Single Malt Conservatives

Ward Churchill Fired...Finally

2007-07-25T09:49:00.000-05:00

Well, the Colorado University professor, Ward Churchill, was finally fired last night. Naturally he's already claiming (through his lawyer) that this firing is violation of his 1st Amendment Rights. In fact he has already said that he would be filing for such a lawsuit first thing today.

Here's the problem with his lawsuit. His claim is that this firing was based solely on his comments about 9/11 victims that he made in an essay shortly after the attacks. But the firing was based on him falsifying evidence and making up sources in his research as a history professor.

Is this somehow not a firable offense for professors, Churchill? I'm all for professors having free speech, and that includes what I believe to be despicable comments about those 9/11 victims. He stated an opinion, and that's his right. But when you have a long career of falsifying evidence for research and allowing political controversy to get in your way of teaching your students then you need to go. You need to be replaced by someone who will teach their students and will contribute actual research (not fiction) to the body academic resources at a University.

Churchill's primary problem is the way he approaches historical research. When I research something I look for evidence and try to find the truth whatever it may be. Whether that truth offends me personally or not. Churchill takes the close minded and dogmatic approach of everything that is wrong is because of white people (either European colonists, or Americans), so he sets out to prove that predetermined conclusion. And then, because it is such a dogmatic approach, when he can't find the evidence to support the predetermined conclusion he fabricates it. This simply is not a good research method. This does not seek out the truth. It pushes a personal agenda. And such actions has no place in the academic world.

One Phase of Training Over

2007-06-23T15:44:00.000-05:00

Well folks, Johnny made it through Basic. Now comes 5 weeks of Infantry specific training here on lovely Sand Hill. Then I will receive the blue cord and the coveted title of Infantryman. Not much I can post in the short time I have allotted to spend on the laptop, so I will have to follow up in 5 weeks or so, depending on what rules the Drill Sergeants impose in the weeks to come. Take care, God bless America, and FOLLOW ME!

Dennis Miller on Harry Reid

2007-06-12T14:54:00.000-05:00

Dennis Miller unloads on Harry Reid in a way that only Miller can do.

Gore: Another Inconveniant Truth

2007-06-12T13:04:00.000-05:00

Inconveniant Gore Truth #312, Gore called Iraq a terrorist country before he called them a non-terrorist country.

So which is it Mister Gore? Was Iraq helping terrorists, or was it not? Can you say "anything to get my green butt elected"?

Note: if you go to the YouTube page you will see that comments were disabled. Gee, I thought YouTube was going to give up some of their censorship ways.

Whatever Happened to the Resonable Man?

2007-06-11T21:43:00.001-05:00

I find myself personally dealing with liberals on a daily basis these days. The rough part is that I'm dealing with them in my own church. For those of you that don't know, I'm a member of the famed Episcopal Church, USA. This of course is the church who in 2003 decided to ordain Gene Robinson as the first openly homosexual Bishop. This is something that is affecting even the most remote Episcopal churches across this nation at a very deep level.

Ever since the "Robinson Decision" four almost four years ago I find the same problems that have plagued our nation since the Clinton administration have now found their way into a place that so many like myself have gone to escape such polorizing issues to gain personal peace. Instead of issues like immigration and how to deal with terrorists we find ourselves having heated debates over issues like Biblical interpretation and whether or not the fundamental articles of faith are true.

As for myself I fall just to the right of center (if you could somehow put the politics of the church on something as limiting as a linear scale). I'm not a literalist in terms of Biblical interpretation, but I do beleive that their are absolute truths given to us by God by way of the Bible. And I do beleive that there are things that are absolutely right and absolutely wrong and are clearly stated as such in the Bible. And this used to be a value that was respected by my fellow Episcopalians on both sides. But now it has developed into a situation similar to Ireland where you can easly have an someone in a threatening manner walk up to you and ask "Protestant or Catholic!?" If you don't identify yourself as either an ultra conservative AAC member ready for "African Oversight" or as an ultra liberal willing to say to hell with all those elitist backward thinking conservatives you're automatically worse than all of them.

My question that I offer to my readers, Episcopalian and non-Episcopalian alike, is how did we get here? What made us such a binary culture where you must be either ultra conservative or ultra liberal on every topic? Whatever happened to the reasonable man?

Now don't misunderstand me because a reasonable man can never give up his core values. But can a reasonable man respect another individual while maintaining his own personal core values? Can a reasonable man stand up for himself and those he cares about in support of their core values and their rights?

Media Saturation Bombing

2007-06-08T21:05:00.000-05:00

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen! This is going to be the first in a series of what will be a Friday tradition. I will take on the big topics of the week and tear them to pieces.

This week I don't have to go very far back to find something to write on. In case you haven't heard, Paris Hilton got out of jail yesterday because of what was an undisclosed mental illness. Of course this was a story that changed almost hourly from it being a release due to overcrowding, to Paris being suicidal (oh no! no moisturizer!!!! oh the humanity), to it simply being a difficult in jail.

To all the folks in the press both in and out of the US, I really don't give a damn! This is a spoiled 20 something woman with the maturity of an infant. If the worst thing that has ever happened to her is being denied access to some beauty products then the girl has some growing up to do.

Now, let me clarify here. I do sincerely hope that she will learn something from this. Namely that the laws and rules of society do apply to her, a fact that her parents obviously had no intention of teaching her. It is my true hope that this changes her. But, I have to say that it is very unlikely. If anything all this publicity that we, the American public and new media, are feeding her. The law of "no such thing as bad publicity" applies her more than in any situation. Her doing a "leaked" sex tape didn't do anything but give her more of what she wants, attention. Even the late night talk show jokes that would embarrass the hell out of any normal person only serve to feed her narcissistic lifestyle.

For hours on end, the only thing that the news media covered was Paris Hilton. Will she go back to jail or won't she. Only briefly in the crawler at the bottom of the screen did they mention General Peter Pace being let go by Sec Def Robert Gates because Washington DC has become to divisive to confirm the right man for the job, or that FAA computers all up and down the East Coast failed, or that protests against Hugo Chavez continue in Venezuela. None of these issues mattered to the media or the bulk of the American public more than the poor, distraught, train wreck of an individual like Paris Hilton who was being treated so unjustly because she was being made to answer for breaking the law.

The msm and the liberal left continue to claim that President Bush has destroyed the US's image abroad. But take a look at what the world saw of the United States today. Controversy over someone who does nothing worth while to anyone but herself. A girl who has gained her reputation through "leaked" sex tapes and the modeling of clothing no woman with anything more than a -1 dress size could wear. Anna Nichole Smith's drug habits and custody battles, Lindsay Lohan's partying all night, and Brittney Spears shaving her head and flashing the camera. This is what the rest of the world sees as the United States of America. Publicity whores (interpret that as you wish) making complete fools of themselves are what is transmitted throughout the world as representatives of the United States.

Is it their fault. Partially, yes. But I would say that the bulk of the blame lies with the media who is willing to pay as much as seven digits for one photograph of Paris in jail. It lies with the media who overshadows major G8 events with these pictures. The media is the one responsible for the diminishing reputation of the United States around the world. True, Bush hasn't helped things. But the media showing us as a bunch of drunk, stoned, narcissistic, materialistic, sex crazed idiots is what is bringing us down. Not a war to remove the murderous, destabilizing regime of a dictator.

Thanks for reading tonight folks! Goodnight.

Back, and Here to Stay

2007-06-08T17:04:00.000-05:00

Ok folks. I'm back and I'm going to start posting daily (assuming I have something worth posting daily). I'm going to start posting new stories every evening on the day's events. While I have been absent for some in my posting I haven't not stopped watching the news. And it is apparent to me that there is pretty much something to comment on every day now. From the failed immigration bill (whoop!), to saturation coverage being taken to a new level with Paris Hilton there is no shortage of fodder out there.

Been Absent

2007-04-16T21:17:00.000-05:00

Hey folks! Ed here. Been absent for, well for quite a while. Been busy with getting ready for the wonderful world of law school. God willing, I'll be on my way to law school either this fall or the following spring. Got my LSAT scores back not too long ago, and I'm in great shape!

My co-blogger on this site has been even more busy than I. And he asked me to post on his behalf today. As many of our friends and regular readers know, Johnny has been prepping himself to serve in the United States Army. This morning, around 5 am Texas time, he reported for Basic Training. By now, he's traded in his civilian clothes and hair cut for BDU's and tags. He has now join the ranks of countless men and women who signed up for their families and for their country.

I ask that you remember Johnny and his family in your prayers.

I'll be keeping everyone up to date on his status as he goes through Basic.

Boycott of Amazon

2007-02-07T14:10:00.000-06:00

I typical don't call for boycotts, nor do I presume to speak for my distinguished colleague Ed, but I will for this. Go to AZ and read the story.

These are mad dogs that need to be put down. I have done some bad things in my day, but I have never, ever even remotely considered harming a child. And these pieces of filth glory in it.

Until Amazon gets rid of this atrocity, and maybe not even then, I will refuse to buy a thing from them. I encourage all of you to do the same. I will send this out to as many people as I can think of. Please do the same. We must do all we can to protect the innocents in this world that are preyed on by these creatures. Children are to be loved and nutured, not used to gratify your own sick lusts.

This kind of filth should never be tolerated. This is where the slippery slope leads. Pedophiles should either be locked up for the rest of their lives, or put down like the vermin they are. I have never once come across a case of a "cured" pedo, and doubt I ever will. If, in the name of "tolerance" and "open-mindedness" we allow young ones in our society to fall prey to this, then we deserve to be destroyed. We must stand against this tide of evil.

IT HAS GONE THIS FAR, IT WILL GO NO FARTHER!

H/T to the LawDog for this. If you haven't gone to his site, do so now.

No Will Left to Fight?

2007-01-06T14:40:00.000-06:00

A while back I asked readers to opine about the state of Western Civilization. I said I would post my thoughts, and promptly forgot to do so. Well, I was checking things out yesterday, and I saw a new comment. Kathy from Hang Right Politics commented, reminding me that I hadn't posted my thoughts. So here it goes:

Speaking for myself, I have not lost the will to fight. I will be attempting to join the Army starting the 25th of this month. We will see if they let me in. I have not lost the will to fight for what I believe, nor have many others.

That being said, I am not so sure about most of the country. After 9/11 I had hopes for this nation. I had hoped we would put the petty arguing aside and focus on defeating the Islamofacists who threaten everything we hold dear. I was wrong. The Democratic Party and the far left have gone back to their old ways. They cannot be relied upon to save us, or even to help out. They use the WOT to further their own agendas, not caring about anyone else as long as they get what they want.

We will just have to see if the West has the will and the strength to resist the tide. I pledge to do all I can to defend this nation and my people. How many will join me in this pledge?

The Death of a Dictator

2006-12-29T22:19:00.000-06:00

Saddam Hussein, the dictator of Iraq for 30+ years, the "Butcher of Baghdad" is now dead.

This is a man directly responsible for the torture and murder of countless people both in and out of his country. He will go down in history with such names as Hitler, Stalin, and countless others who prided themselves on the number of people they killed.

He intended this legacy to go on through his sons and grandson. Even his 14 year-old grandson was being trained to torture women and children so he would be ready to run Iraq when his time came around.

No one on this planet can truly deny his guilt of these crimes against humanity. The most liberal of liberals agree this man was one of, if not the most brutal head of state in our time.

Some claim that his trial was unfair. They point to the safety of defense representation for Hussein, access to evidence, and other issues. People who hold the view that this trial was unfair draw the reasonable conclusion that the execution was invalid (I say reasonable because if a trial is truly unfair, then the sentence is logically unfair).

But I ask this of those that hold this view. Would full and perfect access to the evidence make any difference in the outcome of guilt? Would perfect safety and protection that rivals that of the US President's Secret Service protection make any difference in a death sentence?

Question asked and answered: No, it would have not made any difference. The whole world knows that this man was guilty of the murder and torture of countless men, women, and children. The whole world knows that this man did it with all deliberate intentions. This is a fact that he did it, and did it intentionally.

And it is also a fact that he will never be able to do it again. We, the people of the world, will enter the year 2007 with one less brutal dictator. And with one less obstacle to peace.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah

2006-12-24T15:08:00.000-06:00

I hope and pray all of you can spend time with family and loved ones during the holiday season. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Unvarnished Truth

2006-12-24T15:07:00.000-06:00

Drumwaster and I don't always agree on things, but he is dead on here.

