Military Plans for Iran

Not that it all that surprising, but looks like there are specific plans in the works to deal with Iran militarily:

Iran Plans

The German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel is reporting:

The United States government reportedly began coordinating with NATO its plans for a possible military attack against Iran..............

According to the report, CIA Director Porter Goss, in his last visit to Turkey on December 12, requested Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to provide military bases to the United States in 2006 from where they would be able to launch an assault.

Man Killed By Wood Chipper

A tragic accident in Loveland, CO. when a man trimming trees was pulled into the "wood chipper" that he was working with and killed:

killed by wood chipper

This time of year it's popular to have lists ranking the "best" and "worst" items that are being reviewed. If you had a top ten list of the worst ways to leave this world, doing so via a wood chipper would have to be highly rated (in a bad sense of course)..............

What a horrible way to go.......................As tragic as it is, it did remind me of the movie Fargo.

Carnival of College Football - Bowl Addition

Watching the whipping LSU put on the "little u" 40-3, I realize that I did not post a Carnival of College Football - Bowl Addition. Well better late than never right?

Lets start by recapping the games already played:

Peach Bowl: LSU 40 over the little "u" 3. A complete "ass whipping as bad as I have seen in years.........Then Miami got their ass beat in the tunnel after the game after talking some "loser smack". Per ESPN: Trash-talking between players grew into a postgame brawl in the LSU tunnel, and Larry Coker, coach of No. 9 Miami, said two of his players were knocked unconscious. There was shoving and punching before Georgia State Patrol officers intervened. Minutes later, Miami's Andrew Bain, apparently dazed, was escorted by officers back out of the tunnel. Coker said Bain and Miami's Khalil Jones were knocked unconscious, and the coach said no players were detained by police. No players were hospitalized.

Man how totally far Miami has fallen when they get beat like this and then are saying their players got beat-up in the smack-down but no one got so smacked down they went to the hospital. On top of that Miami players being rescued by the police??????

Not to overstate one game but this one "could" be a program changing loss and not for the better. Unconscious indeed........

Music City Bowl: Virginia 34 over Minnesota 31. Two 7-5 teams where both went over 450 yards in total offense which means there was "no" defense played. Now you know why both are 7-5 teams. If you like high scoring bad defense then it was an entertaining game. It was an ACC vs. Big 10 match-up. Virginia was the better of the 7-5 teams with a 13 play at the end of the game to drive for a winning field goal. Not a bad game for one of the lower end bowl games.............................

Sun Bowl: UCLA 50 over Northwestern 38. This game made the Virginia vs Minnesota game look like a defensive standoff. UCLA had 453 yards and NW had 584 yards of total offense. UCLA had 4 turn overs and NW had 3. NW ran off 22 consecutive points before UCLA then ran off 36 unanswered points. This game looked like a Canadian Grey Cup game. Two really bad defensive teams that both have pretty good offenses and both offenses put on a show. Entertaining in a "bad quality" way.......

Independence Bowl: Missouri 38 over USC South 31. Spurrier and the Cocks got off fast with 21 straight before the Tigers took over and took the lead 31-28 in the fourth. USC South answered and tied things up 31-31 with 4:16 left. Brad Smith then answered with a drive to win in his best game ever as a Tiger. The USC game plan was to stop Brad Smith from rushing. They did not stop Smith as he rolled up 150 yards on the ground. Bigger than that, he threw for 282 yards going 21 for 37 and 1 TD. The 99 yard int run for a TD that Marcus King put in the bank changed the entire game as the Cocks were driving for a TD to go up 28-0 at the time. Aside from the Nebraska vs Michigan game and the Oklahoma vs Oregon game I think this one was third best so far. Same lack of defense but at least you had some "huge" game changing outstanding plays from the defense.

Alamo Bowl: Nebraska 32 over Michigan 28. This game was "one more lateral" from being Cal vs. Stanford II and a stunning ending. If Tyler Ecker would have tossed the ball back as he was being pushed out at the Nebraska 13, he had the teammates there to finish off the miracle. It did not happen and Nebraska I think had it's we are back game. They had a balanced attack ( 167 passing & 151 rushing ) that put 32 points on the board against a top 20 team. If Big 12 teams in the north division did not get Nebraska these past couple years, I think the time to do so might of passed. An average Nebraska team should be able to handle the rest of the North Big 12 completion they face. Problem has been that Nebraska has had a "bad" team the past few years. I think this game in the Alamo bowl foretells of Nebraska returning to the status of above average.

Holiday Bowl: Oklahoma 17 over Oregon 14. I think this was the best game so far. Neither team scored over 17 points so that tells you the defense for both teams played well. Oklahoma had 361 yards and Oregon had 327 yards, a very even statistical match-up and it reflected the close score of the game. The game ended with an interception by Oklahoma LB Clint Ingram on the 10 yard line with 33 seconds remaining while Oregon was driving for the winning TD. Makes it an even bigger play when you consider Oregon was already in FG position to tie it up. It also shows that Oregon was not even close to being a BSC team and that the PAC 10 is a very weak conference if you throw-out USC. Like Nebraska I think this might be a statement game by Oklahoma and they looked like they might be back to some degree as well.

Car Care Bowl - Liberty Bowl - Houston Bowl - who cares.........................

Now for the Bigger Bowl Games:

Outback Bowl: Florida over Iowa big..............The dirty Gators embarrassed my Noles the last time they played and they will be way too athletic for the Hawkeye's. Gators go to another non-BCS bowl and win and they know non-BCS bowl games well.................Gators 28 -Hawkeye's 13.

Cotton Bowl: Texas Tech over Bama. It's the tortoise and the hare..........A team like Bama that wins by 3 or 6 points in every win just are not a good bet this time of year. I like good defense but I also like a team that can put 21 on the board when they are playing well. TCU is like an artillery unit with 100,000 shells, Bama is like a fort with really strong walls but when your getting hit with 100,000 bombs sooner or later they will find their mark. Texas Tech has a weak defense as well but a much stronger offense than Bama. I think it actually could be a blow out with TCU winning by a 31-10 margin..............................

Gator Bowl: Va Tech over Louisville. Jacksonville has become the Va Tech home city for bowl games and they are playing in their 5th Gator Bowl. They are 1-3 in their past Gator Bowls but I think they might break that streak this year. Va Tech has a great defense and great special teams, and they also have Vick. Hit or miss Vick can be great or terrible, there is no middle ground with his game. It all depends on the kind of game Vick brings and I think it will be good enough to beat Louisville. I think this will be a close game and one you want to watch........................Va Tech 24 - Louisville 21

Capital One Bowl: Auburn over Wisconsin. What do you have in your wallet? Auburn top to bottom has a much superior athletic team than the Badgers, and this one should not be close. Wisconsin might be playing its last game for Alvarez but that only goes so far. Well at least the Wisconsin faithful who traveled will enjoy the 70 degree weather before returning to cheese land. Tigers 34 - Badgers 17. However if your looking for a choke candidate Auburn has a history. It would not be a bad bet to lay against the Tigers in a game they should win easy...........

Fiesta "Chip" Bowl: Irish over Buck-Nuts. I love the game of two players in this match-up, AJ Hawk the LB for Ohio State and Irish receiver Jeff Samardzija. Hawk plays LB like the throw-backs did ( Singletary, Lamb, Lambert, and Dickie B). Samardzija does not look like a great receiver but man is he (72 receptions - 1215 yards - 16.9 average - 15 TD's). Not only that, he is a money player who makes the big plays for the Irish when they need a "big play". This will be my kind of game, a great game that will be relatively low scoring and very close. A big play will make the difference and I think it might come from the third player in this game that I think has that "special karma" Tom Zbikowski. The DB Punt Returner is that classic winner that over achieves and that guy you always pick to be on your team because you know he is going to lay it "all" out. Best of the games previewed thus far and I think it could be a classic. Zbikowski returns a punt or INT late in the game for field position that leads to either the winning TD catch by Samardzija or a catch by Samardzija to set-up the winning FG...............Irish 17 - Buck Nuts 14

Sugar Bowl - Played @ Peach Bowl Site due to Katrina: Georgia over W.V. big. I'm tired of hearing about the lack of respect that Big East winner W.V. gets. They have a good team but they play in a conference that is "the weakest" with a BSC tie in. Here was the W.V. schedule: Syracuse, Wofford, Maryland, E. Carolina, Va Tech (only loss), Rutgers, Louisville, S. Florida, Uconn, Cinn, & Pittsburgh. A hell of a schedule if your playing basketball but were talking football here. W.V. beat the #19 team and lost to Va Tech the only other top 20 team they played against. Here is Georgia's schedule: Boise St, USC South, La Monroe ( that looks bad), Miss St, Tenn, Vandy, Arkansas, Florida, Auburn, Kentucky, Ga Tech, and LSU. They played six top 20 teams and beat 4 of them. SEC champion vs. Big East champion is like matching up Ethiopia against Australia in a surfing match-up. Dogs run wild 27 - 6

Orange Bowl - Ageless Wonders: Well my heart says FSU being an alumni but my head says Penn State is the favorite to win. Penn State and Joe Pa have come back from the dead and are #3 and a second from being in the championship game mix. FSU is young and lost three straight before righting the ship and winning the ACC championship against Va Tech. I always take speed against strength when it comes to college football because speed kills in college games. FSU has the speed but they have "very" young speed. Penn State has strength and experienced players. I think it will be a low scoring game because both defenses are very good ( FSU usually is very good this year on defense but has had breakdowns). That is what it comes down to, can the FSU defense play lights out and keep the offense in the game. If they do FSU can win because they have better athletes and faster athletes. If not then Penn States wears FSU down. If I had to bet ( and I would not bet on a FSU game - it's sac-religion to bet on such an event ) I'd have to go with Penn State 13 - 10 over the Noles. Looks like one of those classic FSU vs. Miami or FSU vs Florida smash mouth defense games. A big special team play by FSU is needed to make this prediction a gratefully wrong one.

