BDS At Its Worst

Rep. John Murtha has become so infected with BDS that he is now accusing our Marines of killing innocent Iraqi women and children in cold blood. While the investigation into the incident is still ongoing, Murtha has already declared our Marines guilty and he blames Bush. What a disgrace. This man, a former Marine, is willing to believe the worst about our men and women in uniform and use it for political gain because of his hatred of Bush and his policies.

John Murtha: National Disgrace

UPDATE: Flopping Aces has a good run down of the details. This one is catching fire, expect to hear more about this.

Tony Snow Is The Man

I meant to link to this video from Hotair.com of Tony Snow dealing with Helen Thomas yesterday, but have been busy. This is what we've been waiting for, somebody who actually puts the old moonbat in her place. Why she is still in the front row of these press conferences is beyond me. She's officially retired as a journalist and is now a sydicated columnist, so she neither deserves nor belongs there. Anywho, this is exactly what I expected from Tony Snow; it's a beautiful sight to behold. If you get a chance to catch the entire press conference on C-SPAN, it's well worth watching.

God Bless, Tony.

Good For A Laugh

I missed this Screedblog from James Lileks earlier, and it's pretty funny. It's his version of what the letter from Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said. It begins:

Dear Infidel Crusader Zionist sock-puppet Saudi-lackey depoiler of Mesopotamia woman-touching pigdog fiendish (293 words excised) Shah-licking son of a toad’s offal: I trust this finds you well. I have much on my mind, and have taken the pen to unburden my breast. I have enclosed a self-addressed stamped envelope should you wish to reply.

Lileks is always good for some levity when it's needed.

BDS At Work

Some goofball adjuct professor from Boston College is resigning because Condoleezza Rice has been invited to give the commencement speech this year. He starts off by letting us know that he's not resigning in protest because he's against the Iraq War, it's something much deeper:

Many members of the faculty and student body already have voiced their objection to the invitation, arguing that Rice's actions as secretary of state are inconsistent with the broader humanistic values of the university and the Catholic and Jesuit traditions from which those values derive.

But I am not writing this letter simply because of an objection to the war against Iraq. My concern is more fundamental. Simply put, Rice is a liar.

He then he goes on to talk about... the Iraq War:

She has lied to the American people knowingly, repeatedly, often extravagantly over the past five years, in an effort to justify a pathologically misguided foreign policy.

The public record of her deceits is extensive. During the ramp-up to the Iraq war, she made 29 false or misleading public statements concerning Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and links to Al Qaeda, according to a congressional investigation by the House Committee on Government Reform.

He then rambles on about all of the supposed lying by the Secretary and finishes up with this:

Honestly, Father Leahy, what lessons do you expect her to impart to impressionable seniors?

That hard work in the corporate sector might gain them a spot on the board of Chevron? That they, too, might someday have an oil tanker named after them? That it is acceptable to lie to the American people for political gain? [...]

I would like to apologize to my students and prospective students. I would also urge them to investigate the words and actions of Rice, and to exercise their own First Amendment rights at her speech.

To have an oil tanker named after them? And they let this guy teach college students? If I went to BC, I'd want my money back. Also note how he exhorts his students to exercise their First Amendment rights at her speech, obviously inciting them to protest.

Hey professor, I have an idea. How about letting the mass majority of students and their families that are there to enjoy their graduation enjoy their graduation? A graduation ceremony is neither the time nor place to make it all about you and your politics. Grow up!

UPDATE: No sooner then I finished posting this I see that Michele Malkin has already posted about it as well (you'll have to scroll down.) I guess great minds DO think alike.

Just What The Doctor Ordered

I've said all along that Tony Snow would be a great White House Press Secretary, and if this is any indication of what's to come, he won't disappoint.

Go Tony Go!

Well, Duh

Howard Fineman writes today that Karl Rove (cue Darth Vader music) has a new strategy to help Republicans win election this fall, and it shocking, SHOCKING I TELL YOU: Fight Back.

