NSA RULING

"The standing rules that Judge Taylor shunned are there for a reason. It is not a legalism. It is not some abstruse jurisprudential technicality that you’d need an Ivy League law degree to decipher. It is about the right of the American people to govern themselves.

Courts are not there to tell us how to live and tell the other branches how to do their jobs. They are there to redress concrete injuries that directly and uniquely affect individuals. If there is a government policy — such as monitoring al Qaeda’s international communications — that affects all of us more or less the same way, that is not a legal problem. It is a political issue.

Political issues get resolved by political actors. Here, the Framers trusted Americans, not judges. If a president tilts too far in the direction of either civil liberties or national security, the Americans who are consequently imperiled or intimidated have the final check. They can vote him out of office. If the president really shreds the Constitution (as opposed to using his daunting Article II powers to quell enemies and save American lives), citizens can spur congress to impeach him." -- Andrew McCarthy

The Army That Only Goes Where It's Safe

From LGF

"Before committing troops to the Lebanon ceasefire they championed at the United Nations, France wants safety guarantees.

I’m not making this up.

Despite expectations that France would provide the bulk of a planned 15,000 strong UN force, Paris said Thursday it would send 200 troops to reinforce the UN mission in Lebanon.

While it said France was prepared to command the enlarged force, it also called for safety guarantees for its soldiers before making further commitments.

UPDATE:

Another jawdropper from French defense minister Michele Alliot-Marie:

Alliot-Marie said troop contributions to the expanded UNIFIL force should come from a great number of countries, both in Europe and the Muslim world.

'What we must absolutely avoid is giving the image of a Western world imposing peace on the Muslim world,' she said."

HeavyHanded: We can't have that now, can we?

Fundamental Rights? What Fundamental Rights?

Honor Killing in Italy: Two charged in throat slitting.

Italian police were searching yesterday for a man suspected of involvement in the killing of a Pakistani woman after her father and uncle were charged with slitting her throat because she dated an Italian man and refused to conform to an Islamic lifestyle.

Investigators believe the third suspect helped the father and uncle kill Hina Saleem, 21. The woman’s body was found buried in the family’s garden in Sarezzo on Saturday. Her father and uncle were taken into custody on Monday.

Investigators said they were looking into the theory that the grave was dug before the woman was killed. It is thought a long kitchen knife was used to slit her throat.

The Milan daily Corriere della Sera reported that the victim’s father had applied for Italian citizenship two months ago. Applicants must convince authorities that they also embrace “fundamental” rights, including the right of a woman “to choose her own life”, said the interior minister, Giuliano Amato.

Kofi Annan Springs Into Action, Condemns Israel

He’s not one bit concerned that Syria and Iran are trying to rearm Hizballah as quickly as possible, but Kofi Annan says the Israeli raid in Lebanon violates the UN’s meaningless truce.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said an Israeli raid in Lebanon on Saturday violated the U.N.-backed truce and made him “deeply concerned.”

“The secretary-general is deeply concerned about a violation by the Israeli side of the cessation of hostilities as laid out in Security Council resolution 1701,” a spokesman for Annan said in a statement posted on the U.N. Web site. “The incident involved an Israeli raid in eastern Lebanon on Saturday.”

Israel said the commando attack on a Hizbollah stronghold in eastern Lebanon was defensive and was designed to disrupt weapons supplies to Hizbollah from Syria and Iran.

From LGF

CLARITY

"Clarity! We will know what we're up against. But people with memories of elephantine persistence may recall a certain rhetorical formulation all the rage five years ago: You're either with us, or on the side of the terrorists.

Those were days of clarity and resolve, two things that horrify the international community. Diplomats live in a fog of smiles and sheathed knives, and the idea that one could behold the world in terms of Naughty and Nice threatened to upset the order that had kept the peace for 60 years. By "peace," we mean no fistfights in the U.N. dining room. Outside of that, who cares?

But clarity is not enough without action; one can say that bank robbing is wrong, but it helps also to install alarms, stock up on exploding dye packs, hire cops and build prisons. It doesn't help that the penalty for being on the side of the terrorists appears as dire as for an overdue movie rental." -- JAMES LILEKS

N. Korean Authorities Urge Civilians to Evacuate Near Site of Possible Nuke Test

"Reports from Seoul Korea, (daily newspaper Joongang Ilbo in Seoul) via the Japanese Jiji press agency, that South Korean intelligence has intercepted radio messages/communications in North Korea, which were aired last month, to civilians in the Kilju County, Northern Hamgyeong Province area of northeastern D.P.R.K., to evacuate.

The source in the South Korean government said "our interpretation is that following North Korea's underground nuclear blast test, they wish to head off any escape of radiation that would be a threat to the nearby civilian population and are evacuating as such."

Who's Behind the ACLU NSA Lawsuit . . . And Why Are They Lying?

By Debbie Schlussel:

"You've heard a lot about the ACLU lawsuit since its filing yesterday.

But you haven't heard much about its less famous plaintiffs, plaintiffs with whom I'm all too familiar and about whom I've written a great deal. The details on these individuals makes the National Security Agency's monitoring of phone calls not just warranted, but a necessity." Continue....

Expert: State immigrant laws might fail

Yahoo! News:
"NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Legislatures around the country are passing state laws to get tough on illegal immigration, but legal experts say many of those laws will turn out to be unconstitutional.

More than 550 bills relating to illegal immigration were introduced in statehouses this year, and at least 77 were enacted, according to a survey presented last week at the annual meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

However, NCSL analyst Ann Morse told lawmakers at the conference that a 1986 federal law forbids states from enacting stricter criminal or civil penalties for illegal immigration than those adopted by Congress." Read more...

Terror police find 'martyr tapes'

"Police investigating an alleged plot to bring down airliners have found several martyrdom videos in the course of their searches, the BBC has learned.

An unofficial police source said the recordings - discovered on laptop computers - appear to have been made by some of the suspects being questioned.

Scotland Yard has refused to comment on what officers are finding." Read more.

Israel determined to stem Hizbullah rearmament

Ynetnews: "The ceasefire ended Israel's military pressure on Hizbullah and the international force mandated by the United Nations has barely started deploying in southern Lebanon.

Lebanese political forces seeking to disarm Hizbullah have not been able to prepare themselves for a new round of talks with the Shiite group and the Lebanese army is too weak to impose an arms embargo on Hizbulah." More...

Airline plot mastermind was Zawahri kin

"ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A son-in-law of al Qaeda deputy Ayman al-Zawahri was the mastermind of a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners unearthed in Britain this month, a Pakistani newspaper said on Saturday.

British police said on August 10 they had foiled a major plot to carry out suicide bombings on aircraft bound for the United States and are questioning 23 suspects.

Pakistan said last week it had arrested seven people, including two British Muslims of Pakistani descent, in connection with the plot.

One of the arrested Britons was identified as Rashid Rauf and Pakistan said he was an al Qaeda operative with links in Afghanistan and was central to the plot." More..

US threatens Sudan after UN resistance
Independent Online - Cape Town,South Africa
peacekeepers in Darfur, hinting of stepped up moves for The United States has warned Sudan of potential consequences if it continued to resist United Nations...

