Afghans Thankful for America

You might recall that when Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, in a speech to a joint session of Congress, thanked America for giving Iraq the opportunity for freedom, he was derided by Democrats as a "puppet." Well, here's another brave individual: Hamid Karzai, recently inaugurated as the first democratically elected President of a free Afghanistan. The so-called "mainstream" (read LIBERAL) media barely covered this miracle of freedom, so I thought I would bring you the following from his inaugural address as reported by Stephen Hayes inPresent at the Creation:

"Whatever we have achieved in Afghanistan--the peace, the election, the reconstruction, the life that the Afghans are living today in peace, the children going to school, the businesses, the fact that Afghanistan is again a respected member of the international community--is from the help that the United States of America gave us. Without that help Afghanistan would be in the hands of terrorists--destroyed, poverty-stricken, and without its children going to school or getting an education. We are very, very grateful, to put it in the simple words that we know, to the people of the United States of America for bringing us this day.
...

Karzai told the story of an elderly woman from the Farah province who came to a polling station with two voter's cards:

"She went up to an election worker and declared that she wanted to vote twice, once for herself, and again for her daughter who, she said, was about to deliver her child and unable to come to the polling station to vote. "We are sorry, but no one can vote for another person, this is the rule," the elderly lady was told. So she voted--for herself--and left the station. Later in the day, the election worker was shocked to see the elderly woman back, this time accompanying her young daughter to the polling station. Her daughter carried her newborn baby, as well as her voting card which she used to cast her vote."

Imagine that! Here's a woman that was considered property under the Taliban regime, not even allowed out of her home without being escorted by a male member of the family. None of this would have been possible without the vision and leadership of President Bush. Next time some lefty tells you that the sky is falling, just think of the millions who live in a better world with a brighter future because America still dares to hold high the torch of liberty.

Hillary Watch: Peggy Noonan

Peggy Noonan writes a weekly column for OpinionJournal.com which should be a daily read for well-informed conservatives. This week she tackles a most important topic: Hillary Clinton. I recommend reading the entire piece.

OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan: "We have been writing lately about Republicans. Let's pay some attention to Hillary Clinton, just for fun.
I wrote a book about her more than four years ago. The idea came from a friend, a bright former-Republican-now-Democrat who thought my Wall Street Journal pieces on Mrs. Clinton's looming senatorial candidacy could be turned into something longer that made the case against her. I immediately thought: Yes, that could make a difference. I went to my publisher, who agreed, and I hit it hard, speaking to Mrs. Clinton's friends and enemies, scouring the record. What I concluded was that Mrs. Clinton was an unusually cynical leftist political operative who had no great respect for the citizens of the United States or for America itself, but who saw our country as a platform for her core ambitions: to rise and achieve historic personal and political power both with her husband and without him.
Since the book came out I haven't written much about Mrs. Clinton. I'd said what I had to say. In interviews on the book tour I said what seemed to me the obvious: she would keep her head down in the Senate and work hard, she would gain praise for her ability to get along with Republican senators, she would position herself as a moderate, and run for the presidency in 2008."

Yalies Outsmart Harvard with Prank at Game

It's good to see that not all of our fine campus traditions are being done away with.yaledailynews.com - Elis outsmart Harvard with prank at Game: "Elis outsmart Harvard with prank at GameThe 'Harvard Pep Squad' ran up and down the aisles of Harvard Stadium at The Game Nov. 20. They had megaphones in hand and their faces were painted as they encouraged the crowd to hold up the 1,800 red and white pieces of construction paper they had handed out. It would read 'Go Harvard,' they said.But the 20 'Pep Squad' members were actually Yale students. And when the Harvard students, faculty and alumni held up their pieces of paper -- over and over again -- they spelled out 'We Suck' in giant block letters the whole stadium could read."

Thomas Sowell: Random Thoughts

Random thoughtsThomas Sowell (archive)
December 6, 2004

Random thoughts on the passing scene:

The very people who were telling us to "get over it" and "move on" during the Clinton scandals of the 1990s have been completely unable to get over the 2004 elections -- and some of them haven't even gotten over the 2000 elections yet.

