Who are you going to trust?

The Logical Husband sent me a link to this USA Today Story. Based on the headline:

"Poll favors Democrats in fall elections"

you would think that the numbers were bad for Republicans, but the further you read into the story, the more you are unsure of that. Among the findings:

• Voters are interested in the election at levels not usually seen in non-presidential years. More than a third have thought "quite a lot" about the congressional elections. Seven of 10 say they are very motivated to get out and vote this year. (this is good news all around)
• Democrats are particularly engaged: 56% of Democrats say they are "more enthusiastic about voting than usual," the highest level of enthusiasm since the question was first asked in 1994. In comparison, 43% of Republicans say they are more enthusiastic than usual. (sadly this is not surprising)
• Americans are increasingly likely to identify themselves as Democrats. Including those who "lean" to one party or the other, 55% call themselves Democrats, 38% Republicans — the biggest edge for Democrats since 1998. By 54%-38%, those surveyed say they'd vote for the Democratic congressional candidate over the Republican one in their district if the election was held today.
• That said, voters aren't particularly enamored of Democratic officeholders. Congressional Democrats have an approval rating of just 38%, one percentage point above Bush and five above congressional Republicans. A 54% majority of those polled say they would like to see a third major political party.
• Democrats are preferred by double digits over Republicans to handle four of the five top issues: Iraq, government corruption, the economy and health care. Republicans are preferred by 11 percentage points on handling terrorism.
• By 50% to 39%, those surveyed say most members of Congress don't deserve re-election. When it comes to their own representative, however, 61% say he or she does deserve re-election. That disparity isn't unusual, and it doesn't provide any guarantees for incumbents. In the summer of 1994, for instance, 60% said their own representative deserved re-election. That percentage had dropped to 53% by the November elections that swept many Democrats out of office.

The last paragraph does not bode well for Democrats who are currenly the minority party. Is this a case of media "bias"? I don' know if I would take it that far, but I would say tha (at a minimum) this was a case of misleading packaging of a product. This didn't really tell us anything new...all it really tells us is that the country is still really divided on who they think will do a better job running the country...something we have known since the 2000 Presidential election.

It's been a bad week or two

for the Dems....first we get Zarqawi and roll up hundreds of cells in the wake of his demise. Then the country rallies behind the Republicans on immigration. Then their favorite ally, the NY Times further unites the country behind the President when they broke the details of a LEGAL program that was catching terrorists and drying up their funding on the front page. Then Howard Dean had a dream.....a dream of a time when life was good for Democrats - a time of rebellion and sit-ins...a time of "tuning in, turning on and dropping out" - a time when Democrats were "in control" and writing legislation....that time - the 1960's.

""We're about to enter the '60s again," Dean said, but he was not referring to the Vietnam War or racial tensions. Dean said he is looking for "the age of enlightenment led by religious figures who want to greet Americans with a moral, uplifting vision.""The problem is when we hit that '60s spot again, which I am optimistic we're about to hit, we have to make sure that we don't make the same mistakes," Dean added."

While Howard was dreaming, shouting matches were breaking out between Senator Clinton's staff and Senator Reid's staff and other Democratic Senators were being targeted by the base for not toeing the ideological line.

There has been so much open fueding going on between the former Vermont Governor and the party leadership on the Hill that no reports are funneling out that Governor Dean has been demoted in a sense. He is no longer the "spokesman" for the Democratic Party, but is now heading up the netroots!

If the Republican Party is serious about adding to their majority, they must strike now, while the iron is hot. It is clear that the conservative bloggers best friend is in a pickle - it remains unclear how long he will retain his chairman ship. His numerous missteps and constant fueding with Senate and House leadership is taking its toll on the party.

Who does race really matter to?

A couple of different stories have crossed my desk this week that I found to be of interest. The first was this Robert Novak column, originally run in the Chicago Sun Times back in May.

"Richmond Myrick, the principal of Largo High School, is a registered Democrat in overwhelmingly Democratic Prince George's County next to Washington, D.C. He has not been active politically and is not recorded as having made any contributions to candidates for federal office. Yet recently, he stood in the parking lot of Prince George's Community College adjoining his school to introduce Republican Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, whom he has endorsed for the U.S. Senate.

Myrick is African American, as are most students at Largo High. So is Steele. If enough non-political blacks follow Myrick's course, Steele will become the first black Republican elected to the Senate in 32 years. That is the Democrats' worst nightmare. Democratic dominance in Maryland has been based on maintaining a hammerlock over the state's substantial African- American vote. Steele threatens that domination. "

Second was this op/ed in todays Washington Times:

"The Democratic strategy against black Republicans is easy enough to understand: Call them sellouts; label them dupes of the racist Republican machine; link them to as many white conservatives as possible; and repeat. Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele is no stranger to this program ever since the Baltimore Sun editorialized that the only thing he brought to the gubernatorial ticket of Robert Ehrlich was "the color of his skin."

Third was this story out of North Carolina:

"Last week, in a post on her Web site, Hunter criticized congressional candidate Vernon Robinson for running for office as a Republican, even though the staunch and outspoken conservative lost his bid for state GOP chair at the party's convention in 2005.

"Like a good slave, he has returned to the plantation," Hunter wrote about Robinson, who is black."

What is wrong with the Democratic Party that can not take dissent? Why do they assume that "all" blacks vote for them? Why do they vilify and ostracize any who dare to "stray" from the plantation? Most importantly though is why do black continue to vote for a party that takes them for granted day in and day out? When are people going to realize that they racists are running the Democratic Party and not vice versa?

A penny per dollar....

That doesn't seem like much, one penny out of one hundred...to go to the state...to pay for roads and art and schools...not much at all right? Let's break out the calculator...

For a family of four, making $60,000 a year, that penny per dollar additional tax equals $600.00 per year. $600.00 per year is:

• 20 tanks of gasoline (assuming you drive an economy car that only has a 12 gallon tank)
• 6 weeks of groceries
• 3 to 4 months of heat in the winter
• 1 year homeowners insurance premium
• 1 year car insurance premium
• less than one months (assuming a $125,000 mortgage at 5.5% interest) mortgage payment
• Depending on what county you are in, that is 1/2 of your annual property tax payment

That is for anyone who is outside of Hennepin County. Those that live in Hennepin County also need to factor in the new stadium tax of 3 cents on every $20.00 spent in Hennepin County. For someone living in Hennepin County, living on a fixed income (pension for example) the combination of the penny per dollar and the "Twins tax" means the difference between eating cat food or heating their home.

If Jim Pohlad and his friends really feel obligated to pay for something, here is an idea. Maybe Mr. Pohlad can get his wealthy friends together to pay for the new Twins Stadium (the Pohlad family owns the Twins by the way). Maybe if we, the taxpayers, didn't have to buy him a new stadium for his baseball team we would be a little more willing to listen to his idea!

Cross posted at Savage Republican

Meet the Patricians - part 3

Cy and Paula DeCosse - The DeCosse's are semi-retired artists according to Open Secrets. They are (again) generous patrons of the arts, wildlife and the DFL.

Ron and Joyce Deharpporte - Mr. Deharpporte lists his employer as Gibbco Company, Mrs. Deharpporte is retired. Both have contributed exclusively to Democratic campaigns including Wesley Clarke, John Kerry and Paul Wellstone.

