1/31/2005

Thank You, President Bush

Dear President Bush,

I just wanted to take a moment and thank you for staying the course.

I know you hear the criticism and hate that has been turned towards you these last four years, but I don't know how often you hear gratitude.

Thank you for finding the courage not to waiver, even when your critics turned the volumn up. Your determination to defend this country and protect its citizens show what true leadership you are capable of.

Keep up the good work,

DR

Where's Toto When You Need Him?

More from Mohammed in Iraq:

The world has discovered yesterday-Iraqis are included here-many facts that correct those misconceptions; now it's become clear the weakness of the terror groups and their limited geographical distribution and I think that the low number of attacks we witnessed yesterday wasn't the result of the security measures alone but largely because of the limited areas these groups exist in and this rendered them capable only of launching attacks within their strongholds as the roads between provinces were blocked. Thus I believe that yesterday's attacks have identified the places where the terrorists mainly reside.

In this technology driven world, get-your-news-24/7, is anyone surprised to read this and assume that perhaps...just maybe...the terrorists, who the MSM and many others have been bolstering by their coverage and their comments, have been made to appear larger than life?

Is this Oz all over again? I am waiting for Toto to appear to tug the curtains back and reveal the charade...when that happens, the terrorists will more likely scurry like cockroaches to the dark recesses from whence they came than face their destiny at the hands of justice...

One can only hope...for the sake of the Iraqis and for the sake of the safety of the rest of the world...

I, for one, am going to stay tuned and pay attention as this complex and fascinating drama unfolds...

DR

Iraq In Focus - or - The Purple Finger Revolution

From Mohammed at Iraq the Model, an observation:

The world stood astounded at the sight of the masses that challenged death yesterday to plant the seed of hope in those boxes and now the enemies of the change cannot deny all that; the people have said their word clear and loud in their purple finger revolution.

Why was the world surprised? And what were the motivations of the people who have never experienced democracy before?

There were so many misconceptions about Iraq and these were the reasons why viewers from outside as well as many Iraqis were surprised. In the past few months, the media have played a big role in reflecting a blurred image about the will and preparations of Iraqis to hold the elections, not to mention exaggerating the size of the "militant groups" and their capabilities. (my emphasis)

The silent majority has realized that elections are good and serve the people's interests; they don't know much about practicing democracy as they never lived under one but it's the common sense of the people who see how democratic nations enjoy stability and prosperity that led them to this conclusion.

Astounding, is it not, that the very people that the MSM has been speculating about...making assumptions and reporting them as fact...have been silently watching and waiting for the right moment to take action...

Funny, too, that the cracks the liberal left - and a lot of the world, too, for that matter - took at President Bush's second inaugural speech, you know the one with all those references to 'freedom' and 'democracy'...those criticisms sound kinda hollow now, don't they...

DR

A Message From Iraq

We haven't been able to see or hear much from the Iraqi people up until now...I think they were still fearful that the insurgents would prevail...that Saddam would get out of prison and they would have a re-run of what happened after the first Gulf War...

...but yesterday the Iraqi people spoke to all of us

...from Iraq The Model comes this message:

We had all kinds of feelings in our minds while we were on our way to the ballot box except one feeling that never came to us, that was fear.
We could smell pride in the atmosphere this morning; everyone we saw was holding up his blue tipped finger with broad smiles on the faces while walking out of the center.

How can I describe it!? Take my eyes and look through them my friends, you have supported the day of Iraq's freedom and today, Iraqis have proven that they're not going to disappoint their country or their friends.

Is there a bigger victory than this? I believe not.

I still recall the first group of comments that came to this blog 14 months ago when many of the readers asked "The Model?"… "Model for what?"
Take a look today to meet the model of courage and human desire to achieve freedom; people walking across the fire to cast their votes.

Could any model match this one!? Could any bravery match the Iraqis'!?
Let the remaining tyrants of the world learn the lesson from this day.

The media is reporting only explosions and suicide attacks that killed and injured many Iraqis s far but this hasn't stopped the Iraqis from marching towards their voting stations with more determination. Iraqis have truly raced the sun.

**STOP! DID YOU READ THAT??***

I walked forward to my station, cast my vote and then headed to the box, where I wanted to stand as long as I could, then I moved to mark my finger with ink, I dipped it deep as if I was poking the eyes of all the world's tyrants.

I LOVE THAT LINE

I put the paper in the box and with it, there were tears that I couldn't hold; I was trembling with joy and I felt like I wanted to hug the box but the supervisor smiled at me and said "brother, would you please move ahead, the people are waiting for their turn".

Yes brothers, proceed and fill the box!
These are stories that will be written on the brightest pages of history.

It was hard for us to leave the center but we were happy because we were sure that we will stand here in front of the box again and again and again.
Today, there's no voice louder than that of freedom.

No more confusion about what the people want, they have said their word and they said it loud and the world has got to respct and support the people's will.

God bless your brave steps sons of Iraq and God bless the defenders of freedom.

Aasha Al-Iraq….Aasha Al-Iraq….Aasha Al-Iraq.

Mohammed and Omar.

So there you have it - directly from the heart of Iraq...

DR

They STILL Don't Get It

...and I am beginning to realize that they probably never will...

Meet the Press touted all week long the 'special guest' that would be on yesterday's show. Hmmm, that's the same day that the Iraqi people will be voting, so who could it be? Surely someone that has been connected to that effort as we all watch the events unroll...

...but, NOPE, it was not to be...in fact, Tim Russert's choice of guests leaves me with the assumption that Russert was convinced - along with all the rest of the MSM and liberal left - that things would go badly in Iraq, in fact, probably REALLY BAD...so he and his guest would have a chance to bash the American President...and appear as if they were simply discussing the events of the day...

The 'surprise guest'? John Kerry...and his appearance on Meet the Press yesterday gave him another opportunity to show this nation why it was a good thing he is not in the White House...

...Russert didn't press for an explanation about anything that Kerry said...maybe Russert was in shock at how smoothly things appeared to be going...or - maybe they were waiting for the breaking news to come in about all the bombing of the polls...

The NY Post relays that Kerry is acting like a sore loser: "It is hard to say that something is legitimate when whole portions of the country can't vote and doesn't vote," Kerry said...and then he said that the voting shouldn't be overhyped....

Overhyped??

Millions of Iraqis going to the polls and casting their ballot for the first free elections in almost 50 year and John Kerry is telling people not to overhype the situation??

The joy exploded across Iraq "The street was crowded since 7 a.m. I woke up to the voices of the people on the street — I did not expect such a number," said Thaer, a Sunni engineer who lives in eastern Baghdad, as he sat chatting with his neighborhood friends.

"Everybody feels that he is human today and can have a free voice. No one wanted to lose his chance," he said, elated at the chance to cast his ballot. "I think today will show these terrorists lost their chance in this country.

"But I want to say one thing: I want to thank the U.S. soldiers for bringing this to Iraq," said the ex-soldier who had been imprisoned by deposed ruler Saddam Hussein. "Without them, we would have to vote for Saddam always."

...okay, John F'n Kerry, I won't overhype what happened yesterday...I will let the people of Iraq tell the world themselves...

DR

1/30/2005

They Said It Couldn't Be Done!

Iraq votes - in droves.

Word is now coming out that there was a 72% turnout for the first democratic vote in Iraq.

