Buttle's World

Did the Earth just move for you?

2006-06-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

No? Well Buttle's World just did. We're telling blogspot "So long, and thanks for all the fish", and setting up shop in a shiny, new Buttle's World over on Wordpress.

Update your bookmarks!

See you there.

Another One Bites The Dust

2006-06-20T11:21:00.000-07:00

Captain's Quarters has followups on CENTCOM's announcement.

CENTCOM announced minutes ago that one of the men expected to take the place of the now-room temperature Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has also reached thermal equilibrium near Baghdad. The spokesman for the military briefed reporters on the death of Sheikh Mansur, displaying before and after mug shots of the dead terrorist and explained his significance to the insurgent network in Iraq.

Check the link for updates. Last I saw, it appears that not only is this high-value target dead, but we also have another in custody.

Hoo-ah.

UPDATE

Michael Ledeen has more.

Coalition forces in Iraq killed 15 terrorists and detained six other suspects and a senior terrorist leader during raids yesterday and today near Baqubah, military officials reported today.

He suspects it'll get little MSM play, due to this closing paragraph:

Several women and children were present at the raid sites, officials said. None was harmed, and all were returned to their homes once the troops ensured the area was secure, they added.

The Forgotten Founder

2006-06-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of John Witherspoon? I'm ashamed to say I hadn't until I read this fascinating piece on the New Criterion site. He was certainly a key part of early American history, not least for being James Madison's mentor. Just goes to show how having the wrong building burn down can plunge one into obscurity.

I like this bit of advice, certainly heeded by Madison:

"Ne'er do ye speak unless ye ha' something to say, and when ye are done, be sure and leave off."

Deception

2006-06-16T16:26:00.000-07:00

I may have failed Nietzsche’s definition of an "educated man". Michael Ledeen makes a strong case that the Zarqawi document is a phoney. He consults his Ouija board and learns:

This is very important, because one of the best ways to identify a deception is when its “revelations” are things you are known to know. There are no secrets in this document, only lies, things we already knew, or things so vague that they’re meaningless, such as “unify the ranks of the resistance” without even stipulating a single method to achieve it, or “reorganize for recruiting new elements” without any concrete recommendation.

ML: So what’s the point of it all?

JJA: Aha! It emerges bit by bit, but the whole thrust of the document is that Iran is a sweet innocent, actually an ally of the United States in Iraq, and that the terrorists should do everything possible to foster conflict between Iran and the Americans.

ML: So we should interpret anything suggesting that Iran is hostile to us as part of a terrorist plot?

Get Your Papers Here!

2006-06-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

Great news. Someone has done a very nice job of putting The Federalist Papers on line.

Kudos to Edward O'Connor and friends.

QOTD

2006-06-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

Hard to beat this one, on the authenticity of data found in the wreckage of Zarqawi's hideout:

When asked how he could be sure the information was authentic, al-Rubaie said "there is nothing more authentic than finding a thumbdrive in his pocket."

Zarqawi's worries

2006-06-15T09:39:00.000-07:00

According to a document he left behind he didn't exactly see his side as walking away with this war. In fact, he saw time as being on our side, not his.

In general and despite the current bleak situation, we think that the best suggestions in order to get out of this crisis is to entangle the American forces into another war against another country or with another of our enemy force, that is to try and inflame the situation between American and Iraq or between America and the Shi'a in general.

UPDATE

An alert reader on The Corner noticed this vote of confidence: Item 3 in the list of advantages should the US get into a war with Iran says

3. The possibility of acquiring new weapons from the Iranian side, either after the fall of Iran or during the battles.

(Emphasis added)

Yes, it's nice to have that kind of respect.

Inconvenient Truth indeed

2006-06-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

First there's this risible claim by MoveOn.org (one of the few web sites whose name is an oxymoron) that Algore's little slideshow movie is "setting box office records". Trouble is, that claim doesn't quite match the data on BoxOfficeMojo. BO geeks may want to go to the charts which reveal the per screen averages. They tend to skew high when movies are in limited release. This blockbuster opened on a whole 4 screens. Now that it's "gone wide" to, count 'em, 122 screens, the per screen averages look, well, average.

Want to see some desperate, pathetic movie marketing? How about getting people to pledge to see it when (if?) it opens. Because it's important to show the world that "hundreds of thousands" of Americans care about this issue. Hundreds of thousands? Wow. You mean like the number of people who show up at a single airshow?

Then there's the inconvenient truth that scientists actually working in climatology aren't on Algore's bandwagon.

Appearing before the Commons Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development last year, Carleton University paleoclimatologist Professor Tim Patterson testified, "There is no meaningful correlation between CO2 levels and Earth's temperature over this [geologic] time frame. In fact, when CO2 levels were over ten times higher than they are now, about 450 million years ago, the planet was in the depths of the absolute coldest period in the last half billion years." Patterson asked the committee, "On the basis of this evidence, how could anyone still believe that the recent relatively small increase in CO2 levels would be the major cause of the past century's modest warming?"

Well, as Rush pointed out the other day, I guess Al is just hankering to join that long list of people who have been launched into public office on the coattails of the winning isue, "global warming".

Why not tell them to just yell "Baaa-baaaa"

2006-06-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

like the sheep they want them to be?

A chilling excerpt from this review of Guns and Violence: The English Experience:

Coming to the aid of crime victims is strongly discouraged. British subjects are taught that, if they are attacked by a criminal, they should not yell “Help! Help!” because such cries might encourager a bystander to use physical force against the criminal. Rather, victims are supposed to yell, “Call the police.” Likewise, the government tells Britons that when they are attacked, they should not fight back, but should instead curl into a ball or take a similar defensive posture.

If a properly-behaved British bystander does “call the police,” the response may be lethally slow. Vicky Horgan and her sister Emma Walton were shot by Stuart Horgan on June 6, 2004.[33] A total of sixty calls to 999 (the US’s equivalent to 9-1-1) were made, but help did not arrive for over an hour. The Express explained that a major cause of the delay was police reluctance to confront an armed criminal.

May I never find it necessary to visit England.

CENTCOM is watching!

2006-06-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

The good folks over at CENTCOM noticed my link to the best video of the year, and sent me a nice email thanking me for it. Buttle's World is honored by their visit. Servicemen are always welcome here.

On their web site I found YASTMSMWC (Yet Another Story The Main Stream Media Won't Cover).

If, before I visited their web page, you had asked me whether women were joining the police department in Iraq, I would have said of course not.

And I would have been wrong

“We find that she is much better at interrogation than most of her male counterparts, especially when it comes to interrogating women. She quickly identifies the hot buttons and knows how to get the right information,” Aswar said.