Charles "Chuck" Denny - Mr. Denny is the retired chairman and CEO of ADC Telecommunications. Mr. Denny has a chairmanship at the University of Minnesota named after him. He has been awarded CEBC Distinguished Corporate Citizenship award for his (among other things) "deep commitment to equity and justice in our society". The majority of his contributions have been to mostly to Republican candidates, with just a couple of Democratic candidates (Bill Luther, Teresa Daly and Janet Robert) getting donations.

Joseph and Rachel Dolan - I am not able to find any information on the Dolan's.

Anita Duckor - Ms. Duckor is a sitting member of the Minneapolis Library Board and President of Duckor & Associates a business consulting firm. While these local positions are supposed to be non-partisan (by Minnesota Law) on look at the organizations and people that endorsed Ms. Duckor gives you a good idea of her political affiliation. There are no listed contributions in Ms. Duckor's name on either Open Secrets, Newsmeat or Political Money Line.

Lois Mary Dunlap - Ms. Dulap is a contributor to the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. She has contributed mostly to Jim Ramstad's campaign, but she has also contributed to the late Senator Paul Wellstone's campaign.

Well that is the end of my list of the Patricians. I will cross post all of this over at Savage Republican and I will also post links to any of the other blogs that joined Mitch's blogswarm on the Patricians.

For more information on the tax increase that is proposed Growth & Justice, please go to their website and read for yourself what these "wealthy few" are willing to burden the rest of the state with. I will echo the call of the working middle class of this state....those of you wealthy few who believe you can pay more to the state - please do so! However, do not mandate that those of us who are just getting by - driving used cars and working two jobs in order to make ends meet - pay for programs that you say you are happy to pay for! Pay for it and stay out of my checkbook!

UPDATE: Thanks to commentor Anonymous for checking my math! I have corrected the entry for Charles Daly to correctly reflect his political contributions.

Meet the Patricians - part 2 The Daytons

The Dayton family is legend in the Twin Cities. George Draper Dayton was the founder of the Dayton Corporation - the Dayton's department store chain. Dayton's merged with the J.L. Hudson Company in 1969 to form the Dayton Hudson Corporation, which is now Target Corporation. Bruce B. Dayton is George Dayton's son and Senator Mark Dayton's grandfather.

Bruce and Ruth Dayton are devotees of the arts, having donated over $20m in Chinese art to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Between the two, they have made over $229,000.00 in donations to both parties over the last 2 election cycles. Out of that $207,000 went to Democratic candidates, committees and campaigns. The rest to Republican candidates including President George W. Bush.

David Dayton works for Alumiplate Inc and has given much to local environmental and civic organizations. His campaign contributions have been exclusively to Democratic candidates and PACs.

Judy Dayton is the widow of Ken Dayton. They are great patrons of the local art scene and benefactors of Abbott Northwestern Hospital. As I stated in a prior post, Mrs. Dayton has contributed exclusively to DFL candidates for office - most notably her nephew Mark.

Meet the Patricians - Part 1

As many of you heard, 203 of Minnesota's wealthiest signed an ad that ran in the Star Tribune last week, stating that Minnesota isn't taxed enough and that the wealthiest (according to their plan that is anyone who makes over $45,000 a year) should be taxed more. Well Mitch (over at Shot in the Dark) challenged readers to research the signatories - find out what (if any) political affiliations that they have...to see if the group responsible for the ad are as non-partisan as they claim to be. Mitch challenged and I answered. Rather than get into a long preamble, I'll cut right to the chase.

Burt Cohen - President and former Publisher of MSP Magazine. According to the Open Secrets search, Mr. Cohen has donated over $11,000 to Democratic candidates and campaigns between 2001 and 2004. According to the Cunningham Group profile of Mr. Cohen:

" Prior to MSP Communications he was the President of Modern Medicine Publications, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Health Care Publications and Vice President and Director of The New York Times Media Company.
Burt has been active in the Twin Cities for years. Community activities include sitting on the Board of Directors for various organizations including Medica; the Minneapolis Foundation; Minneapolis Midtown Community Works; University of Minnesota Foundation; Minnesota Zoo Foundation; and the One Percent Club. In addition, Burt has served on a number of committees such as the Children’s Theatre Capital Campaign Steering Committee, the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts Advisory Committee and the Committee on Giving Organizing Committee." (emphasis added)

According to the filings listed at Open Secrets, Rusty Cohen is an Consultant/Volunteer. He is listed on the masthead of Mpls St Paul Magazine as a consultant. While he has not been a prolific contributor to Democratic candidates, he has given solely to Democrats. According to an article here, he is also a co-founder (with Burt Cohen) of MSP Publishing.

Bert and Suzi Colianni - Mr. Colianni is the executive vice president and COO of Marquette Financial (along with co-signatory Jim Pohlad). There was no record of any political contributions at Open Secrets, but Mr. and Mrs. Colianni were listed as contributors to Common Bond Communities (a non-profit that helps the homeless find housing).

Julie Corty lists her occupation as "retired" although she is listed on this newsletter as a member of the advisory board of a group called Wilderness Inquiry. Wilderness Inquiry is a non-profit organization that focuses on getting people from all walks of life to personally experience the natural world. She only had one listed donation from 2001 to 2004 and that was to John Kerry's presidential campaign.

John and Sage Cowles - John Cowles Jr is the former publisher (President of Cowles Media Group) of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a position that he assumed after his father retired. They currently hold the Lewis W. Hill Fellowship on Philanthropy at the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey Institute. Mr. Cowles political donations have been to Democratic candidates and committees exclusively. Mrs. Cowles (whose occupation is listed as retired) has donated to Democratic candidates, committees and organizations such as America Coming Together and Emily's list.

Dan and Cassie Cramer - I couldn't find a lot of data on the Cramer's so I have no idea (yet - still looking) what the Cramer's do for their money. What I did find is that they have donated moeny to an organization called Admission Possible, which helps disadvantaged students get prepped for college and helps them find grants etc. Mr. Cramer had donated to the Progressive Politics Network - formerly known as the Wellstone for Senate campaign. Mrs. Cramer is also listed on the campaign website of DFL endorsed candidate (for MN Secretary of State) Mark Ritchie as a supporter.

Kim Culp - FINALLY a Republican donor! Mr. Culp is a banker from Eden Prairie. He is the chairman of the Minnesota region of M&I Bank and former President of Century Bank. His political donations have been exclusively to Republican candidates Norm Coleman and Jim Ramstad.

Susan Cushman is an OB/GYN doctor from Wayzata. Open Secrets shows no record of political donations, but Dr. Cushman is a patron of the Walker Arts Center.

Teresa Daly is (as I stated here) a former DFL candidate for Congress in the 2nd Congressional District. She is a consultant by profession - employed by Right Management, an employment transition consultant. Her political donations have been to DFL candidates and to Democratic aligned PAC's like Emily's List.

Cross posted at Savage Republican

Entering the Mommy Wars!

