Senate windbags fail to land a blow on court nominee

You’ve got to love the way the Brits cut to the chase sometimes with a pithy turn of phrase that perfectly sums up the situation.

The above header from the Sunday Telegraph says it all, concerning the recently concluded Alito hearings…”Senate windbags” indeed! The Chief couldn’t have said it better! The article goes on with some more cogent points:

For the solemn line-up of big-hitting Democrat senators, last week’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Samuel Alito were the chance to expose him as a radical conservative jurist intent on overturning abortion rights and siding with bosses against workers. Instead, they turned the sessions into a festival of long-winded bluster, from which President George W Bush’s nominee emerged unscathed and almost certain to be confirmed to the Supreme Court bench.

Hear, hear!

A breakdown of the hearing transcripts provides indisputable evidence, if the American public ever needed it, that their Senators are much more interested in hearing their own voices than in listening to answers.

What’s this, indisputable evidence? You bet! First they set the stage, remarking on Sen. Biden’s past performance as a speaker:

The worst offender was Joe Biden, a veteran Democrat who harbours presidential aspirations for 2008. Tellingly, he was forced to pull out of the 1988 race after admitting he had borrowed passages from the speeches of Neil Kinnock, the then Labour leader nicknamed “the Welsh windbag”.

Then, they give us priceless statistical evidence, in spite of the heartburn and indigestion no doubt stimulated by having to wade through the rhetorical mud of the Senate Donks:

In his allotted 30 minutes to quiz Judge Alito, Mr Biden asked just five questions and spoke 3,739 words, leaving the nominee time to respond with just 1,021. Next place in the verbosity stakes went to Chuck Schumer, who uttered 3,471 words to the nominee’s 1,166. Among a cluster of senators vying for third place was Ted Kennedy, who allowed the judge to speak 1,557 words to his own 3,282.

There you go folks! Statistical confirmation that the gut feeling of nausea that is obtained by watching the rhetorical follies on the hill is justified!

I’d back Condi for the White House, says Laura Bush

Although the Chief has a huge amount of respect for Condie Rice, he’s not totally sure that she would be the best for the White House. (Not to say that she wouldn’t be good, but at this point there are some real questions on where she really stands on some critical issues).

What the Cheif DOES know for certain, that if the Donks go ahead and run with Hillary, the Condie vs. Hillary campaign would be the most entertaining political spectacle that could be imagined. Just to imagine the libDonks trying to snipe at a black, female, REPUBLICAN (well, at least sort of). Phew. What a hoot to imagine!

Toddler’s mother killed herself when he was three months old. Now he’s being sued by solicitors

Reading this story evokes an air of incredulous unreality. Although it is taking place in the UK it’s all too similar to similar legalistic inanity over here.

In the Chief’s opinionome of these people truly have no humanity left in them.

This surely seems like a case covered by the scriptural statement “the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” (referring to the letter of the law).

F.E.T.E.

Conservatives call for return to core Republican principles

Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican congressman who co-led the petition drive that helped oust Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, said in an interview yesterday: “We don’t just need a new majority leader, we need a course correction. “A lobbyist can’t be corrupt unless he has somebody to bribe, and we’ve created a culture that just breeds corruption,” he charged.

Hear, hear!

At the top of the conservative reform agenda is an end to the practice of earmarking, in which members can secretly insert into huge spending bills billions of dollars in projects for favoured companies or other constituents – many of whom in turn donate to the lawmakers’ re-election funds. While the practice is not new, it has mushroomed since Republicans captured Congress. Last year 15,000 earmarks were added into various spending bills.

Legislators are facing growing pressure over the practice….Mr Flake predicted the fallout over earmarking “would be ugly, and if we haven’t addressed it prospectively, we’re in deeper trouble than we know”.

The conservatives are also hoping to reform the congressional budgeting process by sharply reducing the use of “emergency” spending bills, such as those that have paid for the war in Iraq and rebuilding following Hurricane Katrina. They would also reform House rules to allow more challenges to spending bills that exceed agreed budget targets, and to ensure that such bills can be carefully reviewed by lawmakers before votes are held.

Looks like there are still a few elephants left along with the growing herd of RINOs in Washington.

Create an e-annoyance, go to jail

What in the world is wrong with the President and Congress? Perhaps the EPA needs to check the D.C. water system for the presence of meth or crack or something. (THAT at least would explain some things!)

Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime. It’s no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity.

The Chief’s bafflement is that something like this which is so obviously counter to the first amendment, goes on the books without so much as a raised eyebrow.

Since the Chief’s NAME is not anywhere on this web site, If I post something that “annoys” someone for some reason, then I could be prosecuted for a violation of federal law. Oh well. Bring it on!

“The use of the word ‘annoy’ is particularly problematic,” says Marv Johnson, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. “What’s annoying to one person may not be annoying to someone else.”

Arrrrrrrgggghhhhhh! This has the American Communist Lawyers Union (ACLU) agreeing with the Chief????!!!! It’s a cold day in hell, for sure!