The Big Daddy - As Good As It Gets

Rose Bowl: USC vs. Texas. My God I'm looking forward to this game. It is what college football is all about. The last game to decide who is the champion between two very good teams that have had a great year. The match-up looks special and should be a classic. Reggie Bush is the very best player to come along on the college level since Barry Sims. He is a special game changing talent that although it is clique to say it, but he "can-go-all-the-way" every time he touches the ball. Vince Young is that unique combination of speed, size and arm that I don't know if I have ever seen before in a player. He is like a "Big" more powerful Charlie Ward. The Texas Defense is better than the USC West defense and I usually go with the best defense in a game like this. However, USC with Bush & Leinart playing together USC West has something that has never been done, "two player in the same game who have won the Heisman". Think about that for a moment, that is sort of an overwhelming fact to me. Also USC West has been in the "Big Game" the past two years and have won. They are playing at home, and have a much better coach. Pete Carroll is head and shoulders above Mack Brown, and I think Brown might prove to be the biggest factor in this game. There is a reason why they say Brown can not and has not won the big game. People don't just say things like that, there is a history that promotes such analysis. If it comes down to coaching, USC West has a huge advantage I think.

The other big advantage that USC West has is that if Texas somehow shuts down Bush ( I don't think that will happen for long - maybe early ), USC West still has White and I think he is better than about 95% of the other RB in the country. USC can afford for Bush to not have a great game because of Leinart & White. If Young has a bad game Texas can not win. I don't think Young will have a bad game but the burden is totally on his shoulders for Texas. USC West has much better RB's and a much better coach, and a better passing QB. Texas has a better defense, and a better all around QB who has freak like abilities.

Bush will set the table as a decoy early and then put the nail in the coffin late to lead USC West to a historic third straight NCAA Championship. USC 24 - Texas 21, in one for the ages..........................................

Stuck on Amtrak

Riding on an Amtrak train even when it's moving ineffectively as it might be is bad enough, but this must be a nightmare:

Amtrak

Per the AP:

Exasperated passengers were stuck on an Amtrak train for close to 20 hours while engineers waited for a derailed freight train to be removed.............

The train had left Orlando, Fla., on Thursday around 1 p.m., but was delayed in Jacksonville for roughly 12 hours because of the derailment. It started moving again about 4 a.m., but stopped again in a patch of forest outside Savannah about two hours later..........

Like I said riding Amtrak is bad enough but with these unfortunate circumstances mixed in it must be really bad.

FBI Investigating Intel Leak of NSA Eavesdropping

We now have an investigation into a "real" and "serious" intel leak:

NSA Leak Investigation

Per Fox:

The Justice Department has opened an investigation into the leak of information to the media about a domestic eavesdropping program run by the National Security Agency, senior Justice Department officials confirmed Friday.

The Bush administration has been under attack from insiders within the intelligence community for years who have a higher interest in political points rather than their primary job to protect this country. The Fox story gets it very right with these quotes:

"These politically motivated leaks must stop," Hoekstra, of Michigan, said in a statement.........................

"We've reached a critical mass," Turzanski said. "There's too much damage to our national security capabilities, to critical information and to the war-fighting effort. And that is where this urgency comes in."...........................

It will be interesting to see how strongly American opinion is for strong prosecution of those responsible for leaking the intelligence and those responsible for publishing it, if the facts show that laws were broken. I think the public sentiment will in fact be very much in favor of strong prosecution if laws were broken, and if laws were broken I think we will have prosecution that is long overdue.

A strong majority of Americans (64%) believe that the President has the right, power, and duty to intercept phone calls from suspected terrorist in other countries who make calls to people residing here in the United States.

Leaking classified information that puts our country at risk is a serious offense. The President clearly and effectively outlined the damage done by this leak of classified information and the harm it does:

Bush said on Dec. 17 the NSA program was disclosed after information was "improperly provided to news organizations." "As a result our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk. Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies, [and] endangers our country," Bush said.

The president has also described the leak as "shameful," saying the program's disclosure gives terrorists the upper hand.

Those within the intelligence community with political agendas nor the media are above the law. They are accountable to act within the laws of this land just like every other citizen. Nothing would go further in cleaning-up the intelligence community than the prosecution and conviction of those responsible for leaking information that is illegal, if that is what in fact occurred.............................

It's also time the MSM to stopped acting like they are some fourth branch of government, and start acting like news organizations. The blind hatred of "All Things Bush" and the MSM's sell out pursuit to "Get Bush" are putting our country at risk and that is way over the line.

If plunging subscription rates, plunging advertising revenue, and plunding public confidence polls don't get the MSM's attention that they have a bad and biased product, maybe convictions and jail time for breaking the law will finally be that break through moment.............................

Update:

Flopping Aces has a good round-up on the NSA Leak Investigations here

There are reports that the identity of those who leaked the intel is already known per Red State:

Sorry All, I was on the phone trying to get some dirt on this. So far, the strong RUMOR is that they know who did it and it is more than one person. The investigation is already underway, and reporters WILL be questioned.

Makes me think that although the predictable "Bush is attacking the freedom of press" argument is sure to come from the left and be promoted by the MSM themselves, this time the Intel leak clean-up initiative seems to have a different feel, a committed feel. It seems that the administration might just be ready to take action to fix this problem that is long overdue. Let's hope so...................................

Pack of Angry Chihuahuas Attack Police Officer

A Fremont, CA. police officer was attacked by a pack of angry Chihuahuas:

Angry Attack Chihuahuas

The AP:

A pack of angry Chihuahuas attacked a police officer who was escorting a teenager home following a traffic stop, authorities said. The officer suffered minor injuries including bites to his ankle on Thursday when the five Chihuahuas escaped the 17-year-old boy's home and rushed the officer in the doorway, said Fremont detective Bill Veteran.

Just a guess but the following is probably going to cause this officer to be the butt of many a jokes down at the station:

The officer was treated at a local hospital and returned to work less than two hours later, Veteran said.

A cop getting treatment for ankle bites inflicted by a "pack of angry Chihuahuas" is golden material when it comes to police humor and cop-to-cop ribbing I'd think....................................

Notice how the officers name is not listed in the story. I'm thinking the officer probably asked that it be withheld...............................

Jimmy Carter Rated #10 Worst American All-Time

Captain's Quarters has the top 10 worst Americans up on his site and I particularly agree with #10:

Carter #10 Worst American

(scroll down its about six posts down)

Here is what Captain Ed said about putting Carter @ #10:

I would normally leave off any contemporary political person until they had passed away, as their lives still might provide some kind of merit. However, after a promising beginning of his post-presidential career of building houses for the homeless, Carter has inveigled himself into so many foreign-policy crises and made them exponentially worse that it’s becoming more and more difficult to believe it isn’t done with purpose. His efforts to defuse the North Korean crisis deflected what had been until then a rather effective strategy by Bill Clinton to use a military threat to stop Pyongyang from producing nukes. After Carter jumped into the negotiations uninvited – violating the Logan Act – Carter’s prestige within his party and the US forced Clinton to accept the ridiculous Framework agreement that allowed Pyongyang to go nuclear within months. Carter has done the same with Haiti as well, and has traveled the globe to support many a leftist dictator or autocrat as long as they opposed American interests.

But the real reason Carter winds up here at #10 is because he singlehandedly almost lost the Cold War and allowed the start of the Islamofascist terror war during his single term in office. His naiveté in dealing with the Soviet Union, captured perfectly by kissing the jowled cheek of the Soviet dictator Leonid Brezhnev, led him to believe that worldwide Communism was here to stay and that we could do nothing about it. He also assured Americans that we had nothing to fear from the Soviets, who really weren’t bad guys – right up until they invaded Afghanistan. Even then, his response in boycotting the Olympic Games of 1980 has to remain one of the most embarrassing examples of displayed impotence in our nation’s history.

