Sen. Joe Lieberman's Iraqi Views Rejected by Left

In an opinion piece to the Wall Street Journal, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman presents a rational case for the U.S. mission in Iraq and provides optimism for success. That might explain why the left has been so outraged when I mentioned Leiberman's article to some and suggested that Lieberman offers a centrist candidate that could help the Democrats. But, they don't want to hear or believe that the U.S. has noble motives in Iraq and they reject anyone who suggests that we do. However, for those who want to believe someone who puts his country ahead of his politics, you might want to read the entire article. Portions of it are reproduced below.

Our Troops Must Stay: America can't abandon 27 million Iraqis to 10,000 terrorists.

BY JOE LIEBERMAN, Tuesday, November 29, 2005

I have just returned from my fourth trip to Iraq in the past 17 months and can report real progress there. More work needs to be done, of course, but the Iraqi people are in reach of a watershed transformation...unless the great American military that has given them and us this unexpected opportunity is prematurely withdrawn.

Progress is visible and practical. ...the Iraqi economy is growing. ... People are working their way toward a functioning society and economy....

It is a war between...27 million Iraqis who want to live lives of freedom, opportunity and prosperity and roughly 10,000 terrorists...who know their wretched causes will be set back if Iraq becomes free and modern. ...the outcome of this war is critically important to the security and freedom of America.

In the face of terrorist threats and escalating violence, eight million Iraqis voted for their interim national government in January, almost 10 million participated in the referendum on their new constitution in October, and even more than that are expected to vote in the elections for a full-term government on Dec. 15.

None of these remarkable changes would have happened without the coalition forces led by the U.S. And, I am convinced, almost all of the progress in Iraq and throughout the Middle East will be lost if those forces are withdrawn faster than the Iraqi military is capable of securing the country. The leaders of Iraq's duly elected government understand this, and they asked me for reassurance about America's commitment. .

Here is an ironic finding I brought back from Iraq. While U.S. public opinion polls show serious declines in support for the war and increasing pessimism about how it will end, polls conducted by Iraqis for Iraqi universities show increasing optimism. ...What a colossal mistake it would be for America's bipartisan political leadership to choose this moment in history to lose its will and, in the famous phrase, to seize defeat from the jaws of the coming victory.

The leaders of America's military and diplomatic forces in Iraq...have a clear and compelling vision of our mission there. It is to create the environment in which Iraqi democracy, security and prosperity can take hold and the Iraqis themselves can defend their political progress....

Does America have a good plan for doing this, a strategy for victory in Iraq? Yes we do. ...The administration's recent use of the banner "clear, hold and build" accurately describes the strategy as I saw it being implemented last week. ...military leaders estimate that about one-third of the approximately 100,000 members of the Iraqi military are able to "lead the fight" themselves with logistical support from the U.S.... ...American military forces could begin a drawdown in numbers proportional to the increasing self-sufficiency of the Iraqi forces in 2006.

I cannot say enough about the U.S. Army and Marines who are carrying most of the fight for us in Iraq. They are courageous, smart, effective, innovative, very honorable and very proud. ...I asked their commander whether the morale of his troops had been hurt by the growing public dissent in America over the war in Iraq. His answer was insightful, instructive and inspirational: "I would guess that if the opposition and division at home go on a lot longer and get a lot deeper it might have some effect, but, Senator, my Marines are motivated by their devotion to each other and the cause, not by political debates."

Thank you, General. That is a powerful, needed message for the rest of America and its political leadership at this critical moment in our nation's history. Semper Fi

.

Why aren't the people in this country hearing more messages like this? Rather, I hear comments about journalists from Time Magazine smugly discussing on Air America that Lieberman must have been visiting a different country than Iraq from his article. During the Cold War, some of us said that liberals, sympathetic to the Soviet Union, viewed the struggle through pink colored glasses. With this war on terror and our soldiers in Iraq, they must be viewing the struggle wearing blinders. It's time for journalists to write honest stories and good news about our mission in Iraq so as to discourage those who would pull out early and undermine our military and the Iraqis who have put themselves at risk for democracy.

Also, if the Democrats have any sense (which they don't), then they should follow Sen. Lieberman, who can bring them more to the center and make their party viable. He's one Democrat who could get my vote.

Germany And America - At A Crossroads!

In 1946 yours truly was born in Germany, in the city of Bayreuth where my dad was part of the occupation forces and my mom flew over more pregnant than was allowed for travel at the time. {Yes, she lied about how pregnant she was). We returned stateside in 47 and went back in 53-57. My wife and I were in Berlin on 9-11. We hosted a foreign exchange student from Germany the following year. Germany and I have a history, one that I'm not willing to sever, now or ever.

German/American or Deutsch/Amerikanisch relations have, since the beginning of World War I have had a rocky relationship. Yet, our two countries are bound by more than just being adversaries, we share more common bonds than most people realize. From the first German settlers in 1683 through out the early and mid 1900's Germans came to this country in droves. My mother's father was born to German immegrants in Kansas and spoke only German until he was about 15 years old. Americans claiming German ancestry number more than 60 million, fully one fifth of our population according to the 2000 census. Our language is peppered with German words from "Cobalt" to "Waltz," from "Frankfurter" to "Sauerkraut." We have been friends, enemies and nodding acquaintences.

Our relationships hit a high note with German support following 9-11 and a sour note over Iraq and now tensions with Iran. According to the LA Times

Three years ago, Gerhard Schroeder whipped up German opposition to a U.S.-led war in Iraq to snatch an unlikely second term. This time, the chancellor is playing up the danger of a U.S. military clash with Iran...

But, Merkel was elected and Schroeder is not there any more. Does this portend a new change in the relationship between these two countries?

Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Jorge Wolf who, with a couple of other Fulbright Scholars write the Blog Atlantic Review and which I have linked to in the past. The Atlantic Review has highlighted the German-American dance from a German perspective and one has been decidedly lacking in the American side of the question. This post then announces a new Carnival for Bloggers from both sides of the Atlantic to compare notes, exchange ideas and offer you, our beloved readers a chance to catch up on all the current thoughts regarding German/American issues. In addition, the Carnival will be hosted on both sides of the Atlantic simultaneously. On this side, here at GM's Corner and in Germany at the Atlantic Review. Our goal is to foster dialog between Americans and Germans, between Liberals and Conservatives, between hardliners on both sides of the big water and between peacemakers on both sides.

Our initial Carnival will will be on December 11, 2005. That day was one of the darkest in our joint histories, the day in 1941 when Germany declared war on the United States. Jorge Wolf and I picked that day, not to commemorate the war, but to show the world that a new day is here, one that can be as lusterous or as dark as our two peoples are willing to make it. So, check out Atlantic Review regularly and join the conversation. Be tough in your comments there, as they will be here, but be polite and thoughtful too. We all have much to gain, and nothing to lose.

If you correspond with other blogs, please send them an e-mail letting them know of this new endeavor and they will have plenty of time to write an article about German-American Relationships. They can send the link to me at my e-mail address above in the sidebar. Thanks to all.

GM

Welcome Instapundit readers please leave a comment if you like the Carnival idea, or even if you don't.

A Poll Rarely Mentioned - Democrats Hurt Troop Morale

While we are bombarded by the dominant media about low poll numbers on President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq, we never hear what the people think about the Democrats on this matter. Just because people may give low approval numbers to Bush doesn't translate into support for Democrats. As an example, when I've expressed criticism about Bush, I mentioned that at least he isn't Al Gore or John Kerry. So, it was interesting to see what a recent Cook poll had to say about public perceptions of Democrats, as reported in the Washington Post.

Seventy percent of people surveyed said that criticism of the war by Democratic senators hurts troop morale -- with 44 percent saying morale is hurt "a lot," according to a poll taken by RT Strategies. Even self-identified Democrats agree: 55 percent believe criticism hurts morale, while 21 percent say it helps morale.

...Their poll also indicates many Americans are skeptical of Democratic complaints about the war. Just three of 10 adults accept that Democrats are leveling criticism because they believe this will help U.S. efforts in Iraq. A majority believes the motive is really to "gain a partisan political advantage."

The Cook poll was conducted by RT Strategies, a new polling firm headed by both Democratic and Republican pollsters. This polling service is now included in the commentaries and analyses of Real Clear Politics.

Found at Eu Rota

(Unrelated Poll of Interest on 2008: A different poll by the same firm covers the chances of John McCain and Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential election. You may go to this currently linked commentary covering the results of these questions. One finding of the poll is that forty-two percent believe that Hillary Clinton would be a good candidate for president while fifty-two percent say that she would not. Put me in that last category.)

Cindy Sheehan Cashes in at Book Signing [UPDATED]

Cindy Sheehan continues her anti-war protest outside President Bush's ranch near Crawford, Texas as she greets enthusiatic crowds wanting signed copies of her new book.
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All she wants is just fifteen more minutes. Can't the left bring themselves to give her that?

UPDATE of 11/30/05

We want to be fair and present the other side of this event.

Cindy Sheehan Claims Photos Falsely Implied Her Book Signing was a Flop

Her new book, “Not One More Mother's Child,� had just been published, and her publisher organized a book signing in a large tent in Crawford on Saturday. Photos of the event, carried widely on the Web, and then picked up by conservative blogs, seemed to imply that the book signing was a bust. ...But, in a statement today, Sheehan accused “right-wing� sites of “spreading a false story that nobody bought my book at Camp Casey on Saturday. That is not true, I sold all 100 copies and got writer's cramp signing them."

O-kayyyy. A big tent was rented and 100 books were sold--and, she got writer's camp. That sounds like a financial success.

So, let's give her 15 more minutes, and 15 more minutes, and 15 more minutes, and ......

Reading Assignment!

If you don't read anything else in the next several days, you MUST read this

Bennington, Vermont, Meet Warren County, New Jersey UPDATED

As you know (or maybe not if you are here for the first time) I recently published several reports on Mr. John Daly (here, here and here), an adjunct professor at Warren County Community College in which he lambasted a conservative student for her politics and said "Real freedom will come when [U.S.] soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors." Daly, under pressure from around the nation resigned just a little while before the Board of the College met to decide what to do. Dr. William Austin President of the college promised that faculty and staff of the college would receive "sensitivity training" as to the rights of students to speak out and to hold political beliefs different from their professors.

Now comes news via Breitbart from the state of the Peoples Republic of Vermont (full disclosure, my wife has family that resides in Vermont) of an English and Social Studies teacher that used quizzes to poke at President Bush and those of us on the right. The headline is "Vt. Teacher Accused of Anti-Bush Quiz." The headline is incorrect as it turns out, it's admitted (but excused of course.)

A sample quiz question:

I wish Bush would be (coherent, eschewed) for once during a speech, but there are theories that his everyday diction charms the below-average mind, hence insuring him Republican votes." [emphasis added] ( For you lefties the correct answer is "coherent" - in case you went to a public school.)

Now, I don't know about you, but perhaps the question needs a significant re-write. How about:

"I wish the left would stop using their (lecturn and syllabi OR position and automobile) to advance their leftish causes and proclivities."(again, for you lefties, the correct answer is lecturn and syllabi)

The Principal, Sue Maguire noted that teachers "don't have a license to hold forth on a particular standpoint." She also noted that she is taking the complaint seriously.

The teacher, one Mr. Bret Chenkin, who has been teaching about 7 years states:

The kids know it's hyperbolic, so-to-speak," he said. "They know it's tongue in cheek." But he said he would change his teaching methods if some are concerned."

Let me see if I have this correct, the teacher will change his teaching methods if some are concerned? He didn't know that they would be? Hell no he didn't, he is a lefty and leftys always think that what they do is OK; well, for the most part, no doubt Bill Clinton knew he was doing wrong, otherwise he wouldn't have spent so much time and capital covering it up.

Oh, and while I'm at it the phrase "below-average mind, hence insuring him Republican votes" is insulting in the extreme. Not only to republican students in his class, but to me personally, I'll stack my IQ against his any day of the week. Creep!

Daly resigned, will Chenkin have the decency to do the same, or even the huevos to admit that he was flat out wrong? Don't hold your breath!

UPDATE: Professor Bainbridge agrees

H/T to Dr. Sanity

For Immediate Release

Press Release From Warran Community College

For immediate release: November 23, 2005

Warren County Community College has always maintained its commitment to our students to provide a quality education. A recent event attracted national attention this past week. Statements were sent by an adjunct instructor to a student in response to her e-mail.

The College became aware of the impact of the instructor’s comments when it was inundated with local and national opinions from the public. Responding to that, the Board of Trustees and administration moved as quickly as possible to review and address the issue. A board meeting was scheduled for last night to present the issue to the Board; however, while the administration was preparing for that meeting, the adjunct instructor Mr. John Daly submitted his resignation. The Board of Trustees voted to accept his resignation at last night’s meeting.

President Dr. William Austin made clear that the community college is now reviewing and drafting tolerance policies for all employees and we will include this training in our next staff development day.

President Austin also appeared this morning on Radio WRNJ 1510 AM to assure the community that the College will move forward with a sense of enlightenment and resolve with its education mission and also apologized to all whom might have been offended by the incident. He added that, “We are fortunate to have so many brave men and women fighting for our freedom. This Thanksgiving is an opportune time to thank them for their courage and pray for their safe return.�

As my dear friend Lt. Col. T. Curtis, USMC (Ret) noted:

One weasle resigned and another weasle was forced to claim he is in support of (conservative) students AND the men and women who actually wear the uniform of their country, which I am confident neither of these weasles can claim."

"Imagine the email, letters, phone calls that were pouring in from all over the country AND world! I'll bet WCCC was amazed and shaken. WE, THE PEOPLE....won another one!" [emphasis added]

Texas - Home of the FIRST Thanksgiving

From the History News Network:

To see what the first Thanksgiving was like you have to go to: Texas. Texans claim the first Thanksgiving in America actually took place in little San Elizario, a community near El Paso, in

1598

-- twenty-three years before the Pilgrims' festival. For several years they have staged a reenactment of the event that culminated in the Thanksgiving celebration: the arrival of Spanish explorer Juan de Onate on the banks of the Rio Grande. De Onate is said to have held a big Thanksgiving festival after leading hundreds of settlers on a grueling 350-mile long trek across the Mexican desert.

