Free kibbles

3 US soldiers missing in Iraq.

Portion of Iraq's daily oil production is missing. It's a good bet al Qaeda and insurgents are getting some of that money. Imagine how much worse it will be if we choose to lose the war.

Russia out-competes US and EU for pipeline deal. If we really wanted that deal for strategic reasons, why did we let Russia out-compete us?

Congressman says the federal response to was inadequate because of race. That's just ridiculous.

Religious groups lobbying Washington for earmarks. Everybody else is doing it, so it's human nature to try to get some of those handouts.

Big business is backing health care reform.

Greenspan warns about coming recession.

How humans advance with computers.

Open letter from Gen. Petraeus to troops demanding better behavior.

Why Bush fights wars like a Democrat.

Excellent essay describing the great global warming con from the very liberal Nation magazine.

Ralph Peters says that our army generals, excepting Gen. Petraeus, no longer know how to fight to win. Similar sentiment regarding the trail of Haditha Marines.

Iraqi officials lobby Congress to stay and fight to win in Iraq.

Democrats back off promises for lobbying reform. That was predictable (and predicted).

Praise for John Stossel. The author points out that Stossel began his career with a liberal mindset, but through his investigations he became libertarian. That clears up some confusion for me, because I remember when he started, and he was a flaming liberal, but now he does a great job as an honest reporter about government versus the free market. Now I know what happened to change him.

Pat Buchanan questions Rudy Guiliani's wisdom in declaring himself pro-choice.

Advocating clean coal.

5 things you can't say in America. These are really politically incorrect.

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The US military budget is still bloated. Imagine a government bureaucracy spending more than it needs. I'm shocked. The federal government is larger than ever. Another surprise.

Democrats pass bill that only funds Iraq war through July. Bush vows to veto again.

US commander in Diyala province requests more troops to fight increased al Qaeda presence since they were driven out of Baghdad.

Hamas again airs Mickey Mouse copy in an attempt to convince children to attack Israel.

Muslims destroy theaters in Nigeria in the name of Sharia.

Catalina Island is burning.

Boortz provides a thought experiment - if we had lived with the FairTax all our lives, would we switch to the income tax? It's a fun read because it's so ridiculous that's it's comical.

Apparently we did set up a news broadcast network in the Middle East. The director, a former CNN producer, has used it as a platform to promote terrorism. Why hasn't he been fired?

Good news from Iraq.

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Reason writes that Republicans have squandered their reputation as war fighting realists. That's why I keep calling Bush a Democrat - among other reasons. I hope that Reason doesn't forget that Reagan only pulled out of Lebanon because he realized he couldn't win there and defeat the Soviets. We have no greater overt enemy than al Qaeda, most of whom are fighting in Iraq, right now.

Republicans warn Bush that he must show progress in Iraq by fall.

Bush discussed voter fraud cases of ousted attorneys. As well he should. It's good to see he was making the Justice Dept. follow his crime fighting agenda. If only he had such control over his Iraq policy. It seems another attorney was asked to leave, making a total of 9. So what?

Defending extraordinary renditions. The problem is the Bush administration severely abused these renditions, and we may lose them as an intelligence tool.

US jury convicts Chinese spy.

Tony Blair will step down on June 27. Just like Bush, Iraq will be his legacy.

The facist thug president of Russia compares the US to the Third Reich. Funny.

The Iraqi parliament voted for a bill, sponsored by al Sadr, to force a cap on troops and a timetable for US withdrawal. It's ironic that Sadr is forced to use the political process to fight US troops.

Japan opens baby hatch. The goal may be to insure that babies get homes, but I think it further devalues babies and will only accelerate Japan's and other countries' decline.

Reason interview with expert on Iranian-US relations.

Boortz highlights the story of Jeff May, who I had never heard of before either. When he was a high-school sophomore, armed only with a pencil, May charged a school shooter and saved an unknown number of lives by his bravery. Boortz has a theory why this story wasn't trumpeted like most school shootings - it highlights individual heroism, a concept hated by the left.

Boortz reports that the terrorists planning to attack Fort Dix were illegal immigrants smuggled in from Mexico. Who could have ever guessed such a thing could happen?

Essay praising the FairTax.

Lawrence Kudlow says Democrats will lose the White House because on their typical positions of two key policies - national defense and taxes. If Hillary runs, her overwhelming unpopularity will be the third reason she loses.

Dick Morris says Royal's loss doesn't bode well for Hillary because voters judge women more harshly than men. Interesting. I was hoping France really wanted to move away from socialism. Fred Thompson thins maybe we've been mistaking the French press and elite for the French people. I hope he's right. Ann Coulter agrees, and points out that Europeans nations are all voting for pro-American candidates.

Iraqi dentist says al Qaeda is on the ropes and asks US to stay and fight to win.

John Stossel says more than 1/2 of the US population gets a major portion of their income from the federal government.

Thomas Sowell points out that bookstores often categorize books by black authors into special ghettos in the bookstore.

Victor Davis Hanson exposes Democrats' motives on the Iraq war.

George Will exposes the world bank as a hindrance to development.

Walter Williams explains why minimum wage hikes hurt unskilled workers.

Robert Novak says the Democrats treated the President of Columbia so badly that we may have lost a much needed ally in South America.

Tom Delay belatedly but accurately describes the Republican woes in the 2006 election.

Thomas Sowell discusses the double standard of so-called scandals in Washington.

Remains of James Doohan lost after trip to space. It must have been a transporter malfunction.

Purdue researchers claim they have invented changes to the internal combustion engine that can make it 15 to 20% more efficient.

