Websites of the Day

Time to lighten up a bit. (Frank Lloyd Wright and his ilk always get under my skin.)

First up is Brittany Jackson, a former basketball player for the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers.

And here is Erica Blasberg, a newcomer to the LPGA tour. (The photos with the flag wrapped around her are offensive, but since nobody else seems to give a damn, why should I?)

Sobran: Calling All Grown-Ups

(Note: The link above will take you to Joe's current on-line column. The archive is here. Not all of his past columns are available in the archive.)


[Originally published by the Universal Press Syndicate, January 1, 1998]

Arthur Koestler told the story of an old priest he met during World War II. Fascinated that the man had listened to thousands of confessions and heard countless intimate secrets, he asked him what he had learned about human nature.

The priest was naturally reluctant to discuss the secrets of the confessional, even in the most abstract terms. Finally, though, he offered one generalization: “Basically, nobody ever grows up.”

Amen. When my mother died last June, one of the many emotions that surged through me was an odd feeling of sheer unreadiness. I wanted to say to her, “Mom! You can’t die yet! I haven’t finished growing up!”

After all, I was only 51.

Koestler’s priest never met my mother. She grew up early. I never knew anyone so self-reliant, but so willing to be relied on by others. Until she died, I didn’t realize how deeply I felt I still depended on her. That feeling never quite goes away.

Mr. Sobran can write.

After all, adults are supposed to be making some kind of effort to be responsible and self-sufficient. But many people don’t even try to grow up anymore. The low birth rate in modern society suggests that they would rather be children than have them. And the growth of the welfare state is an index of how constantly we are being invited to let others take responsibility for us.

Why do we talk about “responsibility” in government, when government itself has become a device for shirking and concealing responsibility? The more prosperous we become, the more we hear about poverty and the alleged necessity for the state to take care of those who have been “forgotten” or “left out.” You’d think that life were tougher for us than for our ancestors on the farm.

As the state relieves us of responsibility to our parents and children, it increases our responsibilities to itself. You may divorce your spouse, desert (or abort) your children and abandon your parents, but your duty to pay taxes is absolute. There is no divorce or separation from the welfare state, till death do you part (and even then, inheritance taxes will eat up much of your legacy).

Maybe you don’t have to support the children you’ve begotten, but you’re going to support other people’s children, and pay their way through college, from coast to coast. The natural ratio of responsibility is askew.

Exactly!

The socialist phenomenon, as Igor Shafarevich has called it, takes many forms and many names. But it’s a phenomenon of rich societies, not poor ones.

Poor societies can’t afford to support a large parasite class; the great majority of people are doomed by necessity to be hard-working peasants. When you have to produce food for your family with your own hands, refusing to take responsibility is not an option.

It’s when a society produces a huge surplus of wealth that the parasites multiply and become a powerful force, demanding to be supported and exaggerating their hardships, while politicians, feeling their pain, cater tenderly to their “needs.” Always at someone else’s expense, of course. The fewer the peasants, the more the parasites.

Not coincidentally, rich societies also produce large surpluses of leisured theoreticians to provide rationales for those who won’t grow up. A large part of the parasite class is dedicated to “education,” a luxury that should be privately paid for, though typically advertised as a necessity that must be subsidized. This is why so many intellectuals are on the side of “the poor,” which in practice always turns out to mean the state.

Frédéric Bastiat wrote that government is “organized plunder.” It might be added that a politics geared to this kind of government is organized whining.

We could use a few more like Joe Sobran.

Also, it could be time to re-read Bastiat.

Porn industry pushing Bush GOP fund-raiser

Thanks to World Net Daily for the heads up.

While officially White House spokesmen continue to pretend they are unaware a pornographer and a porn star will attend a presidential fund-raising dinner for Republican congressional candidates, the adult-film company behind the gimmick is making the most of the photo opportunity the event presents.

Mark Kulkis, president of Kick A-- Pictures, which specializes in hard-core porn, has issued press releases explaining "he was personally invited to" the 2005 President's Dinner and proclaiming his presence, along with that of his guest, porn star Mary Carey, will "make pop culture history."

A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is hosting President Bush at a $2,500-a-plate fund-raiser next week, told WND couple is welcome because they paid their money like everyone else.

Ah, that explains a lot.

As WorldNetDaily reported, the buxom Carey, 24, ran for California governor against Arnold Schwarzenegger on a platform that included taxing breast enhancements, making lap dances tax deductible, recruiting porn stars as "ambassadors of good will" and putting Web cams up in every room of the governor's mansion.