Much To Be Thankful For

A number of years ago, when my father was still alive, I sent him a letter for father's day thanking him for all that he had given me and all that he had taught me. My brother, Bert, read that letter when he did my dad's funeral several years later. Bert called it a letter of Thanksgiving.

As a people, we have much to be thankful for.
I am thankful for my first wife of 27 years before she succumbed to asthma.
I am thankful for my present wife who loves me, for my daughter who was a delight to raise and is a joy to be with.
I am grateful for my Mom and Dad, who loved me in spite of my shennigans and missteps.
I am grateful for my sister Pam for all that she was and for each of the 45 years of her too short life.
I am grateful for my two brothers Bert and Doug and I am grateful for the rivalry and the good times we have shared.
I am grateful for my Grandparents, long gone for too many years, but never forgotten.
I am grateful for my Aunt Laverne and Uncle Jimmy and my two cousins and for my Aunt Betty.
I am thankful that Almighty God is in my life, is a presense in all that I do and who showers me with blessings I do not deserve.
I am grateful for Tom, a true friend at work and a partner in laughter.
I am grateful for my co-workers for all that they provide for the kids we work with.
I am grateful for the adults and adolescents that I counsel; for from them I learn much, and to them I give something to make their lives a little better.
I am thankful for the brave men and women who volunteer for our armed forces, and for those who give of them selves as volunteers in schools, hospitals, and bell ringers in front of stores.
I am thankful for political friends and enemy's; friends because they validate what I know to be true, enemy's because they make me think and reason and not accept something from my side just because it's from my side.
I am thankful for LivingDot.com that hosts my site and for the fine work they do when I screw up something.
I am grateful for Michael, for his design work and unstinting sharing of himself on this blog.
I am grateful for the 1st Amendment that mandates that the government allow me to say what I want.
I am thankful for friends like Marc Cooper and Michael J. Totten; for friends like Lt. Col. Tad Curtis (USMC-Ret.) and Gus Kennedy from Communities in Schools and so many many more, too numerous to mention.
I am thankful for people who listen to what I have to say even when they disagree.
I am thankful for the opportunity to do what I want for a living in this wonderful country.
I am grateful for my Church and for my two pastors, and the members of the church who always have a cheery "Good morning George" each and every Sunday morning.
I am eternally grateful for my beloved students who have taught me as much (or more) as I have taught them.
I am grateful for my enemys because they make my friends that much more valuable and appreciated.
I am grateful to Almighty God for the blessings bestowed on this country and on any good person.
I am grateful to be an American, through no behavior of my own.
I am grateful for all of the friends I have made in the blogosphere, even if we don't always agree, I am richer for knowing them.
I am grateful for Woody, who shares with me a vision of what a good blog should be and whose humor and wisdom are not to be sneezed at.
I am grateful for all of you who comment on the blog, even if I disagree with your comments.
I am also grateful that despite all of our collective and individual problems in this country, we are still the "Shining City on the Hill" beckoning to others, a torch of liberty shining in the night.

Ranting Profs has a terrific list also with a side serving of humor. Ogre has a compendium of Thanksgiving posts up.

linked at Cao's Blog, at Ogre's Views, at Jo's Cafe, Right On The Right, at Robinik at Michelle Malkin

"John Kerry Reporting for Duty" - Wins Election!

Well, it's not as exciting as the title makes it seem. John Kerry served on a jury this week and was elected foreman.

John Kerry Elected!

Kerry was not only chosen this week to sit on a jury in Suffolk Superior Court, but also was elected foreman. The former Democratic presidential candidate reported for duty Monday and none of the lawyers in the case objected to putting him on the jury.

Can't you see Kerry saluting as he entered the courtroom reporting for (jury) duty. That jury room must have been mass confusion as Kerry kept switching sides and had everyone confused as to where he stood. The verdict was likely "We voted in favor of the plaintiff before we voted against him." Then, that could have been followed with denouncements that the Republicans kept some jurors from voting.

Kerry Pondering Verdict

In the article, the AP reporter included a gratuitous remark that a fellow juror from Boston regretted voting for Bush after being charmed by Kerry, who discussed his battles and said that his wife didn't understand him. There was no word if Kerry had signed Form 180 and provided his medical records to this lady, who is a nurse and could finally let us know what is in those files.

Kerry concluded his experience by saying, "I enjoyed it. It was very, very interesting and very instructive." What??!! Very instructive? This is a guy who wanted to appoint Supreme Court judges, and he's just learning about the jury system?

Anyway, let's not take anything away from him being selected jury foreman. It must have been tough winning a majority of votes from twelve Massachusetts jurors. It's a start for 2008.

Woody's Happy Birthday Trackback Party

Got a great post you want to share with the whole wide world? Said something worth spreading around? Want to Wish Woody a Glorious Birthday? Join today's Wonderful Wacky Wednesday's Trackback party. Just track back to this post with a link on bottom of your post with something like "Linked at GM's Corner" or "Spreading the Word at GM's Corner."

To get the trackback URL copy and paste from below and there you go.

Gotta warn you though, we check trackbacks and those without the linkage to this post will be deleted. So, get 'em up, move 'em out!!!

Post To Link To: http://www.gmroper.com/archives/2005/11/woodys_happy_bi.htm

Trackback URL: http://www.gmroper.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-t.cgi/728

Other sites with Trackback parties:

November 23rd - Be Nice to a Conservative Day!

November 23rd is my birthday. It would seem appropriate, therefore and in lieu of gifts, that on this day that everyone finds a conservative to treat with kindness. We can simply call it "Be Nice to a Conservative Day." We know that conservatives endure attacks all year from people on the left who simply don't have the proper upbringing or manners to extend common courtesies, but if we highlight one day a year for them to make that special effort, then maybe they might find it within themselves to be nice to at least one conservative that day. It would do my heart good and would be worth more than cards and gifts. Please share with us your experiences of giving or receiving an act of kindness for this occasion.

First Amendment Charade? Warren County Community College Stoops To Silence Student UPDATED

Remember this post from only forty four hours ago? College "Teacher" in N.J. Urges Fragging of Officers In Iraq Now, forty four hours is not a lot of time, not even two full days. Yet, that is all the time it took for Dr. William Austin, President of Warren Community College to trounce the free speech rights of Rebecca Beach.

Rebecca Beach

A little background if I may. As I previously recounted, Rebecca sent out an e-mail urging professors at her community college to support an appearance by Lt. Col Scott Rutter who was going to speak about what is going on in Iraq. Needless to say, there would have been some truth telling there, not the hidden agenda of the MSM. But, Mr. Daly didn't see it that way. His full e-mail to Ms. Beach is here:

Dear Rebecca:

I am asking my students to boycott your event. I am also going to ask others to boycott it. Your literature and signs in the entrance lobby look like fascist propaganda and is extremely offensive. Your main poster "Communism killed 100,000,000" is not only untrue, but ignores the fact that CAPITALISM has killed many more and the evidence for that can be seen in the daily news papers. The U.S. government can fly to dominate the people of Iraq in 12 hours, yet it took them five days to assist the people devastated by huricane [sic] Katrina. Racism and profits were key to their priorities. Exxon, by the way, made $9 Billion in profits this last quarter--their highest proft [sic] margin ever. Thanks to the students of WCCC and other poor and working class people who are recruited to fight and die for EXXON and other corporations who [sic] earning megaprofits [sic] from their imperialist plunders. If you want to count the number of deaths based on political systems, you can begin with the more than a million children who have died in Iraq from U.S.-imposed sanctions and war. Or the million African American people who died from lack of access to healthcare in the US over the last 10 years.

I will continue to expose your right-wing, anti-people politics until groups like your [sic] won't dare show their face [sic] on a college campus. Real freedom will come when soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors and fight for just causes and for people's needs--such freedom fighters can be counted throughout American history and they certainly will be counted again.

Prof. John Daly

(This guy is an English Professor, and he can't spell "Hurricane Katrina," or "profit" or "mega-profits?") Full Disclosure: I'm a lousy speller, but then I'm not an English Professor either.

"Real Freedom will come when soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors and fight for just causes..." this was bad enough, now, Dr. Austin, a man who should certainly understand the difference between free speech and shouting fire in a theater (or urging soldiers to shoot their superiors as the case may be) and yet, Dr. Austin

said Prof. John Daly has “first amendment rights� to harass Rebecca. Furthermore, the President is trying to bully Rebecca into silence. He said Rebecca, not Prof. John Daly, is ruining the college’s name by going on talk radio and television exposing Daly’s mean spirited email. [From Young America's Foundation website]

Now, this is to my way of thinking totally outrageous and despicable. How in the heck can a College President, no less, claim that a student's rights are trumped by a professors right. I'm not saying that the so-called professor (hmm, from the root profess meaning: To practice as a profession or claim knowledge of: profess medicine. To teach (a subject) as a professor: profess literature. ) doesn't have the right to share with Ms. Beach his thoughts about her organization, her claims, his claims or his beliefs. He does not have the right to suborn murder, he does not have the right to intimidate a student. Daly's own words are his conviction in any court of common sense:

I will continue to expose your right-wing, anti-people politics until groups like your won't dare show their face on a college campus."

What, do you imagine, would be the MSM, leftist, ACLU-ish outcry if that had come from a conservative professor towards a liberal student?

Daly and Austin should be drummed out of the college, not because of their expression of first amendment rights, but because they have tried to trash the first amendment rights of a student, one that they are required to inculcate civil discourse, respect for others, and yes, diversity of thought. For shame Mr. Daly, Dr. Austin, for shame!!!

Wonder how either of those two Yahoo's would react if a student paraded around with a sign "FRAG PROFESSORS, NOT OFFICERS!" Somehow, I don't think they would be appreciative of that!

Others reporting on this travesty: Stop and Think For A Minute, Baby Troll Bolg, Maxed Out Mama [a must read], Professor Mike Adams [also a must read], News Gnome, And Rightly So, Big Dog's Weblog and others. Keep the pressure up!

UPDATE: Daly has resigned (via Mikes America)

2005 Weblog Awards

It is that time of the year, time for the Weblog Awards. Last year I was a newbie, so I didn't even qualify to try to qualify. Ahh, but this year?

I won't nominate myself, but if you, my wonderful, educated, literate, marvelous, stupendus, terrific, (did I say wonderful?) readers would like to nominate GM's Corner, and vote again and again and again like Chicago Style Democrats do, I wouldn't object. Just click on the Weblog logo above and there you go.

I can be nominated in best new blog, best blog, best conservative blog, best of the top 250 blogs (TTLB Ecosystem - I'm # 194 and wow, talk about tough competition!)

You will need:

Name of the Blog: GM's Corner
URL: http://gmroper.com
RSS-Atom Feed: http://gmroper.com/index.xml

You will also need to register on Typekey to "comment" (how you nominate) You must repeat the above information in each catagory you nominate in. The more nominations (all 24 of you - heh!) the more likely your favorite blog (that would be Woody and Me) is to get in the running.

Cheers and good luck Woody.

Blog Site Hijacked!

Kender, who writes at Kenders Musings has hijacked Stop The ACLU for some nefarious reason. Says Kender:

I have decided to hijack this site and play with this whole trackback party thing. There is no particular reason for doing this other than I feel like doing it, and once Jay notices this he is sure to call me up and say “Kender? What’s the deal?�

I am going to blame it on copious amounts of cold medication and lack of sleep.

Linked at STACLU

Sports Rivalry in Alabama

Traditionally, our family gets together for important events--like weddings, funerals, and the Alabama - Auburn games--the last being the most important. Within the family, loyalties are split between those two colleges, whose rivalry is the greatest and most bitter in the country. To illustrate the divide in the state, check the class picture below from an elementary school in Tuscaloosa, the home of The University of Alabama, and note the kid wearing the Auburn University shirt.

While this is worse than Democrats and Republicans getting together, at least the barbeque and tail-gating is better.

College "Teacher" in N.J. Urges Fragging of Officers In Iraq

One of my regular commenters, Tad a retired Marine Corps Lt. Col and a professor of History, and a good friend with whom I have shared many a repast over lo these many years sent me this heads up from the Washington Times. The lede graf:

A community college in northwestern New Jersey is investigating a part-time instructor who vowed to intimidate students who host conservative speakers at the school. The teacher also called for U.S. soldiers in Iraq to kill their superiors.

The article goes on to describe how student Rebecca Beach, a member of Young America's Foundation, a conservative group of students that offers speakers from the conservative side of the political spectrum. Ms. Beach sent a request to John Daly, adjunct instructor in writing and developmental English at Warren County Community College in Washington, N.J. requesting his support for an up-coming speech by Army Lt. Col. Scott Rutter, a Medal of Honor recipient.

The e-mail reply by Daly noted that the groups posters "looked like fascist propaganda." Daly also stated "capitalism has killed many more people" than the communists and that the "poor and working-class people" are recruited to "fight and die for Exxon and other corporations." OK, that is freedom of speech, one of the guarantees that the troops protect. Then Daly stated that "Real freedom will come when [U.S.] soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors." And that dear readers is not freedom of speech, that is incitement to commit murder.

The Washington Times reported:

College officials said they are treating the matter "as a personnel issue and will be addressing it according to the policies and procedures of the college."

"The viewpoints of this professor in no way depict the views of Warren County Community College, its administration or the Board of Trustees. The college does, however, support the Constitution, the First Amendment and the right to free speech," WCCC said.

Sounds to me like the college administration needs a fusion of backbone. At least Board Chairman Edward Smith has called an emergency board session to discuss this issue. Unfortunately, the college's President Dr. William Austin

...reiterates his statement that comments made by Mr. Daly are his own. The opinions Mr. Daly has expressed do not represent the views of the community college, administration, faculty, staff or students, nor do his views align with the college’s mission and core values."

