Apologies for Ill-informed Link

Posted by Bill Hennessy on August 23, 2007 under Miscellaneous | 5 Comments to Read

Several weeks ago, I linked and blogged about an organization headquartered in St. Louis.  I had never heard of it.  The name of the outfit–Council of Conservative Citizens–sounded like something useful.  After reading a few entries on the blog, I thought it sounded pretty good.

Today, though, I received their quarterly newsletter.  I was a bit surprised by the number of stories about “blacks.”  As I continued to read, it was obvious that the editors of the paper hold racial views that I have no desire to be associated with.

I later learned tonight that prominent politicians have been excoriated for speaking at the group’s gathering. Reading more about the CofCC, I realized that I must disavow the organization’s published views regarding race.

The organization might have views in common with mine. I’m sure they do. But they have very public views that I find abhorrent.

I apologize for sending readers to their sites, and I hope readers will forgive my lack of due diligence in studying the group’s positions before linking.

Democrats Changing Tune on Iraq/Pullout

Posted by Bill Hennessy on August 22, 2007 under Foreign Relations | Read the First Comment

It started in July with polls showing Americans were increasingly supportive of the war in Iraq. Then, the President’s approval rating began to climb. Then Congress’s approval rating fell to an all-time low. In between, the odd Democrat Congressman or analyst returned from Iraq saying good things, not bad, about the effect of the troop surge.

With thanks to the California Conservative and Captain Ed for finding this story, we find that the Washington Post is reporting that the Democrats are forced to shift their policy on Iraq because of the undeniable success of the surge.

Remember, the Democrats tried every trick in the book to stop the surge. As CC points out, John Murtha launched the “slow bleed” strategy designed to let American’s die in Iraq until there weren’t enough left to fight. Now, we read this:

Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), who made waves when he returned from Iraq by saying he was willing to be more flexible on troop withdrawal timelines, issued a statement to constituents “setting the record straight.”

“I am firmly in favor of withdrawing troops on a timeline that includes both a definite start date and a definite end date,” he wrote on his Web site.

But in an interview yesterday, McNerney made clear his views have shifted since returning from Iraq. He said Democrats should be willing to negotiate with the generals in Iraq over just how much more time they might need. And, he said, Democrats should move beyond their confrontational approach, away from tough-minded, partisan withdrawal resolutions, to be more conciliatory with Republicans who might also be looking for a way out of the war.

“We should sit down with Republicans, see what would be acceptable to them to end the war and present it to the president, start negotiating from the beginning,” he said, adding, “I don’t know what the [Democratic] leadership is thinking. Sometimes they’ve done things that are beyond me.”

For a Democrat leadership that has been unable, to this point, to find its voice, a plan, or a legislative win, developing an effective Iraq policy could prove a daunting task.

The Democrats have passed a minimum wage hike and signed off on Republic measures, including FISA, warrantless wire taps, and budgets. Well, they did manage to tack a lot of pork onto the budget, but that’s no surprise. Republicans got theirs as well.

While doing nothing, Pelosi and Reid seem to have alienated as many Democrats as Republicans. The stolen vote fiasco in the session’s waning moments involved Democrat leaders strong-arming five freshmen Democrats into changing their vote after the vote had been complete five, and other moderate Democrats, won’t soon forget their shabby treatment.

So what could the Democrat strategy possibly be? We’re with the President? Stay the course? If one surge was good, two are better? Perhaps they will pass a non-binding resolution rescinding their non-binding resolutions that demanded the President scuttle the surge. Could saying “we were wrong” hurt them? Help them?

I don’t think this Democrat Congress is fatally wounded, but they better get a trauma helicopter instead of an ambulance. In their favor is a Republican President who has spent two years frittering away a large base of support. While he’s turned those numbers around to a degree, he’s a long way from 50-50 in the favorability department. And another set-back in Iraq would doom him now and in the history books. Another 2-3 months of decreasing US combat casualties will help, as will a stable Iraqi government and a Wall Street rally. Should the President’s popularity surge, the Democrats will be sunk.

For the Presidential election, the consequences are even higher. All three top candidates have pushed the immediate surrender message since they stepped into the ring. In their recent”debate,” they argued over who was against the war first. While the three of them might allow each other to flip quietly, rest assured the GOP field will not. At the same time, if the Democrat candidate do flip on the war, they will lose the base that holds about 80% of potential Democrat donations. That’s enough money for the wingnuts to run a serious 3rd candidate who would take away exclusively from the Democrats.

For the first time in a long time, it feels like the good guys are winning–at home and abroad.

 Part of the Beltway Traffic Jam

Update–Link Corrected:  An amazing story and analysis on Captain’s Quarters.  There are reports that presumed Sunni insurgent leader, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri,  will join Maliki’s government in Iraq.   As Ed points out, this move would effectively end the Iraq War.  Unless, of course, Iran jumps in with both feet, which is an increasing possibility.    Still, if this happens, the Democrats  will have a very hard time explaining what happened–and how they were so miserably wrong.  Later, Bush officials will have to explain why it took them two and a half years to go back on the offensive.  Neither question will be easy to answer.

Environmentalist Bette Midler Clear Cuts Hawaiian Estate

Posted by Bill Hennessy on August 21, 2007 under Latest | 2 Comments to Read

You can’t beat the truth, folks.

Environmentalist Bette Midler (who, I think, is related to Barbara Streisand) faces state charges in Hawaii for illegally killing more than 200 trees on her estate.  

