If a drunken Mel Gibson did indeed call out, "Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world," then there can be only one possible place for a man who believes such things: as the next Secretary General of the United Nations.
--David Frum, National Review
Sad to say, but this is absolutely true.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/31/2006 09:53 ||
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#1
Hell, if anyone does a movie about William Wallace, they could cast Mel as Edward I.
Posted by: Phil ||
07/31/2006 10:50 Comments ||
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WASHINGTON -- Presidential adviser Karl Rove said Saturday that journalists often criticize political professionals because they want to draw attention away from the "corrosive role" their own coverage plays in politics and government.
"Some decry the professional role of politics, they would like to see it disappear," Rove told graduating students at the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. "Some argue political professionals are ruining American politics _ trapping candidates in daily competition for the news cycle instead of long-term strategic thinking in the best interest of the country."
But Rove turned that criticism on journalists.
"It's odd to me that most of these critics are journalists and columnists," he said. "Perhaps they don't like sharing the field of play. Perhaps they want to draw attention away from the corrosive role their coverage has played focusing attention on process and not substance."
Rove told about 100 graduates trained to be political operatives that they should respect the instincts of the American voter.
"There are some in politics who hold that voters are dumb, ill informed and easily misled, that voters can be manipulated by a clever ad or a smart line," said Rove, who is credited with President Bush's victories in the 2000 and 2004 elections. "I've seen this cynicism over the years from political professionals and journalists. American people are not policy wonks, but they have great instincts and try to do the right thing."
Rove said it is "wrong to underestimate the intelligence of the American voter, but easy to overestimate their interest. Much tugs at their attention."
But he said voters are able to watch campaigns and candidates closely and "this messy and imperfect process has produced great leaders."
#1
I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast.
In a few precincts of American politics, voters still applaud the utterly futile gesture of defiance, the confrontational rhetoric that pleases only true believers, the fist shaken in the face of an opponent who neither notices nor cares. Apparently, such empty gestures signs of impotence, really have come to be seen as "speaking truth to power." That helps to explain the remaining, if faltering, appeal of U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.), whose supporters are nothing if not naïve. They have turned Theodore Roosevelt's maxim "Speak softly and carry a big stick" upside down.
McKinney speaks loudly but has accomplished little in her 12 years in Congress. That's because her outrageous rhetoric and loopy antics distance her not only from the Republican majority, but even from many of her Democratic colleagues. She has few allies. That number grew yet smaller after her most recent controversy, a very public imbroglio prompted by a March skirmish with a Capitol police officer. He says he didn't recognize her; she was wearing a new hairstyle but was without the lapel pin usually worn by members of Congress. When he stopped her, the officer said, she slugged him with her cellphone. She denounced him for alleged racial profiling and "the inappropriate touching and stopping of me a female, black congresswoman."
While the regrettable episode further endeared her to that dwindling population which sees such incidents as proof of her cojones, it reminded many colleagues and constituents that she is a public official who tends more toward cheap theatrics than common sense. It's no wonder she finds herself struggling to retain her 4th District seat, consigned to an Aug. 8 runoff with former DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
07/31/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
Have any of you ever wondered why we've got so many truly stupid/ignorant/evil women in Congress? When I see the likes of McKinney, Feinstein, Boxer, Clinton, Pelosi, Kaptur, Waters, Murray etc., etc., I begin to think we might well have made a mistake by giving women the vote. Granted there are a few decent female elected officials out there (Kay Bailey Hutchinson comes to mind), and the brilliantly shining example of Margaret Thatcher stands out like the Eddystone Light, but by and large it appears they, as a group, have more damned fools than the men do. Anybody got an answer for that?
Posted by: mac ||
07/31/2006 0:39 Comments ||
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#2
"Voters Can See Through McKinney"
Don't care much for the graphic language
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/31/2006 1:06 Comments ||
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#3
Do you often display such wisdom as this, mac dear?
#6
mac, does that mean you think brilliant minds like Murtha, Ted Kennedy, Buchanan, Sharpton, John F'n Kerry and Kucinich are representatives of male brainpower? Or just an indication that we shouldn't let Northerners vote? ;)
#9
Seems like 95% of the females in government are morons while only 93% of the males are. Confidence limits would indicate that both groups are morons about the same amount. McKinney rises above moronic; she is a perfect idiot. Very, very rarely is anything perfect.
#10
The first problem is that one gets to be a Congressman not by a display of intelligence, but by name recognition. The reason for this is that as free men and women, we can and will vote. Nobody can convince me that my vote is equal to Jane or John Doe who know nothing about politics and government. I vote with my brain, usually against some party wonk who will dip his fat hand into the money bag as soon as we look away. The search for good men and women to run for office takes a back seat to party power.
Perhaps we're doomed.
#12
Here's the test: go through the female Sens./Reps. and count how many moonbats there are. Then divide by the total number of females. Do the same thing for the males. Compare notes. Maybe I'm way off base but I don't think so. Every one of the women I mentioned in my earlier entry is a certified lefty nutter. Off the top of my head I can think of maybe a few more men who are equally notorious as certified loons but I think the overall percentage is considerably lower. My apologies to Swamp Blondie and particularly Trailing Wife for any ruffled feathers; I'd gladly vote for either of them for any elected position. That said, it still seems to me that the vast majority of the women I know of holding elected positions in U.S. politics are serious moonbats, and at a higher rate than men.