Yeppers, it looks like Dr. Austin is in need of emergency backbone transplantation. Of course, if he get's one and does something about the urging of murder by Mr. Daly, the ACLU will doubtlessly weigh in but hopefully on the side of the college students for a change.

Exercising one's right to free speech (as did Mr. Daly up to but not including urging fragging) does not give one the right to shut up others. Nor, does it give license to urge the killing of superiors by soldiers engaged in a war against the islamo-fascist enemy. How is what Mr. Daly did different from an American teacher in 1942 urging American Forces not to fight the fascists and to kill their officers and what do you suppose would happen then?

As my friend noted,

For those of your who feel the ire that I do, you might send an email to yet another institution of "higher learning" where we are conducting our own madrassas.

For those of you desiring so, the phone number for the college (be sure and ask for Board Chairman Edward Smith or President Dr. William Austin) is (908) 835-9222. E-mail addresses (which mayor may not work - depending on recent e-mail volume) should be austin@warren.edu and smith@warren.edu. I'm sure of Dr. Austin's e-mail address, less sure of Smith's.

Linked at STACLU

Democrat Plans To End The War In Iraq

This information comes to you via a great deal of subterfuge in order to smuggle it out. My operative, infiltrated the DNC and was able to get this information to us via a Sandyburgler approach. In the same spirit that the Democrats support the troops, I bring you the Democrat Plans To End The War In Iraq:

Whereas

Whereas

Whereas

Therefore

We the Undersigned do pledge to

Article 1.

Article 2.

Article 3.

UPDATE: Ralph Peters has a suggestion as to how to lose the war: Quit H/T to Instapundit

Linked at STACLU

Breaking News

JPost reporting: The Elaph Arab media website reported on Sunday that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of the al-Qaida in Iraq terror group, may have been killed in Iraq on Sunday afternoon when eight terrorists blew themselves up in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

The unconfirmed report claimed that the explosions occurred while coalition forces surrounded the house in which al-Zarqawi was hiding. American and Iraqi forces are looking into the report.

H/T Daily Intel Briefing Kilo Echo 4

Update, Iraq The Model is also reporting this, read the 100+ comments too.

Update 2, Yahoo news

Update 3, Dr. Sanity has more including a spanky photo.

Dems Cry "Foul;" But Who Is Kidding Whom?

The lefties and progressives as well as the Democrats are crying "foul, no fair" last night, and today, and for sure on all the talk shows tomorrow. The MSM will play it up as the Republicans grandstanding again, but the truth of the matter is that for once, the party of Harry Truman and John Kennedy lost a game they thought they had mastered.

And, the left is left in high dudgeon. My good friend Marc Cooper is livid, as are many of his lefty type commenters. Marc states:

After its midnight emergency session earlier this year in the midst of the Teri Schiavo carnival, I couldn’t imagine the U.S. Congress stooping even lower.

Not until last night, that is, when the House held up its Thanksgiving break to debate and vote on what is one of the most repellant political maneuvers in recent memory.

As the tide of public opinion turns against the war in Iraq, as a conservative Democrat like Jack Murtha calls for a troop withdrawal plan, the response of the Republican leadership is to play beanbag with American body bags."

There are several things wrong with this, first, I see absolutely nothing wrong (except in its execution) with congress having an emergency meeting to look at the execution by dehydration of an innocent woman. I am not willing to revisit the Schiavo case but that case was so fraught with injustices that some felt that they had to do something and congress critters can have an emergency session. Perhaps a bad choice of action, but the motive was good (and no, I don't need any lectures about how the road to hell is paved with good intentions). Second, this was not a "repellant political maneuver,� this was a bold (and bold faced) attempt to get the hysterical Democrats to put their money where their mouth is. Lastly, my dear friend Marc, the bean bag game is being played by the Dems, remember the "joy" at the 2000^th American casualty?

This whole episode has one cause, Democrat game playing. Starting with the idea that the repulsive Congressman John Murtha (D. Penn) had a "change of heart" on the Iraq war and was now thinking that a pull out was necessary. Because Murtha was a decorated retired Marine, the MSM played this for all it was worth. I've chronicled this "B.S." in a previous entry.

However, in my haste to call the Dems on their silly protestations, I didn't go far enough. So, I'll say it here. Murtha is a scoundrel. How's that for ya? Murtha's statement “a flawed policy wrapped in an illusion,� cannot be easily dismissed. Responding to Dick Cheney’s acid counterattack that “certain politicians� were “losing their memory� in supporting the war, Murtha replied: “People with five deferments� had no right to make such remarks. Oh yeah Jack, says who, you? He (Murtha) has been all over the map for partisan political advantage. Sure, he was a decorated combat veteran in Vietnam. So what? There is a despicable meme that only those who have been in combat before have the highest "moral authority" to speak against the war. Maureen “Dowdy� famously stated that Cindy Sheehan had "absolute moral authority" to call out against the war because she had lost her son Casey. Well, what about parents who have lost a child and still support the administration and the war in Iraq? What about the soldiers, sailors, Marines fighting this war, actually with boots on the ground who disagree strongly with Congress Critter Murtha? They have a right to question your "memory" don't they? In addition, you confer that right in your ridiculous statement.

Congress Critter Murtha proposed an immediate pullout. Oh, he didn't use those words "exactly" but this is nothing different than he said in September, 2003 at a publicity stunt press conference with Nancy Pelosi (D. Ca.) the House Minority Leader. On hardball, two or three days later, he told Chris Matthews regarding his vote to go to war:

I’m not blaming anybody else because I saw all the intelligence reports. All of them indicated we had imminent danger." [Imminent danger? That is something Bush never claimed!... so what, the Dems have beat that meme into the ground and now a lot of people believe it...ed]

So what are we left with? A highly partisan Democrat with a history of highly political stunts who happens to be a retired Marine who was in combat in Vietnam comes out against the war. That is nothing new; he has said the same things repeatedly since September 03 at the least. Then he proposes a pull out and the Republicans take him at his word and put out a resolution that calls for an immediate pull out. The Reps will, of course, vote against the measure but it is out there to give the Dems a chance to put their money where their mouth is so to speak. Here is Murtha's resolution in full:

Whereas, Congress and the American People have not been shown clear, measurable progress toward establishment of stable and improving security in Iraq or of a stable and improving economy in Iraq, both of which are essential to “promote the emergence of a democratic government�;

Whereas, additional stabilization in Iraq by U, S. military forces cannot be achieved without the deployment of hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. troops, which in turn cannot be achieved without a military draft;

Whereas, more than $277 billion has been appropriated by the United States Congress to prosecute U.S. military action in Iraq and Afghanistan;

Whereas, as of the drafting of this resolution, 2,079 U.S. troops have been killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom;

Whereas, U.S. forces have become the target of the insurgency,

Whereas, according to recent polls, over 80 percent of the Iraqi people want U.S. forces out of Iraq;

Whereas, polls also indicate that 45 percent of the Iraqi people feel that the attacks on U.S. forces are justified;

Whereas, due to the foregoing, Congress finds it evident that continuing U.S. military action in Iraq is not in the best interests of the United States of America, the people of Iraq, or the Persian Gulf Region, which were cited in Public Law 107-243 as justification for undertaking such action;

Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that:

Section 1. The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date.

Section 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S Marines shall be deployed in the region.

Section 3. The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy.

Sounds like an "immediate pull out to me" even with the tag "...earliest practicable date." at the end of Section 1. (copy of Murtha's Resolution courtesy of QuickRob

"No fair," cry the Dems, "how dare you?" Even that French Looking Senator from Mass who allegedly served in Vietnam had to pitch in saying "I won't stand for the 'swift-boating' of Jack Murtha." Oh, how dreary. First of all Senator Kerry, no one is "swift-boating" Murtha, everyone acknowledges his courage under fire. It was your so called "history" that was swift-boated because of the continuing doubts about your conduct. Just like no one questioned Max Cleland's patriotism they questioned his judgment and rightly so. We are also questioning Murtha's "sudden conversion" from hawk to dove. Come to think of it, Senator, perhaps we ought to question your intelligence if you think this is swift-boating because it indicates you still don't have any idea what the Swift Boat Vets were saying.

But I digress, the actions of the Democrats in the so-called debate were not only ludicrous, it was hilarious in the extreme. Think about it; a group of Democrats lambasting the Republicans for pulling a stunt that the Dems time and time again have pulled. Then we have the sight of Congress Critter Ford of Tenn. "charging" the other side of the aisle:

Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) drafted a simpler resolution calling for an immediate withdrawal of troops, saying it was a fair interpretation of Murtha's intent. Members were
heatedly debating a procedural rule concerning the Hunter resolution when Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) was recognized at 5:20 p.m. Schmidt won a special election in August, defeating Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett, and is so new to Congress that some colleagues do not know her name.

She told colleagues that "a few minutes ago I received a call from Colonel Danny Bubp," an Ohio legislator and Marine Corps Reserve officer. "He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: that cowards cut and run, Marines never do."

Dozens of Democrats erupted at once, pointing angrily at Schmidt and shouting repeatedly, "Take her words down" -- the House term for retracting a statement. For a moment Schmidt tried to keep speaking, but the uproar continued and several GOP colleagues surrounded her as she sat down, looking slightly dazed. Presiding officer Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) gaveled in vain for order as Democrats continued shouting for Schmidt to take back her words. Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-Mass.) yelled "You guys are pathetic!" from the far end of the Democratic section to the GOP side.

Just as matters seemed to calm a bit, Rep. Harold E. Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) suddenly charged across the aisle to the GOP seats, jabbing his finger furiously at a small group of GOP members and shouting, "Say Murtha's name!" Rep. David R. Obey (D-Wis.), who had led the chants for striking Schmidt's comments, gently guided Ford by the arm back to the minority party's side.

All in all, great political theater. The Dems seemingly debating not having a vote on a resolution proposed as an antithesis of the one Murtha proposed as being un-fair and then voting damn near (403-3) lockstep against the resolution. Why? Because it required them to put their money where their mouth was and they couldn't do that, because this is not about the war, this is about bashing Bush and gathering as much political capital as possible while doing it. Anyone who denies that is not being fully honest.

Oh, and the three that voted for the resolution: Democrats Jose E. Serrano (N.Y.), Robert Wexler (Fla.) and Cynthia McKinney (Ga.). The only Democrats with enough guts to vote their conscience. I disagree with all three of these folk, but I admire their courage in standing up to the mealy-mouthed in their own party. And the six Democrats that voted "Present," maybe they are the biggest cowards of all.

Linked at STACLU

Blogburst Against The Trolls

Scrolling through links today, in the midst of writing a new post, I noticed my co-blogger on The Wide Awakes Cao who writes at Cao's Blog is asking for support for Grey Eagle. Grey Eagle writes at A Female Soldier 2 and has been receiving a lot of troll comments dissing the service of those who have volunteered for the service, and as a result are serving in Iraq. Trolls are a true pest in the blogosphere, but may be a part of the price of freedom. However, we can all stand up to the trolls and we should. Grey Eagle has this to say:

To those who have not devoted as much energy to the destruction of this website and my rights, I do want to thank you for your continued support and the wonderful email I receive daily. I want you to know that not only I read your message, but many of the other soldiers here read them as well. As the holidays approach us and we are away from our families that means a lot more then you will ever know. A special thanks to PJ and the Web Of Support community for their wonderful care packages that have arrived (if you wish to give please contact them). It was like Christmas here as we opened our boxes of treats. We have also received care packages from other caring individuals and we appreciated them so much. Just to know that we are not alone, and the world has not turned against us and our efforts can be a very moving and powerful moment for us when we get our mail and our packages.

Finally, I wish to say that a soldier wounded from shrapnel awoke the other day after being unconscious from his wounds. His eyes are etched into my memory as he discovered he was alive, safe, and among his fellow soldiers. In that moment, I knew that everything I had sacrificed in my life, that this holiday season away from my husband and children, that the lack of sleep, the long days, and my personal sadness at times from the separation are worth it. Sometimes there are causes worth serving that are greater then ourselves.

Grey Eagle, Thanks!

Linked at Cao's Blog

History of The Iraq War 1990-2003

Greyhawk has a lengthy history of the Iraq war and what led up to it. Great read, worth your time!

Linked at STACLU

Murtha's "Metamorphosis" Meme of MSM Merits Mockery

Much has been written regarding US Representative John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, "sudden" change of heart and his call for withdrawal from Iraq. Indeed he has caused an untold amount of angst among those who support the war because Murtha has always been considered a Hawk on matters military. Murtha is a retired Marine Corps colonel who received a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts in the "unpleasantness" in Vietnam. Murtha, however inspite of the gasps from the MSM is not saying anything new. Moonbat Pelosi:

Congressman Murtha made a compelling case about what has gone wrong in Iraq. For too long, the Bush Administration's approach to bringing stability to Iraq has relied on U.S. troops taking almost all the risks"... September 16, 2003

Or, how about this:

If congressional Democrats do start exerting some leverage over the administration, they may have John Murtha to thank. The 30-year House veteran is a hawkish defense expert who supported the Iraq war and is known for working with Republicans on military issues. His remarks last week were especially dramatic because Murtha is known as a low-key operator who rarely speaks in public. [yeah, except this article was written in mid MAY, 2004

His vote on valiant service of US troops: "Voted NO on approving removal of Saddam & valiant service of US troops. (Mar 2004)"

Oh yes, Murtha has been a hawk all right. Not! He has been a hero, he has been on the right committees, he has been a vocal supporter of the military often, he has been a partisan Democrat all along. So, the MSM is either trying to dupe us on Murtha's change of heart thinking we are stupid; or they are too stupid to look up where he has been since March '03. I think its the former, don't you?

