driving through a popular campus gathering spot was indicted Monday on nine counts of attempted first-degree murder.

Mohammed Taheri-Azar, a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, also was indicted on four counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and five counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.

Taheri-Azar is accused of driving through the gathering spot, known as the Pit, on March 3, hitting nine people. He has said his actions were in retaliation for the deaths of Muslims throughout the world caused by the United States.

When he gets convicted and sentenced to at least 20 years in prison, it will hopefully give others in America pause for thought before acting on a vendetta against "the oppressors of Muslims." Then again, the types of people who engage in this sort of jihad aren't usually the types of people that deal well with reason.

The CIA's War Against The Bush Administration

2006-05-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

Stephen Hayes has a must read column entitled "The New McCarthyism." Opening graphs:

ON APRIL 19, 2006, security personnel from the Central Intelligence Agency escorted a senior CIA official from her office, withdrew her Top Secret clearance, and terminated her employment. The CIA did not name the officer. She was fired after she "acknowledged having unauthorized discussions with reporters in which the officer knowingly and willfully shared classified intelligence, including operational information."

The CIA did not name her, but several news organizations reported that the official was Mary McCarthy, whose most recent position at the Agency was in the office of the inspector general. Two days later, when McCarthy denied disclosing classified information to reporters, she asked a former colleague, Rand Beers, to make the statement on her behalf.

It was an interesting choice. McCarthy had worked for Beers on the National Security Council under President Bill Clinton. They had apparently remained close, even after Beers quit his position in the new administration and became a leading critic of the counterterrorism policies of George W. Bush. Or perhaps the two had remained close because Beers quit his position to criticize the Bush administration...

Read the whole thing. (HT: Hugh Hewitt)

The Mohammed Cartoons, Revisited

2006-05-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons for publication of the cartoons was that by not publishing them, we were setting a horrible precedent that would force to give in to other demands under the threat of violence. After time, the demands of the radical Islamists would be so far from their original calls for "respect" and "civility" that the relationship between the demands might even become indistinguishable.

Well it appears as though Germany might already being seeing itself take steps in that direcion. Details here.

It only serves as a reminder that when threats and violence are met with concessions and appeasement, there will only be more threats and violence, and problems aren't solved unless you confront them.

The Immigration March

2006-05-01T20:00:00.000-07:00

Huge roundup courtesy of Instapundit and Michelle Malkin.

The march, however, is just a big show. It will get a lot of press coverage and be talked about extensively for the next few days, but the likelihood that it accomplishes anything other than boost news ratings is unlikely.

As we saw from the Senate's breakdown in the past weeks, immigration policy is going nowhere until we see some new faces in Congress. The House bill was a good one, but the Senate compromise took away all of the House bill's successes, and the end result was not much different than what we started with.

But none of this should phase those who organized today's rallies. They don't want immigration reform. If they were arguing for amnesties or greater rights for the workers already here, then they would not have had the problem with the House bill that they did. They would have known that by getting behind the border security plan they could have had greater standing in arguing for those immgirants that had already crossed the border.

But the truth is that the organizers don't want compromise or solution, they only seek to divide and anger. The uproar they seek to creat is merely their latest pot shot at the administration. The effect of the march will be brief but insignificant. The efforts at immigration reform will subside as soon as they realize the only chance at changing policy will come after November this year.

Justice At NKU

2006-04-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

Professor Sally Jacobsen of NKU is finally being punished for her radical ideology-driven misconduct a couple of weeks ago. In case you forgot what exactly she did, here's some background:

Four hundred crosses representing aborted fetuses were pulled from the ground and thrown in trash cans around campus. A sign explaining the temporary display, which had been approved by university officials as an expression of free speech, was also removed.

Jacobsen told reporters that she had "invited" students in her graduate-level British literature course to exercise free-speech by destroying the display.

She said she was offended by the simulated cemetery, which she considered intimidating and harmful to women who might be considering abortions. NKU's campus newspaper, the Northerner, published photos of Jacobsen dismantling part of the display.

Since the incident became public, NKU's president has received hundreds of e-mails from throughout the country condemning the professor's actions. She was placed on leave last week, and substitutes were assigned to her classes for the rest of the semester.

Jacobsen has been charged with criminal mischief, theft by unlawful taking, and criminal solicitation. The six student's who heeded Jacobsen's call for destruction are also being charged with criminal mischief and theft by unlawful taking.

Serves them right. And thankfully this isn't the first time that some radical lefties have been punished for their churlish actions. (HT: Michelle Malkin)

Porkbusters Success!

2006-04-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

A big victory in the House today for GOP lawmakers as they prevented a huge amount of earmark spending. Details here, courtesy of MKH.

Sen. Coburn played a huge part in the success. More on his efforts to stop earmark spending via N.Z. Bear.

Senator Frist Interviewed By Power Line

2006-04-26T17:58:00.000-07:00

Power Line's Scott Johnson conducted a 30 minute interview with the Majority Leader, and came up with some good material:

I asked him about the Iranian nuclear program. Senator Frist responded in clinical terms; he described the Iranian nuclear program as the number one threat to the mortality of America today. He said that he had just returned a week-and-a-half ago from Russia (and Poland and elsewhere) with the purpose of seeking support for the suppression of Iran's nuclear ambitions.

I asked how much time there was for diplomacy; he said that Iran's nuclear ambitions might be achieved in as little as two years. He acknowleged the difficulties of diplomacy under the circumstances and indirectly expressed the view that President Bush would not leave the problem for his successor, although I couldn't elicit anything beyond the usual bromides.

and:

What about judges? He said that nominees Terrence Boyle and Brett Kavanaugh had been waiting for a vote for five years and three years, respectively, and that their nominations needed to be addressed. My impression was that he meant to assure them an up or down vote on the floor of the Senate. He referred to 60 other judicial nominations "in the pipeline" and stated that all these nominations "need to be taken through immediately." He anticipates an acceleration of the confirmation schedule in the coming months.

I asked about his estimate of the damage done to the NSA terrorist surveillance program by its disclosure. He said he could not put numerical values on the damage, but that he thought the program had been harmed. He nevertheless believed that it remained an important program for the defense of the United States. We're at risk of another attack every day, Senator Frist observed, and common sense would suggest that the value of the program was diminished by its disclosure.

This is encouraging discussion from Senator Frist. He appears to be aware of the stakes and it looks as though he has a decent grasp on what the Senate's priorities should be. As I noted below, it's going to take a strategy shift to get the GOP through the mid terms successfully, and the Majority Leader's initiative is a good example for the rest of the Senate Republicans.

Tony Snow For Press Secretary

2006-04-26T01:49:00.000-07:00

He's the front runner, and I hope he gets selected:

Fox News commentator Tony Snow is the front-runner to become White House press secretary and a decision on his appointment is near, Republicans close to the White House said Tuesday.

Snow has told associates he would like to take the job and he has had serious discussions with White House officials, the Republicans said on condition of anonymity because of President Bush's dislike of news leaks.

As a conservative columnist and commentator, Snow has been sharply critical of Bush and Republicans in Congress at times. The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, circulated unflattering observations by Snow about Bush.

"His (Bush's) wavering conservatism has become an active concern among Republicans, who wish he would stop cowering under the bed and start fighting back against the likes of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Wilson," Snow wrote last November after Republicans failed to win the governor's race in Virginia. "The newly passive George Bush has become something of an embarrassment."

This is exactly the kind of influence that the Bush White House needs. Getting Tony Snow signed on as the White House Press Secretary will be one of many first steps in the right direction towards turning the party around, and getting its image right with the American people.

The GOP can and should win the mid term elections this November, but it's going to take a willingness to move away from the status quo mentality that has plagued this Congress since Bush's re-election.

It's time to play hardball.

No more GOP cave-ins disguised as bipartisan compromises. Use the majority to your advantage. Don't be bullied by the stall tactics of the Democrats. Get the judges confirmed. Rededicate yourselves to winning the war in Iraq and fighting the war on terror. Protect our citizens and protect our borders by standing by the Patriot Act, the NSA terrorist surveillance program, and getting serious about immigration policy. Cut some taxes (especially the gas tax) and cut the spending.

In other words, listen to the base.

It isn't going to be a simple task, but it is very feasible. All it takes is some committment and an attitude to win.

California Man Convicted In Terrorism Case

2006-04-25T17:26:00.000-07:00

Via AP:

A federal jury on Tuesday convicted a 23-year-old man of supporting terrorists by attending an al-Qaida training camp in Pakistan three years ago.

Hamid Hayat, a seasonal farm worker in Lodi, an agricultural town south of Sacramento, was convicted of one count of providing material support to terrorists and three counts of lying to the FBI.

Prosecutors described Hamid Hayat as having "a jihadi heart and a jihadi mind" who returned from a two-year visit to Pakistan intent on carrying out attacks. Possible targets included hospitals, banks and grocery stores.

I'm curious as to how often these sorts of trials occur. With all the focus on the Zarqawi trial, there hasn't been much mention of any other, less prominent figures who may be on trial for their roles in aiding terrorists. It would be very interesting to see the numbers on terror-related trials in the U.S. per year.

My assumption is that the amount of public trials might be low, but the amount of investigations and inquires that occur based on suspicions of terrorism may be much higher. In our current war against al-Qaeda, intelligence has become our most valuable resource.

The 9th Circuit Gets It Wrong (Again)

2006-04-25T00:11:00.000-07:00

Last week I linked to a post by Eugene Volokh that explained why the 9th Circuit's Judge Reinhardt butchered a decision regarding the First Amendment's protections of free speech.

Today, Judge Reinhardt got another crack at a First Amendment case. Any guesses on how he ruled? A hint: Eugene Volokh's post on the decision is titled "Pro-Taliban Speech Constitutionally Protected, Criticisms of Homosexuality Unprotected."

Read his entire analysis. It is absolutely amazing how the 9th Circuit manages to consistently produce decisions in conflict with judicial precedent --including its own. I guess it's hard to offer legally sound reasoning when you base your decisions on your political ideologies.

Osama Bin Laden... The Dissident?

2006-04-24T23:56:00.000-07:00

According to the MSM, the term "terrorist" just doesn't fit his character quite right. He deserves a more politically correct description that is sensitive to his motives. LGF has the details.

And The Plot Thickens...

2006-04-24T23:05:00.000-07:00

JPod, at The Corner (HT: Instapundit):

So Newsweek is reporting that Mary McCarthy denies being the leaker. This despite stories in the press saying that she failed a polygraph and admitted to it. McCarthy's not the the one who told Newsweek. Do you know who did? Her "close friend" Rand Beers. Who's Rand Beers? The National Security Council staffer who quit in 2003 and went to work as John Kerry's senior national security campaign adviser. You know who else is Rand Beers's old friend from the National Security Council staff? Joseph C. Wilson IV. Just saying.

I can't see this particular leak case getting any more murky than that. These kinds of connections are way too convenient to be a coincidence. McCarthy is hardly an any position to look anything other than guilty of leaking sensitive CIA material.

On a related note: it is interesting that Kerry's name came up. He seems to be all up in arms to defend Ms. McCarthy. But of course, his arguments are quite easily defeated, as Captain Ed displays:

While it is touching to see Kerry offer support for a campaign contributor, I suggest that he revisit the law on releasing classified information and just leave his remarks at that. McCarthy had plenty of other options for addressing her concerns, but she chose to expose secret data rather than do her job in protecting it. The White House has the authority to declassify and release information and did so to answer the questions of the media about the true pre-war intelligence estimate of Iraq. That's not hypocrisy; that is responsiveness, especially since Kerry and his fellow primary candidates had made such an issue of White House "secrecy" all during their campaigns.

We all wish Senator Kerry the best of luck in his primary campaign for the 2008 presidential election. His laughable attempts to eat his cake and have it too on almost every topic will provide some needed comic relief in the next contest.

Indeed.

UPDATE:

Allah Pundit has posted a comprehensive background and analysis of the CIA leak situation, including everything you ever wanted to know about Mary McCarthy. (Courtesy of Michelle Malkin's new project, Hot Air).

Better Late Than Never

2006-04-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

Sen. Frist hasn't been doing so hot in the Presidential straw polls lately, mainly because of his failures to support what the GOP base has demanded him. But perhaps he has realized his error and is now trying to make a play for the base in hopes of improving his presidential chances:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Majority Leader Bill Frist intends to seek Senate passage of immigration legislation by Memorial Day, hoping to revive a bill that tightens border security and gives millions of illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship, Republican leadership aides said Friday.

In a gesture to conservative critics of the measure, Frist and other Republicans also intend to seek roughly $2 billion in immediate additional spending for border protection.

The aides said the money would allow for training of Border Patrol agents, construction of detention facilities for immigrants caught entering the country illegally, the purchase of helicopters and surveillance aircraft and construction of a fence in high-traffic areas.

Immigration is the right place to start, but Sen. Frist will have to make strides for confirming the judges, maintaining the Patriot Act, and balancing the budget --especially in regards to Pork spending-- before he puts himself back in legitimate contention for the presidency in 2008.

