Bush Speech

Glenn Reynolds has the full text up.

If we were to be driven out of Iraq, extremists of all strains would be emboldened. Al Qaeda could gain new recruits and new sanctuaries. Iran would benefit from the chaos and would be encouraged in its efforts to gain nuclear weapons and dominate the region. Extremists could control a key part of the global energy supply. Iraq could face a humanitarian nightmare. Democracy movements would be violently reversed. We would leave our children to face a far more dangerous world. And as we saw on September the 11th, 2001, those dangers can reach our cities and kill our people.

Whatever political party you belong to, whatever your position on Iraq, we should be able to agree that America has a vital interest in preventing chaos and providing hope in the Middle East. We should be able to agree that we must defeat al Qaeda, counter Iran, help the Afghan government, work for peace in the Holy Land, and strengthen our military so we can prevail in the struggle against terrorists and extremists.

Iraq is - whether you or I like it or not - America's war. A defeat and withdrawal would be America's defeat. The resulting genocidal bloodbath and chaos would be - rightfully - blamed on America. Not a political party, America. The damage would be to America as a whole. The costs would be paid by Iraqi men, women and children. Advocating the abandonment of them to their fate is, at best, dishonorable.

Officially Jumping The iShark

You know, I really hope this is a spoof. Because if it isn't, Apple is officially jumping the shark. Or iShark, as the case may be. Because they are supposedly in talks to develop an iCar.

Apple and Volkswagen will face a number of serious challenges if they decide to form an alliance to produce an iPod-capable car, and such a vehicle is unlikely to reach the market for three or four years, according to iSuppli.

The analysts note: "While there appears to be strong consumer desire for an iCar, the potential Apple/Volkswagen collaboration faces a set of daunting challenges."

Speculation about the iCar was spurred by a recent meeting between Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Martin Winterkorn, chief executive of the German car manufacturer.

It is not yet known if they discussed an iCar project, or if it was simply a conversation regarding cross-functional leverage opportunities for each company.

A move into cars presents Apple with a chance to extend the iPod ecosystem, while Volkswagen would benefit from strong sales of such a vehicle, iSuppli explains.

I kind of hate to be the bearer of bad iNews. But the iCar is already iHere. My wife just bought a replacement for her beloved Subaru Outback. She bought - surprise - another Outback. Which has an input for an iPod (or WMA/MP3 player) built into the stereo system. If they are talking about actually, physically building an iPod into a vehicle, that will be just lovely. Until you want to go jogging with it. Cars are iHeavy.

This is the iStupidest thing I have heard of lately.

Side note about the uber-cool iPhone. My wife and I attended a retirement party for one of the people she used to work with not long ago. Some guy was showing off his iPhone to a few people. I have never seen so many glazed eyes in such a small space. Average people are iBored with excessive technology. Especially if it has an 'i' in front of it. (I geek about things occasionally because I know people can stop reading if it bores them.)

Shanked In the Shank In The Swamp

A woman studying wetlands for an engineering company had an unpleasant introduction to one of the enforcers of the Animal Uprising™ earlier today. A deer stalked her in the swamp, then ran up and shanked her in the shank with a razor sharp antler.

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. - A woman studying wetlands for an engineering firm was gored by a deer at a hunting preserve. Jamie Detweiler, 35, of Ligonier, was gored in the leg when the buck charged her at 6 Springs Hunts near Shanksville on Wednesday.

She was taken to Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, where officials would not release her condition.

Well of course they wouldn't. They don't want the deadly deer showing up to try to finish the job, do they? This is why we advise anyone heading into the swamps to wear full plate armor. Sadly, armor is awfully hard to swim in should you fall in. That's why so few who follow our advice come back from the swamps. On the bright side, we're leaving a lot of neat things for future archaeologists to find. Just a small public service to future generations.

This Is Interesting

Susan Estrich, who has advocated strongly for all-out attacks by Democrats on Republicans in the past, is someone the nutroots love to hate. But she's been about as liberal as it gets in politics for a long time. And she is arguing that the scorched earth MoveOn smear ad on General Petraeus is a very, very big problem for the Democrats. (This will, undoubtedly, endear her further to the nutroots).

In two days of hearings on Capitol Hill, he probably didn’t change any of the views held by members of Congress about the war in Iraq. But he almost certainly impressed a lot of people sitting at home by displaying all the traits Americans hope for in a military leader.

