Zarqawi Aide Captured

From BBC News:

Iraqi police have captured a top aide of al-Qaeda suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the US-led coalition says.

The man, Umar Baziyani, is known to have ties to several extremist groups in Iraq, according to a statement by the US military.

He is believed to be responsible for the deaths of scores of innocent Iraqi citizens, the statement said.

Mr Baziyani, who was arrested on Saturday, is said to be providing information to coalition authorities.

Matt's Chat

WE ARE STILL WINNING! Sorry...I just thought I'd help the media out a bit...

This is fantastic news. Especially the fact that this guy was caught by Iraqi police. They are starting to contribute more and more to their security.

Mark's Remarks

Why isn't this leading the news? Because ABS, CBS, NBS, CNNBS, MSNBS don't want America to succeed. They don't want us to be successful. They are so full of self-loathing and abject hatred that they would seek to demoralize and endanger soldiers merely to get one man. Sad and pathetic, but this is the media of today. It is all about hating America first, and trusting terrorists, than it is about protecting our own and simply giving the facts, for heavens sake!

Pope to Receive Medal of Freedom

From al-Reuters:

President Bush will award Pope John Paul the Presidential Medal of Freedom Friday, the highest U.S. civilian award, a U.S. official said Thursday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the pontiff was being honored for "years of fighting for freedom and for his important moral voice."

Bush is to meet the Polish pope at the Vatican Friday

Matt's Chat

This is an outrage of biblical proportions.

OUTRAGE!

What the #%|| has the pope done for freedom lately?

"Important moral voice" my @$$. When the pope cracks down on pedophile priests and the bishops who love them, let's talk. Until then...the pope deserves a cold shoulder and a reminder that he has a moral voice and he should use it. For good this time.

3:15PM Update

InstaPundit has related links and commentary as only Glenn can...

Mark's Remarks

Pope boy needs to remember that if it hadn't been for America, there would be no Poland. His countrymen fighting in Iraq remember, it is a shame that the dribbling snivelling pontiff does not remember.

The McAwful Era Ending

From New York Post:

WE weren't totally accurate in predicting three months ago that Sen. John Kerry would dump Terry McAuliffe as chairman of the Democratic National Committee. McAuliffe continues to hold the title. But sources say Kerry has installed John Sasso, a loyalist from Boston, as his key man at the DNC. "No checks are written until Sasso signs off. No decisions are made until Sasso says so," said one Democrat. "Terry McAuliffe was told to take it, or take a hike. And he's taking it." McAuliffe, a multimillionaire from Syracuse, was hand-picked by Bill Clinton and has remained under the influence of Sen. Hillary Clinton. Sasso was a top advisor to Michael Dukakis and then a lobbyist in Beantown. "He is totally loyal to Kerry," said our source.

Matt's Chat

DUH! We've been saying this for months... McAwful is done right after Kerry accepts the nomination. Kerry will not accept Clinton operatives running the DNC.

And the press gets all excited over GOP problems in Ohio... The DNC has got some real issues and nobody is talking about it.

Mark's Remarks

Of course not. Can't have the rank and file hear about the discord, it would disrupt the plantation.

Kerry will, however, keep McAwful around, because while he may not like their influence, he does love those deep pocket connections.

Liberals: Let's Turn Ohio in to Florida

From Newsday:

Two workers with a community activist group's voter-registration campaign were fired after authorities determined they submitted fraudulent forms to election officials.

The workers were collecting voter registrations for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, when they turned in the forms, which were duplicates or contained false information.

Matt's Chat

Don't let them get away with this crap. I suspect similar methods being employed in those "polls" that show Kerry beating the President in this state.

Liberals, hatred of Bush is not enough to win. And cheating only makes you look desperate.

If you start demanding recounts, I'll remember this article...

Mark's Remarks

It truly is amazing that the same people who chant "selected, not elected" and the like are the same people who engage in circumventing election law, who shamelessly name themselves President before the Electorate is to decide; and who have engaged in illegal campaigning and electioneering (remember the Daleys in Illinois, not to mention Clinton's auctioning off of American tech to the Red Chinese). Of course these idiots in Ohio would engage in such tricks, for two reasons:
1. it is part of John Kerry's policy, like when his bro pulled a mini-Watergate, and

2. they friggin'named Jerry Springer Dim of the year.

9/11 Update

From MSNBC:

More than a year before 9/11, a Pakistani-British man told the FBI an incredible tale: that he had been trained by bin Laden’s followers to hijack airplanes and was now in America to carry out an attack. The FBI questioned him for weeks, but then let him go home, and never followed up. Now, the former al-Qaida insider is talking.
...
Khan told NBC News that for the next few weeks he was trained by al-Qaida to hijack passenger planes, and then sent to the United States. But when he told the FBI, headquarters was skeptical and, after several weeks, senior FBI officials ordered him released to the custody of British intelligence. Khan said, “I told them before the 9/11, about more than year, be… hijacking in America or on America airline.”

Matt's Chat

Why wasn't Dick Clarke shaking his trees with his hair on fire? What did Clinton know and when did he know it?

HALLIBURTON! Lie after lie after lie after lie. I demand an investigation!

Okay, now that I got that infantile exercise out of the way... Isn't it interesting that the liberals get a pass on stuff like this? Where is the insider, tell-all book about this? Could it be that these folks don't won't to embarrass anybody (themselves at the very least, Clinton at the most)? Isn't that a bit odd?

If Dick Clarke knew everything and was Commander-in-Chief of Counterterrorism Forces, wouldn't he have been involved? Is he covering this up? Why wasn't this in his book? Why didn't he use The Force^tm and read this guy's mind like he did Condi Rice? Why didn't he discredit Khan as a Vast Right Wing Conspirator or a Zionist Neo-Con? Could it be that Dick Clarke didn't know everything and thus his credibility is shot. If he didn't know about this, it is quite likely he didn't know about a great many things.

