WE CAN RUN BUT WE CANNOT HIDE

"Americans voted as they did in the midterm elections in large part because they are tired of the war in Iraq. But to slightly paraphrase one of the founders of the Soviet Union, Leon Trotsky: 'You may not be interested in the war, but the war is interested in you.'

A major part of our problem in Iraq is that we think our problem is Iraq. It's much bigger than that.

We are at war with Islamic extremism, which is by no means restricted by the borders of Iraq. Many in the Democrat Party think we can quit the war in Iraq at little cost to ourselves, as we did in Vietnam 30 years ago. But this is a war that will follow us home.

Our enemies hate us because we are not like them, and they will go on trying to kill us unless we become like them, whether we are in Iraq or not. They cannot be appeased. We can destroy them, or let ourselves be destroyed by them. There are no other choices."

-- Jack Kelly

Islamofascism

"Anti-Communism was the defining issue that brought hundreds of thousands of people into the conservative movement from the 1950s through the 1980s. There was a sense that this movement had to be successful if not only America but Western Civilization itself were to survive.

Today, the forces of Islamofascism have picked up where Communism left off, and have embarked upon a World War of global conquest that may last for decades if not longer.

But we don't seem to be prepared for this war. Unlike the movement created during the Cold War, there doesn't seem to be much of an infrastructure to combat Islamofascism.

If we truly care about our children and grandchildren, then we must create an Anti-Islamofascist Movement modeled after the Anti-Communist Movement." -- Dr. Jack Wheeler

Been busy .......

I had a nice Thanksgiving. Today I helped someone move ..... worked off some of those calories I took in on Thursday. Tomorrow morning I am heading out of town to have a post-Thanksgiving get together with extended family ..... brothers (I have 5), sisters-in-law, nephews and nieces. More good food. Our family is fairly close knit; we have a good relationship. It will be fun, I'm sure.

A justice gets her swing back

By Paul Greenberg: "There's a reason judges, like military officers, accept restrictions on their political speech. Because they have the personal dignity and political impartiality of their profession to uphold. When the judiciary is no longer considered above the passions and machinations of ordinary politics, neither is the law, and something of inestimable value is lost to a society that rests on the rule of law." Continue...

Don't leave the park...

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ... ‘Wow ! What a ride!’

Life is meant to be lived, and I don’t believe it’s possible to achieve one’s true potential by renouncing 'mainstream' life in its entirety. Mainstream life is the ballpark. The players within that ballpark can be intense, goal-driven, and action-oriented or they can be dull, negative, and sedentary.

But whatever kind of player you choose to be, you have to be inside the ballpark to play the game. If you want to be the ultimate risk-taker and break all the rules, fine. Just don’t leave the park." -- Robert Ringer, author and speaker

North Korea rejects talks with Japan

Independent Online - Cape Town,South Africa
Japan has imposed a sweeping ban on all imports from North Korea since the impoverished communist regime conducted its first atom bomb test on October 9. ... Read more...

Searching for freedom: one woman's journey out of North Korea

ABC Online - Australia
MARK COLVIN: The regime of Kim Jong Il in North Korea is the closest thing on earth to the nightmarish world created by George Orwell in 1984. ... Read on.....

China Bought Stealth Bomber Secrets

"A Hawaii-based spy ring sold secret U.S. stealth bomber technology to China.

According to the Washington Times, the technology relates to the B-2 bomber's engine exhaust system and its ability to avoid detection by infrared sensors. The Times reports that the information was sold to Chinese officials by former defense contractor Noshir S. Gowadia, an Indian-born citizen charged with spying in a federal indictment released by prosecutors in Hawaii."

N.Y. Times: Block Phone Records Review

"The New York Times asked the Supreme Court on Friday to block the government from reviewing the phone records of two reporters in a leak investigation about a terrorism-funding probe."

Russia Delivering Missiles to Iran

"Russia has begun delivery of Tor-M1 air defense missile systems to Iran, a Defense Ministry official said Friday, confirming that Moscow would proceed with arms deals with Tehran in spite of Western criticism."