CIA Officer Fired For Leaking

2006-04-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

FOX News reports:

WASHINGTON — A CIA officer has been relieved of his duty after being caught leaking classified information to the media.

CIA officials will not reveal the officer's name, assignment, or the information that was leaked. The firing is a highly unusual move, although there has been an ongoing investigation into leaks in the CIA.

One official called this a "damaging leak" that deals with operational information and said the fired officer "knowingly and willfully" leaked the information to the media and "was caught."

I've said it before and I'll say it again: prosecute the leakers. There should be criminal charges against especially the CIA leaker but also against any reporter who is willing to compromise our national security to bolster publicity and further his career.

When will the issue of leaking sensitive classified information to the press be recognized for the serious offense that it is?

The 9th Circuit Gets It Wrong

2006-04-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

So much for the First Amendment's guarantees about freedom of speech. Apparently minority viewpoints are no longer protected as legitimate forms of free speech. Eugene Volokh has the details.

(HT: Instapundit)

The Counterfeit Columnist

2006-04-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

Patterico exposes Los Angeles Times columnist Michael Hiltzik, who has apparently been posting comments on his blog and others under false pseudonyms. This act of purposely misleading readers is one of the most reprehensible things a journalist can do, and one of the fastest ways he can destroy his credibility. LAObserved explains:

I wonder if we'll hear from any Times editors about whether they condone a staff columnist padding the "pro" comments on a Times blog by switching between identities. Isn't that something like a Times reporter penning a fictitious letter to the editor praising his own story? It certainly misled the readers of Hiltzik's blog.

This is a very serious matter that threatens the ethical standards of the Los Angeles Times. Perhaps that's why they have suspended Hiltzik's blogging rights:

The Times has suspended Michael Hiltzik’s Golden State blog on latimes.com. Hiltzik admitted Thursday that he posted items on the paper’s website, and on other websites, under names other than his own. That is a violation of The Times ethics policy, which requires editors and reporters to identify themselves when dealing with the public. The policy applies to both the print and online editions of the newspaper. The Times is investigating the postings.

Uh oh. I guess this kind of move makes sense when a newspaper discovers a journalist in direct violation of its ethics guidelines. Hugh Hewitt has the details on that --just scroll down to the update section of this post.

But the real question remains: what will the MSM do about this story? Actually cover it? Hard to imagine they would go after one of their own. And what will the times do about it? Apologize to its readers? Suspending Hiltzik's blog is a start, but will the Time's really step up to the plate?

Only time will tell. Until then, things do not look good for Mr. Hiltzik.

News Roundup

2006-04-19T23:35:00.000-07:00

I've been swamped with school work this week, hence the lack of posting. But here's a few stories to get you caught up:

More changes in the administration, as Scott McClellan resigns from the White House Press Office. More details here. And the word on the street is that Tony Snow is the frontrunner for becoming the new press secretary.

New developments in the Duke lacrosse players case. Their defense team is claiming that pictures from the party will exonerate the players. MKH has a time-stamped breakdown of the pictures as well as a look at the different theories about the pictures' implications for the case.

Harry Reid is stepping all over himself, again. It's one of those scenarios where he manages a complete turn around from prior statements. This time he's claiming the President isn't doing enough about Iran, as opposed to back when Iraq was a simliar situation and Reid was calling the president a war-monger who didn't care about international opinion. More here.

Some very interesting observations about the retired generals vs. Rumsfeld situation from John Hinderaker. The generals may not like the Defense Secretary's decisions, but it turns out that "Rumsfeld has institutionalized a system of consultation with his generals that is probably unprecedented in American history." Give it a read.

Cindy Sheehan has done a fine job of unraveling her credibility over the past year. Now she's created an elaborate fabrication of how the big bad government disgraced the body of her son Casey when it came back from Iraq. She's sticking to her story, but it clearly isn't true.

Finally, more surprising information is revealed by the translation of yet another document from Saddam's regime. Apparently a memo stated goals for improving IEDs (improvised explosive devices) in 2000. Ed Morrissey has the translated memo as well as some background and commentary.

That should do for now, I'll be back to regular posting as my work load allows.

The New Axis of Terror

2006-04-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

Guess who makes an appearance:

Israel said Monday that a new "axis of terror" -- Iran, Syria and the Hamas-run Palestinian government -- is sowing the seeds of the first world war of the 21st century. The Palestinians accused Israel of an escalating and indiscriminate military campaign that targets civilians and entrenches its occupation.

The Israeli and Palestinian envoys traded charges at an open Security Council meeting held in response to the recent upsurge in Israeli attacks in Gaza. It took place on a day that a Palestinian suicide bomber struck a packed fast-food restaurant in Tel Aviv, killing nine people in the deadliest bombing in more than a year.

Recent statements by the Palestinian government, Iran and Syria, including one by Hamas on Monday defending the suicide bombing, "are clear declarations of war, and I urge each and every one of you to listen carefully and take them at face value," said Israel's U.N. Ambassador Dan Gillerman.

"A dark cloud is looming above our region, and it is metastasizing as a result of the statements and actions by leaders of Iran, Syria, and the newly elected government of the Palestinian Authority," Gillerman warned.

Israel knows the stakes, does the United States?

Rumsfeld Remains Calm

2006-04-17T23:09:00.000-07:00

The Secretary of Defense isn't losing sleep over the small group of retired generals who came forward against his Iraq policy:

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed calls for his resignation by a group of retired generals, telling conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh that "this too will pass."

Rumsfeld made no direct reference during the live interview with Limbaugh to the six retired generals who called for his resignation, but he suggested that his defense has only begun.

"You know, this, too, will pass," he said when Limbaugh asked him how it felt to go from sex symbol to having "practically the entire media jump on the case of these six generals demanding your ouster?"

"I think about it, and I must say, there's always two sides to these things, and the sharper the criticism comes, sometimes the sharper the defense comes from people who don't agree with the critics," Rumsfeld said.

Rumsfeld said he was pleased to see other retired generals step up to defend him.

They included retired general Richard Myers, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; retired general Tommy Franks, the commander of the 2003 invasion of Iraq; retired lieutenant general Michael DeLong, Franks's former deputy at the US Central Command; and retired admiral Vernon Clark, the former chief of naval operations.

Here's the offering from the WSJ:

Since our nation's founding, the principle of civilian control over the military has been a centerpiece of our system of government. Under our constitutional system, it places elected and appointed government leaders in charge. American soldiers are bound by this tradition to subordinate themselves to civilian authority. We give advice but it is ultimately up to civilian leaders to make key strategic and policy decisions. Unlike many other democracies, this is one important reason why we have never been ruled by the military, and have been the most successful country the world has ever seen.

Some critics suggest that the calls by the six retired generals signify widespread discontent in the military with Secretary Rumsfeld's leadership. It is preposterous for them to suggest that this small group represents the views of the 1.4 million men and women serving on active duty or the 7,000 retired generals and flag officers who respect, understand and appreciate the established American tradition of the military being subordinate to civilian control and direction....

Despite criticisms, Mr. Rumsfeld is arguably one of the most effective secretaries of defense our nation has ever had. Under his watch, the U.S. military has been transforming; it brilliantly deposed Mullah Omar's barbaric Taliban regime (Osama bin Laden's sanctuary) and Saddam Hussein's ruthless Baathist regime, freeing 50 million people from oppression and placing the countries on democratic paths. With these actions, terrorists have been denied secure home bases. These are a few key factors why terrorists have been unable to attack the American homeland again. The policy and forward strategy implemented by Secretary Rumsfeld has taken the fight to the enemy as did the nation in World War II and the Cold War.

Some, like Generals Zinni, Newbold, Eaton, Batiste, Swannack, Riggs and others, may not like Secretary Rumsfeld's leadership style. They certainly have the right as private citizens now to speak their minds. Some may feel that he's been unfair, arrogant and autocratic to some senior officers. But those sentiments and feelings are irrelevant. In the end he's the man in charge and the buck stops with him. As long as he retains the confidence of the commander in chief he will make the important calls at the top of the department of defense. That's the way America works. So let's all breathe into a bag and get on with winning the global war against radical Islam. In time the electorate, and history, will grade their decisions.

Seems to me that with this kind of defense, and the support of the president, it makes sense why the Defense Secretary isn't too worried.

Iran Threatens The "Annihilation" of Israel

2006-04-14T22:28:00.000-07:00

As if Iran wasn't threatening enough after acquiring enriched urranium, its President called for the destruction of Israel today:

The president of Iran again lashed out at Israel on Friday and said it was "heading toward annihilation," just days after Tehran raised fears about its nuclear activities by saying it successfully enriched uranium for the first time.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel a "permanent threat" to the Middle East that will "soon" be liberated. He also appeared to again question whether the Holocaust really happened.

"Like it or not, the Zionist regime is heading toward annihilation," Ahmadinejad said at the opening of a conference in support of the Palestinians. "The Zionist regime is a rotten, dried tree that will be eliminated by one storm."

I hate to point out the obvious, but military action against Iran becomes more and more likely everyday. Those who are unwilling to accept the use of force against Iran should begin to reconsider their options.

With the rhetoric of the regime growing harsher by the day, and threat on the rise with the country's acquistion of uranium, at some point we must realize that steps must be taken to ensure the safety of our country, and this reigns especially true for Israel. The U.N. Security Council has repeatedly shown itself to be untrustworthy, and when Israel (or the United States) takes action because the Council couldn't, the U.N. will have only itself to blame.

UPDATE:

Over at The Weekly Standard, Reuehl Marc Gerecht has a very important column titled "To Bomb, Or Not To Bomb." It is a must read for the debate at hand. Key graphs:

If either Rafsanjani or Ahmadinejad were ever to follow through on their wild rhetoric against Israel with a nuclear strike--and this is certainly a possibility unprevented by either man's ethics--then the path now deemed reckless might seem, even to the dovish Europeans, in retrospect like a morally compelling course.

Deterrence theory may well work against the clerical regime, but it ought to be admitted that we have never before confronted a regime where anti-Americanism, violence, terrorism, and God's writ have been so intermarried. The Soviets in their hatreds were positively ecumenical. What we are dealing with in the Islamic Republic's ruling revolutionary elite is a politer, more refined, more cautious, vastly more mendacious version of bin Ladenism. It is best that such men not have nukes, and that we do everything in our power, including preventive military strikes, to stop this from happening.

Read the whole thing. (HT: Hugh Hewitt)

The Moussaoui Mentality

2006-04-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

From AP:

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - Confessed al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui said Thursday it made his day to hear accounts of Americans' suffering from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and he would like to see similar attacks "every day."

Taking the witness stand for the second time in his death-penalty trial Thursday, Moussaoui mocked a Navy sailor who wept on the stand as she described the death of two of her subordinates.

"I think it was disgusting for a military person" to cry, Moussaoui said of the testimony of Navy Lt. Nancy McKeown. "She is military, she should expect people at war with her to want to kill her."

Moussaoui said he had "no regret, no remorse" about the 9/11 attacks. Asked by prosecutor Rob Spencer if he would like to see it happen again, Moussaoui responded: "Every day until we get you."

There are thousands of other Moussaoui's out there. They lead insurgent efforts in Iraq. They hide in the caves of Afghanistan. They plan and they plot for their next shot at killing Americans. The are convicted and driven and show absolutely no remorse.

And if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, it is highly possible that those weapons could find their way into the hands of these types of people.

Still just want to wait it out and let the U.N. deal with the situation?

Condi Calls For Action Against Iran

2006-04-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

Now that the world knows that Iran has uranium enrichment capabilities, the situation has become much more serious, and Condi knows it:

Denouncing Iran's successful enrichment of uranium as unacceptable to the international community, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday the U.N. Security Council must consider "strong steps" to induce Tehran to change course.

Rice also telephoned Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to ask him to reinforce demands that Iran comply with its nonproliferation requirements when he holds talks in Tehran on Friday...

"It's time for action and that is what the secretary was expressing," Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, said. "The president wanted to make sure that she made that very clear to all that were listening."

The Iranian situation must immediately be pushed to the forefront of our nation's discussion, and some form of action must be agreed on. A nuclear Iran is not something the United States would enjoy seeing, and the longer it goes without confronting the situation, the worse the problem will become.

The international community has shown a complete unwilligness to engage in any sort of confrontation with the Iranian regime, and we cannot rely on the U.N. to solve the problem. So far that body has done nothing but make empty threats, and weak ones at that. If we truly expect Iran to comply with the IAEA's regulations, then the duty falls upon the United States to make this happen.

Further warning will not suffice. President Ahmadinejad is as defiant as ever, and without any real threat of consequences for the actions of Iran, the country will not feel compelled in the least bit to behave differently. The obvious and very immediate suggestion is that we consider an invasion and regime change in Iran in the same we accomplished it in Iraq.

