Brandon

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Are the Wheels Coming off the Democrat's Iraq Defeat Express?

Surge of Sanity Sweeping Swamps of Surrender?

"A War We Just Might Win" by liberals O'Hanlon and Pollack in the New York Times caused a stir in news and blog circles yesterday. But it was just the tip of the iceberg.

In the past week a wave of reports from top commanders in Iraq along with media and political figures is confirming that the surge is working and that things in Iraq, for now at least, are headed in the right direction.

Multi-National Forces Commander Lt. General Ray Odierno's briefing last Thursday in Iraq chronicled the drop in violence, the lessening of sectarian conflict and the drop in U.S. troop deaths saying “We’ve started to see a slow but gradual reduction in casualties and it continues in July."

And Odierno's optimism is echoed in the following statement:

I think there’s no doubt that those extra 30,000 American troops are making a difference. They’re definitely making a difference in Baghdad. Some of the crucial indicators of the war, metrics as the American command calls them, have moved in a positive direction from the American, and dare I say the Iraqi point of view, fewer car bombs, fewer bombs in general, lower levels of civilian casualties, quite remarkably lower levels of civilian casualties. And add in what they call the Baghdad belts, that’s to say the approaches to Baghdad, particularly in Diyala Province to the northeast, to in the area south of Baghdad in Babil Province, and to the west of Baghdad in Anbar Province, there’s no doubt that al Qaeda has taken something of a beating.
That wasn't the opinion of a Bush cheerleader but New York Times Baghdad bureau chief, John F. Burns speaking last Friday to Hugh Hewitt.

Burns goes on to cite confidence in General Petraeus and every expectation that his report in September will be credible. He also notes that talk in Congress of a withdrawal designed to spur Iraqi political reconciliation has had the "opposite effect" causing rival elements in Iraq to hunker down and prepare for what would be a real civil war once we left.

And talk of a premature U.S. withdrawal is finally being recognized openly by the "news" media as a terrible idea. Here are a few snippets from Kelly O'Donnell of NBC, TIME Magazine's Mike Duffy, David Ignatius of The Washington Post and CBS' Gloria Borger on Chris Matthews' Show Sunday:
O'DONNELL: People are beginning to learn that exiting is not easy. There are enormous costs.

MATTHEWS: (interrupting) Okay. Batter if we stay there two --

O'DONNELL: Mechanically you can't do it.

DUFFY: -- have a thousand Iraqis dying a month at the current rate. That could explode, maybe ten times as many if the US leaves.

BORGER: This is such a problem right now for the Democrats. Privately, many of them will say -- and Joe Biden has even said it publicly -- that you can't withdraw overnight.

VOICE: No!

BORGER: That it would be --

MATTHEWS: (interrupting) Okay. How was --

BORGER: -- dangerous for us to do.

MATTHEWS: We put it to the Matthews Meter, twelve of our regular panelists. Can Bush keep a hundred thousand troops or more in Iraq until he leaves office? It looks like he can. Eight of our group says, yes, he can.

What good does this Iraq war do to reduce the threat of terrorism here?"

IGNATIUS: These struggles are different fronts of the same war....
"These struggles are different fronts of the same war?" Someone in the "news" media has finally realized that? Astounding!

New York Times: Poll Until You Get the Answer You Want?

The news dynamic is also shifting public opinion. The New York Times has been polling the American people since the war began on the question of support for the U.S. invasion in 2003. They were so shocked that a modest uptick in support occurred in a recent poll that they sent the pollsters back to try again and see if they would get a different result. They didn't.

Will Democrats Hear Anything But Defeat?

Democrats went all out earlier this year insisting as Harry Reid said that the "war was lost" and that it didn't mater what General Petraeus said about it. That sentiment continues to motivate the defeat and surrender caucus on both sides of the U.S. Capitol.

Michael Goldfarb, writing in the Weekly Standard, describes how one member of Congress, Rep. Nancy Boyda (D-KS), " literally walked out of a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Friday because she couldn't stand listening to the good news being delivered to that committee by General Keane (Ret.). "

The following article illustrates the Democrat's dillemma:
Clyburn: Positive Report by Petraeus Could Split House Democrats on War
By Dan Balz and Chris Cillizza
Washington Post
July 30, 2007

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Monday that a strongly positive report on progress on Iraq by Army Gen. David Petraeus likely would split Democrats in the House and impede his party's efforts to press for a timetable to end the war.

Clyburn, in an interview with the washingtonpost.com video program PostTalk, said Democrats might be wise to wait for the Petraeus report, scheduled to be delivered in September, before charting next steps in their year-long struggle with President Bush over the direction of U.S. strategy.

Clyburn noted that Petraeus carries significant weight among the 47 members of the Blue Dog caucus in the House, a group of moderate to conservative Democrats. Without their support, he said, Democratic leaders would find it virtually impossible to pass legislation setting a timetable for withdrawal.

"I think there would be enough support in that group to want to stay the course and if the Republicans were to stay united as they have been, then it would be a problem for us," Clyburn said. "We, by and large, would be wise to wait on the report."
Many House Democrats must fear that failing to end the Iraq War will cause the anti-war left to desert them in 2008 making their hold on the House of Representatives even shakier than it already is. Opinion polls show Congressional approval ratings under Democrats even lower than at the height of the Mark Foley scandal under Republican control. Democrats may have overplayed their defeat and surrender hand and may be left with no more cards to play in 2008. Or will we witness the comedic farce of Democrats who voted for the war, then vehemently opposed it all of a sudden claiming they supported it all along?

With approximately six weeks to go until General Petraeus makes his report the defeat faction of the Democrat Party is gearing up for an all out assault on General Petraeus and a last ditch effort to snatch defeat from the jaws of progress and victory. But it is becoming increasingly clear that their extreme negative viewpoint is isolating them from their allies in both Congress and the "news" media.

A split in the Democrat Party would spell further good news; both for Iraq and for the American people.

Monday, July 30, 2007

"A War We Might Just Win"

Two moderate Dems describe how the nuts may finally crack!

A War We Just Might Win
By MICHAEL E. O’HANLON and KENNETH M. POLLACK
New York Times
July 30, 2007

VIEWED from Iraq, where we just spent eight days meeting with American and Iraqi military and civilian personnel, the political debate in Washington is surreal. The Bush administration has over four years lost essentially all credibility. Yet now the administration’s critics, in part as a result, seem unaware of the significant changes taking place.

Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with.

After the furnace-like heat, the first thing you notice when you land in Baghdad is the morale of our troops. In previous trips to Iraq we often found American troops angry and frustrated — many sensed they had the wrong strategy, were using the wrong tactics and were risking their lives in pursuit of an approach that could not work.

Today, morale is high. The soldiers and marines told us they feel that they now have a superb commander in Gen. David Petraeus; they are confident in his strategy, they see real results, and they feel now they have the numbers needed to make a real difference.

Everywhere, Army and Marine units were focused on securing the Iraqi population, working with Iraqi security units, creating new political and economic arrangements at the local level and providing basic services — electricity, fuel, clean water and sanitation — to the people. Yet in each place, operations had been appropriately tailored to the specific needs of the community. As a result, civilian fatality rates are down roughly a third since the surge began — though they remain very high, underscoring how much more still needs to be done.

In Ramadi, for example, we talked with an outstanding Marine captain whose company was living in harmony in a complex with a (largely Sunni) Iraqi police company and a (largely Shiite) Iraqi Army unit. He and his men had built an Arab-style living room, where he met with the local Sunni sheiks — all formerly allies of Al Qaeda and other jihadist groups — who were now competing to secure his friendship.

In Baghdad’s Ghazaliya neighborhood, which has seen some of the worst sectarian combat, we walked a street slowly coming back to life with stores and shoppers. The Sunni residents were unhappy with the nearby police checkpoint, where Shiite officers reportedly abused them, but they seemed genuinely happy with the American soldiers and a mostly Kurdish Iraqi Army company patrolling the street. The local Sunni militia even had agreed to confine itself to its compound once the Americans and Iraqi units arrived.

We traveled to the northern cities of Tal Afar and Mosul. This is an ethnically rich area, with large numbers of Sunni Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens. American troop levels in both cities now number only in the hundreds because the Iraqis have stepped up to the plate. Reliable police officers man the checkpoints in the cities, while Iraqi Army troops cover the countryside. A local mayor told us his greatest fear was an overly rapid American departure from Iraq. All across the country, the dependability of Iraqi security forces over the long term remains a major question mark.

But for now, things look much better than before. American advisers told us that many of the corrupt and sectarian Iraqi commanders who once infested the force have been removed. The American high command assesses that more than three-quarters of the Iraqi Army battalion commanders in Baghdad are now reliable partners (at least for as long as American forces remain in Iraq).

In addition, far more Iraqi units are well integrated in terms of ethnicity and religion. The Iraqi Army’s highly effective Third Infantry Division started out as overwhelmingly Kurdish in 2005. Today, it is 45 percent Shiite, 28 percent Kurdish, and 27 percent Sunni Arab.

In the past, few Iraqi units could do more than provide a few “jundis” (soldiers) to put a thin Iraqi face on largely American operations. Today, in only a few sectors did we find American commanders complaining that their Iraqi formations were useless — something that was the rule, not the exception, on a previous trip to Iraq in late 2005.

The additional American military formations brought in as part of the surge, General Petraeus’s determination to hold areas until they are truly secure before redeploying units, and the increasing competence of the Iraqis has had another critical effect: no more whack-a-mole, with insurgents popping back up after the Americans leave.

In war, sometimes it’s important to pick the right adversary, and in Iraq we seem to have done so. A major factor in the sudden change in American fortunes has been the outpouring of popular animus against Al Qaeda and other Salafist groups, as well as (to a lesser extent) against Moktada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army.

These groups have tried to impose Shariah law, brutalized average Iraqis to keep them in line, killed important local leaders and seized young women to marry off to their loyalists. The result has been that in the last six months Iraqis have begun to turn on the extremists and turn to the Americans for security and help. The most important and best-known example of this is in Anbar Province, which in less than six months has gone from the worst part of Iraq to the best (outside the Kurdish areas). Today the Sunni sheiks there are close to crippling Al Qaeda and its Salafist allies. Just a few months ago, American marines were fighting for every yard of Ramadi; last week we strolled down its streets without body armor.

Another surprise was how well the coalition’s new Embedded Provincial Reconstruction Teams are working. Wherever we found a fully staffed team, we also found local Iraqi leaders and businessmen cooperating with it to revive the local economy and build new political structures. Although much more needs to be done to create jobs, a new emphasis on microloans and small-scale projects was having some success where the previous aid programs often built white elephants.

In some places where we have failed to provide the civilian manpower to fill out the reconstruction teams, the surge has still allowed the military to fashion its own advisory groups from battalion, brigade and division staffs. We talked to dozens of military officers who before the war had known little about governance or business but were now ably immersing themselves in projects to provide the average Iraqi with a decent life.

Outside Baghdad, one of the biggest factors in the progress so far has been the efforts to decentralize power to the provinces and local governments. But more must be done. For example, the Iraqi National Police, which are controlled by the Interior Ministry, remain mostly a disaster. In response, many towns and neighborhoods are standing up local police forces, which generally prove more effective, less corrupt and less sectarian. The coalition has to force the warlords in Baghdad to allow the creation of neutral security forces beyond their control.

In the end, the situation in Iraq remains grave. In particular, we still face huge hurdles on the political front. Iraqi politicians of all stripes continue to dawdle and maneuver for position against one another when major steps towards reconciliation — or at least accommodation — are needed. This cannot continue indefinitely. Otherwise, once we begin to downsize, important communities may not feel committed to the status quo, and Iraqi security forces may splinter along ethnic and religious lines.

How much longer should American troops keep fighting and dying to build a new Iraq while Iraqi leaders fail to do their part? And how much longer can we wear down our forces in this mission? These haunting questions underscore the reality that the surge cannot go on forever. But there is enough good happening on the battlefields of Iraq today that Congress should plan on sustaining the effort at least into 2008.
Can it possibly be true? the newspaper leading the charge for the Democrat's surrender caucus is changing the tune? Or are they just hedging their bet?

Careful, if this trend continues, Hillary and other Democrats who were for the war before they were against it will be claiming credit for it's success!

Keep America Safe: Monitor Terrorist Communications!

