'Tis the Season...For the War on Christmas

I know, I know. This has all the makings of one of those Urban Legend emails you get all the time. But my sources have confirmed it every which way, up to and including an interview by Mike Gallagher with Bill Donohue himself. If you think you can knock it down, let me know. The Wal-Mart website does indeed pull up the results from the article below. And Donohue swears up and down he recieved just the reply he describes:

WAL-MART BANS CHRISTMAS:

BOYCOTT LAUNCHED

A woman who recently complained to Wal-Mart that the store was replacing “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays” received an e-mail response from Customer Service. It appears below in its exact form:

“Walmart is a world wide organization and must remain conscious of this. The majority of the world still has different practices other than ‘christmas’ which is an ancient tradition that has its roots in Siberian shamanism. The colors associated with ‘christmas’ red and white are actually a representation of of the aminita mascera mushroom. Santa is also borrowed from the Caucuses, mistletoe from the Celts, yule log from the Goths, the time from the Visigoth and the tree from the worship of Baal. It is a wide wide world.”

To which Catholic League president Bill Donohue says: “This statement was signed by someone called Kirby. When I read it, I thought he might be drunk. But I was wrong. We sent Kirby’s response to Wal-Mart’s headquarters only to find that Dan Fogleman, Senior Manager, Public Relations, agrees. After acknowledging that he read Kirby’s response, Fogleman said, in part, the following”:

“As a retailer, we recognize some of our customers may be shopping for Chanukah or Kwanza gifts during this time of year and we certainly want these customers in our stores and to feel welcome, just as we do those buying for Christmas. As an employer, we recognize the significance of the Christmas holiday among our family of associates…and close our stores in observance, the only day during the year that we are closed.”

Bill Donohue says: “It’s nice to know that Wal-Mart is closed on a federal holiday. Now here is why I am asking the leaders of 126 religious organizations that span seven religious communities to boycott Wal-Mart. Go to its website and search for Hanukkah and up come 200 items. Click on Kwanzaa and up come 77. Click on Christmas, and here’s what you get: ‘We’ve brought you to our ‘Holiday’ page based on your search.’ In other words, Wal-Mart is practicing discrimination.” Contact Fogleman at dan.fogleman@wal-mart.com.

Now, I'm not a member of the "bash Wal-Mart" crowd. But this really is ridiculous.

Update: 11:15 AM CST
Thanks to Nariel, who plugged in the word Christmas today, and found it brought up 7967 results. Looks like Wal-Mart has changed its search engine results. Looks like pressure works, and Wal-Mart responds quickly to negative press. Yippee!

Update 2: 2:15 PM CST
Snopes.com has replied to my query about the story.
You can read their response here.

The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month

We cannot begin to understand the horrors of The Great War. That long ago time continues to haunt, and influence, our world. World War I dot com is an old site, but still one of the best on the net for getting some idea of what those brave men went through. Veterans Day began in memory of these brave men. We honor their sacrifice, and the continued sacrifice of the men and women fighting World War IV today.

The Adventures of Action Item: Professional SuperHero

If you find you relate too well to this, then get away from your computer immediately. You desperately need to take a walk, outside, without your blackberry. And, yes, you have to leave your headphones inside too.

The "Nation" Declares War...On the War

Howard Kurtz writes his media roundup. Great job. At the beginning is this:

Are we seeing a gradual shift in the way liberals talk about the war? I have obtained -- from sources I cannot identify, although none of them are former Hill staffers -- an advance copy of an editorial to be published in the Nation. The liberal magazine is serving notice on politicians, and while it doesn't move many votes, this could amount to a leading cultural indicator.

"The war has also become the single greatest threat to our national security. Its human and economic costs are running out of control, with no end in sight. It has driven America's reputation in the world to a historic low point. . . .

"The Nation therefore takes the following stand: We will not support any candidate for national office who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq a major issue of his or her campaign. We urge all voters to join us in adopting this position. Many worry that the aftermath of withdrawal will be ugly, and there is good reason to think they are right. But we can now see that the consequences of staying will be uglier still. Fear of facing the consequences of prolonging the war will be worse.

"We firmly believe that antiwar candidates, with the other requisite credentials, can win the 2006 Congressional elections, the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries and subsequent national election. But this fight, and our stand, must begin now."

Can't you just hear the helicopters leaving the U.S. Embassy, as desperate Iraqis seek to leave before Al Qaeda comes marching triumphantly into Baghdad? If the Left wants to conjure up Vietnam images, they've succeeded.

Meanwhile, Jordan is burning:
AL-QA'IDA has struck at the heart of the West's closest Arab ally, with suicide bombers killing 60 people and wounding almost 200 at three US-run hotels in the Jordanian capital.

The bombers detonated three bombs in three locations - the Grand Hyatt, the Radisson and Days Inn hotels, in Amman's affluent commercial area - within seven minutes.

Jordanian authorities quickly blamed terror chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qa'ida in Iraq, and the alleged mastermind of a raging insurgency involving almost daily terrorist attacks that have claimed several thousand lives since early 2004.

His al-Qa'ida offshoot claimed responsibility for the attacks in an internet posting.

"A group of our best lions launched a new attack on some dens ... After casing the targets, some hotels were chosen which the Jordanian despot turned into a backyard for the enemies of the faith, the Jews and crusaders," the statement says, promising more details. The statement, which could not be immediately verified, was signed by al-Qa'ida's spokesman in Iraq and posted on an Islamist site normally used by the group.

And who were Zarqawi's victims? Here's the wedding couple, just before the murders. Ashraf Mohamed al-Akhras and his bride Nadia al-Alami. Take a close look at their faces, just before they both lost their fathers.

From the Australian newspaper, The Herald Sun:

At the Radisson, the bride and groom had just made their grand entrance to the ballroom surrounded by 250 elegant guests.

No one noticed a man who managed to elude the parked police car outside, making his way into the ballroom wearing an explosives belt under his clothes.Within seconds the festive wedding turned into a nightmare.

"I lost my father and my father-in-law on my wedding night," groom Ashraf Mohammed al-Akhras said.

A young man said he was in the lobby when the bomb exploded. "There was panic all around me, people were running, screaming," he said.

Last Sunday, I taught a fourth grade Sunday school lesson about sheep, shepherds, and the 23rd Psalm. The Bible often compares humans to sheep. The comparison is apt.

Sheep are helpless against the wolves that prowl just outside the sheepfold. And, until they are attacked, the sheep live in denial, assuming the world is safe. They also have short memories. While they panic when one of the herd is attacked, they quickly forget, and go back to their lives of denial, unaware of the dangers kept at bay by the shepherd, and his sheepdog. Few have said it better than Lt. Colonel David Grossman, as quoted from Eject!Eject!Eject!:

I excerpt a small portion of it here, without permission, in the hope that those of you who are serious about surviving things like Katrina will go here and buy it.

Lt. Colonel Grossman, a far better man than me, a man who does things I only talk about, writes in his introduction to The Bulletproof Mind:

One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: "Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident."

This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another.

Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million total Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.

Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.

"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf." Or, as a sign in one California law enforcement agency put it, "We intimidate those who intimidate others."

If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen: a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath--a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? Then you are a sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

He continues:

Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial; that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools. But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are dozens of times more likely to be killed, and thousands of times more likely to be seriously injured, by school violence than by school fires, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their children is just too hard, so they choose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheepdog that intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa." Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog. As Kipling said in his poem about "Tommy" the British soldier:

While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that,
an' "Tommy, fall be'ind,"
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir,"
when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys,
there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir,"
when there's trouble in the wind.

Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.

While there is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, he does have one real advantage -- only one. He is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.

Remember at the beginning of this long post the desperate editorial from The Nation, saying they demand a pull out from Iraq? They are warm and comfortable in the sheepfold, and have forgotten the wolves, even when they see the wedding pictures from Jordan. Worse, the Left has mistaken the sheepdogs for wolves, and believe those who protect them are the enemy.

As one of my fourth graders said, "Mister Mark, sheep sure are stupid!"

Yep, they sure are.

