The Faithful Few Weblog

2007-04-04T13:48:00.000-06:00

Defending Christmas

2006-12-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

A column I wrote last Christmas but whose main points are relavent every year. Plus it is a great story of how one person can make a change and a difference in the continual war against the Left's version of Multiculturalism, Tolerance, Diversity and Political Correctness.

“All the Whos down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not. – Dr. Seuss

It is the Christmas season and once again Christmas itself is the target of a secular and atheistic jihad. If you didn’t know better you might think that the word ‘Christmas’ was the dirtiest of dirty words and one not worthy of being uttered in public.

This year Target continues the ban on the famous Salvation Army bell ringers with their red kettles from their property again this year while the ACLU threatened to sue a Colorado school district over such carols as ‘Jingle Bells’. Celebration of the ‘holidays’ abound but to actually spot the word ‘Christmas’ is rare and far between. Both Corporate America and government institutions have abandoned the spiritual, cultural and traditional celebrations of Christmas.

Instead, the Winter Holiday PC police prowl the nation threatening public schools who might dare to have red and green napkins at their annual ‘holiday party’ during the ‘Winter Break’. Anything that might remotely trigger the word ‘Christmas’ or conjure up images of a baby in a manger has become a target ripe for extermination. No longer are we treated to ‘Merry Christmas’ at retailers but are forced to settle for a fuzzy ‘happy holidays’ as we rush to pick up our ‘holiday tree’ at the local haven of mass consumption. Of course it would appear that the fact that the word ‘holiday’ is a shortened version of ‘holy day’ has escaped those seeking to purify the public spaces from the evils of Christianity. Just wait until they figure out that the fat, jolly man in the red suit is loosely associated with a 4th century bishop and saint. What a mess that will turn out to be.

My business banks with Wells Fargo so I visit the local branch on a daily basis. They have a very generic signs about the holidays in 'non-Christmas colors' and then a big sign talking about Wells Fargo's commitment to the seven principles of Kwanzaa. There are no references to Christmas whatsoever and the usual salute to the relatively minor Jewish holiday of Hanukkah is noticeably absent. When I spoke with one of the tellers and mentioned I was researching an upcoming column on Christmas she proudly pointed out the newly erected Christmas tree as their commitment to Christmas. It was slowly and patiently explained to me that Kwanzaa is a ‘cultural’ holiday and not a religious one so it’s ‘ok’ for them to refer to it by name. She then proceeded to tell me about a number of complaints they had received in regards to their primary focus on Kwanzaa.

Apparently I am not the only one who remembers the reason for the season. You’ve got to hand it to those public relations experts at Well’s Fargo. What a bunch of spineless, politically correct dolts. I wonder if they are aware that the founder of Kwanzaa rejected Christmas and believed that blacks shouldn't celebrate a "white man's holiday"? I, for one, proudly salute Well’s Fargo Bank for performing exhaustive research in preparation for the ‘Christmas controversy’.

It does appear that the efforts of those attempting to preserve the idea and holiday of Christmas are starting to pay off. Lowes has finally agreed that there is truly no such thing as a “holiday tree” and are once again offering Christmas trees and Walgreen’s has pledged that next year “things will be different” and their confused ‘holiday trees’ will once again be offered as Christmas trees as well. Kroger has issued a letter stating that it uses a variety of greetings and advertising materials during December including Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Season's Greetings, and Happy Holidays but "We have not and do not intend to ban any of these greetings, including Merry Christmas”. Wal-Mart, under pressure of a threatened boycott from various Christian groups, no longer requires its employees to wish you ‘Happy Holidays’.

Maybe if our luck holds we might actually be able to purchase a ‘Christmas card’ to give away at Christmas. I’m saving all my ‘holiday cards’ for Earth Day or Ramadan. I think it will make them a bit more extra special next year.

Some may say that at best there have been only small, paltry victories in regards to Christmas but it only reflects the spiteful vision and hateful pettiness of those who tirelessly toil to remove every vestige of Christianity, and religion in general, from the sight and sound of the average citizen. The concept that in this great country we have the freedom of religion, not the freedom from religion, seems to elude them.

So a few small, but courageous, steps can be exercised by you to help fight off the stifling cultural tyranny who so desperately seek to drive Christ from Christmas. First and foremost, don’t shop at those retailers who obviously are avoiding using the word ‘Christmas’ in their displays, advertising or greetings. Cheerfully greet your customers and clients with ‘Merry Christmas’ and respond with a warm ‘Merry Christmas’ to anyone wishing you ‘Happy Holidays’.

The American Family Association is leading the charge to preserve Christmas by targeting retailers who avoid the word Christmas with boycotts and encouraging consumers to take their shopping, and their dollars, to companies who are willing to admit what holiday we are really celebrating on December 25th. You can join the nearly 650,000 Americans who have signed their Petition To Stop The Ban On The Use of “Christmas” By Major Retailers at https://secure.afa.net/afa/afapetition/signpetition.asp?id=1480.

You can also join the nationwide effort to send the ACLU, the ultimate group of ghoulish grinches, 100,000 Christmas cards wishing them a Merry Christmas.

Here’s the information you’ll need:

ACLU
"Wishing You Merry Christmas"
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004

You can learn more about this effort at http://muscleheadrevolution.com.

Above all else, speak out against the ‘tyranny of hypersensitivity’ that seeks to strip Christianity from the traditions and history of this country.

As I returned to my local Wells Fargo bank the following day the Kwanza sign had been removed and I asked again if there had been some complaints. At this the teller stated that they were tired of the complaints and then she rather icily informed me that mine “had been the last straw”. Apparently Wells Fargo had not appreciated my informal research into the acceptance of Kwanza by the general public. So chalk one up for Christmas, by standing up for principle the good guys might just win one once in a while.

Here's some interesting links about Kwanzaa....

The Rotten Roots of Kwanzaa

The Truth About Kwanzaa

Karenga told the Washington Post the following about Kwanzaa:

"People think it's African, but it's not. I came up with Kwanzaa because black people in this country wouldn't celebrate it if they knew it was American. Also, I put it around Christmas because I knew that's when a lot of bloods would be partying."

Ronald Reagan on the meaning of Christmas

2006-12-17T19:18:00.000-07:00

"My fellow Americans, thank you for joining Nancy and me on this festive evening. The menorah stands lighted in Lafayette Park, for this is also the time of Hanukkah, and this season is rich in the meaning of our Judeo-Christian tradition. In a moment we'll be lighting the National Christmas Tree, carrying forward what is now a 62-year tradition first begun by Calvin Coolidge.

Tonight we're drawn in warmth to one another as we reflect upon the deeply holy meaning of the miracle we shall soon celebrate. We know that Mary and Joseph reached the stable in Bethlehem sometime after sunset. We do not know the exact moment the Christ Child was born, only what we would have seen if we'd been standing there as we stand here now: Suddenly, a star from heaven shining in our eyes, shining with brilliant beauty across the skies, a star pointing toward eternity in the night, like a great ring of pure and endless light, and then all was calm, and all was bright. Such was the beginning of one solitary life that would shake the world as never before or since. When we speak of Jesus and of His life, we speak of a man revered as a prophet and teacher by people of all religions, and Christians speak of someone greater -- a man who was and is divine. He brought forth a power that is infinite and a promise that is eternal, a power greater than all mankind's military might, for His power is Godly love, love that can lift our hearts and soothe our sorrows and heal our wounds and drive away our fears. He promised there will never be a long night that does not end. He promised to deliver us from dark torment and tragedy into the warming sunlight of human happiness, and beyond that, into paradise. He's never been a halfway giver; His generosity is pure and perfect and sure.

This, then, expresses the true meaning of Christmas. If each of us could give but a fraction to one another of what He gave to the whole human family, how many hearts could heal, how much sorrow and pain could be driven away? There's still time for joy and gladness to touch a sad and lonely soul, still time to feed a hungry child, to wrap a present for a kind old man feeling forlorn and afraid, and to reach out to an abandoned mother raising children on her own. There's still time to remember our Armed Forces, to express our profound gratitude to those keeping watch on faraway frontiers of freedom, and to redouble our energies to account for our MIA's. They are not and never will be forgotten. And there's still time to remember the deepest truth of all: that there can be no prisons, no walls, no boundaries separating the members of God's family.

Let us reach out tonight to every person who is persecuted; let us embrace and comfort, support and love them. Let us come together as one family under the fatherhood of God, binding ourselves in a communion of hearts, for tonight and tomorrow and for all time. May we give thanks for an America abundantly blessed, for a nation united, free, and at peace. May we carry forward the happiness of the Christmas spirit as the guiding star of our endeavors 365 days a year. And as we light this magnificent tree, may all the youthful hope and joy of America light up the heavens and make the angels sing.

Merry Christmas, and God bless you all. And now we're going to light the tree."

-Former President Reagan's Remarks on Lighting the National Christmas Tree - December 12, 1985

It's Been Fun!

2005-06-23T23:08:00.000-06:00

The Faithful Few has ceased publication due to the pressures of family, friends, jobs and life in general. We hope you enjoyed your visit and perhaps The Faithful Few will resurrect itself in a different form in the future.

The nasty Markos "Kos" Moulitsas Zúniga

2005-05-10T14:40:00.000-06:00

So Daily Kos has sounded the trumpet for men to stream into their local recruiting offices? It is just like when Charlie Rangle called for the draft. Kos and Rangle (and one suspects Downer) don’t want to help the war effort, they want to injure it, so their calls are transparent. Despite the recruiting challenges, the Iraq effort has all the soldiers Sec. Rumsfeld wants it to, and that will not be affected if I and a million others sign up tomorrow.

But Kos doesn’t care about the Iraq effort, except insofar as he desperately wants it to fail. He repeatedly calls it Bush’s folly, as if it were a harebrained scheme cooked up one night rather than the considered opinion of over a decade of thought and thousands of bright minds. Such profound strategic decisions are always lost on the simpletons of the era; and history, when it remembers them at all, does so with a laugh.

When the war began with astounding success, the Left disappeared. I remember being online in the days surrounding the fall of Baghdad, trying to find what the leftist press and bloggers were saying. They were silent. Then as the insurgents began to slowly emerge, so too did these leftists. And by the time the insurgency had really begun to boil, the left had found its song again, and was as chipper as ever.

Let me say this: Everyone from Michael Moore to Kos and a thousand others like them begin by announcing that they are deeply offended by the suggestion that they are un-American and should never have their patriotism called into question. I will not call them un-American, they are anti-American. And I am not merely questioning their patriotism, I am declaring them to be traitors who want America to lose.

This is why they deny facts, take an anti-humanitarian view of the war, and have to keep insisting that Iraq is a failure even as the facts close in around them. Zarqawi and bin Laden know that Iraqi democracy is a body blow to Islamic fundamentalism, but Kos and his ilk haven’t the knowledge base or intellect to have determined as much. Iranian mulluahs and Syrian ba’athists know that a democratic Iraq will begin the ticking of the bomb underneath their own regimes, but Kos and his ilk haven’t caught on yet. Planners from the Pentagon and the British Foreign Office understood that Saddam harbored and gave succor to terrorist leaders and movements, but Kos and his ilk refuse to accept facts. 80% of Iraqis are happy they were saved by Americans and consider themselves to have been “liberated,” but Kos and his ilk don’t care about Iraqis. And the entire world is waking up to the fact that “George Bush May Have Been Right,” to paraphrase any of dozens of newspaper headlines from around the world, all except Kos and his ilk, who are so emotionally and professionally invested in American failure that they hold out fading hope that in spite of recent American successes, today might be the day it all falls apart.

It wouldn’t be so bad if Kos were just a dimwit who didn’t know any better, like the redneck at the bar who doesn’t even draw a response, because you know he’s not worth it. But Markos Moulitsas Zúniga -- Kos – is a much darker figure than that. His website is a clearinghouse for the hateful left, and a cheering section for the insurgency. After the Sunnis in Fallujah massacred four American contractors, Kos wrote this:

That said, I feel nothing over the death of merceneries. They aren’t in Iraq because of orders, or because they are there trying to help the people make Iraq a better place. They are there to wage war for profit. Screw them.

When a firestorm ensued, he tried to delete the quote and pathetically directed those who tried to link to it to some totally unrelated page. But screen shots endure, and he had nowhere to hide. His defenders will say that he apologized, which is manifestly false. He offered a qualified response saying that, “My language was harsh,” and then reiterating his contempt for the deceased. I’ve seen him interviewed since then, and when asked about the comments he smirked and again repeated his polished, non-denial denials.