He was, to put it simply, good, a man who came across as brave, honorable, and true, and that’s the problem.

On Monday, the day Petraeus was to begin his testimony, in the great tradition of Washington politics, MoveOn.org blasted him before hearing a word of it. In a full page ad in the New York Times, that became the talk of Congress, the talk shows, and cable news (as it was supposed to), the liberal group accused Petraeus of "cooking the books," and charged that he was betraying the American peoples' trust by spinning the facts to support the White House.

That is, by the way, how MoveOn itself summarized the ad, in an email to its supporters sent the next day, giving notice that it wasn’t backing down.

The ad made some Democrats uncomfortable because of its harsh tone, and gave Republicans a juicy distraction to attack. With polls showing that most Americans trust the military to deal with the war in Iraq far more than they do either the president or Congress, MoveOn’s choice of targets put those Democrats who need the support of both the hard left and the mushy middle squarely between a rock and a hard place.

She's pointing out the obvious. The further to left the candidates veer, the more unattractive they get to the folks in the middle. This is harsh reality, even though the nutroots think otherwise. That is why the candidates have always tried to run to the center in the general election. Those who have not have been thumped very, very badly.

By attacking Petraeus, who comes across as decent and honorable, unlike many politicians, the left has set the Democrats up to be hammered with that. And Rudy Giuliani pounded on Hillary! Clinton for exactly that today. The far left has caused a real problem for the Democrats here.

Today’s Dirty Money Update

There is nothing quite as wonderful as money.
There is nothing quite as beautiful as cash.
Some people say it's folly,
But I'd rather have the lolly.
With money you can make a splash.
(Monty Python, The Money Song)

Hey, another day, another political fundraising scandal. This one involves both parties (70% to Democrats, however), Oil-for-food AND Saddam Hussein. And some of the recipients don't appear to want to give the tainted cash back.

Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson and a host of congressional candidates from both parties accepted cash from Oscar S. Wyatt Jr. and his wife, Lynn,since the federal government accused the Texas oilman of paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein.

Wyatt was indicted in 2005 on charges related to illegal payments for oil contracts from the Hussein-led Iraqi government under the United Nations’ oil-for-food program. And since then, the Wyatts have found willing recipients for nearly $22,000 in political donations.

After inquiries from Politico, Richardson and Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) said they would donate the Wyatts’ contributions to charity and return them, respectively, while other recipients are awaiting the outcome of Wyatt’s trial that started this month in New York.

Donors’ backgrounds have emerged as an intriguing subplot in Campaign ’08. That’s both because the presidential race has witnessed unprecedented early fundraising and spending and because campaigns are increasingly relying on super-donors known as bundlers to rustle up cash from others — giving them influence beyond the $4,600-per-person contribution limit. 

Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) wants to see if the prosecution is "fair" before he decides whether to give it back - regardless of whether there is a conviction, apparently. This is just going to get worse, isn't it?

Big (Pig) Times In Newburgh

Well, Newburgh, New York hasn't seen this much excitement in just about forever. Which kind of says a lot about Newburgh, New York. But there was much excitement there when a 500 pound pig started wandering the neighborhood. Once animal control officers found the large ham sandwich to go, they had to figure out what to do with it. So they stuck it in a resident's yard.

Town of Newburgh — Debbie Monell was doing her laundry about noon yesterday when she heard a knock on her door.

It was a town animal control officer, asking if the town could keep a pig in her fenced-in backyard for a little while.

It was no longer an ordinary day on Leslie Road.

"This is more excitement than we've had here in a long time," Monell said.

Animal control officers had reports of the runaway (so to speak) black 500-pound female pig on Leslie Road, Frozen Ridge Road and Pampas Lane. They found the pig next door to Monell's.

Once they had Monell's OK, they got the pig corralled with the aid of some Pringle's potato chips, according to Gina Mucci, a town animal control officer.

"She ate my whole can of Pringle's," Mucci said.

Then came the hardest part of all — how and where to transport the pig.

Mucci said an enclosed truck was needed, because the pig would need to be tranquilized if an open truck was used.

Well. That would have been too much excitement for us. But it's a shame they didn't ask us for a place to put the pig. We know exactly what to do with one.