Pity poor Linda Hirschman. Who is Linda Hirschman you ask? Linda Hirschman is the author of the book entitled "Get To Work:A Manifesto" and author of this from the Washington Post. Linda is feeling put upon because any woman who is stupid enough (in her words not mine) to want to be a stay at home mom, is upset at Linda's manifesto which basically says they need to get off of the fat, bon-bon eating rears and get a job! She said that child rearing was not worthy of a womans time and talent!

I heard Ms. Hirschman on Michael Medved's program a couple of weeks back and I what I heard had me so angry I could not see straight. She maintains the assumption that no woman could possibly feel fulfilled raising children. Any caller to the program that tried to defend their choice to stay home and rear the children was met with complete and total disdain! Her arrogance was astounding!

I am truly blessed in that I can work on a schedule that allows me to be home with my child as needed. My son is almost a teen-ager so he is requiring a little more freedom, which allows me more and more time in the office, but I am still home when I am needed there most! Many women do not have that luxury and are thus forced into making the painful decision on whether to work or not. The last thing that these women need is some judgemental self-appointed guardian of feminism assuming to speak for all of us! I needed to work, to help supliment my husband's income and then to replace it (after he was out of work for almost 3 years). There are many things that I missed in those years, things I will never get back. When the opportunity for this job came along, I jumped on it so that I could spend more time with a very important person in my life. I certainly don't need (or appreciate) people like Ms. Hirschman telling me that my choice was wrong, when she has no concept, no clue what my wants, needs and desires are.

I have a couple of words of advice for Ms. Hirschman. Do not assume that what works for you will work for everyone else. If you are happy with your life as it is - great! I am very happy for you. However, what is important for you is not important for me and what is important for me is not important for you. I will refrain from judging your lifestyle choices - how about you do the same for me and the rest of us who choose to stay home with the most precious thing in our lives....our children!

Conservative women need not apply!

This ties in to my recent posts about leftists debate tactics and their absolute refusal to hear dissenting points of view. I was very dismayed, but not at all surprised to hear this conservative womans story of how the liberal left shut her out of the discussion.

"Since the National Women’s Studies Association Conference is hosting a panel on how to deal with conservative young women on college campuses, such as the Network of enlightened Women (NeW), you would think that they would have invited a conservative young woman from NeW. One would think this indeed. But time and again, we must remember that the feminists aren’t always rational."

The author goes on to describe where she volunteered to be the "token" conservative woman at this conference on how to deal with conservative women and she was told flat out that she was not welcome at the conference!

Give the author credit. In true conservative fashion, rather than hang her head and weep and moan about how unfair life is, she carries on!

"Feminists may be able to stop our conservative ideas and members from entering their Conference, but they can’t stop us or our principles.Because while feminists are gathering at this National Women’s Studies Association Conference, discussing how to “respond to conservative young women” and listening to lectures such as “Transgender Theories,” NeW will be proactively expanding to other campuses. Let’s see who wins. "

Carry on sister! Fight the fight for intellectual freedom on campus and know that you have this conservative woman at your back! We will perservere!

Leftist debating tactics

As I remarked yesterday, leftists seem to have a talent for avoiding exchanging ideas. The seem to eschew debate and embrace intimidation and harassment as we see here.

"Some readers of HuffingtonPost.com have initiated a new wave of harassing phone calls to Swift Boat veterans who questioned John Kerry's military record in the 2004 campaign -- and the website's proprietors remained ignorant of it for days, despite repeated complaints...

After the contact information was posted on the Huffington Post, the harassing calls increased in frequency. Saturday afternoon Lonsdale received another call, "congratulating" him for "ruining our country." In the early hours of Sunday morning, Van Odell received three calls, he told TAS, at 1:47 a.m., 1:48, and 1:50. A man calmly told him, "I want to know why you lied about John Kerry... Traitors must die. We will get you. You can't get away with this." Then his call descended into cursing, at which point Odell said he hung up on him. Odell received another round of calls around 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon. He has turned his phone off so that his six-year-old grandson could not pick up the calls." (emphasis added)

Klaus Rohrich of the Canada Free Press dug a little deeper into this phenomonon after he recieved letters from liberals in response to his article debunking global warming.

"More and more, the Left is engaging in this type of debating tactic, leaving the topic to be debated in favor of an ad hominem attack on one’s opponent. This wouldn’t be too serious had it not found its way into the body politic in most Western nations today. Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Monte Solberg recently commented in parliament that today’s immigrants were much more likely to require assistance with language, since the majority of immigrants to Canada currently originate from countries that do not have a common Greco-Roman tradition of language. To hear the firestorm emanating from the opposition benches you’d think Solberg had walked into parliament in a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood. There was nothing of a spurious nature in what Solberg said; he was stating a fact. But the opposition parties, hoping to make Solberg and the Conservative Party look bad, accused him of racism because of stating a simple fact."

Whether the issue being discussed is immigration, taxation, or roads, leftists refuse to debate the facts of the issue. Instead they debate with their "feelings". Feelings are fine, don't get me wrong, but they are a poor substitute for fact!

If the leftists were smart, they would read Mr. Rohrich's conclusion and learn from it:

"This probably explains why the Left is losing ground politically in most Western countries today, as the public at large realizes that real debate of issues has been cut off in favor of Looney tunes ideologies rammed down people’s throats. Rather than counter right-wing arguments with logic and reason, the Left has become so certain of its infallibility that any argument can be reduced to a mere word, such as racist, sexists, homophobe and in the minds of the paganites, idiot."

Will they take this information to heart or will they continue to try to shout down the opposition or try to intimidate the opposition into silence? Time will tell, but based on my friends experience this week, I fear that the they will not. Thus they will continue to lose elections.

Which is more important...

National Security or civil rights??? That is the question that was posed in this poll from the Canada National Post.

"A new poll on attitudes toward terrorism suggests many Canadians think preserving national security is more important than protecting civil liberties."

Now, those that know me know I tend to be highly skeptical of polls - at least until I can see the methodology, and I have not seen the methodology on this poll. The paper did not link to it. I assume that there were some leading questions in the poll, based on some of the reporting. However, this statement is the telling one.

"More tellingly, 62 per cent agree strongly or somewhat with the view that without national security, all other individual rights become theoretical a proposition argued last week by federal lawyer Bernard Laprade during a Supreme Court hearing on the constitutionality of federal security certificates."

The ACLU has to be shaking over that one...

You mean THOSE WMDs?????

Quietly, with no fanfare or notice in the US Media, apparent confirmation of Saddam's ties to al Qaeda and his WMD's are coming to light. Whether it is translations of Saddam's documents or the declassification of certain DOJ/Homeland security documents, more and more proof of the President's claims are coming to light, shooting down the meme that President Bush "lied" us into this war.

That is not stopping the President's detractors. Senator Santorum barely got WMD announcement out when the left wing spin machine got to work, saying (among other things) that these were "pre-1991 shells" and that they were "too old" to be a danger. Too old???? Funny thing that....the BBC Program "Inside Out" had a story in January where they talked about chemical weapons from World War 1 that were found and were still a danger 90 years later!

