The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are "Evolution" = "Growth" by Soccer Dad, and Numb by Kaboom: A Soldier's War Journal. Here is your link to the full results of the vote:

By the way -- Rick Moran at Right Wing Nut House is leaving the Council, so if you are interested in membership be sure to contact the Watcher after reading this post.

Posted by: Greg at 10:34 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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There are just so many decisions to make when you and that special person in your life decide that it is time to make a life-long commitment though marriage. There are major life decisions, such as where to live, and more transient ones like wedding locations, themes, and decor. But one decision that you face every day is the decision about the wedding rings that the two of you will wear -- for the result of that decision will hopefully be there at arm's-length for decades to come.

While my wife and i ultimately decided upon plain gold bands because of the unique nature of our engagement ring, we did consider some that were special in their appearance. These included celtic wedding rings with some design elements that had special meaning to the two of us.

One of the top sellers of such celtic wedding bands can be found at Wedding-Band-Ring.com, where they have a wide selection of Celtic wedding rings in different designs and styles, as well as other sorts of wedding bands. The selection is amazing, and the prices is hard to beat. And not only are the rings available in traditional gold, but you can also find rings in titanium and platinum as well, in addition to a number that feature white gold or the rose gold shown above. Best of all, they offer a money-back gurantee on the rings, as well as free shipping to you. so if you are looking for quality wedding rings at a good price from a reputable source, be sure to check them out.

Posted by: Greg at 08:27 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In 2004, Tom Harkin was one of those condemning Navy veterans who served in the same unit as John Kerry for daring to raise questions about his details of his military service, his seditious conduct after his return to the US, and his fitness to be President. And yet in 2008, this same Tom Harkin (who has been shown to have embellished his own military record) has taken it upon himself to call into question the fitness of John NcCain to serve as president BECAUSE OF his military service and that of his father, grandfather, and sons!

Republican presidential candidate John McCain's family background as the son and grandson of admirals has given him a worldview shaped by the military, "and he has a hard time thinking beyond that," Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Ia., said Friday.

"I think he's trapped in that," Harkin said in a conference call with Iowa reporters. "Everything is looked at from his life experiences, from always having been in the military, and I think that can be pretty dangerous."

Harkin said that "it's one thing to have been drafted and served, but another thing when you come from generations of military people and that's just how you're steeped, how you've learned, how you've grown up."

Now let's get really clear what Senator Harkin is saying -- too much military service is a disqualifying factor for the presidency, especially if there is a family tradition of such service! In other words, Obama is more qualified for the presidency because he hasn't served anyone or anything except himself! Community organizing now trumps time as a POW.

Utterly disgusting, Senator -- you should be ashamed of yourself. But you aren't, of course, because you are a Democrat -- and you all loathe the military, though most do a better job of hiding it. So run your never-served candidate against a true American patriot, and try to disqualify that patriot because he devoted much of his life to the defense of the United States -- the American people will see through you and your party.

MORE AT Iowa Independent, Right Wing News, Gateway Pundit, Flopping Aces, Red State, Hot Air, McCain Blogs, Commentary's Contentions, Ace of Spades, Blogs 4 McCain, Big Dogs, Say Anything

Posted by: Greg at 02:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In light of the outrage over this incident, in which one soldier disobeyed orders and was duly punished and apologies issued, I think it is only appropriate that we consider what sort of respect is shown to the Christian faith, symbols and scriptures in the Islamic world. So let's look to this satirical piece from 2005 as a reminder of what is viewed as proper treatment of the Bible in at least one Muslim country -- and the difference in the reactions of Christians and Muslims to such things.

Well, since there seems to be a consensus among the press that the riots over reported Koran desecration were understandable and the fault of the US, I think it is important that we apply the principle to the holy texts of all faiths when they are abused or disrespected as a matter of official government policy.

As such, I am starting the "Slay a Saudi for the Savior" campaign, and expect the support of every liberal and Muslim out there. This is simply a proportional response to this report.

Bibles found in the possession of visitors to Saudi Arabia are routinely confiscated by customs officials, and in some cases copies allegedly have been put through a paper shredder, according to religious rights campaigners.

Reports from the Islamic world of the abuse of Bibles and other items important to Christians emerge from time to time, but generally have little impact - in contrast to the wave of Muslim anger sparked by a Newsweek report, since retracted, of Koran desecration by the U.S. military.

"The Muslims respect the Koran far more than Christians respect the Bible," says Danny Nalliah, a Sri Lankan-born evangelical pastor now based in Australia.

During the 1990s, Nalliah spent two years in Saudi Arabia, where he was deeply involved with the underground church.

"It's a very well-known fact that if you have a Bible at customs when you enter the airport, and if they find the Bible, that the Bible is taken and put in the shredder," he said in an interview this week.

"If you have more than one Bible you will be taken into custody, and if you have a quantity of Bibles you will be given 70 lashes for sure - you could even be executed."

And since there are constant complaints about the abuse of Muslim women, how about this Saudi abuse of a nun?

A friend of his, a fellow Christian in Saudi Arabia, told him of witnessing a particularly unpleasant incident involving a Catholic nun.

The man had been in the transit lounge at the airport in Jeddah - the gateway to Mecca, used by millions of Hajj pilgrims each year - when a nun arrived at the customs desk.

"Some fool [travel agent] had put her on a transit flight in Jeddah. You don't do that to a Catholic nun, because she's going to be tormented."

"They opened her bag, went through her prayer book, put the prayer book through the shredder ... took the crucifix off her neck and smashed it, tormented her for many minutes."

Eventually another Muslim official objected to their conduct, came across and "rescued" her, pointing out to the customs officials that she was not entering the country but only in transit and would be leaving on the next plane.

I demand that the Muslim pigs involved suffer death by beheading for their abuse of this woman of God – right in the middle of Saint Peter’s Square.

I declare a Crusade against the infidels who would dare defile crucifix or shred a prayer book or Bible. We must avenge these insults to the Christian faith.

Death to the Islam!

Death to Mecca!

Death to Saudi Arabia!

***

Uh -- anyway, now that I've recovered my sense of proportion, I hope folks realize that this is not my actual belief. The above is a satirical piece. Unfortunately, the outrages committed by the Saudis are not something I've made up out of whole cloth. They are real.

That is why I urge the State Department to impose serious sanctions against Saudi Arabia and any other Muslim country that violates the rights of Christians. After all -- Christianity deserves at least as much respect as Islam.

And to the Islamist fifth-columnists working at CAIR --you'll get my support for your resolution when you get Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Muslim world to apply the same standard to Christian practices and beliefs.

UPDATE -- 5/20/05: Just in case folks didn't like my sources, here is a piece from today's Wall Street Journal on the same Saudi policy regarding the Bible -- including this anecdote.

The Bible in Saudi Arabia may get a person killed, arrested, or deported. In September 1993, Sadeq Mallallah, 23, was beheaded in Qateef on a charge of apostasy for owning a Bible.

I wonder what Ms. Azza Basarudin (from the post below) feels about such cases?

More at GOPBloggers.

UPDATE -- 5/23/05 -- More on Saudi Bible desecration here.

UPDATE -- 5/26/05 -- Don't look now, but it isn't just Bibles that the Islamist Horde wants to ban and destroy -- now they want to confiscate Webster's Dictionary for defining anti-Semitism in a way that they don't like.

The latest edition of the dictionary "Webster" identified "anti- Semitism" as opposing Zionism and sympathizing with Israel's enemies, which showed "the racial trend and scientific distortion," officials of the Office of the Arab Boycott of Israel (OABI) were quoted as saying.

Ignorant cretins!

Posted by: Greg at 12:24 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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The Seattle Times should have fired Bruce Ramsey on Friday for whitewashing Hitler's evil in order to attack our president and give support to Barack Obama. But now his stunning dishonesty is exposed for the world to see, and that should be grounds for his dismissal.

Here's what appeared on Friday.

What Hitler was demanding was not unreasonable. He wanted the German-speaking areas of Europe under German authority. He had just annexed Austria, which was German-speaking, without bloodshed. There were two more small pieces of Germanic territory: the free city of Danzig and the Sudetenland, a border area of what is now the Czech Republic.

