All posts by Ross

Politics, War On Terror

Rebuttal Rebuttal

We’ve heard the Democrats’ prebuttal and rebuttal to the President’s briefing of the nation on the way forward in Iraq. But you may not have heard the Rebuttal to the Rebuttal. It addresses every point that Jack Reid made in his rebuttal to Bush’s address to the nation, and does it well.

It should help in lowering your blood pressure a few points from last week. And hats of to TXPoet for doing the really hard work of actually listening to Reid’s entire speech. I only lasted about a minute before I turned the channel. For the younger audience, its what you do when you grab the remote and push a number.

Ft. Hard Knox: Rebuttal to the Rebuttal

Race Relations

10,000 Men On The Street In Philly

Philly has been trying to get a grip on the murder rate in the city. It has been at a record high all year, and getting worse. There are 294 murders as of today. Mostly in black neighborhoods where both shooters and victims are kids. Sylvester Johnson, the police chief is looking for citizen volunteers to help.

Sylvester Johnson says black men, in particular, have a duty to protect more vulnerable residents. He wants each volunteer to pledge to work three hours a day for at least 90 days.

“We are definitely encouraging black men to be involved in it,” Johnson told The Associated Press on Thursday. “We have an obligation to give back. We have an obligation to protect our women, our children, our elderly.”

But Johnson said he would not turn away men of other races.

“We have to put the tourniquet where we’re bleeding at this point,” he said. “We’re not restricting anybody.”

It is sickening to see this happening to the kids and it does have to be stopped. It never has been as bad in Philly as it is now. Sylvester is looking for volunteer citizens to get involved by going into their neighborhoods and give 3 hours a day for 90 days. 10,000 if possible, but he’d be pleased if he only gets 1000. What I like about this idea is that these volunteers are not ‘the man.’ They are fathers, uncles, brothers, and sons of families living in the neighborhood, not police with guns, clubs, and pepper spray. This kind of involvement will be the starting point for turning things around in the city and the chief deserves all the support he can muster.

According to the 10,000 Men website, Sunday October 21, 2007 is the kick-off of ‘It’s a new day in Philadelphia’ in the Liacouras Center at Temple University, 12 noon.

Philadelphia Daily News link

related: More Kids Killing Kids In Philadelphia
No Stopping Philadelphia Murderers

Race Relations

General John “Black Jack” Pershing, Happy Birthday

3 Comments

General John Pershing, a republican, was born Sept 13, 1860. Did you know that “his first job was elementary school teacher for African-American children in Missouri? Pershing later gained the nickname “Black Jack” for commanding African-American troops in Montana and Cuba.

I didn’t know that. But Michael Zak does. He wrote the book on the history of the Republican party in areas of civil rights.

h/t Stix Blog

related: Black Political History IQ

2008 Election, Politics, War On Terror

Democrats v General Petraeus

The message of this status report on the ‘surge’ was discounted as a lie before it was ever presented. This is nothing new from the Democrats in Washington. It’s what they do, and it really doesn’t matter what Gen. Petraeus has to say. They’re minds were already made up.For General Petreaus, Democrats can't handle the truth.

To put a political agenda over what Gen. Petraeus is saying carries with it life and death consequences for us, the Iraqi people, and the rest of the world. The fact that this is the biggest war of our time, would you bet on our lives that Barbara Boxer knows better than General Petreaus? Responding to a question about Democrats’ position of threatening Iraq with pulling our troops out, as leverage to motivate them to speed things up, Petraeus says this. . .

“Threatening to withdraw may harden something that we’re trying to soften. So there’s a very, very real issue — a feel for what we think might happen in such a case.”

I’m furious that the Democrats in the House and Senate created so much propaganda for the enemy in their lust to play commander in chief even if it means losing what they call ‘Bush’s war.’

And when these Democrats go out of their way to say that they support the troops, just remember how they do it. They want to bring the troops home before completing their mission. The message they send the troops is, ‘never-mind, come home now,’ while making the whole situation worse. They call their commander a liar on a daily basis, that the war in Iraq is only a war for oil. And now their commander-in-theater, Gen. Petreaus, is just reporting what Bush wants him to report. An off-handed way of calling him a liar too. That is how they support our troops. Actually, they are supporting the enemy more.

For the Democrats to say that Petreaus is just reporting what Bush wants him to report is to presume that the surge can not work. They are leaving no room for it to work, so when the surge shows measurable signs of working, they would what? They would expect General Petreaus to say that it is not working? After all, Bush wants it to work so you General, are just rubber stamping if not lying about your report if you say that it is working. That seems to be the position of the democrat leadership, some of whom also want to become president.

