The Right Wing and Slippery Slopes

I'm going to track back to my blog a bit since I just opened it. My latest post is about slippery slope propaganda on right-wing websites.

Go have a look.

Cheers,
Jeff

Kerry disses the troops - again

We really shouldn't be surprised at John Kerry's latest insult against American troops, given his decades-long animus towards the US military - going all the way back to 1971 and his Winter Soldier lies. But for him to say something so monumentally offensive just days before the critical mid-term elections simply boggles the mind. Probably the only person happier than Karl Rove right now must be Hillary Clinton.

UPDATE: In response to Kerry's non-apology apology, Dick Cheney had this very funny line: "Of course, now Senator Kerry says he was just making a joke, and he botched it up. I guess we didn't get the nuance. He was for the joke before he was against it." And via Michelle Malkin, soldiers in Iraq deliver a hilarious plea to Sen. Kerry:

Multifaceted Jeff

As you can see in the post below, Jeff has a new blog home: The Multifaceted Me. I've updated my blog links accordingly. Jeff promises that the "content will be all over the spectrum–politics, books, writing, philosophy, religion, ethics, teaching, etc". Jeff's new blog features a sharp-looking layout, and he even promises some podcasting in the future!

In his most recent post, concerning the current woes of the Philadelphia Eagles, Jeff asks the buring question "Where is the smile on McNabb’s face?" Well, it's hard to smile when the Jaguars defense has you face down in the dirt all day...

Confessions of a Mormon Liberal: I'm Moving!!!

I'm opening a new blog. Please read this post at my old blog to get filled in.

Confessions of a Mormon Liberal: I'm Moving!!!

Also, read the introduction at the new blog.

Enjoy,
Jeff

More Euro-denial

Today marks the first anniversary of the youth Muslim rioting that swept France last fall. The rioting also spread to Belgium last year - but, like the French, it seems the Belgian government prefers not to hear politically incorrect truths about the intifada in its midst, and instead of confronting the problem it simply threatens people who dare speak this truth - people such as Paul Belien of the Brussels Journal. In the interview below, Belien describes how he and others in Belgium have faced threats of legal action for writing about what he calls a "civil war" brewing in the heart of Europe.


UPDATE: Via Joe Noory of No Pasaran, we learn of The Great Euro Thought Crime:

Galician blogger Alejandro de Llano has told in his blog that he has been charged with the great crime of supporting Israel and being against the Palestinian people.

Says Lady Vorzheva from Spain at the Toasted Bread blog, "It is unbelievable that someone is charged with this kind of crime in modern and democratic Spain." Unbelievable indeed - welcome to Europastan, where free thought is becoming illegal.

A decade of alertness

This week the UN's top official on avian flu pandemic planning, Dr. David Nabarro, said that the "bird flu virus can reside in flocks for long periods of time, showing no symptoms, before spreading to new areas via trade or migration", and warned that governments needed to remain on alert for a pandemic 5 to 10 more years.

"There are probables in there. There are certainties in there. But the one absolute requirement on the basis of this is, we have to get prepared for the pandemic."

Will health agencies of the world (and the taxpayers who support them) retain sufficient focus to remain on alert for pandemic H5N1 over such an extended period? See you in 2016...I hope.

The Fantasy Caliph

Over at Iraq the Model, Mohammed is mocking al-Qaeda's recent declaration of an Islamic state in Iraq, saying "Of course I did not expect an improvement in electricity, security or other services but I was at least expecting a change in life style under the leadership of the new caliph Abu Omar al-Baghdadi (Abu who??)":

al-Qaeda is left with nothing but to fantasize about creating a caliph state as long as they still have a foothold in the country and hope that some locals would change their mind and side with them.

And as long as a weak-kneed Democratic party doesn't take over the House next month, Mohammed should have added.

A minor detail

One of the authors of the bogus Johns Hopkins study on Iraqi civilian casualties, Les Roberts, is not just a partisan Democrat, but ran as a Democratic candidate for Congress earlier this year in New York state. According to Tim Blair, not a single news story on the study also mentions the fact that Roberts was a Democratic politician. Here's Roberts as he bowed out of the race in May:

"I think it’s critically important that we elect a Democrat and that Democrats take control of the House of Representatives."

"You’d think this might be worth noting" says Blair. Yes, you'd think.

Laz-Z-Drunk-Boy

Just stumbled across this must-have piece of furniture for the weekend football addict: the Cool La-Z-Boy Chair, which is purportedly "more comfy than the bosom of a Scandinavian princess". It features a built-in telephone, a six-motor massage system, a built-in lumbar heating system, and - get this - a built-in mini fridge that can hold up to six cans of frosty beverages.



