Free kibbles

So much for the myth about the success of socialism in Norway. Apparently their health care system and their schools are failing. This article is on elder care, but it's obviously only a symptom of a much larger problem.

Attorney General gets new powers to expedite death penalty cases. I'm all for reducing the time it takes for the appeals process in death penalty cases as long as it doesn't reduce the ability to ferret out wrong verdicts, but I don't think one man should have the power to expedite them.

General Petraeus plans to suggest troop reductions in Iraq beginning next year, as I've said since Bush announced the surge at the beginning of the year. This was always the goal, and Gen. Petraeus thinks he can meet it because of excellent execution of the strategy. If Democrats are smart, they will try to steal the thunder by claiming they've been right all along, and that Bush is finally giving in. Fighting to pull troops out sooner or faster will just further highlight their weakness on national defense. This goes to show what I've been saying for decades - the 2 parties are almost identical, their Iraq plans were almost identical, and all the inflamed rhetoric is just a smokescreen to make them appear very different.

Boortz reports that Chavez continues his dictatorial march in Venezuela by changing the constitution to allow him to be re-elected in rigged elections indefinitely, despite his unpopularity with the people. Chavez had taken control of the oil industry, the broadcast industry, the banks and most of the agriculture and food distribution in Venezuela. Liberals are jealous. Boortz also predicts a revolution in Venezuela. The sooner, the better. Liberals will blame Bush.

Bush labels the Iranian Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organization. This is the result of the executive orders he signed empowering him to seize assets of groups which materially support violence in Iraq.

Apparently government thinks parents aren't smart enough to figure out when and how much cough medicine to give children, so the government has to step in and turn a non-issue into a problem.

Apparently there is a story out that the White House will be writing Gen. Petraeus' report. If that story is true, Democrats are right to blast the White House and call it a con job. I don't think for a second that Gen. Petraeus would sign his name any report that wasn't 100% what he wanted to say, but if the White House gets involved in the least, it will destroy Gen. Petraeus' credibility. Since the mainstream media, the Democrats, the Republicans, and the White House have zero credibility, I have no idea what to believe until I hear Gen. Petraeus.

Democrats promise to increase the size and power of unions. Lovely.

Michelle Malkin wonders why we don't have border security given all the crime committed by illegal aliens.

Interview with Steven McIntyre, the man who identified NASA's error when calculating yearly average surface temperatures.

Canadian hospitals could not handle birth of quadruplets, so the family came to the US for the birth. 4 new Americans will grow up (in Canada) with a personal understanding of the failures of socialism. This article makes the great point - imagine how much more expensive health care would be if America didn't provide all the services Canada doesn't.

Australia's public health care system is broken too, and in Sydney, they're merging public and private health care to help out the public system.

Global warming proponents threaten skeptics.

Mugabe cheered at African summit.

Online pharmacies selling fake drugs. This sounds like one of those greatly exaggerated stories that are used to sway public opinion in favor of more government. I predict we'll hear more about this in the future so that the masses can whipped up in favor of more government control of our lives.

The political battle for free trade.

The Nation on the NAFTA superhighway and the North American Union. We don't need no stinking NAFTA to have free trade with Mexico and Canada. These supra-national organizations impinge on our sovereignty and in fact inhibit free trade.

NYTimes profiles Gen. Petraeus.

Insightful essay that describes how Karl Rove capitalized on divisiveness instead of trying to overcome it.

Europe and Democrats are finally admitting the folly of a quick pullout from Iraq and closing Guantanamo. Democrats never believed their own rhetoric. They just used it to attack Bush and make political hay. But with a presidential election gaining speed and Gen. Petraeus' report coming nigh, they have to admit responsible positions or get crushed in 2008.

John Stossel advocates ending all farm subsidies. It would make our farming industry stronger.

Ralph Peters explains that al Qaeda's recent mass murder in Iraq was intended to influence Congress because our troops are crushing them, as they should have done years ago.