There are perfectly legitimate reasons to set up a Web site or write something incendiary without telling everyone exactly who you are. Think about it: A woman fired by a manager who demanded sexual favors wants to blog about it without divulging her full name. An aspiring pundit hopes to set up the next Suck.com. A frustrated citizen wants to send e-mail describing corruption in local government without worrying about reprisals.

In each of those three cases, someone’s probably going to be annoyed. That’s enough to make the action a crime. (The Justice Department won’t file charges in every case, of course, but trusting prosecutorial discretion is hardly reassuring.)

Left to “prosecutorial discretion”? What was the bit about having a government of laws, not of men? Another pillar in the power structure of the American legal aristocracy over the rest of us peasants.

Our sh-t for brains esteemed politicians can’t seem to grasp this simple point, but the First Amendment protects our right to write something that annoys someone else. It even shields our right to do it anonymously. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas defended this principle magnificently in a 1995 case involving an Ohio woman who was punished for distributing anonymous political pamphlets.

If President Bush truly believed in the principle of limited government (it is in his official bio), he’d realize that the law he signed cannot be squared with the Constitution he swore to uphold.

And then he’d repeat what President Clinton did a decade ago when he felt compelled to sign a massive telecommunications law. Clinton realized that the section of the law punishing abortion-related material on the Internet was unconstitutional, and he directed the Justice Department not to enforce it.

Bush has the chance to show his respect for what he calls Americans’ personal freedoms. Now we’ll see if the president rises to the occasion.

Don’t hold your breath waiting on that one – anoxia is a nasty way to die!

Senators want limits on farm gas

Some Donk SD senators are planning to introduce legislation to impose regulations of the emissions of smelly gases that are a by-product of the operation of cattle feedlots.

Some of these guys have been involved in ag, which makes their efforts even more amazing than they already are.Five Democrats are proposing limits on hydrogen sulfide emissions from livestock operations. The gas smells of rotten eggs and could cause respiratory and other health problems.

Admittedly, this stuff IS toxic and unpleasant, but how to regulate it from an open feedlot? Add to that is the usual state of the winds here on the northern plains, and the problem becomes much less severe than one might expect.

One of the Donks cites problems that he experienced himself:

Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic gas, fatal at high concentrations. It is found at much lower levels near feedlots, but still could cause eye irritation and respiratory problems. Kloucek says he has himself experienced those symptoms, and that other South Dakotans might testify about their own health problems during hearings.

Uh, Frank, did you ever hear of a controlled experiment? Let me explain: you have to be able limit the possible factors to one single thing. This is NOT what happens on the farm. Yes, some hydrogen sulfide may be present, along with other irritants such as dust from…er…bovine fecal matter, feed dust, cattle hair and dander, machinery exhaust & emissions, to say nothing of a host of other gases of unpleasant nature that are also produced…if you get the (downwind) drift.

The bill would limit feedlots to emissions of 50 parts per billion of hydrogen sulfide, as measured at the property line.

Wow! A whole new set of state employees here to run around and do these tests, which MUST also only be done taking the wind direction into account.

Also, this legislation would do NOTHING to protect the farmer, who was cited as the original and proximate stimulus for the proposed bill, since it will only come into effect AT THE PROPERTY LINE, not within it!

In short, another case of Donks being Donks, trying for anything to expand the ability of the government to micromanage anything, whether or not there is an established problem or not.

F.E.T.E.

Schumer warns of filibuster of Alito

Like THIS is a surprise! Anyone with half a brain could tell that the Donks have beeen telegraphing their intention to do this ever since the nomination was entered.

Here’s hoping that Frist has the Constitutional (so-called “nuclear”) option dusted off and ready to go – if not, then he’s not worth his salt.

Posting may be a bit sparse for a few days, as the Chief is away from the homeport for a 3-day meeting/workshop for aligning educational assessment with recently revised state science education standards.

I WILL try to do some posting, but it will somewhat depend on the schedule and workload. Time will tell.

South Dakota senators return money connected to Abramoff

The status of the South Dakota Senators, and ex-Senator are instructive, and raise an interesting logical conclusion.

First, the responses to the Abramoff indictments:

South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a Republican, said he will donate $2,000 he received from Abramoff and his wife to a domestic abuse shelter in Mission, S.D., that he visited last year. Through a spokesman, Thune called Abramoff’s actions “reprehensible.”

The state’s other senator, Democrat Tim Johnson, said he will return $8,250 in donations from the lobbyist’s clients and associates to an organization that helps Native Americans. The donations to Johnson’s campaign include $6,250 from three of Abramoff’s tribal clients and $2,000 from one of Abramoff’s colleagues at his lobbying firm….”The contributions I received were legal contributions from people and tribes that had nothing to do with Mr. Abramoff’s outrageous behavior,” Johnson said in a prepared statement.

And the third ex-officio member of the SD Senate community:

Former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, the South Dakotan who was defeated by Thune in 2004, received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from Abramoff’s associates and tribal clients. Steve Hildebrand, Daschle’s former campaign manager, said Wednesday that he will not return or give away the money because it would be “a big slap in the face to Native Americans across the country.” Hildebrand said that giving the money away would “be a suggestion that he accepted the contributions for the wrong reasons and that’s not the case.”