I call that astounding success - we get nowhere near that number here in the U.S. and the only complaints I heard after November were from people that were 'forced to stand in line for over an hour.' No on threatening to blow us up as we head to the polls.

What does that tell us? Iraqi's WANT FREEDOM. Iraqi's WANT A DEMOCRACY.

So...Ted Kennedy...John Kerry...Hillary Clinton...and all the myriad of nay-sayers...go...take a hike...

This is a day that will definitely be marked in the history books as a great day...and no one should EVER forget that Americans gave their lives to make this happen...

DR

No Comparison...






DR

Bill Clinton's War

Isn't it funny...the MSM turns a blind eye to Kosovo and the fact that there are still U.S. troops there...have been since 1999...I believe we called it 'Monica's War' back then...or something like that...

But the problems aren't over there yet...and I found this 1997 article about M Albright's involvement...and this one expressing sentiments that have never seen the light of day on any MSM broadcast...may be extreme, but the concerns are valid...

What *IS* up with Kosovo?

DR

1/29/2005

Re: Teddy Kennedy...'nuff said


only thing I'm sayin' is...I mean...hey...do what you want with
your life style, man...but...well...this is just...TOO much information...
could you try to keep this stuff under wrap from now on?



I have nothing to add to this one...it says it all...

www.strangecosmos.com

DR

1/28/2005

History Is Being Made...And All We Get Is MSM Propaganda

Read the headlines - if the election in Iraq is mentioned at all, it is only if there is also bad news to report.

Real Clear Politics writes about the bias in the media...

Thomas Sowell writes about the bias in the media...

But, be persistant...find the stories about Iraq...the GOOD stories of people finally able to vote after decades of oppression...

Here's one...and another...this one from Iraq describes Jubilant Iraqi exiles cast their ballots in a "vote for freedom" on Friday and urged their compatriots in Iraq to defy insurgents and do the same.

The good news is out there...and there is nothing, absolutely nothing that the MSM, the liberals, Teddy Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, Robert KKK Byrd, Hillary Clinton, John F'n Kerry, Nancy Pelosi...any of them...can do to stifle it...

First Afghanistan...

Good luck, Iraq...You Go!

A HUGE THANK YOU has to go to our men and women in the military that stayed the course despite horrendous conditions...semper fi

DR

Wife Beating: Ten Toothpick Blows Do Not Cause Much Pain...

This video from the Middle East on wife beating stresses the importance of the proper method. Here is the transcript so you can follow along:

1/24/2005
Clip No. 509
Discussion on Wife-Beating: Ten Toothpick Blows Do Not Cause Much Pain

The following are excerpts from a discussion on wife-beating on Al-'Iraqiya TV (Iraq). The program was aired on January 24, 2005:

Sheik Khaled Al-Ghundi Islamic Preacher: I say that a woman who agrees to be beaten by her husband does not deserve to live. A woman who agrees to beatings… And I'll tell you something else. I interpret the verse, according to the Arab language – and this has been said by religious authorities - the word "beat," in the verse, does not mean beating like this.

Interviewer: Not even like this?.

Sheik Khaled Al-Ghundi: No. "Beat them" means to leave the house. Because later the verse says: "Send them to beds apart." The word "beating" has 17 different meanings in the Koran.

Interviewer: You claim "beating" could mean… okay.

Sheik Khaled Al-Ghundi: "When ye go forth in the land," is one example.

Interviewer: So, in the Arabic language, the word doesn't mean actual "beatings."

Sheik Khaled Al-Ghundi: The woman has been oppressed in the name of Koranic verses.

Sheik Sahl Yassin, Islamic preacher: Beatings are used as a last therapeutic resort. Even then, beatings must observe certain restrictions. it is as if Islam is saying to you: "Don't beat." You can understand it this way, since Islam is telling you: "Beatings are your last resort." Then came the Prophet Muhammad, who says: "No, beatings are not suitable…" Some religious authorities have said about beatings: "He should strike her with his fist." Like this… That's what beatings are. Others have said: "He should beat her with a toothpick." Others have said this doesn't mean an actual toothpick, but that the rod should be as long and as thick as a toothpick, In other words, no longer than this… like a straw or something… Some of them said there should not be more than ten blows. If you beat, then do it with a toothpick, and no more than ten… You tell me, how much pain can be caused by ten blows with a toothpick?!
-------------------------

...any questions?

DR

Experienced Escape Artist Calls for Extrication From Iraq While Accusing US Troops of Spawning Insurgency

Teddy Kennedy, of the Mary Jo Kopechne/Chappaquiddick fame, who successfully extricated himself from a submerged car while leaving his female companion to fend for herself and eventually drown, blasted the US President yesterday stating that U.S. troops, instead of defeating the insurgency in Iraq, are spawning it, and he called for immediate withdrawal of 12,000 troops after this weekend's election and a complete pullout by early next year.

Kennedy also said "It will not be easy to extricate ourselves...but we must begin"....

he should know...

DR

And What's Up With This?

Anyone have any details about the FTAA and what it would mean to us?

One northern Utah senator has introduced a bill to stop it...

This author states: From the very inception of the World Social Forum five years ago, the participating civil society movements have condemned the FTAA as a blatant U.S.-led attempt to impose the models and formulas of neoliberal globalisation across the Americas.

I'm thinking this is something we need to pay more attention to...

DR

Assaults on Border Agents Increase

The Washington Times has a story today about the intensity and frequency of assaults on border agents increasing as coyotes (smugglers) of illegal aliens and drugs up the ante.

While that may surprise you, it is nothing new to me or any other person living in a border state.
Case in point:

November 4, 2003 a shootout occurred on I-10, the freeway that connects Phoenix and Tucson. In a freak turn of events, I was in the area that morning as it was crawling with helicopters, SUVs, DPS officers, Immigration officers, etc...what were they looking for?...rival coyotes (smugglers of illegal aliens) that had a shootout on the freeway...in the middle of the morning rush hour...four of them were murdered...the rest of them ran away...the freeway was closed and any of us that was trying to get across that part of the valley that morning had to find another route and HOPE that we weren't unfortunate enough to run across the surviving coyotes that had fled the scene...

This website links to people that are fed up with the aliens crossing illegally into this country...and they aren't all in Arizona...

Couple that with the Open Borders Lobby (Theresa Heinz-Kerry is involved) and MALDEF, Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, the group that is helping illegal aliens...we have a real big problem on our hands, folks...HUGE

WA Times: Sixty-four Border Patrol agents have been assaulted in the past three months along a 260-mile stretch of the Arizona-Mexico border — the country's busiest illegal entry point — as the U.S. government continues its fight for "operational control" of the region...

Is it any wonder, then, that the citizens are trying to supplement border control? Volunteers are being solicited for the event that will take place in Tombstone, AZ April 1-30, 2005...

DR

1/27/2005

Darfur

Speaking of Darfur, there is news today that Sudan has violated its ceasefire agreement with Darfur rebels by bombing a North Darfur state village, sources in Khartoum's aid community said on Thursday.

What is being called "ethnic cleansing" by the media is really this:

The African people are being systematically killed by their own government and Arab militias, known locally as Janjaweed.

When you hear the word "rebels" in the news, they are referring to the inhabitants of that area that are fighting to defend their homeland, their families...and they are being murdered...muslims systematically murdering 'non-believers'...hmmm...where have I heard that before...???