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Circuit City employee enabled authorities to bust terrorist cell targeting Fort Dix. Once again, it's the common citizen as first defender. This illustrates how empowering citizens by shrinking government and returning freedom and responsibility to the people is the best defense against terrorism we have. (Not a picture of the specific employee.)

Democrats' new Iraq war plan calls for funding only 3 more months, then reviewing. I wrote a few weeks back that this was the smartest move they could make. They were dumb to try to defund the war, and take ownership of defeat, first. The only problem I have with this plan - Congress has the power of the purse - is that Democrats have no intention of providing a fair hearing in 3 months. Bush vows to veto. I don't think he'll win that battle. I think Democrats finally settled on a policy that will work for them.

Congress is planning to force us to change light bulbs. This is crap. Let the free market work.

Vegan couple sentenced to life in prison for starving their baby by feeding it only soy milk and apple juice. Isn't that what mothers have fed their babies for millions of years? Liberalism in action - feeling they were smarter than nature. They deserve every second of time they serve.

Consequences of climate change are much smaller than alarmist predictions.

UN reports that a rapid shift to biofuels could have environmental and economic repercussions. Talk about stating the obvious.

Study shows that Hispanic immigrants are not socially conservative. Of course they're not. Why do you think Democrats are inviting them in and trying to make them citizens?

Cheney in Iraq to try and convince government not to go on hiatus. If they go on hiatus, Democrats will cut off funds, and I would have a hard time finding a reason to object. It goes back to one of my original criticisms of the war - we should never have empowered a national government before we had established order, local , and regional governments in that order. We should have assisted the Iraqis in building a reliable national government from the ground up, so everybody could have discovered who had the nation's best interest at heart, not the top down.

This goes back to the problem of titanic government in America. Our leaders wanted to put an Iraqi face on government as soon as possible, but because of their institutional bias for a dominant central government, they were unable to acknowledge that most government should be at the local level. That's where people should interact with government. This is another of the problems created by titanic, overbearing central government.

NATO air raid kills 21 civilians in Afghanistan. Once again, Afghanis are upset about civilian casualties. Terrorists kill hundreds of civilians in bombs every day - we're used to it, but everybody gets upset when the good guys kill civilians. Nobody wants civilians to die (except the terrorists), but civilian casualties are unavoidable in war. We can't allow the prosecution of wars to fail because of fear of civilian casualties. The cost of failure is immeasurably higher.

Palestinian growth restricted. Duh! If they would stop attacking Israel every day, those restrictions could be lifted.

4 more suspects arrested in Britain for 7/7 bombings.

I don't usually list stories like this, but I think it highlights the social degeneration of the west, which I think is caused by big government policies restricting the freedom and taking away the responsibility of the individual. Girls in Perth killed another girl as an experiment to see if they would feel remorse.

Guantanamo to become US welcome center for Cubans. Makes sense to me.

Reason doesn't like the new Federal hate crime bill. Nobody should like it. If we're not free to hate, we're not free.

Reason discusses a new book on Reagan.

Apparently there is political intrigue involving George Soros behind Wolfowitz' struggles at the World Bank.

Scientists discover gene that separates humans from our great ape ancestors.

Newscorp is buying photobucket. I hope it stays free.

Boortz reports that the FairTax bill, HR25 now has 60 sponsors, and he's making a plea for the Columbia, SC. rally.

City of Tuscon stops citizen from burning Mexican flag. Come on already. When you burn the American flag, it's free speech, and rightly so. Same with burning the Mexican flag.

Nancy Pelosi is threatening to sue the President over signing statements. Bush has set a record with them, but in my mind, they're nothing more than his directions in application of the law. I say that because he has no choice but to follow the law. So I don't see the big deal. If we find that government is doing something in violation of the law based on a Presidential signing statement, then we should act to make government compliant with the law and bring signing statements into compliance. (Don't laugh at that compliance thing. I know our government and representatives have no respect for law, but I don't support that.)

Federally mandated sick days, like pretty much all federal mandates, are a terrible idea. The free market provides optimum solutions to these kind of problems, not government mandates.

Free kibbles

6 men arrested for planning to attack Fort Dix.

Democrats propose only funding Iraq war through July. Hopefully that will turn off a few of their members so it won't pass.

Terra Haute, Indiana hosts nuclear terrorism simulation.

10 more combat brigades to go to Iraq by end of year.

China and Russia deny claims they are sending weapons to Darfur. They are providing financial, military, technical, and diplomatic support to terrorist groups all over the world. Why not Sudan?

Iranian students fight for democracy.

Reason points out that botched prosecutions like Mike Nifong's prosecution of the Duke lacrosse team abound.

Reason asks why prostitution is illegal.

The problem with sub-prime lending.

Europe's Galileo GPS system, being developed by committee, is naturally failing. This is not a free-market enterprise.

More on brightest supernova.

Herod's tomb found.

Boortz thinks Hillary has a problem now that Segolene Royal was so resoundingly beaten in France. The similarities are remarkable (except that Royal is pretty good looking). I keep saying the concern I have with Hillary's nomination is that she will get spanked so badly that Republicans will claim a mandate and continue to badly mismanage the country.

Boortz reports that the US taxpayers, you and me, are going to pay war reparations to Guam for the suffering of its people under Japanese occupation.

Kansas City airport puts foot washing basins in restrooms for Muslims. That's just gross.

The continuing emasculation of society.

Demographic shifts in the US.

The War at Home

The War at Home

by Mark Luedtke

After World War II, the United States rebuilt Japan and Germany while we also rebuilt Europe through the Marshall Plan, fought the Cold War with the Soviets, and fought a hot war in Korea. The cost in blood and treasure of those operations all at once dwarfed the cost of rebuilding Iraq, but the benefits from success are immeasurable. Japan is now the 2^nd largest economy in the world. Germany and South Korea are major economic powers and all are trading partners. America and the world are still reaping the rewards for those successes today.

