How Government Created Economic Turmoil

PETER WALLISON: THE ROOTS OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

Dubya, Jedi Knight

About Nationalized Health Care

From the CATO Institute

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (IL) has proposed an ambitious plan to restructure America’s health care sector. Rather than engage in a detailed critique of Obama’s health care plan, many critics prefer to label it “socialized medicine.” Is that a fair description of the Obama plan and similar plans? Over the past year, prominent media outlets and respectable think tanks have investigated that question and come to a unanimous answer: no. Those investigations leave much to be desired.

Indeed, they are little more than attempts to convince the public that policies generally considered socialist really aren’t. A reasonable definition of socialized medicine is possible. Socialized medicine exists to the extent that government controls medical resources and socializes the costs. Notice that under this definition, it is irrelevant whether we describe medical resources (e.g., hospitals, employees) as “public” or “private.”

What matters—what determines real as opposed to nominal ownership—is who controls the
resources. By that definition, America’s health sector is already more than half socialized, and Obama’s health care plan would socialize medicine even further.

Reasonable people can disagree over whether Obama’s health plan would be good or bad.
But to suggest that it is not a step toward socialized medicine is absurd.

Read the whole thing. It's very enlightening.

Also see: Blocking Obama's Health Plan is Key to the GOP's Survival

American War Mother

American War Mothers

In 1917 Army Captain Robert L. Queissner of the 5th Ohio Infantry designed and patented a simple flag to reflect the World War I service of two sons. The appeal of this flag quickly caught on, and on September 24, 1917, an Ohio congressman read into the Congressional Record:

"The mayor of Cleveland, the Chamber of Commerce and the governor of Ohio have adopted this service flag. The world should know of those who give so much for liberty. The dearest thing in all the world to a father and mother -- their children."

Three days later the American War Mothers organized in Indiana, and that organization quickly grew in other states. It was a close-knit group, composed of women with one thing in common...a child at risk because of their choice to answer their Nation's call to military service. Throughout the war, these mothers displayed a flag with a blue star in their window, denoting the service of a son or daughter. These mothers also sought other ways to serve the military community, whether by direct services to men and women in military service, or by promoting important causes to the war, such as the National Government's call for food conservation.

When World War I began claiming the lives of many of these young Americans, a new flag developed. When a son was killed in action a GOLD star was sewn over the blue one, completely covering it. In May 1918 the Women's Committee of National Defenses suggested to President Woodrow Wilson that those mothers who had lost a family member in the war should wear a black band on their upper-left arm, adorned with a gold star. In a letter affirming his support for this proposal, President Wilson referred to these women as "Gold Star Mothers". It was the beginning a a new tradition of patriotic support for those who serve our Nation in uniform.

They also serve who watch and wait!

By 1924 the American War Mothers organization had 23,000 members and an official magazine: The American War Mothers Magazine. On February 24, 1925 the U.S. Congress granted the American War Mothers a national charter. The first National President of AWM was Alice French. (The charter was later amended in 1942, and again in 1953, during the periods of World War II and the Korean War.) The following year, Armistice Day 1926, the American War Mothers saw their flag raised for the first time over the Capitol.

In the years that followed the War Mothers Flag continued to be flown every Armistice Day, usually for three hours. In 1970 the original woolen flag was replaced with the new, synthetic fabric flag we use today. Along the way the practice was changed to keep the flag flying beneath the National Colors until sundown.

I look at my Blue Star Service Flag every single day and swell with pride and dread because it represents two of the things I love and regard with great pride; my Country and my son. I dread the time I still have to watch and wait, worrying every day about... well everything.

Respect to you on Veteran's Day, PFC.

To all our Veterans I say thank you.

An Affront to Freedom of Speech

h/t: XisDshizL

Flashback! Tim Russert Asks "The Question"

Bush Shuns, Obama is Keen

I realize that if I commented every time media bias reared its ugly head, I'd never sleep. This one, however, really bugged me. A lot.

Before the election, Obama told others that he favors declaring that carbon dioxide emissions are endangering human welfare, following an EPA task force recommendation last December that Bush and his aides shunned in order to protect the utility and auto industries.

Robert Sussman, who was the EPA's deputy administrator during the Clinton administration and is now overseeing EPA transition planning for Obama, wrote a paper last spring strongly recommending such a finding. Others in the campaign have depicted it as an issue on which Obama is keen to show that politics must not interfere with scientific advice.

Protecting the utility and auto industries is made to sound like a bad thing with the use of the word "shunned". They were so unreasonable THEY JUST SHUNNED IT! Meanwhile the ever more educated and intellectual *cough* Obama is keen. Keen about sounding non-political even.

What media bias?

Obama's Attack Ad on Himself

What the.

There are no words.

Wounded Warriors

New Service Announced for Wounded Warriors, Families and Caregivers

DoD announced today that the Military OneSource service has established a Wounded Warrior Resource Center telephone number and e-mail address for service members and their families, if they have concerns or other difficulties during their recovery process.

Service members and their family members can now call (800) 342-9647 or e-mail wwrc@militaryonesource.com 24/7 to request support. Assistance provided by the resource center will not replace the specialized wounded warrior programs established by each of the military services, but it will offer another avenue of assistance for military facilities, health care services, and/or benefits information.

"The department is committed to aggressively addressing the needs of our service members and their families," said Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates.

Specially trained consultants will ensure consistent, quality customer-centric support. The consultants will identify the appropriate "warm hand-off" to either a military service or federal agency with authority to resolve the matter. The resource center consultant will maintain communication with the caller until the issue or concern is resolved.

"The term 'wounded warrior' encompasses the entire population of wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans," said Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Michael L. Dominguez.

The Wounded Warrior Resource Center meets the requirements of Section 1616 of the "National Defense Authorization Act Fiscal Year 2008" for a centralized number and ensures wounded families and caregivers have a number to call at any time.

If you're looking for a way to help our soldiers, this is a good one.

Bankrupt Coal

Media Matters offers a recent audio interview Obama did with the SF Chronicle. Text partially below.

Let me sort of describe my overall policy.

What I've said is that we would put a cap and trade system in place that is as aggressive, if not more aggressive, than anybody else's out there.

I was the first to call for a 100% auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter. That will create a market in which whatever technologies are out there that are being presented, whatever power plants that are being built, that they would have to meet the rigors of that market and the ratcheted down caps that are being placed, imposed every year.

So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted.

If Obama is elected POTUS, the trail of carnage will be deep and wide.

Audio at link.