An excellent article in Opinion Journal providing a superb overview of the terrorist surveillance program and offering the legal expertise of Messrs. Rivkin and Casey who served in the Justice Department under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Here are the final two paragraphs:

...Moreover, the very fact that the intelligence community operates in a state of continued uncertainty about what precise surveillance parameters would be allowed in the future--instead of having the collection efforts driven entirely by the unfolding operational imperatives--is both unprecedented in wartime and highly detrimental. In past wars, as fighting continued, valuable battlefield experience was gathered, causing weapons systems, military organization and combat techniques to improve consistently. In this difficult war with al Qaeda, by contrast, the key battlefield intelligence-gathering program has been repeatedly emasculated.

Congress' obsession with the TSP's legal pedigree has become the major threat to its continued viability, rivaling in its deleterious impact the infamous "wall," much criticized by the 9/11 Commission, which prevented information sharing between the Justice Department's intelligence and law-enforcement divisions. It is hypocritical for those in Congress who preach fidelity to the 9/11 Commission recommendations to behave so dramatically at odds with their spirit. The question Judiciary Committee members should have been asking Mr. Gonzales was not whether he had misled them--he clearly did not--but whether the TSP is still functioning well. The question the public should be asking those senators--and with not much more civility than the senators showed Mr. Gonzales--is what are they going to do about it if the answer is no.

Democrats Against Spying?

It all depends on who is doing it!

When President Bush monitors the communications of overseas terrorists without a warrant it's an impeachable offense and Democrats in the U.S. Senate will hound every member of his Administration from office if possible.

When Eliot Spitzer, the Democrat Governor of the second largest state in the Union uses the New York State Police to spy on the Republican Majority Leader in the State Senate then leaks information to the press in an attempt to smear his rival it's business as usual, nothing to see here. Please keep moving.

As usual, two sets of rules. For Democrats anything goes. Spying and smearing political rivals? Who cares? For Republicans you're damned if you do spy on terrorists and damned if you don't!


Iraq Shows that Unity Wins in Asian Soccer Cup

Kurds, Shias and Sunnis united on the Iraq soccer team to win victory over much more experienced rivals.

Joyful citizens of Iraq erupted in celebrations that haven't been seen on this scale since their elections.

It's a lesson for Iraq and also a lesson for the United States. In both nations disunity projects weakness and invites defeat.

Unity WINS!


Sunday, July 29, 2007

Hillary's Heckler Speaking Truth to Power

We have all the fun here in South Carolina!

Sign held up by protestor at the College Democrats meeting in South Carolina reads: "She doesn't care, all she wants is power."

The video is here.

On the reverse, Martha Comyns'sign said: "Hillary Clinton is a cold caluclating power hungry woman" with something about "George" after that.

What fun!

Continuity in the Special Relationship Between Britain and the U.S.

New Prime Minster Brown visits President Bush at Camp David.

President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom, walk past an honor guard Sunday, July 29, 2007, after the Prime Minister's arrival at Camp David in Thurmont, Maryland. White House photo by Chris Greenberg

Bit of concern this side of "the pond" that Prime Minster Brown has appointed Mark Malloch Brown, former Deputy UN Secretary General and a chief defender of the corrupt and incompetent Kofi Anan to a high place in his cabinet.

Let's hope the Prime Minster holds Malloch Brown's leash tight!

Newt's Nuggets of Nowledge Nails It Now!

More from Newt on Fox News Sunday:

NEWT: "We're faced with problems I think that are fully as great as those that faced Lincoln and Douglas in the 1850s, and yet we have reduced our political dialogue to a point where literally potential would-be leaders of the most powerful government in the world stand meekly in line waiting for somebody to pick a question, and the question can be anything. ...

I think the great dilemma of America today, and if we don't solve it, it will become a tragedy, is that the Republicans don't recognize the scale of the performance failure of government as a system, and the Democrats are living in a fantasy land in terms of their policy proposals. ... The Democrats are offering a series of policies that have no hope of working in the real world, but they at least sound better than the performance failure.

I think this is truly one of the most important political processes in American history and that we have to come to grips with how much trouble we're in and how deep the problems are. ... I do think a president has an obligation to say to the country, "You can't compete with China and India if your education system is failing," and that has to be solved locally.

And frankly, I think the federal Department of Education is not a useful asset in trying to solve that. ...

MIKE WALLACE: Finally, and we have about a minute left, on Iraq, Senator Feingold is already calling and already voting to start pulling troops out starting in 120 days, with most forces out by next April.

Why do you think that some Democrats want to start pulling out troops even before General Petraeus gets a chance to issue his progress report in September?

GINGRICH: The left wing of the Democratic Party is deeply opposed to American victory and deeply committed to American defeat.

In 1975, when there were no Americans left in Vietnam, the left wing of the Democratic Party killed the government of South Vietnam, cut off all of its funding, cut off all of its ammunition, and sent a signal to the world that the United States had abandoned its allies.

What I would say to any Democrat who wants America to leave is quite simple. Millions of Iraqis have sided with the United States. They are known in their neighborhoods. They are known in their cities. If we abandon them, they are going to be massacred.

How can you, in good conscience, walk away from these decent people and leave them behind to a fate which we've seen, for example, in Afghanistan, where the Taliban recently was machine-gunning girls as they walked to school because the Taliban is determined to stop women from getting educated?

We are faced with evil opponents. Those opponents need to be defeated. And if General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker come back in September and say, "We actually can win this thing," I want to understand the rationale that says, "No, we don't want to let America win. Let's legislate defeat for the United States."

I couldn't have said it better. If I could, I would be running for President.

Clinton-Obama A 2008 Dem Dream Team?

Hey Newt, you're behind the curve, I've been saying this for weeks:

Gingrich Predicts Clinton-Obama Ticket
Associated Press
Jul 29,2007

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats will nominate Hillary Rodham Clinton for president in 2008 and Barack Obama will be her running mate, former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich predicts.

The GOP will have three "formidable" choices in Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson, said Gingrich, who is considering whether to get into the race.

Gingrich is ruling out John McCain's chances among the Republican contenders.

The Arizona senator "has taken positions so deeply at odds with his party's base that I don't see how he can get the nomination," Gingrich said Sunday in a broadcast interview.

Gingrich said he had dinner recently with Thompson, the former Tennessee senator and actor who has set up a political committee that allows him to raise money for a presidential bid. An official launch is likely in September, after the Labor Day holiday.