I think a lot of men would like being interrogated by her. But not the Islamofacists, which makes me extra glad she's on the job.

What a week the bad guys are having

2006-06-12T17:44:00.000-07:00

It goes way beyond the dinner party the other night. Bill Crawford has a nice roundup of good news for us (and bad news for the terrorists.)

Blipverts are coming

2006-06-12T17:32:00.000-07:00

Max Headroom fans rejoice. Clear Channel is considering one-second radio spots.

The real value of the Blinks, as they are being called, may be in the publicity they can generate. After all, you're already reading an article about them, and the short spots are only in the concept stage.

Listen to her

2006-06-12T06:50:00.000-07:00

She has complete moral authority since her son was killed in Iraq. Also, she is available for college speaking engagements.

Haditha Unravels?

2006-06-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

Is it another TANG or Plame-style media hoax? Sweetness and Light has been gathering evidence which seems to say so.

Something is rotten in Denmark, and it just may not be the Marines.

Class Act

2006-06-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, of course, I'm talking about Cindy Sheehan.

Cindy makes money at speaking appearances on college campuses and in left-wing churches all over the world. She got $250,000 insurance money when Casey Sheehan was killed while trying to make the world a better place. She makes money from the sales of her book. Cindy bought herself a new VW Beetle convertible.

For 25 months after Casey Sheehan gave his life while serving his country, Cindy Sheehan cavorted around the country, setting up fake memorials, while his gravesite was nearly bare.

Really Most Sincerely Dead

2006-06-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

Thomas Smith with a nice roundup of the implications of Mr. Z's JDAM dinner.

It would be understating the impact of Zarqawi’s death to say it is a major blow to al Qaeda in Iraq. Combined with the recent thwarting of a terrorist plot in Canada, as well as unreported victories elsewhere in the world, al Qaeda globally is on the ropes.

In Iraq, Coalition forces are already acting on newly gleaned intelligence resulting from the attack. Early reports are that some 17 raids have been launched, and significant intelligence is being developed from each.

Though I’ve spoken briefly with some of those directly involved in the raids, most are far too busy to comment. One senior infantry commander, in fact, told me early Thursday, “Can’t talk. As you can imagine, we are taking advantage of developments.”

That said, experts from Baghdad to Washington to Quantico, Virginia (where U.S. Marine officers train) to Coronado, California (home of the U.S. Navy SEALs) tell National Review Online that the immediate tactical and the long-term strategic implications are enormous, and newly developed intelligence is being aggressively acted on.

Greenpeace tips its hand

2006-06-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

They meant to release a "fact sheet" to rebut the Bush Administration's nuclear policy. What they did instead was let the cat out of the bag.

We present it here exactly as it was written, capital letters and all: "In the twenty years since the Chernobyl tragedy, the world's worst nuclear accident, there have been nearly [FILL IN ALARMIST AND ARMAGEDDONIST FACTOID HERE]."

Best Video of the Year

2006-06-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

Courtesy the good folks at CENTCOM, we see Zarqawi being sent to his 72 raisins.

Yes, I said raisins.

Happy Day

Good Samaritan Aids Undersized Cop

2006-06-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

That's what the headline could have said. Somehow lost in this story is how a 5' 4" woman ever got a job as a beat cop.

A Cherokee County city plans to honor a Good Samaritan who helped a 5-foot, 4-inch female officer subdue a drug suspect who stands nearly 7 feet tall.

You've come a long way, baby.

The Fourth Monkey's Name

2006-05-31T16:03:00.000-07:00

is Search No Evil. Newsbusters reports that

Something frighteningly ominous has been happening on the Internet lately: Google, without any prior explanation or notice, has been terminating its News relationship with conservative e-zines and web journals.

I was a long time fan of Teoma. It has now been merged with Ask.com, and seems to work about as well as it used to. Yet another reason to boycot the Google monster.

Polygamy vs. Democracy

2006-05-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

Stanley Kurtz points out why you can't have both.

Marriage, as its ultramodern critics would like to say, is indeed about choosing one's partner, and about freedom in a society that values freedom. But that's not the only thing it is about. As the Supreme Court justices who unanimously decided Reynolds in 1878 understood, marriage is also about sustaining the conditions in which freedom can thrive. Polygamy in all its forms is a recipe for social structures that inhibit and ultimately undermine social freedom and democracy. A hard-won lesson of Western history is that genuine democratic self-rule begins at the hearth of the monogamous family.

He ads, in a post on The Corner:

While this article has plenty to say about marriage, and while it does address the "slippery slope" argument, there's also a lot that's relevant to the war on terror, and even to our disputes over immigration.

One point implicit in the piece is worth a mention. The polygamy issue shoots down facile comparisons between Christianity and Islam. The contrasting stances toward polygamy of Islam and Christianity have everything to do with why democracy appeared in the West, but not the Middle East. And if you want to see how traditional American Christians respond to a real theocracy (instead of the imaginary theocracy their critics claim they're pushing), take a look at this piece.

VDH for your weekend

2006-05-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

Enjoy a little sober, uplifting Memorial Day reading.

Reading about Gettysburg, Okinawa, Choisun, Hue, and Mogadishu is often to wonder how such soldiers did what they did. Yet never has America asked its youth to fight under such a cultural, political, and tactical paradox as in Iraq, as bizarre a mission as it is lethal. And never has the American military—especially the U.S. Army and Marines—in this, the supposedly most cynical and affluent age of our nation, performed so well.

We should remember the achievement this Memorial Day of those in the field who alone crushed the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, stayed on to offer a new alternative other than autocracy and theocracy, and kept a targeted United States safe from attack for over four years.

Gettin' Medieval

2006-05-25T22:55:00.000-07:00

Iraq The Model passes along some good news.

“The U.S. army has carried out successful raids in the light of the tips obtained from the Internet and mobile phones,” said a source close to a major armed group involved in fighting the Americans.

“Therefore we have decided to rely on oral or written messages,” he said.

Conservative Metaphysics

2006-05-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

My education in the classics is woefully wanting, which is why I so much appreciate a clear and thoughtful essay such as this one by Edward Feser. Yes, it's an old link. It's been on my reading pile since January. But it was well worth the wait.

[A] consideration of metaphysical issues of the sort Weaver addressed would, I maintain, do much to clarify the nature of conservatism, and of the disputes that constantly break out among conservatives of different stripes. For there is no one as dogmatically beholden to a metaphysic as the man who denies that he has one; and it is rare that a disagreement gets as fierce as the intramural fights among conservatives have sometimes been, if it doesn't ultimately trace back to some difference in metaphysical first principles. It will be useful, then, to have a survey of the kinds of metaphysical assumptions that underlie the thinking of various people classified as "conservative."

