A lesson on...

...Moonbats. I've dealt with some of the lesser moonbats on that other Forum, and they can be equally oblivious to logic.

The Intellectual Argument for....

...what I've long said: We need to fight this war with the gloves off, or not at all. I have said, for years now, that we need to aim for Victory instead of Peace.

I wondered about this too....

I was thinking recently about the new report regarding Sandy Berger's theft at the National Archives. Specifically, I was wondering if Berger realized that he was stealing and destroying American history here, and if he did realize it, did it bother him at all? These documents did not belong to him. They are ours. He stole them from all of us.

Then, today, I find over at Powerline, a post from a reader-expert who spoke to exactly this point.

"...They were true historical documents capturing a snapshot in time in the Administration and the thoughts of those individuals involved with the events of the day.

Those documents belong to the People, not to any individual. Sandy Berger was destroying historical records and putting them into a 'memory hole.'"

Berger's reputation cannot possibly get further smeared, but unfortunately, there will be far too many who forget this level of depravity.

Layover photos....

This is one of the photos that I had no idea how it would turn out. In full attribution, I have no idea how to make a photo turn out the way I might like it, but I'm pleased with this one none-the-less.

Central Park. A purple tree.

My New Homeboy....

Yeah. You guessed it. Danny Bonaduce.



h/t lgf.

Layover Photos...

For no other reason than I've got nothing else to say today (nor the time to say it), I'm beginning a semi-regular feature of this blog...favorite layover photos.

And here is one of my recent favorites...a combination Dunkin' Donuts/Sushi shop in Boston. I've always wondered what came first: The donuts or the Sushi?

Go Roman...

OK, not more than three hours after I write that I won't have much time to write than I find (as I was eating my soup at lunch) this gem.

Dennis Miller absolutely gets this...



h/t...John at Op-For.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Not much time to post here with lots of things to do around the house, busy at work, Christmas, etc.

Will try to put up something later, but I don't expect to have much time until after the holidays.

And in that vein, to my tens of readers, Merry Christmas.

An object lesson on tin-horn dictators...

...presented by Charles.

If only this were comedy.

Let's redeploy from Iraq...

Heh.

And I thought ScrappleFace was a humor blog.

Oh, yeah. You know where the hattip goes.

Is the MSM just daft or willfully stupid?

I open up MSN.com this morning and see this headline as their top news story...

WP: Combat troops out of Iraq?

The story begins talking about the ISG (see below) recommendations that combat troops in Iraq should be withdrawn by the end of 2008.

Seven paragraphs into the story, Bush is quoted as saying...

"This business about graceful exit just simply has no realism to it whatsoever," Bush said.

Further, it takes no time at all to find this story (from the NYT, no less)....

BUSH REJECTS QUICK TROOP WITHDRAWALS

So, what is it? Daft or willfully stupid? Both?

Is anyone really surprised...

...That the Iraq Study Group will recommend a pullout (sort of). This sort of compromise between staying and leaving offers the worst of both approaches.

The liberals will hail the brave ("realistic") recommendation of the James Baker-led ISG to meet with the Syrians and the Iranians (as if any serious person could believe either have something constructive to offer). While doing so, they will conveniently forget the criticism they leveled against Baker in his previous dealings with the Iranians.

As I've said many times, what is missing in discussions of this war is a determination to do anything and everything necessary to achieve victory. We've become soft. Until we're willing to totally crush our enemy--Islamic fundamentalism--wherever it may reside, we're not taking this war seriously enough.

h/t Charles, Captain Ed, and nearly everybody else.

I am honored...

...to be the anonymous reader in the update here.

The flying imams: Another look

In today's Washington Times Audrey Hudson reviews the behavior of the flying imams: "How the imams terrorized an airliner." Here is information on the seat belt extenders that I have not seen reported elsewhere:

Three of the men asked for seat-belt extenders, although two flight attendants told police the men were not oversized. One flight attendant told police she "found this unsettling, as crew knew about the six [passengers] on board and where they were sitting." Rather than attach the extensions, the men placed the straps and buckles on the cabin floor, the flight attendant said.

(Emphasis added.) The story also discusses the seating of the imams on the plane, including the apparent fact that two of the imams moved from their assigned seats to first class:

The imams who claimed two first-class seats said their tickets were upgraded. The gate agent told police that when the imams asked to be upgraded, they were told no such seats were available. Nevertheless, the two men were seated in first class when removed.