Gingrich said he expects Thompson will enter what is shaping up as a competitive race for the GOP nomination against Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, and Giuliani, a former New York City mayor.

"I think that either Mayor Giuliani or Governor Romney or Senator Thompson would be a very formidable opponent for what I expect will be a Clinton-Obama ticket, and I think that there's a possibility that will work," Gingrich said.

In the fall, Gingrich might decide to jump in, depending on how the Republican candidates are faring against Clinton, the New York senator.

"If there is a vacuum and if there's a real need for somebody to be prepared to debate Senator Clinton, then I would consider running. I think we'll know that in October," Gingrich said.

"But these three are serious people," Gingrich said, referring to Romney, Giuliani and Thompson. "They're working very hard. And if they can fill the vacuum, I don't feel any great need to run."
Transcript of the full interview on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace is here.

C&O A Formidable Ticket?


Imagine the headlines: First woman President, first black Vice President. The liberal "news" media will report this as the Second Coming (something which they probably would NOT report if it happened).

Objectivity on the life and death issues of national importance be damned! It'll be a left wing media love fest the likes of which we've never seen!

Saturday, July 28, 2007

How Democrats are Hamstringing Terrorist Monitoring

You can't connect the dots with one hand tied behind your back!

The Wall Street Journal has this excellent article describing how we are dropping the ball in monitoring overseas terrorist communications because of a technicality in the law which Democrats refuse to fix.

Even calls or email between suspects both of whom are outside the United States are often routed through the much more efficient communications infrastructure in the U.S. So monitoring those calls without a warrant was called "domestic spying" by Democrats.

President Bush agreed to terminate warrantless monitoring of these calls and it's now estimated that we're missing up to two thirds of communications which we could and should be monitoring.

Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress seem more interested in investigating the President's past monitoring of overseas terror suspects than they do about fixing the outdated FISA law which regulates suspect monitoring.

One exception is House Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes (readers may recall Reyes didn't know the difference between a Sunni and a Shia or have much of a clue who Hezbollah was). Reyes has encouraged President Bush to "devote all the resources necessary to ensure that we are conducting maximum surveillance of the terrorist target abroad."

As the Journal article points out Reye's "should send his next letter to Senate Democrats." The minute President Bush began monitoring these overseas calls without full Congressional legislative approval Democrats would be starting impeachment proceedings.

Meanwhile, we're fighting to keep America safe with one hand tied behind our backs!

No Boob Tube Debate for GOP?

Will Republican presidential candidates lend their gravitas to a clownfest like the Democrats CNN You Tube "debate?"

I hope not.

Hugh Hewitt rounds up the issue here.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Democrat Spokesman Responds to Bush's Al Queda in Iraq Speech

Dems really blew a gasket after Bush's speech in Charleston on Tuesday.

How dare Bush point out that the terrorists in Iraq have sworn allegiance and taken direction from the same Al Queda leaders who attacked the United States on September 11th.

As usual, Democrats echoing the propaganda of our enemies raises the question: WHOSE SIDE ARE THEY ON?

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

And the Lion Shall Lay Down with the Lamb

On a lighter note, I came across this story of a cat who cares for a brood of ducklings while visiting the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom.

I had originally dropped by the Mail to check out the latest UFO sighting in Britain. Any thoughts on what those lights in the photo might be?

See the article for more photos.

Rebuilding Iraq One Child at a Time

Thanks to Freedom Now for passing on the good news that the Boy and Girl Scouts of Iraq are once again being organized after years of inactivity with the help of the U.S. Marine Corps.

You can help by visiting Spirit of America and making a donation. 100% of your contribution goes to help Iraq's children rediscover the benefits of scouting.

Also, Freedom Now invites you to place the following badge on your side bar:


Copy and Paste this text and place in your sidebar template:



Ward Churchill Fired at Last!

It took two and a half years during which time Churchill collected an annual salary of $115,000. And even after being fired he will still collect another year's salary.

It seems being an America hating phony Native American pays well!

President Bush: It's Al Queda Stupid!

Seems some of our Democrat friends just don't get it. So President Bush felt it worth repeating at an Air Force Base in nearby Charleston, SC Tuesday.

President George W. Bush (C) has lunch with troops at Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, SC, 24 July 2007

President Bush Discusses War on Terror in South Carolina
Charleston Air Force Base
Charleston, South Carolina

White House transcript

...There's a debate in Washington about Iraq, and nothing wrong with a healthy debate. There's also a debate about al Qaeda's role in Iraq. Some say that Iraq is not part of the broader war on terror. They complain when I say that the al Qaeda terrorists we face in Iraq are part of the same enemy that attacked us on September the 11th, 2001. They claim that the organization called al Qaeda in Iraq is an Iraqi phenomenon, that it's independent of Osama bin Laden and that it's not interested in attacking America.

That would be news to Osama bin Laden. He's proclaimed that the "third world war is raging in Iraq." Osama bin Laden says, "The war is for you or for us to win. If we win it, it means your defeat and disgrace forever." I say that there will be a big defeat in Iraq and it will be the defeat of al Qaeda. (Applause.)

Today I will consider the arguments of those who say that al Qaeda and al Qaeda in Iraq are separate entities. I will explain why they are both part of the same terrorist network -- and why they are dangerous to our country.
...
bin Laden publicly declared that Zarqawi was the "Prince of Al Qaida in Iraq" -- and instructed terrorists in Iraq to "listen to him and obey him." It's hard to argue that al Qaida in Iraq is separate from bin Laden's al Qaida, when the leader of al Qaida in Iraq took an oath of allegiance to Osama bin Laden.
...
After Abu Ayyub took over al Qaida's Iraqi operations last year, Osama bin Laden sent a terrorist leader named Abd al-Hadi al Iraqi to help him. According to our intelligence community, this man was a senior advisor to bin Laden, who served as his top commander in Afghanistan. Abd al-Hadi never made it to Iraq. He was captured, and was recently transferred to the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay. The fact that bin Laden risked sending one of his most valued commanders to Iraq shows the importance he places on success of al Qaida's Iraqi operations.
...
According to our intelligence community, many of al Qaida in Iraq's other senior leaders are also foreign terrorists. They include a Syrian who is al Qaida in Iraq's emir in Baghdad, a Saudi who is al Qaida in Iraq's top spiritual and legal advisor, an Egyptian who fought in Afghanistan in the 1990s and who has met with Osama bin Laden, a Tunisian who we believe plays a key role in managing foreign fighters. Last month in Iraq, we killed a senior al Qaida facilitator named Mehmet Yilmaz, a Turkish national who fought with al Qaida in Afghanistan, and met with September the 11th mastermind Khalid Shaikh Muhammad, and other senior al Qaida leaders.