US play down Sudan threat to United Nations force
Gorey Guardian - Gorey,Ireland
The US has dismissed a threat by Sudan's president to fire on any United Nations force sent to Darfur, where more than 200 thousand people have been killed ...

MIDDLE EAST: UN URGES EU NATIONS TO 'FIRM UP' LEBANON TROOP COMMITMENTS

"Beirut, 18 August (AKI) - The United Nations's deputy secretary general Mark Malloch Brown on Friday called on European Union countries to urgently deploy a vanguard of 3,500 troops to war-scarred southern Lebanon to boost the UN interim force (UNIFIL) within ten days. 'I am appealing to the Europeans to firm up their commitments,' he said." More.

Indonesia refuses to help disarm Hezbollah in Lebanon
People's Daily Online - Beijing,China
The Indonesian government has voiced strong objections to taking part in disarming Hezbollah as part of its mandate in the United Nations Interim Force in ...

Israel: Hezbollah broke truce

"Jerusalem - Israel said on Saturday that its overnight commando raid deep inside Lebanon was a response to Hezbollah's violation of a United Nations-brokered truce.

The deal bans the transfer of weapons to the organisation.

'Israel was acting because there was a violation of the resolution,' said the Jewish state's foreign ministry spokesperson Mark Regev." More..

THE REAL WAR ......ONE MORE TIME

"Watching the war in Lebanon and listening to the debate about it is just like watching the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and its attendant debate. Israelis are demanding the resignation of Olmert, just as Americans are demanding the head of Bush.

Israeli military experts, real and self-proclaimed, are explaining how the Lebanon war could have been won if only the ground campaign had started earlier, or had been more ambitious. American strategists of varying competence are explaining how the Iraq war could have been won, if only there were more boots on the ground, or if only a different strategy had been employed, or if only the Baathist army had been kept intact.

I think it's nonsense. Both campaigns and both debates suffer from the same narrow focus, the same failure of strategic vision, when the war itself - the real war - is far wider." More Michael Ledeen commentary.

ISRAEL IN ‘NAM

Finally, a war like Vietnam.

"If the cease fire in Lebanon actually goes into effect, Israel will have lost despite having won every battle, because political dithering prevented decisive victory. Hezbollah will have won through a propaganda campaign what it could not obtain on the battlefield.

Hezbollah won by surviving. Israel's reputation for military invincibility is shattered. The vultures are circling:

"Today Arab and Muslim society is reasonably certain that the defeat of Israel is possible and that the countdown to the disappearance of the Zionist entity in the region has begun," Ahmed Barakat, a member of Hezbollah's central council, told a Qatari newspaper.

As in Vietnam, the overwhelming failure was in political leadership."

-- Jack Kelly

SORE LOSERS

True to form, Cynthian McKinney (Dem-GA) fresh from losing her primary bid for re-election to the House, engaged in the usual blame game that Dems like to use. You know? "If you lose, it must be someone else's fault. It couldn't possibly be me. Who wouldn't vote for me?"

After the 2000 Florida debacle with all the 'pregnant' chads, the Dems were clamoring for technological improvement (electronic voting) to ensure that the 'stealing of elections' would never happen again.

They got what they wished for, electronic voting machines; but now she has blamed her primary loss on ... guess what? Electronic voting machines. It should be noted that Ms. McKinney was a big supporter of this technological improvement. How she can insist that these diabolical pieces of satanic wizardry can be the cause of her 18-point loss is beyond me. Even so, she is emphatic that these demonic devices must go.

No Taxation without... Politicization?

"State tax policy has tossed its hat into the political boxing ring. A recent study by Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) found that, over the last 25 years, fear of losing office has driven state politicians away from unrestrained tax hikes and toward cautious tax cuts during times of economic growth.

Regrettably, this penchant for cuts has not coincided with real action to reduce spending. To keep coffers full, therefore, states have employed targeted tax increases on items such as tobacco and alcohol, thus collecting revenue while insulating politicians from the wrath of the larger voting bloc.

Those states continuing to impose heavy tax burdens have witnessed the evacuation of their residents to more tax-friendly states, forcing politicians to embrace tax relief as a requisite campaign issue or risk involuntary return to private life. Sadly, such fiscal two-stepping will remain the norm as elected officials continue to dance between budget and ballot box."

From: The Patriot

Want Job Security? Go Federal.

"Data from the Cato Institute and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis proves that you can’t beat having a government job. On average, federal civilian workers earn twice as much as private-sector workers in wages, compensation and benefits. In 2005, federal wages increased 5.8 percent while private-sector wages went up only 3.3 percent. While bureaucrats and big-government Democrats will complain about private-sector white-collar workers who make hundreds of thousands, even millions, of dollars a year, those jobs are subject to market conditions. Federal workers live in a bubble that doesn’t pop during a recession and doesn’t experience downturns in employment or salaries. Thanks to powerful union rules, it is virtually impossible to fire a federal worker, no matter how incompetent or unworthy.

Alas, even with Republicans in Congress and the White House who claimed to want smaller government, the abuse of the federal employment system has continued unabated."

From: The Patriot.

“Your love of liberty...and your practice of the moral and religious obligations, are the strongest claims to national and individual happiness.” —George Washington

Politically correct airport screening puts us at risk

By Mike Gallagher

Let's stop playing politically correct games and being worried about what the ACLU is going to do. This isn?t some charade, this war is real. More.

The rise of the caliphate

By Oliver North

In the aftermath of Israel's abortive, on-again, off-again military campaign against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, there are calls for a no-confidence vote to unseat Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. More.

Terrorism threat is here to stay

By Jonah Goldberg:

The depth of Western denial can be measured in the staleness of the "debate" over terrorism, which is dominated by those who've convinced themselves that President Bush is the central cause of the war on terror because somehow it's "his" war. More.

Sympathy for the devil

By David Limbaugh

"Want to know where the Democratic Party stands and where America would be under their leadership? Just ask Jimmy Carter.

Carter is certainly not bashful about bashing the United States, even on foreign soil or to the foreign press. He sat for an interview with Der Spiegel recently and fired with both barrels at President Bush, 'fundamentalist' Christians and Israel." More.

49 nations discuss deploying in Lebanon
Indianapolis Star - United States
UNITED NATIONS -- Nearly 50 countries that could contribute the 13,000 new troops needed to expand the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon met Thursday amid ...

Commentary

Common Sense in the War on Radical Islamist Terror
By Frank Salvato

In an age where federal judges are willing to strike down the legality of intelligence programs proven to have saved the lives of thousands, and while young mothers are willing to incorporate their newborns into suicide bombing plots, we should be employing common sense in every aspect of the fight for our country’s survival…even if it enrages the ACLU...

Who’s Blocking the Taxpayer Accountability Bill?
A conservative advocacy group wants to know which U.S. senators are secretly blocking a bill that would make politicians more accountable to taxpayers...

ACLU Targets Pa. Town Over Immigration Ordinance
Mayor Louis J. Barletta of Hazelton, Pa., is standing by one of the strictest anti-illegal immigration laws in the country in spite of a lawsuit filed by the ACLU claiming the ordinance is unconstitutional...

States Urged to Boost Inspections of Abortion Clinics
Florida authorities have suspended the operating licenses of two Florida abortion clinics and temporarily shut down three others because the clinics’ owner allegedly performed illegal late-term abortions...

