"Soviet communism is now history but people who talk equality and practice elitism, who wrap their own selfishness in the mantle of idealism, and who sacrifice others on the altar to their own vision without a moment's hesitation are not only still with us but have become the norm on the left."

-- Thomas Sowell

America's foolish European wannabes
According to ABC News, 2008 presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) may have recently called his moderate-right credentials into question.......

Appeasement -- It won't work this time

By Tony Blankley: "Last week, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that those who don't take the radical Islamist terrorist threat as seriously as the Bush administration does suffer from a 'moral and intellectual confusion.' He compared them to the British appeasers of Hitler before WWII.

I did a left-wing radio call-in show after the speech in which the callers accused Rumsfeld of calling them pro-Nazi for opposing President Bush on the war. Of course Rumsfeld was suggesting no such thing. But it is worth reviewing the history and meaning of appeasement -- both for those who hurl the charge and for those who are charged." Continue reading...

The new nomenklatura
By Thomas Sowell
One of the bitter ironies of the 20th century was that communism, which began as an egalitarian doctrine accusing capitalism of selfishness and calloused sacrifices of others, became in power a system whose selfishness and callousness toward others made the sins of capitalism pale.....

What’s Discrimination?
By Walter E. Williams
There's so much confusion and emotionalism about discrimination that I thought I'd take a stab at a dispassionate analysis. Discrimination is simply the act of choice. When we choose Bordeaux wine, we discriminate against Burgundy wine. When I married Mrs. Williams, I discriminated against other women. Even though I occasionally think about equal opportunity, Mrs. Williams demands continued discrimination. Our lives are spent discriminating for or against one thing or another. In other words, choice requires discrimination. Imagine how silly, not to mention impossible, life would be if discrimination were outlawed…

The media keeps missing the boat on Iraq
Liberals like to pretend that there isn?t a media bias when it comes to the coverage of the Bush Administration or the war.

Thwack! Will Democrats never learn?
Many congressional Democrats, and other leaders in the Democratic party, have not only abandoned that commitment to unity, but have chosen to put short term political gain ahead of the long term goal of national security. Americans should be outraged by this.

Commentary

The Phony Call to Work Together
By Frank Salvato
As the November mid-term elections approach, political opportunists continue to advance the fallacy that incumbent Republicans are unwilling to cooperate with Democrats in doing the people’s work. But the facts indicate that it is the Democrats who have adopted the strategy of criticize and obstruct while offering scant ideas of their own. While there is a pathetic amount of gridlock on Capitol Hill, only one party is on record as being obstructionist, and the name of that party doesn’t start with an “R.”

Commentary

What Congress Should Put on Top of Its Agenda
By Ed Feulner
Most lawmakers have spent part of their August recess hearing from constituents and are under pressure to "get things done" before Election Day. But what matters isn't accomplishing some things, it's accomplishing the right things. As lawmakers organize their calendars for the next two months, here are three main issues they should put at the top of their to-do lists…

More News Headlines

Boston Globe:
Ticked Off at Hamas: Palestinians Say Life Is Worse Now

Boston Globe:
Iraq takes control of military command
But full transfer of security is still down the road

Las Vegas Sun/AP:
Terror Expert Warns NYC Still a Target

USA Today:
Armitage Leaked and Fitzgerald Knew It - But Kept on Investigating...

Las Vegas Sun/AP:
FAA Cracks Down on Air Controllers Naps

Las Vegas Sun/AP:
Vegetative Patients May Have Awareness

CLEAN 'BILL' FOR 9/11 MOVIE

New York Post Online Edition:
FURY SPURS ABC TO ALTER OSAMA SCENE

WASHINGTON - "Facing heavy pressure from Bill Clinton and backlash from an educational publisher, ABC is revising its controversial miniseries, 'The Path to 9/11' - including altering a key scene about the effort to kill Osama bin Laden.

The network has toned down - but not eliminated - a fictional scene involving Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, that the former president had protested in a letter to ABC, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Berger was portrayed in the original version as declining to give the order to kill bin Laden just before hanging up the phone on CIA operatives in the field.

An unidentified ABC executive told The Washington Post 'adjustments and refinements' are 'intended to make clearer that it was general indecisiveness' of White House officials that left the country vulnerable." Continue.

British Gov’t Urged to Act More Firmly Against Anti-Semitism
London – Reported incidents of anti-Semitism in Britain remain troublingly high, according to a cross-party group of legislators. They want the government to take firmer action against it...

House Republicans Announce New Border Security Package
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) has said it would be “next to impossible” for Congress to pass a “comprehensive” immigration reform bill – one that includes a “path to citizenship” as well as border security – by the midterm elections. But House Republicans are refusing to give up on border security...

Lawmakers Want Investigation, Pardon for Border Agents
Members of Congress are petitioning the president to pardon two U.S. Border Patrol agents convicted of assaulting an illegal alien who was trying to smuggle drugs into the U.S. Those lawmakers are now demanding an investigation of the U.S. attorney who prosecuted the agents...

9/11 politics
The unusual Democratic outrage over ABC-TV's "The Path to 9/11" film to be shown Sunday and Monday reflects private concern in the party that the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attack can reverse the political tide running against Republicans. More.

The return of lethal fascism
The parallels between the rise of fascism in pre-World War II Germany and the rise of Islamic fascism today are startling. And just as it was in the 1930s, the world is refusing to confront the growing danger. More.

Hezbollah's victory assures more bloodshed
Press & Sun-Bulletin - Binghamton,NY,USA
By Todd Keister. With its recent acceptance of a UN cease-fire, the Israeli government has effectively capitulated to Iran's Hezbollah terror army. ...