Once Again...

2006-12-13T12:38:00.000-06:00

Kim du Toit is absolutely brilliant! I think his analysis is dead on. Why are guys like Che and Castro revered by the left, but ones like Pinochet and Franco are reviled as barbarous? Sometimes necessity trumps morality.

Does this mean I approve? No. Does this mean they weren't monsters? Absolutely not. But they saved their countries from worse fates. In the end, Spain and Chile are better off with Franco and Pinochet than they would have been under Communist rule.

Not saying it is right, just saying it IS.

Change of Pace

2006-12-11T11:28:00.000-06:00

Ok folks, let's do something different for a bit. I want to lighten things up a little, so everyone tell me your best story involving public nudity! Yes, it is a bit crass, but we have to laugh now and then. I will tell you one of mine in a bit.

Just Sick

2006-12-08T15:54:00.000-06:00

This is why everyone should own a gun and use it against intruders. It just makes me sick. Why would you ever just cave into some thug in your own damn home? You cannot negotiate with scum, you cannot reason with them, because they are evil and will not respect you or your position. Deadly force is all they will respect.

Why did this guy just meekly let someone ransack his house and murder his wife? Has the West (I realize it is Africa, but South Africa is still very Anglicized) bred such a generation of weaklings and girlie-men that this is what the future holds? I pray not.

Your Thoughts?

2006-12-06T13:13:00.000-06:00

On another blog today, a commenter posted that the West was in the same boat as the Roman Empire in the last days before the fall of Rome and the beginning of the Dark Ages. They said the West had lost the will to defend themselves and would keep trying to appease the Islamo-fascist scum. I have my own thoughs on this, but want to hear yours. What do YOU think about it?

Inconvenient Truth #213

2006-12-03T21:12:00.000-06:00

I appologize folks for taking such a long vacation from posting, but I want to give ya'll a bit of an update. As Johnny said, I've been working long hours on finishing up a major contract for my company. But, now I'm back and my schedule is settling back down (somewhat) and I'm going to be able to post much more.

So I decided to come out swinging and yelling at the liberals. Inconvenient truth #213, the liberals are still loosing! They lost the election, are they are loosing ground up on the Hill. Take a look at this folks:

The only thing the Dems could do to win the majority in the House and Senate was to move to the middle and emphasize more conservative ideas while keeping their liberal views (free abortion, increased taxes, extreme business regulation, etc.) on the back burner.
The moonbat/netroots/anti-war golden boy, Ned Lamont, LOST against Lieberman!
Nancy Palosi's endorsment of anti-war John Murtha for House Majority Leader failed miserably. Right out of the gate, the liberal Palosi couldn't lead crap.
Palosi's first pick for the House Intel committee failed. And who knows how this new one will turn out.

Now, I'm not saying the Republicans won here. In fact my view is that the Republicans tried too much to look like liberals and got too greedy on their power as the majority. But the liberal, anti-war, moonbats have nothing to celebrate here.

So, to the liberals out there reading our blog, kiss my pro business, red state ass. I'm back.

Lack of Posting II

2006-11-29T13:21:00.000-06:00

Well, Ed and I have been ultra busy lately. Ed got himself a nice little contract that he is working long hours on, and I am working my butt off here in Yankeeland. Side note, it is 72 currently, and the projected high for this weekend is 37. That. Ain't. Right.

"We Support Our Troops"

2006-11-27T10:25:00.000-06:00

I have a great deal to say about this.

1. Charlie Rangel is senile fool who can fornicate himself with an iron stick.

2. I will be enlisting in the US Army in mid to late January. I like to think I have a choice for a decent career, and I have had several offers for such a career. I am joing the Army for personal reasons, one of which is that I believe this nation is worth fighting for, a feeling this moron apperently doesn't share.

3. I have known many men who have served in all branches, and very few of them are morons. I have met many more outside of the military than have been in it.

4. See response #1.

Next Time Around

2006-11-12T17:47:00.000-06:00

Well kiddies, we lost. Actually we got bent over and had very un-Biblical things done to us, but that is neither here nor there. Rather than cry about it, we can look at why we lost, adapt, and overcome. Here is what your old pal Johnny thinks we ought to do:

1. Cut the compassionate conservative crap. There, I said it. This whole thing has been idiotic from the get go. True conservatism IS compassionate, because it expects people to look out for one another, and not wait for the government to act. We are not helping people by letting the incompetents employed by the state look after them. The state screw up almost every thing they touch, so why entrust them with the care of the indigent and elderly. Take care of people you know, and extend a hand to those you don't. If we all work together as people, without letting the government do it, I believe we can better the world around us.

2. Re-embrace the ideals of Reagan. Small government, low taxes, strong military, aggressive foreign policy, laissez-faire economics. What's not to like?

3. Secure the border! Okay, so we are not in power and cannot do this, but we can agitate for it. If we do not secure our borders, there will be another 9/11, only worse.

4. Stay in Iraq until the job is done. Same situation and reasoning as above. Keep taking the war to the Islamo-fascist scum.

That is all I got for now, but rest assured, Johnny will be back.

IT HAS GONE THIS FAR, IT WILL GO NO FARTHER!

Robert Gates: Testimony to Democratic Congress in 1992

2006-11-08T13:20:00.000-06:00

President Bush intends to replace Donal Rumsfeld with former CIA director Robert Gates. Gates for the past four years has been president of Texas A&M University.

I found this after researching his name. Its testimony that he gave in March of 1992 to the Democratic Controlled Congress. It talks about the results of the end of the Cold War after the fall of Communist Russia.

Of particular interest he talks about the current status of the Communist states. He also talks about Post Gulf War Iraq (such as "what if Saddam went away"), Iran and the Arab States, North Korea's Nuclear Program . A very interesting read. Here it is:

During the last three and a half months some disquieting trends have been evident. Unrest is worse, for example, in parts of the former Soviet Union than when I last stood here before you. Conflict is deepening between Soviet successor states such as Armenia and Azerbaijan. While the CIS has helped cushion the collapse of the Soviet empire, it is facing increasing strains that it may not survive. It is not hard to find other disquieting news:
-- Ukraine has suspended the transfer of tactical nuclear weapons to Russia for dismantling.

-- Ratification and implementation of the CFE treaty appears increasingly complex and problematic.

-- Arms races are heating up in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, among other regions.

-- Despite significant -- and costly -- counternarcotics achievements, narcotics trafficking shows no sign of abating.

-- The disastrous explosion in Buenos Aires shows that international terrorism is still of grave concern.

On the other hand, I can point to some positive developments and trends, as well:

-- White citizens in South Africa voted strongly in favor of continuing political reforms. A cease-fire is in effect in El Salvador, and the prospects that the contending factions can work out their differences peacefully have improved. Democracy has begun to make progress even in Albania and Romania. The unrest in Yugoslavia has abated, if perhaps only temporarily.

-- Transforming centrally planned economies into market economies continues to be wrenching and destabilizing. But the worst predictions -- about massive starvation, hypothermia, and large scale civil unrest in Russia, for example -- have so far failed to materialize. And Yeltsin is still holding firmly to the course of economic reform.

THE MIDDLE EAST AND PERSIAN GULF If in the next few years it again becomes necessary to deploy U.S. combat power abroad, the strategically vital region encompassing the Middle East and Persian Gulf is at the top of the list of likely locales.

IRAQ: WEAKENED BUT STILL FORMIDABLE Operation Desert Storm greatly reduced Iraq's ability to conduct large-scale offensive military operations. The U.N. sanctions have impeded Saddam's efforts to reequip his forces. Preoccupied with defending the regime and putting down local insurgencies, the Iraqi military is currently capable of conducting only small-scale offensive operations with limited objectives.

Nevertheless, the size and equipment of Iraq's military forces remain formidable, especially in comparison with those of most of its neighbors. Let me give you some figures:

-- Iraq's ground forces number about two dozen divisions, though they are on the whole smaller and much less capable than the prewar divisions. The army still has more than 3,000 armored personnel carriers, 2,000 tanks, and 1,000 artillery pieces.

-- We believe Iraq also retains some mobile Scud missile launchers and as many as several hundred missiles.

-- The Iraqi air force probably still has about 300 combat aircraft, though many are not operational. Because the air force has been grounded for over a year, it would need at least a month of intensive training and maintenance to become even minimally combat-ready.

-- Although a large quantity of Iraqi nuclear-related equipment has been identified and destroyed, we suspect Iraq has managed to hide some equipment from the U.N. inspectors. And, of course, Iraq's nuclear scientists and engineers retain their expertise.

-- Baghdad surrendered thousands of chemical munitions, tons of chemical agents, and considerable production equipment, but we believe the regime still has more of everything -- more precursor chemicals, more bulk agent, more munitions, more production equipment.

-- The regime never admitted having a biological weapons program and never surrendered any toxins or weapons. But we know the Iraqis had such a program, and we are convinced they have been able to preserve some biological weapons and the means to make even more.

HOW LONG TO RECOVER? The restoration of Iraq's defense industries is one of Saddam's main postwar goals. Notwithstanding U.N.-imposed inspections and sanctions, Iraq claims to have partly repaired nearly 200 military-industrial buildings and to be in the process of repairing many others. We can confirm independently that significant reconstruction has been taking place at least two dozen military-industrial sites.

Limited production of artillery and ammunition has resumed at some weapon production facilities damaged during the Gulf war. Despite these efforts, total arms production will remain significantly below prewar levels as long as sanctions remain in force and inspections continue.

If the sanctions were removed, we estimate it would take Iraq at least three to five years to restore its prewar conventional military inventories. Long before then, Iraq's forces could be strong enough to threaten its neighbors.

More important, however, is how fast we think Iraq could restore its special weapons capabilities. We believe Baghdad has been able to preserve significant elements of each of its special weapons programs. Once it is free to begin rebuilding them, its scientists and engineers will be able to hit the ground running.

-- The nuclear weapon development program would need the most time to recover, because much of the infrastructure for the production of fissile material would need to be reconstructed. (This judgment would be reinforced if equipment at certain only recently identified nuclear research sites is destroyed, as U.N. inspection teams have demanded.) The time Iraq would need to rebuild its nuclear capability could be shortened dramatically if it could somehow procure fissile material from abroad.

-- Much of the chemical weapons production infrastructure would have to be rebuilt before the Iraqis could reestablish the prewar level of production. However, we believe they could quickly resume limited production of such weapons using covert stocks of precursor chemicals, undeclared chemical process equipment, and unfilled munitions.

-- Because it doesn't take much equipment to make biological warfare agents, we estimate the Iraqis could resume production within weeks. They have retained microbial fermentation equipment and pathogen cultures; we remain convinced they also have a stockpile of biological weapons.

-- Finally, we judge that the Iraqis could soon restore their capability to produce Scud-type missiles, though they might need some help from abroad.

WHAT IF SADDAM WENT AWAY? How might Iraq's internal politics and external behavior change if Saddam Hussein left the scene?

As Saddam's decades of repressive rule demonstrate, he will do whatever it takes to cling to power. No succession mechanism is in place, nor are there any obvious candidates to replace Saddam -- Iraq is one of those countries where being the number-two man is unnerving, not to say life-threatening.

Consequently, we judge that if Saddam left the scene, it would be because of a coup or other violent act. How likely this is to happen, I cannot say, though we have evidence that Saddam's power base is shrinking and that dissatisfaction with his leadership is growing even among his core supporters -- chiefly, among Iraq's Sunni Muslims.

A likely successor to Saddam would be someone from the current, Sunni-Arab-dominated ruling circle -- someone who shares Saddam's perspectives, especially his belief in the political efficacy of ruthless violence. Such a successor might think pretty much like Saddam. Even so, whoever Saddam's successor is, he would lack a broad power base and could face immediate and serious challenges from other contenders. A successor regime might be a little less hardnosed, both toward Iraqi Shiites and Kurds and toward Iraq's external adversaries. While it would continue efforts to restore Iraq's military capability, it might shift some resources from military to civilian reconstruction. The new regime could anticipate a quick end to the U.N. sanctions as well as recognition and support from the international community. In the short run, then, Iraq might present a lower threat to its neighbors. Still, any successor to Saddam is likely to share his regional aspirations, and over the longer term we could expect Iraq to try to regain its position as the dominant Arab military power.