Bush Opponents Welcome Wiretap Ruling
Democratic leaders and an Islamic advocacy group are among those applauding a federal judge’s ruling that the government’s warrantless wiretapping/terrorist surveillance program is unconstitutional. But a Republican leader said, "America cannot stop terrorists while wearing blinders.” More.

HEZBOLLAH NEWS

Lebanese army moves to cut off arms supply to Hezbollah
Unison.ie - Bray,Ireland
The plan is apparently aimed primarily at preventing arms supplies from reaching Hezbollah guerrillas - a key demand of last week's UN ceasefire resolution ...

Lebanese Troops Reach Border
All Headline News - USA
... Lebanese troops are expected to act as a buffer between Israel and Hezbollah until an international peacekeeping force is in place. ...

MASTELLA: DISARMAMENT OF HEZBOLLAH NOT MENTIONED IN RESOLUTION
Agenzia Giornalistica Italia - Italy
... in Lebanon, justice minister Clemente Mastella said that he didn't believe the UN resolution made any reference to the disarmament of the Hezbollah militia. ...

Lebanon: The Myth of Hezbollah's Victory
Asharq Alawsat - London,UK
... a thousand fathers"? Whoever said it, the dictum now applies to the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel's Prime Minister ...

LEBANON: DI PIETRO, CLEAR MANDATE AND DISARMAMENT OF HEZBOLLAH
Agenzia Giornalistica Italia - Italy
18 - "Before sending our troops to Lebanon we need a clear mandate from the United nations and Lebanon's clear commitment to disarming the Hezbollah militia. ...

NSA RULING

Because of the goofy dangerous judge and her moronic ruling (she was a Jimmah' Carta" appointment) in which she ruled the NSA program illegal, we are continuing to put ourselves at greater risk. We might as well tie our hands and paint a bullseye on our backs.

Opinion Journal has 3 commentaries today related to this topic:

On the Editorial Page
A federal judge rewrites the Constitution on war powers.

Our bitter politics may drop the gift of a foiled plot.
BY DANIEL HENNINGER

Was the 9/11 commission's work as effective as its publicity?
BY EDWARD JAY EPSTEIN

Powerline also has a good commentary on the judges ruling, basically calling it unreasoned and void of substance, calling their piece, "Where's the Beef?".

Even the Washington Post editorial board has written, ""the decision yesterday. . .is neither careful nor scholarly, and it is hard-hitting only in the sense that a bludgeon is hard-hitting."

Eventually, we are going to find ourselves in a heap of trouble because of our actions, or more accurately, our inactions. Decisions like this are harmful ... outright dangerous to our country's safety, and perhaps our existence ... in the least, as we know it.

Satellite Blackout in Tehran

........ Vital Perspective notes that the government of Iran is going from building to building in Tehran, smashing satellite dishes. This can only be construed as an effort to cut Iranians off, as much as possible, from news originating in the outside world. Which strikes me as ominous, especially with August 22 only five days away. Source: Powerline

Another Outrageous Legal Situation in Florida/involves R Limbaugh-prosecutor-wealthy Dem-sex w/ minor

"This incredible story involves Rush Limbaugh, the prosecutor who made his life miserable, a wealthy Democrat suspected of having sex with a minor, and the Palm Beach police chief who believes the aforementioned prosecutor is protecting the suspect.

Now some people, including me, believe malice was involved in the Limbaugh situation and suspicion falls on Krischer, a committed Democrat. Now the prosecutor is in the middle of a far more serious controversy. Palm Beach police chief Michael Reiter has asked Krischer to remove himself from the case of suspected sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Chief Reiter believes that Krischer is in the tank for Epstein, a very wealthy businessman who has donated more than $100,000 to Democrat candidates including Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer." More info.

Kurds flee homes as Iran shells Iraq's northern frontier

Guardian Unlimited: "Turkey and Iran have dispatched tanks, artillery and thousands of troops to their frontiers with Iraq during the past few weeks in what appears to be a coordinated effort to disrupt the activities of Kurdish rebel bases.

Scores of Kurds have fled their homes in the northern frontier region after four days of shelling by the Iranian army. Local officials said Turkey had also fired a number of shells into Iraqi territory.

Some displaced families have pitched tents in the valleys behind Qandil Mountain, which straddles Iraq's rugged borders with Turkey and Iran. They told the Guardian yesterday that at least six villages had been abandoned and one person had died following a sustained artillery barrage by Iranian forces that appeared designed to flush out guerrillas linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), who have hideouts in Iraq." More.

Iran To Launch Large-Scale Military Maneuvers

RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY: "August 17, 2006 -- Iran's state television today said the military would launch a series of large-scale exercises on August 19.

State television quoted army deputy commander General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani as saying that the upcoming maneuvers 'aim at introducing Iran's new defensive doctrine.'

Ashtiani reportedly said the exercises would involve both ground and air forces and would go on 'for an unspecified period of time.' " Read more.

N. Korea Appears to Be Preparing for Nuclear Test

ABC News: "There is new evidence that North Korea may be preparing for an underground test of a nuclear bomb, U.S. officials told ABC News.

'It is the view of the intelligence community that a test is a real possibility,' said a senior State Department official." More.

AMENDED

Suitcase full of bomb equipment found by police

But I thought according to the left, we were supposed to believe this story was a hoax... that there was no such plot (to blow up airlines)... you know ... move along.... there's nothing to see here.

Britain - Times Online: "A SUITCASE filled with bomb-making material has been found by police teams investigating the alleged plot to blow up aircraft over the Atlantic.

The suitcase, containing chemicals and other equipment for a home-made bomb, was found in woods in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, close to addresses at which suspects were arrested last week."

Hat tip: LGF

WALMART

The Demos go on a WalMart offensive. Let's go after the big guys, no matter how many of the 'little guys' we trample along the way. That'll 'show em'.

FACIAL PROFILING

The New York Times has a story about a experimental program of 'facial profiling'. This is the 'art' or technique of watching people for suspicious behavior. Captain's Quarters has posted on this and so has American Future.

"Over the years I have pointed out that the Democratic definition of bi-partisan is: 'Do what we want'." —Rich Galen

"President Bush said in Wisconsin Thursday this nation is at war with Islamic fascists. We have a strategy for victory. We're going to search every Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Jew, Mormon, Buddhist, Presbyterian and Episcopalian who walks into the airport until the Muslims die of hunger and thirst waiting in line." —Argus Hamilton

DIFFICULT CHOICES

There is no pleasant way to say this: Over the past six and a half years, Israel's handling of the Hezbollah threat from Lebanon is a compendium of failure and self-delusion by governments of the Right, Left and Center that have emboldened Israel's enemies and endangered its people... In the coming months, Israelis have difficult choices to make. One of the most difficult, wrenching decisions will involve whether Mr. Olmert's government, which is less than five months old, is capable of leading the nation at a time of tremendous, existential danger." —The Washington Times

PROBLEM SOLVING

"If elected officials were half as imaginative at solving real problems as they are at perpetuating themselves in office, we'd see real confidence in government restored." —John Fund

Do As I Say .... But Don't Expect Me To Act Upon My Principles

"Western do-gooders...may occasionally swing by some Third World basket-case and condescend to the natives, but for the most part the multiculti set have no wish to live anywhere but an advanced Western democracy. It's a quintessential piece of leftie humbug. They may think globally, but they don't act on it." —Mark Steyn