Our sole failure of the period, not freeing North Korea, resulted in that country becoming a deadly prison for its own people. North Korea is a nuclear wild-card, a threat to its neighbors, our allies, and America. North Korea is an ally to Iran. We're still paying the price for our failure in North Korea. Anyone who says that successfully rebuilding Iraq isn't worth the price is either ignorant of history or lying.

We're also still paying the price for losing in Vietnam. In 1975 Democrats cut off funding for South Vietnam in a war we had for all intents and purposes already won, betraying our South Vietnamese allies to the North Vietnamese. The immediate result was the execution of our allies in Southeast Asia. Millions of people were murdered in Cambodia in the worst extermination in history. Millions of Vietnamese boat people braved the Pacific trying to escape the murderous communists.

Recognizing America's subsequent weakness from failure in Vietnam, the radical Islamic movement in Iran overthrew our ally the Shah, and then took over the American embassy. Paralyzed after Vietnam, America did nothing. In an attempt to contain the radical Iranians during the 80s, America ended up supporting Saddam Hussein in Iraq, and inadvertently strengthened another monster.

The Soviets tried to capitalize on America's post-Vietnam weakness by invading Afghanistan. The move backfired as radical Muslim fighters repelled the Soviets, but in the aftermath the Taliban gained power, and Osama bin Laden, after fighting the Soviets, used Afghanistan as al Qaeda's safe haven to plot 9/11. Bin Laden specifically adopted North Vietnamese General Giap's successful strategy for defeating the US – persisting in the slow bleed strategy until the anti-war Democrats defeat America because our enemies can't.

It's no accident we're now fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, fighting Iranians on several fronts, fighting al Qaeda, and trying to contain the North Koreans so they don't sell a nuclear bomb to these terrorists. We're still paying blood and treasure in conflicts derived from our failures in North Korea and Vietnam. Understanding the consequences of failure and the benefits of success, it no longer matters why we went to Iraq. It doesn't matter how badly Bush mismanaged the war before he was thankfully spanked in the 2006 election. Bush changed course, and all that matters now is that we get it right and win.

Claims that losing in Iraq won't have historically similar catastrophic consequences are wishful fantasies. Democrats understand that if we leave Iraq, a bloodbath will result, likely consuming millions. They understand that Iran and al Qaeda will end up with significant influence in Iraq and will use Iraq's astounding oil wealth to fund more deadly attacks on Israel, Europe and the US for decades to come unless we go back and fight a far more rich, capable, deadly and possibly nuclear enemy later.

Democrats also understand that if we are successful in Iraq as in the past, we'll end up with a lasting ally with a rich economy that would be a model for the Middle East. They understand that success will significantly damage the radical Islamic movements of al Qaeda, Iran, wahhabism, and other strains of Islam. And despite what Senate majority leader Harry Reid said, that the war in Iraq is lost, Democrats know full well that we've overcome tougher problems and can still win in Iraq.

Knowing history, you would think Democrats would work for victory instead of using all their resources to defeat America. But Democrats' rhetoric gives them away: Democrats think George Bush and conservatives are more dangerous, immediate enemies than radical Islam.

The Democrats would sacrifice Iraq, allow a bloodbath, and pay the price of worse attacks and future wars because they think that if we lose in Iraq, they'll regain the Presidency, and therefore be able to appoint judges. Harry Reid has publicly stated Democrats expect to gain seats in Congress by fighting for our defeat. To Democrats, the catastrophic consequences of defeat are worth accepting.

Because Democrats can't get their liberal agenda passed through Congress, they need judges who aren't beholden to the people to push their ideology. Bush's two justices have put the activist liberals in the minority on the Supreme Court. Justifying Democrats' fears, the Court recently upheld a federal ban on partial birth abortions, significantly weakening the Roe versus Wade precedent. For Democrats, this is the immediate war, the war for their liberal ideals, and the war against radical Islam is just a tool to help them win this ideological war at home.

But Democrats are mistaken. They're taking ownership of defeat in Iraq, and Americans will remember that betrayal of trust in 2008. Democrats haven't recovered from the stigma of being weak on defense since Vietnam, but they're repeating that mistake.

Free kibbles

Sarkozy plans pro-market reforms. How come neither American party supports that? Dramatic change in direction for France. Riots mar victory celebration. Women voters in France shun Segolene Royal. Expect the same here if Hillary gets the nomination.

Saudis and the US sponsoring covert actions against Iran. I should hope so.

China expects population rebound because of wealth generation.

Explosion damages Ukraine gas pipeline.

Russians say they will respond to any threat from anti-missile missile system. It's purely defensive and poses no threat. Russia is struggling to stay militarily relevant. The anti-missile system exposes how far behind they've fallen.

The environmentalist movement that has driven all the absurd doomsday alarmism from the coming ice-age, DDT, acid rain, and now global warming shows it's true colors: calls children a threat to the environment, calls humanity a virus.

4 soldiers and a reserve police officer, volunteers all, were arrested for looting in town destroyed by tornado. Red Cross impersonators also arrested.

Gas prices hit record high.

Reason claims racial profiling for traffic stops no longer exists.

Christopher Hitchens on Nixon and Kissinger.

Judge orders thieves to wear signs.

Man claiming to be Jesus Christ draws fans.

Teenage Muslim girl stoned to death by her family and others.

Record brightness supernova.

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Estimates say Sarkozy wins election in France. Maybe France will become an ally once again. Good riddance to Chirac. Has mandate to reform France's destructive welfare state and socialist policies. We need the same.

