I just don't know what to say about this....

I'm sensing much hate in my old friend.

She's so sassy!

James Lileks had a good rant

over the recent Hugh Hewitt interview with CAIR spokesman, Hussam Ayloush, and Frank Gaffney (radio blogger transcript here). The following is an excerpt from the interview:

HH: And do you agree that Israel was wrongfully attacked in 1948, and in
1973, by Arab states on their borders?
HA: You know what, Hugh? It offends me
when I get...to have to ask...to be asked these questions, as an American. I'm
not a representative of the PLO...
HH: No, I'm just asking...
HA: I'm an American. For me to question...
HH: ...but this...I'm asking you...
HA: No. You know what?
HH: Don't filibuster me, Hussam.
HA: That's not...
HH: This is a very easy question.
HA: No, I'm not doing that. What I'm doing is, I'm being offended because from day one, since the beginning of this show, and even yesterday, every question had to do with Israel and Palestine. Can't we be seen as Americans?
HH: Yes, we can, but...
HA: What do we have to do to be seen as Americans today?
HH: I talk about Israel, I talk about Israel with everyone that comes on this show, and just before we went to break, I think you accused me of being a tool of the Israel government.
HA: No, no. I was talking about Frank.
HH: Well, I don't think Frank's...Frank's my friend. I don't think he's a tool of the Israeli government, either. And so, I wanted to just know if we could agree. Was Israel wrongly attacked in 1948, and 1973?
HA: I'm not an expert on the...
HH: This is not hard stuff, Hussam.
HA: No, it is hard stuff for me. I mean, ask me about American history. I can answer you...
HH: No, I mean 1948, five Arab states attempted to drive Israel into the sea. That was wrong, wasn't it?
HA: I think anybody who tries to attack any other country wrongfully is wrong. If
you...
HH: Can you not bring yourself to say that 1973 was an attack upon...an unprovoked attack by Egypt and Jordan and Syria upon Israel? Because that's why, I think, you don't have...it's trouble getting credibility, because everybody knows it was an unprovoked...an unjust attack on Israel.
HA: I'm interested in gaining credibility as an American. I'm not an expert on the
Middle East. And you know, I could have been born in Pakistan without any
knowledge about the Middle East. Would that make me less of a patriotic
American?
HH: Frank...I mean Hussam, any American who comes on this show, I
don't care if they're Irish Catholic like me, or a Presbyterian or whatever, and
the can't realize that '48 and '73 were horrible attacks upon Israel, that's
wrong.

Red meat language aside, this article captures the current landscape

regarding Roberts and other judicial nominees.

Stephen Hayes wonders why the CIA has changed its assessment of the Saddam/Sudan relationship

Incidientally, I hesitate posting yet another Hayes piece, but I haven't seen many other reporters following up on the Saddam/WMD connections or the Saddam/al Qaeda connections. An enterprising investigative reporter could really pull off some good journalism if he/she could dig up an account of what happened to the unaccounted WMDs.

Leading a bureaucracy into the next millennium

This piece talks about the big reforms that Rumsfeld has been trying to implement at the Pentagon and the many obstacles in his way – whether it’s being at war or facing the institutions inside the military that will, by the very nature of being an institution, resist change. The reformation is certainly imperfect, but the country is extremely lucky to have someone of his vision and determination making necessary changes. It’s good to keep in mind the next time there are reports of grumbling among senior military officials about Rumsfeld doing this or that wrong that the bigger and better the reforms, the more angry and bitter people there will be. If there weren’t gripes being leaked from within the Pentagon, it would mean that Rumsfeld wasn’t doing his job. The same goes for Porter Goss. Often leadership means being an @$$hole.

That he’s done so much while we are also at war is pretty impressive.

“Rumsfeld may be remembered as one of the boldest bureaucratic reformers of his
generation. Whether he will also go down in history as one of the greatest
secretaries of defense remains to be seen.”

My guess is that he will be considered one of the greatest secretaries of war.

The peg has been lifted - if only partially

Bush has a good clear argument for renewing the Patriot Act

It's towards the bottom of the speech.