If a successor regime begins to have trouble maintaining Iraq's unity or territorial integrity, its immediate neighbors, particularly Iran, Turkey, and Syria, will be strongly tempted to intervene. They all fear that an unstable Iraq would threaten their own national interests and might lead to an undesirable shift in the regional balance of power. None wishes to see Iraq break apart into independent Kurdish, Shiite, and Sunni states.

IRAN'S REARMAMENT PROGRAM While Iraq struggles to recover from the Gulf war, Iran is determined to regain its former stature as the preeminent power in the Persian Gulf. Tehran's reformulated national security policy has three main goals:

-- Guarantee the survival of the regime. -- Project power throughout the region. -- Offset U.S. influence in the Middle East. To achieve these goals, Iran has undertaken diplomatic measures to end its international isolation, is purchasing weapons from a variety of foreign suppliers, and is developing a capability to produce weapons of mass destruction. During the period 1990-94, Iran plans to spend $2,000 million in hard currency each year on foreign weapons.

-- Already, Tehran has purchased significant numbers of advanced warplanes and antiaircraft missiles from Russia and China. It has bought some extended-range Scud missiles from North Korea and is building a factory to manufacture its own.

-- As part of its upgrade of naval forces Iran has also contracted to buy at least two Kilo-class attack submarines from Russia.

-- Even after Operation Desert Storm, Iraq still has three times as many armored vehicles as Iran. To reduce that gap, Tehran is attempting to purchase hundreds of tanks from Russian and East European suppliers.

-- We judge that Tehran is seeking to acquire a nuclear weapon capability. Barring significant technical input from abroad, however, we believe the Iranians are not likely to achieve that goal before the year 2000.

-- Although extensive and improving, Iran's chemical weapon program remains relatively crude. Nevertheless, we expect Iran to develop chemical warheads for its Scud missiles within a few years.

-- We also suspect that Iran is working toward a biological warfare capability.

IRAN AND THE ARAB STATES Tehran is rebuilding its military strength not only to redress the military imbalance with Iraq but also to increase its ability to influence and intimidate its Gulf neighbors -- though in the near term Tehran's desire to reduce U.S. involvement in the region will probably lead it to court the Gulf states rather than bully them.

Tehran is also trying to improve its relations with Arab states outside the Gulf, stressing Muslim solidarity and Islamic principles. In countries with Islamic opposition movements, Iran hopes to increase its influence among local fundamentalists without damaging its relations with these governments. For example, in Algeria, Tehran wants to maintain ties with the new regime but continue its political and financial support for the Front for Islamic Salvation, which the Algerian government is in the process of banning. Trying to have it both ways has been difficult: Algiers recalled its ambassador in Tehran recently to protest Iran's continued support for the Front.

Iran's growing support of radical Palestinian groups may bring it closer to some Arab states, such as Libya. This support reflects Tehran's antipathy toward Israel, which it regards as both a U.S. ally and a strategic threat. We expect Iran to continue to strongly oppose the peace process and probably to promote terrorism and other active measures aimed at undermining progress toward Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation.

Tehran's main surrogate in the Arab world will continue to be the radical Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, which is the leading suspect in the recent bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina. To ensure that its links to Hezbollah are preserved, Tehran will be careful to stay on the good side of the Syrian government, which controls access to the territory occupied by Hezbollah.

IRAN AND THE NEW ISLAMIC REPUBLICS Tehran considers developments in the region to its north to be vital to its national interests. It wants both to fill the void caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union and to prevent the United States and regional rivals, such as Turkey, from gaining dominant influence there. Tehran's diplomatic efforts to improve its own influence in the new Islamic states of the region have included sponsoring them for membership in various regional and international organizations.

In addition, Tehran is trying to forge cultural and religious ties to the new republics. It remains to be seen how successful Tehran will be, given that these peoples are mostly Turkic, not Persian, and mostly Sunni Muslims, not Shiites.

We see no evidence of Iranian efforts to subvert the secular governments of the new states or to alienate them from Russia and the other non-Muslim members of the CIS. For now, at least, Iran seems to want to preserve amicable relations with Russia, which has become a major source of its arms. Furthermore, Iran must be cautious about instigating instability along its northern border, lest nationalist sentiment be aroused among its own Azeri and Turkmen minorities. Indeed, with regard to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Tehran has tried to exert a moderating influence on the Azerbaijani government.

THE KOREAN PENINSULA Since initialing agreements on Nonaggression/Reconciliation and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula last December, North and South Korea have engaged in a series of negotiations and discussions, some at a very high level, to implement the accords. These discussions have achieved some concrete results, particularly the formation on 19 March of a Joint Nuclear Control Commission with a mandate to set up bilateral inspections of nuclear facilities.

For the most part, however, the two sides have so far produced a framework for but not the substance of reconciliation. They remain far apart on critical issues, such as frequency, thoroughness and basic ground-rules for nuclear inspections. They also have major differences about the people-to-people exchanges and military confidence-building measures called for in the reconciliation agreement.

THE THREAT FROM THE NORTH The North maintains enormous ground forces just north of the Demilitarized Zone. They are in formations optimized for a sudden, massive strike southward toward Seoul. In recent years, these forces have increased their mobility and flexibility, improving their capability to threaten prepared defenses. They considerably outnumber the opposing Southern forces in both men and weapons. Notwithstanding the recently signed Korean nonaggression pact, until these forces go away, the threat they present is real and serious.

It is not a question of fearing an attack from the South. The South Korean forces are deployed to defend Seoul. They present no countervailing threat to North Korea -- and Pyongyang knows it.

I don't want to exaggerate this threat. North Korea's armed forces suffer from many deficiencies. Their training and, consequently, combat readiness are questionable. They have weaknesses in air defense and logistics. They could not count on much if any support from erstwhile allies.

Furthermore, as Operation Desert Storm demonstrated, U.S. airpower is highly effective against massed ground forces. The prospect that South Korea would receive extensive combat air support as well as other support from U.S. forces is a potent deterrent, even to forces as strong as those North Korea has concentrated along the border.

NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR WEAPON PROGRAM Pyongyang has been building an infrastructure that, without input from abroad, will be able to produce weapons-grade fissile material from scratch. It has domestic uranium mines. At Yongbyon it has constructed two nuclear reactors whose sole purpose appears to be to make up plutonium. One of these reactors has been operating for four years; the second, much larger reactor, may start up this year. Nearly completed is another facility at Yongbyon that will be able to reprocess reactor fuel to recover the plutonium.

Last December, North and South Korea negotiated an agreement-in-principle for a nuclear-free peninsula. Each side has committed itself not to "test, manufacture, produce, receive, possess, store, deploy or use" nuclear weapons. Both sides also agreed not to have nuclear reprocessing or uranium enrichment facilities. There are grounds for questioning the North's intentions, given that it has not yet even admitted the existence of, much less declared, the plutonium production reactors and reprocessing facility at the Yongbyon nuclear research center.

Moreover, verification procedures remain to be worked out -- agreement was reached only this month that a joint committee should be formed to do that. The validity of the North-South nuclear accord depends on the inspection regime Pyongyang ultimately accepts.

We believe Pyongyang is close, perhaps very close, to having a nuclear weapon capability. Where North Korea is concerned, moreover, we have to worry not only about the consequences for stability in Northeast Asia if it acquires nuclear weapons, but also about the possibility that Pyongyang might put nuclear materials and related technologies on the international market. In the past, the North Koreans have been willing to sell anything that could earn hard currency.

TRENDS UNFAVORABLE TO THE NORTH The straitened economic circumstances in the North, coupled with uncertainties associated with the looming dynastic changes of leadership in Pyongyang have led the North Koreans to modify their confrontational strategy toward the South, as well as toward the United States, Japan and the United Nations. Tensions between North and South have decreased somewhat, though the actual military threat to the South has not changed significantly.

We expect that many of the North's military advantages over the South will erode throughout this decade, largely because of decreasing support from the North's traditional allies, coupled with its continuing economic problems.

Nevertheless, in the near term we could be entering a more dangerous period: -- North Korean strategists could recommend an attack on the South while the North retains its substantial edge in numbers of men and weapons.

-- Difficulties in maintaining and modernizing Pyongyang's conventional forces could reinforce the North's determination to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. - Original Article from www.fas.gov

Election 2006: Election Day +1

2006-11-08T08:33:00.000-06:00

Ok, I got a few hours of sleep after last night, and then I woke up and saw that it was down to two races (Virginia and Montana).

Virginia is extremely close (less than 1% between Allen and Webb). They will be doing a recount according to state law. Right now Allen is behind, let's hope that the recount puts him ahead (it has happened before).

Montana is still out because they haven't counted all the votes yet. Apparently there was some storm that has cut off alot of districts from the counting location. The good news on that is that the Republican only needs 1700 votes to win and the areas that haven't been counted yet I beleive are rural (withch traditionaly favor Republicans).

The good news over all for the Senate (yes there is some) is that the Democrats absolutely must win both of those seats to take control.

Election 2006: 10:45 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T22:37:00.000-06:00

Final post for the night.

Keep an eye on three key elections:
Allen v. Webb
Steele v. Cardin
Talent v. McCaskill

All three of these are going to wind up in recounts and possible litigation. But to win majority in the Senate, the Democrats must win all three of these.

In my opinion, Talent is going to pull it off, and either Allen or Steele will win their races.

So on that note, goodnight and goodluck!

Election 2006: 10:20 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T22:16:00.000-06:00

Ok, here's what we've got now.

The Democrats have taken the house. Unsure what they're margin will be though. Let's hope it'll be low.

The Senate is still not budging from the three seat margin in favor of the Republicans. I just looked at Real Clear Politics and the Dem's must win three of the following:
Missouri (Talent)
Montana (Burns)
Tennessee (Open, leans Republican)
Virginia (Allen)
Washington (Byrd (D))

I do not see the Dems winning three of those. Possibly two, but not three.

Election 2006: 10:10 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T21:57:00.000-06:00

Dems are two seats away from winning House acording to FoxNews.

Still nothing new on the following Senate Races
Allen v. Webb
Talent v. McCascil
Steele v. Cardin

Looking at them right now they are leaning towards the Republicans, but there are still too many votes remaining for anyone to call them.

Election 2006: 9:50 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T21:44:00.000-06:00

We've got two clenchers now:

Virginia (95.13 reporting) 12,000 difference with Allen ahead. I'm betting on a recount.

Misouri (sorry for bad spelling, 1105 of 3746 reporting) 10 percentage point difference.

We're still stitting with the below tally on house and senate
3 For Dems to gain Senate
6 For Dems to gain House

Anybody else getting a tense feeling in their shoulders?

Election 2006: 9:35 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T21:36:00.000-06:00

VA SEN [97.20% IN]
R- ALLEN 1,070,640 49.79%
D- WEBB 1,053,602 49.00%

HOLY S*$@!!!!

Election 2006: 9:30 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T21:20:00.000-06:00

Well, I took a short time off and things just started going nuts. Here's what we've got right now:

Allen v. Webb - 91% reporting - Allen ahead by 20,000 votes (less than 1%)
Talent v. McCaskill - ~20% reporting - Talent ahead by 10 percentage points
Santorum - Out
DeWine - Out
Chafee - Out

Lamont looses to Lieberman
Corker beating Ford

3 seats needed by Democrats for Senate
7 seats needed by Democrats for House

TIME TO CLINCH

Election 2006: 7: PM CST Update

2006-11-07T19:39:00.000-06:00

Dem's pick up Rick Santorum's seat. This was expected.

Allen is continuing to hold a margin over Webb (+/- 2%).

Election 2006: 7:30 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T19:28:00.000-06:00

Allen is pulling ahead of Webb fast with less than 50% reporting.

2 Democratic Governor pickups.

Election 2006: 7:20 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T19:10:00.000-06:00

Allan and Webb are still very much neck and neck with little more than a third reporting.

One independent seat in the House has changed hands to Democrat, and one Republican seat has changed hands to Democrat.

That's a net loss of 1 Republican seat.

Election 2006: 7:05 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T19:06:00.000-06:00

US House CD-8 - Democratic Gain according to Fox News now.

14 House seat margin for Republicans.

Election 2006: 7:00 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T18:43:00.000-06:00

Quick update here.

Allen and Webb have been going back and forth. Right now they've got 15% of the presincts reporting, with Allen ahead by only a few percentage points.

