Seattle PI Strikes Filth Again

Seattle PI Strikes Filth Again

Earlier this year, the Seattle Post Intelligencer invoked the name of a locally born soldier, killed in Iraq in its criticism of US Representative George Nethercutt. The PI has edited a speech by Nethercutt to make him sound as though he did not care about US military casualties in Iraq. When he fought back, the PI attacked him in an editorial saying that Nethercutt's words would bring little peace to that family.

"The family of Pfc. Kerry Scott of Concrete, who buried their young hero Tuesday, likely would not share Nethercutt's news judgment.”

With that background, it's worth noting that when the PI recalled the passage of notable locals, it cited terrorist sympathizer Rachel Corrie (seen here burning a US flag at a Palestinian terrorist rally), but lists no soldiers killed fighting terror.

Light Blogging Today and Tomorrow

Light Blogging Today and Tomorrow

I'm going to be travelling most of today and tomorrow and won't be bloggin much. See you Friday.

Is That All You've Got?

Is That All You've Got?

The economy is booming, we've capture Saddam, Libya and Iran are yielding their weapons programs.
So, what's left for the Democratic presidential contenders? Mad cow disease.
Their accusing George Bush of being soft on Mad Cow Disease.
Even the Washington Post thinks they're ridiculous.

I wonder why they didn't accuse George Bush of being soft on hepatitis A? After all, more people have died from eating contaminated green onions than from eating beef.

Whiner of the Week

Whiner of the Week

A question. Who was last week's biggest whiner - Howard Dean or Michael Jackson?

The second and more difficult question - who would make a better president? Think carefully about your answer.

The Faces of Hatred

The Faces of Hatred

Robert J. Samuelson, recovering liberal, and E. J. Dionne, unrepentent liberal, view Bush-hatred from very different perpectives.

Samulelson: "In the end, Bush hating says more about the haters than the hated"

Dionne: "Conservative critics of "Bush hatred" like to argue that opposition to the president is a weird psychological affliction. It is nothing of the sort. It is a rational response to getting burned. They are, as a friend once put it, biting the hand that slapped them in the face."

Most curiously, Dionne includes this howler: "The year 2003 will be remembered as the time when Democrats decided to fight back against George W. Bush after coddling and even embracing him in 2002." And this one: "Democrats who never conceded that Bush had legitimately won the 2000 election wanted to give Bush a chance to lead the country out of crisis."

Can anyone remember when Democrats were accomodating or cooperative with this president?

I still agree with psychiatrist Charles Krauthammer. Bush hatred has evolved into a mental illness.

Bush Doctrine Bearing More Fruit

Bush Doctrine Bearing More Fruit

Now, relations with Iran are thawing. Hmm. You don't think that the fact that we occupy countries on Iran's eastern and western borders has anything to do with it, do you?

Otto von Bismark opined that war is diplomacy by other means. Sometimes, as in the case of Libya and Iran, the threat of diplomacy by other means yields results that French or Jimmy Carter diplomacy never can.

Babbling aimlessy as Carter would, or waiting for French permission, as Howard Dean proposes only permits evil to incubate.

Oops Again!

Oops Again!

If one thing is improving within the Howard Dean campaign, it is that the interval between his clarifications and corrections and his gaffes is shortening.

Yesterday, King Howard "reached out" to DNC Chairman, Terry McAwful regarding his complaint the day before about all the criticism he was receiving from competitors in the primary race.

Of course, he's been getting a lot of practice. I can't recall a serious candidate whose mouth got him into more trouble.

But, It Makes White Liberals Feel Better!

But, It Makes White Liberals Feel Better!

Thomas Sowell has long lamented the detrimental effect that racial preferences has had on blacks in college. He argues that, in order to satisfy quotas, blacks are being recruited into colleges for which their high schools have not prepared them. The result is a high drop out rate. A young man who might have benefited from a bachelor's degree at San Jose State now has nothing to show from his time at UC Berkeley.

The New York Times reports today that keeping black men is school is a major challege for higher education, and you don't have to read far into the article to see why.

Watching Simon Jackson in class is like watching a man who is conflicted about being in college. For long stretches, he huddles silently in the back corner, his head sunk into his bulky jacket. But every so often he strides to the front of the room to chat with the professor or to write on the chalkboard, self-assured to the point of cockiness.

A 10th-grade dropout who earned a high school equivalency diploma, Mr. Jackson, 21, is now a freshman at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, eager, he says, to get a college degree.

"I was in school trying to learn," he said. "I liked to learn. I still do. That's why I'm here now."

It's clear that Mr. Jackson was fed more self-esteem in high school than mathematics, or even self-discipline.

"Over the course of the semester, class discussions veered from little things, like ways to remember to bring books to school, to how the students felt when they could not get waited on in stores and how difficult it was to go anywhere, even to school, without money in their pockets."

"It's the shame of American higher education," said Arthur E. Levine, the president of Teachers College at Columbia University.

No it isn't! The shame is on the primary and secondary schools who never taught Mr. Jackson that he needed to bring books to school or study or anything else associated with learning.

Clearly, the place for educational reforms is long before college. But, the only reform Democrats or the teachers unions will tolerate is higher pay.

Questions for Howard Dean

Questions for Howard Dean

Rich Lowry has 16 questions for Howard Dean.

Among them, "In the North Korean crisis, the Bush administration is engaging in intense multilateral diplomacy to make North Korea's neighbors part of any settlement. You advocate that the United States instead cut out other countries to engage in direct talks with Pyongyang. What explains your burst of unilateralism?"

Would He Prevent Illegal Aliens From Voting?

Would He Prevent Illegal Aliens From Voting?

John Kerry promises more accurate elections. Does this mean that he would crack down on illegal voting by illegal aliens, convicted criminals and the like? I doubt it. These are the real core Democratic voters.

Now Will Paul Krugman Apologize?

Now Will Paul Krugman Apologize?

Or, if he's too proud to apologize, will he at least retract his inaccuracy? A few weeks ago, the New York Times economist turned Molly Ivins accused the Halliburton company of "profiteering," even as his own paper, in that same issue said that Halliburton was not.

Halliburton is the latest favorite dirty word for liberals because it's a big company that Dick Cheney used to head.

Now, the New York Times has proven again that Halliburton's "multibillion-dollar contract to restore Iraq's oil infrastructure shows no evidence of profiteering by Halliburton, the Houston-based oil services company"

In fact, according the the Times, "So far this year, Halliburton's profits from Iraq have been minimal."

Nobel Peace Prize for Bush?

Nobel Peace Prize for Bush?

Nah, it'll never happen. The Nobel Committee prefers to give prizes to stoneheads like Jimmy Carter.

Can someone show me one square centimeter of the planet made more peaceful by Jimmy Carter?

Making a real and lasting peace requires the breaking of a few eggs, like Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan and the Soviet Union.

Regardless of what the New York Times might tell you, George W. Bush has made the world a much more peaceful place.

Dean Seeks to Suppress Criticism

Dean Seeks to Suppress Criticism

Does anybody remember the 11th. commandment? It was composed by Ronald Reagan and stated, "though shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican."

Reagan was criticized for attempting to stife debate. Now, Howard Dean has composed the 12th. commandment for Democrats: "Though shalt not speak ill of me."

"If we had strong leadership in the Democratic Party, they would be calling those other candidates and saying, `Hey look, somebody's going to have to win here,' " Dr. Dean, the former governor of Vermont, told reporters trailing him as he campaigned through central Iowa. Referring to one of Mr. McAuliffe's predecessors, he added, "If Ron Brown were the chairman, this wouldn't be happening."

Interestingly, Howard Dean has threatened to withold his support should any Democrat other than himself win the nomination.

Though Dr. Dean has repeatedly said he would back whichever Democrat wins the nomination, he said Sunday that support was "not transferable anymore" and that endorsements, including his own, "don't guarantee anything."

Truly God does exist and he is a Republican. Why else would he have given us such a gift as Howard Dean?

Liberal Hate Speech

Liberal Hate Speech

Jeff Jacoby continues his long running, entertaining and thoughtful chronicle of liberal hate speech.

Just as importantly, he reminds us that, while conservatives are pilloried for anything resembling hate speech, liberals pay no price at all.

How Much Damage Can a Dean Candidacy Do?

How Much Damage Can a Dean Candidacy Do?

George Will is a conservative, but he also likes genuine political debate. He is one whose mind can be changed, as it was on term limits and the death penalty (twice), so it's understandable that he is concerned about the candidacy of Howard Dean.

He accepts the conventional wisdom that Howard Dean will lead the Democrats to ruinious defeat, if only because his big mouth provides opponents with so much ammunition.

Even CNN is Giving Dean a Second Look

Even CNN is Giving Dean a Second Look

With CNN beginning to issue anti-Dean warnings, only NPR among the Leftist establishment remains steadfast in its support of the former Vermont governor and presumptive Democrat presidential nominee.

"WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic presidential contender Howard Dean has demanded release of secret deliberations of Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force.