UPDATE!
Coal official calls Obama comments 'unbelievable'

Indeed

Conyers Finds More Outrage

In regard to Auntie Zeituni:

The Democratic nominee last heard from Zeituni Onyango, who attended his swearing-in ceremony to the U.S. Senate in 2005 and is a half-sister of Obama's late father, two years ago, when she called to say she was in Boston, the campaign said. Campaign officials said they did not assist her in getting a tourist visa and had not known that she was living in America.

News of Onyango's legal status, which the AP confirmed through sources, including a federal law enforcement official, provided an unwelcome diversion for the Obama campaign during its final push toward Election Day and stoked suspicions among supporters of a political motive behind the timing of the leak.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers has written to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff requesting an immediate investigation of the leak, which he deemed "deplorable" and said "was not the first leak of law enforcement information apparently designed to influence the coming presidential election," referring to an ongoing investigation of voter fraud by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN.

Hey Conyers, where's your outrage about the illegal use of government computers used to investigate Joe the plumber? I'm glad you don't pretend to be partisan. Let Pelosi know because she's been lying to me about that.

Simulated Beheadings?

From DebbieSchlussel.Com:

EXCLUSIVE: Dance Troupe @ Obama-Khalidi Dinner (of Secreted Tape Fame) Simulated Beheadings in Recent Past

As you all know, the Los Angeles Times is holding hostage a tape of Barack Obama at a 2003 Arab American Action Network (AAAN) dinner at which his friends, Rashid Khalidi, William Ayers, and Bernadine Dohrn were in attendance. It's the story I started when Los Angeles Times plagiarist/"reporter" Peter Wallsten ripped off my January column on Barack Obama's Nation of Islam staffers and friendship with AAAN founder Ali Abunimah.

But here's what you haven't yet heard: that a kids' dance troupe that appeared at the event has a history of simulating beheadings and stomping on American, Israeli, and British flags.

Read the rest at the above link. Frightening.

Selfishness

Via Jake Tapper:

"John McCain and Sarah Palin they call this socialistic," Obama continued. "You know I don’t know when, when they decided they wanted to make a virtue out of selfishness."

It's unclear if this was a nod to the Ayn Rand book "The Virtue of Selfishness," with all that the invocation of Rand implies.

It would seem to be, given the themes of Rand's work, what happens when independent achievers are demonized.

Which would fit with this description of those who want to keep their hard-earned tax dollars as "selfish."

Just, wow.

Penn & Teller offer this:

Happy Halloween

Middle Class

Thanks to Let Freedom Ring for the content of this ad:

Obama's America

Govt. data on 'Joe the Plumber' illegally accessed?

Government computers in Ohio may been used to illegally access personal information about Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, otherwise known as "Joe the Plumber," according to the Columbus Dispatch.

During their October 15 debate, presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain referred to "Joe the Plumber" constantly. In the days following the debate, information on Wurzelbacher's driver's license or his sport utility vehicle was retrieved from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles database three times, the Dispatch reported.

With access to such information limited to legitimate law enforcement and government business, state and local officials are now investigating whether the information was obtained illegally. The information was retrieved using accounts assigned to the Ohio attorney general's office, a county child support enforcement agency, and the Toledo Police Department, according to the report.

Of course the Obama campaign denies any involvement but look how quickly those with access to information went to work to illegally obtain information solely to discredit an American citizen.

Then we have this:

Ghosts, goblins, gargoyles . . . and Sarah Palin hanging by a noose?

That's the latest imagery of the Republican vice presidential candidate and her running mate John McCain on display at a West Hollywood home that has been decorated for Halloween.

The outdoor decor features a mannequin dressed as Palin, wearing a red business suit, eyeglasses and brunette beehive wig, hanging by a noose off the chimney. Right above her, a devilish John McCain emerges from the chimney with paper flames surrounding him.

Some neighbors say it's just wrong to depict a vice presidential candidate that way.

Chad Michael Morisette, who lives in the house, told CBS 2 News that the effigy would be out of bounds at any other time of year, but it's within the spirit of Halloween.

"It should be seen as art, and as within the month of October. It's Halloween, it's time to be scary, it's time to be spooky," Morisette said.

Well then, is this Obama's unifying effect? Is this Obama's America?

Spread the Wealth to Save Black People

In this video:

Obama admits his Redistribution of Wealth is to SAVE the African American community SO HE CAN ENSURE HIS OWN SALVATION! (and Our Country's Salvation) He compares the plight of African Americas to the ethic genocide's of Bosnia and Africa. He blames all of African Americans' problems on "ONE GROUP" who suppresses them, and he says WHITE people don't want their taxes to help black children.

People like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Jeremiah Wright, and apparently Barack Obama benefit when racial unrest is kept alive. As a Conservative, I believe that PEOPLE can do for themselves if they believe in themselves NOT sit around and wait for GOVERNMENT to do for them.

Watch Rush educate a caller on the power of self empowerment:

Let's observe where unity comes from.

Barney Frank: Deficit fear has to take a second seat

If you're thinking "I'm not rich, why should I care what greedy rich people pay in taxes?", you're missing the big picture. Isn't the American dream partly to succeed? What incentive does taxing the successful give those who are working hard (to make more money) to keep doing so?

I've come across liberals who say that Capitalism is all about greed. Let me give you a thought about Socialism. Let's acknowledge for the sake of argument that Capitalism is about greed, about making lots of money for yourself. The flip side (Socialism) is about greed also, but it's about getting money that you didn't make. It's about greed for not being self-sufficient, unlike Capitalism.

NObama.

Who's The Racist?

From Roseanne's blog:

Joe the plumber now made immortal by McCain, is a skinhead racist who when interviewed yesterday said, "Obama tap dances almost as good as Sammy Davis Jr." Hey, Joe, I hope nobody ever hires you to clean the backed up crap out of their toilets again, and that you lose your business completely. You are an "America Hater" and you should be penalized for that.
McCain was wearing his best viagra tainted Republican Sneer in the debates last night, as he referenced Piggy Joe over and over again, reassuring him in coded language that his "white" wealth would not be spread around to the "n**gers" in a McCain Presidency.
McCain tried to contain his racist disdain for the man seated across from him who bested him intellectually and morally but, as with Palin, attempting to conceal the racism of their campaign now after they have "played the race/terrorist/Hussein card" for weeks, only reveals it more clearly to the viewer. The camera doesn't lie. Obama telegraphed dignity and intelligence out into the ether and included all Americans, even McCain.

No, I'm not making this up.

I used to love her show and thought she was funny. How the mighty have fallen.

Senator Government

Too funny!