Just asking...

11:30AM Update

Mahatma has more commentary.

12:30PM Update

CyberCast News Service has an interesting article about Dick Clarke's perjury and the agenda of those who used him (Chuck the Schmuck and Barbara Boxer).

1:30PM Update

Newsday, CBS (FOX News had the same AP story) and the Washington Times also have coverage of this story.

The Reuters article is interesting:

There is no evidence Khan was part of the Sept. 11 plot, but he was urged to go public partly at the urging of lawyers for Sept. 11 victims' families, according to the reports.

Emphasis added. I don't think these are the same families cheering in the stands at the 9/11 Commission...

Mark's Remarks

This is amazing....family members of the 9/11 victims HAVE FORGOTTEN the indignation and pain and are now out for money...It is disgraceful to the memories of those who fell that their relatives are now more worried about civil suits than in getting justice. It makes me ill, and I am sure it makes those relatives looking down from above ill as well. Utterly disgraceful. However, if you ARE AFTER blame, this only goes to show you that Dick Clarke was an utter buffoon and that Bill Clinton's intelligence apparatus (or lack of one after the numerous budget cuts) was way more inept than anything Bush had. Sue Clinton's sorry arse, after all he did get a 12 million dollar advance for the coming BS he is putting out as memoirs.

Open Thread Friday

From the TIB Network:

Today's the day we talk about whatever you want to talk about in the comments section!

Is there a topic we didn't cover? Might you have a question or comment? Carpe Diem!

- Matt

9:00AM Update

Hugh Hewitt has an interesting question about the Los Angelas County seal issue: Will Pomona be removed now too?

Lileks answers a Hewitt question or two after relating an experience with a Maxtor hard drive that I'll never forget...

10:00AM Update

INDC Journal's Bill went to the WWII Memorial opening and has filed two reports well worth your time.

11:00AM Update

The crack young staff of the Hatemongers Quarterly address some issues. Bloggers will certainly appreciate their plight.

Slant Point has a suggestion for media covering war. Invest in digital equipment and stop lugging around those bulky cameras...they grab the attention of those seeking to grab attention.

3:45PM Update

Rob Bernard has the latest on the good news about the economy. Hint: More jobs were created than expected!

More NCLB

From the TIB Network:

Earlier in the week, we wrote about an article in the Columbus Dispatch written by some liberal hack with a vendetta against accountability. Now it seems the Dayton Daily Democrat^tm has published a letter to the editor that is pretty much more of the same.

Red Line Rants does a thorough job of dispelling the myth.

- Matt

Bad Year for the NEA

From the New York Post:

WELCOME to the National Education Association's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad election year.

What's going wrong for America's largest teachers union? The leash on which it has long held Democratic politicians is beginning to fray.

That's good news for the millions of families in America's public schools who have for too long seen concepts like "accountability" take a back seat to teacher and administrator tenure-for-life.

Despite the NEA's nearly 3 million members — and the millions of dollars it pours into every election cycle — more and more Democratic politicians are willing to risk finding themselves in the union's dog house.
...
The NEA faces one more grave problem, notes Antonucci: stagnant growth. While its membership has increased for 20 years straight, it rose by only 5,000 members this year due to slowing school enrollment. And it's budgeting for next year on a prediction of zero growth.

That means less money, less manpower — less power, period.

Less powerful teachers unions?

It's a tantalizing prospect for those who want to put children first and fix our terrible, horrible, no good, very bad public-school system.

Matt's Chat

One of the things I took out of the Democratic Iowa Caucuses this year is that the power of the union, in general, is withering. I find it personally gratifying that the NEA is facing zero growth next year. And I look forward to them going away altogether, but that might be asking too much.

Mark's Remarks

Also, the NEA is facing something that they never thought they would see, being so pompous as to think education programs could mindnumb anyone to brainwash them-- Conservative teachers. There are more and more young teachers, especially at the high school levels, who tend to be conservative. This is good news for students, because finally students as well as teachers will be held accountable for their actions and achievement.

The NEA, and most unions, are some of the most undemocratic bunches of garbage this nation has. Look at union dues. They are spent at the higher level by people who don't care if you don't like John Kerry. For example, every firestation I talk to hates John Kerry, but yet their union spends their union dues on endorsing that blowhard. The NEA takes hard working, underpaid teachers' money and spends it on John Kerry and social experimentation. It is ridiculous. And finally, the chickens are coming home to roost.

Open Thread: Tenet Replacements

From the TIB Network:

Anybody wanna play a game and throw out some names?

- Matt

3:45PM Update:

Bill Hobbs thinks along similar lines as Mahatma (in our comments thread). Ridge to CIA and Rudi to DHS. I, like Mahatma, think that Rudi needs foreign policy experience if he's going to be useful in '08. He won't get that at DHS. But I'm not the one who think Powell is going anywhere anytime soon.

Breaking: Tenet Resigns

From My Way News:

CIA Director George Tenet, who weathered storms over intelligence lapses about suspected weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has resigned, President Bush said Thursday.

"I will miss him," Bush said.

Tenet came to the White House to inform Bush about his decision Wednesday night. "He told me he was resigning for personal reasons," Bush said. "I told him I'm sorry he's leaving. He's done a superb job on behalf of the American people."

Bush said that deputy, John McLaughlin, will temporarily lead America's premier spy agency until a successor is found. Among possible successors is House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss, R-Fla., a former CIA agent and McLaughlin.

Matt's Chat

Here's Chuck the Schmuck's take:

On Capitol Hill, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., called Tenet "an honorable and decent man who has served his country well in difficult times, and no one should make him a fall guy for anything."

And we ALL know where this is going. Chuck thinks that Tenet should stay and that Bush should be the one resigning. Right. Tenet oversaw the CIA, which totally blew the al Qaeda threat. I'm surprised it took this long for him to go.

