Thursday, May 31, 2007

Stop the ACLU Blogburst

Welcome home John!!!!

AP: ACLU says Maricopa County violated TB patient’s rights

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit claiming Maricopa County officials have violated the rights of a quarantined tuberculosis patient for months by treating him like a criminal.
The U.S. District Court complaint filed Wednesday on behalf of Robert Daniels alleges that health officials and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office have violated numerous constitutional rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The suit seeks what it calls appropriate accommodations for Daniels, rather than severe and “inhumane” jail conditions.
“It’s good news for me,” Daniels said Wednesday evening. “I finally have a chance to get out of this black hole.”
Robert England, the county’s tuberculosis control officer, declined comment.
Daniels, 27, is under a court order and has been isolated in a jail ward at Maricopa Medical Center for 10 months, although he was not convicted or charged with any crime. Linda Cosme, an attorney for Daniels, said her client has been victimized by constitutional violations.
“Robert is helpless,” she said. “And he’s at the mercy of Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He needs as much support as possible, and the ACLU is supplying that support.”
Arpaio maintains Daniels must abide by security measures. “I run a safe jail, and he’s going to be treated like anyone else,” Arpaio said.
Daniels moved to Arizona in January 2006 after contracting extreme multi-drug-resistant TB. Daniels, who spent his teen years in Scottsdale, said he returned to the U.S. from Russia in search of work and a college education.
Months later, after he became severely ill, Daniels was placed in a county sanitarium for indigent TB patients.
Dr. Maricela Moffitt, a county physician, has testified that Daniels failed to take his medications and that decreased the likelihood that last-chance drugs would cure his deadly disease.
Moffitt claims Daniels endangered others by going out in public and entertaining visitors without wearing a mask.
Arpaio said his office is considering possible criminal charges against Daniels.
In his defense, Daniels has insisted that he did not understand the contagiousness or gravity of his condition.

“In his defense…” BS. This guy has been receiving medical advice and treatment for some time. Being committed to a treatment facility for “indigent TB patients” sounds to me like he’s getting all this for free…free TO HIM, of course, but not free to me. I raise the BS flag once more regarding the alleged “inhumane” conditions of the facility and may even go over and visit for myself, although I won’t be sharing a Mountain Dew with poor little “helpless Robert” if I get a chance to check it out.

By refusing to comply with measures that would minimize the risk of spreading this deadly disease, he has made his own bed. People who knowingly put the lives of others in danger just, it seems, for the hell of it or at least out of a blatant disregard for anyone else, should be subject to criminal charges. Good for Sherriff Joe. Shame on the ACLU.

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New Scam Targeting Military Families

I am cross posting this from Gathering of Eagles, in full.

This is lower than low and completely disgusting.

WASHINGTON, Tuesday, May 29, 2007 — The American Red Cross has learned about a new scam targeting military families. This scam takes the form of false information to military families as described below:

The caller (young-sounding, American accent) calls a military spouse and identifies herself as a representative from the Red Cross. The caller states that the spouse’s husband (not identified by name) was hurt while on duty in Iraq and was med-evacuated to a hospital in Germany. The caller stated they couldn’t start treatment until paperwork was accomplished, and that in order to start the paperwork they needed the spouse to verify her husband’s social security number and date of birth. In this case, the spouse was quick to catch on and she did not provide any information to the caller.

The American Red Cross representatives typically do not contact military members/dependents directly and almost always go through a commander or first sergeant channels. Military family members are urged not to give out any personal information over the phone if contacted by unknown/unverified individuals, to include confirmation that your spouse is deployed.

It is a federal crime, punishable by up to 5 years in prison, for a person to falsely or fraudulently pretend to be a member of, or an agent for, the American National Red Cross for the purpose of soliciting, collecting, or receiving money or material.

In addition, American Red Cross representatives will contact military members/dependents directly only in response to an emergency message initiated by your family. The Red Cross does not report any type of casualty information to family members. The Department of Defense will contact families directly if their military member has been injured. Should any military family member receive such a call, they are urged to report it to their local Family Readiness Group or Military Personnel Flight.

The American Red Cross ensures that the American people are in touch with their family members serving in the United States military by operating a communications network that is open 24-hours, 7 days-a-week, 365 days-a-year. Through a network of employees and volunteers at Red Cross national that link families during emergencies, access to emergency financial assistance, confidential counseling, community support headquarters, local chapters, on military installations, and deployed with troops, the Red Cross offers a broad range of services. Among these services, the Red Cross provides communications for families left behind, assistance to veterans, and preparedness courses for military personnel and their families.

I cannot begin to tell you the anger I feel after reading this, please pass this along because although common sense would help a spouse not fall for something like this, upon hearing the words your husband/wife has been injured, common sense may not be quite so easy to grasp at that exact moment.

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ACLU Sues Over "Terrorism Suspect" Transfers

H/T to blog @ MoreWhat.com

The WashingtonPost.com reports that a Boeing Company subsidiary has flown "terrorism suspects," accompanied by CIA agents, to "secret overseas locations."

The ACLU is suing a Boeing subsidiary on behalf of three "terrorism suspects," no lawsuit against Boeing or the U.S. government, and the subsidiary is unnamed.

From The WashingtonPost.com:
The cases involve the alleged mistreatment of Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian citizen, in July 2002 and January 2004; ElkassimBritel, an Italian citizen, in May 2002; and Ahmed Agiza, an Egyptian citizen, in December 2001,...
The ACLU says the suspects were apprehended under the U.S. government's "extraordinary rendition program...."
There's plenty of information published about these three men. Sifting through it will likely not yield much, as it all depends on who you believe.

The ACLU has had at least one previous failure at attempting to successfully sue due to the Extraordinary Rendition Program - this on behalf of Khaled El-Masri, a German citizen born in Kuwait to Lebanese parents. El-Masri is reported to have relocated to Germany in 1985 and became a German citizen through marriage to a German woman, whom he divorced quickly and then married a Lebanese woman. If Wikipedia's reporting of the marriage and quick divorce, resulting in German citizenship, is correct, the ACLU ignored the first marriage, and reported only his marriage to a Lebanese woman - citizenship and two marriages within the period of one year. From the ACLU:
He became a German citizen in 1995, married in 1996 and has six young children.
It is believed that Khaled El-Masri's name may have been confused with Khalid al-Masri...or is it Khaled al-Masri? Indeed, international reporting on El-Masri's case seems to refer to El-Masri as al-Masri and then there's Khalid al-Masri referred to as Khaled Al-Masri. To further the conundrum, an online search for Khalid al-Masri links to GlobalSecurity.org profiling Khalid al-Masri as a recruiter for the al-Qaeda Hamburg cell based in Germany and led by Mohamed Atta - 9/11 hijacker of American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to crash into the World Trade Towers.

The question is, who isn't confused?

Some accounts of El-Masri's detention credit a German Intelligence Agent with secretly passing an El-Masri file to the U.S - however, these reports also seem to refer to the wrongly detained Khaled El-Masri as Khalid al-Masri. Then WorldPoliticsReview, in February 2007, reports Kahled Al-Masri Accused of Assault.... showing a photo of the person it seems is Khaled El-Masri, at least according to the ACLU. The article says:
...the headline had acquired a certain unintended irony as reports emerged that Masri himself had beaten up a social worker in his hometown of Neu-Ulm, leaving the man hospitalized for three days. The assault occurred on Monday, Jan. 29. According to a Feb. 2 report in the Südwest Presse newspaper, citing the local Neu-Ulm prosecutor's office: "Masri is supposed to have pulled the man by the hair and thrown him against a wall. Then he threw a table at him, punched him in the face and stomped on him."
This failed lawsuit... the ACLU's "landmark" lawsuit, was filed against George Tenet, former CIA Director, as well as the owners of a company providing private jet service to the CIA.