FIVE YEARS ON ......

OpinionJournal
Five Years On: There have been far more victories than setbacks since September 11.

September 11, 2001, it is often said, was a day that 'changed everything.' Five years later, it remains to be seen whether that's really as true as it deserves to be."

Murtha's time to shine?

Gary Gross of Murtha Must Go!! says:

"Jack Murtha says he's all for fighting the war on terror, he just doesn't think the President is doing it the right way. Well, in the coming days, Jack Murtha will have an opportunity to prove himself, he can offer his leadership, and cast his vote, in favor of giving the President the tools he needs to better prosecute that war.

"Yesterday and today, the President has taken two giant strides forward in the prosecution of the war on terror: yesterday he announced the transfer of 14 suspected terrorists from overseas CIA prisons to the U.S. Naval facility at Guantanamo Bay, and asked Congress for legislation specifically authorizing military tribunals so they can be tried properly and brought to justice; today, he asked Congress for new legislation that would specifically authorize the National Security Agency to surveil suspected terrorists abroad who are calling contacts inside the United States.

"In both cases, the President is doing the right thing to enhance American security in the face of the Islamofascist terrorist threat we face, and putting the ball squarely in the court of Congress. The only question now is, will Congress step up to the plate? Jack Murtha has already made his views known: on December 21, 2005, in an interview on CNN, he had this to say about NSA wiretapping:

"They're violating the Constitution and the laws. All they had to do is come to Congress."

"So now the President is taking Jack Murtha at his word, going to the Congress, and it's up to Jack Murtha to prove that he can live up to his promises."

Put up or shut up? My best guess, based on recent Democrat behavior, is he will do neither. He will keep on flapping his gums, spinning like a top, without taking a substantive postition that will help on the war against those who want to do us harm.

A NEW AUTOMATED MESSAGE

FINALLY!

An answer to the de-Americanizing crap thats suffocating our country. A short, concise message that makes sense. Every business should be required to install this message on there phone and ATM system.

GOOD MORNING,

WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Press "1" for English.

Press "2" to disconnect until you have learned to speak English

Saudi religious police outlaw cat, dog sales

insider.washingtontimes.com:

JIDDA, Saudi Arabia -- "Saudi Arabia's religious police, normally tasked with chiding women to cover themselves and ensuring men attend mosque prayers, are turning to a new target: cats and dogs.

The police have issued a decree banning the sale of the pets, seen as a sign of Western influence.

The prohibition on dogs may be less of a surprise because conservative Muslims despise dogs as unclean. But the cat ban befuddled many, since Islamic tradition holds that the Prophet Muhammad loved cats.

The religious police, known as the Muttawa, enforce Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic code. Its members prowl streets and malls, ensuring unmarried men and women do not mix, confronting women they feel are not properly covered or urging men to go to prayers.

But the government also gives the Muttawa wide leeway to enforce any rules they deem necessary to uphold the social order." Full story.

A Sorry Man

I heard a quick news blurb on the radio of which I only heard in part. It was in regards to Richard Armitage having regrets for his role in leaking Valerie Plame's identity and feeling apologetic towards Plame, hubby Joe Wilson, Colin Powell, the State Department.

As it turns out, the Washington Post also reports that Richard Armitage regrets having leaked the identity of sort-of-secret CIA employee Valerie Plame, wife of angry left egomaniac Joe Wilson.

I had an immediate query and I see that James Taranto at Opinion Journal is asking the same question: "What about President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Scooter Libby and Karl Rove?"

Casey Internal: Santorum Trails by 3%

Redstate

"Members of Camp Casey in Washington unwittingly revealed to a source of the Fly (http://www.harrisburgbuzz.blogspot.com/) that an internal poll shows Rick Santorum within the margin of error, trailing narrowly at 47-44.

Click the link for the rest of it.

If Rick's trailing by 3% in an internal he's probably ahead by a couple."

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Santorum cleaned Casey's clock in their debate on Meet the Press with Tim Russert.

I also heard Senator Santorum talking with Bill Bennet a couple days prior to his debate with Casey. I was genuinely impressed with Santorum's intellect in a number of different areas, including American history. He's a smart guy.

Federal Probe Launched Into Menendez's Finances

The story was reported by a New York NBC affiliate: http://www.wnbc.com/politics/9806805/detail.html

WNBC (NY)

A federal investigation has been launched into the financial dealings of New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez and a nonprofit agency he has helped over the years, sources said.

The U.S. attorney's office has subpoenaed the agency's records pertaining to a house once owned by then-congressman Menendez, sources told NewsChannel 4's Brian Thompson.

Menendez, a Democrat, has denied there was anything wrong with his renting the house to the North Hudson Community Action Corp. for more than $3,000 a month, even as he was working to obtain millions of dollars in federal grant money while he was a congressman.

Menendez campaign spokesman Matthew Miller released a statement saying the senator's dealings with the agency had already been approved by authorities in U.S. Congress.

"This transaction was already approved by the House Ethics Committee, and the U.S. attorney will find that Bob Menendez did nothing but support a well-respected agency in the exact same manner that he has supported other non-profits in the state," the statement said.

"We're troubled by the timing of this subpoena in the middle of a political campaign, but the facts are that the NHCAC has received federal funds for over 35 years because they provide education and health care services to New Jerseyans who need it the most."

Menendez is locked in a close race with Republican state Sen. Tom Kean Jr. Both campaigns have traded ethics charges.

