Returning to Cinders
Taming the Beast that's Still Hungry

While the southern California fires continue to consume anything in it's path, thousands are getting the "all clear" to return to areas that the "beast" has visited with no idea what they will find. In what has been described as the largest evacuation in California's history, and still only one percent contained, the news that the windy conditions may subside over the next few days is welcomed by firefighters and residents that have remained in their homes waiting for the call to leave.

With no loss for fuel supply, and fed by the Santa Ana Winds, the conditions for a perfect firestorm has taken it's toll on an area where close to 50,000 more homes are still in danger. From Fox News it's reported " In San Diego County, authorities placed evacuation calls to 346,000 homes while over 560,000 people were ordered to leave."

Blame game begins............

It's being reported that U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, who's district includes Southern California, has made this disaster political by stating that there are too many national guard in Iraq that should be home to help in fighting the fires. While fire officials say more resources could have always been supplemented, the conditions on the ground would have made little difference in this battle because of the natural fuel supply and the 30 to 50 mile an hour winds that made this inferno unstoppable.

I would ask this question to Boxer: "Why did you let these conditions develop in your region that many knew was a disaster waiting for the right time to strike?"

Here's a little info you may have missed Ms. Boxer:

California: Much of California will see above normal fire potential for the summer. Warm and dry conditions dominated California during May with near record breaking heat across the southern portions of the state. LINK

National Climatic Data Center, 15 October 2007:
This year has been very dry in southern California. As of September 25, Pasadena experienced its driest year since records began in 1878, and the mayor has asked Pasadena residents to voluntarily conserve water. LINK

Mechanical removal of the fuels has not kept up with the fuel build-up for several reasons. Some community covenants have restricted landowners since the 1920's from tree removal activities on private land within the National Forest. The Forest has not had an active timber harvest program for nearly 10 years. There are no lumber mills in southern California and now the current removal of dead and dying trees is difficult and expensive.

Changes in Wildland Fuel Conditions. Fire suppression activities over the last century have left much of the state’s wildlands filled with fallen trees, standing dead trees, and heavy undergrowth. As these fuels have built up, the risk of catastrophic fires has grown. In addition, several years of drought followed by insect infestations in Southern California and the Sierras have killed many trees, increasing the risk of large, dangerous fires in these regions of the state.LINK

Conflagration – A popular term for a large, fast-moving wildfire exhibiting many or all of the features associated with extreme fire behavior.

"Mechanical removal of the fuels has not kept up with the fuel build-up for several reasons. Some community covenants have restricted landowners since the 1920's from tree removal activities on private land within the National Forest. The Forest has not had an active timber harvest program for nearly 10 years. There are no lumber mills in southern California and now the current removal of dead and dying trees is difficult and expensive."

"I am very concerned that what we are seeing on the San Bernardino National Forest will happen again in many other forested areas in California. Forest conditions -- dense and overgrown -- on other national forests in California are similar to those on the San Bernardino."......JACK BLACKWELLREGIONAL FORESTER, PACIFIC SOUTHWEST REGION FOREST SERVICE

"The forest health situation on the San Bernardino and throughout the Pacific Southwest Region is very dynamic. The key to avoiding potential catastrophic wildfire is by taking a comprehensive, strategic approach with all involved organizations, and having all the necessary management tools available to use. Long-term success will also require building and maintaining relationships and cooperative planning that draws on the strengths of everyone involved."

Everyone failed Ms. Boxer --------- including you.

Update: Sister Toldjah has Harry Reid blaming the fires on global warming. This is our democratic leadership?

Others Blogging:

Patterico

Michelle Malkin

Hugh Hewitt

Kevin at Wizbang

(photo credits to Fox News)

Fortunate to Live in Nor Cal

Over 500,000 evacuated.......Google Map of Fires

Updates developing...........

Phony Senators and Newspaper Spin

In the aftermath of the letter the U.S. Senate (written by the Majority Leader, Harry Reid) sent to Clear Channel Communications CEO Mark Mays lambasting Rush Limbaugh for what they interpreted (via an out of context excerpt from Media Matters) as bashing military personnel who speak out against the war in Iraq, our esteemed "fabricators" and "spinmiesters" at the New York Times and the Washington Post have published these storys IN ERROR, again.

Stephanie Strom (at the NYT's) begins her "ill-informed" article by stating/repeating the outright lies that Media Matters started:

"After Rush Limbaugh referred to Iraq war veterans critical of the war as "phony soldiers," he received a letter of complaint signed by 41 Democratic senators. He decided to auction the letter, which he described as "this glittering jewel of colossal ignorance," for charity, and he pledged to match the price, dollar for dollar."

Ms. Strom waits until the bottom of the article to print what was really said by Limbaugh:

"Mr. Limbaugh has said that he was referring only to one soldier, who was critical of the war and had served only 44 days in the Army, never seeing combat."

In the meantime, Neely Tucker, (sex unknown at this print) at the Washington Post waste no time "spinning the story" with this headline:

Limbaugh Spins Reid's Letter Into Charity Gold

Tucker starts out this post by calling it "petty bickering", when in fact this is the most blatant attack by a government official on a private citizen in our nations history, followed by the LIE that brought this story an unprecedented 4.2 million delivered to a noble charity foundation that provides scholarships to the children of the fallen:

"Petty bickering about patriotism and Who Loves Our Troops More has never been seen as a financial growth industry, but there's no stopping American capitalism. This is why a perfunctory bit of political grandstanding, committed to U.S. Senate letterhead this month, became worth a reported $4.2 million yesterday, instantly becoming one of the most valuable printed documents of the modern era."

"The letter in question is an Oct. 2 two-pager from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to Clear Channel Communications CEO Mark Mays lambasting the syndicate's Rush Limbaugh, who had recently criticized U.S. troops who were against the war in Iraq."

While these two newspapers continue to lose readership and advertising dollars because they can't seem to get a story straight, Strom and Tucker might wonder whether their next paychecks will be coming from their parent company's or the National Inquirer.

For the TRUTHFUL RECORD, Limbaugh was referring to the "phony soldiers" such as Jessie McBeth and Jimmy Massey that fabricated (lied) stories about atrocities in Iraq. While most everyone knows exactly where Limbaugh stands and shows his unrelenting support for our military, Media Matters thought this little matter would not be noticed when they pulled Limbaugh's comments out of context and Senator Reid swallowed, hook, line, and "stinker".