But as Vermont governor, Dean had an energy task force that met in secret and angered state lawmakers.

Dean's group held one public hearing and after-the-fact volunteered the names of industry executives and liberal advocates it consulted in private, but the Vermont governor refused to open the task force's closed-door deliberations.

In 1999, Dean offered the same argument the Bush administration uses today for keeping deliberations of a policy task force secret."


It's likely that the Washington Post, the New York Times, and CNN all like Dean, otherwise they'd have been on the case earlier. But, they recognize his vulnerability and know that the Bush campaign is just keeping a bibliography of Deanisms to use against him in the general election. And, they probably see a catatrophic Dean defeat as consigning the Democrats to the role of fringe minority status for a generation.

At Least Pravda Likes Howard Dean

At Least Pravda Likes Howard Dean

Even if the Washington Post and the New York Times are getting very uneasy about the Democrat frontrunner, Howard Dean can take some solace in the knowlege that the house organ of the former Soviet Union (a country he believes still exists) likes him.

What? I Thought We Were In Iraq By Ourselves?

What? I Thought We Were In Iraq By Ourselves?

What are Bulgarians and Thais doing in Iraq? If our mission in Iraq is unilateral, then these people shouldn't even be there.

Free Speech Wins in Norway

Free Speech Wins in Norway

Man escapes jail for calling a cop and "asshole."Next time, play it safe. Call him an Adam Clymer.

Jews Turn to Republicans

Jews Turn to Republicans

And why not? Not only has the Democrat Party been snuggling up to Israel's enemies, but anti-Semitism has become quite fashionable among the Left's elite.

The decades old trend of Jews favoring Democrats seems to be ending. And why not? Ever since thy Yom Kippur war of 1973, when Nixon saved the Jewish state, Republicans have clearly been better friends to the Jews than Democrats.

Washington Post Still Very Queasy about Dean

Washington Post Still Very Queasy about Dean

Democrats are expressing buyer's remorse before casting a single primary vote. Their problem is Howard Dean. The Washington Post has an unflattering analysis piece by Dan Balz today and a cautionary editorial.

"Dean faces one significant challenge, to go to the next level of his candidacy," said Anita Dunn, a Democratic strategist who was a senior adviser in Bill Bradley's 2000 presidential campaign. "He has not yet achieved the level of admission to what I call that small circle of people in the United States that voters perceive as qualified to be president. That is an enormous hurdle. . . . He has, at every stage of his campaign, when he has faced a hurdle, found a way to move to that next level, but they get steeper." Reports Balz.

The editorial is more blunt: "we are troubled by aspects of Mr. Dean's character and personality. He can be condescending, and unwarrantedly so, as when he said at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire last month, "Mr. President, if you'll pardon me, I'll teach you a little about defense." He is quick to bristle, slow to admit error; see, for example, his ill-considered comments about Southern voters and the Confederate flag. He suffers from what he recently described as "smarty mouth," a tendency to glib remarks and unsubstantiated or incorrect assertions. His citation of rumors that Mr. Bush was tipped off to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 by the Saudis and is now trying to cover up that advance warning is one example of such irresponsibility."

But, as troubling as the Post finds Dr. Dean's personality, it departs from Dean idelogically on Dean's numero uno issue - the war on terror. "We believe the war in Iraq was a battle worth waging; Mr. Dean does not, and he has catapulted himself to front-runner status in large measure on the basis of that stance. Now that Saddam Hussein has been captured, Mr. Dean must confront the difficult fact that, had his counsel been followed, the brutal dictator would still be in power. In some ways more worrisome, though, are his shifting stands on postwar policy. Earlier this year, Mr. Dean was articulating the principled position that the war had been a mistake, but that leaving Iraq too soon would be a bigger mistake. But the candidate has retreated from that view. He did not support the administration's request for funds to rebuild Iraq, and he holds out the illusory prospect of a quick substitution of foreign forces for U.S. troops."

And finally, the Post asks a question that should be asked of every Democrat who champions the United Nation: "While Mr. Dean argues, like his fellow Democrats, for a restoration of multilateralism, he offers thus far little vision of a purpose for America in the world beyond that multilateralism and a narrow definition of security. His fierce opposition to Mr. Bush's policies has won him many Democratic followers; but to rally the country behind him, he will have to describe more compellingly where he would lead it."

Not one Democrat has explained to my satisfaction, or has even tried to explain, how subordinating our our foreign policy to the whims of the French will make us safer.

Iraq Will be the Next Poland

Iraq Will be the Next Poland

Thomas Friedman discovers that those who most recently owe their freedom to the United States are the most appreciative.

"Poland is the antidote to European anti-Americanism. Poland is to France what Advil is to a pain in the neck. Or as Michael Mandelbaum, the Johns Hopkins foreign affairs specialist, remarked after visiting Poland: "Poland is the most pro-American country in the world — including the United States."

Said Ewa Swiderska, 25, a Warsaw University student: "We are the small kid in school who is really happy to have the big guy be his friend — it's a nice feeling."

Even Mad Cow is Bush's Fault

Even Mad Cow is Bush's Fault

Mad Cow disease is nothing compared to pissed off Democrat disease. Howard Dean is even blaming George Bush for mad cow disease.

"The former governor, whose state has a large dairy cow population, said the Bush administration failed to aggressively set up a tracking system that would allow the government to quickly track the origins of the sick cow, quarantine other animals it came in contact with and assure the marketplace the rest of the meat supply is safe."

However, when one considers that the problem emerged just 5 days ago, and we've now traced the cow to a herd in Canada and have quarantined her only two offspring, it's hard to imagine how we could have done much better.

Kozmos, 2003 Presidential Edition

Kozmos, 2003 Presidential Edition

We celebrate this year’s conclusion as we always do in this corner – by recognizing and rewarding the stupidest and most arrogant pronouncements of our ideological elite.
As one would predict, it’s been a busy year. There are nine dwarves competing for the chance to lose to George W. Bush in a fifty state landslide next year. And each seems determined to distinguish him or herself by saying something more absurd than the rest.
In addition, there is a war going on. And that is guaranteed to bring the dreadlocks and dope wing of the Democratic Party down from the treetops and into the forefront of the debate.
And so there has been a very rich vein of idiocy from which to refine nitwittery worthy of Kozmos. Because so much of the news has been dominated by the nine dwarves who, were they in Snow White, would all be named “Grumpy,” I have decided to dedicate a whole week to the foolishness these ankle-biters have showered upon us.
Frontrunner in the polls and in the Kozmos is Howard Dean. In just two days, he managed to make a fool of himself three times.
On December 1, 2003, the former governor of Vermont sermonized that “Mr. President, if you'll pardon me, I'll teach you a little about defense.”
The next day, he revealed his foreign policy acumen by explaining how he would resolve nuclear tensions with Iran. “The key, I believe, to Iran, is pressure through the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union is supplying much of the equipment that Iran I believe mostly likely is using to set itself along the path of developing nuclear weapons. We need to use that leverage with the Soviet Union, and it may require us buying the equipment the Soviet Union was ultimately going to sell to Iran, to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.”
In one semi-literate paragraph Dean mentioned a non-existent country four times. Does anybody recall how the Democrats hooted when George Bush couldn’t remember the Pakistani president’s name?
One day later, he accused President Bush of having prior knowledge of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. “The most interesting theory that I've heard so far--which is nothing more than a theory, it can't be proved--is that he was warned ahead of time by the Saudis.”
And so, Howard Dean collects both the Foreign Affairs and the Black Helicopter Kozmos.
You’ve probably noticed that the former frontrunner, the French-looking John Kerry, has a very high opinion of John Kerry. In such high esteem does he hold himself that when Boston's Holy Name Parish School asked for donations to its spring auction, John Kerry donated an 8 X 10 picture of John Kerry.
To put this in perspective, Ted Kennedy donated a framed personally designed print. Mayor Thomas Menino offered a dinner.
The mega-multimillionaire Kerry whined that he received 36 requests for auction items this year.
That must be draining. Kerry promised that, after the 2004 election, he would offer personally guided tours of the White House. What I’d like to know is, how can the purchaser be certain that George W. Bush will honor the French candidate’s promise?
And, last but not least, we have the George Romney, ready for prime time Kozmo. In 1967, Republican George Romney’s promising campaign for president was derailed when he declared that he had been, “brainwashed” into supporting the Vietnam War.
This year has two George Romney winners. The first is the French-looking John Kerry, who claimed that he didn’t really vote to authorize war. Instead he actually only voted to authorize the threat of war.
Also not ready for the heat of the spotlight is Wesley Clark. He tried to jumpstart his post military career by claiming that, on September 12, 2001, the “Whitehouse” had called him to insist that he blame the attacks on Saddam Hussein.
Unsurprisingly, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman swallowed the story whole. “Gen. Wesley Clark says that he received calls on Sept. 11 from 'people
around the White House' urging him to link that assault to Saddam Hussein.”
When pressed, he refused to reveal his sources. Later he admitted that the call really came from an obscure think tank in Canada.
Not ready for prime time.