It's gonna be a long night. Sit back in a comfortable chair with a good cold, adult beverage, and enjoy the show.

Election 2006: 6:40 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T18:40:00.000-06:00

Virginia - Allen (R) v. Webb (D)

Allen has a thin hair margin over Webb.

Election 2006: Dems Sweep House and Senate!!!

2006-11-07T18:33:00.000-06:00

Been seeing this float around today.

Election 2006: 6:20 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T18:26:00.000-06:00

First set of returns are now in:

1 Republican Incumbant
1 Democrat Incumbant

In short, no gains or losses.

Election 2006: 4:50 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T16:49:00.000-06:00

Just saw on FoxNews' Studio B that a rulling has come back from the situation in Colorado. The Democrats had been trying to get the judge to order the polls remain open for an extra 2 hours in Denver (a Democratic stronghold). The judge ruled that the polls will close on time.

Election 2006: 4:30 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T16:24:00.000-06:00

Nothing really new to report yet, other than I just cast my ballot. And I decided to take a risk and vote on an electronic machine. Everything seemed to go ok. The touchscreen took alot pressure to get it to check my selections. But I got everything I wanted on the ballot, so we'll see what happens.

The polls on the East coast should start closing within the next couple of hours as I understand it. From there we will start seeing the early indicators of how this election will go. Keep an eye on the Virginia and Rhode Island senate races. If there is a Republican victory in both of those then the Republicans keep the majority. If the GOP looses one of those then watch for the Tennessee Senate race which is close but leaning towards the Republican candidate in the most recent polls.

Election 2006: 3:00 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T14:54:00.000-06:00

Violence At The Polls

Bomb Threat in Madison, Wisconsin
Assault on a Voter and Attacking an Electronic Voting Machine inKentucky

South Carolina Governor Forgets ID, Turned Away

Democratic sites are reporting phone lines for voter rights protection issues being flooded with calls. Supposedly Laura Ingraham told her listeners today to call in fake calls to the Democratic Voter Protection hotline. ROFL.

EVERYONE! IF YOU HAVEN'T VOTED YET, GO DO IT NOW!!!

Election 2006: 12:30 PM CST Update

2006-11-07T12:38:00.000-06:00

More problems at the polls

Denver
Kentucky Poll Worker Chokes Voter
Wrong Ballots in Central Voter
Tennessee Dem's in Court to Keep Polls Open Longer

GOP Say Beware of Exit Polls

It's getting almost comedic out there folks.

Election 2006: 10:30 AM CST Update

2006-11-07T10:22:00.000-06:00

The moonbat bloggers (DailyKos, Democratic Underground) are setting up something to blame if they don't take the majority in either the House or the Senate. It's the "robo calling". Essentially a robo call is an automated message sent over the phone.

Theire claim is that the Republicans are making these calls illegally. Their charging the following:
1. The calls do not properly identify themselves as a political campaign "early enough" in the call.
2. The Caller ID display that is shown on the phones that receive the call are "not according to caller id requirements".

DailyKos and Democratic Underground are blanketing their pages with these allegations in areas all across the country. The Democractic Party has sent a Cease and Desist order to the Republicans.

There's one problem though. The Democrats are doing robo calling as well (as a report on NBC Nightly News said last night that I watched).

This is going to get very hairy over the next 24 hours as these allegations are developed more and more by the Democrats.

DO NOT LET THEM DISCOURAGE YOU!!! VOTE!!! IT IS YOUR VOTE, MAKE IT COUNT!!!

Election 2006: 9:30 AM CST Update

2006-11-07T09:26:00.000-06:00

Voting machine trouble.
Indiana and Ohio
Pittsburgh
Delaware County, Indiana

Allegations of Election Fixing in Salt Lake City, Utah
Hundreds of Election Monitors from the US Justice Department

Election 2006: 8:30 AM CST Update

2006-11-07T08:18:00.000-06:00

Ok folks, here's my first update. This isn't going to have too much since there are basically no results in terms of exit polls or anything yet.

What I am going to talk about here are the races to watch early on. The "essentials".

Senate (6 Seats for Democratic Majority)
Virginia - Allen (R) v. Webb (D)
Rhode Island - Chafee (R) v. Menendez (D)
Tennessee - Corker (R) v. Ford (D)

What's In Store

2006-11-07T07:07:00.000-06:00

Hey everybody! The big day is here! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!

I'll be trying to do hourly updates at the bottom of every hour all day long. Everything from exit poll reports, to reports of what's going on around the country. So keep any eye out here as we watch this mess develop.

And no matter what you hear, from this site or any other news source, go out and vote. In 2004 misinformation was spread early on (accidentally or intentionally), but don't let it run you away from the polls. Go and vote no matter what you hear!

My Final Thoughts on Election 2006

2006-11-06T09:09:00.000-06:00

I want to offer my thoughts on election 2006, you decide 2006, MSM decides 2006, or whatever you want to call it. I've been watching elections very closely since 1992 when Bill Clinton was elected into office, and I've studied elections from before then as well. And no matter what the results of this election, the coverage and the tension associated with it is absolutely unprecidented for a midterm election. I would even dare to say that this election matches the 2004 election in absolute political stupidity.

Every breath of every candidate is covered. District level elections are being treated as Senatorial or even Presidential elections. Every other day Tim Russert comes on with his scowl to read the latest set of polls and give his opinion on how this affects things.

So no matter what happens with this election it will be historic. The Democrats have such high hopes that they will win a majority in both houses. But what will happen if they don't get either house? Will our country be tied up in law suits from now to the next election? Will the Democracts have a moment absent of political ambition and say "for the good of the country, we conceed"? Or will they sue for recounts until they get a number they're happy with?

I would agree with one thing that my friends on the otherside of the blogosphere have said. And that is that this is among the most important elections in our nation's history. And because that is the case everyone that can vote needs to get out there and vote. If you want your ideas to win the day, or don't want other people's ideas to win the day get to the polls and vote! I am a Conservative, but when it gets right down to it I want everyone to vote (within the bounds of the law of course). So I don't care if you're a Republican, a Democrat, Green Party, Independant, or non-denominational. Get out and vote!!!

Election 2006

2006-11-06T09:04:00.000-06:00

Cox and Forkum propose a new ballot design...

Death by Hanging

2006-11-06T07:42:00.000-06:00

Unless you live in a hole, you have likely heard that Saddam Hussein has been sentenced to death. May God have mercy on his soul, for I doubt anyone else will. On a totally unrelated note, sorry for the lack of pasting in the last month. I moved to Ohio for a few months, and things are still a bit crazy, so please bear with me. Ed and I will have more bloggy goodness this month, I promise.

Prediction: Kerry Losses Dem's Fight For Them

2006-11-01T08:23:00.000-06:00

After watching the whole Kerry Debacle for the last 24 hours, I'm going to make a prediction. I think Kerry may have just put a huge hole in the side of the Democratic Party's hopes for taking over either house. Does that mean, Republicans can sit back and do nothing? Of course not, they've still got an uphill fight on their hands to maintain control. But Kerry did just make it a bit easier for the Republicans to pull it off.

Here's why I think this:

It is generally agreed in the DNC that Kerry's anti-war platform did not work on the national level. It may work in individual primaries (Lieberman/Lamont), but it doesn't work when you're trying to win the votes of non-Liberals (aka: the moderates of our country).
As a result, the DNC has been trying make the moderates forget what it was they voted against in 2004. But Kerry (who isn't even running this year) just stood up and yelled at the top of his lungs "WE ARE THE ANTI-WAR, ANTI-MILITARY PARTY!!!" reminding the moderates (and the conservative base) of what they voted to keep out of the White House in 2004.
As a result of that you have the liberal base of Democratic Party (primarily found around places like DailyKos) cheering him on for not only make comments that insult anyone in uniform (past or present) but for refusing to apologize to anyone including the troops that he may have insulted. And remember, these are the folks who say that soldiers are guilty till proven innocent, child molesters, and war criminals. (ht: to Jawa Report for those links).

Many in the Democratic leadership realized this early on, and candidates have started canceling appearances with Kerry as a response (Iowa, Minnesota, and Philadelphia so far).

And you have this quote from an unnamed Democratic congressman in an ABC News Report:

"I guess Kerry wasn't content blowing 2004, now he wants to blow 2006, too." - ABC News Report

Happy Halloween Dems! Frankenstein just played one hell of a trick on you guys.

John F. Kerry: The October Surprise

2006-10-31T14:17:00.000-06:00

After repeated calls from all over the place for Kerry to appologize for his statements in which he said students had best work to be educated or they'll be sent to Iraq (basically saying that anyone in uniform is an uneducated idiot that couldn't cut it in the classroom), Kerry decided to come out swinging at President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Rush Limbaugh, and other well known characters of the political right.

Here's the problem for the Democratic party now. They have been working hard all year long to convince the voters who are generally in the middle politically to vote for them. Especially after suffering such a horrible defeat in 2004 in a campaign that the Democrats made about the war in Iraq. The Dem's would rather the voters forget about the far leftist ideology they ran on two years ago. Well Kerry just stood up and reminded everybody in the country why we voted Republican in 2004. We don't want flipfloppers like Kerry who "voted for the war before they voted against it". We don't want people who view the soldiers in uniform as uneducated idiots. We want people who stand up for this country, not call our soldiers war criminals (just as Kerry did during the Vietnam War, and Murtha during this war).

Honest criticism of domestic and foreign policy is one thing, but what Kerry said was a slap in the face of every man and woman in uniform. But we shouldn't be surprised at this. This was the man who threw the medals he was awarded in Vietnam away. This was the man testified against his fellow soldiers calling them war criminals. This was the man who thinks that American interests should be governed by a "global test". This was the man who chose to vote for armor for our troops in Iraq, and then chose to vote against it to gain the anti-war vote in the Democratic party.

Kerry: Military Filled with Educational Slackers

2006-10-31T09:42:00.000-06:00

John Kerry, first loser of the 2004 Presidential Election and Vietnam War Veteran (who threw away his medals), made some interesting comments to Pasadena City College students at a campaign event for Angelides (challenger for California Governor).

He basically says that if you don't study hard and really put a lot into your education you'll get stuck in Iraq. Here's the video:

Yeah, this guy loves the troops. He thinks they're a bunch of ignorant boobs that couldn't cut it in the classroom. I know countless men and women in the military, many of which either are serving in Iraq or have served in Iraq. And if there is one thing I can say about every last one of them its this, they are among the brightest most capable people I've ever met. And I would put them up against any Harvard or Yale graduate for a true test of intelligence. Take an academic out of the classroom, and you've got a fish out of water. Put a soldier in a classroom and you just give him another challenge to take on.

Kerry, you lost, you aren't relevant anymore, go home and live off your wife's income again.

Jim Webb Controversy

2006-10-27T08:45:00.000-05:00

Late last night the Drudge Report published a press release from George Allen campaign that quoted several passages that Allen's opponent for US Senate, Jim Webb, had written in fictional novels.

The bulk of these novels as I understand it are fictional war stories, usually centered around Vietnam War vets. I won't go through the quotes here because many of them are just simply beyond what I would want to repeat as a decent person. If you want to read them, go read them at Drudge's site here.

Webb's obvious defense is going to be that these were simply works of fiction. Which, being someone who grew up with a great respect for the arts I can understand as a defense. But that doesn't excuse one simple fact. The way in which he portrays war veterans, and women. War veterans are shown to be incestuous pedophiles. Women are similarly portrayed but Webb also adds the portrayal of being "servile, subordinate, inept, incompetent, promiscuous, perverted, or some combination of these" (Allan Campaign Press Release).

So what is Webb going to do?

And here's a good hypothetical question. What if it was the Republican Allen who wrote these passages rather than his Democratic opponent? My theory is they would be handcuffing Allen to Folley and send them both to a rehab center. But what will the press be doing here with Webb?

A Break From The Elections

2006-10-26T08:19:00.000-05:00

My plans for the weekend are to get away from the elections for at least one hour. And the fact that this is thursday that I'm saying this shows you how much I'm looking forward to it.

The Good Old Days of Reagan

2006-10-24T14:51:00.000-05:00

Hat Tip to Michelle Malkin for spotting this video and posting in response to the heckling of Joe Lieberman at the debates for the Connecticut Senatorial race.