We live in an era when you do not change national borders for these sorts of reasons. But in 1938 it was different. Germany’s eastern and western borders had been redrawn 19 years before—and not to its benefit. In the democracies there was some sense of guilt with how Germany had been treated after World War I. Certainly there was a memory of the “Great War.” In 2008, we have entirely forgotten World War I, and how utterly unlike any conception of “The Good War” it was. When the British let Hitler have a slice of Czechoslovakia, they were following their historical wisdom: avoid war. War produces results far more horrible than you expected. War is a bad investment. It is not glorious. Don’t give anyone an excuse to start one.

In a few months, in early 1939, Hitler ordered the invasion of what is now the Czech Republic—that is, territory that was not German. Then it was obvious that a deal with him was worthless. And so when Bush recalls the unnamed senator who, in September 1939, lamented that he had not been able to talk to Hitler, he hits an easy target. But the moment of September 1939 is nothing like today.

And here's what appears today in the same space.

The narrative we're given about Munich is entirely in hindsight. We know what kind of man Hitler was, and that he started World War II in Europe. But in 1938 people knew a lot less. What Hitler was demanding at Munich was not unreasonable as a national claim (though he was making it in a last-minute, unreasonable way.) Germany's claim was that the areas of Europe that spoke German and thought of themselves as German be under German authority. In September 1938 the principal remaining area was the Sudetenland.

So the British and French let him have it. Their thought was: "Now you have your Greater Germany." They didn't want a war. They were not superpowers like the United States is now. They remembered the 1914-1918 war and how they almost lost it.

In a few months, in early 1939, Hitler ordered the invasion of what is now the Czech Republic—that is, territory that was not German. Then it was obvious that a deal with him was worthless--and the British and French did not appease Hitler any more. Thus the lesson of Munich: don't appease Hitlers.

But who else is a Hitler? If you paste that label on somebody it means they are cast out. You can't talk to them any more. And it has gotten pasted on quite a few national leaders over the years: Milosevic, Hussein, Ahmadinejad, et. al. In particular, to apply that label to the elected leaders of the Palestinians is to say that you aren't going to listen to their claims to a homeland. I think they do have a claim. So do the Israelis. In order to get anywhere, each side has to listen to the other. To continually bring up Hitler, the Nazis, the Munich Conference and “appeasement,” is to try to prolong the stalemate.

Notice -- a total re-write of what was there. A total whitewashing of his defense of Hitler and his praise of appeasement. The changes made are not minor editorial fixes like spelling, grammar and coherence -- they are a wholesale effort to obscure the defense of evil and the praise for its accommodation that had appeared in that space only a short time before.

Sorry, Mr. Ramsey -- this isn't 1984 and you don't get to send such stuff down the memory hole. You were caught -- and your response was to cover it up. And as you folks in the press like to remind us, the cover-up is worse than the initial offense.

H/T Ace, STACLU

Posted by: Greg at 02:19 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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And the equivalent of George Washington and the rest of the Founding Fathers.

However, I guess I missed the part about Washington doing anything like this back when I was earning my degree in history.

Military sources say a bomb that wounded two Canadian soldiers near Kandahar on Friday was carried by an 11-year-old boy and was detonated by remote control, killing the boy.

The two Canadian soldiers were not badly hurt, but the blast also struck two Afghan soldiers patrolling with them, one of whom later died.

The four soldiers were airlifted back to Kandahar Airfield for treatment after being attacked in the village of Nalgham, west of the city of Kandahar in southeastern Afghanistan.

Remote detonation of bombs strapped to children -- this new form of cowardice is a new low for the Qu'ran-inspired followers of the debased faith of the Islamists. Shameful -- utterly shameful.

Here's hoping that the Canadians and the Americans can quickly identify those responsible for this atrocity and dispatch them to the infernal reward reserved for them and their fellow jihadis.

Posted by: Greg at 01:50 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Everyone who reads this site with any regularity knows my opinion of Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

However, I take the position of the great Senator Thomas Hart Benton at this moment -- "When God Almighty lays his hand upon a man, sir, I take mine off, sir."

Such is my approach at this moment.

U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, a leading Democrat, was rushed to the hospital Saturday, according to multiple media reports.

CNN said Kennedy had the symptoms of a stroke, according to Reuters, but local affiliate WHDH said his illness was not disclosed.

Kennedy, 76, was taken to the hospital by medical air transport. Kennedy is the senateÂ’s second senior member.

The latest word I'm getting off of the television is that Kennedy has had some sort of seizure.

Political considerations and animosities go out the window right now.

The only thing that I have to offer is prayers for his recovery and his family.

Others commenting include Sister Toldjah, Ace, Gateway Pundit, Blogs for Victory

Posted by: Greg at 05:45 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Since the Democrats have rendered the FEC unable to act, they now argue that it is up to the candidates to suppress the free speech of American citizens.

Recently, Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain appealed to their donors to withhold money from these groups, saying they wanted to lift the tone of the fall campaign. They also want that money for themselves; itÂ’s a matter of simple self-interest for any candidate to corner all available donations. However, reining in the smear artists is the only truly convincing way to deliver on the endless vows for a cleaner, more uplifting campaign being heard from all the surviving candidates.

* * *

Since the Federal Election Commission has been rendered defunct by Congress, the hope for something better can be delivered only by the nominees themselves. Surely, a candidate for chief executive of the United States can be expected to show enough executive talent to confront and stifle his or her most out-of-control supporters.

Now wait just a minute here -- is it the position of the new York Times that only speech controlled by candidates or government agencies is uplifting or clean? What does that say of, for example, newspaper editorials or smear stories published by mainstream journaistic entities -- like, or instance, the New York Times. Is it possible that the logic of the editorial could require that there be regulation of the press by government and/or control of the press by presidential candidates?

Or might it be better seen as Exhibit A in the case against efforts to limit Americans exercising their rights under the First Amendment?

Posted by: Greg at 02:52 AM | Comments (28) | Add Comment
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Could you imagine the outrage if FOXNews or some conservative pundit wrote this column about how Hitler's demands and actions prior to the spring of 1939 were not outrageous?

Will the Left denounce this post by editorialist Bruce Ramsey? Will the writer be fired?

Democrats are rebuking President Bush for saying in his speech to the Knesset, here, that to “negotiate with terrorists and radicals” is “appeasement.” The Democrats took it as a slap at Barack Obama. What bothers me is the continual reference to Hitler and his National Socialists, particularly the British and French accommodation at the Munich Conference of 1938.

What Hitler was demanding was not unreasonable. He wanted the German-speaking areas of Europe under German authority. He had just annexed Austria, which was German-speaking, without bloodshed. There were two more small pieces of Germanic territory: the free city of Danzig and the Sudetenland, a border area of what is now the Czech Republic.

We live in an era when you do not change national borders for these sorts of reasons. But in 1938 it was different. Germany’s eastern and western borders had been redrawn 19 years before—and not to its benefit. In the democracies there was some sense of guilt with how Germany had been treated after World War I. Certainly there was a memory of the “Great War.” In 2008, we have entirely forgotten World War I, and how utterly unlike any conception of “The Good War” it was. When the British let Hitler have a slice of Czechoslovakia, they were following their historical wisdom: avoid war. War produces results far more horrible than you expected. War is a bad investment. It is not glorious. Don’t give anyone an excuse to start one.

In a few months, in early 1939, Hitler ordered the invasion of what is now the Czech Republic—that is, territory that was not German. Then it was obvious that a deal with him was worthless. And so when Bush recalls the unnamed senator who, in September 1939, lamented that he had not been able to talk to Hitler, he hits an easy target. But the moment of September 1939 is nothing like today.

And it is clear here that the writer has not learned the lessons of that era. It was precisely because the British and French gave in to his demands and violations of the Versailles Treaty that Hitler recognized that his further acts of aggression would go unpunished (Ed Morrissey offers a great analysis). As one of my students said recently as we studied these events -- "Why were those people so stupid, mister -- didn't they know that when you let a thug get what he wants he'll just come back for more?"

Which brings us back to the situation in Israel, and the fatuous argument that the editorialist uses to argue in favor of more negotiations for peace with the terrorists of the Palestinian Authority. From Day One, Israel was prepared to accept a two-state solution. It was the Arabs who rejected that arrangement and attempted to finish the job that Hitler started -- not just in 1948, but again in 1956, 1967, 1973, and in multiple terrorist attacks before and after each of those conflicts. Israel has gone so far as to offer the Palestinians 95% or more of the land that they have sought, only to have that offer thrown back in their faces. They have unilaterally withdrawn from Gaza -- uprooting every Jew from the region -- to give the terrorists a statelet of their own. The response has been ongoing terrorist attacks from within Gaza, directed at civilians. Where has talking with these terrorists -- seeking peace at any cost -- made any difference in the level of violence against Israel or improved peace and security in the region?