“Unlike our Pres, our Vice-Pres, the Sec of State - Jack Murtha knows combat.� [ doubtless from a Dem in tonights debate ] "Yeah, so do the 150,000 troops in Iraq right now. And unlike the weenies in Congress, they have balls, courage, honor, and conviction of purpose." - Kit Jarrell comment at 1906 hours (7:06 PM for the civilians in here)

I've listened to the Dems castigate the Republicans in the debates because the Repubs had the temerity to essentially say put up or shut up. Pelosi (Moonbat, California) states that she has requested all of her caucus to vote for the resolution since it differs from Murthas in the timespan (murtha said ASAP in 6 months or so) the Repubs called his bluff and ok, you want out, let's vote on "immediately." So, the upshot is the dems are castigating the resolution, but for political purposes the dems will vote for it so they don't seem that they are saying pull out now, which of course is what most of them are saying but they can't say it out loud because they will look like the fools that they are. Well, at this stage of the game, they have been hoist on their own petard. Serves the bastards right.

Gateway Pundit has a hell of a lot more.

Linked at STACLU

Le Fromage Commence À sentir

The Cheese Is Beginning To Smell. As news about the riots in France begin to fade from the front pages, what has been learned? Are the rioters a new brand of islamo-fascists? Are they poor underprivileged youth with no idea of how to integrate into French society? Are they merely thugs, with a penchant for toasting marshmallows over Peugots?

Some answers can be found in the blogosphere with varying points of view.

Faceless Bureaucrat wonders why they are burning cars rather than looting stores.

Most Sincerely Folks wonders if the riots are a result of the practice of polygamy.

Mark Steyn believes that it's heading for a Eurabian war and Hugh Hewitt interviews Victor Davis Hanson

Gindy notes: "The riots maybe slowing down, but now French protestors are taking to the streets over the polygamy comments"

Les Français sont des de gens très drôles.

Linked at STACLU

Letter From The Front

Today I received an e-mail from greyhawk at The Mudville Gazette. The e-mail was forwarded from Sgt. Hook and included a link. Clicking the link one finds a letter from a Sgt serving in Iraq who has asked that his Mom "Be my voice." I'm reprinting the letter in full because it is a message that needs to be heard. Pass it on!

Mom,

Be my voice. I want this message heard. It is mine and my platoon’s to the country. A man I know lost his legs the other night. He is in another company in our batallion. I can no longer be silent after watching the sacrifices made by Iraqis and Americans everyday.Send it to a congressman if you have to. Send it to FOX news if you have to. Let this message be heard please…

My fellow Americans, I have a task for those with the courage and fortitude to take it. I have a message that needs not fall on deaf ears. A vision the blind need to see. I am not a political man nor one with great wisdom. I am just a soldier who finds himself helping rebuild a country that he helped liberate a couple years ago.
I have watched on television how the American public questions why their mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters are fighting and dying in a country 9000 miles away from their own soil. Take the word of a soldier, for that is all I am, that our cause is a noble one. The reason we are here is one worth fighting for. A cause that has been the most costly and sought after cause in our small span of existence on our little planet. Bought in blood and paid for by those brave enough to give the ultimate sacrifice to obtain it. A right that is given to every man, woman, and child I believe by God. I am talking of freedom.

Freedom. One word but yet countless words could never capture it’s true meaning or power. “For those who have fought for it, freedom has a taste the protected will never know.� I read that once and it couldn’t be more true. It’s not the average American’s fault that he or she is “blind and deaf� to the taste of freedom. Most American’s are born into their God given right so it is all they ever know. I was once one of them. I would even dare to say that it isn’t surprising that they take for granted what they have had all their life. My experiences in the military however opened my eyes to the truth.

Ironically you will find the biggest outcries of opposition to our cause from those who have had no military experience and haven’t had to fight for freedom. I challenge all of those who are daring enough to question such a noble cause to come here for just a month and see it first hand. I have a feeling that many voices would be silenced.

I watched Cindy Sheehan sit on the President’s lawn and say that America isn’t worth dying for. Later she corrected herself and said Iraq isn’t worth dying for. She badmouthed all that her son had fought and died for. I bet he is rolling over in his grave.

Ladies and gentleman I ask you this. What if you lived in a country that wasn’t free? What if someone told you when you could have heat, electricity, and water? What if you had no sewage systems so human waste flowed into the streets? What if someone would kill you for bad-mouthing your government? What if you weren’t allowed to watch TV, connect to the internet, or have cell phones unless under extreme censorship? What if you couldn’t put shoes on your child’s feet?

You need not to have a great understanding of the world but rather common sense to realize that it is our duty as HUMAN BEINGS to free the oppressed. If you lived that way would you not want someone to help you????

The Iraqi’s pour into the streets to wave at us and when we liberated the cities during the war they gathered in the thousands to cheer, hug and kiss us. It was what the soldier’s in WW2 experienced, yet no one questioned their cause!! Saddam was no better than Hitler! He tortured and killed thousands of innocent people. We are heroes over here, yet American’s badmouth our President for having us here.

Every police station here has a dozen or more memorials for officers that were murdered trying to ensure that their people live free. These are husbands, fathers, and sons killed every day. What if it were your country? What would your choice be? Everything we fight for is worth the blood that may be shed. The media never reports the true HEROISM I witness everyday in the Iraqi’s. Yes there are bad one’s here, but I assure you they are a minuscule percent. Yet they are a number big enough to cause worry in this country’s future.
I have watched brave souls give their all and lose thier lives and limbs for this cause. I will no longer stand silent and let the “deaf and blind� be the only voice shouting. Stonewall Jackson once said, “All that I have, all that I am is at the service of the country.� For these brave souls who gave the ultimate sacrifice, including your son Cindy Sheehan, I will shout till I can no longer. These men and women are heroes. Their spirit lives on in their military and they will never be forgotten. They did not die in vain but rather for a cause that is larger than all of us.

My fellow countrymen and women, we are not overseas for our country alone but also another. We are here to spread democracy and freedom to those who KNOW the true taste of it because they fight for it everyday. You can see the desire in their eyes and I am honored to fight alongside them as an Infantryman in the 101st Airborne.

Freedom is not free, but yet it is everyone’s right to have. Ironic isn’t it? That is why we are here. Though you will always have the skeptics, I know that most of our military will agree with this message. Please, at the request of this soldier spread this message to all you know. We are in Operation Iraqi Freedom and that is our goal. It is a cause that I and thousands of others stand ready to pay the ultimate sacrifice for because, Cindy Sheehan, freedom is worth dying for, no matter what country it is! And after the world is free only then can we hope to have peace.

SGT XXX and 1st Platoon
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)

Linked at Cao's Blog

Another Etiquette Tip for the Left

As we continue our series to raise the social and decency standards for our friends on the left, here is a quick lesson:

Pick Your Nose Inconspicuously

This article provides detailed steps on the subject, along with these points of advice:

• NEVER perform a visual examination on whatever it is you have extracted from your nose! This is most amateurish and is one of the most common ways of getting caught.

• Post-operative protocol requires immediate and thorough hand-washing.

...and, this:

Remember, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose!

Might I add this illustrated advice:

Please, please avoid in-between meal snacks!

Bush lied.., ummm, ummm. Hey, this tastes good!

So, if I ever hesitate to shake hands with a liberal, it's not because I'm rude but it's because I know where his fingers have been. Cultured people don't have to pick their noses.

Wonderful Wacky Wednesday Trackback Party

Got a great post you want to share with the whole wide world? Said something worth spreading around? Join today's Wonderful Wacky Wednesday's Trackback party. Just track back to this post with a link on bottom of your post with something like "Linked at GM's Corner" or "Spreading the Word at GM's Corner."

To get the trackback URL copy and paste from below and there you go.

Gotta warn you though, we check trackbacks and those without the linkage to this post will be deleted. So, get 'em up, move 'em out!!!

Post To Link To: http://www.gmroper.com/archives/2005/11/wonderful_wacky_3.htm

Trackback URL: http://www.gmroper.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-t.cgi?__mode=view&entry_id=715 or http://www.gmroper.com/archives/2005/11/wonderful_wacky_3.htm#trackbacks or http://www.gmroper.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-t.cgi/712

Other sites with Trackback parties:

BDS Pandemic; Dems, Liberals and Progressives Hardest Hit! UPDATED

EJ Dionne (long infected with BDS - Bush Derangement Syndrome) has had a hissy fit. He recently decided that he didn't like the way that Bush put the onus on the dems for the way they are touting the "Bush Lied" meme, in fact, I doubt if anyone else likes "... to be told their arguments make the troops' job harder. Who would want to hear they're undermining the war effort?" as Jonah Goldberg put it in National Review Online's "The Corner" Dionne writes:

Bush was not subtle. He said that anyone accusing his administration of having "manipulated the intelligence and misled the American people" was giving aid and comfort to the enemy. "These baseless attacks send the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America's will," Bush declared last week. "As our troops fight a ruthless enemy determined to destroy our way of life, they deserve to know that their elected leaders who voted to send them to war continue to stand behind them."

Bush was not subtle? OMG... EJ, where have you been for the last 2 and a half years. The Dems, including the vast majority of Dems in the Senate who signed onto the war, have been anything BUT subtle in their condemnation of Bush and the War. And, whether you like it or not, when they turn around and accuse Bush of everything but shorting the sheets of new recruits, they ARE undermining the morale of the troops, the vast majority of whom know EXACTLY why they are in Iraq and who re-up (reinlist) in record numbers. They ARE giving aid and comfort to the islamofascists who believe that if they hang on long enough, the US will belly up.

Well, guess what EJ, you have been called on your chicanery. The "Bush Lied" meme has been repeated so often, so loudly by so many that even the gullible people are beginning to doubt the goals and prospects of our efforts in Iraq. Just as they did in Vietnam. So, that part of the so called quagmire is true, the people are being lied to, consistently and persistently by the MSM and by folks like you. The master propagandist Josef Goebbels was right, tell any lie loud enough and often enough and people will begin to believe the lie.

And guess what? It is unpatriotic! You ought to be ashamed for writing such crap.

You can find more at Argghhh!, and at Hugh Hewitt and as Hewitt notes, even the republicans are getting in on the act.

UPDATE: Right Track has a good list of the Dems that Lied (well, if Bush did, so did these Dems)

“One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line.�
President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

“If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program.�
President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

“Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face.�
Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

“He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983.�
Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb 18,1998

“[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the US Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq’s refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs.�
Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI), Tom Daschle (D-SD), John Kerry (D - MA), and others Oct. 9,1998

“Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.�
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

“Hussein has chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies.�
Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999

“There is no doubt that … Saddam Hussein has invigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies.�
Letter to President Bush, Signed by Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL,) and others, December 5, 2001

“We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandated of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them.�
Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

“We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country.�
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

“Iraq’s search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power.�
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

“We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction.�
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

“The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons…�
Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

“I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force - if necessary - to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security.�
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9,2002

“There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years. We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction.�
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

“He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do.�
Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct 10, 2002

“In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including Al Qaeda members. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons.�
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

“We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction.�
Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002

“Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime… He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation… And now he is miscalculating America’s response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction. So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real.�
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

Don't Go Into the Light is reporting a Moonbat Meeting in response to Bush's "Push Back" speech!

Myopic Zeal has another fine entry exposing the Dems for the charlatans they are.

Michele Malkin has more. Money graf:

They were emboldened when they were successful in getting the President to say the "16 words" should not have been included in the SOTU speech. This was the beginning of the "Bush lied" mantra. Many even claimed that Bush admitted he lied about the 16 words when he said they should not have been included. More on that sequence of events here and here. [be sure and click on all the links... ed]

Lori Byrd of PoliPundit in one of the two links noted in Michele Malkin's paragraph above links to Mark Steyn in a blistering attack on the attackers

Click on this graphic:



(graphic courtesy of Michele Malkin)

And lastly, the incomparable Christopher Hitchens ties it all together with this pair of bon mots:

What do you have to believe in order to keep alive your conviction that the Bush administration conspired to launch a lie-based war? As with (I admit) the pro-war case, the ground of argument has a tendency to shift. I saw two examples in Washington last week. An exceptionally moth-eaten and shabby picket line outside Ahmad Chalabi's event on Wednesday featured a man with a placard alleging that Bush had prearranged the 9/11 attacks. I know a number of left and right anti-warriors who have flirted with this possibility but very few who truly believe it. (Even Gore Vidal, who did at one point insinuate the idea, has recently withdrawn it, if only on the grounds of the administration's incompetence.)

And:

A few little strokes of Occam's razor are enough to dispose of this whole accumulation of fantasy. Suppose that every single Iraqi defector or informant, funneled out of a closed and terrified society by the INC, had been a dedicated and conscious fabricator. How could they persuade a vast organization, equipped with satellite surveillance that can almost read a license plate from orbit, of a plain untruth? (Leave to one side the useful intelligence that was provided by the INC and that has been acknowledged.) Well, what was the likelihood that ambiguous moves made by Saddam's agents were also innocuous moves? After decades in which the Baathists had been caught cheating and concealing, what room was there for the presumption of innocence? Hans Blix, the see-no-evil expert who had managed to certify Iraq and North Korea as kosher in his time, has said in print that he fully expected a coalition intervention to uncover hidden weaponry.

And this, of course, it actually has done. We did not know and could not know, until after the invasion, of Saddam's plan to buy long-range missiles off the shelf from Pyongyang, or of the centrifuge components buried on the property of his chief scientist, Dr. Mahdi Obeidi. The Duelfer report disclosed large latent facilities that were only waiting for the collapse of sanctions to resume activity. Ah, but that's not what you said you were looking for. … Could pedantry be pushed any further?

We can now certify Iraq as disarmed, even if the materials once declared by the Saddam regime and never accounted for have still not been found. Why does this certified disarmament upset people so much? Would they rather have given Saddam the benefit of the doubt? Much more infuriating about the current anti-Chalabi hysteria is this: He turns up in Washington with a large delegation of Iraqi democrats, including a female Shiite ex-Communist, several Sunni dignitaries from the "hot" provinces, and the legendary Abdul Karim al-Muhammadawi, who led a genuine insurgency among the Marsh Arabs for 18 years. And the American left mounts a gargoyle picket line outside and asks silly and insulting questions inside, about a question that has already been decided. What a travesty this is. Not only do the liberal Democrats apparently want their own congressional votes from 1998 and 2002 back. It sometimes seems that they are actually nostalgic for the same period, when Saddam Hussein was running Iraq, and there were no coalition soldiers to challenge his rule, and when therefore by definition there was peace, and thus things were more or less OK. Their current claim to have been fooled or deceived makes them out, on their own account, to be highly dumb and gullible. But as dumb and gullible as that?