Now The Money is Really in Politics

Now The Money is Really in Politics

How long will it take for the "bad old days" to start looking really good? Anyone who actually believed that campaign finance reform was a good idea will be disabused of that notion very quickly.
Of course, my readers were warned of precisely this problem years ago.

Return of the Braceros?

Return of the Braceros?

I have long argued that, inspite of its abuses, the Bracero program should be revived. The Bracero program permitted guest workers from Mexico legal entry into the country, provided there was work waiting. Most importantly, it sent them back when the work was done.
I believe that many illegal immigrants, many of whom are agricultural workers, would prefer this to the current state of affairs in which they have to over-winter in the states for fear that they won't be able to get back in for the next season.
What George W. Bush has in mind seems to embrace the best of the Bracero program.
I don't think it will facilitate the entry of terrorists, as many seem to believe. Those with a stake in the program's success will police that.
And, it will permit Bush to harvest a huge political benefit.
Democrats will have to oppose it. It promises to undermine the United Farmworkers Union and will peel off many Hispanic voters.
That second reason is enough for them to go ballistic.

New York Times Keeps Up Its Anti-Dean Drumbeat

New York Times Keeps Up Its Anti-Dean Drumbeat

Howard Dean has claimed that he sealed state records, not to protect himself, but to protect innocent people who worked for him.
The New York Times has uncovered ample evidence that he did it for himself and most importantly, for his presidential campaign.

Is it too late for the the liberal mainstream media to choose a new Democratic nominee?

The Real Person of the Year

The Real Person of the Year

Emmit Tyrrell has no difficulty naming George W. Bush as his Person of the Year.

The Season of Hate and Anger

The Season of Hate and Anger

Mona Charen doesn't think Dean has a chance to beat her candidate, George W. Bush. Even so, she'd prefer someone else was the Democrats choice.

Also, she points out the obvious - that Time magazine will twist itself into knots before it will name George W. Bush as its "Man of the Year."

Dean Shifts Again

Dean Shifts Again

To succeed nationally, a Democrat must believe in abortion on demand and oppose tort reform. The former is required to keep the radical feminists in line. The latter is for the money that the trial lawyers funnel into campaigns.

But, while Dean opposes tort reform now, he didn't always do so.

Christ is not a Strategy

Christ is not a Strategy

Believing that he has the anti-nativity scene wing of the Democratic Party locked up, Howard Dean is going after the faithful.

"MANCHESTER, N.H. — Howard B. Dean, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination who had said little about the role of religion in politics, yesterday told the Boston Globe that he is a committed follower of Jesus Christ and suggested that this would be a winning campaign issue.
Mr. Dean said he will start mentioning God and Christ as the campaign moves into the South."

Although Dean rarely attends religious services and quit his previous church in a dispute over a bike path, he insists that he has faith.

More probably, he has faith in the polls which tell him that, "An ABC/Washington Post poll released this week showed that 46 percent of Southerners say a president should rely on his religious beliefs in making policy decisions, compared with 28 percent in the East and 40 percent in the rest of the nation."

The Rest Of The World Gets It

The Rest Of The World Gets It

It appears that it is the tin foil beanie wing of the Democratic party that is now out of step with the rest of the world. While Howard Dean stands by his outrageous claim that America is no safer since the capture of Saddam Hussein and Wesley Clark insists that the credit for Moammar Kadhafi's acquiescence belongs to Bill Clinton, the rest of the world credits the Bush Doctrine.

"After the demythologization Saddam Hussein, this is the second Christmas present American President George Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair have put under their Christmas tree," said the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, a leading German daily that was critical of the U.S. war in Iraq. Libya's move "shows that opponents of the Iraq war were premature in saying that America's war on terror would prompt so-called rogue states to start developing weapons of mass destruction."

In France, Le Monde credits the claims of Bush supporters that U.S. policy is making traditional adversaries like Iran and Libya more cooperative.

"Without the American military occupation of Iraq, the diplomatic action of Berlin, London and Paris would not have had as much impact in Tehran. And the fall of Saddam Hussein without doubt counted in Gaddafi's turnabout."

This Should Satisfy Krugman

This Should Satisfy Krugman

The Bush re-election team has decided on a campaign strategy that would portray Howard Dean as "reckless, angry and pessimistic."

That would certainly more truthful than the average Paul Krugman column.

As a Bush strategist put it, Dr. Dean's rivals are "doing a great job for us" with their increasingly tough attacks on him.

"Voters don't normally vote for an angry, pessimistic person to be president of the country," Matthew Dowd, a senior Bush adviser, said as he pressed the anti-Dean theme this week in an interview at Mr. Bush's re-election campaign headquarters. "They want somebody, even if times are not great, to be forward looking and optimistic."

Krugman Tells Reporters Their Business

Krugman Tells Reporters Their Business

Paul Krugman tells reporters how to do their job. He doesn't believe that reportes tell the truth enough and he wants them to refrain from telling us about what candidates wear and more about their policy positions.

More specifically, he tells them that they should report the perils of a second George Bush term.

Interestingly, this advice to stick to the facts comes from a man who, in his last column, called the United States economy "moribund," and whose December 16 column accused Halliburton of "profiteering," even as his own paper reported that Halliburton did not earn excessive profits.

Funding Hate

Funding Hate

The Ford Foundation (which has no current affiliation with Ford Motor Company), has been underwriting radicalism for year. Lately, it has been funneling money to Middle East extremist organizations and anti-semitic groups. The Wall Street Journal and Representative Chuck Grassley is on the case. This should cost the Ford Foudation big time.

Some People Do Know How To Celebrate Christmas

Some People Do Know How To Celebrate Christmas

`Naked Elves' Spreading Holiday Cheer During Christmas Season in Alabama

The Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Dec. 24 — The Naked Elves are Alabama's newest holiday rage.
What began as a practical joke has evolved into an odd yuletide tradition: Grown men wearing red boxer shorts, Santa hats and lighted suspenders as they travel around Birmingham singing off-key carols.

Naturally, The French Screwed It Up

Naturally, The French Screwed It Up

Official: U.S. Hoped To Trap Terrorists Before Cancellations
Homeland Security Officials Frustrated News Of 'Security Concerns' Got Out

POSTED: 2:05 p.m. EST December 24, 2003
UPDATED: 6:02 p.m. EST December 24, 2003

PARIS -- The U.S. government had been hoping to snag some terrorists on flights between Paris and Los Angeles before the flights were canceled and news of security concerns was publicized, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Don't Have a Merry Christmas

Don't Have a Merry Christmas

I genuinely believe that liberalism is born of unhappiness. And, it's and unhappiness they like to spread. And, as the mainstream media is dominated by liberals, they use their forum to disseminate misery and ruin people's Christmas. The best way to do this is to remind us of how unfortunate some people are this Christmas.

Here are a few examples:

Tight borders pen illegals at Christmas
Thursday, December 25, 2003 Posted: 8:55 AM EST

(AP) -- An increasing number of migrant workers and other illegal immigrants from Mexico who used to go home for the holidays are spending Christmas in the United States, largely because of tighter security along the border.


Quake-Battered Town Faces Bleak Christmas
By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer

PASO ROBLES, Calif. - During most Christmas seasons, Sandra Wallace loves to visit Paso Robles and share the holiday feeling in this town of 27,000 residents. Just not this year.

The celebratory mood has been deflated following this week's magnitude-6.5 earthquake that killed two people, flattened historic buildings and caused $100 million in damage.


"I'm brokenhearted," said Wallace, who runs an alpaca ranch outside of town. "It's typically a joy to come downtown this time of year. It's a gathering point. It makes you want to cry. It's just hard to say happy holidays."

Iowa town drained by war
By Kim Barker Tribune staff reporter

BOONE, Iowa -- The signs of war were everywhere. The town's oldest barber lost almost half his regulars. The Pufferbilly Days Parade needed new volunteers. Only nine holes had been finished on the new championship golf course.

The city administrator tried to help this central Iowa town of 13,000 cope with the hundreds of National Guard members who were called away to serve their country. But then his own phone rang.


"Just the look on his face, I knew," said Connie Trout, his wife. "My stomach just turned. He said, `I got the call.'"


Boone has always been a National Guard town. Everyone knows someone who belongs -- a son, a cousin, a sister's boyfriend, a mother's neighbor. A major training center is just outside town and it has called up at least 400 people from the area.


But over the past two years, fueled by wars in Afghanistan (news - web sites) and Iraq (news - web sites), the nature of the Guard has changed. These soldiers are no longer leaving for weeks at a time to help communities hit by tornadoes and floods. Now they are on the front lines of fighting overseas.


And finally:
The furry and the fury:Royal dogfight turns deadly Princess Anne's terrier mauls queen's beloved corgi

LONDON - There will be a face — and four paws — missing from beneath the queen’s table this Christmas. As the royal family gathered Wednesday to celebrate the holidays, Queen Elizabeth II was mourning the death of one of her beloved corgis, mauled by a terrier with a violent past owned by her daughter Princess Anne.