The winner in that category, however, also belongs to Carter. In November 1979, after pulling his support from the Shah in the highly strategic nation of Iran and watching him fall to an Islamist uprising, the same nutcases sacked our embassy in Teheran, an undeniable act of war. Instead of giving an ultimatum for the return of our embassy and the release of our diplomatic staff, Carter sat for 444 excruciating days, doing little except pleading publicly for mercy. He staged one – one! – military response to the crisis months later, which failed miserably. The failure to act not only allowed the rickety Khomeini government to survive, but gave Islamofascism a tremendous boost of prestige throughout the Middle East. It also allowed Iran to become a center for the funding and direction of terrorist activities for the past three decades, a legacy that has finally engulfed us since 9/11.

Other administrations have made their own mistakes in remaining blind to the threat of Islamist terror, but Carter played midwife to it and enabled it to survive when he had every opportunity and a perfect casus belli to kill it in its cradle.

I have never read a better summary of why Jimmy Carter is without a doubt one of the very worst Presidents America ever had to endure, and we still must endure him today.............Jimmy Carter harmed America more than any other modern day President and continues to currently........................

Meth Users Turning to Identity Fraud

I don't know but I find it a bit hard to believe that people who ingest a drug that rots their teeth out in a matter of months, turns their skin gray and kills them inside a year in many instances, are intelligent enough to commit "identity fraud" to fuel their self destruction:

Meth Heads

Could be but it seems that meth users would have a hard time spelling identity fraud let alone executing it.................................

Blogs = 1 Billion Hits on Google Search

The entry of "blogs" gets 1 Billion hits on Google per KNOX - News Sentinel blogger Michael Silence (hat-tip Instapundit):

Blogs

Silence has the rankings by Google hits:

President Bush: 190 million
Mainstream media: 21.5 million
College football: 60.7 million
NASCAR: 113 million
Pizza: 195 million
The National Football League: 9.23 million
Guns: 126 million
Poker: 195 million

Bigger than Poker and Pizza??????????????????????????

LA Times Cries Wolf

What an embarrassment for the LA Times:

LA Clueless

Per the AP:

A quote in a fake news release that was intended as an April Fool's joke ended up in a front-page story in the Los Angeles Times. The story in Tuesday's editions of the Times noted how successful the reintroduction of wolves had been 10 years ago, but said the predators remained controversial.

"In Wyoming, for example, Gov. Dave Freudenthal last April decreed that the Endangered Species Act is no longer in force and that the state 'now considers the wolf as a federal dog,' unworthy of protection," the story read.

(by the way should it not be "feral dog" not "federal dog"?)

So what leads to the LA Times running on their front page a joke - hoax story? Well take a look at the LA front page story in question:

Wolves

(note the disclosure after the second paragraph: FOR THE RECORD:
Gray wolves —An article in Tuesday's Section A about tensions over the federal effort to reintroduce wolves into parts of the West wrongly attributed to Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal a statement that Wyoming considered the Endangered Species Act no longer in force and "now considers the wolf as a federal dog." The statement, which was circulated on the Internet, was purportedly from Freudenthal but was in fact a hoax.)

Julie Cart appears from her article to be a strong supporter of wolves and that's fine as long as her views are not misrepresented in an informational news story vs. an op-ed piece. However you can see why she jumped on the hoax story so fast and so hard, it allowed her what she thought was a dramatic story source from the Gov. of the state to promote her point of view. What is Cart's point that I get from her article? Well that all people that don't support the wolves being reintroduced are idiots, outlaws and derelict officials. Just check out the people and their statements that she uses along with the false Gov. Fredudenthal quote:

"I'm shocked that human blood hasn't been spilled on this issue," Sundles said in an interview. "I'm surprised there hasn't been a gunfight. I'm surprised that the feds who've done this haven't been hunted down and killed," he said of the reintroduction of the wolves.

"Let me tell you something. We will get rid of these wolves, one way or another," Gillett said, his index finger stabbing the air, during a recent interview in Lakefield, a hamlet east of Boise.

"We are law-abiding citizens. We will try it legally. But I'm not going to live with no elk, no deer, no bighorn sheep and no goats, just because some environmentalist someplace wants to hear a wolf howl. No. You either give up or move over, because we are going to run over you. No compromise. No negotiation. No Canadian wolves in Idaho."

We are law-abiding citizens. We will try it legally. But I'm not going to live with no elk, no deer, no bighorn sheep and no goats, just because some environmentalist someplace wants to hear a wolf howl. No. You either give up or move over, because we are going to run over you. No compromise. No negotiation. No Canadian wolves in Idaho."

By quoting a person charged with illegally attempting to poison wolves and another person who is the chairman of Idaho Anti-Wolf Coalition, Cart certainly appears to have selected pretty extreme examples for those not wanting wolves in the wild. I'm going out on a limb here but I suspect that there are probably lots of very credible people Cart's could have quoted instead that have legitimate issues and concerns with the wolves being re-introduced ( business people, ranchers, parents, etc).

I'm guessing however that she was looking for a stronger framing that people like Sundles & Gillett gave her position, especially given the "wolves treated like a federal dog" false Gov. statement. It would appear to fit all together nicely for Cart's pro-wolf position.

Cart definitely has a very strong environmentalist leaning based on her other offerings listed in a search of the paper. Nothing wrong with that, but this story is a good example of a journalist taking information that fits her agenda and using it to push that agenda to the subscribers. There is no doubt that the sources used were clearly used to produce a favorable view of wolves verse the concerns of residents opposed to the wolves. The sourcing was false as well as tainted to produce favorable views towards the reporters own personal views.........................................................

Update:

Seems that the LA Times has a pretty long history of being very Pro-Wolf:

Howling

They covered a story about a proposal to start hunting wolves in Alaska back in Dec 2003 with the headline "Howls of protest over wolf hunting". Following is the jest of article:

Alaska's new policy of allowing hunters to shoot wolves from the air to cull the population has touched off a very loud reaction by animal rights supporters.

The Darien, Conn.-based Friends of Animals is planning a series of "howl-ins" to protest the policy the weekend after Christmas in New York; San Francisco; Sacramento; Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Lansing, Mich.

Howl-Ins huh................................................

Another article in Feb 2005 about wolves:

Robin Hood Wolves

In this article the Times reports that wolves are a valuable benefactor to over 12 species:

Enter the gray wolf, an unexpected source of grizzly aid. Since 33 wolves were introduced to the park in 1995 — they number 170 today — bears have developed the habit of stealing their kills. John Varley, director of Yellowstone's Center for Resources, the park's science branch, says wolves provide food for at least 12 species, including bears, bald eagles and some beetles.

My gosh wolves seem to be the Robin Hood of the American west animal kingdom...................................

The LA Times really likes wolves and have consistently promoted a favorable argument about reintroducing wolves into the wild. They have been an advocate of the practice and that makes this latest story all the more damaging to their credibility.................................

64% Approve of Intercepting Calls From Foreign Terror Suspects

A strong majority of Americans rightfully from my perspective believe that the US government should be allowed to intercept calls from foreign terrorist suspects to people living in the United States, per Rasmussen:

Rasmussen NSA Poll

Those on the wrong side of the NSA issue, who say the President doesn't have the right and that we should not be intercepting such calls, are in a very bad position politically for very obvious reasons.....................

WaPo Feeling Very Inadequate Compared To Bloggers

WaPo attempted a hatchet job on two of the few people who are reporting what is actually happening in Iraq, by being with the US military. Jonathan Finer and Doug Struck of WaPo attacked blogger - reporter Bill Roggio of Fourth Rail with this article:

WaPo Attack

Finer & Struck make the follow basic assertion:

Headline Tells All: Bloggers, Money Now Weapons in Information War

That Roggio (later lump in Michael Yon) are according to WaPo agents of the US Military's "propaganda initiative":

Roggio's arrival in Iraq comes amid what military commanders and analysts say is an increasingly aggressive battle for control over information about the conflict. Scrutiny of what the Pentagon calls information operations heightened late last month, when news reports revealed that the U.S. military was paying Iraqi journalists and news organizations to publish favorable stories written by soldiers, sometimes without disclosing the military's role in producing them.

The WaPo article is critical of two blogger journalists who are doing what WaPo and most other MSM are not doing, that being getting the real story from the front line. Roggio and Michael Yon have been turning out the best Iraq coverage for months while MSM reporters sit in hotel rooms and cut and paste AP bombing headlines. Marine Captain Jeffery Pool who was quoted by WaPo summed it up well when he praised Yon's work:

"His reporting was objective, credible and compelling. But most of all, it was independent," Pool said. "He didn't have to worry about some editor back in the States altering what he wrote before it got published. Plus, he had no competition from other news sources to churn out a 'marketable' product on a day-to-day basis."