Also Thursday, a Republican state lawmaker alleged that Menendez violated ethics rules by trying to block a merger involving a company in which he holds stock.

State Sen. Diane Allen, R-Burlington, said she planned to file a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee early next week. Menendez served in the House for 14 years before being appointed in January by Gov. Jon Corzine to serve out the remaining year of his Senate term.

Allen alleges that in 2003, Menendez sponsored legislation to ban media mergers he said would create monopolies in Spanish language broadcasting. Allen alleges Menendez wanted the merger to fail because his stock would have gone down. The merger ultimately went through.

"Ethics rules say you cannot lobby on behalf of organizations when you stand to make some money by it," Allen said. "I fear that Sen. Menendez has trouble discerning that line between what is ethical and what is not."

Menendez campaign spokesman Matthew Miller said Menendez, along with other Democratic lawmakers, fought the "mass media consolidation because it hurts consumers."

Kean campaign spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker said this is just another example of Menendez "using his public office for personal gain."

According to Menendez's latest financial disclosure form, he holds stock in Florida-based Spanish Broadcasting System Inc. worth between $1,000 and $15,000. But Miller said Menendez sold his SBS stock earlier this year, taking a significant loss. He did not have a specific figure.

SBS is the largest Hispanic radio broadcasting company in the United States. Menendez has received nearly $25,000 in campaign contributions from SBS and its executives, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Baltic Tiger on the prowl

"The tiny country of Estonia, or the 'Baltic Tiger,' as it’s known in Europe, is quickly rising from its dark past of Soviet domination and is now considered, according to the 2006 State of World Liberty index, the world leader in economic and political liberty. The United States was ranked as eighth and, Surprise! North Korea was dead last out of the 159 countries.

Estonia’s success is largely attributed to Mart Laar, a history teacher who became prime minister after Estonia’s liberation from the USSR in 1991. Inspired by author Milton Friedman (whom the Soviets hated), Larr privatized a large portion of the government sector, struck down almost all tariffs and implemented a flat income tax of 26 percent. Job earnings have skyrocketed because of foreign investment and tax revenues have been so unexpectedly high that the flat tax is being steadily cut down to 20 percent.

'People think a progressive tax system is fairer,' Laar says to critics of his flat-tax plan, 'but in the real world rich people find a way to avoid high taxes. With a flat tax, they stop worrying about sheltering their income or working in the gray economy. There is less corruption because it’s easier to pay the tax.' "

Source: The Patriot

"Islamic fascism is not why we fight, it’s what we fight. The distinction is more than merely rhetorical. For all our necessary emphasis on what we’re fighting—Islamic terrorists bent on the destruction of the West and the establishment of a new caliphate—we cannot forget what we’re fighting for.

The United States of America is the last best hope of Western civilization, and we fight because we know our way of life is worth defending to the last man."

--The Patriot Post

“These terrorists target the innocent, and they kill by the thousands. And they would, if they gain the weapons they seek, kill by the millions and not be finished. The greatest threat of our age is nuclear, chemical or biological weapons in the hands of terrorists and the dictators who aid them.”

-- Pres. G.W. Bush

Terrorism is a tactic, a means to an end. Islam, conversely, is the ideology behind modern terrorism. It’s an ideology that is also inherently fascist. It is no coincidence that these terrorist-fascists happen to be Muslim, for Islam itself is a clerical-fascist system of belief.

-- The Patriot Post

House Republicans reject illegal-aliens amnesty bill

By Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

"House Republicans yesterday officially rejected the Senate immigration bill that would grant citizenship rights to some 10 million illegal aliens now in the country.

'We agree that we cannot support the Senate amnesty bill,' House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert said. 'This Democrat immigration bill wouldn't secure the border. It would erase it.'

Mr. Hastert met yesterday with other House leaders and the chairman of several committees to discuss how to proceed with the stalled immigration legislation and emerged saying new border security proposals will be offered next week.

The new initiatives will include more border patrol agents, new fencing and surveillance and stricter enforcement of current laws, which they hope will pass both the House and the Senate before November's elections." Full story.

FBI's Mueller: Homegrown Terrorists Threaten U.S.

FBI Director Robert Mueller sees a rising threat from homegrown terrorists but cautions that foreign groups are far from vanquished and still consume more bureau resources.

'We have certainly hundreds' of people within the country that the bureau is investigating with varied levels of intensity, Mueller told a group of reporters Wednesday. 'But if you're looking at terrorism across the board . . . we have several thousand cases.' More ...

Chafee Delays Vote on Bolton Nomination

WASHINGTON -- "A Senate committee unexpectedly postponed a vote Thursday on confirming John Bolton as U.N. ambassador when a lawmaker in a tough re-election fight said he had more questions."

This is apparently a calculated political move by 'Rhino' Chafee who is running into a tight race in his primary against a conservative GOP challenger for the right to seek re-election for his Senate seat.

Mexico arrests major drug cartel figure

Yahoo! News

MEXICO CITY - "Mexican authorities have arrested a major figure in a Colombian drug cartel responsible for nearly half of the cocaine smuggled into the United States, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico said Friday.

The arrest of Jaime Maya Duran 'shows the determination of U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities to pursue the most dangerous criminals, including those who thought they were untouchable,' U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza said.

Maya Duran, a Colombian citizen, was arrested Wednesday by agents of Mexico's attorney general's office. It was not revealed where he was arrested, and Mexican officials could not be reached for immediate comment." Read on.