Posted by: mac ||
07/31/2006 8:53 Comments ||
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#13
OK, 13% (11 of 84) of the women in congress are dingbats. I have avoided people whom I simply detest, Sen. Clinton, and those with whom I disagree but who are not dingbats, Sen. Feinstein. Some will disagree. My nominees:
Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila (DEM-TX-18th)
Rep. McKinney, Cynthia (DEM-GA-4th)
Sen. Mikulski, Barbara (DEM-MD)
Rep. Lee, Barbara (DEM-CA-9th)
Rep. Lofgren, Zoe (DEM-CA-16th)
Sen. Murray, Patty (DEM-WA)
Rep. Waters, Maxine (DEM-CA-35th)
Rep. Woolsey, Lynn (DEM-CA-6th)
Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes (DEM-DC-AL)
Rep. Pelosi, Nancy (DEM-CA-8th)
Sen. Boxer, Barbara (DEM-CA)
What is noteworthy is how many are from California. I think California has a high propensity to send dingbats, male and female, and a high propensity to send women. This creates a disparity with the rest of the country and gives women a bad name when only women from California should have a bad name.
The men? 7% (31 of 454)
Rep. Conyers, John (DEM-MI-14th)
Sen. Hagel, Chuck (REP-NE)
Sen. Durbin, Richard (DEM-IL)
Rep. Hastings, Alcee (DEM-FL-23rd)
Sen. Harkin, Tom (DEM-IA)
Rep. Conyers, John (DEM-MI-14th)
Sen. Hagel, Chuck (REP-NE)
Sen. Durbin, Richard (DEM-IL)
Rep. Hastings, Alcee (DEM-FL-23rd)
Sen. Harkin, Tom (DEM-IA)
Rep. Nadler, Jerrold (DEM-NY-8th)
Sen. Specter, Arlen (REP-PA)
Rep. Sanders, Bernard (IND-VT-AL)
Rep. McDermott, Jim (DEM-WA-7th)
Rep. Stark, Fortney (DEM-CA-13th)
Sen. Dodd, Christopher (DEM-CT)
Sen. Schumer, Charles (DEM-NY)
Sen. Byrd, Robert (DEM-WV)
Rep. Frank, Barney (DEM-MA-4th)
Rep. Markey, Edward (DEM-MA-7th)
Rep. Miller, George (DEM-CA-7th)
Sen. McCain, John (REP-AZ)
Sen. Rockefeller, John (DEM-WV)
Rep. Moran, James (DEM-VA-8th)
Sen. Feingold, Russ (DEM-WI)
Rep. Murtha, John (DEM-PA-12th)
Rep. Rangel, Charles (DEM-NY-15th)
Rep. Kucinich, Dennis (DEM-OH-10th)
Rep. Waxman, Henry (DEM-CA-30th)
Sen. Lautenberg, Frank (DEM-NJ)
Sen. Reid, Harry (DEM-NV)
Sen. Voinovich, George (REP-OH)
Sen. Levin, Carl (DEM-MI)
Rep. Meehan, Marty (DEM-MA-5th)
Rep. Lewis, Jerry (REP-CA-41st)
Sen. Kennedy, Edward (DEM-MA)
Rep. Nadler, Jerrold (DEM-NY-8th)
Sen. Specter, Arlen (REP-PA)
Rep. Sanders, Bernard (IND-VT-AL)
Rep. McDermott, Jim (DEM-WA-7th)
Rep. Stark, Fortney (DEM-CA-13th)
Sen. Dodd, Christopher (DEM-CT)
Sen. Schumer, Charles (DEM-NY)
Sen. Byrd, Robert (DEM-WV)
Rep. Frank, Barney (DEM-MA-4th)
Rep. Markey, Edward (DEM-MA-7th)
Rep. Miller, George (DEM-CA-7th)
Sen. McCain, John (REP-AZ)
Sen. Rockefeller, John (DEM-WV)
Rep. Moran, James (DEM-VA-8th)
Sen. Feingold, Russ (DEM-WI)
Rep. Murtha, John (DEM-PA-12th)
Rep. Rangel, Charles (DEM-NY-15th)
Rep. Kucinich, Dennis (DEM-OH-10th)
Rep. Waxman, Henry (DEM-CA-30th)
Sen. Lautenberg, Frank (DEM-NJ)
Sen. Reid, Harry (DEM-NV)
Sen. Voinovich, George (REP-OH)
Sen. Levin, Carl (DEM-MI)
Rep. Meehan, Marty (DEM-MA-5th)
Rep. Lewis, Jerry (REP-CA-41st)
Here the heavy hitters are from the east, W Va, MI, and MA. I'm sure I'm missing some.
#16
NS, you've listed Nadler and Harkin twice. That inconsequential gaffe made me think of Hedley Lamarr in "Blazing Saddles" interviewing the psycho nutball whose credentials for joining the gang were "rape, murder, arson and rape." Hmmm...
Posted by: mac ||
07/31/2006 11:17 Comments ||
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#17
Actually, It loooks like a paste error because I listed everybody twice in the male column. I've chewed up enough bandwidth with the error, so I'll leave it those wth Excel to resort it themselves unless there's a flood of demand for a correction. The paste error starts after the first Tom Harkin and goes to Sen. Kennedy.
#18
young Nimble plz check arithmetic as you may have missed the sum of House and Senate members and double dipped on a few....
The men? 7% (31 of 454)
btw do not trust my count :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
de HOUSE.. Vacancies (2); total 435
de Senate 100
total 535
your list 61
subtract the double dippage -8
bal, the ratio 53 / 535 =_______
Rep. Hastings, Alcee (DEM-FL-23rd)
Sen. Harkin, Tom (DEM-IA)
Sen. Byrd, Robert (DEM-WV)
Sen. Schumer, Charles (DEM-NY)
Rep. Frank, Barney (DEM-MA-4th)
Rep. Moran, James (DEM-VA-8th)
Sen. Feingold, Russ (DEM-WI)
Rep. Murtha, John (DEM-PA-12th)
Sen. Voinovich, George (REP-OH)
Sen. Reid, Harry (DEM-NV)
#19
Well, you have to look at women's voting patterns too. The female vote elected Bill Clinton twice. Yes, Bill Clinton, philanderer in chief, of all people.