Poisoned KGB Spy Dies in London

"A former Russian spy who said he had been poisoned died Thursday night at a London hospital, following a mysterious and rapid decline that left doctors puzzled over the cause of death, officials said.

Alexander Litvinenko, a fierce critic of the Russian government, had suffered heart failure and was heavily sedated as medical staff struggled to pinpoint what had made the 43-year-old critically ill.

'The matter is being investigated as an unexplained death,' London's Metropolitan police said in a statement.

The former spy said he believed he had been poisoned on Nov. 1, while investigating the slaying of another Kremlin detractor - investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya. His hair fell out, his throat became swollen and his immune and nervous systems were severely damaged, he said."

In a related story, the murdered former spy accused Putin for his poisoning and signed a statement on his death bed, according to friends.

Seoul is 'Ostracized' from Discussions on North Korea

Chosun Ilbo, South Korea
Watching America:

"China has clasped hands with America and Japan and has ignored the outstretched hand of South Korea."

"Time Magazine, in an article entitled Why the U.S. and South Korea Don't See Eye to Eye RealVideo, assesses the result of Saturday's APEC Summit in Hanoi, and remarks that South Korea and China have virtually exchanged roles of U.S. ally and U.S. irritant in the region.

While the good news is that China seems more determined to rein in Kim Jong-il's nuclear program, the article says that the bad news is that South Korea - ostensibly a close U.S. ally - 'was notably absent from the 'eye to eye' crowd.' Kim Jong-il has succeeded at driving a wedge between the U.S. and South Korea, it adds." Read on...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

REMEMBER OUR TROOPS AT THANKSGIVING

"God grants liberty only to those who love it and are always ready to guard and defend it." -- Daniel Webster

Let's not forget them at Thanksgiving. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers. They are making a tremendous sacrifice for us. I have given a second donation to Operation Gratitude and have made my second donation to USO as well. Please consider doing so as well to either or both of these fine organizations. Show them they are not forgotten.

MAY YOUR STUFFING BE TASTY,
MAY YOUR TURKEY BE PLUMP.
MAY YOUR POTATOES 'N GRAVY HAVE NARY A LUMP,
MAY YOUR YAMS BE DELICIOUS,
MAY YOUR PIES TAKE THE PRIZE,
MAY YOUR THANKSGIVING DINNER
STAY OFF OF YOUR THIGHS.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Rethinking the Egypt-Israel "Peace�" Treaty
By Daniel Pipes
Ninety-two percent of respondents in a recent poll of 1,000 Egyptians over 18 years of age called Israel an enemy state. In contrast, a meager 2 percent saw Israel as "a friend to Egypt." These hostile sentiments express themselves in many ways, including a popular song titled "I Hate Israel," venomously anti-Semitic political cartoons, bizarre conspiracy theories, and terrorist attacks against visiting Israelis. The time has come to recognize the Egypt-Israel treaty � usually portrayed as the glory of Arab-Israel diplomacy � as the failure it has been�

Ukraine: A Revolution Recedes
By Peter Brookes
Just two years after Ukraine's Orange Revolution inspired the world's democratic imagination, the movement has all but collapsed -- and many of the antidemocratic politicos swept away by "people power" are making a strong comeback. Hopes of Kiev's rapid integration with the West via NATO and the European Union are fading fast in the wake of a pro-Russian power shift. But, despite this, Ukraine has fundamentally changed for the better -- perhaps irreversibly�

Evacuees in Tennessee given home; they sell it, leave

Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: MEMPHIS, TENN. — "A church that wanted to do something special for Hurricane Katrina victims gave a $75,000 house, free and clear, to a couple who said they were left homeless by the storm. But the couple turned around and sold the place without ever moving in, and went back to New Orleans.

'Take it up with God,' Joshua Thompson told a TV reporter after it was learned that he and the woman he identified as his wife had flipped the home for $88,000.