After years of tribal conflict over scarce resources in arid Darfur, two main rebel groups took up arms accusing Khartoum of neglect and of using Janjaweed to loot and burn non-Arab villages.

Khartoum admits arming some militias to fight the rebels but denies any links to the Janjaweed, calling them outlaws.

China and Russia rejected a new U.S. bid to impose United Nations sanctions on Sudan for failing to end assaults on villagers in Darfur, saying any action should follow deployment of a UN peacekeeping force and formation of a coalition government in Khartoum...and they are once again firing upon and killing the inhabitants...

It is happening - right before our eyes...and the U.N. is doing nothing to stop it...

hmmm...the U.N. is there, but remember the latest scandal over there? the one where U.N. "Peacekeepers" were raping little girls?

thought so...

DR

George Soros Crawls Out From Under His Rock...

...that he has been hiding under since Kerry lost to Bush last November...

...unable to get over the loss, Soros - a proponent of what he calls an 'open society' - is now turning his fury on the President, attacking his inaugural speech...

...so what's new, right?

According to NewsMax, Apparently Soros likes an open society -- until it democratically elects a candidate he doesn't agree with.

A real open society Soros wrote would be able to distinguish "between promoting freedom and democracy and promoting American values and interests. If it is freedom and democracy that we want, we can foster it only by strengthening international law and international institutions."

Translated: the President is mistaken in his refusal to turn our foreign policy over to Soros, the elites at the CFR, and to the U.N. which is better equipped to handle our foreign affairs as they proved by their handling of the scandal-ridden oil-for-food program
.

Oh, and don't forget the terrific job the U.N. is doing in Darfur...

DR

Global Warming??

Scientists in the U.K. are predicting global warming...

...and yet, in December 2004, snow fell for the first time EVER in the United Arab Emirates...there is a blizzard raging in the U.S., setting records..Deep snow in Poland stranded Ukraine's new President, Viktor YushchenkoYushchenko's plane from taking off...Rome and the Mediterranean island of Mallorca got a rare white blanket of snow...A plane carrying mail from Romania to Hungary crashed in a forest in snowy weather in north-eastern Romania ...and weather played havoc with Switzerland's famously efficient trains...

...global warming...

uh-huh...

DR

Terrorist's clothing discovered in Texas?

Suspicious jacket shows plane flying toward tower, Arabic military badge...

HundredPercenter has the link today...

DR

1/26/2005

Imagine...

Remember the song John Lennon wrote called “Imagine”?

‘course you do…

Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...

Imagine there's no countries,
It isn’t hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

Imagine no possessions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say
I’m a dreamer,
but I’m not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.

Okay, stop the daydreaming…I can see it in your eyes…focus…FOCUS!

That was a nice song for Lennon’s era, and I oft hear it when following the hippies and lefties as they congregate…it is their theme song…it is what they live for…

Of course, they also believe there is no heaven and that all the people should ‘live for today’…and have ‘no religion too’…THAT is a requirement if you expect entry into their ranks…

...oh, and I almost forgot to mention...whenever I hear artists singing about 'imagine no possessions'...I am still LOLROTFAPG...Seriously!...those guys sing about no possessions...or about the horrible use of fossil fuels...then they take our money from the sale of their music...and ride off into the sunset inside their gas-guzzling-chauffer-driven limosines (or Hum-vees)

But…I digress…the real reason I bring this up is because the last few days as I was working and following the events in Congress…watching and listening to the passionate, spittle-spewing-hate-mongering from some of those august members…for some strange reason that song kept replaying in my mind…and you know something? It didn’t get me any closer to understanding what makes those kooks tick, but it did give me reason to pause…

Imagine a world where Al Gore was president when the terrorists flew airplanes - loaded with living, breathing captives – into skyscrapers…

Imagine there’s no one with a spine to stand up to the terrorists as they plot
and carry out a second…then a third…attack on this country…

Imagine Saddam was never forced into a spider hole and is still torturing
and killing innocent citizens…and hosting Osama bin Laden who never had to go into hiding because otherwise he knows he would be instantly captured or murdered if spotted…

Imagine our country and its citizens left with no infrastructure or semblance of control as it is overrun by those same terrorists…

Imagine every day being called to muslim prayer by the chanting
over loudspeakers because your country is no longer yours and you have nothing to change it and no control over the future…

Think it is impossible? Think again…it has happened…more than once…

Oh don’t even try to put it to a tune or hum along…I am not a songwriter…I just have these thoughts that float around inside my head…and sometimes they find their way down my arms…all the way to my fingertips…onto the keyboard…into cyberspace…imagine…

DR

It's Official: 85-13

Condoleeza Rice has been confirmed as Secretary of State for the United States of America.

Newsday reports: The Senate voted 85 to 13 to confirm Rice, who succeeds Colin Powell as America's top diplomat and becomes the first black woman to hold the job.




12 Democrats and Jim Jeffords were the "NO" votes - of course included in that group were Barbara Boxer and Robert "KKK" Byrd

DR

MSM Still Strangely Silent on Christian Murders

It's funny, I haven' t seen much about the brutal slayings of the christian New Jersey family...

Michelle Malkin has noticed this...

..and The Therapist took note of it, posting "We are thankful for the unilateral lack of press coverage on the whole," say terrorists.

he also posted this: A unified American press corps. has maintained an amazingly tight-lipped approach to covering the recent slayings of a totally expendable Christian family in New Jersey by Muslim extremists.

FrontPage wrote about this curious black hole, about people who express suspicions about this crime: when they have voiced these suspicions, they have been frequently denounced as “Islamophobes” – an all-purpose term of abuse used to silence criticism of Islam and of Muslims.

...makes you wonder...

DR

Extreme Makeover: Hillary


Like I reported earlier, President Bush has only been in office for 6 days and the 2008 campaign has already started...

The Washington Times reports: In the past few weeks, the New York Democrat has embraced the role of religion in addressing social ills, decried abortion as "sad, even tragic" and complained about the influx of illegal aliens — all stances that run counter to liberal party leaders, but which are popular among voters.

If people fall for this wolf in sheep's clothing...

But Philippe Reines, press secretary for Mrs. Clinton, said his boss is not attempting to remake herself. Instead, he said, she is simply repeating positions that she has set out in the past...

"The times may have changed, but her beliefs have not," he said.

HUH????

Okay, we will look at the senator's voting record...at her position and beliefs from the day she showed up on the political stage...this woman is a SOCIALIST...

...the words may sound 'centrist', but her actions...her votes...her pet projects...all scream LIBERAL....

DR

1/25/2005

Horowitz: The Torch of Freedom Has Passed To Conservatives

Once again David Horowitz boils down the rhetoric and gives the 'dumbed down' version (Ha! Ted Turner) of the left reaction to President Bush's inauguration speech...Hence, "the best hope for peace in our world, is the expansion of freedom in all the world," which is the line from the President's speech the White House is highlighting above all others.

...Thus encouraging the Muslim world, and particularly the Arab Muslim world, which is the heart of the global terrorist threat -- to adopt democratic ways and to shine the light of liberty into its culture of medieval darkness is a pragmatic necessity for the future security of the civilized world. That is the reality behind the President's address. Only people in serious denial can be blind to this fact. Only liberals.