Linked at TMH Baconbits

Etiquette - Helping the Left Out of the Gutter

In recent days, unpleasant comments were cast our way, causing one to realize that some visitors from the left were ignorant of social graces and rules of etiquette. It is not unexpected nor are they to blame. Country clubs and cotillions, where these social traits are honed, were missing in their neighborhoods, and there were inadequate government programs to teach manners. To help those on the left, I will offer selections from a lesson in dinner etiquette, as taken from The Business Forum. Proper etiquette does not go unnoticed , it is often rewarded with positions that are the envy of the 'hood, and it provides lessons for discussions on this site. A link is provided for the entire study, and I encourage you to read it.

The Etiquette of Formal & Business Dining

• If there is a coat check attendant or a footman, then the proper procedure is for the gentleman to first hand his hat, (which should have been removed before he entered the foyer), along with his gloves and cane or umbrella (rolled and buttoned), if he is carrying them, to the attendant.

• Only call a waiter or server to help you during a formal function if you absolutely have to and, an escorted lady should never do so; she should instead ask her escort to do it for her.

• At the best functions and in the finest restaurants your wine will be served in the proper glass. The most embarrassing incident can take place if you or even your escort, not knowing this, asks if he or she can have a "bigger" or a "smaller" glass.

• One should never use one's fingers at any formal dining experience, (except for moving pieces of bread to your mouth) unless a delicacy is served which it is impossible to eat unless one uses one's fingers. ...these days it is more often than not frowned upon as boorish behavior.

• It is always inappropriate to ask the waiter for a "doggy bag" to take home the leftovers when you are a guest at either a formal function or at a good restaurant. If the waiter suggests you can take home the leftovers, decline with a polite but firm, "Thank you, but no".

• If food gets between your teeth while you are eating, and you are not able to remove it with your tongue, ask the waiter to bring you a toothpick (if you did not remember to bring one with you) then lower your face until you are looking into your lap and cover your mouth with your free hand to use the toothpick.

• And finally, and most importantly:
Always remember that a formal function is no place for preaching or verbally bullying others, and that profanity of any kind, or argument, or loud or lewd behavior in any form is also frowned upon in polite company. Dignity will never go out of style.

Of course, all of our regular readers are probably laughing and wondering who doesn't already know these things. Don't be surprised at the number of common people, i.e., those on the left, who have not been trained in social areas. Therefore, I hope this information helps them for the next business dinner--and, to learn the proper style for discussions.

We will continue the lessons in another series titled "Deferring to the Intellect and Reasoning of Conservatives."

Showcase for Newly Discovered Blogs, v1.0

Again, it is my pleasure to tell you about a new blog. I discovered this one, not exactly new to the blogosphere, but new to me, and I hope to you. Ethan Wallison writes Room 12a and does one hell of a smashup job of it. Wow, clear, concise, and politics that agrees with mine (not that that is a requirement you understand.... no, but it helps doesn't it...ed). From his "about me" section:

Room 12A is the official Web log of Ethan Wallison, a ten-year veteran of Washington political reporting, most recently with Roll Call, where he was White House Correspondent. But let’s not make such a big deal of it. Most White House reporters would find more action covering their sofa cushions with thick plastic. Mr. Wallison recalls feeling dejected that no one phoned to tell him about Valerie Plame, and still wonders why this information was wasted on nitwits who judged it irrelevant. He also wonders how many of those who delighted in the public humiliation of Jeffrey Gannon also bored their friends with earnest rants about the “invasiveness� of the Patriot Act. But he digresses. Mr. Wallison left daily reporting in the summer of 2005 to find greater adventure abroad. He currently resides in Kiev, Ukraine, but may just pick up and move somewhere else at any moment. He’s kind of just that way.

“Ethanistan� was a cute play on words until Mr. Wallison got carried away and decided, in contravention of all laws of physics and human reason, to wedge it into Room 12A. Now he spends a good deal of time puzzling over what to do with it, but expects that it will become a real asset in the future."

Go, read, enjoy and tell him GM sent you but you'll have to do it by e-mail as he doesn't yet have comments and trackbacks, Otherwise I'd trackback to him just to let him know I've put this post up.

Cheers and good reading!

The Best Comment I Ever Got

Comments come in all shapes and sizes. From quick one or two word puns, to long and involved deeply thoughtful comments. They come in twos and threes, in tens and twenties. They come from regular readers, and from occasional readers. They even come from regular readers who just lurk in the bushes and pop out every once in a while.

On Veterans Day, I posted General Douglas MacArthur's 1962 speech at The United States Military Academy at West Point (here). At the tail end of the General's speech, I wrote:

Happy Veteran's Day to all of our Vets and their Families. Honor to those who fell in the defense of freedom, peace to those who did not die, but were shattered none-the-less. Our hearts go out to the familys of the fallen!"

And, not surprisingly, the best comment I ever got came from my daughter, my kid, the future of this country:

And thank you Daddy."

"Daddy!" My daughter has bestowed on me the greatest title any man can have, better than any medal, better than any reward. Thanks sweetheart!

Do Flame Wars Contribute To Global Warming, Are Paul and York Environmentally Sound? Tune In Beloved Readers

Flame War! Wikipedia defines flaming as: "The motive for flaming is often not dialectic, but rather social or psychological. Sometimes, flamers are attempting to assert their authority, or establish a position of superiority.?" And so it is. On the other hand, we at GM's Corner are not about to let challenges go unanswered because to do so merely encourages the scoundrels (was that necessary?... ed... Probably not, but when I have an itch I scratch it... GM)

Yes, by all means let's talk about Mark A. York's qualifications. First, he is as narcissistic as John "Do you know who I am?" Kerry. Mark brags about "endangered fisheries." This of course he means to imply that he is fighting to save, as he once published in the "DailySundial" wild salmon. But fisheries is defined as:

The industry or occupation devoted to the catching, processing, or selling of fish, shellfish, or other aquatic animals.
A place where fish or other aquatic animals are caught.
A fishing business.
A hatchery for fish.
The legal right to fish in specified waters or areas.

Hah, this guy has a bachelors degree in journalism Not biology, if he has any biology at all, it is as a minor and that requirement is only 18 hours. Furthermore, according to his book, he was a GS-4 Technician.... The lowest of the low, the least qualified of the qualified, so low that a degreed person with NO experience was placed over him in his sojourn to the ANWR and that his work was seasonal. Oh, and his lifetime of environmental work... hmmm, according to his own words (he published this remember): he spent 17 years as a construction worker going from "the kid who always got beat up to the terminator." as he protected the others in his fisheries crew from having to deal with the "tough" oil field hands.

Oh, by the way, that's from his book "Against A Strong Current and you can find an excerpt here: Chapter 7. Interesting book by all accounts... NOT!

Actually, this book is sent to an electronic publisher, not accepted for mass publication by an “accepted publisher�, but printed on order by Xlibris Corp a vanity type press and he rails against Woody and me for unsourced material but where we weren’t being humorous, we sourced just fine. Oh, and by the way, Mark has a screed against the vanity press here: July, 07 which when you read it is hilarious; this guy has more bathos than the Marx Brothers. But I digress, here is a "review" of York's Against A Strong Current:

Refreshingly objective and candid nonfiction concerning an issue at the core of our very existence-the environment.

While others turn a blind eye or are swayed by the powers that be seeking to exploit the
planet, the author is a fearless champion for the planet as evidenced also by the conditions he braves on his quest. [emphasis added, but I couldn’t help myself my gawd, this guy is overweening]

At the core of our very existence. Lion's and Tigers and Bears Oh My!!

That review is a little over the top and I have absolutely no doubt that York himself wrote it using a fake ID for the purpose. However there are two other reviews which kind of put York in his place:

Sorry Mark, but this book needs some first aid. I decided to read it after reading the author's comments in a Rick Bass review. It reads like a stump-filled hillside, slipping, tripping, and falling all over the place. There is no sense that it was edited; there are misspellings, frags, story lines smashed to bits. Descriptions of the beautiful areas are adjective-free. There is also a lot of what I sense as " doesn't play well with others." I'll stop here.............

and

this book lacked any sort of editing on the author's part. seeing as the book was published with Print On Demand technology, he had no editor. It seems like he wrote this in a week -- maybe two -- tops, then just handed it in. Couldn't believe the horrible editing.

Editing makes a book hard to read, skimming over all those errors. Sigh.

Hey, i tried to read it. But... it was just so bland and awful - and that's editing aside.

Atta boy York, slammed twice for your hubris. However, our intrepid enviro-warrior doesn't quit, I'll give him that. Take a look at the sites he has been banned at beginning with mine (yet, he continues to come around). Also here (Roger Simon) and here (Done Deal) here (Press Think - 2 times no less). He claimed to be a "pen pal of sorts" with Bill Clinton He was kicked out of Yahoo Groups. Lastly, and then I'll quit because I really hate having a battle of wits with York when it is so obvious that he is half armed; York was banned from my blog for the use of foul language. He claims he didn't use anything stronger than "ass" and, unfortunately I deleted all the really vile language and York knows it. Unfortnately for York, the net is full of his postings and he typically and usually gets frustrated (low frustration tolerance is a hallmark of lefty trolls) and posts something like this [WARNING - strong language follows]

How pathetic do you have to to (sic) fixate on one website to get control for your sick ideas you ignorant shithead. I’ll tell you what Timo if I could get a hold [of] your sick neck it would be broken. Now that’s a promise you fvcking (sic) ad hom (sic) machine. Is it true because the credential-less tim-troll says it? LOL! What a dickhead. You scared little twit.

with all those misspellings this guy purports to have a degree in journalism? "Ass" indeed! "... doesn't play well with others." I couldn't have said it any better myself.

Which brings us to Randy Paul’s entry in the flame wars. Paul advertises his blog as “A Proud Member Of The Reality Based Community.� Oh my! He congratulates York here:

I thought that I would comment on this bizarre post attempting - with the aid of a right-wing think tank no less - (talk about aiming low and still missing your target) to refute claims that global warming is real, but someone beat me to it and did it well.

Paul goes on to say “here’s a little something about their source� and references a coal baron (one would assume) by the name of S. Fred Singer. Only one problem Paul, I didn’t reference Singer in a realistic post or any other post that I could find so I have no idea where you came up with it. And your reference of York’s post was in reference to my post. Paul, you really need to get a real life. Further, if you were really going to debunk the articles I posted on, then by all means do so, but be sure to cite your sources, not your fevered imagination.

OK, let’s go on to Paul’s qualifications in this little bit of byte-drama. Paul has a … are you ready… degree in F….I….L….M! There you have it boys and girls. A degree in film and a good deal of knowledge about south and central America. That’s it. OK, not quite it. In his next sentence he “proves� that Woody is all wet regarding the cost of removing CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels with that paragon of scientific journals (you know, the one that York always champions) THE … again… ready… here it comes…. a NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL…. Well, I’m sure castigated. Gawrsh as Goofy would say!

Well, the editorial does in fact say that removing CO2 would only be “$1.00 per ton� Only one problem, and that is the number of tons produced worldwide in a ten year period from 1994 through 2003 (and we are using those figures because that is what we will have to pay over the next 10 years if we start on Jan. 1, 2006… let’s see… it’s about 465,528.69 MILLION METRIC TONNES at one dollar per ton (and remember, a metric tonne weighs 2, 200 pounds whereas a ton weighs only 2000 pounds, so a metric ton is about 10% larger. Having said that, and even converting metric tones to standard tons we are talking about $512,081,559,000.00 we are talking about 512 billion dollars; you don't think you will feel that in your pocketbook?. Oh, and Paul, York, that figure is from YOUR guys… the ones that you say BELIEVE in GW.

Paul’s parting comment is “If you can't get the truth behind them they just make things up.� Paul, I propose that reducing the cost to only one ton and hiding the total number of tons is making things up.

But you see, radical out in left field lefties like Paul and Mark are all about that; scare, fear mongering and popular pablum; about purporting theory as fact (actually, to the amusement of all and sundry, that fellow York actually said "A theory in science is indeed fact." I'm surprised he graduated with that kind of thinking... all of my professors would have flunked me if I held that view. Then again, I went to a real university. and have more than 60 graduate hours with a 3.75 GPA, I'm a member of a national honor society as well. York on the other hand, maintained that grades of well, mediocre at best ) and their proposed solutions are the only hope of mankind. Well, remember global winter, the next ice age, how silicone implants caused all kinds of medical problems, how electric transmission lines caused cancer and other dire threats from magnetic currents (which is all the rage now, wearing magnets that is), how cell phones would give you brain tumors in a relatively short time… all debunked, but all part of the fear mongering and the cost of finding out that it was fear mongering was staggering. Dow Corning went bankrupt and spent over 3 billion dollars for the privilege, we spent well over 25 billion on powerline research, money that could have helped an awful lot of kids who were hungry, or a lot of treatment for aids victims in Africa or even on honest climate research. Reality based community indeed.

Update: Some of my readers have gone to leave comments at York's site. He banned them! Bwahahahaha!!! Oh Mark, you are such a dweeb!

Duty, Honor, Country

No Veteran's Day Celebration would be complete without a recitation of one of the best speeches ever given by an old soldier. One who did not die, he only faded away.

General Douglas MacArthur's Farewell Speech Given to the Corps of Cadets at West Point

May 12, 1962

General Westmoreland, General Groves, distinguished guests, and gentlemen of the Corps. As I was leaving the hotel this morning, a doorman asked me, "Where are you bound for, General?" and when I replied, "West Point," he remarked, "Beautiful place, have you ever been there before?"