Church members said they feel their generosity was abused by scam artists. They are no longer even sure that the couple were left homeless by Katrina or that they were a couple at all."

China buildup seen aimed at U.S. ships

The Washington Times: "China's military buildup includes new missiles and naval weapons designed to sink U.S. aircraft carriers and deny U.S. forces access to the Asia-Pacific region, a congressional commission official said yesterday."

More Assassinations Expected in Lebanon

Jerusalem - Lebanon was draped in mourning and fear on Wednesday following the assassination of the cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel. Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a critic of Syria, warned of more political assassinations on Wednesday...

Anti-Gun Mayor Convicted On Firearms Charges

"Jackson Mayor Frank Melton, a Democrat, pleaded guilty Nov. 15 to the misdemeanors to avoid felony charges that would have cost him his job. Instead of jail time, he was fined $1,500 and put on a year's probation."

Seems he was caught carrying a handgun on school and church property .... nice.

Hizbullah on the move after latest assassination of anti-Syria leader

WorldTribune.com

"The government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora blamed Syrian President Bashir Assad for the assassination [of Lebanese Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel] on Tuesday.

Lebanese government sources said Hizbullah was said to be facilitating the assassinations in an attempt to block the establishment of an international tribunal that would prosecute those behind the assassination of Hariri. [Former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005.]

The assassination, which sparked Christian unrest, took place as Hizbullah was preparing massive and violent protests against the Siniora government. The Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah, which coordinates with Syria, has demanded one-third of the seats in the Lebanese Cabinet.

'We believe the hand of Syria is all over the place,' said Lebanese parliamentary faction leader Saad Hariri, the son of the late prime minister." Read more.

“The most radical division, is that which splits humanity into two classes of creatures: those who make great demands on themselves, piling up difficulties and duties, and those who demand nothing special of themselves….”

--- Jose Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher

Teen births down; unwed moms up
The U.S. teen birthrate fell again in 2005 to a new historical low, however, almost all of these births were to unwed mothers, which helped push the percent of unwed births to a record high.

Anti-Syrian Lebanese Christian official slain

Washington Times:

"Pierre Gemayel, an anti-Syrian politician and scion of Lebanon's most prominent Christian family, was gunned down yesterday in his mainly Christian constituency of Jdeideh, a suburb of Beirut, heightening a growing sense of crisis in the fragile democracy"

And yes, I would agree with the Washington Times:

Killing seen as bid by Damascus, Tehran to hit U.S. role in Mideast
"The brazen assassination yesterday of Christian Cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel has pushed Lebanon's fragile democracy, heralded by the United States as a model for the region, to the brink of collapse."

What? You mean there may be no 'silver bullet'?

Pentagon cites alternative to Baker report
The Pentagon is drafting its own new options for winning in Iraq, in part, to give President Bush counterproposals to fall back on in case the Iraq Study Group comes up with ideas he does not like, defense officials say.

North Korea, the Worst in Democracy: the Economist says

Daily NK - Seoul,South Korea
By Park Hyun Min, Reporter. North Korea＊s level of democracy is the worst in the world, the Economist examined in its annual prediction of the world affairs. ...

U.S. reaction to North Korea

Asbury Park Press Online

Blame misplaced

"In early October, North Korea claimed to have tested its first nuclear weapon. The following day, North Korea and Kim Jong Il were strongly condemned by much of the world, including China and Russia.

Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton and Harry Reid used the opportunity to condemn the Bush administration, asserting its policies were the cause of the problem. To do this when the world should be united against a madman who is starving 25 million people to death, while threatening nuclear warfare, shows the real character of these two. This is like placing the blame for World War II with Roosevelt, Stalin and the leaders of western Europe, instead of with Hitler.

Most people who seek to undermine our president at every opportunity are obvious hypocrites." Read on...

Things Aren't So Peachy for Our Enemies, Either

The American Thinker:

One would think that taking satisfaction from giving the Republicans the heave ho and depositing them in the minority would lift the spirits of our citizenry and buoy their confidence so that we could face the future with that good old fashioned American optimism that has carried the nation through difficult times in the past.