Now you have the New York Times and the Washington Post (leading fabricators) not only missing the point of the entire story of a private citizen being admonished by a federal official, but still insisting on fabricating the actual intent that Limbaugh made in his initial scolding of the "phony soldiers". Who's PHONY now?

Update: Ed Morrissey at Captain's Quarters has summed up the Reid/Limbaugh fiasco, while a commenter hits the nail on the head:

"The conservative thinks of a free-market way of raising private funds to aid a worthwhile causes and backs his commitment with his own money."

"The liberal asks other people to donate funds, doesn't donate any of his own money, and tries to take credit for the generosity of others."..........(PackerBronco)


Update 2: Sister Toldjah "feeds" Harry some crow here

Rush's Auction Winding Down



Harry's letter to admonish Rush has reached the two million mark. The leftoids are in mourning.

Update:

"They have done nothing. It is they who need to "save face." We've got a little montage here of the Drive-Bys just beside themselves over the Democrats' inability to get anything done."

ROBACH: (music) It happened with war legislation, and now it looks like it will happen again with children's health care. The president takes a stand, the Democrats promise a fight, but in the end, the president comes out on top. FOREMAN: (music) Democrats at several levels of government are stumbling. CUOMO: Democrats appear headed for defeat in the battle over expanding children's health insurance.HUME: This looks like kind of an embarrassing defeat for the leadership BLITZER: House Democrats may be losing yet another battle, this one over domestic spying. YELLIN: Republicans are crowing and Democrats are trying to figure out what to do next. BASH: A rebellion among Pelosi's own Democrats...FRANKEN: Such a political debacle for the Democrats...COURIC: Why aren't these things getting done? CAFFERTY: You know, Ray Charles could have seen that was a stupid idea from the beginning. You're just doing a great job, Pelosi. Terrific.RUSH: That was Jack what his name, Cafferty, on CNN. You heard Katie Couric and a bunch of others in there. So we're winning. We're stopping these guys from their ridiculous pieces of legislation, and the Drive-Bys are getting real frustrated with them right along with the fringe lunatics that are in their base. LINK

At What Point Can We Question Their Motives........Or Their Patriotism?

Kim Priestap at has posted an interesting article over at Wizbang that points out (rather blatantly) how our mainstream media manages to omit just enough of a story to fit their biased agenda:

"I know the mainstream media is reporting on General Sanchez' speech, but they reported only the part of his comments that were critical of the administration and how it conducted the war, completely ignoring his damning statements about their journalistic ethics, proving that what he said about them was on target. Since the MSM refuses to reprint the general's comments about the media, I will. This portion of his speech that was posted at Power Line had some errors in capitalization that I corrected. Read these comments carefully and take in how thoroughly General Sanchez hands the media their asses:"

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen

Some of you may not believe this but I am glad to be here. When Sig asked me if I would consider addressing you there was no doubt that I should come into the lion's den. This was important because I have firmly believed since Desert Shield that it is necessary for the strength of our democracy that the military and the press corps maintain a strong, mutually respectful and enabling relationship. This continues to be problematic for our country, especially during times of war. One of the greatest military correspondents of our time, Joe Galloway, made me a believer when he joined the 24th infantry division during desert storm.

Today, I will attempt to do two things - first I will give you my assessment of the military and press relationship and then I will provide you some thoughts on the current state of our war effort. As all of you know I have a wide range of relationships and experiences with our nation’s military writers and editors. There are some in your ranks who I consider to be the epitome of journalistic professionalism - Joe Galloway, Thom Shanker, Sig Christensen, and John Burns immediately come to mind. They exemplify what America should demand of our journalists - tough reporting that relies upon integrity, objectivity and fairness to give accurate and thorough accounts that strengthen our freedom of the press and in turn our democracy. On the other hand, unfortunately, I have issued ultimatums to some of you for unscrupulous reporting that was solely focused on supporting your agenda and preconceived notions of what our military had done. I also refused to talk to the European Stars and Stripes for the last two years of my command in Germany for their extreme bias and single minded focus on Abu Gharaib.

Let me review some of the descriptive phrases that have been used by some of you that have made my personal interfaces with the press corps difficult:

"dictatorial and somewhat dense",

"not a strategic thought",

Liar,"does not get it" and

The most inexperienced LTG.

In some cases I have never even met you, yet you feel qualified to make character judgments that are communicated to the world. My experience is not unique and we can find other examples such as the treatment of Secretary Brown during Katrina. This is the worst display of journalism imaginable by those of us that are bound by a strict value system of selfless service, honor and integrity. Almost invariably, my perception is that the sensationalistic value of these assessments is what provided the edge that you seek for self aggrandizement or to advance your individual quest for getting on the front page with your stories! As I understand it, your measure of worth is how many front page stories you have written and unfortunately some of you will compromise your integrity and display questionable ethics as you seek to keep America informed. This is much like the intelligence analysts whose effectiveness was measured by the number of intelligence reports he produced. For some, it seems that as long as you get a front page story there is little or no regard for the "collateral damage" you will cause. Personal reputations have no value and you report with total impunity and are rarely held accountable for unethical conduct.

Given the near instantaneous ability to report actions on the ground, the responsibility to accurately and truthfully report takes on an unprecedented importance. The speculative and often uninformed initial reporting that characterizes our media appears to be rapidly becoming the standard of the industry. An Arab proverb states - "four things come not back: the spoken word, the spent arrow, the past, the neglected opportunity." once reported, your assessments become conventional wisdom and nearly impossible to change. Other major challenges are your willingness to be manipulated by "high level officials" who leak stories and by lawyers who use hyperbole to strengthen their arguments. Your unwillingness to accurately and prominently correct your mistakes and your agenda driven biases contribute to this corrosive environment. All of these challenges combined create a media environment that does a tremendous disservice to America. Over the course of this war tactically insignificant events have become strategic defeats for America because of the tremendous power and impact of the media and by extension you the journalist. In many cases the media has unjustly destroyed the individual reputations and careers of those involved. We realize that because of the near real time reporting environment that you face it is difficult to report accurately. In my business one of our fundamental truths is that "the first report is always wrong." Unfortunately, in your business "the first report" gives Americans who rely on the snippets of CNN, if you will, their "truths" and perspectives on an issue. As a corollary to this deadline driven need to publish "initial impressions or observations" versus objective facts there is an additional challenge for us who are the subject of your reporting. When you assume that you are correct and on the moral high ground on a story because we have not respond to questions you provided is the ultimate arrogance and distortion of ethics. One of your highly respected fellow journalists once told me that there are some amongst you who "feed from a pig's trough." If that is who I am dealing with then I will never respond; otherwise, we will both get dirty and the pig will love it. This does not mean that your story is accurate.