The way I read the recent moves of Karl Rove & Co., they are preparing to wage war the only way open to them: not by touting George Bush, Lord knows, but by waging a national campaign to paint a nightmarish picture of what a Democratic Congress would look like, and to portray that possibility, in turn, as prelude to the even more nightmarish scenario: the return of a Democrat (Hillary) to the White House.

Rather than defend Bush, Rove will seek to rally the Republicans’ conservative grassroots by painting Democrats as the party of tax increases, gay marriage, secularism and military weakness. That’s where the national message money is going to be spent. [...]

Then there is the attention being paid — and it’s just starting — to obscure Democratic characters such as Rep. John Conyers of Michigan. As of now, only political junkies know that Conyers, an African-American and old-school liberal from Detroit, would become chairman of the Judiciary Committee if the Democrats regain control of the House. Few know that Conyers has expressed interest in holding hearings on the impeachment of the president.

But before this election season is over, Republican and conservative voters are going to know a lot about Conyers. To hear the GOP tell it, the impeachment of the president will be the number one priority if Conyers gets his say, which of course Rep. Nancy Pelosi will be only too happy to give him. The aim will be to rally The GOP Base with talk of a political Apocalypse.

I've written here in the past that despite Republicans short comings, a Democrat controlled Congress would be disasterous. They've made their agenda pretty clear that if they do win back control of Congress it will be nothing but two years of going after Bush with a vengence. They've also made it pretty clear that, well yes, they do want to raise taxes, push gay marriage, secularism, and bow at the mantel of the U.N. That Rove and Co. look to exploit this weakness is seen by Fineman as unseemly, apparently unlike the constant bashing the Dems pile upon Bush and the Republicans.

I don't believe you can win an election simply by not being the other guy, you have to have an agenda and some fresh ideas. There is still plenty of time for the Republicans to get their act together and show they've learned their lesson. Along with getting their act together and going forward with a positive agenda, there is absolutely nothing wrong with pointing out the inherent weakness of the oppositions "ideas." This is something Fineman fails to grasp.

Rummy Speaks

A fascinating interview by Hugh Hewitt with Donald Rumsfield (via Radioblogger.) First:

HH: Is the American media doing a good job of covering the war in all of its facets?

DR: Oh, goodness gracious. You know, I'm not a judge and a jury. That's up for the American people to decide, and you know where they rank the media.

HH: Well, transformation has been a watch word of your tenure. But has the Pentagon's focus on the information war that's aimed at the American public undergone a similar transformation?

DR: Well, it has to. I can't say that it has, but there's no question. This is the first war that's ever been conducted, in the 21st Century, in an era of these new media realities, where you have the internet and 24 hour talk radio and news and bloggers and video cameras and digital cameras and instant communications worldwide. And the enemy understands that they can't win a battle out on the battlefield in Iraq or Afghanistan. The only place they can win a battle is in Washington, D.C. So they have media committees, and they get up in the morning and figure out how they're going to manipulate the American media, and they do a very skillful job.

HH: Against that backdrop, that's really what I wanted to focus on. Are the pressers like the sort you just concluded, ten minute interviews and an occasional Sunday show, sufficient for you and the military to get across not only the good news, but the bad news, the challenges, the strategy? Are you using last war techniques in the new war?

DR: To a certain extent, we are still using the old 20th century techniques. And we're trying to figure them out and adjust them, and adapt them to the 21st Century. But it's painfully slow. People get set in their ways, and it's a difficult thing to do. We do provide, the Pentagon does, an enormous amount of information. There's someone briefing at the Pentagon, somewhere in the world, every day. And there are people providing information to people in a variety of different ways: through our website, through the Pentagon channel, through radio and television and print media. But it is still basically, I would guess, 80% 20th Century, and maybe 20% 21st Century.

HH: You've got people like Col. Austin Bay down in Austin, Texas, you've got Mudville Gazette, a bunch of bloggers, you've got Specialist Claude Flowers down at Centcom. They're all fighting the new media battle. Are any of those inside the E-ring, close to the control of actually the message machine?