The staff of the Board of Land and Natural Resources recommended $6,500 in fines for having the trees felled and for building a graded road without permits required for the land zoned for conservation use.

Of course, she had the trees clear-cut in order to improve the environment, or so her publicist claims.

“The whole idea with cutting the trees down was with the idea of improving the lot with native species” instead of the nonnative, invasive species that had grown there, Graham said. “It’s unfortunate that a mistake was made.”

The mistake she made–she and thousands like her–was to feign concern for the environment in order to “fit in” with the Hollywood elite.

A botonist working on the program contradicted the publicist’s story, according to the AP story:  “Some native trees also were removed from the property, the botanist said.”

Midler is to trees what Michael Vick is to dogs.  But just as the NAA(l)CP gave Vick a pass on dog fighting, expect the left to praise Midler’s courage and foresight in killing those dangerous trees before they did even more environmental damage.  Like Reagan said, “trees caused more pollution than automobiles do.” 

Clinton on Iraq: Victory is Not an Option

Posted by Bill Hennessy on under Foreign Relations | Read the First Comment

St. Louis, MO–Campaiging in Mooseknuckles, MO, today, Democrat Hillary Clinton gave supporters her strongest argument to date for an immediate, unconditional pull-out from Iraq.

“You read the news,” she shrilled to the largely silent crowd.  “You read the reports the coming out of Iraq.  You know what’s happened during George Bush’s war!”

The audience’s polite but blank silence indicated that they didn’t.

“You have seen Senator Durbin and several Brookings Institute scholars report from the field that the surge is pushing back the insurgents.”

She raised her right hand to quell the nascent cheers of the crowd.  Wrong queue.

“If we don’t begin a complete withdrawal immediately,” Clinton yelled, “this war could be over!  If America wins this war, you–you invisible people–you lose,  because the Republicans will continue to keep all of you invisible.”

The audience seemed confused, unsure whether Clinton’s “invisible” line was an applause queue or not.  But they smiled politely and fanned themselves with the carbon-neutral programs. 

Democrat Apparatchik Files Complaint Against Fred Thompson

Posted by Bill Hennessy on August 20, 2007 under Latest | Be the First to Comment

A Democrat apparatchik named Lane Hudson has filed a complaint against Fred Thompson with the Federal Election Commission, according to WaPo.

The lefty claims that Thompson is violating the law by operating like a candidate without declaring his candidacy. 

Hudson plans to file similar complaints against George Washington, who spent much of the Revolutionary War traveling through critical electoral states, like Pennsylvannia and New York, without declaring himself a candidate for President.  “Not only was Washington campaigning illegally, he presided over the Constitutional Convention that created the job he would later seize,” Hudson said.  Hudson hopes the FEC will overturn the results of the 1788 election, making Al Gore the first President of the United States and stimulating the dormant American History textbook business.

Clearly, this weasel needs something to do. 

(Sorry for linking to a moonbat blog, but the complaint and the moronic babble in the comments are funnier than Blazing Saddles.)

Update:  Thanks to USAToday for the link.

Update:  Both of my regular readers will notice that I failed to lead the story with a dateline, as is my wont want when pieces contain satirical content.  My oversight.  It began as a series piece, but this Hudson guy is such a pathetic absurdity that satire seemed the only fitting style. 

Terror Alert: Washington State

Posted by Bill Hennessy on under Latest | Be the First to Comment

I got this link on GatewayPundit:

The FBI is asking for the public’s help to identify two men who have been seen acting strangely aboard Washington State ferries recently.
According to federal agents, passengers have seen the men on several occasions exhibiting unusual behavior. The FBI did not say precisely what that unusual

The Submarine Base at Bremerton is home to the Navy’s Pacific fleet of Trident class submarines.  I believe there is also a weapons station. 

If these two are terrorists, their location is frighteningly similar to that of the Charleston, South Carolina, terror suspects now in custody.  The SC pair were nabbed only a couple of miles from Naval Weapons Station Charleston in July.

Perhaps because I’m an old submariner, I suspect everyone wants to sink a sub.  Or maybe they saw that made for TV movie in the early 80s about terrorists detonating a nuke on a sub in Charleston.  (Can’t happen, but interesting concept.)The more I think about, the more I’m convinced that the Charleston pair are on a mission to study FBI techniques and methods

National Terror Alert also has information on the Charleston suspects.  . 

Time to Take Down Iran

Posted by Bill Hennessy on August 19, 2007 under Foreign Relations | Be the First to Comment

I was lying in the bathtub after a rare Sunday afternoon football practice when the Big Red post-game show was interrupted:

We interrupt this program for a CBS Radio News special report. 

I’m Morton Dean.  The US State Department has announced that a group of students under control of the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran have siezed the American Embassy in Tehran, taking more than 100 Americans hostage.

or something like that.

It was November 4, 1979.  The action, as much as anything else, gave us Ronald Reagan for 8 years. 

But those of who lived through Jimmy Carter’s inept management of the crisis have longed for the end to the Islamic regime in Iran.  We’ve studied the vast chasm of philosophy between the Iran’s ruling despots and the Iranian people.  We know that Iran could America’s greatest ally in the Southwest Asia. 

When we hear that Iran is lobbing shells into Kurdish Iraq, we want our government to declare war on Iran to liberate her people.

My God, I miss Reagan.