I do not believe that this is what our forefathers intended. The code of ethics for the society of professional journalists states:...public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. The duty of the journalist is to further those ends by seeking truth and providing a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility
The basic ethics of a journalist that calls for:

1. Seeking truth,

2. Providing fair and comprehensive account of events and issues

3. Thoroughness and honesty

All are victims of the massive agenda driven competition for economic or political supremacy. The death knell of your ethics has been enabled by your parent organizations who have chosen to align themselves with political agendas. What is clear to me is that you are perpetuating the corrosive partisan politics that is destroying our country and killing our servicemembers who are at war.

My assessment is that your profession, to some extent, has strayed from these ethical standards and allowed external agendas to manipulate what the American public sees on tv, what they read in our newspapers and what they see on the web. For some of you, just like some of our politicians, the truth is of little to no value if it does not fit your own preconceived notions, biases and agendas.

It is astounding to me when I hear the vehement disagreement with the military's forays into information operations that seek to disseminate the truth and inform the Iraqi people in order to counter our enemy's blatant propaganda. As I assess various media entities, some are unquestionably engaged in political propaganda that is uncontrolled. There is no question in my mind that the strength our democracy and our freedoms remain linked to your ability to exercise freedom of the press - I adamantly support this basic foundation of our democracy and completely supported the embedding of media into our formations up until my last day in uniform. The issue is one of maintaining professional ethics and standards from within your institution. Military leaders must accept that these injustices will happen and whether they like what you print or not they must deal with you and enable you, if you are an ethical journalist.

Finally, I will leave this subject with a question that we must ask ourselves--who is responsible for maintaining the ethical standards of the profession in order to ensure that our democracy does not continue to be threatened by this dangerous shift away from your sacred duty of public enlightenment?

Kim provides links to an AP report, the New York Times, and the Washington Post where the first two left out the Generals total disdain for the media's "selective" reporting completely and the Post managed to fit in one paragraph at the end.

While General Sanchez's scathing accounts of the Bush administration's prosecution of the war may be ill advised while American soldiers are in harms way, his out-right lambasting of the mainstream media's total misrepresentation and lack of factual reporting in the theater (THAT THE MEDIA OMITTED PURPOSELY) is a story in itself.

How can the people of this country find out what the truth is by reading what is supposed to be our main source of information when the MSM uses their editors as pawns to fit any agenda-driven (insert your own adjective and noun here). I will just come out and say what needs to be said:

"TO THE THOSE JOURNALIST AND PUBLISHERS WHO FIT INTO THIS STORY, YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A PACK OF LIARS THAT HAVE DISTORTED EVERY ACCOUNT OF WHAT WAS THE VERY BEST THIS NATION HAS INTENDED TO RIGHT THE INJUSTICE'S AGAINST US------I NO LONGER QUESTION YOUR INTEGRITY, YOUR ETHICAL STANDARDS, OR YOUR PATRIOTISM-----YOU HAVE LOST THEM ALL BY YOUR SHAMEFUL ACTIONS AND PITIFUL EXCUSE FOR WHAT WE USED TO CALL JOURNALISM.".........ROVIN

Update: Debow at Blackfive has a good post up and the comments (from some who are “military”) are well thought out and expressed.

Others posting on this story:

Curt at Flopping Aces

Wretchard at the Belmont Club

Democrat Leadership Spitting on Military-----Again

Just when you thought you had seen almost everything the liberal democrats could do to prevent Gen. Petraeus and our military from achieving stability in the middle east, along comes the democratic Foreign Affairs Committee with an asinine resolution that may threaten military supply lines into Iraq:


A US congressional panel defied President George W. Bush on Wednesday and approved a measure calling the killings of Armenians early in the last century genocide. Bush had warned this would damage US goals in the Middle East.

The measure that would recognize the killings of Armenians as a genocide had been strongly opposed by Turkey, a key NATO ally that has provided support to US efforts in Iraq.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee's 27-21 vote now sends the measure to the full House floor _ unless the Democratic leadership reverses course and heeds Bush's warnings.
Bush and other senior officials had made a last-minute push to persuade lawmakers on the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee to reject the measure. LINK

With a majority of the peoples business yet to be dealt with in congress, the democrats "march" out a WWI disputable injustice to throw in the face of a country that has allowed the U.S. access to critical supply lines and safe passage into Iraq.

Shortly before Bush spoke against the resolution, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates stood before microphones on the White House driveway to express the administration' s worries.

Gates said that 70 percent of US air cargo headed for Iraq goes through Turkey, as does about a third of the fuel used by the US military in Iraq.

"Access to airfields and to the roads and so on in Turkey would very much be put at risk if this resolution passes and Turkey reacts as strongly as we believe they will," Gates said. He also said that 95 percent of the newly purchased Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles are being flown through Turkey to get to Iraq.

So, there you have it. Equipment critical to our military personnel may be held up or even delayed by months because of this resolution that happened almost a hundred years ago. First and foremost, I question this "leaderships" timing. What is the motivation for such a measure that could put our military in harms way? If Mr. Santos, (Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman) thought there were "security concerns", then why did he go forward?

The committee's chairman, Democratic Rep. Tom Lantos, expressed concerns about security implications of the resolution but ultimately voted in favor.

This measure now goes to the house floor for a full debate and vote as soon as next week. Write your local representative and let them know that the full support of our military comes ahead of the senseless legislation.

SCHIP AND 401K EXPANSIONS


Anti-capitalist socialist vs. a free market economy---where ideologys collide

We already have a government sponsored 401k retirement program. It's called Social Security, and it has not been solvent for years. If the democrats want the people of this nation to mimic the socialist policies of communist Russia a generation ago where dependency on the government failed, why don't they just come out and say it.

This nation was founded on independence and self-reliance of the individual and the framers saw how important it was to limit government intrusion. Every time we accept a new government "entitlement" we shackle and bind the next generation to a government controlled dependency. This is all about POWER AND CONTROL of our hard earned dollars to re-introduce the welfare state of the Carter administration that thought it was easier to feed the lazy who found it was more convenient to rely on the government than to get off their ass's and go to work every day.

