Middle East Turmoil Continues

Hezbollah Fights Israeli Incursion Into Southern Lebanese Town
Wednesday, July 26, 2006

BEIRUT, Lebanon At least nine Israeli soldiers were killed in heavy fighting with Hezbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon Wednesday, FOX News confirmed.

Hezbollah guerrillas battled to stop Israeli troops from taking one of their southern Lebanese strongholds on Wednesday, inflicting several Israeli casualties, as Arab and Western foreign ministers assembled in Rome for talks on the crisis.

An Israeli bombardment killed at least three U.N. observers in a border post Tuesday. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said he was shocked by the "apparently deliberate targeting by Israeli Defense Forces of a U.N. Observer post in southern Lebanon."
In a phone call to Annan on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed "deep regret" for the deaths of the U.N. peacekeepers.

Olmert said the peacekeepers were killed mistakenly and expressed dismay over Annan's accusation, according to a statement released by his office. The prime minister promised a thorough investigation and said the results would be presented to Annan.

complete story

China Condemns Israeli Strike for Killing Chinese U.N. Observer
Wednesday, July 26, 2006

"We are deeply shocked by this incident and strongly condemn it," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said in a statement on the ministry Web site.

complete story

Meanwhile back at home:

Democrats urge al-Maliki to clarify view on Hezbollah
By Christina Bellantoni
THE WASHINGTON TIMES July 26, 2006

Congressional Democrats say Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki should condemn the Hezbollah attacks on Israel if he wants to deliver an address to a joint session of Congress today.
Some members are considering skipping the planned speech, saying Mr. al-Maliki's July 19 remarks urging the world "to take quick stands to stop the Israeli aggression" are "troubling" because Iraq is supposed to be a U.S. ally.

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois said that he is confident the Israeli-Lebanon conflict will be part of the ongoing dialogue between the United States and Mr. al-Maliki and that he will not disinvite the Iraqi leader. "He should speak and we should all on a bipartisan basis be there to engage him," Mr. Hastert said.

Mrs. Pelosi said the Iraqi leader's comments are "unacceptable," adding, "Unless Mr. Maliki disavows his critical comments of Israel and condemns terrorism, it is inappropriate to honor him with a joint meeting of Congress."

full story here

NEWS FLASH/SPLASH. Nancy Pelosi says something most Americans agree with!

While I can't help but feel the Democrats are doing this for purly political reasons, (because they never seem to get it right), maybe they have finally grasp the fact that we are in a GWOT.

This could be a very "uncomfortable" situation if our "statesmen/people" to embarrass Maliki while we have 130,000 US troops on the ground in Iraq. Personally, I believe the Prime Minister should come out and condemn Hezbollahh for their terrorist activities. If this is the representation of the Iraqi government, the Shia ties with Iran are too strong and need to be cut in the butt. Iran and Syria need to be shaking in their boots/sandals" and should not feel any comfort from any of the world powers. And Kofi Annan needs to retire!

Personal observation: I think Amy Kellogg (the Fox News Correspondent in Isreal) is not only beatuiful, but very good at her job. Get home safe Amy.

UPDATE:

Kofi Annan Could Have Ordered Peacekeepers to Leave

By Julie Stahl CNSNews.com Jerusalem Bureau Chief

July 26, 2006

Haifa, Israel (CNSNews.com) - The four United Nations peacekeepers killed in an Israeli attack on their outpost were required to stay at that post "until they were ordered by the [U.N.] secretary general to withdraw," said a member of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization on Wednesday.

full story here

The UN and especially Kofi Annan need to be suspended/terminated until further notice! (note to Kofi: Get the "peacekeepers" the hell out of there you idiot. In case you didn't notice, there's a war going on..........) Sincere prayers for the familys that lost their loved ones in this preventable travesty.

The Middle East Debate

The other day I was reading comments from a post at one of my favorite sites, Wizbang. While I forget the caption of the thread, I was so fasinated by the comments, I cut them out and would like to share them here. Most of the comments are pro-Isreal, but Andre had a different view:

"Imagine, thinking that Israel isn't always right and has a large part in it's problems. Horrors! Can't ever say anything about Holy Israel. Can't ever suggest that maybe it wasn't the greatest idea to plop a country right in the middle east and drive it's inhabitants out! No, if you do you're an anti-semite! It gets so frustrating to see so many people that just don't get it. There's plenty of blame to go around on BOTH sides and the only thing that will stabalize the region is both groups losing their egos and the creation of an economically secure palestinian state. Continuing to pretend that Israel is just this "poor widdle country" being picked on is nonsense. Continuing to pretend that the Arabs in the area don't have valid grievances against Israel is more nonsense. "

Posted by: Andre at July 19, 2006 11:52 AM

It's this type of arrogance that is the reason why nothing will ever change in the middle east until one side is completely destroyed.

Posted by: Andre at July 19, 2006 12:18 PM

Andre said "It's this type of arrogance that is the reason why nothing will ever change in the middle east until one side is completely destroyed."

FINALLY YOU SAY SOMETHING SMART!!!!!!!!!!!
Hezballah wants Israel destroyed. They dont want peace. They dont want a ceasefire. They want ISRAEL DESTROYED. Dont you get it??? Have you ever heard anyone from Hezballah say "we can live in peace with Israel".

Andre go read the poem the Hangman. Who do you think Hezballah will go after if Israel just up and dies? Do you think that they will simply go away or do you think they will go after US??
Stop helping the hangman. Stop being part of the problem. And stop being STUPID. Israel has gave in to every demand over the years except to go find a hole, crawl in and die and it hasnt brought peace yet. Their enemies have shown time and time again they wont stop until Israel is destroyed. Well if I have to choose between Israel suriving or Hezballah I will take Israel. If you love Hezballah so much why dont you go join them and rail against Israel with your buds.
Posted by: retired military at July 19, 2006 02:17 PM

What I know is this. Each side has what they consider to be valid reasons for disliking the other and continuing to engage in violence against the other side. My problem is pretending that Israel is some innocent little country that has never done it's share of dirty deeds. As long as Israel supporters continue to act this way, these actions will continue and more Israelis will die, and more Arabs will die. The SMART way is to concede that BOTH SIDES have sins to atone for and to try to amicably reach a mutual settlement instead of railing on about how Israel is "justified" in whatever actions it takes.

Posted by: Andre at July 19, 2006 02:34 PM

Here's the point. I can go out and find Palestininan scholars that will document the horrors and unfairness of Israel occupation and existance, as easily as you can find Israeli scholars that will take the opposite opinion. But the only thing that matters is whether each side is going to be willing to put that aside in order to stop the killing. Further, when you have poor, desperate people (like many Palestinians) they are going to lash out against those that they feel are responsible for their plight. The Middle East is a big mess that the US, Israel, the palestinians ALL have a part in. To not concede that is to be intellectually dishonest.
Posted by: Andre at July 19, 2006 04:28 PM

Andre"As long as Israel supporters continue to act this way, these actions will continue and more Israelis will die, and more Arabs will die. The SMART way is to concede that BOTH SIDES have sins to atone for and to try to amicably reach a mutual settlement instead of railing on about how Israel is "justified" in whatever actions it takes."

At the risk of repeating myself.

It doesnt matter ONE WHIT what supporters of Israel say, dont say, do, or dont do, acknowledge or dont acknowledge. It never has and it never will.What matters is that Hezballah wants ISRAEL DESTROYED. Now if someone felt that way about you can I see where as you might be a bit preturbed and not act too nicely towards them. THAT IS WHY HEZBALLAH CAME INTO BEING. TO DESTORY ISRAEL. You are trying to equate "a bad deed" from Israel with MASS GENOCIDE.In short you are saying Well Israel shot one of their soldiers so Hezballah should be excused for using 20 nukes on their country.There is NO MORAL EQUIVALENCE BETWEEN THE TWO. Israel is a COUNTRY who is a part of the UN and recognized as such. HEZBALLAH IS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION WHOSE PURPOSE OF BEING IS TO DESTORY ISRAEL. How freaking DENSE CAN YOU BE????You cant have a discussion with someone who only wants to see you dead and wont stop hounding you until you are dead. You can only do one thing. YOU KILL THEM FIRST. That is the only way PEACE will be established is if one of the two sides is dead.One side is a country.The other side is a TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.

If we were trying to "right the bad acts of the world" we should start with places like Russia, China, and Iran. We arent. We are attempting to resolve a conflict where ONE SIDE WONT STOP UNTIL THE OTHER SIDE IS TOTALLY ANNIHILATED. You cant reason with that you can only kill them before they kill you. GEEZ what an idiot.

Posted by: retired military at July 19, 2006 04:32 PM

Andre
" But the only thing that matters is whether each side is going to be willing to put that aside in order to stop the killing."

EXACTLY GOOD POINT!!!!.