With two of the imams in first class, the six imams were positioned on the plane from front to back:

Passengers and flight attendants told law-enforcement officials the imams switched from their assigned seats to a pattern associated with the September 11 terrorist attacks and also found in probes of U.S. security since the attacks -- two in the front row first-class, two in the middle of the plane on the exit aisle and two in the rear of the cabin.

Greg Lang of Soliah.com takes a look at the seat belt extenders. In a message summarizing his research, he writes:

I believe the seat belt extensions create a serious airline security threat. This is one heck of a weapon that has been overlooked. Basically the "heavy" head of this is very heavy with both the latch and the belt adjuster lock thing. In a weapon sense it's a lot like a padlock on a chain or in prison a canned item in a sock. A solid blow to the head can disable and the strap can be used to choke or restrain. I was astounded that these were [allowed for use as] carry on items.

I close with a quote from former Minnesota Senator and U.S. Ambassador to the UN Commission on Human Rights Rudy Boschwitz:

There you are at the gate about to kiss your wife and kids goodbye and the imams begin praying. Would you walk away and let the family go forward? Or would you be much relieved if the airline said: hold on, we ought to check these guys out. Give me a break and not this liberal bullshit.

The airline acted prudently just as it should have.

UPDATE: A reader who asks not to be identified adds:

I am an airline captain at a major national airline. On the subject of seat belt extensions, at my airline, we carry them onboard and I wasn't aware that they could be purchased elsewhere. These extensions have a legitimate place onboard. They are used by our larger passengers who are unable to fasten the seatbelt absent an extension (and if you've spoken to this point already, I've missed it).

That these extensions could be used as improvised weapons is not something that our crews are unaware of. There are many, many innocuous items that can become deadly. You've already cited a canned item in a sock (I wonder how many passengers think the flight attendant is simply being overly thrifty with the soft drink can when she wants to only dispense a glass at a time?). A belt with a heavy buckle would serve the same purpose. Sturdy pens can be stabbing weapons. The list of improvised weapons is only limited by the ingenuity of those who might use them.

The larger point I'd like to make is that, despite the increased level of TSA scrutiny we all go through, it is unrealistic to expect that airplanes would be weapons-free zones. Prisons cannot be made weapons-free despite strip searches and controls on contraband.

Although without knowing more details of what actually went on in this case, it is difficult to know exactly how I might have reacted, from what I've read, it appears that the crew did the right thing. These imams were behaving oddly enough that, knowing what I know now, I think I would have had them removed too.

It's for the Children...

Don't cha' know.



h/t Gerald

"Civil War"...

...according to NBC. I have to disagree that Iraq is in a civil war now. Certainly the sectarian violence is troubling. However, wide parts of the country are basically at peace. The violence level in Iraq is less than many parts of the world now considered to be at peace. I guess that "civil war" thing gets around.

Either that, or NBC is editorializing.

Update...via Glenn, here. (Isn't The Prospect a liberal rag? Or am I thinking of The American Prospect? Are they related? Should we alert Matt Lauer?)

Range Report...

I finally made it to an IDPA match yesterday, and my recent absence showed. Ivan challenged me with long shots (one at 25 yds). I could probably make the case that my poor results are due to shooting new 180 grain ammo. I do think that my Glock doesn't like it, but that is a slim crutch to stand on. My results are mine--not the ammo's.

It was nice to get to the range again, but I just can't go six weeks and expect to make my shots.

Oh, now here's something new...

Not.

The D's are planning to investigate Bush to death. They are still smarting from the impeachment of their last President--a man of dubious character. [Side note: They recently ran out of their party the one Democrat with moral clarity.] Their investigations will amount to nothing, but their media accomplices will make mountains out of any molehills that might exist (e.g. Scooter Libby).

I am afraid that the D's are not taking the GWOT seriously at all. They are ostriches--hoping that it will all just go away. This is going to be a long two years.

Power Line Forum

Although they've been operating it for a month or so, the guys at Power Line have started a Forum. One of the things missing, IMO, on their blog is the ability to comment. This Forum solves this problem.

In the first thread I look at, the question is asked: "Who is the enemy?" And I reproduce here the second answer in full.