The president sounded a clarion call for freedom and liberals carped. That was their virtually universal response to an inaugural that ranks among the most inspirational speeches ever devlivered by an American president.

The totatitarian Left -- the Left that calls itself progressive and identifies its totalitarian goals with the seductive phrase "social justice" -- hated the speech (naturally), along the man who gave it.

... the people in Iran understood what our president was saying...and they cheered - stayed up late in fact to listen to what he had to say...

...but not our progressives...oh no...

Horowitz captured it: The torch of freedom has passed, as President Kennedy said in his own summons to his countrymen to stand up for what is right. But it has passed not to a nation united, as Kennedy fervently wished, but to the conservative vanguard that still takes the Founding spirit of the nation seriously, still rings its Liberty Bell, and is prepared to stay the course of the mission that inspired its birth.

You see, it isn't about abandoning everything this nation was founded on and foregoing every thoughtfully crafted paragraph of a Constitution so unique in its formation...this isn't something that, when you reach a certain age or a point in time you say to yourself "There, mission accomplished, now on to the next project!"

This precious thing we call freedom is a living, breathing work of love - not just for ourselves but for all those that will come behind us...it is evergreen...and if we dare abandon it or take it for granted...woe be unto us!

Our enemies are watching...and waiting for any opportunity to push and pull us back into the darkness...we must be ever vigilant to keep the light of freedom burning ever so brightly...that was the vision and dream of our founding fathers...and it reverberates ever so loudly in our President, George W. Bush...

DR

Iraqi Election Ads

These are very powerful messages from Iraq about the upcoming elections...

take a moment and watch them...don't tell me the people of Iraq don't yearn for freedom...you will be impressed...

Hat Tip: Hundred Percenter

DR

Ted Turner Steps in It ... Again

Oh the arrogance…the self-absorption…the supposedly erudite elitists…always telling themselves, each other and the world how intelligent THEY are…and how STUPID everyone else is…

It’s almost enough to make you sick…

What am I talking about? Why Ted Turner, of course.

In his rage over his supposed ‘news’ channel…CNN…slipping - no PLUNGING – in the ratings and FoxNews picking up viewers almost on a daily basis…what did Turner spew out this time? Why, he called FoxNews an arm of the Bush administration and compared FOXNEWS's popularity to Hitler's popular election to run Germany before WWII….

Talk about a loose cannon! Lucky for him he no longer is employed, otherwise he would probably find his ass out on the sidewalk tomorrow for that kind of garbage…

Hey! Turner already had to apologize to Fox in 1996 for comparing Fox’s Rupert Murdoch to Hitler…didn’t he learn his lesson??

Guess not…

But the biggest insult? According to Turner – and I quote – “…it does pose problems for our democracy. Particularly when the news is dumbed down, leaving voters without critical information on politics and world events and overloaded with fluff…"

Huh??

Dumbed down?

For Who?

Teddy, Teddy...Teddy!...you don't know what you are dealing with, Teddy...

Now, Desert Rat will tell you the real story…

Ted Turner is one sorry, insincere, self-centered, asshole…

What? You want more?

Okay, if you do any – and I mean ANY research at all into 'who is Ted Turner' you will find someone that is just fine with the world and all of its inhabitants as long as he is on top…

No humility, not even a scintilla of a trace, in this guy…

He was fine when he created CNN and ‘stole’ viewership from the original three networks…and guess what?

His audience grew up…

That’s right…I remember watching the first Gulf War on CNN and being completely blown away (figuratively speaking of course) with the fact that the entire world was able to watch a war LIVE…

It was brilliant, I will give him that…but then Turner got greedy…or…I dunno…I am not a psychiatrist…I am a desert dweller…

Anyway…that’s all I have to say about this latest…

Turner’s crazy…has been all along…and now that he doesn’t have CNN as his ‘big boy toy’ to amuse himself while convincing himself that he is in control of the world…well, you see what happened…

Life is like that…you think one thing is going to happen and suddenly you are on a different side of things…or at least, you are in a different place than you thought you were going to end up…but most - normal - people pick themselves up...dust off...and....Get Over IT!

Gotta wonder…

makes me glad that I not only have Plan A...but I also have Plan B...and SOMETIMES, I have Plan C...must be all that pilot training...

DR

Hat Tip: Matt Drudge

Four Chinese Illegals Found on Detained Plane

Does anyone remember the story that Drudge had on his site last week about four Chinese nationals who may pose a nuclear threat to the city based on a report from an unidentified man calling from Mexico who claims to have smuggled them over the U.S. border?

There were even pictures of two men and two women...identified as Zengrong Lin, Wen Quin Zheng, Xiujin Chen and Guozhi Lin.

Last night a group of suspected illegal immigrants was being questioned early today after federal officials forced their single-engine plane to land in San Antonio....there were four Chinese illegal aliens...two men and two women...

The plane is owned by someone named Afzal Hameed of Dover, Delaware...the pilot of the plane told investigators that he had taken off from "south of the border," but Humphrey said he could not say any more about the case...

DR

Possible Voter Fraud Discovered in Milwaukee

Yes, you read that correctly...but it isn't what you think...

The Captain notes The additional 1200 voters only accounts for less than one percent of all votes cast in the city. Combined with the unaccountable same-day registrations, however, the additional votes provide an uncomfortable coincidence; the total comes to almost exactly John Kerry's margin of victory for the entire state. It also contributes to the growing consensus that Milwaukee's voting system has broken down, mainly due to the wild same-day registration laws and a lack of competency in the election office.

Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if the margin of victory had been for George Bush, and if those votes cast were from voter registrations with invalid addresses, we would be hearing about it non-stop from every MSM source 24/7...

this is going to be interesting to watch as the onion skin peels away...

...my grandma always told me - if someone is protesting too loudly and for too long, look more closely at where those protests are coming from...something's up...and it ain't a former president's you-know-what...

DR

1/24/2005

A Positive Message on Iraq

In a very poignant and dignified message, Nasir Flayih Hasan tells us who the real resistance factor is in Iraq...and it ISN'T the terrorists...

Hasan writes: At last, a real Iraqi election, the event we have waited decades to see, is coming true. And now, as we prepare to vote, we remember all those who sacrificed their lives, their families and their youth, so that such a day would come. These words might look abstract to those who did not live under Saddam’s regime, but for us, who lost loved ones and suffered long years of pain and sorrow, they are not abstractions at all.

Now that is a unique perspective isn't it? A perspective from someone who has lived through the tyranny that we know as Saddam Hussein...quite different from the version we have been hearing from those that call themselves 'peace-niks'...they don't know from nothing...

The people who opposed the dictatorship for decades continue to struggle against it, even as it changes to secret bloody organizations using terror, assassination and hidden bombs as weapons.

Barbara Boxer, are you listening??

Barbra Streisand, are YOU listening??

Sean Penn...oh forget it...go back to your line....

The true “resistance” is not the bloody terrorist groups and lost regime murderers shown on the Arab or American media all the time, but everyday Iraqis. People who suffered for decades because of Saddam’s killers and now hope to have a good, normal life like other people in the world. People like my relative who was going to work to feed his family, and people like my friend who challenged all the threats and risks and decided to make his voice heard and his existence felt.