I can't make any good theoretical arguments against women's suffrage, but I can make some pretty compelling practical ones...
#22
Then there's that female governor from Loiusiana, Whatserface. The whole world knows she is incompetant. Christine Todd Whitmann was also a nitwit, Madaline Albright, Janet Reno, they're all over the place.
I don't think it's a sex thing, but they reach such positions for all the wrong reasons.
For example; how many men became company vice president because of their wardrobe, graceful demeanor, or good looks ? NONE !
Sleeping with the boss ? Priceless.
Despite the cover-ups, the spinning, and the outright lies by government officials and the liberal press, a full-blown Islamic jihad has come to America. If we are to survive the Muslim onslaught, we must see past the politically correct rhetoric fed to us by the mainstream media and even by those who are sworn to protect us. With 86 percent of Americans identifying themselves as Christians, the Muslim barbarians realize that they will never convert us and as directed by the Quran--have now decided to kill us. However, you will never hear that painful truth from the mouths of network anchors nor from our gutless politicians (Nor from the rather apparently emasculated FBI!).
The recent deadly attack by a Muslim gunman upon the Seattle Jewish Federation is only the latest act of Islamic terrorism on American soil. Naveel Afzad Haq forced his way into the Jewish Federation building and shot six people, killing one. This brave Muslim warrior attacked only women, one of them being pregnant. Once surrounded by a SWAT team, this coward surrendered.
Jewish Federation employee Marla Meislin Dietrich told reporters that as Haq walked the halls firing at defenseless women, he shouted: "I'm Muslim-American" and "I'm angry at Israel." It should be noted that the terrorist Haq's father is a founder of a Seattle area mosque.
While this was clearly an act of Muslim terrorism, the authorities refuse to classify it as such. Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels instead said: "This is a crime of hate." Seattle's FBI counter terrorism chief David Gomez characterized the attack by saying Haq was: "acting out antagonism toward this particular organization."
Almost laughable was the announcement of Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, when he told reporters: "We are protecting mosques because there is always concern about retaliatory activity."
How many mosques have been attacked by Jews?...I'm guessing none! Chief Kerlikowske's politically correct comment was an obvious attempt to equate unprovoked Muslim violence with a Jew's or Christian's justifiable need for self-defense.
This past March, a young Muslim man named Mohammed Reva Taheri-azar rented an SUV and drove into a crowd of students at the University of North Carolina. The Iranian native told police that he decided to carry out the attack due to "the treatment of Muslims around the world." The attack left nine people injured.
Despite lively student protests, UNC Chancellor James Moeser refused to characterize the attack as terrorism.
In October, 2005, a 21 year old Muslim student attending the University of Oklahoma accidentally exploded his backpack bomb outside of a sold-out football game at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. According to eyewitnesses, Joel Henry Hinrichs was sitting on a park bench about 100 yards from the stadium and fiddling with his backpack, when the bomb detonated. He was apparently arming the bomb which was to be carried into the stadium crowded with 84,000 fans.
Hinrichs was a Muslim and attended a local mosque with his Pakistani roommate. Police searched their apartment and discovered it to be filled with bomb-making materials as well as anti-Semitic, anti-American Islamic literature. Though the FBI would claim that Hinrichs was simply a "troubled" young man without any connection to terrorist organizations.
Oklahoma FBI agent Salvador Hernandez said that Hinrichs had simply decided to commit suicide "near a packed football stadium using an explosive attached to his body." Despite the government white washing, it is obvious that the Muslim Hinrichs simply made a mistake and prematurely discharged his bomb. If he had successfully armed the device and entered the stadium, several people would have been killed and more seriously wounded. The story would have also been given more than five minutes worth of coverage. However, the feds would have still undoubtedly danced around the fact that it was Muslim terrorism.
On July 4, 2002, Egyptian national Hesham Mohamed Hadayet walked into Los Angeles International Airport and shot and killed El Al stewardess Vicky Chen and L.A. resident Yaakev Aminov. Hadayet also stabbed an El Al security guard (Haim Safir), who in turn fatally shot the terrorist.
El Al being the official Israeli airline, the nature of this attack was correctly described...at least by the Israelis.
Israeli L.A. consul general Yuval Rotem said: "The way (the attack) was conducted is very much similar to previous attacks throughout the years at El Al counters. Therefore, unfortunately, given this history, we presume that it may and would appear to be a terrorist attack."
Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres said: "The terrorists deliberately chose the Fourth of July to carry out their crime on the soil of the United States."
In stark contrast, FBI spokesman Matt McLaughlin told reporters: "There is no indication of any terrorism connection in this matter." Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn said: It appears this was an isolated incident."
All of the aforementioned terrorist attacks disappeared from the nation's newsrooms, just as quickly as they appeared. Many of you have no doubt either forgotten or never heard of these Muslim attacks. That is exactly the effect which our government and liberal press wants to achieve.
Even during the 2002 D.C. sniper attacks, the feds continued to play down the possibility of Muslim terrorism. The ATF even announced that they believed the sniper to be a 33 year old white-supremacist named Robert Gene Baker!
Of course, the snipers turned out to be two black Muslims (one was an illegal alien). Despite the fact that one of them admitted to targeting "as many white people" as they could kill, neither Lee Boyd Malvo, nor John Allen Muhammed was characterized as a terrorist nor charged with a 'hate crime.' The pair killed 20 innocent people before their reign of Islamic terror ended.
Who could forget the disgusting image of President George W. Bush standing in his stocking feet inside a D.C. area mosque and proclaiming Islam to be " a religion of peace"? He made that ridiculous comment while the ruins of the World Trade Center were still smoldering. While Bush may be willing to submit to Islam...I am not!