Did Barack "Spread the Wealth" Obama Just Blow the Election?

...or are the polls right?

No. Really. You're kidding me. Barack Obama actually told that Joe the Plumber guy that he wants to "spread the wealth around." What, did Obama just get done reading the Wikipedia entry on Huey "Share the Wealth" Long or something? Was he somehow channeling that left-wing populist from the Depression? Talk about playing into the most extreme stereotype of your party, that it is infested with socialists. Link

Something to consider though:

In 1980, Ronald Reagan beat Carter by nearly 10 points, 51 percent to 41 percent. In a Gallup Poll released days before the election on Oct. 27, it was Carter who led Reagan 45 percent to 42 percent. Link

Democrats Wrong On Energy

Yeah, sure. Democrats CARE about rising fuel costs and want to help the economy. Uh, huh.

ANWR Exploration House Republicans: 91% Supported House Democrats: 86% Opposed
Coal-to-Liquid
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 78% Opposed

Oil Shale Exploration
House Republicans: 90% Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Exploration
House Republicans: 81% Supported
House Democrats: 83% Opposed

Refinery Increased Capacity
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 96% Opposed

SUMMARY

91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of American-made oil and gas.

86% of House Democrats have historically voted against increasing the production of American-made oil and gas.

Truth is, Democrats are pushing us toward socialism and have been for many years.


h/t: Powerline

Bush arrives in Grand Rapids

President Bush arrives in Grand Rapids

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WZZM) - President George Bush's brief visit to Grand Rapids and Ada includes a lunch at the Schnitz Ada Grill.

The lunch participants reportedly include Rep. Vern Ehlers, Flexco Grand Rapids GM Nancy Ayers, Jeanne Englehart, president of the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, Jim Dunlap of Huntington National Bank, Bing Goei, owner of Eastern Floral and Gifts, Steelcase CEO Jim Hackett, Ada Bike Shop owner Jim Ippel and Peter Perez and Jerri Symmes of Carter Products Company.

President Bush will make a statement on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act and the Department of the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Plan, which we will make available online later this afternoon.

I've voted for Vern Ehlers since 1993 but no more. I urge you to find out if your congressman voted for the bailout and not send him/her back to Washington if he/she did.
The Grand Rapids Press

Rush Interviews Governor Sarah Palin

Great interview!

Transcript

Another Doctor in the House?

This is what I'm talking about:

Throughout America, there are many individuals and small businesses that have enjoyed far less privilege than those entities that will benefit most from this bailout. If the government, Democrats and Republicans alike, are so enthralled with the notion of bailing out faulty corporations at any cost, perhaps they should start with small businesses that are the bedrock of jobs, and often of family life, in our nation.

While the Republican additions to the initial legislation provided at least some benefit to the middle class, and are a great improvement over the original proposal, the entire philosophy behind the bailout is flimsy and highly unlikely to produce substantive outcomes.

Most importantly, we must ask ourselves what this action will teach our children. The answer is easy to deduce, as follows: The message that this bailout sends to our youth indicates that personal responsibility no longer matters.

I am profoundly disappointed that my opponent, the Honorable Alcee Hastings, who has claimed to represent the interests of his constituents since first being elected in 1992, is a strong proponent of the bailout, including the original Democratic bill which was full of insidious measures that helped large corporations but did nothing for the middle class.

Running against Alcee Hastings AND against the bailout? Wonder if he'll move to Michigan.

Thorpe for Congress

Protesting in Uniform

TV ad highlighting Charlie Brown's participation at a anti-war rally, where he wore his uniform, in support of a homeowner who hung a soldier in effigy.



Info on conservative Tom McClintock



h/t: VoteMcClintock

Kerry Still Doesn't Support the Troops

John Kerry is at it again:

Republican Jeff Beatty's campaign responded Friday to the Kerry campaign's earlier charge that he roots for the New York Yankees, accusing the Kerry campaign of dodging questions and engaging in smear tactics.

In response to Beatty's call for an examination of Kerry's ties to bailout insurance company AIG, Brigid O'Rourke, a spokeswoman for the Boston Democrat, told the Boston Globe: "In case Jeff Beatty hasn't noticed, that AIG stock he's talking about isn't looking so hot these days - sort of like his favorite baseball team, the New York Yankees."

The Beatty camp said the Harwich Republican is not a Yankees fan and said that O'Rourke made the remark because a Yankees hat was put on Beatty to keep bandages on his head when he was injured rescuing U.S. hostages in Grenada (photo above).

"When asked serious questions, John Kerry sidesteps, smears, and then goes on the attack," Hunsinger said. "Add to the long list of people Kerry has insulted those military doctors and medical students, some Yankees fans or Red Sox fans like Jeff, who risked their lives to tend to soldiers while under fire in Grenada. If these weren't such serious times, we would ask for an apology. Instead we say it's time to fire John Kerry."

What a monumental jackass (fittingly).

ACORN & Friends Would Shape Obama Presidential Agenda

h/t: Jeff Beatty

Obama's Radical Associations

Replay video | Share video | Watch more videos

Thanks to Sean Hannity for putting this together.

US close to security deal with Iraq

Good news in Iraq from AFP.

ARBIL, Iraq (AFP) — US and Iraqi officials are "very close" to an agreement on a controversial security pact that would decide the future of US forces in Iraq, US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said here on Saturday.

"Negotiations are still on and there are very few issues still pending," Negroponte told reporters in Arbil after meeting Massud Barzani, the president of the northern Kurdish administration of Iraq.

"We are very close to reaching an agreement. It's not wise to reveal the details until we reach a final agreement, and we hope to reach a final agreement very soon," said Negroponte, who arrived in Iraq on Friday on a previously unannounced visit.

Barzani said the deal should be signed as it "was in the interest of both the parties."

Washington and Baghdad are trying to hammer out a deal that would lay the framework for the future of US forces in the violence-wracked country after 2008, when a UN mandate governing their presence expires.

But it has been delayed amid differences over certain key issues, mainly concerning the immunity granted to US soldiers in Iraq and who would lead the military operations from next year.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki last month said the two sides have, however, agreed to withdraw US forces from Iraqi cities by June 2009 and from the country by December 2011.

What Just Happened?

Two Faces Of Nancy

Nancy happy: (pre-vote)



Nancy not happy: (post-vote)

What Caused Our Economic Crisis?

This goes by pretty fast so you might want to pause it in spots.



h/t: MidPoint Politics


Shocking Video Unearthed! Democrats in their own words Covering up the Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Scam that caused our Economic Crisis:

Odierno Assumes Command

From Multi-National Force - Iraq News:

CAMP VICTORY — Army Gen. Ray Odierno assumed command of Multi-National Force-Iraq from Army Gen. David H. Petraeus during a ceremony at al Faw Palace here Sept. 16.