When the regime collapsed, most Iraqis believed this would be the start of a new period, one of peace and development, a period in which our people could take off the military uniform from their bodies and souls and start rebuilding their country. But now, faced with the challenge of terrorists who would try to destroy our chances for a peaceful life, Iraqis are feeling once more the call to battle, but this time for a totally different reason: a battle in the name of democracy and progress.

Listen to me...the terrorists are getting their strength from none other than people and sources on OUR SOIL...

Stop the music...mute the TV...pay ATTENTION!

We have brothers and sisters...fathers...mothers...uncles...OUR MILITARY BRETHREN...fighting in Iraq...and for good reason...

...only to discover that our OWN 'fellow citizens'...those that wrap themselves in "peace"...are the very ones that are giving strength and sustenence to the murdering, torturing, raping, terrorizing thugs that were left after Saddam was pulled from his spider hole hiding place and taken away in shackles...

Nasir Flayih Hasan closes with this:

Just as in the past, when the crimes of Saddam fed the deep hatred for the man and his regime in the Iraqi soul, so now the increasingly criminal actions of anti-democracy groups feed a sense of resolve in the breasts of Iraqis to fight for their democratic future. Today, I see how friends, relatives and acquaintances—some of whom have lost loved ones to the terrorists—are now rising to the challenge, not only to take part in the coming elections, but to participate in the future of Iraq’s development. I see how people who once seemed hesitant or apathetic about events have become aware that the battle for democracy and freedom is their own battle, and if they are going to have a better life for themselves and their children, they must take part in this battle one way or another.

This feeling extends not only to intellectuals but to the average person in the street, who has gradually become aware that the new enemy, the new disease that infected this country after the collapse of the regime, is something we must face, sooner or later. It is taking away each day the lives of more and more Iraqis. It is not going to stop and yet it must be stopped.

And by this spirit, and through this spirit, we Iraqis are going to participate in the elections, that political slap in the face for all those who support terrorism and want to postpone our destiny as long as they can. Our increasing spirit of resistance and hope for the future is perhaps the best example of how terrorism can never stop a people’s will to be free.


Surprised? Don't be...you knew it all along...

...you recognized it in our President...you see it every day...

...my only hope is that the Iraqi people will realize their dream...their vision...and one day be able to say "we are truly free"

...I will be praying...

DR

"..have the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world."

...those words were spoken by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia while addressing the Knights of Columbus Council 969 centennial celebration were a reminder that people of faith should not fear being viewed by "educated circles" as "fools for Christ."

'nuff said...

Hat Tip: Matt Drudge

DR

The Terapist: Democrats Reluctantly Confirm Nomination of Articulate, Black Woman


Now this is funny

The 'therapist' gives his spin on what happened last week...Boxer vociferously opposed Rice on grounds of her "disregard for the truth," and that "hearing that kind of perfectly-honed diction and enunciation emanate from a black face is unnerving." Aides to Boxer admit that the senator's umbrage against Rice falls under the umbrella of low-expectations with regards to black people."

If she could have just taken on a muslim moniker, or went all hip-hop for a moment, or done that thing black women do with their heads when they get mad," said the aide. "But this dot-and-tittle attention to posture and vigorus defense of the iraq war, with words the senator can barely understand just wont do."

Sen. Joeseph Biden (D.-Delaware) thoughtfully scratched his frontal hair plugs as he relunctantly said he would support Rice--perhaps avoiding a "sour grapes" protest vote in a process virtually guranteed to confirm Rice.

and about what is going to happen this week....The commitee's vote sends the issue to the full senate, where she is expected to face symbolic opposition from the like of former Ku Klux Klan member, Robert Byrd(W.VA)--a Democrat.

Byrd is expected to refrain from filibustering the issue in fashions similar to his barn-burner fulminations against the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

It was unclear at day's end whether or not Sen. Byrd planned to use the word "nigger" in any forthcoming speeches.

Talk about discrimination...the liberals prove, once again, that they are the BEST at it!

DR

Bush Installed in Office 3 Days...and Hillary Is Campaigning for 2008

Making outrageous claims such as "America's leaders don't have a vision" and "I believe that on both political and substantive grounds, my husband did it just right," Hillary Clinton once again gave her version of history...hoping, perhaps, that if she says it loud and long enough she will be able to re-write history.

Speaking again about 'her husband', Clinton stated "...He took on the gun lobby with the Brady Bill. He took on health care. He took on hard issues that we pay a president for. Frankly, it is not that hard cutting people's taxes."

Huh?

oh, wait...wait! I get it!

'he took on hard issues...'

heh...

I'll get serious about this later...it is Monday morning after all...

Hat tip: Matt Drudge

DR

1/23/2005

Boxer Lied About California War Casualties

This is turning into a catfight...and Barbara Boxer is gonna lose...

First of all, you don't call someone a 'liar' and then lie about the 'facts' that have you so outraged...

Boxer has said repeatedly - in her hysterical I-am-so-upset-because-you-said-things-that-are-flat-out-not-true fashion - that Condoleeza Rice is lying...and apparently Boxer is determined to continue this on Tuesday...

...and guess what? Boxer is lying - looking bold-faced into the cameras - saying over and over again that California has sustained 25% of the casualties in Iraq...

...the truth? it is 11.5%...half...HALF of what she has been repeating...and all the time trying to paint Coldoleeza Rice as a liar...Rambling's Journal lists 7 other items that he has identified as false-hoods - ie: LIES - that crossed Boxer's lips during the Rice confirmation hearings...

Boxer's fellow Senator, Diane Feinstein, was on FoxNews Sunday this morning and made a statement to the effect "I don't want to see Dr. Rice's credibility diminished by this confirmation process" (I paraphrased)

But, Feinstein is correct!

What possible good can come out of Boxer's stupid line of questioning? Dr. Rice is going to be confirmed...does Boxer feel a need for another 15 minutes of fame?

...guess it's another case of 'the enemy within'...our own congressional delegates doing the dirty work for this nations enemies...and the terrorists won't even have to lift a finger...

DR

Buy Red

Here's a good one - BuyBlue.org.

Their mission?

Mission Statement: BuyBlue.org supports businesses that share our progressive values and ideals. BuyBlue.org uses our power as consumers to vote with our wallets, supporting businesses that abide by sustainability, workers' rights, environmental standards, and corporate transparency. At the same time, BuyBlue.org focuses sharply on businesses that violate the essential values of a sustainable, fair and profitable society through their policies and the politicians they support.

Their message?

Why was BuyBlue.org started? On the morning after the 2004 election, half of the country woke up in disbelief and disgust. Shortly afterwards it turned to anger and bitterness and many were entertaining moving to another country. It didn't take long for all of us to collectively realize that we had lost our country to the other side and we wanted, no needed to do something about it.

Did you catch that? "...realize that we had lost our country to the other side..."

"We" are the "other side" - not terrorists...not enemies of the United States..."US" - you and me

That, in a nutshell, captures the essence...the idiology...the anger and the hatred of the Looney Left. And they aren't finished yet with spending every waking hour trying to think up ways to punish "us".

So how does that pertain to "us", you ask?

Well, their list not only contains "blue" companies, but "red" ones too....

....so....playing by their rules, mind you...but in 'alternate universe' fashion... AVOID the blue companies and SUPPORT the red ones...maybe someone will come up with the same website for 'red' ones...