In that case, we would have to be more careful about whom we elect. Anyone for a draft Jennifer Love Hewitt movement?

"I'm hoping to run as lieutenant governor of California next year," Carey said. "Since Arnold [Schwarzenegger] is a Republican, I thought this dinner would be a great networking opportunity for me."

Added Carey: "I'm especially looking forward to meeting Karl Rove. Smart men like him are so sexy. I know that he's against gay marriage, but I think I can convince him that a little girl-on-girl action now and then isn't so bad!"

I'm sure Mr. Rove appreciates the compliment.

Pat Buchanan puts Watergate to bed (almost)...

...except of course for the part about John Dean's wife, the hooker.


In the Watergate myth, two intrepid young reporters – guided by a conscientious whistleblower sickened at the scent of fascism he has found at the center of power, and backed up by a courageous and crusty editor – bring down the most dangerous tyrant in U.S. history.
It is the Great Myth of American journalism.
Now, thanks to Mark Felt's family wanting to get the old boy some publicity and themselves some of Woodward's stash, the Great Myth has been demolished.
Watergate involved two conspiracies. The first, now ancient history, was the botched cover-up of a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters, in which President Nixon was briefly complicit. But we now know there was a far larger and more successful conspiracy involving the FBI's No. 2, to rifle confidential files, to help the Washington Post bring down a president who had topped its enemies list since Joe McCarthy had gone to his grave.
Who was Mark Felt? A "hero," outraged by the crimes he saw in the White House, Ben Bradlee tells fawning interviewers.
It won't wash. Felt ran "black bag" jobs for J. Edgar and had to know of the taps and tapes of Dr. King that yielded the dirt the boys sent to Coretta that broke her heart. Is it credible this same Felt, discovering Segretti sent 200 pizzas to a Muskie fund-raiser, became so "shocked, shocked" he had no choice but leak to the Post to bring down the president of the United States?
The Post says Felt had no place else to go, as the White House and FBI chief Pat Grey were impeding the investigation. But if that is true, why wasn't the Post's big story headlined, "Justice Aides Say White House Impeding Watergate Investigation"? Why were the stories all about Segretti and the Haldeman slush fund?
The answer is obvious. After a week's botched attempt to get the CIA to tell the FBI to narrow its investigation, the Nixon White House had thrown in the towel. An honest and wide-ranging investigation was underway. It was only corrupted by Felt himself, a deceitful cop who carries the moniker of the porn star of the dirtiest movie of the day.
Why did Woodward, Bernstein and Felt cover up the identity of Deep Throat? By Occam's razor, the simple explanation is often the right one. Felt kept his mouth shut so as not to be prosecuted for his crimes and be disgraced before his FBI compatriots. Woodward and Bernstein covered up his identity so that no one knew that Mark Felt was their real managing editor and they were being run by the FBI.

Battle of the Day

On this date in 1967 the USS Liberty was attacked by Israeli planes.

How does that old saw go? "There are no permanent friends or permanent enemies; there are only permanent interests." (See Lord Palmerston. Again, a big thanks to my favorite commie-symp site Spartacus Educational.)

May God have mercy on the souls of the thirty-four crewmen of the Liberty who died in the attack and may He also have mercy on the souls of those who murdered them.

It's Frank Lloyd Wright's birthday: big freakin' deal!

Frank Lloyd Wright was born on this date in 1867. He died April 9, 1959.

Far from being "The greatest artist this country has ever produced" (according to "architectural writer" Robert Campbell) Wright will be remembered by history as a creature of his times, obsessed with gimmickry, self promotion, and the destruction of all of the tradition and knowledge of those true artists who proceeded him.

Check out Frank's nifty gas station. It was part of his "Broadacre City" scheme, which appears to be the totalitarian middle's idea of a concentration camp for us proles.

No, I'm not saying Mr. Wright was a commie thug, (He didn't have to be, because the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.) so those out there with some stake in propping up his (literally) rotting legacy, there is no need to get your panties in a knot.