Treasury Department Targets Hezbollah's and Iran's Financial Institutions

By Andrew Cochran

In actions announced yesterday and today, the Treasury Department makes it clear that the U.S. will pursue the financial institutions which assist Hezbollah and the Iranian regime. Today, Treasury cut off access to the U.S. financial system by Iran's Bank Saderat, one of Iranian-owned banks, by making it impossible to conduct "U-turn transactions," which allow U.S. banks to process payments involving Iran that begin and end with a non-Iranian foreign bank. More.

"[A] rigid economy of the public contributions and absolute interdiction of all useless expenses will go far towards keeping the government honest and unoppressive."

-- Thomas Jefferson

Bush administration will appoint fierce Senate critic of United ...
International Herald Tribune - France
Norm Coleman, a fierce critic of the United Nations, said Thursday the Bush administration has appointed him to serve as a congressional delegate to the world ...

Oh, Noooo!!! Not another fierce critic of the UN has been appointed as a U.S. representative. How will the world perceive us now? When will we learn? And then ... he has to be from my home state of Minnesota too..... Oh, nooooo! What will people think of Minnesota? This calls for heavy drinking. Keegan's, here I come.

I hope I can get some relief by drinking a few brewskys and some consolement from fellow MOB'sters.

Israel has Lifted its Blockade. When will Hezbollah Lift its
World Forum - USA
... sea blockade over Lebanon will certainly please and calm the Lebanese people who, alone, had to pay the price for the fundamentalist Hezbollah's monopoly over ...

ABC revises 9/11 film after Clinton criticism

ABC Television continues to make changes to its miniseries "The Path to 9/11," after a barrage of criticism from former Clinton administration officials.......

No surprise here, is there? The left always wants to rewrite history. And, Clinton is desperately trying to insulate his weak presidency from being portrayed for what it really was .... inept and a facade.

Bush slams court threat to wiretaps
President Bush yesterday said the courts are threatening his wiretapping program and called on Congress to pass a law to put the program on sounder footing, but one hour later Senate Democrats blocked an effort to do just that........

Khatami defends Ahmadinejad, Iran's nuke plans
Former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami yesterday defended his country's nuclear program and rejected suggestions that freedom and human rights in Iran had deteriorated under his hard-line successor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.....

This is so freeking ridiculous, I'm virtually speechless. For him to be called a 'moderate', and basically echo and endorse the positions of Ahmadi-nutjob who is described as (and properly so) a hard line conservative (extremist), tells you all you need to know about the so-called 'moderate Islamist'. Virtually, there is no distinction.

And to give him a platform, and allow him to come here and spew his propaganda is improper. And, to allow him, at this time of year, coming up to the 5th year anniversary of 9-11, makes it down right disgusting.

Senate approves $469 billion for Pentagon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to reinstate a special CIA unit hunting for Osama bin Laden as it passed a $469 billion Pentagon funding bill.

The Senate unanimously backed the bill after sometimes bitter debate that saw Republicans and Democrats exchanging accusations over the Iraq war and national security, major issues in November's congressional elections.

The bill allocates $63 billion in emergency money for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Lawmakers say the figure could climb to $70 billion after negotiators from both houses of Congress finalize the legislation. The cost of the two wars is now approaching $500 billion. Read on.

Human heads dumped in Mexico bar

Mexican federal police in raid on drugs gang
Mexican police have been fighting heavily-armed drugs gangs
Armed, masked men have burst into a bar in Mexico and flung five human heads onto a crowded dance floor, in an apparent warning to a rival drug gang.

An official said 20 men entered the bar in Uruapan city, Michoacan state, fired into the air, forced revellers to lie down and then 'threw down five heads'. Read on.

Bush: Iraq is 'struggle of the century' - U.S. President George Bush said the war in Iraq is the lynch...

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush said the war in Iraq is the lynchpin in the war on terror, and told CBS it is the 'ideological struggle of the 21st century.'

The president made the remarks in a CBS Evening News interview in the run-up to the anniversary of the al-Qaida terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and suggested citizens of the United States didn't have a grasp on the severity of the threat.

'The American people have got to understand that a defeat in Iraq -- in other words, if this government there fails, the terrorists will be emboldened, the radicals will topple moderate governments,' he said. 'I truly believe this is the ideological struggle of the 21st century.'

Bush said the ruthlessness shown five years was also evident in Iraq.

'We're facing an enemy ... that just doesn't care about innocent life. I mean, they really are evil people,' he said. 'I do think Iraq is a central front in the war on terror and so does Osama bin Laden.

Bush detainee admission draws EU fire - U.S. President George W. Bush's acknowledging of secret CIA ...

BRUSSELS (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush's acknowledging of secret CIA prisons in Europe has drawn heated criticism from European officials.

Council of Europe President Rene van der Linden, Europe's top human rights official, called the practice 'criminal' and said 'Europe will have no part in such a degrading system.'

The vice-chair of the European Parliament's special committee investigating CIA prisons in Europe, Sarah Ludford, said Bush's disclosure also puts European leaders who had dismissed such 'extraordinary rendition' claims in a bad light.

The Bush admission triggered negative comment from European lawmakers and civil rights officials who had long called for the United States to admit such a clandestine network of prisons, Deutsche Welle said.

In July, the EU parliament voted to continue its investigation into CIA secret prisons for another six months.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaa............

UFO: THE REST OF THE STORY

I received this email:

"Many will recall that on July 8, 1947, witnesses claim an unidentified object with five aliens aboard crashed on a sheep and cattle ranch just outside Roswell, New Mexico.
This is a well known incident that many say has long been covered up by the US Air Force and the federal government.