Hezballah ISNT WILLING TO STOP THE KILLING. They have shown this OVER AND OVER AGAIN.Israel is willing but wont be left alone. This has been proven OVER AND OVER AND OVER. So get off your "ITS ISRAEL's FAULT TOO" kick and open your eyes and look at the facts.

If Hezballah disarmed, gave back their Israel captives and moved away from the border of Israel what do you think Israel will do? Continue to attack them? Not likely. They would have to retreat back to their own lines and break off attacks. Hezballah has refused to do this and even your "HOLY OF HOLIES" the UN has stated that they must. They have refused to stop attacking Israel and thave have refused to obey UN DIRECTIVES. Have you seen any UN Directives for Israel to disarm? Stop attacking? ANYTHING? The ANSWER IS NO.
Hezballah is clearly at fault for starting this and clearly at fault for continueing it. Even Ray Charles could see this.

Posted by: retired military at July 19, 2006 04:36 PM

And finally Scott in Ca., (a frequent poster at Wizbang chimed in with this gem:

Andre, grow up. There were nearly a million Jews in the Middle East before Israel existed. Those Jews lived under Arab governments that abused them, restricted their lives and work, made them second class citizens, and barely allowed them to live at all. The creation of Israel was justified for that alone. I do hope you understand the history of the region. Prior to 1920, there were no Arab states in the region. Egypt was the only nominally independent Arab state, and it was under British control until 1922. Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq were all created out of provinces of the dismantled Ottoman Empire. They are products of Europeans drawing lines on a map, not of "national" aspriations. These states were created first of all to give the Europeans control over the region, and secondly to give a form of self-determination to the Arab inhabitants of the regions. But what about the Jewish inhabitants of the region? Well, Isreal came along and gave THEM a state. The European diaspora of Jews and the Holocaust are secondary to that. Jews deserve a state in their native region no less than Arabs do. There are 22 Arab states now. We do NOT need a 23rd.

There will not be another Palestinian state. One exists now, Jordan, and it is sufficient to absorb the remaining Arabs living on Jewish land. After this little theatrical production this week, Israel is not going to allow the Arabs to have a state whose borders are 10 miles from TA and Jerusalem. Deal with it.

Posted by: Scott in CA at July 19, 2006 12:38 PM

While I tend to agree with most of what Retired Military and Scott have to say, there is another "element" that was never mentioned that I feel very strongly about. I will get to that in a bit.

JUST A LITTLE SHAKER

Woke up to a "little movement" in the house. But 38 miles away I'll bet they felt it a little harder. It's being reported as a 5.0 earthquake.

Idiot ?'s in the Washington Press Corps

9:45 AM 07/18/06Listening to Tony Snow (live) on Fox News------- I am expecting the liberal left news media (some idiot reporter or editor) to blame the Bush administration, (Katrina style) for not evacuating American citizens out of Lebanon in a manner befitting their expectations.

Editors note: (I will save space here for the diatribes)
Extra! I forgot liberal polititions......Nancy Pelosi wants Bush to help pay for the exodus when her party (when in control) voted for legislation not allowing this procedure by the government. Sweet Nancy voted in favor. This report just came from the desk of Brit Hume live.

Helen Thomas wants to know why the U.S. has not called for a cease fire. Earth to Helen- send someone over and ask Hezbolots the same question.

Another reporter just asked if this (the conflict by Isreal) is isolating Iran and Syria. Duh! Not only should this be isolation, these two countrys should be under the microscope to see where this "pandemic" is being created.

Up Close and Personal

Joyce Hough...............................Ayanna Hobson & The Soul Mates

Rory Block.......................................... The Alameda Allstars
Eric Bibb ..............................................Lydia Pense & Cold Blood
Jackie Payne & Steve Edmonson ................Shane Dwight
Coco Montoya................................................Tommy Castro
Roomful of Blues ............................................Shemekia Copeland

At our 10th Annual "Blues by the Bay" Festival I had the privilege of introducing myself, shaking hands, and escorting these fine muscians to our hospitality area. Then I made sure they got on stage (on time) and (on some occations) instructed them to move their vehicles, buses, motor homes to make room for others coming in.

Our venue is right on Humboldt Bay where the view and the temperature (65-70) is a slice of heaven. The single most comment I heard from these road warriors was "We just love coming here and getting out of the heat".Some of these people had come from Vegas and Reno where the temp was in the high 90's.

The weekend was a treasure chest of talent most will never forget in their lifetimes. I know I won't.

I'm off to the "California World Music Festival" in Grass Valley, Calif. Will be returning home sometime Monday. Blogging will be "light" to "non-existent".

While I'm gone, I will expect all wars to have ended, peace pipes smoked, and the price of fuel down 30 cents a gallon. Any questions?

p.s. Many thanks to Lindsey, Alan, and Glenn (our director) for making Blues by the Bay a huge success.

Middle East Calamity (Part Two)

From Michael Medved via Hugh Hewlitt:

LAND FOR TERROR?
There's something about a ringing phone at five in the morning that's chilling, not just startling; inevitably, that's the kind of interruption to sleep that one associates with bad news. This morning 's call (July 12) came from my brother Jonathan in Jerusalem. Last time he called me early in the morning with a news bulletin it was nearly five yearss ago; on that Tuesday morning, I was already up, getting coffee, going through the newspapers at about 6.30, when he told me to put on the radio, to watch the news: something horrible was happening in New York City with planes flying into buildings. I remember during the unfolding events of 9/11 thinking of the irony: my brother in Jerusalem called with an alarming update about a terrorist attack not in Israel, but here in the USA -- where we always assumed we were safe.

This morning's call provided another shock to that illusion of safety -- for Americans, for Israelis. Jonathan conveyed the horrible news that Hezbollah had attacked across the Lebanese border, killing Israeli soldiers, kidnapping two of them, and that Israel's decisive response (including the call up of reserves) heralded the prospect of one more major Middle Eastern war. "We're kicking the crap out of Hezbollah," my brother reported. "From air, sea and land. But nobody knows what's supposed to happen next."

Indeed. The Arab fanatics may celebrate (as terrorist mobs in Lebanon danced and cheered, even in the midst of Israeli attacks) but decent people can feel only a sense of dread and helplessness. The only possible good news from the recent developments involves a new sense of clarity-- that quality so cherished by our good friend, Dennis Prager. For years, going back to the bright sunshine surrounding the announcment of the Oslo Accords on the White House Lawn in 1993, Israel has committed itself to a general policy of "land for peace" -- agreeing to the notion (later promoted in the "Road Map" of President Bush) that making territorial concessions to hostile Arabs would lead to greater security and less hostility. The developments of recent weeks should end any confidence in "land for peace" once and for all. Not only did the Oslo Accords, with their establishment of Palestinian control over the territory in which 90% of all Palestinians live, explode after a few years into an horrendous "Intifada" that claimed the lives of nearly a thousand Israelis, but other "disengagements" produced similarly disastrous results. For fifteen years, Israel maintained a "security zone" in Southern Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah missiles and killers from massing at the border, but in the late '90's Prime Minister Ehud Barak abandoned this buffer in the hopes that the Hezbollah terrorists (the same gang that murdered 243 US Marines in their Beirut barracks) would behave responsibly once the provocative presence had been removed. Yesterday, operating from within the former Israeli buffer zone, these killers invaded a sovereign state, killing and kidnapping its soldiers-- after a barrage of missiles had distracted the commanders.

In the same context, ten months ago Israel evacuated every inch of the Gaza Strip-- going so far as the uprooting of well-established Jewish villages to make sure that the tender sensibilities of local Palestinians need not encounter a single Jewish soul. Since that "disengagement," more than 1,000 rocket attacks have rained down on Israeli villages and cities from Gaza-- showing the Palestinian preference for rockets over rationality, suicide over statehood.

The entire concept of "Land for Peace" is the main casualty of this new war. Israeli policy makers now confront the inescapable reality that rewarding terrorism by abandoning territory only empowers terrorists... and encourages precisely the tactics that led to the withdrawl.In place of "Land for Peace," the Israeli political activist and columnist Yael Amishav (who happens to be married to my father) suggests a new concept of "Land for Terror." For each terror attack across the border, Israel will seize more land --- establishing a publicly declared ratio of acres-per-casualties. The seizures must be firm, decisive and immediate-- and long term, if not permanent. "The Land for Terror" concept guarantees negative consequences for outrageous behavior. If Palestinian leaders refuse to rein in the terrorist mass murderers, then they will see their little empire (established by Oslo) begin to shrink, piece by piece. It's not a pretty concept, or an easy one to enforce. But "Land for Terror" makes more logical sense than "Land for Peace."

In any event, the Israeli government appears to have embraced this new approach -- with its decisive moves into both Gaza and Lebanon. The next steps remain unclear, frightening. But one can only hope for a future morning that might bring the refreshing experience of getting an early overseas phone call that conveys good news-- for a change.