Election Day After

John McIntyre of Real Clear Politics analyzed the election results, without the MSM template.
Here's a sample:

The MSM is trying to spin yesterday's election as a disaster for President Bush. But a simple exercise of just checking the election results from four years ago shows this to be partisan spin.

2001 Virginia: Warner (D) 52%, Earley (R) 47%
2005 Virginia: Kaine (D) 52%, Kilgore (R) 46%

2001 New Jersey: McGreevey (D) 56%, Schundler (R) 42%
2005 New Jersey: Corzine (D) 53%, Forrester (R) 44%

2001 New York City: Bloomberg (R) 50%, Green (D) 47%
2005 New York City: Bloomberg (R) 59%, Ferrer (D) 39%

The Democratic sweep of New Jersey and Virginia foreshadowed absolutely nothing for 2002. So the idea that the election results are proof of Democratic strength or Republican weakness is partisan blather, parroted by a sympathetic media.

One place I was watching was Ohio, and the Democrat orchestrated initiatives to change the way elections are handled in that state. All four initiatives failed, by wider margins than the losses in California. Interesting, considering Ohio was one of the Dems best hopes for 2006 and 2008.

The Dam is Starting to Give Way

The CIA has been at war. Not with terrorists, but with the Bush Administration. Now, it appears this clandestine war is coming to light. With the request for an investigation in to the leak of Secret Prisons for high level terrorists, to the ongoing questions of just how Joseph Wilson got his Niger assignment in the first place, and who in the CIA approved this mission for someone untrained, and unqualified for such a mission, the war within the war may be coming to an end.

Has France Surrendered Yet?

France has now held out longer against the current Islamo-Fascist assault than they held out against the Nazis in WWII. But that's only because the terrorists coordinating the attacks have not accepted France's surrender terms.

France has tried desperately to offer concessions to the rioters. They don't want them. They want a Gaza strip along the Seine. Unlike the West, the Islamo-Fascists have long memories. The terrorists want to avenge the loss of France centuries ago. And, they know that the French won't fight back unless they have to, unless surrender is not an option.

Election Day

It's not looking good for Arnold in California. The propositions look to be going down in flames. But you never know. Remember, at 2:30 pm a little over a year ago, Kerry was already writing his inaugural address.

Jon Corzine will likely be New Jersey's next Governor. A corrupt politician for an equally corrupt state. They deserve each other. Maybe he'll appoint Bob Torrecelli to finish out his Senate term. It would make sense in New Jersey.

Virginia will come right down to the wire. I have a hunch the Democrat, Kaine, will win in a squeaker. We'll see.

The absolute best place anywhere for info on elections is Real Clear Politics. They will have the election results before anyone else, and with accuracy. Unlike the MSM...

An Ancient Church

An amazing find:

"A discovery of this kind will make Israel more interesting to all Christians, for the church all over the world," said Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican envoy to Jerusalem. "If it's true that the church and the beautiful mosaics are from the third century, it would be one of the most ancient churches in the Middle East."

Razilo, who is serving a two-year sentence for traffic violations, was one of about 50 prisoners brought into the high-security Megiddo Prison to help excavate the area before the construction of new wards for 1,200 Palestinian prisoners.

Razilo was shocked to uncover the edge of the mosaic. The inmates worked for months to uncover all the parts of the mosaic — the floor of the church, he said.

"We continued to look and slowly we found this whole beautiful thing," said Razilo, who used a sponge and a bucket of water to clean dirt off the uncovered mosaics Sunday.

Two mosaics inside the church — one covered with fish, an ancient Christian symbol that predates the cross — tell the story of a Roman officer and a woman named Aketous who donated money to build the church in the memory "of the god, Jesus Christ."

Pottery remnants from the third century, the style of Greek writing used in the inscriptions, ancient geometric patterns in the mosaics and the depiction of fish rather than the cross indicate that the church was no longer used by the fourth century, Tepper said.

I'm thinking this church would not have Frank Griswold as their bishop...

The Shame of the Episcopal Church in the United States

This is not a story about gays in the Church. It's a story, written as praise, of the errors of the Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and North Korea:

I will urge my own government to reject the policy of preemption that heightens tensions and threatens the well being of peoples both in the north and south. As the two Koreas move forward towards the goal of reunification, I will urge the United States to take the following further steps:

• support and promote a nonaggression pact that will move all parties toward a comprehensive peace formally ending the "state of war" that has existed since 1953 by following through in the current negotiations to pledge not to preemptively attack the DPRK in exchange for the DPRK's abandonment of its nuclear weapons program
• refrain from demonization of the DPRK in favor of supporting the building of relations between the north and south which hold the promise of peace and reunification
• make every effort to invite the DPRK into the international community as a full member so that the country can develop and pursue internationally recognized norms and standards for its people to enjoy, specifically to provide humanitarian relief and development assistance to the DPRK including poverty alleviation, food aid, energy development and transportation
• assure access to all mechanisms for redress of grievances between U.S. military personnel and Korean civilians in the ROK.

Thanks for the advice, Frank. I'm sure you've made the North Koreans very happy. There's a reason the Communists used to call folks like this "Useful Idiots."

And here is some excellent commentary on Reverend Frank, from Christopher Johnson. (hat tip to RSP)

The 2000th Casualty: Cherry Picking at the New York Times

Do you really need any more evidence of how media bias harms individuals, and society in general?

Biased News Reporting: Corzine and Steele

Over at Balance of Power, the topic is liberal bias in the media. A great example is how the major media markets are handling two different races. One is the race for governor in the state of New Jersey, and the other is Michael Steele's race for the Senate in Maryland. In the case of Jon Corzine's bid to be governor of New Jersey, the media is bemoaning the "smear tactics" of having his abandoned wife speak, and in the case of a Black Conservative being pelted with oreos and called all manner of racist slurs, the silence is so great you can hear the crickets chirping.

Liberal bias shows in what isn't covered, as well as what is.

I'll be away for a while

Swim meets this weekend will keep me very busy. I won't be around to blog for at least two days, maybe longer. When I return, it will be with a post about the must read books for the past few months. Stay tuned.

And They Want to Stop Drilling in ANWR?

So, 3.25 a gallon, and these Democrats want to stop oil exploration? Are they trying to lose the 2006 elections?

Hillary doesn't look to happy about beng there. Maybe she's afraid her stock in Exxon will take a hit from this?

And, I wonder if Barbara Boxer has ever been to a gas station before. Surely her hired help has always filled up the SUVs, don't you think?

Ron Wyden just looks confused. Perhaps he and Maria Cantwell are wondering what all those people are doing to their cars with those funny hose thingies...

The Final Nail in the Filibuster Coffin

Ben Nelson's semi-endorsement of Alito today pretty much does in the Left's hope of a filibuster. One of the Dem's Gang of 14, he joins DeWine and Graham in support of the soon to be Associate Justice. Maybe Harry, Senator Dick, and the boys will try another closed session. Look how well the one yesterday worked out...heh, heh, heh.

All I Got For Fitzmas Was This Lousy T-Shirt: Harry Reid, Senator Dick, and the Closed Door Session

The Title, and the story by Jonah Goldberg says it all.

Joseph Wilson: The Hero of the Left

A great look at the lies of Joe Wilson. You may think the Bush Administration lied, but we know Joe Wilson did, repeatedly. No excerpts, as the whole story is required reading.

Update: I was looking for this story when I found The Weekly Standard piece. Love the end:

Much more egregious were the ways in which Wilson misrepresented his findings. In his famous New York Times Op-Ed article (July 6, 2003), Wilson gave the impression that his eight-day jaunt proved that Iraq was not trying to acquire uranium in Africa. Therefore, when administration officials nevertheless cited concerns about Hussein's nuclear ambitions, Wilson claimed that they had "twisted" evidence "to exaggerate the Iraqi threat." The Senate Intelligence Committee was not kind to this claim either.

The panel's report found that, far from discrediting the Iraq-Niger uranium link, Wilson actually provided fresh details about a 1999 meeting between Niger's prime minister and an Iraqi delegation. Beyond that, he had not supplied new information. According to the panel, intelligence analysts "did not think" that his findings "clarified the story on the reported Iraq-Niger uranium deal." In other words, Wilson had hardly exposed as fraudulent the "16 words" included in the 2003 State of the Union address: "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." In fact, the British government, in its own post-invasion review of intelligence, found that this claim was "well founded."