...and just in case they get wind of us tapping into their website and taking the information down, here is the list (remember the percentages come from the liberals, so the numbers represent the amount of support these companies gave to the Democratic Party):

Reddest Companies - (*My note: these are the stores to SUPPORT )

Best Buy Co., Inc. 0%
Cintas Corporation 0%
Dollar General Corporation 0%
Fruit of the Loom 0%
Lowe's Companies, Inc. 0%
Outback Steakhouse, Inc. 2%
CBRL Group, Inc. 4%
Geico 5%
Wendy's International, Inc. 6%
Darden Restaurants, Inc. 9%
Circuit City Stores, Inc. 10%
Saks Incorporated 11%
Dell Inc. 12%
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. 12%
Kroger Co. 12%
Ahold USA, Inc. 13%
Hallmark Cards, Inc. 14%
American Greetings Corporation 15%
Adolph Coors Company 16%
Brinker International, Inc. 16%
Helzberg Diamonds 16%
Limited Brands, Inc. 16%
Marriott International, Inc. 17%
Shell Oil Company 17%
Target Corporation 17%
Southwest Airlines Co. 18%
The Home Depot, Inc. 18%
Campbell Soup Company 20%
YUM! Brands, Inc. 21%
Longs Drug Stores Corporation 22%
May Department Stores Company 22%
Continental Airlines, Inc. 25%
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC 25%
Guess?, Inc 27%
Ford Motor Company 28%
Safeway Inc. 30%
Northwest Airlines Corporation 32%
Sears, Roebuck and Co. 34%
Sprint Corporation 35%
Walgreen Co. 35%
Blockbuster Inc. 40%
Amazon.com, Inc. 41%
Delta Air Lines, Inc. 43%
AT&T Corp. 44%

Bluest Companies - (*My note: these are the stores to AVOID )

Aloha Air Group, Inc. 100%
American Apparel, LLC 100%
BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. 100%
Borders Group, Inc. 100%
CompUSA Inc. 100%
Diamond Resorts International 100%
Foot Locker, Inc 100%
Fry's Electronics, Inc. 100%
Google Inc. 100%
Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc. 100%
Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. 100%
Loews Hotels Holding Corporation 100%
MetroPCS Communications, Inc. 100%
Powell's Books, Inc. 100%
Progressive Corporation 100%
Sonic Corp. 100%
Starbucks Corporation 100% (personal note: gulp! this is a difficult one, because I love Starbucks...but if I am asking you all to do it, I will suck it up and find another coffee bean-ery...)
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. 100%
Trader Joe's Company, Inc. 100%
True Value Company 100%
Whole Foods Market, Inc. 100%
Costco Wholesale Corporation 99%
Amerada Hess Corporation 98%
Bed, Bath & Beyond Inc 97%
Hyatt Hotels and Resorts 93%
Sharper Image Corporation 93%
Signet Group plc 93%
Hilton Hotels Corporation 84%
Gap Inc. 78%
JetBlue Airways Corporation 75%
Netflix, Inc 72%
Triarc Companies, Inc. 59%
Brown-Forman Corporation 57%
eBay Inc. 57%
CVS Corporation 51%
UAL Corporation 51%
Kmart Holding Corporation 50%
Yahoo! Inc. 47%
Alaska Air Group, Inc. 45%
AMR Corporation 45%

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I tell ya, keeping track of these loonies is almost a full time job...

Desert Rat

Goodnight Johnny...




Johnny and Ed McMahon


Carnac the Magnificent

The Tonight Show with Carson, 1962-1992

Johnny Carson 1925-2005

DR

George W. Bush - Visionary

A social science that cannot speak of tyranny with the same confidence with which medicine speaks, for example, of cancer, cannot understand social phenomena as what they are. --Leo Strauss, On Tyranny

Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered. Yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph. --Thomas Paine, The Crisis

INFORMED BY STRAUSS and inspired by Paine, appealing to Lincoln and alluding to Truman, beginning with the Constitution and ending with the Declaration, with Biblical phrases echoing throughout--George W. Bush's Second Inaugural was a powerful and subtle speech.

Bill Kristol, over at Weekly Standard says what I have been struggling with and mulling over ever since President Bush's inauguration speech last Thursday.

Whatever everyone is running around with their panties in a wad is beyond me.

Our country was founded on these ideals, and as far as I know, nothing has changed since then.

If anyone wants to take issue with President Bush, wait until his State of the Union speech. This was an inauguration speech which NEEDS to be visionary.

My gawd....if John F. Kennedy had said any of these words, everyone would be falling over themselves with gushing praise and adoration...

...and yet, if you look really closely...there are a lot of similarities...

Kristol has it right - this is going to go down in the history books as a great speech...

It will also prove to be a historic speech. Less than three and a half years after 9/11, Bush's Second Inaugural moves American foreign policy beyond the war on terror to the larger struggle against tyranny. It grounds Bush's foreign policy--American foreign policy--in American history and American principles. If actions follow words and success greets his efforts, then President Bush will have ushered in a new era in American foreign policy.

couldn't agree more...

DR

1/22/2005

The More Things Change...The More They Stay the Same...


as evidenced by this Thomas Nast 1877 political cartoon
after the 1876 presidential election...

The headstone reads: Here lies the democratic Tiger, greatly mourned by the bereaved filibusters.

The cartoon caption reads: "Another such victory and I am undone" Pyrrhus

Pyrrhus, the author of the quote, was a king of ancient Epirus, after whom the term "Pyrrhic Victory"-meaning a costly win-was named.

DR

NRO: Move On Already

"I think they stole Ohio"

"I think Kerry should have won"

President Bush [is] an "international terrorist"

"I'm not convinced that [Bush] won the election. My personal opinion of these people is that they have absolutely no regard for human life or the democratic process."

"I think that there was voter suppression, primarily in Ohio"

"One Nation, Under Fraud"

"I believe that the Republican party has consistently used fraud to get into office and to stay in office."

"I think Kerry did win, because the exit polls would verify that."

Daniel J Flynn over at National Review Online captures the essence of the left...still unable to accept the fact that George Bush won the first majority in a presidential election since 1988...

I have read it elsewhere and it really is becoming very clear that the self absorbed minds of these people simply makes it impossible for them to grasp that anyone...I mean ANYONE...could or did vote for Bush because EVERYONE they know voted for Kerry...

...fortunately that mindset resides mostly on the east and left coast...let's hope they stay there...

Hat tip HundredPercenter

DR

Not Gloating! Not Gloating!




...ok, but this is the time of year that this Desert Rat is thankful
to be living in the desert...

oh, yea!

but, seriously, I can tell you that I probably would not survive
that kind of cold wx...I don't know how you guys do it!

DR

Ex-Ku Klux Klansman Forces Vote Delay

NewsMax reports: A day after ex-Ku Klux Klansman Robert Byrd forced the full Senate to delay a confirmation vote for the first African-American woman ever nominated as Secretary of State, White House chief of staff Andrew Card blasted Senate Democrats for playing "petty politics."

According to the Boston Herald, Card said that the insult would not soon be forgotten, warning Democrats that they "are poisoning any hopes for bipartisanship."

Even the New York Post is criticizing Byrd: On Saturday the New York Post blasted Sen. Byrd, openly questioning whether the former member of the anti-black terrorist group was motivated by racism.

"They say a leopard can't change its spots," the paper editorialized. "Can a one-time Klansman change his, umm, sheets? The way Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W. Va.) acted this week, it's fair to ask."