While many find this to be an unsavory suggestion, I can only stress that inaction now will mean greater action later. It will not be easy, and there will be casualties, but there is a far greater likelihood for more far-reaching casualties and suffering if we sit idle and allow Iran to go nuclear. And a nuclear Iran is a very, very bad thing for the United States.

Imagine a country ruled by Radical Islamic zealots that hates everything the west stands for, and has nuclear weapons that it can use if it so chooses. Consider the alliance that could emerge between that country and terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda that are comprised of individuals who are so impassioned they will give up their own lives to kill innocent Americans. Obviously, the nuclear arsenal of the country in question could very easily find its way into the hands of these terrorists, at which point America is in deep trouble.

Military action against Iran begins to appear as the only appropriate solution to the dilemma. As of now, this is not what the President is advocating. Currently he favors heavy trade embargoes and sanctions to punish Iran economically, thinking that if we cripple Iran's resources the costs will be too great to attempt to go nuclear. This may or may not be the case.

In the case that it isn't, military action is the only answer left. In any case, inaction is not the answer we need. Failure to act will only worsen the problem exponentially. The bottom line is that there must be debate and dicussion in this country --right now-- about how to handle Iran, and a decision must be reached quickly.

UPDATE:

Hugh Hewitt has a very extensive and must-read post on the arguments against invading Iran. In it, he notes that the majority of the arguments being made by the left against an invasion are wrong or unfounded. The most provocative argument they have going for them is that there exists an action short of military invasion that can achieve our desired result with Iran. I think extremely harsh economic punishments have a possibility to be this action, but in the end I think Iran is just too driven to let that stop them.

To me, an invasion and regime change in Iran still remains the most viable option for keeping Iran from going nuclear. However, I continue to stress that what we need most at this moment is debate about our options in the situation, so that we may find the best possible way to keep our country safe.

Remember The Economy?

2006-04-11T22:38:00.000-07:00

Well, it's doing quite well thus far under President Bush.

Last Friday, the Bush administration released a Labor Department report that showed that employers added 211,000 jobs in March, and the nation's unemployment rate has fallen still further, to 4.7%.

But the US economy isn't just producing jobs these days, it's also producing good jobs.

(HT: MKH)

The "Good News"

2006-04-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

according to President Ahmadinejad. A former Iranian president is claiming that the country now has enriched uranium:

Former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani said Tuesday that Iran has enriched uranium using 164 centrifuges, a major development in nuclear fuel cycle technology, news agencies reported.

Rafsanjani made the comment to the Kuwait News Agency during an interview in Tehran.

"Iran has put into operation the first unit of 164 centrifuges, has injected (uranium gas) and reached industrial production," the Kuwait News Agency quoted Rafsanjani as saying.

This seems to be just the very progression that Steyn is warning of in his column, mentioned below.

"Facing Down Iran"

2006-04-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

is the title of Mark Steyn's latest column on Iran. Some key graphs courtesy of City Journal:

If you divide the world into geographical regions, then, Iran’s neither here nor there. But if you divide it ideologically, the mullahs are ideally positioned at the center of the various provinces of Islam—the Arabs, the Turks, the Stans, and the south Asians. Who better to unite the Muslim world under one inspiring, courageous leadership? If there’s going to be an Islamic superpower, Tehran would seem to be the obvious candidate...

Anyone who spends half an hour looking at Iranian foreign policy over the last 27 years sees five things:

1. contempt for the most basic international conventions;
2. long-reach extraterritoriality;
3. effective promotion of radical Pan-Islamism;
4. a willingness to go the extra mile for Jew-killing (unlike, say, Osama);
5. an all-but-total synchronization between rhetoric and action.

Yet the Europeans remain in denial. Iran was supposedly the Middle Eastern state they could work with. And the chancellors and foreign ministers jetted in to court the mullahs so assiduously that they’re reluctant to give up on the strategy just because a relatively peripheral figure like the, er, head of state is sounding off about Armageddon.

Read the entire article before you come up with any commentary about Iran. Steyn offers perhaps the most well-constructed and articulated rundown that I've seen of the situation we face with Iran, and his insight is virtually unmatched.

Do yourself a favor and read the whole thing.

Mainstream Conservatives On Immigration

2006-04-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

Power Line has closed its immigration poll. Here's some of the stats, and the first graph of John's conclusion:

With nearly 13,000 votes cast, here are the results:

Strengthening control of our borders to prevent possible terrorists and criminals from entering illegally: 45% (5,843)

Erecting a wall and stricter border controls to stop non-English speaking immigrants who are not interested in assimilating: 33% (4,251)

...These results don't demand much commentary. They show overwhelming support among mainstream conservatives for the policy of "Enforcement First." The highest priority, by an overwhelming margin, is getting control of our borders. Conservatives are relatively evenly split on whether the more important purpose is to keep out terrorists or to protect our society and culture against those with no wish to assimilate, but either way, the policy preference is the same: restore the significance of our borders. There is also considerable support for a crackdown on employers, which many see as the most effective way to reduce the lure of illegal immigration.

As John goes on to mention, this is a message from the base that has to get to the GOP legislators in congress. With the mid-term elections coming up in Novemeber, now could not be a more crucial time to come out as a party with a unified immigration policy, and one that plays to what the base wants.

If winning elections is a major GOP goal --which it should be-- then adopting a stance on immigration that recognizes the views of its base voters should be non-negotiable. If Republicans are serious about winning, and if they care about national security, then they must get their arguments right about immigration, and they need to do it soon.

Not All Latinos Are Pro-Illegal Immigration

2006-04-10T23:43:00.000-07:00

A very provocative story:

Contrary to scenes of hundreds of thousands of united Latinos marching across the country in support of immigration reform, a sizable number of the ethnic group opposes the marches and strongly objects to illegal immigration...

A 2005 survey by the Pew Hispanic Center found that Latinos in general have favorable attitudes toward immigrants and immigration.

But when it comes to illegal immigration, significant numbers have negative views of illegal immigrants.

The survey found those feelings are strongest among middle-class and middle-age U.S.-born Latinos.

This is a very important distinction to make, but it's a distinction that often goes unreported by the network media. The images we've seen this past week seem to imply a unified Latino alliance for granting an amnesty for illegal immigrants, or at least a willingness to support the rights of illegals.

But as this article seeks to point out, that universal support does not exist, especially not in the sense that the MSM seeks to portray. Take note of this, if anything it will help keep you away from an "us versus them" mentality.

Iraq Went Uranium Shopping

2006-04-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

Christopher Hitchens has the story. Opening graphs:

In the late 1980s, the Iraqi representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency—Iraq's senior public envoy for nuclear matters, in effect—was a man named Wissam al-Zahawie. After the Kuwait war in 1991, when Rolf Ekeus arrived in Baghdad to begin the inspection and disarmament work of UNSCOM, he was greeted by Zahawie, who told him in a bitter manner that "now that you have come to take away our assets," the two men could no longer be friends. (They had known each other in earlier incarnations at the United Nations in New York.)...

In February 1999, Zahawie left his Vatican office for a few days and paid an official visit to Niger, a country known for absolutely nothing except its vast deposits of uranium ore. It was from Niger that Iraq had originally acquired uranium in 1981, as confirmed in the Duelfer Report. In order to take the Joseph Wilson view of this Baathist ambassadorial initiative, you have to be able to believe that Saddam Hussein's long-term main man on nuclear issues was in Niger to talk about something other than the obvious. Italian intelligence (which first noticed the Zahawie trip from Rome) found it difficult to take this view and alerted French intelligence (which has better contacts in West Africa and a stronger interest in nuclear questions). In due time, the French tipped off the British, who in their cousinly way conveyed the suggestive information to Washington. As everyone now knows, the disclosure appeared in watered-down and secondhand form in the president's State of the Union address in January 2003.

Read the whole thing. It has amazing background information on the entire situation.

Here Comes Trouble

2006-04-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is gearing up to be a big day for the immigration debate, at least in terms of the demonstrations:

LOS ANGELES – In Los Angeles, Eun Sook Lee will march on behalf of Korean illegal immigrants, at least 50,000, living in southern California. On Boston Common, Punam Rogers will join other Indian émigrés, as well as business clients and students from China, Germany, and Britain. In Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Ivalier Duvra will take to the streets to draw attention to Haitian newcomers who he says need refugee status.

Coming on the heels of demonstrations in several larger cities, a National Day of Action on Immigrant Rights Monday is expected to involve people in some 90 US municipalities, well above organizers' goal of 10. Described as the biggest social movement of Hispanics since the United Farm Workers of Cesar Chavez, the plans for protests, vigils, and marches include a less-visible tier of people stirred to action over American immigration policy: non-Latinos.

It truly is amazing to me how many people come out of the woodwork for these things. You'll see and hear from individuals and groups who you would not ordinarily see. And you will, of course, hear from the usual talking heads on the left as well.

But aside from this, it will also be astounding to see how many groups use the demonstrations as mere reasons to protest, whether or not it's about immigration policy. For instance, some Black Panthers and Che Guevara enthusiasts were spotted on Sunday.

However, the most intriguing --and probably predictable-- thing to watch will be the MSM coverage of all the hoop-lah. My guess is we'll hear the network heads toting on about how these demonstrations illustrate how the Democrats understand the American people's sympathies about immigration, when in reality it is just the opposite.

The public support, especially in the areas near the Mexican border, for the building of a fence is much stronger than the MSM will lead you on to believe.

Down Goes The Immigration Bill

2006-04-07T22:14:00.000-07:00

The legislation that Senators were working on in order to crack down on illegal immigration will have to take a back seat for now. The compromise failed to gain enough votes to move forward in its process of becoming legislation:

The Senate sidetracked sweeping immigration legislation Friday amid partisan recriminations, leaving in doubt prospects for passage of a measure that offered the hope of citizenship to millions of men, women and children living in the United States illegally.

The bill gained only 38 votes on a key procedural test, far short of the 60 needed to advance.

The vote marked a turnabout from Thursday, when the Senate's two leaders had both hailed a last-minute compromise as a breakthrough in the campaign to enact the most far-reaching changes in immigration law in two decades.

But Republicans soon accused Democrats of trying to squelch their amendments, while Democrats accused the GOP of trying to kill their own bill by filibuster.

The obstructionism of the Democrats is obvious here. The Dems refused to debate on all of the specific pieces of the bill, insisting that it instead go through as a weak "compromise" without further input from the senators. They refused to debate the issue of a fence --which we need-- and instead sought an "as is" passage of the bill.

But after what we saw with the Supreme Court confirmation process, we shouldn't be surprised by the stalling tactics of the Dems. However, the only way to break such tactics is with a strong and committed GOP majority. At the moment we do not have that. Instead, we have senators like John McCain and others of the Gang of 14 who cave in on nearly every issue that matters.

It's time that the Republican senators figure out what a great opportunity they have if they would only stick together. The GOP must be firm on immigration. With a majority in both houses of Congress and control of the White House, there is no excuse for the kind of capitulation we've seen from the GOP. Unless the majority party starts acting like it and standing up for what it claims to be its agenda, it will suffer in the upcoming mid-term elections.

And that can hardly be seen as a desirable result. Would you really trust the future of America to a Majority Leader Reid?

I wouldn't.

The Flip-Flopping Harry Reid

2006-04-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

Democratic Sen. Harry Reid can't seem to make up his mind about his immigration policy. Back in 1993 he was in solid support of strict illegal immigration laws, but now he says he's changed his mind in order to fall in line with the Democratic Party's position.

He said he changed his mind way back in 1993, but it turns out Sen. Reid was arguing for strict immigration laws for some time after his claimed "conversion":

A few days after introducing the bill in August 1993, Mr. Reid said in a near whisper as many senators looked on in amazement, his wife -- the daughter of immigrants -- confronted him after a meeting in Las Vegas and scolded him about his anti-immigrant views. She and other associates of his "pointed out the errors of my way" and ever since, Mr. Reid said, he's favored a more inclusive approach to immigration reform.

His errant ways, he said, "for which I'm so apologetic to my family, mostly lasted about a week or two."

But seven months later, Mr. Reid introduced his bill again, according to Senate records. That bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee in March 1994.

Later that summer, he testified before the Judiciary Committee and advocated cutting legal immigration from 1 million people annually to 325,000.

"A gluttonous admission of new people every year will have a pernicious effect on our infrastructure and our environment," Mr. Reid said, according to Associated Press reports at the time.

"We cannot continue to feed, clothe, house, educate and employ unlimited new populations," States News Service quoted him saying.

Sen. Reid's office claimed last night that he switched his position after he introduced his immigration legislation for the second time in 1994, but that he couldn't remember how long after that he changed sides.

Seems a little fishy to me. John Hinderaker at Power Line concludes:

They can't give an exact time line, I suspect, until they've done a Nexis search and figured out when Reid last gave an anti-illegal immigration speech that was reported in the press.

Potential Jail Time Is 20/20

2006-04-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

As a grand jury prepared to hear Rep. Cynthia McKinney's case, she suddenly realized the error of her actions:

Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., expressed "sincere regret" Thursday for her altercation with a Capitol police officer, and offered an apology to the House.

