The NY Times must be wishing for a Ministry of Truth and the Memory Hole (see George Orwell's 1984)so we mere mortals wouldn't be able to see what they said in 2006 and 2007 and what they were forced to report in 2008.
Stories on Sarah Palin and why the Democrats are going nuts with her selection for VP.
Here
here
here and here.
When Muslim's conquer Christian territory, its a permanent victory and nothing can be done about it.
When Christians conquer Muslim territory, its an illegal occupation that needs to be rectified in the future (think Spain).
And if Jews take land from the locals who made it a desert and make it a garden (Israel), then holy war must be started to reclaim the land and return it to a desert.
Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.
Every single combat death and injury sustained by our fighting forces is a deep loss. But those who decry the 4000 military deaths related to the liberation of Iraq as somehow a disproportionate historic disaster do not have much perspective. A Navy vet reader of AT who prefers anonymity has produced a graphic representation to supply some perspective:
As the situation in Iraq continues to improve, will the Democrats continue to insist the situation is hopeless and we must run away?
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Is Iraq getting safer? Well General David Petraeus, US Commander, and the person every terrorist would like to kill is walking around Baghdad without a helmet and without body armor.
Soon Baghdad will be as safe as Washington DC, and could be there as far as the murder rate goes (not counting deaths by IED's).
Things are changing and in a good way in Iraq. I hope it continues.
Greyhawk over at Mudville Gazette shares a creation from Iraq. Click on the YouTube.
Hat tip John at Castle Argghhhh!!! scroll down
Using children or the mentally disabled as suicide bombers is the only way al-Qaida can attack the people in Iraq these days.
We know that Syria is either sponsoring or encouraging them with money, arms and people. So can we say for every terrorist attack in Iraq, we will drop one MOAB in Syria? After all, if all is legal in Jihad, then why shouldn't we play by their rules?
Victor Davis Hanson has a very good article on how to solve the problems in the Middle East. He looks at 5 other areas where there were territorial disputes and how the world solved the problem and asks why the same can't be done here. A very good article.
Now the folks of Gaza have blown up the fence between Gaza and Egypt so people could flee the hell hole of Haamas and buy supplies.
While Egypt says the fault of the crisis in Gaza belongs to Israel, Israel's response sums up why they keep closing the border between Gaza and Israel.
"Why should we supply electricity to Gaza, when the Kassam rocket operators aim their shots at the very power station in Israel that is supposed to provide that electricity?" a Jerusalem official asked yesterday, speaking to the Sun on the condition of anonymity. He referred to recent attempts by Gaza-based Palestinian Arabs to hit a power station in Israel's major city of Ashkelon.
Yesterday I wrote about how Israel was cutting off fuel to Gaza because Haamas was firing rockets into Israel. Well today, Israel has allowed some fuel to be sent and has promised to keep supplying electricity to Gaza. In reply, Haamas sent more rockets into Israel.
Maybe Israel should make a policy, for every rocket fired, they will tear down one house or city block, start with those buildings nearest Israel or nearest the crossing points and continue towards Egypt and the sea. Tell the folks there the buildings will continue to be torn down until the rockets stop and remind the people of Gaza, they elected Haamas and therefore can vote them out of office.
If the people say Haamas is not a democratic party, but rather running a dictatorship, well the people still have the right of revolution to rid themselves of the people who are causing the misery. Ok, so this is a dream and won't happen. If Mexico was firing rockets into the US, do you think the US would respond by sending fuel there? Or if Germany was firing rockets into France, do you think France would respond? Why doesn't Israel have the same right?
The thought police have come to Canada. This is in the province of Alberta, which is more conservative then say British Columbia or Ontario. This is rather frightening from a free speech point of view.
The PM of Israel is telling the folks living in the Gaza strip since they are allowing rockets to be fired from their land into Israel, Israel isn't going to supply anymore gasoline so they can walk. Wow, actions have consequences. Besides it will be harder to move the rockets from the factories to the launching site by hand cart and easier to detect them.
The EU of course is asking Israel to resume the fuel to Gaza. I think Israel should tell the EU to go pound sand or deport the entire population of Gaza to Belgium since they are so fond of rocket launching terrorists and their supporters. Remember, the people of Gaza elected Haamas and actions finally have consequences.
Two stories from Iraq, Pete Hegseth at NRO looks at the political developments in Iraq and how US political leaders could learn something from them. The second compares how the NY Times verses a boot on the ground sees the same offensive. David French explain why an operation where bad guys did escape is not necessarily a bad thing. Its an interesting perspective from someone who is there.
Some of the Republicans are talking about tax cuts and spending cuts. The economy is the biggest concern from Republicans. But while it is easy to talk the talk (after all, candidates who tell the electorate what they don't want to hear (remember president Walter Mondale who promised to raise our taxes if he won, neither do I) generally don't win elections or nominations. Larry Kudlow looks at the statements from McCain and Romney. McCain I do not believe because of his record for the last 8 years, he's saying the right thing, but I just do not trust him to do what he says. I haven't made up my mind about the other candidates yet, my ballot is sitting on my desk now and have to decide who I want to vote for. Any suggestions other then McCain, Huckabee or Paul are welcome. I WILL not vote for any of them in the primary.
Citigroup is writing off more bad mortgages. This latest write off will hurt their balance sheet but do not know if it will really hurt their cash flow or if this is more of a bookkeeping entry.