Al Qaeda's number 2 man, Zawahiri, mocks Democrats' retreat and defeat bill.

Crowd supports suspended Pakistani Justice.

Turkish parliament fails to elect sectarian president.

Israel accused of prisoner abuse. Notice how nobody ever accuses al Qaeda or Iran of prisoner abuse?

Egyptian bloggers jailed. I bet nobody complains about their abuse.

Iconic climatologist blasts the human caused global warming con.

GOP support for Iraq war would likely waiver if no results are seen by fall. Like I've been saying, the timetable for withdrawal for Iraq is basically set by the next election cycle. Democrats would have been wise to stick to rhetoric and allow the natural cycle to play out.

House passes bill forbidding genetic discrimination.

Kansas is considering a health care plan that emphasizes the free market.

Hillary, Richardson, and Biden all take credit for bill that would revoke Iraq war authorization. Once again, this is unconstitutional. If Democrats want to end the war, they have to cut off the funding for the troops.

Disillusioned Republicans are supporting Obama. I always laugh at this crap about uniting the country, as if Bush did anything to divide it. Take a look at the Iraq war votes again. We were united until Democrats chose to divide us. And why would anybody think America would unite behind a socialist?

Ralph Peters considers what land Israel should give up to appease the international community.

Excellent, politically incorrect, examination of illegal immigration and its relation to the welfare state. This is a must read. The article points out that Eisenhower rounded up and deported a small percentage of illegal aliens, and the rest packed up and went home. The argument that we can't deport them all is a fraud, and always has been. If we take away the benefits and the jobs, and we make it clear any illegal immigrant caught in the US will never be allowed to come back, illegal immigrants will pack up, go home, and apply to return legally. This is a no-brainer.

A comparison of US and European demographics.

Labor unions and their Democratic patrons prefer threatening to break kneecaps to private ballots. What's so funny is that they actually claim that private ballots enable coercion, when obviously the opposite is true.

How Democrats use feigned outrage to silence any opposition.

George Will discusses Hank Aaron.

Democrats' own culture of corruption - out entire government is corrupt. The Bush administration is remarkable for its lack of corruption - and competence.

Free kibbles

The IPCC wants you to believe that cutting greenhouse gases is cheap, but it's not. And it will have zero affect on the sun's impact on climate.

Al Qaeda kills Iraqi Sunnis who have turned against them.

Pakistani police arrest people in their homes to prevent them from rallying.

Newsweek poll has Bush approval rating at 28%. That's what constant bad press will do for you. If you think Bush's poll ratings are bad now, wait until he starts really pushing his amnesty plan for illegal immigants. His ratings will approach single digits.

Bill would ban suspected terrorists from buying guns. Not convicted, suspected.

Fred Thompson makes an excellent argument for smaller government to help our security and prosperity. I like him more every time he makes a speech. The question is: does he mean it? Conservatives have been paying lip service to smaller government for a century, but the government has never become smaller, and we've all seen what happened when they got in power. Fred also puts foreign criticism of America in context.

Not exactly random thoughts from Thomas Sowell.

I am so old that I can remember a Democrat, at his inauguration as President, say of our enemies: "We dare not tempt them with weakness."

There's a lot to be said for the old days.

The weather channel reporter on Fox news, 3:50 PM, said that authorities had declared martial law. Here's a memorial from 1957 when Kansas declared martial law after a tornado. Wikipedia says martial law was NOT declared for hurricane Katrina. Declaring martial law is a pretty outrageous step for a tornado.

Webcomic author investigated as terrorist threat.

First woman to swim in Saudi Arabia.

Free kibbles

Humanity approaching the singularity of evolution. Interview with Vernor Vinge.

Iran blames US for sectarian violence in Iraq. Right. It's not because of al Qaeda, the insurgents or the Shiite militias armed and trained by Iran. Give me a break. Rice scares off Iranian diplomat. Now that I like to see. Too bad some think she was chasing him. We'll never know.

Sunnis are turning on al Qaeda. Coalition breaks up Shiite band smuggling weapons and people to and from Iran.

UN changes story on global warming once again. Now we have 2 decades to curb emissions to reduce greenhouse gases. This con is falling apart.

Why Asia is the main obstacle to controlling green-house gases. It's because they want to grow, like everybody else should.

France's socialist candidate Royal warns that conservative front-running Sarkozy will be violent and brutal. And we thought candidates were negative here.

Hugo Chavez wants to nationalize Venezuela's banks and steel industry next.

Mogadishu mayor bans guns on the streets.

Carlos the Jackal to be tried for more crimes.

The FCC should not try to play mommy and daddy.

Conservatives launch video-sharing site to combat perceived YouTube bias.

The left's fear of boogie-man Karl Rove is pathological. They care that Rove coached Justice Dept. employee before congressional hearings.

Imus sues for $120 million. Both CBS and MSNBC had delay buttons, but didn't use them to edit the comments for which he was fired. Looks like trouble for both companies.

Newspaper runs ads for people to help build Iran's nuclear reactors.

In an attempt to fake people out on her long standing position supporting invading Iraq, until we actually invaded, Hillary is trying to revoke the authorization for war.

Group wants chimp to be declared a person. Don't they realize how much this dehumanizes humans? This is another outstanding example of liberal lunacy.

Charles Krauthammer takes on George Tenet and all attempts to rewrite the history on who supported invading Iraq.

David Limbaugh points out how the left is trying to stamp out discussion and debate on its entire agenda. Liberals never supported free speech except for themselves, and they're getting worse.

The foreign minister of Iraq makes an eloquent plea for continuing international support.

Praise for Tony Blair.

Fred Thompson points out the improvement of the lives of women and children in Afghanistan.

