Right News and Views

In this New York Sun article by Eli Lake we learn that tribal leaders throughout Iraq are turning on Al Qaeda and becoming more willing to work with American forces. This is certainly good news for anyone left in America who hopes to see the US defeat the terrorists and establish a stable democracy in Iraq.

Sheikh Hussein al-Tamimi and his tribe are friendly to American forces though do not want US troops in Iraq forever. Sheikh Hussein said: “We would like America, a friend, to rebuild the country. This is what we want, what the tribes want. But to stay here as a military force indefinitely is unacceptable.” But Sheikh Hussein understands that America cannot simply abandon Iraq in the near future. The article noted that, at a luncheon Sheikh Hussein asked Lake to “please, tell the Democrats for now to stop pressuring Bush.”

This is, if not conclusive, at least encouraging. There is hope for Iraq.

According to this AP story, “Many Europeans believe the Jews dictate US policy in the Middle East, wield disproportionate global economic influence and talk too much about the Holocaust, according to a report released Monday by the Anti-Defamation League.”

There were 2,714 people surveyed in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Poland and their responses revealed high percentages of anti-Jewish sentiments.

In my opinion, the most shocking part of this survey revealed that “Poles were also most likely to subscribe to another long-standing belief, with 39% of respondents there saying they somewhat agree or strongly agree that the Jews “are responsible for the death of Christ.” Overall agreement with that statement was 20%.”

From a Christian standpoint, we know that all of mankind is responsible for the death of Christ. Our collective sin – from Adam to every human being since – is the reason Christ went to the cross. Jews are equally responsible along with the rest of us- so blaming Jews and ignoring your own culpability in Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross is rank hypocrisy.

Our world has a long way to go…

Ralph Peters pulls no punches in this piece on Iraq. He discusses what we all did wrong, what we need to do to correct it, and exposes some truth about ourselves concerning torture.

The best passage in it is the following:

Whether you’re left, right or in between, ask yourself this yes-or-no question: If torturing a known terrorist would save the life of the person you love most in the world, would you approve it?

If your answer is “no,” you’re not a moral paragon. You’re an abomination. And please make your position clear to your husband or wife, mother or father, son or daughter. Just tell ‘em, “Sorry, honey, but I’d rather see you dead than mistreat a terrorist. It’s a moral issue with me.”

His point is that he was surprised that so few of our military would not support torture if they believed it would save the life of one of their fellow soldiers. The media was, not surprisingly, horrified at how soldiers many approved. But when you are dealing with known monsters willing to blow up children and innocents just how much should you worry about them? The answer is not at all.

A well reasoned piece and a real “must read.”

Ericka Andersen’s Analysis of Hillary Reveals ‘Clinical Narcissism’ discusses “The Extreme Makeover of Hillary Rodham Clinton,” a new book by Bay Buchanan that offers examples “of Hillary’s instability, from her incoherent speeches as both student and First Lady, to her casual disregard for the law, to her ever-changing opinion on the Iraq war.” These traits, Buchanan contends, “make Hillary overly dependent on gurus and outside experts, with no internal compass to guide her — or the country.”

The piece is an interesting read and successfully articulates the many vague, gut feelings I have about her into clearly defined flaws in her character.

Of course, we all have character flaws- but the kinds Hillary has significantly impacts her ability to successfully lead.

National Review Online brings up an important point in this piece about the war in Iraq: if Congress got its way and funded the war for only two months Al Qaeda would have a very strong incentive to pour as much effort and resources into their terror campaign as possible. In effect, this would give not only an incomplete but incorrect picture of the true situation.

Telling your enemies when you are going to quit is no way to win a war. Admitting my lack of military experience, I still can scarcely believe that there is any more fundamental a truth to waging war than this simple fact.

Benchmarks and rewards for progress towards those benchmarks are fine- but threats to leave and allow Iraq to descend into genocide are not.

Amazing! The one thing the Democrats should actually do since they lamentably took control of Congress – which is one thing they said they would do – is pass stringent lobbying reforms. But no- we learn in this ABC News report that they have decided they like what the lobbyists do for them and so aren’t going to do anything about the rampant corruption and buying of favors. Though the Democrats are pretty much wrong on every single thing they want to do, this was actually one good idea that they had. Too bad they are hypocrites. Of course, don’t think I’m giving Republicans a free pass. They are just as guilty here. Since they were too weak to resist the charms of lobbyists they got burned (though not burned nearly bad enough).