DR: I don't know how to answer that. First of all, the truth is, and it's embarrassing to confess this, that I suppose I work about 13 hours a day. And I'll bet you that 12 1/2, or 12 3/4 of those 13 hours a day, I spend doing things instead of thinking about how I communicate, and what the message ought to be, and fighting the enemy on their level, against their media committees, and their active efforts at disinformation. And I probably ought to spend, and we here in the Department, ought to spend more time thinking about those messages, and how we can counteract the lies, because they are enormously successful. They can put out a lie, and then we're asked the question is that true. And we can know we think it's not true, but we have to be honest, and we have to be accurate. So we then have to spend two or three days trying to find out what the truth is, before we can rebut the lie. Well, the lie's been around the world 15 times by the time we even get our boots on.

And then this:

HH: Mr. Secretary, do you think that American can lose this war?

DR: Oh, sure. There's no way we can lose it on the battlefield. The only place we can lose it is if we lose our nerve, and if we decide that it's just too tough, and we're going to toss in the towel, that the dire consequences for the world, for the region, for the Iraqi people, for the Afghan people, and for the American people, are so serious, that the thought of it is just unacceptable.

In the first quote Rumsfield admits that we're not doing a good job of combating the terrorists in the media. Then, in the second quote he says the only way we can lose this war is here at home. That doesn't sound good to me.

If the only way we can lose this war is here at home, why isn't the Pentagon doing more on that front? Institutionalization? I like Rumsfield and think he has a very tough battle on his hands in trying to modernize the military to confront Islamofascism. However, this simply will not do. If the only battlefront on which we can lose is here at home I would suggest that the Secretary get busy fighting it.

Dick Morris Is All Wet

Dick Morris writes in The Hill that in order for Republicans to have any chance of remaining the Majority party this fall they must start to act like Democrats. This is complete nonsense. Here is a taste of the strategy Dick Morris suggests:

The only way for a Republican to survive in 2006 is to run like a Democrat. The GOP line on oil companies totally misses the fact that voters see a vast conspiracy by big oil companies to manipulate the price to feather their own nests. All talk of supply increase or demand decrease is quite beside the point for the average voter. The issue is whether or not you are part of the conspiracy to fix and raise prices.

The Republican position on climate change — that it isn’t happening or, if it is, it’s inevitable — also completely misses the views of the average voter who sees hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes and such as the consequence of years of air pollution.

The GOP wisdom on Iraq also fails to address the underlying isolationism that is catalyzing opposition to the war. Instead of searching for a decent way out, most voters are just disgusted with the party that landed us in this no-win situation.

Taken together, the only way for a Republican to survive 2006 is to shed himself of his party ideology and run like a Democrat, using the entire playing field — left, center and right — to address voter concerns.

This is absurd. The reason Republicans are supposedly (I'm not convinced yet) in danger of losing their Majority status is exactly because they have been acting like Democrats lately.

While Dick Morris may be a brilliant pollster, he's absolutely clueless about conservative Republicans. If the Republicans do the exact opposite of what Morris suggest, they should be okay come November.

UPDATE: John McIntyre of Real Clear Politics seems to be on the same wavelength as me.

Well, it looks like things are getting back to normal in New Orleans:

Man Shot Dead On Bourbon Street

(Via Drudge)

Welcome To The Party Pal

Richard Cohen of the Washington Post seems to have been caught off guard by the reaction to his recent column in which he criticized Steven Colbert's performance at the White House Correspondents' dinner. Cohen had the audacity to point out what many people believed to be obvious, that Colbert wasn't funny. I like Stephen Colbert and find him to be mildly humorous, but having watched his performance at the event live on C-SPAN and also found it wanting.

Cohen's criticism brought down the wrath of the left wing kooks upon his head and this seems to have taken him by surprise. I find it interesting that somebody such a Cohen could have been so insulated from the fact that the left-wing in the country has simply lost it's mind; infected, perhaps terminally, with BDS.

Well, to Richard Cohen I quote Bruce Willis from the movie Die Hard, "Welcome to the party pal."