"Wherever they were born, the men who want to blow up airliners, who want to destroy Israel and, not coincidentally, who want to kill all hope of a decent society in Iraq—are Islamo-fascists who are united in hatred of us." —William Shawcross

"The wars of the future will be won by those with the greater strength of will. And boundless determination is one weapon that Islamist extremists unquestionably possess. Do we?" —Ralph Peters

"Rust destroys iron, moths destroy clothes, the worm eats away the wood; but greatest of all evils is envy, impious habitant of corrupt souls, which ever was, is, and shall be a consuming disease." —Menander

Hizballah ‘Victory’ Inspires Sudan to Reject UN Force
Amid calls for the U.N. to deploy peacekeepers in Sudan’s Darfur region by October 1, the country’s Islamist leader has vowed to emulate Hizballah in Lebanon and rout any incoming force. “We oppose the deployment of American, British or other forces imposed by the Security Council,” Sudan’s state news agency quoted President Omar al-Bashir as saying...

Give Us Shari’a, UK Muslim Leaders Tell Gov’t
Some British Muslim leaders meeting with government representatives to discuss ways of combating extremism are calling for the establishment of Islamic law (shari’a) to govern Muslims’ family life...

THIS IS NOT HARD TO BELIEVE

Iran Suspected of Attempts to Rearm Hezbollah Since Cease-Fire
FOX News - USA
WASHINGTON - Iran has been attempting to rearm the Lebanon-based terror network Hezbollah since the UN-backed cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel took ...

Hiding behind the "anti-war" label

"Over the last five years, the resurgent radical left has found empowerment in the Democratic Party through what the political scribes antiseptically call the 'Internet grass roots.' When hawkish Sen. Joe Lieberman lost by four points in the Democratic primary in Connecticut to ultraliberal millionaire Ned Lamont, the media credited this hard left with the upset. In truth, however, the liberal media themselves were a major part of the equation.

They refused to label Ned Lamont what he is: a charter member of the far left. They wouldn't even call him a liberal. They simply called him 'antiwar.' It was used ad infinitum, as mushy a term as there is, if you think about it.

What exactly does it to mean to be 'antiwar'? If liberals cluck in disgust at the label 'pro-life' -- that it's a preposterous label because no one's 'anti-life' -- then isn't 'antiwar' an equally meaningless label, since no one this side of Attila the Hun is uniformly 'pro-war'? If the media are to be consistent, shouldn't they call the people who favor war in certain circumstances to be 'pro-choice' on military action?" More...

Does government stupidity know any bounds?

By John Stossel

"These are tough days for political satirists. Any satire about government boondoggles is soon upstaged by an actual government program that's more inane than anything comedians could invent. After the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed a compassionate piece of legislation called the Supplemental Terrorist Relief Act. It was to give low-interest loans to small businesses disrupted by the attacks, allowing them to rebuild. The loans were supposed to help hotels, retailers, and small service businesses in lower Manhattan.

But, as usual, the government passed your money out everywhere. Terrorist Relief Act loans went to Dunkin' Donuts shops in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Vermont, and Ohio." Read on.

Are Academic Elites Communists?

"Grove City College publishes an excellent newsletter titled 'Visions and Values.' Its July 2006 edition features an interview with Dr. Richard Pipes, acclaimed Russian historian and Harvard University professor of Sovietology. The interview was conducted by Grove City College professor of political science Dr. Paul Kengor.

Dr. Pipes, who served on the National Security Council during the Reagan administration, explained that there are actually only a few communists among academics. At first glance, that's a puzzling observation, given the leftist bias at most college campuses. Drs. Pipes and Kengor explain the puzzle in a way that makes perfect sense." Read more.

Iran’s Strategy Relies on Western Cowardice
By Christopher G. Adamo

The false hope for a ceasefire in the Middle East is sure to be shattered whenever the Islamists choose once again to assert themselves. Israeli restraint and capitulation have never gained anything except an increase in the confidence of its mortal enemies. So to expect anything different this time around, as key leaders and diplomats in the West are currently promising, indicates a degree of “wishful thinking” that itself borders on the insane…

Hizballah Plotting Coup in Lebanon?
Some politicians in Lebanon are concerned that Hizballah -- emboldened after its military campaign against Israel -- may be maneuvering, with Syrian support, to expand its authority on the national political scene. Walid Jumblatt, leader of the Druze minority (an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam), accused the Shi’ite terrorist group’s leader of plotting a “coup” against the Lebanese state...

House Panel: Senate Bill Would 'Cede Control' of Border
Key provisions of the border security bill passed by the U.S. Senate are “meaningless” according to the House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.), who warns that the Senate is trying to “cede control” of the country’s southern border security to the Mexican government...

...the Senate bill authorizes only 370 total miles of fencing and makes construction of any fences conditional upon consultation with the Mexican government.

When Mike met Mahmoud

By Jeff Jacoby

"Neville Chamberlain flew to Munich to see Adolf Hitler, Walter Winchell observed in 1938, 'because you can't lick a man's boots over the phone.' Why did Mike Wallace fly to Tehran?

Wallace's bio at the CBS website lauds his 'no-holds-barred interviewing technique,' but there was little evidence of that on Sunday, when '60 Minutes' aired his interview with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of the virulent Iranian theocracy that is the world's most active sponsor of jihadist terror.

Time and again Wallace let Ahmadinejad brush him off with inanities and lies he would have pounced on had they been uttered by a business executive or an American politician." Read on.

U.K. terror plot vindicates Bush

By Donald Lambro

WASHINGTON -- "Prevention of the plan to destroy 10 jetliners bound for America has sharply boosted President Bush's approval scores for his handling of the war on terrorism and homeland security.

This week's improved poll numbers was a political justification of Bush's laser-like focus on the terrorist threat that his Democratic critics dismissed as fear mongering and campaign hysteria meant to frighten Americans into voting Republican.

But the Islamic bomb plot, uncovered by British intelligence, with the assistance of other countries, including Pakistan and the United States, was a chilling reminder the terrorist war is real and the jihadists' desire to kill as many of us as they can remains a central issue in the midterm elections. It was also a grim reminder that events in the next three months could swing this election in one direction or another." Read more.

Not all nations welcome, says Israel
Gulf News - Dubai,United Arab Emirates
Occupied Jerusalem: Israel has told the United Nations that it will oppose the inclusion of troops from countries such as Malaysia in a planned UN force for

Every airport traveller 'will be fingerprinted'

BIOMETRIC testing is set to be introduced at European airports under plans for stringent new security measures revealed yesterday in the wake of last week's alleged terror plot.

HEZBOLLAH NEWS

Deal: Hezbollah will bear arms, but not in public
Ha'aretz - Tel Aviv,Israel
Hezbollah will retain its weapons in southern Lebanon but its members will not bear them in public, according to an agreement reached yesterday after days of ...

LEBANON: D'ALEMA, WE ARE NOT GOING TO DISARM HEZBOLLAH
Agenzia Giornalistica Italia - Italy
militias. The foreign (AGI) - Rome, Aug. 17 - The Italian blue helmets will not go in the south of Lebanon to disarm the Hezbollah...