11:45AM Update:

Mahatma has some insight worthy of consideration. One word: Chalabi. (Mahatma also has an "unrelated" [?] post about polls which I found quite fascinating.)

1:00PM Update:

NewsMax:

"Apparently there is a prewar intelligence report that is about to be released to the public compiled by the Senate Intelligence Committee," reports ABC News. "We're being told that this report is devastating to George Tenet."

The report "relates to some of the prewar intelligence and some of the advice that Tenet gave to the president and to others in the administration in the lead-up to the Iraqi war."

This has some merit too, I think... Also from NewsMax is a bio on Acting Director John McLaughlin

1:30PM Update

The President of the United States:

Today, George Tenet, the director of the CIA, submitted a letter of resignation. I met with George last night in the White House. I had a good visit with him. He told me was resigning for personal reasons. I told him I'm sorry he's leaving. He's done a superb job on behalf of the American people. I accepted his letter. He will serve at the CIA as the director until mid July, at which time the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John McLaughlin, will serve as the acting director.

George Tenet is the -- is the kind of public service you like -- servant you like to work with. He's strong. He's resolute. He served his nation as the director for seven years. He has been a strong and able leader at the agency. He's been a -- he's been a strong leader in the war on terror. And I will miss him. I send my blessings to George and his family. I look forward to working with him until the time he leaves the agency. And I wish him all the very best.

Thank you.

Another display of loyalty to a man who should never have made it past 1/2001. I appreciate loyalty, but come on now...

Mark's Remarks

While I admire the President's loyalty to Mr. Tenet, I must say I think he should have gone with the old Admin as well. However, when you have the ridiculous and crying, now screaming Al Gore contesting every possible recount, and dragging out the results of the election, then you end up with a cobbled together team. However, Mr. Tenet did do some good. He did help get more money for intel, and he did help revive the CIA once Mr. Bush came to office. However, his time has come. I do not think he was forced out or asked to leave, as some have reported. Rather, I think things got to him. Tell me, if you were told you were responsible for 9/11 as well as failures in intel every day for 2 years, wouldn't you get tired of it? Wouldn't you be ready for retirement after 8 years of Bill Clinton ignoring you and 2 years of the media trying to cut your heart out? I think so. Good luck, Mr. Tenet, and thank you for your service. However, the war goes on.

NAACP: Republicans are Taliban Wing of Politics

From Ramblings' Journal:

Michael King has the link and appropriate commentary:

At the "Take Back America" conference in Washington yesterday, NAACP Chairman Julian Bond compared Republicans to the Taliban, the terrorists who used to rule Afghanistan.

"Their idea of equal rights is the American flag and the Confederate swastika flying side by side," Bond told a cheering audience. "They've written a new constitution for Iraq and ignore the Constitution here at home. They draw their most rabid supporters from the Taliban wing of American politics. Now they want to write bigotry back into the Constitution."

He offered no proof to support his "bigotry" comment. It's far easier for Bond and others to allow emotion to rule the day.

Bond called the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 two of America's greatest achievements. Of course, he neglected the simple fact that the Republicans of the day were instrumental in pushing both Acts through. Had the Democrats of the 1960s prevailed, neither act would have become law, and blacks would have continued to be relegated to the "back of the bus."

Matt's Chat

Outrage. And where might Mr. Bond, Julian Bond, get the idea for this kind of rhetoric? Why Democrats of course. Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) specifically.

Liberals continue to elevate the level of discourse in this country...I'm not surprised.

Mark's Remarks

Mr. Bond is a disgrace to the African American community. He cares only for his own power, not for actually helping black Americans. Bill Cosby had it right, the leadership is failing this community, because it is mostly about keeping the house African American leaders in power by rhetoric to keep the black vote on the plantation. Throw off the chains which bind you, once again, black America! Don't believe the mindless and hateful and racist drivel of Mr. Bond! Don't fall prey to the plantation tactics of the Democratic party! Look at the leadership! Where are the people of color? Look at this administration: you have two of the most powerful positions in the world filled by people of color! The Democrats are truly the "man" alluded to, keeping blacks down so they can blame oppression on Republicans. They (democrats) create a cycle of poverty and dependance, and mindnumb young blacks into a sense of entitlement. Don't buy into it! Don't buy into the mindless racist dogma of today's NAACP!

For example:

The first black congressman and senators were Republican
It was a Republican who signed the Emancipation Proclamtion
The first black Senator elected by Popular vote was a Republican
Jackie Robinson (1st black in modern baseball) was a Republican
the First black national security adviser: appointed by Republican
the first black secretary of state: yep, by a Republican....

And the judges who upheld the Separate but Equal doctrine in 1896? Most were appointed by Democrats...

The chief Justice who struck down Separate but equal in Brown v. Board? Appointed by a Republican...

And whose campaign staff has no blacks in leadership positons? Kerry, the Democrat. Look long and hard, and you will see the true legacy of the Democrats. Keeping blacks and minorities down so as to use their oppression for political gain. Don't be fooled. Hear the call of leaders like JC Watts, Condi Rice, Colin Powell, and Jesse Peterson.

Collaborators on Parade?

From Aljazeera:

An Arab satellite channel has aired footage of a group of armed men threatening to kill an Egyptian and a Turkish prisoner if their countries do not condemn the US-led occupation in Iraq.

"Death will be the fate of these people if their governments don't condemn the occupation," said a masked man holding an assault rifle as two men crouched in front of him holding up their passports. The footage was aired by al-Arabiya television on Wednesday.

Matt's Chat

Where is the outcry from the liberals and their puppets in the Partisan Media^tm about the Geneva Conventions? Will we see Ted "Chappaquiddick" Kennedy declare this to be the terrorists Vietnam? (John "Waffles" Kerry served there, you know.) Where are the Hollywood elites screaming about rights violations?