A church in Monterrey, Mexico, has installed equipment that jams cell phone calls, so that church services will not be disturbed by phones ringing. This equipment should be installed in every school, restaurant, auditorium, etc. Incidentally, the equipment used by this church was manufactured in Israel. Let's hear it for interfaith cooperation and the Judaeo-Christian tradition.

Anyone who grew up in the South is bound to have heard the phrase "poor white trash." Teresa Heinz Kerry has given us a new category -- rich white trash.

During his long tenure as NBC News anchorman, Tom Brokaw took that program from last place among the big three broadcast networks to first place. But he had more viewers when he was in last place, more than 20 years ago, than he had in first place this year. That is because fewer people now watch NBC, ABC, or CBS News. Good!

Imagine that everyone in the older age brackets had to write two books -- "Smart Things I Have Done in My Life" and "Dumb Things I Have Done in My Life." Be frank. Which book do you think would be bigger? Even some of the smart things we did were a result of having done dumb things before and suffered the consequences.

If the next time a President of the United States sees a mortal danger to this country looming on the horizon, he decides to wait for iron-clad proof in order to avoid political critics, we can be in truly big trouble.

A couple of readers in Michigan ask: Since death is defined by the cessation of brain waves, why shouldn't life be defined by the beginning of brain waves?

I am so old that I can remember when we called illegal aliens illegal aliens, when people paid their own medical bills, and when New Yorker cartoons were funny.

It is fascinating to watch politicians come up with "solutions" to problems that are a direct result of their previous solutions. In many cases, the most efficient thing to do would be to repeal their previous solution and stop being so gung-ho for creating new solutions in the future. But, politically, that is the last thing they will do.

If people are free to do as they wish, they are almost certain not to do as we wish. That is why Utopian planners end up as despots, whether at the national level or at the level of the local "redevelopment" agency.

Why are we spending the taxpayers' money to allow ex-Presidents to build monuments to themselves? Whatever the historical value of material stored in Presidential Libraries, that same material can be stored in the National Archives, so that people doing research on former Presidents can go to one place, instead of having to run all over the country.

Fears that the Iraq war would be seen in the Middle East as a clash between Islam and the West are being blunted to some extent by the actions of the terrorists themselves, who are killing far more Moslems than they are killing Americans or other members of the military coalition.
People who believe in judicial activism often cite "good" policies imposed by judges and "bad" policies created by elected officials. But you could just as easily cite the reverse. It was the Supreme Court which enhanced the rights of slaveowners in the Dred Scott case and it was elected officials -- the President and Congress -- who abolished slavery.

If we become a people who are willing to give up our money and our freedom in exchange for rhetoric and promises, then nothing can save us.

It is amazing how many people think that they can answer an argument by attributing bad motives to those who disagree with them. Using this kind of reasoning, you can believe or not believe anything about anything, without having to bother to deal with facts or logic.

From California: Land of the Free???

And Bush is supposed to have a "chilling" effect on freedom?

We Shall Overcome
By Ben Stein
Published 12/6/2004 12:09:26 AM
The man at the Christmas tree tent in Malibu kept winking at me and nodding when no one else was looking. I smiled and kept looking at the trees. (In Malibu, we Jews have Christmas trees.) Finally, he motioned to me to come over to is table. He cupped his hand over his mouth and took my hand. "We won," he said. "We won."I knew exactly what he meant. "You can talk about it," I said. "This is America.""Yes, but it's also Malibu and I don't want people yelling at me."

A few minutes later, I was grabbing a shopping cart at How's Market in the Trancas section of Malibu when a sweet faced middle aged woman approached me carefully. Then she saw a young couple nearby and turned away. Moments later, she ran into me at the egg cooler, looked around to make sure there was no one looking or listening and said. "I love what you say about politics on TV. You're so brave. I'm on your side. There are some of us here but we keep our mouths shut.""You don't need to," I said. "The election's over. We won.""Yes, but it's not over out here. Can you believe they just had Michael Moore at the new Malibu bookstore and they've never invited you and how long have you been out here?""Twenty-four years off and on," I said."Well, anyway, when I see you and I smile at you, you'll know what it's all about. Go Bush," she whispered and headed for the fresh fish.