RightWingNutHouse also has an excellent wrap on the whole situation:

Israel has had Enough

The country of Israel has been stung enough for far too long and has bitten back like a tiger swatting a rat.

It is being reported on Fox that Israel has bombed the Beruit Airport.

This could be the "definition" the world has been searching for to end terrorism, or at least bring it the shameful sin it is, because only the scum of the earth are terrorist.

Updates coming:

Israelis Expand Attacks on Lebanon After Hezbollah Rebels Kidnap Two Soldiers Thursday,

July 13, 2006 BEIRUT, Lebanon — Israeli forces intensified their attacks in Lebanon on Thursday, imposing a naval blockade on the country and pounding its only international airport and the Hezbollah TV station in Israel's heaviest air campaign against Lebanon for 24 years.
Fox News via AP

Report: Al Qaeda Claims to Have Kashmir Wing, Applauds Train Bombings
Thursday,
July 13, 2006

SRINAGAR, India - A man claiming to represent Al Qaeda told an Indian news agency on Thursday that the terror network had set up a wing in Kashmir and appealed to Indian Muslims to take up jihad.

Muslims who "take up jihad" are in for a rude awakening. The West and (hopefully) most European Nations will not tolerate this. No civilizeded nation should practice indiscriminate slayings of humans for an ideology or a religion. The global war on terrorism just took a giant step forward. I think those who woke up the sleeping giant (Israel) have lobbed their last rocket into that country without feeling the full wrath of a formally patient nation.
And if Iran is funding these attacks, they may want to think about ducking into a shelter.

The "shouting" is over.

JeanneB, a commenter over at CQ ask some interesting questions:

"Captain Ed:Do you think it's a coincidence that N. Korea drummed up a crisis at the same time Israel's enemies were provoking war---not to mention the deadline facing Tehran?
Two weeks ago Iran faced a looming deadline to respond to the West's proposal. Wouldn't Iran benefit significantly from the opportunity to observe how China/Russia would respond to N. Koreaaggressionon? Why do we never hear any speculation that the NK provocation was coordinated with Iran and timed to distract the world from Tehran's intransigence?
Then add the simultaneous provocations of Israel on two fronts, both of which have Iranian backing. All of this is happening at the exact time Iran was given to answer the proposal on its nuclear program.

Looked at this way, it's hard not to conclude that Iran is pulling the strings and creating worldwide threats meant to obscure its refusal to cooperate.President Bush lumped Iran and N. Korea in an "Axis". I've always thought they collude to create multiple fronts for the U.S. to deal with. (Will Chavez create the next "crisis"?).

I would appreciate your input on this. Did Iran plan these simultaneous crises in N. Korea and Lebanon/Palestine with the goal of softening the impact of its refusal to disband its nuke program?"

Scott Johnson at Powerline has "A four-cornered hypothesis" on the events unfolding.

Number One:

Minneapolis attorney Andrew Jacobson connects the dots among current events in Israel's neighborhood:

1. Iran is trying to build a bomb and moving fast in those efforts. Who knows how long it will take, but the Manhattan project took us less than 4 years, starting from scratch and without computers or prior technology. Difficult to believe that it will take Iran (which has already been working on this program for a number of years) 10 more years to complete. I just have no faith that the Iranians are that dumb.

Read the rest here

Plame,Wilson,Novak, Who Cares?

I'm sorry, but this is just too old and tired for me to get "up" about. I really could give a rats ass if Valerie got outed. Joe Wilson's a pompous ass. It was cool that the moonbats got all worked up about getting Karl Rove and Dick Cheney. Nice try moonies. Do we really need four years of an elected democratic controlled congress that is going to waste the peoples money impeaching the President, Vice President, et al, while we are still in a war? I don't think this is in the best interest of the country. But that is the looney lefts ambition.

Slanted report? The office of Sen. James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican, has accused former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw of a lack of objectivity and balance in the upcoming Discovery Channel documentary "Global Warming: What You Need to Know." "Brokaw's partisan past and his reliance on scientists who openly endorsed Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004 and who are financially affiliated with left-wing environmental groups, has resulted in a documentary that is devoid of balance and objectivity," said a statement put out by Inhofe aide Marc Morano. Mr. Inhofe is chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Roger Pielke Sr., a climatologists and professor of atmospheric sciences at Colorado State University, viewed an advance copy of the Brokaw special and said it contained "errors and misconceptions."

Sabotage potential. We have no evidence that the U.S. was able to sabotage North Korea's Taepodong-2 missile, which malfunctioned 42 seconds into launch on Tuesday and crashed. But we do note that special operations forces (SOF) are playing an increasing role, overt and covert, in the world under Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's rule. We also note that one of the reasons that SOF procured the powerful .50- caliber Barrett's sniper rifle was to have the capability to disable ballistic missiles. It's a scenario for missile defense you won't see in any literature from the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency: insert a commando behind the lines, who positions himself within shooting range of the launchpad. "One of the original reasons for procuring the .50-caliber sniper system was to disable missiles," a SOF source says. "A round pumped in prior to launch, or during to cover the noise, in the right place would cause a catastrophic malfunction."

Finally......... It has been "entertaining" to say the least reading the Frisch-Goldstein-Greenwald-Patterico saga the past 48 hours. If you missed it, your not surfing the blogs good enough. Even Brit Hume mentioned the resignation of Frisch tonight over the sad comments she said threatening Jeffs kid.

Note: Patterico did go to work.

The rest of these people have way too much time on their hands.

It's Time For The Blues!

The Tenth Annual "Blues by the Bay" kicks off this morning in Eureka, California

Live audio stream via KHUM here starting at 10:30 am (Pacific Time)

A Glorious Fourth!

From a successful shuttle launch and fireworks that dazzled the skys, the pride of Americans celebrating our independence could be seen yesterday all across the fruited plains.

It was also reported that "Old Glory" was displayed with pride across the country, (with the exception of LA and NY City). American pride abounded for most of the day..........

Update: North Korea had a few "fireworks" of their own.

Clueless,Clueless,Clueless

From Powerline:
I went to the trouble of making a mini-podcast of the portion of today's Meet the Press where Bill Bennett appeared along with Dana Priest of the Washington Post, Bill Safire, and others, talking about the LA and NY Times' outing of the terrorist finance tracking program. It is an appalling conversation. Bennett is the only one who makes any sense; Safire plays an especially dishonorable role. And Dana Priest gets in an outrageous cheap shot against Bill which demonstrates, once again, why the words "liberal" and "mean-spirited" go hand in hand.

Please go and listen to this audio.

Follow-up: Bill Bennet's conversation with Jonah Goldberg and the state of the MSM/Elite Media:

Is it suprising to anyone that the "media-elite" has taken it upon themselves to decide what is to be considered classified. Can this "hate-Bush-at-all-cost" include sacrificing the security and safety of this nation for purely political reasons? Because their "in the publics interest" stance doesn't hold water in my opinion. And neither does "the terrorist already knew this" and it was "no secret".

Patterico has an excellent post on the "not a secret" stance the NYT's has taken here.

Happy Independence Day!

Before I surf over to my favorite sites such as CQ, Wizbang, Powerline, CSPT, Patterico, et al, I would like to wish everyone a safe and wonderful 4th of July. From our President:

On July 4, 1776, we claimed our independence from Britain and Democracy was born. Every day thousands leave their homeland to come to the "land of the free and the home of the brave" so they can begin their American Dream. The United States is truly a diverse nation made up of dynamic people. Each year on July 4, Americans celebrate that freedom and independence with barbecues, picnics, and family gatherings. Through the Internet we are learning about and communicating with people of different nations, with different languages and different races throughout the world. Bringing the world closer with understanding and knowledge can only benefit all nations. We invite all nations to celebrate with Americans online this Fourth of July. Happy Birthday, America!

We are a nation that is truly blessed.

Dana at Common Sense Political Thought has linked a 2005 post he wrote that is compelling. Read it here

NYT: We're Still Above the Law

The National Review takes a well deserved shot at the NYT's and their arrogance:

The duo of Eric Lichtblau and James Risen have published the details of yet another classified national-security program. This time, they exposed the workings of a database of financial records that the administration has used to track al Qaeda's banking transactions:

The Bush administration has made no secret of its campaign to disrupt terrorist financing, and President Bush, Treasury officials and others have spoken publicly about those efforts. Administration officials, however, asked The New York Times not to publish this article, saying that disclosure of the Swift program could jeopardize its effectiveness. They also enlisted several current and former officials, both Democrat and Republican, to vouch for its value.

Bill Keller, the newspaper's executive editor, said: "We have listened closely to the administration's arguments for withholding this information, and given them the most serious and respectful consideration. We remain convinced that the administration's extraordinary access to this vast repository of international financial data, however carefully targeted use of it may be, is a matter of public interest."