A few weeks ago, we captured a senior al Qaida in Iraq leader named Mashadani. Now, this terrorist is an Iraqi. In fact, he was the highest ranking Iraqi in the organization. Here's what he said, here's what he told us: The foreign leaders of Al Qaida in Iraq went to extraordinary lengths to promote the fiction that al Qaida in Iraq is an Iraqi-led operation. He says al Qaida even created a figurehead whom they named Omar al-Baghdadi. The purpose was to make Iraqi fighters believe they were following the orders of an Iraqi instead of a foreigner. Yet once in custody, Mashadani revealed that al-Baghdadi is only an actor. He confirmed our intelligence that foreigners are at the top echelons of al Qaida in Iraq -- they are the leaders -- and that foreign leaders make most of the operational decisions, not Iraqis.

Foreign terrorists also account for most of the suicide bombings in Iraq. Our military estimates that between 80 and 90 percent of suicide attacks in Iraq are carried out by foreign-born al Qaida terrorists. It's true that today most of al Qaida in Iraq's rank and file fighters and some of its leadership are Iraqi. But to focus exclusively on this single fact is to ignore the larger truth: Al Qaida in Iraq is a group founded by foreign terrorists, led largely by foreign terrorists, and loyal to a foreign terrorist leader -- Osama bin Laden. They know they're al Qaida. The Iraqi people know they are al Qaida. People across the Muslim world know they are al Qaida. And there's a good reason they are called al Qaida in Iraq: They are al Qaida ... in ... Iraq.
...
Here's the bottom line: Al Qaida in Iraq is run by foreign leaders loyal to Osama bin Laden. Like bin Laden, they are cold-blooded killers who murder the innocent to achieve al Qaida's political objectives. Yet despite all the evidence, some will tell you that al Qaida in Iraq is not really al Qaida -- and not really a threat to America. Well, that's like watching a man walk into a bank with a mask and a gun, and saying he's probably just there to cash a check.

You might wonder why some in Washington insist on making this distinction about the enemy in Iraq. It's because they know that if they can convince America we're not fighting bin Laden's al Qaida there, they can paint the battle in Iraq as a distraction from the real war on terror. If we're not fighting bin Laden's al Qaida, they can argue that our nation can pull out of Iraq and not undermine our efforts in the war on terror. The problem they have is with the facts. We are fighting bin Laden's al Qaida in Iraq; Iraq is central to the war on terror; and against this enemy, America can accept nothing less than complete victory. (Applause.)
...
We've already seen how al Qaida used a failed state thousands of miles from our shores to bring death and destruction to the streets of our cities -- and we must not allow them to do so again. So, however difficult the fight is in Iraq, we must win it. And we can win it.

Less than a year ago, Anbar Province was al Qaida's base in Iraq and was written off by many as lost. Since then, U.S. and Iraqi forces have teamed with Sunni sheiks who have turned against al Qaida. Hundreds have been killed or captured. Terrorists have been driven from most of the population centers. Our troops are now working to replicate the success in Anbar in other parts of the country. Our brave men and women are taking risks, and they're showing courage, and we're making progress.

For the security of our citizens, and the peace of the world, we must give General Petraeus and his troops the time and resources they need, so they can defeat al Qaida in Iraq.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Tuesday Quick Takes

I put this off too long, so I'm going to load these up nice and short:

Bush to Deport Foreigners Critical of Administration

President Bush announced today that the Federal government will deport foreign visitors critical of his Administration. "How long are we going to allow a person - from any country in the world - to come to our own house to say there's a dictatorship here, that the president is a tyrant, and nobody does anything about it?" President Bush said in a recent speech.

Federal government officials will be responsible for monitoring the statements of foreign visitors to the United States to determine whether they should be allowed to stay.

In another move, President Bush spoke of his desire to extend his term in office beyond 2008.

Got your attention did I?

Of course I simply substituted President Bush for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who is busy consolidating his dictatorship in Venezuela.

Funny how many of the same lefties who would go absolutely bonkers if President Bush did anything remotely similar (and there is no valid comparison) have all been down to Venezuela to praise Castro Chavez as he destroys freedom of the press, makes himself the permanent leader of Venezuela, packs the courts and the legislator and rapes the Brazilian Rain Forest with a 5,000 km natural gas pipeline.

Meanwhile, thousands of doctors which Castro sent to Venezuela are fleeing across the border to Columbia and attempting to come to the United States. If the United States is such a rotten country, why do the captives in communist paradises like Cuba or Venezuela risk their lives coming here?


Iraq Surge Success Spreading

An unprecedented agreement between Shiites and Sunnis to work together and with the United States to end terrorist violence in Iraq is already bearing fruit. It's the first sign of significant political progress necessary to met the conditions of victory laid down by President Bush.

Al Queda Defections in Iraq

The surge and related efforts have also led to increased defections of Al Queda fighters who have become repulsed by the barbarity of terrorist leaders.

Al Queda Leadership Struggle?

Newsweek has this interesting article suggesting that Al Queda #2 Ayman al-Zawahiri might have overstepped his bounds by launching the jihad wave against President Musharraf in Pakistan. Doing so have removed any illusions Musharraf may have had about leaving Al Queda and Taliban efforts free to organize in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

Democrats Struggle with Leadership

In a similar vein, terrorist enabling anti-war and "peace" activists in the Democrat Party are not pleased with their congressional leadership. Both House Speaker Pelosi and Senate Leader Reid were booed by activists at a rally on the eve of the big Senate sleepover where Democrats failed again to deliver the promised surrender withdrawal of U.S. forces in Iraq.

Led by Queen Bee of the Moonbats, Cindy Sheehan, who has returned to public activism two months after saying "Good-bye America ... "I'm going home for awhile to try and be normal;" Cindy found herself leading a march from Arlington National Cemetery to Capitol Hill. Along with fellow moonbats, she invaded the office of Congressman John Conyers (DEMOCRAT-MI) (photo right) demanding that as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Conyers should begin impeachment proceedings against President Bush.