In May 2006 a U.S. Federal District Judge T. S. Ellis dismissed the ACLU lawsuit on El-Masri's behalf. The judge's decision was complicated by the fact that the U.S. seemingly acknowledged that El-Masri was mistakenly detained, but held that national security would be jeopardized by court proceedings.

In March 2007, The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the 2006 dismissal. The ACLU is reported to be considering an appeal.

Back to the current lawsuit against a Boeing subsidiary and the concept of the Extraordinary Rendition Program:

A Google search brings up two ACLU links referring to the Extraordinary Rendition Program. The second link includes this teaser:
...Learn More About CIA Kidnapping..."

These are dire times. To say that life isn't fair, is I know, inadequate. But, then...life isn't fair. Perhaps it's inadequate to suggest asking the families of terrorism victims about things fair and unfair. Freedom isn't as simple as an ACLU lawsuit.

Originally posted at Maggie's Notebook

ACLU Sues Boeing Subsidiary Over "Terrorism Suspect" Transfers

The WashingtonPost.com reports that a Boeing Company subsidiary has flown "terrorism suspects," accompanied by CIA agents, to "secret overseas locations."

The ACLU is suing a Boeing subsidiary on behalf of three "terrorism suspects," no lawsuit against Boeing or the U.S. government, and the subsidiary is unnamed.

From The WashingtonPost.com:
The cases involve the alleged mistreatment of Binyam Mohamed, an Ethiopian citizen, in July 2002 and January 2004; ElkassimBritel, an Italian citizen, in May 2002; and Ahmed Agiza, an Egyptian citizen, in December 2001,...
The ACLU says the suspects were apprehended under the U.S. government's "extraordinary rendition program...."
There's plenty of information published about these three men. Sifting through it will likely not yield much, as it all depends on who you believe.

The ACLU has had at least one previous failure at attempting to successfully sue due to the Extraordinary Rendition Program - this on behalf of Khaled El-Masri, a German citizen born in Kuwait to Lebanese parents. El-Masri is reported to have relocated to Germany in 1985 and became a German citizen through marriage to a German woman, whom he divorced quickly and then married a Lebanese woman. If Wikipedia's reporting of the marriage and quick divorce, resulting in German citizenship, is correct, the ACLU ignored the first marriage, and reported only his marriage to a Lebanese woman - citizenship and two marriages within the period of one year. From the ACLU:
He became a German citizen in 1995, married in 1996 and has six young children.
It is believed that Khaled El-Masri's name may have been confused with Khalid al-Masri...or is it Khaled al-Masri? Indeed, international reporting on El-Masri's case seems to refer to El-Masri as al-Masri and then there's Khalid al-Masri referred to as Khaled Al-Masri. To further the conundrum, an online search for Khalid al-Masri links to GlobalSecurity.org profiling Khalid al-Masri as a recruiter for the al-Qaeda Hamburg cell based in Germany and led by Mohamed Atta - 9/11 hijacker of American Airlines Flight 11, the first plane to crash into the World Trade Towers.

The question is, who isn't confused?

Some accounts of El-Masri's detention credit a German Intelligence Agent with secretly passing an El-Masri file to the U.S - however, these reports also seem to refer to the wrongly detained Khaled El-Masri as Khalid al-Masri. Then WorldPoliticsReview, in February 2007, reports Kahled Al-Masri Accused of Assault.... showing a photo of the person it seems is Khaled El-Masri, at least according to the ACLU. The article says:
...the headline had acquired a certain unintended irony as reports emerged that Masri himself had beaten up a social worker in his hometown of Neu-Ulm, leaving the man hospitalized for three days. The assault occurred on Monday, Jan. 29. According to a Feb. 2 report in the Südwest Presse newspaper, citing the local Neu-Ulm prosecutor's office: "Masri is supposed to have pulled the man by the hair and thrown him against a wall. Then he threw a table at him, punched him in the face and stomped on him."
This failed lawsuit... the ACLU's "landmark" lawsuit, was filed against George Tenet, former CIA Director, as well as the owners of a company providing private jet service to the CIA.

In May 2006 a U.S. Federal District Judge T. S. Ellis dismissed the ACLU lawsuit on El-Masri's behalf. The judge's decision was complicated by the fact that the U.S. seemingly acknowledged that El-Masri was mistakenly detained, but held that national security would be jeopardized by court proceedings.

In March 2007, The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the 2006 dismissal. The ACLU is reported to be considering an appeal.

Back to the current lawsuit against a Boeing subsidiary and the concept of the Extraordinary Rendition Program:

A Google search brings up two ACLU links referring to the Extraordinary Rendition Program. The second link includes this teaser:
...Learn More About CIA Kidnapping..."

These are dire times. To say that life isn't fair, is I know, inadequate. But, then...life isn't fair. Perhaps it's inadequate to suggest asking the families of terrorism victims about things fair and unfair. Freedom isn't as simple as an ACLU lawsuit.

Good News From Iraq: The Awakening

Sounds like a movie title but instead of fiction Bill Roggio from the Fourth Rail brings us he news from Iraq.

The formation of the regional Awakening movements--the groupings of anti-al Qaeda tribes, community leaders, and insurgent groups--threatens to stymie al Qaeda in the largely Sunni regions of Iraq. Al Qaeda has targeted the leaders of the Awakening movements in Anbar, Diyala and Salahadin provinces, and has now taken a shot at the newly minted Awakening movement in Babil province.

Military and intelligence sources have informed us that the formation of the Babil Awakening is underway, however there was little information to confirm this via open source. Omar Fadhil, one of the two authors of Iraq the Model, informed me today that he has seen reporting on the formation of a Babil Awakening in the local Iraqi press. Also, the Kuwaiti News Agency provided confirmation today when it reported an assassination attempt on Sheikh Obeid Al-Masoudi, the chief of the Al-Masoudi clan in the city of the Iskandaria. "Unknown gunmen" stormed Al-Masoudi's home, and "targeted him and his wife with volleys of automatic gunfire." He and his wife are reported to be in critical condition.


Read the rest.... then followup with his reporting over at Breitbart.com where further reporting shows us that Iraqi residents have had enough....of al-Qaeda!!!! (Hat Tip to Power Line)

BAGHDAD (AP) - A battle raged in west Baghdad on Thursday after residents rose up against al-Qaida and called for U.S. military help to end random gunfire that forced people to huddle indoors and threats that kept students from final exams, a member of the district council said.


Read the rest again, it isn't all good news, but these are all steps in the right direction.

Then you definitely have to read Michael Yon's latest piece called "The Final Option." OUTSTANDING writing.

Elsewhere we see that U.S. Commanders are speaking with Iraqi Militants about a cease-fire, lay down their weapons, go back to living their normal lives and they will not be punished for previous actions.

WASHINGTON — U.S. military commanders are talking with Iraqi militants about cease-fires and other arrangements to try to stop the violence, the No. 2 American commander said Thursday.

Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said he has authorized commanders at all levels to reach out to militants, tribes, religious leaders and others in the country that has been gripped by violence from a range of fronts including insurgents, sectarian rivals and common criminals.

"We are talking about cease-fires, and maybe signing some things that say they won't conduct operations against the government of Iraq or against coalition forces," Odierno told Pentagon reporters in a video conference from Baghdad.

"It's just the beginning, so we have a lot of work to do on this," he said. "But we have restructured ourselves to organize to work this issue."

Odierno said it augments reconciliation efforts by the Iraqi government.


I understand that some will feel frustrated with actions that amount to amnesty, but, if a deal such as this can be brokered there will be far less bloodshed and the governnment will have a fighting chance to settle the differences and get to moving in the right direction.