Full story here

It may be time for a family who has lost a loved one in this war on terror to file a class-action suit against the NYT's and any other publication that releases classified information that is in place to protect this nation. "public interest" my ass. It's called treason Mr. Keller.

Cut and Run Debate

The Senate Democrats are a bunch of spineless idiots. I've listened to about three hours of the Iraq war"debate" on the floor of the Senate. The only conclusion I can come to is that the safety of this nation best be left in the hands of the Republican Party. Period.

John (I'm a loser) Kerry spent much of an hour trying to convince some one that we need to involve the world of public opinion to prosecute this war. He thinks we also need to set a date or timeline for troop withdrawal. Nothing would give the insurgents/terrorist more pleasure than to take a "training sabbatical" from killing and wait for that "date" when our troops are gone.

Ten million Iraqis go to the polls, form a new government, just finished completing the last two critical cabinet positions, are just getting up to speed and troops levels to join in the fight for their liberty, and you have the likes of Murtha and Kerry wanting to abandon them for purely political purposes.

Tony Snow on staying the course: "The president understands people's impatience -- not impatience but how a war can wear on a nation. He understands that. If somebody had taken a poll in the Battle of the Bulge, I dare say people would have said, 'Wow, my goodness, what are we doing here?' But you cannot conduct a war based on polls.

"Here's the funny thing. They were doing polls during WWII, and it turns out the public was pretty darned supportive of FDR and the war--about 70% approval, in fact. Go figure."http://dailykos.com/

Go figure this lostkos kids. If this country had the full support for prosecuting this war from a majority of the left and the right, instead of using their hatred for Bush, and if our elected officials in the democratic party ever decide not to put politics ahead of the safety of this nation, our troops may have been home last Christmas. But what do we expect from spineless idiots?

Legacys and Legends

Dana at CSPT reminded me of some of the best westerns we've seen in our days.

Paladin's Calling Card - The business card of Paladin (Richard Boone), a former Army officer turned professional gun for hire on the western adventure HAVE GUN WILL TRAVEL/CBS/1957-63 contained the message: "Have Gun Will Travel. Wire Paladin, San Francisco." The card was adorned with a small white chess piece (knight). Paladin's normal routine was to look for clients by perusing the various newspapers to which he subscribed. When he read a story about someone with a potential need for his services, he sent them his card, along with a clipping of the story. Paladin's standard fee was 1000 dollars. His headquarters was the posh Hotel Carlton in downtown San Francisco.

THEME SONG LYRICS

Have Gun Will Travel reads the card of a man. A knight without armor in a savage land.

His fast gun for hire head's the calling wind. A soldier of fortune is the man called Paladin.

Paladin, Paladin Where do you roam? Paladin, Paladin, Far, far from home.

Those were the days my friend......we thought they'd never end...........those were the days......

EXIT STRATEGY----STAGE LEFT

The writing is on the wall, and the left are there too. Does it seem every time positive things happen in Iraq, (Z-man eliminated, Iraqi Government completed, Iraqi troop levels increasing) the democrats start screaming "exit strategy", like clockwork.

The domocratic party desperately needs to get some credit for US troop levels that may get reduced before November because of the positive things that are happening in Iraq. It's not going to work.They just can't shake the "soft on national security" or for that matter "soft on world security" label.

Flip-floppin' Kerry now says he was wrong to vote for the regime change in Iraq. We can now assume that had Mr. Kerry won the presidency in 04, he most likely would have bowed to the party and bailed on the Iraqi people, leaving the likes of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in power and an intire country nothing but a terrorist haven for future attacks on our homeland.

Even old "country Joe Wilson" can't help but bash the this administation by claiming we should negotiate with the terrorist:

Washington, D.C. (CNSNews.com) - Former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson, whose wife was at the center of a CIA leak case that led to the indictment of Vice President Cheney's top aide, argued Wednesday that the U.S. needs to bring Iraqi insurgents and their "foreign patrons" to the conference table for negotiations. (CNSNEWS)

And then here's another flip-flopper Wilson and his cronies declared at their "take back america" conference:

Several organizations passed around informal pledges asking conference attendees to promise not to vote for a candidate in the 2006 election who does not support an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. But Wilson implied that for political reasons, he does not support an immediate withdrawal. "Talk of a strategic withdrawal is the wrong discussion to have at this time," he said. "We're in there; people are dying." (CNSNEWS)

So, there you have it. Politics as usual is the driving force behind the democratic party. They could give a rats-ass if a new free democratic nation may get the opportunity to become stable.

Just bring them troops home now so we can cut the defense buget and raise your taxes.

Oh, and they need to be in power to start their impeachment hearings.

This is our strategy? I don't think so. "Take Back America"? We have never lost it. Unless your a democrat.

Gitmo Overblown

The continuing saga of the state of the enemy combatants at Gitmo seems to roll with the ebb of the news cycle. When the MSM can't find (or look for) worthy news, they bring out a "new" accusation of mistreatment.

Ed Morrissey at Captains Quarters, (while mending a ruptured back), posted a story about an Afghan delegation that spent over a week at Gitmo and found little to complain about:

A delegation from Afghanistan spent ten days at the US detention center in Guantanamo Bay and pronounced conditions at the facility humane

Ed puts the recent suicide of three detainees in perspective:

"This is no different than at any other American prison; suicide rates in prisons are three times higher than among the general population, and ten times higher in pre-trial detention facilities. We do not shut down our jails and prisons because inmates in either place sometimes commit suicide, and that should not be a determinative factor in Giitmo's status either."

I added (in the comment section) that perhaps the three who took their lives wanted to join the Z-man (Abu Musab al Zarqawi ) in la la land, and suggested that they all get put on suicide watch when OBL assumes room temperature.

The idea of closing Gitmo is insane (at this time), and a reporter just now ask President Bush at a WH news conference the same idiot question. Holding her pen and pad, she is writing nothing during Bush's response. (Like she was going to change her feeble mind) The MSM marches on in their quest to put the left back in power with no regard for the safety and security of this nation. Sad

President Bush in Iraq

Breaking News

According to Fox News, President Bush is in Iraq

Bush is expected to stay in Iraq for five hours only, where security precautions are tightly executed in a precarious venue. Even the president's arrival was cautiously orchestrated. Air Force One landed at a semi-deserted airstrip a good distance away from the main terminal in Baghdad. Bush and his crew then boarded a convoy of Nighthawk passenger helicopters to take them about seven minutes to the center of the city.

Everyone on the helicopters was in body armor except for the White House aides, who wore business suits but no armor. Bartlett had earlier said the president would not wear body armor. In the Green Zone, a line of Suburbans and other SUVs waited for the short drive to the Republican Palace, a 1950's-era building which is now part of the U.S. Embassy compound.

It was also reported that there was a bus-load of Reporters heading to Camp David for a press conference at the same time GW was landing in Bagdad. One can only wonder if the bus turned around or how many got off the bus.

With the President in Iraq to welcome the new government completed, Z-Man expired, and Karl Rove not indited, (positive outcomes all), the mood of Republican Party has to be uplifting.

Update: Vile postings at Huffington and DU (links intentionally not provided) One poster shamefully suggusted that the President catch and IED on the trip. I'll save these for November.

Z-Man Lived for an Hour

Al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Musab al Zarqawi lived for almost an hour after the first U.S. bomb struck his "safehouse".

From AP :
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Baghdad, said U.S. forces arrived about 28 minutes after a fighter jet bombed al-Zarqawi's hideout outside Baqouba on Wednesday. Medics secured al-Zarqawi's airway but his breathing was shallow and labored, and he expelled blood from his mouth.

"It was very evident he had extremely massive internal injuries," Caldwell said.

Al-Zarqawi died 24 minutes after coalition forces arrived, he said.

Jones said the autopsy conducted Saturday showed that al-Zarqawi died from injuries to his lungs.

"Blast waves from the two bombs caused tearing, bruising of the lungs and bleeding," he said. "There was no evidence of firearm injuries."

The al-Qaida in Iraq leader also suffered head and facial wounds, bleeding in his ears and a fracture of his lower right leg.

Caldwell said an F-16 dropped a 500-pound bomb on the house at 6:12 p.m. A second bomb followed immediately after.

U.S. troops arrived at 6:40 p.m. and found Iraqi police at the site. He said a coalition medic treated al-Zarqawi, who lapsed in and out of consciousness.

"At 7:04 p.m. on 7 June, Zarqawi was dead," Caldwell said.

From the New York Times:

BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 12 — An autopsy conducted on the body of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has revealed that he died of blast injuries from the bombs, with the damage to his lungs so severe that he could not survive them, according to medical examiners and American military officials. There was no evidence of beating or injuries from firearms, they said.