Victor Davis Hanson says Americans look to celebrity freak shows to distract them from the very grave problems and difficult solutions we face today. Unfortunately, these distractions just allow the problems to get worse.

Pat Buchanan points out the idiocy of bringing former Soviet states into NATO.

Free kibbles

It's about time the international community showed some support for Iraq - we've been trying to get international support since 2002. 50 nations commit to help unify Iraq. I bet none of them will send troops. Iraq gets debt relief.

With all the bad press on Iraq, you would think it was worse than Cambodia during the exterminations, worse than Russia during the purges, worse than China during the horribly misnamed great leap forward. You would think the people writing these articles would have some tiny knowledge of history and therefore know what real chaos means. Iraq is not even close, but if we pull out of Iraq, it will degenerate into a comparable disaster.

US and Syria in high level talks at the Iraqi security conference. Why? Unless we plan to attempt to bribe them to stop the terrorism, what's the point? And if we're bribing to stop terrorism, we're just encouraging terrorism. What ever happened to the far more sensible strategy of never negotiating with terrorists? Gen. Petraeus had just reported that Syria has stepped up it's terrorist activities in Iraq since Nancy Pelosi visited. I trust Petraeus a hell of a lot more than anybody in the Bush administration. Author claims that Syria is ripe for negotiations.

Turkey sets new election date.

NATO gives Russia a warning. About time NATO pushed back against Russia.

Democrats drop timetables from new war funding bill. They should have done that from the beginning instead of irresponsibly voting for our defeat. I have a hunch that this has been linked to amnesty for illegal immigrants in a future bill.

Investigation into police response at illegal immigration rally in LA. Demonstrators have complained they didn't understand the order to vacate because they don't understand English. That's their own fault. If they want announcements in Spanish, they can go home to Mexico.

Bush pledges to veto hate crimes bill. I hope he doesn't hurt his wrist finally using his veto pen.

Gun control for the mentally ill.

Virulent, drug resistant strain of tuberculosis sparking fears of pandemic.

China's poisonous dog food components were mislabeled to avoid inspection.

Scientists discover longevity gene.

New space telescope spots first extra-solar planet.

Sponsors of the FairTax.

Fred Thompson blast Michael Moore over his Cuban health care stunt.

Free kibbles

Iraqi oil bill sent to parliament.

Afghan President Karzai rebukes NATO over civilian deaths. What a bunch of crap. Maybe he thinks NATO shouldn't fire a shot while the Taliban just take over his country from behind human shields. I wonder how long he would last if NATO pulled out.

Iraqi PM Maliki hopes for aid and debt relief.

Iran refuses dialog with US at upcoming conference. Saves us from being even weaker.

Turkey plans new elections to resolve sectarian-secular dispute.

Apparently Putin cannot account for all of Russia's nuclear material.

Bush and Congress to meet to work out troop funding bill. Democrats should have met with Bush a month ago when he offered instead of going through this charade.

Light turn-out at illegal immigration rallies turn violent in LA.

3 top diplomats resign in 5 days. I hope this means that the Clinton people who have poisoned the State Department are finally leaving, but I bet it's just the opposite.

Gas prices to reach all time high this month.

Former British defense secretary fingers Cheney as the man in charge of all the decisions for Iraq.

Government regulation of doctors hurts patients.

Self-censorship of movies.

Post-Kelo optimism on imminent domain.

Ridiculous claims about the prisoners of war at Guantanamo. They have attorneys! How much more absurd can it get?

Imus hires 1st amendment lawyer to get $40 million he claims he is owed.

In the latest of 14 years of chameleon moves calculated to try to make people like her, Hillary Rodham Clinton drops Rodham from her name. This won't be any more effective than any of the other cynical, manipulative techniques she's tried. Hillary charters many different planes.

Guiliani speaks out against Hugo Chavez.

Study suggests racial bias of NBA officials affects outcome of games.

Photos capture volcanic eruption on Jupiter's moon, Io.

John Stossel tells government school horror stories in article about school choice.

Rich Lowry examines George Tenet's "slam dunk."

Dick Morris says Obama should come out against compromise on the war if he wants to be President. It's this kind of political calculation that is destroying the country. Clearly Morris is advocating taking a position for Obama's personal gain, not a position of principle for the country.

Michelle Malkin explains the crisis of illegal immigration and how it's getting rapidly worse.

Cato highlights the real student loan scandal - subsidies drive up the cost of education for everybody.

Cato says that the bureaucratic delays in getting FISA warrants come from the executive branch, not Congress.

In 1999, G.W. Bush demanded Clinton provide a timetable for leaving Kosovo.

Free kibbles

Iraqi government claims leader of al Qaeda in Iraq was killed in fighting, but al Qaeda denies. Sunnis may have turned on al Qaeda in Iraq.

Civilians killed by NATO in Afghanistan. At the rate the press is going, we'll never be able to fight another war because women and children might die. We'd have lost every single war in history if we had to satisfy today's press.

Tony Blair plans to step down in weeks.

Bush vetoes Democratic withdrawal plan. We've known this was going to happen for weeks. Only Washington could draw out such a stupid plan for so long.

Illegal immigration apologists like to claim that we couldn't find the illegal immigrants to deport them. Well right now, on May Day, gate-crashers are marching in the streets. We should round them up, convict them so they can never come back legally, and deport them.

Reagan was afraid of Armageddon in the Middle East. Only a fool would feel otherwise. I'm not religious, but the specter of Iran, al Qaeda, or any podunk Islamic wannabe martyr getting a nuclear bomb should scare the **** out of any reasonable person.