" They may be 90-years-old and look harmless but the chemical agents can be as deadly as the day they were first made. Destroying them has to take place inside a high security lab. "

If you are going to be intellectually honest in the debate, you have to say that the jury is still out when it comes to the Saddam's WMD's. Yes, we had faulty intelligence going in and yes they are not there in the numbers that we had anticipated, but the truth of the matter appears to say that Saddam did indeed have chemical and biological WMD's that he had used and yes Saddam was exhaggerating when it came to telling other how much of the stuff he had. However, there were 17 UN injunctions calling for Saddam to account for the weapons and for their destruction, injunctions that he refused to comply with and that dear reader is why we went into Iraq.

Summer soldiers and sunshine patriots

This was emailed to me by a friend. While I can not verify the authorship of the piece, I think the sentiments resonate with a lot of folks who support our troops efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.


The Summer Soldiers Out Themselves
By Ed Evans
On Dec. 23, 1776, Thomas Paine, writing his treatise “The Crisis”, declared in words that echo throughout this nation today, “These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.”
From the halls of Congress today, however, has come the message that freedom, that gift from heaven “highly rated,” is rated too high for some Americans. The message from some members of Congress is that it is time for the bastion of liberty, the United States of America, to repeat the debacle of the Vietnam Conflict, abandon our heritage, in order to cut and run.
Even as these “summer soldiers” exhibited their squeamishness at paying the price of liberty, four young Americans, wearing the U.S. Army uniform that represents Americans everywhere, died in battle against an enemy that wants all Americans to indeed believe the price of freedom for the Iraqi nation is too high to pay.
It would seem the height of irony that those calling for America to abandon the fight for freedom in Iraq have just raised that price with their self-serving and ill-considered public pronouncements. They have given immeasurable aid and comfort to the enemy who is murdering innocent men, women and children, as well as the youthful flower of our nation. Their callous remarks have just insured the enemy will dig in a little deeper, believing if enough Americans bleed, our national commitment to freedom will wilt; we will cut and run; we will abandon those to whom we have promised our strength, our technology, our national will until freedom is achieved.
These summer soldiers have attempted to make liars and cowards of us all. But Americans are neither liars nor cowards. We believe in truth, in honesty, in keeping our word. At least, some of us do. Obviously these summer soldiers hold such hallmarks of freedom to be of lesser value. They are wrong. They are wrong and they should also be ashamed.
They are of an age where their very own freedom was bought in blood by young Americans no older than those who right now are breaking the chains of tyranny that would enslave Iraq. And make no mistake, if we give Iraq to our enemies, that will not sate their bloody appetite. Today Iraq; tomorrow the world.
To quote a demonstrated truth from another time, “They cry peace, peace, but there is no peace.” They would sell their grandchildren’s’ freedom in order to achieve peace in their own time. What a slur on mankind. A shameful performance built of political ambition, blind avarice for power, and a deliberate ignorance of global reality.
These naysayers and summer soldiers should take note of the fact that our young men and women in uniform in Iraq right now joined in the middle of the conflict. They are in the military by choice. They are in Iraq by choice. They don’t wonder if their presence will make a difference for freedom, they are making that difference out in front with their very lives.
The least reaction due from those safely behind the wall of protection they provide should be to do no harm. Don’t aid the enemy with constant carping and political scoring. Don’t give the enemy a reason to fight harder and hang on longer. Don’t get them killed. If you can’t do that, at least put on a uniform and go give them a hand.
For they are my heroes. You, ladies and gentlemen summer soldiers of the Congress and elsewhere, you are simply a sad embarrassment of the times. Their names will be remembered. You should pray yours’ are not
Ed Evans
MGySgt., USMC (Ret.)

Typical Leftist debate style

On June 20, the following letter to the editor appeared in the Strib:

"I find it highly ironic that less than one week after the Star Tribune lambastes the Minnesota Republican Party for its criticism of "lame duck" Sen. Mark Dayton, it calls President Bush "King George" in an editorial!"

On June 26, the letter writer revieved the following anonymous letter in her mailbox:

"Irony? What is ironic is that Bush thinks he is KING. How blind are you?"

Now I happen to know the person who submitted the letter which is how I know what she got in return.

This just goes to show the lack of convictions that the leftists have. This person has to send anonymous letters with no return address. Heaven forbid you should identify yourself (as my friend did). That might open the channels for dialog. Better to send anonymous letters!

In case the letter writer is out there reading this let me ask you a couple of questions (additional questions or answers are welcome in the comments):

1) Do you have proof that the President considers himself to be "King"?
2) The Congress has been advised of all of the surveillance programs that the left uses as "proof" of kingly intent. If Congress has been advised, how can you say that the President is acting in a "kingly" manner?

And before any of you comment about the hypocricy of blogging under a pseudonym, I point you to the threats that were made against Michael Brodkorb and his family while he was still anonymous! There are some sick people out there whole feel that any and all opposition must be silenced at any cost. As long as people like that are out there, I will continue to blog under a pseudonym. However, I am more than willing to debate any and all who have the the strength of their convictions to actually engage in respectful discussion! Disrespectful discussion will be mocked appropriately!

What have I gotten myself into?

Mitch (over at Shot in the Dark) did a post on the "Happy to pay more for a better Minnesota" ad from last week. In the comments section someone (thanks Thorley) suggested that an enterprising blogger would be well served to take a look at the signatories and see exactly what they do to get their money and are they really as non-partisan as they suggest. I mentioned that I had started doing that (here) and that all led to this:

"I'd like to try to start my first blogswarm, here.
The idea actually came from longtime commenters Thorley Winston and Lady Logician, in the comment section to the previous posting. Here's what I'd like to do: do a research blogswarm on the 203 Minnesotans who signed the "We Can Afford To Pay More For State Taxes" (PDF file) "open letter" to the Strib last week. The group pitches itself as a group of bipartisan citizens concerned for the state. I suspect otherwise."

So I am going to take a group of the "patricians" and see what I can find out about these folks. Stay tuned here or over at Ladies Logic for the results. I will also link to anyone else that decides to join us in the project.

Cross posted over at Savage Republican

Happy to pay more taxes

A lot has been said in the last 24 hours about this story, some of it serious and some of it more"reactionary".

"More than 200 wealthy Minnesotans signed a full-page ad that appears in the Star Tribune today asking the state to raise $2 billion for various initiatives by increasing the state's tax burden for high-salary earners. "

One thing that is assumed in all the commentary on this is that the signatories are more "left" leaning than the average Joe that would also be affected (only those who make less than $45,000 a year fall don't fall into their "high-salary" category). So I thought I would take a quick peek over at Open Secrets to see if this assumption is accurate.