Earlier in the day when I had been doing some looping at a studio on Radford Drive in Studio City for a movie in which I have a part ("Son of the Mask" if you must know ), a man on a forklift came by and winked at me. "Keep giving 'em hell," he said softly. "There are more of us here than you think. Bush rules."This is the way it is here. We meet in smoky places. We give the high sign, we nod knowingly. We are like members of the Maquis in Occupied France. Or early Christians emerging from the catacombs in Caligula's Rome. We are the GOP in Hollywood, and on the West Side of L.A. The culture here is so dominantly left-wing, PC, vegan, hate-America that many of us feel we have to behave as if we were underground.

At a self-help meeting where men and women confess to drug use, betrayals, thefts, homicides with cars, at a break, a woman stealthily came up to me last Saturday and motioned me into a corner outside the room in Malibu. "I want to tell you there are some of us who agree with you. We have to keep it quiet because we want to get our kids into the right schools, but we're there. We're there. And there are more of us every day." Then she scuttled off into the night. Slamming crack can be spoken of with a smile, but not voting GOP. That could be dangerous.

But it's changing.At an intersection on Sunset Strip, in West Hollywood, a young man in a truck, wearing two earrings and closely cropped hair, gave me the V for victory sign as I walked by him. "We're here," he said. "You can't tell, but we're here. Keep up the talk for Bush."

Some idea of just why people whisper comes from another encounter this week among a group of Hollywood types in a hip night spot. I was saying how much I love my self program. "I'm a Republican, but I learn from Democrats," I said. "I'm a Jew, but I learn from Gentiles. I'm sort of famous but the meetings are where I feel safe."

"Hmmm," said a man who had recently been the star of a sitcom but who had seen his whole life crumble under the weight of some truly horrific family violence. "Republican Jew. Republican Jew. Republican Jew who's famous. Who lives in Beverly Hills. Republican Jew who has more stuff than I have. I don't like it.""It's a free country," I shrugged."Maybe," he said. "Maybe."

This is one of the worst little recent examples of how people here feel about Republicans (and Republican Jews, who simply blow their brains out, to use an old hippie phrase ). But rants, screaming about how we're trying to control women's bodies, draft their sons out of their BMW's and send them to war, scowls and frowns at Morton's, hysterical calls from the network when I appeared on TV backing Right to Life -- these are real. Feeling like outsiders, feeling as if we're going to get our cars keyed if we have Bush stickers on them, getting trash thrown on our yard for having up a Bush sign -- these are real. Getting denied screenplay credits because I worked for Nixon, those are totally real.

Yet, we're here, meeting in smoky places, greeting and giving the secret sign in the fog out by Zuma Beach, more of us every day. And in the words of the Civil Rights song I used to sing when I marched for voting rights in Cambridge, Maryland, "We are not afraid. Deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall overcome some day." Even in Los Angeles, even in Malibu, even in Hollywood. Tremble, Barbra, tremble. We are right outside your gates, with our truth. We are not afraid and we shall overcome.

U.N. Oil for Food or Oil for Terror?

Let's ask our liberal friends who think we are beating up on the UN what they think of the mounting evidence that some of the money Saddam stole from the Oil for Food program ended up funding terror attacks on the United States.

Claudia Rosett on Oil-for-Food & Terrorism on National Review Online:
"Oil-for-Terror? There appears to be much worse news to uncover in the Oil-for-Food scandal.

Beyond the billions in graft, smuggling, and lavish living for Saddam Hussein that were the hallmarks of the United Nations Oil-for-Food program in Iraq, there is one more penny yet to drop.

It's time to talk about Oil-for-Terror.