Explaining why American officials should talk to Iranian officials who are killing Americans as often as possible, pro-Ahmadinedjad/pro-government Iranian students stabbed Iranian's protesting for freedom. Maybe Bush will invite Iran's tin-plated tyrant to dinner and brush clearing on his ranch next.

In case you needed another reason not to live in Iran, Iranian pornographers to get the death penalty. Even if it's missionary?

2,176 secret warrants approved in 2006. 1 denied.

If you ever needed proof that the global warming con was nothing more than a new religion, hotel replaces Bible with Al Gore's book.

Judge allows case in which lawyer sues dry cleaner for $67 million for lost pants. I wish I had thought of that.

Bee swarm shuts down Arkansas ER. I thought all the bees were dead.

Free kibbles

5 would-be terrorists get life sentences in Britain.

Alliance in Anbar province is driving out al Qaeda.

America prepares to talk to Iran. We have nothing to gain from this.

NATO troops kill scores of Taliban fighters.

Harsh criticism for Israeli PM Olmert over war with Hezbollah.

FairTax rally in 2 weeks.

Global warming on Mars, similar in extent to global warming on Earth, could melt southern ice cap. Maybe it was caused by Spirit and Opportunity. But they're solar powered! This brings up an interesting question, will that melting ice turn into running water? I think it will rapidly, if not instantly, evaporate in the low pressure atmosphere.

Airline blasts snake oil salesmen in carbon offset industry. Like Al Gore.

Article claims Sec. of State Rice is redefining "imminent threat." More liberal bull. Bush said Iraq was not an imminent threat, and he made the case we should invade before it became an imminent threat. We have plenty of real stuff to criticize Bush for, but liberals insist on lying and making stuff up, and it just shows how poor their positions are and how confused their grasp of reality is.

Trials by jury are going extinct. This is because prosecutors abuse their power as illustrated in the Duke rape case and far too many lawyers are afraid of fighting and going to trial.

Reagan's old allies are backing Fred Thompson.

French Muslims opting for hymen reconstruction surgery to simulate virginity.

Brainwave reading for toys. And certainly for more than toys.

Movies implementing new 3-D technology.

Reality keeps biting Democrats in the ass.

John Murtha's plan would have lost us WWII. Military personnel always end up training on the job during wars.

Plans of terror plot to use airplanes to blow up Saudi oil fields.

Victor Davis Hanson says Americans can't seem to care about the Iraqi people. For some reason, Americans care a lot more about the people of Sudan than Iraq. I don't understand it. Is this some sort of racial bias for blacks over Arabs? Christians over Muslims?

The mercury nightmare of florescent bulbs.

Article says China will not surpass the US this century. What it fails to mention is that the Chinese are educating people to a PhD level that far outstrips the US. Demographics, pollution, and government are obstacles for China. Government is the obstacle for us.

Hillary's negative rating rises to 52%. I bet she still gets the Democratic nomination.

Democratic presidential candidate supports the FairTax.

Bob Barr is becoming libertarian.

Christopher Hitchens calls George Tenet's book a disgrace.

On the problems of multiculturalism in Europe.

Another commentator defines Cold War narrowly, but recognizes Russia as a threat.

Corporations donate to Democrats. So much for the myth that corporations favor Republicans.

Free kibbles

Britain has 1 camera for every 14 British subjects. Wow. And we're following right behind them.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Turkey protest for secularism. This is quite the battleground between secular and sectarian ideals.

Iran to attend conference on Iraqi security. I don't understand this. Why would we allow an enemy to listen to our plans? That's like inviting Hitler to discussions about D-Day.

US construction projects in Iraq are failing. Maliki accused of firing prominent military and police commanders to further sectarian goals.

Considering that Russia is opposing the US on all fronts, and after Russia's failure to meet obligations on the space station, it's no wonder NASA turned down their offer to jointly explore the moon.

Immigrants to rally on May 1. Sounds like a great opportunity to capture illegal immigrants and deport them. It's bad enough we allow illegals to break our laws to enter the country, but we sure shouldn't allow them to further disrupt our lives by blocking traffic.

Retired general advocates undermining the constitutional authority of the commander in chief. Needless to say, this is a terrible idea regardless of who delivers the message.

Retired CIA director Tenet claims CIA warned Bush administration of anarchy and possible breakup of Iraq. We all already know that the administration, Congress, the press, and the people outrageously underestimated the negative consequences of invading Iraq, but it no longer matters. We still have to win.

How is this satellite merger good for competition? This is one of the few reasons government should get involved in the free market - to protect competition. This merger should not be allowed.

Cancer linked to vitamin D deficiency. I'm skeptical. How could this have been missed for decades?

College classes evacuated over box of condoms. Our knee-jerk approach is security is ridiculous.

The ashes of James Doohan, who played Scotty on the original Star Trek, were sent into space.

Mark Steyn provides examples of how mischief makers manipulate American malaise.

Jeff Jacoby points out that Democrats are willing to lose the war in Iraq because they think they can gain politically. I just published a very similar, but harsher, essay, but I won't be able to post it until next week.

Jack Straw on British identity. A bunch of words with no real content like modern multiculturalism itself. The responses are very interesting.

George Will recalls a real environmental disaster during a real warm period - the dust bowl.

More socialism from Obama - proposal for government wage fixing. Here's some information exposing the myth that women get paid less for equal work.

Ron Paul says we should pull out of Iraq immediately. I strongly disagree with him because the cost of defeat is immeasurable as are the benefits of victory. But Paul is correct that we shouldn't have invaded Iraq, and he describes the run-up to war very well, properly assigning blame to Congress for unconstitutionally deferring its power to declare war to the President. Despite my disagreement on Iraq, he's still my favorite of all the presidential candidates.