Joel Kramer, former publisher of the Star Tribune and founder of think tank Growth and Justice contributed to the DSCC, Paul Wellstone, Mark Dayton, John Kerry, Walter Mondale, the MN DFL and the Democracy for America PAC.
Mike Ciresi and Ann Ciresi - Former DFL endorsed candidate for US Senate Mike Ciresi donated to Maria Cantwell in 2001. Ann has contributed to the DFL Party and to the campaigns of the following Democratic candidates - Tom Daschle, Patty Wetterling, Maria Cantwell, Paul Wellstone, Janet Roberts (owner of the MN Air America affiliate), Teresa Daley, John Kerry, Joe Biden, Betty McClooum and Walter Mondale (when he was made the Senatorial nominee after Paul Wellstone died).
Teresa Daly - Former DFL candidate for 2nd Congressional District 2004 has only contributed to Emily's List and to Betty McCollum's (D-CD4) campaign.
Bruce Dayton, David Dayton and Judy Dayton - Bruce Dayton contributed $20,000 to the DSCC in 2001, $5,000 in 2002 and $25,000 in 2004. Judy Dayton contributed Mark Dayton's Senatorial Campaign, Teresa Daly's Congressional Campaign, to Betty McCollum's Congressional campaigns and Paul Wellstone's campaign in 2001.
Ruth Stricker Dayton - Ruth Ann Dayton has a bi-partisan approach - she has given to Republican Jim Ramstad and DFLers Bill Luther and Paul Wellstone.
Mrs. Orville L. Freeman - Mr. Orville Freeman has donated to Paul Wellstone, Bill Luther and Walter Mondale
David Lillehaug - Mr. Lillehaug has donated to Joe Lieberman, Patty Wetterling, John Edwards, Stephanie Herseth (D-SD) and John Barrow (D-Ga).
Joan Mondale, Ted Mondale and Walter Mondale - The Mondales are known DFLers. It does not take open secrets to tell you that!
Lois Quam - Wife of DFL endorsed candidate for MN Attorney General Matt Entenza, Ms. Quam has donated to the DNC Services, the MN DFL, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mark Dayton, Dick Gephardt, Patty, Wetterling, Teresa Daly, Byron Dorgan, Walter Mondale, Paul Wellstone, Emily's List and many, many others.
Rebecca Yanisch - DFL candidate for Congress and Senate has contributed to Teresa Daly, Paul Wellstone, Betty McCollum, Howard Dean, Patty Wetterling and Stephanie Herseth.

I think it is safe to say that this assumption was an accurate one...

Having said all of that, the collective response (from those of us who are also in that "highest earning" category - those making over $45,000 a year) has been "speak for yourself!" The best response, I think, came from Governor Pawlenty who said:

"Pawlenty, meanwhile, touted a recent report that Minnesota had moved out of the top 10 in the nation in taxes and noted that the state has a budget surplus and double-digit revenue growth.
Minnesota is not undertaxed, he added, but he invited the ad signatories to send voluntary contributions payable to the State of Minnesota to the Finance Department, 400 Centennial Office Building, 658 Cedar St., St. Paul, 55155."

I would offer that advise up to all those who say that they would be "Happy" to pay more in taxes. Get out the checkbook and write a check in the amount that makes you feel happiest and send it to the state. No one is stopping you! Show us all just how much more you would be happy to pay, for a better Minnesota!

Cross posted at Savage Republican

Moral equivelency

This has been percolating in my head for a few months now, but it has taken me a while to get it written down. Much has been said, over the last three years about alleged transgressions of our military (John Kerry and John Murtha) and our President (pick your source) vis a vis the Global War on Terror. What brought this post to fruition were the events of the last couple of weeks. In this timeframe we have killed the man who was responsible for numerous beheadings and bombings of mosques and markets and schools in Iraq - a man responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent Iraqi's - Abu Mousab al Zarqawi, the imprisonment of 8 US servicemen for the alleged murder of one innocent Iraqi man, the allegations of atrocities at Haditha (with 24 Iraqis dead) and the kidnapping and brutalization of Private Kristian Menchaca and Private Thomas Tucker. The thing that brought this all to a head though was this cartoon in the Atlanta Journal Constitution (HT Michelle Malkin)



















That the cartoonist would equate what happened at Abu Ghraib with what happened to Privates Tucker and Menchaca is reprehensible. No one was killed at Abu Ghraib, but what was done to our soldiers prior to their being beheaded was the height of barbarity! Gitmo is Camp Cupcake compared to what privations our troops go through while serving in Iraq and is day camp compared to what the terrorists did to the four former Marine/civilian contractors that were murdered in Fallujah 2 years ago. That any reasonable thinking person could equate the two in incomprehensible!

It is stuff like this that leads most people in "fly-over country" to the belief that the press has a ax to grind with the US. It is also what leads many to say "if you don't like it here, move to Canada"...or as was said during Viet Nam - "My country - love it or leave it!" I didn't understand the sentiment behind the saying at the time (early 1970's) but now sadly, I do...

Faith and science mix!

I have been meaning to post on this for a couple of weeks now...ever since I heard Dennis Prager talking about it on his program. The American lead researcher of the Human Genome Project has said that as a result of his research he has "found God"! SERIOUSLY!

"THE scientist who led the team that cracked the human genome is to publish a book explaining why he now believes in the existence of God and is convinced that miracles are real.
Francis Collins, the director of the US National Human Genome Research Institute, claims there is a rational basis for a creator and that scientific discoveries bring man “closer to God”.

Now I have blogged little about my faith (something that I will intend to correct now that I have my own forum), but as a practicing Evangelical Christian I certainly don't "need" proof of God's existence - I see it every day in the world around me. That does not stop me from feeling a certain sense of "smug" satisfaction every time I hear or read about another archeological dig that has "found" evidence of a person or place from the Bible, or a scientist who comes out and declares that science and religion are not compatable. I can't help but utter a not so silent AMEN every time a story like this surfaces! However, this paragraph flat out took my breath away with it's truth:

"When you have for the first time in front of you this 3.1 billion-letter instruction book that conveys all kinds of information and all kinds of mystery about humankind, you can’t survey that going through page after page without a sense of awe. I can’t help but look at those pages and have a vague sense that this is giving me a glimpse of God’s mind.”

and this:

"I see God’s hand at work through the mechanism of evolution. If God chose to create human beings in his image and decided that the mechanism of evolution was an elegant way to accomplish that goal, who are we to say that is not the way,” he says.

If you are a Christian (or even if you are not) go read the article and pay particular attention to Dr. Collins testimony. It is as awe inspiring as his work.

I can't wait for his book to come out. It will be a must read!

No deadline - no retreat

Growing up in Chicago in the 1970's there was only ONE newspaper...the Chicago Tribune. My parents would ritually read the Trib every morning over coffee and then discuss the news it contained that night at dinner. As a result, the Tribune is, was and (thanks to this) always will be the epitome of what journalism should be!

"Have you ever been in a fight? No, a real fight, with blood and pain and fear. Many of us weren't built for that moment. But when it arrives, invited by our choice or our vulnerability, its sidekick is a terrible realization: There are no easy outs. One of us will prevail, one of us will surrender.That's a weak analogy to the 3-year-old war in Iraq; no face-off between two individuals carries the immense stakes of what's happening right now, half a world away. But in both cases, blood and pain and fright do play leading roles. So it is that an anguished debate about a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq filled the U.S. Senate this week. It was a debate laced with misgivings and resolve, politics and pride, frustration and patriotism. It was also a debate in which, as has happened before, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) best synthesized the choice that weary and anxious Americans now face: "The options on the table have been there from the beginning: Withdraw and fail, or commit and succeed."Crisp speechifying, yes. But there lie dragons. Committing to win in Iraq means embracing gains like the elimination of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi--and it means more butchery like the beheading of two American servicemen. It means embracing the courage of Iraqi citizens now struggling for their freedom--and it means the uneasiness of American citizens aghast at the barbarity of it all. It means embracing the truth that there are no easy outs. One side in this war will prevail, one side in this war will surrender."