(cricket)

(cricket)(cricket)

Hypocrits.

Mark's Remarks

It is because in the eyes of those people you described Matt, we ARE the bad guys! We are the ones deserving of death. That is the view of the Left! If you are against America, you are freedom fighters, noble warriors. If you are for America, you deserve your fate. Disgusting, but that is what they are saying with their action, or in some cases, inaction.

Kerry: US Needs to Engage North Korea

From KAIT8:

Kerry says President Clinton succeeded in bilateral talks and got inspectors and T-V cameras into a North Korean reactor.

Matt's Chat

Clinton also got North Korea to agree to stop developing nuclear weapons. They lied. And we gave them a ton of stuff for the favor.

Do you want more of the same? Vote for John "Waffles" Kerry if you think Clinton was successful with North Korea. Me? I'll pass. I'm voting for the guy with real vision, George W. Bush.

Mark's Remarks

Yes, let's buy them off the same way Clinton did. That was just SO effective in stopping proliferation, wasn't it? Yep, them North Koreans signed that treaty, but then they wiped their assets with it as they continued making nuke materials and seeking the weapons. Even as Clinton lied and said we were selling only civilian use materials to them, they were using these technologies for making weapons. Yep, we engaged them alright. And we were made to look like stupid idiots. If that is the foreign policy that Le Internationist Kerry wants, then I say go to Hell. What next, we bend over and take a missile in the tailpipe, Mr. Kerry?

Allawi: Saddam/al Qaeda Link 'Genuine'

From NewsMax:

The man tapped to head Iraq's new interim government has vouched for the authenticity of evidence that links Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 attacks.

Though the notion that Iraq played a role in 9/11 is considered heresy in U.S. intelligence circles, newly appointed Iraq Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said in December that a document purported to be from Saddam's intelligence service that places lead 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta in Baghdad two months before the attacks was indeed "genuine."

Matt's Chat

I can hear Dick Clarke now...not Allawi too, didn't ANYBODY read my book? I read your book Dick. You were wrong. About a great many things. This is merely one of them. You laughed off Laurie Mylroie and it turns out she was right and you were wrong. I'm sure she won't be holding her breath for an apology for the smear. I know I wouldn't.

This is very interesting news. It should make an awful lot of critics shut the pie hole. It won't. But it should.

Mark's Remarks

No, it won't Matt, because Allawi is just a puppet for the fascist American regime which is so evil that they have helped establish democracy without asking for recompense, without being arrogant, and with putting up with criticism from the very people we are trying to help. Wow, America is just so evil, isn't it?

That is what far lefties believe, and what more and more mainstream liberals are believing. It is a bunch of crap. Of course, the liberal mantra applies here: never let facts get in the way of a smear. Even though we are seeing the ties between Iraq and terror, between France's refusal to fight and illegal kickbacks, liberals do nothing but continue to provide aid and comfort to the terrorists, mock our soldiers' heroic efforts, and shamelessly slander the good name of America. Yet, why aren't they volunteering for service to the poor Iraqis, eh? It is because at heart they have no courage, the only courage they have is in wrapping themselves in the very things our soldiers die to protect so they can slander those selfsame soldiers. Disgusting, but that is what we get for allowing the Left to hijack education for the last 30 years.

Bias at Political State Report

From the TIB Network:

Awhile we back I posted a bit about the supposedly bi-partisan Political State Report. I take specific exception to their coverage of the Voinovich race.

GOP Warhorse Senator George Voinovich (a former Cleveland mayor, Ohio lt. governor and governor), has seen 20% points of support for his reelection campaign evaporate since February of last year according to a recent DSCC poll. The current head-to-head finds Voinovich at 47% (down from 67% in 2/03 while Democratic state Sen. Eric Fingerhut has the support of 32% of Ohioans down, oddly, from 38% last month. While these numbers show the vagaries of comparing polls conducted by different organizations, it nevertheless seems clear that Voinovich is at or under 50%. (http://www.dscc.org/news/News_Archives)

As reported here earlier, Ohio state Senator Eric Fingerhut has a window of opportunity against aging Voinovich and while Fingerhut’s name recognition isn't great, it should not be underestimated. Fingerhut, a former one-term Cleveland area congressman felled in 1994, is highly regarded by both the Columbus and Cleveland press and, while I don’t doubt that his statewide name rec is probably quite low, his congressional and state senate races in the Cleveland media market have given him some stature in voter-rich Northeast Ohio.

For years, George V. Voinovich’s support has been a mile wide and an inch deep. While a native Clevelander, for example, Voinovich lost Northeast Ohio in his last reelection campaign to former Cuyahoga County (Cleveland)Commissioner Mary O. Boyle 51%-49%.

Here are some numbers from the lefty Cleveland Plain Dealer that were ignored by leftykeith and the Political state Report's Ohio team of liberals.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. George Voinovich leads Democratic challenger Eric Fingerhut by 31 percentage points, a new poll by The Plain Dealer shows.

Voters surveyed say they favor Voinovich over Fingerhut, 55 percent to 24 percent. Twenty-one percent are undecided.

Way to convince me you're bi-partisan...

- Matt

Hat Tip:

Rob Bernard

Book Week

From the TIB Network:

In addition to Mark's review of Rewriting History below, we also have his review of Misunderestimated. My review of Dick Clarke's Against All Enemies was released over the weekend and I am expecting to have a review of The French Betrayal of America this weekend (if not sooner - I'm on the last chapter!)

- Matt

Rewriting History

From Mark via the TIB Network

Rewriting History is the title of the newest book written by Dick Morris, former political adviser and pollster for the Clinton Administration. In this book, Morris takes aim at the "edited" biography of Mrs. Clinton that she wrote called Living History. Morris asserts that it is basically an exercise in phoniness, reinvention, and subterfuge.