This is not an isolated example. Pretty much all of the claims that the administration doctored evidence about Iraq have been euthanized, not only by the Senate committee but also by the equally bipartisan Robb-Silberman commission. The latest proof that intelligence was not "politicized" comes from an unlikely source — Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powell's former chief of staff, who has been denouncing the hawkish "cabal" supposedly leading us toward "disaster." Yet, in between bouts of trashing the administration, Wilkerson said on Oct. 19 that "the consensus of the intelligence community was overwhelming" that Hussein was building illicit weapons. This view was endorsed by "the French, the Germans, the Brits." The French, of all people, even offered "proof positive" that Hussein was buying aluminum tubes "for centrifuges." Wilkerson also recalled seeing satellite photos "that would lead me to believe that Saddam Hussein, at least on occasion, was … giving us disinformation."

So much for the lies that led to war. What we're left with is the lies that led to the antiwar movement. Good thing for Wilson and his pals that deceiving the press and the public isn't a crime.

The lies that have led to the anti-war movement. Great line, and very, very accurate.

A Third, and Maybe Fourth Moon for Pluto?

Maybe it's time we decided there really are only eight planets, okay? Or else we need to decide that there may be literally dozens of planets out there. One thing noone can agree on is rather Pluto fits the category of planet or not. But, regardless of it's status, it sure is looking like Pluto and Charon aren't alone.

A Reply to Nariel

Joseph and Nariel are two of my favorite bloggers. They force me to think deeply about what I believe, and often make me confront and question things I hold most dear.
Both wrote great comments to my initial post on Alito. I liked them so well, I decided to make my reply a main post today. Here's what they said:

Alito isn't TOO ideological but I want to see proof of this fact and I want to see proof that he is going to be a Constructionist. I wouldn't vote for anyone who didn't prove these facts.
Joseph (OK Liberal) | Email | Homepage | 10.31.05 - 5:20 pm | #

---

Personally, I think Alito will push back the rights of women in this country in very short order. He has already made his mind very clear on matters such as abortion, and while I'm personally against it--Alito is also personally against it--only difference between us is that he has the potential to make his issue ALL women's issue by addressing Roe V. Wade with his very conservative opinion and personal feelings. I think he's going to have an awful time in the Senate hearings and a large part will be because of that--we'll see if he answers the questions, or like the last one--merely tap dances around it.
Nariel | Email | Homepage | 11.01.05 - 7:34 am | #

And, here, mostly to Nariel, is my reply:

Personally I prefer ballroom dancing to tap.:-)

Show me the proof of your charges, Nariel. You sound like one big DNC talking point, not like someone who's looked at Alito's cases over the past 15 years. I've just begun to look at them myself, and see no basis for your charges what so ever. But let's say your "feelings" are exactly right.

Abortion is an issue, and for the Left, it is THE issue. There is a lot of evidence that Roe v Wade was decided more on personal feelings than the law in the first place. (see also Men in Black by Mark Levine pgs. 55-70) If by pushing back women's "rights" you mean killing unborn babies, who also have rights, then push away. The rights of unborn infants, defenseless in every way have been "pushed back" for too long.

See, that's what it comes down to for the left, abortion, at all times, and with no restrictions. It fascinates me that the left can call the Constitution a "living, changeable document" except where Roe v. Wade is concerned. Then it becomes a static, unchangeable document based on "super-duper precedent."

And before somebody even types the reply about "privacy rights." Again, I would refer you to Mark Levine's excellent look at how abortion became linked to privacy in his book Men in Black. The question that must be asked is quite simple really. Is it a human baby, or is it "tissue" like a toenail? The advances in medicine since Roe make it clear what the answer is. My God, Roe herself is working to get the decision overturned!

I welcome Alito if he is as "bad" as the Left says he is. I welcome him and more conservatives on the SCOTUS. And if it's on the issue of abortion that Liberals want to take their stand, then in the words of President Bush, bring it on.

The Democrat Smear Campaign

I seldom say anything good about Chris Matthews, but he did a great public service today with this quote:

An obviously angry Matthews said, "I'm sitting here holding in my hands a pretty disgusting document. This is put out not for attribution, but it comes from the Democrats. They're circulating it; I can say that. The first thing they nail about this Italian-American is he failed to win a mob conviction in a trial ... way back in '88. In other words, they nail him on not putting some Italian mobsters in jail from the family. Why would they bring up this ethnically charged issue as the first item they raise against Judge Alito?

"This is either a very bad coincidence or very bad politics," he added, and warned Democrats that their sneak attack will backfire. "Either way it's going to hurt them. ... Not abortion rights, not civil rights but that he failed to nail some mobsters in 1988 -- this is the top of their list of what they've got against this guy. Amazingly bad politics."

The memo failed to note that Alito won a major prosecution against the Genovese crime family.

This fight has been coming for a long time. And the best part is that the Left will spend much of their time shooting themselves in the foot, among other places...:-)

Filibustering is Looking Alot Less Likely

Both DeWine and Graham have said this will not be filibustered, period. Only a couple more from the Gang of Fourteen, and it can't happen, period.

Sam Alito: A Conservative Home Run!

Great choice. Wish he'd done it a week ago. Now the battle lines are drawn the way they should be, and conservatives are no longer in a circular firing squad. Yippee!

The Waiting is Over: The Coming Battles

The National Review editorial today is worth reading, and mirrors my views on the Libby indictment. My post yesterday was written at noon. The National Review editorial at 6:20pm. :

There has been much high-minded talk about how the Valerie Plame controversy is really about the case for the Iraq war. No. For liberals, it has always been about inflicting as much damage as possible to the Bush White House, especially by taking out through indictment its most central player in the person of Karl Rove. That has not happened. Nor has special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald alleged a conspiracy at the top levels of the Bush administration to out a CIA agent. What he instead charges in his five-count indictment is that Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby, lied to investigators about conversations with three reporters. This long-hyped, two-year investigation appears to come down, in other words, to one man's alleged dishonesty when investigators came knocking. This is not Watergate or Iran-Contra, but neither is it a trifle.

And this:

Fitzgerald's merits aside, the limits of special-prosecutor investigations were once again evident in this case. Two years later, we still don't know important facts. Was Plame covert? Fitzgerald can't or won't say. Who is “Official A” (although we can all guess)? Who were the other unnamed officials? It is a prosecutor's job to build a criminal case, period, full stop. But in high-stakes political controversies, that's not really the public interest — disclosure is. Then, everyone knows the facts and the public can make its judgments on what is appropriate. Offending officials can be punished with resignations and public obloquy. Except in dire cases — say, bribery — that process should take precedence over prosecutions rather than the other way around.

OpinionJournal also has an editorial worth reading. The left will continue to wail about how this is about Iraq, yet Patrick Fitzgerald, in his somewhat long-winded press conference, clearly stated this case is NOT about Iraq,but about lying to the Grand Jury. I'm thinking the Left will selectively leave out that part of his statement.

Tough History is Coming: Peggy Noonan

I've been reluctant to do much blogging lately, and couldn't figure out why. I've been fighting a nasty sinus infection, and feeling generally blah. Reading other blogs left me with the impression others were suffering sinus infections too. Now I know different.

Truth is, I've been overwhelmed, and didn't realize it until I read Peggy Noonan's column this morning. Here's the first paragraphs:

It is not so hard and can be a pleasure to tell people what you see. It's harder to speak of what you think you see, what you think is going on and can't prove or defend with data or numbers. That can get tricky. It involves hunches. But here goes.

I think there is an unspoken subtext in our national political culture right now. In fact I think it's a subtext to our society. I think that a lot of people are carrying around in their heads, unarticulated and even in some cases unnoticed, a sense that the wheels are coming off the trolley and the trolley off the tracks. That in some deep and fundamental way things have broken down and can't be fixed, or won't be fixed any time soon. That our pollsters are preoccupied with "right track" and "wrong track" but missing the number of people who think the answer to "How are things going in America?" is "Off the tracks and hurtling forward, toward an unknown destination."