Those Dems...crybabies all...they use filibusters, delay tactics, obstructionism...all because they don't know what the hell they are doing...or even what they stand for anymore...and they wonder why nobody takes them seriously?

DR

Vets Against Kerry Celebrate in D.C.

...oh, and speaking of John Kerry, there was an "Un-augural" reception at the National Press Club on Thursday, the same day that President Bush was being inaugurated...

Leaders of prominent "527" military service veterans groups, film producers, Web sites and authors who made substantial contributions to the veterans' revolt against Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential bid were honored by their supporters at an "Un-augural" reception at the National Press Club Thursday.

Considering the poor treatment these veterans got by John F'n Kerry and in the MSM, they had good reason to celebrate the fact that Kerry didn't get elected...

...well, my grandma always did say...every dog has his day...

DR

Ketchup Heiress Teresa Makes Modest Tsunami Contribution

While Teresa Heinz Kerry, heiress to the Heinz Foods dynasty, has two factories in Indonesia and one in Thailand - countries heavily affected by the tsunami disaster, it appears that her donations to the tsunami relief fund are rather embarrassing.

NewsMax reported: Charities controlled by billionaire ketchup heiress Teresa Heinz have pledged a relatively modest $450,000 to tsunami relief in recent days, with Mrs. Heinz explaining she prefers to keep her charitable contributions local.

Heinz Endowments announced Saturday that it would contribute $400,000 to tsunami relief, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. And the Washington, D.C.-based Heinz Family Philanthropies will add another $50,000.

Given that some of 'her' employees were probably directly affected by the disaster, this is just another revelation about the generosity of Teresa...

NewsMax also noted that...while generous, the Heinz contribution doesn't come close to actress Sandra Bullock, who donated $1 million to tsunami relief. Or race-car driver Michael Schumacher, who pledged $10 million during a telethon on German television last week.

oh, and John Kerry hasn't mentioned if he is going to donate or not...

hmmm...

DR

Iraq refuses to say if Zarqawi detained

The rumors persist...Iraq Interior Minister: "I wouldn't like to comment for the time being," Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib said when asked about rumors that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had been arrested. "Let's see. Maybe in the next few days we will make a comment about it."

The election is eight days away...Zarqawi loyalists are still on the streets...

I will keep listening and watching and keep you updated...

DR

1/21/2005

Michael Moore's Bodyguard Arrested in New York for Illegally Carrying Gun

In what National Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam called: "... the height of hypocrisy", a bodyguard who has protected filmmaker and gun-control advocate Michael Moore was arrested at Kennedy International Airport this week for allegedly carrying a pistol without a proper license.

A Lakeland, FL newspaper reports: In an interview last year with Playboy magazine, Moore called the National Rifle Association a "radical, freaky group.""Most Americans are with me on this," he said about stricter gun controls. "They understand duck hunters don't need Uzis and cop-killer bullets."

Well, that's interesting...Port Authority Police arrested Burk Wednesday after he presented a black, .40-caliber Mauser pistol at a United Airlines ticket counter while trying to board a flight home, police said....

Can somebody please give me Moore's definition of "cop-killer bullets"?...and, come to think of it, did anyone hear if Moore was duck hunting while in New York??

When asked to comment Thursday on the arrest of Moore's bodyguard, NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said: "Based on empirical evidence, this is the height of hypocrisy."

The AP noted that Moore won the Oscar for best documentary in 2002 with Bowling for Columbine, a scathing look at the US gun culture.

Sources said Burk arrived in New York with Moore on Jan. 11 for what was to be a short stay before they were to head to Michigan. It was not known how long Burk and Moore were together in the city.

Michael Moore's spokesman Mark Benoit said the filmmaker "wasn't there and had nothing do with this"....of course....

But the most interesting thing about this? I can't find it in the Main Stream Media...a Google search turns up Newsday in NY; Houston Chronicle; and reports from Australia, the U.K., Ireland, but nothing from major MSM sources...

dontcha just love the hypocrisy?

...apparently it is an epidemic...

DR

1/20/2005

Sixteen: Yea - Two: NO


The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has overwhelmingly approved the nomination of Condoleezza Rice to be the next secretary of state.

The vote was 16-to-two, with only Democratic Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer voting against Rice.

cartoon is from Cox & Forkum

DR

1/19/2005

Is it just me...?


...or is Kerry flipping the media off...??

...heh
DR

You're Soooo Vain...


Rush Limbaugh provided these pictures of vain, vain John F. Kerry, who denied he used botox...if he was willing to lie about that, what else was he lying about....

gives me a chance to be grateful all over again...

DR


1/18/2005

Media's coverage has distorted world's view of Iraqi reality

All right, I've had enough. I am tired of reading distorted and grossly exaggerated stories from major news organizations about the "failures" in the war in Iraq. "The most trusted name in news" and a long list of others continue to misrepresent the scale of events in Iraq. Print and video journalists are covering only a fraction of the events in Iraq and, more often than not, the events they cover are only negative.

So goes the opening paragraph of a piece written by LTC Tim Ryan, Commander, Task Force 2-12 Cavalry, First Cavalry Division in Iraq.

For those of you that don't know, CNN's motto is 'the most trusted name in news'...HOWEVER..

How many remember the CNN scandal that broke almost two years ago? The one where Chief News Executive of the network, Eason Jordan, wrote an op/ed piece in the New York Times, entitled "The News We Kept to Ourselves". This scandalous revelation about a major 'news' networks operations was amazingly glossed over with scant attention paid to what Jordan had to say.

In a 'bless me Father, I have sinned' fashion, Jordan bared his soul...but he also revealed something about CNN that is alarming...they are dangerously selective about what they show as "news".

This author wrote at the time: By operating the way that they did, CNN ceased to do what journalists are supposed to do--report the facts so that the audience can make informed judgments about the world around them. By ignoring the truth, and sucking up to Iraqi leaders and officials, CNN became just another cog in the Iraqi propaganda machine.

And so we are back to Lt. Ryan's message.

Writes Ryan: From where I sit in Iraq, things are not all bad right now. In fact, they are going quite well...Final eradication of the pockets of insurgents will take some time, as it always does, but the fact remains that the central geographic stronghold of the insurgents is now under friendly control. That sounds a lot like success to me. Given all of this, why don't the papers lead with "Coalition Crushes Remaining Pockets of Insurgents" or "Enemy Forces Resort to Suicide Bombings of Civilians"? This would paint a far more accurate picture of the enemy's predicament over here. Instead, headlines focus almost exclusively on our hardships.

What about the media's portrayal of the enemy? Why do these ruthless murderers, kidnappers and thieves get a pass when it comes to their actions? What did the the media show or tell us about Margaret Hassoon, the director of C.A.R.E. in Iraq and an Iraqi citizen, who was kidnapped, brutally tortured and left disemboweled on a street in Fallujah? Did anyone in the press show these images over and over to emphasize the moral failings of the enemy as they did with the soldiers at Abu Ghuraib?