"There should not have been any physical contact in this incident," McKinney said in brief remarks on the House floor. "I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened at all and I regret its escalation and I apologize."

It really is amazing how the prospect of jail time can just sharpen your focus about reality. When faced with the consequences, McKinney suddenly realizes that she was wrong in slugging a Captiol Police officer. It seems all too convenient to me.

Just yesterday she was still up to the race-baiting game. It just goes to show you how absurd her claims of racism were in the first place. Most often, public officials who play the race card in situations like this are just coverning their own misdeeds, and Rep. McKinney is no different.

Now all we need is her apology for labeling the Capitol Police as racists.

McKinney Goes To Trial

2006-04-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

A federal grand jury will begin hearing evidence about Rep. Cynthia McKinney's run-in with a Capitol Police officer in the very near future.

This is undoubtedly the right move. Being a member of Congress does not excuse you from obeying the law, and McKinney's trial must exhibit that. But before the trial, note some simple observations:

From U.S. Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer:

"McKinney turned the officer's failure to recognize her into a criminal matter when she failed to stop at his request, and then struck him.

He reached out and grabbed her and she turned around and hit him. Even the high and the haughty should be able to stop and say, 'I'm a congressman' and then everybody moves on."

From House Speaker Dennis Hastert:

"This is not about personality. It's not about racial profiling. It's about making this place safer."

But apparently not for Rep. McKinney. She is still completely wrapped up in the racism angle --an angle that is completely bogus, as Chief of Police Terrance Gainer explains:

"I've seen our officers stop white members and black members, Latinos, male and females. It's not an issue about what your race or gender is. It's an issue about making sure people who come into our building are recognized if they're not going through the magnetometer, and this officer at that moment didn't recognize her."

If you feel like Gainer is over-simplifying things, he's not. It really is that clear-cut. You don't hit a Captiol Police officer. Ever. For Rep. McKinney to play the race card is a complete cop-out, and can only be seen as a frantic last-minute effort to cover her tail.

Former Rep. Tom Delay understands, and sheds some light on Rep. McKinney's past:

"Cynthia McKinney is a racist. She has a long history of racism. Everything is racism with her. This is incredible arrogance that sometimes hits these members of Congress, but especially Cynthia McKinney."

I can only hope that Rep. McKinney gets convicted of assault against an uniformed officer, and serves time for her crime. She should be an example of how NOT to behave as a U.S. representative.

Bird Flu Hits Scotland

2006-04-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

From BBC News:

Preliminary tests have confirmed the H5 avian flu virus in a sample from a swan found dead in Fife, health officials have revealed.

The exact virus strain is not known, but tests were continuing and further results were expected on Thursday.

The Scottish Executive said restrictions had been put in place around Cellardyke, east of Anstruther.

If the disease is confirmed as the deadly H5N1 strain there may be further restrictions set up.

The virus' slow movement westward continues, and very ominously at that. It is still highly like that the Avian Flu will arrive in America, and state and local governments must continue to gather supplies and establish plans of action for its arrival. Ample warning has been given by the federal government, so if anything does go wrong, we only have our local officials to blame.

Playing Catch Up

2006-04-04T23:24:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the absence these past couple days, I've been a bit under the weather. I'll be updating again regularly starting tomorrow, but for now, here are some quick links:

Tom Delay resigned from his seat in Congress. I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this, but of course it's not my decision to make. Nonetheless, I'm still confident that the politically motivated prosecution of Delay by Ronnie Earle will be exposed as baseless and untrue. Huge reaction roundup from Wizbang and Michelle Malkin.

Not surprisingly, Rep. Cynthia McKinney, the woman who accosted a Capitol Hill Police Officer, is being called "a distraction" by fellow Democrats. Even her own party sees her publicity stunt for what it is. I hope they recognize her criminal actions as well.

Katie Couric is leaving NBC's Today Show for the CBS Evening News and 60 Minutes. I'm sure the goal is some form of a ratings boost. Better luck with that when they drop the softball questions and the agenda journalism.

Remember the immigration rallies that swept the nation last week? Well they were organized by none other than International A.N.S.W.E.R., which, by the way is a Communist organization and a front for the Workers World Party. Most recently, the WWP and ANSWER have supported dictators like Saddam Hussein and North Korea's Kim Il Jong. What does this have to say about the immigration rallies? Details over at Power Line and The Washington Times.

Hamas blatantly lied to the U.N. and the international officials over there ate it up. Just goes to show you that all U.N. officials really want from rogue nations is an "I promise not to be bad" or some other non-binding, zero-consequences statement and that's good enough for them. LGF has the story.

Lastly, there's word floating around that some judges might get confirmed --or at least get the up-or-down vote they deserve-- in the near future.

Another Democrat Nutter

2006-03-31T16:07:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia hit a Capitol Hill police officer after she refused to go through a metal detector. And guess what, she's not sorry:

She has refused to apologize in a statement and a brief on-camera interview...

Asked on-camera Thursday by WSB-TV of Atlanta whether she intended to apologize, McKinney refused to comment. A news conference scheduled for Friday morning was canceled. She issued a statement late Wednesday saying she regretted the confrontation.

"I know that Capitol Hill Police are securing our safety, and I appreciate the work that they do. I have demonstrated my support for them in the past and I continue to support them now," she said in the statement on her Web site.

If you're so appreciative, Rep. McKinney, then why on earth would you hit one of these police officers? What could possibly possess you to do such a thing?

Well, in very predictable fashion, her lawyers are saying she's just another victim of the system:

A lawyer for Rep. Cynthia McKinney, the Georgia congresswoman who had an altercation with a Capitol Police officer, says she was "just a victim of being in Congress while black..."

Her lawyer, James W. Myart Jr., said, "Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, like thousands of average Americans across this country, is, too, a victim of the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials because of how she looks and the color of her skin."

To play the race card in this situation is completely absurd. Anyone who is not specifically recognized as a member of Congress is required to pass through a metal detector, whether or not it is a hassle to them. The safety of Congressional members is the top priority for Capitol Hill Police, and they're not going to allow anyone to avoid the security checkpoint merely because they don't want to.

To try and blow this situation so out of proportion by calling it a race issue only exposes the fault of Rep. McKinney. This isn't a national crisis of police brutality toward black America, it is an isolated incident with an angry Congresswoman who was angered by the fact that she wasn't recognized by a security guard.

That being said, she struck a police officer. Anyone who strikes a law enforcement official --I don't care who they are-- should be arrested and imprisoned. There is simply no excuse for attacking an officer. None.

Nancy Pelosi has urged people to "not make a big deal of this." Excuse me, but hitting a police officer is no small offense. I stand by House Speaker Dennis Hastert in asking, "How many officers would have to be punched before it becomes a big deal?"

Iranian Nuclear Dreams Come Ever Closer To Reality

2006-03-31T15:52:00.000-08:00

Earlier today Iran continued its pursuit of nuclear weapons capabilities when the country tested its newest missile delivery system. And guess what? This one is undetected by radar:

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Friday successfully test fired a home-made missile which can evade radar, state television reported.

“Iran successfully test fired a home-made Fajr-3 missile,” Hossein Salami, a senior Revolutionary Guards commander, was quoted as saying on state television.

The missile was tested as part of a week of naval wargames that started on Friday and were due to take place in the Gulf and Sea of Oman. Previous models of the Fajr range of missiles have been described as a land-based weapons system for use against ships.

“This missile, with the capacity of evading radar, can attack several targets simultaneously,” he said, adding the missile was newly developed.

As the international community continues to sit on its hands, Iran continues its pursuit of nuclear capabilities. It seems obvious enough that a nuclear Iran would be a very, very bad thing. But with the unwillingness of the U.N. to take any serious action, will the United States be again forced to step up to the plate and end the problem?

ABC Suspends John Green

2006-03-31T14:07:00.000-08:00

The executive producer of Good Morning America Weekend has been suspsended for one month in response to the release of his personal emails by The Drudge Report.

It's always fun when supposedly objective journalists get exposed for the agenda driven reporting they so often do.

Boehner's Response

2006-03-29T16:01:00.000-08:00

to the Dems new "security" plan is 100% on the mark:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement today on the "security" agenda offered by Democrat leaders Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Harry Reid (D-NV):

"The Democrats' years of negligence in addressing the real safety and security needs of the American people provide a very clear choice between Republicans and Democrats on security issues.

"While Democrats have openly advocated cutting and running from our efforts to support democracy in Iraq, Republicans continue to build upon our strong record on national security by funding our troops fighting terror around the world and supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

"While Democrats seem more interested in protecting the rights of terrorists than the American people, Republicans passed the PATRIOT Act to give law enforcement the tools necessary to combat terrorism, protect our citizens, and secure our communities.

"While Democrats focus more on protecting the rights of illegal immigrants than enforcing our immigration laws, Republicans have voted to secure our borders, give law enforcement new tools to enforce our immigration laws, and help prevent terrorist and criminal aliens from moving freely throughout our society.

"The Democrats, led by Nancy Pelosi, opposed the Patriot Act, opposed REAL ID legislation, and opposed efforts to strengthen and secure our borders. And they remain unable and unwilling to articulate a cohesive strategy for supporting our troops and winning the War on Terror.

"When it comes to national security, their answer is the same as it is for everything else: no. A media stunt will not eclipse their record of obfuscation and neglect on national and border security."

This is the kind of thing that will win elections for Republicans. It's time to start seeing more GOP leaders come out with statements such as these. Let the American public know why a vote for the Democrats is a vote against national security.

(HT: Hugh Hewitt)

The U.N.'s Iran Resolution

2006-03-29T15:51:00.000-08:00

No specific details yet, but the U.N. has come up with its plan for ending Iranian nuclear ambitions:

The five U.N. Security Council permanent members reached agreement on Wednesday on how to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions after concessions were made to Russia and China, Britain announced.

"Our colleagues in the P-5 (permanent five) have reached an agreement on a text," Britain's U.N. Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry told reporters. The five are the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.

The full 15-member council considers the issue later on Wednesday and could formally approve the statement, hours before ministers of the five powers and Germany meet in Berlin.

I hope that the plan includes sanctions, at the very least. That way Iran would be at least forced into a cost-benefit analysis. If the U.N. only offers more "you better stop that" rhetoric, Iran will not be shaken. A stern word and a wag of the finger will do nothing, whereas a real economic threat has at least a chance of impacting that nation.

The Senate Weakens Led By Sen. John McCain

2006-03-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

The House recently passed a immigration bill recognizing that protecting the nation's borders is a serious matter of national security. It included strong provisions for protecting our borders, including the use of a fence along the Mexican border, like the one that has been very successful in San Diego.

However, the Senate Judiciary Committee stripped the bill of its strength before pushing it through to the Senate:

A key Senate panel broke with the House's get-tough approach to illegal immigration yesterday and sent to the floor a broad revision of the nation's immigration laws that would provide lawful employment to millions of undocumented workers while offering work visas to hundreds of thousands of new immigrants every year.

With bipartisan support, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12 to 6 to side with President Bush's general approach to an immigration issue that is dividing the country, fracturing the Republican Party and ripening into one of the biggest political debates of this election year. Conservatives have loudly demanded that the government tighten control of U.S. borders and begin deporting illegal immigrants. But in recent weeks, the immigrant community has risen up in protest, marching by the hundreds of thousands to denounce what they see as draconian measures under consideration in Washington.

This is a stance that shows no concern for national security, and does not take the issue seriously. By abandoning the key provisions that made the House bill a strong statement in support of a serious national security policy, the Senate version of the bill is weak and apathetic.

Here's what Sen. John McCain had to say about the Senate version of the bill, that he is co-backing with Sen. Teddy Kennedy:

"We are eager, once the Senate passes this bill, to sit down and talk with them, but there are certain fundamental principles which we simply cannot compromise on," said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who cosponsored the bill that passed the Judiciary Committee largely intact last night. "It has to be a comprehensive approach. As we all know, just building walls and hiring more border patrols are not the answers to our immigration problem."

Just as Sen. McCain has been wrong on all of the crucial issues of this past year, from the Gang of 14 crumble to legislative efforts with Sen. Feingold, he is wrong again now. John McCain is not a party man. He hasn't been for some time, and his record confirms this.

In every moment of crisis when the GOP needs him to step up and represent the party, he has backed off and pursued a compromise across the aisle. Every move he makes is calculated with his political future in mind. I guess he figures that if you step lightly enough you won't step on anybody's toes, and then everyone will like you. That way when the elections roll around you can sell yourself as a centrist who appeals to everyone.

But the truth is that the GOP base sees through these efforts, and will treat McCain accordingly.

It's time that the Senate Republicans step up to the plate and end a potential political disaster by joining the House in a strong stance on immigration that shows a concern for the nation's national security. But don't expect this effort to be led by Sen. McCain. He's always thinking about his own future above what's best for the party, and what's best for the country.