Some times you have to give a little to get a lot, so, good luck to our commanders in brokering such a deal.

Unrelated to Iraq but related to the Middle East, Fred Thompson, via Townhall asks a very good question.

I am posting the question here, then go read the whole thing after you answer it to yourself.

Let me ask you a hypothetical question. What do you think America would do if Canadian soldiers were firing dozens of missiles every day into Buffalo, N.Y.? What do you think our response would be if Mexican troops for two years had launched daily rocket attacks on San Diego -- and bragged about it?


If you are honest you will admit there is no way in hell we would casually sit back and take that without retaliating in a way that makes sure that behavior is not repeated.

Now go read the rest. Scoot!!!

If you want more good news, some of it downright great news, just head over to Centcom's daily news releases and look for yourself.

You certainly won't find these articles in the NYT or at CNN, because it isn't negative enough even though there IS bad news within those daily news releases, they cannot stand to have to show "balance" and report the good news along with the bad.

That would be..... FAIR, and we all know better from our media these days, don't we?


OPEN TRACKBACK FOR THIS POST.

Trackposted to Pet's Garden Blog, Perri Nelson's Website, The Virtuous Republic, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, DeMediacratic Nation, stikNstein... has no mercy, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, Conservative Cat, High Desert Wanderer, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.


Tracked back by:
John W. Loftus - liar from Mark My Words...
Hizbullah Thugs Complain About Hariri Tribunal from A Blog For All...
Cities at risk from Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker...
The Portuguese Reconquista and New Jersey Bookies from planck's constant...
Friday's Feast #145 from Colloquium...
Bush's Border Blunder from The Amboy Times...
Long Weekend (Open) Must-Read List from The Right Nation...



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In The News Today

Lazy man's blogging....lol

I actually have to work today (how DARE work interfere with blogging?) but a girl has got to pay the bills yanno?

I will be blogging on a few of these headlines later but for now, consider this an open thread, add what you want, comment on the headlines I am going to list or put your own in for discussion.

In the news today I see:

DeMint rips war ‘wimps’, everyone has the right to say what they want, but with rights comes responsibility, in todays world where the internet is far reaching, our politicians, especially those that are high profile, have the obligation to our country and to our troops NOT to undermine them for the world to see and if they do, then they MUST accept a certain amount of responsibility for what occurs afterward.

White House envisions "Korean model" in Iraq,we are in Germany and Japan as well, so really this is no surprise and I wonder why people are "acting" surprised.

George Will makes The Case for Conservatism, make of this what you will. Related is Michael P.F. van der Galiën's take on this article.

Gateway Pundit talks about Human Shields in Iraq, only not the kind we ususally see, (where Hizbullah hides behind women and children), this one is inspiring,

Jules Crittenden joins Pajamas Media, welcome Jules!!!!

Just a few things to start you off, I will be back in a bit to actually blog!!!

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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

UN Security Council OKs Lebanon tribunal

About damn time.

UNITED NATIONS - A deeply divided U.N. Security Council approved a resolution Wednesday to unilaterally establish an international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.


More on former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the probe into his assassination which Syria is suspected of being behind.

The vote was 10-0 with five abstentions — Russia, China, South Africa, Indonesia and Qatar. Nine votes were needed for passage.

Current Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora asked the council earlier this month to establish the tribunal. He cited the refusal of opposition-aligned Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to convene a session to ratify the statutes to create the tribunal, which have already been approved by his government and the United Nations.


What is amusing is the those that were against this measure being taken claim it violates Lebanons soveriegnty:

Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Moscow supports bringing the perpetrators of Hariri's killing to justice, but he said that "given the deep rift in Lebanese society ... that should not lead to negative consequences."

What the council has done, he said, "essentially is an encroachment upon the sovereignty of Lebanon."


BUT, it was , as shown above, the request OF Prime Minister Fuad Saniora to establish the tribunal, therefore it is no encroachment despite allies of Syria's rhetoric.

But supporters of the resolution strongly disagreed.

"The proposed tribunal is vital for Lebanon, for justice and for the region," British U.N. Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said.

"This is not a capricious intervention, interference in the domestic political affairs of a sovereign state. It is a considered response by the council, properly taken, to a request from the government of Lebanon," he said.

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said that "by adopting this resolution, the council has demonstrated its commitement to the principle that there should be no impunity for political assasination, in Lebanon or elsewhere."

"We know it was necessary and right for the council to act now," he said. "The tribunal will also serve to deter future political assasinations. Those who may be tempted to commit similar crimes will know there will be consequences for perpetuating political violence and intimidation in Lebanon."


If Syria was not behind the assassination, the tribunal will vindicate them, so one has to wonder why they have done everything in their power and using threats to stop the tribunal from going forward. (Hat Tip to Hot Air for the link)

Wonderful news, even if Russia and China couldn’t quite bring themselves to endorse it. This has been Assad’s greatest fear since Rafiq Hariri, the anti-Syrian former prime minister of Lebanon, was assassinated two years ago: all signs point to the Syrian government’s involvement and he knows it and soon the rest of the world will know it too. That’s why people ended up dying every time the UN inched a little closer to approving the tribunal — it was Assad’s version of a shot across the bow, a warning of what could and would happen in Lebanon if the UN went ahead with the investigation. His puppet was already making threats in advance of the vote:


Read the rest at Hot Air.

It has taken much too long because the UN moves slowly, but perhaps, finally Syria will be held accountable for their actions or be vindicated.

Either way, this is good news for Lebanon.

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Intended or Unintended Consequences of Pelosi's Visit?

The ripples in the water still continue after Nancy Pelosi's disasterous trip to Syria to play footsie with al-Assad.

After Israel had to issue "clarification" because Pelosi got the message wrong, they also issued a statement saying:

According to sources at the Prime Minister's Office, "Pelosi took part of the things that were said in the meeting, and used what suited her."


Then of course, al-Assad used her and blew her off, (for a soccer game) we now see there has been the ripple effect ever since and that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad has stepped up his support for terror since he received a friendly visit from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in early April. Human rights advocates in Syria have gone into hiding. (Via Real Clear Politics)

"Many Syrian... pro-democracy activists have privately expressed dismay at Ms. Pelosi's message of friendship to the government of Syrian President Bashar al Assad," reported the New York Observer. "They say that Ms. Pelosi's visit, no matter how well intentioned, has effectively pulled the rug out from under them."

Ms. Pelosi's embrace of the Syrian dictator "made the regime feel that Americans were divided on how to deal with Syria," said a human rights advocate interviewed by reporter Katherine Zoepf. "This sends a message to the regime that the pressure is off, that it can do what it likes."

Shortly after Ms. Pelosi left Damascus, Syria's best known human rights lawyer, Anwar al-Bunni, was arrested on a trumped up charge. He reportedly has been tortured.

Seventy percent of insurgents fighting in Iraq come from (Persian) Gulf countries via Syria, where they are provided with forged passports, a senior intelligence officer in Iraq's Interior ministry said in an interview with a Kuwait newspaper May 22.


Not content to cause as much division and chaos in America as possible, Pelosi has now decided to do the same thing abroad and the ramimifications of her actions are still being felt today.


Upon her return from Syria, Ms. Pelosi expressed a desire to meet with Mr. Assad's senior partner in the axis of evil, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

"Iran is forging ties with al Qaida elements to plan a summer offensive "intended to tip a wavering U.S. Congress into voting for a full military withdrawal," reported the British newspaper The Guardian.

"They (Iran) are behind a lot of high profile attacks meant to undermine U.S. will and British will," The Guardian quoted a "senior U.S. official" in Baghdad as saying. "The attacks are directed by the Revolutionary Guard, who are connected right to the top."