And just to remind the deranged author of this demented posting of the true situation in the Middle East, let me include a map for his consideration.

The only just claims that remain belong exclusively to Israel -- which must refuse demands from the rest of the world to continue to appease those who will not be satisfied until every Jew in the region is dead or expelled from the Promised Land.

H/T LGF, Sound Politics

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Posted by: Greg at 12:34 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Once again, the followers of the so-called Religion of Peace show their respect for the Religion of the Prince of Peace.

Unknown assailants detonated a bomb outside a Christian school in Gaza City before dawn Friday, causing no injuries.

The explosion was heard in surrounding neighborhoods at around 4 a.m. Damage was visible at the entrance to the Zahwa Rosary School, which is run by Catholic nuns but caters mainly to Muslim students.

Two nuns were in their convent adjacent to the school when the bomb went off, a school official said, and were shaken but unharmed. The official declined to be named, saying she was frightened by the incident and concerned for her safety.

The incident appeared to be the work of a poorly trained individual or group, she said - police told school officials that the bomb had been set incorrectly, and it caused little damage.

The bombing was the latest in a string of attacks on Christian institutions in the overwhelmingly Muslim territory. In the most serious attack, a local Christian activist was murdered in October. His killers have not been found.

Friday's bombing was not the first attack on the school run by the Rosary Sisters. The school was ransacked in June, 2007, along with the nuns' adjacent convent, during a week of intense fighting that ended with Hamas' seizure of power.

But not to worry – the boys from the Hamas security force are on the case – and are just as likely to catch and punish the perpetrators of this incident as they are those in the previous cases.

Oh, yeah – not one arrest has been made of one of the jihadis who has attacked kaffir institutions. I wonder why that is?

Posted by: Greg at 11:55 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Some recession weÂ’re in, donÂ’t you think? I wonder if George W. Bush gets credit for the economic recovery that is now happening on his watch?

Construction of new homes posted the biggest increase in more than two years in April. While it was a rare spot of good news for the housing market, analysts said it's far too soon to declare an end to the prolonged slump.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that housing construction rose by 8.2 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.03 million units. Building of single-family homes continued to weaken, however. The growth came from a big jump in apartment construction.

Analysts predicted the surprising rebound in April would be temporary given the headwinds builders are still confronting, from slumping sales to soaring home foreclosures.

Of course, the press doesnÂ’t want to let the good news go unanswered.

A second report Friday showed that consumer confidence as measured by the University of Michigan/Reuters survey fell to a 28-year low of 59.5 in early May, down from 62.6 in April. The drop was blamed in part on rising concerns about higher gas and food prices.

And after all, if you keep being told by the press how bad things really are, you will soon really start to lose confidence in the economy – so they have to make sure that they do their best to minimize the economic good news and highlight the bad. Somehow I don’t remember that approach during the Clinton recession of 2000 – where every bit of bad news was bolstered with something good or somehow minimized, even though we weren’t on our way out of it. Not that I’m claiming media bias or anything….

Posted by: Greg at 11:51 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Matt at LoneStarTimes notes these “per gallon” costs of various products – something which puts current gas prices in perspective.

• Houston Municipal Water: 1,000 gallons for $2.95 = 0.3 cents per gallon.


• Coca-Cola Classic: 24 16.9-ounce bottles for $11.12 = $3.51 per gallon.


• Regular Unleaded Gasoline: $3.60 per gallon.


• Pine-Sol: 1.36-gallon jug for $7.49 = $5.51 per gallon.


• Olde English 800 Malt Liquor: 12 40-ounce bottles for $24.19 = $6.45 per gallon.


• FrenchÂ’s Classic Yellow Mustard: Two 30-ounce bottles for $3.87 = $8.26 per gallon.


• Rotella 15W-40 Motor Oil: 55-gallon drum for $467 = $8.49 per gallon.


• Jalapeno Nacho Cheese: Four 140-ounce bags for $42.33 = $9.68 per gallon.


• Mazola Corn Oil: 2.5-gallon jug for $26.88 = $10.75 per gallon.


• Red Bull Energy Drink: 24 8.3-ounce cans for $31.18 = $20.04 per gallon.


• Jagermeister Herbal Liqueur: Six 1.75-liter bottles for $230.23 = $83.00 per gallon.


• Glade Plug-In Scented Oil Refills: 3.55 ounces for $8.88 = $320.18 per gallon.


• Chanel No. 5 Eau de Parfum: 3.5 ounces for $95.00. = $3,474.29 per gallon.

So, my friends, as you are standing there pumping your gas drinking that Red Bull, ask yourselves why you are more outraged at pump price than the price of your drink at the vending machine.

Posted by: Greg at 11:36 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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LetÂ’s look at this statement from the words of the false messiah, Barack Obama.

And back during his “No Surrender” tour, John McCain said anyone who wants to end the war in Iraq responsibly wants to surrender; he even said later on that he would be ok keeping troops in Iraq for 100 years, but yesterday he said our troops could be home by 2013. He offered the promise that America will win a victory, with no understanding that Iraq is fighting a civil war.

LetÂ’s take this one apart it bit by bit.

1. “John McCain said anyone who wants to end the war in Iraq responsibly wants to surrender” – Well, not really. What he said is that anyone who wants to follow a cut-and-run strategy like has been proposed by most of the Democrats wants to surrender – a perfectly reasonable statement, because following such a policy would have the effect of granting our enemy all of their military aims.

2. “he even said later on that he would be ok keeping troops in Iraq for 100 years” – Well, Obama is sort of telling the truth there. John McCain did outline a scenario in which he could envision US troops being based in Iraq for a century – much like they have been based in Japan and Germany for the last six decades, and under similar circumstances. In other words, while he stated something factual, he presented it in a manner that constitutes a dishonest and deceptive falsehood.

3. “but yesterday he said our troops could be home by 2013.” – Not exactly. He said most of them would be home from Iraq – a statement precisely in line with the actual meaning of the statement that Obama just got done criticizing. In other words, another lie by the extremely junior senator from Illinois.

4. “He offered the promise that America will win a victory,” – True, just as it is true that you have repeatedly offered a promise of defeat and disgrace.

5. “with no understanding that Iraq is fighting a civil war.” – Senator, John McCain has forgotten more about war than you have ever known. And you seem not to have noticed that America’s allies are doing quite well – and that we are seeing day by day that this is not really a civil war, but rather a proxy war being waged against the US and the Iraqi government by the government of Iran. You know, the same Iran that you want to talk to without preconditions, such as an end to their supplying weapons to those who are killing American troops.

Frankly, this speech makes it really clear that Barack Obama has no hesitation about lying to achieve any goal, about libeling an American hero to increase his own chances of political victory, and about surrendering to our nationÂ’s enemies. That should make it clear that he is unfit for any public office, much less the highest elected position in the United States.

By the way -- NRO's Andrew McCarthy asks a great question (H/T Hube>.

Can Somebody Explain to Me ...

... how Obama sat in Wright's church for 20 years and managed never to hear anything, but hears 20 seconds of a Bush speech that doesn't mention him and perceives a shameful personal attack?

Especially since the description does, in fact, fit Jimmy Carter so much better.

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And I'm sure that the church/state separationists in this country are cheering his efforts on as he seeks to intimidate religious leaders and believers in his effort to continue his left-wing dictatorship in Zimbabwe.

The parishioners were lined up for Holy Communion on Sunday when the riot police stormed the stately St. Francis Anglican Church in Harare, ZimbabweÂ’s capital. Helmeted, black-booted officers banged on the pews with their batons as terrified members of the congregation stampeded for the doors, witnesses said.

A policeman swung his stick in vicious arcs, striking matrons, a girl and a grandmother who had bent over to pick up a Bible dropped in the melee. A lone housewife began singing from a hymn in Shona, “We will keep worshiping no matter the trials!” Hundreds of women, many dressed in the Anglican Mothers’ Union uniform of black skirt, white shirt and blue headdress, lifted their voices to join hers.