Alas, such is not the case." Read on.

POLITICAL MEATGRINDER

Thomas Sowell has written another fine article (we should expect anything less?) on how toxic and divisive Washington politics have become and so much so that good people have little or no interest in serving our country in this capacity. (Hat tip Betsy's Page.)

The real issue is whether we can have responsible adult discussions of issues at a time when the fate of this nation hangs in the balance in its most dangerous hour, with reckless and hate-filled leaders in Iran and North Korea about to become nuclear threats.

This country needs to be able to draw on its best people from every walk of life and from every part of the political spectrum. But the nation is not going to get them if going to Washington means seeing the honorable reputation of a lifetime dragged through the mud just because someone disagrees with you on a political issue.

Our confirmation hearings for federal judges have become a circus and a disgrace. Nominees who have fought for civil rights, even in the days when that was a risky thing to do in the South, have been pictured as "racists" just as a political ploy to keep them from being confirmed.

Washington has become a political meat grinder where character assassination is standard procedure. Clever and glib people say "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen." But the far larger question is whether the country can afford to repel people who are desperately needed but who may have too much self-respect to let political pygmies smear their character.

Thanksgiving Commentary

1. Jay Sekulow: Much To Be Thankful For: As we prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, it was brought home to me how much we have to be thankful for.
2. Kathryn Jean Lopez: Giving thanks: If you're conservative like me, there are easy reasons to be ungrateful this month -- but, fact is, we live in a great country and the blessings are abundant.

Don't let Syria get away with Rafik Hariri's murder.

BY MICHAEL YOUNG
Read it at Opinion Journal.

Why Not North Korea?

By David Schraub
Ann Applebaum has a column up asking why the existence of mass concentration camps in North Korea does not evoke the same outrage in the West as does the genocide in Darfur. Isaac Chotiner distills her argument down to this position: ...

Security or Anti-Muslim Hysteria? Imams Removed From Plane

"An Islamic advocacy group is calling for an investigation into an incident in Minnesota, where six imams (Islamic religious leaders) were removed from a US Airways flight after a passenger complained that they were acting in a suspicious manner."

America Scarier Than the Middle East, Tourists Say

"World travelers fear coming to the United States more than any other country because of strict entry policies, according to a survey released Monday by a group representing the travel and tourism industry."

Ho hum: UN Envoy Shrugs Off Rocket Attacks on Israel

Jerusalem - "The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights got a firsthand look at life in an Israeli city under siege on Tuesday when Palestinians launched Kassam rockets at the city of Sderot while Louise Arbour was visiting there.

But an Israeli official said Arbour's reaction to the attack was 'extremely disturbing.' "

Another Assassination Adds to Fears About Lebanon's Stability

"The assassination of Lebanese cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel on Tuesday raised troubling questions about the nation's future -- and about the Bush administration's effort to hold up Lebanon as an example of democracy working in the Middle East.

Gemayel, a Maronite Christian cabinet minister who opposed Syrian involvement in Lebanon's affairs, was shot by a gunman as drove through a Christian neighborhood."

News Headlines

1. Hillary Spent $13,000 on Flowers
2. Americans Want Tougher Border Laws
3. Bolton: Syria Linked to Lebanon Killing
   

China pulling North Korea's strings

Waterloo Record - Waterloo,Ontario,Canada
North Korea may be a failed economic and political state based on a Stalinist model, but it has emerged as a strategic player in East Asia as a result of its ...

Nice Economy You've Got There. Be a Shame if Anything Were to Happen to It.

From Opinion Journal:

"Rep. Barney Frank has priorities in the new Congress other than gays in the military, the Boston Globe reports:

"Frank has proposed in a series of meetings with business groups a 'grand bargain' with corporate America: Democrats would agree to reduce regulations and support free-trade deals in exchange for businesses agreeing to greater wage increases and job benefits for workers. . . .