OK then, according to Hildebrand’s stated standard, Sen. Johnson’s returned $8,250 could be interpreted as a sign that he “accepted the contributions for the wrong reason”, and that THAT’s why the funds had to be returned! (Of course, as icing on this logical cake, the same point could be made about Thune’s $2,000 also.)

It’s interesting to note the positions of the SD Donks and SD GOP in this regard also:

The South Dakota Democratic party also received thousands of dollars connected to Abramoff, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Party officials would not say Wednesday whether they would return or give away the money.

A spokesman for the South Dakota Republican Party said it has nothing to return. “As far as our records show, the party has not received any Abramoff-related donations,”

One has to wonder whether Tim is thinking something like “Thanks Steve, I like you too!”

IRAN: TEHRAN ISSUES NEW THREAT TO EUROPE

Well, here they go again:

The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, who is also the man behind Iran’s foreign policy, has warned Europeans “not to force the Islamic Republic to cut short the dialogue process and to opt for another scenario”. Speaking on Tuesday night on state television he said: “We are for a strategy based on dialogue, but if the counterparty Europe plays dirty, then we will pass onto another plan that we have worked out and then there will be problems for the Europeans.”

The Euros ALREADY have problems – but wait, there’s more:

Without specifying the nature of the other plan and the other scenario, Larijani has compared the talks on Iran’s nuclear programme to a chess game. “In this game, we are for a result that will be satisfactory to both Iran and Europe,” said Larijani adding that “if we lose, the same will also happen to the other party (Europe) and they will have to prepare themselves to live in a hell.”

It’s worth noting that ancient Persia possibly invented chess.

Larijani used even stronger words for the United States. “A small error on the part of USA or the Zionists will be enough to induce us to unleash hell,” said Larijani. “They know this very well and for this they haven’t gone further than a verbal or psychological war,” he said.

Uh, guys, have you looked at what happened across your borders to the west, and north, when your neighbors became threats to the US?

definition: Dhimmitude is the status that Islamic law, the Sharia, mandates for non-Muslims, primarily Jews and Christians. Dhimmis, “protected people,” are free to practice their religion in a Sharia regime, but are made subject to a number of humiliating regulations designed to enforce the Qur’an’s command that they “feel themselves subdued” (Sura 9:29).

Muslim youths rampage on French train

Jihad watch cites a couple of stories from widely diverse closely similar sources: BBC and the ChiComs’ XinHua that not a New Years incident where Islamofascists ganged up and terrorized a train:

From BBC:

New Year’s day saw between 20 and 40 teenagers, many of Arab or north African origin, go on the rampage on a train between Nice and Lyon, intimidating and robbing passengers, and allegedly sexually assaulting at least one young woman.

Remember, the Froggish (mis)government declared the “State of Emergency” to be over, so there REALLY must be nothing to be alarmed about – right?

Mr Chirac added his voice to the chorus of condemnation, calling the violence “unacceptable” and promising that those responsible would be hunted down and punished.

And don’t you forget it! Would you believe we really mean it this time. Really! No kidding! Seriously! So stop it! Please? Pretty please?

and from Xin Hua:

Two dozen young people, among whom only three have been arrested, robbed and sexually assaulted passengers on the train from Nice to Lyon (both in southeast France) early on Jan. 1, as the train was carrying some 600 people home from New Year’s Eve party.

Now THERE’s a record of fine police work! 3 perps snagged, while over 20 more get away!

Train staff called the police, and the train pulled into a station to wait. The three officers who initially turned up had to wait for reinforcements before boarding, during which time the youths continued to wreak havoc.

“Now let’s not be hasty here in restoring law and order – after all we do have a tradition of pusillanimity to uphold!”

The train then resumed its journey with a heavy police presence on board but just before Marseille, the youths pulled the emergency stop and escaped by running along the tracks.

The Chief speculates that escapes were facilitated by a severe shortage of handcuffs that the Fwench police must have – possibly caused by diversion of these “handy” law enforcement tools into (onto?) private hands for kinky purposes.

Police said they believed the gang were part of a bigger group of 100 youths from the Marseille area who had gone to Nice and nearby seaside resorts for New Year’s Eve, taking advantage of a special 1.20 euro New Year’s Day train fare.

The Chief has been there – indeed, Nice IS nice!

French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who has championed hardline security policies in France, partly blamed the state rail company SNCF for not communicating better with the police. “The problem is that law enforcement services didn’t know that there was a promotional fare going,” he said, adding that he would ask the SNCF to ensure that it will not happen again.

OK -let’s see if I’ve got this right: The “hardline” minister blames the rail line for the problem, which he says was caused by cheap fares. Dang! We had better watch out then – WalMart may be in BIG trouble with jihadistanis with THEIR discount prices! If only les flics (Froggish for cops) had known, the whole problem would no doubt have been prevented.

ALSO, note that the RAILROAD has been asked to “ensure” that this doesn’t happen again. Are the Fwench railroads now to be deputized into law enforcement? Or, are they supposed to ban Muslims from the trains? Somehow the Chief doubts that either of these will be on their agenda.