It is clear that our political leaders still do not understand the threat that the Muslim world represents. Our politicians and law enforcement officials seem to believe that the policy of appeasement will work with these savages. They are mistaken and if we do not wake them up to this fact...We will have no nation left to defend!
There are currently 300,000 Muslims living in the Dearborn, MI area. There is also a large population of converted Muslims inside this nation's prison system. The potential for recruitment for terrorist attacks within the United States, is overwhelming. We cannot afford to sit back and watch our government allow our citizens to be murdered by Muslim terrorists. We must demand action now!
We can do very little about the subversive left-wingers who deliver the news. However, we can direct our politicians to defend this nation...Remember, they work for us, not the other way around! Let us take to the streets in peaceful (though loud) protest, let us fill Congressional offices, and let us cast our votes this fall.
We must demand our enemy be named at every turn and terror must be brought to our Muslim enemy, the way they have brought it to us!
Dave Gibson is a freelance writer and part-time political consultant living in Norfolk, Va. He is also a longtime volunteer with several animal welfare groups.
Posted by: Steve ||
07/31/2006 10:16 ||
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Here we go again. This time, it's a fatal shooting at a Jewish organization in Seattle, but to the authorities it's yet another inexplicable incident characterized every which way except as what it is: freelance jihadism. My radio pal Hugh Hewitt has a great summation here . One is surprised only that this time the cops didn't redeploy the Mounties' line from Toronto the other week and describe the killer as representing the "broad strata" of society. The notion that a fellow isn't a terrorist unless he's got a machine-readable al-Qaeda membership card is pathetic: The fact that you don't need deep sleepers controlled by hierarchical structures is one of the principal characteristics of Islamism. Here's what I had to say about one of the first of these incidents post-9/11, from just over four years ago. This excerpt is from The Face Of The Tiger :
July 8th 2002
IM A DEAD WHITE male, as you can tell from the picture accompanying this column. Suppose on Martin Luther King Day I went to the offices of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and shot the receptionists. How many nano-seconds do you think it would take before the attack was being characterized as racially motivated? Your top Olympic hotshot could ingest every steroid on the planet and he couldnt beat that time.
Suppose it was Judy Garlands birthday and I went to my local gay bathhouse and opened fire on the fetching young men handing out the towels. How many minutes would tick by before the word homophobia was heard?
Or suppose it was the anniversary of Roe v Wade, and me and my semi-automatic swung by the abortion clinic
Well, you get the idea. On the Fourth of July (hint) a guy went to the airport in Los Angeles, sauntered up to the ticket counter of El Al (hint) and fatally shot two people and wounded three. How many folks hearing the news on a quickie radio update honestly expected it to be anyone other than a Muslim male?
Obviously, Underperformin Norman Mineta, the scrupulously sensitivity-trained US Transportation Secretary, would have been wary of jumping to conclusions. Were he running the LAPD, hed have pulled in a couple of elderly spinsters from the Baptist Missionary Society and Kelli-Sue, a trainee hairdresser from Cleveland.
But, fortunately for the final death toll, El Al has its own security and so the suspect, after firing ten rounds, was himself killed. And whaddaya know? He wasnt an elderly spinster but a 41-year old Egyptian male! His name wasnt Kellie-Sue, it was Hesham Mohamed Hadayet!
Mohamed! What are the odds on that?
This stunning development seems to have completely disoriented the FBI. I quote from the New York Times headline: Officials Puzzled About Motive Of Airport Gunman.
Hmm. Egyptian Muslim kills Jews on American national holiday. Best not to jump to conclusions. Denial really is a river in Egypt. It appears he went there with the intention of killing people, said Richard Garcia, the Bureaus agent in charge. Why he did that we are still trying to determine.
CNN and the Associated Press all but stampeded to report a witness who described the shooter as a fat white guy in a ponytail who kept yelling Artie took my job. But, alas, this promising account proved to be a prank. Saudi Arabias popular Arab News suggested that Mr Hadayet had made the mistake of doing business with El Al and that the Israeli airline had been late in paying for two limousine rentals from the Egyptian immigrants company. If a couple of late cheques were a motive for murder, Conrad Blacks head would now be stuffed and mounted in my trophy room. But, sadly, this cautionary tale about the Jew bloodsuckers commercial wiles proved also to be false.
That left the police with no leads. Nothing to go on. The trails stone cold. All the FBI has is an Egyptian male, whod complained to his apartment managers after his neighbours post-9/11 began displaying the American flag; whod posted a banner saying READ KORAN on his own front door; who told his employees that he hated Israel, that the two biggest drug dealers in New York were Israelis, and that Israel was trying to wipe out the Egyptian population by flooding the country with Aids-infected Jewess prostitutes.
Could even the most expert psychological profiler make sense of such confusing and contradictory signs? Beats me, Sherlock. But, as Agent Garcia says, theres no indication of anti-Israel views or any other type of racial views. Orange Countys Muslim Public Affairs Council has praised Agent Garcia for his exceptionally advanced levels of sensitivity. Any moment now, theyll be demanding to know why Governor Davis has failed to visit a mosque to reassure Muslims...
Lets take the Feds at their word when they insist theres no connection between the LAX killer and any terrorist organizations. In its way, thats even more disturbing. Mr Hadayet doesnt fit the poverty-breeds-desperation-breeds-resentment routine: he lived in prosperous suburbia and ran his own business. America had been good to him, at least when compared with the economic basket-case he emigrated from. On July 4th, he had plenty of reasons to get out the bunting and firecrackers. Instead, he went Jew-killing.