This is the cruel and harsh reality of the programs that the new Mrs. Bill Clinton intends to craft for the sake of the "needy". The tax relief programs that Reagan and Bush introduced is what has provided real growth for this nation by putting the money back into the hands of the individual. The democrats believe it's their money to re-distribute as they see fit.

Rush Challenges Harry Reid: "Say It To My Face"

The Silencing of the Lions
by Rovin

So, in the period of one week three lions of conservative talk radio are "lionized", impugned, and smeared by an almost methodical (well planned) duration of diatribes. Bill O'Reilly , Rush Limbaugh, and Michael Savage are now categorized as racial, military hating bigots according to the democratic left. Somewhere there has to be a offensive attack on Sean Hannity. From Harry Reid and Tom Harkin to the San Francisco Supervisors, government officials are now entering the fray. Isn't there something in the first amendment that prohibits the government from restricting free speech?

Much of this barrage is emanating from a far left web site called Media Matters run by a one time conservative David Brock. It has been reported that Brock is being paid around 200k a year to take comments and opinions out of context to fit the liberals contention that conservative thought is filled with (insert your own adjective).

With the fallout of MoveOn.org's "betray-us" ad in the New York Times, the left has been pulling out all the stops in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Or, as AnonymousDrivel (a CQ commenter) puts it, " a dream Karl Rove could have never envisioned" :

"Hmmm. Maybe the MSM poll du jour can ask who has more credibility: Harry Reid's Democrat-led Senate or Rush Limbaugh... assuming the people they poll even know who Reid is?

The "Betray Us" ad is providing sweet, delicious schadenfreude the likes of which a Karl Rove could have never envisioned. As the Democrats throw spaghetti at the fridge to try and rehabilitate themselves from their Soros-funded complicity, we observe the wonderful, and thankfully more transparent, theater that is politics.One would have to engage in the willing suspension of disbelief to think that Democrat wailing will tarnish Rush's known and undeniable support of the military. The Left's distraction can be seen for what it is and Rush has just been given more ammo to fire at his critics. It'll be a turkey-shoot."

While much of the attention is on Rush's comment about "phony soldiers" where it is obvious that he was referring to the Jesse Macbeth's fabrications, Savage is being attacked by the "kings and queens" of hypocrisy, the San Francisco Supervisors.

From the WorldNetDaily:

San Francisco supervisors condemn Savage: Officials pass resolution against talker for 'hate speech'

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today condemned nationally syndicatedradio talk-show host Michael Savage, whose program originates in city by the bay, for "hate speech."It was the board's second attempt at a resolution to condemn Savage for his criticism of illegal aliens in the U.S.In August, a single vote by a member whose grandfather emigrated from China seven decades ago halted a similar resolution in its tracks.The previous vote was 9-1, with third generation San Franciscan Ed Jew turning in the veto vote, after getting up and affirming Savage's First Amendment right to express his opinion.Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval had introduced the resolution in August to condemn the radio talker. After the vote, he called for the tally to be rescinded and the proposal sent to committee, which essentially is a polite way of letting the issue die."For the record, I do not agree with comments allegedly made by Mr. Savage, but the First Amendment gives him the right to make those comments," Jew said.Sandoval responded with a personal challenge to Jew."If this commentary was directed at the Chinese-American or the Asian community, you would not be resorting to this rigid formalism on your part," he said.

Daniel A. Horowitz of Oakland, Calif., wrote to Savage after Sandoval introduced his resolution."You have a strong federal civil rights action that you can file against Supervisor Sandoval and the city of San Francisco," he advised. "You have a constitutional right to state your political opinions and no city official has the right to lie about what you said or to call for a mob to come to your door to threaten you and to try to have you fired...............

It seems apparent that our dear friends on the the left are in the mode of a total meltdown when it comes to the first amendment rights that have stood as a bedrock for democracy. Many have also suggested that this is a precursor to bring back the "Fairness Doctrine", a sure fire way to "silence the lions".

Update: The influencepeddler (a site devoted to the lefts hypocrisy) has an excellent post up here.

Update # 2: Mike at Flopping Aces has a post up called "Phony Congress/Phony Patriots" that illustrates the hypocrisy of the democratic leadership.

Update # 3: Sharon at Gold Plated Witch on Wheels exclaims "If it wasn't obvious before, liberals hate free speech."

Update #4: Rush takes on Harry Reid

Why Do They Have To Lie?

Paul at Wizbang pulls no punches when it comes to our dear friends on the left that have a party so fractured that now a Senate Majority Leader has to bring the debate to a lower level by attacking Rush Limbaugh. One might have thought that the donkeys might have waited for a few months before wasting what credibility a once respected party deserved. (note to dems: you gotta work on your fabrication skills.)

Ried is a Grade A Left-Wing Moonbat.
by Paul from Wizbang

With all the other good news coming out of Iraq this month (see below) Reid has to change the subject. So he introduced a bill condemning Limbaugh in the Senate. Big mistake. The movone.org and backfired on Democrats and so will this. The problem is Rush's comments where not egregious in any way. In fact, two days before Rush made his comments, ABC News used the same language and the same context to report on the Department of Justice crackdown called Operation Stolen Valor. -- As many people on the right know, there is a growing problem of "Phony Heroes." (Surprise! The Left has no idea what is important to our military!)……….Link

There's a healthy debate in comments...........

Two words ........ Jesse MacBeth

SCHIP

Jaylord, a commenter over at Captains Quarters has come up with the perfect (so far) commercial for the SCHIP program the democratic party has revised, promoted and distorted:

Posted by Jaylord September 27, 2007 10:37 AM

The Republicans can actually use this to their advantage if they have the courage. SCHIP also covers "kids" up to 25. Imagine the following commercial, a loose parody of the AFLAC commercial featuring the guy with his arm in a cast and the duck paying all his bills, even the paying for the Chinese food being delivered:

Two guys sitting in a filthy living room on a ratty couch playing a violent video game, pizza boxes and beer bottles lying everywhere. The guys are obviously in their early twenties, scraggly facial hair, bad tatoos, unkempt hair and dirty concert teeshirts.

Guy One: (stops playing and shakes hand) Dude! I've been playing for three days straight and my hand really hurts! Time to go to the doctor.

Guy Two: But dude! You haven't had a job since you dropped out of college. How you gonna afford a doctor?

Guy One: No sweat dude! Hillary and the gang's got my back. They passed that SCHIP thingy and now I get free health care. Who needs a job when Hillary's taking care of you? (Takes a big swig of beer and belches out) Thanks Hillary!