However, you may well NOT know that in the month of March 1948, exactly nine months after that historic day, Albert Arnold Gore, Jr.; Hil lary Rodham; John F. Kerry; William Jefferson Clinton; Howard Dean; Nanc y Pelosi; Dianne Feinstein; Charles E. Schumer; and Barbara Boxer were born.

A coincidence? I think not! (nyuk, nyuk, nyuk)

That piece of information has now cleared up a lot of things."

Claim: U.N. filmed Hezbollah kidnappings - Allegations arose Wednesday U.N. peacekeepers in northern Is...

Although this is hardly new news, I suspect this story has been unknown to many and is worth publicizing.

Claim: U.N. filmed Hezbollah kidnappings - Allegations arose Wednesday U.N. peacekeepers in northern Is...:

JERUSALEM, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Allegations arose Wednesday U.N. peacekeepers in northern Israel cooperated with Hezbollah militants in the abductions of three Israeli soldiers in 2000.

The claim came following the airing of a documentary film on both Israeli and Lebanese television Tuesday night showing the capture of the three men, the Arutz Sheva broadcast network said.

The families of the three men, whose bodies were returned in a 2004 prisoner exchange with Hezbollah, accused the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon of withholding information about film footage shot by peacekeepers.

The father of Ya'akov Avitan claimed a UNIFIL member filmed the kidnappings and then sold the film to Hezbollah terrorists.

'Hezbollah made sure to erase the United Nations' cooperation in the film -- but the U.N.'s lies become clear here. They filmed the kidnapping and knew what was happening all along,' he said.

There was no immediate U.N. response to the allegations in the report."

Support for Hezbollah in Egypt Threatens Mubarak's Stability
Global Terrorism Analysis - Washington,DC,USA
The success of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement in battle against Israel's armed forces has reminded Egyptians of their own military difficulties against Israel in ...

CORRUPT NATIONS SPAWN SIMILAR INDIVIDUALS

"A study by the UK publication The Economist, looked at the unpaid parking tickets which had been issued to members of the United Nations over a five-year period. They found that in countries with relatively little corruption, such as Canada and the U.K. most if not all tickets had been paid. In countries with high corruption levels, the reverse was true. The study noted that diplomats from the highest offending country, Chad had an average of 124 unpaid parking violations per year.

Investment analyst Steve Sjuggerud, writing in his dailywealth column speaks about the implications of this study for the investor who is deciding where to place his money." More...

A race against the clock to stop a plot .....

According to the Galil Report (paid subscription only) Egypt is fiercely trying to uncover and stop a suspected plot by an Al-Qaida cell that has recently entered the country and has designs on pulling off a large attack in the Sinai desert, against Israel and other foreign terrorists tourists.

We agree .. kinda' .. well in principle.. but not necessarily with the whole resolution .. but at the least the parts we like

Beirut Backs Hezbollah Demand For Prisoner Swap
All Headline News - USA

"Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Despite having agreed to adhere to UN Security Council Resolution 1701, Lebanon on Wednesday publicly backed Hezbollah's refusal to ..."

Russia's Lavrov Advocates Dialogue with Hamas, Hezbollah

MOSNEWS.COM

The Russian foreign minister said Thursday that a dialogue with Islamic radical groups Hamas and Hezbollah is necessary to encourage their responsibility for the Palestinian and Lebanese people, RIA Novosti news agency reports.

The Hamas and Hezbollah radical movements are represented in the governments of the Palestinian Authority and Lebanon, respectively. They are considered by neighboring Israel to be terrorist organizations, which led recently to a number of armed clashes between Israel and the two movements.

“"As Hamas and Hezbollah, using elections and democratic processes, become part of the power structure, they realize better their responsibilities to their electors and for the fate of their people,"” Sergei Lavrov, who is currently on an official two-day visit to the Middle East, said.

Read complete news story here.

What nonsense. If you are trained to hate infidels from the time you begin to walk and talk and you also are told and believe that your 'sad plight' is 'caused by' the infidels, and your only way out is to die (martyrdom) and and go see Allah, to finally achieve 'Nirvana', you don't give a rat's ... you know what.... about your citizen electors, and they ... the citizen electors ... have no interest in living in harmony with the infidels.

Period! End of story.

Some good observations ......

James Taranto has some good observations today on WSJ's Opinion Journal Best of the Web Today. He takes a look at President Bush's news conference today regarding terrorists, Camp Gitmo and Bush's challenge to Congress; he looks at our enemy's propaganda and our media; he revisits the Valerie Plame non-story story; and comments on our academic 'freedom', juxtaposing Iran's academic environment. Good stuff.

NBC Spins Oil Discovery Negatively

Reporter Savidge focuses on complaints from environmental lobby but leaves out NRDC's anti-drilling bent.

By Ken Shepherd
Business & Media Institute

"The recent massive oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico led to in-depth reports by all three network newscasts, but only NBC spun the news negatively. There it was portrayed as a loss to environmentalists and consumers."

Hezbollah turns its blame to the US
Concord Monitor - Concord,NH,USA
... Using the rubble and widespread destruction in Haret Hreik, Hezbollah's public relations department has gone into high gear to garner international sympathy ...

Not a Live and Let Live Movement Any More

By Jennifer Roback Morse

"Many people of libertarian inclinations, of whom I am one, have sympathy for a particular style of gay rights movement. Let and let live, we always say. If it isn’t hurting any one else, it is no business of the government’s.

Those days are over. The gay caucus of the California State Assembly is not interested in live and let live. This is an aggressive, intrusive movement that brooks no disagreement. Consider the following recent developments." Read on.