PRODI: POLITICAL SOLUTION TO DISARM HEZBOLLAH MILITIA
Agenzia Giornalistica Italia - Italy
... Referring to the possible participation of the Italian contingent in the disarmament of the Hezbollah militia, Prodi said that "there are political decisions ...

Hezbollah Promises to Rebuild Lebanon
Zaman Online - Istanbul,Turkey
... Hezbollah announced that they would coordinate the reconstruction efforts. ... Hezbollah declared that they will contact those registered as soon as possible. ...

US rushes aid plan to counter Hezbollah support
The Age - Melbourne,Victoria,Australia
THE Bush Administration is scrambling to assemble a plan to help rebuild Lebanon, hoping that by competing with Hezbollah for the public's favour it can undo ...

Murtha's story unraveling?

Murtha/Haditha/LAT: Patterico Questions The Timing
From Ace of Spades Headquarter

The LAT attempted to spin for Murtha by suggesting he had made his infamous, defamatory "in cold blood" remarks after being briefed by Gen. Hagee-- thus strongly suggesting his comments were informed by the briefing itself. Lending great credence to the "in cold blood" charge.

Other accounts contradicted this, stating that Murtha had been briefed by Hagee after-- strongly suggesting the "in cold blood" comment had come not from top military people in a position to know the facts, but rather was pulled straight from the stinking, festering nethercosm of Murtha's large, saggy ass.

Patterico contacted General Hagee's office for clarification. Doing actual reportial work -- or perhaps adding a level of painstaking editorial fact-checking the LAT couldn't get around to -- and you'll never guess what he found.

Hagee’s Office Responds: Contradicts L.A. Times
Patterico

I heard back from General Hagee’s office yesterday regarding my inquiry about when Gen. Hagee briefed John Murtha about Haditha. The bottom line: Gen. Hagee’s office has directly contradicted an assertion by the L.A. Times that Gen. Hagee briefed John Murtha on Haditha before Murtha accused Marines of killing civilians in cold blood. Gen. Hagee’s office confirmed to me that the General’s first briefing to Murtha took place a week after Murtha had already made his public accusations. Read on.

MORE:
LAT Falsely Claimed Murtha Had Been Briefed Before Making Charges
NewsBusters - USA
Pennsylvania Democrat Jack Murtha has become a liberal media darling for his non-stop pounding of the surrender drum, and his jumping on the bandwagon to ...

Jimmah' Carta' says 'Historical Facts Can Be Ignored

Charles Johnson at LGF says, "The worst President the United States ever had continues subverting the country with interviews overseas, and his latest is a real winner: ‘The US and Israel Stand Alone’." (an interview in the German, Spiegel Online.)

Carter: I don’t think that Israel has any legal or moral justification for their massive bombing of the entire nation of Lebanon. What happened is that Israel is holding almost 10,000 prisoners, so when the militants in Lebanon or in Gaza take one or two soldiers, Israel looks upon this as a justification for an attack on the civilian population of Lebanon and Gaza. I do not think that’s justified, no. ...

SPIEGEL: Should there be an international peacekeeping force along the Lebanese-Israeli border?

Carter: Yes.

SPIEGEL: And can you imagine Germans soldiers taking part?

Carter: Yes, I can imagine Germans taking part.

SPIEGEL: ... even with their history?

Carter: Yes. That would be certainly satisfactory to me personally, and I think most people believe that enough time has passed so that historical facts can be ignored.

Can you say Loser?

HEZBOLLAH NEWS

For majority of Arabs, Hezbollah won
San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA
CAIRO, Egypt - Babies have been named "Hezbollah" and "Nasrallah." Even some die-hard secularists are praising the Shiite fundamentalist militia in the wake of ...

Iran leader hails Hezbollah victory
Daily News & Analysis - Mumbai,India
TEHRAN: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed Hezbollah's "victory" over Israel in a message to the Lebanese Shiite militia's chief Hassan

Hezbollah starts rebuilding southern Lebanon
Mail & Guardian Online - Johannesburg,South Africa
But as a three-day-old ceasefire gathers traction, Hezbollah's hardened fighters are swapping their missile launchers for spades, brooms and briefcases of cash ...

US Hopes to Rival Hezbollah With Rebuilding Effort
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA
... WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is scrambling to assemble a plan to help rebuild Lebanon, hoping that by competing with Hezbollah for the public's favor ...

Show-biz brigade takes a stand vs. Hezbollah, Hamas
Boston Herald - United States
... Danny DeVito, Rupert Murdoch and more than 80 other stars played against type and entered stage right yesterday with an ad condemning Hezbollah in Lebanon ...

Hezbollah switches its AK-47s for 2x4s
Globe and Mail - Canada
"After one day, food and water will come to this town," the portly, bearded Hezbollah fighter said, waving at rows of what once were people's homes. ...

Iran Leader Praises Hezbollah Resistance
Forbes - USA
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a message to Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, described the group's resistance against Israel's ...

Lebanese army to halt Hezbollah
NEWS.com.au - Australia
LEBANESE troops began deploying in south Lebanon today to take control of Hezbollah strongholds alongside UN peacekeepers as Israeli forces withdraw after a 34 ...

Mossad missed Hezbollah threat

insider.washingtontimes.com

"Israel's storied foreign-intelligence service failed to fully understand the threat posed by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, based on a view among many analysts that the guerrilla organization was an evolving political group, according to U.S. officials and private intelligence specialists."

Even a Foiled Terror Attack Hurts the Economy

American Enterprise Institute

An Open Letter

An Open Letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger: Hiking the Minimum Wage Will Cost Californians Jobs

The case for neglecting global warming

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Too much Gore on TV ?

Yes, Too Much Gore on TV
Network obsession delivers a summer filled with vice president turned climate change pitchman.

Summer Rerun

Global Warming Movie Makes the Media
Hot for Al Gore All Over Again
The Balance Sheet

“An Inconvenient Truth” gave the media a convenient excuse to spend all summer with Al Gore. They took it, putting Gore or his movie on TV for more than five-and-a-half hours in a three-month span. More.

Major tenant sought for glass center: Murtha to keep his eyes open.

Your EYES John, your EYES!!! You can shut your mouth .... anytime now ....please.

Major tenant sought for glass center
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh,PA,USA

"This building needed to evolve, and it needed to be more flexible to attract a manufacturer," said Jason Rigone, marketing coordinator for the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp.

Rigone said renovations included significant roof repairs, new utilities, bathrooms and lighting, new loading docks, parking, landscaping and environmental work.

Rigone said the sprawling complex contains about 155,000 square feet, including 53,000 square feet of manufacturing space in the former Lenox building.

U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, was given a tour of the facility yesterday, and was asked to keep his eyes open for potential tenants. "I'm pleased with the center's growth. Companies don't want to wait three years, they want to come in now. This is the way to do it," said Murtha.

HEZBOLLAH

Hezbollah vows to pay for rebuilding
Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney,New South Wales,Australia
... "[Hezbollah leader] Hassan Nasrallah said on ... "Hezbollah has a lot of credibility," said Hussein Darwish, the mayor of Naqora and a Hezbollah supporter. ...

Hezbollah ... those great humanitarians. By the way, where does Hezbollah get the money to do this? Hmmmm?