No human being could fail to be deeply moved by such a tribute as this, coming from a profession I have served so long and a people I have loved so well. It fills me with an emotion I cannot express. But this award is not intended primarily for a personality, but to symbolize a great moral code - the code of conduct and chivalry of those who guard this beloved land of culture and ancient descent. That is the meaning of this medallion. For all eyes and for all time, it is an expression of the ethics of the American soldier. That I should be integrated in this way with so noble an ideal arouses a sense of pride and yet of humility which will be with me always.

"Duty," "Honor," "Country" - those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you want to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn. Unhappily, I possess neither that eloquence of diction, that poetry of imagination, nor that brilliance of metaphor to tell you all that they mean.

The unbelievers will say they are but words, but a slogan, but a flamboyant phrase. Every pedant, every demagogue, every cynic, every hypocrite, every troublemaker, and, I am sorry to say, some others of an entirely different character, will try to downgrade them even to the extent of mockery and ridicule.

But these are some of the things they do. They build your basic character. They mold you for your future roles as the custodians of the nation's defense. They make you strong enough to know when you are weak, and brave enough to face yourself when you are afraid.

They teach you to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but humble and gentle in success; not to substitute words for action; not to seek the path of comfort, but to face the stress and spur of difficulty and challenge; to learn to stand up in the storm, but to have compassion on those who fall; to master yourself before you seek to master others; to have a heart that is clean, a goal that is high; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; to reach into the future, yet never neglect the past; to be serious, yet never take yourself too seriously; to be modest so that you will remember the simplicity of true greatness; the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

They give you a temperate will, a quality of imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a freshness of the deep springs of life, a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, an appetite for adventure over love of ease. They create in your heart the sense of wonder, the unfailing hope of what next, and the joy and inspiration of life. They teach you in this way to be an officer and a gentleman.

And what sort of soldiers are those you are to lead? Are they reliable? Are they brave? Are they capable of victory?

Their story is known to all of you. It is the story of the American man at arms. My estimate of him was formed on the battlefields many, many years ago, and has never changed. I regarded him then, as I regard him now, as one of the world's noblest figures; not only as one of the finest military characters, but also as one of the most stainless.

His name and fame are the birthright of every American citizen. In his youth and strength, his love and loyalty, he gave all that mortality can give. He needs no eulogy from me, or from any other man. He has written his own history and written it in red on his enemy's breast.

But when I think of his patience under adversity, of his courage under fire, and of his modesty in victory, I am filled with an emotion of admiration I cannot put into words. He belongs to history as furnishing one of the greatest examples of successful patriotism. He belongs to posterity as the instructor of future generations in the principles of liberty and freedom. He belongs to the present, to us, by his virtues and by his achievements.

In twenty campaigns, on a hundred battlefields, around a thousand campfires, I have witnessed that enduring fortitude, that patriotic self-abnegation, and that invincible determination which have carved his statue in the hearts of his people.

From one end of the world to the other, he has drained deep the chalice of courage. As I listened to those songs of the glee club, in memory's eye I could see those staggering columns of the First World War, bending under soggy packs on many a weary march, from dripping dusk to drizzling dawn, slogging ankle deep through mire of shell-pocked roads; to form grimly for the attack, blue-lipped, covered with sludge and mud, chilled by the wind and rain, driving home to their objective, and for many, to the judgment seat of God.

I do not know the dignity of their birth, but I do know the glory of their death. They died unquestioning, uncomplaining, with faith in their hearts, and on their lips the hope that we would go on to victory. Always for them: Duty, Honor, Country. Always their blood, and sweat, and tears, as they saw the way and the light.

And twenty years after, on the other side of the globe, against the filth of dirty foxholes, the stench of ghostly trenches, the slime of dripping dugouts, those boiling suns of the relentless heat, those torrential rains of devastating storms, the loneliness and utter desolation of jungle trails, the bitterness of long separation of those they loved and cherished, the deadly pestilence of tropic disease, the horror of stricken areas of war.

Their resolute and determined defense, their swift and sure attack, their indomitable purpose, their complete and decisive victory - always victory, always through the bloody haze of their last reverberating shot, the vision of gaunt, ghastly men, reverently following your password of Duty, Honor, Country.

The code which those words perpetuate embraces the highest moral laws and will stand the test of any ethics or philosophies ever promulgated for the uplift of mankind. Its requirements are for the things that are right, and its restraints are from the things that are wrong. The soldier, above all other men, is required to practice the greatest act of religious training - sacrifice. In battle and in the face of danger and death, he discloses those divine attributes which his Maker gave when he created man in his own image. No physical courage and no brute instinct can take the place of the Divine help which alone can sustain him. However horrible the incidents of war may be, the soldier who is called upon to offer and to give his life for his country, is the noblest development of mankind.

You now face a new world, a world of change. The thrust into outer space of the satellite, spheres and missiles marked the beginning of another epoch in the long story of mankind - the chapter of the space age. In the five or more billions of years the scientists tell us it has taken to form the earth, in the three or more billion years of development of the human race, there has never been a greater, a more abrupt or staggering evolution. We deal now not with things of this world alone, but with the illimitable distances and as yet unfathomed mysteries of the universe. We are reaching out for a new and boundless frontier. We speak in strange terms: of harnessing the cosmic energy; of making winds and tides work for us; of creating unheard synthetic materials to supplement or even replace our old standard basics; of purifying sea water for our drink; of mining ocean floors for new fields of wealth and food; of disease preventatives to expand life into the hundred of years; of controlling the weather for a more equitable distribution of heat and cold, of rain and shine; of space ships to the moon; of the primary target in war, no longer limited to the armed forces of an enemy, but instead to include his civil populations; of ultimate conflict between a united human race and the sinister forces of some other planetary galaxy; of such dreams and fantasies as to make life the most exciting of all time.

And through all this welter of change and development your mission remains fixed, determined, inviolable. It is to win our wars. Everything else in your professional career is but corollary to this vital dedication. All other public purpose, all other public projects, all other public needs, great or small, will find others for their accomplishments; but you are the ones who are trained to fight.

Yours is the profession of arms, the will to win, the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory, that if you lose, the Nation will be destroyed, that the very obsession of your public service must be Duty, Honor, Country.

Others will debate the controversial issues, national and international, which divide men's minds. But serene, calm, aloof, you stand as the Nation's war guardians, as its lifeguards from the raging tides of international conflict, as its gladiators in the arena of battle. For a century and a half you have defended, guarded and protected its hallowed traditions of liberty and freedom, of right and justice.

Let civilian voices argue the merits or demerits of our processes of government. Whether our strength is being sapped by deficit financing indulged in too long, by federal paternalism grown too mighty, by power groups grown too arrogant, by politics grown too corrupt, by crime grown too rampant, by morals grown too low, by taxes grown too high, by extremists grown too violent; whether our personal liberties are as firm and complete as they should be.

These great national problems are not for your professional participation or military solution. Your guidepost stands out like a tenfold beacon in the night: Duty, Honor, Country.

You are the leaven which binds together the entire fabric of our national system of defense. From your ranks come the great captains who hold the Nation's destiny in their hands the moment the war tocsin sounds.

The long gray line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses, thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country.

This does not mean that you are warmongers. On the contrary, the soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

The shadows are lengthening for me. The twilight is here. My days of old have vanished - tone and tints. They have gone glimmering through the dreams of things that were. Their memory is one of wondrous beauty, watered by tears and coaxed and caressed by the smiles of yesterday. I listen then, but with thirsty ear, for the witching melody of faint bugles blowing reveille, of far drums beating the long roll.

In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield. But in the evening of my memory I come back to West Point. Always there echoes and re-echoes: Duty, Honor, Country.

Happy Veteran's Day to all of our Vets and their Families. Honor to those who fell in the defense of freedom, peace to those who did not die, but were shattered none-the-less. Our hearts go out to the familys of the fallen!

Taking Global Warming Seriously - The Left Offers New Study [UPDATED]

The left has a new ally to back up its claims about the perils of and solutions to global warming. What is this giant of science that puts global warming on the cover and boldly discusses it? Why, it's none other than Rolling Stone magazine! That's right! Rolling Stone isn't just for drugged out rock fans. It's a well respected science journal for global warming activists coming off a high. I've been viewing it wrong. For instance, when I saw Gwen Stefani, a Madonna look alike, on last month's cover, I noted that she had her shirt completely open and her pants riding low. Now, I realize that she wasn't making a statement--she was trying to stay cool!

Science Magazine Explains
(Un)dressing to Stay Cool
In Global Warming

To learn more about Rolling Stone's global warming issue, also featuring an article by Al Gore, refer to these links:

Global Warming on the Cover of Rolling Stone, by Steven Milloy which references Junk Science. That site has a moving counter showing that, so far, the Kyoto Protocol has cost over $110,000,000,000 resulting in a potential temperature savings of (are you ready?) 0.001145 degrees C. !! -- which is a good indicator of the cost-benefit ratio that we would see with the Kyoto program.

Stay tuned. High Times might have an expose' covering the global warming effects on pot growth, and the left will surely be concerned about that information. They need to keep smoking to continue believing and pushing wild claims on this issue.

[***UPDATE***]

Visit the Left Who Keeps Us Entertained !

It drives people on the left crazy, or should I say crazier, when reasoned people don't take them seriously. (Why should we?) They'll argue and pull out all sorts of articles and research in attempts to convince others that they are right, I mean correct. It is especially funny when we make tongue-in-cheek comments and post entries ridiculing their positions, but they take the remarks dead seriously. I have done this over-and-over and they just don't get it. Such was the case, also, with G.M.'s entry on the relationship between global warming and the number of pirates in the world. The guys on the left actually tried to have an intellectual argument to refute that! They're nuts! They will argue and try to prove us wrong, when we're just making a joke. That is like watching the movie "Airplane" and doing a critique on Leslie Nielsen as a drama actor. Guess what. He's not being serious in that movie. Sometimes, as in this case, we're just having fun. Lighten up!

But, no. In checking our stats, I noticed unusual referrals from "radical leftist sites." Investigating, I found that two of our favorite bloggers on the left are having a conniption fit over our comments on global warming. Mark York (who was banned by G.M. for his inappropriate language) and Randy Paul (whom I earlier called a psycho--I apologized) have teamed up to discredit our comments with entries on their sites. Now, they didn't have the courtesy to let us know, but we were lucky(?) enough to discover them.

They went further to say that I was untruthful about having a science segment for kids on public television (not public access) a while back. Well, I did and I don't lie, so they're wrong--leaving me to conclude that their research is not infallible. We forgive them. After all, their desperate positions demand desperate accusations. Ultimately with the left, they abandon reasoned discussions to engage in personal attacks. It worked when they were five years old, so they keep trying it.

To show that there are no hard feelings, I want to encourage all of you to visit their sites and see the contributions that they have to offer to science and the world. We want everyone to see both sides of the global warming issue and politics in general, and you can decide if you want to accept their views--or ours, or neither. First, check out the "wisdom and punditry" of Mark A. York and his post on Butthead's Logic. Then, follow that to "a proud member of the reality-based community" Randy Paul and his article titled It Is to Laugh. But, don't just read their attacks on us and the right. View their main pages to read their philosophies and to check their credentials as climate scientists and overall experts. They will probably appreciate the traffic and will be glad that someone is actually reading their posts.

If you are led, be good sports and leave comments for them. Show them that we care for their views. As visitors, remember to be polite. You're representing the right, and we want to keep wearing the white hats. One last thing. Whatever you do, don't make jokes. They just wouldn't get them.

Dr. Sanity - A Post Worth Reading

I have a friend. She has been my friend for almost a full year now and she is a blogger like myself. Her name is Pat Santy and she writes the blog Dr. Sanity. Dr. Pat is a practicing psychiatrist and is, like me, conservative. She authors a weekly post called the Carnival of the Insanities and has featured a post or two of mine over the last year.

But that is not the reason for this post. The reason for this post is that she won the Watcher's Council weekly "post of the week" with this post: "The Intellectual and Moral Bankruptcy of Today's Left" and what a post it is. If my readers don't immediately click on the link and read it, then they aren't as smart as I think they are.

Dr. Sanity (her nom de plume or nom de pixel as it may be) also nominated this post of mine for the non-council post of the week but I didn't win. Who won was Stephen Green's Brilliant essay "The Arm of Decision", and folks, I gotta tell ya, I would have voted for the VodkaPundit myself on this weeks essays and if you don't go read that one, again you are not as smart as I think you are.

So, my deepest thanks to Dr. Sanity for the nomination, but more importantly my deepest congratulations too both authors for absolutely brilliant posts.

MoonBat Central Closes - Not for Lack of Material

I enjoy reading about funny stories of people on the left--often called MoonBats. So, I had mixed feelings when I found a site that featured weird and wacky tales about them at MoonBat Central. There was excitement because they had good stories, but that was mixed with disappointment as they stopped posting this week. Just my luck. However, this site, hosted by David Horowitz and friends, will continue in a fashion using other sites that they continue to run. Its past entries are still good reads, just like an old book can still be enjoyed.

Here are some of the recent posts that they covered.

Cynthia McKinney Gets Down to Business: Ever wonder what Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney does during her day job, other than lobbying for the cessation of aid to Israel? Wonder no more:: ...Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is attempting to pass legislation for the public release of all files on the life and murder of Tupac Shakur. Afenia Shakur, Tupac's mother and former Black Panther, is supporting these efforts.

A Paranoid Left? Believe it or not, there are some people who suggest that the far left is a little more than a haven for conspiracy theorists and paranoiacs. We leave it to readers to make the call. A map of the major figures involved in Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld's 2002-3 campaign to invade Iraq

Moonbats Target Victoria’s Secret Local moonbats in Michigan are targeting Victoria’s Secret stores because they use too much paper. They claim that using paper causes global warming and pokes holes in the ozone and other bad stuff. We urge Victoria’s Secret to appease the critics and to make amends by manufacturing ladies’ undergarments with a smaller amount of fabric!