In this book, Morris looks at how Hillary's REAL past and her decisions can be viewed to provide us with a picture of how she would act as President, and the view is not so good. Morris lays some mighty hefty charges at Hillary, and provides the insider information needed to back them up, as well. His basic assertion is that Hillary is at a key precipice, where she could become either a Bobby Kennedy-someone who looked at themselves and their shortcomings and grew; or a Richard Nixon-someone who insulated themselves and whose shortcomings became paranoia and destroyed them. According to Morris, the prospects are not very good, especially since her 'soul-searching' memoir is nothing more than a whitewash of the true Hillary, an expansion of the HILLARY! brand, as Dick calls it.

Here are a few tidbits from Morris's time with the Clintons and his investigations:

1. Hillary made up a story shortly after 9/11 which she aired on the Today show: she claimed Chelsea (the daughter) was jogging just a short distance from Ground Zero and only survived the bombing when she ran into a church for protection. THE TRUTH: Chelsea herself would dispute her mother's on the record story, saying in a magazine that she was blocks away, and saw the story on television, not as a live witness. Why would someone be so heartless as to try to take political advantage by playing the concerned mother card with such an event as 9/11?

2. Hillary helped float a rumor to discredit President Bush the first, even as she knew about Clinton's dalliances in affairs. She circulated a rumor about the elder Bush and a diplomat in Europe.

3. Hillary in fact did circumvent finance law by directly appealing for gifts for the Clintons shortly before she declared candidacy for the Senate, and in fact looted packages meant for the White House, not the Clintons, stealing hosts of silverware, china, and artwork.

These are just some of the charges Morris discusses in the book. He also deconstructs the mythological suffering, wounded, victim Hillary with the Shrill conniver of hate and enemies listing that she is known for.

Morris takes apart the HILLARY brand and shows the true insecure, paranoid, idealogue that would take America into the toilet if she won office.

This book is a must read for those who want to know the real former first lady, the real political hack that is Hillary Rodham Clinton, a changeling who will reinvent her look and ancillary positions in the name of grabbing power. It is a must read for those who want to stop this power hungry vulture from succeeding in duping the American people.

UN Votes and US Foreign Aid

From the TIB Mailbag:

Doug, who is known for writing stuff down, sent us this email favorite...

How They Vote In The United Nations.

Below are the actual voting records of various Arabic/Islamic States which are recorded in both the US State Department and United Nations' records.

Kuwait votes against the United States 67% of the time.

Qatar votes against the United States 67% of the time.

Morocco votes against the United States 70% of the time.

United Arab Emirates votes against the U. S. 70% of the time.

Jordan votes against the United States 71% of the time.

Tunisia votes against the United States 71% of the time.

Saudi Arabia votes against the United States 73% of the time.

Yemen votes against the United States 74% of the time.

Algeria votes against the United States 74% of the time.

Oman votes against the United States 74% of the time.

Sudan votes against the United States 75% of the time.

Pakistan votes against the United States 75% of the time.

Libya votes against the United States 76% of the time.

Egypt votes against the United States 79% of the time.

Lebanon votes against the United States 80% of the time.

India votes against the United States 81% of the time.

Syria votes against the United States 84% of the time.

Mauritania votes against the United States 87% of the time.

Shocking, isn't it? Is your blood boiling yet? Well, it gets worse, read on!!!

US Foreign Aid to those that hate us:

Egypt, for example, after voting 79% of the time against the United States, still receives $2 billion annually in US ForeignAid.

Jordan votes 71% against the United States and receives $192,814,000 annually in US Foreign Aid.

Pakistan votes 75% against the United States receives $6,721,000 annually in US Foreign Aid.

India votes 81% against the United States receives $143,699,000 annually in US Foreign Aid.

These countries alone add up to $2 billion, 343 Million, 234 thousand dollars.

Perhaps it is time to get out of the United Nations and give the tax savings back to the American workers who are having to skimp and sacrifice to pay the taxes.

Pass it along. Everyone needs to know this. Might even mention it to your congressman, who knows it anyway...what a ace!!!!!...no wonder the world has no respect for us!

Now you know how to balance our budget and never have a deficit again.

Just withdraw our "give aways" from all these ungrateful countries and take care of our children, veterans and the poor, plus all the hardworking taxpaying people in our own country.....or at least put them FIRST before others.

Matt's Chat

I've never checked any of these numbers (I've seen this many times before) but have always thought that they sounded about right. I've never really understood why we invest so heavily in foreign aid, it doesn't seem to "buy" us anything...in fact, it looks like socialist redistribution of wealth to me. Anybody out there got any other thoughts?

Axis of Evil Update: Iran

From AP via MLive.com:

A new report by the U.N. atomic agency says Iran has acknowledged importing parts for advanced centrifuges that can be used to enrich uranium.

The confidential report, which was obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday, credits Iran with more openness about its nuclear program but says the agency still has questions about nearly two decades of secret activities.

The report also says Iran has continued production of centrifuge components at three workshops belonging to private companies despite its declaration it would suspend such activities. Iran said the companies continued production because they had not received adequate compensation for the termination of contracts, the report said.

From NewsMax:

Iran is producing its first stealth missile, a rocket that can evade electronic detection, the Iranian Defense Ministry said Tuesday while withholding its range.

The missile, named Kowsar after a river in Muslim descriptions of paradise, will be capable of hitting ships and aircraft, Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Reza Imani told The Associated Press.

Matt's Chat

Anybody think Iran is wanting to enrich uranium for energy use? Remember, these folks live in an oil rich country...

Why would a country ruled by theocracy of the Religion of Peace^tm need a stealth missile?

Mark's Remarks

Well, Matt, don't you know, you always take the word of fundamentalist Islamofascists over the words of the United States, I mean, duh? Didn't you get the memo? We are, like, the oppressors, even though we have never asked for territory from a freed nation except to bury our dead, even though we did not raid treasure from Iraq or Afghanistan, even though we did not take hostages and hold them for 444 days, even though we have not sponsored terror cells and encouraged bloodshed like Nick Berg, or Danny Pearl, etc.?