Nobody Really Believed It Could Last

Nobody Really Believed It Could Last

Rosie's back to her old self. Immediately after the 9-11 attacks, Rosie O' Donnell was full of praise for the way that President Bush was going after terrorists and making the world safer for her kid.

But, she has a short memory and her hate is too close to the surface to remain out of sight for long.

"The country was really taken over. It was a coup. This man was not elected, he sits in the White House and he's declaring war. That's a coup d'état. America should be in the streets picketing. And our boys and our girls, our teenagers and 20- year-olds, are off there killing
people. And war begets war. ... You know, I don't believe George Bush is a bad man, but I do think he is dangerous for this nation and the world."

--Rosie O'Donnell on Sirius Satellite Radio's Michelangelo Signorile
Show, Dec. 11.

A Very Sick Culture

A Very Sick Culture

If we never find a single weapon of mass destruction or a single link between Saddam Hussein and Al Quaeda, we did the right thing because Arab culture has sunk to such lows that it presents a danger to the civilized world. An example would be terrorist trading cards. Palestinian children collect and exchange terrorist trading cards as American children do with baseball cards.

We have to yank this culture away from this path and make the world a safer place. We can do it now by rebuilding Iraq into a peaceful, liberal democracy, or we can do it later by glassifying all the sand.

The Price of Arrogance

The Price of Arrogance

The French are not well practiced at introspection. It is more French to presume moral and intellectual superiority. But, with the news that the French, not only had no part in, but weren't even informed of, the negotiations that ended with Libya surrendering its WMD's had only reinforced the growing suspicision that France's behavior before and during the Iraq War has landed her in a backwater of irrelevence.

“ Vengeance is a hamburger that is eaten cold,” writes Georges Dupuy in Liberation. “The fingerprint of the United States could be detected in the setbacks suffered by France’s diplomacy.”

“France over did it,” says Dominique Moisi, a foreign policy researcher close to the Chirac administration. “Our opposition to the war was principled. But the way we expressed it was excessive. The Americans might have accepted such behaviour from Russia, but not from France which was regarded as an ally and friend.”

Moisi describes as “needlessly provocative” the campaign that Villepin conducted last spring to persuade Security Council members to vote against the US-backed draft resolution on Iraq, He says that the Chirac administration did not understand the impact of the 9/11 tragedy on America’s view of the world.

Payback may have had something to do with it. But, on a more pragmatic note, who in their right mind would trust the French?

Only Atheists in the Foxhole?

Only Atheists in the Foxhole?

It's been said that there are no atheists in foxholes. But, if the ACLU continues to get its way, prayer probably would be forbidden in foxholes.

The ACLU's latest target is the United States Naval Academy. Before luhch, there is a moment of silence during which time those who wish may prayer before eating. This, the ACLU finds intolerable and is suing to stop such heinous practices.

The All Time Clinton Suck Up Award Goes to Wesley Clark

The All Time Clinton Suck Up Award Goes to Wesley Clark

Guess who Wesley Clark credits for Moammar Gadhafi's sudden decision to give up terrorism and weapons of mass destruction? Yep, it's ex-president Clinton!

Howard Dean Lies About His Brother's Military Service

Howard Dean Lies About His Brother's Military Service

It seems that even the New York Times is getting a little uneasy about Howard Dean's aversion to the truth. His propensity for creative reality was exposed again when he lied about his brother's military service.

"Asked by The Quad-City Times, which is based in Davenport, Iowa, to complete the sentence "My closest living relative in the armed services is," Dr. Dean wrote in August, "My brother is a POW/MIA in Laos, but is almost certainly dead.""

Just as troubling as his lying is his tenacity for adhering to a lie when caught red handed. "The way I read the question was that they wanted to know if I knew anything about the armed services from a personal level," he said. "I don't think it was inaccurate or misleading if anybody knew what the history was, and I assumed that most people knew what the history was. Anybody who wanted to write about this could have looked through the 23-year history to see that I've always acknowledged my brother's a civilian, was a civilian."

This might fly if Howard Dean can prove that he is an adherent of Stanley Fish's deconstructionist theory of communication, in which the reader if free to make any interpretation he wishes. But, that would probably cause him even more problems.

Otherwise, Dean was clearly fibbing.

Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!

Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!

Maybe Howard Dean could learn from French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin's example and congratulate Bush and Blair through gnashing teeth.

"He was forced to admit in Le Figaro that France knew nothing of the nine months of secret negotiations.

"We were not kept informed," M de Villepin said. His disclosure underlined the continuing mistrust in relations between the English-speaking powers and France, which made much of its opposition to war in Iraq.

M de Villepin sought to gloss over the differences, describing the relationship as one of "extremely active and fertile co-operation".

His words contradicted those of Michele Alliot-Marie, defence minister, who claimed on Sunday that France was "perfectly informed of the negotiations" several months ago."


Howard Dean could also learn a thing or two from the French Defense minister, "Bizarrely, Mme Alliot-Marie denied there was any discrepancy between the two accounts, suggesting the foreign ministry was not as involved as her department."

Hillary Finds Her Voice - NY Times

Hillary Finds Her Voice - NY Times

I personally have not found the Wicked Bitch of the East particularly subdued, but lately she has been shooting her piercing mouth off more. The New York Times likes what it hears. To most of the world though, she comes across as shrill and bitchy.

PETA Flier Worries Child Psychologists

PETA Flier Worries Child Psychologists

What happens when you only talk to like minded people? You lose touch with the real world, particularly when your circle of friends is limited to such flamboyantly kooky people as PETA members.
Anybody in the real world could have told a PETA member that this flier was a bad idea. But child psychologists are now adding their professional weight to common.

Yeah, But It's About 30 Years or So Too Late For Ted

Yeah, But It's About 30 Years or So Too Late For Ted

Poor Mary Jo Kopechne. If only had one of these before driving her across that bridge. On the other hand, it may be because we didn't have this drug back then that America survives today.

Howard Dean Struck Dumb?

Howard Dean Struck Dumb?

I guess, Howard Dean's momma told him, if you can't say something mean about someone, don't say anything.

"Mr. Dean, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, has been uncharacteristically silent about Mr. Bush's bombshell announcement on Friday that Libya has agreed unconditionally to relinquish its chemical-, biological- and nuclear-weapons programs."

The Real Question is, Does Dean Believe Himself?

The Real Question is, Does Dean Believe Himself?

Brendan Nyhan chronicles a couple of Howard Dean's more egregious lies. Read, remember and debate your friends.

Democrat Dilemma, Slaughter or Schism

Democrat Dilemma, Slaughter or Schism

Democratic cognoscenti are convinced that the party will be swamped in 2004 if Howard Dean is the nominee. And, they have to decide what is worse - a 49 or 50 wipeout, or splitting the party by committing serious resources to stopping him?

"The Dean dilemma was spelled out to me by a sage Democratic practitioner whose views I have sought since 1968. He has felt for months that the former Vermont governor faces horrendous defeat against President Bush. Last week, this party loyalist told me he felt Dean will be nominated unless an act of intervention stops him. He added that he is sure Dean can be stopped but at the cost of unacceptable carnage. Implicitly and reluctantly, therefore, he is swallowing Dean."

Clark Would Have Caught Bin Laden By Now?

Clark Would Have Caught Bin Laden By Now?

There are perhaps four people in the world who believe Wesley Clark's boast that, if he were president, he would have caught Usama Bin Laden two years ago - five if Clark himself believes it.

But, Jeff Jacoby puts that to rest by examining Clark's record of catching Yugoslavian war criminals.

Interestingly, Clark lays the blame for many of his failures during the Balkan War at having to get the permission of 19 governments before he could act. And, he now says that we should subordinate our defense to the whims of the United Nations.

Iraq and Al Qaeda, Linked According to Bill Clinton

Iraq and Al Qaeda, Linked According to Bill Clinton

Just this morning on Meet The Press, Bill Clinton's most loyal and aggressive stooge, James Carville, claimed that there were no links between Saddam Hussein and terrorism. Aside from the fact that Saddam boasted about his sponsorship of Palestinian terrorists, Carville's slander is contradicted by his master.

After Clinton ordered the destruction of a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan back in 1998, several Clinton officials made the case that the plant, Al Qaeda and Iraq were all involved in using the plant to manufacture chemical weapons. The case was, in their words, "clear cut."

Is Your Cell Phone Telling On You?

Is Your Cell Phone Telling On You?

A couple of years ago, the government decided that it would require GPS in cell phones. Supposedly, this was for safety. If you made a 911 call, your location would be known, just as with a 911 call made from a land line.

I was uneasy. We'd be surrendering a lot of privacy for a very rare occasion when it would help.

I was right. Anybody can spy on you now. See here.

Who Makes Real Peace, Bush or Carter?

Who Makes Real Peace, Bush or Carter?

If the Nobel Peace Prize were awarded by honest intellects, Ronald Reagan would already have one, and George W. Bush would be a shoe-in for next year.