By golly. Not only is Hezbollah a great humanitarian organization, but they are efficient and a shining example that all NGO's would aspire to be like if you believe the Huffington Post, New York Times and the Washington Post.

Nonetheless, we do have great expectations.

US expects Beirut to disarm Hezbollah
Daily News & Analysis - Mumbai,India
... The White House said on Wednesday that it would ultimately be up to the Lebanese government, with UN backing, to make sure that Hezbollah is disarmed and that ...

Yeh, like that's gonna' happen. Oh, wait. Let's look at this next story:

Lebanon Skirts Issue of Hezbollah's Arms
Forbes - USA
... the Lebanese army south of the Litani River starting the next day, a key demand of the cease-fire that halted 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. ...

Gee. Could it be that I am right? What happens if they don't disarm (and they won't)? Will Israel tolerate this. Probably not. At least they shouldn't. Predictably.......

Israel warns of renewed operations unless Hezbollah disarm ...
Monsters and Critics.com - Glasgow,UK
... would resume operations in Lebanon if a United Nations force being assembled to deploy in the south of that country did not disarm Hezbollah guerrillas, ....

So, where do things stand now? Well, there is A vacuum in Lebanon, and Hezbollah fills it .... returned over broken roads to shattered apartments in the south, it increasingly seems that the beneficiary of the destruction is most likely to be Hezbollah. ...

Remind me again. What is the purpose of a cease fire?

CEASEFIRES - WHAT GOOD ARE THEY?

HeavyHanded professes that the Arabic translation of ceasefire is 're-arm'.

One of my favorite most recent quotes is from Thomas Sowell in an article he wrote about 3 weeks ago called Peace vs. Pacifists. He stated, "If cease-fires actually promoted peace, the Middle East would be the most peaceful region on the face of the earth."

I noted his article in a previous post with the link for the article. If you did not read it, you should. Sowell has written another relevant piece entitled Will Cease-fires Never Cease? In it he writes:

How many cease-fires have there been in the Middle East -- or is the number too large to remember? Over the past half century, there must have been more cease-fires in the Middle East than in the rest of the world combined.

What will this latest cease-fire do? It will give Hezbollah a breather from Israeli retaliation and allow them time to get new shipments of military equipment from Iran, rebuild their military infrastructure and prepare for the next round of attacks on Israel.

Mr. Sowell, a great writer, seems to ascribe the same definition/translation of the word cease-fire as I do. I may not be most definitely am not a great thinker or a great writer like Dr. Sowell, but at least on this matter, I am in good company.

"A people...who are possessed of the spirit of commerce, who see and who will pursue their advantages may achieve almost anything."
-- George Washington

"Israel's political leadership must decide whether it wants a nation born in modern times out of a Holocaust to die a slower and inevitable death through terrorist attrition - aided and abetted by the United Nations and most of Europe - or whether Israel alone [will] be responsible for its own defense and future." - - Cal Thomas

"Within the memory of most people over 40, the free world could distinguish between good and evil. But today, fewer make such judgments and "one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter." Instead of the World War I lyric "we won't come back till it's over, over there," we - or in this case Israel - comes back before it's over. As a result, it isn't over and it won't be over until Israel and the West get over moral equivalency and political correctness and fight to win. The evil guys are fighting to win." - - Cal Thomas

We have to be prepared to do the same.

WAR PERCEPTIONS

Daniel Pipes has an interesting commentary Strange Logic in the Lebanon War, in which he points out that throughout the annals of history while wars were fought, each side wanted to portray their power, their tenacity, and their ferociousness, in order to intimidate the other side. They wanted to show the death and destruction that they had mightily inflicted upon their enemy.

Not so today.

Now we want to show our failures. We want to show the damage done to us, illustrating our inability to wage an effective war or our inability to protect our own citizens. And he asks, "Why have combatants (and their media allies) now reversed this age-old and universal pattern, downplaying their own prowess and promoting the enemy's?"

Is it because of the "unprecedented power enjoyed by the United States and its allies?"

Pipes writes,

"As the historian Paul Kennedy explained in 2002, "in military terms there is only one player on the field that counts." Looking back in time, he finds, "Nothing has ever existed like this disparity of power; nothing." And Israel, both as a regional power in its own right and as a close ally of Washington, enjoys a parallel preponderance vis-a-vis Hizbullah.

Such power implies that, when West fights non-West, the outcome on the battlefield is a given. That settled in advance, the fighting is seen more like a police raid than traditional warfare. As in a police raid, modern wars are judged by their legality, the duration of hostilities, the proportionality of force, the severity of casualties, and the extent of economic and environmental damage.

An interesting take. Full commentary.

Leaders urge blacks to take on AIDS cause - The Boston Globe

The Boston Globe
Associated Press

TORONTO -- "It is time for the African-American community ``to face the fact that AIDS has become a black disease' and find ways to defeat it, the chairman of the NAACP said at the international AIDS summit yesterday."

I marvel at the idiocy of it all. Read the whole thing and see if your reaction is like mine. It left me shaking my head - particularly Rev. Je$$e Hi-Jack$on'$ quotes - not to mention the shallowness of the objections to abstinence.

Iran Likely to Thumb Nose at International Community

CNSNews.com – "A week before Iran is expected to deliver its response to a carrots-and-stick proposal on its nuclear activities, Tehran looks set to reject the initiative and escalate its standoff with the international community..."

How much escalation is the question.

MULTICULTURALISM

Reader and sometimes contributor, Anotmo, adds his two cents worth in the comments section on multiculturalism and diversity, which I would like to post here. As usual, he is spot on.

"It is correct to say that no one should be excluded from a group on the unrelated and arbitrary basis of race, ethnicity, religion, et al as these characteristics do not impact on an individuals potential value to whatever purpose that group may aspire. It is quite another thing to say that the group with the greatest diversity of race, ethnicity, religion, et al will, therefore, be the best equipped to achieve that purpose.

Yet, this is the position the Libs promote. Colleges advertise the quality of the education they offer on the basis of the diversity of their faculty and student body rather than on the academic credentials of their faculty and the subsequent achievements of their alumina. Illegal Immigration is supported because it will expand the diversity of our citizenry as opposed to legal immigration which focuses on expanding the quality and productivity of our citizenry. Government administrations are judged by how diverse is their membership rather than on how well they advanced the ideas on which they campaigned and were elected; (except, of course, if a Republican administration is more diverse than any preceding Democrat administration).

Diversity is not a worthwhile goal in and of itself. True, a lack of diversity ‘may’ be indicative of unwarranted discrimination but the presence of diversity neither disproves unwarranted discrimination, (Affirmative Action?), nor advances worth. If you face open heart surgery, are you more interested in the cultural diversity of the operating team or in their experience and history? Unwarranted discrimination is morally wrong, (deal with that Moral Relativists), and counter productive to the extent that it may preclude desirable talent. For those reasons we should not be opposed to diversity but advancing diversity for its own sake accomplishes nothing other than to get Democrats elected and allow Liberals to think oh so well of themselves."

The Useless Nations: COMMENTARIES

The United Nations is a millstone around the neck of the US
Asheville Citizen-Times - NC,USA
... One stands out, not only because of its sheer magnitude, but because of its immorality. This huge millstone around America's neck is the United Nations. ...