Just park it in front of the TV and put Domino's Pizza on speed-dial - you'll never have to get off your lazy ass again.

Speak truth to power? Non!

As we listen to demented liberals spew idiotic, hysterical hyperbole about George Bush turning America into a police state, PJ Media reports on a shocking court decision that tramples free speech rights in France:

Philippe Karsenty, founder of Media Bistro, has been found liable and fined for “insulting” Charles Enderlin and France2 in the matter of the controversial Mohammed Al Dura video. This video, produced by Enderlin and promulgated by France 2, has been deemed a fake and called the Father of All Fauxtography. This was barely disputed at the trial and yet Karsenty was still found liable for saying so. Historian Richard Landes, who has been following this case for some time, has more.

Truth should be a bulletproof defense against charges of libel, but apparently in France the truth doesn't matter - that is, if it's a politically-incorrect truth that embarrasses the government (France 2 is state-owned) and angers a vocal Muslim constituency.

Liberals who say America should emulate European political and social models should really be careful what they wish for, lest their imagined fears about the loss of our rights becomes reality.

le monde a l'envers

A family friend we call "Joe Dog" (long story) has started a new blog, which I'm putting on my list of blog links here. Joe Dog has recently started an English teaching job in the Czech Republic, so we'll look forward to reading about his adventures over there. He emails that his blog "may end up being boring, or pretentious, but I’ll try to avoid that, mainly by limiting myself to only one use of the words 'quasi-epistemological' and 'love' per month".

In one of his first blog postings, Joe lets us know that "It’s the second night of říjen — literally 'the month of the rutting season' in Czech." I've never been to the Czech Republic, but if they have an entire season devoted to rutting, I'll have to make the trip sometime...

Dude, Where's My Draft?

As we fast approach the 2006 elections, I recently remembered one of the issues that liberals were trying to push in the 2004 elections - namely, the supposedly imminent return of a military draft. Leftists assured us that if Bush and the Repubs won the 2004 election, a draft would be instated soon thereafter. CBS News even pushed a scare story on the possibility of a draft just weeks before the Nov. 2004 elections, basing the story upon patently phony emails that were circulating at the time (another feather in the cap of the "fake but accurate" network). Democrats and the Kerry-Edwards campaign pushed the issue all that fall, vowing "There will be no draft when John Kerry is president".

The issue was probably promoted most prominently by MTV's "Rock the Vote" campaign, which ostensibly is a "non-partisan organization" dedicated to promote youth participation in politics, but in reality mainly served as a device to push the draft issue as a scare tactic. RTV joined forces with something called Alliance for Security, a liberal anti-war activist organization.

We were promised a draft sometime in early 2005 if the evil Repubs won - so what happened? The main problem is that the whole thing was a lie from the start. The premise was that Washington would have no choice but to bring back the draft due to a supposed "crisis in retention and recruitment" - a notion that was (and continues to be) utterly false.

Moreover, there was never any possibility of a draft being reinstated because the key players who could make it happen are 100% against it - the Pentagon doesn't want it, the Bush administration doesn't want it, and the Congress doesn't want it. Indeed, when the issue came up for a vote in the House during 2004, the only legislators who supported bringing back the draft were Democrats.

Liberals constantly level the charge that Republicans cynically use fear to motivate voters. Recall the non-issue of the draft the next time you hear that tired canard.

Quick hits for the weekend...

Murder? Give me a break. If you place yourself between two armed forces in the middle of a war, there's a pretty good chance you might get hit. Hellllloooo?

"DARFUR IS JUST RWANDA IN SLOW MOTION". And you can count on the UN's response to be in even slower motion.

The question is asked, "Why was the Ashcroft Justice Department so afraid of prosecuting Sandy Berger that it pled down to a fine so small that even the judge was offended?" One of the stranger mysteries of our times.

Lancent's looney math: 547 = 654,965.

What happened to the 'global test'? "The six-party approach is the one that Kerry, an avowed mulitlateral(ist), certainly would be advocating if he possessed an ounce of intellectual honesty."

RCP on spin and expectations: "So what happens if we wake up Wednesday morning after the election and the Democrats have failed to take either chamber on Capitol Hill?"

Neal Boortz says we should check out the Redneck Scrap Book.

Steyn gets the last word: "I very much doubt, despite the expertise with which the sheep have been rounded up and set baa-ing, that Showtime at the Foley Bergere will pay off in November."

Mo' money

A bit of good news today, amid stories of perverted page poachers and bomb-building bozos: US budget revenues are way up, with FY2006 revenues at $2.407 trillion, the highest in history - continued proof that, counter-intuitively (at least if you're a liberal) broad tax cuts bring in more money to the Treasury, not less.