Joel Stein Does It Again

2006-03-28T11:06:00.000-08:00

Remember "I don't support our troops" Joel Stein of The Los Angeles Times? Well he's at it again:

But I kind of like the Mexicans. I find it hard to hate people who clean my house and serve delicious, cheap food. If the Germans could learn to dust and make a decent taco, I think we would have stopped making Holocaust movies a while ago.

If you were interested in creating a guidebook on how to best marginalize yourself with the American public, you would want to ask Joel Stein to author it.

Joel Stein represents the Los Angeles Times, and his work --as well as much of what the other Times op-ed journalists have put out-- have pushed the paper to the fringe of the fever swamp. Yet another reason why the Times' circulation continues to decrease, and new media continues to grow in influence and readership.

Good News For Bloggers

2006-03-27T20:56:00.000-08:00

The FEC has decided it will not regulate politics on the internet, namely through blogs:

The Federal Election Commission decided Monday that the nation's new campaign finance law will not apply to most political activity on the Internet.

In a 6-0 vote, the commission decided to regulate only paid political ads placed on another person's Web site.

The decision means that bloggers and online publications will not be covered by provisions of the new election law. Internet bloggers and individuals will therefore be able to use the Internet to attack or support federal candidates without running afoul of campaign spending and contribution limits.

"It's a win, win, win," Commissioner Ellen L. Weintraub said, adding that the rule would satisfy concerns of campaigns, individuals and the Internet community about whether the campaign finance law applies to Internet political activity.

Moussaoui Knew About 9/11

2006-03-27T19:54:00.000-08:00

In his sentencing trial today Moussaoui declared that he knew about the 9/11 attacks before they happened, and that he was supposed to hijack a fifth plane then fly it into the White House.

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) — Al Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui testified at his sentencing trial Monday that he knew about the terrorist group’s plan to crash airplanes into the World Trade Center.

“I had knowledge that the two towers would be hit, but I did not have the details,” Moussaoui told jurors after taking the stand in his own defense. He said he was supposed to pilot a plane into the White House, with convicted shoe bomber Richard Reid as a member of his crew. Moussaoui said he did not know in advance the precise date of Twin Towers attack, which unfolded the morning of September 11, 2001.

The only person tried in the United States in connection with the 9/11 attacks, Moussaoui testified against the advice of his court-appointed lawyers.

I could be wrong, but I think that should pretty much make him a lock for the death penalty.

November Is Only Six Months Away

2006-03-27T19:40:00.000-08:00

Painting The Map Red is the title of Hugh Hewitt's new book. The Power Line guys point us to the description on the inside flap:

Bestselling author, political strategist, and nationally syndicated radio host Hugh Hewitt shows you how conservatives can take down the Democrats, expose their liberal extremism, and reignite the Reagan Revolution.

Calling on his own extensive experience and on the savvy political minds of Mark Steyn, Fred Barnes, Michael Barone, and others in exclusive interviews [Ed.: That explains why I didn't know about the book. Hugh didn't interview me!], Hewitt reveals: € The Five Key Messages and Four Crucial Steps to a permanent Republican majority € How big is too big? Which senator deserves to get pushed out of the Republican big tent [Hint: It's the Missing Linc] € The next generation of liberal Democrats--if you thought Ted Kennedy was bad, wait till you see the party of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Howard Dean € How extremist groups, especially on the Internet, are driving the Democrats' agenda € Why the Democrats' assault on religion is just ramping up € How Republicans can retake the courts and end Democrat obstruction € How the Democrats' alliance with liberal mainstream media can be turned against them both € Where we go from here: coming up with the right candidate after Bush

In politics, as in war, it pays to play offense, and Hugh Hewitt knows how the GOP can fight and win, coast to coast.

Be sure to pick up a copy in preparation for this election season.

Plagarism... By The MSM?

2006-03-27T15:02:00.000-08:00

Over at the Huffington Post, I noticed a very intriguing story that may further erode any credibilty MSM still has. It opens:

There are many things that bother me about plagiarism, but nothing irks me more than when a mainstream reporter (or organization) with all of the resources of a small nation at their disposal lifts from the small press, freelance journalists, and bloggers.

As Glenn Reynolds notes, a "we don't credit blogs" policy doesn't seem to be a very good defense.

With the enormous increase in credibility and recognition in the blogs have experienced, and their ability for rapid response to breaking news, it is very plausible that MSM journalists often get beat to the punch on stories they would normaly cover. It is also equally plausible that while some journalists still cover thse stories in their own way, others might be tempted to cook up stories very similar to ones already posted on the internet by various blogs.

None of this may be true, but it is certainly a very possible scenario, and one that perhaps deserves more attention than it is currently receiving.

Abdul Rahman Update

2006-03-24T16:10:00.000-08:00

This is certainly good news for Abdul Rahman:

An Afghan Christian facing possible execution for converting from Islam was likely to be released from jail "soon," a senior government official said following huge Western pressure over the case.

"He is likely to be released soon," the official said, adding there would be a top-level meeting on the matter Saturday.

There was a rally in D.C. today calling for the relese fo Rahman, with a very impressive turnout.

Details about the rally (including pictures) and Rahman's case here and here.

In Need of Coverage

2006-03-23T19:09:00.000-08:00

Here's a story you won't here about from the MSM:

When policemen, soldiers and officials in Kirkuk who were injured in insurgent attacks arrived in the emergency room of the hospital, they hoped their chances of surviving had gone up as doctors tended their wounds.

In fact, many of the wounded were almost certain to die because one of the doctors at the Republic Hospital was a member of an insurgent cell. Pretending to treat the injured men, he killed 43 of them by secretly administering lethal injections, a police inquiry has revealed.

"He was called Dr Louay and when the terrorists had failed to kill a policeman or a soldier he would finish them off," Colonel Yadgar Shukir Abdullah Jaff, a senior Kirkuk police chief, told The Independent. "He gave them a high dosage of a medicine which increased their bleeding so they died from loss of blood."

Dr Louay carried out his murder campaign over an eight to nine-month period, say police. He appeared to be a hard working assistant doctor who selflessly made himself available for work in any part of the hospital, which is the largest in Kirkuk.

He was particularly willing to assist in the emergency room. With 272 soldiers, policemen and civilians killed and 1,220 injured in insurgent attacks in Kirkuk in 2005, the doctors were rushed off their feet and glad of any help they could get. Nobody noticed how many patients were dying soon after being tended by their enthusiastic young colleague.

Dr Louay was finally arrested only after the leader of the cell to which he belonged, named Malla Yassin, was captured and confessed. "I was really shocked that a doctor and an educated men should do such a thing," said Col Jaff.

Even in the off-hand chance that some MSM outlet picks up on the story, it will probably be reported in a censored fashion. Nobody's a really a terrorist according to the MSM.

If they aren't willing to label as a terrorist the man who said he drove his SUV into a crowd of innocent people at UNC because he was "seeking retribution for the treatment of Muslims around the world," they certainly won't allow themselves to call a doctor who murders wounded patriots a terrorist either.

Bias? What Bias?

2006-03-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

There's certainly no bias over at ABC:

A top producer at ABC NEWS declared "Bush makes me sick" in an email obtained by the DRUDGE REPORT.

John Green, currently executive producer of the weekend edition of GOOD MORNING AMERICA, unloaded on the president in an ABC company email obtained by the DRUDGE REPORT.

"If he uses the 'mixed messages' line one more time, I'm going to puke," Green complained.

The blunt comments by Green, along with other emails obtained by the DRUDGE REPORT, further reveal the inner workings of the nation's news outlets.

This is certainly another blow to the illusion of impartiality that the MSM claims to maintain. Additional comments here.

Saving Abdul Rahman

2006-03-23T01:26:00.000-08:00

Mary Katherine Ham has the latest with a good link roundup, including discussion of the case and what implications it has for future U.S./Afghan relations.

For background to this story, start here and here. It is a very troubling case, and has even caughtPresident Bush's attention.

The Latest Science Regarding The Avian Flu

2006-03-22T23:24:00.000-08:00

Researchers continue to learn more about the virus that has the potential to wipe out large portions of the the world population:

The Wisconsin team investigated why the virus could not spread easily between humans despite the fact that it could replicate efficiently in human lungs.

Flu viruses infecting humans and birds are known to home in on slightly different versions of the same molecule, found on the surface of cells which line the respiratory tract.

The latest study found the version of the molecule targeted by human viruses was more prevalent on cells higher up in the airway.

The molecule targeted by bird viruses, on the other hand, tended to be found on cells deep within the lungs, in structures called alveoli.

Thus the bird flu virus tended to be buried so deep in the lungs that was unlikely to be spread by coughing or sneezing.

If the virus was to acquire the ability to infect cells higher up in the airway, it could take a crucial step towards causing a human pandemic, researchers believe.

The article goes on to explain why so many who have died thus far of bird flu were children, and what this fact means for our future abilities to handle the arrival of the H5N1 virus. Be sure to read the whole thing.

Another Filibuster?

2006-03-22T23:17:00.000-08:00

Senator Harry Reid is gearing up to block the immigration reform bill Senate Republicans have been working on:

As the Senate prepares to tackle the most sweeping immigration reforms in years, a top Democrat vowed Wednesday to do everything in his power, including filibuster, to thwart Majority Leader Bill Frist's proposed overhaul.

Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he would "use every procedural means at my disposal" to prevent Frist from bypassing the Judiciary Committee. Frist, R-Tenn., has made clear the Senate will take up his proposal next week if the 18-member committee fails to complete a broader bill.

"If Leader Frist brings a bill to the floor that does not have the approval of the Judiciary Committee, it will not get out of the Senate," Reid told reporters at the San Ysidro border crossing, a few steps from Tijuana, Mexico...

Reid said the overhaul must include heightened border enforcement, a "guest worker" program and a "path to citizenship" for the estimated 11 million people in the United States illegally. He called legislation by Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and John McCain, R- Ariz., a "good place to start."

When will the senator from Nevada realize that his abusive stalling tactics do not sit well with the American people?

The Iran/Al-Qaeda Connection

2006-03-21T14:42:00.000-08:00

This becomes yet another reason why a nuclear Iran would be a very, very, bad thing:

WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence officials, already focused on Iran's potential for building nuclear weapons, are struggling to solve a more immediate mystery: the murky relationship between the new Tehran leadership and the contingent of Al Qaeda leaders residing in the country.

Some officials, citing evidence from highly classified satellite feeds and electronic eavesdropping, believe the Iranian regime is playing host to much of Al Qaeda's remaining brain trust and allowing the senior operatives freedom to communicate and help plan the terrorist network's operations.

And they suggest that recently elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may be forging an alliance with Al Qaeda operatives as a way to expand Iran's influence or, at a minimum, that he is looking the other way as Al Qaeda leaders in his country collaborate with their counterparts elsewhere.

"Iran is becoming more and more radicalized and more willing to turn a blind eye to the Al Qaeda presence there," a U.S. counter-terrorism official said.

This is the sort of thing you had hoped wouldn't surface, but now that it has, the Iranian threat to stability in the region and to the rest of the world becomes just that much more serious.

President Ahmadinejad is an unstable man with ambitions for power and world recognition. He has also made a point of proving himself to be both determined and extremely radical --the worst of combinations. After denying the holocaust and calling for the destruction of Israel, Ahmadinejad has made his agenda claer, and a connection with al-Qaeda only adds to the seriousness of the situation.

Given his track record, I am confident that this connection is a very real problem, despite the thrust of the latter half of the article that asserts otherwise. The Bullwinkle Blog explains.

If anything, this only underscores the seriousness that must be brought to handling the situation with Iran. The last thing the United States could want is a president who hates our country funding and providing terrorists with nuclear weapons to use against us.

Bush Takes On The White House Press Corps

2006-03-21T14:14:00.000-08:00

President Bush held an hour-long press conference today to take on skeptics of domestic policies and to defend his plan for Iraq, and he came out swinging.

In his second press conference of this kind this year, President Bush was nails. He was clear, concise, and most of all, committed. While the press corps did their best to knock the president off his game and trap him into saying something damaging, President Bush remained rock-solid.

Consider, for example, the president's exchange with Helen Thomas, the epitome of the MSM fever swap lefties:

BUSH: Helen, after that brilliant performance at the Gridiron, I am...
QUESTION: You're going to be sorry.

(LAUGHTER)

BUSH: Well, then, let me take it back.

QUESTION: I'd like to ask you, Mr. President -- your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime.

Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is: Why did you really want to go to war? From the moment you stepped into the White House, your Cabinet officers, former Cabinet officers, intelligence people and so forth -- but what's your real reason? You have said it wasn't oil, the quest for oil. It hasn't been Israel or anything else. What was it?

BUSH: I think your premise, in all due respect to your question and to you as a lifelong journalist -- that I didn't want war. To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen, in all due respect.

QUESTION: And...

BUSH: Hold on for a second, please. Excuse me. Excuse me.

No president wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it's just simply not true.

BUSH: My attitude about the defense of this country changed in September the 11th. When we got attacked, I vowed then and there to use every asset at my disposal to protect the American people.