(the exact same can be said of Roggio's coverage)

Spot on, Yon & Roggio are on the front line with the troops the MSM is not. They get to see what is really happening because they are frontline. Yon & Roggio don't have a political bias or editors with political biases that only want to report AP IED headlines. Yon & Roggio are reporting the whole story, the real story.

Yon & Roggio have provided more real reporting on Iraq in one post than hotel & Washington observers like Finer & Struck have in all their offerings. Yon & Roggio are not MSM reporters like Finer & Struck, rather they are bloggers that do something reporters are not doing in Iraq: telling the whole story - reporting the whole story.....................

Decide for yourself and read both blogs and then compare it to the product being produced by Finer, Struck, & WaPo.........................

Update:

Bill Roggio has responded to the WaPo hatchet attempt ( at his ThreatWatch site ):

There are three problems with this article which require a response: the use of incorrect facts which could have been easily checked; the portrayal of my embed as an information operation; and equating U.S. military information operations with al-Qaeda propaganda efforts.

Read the entire post is proves just how out of touch the WaPo gang is and why they don't want people like Roggio in Iraq covering the whole story that they refuse to cover....................................

I can already see WaPo using the old CBS 60 Minutes "Fake But Accurate" claim when they attempt to defend that they reported incorrectly that Roggio got his credentials via the American Enterprise Institute when he in fact got his credentials via the Weekly Standard. The other misrepresentations are going to be much harder to explain and essentially can't be defended such as this from Roggio:

I questioned Captain Pool about journalists being invited to embed with the military. He assured me that journalists have been invited to embed prior to operations, and

Mr. Finer himself was invited at one point in time, which he declined.

My invitation to embed with the Marines was neither unique nor special under these circumstances.

(you can not really report it if you report from a hotel or Washington Mr. Finer)

My God man, who has time for facts when you have an agenda to spread and attacks to launch against those doing the job you should be doing however you are not willing to go there and report the whole story...................

Red Cross Fraud Discovered in Katrina Aid

The Red Cross has gone from being inefficient to being an outright fraud:

Red Cross Fraud

Per Jacqueline L. Salmon of WaPo:

Nearly 50 people have been indicted in connection with a scheme that bilked hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Red Cross program to put cash into the hands of Hurricane Katrina victims, according to federal authorities.

Seventeen of the accused worked at the Red Cross claim center in Bakersfield, Calif., which handled calls from storm victims across the country and authorized cash payments to them. The others were the workers' relatives and friends, prosecutors said last week.

Red Cross realized that they were being a partner in the fraud when claims were coming from people in Bakersfield, CA which is the same location of the call center and had a very low number of hurricane victims:

The scam came to light when Red Cross officials noticed that a suspiciously high number of people were picking up Red Cross money at Western Union outlets near the Bakersfield center, even though few evacuees were in the area.

I apologize for offering up the Red Cross during Katrina Aid via the blogger fund raising drive. I thought that they would be the best organization to gather donations and quickly and efficiently distribute it to those in need in such a desperate circumstance. I was very wrong and would not recommend that you donate to the Red Cross "ever again". The 911 disasters of the Red Cross have been repeated in the Katrina relief efforts. I did not think that was possible, and shame on me.

Pathetic and unforgivable.........................Time to dissolve the Red Cross and replace it................................

Huge Christmas Spending Reported

News so complete and overwhelming that even the MSM can no longer paint it pale or not robust. Per Reuters:

U.S. consumers spent 8.7 percent more during the just ended holiday shopping period than in the comparable period a year ago, according to a report from an affiliate of MasterCard Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Monday.

The economic rebound has been going strong for months. It is however "overwhelming" data like this that completely takes the economy out of the liberal nay sayers list of false issues....................................

The economy is strong and getting even stronger as we head for the 2006 mid-term elections, and that will be very good news for President Bush & Republican politicians..............

Update:

Amazon announces "best Christmas season ever":

Record Amazon Season

Per Amazon:

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) today announced that the 2005 holiday season finished as its best ever, with the company's Holiday Delight-O-Meter surpassing 108 million items ordered for the first time. The 2005 holiday season also brought another single-day record with the Delight-O-Meter tracking more than 3.6 million items ordered, or 41 items per second, on Dec. 12th.

The market should be heading way up....................................

Dead People Very Active in Metro St. Louis Politics

Per the Post Dispatch, "dead people" continue to be VERY politically active in Metro St. Louis politics:

Dead Voters

St. Louis election officials have discovered a fresh batch of "signatures" belonging to dead voters in the already suspect push to recall an alderman in the 22nd Ward..................

A fresh batch of "dead voters" is not a good trend....................................

This is nothing new to metro St. Louis politics, it has actually become the standard, both on the dead voter and recall front. Take a look at this Riverfront Times article to see just how sleazy and illegal the Democrat machine that rules the city has become:

River Front Times

(Caution: after reading you will have a strong urge for a hot shower with lots of soap...............................)

The specifics of the current Alderman Jeffery Boyd recall is that his opponents turned in 2,700 signatures in support of recalling him last month. Half of the names were thrown out because some names submitted had been deceased for up to six years. The group turned in another group of 1,000 names supporting the recall on 12/2. Election officials found that the replacement round had even more "forgeries" and "dead people".........................................

The most puzzling thing for me is why no criminal action has been pursued. Its not like they don't have worthy candidates. According to the Post:

One of the most prolific signature gatherers in the 22nd Ward petition is Linda D. Rogers. It was Rogers who swore to the authenticity of a signature of a former postal worker who has been dead since 1999.

Rogers is one of several workers in the 22nd Ward getting paid for each signature collected. She also appears to be a felon: Court records show that a Linda Rogers of the same home address was sentenced to probation for stealing 37 DVDs from a Sam's Club in 2001. Her probation was revoked when she tested positive for using cocaine.

Anyone else see an issue with a felon collecting recall signatures and getting paid on a volume basis?

There is no report of any charges being filed against Ms Rogers or anyone else, and I'm wondering if I'm the only person asking the question why? Maybe it's because the people within the St. Louis democrat political machine think it is normal or maybe they are terrified to leave it or take a stand to expose it. I get that feeling after reading this statement from Melinda Long who was recalled by such a petition:

Soon, Martin said, the Election Board will convene a set of public hearings to discuss the impact of recall elections on the city. While Martin stopped short of calling the events in the 22nd Ward a crime, he said it clearly "rises to the level of fraud." "The next challenge is that we prosecute somebody and get somebody held accountable," Martin said.

Hello, I think its way past time to start prosecution and holding a whole metro political machine accountable for dead people voting and dead people signing recall petitions. Newsflash, dead people have no legitimate role in elections, never, no matter what the DNC & MoveOn advocate and fund.............

The Diebold Conspiracy Nuts might want to focus on the basics of election validity in St. Louis if they are really interested in valid elections. That starts with making sure dead people don't vote and that only legitimate voters do. Once that fundamental issue is corrected then they can go off chasing their Don Quixote windmills with a Karl Rove face.............................

Until this dead voter fraud is cleaned-up, no election results from metro St. Louis will have validity or standing, with or without Diebold machines.....................

Illinois Abortion Rates Lowest in 30 Years

Via Kathryn Jean Lopez of NRO, abortions hit a 30 year low in Illinois in 2004:

Illinois Abortions

Per the Chicago Sun-Times:

The number of women and girls obtaining abortions hit a 30-year low in 2004, but the two sides of the politically charged issue don't agree on an explanation for the decline...........................Newly released data compiled by the Illinois Department of Public Health show that 41,577 women and girls had abortions, which is down by 2 percent from 2003. Slightly more than half of that total, 21,786, were in Cook County.

I don't know but regardless of your standing on abortion, the fact that fewer woman are having abortions which they have the legal right to do, has to be good news, right? Well even with universal good news on an issue as divisive as abortion, there is plenty of room for politics:

Pro-Life

I'd say the numbers here bear out that the pro-life movement is showing it's having an effect on people's decision what to do with the life of their unborn child," said Robert Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois. "I think this is very good news."

Pro-Choice

Pam Sutherland, president of the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council, said the trend in Illinois is largely traceable to wider use of so-called morning-after pills that give women the ability to avert unwanted pregnancies without resorting to an abortion.

Graz to Rename Stadium Tookie Williams Stadium?

Per the NYT, the town of Graz, Austria, has decided to remove native son Arnold Schwarzenegger's name from the stadium:

Stadium Naming

The reason for the removal of the naming honor, well Schwarzenegger did not pardon Crips gang founder Tookie Williams from his court ordered execution:

"I submitted a petition to the City Council to remove his name from the stadium, and to take away his status as an honorary citizen," Sigrid Binder, the leader of the Green Party, said in a recent interview. "The petition was accepted by a majority on the council."