For those who don’t know, here are the facts: The four men murdered were all retired US military veterans. They were delivering food to Iraqis when they were murdered. They weren’t waging war for profit, but were invited by the US military after the invasion to help the military and the Iraqi people.

From Army officer Jason Van Steenwyk,

“I should say that I had the privilege to meet many civilian contractors and security professionals from all over the world. Most of them were there supplementing coalition forces security, or providing needed logistical or security services to US troops and to the Iraqi people.

”Most of the American contractors I talked to had served 20 years on active duty with the US military in one capacity or another.

”Unlike my troops, these guys could have left at any time, just by saying "I quit" and catching a ride to Baghdad or Kuwait. Instead, despite the risks, they chose to stay.

”They are, in every sense, our partners. And their families, I'm sure, loved them and missed them and feared for their safety just as fervently as ours.

”Anyone who tries to force a moral distinction between our soldiers and these civilians who served alongside us--who dismisses them as "mercenaries" in it for the "pecuniary interests alone," and anyone who buys into that idea, is merely displaying a frightening degree of ignorance.”

Incidentally, a “mercenary” kills for hire, these guys fed people for hire. And a “war profiteer” profits from the bad guys!! American WWII war profiteers sold arms to the Nazis, they weren’t helping the American military! Frightening degree of ignorance is correct.

Scott Helvenston, 38, was a former member of the US Navy SEALs who joined at the age of 17 and served until 1994. He then became a fitness instructor and actor, appearing in such films as GI Jane and Face/Off. He was the father of two sons, one 15, the other 13. His brother had this to say about Helvenston:“He's a hero. He died supplying food to people who needed it.”

Jerry Zovko, 32, was a veteran of the US Army and a mechanic. He joined the army in 1991 at the age of 19 and served with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. His mother, Donna Zovko, had this to say about him:

”Jerry was a man with a principle, an idea. He loved people. He wanted the world to be without borders, for everybody to be free and safe. He went there to make it a better place. He was trying to stop something like this from happening to someone else.”

Mike Teague, 38, was a member of the US Army, earning a Bronze Star in Afghanistan. He also served in Panama and Grenada. From his wife, Rhonda:

”Mike was a proud father, soldier, and American. I, his son Brandon, and his friends and family will miss him without measure.”

Wesley Batalona, 48, was a former Army Ranger. A native Hawaiian, he joined the Army in 1974. He leaves behind a wife, June, and a daughter, Krystal. Said a friend of him and his family:

”He was a hero to us.”

So today, Kos has offered his advice to the US military and his thoughts on our patriotism. Andre cut off the end of Kos’ quote:

The cowards in the 101st Fighting Keyboardists are the polar opposite [of the true definition of patriotism]. They lay shame to our nation.

You like that? We lay shame to his nation?!?! Kos points out that he was in the Army, he did a single stint for 4 years. Big deal. History is full of wicked traitors who have a military uniform hanging in their closet. But maybe I should cut Kos some slack. “Victories” like the one in Fallujah that got him so excited are increasingly rare these days, so little “wins” like today’s news that the Army and Marines are below recruiting capacity are all he has to look forward to.

Election Of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger Sends Shockwaves Through The Left

2005-04-19T22:21:00.000-06:00

Well, there you have it folks. Pope Benedict XVI. As a non Catholic it has been very interesting to watch this process, ceremony and tradition unfold. The world's oldest continuous elected office and probably among the top three most powerful men in the world. Not to mention the first German pope in a thousand years.

"Minutemen's" quiet vigil

2005-04-10T11:18:00.000-06:00

The borders are completely out of control and the Minutemen are forcing this nation to deal with an issue that is of vital importance. They have accomplished their mission and hopefully their numbers and influence will continue to grow if the US government won't do their job.

But as much as an exercise in do-it-yourself border security, the event has become a rallying point for a national anti-immigrant movement that is gaining steam after years on the political margins.

The event has drawn participants from all over the country, each carrying stories of communities transformed as the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. has climbed to more than 9 million, the great majority impoverished Spanish speakers.

North manual says U.S. aims at leaders

2005-04-10T11:05:00.000-06:00

After reviewing the document, North Korea experts in the South said it hinted that leaders in Pyongyang were fearful. "North Korean power elites' shock and frustration after seeing the fall of Saddam are so evident in many passages of the document," said Jeung Young-tai, a senior research fellow with the state-run think tank, Korea Institute for National Unification. "On the surface, it stressed the importance of loyalty to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, but beneath you can smell the leadership's fear of losing internal allegiances."

Border vigil rescues emaciated alien

2005-04-06T22:02:00.000-06:00

The unidentified man was described as dehydrated and emaciated. He was turned over by volunteers to U.S. Border Patrol officials and later was returned to Mexico.

It was one of two weekend encounters by Minuteman volunteers with illegal aliens, neither of which resulted in the violent confrontation predicted by some civil liberties and human rights organizations.

In a separate incident, the volunteers spotted 18 illegal aliens entering the United States here and called the Border Patrol, which responded in minutes and took the aliens into custody.

Nazi professor fired for "absenteeism"

2005-04-06T13:45:00.000-06:00

A New Jersey man who has a program called "White Viewpoint" and is an admitted neo-Nazi was fired from his job as a university professor this week. Except that Fairleigh Dickinson University only had the courage to fire him for alleged absenteeism. Prof. Jacques Pluss, who taught Western Civ., has his radio program advertised on a website with the slogan "White revolution, the only solution." The introduction to the show says "Professor Pluss explains how Jews and Israel control our foreign policy." I can't wait.

When he was fired, Pluss was defiant: FDU, he said, "has traditionally been a heavily Judaized institution." He then attacked basketball players attending the school on athletic scholarships, calling them niggers.

That a respected university had to create a false reason for this clown's dismissal is evidence of how dangerous the Ward Churchill precedent could become. When University of Colorado Chancellor Phil DeStefano said that Churchill's words -- even those that advocated violence -- were not sufficient grounds to fire him, he implicitly said that no words could be used to dismiss a professor. This is an Alice-in-Wonderland surreal world where university professors at institutions of higher learning are not only the most concentrated focus of irrationality and hate, but where the civilized world bizarrely declares that it is powerless to stop the madness.

Ward Churchill and Jacques Pluss both should have been fired, and they both should have been fired solely because their views and communications are so poisonous and so violent that they evidence an impoverished mental aptitude and demonstrate noxious views completely outside the scope of reasonable discourse.

And a society that lacks the self-confidence to declare as much unduly weakens itself voluntarily. It is time for the academy and those who support her to stand up and declare that there are standards and those standards will be kept.

Cracks in the Iranian facade?

2005-04-06T11:30:00.000-06:00

Earlier I wrote that the Bush administration appeared to have settled on a strategy of fomenting revolution in Iran. The events in the former Soviet Republics show what the CIA is capable of doing to stir an uprising. And the cryptic events of the last few weeks in Iran make me think that CIA and MI6 agents are active there as well.

First, there was that mysterious explosion a few weeks ago. Then there was the defector-doctor who revealed the Canadian journalist murdered by the regime last in 1993 was in fact tortured and raped first.

Now it appears that the people Bush clearly told to rise up, my be slowly doing just that.

The Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran, which is in regular contact with its own network of sources inside the country, says that the demonstrations have spread to other cities, and that government militiamen were seen using clubs, knives and chains against demonstrators. Moreover, elsewhere in Iran several women protesters were beaten to death for taking off their veils, and others were to be lashed for "un-Islamic behavior."

Minutemen head out for border detail

2005-04-05T22:54:00.000-06:00

With a little luck this will really catch on. I'd love to see ten times the number out there next year. A few brave Americans every quarter mile for a hundred miles. Need a vacation? Head for the border....

14 Reported Dead in Saudi Terror Standoff

2005-04-05T22:28:00.000-06:00

They call that 'a good start'.

The size and ferocity of the battle in Rass, 220 miles northwest of Riyadh, suggested the security forces had uncovered a major cell of the al Qaeda-linked militant networks that the kingdom has battled in a crackdown launched in 2003 following a string of deadly suicide bombings.

Gang will target Minuteman vigil on Mexico border

2005-04-04T23:15:00.000-06:00

This gets more interesting the more I research it. It also shows how brazen the drug and smuggler gangs are in the area. This is our country, not theirs, and if it takes some confrontation on the border to finally get the American people and their elected officials galvanized, then so be it. I'm happy to see that the ACLU is on the side of MS-13.

The MS-13 gang has established major smuggling operations in several areas along the U.S.-Mexico border and have transported hundreds of Central and South Americans -- including gang members -- into the United States in the past two years. The gang also is involved in drug and weapons smuggling.

I asked my wife if I could take a little vacation down to Arizona next year. The verdict is still out on that request. I'd love to write and blog for a week or so and participate in this fascinating grass roots effort. I wonder if my concealed handgun permit is valid in Arizona?

Funeral masks scramble for successor

2005-04-04T23:01:00.000-06:00

However, all sources in Vatican City this weekend said it was not an over-simplification to say that the succession was a spiritual and doctrinal battle between the old church, as represented by Italy, and the new church, as represented by the worldwide Third World congregation.

John Paul II's own election, as has been noted many times, is still referred to in high Italian Catholic circles as the Polish experiment. He was the first non-Italian pope since 1523, and the first Slavic pope.

Now the Italian church seems determined to regain its old position of authority. But John Paul II himself has made that a difficult proposition in the way he has created the college of cardinals who will elect his successor.

Advisor: Reagan Threatened War Over Poland

2005-04-04T19:34:00.000-06:00

A fascinating read, and one that shows that Reagan and the Pope had the iron will to bring down the iron curtain. This article only tells part of the story that also included Thatcher and clandestine actions and wars throughout the world that finally brought down the Soviet empire. This article The Holy Alliance from Time, 1992, reveals some more of the details behind the U.S.-Vatican relationship.

In the end, however, the Russians backed down. Soviet domination of Poland and Eastern Europe ended, along with the Soviet Union itself, without a shot being fired, thanks to that alliance that was formed in June 1982 between two men who understood the evil nature of communism and knew how to bring it down.

It was a pact that once put the U.S. on the brink of a war with the Soviet Union.

It began on June 7, 1982 at a private Vatican meeting between President Reagan and Pope John Paul II. The two men were alone for 50 minutes and the subject of their discussion was Poland and the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe.

Writing in "The Holy Alliance, Ronald Reagan and John Paul II," one of the Pope's biographers, Carl Bernstein, described what happened: "Reagan and the Pope agreed to undertake a clandestine campaign to hasten the dissolution of the communist empire … Richard Allen, Reagan's first National Security advisor [was quoted as declaring] ‘This was one of the great secret alliances of all time.' "

Judge William P. Clark, Reagan's national security adviser, said that the alliance between the two men emanated from a shared common view on the nature of the Evil Empire.

"The pope and the president shared the view that each had been given a spiritual mission – a special role in the divine plan of life," Clark told NewsMax. "The two men shared the belief that atheistic Communism lived a lie that, when fully understood, must ultimately fail."

Citizens take posts on the border; 118 illegals caught, officials say

2005-04-04T19:05:00.000-06:00

"Undocumented Border Patrol Agent". You've got to love it. I have to say I'm proud of this 'glorified' neighborhood watch. It's amazing the amount of 'controversey' stirrup up by a few citizens of this country daring to report law breakers to the proper US government law enforcement agency. What's next, Americans turning in drug dealers or reporting car thieves? Ah, the horror! And in a totally unrelated story
Border States Grapple With Alien Criminals. The actual numbers nabbed doesn't really matter but the publicity and point being made here is invaluable. And who knows how many hundreds or even thousands of illegals have been delayed or 'inconvenienced' along this stretch of inadequately protected border.

Simcox said project volunteers had assisted in the apprehension of 118 illegal immigrants. Fourteen were picked up by the Border Patrol near the Huachuca Mountains, 18 at Hereford and the rest in the Naco area.

Andy Adame, public information officer for the Border Patrol, confirmed that 118 apprehensions resulted from 54 calls received since Thursday.

UPDATE: Border patrol nets 18 early arrests

2005-04-04T12:46:00.000-06:00

Border volunteers descend on tourist town

2005-04-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

Sounds like fun. Too bad I couldn't make it. We'll be following this story as it unfolds.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., received a standing ovation as he dismissed criticism from those who have called the Minutemen racists and xenophobes. He took direct aim at President Bush's recent description of the group as "vigilantes." Mexican President Vicente Fox, who was meeting with Bush at the time last week, used the term cazamigrantes – immigrant hunters.