Here's a couple of excerpts from the last link - The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy - detailing the structural stupidity of Wright's masterpiece:

In 1994, our continued concerns about the structural integrity of the house led us to engage the engineering firm, to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the master terrace cantilever using non-destructive testing methods. The results of the study indicated that the master terrace could not function as an independent cantilever, and that it was transferring its load to the living room level. Furthermore, the study predicted the ultimate failure of the living room cantilevers if no remedial action was taken. (Emphasis mine.) The study recommended that the structure be repaired. In order to stop the deflections and provide a margin of safety, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy installed temporary shoring in 1997. A 1999 peer review approved the proposed plan for the structural repair, which will strengthen the living room using post-tensioning, and waterproofing the building.

I was not kidding about the rot:

Another major issue facing Fallingwater is moisture penetration. Lynda Waggoner, vice president of Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and director of Fallingwater, said during the forum, "Inside the house, this on-going problem is responsible for warped doors, peeling paint, stains and cracks on the walls. It’s a serious problem that rivals our structural challenges in its importance." To remedy that, WASA proposed to replace the current one-ply rubber membrane roof with an IRMA (inverted roofing membrane assembly) roof. The IRMA system employs three plies of modified bitumem that is surmounted by a drainage mat (to guide the sub-surface water), insulation, filter fabric and gravel. The terraces will be waterproofed similarly with three plies of modified bitumem and a drainage mat. Flagstones will then be laid over filter fabric and sand.

Frank Lloyd's crap is falling down, falling down...

The stabilization of the cantilever is clearly a dramatic project, but the restoration of the structure includes many other vital components:

1. structural strengthening of Edgar Kaufmann, Sr.’s cantilevered terrace with carbon fiber;
2. restoration and repair of the corroded, and in some locations inoperable, steel sash that comprises the framing of the windows and doors throughout the building;
3. conservation of all interior built-in and free standing Frank Lloyd Wright designed furniture and woodwork;
4. restoration of the badly corroded steel supports and spalled concrete treads of the stairs that connect the living room to the stream;
5. cleaning and repointing of the exterior stone walls; and
6. waterproofing the building.

Saint of the Day

Today we honor St. Edgar the Peaceful, an English king whose life proves you don't have to be perfect to become a saint. Pray for us, all you angels and saints.


Today's reading is 2 Corinthians 3:4-11
Today's Gospel reading is Matthew 5:17-19


Everyday links:
The Blessed Virgin Mary
The Rosary
Our Mother of Perpetual Help
St. Joseph, her most chaste spouse, Pray for us.


Prayer to Saint Anthony, Martyr of Desire

Dear St. Anthony, you became a Franciscan with the hope of shedding your blood for Christ. In God's plan for you, your thirst for martyrdom was never to be satisfied. St. Anthony, Martyr of Desire, pray that I may become less afraid to stand up and be counted as a follower of the Lord Jesus. Intercede also for my other intentions. (Name them.)

Yea!

Pentagon takes aim at rank and file of al Qaeda


The Pentagon is discussing war-strategy changes for defeating Islamic terrorists that would place more emphasis on killing, capturing or discouraging midlevel operators who enable top al Qaeda leadership to function.

Interviews the past week with Bush administration officials show that policy-makers are thinking the only way to ultimately win the war is to take down the lower-level operators who form the networks that support Osama bin Laden and scores of other al Qaeda lieutenants around the world.

President Bush, in assessing progress in the war, often cites the statistic that 75 percent of known al Qaeda leaders have been killed or captured. The strategy has been generally that if you cut off the head of al Qaeda, the body will eventually die.

But more than three years into the war on terrorism, some officials are leaning toward a new policy that would place just as much emphasis on taking foot soldiers off the street.

"DOD is pushing a strategy of going after the al Qaeda network," a well-placed administration official told The Washington Times. "Getting the leadership alone is not going to do it."

Dumber than a BushMonkey.

James Taranto (Best of the Web Today) drives another stake into the cold, bloodless heart of an American genius who was tragically rejected by smarter people.