I'm not talking about "Plamegate." As I write no indictments have come up. I'm not talking about "Miers." I mean . . . the whole ball of wax. Everything. Cloning, nuts with nukes, epidemics; the growing knowledge that there's no such thing as homeland security; the fact that we're leaving our kids with a bill no one can pay. A sense of unreality in our courts so deep that they think they can seize grandma's house to build a strip mall; our media institutions imploding--the spectacle of a great American newspaper, the New York Times, hurtling off its own tracks, as did CBS. The fear of parents that their children will wind up disturbed, and their souls actually imperiled, by the popular culture in which we are raising them. Senators who seem owned by someone, actually owned, by an interest group or a financial entity. Great churches that have lost all sense of mission, and all authority. Do you have confidence in the CIA? The FBI? I didn't think so.

But this recounting doesn't quite get me to what I mean. I mean I believe there's a general and amorphous sense that things are broken and tough history is coming.

Tough history is coming. And coming all at once. I haven't been blogging because there have been too many stories, each of which appears urgent and requires deep thought, requires time. Too much, too fast. And none of them terribly important.

A long time ago, I read Charles Hummel's wonderful booklet Tyrany of the Urgent. Separating what's important from what is urgent, and understanding how the Urgent matters can crowd out the Important ones is always a challenge.

It's something I've forgotten here at Liberty Just in Case. All the urgent stories, so eloquently listed by Peggy Noonan, have crowded out the Important stories, and left me so overwhelmed I simply didn't want to do any blogging.

Liberty Just in Case began as a way to keep my co-workers informed and entertained by stories I found on the internet. I changed on 9/11, and so did LJiC. It became, as the description below the title says, "An ongoing dialogue about Politics, Culture, Religion and the Universe in general in a September 12th world." It's that last part, "a September 12th world" that is the guide to what is important at LJiC.

September 11th, 2001 marked the end of an era, and an end to a feeling of protection for me. It was the day this nation went to war. But, in a much more personal way, it was the day I went to war. Oh, I didn't serve in the military. Too many health problems for that. But I took up the pen, or in this case the keyboard, to promote winning the war in any way I could. In the end, that's the purpose of Liberty Just in Case, to promote the winning of World War IV. That's what is important. Other news stories may be urgent, but in the end, winning the war was what brought this blog into being, and will continue to be the driving motivation of its continuance.

Two Years, and THIS is it?

So, Lewis Libby couldn't keep his stories straight, and may have lied to the Grand Jury. That most assuredly deserves conviction if true. But that's a far cry from the caterwauling from the mainstream media for the past several days. No charges related to the "outing" of a CIA agent, no charges at all against Karl Rove. The Bush administration will go on.

Now, here are my questions:
Who was Bob Novak's source?
Was Valerie Plame really a covert agent, and what exactly was her influence over the decision to send her husband Joseph Wilson to Niger.
What crime was actually committed here, and by whom?

Over the coming days, we will see more and more hysterics from the Left, both in the MSM, and perhaps more importantly, in the blogosphere. Those on the left who are honest know that their early Christmas was a bust. They'll try to make more out of this than is there, and will fail, again.

Meanwhile, those same bloggers and MSM journalists trying to make the best of these indictments were the same ones defending Clinton to the hilt. And what did the then POTUS do? Not only lied to a grand jury, but carefully and maliciously helped his girlfriend Monica Lewinsky write a false affadavit, therefore suborning perjury. Lost his law license for that, remember?

If Libby screwed up and lied, let the conviction happen. Perjury and Obstruction of Justice matter. They mattered in 1998, and they matter now. But the ones doing the Snoopy dance now are the same ones who defended Clinton then. Hypocisy? Political agendas? Yep.

One interesting paragraph at the end of the press release:

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

You think Chris Matthews will get to that part? Not likely.

A City Divided

Not Beirut, not Jerusalem.
Great story on the Northside last night.

CHICAGO -- Welcome to ghost town. The city of champions.

In Wrigleyville, the bars are empty. Not literally, but not figuratively, either.

The parking lot across the street from Wrigley Field, which usually charges $35 for regular-season Cubs games, wants only 10 bucks tonight.

"When the Cubs were in the playoffs [in 2003], I was charging $150 a car to get in this lot," the attendant tells me as I drop Jackson on him and look for Hamilton as change. "Do you know how much I'd get if the Cubs were playing tonight instead of the Sox?"

Inside the Cubby Bear, the world-famous bar that sits 10 yards away from Gate F, under the "Wrigley Field Home Of The Cubs" marquee, four doormen are on the clock (during regular-season games, it takes 15). The place holds a capacity of 2,500; tonight, there are 80 inside. The usual Wednesday Specials -- $2 well drinks, $10 buckets, $1 tacos and $1.50 Enchiladas are "un-specialed" for the night.

Ah well, wait till next year, right? Right?

A Memo to the President: Part II

Note: A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post over at GunTotin' Liberal called Memo to the President. With the withdrawal of Harriet Miers this morning, another memo was needed:

It's me again, Mr. President. Don't know if you read my last memo. Kinda doubt it, but I do know alot of other folks did see it. Decided, with the news that Miss Miers has withdrawn, to write you again.

I'm thinkin' you may be mighty angry at us conservatives right now. Wouldn't blame you a bit. We sorta pulled the rug out from under you on this one. But I'm hoping your anger will shift to those who advised you on Harriet Miers, and most especially to those who vetted her in the first place. By now, you've read the speech she gave in 1993. That speech was pretty much the final nail in the coffin, but it was only one nail of many. She just wasn't the right choice, and I'm just relieved that both she and you finally realized that.

Mr. President, Conservatives have worked hard over the past thirty years to change the courts. You've been actively involved in that fight, right up to the nomination of Harriet Miers. It's time to do the right thing, to do the thing you promised again and again throughout the campaign. You promised to nominate a Supreme Court justice in the tradition of Scalia and Thomas. It's past time for you to do that. The withdrawal of Harriet Miers gives you an opportunity to do just that.

Staff Sgt. George T. Alexander Jr.

The media, and the anti-America crowd, will use Staff Sgt Alexander as nothing more than a weapon, number 2000. He was more than a number, as was the 1999th death, and all that went before. This post, from Faces From the Front, is a must read, especially if you are on the left, and plan to use this death to your own ends. The men and women you are about to write about would NOT agree with your point of view. They believed in the mission of creating a free Iraq, and were committed to completing it, even at the cost of their own lives. They were, and are heroes in every sense of the word.

Iraqi Constitution Passes

A big, big deal no matter how you look at it.

Where Has Ann Rice Been Lately?

Okay, I admit it. I stopped reading the books after The Vampire Lestat and Interview With a Vampire. But I know alot of readers have hung on every word from Ann Rice. Where she went, and what she is about to publish may surprise you.

Be sure to click on the audio link to hear an excerpt from "Christ the Lord." Not your typical vampire book...

Damn Interesting: What a Great Site

(HT to Kim Komando for this one)
You could spend hours going through all the stuff on this blog. Great stuff. It's just..uh...damn interesting.

Field of Dreams

Hard not to be a White Sox fan after game 2, unless you're an Astros fan, that is. Konerko's grand slam, followed by Podsednik's homer in the 9th. Can you ask for anything better in a baseball game?

Intelligent Design v Evolution: The Trial Continues

It's hard to find info on this trial, and harder to still to find anything from the MSM that is in any way fair or balanced. Like abortion, gay rights, gun control, and multiple other issues, journalists have a bias toward evolution, and are working hard to make sure evolution wins this debate. This article by Peter Dezikes is a perfect example.

But, do you need more proof of the bias, and the agenda?
Just scan the headlines on the trial pulled from a Google search.

For a great rundown on the trial and its participants, go to Wikipedia.