In the article he identifies three types of "conservatives", explaining the metaphysical system of each. He then comes to a conclusion I happen to share. We simple-minded types respond well to Ayn Rand's synthesis of "A=A". (For someone as loquacious as she, at times she was marvelously succinct.) It's nice to have a more solid grounding.

If you've ever said, "Well, duh" to the statement, "ideas have consequences", you owe it to yourself to read the essay.

They're above the law, but nothing's beneath them

2006-05-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

Chris Muir nails it.

(Click on the image to see it full-sized)

Algore's Hot Air

2006-05-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

Al Gore's little weather movie avoids a few inconvenient facts. Perhaps Al can't be bothered, since he's so busy adding to his Big, Fat Carbon Footprint

Put Thomas Sowell in charge

2006-05-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

Or maybe don't. He makes too much sense.

But let's do what the spinmeisters hope we will never do -- stop and think. Amnesty is overlooking ("forgetting," as in amnesia) the violation of the law committed by those who have crossed our borders illegally.

The fact that there are requirements for getting American citizenship is a separate issue entirely. Illegal aliens who do not choose to seek American citizenship are under no more jeopardy than before. They have de facto amnesty.

Remember Sony's great bouncing ball commercial?

2006-05-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a nice reply from a soft drink company shot in Swansea, South Wales.

Report Cards are Due

2006-05-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

Derb posts this handy link. Let's see... how are my congresscritters faring on immigration?

What ho? Barbara Boxer has two A's! Sadly, even with those her recent average is a D.

Wait a minute... It's the same with DiFi.

What a coincidence. But the Wicked Witches of the West can't hold a candle to my dear, beloved Representative. Behold the perfect grade!

Calling All Vegans

2006-05-19T08:54:00.000-07:00

On of your favorite publications, the New Yorker, has let slip an inconvenient truth.

Spam OTD

2006-05-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

I'm going to break one of my own rules and actually post a spam message I received today. It's because I see it as a hopeful sign; the tip of an iceberg that I hope awaits the Titanistan.

Date: Wed, 17 May 2006 11:53:47 +0500
From: "S.A.Rehman"
Subject: Peace Message For Muslims

PRESS RELEASE:

AN OPEN LETTER TO MUSLIMS ONLY
(Please read and forward this message to as many Muslims as you can)

Dear Muslim Brothers and Sisters,

God forbid if any one of our near one and dear one is killed then the killer is evil, a beast and what not and should get penalty but if one among us kills anybody then he is not evil and we start lying, denying or even justifying the killing.... double standards?

Being Muslims, many of our brothers and sisters are not working for peace. They are misguided, mistaken and spreading the virus of hatred and revenge through telling deliberate lies, disinformation and false accusations, which is resulting in death and miseries for number of innocent people living around the world at the hands of merciless KILLER MUSLIMS and also bringing bad name to Mohammed (PBUH) who never killed anyone in his life time.

Instead of teaching about Good & Evil, certain Radical Muslim Clerics are only "Trading in Religion". They teach us about accusing, abusing and killing the non-Muslims. They try to hypnotize us to Hate and Kill the non-Muslims and brethren of other sects or be killed and without using any common sense, we readily believe in whatever is being said by these Hate Mongers. Actually, they are "Agents of Satan" who is paying them heavily and in return they are cutting at the very roots of the Ummah. Instead of "Mourning" most of the Muslims are rejoicing on the brutal killings of the non-combatant innocent civilians and "The Murderers" have always been "Our Great Heroes".

Before it is too late and the Curse Of God falls upon us, we should use common sense, find out the TRUTH and must change ourselves to save Muslims from becoming the most "Hated, Isolated, Discredited and Suspicious" people in the world. We must start working for promoting "Sectarian Harmony and Religious Tolerance" in the society and should prove to the WORLD through our deeds that Islam is not a religion of Zero Tolerance and Mohammed (PBUH) teaches "Love & Peace" and not Gangsterism, Terrorism, Barbarism, Extremism, Sectarianism, Cruelty, Inhumanity and "Hatred & Killing" of the innocent civilians.

Islam is a religion of peace. Islam teaches respect and love for all even the animals. But many narrow-minded Muslims have so far failed to learn anything good from the teachings of Mohammed (PBUH) who preaches love for the peoples of all religions. We are far away from the basic principle of Islam i.e. "Enjoining the people to do Good and forbidding them from Doing Evil" and thus, possess no quality of the civilized society. Unfortunately, many of us show Zero Tolerance towards others and have wrongly learnt few thing to be called as good Muslims and those are "hate" the non-Muslims and ?Accusing, Abusing and Cursing? the non-Muslims. ...act of madness?

The killing of others in the name of religion is a Sin. Can a FATHER ever teach his Children to be the permanent Enemies of each other?

The time has come for us to stop readily believing in whatever is being said, read and written by the LIARS / Hate Mongers. Unfortunately, some misguided-Muslims believe that the Holy Koran and Holy Prophet (PBUH) both have instructed Muslims that the opponents be KILLED and that they are simply following the orders. We should use our own common sense and only believe which is logical, convincing and in the best interest of the humanity.

Why do we hate others so much, may be they are better humans then what we are. My feeling is that the Muslims should unite to discredit and deactivate the fringe mullahs (Preachers of Hate) who promise a quick trip to paradise to people who have little and sacrifice themselves with bombs strapped to their bodies. If the mullahs (THE LIARS) thought that it really was a way to paradise they would be strapping bombs to themselves! Their followers are kept too ignorant to see this for themselves and enlightened Muslims should educate them. We must promote understanding and peace. We are all watched by the same God and need to help one another, not Hate and Hurt.

Our contention is that the WORLD should resolve the conflicts facing the Muslim World to stop the terrorism. Unfortunately, all the disputes facing the Muslim World are our self created. The root causes of all the disputes are based on the Muslim Philosophy of Hate against the non-Muslims. The Muslim literature, teachings and preaching are spreading and injecting this hatred in hearts and minds of the Muslims. Our intolerant behavior is further proved by the root causes of all the pending conflicts that we (Muslims) cannot live side by side in peace with the non-Muslims. All the disputes facing Muslim World can be resolved easily, only if we (the Muslims) are able to condemn the ?Philosophy of Hate? created in us by our past and present elders who have divided the peoples of the world in the name of ?Religion, Cast and Creed?.