The reason, the logic and the prose employed in this editorial are designed to make the readers think about BOTH sides of the issue. It lays out the pros and cons of staying in Iraq without a hint of the writers personal leanings. Then, once it has laid out the pros and cons of the situation, it concludes:

"We can, of course, leave whenever we wish. To do so would betray the Iraqi officials and citizens who trust us to shepherd them to safety. It would tell every terror group, every future enemy, how to defeat America next. And, at a time when rogue states such as North Korea and Iran need us internationally weak rather than strong, it would signal that in future crises our saber will rattle feebly, like a death rasp in the night.The American men and women who are fighting this war do so with one eye over their shoulders. We have argued for three years whether the timetable for bringing them home should be set by politicians in Washington or by their success in the field. Once again, through our legislators, we have voted decisively for the latter.So let us keep thinking about how we feel. But let us also think about how our enemies feel."

I don't think a clearer arguement for staying in Iraq has ever been made. Thank you Tribune editorial board!

You mean THAT exit strategy???

Over the last couple of weeks, we have heard numerous Democrats come to the floor of the House and the Senate and decry the "lack of exit strategy" coming from the Bush White House. I wonder, though if they aren't looking in the wrong place for an "exit strategy"....I would think that if one wanted to know when we were planning on leaving Iraq, you would ask the Iraqi government...

"There has been much talk about a withdrawal of U.S. and coalition troops from Iraq, but no defined timeline has yet been set. There is, however, an unofficial "road map" to foreign troop reductions that will eventually lead to total withdrawal of U.S. troops. This road map is based not just on a series of dates but, more important, on the achievement of set objectives for restoring security in Iraq."

Well lookey here Mabel....we have an exit strategy after all!!!!!

"Iraq has a total of 18 governorates, which are at differing stages in terms of security. Each will eventually take control of its own security situation, barring a major crisis. But before this happens, each governorate will have to meet stringent minimum requirements as a condition of being granted control... All the governors have been notified and briefed on the end objective...Iraq's ambition is to have full control of the country by the end of 2008. In practice this will mean a significant foreign troop reduction. We envisage the U.S. troop presence by year's end to be under 100,000, with most of the remaining troops to return home by the end of 2007."

Darn it....another Dem talking point shot full of holes. At this rate they will have nothing left to campaign on. Well, maybe they can come out with a version 3.0 of their agenda.

Smoking bans....

I preface this post by admitting, up front, that I am an ex-smoker. Ex-smokers are the WORST kinds of non-smokers in the world (any smoker will tell you). We will be more than happy to regale you with all the reasons why you should quit smoking (because if I can do it you certainly can) and how you will feel so much better if you quit (because if I did, certainly you will too) and how you should quit because after all..it worked for me! We love to brag how long we have been "smoke free", how much money we are saving (now that we have quit throwing the money away on that "expensive habit"), how our clothes and homes don't smell like ashtrays all the time...the list goes on. Having said all that, let me just add that I think smoking bans (like the ones enacted in Hennepin and Ramsey counties) are nothing more than thinly veiled Nazism!

The "smoking police" - those people who are writing anti-smoking regulation "for your own good" are at it all over the place. In Arkansas, Democrat State Rep. Bob Mathis (himself an ex-smoker) wants to make it illegal for women to smoke while they are pregnant - as it hurts the developing fetus (I wonder if he thinks that abortion is good for a developing fetus???). There there is John Banzhaf who has already been successful in getting smoking banned outdoors, in private homes (in custody cases or foster homes), apartments (if the neighbors complain) and in cars (if children are in them). Now HE wants legislate what a woman can or can not do with her body!!!

I wonder if these two "gentlemen" (and I use the term very loosely here) have ever heard of a little thing called the personal responsibility? Now I realize that Mr. Banzhaf apparently thinks that this kind of nannyism is legal...

"Since court after court has held that smoking is not a fundamental right like voting, and that smokers are not a protected class like African-Americans or women, the government has wide leeway in fashioning a remedy for whatever it concludes is a problem requiring corrective action.”

However, there are those who believe that these bans are unconstitutional, restricting the free access of a smoker. Now, Mr. Banzhaf has argued that it does not restrict them from going out to restaurants and bars, it just stops them from smoking while there, but nonp-smokers "rights" are infringed by smokers. The same logic that Mr. Banzhaf uses apparently (in his mind) does not work the other way around! Non-smokers are not prevented from going out to restaurants and bars, but if they want to go to a smoke bar, then they need to go to a smoke free bar and not force the bar owner to go smoke free (and thus not allowing the bar owner to use his/her property as he sees fit and thereby infringing on the bar owners rights!)

The only "rights" that Mr. Banzhaf and his friends seem to be interested in maintaining are their rights to sue people who dare to want to smoke. As I said.....I chose to quit. However, where Misters Banzhaf, Mathis and I disagree is whether I will choose to force my choice on someone else. I do not have the right to do so and neither do Misters Mathis and Banzhaf.

What is wrong with our schools?

The Minneapolis Star Tribune boasts that Minnesota's graduation rate (of high school seniors) is 79% - calling it "the good news"! That's good news???? This is down from when the reported graduation rate for Minnesota was 83.9% (school year 2001/2002) and 84.8% (school year 2002/2003). Minnesota's African American students graduate at a paltry 44%! The usual suspects say that the trouble is not enough money, but is that the case?

Minneapolis spent over $11,000 per pupil in the 2001-2003 school years and the graduation rate in Minneapolis is 52.8%. Meanwhile, cities like Apple Valley, Bloomington (Jefferson and Kennedy High Schools), Brooklyn Park, Shakopee or Burnsville spend less and graduate more of it's students.

Defenders of the status quo will say that Bloomington, Burnsville, Apple Valley Brooklyn Park and Shakopee don't have the same "challenges" that an inner city school would have. That may indeed be the case, but then again take a look at St Paul, who again spends less (per pupil) and graduates more students, and Minneapolis' Communications Arts High School, a charter school who spends almost 1/10th the amount that Minneapolis spends on each student and they graduate 63% of it's students!

So if more spending is not the answer, then what is? Parental involvement could be one answer, according to this story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

"Good schools attract good parents, and good parents make good schools."

Another thought comes to us from someone in the trenches...a teacher!