The heavy involvement of Iran and Syria in Iraq makes it unlikely the conflict there is primarily a civil war. The migration of jihadists from Iraq to Lebanon via Syria makes it unlikely the conflict can be restricted to Iraq. But Ms. Pelosi doesn't let facts affect her world view.


[...]

After three U.S. soldiers were taken prisoner by al Qaida May 12, the Washington Post conducted a telephone interview with reputed al Qaida member Mohamed al-Janabi.

"I can assure you that we will start pressuring Bush in a new way at the same time he is facing pressures from the Democrats," Mr. al-Janabi told the Post.

Democrats such as Ms. Pelosi are not for terrorism and mass murder. But they do have a soft spot for terrorists and mass murderers. Mr. Assad and Mr. Ahmadinejad hate President Bush. So does Nancy Pelosi. So she assumes common ground can be found.


Good point and tells us all we need to know about Nancy Pelosi, Baghdad Reid and crew, which is why I have no doubt that in 2008, this not only will be a factor but may very well be one of the "deciding" factors in a conservative, Republican candidate walking away with the Presidency once again.

Corruption was the number one reason given at the exit polls in the 2006 elections, but when it comes to a general presidential election, the American people will pick National Security as a priority, which means Pelosi may have, with a little help from Edwards (his protests on Memorial Day) and Baghdad Reid (The war is lost comment), handed 2008 to the Republicans....time will tell, but we may owe them a big thank you.

"One Damascus-based researcher explained that in March, a group of Democratic operatives asked for a briefing in preparation for (Ms.) Pelosi's Syria trip," wrote Lee Smith, a Beirut-based researcher for the Hudson Institute. "'I explained they were walking into a minefield,' he told me. 'The regime is causing trouble throughout the region, and then there are plenty of human rights issues with their own imprisoned dissidents. And all they said was Yeah, yeah yeah.' In other words, don't bug us with the details, we're all about Bush."

But Mr. Assad and Mr. Ahmadinejad hate President Bush not because he's a Republican, but because he's an American, a distinction Ms. Pelosi seems unable to draw.


The damage that Nancy Pelosi has caused with her supposedly innocent little trip to Syria is not over and I personally believe we will be seeing these ripple effects for a long time to come.

It is something the American people will remember and blogs such as mine, will make sure that those with limited memories are reminded until Nancy Pelosi is back baking cookies where she so obviously belongs.

You can be a strong woman and be in politics without betraying your country and helping to destroy other countries.... another lesson Nancy Pelosi will never seem to be able to learn.

I will leave you with a question here: Were these intended or unintended consequnces?

If your answer is unintended, then that leads to a final question: with all the warnings she was given about her trip to Syria beforehand, is the "ignorance" she showed a justifiable excuse for the damage she has caused and is still causing?

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Man with tuberculosis quarantined

[Update below]

I am going to show you the most troubling comment I saw first, then proceed with the story.

"I'm a very well-educated, successful, intelligent person," he said. "This is insane to me that I have an armed guard outside my door when I've cooperated with everything other than the whole solitary confinement in Italy thing."
(Emphasis mine)

He knew he was risking peoples lives, he knew he was on a no fly list, he still decided to travel depsite his understanding of the potential risk and he calls himself well educated?

hmmmmmmmmmmmm

An Atlanta-area man — infected with a rare, potentially deadly type of tuberculosis — is under federal quarantine at Grady Memorial Hospital with an armed sheriff's deputy outside his door following his odyssey on international flights, including some to smuggle himself back into the country.

The globe-trotting tale of the man, his fiancee, their wedding and honeymoon abroad — and conflicting recollections of what he was told about his disease and whether he could travel — culminated Tuesday with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issuing an international health alert.

Now other travelers, because of this man's irresponsibility, must be tested for this rare deadly disease.

Unexcusable.

The CDC is working with airlines to contact passengers who took two transatlantic flights — a May 12 Air France flight from Atlanta to Paris and a May 24 Czech Air flight from Prague to Montreal — to alert them that they may have been exposed to extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis.

The disease, also known as XDR TB, is difficult to treat and can cause severe illness and death. Only 49 cases of it have been identified in the United States between 1993 and 2006, according to the CDC.

"I didn't want to put anybody at risk," the Fulton County man, who declined to be identified because of the stigma attached to his diagnosis, said in a telephone interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We just wanted to come home and get treatment."

Since January the man, who said he has no symptoms and feels healthy, has met regularly for treatment with Fulton County health officials. He said they and CDC knew he had drug-resistant TB before he left the United States but did not prohibit him from leaving when he told them about his upcoming wedding in Greece.



A little ways down in the article the CDC explains that usually to balance the need for individual freedoms with the need to protect the public they depend on what they call the covenant of trust, obviously they trusted the wrong man for this.

At a news conference Tuesday, CDC Director Julie Gerberding announced that the agency had taken the rare action of issuing a federal public health isolation order against the man, which allows the CDC to hold people against their will to protect the public. Gerberding believes the isolation order was last used in 1963 in a case involving a potential smallpox exposure.

"Normally when someone has tuberculosis, we influence them through a covenant of trust," Gerberding said. While saying tests show the man is at extremely low risk of transmitting the disease, Gerberding said the agency is urging passengers who sat in nearby seats and rows during the two long trans-Atlantic flights receive TB tests as a precaution, and that others who traveled aboard the flights be offered the opportunity to be tested if they have concerns.


In a typical he said/she said type scenario, the man says he was advised by the health department that they "preferred" him not to travel and they say they advised him not to travel.... either way, when the health department "advises" one not to travel, usually it isn't because they are playing around.

Hence his being under guard now.

The man says he and his bride were in Rome on their honeymoon when they got a message to call the CDC. The CDC official said that they needed to cancel their trip and return home and that the CDC would call the next day with travel information.

The patient says he and his wife canceled plans to move on to Florence the next day as they awaited the CDC's instructions.

The next day, instead of giving the couple travel arrangements, the man said a CDC staff member told him he'd need to turn himself into Italian health authorities the next morning and agree to go into isolation and treatment in that country for an indefinite period of time.

"I thought to myself: 'You're nuts.' I wasn't going to do that. They told me I had been put on the no-fly list and my passport was flagged," the man said.

The man said the CDC told him he could not fly aboard a commercial airliner with his disease. "We asked about the CDC jet and they said no, there wasn't funding in the budget to use the jet," he said.

Dr. Martin Cetron, director of the CDC's division of global migration and quarantine, did not respond to repeated requests for an interview. Cetron told The Associated Press: "He was told in no uncertain terms not to take a flight back."

CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said the agency was considering sending the CDC's jet to Italy to retrieve the man — when he disappeared and didn't meet Italian health authorities.

"We're sitting in a hotel room in Italy and we're looking at each other and we're on our honeymoon and the authorities are coming in hours," the man recalled. They made the decision to run.


So, he was told in Rome that his disease was a potential risk to other peoples lives. Lets take a look at where he went after that.



AFTER being informed he still went to Prague, Montreal and then to New York.

Yes, well educated and very responsible huh?

For those unaware of what XDR-TB is:

XDR-TB is the abbreviation for extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). One in three people in the world is infected with dormant TB germs (i.e. TB bacteria). Only when the bacteria become active do people become ill with TB. Bacteria become active as a result of anything that can reduce the person’s immunity, such as HIV, advancing age, or some medical conditions. TB can usually be treated with a course of four standard, or first-line, anti-TB drugs. If these drugs are misused or mismanaged, multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) can develop. MDR-TB takes longer to treat with second-line drugs, which are more expensive and have more side-effects. XDR-TB can develop when these second-line drugs are also misused or mismanaged and therefore also become ineffective. Because XDR-TB is resistant to first- and second-line drugs, treatment options are seriously limited. It is therefore vital that TB control is managed properly.