Did Dr. Mabuse dispatch Ms. Coulter to run yesterday's column

in an effort to confuse the left's response to Roberts?

Bringing democracy to Iraq......except for women

Iraq invasion may be creating more terrorists than we are killing and capturing

"New investigations by the Saudi Arabian government and an Israeli think tank -- both of which painstakingly analyzed the backgrounds and motivations of hundreds of foreigners entering Iraq to fight the United States -- have found that the vast majority of these foreign fighters are not former terrorists and became radicalized by the war itself."

Stephen Hayes wonders why the CIA seems uninterested in the Saddam/al Qaeda links

Christian terrorism punished

Needlenose notices that another abortion clinic bomber (also gay bar and Olympic terrorist) has been convicted for life. Greenboy’s larger point that law enforcement will work on Islamic terrorism is weak, unless it is done vigorously on a domestic front, but at least he points out that Christian militants like Eric Rudolph are not tolerated in this country. I doubt very many churchgoers will lament his incarceration.

Bush's tax cuts have created tax revenue

and the deficit shrank about $100 billion as a result:

The Congressional Budget Office estimated last week that the deficit for the
full fiscal year, which reached $412 billion in 2004, could be "significantly
less than $350 billion, perhaps below $325 billion."

Of course, critics are talking in circles to shrug off the good news, pointing out that big fiscal problems are still over the horizon - namely Medicare and Social Security.

"Future presidents and future Congresses," said Senator Kent Conrad of North
Dakota, the ranking Democrat on the Budget Committee, "are going to be faced
with pressure to drastically cut Social Security and Medicare because of the
decisions being made now."

Would he be referring to the Dems' decision to stonewall Bush's efforts to fix social security?

I thought CEOs had Bush in their back pockets....

Bernie Ebbers: pokey bound. Next up: some Enron suits.

The frilled lizard effect

I was a little uneasy last Monday (or was it Sunday?) when I learned that the Liberal Death star was preparing to fire its super laser at the White House. However, when I actually read the lead story I sighed in relief: it’s the frilled lizard effect all over again? The left has fanned its frills to make it look like there’s something serious here, but it’s really not so. As Mat posted the other day – the LA Times & other papers joined in the attack (at least Mat’s post linked to a column and not an “objective” news story)…and don’t forget the senators who have said that Rove should be fired: Biden, Clinton, Reid, Kerry and Schumer (I'm sure there are others).

That anyone is in jail for this whole silly affair is pretty darn ridiculous – but I would put the blame for Miller’s incarceration at the feet of those who cried for an investigation in the first place. And it’s a little ironic that the left uses a moment of candor from Dr. Mabuse, when he apparently alluded to Cooper that Mrs. Plame was the reason Joe Wilson was assigned to cover uranium in Niger, as a reason for the evil doctor to be fired. Aren’t these the same people that think the administration is too secretive? Yet, when the administration loosens it lips, even a little, these same folks try to use that candor against them. And counter to what the left believes – Rove has turned out to be the honest one, while Wilson is the proven liar. This “scandal” is so contrived that even Wonkette says there is nothing there (did I just link to Wonkette for something that wasn't potty humor?) – but it’s all the left has anymore. As I've said before, the real outrage is that Joe Wilson was sent by the CIA to Africa in the first place.

Assessing the London bombings

There are a handful of ways to interpret today's bombings, depending on the evidence you use or the mindset you use to review the evidence:

The offensive operations (Afghanistan, Iraq) the U.S. has taken since 9/11 prevented this from occurring on U.S. soil.
The defensive operations taken since 9/11 prevented this from occurring in the U.S.
Iraq is the new training ground for terrorists, giving them real-world experience in blowing stuff up.
No matter what preventative measures you take, if your enemy wants to hit you badly enough, he will.


Virgin Radio out of the U.K. is real solemn this afternoon. You can check it out on iTunes Radio under Alt/Modern Rock.

Happy Independence Day Everybody

Posting will be light to non existent over the coming weeks.