Beneath their defiance, though, lay raw fear as the country’s ruling party stepped up its campaign of intimidation ahead of a presidential runoff. In a conflict that has penetrated ever deeper into Zimbabwe’s social fabric, the party has focused on a growing roster of groups that elude its direct control — a list that includes the Anglican diocese of Harare, as well as charitable and civic organizations, trade unions, teachers, independent election monitors and the political opposition.

Anglican leaders and parishioners said in interviews that the church was not concerned with politics and that it counted people from both the ruling party and the opposition in its congregations. Yet the ruling party appears to have decided that only Anglicans who follow Nolbert Kunonga — a renegade bishop in Harare who is a staunch ally of President Robert Mugabe — are allowed to hold services.

Over the past three Sundays, the police have interrogated Anglican priests and lay leaders, arrested and beaten parishioners and locked thousands of worshipers out of dozens of churches.

We who follow Christ need to pray for these persecuted brothers and sister.

Just remember -- standing for the truth of Christ in this day and age in many parts of the world is a dangerous today as in the first century. And there are those today who want to make that as true in America and the rest of the Western world as it is in Zimbabwe -- or Saudi Arabia. Just look at Canada if you want an example.

Posted by: Greg at 10:52 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Michelle Malkin and others note this act of treasonous sabotage on two military aircraft.

Two military helicopters were vandalized on the production line at a Boeing factory near Philadelphia, the Defense Department said Thursday as it offered a reward.

Federal officials handed out fliers to workers at the Boeing Rotorcraft Systems plant listing a $5,000 reward for information leading to whomever damaged the two H-47 Chinook helicopters.

"We have determined that this was a deliberate act and not an accident," said Ken Maupin, an agent with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, at a news conference outside the plant.

He said 10 agents were investigating, but he would not comment on specifics or what led to the determination that it was vandalism.

The Chinook is the Army's workhorse aircraft and is used to move troops and supplies. Boeing is producing new Chinooks for the Army, as well as updating older models. The military has not grounded any helicopters now in use.

A production line at the plant has not been fully functional since Tuesday, when two workers found what the company called irregularities in the helicopters.

There are no surveillance cameras on the production line, said Jack Satterfield, a company spokesman.

U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak has said he was told that broken or severed wires were found in one helicopter and that a suspicious washer was found in a second. Maupin described the washer as being in a place it shouldn't.

"You have a large number of workers here at this point and one or more that was the problem," Maupin said. "The majority of the people here are hardworking, loyal Americans, and many of them are veterans. They want to find (those responsible) as much as we do."

U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said he was comfortable with the conclusion the damage was done deliberately.

These are things that could kill our men and women in uniform -- and which impair their readiness for combat by delaying the arrival no needed weapons into combat zones. I'm sure that this is one of the folks who thinks they are "supporting the troops" by interfering with their getting what they need to kill the enemy -- and I hope that the bastard(s) involved find themselves spending a great deal of time in prison when they are caught.

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No, not that Rocket Man.

This Rocket Man!

Some people go fishing on their day off. Yves Rossy likes to jump out of a small plane with a pair of jet-powered wings and perform figure eights above the Swiss Alps.

Rossy, 48, made his first public flight with his self-made flying contraption in front of the world press Wednesday, after five years of training and many more years of dreaming.

"This flight was absolutely excellent," the former fighter pilot and extreme sports enthusiast said after touching down on an airfield near the eastern shore of Lake Geneva.

Reports indicate that Rossy got up to 186 MPH. I don't know about you, but that sure impresses the hell out of me.

He also note that his safety secret is "altitude". And I'd have to agree -- at 186 MPH there is no room for error.

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It dates to 46 BC, making it the oldest depiction of the Roman Consul that we have.

The life-sized bust showing the Roman ruler with wrinkles and hollows in his face is tentatively dated to 46 B.C. Divers uncovered the Caesar bust and a collection of other finds in the Rhone near the town of Arles — founded by Caesar.

Among other items in the treasure trove of ancient objects is a 5.9 foot marble statue of Neptune, dated to the first decade of the third century after Christ.

Two smaller statues, both in bronze and measuring 27.5 inches each also were found, one of them, a satyr with his hands tied behind his back, "doubtless" originated in Hellenic Greece, the ministry said.

"Some (of the discoveries) are unique in Europe," Culture Minister Christine Albanel said. The bust of Caesar is in a class by itself.

"This marble bust of the founder of the Roman city of Arles constitutes the most ancient representation known today of Caesar," the ministry statement said, adding that it "undoubtedly" dates to the creation of Arles in 46 B.C.

No other depiction of the Roman leader is known to date from his lifetime -- making this potentially the only depiction of him w have made by someone who actually saw him in life. That means that this face is potentially the most accurate view of how he actually appeared -- allowing us to put a face with the name we have heard since our childhood.

Posted by: Greg at 10:33 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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After all, Howard Dean has said that McCain's age is not an issue for the Democrats. Will he demand that Obama's campaign surrogates stop trying to make it one?

"McAncient" was produced by the Organizing Group, a Democratic consulting firm run by longtime AFL-CIO political operative Steve Rosenthal. It's the same group that produced a video earlier this year on McCain's age and maintains a website called "Younger Than McCain". (Boston-based playwright John J. King is the lyricist and vocalist for the song.)

McCain's campaign has been vigilant about seeking to keep discussion of the candidate's age outside of the sphere of acceptable campaign discourse; when Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) recently said that McCain had "lost his bearings" during an interview with CNN, the Arizona senator's campaign immediately released a tart rebuke from senior adviser Mark Salter -- is there any other kind? -- that accused Obama of purposely injecting age into the race.

While Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has said his party will not make McCain's age an issue in the campaign, groups like Rosenthal's seem set on doing so.

We want to hear from you. Is McCain's age fair game in the fall campaign? Why or why not?

And here is the reprehensible video seeking to undermine an American hero who has made a lifetime of serving the United States in favor of an unqualified, inexperienced candidate who has spent more time serving himself.

Seem pretty sad that they have to try to make McCain's age an issue because Barack Obama has no accomplishments to trumpet.

Posted by: Greg at 10:24 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The folks at the Texas Department of Transportation are well known for their ability to waste as much money as they spend on their legislative mandates -- building Roads.

The fine folks at EmpowerTexans.org offer up this tribute to bureaucrats at their best(?).

Posted by: Greg at 10:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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If there is a 60-inch plasma screen television just beyond the edge of this picture?

H/T Lucianne.com

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Who will make it first, now that the Russians and Europeans are looking at a joint venture?

Russia and Europe are teaming up to build a spaceship which will fly astronauts to the moon, Russia said on Wednesday, although the European Space Agency struck a more cautious note.

The first test flight is set for 2015 and the first manned flight is planned for 2018, Russian space agency Roskosmos said.

"The European Space Agency (ESA) and Roskosmos both have the technologies and unique experience in designing various space systems to be able to create jointly a hi-tech vehicle," Roskosmos said on its website (www.roscosmos.ru).
"(This would) enable us to carry crews of up to six people to near-earth and lunar orbits." Roskosmos said the craft would allow "expeditions to the moon" but did not say whether landings were envisaged.

This would, of course, mean that there are multiple lunar programs – the planned US return to the moon, this Russian/European venture, the Red Chinese, the Indians – and we will have an honest-to-God space race on our hands. Anyone want to see about getting the private sector involved to beat the all?

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We recently studied WWII in my world history classes, and even the least gifted of my students understood the fact that the policy of appeasement adopted by Great Britain and France prior to the war served only to embolden Hitler.

President Bush made that point in a speech before the Knesset – thought I wish he and the State Department would remember it when insisting that Israel negotiate with the leaders of the Terrorstinian Anarchy.

ABC News' Ed O'Keefe Reports: The Obama campaign is taking issue with a comment President Bush made while speaking to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel's statehood.

"Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along," the President said to the country's legislative body, "We have heard this foolish delusion before.

As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is –- the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."

And true to his thin-skinned nature, Barack Obama and his campaign went ballistic.

Responding with a statement, the Obama campaign seized on Bush's remarks even as it was unclear to whom Bush was referring.

"It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence to launch a false political attack," Obama said in the statement. "George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the president's extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel."

The White House said Bush's comment wasn't a reference to Obama.

"It is not," press secretary Dana Perino told reporters in Israel. "I would think that all of you who cover these issues and have for a long time have known that there are many who have suggested these types of negotiations with people that the president, President Bush, thinks that we should not talk to. I understand when you're running for office you sometimes think the world revolves around you. That is not always true. And it is not true in this case."