Fellow Muslims! if God is one and he loves mankind, we should value each others life and strive to protect each other than thinking that if we kill we shall have reward. God looks at human beings not as belonging to different religions, that is why the rain falls to all, the sun shines to all and we all breathe the air freely. We are all created or given life in the very same way- whether Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Jew etc. Let us learn to love each other sincerely.

The change of heart and mind is possible to achieve if we keep up our relentless efforts for a violence free and peaceful world. We need to preach love, kindness and humanity with extremist devotion and mission. The mullahs (THE LIARS) and the preachers of HATE must be excommunicated at every level and we should stop giving them donations as it is our money which is being used by them to spread HATRED for killing of the innocents.

We must also stop dividing the World into Muslim and non-Muslim blocks. Our political leaders and religious teachers must offer positive ideas. Without the ability to imagine a better world, we cannot build anything together. Tolerance of the beliefs of other peoples in the world, warmth and friendship across racial cultures MUST be the objective of all peace loving people worldwide. What is being offered today through religion is ?Death, Destruction and Sufferings?.

MY PRAYER FOR PEACE:

Merciful God, please give to peoples of the world, the required wisdom and determination, to Forgive and Forget the bitterness of the past and learn to live in peace like brothers and sisters, by condemning the divisions and hatreds created in us by our past and present elders. (Amen)

Please Read And Circulate this Message For Peace. Thank you.

S.A.Rehman
Peace Activist
PAKISTAN

..............................................................................................

An Open Letter To
Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
(Wherever You Are)

Aslam-o-Alaikum!

Do you know what degree of shame, abomination, misery and wretchedness is being heaped on the innocent and peace-following Muslims all over the world because of this so-called and self styled Jihad of yours?

Do you know how many innocent, unsullied people are being daily butchered as result of this professed Jihad of yours? How many children are being orphaned and women being widowed precisely for the same reason.

And do you know, killing one faultless human being is like killing the entire humanity. You must definitely be knowing that you will surely be held accountable for this all bloodshed. Will you, then, be able to face your God? I challenge, no!

Then, why have you become an agent of some hidden hand. Why are you taking the responsibility of the murder of entire humanity to yourself on his behest. Why are you dragging the Muslims down? Why are you demeaning Islam by presenting it as a terrorist religion? Acting like this, which religion are you rendering a great service to? Are you raising the standard of Islam high or you (if you reflect on it) are causing the heads of the followers of the path of the righteous bow
down with shame in-front of the entire humanity.

Today most of the Muslims believe that you are not a true Muslim but planted by the enemies to destroy the image of Islam.

For God?s sake, take recourse to sense, and announce an Unconditional Ceasefire at-once so the inhabitants of world may be introduced to that divine aspect of the Muslims at whose hands no soul suffer, whose words and actions bear no tinge of dichotomy, whose speech, when uttered, conveys to others the message of love and protection, whose thoughts, when thought, are devoted to the well being of others. Herein lies the true success, and herein lies the victory of the true religion of Allah.

S.A.Rehman
(Peace Activist)
PAKISTAN

CC:- Dear Muslims,
All those who connived with Osama must forswear. The people, who still cooperate with Osama etc, will be the equal partners in the sin of terrorism. All the criminal elements and their supporters cooperating with Osama Bin Laden and other dissidents, who want to spread lawlessness and anarchy in the fortress of Islam, have gone astray from the righteous path of Islam and are terribly mistaken. They and their supporters, who are the copartners in their hideous crime, should recant for the sake of the glory of Islam. They should abjure this path of evil and try to atone for all the repercussions of all the wrongdoings they have committed so far.

Making Helen Thomas Look Stupid

2006-05-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

OK, I know. It wouldn't take much. And I don't want to detract from Tony Snow's excellent smackdown. I only wonder if Bush might have saved his presidency had he hired Tony a long time ago.

Church was never like this when I was a kid

2006-05-15T15:22:00.000-07:00

Nobody naps when this guy gives a sermon.

Yet Another Reason

2006-05-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

to be glad we don't have government health care, or live in England. The latest excuse for denying care to an elderly patient? He's pro-life.

Edward Atkinson, a 75-year-old anti-abortion activist, was jailed recently for 28 days for sending photographs of aborted foetuses to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. That draconian sentence was not deemed punishment enough: the hospital has banned Mr Atkinson from receiving the hip replacement operation he was expecting.

We're apparently supposed to believe that doctors and nurses in England can't stand the sight of blood. How confidence-inspiring.

Big Brother is Watching!

2006-05-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

Andy McCarthy asks the musical question, Is the NSA the government’s only data miner?

After all, if you wade through all the layers of reporter Leslie Cauley’s conscious misdirection—including the silly observations about government failing to seek judicial warrants before obtaining non-private information for which government has never been required to get warrants—you will learn that scrupulous measures were actually taken by the National Security Agency and cooperating telephone companies to withhold customer names, street addresses and other personal identifiers from the government.

Who is the mysterious data miner of which he writes? Prepare for a shocking answer!

Iraq Index

2006-05-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

Shh! Don't tell the MSM how much things are improving. One datum I found interesting:

The number of foreign terrorists fighting in Iraq was estimated at between 300 and 500 in January 2004. That number increased in April of this year, to between 700 and 2,000.

Especially in light of what's happening to al Qaeda. Why is a higher number here potentially encouraging? It means that the so-called "insurgents" aren't. They're foreigners, feeding themselves to the Marines.

Langly Blues

2006-05-09T11:59:00.000-07:00

This excellent piece on WSJ should be read by anybody worried about all the people who quit the CIA under Porter Goss.

If one used Ms. Harman's idea of lost collective experience and soberly assessed the number of operatives now serving in the CIA who offer no real value against any hard target -- they either lack the skill; are permanently compromised by overseas postings with bad cover; are too old to work against young-man targets (which is emphatically the case with the Islamic militant target); or are too encumbered with family to be deployed sensibly as nonofficial cover officers against this threat -- the Bush administration and Congress should want to shed about 15,000 years of "experience" (multiplying the number of years in service by the number of irretrievably mediocre case officers). If this number seems shockingly large, then that only underscores how surreal the discussion has been in Washington about the depth of Langley's systemic problems.

A Welcome Breeze Blows from Morocco

2006-05-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

Meet Dr. Ahmed Abaddi, my kind of radical Muslim.

“We need our people to know the real West…to understand that the West ain’t no angel, but it ain’t no demon either,” Abaddi said, attempting a Western accent, at a private dinner in a Washington, D.C., suburb last week. “[This effort] is not a luxury. We are not being pressured to do it. We are trying to train responsible people to live in dangerous times.”

Who's Side is the Border Patrol On?