Our foreign policy changed on that day. You know, we used to think we were secure because of oceans and previous diplomacy. But we realized on September the 11th, 2001, that killers could destroy innocent life.

And I'm never going to forget it. And I'm never going to forget the vow I made to the American people, that we will do everything in our power to protect our people.

Part of that meant to make sure that we didn't allow people to provide safe haven to an enemy, and that's why I went into Iraq.

(CROSSTALK)

BUSH: Hold on for a second. Excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for Al Qaida.

BUSH: That's where Al Qaida trained and that's where...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BUSH: Helen, excuse me.

That's where -- Afghanistan provided safe haven for Al Qaida. That's where they trained, that's where they plotted, that's where they planned the attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans.

I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council. That's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed.

And the world said, "Disarm, disclose or face serious consequences." And therefore, we worked with the world. We worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world.

And when he chose to deny the inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did. And the world is safer for it.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir. Secretary Rumsfeld...

BUSH: You're welcome.

I didn't really regret it. I kind of semi-regretted it.

This exchange exemplifies the president's steadfast dedication to winning the Global War on Terror. It has become increasingly clear with President Bush that he is a man of strong character, and he is deeply committed to his message.

He will not back down, he will not give in, he will stick it out and finish the job that he started. And that is why he is our commander in chief.

UPDATE:

Video of the press conference here, courtesty of Expose The Left.

Reason #523 Not To Trust The U.N.'s Judgement

2006-03-20T22:50:00.000-08:00

Courtesy of CNN:

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — The European Union will sign a deal Monday with the United Nations granting euro64 million (US$78 million) in urgent aid for Palestinians, but much more in future funding is under threat after the formation of a government by Hamas, a group the Europeans consider a terrorist group.

The EU foreign ministers will debate the impact of a Hamas government, as will the 25 EU leaders at a Brussels summit later in the week.

On Sunday, a European diplomat said the EU will work with Hamas, but added, “Those putting together the new government must know that how they decide their government program will have repercussions.”

“We’ll look at what (Hamas) adopts as its program, what it says about key issues” such as recognizing Israel and Middle East peace, said the official, who asked not to be named given the sensitive nature of the EU-Palestinian relations.

And we're supposed to trust this reliable body to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons? Forgive me if I'm skeptical.

The U.N.'s only reliable characteristic is its history of caving in whenever things get rough. The U.N. will issue their politically correct statements of "getting tough" or "properly investigating" Hamas, much like it will with Iran, and then it will eventually give in.

The U.N. will continue to offer stern words without action, and just as it shied away from Iraq, the U.N. is not going to be strong enough with either Hamas or Iran.

The Likeliness Of The Avian Flu Hitting The U.S.

2006-03-20T22:24:00.000-08:00

Via Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton said on Monday said that it was "increasingly likely" that bird flu would be detected in the United States as early as this year.

Speaking to reporters, Norton and Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns unveiled a plan to increase monitoring of migratory birds that are likely to bring the bird flu virus to U.S. shores.

Norton said bird flu would likely first be detected in the Pacific islands in Alaska, where testing for the disease will be a priority.

Norton stressed that detecting the disease in birds in the United States would not signal the start of a human pandemic.

As I've said many times before, local governments' preparedeness is the name of the game.

Iraqi Docs Update

2006-03-18T16:21:00.000-08:00

The translation continues. Hiawatha Bray of the Boston Globe reports:

Joseph Shahda of Randolph earns his living as an engineer. But in his spare time, he's an intelligence agent, working to ferret out the truth about the regime of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

When the US government on Thursday began publishing captured Iraqi government documents on the Internet, Shahda eagerly began to translate the files into English and publish them on a conservative website.

''I feel a sense of duty," said Shahda, a native of Lebanon who supports President Bush's decision to invade Iraq. ''I think it's a duty for people who know Arabic to translate the documents."

US officials hope that thousands of other Arabic speakers feel the same. Goaded by Congress, Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte has begun to release millions of pages of captured files online in an unprecedented effort to harness the Internet to disseminate raw intelligence material. There, anybody with a knowledge of Arabic can download the files and translate them for the world.

It's the same ''open source" principle that drove the successful development of the Internet and of powerful free software like the Linux operating system. Instead of hiring a team of brilliant professionals to analyze Iraqi documents in secret, the open source systems will use hundreds of clever amateurs, who'll publish their work for anyone to analyze and improve upon.

The more intelligent people we can get working on this, the faster the information from Saddam's regime will come pouring out, and the faster MSM heads will reel as their "common knowledge" beocmes debunked.

Iraqi Documents Released

2006-03-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

The mountain of documents from Saddam's regime that we have been waiting for has been released to the public.

Early analysis here and here, which is already making clear Saddam's connections to terrorists, including Osama bin Laden.

This is a huge story, and one which the MSM is already downplaying. Not surprising, because the supposed lack of a link between Saddam and terrorists has been a talking point of the anti-war crowd since the war began.

But the new information found in these Iraqi documents and audio tapes tells a different story; a story that the MSM doesn't want to admit.

So pay close attention to what new information gets revealed as these documents continue to be translated and interpreted. In all likelihood, we will soon realize that the administration was much more accurate in its prewar fears than the MSM wants to give it credit for.

Bird Flu In Israel

2006-03-16T16:30:00.000-08:00

Israel is experiencing its first real scare with the H5N1 virus:

Hundreds of poultry were found dead in a kibbutz in southern Israel raising fears of the first outbreak of deadly bird flu in the Jewish state.

"We have found hundreds of dead poultry and other sick birds on a kibbutz in the south of Israel, which makes us worried about the appearance of the bird flu virus," one agriculture ministry official told AFP.

"The initial tests indicated it was bird flu although these were not the final results and everything is still being tested in the laboratories", another official said.

Dozens of dead chickens were also found in communities close to the Ein Hashlosha kibbutz in the Negev desert east of the Gaza border, the website of the Haaretz daily reported.

Both the kibbutz and the adjacent communities were sealed off by the agricultural ministry, the website said.

Israel imposed a ban on all meat imports from the Gaza Strip on February 17 following the discovery of the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus in Egypt.

This continues to emphasize the importance of state and local governments' preparedness for the arrival of the flu virus.

If there is a poor response to the arrival of the Bird Flu in America, the blame will fall squarely on the shoulders of these local governments, especially given the HHS's release of a comprehensive update on Avian Flu preparedness:

Antivirals are drugs that lessen the impacts of flu. There are currently two FDA-approved antivirals that have shown effectiveness against the H5N1 virus, Tamiflu, and Relenza. Both must be taken within 48 hours of the onset of flu symptoms. (Note that there are two other approved flu antivirals, but CDC studies show H5N1 to be resistant to them.)

We are building a national stockpile of these two antivirals. The immediate goal is to stockpile enough antivirals to treat 20 million people. The longer- term goal is to be able to treat 75 million people, or 25 percent of the U.S. population. Achieving this goal depends on future pandemic flu appropriations, manufacturing capacity and participation by the states.Because Tamiflu is also approved for prevention, treatment for an additional 6 million people is also being stockpiled. This will be used in an effort to help contain a first outbreak of potential-pandemic influenza. The concept is to blanket the area of the initial outbreak, giving Tamiflu to as many people as possible to prevent the flu’s spread before it gets out of control. In March, HHS purchased more than 14 million courses of Tamiflu and Relenza, which will increase the national inventory to nearly 20 million courses. The total targeted stockpile is 81 million courses by the end of 2008. HHS will purchase 50 million out right and subsidize (by 25 percent) the states’ purchase of 31 million courses. (A course is the number of doses needed to treat one person – ten capsules in the case of Tamiflu.)

Antivirals will be distributed among the states and territories on a per-capita basis. FDA is monitoring Tamiflu shipments to identify potential counterfeits, and is actively investigating companies selling fraudulent, unapproved influenza products.

It is crucial that local governments heed the warnings and get down to business. Stockpiling Tamiflu is a necessary step in getting ready for the arrival of the H5N1 virus in America, and local governments must recognize this if we are to have an effective response.

Feingold Has The Dems Acting Frantic

2006-03-15T21:41:00.000-08:00

This isn't terribly surprising:

Democratic senators, filing in for their weekly caucus lunch yesterday, looked as if they'd seen a ghost.

"I haven't read it," demurred Barack Obama (Ill.

"I just don't have enough information," protested Ben Nelson (Neb.). "I really can't right now," John Kerry (Mass.) said as he hurried past a knot of reporters -- an excuse that fell apart when Kerry was forced into an awkward wait as Capitol Police stopped an aide at the magnetometer.

Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) brushed past the press pack, shaking her head and waving her hand over her shoulder. When an errant food cart blocked her entrance to the meeting room, she tried to hide from reporters behind the 4-foot-11 Barbara Mikulski (Md.).

"Ask her after lunch," offered Clinton's spokesman, Philippe Reines. But Clinton, with most of her colleagues, fled the lunch out a back door as if escaping a fire.

(HT: Instapundit)

Meet The 7-Year Old Racist Poet

2006-03-15T20:50:00.000-08:00

Michelle Malkin has a post that left me utterly speechless.

A 7-Year old says that "white people are "devils and they should be gone. We should be away from them and still be in Africa."

There is something fundamentally wrong with someone this young saying something this vile and racist. I will never understand how a parent could so completely pollute the mind of a child.

"Myths Of Iraq"

2006-03-14T17:09:00.000-08:00

is the title of Ralph Peters' article at Real Clear Politics. Opening graphs:

During a recent visit to Baghdad, I saw an enormous failure. On the part of our media. The reality in the streets, day after day, bore little resemblance to the sensational claims of civil war and disaster in the headlines.

No one with first-hand experience of Iraq would claim the country's in rosy condition, but the situation on the ground is considerably more promising than the American public has been led to believe. Lurid exaggerations and instant myths obscure real, if difficult, progress.

I left Baghdad more optimistic than I was before this visit. While cynicism, political bias and the pressure of a 24/7 news cycle accelerate a race to the bottom in reporting, there are good reasons to be soberly hopeful about Iraq's future.

Read the entire article.

50-50

2006-03-14T17:01:00.000-08:00

Those are the odds that the Bird Flu will mutate into a form that can be easily transmitted between humans, according to Robert G. Webster, one of the few Bird Flu experts offering an answer to the question of whether or not humans will be infected:

There are "about even odds at this time for the virus to learn how to transmit human to human," he told ABC's "World News Tonight." Webster, the Rosemary Thomas Chair at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., is credited with being the first scientist to find the link between human flu and bird flu.

Webster and his team of scientists are working to find a way to beat the virus if it morphs. He has even been dubbed the Flu Hunter.

Right now, H5N1, a type of avian influenza virus, has confined itself to birds. It can be transmitted from bird to human but only by direct contact with the droppings and excretions of infected birds.

But viruses mutate, and the big fear among the world's scientists is that the bird flu virus will join the human flu virus, change its genetic code and emerge as a new and deadly flu that can spread through the air from human to human.

If the virus does mutate, it does not necessarily mean it will be as deadly to people as it is to birds. But experts such as Webster say they must prepare for the worst.

"I personally believe it will happen and make personal preparations," said Webster, who has stored a three-month supply of food and water at his home in case of an outbreak.

Feingold Goes Over The Cliff

2006-03-13T20:14:00.000-08:00

Democratic Senator Russ Feingoldis calling for President Bush's censure over the NSA terrorism surveillance program.

This is lunacy at its best.

For starters, the NSA surveillance progam is 100% legitimate, and a completely legal authority of the president under his Article II powers and the judicial precedent set forth in Truong and Hamdi. This has been discussed at length previously, and it only exhibits how little Sen. Feingold reads -- or at least how much he ignores.

But what is most startling about Feingold's rhetoric is the poor position it potentially puts the Democrats in. We are a nation at war, and if the Dems think that listening in on al Qaeda conversations is not helpful to the war effort, they are dillusiional and dead wrong. Republicans should welcome the debate on the GWOT brought forth by Feingold's accusations, because the Dems can't win it.

The White House offers its reponse to Sen. Feingold here.

Nonetheless, this move should be seen as a purely political stunt by a presidential hopeful only trying to further his poor chances at eletcion.

UPDATE:

Tim Chapman has the latest on the Feingold madness:

Democratic Senator Russ Feingold has introduced a resolution that would censor the President of the United States for "eavesdropping" in the wake of 9/11. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, moments ago, made a unanimous consent motion that the Senate vote on the resolution tonight. Maryland Democrat Paul Sarbanes rose to object to the motion. Frist then motioned to vote on the resolution again tomorrow. Sarbanes objected, saying no vote should take place on the resolution until Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid had cleared the timing.

In other words, Democrats know this is a political stunt, without a chance of passage, but want to time it politically for maximum impact.

Later, Harry Reid took the floor to say he was offended that Frist would go to the floor and motion for unanimous consent on such an "important issue" without talking to him first.