A C Man in the Navy

On Jan. 30, John Kerry* told NBC's Tim Russert that he would release his full military records to the public, something he had refused to do during last year's campaign. It took 128 days, but today the Boston Globe reports that he had done so. The records revealed what many of us had suspected: Kerry served in Vietnam. But according to the Globe, "the lack of any substantive new material about Kerry's military career in the documents raises the question of why Kerry refused for so long to waive privacy restrictions."
A second Globe story, however, answers that question. Included in Kerry's military files were his transcripts from Yale, which were part of his application for officer training. Kerry, it turns out, had a 76 average for his years at Yale--the equivalent of a C and one point below George W. Bush's 77 average. Kerry had a difficult freshman year, scoring four D's, though he did manage a C in French.
So Kerry was almost as distinguished a scholar as the schoolmate who went on to become president of the United States. That doesn't seem so bad--but for candidate Kerry, it would have been devastating. After all, much of Kerry's appeal, such as it was, rested on intellectual snobbery. His supporters described him, in the words of a March 2004 New York Times report, as "an intellectual who grasps the subtleties of issues, inhabits their nuances and revels in the deliberative process." In this view, Kerry's nose for nuance contrasted favorably with Bush's simplisme.
But what if Kerry simply lacked the ability to express himself clearly? Consider his answer when asked in a September 2003 debate to reconcile his vote for Iraq's liberation with his subsequent opposition: "The vote is the vote. I voted to authorize. It was the right vote, and the reason I mentioned the threat is that we gave the--we had to give life to the threat. If there wasn't a legitimate threat, Saddam Hussein was not going to allow inspectors in. Now, let me make two points if I may. . . ."
He went on in this vein for 248 words (quoted in full here), and only someone with a superior intellect and too much time on his hands could possibly have made sense of his answer. "People will often be misled into thinking someone is brighter if he says something complicated they can't understand," IQ expert Linda Gottfredson told the Times' John Tierney last year. The revelation that Kerry was no better a student than Bush suggests that this is just what happened.
Kerry's appeal to intellectual vanity was in any case a politically dubious one. The last egghead to win the White House was Woodrow Wilson, and he was a genuinely accomplished scholar. In 1956, a supporter is said to have told Adlai Stevenson, "You have the support of every thinking person." He replied: "That's not enough. I need a majority."
Still, let's not sell Kerry short. He is, after all, a United States senator--which isn't bad for a C student. At least no one will ever again call him an underachiever.
* No footnote today. Why pile on?

UK beach monkey bone revives Boney legend

You just can't make up stuff this good.

A bone found on a British beach has sparked renewed interest in one of the country's most curious myths - that a monkey washed ashore during the Napoleonic Wars was executed by suspicious locals for being a French spy.

Police in Hartlepool, on the northeast coast of England, confirmed Friday that the one-foot (15 centimetre) bone found on a beach last month was not human, but came instead from a monkey or gorilla.

The discovery has intrigued locals, given the town's curious folklore from the Anglo-French Napoleonic conflict, which lasted from 1793 to 1815.

According to popular legend, a monkey dressed in a French uniform was washed ashore at Hartlepool and tried by local magistrates on suspicion of being a French spy. Because it did not answer questions they presumed the animal was guilty, and it was hanged from a lamppost.

Although the tale's authenticity is unknown, Hartlepool's football team has long used a man dressed in a monkey suit - dubbed "H'Angus" - as its mascot.

In a bizarre twist to the story, the man who used to wear the monkey suit, Stuart Drummond, was elected Harlepool's mayor in 2002 after running for the post in the guise of H'Angus.
(Thanks to Best of the Web Today for the heads up.)

From The Those Wacky Germans Department:

From Best of the Web Today:


Nazis Against Capital Punishment

The Washington Post's Charles Lane has a fascinating bit of history relating to European criticism of America's death penalty:
Contrasting their nation's policy with that of the Americans, Germans point proudly to Article 102 of their Basic Law, adopted in 1949. It reads, simply: "The death penalty is abolished." They often say that this 56-year-old provision shows how thoroughly the postwar Federal Republic has learned--and applied--the lessons of Nazi state-sponsored killing. (Communist East Germany kept the death penalty until 1987.)
But the actual history of the German death penalty ban casts this claim in a different light. Article 102 was in fact the brainchild of a right-wing politician who sympathized with convicted Nazi war criminals--and sought to prevent their execution by British and American occupation authorities. Far from intending to repudiate the barbarism of Hitler, the author of Article 102 wanted to make a statement about the supposed excesses of Allied victors' justice.

George Mikan: Requiescat in pace

Bob Novak remembers the NBA's first great big man.


As a youngster in Joliet during the 1940s, I was proud of the young fighting men protecting our freedom in World War II. But I have to admit that the Jolietan we admired the most never went to war. He spent those years playing basketball for DePaul. He was the mighty George Mikan.

