Botched is certainly applicable to what John Windsurfer Kerry said. As reported in the official organ of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Fox News,
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry defiantly and in no uncertain terms declared Tuesday that he would “apologize to no one” for statements made a day earlier in which he told a gathering [...]
Archive for October, 2006
"a botched joke"
Posted in Idiotarians, Politics on October 31, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Iraq is not a real nation
Posted in Iraq, War and Peace on October 30, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
A wide-ranging piece by Thomas Sowell in today’s WSJ is, firstly, a bromide against diversity — which is clearly today’s major problem in Iraq:
What is it that has made Iraq so hard to pacify, even after a swift and decisive military victory? In one word: diversity.
That word has become a sacred mantra, endlessly repeated for [...]
How crass of Joe…
Posted in Politics, Terrorism on October 29, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
…to mention that which must not be said: that we are under attack by Islamic terrorism. This is the shortest way of stating what by now should be obvious: the West, generally, and the United States in particular, are under attack by those who claim Islam as their moral authority.
All the arguments [...]
Off with their heads…
Posted in Uncategorized on October 29, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
…said the Red Queen. Or, in this reality, the Saudis. In the latest illustration of Islamic mercy and justice, this juicy story from the Jerusalem Post:
Saudi Arabia on Sunday beheaded two foreign nationals on charges they smuggled heroin and cocaine into the country, the Interior Ministry said.
Adam bin Mohammed Ali Hussein, of Nigeria, [...]
Confused Jews
Posted in Arabs, Israel on October 28, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
“Survey Finds U.S. Jews Back Palestinian State” is the headline in a brief article in today’s WaPo. The survey, conducted by the American Jewish Committee, has a rather starker message, however.
The WaPo story, of course, is slanted to favor the Paleos. The truth of the survey, however, is that a rather large majority [...]
Barack again
Posted in Politics on October 27, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
It is interesting to read Charles Krauthammer on the Obama phenomenon. Here’s a conservative pundit (Dr. K., not Obama) extolling the virtues (to a point) of having a black man as president:
Race is only one element in their [Colin Powell and Obama] popularity, but an important one. A historic one. Like many Americans, I [...]
Don’t cry for me, Rafsanjani
Posted in Iran, Terrorism, anti-Semitism on October 26, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
It is interesting that Argentina, of all nations, has decided to attempt to bring some Iranians to justice for their role in a terrorist attack. From the AP story (via Washington Post):
Argentine prosecutors asked a federal judge on Wednesday to order the arrest of former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani and seven others for the 1994 [...]
Faith of the Founders
Posted in Religion on October 25, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
One of the current controversies is the nature of the faith of the Founders of our nation. The controversy reverberates in the debate as to what place religion, generally, has in the public square, and as to whether the United States is a “Christian nation.”
Some of the best writing on this topic is available [...]
When in Rome
Posted in Islam, Political Correctness on October 24, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
The veil issue of which Anne Applebaum writes in today’s WaPo has come to a head (pardon the expression) before, in places such as France (banned; causing riots) and Turkey (banned; causing hate and discontent for all things Christian and Western).
Even Jack Straw, inveterate British lefty, has weighed in against the veil in public. Ms. [...]
Doomed to hell
Posted in Iraq, War and Peace on October 23, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Peter Beinert’s piece today at the New Republic is worth the time. From this, Beinert’s “option number three”:
“Withdraw our troops.” After all, if you believe a Dayton-type deal is impossible–that, even if negotiated, it would quickly unravel–why put U.S. troops in the bloody middle? The optimistic case for withdrawal–that once Americans leave Iraq the [...]
Free speech, Irish style
Posted in anti-Semitism on October 23, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Well, looks as if the English were on to something, keeping the Irish down. It turns out that anti-Semitism is still alive and well in the Dear Ould Sod.
Growing up in the Bronx, the Irish priests would routinely blame the Jews alive at that time in New York for the betrayal and [...]
Barrack Hussein Obama, Jr,
Posted in Politics on October 22, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Interesting middle name for the stealth candidate for president on the left. I guess he dropped the Hussein part; kind of an unpopular name these days. Except, perhaps, among all of Obama’s adoring lefty fans.
Obama has just indicated that he lied when he stated, with great firmness, that he would (at least) complete [...]
"Palestine is the new Cuba"
Posted in Idiotarians on October 21, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Terry Teachout has a must-read review in today’s Wall Street Journal. The review is of a piece of crap disguised as theater, “My Name Is Rachel Corrie.”
Corrie, we may recall, was the moron who so loved the terrorists of Palestine that she stood in front of an Israeli bulldozer, attempting to protect [...]
"Distance yourself"
Posted in Iran, Israel, War and Peace on October 20, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
This from beady-eyed would-be mass murderer Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, current president of Iran. It would be easy to dismiss the man as just another Islamic terrorist wannabe, and pay no attention to his ravings. It would be easy to simply call him names, and move along to the next easy target for derision.
It would [...]
Rummy
Posted in Politics, War and Peace on October 19, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Having worked in the office of the secretary of defense (when Dick Cheney was SecDef), perhaps I’m a little too close to knowing what actually works at DoD and what does not. From what I can see from where I am now (retired), Donald Rumsfeld works.
One may argue, as I do, that [...]