Speaking about Fallujah and Najaf: Television and newspapers spilled a continuous stream of images and stories about the destruction done to the sacred city, and of all the human suffering allegedly brought about by the hands of the big, bad Americans...While the media was busy bashing the Coalition, Muqtada's boys were kidnapping policemen, city council members and anyone else accused of supporting the Coalition or the new government, trying them in a kangaroo court based on Islamic Shari'a law, then brutally torturing and executing them for their "crimes." What the media didn't show or write about were the two hundred-plus headless bodies found in the main mosque there, or the body that was put into a bread oven and baked. Nor did they show the world the hundreds of thousands of mortar, artillery and small arms rounds found within the "sacred" walls of the mosque. Also missing from the coverage was the huge cache of weapons found in Muqtada's "political" headquarters nearby. No, none of this made it to the screen or to print. All anyone showed were the few chipped tiles on the dome of the mosque and discussion centered on how we, the Coalition, had somehow done wrong. Score another one for the enemy's propaganda machine.

The enemy's propaganda machine...none other than our own Main Stream Media...

DR

Desert Rat Rules

I have deleted the numerous harrassing messages from one poster who goes by the name of 'Jason Smith'...I don't mind thoughtful postings, even if you don't agree with me...but I won't tolerate what I consider 'spam' postings every day or so...I am not using this blog to generate posts...if this stuff interests you and you want to drop a line, great...if it doesn't it won't hurt my feelings, don't stop by...message to Jason Smith - if you want to rant, get your own blog

DR

Sour Grapes...

Yesterday John Kerry reiterated that he decided not to challenge the election results, but "thousands of people were suppressed in the effort to vote."

ya, uh-huh...

you see, Kerry has been 'standing back' and hoping that someone else would challenge the election...I think he has been hoping for something like what happened in Florida in 2000...and... nothing...

so, when Kerry was addressing a crowd during a MLK celebration yesterday, he also had this to say:

"Voting machines were distributed in uneven ways. In Democratic districts, it took people four, five, eleven hours to vote, while Republicans (went) through in 10 minutes – same voting machines, same process, our America," he said.

I don't know about you, but this looks like the words of a sore loser...even though Kerry is trying sooooo hard to act like he isn't one...it isn't working...

DR

1/17/2005

The REAL Social Security Shell Game

I have been watching with great interest the ongoing debate about the president's call for Social Security reform and the reaction of the liberal left. It wasn't too long ago when it was the Democrats that were calling for reform and warning everyone of the impending crisis.

In August 2002 the Washington Post had an op-ed piece authored by non other than Bob Kerrey and Warren Rudman about the "Social Security Shell Game".

One paragraph in particular drew my attention: It is certainly fair to criticize reform plans on policy grounds. But it is fundamentally unfair to judge them against a standard that assumes the current system can deliver everything it promises. It can't. Today's Social Security system promises far more in future benefits than it can possibly deliver. The relevant comparison for any reform plan is with what current law can deliver, not what it promises.

So the question I pose today is this: What changed? What program was implemented after August 12, 2002, that so drastically changed how Social Security is operating that supports the complete 180 turn that liberals have taken since then?

I have actually been doing research on this because I clearly remember earlier times when one of the Democrat's mantra WAS that Social Security had a crisis and we'd better fix it NOW!

Clearly something huge changed and fixed that system that once gave the Dems free reign to scare seniors about what the Republicans were going to do to Social Security to make their benefits disappear into thin air...Right?

I must have been in a coma and just didn't realize it, because I sure as hell don't remember it!

In April 1998 in Kansas City, MO, President Clinton held what was called "The Great Social Security Debate", in which all participants spoke fervently about the need for Social Security reform.

Odd, isn't it that whenever one of their own sound the alarm, the liberal members of congress along with their compadres in the MSM rally to the battle cry. But just let that same message of the same crisis escape from the lips of a conservative and watch them do a 180.

It is an incredible thing to witness...and given the gravity of the situation and the real potential for disaster, I am shocked at what we are seeing play out on the national stage.

The Washington Times is reporting Democrats have assailed Republicans' call for Social Security reform, saying the program faces no serious woes for 40 or so years, but some analysts and observers say the system will face a real problem in barely more than a decade.

And quite frankly, nothing could be further from the truth.

Robert Bixby, executive director of the nonpartisan Concord Coalition, said, "2018 is when the system begins paying out more than it takes in.

"From the budgetary and economic perspective, that's the significant year," he said. "It clearly is a problem."

Obviously, the solution will have to be a thoughtful one, with models and worst-case-scenarios presented and worked through, but there is a need for fixing the Social Security system - and that fix needs to be put into place now, not 10 years from now.

John Palffy, president of JMP Financial, further explains the issue:

Privatization is fundamental to solving Social Security: It replaces the "pay-as-you" go scheme with a true savings program. By relying on savings, not unstable demographics, for retiree benefits, privatization will stabilize and secure future benefits and increase capital, productivity and wages.

Hopefully our representatives in Washington will step up to the plate and put aside their partisan politics to work on something as worthy and worthwhile as this.

Their constituents are depending on them to do what's right...to forget about their own egos and finally do something that is right for this country's citizens.

DR

1/16/2005

Bush DOES Have a Mandate

I am sick and tired of the ignorant liberals claiming that President Bush doesn't have a mandate after this election.

What the hell are they talking about??

Bush got 51.50896% of the popular vote - after a mudslinging, name-calling, free-for-all!

In 1992 Clinton only got 43.283% of the popular vote...and in 1996 he only got 50.062% - this from the president the liberals continue to call "wildly popular"....and forgive me, Bob Dole is very sincere, but he really wasn't a very strong candidate...yet he got 41.298% of the votes while running against "Wild Bill"...and Ross Perot got 8.539%

Drunken murderer slob, Teddy "Kopechne" Kennedy, had this to say: In addressing the election results of Nov. 2 that saw his fellow Massachusetts Democratic senator, John Kerry, lose to Bush, Kennedy said he rejects the claim that the president won "even a miniature mandate for reactionary measures like privatizing Social Security, redistributing the tax burden ... or packing the federal courts with reactionary judges."

ya, Teddy...go pour another drink...

DR

Now THIS is Propaganda!

Jill Lawrence wrote over at USA Today this week about the Bad Republicans that 'assailed John Kerry' (she didn't exactly say his name) - but those Wascally Wepublicans ASSAILED him by calling him a flip-flopper!!

Why, there even was a photo of two people wearing large flip-flops proving how horrible it all was...

She even wrote: Having trouble? That's because Democrats generally don't have the stomach or the discipline to do it. Often they don't even effectively fight back when under attack themselves.

What????

uh, Ms. Lawrence, can I speak to you for a sec?

Perhaps you were in the loo while the liberal mouthpieces were saying this about the Republican candidate: liar, a moron, a coward, a military deserter, a puppet of Dick Cheney and the Jews, and another Hitler...did I leave anything out?

JamesTaranto at Opinion Journal goes on:

What are they going to say if they "get the stomach" to wage character attacks--that he's the original Hitler?

This is the sort of thing that drives conservatives crazy, but it actually illustrates why the liberal media are the Republicans' secret weapon. The Democrats are the victim of their own con game. They put out the most outrageous spin, which reporters like Lawrence dutifully regurgitate, and then Dems believe it because, hey, the "objective" media have reported it! It's as if Communist Party functionaries actually believed what was "reported" in the old Pravda.

...I have heard the word 'propaganda' thrown around lately...by liberals...the original propaganda-ists...anything that they have been labeling as such pales in comparison when you actually roll back the camera and re-play what went on...

word...for...disgusting word....

DR