Reid's two-facedness knows no bounds. Does he not remember last year taking the Senate floor and invoking Senate Rule XXI, thereby shutting down the Senate? When he made that parliamentary move to score political points over pre-war intelligence, he broke all Senate precedent by invoking the draconian measure without first seeking the compliance of the Senate Majority Leader as has always been done in the past.

The Google - Al Qaeda Link

2006-03-12T18:47:00.000-08:00

Al Qaeda is using a service run by Google to publish propaganda and recruit terrorists from around the world.

And Google won’t stop them from doing it:

Al-Qaeda sympathizers are using Orkut, a popular, worldwide Internet service owned by Google, to rally support for Osama bin Laden, share videos and Web links promoting terrorism, and recruit non-Arabic-speaking Westerners, according to terrorism experts and a survey of the sites.

Most jihadist message boards on traditional Web sites are in Arabic and require users to know someone connected with the board before they can gain access. Social-networking services such as Orkut, Friendster, and MySpace, however, allow users to create personal profiles and associate with “communities” based on shared interests. After users join one of these services, they have access to the forum postings in any public community...

On Orkut, at least 10 communities are devoted to praising bin Laden, al-Qaeda, or jihad (holy war) against the United States. They can be found easily through a simple English-language search of the site...

Google, which operates Orkut, says it tries to balance the free flow of information against the appearance of objectionable material by keeping intervention to a minimum. Google spokeswoman Debbie Frost says the service may remove obscene, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable material from Orkut sites “but has no obligation to.” Frost did acknowledge that Google deleted some terrorism-related content that violated Orkut’s published terms of service.

I guess if Google is willing to censor it's search results for China, this really shouldn't be all that surprising. Nonetheless, it doesn't speak very well for Google, and it certainly doesn't help America in the GWOT if al-Qaeda is allowed to gather supporters via internet message boards.

(HT: LGF)

Supporting The Troops

2006-03-12T18:02:00.000-08:00

Michelle Malkin points us to a CBS News item that ran on 60 Minutes tonight. It focuses on U.S. troops reestablishing order after clearing out Al Qaeda from the Iraqi town of Tal Afar.

Michelle as the video file if you'd like to watch it.

As surprising and as rare an occurrence as it is, it's very encouraging to see a MSM outlet pushing a positive story about our troops. I suggest you watch piece, or at least read the story from CBS News.

It certainly contrasts the normal MSM war coverage.

CAIR: Islamists Fooling The Establishment

2006-03-11T00:02:00.000-08:00

That's the title of a new article by Daniel Pipes and Sharon Chadha, written in the Spring Middle East Quarterly.

Power Line's Scott Johnson has the story. A sampling:

*Perhaps the most obvious problem with CAIR is the fact that at least five of its employees and board members have been arrested, convicted, deported, or otherwise linked to terrorism-related charges and activities.

*CAIR has a number of links to Hamas.

*CAIR's founding personnel were closely linked to the Islamic Association of Palestine; the Islamic Association of Palestine functions as Hamas's public relations and recruitment arm in the United States.

*CAIR encourages law enforcement in its work -- so long as it does not involve counterterrorism.

*CAIR discourages Americans from improving their counterterrorism skills.

*CAIR has consistently shown itself to be on the wrong side of the war on terrorism, protecting, defending, and supporting both accused and even convicted radical Islamic terrorists.

Any time a major American organization is mysteriously embedded with terrorists and does the things that CAIR does, it is a very serious issue. The implications of this article are uncompromising, and anyone who can should read the entire piece.

The NCAA Tourney Terror Threat

2006-03-10T22:57:00.000-08:00

The FBI has issued a warning of a possible terrorist attack to sports arenas hosting events this month:

WASHINGTON - The FBI said Friday there is no specific, credible threat of a terror attack aimed at college basketball arenas or other sports stadiums, but acknowledged alerting law enforcement to a recent Internet posting discussing such attacks.

The FBI and Homeland Security Department distributed an intelligence bulletin Friday to state and local law enforcement nationwide describing the online threat against sporting venues, said Special Agent Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman in Washington.

"We have absolutely no credible intelligence or threats pertaining to this issue," Kolko said.

As Kolko later put it, the FBI's statement was issued out of an "abundance of caution." There is nothing to be terribly worried about here, but the message is worth passing along at least in the amount it will cause people to be more alert.

CNN has more:

According to law enforcement sources, the Web posting advises would-be bombers to hide explosives under winter clothing, and suggests that one suicide bomber detonate a bomb inside a stadium while others detonate bombs where fans are running.

The information also suggests using "blonde or black American suicide bombers," the sources said.

Agents recommended that stadium operators review security procedures and that local law enforcement keep an eye out for suspicious activities.

U.S. Hostage Killed

2006-03-10T22:35:00.000-08:00

American hostage Tom Fox was found murdered earlier today:

An American who was among four Christian activists kidnapped last year in Iraq has been killed, a State Department spokesman said Friday.

The FBI verified that a body found in Iraq Friday morning was that of Tom Fox, 54, of Clear Brook, Va., spokesman Noel Clay said. He said he had no information on the other three hostages.

His organization and fellow members had this to say:

Fox's organization, Christian Peacemaker Teams, said Friday, "We mourn the loss of Tom Fox, who combined a lightness of spirit, a firm opposition to all oppression, and the recognition of God in everyone."

Christian Peacemaker co-directors Doug Pritchard and Carol Rose said in a statement, "In response to Tom's passing, we ask that everyone set aside inclinations to vilify or demonize others, no matter what they have done."

"This guy was not after martyrdom by any means," said Paul Slattery, a member of the McLean, Va.-based Langley Hill Friends Meeting that Fox, a Quaker, also attended. "He actually believed in his heart that he would better them by his conviction and his beliefs and his skills, and I think largely succeeded.

Keep his family in your prayers.

The Ports Deal Is Off

2006-03-09T15:31:00.000-08:00

Earlier today, Dubai pulled out of the Ports Deal in order to "preserve the relationship" between the U.A.E. and the United States:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- United Arab Emirates-owned DP World said Thursday it would transfer its operations of American ports to a U.S. "entity" after congressional leaders reportedly told President Bush that the firm's takeover deal was essentially dead on Capitol Hill.

"Because of the strong relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the United States and to preserve that relationship ... DP World will transfer fully the U.S. operations of P&O Operations North America to a United States entity," Edward H. Bilkey, DP World's chief operating officer, said in a statement.

The announcement did not specify which U.S. company would be involved.

Here's what Sen. John Warner had to say about the announcement on the Senate floor:

SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: ... that what I had to say might bear on your remarks. Mr. President, I have had the opportunity to work very closely with the White House and the administration, with our distinguished leader, Bill Frist, and others in the Senate, several of the senators, on this question. And I've had the opportunity to meet and work with representatives of the DP World company, who came to the United States for the purposes of really acknowledging to the world the importance of this contract and their perspective.

I shall not recount the events that have occurred here in the last few days, but i've just been contacted by Edward Bilkey, chief operating officer of DP World, and in an effort to get this message to all interested parties as quickly as possible, I indicated a willingness to read a press release that is now being issued by DP World and Edward Bilkey.

It reads as follows, "Because of the strong relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the United States, and to preserve that relationship, DP World has decided to transfer fully the U.S. operation of P&O Ports North America to a United States entity. This decision is based on an understanding that DP World will have time to effect the transfer in an orderly fashion, and that DP World will not suffer economic loss. We look forward to working with the Department of Treasury to implement this decision." End statement.

His highness Shaikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, prime minister of UAE, has advised the company that in the interest of the UAE, the nation, and the United States, that this action is the appropriate course to take in the future.

This move saves us the confrontation between the President and Congress and the potential of an embarrassing veto override by the latter. Bush has sufficiently saved face, and I suspect that --as we saw with the Miers nomination-- in a few weeks the Dubai Ports Deal will be ancient history.

I tend to agree with Rick Moran, who is dead on in his analysis:

I would still like to see hearings on other foreign owned companies who manage our ports and other transportation nexus. These are a particularly vulnerable part of our overall security profile and what this deal proved is that no one appears to be thinking very hard about them.

I sincerely hope that the UAE isn’t offended by the pressure that was put on them, although, when a country is owned by one man, it becomes very hard to separate the business from the personal. Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum may feel that he’s been double crossed but he shouldn’t blame the Congress or the American people. The blame is ultimately the Presidents’ to shoulder as are our other problems with border control and gaps in security at our airports.

If the killing of this deal has opened the eyes of the President and his people to the concerns of Congress and many conservatives, then it just may have a silver lining. They can go a long way toward proving that they’re listening by working with Congress on an immigration reform package that puts security over commerce and the safety of the American people over the wallets of the members of the Chambers of Commerce.

Why We Spy

2006-03-08T14:52:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've commented on the NSA's terrorist intercept program, mainly because, along with the rest of the blogosphere (and especially John Hinderaker of Power Line), I've addressed most of the major issues regarding the program.

The bottom line, it's legal. The president has the authority to conduct surveillance under his Article II powers of the Constitution, and the judicial precedent set forth in Hamdi, Truong, and In Re: Sealed override the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, allowing the feds to circumvent the FISA courts.

But Ed Morrissey renews my interest in the program, and points us to an ABC News Report that reminds us why we spy:

The number 050-520-9905 is what several of the 9/11 hijackers dialed to establish contact with Mustafa al Hawsawi, a senior al Qaeda member in the United Arab Emirates.

Prosecutors said today that Hawsawi was one of the key financial contributors and travel coordinators for several of the 9/11 hijackers, and that the 9/11 investigation shows that Mohammed Atta was in regular contact with him in the weeks before the attack.

In laying out for the jury the specifics of how the 9/11 plot was hatched, prosecutors showed the jury a series of money transfer orders and records of calls to Hawsawi from Mohammed Atta, which he made using an AT&T calling card.

Restricting counter-terrorism intelligence by forcing it to fit in with criminal domestic laws and the FISA provisions will ultimately make such intelligence efforts useless.

But even if we recognize this fact, The New York Times has still done a great damage to the NSA's intercept program. With the program's existence now common knowledge, terrorists will likely choose alternate methods through which they can initiate their terror plots and their fellow terrorists.

The Avian Flu Claims Another Human Victim

2006-03-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

As the Avian Bird Flu continues to spread west across Europe, it seems ever likelier that the United States will inevitably face the virus.

This appears especially probable given the recent deaths in China and infection in Germany:

A German minister claimed that deadly bird flu was moving closer to infecting humans in Europe after two more cats died of the virus, while China reported its 10th human fatality.

And Albania became the latest European country to report an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu strain, as international veterinary experts warned that the United States, Canada and Australia will probably not escape the ever-spreading disease.

China said on Wednesday that a nine-year-old girl had become the 10th person to die from bird flu, bringing the global death toll since 2003 to 96.

In Germany, Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer said late on Tuesday the discovery of the dead cats a week after the first feline infection in Germany signalled a heightened risk of infection for humans.

"This means that the virus is not confined to a single case of a mammal but has spread to several cases. Therefore, bird flu has clearly moved closer to humans."

The administration has issued a number of warnings to state and local governements, and it remains up to these branches of government be adequately prepared for the arrival of the H5N1 virus.

Iran Threatens The United States...

2006-03-08T14:14:00.000-08:00

with "harm and pain."

Now imagine, that they are allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. Anybody uncomfortable about that?

Perhaps this explains why Israel is preparing to take action when the U.N. doesn't.

Cheney Warns Iran

2006-03-07T10:25:00.000-08:00

Today as the 35-nation International Atomic Energy Agency governing board was meeting in Vienna to decide its next move with Iran, Vice President Cheney reaffirmed that the United States would not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran will not be allowed to have nuclear weapons and faces "meaningful consequences" if it persists in defying the international community, Vice President Dick Cheney said on Tuesday.

Cheney, speaking to the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, also reaffirmed that the United States was keeping all options on the table -- including military force -- in its determination to prevent Iran from developing nuclear arms.

"The Iranian regime needs to know that if it stays on its present course the international community is prepared to impose meaningful consequences," Cheney said...

"For our part, the United States is keeping all options on the table. ... We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon," Cheney said.

The military option must remain a viable option for the United States, because the international community has shown itself to unreliable in these types of pressure situations. Empty threats and warnings will do nothing to stop a man who denies the holocaust and wants Jewish people to be wiped off the earth.

I hope the IAEA comes out of its meeting today with the intention of administering sanctions against Iran, so that the international community is at least sending some sort of a real message. Regardless of what the decision is, the United States must be prepared to pursue military action against Iran if President Ahmadinejad and his government continue to pursue nuclear weapons.

8-0

2006-03-06T17:04:00.000-08:00

That was the margin by which the SCOTUS upheld the Solomon Amendment. You can read the opinion here.

The guys at Power Line have been covering the story since the beginning, and they offer more commentary now as the case ends.

This decision does not surprise me in the least. Besides the appeal from common sense, this case is governed by a number of controlling cases that allow the federal governemnt to condition the money it grants states and their institutions. But I'll leave the technical explanations to those who are more qualified than myself.