BANKRUPT

By David Limbaugh

The sad fact is: The oldest continuous political party in the world is bankrupt. Read more..

DOES RELIGION MAKE YOU BETTER OR WORSE

By Dennis Prager

I have devoted much of my life to arguing that religion is the finest vehicle for individuals and societies to become decent, good, moral (you choose the term you prefer). Continue...

USC Study: Celebrities Really Are More Narcissistic Than the General Public

Well shazam! Who would ever have thunk it?

BREITBART.COM

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- "Celebrities have more narcissistic personality traits than the general population, and people with narcissistic tendencies seem to be attracted to the entertainment industry rather than the industry creating narcissists, according to a groundbreaking study conducted by researchers Drew Pinsky of the Keck School of Medicine of USC and S. Mark Young of the USC Marshall School of Business and the USC Annenberg School for Communication.

The study, which will be published in the Journal of Research in Personality (Elsevier), is the first systematic, empirical scholarly study of celebrity personality and was based on a standardized test of narcissistic personality traits administered to 200 celebrities." Full story.

Spain vows to curb migrant wave

"The Spanish government has said it will not tolerate the continued arrival of African migrants on its shores.

Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega called on African countries to help cut off the flow of migrants, and to take them back again.

She was speaking after a weekend in which more than 1,400 Africans landed on the Canary Islands alone."

Illegal Aliens Trying to 'Slip Through the Cracks' in Colorado

"More than 1,700 illegal immigrants have been caught attempting to pass fake documents at state driver's licenses offices in the first month after a tough immigration law went into effect, according to a state official."

Improvising After 9/11
By Daniel Pipes

The five years since 9/11, in retrospect, have been like a perpetual workshop in which Americans argue about the nature of their enemy and how to defeat him. Along the way, they have made plenty of mistakes, ranging from former Secretary of State Colin Powell's claiming that 9/11 "should not be seen as something done by Arabs or Islamics," to not allowing an Arab to board an airplane because he wore a t-shirt bearing Arabic script. What impresses me, however, is how Americans have constantly, if slowly, improved their understanding of the enemy, as can be seen in everything from presidential rhetoric to airplane security...

The GOP Leadership Failure
By Robert D. Novak

Both the Senate Republican leadership’s unofficial agenda for the last pre-election session of the 109th Congress beginning this week and a privately circulated White House wish list are extraordinarily heavy. That means the planned adjournment date of Sept. 29 surely cannot be met, and even Oct. 6 may be too early. Yet, immigration is not mentioned on either expansive list…

Disproportionate Prisoner Swap?

Abducted Israeli Soldier to Be Transferred to Egypt, Abbas Says
Jerusalem - The kidnapping that sent the Israeli military back into the Gaza Strip in June appears to be nearing a negotiated solution. The captured Israeli corporal reportedly will be freed in exchange for the release of between 500 and 800 Palestinians being held in Israeli jails...

Will the left scream about disproportionate prisoner swapping like they did about Israel's 'disproportionate' military response in this most recent conflict?

Japan’s Likely New PM Sees Stronger Ties With US
The man widely expected to be Japan’s next prime minister wants to amend the country’s 60-year-old pacifist constitution, removing restrictions on the right to collective self-defense to enable more effective security cooperation with the United States...

Immigration ‘Compromise’ Bill Unlikely to Pass House
A proposed House-Senate compromise on immigration reform –- which would couple an “enforcement first” approach with a delayed guest worker program – appears to be dying on Capitol Hill...

Outrage as Australian Leaders Tell Muslims to Fit In
Australian Muslim representatives are voicing outrage at comments by the country’s two top politicians, who urged immigrants from Islamic societies to fit in, learn English, treat women with respect, and shun extremism...

Hezbollah: We're keeping our rockets
United Press International - USA
5 (UPI) -- The Lebanese leader of the militant Hezbollah organization said Tuesday he is not willing to give up any of the group's missile and rocket arsenal. ...

John Murtha

Read Rep. John Murtha's foolish op-ed piece brought to you by Yahoo! News which appears on the HuffingtonPost.

THE AMERICAN ELEVEN

Writing about winning in the 2006 election, Newt Gingrich, today, writes about The American Eleven - A Values Led Plan for Victory in November and lists 11 issues that he says "are all clear and all doable".

Newt says,

For the last few years, Republicans in Washington have forgotten the Reagan-Contract rule that successful change starts with the American people. There is a real danger that Republicans will lose the House and the Senate this fall because they have strayed from this core principle of starting first with the concerns and values of the American people and then developing effective policies.

Consultants are working overtime to convince the American people to favor Republican policies. This is exactly backwards.

What really works is what happens when Republicans identify themselves with the American people and against the values of the left-wing establishment that dominates the media, the bureaucracies and the lobbying community.

I like his 11 value issues. Read his article here.

Afghanistan

NATO forces are having quite a bit of success with their offensive, Operation Medusa, and dealing Mullah Omar's Taliban fighters quite a blow. Over 14,400 virgins will have to be rounded up to greet the martyred Taliban fighters.

Captain Ed over at Captain's Quarters posts that notes "Over 200 Taliban fighters have died in the fighting, while NATO has only suffered four combat deaths." Not a good ratio for the bad guys.

The good captain goes on to expound on the importance of a stable Afghanistan.

With friends like this, who needs enemies?

Europe nixes landing rights for El Al planes with IDF cargo

"A number of European states are refusing to allow El Al cargo planes carrying Israel Defense Forces equipment from stopover landings in their airports.

The refusal came from states considered friendly with Israel, including Britain, Germany and Italy, according to Captain Etai Regev, the chairman of El Al's pilots' union." Full story.