"We are saying to our government, 'Please enforce the law,' " Tancredo said. "That is not a radical idea. That is not a vigilante idea. It is an American concept: the rule of law." Television commentator Angela "Bay" Buchanan praised the Minutemen for sending a message that "we're not going to sit by and let America slip away" in a tide of illegal immigration.

Pope John Paul II Dies at 84

2005-04-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

The Execution of Terri Schiavo

2005-04-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

"The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak. In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in the favor of life."

"I urge all those who honor Terri Schiavo to continue to work to build a culture of life where all Americans are welcomed and valued and protected, especially those who live at the mercy of others.”

– President George Bush

The crime is complete, the deed is done, and the long battle is over. Terri Schiavo is dead.

Terri’s so-called wishes if she was ever dramatically injured only surfaced some seven years into her condition and after a malpractice suit had been settled. This endless mantra that death by dehydration was ‘merely carrying out Terri’s wishes’ rings hollow when one looks at the evidence and once again common sense and rationality was the first casualty of the legal system.

In February 1990, a sudden loss of oxygen to the brain left Theresa Marie Schiavo in a coma and eventually in a profoundly incapacitated state. Terri's husband, Michael Schiavo, took care of her, working alongside Terri's parents. He took her to numerous doctors; he pursued experimental treatments; he sought at least some modest restoration of her self-awareness. In November 1992, he testified at a malpractice hearing that he would care for Terri for the rest of her life, that he "wouldn't trade her for the world," that he was going to nursing school to become a better caregiver. He explicitly reaffirmed his marriage vow, "through sickness, in health."

When one doctor suggested that he remove Terri’s feeding tube he replied that “I couldn't do that to Terri," and let her die of dehydration. Yet by 1993 such sentiments increasingly fell by the wayside as Michael’s interests focused elsewhere. He was moving on and his brain damaged wife was becoming a mere problem and inconvenient tie to the past.

If my wife was in such a state I would allow physical therapy. I would want her to go outside in the sunshine and to receive friends and flowers. I would want her to have her teeth cleaned and life threatening infections treated. I would allow ‘pet therapy’ and for the blinds to be opened in her room. Even if she had told me she wanted no exceptional medical measures taken, I would make sure her existence while she was still alive was as pleasant and comfortable as possible. Common sense and natural compassion call for such simple measures yet these were the things that Michael denied Terri for many years.

Are these the actions of a man who deeply loved his wife and unselfishly wanted only to fulfill her wishes? No one would wish for themselves and their family to be treated that way. These are the actions of a man who I wouldn’t trust to water the houseplants over the weekend or feed the family pet, let alone make the ultimate decision whether I lived or died.

If any of us had treated a dog, cat or even an iguana the way Terri has been treated we would have been arrested and prosecuted by the same system that provided the legal cover and protection for Michael to deprive, mistreat, and eventually kill his wife. Terri was not a piece of unwelcome human debris to be hidden away in a darkened room barred from even the light of day or killed so that another could marry the mother of his children and move on with his life.

Regarding Terri’s care, Michael Schiavo once said:
"How the hell should I know we never spoke about this, my God I was only 25 years old. How the hell should I know? We were young. We never spoke of this." – (Michael Schiavo’s former girl friend Cindy Shook in a May 8, 2001 Deposition.)

Some have argued that it is not about the right to die, that it is about the right to kill. Perhaps just a small matter of semantics, but more likely a significant difference in how one views the sanctity of human life. There is a distinct line between letting someone go and wanting to see them go and the cheerleading for the death of this brave woman with the tremendous will to live has finally been overcome by those with the tremendous will to see her die. She talked (a few words), she felt pain, she responded to commands, she laughed, she cried, and she brought joy to those around her.

Because of a court order Terri died at the command of the husband she feared and was preparing to leave. It’s sad to see a struggle in our culture and our society between those who seek a culture of life and those who vigorously champion the acceptance and advocacy of a culture of death. The secularists and the Christians. The Right to Life versus the Duty to Die. The representative branch versus the judicial branch. A society torn apart on such basic fundamental rights as human dignity, the sacredness of human life and the worthiness of those ‘less perfect’ than the rest of us.

Is she just the latest sacrifice on the blood splattered altar of convenience or a woman finally being granted her ultimate wish? Unfortunately, we will never know in this lifetime what she truly wanted and whether she wanted to leave her family who loved her and fought for her dignity, care, and finally her life. The love and devotion of such a family is a rare treasure to be cherished. She will be missed by those who loved and cared for her and her courage, and the courage of those who fought for her life, will be an inspiration for many others.

Thursday morning, as Terri was in her final hours of life, police prohibited any blood relatives from spending time with her. O'Donnell, one of the family's spiritual advisers, said that her parents and siblings were "begging to be at her bedside” but they were denied. In one final act of cruelty at the end, Terri’s parents were not allowed to be with their daughter as she died.

Terri was cremated against her family’s wishes, and her remains will be tucked away in her husband’s family crypt far removed from the ever faithful family who fought for her until the bitter end. The cruelty exhibited by Michael Schiavo to Terri’s parents continued to the very end and now even beyond her death. Though we will never know Terri’s true wishes as to whether she would have wanted to die this way, we do know for certain that Terri would have never wanted Michael to be so mean and cruel to her parents, and make them suffer like this.

The nationwide debate has not ended with Terri’s passing but has just begun. Political blood will be shed and with both barrels blasting the various sides will begin the long battle over whether we are a culture of life or a culture of expediency with a duty to die once we are not productive. Fascist regimes glorify the killing of the weak, the disabled, the helpless and ‘useless’ eaters that exist among us, not a civilized Western society with a heart of compassion.

Though technically not killed by the state, it was the state that allowed her to be killed by another. It was the state that failed to protect a helpless woman from a man who has shown his cruel and uncaring character time and time again. It was Terri, and those who need our protection and care the most, that was failed by the state and its cold laws that were not tempered by mercy. Michael Schiavo failed her, the courts failed her, our laws failed her, and ultimately we as a society failed her, for we allowed our culture to become one that would allow this to happen. "Dasein Ohne Leben", the Nazi idea of "Existence without life", must not be enshrined in law as an excuse for euthanasia.

Though I believe she was welcomed with open arms into the presence of the Lord, my family and I grieve her passing and empathize with the pain her parents are experiencing at the loss of their firstborn daughter. Death of a loved one is never easy, but we, and they, do not mourn as those who have no hope. God Bless you Terri, you will be missed and remembered.

........"Mrs. Schiavo's death is a moral poverty and a legal tragedy. This loss happened because our legal system did not protect the people who need protection most, and that will change. The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today. Today we grieve, we pray, and we hope to God this fate never befalls another. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Schindlers and with Terri Schiavo's friends in this time of deep sorrow." – Congressman Tom DeLay.

Smoke Signals: Electing a New Pope

2005-04-02T00:08:00.000-07:00

Rite, Ritual, and Tradition

"When the Pope dies, the officials that were part of the papal administration no longer rule. The governing of the Vatican is taken over by the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, or Chamberlain of the church. The camerlengo supervises all aspects of what goes on from the the death of the pope to the election of the next pope. His responsibilities include the papal funeral and preparations for the conclave.

The camerlengo's first duty is to perform a medieval ritual. At the deathbed of the pope the camerlengo takes a silver hammer and lightly taps on the pope's forehead three times, calling him by his Christian name. When there is no reply, he announces to those present that the pope is dead. The camerlengo also removes the Fisherman's Ring from the Pope's finger. At the first meeting of the Sacred College the ring and papal seals are broken."

Mexican Military on Standby in Response to Minutemen

2005-04-01T23:54:00.000-07:00

It's nice to see a foreign power attempting to dictate US border policy and willing to back up their flood of illegals with military power. May the Minutemen swell in numbers until this border invasion is dealt with swiftly, effectively, and overwhelmingly. If the government is not willing to protect its borders, enforce it's laws and protect its citizens, then that task, unfortunately, falls into the hands of the ordinary citizen. Enough it enough. And God help Mexico if one US citizen is killed by the military muscle of Vincent Fox.

Pope Close to Death, Receives Communion -Vatican

2005-04-01T00:05:00.000-07:00

This may be it for a good man who is a giant on the world stage and was a strategic partner with Reagan and Thatcher in helping to bring down the vile system of Communism. He played a key role in the liberation of millions from the harsh burden of the iron curtain. I hate to write his obituary yet, but it seems that it may be necessary soon. I am not a Catholic, but I admire the man and his convictions, beliefs and commitment to principle.

It's a good thing the pope doesn't have an embittered, estranged spouse to pull his feeding tube.

The death of Terri Schiavo

2005-03-31T22:35:00.000-07:00

Picture of Terri Schiavo taken fourteen hours before her death.

The Crime is complete. Terri Schiavo is dead. Our society, our culture and our laws failed this brave woman and her family who loved her with all their heart and soul. Her soul is God's. The cause is still ours.

In one last act of cruelty at the end, Terri’s parents were not allowed to be with their daughter as she died. Neither them or Terri’s siblings will be allowed to attend her funeral and Terri will be denied a Catholic funeral, cremated against her families wishes, and her remains tucked away in her husband’s family crypt far removed from the ever faithful family who sacrificed fifteen years of their life attempting to keep her alive and who fought for her until the bitter end. The cruelty exhibited by Michael Schiavo to Terri’s parents continued to the very end and now even beyond her death. Though we will never know Terri’s true wishes as to whether she would have wanted to die this way, we do know for certain that Terri would have never wanted Michael Shiavo to be so mean and cruel to her parents, and make them suffer like this.

Though I believe she was welcomed with open arms into the presence of the Lord, my family and I grieve her passing and empathize with the pain her parents are experiencing at the loss of their firstborn daughter. Death of a loved one is never easy, but we, and they, do not mourn as those who have no hope. God Bless you Terri, you will be missed and remembered.

I will be publishing a column on Terri's passing and the issues surrounding it this weekend. It will be posted here as well as in a wide variety of online publications over the next week or so.

The Strong Have a Duty to Protect the Weak

2005-03-31T20:38:00.000-07:00

President Bush issued very kind words to the family of Terri Schiavo. In offering his condolences, the President said, "The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak. In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in the favor of life."

"The strong have to protect the weak" sounds more like the mantra of yesteryears Democratic party. Yet now in cases from euthanasia to abortion to foreign policy, it is Republicans in general and the religious right more specifically that are the true defenders of the weak. In all fairness, prominent liberals like Jesse Jackson and Ralph Nader rallied to the defenseless Schiavo.

Johnny Cochran will be missed

2005-03-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

Long before he defended OJ Simpson, Johnny Cochran made a name for himself as a city prosecutor in Los Angeles and then by representing poor defendants and plaintiffs against huge odds. He won millions and cemented his reputation in the 1960’s when he represented the widow of a black motorist killed by police in a traffic stop. And before the country had heard of him, he also took on the cause of Reginald Denny, the truck driver nearly murdered in the LA riots.

Cochran’s work on behalf of plaintiffs and criminal defendants was heroic. The style with which he did it was grand. And his efforts made him one of the most famous and respected trial lawyers in America, and even earned him a parody on "Seinfeld." Cochran was born in a charity hospital in Shreveport, La. He was the great-grandson of slaves and the grandson of a sharecropper. He worked his way through UCLA then Loyola Law School.
Johhny Cochran was 67

Sen. George Allen: I'm ready to nuke the Dems!

2005-03-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

Republicans (and only Republicans) continue to offer dynamic Social Security ideas

2005-03-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

Larry Lindsey offers his idea in this great debate for the nation's future, which is, just like the great debate for the world's future, currently taking place only within the Republican Party, aka the Party of Reform and Progress. Tell the Democrats we'll wake them when it's over.

The best [plan] is to allow workers to choose a plan where they would contribute more to their retirement in return for gaining ownership and a higher return on their existing payroll taxes. In effect, Social Security taxes could be used to match these contributions. Many companies successfully use this approach for their own 401(k) plans, but the Social Security match could easily be more generous.
Consider, for illustrative purposes, a plan that asked employees to contribute 1.5 percent of their wages to their own personal account, with no change in their current taxes. Social Security could offer a four-for-one match on employee contributions made on the first $10,000 of earnings and a one-for-one match on contributions made on earnings above that amount. The government match would be funded with existing payroll taxes. A worker making $10,000 would thus contribute $150 a year to his account and be matched $600--producing a $750 account. A worker making $50,000 would contribute $750 a year and be matched $1,200, producing a $1,950 personal account. The resulting accounts would build up much more quickly, generate more earnings, and provide far more funds for retirement.