The memories tumbled back when I learned of Mikan's death Thursday at the age of 80. He was a hero to us in Joliet, and we needed a hero. The city had been mired in the Depression since its three steel mills closed in 1929, never to reopen. We all needed a lift, and Mikan provided it. We thought the alumnus of Joliet Catholic who never played high school basketball was the best basketball player in the world. He was the idol of every kid I knew.

George was not remote, but was around Joliet every summer -- and very accessible. As a baseball-crazy kid on summer Sundays after my team in the Junior Park League finished, I would pick out an afternoon men's game to watch. More often than not, my friends and I would pick the West Side Grocers, the team sponsored by Mayor Art Janke (proprietor of the West Side Grocery). That is, we would pick the Grocers if Mikan were pitching for them.

He wasn't the best pitcher in Joliet, but he was awesome to watch. He had one pitch -- a straight fastball -- and not much control. Firing down from his 6-foot-10 height and wearing thick glasses, Mikan terrified most batters. He was only 19 or 20 (six years older than I), but he was a grown man.

Besides pitching once or twice a week for the Grocers, Mikan also played shortfielder (the 10th position) for the Rivals Club in the Chicago-area "major" fast-pitch softball league (where the Rivals' big opponent was the Match Corporation of America). Very well coordinated, George planted himself on second base and had terrific range to either side. Between the Grocers and the Rivals, the best college basketball player in America each week was playing five or six games of baseball and softball.

But Mikan was mainly a basketball player, and I tried to get as often as possible to the Chicago Stadium (where DePaul played most of its home games). His little hook shot from the low post was unstoppable from that era's very narrow lanes, and he batted away many enemy shots. Mikan unwittingly caused widening of the lanes and prohibition of goal tending.
The centers on most teams then were five or six inches shorter, but not on Oklahoma A&M. Their center was even taller than Mikan: 7-foot Bob "Foothills" Kurland. (After college, Kurland opted to play AAU ball with Phillips 66 of Bartlesville, Okla., instead of going pro and later became a Phillips executive.)

Novak: Bush unable to control Congress

Bob Novak on our cut-taxes-but-keep-on-spending, hawk-over-there-insufferable-pansy-right-here conservative president.

The decline in President Bush's political fortunes fits the cyclic pattern of all presidents except for one constant that troubles Republicans. In nearly 41/2 years, Bush has not progressed in handling Congress. He seems as much at a loss in dealing with the legislative branch as the day he entered the White House.

Bush is the only Republican president since the 1920s to enjoy protracted control of both houses of Congress by his own party. Yet, he seems less able to direct the legislative branch than Republican predecessors who had to handle a Democratic-controlled Congress. With Congress in its lengthy Memorial Day recess, GOP legislators and lobbyists tabulated the scorecard on items large and small.

*The House passed a stem cell research funding bill marked by Bush for his first veto after GOP leaders made a deal with liberals to bring the measure to the floor in return for their votes on the budget.

*The Senate's highway bill exceeds the president's overly generous spending limits, peppered with pork projects earmarked by individual senators.

*Senior Republican senators cut a deal on judicial confirmations that threw overboard at least two of the president's nominees.

*Republican Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio delayed and broke the momentum for confirmation of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

*Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, preparing a bid for the GOP presidential nomination, has put a hold on the nomination of longtime Bush supporter Julie Finley as ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) because of her abortion activism.

*CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) ratification is in deep trouble and will need more effort than shown so far by the White House.

*The president's top legislative priority, Social Security reform, is becalmed. What Bush wants cannot pass either chamber of Congress.

And worst of all, it seems like Bush didn't even try. Maybe his father's experience in the White House screwed him up after all.

And the Dishonorable Mention goes to...

"Kerry/Edwards"

And the runner-up is...

"Mean People Suck"

No need for comment here, boys and girls. But I do have a couple of suggestions to improve this one as well. How about "Mean People Commit Abortion" or "Abortion Sucks - and chops, kills, maims, mutilates, butchers, etc."

Announcing the winner of the All Time Dumbass Bumpersticker Contest

After exhaustive research on the morning commute by Yours Truly and some spirited competition from a large number of morons, losers, cretins, Cretans, dim-bulbs, half-wits, mouth-breathers, knuckle-draggers, tree-huggers, and assorted other hyphenated Americans, The All Time Dumbass Bumpersticker has been crowned.

*** The winner is "FEAR NO ART". ***

Yes, despite a veritable Everest of evidence available to anyone who can read, this stunningly ridiculous bit of bumper bilge can be bought in many of America's dingier emporiums.