After all her recent marching, we wonder if perhaps Ms. Sheewitch might have been hungry and simply shown up at Conyer's office in search of the missing turkeys Conyer's staff stole from a Detroit food bank where they had been destined to feed the poor at Thanksgiving a few years back.

Washington Post: Harry Reid "irresponsible..cynical politicking and willful blindness."

Ouch! That's got to hurt!

The Phony Debate

Washington Post Editorial

...The decision of Democrats led by Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) to deny rather than nourish a bipartisan agreement is, of course, irresponsible. But so was Mr. Reid's answer when he was asked by the Los Angeles Times how the United States should manage the explosion of violence that the U.S. intelligence community agrees would follow a rapid pullout. "That's a hypothetical. I'm not going to get into it," the paper quoted the Democratic leader as saying.

For now Mr. Reid's cynical politicking and willful blindness to the stakes in Iraq don't matter so much. The result of his maneuvering was to postpone congressional debate until September, when Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, will report on results of the surge -- in other words, just the outcome the White House was hoping for. But then, as now, the country will desperately need a strategy for Iraq that can count on broad bipartisan support, one aimed at carrying the U.S. mission through the end of the Bush administration and beyond. There are serious issues still to resolve, such as whether a drawdown should begin this fall or next year, how closely it should be tied to Iraqi progress, how fast it can proceed and how the remaining forces should be deployed.

Amazing that after pointing to television screens chronicling the barbarity and violence of our enemies in Iraq anyone, let alone a leader of the U.S. Senate would dismiss the likelihood of a bloodbath following a premature U.S. withdrawal as "hypothetical."

Yet still, no Democrat, even those who have continually berated President Bush for not having a better post invasion plan for Iraq will stand up and describe what their plan is for a post-U.S. withdrawal.


Senator Mitch McConnell: Leader of the GOP

With as much griping as we do about the U.S. Senate, at least we have Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) as the GOP Leader. Hugh Hewitt describes how McConnell's effective maneuvering have tied Harry Reid and the defeatist Democrats efforts into knots.

As approval ratings for Harry Reid and Congressional Democrats continues to drop, the star of Mitch McConnell and similar GOP fighters like South Carolina's Jim DeMint continues to rise.


U.S. Becoming Like France?

Considering the denial and delusion of Senate Democrats is it any wonder that Thomas Sowell describes our current situation as a "moral paralysis" akin to France in the 1930's?

His point is in reference to efforts to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons, but it may as well apply to our entire fight against Islamists everywhere.

It's clear that Democrats are still in total denial and prefer their anti-Bush prejudices over any united effort to tackle the real problem.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Ask Yourself Why: More Black Men in Prison than College

Next time you hear some Democrat or Civil Rights Leader (same thing really) complain about the number of black men in prison ask yourself why they are there.

Here's a story which illuminates the problem:

Indictment: Michael Vick Hanged, Drowned, Slammed Weak Dogs to Ground
by Michael David Smith
Jul 17th 2007

Contrary to the widespread reports that Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was not an active participant in the dog fighting ring that was apparently run on his property, the indictment handed down against him today indicates that Vick was involved in all activities, including killing the dogs with his own hands.

Page 17 of the indictment says that on one occasion, Vick and two others killed eight fighting dogs that had shown in testing sessions they weren't strong enough to win fights:

"In or about April 2007, PEACE, PHILIPS, and VICK executed approximately 8 dogs that did not perform well in "testing" sessions at 1915 Moonlight Road, by various methods including hanging, drowning and slamming at least one dog's body to the ground."

Michael Vick is a man who had it made. As quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons he was a star and highly paid at that. But money and fame weren't enough to overcome the hip-hop thug culture which is destroying so many black males.

So next time some "civil rights" leader complains about the number of black men in prison, I hope someone asks them what they are doing to counter the culture of violence and criminality that creates these monsters. And ask them how much money they have taken in "contributions" from these same monsters.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

"Let's Roll!"

Stocks Climb Following Mostly Upbeat Earnings Reports; Dow Closes at 14,000.41

Good news for every American. Even Democrats!

More Quick Takes

Quote of the Week:

"I would rather be a baby-killing terrorist in Gitmo under President Bush’s watch than a baby in the Branch Davidian compound while Clinton was president."

What Democrat Iraq Pullout Legislation would actually do:
Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Troop Withdrawal?

News reports have repeatedly characterized the Reed-Levin amendment, which brought the Senate to a halt, as requiring U.S. troops to be out of Iraq by the end of next April. But the actual language of the measure does no such thing.

The amendment — which Republicans prevented from coming up for a vote — called for a "reduction in the number of United States forces in Iraq". It also provided for a "limited presence" and limited missions including training Iraqi forces and counterterrorism. It provided no numbers or any specifics on how much of a reduction in forces, or how big the limited presence would be.

But assuming the Democrats did manage to get U.S. forces out of Iraq, they admit they have no plan in the event of a sectarian bloodbath many acknowledge is likely.

Pull back to our bases in Iraq is exactly the strategy which Democrats carped had "failed" last year. Funny that they want to do precisely that again. And of course it will not satisfy the anti-U.S.-war loons in the Democrat Party.

Democrats Accept Iraq Withdrawal Would be Bloodbath-- But Who Cares?

After years of moaning about the poor Iraqis caught in the crossfire of what Democrats claimed was a "civil war" this seems especially crass:

"Many acknowledged that Iraq could first plunge into vicious sectarian fighting. . . . Yet they flatly rejected the use of U.S. troops to stop the killing. 'I wouldn't be surprised if it's horrendous,' said House Appropriations Committee Chairman David R. Obey, a Wisconsin Democrat who has helped lead the drive against the war. 'The only hope for the Iraqis is their own damned government, and there's slim hope for that.' "--Baltimore Sun, July 18, 2007
Hillary Clinton too "Mannish" to be President?
or: Who Wears the Pants in Clinton Family?

In an interview with Salon.com Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Dem presidential candidate and cancer victim above reproach said:
..."sometimes you feel you have to behave as a man and not talk about women's issues. I'm sympathetic -- she wants to be commander in chief. But she's just not as vocal a women's advocate as I want to see. John is. And then she says, or maybe her supporters say, "Support me because I'm a woman," and I want to say to her, "Well, then support me because I'm a woman." The question is not so much how she campaigns -- that's theater. The question is, what does her campaign tell you about how she'll govern? And I'm not convinced she'd be as good an advocate for women. She needs a rationale greater for her campaign than I've heard. When she announced her candidacy she said, "I'm in it to win it." What is that? That's not a rationale. Same with Senator Obama -- I've yet to hear a rationale. John is extremely clear about what he can accomplish and why he's the one to do it."