The change of command occurs after incredible progress in the country, said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who traveled to Baghdad to participate in the ceremony.

“When General Petraeus took charge 19 months ago, darkness had descended on this land,” the secretary said. “Merchants of chaos were gaining strength. Death was commonplace. Around the world, questions mounted about whether a new strategy – or any strategy, for that matter – could make a real difference.”

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted that a national intelligence estimate in January 2007 doubted whether Iraq could reconcile over 18 months.

“Here we are, 18 months later, and Iraq is a vastly different place,” Mullen said during the ceremony. “Attacks are at their lowest point in four years, 11 of 18 provinces have been turned over – including the once-written-off Anbar province – to Iraqi security forces, who are increasingly capable and taking more of a lead in operations.”

The Iraqi government is providing for its people, the legislature is passing laws and the courts are enforcing justice, the chairman said. “In more places and on more faces we are seeing hope; we see progress,” the admiral said.

Mullen said he looks forward to working with Petraeus as the general takes over the reins of U.S. Central Command next month.

Petraeus put all the credit for the progress in Iraq at the feet of “the men and women of the coalition and with the many courageous diplomats and Iraqis with whom we have served.”

Petraeus thanked the Iraqi civilian and military leaders for their leadership. “You have risked everything to help your country make the most of the opportunity that our forces and yours have fought so hard to provide,” he said.

The Iraqi people also have made the strategy work, standing with the new Iraq against extremism, Petraeus said. more

Here's to a job well done by Petraeus and good wishes to Odierno as he faces what lies ahead.

Democrats Who Put America Last

From Frederick W. Kagan:

This morning, I had the honor of testifying before the House Budget Committee on the situation in Iraq. The discussion was polite and civilized, and was a reminder that even now it is possible for people who disagree about what to do in Iraq to argue without raised voices and disagreeable language (apart from the Code Pink women, yelling for those who think that shouting opponents down is preferable to arguing with them). Congressman Brian Baird once again demonstrated that it is possible even for those who bitterly opposed the war to recognize the importance of doing the right thing now--as well as the possibility of crossing the Republican-Democrat sectarian divide on this issue. One question came up repeatedly in the hearing that deserves more of an answer than it got, however: Why, after all the assistance we've given to Iraq over the past five years, was the first major Iraqi oil deal signed with China and not with an American or even a western company? The answer is, in part, because three Democratic senators intervened in Iraqi domestic politics earlier this year to prevent Iraq from signing short-term agreements with Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total, Chevron, and BP.

The Iraqi government was poised to sign no-bid contracts with those firms this summer to help make immediate and needed improvements in Iraq's oil infrastructure. The result would have been significant foreign investment in Iraq, an expansion of Iraqi government revenues, and an increase in the global supply of oil. One would have thought that leading Democratic senators who claim to be interested in finding other sources of funding to replace American dollars in Iraq, in helping Iraq spend its own money on its own people, and in lowering the price of gasoline for American citizens, would have been all for it. Instead, Senators Chuck Schumer, John Kerry, and Claire McCaskill wrote a letter to Secretary of State Rice asking her "to persuade the GOI [Government of Iraq] to refrain from signing contracts with multinational oil companies until a hydrocarbon law is in effect in Iraq." The Bush administration wisely refused to do so, but the resulting media hooraw in Iraq led to the cancellation of the contracts, and helps to explain why Iraq is doing oil deals instead with China.

Senators Schumer, McCaskill, and Kerry claimed to be acting from the purest of motives: "It is our fear that this action by the Iraqi government could further deepen political tensions in Iraq and put our service members in even great danger." For that reason, presumably, Schumer went so far as to ask the senior vice president of Exxon "if his company would agree to wait until the GOI produced a fair, equitable, and transparent hydrocarbon revenue sharing law before it signed any long-term agreement with the GOI." Exxon naturally refused, but Schumer managed to get the deal killed anyway. But the ostensible premise of the senators' objections was false--Iraq may not have a hydrocarbons law, but the central government has been sharing oil revenues equitably and there is no reason at all to imagine that signing the deals would have generated increased violence (and this was certainly not the view of American civilian and military officials on the ground in Iraq at the time). It is certain that killing the deals has delayed the maturation of Iraq's oil industry without producing the desired hydrocarbons legislation.

CONTINUED

Townhall in Grand Rapids, MI

From the intellectual sponges at CNN:
Palin takes questions from friendly Michigan crowd

Posted: 08:46 PM ET
GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (CNN) — Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin took questions with her running mate Wednesday night, offering at one point to play “stump the candidate” with a mostly friendly Michigan crowd.

Asked for “specific skills” she could cite to rebut critics who question her grasp of international affairs, she told a town hall-style event at the Gerald Ford presidential library that “I am prepared.”

“I have that confidence. I have that readiness,” Palin said. “And if you want specifics with specific policies or countries, you can go ahead and ask me. You can play ’stump the candidate’ if you want to. But we are ready to serve.”

I wonder if CNN even bothered to show up at this event.

A much more in depth local report from The Grand Rapids Press

To chants of "Sarah, Sarah," Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. John McCain took the stage at Grand Rapids Community College's Ford Fieldhouse Wednesday and echoed similar themes heard in previous stops the past two days.

After making brief remarks from their stump speeches, McCain and Palin opened the floor to questions in their first joint town-hall appearance.

"Governor Palin and I will not raise taxes. It's the worst thing you can do," said McCain, R-Arizona, before he took questions.

A combative questioner began by chiding McCain and saying he disagreed with McCain's past statements and asked what a McCain administration would do to fight terrorism and "radical Islam."

America Proud to Serve With Courageous Allies

President Bush on successes, withdrawls in Iraq; continued committment to Afghanistan:

Joe Biden on Barack Obama

Which Bush Doctrine?

Amazingly, from msnbc.com:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin seemed puzzled Thursday when ABC News anchor Charles Gibson asked her whether she agrees with the "Bush doctrine."

"In what respect, Charlie?" she replied.

Intentionally or not, the Republican vice presidential nominee was on to something. After a brief exchange, Gibson explained that he was referring to the idea -- enshrined in a September 2002 White House strategy document -- that the United States may act militarily to counter a perceived threat emerging in another country. But that is just one version of a purported Bush doctrine advanced over the past eight years.