"School's out, and another opportunity arises to either genuinely change what we do, or continue to rearrange the deck chairs at PS Titanic. Here are some recommendations from a teacher of color.
• Once and for all, stop promoting regular education students who fail the MCAs and every other measure of success to the next grade. Every year we promote tens of thousands of failing students in the Twin Cities, most of whom are poor students of color. They deserve better.
• Do away with summer-school lite and bogus public relations programs like St. Paul's Excel, which was great for the superintendent's resume but does little for many thousands of failing students.
• Institute academically vigorous after-school programs for students who are failing. That is, two hours of solid instruction and practice. Not 20 minutes of homework help and 100 minutes of snacks and play.
• Institute full-day summer instruction for failing students with the expectation that they must pass the MCA, or some other measure, if they want to go on to the next grade.
• Give the boot to the principals and teachers who think that handing out stacks of worksheets and giving away unearned grades to underachieving students is equivalent to teaching. For these educators, controlling children is a higher priority then educating them. They are unprincipled and lazy, and they have made a mockery of many of our schools.
• Lovingly, give the boot and lock the revolving door on the sociopathic children who are distorting and wrecking the entire education system. Kids who come to school half-dressed and empty-handed, and think they can push, curse and disrupt their way through the day need to be removed, not just suspended, from the regular education program. Yes, they are not exclusively, but predominantly African-American and Latino. As a teacher of Afro-Caribbean heritage, I think we've been coddling these fools and their parents for too long. Beside themselves, they are hurting everyone else, especially the vast majority of students of color who are in school to learn. It's time to get over Minnesota's racist past and deal with it.
• For the kids who are taken out of the regular education program, have a range of qualitatively different but effective programs to address their needs. No more "alternative school" warehouses.
• Stop wasting millions of dollars on school change programs that just recycle and repackage already known best teaching practices. Lock all of the coaches and mentors hired by these programs out of every school building. Find other ways to invest in staff development.
That should keep us busy over the summer."

Some common sense solutions - will the Minneapolis School Board look into them, or will they continue to support the failing status quo? Will they realize that by failing these kids, they are responsibile for keeping the kids in generation after generation of oppressive poverty?

Much has been made (in recent months) of the "reasons" for crime and our need to "understand" why these kids turn to crime. Don't you think that an education system that fails to teach it's students the skills necessary to succeed could be a large part of WHY these kids turn to crime? If that is the case, and other schools are able to teach their students better and for less, don't you think (Minneapolis School Board) that you should talk to your counterparts in these other cities to find out what they do differently and then adapt some of those things to your school district? After all.....it's for the children!

The Party of Tolerance

The proponents of tolerance strike again! This goes beyond the pale of normal discourse!

"Liberals in Lexington Massachusetts have taken to beating up the seven year old children of their political opponents.
This disgusting tactic should be ousted on the front pages of every newspaper across the nation, yet you've heard nary a word about it. "

The story is this....a man objects to his 2nd grader being exposed to the homosexual lifestyle via a "homosexual fairy tale". The father takes his objection to the school superintendent - the superintendent says "your problem - I'm not doing anything to stop it." The father asks for a meeting with the superintendent, who refuses to see the father...who refuses to leave the office until he gets the chance to speak to the superintendent about this. The superintendent calls the police and charged daddy with trespassing! Meanwhile, liberal activists start writing nasty letters to the papers and create a website that says brutal things about the father who simply does not want his child indoctrinated in a lifestyle that he finds inappropriate for the child! When the father filed a lawsuit - the activists took their dispute to the streets outside the courthouse. All of that failed to silence the father, so they took it a step too far...

"That was the day that 10 of these thug-kins grabbed David Parker's 7 year old son, dragged him behind the corner of the school, well out of sight from the school officials, and proceeded to punch him in the groin, stomach, and chest, before he dropped to the ground when they then kicked and stomped on him. Several of the alleged thug-kins were children of the adults who had been protesting Parker, several of them - not even in the same class as Parker's child."

Children of the activists, who had (in some cases) participated in the protests against Father Parker took the fight to Mr. Parker's child - beating the child bloody! The school investigated and discovered that the attacks were pre-meditated - but NO PUNISHMENT was meted out to the attackers.....

Now, if this were my child, there would not only be police charges filed, but there would also be a civil case pending! Adult arguements should never spill over into violence - between the adults or (especially) between their children!

To the superintendent I would say this - I pay your salary. As such, you will talk to me about the education of my child - we are partners in my childs education - you will not usurp your place in the equation! I don't care how many degrees in what you have, you do not live with, you do not know my child and whether or not he is "ready" to learn about homosexuality or not!

Then there is this story!

"A controversial campaign to identify supporters of a constitutional ban of gay marriage in Massachusetts plans to launch a similar website in Florida today."

There you have it - the proponents of tolerance trying to stifle the free speech of anyone who dares to disagree with them - whether it is attacking the opponents child, or publishing their personal information online. The politics of fear and intimidation - alive and well in the far left!

What really happened in Haditha?

Much has been said about the possibility of a "massacre" in Haditha. While we are waiting for the results of the investigation, I thought the following would be enlightening.

"It is the deadliest province in Iraq per capita, an expanse of desert, small towns and the rich Euphrates River that combine to attract some of the worst of America's enemies, the kind that 2nd Marine Division troops were hunting Nov. 19 when things went terribly wrong in Haditha. "

Lots of innuendo has come out since Representative Murtha accused his fellow Marines of being "cold blooded murderers". Mary Katherine Ham takes the media (and Representative Murtha) to task for the "rush to judgement"and shares some of the facts that have come out since the first accusations were made.