Family Discount

Really, this isn't all that surprising. A number of bloggers have been reporting since Monday that MoveOn.org got a hefty discount from the New York Times for the smear ad they ran about General David Petraeus. Today, the New York Post confirms that story is correct - and the narcissistic folks at MoveOn actually confirmed it, putting the New York Times directly in the spotlight.

According to Abbe Serphos, director of public relations for the Times, "the open rate for an ad of that size and type is $181,692."

A spokesman for MoveOn.org confirmed to The Post that the liberal activist group had paid only $65,000 for the ad - a reduction of more than $116,000 from the stated rate.

A Post reporter who called the Times advertising department yesterday without identifying himself was quoted a price of $167,000 for a full-page black-and-white ad on a Monday.

Serphos declined to confirm the price and refused to offer any inkling for why the paper would give MoveOn.org such a discounted price.

Citing the shared liberal bent of the group and the Times, one Republican aide on Capitol Hill speculated that it was the "family discount."

It is more than that. The New York Times really can't pretend that they are in any way objective any longer. A lot of us have been pointing out their bias for a long time. But they have given what amounts to a hefty contribution to Democratic candidates with this action. (The less MoveOn pays the Times, the more they can give to Dems). I do not know what the law is on "in kind" contributions to a political party, maybe the FEC would be interested in what the Times did, maybe not. But they really can't hide any longer, can they?

UPDATE: Guess we'll see how that all pans out, won't we:

Guess what I did at lunch? That's right, I petitioned my government for redress of grievances, specifically illegal political advertising practices by the New York Times and MoveOn.org. We are all well aware of the sorry political advertisement calling the General a traitor.   

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source

be·tray
to deliver or expose to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty: Benedict Arnold betrayed his country.

Good old Benedict Petraeus, well MoveOn could hardly be expected to rise from it's wallow in the fever swamps anyhow, right? So in my first act of political crankitude I filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission regarding the discount MoveOn received. Ya' see in order to be fair newspapers and TV aren't allowed to discount political or advocacy ads so they cannot favor one side, well Hmmmmmm.

The complaint can be read over at Blackfive.

An Open Letter From Robert Mugabe

You know, it's really hard being a ruthless dictator these days. The world press can be so hard on a guy. But I'm writing this letter to the world just to dispel some of the false reports circulating.

The media tries to say that hyperinflation of the Zimbabwean dollar is a bad thing. Sure, it's trading at about Z$260,000 to US$1 but what of it? Do realize how abundant toilet paper is in Zimbabwe right now? Why hygiene has never been this good before. And if there was any food to cook, there would be lots of fuel to cook it with!

And all the moaning about how bad the economy is. Well, let me tell you, that just is not true at all. We have a real booming growth industry right now that just begs for smart foreign investors. Get in now, on the ground floor, so to speak, and there are huge profits to be made in the funeral business! That's right, we have a really booming mortuary segment of our economy. Take that, critics!

Sure, the media complains that there is a housing shortage and that people are forced to crowd ten to a room in many areas. Well, to realize how much togetherness that prompts? And no cell phone bills! Its economic freedom writ large.

Oh, and all that whining from the United Nations - pay no attention to that. So what if the average life expectancy here in Zimbabwe is down to 37 years for a man, 34 for a woman. It just means they get out of the worker's paradise I have created sooner. See? There is a silver lining everywhere you look.

Now you'll excuse me, I have to give some economic advice to Hugo Chavez.

Dictatorially yours,

Robert Mugabe

The Most Perfect Volley Ever Fired

The war was over and the spirit was broken
The hills were smokin' as the men withdrew
We stood on the cliffs, oh and watched the ships
Slowly sinking to their rendezvous
They signed a treaty and our homes were taken
Loved ones forsaken, they didn't give a damn
Trying to raise a family, end up the enemy
Over what went down on the plains of Abraham

Acadian driftwood
Gypsy tail wind
They call my home the land of snow
Canadian cold front movin' in
What a way to ride
Oh, what a way to go
(Robbie Robertson, Acadian Driftwood)

On September 13, 1759 a British army under the command of General James Wolfe defeated a French force under command of Louis-Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham, overlooking the city of Quebec. The entire battle was over in less than an hour. Both Wolfe and Montcalm died of wounds received on the field. Montcalm had ordered a hasty column attack, but Wolfe had ordered his troops to double shot their muskets and to hold fire until the French were within 20 yards. The ensuing volley devastated the French column.