"We are against the death penalty not only in word, but really against the death penalty," said Wolfgang Benedek, a professor of international law at Graz University. He said the council's reaction reflected the special circumstances surrounding Mr. Williams: a man who had written a children's book aimed at steering young people away from violence, had already spent many years in jail, and seemed, to Europeans at least, to have reformed himself.

I guess in Austria, if convicted murders who were sentenced to death for the lives they took, write a children's book, they are entitled to have their sentenced halted. No word whether Graz will rename the stadium the Stanley "Tookie" Williams Stadium.....................................

Don't laugh, a similar idea has already been floated:

The new name is now simply Stadion Graz-Liebenau (a district of Graz), though there were other proposals. One was to name the stadium after the Crips, the gang that Mr. Williams founded, but that idea did not get widespread support....................

As nutty as Sigrid Binder, Wofgang Benedek and the city of Graz sound, I would not be surprised one bit if there will not be an official petition filed soon to do just that..............

TWU Stike a Civil Rights Struggle?

The recent TWU (Transport Workers Union) strike in NY has the union claiming that their cause is not a "union - labor matter" rather it is per the union, a "civil rights struggle":

AP


Per the AP, here are a few of the justifications of why TWU's grievances are now civil rights matters:

Per TWU President Roger Toussaint: "There is a higher calling than the law and that's justice and equality. Had Rosa Parks answered the call of the law instead of the higher call of justice, many of us who are driving buses today would still be in the back of the bus,"

The Rev. Herb Daughtry, a longtime activist and influential black leader, said Bloomberg, Gov. George Pataki and Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials were in danger of being likened to "Bull" Connor, the segregationist police chief in Birmingham, Ala., who used fire hoses and dogs against civil rights marchers.

The Rev. Al Sharpton also weighed in with a civil rights struggle reference: "Martin Luther King Jr. was in Memphis to violate and defy a court injunction against a union strike when he was assassinated ... Would you call him a thug?"

Gary Chaison, a professor of labor relations, appears to think it's a good link to put the TWU strike out as a civil rights based matter:

"In organizing itself I see a tremendous increase in the reinventing of the labor movement as the heir of the civil rights movement," said Gary Chaison, professor of labor relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. "I think it's the recasting of the labor movement in a way that I haven't seen in many years."

"Unions have got to find a language that justifies the actions that they are taking, they're going to have to use the language of civil rights," said Robert Korstad, associate professor of public policy studies and history at Duke University. "They have to make that connection that they're fighting for the same things."

"They see the labor movement as essentially that - a movement - a civil rights movement," he said. "They think this resonates with minorities and immigrants because it focuses on giving them a voice."

I don't think that a large majority of Americans will see "any" union strike in current day America as a civil rights matter, and I think such attempts to link it as such will further damage their standing and objectives.

Especially when parallels like Bull Conner, Rosa Park, and Martin Luther King Jr. are used as examples in the argument........................

Hurricane Clean-Up: Private Efforts Much More Efficent Than Federal

Here is a shocker via the NYT. Hurricane clean-up recovery is being done much more effectively and cheaper by private companies as opposed to the Federal government:

Katrina Clean-Up

Now how can anyone really be surprised that government organizations are not performing as well as private organizations in this matter or most others when going head to head?

MSM Newspaper Stocks Tank Big in 2005

The "bell weather" indicator that reflects the validity and value of the product a company sells, does not ring up as a positive trend for the MSM in 2005.

Generation Why has a post up with graphs showing the tanking stock values of the NYT, Gannett, Dow Jones & Co, and I mean they are tanking hard (hat-tip) Michelle Malkin

Generation Why

In 2005, the NYT lost 37% of its value ( high of $40.94 to a low this month of $26.14 ) NYT

WaPo dropped in 2005 from a high of $999.50 to a low this month of $716.00 ( a 28% annual drop in value ) although it is slightly up at $770.50 today ( 27% decrease ) WaPo

In fact through 12/2/05, the S&P Publishing Index was down 14.3% vs the overall S&P Index being up 4.4%. That a very nasty lag, and can anyone associated with a newspaper company not understand that the market is screaming at them that their product is "TERRIBLE" and has to "CHANGE".........................

Business Week has an article that forecasts a possible acquisition boom in 2006 of battered newspaper companies. Trends

The STL hometown paper now owned by Lee Publishing did worse than the national average of -14.3%. Lee's stock price dropped 20% from a high of $46.48 to $37.19 today. I think Lee has taken some good steps with the St. Louis Post Dispatch and there are signs that it is moving from an extreme liberal publication to a more balanced paper. It has a long way to go, but there is evidence that positive changes are occurring.

Bottom line on newspaper companies is this: When your product is bad, then it does not sell and your market share drops. Lower sales mean deceased revenue and decreased profit. Lower profit means that your stock price drops and people don't want to own stock in the company. All these things are true of most MSM newspaper companies, and the reason is that they are liberally biased and produce a product that reflects their liberal bias. Until and unless they balance their coverage sales revenue, profit and stock prices will continue to fall.

Its not so much that the New Media is some magical new delivery model. It's more so that in the New Media you don't have to get your news coverage with the same liberal biased filters. The MSM once had a monopoly but that is not the case any longer. Faced with competition that does not have a liberal bias in it's product, the MSM is losing badly. If the MSM does not rid itself of it's liberal bias the negative trends will continue...................................

NSA Is OK With Rational Americans

From WaPo:

WaPo Tales

Bottom line:

Do you want to intercept real time Intel that will prevent another 911 as the Bush adm had done, or do you want to have precious minutes, hours, and even days lost while we get court ordered authority while those delays cause risk to our populous?

If you opt for delays then you quality for mental counseling and treatment. Aside from that, the President has authority to do exactly what he has done and will continue to do.

I love how this is all shaping up from a "political perspective"....................................Dems=put Americans @ risk - Reps=No Way...............

Stem Cell Fraud

The "Stem Cell Theory" takes a "HUGE" hit on the credibility factor:

Fake Stem Cell Science

Per myway:

South Korean researcher Hwang Woo-suk faked results of at least nine of 11 stem-cell lines he claimed to have created, a deliberate deception that has undermined the credibility of science, his university said Friday.

Is the "Stem Cell Theory" voodoo science - theory? Time to start over from square one and seriously ask that question...........................

Rapper Notorious BIG Inspires Killings Even After Death

Even in death, it appears that rappers have the power to incite and promote real world violence that their rhymes also promote:

Death Rappers

Per Pajama Media:

Three men were stabbed and three were shot during the New York release party for slain rapper Notorious B.I.G.'s CD, "Duets: The Final Chapter"...................

The stabbings happened early Wednesday in the VIP room of the nightclub Exit while the shootings occurred in a parking garage across the street, the New York Post reported Thursday..................................

Sounds like the Super Bowl lead-up activities in Atlanta a few years ago to me.

When you sing - rhyme about killing people, don't be surprised if that is exactly what occurs when people gather to hear your music......................

Not real uplifting or beneficial to the human society.......................................

NSA End Analysis

The best coverage on the NSA program comes to us via John Hinderaker of Powerline:

NSA Via Powerline

Bottom line, its not only legal and within precedent but also required by any sitting President.

Not Exactly an Osama bin Laden "Muslim" Lady

Here is a link to photos and a story about bin Laden's niece who is practicing anything put "strict Muslim law":

Niece

As the Sydney Morning Herald states: She's not the model niece that OBL is looking for........................

Well good for her...........................................

Tony Dungy's Son Found Dead - Apparent Suicide

A terrible tragedy for someone who appears to me to be one of the very finest people in the professional sports business:

Tragedy

Tony Dungy, is a top rate person and coach that is one of the true role models in a business that has it's share of zeros.

It would be a shame for anyone to suffer such a loss, but it seems even worse when it directly affects someone like coach Dungy........................

Prays for him and his family in their hour of need............

True Flight From Hell

For those of you who think you have had a really bad flight, this will give you some perspective about what is in fact a really bad flight:

Flight From Hell

Let me get this straight:

- the plane almost crashes on take-off then makes an emergency landing because of a blown tire.

- most of the people come back the "NEXT DAY" and due to "ENGINE TROUBLES" they were trapped for five hours without air and with the beverages "LOCKED DOWN".

Got news for you, I would not have been back the second day, and if I somehow did return, I can guarantee you it would not have taken five hours before I got off that plane......

Patriot Act Passes - Via Dem Compromise

Sounds like Americans will continue to be protected for the coming 6 months via this Senate agreement on the Patriot Act:

news

Sounds reasonable to me, although the MSM is calling it a victory for the lefties:

The extension gives critics — who successfully filibustered a House-Senate compromise that would have made most of the law permanent — more time to seek civil liberty safeguards in the law. Democrats and their allies had originally asked for a three-month extension, and the Senate's Republican majority had offered a one-year extension. The final deal split the difference...................