Feel free to leave your comments about this in the comment section.

[Update] The latest news shows that there are now 107 people that are in need of testing because of the irresponsibility of this TB man.

Dr. Martin Cetron, director of the CDC's division of global migration and quarantine, said Wednesday that the agency was trying to contact 27 crew members from the two flights for testing and about 80 passengers who sat in the five rows surrounding the man. About 40 or 50 of those people sat in or near Row 51 on the Air France flight from Atlanta to Paris, and about 30 passengers were in or near seat 12C on the second flight, from Prague to Montreal.


Moron.
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Fred Thompson is in and reactions are out.

Mike Allen over at Politico is reporting that Fred Thompson is officially entering the presidential race on the fourth of July and already the reactions are coming from all sides.

Fred Dalton Thompson is planning to enter the presidential race over the Fourth of July holiday, announcing that week that he has already raised several million dollars and is being backed by insiders from the past three Republican administrations, Thompson advisers told The Politico.

Thompson, the "Law and Order" star and former U.S. senator from Tennessee, has been publicly coy, even as people close to him have been furiously preparing for a late entry into the wide-open contest. But the advisers said Thompson dropped all pretenses on Tuesday afternoon during a conference call with more than 100 potential donors, each of whom was urged to raise about $50,000.

Thompson's formal announcement is planned for Nashville. Organizers say the red pickup truck that was a hallmark of Thompson's first Senate race will begin showing up in Iowa and New Hampshire as an emblem of what they consider his folksy, populist appeal.

A testing-the-waters committee is to be formed June 4 so Thompson can start raising money, and staffers will go on the payroll in early June, the organizers said. A policy team has been formed, but remains under wraps.


Allah over at Hot Air says:

I can live with the hokiness of the pick-up truck, I guess, but if he starts riding horses I’m out of here.


Too cute. Allah has really grown on me!!!

Seriously, even though I haven't made up my mind as to whom I am endorsing yet, I do like Thompson for a variety of reasons.

The Conservative Republicans need someone who is tired of watching us be so busy trying to be "politically correct" we are willing to risk our childrens futures, he talks straight and if you do not like what he has to say, he doesn't change his mind, he points you toward another candidate.

He doesn't base his opinions on what the latest polls show, he isn't willing to compromise principle to add a few votes to his total and he stays consistent on the issues.

Lets not forget that in 1995 he voted YES on Amendment to prohibit flag burning.

If he does decide to officially toss his hat in the ring on July Fourth, then this presidential race will have just gotten much more interesting.

From Wapo:

Thompson has been steadily assembling a close circle of advisers, including former FEC chairman Michael Toner, who will serve as general counsel; former Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo; and Tom Collamore, a former executive at Altria, the corporate parent of Philip Morris USA. Collamore will lead the campaign effort, several sources have said.

The entity Thompson will form this week is one step shy of a formal exploratory committee, but its creation will be his first official step toward entering the already crowded field of GOP contenders. National polls have consistently shown that he would be a significant force if he runs, with some surveys placing him in second or third place in the race.


Later in the article...... it shows that he hasn't spent a dime, and yet National Polls and surveys are showing him to be in second or third place?

He has that "something" that may just make other candidates from both sides of the aisle cringe.

Thompson's entry could jumble the race further. As a lawmaker, he exuded a folksy charm that supporters say could help him capture the attention of many Republican primary voters. And his decades of movie and television appearances give him an immediate national presence that rivals the others in the campaign. He currently stars as District Attorney Arthur Branch on "Law and Order."

His advisers say they do not expect to match the amount of money the others are raising, but profess to be unconcerned.

"He doesn't need as much money as the others have raised," said one supporter, noting that his Hollywood fame has already given him a boost in the polls. "He hasn't raised nor has he spent a single dime so far. People should not expect that he will outraise anyone."


Back to Hot Air's comment about horses, well, Fred Thompson just might need that horse for this particular "horse race".

You can keep up with Fred Thompson's opinions and stances on a variety of issues over at the Fred Thompson Report.

Back to Wapo:

A senator from 1994 to 2003 and a guest host on Paul Harvey's show on ABC Radio, Thompson has already begun to reach out to the conservatives in his party. He has blasted the immigration deal reached in Congress and he cleverly used a spat with liberal filmmaker Michael Moore to draw attention on conservative blogs, issuing a Web-video featuring a cigar-chomping Thompson chiding Moore for going to Cuba to make a movie.


I hunted down the video for my readers at YouTube, just click and watch, it is a 38 second response to Michael Moore's idiocy.



Heh. Yup, he has definitely got that "something", doesn't he? Makes me chuckle every time I see it.

The Weekly Standard gives us some details about Fred Thompson's conference call yesterday:

The conference call began around 2:00 pm. Ken Rietz, a top executive with Burson Marsteller and a close adviser to Thompson, welcomed the participants. Phillip Martin, who organized the phone call, spoke briefly before introducing the former Tennessee senator. Thompson thanked the supporters for their confidence in him and talked about his reasons for taking this next step toward an official run. He later answered several questions about his positions on big issues and campaign strategy. Tom Collamore, a former Reagan and George H.W. Bush administration official described by the Washington Post's Chris Cilizza as Thompson's "campaign manager in waiting," discussed the First Day Founders and their role in this pre-campaign effort. And Michael Toner, a former chairman of the FEC who served as the top lawyer on George W. Bush's 2000 campaign before performing the same job at the Republican National Committee, reviewed the laws and regulations governing the testing-the-waters committee.

The new committee allows Thompson to continue to fulfill long-standing speaking obligations, while ramping up his inevitable presidential effort. His advisers describe it as a "natural progression" on the road to an announcement, which could come as early as late June or early July. One rumor making the rounds last night anticipated an official announcement in his hometown in Tennessee in a month--on July 4th. Independence Day could be Announcement Day.


Michael P.F. van der Galiën, another blogger I have great respect for gives this insight:

At the moment Thompson enters the race, everything changes. Suddenly, social conservatives will feel like they do not have to support Giuliani: as far as I can tell, Thompson is most certainly electable.


Read the rest, cute sense of humor there. Add this guy to your favorites, he doesn't walk in lockstep with any one party, he stays consistent, I agree with his opinions as often as I disagree with them, but he always manages to be right up front and fair in his writing.

The New York Sun sums it up nicely:

Ever since Mr. Thompson left the door open to a possible candidacy in a Fox News interview on March 11, his shadow has been looming larger and larger over the campaign. Almost immediately, Mr. Thompson overtook Mr. Romney in national and some state polls. More recently, Mr. Thompson has been nipping at Mr. McCain's heels. And much of his support seems to be coming from Mr. Giuliani's hide, as the former mayor's lead narrows over the rest of the pack.

And all of this without Mr. Thompson's having made a single serious move toward entering the race.


Captain's Quarters compares Fred Thompson's approach to that of Woodrow Wilson:

Unlike Sager, though, I believe that Thompson has made several serious moves towards his candidacy -- just nothing official. He has managed to make himself very relevant by delivering much-anticipated speeches to various Republican groups. Thompson has also written a series of essays, erudite and sensational, on various hot issues as well as explaining and expanding on his federalist beliefs. It's almost a philosopher's campaign for the White House, an approach that may not have a parallel since Woodrow Wilson.


So, ladies and gentlemen, the race is on, place your bets, have a seat and enjoy the show... I certainly will be.

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Tuesday, May 29, 2007

A U.S al-Qaeda Militant Threatens More Attacks

Already indicted for treason Adam Gadahn continues to make threats against the U.S.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United States will face worse attacks than those on September 11, 2001 if it does not heed al Qaeda demands effectively allowing the group control over Muslim countries, a U.S. Islamist militant said on Tuesday.