Ronald Reagan brought the Cold War to a close by bringing about the ruin of history's most murderous dictatorship, the Soviet Union.

George W. Bush has overthrown two terrorist nations and has forced a third to give up its weapons program.

Even though the Nobel Committee gave Jimmy Carter the Nobel Peace Prize primarily as a protest of the Bush Doctrine, today even the New York Times and the Washington Post are bowing in awe.

Ironic?

Ironic?

Opening paragraph from an article in today's Washington Post:

"VIENNA - Evidence discovered in a probe of Iran's secret nuclear program points overwhelmingly to Pakistan as the source of crucial technology that put Iran on a fast track toward becoming a nuclear weapons power, according to U.S. and European officials familiar with the investigation."

Opening paragraph from a Reuters article:

"TEHRAN, Iran - Iran, which recently agreed to allow snap inspections of its nuclear facilities, on Sunday hailed Libya's decision to scrap its weapons of mass destruction and called for pressure to be placed on Israel to do the same."

Even a Blind Pig Finds an Acorn Now and Then

Even a Blind Pig Finds an Acorn Now and Then

The New York Times has managed to swallow its prejudices and credit President Bush with a foreign policy coup. In tomorrow's lead editorial, the New York Times acknowleges that Libya's capitulation yesterday was a victory for George Bush's foreign policy.


"Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair are entitled to claim a large share of the credit for Libya's surprising announcement. To an extent that cannot be precisely measured, the fate of Saddam Hussein, who was ousted from power by the American military with British backing after endless prevaricating about Iraqi weapons programs, must have been an important consideration in Libya's decision."

How is Paul Krugman digesting this? On the other hand, he's very good at building castles in the air, and lately, he's decided to take up residence in one.

For example: "the economy remains moribund" I would expect this from Molly Ivins, but Krugman is supposed to be an economist.

Saddam Really Did Win Unanimous Vote

Saddam Really Did Win Unanimous Vote

The British Broadcasting Corporation has concluded that Saddam's Hussein's unanimous re-election, just before the war was legitimate. BBC correspondents have been ordered to refrain from calling him a "dictator" and instead they are to reference him as "the former leader of Iraq."
I think dictator is too nice. Despot or Tyrant seems more appropriate.

Syria Captures Al Qaeda Terrorists, and $23 million

Syria Captures Al Qaeda Terrorists, and $23 million

Not only did Gadhafi get the message, but Assad's listening too. Are we safer yet Howard Dean?

Write Your Own Check Pal!

Write Your Own Check Pal!

When he was ten years old, Representative Jim Gibbons, Republican of Nevada ruined his home town's public swimming pool and has been wracked with guilt ever since.
He feels his debt to Sparks has been paid. Unfortunately, you and I paid it.

How the Spider Was Plucked Out of the Web

How the Spider Was Plucked Out of the Web

The New York Times has a fascinating piece this morning recounting how the military tracked Saddam to his little hole in the ground.
These guys (our military men) are smart.

Religious Expression Banned In France

Religious Expression Banned In France

France is well on its way to banning crucifixes, yarmalukes, and head scarves in its public schools.

Ironically, only the despotic Greens and Communists are objecting, on the grounds that the ban tramples civil liberties. Since when have Greens on Communists cared about civil liberties?

Getting the World's Attention

Getting the World's Attention

Gadhafi suddenly wanted to talk just before the Iraq war. He gave up his weapons program five days after seeing Saddam Hussein being deloused.
Coincidence?

Dean Too Kooky, Even For Soros?

Dean Too Kooky, Even For Soros

Robert Novak reports that even George Soros is having second thoughts about Howard Dean.

Hey Howard! Does This Make America Safer?

Hey Howard! Does This Make America Safer?

Gadhafi's capitulation is a direct consequence of Saddam's capture. Will Howard Dean finally admit that the United States is safer?

Al Qaida, Dope Peddlers

Al Qaida, Dope Peddlers

Is there nothing that Al Quaida can do that will offend the faithful. Would Mohammed approve of dope dealing?

Orgasmatrons for Sale, $17,000

Orgasmatrons for Sale, $17,000

Now that sperm can be cultured from stem cells and women can buy machines that give them orgasms better than sex, who needs men? We better hope they don't learn to open mayonnaise jars.

Why Not? He's Already Mortgages His Soul

Why Not? He's Already Mortgages His Soul

The French-looking John Kerry, who has fallen behind Al Sharpton in the polls has re-mortgaged his house to keep his campaing afloat.

Therea Heinz, hide your bank book.

This Wasn't Supposed To Happen

This Wasn't Supposed To Happen

Didn't Dr. Dean, the French-looking John Kerry and the French Jacques Chirac all assured us that the Iraq war would yield instability and make the world a more dangerous place. Today, Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi announced that he would be giving up his WMD program.

Does anybody believe that this happened in a vacuum? Or might Gadhafi have learned a bit of lesson from Saddam?

Paul Krugman Loses Again

Paul Krugman Loses Again

This morning, Paul Krugman hinted darkly that the 9-11 attack was the fault of the Bush Administration, citing an unfortunate comment by the head of the investigating commission that the the attacks were preventable.

Unfortunately for Krugman, Thomas Kean has revised and extended his remarks. "We have no evidence that anybody high in the Clinton administration or the Bush administration did anything wrong," chairman Thomas Kean said in an interview with ABC's "Nightline" taped for airing Thursday night.

Damn! Damn! Damn!

Cheaters Never Prosper

Cheaters Never Prosper

Now that the onerous Campaign Finance Reform law has been upheld, it's going to used against its top proponent, the Democrats.

After pushing the law as a moral imperitive, the immoral Democrats immediately began probing for loopholes. They thought they'd found one, but the Federal Elections Commission is clamping down.

"WASHINGTON -- Democrats who have been forming groups to avoid spending restrictions in the campaign finance law may face bad news: The government's new chief election regulator is warning that their activities could be reined in."

Capture of Saddam is Not Big News After All

Capture of Saddam is Not Big News After All

The Big News this past Monday was that there was no big news last Sunday. The more gullible among you might have fallen for that photo-op capture of Saddam Hussein and thought that was Big News. But Howard Dean took to the podium the morning after to deprogram the brainwashed simpletons. Nothing of consequence occurred.
"The capture of Saddam is a good thing which I hope will help keep our soldiers safer. But the capture of Saddam has not made America safer," pronounced the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.
One person whose brainwashing resisted Dean’s cure was future also-ran Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut). “Howard Dean has climbed into his own spider hole of denial if he believes that the capture of Saddam Hussein has not made America safer. Saddam Hussein is a homicidal maniac, brutal dictator, supporter of terrorism, and enemy of the United States, and there should be no doubt that America and the world are safer with him captured.�
On Sunday, Lieberman reminded the world that, “If Howard Dean had his way, Saddam would be in power, not in prison.�
To be fair, it’s worth pointing out that were Joseph Lieberman vice-president today, Saddam would also still be in power. Al Gore did say that only Howard Dean has been right on Iraq from the start. He also said that the Iraq war was the worst foreign policy mistake in the nation’s history - worse than Vietnam, I suppose.
Dean then parroted the other cognoscenti by declaring that the capture of Saddam Hussein was a great opportunity to internationalize the rebuilding of Iraq.
I may be a little dumb, but I really don’t see how including the French and Germans in the coalition is going to reduce the level of resistance. Who really believes that the Saddam Fedayeen or the Baathist dead-enders, or the Al Quaeda terrorists will be satisfied with a broader coalition policing Iraq? Are we to believe that these suicide bombers are sacrificing their lives so that French companies can bid on reconstruction contracts?
Dean also opined that foreign policy requires a subtlety that the Bush Administration lacks. “Nuance matters in foreign policy.�
That must be the sort of nuance Dean exhibited back in 1998 when he defended Clinton’s unilateral four-day bombing campaign against Saddam Husseins’ Iraq: “I don't think we could have built an international coalition to invade or have a substantial bombing of Saddam.�…“The French will always do exactly the opposite on what the United States wants regardless of what happens, so we're never going to have a consistent policy.�
And of course, a good president has a firm grasp on world affairs. "We've gotten rid of him [Saddam Hussein],� Dean once pronounced, “and I suppose that's a good thing.�
Fortunately for Dean, he has the Puget Sound Pinhead, Representative Jim McDermott (D-Never-Neverland), making a fool of himself on Dean’s narrow left flank. He followed Dean’s embarrassing performance by accusing the Bush Administration of timing the capture of Saddam to maximize political benefit.
"I've been surprised they waited, but then I thought, well, politically, it probably doesn't make much sense to find him just yet," he said.
“There's too much by happenstance for it to be just a coincidental thing that it happened on this particular day," he continued.
“I don't have any knowledge if they knew about it (Saddam's hideout). I think they (Bush administration) got a Christmas present early.�
Oh sure, McDermott’s a nut who could get elected only in Seattle. But Clinton’s Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright suggested to Morton Kondracke that the Bush Administration already had Usama bin Laden in prison, to be brought out just before the 2004 general election.
Dean is beginning to look like a centrist within his party.
And as an aside, after seeing video of Saddam being deloused (or, to be fair to the lice, perhaps they were being de-Saddamed) last Sunday morning, I’m pretty sure that I know where he’s has been hiding. I was serving dinner to the homeless in Spokane on Thanksgiving Day, and I think I handed him a sandwich. Of course, I’m kidding. Most of the people I met that day had bathed and brushed their teeth far more recently than the Saddam I saw.