The Fwench Wepublic has shifted its location into “Never-never land”, or is if maybe jsut plain “Neverland”. Hey! That’s it! They now have Michael Jackson as a security consultant! Wasn;t he hanging around with those Nation of Islam types a while back? That COULD explain it – but probably doesn’t. Keep looking. If you figure out where the Frogs are coming from, let me know – since their (non)policies make no sense.

New Mexico Spaceport: Getting Down To Business

Implementation of plans are proceeding apace for the New Mexico spaceport that will be used by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic for civilian passenger spaceflight. So far, more than 20,000 have signed up for spaceflights. Based on past performance, Branson accomplishes what he sets out to do.

Branson’s Virgin Galactic will locate its world headquarters and mission control for its personal spaceflight business at the Southwest Regional Spaceport complex. The facility will be built upon a 27-square-mile site in Upham, about 45 miles northeast of Las Cruces and 25 miles southeast of Truth or Consequences. Construction will begin in 2007 and should be completed by 2009/2010. Virgin Galactic officials estimate some 50,000 customers will fly into space in the first ten years of operation.

For Richard Branson, wealthy British entrepreneur and adventurer, he clearly sees spaceliners in his future. Virgin Galactic operations and the firm’s facilities at the spaceport will be driven by the designs of SpaceShipTwo and the White Knight Two mothership that hauls the passenger-carrying rocket plane to high altitude for release. Both vehicles are under development by hot shot aerospace designer Burt Rutan and his team at Scaled Composites in Mojave, California under a newly formed group, The Spaceship Company. Last July, Branson and Rutan announced their signing of an agreement to form the new aerospace production company that will build a fleet of commercial suborbital spaceships and launch aircraft.

This is just too cool! Imagine if it were a NASA project: 1st flight possibly by 2030 or later instead of 2009-10.

The joy of entrepreneurial capitalism!

Curiouser & curiouser

On a considerably lighter note than the previous posting, is this report in the London Telegraph, listing a number of absurd cases of political correctness run amok, along with some other things that are…just VERY different.

As Britain becomes more and more politically correct and its citizens more and more dumbfounded by it all, it’s encouraging to find that we are not alone. Tom Tickell looks back on a year full of pomposity, idiosyncrasy and plain old-fashioned nonsense, here and abroad.

A few samples:

• A market trader in Derby was banned from selling candles – unless they carried a notice warning that they can burn.

Don’t tell OSHA about this!

• A constable who saved the life of a man who was high on drugs by stopping him jumping from a window was reprimanded. PC Amerjit Singh, who had been summoned to a house in Cambridgeshire to prevent the potential suicide, had used “undue force” in holding the man back from killing himself. The man’s father complained.

Did he have insurance on the son?

• Staff at a Norwich school had to fill in risk assessment forms before they could take children out to play in the snow last winter. Children throwing snowballs could do so only if they were 65ft apart. “Risk assessments can keep children safe in snowy weather,” claimed a spokesman for the council.

Saved again by “risk assessment”.

• Officials in the Czech Republic started a campaign to cut down government bureaucracy and waste by closing down the country’s General Directorate of the Civil Service. The directorate had itself been set up to find ways of cutting back on waste and red tape.

WOW! The Chief is impressed. They actually managed to abolish a government agency. Maybe we could get a Czech advisory team over here.

There are a lot more listed too. Check it out for a good chuckle or two.

Several items show a continuing and escalating concern is in order concerning the Piss Peace loving Persian sons of the Profit (alleged) Prophet.

Iran Gov’t Shuts Down Newspaper, Magazine
“Free press? We don’t need no stinking free press!”

Iran closed a daily newspaper and a magazine, one of the publications said Tuesday, in a stiffening crackdown on the press. Iran’s hard-line judiciary has closed down more than 100 pro-democracy publications in the past five years on vague charges of insulting religious sensibilities or top clerics. Since the election of ultraconservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the government has given the judiciary a free hand to prosecute its crackdown against the media, which began in 2000.

Iran Says It Will Resume Nuclear Fuel Research

Iran said today that it will resume nuclear fuel research, and appeared to toughen its bargaining position on a Russian proposal meant to head off a showdown with the United States and Europe over Tehran’s nuclear program. Iranian officials in recent weeks have given contradictory signals about their willingness to accept a compromise in the long-running dispute. Both announcements today represented a swing toward a harder line and could increase the likelihood of confrontation.

The message: “Hey, what’s the beef about? Without this how can we turn Tel Aviv into a glass bowl…er…develop into a real nuclear power…er…we mean really develop our nuclear power…never mind…we’re doing what we want to anyway!”

The Iranian official who announced the decision, Mohammad Saidi, vice president of Iran’s Atomic Organization, said that the nuclear research, to begin on Monday, would be carried out “in cooperation and coordination with the I.A.E.A.” and would not involve the enrichment of uranium, a step necessary for the production of nuclear weapons.

“We’re not doing anything, just learning how to and setting up to do it. Nothing to see, nothing to worry about, you infidel pigs!”

Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a statement that he would bee seeking more details about the research. He also reminded Iran that the suspension had been an important step toward restoring its reputation.

WHAT reputation?