"1. Oops, Time After Time
In the first media report on a "possible massacre" at Haditha, back in March, Time magazine reported that "a day after the incident, a Haditha journalism student videotaped the scene at the local morgue and at the homes where the killings had occurred. The video was obtained by the Hammurabi Human Rights Group, which cooperates with the internationally respected Human Rights Watch, and has been shared with TIME."
Because the incident was under investigation and no one could comment on it, Time used that videotape to bolster the accusations of civilian massacre. Now, buried at the bottom of page four of that article is this correction:
In the original version of this story, TIME reported that "a day after the incident, a Haditha journalism student videotaped the scene at the local morgue and at the homes where the killings had occurred. The video was obtained by the Hammurabi Human Rights Group, which cooperates with the internationally respected Human Rights Watch, and has been shared with TIME." In fact, Human Rights Watch has no ties or association with the Hammurabi Human Rights Group. TIME regrets the error.
Without the connection to "internationally respected Human Rights Watch," the origin of the video and the motives of the journalist involved become much more questionable.
But that's not the only piece of photographic evidence called into question by Time corrections.
In a subsequent Time story , we have this correction:
In the original version of this story, TIME reported that "one of the most damning pieces of evidence investigators have in their possession, John Sifton of Human Rights Watch told Time's Tim McGirk, is a photo, taken by a Marine with his cell phone that shows Iraqis kneeling — and thus posing no threat — before they were shot."
While Sifton did tell TIME that there was photographic evidence, taken by Marines, he had only heard about the specific content of the photos from reports done by NBC, and had no firsthand knowledge. TIME regrets the error.
Well, I would hope they regret that one. When a major national news magazine claims there is specific photographic evidence of American Marines killing civilians while they were praying and it ends up being wrong, that correction should be as prominent as possible, especially when those Marines have not yet been charged or faced trial.
Over at Sweetness and Light, a blogger takes a look at Time's young journalist source and finds that the journalist was not exactly the green go-getter Time had described.
Why start a human rights group if you want to remain anonymous? And why did Time pretend their source was young? Why did they pretend he had no involvement with Hammurabi? (When in fact he is its founder.)
But that is just the start of the many questionable aspects of Thabit's accounts.
Bear in mind that this "budding journalism student" waited until the next day to videotape this alleged atrocity, which supposedly happened on his very doorstep.
Note that this same "budding journalism student" and self-proclaimed human rights watcher did not bother to turn over his video to a media outlet or a real human rights group from November 2005 until March 2006. A four month delay.
That's how eager they were to make sure such a crime is never againrepeated.
2. Context Come Lately
There was more going on in Haditha that day than just the IED explosion that killed Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas and apparently sparked the fighting that left so many dead.
Capt. James Kimber offers his story:
But that day, at about the same time, Iraqi insurgents attacked all three Marine companies patrolling in the Haditha area--one of them commanded by Kimber. He said he could hear over his radio the shots being fired during a running gun battle in Haditha.
"They weren't just Marine weapons. You can tell from the sound," he said...
Kimber's recollections provide a valuable backdrop to the events last November, a period during which Marine units were encouraged to escalate their use of force in dealing with insurgents, according to a Marine colonel with knowledge of operations in that area.
A source I've talked to, who is involved in the potential defense cases for these Marines, said that the IED that took Terrazas' life was just the beginning of a coordinated insurgent attack on four Marine squads they knew would respond to the first IED attack. The cluster of attacks ended up hampering relief efforts and injuring about a dozen Marines.
As the situation developed, the Marines at the initial ambush site were isolated for a period of time in this hostile city and they had every right to fear for their lives. A group of about 15-20 foreign fighters were believed to be in Haditha that day, supplemented by local insurgents. Knowing that 6 Marines had been surrounded and killed in Haditha before help could reach them just three months before, the isolated Marines had to fear the worst as they responded to the first attack.
Haditha was a hotbed of insurgency in November of last year. It's important to remember the frequency and intensity of attacks these Marines were facing. There's also another side to the story, and the accused are beginning to tell it through their lawyers:
A sergeant who led a squad of Marines during the incident in Haditha, Iraq, that left as many as 24 civilians dead said his unit did not intentionally target any civilians, followed military rules of engagement and never tried to cover up the shootings, his attorney said.
Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, 26, told his attorney that several civilians were killed Nov. 19 when his squad went after insurgents who were firing at them from inside a house. The Marine said there was no vengeful massacre, but he described a house-to-house hunt that went tragically awry in the middle of a chaotic battlefield.
3. The Nature of the Enemy
Something terrible happened in Haditha. The day ended with one Marine and 15 Iraqi civilians dead. But we don't know how it happened or what the reasons were.
What we do know is that it is the exception to the rule to find American Marines wantonly murdering civilians. It is rather the rule, however, for insurgents to put those same civilians-- women andchildren-- in harm's way.
That is what Terrazas' father says happened that day in Haditha:
Exactly what happened that day remains unclear. Miguel Terrazas' father, Martin, said the Marines his son fought with told him that after the car bomb exploded the Marines took a defensive position around his son's battered vehicle. Insurgents immediately started shooting from nearby buildings, and the insurgents were using women and children as human shields, Martin said he was told.
The Marines shot back because "it was going to be them or" the insurgents, Martin said of what his son's fellow Marines briefly described to him.
It wouldn't be the first time terrorists have shown such disgusting disregard for the lives of children.
We do not know what happened in Haditha on November 19, 2005. When two military investigations and any trials that result are complete, it will become more clear. If Marines are guilty of atrocities, they will be punished severely. " (emphasis mine)

The press appears to be backtracking from their initial story. I have a radical idea - rather than run storys filled with rumor and innuendo - lets wait for the facts to come out before we run with the story! It's just a thought!

Just the facts, ma'am.

John Leo writes a column for Townhall.com. This column is one that I found interesting on a deeper level. He talks about how the "Left" champions assertions that are just not true. Examples include Robert Kennedy's assertion that the 2004 election was stolen, that blacks died in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina because of racism (incompetence at the state and local level are not evidence of racism), the Duke rape case, abortions rose 20% under President Bush, the list goes on! While Mr. Leo brings up a lot of the assertions and a lot of the facts that undermine said assertions, he never talks about any possible reasons why! There is only one reason (that I can see - if you readers have any ideas please comment) for the assertions taking place of fact...AGENDA! The assertions fit the agenda...President Bush is an illegitimate President because he "stole" the election...President Bush is an incompetent President because he is racist...all rich whites are racist....you get the picture? It's not just the President, althought there are more than enough examples...it is the way ALL news is presented to the consumer. The assertion fits the agenda.

The truth has fallen victim to agenda. No longer are we given "just the facts ma'am". We no longer can debate the merits of both sides of an issue - we have to focus on the merits of the person making the points (liberal= spoiled, dirty hippy; conservative= rich, oil barons who never worked for an honest dollar). Let's get back to the facts and set agenda aside. Facts are funny, stubborn things...they are out there (for the person who is willing to search for them) to find. Let's look for the facts as we go into the 2006 election season and see what we can do with them.

What is more important

Jack Kelly has become a favorite of mine since I first heard about him during the 2004 Presidential Election (Theresa Heinz Kerry told him to "shove it" when he pressed her on a comment that she had made at a campaign appearance). Mr. Kelly's latest is about the demise of the most wanted terrorist in Iraq.

"At 6:15 p.m. local time on Wednesday, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida chieftain in Iraq, was meeting in a nondescript house in Hibhib, a hamlet about five miles northeast of Baquba, with eight of his top aides.

The meeting ended early...."

Mr. Kelly does a good job of relating why this is much better news than most newspapers (including his own) have reported. His summary paragraph says what every regular American was thinking.

"The capture of Saddam Hussein didn't end the insurgency in Iraq. Killing al-Zarqawi won't either. But it should reduce significantly the bombings and beheadings of civilians. To those of us who think winning the war on terror is more important than embarrassing the president, that's a positive step." (emphasis mine)

He is absolutely correct...which is why Jack Kelly has become a favorite of mine!

Coleen is wrong yet again!

I have composed a few posts now on just why Coleen Rowley and her ideas for fighting the global war on terror are wrong and why she is the wrong person for the Second Congressional District to send to Washington DC because of those wrong ideas. Now the Star Tribune gets into the act, running this story.

"Former Minneapolis FBI agent Coleen Rowley, who gained fame for exposing blunders in the bureau’s pre-Sept. 11 investigation of Zacarias Moussaoui, drew criticism herself in a government report released today for failing to press for a criminal warrant to search Moussaoui’s possessions."

The article goes on to detail Coleen's single minded determination to go down the WRONG PATH to go after ZacariasMoussaoui - persuing a FISA court order versus a criminal court order.

Well, the First Ringer over at KvM gives us the best analysis of the article and it's effect on Ms. Rowley's campaign for Congress.

"While the move may deduct a minute or two out of Rowley’s 15 minutes of fame, her political stature already seems to have fallen to Herve Villechaize proportions. National focus on Minnesota’s 2nd District has all but evaporated while even Beltway pundits seem to have thrown in the towel, with National Journal not even ranking Rowley’s bid among the 60 most competitive House races in the country.

Rowley says that Kline will likely “try to make political use of the report.” At this rate, it might not be necessary."

KvM is a must read for anyone interested in the outcome of the 2006 campaign and Ringer's analysis is one of the reasons why.

Coleen Rowley's campaign is sinking fast. This is just one of many reasons why she is the wrong person for the Second CD to send to Washington in November.

Cross posted at Savage Republican