Frank proposes that if businesses support a minimum wage increase and provide protection for workers adversely affected by trade treaties, Democrats would be more willing to ease regulations and approve free-trade deals. Frank also would support changes to immigration rules favored by businesses, and noted that allowing more immigrants would put needed funds into the Social Security system.

Frank casts his proposal as a way for capitalists to quell some of the populist fervor that was expressed in last week's election, when many Democrats vowed to crack down on companies moving jobs overseas.

In the private sector, this is known as a 'protection racket'."

Guantanamo inmate nixes heart procedure - Yahoo! News

Yahoo! News:

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - "A 59-year-old Guantanamo Bay detainee has refused to have a required heart procedure at the U.S. military base in Cuba, one of his attorneys said Sunday."

The detainee, through his lawyer, say the facilities are inadequate there to perform this procedure. James Taranto at Opinion Journal sums it up this way: "The poor terrorist has to get a lawyer to keep those monsters at Guantanamo from performing life-saving surgery on him. You see why people keep comparing Guantanamo to Nazi Germany. The parallels are eerie."

Who knew gulags were run this way?

Muslim birthrate worries Russia

"Low domestic birthrates and rising immigration from the former Soviet republics are producing explosive growth in Russia's Muslim community, which is on a track to account for more than half the population by midcentury. "

North Korea Cannot Miniaturise Nuclear Weapons

The Intelligence Summit Blog: Intelligence News and Information: "Seoul: North Korea's nuclear test last month was only partially successful and it cannot yet miniaturise atomic warheads, South Korea's next spy chief said Monday. 'It succeeded in making a nuclear explosion but did not succeed in (conducting) a complete nuclear test,' Kim Man-Bok, director-designate of the National Intelligence Service, told parliament." More....

News Alert.... News Alert

North Korea may face famine with aid cuts following nuclear test ...

International Herald Tribune - France
AP. SEOUL, South Korea: North Korea may face famine because the international community halted aid to the impoverished communist country following Pyongyang's ..."

I think someone forgot to tell the AP that the North Korea citizenry are already being starved by their government even before their nuclear test because Kim Jong Sicko doesn't care two hoots about them. Maybe they ought to do a little investigative reporting prior to writing their 'stories', eh?

Filipino UN peacekeepers assaulted in Haiti

AFP - Three Filipino UN peacekeepers were attacked in the Haitian capital during a student protest against the United Nations presence in Haiti, according to an AFP reporter on the scene.

Roberts touts unanimity on Supreme Court

AP - Chief Justice John Roberts went on national television this week to offer his view that the Supreme Court produces stronger decisions by being cautious rather than bold......

Restraining order against Ellison tossed

AP - A judge on Monday dismissed a woman's attempt to get a restraining order against U.S. Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, with whom she claimed to have had an extramarital affair.
Read on...

Oh, Golly .... the U.S. is Wary of Iran and Syria

Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON - "The Bush administration cast a wary eye Monday on signs that Iran and Syria were taking a more active diplomatic role in Iraq, even as debate in the U.S. centered on how many troops to keep in the war.

Just days after reports that U.S. officials were discussing a broader role for Iran and Syria, Iraqi lawmakers said Iranian leaders had invited the Iraqi and Syrian presidents for a weekend summit. A State Department official said that while strong relations between the three countries were encouraged, actions would speak louder than words......."

Syria seeks comeback on Palestinian scene

After being temporarily sidelined, Syria is eyeing a strong comeback on the Palestinian scene by seeking to host a meeting of all Palestinian factions. ...
Read on...

Romney seeks Mass. court help on gay marriage ban

BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said on Sunday he would ask the state's highest court to intervene to let voters decide on a proposal to ban gay marriage in the only U.S. state where it is legal......

House Republican group backs Senate drilling bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday said the House should abandon its broad legislation to expand offshore drilling, giving a boost to a much narrower Senate drilling bill that could pass in Congress' lame duck session...............

We Can't Have This Now, Can We.