The liberal party is going to be taken apart for their "obstruction" on the protect us first responsibility in 2006 via their agenda...............................

Bush Signs Lobbyist Reform Bill

This sounds like a good development that would be wonderful if it turned into a nation-wide trend:

Florida Lobbyists Law

In Florida, Governor Bush has signed legislation that clamps down on lobbyists who intend to "buy" the votes of lawmakers instead of proving that their interest is best for the lawmakers constituents based on merit:

Gov. Jeb Bush signed a law Tuesday banning lobbyists from plying lawmakers and officials with food, wine and gifts.........................

The law, which would apply to state officials and employees who are required to file financial disclosures, was passed during a special legislative session earlier this month and takes effect New Year's Day.

Governor Bush stated:

"the new law moves Florida from the middle nationally to "the front of the pack in terms of sending a signal on integrity."

Legislators at all levels should be able to hear the pitch of all people including lobbyists, however, receiving luxurious gifts and trips to hear such pitches is not the best vehicle for such discussions, for obvious reasons. Lets hope this does become a trend because it is much overdue.........................

Molly Ivins - Comic Book Coverage Quality on Iraq

Like so many within the MSM, Molly Ivins writes complete "fiction" on the matters and status of Iraq. So much so that her column would be more accurately placed in the comic section:

Comic Book Molly

The defeatist agenda of people like Ivins is actually not very comical nor healthy. Ivins and people like her that write "pure agenda fantasy" permeate the news coverage of the MSM. A sad breed that are forever obsessed by the "unhealthy" ghost of the counter culture, and the defeatist mindset that defines all that are possessed by that ghost........................

Thankfully all cycles do come to and end, and some endings are more important to the health of a nation than others.......................

Terrorist 10th Suicide Attempt Is Not The Charm

I'm no security or terrorism expert but does it not seem that letting this guy do himself in, makes sense, and would be a net gain:

10th Attempt

I love the hippie drum circle lawyers explanation of what motivated his terrorist client to attempt suicide for the "10th" attempt:

Al-Dossary said in a meeting with Colangelo-Bryan before Monday's suicide attempt that, "he wanted to kill himself so that he could send a message to the world that conditions at Guantanamo are intolerable," according to declassified notes from their conversation, which the lawyer also released on Saturday.

I doubt that a rational person would be a terrorist, and doubt that they would attempt to kill themselves ten times. However, when you have been denied your first irrational objective (terrorism against innocent people) I guess all you have left is terrorism against yourself....................

By the way, don't you think that Colangelo-Bryan should have made the US aware that his client was about to kill himself, again? Well maybe not, since I get the impression that this was a consistent portion of the hippie drum circle lawyer's conversation with the terrorist, every time the met.

Bush Should Go Public With Details on NYT Story

I think if I were the Bush administration, I'd make the details of this matter public , even if it made the investigations in question even colder. Reason being this: If the NYT in fact published a story that had a hugely negative impact on our battle against terrorism and has put American citizens at risk, we should know. Then we would have a concrete example that either puts one "pro" for the Patriot Act or "against".

I can't think of a better example to put this issue center stage. Does the "anti-war" bias of the MSM on Iraq, help or hurt America and does it make us a better democracy or unnecessarily put fellow Americans at risk? If it does, then should the MSM be accountable for the damage they are have done?


For all my issues with the MSM, I firmly believe that a "Free Press" is the most important element of a true and successful democracy. That said, I think that because of the overwhelming liberal bias of most of the MSM, they do a really marginal job of upholding their end of the bargain. Let's hope that the NYT has not hindered the efforts to elimination a threat that will could kill Americans.........

Talent & Feinstein Add Meth Provision To Patriot Act

The Patriot Act has an "add-on" provision intended to help in the combat of methamphetamines, and one of the sponsors is Missouri Senator Jim Talent:

Meth Act

Per the Washington Times:

A conference report by Senate and House negotiators to extend for four years provisions of the USA Patriot Act includes a comprehensive anti-methamphetamine package restricting the sale of products containing ingredients needed to cook the drug and providing new tools to police and prosecutors to combat dealers.

Talent has a strange partner in this provision and its Dianne Feinstein Dem. California:

Mrs. Feinstein said the legislation "strikes a blow" against an ongoing meth epidemic. "The heart of this legislation is a strong standard for keeping pseudoephedrine products out of the hands of meth cooks," she said. "There were some who wanted to water down this legislation, but Senator Talent and I stood firm."

The fact that Feinstein and Talent can be partners on a provision to the Patriot Act is a strange thing indeed to me. Makes me wonder if the this whole Washington political party thing is not in fact just cover.............................................................It's moments like this that I could be nudged into becoming "more" of a libertarian........

How will Talent's move play out here in Missouri? I guess "very" strongly given the horrible damage that meth is doing in so many of the counties in the state. Missouri is regarded as one of the Meth capitals and its a very horrible drug that kills people in a matter of months. That said I think others will have issues with the inclusion of math law enforcement powers in a controversial and powerful act, given it has nothing to do with terrorism. In fact Instapundit has just such issues:

Instapundit

I agree with Glenn.............Although I think Meth is a huge issue and we need to put resources in place to address it, it's not terrorism and the Patriot Act is suppose to be about terrorism 100%.

I don't think Talent will have political fall out over the meth add-on to the Patriot Act in Missouri, rather I think it will be a win for him come election day. If I'm wrong he can have Dianne come in and support him. I can tell you if that happens, I'm definitely declaring myself a libertarian....................................

Good News Poll on Iraq Via ABC

The ABC poll on Iraq that came out today has some very good info. ABC wrapped the coverage in some strange lead statements when such good info is provided, however when you have an agenda that's what you do:

ABC Poll

Surprising levels of optimism prevail in Iraq with living conditions improved, security more a national worry than a local one, and expectations for the future high. But views of the country's situation overall are far less positive, and there are vast differences in views among Iraqi groups — a study in contrasts between increasingly disaffected Sunni areas and vastly more positive Shiite and Kurdish provinces.

Surprising? Well if ABC and the MSM covered the good news from Iraq instead of only the road side bombs and deaths, and got out and did real reporting like Michael Yon, maybe they would not have been "surprised"..........................

Disaffected Sunni areas? Well yes I image there is disaffected Sunni's given they have been a brutal minority ruling with terror for years. That's sort of the whole insurgency factor don't you think? So 26% want the US to leave now, and 19% want the US to leave after the elections this month, and that should not be a surprise. Regardless of the positive future that a "huge" majority (69%) of Iraqis believe is developing in their country, I think its normal and reasonable for a country to want to get on with the re-development of their country with as little foreign involvement as possible. That said 31% want the coalition to stay until the country stabilizes and 16% until the country can operate independently. The bottom line is that only 26% wanted us to leave yesterday 45% want the US to leave back then or after the election - 47% want us to stay until the country is stable.

The other interesting thing is that 71% say their lives are going well, but 52% are saying the country is doing badly. The violence is isolated to certain hot zones but a majority of the country is stable. If the violence was more wide spread I wonder how those points might change. Sort of things are good here, so I am good with speeding up the coalition leaving. Its good that things are going well for so many that they think the coalition can leave soon, but it might be a bit optimistic on their part because they don't face the same issues and dangers that a minority of their country men face.

I bet if you polled the Japanese or Germans after WWII there would have been a desire for the US and the coalition to leave sooner than later. That said, I will also bet as they saw things changing and as democracy began to take hold, they had the same optimism for the future that we see today from the Iraqis. No one desires to be occupied, but the end benefits of what is going on currently to pave the way for democracy in Iraq appears pretty clear to me in this latest polling.

The Opinionated Bastard has posted a good visual presentation of the polling that clearly shows that things are in fact going well in Iraq:

ABC Good News Poll on Iraq

Good News on Iraq via XDA Blog

More good news from Iraq that the MSM is not "featuring" but they are reporting on page #35 in this case and bloggers are putting it out:

XDA

Money quotes per XDA:

In a move unthinkable in the bloody run-up to the last election, guerrillas in the western insurgent heartland of Anbar province say they are even prepared to protect voting stations from fighters loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.

But Saddam loyalists have turned against Zarqawi, a Jordanian militant whose fighters travel to Iraq from across the Arab world to blow themselves up in a bid to spark sectarian civil war. "Zarqawi is an American, Israeli and Iranian agent who is trying to keep our country unstable so that the Sunnis will keep facing occupation," said a Baathist insurgent leader who would give his name only as Abu Abdullah

XDA states that the Zarqawi American agent piece is a bit moonbat like but the general shift is what matters......................

I agree they are money quotes and "Good" news indeed...........................

WCCO-TV Goes With Their Story on Fair Not True Story

Not a very interesting story in it's self, however another clear example of how the MSM writes, publishes, and presents "their" news, not the "true" news:

Reporters Story

It's the norm not the exception unfortunately, but that is the case of today's MSM. Agenda based product, from a single reporter to the entire organization it's very prevalent.............