Message for Obama: THE UNIVERSE DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND URANUS!

And showing themselves equally unfit for leadership, several other Democrat unworthies teed off as well.

First, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Rahm Emmanuel.

Democratic House leaders are calling out President Bush for a speech in Israel in which he seemed to suggest that Sen. Barack Obama wants the United States to "negotiate with terrorists."

In his speech,~Bush said: “Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along."

The White House insists that Bush was "referring to a wide range of people, not any single person." But Obama's campaign says it appeared to be a swipe at him, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that Bush's remarks were "beneath the dignity of the office of the president and unworthy of our representation" at the celebration of Israel's 60th anniversary.

Referring to Sen. John McCain, Pelosi said: "I would hope that any serious person that aspires to lead the country, would disassociate themselves from those comments.”

As Pelosi was speaking, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel issued a statement in which he said: "The tradition has always been that when a U.S. president is overseas, partisan politics stops at the water's edge. President Bush has now taken that principle and turned it on its head: for this White House, partisan politics now begins at the water’s edge, no matter the seriousness and gravity of the occasion. Does the president have no shame?”

Interesting, isnÂ’t it, that anyone as associated with Bill Clinton as Rahm Emmanuel was would ever talk about someone having no shame.

And then there is the eloquent response from Joe Biden.

Sen. Joe Biden, piling on to Democratic complaints about President BushÂ’s speech in Israel today:

“This is bullshit, this is malarkey. This is outrageous, for the president of the United States to go to a foreign country, to sit in the Knesset . . . and make this kind of ridiculous statement.”

So much for lifting the level of our national political dialogue. And I certainly hope that this statement ends any discussion we hear about the temper and language of John McCain.

John Kerry also had some silly, comments about the issue -- but he hasn't had anything to say that merited serious consideration since he confessed to committing war crimes during Vietnam.

And interestingly enough, none of them wishes to consider the fundamental truth of the statement that President made – there are some enemies with whom we should not – and cannot – talk to make matters all better. There are those to whom only military force can make the point.

And the Democrats – with the exception of Joe Lieberman – apparently wish to ignore that point. that George W. Bush was making. It is pretty clear, then, that Barack Obama and the rest of the Democrats are doomed to repeat it.

H/T Gateway Pundit

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And John McCain has spelled it out in todayÂ’s speech on the issue.

By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq War has been won. Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension. Violence still occurs, but it is spasmodic and much reduced. Civil war has been prevented; militias disbanded; the Iraqi Security Force is professional and competent; al-Qaeda in Iraq has been defeated; and the Government of Iraq is capable of imposing its authority in every province of Iraq and defending the integrity of its borders. The United States maintains a military presence there, but a much smaller one, and it
does not play a direct combat role.

The threat from a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan has been greatly reduced but not eliminated. U.S. and NATO forces remain there to help finish the job, and continue operations against the remnants of al Qaeda. The Government of Pakistan has cooperated with the U.S. in successfully adapting the counterinsurgency tactics that worked so well in Iraq and Afghanistan to its lawless tribal areas where al Qaeda fighters are based. The increase in actionable intelligence that the counterinsurgency produced led to the capture or death of Osama bin Laden, and his chief lieutenants. There is no longer any place in the world al Qaeda can consider a safe haven. Increased cooperation between the United States and its allies in the concerted use of military,
diplomatic, and economic power and reforms in the intelligence capabilities of the United States has disrupted terrorist networks and exposed plots around the world. There still has not been a major terrorist attack in the United States since September 11, 2001.

The United States and its allies have made great progress in advancing nuclear security. Concerted action by the great democracies of the world has persuaded a reluctant Russia and China to cooperate in pressuring Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, and North Korea to discontinue its own. The single greatest threat facing the West — the prospect of nuclear materials in the hands of terrorists — has been vastly diminished.

The size of the Army and Marine Corps has been significantly increased, and are now better equipped and trained to defend us. Long overdue reforms to the way we acquire weapons programs, including fixed price contracts, have created sufficient savings to pay for a larger military. A substantial increase in veterans educational benefits and improvements in their health care has aided recruitment and retention. The strain on the National Guard and reserve forces has been relieved.

After efforts to pressure the Government in Sudan over Darfur failed again in the U.N. Security Council, the United States, acting in concert with a newly formed League of Democracies, applied stiff diplomatic and economic pressure that caused the government of Sudan to agree to a multinational peacekeeping force, with NATO countries providing logistical and air support, to stop the genocide that had made a mockery of the world’s repeated declaration that we would “never again” tolerant such inhumanity. Encouraged by the success, the League is now occupied with using the economic power and prestige of its member states to end other gross abuses of human rights such as the despicable crime of human trafficking.

The United States has experienced several years of robust economic growth, and Americans again have confidence in their economic future. A reduction in the corporate tax rate from the second highest in the world to one on par with our trading partners; the low rate on capital gains; allowing business to deduct in a single year investments in equipment and technology, while eliminating tax loopholes and ending corporate welfare, have spurred innovation and productivity, and encouraged companies to keep their operations and jobs in the United States. The Alternate Minimum Tax is being phased out, with relief provided first to middle income families. Doubling the size of the child exemption has put more disposable income in the hands of taxpayers, further stimulating growth.

Congress has just passed by a single up or down vote a tax reform proposal that offers Americans a choice of continuing to file under the rules of the current complicated and burdensome tax code or use a new, simpler, fairer and flatter tax, with two rates and a generous deduction. Millions of taxpayers are expected to file under the flat tax, and save billions in the cost of preparing their returns.
After exercising my veto several times in my first year in office, Congress has not sent me an appropriations bill containing earmarks for the last three years. A top to bottom review of every federal bureaucracy has yielded great reductions in government spending by identifying programs that serve no important purpose; and instigating far reaching reforms of procurement and operating policies that have for too long extravagantly wasted money for no better purpose than to increase federal payrolls.

New free trade agreements have been ratified and led to substantial increases in both exports and imports. The resulting growth in prosperity in countries from South America to Asia to Africa has greatly strengthened AmericaÂ’s security and the global progress of our political ideals. U.S. tariffs on agricultural imports have been eliminated and unneeded farm subsidies are being phased out. The world food crisis has ended, inflation is low, and the quality of life not only in our country, but in some of the most impoverished countries around the world is much improved.

Americans, who through no fault of their own, lost jobs in the global economy they once believed were theirs for life, are assisted by reformed unemployment insurance and worker retraining programs. Older workers who accept lower paying jobs while they acquire new skills are provided assistance to make up a good part of the income they have lost. Community colleges and technical schools all over the country have developed worker retraining programs suited to the specific economic opportunities available in their communities and are helping millions of workers who have lost a job that wonÂ’t come back find a new one that wonÂ’t go away.

Public education in the United States is much improved thanks to the competition provided by charter and private schools; the increase of quality teachers through incentives like merit pay and terrific programs that attract to the classroom enthusiastic and innovative teachers from many disciplines, like Teach for America and Troops to Teachers. Educational software and online teaching programs endorsed by qualified non profits are much more widely in use, bringing to the smallest classrooms in America some of the greatest math, English, and science teachers in the country. This revolution in teaching methods has especially benefited rural America. Test scores and graduation rates are rising everywhere in the country.

Health care has become more accessible to more Americans than at any other time in history. Reforms of the insurance market; putting the choice of health care into the hands of American families rather than exclusively with the government or employers; walk in clinics as alternatives to emergency room care; paying for outcome in the treatment of disease rather than individual procedures; and competition in the prescription drug market have begun to wring out the runaway inflation once endemic in our health care system. More small businesses offer their employees health plans. Schools have greatly improved their emphasis on physical education and nutritional content of meals offered in school cafeterias. Obesity rates among the young and the disease
they engender are stabilized and beginning to decline. The federal government and states have cooperated in establishing backstop insurance pools that provide coverage to people hard pressed to find insurance elsewhere because of pre-existing illness.

The reduction in the growth of health care costs has begun to relieve some of the pressure on Medicare; encouraging Congress to act in a bipartisan way to extend its solvency for twenty-five years without increasing taxes and raising premiums only for upper income seniors. Their success encouraged a group of congressional leaders from both parties to work with my administration to fix Social Security as well, without reducing benefits to those near retirement. The reforms include some form of personal retirement accounts in safe and reliable index funds, such as have been available to government employees since their retirement plans were made solvent a quarter century ago.