Does this not enrage you that your tax dollars go to pork projects that benefit lobbyists who have essentially bought that pork from our elected representatives with favors, trips, parties, tickets, and what have you?

If not, it should.

According to this piece from WDBJ7, a former youth coach and ACLU leader has been indicted on child porn charges.

Maybe one day Americans will wake up to the dangers of allowing the ACLU to slither into and out of our courts. Of course, there are other perverts who seek child pornography that have nothing to do with the ACLU. But I can’t help but make the connection in my mind from this to the ACLU’s defense of the “rights” of NAMBLA.

This National Journal piece discusses the relationships between President George W. Bush and Nancy Pelosi. How could the two be expected to work well together? In brief, the two are so radically different that I’m amazed they are not constantly and publicly at each others throats.

The differences:

How could these two work well together, much less like each other?

In this piece, Democrats Subverting US Global Strategy, Douglas Hanson reveals the Democrats planned cuts to defense spending. And “subverting” is the right term. I don’t know how any clear-thinking individual could cut funds to critical defensive and offensive military projects- especially missile defense. But they are. If they want to cut spending, why not cut Social Security, cut Welfare, cut congressional salaries, cut pork (especially pork), and any number of other projects that do not directly benefit everyone like military defense does.

Our military has to be powerful enough to defend us. After all, Welfare does you no good if you are dead.

While surrender is not an option, Mort Kondracke’s “Plan B” may be the way to go. As he points out:

“Ever since the toppling of Saddam Hussein, Sunnis - representing 20 percent of the population - have been the core of armed resistance to the U.S. and the Iraqi government. The insurgency consists mainly of ex-Saddam supporters and Sunni nationalists, both eager to return to power, and of jihadists anxious to sow chaos, humiliate the United States and create a safe zone for al-Qaida operations throughout the Middle East.”

Kondracke suggests backing the Shiites and Kurds who make up 60% and 20% of Iraq’s population, respectively. The problem is that this will likely lead to ethnic cleansing. Saddam himself was a Sunni - as were his supporters – but ethnic cleansing is not an option. I don’t care what method is used to wipe out the terrorist insurgents but innocent Sunnis cannot be tortured and killed. There are no guarantees in war, but if US forces can somehow protect innocent Sunnis then Kondracke’s plan may bring victory faster, and with less US casualties, than the current strategy.

It is not the best option, but it may be the winning option.

John Stossel’s The Public Trough Is Bigger Than Ever should serve as a warning to us all; but it won’t. Noting that 52.6% of Americans feed “substantially at the public trough,” one wonders how much longer this situation can continue. In 1950, “only” 28% of Americans lived off their fellow human beings labor.

Government grew under Clinton, has grown under Bush, and will grow under whoever is Bush’s successor. That’s what government does- grow. And since it produces nothing of its own to meet promises it makes that it has no authority in the Constitution to make, it takes its citizen’s money to fuel this growth. The question is, as put by Stossel, “productive Americans have forged ahead despite a constellation of transfer programs, but how long will they continue to do so?”

How long indeed? As Stossel points out, despite Europe’s stagnant economies, high unemployment, and government promises that exceed their ability to meet those promises we’ve still got mindless supports of big government. These people simply refuse to understand that those who can work but do not should be allowed to starve.

I used to dread the day that I know is coming- when Social Security collapses and Medicare becomes a thing of the past - as our government promises more to than it is able to take from its citizens. A lot of people will suffer. They will loose their homes. They will starve. They will wonder why this is happening to them. It will be a tragedy.

But the real tragedy will be their own failure to have depended upon themselves and planned ahead. It will still be sad, despite the fact that it is their fault. But as sad as that day will be I no longer dread it. In fact, I’m looking forward to it. Not for the suffering- which will truly be lamentable and heartbreaking – but for the moment that Americans learn that liberal fantasies of a utopia are no match for the realities of hard work and individual responsibility. It will be the final, and ultimate, repudiation of all the liberal fallacies inflicted upon us by a gigantic government.

Let the troops go without but increase minimum wage. Punish successful people and give to the lazy. Vehemently fight the president and all but ignore terrorists. Yes indeed, Democrats certainly have odd ideas. But none odder than this from The Defenseless Democrats in Investor’s Business Daily where they want to shift intelligence funds away from critical missile defense research to study, of all things, climate change.