Oh, where, oh where to begin, dear reader! The possibilities are limitless!

Albert Speer was an artist, and you don't need to be a European Jew of the 1930's and 1940's to fear his art. And he is only the best known of the Nazi approved and Nazi funded artists of that time.

What about Socialist Realism? How many millions were inspired to rat out how many more millions by some piece of state endorsed dreck entitled "The Proletariat Bravely Crushes The Obstructionist Wreckers And The Capitalist Roaders On The Path To Hydroelectricity"? (Check out "Roses For Stalin" at the link above. Its subtitle should be "And a Bullet Behind The Ear For Your Mom")

How about all those women Picasso used to slap around and then portray as mangled pieces of meat? Or was it the other way around? Did he paint their portraits ignorantly first, and then mangle them for real with his fists? You artsy-craftsy squishy left-fascist types would be better off worshipping at this altar.

If you have one of these stickers on your electric car and now feel ashamed or embarrassed, do the following. Change it to read "FEAR NO ART EXCEPT THAT WHICH IS FUNDED BY MONEY COERCED FROM TAXPAYERS". It will not make you look less of a fool, but it is more honest.

Victor Davis Hanson gets it.

Our Strange War

The three-year-plus war that began on September 11 is the strangest conflict in our history. It is not just that the first day saw the worst attack on American soil since our creation, or that we are publicly pledged to fighting a method — “terror” — rather than the concrete enemy of Islamic fascism that employs it.

Our dilemma is that we have not sought to defeat and humiliate the enemy as much as wean a people from the thrall of Islamic autocracy. That is our challenge, and explains our exasperating strategy of half-measures and apologies — and the inability to articulate exactly whom we are fighting and why.

Imagine that a weak Hitler in the mid-1930s never planned conventional war with the democracies. Instead, he stealthily would fund and train thousands of SS fanatics on neutral ground to permeate European society, convinced of its decadence and the need to return to a mythical time when a purer Aryan Volk reigned supreme. Such terrorists would bomb, assassinate, promulgate fascistic hatred in the media, and whine about Versailles, hoping insidiously to gain concessions from wearied liberal societies that would make ever more excuses as they looked inward and blamed themselves for the presence of such inexplicable evil. All the while, Nazi Germany would deny any connections to these “indigenous movements” and “deplore” such “terrorism,” even as the German people got a certain buzz from seeing the victors of World War I squirm in their discomfort. A triangulating Mussolini or Franco would use their good graces to “bridge the gap,” and seek a “peaceful resolution,” while we sought to “liberate” rather than defeat the German nation.

Would Fellatio D. Rascalvelt have seen through that?

Beyond the terrorists, a larger percentage of Middle Easterners, if it cost them little, gain psychological satisfaction when fellow defiant Muslims (terrorists or not) “stand up” to Westerners, who enjoy power, status, and wealth undreamed of in the Middle East.

Yep.

Even if they would hate living under Taliban-like theocrats, millions at least see the jihadists as about the only way of “getting back” at the Western world that has left them so far behind. This passive-aggressive sense of inferiority explains why millions of Muslims flock to Europe to enjoy its freedom and prosperity, even as they recreate there an Islamist identity to reconcile their longing and desire for what they profess to hate.

Still, most in the Middle East wish simply to embrace the human desire for prosperity, freedom, and security within the umbrella of traditional Muslim society — and will support American efforts if (a) these initiatives seem to be successful, and (b) are not seen as American.

Consequently, the United States has not been able to bring its full arsenal of military assets to the fray. It is nearly impossible to extract the killers from the midst of civilian society. Too much force causes collateral damage and incites religious and nationalist anti-American fervor. Too little power emboldens the fascists and suggests America (e.g., Nixon’s “pitiful, helpless giant”) cannot or will not win the war.

Exactly.

Although the enemy is weak militarily and its nihilist ideology appeals to few, it still has powerful ways to meet our own overwhelming military power and economic strength.

First is the doctrine of the deniability of culpability. In the legalistic world of the United Nations and international courts, Islamists depend on their patrons’ not being held responsible beyond a reasonable doubt for the shelter and cash they provide to those who kill Westerners. Elites in Syria or Iran deny that they offer aid to terrorists. Or if caught, they retreat to a fallback position of something like, “Do you really want to go to war over our help for a few ragtag insurrectionists?”