As the French approached, the British lines held their fire. Wolfe had devised a firing method for stopping French column advances in 1755 that called for the centre - in this case, the 43rd and 47th Foot regiments - to hold fire while waiting for the advancing force to approach within 20 yards, then open fire at close range. Wolfe had ordered his soldiers to charge their muskets with two balls each in preparation for the engagement.^[45] Captain John Knox, serving with the 43rd Foot, wrote in his journal that as the French came within range, the regiments "gave them, with great calmness, as remarkable a close and heavy discharge as I ever saw." After the first volley, the British lines marched forward a few paces towards the shocked French force and fired a second general volley that shattered the attackers and sent them into retreat.^[46] A British Army historian later described the British fire thus: "With one deafening crash, the most perfect volley ever fired on a battlefield burst forth as from a single monstrous weapon."^[47]

Wolfe, positioned with the 28th Foot and the Louisbourg Grenadiers, had moved to a rise to observe the battle; he had been struck in the wrist early in the fight, but had wrapped the injury and continued on. Volunteer James Henderson, with the Louisbourg Grenadiers, had been tasked with holding the hill, and reported afterwards that within moments of the command to fire, Wolfe was struck with two shots, one low in the stomach and the second, mortal wound in the chest.^[48][49] Knox wrote that one of the soldiers near Wolfe shouted "They run, see how they run." Wolfe, upon being told that the French had broken, gave several orders, then turned on his side, said "Now, God be praised, I will die in peace," and died.

Within four years, France ceded eastern Canada to the British. The website for the Plains of Abraham battlefield can be found here.

Rising Again

Victor Davis Hanson points out a newly-virulent strain of a very old disease: anti-Semitism. This is sickness is spreading rapidly.

Who recently said: "These Jews started 19 Crusades. The 19th was World War (1). Why? Only to build Israel."

Some holdover Nazi?

Hardly. It was former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan of Turkey, a NATO ally. He went on to claim that the Jews — whom he refers to as "bacteria" — controlled China, India and Japan, and ran the United States.

Who alleged: "The Arabs who were involved in 9/11 cooperated with the Zionists, actually. It was a cooperation. They gave them the perfect excuse to denounce all Arabs."

A conspiracy nut?

Actually, it was former Democratic U.S. Sen. James Abourezk of South Dakota. He denounced Israel on a Hezbollah-owned television station, adding: "I marveled at the Hezbollah resistance to Israel. . . . It was a marvel of organization, of courage and bravery."

And finally, who claimed at a United Nations-sponsored conference that democratic Israel was "much worse" than the former apartheid South Africa, and that it "undermines the international community's reaction to global warming"? A radical environmentalist wacko?

Again, no. It was Clare Short, a member of the British parliament. She was a secretary for international development under Prime Minister Tony Blair.

A new virulent strain of the old anti-Semitism is spreading worldwide. This hate — of a magnitude not seen in over 70 years — is not just espoused by Iran's loony president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or radical jihadists.

Of course, the practitioners of this try to nuance it. They aren't really against the Jews, they say, only against Zionism. But they turn a blind eye to the depraved behavior of thuggish regimes and focus all their hatred on Israel, the only real democracy in their part of the world. 

Yet when the United States bombed European and Christian Serbia to help Balkan Muslims, few critics alleged that American Muslims had unduly swayed President Clinton. And such charges of improper ethnic influence are rarely leveled to explain the billions in American aid given to non-democratic Egypt, Jordan or the Palestinians — or the Saudi oil money that pours into American universities.

The world likewise displays such a double standard. It seems to care little about the principle of so-called occupied land — whether in Cyprus or Tibet — unless Israel is the accused. Mass murdering in Cambodia, the Congo, Rwanda and Darfur has earned far fewer United Nations' resolutions of condemnation than supposed atrocities committed by Israel. A number of British academics are sponsoring a boycott of Israeli scholars but leave alone those from autocratic Iran, China and Cuba.

There are various explanations for the new anti-Semitism. For many abroad, attacking Jews and Israel is an indirect way of damning its main ally, the United States — by implying that Americans are not entirely evil, just hoodwinked by those sneaky and far more evil Jews.

The world tried to put anti-Semitism behind it following the Second World War when the United Nations created Israel in the first place. But some lessons appear to be forgotten all too quickly. And a vicious, old evil raises again.