Waiting For Game One

Okay, I admit it. I'm much more of a Cubs fan than a Sox fan. Growing up in Oklahoma, one of the Cable channels we got early was WGN. It only carried the Cubs then, so I watched alot of Cub games, and only saw the Sox when they played the Kansas City Royals, also on local TV back then.
When the Cubs made the playoffs a couple of years ago (poor Steve Bartman. Sad, very sad.) me and mine were all goose bumps, and cried when they lost to the Padres, after only needing 5 outs to win the whole thing. Sigh.

One advantage to growing up in Oklahoma, but living in Chicago; I can still root for the Sox without that deep sense of betrayal felt by true Cub fans. I mean, its not like I'm rooting for Texas, or that evil Empire USC, right? Now THAT would be just wrong. :-)

Arnold Was Right Not to Attend

The Bush Administration should have listened to Arnold, and stayed away until after the November ballot initiatives. He has every right to be furious.

Waiting For This One to Explode

Syrian involvement is pretty much confirmed in the death of the Lebanese Prime Minister. They've been a charter member of the Axis of Evil for a long time. Now we'll see if anything is done about them.

Waiting and Speculating

Here's the website Patrick Fitzgerald's office set up to let us know of any indictments, or no indictments, as the case may be. The MSM apparently thinks setting up this website is a BIG DEAL. We'll see.

Waiting

Despite the constant flow of voices from the Cable networks, talk radio, and the blogosphere, this feels like a calm before multiple storms.

Hurricane Wilma is hooking left, into Florida.

Fitzgerald won't hand down indictments until next week, if at all. I'm not sure Chris Matthews will survive if something doesn't happen soon. A big part of me hopes he doesn't, or at least, hopes his career doesn't survive anyway...

Saddam's trial is adjourned until late November, assuming any of the defendants attorneys live long enough to take part.

And Saddam's attorneys may make it longer than the Harriet Miers nomination.

And, perhaps most importantly, Chicago has to wait at least a week to see if we will have a World Champion.

Waiting.

Balance of Power: Unions

A great guest blog on Unions is up at Balance of Power. And in California, Proposition 75 stands a great chance of passing. The Modesto Bee has a look:

Proposition 75 is one of the most controversial measures on the Nov.8 ballot, but it isn't complicated. It would make a rather simple adjustment to ensure fairness to all public employee union members, no matter their political philosophy.

Voters should look beyond the advertising and focus on exactly what the measure would require. If it passes, public employee unions would have to get permission in writing before any portion of dues could be spent for political purposes.

Federal law allows union members to decline to allow a portion of their dues to be used for political purposes, such as supporting candidates or ballot initiatives. In most cases, members must act to block such use of their dues, a move called "opting out."

Under Proposition 75, that process would be turned around. Public union members would have to "opt in" to have a portion of their dues used for political causes. Simply put, the burden of seeking permission would be shifted from the members to the unions. Records of the member's choice would have to be kept and recorded with a state agency.

Works for me. This is one thing from the Left Coast that should spread throughout the country. It would make up for such idiocy as Norma Rae, but just barely.

Curt Weldon and Able Danger

I don't think there is any more important story right now than Able Danger. Yesterday, Congressman Curt Weldon (R-PA) took to the floor of the House and gave an impassioned, and in many ways, frightening look at the ongoing cover up. The speech, in its entirety, is in the link.

A Pearl in the Sky

Closeup of Dione, a small moon of Saturn, orbiting so close it actually is inside the outer rings. Almost looks like you could put a string of these on a necklace, doesn't it?

Saddam's First Trial: An Eyewitness Account

There is a certain fascination in watching Saddam's trial this morning. The plodding, slow scene in the courtroom gives one a certain security that this really is a trial, and Saddam will be judged fairly. It's a great day for Iraq, and for the United States.

It's also boring. The translation is poor, when the folks on FoxNews and CNN allow you to actually hear the proceedings instead of their commentary. I'm a little surprised at how little the networks seem to know about the trial itself, or the other men being tried with Saddam. Hopefully more info will be forthcoming, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

In the meantime, Iraq the Model has an eyewitness account of the first of the many charges Saddam will face, the massacre at Al-Dujaile:

Date: 7/8/1982, Saddam decides to visit the village, the Ba’ath party in the region prepared the people to make a big reception, they took us out of the schools(I was 7 years old). They made us line in a row on both sides of the road to wave for him and cheer his name. It never occurred to me that it would be my last day in the childhood world. I was forced to skip that period of my life with such cruelty that I can not explain.
-17 of the finest young men in the village had decided to put an end to the tyrant's life at that day, they had the courage to face him, we didn't know about their intention.
The brave men set an ambush among the palm trees, they couldn't tell which car was his, there were dozens of cars, all identical in model and color.
-The attack starts, the brave young men open fire from their simple weapons, some of the body guards get killed, others wounded, the tyrant get panicked, imagine that (Saddam is afraid) the man who enjoyed terrorizing people lives a moment of fear with all its details, he was so close to death this time.
8 of the attackers were killed, the rest fled out of the country.
(Woe to the sinners) who dared to make him scared, you should fear his revenge, you should learn the lesson so that it won't happen again, you should bow more and more and fear more and more, you should be scared to death so that you don't dare even to think of harming him; the shadow of god on earth.
-The answer was fast, one hour after the escape of the tyrant, we had to face his anger, I heard the sound of helicopters over our heads wreaking their vengeance upon our small village, backed later with shovels that leveled the trees with the ground, the order was clear(the terror should be great) so that the others would learn.
I ran away to my home into my mothers' lap, my younger brother and sisters gathered around me, I realized something huge has happened and anticipated the eminent evil. it didn't take long for the security to get to our house, we were taken to the unknown, me, my mother(who was 4 months pregnant), my sisters Einas(5 years), Zeina(3 years)and my brother Mohammed(1 year).
-The first station in our long journey was Al-Hakimiyah prison that belongs to the intelligence, I found hundreds of my village people, old, young, men, women and children, we were 480 there. Out of whom 80 were relatives of mine.
It was enough to say the word Hakimiyah for any Iraqi to be completely paralyzed(the one who gets in is a missing-the one who gets out is reborn-this was what we used to say about this prison, the walls of which tell thousands of horror stories that you refuse to believe.

This looks to be but the beginning of the horrors of Saddam's reign.

CSpan on the Net

An important news source began yesterday, CapitalNews.org. It's been blogrolled here at LJiC, and here's a story about the new site from The Washington Times.

Cheney Involved in Plame Affair!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You will hear this story all day long. Here's the most important line in the whole story:

Some lawyers close to the case cited courthouse talk that Fitzgerald might announce his findings as early as tomorrow, though hard evidence about his intentions and timing remained elusive.

That's MSM speak for We don't have a story, but we've GOTTA print something.

The Greatest Game Ever Played

The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet, and the Birth of Modern Golf

Look, I don't play golf. Never have, probably never will. I suspect many of my readers don't play either. But don't let that stop you from reading this book, or seeing the movie for that matter. The accomplishments of Francis Ouimet, and Harry Vardon, for that matter, deserve to be known. You will find yourself cheering and crying at the same time throughout this book. And you'll get a glimpse of life in the early 20th century that few history books could ever give.

We Are Winning

This deserves to be read. And then read again. I've copied it completely, something I seldom do. Please read it, then go to the link to see who wrote it.
Why? Because I know for a stone cold fact that my friends on the left will immediately discount this editorial once they see the author. They do this at their own intellectual peril.

No better analysis has been done on the current Miers debate, or conservatism in general:

I love being a conservative. We conservatives are proud of our philosophy. Unlike our liberal friends, who are constantly looking for new words to conceal their true beliefs and are in a perpetual state of reinvention, we conservatives are unapologetic about our ideals. We are confident in our principles and energetic about openly advancing them. We believe in individual liberty, limited government, capitalism, the rule of law, faith, a color-blind society and national security. We support school choice, enterprise zones, tax cuts, welfare reform, faith-based initiatives, political speech, homeowner rights and the war on terrorism. And at our core we embrace and celebrate the most magnificent governing document ever ratified by any nation--the U.S. Constitution. Along with the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes our God-given natural right to be free, it is the foundation on which our government is built and has enabled us to flourish as a people.