A second advantage is oil. A third to half the world’s reserves is under Saudi Arabia, the other Gulf States, Iraq, and Iran. None until recently were democratic; most at one time or another have given bribe money to terrorists, sponsored anti-Americanism, or survived by blaming us for their own failures.

These otherwise backward societies — that neither developed nor can maintain their natural wealth — rake in billions, as oil that costs $2-5 to pump is sold for $50. Some of that money in nefarious ways arms terrorists. Should an exasperated United States finally strike back at their patrons, we risk ruining the world economy — or at least so it will be perceived by paranoid and petroleum-dependent Japan, Europe, and China. Without an energy policy of independence, this war will be hard to win, since Saudi Arabia will never feel any pressure to purge its royal family of terrorist sympathizers or to cease its subsidies for Wahhabist hatred.

A third edge for the terrorists lies in the West itself. After 40 years of multiculturalism and moral equivalence — the wages of wealth and freedom unmatched in the history of civilization — many in the United States believe that they have evolved beyond the use of force. Education, money, dialogue, conflict resolution theory — all this and more can achieve far more than crude Abrams tanks and F-16s.

No argument from me.

As September 11 fades in the memory, too many Americans feel that it is time to let bygones be bygones. Some now consider Islamic fascism and its method of terror a “nuisance” that will go away if we just come home. We are a society where many of our elite believe the killer bin Laden is less of a threat than the elected George Bush. Al Qaeda keeps promising to kill us all; meanwhile Ralph Nader wants the wartime president impeached for misuse of failed intelligence.

Ouch. Take that, Ralph.

Fourth, in an asymmetrical war the cult of the underdog is a valuable tool. Europeans march with posters showing scenes from Abu Ghraib, not of the beheading of Daniel Pearl or the murder of Margaret Hassan. They do not wish, much less expect, al Qaeda to win, but they still find psychic satisfaction in seeing the world’s sole superpower tied down, as if it were the glory days of the Vietnam protests all over again. How else can we explain why Amnesty International claims that Guantanamo — specialized ethnic foods, available Korans, and international observers — is comparable to a Soviet Gulag where millions once perished? So there is a deep, deep sickness in the West.

Instant translation: We have lost our way.

In response, we have embarked on the only strategy that offers a lasting victory: Kill the Islamic fascists; remove the worst autocracies that sponsored terrorists; and jump-start democratic governments in the Middle East.

This, kiddies, is what is known as the bottom line.

Our two chief worries — terrorists and weapons of mass destruction — wane when constitutional societies replace autocracies. Currently few democratic states harbor and employ terrorists or threaten their neighbors with biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons, even if they have ample stockpiles of each.

Where will it all end? Our choices are threefold.

We can wind down — essentially the position of the mainstream Left — and return to a pre-September 11 situation, treating Islamism as a criminal justice matter or deserving of an occasional cruise missile. This, in my view, would be a disaster and guarantee another mass attack.

Or we can continue to pacify Iraq. We then wait and see whether the ripples from the January elections — without further overt American military action into other countries — bring democracy to Lebanon, Egypt, the Gulf States, and eventually the entire Middle East. This is the apparent present policy of the administration: talking up democracy, not provoking any who might disagree. It may well work, though such patience requires constant articulation to the American people that we are really in a deadly war when it doesn’t seem to everyone that we are.

Or we can press on. We apprise Syria to cease all sanctuary for al Qaedists and Iran to give up its nuclear program — or face surgical and punitive American air strikes. Such escalation is embraced by few, although many acknowledge that we may soon have few choices other than just that. But for now we can sum up the American plans as hoping that democracy spreads faster than Islamism, and thus responsible government will appear to ensure terrorists and WMD disappear.
The above, of course, is what we plan, but gives no consideration to the intent of the enemy. As we speak, he desperately searches for new strategies to ward off defeat as jihad seems more likely to lead to ruin than the return of the caliphate.

For now Islamic fascist strategy is to make such horrific news in Iraq that America throws up its hands and sighs, “These crazy people simply aren’t worth it,” goes home, snoozes — and thus becomes ripe for another September 11.

Wow.

Cogent. Realistic.

Do you think they are teaching this in your friendly neighborhood government school?

Battle of the Day

On June 7, 1981 Israeli planes destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor and weapons program in a raid on Osirak.