S. Korean appeasers are a weak link in the terror war

2005-03-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

Dave, good work on the N. Korea murders. The things one learns on the Faithful Few weblog.

As we witness weak-kneed allies cower in the face of terrorism and tyranny, it becomes ever more evident how vital it is to maintain the core of what Churchill called the "English-speaking peoples." Britain and Australia are stalwart, and Canada and New Zealand can usually be dragged along. But on the other hand we have Spain, France, the Philippines, S. Korea....

Seoul has been a complete disaster in dealing with N. Korea of late. It may well be that at some point in the future, America’s vital interests will call for either invading N. Korea or abandoning S. Korea all together. Unless President Roh and his boys get their act together, he may find that Washington won‘t even bother to ask his thoughts on the issue.

Mugabe vs. Blair

2005-03-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

Kudos to the European Union for forcefully condemning the sham "elections" in Zimbabwe. Said Robert Mugabe: "In Blair's head there is nothing we can ever do which is right to Mr. Blair. He wants to control this country, and that's the man we are fighting in his election...." If America ever starts to focus on Africa, you could add Mugabe's name to the Bush to-do list.

The revolution is in fact being televised

2005-03-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

In 2001, Bush said that the entire world must make a choice: “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” And while it was assumed that he was talking mostly to Middle East countries, it is now clear that the decision to spread freedom as a defense against terrorism was to be a global effort.

Many states chose wisely -- Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Libya, Jordan, Eqypt and others. Those countries have been protected and supported by American efforts. Other nations chose poorly -- Ukraine, Georgia, Iraq, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and of course Iran and Syria. Russia and some others have tried to have it both ways. The latest revelation that United States and British intelligence played a major role in fomenting the Kyrgystan uprising, along with the previous news that we were also heavily involved in Georgia, Ukraine, and Lebanon, demonstrates the real danger to regimes who chose to oppose US interests.

Of the eight countries I listed as being on the wrong side of our demands, two have been conquered, three others have had their governments changed by US -led revolutions, one has had its main protectorate peeled off by a US-led uprising, and three remain. And don’t think that those remaining regimes aren’t looking at this same list. In the days following the Kyrgystan revolution, Belarus dictator Aleksander Lukashenko implemented a crackdown designed to squelch any ideas of a similar revolt in Minsk. Iran and Syria are furiously trying to stave off dissent in their own countries, and optimists like me believe their efforts can delay, but not prevent, a similar fate. Recall that I wrote earlier on this site that the US had obviously decided that the best way to change the regime in Tehran was through internal revolution. Have no doubt that CIA and MI6 efforts are alive and well throughout Iran and Syria.

While the mainstream media focuses almost exclusively on the military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan -- and naively attributes the revolutions to spontaneous “people power” -- the evidence shows that Bush’s ambitious plan to remake the world for freedom sake has been an awesome success.

Finally, the dynamic partnership between Bush and Blair on this front gives lie to the notion of the British PM as a mere “poodle” of Bush, and to the equally slanderous suggestions that these two men have committed to this endeavor for oil, legacy, profit, or electoral gain. Rather, it is now clear that the Bush/Blair partnership will join the Reagan/Thatcher and Roosevelt/Churchill duos in the pantheon of great Anglo-American teamwork. The efforts of the British Empire to defend and spread Western Civilization never really died, it turns out. It just crossed the Atlantic and began to operate under new management.

Yassin home to be turned into museum

2005-03-29T23:08:00.000-07:00

Thousands of Hamas supporters participated in the rallies, organized under the slogan "Week of the Martyrs" Hamas officials said the museum in the five-room house will be open to the public in the next few weeks. On display will be parts of Yassin's wheelchair, his blood-stained clothes and his private computer, as well as other personal items, including books and newspaper clippings.

A little flashback for you:

Palestinians gather around to look at the scene where an Israeli air strike killed Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin, near his house in Gaza City, Monday, March 22, 2004. Israeli helicopters fired missiles at Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin as he left a mosque near his house at daybreak Monday, residents said, and Hamas officials and witnesses said he was killed. (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

S. Korea bars secret video of the North

2005-03-28T23:50:00.000-07:00

A tape of a public execution, smuggled into South Korea, is kept off the air.

And just in case you missed this bit of Marxist utopianism. Not only do these fun loving people have nukes (thanks to Clinton and Carter) but many on the Left continue to want to coddle and appease what is one of the most brutal regimes the world has ever known.

On a bleached and scratchy video image smuggled out of Kim Jong Il's closed regime, blindfolded prisoners are tied to white posts on a rocky landscape, shot three times, and dragged away. The rare video footage of summary executions in North Korea - a practice considered routine in the North but never captured on film - was taken by hidden camera March 1 and 2, and smuggled through China to South Korea...A police chief's voice calls out, "Aim, fire, fire, fire." Nine shots by three soldiers ring out from behind the prisoners, who instantly fall. An official with a megaphone can be heard saying, "How pathetic is the end of these traitors of the fatherland."

Mar 1, 2005, in Hoiryong City. Crowds were gathered up by the authorities for the public execution. According to N-TV estimate, the crowds numbered thousands. On this day, security/police agents in Hoiryong showed up at various places in the city, rounding up people and sent them to the public execution site.

Could Tony Blair lose the May election?

2005-03-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

The London Guardian thinks so. I disagree with some of their analysis, but they make some interesting points. In any event, for the first time in my life I'll be rooting for a Labour win this spring.

59 ex-State Dept. officials come out against Bolton

2005-03-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

Now we know he's the right man for the job

Meet the mayor of London

2005-03-28T17:06:00.000-07:00

He's anti-Semetic, a symathizer for terror, and leftist nutcase.

UPDATE: Auman conviction thrown out

2005-03-28T15:12:00.001-07:00

Today the Colorado Supreme Court threw out Lisl Auman's 1998 felony murder conviction and ordered a new trial for the 29 year old woman who has been in prison since her arrest in 1997.

In a 4-1 decision, the Court held that a faulty jury instruction on the nature of the felony murder statute violated Auman's right to a fair trial. Proseutors are expected to try the case again.

The tragedy of Lisl Auman

2005-03-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, the Colorado Supreme Court will hand down its ruling in State v. Auman. Lisl Auman was convicted of “felony murder” in 1998 when her companion, Matthaeus Jaehnig, shot and killed Denver police officer Bruce VanderJagt. The case has reached the Supreme Court because Auman is the first person ever convicted of committing a murder while she was handcuffed and in police custody.

On Nov. 12, 1997 Lisl Auman wanted to break into her ex-boyfriend’s house to get her stuff back from him. For help, she enlisted Jaehnig, a thug she knew. Together they broke into the boyfriend’s apartment and were on their way when the police were called. As the two began to flee, the cops rolled up. Jaehnig, who was driving, sped off and began to fire on the police who were in pursuit. When they reached a dead end in an apartment complex Auman gave herself up, but Jaehnig ran around a corner. The police handcuffed Auman, placed her in the back seat of the squad car, and then set out to find Jaehnig. When Officer VanderJagt turned the corner, Jaehnig shot and killed him. Other officers then shot and killed Jaehnig.

With no one to prosecute for the crime that obviously enraged law enforcement, the District Attorney turned its guns on Auman. Two different officers filed police reports that noted that Auman was cooperative. But to secure a felony murder conviction, this was a problem, so the DA met privately with each of the officers who then “revised” their reports to make Auman appear more menacing. To the untrained eye, this would appear to be perjury by the police and the subornation of perjury by the prosecutors, felonies all around. To the courts who are charged with overseeing this conduct, it’s just another day at the office.

Auman was convicted of felony murder, and the 21 year old who was guilty of breaking into an unoccupied apartment to get her own stuff back was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

The legal issue is this: Felony murder is a charge whereby the defendant committed any felony (in this case burglary) and a death occurred during the commission of the crime. But when a person removes themselves from the commission of the crime, either voluntarily or by being captured, their participation in the crime ends. The DA has argued that the “crime” continued until Jaehnig was captured or killed. This is plainly absurd --- if Jaehnig remained at large today no one would argue that Auman remains in process of a criminal action to this day. So they are left to argue that because of the particular facts of this case (namely how cooperative or uncooperative Auman was while in custody) Auman should be guilty of felony murder. Here the perjured police reports are key.

Lisl Auman is 29 now, in prison for 8 years so far for being reckless and stupid. But she is clearly not a cop killer. And no matter how tragic the death of officer VanderJagt was, and no matter how furious the police and prosecutors were, it is time to put an end to this miscarriage of justice and set Lisl Auman free.

Bigotry and the Murder of Terri Schiavo

2005-03-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

There are so many sides and important aspects to the Terri Schiavo situation and Joe Ford explores this from the viewpoint of a severely disabled person in an enlightening way. There is a reason that the focus of the nation has been on the death watch and the frantic actions of her loving parents to save their daughter from a death sentence. How a nation treats it's most vulnerable and weak is a window into its soul. I encourage you to take the time to read this article.

Essentially, then, we have arrived at the point where we starve people to death because he or she cannot communicate their experiences to us. What is this but sheer egotism? Regardless of one’s religious beliefs, this is obviously an attempt to play God.

He is Risen!

2005-03-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and coming rolled back the stone and sat upon it. And his countenance was as lightning and his raiment as snow. And for fear of him, the guards were struck with terror and became as dead men. And the angel answering, said to the women: Fear not you: for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. For he is risen, as he said. Come, and see the place where the Lord was laid. And going quickly, tell ye his disciples that he is risen. And behold he will go before you into Galilee. There you shall see him. Lo, I have foretold it to you.

Fred Phelps Hates Jesus Christ

2005-03-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

In Topeka Kansas sits the innocuously named Westboro Baptist Church. Today the church’s pastor, Fred Phelps visited Arvada, Colorado to lead a series of protests. It seems Rev. Phelps is outraged that the Arvada Center, a regional theater, has accepted funds from the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado. Phelps, his children, and the Westboro Baptist Church are known for their anti-gay hatred. When Matthew Shepherd died in 1998, Phelps and his band of merry revelers picketed the funeral holding signs declaring that Shepherd was in hell and chanting anti-gay slogans. They did the same thing at the funeral of Henry Clay Gold (below).

So this morning, after protesting at the Arvada Center, the Westboro gang went to march in front of three different Christian churches in Arvada, subjecting Easter service attendees to their virulent hatred. It’s sad that an anti-Christian bigot like Fred Phelps would disrupt Easter for true believers in Christ.

God doesn’t hate Fred Phelps, but he is no doubt furious at him for blaspheming the Word and corrupting the sacrifice of His Son. Few men on earth do more to systematically and intentionally inflict harm on the Gospel of Jesus Christ than Fred Phelps does, and it could safely be said that Phelps is one of the most effective anti-Christian propagandists in the world today. And most Christians would hold that Rev. Phelps himself is destined for the fires of damnation.

So while we are technically called upon to forgive these people, were a lightening strike to suddenly destroy Westboro Baptist leaving the hateful congregation without a "church," it would surely be enough to cause even the most hard hearted skeptic to rejoice to the Lord.

On Wolfowitz, the left again humiliates itself

2005-03-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

Never before in human history has a seemingly legitimate left-of-center political persuasion been so consistently and overtly opposed to the interests of the enslaved, the downtrodden, or the weak as are today’s Western Left. If one goes back to the Cold War when the left spent equal energy lying about communism’s crimes and attacking anti-communists, and combines that with today’s petulant and immoral rejection of human dignity and freedom, the 60 year history of the contemporary Western left wing is one of degeneracy unmatched by all but the most clearly loathsome evil regimes of the 20th century.

Unmoved by their obvious error in opposing Arab freedom, they have now turned their guns on the boldest nomination to the World Bank in a generation, Paul Wolfowitz. Since the temper tantrums concerning Wolfowitz’s nomination have erupted, it is instructive to note that not a single attack on him has even sought to be a serious appraisal of his qualifications. Not one.

Instead the invective has hewed to the line that since Wolfowitz supported a foreign policy that has humiliated leftist pretense, he must be unfit for the World Bank. The only "complaint" lodged against him has been that he believed in the liberation of enslaved people and that this alone might cause the more selfish governments who chose profits over freedom to dislike him.