2006-05-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

One wonders sometimes.

"Now we know why it seemed like Mexican officials knew where we were all the time," said Chris Simcox, founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. "It's unbelievable that our own government agency is sending intelligence to another country. They are sending intelligence to a nation where corruption runs rampant, and that could be getting into the hands of criminal cartels.

UPDATE

Andy McCarthy has more. He also posts on The Corner that the DHS now denies sharing any intelligence with Mexico.

As he says, it bears close watching.

Al Qaeda in Deep Shi'ite

2006-05-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

Even though the AP has apparently reported on these documents (ignoring the part which says that AQ's only success has been with the American media), I somehow doubt the MSM will be trumpeting this.

In other words, the Americans are winning the media war in Iraq. That's something that the American media has yet to report in any substantive way. The memo also indicates that the mosques have largely turned against the insurgents, apparently excoriating them for sinfulness. Their continuing murder of Iraqi civilians and police have only made that impression worse.

Don't Look Away

2006-05-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

On the other hand, don't look at this if you can't stomach graphic, grisly descriptions of what human beings are capable of doing to each other.

If you want to know the enemy, just skip the violent parts.

But don't look away.

UPDATE:

Turns out that the video described is a hoax, sort of. It's a real beheading, but of a man in 2004. Don't look away, but look with clear eyes.

Just for the sake of clarity, Bahjat was murdered in a cruel way. The fact that this video is a hoax should not distract us from that fact. Whoever murdered her deserves the severist punishment available. [And by 'hoax' I do not mean to imply the video is fake, only its attribution. For some reason some Islamist scumbag thought it would be funny/scary/useful to send out an old video and label it 'Bahjat'.]

Zarqawi Uncut

2006-05-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

"Die, infidels! Die! Die the death of... Wait. Hey, Abdul! Gimme a hand clearing this jam. Awww, forget it. I'm going to the mall for new sneakers."

"This piece you all see as he walks away, he's wearing his black uniform and his New Balance tennis shoes as he moves to this white pickup. And, his close associates around him ... do things like grab the hot barrel of the machine gun and burn themselves," the military spokesman added.

My favorite moment? When he sweeps his buddies with the muzzle.

Priceless.

Himno Nacional

2006-05-02T10:36:00.000-07:00

Drudge and Rush are all over this: Back in 1919, way before that Marxist hack wrote the offensive "Nuestro Himno", our very own State Department commissioned a Spanish-language version of The Star Spangled Banner. You can see the sheet music at the Library of Congress, and read the lyrics of four versions on the State Department web site.

Not the first time "State Department" and "what were they thinking?" have appeared in my mind together. But I guess this pre-emptive play by Foggy Bottom should at least calm this tempest in a teapot.

White Guilt

2006-05-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

This brilliant piece by Shelby Steele is a must-read.

I call this white guilt not because it is a guilt of conscience but because people stigmatized with moral crimes--here racism and imperialism--lack moral authority and so act guiltily whether they feel guilt or not.

Save me from the Ethics Committee

2006-04-27T18:04:00.000-07:00

As if you didn't have enough to be worried about, behold the committee that can kill you.

Andrea Clarke may become an early victim of one of the biggest agendas in bioethics: Futile-care theory, a.k.a., medical futility. The idea behind futile-care theory goes something like this: In order to honor personal autonomy, if a patient refuses life-sustaining treatment, that wish is sacrosanct. But if a patient signed an advance medical directive instructing care to continue — indeed, even if the patient can communicate that he or she wants life-sustaining treatment — it can be withheld anyway if the doctors and/or the ethics committee believes that the quality of the patient's life renders it not worth living,

Truly, you have a dizzying intellect

2006-04-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

Behold a great mind at work.

Zarquawi exists, or not, should be covered by the press, or not, is bad, or not, or...

Enjoy the self-Fisking.

Her pet name was "PDQ"

2006-04-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

Seems that a few of Bach's tunes may have been written by his wife.

"I found Anna Magdalena's handwriting in places where it shouldn't have been," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. "In other words, assuming that the idea that it's her handwriting is correct, then it's in places where we really shouldn't be finding it."

So that's what the Bible Belt looks like.

2006-04-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

Over on No Left Turns are links to discussions about these maps.

(Click on Baptist.)

I've Got An Idea

2006-04-24T16:29:00.000-07:00

Let's feint an attack on Venezuela, pulling back our armada just inside international waters, and watch what happens.

Blogging a Firefight

2006-04-24T14:50:00.000-07:00

Michael Fumento under fire with Alpha Company.

At one point I was crossing the street at a non-intersection to join up with the main body of men when a machine gun began spraying from behind me in what sounded like exactly my direction. Maybe it was; maybe it wasn't. But the shielding walls on the sides of the street looked a million miles away from me at that moment and all I could think of was dropping flat like a pancake onto the middle of the road, then rolling to the other side. I kept my camera up at all times (the footage makes you dizzy), but probably two dozen GIs saw me go down and were sure I was hit.

Clowns at Homeland Security

2006-04-21T09:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, clowns.

The LAFS for Life program which received a $69,000 grant, partners with the Des Moines, Iowa, fire department to teach fire safety through puppet and clown shows. The Onalaska Fire Department in Wisconsin also has an $8,000 grant for clowns and puppet shows, and Grants Pass in Oregon will use a $22,000 grant to buy an educational robot.

Hypothesis One vs Hypothesis Two

2006-04-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

I'm sending you to this Michael Barone column mostly so that you may add the word psephology to your vocabulary. And maybe you can tell me where he actually states what Hypothesis Two is.

How do you know you work for the TSA?

2006-04-17T11:56:00.000-07:00

No, being a child molester isn't a lock. You could be lots of other things and be a child molester. But you probably work for the TSA if you think that U.S. Marines are terrorists.

After attempts to stonewall under claims of "security," TSA spokesmen finally admitted that Staff Sergeant Daniel Brown was placed on the no-fly list, and ultimately detained, because they had detected gunpowder on his footgear -- not on this flight, but on a prior flight, which earned Brown a permanent place on the TSA's mysterious terrorist lists.

The footgear that had been exposed to gunpowder? Brown's combat boots, and the occasion of that flight was after his return from his first combat tour in Iraq. Gee... a combat Marine in Al-Anbar Province being exposed to gunpowder.

Does your congresscritter need a hint?

2006-04-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

Send a brick.

Park Slope Spat

2006-04-11T08:38:00.000-07:00

Just when you thought the PC crowd couldn't get any more stupid or thin-skinned, along comes more evidence.

This is seriously funny stuff.

Global Worrying

2006-04-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

I found this opinion piece which led me to this presentation by the same author.