I guess we are all lucky I am not President of the United Staes of America, because I would happily have made a one sentence video response to this idiotic threat.

My Response would be : KISS MY ASS.

Adam Gadahn, a California-born convert to Islam and the first American to be charged with treason since the World War Two era, appeared in a video posted on the Internet. Gadahn, wearing robes and a turban, is believed to be in Pakistan.

"Your failure to meet our demands ... means that you and your people will, Allah willing, experience things which will make you forget about the horrors of September 11, Afghanistan and Iraq, and Virginia Tech," said the bearded Gadahn, addressing his comments to President George W. Bush.


Deliberately using the Democratic phrasing and lines that they happily allow to be published all over the world, Adam Gadahn tries to capitalize on the Democrats "talking points", not realizing that threats such as these simply reaffirm our Presidents words when he says these terrorists cannot be reasoned with and we must continue to take the fight to them, or they will bring it right back here.

Gadahn demanded the United States end all support "moral, military, economic or otherwise to the bastard state of Israel and ban your citizens ... from traveling to occupied Palestine or settling there."

The demands also included releasing all Muslim prisoners and stopping support to the "apostate" governments of Muslim states.

He said a U.S. pullout from Iraq alone would not do.


These murdering bastards will only stop when they are in prison or dead.

People need to wake up and realize that they will never stop trying to attack us and after 9/11, now they must make those attacks bigger and kill more American citizens than they did on 9/11.

It is all they live for.

Last year, an indictment delivered by a grand jury in a federal court in California accused Gadahn of making a series of al Qaeda propaganda videos. The treason charge against him carries a maximum punishment of death.

The FBI has been seeking to question Gadahn since May 2004, and the U.S. government has offered up to $1 million in reward money for information leading to his arrest.

Gadahn converted to Islam from a Jewish-Christian family when he was 17 and a few years later moved to Pakistan. He was previously known as Adam Pearlman and grew up on a goat ranch outside Los Angeles.


Time to get on the same page people, you are either with the U.S or with people like Gadahn, there is no middle ground.

Deal with it.

More from the Site Institute and Hot Air.

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My Kidlets Visit

Taking a quick second from politics, my son was visiting this Memorial Day and we had a blast.

He also informed me he was going to try to enlist for the Army Rangers, if his leg, which has screws in the ankle, pins in the knee and 2 titanium rods surrounding his shin, makes it past the stress tests.

It has taken almost three years, but he has full mobility of his leg again, although he still suffers some pain and I am sooooo proud of him I could burst.


(Click to enlarge)

DATS MY BABY.

Ok, back to regularly scheduled programming.

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I Guess THIS is what John Edwards Wanted.

Following up on two previous pieces, first, Edwards Calls For Protests on Memorial Day??!!?? and John Edwards: Showing Our Military How Much He Hates Them, we now see the fruits of his labors to undermine and slap our fallen heroes in the face, or dance on their graves might be a better way to phrase it.

Big Hat Tip to Lew from Right in a Left World for bringing these stories to our attention.

Orcas Island Washington has honored John Edwards request to protest on Memorial Day, they even got a days head start by burning American flags at veterans' graves and replacing them with swastikas.

ORCAS ISLAND, Wash. -- Vandals burned dozens of small American flags that decorated veterans' graves for Memorial Day and replaced many of them with hand-drawn swastikas, authorities said Monday.

Charred flag tatters were found still attached to 33 small flag standards at Woodlawn Cemetery, while 46 of the standards were found empty Sunday, authorities said.

Sheets of paper bearing swastikas drawn with what appeared to be red and black felt-tipped pens had been taped to 14 of the vandalized flag standards, Sheriff Bill Cumming said.

Members of the American Legion on this island off Washington's northwest coast replaced the burned flags with new ones Sunday afternoon.

The vandals repeated the stunt on Memorial Day after a guard left at dawn, replacing 33 of the small flags with more hand-drawn swastikas, the sheriff's office said.

Investigators believe there's more than one culprit, based on the number of flags that were vandalized, but they have no leads on any possible suspects, Cumming said in a telephone interview.

The sheriff said deputies were trying to lift fingerprints off what little physical evidence they were able to recover and were asking people on this bucolic island to contact the sheriff's office.

"We don't view this as free speech," Cumming said. "We view this as a hate crime, and it's being investigated as such."


So if this is being viewed as a hate crime, what happens to Edwards for inciting this crime?



Nothing, of course and if he DARES try to backtrack and claim this isn't what he wanted, he is even more ignorant than I assumed to begin with.

If he has watched the news, seen the pictures, witnessed what the anti-war protesters did to the capital building when they spray painted it, then he was FULLY aware of how unhinged these people are and by inciting them to protest on the one day of the year that is meant to honor our fallen heroes, and he deliberately incited them to these actions.

That isn't the only act of vandalism that Edwards encouraged either, he also must accept his part in this act of taking a woman's flag, from her yard and burning it so she awoke to a pile of ashes.

Police in Oakdale are searching for a vandal who burned an American flag in a woman's front yard.

Betty Soban said she feels threatened intimidated after someone burned her American Flag Monday morning.

Neighbors have reported other acts of vandalism over the years, but said burning a flag on Memorial Day should come with a harsh punishment.


Go to that last link and watch the video news report.

As Lew says from Right in a Left World:

I’m sure Edwards will issue the obligatory condemnation, no matter how hollow, that he doesn’t support these acts, but Edwards did ask people to make their statements known today and to send him photos to display of their acts.

Now, I wonder if Edwards will display the fruits of his call for protest photos that he asked to be sent to him?


Yes, I wonder if Edwards will publish those photos too.

So, Johnny Boy, happy now? You got your protests and your name will now be forever associated with burning flags and swastikas placed on our brave veterans' graves.



Good show!!

(Golf Clap)

[Update] I just sent John Edwards this link as well as a special "thank you" for his brilliant idea for supporting our troops.

Mr. Edwards,

Your encouragement for these protests has been noted and we will be voting accordingly in 2008. Thank you SOOOOOO much for your ideas, especially the protests on memorial Day.... I think they went well and you will get ALL the credit.

My blog as well as dozens of others, so far, will be reminding everyone how you encouraged these protests to "support our troops".


Spree @ Wake up America


I doubt he will be printing these photos but I can guarantee, no one will be allowed to forget his speacial Memorial Day idea that brought about acts such as those listed above.

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New York Times and Memorial Day: VULTURES

The New York Times, once again, publishes a piece, on Memorial Day no less, that leaves me shaking my head in disgust.

It seems that as far as this writer is concerned, a soldiers right to privacy and families right to be notified of their family members death before having the soldier's picture splashed all over the front pages, comes after the medias right to capitalize on said soldiers wounding or death.

On this Memorial Day, thousands of United States men and women are engaged in untold acts of bravery and drudgery on behalf of what our leaders have defined as vital American interests in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But even as the flags wave to honor soldiers past, much of the current campaigns go on without notice, because while troop numbers are surging, the media that cover them are leaking away, worn out by the danger and expense of covering a war that refuses to end.


Yes, this war on terror, specifically when the fighting is being done in Iraq is sooooooooo tiring to....THE MEDIA!!!!!

Many of the journalists who are in Iraq have been backed into fortified corners, rarely venturing out to see what soldiers confront. And the remaining journalists who are embedded with the troops in Iraq — the number dropped to 92 in May from 126 in April — are risking more and more for less and less.

Since last year, the military’s embedding rules require that journalists obtain a signed consent from a wounded soldier before the image can be published. Images that put a face on the dead, that make them identifiable, are simply prohibited.

[...]

Ashley Gilbertson, a veteran freelance photographer who has been to Iraq seven times and has worked for The New York Times, (along with Time and Newsweek among others), said the policy, as enforced, is coercive and unworkable.