Hezbollah's Unmanned Drones Have Israel And US Worried
All Headline News - USA
Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Hezbollah's use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during its recent conflict with Israel have American and Israeli defense officials ...

LABOR DAY

“On this Labor Day, I proudly join my fellow citizens in saluting our Nation’s working men and women. As we celebrate the historic role of our nation’s free labor movement, we are reminded that workers have contributed as much to America’s social greatness as they have to our economic strength... Because of the quality of the goods and services they produce, we enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world... By shaping a better future for our workers, we can and will assure continued progress and even greater opportunity for all Americans.” —Ronald Reagan

Capitalism: A higher standard of living

“Often, when people evaluate capitalism, they evaluate a system that exists on Earth. When they evaluate communism, they are talking about a non-existent Utopia. What exists on Earth, with all of its problems and shortcomings, is always going to fail miserably when compared to a Utopia. The very attempt to achieve the utopian goals of communism requires the ruthless suppression of the individual and an attack on any institution that might compromise the loyalty of the individual to the state. That’s why one of the first orders of business for communism, and those who support its ideas, is the attack on religion and the family. Rank nations according to whether they are closer to the capitalism end or the communism end of the economic spectrum. Then rank nations according to human rights protections. Finally, rank nations according to per capita income. Without question, citizens of those nations closer to capitalism enjoy a higher standard of living and a far greater measure of liberty than those in nations closer to communism.” —Walter Williams

Pennsylvania Senate Race

To watch the debate on Meet the Press with Tim Russert, between Senator Santorum and the Democrat challenger Bob Casey go here.

It is perplexing to me, if you watch the MSNBC video of the debate, and you are intellectually honest and honestly think through the responses given by each candidate, how Casey can be ahead in this race. Come on people, wake up. I know Santorum has made up ground, but polls still show him behind in the race. Casey is not up to the task.

This nugget from National Review Online:

Casey Talks Tough on the State Pay Raise, But The Press Has Said Otherwise, Including A Call For His Resignation Because Of His Role In It:
Tribune Review: "The only honorable thing to do is for Casey to resign and end his quest for higher office." "Bobby Casey just cooked his own political goose...the commonwealth's highest-ranking fiscal officer, Treasurer Robert P. Casey Jr., has admitted to participating in a scheme that even he considers to have been illegal, in clear violation of the Pennsylvania Constitution and his oath of office... The only honorable thing to do is for Casey to resign and end his quest for higher office." (Editorial, "The treasurer's admission: Resign, Mr. Casey," Pittsburgh Tribune Review, March 9, 2006)

Related story from the Washington Times:
Casey and Santorum mix it up
Bob Casey Jr., the Pennsylvania state treasurer who is seeking to oust Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, said in a debate yesterday that there is no "crisis" facing Social Security, which most economists agree is headed for collapse unless major changes are...Full story

Report: Hezbollah Establishes Child Army

All Headline News
Ryan R. Jones - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent

Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Hezbollah has begun replenishing its ranks after more than a month of war with Israel by recruiting the children of its fallen fighters, according to the Egyptian weekly Roz Al-Yusuf.

The newspaper reported that in recent weeks Hezbollah has organized more than 2,000 children aged 10-15 into armed militias. The Mahdi Boy Scouts, a Hezbollah-affiliated youth movement, has been tasked with training the youngsters to sacrifice their lives attacking Israel.

Today these children are referred to as 'future suicides,' the report said, adding that they can now be seen wearing 'camouflage army uniforms, [painting] their faces black,' and that they have been made to 'take the Jihad and Holy War oath.'

Roz Al-Yusuf said that top Hezbollah officials it contacted did not deny the report.

Earlier, Hezbollah deputy commander Naim Qassam boasted on Radio Canada that 'a nation with suicide children is a victorious one.'

Four-way free-for-all in Minnesota's 5th primary

San Jose Mercury News

MINNEAPOLIS - In the race for an open congressional seat in Minnesota's bluest district, winning the Democratic endorsement should be a big boost toward an office that might be safely held for decades.

But it hasn't worked out that way for Keith Ellison, a state legislator who emerged from a crowd earlier this year to win his party's backing. The plum seat, held for 14 terms by retiring Rep. Martin Sabo, proved too strong for several of those hopefuls to step aside for Ellison.

Heading into the Sept. 12 primary, Ellison faces serious competition from three determined Democrats. Full story.

'Hezbollah is arming Gaza for a new war on Israel', says Israel's spy chief

Telegraph

"Israel's spy chief has given a warning that Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip are garnering increasing numbers of weapons and tactical expertise from Hezbollah fighters since the war in southern Lebanon erupted earlier this summer.

Yuval Diskin, the director of Shin Bet, Israel's equivalent of MI5, said Egypt's Sinai Peninsula was being used as a terrorist base and fast becoming a haven for arms smugglers preparing to shift their wares into the Gaza Strip.

He added that within Gaza terrorists were building rocket hideouts, a bunker network and an anti-tank missile arsenal as they prepared for an escalated confrontation with Israel.

'If we don't move to counter this smuggling, it will continue and create a situation in Gaza similar to the one in southern Lebanon,' he said at a private meeting with Israeli MPs last week." More details.

Israel plans for war with Iran and Syria

Sunday Times - Times Online

"THREATENED by a potentially nuclear-armed Tehran, Israel is preparing for a possible war with both Iran and Syria, according to Israeli political and military sources.