Bill Clinton responds in this audio interview: "I don't think she [Hillary] is trying to be a man."

Meanwhile, John Edwards with his perfect hair is being touted as potentially the "first woman president."

Taking Congressional Pork Personally

From the Grapevine: Tucked away in this year's labor and health bill is two million dollars sought by New York Democrat, and House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel. The beneficiary would be the City College of New York to establish the "Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service." That's right — he wants us to pay for a building named in his honor.


Anniversary of Shame: July 19, 1967
Still no charges against Senator Kennedy in death of Mary Jo Kopechne.

Senator Kennedrunk left Mary Jo to drown and went home to sleep it off. And he's still revered by Democrats?


Democrats Biggest Fear

Sparks from the Anvil has been assembling another stellar round of cartoons which speak more clearly to many of the issues surrounding surrender in Iraq than the words which I could write.

Free Border Agents Compean and Ramos

The Senate Judiciary Committee finally takes action!

If you haven't followed the case of Border Agents Compean and Ramos, sentenced to 11 and 12 years for failing to report that shots were fired at a drug smuggler who was attempting to smuggle 743 pounds of illegal drugs, Congressman Dana Rohrbacher gives a good wrap up of the case:


Statement of Congressman Dana Rohrbacher
Before Senate Judiciary Committee
July 17,2007

...[O]n Feb, 17, 2005 Officers Ramos and Compean interdicted a drug smuggler who had just penetrated our border with 743 pounds of narcotics. A high speed chase ensued followed by a physical altercation. Agent Compean ended up on the ground. The drug dealer ran toward the border, turning as he did and, according to the officers, appeared to have a shiny object in his hand. There is no reason to believe that object was not a gun. Shots were fired and in the aftermath, the prescribed Border Patrol procedure was not followed. Ramos and Compean and their supervisors, not believing the drug dealer to be hit, decide to forego the hours of laborious paperwork that is required after shooting incidents. That procedural violation, which deserved a reprimand, was turned into a felony by the US Attorney’s office.

Prosecutors in this country are given great discretion. Who will be granted immunity and who will be prosecuted is their call. In this case the U.S. Attorney’s office decided to give immunity to a professional drug smuggler, accept his word that, even though he was in possession of a million dollars in drugs, that he was unarmed and then throw the book at the border patrol agents, turning into a felony what should have been addressed, at most, by a 5-day suspension for the violation of internal procedures.

It is totally disingenuous for anyone involved with prosecuting Ramos and Compean to suggest that they had no choice. The choice was prosecuting the drug smuggler for his heinous crimes or prosecuting the border patrol agents. Going after the agents required turning reality on its head, turning our protectors into the bad guys, exaggerating the importance of not spending hours muddling through a shooting report when they thought no one had been hit. The prosecutors decided to go after the good guys and give immunity to the bad guy.

The prosecutors then vilify the border patrol agents to justify their decision. Mr. Sutton, for example, has repeatedly referred to the agents as “corrupt” in broadcast interviews. When challenged he simply defined corrupt in a way no one else uses the term. But it was Mr. Sutton who stood by as Congress was lied to with the claim that these two fine Americans of Mexican decent, supposedly bragged they wanted to go out and “shoot a Mexican” that day. This later was proven to be a bold faced lie. Who is being prosecuted for lying to Congress? This lie was in print on numerous occasions, why did Mr. Sutton let such a vicious lie stand? Why didn’t he correct the record?
...
[T]he Ramos and Compean case is the worst miscarriage of justice I have witnessed in the 30 years I’ve been in Washington. The decision to give immunity to the drug dealer and throw the book at the border patrol agents was a prosecutorial travesty. The whole episode stinks to high heaven. Two of America’s brave border patrol defenders have had there lives and the lives of their families destroyed by elitists, arrogant and overreaching prosecutors who believe protecting the civil rights of illegal alien criminals is worth destroying the lives of our law enforcement officers for procedural violations.

Following the hearing, both Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), acting Chairperson of the Senate Judiciary Committee and ranking member Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) sent a letter to President Bush requesting the commutation of the sentences of both Compean and Ramos.

In the letter they point out that "Despite the fact that this incident occurred while Aldrete-Davila was transporting 743 pounds of marijuana, the prosecution gave him a border crossing pass that allowed him to enter the U.S. legally...There is evidence that during one of these crossings Aldrete-Davila entered the United States and again transported a large quantity of marijuana – perhaps as much as 750 pounds."

It's amazing that we have a prosecutor who ignores the blatant criminal activity of an illegal alien in his zeal to prosecute two highly regarded Border Patrol agents. Compean and Ramos never should have been prosecuted, let alone convicted and sentenced to such long prison terms.

But to also coddle the criminal alien sends absolutely the wrong message and this prosecutor should be fired!

Compean and Ramos should be freed immediately!

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Moment of Truth for Musharraf and Pakistan

Waziristan

Last year Pakistan's government signed a truce with militants in the lawless region of Waziristan which is located along the border with Afghanistan.

The agreement was intended to stop attacks by the militants and Taliban against government forces in the region and included a promise that the militants would "distance themselves from foreign militants" such as Al Queda.

Guess what? The militants cheated on the deal from day one. Attacks in coordination with Al Queda against targets in nearby Afghanistan soared. But Musharraf turned a blind eye to those concerns as long as the militants did not attack Pakistani government forces.

As usual, when you show indifference to blatant cheating on an agreement such as the truce, you demonstrate weakness to your enemy and invite further aggression.

This is exactly what happened as radicals at the Red Mosque in the heart of the Pakistani capital Islamabad received direct support including foreign fighters and weapons from Al Queda #2 al Zawahiri in a bid to provoke a confrontation with Musharraf's government and spark an Islamic revolution.

Clearly the bid to use the martyrdom of the Red Mosque radicals and Al Queda fighters failed to ignite a revolution toppling Musharraf. This time.

Has Musharraf Gotten the Message?