Paul Kruman's Certainly Unhappy

Paul Krugman's Certainly Unhappy

As Michael Kinsley lamented, good news for the country is upsetting news for Democrats who would like to see Bush defeated.

To wit, Paul Krugman.


"The capture of Saddam Hussein has produced a great outpouring of relief among both Iraqis and Americans. He's no longer taunting us from hiding; he was a monster and deserves whatever fate awaits him. But we shouldn't let war supporters use the occasion of Saddam's capture to rewrite the recent history of U.S. foreign policy, to draw a veil over the way the nation was misled into war."

And then there's this howler: "The security situation remains terrible; the economy remains moribund; gasoline shortages and power outages continue."


The security situation remains terrible? How many attacks have we suffered in the last two years. As the recent week's news shows, our greatest security problem remains Clinton and Carter-appointed judges who undermine domestic security.

The economy remains moribund? He must be just catching up with 2002 news.

Gasoline shortages and power outages continue? Well, Californians rid themselves of Gray Davis, Democrats stand in the way of plentiful gasoline, and the northeast power outage is a consequence of policies Bush inherited and Clinton purposefully sustained at the behest of environmentalists.

Woe is Michael Kinsley's Party, the Future Looks Bright

Woe is Michael Kinsley's Party, the Future Looks Bright

Saddam is caught. Unemployment is down. The stock market is up. Democrats are down.

"If you're the challenger, what's good for the voters is bad for you, and what's bad for the voters is good for you. When the stock market goes down, it buoys you up. When the market goes up, it brings you down."

And, bless his heart, Michael Kinsley points out a disconnected Democratic argument (previous noted here).

"Virtually every Democratic candidate including Dean followed another puzzling convention of American politics by saying that the capture of Saddam was a reason, or at least an occasion, to draw in other nations. Their most common complaint about the war has been that it isn't "multilateral." It's hard to see how this argument is affected one way or another by finding Hussein in a hole. "

A Dictator Finally Faces Justice

A Dictator Finally Faces Justice

Mona Charen cherishes a special moment in history. Dictator is taken alive.

Savor it. Hitler deprived the Allies of the satisfaction of executing him. Stalin died in his bed. Pol Pot died of natural causes. But Saddam Hussein, that vicious, depraved worm of a man, was plucked from his rat hole. Ah the great warrior! The author of the Mother of All Battles. The man who claimed he would drive the "invaders" from Iraq. The man who forced thousands of Iraqis to sacrifice their lives so that he could continue his squalid and luxurious spree in his many palaces. This modern day Saladin (another of his conceits) didn't even have the courage to kill himself in the end, but submitted meekly, with an offer to "negotiate."

Right All Along?

Right All Along?

Guess what? Howard Dean did support a resolution authorizing President Bush to wage war on Iraq. It was not the same resolution that ultimately passed, but it still would have resulted in the same war.

Liberals to Save Democratic Party From Howard Dean?

Liberals to Save Democratic Party From Howard Dean?

It has taken an awfully long time for the liberal press to discover that Howard Dean is nuts. But, finally the Washington Post is on the case and this will likely be interpreted as permission to the rest of the liberal media to start scrutinizing the frontrunner.

"Howard Dean's penchant for flippant and sometimes false statements is generating increased criticism from his Democratic presidential rivals and raising new questions about his ability to emerge as a nominee who can withstand intense, sustained scrutiny and defeat President Bush."

The Post reports (finally!) Dean's accusation that President Bush had prior knowlege of the 9-11 attacks and did nothing. And, it reports his initial justification.

"How is what I did different from what Dick Cheney or George Bush . . . did during the time of the buildup of the invasion of Iraq?" the former Vermont governor said Tuesday night aboard his campaign plane. "There were all these theories that they mentioned. Many of them turned out not to be true. The difference is that I acknowledged that I did not believe the theory I was putting out."

I hadn't heard that before. Why did the Post sit on it all this time?

Is it too late to save the party from a humiliation in next year's election? Probably not. And if that happens, it will partly be the fault of the Post and the New York Times and CNN and NBC and CBS and ABC for trying to keep this man's wackiness out of public view.

Party of The Unhinged?

Party of The Unhinged?

Once upon a time, it was easy to cast Jim McDermott as a kook. People were offended, but not surprised when he claimed that George Bush timed the capture of Saddam Hussein to gain maximum political benefit.

But, the current frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination has joined McDermott in paranoid fantasy land with several insane statements, including an insinuation that President Bush had prior knowlege of the 9-11 attacks and did nothing to prevent it. Nevertheless, he has not suffered for these indiscretions. Indeed, his popularity has grown.

And finally, there is former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, who seemed to agree with McDermott and further speculated that the Bush Administration might already have Usama bin Laden in a prison someplace and was waiting until just before the next election to show him to the world.

Jugs of Waste Along Washington Highways

Jugs of Waste Along Washington Highways

I don't know what to say about this. Read it yourself and form your own conclusions. But, considering that most of it comes from long haul truckers, I can say that the television campaign won't work.

Madeleine Albright's Comedy Debut

Madeleine Albright's Comedy Debut

The former Secretary of State auditions for Comedy Central. The warm up acts will be Howard Dean and Jim McDermott.

Torturing Saddam

Torturing Saddam

While deep thinker ponder the wisdom of torturing Saddam, we've already started the process, by forcing him to watch anti-Saddam rallies.

John Kerry's Schizophrenic Foreign Policy

John Kerry's Schizophrenic Foreign Policy

In his latest effort to rejuvinate his campaign, John Kerry managed to sum up his own problems nicely as he crticized Howard Dean for wanting to give France veto power over our use of the military.

He described Dean's foreign policy as a, "Simon Says' foreign policy where America only moves if others move first."

He then criticized President Bush for not giving France veto power over the use of our military.

The War on Terror, as a Movie

The War on Terror, as a Movie

Jonah Goldberg wonders how well Howard Dean's moral ambivalence would fit into a movie. He predicts a box office flop.

Howard Dean's Passions

Howard Dean's Passions

Too few people in this country read Mark Steyn. Today, they have a special chance. He's in the Wall Street Journal. And he's writing on Howard Dean's passions. Howard Dean shows llittle interest in issues like Osama bin Laden.

"There was a revealing moment on MSNBC the other night. Chris Matthews asked Dr. Dean whether Osama bin Laden should be tried in an American court or at The Hague. "I don't think it makes a lot of difference." "

But then, there was the issue of that bike path that caused him to quit the Episcopal Church.

"And that's our pugnacious little Democrat. On Osama bin Laden, he's Mister Insouciant. But he gets mad about bike paths. Destroy the World Trade Center and he's languid and laconic and blasé. Obstruct plans to convert the ravaged site into a memorial bike path and he'll hunt you down wherever you are."

Saddam Likes Ham?

Saddam Likes Ham?

When found in his rat hole, one thing that soldiers found was a canned ham.

And this man had the temerity to call for Jihad?

How the Mighty Have Fallen

How the Mighty Have Fallen

No solid gold toilets here.

Actually, it sort of looks like my son's apartment.

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Mind Your Own Business

Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Mind Your Own Business

If the Supreme Court believes that consenual homosexual sex is none of Texas's business, then surely using a vibrator is nobody's business either.

If selling vibrators is a crime, then shouldn't selling condoms be illegal too?

The Guardian Evicerates Noam Chomsky

The Guardian Evicerates Noam Chomsky

Hamish Hamilton reviews Noam Chomsky' latest and uses it to reveal the moral decay of today's left.


"Whatever other crimes it committed or covered up in the twentieth century, the Left could be relied upon to fight fascism. A regime that launched genocidal extermination campaigns against impure minorities would be recognised for what it was and denounced.

Not the least of the casualties of the Iraq war is the death of anti-fascism. Patriots could oppose Bush and Blair by saying that it wasn't in Britain's interests to follow America. Liberals could put the UN first and insist that the United States proved its claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before the court of world opinion. Adherents to both perspectives were free to tell fascism's victims, 'We're sorry to leave you under a tyranny and realise that many more of you will die, but that's your problem."

Howard Dean's Hatefest

Howard Dean's Hatefest

Anyone who still doesn't believe that Howard Dean is appealing the hate wing of the Democratic Party should read this.

Chinese Sex Museum

Chinese Sex Museum

Well, there are 1.2 billion of them. So, they must know something about sex.