Especially with the U.N.'s own investigation into Oil-for-Food now taking shape, and more congressional hearings in the works, it is high time to focus on the likelihood that Saddam may have fiddled Oil-for-Food contracts not only to pad his own pockets, buy pals, and acquire clandestine arms but also to fund terrorist groups, quite possibly including al Qaeda.
There are at least two links documented already. Both involve oil buyers picked by Saddam and approved by the U.N. One was a firm with close ties to a Liechtenstein trust that has since been designated by the U.N. itself as 'belonging to or affiliated with Al Qaeda.' The other was a Swiss-registered subsidiary of a Saudi oil firm that had close dealings with the Taliban during Osama bin Laden's 1990's heyday in Afghanistan."

Here's More: Oil for Food Sales Seen As Iraq Tie To Al Qaeda

and: Oil for Food May Have Funded 9/11 Attacks

I know our lefty friends are in denial about quite a bit these days. Oh, they sure can chirp "Halliburton" without the slightest evidence of impropreity regarding that U.S. company. But just for fun (if the matter weren't deadly serious) let's see how they respond to mounting proof of Saddam's connection to Al Queda (cite them the unanimous 911 Commission report if they still don't get it. Numerous bits of evidence detailing contacts between Saddam and Al Queda).

Liberals Overwhelm Canadian Border Towns

Joe Blundo, Columbus Dispatch 16 Nov. 04

The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The re-election of President Bush is prompting the exodus among left-leaning citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray and agree with Bill O'Reilly.

Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal-rights activists and Unitarians crossing their fields at night. "I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota. The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. "He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't even get a chance to show him my screenplay, eh?"

In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn't give milk."

Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves. "A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. They did have a nice little Napa Valley cabernet, though."

When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumors have been circulating about the Bush administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch NASCAR.

In the days since the election, liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Welk Show, we get
suspicious about their age," an official said.

Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies. "I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history majors does one country need?"

In an effort to ease tensions between the United States and Canada, Vice President Dick Cheney met with the Canadian ambassador and pledged that the administration would take steps to reassure liberals, a source close to Cheney said. "We're going to have some Peter, Paul & Mary concerts. And we might put some endangered species on postage stamps. The president is determined to reach out.

How will Condi Rice Handle U.N. Problem?

As anyone who follows the ins and outs of official Washington knows, Condoleezza Rice, as incoming Secretary of State will have her hands full. Aside from all the life and death issues of the day, one of her biggest challenges will be how she manages the very independent (and decidely leftist) State Department officials who make up the foreign service, the nation's diplomatic civil service.

One hot button issue where friction with these civil servants is certain to boil over is how we deal with the United Nations. You might recall failed Presidential candidate John Kerry's "global test" and his insistence that we work with the U.N. to address problems around the world. Yet, the ever growing scandal of Saddam Hussein's Oil for Bribes should make it evident to even the "global test" crowd that if U.N. looks the other way when food and medicine destined to help people turns into bribes to keep a butcher in power, the U.N. will not live up to it's creed.

And how amazing that our lefty friends who screeched "Halliburton" and "Enron" like a flock of demented parrots are silent on this outrage. Hmmm... can you say HYPOCRISY?

Shake-up at the U.N.? - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED - December 03, 2004: "Although the Iraqi elections on Jan. 30 will top her incoming agenda, the first real indicator of Condoleezza Rice's tenure as secretary of state will be how she handles something most in her new department would rather ignore: the U.N.'s oil-for-food scandal.

On one side in Washington are those appalled by the ever-increasing evidence that Saddam Hussein bilked billions out of a program designed to help ordinary Iraqis, and they want accountability regardless of the impact on the United Nations' credibility or long-term health.

On the other side, however, are thousands in the Foreign Service who have assiduously avoided obvious malfeasance at the international body in the hopes that the $21 billion boondoggle would somehow disappear. Notes one State Department veteran, 'People here want this to go away, because they believe we need to protect the United Nations in order to preserve its legitimacy.' "

Peggy Noonan Sums Up Dan Rather's Career

I've admired Peggy Noonan ever since her days as a speechwriter for President Reagan. I did not know she worked previously for CBS News and Dan Rather. In an excellent piece, she sums up his career; seen through her eyes as a microcosm of how media is changing. All for the better.

OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan: "People are complicated, careers are complicated, motives are complicated. Dan Rather did some great work on stories that demanded physical courage. He loved the news, and often made it look like the most noble of enterprises. He had guts and fortitude. Those stories he covered that touched on politics were unfortunately and consistently marred by liberal political bias, and in this he was like too many in his profession. But this is changing. The old hegemony has given way. The old dominance is over. Good thing.Greatthing.Onward."

UN Oil for Bribes Scandal

Aren't you glad that Senator Norm Coleman prevailed over Walter Mondale to win the Senate seat of the late Paul Wellstone a few years back? Can you imagine good ole Mondale pursuing the corruption and scandal in the UN?

OpinionJournal - Extra: "Kofi Annan Must Go
It's time for the secretary-general to resign.

BY NORM COLEMAN
Wednesday, December 1, 2004 12:01 a.m. EST
It's time for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to resign.
Over the past seven months, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which I chair, has conducted an exhaustive, bipartisan investigation into the scandal surrounding the U.N. Oil-for-Food program. That noble program was established by the U.N. to ease the suffering of the Iraqi people, then languishing under Saddam Hussein's ironfisted rule, as well as the economic sanctions imposed on Iraq by the U.N. after the first Gulf War. While sanctions were designed to instigate the removal of Saddam from power, or at least render him impotent, the Oil-for-Food program was designed to support the Iraqi people with food and other humanitarian aid under the watchful eye of the U.N.

Our Investigative Subcommittee has gathered overwhelming evidence that Saddam turned this program on its head. Rather than erode his grip on power, the program was manipulated by Saddam to line his own pockets and actually strengthen his position at the expense of the Iraqi people. At our hearing on Nov. 15, we presented evidence that Saddam accumulated more than $21 billion through abuses of the Oil-for-Food program and U.N. sanctions. We continue to amass evidence that he used the overt support of prominent members of the U.N., such as France and Russia, along with numerous foreign officials, companies and possibly even senior U.N. officials, to exploit the program to his advantage. We have obtained evidence that indicates that Saddam doled out lucrative oil allotments to foreign officials, sympathetic journalists and even one senior U.N. official, in order to undermine international support for sanctions. In addition, we are gathering evidence that Saddam gave hundreds of thousands--maybe even millions--of Oil-for-Food dollars to terrorists and terrorist organizations. All of this occurred under the supposedly vigilant eye of the U.N.

While many questions concerning Oil-for-Food remain unanswered, one conclusion has become abundantly clear: Kofi Annan should resign. The decision to call for his resignation does not come easily, but I have arrived at this conclusion because the most extensive fraud in the history of the U.N. occurred on his watch. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, as long as Mr. Annan remains in charge, the world will never be able to learn the full extent of the bribes, kickbacks and under-the-table payments that took place under the U.N.'s collective nose.

Freedom of Speech on the College Campus? Not if You Are Conservative

More proof, if any were needed, that the left in this country, who constantly screech about diversity, only mean it when it's their views being expressed. Apparently, anything goes if it can stop conservative voices from being heard.

Inside Politics - The Washington Times: Inside Politics - December 01, 2004: "The entire run of the November issue of the Yale Free Press, a conservative student publication, was stolen from the university's campus over the Thanksgiving break, 'horrified' student editor Diana Feygin said yesterday.
Although she has received some support from Yale, Miss Feygin 'wished the administration were more proactive in its investigation,' the Yale Daily News reported.
The stolen issues contained a poll asking students whether they felt political freedom in the classroom was an issue at Yale. Miss Feygin and her staff were mystified that thieves couldn't 'disagree in a way that's more helpful.'
Nationally, theft of conservative collegiate newspapers is not uncommon, she said. The California Patriot, a conservative monthly at the University of California at Berkeley, was stolen repeatedly in 2002.
In 1999, Light & Truth, another Yale conservative publication, was discarded by freshman counselors because they felt it 'encouraged freshmen to skip sexual-education lectures held during orientation.' "