After all the assassination attempts on his life, including the most recent where radicals attempted to shoot down his plane, Musharraf must know by now that there is no way to make a deal with these radicals. You either defeat them, or they will kill you.

After the Red Mosque attack Musharraf seems to have gotten the message. "Terror and extremism have not ended in Pakistan," he said. "But it is our resolve to eliminate them…. Extremism and terrorism will be defeated in every corner of the country."

Thousands of Pakistani troops are now streaming back into Waziristan and already many have been killed in suicide attacks. U.S. officials ,who have been unanimous in condemning the broken deal with militants, are fully backing the military operation and promising $750 million as part of an economic assistance package to encourage militants in the region to stop supporting terrorists.

Despite the fact that tribal militants themselves pronounced the flawed truce dead, conflicting stories continue to suggest that the government of Pakistan is looking to salvage the truce.

While the full range of political, military and economic options should be explored, no one should be under any illusions regarding the necessity of approaching the problem from the vantage point of a strong military position.

Peace through strength! It works every time it's tried. And it may be Musharraf's last chance!

Monday, July 16, 2007

Quick Takes

Dr. Seuss Redo Features Mike's America Do Nothing Trolls!

In the comments section you might have noticed a redo of a famous Dr. Seuss political cartoon lampooning the "America First" crowd who served the interests of our enemies by trying to keep the U.S. out of World War II.

Seems old habits among defeatists, appeasers and terrorist enablers dies hard. So I thought it appropriate to touch up the original Seuss cartoon and give our trolls Ken, Arthur and Elmo more of the attention they crave.


Women, Girls the Target of Islamists

Two weeks ago I posted that women at a ladies night in a London club were the target of the car bomb that Al Queda terrorists failed to detonate. The American Israeli Patriot underscores that targeting of women with this report about the recent murder of school girls at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

So I looked at the web site for the National Organization for Women to see if they had any reaction. Among numerous anti-war posts (what does that have to do with women's issues?) I did find this one about women in Afghanistan and Iraq. As usual, no mention of the progress and an unsubstantiated assertion that in "some cases, [women are] worse off than before the U.S. military intervention."

Perhaps the women at N.O.W. forget that before we ousted the Taliban women in Afghanistan were executed in public for disobeying their husbands. But then, I doubt the old bags at NOW ever noticed that women in these countries were treated worse than goats to begin with.

Mrs. Bush Speaks of Expanded First Lady Role

Speaking of women, an excellent interview with First Lady Laura Bush in which she discusses her expanded role in International Relations in the wake of the global war on terror.
"Mrs. Bush is now increasingly in the spotlight and spending her political capital on the president's foreign-policy initiatives outside the Middle East. She has made 14 solo foreign trips as first lady, nine of them after Mr. Bush's second inaugural address, outlining his freedom agenda. She's also visited Afghanistan promoting women's rights since the U.S. liberated that nation from the Taliban in 2001."

Russia Suspends Conventional Arms Treaty

Russian President Vladimir Putin seems desperate to stop Polish and Czech participation in a U.S. system to track and destroy ballistic missiles. On Saturday, he announced that Russia would suspend participation in a key arms control agreement designed to defuse and disarm Europe.

Putin offered President Bush an alternative at a Soviet-era radar system in Azerbaijan but demanded that both the Czechs and the Poles be excluded.

The only conclusion one can draw from this is that Putin is unconcerned about the existence of an anti-missile shield, he just does not want it to include the former captive nations once enslaved by the Soviet Union.

Does Putin really think that starting a new Cold War, with a broader NATO alliance led by the U.S. AND a working missile defense is a good idea?

Think again Vladamir!

Democrat Candidates Find Religion?

Last week Time Magazine ran an article titled "Leveling the Praying Field." It's amazing that Democrats who constantly complain about the role religion plays in GOP politics spend so much time actually CAMPAIGNING in churches and are tripping all over their prayer beads to try and hoodwink Americans into believing that Democrats believe in anything but themselves and the acquisition of political power.

But far be it from me to discourage them from spending more time in church. If there's one group of people who need religion, it would be Democrats.

P.S. John Edwards is on his "Poverty Tour" this week. He started in New Orleans, where Democrats have been in charge at the local and state level since reconstruction and yet poverty is still that bad? Also, since Edwards has rediscovered religion, I need not remind him that Jesus said: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Something to consider especially since John Edwards has tried to run off the poor neighbor who had the nerve to live for generations outside the gates of Edward's new massive estate in North Carolina.

Winston Churchill Not Relevant in British Education?

Advisors on British National educational curriculum have decreed that it's not "relevant" for students in the United Kingdom to learn about Winston S. Churchill who was voted in 2002 as the "Greatest Briton of All Time."

Churchill saved Britain from the Nazis in World War II over the course of many long years when few listened to his warnings.

Instead, these "advisors" thought that students time would be better spent getting indoctrinated in politically correct issues like global warming.

This comes in the wake of news that some British schools would stop teaching about the Holocaust because it conflicted with what the schools Muslim students were being taught at the Mosque where the claim that no mass murder of Jews occurred.

Is it any wonder that British citizens, like some of their American cousins, are so deluded about the modern life and death threats we face?

Muse on this quote: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
George Santayana, The Life of Reason, Volume 1, 1905US (Spanish-born) philosopher (1863 - 1952)

Hat tip: Anna's Clue Tank.

Friday, July 13, 2007

More Dow Wow!

Bulls are running on both Wall Street and in Pamplona Spain!

Wow Jones closing in the last year!

October, 2006 the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 12,000. In April 2007 it hit 13,000. Now, less than three months later the Dow is poised to hit 14,000!

The Dow Index measures the speed of the economic engine which creates wealth and provides jobs for ALL Americans. What made this possible? The Bush tax cuts!

A strong economy means a strong America and that's good for everyone!

U.S. Citizen Gored in Spain

Let's hope he doesn't bleed to death waiting for care in the Emergency Room!

The bulls run in Pamplona Spain!

Ouch! That's got to hurt. Having your leg torn open by a bull's horn must be almost as painful as what happened to the two guys below:


Talk about hemorrhoids! If you can stand the gore, he's what one of them looked like as emergency personnel arrived.

But most of all, I feel sorry for this guy. He probably died of shame and by the way he is cowering there's little doubt he's a DEMOCRAT!

fsg053d4.txt Free xml sitemap generator