Michael Moore: Halliburton Stockholder World Net Daily reports that Michael Moore may hate US capitalism but he is not above trying to make some wampum from it. Seems Mikey is a large investor in US stocks, including… in Halliburton . "I don’t own a single share of stock!" Moore has often proudly proclaimed. Well, turns out he’s right. He doesn’t own a single share. He owns tens of thousands of shares ....

North Carolina State Prof: Kill Whitey North Carolina State University employs a rabid Afrofascist named Kamau Kambon in its "African Studies Department". The John Locke weblog has been doing a phenomenal job of exposing politicized lunacy at the University.

Without knowing the reasons for closing the site, I am confident that it has nothing to do with lack of material. Maybe we can help them to carry on the tradition of finding humor in actions of the left. Share any that you find with us.

USMC - It's a Birthday Party

Happy Birthday to the United States Marine Corps!

ht to Raven for the image.

Bloggers Need YOUR Help... Not Tomorrow - TODAY!!!

There is a threat to your favorite blog, whether it be a lefty blog, a righty blog or THIS blog. From The Online Coalition comes this snippit:

You haven’t heard from us in a few months – but we’ve been working hard to protect your freedom to speak online. And now we need your help.

Right now – there are TWO bills in Congress that will affect bloggers – one good, one bad. The bill that deserves our support is HR 1606 – The Online Freedom of Speech Act.

The other bill – HR 4194 – is a substitute offered by those most interested in regulating the internet. Its supporters are engaged in an aggressive campaign to pass this legislation in Congress, in an effort to muddy the waters and distract Congress from passing real protections for bloggers. They're so terrified of your freedom to speak your mind that they've actually compared giving freedom to bloggers to the scandal involving Scooter Libby in the White House. No, we're not making that up.

Read the whole thing. Write your congressmen in no uncertain terms. Put a notice on your blog, send e-mails to friends letting them know. Do something or this media that we love will change and not for the better. If you really value the First Amendment, do this now!!!!

This is so important, that even Mike Kempansky of Redstate.org and Markos Moulitsas Zúniga of DailyKos.com (good gawd, whoda thunk I would ever link to Kos) have jointly signed the letter below to the congress critters of the US:

November 9, 2005 Dear Member of Congress,

As bloggers from the right and left, we don’t often agree on much. But when it comes to free speech online, we couldn’t agree more. We urge you to oppose H.R. 4194, the Shays-Meehan "Internet Anti-Corruption and Free Speech Protection Act of 2005". We oppose H.R. 4194 primarily because despite claims by its supporters - it does not in fact offer adequate protections for speech and political activity online. In particular:

• It would stifle technological innovation. H.R. 4194 would not adequately protect Internet activity which is not “blogging�, such as already-widely used technologies like podcasting, wikis and peer-to-peer networks, let alone the technologies of tomorrow. In the face of regulatory doubt, no one will want to invest in emerging technologies to enhance citizen participation not clearly protected by the law; and

• It offers no guidance as to the treatment of group political activity, potentially treating all group websites that discuss federal candidates as political committees, with voluminous filing and disclosure requirements, so long as members spent $1000 on server and other costs, an easily-reached amount;

• Its alleged protection to incorporated bloggers offers no real protection. In comments filed before the FEC, supporters of H.R. 4194 have stated explicitly that those websites which endorse, expressly advocate, and urge readers to donate funds to the election of preferred candidates do not qualify for protection under the law. In other words, rather than protecting popular sites like DailyKos.com or FreeRepublic, H.R. 4194 would actually force them to seek counsel and comply with voluminous campaign finance law requirements, stifling and chilling grassroots political activity across the Internet. For those members committed to extending the BCRA rules and regulations to the Internet, it would be preferable to pass no bill at all rather than H.R. 4194, which would only chill free speech and technological growth, and instead wait for the Federal Election Commission to complete its current rulemaking process.

Better still would be to pass H.R. 1606, the Online Freedom of Speech Act. H.R. 1606 would preserve the status quo which governed the 2004 election cycle, during which none of the fears now trumpeted by H.R. 4194’s supporters came to pass. Moreover, as FEC Vice Chairman Michael Toner has stated, the charge that H.R. 1606 would somehow allow federal candidates to coordinate with corporations and unions to spend soft money funds to purchase Internet banner and video ads on behalf of candidates “has no legal foundation.� As he has explained:

The FEC's regulation exempting the Internet was based on its interpretation of the statutory definition of “public communications� in the McCain-Feingold law. However, neither the FEC's regulation, nor the Hensarling bill, in any way touches the broad statutory prohibition found at 2 U.S.C. Section 441b that bars corporations and unions from making expenditures in connection with federal elections.

The purpose of campaign finance law is to blunt the impact of accumulated wealth on the political process, but this is does not occur online. While wealth allows a campaign or large donor to dominate the available space on TV or in print, there is no mechanism on the Internet by which entities can use wealth or organizational strength to crowd out or silence other speakers. Any citizen who wants to establish a website that discusses political matters can do so within five minutes, and their words are instantly available to hundreds of millions of users on an equal basis with every other site.

Moreover, one need not invest millions of dollars to reach people on the Internet. The most popular Web sites are often the cheapest ones, many using the free Blogger.com service to publish their thoughts at no cost at all. Content is king on the Internet, and the idea that accumulated wealth could have a corrupting influence online demonstrates a profound misunderstanding of how the medium operates or how citizens approach it. In sum, the Internet now fulfills through technology what the rest of campaign finance reform attempts via law – and this occurred under the legal regime which H.R. 1606 seeks to codify. We urge you to proceed cautiously, and steer clear of additional restrictions like H.R. 4194 until real corruption becomes evident. At that point, Congress and the Federal Election Commission will still be around, and can prevent actual problems, and not merely hypothetical ones. Before considering support for H.R. 4194, ask yourself this question: if everything its supporters are saying is true, why did no one take advantage of these “loopholes� in 2004? We urge you to oppose H.R. 4194.

Sincerely,

Markos Moulitsas Zúniga
DailyKos.com

Michael Krempasky
RedState.org

One Year Old ~ And Still Growing

And what a year it has been. In the spring of 2004 I was reading daily a couple of blogs. Roger L. Simon, Instapundit, Michael J. Totten, NRO-The Corner and a few others. I read the on-line versions of several newspapers (still do in fact) including the Washington Post, the Washington Times, and the Op-Ed pages of the New York Times.

One afternoon, reading Michael Totten's blog, I found a mention of a "new" blogger by the name of Marc Cooper with a hint that this was a "progressive blogger" worth reading. So I sauntered on over there (as much as one can "saunter" on a keyboard) and hid in the weeds for a few weeks before commenting. Before I knew it, I was a fairly regular commenter from the right, engaging the silliness of the left on occasion, but also having an occasional e-mail exchange with Marc Cooper. In September or October of '04, I began to think "I could do this, I can maybe start blogging."

I looked at a lengthy number of blogs over the next few months, in between reading up on the views of the left and right over the then upcoming election. Knowing that I didn't know a lot about platforms, blogging costs if any or other such minute I asked Marc about it. Now, one of the things I've found about the blogosphere is that while bloggers may be furious enemies politically, they can be quite helpful to newbies. So it was with Marc. Right after the election I picked blogger (mostly because it was free and I could fit that into my budget with little problem) and played with it a few days before my first post on November 9, 2004. I let Marc know I had "started" and he was gracious enough to be one of my first commenters: "GM... Nice blog... Put on ur seat belt!" Michael Totten chimed in with "Welcome to the blogosphere,George. What took ya so long?" And I was off and running.

I moved to my current Moveable Type platform in January and I'm glad I made the move, much more control over the mechanics of blogging. Today, a few stats are in order On my old platform, I posted 62 posts; unfortunately comments and such weren't saved so I have no idea how many there were, there weren't many I do know that. I had some 1603 visitors during that two and two thirds months on blogger. Since moving to my current platform, I've done considerably better. I brought Woody onboard in June to help post while I was on vacation, and we've had a total of 636 entries, 2,516 comments and 187 trackbacks from other bloggers. Both Woody and I remember getting our first 10,000 visitors, then 20,000 and now, according to Site Meter, over 60,000 visitors. But that isn't the whole story. The statcounter on my website hosts server (which counts each request for information) lists 79,816 unique visitors and 167,048 visits since the end of January. I've had three or four "Instalanches" courtesy of Glen Reynolds. I entered the "King of the Blogs" contest and won three times in a row, establishing a "dynasty." That was fun.

I've made so many friends on this journey that it isn't funny, Tad Curtis and Howard Benjamen, are two especially good friends. One a fellow teacher locally, the other through the first who is now a blogger himself. I've asked for suggestions and help from others and have never been turned down, I've passed that on whenever I could and someone would ask me for advice on blogging.

I've learned from others to numerous to mention, I've joined a couple of groups including The Wide Awakes and South Park Republicans, one serious right wing stuff, the other a parody site, new and so far quite interesting. I've become a "MilBlogs" member celebrating the brave men and women of our Armed Services. I've had a ball.

But no remembrance would be complete without a special thanks to Woody, my blogging partner. I met Woody via Marc Cooper where he had no problem jousting with some of the more left wing commenters over there. When I asked him in late May if he would be willing, he stepped up and said that he would help "while I was gone." After a brief but steep learning curve, I took off and left my blog in his hands. Woody was more than capable and did a Yeoman's Job of it. In fact, he did so well that I asked him to stay on and he graciously accepted. Woody didn't contribute much to this particular entry, because yesterday was his 30th wedding anniversary. Congratulations Woody, I'm amazed that your bride has put up with you so long. ;-)

Blogs of note, and bloggers that I have made personal friends with are far too numerous to mention and include all of the Wide Awakes and South Park Republicans, each of you is special, each of you has made my life better. I've made friends with fellow bloggers who are in my line of work (mental health) including my friend Pat Santy, M.D. who writes at Dr. Sanity who has graciously nominated me for the Watchers Council weekly "contest".

One other thank you needs to go out, and that is to you, my readers. The 150,000 plus visitors have left an indelible mark on my heart and on my mind. I have had comments from friends and political foes, I've seen commenters come and go, but none ever go without leaving something of themselves to share with everyone else. I've had visitors from America, France, Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, Spain, Portugal, The Ivory Coast in Africa, South Africa, China, The Republic of Korea, Japan, the Phillipines, Australia, New Guinea, Argintina, Brazil, Bolivia, Panama, Mexico, Canada, Hawaii, Alaska, and even from the Peoples Republic of Mass. from Taiwan, and one visitor from Left Field, but I banned him and he knows why.

Marc Cooper was right, this has been an incredible ride and I can't help but wonder what the next year will bring.

Cheers, and Thanks to all.

GM and Woody

Linked at Cao's Blog at Don Surber at Conservative Cat The Political Teen

Wonderful Wacky Wednesday Trackback Party

Got a great post you want to share with the whole wide world? Said something worth spreading around? Join today's Wonderful Wacky Wednesday's Trackback party. Just track back to this post with a link on bottom of your post with something like "Linked at GM's Corner" or "Spreading the Word at GM's Corner."

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Curse Of The Mummy

I grew up loving, and absolutely adoring all the America International horror shows! Dracula, The Wolfman all that stuff. Back in the days when monsters were just around the corner, when you screamed at the heroine "Don't go in the room." I also developed a fondness for the Hollywood versions of old tales such as The Mummy's Curse and Frankenstein.

In a way, I'm grateful for all the old horror flics, they prepared me for today's monsters like Harry Reid, Ted Kennedy and Nancy Pelosi (very big sarcastic grin pasted here).

But, be that as it may, I loved horror flics. I also loved them for the stupidity of some of the scenes which heightened my appreciation for weird senses of humor and lo and behold, one of my more delightful commenters (Maggie if you MUST know) sent me a link (here) regarding a new CURSE! The Iceman's curse. Now, the Iceman, or Oeggl as he has been named (How do they know his name wasn't "Jon," or "Sam," or even "Bartholomew," let alone an IceMan named "Sue?") or by some Oetzi (again, how the heck do they know, maybe his name was Rumplesteltskin) has a number of deaths attributed to those who have "handled" or had something to do with "desecrating" his remains. For Pete's sake! We even know his stomach contents (isn't that a disgusting thought?)

Some of you may remember the discovery of the Iceman in a glacier in the Alps some decade and a half ago. Well, the deaths mount... From the article:

Helmut Simon (67) The amateur climber who found Oetzi. He was killed during an unexpected blizzard in the Alps last year.
Dieter Warnecke (45) The head of the mountain rescue team sent to find Simon. He died of a heart attack within hours of Simon’s funeral.
Rainer Henn (64) A forensic pathologist who handled the body. He was killed in a car crash in 1992.
Kurt Fritz (52) The mountaineer who led Henn to the body. He was killed in an avalanche shortly after Henn died.
Rainer Holz (47) A filmmaker who made a documentary about removing the body. He died of a brain tumour.
Konrad Spindler (66) An archaeologist who was a leading expert on the body. He died of multiple sclerosis complications.

And now Tom Loy a molecular biologist who worked on the remains has died of a rare blood disease. Mr. Loy was 63.

[cue spooky music]

Mike's America: "Democrats will lie US into Iraq Defeat

Mike of Mike's America has a well documented, well thought out post on the Democrat stunts in congress. My favorite grafs:

At the direction of Senator Roberts, staffers on the Senate Intell. panel assembled several hundred statements by Republicans regarding Iraq, weapons of mass destruction and links to terrorism and paired them up with the intelligence reports that formed the basis for the conclusion. Along with Republican statements, those by Democrats were added as well. But before each statement was evaluated for it's veracity, staffers blocked the column revealing who said what.

A blind study, fair and impartial, to get to the truth with less opportunity for political grandstanding! Of COURSE Democrats objected!