Israel Preparing to Take Care of Iranian Nuke Problem

I don't think that this would be the best solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis, but I would not be surprised if the Israeli's end up needing to take care of this problem themselves:

Times

The UN and the EU have not been able to get the Iranian's to abandon their nuclear weapons ambitions. The clock is running and if they do not accelerate their efforts into verifiable results, get ready for Israel to handle this matter in a repeat of the Osirak measures taken in Iraq.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has publically said that the Holocaust did not occur and has suggested that Israel should be relocated to Europe. There is no doubt that he would use a nuke against Israel if he had one. The fall-out politically will be huge if Israel takes care of the Iranian nuke problem, but it's looking like there may be no alternative.

Sharon's statement might be partially a measure to put pressure on the UN & EU to get things done. I however do not doubt that it is also a public line in the sand to put everyone on notice that Israel will take action if they have to. Sharon's statement makes that clear to me:

“Israel — and not only Israel — cannot accept a nuclear Iran,” Sharon warned recently. “We have the ability to deal with this and we’re making all the necessary preparations to be ready for such a situation.”

Also why I think we are deep into the planning stage and not public rhetoric stage is this statement by Aharon Zeevi Farkash, the Israeli military intelligence chief:

............he warned Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, that “if by the end of March the international community is unable to refer the Iranian issue to the United Nations security council, then we can say the international effort has run its course”.

I agree............

I have no doubt that they will be ready, and they probably are already 100% ready.........................................

Eric The Mink Says Gun Powder = Chemical Assault By US

Ahhhh, Eric the Mink has a new Op-Ed piece up and its one of his worst which is saying a lot:

The Mink

What is the mink upset about? Well the American military firing "white phosphorus", to illuminate the enemy, to mask American troop movement, and to provide psychological impact. Like me I'm sure your asking what's the problem with that? Well nothing if you want the US to win in Iraq. It's gun powder not chemical weapons.

However if you want the US to lose and hate Bush and the US military like the Mink, then you have issues with the use of gun powder during a war. The Mink talks up the horrible use of white phosphorus:

Indeed. White phosphorus, as described in the incendiary weapons section of the authoritative globalsecurity.org Web site, ignites spontaneously on contact with air. That chemical reaction generates an intense heat and "painful chemical injuries." Once particles get into a person's skin, they rapidly penetrate and dissolve fatty tissues; hence the melting effect. "These weapons are particularly nasty," according to the Web site, "because white phosphorus continues to burn until it disappears."

The Mink goes on in his insane rant and tries to accuse the US military of using chemical weapons in Iraq with the framing of his article, no he really does here:

Is white phosphorus a chemical weapon? Depends on your interpretation of "toxic properties" as defined in the international Chemical Weapons Convention. But didn't the U.S. call it a chemical weapon when we heard Saddam used it on the Kurds in 1991? So what? Is it an incendiary weapon? Not if it's used for smoke and illumination. But the U.S. used it as an incendiary. Did we? The Pentagon finally admitted it did in Fallujah. And Protocol III on incendiary weapons of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons prohibits its use in a "concentration of civilians." The U.S. never ratified Protocol III.

This dithering over definitions is sick and demeaning. Does the United States really need to mount a defense based

on sleazy parsing of words, phrases and technicalities?

How sad the Mink is. Well actually sad, lame and desperate I'd say...........................A defeatist of the first order who is so far out of touch with the American Mainstream that he could be Howard Dean's replacement if Krugman turns the job down...............................................

Does the Mink really get paid to write this schizophrenic crap?

Update:

I went and checked out the Mink's source for White Phosphorus (WP) @ globalsecurity

Here is what they said on the same site that unbelievably the Mink used as a source, well used selectively:

White Phosphorus (WP), known as Willy Pete, is used for signaling, screening, and incendiary purposes. White Phosphorus can be used to destroy the enemy's equipment or to limit his vision. It is used against vehicles, petroleum, oils and lubricants (POL) and ammunition storage areas, and enemy observers ( Op-Ed by me: sounds like exactly what we used it for huh?). WP can be used as an aid in target location and navigation. It is usually dispersed by explosive munitions. It can be fired with fuze time to obtain an airburst. White phosphorus was used most often during World War II in military formulations for smoke screens, marker shells, incendiaries, hand grenades, smoke markers, colored flares, and tracer bullets.

The site gets right to the point that the Mink misrepresented terribly in his article that presented false and agenda driven news:

White phosphorus is not banned by any treaty to which the United States is a signatory. Smokes and obscurants comprise a category of materials that are not used militarily as direct chemical agents. The United States retains its ability to employ incendiaries to hold high-priority military targets at risk in a manner consistent with the principle of proportionality that governs the use of all weapons under existing law. The use of white phosphorus or fuel air explosives are not prohibited or restricted by Protocol II of the Certain Conventional Weapons Convention (CCWC), the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects.

Folks, the Mink appears to be lying to you and publishing articles that are false by intent based on his own source and what he quoted from the source and what he did not quote. The Mink should go if you have an interest in real journalism and factual based Op-Ed reporting. The Post number to call if you have an opinion on this journalistic miscarriage is (314) 340-8000.

Fellow Travelers Successfully Protect Cockpit Again

Another reason why the terrorists will not have a successful repeat of the 911 attacks using commercial airplanes:

Not On This Plane

Per the Honolulu Advertiser:

About 10 minutes before Flight 91 was preparing to touch down last night in Honolulu, the unidentified 37-year-old Mexican national burst toward the cockpit of the plane and was subdued by four people in the business-class section..............

Although this does not appear to be related to terrorism, it still shows the reaction that people wanting to use a plane as a weapon will face. Never again I say without one hell of an effort from the traveling public to prevent it.......................................

WaPo Carrying Water Against Voter ID Requirments

How can requiring a photo id to prove you are who you say you are to vote, be discriminatory? WaPo is carrying the water for the "career staff attorneys" of the Justice Department (code for extremely liberal political activists within the system):

ID Requirement To Vote

I'm asked to present an id before voting in Missouri, so why can't other states do the same? With the degree of voter fraud currently a valid photo id should be a national requirement to vote.

Poor content from Dan Eggen with a sad tilt without lots of relevant facts and questions being asked that should be asked and brought to light......................

Iranian President Wants Israel Moved To Europe

Per Reuters

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated earlier this week from the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia that:

"Some European countries insist on saying that Hitler killed millions of innocent Jews in furnaces. Although we don't accept this claim, if we suppose it is true, our question for the Europeans is: is the killing of innocent Jewish people by Hitler the reason for their support to the occupiers of Jerusalem?" he said.

"If the Europeans are honest they should give some of their provinces in Europe -- like in Germany, Austria or other countries -- to the Zionists and the Zionists can establish their state in Europe."

If he really believes that and its clear he does believe it, does anyone else not believe that if Ahmadinejad had a nuke that he would not use it in an attempt to destroy Israel?

Bush Wins Heisman By Huge Margin

Congratulations to Reggie Bush of USC for winning this years Heisman Trophy:

Heisman

Bush won the award with 2,541 votes compared to 1,608 votes for the runner-up Vince Young of Texas. Bush's teammate and last years Heisman winner Matt Leinart was third. It was not even close nor should have it been. Reggie Bush had a dominate year and it was obvious that he was head & shoulders above his peers.

I think that Leinart & Bush both winning the award as teammates is a great story, a true team story, and tells you just how far back USC has brought their program. When they play together in the Rose Bowl, Bush & Leinart will be the first teammates to play together in a college game where both have won the Heisman. That's pretty impressive............................................

Bush got 784 first place votes second only to OJ Simpson's 855 in 1968. That's how dominate Bush was this year and how absolute the voting for the award was.

I think Bush will be a very special player in the NFL next year, even with a terrible team like Houston or San Francisco. He has probably the most complete gift of speed, balance and moves than any other running back who has come along in a very long time. I'm talking 30 years here and think the Gale Sayers comparisons are not off the mark. He should be a very special professional running back, just like he has been a very special college running back..........................................

Dean Says We Can't Win - Kerry Says America Doing The Terrorizing

Seems that the dems and the DNC are not so happy with being held accountable for their latest defeatist statements of record on Iraq:

Dem White Flag Message

Per Drudge:

The DRUDGE REPORT has learned from a top GOP operative that the Republican National Committee will provide state parties with a web video prior to release tomorrow afternoon that shows a white flag waving over images of Democrat leaders making anti-war remarks.................

A Democratic strategist who had the web ad described to her said, “This is way over the top but we have no one to blame but Dean, Kerry and others who continue to pander to the anti-war activists within our party.”

Well yes, the strategist is exactly correct on the "we have no one to blame but Dean, Kerry, Murtha, Pelosi and others". Notice that those in the moonbat division happen to be the leadership of the party? Tells you that the whole party aside from Lieberman are way out of touch with the American people and are the party of "anti-war activists".....................................