Wait, that was the liberal memo....my bad....

Bush Visiting Vatican

From My Way News:

When President Bush visits the Vatican on Friday the two sides will be anxious to put aside their differences over the war in Iraq and discuss how they can cooperate in rebuilding a sovereign country, officials preparing for the meeting said Tuesday.
...
The U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, James Nicholson, said he expected Bush and the pope "will have a very meaningful exchange on Iraq, the Middle East and terrorism" and said John Paul was "very supportive of our efforts" to combat the terrorist threat.
...
Bush, who has courted Catholic voters in the United States, changed his travel plans for the visit, moving up his arrival to enable him to meet with the 84-year-old pontiff. John Paul departs Saturday morning on a two-day pilgrimage to Switzerland.

The president is closer to the Vatican on several hot-button issues than is his Democratic opponent, John Kerry, who is Roman Catholic.

Kerry said he supported state-sanctioned civil unions for same-sex couples to afford them equal rights under the law. He opposes a proposed amendment to the Constitution, which is backed by Bush, that would ban gay marriage nationally.

Kerry supports abortion rights for women, while Bush supports abortion only in cases of rape or incest or when a woman's life is endangered.

Matt's Chat

Anybody else see anything missing from the agenda? I do... I think the President should ask the pontiff to get serious about a no-tolerance policy for child molesters donning the cloak of God. Afterall, the Vatican can condemn all sorts of things but the Church itself apparently...

Mark's Remarks

Actually, I think the President should say this:

Mr. Pope John, I think that until you get your act together in combatting the child molesters you coddled for 30 years, you should simply....
SHUT

THE

PIEHOLE!!!!!

Thanks, and God bless America.

Slow Start

From the TIB Network:

I'm sitting in for one of colleagues at work today, so my workload has doubled. I will be bloggging today, but am a bit late getting to it this morning.

- Matt

The Real Threat to the World

From The Australian:

FRENCH intellectuals have taken up a new cause, which they describe as a defining issue for modern society. They are calling for more sleep.

Philosophers, authors and scientists have joined forces to campaign for the right to nod off, arguing that tiredness is one of the greatest threats to the developed world, particularly France.

The French are turning into insomniacs who have forgotten the joy of snoozing as they strive to lead what they mistakenly believe to be fulfilling, dynamic lives, they say.

Matt's Chat

Checking the WMD French Bashing Forcast^tm for the week and it looks like conditions are good for another round of Frog-Bashing...

Mark's Remarks

Ugh, yeah, frogs, sleep some more....sleep while WE are making the world safer, sleep, while we are risking it all to undo the effects of YOUR support for the Hitler-esque Saddam Hussein.....Sleep, while the leadership of your country colludes with terrorists and rogue states like North Korea....keep on sleeping, it is easy for you all, you just surrender when the going gets tough, right? And wait for us Americans to bail you out yet again? Sickening, really sickening.

Egypt: Arafat Get Out By 6/15 Or Else

From WorldNetDaily:

Egypt's intelligence chief has warned Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat to give up power or face possible deportation – or Israeli "removal" – according to a major Arab newspaper.

Meeting with Arafat in Ramallah yesterday, Egyptian Gen. Omar Suleiman demanded that Arafat turn over control of all security forces to Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, and give Qurei complete authority to conduct negotiations with Israel over Sharon's unilateral disengagement plan, stated the report yesterday in the popular newspaper Al-Quds-al-Arabi.

Arafat reportedly was then told to step aside and allow new leaders to take over the Palestinian Authority.

Matt's Chat

Let's watch this one develop... Removing Arafat from power without making him a martyr is the key to peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Mark's Remarks

To see an Arab nation like Egypt get involved and tell Arafat to shove off is truly a good first step. Now the key is to see if they follow through or not....However, I love it when Arafat gets portrayed as the lonely, decrepit, morally bankrupt terrorist he really is. I applaud the Egyptians so far for wising up to the truth about this blackhearted old devil.

John "Effing" Kerry Hits New Low: Flips Off Vet

From NewsMax.com:

At that point a Secret Service officer told Sampley to back away from Kerry. Sampley moved about 6 feet away and opened his jacket to reveal a HANOI JOHN T-shirt.

Kerry then began talking to a group of schoolchildren. Sampley then showed the T-shirt to the children and said, "Kerry does not belong at the Wall because he betrayed the brave soldiers who fought in Vietnam."

Just then Kerry - in front of the school children, other visitors and Secret Service agents - brazenly 'flashed the bird' at Sampley and then yelled out to everyone, "Sampley is a felon!"

Kerry was referring to an incident 12 years ago when Sampley confronted Sen. John McCain's chief aide, Mark Salter, in a Senate stairwell after McCain repeatedly offended POW families at a Senate POW hearing. Sampley, whose father-in-law at that time was MIA in Laos, followed Salter into the stairwell and, when they emerged, Salter had a bloody lip and a broken nose.

Matt's Chat

How childish! Really. Both these guys should be ashamed of themselves. But only one of them is running for President of the United States (and according to his campaign plane, website and literature, he thinks he already is the president). Disgusting and disgraceful. Definitely not presidential.

Mark's Remarks

John Kerry's overall pattern of behavior thoughout his life and his refusal to take responsibility for his actions is reprehensible, not to mention unpresidential. This latest display is disgusting, in that this man has to represent something greater than himself, that of America. And do we want a man who carelessly flips the bird in the presence of young children, all because of a T-shirt and some unkind words?