Shameless in Seattle

Shameless in Seattle

You can get away with anything in Seattle. First, Baghdad Jim McDermott went to Iraq to demonstrate his unflagging support for the dictator. Now, he's claiming that the Bush Administration timed the capture of Saddam to give the greatest possible political benefit to Bush.

No doubt we have Bin Laden hidden away someplace to pull out next summer, perhaps during the Republican convention.

Unpatriotic Democrats

Unpatriotic Democrats

At least one Democrat believes that the anti-war movement has crossed over into anti-Americanism.

"What I'm saying is that those who try to paint the bleakest, most anti-American, and most anti-Bush picture of the war, whose purpose is not criticism but deception in order to gain temporary political advantage, those people are indeed not patriotic. They have placed their own or their party's political gain ahead of the national struggle to destroy the power base of the terrorists who attacked Americans abroad and on American soil."

Democrats Have a Chance to Save Themselves

Democrats Have a Chance to Save Themselves

According to most Democrats, the capture of Saddam Hussein provides the Bush Adminstration with an opportunity to internationalize the reconstruction.
The Wall Street Journal argues that the capture of Saddam Hussein gives Democrats one last chance to save themselves.

Bargain? With What?

Bargain? With What?

What does he have to offer?

"My name is Saddam Hussein," the fallen Iraqi leader told U.S. troops in English as they pulled him out of a dank hole that had become his home. "I am the president of Iraq and I want to negotiate."

Let's see. There are six hundred highly trained, heavily armed soldiers, and Saddam wants to "negotiate?"

Saddam's People in Bondage, an Update

Saddam's People in Bondage, an Update

Enslaved Iraqis managed to conceal their disappointment over Saddam's capture by dancing in the streets yesterday.

"We were not truly free until today," said Muadi, 29, a shop owner, as others in the barbershop broke out in a dance.

Democrats Get Bitchy

Democrats Get Bitchy

What's good news for the country is bad news for Democrats.

Can't these people ever show the slightest bit of grace?

“If I drink water I will have to go to the bathroom and how can I use the bathroom when my people are in bondage?”

“If I drink water I will have to go to the bathroom and how can I use the bathroom when my people are in bondage?” Saddam Hussein

Saddam's people, in bondage.

Iraqi React to Saddam's Capture

Iraqi's React to Saddam's Capture

Iraqis seem happy enough. If you want gloom, go here.

Breakthrough!!!!!!!!!??????????

Breakthrough!!!!!!!!!??????????

Can I believe my ears? His liberal immune system apparently broken down by the capture of Saddam, Tom Brokaw actually discussed the story in this morning's Sunday Morning Telegraph regarding the links between Saddam Hussein and 9-11 ringleader Mohammed Atta.

This Weekly Standard story linking Saddam and Bin Laden was also mentioned.

Yeah But, What About..........?

Yeah But, What About..........?

How will the Democrats spin this as a negative?

Is the Trap Slamming Shut?

Is the Trap Slamming Shut?

Even though evidence of Saddam's complicity in the 9/11 attacks piles up, Democrats can't prevent themselves from claiming that the attack on Iraq is a distraction from the war on terrorism.

Now, the Telelgraph has documentary evidence that 9/11 ring leader, Mohammed Atta was trained in Iraq by Abu Nidal.

Is George Bush sitting on this stuff so that he can snap the trap next fall, when it will catch the greatest number of Democrats?

What Have Talks Done for Israel?

What Has Talk Done For Israel?

The latest Palestinian Prime Minister issued a curious warning the yesterday.

According to Reuters, "Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie warned Israel Friday that a controversial barrier it is building in the West Bank would kill off a U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan."

Oh no! Not that! Has there been anything more deadly for Israelis than talk with Palestinians. Whenever there this a cease fire for talks, the Palestinians simply use that opportunity to reorganize for terror attacks.

And, can anybody remember the last promise that Arafat kept?

On the other hand that wall will impede suicide bombers from entering Israel to kill children. What would you prefer: Listen to Palestinian lies of save your children's lives?

And Speaking of Paul Krugman

And Speaking of Paul Krugman

There was a entertaining juxtaposition of a news story and a Paul Krugman rant in the New York Times the other day.

There was Krugman, predictably condemning the Democrats' favorite enemy, Halliburton for skimming excessive profits on the sale of gasoline to the US military in Iraq. Then, there was a news article in the same edition with the single sentence that read, "The officials said Halliburton did not appear to have profited from overcharging for fuel, but had instead paid a subcontractor too much for the gasoline in the first place."

I guess Paul Krugman doesn't read all the news that the Times considers fit to print.

Rapid Growth Expected in 2004

Rapid Growth Expected in 2004

Will Paul Krugman notice this?

Al Gore Loved Halliburton

Al Gore Loved Halliburton

A favorite Democrat tactic these days is to take a company's name, convert it into a term of derision, and then mention it with a sneer as often as possible along with George Bush's name.

The latest whipping boy is Halliburton. But, once upon a time, Halliburton was a good company. In fact, the mouth foamer himself, Al Gore, once cited Halliburton as an fine example of a company that the government should cooperate.

Banning DDT Killed More

Banning DDT Killed More

A hive of UN eco-fascists pronouced that global warming killed 150,000 humans in the year 2000.

Has anybody calculated how many humans died from malaria as a consequence of the DDT ban? And how many people died becase environmentalist wackos decided for them that it would be better to starve than eat genetically modified corn?

Was It Worth It?

Was It Worth It?

Keiko the killer whale has died. Willy, as he was known in the movie that made him famous and "free," never behaved as the animal rights people wanted him to. He liked people. And I fear that he spent these last couple of years pining for the human touch he had grown to love.

And, we should not forget that this episode cost many, many millions of dollars.

At least the Oregon Coast Aquarium got a really great exhibit out of the deal.

Washington Post Finally Covers Iraqi Demonstration

Washington Post Finally Covers Iraqi Demonstration

Remember that big, pro-American, anti-Saddam rally in Baghdad the other day? The one that no mainstream media outlets, other than Fox News would report? Well, the Washington Post is finally covering. No, wait. They aren't. It's a much smaller anti-American demonstration they've decided is newsworthy.

It is at times such as this that I suspect that the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is actually a front organization for Iowa Beef Packers, and has been given the mission of undermining the credibility of the animal rights movement. How else can one explain PETA’s propensity to blur its message by employing such distasteful means of expression? Does anybody else remember PETA’s campaign encouraging college students to drink more beer and less milk? That did the animal rights movement no favors.
PETA’s most recent brain cramp may be seen on a Spokane billboard. It portrays a forlorn Santa Claus looking down the front of his pants. The caption reads, “Santa’s not coming this Christmas. Milk causes impotence. Soy brings joy.”
First of all, the claims made by PETA are scientifically inaccurate - more on that later. And secondly, by corrupting the Christmas season with a sexual double entendre, PETA’s message is lost in its stylistic crudity. Is it really necessary to discomfit parents who’ll be asked by the children about Santa’s advertised absence? How would you like to explain to a six-year old this alternative definitions for “come.” And, from a purely pragmatic standpoint, is it effective to offend the sensibilities of the people PETA wishes to persuade? And, does PETA do itself any good by portraying itself as crude and oafish? I suspect that any message is more digestible when the messenger is respected. And even more importantly, any messenger is more effective when he treats his audience with respect.
If the audience finds the messenger repugnant, then his message is dismissed. This is why attacking the reputation of the messenger is such a common tactic in politics. And if the messenger smears his own reputation, the message is even less credible. Just what sort of reputation does PETA build for itself when it chooses to compose its message using the language of Hustler Magazine publisher Larry Flynt. Other than a few Clintonista types, who pays much attention to the utterings of Larry Flynt? Were Larry Flynt to discover the meaning of life, nobody would pay him the slightest heed.
And, the claim that milk causes sexual dysfunction has absolutely no foundation in science. More than anything, it reminds me of a myth common in less developed Islamic countries that Jews and Americans can cause penises of Islamic men to melt away with a simple hand shake.
And so, we are back to the issue of respect. Does PETA really believe that the citizens of Spokane are as unsophisticated as Sudanese peasants? Apparently those who conceived of this campaign think so. And that betrays a secondary disrespect. A patently dishonest message, that milk causes impotence, is an insult to the intelligence. Only the willfully stupid would believe such nonsense. By paying for this billboard, PETA manages to offend and insult nearly everyone who views it.
And, that brings us to the scientific side of the message on this billboard. It is nonsense. But since they’ve brought it up, the scientific evidence shows clearly that it is soy that manly men need to avoid. Soy is so loaded with phytoestrogens that male children of vegan women are frequently born with genital malformations, making it impossible to distinguish their sex at birth.
To learn more about the effects of soy on male sexual dysfunction, visit: .
I want PETA to fail. I want their message to fall flat. And so, one would think that I should be encouraging them to erect more billboards with messages that do harm to their agenda- like Karl Rove rooting for Howard Dean. But, it is more important to me that standards of decency and civility are upheld. The coarsening of our society is much more threatening than shriveling sex organs.
And speaking of shriveling organs, recent studies have shown that tofu consumption is associated with brain shrinkage. Might it be that the soy milk, tofurkey, and veggie burgers that sustains the vegan culture is taking a toll on the gray matter of those not-so-deep thinkers at PETA?