The United States is well on the way to independence from foreign sources of oil; progress that has not only begun to alleviate the environmental threat posed from climate change, but has greatly improved our security as well. A cap and trade system has been implemented, spurring great innovation in the development of green technologies and alternative energy sources. Clean coal technology has advanced considerably with federal assistance. Construction has begun on twenty new nuclear reactors thanks to improved incentives and a streamlined regulatory process.

Scores of judges have been confirmed to the federal district and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, who understand that they were not sent there to write our laws but to enforce them and make sure they are consistent with the Constitution. They are judges of exceptional character and quality, who enforce and do not make laws, and who respect the values of the people whose rights, laws and property they are sworn to defend.

Border state governors have certified and the American people recognize that after tremendous improvements to border security infrastructure and increases in the border patrol, and vigorous prosecution of companies that employ illegal aliens, our southern border is now secure. Illegal immigrants who broke our laws after they came here have been arrested and deported. Illegal immigration has been finally brought under control, and the American people accepted the practical necessity to institute a temporary worker program and deal humanely with the millions of immigrants who have been in this country illegally.

Voluntary national service has grown in popularity in part because of the educational benefits used as incentives, as well as frequent appeals from the bully pulpit of the White House, but mostly because the young Americans, no less than earlier generations, understand that true happiness is much greater than the pursuit of pleasure, and can only be found by serving causes greater than self-interest. Scores of accomplished private sector leaders have joined the ranks of my administration for a dollar a year and have instituted some of the most innovative reforms of government programs ever known, often in partnership with willing private sector partners. A sense of community, a kinship of ideals, has invigorated public service again.

Is it perfect? Is it everything I want? No, it isn’t – but it is the best I’m likely to see after the current electoral cycle. That’s why I’m backing John McCain.

H/T MVRWC

Posted by: Greg at 11:13 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I suspect this one will end up helping John McCain in a number of states in the fall – after all, we know that Barack Obama will select judges who will follow the California reasoning if elected.

Gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry in California, the state Supreme Court said today in a historic ruling that could be repudiated by the voters in November.

In a 4-3 decision, the justices said the state's ban on same-sex marriage violates the "fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship." The ruling is likely to flood county courthouses with applications from couples newly eligible to marry when the decision takes effect in 30 days.

The ruling set off a celebration at San Francisco City Hall. As the decision came down, out-of-breath staff members ran into the mayor's office where Gavin Newsom read the decision.

I find it rather shocking that, given the pending vote on a state constitutional amendment to ban homosexual marriage, the justices (and I use that term loosely) didn't stay the decision until the people had the opportunity to speak on the issue in November.

But even more worrisome in my book is that there is some real slippery language in this opinion – that “fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship” could just as easily morph into the reasoning that supports overturning laws defining marriage as a monogamous institution. After all, there is no logical basis for denying such marriages if such a “fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship” exists – and given that there is significantly more precedent for it in Western society AND at least one major world religion that still practices polygamy today, there is even less of a rational basis to allow that limitation under the Constitution.

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Sadly, our party leaders have moved away from its values over the last few years. And I agree with Doug Ross that the time has come for us to remind them that we, the grassroots, are the GOP -- and to push for the reestablishment of the party based upon our principles.

The tenets:

STRENGTHEN NATIONAL DEFENSE - increase the size, capability and efficiency of our Armed Forces, bringing back our defense spending to historical levels as percentage of GDP.

GAIN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE - open up ANWR and the OCS to exploration; aggressively pursue nuclear energy and green technologies; and incent private industry to aggressively pursue clean, renewable energy sources.

SECURE THE BORDERS - build physical barriers immediately as a precursor to an overarching, sensible immigration policy. If the boat's sinking, you plug the holes first.

DEATH TO EARMARKS - zero tolerance for earmarks.

DEATH TO CORRUPTION - zero tolerance for corruption.

ENGLISH AS NATIONAL LANGUAGE - national unity requires a national language. That language is English.

IMPLEMENT FLAT TAX OR FAIR TAX - simplify the tax system by eradicating a tax code gone mad.

REDUCE SIZE OF GOVERNMENT - provide "whistleblower-style" awards for reducing the size of government and task the IRS (which will no longer have to worry about enforcing the tax code) with achieving the reduction goals on an annual basis

SPUR HEALTHCARE COMPETITION - Address health-care deficiencies - with competitive, free-market solutions, not Government largesse.

ADDRESS ENTITLEMENTS - engage a bipartisan consortium to create a multi-million dollar competition to incent teams from private industry and academia to create solutions for our social security and Medicare liabilities.

This should not be a platform. It should be a promise -- an ironclad commitment -- to voters.

Now we can argue and dispute over how best to implement some of these points. And we can even disagree among ourselves about the relative importance of some of them. And yes, some of us may disagree on a point or two, while holding to the overall thrust of this plan of governance. But it is important that we have a clear platform and policy commitment within our party -- much as we did 14 years ago with the Contract With America. That is the recipe for success.

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I have to tell you -- I am not a particular fan of Phyllis Schlafly, even when I agree with her on the issues. I think her rhetoric is often too extreme, and some of the positions she takes wrong. But love her or hate her, she has been one of the most influential women in American political life for the last half century -- and it is appropriate that her alma mater honor her with an honorary degree, even if some whiny political opponents disagree.

Washington University Chancellor Mark Wrighton sent an e-mail to the university community this afternoon in which he apologized for the anguish that the university's decision to honor Phyllis Schlafly has caused for many people.

But he said that after consulting with the Board of Trustees, the university has decided to fulfill its commitment to award her the honorary degree. Wrighton noted that the school's long-standing process for awarding honorary degrees was followed. Schlafly was nominated by a community member. Her nomination was reviewed by the board's honorary degree committee, which includes faculty, students, trustees and administrators. Schlafly, along with the other nominees, were then unanimously recommended to the board. The board voted to award her the degree at its May 2007 meeting.

I'm glad that the University decided not to give in to the anguish-mongers. After all, anyone "anguished" over the decision to give an honorary degree to a political activist has to be pretty weak mentally and emotionally -- and I'd suggest is probably unfit to be either a student or faculty member in a university setting due to their inability to tolerate views that differ from their own. After all, what about the concept of diversity, and of the free exchange and discussion of divergent ideas and points of view?

But I think the most important part of this article comes at the end -- and involves someone whose politics I've not always agreed with but whom I have admired since I met her 20 years ago when I was doing a brief internship with the ACLU in St. Louis as a part of a graduate program (it is a long story -- and let it suffice for now to say that i requested the placement).

He said that at Friday's commencement, trustee emeritus Margaret Bush Wilson has volunteered to read the citation to award the degree to Schlalfy.

"As the first woman of color to serve as the national chair of the NAACP, the second woman of color admitted to practice law in Missouri, and as a prominent St. Louis civil rights attorney for more than 40 years, she provides a strong voice for the importance of tolerance and discourse as hallmarks of the Washington University community," Wrighton said.

Bravo for Margaret Bush Wilson, who is teaching a valuable lesson by her decision to read the degree citation. An unabashed opponent of much of what Schlafly stands for, she is recognizes that suppression of one side of the debate and closing it off from discussion and recognition is a betrayal of the University's mission -- and of American values.

And to the anguish-mongers who tried to revoke this honorary degree, I offer this point for consideration -- we conservatives have been offended for decades by the honorary degrees offered to your fellow left-wingers and to undistinguished entertainers and trendoids who mouth liberal platitudes. We have, however, respected the process and not demanded a political litmus test be imposed to meet our objections. Why don't you grow up and do the same?

Posted by: Greg at 10:45 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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But then again, this is no surprise. Barack Obama couldn't even support legislation requiring that victims of a failed abortion receive medical treatment if they are born alive. He believes that when a woman pays for a dead baby, she is entitled to a dead baby -- even if that means letting it die through what would constitute criminal abuse and neglect in any other situation. Why wouldn't the modern-day priests and priestesses of Moloch support him?

Democrat Barack Obama has won the endorsement of NARAL Pro-Choice America, a leading abortion rights advocacy organization that has supported rival Hillary Rodham Clinton throughout her political career.

The organization announced the endorsement of its political action committee on Wednesday.