Description of the Federal Reserve (Fed) and conspiracy theories.

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Americans capture 7/7 mastermind entering Iraq from Iran.

Turkish Army threatens to protect secular government from Turkey's ruling party.

Bombs in Iraq and Pakistan. These terrorists hate life and civilization. We need to destroy them everywhere they are, and most of them are in Iraq right now. Surrendering Iraq to Muslim extremists is out of the question. Australian PM Howard says the Democrat retreat and defeat bill aids al Qaeda.

Senior Iraqi officials warn Prince Harry not to serve in Iraq.

Free speech victory in Washington state.

Analysis of the FCC's report recommending Congress regulate violence on TV.

Senator Webb's aid is above the law - prosecutor drops weapon charge.

How much is a life worth?

Sex magazines and the censors.

EU demands laws to change livestock feeding to cut greenhouse gases.

Bill requiring waiting period and ultrasound before abortion passes Florida House.

Scientists simulate half a mouse brain. It won't be long until they can simulate a human brain, which means they'll be able to download human brain information into simulations. There will be ethical discussions, but they won't slow down the technology.

Author blames Bush for partisanship. Give me a break. Harry Reid doesn't really think the War in Iraq is lost. He's just trying to make it so because he mistakenly thinks that Democrats will gain political advantage.

10 supposed differences between conservatives and liberals. Except for a couple of them, it's more like libertarians versus liberals. It describes liberals very well, but conservatives have proven that aren't nearly as libertarian as they like to pretend.

Charles Krauthammer on Boris Yeltsin.

More than 1 million American men are unknowingly raising kids that aren't theirs.

The ironic perception or our actions in the Middle East.

Pat Buchanan says Democrats are in danger of owning defeat in Iraq. I think they already took part ownership of it with the timetable bill.

Article based on interview with Gen. Petraeus. Surely the Iraqi government won't take a 2 month break. That would be outrageous. If they do, we should seriously consider pulling out. Bush should threaten to pullout if they take a break to kill any thoughts of it.

A corporate carbon tax is a horrible idea. Companies are already leaving America to get away from our income tax burden, and this will drive them away even faster. The tax will increase the cost of entry into business which will hurt small companies most and reduce competition. Companies that stay will pass on the higher prices to consumers, hurting the economy, putting people out of work and reduce disposable income for investment. And the carbon consumption will continue unabated elsewhere while Americans suffer.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) says that Bush's intelligence case for war in Iraq differed from Senate Intelligence Committee information before the war. Why didn't Durbin make a big deal out of it back then like he is now? Maybe because he's full of it. Other Democrats on the same committee disagree with him. Intelligence is never certain (and the slam dunk comment was idiotic), but the President better be prepared to deal with worst case, and after 9/11, the whole country felt the same way.

Free kibbles

Top al Qaeda operative captured.

Iranian smuggling ring captured in Sadr City.

Spanish judge indicts 3 US soldiers. With friends like these... What is up with this criminalization of war? I wonder how many Spaniards were killed in WWII, and if Spanish judges indicted all their killers.

Saudis arrest 172 suspected terrorists.

Putin increases threats over missile shield. It must be frustrating and scary to have the world pass Russia by, and Putin is clinging to relevancy. Russia has hitched it's wagon to China, but we'd have all been better off if Clinton and Bush had kept Russia on our side.

German war crimes case against Rumsfeld and others dismissed.

Philadelphia shuts down psychics. They should have seen that coming. Psychics are obviously con-men. I could easily see arresting them for fraud. At the same time, if people want to spend their money on what is obviously a fraud, should we stop them? Maybe this will lead to psychics being registered by the state. I have mixed feelings about this.

The 8 Democratic Presidential candidates took 8 private jets to their debate.

Felons re-enfranchised.

Student arrested for writing essay.

Contempt of Congress is a jailable offense.

Leading investor says we're living in the first world wide bubble.

Failure of the Generals.

Using neuroscience to define a person.

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Congress barely passes retreat and defeat bill for Bush to veto. Al Qaeda, Iran and Democrats are overjoyed.

Carbon offsets are a fraud. Rationality in the global warming debate. Scientists demand changes in skeptical global warming film. This is great news, because it means that the global warming conmen are finally addressing the skeptics. That will give the skeptics even more press to make their case. Responding to overblown alarmism, scientists consider changing the weather to affect global warming.

Yet another push to restrict violent programming on TV.

Lawyers for prisoners of war at Guantanamo asked to be restricted. Duh. Why do these prisoners of war have lawyers anyway? Liberals.

New Hampshire becomes 4th state to legislate civil unions.

Oakland refuses to cooperate with immigration officials.

White House admits political briefings. There's no problem with this unless officials used their government offices to assist candidates like the Clintons did so overtly, illegally, and to great success. While the Clintons got of scott free and Hillary gets to run for President despite her many crimes, you can bet Bush will be hounded by this even if they didn't government power to help their candidates.

Putin is unhappy with Europe and NATO being able to defend themselves. If Russian missiles really could avoid our anti-missile missiles, Putin wouldn't be so upset.

Gonzales and the Peter Principle. This is a function of cronyism.

Christopher Hitchens attacks Islam as part of a greater attack on all religion.

China plans "women's town" where women punish men. I'm sure lots of guys would love that.

Joe Lieberman makes a great argument why we should not leave Iraq. Hugh Hewitt suggests that a Lieberman defection may save us from defeat by the Democrats. Lots of great references to other articles in this essay.

Excellent analysis of al Qaeda. Victor Davis Hanson says we need to continue fighting the war on terror.

The Supreme Court examines McCain-Feingold again. Maybe they'll get it right this time.