Osama and al-Qaeda are a small problem, which since September 11th has been managed about as well as can be expected. But the broader culture of intolerance in certain unassimilated communities is a potentially much bigger problem. You win wars not just by bombing but by argument, too: Churchill understood this; he characterized the enemy as evil, because they were and because it was important for the British people to understand this if they were to muster the will to see the war through. In Vietnam, the US lost the rhetorical ground to Jane Fonda and co, and wound up losing the war, too. Its critical that the same thing does not happen here. The organizations which purport to represent Muslims in North America and Europe have their own excuses for soft-pedaling the torrent of hate from respectable sources within the Muslim world mosques, media, government. Theres no reason why the FBI and other US agencies should sign on to their fictions.
In the meantime, spare a thought for Thursdays victims, Victoria Hen, 25, and Yaakov Aminov, 46. Mr Hadayet successfully orphaned eight children and a ninth on the way. Congratulations to another heroic Islamist martyr!
But, in the midst of so much regrettably predictable behaviour, this column is pleased to inaugurate the David Atkin Muslim Balls Award. As readers may recall, the other week, David Atkin of Windsor wrote to say that I dont have the balls to write anything positive about Muslims. So let me salute those Muslim Pakistani police currently searching for three men wanted for carrying out the gang-rape to which an 18-year old girl was sentenced by a Punjabi tribal council. Let me also salute the many Muslim Pakistanis said to be outraged by the girls treatment: she was punished by the council because her brother had been seen unchaperoned with a woman from a higher social class; her father was made to witness the multiple rape. Let me salute, too, Muslim strongman General Musharraf who is ordering compensation of US$8,000 to be paid. Its not a lot indeed, it would be insulting in a western court but at least he recognizes somethings wrong. Thats a start. Returning his country to English Common Law would be even better.
from The Face Of The Tiger
Posted by: Steve ||
07/31/2006 09:28 ||
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Assessing Sen. Arlen Specter's proposed and administration-blessed deal to authorize the National Security Agency's Terrorist Surveillance Program is no easy matter. On the plus side, the bill would signal that Congress and the president are in accord on the key aspect of the global war against terrorist organizations. It might, but probably wouldn't, resolve the more strident objections from civil libertarians, who sometimes seem to think that privacy must always outweigh all other public-policy imperatives, including national security.
Another positive feature of the Specter proposal is that it would curb the rapidly proliferating legal challenges to the Terrorist Surveillance Program and centralize judicial review in the special court known as FISA; without such limitations, we would soon have a wave of anti-NSA lawsuits rivaling anti-tobacco and anti-asbestos litigation. The legislation acknowledges the president's inherent constitutional powers to collect intelligence. To be sure, this is an entirely unexceptional acknowledgement; the fact that it has been greeted with outrage by its critics only underscores how warped the debate about presidential powers has become.
Unfortunately, these benefits come at a high -- and, to us, unacceptable -- cost. The quid pro quo, exacted by Mr. Specter, is that the executive would have to submit the Terrorist Surveillance Program for review to the FISA court. There is, of course, nothing wrong with judicial review in appropriate circumstances. However, having the FISA court, comprised of Article III judges, do so in this instance, seems to us constitutionally dubious and could produce lasting adverse consequences. While it might surprise some of the Bush administration critics, who seem to think that the Constitution only constrains the power of the executive, that document properly restrains all of the government's three branches, including Congress and the courts.
Specifically, the Constitution decrees that judicial power, formidable as it may be, can only be exercised in a narrow range of circumstances, where a specific case or controversy has arisen and there are specific parties who have "standing" to bring the legal challenge. The federal courts, established under Article III of the Constitution, are not meant to render advisory opinions, passing judgment on the probity of a particular executive action. Yet, this is precisely what Mr. Specter's bill seems to envision, with the FISA court rendering an advisory opinion on the constitutionality of the NSA's Terrorist Surveillance Program. A great deal is at stake here.
As David Rivkin and Lee Casey point out in National Review, while the battles between the executive and Congress are not new, the new congressional assault on executive power features precisely the tendency to assign to the judiciary the responsibility to oversee the exercise of discretionary power by the executive. In this way, Congress seeks to check the president, while operating without any political accountability and incurring no political price. The problem with the Specter compromise is that the Bush administration, once it seeks an advisory opinion from the FISA court, even voluntarily, would weaken the ability of future presidents to effectively oppose congressional efforts to require such judiciary permissions again and again. The losers would be both the American people and the Constitution.
#2
I'm not sure that spying on Americans without warrants is a "key aspect of the global war against terrorist organizations". More of a colossal waste of time checking up on every teenager who says "da bomb", coupled with a chance for a president to abuse the system to spy on the political opposition.
9/11 didn't happen because the FBI didn't have enough _data_, it happened because they sat on their thumbs.
#3
Well if they didn't want the President to have the power Congress should not have given him the power when they voted for the damn war. Specter lost and he knows it no court going to take away the executive power and give it to Congess.
#4
I'm not sure that spying on Americans without warrants is a "key aspect of the global war against terrorist organizations"
Your right, listening in on every teenager with a little angst is a waste of time. Listening to conversations that originate in Afghanistan then to Florida is. Then picking up the trail and links to find the next sleeper cel is no ones waste of time. It is foolish to think AQ and Hez do not have operatives here in America, just go to the UN and watch them enjoy coffee at the nearest starbucks. It is also foolish and a bit fear mongering to think the FBI has the interest in anything but finding terrorists with this program.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/31/2006 11:56 Comments ||
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#5
You're right, but that's also stuff we could get a warrant for.
Doing away with warrants in our surveillance doesn't help the feds - they were drowning in data even before 9/11. But it does invite abuse.
Yoni Tidi is an IDF veteran, security expert and regular guest on the Hugh Hewitt show. From his blog:
It is now over. We have failed due to weak leadership and Israel once again caves to the world. Israel is going to stop the air war for 48 hours, the knees are weak and the back of the government is bending.