Cal Thomas: Foiled by the United Nations
Sacramento Bee - CA, USA
... And turning to the United Nations and its anti-Israel secretary-general to monitor the cease-fire is not exactly a confidence builder, given the UN's record in ...

Dems and the Dark Years

"Another Vietnam" in Iraq? That doesn't seem a winning message.
BY BRENDAN MINITER

If Republicans have turned a corner in the past week, it's likely because, although wars are often unpopular in America, losing a war is rarely a winner at the ballot box. It is here that the Vietnam experience may prove to be pivotal. More.

Murtha's challenger, Diana Irey, beginning to set the tone | Redstate

"Congressman Murtha's challenger, Diana Irey, is beginning to send a serious political message to the Democratic Party here in Pennsylvania." Read on.

* United Nations Chief alarmed by violence in Sri Lanka

Colombo Page - Colombo,Sri Lanka

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan is increasingly alarmed by the ongoing violence in Sri Lanka, said his spokesperson in New York. ..." More...

Assimilation

"We Americans have proven much better at assimilating immigrants than have most other nations—if you are disturbed by Latino demonstrations in Los Angeles, look at the Muslim riots and murders in Western Europe. But some of our elites have soured on, in Theodore Roosevelt's word, Americanization. Education elites have produced bilingual education, which too often is neither bilingual nor education. Immigrants' children need to learn to speak, read and write in English. Political and judicial elites have mandated bilingual ballots—even though applicants for citizenship need to show they've mastered English. Transnational elites, to use Professor Samuel Huntington's word, have taught a version of American history that treats the Founding Fathers solely as slaveholders and tells us nothing about World War II but the internment of Japanese Americans. They want to encourage immigrants to remain in separate and oppositional cultural enclaves. As Theodore Roosevelt said a century ago, immigrants—and all of our children—need to learn and appreciate the American heritage, the brilliant work of the Founders, our expansion of freedoms and our vibrant system of representative government. American adults are snapping up copies of books about the Founders. American children, and especially immigrants' children, need to learn the lessons of the Founders, too." —Michael Barone

A Heavyhanded punditry: Multiculturalism begets isolation. Isolation begets disillusionment, and ultimately unrest.

Lebanon, the Imaginary Nation
By Alan Caruba

To understand the Lebanese situation, it helps to know that, despite a history that dates back to biblical times, modern Lebanon was literally the invention of Western powers, England and France, after WWI. It became independent of France in the early 1940s and was later destroyed by the Palestinians and occupied by Syria. Now Lebanon is nothing more than the tool of Iranians who are busy preparing their own people for a war with the Israelis, the British, and the Americans. And how long are we going to wait around until they achieve that?

UK Muslims Link Terror Threat With Foreign Policy, Drawing Backlash

"British Muslim representatives reacted to news of a foiled plot to blow up U.S.-bound aircraft with what has become a standard response -- blaming their government's foreign policies. But this time the maneuver sparked a backlash."

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett called attempting to draw a link between government policy and the threat of terrorism was the "gravest possible error."

"This is part of a distorted view of the world, a distorted view of life. Let's put the blame where it belongs: with people who wantonly want to take innocent lives."

Beckett's subordinate, Foreign Officer Minister Kim Howells, warned against trying to rationalize terrorism.

"I have no doubt that there are many issues which incite people to loathe government policies - but not to strap explosives to themselves and go out and murder innocent people," he said.

"There is no way of rationalizing that. I think it is very, very dangerous when people who call themselves community leaders make some assumption that somehow that there's a rational connection between these two things." More.

Hamas Sees Hizballah 'Victory' as Cause for New Intifada

CNSNews.com
By Julie Stahl

Jerusalem - Islamic Jihad fired rockets similar to Hizballah's katyushas at the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon on Monday just as the cease-fire between Israel and the Hizballah terrorist organization was beginning to take hold.

But even before the cease-fire, a Hamas columnist said that Palestinians would be the greatest beneficiaries of what he called the Hizballah victory. He said it paved the way for a third Palestinian uprising.

Writing in the Hamas paper Al-Risala, columnist Ibrahim Abu Heija said that the "Palestinian resistance" [a euphemism for terrorism] would be the "greatest beneficiary" of what he called Hizballah's victory.

"This is an important moment that the Palestinian resistance must seize," wrote Abu Heija in the paper, which is published twice weekly and distributed in the Hamas power base of Gaza.

Palestinian groups "benefited" from a similar moment six years ago, at the beginning of the Al-Aqsa intifadah, Abu Heija said.

Hizballah congratulated the Lebanese people on their "big victory" over Israel in a leaflet distributed to citizens on Monday.

Hizballah claimed victory when Israel withdrew unilaterally from a south Lebanese security zone six years ago, in May 2000 -- a move that inspired Palestinians to launch their violent uprising later that year.

More than 1,000 Israelis -- many of them civilians -- have been killed since then in Palestinian terror attacks.

"And now, after the cease-fire [hudna] has been tried and the experience of changing the [Palestinian] Authority reached its peak, the door will be opened for a third Palestinian intifada [uprising], that will transform the resistance from the stage of reaction [to Israeli] actions to [resistance] that is carried out at our initiative," he said, according to a translation provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

"In general, it is important for the Palestinian resistance to exploit the effects of the victory in Lebanon for its own interests in order to achieve its rights and move forward towards its objectives, and to encourage the whole public to unite behind its program," he wrote last week.

Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility on Monday for launching two Grad rockets that landed at the port of Ashkelon, a city that's been repeatedly hit by Kassam rockets.

The rockets are similar to the Katyushas, which Hizballah has been firing at northern Israel.

Following the attack, Palestinians reported that three Palestinians had been killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza. The army said it had identified three terrorists as they returned to collect their rocket launcher and had fired on them.

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"What is wrong with Democrats? Can't they see that when the face of their party belongs to ultra-leftists like George McGovern, Michael Dukakis and John Kerry, they lose? For those who still believe not only in a strong two-party system, but also in compromise and conciliation in order to promote the general welfare and seek the common good, the [Joe] Lieberman defeat strikes an especially harmful blow. At the height of social conservative power in the Republican Party, pro-choicers and pro gay rights officials like Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York City and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger were featured speakers at GOP conventions. Republican officials described their party as a 'big tent' with room for everybody. Lieberman's loss reduces the size of the Democrats' tent to that of a pup tent. The message it sends is that only those who conform to the left-wing fundamentalist worldview will be allowed in. Is that a message Democrats want to take into future campaigns?" —Cal Thomas

DEMOCRACY ISN'T BULLETPROOF

"Not all democracies are created equal. The customs and traditions of a society matter as much as its mode of government. It may be true that all people yearn for freedom, but history shows that some people yearn for the freedom to go forth and kill their neighbors... In other words, democracy isn't bulletproof. Instances of disastrous democracy extend back to ancient times. Athens voted to attack Syracuse. It was a grinding, terrible defeat that spelled the beginning of the end for Athens in the Peloponnesian War. And, to leap to the 20th century, let's remember that the Germans voted the Nazi Party into power; we all know how that turned out."