I miss the good old days when we had men like Reagan who would simply tell it like it is. I'm going to see if I can find some other videos on YouTube of the 'Gipper'. I'm surprised they haven't flagged this one.

Lies, Damn Lies, and Opinion Polls

2006-10-24T13:50:00.000-05:00

The American people are being absolutely inundates with polls claiming to predict litterally every possible outcome in the approaching elections. In the last week I've heard polls that support an overwelming Democratic victory, a marginal Democratic victory in one house or the other, a draw with maybe one or two seats changing hands, and an actual Republican gain in one house or the other.

Well, here's the problem with alot of these polls. THEY'RE NOT THE ELECTIONS!!! The average national opinion polls includes a sample of between 900 and 1,100 people. That's out of 300,000,000. Or, if you want to go by the '04 elections, that's out of more than 120,000,000 voters. That means that each poll is representative of .0009% of voters. Notice how far past the decimal the 9 is.

Now, before the libs who are reading this jump all over me I will say this. There are some polls that are more representative than others. But, there is one poll that the Democrats are absolutely loving. They have wet dreams about this poll. The congressional approval poll is currently in the teens (depending on which poll you look at). If the Congress was elected at the national level (that is everyone gets to vote on the congressmen), then the Republicans would be screwed. But you know what? Congressmen are elected at the district level! When was the last time the US Congress had a positive aproval rating? Probably before it was established back in the 1700's. How many jokes have we all heard about the US Congress and their inability to get anything done.

There are two kinds of polls that should be watched for these elections. First, the individual district polls. Which show a very close horse race across the board. Second, at the national level, pay attension to the question that asks for approval of your current congressman. The higher that number, the better news it is for party in power.

All politics are local guys! But most importabtly, no matter what your party affiliation, GET OUT AND VOTE!!!

Air America: Gone Broke

2006-10-13T13:10:00.000-05:00

Air America is now broke! The filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today.

Sorry, I'm having a hard time keeping from snickering about this whole thing. Air America was supposed to be the medium that would revolutionize liberalism. They thought Al Franken would be the left leaning Rush Limbaugh.

What they didn't realize was that when Limbaugh gets on the air he has fun. He entertains the listeners. And he also uses specific logical arguments to get his serious points across. When Al Franken gets on the air or writes books, he personally insults those that he disagrees with. Just take a look at his first book called "Rush Limbaugh is a Big, Fat Idiot". He didn't present any counterpoints to the Conservative ideas, he didn't present any substantive points to support liberalism. He simply got on the air or behind a keyboard and launched into nothing but insults. And that may be funny for a while. But it gets old.

David Zucker Clip: Showing Albright For What She Was

2006-10-11T10:05:00.000-05:00

David Zucker, the guy who produced well known movies such as Scary Movie 4, put together a great video that pokes fun at Madeleine Albright's famous toast with North Korean Dictator, Kim Jong Il.

The video has already been flagged as too controversial on YouTube.

Been A Couple of Days

2006-10-11T09:59:00.000-05:00

Sorry its been a couple of days since we last posted. I've had a bunch of stuff going on at work having negotiate business deals, put out fires, and all sorts of stuff like that.

And Johnny is currently getting settled in to a new place to live.

But we'll back posting here shortly. I'm going to post a bunch of good political comics on the new North Korean crisis here soon.

BREAKING: Possible N. Korean Nuke Test

2006-10-08T22:02:00.000-05:00

***Updates available at the bottom of this post.***

Reports on Drudge Report and elsewhere on the web of a possible nuclear test in North Korea.

This is currently only a possibility (as of 9:57 PM CST). It is currently unconfirmed.

Yonhap News Article
Daily Item Article

I guess I'll be the first to say it. What are the Dem's focusing on? The Foley scandal and how to win the elections. There wasn't one word of this on the evening news programs the entire weekend. Instead it was about Foley, Hastart, and how the Democrats might win.

I'll post updates as I find them.

(Update) 10:10 PM CST
"The nuclear test is a historic event that brought happiness to the our military and people" - Korean Central News Agency via Yahoo! News

(Update) 10:14 PM CST
Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC is currently saying that US State Departments are saying that the sucessful test is likely, however is NOT confirmed as of yet.

(Update) 10:17 PM CST
FoxNews reports no seismic activity detected. seismic tests are used to detect such underground detonations. however, this is NOT CONFIRMED

(Update) 10:25 PM CST
DailyKos is choosing to call this apparent nuclear detonation a "Bush Victory"
"Another major success for the Bush Administration. Now they can suspend every Amendment for all Americans too, because we need to fight us over here because.... ummm... North Korea... ummm... well..." - DailyKos Diary Entry by judyneric

(Update) 10:27 PM CST
Michelle Malkin's site has a report that "the U.S. Geological Survey said it hasn't detected any seismic activity on the Korean peninsula in the past 48 hours."

(Update) 10:30 PM CST
Japanese has apparently setup a "task force" to address this situation (FoxNews Report).

(Update) 10:35 PM CST
Oh thank God, the "UN SET TO VOTE SOUTH KOREAN SEC GENERAL" according to Drudge Report.

Fox News is now reporting that the US Geological Survey is now saying that there is "some activity" in the area. Nothing on location, intensity, or cause though.

(Update) 10:38 PM CST
"In Seoul a foreign ministry spokesman said South Korea's intelligence agency has detected a 3.58-magnitude seismic tremor, following North Korea's announcement of a nuclear test." - Allah Blog via Michelle Malkin

(Update) 10:40 PM CST
"No known nuclear leaks as of yet" - FoxNews

(Update) 10:43 PM CST
Reuters via MSNBC, China was given a 20 minute warning prior to detonation.

(Update) 10:44 PM CST
CNN - sources in the Pentagon are "all but certain" that this test did occur.

(Update) 10:52 PM CST
FoxNews - US Government was warned in advance of the test by allies (not by North Korea itself, but through allies such as Japan possibly)

(Update) 10:54 PM CST
CNN - South Korean military alert has been "raised".

(Update) 10:58 PM CST
Fox News - US was warned by China of the test.

(Update) 11:00 PM CST
Fox News - Now reporting that the 3.58 rating of seismic activity in the area of North Korea is lower than what was expected. Suggesting that the nuclear detonation was of a lower quality than what the North Koreans were expecting.

(Update) 11:10 PM CST
probably last update of the night.
SitRap:
1) North Korea has most likely detonated a nuclear weapon underground.
2) The evidence of this is low level seizmic activity detected by the USGS in the area of 3.58 on the rictor scale.
3) This is lower than what was expected suggesting a lower yeild than was planned by North Korea.
4) China was warned 20 minutes prior to detonation
5) US was warned by China before detonation
6) South Korean Military is on a higher alert now
7) Strong sanctions appear to be being considered by countries in the region plus the US (outside of the United Nations).

Keep an eye open. This is the number one reason that stuff like Foley Gate and Maccaca Gate are a complete waste of our time. We've got adult situations going on that affect our country directly. Time for adults to run for office.

Goodnight, and God Bless.

FoleyGate Collapse, DailyKos Covering Ears

2006-10-05T14:28:00.000-05:00

The folks over at DailyKos are about to go into a deep depression. Here's one of the Kosacks' comments on Drudge's post:

"This is a lie. ABC's Brian Ross really would not have run with this story if this was a lie. Drudge does NOT have the investigative fire power that a news organization like ABC does. ABC doesn't want to get slammed the way CBS did - I assure you ABC has done its homework." - DailyKos Diary Post

It's going to get interesting folks.

BREAKING: FoleyGate IM's Were Prank!!!

2006-10-05T13:57:00.000-05:00

Drudge Report is now reporting that the "lurid" AIM messages that forced the resignation of Foley were a prank that accidentally made it into the hands of political operatives. Here's the text of what Drudge has put up:

"According to two people close to former congressional page Jordan Edmund, the now famous lurid AOL Instant Message exchanges that led to the resignation of Mark Foley were part of an online prank that by mistake got into the hands of enemy political operatives, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal... Developing..." - http://www.DrudgeReport.com

If this is true this could turn what was a massive event that was working against the GOP into an absolutely atomic disaster for the DNC and the Netroots crowd.

(Update) 1:57 PM
More info from Drudge at http://www.drudgereport.com/page.htm

"According to two people close to former congressional page Jordan Edmund, the now famous lurid AOL Instant Message exchanges that led to the resignation of Mark Foley were part of an online prank that by mistake got into the hands of enemy political operatives, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal.

According to one Oklahoma source who knows the former page very well, Edmund, a conservative Republican, goaded Foley to type embarrassing comments that were then shared with a small group of young Hill politicos. The prank went awry when the saved IM sessions got into the hands of political operatives favorable to Democrats. This source, an ally of Edmund, also adamantly reports that the former page is not a homosexual. The prank scenario was confirmed by a second associate of Edmund.

The news come on the heels that former FBI Chief Louis Free has been named to investigate the mess."

(Update) 2:26 pm
Another update from the Drudge Report:

"According to two people close to former congressional page Jordan Edmund, the now famous lurid AOL Instant Message exchanges that led to the resignation of Mark Foley were part of an online prank that by mistake got into the hands of enemy political operatives, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal.

According to one Oklahoma source who knows the former page very well, Edmund, a conservative Republican, goaded Foley to type embarrassing comments that were then shared with a small group of young Hill politicos. The prank went awry when the saved IM sessions got into the hands of political operatives favorable to Democrats.

The primary source, an ally of Edmund, adamantly proclaims that the former page is not a homosexual. The prank scenario was confirmed by a second associate of Edmund. Both are fearful that their political careers will be affected if they are publicly brought into the matter.

The news come on the heels that Edmund has hired former Timothy McVeigh attorney, Stephen Jones, and that former FBI chief Louis Freeh has been named to investigate the mess."

The Hypocritical of the Left

2006-10-05T08:31:00.000-05:00

I've been browsing around the DailyKos and Democratic Underground sites watching their thoughts on the FoleyGate/PageGate scandal. And in between all their celebration of the inappropriate actions of Foley with congressional pages I noticed something.

About a month ago the left side of the blogosphere and much of the DNC were calling the ABC network a tool for the Republican Party. It became a favorite pastime of DailyKos to come up with as many photoshops of Mickey Mouse and Karl Rove as possible while they complain about mentioning the Clinton Administration's handling of Osama Bin Laden in the "docu-drama", "The Path to 9/11".

However, since it was ABC's reporters that broke the Foley story it appears that ABC has had an "extreme make over" of it's own in the eyes of DailyKos as they now sing the praises of the great ABC reporters who are bringing down the evil GOP leadership and eventually the Bush Administration.

Just some friendly advice to the guys on the other side of the blogosphere. Maybe you should put your victory banners down, stop getting ready for ticker-tape parades, put that champagne back on ice, and stop this damn celebration of the despicable treatment of a congressional page. Because you're starting to come off as hypocrites now.

The Myth of Chavez

2006-10-04T09:37:00.000-05:00

Douglas Montero of the New York Post wrote a great article on the slums of Chavez's Venezuela. It is an excellent article that shows the low employment rate, rampant crime, and a general humanitarian crisis. People in this country (particularly on the left) need to wake up to the reality that Chavez is nothing more than a military dictator who is great at wooing the crowd of self appointed intellectuals at the United Nations and various left leaning universities.

"It'd be a better use of his time than trips abroad and to New York, where Chavez created an uproar last month by denouncing President Bush as 'sick,' an 'alcoholic' and the 'devil.'" - New York Post Article

And in the mean time Chavez is complaining about the falling price of oil. This is the person people should be looking to that is motivated by nothing but oil and power.

Dems Only See Political Gain in Foley scandal

2006-10-02T08:37:00.000-05:00

The scandal involving former Congressman scandal and several Congressional pages is an absolutely despicable situation. No mercy should ever be shown for any individual that takes part in any situation like this.

However, the left wing of the blogosphere seems to not care about the criminal aspects of this situation. The only thing they see are gained seats in the House of Representatives. Below are some headlines from popular liberal sites as well as some comments provided by their readers.

Democratic Underground:
"Eleven GOPers Fingered in Foley Cover-Up" - comment by "chimpsrsmarter": "well hey we only need 4 more and will definitely get the house back!"