Rockets still fall on Israel and we are going to stop using our airpower. If we replace the air power with 30,000 troops and 400 tanks then maybe all is not lost. But a suspension of the air war while rockets still fall shows how weak we are.
The fact that Olmert came to this decision in a meeting with Sec. State Condi Rice show that America has said enough. This shows how weak America and Israel really are. Iran, Syria and Hizballah have played the west for fools. I now fear for the future of the west and the long term ramifications of Qana on the war on Islamic terror.
#3
I think the Fall Congressional sessions will create cause for optimism. US influence is collapsing not only in Europe and the Middle East, but in Latin America as well. That has to change, and it will change. Enemy life must be devalued.
#4
How do you figure there's reason for optimism? God knows I could use some; but I see lots of opportunity for things to go to hell in a handbasket this Fall, and little opportunity for much change for the better.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
07/31/2006 8:43 Comments ||
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#5
The air war is not exactly suspended. It goes on in the north. It goes on with a few limits in the south. It will resume in full force if necessary.
I'm not sure I believe the doom and gloom is as bad as depicted here by Yoni Tidi. Olmert is not a military man. He needs to listen to his military more than the international press.
The U.S. needs to hold firm regarding 1559 and disarming the Hezs. This problem will come back to haunt us again if we don't. It is in our best interests to be tough here!
#6
It seems like the air war is "suspended" rather than suspended.... I heard it still continues on todays news...
Posted by: Mark E. ||
07/31/2006 9:39 Comments ||
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#7
WW3 does not depend on how we vote. It has started and it will continue until it's conclusion. Just when Iraq starts to resemble a quagmire, Hesbollah attacks Israel and kidnaps a couple of soldiers launching another front. This will happen again. Iran, Syria, and the various terror units will spill blood and we will jump in with both feet. I wonder if and when other European nations will do the same.
The time comes when you've got to shoulder arms. How about now ?
The ongoing violence in Lebanon and northern Israel, engendered by Hezbollahs toxic amalgam of jihad and Jew hatred, reached Seattle, Washington this past Friday July, 28, 2006, just after 4 PM, local time. Naveed Afzal Haq, a Pakistani Muslim, hiding in the foyer of the entrance to the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle, seized a 13-year old girl hostage. With a gun pointed to the young girls head, Haq forced his way through the buildings security door, and then opened fire with two semi-automatic pistols, killing a 58 year old woman, and wounding five other women, three of whom were wounded seriously. Haq reportedly exclaimed: I am a Muslim American, angry at Israel ...These are Jews and I'm tired of getting pushed around and our people getting pushed around by the situation in the Middle East.
Earlier the same day, a triumphal pronouncement from Hezbollah accompanied the launching of so-called Khaybar-1 rockets, five of which reached Afula, south of Haifa, and 30 miles from the Israeli-Lebanese border. A Hezbollah statement proclaimed, With this, the Islamic Resistance begins a new stage of fighting, challenge and confrontation with a strong determination and full belief in God's victory. Throughout the preceding week, Al-Manar television and Al-Nur radioHezbollah-controlled media outlets which disseminate its propagandablared out in sonorous tones, Nastarjiu KhaybarWe will return to Khaybar.
These disparate events, occurring thousands of miles apartthe attack upon Jews in Seattle, and the firing of Khaybar-1 rockets at Afulareflect and celebrate the predatory relationshipMuslims preying upon Jewsestablished by Islams prophet Muhammad, and his earliest Muslim followers. Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
07/31/2006 06:39 ||
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Lebanon's Ministry of Tourism launched their new website on June 13th, since then thousands of visitors from Israel have been pouring in.
The favorite summer vacation region of the Israeli tourists is Southern Lebanon. The region's rolling hills sloping down to sandy Mediterranean beaches are dotted with Biblical sites, Roman and Phoenician ruins, remnants of the Crusades, and the major Phoenician trading centers of Saida (Sidon) and Sour (Tyre). Now being added are the ruins of Hezbullah.
Please use our Trip Planner to conveniently find your way around. Highly recommended by the IDF, which gives it 4 stars.
#1
Don't believe it. We stayed at one of the "top" resorts recently and were very disappointed. The staff was very rude and spent more time runing around with AK-47's then providing service. In the evenings, there was a great deal of noise, as the staff carried supplies out of the basement and then launched them next to the hotel.
The Roman, Phoenician, and Hezbullah ruins were interesting, but the local roads were very much in disrepair. Fortunately, the local contigent of the UN was busy working with Hezbullah to improve local roads. Unfortunately, they we're working on roads to Syria rather than the beach access routes.
Overall, I'd give the resort a rating of 1 star - it was a (ammo) dump.
#2
I was surprised by the outpouring by the locals and the tradition of looting the local un building. I kind of got caught up in the moment and lets just say that I am in possession of several negotiable oil contacts I found in a safe. The next day I was surprised by a local custom of carrying boxes with the Lebanese flag draped over them. Our guide just shook his head and snarled Ala walah guna wooboo kuskus. According to my pocket translator it loosely translate into Another one bites the dust. Never a dull moment, but it was damn hard to get a cold beer. 1 ½ Crescent moons.
#3
Very funny, where do i buy my ticket for a front seat to a show that will involve the whole of western society and likely bring down the curtain on it at the end-whenever that is. the good guys win! I have read the end of The Book. something which i believe the bad actors havent. but they are getting to see the movie now.
#4
If anyone's interested in seeing the country without actually setting foot within it, I here that the there's several flights daily that enter the country and then leave without landing there.