More On The UNC Crash

2006-03-06T16:54:00.000-08:00

Mary Katherine Ham has been updating regularly on the situation in Raleigh, and in doing so, came across this:

UPDATE: Fox News just ran video of the suspect being taken to court. Along the way, reporters were shouting questions at him.

Reporter: Were you trying to kill people? Taheri-azar: Yes.

UPDATE 2: Taheri-azar is going to be representing himself at trial with the help of Allah, he said in a hearing today.

Fox is reporting that Taheri-azar's also said this at his hearing.

A University of North Carolina graduate from Iran, accused of running down nine people on campus to avenge the treatment of Muslims, said at a hearing Monday that he was "thankful for the opportunity to spread the will of Allah."

If anything, Taheri-azar's conviction seems to be uncompromising. It will be interesting to see as this case develops how such a bright individual could become so disillusioned that he attempted to kill innocent college students with an SUV.

MSM Selective Reporting

2006-03-05T22:31:00.000-08:00

The MSM loves to selecitvely quote people of opposing viewpoints. Doing so allows the major media outlets to fake support for their message.

But when the MSM starts misusing statements from our military commanders in order to avoid or downplay the successes of the war, I tend to get quite upset.

As a result, I feel the need to pass along this from The Mudville Gazette:

In a recent press briefing General George Casey (the commander of Multinational Forces in Iraq) countered virtually every inflated claim made by the media regarding Iraq's recent "civil war" in the wake of the Shrine bombing in Samarra. But there are significant disconnects between what Gen Casey said and how his words are reported...

The media is free to dispute the General's claims - that's expected of them. But in this case they aren't, they are simply using his words selectively in a manner that supports their own previously published fictions. There's no law that says U.S. media outlets are required to report accurately or completely on comments made by military or government officials. Likewise there are no requirements for media outlets to acknowledge that they are printing unverified claims made by "other parties" in the war as confirmed "news" - as was the case in the aftermath of the Shrine bombing (See here and here). But consumers of those reports should be aware of their flaws.

If it weren't for reliable milblogs like The Mudville Gazette, I'm not too certain that some of these misrepresentations wouldn't go unnoticed.

I recommend you read the entire post. (HT: Instapundit)

Another Call For Jihad From al-Zawahri

2006-03-04T23:41:00.000-08:00

For the second time in recent past, number two al-Qaeda operative Ayman al-Zawahri calls for mass murder in strikes against the West:

As well as physical attacks on the West, Zawahri, who is deputy to al Qaeda’s leader Osama bin Laden, called for an economic boycott against several countries.

“It is our duty to take part in a mass economic boycott of Denmark, Norway, France, Germany, and all countries that take part in this crusader attack against Islam,” he said, referring to the cartoons first published in a Danish newspaper last year.

He described the cartoons as part of a U.S.-led “crusader” campaign. “An example of the hatred of the crusaders led by America ... are the repeated offences against the personality of the Prophet Mohammad, may peace be upon him,” Zawahri said.

There has been a growing number of these sorts of rally calls from some major players both in al-Qaeda and the radical Islamic movement as a whole, especially in the past several months.

This is a good sign.

These men are ratcheting up their rhetoric because they realize they are losing the GWOT. The troops of the United States and our allies have been making life very difficult for al-Qaeda and the rest of the terrorists, and their leaders understand that as long as we have their backs up against the wall, it beocmes increasingly difficult to properly organize a large-scale attack on the West.

So while it is alarming to hear Zawahri and others like him call for the death of the West, realize that this alos means we are winning the GWOT.

It Was For Retribution

2006-03-04T20:09:00.000-08:00

I knew there would be a valid explanation for Friday's SUV crash at UNC, but I really hoped this wasn't it:

The driver of an SUV that plowed into a group of pedestrians at UNC-Chapel Hill on Friday told police it was retribution for the treatment of Muslims around the world, according to ABC News.

...Sources say Taheriazar told police he was seeking retribution for the treatment of Muslims around the world, according to ABC News justice correspondent Pierre Thomas. Taheriazar apparently told police he tried to rent the biggest SUV he could find to use in the attack.

By Friday afternoon, a police SWAT team had surrounded a Carrboro apartment complex where Taheriazar reportedly lived.

(HT: Michelle Malkin)

Al Qaeda Plotting A "Big Bang' In Iraq?

2006-03-03T15:33:00.000-08:00

CBS News is reporting on the latest terrorist threat in Iraq:

(CBS/AP) U.S. officials tell CBS News that intelligence has picked up reports that al Qaeda in Iraq is planning what one source calls the "Big Bang," a spectacular terrorist attack in Iraq against either a single high-profile target or multiple targets simultaneously.

Last week's mosque bombing in city of Samarra that brought Iraq to the brink of civil war was the work of terrorists, some U.S. officials have theorized. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi seems to be betting that another big bang would push the country over the brink, reports CBS News correspondent David Martin. The bomb in one of the holiest sites for Shiite Muslims set off violence all across the country that left hundreds dead.

The Iraqi government has banned all private vehicles in Baghdad during daylight hours Friday, the Muslim prayer day, just as it did last week. That kept car bombs, what the military cars vehicle-born improvised explosive devices, off the streets.

Many precautions are being taken to avoid such an event, but if any thing like this happens, I would hope that Iraqi officials would handle the fallout in the same way that they addressed the bombings last week.

Calm, patience, and cooperation are always the answer in outlasting and defeating the terrorists.

Trouble At UNC

2006-03-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

There is a lot of commotion over at the University of North Carolina where a driver steered his SUV into a large crowd before fleeing the scene. From The Daily Tar Heel:

A University graduate careened his silver Jeep Grand Cherokee through the Pit on Friday about noon, striking nine pedestrians and sending six to UNC Hospitals.

Mohammed Reza Taheriazar, 23, who graduated in 2005, is in custody at the Department of Public Safety after turning himself in after the incident. He was born May 5, 1983, according to University registrar records. He was a psychology and philosophy major. He was published in The Charlotte Observer for dean's list honors in spring 2005.

At about 2 p.m. a bomb threat was called into the University Commons apartments, at 303 Smith Level Road. State Bureau of Investigations officials entered the building at 3:03 p.m.

Capt. Joel Booker, of the Carrboro Police Department, said they are not sure how the threat is related to the campus incident.

Chapel Hill police spokeswoman Jane Cousins said a Mohammed Reza Taheri-Azar has a prior arrest. He was arrested June 16, 2003 on one count of resisting arrest and reckless driving.

Could this incident perhaps have something to do with the publication of the Mohammed cartoons in the UNC's campus newspaper?

An Educator's Abuse of Power

2006-03-02T15:02:00.000-08:00

A teacher from Denver has been using his tenth grade Geography class as a staging area for his far left rhetoric.

High school teacher Jay Bennish saw an opportunity to discuss his hatred for the Bush administration on a daily basis by pushing his views on the his young and impressionable high school students. They probably wouldn't notice the difference between geography and political discourse anyway.

Until one student, 16 year-old Sean Allen took a stand. He recorded his teacher in order to back up his notes, and gave the tape to his father. On the recordings, there were statements such as this:

I'm not saying Bush and Hitler are exactly the same, obviously they're not. OK? But there are some eerie similarities to the tones that they use. Very "ethnocentric."

I remember my high school geography class, and I certainly never learned anything like that. If I had, I'm sure I would have done the exact same thing that Sean Allen and his father did: contact the school administrators. And when they did nothing about it, as school administrators so often do when individual parents complain, I would consider taking my recordings to a radio station (which Allen and his father did).

Well, it didn't take long before the school administrators were forced to take action, and put teacher Jay Bennish on academic leave while they did some investigating.

This is a huge story, and one that should be followed very closely. High school is one of the most important times in a developing teen's life, and if kids are going to be put through far lefty diatribes daily during class, I want to know about it, and I want to put an end to it.

Education is about learning objective lessons about the world, not being force-fed a political agenda.

The best class I ever had in high school was a Contemporary Issues class where we debated political issues. What I liked the most about the class is that we considered issues from every angle, and debated. The teacher merely moderated. He was a firm believer that it was not his duty to take sides and promote one view above the other, but to let us decide for ourselves.

This is what education is all about. You take a good hard look at the issues, then allow the students to use their acquired critical thinking skills to solve the issues on their own.

Mr. Bennish should be held accountable, and steered away from his profession if he continues to teach in such a manner, as should any other high school teacher who behaves in such a way.

UDPATE:

Michelle Malkin is transcribing the audio from the recordings that student Sean Allen made of his teacher's lefty banter.

The Patriot Act Goes Through

2006-03-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

Earlier today the Senate voted overwhelmingly to renew the USA Patriot Act, 89-10. Senators said that they "struck a better balance between privacy rights and the government's power to hunt down terrorists."

The House will consider the legislation next week, and likely pass it along to the president so he can sign it before 16 provisions of the act expire on March 10.

Depsite the delay, and although some necessary provisions of the Patriot Act were withheld, its passage must be considered a very important success for President Bush and his administration. The Patriot Act is an essential part of the GWOT, its presence ensures a more adequate defense against the forces of al Qaeda.

Al Qaeda's Foreign Fighters In Iraq

2006-03-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

Bill Roggio considers the significance of foreign al-Qaeda presence in Iraq, and makes note of the opportunity it provides the American military:

While the presence of foreign al-Qaeda in Iraq is often underplayed in the press, numerous veteran al-Qaeda operatives have been killed or captured inside the country. Most recently, Asharq Alawsat reports Abdallah Salah al-Harbi, one of the suspects in last week’s attacks on the massive Saudi oil facility in Abqaiq, was arrested attempting to cross at the Saudi border. Abu al-Farouq al-Suri (the Syria), likely an al-Qaeda cell leader was arrested in Ramadi. And perhaps the biggest catch is Saad Hussaini, who was arrested in Syria while trying to recruit and facilitate jihadis to fight in Iraq.

However, the presence of foreign al-Qaeda in Iraq is not all good news. Roggio sees it as a type of double-edged sword:

The influx of jihadis into Iraq is both a blessing and a curse. The positives: the influx of terrorists into Iraq has given the United States access to kill or capture experienced terrorists and jihadi sympathizers, where they were previously lying dormant in their home countries, beyond the reach of the U.S. military. This has given the U.S. intelligence on al-Qaeda’s networks and exposed the terrorist group’s support mechanisms and lines of communications. U.S. and Iraqi military and intelligence services are gaining valuable experience in identifying and fighting terrorists.

The negatives: there is the very real concern about ‘bleedback’, where jihadis gain experience on the battlefields of Iraq and return to their home countries to train others and conduct terror attacks. Coalition soldiers and the Iraqi people are paying with their lives, and the future of Iraq remains in doubt as the terror campaign continues.

One of the goals in the GWOT (and subsequently in Iraq) is to put an end to or at least curb the influence of al-Qaeda. The capture of major operatives aids this pursuit, and we continue to inch closer towards this goal everyday.

But the fact that there is a presence of foreign al-Qaeda operatives in Iraq isn't surprising. Iraq is where the fight is. In Iraq, al-Qaeda jihadists can carry out attacks against Americans on their own soil. This requires less effort as there is no need to infiltrate the United States and carry out an elaborate attack.

But when the fight moves, so will al-Qaeda. The more stable the Iraqi democracy becomes, the less likely it becomes that al-Qaeda will pour all of its resources into Iraq. So while we are fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq, we must continue to take advantage of the intelligence opportunities it provides us, but realize that in time we will be able to push al-Qaeda out of Iraq.

Rioting Children

2006-02-28T11:17:00.000-08:00

Following the example of their parents, Pakistani children rioted in the streets in "protest" of the Mohammed cartoons:

About 5,000 children chanting “Hang those who insulted the prophet” rallied in Pakistan’s largest city on Tuesday in the latest protest in the Islamic nation against the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

The children, ages 8 to 12, burned a coffin draped in U.S., Israeli and Danish flags at a traffic intersection in the port city of Karachi as police in riot gear looked on.

The rally was organized by Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan’s largest Islamic group. The children, some wearing school uniforms and headbands emblazoned with “God is great,” were released from schools to take part.

Jamaat-e-Islami is part of a radical coalition of six Islamic parties that has rallied Muslims throughout Pakistan in recent weeks against the cartoons despite bans on protests in some cities.

This is the kind of thing you really hoped you wouldn't see.

These kids arguably have no real concept of what it is their rioting about. They see images on TV that seem to glorify the uncivilized behavior that has marked these riots. They are told what to do by the radical party leaders who organized the rally. Their parents tell them that these attitudes and behaviors are right.

These kids aren't autonomous individuals. They are not rioting of their own free will. These kids are just puppets for the radical ideologies of their parents.

It would be a lie to call this event a "protest." Protests generally require freely acting individuals, not ones pursuaded to act by radical elders.

The violent and insensible riots are one thing, but misguided children who don't realize the significance of what they are doing is completely different, and it makes me sick to my stomach to think that parents are teaching their children this sort of ideology.