Now if only Republicans, the so-called party of fiscal constraint, could bring themselves to meaningfully cut spending, which is also at its highest point in history.

Whoops, spoke too soon about today being a good news day, even as I type: a helicopter has struck an NYC highrise, although it does not appear to be terrorist attack - yet. Watching the live video of the smoke over Manhattan is a bit of a kick in the gut, though.

And they call "The Daily Show" fake news!!

Hat tip to Crooks and Liars:
Bill O'Reilly ran this picture on his show last week 3 times. Do you notice a problem with it? Yup, that's it. Foley's a Republican, not a Democrat as denoted by the little "D" by his name in the O'Reilly spot. Now, I can understand a mistake--news organizations are entitled to make a few. However, to put the picture up three times in two different segments is beyond just a little mistake. In addition, considering all the fallout from the Foley scandal, wouldn't it be nice for Mr. O'Reilly to try and pin it on the dems?




In another FOX moment, Republican senator Lincoln Chafee, who's down in the polls to his Democratic challenger was mistakenly labeled a Democrat on "The Beltway Boys." Given the earlier problems with Foley's picture on O'Reilly, it begs the question if FOX is trying to help Republicans by mislabeling politicians. It also leads one to ask if they would have correctly labeled Chafee if he had been leading in the polls instead of losing.

And they call Jon Stewart fake news!

Jeff

Take that, Hans Brix!

So North Korea not only has The Bomb but has set one off, in spite of all the huffing and puffing by the "international community". Beware, Kim Jong-Il - your reckless actions will bring dire consequences in the form of, er...more huffing and puffing.

Is anyone surprised by this in the least? The "Dear Leader" knows full well that he has nothing to fear from the United Nations. Like his puppet counterpart in 'Team America: World Police', Kim views the UN with nothing but contempt, and one really can't blame him. The only player that has any leverage over the DPRK is China. Unless the Chinese put the screws to Pyongyang, Kim Jong-Il can continue doing anything he wishes till doomsday - and he knows it. As for the UN? They can sleep with the fishes.

UPDATE: A dud of a test? I hope Captain Ed is right, but even if he is, the DPRK's scientists can learn from their failures and do better next time - assuming they're not thrown in the shark tank with Hans...

UPDATE II: If it was a suitcase nuke, then the test was not so much a dud after all (via Pajamas Media).

UPDATE III: Sen. John McCain guest-blogs over at Captain Ed's and says that Iran is watching the UN's reaction (or lack thereof) to the DPRK's nuke test very closely:

This isn’t just about North Korea. Iran is watching this test of the Council’s will, and our decisions will surely influence their response to demands that they cease their nuclear program. Now, we must, at long last, stop reinforcing failure with failure.

The Pyramid of Europastan

A few days ago the Overseas Security Advisory Council issued a presentation called 'Islamic Radicalization in Western Europe', which describes the "emerging threat" of homegrown radical Islamist cells (what OSAC calls "Resident Autonomous Cells"), composed of 2nd and 3rd generation Muslims recruited and trained within Western Europe. The presentation mainly covers what steps private sector organizations operating in Europe should do to protect their interests, but it also offers an interesting graphic that illustrates how the "radical identity" is created:


Apparently it all begins with "individual alienation" - which, one can argue, stems from the ill-conceived multicultural model that has been promoted by European governments. These 2nd and 3rd generation Muslim immigrants have not assimilated into their host countries, and thus do not define their personal identities in terms of their nationality. They grow up isolated within their own immigrant communities, and since they have little contact with the broader national culture, they have no allegiance to its values and norms.

As we go further up the pyramid, this "seclusion" contributes to the radicalization of the individual. One way to combat this is to aggresively promote - and defend - Western values, thus countering the lies of the Jihadist "gatekeepers". Else, the danger of Europe becoming Europastan increases as the Western European identity is weakened by suicidal multiculturalism. As the Italian legislator Marcello Pera said last year,

This issue concerns our identity and our will to defend it with all peaceful means, while this is possible, and with force if necessary, but first and foremost in full awareness that it is a great civilization and that its progress, in spite of the many faults and mistakes, is based on its own intellectual, cultural, political, moral principles, and not just on massacres, violence, aggression, as is claimed by those who fall into the propaganda trap set by Islamic fundamentalists.