There’s more, but you get the drift. Two more related reports – what good is a nuclear weapon without a way to deliver it? The happy mullahs have thought of everything:

Secret services say Iran is trying to assemble a nuclear missile
Intelligence report says Iran seeks nuclear bomb: report

Both of these refer to the same Euro joint intelligence assessment, that has leaked out, no doubt much to the chagrin of the Eurabian politicians who want to do just ANYTHING rather than face up to the fact of their own dhimmitude.

It’s worth noting that one of these is from the UK’s Guardian, which is certainly no stronghold of pro-western imperialism!

The Iranian government has been successfully scouring Europe for the sophisticated equipment needed to develop a nuclear bomb, according to the latest western intelligence assessment of the country’s weapons programmes.

Scientists in Tehran are also shopping for parts for a ballistic missile capable of reaching Europe, with “import requests and acquisitions … registered almost daily”, the report seen by the Guardian concludes.

Let’s see now. Bomb. Missile. All that’s needed is the target…oh yeah, their President Ahm-mad-on-a-jihad Ahmadinejad has already solved that:

Governments in the west and elsewhere have also been dismayed by recent pronouncements from the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has said that Holocaust denial is a “scientific debate” and that Israel should be “wiped off the map”.

OK now. Imagine it’s 1936. The Rhineland has just been re-militarized by Der Fuhrer’s 3rd Reich in violation of treaties which give you the right to intervene militarily. You know that at present Das Reich has not rebuilt it’s military enough to resist you successfully, but is working for that goal 24-7. Your response to protect lives and maintain peace is….hopefully better than that of the Brits and Frogs back then.

The same thing is staring us in the face, albeit in a new form. Which way will we turn?

Whether we want to admit it or not, we are rapidly reaching what looks like a true pivotal point of history – and nothing less than the survival of western civilization may be at stake.

IF YOU CANNOT FIGHT FOR RIGHT WHEN YOU CAN EASILY WIN WITHOUT BLOODSHED; IF YOU WILL NOT FIGHT WHEN YOUR VICTORY WILL BE SURE AND NOT TOO COSTLY; YOU MAY COME TO THE MOMENT WHEN YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT WITH ALL ODDS AGAINST YOU AND ONLY A PRECARIOUS CHANCE OF SURVIVAL. THERE MAY BE A WORSE FATE. YOU MAY HAVE TO FIGHT WHEN THERE IS NO HOPE OF VICTORY, BECAUSE IT IS BETTER TO PERISH THAN TO LIVE AS SLAVES. – Sir Winston Churchill

Read and heed. History can be a tough teacher!

Sniper shot that took out an insurgent killer from three quarters of a mile

The Chief’s jaw dropped reading this one reported from across the pond, but about one of ours. Admittedly it’s a lucky shot, but still…

Gazing through the telescopic sight of his M24 rifle, Staff Sgt Jim Gilliland, leader of Shadow sniper team, fixed his eye on the Iraqi insurgent who had just killed an American soldier. His quarry stood nonchalantly in the fourth-floor bay window of a hospital in battle-torn Ramadi, still clasping a long-barrelled Kalashnikov. Instinctively allowing for wind speed and bullet drop, Shadow’s commander aimed 12 feet high.

A single shot hit the Iraqi in the chest and killed him instantly. It had been fired from a range of 1,250 metres, well beyond the capacity of the powerful Leupold sight, accurate to 1,000 metres. “I believe it is the longest confirmed kill in Iraq with a 7.62mm rifle,” said Staff Sgt Gilliland, 28, who hunted squirrels in Double Springs, Alabama from the age of five before progressing to deer – and then people. “He was visible only from the waist up. It was a one in a million shot. I could probably shoot a whole box of ammunition and never hit him again.”

That’s OK SSGT, you got him the first time! There’s more to read about the excellence and high performance of an elite group of American soldiers. Check it out.

Lord of the Blogs

Writing of places at Townhall.com, Kathleen Parker is displeased with the at times rough and tumble realm of the blogosphere, and the truth that it is beyond control of professional editiorialists and/or journalists, presumably such as herself.

She likens the blogosphere to the barbaro-anarchy that evolved in the book “Lord of the Flies”, hence her header as shown above. If she, and others of her ilk had their way, the blogosphere would be reigned in and/or discounted due to lack of what she patronizingly refers to as “adult supervision” of responsible editorial control.

The Chief thinks that she has the wrong “Lord” in mind. The type of situation she would like is closer to that of “Lord of the Rings”, with all purveyors of “news” and opinion being under the spell of editorial ringwraiths serving the Dark Lord of the MSM.

Kim du Toit and the Emperor Misha also take severe exception, each in their respective styles, to her weeping, wailing, and knashing of teeth concerning the unregulated blogosphere. Better call her a wahmbulance! (Wah-wah, wah-wah, etc.)

It’s the demography, stupid

Whether or not you like Pat Buchanan, one of the things he has made to be one of his major issues is the demographic hollowing out of the western world, and the consequent threat to the continued existance of western civilization as we know it.