God works in mysterious ways…or not
Posted in Religion on October 18, 2006 | 11 Comments »
I recently received a well-intentioned email from a friend who is a devout Christian. It was one of those treacly things about how God is always watching over us, in matters small, and great.
The theme of this particular message was about individuals who might have died on 9/11/01 but for happenstance. Here’s a sample of [...]
Honor in a politician?
Posted in Politics on October 18, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Jim Webb, Democratic candidate for senate here in Virginia, appears to be an honorable man. Also in his favor is the fact that he is anything but a slash-and-burn campaigner. Case in point is Webb’s reluctance to use his honorable military service to his advantage. From the WaPo story:
Virginia Democratic Senate candidate [...]
Why is this even happening?
Posted in United Nations, War and Peace on October 17, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
“This” being a tussle between Guatemala and Venezuela for a seat on…the Security Council. This is surely someone’s idea of a very bad joke; two banana republics vying for the “Latin American” seat on what is supposed to be the Holy of Holies for multilateral action against evil.
Nothing against Guatemala; as banana republics go, [...]
Free speech…except…
Posted in Liberty on October 17, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
The notion that some speech is not protected is abhorrent to First Amendment absolutists in this country. And yet there are still some things that just should not be said in public. The hard part is knowing what those things are.
In this country, someone who denies that there was a Holocaust [...]
la belle France
Posted in Islam, anti-Semitism on October 16, 2006 | 1 Comment »
Well, you could say that France’s troubles with its Muslim masses are its own fault, and that they deserve everything they get. But France used to be an important nation, and, as much as we anglophiles might like to deny it, there remains a strong French influence in North America.
France is being invaded, albeit [...]
6-25, Mr. Pincus
Posted in North Korea, War and Peace on October 15, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
In finest multicultural, I’m ok – you’re ok form, Walter Pincus has a survey article today about how the North Koreans really aren’t solely to blame for the North Korean nuclear project. The title is “N. Korean Nuclear Conflict Has Deep Roots; 50 Years of Threats and Broken Pacts Culminate in Apparent Atomic [...]
Dhimmitude didn’t save him
Posted in Uncategorized on October 14, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Members of the Religion of Pieces, a.k.a. Islam, have beheaded an Orthodox priest from Mosul, Iraq. According to this sad story in the International Herald Tribune,
Relatives of an Orthodox priest who was kidnapped and found beheaded three days later said Thursday that his captors had demanded his church condemn the pope’s recent comments about [...]
In the beginning…
Posted in Judaism on October 14, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Although I’m not an observant Jew (being a believing Christian who was born Jewish), I do note, with greatest interest, the cycle of parshot, of the weekly Torah portions. And, today being 22 Tishri, tonight at sundown will come simchat torah, the joy of Torah.
The holiday marks the end of the prior year’s Torah cycle, [...]
"civic grace"
Posted in Liberty on October 13, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
The recent display of left-wing fascism at Columbia (video here) is emblematic of a general suppression of truly free speech in the United States. For all of the whines about the Patriot Act and NSA wiretaps suppressing free speech, the real suppression seems to be coming from the left.
Peggy Noonan’s take on this is [...]
"immemorial spiritual customs of the church"
Posted in Christianity on October 13, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
The first Mass would have been a Passover Seder served by a Jewish prophet named Yehoshua, or Jesus in Greek. Jesus almost certainly spoke Aramaic, and, perhaps Greek. And his words, which are more or less repeated to this day, were recorded in the Gospels as the centerpiece of the [...]
Lions, and tigers, and Christians, oh my!
Posted in Religion on October 12, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
There’s been a principled debate going on at TNR online on the dangers, or lack thereof, of a threatened theocracy at the hands of an evil alliance of Catholics and evangelical Protestants.
The New Republic, for those unacquainted with it, is sometimes called “the Jewish Commentary. That’s sarcasm, of course, but it turns out that TNR, [...]
Diplospeak
Posted in Idiotarians, Terrorism on October 12, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
I used to have a lot of respect for Colin Powell. He’s from the Bronx, after all, and went to City College (which was my second choice, and not shabby, either). And, he had a good career, to say the least. Until he became our Secretary of State.
Well, I also used to [...]
Lions, and tigers, and Christians, oh my!
Posted in Liberty, Religion on October 12, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
There’s been a principled debate going on at TNR online on the dangers, or lack thereof, of a threatened theocracy at the hands of an evil alliance of Catholics and evangelical Protestants.
The New Republic, for those unacquainted with it, is sometimes called “the Jewish Commentary. That’s sarcasm, of course, but it turns out that [...]
Do the math
Posted in Iraq, War and Peace on October 11, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
The carnage in Iraq has been horrific; a combination of ethnic cleansing and plain old terrorism. The good news, if there is any, is that Americans are not dying in large numbers. The bad news is that any Americans are dying at all in a vain attempt to give freedom and democracy to [...]
Respect
Posted in Idiotarians on October 10, 2006 | Leave a Comment »
Yet another data point, if any were needed, about the alleged compassion of Muslims. Rather, the near-total absence of same, in the case of how they treat us infidels. In a “you’ve got to be kidding” story (via the Daily Mail), a devout Muslim cab driver refused service to a blind woman and [...]