John Kerry acts like a spoiled little brat, and that is exactly what this egomaniac is. His life is a pattern of irresponsibility and leeching off of others. He did that with his first wife, taking her sizable trust fund and treating her ill, many times neglecting her, at least according to divorce documents. Also, he has created a career of relying on the public dole and public office, in order to take kickbacks from companies like those responsible for the Big Dig and such, all the while claiming to be "against special interests." The man is just like a spoiled brat, he only cares for himself. And he doesn't care whose sensibilities are affected. Look at when in the Rolling Stone he called the President an F-up. Look at this situation. This man is showing more and more to be a petulant, spoiled, unstable brat who cares only about himself. Look at the height of his hubris, he thinks he has already won...he doesn't need you, the electorate, to declare himself President. He thinks he already has it. Shameful and disgraceful.

NCLB Assaulted in Columbus Dispatch

From the TIB Network:

Mr. Bainbridge,

I have a couple of questions about your 5/25 article in the Columbus Dispatch that I wonder if you might answer.

Near the end of the column you list off a number of "events" that are occurring while states attempt to implement No Child Left Behind. I have a question for each event:

• Children in the majority of schools in low-wealth districts continue to lack the most qualified teachers, adequate instructional materials and access to technology.

What does this have to do with NCLB? Low-wealth districts lacked the most qualified teachers, adequate instructional materials and access to technology LONG before NCLB and the Bush administration. The bit about teachers is especially amusing since the NEA is endorsing John Kerry. Should the TEACHERS feel a sense of duty? Apparently education professionals think that capitalism has no place in the field of education, yet they continue to flee these schools for bigger, more lucrative contracts.

• About 10.5 million children have no health insurance. Many live in conditions of poverty denying them the ability to physically and mentally develop their full cognitive ability. Child poverty rates in the United States are among the highest in the developed nations.

What does this have to do with NCLB? I don't see the term "health care" anywhere in NCLB. Must we include a health care handout in EVERY piece of legislation? At what point do the American people accept some responsibility for their welfare? Child poverty is an issue that should concern all of us, but shouldn't the parents accept that responsibility?

• Millions of our children attend child-care centers that stifle creativity and hinder appropriate development.

What does this have to do with NCLB? Again, I don't see day care requirements in the legislation. Shouldn't the parents have the responsibility to check these centers out? Shouldn't the state that licensed the center assume some responsibility?

• Federal law requires special physical accommodations for children with disabilities, yet the federal government provides only a small fraction of the financial support needed for such adjustments.

What does this have to do with NCLB? Doesn't this have more to do with the American Disabilities Act?

You conclude your article with the following two paragraphs:

Earlier this month, Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager issued an opinion that states might have no legal obligation to implement the federal law, particularly if costs exceed the amount of money the federal government is providing. She characterized No Child Left Behind as an unfunded mandate, and said the law’s "language seems clear and compelling: The federal government cannot compel the states to develop or pay for specific educational programs."

This opinion could be the first step toward a lawsuit challenging No Child left Behind. In any event, it is time for a bipartisan re-examination of the law that drew bipartisan support when it was enacted.

Education is administered by the states. The states continue to beg for federal dollars. Shouldn't the government be able to instruct the states on how to spend federal dollars? A Wisconsin lawyer wasn't needed to figure out that if the states didn't want to deal with the rules of the law they could pass on accepting the money, just common sense.

I appreciate any thoughts you might have on these questions.

Sincerely,
Matt Hurley
www.massdiscussion.blogspot.com

Matt's Chat

The above is an email I sent to the author of an article that appeared in the Columbus Dispatch. I'd give you a link, but the Dispatch is one of those old media types that have registrations and fees and all that non-Internet savvy stuff. I saw the article in a posting by Lisa R. from the Ohioans for Bush/Cheney board. (The link provided is to the actual message with the article if you're interested.)

As I said on our last show, NCLB has been deemed fully funded in study, after study, after study, after study. The reason why it is still being assaulted is that it is actually a good law that is getting results by focusing on accountability.

Mark's Remarks

First and foremost, NCLB has nothing to do with standards. The standards discussed in NCLB have to do with standards set up by each individual state, so if teachers and folks have problems with the standards, complain to the governor, not the President. What NCLB does is provide for accountability for federal dollars. Education has too long been a bloated sick cow, in need of some weaning and training. States have taken education money and funneled it into various resources and experimental programs, and for what? We continue to fall behind. This law says, "we are going to see results or the money will go to where it can help." This law says that schools who do not measure up to state standards will get help. If they do not improve, then the school will be shut down and reconstituted under new authority.

This law says that federal dollars are no longer going to be wasted on pet programs. We are going to get results.

The author of this article, as with most liberals, is playing the game of misdirection and dodging. Instead of talking about education and the need for accountability, instead the author talks about other social problems not tied to NCLB. It is faulty and negligent journalism. In fact, it is not journalism, but efforts at propaganda.

Every study undertaken by independent auhtorities has asserted that NCLB is fully funded. In fact, THIS administration is spending way more than the Previous one did on education. Why haven't you heard that? Because the lefty media wants to play word games and semantics.

The fact of the matter is, we need to start taking responsibility for our children's education. States have made standards. Shouldn't we live up to them? Shouldn't schools that don't live up to expectations be changed? Or do we continue feeding money into failed schools? What liberals hate is the choice involved. If schools don't work, parents can put their children in schools that do work. You see, freedom of choice is only good on abortion for liberals. They don't want the folks on their plantation to have any choice, because that throws the free market into play, and libs hate the free market. Because in the free market of ideas, they lose every time.

Fighting WMD Proliferation

From al Reuters via My Way News:

Nuclear terrorism is the gravest threat the United States faces, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said on Tuesday as he offered a plan to secure atomic arsenals and materials around the world.

"The enemy is different and we must think and act anew," Kerry said in excerpts of remarks prepared for delivery in West Palm Beach, Florida. "We have to do everything we can to stop a nuclear weapon from ever reaching our shore and that mission begins far away."