IronDioPriest...

It’s time we realize that the Islamic fanatics worship Satan by another name.

In order to know and understand the truth of the evil nature of our Islamic enemy, I watched the Paul Johnson beheading video shortly after the poor man was decapitated by the Islamic fanatic Zarqawi (Thank you God, George Bush and the American Military for removing this scum from existence).

What I saw was an innocent man pleading for his life, and then the knife being applied to the side of his neck, and then the screams of terror as the knife began to cut, and then the thrashing for a shred of hope of life, terrible screams unlike anything I’ve heard, and then after what seemed an eternity, the knife finally reaching the windpipe, and the gurgling sounds, still attempts to scream in horror, still the knife cut deeper, reaching the spinal chord, where the sawing motion became more vigorous and violent in order to get through the bone, still, unbelievably, screams and gurgles, until the moment that Paul’s head was more detached than attached - then the screams stopped, although there was still, even now, gurgling, attempts to put a voice to experiencing the ultimate horror, until the head was finally severed completely, and Paul’s murderers were finished killing innocence in the name of Allah as far too many Muslims are prone to do.

All the while, the Islamic animals in the room, screaming in Arabic, god is good, god is merciful, glory to god. They were reveling in this slaughter of innocence. They call their false god Allah. After watching this video, I now know that the Allah worshiped by this type of Islamic fanatic is just Satan by another name.

Because of these animals, we are forced into a corner. That corner is coming to the conclusion that the enemy is Islam. Surely not every Muslim, but Islam nonetheless.

I hate to say it. I really, really hate to say it. I want to give all people the benefit of the doubt, and I don’t like to paint with a brush any broader than necessary. But sooner or later all freedom loving people will realize it, so I’ll just say it again now.

The enemy is Islam.

It doesn’t feel good to even think it, but sometimes the truth hurts. I wish that all the people who think it would have the balls to say it.

It is regrettable. I know that all individual Muslims are not the problem. That would be an asinine conclusion for one to draw. Good people and bad people come in all stripes.

The enemy is Islam, not because all Muslims are evil, but because a very significant number are. One cannot ignore the fact that the driving force behind the hatred of the Islamo-fascists is the religion of Islam. They believe that in waging Jihad, they are following the will of Allah, and these fanatic Muslims exist in sufficient numbers to draw the conclusion that Islam must be dealt with as an enemy. The remainder will not or cannot speak out or rise up against their fanatic Islamic brethren, at least not in numbers that matter. At some point, we will be unable to afford the luxury of trying to discern which Muslims are peace loving (the ones that don’t strictly follow the Koran, in other words) and which ones want to kill your children in the most agonizing ways imaginable. Therefore we must see the enemy as he wishes us to see him. The fundamentalists want a holy war, and we have no choice but to engage them on those terms, or eventually be exterminated.

If we aren’t willing to even admit who and what our enemy is, we will lose the epic war for the survival of western civilization, and either be killed, or live under Sharia Law in Dhimmitude. Dhimmitude would not be a good life for anyone.

And for those who morally equate the Islamic death cult with American Christian fundamentalists or the Jewish state of Israel, all I can say is you ought to live in the real world and take off your ideological blinders. To equate American Christians with the Taliban, or the retributions of the Israelis against the Palestinian butchers of innocents as has been done by Leftists is intellectually dishonest, and shows a commitment to ideology before truth.

I guess I can say one other thing. In the coming war against the evil of Islamo-fascist Jihad, America is the last, best hope for the West. The Muslims are going to force everyone to choose a side, and those who wish to remain neutral will eventually understand that neutrality is not in the Islamic plan. And I think when push comes to shove, whiners and moral relativists will cling to the coat-tails of traditional American greatness, the mighty American military, and whomever else is given the charge of protecting you and your family.

Welcome to the Jihad. The enemy is Islam, whether you want it or not, because the Islamic fanatics do, and they’re the relevant Muslim coalition that we are forced to contend with.

I can't say I disagree. We're fighting the entire religion. Certainly not every practicianer is a bad person who wishes us dead. But enough of them do that I have to suspect the entire faith. The sooner we realize that we're in a war between Islam and Liberty, and fight it with that knowledge, the better.

Hey, Sears...

It looks like you're missing a couple of tools...

Whats not...

...to agree with?