“They are basically asking me to stand in front of a unit before I go out with them and say that in the event that they are wounded, I would like their consent,” he said. “We are already viewed by some as bloodsucking vultures, and making that kind of announcement would make you an immediate bad luck charm.”


Maybe, just perhaps, possibly, they are being seen as vultures because they are acting like vultures!!!

So they are complaining that they have to ask and get consent before publishing a soldiers face, wounded, perhaps dying, for the world to see.

Poor babies.

Remember now, this is the paper that published a piece showing a soldier (U.S. Army SSGT Hector Leija) dying, and they did this BEFORE his family had been notified.

Lets not forget that they often ignore what the soldiers tell them if it doesn't match their anti-war, anti-American philosophy, and these reporters want to complain about the rules?

“They are not letting us cover the reality of war,” he added. “I think this has got little to do with the families or the soldiers and everything to do with politics.”

Now THAT is the pot calling the kettle black.

Maybe if they would cover the "reality" of the war, instead of cherry picking just the bad, skipping over the good and ignoring what our troops say, they wouldn't have this problem of being seen as a bad luck charm or a vulture.

Maybe.

Vulture is too good a word for the likes of them.

Lt. Col. Josslyn L. Aberle, chief of media operations for the Multi-National Corps in Iraq, said that the regulations are a matter of common sense and decency, not message management.

“The last thing that we want to do is to contribute to the grief and anguish of the family members,” she said by phone from Iraq. “We don’t want the last image that the family has of their soldier to be a photo of him dying on a battlefield. You have to ask how much value is added.”


Exactly, but that, of course, isn't something the media, specifically the New York Times is worried about.

The families be damned, their headlines comes first.

This is how the paper cleans up what they did to SSGT Hector Leija's family.

There are some people stateside who would agree. In February, a story and accompanying video by The New York Times reporter Damien Cave — and a photo taken by Robert Nickelsberg — that depicted the grievous wounding and eventual death of a soldier on Haifa Street, drew both praise and condemnation on Web logs and in the military about what constitutes appropriate imagery for the breakfast table. What some readers see as a gratuitous display of carnage, others view as important homage to the boots on the ground.


Oooooops? They "forgot" to mention that the picture was shown before the family was notified?

I doubt it, they simply try to rewrite history and downright lie by omission here. No mention of the "reality" of what they did.

Unbelievable that they have the nerve to complain about this type of trivial bullshit while our soldiers are risking their lives to protect, not only us, but the reporters that are embedded!!!

Amy Proctor has a wonderful piece up about the Good news From Iraq, video and other news releases showing some words from our commanders on the ground.

Obviously there are problems. Iraq is, after all, a war zone. But for every bomb that goes off in downtown Baghdad, there are 10 areas of improvement ignored by the MSM. I’m here to bring them to you.

Amazing how a blogger, a military wife can get these stories, yet we don't see them printed in the New York Times and they are physically THERE.

They are treated like the enemy because they are acting like the enemy and becoming the enemies mouth pieces....so they need to quit complaining, start actually supporting our troops, telling their stories, dealing with the whole picture instead of just the Bleed and Lead articles and perhaps, then, they will stop being seen as a "bad luck charm" or a "vulture.

I doubt they are capable of it though.

They are vultures and they can be replaced.

Here is some good news from Iraq that you aren't seeing from our dinosaur media.

5/29/07- BOMBS DESTROYED, 18 SUSPECTS DETAINED

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Coalition Forces detained 18 suspected terrorists and destroyed a cache of weapons and bomb-making materials during operations against al-Qaeda in Iraq Sunday.

Based on information gained from successful operations May 21, Coalition Forces raided a suspected meeting place for al-Qaeda operatives. Inside the two targeted buildings, ground forces detained five individuals with suspected ties to the al-Qaeda network. One individual said he had attended an IED-making class in a building nearby.

Coalition Forces moved on to the nearby building and found a cache of weapons, explosives and improvised explosive device-making materials.

The cache contained three fully assembled IEDs, two artillery rounds, multiple IED triggers, eight rifles and assorted IED components. A trained explosives team safely destroyed the materials on site.

In Mosul, Coalition Forces detained six individuals in two separate raids targeting al-Qaeda cell leaders in the city. At the first location, Coalition Forces detained three individuals, including a suspected IED cell leader responsible for attacks on Iraqi and Coalition Forces. At the second site, Coalition Forces detained three more suspected terrorists, including an alleged al-Qaeda in Iraq cell leader who is known for distributing media and propaganda, including videos showing attacks on Iraqi Forces.

Intelligence reports led Coalition Forces to two buildings southeast of Fallujah, where they searched for associates of an al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leader. Four suspected terrorists were detained.

Coalition Forces raided a building searching for a cell leader within a Baghdad vehicle-borne IED network, where they detained three suspected terrorists for their involvement in the cell and destroyed two vehicles used in the VBIED network.

"Every day, we are chipping away al-Qaeda in Iraq's ability to operate and threaten the people of Iraq," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.


5/26/07- SECRET CELL KEY LEADER DETAINED, AIR STRIKE IN SADR CITY

Or this one:

5/26/07- TWO TERRORISTS KILLED, 23 SUSPECTS DETAINED, EXPLOSIVES DESTROYED

Or dozens of others found at Centcom. These are daily releases and papers like the NYT have access, just as we do, but they don't find good news important enough to tell the American people.

Vultures, indeed.

Related articles today:

David Patten from the Middle East Quarterly explains the realities of Iraq, he doesn't sugar coat things, but he gives a good lesson on the differences between political posturing and the truth.

Bottom line here folks is this: If you want the truth, the whole truth, you cannot get it these days by watching the news or picking up the paper, you must open your search engine and look for yourself, visit Centcom daily, read the military blogs our soldiers are writing and speaking to us, but some are too lazy to look and listen, they prefer to be told what to think.

Those like that, deserve to be called ignorant, because they choose to be ignorant.

The news is out there.... do you care to see it all?
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Good Riddance To Bad Rubbish

A couple good byes and don't let the door hit you in the ass comments.

First, Rosie O'Donnell, loudmouth idiot from the view, after some harsh words with Elisabeth Hasselbeck, decides to take her toys and go home.

As the title says, good riddance to bad rubbish.

The woman hasn't a clue about what she spews forth and I am very happy to see her off the view.



For those that didn't see the exchange between Rosie and Elisabeth, click the video below. Once she realized that Elisabeth Hasselbeck had enough of her loud mouthed rantings and stood up to her, Rosie left the show, weeks ahead of schedule.




See ya!!!!

Hot Air has Donald Trump's Reaction on video, so stop on over and get yourself a quick laugh.

NEXT!!!!

Cindy Sheehan has also decided to quit the Democrats and the anti-war movement.

Stories can be found from Reason, CNN, CBS and Fox News.

My problem with Sheehan is that, at first, I used to defend her... my opinion at the time was, every person grieves her own way, how can anyone judge her while she is in incredible pain.... yadda yadda yadda, UNTIL, I started researching her and her actions for a post about her and her son, then I just got pissed off, royally at the way she dishonored him, his choices and his memory.

To see what I mean, just read my post "A Mothers Betrayal: Casey and Cindy Sheehan" to see her sickening display at a gravesite and the media attention, then find out that it wasn't even her son, Casey's, gravesite!!!! Worse yet, at that time, she still hadn't even bothered to get her son a headstone, she was too busy to put her son to rest properly.

In a 1,245-word missive entitled "Goodbye Attention Whore" posted on the liberal DailyKos blog, Sheehan said her campaign to end the war in Iraq had strained her relationship with her children, cost her a marriage and left her nearly penniless.