In a news briefing intended to counter what military officials described as "propaganda and misinformation," the officials also emphasized that medics tried to give Mr. Zarqawi treatment when they first arrived on the scene, but that his lungs were full of blood.

The MSM just can't find a way to "spin" this story, (yet). Stay tuned.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi Killed in Bombing Raid

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Al Qaeda in Iraq leader who led a brutal insurgency that included homicide bombings, kidnappings and beheadings, was killed in an airstrike on a building north of Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi officials announced Thursday.

Captain's Quarters has a full recap and updates

Best blog headline: "The Meeting Ended Early"

Michelle Malkin has a full plate of pics and post

All great news for our fighting troops and the war on terrorism.

Maybe I should write more satires like this one a few days ago.

Death and Taxes

Dana over at Common Sense Political Thought has an excellent post on the current status of the tax structure here in the U.S.

"It seems to me that one of the bigger problems conservatives face is that they have lost control of the language."

Please read the complete story

My notepad some how got messed up or (most likley) I didn't do the right format, and my comment got spread out like locust across a wheat field. In the interest of saving face, I am posting my comment here. Please read Dana's full post first. It's a good one!

Careful Dana..........even moderate Democrats like to keep their money in their own pockets. But the mindset is (by Dems standards) that it is the responsibility of the government to care for the needs of those who have chosen to rely on the programs and entitlements that have been created in the past 40 years. A whole portion or our society has been sucked into this dependency. Half the power of the democratic party has relied on this formula for getting elected and for the most part been in control of the money.

Fortunatly, a prosprous nation (lately) has more people (on the left and the right) asking the same question. Why should we give our hard earn dollars to those who refuse to work (at least) as hard as I do, and be given a free ride. The democratic party has preyed on these people for generations to keep them in power in the name of compassion. To that I say "bullshit" and "enough".

Why should a portion of our society get up in the morning and go to work when under our current set of programs that created this dependency allows some to sit home and recieve a check from our government?

Don't get me wrong here. There are always circumstances beyond our control (Katrina, unexpected injury or unforseen circumstances where, as a compassionate society we need to help. I'm all for that.

But punishing those who have worked all of their lives to get ahead and provide comfort for themselves, only to have a system that says "you didn't earn this, or you need to give a major portion of your wealth to those who choose not to help themselves is pure and simple communism.

Re-distrubution of wealth and the power to control it has always been the heart of the democratic party.

And "greedy" conservatives know it. Moderate Democrats too.

Billy Preston..........RIP

'Fifth Beatle' Billy Preston Dies at 59

Tuesday, June 06, 2006 By Roger Friedman

The great singer-songwriter and performer Billy Preston, the real "Fifth Beatle," has died after a long illness as a result of malignant hypertension that resulted in kidney failure and other complications.

Complete Story

I had the privilege of seeing Billy Preston last year at the Monterey Bay Blues Festival. He was a class act.

More at Billys site

Get Out and Vote

Iraq War Ending Soon

Breaking News! The War in Iraq is ending. Insurgents are calling it quits.

Beaten down by coalition forces (primarily US and British forces) and world public opinion, Al Qaeda's Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and most of the major insurgents are surrendering their arms and calling for a truce.

Sources say the unexpected turn-around has been attributed to the formally spineless left wing of the democratic party in the United States, who's admitted agenda has been their hatred for President Bush and the total lack of support for the men and women who have fought this war against terrorism in the middle east. That has changed.

Sources say that the change of heart/mind originated from the relationship of both partys of congress last month when Nancy Pelosi and Dennis Hassert were caught holding hands on an issue. It can now be said that the "Jefferson Bribe" has led to the full support of our armed forces on the war on terrorism. The sudden change and full support led to the sane leaders of the world to put the shameful and indiscriminate murder of innocent women and children by suicidal/homicidal terrorist in prespective.

Sources also said that movie director Micheal Moore said the outright filming of actual body parts of men,women, and children torn apart by the senseless and indiscriminate bombings contributed to the world opinion that the terrorist had no ground to stand on. Moore said the relationship between Hassert and Pelosi moved him so much, he put aside his outright hatred for George Bush and decided to film the carnage.

Other sources say that the decision of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to give their unanimous support to the war on terrorism, (and to approve putting President Bush's bust on Mt. Rushmore), also contributed to the change of world opinion.

My sources also say that the letter/email sent by Markos (of the DailyKos)to Vice President Richard Cheney that he could not stand by and let one more of our military people be murdered by the Islamofascist killers of the innocent, he was willing to set aside his personal feelings for our leadership and give his full support to the war against Al Qaeda , Osama bin Laden , al-Zarqawi, et al.

The left wing of the blogosphere followed Marko's lead and contributed to the downfall of the insurgents.

All of this because two people decided to hold hands on an issue they felt was more important than their party affiliation. And that issue led to further talks about how to end the war on terrorism.

History may not be so kind to the "incident" called "Jefferson-Gate". But good things do come out of tragedies. To think a tiny nation in Africa (that needed to "nud$e" a congressman) that led to a temporary stability and sane awakening in the world is just beyond comprehension.

Now we can bring our troops home with pride.

God Bless America

In other news, oil prices dropped to a five year low, hitting $32.50/barrel as OPEC decided their days were also numbered. With full congessional support for a ten year plan to end dependency on petroleum products, most of the oil producing nations have decided to produce as much of the product as possible before they begin capping their wells. Venezuela and Iran hardest hit by the down-turn.

Bin Laden has assumed room temperature.

Do I really have to call this a satire?

Rovin

Friday Wrap-up "As the World Turns"

Illegals' tax deal could kill bill By Charles Hurt THE WASHINGTON TIMES June 2, 2006
The long-fought Senate immigration bill that opponents say grants amnesty to 10 million illegal aliens is unconstitutional and appears headed for certain demise, Senate Republicans now say. A key feature of the Senate bill is that it would make illegals pay back taxes before applying for citizenship, a requirement that supporters say will raise billions of dollars in the next decade. There's just one problem: The U.S. Constitution specifically prohibits revenue-raising legislation from originating in the Senate.


Rose Garden event President Bush will promote a constitutional amendment against homosexual "marriage" at a Rose Garden event Monday, the eve of a scheduled Senate vote on the issue. The amendment would define marriage as the union of a man and a woman and bar states from recognizing same-sex "marriages." To become law, the proposal would need two-thirds support in the Senate and House, and ratification by at least 38 state legislatures. It stands little chance of passing the 100-member Senate, where proponents are struggling to get even 50 votes, the Associated Press reports. Several Republicans oppose the measure, and only one Democrat — Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska — says he will vote for it.

So, only one democrat in the Senate believes that marriage should be between one man and one women?

Black Pastors support marriage bill:"The civil rights movement reached deeply into our nation's soul, where society had to think hard about clarifying the principles of our corporate social conduct. The homosexual rights movement turns the civil rights movement on its head. Dr. King appealed to religious truths to make his point: homosexual activists are attempting to re-write these truths," said Parker, also a nationally syndicated columnist.

Introduced by Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), S.J. Res.1 (Marriage Protection Amendment) is scheduled to be debated the first week in June in the Senate, followed by a complimenting bill in the House being introduced and debated the next month.

"We want America to know that as black leaders we are standing on our faith and not with a political party," exclaimed Owens. According to Owens, despite a historic association with the Democratic Party, the black community has always been conservative about family values.
The visit to Washington by both Republican and Democrat black pastors will underscore the fact that righteousness and justice should be more important to black Americans than party affiliation.

"Throughout America, the institution of marriage is suffering. As a leader in our nation's religious community, I cannot sit idly by," said Jackson, a registered Democrat. "The faith community cannot play it safe anymore. We must act. Black Christian leaders need to understand that they have a voice."

It's the Economy Stupid

WASHINGTON, June 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) released the following statement in response to the report by the U.S. Department of Labor report on Friday showing that the U.S economy continued to strengthen with the unemployment rate falling to 4.6 percent, lower than the averages of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s:

"The American economy continues to create jobs that are putting paychecks in the pockets of American workers. We have seen strong job growth recently, with the U.S. economy creating more than 2 million jobs in the last year. Furthermore, the U.S. economy has created more jobs in the last two and a half years than Japan and the European Union combined. More Americans are working today than ever before, and it's because Republican policies are fueling solid economic growth. Productivity is up. Consumer confidence is high. Democrats want to raise taxes and stifle this economic growth. Fortunately, Republicans recently passed and the President signed into law a bill preventing tax increases that would cool down our economy."
-----
Note: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today that 75,000 jobs were created in May. Payroll employment has increased since August 2003, adding nearly 5 million jobs. More than 2 million jobs have been created in the last year. Unemployment, which now stands at 4.6 percent, is lower than the average of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

Rumors about Bill Clinton Grab a hammer Will the fascination surrounding Bill Clinton's personal affairs ever end? Even the nation's 42nd president probably wishes, at times, that his retirement was more along the ho-hum lines of Gerald Ford's and Jimmy Carter's. As it is, while attention focuses on whether Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, New York Democrat, will enter the 2008 presidential sweepstakes, her globe-trotting husband is now being romantically linked to Canadian politician Belinda Stronach, to whom some refer as "Bubba's Blonde." It's gotten to the point that BetUS.com is posting odds on the rumored — we repeat, rumored — affair, with wagers "flooding the Web site to put their money down," the site insists.