DailyKos:
"Holy Freaking Crap" - comment by "ablington": "We will retake the House from the vacancies these child molesters will leave behind when they resign in shame."

comment by "sterno": "More evidence about why the 50 state strategy was a good one :)"

This is solid proof that the only thing the liberals care about are the elections and winning a majority. I just finished reading through a few hundred comments from those articles and others and not one said anything about the disgusting nature of this crime. Overall the summary of the comments are along the lines of "those republicans are a bunch of sick hypocrites that need to be taken out of office."

My prediction on this one is that a connection will be drawn by the Moonbats to the White House in time for the Wednesday evening news. And I'm going to go one step further in my prediction, it will involve Karl Rove and/or Dick Cheney.

BREAKING: Zawahri Echos Democrats in New Video

2006-09-29T14:30:00.000-05:00

Ayman al-Zawahri, who is essentially the second in command of Al Qaeda released a video a short while ago. Here is what is being reported as being said in the video by Zawahri:

"Bush you are a lying failure and a charlatan. It has been 3 and-a-half years (since the arrests)...What happened to us? We have gained more strength and we are more insistant on martyrdom." - Retuers Article

Gee, that sounds alot like what was being said by the Democrats. You draw your own conclusions though.

Tony Snow: Speaking Truth to Cooks

2006-09-29T14:03:00.000-05:00

Just saw this line from Tony Snow on Drudge Report. It looks like it is related to the new Bob Woodward book on the Bush Administration.

"The average Washington memoir ought to be subtitled, 'If only they'd listened to me'" - Drudge Report

Aint it the truth!

Chavez for DNC Chairman

2006-09-29T10:57:00.000-05:00

Henry Payne has a really good take on Chavez's rant to the United Nations.

Hey Deanie, This is Texas, Come and Take It!!!

2006-09-29T09:07:00.000-05:00

DNC Chairman Howard "The Duck" Dean, spoke at a Democratic event in Austin, Texas earlier this week saying that the Democrats were going to "take back Texas. And we're going to do it before we take back other states we've lost the last 15-20 years."

To quote the Texans from Gonzales who fought for our independence from Mexico, "Come and Take It!!!". The Democratic party lost this state a long time ago, and there aint no wait that someone as liberal as Howard Dean is going to win us back. Take your screaming back to Vermont jackass.

Don't forget, that this is the man who thought he would win in 2004.

Oliver Stone: Terrorism "Can Be Lived With"

2006-09-29T08:28:00.000-05:00

Oliver Stone, the film maker of well known movies such as "Platoon", "JFK", "Born on the 4th of July", and the recent "World Trade Center" is apparantly "ashamed" of the United States. Well there's a shoker for ya, Oliver Stone, one of the original moonbats who chooses to bash the United States in all but one of his movies is ashamed of the United States. Coulda fooled me, I thought he was proud of the US.

Everything I've heard about his most recent movie, "World Trade Center", made me think that maybe he is realizing that not everything that goes wrong in the world is some US Government conspiracy. But statements like this make me think differently:

"Terrorism is a manageable action. It can be lived with" - AP News Article

Why should we "live" with terrorism Mr. Stone? Why should we allow our families to "live" with the fear that they could be killed tomorrow because of some jackass' idea that he will personally convert the world to his religion at the tip of a sword?

Gore: Smoking Contributes to Global Warming

2006-09-29T08:13:00.000-05:00

Just saw on Drudge Report that everybody's favorite tree is now claiming that cigarette smoking is contributing to global warming.

Smoking is horrible for you. And I don't think anyone should ever take up the habit. But this new claim has got to be the dumbest thing that this f*&ktard has ever come up with.

I'll post updates as I find articles about it.

(Update) 8:55 AM
Not really an update because I can't find a damn thing on this. Even Drudge has taken this off his page. But, given the complete lunacy of the statement it is certainly believable that someone in the environmentalism crowd (AlGore included) has come up with this. So in celebration this is what I intend to do.
1. Find the biggest, fattest, smelliest cigar I can.
2. Find a match made from trees from the rain forest.
3. Sit back and contribute to global warming.

(Update) 9:45 AM
Found an article over at the Moonbattery Blog. Apparently AlGore was speaking to an audience at the United Nations headquarters, so you know he got roaring applause.

Death of Freedom of Choice

2006-09-27T09:13:00.000-05:00

New York is considering banning trans-fats from restaurants. This makes my blood boil. Let me set the record straight: If you are overweight and have health problems due to it, it is your own damn fault. Period. No one made you eat at McDonald's and super size everything. No one put a gun to your head and made you eat extra helping of dessert. It is your fault. Period.

Lest anyone accuse me of being unsympathetic, I have been there. In high school, I weighed 180 pounds or so. By my sophomore year in college, I was about 225. I was no longer working out or running track, yet I was eating like I was. I made bad choices which led to my being overweight and very unhealthy. Now, I am about 190 pounds, and still losing weight. It is hard. Taking personal responsibility is hard. Life is hard, so suck it up and deal with it. Get your ass off the couch and take a walk. Eat smaller portions and make better choices about what you eat.

Like what you watch on TV, browse on the internet, or buy at a store, you are responsible for what you take in. Giving the government this kind of power is foolish and selfish. Take responsibility for yourself and your actions, and don't rely on elected officials. Don't want heart disease? Eat healthy and exercise. Don't want your kids to see objectionable things on TV or the internet? Then monitor what they watch and browse. They are YOUR children, so act like it.

The creep of socialism must be stopped. Taking responsibility for your own life first is one of the best steps we can take. Lead by example, not words, and others will follow you.

The Quickest Way to Piss of a Liberal

2006-09-25T12:58:00.000-05:00

If there's one thing you can take away from Chris Wallace's interview with former President Bill Clinton, its that the easiest way to piss off a liberal is to confront them with the truth. Take the plain and simple truth and put it right in their face.

Time and time again I have seen this on the national scale as well as in my own personal life while dealing with liberals. Take the truth about how their ideas and their policies were less than perfect (shock!), and state it publicly. This will do one of two things (or even both). 1) The known liberals will get red in the face and hot under the collar. 2) The unknown liberals will all of the sudden come out of the woodwork and you will see who else is supporting the liberal idea.

This works every single time. I have seen it personally. Try it folks, it can be a lot of fun.

Chavez and Ahmadinejad: Its About the Oil

2006-09-21T09:04:00.000-05:00

An interesting idea hit me as I was watching the coverage of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's little speech at the United Nations yesterday. Since the first Gulf War under Bush 41 it has been a popular tactic among the enemies of the United States to say that we were only after the oil. They use this thesis against the US for every action we've had in the Middle East (Gulf War, a military presence in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and possibly Iran in the future). Their premise is that the Bush family is trying to help out their 'good ol boy' friends in the oil industry by grabbing more oil from fields in the Middle East. I want to propose an alternate to this theory. What if it's not the Bush family that is motivated by oil? What if its really Chavez and Ahmadinejad that are motivated by oil?

When Chavez took over in Venezuela the economy was absolutely bankrupt there. The way he turned it around was to seize the privately owned oil fields turning the Citgo oil company into a state owned company. He then uses the revenues generated by that oil company to give away freebies to the public of all sorts. This keeps him very popular in that country, and thus keeps him from being subject to a coup (a tactic he once attempted on his predecessor). Each time their public opinion polls about him dip he uses the oil company revenues to hand out free stuff. In short, he bribes his people with oil money. As a result, the entire economy of Venezuela is dependent on the price of oil.

In Iran, you have another country whose economy is dependent on the price of oil. Iran sits on one of the biggest oil reserves in the world. The Iranian government doesn't use the same tactics as Chavez with oil, but their economy is still just as dependent on oil.

Over the past few years (in particular since September 11th) the price of oil has been on the rise setting records on a regular basis. The cost of a barrel of oil has risen even into the mid $70 range. OPEC and other countries (including Iran, and Venezuela) that export large amounts of oil have been doing extremely well because of this steady increase in the price of oil.

Experts generally attribute the periodic increases in oil prices to either conflict (or the potential for conflict) in oil rich countries, or to natural disasters that can affect the oil supply (such as hurricanes).

However, oil has been on the decline for the last couple of months. As I write this oil futures are sitting at nearly $61 a barrel and industry experts are predicting it to go even lower (my gas bill is really looking forward to that). Experts are attributing this to a quieter that predicted hurricane season and the fact that the Israel/Hezbollah conflict back in July did not spread to the other countries in the region.

What has this mean for Chavez and Ahmadinejad? It means that the oil that their countries have been exporting have not been bringing in as much revenue. For Chavez in particular this is very bad. If the oil in his country continues to go down in value he will not be able to pay off the people of his country with the freebies he normally hands out. He could then wind up with a coup on his hands and him thrown out of office. For Iran, it means less revenue to pay for their military and for the terrorist organizations that they sponsor such as Hezbollah and Hamas.

So with the price of oil on the decline, what does Ahmadinejad and Chavez do? They have their little Non-Aligned Nations meeting where they gather all the enemies of the US. They talk their tough talk about how they're going to bring down the evil US Empire. Then they come up to the United Nations where they have a captive audience of every major media outlet and do things like call President Bush "el Diablo" and say that the time of the United States running the world is over. In short, Chavez and Ahmadinejad are trying to start a fight with the United States.

Why would they do that? Almost every market expert agrees that a war between the United States and Iran (or the threat of a war) would raise the price of oil, which would then raise the revenue into Iran and Venezuela. This is their motive for their tough talk against the United States.

So the real oil conspiracy that is going on might not be with the Bush family and the oil companies as the left wing moonbats keep on saying. The real oil conspiracy might actually be with the oil rich countries such as Iran and Venezuela. Just my thoughts.

BREAKING: Chavez, The Cut and Run Commie

2006-09-21T08:56:00.000-05:00

Just saw this over on Drudge Report:

"Fiery Venezuela President Hugo Chavez will 'wrap up' his controversial NYC visit early this morning to return home to Caracas, sources say.

The president cancelled several appointments previously scheduled in NYC today including a second news conference he was to hold at Venezuela's United Nations mission." - DrudgeReport.com

Remember that this is the guy who whenever things start getting tough in his own country he starts to accuse the US of trying to invade Venezuela. So don't be surprised if he makes some wildass claim that Bush tried to assasinate him while he was in New York or some other foil hat idea like that.

Defense of the Religion of Peace - Use Violence

2006-09-20T08:25:00.000-05:00

To all the peace activists that think the Americans and the Israelis use "disproportionate" force. Take a look at this picture.

Pope Benedict of the Roman Catholic Church quotes an ancient emperor's comments on Islam stating that Jihad has only brought evil things to the world.

Gaza Muslims respond by forming a terrorist group stating "every place relevant to Christians will be a target until the cursed infidel - the Vatican - apologizes to Muslims." (Jihad Watch Article)

Wouldn't you call this disproportionate? I'm an Anglican. I'm not a Roman Catholic. But that terrorist group plus a large number of rioters elsewhere in the Middle East are now going to be targeting any and all Christian sites. Any and all Christians. All as a response to the one man's quotation of a historical figure. Would you not call that a disproportionate response? Or are you going to continue to sympathise with "poor Palestinians" (who take up arms and hide behind their own children while firing on civilians).

Gaddafi Son to Pope: Convert To Islam

2006-09-19T10:51:00.000-05:00

Mohammed Gaddafi, eldest son of Lybian leader Muammar Gaddafi, is calling on Pope Benedict XVI to convert to Islam in response to the Pope's comments last week.

"If this person were really someone reasonable, he would not agree to remain at his post one minute, but would convert to Islam immediately

We say to the pope - whether you apologise or not is irrelevant, as apologies make no difference to us." - News24.com Article

Yeah, the Pope is going to convert to Islam. And right after that ~~Mohameds~~ pigs are going to start flying.

Cheese Eatin' Surrender Monkeys

2006-09-19T10:13:00.000-05:00

I would like to say I am surprised by the cowardice of Chirac and his ilk, but I am not. France has already surrendered to defeat by Iran, and probably by anyone who says "Boo!" to them. The liberals in the West have the same stupid mentality. "We need to talk to them and understand them!!!!!" Horseshit. I understand these ravening maniacs just fine. They want to conquer, kill and enslave all they see. They want the entire world to bow to Sharia and embrace their beliefs. They will not negotiate.