Democrats call for ouster of U.S. health official
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "Several Democratic lawmakers asked the Bush administration on Monday to replace its new family-planning chief because he has worked for a health provider that opposes the use of birth control................"

FREEDOM OF SPEECH .....

.....Not to be found in Egypt.

Police in Cairo detain a blogger known as Ayyoub whose posts are critical of the Egyptian government.

Read on...

Russia denies poisoned spy claims

The Kremlin dismisses claims it was involved in the poisoning of a former KGB agent in the UK as "sheer nonsense".
Read on...

TODAY'S HEADLINE SHOCKER

China official admits to torture (BBC NEWS)

Obrador 'inauguration' in Mexico

BBC NEWS

"The defeated left-wing candidate in Mexico's presidential election, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has held an unofficial swearing-in ceremony.

During his 'inauguration' in Mexico City, Mr Lopez Obrador said he was launching a 'parallel government'.

He claims he was the victim of fraud in July's election - a view shared by millions of Mexicans.

But some of his supporters think his alternative inauguration is ill-advised and politically irresponsible." Read on.

“[T]he relevant political issue is getting a realistic perspective on what the government can do to improve anyone’s personal economic reality. Too many blacks still don’t get the fact that the only thing government can do for them is get out of the way so that they can take care of themselves. This means government needs to keep taxes, inflation and interest rates low. Politicians can steal what you have, but they certainly can’t create wealth for anyone... Democratic palliatives like the minimum wage, redistribution schemes and social engineering schemes are sad illusions that far too many blacks still buy into. If these things actually worked, blacks wouldn’t be in the state they are in today. The extent to which blacks do indeed still buy into this stuff, and clearly they do, simply tells us the extent to which they are still dreaming rather than working.”

—Star Parker

“The dustbin of history is littered with remains of those countries that relied on diplomacy to secure their freedom. We must never forget... in the final analysis... that it is our military, industrial and economic strength that offers the best guarantee of peace for America in times of danger.” —Ronald Reagan

PASSION TRUMPS REASON?

“In all very numerous assemblies, of whatever character composed, passion never fails to wrest the scepter from reason... Had every Athenian citizen been a Socrates, every Athenian assembly would still have been a mob.” —Alexander Hamilton and James Madison

Wanted: New Ideas

By Michael Barone

"Republicans who are saying that the party needs to go back to the principles of
1994 or Ronald Reagan should keep O'Neill's lesson in mind: Successful public policies
render moot the issues that bring parties to power..........."

Iran Wants to Kill Us, Scholar Says

Negotiations intended to placate European sensibilities will not bring an end to Iran's nuclear drive, because the regime in Tehran is determined to kill Americans, a scholar said.......

US Support for Global Tax Group Called 'Ridiculous'

An international organization that proposes a global taxation system and is critical of the U.S. tax structure receives nearly a quarter of its $400 million budget from the American taxpayer, a situation one Republican senator hopes to end........

Anti-military bigotry by the bay

By Jeff Jacoby

"So what is the problem with JROTC? There isn't one. The problem is with the anti military bigotry of the school board majority................"

Welcome Back, Trent Lott!

By La Shawn Barber

"Liberals, blacks especially, tend to be easily offended by so-called racially insensitive remarks only when the speaker is a Republican or a conservative (not necessarily the same). Their white liberal comrades get a pass every time................"

Nations plan Darfur peacekeeping force

Chicago Tribune - United States
AP. ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- African, Arab, European and UN leaders agreed in principle Thursday to a joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force for ........

RIP

Blog friend, Ablur, has unexpectedly lost her father. Please make a visit to her blog, Some Things Just Need To Be Said and express your condolences. HeavyHanded wishes her and her family his utmost sympathy. May strength of family and friends see you through these difficult times.

Marshals kept off plane at Reagan

A team of federal air marshals was prevented from protecting a recent flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport because a gate agent erroneously said they did not have the correct paperwork, say marshals familiar with the incident. .............

4,000 projects

When and if the smoke ever clears in Iraq, Pentagon officials say the world finally will see a minor miracle................