This article by Mark Steyn lays it all out as clearly as one could want. The Chief has to admit that this is a disturbing trend. The US is threatened, but the Euros are in deep, deep,…camel dung. The logic here is unfortunately not answerable. The next decade may well be decisive.

While this is a somewhat long article, it is one of those things that anyone who is concerned about what is literally the very real question about the survival of our culture and civilization. (I am NOT exaggerating, unfortunately.)

H/T to Little Green Footballs.

Putin sends a shiver through Europe

Putin continues to manage things in the style he no doubt developed to lead him to be head of the old Soviet KGB in days gone, but not forgotten in mittel-Europa.

Russia took Europe to the brink of a winter energy crisis yesterday when it carried out a Cold War-style threat and halted gas deliveries to Ukraine, the main conduit for exports to the West. With a quarter of its gas supplied by Russia, Europe is facing serious disruption and price rises for as long as the dispute rumbles on.

Now THAT’s international economic cooperation…and this guy is the current Chairman og the G8 Group? Time for a major reality check!

Palestinian militants call off truce

Palestinian armed groups ended a year-long truce with Israel yesterday in a move which could lead to new violence and derail elections in the West Bank and Gaza already threatened by lawlessness and political infighting.

The Chief wonders: what truce was THAT?

The so-called “cool down” by militants has been frequently interrupted by rocket attacks launched from Gaza, and Islamic Jihad has continued to carry out suicide bombings on Israeli targets.

Sadly the prospects in the Paleswinian governed controlled mis-ruled areas show no signs of improvement. Maybe the Israeli wall will help limit the Islamofascist splodeydope activity.

425 cars torched in New Year’s unrest in France

Surprise, surprise. The Fwench continue to demonstrate that they have currently lost control of their own country.

President Jacques Chirac spoke of the unrest during his annual New Year’s Eve television address and urged the French to do more to fight racism and a lack of opportunities in poor neighborhoods — problems that fed frustrations among young rioters. “Diversity is part of our history: It is a resource,” he said.” It is an asset for our future.”

Hmmmm. They aren’t so accepting of diversity when it’s from the USA. Oh, yeah, OUR barbecues only cook meat, not cars.

The jihadistanis continue to run rampant, while the dhimmicratic government continues to waffle, and call for “positive discrimination” in favor of the islamist insurgents. Now THERE’s a recipe for real peace!

Can you say “President LePen”?

Florida Teen Home After Iraq Adventure

A 16-year-old who took off to Iraq alone to experience the lives of its people firsthand, arrived back in Florida on Sunday, ending a three-week Middle East odyssey much to the relief of his parents. Farris Hassan gave a thumbs-up to reporters as he walked, surrounded by family members, to a car waiting outside Miami International Airport.

Just a few thoughts on this one:
* Why was there NOT any alarm from his parents when he e-mailed them from Kuwait BEFORE he went to Lebanon (not exactly noted for it’s stability and friendliness to American travelers these days)BEFORE he went to Baghdad? (Hi Mom and Dad! I’m in Kuwait on my way to Baghdad for Christmas Break! Don’t worry, everything is fine so far! Bye.)
* “Family friends” in Lebanon – home of Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, et al. Under the heavy influence of Syria, currently assisting the Jihadistanis in Iraq and elsewhere. Now THAT’s reassuring – NOT! No wonder his school has some concerns:

Officials at Pine Crest School, the academy Farris attends in Fort Lauderdale, have asked for a meeting with his parents before he is allowed to return to class.

* Something about a SLIGHT lack of parental involvement here?

He was able to secure an entry visa for Iraq because both of his parents were born there, though they’ve been in the United States for more than three decades. He took his U.S. passport and $1,800 in cash, but didn’t tell his family what he was doing until he arrived in Kuwait and sent them an e-mail.

He took $1800 cash, PLUS he had bought the airplane tickets – which COULDN’T have been cheap. Am I just old fashined, or does that seem like perhaps a bit of excessive “pocket money” for a high school kid to have without parental review? Just asking, mind you.

This kid is lucky that the 101st Airborne was there to pull his chestnuts out of the fire, before some jihadistani got ahold of him for…the possibilities were manifold…and most likely MUCH more unpleasant than what actually did happen.

Churchill called for hot seat for Hitler

What’s not to like about WInston Churchill, unless you were a Nazi or Communist/Socialist? He has been near the top of the Chief’s most admired historical figures. (Ooops! I remember the last time he was PM when the Chief was just a little squirt, so does that make ME historical? Forget it – we WON’t go THERE!)

Some newly declassified documents across the water show even more that he was a min of singularly sound instincts:

Winston Churchill, Britain’s wartime prime minister, planned to execute Adolf Hitler in the electric chair if the Nazi leader fell into Allied hands. Official documents declassified for the turn of the new year reveal that Churchill was opposed to Allied plans for war-crimes trials and wanted summarily to execute leading Nazi figures, including Hitler, whom he regarded as “the mainspring of evil” and a “gangster.”

We thereby would have avoided the exercise in ex post facto “law” that became known as the Nuremburg Trials, and the dangerous precedents it set for instant “international legalization” of whatever a dominant coalition decides is right. Leading to aborted systems like the so-called “International Court of Justice” which the moonbats would LOVE to use to go after US soldiers having the nerve to actually pull the trigger and kill the enemy.