So, come on Democrats. You want to really have fun? If you believe what you say, then you should try to prosecute the general for lying to congress. Maybe get a court martial and some jail time? Go for it.

related link:  Dems Showing Their True Colors

2008 Election, Politics, War On Terror

al-Qaida Criticizes Hamas

The natives are restless. Hamas criticized for making ‘nationalism’ (killing Jews) a priority over jihad (killing Americans and everyone else).

Hamas is focused on the creation of an independent Palestinian state rather than al-Qaida’s vision of a worldwide Muslim community ruled by Islamic law.

How’s that for a bumper sticker Sen. Joe Biden, war denier and democrat presidential primary candidate?
AP link

Media, Politics, Uncategorized

Earmark, “Congressionally Directed Spending.”

Earmark smearmark, where is the will to forbid them? Not in Washington DC that’s for sure. Washington’s fix regarding earmarks works as good as their answer to campaign financing. It still goes on but it now has a different name, “congressionally directed spending.” Take Rahm Emanuel for example. He is chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and has been a major proponent of making earmarks in spending bills more transparent. Rahm speaks with forked tongue.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel was extremely proud when the House passed a major spending billRahm Emanuel, who is chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, has been a major proponent of making earmarks in spending bills more transparent. early this year that contained not a single special-interest project. “This is an earmark-free bill,” the Illinois Democrat jubilantly declared on Feb. 1.

A week later, however, he and 18 other Illinois lawmakers signed a letter to the Energy Department to “express our strong support” for a bio-energy project at the University of Illinois. Emanuel also sent his own letter to the department seeking “support and assistance in securing” $500,000 for Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago and $750,000 for the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Such requests for specific institutions are commonly known as earmarks. But Emanuel, a member of the Democratic House leadership, declines to call them that. “Letter-writing is not an earmark,” he said in an interview.

What perfect Clinton-speak. Letter-writing for earmarks is not an earmark. That and, it depends on what the definition of is is. Pelosi and Reid are doing a bang-up job on their ethics reform campaign, beginning with William (Dollar Bill) Jefferson (D-LA). And it goes downhill from there.

Washington Post link: Pet Projects’ Veil Is Only Partly Lifted

2008 Election, Media, Politics, Uncategorized, War On Terror

CNN, Bin Laden Is Right

The CNN take on “Osama bin Laden’s Message to Americans” is pretty much what bin Laden said. And by its content could have passed for something out of the DNC. No, I’m not saying it was from the DNC, I’m saying the message is the same as that of the DNC.

Aside from the part where he wants to kill us all unless we submit to cavemen, he says if we would just quit fighting the war in Iraq, then he would stop fighting us. That is the same thing that every democrat candidate running for president is saying. Only difference is, the democrats really believe it. Both he and these democrats forgot the part about we were not in Iraq on 9/11/2001. But I digress.

Michael Scheuer, the former chief of a CIA bin Laden unit, said that the war with bin Laden is a result of our policies in the US. And, that the administration has misled us about the motivations of this enemy. IE. They don’t want to kill us because we are not Islamofascists, they want to kill us because of the way we live and the laws we make. So just change the law (and our way of life) and then we won’t be attacked any more. Now I know why he is a former chief. Well, aside from the fact that he didn’t find bin Laden. Scheuer says . . .

We continue to hear that it’s about freedom and liberty, and they hate women in the workplace, or the fact that I might have a beer after work, and that has nothing to do with it. What we’re at war about is the impact of our policy in the Islamic world. That — that’s what motivates al Qaeda and its allies. And that is what gives al Qaeda and its allies unity.

Help me, I’m having trouble understanding how the way we live in the United States, policies and all, have any effect whatsoever on cavemen on the other side of the world that Scheuer calls ‘the Islamic world?’ The only thing he has right is the scope of the Islamofascists, they are all over the “world.”

Curiously enough, bin Laden is apparently a fan of Michael Scheuer, and why wouldn’t he be? Scheuer believes bin Laden’s propaganda. In his speech, bin Laden said . . .

“If you would like to get to know some of the reasons for your losing of your war against us, then read the book of Michael Scheuer in this regard.”

This is an ideological war for us. For the enemy it is a religious war. And according to Michael Scheuer, its just that lying Bush.

CNN transcript

Politics, Race Relations

Race Card For William Jefferson (D-LA)

It’s not the $90,000 of marked bribe money in your freezer in your Washington D.C. home, it’sRace Card where you were caught.

Rep. William Jefferson accused the Justice Department of bringing corruption charges against him in Virginia to reduce the chance of drawing black jurors.

“If Jefferson objects to the alleged practice of attempting to influence the racial make-up of the jury, why is he attempting to influence the racial make-up of the jury himself?” h/t Amy Ridenour, National Center Blog

WTOP News link