Guy Two: (Also takes a big swig of beer and belches out) Yeah, thanks Hillary!
Both laugh and start playing the video game again...

But there's no way anybody on the right has the stones or imagination to come up with something like this. [:-(]


Standby Jaylord, you may see this commercial sooner than you think.

Not Columbia's Finest Moment

While Columbia University awaits their provided platform for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , the U.S. military has announced Sunday that Iran is smuggling missiles and other advanced weapons into Iraq:

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military accused Iran on Sunday of smuggling surface-to-air missiles and other advanced weapons into Iraq for use against American troops.

The charge comes as Iran's leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is set to begin his first full day in New York City where he plans to speak at Columbia University ahead of his address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday

Military spokesman Rear Adm. Mark Fox said U.S. troops were continuing to find Iranian-supplied weaponry including the Misagh 1, a portable surface-to-air missile that uses an infrared guidance system.

Other advanced Iranian weaponry found in Iraq includes the RPG-29 rocket-propelled grenade, 240 mm rockets and armor-piercing roadside bombs known as explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, Fox said........... (link)

Patterico has an excellent post up concerning Iran’s presidents appearance here.

And this is my comment left a Patterico's post:

"As valuable as rigorous scholarship may be in understanding the world, it has its limitations"......from Taylors article.

"And this defines the state of our "enlightened" higher educational system in the 21st century. The next question for President Bollinger would be if Osama Bin Laden were available, would he be provided a platform? Perhaps if Jeffery Dahmer had been allowed to speak at Columbia, we would have understood his "taste for humanity" too.".........Rovin

GW's Answer for "Movement.Org"

The Amendment was to commend 'every' man and woman serving in Iraq, including Gen Petraeus, and it stated so in the amendment. The democrats didn't vote against the General, they voted against every person in the military..... (commenter at CQ)



Posted by docjim505 September 19, 2007 6:30 PM

Here are the problems with comparing Saddam / Iraq to World War II:

1. We know how World War II turned out: we won. What is the saying? "Victory has a thousand fathers, while defeat is an orphan." Since World War II turned out well for us, EVERYBODY thinks of it as "a good war". We don't know yet how Iraq will turn out; if the libs have their way, it'll be the worst US disaster since Vietnam (another war they scuttled).

2. Evidence of Hitler's evil is well-documented and widely known. He's been the ultimate villain in American minds since 1945, the undisputed Worst Man in History.* Saddam was an amateur compared to him, and there are no undisputed tallies of just how many people he DID murder.**

3. Hindsight is ALWAYS 20 / 20. Looking back at 1919 or 1925 or 1933 or 1935 or 1938, it's obvious that Hitler was up to no good and had to be stopped. We don't have that sort of hindsight with regard to Saddam.

So a few questions to starfleet_dude and the rest of you who stoutly maintain that Saddam was not a threat, that he was contained, that we were just a bunch of ol' meanies when we picked on him:

How many nazis were there in Germany in 1929, i.e. ten years before the German invasion of Poland? Did anybody but the most hysterical alarmist think that Germany, still bloody and battered from its defeat just ten years before, was REALLY a threat to world peace? After all, there were the various terms of the Versaille Treaty to ensure that Germany had only a small, defensive army. Germany was contained, right? And who was afraid of those doofuses in the brown shirts? Why would anybody think that Germans would be crazy enough to follow a gang of losers like them?

How big a threat did Japan pose to the United States in 1931, ten years before the attack on Pearl Harbor? Anybody know just how puny Japan's industrial base was compared to ours, even counting the effects of the Depression? What was the population of Japan relative to the United States? Why would anybody but the worst alarmist in the Navy Department EVER think that Japan would be a major threat to the United States? And who would ever think that the Japanese would be crazy enough to pick a fight with a country so much larger and stronger than they were?

Since libs doubtless miss the point, let me be explicit: the world is not static. The world is not predictable. The nation that is your friend today may be your enemy tomorrow. The nation that doesn't seem a threat today may kick your ass a year from now. Claims that Saddam was "contained" are hollow as we simply don't know (and, happily, will never have to find out) what he and Iraq might have done five or ten years from now. Would the sanctions regime have held together? Almost certainly not. Would Saddam have tried to get more WMD, including nukes? A safe bet that he would. Would the UN have stopped him? Don't make me laugh!

When you say that "Saddam wasn't a threat to the United States in 2002", remember that Nazi Germany wasn't a threat to us in 1932... but we were in a desperate war with them just ten years later.

----------
(*) I've often mused about the fact that Hitler wins the title while Stalin finishes a distant third behind Schickelgruber and George Bush (or whoever the libs decide to hate on a given day). Stalin and his goons murdered far more people that the nazi regime did, yet many on the left still have fond regard for Uncle Joe and the USSR. I guess Stalin just had better PR (Walter Duranty, anyone?).

(**) Libs often sneer that more people have died in Iraq as a result of our liberation than were murdered by Saddam. Question: how many people did Hitler murder, and how many died as a result of the "Great Crusade" to liberate Europe from his odious clutches? Was World War II therefore not worth it?.............

Discovered in Captain's Quarters. Thrusday, Sept 20th, 2007

(Special thanks to docjim for his deliberate articulation)

Zawahiri is nothing but a "Tokyo Rose" by any other name. Baghdad Bob attempted to paint a similar picture as Saddam's tenure was eliminated. Bin Laden is said to be preparing to declare war on Pakistan, which leads some to think his "welcome mat" may have worn out.

At home, the Democratic Party’s latest effort to damage/sabotage surge success in Iraq fails in Senate. Webb’s attempt to use his military prowess formulating a troop deployment strategy that he had to know would wreck havoc on command and control in the theater got "shot down" for the second time.

What the "defeatocrats" don't seem to come to grips with is that following the meter-maids in the mainstream media that promote defeat and surrender for the advancement of a political agenda is not what this nation will stand for. When our brave soldiers are pounding our enemies on all fronts and propaganda machine of Al-Qaeda shows it's desperation by finding "new" countries to declare war against, many will wonder how far we could have advanced in the war on terrorism if this nation were united in victory instead of betraying a general who has givin his life to protect this nation from harm............Rovin

New York Times Releases the Hounds

Just in time for the upcoming election cycle, the "curtain" will fall from the New York Times (Times-Select) vision of charging it's online readers to read the content of their prized "journalist". While the paper continues to fall in circulation and revenues, the Times estimates a loss of ten million from their subscription services. But what's a measly ten million when it comes to unleashing another 5-10 writers that can show how much they hate Bush and conservatives. It wouldn't be surprising if Soro's and Move-On paid the ten million for the buffoonery upgrade.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Times Co said on Monday it will end its paid TimesSelect Web service and make most of its Web site available for free in the hopes of attracting more readers and higher advertising revenue.