On July 6, 1942, according to his notes, the prime minister said: “Contemplate [that] if Hitler falls into our hands, we shall certainly put him to death. Not a Sovereign who [could] be said to be in hands of Ministers, like Kaiser. This man is the mainspring of evil. Instrument — electric chair, for gangsters no doubt available on lend-lease.”

Sir Winston definitely has the right idea!

Classified Disclosures Published by NY Traitor Times

US probes eavesdropping leak

The U.S. Justice Department has launched an investigation to determine who disclosed a secret NSA eavesdropping operation approved by President George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks, officials said on Friday. “We are opening an investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of classified materials related to the NSA,” one official said.

Earlier this month Bush acknowledged the program and called its disclosure to The New York Times () “a shameful act.” He said he presumed a Justice Department leak investigation into who disclosed the National Security Agency eavesdropping operation would get under way.

These sorts of things at best can be difficult to track down, but it would be really nice to snag some traitorous SOB and nail ’em up to dry on the side of a barn.

Crash into store was a personal statement

THe East Valley Tribune in Scottsdale, AZ starts this story with a disclaimer, apparently believing that otherwise many readers would think that it was like a Scrappleface report:

December 29, 2005 – TO OUR READERS:

The following story is based on witness accounts and a police report released Wednesday. He placed both hands on the steering wheel, stared straight ahead and barrelled toward the front entrance of Home Depot.

Then they go on into the substance of the improbable story:

Ali R. Warrayat hadn’t slept in days, planning this moment down to the last detail. Now, his face was void of any expression. A store employee jumped out of the car’s path. To drown out the man’s yells, Warrayat reached over to his car radio and blasted Arabic music before crashing through the front doors. The scene was only the beginning of a violent rampage through the Chandler (AZ) store on Dec. 18. For the 24-year-old Arizona State University student, the motives behind the attack were personal.

Well, maybe sort of…

The Jordanian-turned-U.S. citizen devised a plan to make a grand statement by crashing into the store at Alma School Road and Chandler Boulevard and setting it on fire. At first, he wanted to wear a Palestinian flag, but later decided to place it in the trunk of his car, along with a copy of the Quran and a necklace. He then grabbed his cat and his uncle’s pit bull and brought them along for the ride with the intent of killing them in the fire.

This guy has successfully redefined the limits of what it means to be a moonbat.

After crashing through the doors at 6 a.m. that Sunday, he expertly navigated the aisles and headed straight for the paint department, slamming his car into the flammable goods. He jumped to the roof of the car, looked around for a second and then hopped to the ground. He used a lighter to ignite the blaze, and loud explosions followed as store employees ran for safety.

Inside the car, the dog, named Tyson, crouched against the floorboards trying to escape the flames, eventually dying from the toxic smoke. The cat was never found.

When an officer asked if he understood his Miranda rights, Warrayat shot back in a foreign language. The officer asked if he understood English, and Warrayat replied in English, “Do you speak Arabic?” He was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and arson, causing about $1 million in damage. He is being held without bond at Maricopa County’s Lower Buckeye Jail in Phoenix.

Motivation for this? Consider…

Co-worker and friend Joaquin Bustamante said Warrayat was “gentleman-like and respectable with everyone. When I saw him on TV, he did not look like the Ali that I know,” Bustamante said. “He was a hard worker and worked circles around everybody, and he was a very private person.” Bustamante said Warrayat was deeply religious and had a Quran hanging from his rearview mirror.

The Chief didn’t know it was acceptable to the Religion of Piss Peace to treat the Quran like a set of “fuzzy dice”, but then, what do I know?

Police served a search warrant on the Gilbert house where he lives with his parents, seizing a computer and other items. Initial images on his computer depicted men lighting Molotov cocktails and a cartoon of two bloodied and dead children with a Middle Eastern flag in the background.

Surprise, surprise, surprise!

Apparently diversity only goes so far:

A Home Depot official told police that if Warrayat is released from jail, management is considering placing armed guards at all of its East Valley stores.

The newspaper was right in printing the initial disclaimer notice! If someone put this in a movie, it would be too far out to make the final cut…well…maybe not considering some of the H-wood crapola that comes out.

Bahraini Women’s Rights Activist Ghada Jamshir Attacks Islamic Clerics for Issuing Fatwas Authorizing Sexual Abuse of Infants

Coming from MEMRI, THAT is a long header, but it describes a criminally sad situation where so-called religious leaders have issued rulings that sanction alleged marital practices that condone and accept sexual child abuse of the worst kind. For the record, the Chief commends the moral and physical courage of Ghada Jamshire in addressing these issues in this way:

Interviewer: “Some people say that Ghada Jamshir is a Sunni, and that this is why she is leading the battle against [mut’ah] marriages, which are authorized by religious law among the Shi’ites.”

Ghada Jamshir: “Authorized by religious law?!”

Interviewer: “Among the Shiites, yes.”