Hillary, Meet Post

The New York Post is slamming Hillary! Clinton quite hard for refusing to denounce the ad by MoveOn.org. In fact, they actually accuse her of trying to position herself to the left of Nancy Pelosi - a feat that would seemingly be impossible.

At issue was the MoveOn ad, published in Monday's Times, attacking Petraeus' honor as a man and as a soldier.

How disgusting was it?

Even Pelosi, one of the most left-wing speakers ever, said she'd have "preferred that they won't do such an ad."

But Clinton not only couldn't bring herself to criticize it, she also attacked Petraeus' honesty: "The reports that you provide to us really require the willing suspension of disbelief," she huffed to the general Tuesday.

And she slammed him (and Ambassador Ryan Crocker) as "de facto spokesmen for a failed policy," pointedly refusing to criticize the ad - which called him an outright liar who'd "betray" his nation.

Giuliani, by contrast, had it exactly right.

He called the MoveOn ad "one of the more disgusting things that has happened in American politics."

Added America's Mayor: "The failure of the Democratic candidates to really condemn that, given how much money MoveOn.org spends on behalf of Democratic candidates, is unfortunate."

To say the least.

Clinton already has a growing fundraising scandal, she simply does not need another problem. Yet there's that tin ear she displays all too often. Political insiders may not get all that excited about the attack ad, instead trying to spin it one way or another. But the real problem is how it will play with the average Americans. For that the Democrats might want to remember the rapid fall of Joe McCarthy after he went over the top.

The Implications Don’t Recede

Daniel Henninger takes a look at the two days of hearings just concluded on Capitol Hill where Congress heard from General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker and notices that they fell flat. The expected fireworks didn't happen, the emotions were muted. The questioning Congressmen and Senators seemed disinterested. He points out the flat affect that Hillary Clinton used and wonders if the Iraq war is no longer the hot political issue:

Hillary Clinton, as the clock struggled toward the final hour of the Petraeus-Crocker hearings this week, reminded the two witnesses that it was September 11. "I started my morning today at Ground Zero," said the New York senator, not looking at the men but at the papers on the desk before her, "where once again the names of the nearly 3,000 victims of the attack on our country were read solemnly in the rain. We have seen Osama bin Laden reappear on our television sets, essentially taunting us. We have the most recent reports out of Germany of terrorists plotting against American assets, who have been trained in Pakistan."

These remarks were delivered without passion. It was expected that the Petraeus-Crocker hearings would be two days of high drama. They were not. Gen. Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker were questioned about Iraq by Democrats on three full committees, including five candidates for the presidency, and the hearings were flat. Could it be the air is going out of Iraq as a hot political issue?

Henninger makes the point that the smear attack by MoveOn.org may have stymied the Democrats and stolen most of their thunder. He points out that the Democrats have a real problem on their hands as a result:

The Democrats in Congress need to put some space between themselves and the Web-footed antiwar movement. MoveOn.org's "General Betray Us" ad in the New York Times made it difficult for any Democrat to breathe fire at Gen. Petraeus. MoveOn.org pre-used all that political capital. A malady endemic to the Web is that much of the Netroots is essentially narcissistic. That ad proved it's more about them than about elected Democrats. The politicians had better figure this out. A marriage of two narcissists often proves difficult.

As he puts it, it appears to be time for the Democrats to move on. The Iraq war is not the hot political issue for the American public. The expected "toxic political environment" that the Democrats and their proxies tried to foment over the August recess did not happen. Because there is some progress in Iraq. Enough that even long-time Democratic lawmakers who opposed the war have conceded that point. It is time to refocus.

As a political debate, the Iraq war has been drained. There's not much more to get out of it. The hearings proved that. The one fresh, forward-moving issue that emerged from the hearings, raised by Joe Lieberman, was whether we should crack back at Iran (or Syria), which is costing American lives in Iraq. But for Democrats, this subject is off the table. So what does that leave them for the next 14 months? Are they going to bet the ranch on Iraq being in flames next fall? Most likely, it won't be. If Iraq gradually improves, most Americans will be relieved or rejoice. If Net-rooted Democratic candidates can't bring themselves to do that, they need to change the subject.

I have tried, as have many others, to point out that a withdrawal from Iraq will lead to a bloodbath and a huge amount of damage to America's foreign relations. And those things would not hurt only one party but America as a whole. The entire nation would be damaged. Iraq would be devastated and the entire Middle East destabilized.