TimesSelect will shut down on Wednesday, two years after the Times launched it, which charges subscribers $7.95 a month or $49.95 a year to read articles by columnists such as Maureen Dowd and Thomas Friedman.

The trademark orange "T's" marking premium articles will begin disappearing Tuesday night, said the Web site's Vice President and General Manager Vivian
Schiller.

The move is an acknowledgment by The Times that making Web site visitors pay for content would not bring in as much money as making it available for free and supporting it with advertising.

"We now believe by opening up all our content and unleashing what will be millions and millions of new documents, combined with phenomenal growth, that that will create a revenue stream that will more than exceed the subscription revenue," Schiller said. (link)

There's that word again, unleashing. One would have to wonder is Michael Vick would approve of unleashing dogs with no other purpose than to attack. Of course, this may be a little different world out there to our "hidden" dogs of prey. I'm sure the Bush-bashing trio of Dowd, Krugman, and Friedman will have their "opinions" quoted in the lefty blogs like it was scripture from the bible. And, hopefully the conservative bloggers will seize the opportunity to expose the agenda of the liberal press that now no longer holds back their obvious bias.

Speaking of media bias, did you catch one of the leading cheerleaders of BDS, Chris Mattews, (taking Greenspan's comments out of context) leads the way supplying a talking points memo for Obama:

"Should we put Exxon signs up over Arlington Cemetery and Mobil signs up there, like they have at baseball stadiums?"

The "no blood for oil" lunatics are in full bloom with this latest work of "journalism". Grab hold of your keyboards folks. It's gonna be a long winter.

Rovinsworld: Add 50,000 more troops to Iraqi Theater

Try this logic out for size. If, when we added 20,000 troops and the strategy of "clear and hold" accomplished stability in those regions, then another 50,000 for a six month all out "super-surge" just might do the trick. Of course, the only way to add these numbers to the theater would mean deploying troops stationed in other parts of the world that would weaken the strategic positions for a short period of time. It would be like moving all your houses and hotels onto Boardwalk and banking on your opponent to land there. Once is all it would take and blammo, game over.

But this is not a game, I know. The real game is going on in congress with the democrats attempting to find some footing as to what's the next best thing to their cut-n-run policy that has failed as miserably as the Move-ON ad in the New York Times. Questioning the integrity of a 4-Star General with impeccable credentials may not have been the most brilliant move the Soro's/Anti-war crowd has made, but it sure puts their feet (stance) firmly in the cement. We know exactly where these cowards stand. And there's a bunch of democrats standing on the edge just waiting to see how deep the hole is before they decide to step in.

President Bush's prime time speech (6pm on the west coast), is said to be endorsing General Petraeus's recommendations:

President Bush will endorse the recommendation of Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and and announce this week a withdrawal of almost 30,000 U.S. forces from Iraq by next summer, administration officials say.

Gen. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, testified Monday before lawmakers that he favored the reduction in forces as long as decisions about future troop levels were postponed until next summer as well.

The president's troop reduction, which will be announced in a nationally televised speech at 9 p.m. tomorrow, will be a few thousand less than the 30,000 advised by Gen. Petraeus, a White House official told The Washington Times on the condition of anonymity. (link)

While the President hates playing the political games that democrats have employed for the past two years to advance themselves on the backs of our military, and an unpopular war, he also may be (grudgingly) looking out for his party's precarious position that has divided this nations ability to stand strong in the face of the bigger picture. The war on terrorism will not fade away with concessions and signs of weakness, (the ardent strategy of the democratic party), and the fact that Osama Bin laden is banking on this "weakness" to re-establish his own losses that have transpired during Petraeus's tenure in Iraq, reminds us all of the "bigger picture". Now if we could just get Bin Laden to step on Boardwalk, (or a one of his own IED's) during a ramped up offensive, maybe our "friends" on the left wouldn't be so willing to wade into the hole of defeat.

(Side note: I also believe the strategies that the democratic party has embraced may very well be a referendum on the impact of the 08' elections. Their promise of a "change in direction" (that they think got them elected on 06") on the prosecution of the war in Iraq did not include the defeat and retreat policies of failure into the hands of Bin Laden, Al-Queda, and the greater war on terrorism.

Catering/embracing the agenda of the anti-war left and the minions/lemmings following the garbage spewed by the likes of Soro's funded Move-On may be what it will take for a once respected party (that put the nations security ahead of their own political ambitions) and embrace political leaders that will not accept defeat at the hands of our sworn enemies.)


Wordsmith at Flopping Aces has a nice set of cartoons describing the state of the democrats "blindness" to the Generals report.

Gatewaypundit has a post up that shows how the democratic leadership is scrambling/editing their comments.

Remembering 9/11

"The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve." - President George W. Bush, September 11, 2001 Address to the Nation

Jay Tea and Lorie Byrd at Wizbang have some somber reflections here and here.

Fox News Nails Exclusive Interview with Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker


Brit Hume will have the "interview" of the year with Petraeus and Crocker on Monday night, 9pm eastern, (6pm on the west coast) on Fox News. Just days before the two are scheduled to report the progress of security in Iraq to the President and to congress, this interview should be an advance look into that report.

Why Fox News? The simple answer is.......why not. While the liberal left believes that Fox is nothing but a microphone for the right, one can certainly make the same argument that other cable networks like CNN, MSNBC, who daily spend their time echoing democratic talking points and pandering to the anti-war left's premise that this war is lost and it is all the fault of the Bush Administration.

Overall, (with the exception of talk radio), the mainstream media has hammered the Bush Administration with the conduct of the war, (sometimes justifiably), with 90% of their reporting being negative before the surge was announced last spring. That this figure has dropped only a few percentage points after General Petraeus took over operations that have proved to be successful military stability in several key provinces, the left leaning mainstream media has shown little regard for the progress. Even while key congressional democrats have made trips to Iraq and reported back that they indeed see this new "bottom up" change in the attitudes of the Iraqi people, (who have also tired of the insurgency and Al-Qaeda led atrocities and brutality), daily papers such as the New York Times and the Washington Post have bled their newsprint with little but failure and destitution on America's war against terrorism.