Everybody from US congressmen to European pundits have leapt to offer their ill-informed criticism of Wolfowitz, only to have their already extreme position further isolated when countries that had actually worked with Wolfowitz, instead of simply reading ignorant hate literature about his "neocon" conspiracies, enthusiastically backed the bid. Nancy Pelosi may find the nomination "hard to understand," but London, Ottawa, Berlin, and Paris quickly announced that they could fathom it just fine.

No such foreign support, however, is likely to cool the ardor of such luminaries of the left as Jeffrey Sachs and Joseph Stiglitz. Stiglitz recklessly warned of a violent response to Wolfowitz: "This is an act of provocation by America," he said. "The World Bank will once again become a hate figure. This could bring street protests and violence across the developing world." That Stiglitz is the former chief economist of the World Bank tells us much about how such an important international organization has slipped into corruption and incompetence. Unable to cite any evidence to buttress his claims against Wolfowitz, Stiglitz settles for outright fiction. He suggests that the World bank will "become an explicit instrument of US foreign policy" and says "it will presumably take a lead role in Iraqi reconstruction, for instance. That would jeopardize its role as a multilateral development body." No evidence whatsoever exists to support such outlandish claims, and serious international observers can recognize them as patently false.

As for Sachs, an adviser to the UN, he rushed to slander Wolfowitz to the very World Bank staff he will soon manage, saying in a speech to the body that the former Pentagon official has “no experience in development and absolutely no clarity of what it means.” Sachs is badly misinformed. Wolfowitz was ambassador to the Philippines, where he remains a hero for his efforts to help the people, and to Indonesia, during which time the nation achieved what the Washington Post has called “a poverty-reduction success story.” And he has of course recently helped engineer a policy to free 55 million slaves from oppression and unleash prosperity-creating freedom in one of the poorest regions on earth. Perhaps more to the point, he has done infinitely more for the poor and the suffering than the self-styled advocates for the underclass Jeffrey Sachs or Joseph Stiglitz have ever done.

Of course, almost none of the leftist critics of the nomination can name any previous World Bank presidents, nor have they cared. But now that Bush --- the most internationally idealistic President since Wilson --- has backed up his lofty rhetoric with a bold, solid appointment, the left suddenly professes concern about the Bank again. In reality, they are concerned only that the Wolfowitz reign will be a dramatic success. As with Arab democratization, their fears are not of failure, but of success. For if the neoconservative vision can prove to be as effective at the most international-minded organizations as it has proven in the Middle East, then the Left will have nothing whatever to offer --- and their slide into the abyss will be all but complete.

U.S. forces thwart major escape in southern Iraq

2005-03-27T00:06:00.000-07:00

U.S. military police Friday thwarted a massive escape attempt by suspected insurgents and terrorists from this southern Iraq Army base that houses more than 6,000 detainees when they uncovered a 600-foot tunnel the detainees had dug under their compound.

The Bush foreign policy "nationalists"

2005-03-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

Ivo Daalder is a Dutch-born diplomat from the internationalist school. He served as a national security adviser to Pres. Clinton and has been a frequent critic of the Bush administration. Now he offers the thesis that the foreign policy split within the administration isn’t between the neoconservatives and the realists, but the between the "nationalists" and the internationalists. He labels the former’s credo thusly:

The nationalists' direction is clear: America is a great power that exists to do great things. America will use international institutions and abide by international law when they advance its great mission; but it will abandon institutions and ignore international laws if they constrain its freedom to act. America will deal with like-minded countries, but it will never rely on anyone else for its security. And America will never place its trust in tyrants or anyone else who opposes freedom.

Daaldo then goes on to offer sneering analysis of how misguided such a plan is, but he never comes close to convincing a fair minded reader that this prescription is anything other than precisely what America -- and the world -- should want.

Italian leftist comes around to Bush foreign policy

2005-03-24T23:32:00.000-07:00

Hat tip to David frum at NRO

Piero Fassino is the former leader of Italy's communist party. After vigorously opposing the Iraq War, he says that he has come to recognize that President Bush is "fighting for freedom and democracy" in the Middle East. He added that this fight has set in motion dramatic changes that promise to weaken the forces of religious extremism in the region.

Islamic school suspends teachers over student's hate-filled tale

2005-03-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

More fun with the 'religion of peace'.

The cover page of the boy’s story is illustrated with a burning Star of David beside a machine-gun and a Palestinian flag atop the Dome of the Rock, an ancient Muslim shrine in Jerusalem. The text next to the shrine reads: 'With the call of God is the Greatest, the flag of Zionism will fall and will be destroyed.'

"God bless you, your efforts are good," the teacher wrote on the title page. "The story of the hero Ahmed and the hero Salah is still alive. The end will be soon when God unites us all in Jerusalem to pray there."

Kyrgyzstan uprising forces president to flee

2005-03-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

I don't think anyone really saw this coming. The most interesting part of this article was the statement that both the Russians and the US have bases in this backwater of the former Soviet Union.

This time the colors are pink and yellow

2005-03-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

One by one, nations are rising up against their dictator oppressors. This time it's in Kyrgyzstan.

Political Correctness kills kids at Red Lake High

2005-03-24T10:11:00.000-07:00

Derrick Brun was an unarmed security guard at Red Lake High School, the Minnesota school where the massacre occurred. LeeAnn Grant was his partner. When the shooting began Mr. Brun went after the shooter. However, school regulations require that security guards must be unarmed. Unable to defend himself or the students under his protection, Brun had little to utilize but his courage. But as he stood face to face with a murderer armed with a shotgun, his courage offered him no defense, and Bruns was shortly gunned down.

Here's the help he got from his partner, Miss Grant:

"I screamed to Derrick, 'There's a guy with a gun -- we need to run!' I yelled. I screamed: 'Come on. Let's go.'" She then fled. But Brun didn't flee. He took his job as a security guard seriously, and ran towards the sound of the shots. Sweet little thing that she is, Miss Grant has no doubt that Bruns was a hero, noting that because of "the type of person he was" she was reassured. "I know he was going to try to protect us. I knew he was going to hold him back."

It can safely be concluded that 5 school children, a teacher, and a security guard are dead today in part because the school decided to have unarmed guards "protect" the kids, one of whom was a frightened lady who had no place whatsoever in that position of authority.

Contact info for the Bush brothers

2005-03-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

My e-mail has been flooded with appeals, messages and petitions in regards to Terri and the right to life vs. the right to die drama being played out before our eyes. I received the following from RightMarch.com which contained the contact information for both Gov. Jeb Bush and Pres. George Bush. My wife and I shot off a quick e-mail to Gov. Bush asking him to utilize his authority as the governor of the state of Florida to save her life and end this amazing and disturbing circus of the black robed ones. Below is an excerpt:

ALERT: Wednesday was a rollercoaster of emotions for
us, here in Tallahassee, Florida...

At 2:00pm, we got a meeting between folks from RightMarch
(William Greene and our attorney, Larry Klayman) and
Governor Bush's chief counsel (his top lawyer on staff).
We presented information on why the Governor has the
authority RIGHT NOW under Florida Law and the state
constitution to take Terri into protective custody NOW,
and save her life.

One hour later, Gov. Bush held a press conference
announcing that he believes he has the authority to
take Terri into protective custody.

That was GREAT news... except, he DIDN'T DO IT. Instead
of stepping right in and saving Terri's life, he waited
until Judge Greer (who ordered Terri to be starved to
death) issued an order forbidding the Governor or his
agencies to get involved.

This is OUTRAGEOUS. Governor Bush needs to step up to
the plate NOW, and exercise his constitutional and legal
authority NOW, before Terri dies. But he doesn't seem
to be willing to take that chance and do it... so we
thought we should help encourage him.

So once more, we need YOUR help.

We need EVERYONE READING THIS EMAIL to call Governor
Jeb Bush RIGHT AWAY, and ask him to do one simple thing:

"PLEASE EXERCISE YOUR LEGAL AUTHORITY, AND TAKE
TERRI SCHIAVO INTO PROTECTIVE CUSTODY RIGHT AWAY."

That's all we're asking you to do. Just call Gov. Bush
NOW and beg him to save Terri's life.

TAKE ACTION: PLEASE call Governor Jeb Bush's office NOW
at 850-488-4441 (or fax him at 850-487-0801), asking him
to exercise the executive powers he ALREADY HAS, and take
custody of Terri Schiavo to save her from being starved
to death.

We've already met one-on-one with Gov. Bush's General Counsel
lawyers, showing them point-by-point exactly why the Governor
DOES have those powers right NOW. On Thursday, we're also
bringing in Alan Keyes and Larry Klayman to try to meet with
the Governor and urge him to take Terri into protective
custody. Call Gov. Bush NOW and ask him to USE his legal
powers to save Terri's life. You can also e-mail him at
jeb@myflorida.com .

You can also call his brother, President George W. Bush, at
202-456-1414 (or fax him at 202-456-2461). Leave a message
for him that he AND his brother both have the authority to
use the police services at their disposal to take Terri into
protective custody, restore her food and hydration, and
arrest anyone who would interfere. You can also e-mail him
at president@whitehouse.gov .

For the sake of Terri's life, we CANNOT afford to wait while
the courts bicker over jurisdiction -- and we CANNOT let
little two-bit judges order the Executive branch to not do
their duty...

U.S., Iraqis say 85 militants killed in battle

2005-03-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

Some good news from the Iraqi front in the War on Terror.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. and Iraqi forces raided a suspected guerrilla training camp and killed 85 fighters, the single biggest one-day death toll for militants in months and the latest in a series of blows to the insurgency, Iraqi officials said Wednesday.

"Among the dead are Arab and foreign fighters, including Sudanese, Algerians and Moroccans, as well as other nationalities," Interior Ministry spokesman Sabah Kadhim told Reuters.

DCF considers removing Schiavo from hospice by force

2005-03-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

TALLAHASSEE — State officials say they are considering removing Terri Schiavo from the hospice, by force if necessary, despite numerous court orders upholding the removal of the artificial nutrition tube that has kept her alive for 15 years.

Lucy Hadi, secretary of the Department of Children and Families, said Wednesday morning that her staff is relying on a state law that gives the department the authority to intervene on behalf of a vulnerable adult who is "suffering from abuse or neglect that presents a risk of death or serious physical injury."

Starved for justice

2005-03-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

So how about a Republican governor sending in the National Guard to stop an innocent American woman from being starved to death in Florida? Republicans like the military. Democrats get excited about the use of military force only when it's against Americans...

Given the country's fetishism about court rulings, this may be a rash assumption, but I presume if Greer had ordered that Terri Schiavo be shot at her husband's request – a more humane death, by the way – the whole country would not sit idly by, claiming to be bound by the court's ruling because of the "rule of law" and "federalism." President Bush would order the FBI to protect her and Gov. Bush would send in the state police.

What was supposed to be the "least dangerous" branch has become the most dangerous – literally to the point of ordering an innocent American woman to die, and willfully disregarding congressional subpoenas. They can't be stopped – solely because the entire country has agreed to treat the pronouncements of former ambulance-chasers as the word of God. The only power courts have is that everyone jumps when they say "jump." (Also, people seem a little intimidated by the black robes. From now on we should make all judges wear lime-green leisure suits.)

Terri's Former Nurse Accuses Michael Schiavo

2005-03-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

Pinellas Park police Lt. Kevin Riley, standing upper right, prepares to arrest members of the Keys family as they were attempting to bring Terri Schiavo water Wednesday morning, March 23, 2005 outside the Woodside Hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla. The Keys family, of Burnet, Tex., kneeling, from left, Josie, 14, Gabriel, 10, Chris, the children's father, and Cameron 12, were all taken into custody. Galen Keys, upper left, the children's mother looks on, but was not arrested.The mother insists it was the children's idea: "I am proud of them," said the boys' mother Geilen Keys from Texas, who was not arrested. "They are very mature and they said 'we want to go and offer some water to Terri'."

Interesting political circus as a brave woman is being slowly left to die of dehydration both against the wishes of her family and against the tenets of her own personal religious beliefs.

Ms. Iyer said that Terri could:

Interact with staff.
Laugh.
Talk - saying words like "mommy," "help me" and "hi."
Let you know if she was in pain.
React reflexively on command.

Interviewer Steve Doocey asked Carla why, in her opinion, Michael Schiavo was not telling people this. She answered that she believes "he wants her to die."