MTTs in Iraq

Over at the OPFOR blog they are welcoming a new contributor, 'Lightning', who is a Marine Corps captain recently back from a deployment in Iraq. In his first post for OPFOR, he has some interesting things to say about the Military Transition Team (MTT) concept; Lightning was part of an MTT on his last deployment. MTTs are embedded within Iraqi Army units to provide mentoring on their war-fighting skills, as Coalition forces hand over more security responsiblities to the new Iraqi government. Says Lightining:

Working with the Iraqis was a unique experience. We had to remind ourselves on a regular basis that the jundi were not US Marines and could not be expected to behave like Marines in a gunfight. They did not display any of the aggressiveness that we expect of a Marine infantry unit, nor did they have much in the way of fire discipline. Many times we saw the “Iraqi death blossom” effect as jundi fired in random directions on automatic. On the other hand they were fearless – more like foolhardy – when they encountered IEDs, something that most Marines will give a wide berth. Despite their lack of tactical skill, it was hard to deny the advantage of speaking the local language. On several occasions they were able to pick out foreign fighters just from an accent or a word used by a detainee.

As I've noted before, we don't hear nearly enough about the bravery and sacrifice of Iraqi soldiers who - with far less resources and training than our own troops have - are putting themselves in harms way to bring about a better future for their country. It's a absolute crime that terrorists who target Iraqi civilians get more coverage in the American media than the tens of thousands of Iraqi troops who are risking it all every single day.

Why getting sunburned is more fun than election year politics...

I spent the weekend boating around beautiful Lake Powell with my family. My sister was on a 10-day leave from the Army, and it was an opportunity for us to spend some time together before she departs to her unit in Texas. On Saturday, we went to the majestic Rainbow Bridge (seen in the picture and made far less beautiful with my mug in front of it). The day was wonderful, but I got an absolutely horrible sunburn (since my chest and back hadn't seen sun for 5 years or so, I wasn't too surprised).

Because of my sunburn, the last few days have been miserable, but I'm glad to report that the burn has made me less miserable than listening to election year spin spewing out of everyone's mouth at this time of year.

I'm absolutely sick at the political health of our country right now. I'm sick at the type of tactics that are being used by both sides. I'm sick of the lack of compromise that has infiltrated American politics. And, I pray that after the election, commonsense will again prevail, making our country--and the world--a much safer and better place to live.

Therefore, I've decided that I can't vote for an incumbent this year. I can't vote for someone who has been part of the political climate. The country needs change, and that will only happen if there are drastic changes in the make up of our governing body.

The two legislative races in Utah in which I could vote might hurt a little if I stick with my throw-all-the-bums-out mentality. Orrin Hatch is running for reelection. I had absolutely no intention of voting for him. I think he's a disgrace to the state of Utah. However, my congressman is Jim Mattheson, a moderate Democrat who is probably a Republican by national standards. He's a good man, who I honestly believe votes his conscience (which explains why his voting record is quite conservative). I might not agree with all of Rep. Mattheson's votes, but at least he's not hampered by fierce party loyalty. It will be hard for me to cast a vote against him, but I'm starting to feel that I must.

What is to become of our nation if we cannot agree on anything? Will the coasts have to secede from the union to be a safe haven for liberal thinkers? Will the heartland become the only place for conservatives to call home?

There has to be a middle ground. There has to be a system of checks and balances in the nation, where majority and minority rights are protected. And, there has to be a way to fix the absolutely ridiculous bickering that has taken over Washington.

Cheers,
Jeff

P.S.- Do I sound cynical? I thought so.

Foley a fool, but not a Studd

What kind of fool in a high profile position leaves a digital paper trail of his lewd behavior? Forget about Rep. Mark Foley being a perv, anyone dumb enough to not know that his emails and instant messages would someday see the light of day has no business being in high public office.

At least Foley did the right thing and resigned in disgrace, even though he had not actually committed any sexual acts with congressional pages - he only talked dirty to them, and only did so after they had already left the page program. He's certainly no Gerry Studds, a former Democratic congressman who had an affair with a 17 year-old page. Studds did commit sexual acts with a minor during the time the minor was serving as a page (Studds also provided alcohol to the youth, a crime in itself).

Instead of resigning, Studds had the gall to claim that the relationship he had with the 17 year-old was a private matter and none of the Congressional leadership's business, using the homosexual nature of the relationship as cover. He stayed in the House and his liberal Democratic district in Mass. elected him five more times to office (a Republican congressman who was exposed at the same time as Studds and found to have had an affair with a 17 year-old female page, Dan Crane, was rightly voted out of office by his Illinois district - I guess, as Jeff Jacoby has said, "in Massachusetts, where standards are lower, sleaziness is a bar to nothing").

It's just a little something to remember as we watch Democrats rant on in faux outrage over Foley - when it was one of their liberal brethern poaching the page pool in a far worse manner, they had no problem with it.