Even more bizarre are the myriad of statements by some key democratic leaders that General Petraeus's report to congress will be nothing but fabrications. Richard Durbin leads the way with this attack by saying "We know what is going to be in it. It's clear. I think the president's trip over to Iraq makes it very obvious," the Illinois Democrat said. "I expect the Bush report to say, 'The surge is working. Let's have more of the same."

While S.A. Miller at the Washingtion Times reports (here) the obvious agenda of the democratic party, Republicans bristled at the pre-emptive strike against the report:

"Are these leaders asking the American people to believe that the testimony of a commanding four-star general in the U.S. Army should be discarded before it's even delivered?" said Brian Kennedy, spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican.

"If so, these statements completely ignore what's truly at stake in this war and suggest that neither the commander in chief nor our chief commander on the ground have any regard for the lives of the men and women fighting for this country," he said. "It's appallng, and I think the American people — rightfully — will continue to stick by the decisions of our commanders and troops on the ground when it comes to what is best for their safety and security."

While the cause for a successful solution to win this war that has (finally) shown real progress, the political intrusion into this battle will get nothing but uglier. Some of my sources say that the democrats are already too committed to failure to look at any positive results that Petraeus and Crocker will report to this nation. How they will react to Brit Hume's interview Monday night will let many know how invested in failure they are.

Ed Morrissey at Captain's Quarters has a post up that explains how the surge is effecting the media and politicos here.

Paul at Wizbang also has a post up that questions some of the journalist who may be lacking the experience to be called "journalist" here.

New RovinsWorld poll finds disturbing facts:

A new RovinsWorld poll says 85% of liberal democrats are brain-dead. The poll also said that 75% of Americans believe that 9/11 truthers are descendants or clones of Jim Jones. When asked if Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi should be representatives of the Taliban or an Al-Qaeda led organization, over 90% responded positively yes. The 3% approval rating given to the democratic congress has been revised to 2.5% and is expected to drop further after General Petraeus's report next week. Another 85% of those polled also believe that global warming is a procedure to check Al Gores brain cells. 75% of democrats polled believed that Hillary Clinton's national health care plan was only reserved for WWF Wrestlers, Football Players, American Idol rejects, and China mainland fundraisers.

Look for a new RovinsWorld poll presented weekly until after Fred Thompson's inaugural speech on January 20th, 2009

Update: New Al-Queda polls shows democrats advancing in numbers while tail-spinning in U.S. polls. Bin Laden says he won't hold a chair at the table for long. Richard Durbin said today "these schedules may need a timetable to get where Osama wants us, but we're making headway." Durbin was also still looking up the word "surge".

Critical Benchmark Achieved

COIN: Iraqi Police take over in Fallujah

Grim at Blackfive has a post up on another positive improvement in Iraq:


The last battalion of Iraqi soldiers with 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division, withdrew from the Anbar Province city of Fallujah, Sept. 1, leaving the city’s security and stability in the hands of the local police and government.

Brig. Gen. Ali al-Hashemi, the brigade’s commander, said the time had come when Iraqi Police alone could handle law enforcement in the city. (read the complete post here)

While searching google for any major news media that has reported this significant improvement, I have yet to find ONE.

"When we begin to draw down troops from Iraq, it will be from a position of strength and success, not from a position of fear and failure. The decision will be made on a calm assessment by our military commanders based on the conditions on the ground, not a nervous reaction by Washington politicians or poll results in the media.".......George W. Bush

FROM NEWSBUSTERS!

Zogby Says Most Americans Believe Iraq War Not Lost: Press Says...Nothing
By Richard Newcomb August 30, 2007 - 22:47 ET

A new Zogby Poll says that 54 percent of Americans believe Iraq is not a lost cause. However, the mainstram media have so far not managed to report much if anything on the startling new poll.

A majority of Americans - 54% - believe the United States has not lost the war in Iraq, but there is dramatic disagreement on the question between Democrats and Republicans, a new UPI/Zogby Interactive poll shows. While two in three Democrats (66%) said the war effort has already failed, just 9% of Republicans say the same. (link)

Government Your Local Support.....

Scott Ott at Scrappleface is at his finest in this post:

BUSH TO AID TROUBLED MORTGAGE HOLDERS, VEGAS LOOSERS

(2007-08-31) — President George Bush today ordered the heads of the Treasury and Housing departments to find ways to help prevent people stuck with high-risk subprime mortgages from defaulting on those loans during a housing slump. In an addendum to his memo, he also directed his Cabinet Secretaries to help “cushion the blow” for people who make losing bets in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and “other regional investment centers.”

“This is what government does best,” said the president, who campaigned for office as a Republican. “It’s government’s job to protect the people who gamble from enduring any negative consequences of that behavior.” (read the whole thing here)

Local Artist Nearing Completion

Local Humboldt County Artist Duane Flatmo says this will most likely be the largest canvas, (70 by 120 feet), he will ever work on. Duane's been working on this all summer and may finish in the next few weeks. The building is the Arkley Center for the Preforming Arts owned and renevated by Rob and Cherie Arkley.

Check out more of Flatmo's work here

I've watched Duane working on this mural since the begining. Duane also does our Redwood Coast Jazz Festival Poster. Very nice work Mr. Flatmo. Eureka thanks you.

Bush's Vacation

Mike at Flopping Aces points out the highlights of Bush's "vacation":

If this is a vacation, what is work like?

President Bush started his annual summer "vacation" meeting with the new French President, the pro-American Nicolas Sarkozy, who dropped over from his own vacation in nearby New Hampshire to visit with the Bush family at their Kennebunkport, Maine retreat.

Yesterday, President Bush was in Canada, where the "most pro-American leader in the Western world," Prime Minister Stephen Harper hosted a summit with the U.S. and Mexico..........
(Link to complete post)


Mainstream Media Crisis Continues......by Rovin

Eye of the Storm found in the "un-credible" sources.

While the media storm is shifting from boots on the ground, (George Bush's and General Petraeus's successful "surge") to the lack of political reconciliation in Iraq, the mainstream media, (MSM), has been exposed to a conspirisy of producing un-named sources in the form of pseudonyms.

Attempting to shape the dialogue for Petraeus's upcoming September report to congress and the public, it has been discovered that the MSM has been soliciting sources for their publications that are questionable at best and may be self-producing the sources when they have none.