Mark Levin: George Will is wrong, drop the nuke

2005-03-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

George Will: GOP should keep the filibuster

2005-03-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

Disabled Woman Would Cry 'Help Me,' Caregivers Claim

2005-03-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

That wonderful loving husband of Terri's has not allowed her to go outside since 2000 and even refuses to let the blinds to be opened to let sunlight into her room. Hospital staff are prohibited from even being allowed to clean her teeth which has resulted in the loss of several teeth and two serious, life threatening infections which the medical staff were not allowed to treat (but which Terri recovered from on her own). All therapy or rehabilitation has been prohibited for several years and even such a simple thing as pet therapy for Terri Schiavo, the animal lover, has been banned. Her husband is quite the loving and caring guy who obviously cares about his wife and her comfort and health very deeply.

Carla Sauer Iyer was a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at the same convalescent center in the mid 1990s, and also cared for Terri. She described Mr. Schiavo as being "focused on Terri's death.

"Michael [Schiavo] would say, 'When is she going to die? Has she died yet?' and 'When is that bitch going to die?'" Iyer charged. "Other statements which I recall him making include, 'Can't anything be done to accelerate her death, won't she ever die?' When she wouldn't die, Michael [Schiavo] would be furious."

Conversely, Iyer said that when she would have to call Schiavo to inform him of a downturn in Terri's condition, Schiavo would be elated.

"Michael would be visibly excited, thrilled even, hoping that she would die," Iyer recalled. "He would blurt out, 'I'm going to be rich,' and would talk about all the things he would buy when Terri died, which included a new car, a new boat and going to Europe, among other things."

DeLay Pledges Contempt Charge for Terri Judge

2005-03-18T19:33:00.000-07:00

This is a fast moving story and situation that should be watched carefully. The implications are important and it is times like these when you find out what our elected leaders really believe and who has the courage to do what is right.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay pledged Friday to hold Florida state judge George Greer in contempt of Congress for ignoring a congressional subpoena for Terri Schiavo's testimony, saying, "No little judge sitting in a state district court in Florida is going to usurp the authority of Congress."

"The Congress will pursue this, if we have to hold him in contempt of Congress," DeLay told radio host Sean Hannity.

Barbarity in America

2005-03-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

The humanity of every society is determined first and foremost by how it treats its most helpless citizens, and a nation that is prepared to murder a feeble and vulnerable woman who can breathe but not eat on her own must take a deeper look at the source of its ethics.

Schiavo's feeding tube removed despite congressional intervention

2005-03-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

What a sad state of our culture where the weak, the helpless, the unborn and the inconvenient can be slaughtered and starved to death with the blessing of the government. This has galvanized many who otherwise have stood on the sidelines of the human dignity and right to life movements. There are those who believe that innocent life is sacred, and then there are those that don't.

CITIZENLINK BREAKING NEWS:

Schiavo's Feeding Tube Removed
by Pete Winn, associate editor

SUMMARY: Judge ignores subpoenas -- and Congress -- to
reinstate death order for disabled Florida woman.

Terri Schiavo's feeding tube has been removed -- thanks to
a stubborn Florida judge who, this afternoon, reinstated
his original court order withdrawing food and water from
the disabled Florida woman, who has been at a Clearwater,
Fla., hospice since 2003.

In so doing, Pinellas County Circuit Judge George Greer
ignored subpoenas issued by Congress -- and gave Schiavo's
estranged husband, Michael, the legal cover he needed to
begin the process of ending his wife's life.

"Terri Schiavo has done nothing to deserve the death
sentence she has been handed," Focus on the Family
Chairman Dr. James Dobson said. "She is a disabled woman
guilty of nothing more than marrying a man who has not
taken seriously his vows to love and protect her for as
long as they both shall live."

In a last-minute attempt to stop Greer's order from being
carried out, a U.S. House of Representatives committee
decided early Friday morning to launch an investigation
into Schiavo's case and issued five subpoenas -- one to
Terri herself, another to her guardian and husband,
Michael, and the others to the doctors giving her care.
The subpoenas also ordered doctors and hospice
administrators not to remove her feeding tube and to keep
her alive until that investigation is complete.

The subpoenas specifically said: "No things, including
those things reflecting data, information, or records
called for by this request, shall be destroyed, modified,
transferred, disconnected, discontinued or otherwise made
inaccessible to the Committee."

Greer was unmoved.

"I have no cogent reason why the (congressional) committee
should intervene," the judge reportedly told attorneys in
a judicial conference call.

Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, which had
earlier filed legal action on Terri Schiavo's behalf, was
appalled at Greer's latest action.

"I cannot understand why Judge Greer will not honor the
subpoenas issued from the U.S. House," Staver said. "Terri
Schiavo should be afforded every protection. Death by
dehydration and starvation is slow, painful and inhumane."

Dobson also expressed outrage at Greer's decision.

"Judge Greer's defiance . . . is just the latest example
of his hubris," he said. "He has for five years been on a
quest to use his authority to end her life -- and if his
arrogant ruling today is allowed to stand, he will have
finally succeeded."

Schiavo was granted a momentary reprieve earlier in the
day, when another Pinellas circuit court judge ordered
that the feeding tube remain in place past the mandated 1
p.m. EST deadline until Greer could sort out the legal
issues raised by the subpoenas.

It took extraordinary action from Congress last night and
today to secure even that temporary good news. In addition
to the House action, the Senate Health Committee requested
that Terri and Michael Schiavo appear at an official
committee hearing on March 28.

Statements from House Majority Leader Tom Delay, R-Texas,
and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., indicated
that Congress will continue to do everything it can to
protect Schiavo. Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos,
labeled such efforts "thuggery" during a rambling news
conference carried live this afternoon on cable TV.

Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics at Focus
on the Family, said there are legislative options still
pending in Terri's situation, both in Congress and
especially in the form of bills still pending in the
Florida Legislature.

One of the Florida measures would prohibit a guardian from
allowing a disabled person in a "persistent vegetative
state" to die by withholding food and water, unless that
person had left written instructions asking not to be kept
alive with artificial feedings. It passed overwhelmingly
in the Florida House, 78-37, but was defeated in the
Florida Senate by a vote of 21-16. There is a chance it
could be voted on again.

Schiavo has officially been classified as being in a
"persistent vegetative state," although her family and
some medical experts dispute that diagnosis.

"The movement of these bills so far is a direct result of
the sacrificial telephone calls and e-mails sent to
members of Congress and the Florida Legislature by people
across the country who care about Terri's fate," Earll
said. "People of faith who respect human life should be
applauded for their willingness to speak up for Terri in
these critical hours."

But Earll said legislative action is now essential. What
can we do?

"We can call our members of Congress and we can call the
members of the U.S Senate and say, 'You've got to agree to
pass legislation to help this woman,' " Earll said. "We've
got to shut down the switchboards."

Dobson agreed, saying lawmakers "must not let this
travesty stand."

"They must continue to work," he said, "to ensure that the
weakest among us, who cannot speak for themselves, have
the same legal rights and protections that even the most
heinous criminals are afforded."

TAKE ACTION: Please take a moment to help save the life of
Terri Schiavo.

1) Contact your member of the U.S. House of
Representatives right now -- by phone and e-mail -- and
urge him or her to vote on the Senate-passed version of
the Terri Schiavo bill. This is a "private member" bill
sponsored by Sen. Mel Martinez that only affects Terri and
differs from the House-passed measure. Members of Congress
need to ask House leadership to bring up this Senate bill
for a vote as soon as possible.

For contact information for your representative, visit the
CitizenLink Action Center and type your ZIP code in the
space provided.

Who will speak for America at the UN?

2005-03-13T21:33:00.000-07:00

For the soul of America's war on terror, there is no more vital battle raging in Washington than that over the nomination of John Bolton to be the US ambassador to the United Nations. Bolton is a skilled diplomat, a shrewd bureaucratic infighter, and a neocon of the first rate. He gets it. Which is precisely why Democrats are out in force to block him.

But after being reminded of Kofi Annan's noxious views, Bolton's confirmation takes on an even greater importance. Speaking in Spain at the anniversary of the Madrid massacre, he launched an attack not on al Qaeda or Hezbollah, but on the very Western nations fighting for civilization. In this time of existential struggle, Annan's contribution is to try to hamstring our efforts to spread freedom and defeat terrorists. He proposed a UN special envoy to monitor whether governments' counter-terrorism measures "conformed to international human rights law." There was no word on whether Annan also sought to "monitor" Zarqawi's beheadings or examine al Qaeda's human rights record.

John Bolton can't get to New York fast enough!

Axis of Evil, 2005

2005-03-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

Iran and Syria continue to be in more or less open warfare with the United States, while we wage only a clandestine war in response. Michael Ledeen has a revealing look at these current enemy nations, and a prescription for defeating them.

While Hezbollah was based in Lebanon, and thus subject to Syrian territorial control, it owed obedience to Iran, and no major undertaking could be launched without Iranian approval. As we learned during the dealings for the release of American hostages, whenever the Iranian government decided that one should be released, Hezbollah leaders traveled to Tehran, and the release took place upon their return

The deadliest terror group is not al Qaeda

2005-03-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

If you thought you knew about Hezbollah, you haven't read this.

Revealed: Israel plans strike on Iranian nuclear plant

2005-03-12T18:38:00.000-07:00

I have been predicting this for some time. Unless the mullahs back down the Zionists will 'put down' their nuclear ambitions with extreme prejudice. And for some reason I haven't lost much sleep over this.

The inner cabinet of Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, gave “initial authorisation” for an attack at a private meeting last month on his ranch in the Negev desert.

Israeli forces have used a mock-up of Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment plant in the desert to practise destroying it. Their tactics include raids by Israel’s elite Shaldag (Kingfisher) commando unit and airstrikes by F-15 jets from 69 Squadron, using bunker-busting bombs to penetrate underground facilities.

Rice fuels rumours that it’s Condi v Hillary in 2008

2005-03-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

This would be very interesting. I thinkt he first female, not to mention black, president should have a nice "R" after her name. That would just drive the Left crazy for they claim to be the only party that believes in equal rights and opportunity. Her nomination would also reveal the deep measure of hypocrisy and racism that in the Democratic party. We saw some of that bubble to the surface during her Secretary of State confirmation hearings. Rice would be a great successor to Bush, especially in ensuring a consistent and aggressive foreign policy in the face of war on terrorism and terror states. A lot of speculation concerning a possible run in 2008 have appeared lately including the article
2008 run, abortion engage her politically which appeared in The Washington Times.

"The trumpet of freedom has been sounded, and that trumpet never calls retreat."

2005-03-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday’s presidential address at the National Defense University is the latest in a list of stirring and important presidential proclamations. The president took it to a new level too, when he called directly on other nations to help fan the flames of freedom.

All free nations must stand with the forces of democracy and justice that have begun to transform the Middle East.... Across the Middle East, a critical mass of events is taking that region in a hopeful new direction. Authoritarian rule is not the wave of the future; it is the last gasp of a discredited past.

Together with his Inaugural and his State of the Union speeches, yesterday's address demonstrates that Bush is clearly carving out a legacy of unflinching insistence that freedom must reign, and everywhere.

Pervasive fear is the foundation of every dictatorial regime -- the prop that holds up all power not based on consent. And when the regime of fear is broken, and the people find their courage and find their voice, democracy is their goal -- and tyrants, themselves, have reason to fear...Our security increasingly depends on the hope and progress of other nations now simmering in despair and resentment. And that hope and progress is found only in the advance of freedom.

Bush’s clarion call has surpassed anything expected of an American President.

This advance is a consistent theme of American strategy -- from the Fourteen Points to the Four Freedoms to the Marshall Plan to the Reagan Doctrine. The trumpet of freedom has been sounded, and that trumpet never calls retreat.

"Nuclear option" on judges may be close at hand

2005-03-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

An interesting Robert Novak column suggests that the GOP has in fact decided to use the nuclear option to eliminate Democratic filibusters on judges, but that Arlen Specter is using intriguing legislative infighting to try to stymie the issue. Specter wants to bring forward William Myers first, because he could get 60 votes and be confirmed. Sounds reasonable. But the GOP leadership wants to go first with a nominee like Janice Rogers Brown who will lose the push for 60 votes.

With no chance to get 60 senators supporting her, Frist will then make a point of order to be upheld by Vice President Dick Cheney, presiding over the Senate. If a simple majority upholds him, Brown is confirmed -- and the war is won.

Beltway Buzz confirms what Faithful Few said 5 days ago

2005-03-08T22:37:00.000-07:00

On March 3, I wrote that White House language seemed to indicate that the President was willing to accept personal accounts that were "add-on, rather than replacement, for social security payroll taxes." I also suggested that "Tres. Sec. John Snow seems to be finding a way the president can declare some form of victory."