France Is Hoist On Its Own Petard ~ UPDATED

Oddly enough, this individual is praying for France! The French are now at a crossroads of thier own making. By pandering to the labor unions, the government has dropped the work week and the work ethic to such low standards that unemployment in France is huge, some 10.1% (2004 est.) (and nearly triple that for the young) of the workforce is without jobs, and the highest levels are in the ghetto's of non-assimilated North African Muslims and other ethnic minorities.

Rioting in one area of Paris has spread to much of france (read here, here, and here) and no one seems to know how to bring a halt to 12 days of riots. Crackdown will happen, to the detriment of those rioting, but more importantly to the body politic of France.

Yet, a solution must be found, one that brings a halt to the destruction and a halt to the non-assimilation of legal immegrants to France, and much of the European Union. If the balkanization of the French polity continues, it will spread through the more socially aware [/sarcasm] countries of Europe and it may even be a portent of our own multi-cultural experiments. Too often, the ultimate end (though not the goal) of multiculturalism is isolation and ultimate radicalization of those who become isolated.

UPDATE: Below is a map showing the extent of the rioting. (HT to Instapundit for the tip) Click on the map for the source and the rest of the article.

Pray for France, they need it!

UPDATE #2: The Brussels Journal has an in-depth look at the whole thing.l The money graf:

What is happening in France has been brewing in Old Europe for years. The BBC speaks of “youths� venting their “anger.� The BBC is wrong. It is not anger that is driving the insurgents to take it out on the secularised welfare states of Old Europe. It is hatred. Hatred caused not by injustice suffered, but stemming from a sense of superiority. The “youths� do not blame the French, they despise them.

Read the whole thing.

UPDATE #3: Hugh Hewitt has an excellent interview with Victor Davis Hanson that is not to be missed. (Again, HT to Instapundit) Go here and read the whole transcript. My favorite quote from Dr. Hanson? Easy:

Well, there's two messages. One, that we in America can see where an unassimilated un-integrated a population goes, and where that leads to, it leads to a sort of an apartheid. And two, we can see what happens with an EU that can't create real economic growth, and has high stagnant unemployment of 10%. And three, this is I think a little bit more controversial, that we can see what happens to a society that doesn't ask the immigrant to integrate, and the immigrant doesn't feel that he has to integrate, or to learn the language, or learn the traditions of the West. So you have this Orwellian situation when thousands of people are rioting, you want to say let me get this straight. You do not want to go back to the country, an hour or two away by air, that you praise in the abstract, but you surely want to stay in a country that you want to burn down to the concrete. It doesn't make any sense..."

UPDATE #4: Roger L. Simon has an excellent article on the riots as does Judy writing at Adloyada. Be sure and read all the comments as well.

You Gotta See This!

To all the doubters, the quagmirists or the folk who, like me, believe in human dignity and freedom.

Thank You America

The Other Iraq

Share The Dream

British Muslims Celebrate Victory

London - Associated Press
Muhammad al Fawaz-Turki

There has been massive celebrating in London and throughout the British Empire as one of the most hateful and racist cartoon's and literary character has been banned by the Home Office. On Monday, Mamoud ibn Ukbar-Jihaddi filed a complaint stating that tens of thousands of Muslim children were not able to enjoy the stories of Christopher Robin and Winnie-The-Pooh because of the inherent anti-muslim character that can pop up in the stories. Deriding the character Piglet, ibn Ukbar-Jihaddi stated that muslims could even conceivably be irrevocably harmed psychologically by growing up without having a thourough understanding of the 100 Acre Wood. "After all," said ibn Ukbar-Jihaddi, muslims are people too and we have every right to live in a swine free environment."

Of course not everyone agrees with the ban. Contacted at the 100 Acre Wood, Tigger noted that he would have his workload increase beyond his ability to perform as he and Eeyore will have to now fill in for piglet. "Those folk (the Muslims) have no idea how difficult it is to keep up with Pooh and provide him amusement for the stories," said Tigger.

Eeyore agreed nodding his head and saying only "Uh-huh!" Cristopher Robin, attending the now mandatory Madarass in Lincolnshire could not be reached for comment.

Need MORE Proof?

I have complained long and hard about the lies of the MSM and the totally dishonest twisting of facts (when they don't just leave facts out) and making up stories out of whole cloth. I've provided examples of the chicanery of the MSM, especially the NYTimes, LA Times and Washington Post. Now, there is a really great story on how the NYTimes just can't help themselves when it comes to "the lie."
The Mudville Gazette

Help Democrats Understand Iraqi War

The Democrats want answers as to why the U.S. is at war in Iraq. Maybe this picture will help them find a reason.

Thanks to the clever and nice guys at Sacred Cow Burgers(c) !

Any questions? Pass this on to any of your skeptic friends.

Linked at Cao's Blog

Awwwww

Want to read something that will touch your heart? Want to read something that is a miracle all wrapped up in a single post? Want to feel a lump in your throat? Read This and if you aren't touched deeply, ask yourself "What the hell is the matter with me?"

Thanks Bill, you made me smile! You made me remember the joy when my beloved daughter was born and you made me remember the joy of watching her grow up into a fantastic adult.

Wonderful Wacky Wednesday Trackback Party!

Got a great post you want to share with the whole wide world? Said something worth spreading around? Join today's Wonderful Wacky Wednesday's Trackback party. Just track back to this post with a link on bottom of your post with something like "Linked at GM's Corner" or "Spreading the Word at GM's Corner."

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Gotta warn you though, we check trackbacks and those without the linkage to this post will be deleted. So, get 'em up, move 'em out!!!

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Moveon.org's Inability to Move On

Not only is Move On dot org not able to move on vis-a-vis Scooter Libby, but they have a petition out that would:

Stop Alito -This morning, with his administration growing weaker by the day, President Bush caved to pressure from the radical fringe of the Republican Party and nominated Samuel Alito to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court.

Alito is a notoriously right-wing judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He has consistently ruled to strip basic protections from workers, women, minorities and the disabled in favor of unchecked power for corporations and special interests.

Bush's ploy to woo the far-right could reshape the High Court for decades to come�but we don't have to let that happen. Today we're joining the campaign to stop him by aiming to collect 350,000 signatures in 48 hours. Can you help us get there?

When I read this, I laughed so hard I almost cried. The folk at MoveOn are petrified, terrified, horrified, abashed, aghast, alarmed, anxious, apprehensive, aroused, blanched, cowed, daunted, discouraged, disheartened, dismayed, distressed, disturbed, faint-hearted, frozen, intimidated, nervous, panic-stricken, perplexed, perturbed, rattled, running scared, scared stiff, shocked, spooked, startled, stunned, suspicious, terror-stricken, trembling, upset, worried and otherwise discombobulated. OMG, this is so much fun.

Look, lets be honest, they don't want Alito for two reasons: 1) Bush appointed him and 2.) Alito won't pander to their worldview of social re-engineering. If Alito is so far to the right, then everyone must agree that Ginsberg is equally far to the left, if not in fact farther. So these pathetic folk gin up a petition to present to the senate to get the MINORITY Dems to do their bidding: e.g. (the dreaded) Phil E. Buster!

Well, you know they first asked for 250,000 signatures, then jacked it up to 300,000 signatures and now to 350,000 signatures. You know, with more than 60 MILLION folk voting for Bush, 350,000 signatures are a drop in the proverbial bucket. And yet, and yet, there are serious indications that these MoveOners either don't know how to gather signatures that count, or they are cheating (anyone want to bet what I think? No? I'm not surprised!).

Eric at MyopicZeal picked up on Nates research at Another Attempt has some excellent stats and research on how MoveOn's figures seem to be well, aggrandized, amplified, augmented, aureate, bloated, distended, enlarged, euphuistic, extended, flatulent, flowery, fustian, grandiloquent, grown, magnified, magniloquent, ostentatious, overblown, overestimated, puffed, pumped up, stretched, surcharged, swollen, tumescent, tumid, turgid, verbose, windy, wordy and down right unfair. Nate notes nothing nefarious for sure, but does note that in minute by minute counts the numbers go up, down, then back up then down again. He also noted that he was able to sign the petition with a fictitious, false, fancified and even fortified name, and it was accepted:

Update: They don't do e-mail validation, meaning you could sign up repeatedly with false information. They also don't return any error when you submit the same information over and over again. Whether or not duplicates get added to the petition, I'm not sure. In any event, this petition is meaningless given they don't verify submitted e-mail addresses, and one person can submit multiple "signatures" using different (real or fake) e-mail addresses.

Update: I've submitted 4 signatures to MoveOn.org's petition, three with valid (personal) e-mail addresses, and one with a fake e-mail address. All successful. The possibilities (and signatures) are infinite at this point. This still doesn't explain the counter discrepancies.

Now, I'm not saying that what MoveOn is doing is illegal, but in my worldview, we call it cheating. Actually, I'm really hoping that the Dems are craven enough to fear MoveOn and their ilk. Then the Dems are likely to push Mr. Phil E. Buster's button and the Neuclear Option comes into play. I hope so, I really do.

Nate, you've done a fabulous job. Keep up the excellent work my good fellow.

Linked at Cao's Blog!, NIF, Oblogatory Anecdotes, Something and Half of Something, Don Surber, and The Political Teen

A Deal for You! Don't miss this train!

Suppose I offered you an investment deal to get on board with a company that has lost a billion dollars a year since 1971 and has no prospects of making a profit in the future. It has overpaid workers, its equipment is run down, most of what it sells is at a loss, and the company is in debt up to its eyeballs. Would you take this great offer? Not likely, unless you were a fool. Well, why does the United States Congress keep appropriating billions of dollars to this company--billions that belong to the taxpayers? This company is your national railroad--Amtrak. You did know that you already owned it, didn't you--or does it own you?

What's going on? You see, the left likes to tell the rest of us how to live, and the left insists that we take trains instead of more convenient and cost-effective methods of transportation. Why? Well, when the left wants something in this country, there are three things that you can count on. First, it will help them to feel good. Second, it won't make any sense. Third, it will cost a lot of money. Amtrak fits that bill.

If you would like to know more, read this: CFO Magazine - Is This Any Way to Run a Railroad?

Here are some excerpts from the article:

Last February, for example, the White House announced it intended to cut off Amtrak's billion-dollar-plus annual subsidy � which covers about half the railroad's total budget � unless the carrier agreed to a radical restructuring. Both the House and the Senate defied the Administration, calling for subsidies ranging from $1.17 billion to $1.45 billion for 2006....

Whatever the scale, Amtrak employees appear to be doing just fine. Based on the carrier's most recent figures, the average worker at the railroad receives $70,000 in annual compensation. Moreover, certain work rules � some call them featherbedding � pump up the number of employees required to perform specific tasks. ...Cutting worker-related costs won't be easy, though. Smith must deal with 14 different unions and 26 bargaining units.

The on-time performance on many of Amtrak's overland lines hasn't helped matters. Overall, Amtrak's 13 long-distance lines (excluding the Northeast Corridor) recorded a 43.5 percent on-time rate for the first nine months of the railroad's 2005 fiscal year.

In May, Standard & Poor's placed the railroad's BBB- rating on CreditWatch, with negative implications. "Without the [government] subsidy, the numbers wouldn't support the current credit rating," notes S&P analyst Lisa Jenkins. A drop of just two notches would reduce Amtrak's debt rating to non-investment-grade, driving up the cost on future borrowings. That's worrisome, considering the railroad paid $203 million last year just to cover the interest expense on the mountain of debt taken on during the previous administration.

"We can do a reasonable rate of return, but it's not going to be a rate of return that most people understand," (CFO David Smith) insists. "A large component of the return is going to be the social good we do."

Smith shakes his head. "I tell you, it's a hell of a way to run a railroad."

Well, with that last statement, we can agree on something.

But, from our friends on the left, linked above, comes this:

What’s next? President Bush wants to push Amtrak into bankruptcy, and end its rail services. He proposes to set aside $360 million for a new train system to someday run only in the country’s northeast corridor. Bush wants to “privatize� the rest of Amtrak by selling its assets, and let multiple corporations make profits as they see fit.

The leading House Democrat on transportation, Minnesota Rep. Jim Oberstar, predicts a “test of wills.� “This is serious� he said. “They really intend to eliminate Amtrak.� Said Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ),� They’re about to run Amtrak off a cliff…. We’re gonna fight it, and we’ll see who blinks first.�

What makes sense to you? Taxpayers are being railroaded as Amtrak proponents steam along. The company jumped the tracks long ago and it's time to stop the train. Privatize Amtrak or close it. The experiment has gone on long enough.

Hate Bush? - Take This Test and Leave the Country.

When George W. Bush was elected President, we had the usual Hollywood villains huffing that they were leaving the country. Much to our disappointment, they didn't. Then, when Bush was running for re-election, those threats (or promises to me) were made again--and not kept. It's possible that the complainers didn't leave because they had no knowledge of how to become citizens of another country. So, I offer this British citizenship test for everyone who wants to escape Bush. If Madonna can learn to speak with a British accent, then certainly the Hollywood elite can read a book to pass this test and keep their promises to get out of Dodge.

BBC News - Can you pass a citizenship test?

The government is launching the citizenship test for foreigners who want to become British. If you want the passport, then you'll have to read Life in the UK, a special book, and sit a 45-minute test on society, history and culture. But do you know what it is to be British? The following very unofficial questions are based on information in the official book - let's see how well you do.

First, here is a question that I missed when I took the test. (This is really covered.)

Life in the UK explains what to do if you spill someone's pint in the pub. What, according to the book, usually happens next?

A: You would offer to buy the person another pint
B: You would offer to dry their wet shirt with your own
C: You may need to prepare for a fight in the car park

If you think that you can handle these questions on the U.K., you can find the Sample Test Here.

When I took the U.S. citizenship tests in an earlier post, I was able to get 100%, but I only got 8 out of 14 for the British test, so I guess that I'm sticking around the U.S. I wouldn't have it any other way--especially if many of the left leave.

TE Leaves the Boston Redsox!

Just Damn!

Theo Epstein Leaves The Red Sox