Cataclysmic climate change is an inconvenient lie- for anybody with any sense in their heads. Nobody seems to remember the “ice age” scare of the 1970’s. Maybe that’s because it turned out to be a myth. Just like the environmentalist’s latest scare tactic: Global Warming. There is no evidence in support of this false religion – which is how adherents seem to view the movement – where Al Gore is the savior and America (as usual) is the evil Satan figure.

But here is a real threat- nuclear armed terrorists. You want to see real warming? How about New York vaporized off the face of the earth? Would that be hot enough for you? It’s more likely now that the reckless Democrats cut $764 million from the missile-defense budget. They also cut $400 million from the Airborne Laser Program. This system can destroy enemy missiles in their “boost phase” by using a laser cannon mounted onto a modified Boeing 747. Iran and North Korea must be thrilled. If they could vote here it would surely be for the Democrats.

Clearly, Democrats can’t be trusted with power because they use that power to make our country weaker. As the piece points out, Joe Biden, Jack Reed, Robert Byrd, Ted Kennedy, Chuck Schumer and Carl Levin are all guilty parties in this plot to weaken America. But the laurels for most harmful to Americas interests and security goes to John Kerry who has voted against missile defense programs more than 50 times! How much more evidence do you need to show you that you must not vote for these people???

In my latest column I ask where the true leaders are these days. Obviously, I note that you can skip the ranks of the Democratic Party if you want to find any.

According to TheHill.com, Nancy Pelosi (Liberal, CA) is threatening sue President Bush (Good Guy, TX) if he attempts to defend presidential powers from congressional encroachment through a signing statement. This signing statement is a way Bush can sidestep the more foolish and dangerous segments that the Democrats forced into the Iraq war spending bill.

If Pelosi does sue, the case must go all the way to the Supreme Court where, thankfully, the majority has tilted away from the dark liberal tendencies that once controlled the highest court in the land to the enlightened, conservative side of the spectrum. Though one never knows, I believe the court under its current makeup would grasp the importance of the situation and rule in favor of Bush.

Either way, Pelosi is becoming more outlandish and dangerous. Conservatives must remove her from power. The best course of action is to throw her in jail for treason. In her recent trip to Damascus, she clearly violated the Constitutional provision that gives the president the authority to conduct foreign affairs. That’s what the separation of powers specified by the Constitution is all about. Bush has the State Department and the Secretary of State for such missions; Pelosi has no place here whatsoever. Further, the U.S. Supreme Court has previously established that Congress cannot “intrude” into the president’s responsibility of negotiating with foreign powers. Since she violated the Constitution, a felony offense, why is Pelosi freely walking about the streets today? Put her on trial now- there is plenty of evidence to convict and remove this troublesome San Francisco liberal from power. After all, as many liberals cry impeachment for both Bush and Chaney, what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

In this World Net Daily piece we learn that radical homosexuals and their supporters seek to remove references to “mom” and “dad” in public schools because it may “reflect adversely” on deviant homosexual activities. Schwarzenegger vetoed a similarly wicked bill last year but California lawmakers are at it again to force their views on everybody else.

This has to stop. Homosexuality is wrong- just as adultery is wrong, just as stealing is wrong, just as child abuse is wrong, just as pedophilia is wrong. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God so I can’t say I’m any better or worse than anybody else. But I don’t try to spin what I do wrong into a positive light. I’m very, very greedy for example. I feel as if I can’t be generous because of how much of my salary government steals from me, but that’s another matter. Back to the point- extreme greed is not right. It is a sin. I know that and I struggle with it. But you don’t see me in anyone’s face saying “you need to accept my greed, understand it, and allow me to teach it as okay in public schools.”

If you are homosexual then seek help for your problem- just as I would advise a serial adulterer to seek help for their problem. But don’t try to force it into my face. When you do that you only make me and other heterosexuals - who understand you have a problem and so might otherwise be sympathetic to you – angry and feel threatened. That is where much of the perceived hatred for homosexuals comes from. But I don’t hate you or anybody else. I don’t want to see you hurt or anybody else hurt. So it is not your sin itself that makes us indignant. It is the openly flaunting of your homosexuality and trying to tell us and our children that it is okay and perfectly normal. It is not. Keep your problem to yourself just like most everybody else keeps their problems to themselves. We’ll all get along better that way because the people that I know who love their kids will not – I repeat will not – tolerate your agenda in the classroom.