Personal note to my "distant cousin" You are here-by released from ever leaving a "detailed" message on my voice mail. :)

Have a great weekend...............Rovin

The Democrats Agenda?

Ed, at CQ is asking the question........ "What are they hiding"

Well, MoveOn is going to do some "defining":

MoveOn.org is asking its members to vote on the following ten options, which it described as the most popular ideas from last week's house parties:

A living wage for all.....redistribution of wealth/ communism

Global leadership through diplomacy.......pre 9/11 mentality

Verifiable, accurate elections......they are called "voting machines" and they have already been invented, but the Dems can't seem to get to one.

High quality education for all.......raising taxes (and throw out those pesky exit exams)

Balanced federal budget...............raising taxes (where's the "cut spending"?)

Health care for all.........................raising taxes

Publicly funded elections..........sure, let the public pay for every idiot that wants raise your taxes.

Preserve our natural resources.......don't drill in my backyard 'till I'm gone.

Energy independence: clean, renewable sources......the left has prevented the nuclear reactors, (or a new refinery) from being built for the past thirty years.

Restored constitutional rights.......by all means, let's let the terrorist make "toll free" calls.


This is a recipe for economic disaster. Most of these wonderful ideas are achievable only on the backs of the working class. They plan to take more of your hard earned dollars to pay for most of these programs, but the left will disguise it as taxing the rich to pay for it.

Capitalism vs.Communism/Socialism.

MoveOn.org said it wants every voter to understand "what progressives will do for our country -- and 3 big ideas is about as many as most of us can easily remember at one time." (Isn't this precious?)

And they continue to wonder why they lose elections.

Memorial Realities

Capt B, from One Marines View chronicles the reality of the war against the insane islamofacist
with a gut-wrenching story. Caution, this is sobering and numbing writing that should put our daily petty problems in perspective.

Please take the time to read it all.

Shaving Cream in the Face

SAN FRANCISCO -- There's nothing like a shaving-cream pie in the face to make a guy feel like part of a team.Giants rookie first baseman Travis Ishikawa took it in good spirits as fellow freshman Kevin Frandsen and catcher Todd Greene mashed the pie in the kisser during a postgame TV interview Friday night, for he knew it was more than rookie hazing.

It meant he did something good.

The 22-year-old Ishikawa was called up Thursday to replace injured starter Lance Niekro and was surprised to find himself in the starting lineup, but he celebrated by going 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs in San Francisco's 9-0 rout of Colorado at AT&T Park. Full recap here and Giants five run 5th here.

Down 50 cents.....but

The Giants fizzled in the final two games with the Cards. That puts me at -50, and morally defeated. I always seem to not get enough strokes or runs when it comes to betting with my dear cousin.

Now I will admit that the Cards do seem to be the team to beat if you want to measure up to a play-off or series contender. The Giants are currently in last place in the NL west, yet they are only 3-1/2 games out of first. The pitching may be suspect lately, but considering the quality of offenses (A's and Cards) maybe it's not that bad. The season's still early.

Next up.......... three with the Rockies.

One in the Books

The Giants ripped the Cards tonight and I'm 50 cents ahead of the professer........the scores nine to one in ninth, so you do the math.

Final Score: 9-2

Bonds ties Ruth with homer No. 714

Saturday's homer was Bonds' sixth of the season, and also tied him with Ruth as the top left-handed home run hitter in MLB history. The solo shot came on a 1-1 pitch as he led off the second inning against Oakland's Brad Halsey, with Bonds taking the left-hander deep into the right-field bleachers.

Halsey, facing Bonds for the first time, said he knew the pitch was "bad news" as soon as it left his hand. "It was a fastball over the middle of the plate and he punished me for it," Halsey said.

Now I've watched Mays and McCovey hit their share of HR's and that was a treat (to say the least) growing up in Sac. I was at Pac Bell the night Bell slid face first into home plate to win the NL and put us in the series. This is just another part of Giants history.........and I'm proud to be a part of it.

10-1 ~ 14-3 ~ 10-1

These are the scores of the three game series against Houston. Three games, thirty plus runs are impressive numbers in any league, but the Giants have found something fun to do again, and that's win baseball games.........
.........Convincingly.

Right-hander Matt Morris, who had two hits himself, threw eight innings to improve to 3-4. He retired 14 in a row beginning with one out in the third before Adam Everett reached on an error to start the eighth. Morris allowed only three hits, none after the third inning.

Even with Bonds sittin this one out, the Gaints have seemed to find a groove. The runs just kept coming and often.


Maybe that comeback against the Dodgers last week had a delayed reaction. San Diego had a similar ninth inning comeback against the Dodgers a few weeks ago and went on a 12 game winning streak.

The Giants are now 7-3 in the last ten and, (as they say) "a good offense can make mediocre pitching look good". The series starts with the A's across the bay for three and then St. Louis comes into town for three more, then the Rockies for three the following weekend. If the Giants stay at or above .500 against these teams things may get much brighter this season.

Pedro Feliz has had a little more than production against Houston this season hitting a home run each of the past three nites.

That Barry's been silent and still stuck on 713 seems not so relevant for real Giants fans.

Winning games does.

Working on a Sand and Finish

Blogging will be "light" for the next few days as the physical labor kicks in.

It's a fifty year old oak floor that will be "a work of art" when I git done.

Bonds nails # 713

A 450 foot shot put Barry Bonds within one of the Babe.

ROAD TRIP..............

I will be up in Washington for the next three weeks helping my good Friends Don & Vi remodel one of their many homes.

Blogging will be EXTREAMLY light.

God Bless All...........

Kenny

No "DeLay" Here

One day after announcing his departure from the front lines of the Republican party, Tom DeLay took his first (of most likely many) shot at his adversaries and the Democratic Party.

"My liberal Democratic opponent has been raising money all over the nation," with help from liberal Democrats such as Barbra Streisand, George Soros, and Nancy Pelosi, DeLay said.
"His (Lampson's) money will dry up. This is probably the worst day of his campaign because he knows that any Republican that replaces me on the ballot will win this seat."

It will be fun to see how the Dems scramble to spin this one. And I'm going to enjoy the thought of hearing DeLay working for the party from the outside with the "baggage" discarded. DeLays comment on the state of the Democratic Party sums up much of the sentiment of the Republicans and many independents and moderates.

DeLay said the Democrat Party has no agenda, no solutions -- "all they've got is the strategy of personal destruction and character assassination; and it hasn't worked in the past, it's not going to work in the future. They are a permanent minority party."

As a fitting parting shot in the interview with Fox News, DeLay took the opportunity to "take a wack" at Ronnie Earl with the gloves off:

DeLay again accused Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle of abusing the Texas judicial system by bringing "frivolous" charges against him. DeLay admitted that Earle may have "won the battle" now that DeLay has decided to resign from Congress. "But in the end, we will beat him -- he will once again...be embarrassed and he will embarrass Travis County and he will embarrass the Texas Democrat Party.

(via CNS News)

Dafydd at Big Ligards has more on DeLay

Unexpected Prayer

Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some people. When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of __expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen!"

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev.Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of this prayer from India, Africa and Korea. Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, "The Rest of the Story," and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired.
With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called "one nation under God."

"If you don't stand for something, you will fall for everything."

Legends in their own minds......

Me n' Pinetop after his performance at the Muni, Eureka, Ca. 3/25/06

It was just a shitty camera-phone, but it was "priceless" to me cause as soon as Pintop seen that camera he had to git in the picture. :)

That man don't miss a thing.......even at 92

And the Band Played On..........

The sixteenth annual Redwood Coast Jazz Festival kicked off at the Adorni Center, with dignitaries arriving in style.

Donna Landry, from the world famous A-Train, stopped to "throw a pose" for photographers outside the Big Band Dance opening.

Sixteenth Annual Jazz Festival

The sixteenth annual Redwood Coast Jazz Festival kicks off this thursday night and continues thru the weekend. Yours truly has been selected (hornswaggled) to be the "band driver coordinator" et al. Iffin yur near Humboldt County, California this weekend come check it out.


official site here











I can't wait to go back to work so I can relax. :)

Fox News Reporter Blows It

Feingold Calls Warrantless Wiretaps an Impeachable Offense
Thursday, March 16, 2006 By Liza Porteus

Fox News Story

WASHINGTON Although President Bush's authorization of
warrantless wiretaps is likely an impeachable offense, Sen. Russ
Feingold hopes to be a "voice of moderation" in not pushing the
Senate toward that option, the Wisconsin Democrat said Thursday.