From today’s Beltway Buzz over at NRO:

A GOP source close to the Social Security debate tells me, "the battle for personal accounts is over....The president is going to take the compromise of add-on accounts, reduced benefits and a payroll tax cap increase and claim victory.

Its Just a Parasitic Clump of Tissue

2005-03-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

I am always amazed when science validates what clear-thinkers already know; that "parasitic clump of tissue" or "fetus" is actually a **gasp** baby! Consider:

We see the earliest movements at 8 weeks," Campbell said. "By 12 weeks or so they are seen yawning and performing individual finger movements that are often more complex than you'll see in a newborn," he said. "It may be due to the effects of gravity after birth."

The images reveal facial expressions, like smiling, at 20 weeks. Beyond 24 weeks fetuses may suck their thumbs, stick their tongues out (perhaps using newly developed taste buds to sample amniotic fluid imbued with the flavors of the mother's food), and make apparently emotional faces.

My Response to Lloyd Axworthy

2005-03-07T23:33:00.000-07:00

One would think that Mr. Axworthy might find it more respectful to address his open letter to "Dr." or "Sec. Rice," but since his clear goal is to condescend, belittle, and demean his subject, "Condi" does seem the more effective designation. And it might have occurred to many that there could be a better choice of words than to suggest that lil’ Condi is at the behest of her "master" in the White House. But such niceties are clearly lost on Mr. Axworthy, whose undisciplined temper tantrum in the Winnipeg Free Press reveals nothing so much as the fact that the Canadian diplomatic community simply isn’t as serious or as thoughtful as we Americans had thought.

It might also have been a good idea had an editor perhaps dissuaded Mr. Axworthy from repeatedly suggesting that the U.S. Sec. of State is so slow and ignorant that her mere arrival in Ottawa will reveal a world of wonder and amazement for the little black girl from Alabama. If Sec. Rice travels to that land of goodness and harmony, we are told, she might be "expose[d]" to "a thing called question period." Oh yes, Mr. Axworthy, please "expose" our ingenue to as much as you think she can handle.

He also promises that there is much that Rice "would find" "would see" and "might explore" in Canada, as if the Secretary has scarcely heard of the country. Condoleeza Rice enrolled in college at age 15, graduated cum laude at 19, and collected her masters and PhD on the way to becoming provost of Stanford University. She has authored several books on foreign affairs and has worked in the field for 25 years, serving three U.S. presidents. The object of Mr. Axworthy’s sneering sanctimony is also an accomplished concert pianist and speaks fluent Russian. Since there is nothing in Sec. Rice’s academic, intellectual, or professional history to support Mr. Axworthy’s clear insinuation that she is dense, one is left to wonder what exactly about Sec. Rice’s makeup gave Mr. Axworthy that impression? It would perhaps be crass to speculate.

Mr. Axworthy uses scare quotes to describe America’s "liberation war" in Iraq. No matter that the Iraqi people believe themselves to have been liberated, or that the majority of the Arab world appears to agree with that sentiment. After all, what do they know if they haven’t consulted Lloyd Axworthy? He also chides America without irony for "laying out more than half of all weapons expenditures in the world," making no mention of the fact that supercilious countries like Canada who find themselves too sophisticated to spend on their own defense contribute mightily to this equation.

The Winnipeg Free Press has provided a good service to America, however, by revealing just what kind of thinking is produced by the Canadian Foreign Office and disabusing us of any illusions that our ally should be considered a steadfast partner in the vital issues of our time. That a former foreign minister produced such a work speaks volumes in itself. It is inconceivable that such a juvenile jeremiad could ever be authored by Condoleeza Rice or Colin Powell or Jack Straw. But then, those are serious diplomats, from sober foreign offices, in important countries. Lloyd Axworthy’s open letter helps remind us all that we are dealing with no such things from our northern neighbors.

Former Canadian foreign minister slams the United States

2005-03-07T23:12:00.000-07:00

Ending the Filibuster

2005-03-07T20:48:00.001-07:00

George Will and others have written about the Senate filibuster as if it is a hallowed constitutional tradition. It has no constitutional authority and in practice its use as a tactic has a rather inglorious history. But for those who still insist that it is blasphemous to suggest the demise of the filibuster, here’s a wonderful account of the old "House filibuster" that existed until Republican Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed of Maine excised it in 1889. But it wasn’t easy. When Reed finally tried to declare it invalid

"pandemonium broke loose" in the House chamber. It was the beginning of five days of parliamentary tumult. A few Democrats attempted to maintain decorum, demanding formally, "I appeal the decision of the Chair!" Most others, however, were less gracious. They shouted, swore, threatened, and pounded their fists on tables and desks. Upon reaching the end, Reed declared that a quorum was present in the chamber. When a Democratic member appealed the ruling, Reed firmly denied the appeal. Every Democrat was on his feet yelling, except for a Texas representative, who was conspicuously sharpening a Bowie knife against the sole of his boot while sitting quietly in his seat.

So let Reid and Schumer scream, and let Kennedy and Byrd bluster. We stared down their party before, we can do it again. All we need is some leaders with the guts of Thomas Brackett Reed.

Times of London mocks the Western Left

2005-03-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

This is great.

"All right, all right. But apart from liberating 50 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan, undermining dictatorships throughout the Arab world, spreading freedom and self-determination in the broader Middle East and moving the Palestinians and the Israelis towards a real chance of ending their centuries-long war, what have the Americans ever done for us?
"And, although not all of it can be directly attributed to the US strategy in the region, can anyone seriously argue that it would have happened without it? Neither is it true, as some have tried to argue, that all of this is merely some unintended consequence of an immoral and misconceived war in Iraq. It was always the express goal of the Bush Administration to change the regime in Baghdad, precisely because of the opportunities for democracy it would open up in the rest of the Arab world.
"[W]hat was clear to the bold foreign policy strategists in Washington was that the status quo that existed before September 11 could no longer be tolerated."

Churchill's active advocacy of violence demands his firing

2005-03-06T22:47:00.000-07:00

A good update on Colorado's home grown advocate of violence and terrorism.

Churchill stands credibly accused of ethnic fraud, grade retribution, falsification of the nature of his military service, academic fraud, plagiarism, selling other artists' creations as his own and falsely accusing Denver Post columnist Diane Carman of inventing incendiary quotations.

All this provides ample justification for termination pursuant to accusations of incompetence and lack of integrity. But it is Churchill's instructions on violence that demand immediate suspension followed by termination.

GOTTA SEE THIS-WarEndur.Freedom 3/5/05-Beirut,Damascus,Tehran,Bushehr,Arak,Parchin

2005-03-05T22:42:00.000-07:00

Meanwhile, the Lebanese reacted strongly against Assad's woefully inadequate speech today. There is no putting the cork back into this bottle and the Syrians, Iranians, Saudi's and all the rest had better pay attention. The merest wiff of freedom and representative government can bring thousands into the streets determined to oust terror regimes and oppressive governments. People power magnified by the ever present world attention to the unfolding events is irresistible, heartening and a beautiful thing to watch. Be sure to click on the above link for an excellent photo montage of today's events.

2005-03-05T22:25:00.000-07:00

The full court press is on and the Syrians are reeling and retreating. The momentum has shifted dramatically since the Iraqi elections. History will look upon that dramatic day as we now look back on the demoliton of Berlin wall and the collapse of communist tyranny that accompanied it.

"President Assad's announcement is not enough," the State Department said in a statement hours after he made the pledge in a speech to parliament.

"As President Bush said Friday, when the United States and France say withdraw, we mean complete withdrawal — no halfhearted measures," the statement said.

Atheism is on the wane

2005-03-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

The Washington Times has an interesting article about haw many are struggling with spiritual doubts and crumbling faith. Not in religion, but in atheism.

British philosopher Anthony Flew, once as hard-nosed a humanist as any, has turned his back on atheism, saying it is impossible for evolution to account for the fact that one single cell can carry more data than all the volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Update on the "Hobbit" skeleton

2005-03-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

I find this story fascinating.

The new report, published Thursday in the online journal Science Express, seems to support the idea of a sophisticated human dwarf species marooned for eons while modern man proliferated.... [The] brain features coincide with physical evidence of advanced behaviors, such as hunting, firemaking and the use of stone tools, which were found alongside the bones in a cave on the remote equatorial island of Flores. To some, this suggests an organized society of tiny hunters flourished on the island for millennia at a time when modern humans dominated the planet

Is Bush's social security plan dead?

2005-03-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

After a shaky couple weeks, the Democrats are going for the jugular and Republicans appear in disarray. But today the White House signaled what appears to me to be a shrewd tactical retreat. Signaling that Bush is willing to create personal accounts as an add-on, rather than a replacement, for social security payroll taxes, Tres. Sec. John Snow seems to be finding a way the president can declare some form of victory. While an add-on plan is a worse deal economically, if Bush can become the president who created some form of personal retirement accounts, his legacy will be enhanced and his immediate political capital will rise. If he overreaches and fails completely, the political damage could be severe.

And don't forget that plans like the 401(k) and Roth IRA started as small pilot programs, but under annual pressure from voters to expand their benefits, they have grown over time. By creating tiny medical savings accounts in his Medicare bill, and now (hopefully) creating tiny personal retirement accounts in a social security bill, Bush could be subtly laying the groundwork for the ownership society he seeks.

The 'Hotel' Lobby

2005-03-02T21:49:00.000-07:00

After Rwanda and Iraq, Americans may demand more humanitarian interventions.

By elevating the war on terror to a struggle over human liberty, President Bush has given us a larger moral reason to continue the fight. And he also is ensuring that we'll find natural allies in the people we are fighting to liberate--the very people who we need to stand against the radical Islamists in their midst. It's probably the only way we can win the war on terror. But it is also a policy that will take on its own momentum. If our peace is best secured through other people's democracy, than why not put boots on the ground the next time Haiti or Liberia needs help? Or in Darfur, Sudan, or even North Korea?

New Combat Badge Ignores Many

2005-03-01T00:12:00.000-07:00

The following was received anonymously. It asks some hard questions while raising serious concerns about deeper (symptomatic?) issues within the military concerning something one might normally consider trivial: awards and commendations.
-AC

The article states that, "the creation of the new Close Combat Badge closes a debate that soldiers have been talking about since the 1940s, when the CIB was established.” In my opinion nothing could be further from the truth.

The CCB, as currently planned, perpetuates a haves and have-nots mentality within the Army and by extension the broader military. The DoD is filled with such distinctions, both functional and observed. As well as the familiar officer/enlisted division, there are jobs and then there are JOBS. The new badge sends a clear message to ineligible REMFs (look that one up on acronymfinder.com) that theirs are not THE JOBS.

Each occupational specialty carries a certain status, much as George Orwell observed, “some pigs are more equal than others." When cooks, quartermasters or maintainers becomes engaged in direct combat--and prevail--shouldn't they also wear a badge? Why shouldn't all soldiers who handle themselves admirably under fire wear a patch so indicating?

If this idea is inconceivable then why waste taxpayer dollars sending every soldier through Basic Training? Why must we finance marksmanship, grenade, claymore mine and anti-tank instruction for specialties that will never see combat? Should soldiers who will most likely not experience "The Real Deal" even be required to maintain these proficiencies? In fact, why must they even be physically fit? I’ll tell you why.

Cohesive teams operate under certain assumptions. Military action is always about the team! When every member is afforded equal respect, each is motivated to give the team their best. If some members are barred from achievements cohesion suffers. Just differentially diminished standards (on any basis) undermine esprit de corps. This holds true even when the underclass exhibit equal--or even superior--capability. In short, favoritism works against everyone and dramatically diminishes cohesion. Preference threatens combat effectiveness!

It’s ironic that we prepare soldiers to do “whatever it takes” and then invest hours of their time (and millions of taxpayer dollars) softening that cold steel. Today’s warriors are purposely morphed into squishy, socially palatable chewing gum with the something the Army calls Considertation of Others or COO training. COO employs the latest in politically correct doctrine: sensitivity training.

We need an army of warriors that work as a single entity, think like a team and aren’t ashamed to make the hard, right choices instead of easy, wrong ones. We don’t need a bunch of bleeding hearts on the battlefield: afraid to act, unable to see the greater good.

Expect the best of every soldier by elevating none above another. The enemy is bringing the war to our personnel. It’s time to fashion an Army that’s not ashamed to believe in something--destroying the enemy! It's time to recognize each soldier's efforts, valor and heroism regardless of his or her day-to-day job. Let's pin a CCB on every troop who’s earned it!