Ghada Jamshir: “Does the Islamic Shari’a authorize mut’ah marriages? Does the Islamic Shari’a authorize mut’ah according to the following classification: ‘Pleasure from sexual contact with her thighs.’ They have: ‘Pleasure from sexual touching,’ ‘pleasure from sexual contact with her breasts.’ ‘Pleasure from a little girl.’ Do you know what ‘pleasure from a little girl’ means? It means that they derive sexual pleasure from a girl aged two, three, or four.”

Interviewer: “Let’s not go into details…”

Ghada Jamshir: “Let me tell you what ‘pleasure from sexual contact with her thighs’ means…”

Interviewer: “Don’t give me the details…”

Ghada Jamshir: “This is a violation of children’s rights! This constitutes sexual assault of the girl. What does ‘pleasure from sexual contact with her thighs’ mean? It means deriving sexual pleasure from an infant. How old is an infant? One year, a year and a half, a few months?

The interview, which was conducted by al-Arabiya TV was somehow allowed to air on 21 December. Frankly, the Chief is surprised that it was, given the content. (A scary thought arises: maybe it aired because it is general knowledge over there in camel-land, AND NO ONE REALLY CARES!?)

Moonbats and others of their ilk who argue vociferously in the name of so-called “diversity” that there is no intrinsic superiority of one system of religion over another. By way of contrast, the Chief offers the following from Matthew 18 (King James version):

1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

You tell one of these attitudes is NOT superior? IF so then stay the h— away from any kids in MY family, you perverted scumbag!

Q.E.D.

China raps sanctions for Iran arms sales

One of the hallmarks of the ChiComs has been a long-standing willingness to sell virtually anything in the armament department to anyone who can pay the bill. Continuing to do so has resulted in the US imposing sanctions on six ChiCom agencies government organizations companies who have sold “items relating to weapons of mass destruction” to Iran. An Austrian arms firm, and two Indian chemical manufacturers were similarly sanctioned.

The ChiComs are especially displeased:

China’s government yesterday demanded that the Bush administration lift sanctions imposed on six companies on charges of illicit sales to Iran, saying the action undermined Beijing’s cooperation with the United States.

Firstly it needs to be noted, that business in China is part of the government. Remember the bit about being COMMUNIST China? As in socialist? As in the state owns the means of production? Any questions on that one? So if a ChiCom “corporation” sells hot stuff to Iran, of necessity it is the result of a policy decision by the ChiCom government. If they are supplying components and/or technology that are supportive of weapons of mass destruction, this is a governmental act.

Secondly, the ChiComs are bitching that “the action (of imposing sanctions) undermined Beijing’s cooperation with the United States”!
Hello? Come again? WHAT f-ing cooperation with the United States?!! Selling WMD stuff to Iran is an example of ChiCom COOPERATION WITH THE UNITED STATES???!!!!! The total logical inversion here moves into the realm of surreal absurdity!

F.E.T.E.

The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler’s Emperor Misha once again has unlimbered his rhetorical guns on an Oakland Tribune editorial. Sometimes he makes it look just too easy!

“OH, The Voices, The VOICES!”

Liberals really ought to leave the Reynolds Wrap on the turkey rather than wrapping it around their little pointed skulls….

Misha goes on to do a VERY effective demolition job on the Trib’s writer(s). A fun read for the Chief!

Alito resolution prefiled for Legislature

Looks like the SD Senate will get a chance to officially have its voice on record one way or another regarding the Alito nomination.

State Sen. Lee Schoenbeck wants his colleagues to adopt a resolution supporting the nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Watertown Republican is prime sponsor of a state Senate resolution of support for Alito, whose confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin in January in the U.S. Senate. Schoenbeck’s resolution was prefiled for the 2006 Legislature, which begins Jan. 10, and is co-sponsored by 24 other Republican state senators.

Why not?! Go ahead and put ’em all on record on what they think about defending judicial originalism. The attitude involved here has relevance to state issues as well as federal ones.

2005: A Space Odyssey

None Other than Glenn Reynolds, the accused puppy blender and nemesis of the Alliance of Free Blogs delivers an overall sitrep on the state of spaceflight activity in the early 20th Century. HINT: Think 1930’s aviation to make a comparison.

Indeed, spaceflight seems to be entering a phase much like aviation in the 1920s: Rapid technological development, with support for breakthroughs becoming a prestige activity on the part of rich guys who want to see the technology develop — and who think they just might get even richer in the process. This support created a virtuous circle of technological improvement and expanding markets that lasted a couple of crucial decades, seeing aviation move from a novelty to a huge industry.

Which is also what the prize programs and space tourism ventures are likely to do. Space enthusiasts, God knows, have seen plenty of disappointment in the past few decades, as the brief false dawn of Apollo led to years of failed promises and no visible momentum. But we’re now seeing signs of new technologies — and, just as important, new systems of organization — that make a takeoff into sustained growth much more likely for the space sector. Prizes to develop technology, space tourism to develop markets and help us move up the learning curve, and people with the money and vision to provide the seed capital for both: The essentials now look to be in place. It’s about time.

Indeed!

The Ugliest Christmas Tree

IT’s a bit after Christmas admittedly, but this is still an interesting story. Read and enjoy – I did.