Negotiations Must Go Beyond the Nuclear Threat to Broader Issues
By Henry A. Kissinger
The world's attention is focused on the fighting in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, but the context leads inevitably back to Iran. Unfortunately, the diplomacy dealing with that issue is constantly outstripped by events. While explosives are raining on Lebanese and Israeli towns and Israel reclaims portions of Gaza, the proposal to Iran in May by the so-called Six (the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China) for negotiations on its nuclear weapons program still awaits an answer. It's possible that Tehran reads the almost pleading tone of some communications addressed to it as a sign of weakness and irresolution. Or perhaps the violence in Lebanon has produced second thoughts among the mullahs about the risks of courting and triggering crisis.
Continued on Page 49
#1
This HK article takes me back to the Nixon administration, where nobody accused the President of "irresolution." The Carter years had Cubans fighting in Africa. Then the Reagan Presidency yielded 8 good years. Wish he was still here.
#3
And then what? There was still a Soviet Union then and defeating them was more important at that time. Now that they're gone, everybody's got more latitude, especially Hezb'Allah. So now we need to respond.
#4
And then what? There was still a Soviet Union then and defeating them was more important at that time. Now that they're gone, everybody's got more latitude, especially Hezb'Allah. So now we need to respond.
Exactly. Sometimes, you have no choice but to deal with one menace at time. We had to ally with Stalin to beat Hitler, and we allied with Mao to defeat the USSR.
Sometimes the only reward for successfully dealing with one menace is to have the opportunity to deal with a new one.
Of course this all points to another moonbat contradiction. The same people who are urging us to "reach out" and be multilateralist also like to moan and groan about "blowback".
Never mind that the "blowback" was the result of previous "multilateralism".
Never mind that present day "multilateralism" could lead to future "blowback".
THE LEBANESE MEDIA are the best in the Arab Middle East, and perhaps the freest, not because of any noble principles but because they are so competitive. Every Lebanese media outlet represents a political interest, sometimes several political interests, and all the major political parties own TV stations. (In this regard, Hezbollah really is just like every other political party, though no one else does "martyr kitsch" like the Party of God.) And the people of Lebanon take their cue from the media. Insofar as rumors are also a medium, they, too, represent political interests. My friend Fawaz called last week from Lebanon with reports of a rumor.
"There are lots of stories going around Beirut that Hezbollah M.P. Mohammed Raad is dead," says Fawaz. "And get this--more than 500 Hezbollah fighters have been killed and are lying around area hospitals. That's a lot of virgins on call."
Whether or not such rumors are true, they indicate something about the state of affairs right now in Lebanon. There are many Lebanese imagining, fantasizing, hoping against hope that Hezbollah will be wiped from the face of the earth. Some are even joking about it.
"The new one," Fawaz says, "is that they're going to play the next World Cup in the Daheyh [the Shiite neighborhood]--the whole thing's been leveled nice and flat."
This narrative, including the morbid jokes at the expense of the heavily Shiite southern suburbs and the spectacular number of Hezbollah dead, runs against the current Western news narrative. It seems that U.S.
and Western press outfits are determined to claim that the Israelis have driven all of Lebanon, Shiite or not, Islamist or not, pro-Hezbollah or not, into the waiting arms of the Islamic resistance. It is not clear why Western journalists believe this is so, though it seems to comport nicely with the idea that the Israelis are killing too many civilians--a cynical storyline, given that the Israelis are fighting against a militia and without the benefit of weapons capable of targeting only the bad guys. Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
07/31/2006 06:29 ||
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#1
Rumors of War
Isn't there a prophecy that we'd have times like these: rumors and wars of rumors?
Rule #1 in war: never apologise for collateral damage until you are both certain that your side did it, and that the enemy didn't set up collaterals for slaughter. Read this screed from a despicable anti-American pig-pen, in context of the reported 8 hour delay in the Qana building collapse, and the Persian looking "rescue worker" who was caught posing with the same dead infant,over a 2 hour period. Qana lies have to be refuted, and by the highest authorities in the credible world. The BBC should be picketed for intentional deceit, and their paid liars must be terminated. The West cannot afford to let stupidity prosper. Saving grace: fence-sitters - including the oily Leb PM - turned to weeds on this issue. They are now targets.
'I Renounce America and Her New Middle East'
In this emotional op-ed article from Lebanon's Arabic-language El-Shark, the author explains why the 'accidental' killing of almost 60 civilians including 37 children in an Israeli air attack has turned him against, 'America and her New Middle East, which is soaked in the blood of children.'
...I am renouncing humanity democracy peace all the lies that they keep hammering us with around the clock, only to practice the opposite.
I am renouncing America and revolting against her New Middle East, which is soaked in the blood of the children of Qana, Palestine and Iraq.
I am renouncing the United Nations, its Security Council and its decisions; I am revolting against the entire international community which is plotting against us.
I am renouncing all those Arab governments which shamefully abide by the will of their masters in Washington, and I am revolting against all the Arab populations who demonstrate only to make themselves feel good and who cower rather than bringing their governments to account. Those governments are smeared in the shame of surrender, being followers of the present-day Hulagu [Bush] who is in Washington. [Hulagu was the brutal grandson of Genghis Khan ].
I only believe in Qana, in the blood of our children, which has watered the soil of the South with the very essence of martyrdom. Out of their blood flowers the wild red poppy, which reminds us of the crimes of Dracula, who always thirsts for the blood of innocent children.
I only believe in the covenant of July in the covenant of sacrifice until martyrdom, so we can achieve the victory and the right to protect the lives of the children and the people of the south.
I am fighting a guerilla war against all of this, because only a guerilla resistance can achieve victory, in spite of America and the Arabs and non-Arabs that support them.
The children of Qana and all Lebanon are the faith and promise of a revolution against oppression, all oppression.
I am revolting against all of the world's infidels, because I believe that only those who revolt for dignity and against the killing of children deserve life...