Lebanese government resigns amid protests

2005-02-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

Amazing how quickly events have unfolded in Lebanon. The forces of tyranny are in retreat the world over. The domino effect of the Bush doctrine has been profound. First Afghanistan, then Iraq, the Ukraine and now possibly Lebanon. Not to mention the destruction of the Khan nuclear blackmarket network and the Libyans quitting the terror game. The events since 9-11 have thrown all conventional wisdom into the garbage and one never knows what will happen next. The neocon vision of an end to tyranny and the terror state has been a rough road but in the end the results have been amazing. The question really becomes whether or not Syria and the Iran, the two bookends of terror, collapse from the forces of freedom being brought to bear against them.

"The government didn't fall now. It fell yesterday when you all gathered here. You are the ones who are going to make Lebanon independent," Akram Shehayeb, an opposition member of parliament, told the flag-waving protesters.
The resignation was the most dramatic moment in the series of protests and political maneuvers since the assassination of Hariri, who had allied with opposition forces seeking the withdrawal of Syria's troops and an end to Damascus' influence.

Is sharia law coming to Iraq?

2005-02-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

USA Today speaks to women in the new Iraqi assembly who want Sharia law. The column gives the impression that that this view is widespread and indeed it is troubling how many prominent Iraqis have voiced support for the vilest legal system since Caligula. But sharia is extremely unlikely to come to rule the day. For one, millions of Iraqis would fight and disobey sharia. Their secular way of life and the freedoms they possess will not be given back willingly. The fledgling government doesn’t have the power to keep people safe, let alone to create the police state that is necessary to enforce a system that requires oversight of people‘s prayer habits, dress, and diet.

Second, were the new government to adopt sharia, it would likely mean the end of American investment and the rapid withdrawal of US forces. That we support places like sharia-infected Saudi Arabia does not mean we would do so in Iraq. There are so many opponents of Iraqi stabalization in Congress and the media, that the gruesome wickedness of sharia would be highlighted every time an Iraq spending bill came up. Leftists would ask if Americans bled and died so women could get stoned for adultery (with medium-sized rocks to prolong the agony), and the American people would agree, leaving Bush and his successor immediately bereft of public and legislative support for continuing to do anything to help the new nation.

Surely, this has all been explained to al-Jaafari and other influencial Shiites. If Afghanistan could resist the call to sharia, so too can Iraq...whether the USA Today knows this or not.

Mubarak continues the Arab streak

2005-02-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

Among the least-stated but most-contemplated reasons for the Iraq War, was the belief that it could trigger a “domino effect” by which other Arabs in other countries would demand comparable freedoms to match the Iraqis. While it took a bit longer than I or we had hoped, it is now quite clear that the sea change has been profound.

First was Libya, who rolled over immediately. Next came the Palestinians and the modest but watershed elections in Saudi Arabia. And now, even as Lebanese protestors fill the streets of Beirut, a move that could jolt the region further took place in Cairo, as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced that his successor will be popularly elected in a national referendum. Even the New York Times says this rapid-fire succession of democracy breaking out (dare I say 'dominos falling') has the entire region “bubbling with expectations for political reform.” The plan that began in Afghanistan and Iraq could hardly be flowering more perfectly.

The President appears to have stared down Syria

2005-02-27T19:25:00.000-07:00

Three days ago, I wrote that now that we had proof of Syrian complicity in the Iraqi insurgency, a military strike was justified legally, politically, and ethically. Less than a week later, Syria has miraculously managed to “capture” 29 insurgent leaders in their midst, including Saddam’s half brother. This is something we had been asking for and even demanding from Damascus for well over a year, but we couldn’t get them to comply. It is clear now to me that high level US diplomats communicated to Assad that last week’s revelations left him in a very dangerous position. With no place left to hide, Assad sought to give America the one gift that could keep our jets on the ground. Perhaps I “misunderestimated” the President’s willingness to use military force to protect Americans, or at least the threat of it.

Iraq: The fizzling insurgency

2005-02-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

While Abu Zarqawi’s successes are flashy in their hideousness, his defeats are far more subdued. So I write this to point out that this past week may turn out to have been his Waterloo. On the two days prior to same the announcement that Syria had agreed to turn over to Iraq some major players in the Syrian wing of the insurgency, Iraqi forces captured two of the top remaining Zarqawi lieutenants. Talib al-Dulaymi, who was responsible for transporting and finding safe houses for insurgents, and Mohammed Ibrahim, who carried out a string of beheadings. Dulaymi terrorized Ramadi, while Ibrahim plied his wares in Baqouba, each of the cities an insurgency stronghold in the Sunni triangle.

In fact, so many of Zarqawi’s closest advisers are getting nabbed that both Iraq and American commanders are increasingly crowing about the impending capture of the head of al Qaeda in Iraq himself. And another very promising development is that the recent arrests were the product of Iraqi security forces having infiltrated the insurgency.

So to summarize, the man responsible for transporting and housing foreign terrorists is in custody, the main foreign source of cash, arms, and men is drying up, and now the terrorists have infiltrators in their midst. Will the last terrorist please turn out the light? Your little insurgency is just about over.

Syria hands over Saddam's half brother

2005-02-27T15:30:00.000-07:00

I doubt there was much 'goodwill' involved here, more likely a bit of 'appeasement' in the wake of the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut. But very good news to hear no matter what the politics behind it.

Iraqi officials said Sunday that Syrian authorities had captured Saddam Hussein's half brother and 29 other officials of the deposed dictator's Baath Party in Syria and handed them over to Iraq in an apparent goodwill gesture.

THE STRAIGHT STUFF ON LEBANON AND SYRIA

2005-02-25T01:11:00.000-07:00

We have been following the situation in Lebanon closely and Jim Geraghty provides some good details and analyis on the latest events there.

What’s coming next? Well, the Syrians clearly completely misjudged the Lebanese reaction. A people who were previously terrified of even mentioning Hafiz Assad’s name, (instead they would curse the town he was born in) are now protesting in the streets.

The failed state of N. Korea

2005-02-24T22:45:00.000-07:00

This is a great visual aid showing the glow of human activity in Asia and the dead, lifeless, and failed nation-state of N.Korea. A starving lunatic asylum governed by a maniac with nukes (thanks Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, we appreciate it). Someday that dark curtain will lift and the stories of unbelievable oppression, terror and hunger will come out from those who survived the gulag state.

How the end might come for the despotic regime of North Korea, we do not yet know. It would be foolish to expect it will in any sense be easy. But it would be cruelty and madness, not to mention plain dumb foreign policy, to assume that 23 million human beings would not, like the Iraqis, welcome the chance to start the long labor of assembling a government of, by and for the people. If they do, the world will be safer for it. -columnist CLAUDIA ROSETT

New Report Says Nuclear-Armed Iran Would Present Clear, Present Danger to US

2005-02-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

A new report by an influential group of diplomats and Middle East scholars says a nuclear-armed Iran would present a clear and present danger to U.S. interests, and urges President Bush to retain the option of using military force, if necessary, to disrupt Iran's nuclear ambitions. The recommendations on Iran are part of a study released by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy that examines U.S. priorities on a variety of issues in the Middle East.

Captured terrorist claims Damascus is behind the insugency

2005-02-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

Somebody correct me if I'm going off on another neocon tangent, but would this not appear to be the smoking gun? In my mind, this calls for an immediate US military strike on Syria. The targets should be, in this order 1)Any possible Iraq-insurgency support havens, 2) Syrian military units which help to maintain the grip on Lebanon, 3) Any Hezbollah training sights in the Bekaa Valley, 4) Something or someone close to Basher Assad (I’m thinking here of the 1986 strike on Tripoli that killed one of Khaddafi’s daughters. He seemed to have got the message after that).

Unfortunately, there’s not much evidence that the administration has the stomach any longer for actually enforcing the Bush Doctrine, but I believe that Americans would like to know why Syria is allowed to direct the killing of US soldiers without retribution.

And remember that no UN process need be involved. Under Article 51 of the UN Charter, we only need to inform the body that we have invoked our right to self defense (after the fact, even).

Carter finally provides something for the US military

2005-02-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

Churchill Admits He's Not An Indian

2005-02-23T23:44:00.000-07:00

Good grief, Ward Churchill's entire career as both an activist and as an educator was based on his supposed Indian heritage. It's about time a little truth sneaked into one of his presentations.

Churchill did address the issue of his ethnicity, admitting that he is not Native American.
"Is he an Indian? Do we really care?" he said, quoting those he called his "white Republican" critics.
"Let's cut to the chase; I am not," he said.
His pedigree is "not important," Churchill said: "The issue is the substance of what is said."

No Charges In Unarmed Iraqi Death

2005-02-23T23:25:00.000-07:00

Good. The US is fighting a nasty war and a vicious enemy. It needs to act like it actually wants to win it. Feel free to read my column Embedded Reporters: A Bad Idea for my full take on this incident.
c

A Day in the Life of President Bush (photos)

2005-02-23T23:05:00.000-07:00

U.S. President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush greet American troops based in Germany at the Wiesbaden Army Airfield, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2005. Bush met earlier with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to work out post-Iraq) differences, including disputes over NATO's future and coaxing Iran to end its program to develop nuclear fuel. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Study links women's friends to their health

2005-02-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

Next time your wife wants to go out with the girls, understand that if you keep her home, it might kill her.

"Women reporting higher social-network scores showed a consistent pattern of reduced coronary-artery disease risk, including lower blood-glucose levels ... lower smoking rates ... lower waist-hip ratios, and lower rates of hypertension [high blood pressure], diabetes" and depression, the authors write.

And I would hypothesize that the link is even stronger for men.

"These results reinforce what research has shown about men for years: that men with strong family relationships and friendships have fewer heart attacks. It stands to reason the same would be true for women," she said.

Baseball's Shame

2005-02-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

Barry Bonds says he believes he’s being scrutinized more closely because he’s closing in on Babe Ruth’s mark of 714 career home runs. "Because Babe Ruth is one of the greatest baseball players ever, and Babe Ruth ain't black, either," he said. "I'm black. Blacks, we go through a little more. ... "

Yes, it’s so much tougher to be Barry Bonds than Babe Ruth. Ruth never had to count $80 million or keep track of six luxury mansions. My, the things Barry has to put up with because of The Man.

The evidence is strong that many marquee names took steroids and the players who allegedly and sometimes conclusively used them had dramatic jumps in their offensive productions. But no one improved his physique more from his 20’s to his 30’s than Barry Bonds. No one in baseball had a thicker neck and bigger arms surprisingly develop when he hit middle age, and no one in baseball hit more home runs over that time period and threatens one of the grandest of all sports records.

There is no question that Bonds will play until he’s broken Ruth’s mark, in part because “he ain’t black,” but if he has any decency, he’ll retire without breaking Hank Aaron’s record. It would spare baseball the painful reality of how to deal with such a terrible situation.

The “amazing” record-breaking home run barrage of the last seven years hasn’t been tainted, it has been corrupted. And its credibility has not been diminished, it has been obliterated. All that’s left now is for those in denial to reach the acceptance stage, and for those in power to deal with the fallout.

More Free Speech From Ward Churchill

2005-02-23T09:33:00.000-07:00

Apparently some college newpaper political cartoonist was assailed as a racist by Ward Churchill because he drew attention to the writings of another radical. The radical is none other than Hunani-Kay Trask, the professor who invited Churchill to speak at the University of Hawaii today. But the best part is the poem itself: heres an excerpt:

Racist white woman. I could kick in your face! Puncture both of your eyes! You deserve this kind of violence! Just a knife slitting your heart! A fist in your mouth!"

Cowell's cartoon was a reaction to such reasonable tolerance. After the publication in 1994, Churchill visited the campus and joined the masses in calling for Crowells expulsion, dismissal from the newspaper, and forced sensitivity training.

Churchill and those like him are the most vile types of hypocrits because what they say and advocate actually endangers the lives of those they disagree with. I would compare his anti-Americanism and radical loathing of all things Anglo to that of the Khmer Rouge or Stalinist Soviet Union.

Former Wildlife Official to Pay Fine

2005-02-22T22:49:00.000-07:00

I believe this would qualify for the 'most ridiculous item of the day'. There appears to be no record as to whether any tadpoles were actually injured by being moved by an experienced wildlife expert to a more natural and protected habitat.
In the meantime and in a totally unrelated story, 10,000 more illegal immigrants crossed the US border today...