I sent an email to Feedback@foxnews.com :

"I request that Fox News retracts this statement and clarifys it. Is this Liza's opinion that the "warrantless wiretaps is likely an impeachable offense"? The statement is not in quotes.

I will await (patiently) for a response. This is exactly how the MSM (and rarely Fox) play the "tell a lie long enough and it becomes the truth" syndrome.

Despite the fact that most (80%) of the people in this country favor the NSA listening to terrorist calls coming into the country, President Bush has stated, (and the attorney generals office has confirmed) that this is an authority granted the President under the War Powers Act.

Powerline has some excellent articles here and here.

Updates: (pending)

Russell Feingold...............RIP?

Rovinsworld decided to "search" the pages of four large newspapers (online) the day after Russ Feingold introduced his censure motion.

The Washington Times posted this story on the front page, but the other three had nothing.

But was I surprised to find this in my "search" for the story in NYT's search engine. The search found no entries but suggested "Search Paid Death Notices and Paid Memorial Notices for" and there is Sen. Russell Feingold. (Click on Photo to enlarge)

Papers of Record, that published this story: SF Chron..........not in the last 30 days.

LA Times: Posted this story about Feingolds intentions (before Feingold took the resolution to the floor) : Democrat Plans to Ask Senate to Censure Bush By Richard Simon, Times Staff WriterMarch 13, 2006:

WASHINGTON — Sen. Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.) said Sunday that he would ask the Senate to censure President Bush for authorizing a warrantless domestic spying program, signaling a new determination by Democrats to keep the heat on the White House over the controversial eavesdropping by the National Security Agency.

Today's search of the LA Times found nothing, but by broadening the search I found this nice one by Rosa Brooks in an op-ed:

They can't even win a war of words Democrats are mired in smallness. How hard can it be to craft a message of passion? March 10, 2006

"Part of the problem is ambition and cowardice, which together make a lethal combination. Too many would-be Democratic leaders think that "playing it safe" is the way to go. They're fine with criticizing the administration, but the minute they take any flak themselves, they go scurrying back into their holes. In place of a willingness to take risks and speak from the heart, they offer a craven and misguided dependence on polls, focus groups and "expert strategists."

'TOGETHER, America can do better." When you hear that, do you feel inspired?

I didn't think so.

Rosa never mentions "Ridiculous Russ"

I hear the kids at "Lost-Kos" have gone nuts (as usual) on this, but stay tuned.

Feingold may very well have one foot in the grave, (politically), and it appears the MSM isn't going to help with the shoveling.

McCain and His Chances

Did anyone happen to see the near "end run" the Dems nearly used to attempt to show this nation how tough they are (not) on national security? They so dearly wanted their up or down vote on the ports deal. Bigotry aside, the Dems think the lemmings of protectionism is crutial to getting elected. With the Dems having virtually no solid platform to run on they will be willing to grab onto anything reactionary that appeals to the masses. This ports deal was to be the first step on the plank.

Let me first say, IMO, this UAE deal should have been a slam dunk.Handled properly, the Bush administration could have had the lead in putting "real" security restrictions on the deal, stalling long enough to get a consensus. Singling out UAE as the only foreign operator in our ports is a joke. Unfortunately, UAE's "book of past" is still too much in the present. Yes, even Billys cigar will come back to haunt Hillary. Speaking of William Jefferson, I still wonder what slick Willy "promised" the Sheiks at UAE for his 300k? Did Bill know inadvance that his wife would be standing there ready to tell the nation that the UAE has no business handling our goods? Maybe I'm giving too much credit to Willy's vision on this one.

While many will say that the President has entered the lame duck status for good after this affair, IMO, President Bush has the moral high ground on this one and the bigots on both sides of the isle will go down in history as passing up one of the best opportunitys to form genuine relationships with the middle east and the Arab community. National security my ass!

When the Dems grabbed this one by the throat, (and the MSM andtheir polls) the momentum was too much for the chickin-shit Republican Party to be seen as soft of security. At that point they had no choice but to join in the defiance.

And where was John McCain in this horserace? He certainly wasn't on Bush's side. What a hypocrite.

On the Front Lines and Home

By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer Thu Mar 9, 6:28 PM ET

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Residents reported curious declarations hanging
from mosque walls and market stalls recently in Ramadi, the Sunni
Muslim insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad. The fliers said Iraqi
militants had turned on and were killing foreign al-Qaida fighters,
their one-time allies.

Read it all

It appears maybe the tide is turning and so are the people of Iraq. Tired of the foriegn fighters they are turning on them. This is good news.

And then some better news.........Capt. B from One Marines View has made it home.
At his website he says "we're still kickin ass".

Welcome home Cap, you done good. Semper Fi

Snow Advisory in Eureka?

...SNOW ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM PST FRIDAY...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN EUREKA HAS ISSUED A SNOWADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM PST FRIDAY.A VERY COLD AIR MASS MOVING INTO THE AREA IS ALLOWING WIDESPREADRAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS TO MOVE INTO NORTHWEST CALIFORNIA. SNOWLEVELS ARE CURRENTLY AROUND 1000 FEET...BUT WILL DROP TO500 FEET THROUGH THIS EVENING. SNOW LEVELS WILL TEMPORARILY DROPTO SEA LEVEL IN THE MORE INTENSE SHOWERS...WITH ACCUMULATIONS OFUP TO 1 INCH AT THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. 2 TO 4 INCHES IS LIKELYABOVE 500 FEET BY FRIDAY MORNING.

This is so rare in Eureka (sea level) I remember getting three inches in 1989 that fell right on the beach. Quite a site.

Live Blogging is Fun

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A United Arab Emirates-owned company has agreed to turn over all of its operations at U.S. ports to an American "entity," Sen. John Warner said Thursday.

Reading a statement from DP World on the Senate floor, Warner, a Virginia Republican, said the reason is "to preserve" the strong relationship between the UAE and United States.
via CNN

Live blogging news conference

Harry Ried calling for an up or down vote. They are appearantly are being denied a chance to vote on their precious ammendment that tells Bush "no to Dubai" Reid throws in Katrina.

Schumer gets his two seconds of national network coverage and blamm! see ya

Fox switches to GW live signing the Patriot act. Now there is what I call knowing what a priorety is. The timing of all this is sweet!

Cnbc is still running the Democratic press conference. Dodd, Schumer, Ried, Menendez, and Hillary all lined up to bitch about not being able to vote on this ammendment (at this time)

Cnbc is the only station that remained with the dems, now have switch to GW signing also
Both Cnn stations and msnbc have switch to GW and the Patriot Act signing.

This is all too fun! Hillary never got her national press, but I'm sure the MSM will get her message out.

Rovs Evenings Post

From Captains Quarters:

Are The Democrats Coming Apart?

A coalition of Democrats have begun an effort to wrest control of the Democratic Party away from the train wreck of Howard Dean's chairmanship. This coalition, led by former Clintonista Harold Ickes and funded by George Soros, has selected Ickes to head a data-mining project intended on giving better voter information to key Congressional campaigns:

A group of well-connected Democrats led by a former top aide to Bill Clinton is raising millions of dollars to start a private firm that plans to compile huge amounts of data on Americans to identify Democratic voters and blunt what has been a clear Republican lead in using technology for political advantage. The effort by Harold Ickes, a deputy chief of staff in the Clinton White House and an adviser to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), is prompting intense behind-the-scenes debate in Democratic circles. Officials at the Democratic National Committee think that creating a modern database is their job, and they say that a competing for-profit entity could divert energy and money that should instead be invested with the national party.

Ickes and others involved in the effort acknowledge that their activities are in part a vote of no confidence that the DNC under Chairman Howard Dean is ready to compete with Republicans on the technological front. "The Republicans have developed a cadre of people who appreciate databases and know how to use them, and we are way behind the march," said Ickes, whose political technology venture is being backed by financier George Soros.

"It's unclear what the DNC is doing. Is it going to be kept up to date?" Ickes asked, adding that out-of-date voter information is "worse than having no database at all."

Ickes's effort is drawing particular notice among Washington operatives who know about it because of speculation that he is acting to build a campaign resource for a possible 2008 presidential run by Hillary Clinton. She has long been concerned, advisers say, that Democrats and liberals lack the political infrastructure of Republicans and their conservative allies. Ickes said his new venture, Data Warehouse, will at first seek to sell its targeting information to politically active unions and liberal interest groups, rather than campaigns.

It looks like Soros is playing both sides of the street. His money helped launch MoveOn and keeps it going to this day, and that faction of the party is the same that pushed Dean into the top spot at the DNC. Now Soros has chosen to also finance Ickes and his attempt to bypass Dean's inept leadership and the DNC altogether by building a competing GOTV machine.