Warning: High concentrations of common sense:

The only sensible thing to do about climage change is to prepare for it.

Try This

2006-04-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

Tucker Carlson, on The Situation Friday night passed along this screed that's making the email rounds. (Hat tip: Jack Fowler on The Corner)

Enter Mexico illegally. Never mind immigration quotas, visas, international law, or any of that nonsense.
Once there, demand that the local government provide free medical care for you and your entire family.

Demand bilingual nurses and doctors.

Demand free bilingual government forms, bulletins, etc.

Keep your American identity strong. Fly Old Glory from your rooftop, or proudly display it in your front window, or on your car bumper.

Speak only English at home and in public and insist that your children do likewise.

Demand classes on American culture in the Mexican school system.

Demand a Mexican driver license. This will afford other legal rights and will go far to legitimize your unauthorized, illegal presence in Mexico.

Drive around with no liability insurance.

Insist that Mexican law enforcement teach English to all its officers.

Good luck!

Good luck is right. The Mexican authorities wouldn't put up with that kind of behavior for a second. As they shouldn't. As we shouldn't. And yet we do. In this one way, it would be nice if we were a little more like Mexico.

It's not just CBS

2006-04-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

Remember when NBC rigged pickup trucks with incendiary devices for an "investigative report"? Well, they are continuing their
inflammatory practices.

NASCAR said NBC confirmed it was sending Muslim-looking men to a race, along with a camera crew to film fans' reactions. The NBC crew was "apparently on site in Martinsville, Va., walked around and no one bothered them," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Wednesday.

NBC, in full spin mode, responds that

"'Dateline' is looking into this story," NBC said in a statement. "We were intrigued by the results of a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll and other articles regarding increasing anti-Muslim sentiments in the United States.

Intrigued? I think Jack Handy covered this territory:

"To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kinda scary. I've wondered where this started, and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus and a clown killed my dad."

Bring Back Federalism

2006-04-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

Some powerful good sense from David Gelernter.

The Founders designed a vast garment for America that hugs where it should hug and stretches where it should stretch; each state creates its own society, and the Constitution stitches them all together into a comfortable, sensible union suit. "As this government is composed of small republics, it enjoys the internal happiness of each," writes Alexander Hamilton in Federalist 9, "and with respect to its external situation, it is possessed, by means of the association, of all the advantages of large monarchies."

But the collapse of federalism has ruined this valuable arrangement. The collapse gathered momentum with the Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion and was a tragedy for reasons beyond those that are usually discussed; a tragedy even for Americans who believe in completely unregulated abortion.

Roe was a power grab in which uniformity was imposed on a facet of society that had been allowed to vary. "Diversity" is a big selling point on the left, but not among believers in an activist Supreme Court.

I quibble with him about the cause of Federalism's fall. I think Lincoln shares as much blame as FDR. But I certainly agree with his identification of the problem and suggested solution.

Excellent Plan

2006-04-04T11:19:00.000-07:00

You're CBS news. You've been humiliated publicly by Rathergate. Your audience is dying off. You need credibility.

So you do this.

That oughta do the trick.

Make Your Own Chevy Ad

2006-04-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

This idea of Chevrolet's, which is to let people make their own Tahoe commercials on the web, may turn out to be brilliant. Obviously a lot of people under the influence of a self-induced cloud of smug are going to make some predictably rude ads.

And so I offer you the ad I made.

Don't Deny

2006-04-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

that some Muslims are raving on about Jihad. That's the word from Mark Steyn.

Jack Straw, the British foreign secretary, gave a typical Western government official's speech the other day explaining that "a large number of Muslims in this country were -- understandably -- upset by those cartoons being reprinted across Europe and at their deeply held beliefs being insulted. They expressed their hurt and outrage but did so in a way which epitomized the learned, peaceful religion of Islam."

"The learned, peaceful religion of Islam"? And that would be the guys marching through London with placards reading "BEHEAD THE ENEMIES OF ISLAM" and "FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IS WESTERN TERRORISM" and promising to rain down a new Holocaust on Europe? This is geopolitics as the Aretha Franklin Doctrine: The more the world professes its R-E-S-P-E-C-T, the more the Islamists sock it to us.

The Bravest Woman in the World

2006-03-29T18:10:00.000-08:00

She's back. this time making mincemeat of an Algerian Islamist.

Save Nazanin

2006-03-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

Michael Ledeen posted an email he received.

On January 3rd 2006, 18-year-old Nazanin was sentenced to DEATH BY HANGING
by a criminal court in Iran after she reportedly admitted stabbing to death
one of three men who attempted to rape her and her 16-year-old niece in a
park in Iran in March 2005. She was seventeen at the time. Her sentence is
subject to review by the Court of Appeal, and if upheld, to confirmation by
the Supreme Court.

Sign the petition here.

Religion of Peace?

2006-03-29T09:16:00.000-08:00

Nice to see that over at Investor's Business Daily they are asking the hard questions.

What better time for CAIR and other Muslim leaders to step up, cut through the politically correct fog and provide factual answers to the questions that give so many non-Muslims pause?
Generally speaking, those questions focus on whether the Quran does indeed promote violence against non-Muslims, and how many of the terrorists' ideas — about the violent jihad, the self-immolation, the kidnappings, even the beheadings — come right out of the text?

I wonder if CAIR will take up the gauntlet.

Worth a Thousand Words

2006-03-27T09:58:00.000-08:00

First you go to the About Psychic Horizons page and read:

Our teachers are non-judgmental, non-confrontational, friendly, warm, and accessible.

Then you look at this picture of one of the teachers.

Mark Steyn Nails It Again

2006-03-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

So right.

I can understand why the president and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would rather deal with this through back channels, private assurances from their Afghan counterparts, etc. But the public rhetoric is critical, too. At some point we have to face down a culture in which not only the mob in the street but the highest judges and academics talk like crazies. Abdul Rahman embodies the question at the heart of this struggle: If Islam is a religion one can only convert to, not from, then in the long run it is a threat to every free person on the planet.

What can we do? Should governments with troops in Afghanistan pass joint emergency legislation conferring their citizenship on this poor man and declaring him, as much as Karzai, under their protection?

In a more culturally confident age, the British in India were faced with the practice of "suttee" - the tradition of burning widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands. Gen. Sir Charles Napier was impeccably multicultural:

"You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: When men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks, and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours."

Religion of Peace?

2006-03-25T10:50:00.000-08:00

This BBC report illustrates perfectly why no religion should ever be given the authority to kill people.