In the second of three speeches on national security, Kerry is expected to propose a new high-level White House job to oversee efforts to prevent a terrorist attack using nuclear weapons and recommend speeding up a current program to secure nuclear material in the former Soviet Union.

From al Reuters via My Way News:

President Bush said Tuesday an international drive to halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction should be expanded to target those funding the deadly trade.

In a videotaped address Bush said his Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), launched a year ago in this southern Polish city, had already boosted security by stopping shipments of dangerous weapons and their components.

"We are determined to keep the world's most dangerous weapons out of the world's most dangerous hands," Bush told delegates from 60 countries at the PSI meeting.

Matt's Chat

You can learn more about President Bush's actual plan by clicking here.

Is it just me or does John Kerry say things that make him sound like he isn't too different from the president on national security but fails to back it up with an actual plan? This is another one of those John Kerry patterns I'm detecting... Kerry says whatever people want to hear but there isn't any actual substance to what he actually says.

I checked John "Waffles" Kerry's webiste for details of his plan and didn't find it. Not saying it isn't there, because it could be hidden in the labrynth that is web navigation, but I couldn't find it. I found the presidents plan in two clicks...

Mark's Remarks

John Kerry's plan is to increase the bureaucracy by putting some watchdog position out there, ala Richard Clarke. We saw how much that worked for terror, didn't we libs? John Kerry has no vision. He talks about weapons proliferation and stopping it, but his buddies the French have helped proliferate weapons of mass destruction around the world. His friends the Chinese, whom he just loves and who love to endorse him, continue to export weapons components to places like North Korea and other rogue states. Remember, it was his buddy, Bill Clinton, that gave North Korea and China vital pieces of technology that experts in national security said should not be sold, but Clinton did it anyway, advancing the cause of nuke proliferation for China and N. Korea by decades. And who supported this idea, which expanded Chinese weapons proliferation and creation? John F'n Kerry.

Mr. Kerry has no clue about national security. After we were attacked in 1993 at the first WTC bombing, he drafted legislation to destroy the CIA and intelligence gathering services, slicing about 6 billion from the intel budget. This, from John Kerry, self proclaimed expert on national security. He has no clue, he has no core. He doesn't even care about the election, he is so delusional he has already named himself President, or at least that is what his plane says.

Finally, let's talk about results. The left, what have they done to stop proliferation? In the 1970s, they handcuffed us by signing treaties with the Soviets, treaties which were ignored by the Soviets and put us at a disadvantage. In the 1990s, our President sold classified technology to the Chinese and North Koreans (love those campaign contributions, right Bill?) which expanded the possibility of rogue states getting nuke technology, creating a far more dangerous atmosphere for the future.

What has Bush done? Well, he has brought North Korea and Iran out of their lies and subterfuge and they now face the light of the civilized world on them to disarm, creating more chances for disarmament. Because of our actions, we have revealed arms smuggling rings out of Pakistan and AQ Khan. We brought Libya to the bargaining table and made them give up nuke ambitions. What has Kerry done except to savage these efforts? What has he done besides seek to blind and handcuff America?

Signs That We Are Winning

From al-Reuters via My Way News:

Iraqi leaders cut a face-saving deal Tuesday with the United States and United Nations on a president and government to lead the country out of occupation.

A car bomb that tore through the nearby offices of a Kurdish political party, killing and wounding several, underscored the scale of the challenge the interim administration faces in organizing Iraq's first free elections in the new year.

Several rockets also landed around the U.S. compound as officials were meeting, wounding one Iraqi, and a suicide car bomber killed 11 Iraqis outside a U.S. base north of Baghdad.

New President Ghazi Yawar, an influential tribal chief appointed to succeed Saddam Hussein in defiance of Washington, called for the United Nations to give Iraq "full sovereignty" when the U.S.-led occupation authority is wound up on June 30.

From the New York Times:

Senior American commanders here say they are writing new orders to shift the focus of the military's mission from offensive combat operations to protecting a new Iraqi government and parts of the economy while building up Iraq's own security forces.

The decision reflects the commanders' assessment of how best to support the transition to an Iraqi government on June 30. But the shift away from combat operations may be viewed by some Iraqis as a further step back from disarming Iraq's insurgents before the transfer of sovereignty, although American policy remains that the militias are illegal.

The American commanders say there should be no doubt that they will continue to respond forcefully to challenges from insurgents between now and June 30, and then beyond to Iraqi elections scheduled for six months later.

Matt's Chat

How about those imperialist American pigs, huh?

We've managed to put together a fairly good plan for the transition. Is it the best possible arrangement for us? Probably not. The best for Iraqis? Probably not. Best for the UN? Probably not. But that's democracy. Democracy is a terrible system of government, but what it has going for it is that it is a thousand times better than anything else that has ever been tried.

One last thing...no thanks to France, Germany, Russia and uber-liberal hippies everywhere.

Mark's Remarks

If America were truly the brutal tyrants the Liberal Hate America First Crowd says we are, then why did we 'allow' the Iraqi leadership to criticize us? Why did we allow them to speak their minds? Of course! This must just be a super top secret Halliburton snow job, right? Come on!

I am sick and tired of people like John "I don't need the electorate to Declare myself President" Kerry, Hillary "Darn, I Should have Ran" Clinton, Michael "I make Fat B@st@rd look skinny" Moore, or Ted Drunken Murderer Kennedy trashing America and talking about how brutal we are, or how imperialist. We have pulled back our forces, we have allowed the Iraqis to choose their own leaders, with some assistance in logistics. It is amazing that people can continue to believe the out and out garbage proliferating in the press about the Imperialist Americans and their mission of Oil Wars and such. If it was about the oil, why are we turning it over to the Iraqis? If it were about oil, then why don't we have lower prices? If people would quit sticking their heads in the sand or in some other place and look at the facts, you would see that the liberal screed of War for Oil, Imperialist America, and the like is nothing but a bunch of garbage.