We conservatives are never stronger than when we are advancing our principles. And that's the nature of our current debate over the nomination of Harriet Miers. Will she respect the Constitution? Will she be an originalist who will accept the limited role of the judiciary to interpret and uphold it, and leave the elected branches--we, the people--to set public policy? Given the extraordinary power the Supreme Court has seized from the representative parts of our government, this is no small matter. Roe v. Wade is a primary example of judicial activism. Regardless of one's position on abortion, seven unelected and unaccountable justices simply did not have the constitutional authority to impose their pro-abortion views on the nation. The Constitution empowers the people, through their elected representatives in Congress or the state legislatures, to make this decision.

Abortion is only one of countless areas in which a mere nine lawyers in robes have imposed their personal policy preferences on the rest of us. The court has conferred due process rights on terrorists detained at Guantanamo Bay and benefits on illegal immigrants. It has ruled that animated cyberspace child pornography is protected speech, but certain broadcast ads aired before elections are illegal; it has held that the Ten Commandments can't be displayed in a public building, but they can be displayed outside a public building; and the court has invented rationales to skirt the Constitution, such as using foreign law to strike down juvenile death penalty statutes in over a dozen states.

For decades conservatives have considered judicial abuse a direct threat to our Constitution and our form of government. The framers didn't create a judicial oligarchy. They created a representative republic. Our opposition to judicial activism runs deep. We've witnessed too many occasions where Republican presidents have nominated the wrong candidates to the court, and we want more assurances this time--some proof. The left, on the other hand, sees the courts as the only way to advance their big-government agenda. They can't win national elections if they're open about their agenda. So, they seek to impose their policies by judicial fiat. It's time to call them on it. And that's what many of us had hoped and expected when the president made his nomination.

Some liberal commentators mistakenly view the passionate debate among conservatives over the Miers nomination as a "crackup" on the right. They are giddy about "splits" in the conservative base of the GOP. They are predicting doom for the rest of the president's term and gloom for Republican electoral chances in 2006. As usual, liberals don't understand conservatives and never will.

The Miers nomination shows the strength of the conservative movement. This is no "crackup." It's a crackdown. We conservatives are unified in our objectives. And we are organized to advance them. The purpose of the Miers debate is to ensure that we are doing the very best we can to move the nation in the right direction. And when all is said and done, we will be even stronger and more focused on our agenda and defeating those who obstruct it, just in time for 2006 and 2008. Lest anyone forget, for several years before the 1980 election, we had knockdown battles within the GOP. The result: Ronald Reagan won two massive landslides.

The real crackup has already occurred--on the left! The Democratic Party has been hijacked by 1960s retreads like Howard Dean; billionaire eccentrics like George Soros; and leftwing computer geeks like Moveon.org. It nominated John Kerry, a notorious Vietnam-era antiwar activist, as its presidential standard-bearer. Its major spokesmen are old extremists like Ted Kennedy and new propagandists like Michael Moore. Its great presidential hope is one of the most divisive figures in U.S. politics, Hillary Clinton. And its favorite son is an impeached, disbarred, held-in-contempt ex-president, Bill Clinton. The Democratic Party today is split over the war and a host of cultural issues, such as same-sex marriage and partial birth abortion. It wants to raise taxes, but dares not say so. It can't decide what message to convey to the American people or how to convey it. And even its once- reliable allies in the big media aren't as influential in promoting the party and its agenda as they were in the past. The new media--talk radio, the Internet and cable TV--not only have a growing following, but have helped expose the bias and falsehoods of the big-media, e.g., Dan Rather, CBS News and the forged National Guard documents. Hence, circulation and audience is down, and dropping. The American left is stuck trying to repeat the history of its presumed glory years. They hope people will see Iraq as Vietnam, the entirety of the Bush administration as Watergate and Hurricane Katrina as the Great Depression. Beyond looking to the past for their salvation, the problem is that they continue to deceive even themselves. None of their comparisons are true. Meanwhile, we conservatives will continue to focus on making history.

Iraq the Model: The Place to Go For Updates on the Voting

A quick Google Search of the news from the referendum tells you which way the MSM is leaning. For a more accurate report, check out Iraq the Model. The best reports, on the scene, by Iraqis.

You Know You Really Have the Flu When...

...sitting in front of the computer screen makes you really, really sick to your stomach. Of course, I experience a similar reaction to much of what I see on the MSM, so it was hard to tell I was really sick. :-)
Thanks for the emails, and the comments. Been a tough time the past few days. I'm still pretty sick, but better than yesterday. Blogging continues to be pretty low on the priority list right now.

Laid Low With the Flu

Sorry folks, no blogging today, or maybe tomorrow.
Picked up a bad virus in the past two days, will hopefully be back up and blogging on Saturday.

AlGore: How Embarrasing

I truly believe the loss of 2000 left AlGore unhinged in some way:

We would not be trying to control and intimidate the news media. We would not be routinely torturing people," Gore said. "We would be a different country.

He has rendered himself completely irrevelant, at a time when he could have become a true Stateman within the Democrat Party. He's become a living caricature of himself.

What Did Dr. Dobson Know and When Did He Know It?

If you really want to know the answers to those questions, click the link.
Now, if Senators Specter, Schumer, Durbin, et al want to bring Dr. Dobson to the hearings to uncover what was said between him and Karl Rove, that's great! I think we should know what's said behind closed doors on this important issue. So, seeing as how we are all about full disclosure, we should know what NARAL is saying to the Democratic Senators. We should know what People For the American Way are saying. I think all those memos the Democrats have recieved from their special interest groups should be released.

What? Is that the sound of silence from Senators Chuckie and Dick? Do I hear crickets chirping? Kinda thought so.

The Terrorists answer "Mother" Sheehan and Her Fellow Travelers

The letter from Zawahiri to Zarquawi is worth reading a few times. Most interesting is his mention of Vietnam. If you still think the anti-military protests of "Mother" Sheehan and her crew do no harm to the war effort, then you need to read the letter again.

But Wait! What Happened to the Predicted Civil War?

Writing a Constitution is messy. It's why ours was written in total secrecy.
The Iraqi Constitution is being written in the full glare of journalists who have little working knowledge of Constitutions, and even less knowledge of their own national history. Sigh.

Devouring Our Own

Craig over at Red Satellites has a great look at how Conservatives are eating their own, all the cheers of the left and their willing allies in the MSM.

China in Space: The Looming Threat

China has now put two men in to space. They are well on their way to landing a man on the Moon within the next ten years. At the rate they are progressing , Mars is certainly within reach. Meanwhile, NASA continues to plod along...

The Dangers of Blogging, and an Editorial Policy

Comment Policy

I'm pretty open about who comments here. Left, right, center. Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, agnostic, atheist. Only trolls are booted, and that's only happened once in the past 5 years, though some have come close. (You know who you are) But I've been thinking about what I want for LJiC, and who I want to read it.

So, in light of the article in the link, and my own preferences, here's Da Rules.

1. Attack ideas, not people. You want to go after another commenter personally, do it on your own site. You hurt yourself, and your argument by going after a person. Don't.
2. You're a guest in my bar..er...blog. Behave that way.
3. This is a PG Blog. You seldom see profanity on LJiC. My Daddy always said that the only people who cuss are those who aren't intelligent enough to use other words to support their point. He was right.

Follow those rules, and all is well. If you find you can't, don't comment. If you do comment, and fail to follow DA RULES, I'll delete you. If you do it again, I will decide you're a troll, and ban you. I could care less if you're a conservative, a liberal, or a grey with plans to abduct me later. I'll boot you from LJiC quicker than your little fingers can type your next profanity. Kapische?

=====================================

Legal Disclaimer

The information/content contained within this web site (Liberty Just In Case [LJiC]) is provided "AS IS, AS AVAILABLE" and has no warranties or guarantees of any type.

You participate in and/or operate LJiC's features at your own risk. If you are unhappy with the contents and/or operation of this site your sole remedy is to discontinue use of this web site.