Has Been For At Least 30 Years

Keith Richards near death that is.

Look Up

Attention all nerds! Tomorrow is Astronomy Day 2006. Take a few minutes tomorrow night to go outside and look up (even if you're not a nerd.) By 9pm EST Jupiter will be well into the southeast sky while Mars and Saturn will be setting in the west. Just have a look around, it's awfully pretty.

If you're more ambitious, here is a link to an article from Sky & Telescope which includes a search engine to locate an Astonomy Club or Planetarium in your area.

The Kennedy Saga Continues

A few thoughts about this have gone through my mind.

First and foremost is the police cover-up. I fear that in the story surrounding Patrick Kennedy's accident, Patrick Kennedy will become the story, and not the special treatment he recieved.

Second, why did he first give details about the night and then turn around and say he doesn’t remember anything? Doesn't make sense.

And third, I actually feel sympothic for the guy - he’s Ted Kenney’s son for crying out loud! If that didn’t drive you to booze, drugs, or depression, what would?

I Blame Bush

"New Storm on Jupiter Hints at Climate Change"

(Via Drudge)

PsyOps For Zarqawi

It appears that the military is pulling out one of the biggest weapons it can use against an Islamist: humiliation. Video discovered in recent raids show that Zarqawi may not be the most proficient weapons specialist. And as if that weren't bad enough, the video also shows him wearing sneakers!

Now if we can get al Jazeera to air it.

(Via Fox News)

UPDATE: Lots of stuff over at Hot Air on this one. Zarqawi has been in the news a lot lately and there's been noise about us being close to getting him. I never get too excited about those reports, instead preferring to wait for the actual capture or killing, but boy there is a lot of smoke lately. Let's all hope this scum bag is in custody soon, it'd be much better than killing him -- not that I'd shed a tear about that though.

John Bolton For President

I have to admit that I've always kind of liked Dennis Kucinich, the man. He seems like an affable, honest man, and I have nothing against him personally. Now, Dennis Kucinich the politician is a nut! He is way out there.

Here is a brief exchange between himself and John Bolton, via Expose the Left, where he is asking Bolton if he has read an article by Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker. Bolton correctly, in my opinion, describes Sy's work as "fiction."

John Bolton is a plain spoken man, we need more men like him in today's world.

Dems In Control? Lord Help Us!

For those of us that are frustrated with the direction of the GOP right now and are contemplating sitting at home this November to "send a message," I'd like to remind you of what you would have to look forward to. This is from todays Philadelphia Inquirer:

In recent months, though, impeachment calls have gained a new seriousness - and wider public support - and for good reason: This November, a shift of only 15 House seats would give Democrats control of the House and of the Judiciary Committee. Rep. John Conyers (D., Mich.), who would become Judiciary Committee chair, has already submitted a bill calling for an investigation into impeachable crimes, and would certainly welcome an impeachment bill.

More important, over the last five years, Bush has become the Willie Sutton of constitutional violators. While the impeachment of President Bill Clinton for lying about sex was a case of frivolous political harassment, this president's many "high crimes and misdemeanors" pose such a threat to basic freedoms, and to the system of checks and balances, that not to impeach would be irresponsible.

While Republicans may be rudderless right now, the thought of John Conyers heading the Judiciary Committe is down right scary. These people are so completely infected the BDS they would run this country into the ground in pursuit of their Great White Whale, George W. Bush.

Read the article to get a feel for what their arguments for impeachment are, it's right out of the Daily Kos diaries: lying us into war, trampling upon the Bill of Rights, abuse of power, war crimes, etc. You name it, and it's there.

Patronize Anheuser-Busch

The wife and I visited Sea World (Orlando) this past weekend. Before the Shamu show started, Augusta Busch addressed the crowd via a huge video screen. He paid tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces who fight to keep this country free and encouraged everybody to support them. This invoked as very spirited and sustained applause from the audience, but the best was still to come. As the applause died, a Sea World trainer appeared live on stage and ask all service members of the United States, United Kingdom, and any of our allies from around the world to please stand and be recognized for their service. The audience roared with approval as members throughout the crowd stood. It was a thing of beauty. My wife had to wipe a few tears from her eyes.