The conflict with Hezbollah has led to a strategic rethink in Israel. A key conclusion is that too much attention has been paid to Palestinian militants in Gaza and the West Bank instead of the two biggest state sponsors of terrorism in the region, who pose a far greater danger to Israel’s existence, defence insiders say." Read on.

Friends of Hillary hint she may pull out of presidential race

Times Online

"FRIENDS of Hillary Clinton have been whispering the unthinkable. Despite her status as the runaway frontrunner for the 2008 Democratic nomination for president, some of her closest advisers say she might opt out of the White House race and seek to lead her party in the Senate.

The former first lady longs to return to the White House with husband Bill as consort. Only last week she told television viewers America would be led by a woman one day. “Stay tuned,” she said." Read on.

No. 2 al-Qaida Leader in Iraq Arrested

BREITBART.COM
Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq-
Iraqi and coalition forces have arrested the second most senior figure in al-Qaida in Iraq, Iraq's national security adviser announced on Sunday, saying the group now suffered from a 'serious leadership crisis.'

Hamed Jumaa Farid al-Saeedi, known as Abu Humam or Abu Rana, was captured north of Baghdad a few days ago 'along with another group of his aides and followers,' Mouwafak al-Rubaie said.

He was the second most important al-Qaida in Iraq leader after Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who took over the group after Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed by a U.S. air strike north of Baghdad on June 7, al-Rubaie said.

'We believe that al-Qaida in Iraq suffers from a serious leadership crisis. Our troops have dealt fatal and painful blows to this organization,' the security adviser said." Read more.

Chicago to sport red, white and green to honor Mexico

Prominent buildings will be bathed in national colors to celebrate independence

"At a time when national passions are heated about illegal aliens from Mexico, the city of Chicago and state of Illinois are promoting an event to honor Mexican independence.

The celebration, called the '2nd Annual Mexican Independence Skyline Tribute,' will feature prominent buildings throughout the Windy City being bathed in Mexico's national colors of red, white and green for six days beginning next Tuesday, Sept. 12." Read more.

America The Beautiful

Labor Day special. Listen to Ray Charles sing
America The Beautiful.

I hope you all have a nice Labor Day.

Ahmadinejad to Annan: We won't halt enrichment

"In meeting with UN secretary-general in Tehran, Iranian president makes it clear that he agrees to negotiations on nuclear issue but will not agree to halt uranium enrichment. Ahmadinejad also says he supports ceasefire in Lebanon. Annan: Holocaust tragedy is undeniable."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad favors negotiations on his country's nuclear program but won't halt uranium enrichment ahead of talks, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Sunday after meeting the leader.

'On the nuclear issue, the president reaffirmed to me Iran's preparedness and commitment to hold negotiations' with western powers to find a solution to the impasse over Tehran's nuclear activities, Annan said.

However, Ahmadinejad 'reiterated that he did not accept suspension before negotiations,' Annan told a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Manoucher Mottaki." Read more.

For those of you who haven't been able to connect the dots yet, this should help spell it out to you as to why Iran stalls and drags their feet on the negotiating of uranium enrichment. That's why in an earlier post I said diplomacy has produced no results other than delay, and delay is a result. And in this case it is the planned effect wanted by Iran. Delay is not really delay if it produces progress. If suspension is off the negotiating table and enrichment continues, then stalling becomes a tool. A tool of progress.

We have witnessed this before. We were unable to stop China in the '60s to develop nuclear weapons. We were unable to stop Pakistan, India, and North Korea in their quest. What are the prospects of us stopping Iran? We know the UN and the EU do not have the will to do it. The U.S. and Israel realistically would be the ones to act. Unfortunately, nuking Iran might be the only way to destroy their nuclear programs. Now I am not necessarily advocating this, I'm just saying it like it is.

We have to decide how important it is to stop Iran's quest. What are the consequences of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons? If acquiring nukes and either using them themselves, or letting the nukes fall into the hands of every 'Bin Laden - Zarqawi - Zawahiri - Nasrallah' wannabes that come along, so they can attack us, what choice do we have?

Israel news: Let Government fall

Likud: Let government fall
"Knesset speaker asks heads of opposition factions to join 'national emergency government.' Senior Likud officials: Emergency government is formed during war, not after; we must let this government collapse, rather than save it..."
Full Story . . .

Mexican flag flies at U.S. post office:

Old Glory stamped on in protest by backers of illegal immigration

Backers of illegal immigration at a rally near Los Angeles took down an American flag at a U.S. post office, stamped on it and replaced it with a Mexican flag as police looked on, according to witnesses and a video of the event.

Police officers in Maywood, Calif., Saturday eventually came to the pole to remove the flag but had bottles and rocks thrown at them, a radio listener named Sandra reported to the Terry Anderson show, heard on KRLA in Los Angeles.

A video can be viewed here, and photographs can be seen here on the website of Save our State, a border-security group represented there along with the Minutemen to protest Maywood declaring itself a "sanctuary city" for illegal aliens.

The radio listener, volunteering for Save our State, said that when she arrived at the rally she was rushed by counter-protesters who called out, "Death to the Minutemen." Continue reading.

WHY LIBERALS ARE FASCISTS

Written by Dr. Jack Wheeler

"Doesn't it seem odd that the kids who started the 60s anti-establishment protest riots on college campuses with the Free Speech Movement (Berkeley, 1964) are the college professors or politicians today who most vehemently suppress free speech among their students or constituents in the name of political correctness?

How can this be? How can worshipping at the shrines of Diversity, Tolerance, and Multiculturalism result in trials and expulsions for students, or jail for citizens, who express ideas with which the worshippers are not in agreement?" Read on.