George Will reviews book which wonders if we're creating a monster in China. Nice to see the mainstream is slowly catching on, but will it be soon enough to stop a hot war? The more we enrich China, the more we empower the totalitarians running the country. We didn't defeat the Soviets by enriching them. Without all the US money and investment in China, the government would likely have fallen already. With all that wealth from trading with us and technology they steal from us and bribed from Bill Clinton, they're building a large military to challenge us.

Just Because He's Imus

Just Because He's Imus

by Mark Luedtke

I have never listened to or watched Don Imus' program (but, with his hair, I know he should never make a hair joke). I don't know anybody on the Rutger's women's basketball team. I'm no expert on black culture. And this is a scary topic to write about. I don't want to end up like Imus. I doubt I have as much freedom on this subject as my counterpart on the left, just because he's liberal, but he doesn't have nearly the freedom to talk on the subject as a black writer either. Unfair as it is, that's the reality in modern America. Life is not fair for anybody.

Those disclaimers out of the way, I'll just examine some of the claims I've read in the media on this subject.

I've read many claims that Don Imus' freedom of speech was violated. Between her vicious assaults on Christians, comparing fundamentalist Christians to suicide bombers, Rosie O'Donnell invoked the "thought police" to describe Imus' problems. But Imus got in trouble for what he said, not what he thought, and he merely lost his job, he wasn't arrested. The first amendment doesn't restrict employers from firing employees over speech. But Rosie hasn't lost her job over her repeated, nastier comments. Imus isn't Rosie.

Many have condemned Imus' comments themselves as racist and misogynist. Since Imus was attempting to humorously emulate black culture, I think the best way to judge Imus' comments is to look at the idols of black culture and see how they address black women. I won't quote the lyrics to the top 5 songs on the rap chart here because I'm afraid I'd get accused of being racist just for quoting them. Needless to say, the icons of black culture invariably use the same words and worse to describe black women. Imus didn't use derogatory terms rejected by a minority, as has been done with prejudice in the past – Imus' terms are glorified by the minority. An observer from Mars would conclude that Imus should get a raise for using humor to reach out and embrace modern black culture. But Imus is no black culture idol.

Unfortunately Martian objectivity has no place in this emotionally charged discussion. MTV did an interview with black culture icon Snoop Dog that sheds some light on this double standard. From http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1556803/20070410/snoop_dogg.jhtml:

"It's a completely different scenario," said Snoop, barking over the phone from a hotel room in L.A. "[Rappers] are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We're talking about ho's that's in the 'hood that ain't doing sh--, that's trying to get a n---a for his money. These are two separate things. First of all, we ain't no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC [which announced Wednesday it would drop its simulcast of Imus' radio show] going hard on black girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them mutha----as say we in the same league as him."

Snoop Dog later compared Imus to NFL star Pacman Jones, who was suspended for a year, not fired, for multiple arrests and his recent involvement in a shooting in Las Vegas. But Imus is not Pacman Jones.

Some have said that Imus hurt the Rutger's women's basketball players. Whatever happened to sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me? Thick skin is still a virtue, but we pretend otherwise when Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson ply their trade. These CEOs of the phony outrage industry promote real income disparity – Al and Jesse rake in the dough at everybody else's expense when it comes to feigned outrage. The Rutger's basketball players reached the pinnacle of achievement in a tough sport, and they didn't get there without thick skin. Imus' comments couldn't damage them in any way. They've brushed off worse from opponents' fans and listened to worse on their iPods. But Imus isn't a fan.

The Duke lacrosse players falsely accused of rape were kicked out of school and had their freedom threatened by the government. That's real harm. How come Jesse and Al aren't playing the outrage card for them? Because of who the lacrosse players are.

So if Imus wasn't attacked for his comments, others are rewarded for saying worse, or for hurting the basketball players, then he must have been attacked for who he is. Imus is an old-ass white man. Many call him a free thinker and rugged individualist. He carries a handgun. Worst of all, he's successful at talk radio. Liberals want to destroy all those things.

Imus' comments provided an opportunity for a pack of liberals to attack and take down a white, free-thinking, talk radio host. Flush from the fresh kill, Kieth Olbermann called for Jesse Jackson to go after Olbermann's favorite targets: white, conservative, male, talk radio hosts. The New York Times went after Ann Coulter. Afraid to compete on the field of ideas, the wolves of political correctness are on the hunt to silence any opposition.

Free kibbles

Nancy Pelosi to skip Gen. Petraeus' briefing. She has better things to do than deal with the Iraq war, funding it, and being briefed by the top general.

Trying to find a way out of Iraq. We'll find a way by the beginning of next year, when Bush will declare victory and start drawing down troop levels.

4 House intelligence committee members under investigation for crimes.

Illegal immigrants rally in response to raid. Why have we allowed them this sense of entitlement? Whenever they march, we should arrest and deport them.

Senate committee grants Gonzales aid Monica Goodling immunity. She had planned to invoke her 5th amendment right because she thought Democrats had set a perjury trap for her, and she was probably right.

The Fairness Doctrine is an assault on free speech. John McCain should love it, then.

Bin Laden supposedly planning operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Al Qaeda thriving.

UN criticizes Iraqi human rights. Of course, they aren't willing to come to Iraq and help. They're only criticizing Iraq because it's a free country protected by the US.

The libertarian battle for hearts and minds being fought by Ron Paul.

Inside the Sunni neighborhood in danger of being walled off.

Italy considers law to punish environmental crimes.

Christopher Hitchens doesn't like phony sympathy.

Fred Thompson speaks out against the British removal of the holocaust as a subject of discussion.

Austin Bay blasts Harry Reid for his defeatism and support of our enemies.