Government-Sponsored Dial-A-Prayer

2006-03-25T10:35:00.000-08:00

That's just another name for dialing 911.

Thousands of calls to Chattanooga's 911 call center have been going unanswered, according to records examined after a caller was unable to report a kitchen fire because three of four dispatchers were taking breaks at the same time.

Remember: only you can take care of you.

Time To Reward the Nasty Little Man

2006-03-22T10:27:00.000-08:00

It doesn't go far enough, but it's a good idea. Melanie Morgan says let's censure him.

I've already signed the petition.

Death Threats

2006-03-19T00:32:00.000-08:00

Cliff May posted this letter from Irshad Manji on the Corner.

The Manifesto signatories need you to fight back with us. We've created a petition that will be published in the coming days. If you love pluralism enough to be vocal about it, I ask you to visit my website and go to the box entitled "Violence Alert." That's where you can sign the petition and, of course, read the Manifesto. My website is: http://www.muslim-refusenik.com

Iraq Documents

2006-03-16T23:17:00.000-08:00

Finally, a trickle of the captured documents is being released.

Check it out.

Socialized Medicine Kills

2006-03-14T15:49:00.000-08:00

And now one disgusted doctor is blogging it.

Warning: Graphic photo of what happened to one elderly man as a result of his socialized "health care".

Retarded

2006-03-14T11:05:00.000-08:00

That's what Yale thinks you are if you object to letting a Taliban goon register for classes there.

What can you do about it? Give Yale the finger. And then watch the fun and sing along.

The Other Preamble

2006-03-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

The Second Amendment, among others, is even more blazingly clear when read in the context of the Preamble to the Bill of Rights.

Wait. The Bill of Rights had a preamble?

Yup.

A little known fact about this resolution is that it contained a preamble declaring the purpose of the proposed amendments. Most modern editions of the Bill of Rights either do not contain the preamble or only include the last paragraph.

Civil War Doesn't Mean Failure

2006-03-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

An interesting take from Daniel Pipes:

I cheer the goal of a "free and democratic Iraq," but the time has come to acknowledge that the coalition's achievement will be limited to destroying tyranny, not sponsoring its replacement. There is nothing ignoble about this limited achievement, which remains a landmark of international sanitation. It would be especially unfortunate if aiming too high spoils that attainment and thereby renders future interventions less likely. The benefits of eliminating Saddam's rule must not be forgotten in the distress of not creating a successful new Iraq.

Know Thy Enemy

2006-03-08T09:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Palestinian Media Watch we have these fine examples of how children are being turned into weapons by religion. If you haven't figured out yet that we're in a religious war, you'll have no excuse after watching.

A Good Question

2006-03-06T14:25:00.000-08:00

Some large Sunni tribes have just declared war on al Qaeda. Jim Robbins asks a good question: Why do the media insist that Zarqawi is winning?

Update:

The WaPo has picked up the story and added more information.

"Hawijah was never a hideout for terrorists and fugitives," the statement added. "Anyone who provides refuge to terrorists will be considered and dealt with like a criminal and terrorist."

VDH returns from Iraq

2006-02-24T17:55:00.000-08:00

And he brings us this report.

It is an odd war, because the side that I think is losing garners all the press, whether by blowing up the great golden dome of the Askariya shrine in Samarra, or blowing up an American each day. Yet we hear nothing of the other side that is ever so slowly, shrewdly undermining the enemy.

Port Ruckus

2006-02-23T16:04:00.000-08:00

An anonymous comment asked for my take on the Port flap. My mind is still open. I'm seeing far too much knee-jerking, what with even the Washington Times making the stupid and factually incorrect statement that UAE will "own" ports. This isn't about ownership, just management. Cooler heads point out that the management has little to do with security, and that the same people will be doing the job after the deal goes through - just the company on the paycheck changes.

While I'm not convinced that it's a security disaster, it's clearly been bungled from the get-go by the White House. If W's communications department were run more like the Pentagon, maybe this wouldn't happen. As it is, they're just the Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight.

There are links to lots of good info on The Corner. Look for Jonah's Military Guy and the CFR.

My biggest worry stems from the fact that the people rushing to Bush's rescue are John McCain and the Nasty Little Man.

(New readers need to know that the NLM is our code word for that ex-president from Georgia, whose name has been banished from Buttle's World.)

No Such Thing As A Moderate Muslim

2006-02-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

At least that's what one American Muslim thinks.

The first truth is that most Muslim ideologues are hypocrites. What has Osama bin Laden done for the victims of the 2004 tsunami or the shattered families who lost everything in the Pakistani earthquake last year? He did not build one school, offer one loaf of bread or pay for one vaccination. And yet he, not the devout Muslim doctors from California and Iowa who repair broken limbs and lives in the snowy peaks of Kashmir, speaks the loudest for what Muslims allegedly stand for. He has succeeded in presenting himself as the defender of Islam's poor, and the Western media has taken his jihadist message all the way to the bank.

Demographics

2006-02-21T14:23:00.000-08:00

The always wonderful Mark Steyn points out the uncomfortably obvious:

In the '70s and '80, Muslims had children - those self-detonating Islamists in London and Gaza and Bali are a literal baby boom - while westerners took all those silly books about overpopulation seriously. A people that won't multiply can't go forth or go anywhere. Those who do will shape the world we live in.

Google in China

2006-02-17T11:10:00.000-08:00

Google defends itself.

Store's Open

2006-02-17T09:46:00.000-08:00

Get 'em while they're hot!

Free At Last!

2006-02-15T09:08:00.000-08:00

I can finally hold my head up. Walter Williams has forgiven me. (PDF download)

Stop Calling Them "Gay Cowboys"

2006-02-15T08:57:00.000-08:00

This hilarious news from Willy Nelson reminds me of two things.

First, a riddle.

Q What has 32 teeth and an IQ of 73?

A The front row at a Willy Nelson Concert.

Second, an observation about Brokeback Mountain: It is not about gay (sic) cowboys. I can just hear my dad railing that the movie is about gay (sic) sheepherders, and that the only thing about it that would surprize a real cowboy is that the sheep were miraculously safe.

To be fair, though, Willy may be right. Dad also mentioned that certain cowboys were known to "ride very forward on the saddle horn."

Something Else You Won't Read In The NYT

2006-02-14T10:13:00.000-08:00

This letter from the Mayor of Tall 'Afar, Iraq.