Peter D. Feaver, who worked on the Bush national security strategy as a staff member on the National Security Council, said he has counted as many as seven distinct Bush doctrines. They include the president's second-term "freedom agenda"; the notion that states that harbor terrorists should be treated no differently than terrorists themselves; the willingness to use a "coalition of the willing" if the United Nations does not address threats; and the one Gibson was talking about -- the doctrine of preemptive war.

"If you were given a quiz, you might guess that one, because it's one that many people associate with the Bush doctrine," said Feaver, now a Duke University professor. "But in fact it's not the only one."

I'm in shock the editors let this story go to print. Sarah Palin is a threat to their left-wing bias, after all.

President's Radio Address - Sep 13, 2008

Audio

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, Americans marked seven years since the terrorist attacks that shook our Nation on September 11, 2001. On that day, we witnessed unspeakable destruction perpetrated by evil men. But we also witnessed selfless acts of valor and compassion performed by courageous citizens. And we saw the strength of the American people as they rallied in defense of the Nation.

On Thursday, I dedicated a new 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon. In the years to come, parents will visit this site to remember children who boarded Flight 77 for a field trip, and never emerged from the wreckage. Husbands and wives will visit the memorial to remember spouses who left for work one morning, and never returned home. And people from across our Nation will visit to remember the heroism of rescue workers who rushed into the burning Pentagon to save the lives of their fellow citizens.

Seven years after the attacks of 9/11, this spirit of heroism lives on. We see it in the courageous members of the United States Armed Forces. These brave men and women have volunteered to defend our Nation during a time of war. Every day, they are confronting our enemies abroad so we do not have to face them here at home. And because of their efforts, our Nation is safer today than it was seven years ago.

In Afghanistan, where the 9/11 attacks were planned, our men and women in uniform toppled the Taliban regime, destroyed al Qaeda camps, and liberated more than 25 million Afghans. In the years since, members of the Taliban and al Qaeda have sought to regain power through acts of terror. The United States and our allies are meeting this challenge head on. We will not allow Afghanistan to once again become a safe haven for terror.

Earlier this week, I announced additional American troop deployments to Afghanistan. In November, a Marine battalion that was scheduled to deploy to Iraq will deploy to Afghanistan instead. It will be followed in January by an Army combat brigade. This continuing commitment to the Afghan people illustrates a stark contrast: While the terrorists and extremists deliberately target and murder the innocent, coalition and Afghan forces risk their lives to protect the innocent.

America is also on the offense against terrorists and extremists in Iraq. Since we launched the surge last year, violence has fallen to its lowest point since the spring of 2004. While the enemy in Iraq is still dangerous, we seized the offensive, and Iraqi forces are becoming increasingly capable of leading and winning the fight. As a result, we've been able to carry out a policy of "return on success" -- reducing the number of American combat forces in Iraq as conditions on the ground there continue to improve.

After reviewing conditions in Iraq, General Petraeus and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have recommended additional force reductions. By February, about 8,000 additional American troops will have returned home without replacement. And if this progress in Iraq continues to hold, General Petraeus and our military leaders believe additional reductions will be possible in the first half of 2009.

In the seven years since the attacks of September the 11th, the men and women of our Armed Forces and their wonderful families have been a source of pride for the Nation. Those who do not wear the uniform also have a responsibility to serve our country. After 9/11, I called on Americans to devote at least 4,000 hours -- or two years over the course of a lifetime -- to volunteering in their communities. This morning, I renew that call. Serving others is more than just a generous act -- it is essential to the health of our society. And as any volunteer can tell you, when you bring hope to the lives of others, the life you enrich most is usually your own.

Thank you for listening.

From WhiteHouse.gov

We Will Not Forget

Lipstick

Sep 9, 2008:

"That's not change," Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said of what Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is offering. "You know, you can put lipstick on a pig," Obama said, "but it's still a pig."

Nov 2, 2004:

"As we say in Wyoming, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig," quipped Vice President Dick Cheney in a stump speech yesterday, with reference to John Kerry's claims he would be a credible war president.

Barack Obama quoting Dick Cheney. Delicious.

McCain: Stand Up & Fight!

It's About Time

From the Detroit Free Press:

Telling Detroiters "I've always said that you need to stand strong for the City of Detroit...but sometimes standing strong means stepping down," Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick delivered a televised speech that was part-apology, part campaign speech.

As his mother, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick watched, Kilpatrick said, "I want to emphasize tonight that I take full responsibility for my actions ... our challenge now is to put the anguish and the turmoil of recent months behind us."

Kilpatrick then proceeded to take light jabs at Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who he said put his removal above the many other problems facing the state. He said, though, that he would continue to support her.

“I'm stepping down because the new spirit of this city, the new expectations and standards that we've set for excellence in the past six and a half years has been tangled up in what I believe is the pursuit of many people's own political ambitions, even our governor, Jennifer Granholm, who I wish well,” he said. “Rather than focusing on the huge issues that are facing our state, from the record home foreclosures, the lack of affordable healthcare, a record unemployment in our state, Kwame Kilpatrick was at the top of her list,” he said. “I wish her well and hope that the same tenacity, the same professionalism, if you will, and intensity that went around putting together a quasi-administrative court will also be the same tenacity to solve the problem of the people of the state of Michigan.”

The nerve of this guy. My sympathies to Detroit residents for this debacle and my congratulations for FINALLY getting this scumbag out of office.

Remembering Reagan

From the RNC on Sep 2, 2008:

President Bush Stumps for McCain/Palin

Anbar Province Returned to Iraqis

RAMADI, Iraq: Two years ago, Anbar Province was the most lethal place for American forces in Iraq. A U.S. marine or soldier died in the province nearly every day, and the provincial capital, Ramadi, was a moonscape of rubble and ruins. Islamic extremists controlled large pieces of territory, with some so ferocious in their views that they did not even allow the baking of bread.

On Monday, U.S. commanders formally returned responsibility for keeping order in Anbar Province, once the heartland of the Sunni insurgency, to the Iraqi Army and police. The ceremony, including a parade on a freshly paved street, capped one of the most significant turnabouts in the country since the war began five and a half years ago.

Over the past two years, the number of insurgent attacks against Iraqis and Americans has dropped by more than 90 percent. Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia has been severely degraded, if not crushed altogether, in large part because many local Sunnis, including former insurgents, have taken up arms against it.

Since February, as the security situation improved, U.S. commanders have cut the number of marines and soldiers operating in the province by 40 percent.

The transfer of authority codified a situation that Iraqi and American officers say has been in effect since April: The Iraqi Army and police operate independently and retain primary responsibility for battling the insurgency and crime in Anbar. The United States, which had long done the bulk of the fighting, has stepped into a backup role, going into the streets only when accompanied by Iraqi forces.