If you are like me, you're wondering why Lebanon failed to implement 1559. Well, here is some insight into the reason.
Incidentially, prominent pro-democracy figures in Lebanon have been assassinated since the Cedar Revolution of 2004: Samir Kassir, Edmond Naim (died of "old age"), and Gebran Tuemi.
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch has criticized the meeting between Gen. Michel Aoun and Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, saying it could delay the implementation of an international decision that calls on Hizbullah to disarm.
Speaking at the Foreign Press Center in Washington, Welch said the U.S. viewed the meeting between Aoun and Nasrallah as a discussion between two political currents, and not a government discussion. But when asked if he believed that the implementation of U.N. Resolution 1559 has been undermined by the statement of cooperation between Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement, Welch said: "We are concerned about any understandings, whatever their status, that would appear to postpone such a decision."
Earlier this week, Hizbullah and the FPM issued a 10-point joint statement of cooperation stating that holding arms was an honorable and sacred way for a resistance group to defend its occupied land. The two parties also said that the Lebanese should take responsibility for protecting Lebanon especially that Israel occupies the Shabaa Farms, detains Lebanese resistance fighters and threatens the country.
Welch reiterated Washington's position on Hizbullah, saying the Shiite party is considered "terrorist" under American law. "It receives foreign funding and it tends to respond to foreign guidance," he said.
The U.S. official said Washington objected to comments by some Lebanese politicians that have justified Hizbullah's "terrorist actions" committed in the past, such as the taking of hostages. Asked if he was referring to Aoun, Welch said, "yes." Aoun reportedly had said that Hizbullah and the FPM were the only two parties in Lebanon who were not involved in mass murders during the country's 1975-1990 year civil war.
"American citizens have suffered at the hands of this organization (Hizbullah) and that's why we consider it a terrorist organization, and there is no reason in our view why there should be any excuse or any loophole for them to change their behavior and disarm, as according to the rules of the international community as expressed in 1559," said Welch.
Welch, who visited Lebanon last month, said Washington deals with the established institutions of the government. "And we ask them to respect the will of the international community." He said the U.S. administration understands the need for the Lebanese to have a dialogue with Hizbullah, but he stressed that such a dialogue should be directed toward the implementation of UN Resolution 1559.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/31/2006 00:37 ||
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#1
Gen Michel Aoun, back in the day, was anti-Syrian. He exiled to France and came back after the Cedar Revolution as a complete Syrian tool.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/31/2006 1:09 Comments ||
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#2
Just remember, Lebies, Syrians, Non-Iranian Shias and Sunnis, etal. any defeat or destruction of Israel does NOT mean [post-Israel]Radical Iran = Radical Shias in Radic Iran will treat youse as equals, brothers, or fairly. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOUSE ASK = FIGHT FOR, BECUZ YOU JUST MIGHT GET IT.
#4
We should have responded back in 1983 when a suicide bomber (taking direction from Iran) murdered 241 Marines in Beirut. Should have gotten payback. Hizballah needs to be disarmed (UN Resolution 1559) or destroyed. They are a danger to the world. If Iran builds an A-Bomb, Hizballah will even become more dangerous. Anything short of disarming or destruction will be viewed as some kind of victory in the weird world of islamofacists.
A majority of Lebanese, like a majority of Palestinians, back terrorist violence under a shield of terminology, "resistance". While Hezbollah politicians are active in Lebanese government, Hezbollah militants are launching missiles into Israel, intentionally killing Israeli civilians. The Lebanese people put Hezbollah reps in positions of government power to best represent their desires.
The government of Lebanon is responsible for its actions as the one government of the people of Lebanon. Resolution 1559 requires that the government of Lebanon disarm armed militias, including Hezbollah. The Lebanese government has not disarmed them. The Lebanese government is shielded from responsibility for launching a war against Israeli civilians through the division of Hezbollah into militant and political wings.
Posted by: Jules in the Hinterlands ||
07/31/2006 9:56 Comments ||
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#6
Have we heard anything about/from this guy lately?
(1) There is no democratic Lebanese government separate and apart from Hezbo, and
(2) The Lebanese PM and other elected officals govern with a Hezbo gun to their heads.
President Bush and Condi continue to clinge to not wanting to damage the Lebanese government. But the Lebanese government per se doesn't exist anymore.
Posted by: Captain America ||
07/31/2006 12:36 Comments ||
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by William Kristol
Every time neocon warmongers like me get exasperated by the Bush administration (and we've had increasingly good reasons for exasperation in the last year or so, I might add), someone like first-term Clinton secretary of state Warren Christopher pops up. Maybe "pops up" isn't quite right, conveying as it does an implication of activity and even energy. So let's just say that Warren Christopher presented his credentials to the Washington Post op-ed page Friday, criticizing the Bush administration, more in sorrow than in anger. Bush, you see, had "resisted all suggestions that the first order of business should be negotiation of an immediate cease-fire between the warring parties," i.e., between the state of Israel and the terrorist group Hezbollah.
Christopher's piece needs to be read to be believed. It needs to be read as an example of the fatuousness of liberal elite opinion about the world we live in. That opinion is dominant in the Democratic party--and, unfortunately, has penetrated the Bush State Department more than one would wish. Still, Christopher's op-ed is such a convenient reminder of how much worse things could be that one wonders whether he's on Karl Rove's payroll.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
In a few precincts of American politics, voters still applaud the utterly futile gesture of defiance, the confrontational rhetoric that pleases only true believers, the fist shaken in the face of an opponent who neither notices nor cares. Apparently, such empty gestures signs of impotence, really have come to be seen as "speaking truth to power." That helps to explain the remaining, if faltering, appeal of U.S. Rep. 
Lebanon's Ministry of Tourism launched their 