It is time we start treating France as what it is: and enemy of the United States. For years they have done everything they could to stop our agenda. They sell weapons to our enemies, even in spite of UN bans on arms sales to those parties. They undercut us at the Security Council. They lie to us, feigning support, then stab us in the back. I have no problem with a country looking out for its own interests, but don't lie about it. The French caved to the Nazis, and now they are caving to the ideological heirs of Nazism. France is no friend of ours.

IT HAS GONE THIS FAR, IT SHALL GO NO FARTHER.

Let's Pick A Fight

2006-09-19T09:43:00.000-05:00

Jawa Report put this great photoshop up in response to the different photoshops of the Pope that are going around the Islamic world.

All I gotta say is damn fine work!

Polls Continue Favoring GOP

2006-09-19T09:16:00.000-05:00

An increasing number of public opinion polls are showing problems for the Netroots crowd.

A USA Today/Gallop poll is showing 44% approval for the President and 51% disapproval. This is a substantial gain since their mid-August poll which had 42%-54% for the President.

This poll doesn't just show a 2 point gain in approval. When combined with the 3 point drop in disapproval, it shows a 5 point improvement for the President. Many are attributing the improvements for the President to decreasing gasoline prices and his tour of speeches emphasizing his adminstration's efforts in the War on Terrorism.

Also showing trouble for the moonbats in this poll is the generic Congresional party vote (would you vote for a Democrat or a Republican for Congress). The poll showed an even 48%-48% split between likely voters who would vote for Democrats and Republicans for Congress.

One line though that should concern Republicans is among registered voters the Democrats have a strong 9 point margin (51% to 42%).

What does this mean for Republicans? Get out and vote! Do not let anyone tell you that its pointless! Voter turn-out kept Bush in office in 2004. Voter turn-out is looking like it will keep the GOP in charge of Congress in 2006.

One really good point in the poll is this quote from Reuters:

"For the first time since December 2005, a majority of people polled did not say the war in Iraq was a mistake. The respondents were evenly split at 49 percent to 49 percent, the report said." - Reuters MyWay.com Article

VIDEO:Zarqawi Air Strike

2006-09-18T15:02:00.000-05:00

Bluto over at the Dread Pundit blog put together his first YouTube video. It's pretty good. He put together different video clips of the air strike that resulted in Zarqawi's death with the song "Radar Love" playing in the background.

Bad Spinach: Bush Did It

2006-09-18T09:02:00.000-05:00

The headline says it all folks. "Bush Caused Spinach E. Coli. Expect More of this!!!". - DailyKos Article

I'm not going to say anything more than this, because I think the article and the headline is entertaining enough. They are grasping at straws here folks.

Pope Comments: Jewish Conspiracy

2006-09-18T08:37:00.000-05:00

Iran, a country known for their tolerance of other cultures and academic excellence, is claiming that the Pope's comments are the latest in a string of US-Israeli actions "aimed at creating conflict between religions."

"The issue of insulting cartoons and remarks of some politicians about Islam are different links in the conspiracy of the crusaders and the pope's remarks are the latest links in this." - Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, Breitbart.com Article

So you see?! Its the Jews!!!!! And if you don't believe him, he'll burn an effigies of you while shouting "death to America" and "death to Israel".

Anyone who thinks that Iran is a stable country is a damn fool. And anyone who thinks that such a "stable" country can be allowed to have any kind of nuclear program (peaceful or military) is even more of a fool.

Free Speech, As Long as you Agree With Us

2006-09-18T08:20:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while I do find myself on the side of Bill Maher. Probably because he is one of the few on the left that has enough brains to criticize the Democratic Party Line.

Two weeks ago the Perky One, Katie Couric debuted as the new anchor of the CBS Evening News with an interesting new segment called the "Free Speech" segment where they would have guest speakers to simply express their views on a topic for around 90 seconds. No interruptions, no questioning, no follow-up. A simple pulpit to spout whatever the guest wanted to say. One of the first, and most notable Free Speech guest was Rush Limbaugh.

However, it appears that this segment is only Free Speech to a point. One of the people originally talked about as being a guest in the Free Speech segment was Bill Maher. However, he has yet to appear. MediaBistro.com has learned why.

"On Friday's Real Time on HBO, Maher explained that CBS approached him to do a 'freeSpeech' segment on the new Evening News. He asked if he could talk about religion but was rejected and told that he would be provided with a list of 'approved' topics," an e-mailer says. A second e-mailer asks: "Was he 'free' to express his views as long as he did not touch religion?..." - MediaBistro.com Article

I have to admit I would not look forward to Maher's rant on religion since he would most likely equate Evangelical Christians with Islamic Terrorists. But that aside, CBS chose to call that segment the "Free Speech" segment. It sounds like it should be called "Selected Topics" instead.

The Path to 9/11: A Brief History of "Documentaries"

2006-09-15T13:16:00.000-05:00

Fahrenheit 9/11 - by Michael Moore

Used video clips of interviews with soldiers out of context to make political points (resulting in misquoting the soldiers).

An Inconvenient Truth - by AlGore

Used gas guzzling SUVs and private jets to promote theories presented as facts.

The Path to 9/11 - by ABC

Inappropriate truth telling about the Clinton Administration’s policies on Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda.

Ok then. I just wanted to clear all that up.

Tags: 911, ABC, Afgahnistan, Al Qaeda, AlGore, Bill Clinton, DailyKos, Democrat, Global Warming, Michael Moore, Middle East, Moonbats, Netroots, Osama Bin Laden, path to 9/11, Politics, September 11, Terrorism, United States, War

ISLAM:"We Are a Peaceful Religion!!!"

2006-09-15T10:05:00.000-05:00

"And if you don't beleive me I'll riot and burn effigies of you!" Yep, Islam, the religion of peace as seen in this picture.

Pope Benedict last week made comments in Germany quoting a 14th century Byzantine emperor who said the prophet Mohammed had brought "things only evil and inhuman" refering to the concept of Jihad and holy war in the Islamic religion. I agree that this was not the wisest thing the Pope could have said. But the way the Muslims are reacting in the streets are as if the Pope had just declared an all out war on them. He made comments that are no different than what people like Hezbollah and Hamas make on a daily basis.

Here's the full quote of what the Pope said:

"He [Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II] said, I quote, 'Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached'." - DailyMail.co.uk Article

So it appears that these are what the rules are:
Do: call Christians and Jews every darogatory word possible (Crusaders, Zionists, Satan).
Don't: respond such comments unless its with praise for their "alternative" view on the world (alternative to western civilization).

Don't: cite historical documents about Islam in any speach.
Do: respond with rioting and threats of violence if such "inconveniant truths" are brought up.

I see how it is now.

Tags: Afgahnistan, Ahmadinejad, Al Qaeda, Gaza, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Iraq, Islam, Israel, Lebanon, Middle East, Osama Bin Laden, Palestine, Pope Benedict, Syria, Terrorism, War

Netroots: The Civil War in the DNC

2006-09-14T10:16:00.000-05:00

Found another good diary post over at DailyKos (they're on a roll with stupidity today). It demonstrates how there is a civil war in the Democratic party. ABBinMI received an election email from former President Bill Clinton who was trying to motivate the Democratic party to get out and vote (strangely no "vote early, vote often" lines though). Here's ABBinMI's response:

"We see the consequences of inaction every day. Inaction by the Democrats in the Senate and in the House. Afraid to oppose the policies of George W. Bush. If they would fillibuster something, anything, it would send a message to the people that Democrats actually stand for something. I'm tired of being told to take action when the very people in a position to take action -- the people we ELECTED to take action -- are too timid and afraid to do so.

With all due respect...I'll take action when they do." - DailyKos diary entry

This shows pretty well the civil war going on in the Democratic party I think. You have the extreme left wing as represented by the likes of DailyKos, and the Netroots crowd. And then you have the DNC establishment represented by people like Clinton. Here's a breakdown of how both sides differ:
Establishment: Think about the long term implications of actions taken today on the Democratic party. Try to appeal to the moderats of the country (something Clinton was known for).
Netroots: Stop the GOP, fight the GOP, even if it means stopping the government cold to do it.

What are the end results of this civil war? Alienation of the American people and the destruction of the Democratic party as it has been under the Clinton Adminstration.

Poor bastards. Heehee.

Tags: Bill Clinton, Bush, DailyKos, Democrat, Democratic Underground, Howard Dean, Moonbats, Netroots, Politics, Senate, United States

DailyKos:No Class at Death of Ann Richards

2006-09-14T09:56:00.000-05:00

Found this diary entry regarding the upcoming funeral for former Democratic Governor of Texas, Ann Richards. I was never a fan of Ann Richards, I disagreed with almost every policy of her's, and I group her political style in with people like Ted Kennedy and Nancy Palosi. But I do beleive that she deserves respect and dignity at the time of her passing.

But here's what GarySeven over at DailyKos wants to do:

"But - a death in the progressive family means it's time for a funeral. And not just any funeral, but a good ol' rip-roaring, revival-meeting, foot-stomping funeral; the kind that makes the conservatives so crazy; the kind that makes them sniff their noses and say things like "undignified" and gives us a chance to bash them and praise us."

Only the so-called "progressives" would hide behind the death of someone to make a series of political statements for the cameras.

"Undiginified", you're damn right it is!

Tags: Ann Richards, Bush, DailyKos, Democrat, Democratic Underground, Moonbats, Netroots, Politics

NBC Poll: Possible Good News for GOP

2006-09-14T09:22:00.000-05:00

NBC News and the Wallstreet Journal conducted a poll that shows general improvements for the White House's approval ratings and for the GOP's chances in November making the moonbats bark louder.

First, there is a two point increase (to 42%) over July's poll in President Bush's approval rating. Also there is a three point increase in approval of his handling of Iraq (to 38%). These numbers are not huge rebounds and won't win elections for the GOP, but it goes against what the moonbats keep on saying that the Americans are growing more and more dissatisfied with the President and the war in Iraq. In fact the Real Clear Politics (RCP) average has seen a steady incline from lows in the lower 30's a few months ago to 42% today.

But here's the part that is really going to make the moonbats sweat. When asked what their chief concern of both parties were here were their answers:
Democrats Have No Plans - 42%
Republicans Offers No Changes - 37%
Some of Both - 15%

This shows one thing in particular. The Democrats are not making any headway on convincing the American people that they have a plan for solving the problems facing the country. All their talk of a "Real Security" agenda and getting rid of the "Culture of Corruption" hasn't gained them anything. In short they are doing the exact same thing they did two years ago. "Anything you can do, we can do it better". And when asked how, their response is "I dunno".

This is where the focus needs to continue to be. The Democrats have no solutions, only criticisms and threats of impeachment and investigation.

Tags: Bush, DailyKos, Democrat, Democratic Underground, Howard Dean, Moonbats, MSM, MSNBC, Netroots, Politics, Republican, Senate, United States

MSM Over The Line: Missing Child's Mother Kills Self

2006-09-13T14:03:00.000-05:00

A mother of a missing child committed suicide shortly after being interviewed by Nancy Grace of CNN. During the interview, Grace was pounding the desk questioning the mother whose two year old child has been missing since August 27th.

This is the latest example of the media getting out of control in their coverage of criminal investigations and court cases that are still in progress. This absolutely makes me sick. The MSM goes insane looking for a "person of interest" every time there's a new missing person case that involves some photogenic girl or white child. And once they find that "person of interest" they hound them until the entire world is convinced that person did it (which destroys any chance at an impartial jury in the event of a trial).

Well now they've gone beyond trying someone in the court of public opinion. Trying to one up her own aggressive interviewing style which was born of her criminal prosecutor career, Nancy Grace has now driven a woman to the point of suicide. This is the most despicable thing I've ever seen.

What does Grace's spokeswoman have to say?

"We feel a responsibility to bring attention to this case in the hopes of helping find Trenton Duckett, who remains missing," - Breitbart.com Article

Tags: CNN, Missing Persons, MSM, Nancy Grace

Chavez: 9/11 Conspiracy Theories "Not Absurd"

2006-09-12T14:35:00.000-05:00

Dictator of Venezuela, and President of the "I Hate Bush" club is now grouping himself with the barking moonbats who think that the attacks on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon were inside jobs perpetrated by the Bush Administration.

Remember that this is the guy who believes that America is always out to get him, has been accused by even by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch of human rights violations, and whose first attempt at the presidency of Venezuela was an armed coup d'etat.

Here's the link to the Breitbart.com article.