"This is my resignation letter as the 'face' of the American anti-war movement," Sheehan wrote. "I am going to take whatever I have left and go home. I am going to go home and be a mother to my surviving children and try to regain some of what I have lost."

Read the rest if you have the stomach to.

Right Wing Nut House and Captain's Quarters has more on Sheehan.

All in all, not a bad way to start my week!!!!

A quick thank you to Maggie and HCdl for keeping this blog active while I had my son here for a few days.

[Update] Seems that Rosie doesn't want to be friends with Elisabeth Hasselbeck anymore. I wonder HOW Hasselbeck will live. (She is probably thanking her lucky starts that she never has to speak to the lunatic Rosie again, and wondering why on Earth she didn't tell the slob off much earlier!!!!)


Tracked back by:
Sheehan Abandons Sinking Ship of Anti-War Movement from Bottom Line Up Front...

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Venezuelans Fight the Loss of Free Press


World freedoms dwindle as Danny Glover steps-in and cozies-up with Chavez, snatching the Bolivars right out of the hands of the people.

Venezuelans are in the streets fighting for free press. Their dictator, Hugo Chavez, has taken-down the most popular television station there, and replaced it with a state-sponsored station.

Glover thumbed his nose at Venezuelan liberties (he need not worry, American troops are protecting his) and aligned himself with deep pockets and dictators, revealing his true lack of concern for freedom, for the poor and the down-trodden.

Glover snagged his $20-$30 Million (depending on whose reporting you believe) before Venezuelan actors, anchors, agents, writers, camera crews, and grips lost their jobs. Three thousand people out of work and a station operating for 53 years is gone. Glover will make two movies in Venezuela, but no, the jobs for those in television will not be replaced by Glover's ventures. On Glover's love of America:
Glover was a signatory to "The Conscience of the World," a public letter signed by 160 artists which condemned the War in Iraq, and pledged support for the Communist dictatorship of Cuba. He also supports the Maoist group Not In Our Name (NION), which "pledges resistance to endless war, detentions and roundups, [and] attacks on civil liberties," and is directed by members of the Revolutionary Communist Party.
As Glover attempts to add legitimacy to dictatorships, Chavez controls the military, the legislature, the courts, most private industry, including our American oil companies - he also controls former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

For thoughts on loss of free speech in Russia, read Russians Mourn the Loss of Free Press

This a day to remember just how precious are our freedoms and to fiercely battle back against those who would hastily feed the gators, hoping they will eat him last.

A closing thought on how we make freedom ours:
You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free. Clarence Darrow

Russians Mourn the Loss of Free Press


Putin enjoys a "cuppa," while this flattering photo of him is taken by the free press privileges of the BBC. Photo courtesy of the BBC.

In Russia, the people silently mourn the murder of their democracy at the hands of President Vladimir Putin. After the killing of beloved Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya in 2006, the International Herald Tribune put it this way:
I am convinced that her killer was, first and foremost, the paucity of freedoms in Russia. The lack of freedom killed freedom - this is where the sad logic of her killing comes from, no matter who is behind it.

Lack of freedom spawns lawlessness: Russia has fostered numerous vindictive, unpunished people indignant that someone dares to point a finger at them and to say that their actions are criminal. At the same time, authoritarian power always fragments into clans, and the accusations of an independent journalist can be a priceless weapon in the battle of clans or for the liquidation of political rivals.
And then this:
Hundreds of people who came to say farewell to Anna looked not only crushed, but also helpless. The mourners were shown their real place, as people without rights, who will be told only what the authorities want them to know.
And this::
...at least twelve journalists have been killed in contract-style slayings. No one has been brought to justice in eleven of the twelve cases.
And another important piece on how unattended freedom is killing freedom in Russia.

For thoughts on Venezuelans fighting in their streets for free press, read: how Danny Glover and Hugo Chavez give a "nose-thumb" to freedom.

This a day to remember just how precious are our freedoms and to fiercely battle back against those who would hastily feed the gators, hoping they will eat him last.

A closing thought on how we make freedom ours:
You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free. Clarence Darrow


Cross-posted from Maggie's Notebook

Lebanese Refugee Camp Harbors Achille Lauro Terrorist


Lebanon Violence: Lebanese troops fought new gun battles with Islamic extremists in the north of the country while the plumes of black smoke rose from the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr Al-Bared. (Photo Credit: Ramzi Haidar, AFP/Getty Images)

Do you remember the 1985 murder of American, Leon Klinghoffer, aboard the cruise ship, Achille Lauro? Klinghoffer (69), Jewish and wheelchair bound, was shot and killed by Palestinian terrorists. Some of the ship's staff were forced to dump his body over the side. Mr. and Mrs. Klinghoffer were celebrating their 36th wedding anniversary.

Today, an Achille Lauro hijacker is reported to be alive and well inside the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in Lebanon (shown in photo above). While Wikipedia shows that Bassam al-Ashker was paroled in Italy in 1991, and died in February 2004, it seems he may be alive, is attempting to fulfill his mission and is boastful of fighting Americans:
"I organize the training of young Palestinian recruits who we send to fight the Americans alongside the Iraqi resistance," Ashker told reporters. "I have even fought them myself in Fallujah and Ramadi," two rebel bastions west of Baghdad.
The hijacking of the Achille Lauro was masterminded by Abu Abbas (also known as Muhammad Zaidan) - a name well-know to those of us who pay attention to the War on Terror. He was the founder and leader of the Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF). As the Achille Lauro passengers were freed, Abass escaped (???) capture, fled Italy, and was sentenced in absentia. He ran straight to Saddam Hussein, who personally protected him and afforded him safe harbor. Abass died in U.S. Custody in Baghdad in March 2004.

Reports are that Ashker spent 14 years in Iraq after his 1991 parole, before relocating to Nahr al-Bared.

Cross-posted from Maggie's Notebook

Monday, May 28, 2007

Memorial Day Tribute


A Thank you to our fallen soldiers past
Remembering you with love, enmasse.
A time to put our politics aside for you,
Who fought for us with a belief so true.

So thank you from the bottom of my heart,
One and all, You've done your part.
It is a day to show our gratitude and love,
And hope you see us from the heavens above.

A country stops and pays tribute to you,
Our flags raised high in remembrance too.
We know what you sacrificed to protect,
Your memories will never be treated with neglect.

Look down upon a nation looking up into the sky,
Tis our day to thank you and never wonder why,
God made those like you willing to protect us here,
So we can walk and talk freely completely without fear.

The one last thing we ask of you who gave so much,
Is to look out for our soldiers with your touch.
Protect them as a Guardian angel would,
Understand and love them as only you could.

We bow our heads and pray for you,
Our country's heroes, red, white and blue.
The Nation stops and stands still today,
To honor you on Memorial Day.

-30 ---spree



Others paying tribute:
HCdl with A Message From Our Past For Our Troops Today.
Political Pistachio with Some Gave All.
Argghhh with Memorial Day 2007.
Mudville Gazette with Memorial Day Dawn Patrol.
The Glittering Eye with Memorial Day 2007.
The American Legion with Message to America:Respect Memorial Day.
Michelle Malkin with How not to honor a fallen soldier.
Jules Crittenden with Memorial Day on the Ground.
American Ranger with Memorial Day, 2007: We Must Never Forget.
Gazing at the Flag with Memorial Day 2007.
Woman Honor Thyself with Memorial DaY MusingS.
Yankee Mom with Memorial Day Hero Post.
Take Our Country Back with A Day of Remembrance.
Captain's Quarters with If You're Reading This Blog Today...

[Update] Another tribute from Daddy Blogger with Memorial Day Madness. Have Americans forgotten the meaning behind this holiday?



Tracked back by:
Memorial Day from shyspeak.net..

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