Our city was the main base of operations for Abu Mousab Al Zarqawi. The city was completely held hostage in the hands of his henchmen. Our schools, governmental services, businesses and offices were closed. Our streets were silent, and no one dared to walk them. Our people were barricaded in their homes out of fear; death awaited them around every corner. Terrorists occupied and controlled the only hospital in the city. Their savagery reached such a level that they stuffed the corpses of children with explosives and tossed them into the streets in order to kill grieving parents attempting to retrieve the bodies of their young. This was the situation of our city until God prepared and delivered unto them the courageous soldiers of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who liberated this city, ridding it of Zarqawi’s followers after harsh fighting, killing many terrorists, and forcing the remaining butchers to flee the city like rats to the surrounding areas, where the bravery of other 3d ACR soldiers in Sinjar, Rabiah, Zumar and Avgani finally destroyed them.

Run, Cindy, Run

2006-02-08T13:34:00.000-08:00

Buttle's World is pleased to announce our endorsement of Cindy Sheehan's candidacy for Dianne Feinstein's Senate seat.

Update:

Bummer.

Oakland's Mess

2006-02-08T09:53:00.000-08:00

Not content with merely stealing private property from local businesses, the City of Oakland has decided to tax fast food restaurants for litter.

"I don't think that's too much to ask so neighbors don't have to keep picking up trash from their doorways," said Councilwoman Jane Brunner, who proposed the measure.

We couldn't hold the litterers responsible now, could we? Well, what does one expect from the kind of people who blame guns for violence?

These people are officially beyond parody.

It's In The Koran!

2006-01-29T18:02:00.000-08:00

Tap your toes and sing along!

Google's Cowardice

2006-01-27T09:07:00.000-08:00

Jonah Goldberg posted this:

Compare the results of a Google image search for "tiananmen" on American Google with an image search on Chinese Google.

Update

More here.

The Psychedelic Text Is Back

2006-01-26T17:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry, loyal readers, but I'm turning word verification back on for comments. I've gotten too many spam comments, and their syntax is as annoying as their presence.

Any actual humans reading Buttle's World wishing to leave comments are invited and encouraged to do so. Bots promoting other blogs are cordially invited to pound sand.

The Management

You Don't Need To See This

2006-01-26T10:36:00.000-08:00

But your Lefty friends, the ones who think that flushing a Koran down the toilet is torture (instead of a plumbing impossibility) need to see what real torture looks like. Especially with Sadam's trial picking back up.

Do NOT let children see this! This is really graphic stuff.

Invasion Watch

2006-01-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

This border incident may or may not involve the Mexican military - it could well be a drug cartel, especially given the neighborhood. Then again, maybe they should have availed themselves of one of those new
maps from the Mexican government. Note how the Beeb calls them "immigrants".

UPDATE January 26:
Mark Krikorian just reported on The Corner:

NO MAPS [Mark Krikorian]
The Mexican government today cancelled plans to hand out maps of the Arizona border to prospective illegal aliens, in part because the administration finally pushed back against their long string of assaults on our sovereignty. The question is, would Michael Chertoff have been permitted to object to this outrage if the Senate weren't scheduled to debate an amnesty bill in a few weeks, requiring the White House to seem interested in border enforcement?

Worst Paper in America

2006-01-24T18:07:00.000-08:00

If you are interested in things like just how do they make sausage, anyway, you might enjoy this peek into the mind of a hair-brained lefty. It's quite a read.

As Jpod sayd on the Corner, calling this the "Best Interview Ever":

I'm completely serious. Read the transcript of our pal Hugh Hewitt's on-air conversation today with Joel Stein, who spent a decade writing silly and impish stuff about celebrities for Time Magazine before getting a peculiar gig as a columnist with the L.A. Times. Today Stein published a column called "I Don't Support the Troops." This afternoon Stein went on Hugh's show and was calmly, straightforwardly and meticulously eviscerated. Back to Brangelina with you, Joel Stein -- and bravo, Hugh.

Not Quite A Smoking Gun

2006-01-23T13:14:00.000-08:00

But the Minutemen claim to have video of a border incursion by Mexican military.

According to Hair, Simcox encountered the uniformed men about 500 yards inside the U.S. border but was unable to capture footage until they had crossed back across a fence on the U.S. side of the border.

Iran Blinks?

2006-01-17T17:06:00.000-08:00

Check out the Captain's Quarters for a little news and commentary.

Expect the Iranians to cozy up to Russia and especially China in the weeks ahead while dragging out the negotiations on this point. They will work to exploit any rift they can find between the two Asian giants and the West in order to play both sides against the middle. Once they see any daylight, the Iranians will push the gap as wide as possible in order to get back to doing its own enrichment. Only through constant vigilance will Iran stick to this deal -- and if that sounds a lot like Europe in the 1930s to you, it does to me, too.

When do we get to start calling it an invasion?

2006-01-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

When a foreign army crosses our border and takes shots at our guys, that would normally qualify.

The Mexican military has crossed into the United States 216 times in the past nine years, according to a Department of Homeland Security document and a map of incursions obtained by the Daily Bulletin.

Complicating the situation is that I'm sure that these incursions are not part of official Mexican policy. Corruption is so endemic in Mexico that it's most probably these are local commanders hiring out with drug cartels and coyotes. Unfortunately that same corruption means that official denials from Mexico are to be expected.

We can't do much about the messin Mexico, but we can hold our own representatives' feet to the fire. Don't let them nap on this one.

Our Man, Martin Luther King

2006-01-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

Today is a good day to claim Dr. King as one of our own.

Dr. King believed in the principles of the American Founding. He maintained, "We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom." Throughout American history, racism has posed a peculiar obstacle to the achievement of that goal. However, Dr. King believed that the Founders had set the nation on the right course. He did not reject the principles of our nation because contradictions existed; instead he hoped that racial groups would put aside their differences and acknowledge the principles that unite all Americans. Today, it is conservatives who seek to unite. In a nation divided by cultural diversity, conservatives defend and celebrate the characteristics that we share as Americans. As America drifts from the ideas and ideals of the Founders, conservatives stand with King as believers that the principles of the American Founding are as relevant today as in 1776.

It's also a good day to review the source documents.

I Have A Dream

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Bomb, Bomb, Bomb - Bomb, Bomb Iran

2006-01-13T15:47:00.000-08:00

Anybody remember that spoof of the Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann" from 1979 or so? Well, speaking quite seriously, VDH makes the case that it may be unavoidable.

Experts warn that we are not talking about a Clintonian one-day cruise-missile hit, or even something akin to General Zinni’s 1998 extended Operation Desert Fox campaign. Rather, the challenges call for something far more sustained and comprehensive — perhaps a week or two of bombing at every imaginable facility, many of them hidden in suburbs or populated areas. Commando raids might need to augment air sorties, especially for mountain redoubts deep in solid rock.