In the wake of AP's Jamil Hussein ghost-writing debacle, and the recent fabrications written by The "Baghdad Diarist," writing under the pseudonym Scott Thomas, some news media outlets have been cautious, while others are going about their "business as usual" by publishing storys that have little or no credibility. Look for this method of producing "news" to escalate next month and on into the election cycle. Newsbusters may want to increase their staff for a bit------their going to be busy.


Jack Bauer Doomed..........by Rovin

Time right for Garofalo on '24'

Actress-comedian Janeane Garofalo, an outspoken liberal, is set to co-star on the conservative-leaning real-time drama, whose co-creator/executive producer Joel Surnow jokingly describes himself as a "right-wing nut job...........

"Garofalo's appearences on the West Wing and Air America (both now defunct) will spell the downfall of a failing 24 by the end of the current season. "Sleeping with the enemy" comes to mind. (The Hollywood Reporter contributed to this report)

What is the State of the Democratic Party?

Can they even attempt to withdraw the contempt they have had for our military? Can a victory for a Nation go a long way towards stability and peace? Or do they even care? Now they are attempting to frame the report by General Petraeus before the man has prepared it. Are the Democrats so invested in failure that they see no success? And can we call this "leadership"?

Will they ever come to their senses? The video says it all.

Credibility on the ground in Iraq

by Beldars Blog:

The following paragraph, from one of war correspondent Michael Yon's latest dispatches, vividly and directly states a theme that has been implicit in much of his writing:

"Large numbers of Iraqis detested us after the prisoner abuse stories, and some over-the-top attacks on Fallujah, for example. But through time, somehow the American military has managed to establish a moral authority in Iraq. It’s not the only authority, but the military has serious and increasing moral clout. In the beginning, our influence flowed from guns, or dropped from the wings of jets. Later it was the money. Today, the clout still is partially from the gun, and definitely the money is key, but there is an intangible and growing moral clout and it flows from an increasing respect among Iraqis for our military. Washington has no moral clout in Iraq. Washington looks like a circus act. The authority is coming from our military. The importance of this fact would be difficult to understate."

There's much anticipation among pundits and, perhaps, the public to hear what Gen. Petraeus will have to say in his promised status report in September, and I don't mean to suggest that it's going to be unimportant. But the reason I value Yon's writing so much is that he gives us rolling, on-going first-person observations, along with status reports, from the captains and the majors and the lieutenant colonels in the field. It's not sugar-coated, and it's not larger than life reporting; to the contrary, it is usually very granular and specific. But it aggregates......

Read the complete post

New Home Run King

Barry Bonds completed his journey to the top of the major league home run record last night against the Washington Nationals:

SAN FRANCISCO -- Now he is second to none.

Barry Bonds joined the pantheon of the baseball gods Tuesday night at AT&T Park by hitting his 756th homer, passing the legendary Hank Aaron to take over perhaps Major League Baseball's most hallowed record: first place on the all-time home run list.

The homer, Bonds' 22nd of the season, ended Aaron's more than 33-year reign as MLB's home run king. Aaron has held at least a tie for the top spot on the homer list since he knotted Babe Ruth on April 4, 1974, Opening Day of that season at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium.

"Right now, I'm very happy that it's all over with," Bonds said long after the Nationals defeated his Giants, 8-6. "I'm really happy with my teammates. That's the most important thing. And the fans, like I said, the fans here are my family. No one will ever take that away. No one can ever take that away.".......... LINK

Patton Lives On........

You heard the "weatherman" (NYTs), there will be no change.........

The New York Times, (by their own admission), has again published a classified document:

July 24, 2007

U.S. Is Seen in Iraq Until at Least ’09

By MICHAEL R. GORDON

BAGHDAD, July 23 — While Washington is mired in political debate over the future of Iraq, the American command here has prepared a detailed plan that foresees a significant American role for the next two years.

The classified plan, which represents the coordinated strategy of the top American commander and the American ambassador, calls for restoring security in local areas, including Baghdad, by the summer of 2008. "Sustainable security" is to be established on a nationwide basis by the summer of 2009, according to American officials familiar with the document. LINK


Bravo, Mr. Gordon ------- take two steps forward in your quest to the top of the list of "public enemies".

Cloture Vote Fails to Pass on Cut and Run Democrat Proposal

The Democrat Proposal to turn their backs on the people of Iraq and our valiant military failed to achieve cloture 52 to 47 after a two day marathon of political theater that amounted to little more than the pantering to the anti-war left cowards of Move-On and the rest of the cheerleaders who did not care about the ramifications of a time-line for withdrawel from the field of battle. The Levin/Reid amendment would have sent a crucial signal to al Queda and the enemies against us that we were ready to give in and surrender in the face of victory.

Reid of Nevada voted no? Did I hear this right?

Casa Blanca was just mentioned by the minority leader in refering to tactics employed by the democrats.

Mr. Reid and indeed all of the Democrats should now heed the will of the senate that this nation will not cut and run from our enemies. And this should also send the message to General David Petraeus and our troops that we intend to defeat al queda in Iraq and where ever they may hide in the world. Take that caliphate and shove it where the sun don't shine.

Hopefully this will be the last we hear of defeatism while our military runs al queda out of Iraq during this surge. And then our brave soldiers can return home with honor.

Reid did vote no on cloture------it's called procedural.

The Political Process

(click on cartoon to enlarge)

Open House

Rovinsworld is taking a deserved break.............kinda. It's time for the Blues by the Bay

Independent*

* Not governed by a foreign power; self-governing. Free from the influence, guidance, or control of another or others; self-reliant: an independent mind. Not determined or influenced by someone or something else; not contingent: a decision independent of the outcome of the study.

Who: the Second Continental Congress
What: the Declaration of Independence
Where: Philadelphia
When: July 4, 1776
Why: to declare the Thirteen colonies "Free and Independent States... Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown" of King George III.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident,that all men are created equal,that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

In 1778, General George Washington marked the Fourth of July with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and an artillery salute.

When Benjamin Franklin said, upon signing the Declaration of Independence, "We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately," it was no less than the literal truth.

As we celebrate the 4th of July, this nation needs more than ever to "hang together", and let us remember those who are giving the ultimate sacrifice to bring independence to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan that also deserve to be free from tyranny and oppression. May God bless all of them and watch over them in their endeavors. Amen.





And "Let Freedom Ring" !!!

Martina McBride