— Jonathan Last

As I have opined before, many people make the mistake that a democracy is simply allowing citizens to vote and then somehow you mysteriously "have something good." Democracies are hard work and indeed, "not all democracies are created equal." The customs and traditions must be sound and good, or need to go through a transformation of sorts to establish a solid foundation capable of promoting true liberty. Lacking this, a sick society with the freedom to vote will simply vote into power a sick representative government.

"In contrast to Christians through the ages, the denominational Left has substituted sentiments for facts, passions for authority, and subjectivity for reason. Their belief seems to be that if they 'create space for dialogue' it will allow them to emote and vote with the result that a simple majority determines the new revised standard version of God's truth and will... The traditional Christian understanding is that truth is true even if it is not experienced. It is true objectively and absolutely... Left and Right represent radically different understanding of faith and truth. It's the difference between 'Making It Up As I Go' and 'Thus saith the Lord'."

— Jim Tonkowich

"No matter how worthwhile an end may be, if there is no constitutional authority to pursue it, then the federal government must step aside and leave the matter to the states or to private parties. The president and Congress can proceed only from constitutional authority, not from good intentions alone. If Congress thinks it necessary to expand its powers, the Framers crafted an amendment process for that purpose. But too often, rather than follow that process, Congress has disregarded the limits set by the Constitution and gutted our frontline defense against overweening federal government."

—Robert Levy, Senior Fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute.

"The great leading objects of the federal government, in which revenue is concerned, are to maintain domestic peace, and provide for the common defense." —Alexander Hamilton

Crazy Mike: What war on terror?

"[But] ... the real winner this week was a tired old bag of bones that had to come out of retirement to demonstrate his lack of belief in the great conflict of our time.

CBS 60 Minutes' Mike Wallace was making extra effort just so that he could tell the story of the man who wishes to see Israel wiped off the map. Doesn't going to great lengths to get a steeply anti-Semitic viewpoint on the airwaves of a major television network amount to an anti-Semitic action in and of itself? Mel Gibson may have blamed the world's wars on them, but he wasn't ready to push a button to bring about the second Holocaust. Something that apparently doesn't bother Mr. Wallace.

Nor does Crazy Uncle Mike object when Iran's leader threatens the life of our own President, "We are all free to choose. But please give him this message, sir: Those who refuse to accept an invitation will not have a good ending or fate."

When Drudge reported that Crazy Uncle Mike began babbling about Iran's version of Hitler being misunderstood and actually quite sincere - we all really knew: Crazy Uncle Mike needs to stay retired. By the way, one thing he didn't think was important enough to bring up was the whole, "how come there are Iranian bodies in the piles of ever increasing dead Hezbollah fighters?"

The diligent left has scored a win. Convincing voters that protecting America is an evil thing is not easily done. Stupid things said by unthinking security officials don't help the matter. And when all else fails, there's another in the long line of CBS "news" men giving the other side all the camera time they'd like.

And unfortunately the London terror plot foiled, it won't be weeks but days, if not hours, before they are at it again.

"War on terror? What war on terror, I don't see any war on terror..." More of Kevin McCullough's, What War on Terror?

London plot exposes Left

By Michael Barone

"Tuesday and Thursday. On Tuesday, anti-Iraq war candidate Ned Lamont beat Sen. Joseph Lieberman in Connecticut's Democratic primary. On Thursday, British authorities arrested more than 20 British Muslims who were plotting to blow up American airliners over the Atlantic Ocean.

Tuesday was a victory for the angry antiwar Left that set the tone in the Democrats' 2003-04 presidential cycle and seems likely to set the tone again in 2007-08. Thursday was a reminder that there are, as George W. Bush has finally taken to calling them, Islamic fascist terrorists who want to kill us and destroy our way of life.

Thursday's lesson was not one Tuesday's victors wanted to learn. Left-wing bloggers played an important part in Lamont's victory. Here's the reaction of one of them, John Aravosis, to the red alert ordered here in response to the British arrests: 'Do I sound as if I don't believe this alert? Why, yes, that would be correct. I just don't believe it. Read the article. They say the plot had an 'Al Qaeda footprint.' Ooh, are you scared yet?' " More.

Fantasyland in Connecticut

By Star Parker
Townhall.com

"The executive director of MoveOn Political Action Committee did a victory dance on the opinion page of The Washington Post. He called Ned Lamont's defeat of Sen. Joe Lieberman in the Connecticut primary a 'watershed moment' and Lamont's 'principled progressivism' the 'bold' new direction for the country.

But as is clear today, in the wake of the massive terrorist plot uncovered in London, had the primary been held a week later, Lamont would be history. Even detached Connecticut Democrats would have remembered that it was the terrorists of 9/11 that defined our 'watershed moment,' not a rich Northeastern dilettante.

Consider Lamont's victory speech, him standing up there flanked by the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. That visual alone was sufficient to tell us that what had occurred in Connecticut was a quirky flight from reality and not a defining moment in U.S. history." More.

An Attack Foiled, A Reminder Given

By Terry Eastland

Last week's plot to use airplanes to commit mass murder on an unimaginable scale was foiled. Like 9/11, this scheme was the work of terrorists, and we can expect them to try again. The urgent question is whether we remain willing to carry the fight to the terrorists--and prevail.

On August 1, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in a Los Angeles speech, rebuked those who believe that the West is somehow responsible for the emergence of the terrorists. As he pointed out, they are driven by "religious extremism," a radical version of Islam. And they have located themselves in virtually every major nation in the world. "They are prepared to strike," Blair said. And so they almost did.

Thanks to the Brits, with assistance from the Pakistanis, for saving the day. But we in this country will have learned nothing from this near-horrific episode if we fail to strengthen our resolve to win the war on terrorism.

"When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary."

-- Thomas Paine

Pushing the Limits

Lawmakers try to extend their terms. Voters balk.
By John Fund
OpinionJournal

If elected officials were half as imaginative at solving real problems as they are at perpetuating themselves in office, we'd see real confidence in government restored. Alas, the big issue on many pols' minds right now is getting rid of the term-limit laws that threaten to knock down their impregnable incumbent fortresses.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court in 1995 threw out 21 states' voter-approved term limits on members of Congress, that 5-4 ruling didn't affect limits on state and local legislators and other officials. This year, such officials are mounting full-scale efforts to overturn the will of the people. Voters must remain constantly vigilant, lest incumbents roll back restrictions on their own tenure. More.

Castro Appears in Photos With Brother Raul, Venezuela's Chavez

Bloomberg.com

Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Cuban leader Fidel Castro appeared in photographs with his brother Raul and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, two weeks after undergoing surgery and handing temporary power to his sibling.

In photos published on the Web site of the official Communist party newspaper, Granma, the ailing Cuban leader appears lying in bed, holding Chavez's hand, receiving gifts from the Venezuelan leader, and writing in a notebook. The pictures were taken yesterday, on Castro's 80th birthday." More..

Cuban militant to make bid for freedom

Mercury News
AP Wire
"EL PASO, Texas - A Cuban militant accused of masterminding the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner wants a federal judge to let him out of jail while the U.S. government continues searching for a country where it can deport him.

Luis Posada Carriles was ordered out of the United States last year. But an immigration judge said the government couldn't send him to Cuba, where he was born, or Venezuela, where he is a naturalized citizen, citing the possibility he could be tortured. So far, no other country has been found." More.

This is sheer idiocy. - HH