This puts Democratic candidates in a real bind; normally they would work with their elected leadership to coordinate voter strategy and outreach. However, now they will have to choose between that official leadership and this shadow elite that wants to use Soros' money to bypass the party's official management. This promises to set up a serious split in the party, with incumbents and challengers forced to choose between the two cliques. Even though Soros has involvement in both factions, it will likely develop into a split between the leftists that insisted on Dean for the chair and the people who believe that the Democrats have to come back to the center to be competitive.

In an election that appears to hold the most promise for Democrats in over a decade, this could not come at a worse time. The immediate blame for this goes to the Clintonistas, who have never been happy with Howard Dean -- and who could blame them? The real problem started with his election and the emergence of the Left in the Democratic Party, and the loss of common sense and electoral intelligence it portended.

I find it deliciously ironic that this split will probably become unavoidable all because of a dispute over the best management of data mining. Too bad the Democrats didn't have this kind of enthusiasm for it when Able Danger and LIWF於心底；或者，讓我某日再認識你。

The Will of this Nation

Nearly 56 years ago, in 1950, the Truman administration issued what would become a framework for America's Cold War strategy for four decades. In a formerly classified document called NSC 68, the Truman administration said, quote, "Our fundamental purpose is more likely to be defeated from lack of will to maintain it than from any mistakes we may make or assault we may undergo because of asserting that will," unquote. Today our nation is again in a long struggle. And again, the toughest challenge will be to maintain our national will to persevere and to prevail.

Secretary Rumsfeld

The "backbone" of this country and their "will" has deteriorated into the passive society of the 60's. Again.

Patriotism has taken a back seat to privilege and the pursuit of power. The democratic party is so incensed with regaining that power they have no regard for the overall safety and security of the nation. In their minds everything that this administration has done to fight terrorism is wrong. Dead wrong. And yet they offer no plan or a better idea, other that to bash Bush for political gain. And these people want to be back in power for what reason? To protect us? Maybe they can talk the mullahs and terrorist to death.

I believe Truman and Rumsfeld are right to question the resolve of this nation. The term "united" in this fight is no where to be found.

Shame

Mailer, the People, and the Elite Left

While watching Norman Mailer being interviewed on FNC last evening, I was reminded again of how far the political left of today has come from the founding tenets of political liberalism. It is easy enough to seize on Mailer’s claim that the 52% of Americans that voted for George Bush are simply “stupid,” or that we went to war in Iraq to assuage the ego of white American males, or that Cheney withheld the shooting story from the press for 24 hours, knowing that the press would become crazed, and thus show its worst side to the American public.

Perhaps Mailer’s self-avowed elitism explains the first claim; indeed, if there were a Maureen Dowd Award for Self-absorbed Elitism, Mailer’s insistence that 52% of Americans are stupid because they voted for George Bush would surely be a nominee. It is not because the 52% are uninformed, not because after comparing the options, they settled for the lesser of two evils, not because they made a judgment that their concerns and values were more likely represented in Bush than Kerry. No; they voted as they did because they were “stupid.”

But this of course is an inversion of the view of our Founding Fathers. Steeped as they were in the Enlightenment thought of the time, the Fathers drafted a Constitution that they thought would protect the people from government. In Mailer’s world, democracy must be protected from the people.

In Mailer’s world, democracy is a noble enterprise and therefore tenuous – always to be protected from the baser instincts of the people whose natural state, according to Mailer, is a tendency toward fascism. Put aside for the moment the Left’s fascination with the unfounded comparisons between President Bush and fascism. The difference between the elite left and the authors of modern democracy lies in what sustains our best impulses.

Mailer reviles Bush in part because he “speaks in clichés,” because he does not elevate the language. Indeed Mailer goes so far as to claim that what sustained the British during the ebb and flow of empire is….Shakespeare.

Really? This is what we are to think? That it was Shakespeare that sustained the British during World War II? Or compare the British reaction to Ghandi’s independence movement to the Chinese reaction to Tianemen Square. Are we really to think that the difference in the two governments’ reactions is fundamentally to be found in the British being able to “fall back on” Shakespeare and the Chinese only being able to fall back on Confucius or Lao Tzu?

Here is a far more likely explanation: The British government of 1947, unlike the Chinese government of 1989, thinks that the actions of a government and a people are answerable to some independent moral order, that our nobility lies in our ability to rise above our baser instincts and act according to a code that is independent of our speeches, of our party documents, or even of our best authors. And that independent moral order holds that killing innocent protesters is wrong. The British government of 1947 may have made a number of political calculations, but only the most cynical would claim that they did not also think that killing innocent protesters was, is, and will be wrong. Unlike the Stalinist Beijing government, whose only interest was what the party said, quite apart from what the people wanted. Stalinism answers only to its own party-line view; no facts interfere, and no notice need be taken of the choices of the people. The difference between the two governmental reactions is better explained by their differing views about whether our actions can be judged by some extra-human moral order.

One need not be Christian to prefer this explanation over Mailer’s “Shakespeare explanation.” The intellectual source for Ghandi’s views lay in Hinduism, which looks to a reality other than the speeches and artwork of the most recently celebrated humans.

But in Mailer’s world, the only justification of our noble experiment in democracy lies in our speeches, in our social constructions, in our judgments about what is valuable. For Mailer, as for so many others in the contemporary elite left, all that matters is our latest theory. Some claim is a fact, some assertion is a reason to act if it fits with our most recent story of our success or failure. It does not matter that there is no evidence, no facts outside of his own theory that support Mailer’s claim that Cheney judged that withholding the shooting story for 24-48 hours would craze the media so that they would fly into a rage, thus further undermining American’s confidence in the media. Nor does it matter that the sociological-psychological theory has yet to be invented that would sustain the claim that the current war in Iraq came about to assuage the egos of white American males. All that matters in Mailer’s view is that the latest theory, the latest fad of interpretation can explain another event in a manner suitable to the elite left. For there are no facts of human nature, and there are most certainly no facts about a moral order that has its source in something other than what human beings say. For the elite left, “spinning a good yarn” is all that remains of “searching for the truth.”

Whatever one thinks of the Enlightenment view that people are guided by rational self-interest, and that given the needed information, they will make far better choices for the course of their own lives than any government could – whatever one thinks about this view, it still recognizes that there are facts about human nature, facts about the world that are not of our own making. And our political theories ought to be accountable to these facts. It is ironic that the some of the 20th and 21st century heirs to the Enlightenment should have come to the view that government must be protected from the people.

There is a sadder irony to Mailer’s view. It is, of course, a sad irony, for example, that the elite left can no longer make sense of Martin Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” with its insistence that the rightness of the civil rights movement lies in a moral order that is not the creation of human beings. Or, for example, that in their rush to advance human rights, they have to cross their fingers when they read those famous words in the Declaration of Independence – and hope that some intellectual will finally come up with an explanation of human rights that does not in the end depend on something extra-human, on some divine being.

The sadder irony lies in Mailer’s insistence that the only truth lies in our own speeches, our own stories of our self-invention, our own self-serving and self-absorbed accounts of human nature. For Mailer does not apparently see that once the left decides that there is no extra-human moral order, no extra-human set of facts to which we can appeal to judge our theories and conjectures, that the real worry is not fascism. There really is no chance that we will wake up early in November of 2008 and find that George Bush has decided to call off the election, claiming that he knows what’s best for us.

No, the real irony is that the left – fearing that the people are too stupid to entrust with the American experiment in democracy – will collapse into its ultimate perversion. The British are sustained by Shakespeare, and we are sustained by the elite left’s view of the direction our democracy should take. It may be that the elite left has already decided that their view is no longer answerable to any facts, that the people can no longer be trusted, that the people are too “stupid” to run their own government or their own lives. But if the elite left is on the road to concluding that all that matters is their view of how our democracy should function, that there are no facts that limit their conjectures, that we are only guided by our own speeches, our own inventions, our own theories, then the elite left is surely on the high road to Stalinism. And the irony is that the elite left – the group that prides itself so on its intellectual superiority to the people – should be so oblivious to this danger.

by Onejacktwomany

SF Moonbats Created

I've created a new blog specifically for San Francisco.

It's called SFMoonbats

The have lost their minds and my heart:

San Francisco's supervisors jumped into national politics Tuesday, passing a resolution asking the city's Democratic congressional delegation to seek the impeachment of President Bush for failing to perform his duties by leading the country into war in Iraq, eroding civil liberties and engaging in other activities the board sees as transgressions.

The supervisors, in voting 7-3 for the resolution, ensured that San Francisco again will become grist for radio and TV talk shows. The city has appeared in the national media spotlight recently for voters' passage in November of a nonbinding measure banning military recruiters from public high schools and for Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval's recent comment on a Fox News show that the United States doesn't need a military.

Full Story here