HOORAH & HOOAH!

Whaat?

McCain/Palin '08

Part One:


Part Two:

Socialized Medicine Update

The Independent:

A devastating report on the state of Britain's maternity services has concluded that they put the lives of women and their babies at risk.

The first national inquiry into maternity care by the Healthcare Commission, the NHS watchdog, has revealed a critical shortage of midwives, obstetricians absent from wards, a lack of beds and poor continuity of care. These have contributed to high death rates in some units and threaten the long-term health of mothers and their babies in others.

Times Online:

The National Health Service is providing dying cancer patients with drugs that are five times less effective than those available privately and is refusing to treat them if they try to buy medicines themselves.

One drug for kidney cancer, routinely available through public health systems in most European countries but not to British patients, can reduce the size of tumours in 31% of patients, compared with just 6% of those prescribed the standard NHS drug.

The growing row over “co-payments” has prompted the government to reconsider the ban. Alan Johnson, the health secretary, has promised a “fundamental rethink” of the policy.

The shift comes as increasing numbers of cancer doctors defy the official Whitehall ban and allow patients to pay for drugs while still receiving NHS care.

The clincher from The Telegraph:

Overweight nurses are to get personal trainers and high street vouchers to encourage them to lose weight.

More than 200 NHS staff are being equipped with pedometers and offered motivational fitness coaches to help them slim down.

They have been promised £20 of high street store vouchers if they manage to keep the weight off during the year-long pilot.

The £250,000 scheme at Birmingham East and North Primary Care Trust is being run by American healthcare company Humana, which wants to roll the programme out across Britain.

Fight against "Government run health care" at every turn.

Taxes

From the Washington Post:



Common sense tell us that the more money you make, the more tax you pay. That explains why McCain's plan shows the highest wage earners getting the biggest cuts. Obama seems to want to punish success. Class envy is so last century.

How Biased is the American Media?

JB Williams has a very informative article here. Here's a sample:

The Media Sectors and their to-date 2008 Political Investments

* Computer & Internet - $24,255,207 (62% to Democrats)
* Books, Magazines & Papers - $12,187,548 (78% to Democrats)
* Computer Software - $8,922,053 (61% to Democrats)
* Motion Picture Industry - $7,523,136 (88% to Democrats)
* Cable & Satellite TV - $6,303,046 (63% to Democrats)
* Music Recording Industry - $2,983,755 (79% to Democrats)
* Television Production and Distribution - $2,322,587 (86% to Democrats)

And

Ever wonder why our education system is slanted hard left?
Here are some of the biggest publishers of educational materials.

* Reed Elsevier Inc. - $135,250 (69% to democrats) - Publisher and information provider, operating in four core segments: science and medical, legal, education, and business.
* Houghton Mifflin - $132,000 (97% to democrats) - Major publisher of textbooks, reference works, fiction, non-fiction, and educational software and video.
* National Geographic Society - $79,463 (95% to democrats) - provides free maps, photos, videos and daily news stories.

If you're not too depressed yet, here's some more:

Ever wonder why the news media has a hard left bent?

* General Electric/NBC/MSNBC/CNBC - (88% to democrats)
* Disney - (86% to democrats) - Walt Disney Studios, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, and Miramax; owns television interests including ABC, the Disney Channel and ESPN; runs dozens of local television and radio stations.
* ABC News - (99% to democrats)
* BBC International - (62% to democrats)
* CBS News – (99% to democrats)
* CNN News – (99% to democrats and Ron Paul)
* Newsweb Corp - (100% to democrats) - a publisher of ethnic and alternative newspapers in the United States, based in Chicago, Illinois.
* Cox Newspapers - (100% to democrats) - Publishers of sixteen local newspapers in Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Florida, and Ohio.
* Time Inc - (66% to democrats) - the largest magazine publisher in the US.
* News Corp - (95% to democrats) – Rupert Murdoch's global vertically integrated media company includes properties in film, television, cable.
* (Donor facts provided by Open Secrets)

Check his link for links and commentary. Thanks JB!

h/t: XisDshizL

Those Critics Are Silent

David Petraeus

General David Petraeus's tenure in Iraq draws to a close at the end of the month, and it's a measure of his success that he is departing to far less political fanfare than when his tour began. In September 2007, MoveOn.org called him General "Betray-Us," and Hillary Clinton said his claims of progress weren't credible. Now those critics are silent.

When General Petraeus took command 18 months ago, Iraq was sliding into chaos, and President Bush's "surge" was the last chance to bring the country under control. Last April, Majority Leader Harry Reid confidently declared, "The war is lost," and it would have been, if Mr. Bush had taken Mr. Reid's advice. Instead, he stuck with General Petraeus's counterinsurgency strategy, and now violence of every measure has been tamped down; Sunni-Shiite political reconciliation is underway; the Iraqi Army is growing in expertise; and the U.S. and Nouri al-Maliki's government are finishing negotiations toward a long-term security agreement.

However impressive, such gains remain fragile, as General Petraeus is noting in exit interviews this week. "It's not durable yet. It's not self-sustaining. You know -- touch wood -- there is still a lot of work to be done," he told Dexter Filkins of the New York Times.

American military engagement is crucial in the months and years ahead, and will fall now to the capable hands of Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, General Petraeus's chief deputy and co-prosecutor of the anti-al Qaeda success of the last 18 months. General Petraeus will leave Iraq to take control of Central Command, which includes Iraq and the wider Middle East theater including Afghanistan and Iran. With the resurgence of the Taliban, Americans are fortunate the General has signed up for more hard duty.

Hear, hear.

Separated at Birth?

Oh yes. I think so!

The Audacity of a Newbie

From the WSJ:

Barack Obama likes to portray himself as a centrist politician who wants to unite the country, but occasionally his postpartisan mask slips. That was the case at Saturday night's Saddleback Church forum, when Mr. Obama chose to demean Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Pastor Rick Warren asked each Presidential candidate which Justices he would not have nominated. Mr. McCain said, "with all due respect" the four most liberal sitting Justices because of his different judicial philosophy.


Mr. Obama took a lower road, replying first that "that's a good one," and then adding that "I would not have nominated Clarence Thomas. I don't think that he, I don't think that he was a strong enough jurist or legal thinker at the time for that elevation. Setting aside the fact that I profoundly disagree with his interpretation of a lot of the Constitution." The Democrat added that he also wouldn't have appointed Antonin Scalia, and perhaps not John Roberts, though he assured the audience that at least they were smart enough for the job.