Tags: 911, Al Qaeda, Bush, Chavez, Conspiracy Theory, Middle East, Moonbats, Osama Bin Laden, Politics, September 11, Terrorism, United States, Venezuela, War

Moonbat Watch: September 12th, 2006

2006-09-12T08:23:00.000-05:00

I'm going to start a new kind of posting here. Each week I will post a series of links following the moonbats. We'll spot all the moonbats as they make complete fools out of themselves while wrapping the foil around their little heads. Why you ask? Because they make it so easy.

Here we go:

Oliver Stone is planning to make a 9/11 Conspiracy Movie. It's a shame, I had new hope for the man after he made "WTC". Now he's going back to his old mentality.
- globeandemail.com article
Clinton Lawyers leaving open the possibility of defamation suit against ABC over "Path to 9/11" movie. Anyone wanna bet on who flinches first? I'm betting that ol Slick Willie does.
- DailyKos article
MSNBC's Keith Olbermann calls for impeachment of President Bush in September 11th, 2006 commentary. So this is appropriate, but movies like "The Path to 9/11" and "United 93" are "too divisive" or "too soon"? I get it.
- MSNBC transcript
9/11 Conspiracy Theorists protest on September 11th, 2006. These people have no shame. Michelle Malkin has a good collection of pictures. One at the bottom of the article shows you where most of this comes from, an old Baby Boomer Hippie who never left the 60's protest rallies.
- Michelle Malkin article

Tags: 911, ABC, Afgahnistan, Al Qaeda, Bill Clinton, Bush, DailyKos, Democrat, Democratic Underground, Moonbats, MSM, MSNBC, Netroots, Osama Bin Laden, path to 9/11, Politics, September 11, Terrorism, United States, War

The Truth

2006-09-11T10:22:00.000-05:00

Five years ago today, 2,996 Americans were murdered by terrorist scum. They were murdered because they aware not Muslims, and were from a country that Muslims felt had "oppressed and mistreated" them.

I want to make myself very, very clear on this point: I don't give a damn why they feel this way. I don't give a demean that they feel their religion has been insulted or maligned. All I give a damn about is they have, and will continue to, murder innocent people who's only crime is to not be Islamic. Islam is not a religion of peace. It is a religion of torture, subservience, forced conversion, slavery and death. It has been since Mohammed left Mecca and went to Medina. They do not want dialogue, they do not want coexistence. They want submission.

I will never bend the knee to that way of thinking. Every man and woman on the planet has the right to decide what they believe. We all have the right to choose our faith, and to not be forced into it. A man once said, "It is better to die on you feet than to live on your knees." Amen to that. We must stand up and show the Islamofascist scum that we will not stop, that we will fight them with everything that we have.

Remember those who were murdered five years ago. And stand up to make your voice heard, so that no more will suffer the same fate.

IT HAS GONE THIS FAR, IT SHALL GO NO FARTHER.

We Remember Isaias Rivera

2006-09-10T23:12:00.000-05:00

We remember Isaias Rivera. As I read through the many other tributes to Isaias it is clear that he was a loved and respected man. Here is a note left on a Semptember 11th Victims web site by a friend of his.

"He was a faithful christian, husband and father. I miss all the good times we had when our families went on vacation together and the times we spoke and share the word of God, but I know one day we will meet again in heaven."

Our thoughts and prayers are with Isaias' family.

We will always remember.

9/11 Movie is a Mind Control Device

2006-09-10T14:03:00.000-05:00

The moonbats are in overdrive and are going through tin foil faster than ever. This DailyKos diary post is claiming the GOP has put in subliminal messages in the upcoming "Path to 9/11" movie.

The premise is that whenever the movie "tells a lie" (aka: an inconvenient truth about the Clinton Administration) the viewer is bombarded with certain audio frequencies and slit second flashes of light intended to make the viewer uncomfortable. This discomfort, according to the conspiracy theorist, makes it where the viewer will just take whatever information is given to them without questioning, thus moving "left leaning folks move towards the middle, if not all the way to the right".

Here are the precautions that the author recommends:

"If you do watch the movie, make sure you turn down the brightness on your TV and make sure the room you are watching in is as bright as possible. Or watch with sunglasses with a high UV rating. And if you switched to HDTV, lug out your old set if you still have it. Also, turning off surround mode is effective, but the audio frequencies are still broadcast in the main soundtrack. The best thing to do is turn surround on (so all of the frequencies are piped to the surround channel and don't come through the regular speakers) and unplug your surround speakers. If you still have a mono TV, then the audio frequencies probably won't affect you."

Can you say Barking Moonbat? I mean, wow! That's just phenominal.

Tags: 911, ABC, Al Qaeda, Bill Clinton, Bush, DailyKos, Democrat, Democratic Underground, Islam, Middle East, Moonbats, MSM, Netroots, Osama Bin Laden, path to 9/11, Politics, September 11, Terrorism, United States, War

VIDEOS: What the Dems Are Afraid Of

2006-09-09T21:35:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the scenes that the Democrats and the Clinton Administration don't want you to see. The scenes that scare the hell out of the moonbats.

Special thanks to Red State for getting these scenes and synopses of them.

Here's the link to the Red State article.

Tags: 911, ABC, Al Qaeda, Bill Clinton, DailyKos, Democrat, Democratic Underground, Islam, Lamont, Michael Moore, Middle East, Moonbats, Netroots, Osama Bin Laden, path to 9/11, Politics, September 11, Terrorism, United States, War

BREAKING:ABC Hires Green Helmet Guy For 9/11 Edits

2006-09-09T08:29:00.000-05:00

High ranking sources at ABC are telling the SMC that in response to pressure from former Clinton Adminstration officials, ABC has decided to hire the well known Lebanese director "Green Helmet Guy" to perform the remaining 11th hour edits as requested by the officials.

When asked if ABC was pressured by the former spin doctors to use Green Helmet Guy, the source said, "it depends on what the meaning of the word 'was' is".

"'Green Helmet Guy' is well known for his ability to direct video in high pressure situations with hard deadlines. We felt that he is ideal for make the necessary edits to scenes involving former National Security Advisor Sandy Burger, for example. In fact right now he is hard at working using Photoshop to put Karl Rove in place of Burger." - Unnamed ABC Source

This sets an interesting precedent by bringing in the Green Helmet Guy, and raises interesting questions about what is coming out of the ABC cutting room.

Disclaimer: This is a completely fake report. So please, don't anybody sue me.

Tags: ABC, Al Qaeda, Bill Clinton, DailyKos, Democrat, Democratic Underground, Fauxtography, Lebanon, Michael Moore, Middle East, Moonbats, Netroots, Osama Bin Laden, path to 9/11, Politics, Rove, September 11, Terrorism, United States, War

VIDEO:Clinton Messed Up

2006-09-08T08:31:00.000-05:00

Here's an old (2001) NBC report that details exactly what the Clinton Administration did with Osama Bin Laden in the Fall of 2000. It had actual video from an armed Predator Drone which had Bin Laden in the gun sights. (Hat Tip to Hotair on finding this)

Here's the link the NBC Video.

This video was fed live to CIA headquarters in Langley, and the Clinton Administration said to not kill him. This apparently happened in September of 2000. Now there are two things interesting about when this apparently happened:

The bombing of the USS Cole happened on October 12th, 2000
Vice President AlGore was running a campaign to be promoted to President

Something else to keep in mind. Al Qaeda declared war on the United States in 1998, a year before this Predator drone mission. Also, the bombings of our embassies in Africa and the first World Trade Center attack had already occurred.

This report all on its own show what the priority of the Clinton Administration was in regards to national security and in regards to international terrorism.

Keeping the focus of the nation on Clinton's political strong point, "the economy stupid", was important.
Getting AlGore elected to the Presidency to continue Democratic control of the White House was important.
Eliminating a direct threat to the United States which 1) had a history of attacking US Interests both inside and outside of our borders, and 2) had publicly declared war on the US was not important.

This is what the Clinton Adminstration, the Moonbats, and the Democratic Party as a whole want people to forget. Don't you just love the long memory of the internet?

Tags: Afgahnistan, Al Qaeda, AlGore, Bill Clinton, DailyKos, Democrat, Democratic Underground, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Moonbats, MSM, Osama Bin Laden, path to 9/11, Politics, Republican, September 11, Terrorism, United States, War

An inconvenient Truth: Bill Clinton Messed Up

2006-09-07T16:40:00.000-05:00

The Democrats are going nuts about the upcoming ABC movie "The Path to 9/11". Why are they so upset? Because the "docu-drama" includes scenes in which Clinton Administration officials passed up chances to take out Osama Bin Laden.

Go take a look at the all holy 9/11 Commission that is a favorite of the Democratic party to cite. When you look at the entire history, you will see that the Clinton Administration did in fact pass up three chances to take out Osama Bin Laden.

Now the Moonbats are claiming that their objection is that the movie shows Sandy Burger and Madeline Albright specifically passing up some of those chances. This was a poetic license on ABC's part. But you know what? It was still Clinton Administration officials that passed up these three chances.

Three chances to kill Osama Bin Laden
Three chances to prevent the bombing of the USS Cole
Three chances to prevent September 11th

This so upsets the Moonbats because it hurts the so called legacy of Saint Bill. And it makes it difficult for the Moonbats to put all the blame of September 11th on President Bush. It also blows out of the water the various 9/11 conspiracies that believe that the attack was an inside job by the Bush Administration.

So, here is your Inconvenient Truth. Bill Clinton was more concerned about the economy and his public approval ratings than he was about the security of the United States. And now he continues to worry about his own legacy rather than the truth.

Get over it Moonbats. Clinton made bad decisions while he was in office just like every president before him, and every president that will come after him. And you know what? The way he dealt with Osama didn't do anything to stop September 11th. At least Bush has impaired him to the point that the only thing he can do is make video tapes and attempt to attack us.

Take a look at these stats:
Clinton Adminstration

First attack on the World Trade Center - response were criminal proceedings
US Embassies in Africa bombed - response, nothing
USS Cole - response, nothing
"Black Hawk Down" - response, pull out

Bush Adminstration

September 11th - response, War on Terrorism

Bill Clinton'ss legacy will not be Peace in the Middle East. It won't be the economy. Bill Clinton's legacy will forever be Monica Lewinsky.

Tags: ABC, Afgahnistan, Al Qaeda, Bill Clinton, Bush, DailyKos, Democrat, Democratic Underground, Iraq, Islam, Michael Moore, Middle East, Moonbats, Netroots, path to 9/11, Politics, September 11, Terrorism, United States, War

Couric Launches Blog, Appoints Self El Capitan

2006-09-05T10:29:00.000-05:00

Katie Couric has now launched her very own blog, and opens with sailing and coffee shop metaphors. I can tell this is going to be some great entertainment over the next couple of weeks. With Couric's launch into the anchor's chair this evening we can expect more great stuff like this:

"We’re going to be surveying the landscape here, and pointing out a few of the more interesting and surprising things we see on the horizon. We’ll be swapping stories, sharing opinions, asking questions and generally just taking stock. In the little village that is CBS News, you might consider 'Couric & Co' the coffee house on the corner, where something is always brewing."

My favorite is that she is already showing some hypocracy with her quote of the day. It's a quote from former US President Teddy Roosevelt which basically says its easy for people to criticize from the sidelines. How many times has the MSM (CBS News, and Couric included at the top of the list) criticized the Bush Administration from the sidelines in a manor similar to what Roosevelt said:

"It is not the critic that counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but know the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." - Teddy Roosevelt, Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, 1910

CBS and CBS News is going to implode if this is what is considered anchor material.

Tags: CBS, CBS Evening News, Dan Rather, Katie Couric, MSM, Politics

Janet Jackson Backs Hillary for White House

2006-09-04T16:28:00.000-05:00

This is the endorsement that every presidential hopeful seeks. An endorsement from Janet "wardrobe malfunction" Jackson. Here's a quote of what Janet's view on Hillary for president in 2008:

"'Hillary Clinton as president -- that would be great,' Jackson said in an interview with German press agency DPA Monday. 'Then she could show all those people who wouldn't trust a woman with such a job.' - Breitbart.com Article

No mention of Clinton's views on issues that matter. Just that it "would show all those people". If you vote on someone simply because she is a woman, then you're just ignorant. I take the MLK approach in how I vote. To paraphrase, "the content of your character", not what gender or race you are.

Tags: Bill Clinton, Democrat, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Republican