WHO IS SAYING WHAT

Don Surber comments on Charlie Rangel who appeared on "Face the Nation" today. Rangel wants to roll back tax cuts and also wants to reinstate the draft. Not to bolster the military, as Mr. Surber points out, but for antiwar purposes. Says Surber, "Thus, liberals show their true colors: You belong to the government, not the other way around."

Agreed.

Draft beer, not kids? Okay, I'll drink to that.

However, I cannot agree with his last assessment in which he states that, "Rangel is one of the saner minds among them." Saner than some? Yes, a few. But one of the more sane? Nope. I have a sneaking suspicion that there are many in Mississippi that might agree with me on that .

Charles Johnson at LGF claims Rangel is grandstanding and reminds us that when his last draft bill came up for a vote in 2004, he voted against it.

Mr. Johnson supplies the video link of Mr. Rangel while he is on Face the Nation: Video: Rangel says he'’ll introduce a bill to bring back the draft. (Courtesy of HotAir.)

I really don't think he is serious, and barely, just barely sane.

WHO IS SAYING WHAT

Ed Morrissey at Captains Quarters warns us of the fragile nature of Saudi support on the war on terror, or more accurately, their support on our efforts to fight radical Islam. Their support comes at a cost.

Kevin at EckerNet.com is not happy with the RNC's choice of Mel Martinez as their Chair. I cannot say that I am all that thrilled with this choice either. Coupled with their keeping the status quo with Boehner and Blunt, is troubling.

WHO IS SAYING WHAT

The Brussels Journal posts this quote from The Irish Independent:

Amnesty International, which is campaigning against the death penalty is, however, increasingly moving towards a position of supporting globalised abortion. The Catholic Church – which has opposed the death penalty since the 1940s (Pius XII was vehemently against it) – has stated that it will have to withdraw support for Amnesty if this measure goes ahead. In Britain, too, Anglican Bishops have simultaneously opposed the death penalty, while conceding that doctors may be moved to kill off disabled babies. Here again is a strange paradox in matters of life and death. Wrong to execute a convicted tyrant: right to extinguish an innocent new-born.

And yes, it is a Strange Paradox. However, White Hillbilly Trash does a good job of psychoanalyzing and explaining in a rational way, the irrationality of the left.

WHO IS SAYING WHAT

Over at Texas Fred's, he's asking What Makes a Racist? Texas Fred finally asks in the end, "Why is it that only whites can be racists?" I would surmise there may not be complete agreement on what the definition of racism is, and therefore what it is that makes someone a 'racist' becomes less than clear.

When someone throws out the term 'racist' or 'racism', are they thinking in terms of individual racism or institutional racism? Racism is generally regarded as someone having the belief that there are differences biologically inherent between specific races which make one race superior over another and should therefore, generally speaking, have the right to rule over the 'inferior' race as well.

I have heard members in the black community express the theory that only the 'majority group' can be 'racist'; a member of the minority group cannot be racist. This argument would seem to hold more weight under the scrutiny of institutional racism than it does through the lens of individual racism.

In my humble opinion, if you believe the race you belong to is superior to someone else's race, and because of it, you personally feel you are better than the individual of the other race, empowering yourself to act in a manner that is harmful to the other, then you have engaged in an act of racist behavior irrespective of whether 'your group' is in the majority or the minority.

APEC denounces North Korea test

Reuters.co.uk: HANOI (Reuters) - "Asia-Pacific leaders vowed on Sunday to free up trade and combat terrorism while condemning North Korea's October 9 nuclear test, as security issues again overshadowed the group's annual meetings.

This year's chairman of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Vietnam President Nguyen Minh Triet, said in response to a question at a news conference that North Korea's actions posed 'a clear threat to our shared interest of peace and security'."

G20 Members Condemn North Korea

MELBOURNE, Australia -- "The Group of 20 economies on Sunday condemned North Korea for its nuclear test, upheld a vow to fight terrorist financing and expressed concern about surging global demand for energy resources."