Opinions expressed on LJiC are the sole intellectual property and responsibility of the contributing post writer and / or commenter, and do not in anyway reflect the official opinion of CW Media, the sole proprietor of this site. The comments and/or opinions made, presented, and/or left on LJiC do not necessarily reflect the views of the owner(s), creator(s), administrator(s) and/or the users(s) of LJiC (CW Media). The owner(s), creator(s), and/or the administrator(s) of LJiC (CW Media) reserve the right to remove or modify comments as they see fit as well as banning people or groups of people from commenting on or viewing this web site.

The owner(s), creator(s), and administrator(s) of LJiC (CW Media) are not liable for any damages, losses, or costs incurred in using LJiC and/or any other third party offering mentioned on LJiC or linked to from this web site.

Third party excerpts and content contained and /or utilized on this site are used as part of a free discussion forum and / or political debate, and are covered under the fair use clauses and applicable laws supported by the First Amendment of the United States constitution. All third party content is (to the best of our ability) linked back and credited to the source. References to any third party products, services, web sites, programs, manufacturers, distributors, processes, other information, etc. does not necessarily constitute or imply that the owner(s), creator(s), and administrator(s) of LJiC (CW Media) represent, endorse or support those products, services, web sites, programs, manufacturers, distributors, processes, other information, etc. The owner(s), creator(s), and administrator(s) of LJiC (CW Media) are not responsible for the contents of any "off-site" web page/site referenced from this web site.

Opinions expressed here on LJiC and / or by its contributing members are not endorsed by, compensated by, or directly affiliated with any political party, party's candidate, party’s agent and / or government agency, (to include but not limited to the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force, the Air National Guard, the State of Nevada, and / or the State of Illinois or any other affiliated party, group, or agency). The views and opinions expressed on LJiC are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

The owner(s), creator(s), and administrator(s) of LJiC (CW Media) do not necessarily screen or edit user-created content. However, the owner(s), creator(s), and administrator(s) of LJiC reserve the right to monitor said content and to remove any objectionable material at any time, in its sole discretion. By participating on LJiC or any other services provided by this web site, you acknowledge that you may encounter material that you find offensive. The owner(s), creator(s), and administrator(s) of LJiC disclaim all liability for messages appearing on its web pages and/or videos and other materials created by this web site's users. LJiC has no responsibility for such content and is merely providing access to such content as a service to you.

By using LJiC you acknowledge:

* You will not attempt to undermine the operation of this web site. Doing so could be a criminal offense and violators will be prosecuted.
* You will never use LJiC to disseminate any inappropriate, defamatory, libelous, threatening, infringing, obscene, or unlawful material or information.
* You will not attempt to violate any criminal statute, engage in computer activity commonly known as a Denial of Service attack, or promote the violation of this agreement.

All services provided by LJiC to its users may not be used for unauthorized electronic commerce. The use of any of this web site's services for the sale of products or services (including participation in any affiliate program not authorized by the owner(s), creator(s), and/or administrator(s) of LJiC for use on its site) is prohibited. If, in the sole discretion of the owner(s), creator(s), and administrator(s) of this web site, you are found to be using LJiC for any inappropriate commercial purpose, we reserve the right to take action to end said activity.

Threats made against anyone owning, maintaining, administering, visiting, or commenting on this site will not be tolerated and will result in your Internet Service Provider (ISP) being made aware of your activities. If the threat is severe enough proper legal authorities will be contacted immediately.

Bunnies Rule, and Get Eaten

The Exorcist, Jaws, and my favorite The War of the Worlds, all in 30 seconds, and performed by Bunnies. Gotta love it!

John McWhorter on Bill Bennet: Everybody Calm Down

Caught this guy on CNN last week. Very reasoned, very much able to blow the Al Sharpton wannabe out of the water:

Many people are worried about what kinds of thoughts Mr. Bennett's comment might put into white people's heads. I am, too. For black Americans to take an innocent and well-meant sentence out of context and hold it up as a David Duke screensaver makes it look like black Americans are incapable of understanding context. It makes it look like we are incapable of close reasoning.

Policing for racial sensitivity does not do a thing for black people who need help. There are thousands of black people languishing in shelters and ships after a horrific natural catastrophe – and we're giving someone grief because something he said in passing didn't have a nice ring to it?

Maybe we should redirect our sensitivity. Mr. Bennett, actually, was rejecting a possible defense of his own pro-life position. He was demonstrating thoughtful nuance. I assume that the rest of us, black and white, can too.

My favorite part of the CNN interview was the obvious perplexity on the Sharpton wannabe's face when McWhorter stated the above. It was very apparent the wannabe had no earthly clue what close reasoning was. Guess it's not something he learned at Rainbow/Push headquarters.

Another Week, Another Catastrophe: The Kashimir Earthquake

Getting burned out on the all the natural disasters? I find I am. But it's nice to see the American military isn't getting burned out, and are up to the job. These kinds of airlifts do alot to promote American ideals and values. Certainly more than the anti-Military protests in Washington ever thought about doing.

The Day The Wheels Came Off the Sooner Schooner

Ouch. No easy way around this one:

DALLAS (AP) -- Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns are headed home from the State Fair with the prize that's eluded them for five years: A victory over Oklahoma.

Showing the poise and leadership he's developed since a miserable performance against the Sooners last year, Young threw for three touchdowns in guiding No. 2 Texas to a 45-12 victory Saturday.

Ah well, there's always the White Sox. Sigh.

The Coming Pandemic

Last month I posted on the coming flu pandemic, and the eery links to the Spanish flu of 1918. It's good to see the Bush Administration is taking this seriously. In spite of our technology, we are no better prepared for the Bird flu mutation now than we were at the turn of the last century. In fact, thanks to our technology the spread could be faster, and more deadly. Considering the Spanish influenza killed 100 million worldwide, that's frightening indeed.

Jesse Jackson to Stand Trial

MSM bias is displayed far more by what is not covered as by what is. Most everyone knows Tom Delay was indicted, despite the fact that it took at least 8 grand juries to do it. This case is receiving no attention, yet is just as important. You tell me what the difference is:

(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes corruption, today announced that on January 17, 2006, Jesse Lee Peterson, et al., v. Jesse Jackson, et al. (BC 266505) will go to trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court after a ruling last week by Judge George H. Wu. Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit against Jackson, his son Jonathan, and
others on behalf of Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, who was the victim of a physical
and verbal assault at an event hosted by Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. in December 2001. Rev. Peterson is an
ordained minister, who has dedicated his life to working with underprivileged
black youth and men in our society.

The Jacksons and the Rainbow/PUSH coalition, who had sought to have the case dismissed, will now face multiple civil charges, including: Assault, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress and a California Civil Rights Claim. Jonathan Jackson also will face the additional charges of Battery and False Imprisonment.

Any surprise that this story has received almost no coverage? While the Delay story was wall to wall, and left most viewers with the impression that Mr. Delay now has two indictments against him. The truth that 'Ole Ronnie screwed up the first one, and then had to go before two grand juries before he could get the money laundering charge to stick remains limited to FoxNews and the blogosphere. Hmmmm.

Addiction Is a Very Bad Thing

Okay, so I've been a very bad blogger lately. I've managed to get my copy of Homeworld 2 working, finally. Sigh. I got hooked on the original Homeworld way back in 1998, desperately trying to run it on a computer that was waaaay to slow. And here I am hooked again, this time on a speedy 3 gig computer, but with an incompatible video card. The game works, but just barely.

I'm trying to keep up on my blogging, I really, really am. It's just that my Mothership is in peril, and I've got a Vagyr Battle Cruiser bearing down on my Resource Collectors and Mobile Refinery. Sigh.

Technorati : games, homeworld 2

The Tomb of Hercules

Big, huge hat tip to Nariel over at Ancient Eyes for this one!
An incredible find! And apparently it's been known for years. WOW!

Circular Firing Squads: Redux

I started this as a reply to two really great bloggers, who stand on, um, opposite ends of the poltical spectrum. Too many links to put in for Haloscan to handle. Besides, I was on a roll.

Okay, guys. KNOCK IT OFF! Please reference Of Bars and Blogs, especially the part about the shotgun behind the keyboard at LJIC.

There, are we all better now? Jeez!