Bush to "Allies": Kiss My Butt

Bush to "Allies": Kiss My Butt

There are those who argue that simultaneously asking the French, the Germans and the Russians to restructure their Iraqi debts and telling them to go to hell on reconstruction is a problem. I don't see it. They weren't going to restructure their debt anyway. Plus, they're not going to get their money anyway. Why should the Iraqi people repay the money Saddam borrowed from these scum to cement his tyranny? If the axis of weasels want to recover some of their money from Saddam, then they can come to Iraq and help us find him. He still has quite a bit of that money squirrelled away someplace.

A Job For the French

A Job For the French

Maybe we shouldn't entirely cut our allies, the French, the Germans, and the Ruskies out of Iraq contracts. I think it may be entirely appropriate that they dig up the mines they sold to Saddam.

Ann Coulter's Savage Wit

Ann Coulter's Savage Wit

Ann doesn't always have her facts straight, but she's alway a hoot to read.

"The cover story in this week's New York Times magazine described Howard Dean's hardcore support as consisting primarily of impotent nosepickers hoping to make some friends and unsuccessful auditioners for Gap commercials. That is to say, the followers (as opposed to leaders) of tomorrow.

Their passion for Dean was aptly summarized by 24-year-old Lauren Popper – the "official representative" at a Dean campaign office one particular night. Though she "broke into tears several times while trying to explain" the allure of the Dean campaign, Popper managed to convey that she was first attracted to Dean based on his policy of having a state social worker visit every new mother in Vermont (not to be confused with the Arkansas policy from the 1980s in which the governor would visit every woman who was hoping to become pregnant). Not that I'm trying to privatize anything here, but in my home state of Connecticut, a new mother is traditionally visited by her own mother."

Bush Tramples Dean on Dean's Home Turf

Bush Tramples Dean on Dean's Home Turf

If losing all those governorships was good news for Terry McAwful, then this news should be really promising.

Al Gore's Nixonian Comeback Attempt

Al Gore's Nixonian Comeback Attempt

Former Nixon speechwriter sees a lot of his old boss in Al Gore.

Buyer's Remorse Already?

Buyer's Remorse Already?

The cherry on the top of Howard Dean's string of idiotic statements lately was his repeating an absurd, paranoid left legend that George Bush had advance information of the coming September 11 attacks.

Almost as disgusting was the hesitancy of fellow Democrats to condemn Dean. But, even though Democrats are publicly rallying around Bush's likely opponent, many are expressing buyer's remorse before a single primary vote is cast.

All The News That Fits?

All The News That Fits?

Apparently the news of a large, pro-democracy, pro-US rally in Baghdad yesterday was unfit to print, going unmentioned in the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR and CNN.

It was briefly mentioned in a news summary, but with a front-page picture in my local paper though, the Spokane Spokesman-Review.

As Soon As Women Learn To Open Mayonnaise Jars, We're Finished

As Soon As Women Learn To Open Mayonnaise Jars, We're Finished

Now that artificial sperm can be created from stem cells, there's not much use for men anymore.

The Clinton/Gore Recession

The Clinton/Gore Recession

Will Paul Krugman take notice of this? It really was the Clinton recession, well underway before George Bush was elected, and certainly long before he took office.

For that matter, will anyone at the New York Times notice? Or CNN or CBS or PBS or....?

Maybe Now, He Can Afford to Pay the Judgement Against Him

Maybe Now, He Can Afford to Pay the Judgement Against Him

Many years ago, Democrat presidential candidate Al Sharpton lost a lawsuit over his slander of New York City policemen during the Tawana Brawley affair. He never paid up, claiming poverty. Well, now the reverend has some money. It's time to pay up!

John Kerry vs Free Speech

John Kerry vs Free Speech

The National Rifle Association wants to buy a radio or television station so that it can get its message out easier. Owning a station would provide the NRA with the same exception to campaign finance rules that CNN and the New York Times enjoys.

John Kerry is against it.

I have one question. Why should anybody have to seek an exemption to speek freely?

Al Gore Makes No Sense To Jonah Goldberg

Al Gore Makes No Sense To Jonah Goldberg

Jonah Goldberg tries to understand Al Gore's motives for his awkward, crude endorsement of Howard Dean's candidacy - and comes up dry.

"So while Gore's motives may still be concealed behind the lead-casing of his android skull, the meaning of what he's doing is fair game for everyone."

It's Not As Though Anti-Semitism Isn't a Problem Here

It's Not As Though Anti-Semitism Isn't a Problem Here

The popular left wing website, Indymedia has a new design for the American flag. It sort of explains why the left admires Europe.

Aren't We Supposed to Emulate Europe?

Aren't We Supposed to Emulate Europe?

One of the things I find most infuriating about the Left in this country is their affection for Europe. Let's remember a few things. At the beginning of the 20th. century, most of Europe was ruled by hereditary monarchs. Our democracy was over a hundred years old.

Then, Europe traded in its kings and queens for collectivist dictatorships. We had to save their asses from themselves that time.

And today, racism and other forms of bigotry are much more widespread and mainstream in Europe than they are here.

No F**king Way!

No F**king Way!

More than anyone else, John Kerry has reminded me of Al Gore during this campaign, except that he's not quite as personable. He has too many advisors on his staff, giving him conflicting advice, all of which he has tried to use, resulting in shifting positions and a very incoherent message.

First, he tried to present himself as a centrist, then found himself outflanked on the left by Dean. Since then, he has tried, without success to compete with Dean on the left. This is problematic for him because his new positions contradict his voting record.

So now, he has tried to out anger Dean, trying to apprear even less civil than the former Vermont governor.

Examle: "Did you feel you were blindsided by Dean's success?

Well, not blindsided. I mean, when I voted for the war, I voted for what I thought was best for the country. Did I expect Howard Dean to go off to the left and say, "I'm against everything"? Sure. Did I expect George Bush to fuck it up as badly as he did? I don't think anybody did."

Gore's Endorsing Dean! Whoopee!

Gore's Endorsing Dean! Whoopee!

In what is supposedly a blow to the Lieberman campaign, 2000 loser Al Gore is endorsing Howard Dean. Some people have expressed surprise at this apparent betrayal. These people have short memories. Betrayal has always been a big part of Al Gore's political life and because he lacks any core beliefs, he has always tried to jump on whatever bandwagon he thinks might carry him to the front. With Dean leading by 32 points in New Hampshire, he was certain to get on.

Santa's Not Cumming?

Santa's Not Cumming?

There are times when I think that the People for the Ethical Treatement of Animals is a front organization for Iowa Beef Packers, whose mission it is to discredit animal rights activists. As in this campaign, in which PETA argues that Santa can't get it up because milk causes impotence. This sort of reminds me of shrinking penises seen in Muslim Countries. PETA then advises drinking soy milk instead.

Incidentally, it is soy that causes male sexual dysfunction.

And, if PETA is not a front organization, maybe all that soy shrank their brains.

Is It Bungee Jumping If You Forget Your Bungee?

Is It Bungee Jumping If You Forget Your Bungee?

At what point did he remember what he forgot?

The Forbidden (spoiled) Fruit (juice) Sells

The Forbidden (spoiled) Fruit (juice) Sells

Nothing is so irresistable as the forbidden. Alessandro Lunardelli has made a name for himself by selling unremarkable wine with remarkable labels. His bottles portray mass murderers.

In 1995, he was sued and threatened with jail in Italy for putting Benito Mussolini on his bottles. Since then, Stalin, Che Gueverra, Marx and most recently, Hitler have "graced" his wine."

Now people are upset over his latest portrait, Adolf Hitler. Belgium and Germany have both tried to ban the bottles. "It's strange that Stalin murdered 15 million people, but there is no fuss about the bottle. And for the labels with Hitler and Mussolini I ended up in court," said 41-year-old Lunardelli.

Strange indeed.

Hang a Millstone Around Their Necks

Hang a Millstone Around Their Necks

Mark Steyn should be required reading for liberals. And, if they refuse to read it, they should tied to a chair be read to by their therapists.

Not Much There

Not Much There

George Will probes the depths of Howard Dean's mind - and barely wets the soles of his shoes.

Figure this out:

Asked by Matthews whether he supports state right-to-work laws protecting the right of workers not to join a union, Dean said no. But he also said ``I very much believe that states ought to have the right to recognize -- to organize their own laws. So I'm not likely as president ... to order states to change them.'''

Then he says:

In his next breath, Dean said that if Congress sends to his presidential desk legislation denying states that right that he ``very much'' believes they ought to have -- the right to have right-to-work laws -- ``I'd sign it in an instant.'' This is the intellectuals' candidate?

Dean seems to get lost when his sentence exceed bump sticker length. Maybe that's why he seems so two-dimensional.