So let's see. By the time he was nominated, Clarence Thomas had worked in the Missouri Attorney General's office, served as an Assistant Secretary of Education, run the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and sat for a year on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the nation's second most prominent court. Since his "elevation" to the High Court in 1991, he has also shown himself to be a principled and scholarly jurist.

Meanwhile, as he bids to be America's Commander in Chief, Mr. Obama isn't yet four years out of the Illinois state Senate, has never held a hearing of note of his U.S. Senate subcommittee, and had an unremarkable record as both a "community organizer" and law school lecturer. Justice Thomas's judicial credentials compare favorably to Mr. Obama's Presidential résumé by any measure. And when it comes to rising from difficult circumstances, Justice Thomas's rural Georgian upbringing makes Mr. Obama's story look like easy street.

Even more troubling is what the Illinois Democrat's answer betrays about his political habits of mind. Asked a question he didn't expect at a rare unscripted event, the rookie candidate didn't merely say he disagreed with Justice Thomas. Instead, he instinctively reverted to the leftwing cliché that the Court's black conservative isn't up to the job while his white conservative colleagues are.

So much for civility in politics and bringing people together. And no wonder Mr. Obama's advisers have refused invitations for more such open forums, preferring to keep him in front of a teleprompter, where he won't let slip what he really believes.

He's got balls, I'll give him that.

Daddy's Little Girl

I saw this on Facebook and thought some might enjoy reading it:

[( DADDY`S RULES )]
Rule One:
If you pull into my driveway and honk you had better be delivering a package, because you are sure not picking anything up.

Rule Two:
You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off my daughter's body, I will remove them.

Rule Three:
I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please do not take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose his compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Rule Four:
I am sure you have been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule Five:
It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early."

Rule Six:
I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule Seven:
As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process that can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight:
The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there are no parents, police officers, or nuns within eyesight. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies that feature chain saws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are better.

Rule Nine:
Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. However, on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule Ten:
Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway, you should exit your car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.

From the Horse's Mouth

Actual numbers from the horse's mouth:

The U.S. has about the same number of private contractors in Iraq as uniformed service members, a new congressional report says — a history-making ratio that presents problems in keeping track of all the workers and highlights the difficulties of supporting extended military operations without a larger force.

The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan analytical arm of Congress,
issued a report Monday that provides the first detailed accounting of the number of civilian contractors working in the Iraq theater, often doing jobs that historically have been military responsibilities, such as administration and logistics.

“The extent of DoD’s contracting is particularly evident during prolonged, large-scale operations — like those in Iraq — where there may not be enough military personnel available to provide logistics support,” says the report, “Contractors’ Support of U.S. Operations In Iraq.”

Most of the attention and controversy has centered on the estimated 30,000 people hired by the State Department to provide private security — a mission traditionally the responsibility of U.S. military forces in combat zones.

“Providing security for all personnel, including contractors, is an inescapable aspect of U.S. operations in Iraq because of the instability and violence in that country,” the report says.

Under current policy, the military provides security for contractors deploying with a combat force or directly supporting the military’s mission, but nonmilitary agencies of the U.S. government and other contractors, like those involved in reconstruction, use private security.

The presence of private security companies has caused some consternation in military circles because some private guards are earning up to $1,222 a day, compared to $160 to $190 earned in pay and benefits by a midgrade military member with similar skills.

However, the report says private security is not necessarily more expensive because the guards don’t have to be paid when they are not being used, which would not be case if 30,000 more service members were to replace the security contractors in the Iraq theater.

The military also would be expected to have enough troops so that they could rotate personnel in and out of the war zone. Private security companies often do pay employees between deployments, the report says.

Using contractors to support military operations is not new, the report says, although the current one-to-one ratio that has 190,000 private contractors in the Iraq theater “is at least 2.5 times higher than ... any other major U.S. conflict.”

However, the ratio is similar to the heavy use of contractors during U.S. military operations in the Balkans in the 1990s, the report says.

Army Times

He Puts the 'Loon' in Clooney

Sources say the actor has tried to hide the pair’s friendship for fear his Left-wing views and playboy image would hurt the Presidential hopeful’s bid for the White House.


But Democratic Party insiders have revealed that Clooney and Obama regularly send texts and emails to each other and speak by phone at least twice a week.


One said last night: ‘They are extremely close. A number of members of the Hollywood community, including Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, offered to help raise funds for Barack but it was with George that he struck up this amazing affinity.

‘George has been giving him advice on things such as presentation, public speaking and body language and he also emails him constantly about policy, especially the Middle East.


‘George is pushing him to be more “balanced” on issues such as US relations with Israel.


'George is pro-Palestinian. And he is also urging Barack to withdraw unconditionally from Iraq if he wins.


‘It’s a very risky relationship. His hope of becoming America’s first black President depends heavily on winning over conservative voters and it would be suicidal for him to be perceived as a tool of a Hollywood Leftie, which is how they regard George.


‘But they text and email each other almost every day and speak on the phone at least a couple of times a week, often more.’

This would be hilarious if it wasn't so scary.

Lt Col Chessani

I received this story in my email and felt it important to share:

He has been defending our Nation for twenty years…often away from his wife and children… so that we could be safely with ours.

LtCol Chessani served three combat tours in Iraq. He served in the First Persian Gulf War, and in Panama. He is a committed Christian, husband, and father of 6 young children, ages 10 and under.

I am certain that when you hear the facts, you will be as outraged as I am about what our government is doing to this courageous and loyal Marine.

So please read on…

On November 19, 2005, at approximately 7:15 a.m., a Marine convoy was rolling through Haditha, Iraq — a terrorist stronghold. Suddenly, a roadside bomb went off destroying a Marine Humvee, killing one Marine and seriously injuring two others.

The Marines immediately received fire from the ambushing insurgents, who were shooting from nearby civilian-occupied homes.

A four-man fire team responded as trained; they cleared several houses occupied by the armed insurgents, and in the ensuing room-by-room, house-by-house gun battle, it was reported that 8 enemy were killed.

Tragically 15 civilians also died ─ in urban combat, where insurgents purposefully use civilians as human shields, civilian casualties are tragic, but not uncommon. In fact, sometimes the insurgents themselves kill civilians to achieve a propaganda victory by blaming the Americans.

LtCol Chessani was the battalion commander of these brave Marines ─ the 3rd Battalion (“The Thundering Third”), 1st Marines—one of the most decorated units in the history of the Marine Corps.