Fred, you're right, up to a point. Some conservatives are absolutely floored by the nomination of Harriet Miers, when there were so many other seemingly well qualified candidates. And, unlike the left, conservatives haven't learned to have these fights in private, behind locked doors. It's a by-product of wandering in the wilderness from WWII until Reagan, almost 40 years. We fought like this through National Review, Weekly Standard, and the Wall Street Journal, and the conservative Think Tanks. We sharpened our ideas and our idealogy in the process. The MSM didn't care about the fights because conservatives weren't percieved as a threat. Now, well...you have to say we've come a long way since the debacle of Watergate.

Beth did an absolutely fabulous job of exploring the current cat fight on her blog and at Gun-Totin' Liberal.

Conservatives are fighting about merit, not some silly politically correct diversity issue. And, we are reacting to the trauma of the first Bush nominating David Souter. Miss Miers may be very good, in fact the "anti-Souter." Everything I've seen points in that direction. But for Mr. Bush to just say "trust me, I know what I'm doing" reminds us of his father's words about David Souter. Conservatives are also well aware of the fact that just because a Republican nominates a judge doesnt' make them conservative. Seven of the current nine were put on the bench by Republican Presidents. Not a track record to ease the angst of those of us who have worked so hard to see a reversal of the liberal tilt of the SCOTUS.

Unfortunately, the current Bush Administration is behind the times. They haven't come to grips with the New Media of blogs and talk radio any more than the Mainstream Media and the Democrats. They are unaware of how quickly information, and to a greater degree emotion, is disseminated today. And, they have underestimated just how restless the conservative base, after the anti-America protest in Washington, and the inability of the GOP to fight back. The shrill whine of "Mother" Sheehan made us angry, and we became angrier by seeing the GOP take it all so calmly. That anger came to the surface this week when the President avoided a fight with the left with the nomination of Harriet Miers.

The GOP is dangerously close to doing to conservatives what the DNC has done to Blacks. They have mistakenly assumed that the base is Republican. We aren't. Most of us are conservatives first, and Republicans second, or even third. The GOP takes us for granted at its own peril.

President Bush just began a speech on Iraq. So far, he's saying what he, and Republicans in Congress, should have been saying for months. It's about time. Conservatives, like myself, like Beth, believe our ideas are right. We are not ashamed of being conservative. And we don't want our leaders to be ashamed of being conservative either.

cross posted at Gun-Totin' Liberal

Circular Firing Squads: Reflections Upon Being a Conservative

There are times when Conservatives don't need the Left to shoot at. We do a fine job taking potshots at our own. The current grumbling, exemplified by George Will's column is the perfect example.

Now, I like George Will. He sits on George Snuffalupagus's panel on Sunday mornings looking for all the world like he just swallowed a rotten lemon. For the longest time I assumed he was just waiting for his contract to end so he could jump to FoxNews. Now I realize he's a masochist, who enjoys being talked down by the leftists the former Clinton defender has on his show. And now he's decided to join the party:

It is important that Miers not be confirmed unless, in her 61st year, she suddenly and unexpectedly is found to have hitherto undisclosed interests and talents pertinent to the court's role. Otherwise the sound principle of substantial deference to a president's choice of judicial nominees will dissolve into a rationalization for senatorial abdication of the duty to hold presidents to some standards of seriousness that will prevent them from reducing the Supreme Court to a private plaything useful for fulfilling whims on behalf of friends.

You can almost hear the "harumph."

And speaking of "harumphing," have you noticed all the conservatives on the morning talk shows in the past two days? Funny how the majority of said conservatives are bashing President Bush for his SCOTUS pick. Yet, James Dobson supports the choice, among other conservatives. Haven't seen Katie or Diane interviewing him, have you? How about the number of times Rush Limbaugh's name has been mentioned? And mentioned without that George Will rotten lemon look on the reporter's face! Yet, when Mr. Limbaugh backtracked, having learned more about the nominee, the silence from the MSM was so profound you could hear the crickets chirping.

Reagan's 11th commandment: Thou shalt not bash your fellow Republican. It doesn't mean you can't be critical of a fellow conservative. It does mean taking a breath, and not airing your dirty laundry before a left leaning MSM. The left doesn't need to do any shooting right now. We are doing a fine job of shooting ourselves in the foot all on our own.

cross posted at Gun-Totin' Liberal.

Unforced Error?

The regular baseball season has ended. But the political season never ends. While it's early in the nomination game, many conservatives believe President Bush has committed an unforced error. That means he had an easy out at home base with Luttig, Brown, or Owens, and chose to throw the ball away at first with his Supreme Court pick, Harriet Miers. We'll see, we'll see.
Update: 3:15 pm cst
Here's a bit more on Harriet Miers. Makes me feel alot better, but will give the Left palpitations if true.

Imperial Grunts

If you havent' read Imperial Grunts : The American Military on the Ground by Robert D. Kaplan, you are missing the book of the year. There have been military books before, but no book has taken the individual stories of military men and women from around the world to such heights. Order a copy today.

Technorati : Book review, imperial grunts, robert kaplan
Del.icio.us : Imperial Grunts
Ice Rocket : Imperial Grunts
Flickr : Imperial Grunts

We Win! The 9/11 Memorial Will Be a 9/11 Memorial

Governor Pataki has given the IFC the boot. There will be no anti-American, politically correct BS at Ground Zero. Thank you , Governor.

Dog Bites Man From the BBC

What a great headline:
US Press Critical of Tom Delay
Say it ain't so, say it ain't so.

Texas Retribution Went National: The Wall Street Journal

Great editorial on the whole Delay scandal:

The Majority Leader also deserves the presumption of innocence because of Mr. Earle's guilty past. A liberal Democrat, he has a history of indicting political enemies, Democrat and Republican, on flimsy evidence that didn't hold up in court. In the mid-1980s, he indicted Attorney General Jim Mattox, a rival of his ally Ann Richards, on bribery charges. Mr. Mattox was acquitted and won re-election. In 1993, he indicted Kay Bailey Hutchison, who'd just been elected to the U.S. Senate, on charges of misconduct and records tampering. Mr. Earle was forced to drop the case even before it went to trial. Earlier this year, the prosecutor delivered a widely criticized speech at a Democratic fund-raiser in which he compared his prosecutorial targets to "Mussolini and his fascists" and all but declared that he had Mr. DeLay in his sights.As for political motive, Mr. DeLay has earned the wrath of Democrats by beating them time and again at their own game. His re-redistricting of the Texas Congressional delegation before the 2004 election helped turn six House seats over to the GOP. Without his prodding, the House would never have voted to impeach Bill Clinton in 1998. And his fund-raising and arm-twisting have kept the GOP House majority both unified and re-elected for a decade.

Partisan hack in the guise of District Attorney. Texas politics writ large.

Reflections Upon Indicting a Ham Sandwich

Tom Delay was indicted today by Ronnie Earle. The same Ronnie Earl that indicted Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) a decade ago. That on fell apart too. Democrats can crow for awhile, but this is another "victory" that will end up kicking them in the face. Don't say I didn't tell you so.

Anatomy of a Photograph: Media Bias on Parade

If you've not seen this, take a look. Anybody still believe like my friend Joseph, that there is no Bush hatred in the media? Agenda driven media at its best..er..worst.

Hold Everything! Truth From NASA!

The space shuttle and International Space Station — nearly the whole of the U.S. manned space program for the past three decades — were mistakes, NASA chief Michael Griffin said Tuesday.

In a meeting with USA TODAY's editorial board, Griffin said NASA lost its way in the 1970s, when the agency ended the Apollo moon missions in favor of developing the shuttle and space station, which can only orbit Earth.

“It is now commonly accepted that was not the right path,” Griffin said. “We are now trying to change the path while doing as little damage as we can.”

Be still my heart. Could NASA be getting back on track, after over 30 years in a very expensive wilderness? It's possible. Hard to imagine how long Michael Griffin will last as a bureaucrat if he keeps telling the truth, though.

Are We Winning the War on Terror?

Timmer over at RightingAmerica has the must read post of the day. He offers a great analysis of the question, and a great read on this article from the Washington Times.