Finally, Airbus says it will build the KC-30 tankers in the US if it wins the contract. Personally, I just assume buy Boeing 777's, put an extra gas tank in the luggage compartments and use the rest of the space for cargo (like the KC-10) and be done with it. Why are we still flying tankers that were build in the early 1960s? Their engines are not as efficient as current engines, their airframes are old and we use our tankers a lot.
Have a good day.
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Yeah, a lot of news out there today and we have rain in SoCal. This is the first major rain of the season as far as I remember and I have to claim full responsibility for it. My wife drove my car yesterday (a Prius with carpool lane stickers) since she had to go to downtown Los Angeles, and being the wonderful woman she is took my car to the car wash for me. So I had a nice clean car yesterday and so of course today we have lots of rain.
Stem Cells created without embryos. If this turns out to be true as the press is reporting, will those who decried President Bush for limiting Federal funding for embryonic stem cell research apologise?
Iraq, why are politicians in favor, against and now more in favor of the war and the reconstruction? Is it because the US and Iraqi people are winning? I have more respect for Sen. Obama who opposed the war all along (even if I disagree with him) then with Sen Edwards who was for the war, then against and now maybe for it again.
Why are Republicans who sign a pledge to uphold a Bush veto on spending voting to override his veto on said spending bill? My own two cents, the earmarks in the bill go to their districts or to their supporters. Another reason why we need transparency in the budget process so we can see who is putting these earmarks in and hold them accountable.
Guns in homes where children play. If you have a gun, make sure it is secure. Know who your kids spend time with. And remember train your kids in firearm safety so they will be safe if they come across a gun in a friends house. The article also selectively uses some statistics to make its case, the folks at Lucianne have some interesting comments.
Making a point about global warming in the Arctic was cancelled due to the extreme cold. So we had to put a lot more carbon dioxide into the air to rescue these fools. If you are going to go to the Arctic or Antarctic, be prepared and don't believe your own hype.
Have a good weekend.
Well did you watch the debate last night? To be honest, I didn't. I can't watch people talk and talk and not say anything for very long.
Well today, all over the Internet, you can find someone who agrees with you on who won the debate. Hugh Hewitt thinks Romney won it. Patrick Ruffini at Hewitt's site things Huckabee won as does Captain Quarters. Others think others won and many comments on these sites say the whole thing was a sham.
Michelle Malkin has a long post on the various questions asked by Democratic Operatives who claimed to be undecided voters.
CNN did a very poor job in screening its questions and not making disclosures. Even if the questions were legitimate, by not disclosing the asker is a supporter or works for a democratic presidential candidate, it voids the question and make the dem candidate appear to be engaging in dirty tricks.
CNN acted like they never heard of Google to check the people selected to ask questions.
And the media wonders why Americans hold them in such low regard.
In other news:
The democrats are the new Tories from the Revolutionary days? Interesting article but I can't quite agree with the premise. Tories in the Revolutionary War days were actively supporting the British against those fighting for independence. They took up arms, worked for the British government and actively supported the British Crown. That is very different from what the Democrats are doing today. They are opposing the War in Iraq, but that is different from actively supporting the other side. Now if the Democratic Party starts to send people over to work for insurgents in Iraq, being foot solders, raising money etc. then they could be called the Torrie's or Loyalists from Revolutionary Days. As of now, they are just political opponents.
And finally, a look at the dollar, is it falling or are other currencies rising? Yes there can be a difference.
Have a good day.
Yep a lot of news today some of it makes me just shake my head.
Iraq:
Grave diggers have less work because fewer people are dying. This should be good news but of course the grave diggers are not earning as much. So its Bush's fault.
Why did Saddam pretend to the world he had WMD when he didn't? He could still be ruling in Iraq if he had just told the truth. Well he seemed to be more afraid of Iran then of the US.
The war continues in Iraq, does America care?
Government:
Why the Left continues to think the government is the answer to every problem I just do not understand. Often what happens is someone looking at a form and making a decision instead of using their heads. Here is a good example of that and of a lawsuit to come.
Israel:
Israel is a Jewish State. Why is that so hard for people to accept? Especially for Muslims?
Taxes:
Why Warren Buffet likes the death tax? He makes a lot of money from it that is why. To oppose the death tax would be to hurt his bottom line and like all good capitalist he doesn't want to do that. Of course he won't say that in his public statements.
Oh one more thing, good ideas are all over, the political party that takes good ideas and makes them their own, even if the opposition thought of it will be the winner.
Have a good day.
Well at work anyway.
My group of 6 workers and 1 manager has seen two people let go in the last month and tomorrow another worker is leaving. So we are down to 3 workers and 1 manager. None of the positions will be back filled. So a little busy here.
On the plus side, this weekend will see the marriage of a very good friend and I will be heading up North to witness the happy event. I've known Kalvin since UCLA, good grief that was like 18 years ago and am very happy for him and Karen.
In the news:
Zero Tolerance is something that sounds good in theory but doesn't seem to work in practice (kind of like communism). If ZT was around when I was in school, I would have been expelled and arrested for all the war pictures I drew on paper in school.
Saddam built a dam, he had it built on gypsum, the dam is now in danger of collapse, the price to fix $10 billion. The loss of life if the dam collapse 500,000. What will the US do? Fix the dam. The cost of the war in Iraq just went up because of course we (US Taxpayer) will pay for it. Hat tip Hugh Hewitt.