Drudge has the video feed and it's a very good "accountability" moment for the dems and it shows it like they said it. As Chris Mathews loves to say, "lets go to the tape".

The dems reluctantly voted for action against Iraq because the American people demanded it post 911 because of the intelligence of the day. When the intelligence missed its mark in some Iraq areas, they thought they had an opportunity to gain politically by calling for a defeatist pull-out. The true wacko element is controlling the dems right now and the proof is the statements they are making publicly on Iraq.

John Kerry sounded like a man who was transported via a time machine back to the early seventies and his Winter Soldier days when he said this last week on Face The Nation:

"There is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children..."

My God, the dems think that this is a war we can not win, and are not only not supporting our troops during a time of war but are once again attacking them and calling them terrorists. The democrats are a party in complete disarray and without a thread of leadership qualities and a complete embarrassment to our country......................................

Gerhard Schroeder Cashing In On Big Oil

Here is a story about a national leader cashing in their political clout and political connections for huge profits in the oil business. No it's not Dick Cheney or President Bush, although the extreme left political wing and press organizations have been on that tangent for years, with no proof and no story. It is actually, President Bush's most vocal critic, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder:

Schroeder Cashing In

Per the BBC:

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has been sharply criticized for taking a top job in a Russian-led consortium building a gas pipeline. Mr. Schroeder - who as chancellor negotiated the deal - will head the shareholders' committee, a position roughly comparable to board chairman.

Well, lets see, he negotiated the deal and now he is heading the committee...................no conflict of interest there............................

Makes one wonder if Schroeder was not all that upset about loosing his job a few months ago. His new post is going to pay "Mega Bucks" that will make the Iraq money from Sadam look thin. It will be interesting to see how the MSM covers this story given Schroeder's hero status with them because of his criticism of the Iraq war......................................

This story proves that the "oil conspiracy" folks in the MSM were right about a political leader cashing in, however they got the wrong continents and the wrong leaders, obliviously.............................

Terminator & Tookie's Fate

Per NBC4.TV LA, look for a riot in LA if gang member killer and Crips organizer "Tookie" Williams does not get clemency from Gov. Arnold Schwazenegger and the punishment the jury and judge handed down is given:

Tookie

I don't know if I have ever seen a more "lame" defense that had no standing in my entire life than the "Tookie" has changed and is now a powerful anti-gang asset..............................He is a Crips organizer and murderer, period. You can not re-write that after the fact from a cell.................

It's time for "Tookie" to do his sentence in "full"....................................

Lieberman is Looking Very Moderate Republican Today

Lieberman is sounding like a Republican these days and that is "really" defining the troubles of a John Murtha & Howard "the duck" Dean's defeatist Democrat party, and man do they have a "HUGE" problem.............................

Murtha is the House Rep who the DNC advertised as their "hawk" who then called for immediate withdraw and tuck our tail in defeat in Iraq. The problem for the Dems is that the "true" hawk of the party said "NO WAY":

Lieberman has argued that Bush has a strategy for victory in Iraq, has dismissed calls for the president to set a timetable for troop withdrawal, and has warned that it would be a "colossal mistake" for the Democratic leadership to "lose its will" at this critical point in the war...............................

When you put the Lieberman standing on the war against the rest of the dem party it becomes pretty telling:

Harry Reid (Sen minority leader): is troubled by Lieberman's comments, Reid's aides said. "I've talked to Senator Lieberman, and unfortunately he is at a different place on Iraq than the majority of the American people," Reid said yesterday. Op-Ed Me:(well no he just isn't with you and the DNC on this matter, where the DNC happen to be the minority who want defeat in Iraq and are rooting for it publically via the Murtha, Dean & Pelosi defeat statements)

Nancy Pelosi ( House minority leader): "I completely disagree" with Lieberman. She added: "I believe that we have a responsibility to speak out if we think that the course of action that our country is on is not making the American people safer, making our military stronger and making the region more stable."

John Murtha ( dem front member for cut and run ): It is time for a change in direction," said Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., one of Congress' most hawkish Democrats. "Our military is suffering, the future of our country is at risk. We cannot continue on the present course. It is evident that continued military action in Iraq is not in the best interests of the United States of America, the Iraqi people or the Persian Gulf region."

Lieberman I think was the best of the 2000 Gore ticket and almost got it done for the dems, but even his presence on the ticket came up slightly short. Gore was without a doubt the liability factor on that ticket and Lieberman was the "money" component............................

I agree with several of Lieberman's social standings and completely with his military position on Iraq. Lieberman would be a great addition to the "moderate" wing of the RNC. Who knows, he might win a VP seat on one of the next tickets if he did move over to the party of rational policies and did not have to carry water for a liberal zero like Al Gore...........................................

FSU Rules Again & Are ACC Champions

FSU kicked the next best team in the ACC's ass (which is the best Football & Basketball conference now) and are once again the "Kings" and going to the BCS - Orange Bowl to be exact:

FSU Bound

While FSU is a "Champion" and going to the BSC and getting a BSC payday, the hurricanes, gators, and turkeys are not......................................

Welcome to the ACC hurricanes and turkeys, your lite in the staying power department to win in this conference. Miami has been in the ACC two years now and won zero championships, correct? Enjoy that second and third tier bowl games......

Gator's, your just not worthy or good enough to be in the championship game. A perfect example of why gaytors are losers #1.................

It's funny, I knew the Noles were not a top three team early when they had the rating (too young), but I also did not think they were as bad as they played against N.C. State, Clemson, & UF. All that really matters is that they won the conference at the end in the best college sports conference.

The ACC is the FSU Kingdom,and it will continue to be this year. Enjoy the second and third tier bowls hurricanes, gators, and turkeys.................................

Squirrels Kill Dog

This story reminds me of a real life woodland drama I saw this hunting season:

Squirrel Attack

Man those are some "Bad Ass Squirrels", if they can gang up on and kill a dog:

A "big" stray dog was nosing about the trees and barking at squirrels hiding in branches overhead when a number of them suddenly descended and attacked, reports say. "They literally gutted the dog," local journalist Anastasia Trubitsina told Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper..............

I'm not completely surprised as this year on opening day of deer season while sitting in my stand, I had a squirrel start barking at me when he saw I was in the stand in his area. The fact that I had a 30.06 sited on him several times to see just how dramatic he was expressing himself did not seem to bother him. He barked away until a hawk swooped down and almost nailed him from the backside. He would run around to the other side of the tree as the hawk dived at him and then come back around and bark away at the hawks miss. He was in the hawks face when he knew he had the advantage and let the hawk know about it. Over and over he did that little dance...................

He ran up the tree and barked away for the next half hour and I watched the hawk hunt the big balled squirrel while he barked away at every miss. I probably missed a couple good deer watching that, but it was worth it.

I admired that little gray squirrel this past November, and I think he would have whipped some "Soviet Squirrel Dog Killer" ass if he was in the mix with them, since he was going solo with a hawk...........................................

That said a gang of squirrels killing a dog is a very strange and impressive, at least from a squirrels perspective......................

Kofi Annan Fires Election Chief

Kofi Annan to fire UN Chief of Elections due to an abusive and sexually offensive environment (like raping children in the Congo when the blue helmets were there to help rebuild the political system):

UN

Now that's going out on the limb is it not, firing the person responsible for this? Kofi needs to fire about 75% of the remaining staff including himself then the UN might be able to start crawling towards legitimacy again.........................................

Damaging Blanco Memos Go Public

More proof that the office of Dem Gov. Kathleen Blanco is trying to recreate history and hide the true history that shows the absolute failures that her administration orchestrated before, during, and after Katrina:

Blanco Katrina Memos

Blanco's staff is presenting memos never sent and devastating ones that were to the congressional committee investigating the Blanco failures:

For the state's part, Blanco's chief of staff Andy Kopplin e-mailed employees Sept. 4 saying they needed to get national supporters to say "that the federal response was anemic" and asked them to point out budget cuts to levee programs.......................

When Bush visited New Orleans on Sept. 5 Blanco was initially supposed to visit evacuees in Houston, but Blanco spokeswoman Denise Bottcher didn't like the idea of Bush being in the state when the governor wasn't. "Reinforces the notion that she's not in charge and LA needs to be federalized," she e-mailed Kopplin........... (The perception that Blanco was not in charge?)

The Democratic governor's staff also griped that Republicans were attacking Blanco. "Rove is on the prowl," says one unexplained Sept. 3 message from Kopplin to Mann, a reference to Bush adviser Karl Rove.........................

How pathetic is that? Totally focused on politics instead of getting water, food and medical supplies to the people you represent and who need you. Mix together an incompetent Blanco administration with some political paranoia, and you get the disaster of Katrina and the floods of New Orleans.....................