"Pro-choice Americans have been fortunate to have two strong pro-choice candidates in Senator Obama and Senator Clinton, both of whom have inspired millions of new voters to participate in this historic presidential race," NARAL president Nancy Keenan said in a statement. "Today, we are proud to put our organization's grass-roots and political support behind the pro-choice candidate whom we believe will secure the Democratic nomination and advance to the general election. That candidate is Senator Obama."

So just remember -- Obama considers those of us who hold fast to our religion, the Second Amendment, and border security to be bad people who are not good Americans -- but those who rip the unborn from the womb as welcome supporters.

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Face it -- we Americans have always known that John Edwards is an opportunistic little weasel. He lacked the testicular fortitude to make an endorsement early on -- because he wanted to play both sides for the biggest payoff possible in terms of a position in the administration.

Now, as Obama has things nearly wrapped up but has hit a stumbling block, in rides the Breck Girl with his coveted endorsement to save the day!

Democrat John Edwards endorsed former rival Barack Obama on Wednesday, a move designed to help solidify support for the party's likely presidential nominee even as Hillary Rodham Clinton refuses to give up her long-shot candidacy.

Edwards made a surprise appearance with Obama in Grand Rapids, Mich., as the Illinois senator campaigns in a critical general election battleground state.

The endorsement came a day after Clinton defeated Obama by more than 2-to-1 in the West Virginia primary. The loss highlighted Obama's challenge in winning over the "Hillary Democrats" — white, working-class voters who also supported Edwards in significant numbers before he exited the race in late January.

Edwards, who received a thunderous ovation when Obama introduced him to a crowd of several thousand, said, "brothers and sisters, we must come together as Democrats" to defeat McCain. "We are here tonight because the Democratic voters have made their choice, and so have I."

I wonder what Edwards gets out of this. Will he be Attorney General? Or Obama's VP? Or will he be the first ambulance chasing trial lawyer to be confirmed to the Supreme Court, despite his lack of judicial experience or a record of substantive legal scholarship? Here's hoping we never find out.

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Talk about the potential for a real partisan realignment – Don Surber notes this post from Washington Times political reporter Christina Bellantoni.

A new Rasmussen Reports poll shows that 29 percent of Democrats would support Sen. Hillary Clinton running as an independent in the fall:

Thirty-eight percent (38%) of Democratic voters nationwide now believe that Hillary Clinton should drop out of the race for the White House. That's up slightly from 34% in late April, 32% earlier in April and 22% in late March.

p>However, if Clinton does not win the Democratic Party nomination, 29% of Democrats say she should run an Independent campaign for the White House. Sixty-one percent (61%) of Democrats disagree. Clinton supporters are evenly divided on the question.

Surber takes it a bit further with the following analysis.

The main reason she took West Virginia by 41 points is that it is the oldest state in the nation (average age 38.9). You toss in Florida (38.7) and Pennsylvania (3 , add her home states of Arkansas and New York, and she starts with 90 Electoral College votes.

She beat Obama by 8 in California, by 9 in Ohio, and by 10 in New Jersey. ThatÂ’s another 90 Electoral College votes.

Clinton would be trouble for McCain in Texas, especially if the Bushes continue to cold-shoulder McCain. That could bring her up to 214.

Without Texas and Florida, McCain is dead.

Without California, Obama is dead.

And with 214 Electoral College votes at the starting gate, an independent run by Clinton is viable.

Running mate? Joe Lieberman.

Let’s be honest – this is a formidable ticket if it were to happen. Given her growth on the campaign trail, some of us on the Right have come to appreciate – if not agree with – Hillary Clinton. And the addition of Joe Lieberman to such a ticket would mollify a great many folks in the Center and on the Right. That could create a situation where we would have a WINNING independent candidate – and a true realignment of America’s politics.

Posted by: Greg at 09:19 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Because we know that the local shopping mall is critical to the defense of the country.

A rocket fired from Gaza exploded in a shopping center in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on Wednesday, wounding at least 14 people, rescue officials said.

At least two women and one girl were seriously wounded and several other people were slightly hurt, said Leah Malul, an official at Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.

The Magen David Adom rescue service said 14 people were wounded — three seriously — and all the casualties had been evacuated from the site of the attack.

Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on its Web site.

Got that, US State Department? Who claimed responsibility? ISLAMIC JIHAD. Two of the words on your index of forbidden words in the war on terror. I suppose we could call them [DELETED] [DELETED], but it would make it difficult to distinguish it from all the other [DELETED] terrorist groups that claim to be waging [DELETED] against the US and Israel in the name of [DELETED].

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Some jihadis are simply too cowardly to blow themselves up. They have to strap a bomb to a little girl and detonate her remotely to demonstrate their commitment to the false Allah of the false prophet Muhammad.

An eight-year-old girl strapped with explosives has blown up and killed an Iraqi army captain.

The bomb was detonated by remote control, injuring four soldiers in addition to the one who died, an Iraqi Army spokesman said.

And these are the folks that so many of our “patriotic” leftists compare favorably to our troops and our elected leaders. I guess that shows what sort of human beings – what sort of patriots – they really are.

But I suppose I can understand the decision to use a little girl as the vehicle for their bomb. I understand that it is the custom of the jihadis to send the one with the biggest penis to do the job.

Posted by: Greg at 09:15 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I’m going to side with South Dakota on this one. Ensuring that entry to and exit from polling places is not interfered with is a legitimate state interest – and subjecting pollsters to the same distance restrictions as campaign workers is a legitimate way of doing so.

The three major networks, CNN, Fox News and the Associated Press filed a lawsuit yesterday asking a federal judge to strike down a South Dakota law that prevents exit polling within 100 feet of a voting place.

The law violates the First Amendment because it restricts the news organizationsÂ’ speech and commentary about the political process and limits their opportunities to gather information about that process, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Sioux Falls, asks that the case be handled quickly because South DakotaÂ’s primary election is June 3, just three weeks away. It seeks a preliminary ruling before the primary to prevent South Dakota officials from barring exit polling within 100 feet of polling places.

Now let’s consider the practical impact of undoing this rule. Pollsters could come up to the door of the polling place, asking questions and soliciting answers to polling questions – leading to voters hearing the answers and, effectively, being subject to electioneering conversations. The distance regulation imposes a minimal restriction upon them, and one that does not burden the exercise of their rights any more than it does the rights of those engaged in political speech to campaign for the candidate of their choice.

As such, the lawsuit should fail.

Posted by: Greg at 09:14 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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IÂ’ve received a couple of emails from folks wondering why I havenÂ’t commented upon the humanitarian crisis in Burma. Let me offer a response publicly about why I have been unable to muster the public outrage to comment upon the inhumanity shown by the Burmese government towards the Burmese people.

What we have in Burma (and I refuse to call it by the name imposed by the military dictators) is the natural outcome of any totalitarian dictatorship. The lives of the people are not of interest to the leadership of such regimes – control is. That is why the junta will not allow significant amounts of foreign aid and /or emergency personnel to enter the country – such aid and people would undermine the fragile control they maintain over nation.

And besides – these are the same rulers who have kept their nation’s legitimate elected leader under house arrest for two decades. Why would we expect them to give a tinker’s damn about the people, any more than Stalin cared about the millions who starved under his artificially created food shortages?

Of course, I am concerned by the next humanitarian crisis to face the nation – a second cyclone.

Another powerful storm headed toward Myanmar's cyclone-devastated delta, where so little aid has reached that the U.N. warned on Wednesday of a "second wave of deaths" among an estimated 2 million survivors.

The U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said there is a good chance that "a significant tropical cyclone" will form within the next 24 hours and head across the Irrawaddy delta area.

The area was pulverized by Cyclone Nargis on May 3, leaving at least 34,273 dead and 27,838 missing, according to the government. The U.N. says the death toll could exceed 100,000. An estimated 2 million survivors of the storm are still in need of emergency aid. But U.N. agencies and other groups have been able to reach only 270,000 people so far.

In other words, there will soon be more dead and injured – and more blood on the hands of the generals who control the nation. And I will continue to weep over them -- filled with sadness that those who misrule their nation do not give a tinker's damn about their lives.

But maybe another such tragedy will lead the people to rise up, and the military to support them.

Posted by: Greg at 09:13 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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They've decide that believing in you doesn't constitute a theological problem.

Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican's chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.

The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, was quoted as saying the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.

"How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?" Funes said. "Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,' and 'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial brother'? It would still be part of creation."