As the Battalion Commander, LtCol Chessani was responsible that morning for approximately 2000 American and friendly Iraqi troops in an area of operations just about the size of South Carolina.

He immediately reported the deaths of the 15 civilian Iraqis to his superiors.

Not one of LtCol Chessani’s superiors hearing of the 15 civilian deaths ─ including top generals ─ considered it unusual. Not one ordered a further investigation.

However, several months later, an inflammatory Time news article accusing the Marines of massacring innocent civilians caused public hysteria. The story was planted by insurgent propaganda operatives who knew too well that the liberal anti-war media hungered for such stories.

Anti-war Congressman John Murtha, who wields tremendous power over military appropriations, jumped in and echoed Time’s story.

He appeared on major television networks and publicly accused the young enlisted Marines of “cold blooded” murder and Marine officers of a “cover-up.” He blamed it all on the stress of being in Iraq too long.

Incredibly, these accusations were made even before the investigation was completed.

It’s clear ─ the government has turned the prosecution of Jeffrey Chessani into a never-ending persecution.

The trumped-up charge: failing to properly report and investigate the November 19, 2005 incident.

The government is doing everything it can to convict LtCol Chessani. He is the political scapegoat they must convict to satisfy Murtha and the press.

The vast resources of the military are at its disposal. The number of military investigators is virtually limitless. Government prosecutors can go anywhere, talk to anyone, and get anything, all at government expense. The Marine command structure is mandated to cooperate.

So far, the government has spent millions of our taxpayer dollars, employed over 65 Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agents ─ the largest investigation in that agency’s history ─ and granted immunity to scores of witnesses, all in their attempt to make Jeffrey and the “Haditha Marines” political scapegoats.

But I’m sure you know that the impact of this case reaches far beyond the personal tragedy and injustice to Jeffrey and his family.

Lt. Colonel Paul Ware, USMC, an Investigating Officer who heard testimony in several cases involving the charged enlisted Marines blasted the credibility of the government witnesses and expressed concern that the allegations were nothing but a tactic “to erode public support of the Marine Corps and mission in Iraq.”

He went on to say:

“Even more dangerous is the potential that a Marine may hesitate at the critical moment when facing the enemy . . . .”

Retired General Thomas McInerney, former Joint Force Commander and Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, called the prosecutions of the Haditha Marines “despicable.” He warned:

“We cannot fight a war like that . . . We’re not taking care of our people.”

Regardless of how you feel about the war, LtCol Chessani was in Iraq because his country sent him there. He defended us, now we must defend him.

Just to give you an idea what this Nation has lost by the prosecution of LtCol Chessani, and why he deserves your support, I want to give you a few excerpts from his official Combat Fitness Report.

This is a required annual evaluation of a Marine officer’s performance prepared by his superiors. It covers the period of September 2005 to February 2006 ─ which includes the date of the incident for which LtCol Chessani is facing criminal charges:

- “Leads Marines from front in every operation. Demonstrates moral courage everyday. Doesn’t hesitate to report bad news fast or contest unrealistic plans/poor concepts. Despite the complexity and size of his AO [area of operations], he always maintains a calm, cool demeanor.”

- “Always seeks advantage over complex, diverse insurgent enemy. Truly one of the finer thinkers in this COIN environment.”

- “One of the top 3” infantry/cavalry battalion commanders “of 13 who have served with RCT –2 [the regiment] during OIF. A superb leader, who knows his men, knows the enemy, knows his business. Doesn’t attract a lot of fanfare; just gets the job done to an exceedingly high standard.”

- “Long ball hitter; recommend selection for promotion to Colonel and TLS [Top Level School].”

The Reviewing Officer, Major General Huck added his comments: “Top notch officer with outstanding potential. Promote and select for TLS [Top Level School]. Post TLS slate for Regimental command and subsequent joint tour. Unlimited potential and value to the Marine Corps. Capable of the most challenging assignments.”

One distorted magazine article has devastated the life and family of this patriotic Marine officer… and could adversely affect our military for years to come.

Simply put…

This case is about how our military fights and will fight in the future.

LtCol Chessani has willingly answered the call to serve his country. That’s why he deserves the support of every Patriotic American today.

Click here to DONATE and HELP.

He's Growing Up So Fast

This used to be my little boy, my small fry, the baby I held in my arms. Wow.

Al Qaeda's Market Crash

IF you think the US markets have problems, look at the value of al Qaeda shares throughout the Muslim world: A high-flying political equity just a few years ago, its stock has tanked. It made the wrong strategic investments and squandered its moral capital.

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, Osama bin Laden was the darling of the Arab street, seen as the most successful Muslim in centuries. The Saudi royal family paid him protection money, while individual princes handed over cash willingly: Al Qaeda seemed like the greatest thing since the right to abuse multiple wives.

Osama appeared on T-shirts and his taped utterances were awaited with fervent excitement. Recruits flocked to al Qaeda not because of "American aggression," but because, after countless failures, it looked like the Arabs had finally produced a winner.

What a difference a war makes.

Yes, al Qaeda had little or no connection to Saddam Hussein's Iraq - but the terrorists chose to declare that country the main front in their struggle with the Great Satan. Bad investment: Their behavior there was so breathtakingly brutal that they alienated their fellow Muslims in record time.

Fighting enthusiastically beside the once-hated Americans, Iraq's Sunni Muslims turned on the terrorists with a vengeance. Al Qaeda's response? It kept on butchering innocent Muslims, Sunni and Shia alike. Iraq exposed al Qaeda as a fraud.

Read the rest.


h/t: Scott`

Democrats and the Surge

Democrats, then, have compounded their initial bad judgment about the surge with reckless obstinacy. As ethno-sectarian violence in Iraq rapidly declined, as al Qaeda absorbed tremendous military blows, and as political accommodation and legislative achievements have emerged, Democrats, rather than welcoming the progress, grew agitated. They embraced with religious zeal the belief that the Iraq war was lost; they therefore viewed the success of the surge as a terribly inconvenient development, one they sought to deny to the point that they looked silly and out of touch. Worse, Democrats acted as if they had a vested interest in an American defeat.

Rarely has a political party been so uniformly wrong, in such an obvious way, on such an important matter. And when Americans cast their vote on November 4, they should carefully consider how Barack Obama and the entire Democratic party fought ferociously and relentlessly to undermine a policy that has worked extraordinarily well and may yet prove to be among the most successful military plans in modern times.

Read it while liberals weep.


h/t: XisDshizL

Saddam Hussein Interrogation

I was asked about this recently so I thought I'd post it.


Part One

Part Two

Tony Snow 1955 - 2008