At 15:55 on June 7, the first F­15 and F­16's roared off the runway from Etzion Air Force Base in the south. After a tense but uneventful low­ level navigation route, the fighters reached their target. They popped up at 17:35 and quickly identified the dome gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight.
Enemy defenses were caught by surprise and opened fire too late. In one minute and twenty seconds, the reactor lay in ruins.

That's the way it's supposed to be done.

BTW, whatever happened to the country that accomplished this and the Entebbe raid?

You think you know, but you don't know...

...what our military is.


The Left's Eugene Debs Syndrome
by Michael P. Tremoglie


Here are some quotes from the aforementioned Rand study and from the March 2003 Department of Defense report about military demographics "Population Representation in the Military for fiscal year 2001." These quotes are the antipodes of what the mainstream media and others are saying. In fact, the American public now knowing this truth will be even more admiring of the American military.

Regarding black officers: "Minorities appear to be proportionately represented and not on the decline within the commissioned officer corps. Although African Americans comprised a much smaller proportion of officers (8 percent) than of enlistees (22 percent), when compared to college graduates in the civilian workforce 21-49 years old (9 percent African American), African Americans are equitably represented in the officer ranks."

Regarding education: "Practically all active duty and Selected Reserve enlisted …had a high school diploma or equivalent, well above civilian youth proportions (79 percent of 18-24 year-olds)."
Regarding intellect: "Enlisted members tend to have higher cognitive aptitude than the civilian youth population, as measured by scores on the military's enlistment test."

Regarding reading ability: "Like aptitude levels, reading levels were higher in the enlisted military than in the non-military sector. FY 2001 …active duty enlisted …had a mean reading level typical of an 11th grade student whereas the mean for civilian youth was within the 10th grade range."
All of these salient facts disprove the myths about military personnel. It is a lie that those who are in the military and those who are casualties are mostly poor and minorities. It is a lie, which can be traced to at least 1918.

The whole column is worth reading, especially for the ignorant (if they're lucky) slanders of the totalitarian left therein.


And now for a blast from the past:

The mantra of the poor boy fighting the rich man's war was stated during Viet Nam. It was said during Korea. It was said World War II. In fact, the founder of the Socialist Party of America, Eugene Debs, made this claim during World War I.

In 1918 Debs gave a speech, which resulted in him going to prison, during which he said, "And here let me emphasize the fact -- and it cannot be repeated too often -- that the working class who fight all the battles, the working class who make the supreme sacrifices, the working class who freely shed their blood and furnish the corpses, have never yet had a voice in either declaring war or making peace. It is the ruling class that invariably does both. They alone declare war and they alone make peace. They themselves did not go to war anymore than the modern feudal lords, the barons of Wall Street go to war…"

Debs should not have been arrested or convicted. He was not a communist and did not advocate the violent overthrow of the US government. He was correct to oppose WWI. He was profoundly wrong on almost everything else.

From The We Get What We Deserve Department:

Walter Williams (at Townhall.com) chronicles the evil of quota cops.


Police departments must use race and sex preferences in hiring as a result of federal court consent decrees and political pressures. To meet these demands, many police departments have lowered, and in some cases eliminated, established standards for personal character and intellectual and physical capacity.

Jan Golab writes about this in "How Racial P.C. Corrupted the LAPD" in the May 2005 issue of The American Enterprise. While most of Mr. Golab's article chronicles how Los Angeles damaged its police force in its quest for "diversity," where it's had to fire 100 police officers, identical damage has occurred in other cities. Washington, D.C., had to indict or fire 250 cops; New Orleans indicted more than 100. In these cities, policemen have been charged with crimes ranging from murder and rape to robbing drug dealers and selling confiscated drugs.

Most policemen are honest, dedicated and hard-working people who put their lives on the line to protect us against criminals. A few, Mr. Golab reports, are no less than criminals themselves. In 1997, L.A. policeman David Mack was arrested for the armed robbery of a Bank of America branch in which he heisted $772,000. In the late 1990s, as many as 25 L.A. policemen were believed to have direct gang ties. A significant number of L.A. policemen had off-duty jobs providing security for hoodlums in the rap music industry deeply involved in drugs and gang violence. At least one policeman was arrested as a guard at a cocaine house.

In the wake of L.A.'s Rampart Division scandal, where 30 officers were suspended or fired, former LAPD deputy chief Steve Downing said, "Rampart wasn't about cops who became gangsters. It was about gangsters who became cops." Downing adds that elected officials refuse to acknowledge the obvious: Institutionalized racial preferences "allowed persons of poor character to be hired."