This was clearly something that Anhesuer-Busch did not have to do and considering the large international audience that visits their parks, I believe it was above and beyond what most corporations would ever consider doing in such an environment.

Anheuser-Busch not only has the King of Beers, but they're a king in the industry when it comes to marketing as well, and few can top some of the their post-9/11 commercials such as the Clydesdales paying tribute to the fallen towers or the troops being greeted by spontaneous applause while walking through an airport terminal. This display at Sea World showed me that Anheuser not only talks-the-talk, but they walk-the-walk as well.

I shall continue to patronize them at every opportunity and hope you will as well.

I Know What's Best!

There are many reasons that I don't particularly care for Sen. McCain, but his Campaign Finance Reform Bill is at the top of my list. I also hold President Bush responsible for signing the bill into law as he expected the Supreme Court to do his dirty work for him by striking it down. Didn't happen, and now we're stuck with a horrible piece of legislation that infringes on one of our most precious and fundamental rights: Freedom of Speech.

Today, the Examiner takes Sen. McCain to task for some comments he made recently. It begins in part:

James Madison, the prime mover behind the U.S. Constitution, and his colleagues among the Founders rightly feared arrogant men like Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., so they limited the central government to a few, well-defined powers. As further protection, Madison and the first Congress approved the First Amendment to the Constitution to protect forever the right of every American to freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and petition.

Why do we think of the Arizona senator when arrogance is mentioned? Dictionary.com defines arrogance as “overbearing pride evidenced by a superior attitude toward inferiors.” McCain incited a blogstorm Friday with this comment, which epitomizes political arrogance:

“I know that money corrupts … I would rather have a clean government than one where, quote, First Amendment rights are being respected, that has become corrupt. If I had my choice, I’d rather have the clean government.”

Sen. McCain is indeed a very arrogant man, and must be kept as far away from the Oval Office as possible.

Conservatives Making Ground?

I've never really cared much for Robert Novak, but there's no denying he's an insider with lots of connections. This column (via Real Clear Politics) is some good insider baseball stuff and it seems to show conservatives within Congress may be getting the upper hand. Lead by Sen. Tom Coburn (whom I love) in the Senate and Rep. Dennis Hasert and Majority Lead John Boehner in the House, establishment types such as Sen. Thad Cochran and Rep. Jerry Lewis are being called to the carpet for their spending and are losing the battle:

Terrified by possible loss of their majorities in November, Republicans in Congress may have turned a corner in casting off the tyranny of the appropriators over the spending process. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert exerted his will, and newly installed Majority Leader John Boehner registered his first triumph. In scoring his first floor victory over an earmark, Coburn showed he is more than a nuisance freshman senator and, allied with Sen. John McCain, a force to be reckoned with.[...]

On Thursday, Coburn proposed to eliminate $15 million for "seafood promotion strategy." McCain told the Senate: "Let me save the American taxpayers $125 million right now by telling all Americans now to eat seafood. Eat seafood. It is good for you." When Coburn rejected Cochran's call for a voice vote, the normally calm Appropriations chairman in a fury made a non-debatable tabling motion to kill Coburn's proposal. The astounding outcome was a 51 to 44 bipartisan victory for Coburn and McCain, following years of failure in such initiatives.

More please.

World's Smallest Violin

Poor, poor, Susan Sarandon. In this short article she whines about how "horrible" she and her family has been treated by the media (huh?) and public. Well friggin' boo-hoo-hoo. Welcome to real, grown-up world, where if you're going to express your opinions in the public square you'd better be able to give as good as you get. And, does this make any sense?:

And I don't think that I thought that I'd really never work again. But when there is nobody else, when you look out on the field and everybody is quiet and they're all looking away and nobody's saying anything, it's a really scary place to be.

What in the hell is she talking about? What a dunce.