In the interview by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Funes said that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. Ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom, he said.

Now this opens up all sorts of interesting areas for theological speculation.

• Are aliens subject to original sin?
  
• Did the redemptive sacrifice of Christ in human form apply to aliens as well?
  
• If not, did Christ have to take on flesh in their form to suffer and die for their redemption?

Posted by: Greg at 10:53 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Just as all eventually will without a serious reimagining of the "business model".

EarthLink Inc. is pulling the plug on its troubled wireless high-speed Internet network in Philadelphia, once touted as a national model.

EarthLink, which pinned its future on municipal Wi-Fi networks following rapid declines in its dial-up Internet access business, said Tuesday that it could not find a buyer for the $17 million network.

It also said talks to give the network to the city or a nonprofit organization had failed, even after offering to pay $1 million in cash and donate the Wi-Fi equipment.

City officials have said it would cost taxpayers millions of dollars each year to operate the network, which will shut down after June 12.

Also Tuesday, the company sued the city in U.S. District Court seeking to remove its Wi-Fi equipment from streetlights and cap its liability at $1 million.

Quite frankly, there is no profit in free wi-fi. Cities simply will not pay enough for private firms to profit, and cities are unwilling (or unable) to sustain it financially. Free wi-fi, therefore will likely remain the province of businesses that offer it as a "value-added" amenity for customers -- or places like public libraries where it is practical to crate a small wireless bubble.

Posted by: Greg at 10:47 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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And in a way that I think points out the fundamental difference between his situation and those of Jeremiah Wright.

The Rev. John C. Hagee, whose anti-Catholic remarks created a controversy when Senator John McCain received his endorsement for the Republican presidential nomination with fanfare, has issued a letter expressing regret for “any comments that Catholics have found hurtful.”

The letter was issued after weeks of conversations between Mr. Hagee and Roman Catholic Republicans about repairing the damage to Mr. McCainÂ’s campaign and the alliance built over many years between conservative Catholics and evangelicals.

Mr. McCain said Tuesday that he had not been involved in brokering the apology letter from Mr. Hagee, a megachurch pastor in San Antonio who broadcasts to 200 countries, but that he found it "a laudable thing."

Mr. McCainÂ’s pursuit of Mr. HageeÂ’s endorsement came under renewed scrutiny recently as the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, was embroiled in controversy over incendiary remarks by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.

Set aside, of course, that the relationship between McCain and hagee was completely different than that between Obama and Wright. Set aside the fact that the duration of those relationships was completely different. When it comes right down to it, the statements attributed to Hagee -- which were somewhat more nuanced than the media and the Catholic League presented them -- were not all that outrageous when considered in the light of five centuries of post-Reformation Protestant theology. Indeed, they were mainstream theological views only a generation ago among large swathes of American Protestants. Contrast that to the hate-mongering anti-Americanism and outright lies promulgated by Jeremiah Wright.

Does that mean that I think Hagee had nothing to apologize for? Hardly -- even though I left the Catholic Church over some theological differences, I still hold that institution in high esteem and believe that the Hagee's earlier comments were wrong. But then again, anyone who has read this blog already knew that.

But I am struck by another difference between Hagee and Jeremiah Wright in this whole thing -- one is willing to take th time to educate himself, to reconsider his views, and to publicly repudiate statements that were wrong or which could be misconstrued. Wright, on the other hand, simply continued to reaffirm his outrageous comments. In other words, only one of the two men displays any sort of open-mindedness -- and it is not Obama's spritual mentor.

Posted by: Greg at 10:41 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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However, it may not be enough, given that she won by only 41 points, and the media had written off a Clinton victory in the state even before the first vote was cast.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton won a lopsided victory on Tuesday over Senator Barack Obama in the West Virginia primary, where racial considerations emerged as an unusually salient factor. Mrs. Clinton drew strong support from white, working-class voters, who have spurned Mr. Obama in recent contests.

The number of white Democratic voters who said race had influenced their choices on Tuesday was among the highest recorded in voter surveys in the nomination fight. Two in 10 white West Virginia voters said race was an important factor in their votes. More than 8 in 10 who said it factored in their votes backed Mrs. Clinton, according to exit polls.

I guess I'm struck by the double standard on race that exists in this country. COnsider the much-cited statistics on white voters and race. I'd love to see polling data on the percentage of black voters who said that race was an important factor in their votes -- and the percentage of those black voters who cast a ballot for Barack Obama. I suppose, though, that my asking the question (or even thinking about it) makes me a sheet-wearing Kluxer in the eyes of the Obama campaign, which has gone from being "not about race" to being "all about race" in the last two months -- and in the eyes of the media that has decreed whites who don't vote for or who question Barack Obama as being irredeemably racist.

Then again, this is West Virginia -- consider who the past of their senior senator.

But the Times does note the potential difficulty that Obama's weakness among blue-collar white voters creates for the Democrats.

With Mr. Obama solidly ahead of Mrs. Clinton in the delegate fight, the West Virginia results are unlikely to hurt Mr. ObamaÂ’s chances of winning the nomination. A strong Clinton victory in another general election battleground state like her victories in Ohio and Pennsylvania could raise fresh questions about Mr. ObamaÂ’s ability to carry swing states in a contest against Senator John McCain.

In other words, the election may be much closer than those proclaiming Obama's election a lock are willing to recognize.

Posted by: Greg at 10:25 PM | Comments (19) | Add Comment
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Usually, we Americans think of attending a college or university in the United States, and of international students coming to our country. However, there are some fascinating opportunities out there for those interested in being the international student studying abroad.

Take Coventry University as an example. Known for its beautiful campus and its superior engineering program, Coventry is now offering the UK's first program in disaster management. Check out this video for more details.

Posted by: Greg at 09:25 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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And the Democrat Party has always been the home of racism in America.

For all the hope and excitement Obama's candidacy is generating, some of his field workers, phone-bank volunteers and campaign surrogates are encountering a raw racism and hostility that have gone largely unnoticed -- and unreported -- this election season. Doors have been slammed in their faces.

They've been called racially derogatory names (including the white volunteers). And they've endured malicious rants and ugly stereotyping from people who can't fathom that the senator from Illinois could become the first African American president.

The contrast between the large, adoring crowds Obama draws at public events and the gritty street-level work to win votes is stark. The candidate is largely insulated from the mean-spiritedness that some of his foot soldiers deal with away from the media spotlight.

Now please remember – these folks are not visiting or calling random citizens. Campaigns today have gotten sophisticated enough that they try are only going to call or knock on the door of registered members of their party – to do otherwise is a waste of time. So when we hear about the encounters with racism, this is what you are getting from Democrats – ideas akin to what you would have heard when Senator Robert Byrd was still recruiting for the Klan. Maybe Obama can pick him for Vice President – that will wrap up both West Virginia and the DemoKluxer vote!

On the other hand, if they were calling Republican voters, they would have not gotten such a response. After all, the GOP was founded upon and has always supported the equality of all Americans, regardless of race. That commitment hasnÂ’t changed.

UPDATE: Looks like Ed Morrissey drew the same conclusion I did.

Who were these volunteers contacting? Fellow Democrats. They wanted to mobilize the registered Democrats to get them to vote in the closed primary, and received very ugly responses for their trouble.

Posted by: Greg at 10:05 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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After all, who is more of an expert in competence and leadership than Ray Nagin?

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin endorsed Barack Obama for president today, giving the Illinois Democrat another superdelegate in his battle for the Democratic nomination.

"Since the immediate days following the storm, I have been traveling to our nation's capitol to advocate for policies that aid our rebuilding effort," Nagin said in a statement released by the Obama campaign. "I know first hand, we desperately need the leadership of someone committed to changing the system in Washington that can hold us back from moving forward."

Obama said he shares Nagin's commitment to "renewing the great city of New Orleans." He also called the restoration of the city "one of the great national challenges of our time."

"I look forward to working with him and all New Orleanians to prepare for the storms that may come while advancing opportunity and prosperity for the people of the great American city," Obama said.

Given his superb handling of his city during Hurricane Katrina, IÂ’m certain that we now know what we have to look forward to under an Obama Administration.

Gun-grabbing from the law-abiding.

Sky-rocketing homicide rate.

Utter incompetence from a political neophyte.

After all, look what Nagin has given to Chocolate City!

Posted by: Greg at 09:44 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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