There are days for sunny morning walks in the garden, where dew-bejeweled roses release their fragrance on the light breeze.
These are not those days. These are days of harsh realities demanding sharp answers. This is now … time for thorns.
A minor body beneath the bus…
This little tidbit was mostly lost amid the news that the 9/11 co-conspirators would be tried in our civilian judicial system. It’s very convenient to blame Craig for “mishandling” the Gitmo closure. Bob Bauer, who will take over Craig’s duties, is married to Mao-lover Anita Dunn, so expect more of thew same. But as Tevi Troy points out at The Corner, the result is more likely to be a partisan enabler than a brake. I think that’s precisely why Obama chose him, and that’s not good for either the country or the Constitution.
By the way, did you notice that only FOX mentioned that such a monumental decision is announced by the president, not the attorney general? His Oneness made sure to be out of the country and to have Holder announce this perfidious plan to grant these killers the same constitutional rights Americans have in order to distance himself from it, but is there anyone who believes Obama didn’t tell Holder what conclusion to come to?
Treason, not justice…
Start by reading the letter sent to His Oneness November 9th, then add your signature to the list, which will be updated periodically and sent to the White House.
Next, read this excerpt from Andy McCarthy’s book, Willful Blindness, in light of the treasonous decisions made on where to try the 9/11 conspirators.
And then read Andy’s next post, which points out this decision is just another means of attacking the Bush Administration and anyone else who takes terrorism seriously. It will be a doorway for lefties everywhere to file criminal charges against in European courts and the ICC, and will also provide a huge platform for the terrorists. Even worse, the vast amounts of intelligence — data, means and personnel – which the courts will force the government to give to the defendants will make it easier for their brethren to kill us.
I nearly spewed out my coffee when AG Eric Holder claimed politics had been taken out of this decision. This is PURE politics, NOTHING else. It is insanely dangerous, and it is entirely unnecessary. All five jihadists, led by mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, wanted to plead guilty to the military commissions. The only reason to disallow that is to achieve what His Oneness wants while allowing him to claim he has no responsibility for the prosecutions or the consequences.
I’ll be posting more on this, but for now, get ready to call your Congress critters, the White House, and the Justice Department. We still have time to stop this, but we must act swiftly.
Religious belief…
Since most people are conducting contortions worthy of a Chinese acrobat to avoid mentioning the fact that Major Hasan was a Muslim, I think this look at religion by The Corner’s resident curmudgeonly pessimist, John Derbyshire, is both timely and interesting. Derb is now a US citizen, and someone quick to recognize when his adopted country is disastrously headed towards the conditions of his native England.
I suppose I should disclose that I am a Christian, but not a regular church attendee. My family includes everything from observant Catholics to aethiests, so my view of religious matters from an intellectual standpoint may be a bit odd by most standards.
Was ACORN lying?
ACORN sniffed dismissively that federal funds constituted only a fraction of its income. So why has it filed suit against the government for stopping those funds?
I’d be more interested in finding out who encouraged the criminal enterprise to file the suit, which, given the sorry state of our judiciary, may succeed. Did His Oneness send word to his favorite community organizing group?
Capitalism = prosperity…
From Jay Nordlinger at The Corner comes this wonderful cartoon from 1948. Yes, it’s dated and very corny by today’s standards, but at the beginning of the Cold War it set out a defense of capitalism which still echoes.
Money quote: “When anybody preaches disunity, tries to pit one of us against the other, through class warfare, race hatred, or religious intolerance, you know that person seeks to rob us of our freedom and destroy our very lives. Working together to produce an ever greater abundance of material and spiritual values for all: That is the secret of American prosperity.”
If you don’t think that capitalism is under just as powerful an attack from His Oneness now as it was then from communism, you haven’t been paying attention.
What free market?
If you want a head start on matters economic in the face of the Democrats’ furious push to have the government control everything, you can do no better than to read this post by Veronique de Rugy — and be sure to click on the links too.
And since the Obama Administration has been caught lying through its pearly whites about jobs created/saved, read her additional post on the non-stimulating stimulus and how poorly it was done.
With regard to unemployment, she links to an interesting New York Times piece which you should check out. The post also has another link showing what the actual unemployment rate is — it’s 17.5%. There is also a valid argument that the true rate is over 20%.
Veterans…
If you don’t know how to explain the matchless value of our veterans, this will help.
If you don’t have a couple of minutes for that video, this short piece will do.
Veteran’s Day is important to me, partly because my late father was one of the Greatest Generation, partly because every generation of my family has served in the military since the Revolutionary War.
And for some smiles, go to Mental Floss (h/t Jonah at The Corner) to see videos of dogs welcoming their active duty soldiers home. Is there anything better in the animal world than a dog’s greeting?
If you see vets, thank them. A whole generation who served in Vietnam were attacked and despised, a stain on the American people, not on the military. They have all earned your thanks. What have you done for them?
And a cartoon which makes the point.
Drill!
Whatever one thinks of Sarah Palin, she knows energy, and she correctly points out that America could be far less dependent on foreign energy sources except for government policies.
By now you know my view that global warming/climate change is about power and control, not climate, earth, or people. You probably aren’t aware that it is relatively inexpensive to convert vehicles to natural gas. The process is popular in Europe, but it is being done in the USA. If I had a fleet of trucks which mostly operated in a 100 mile radius, I would convert my vehicles to natural gas or propane in a heartbeat.
I enjoy watching programs on biodiesel systems and such, but I’m more interested in practical solutions for current problems. You’d be amazed at the energy savings possible from some weatherstripping and caulk. The applications require time and care, but neither is difficult, and your payback is immediate. There are plenty of books on basic home tasks and a world of help online — Lowe’s, Home Depot and HGTV all offer tutorials with videos on these and many other projects the average person can manage perfectly well.
Fort Hood address…
For those of you interested, here is the full text of Obama’s remarks at the Fort Hood memorial service.
And the answer to Ralph Peters’ question is “NO.”
I watched the speech, and His Oneness went through the motions, nothing more. Apparently soaring rhetoric is reserved for presidential campaigns, or is it that he didn’t wish to call any attention to a situation conflicting with his desire to ignore Islamic terrorism? I don’t think it is merely his coolness, as mulled over by Toby Harnden.
UPDATE: Allahpundit disagrees with me.
Unhealthy health care bill…
I must say I was surprised to see this, but I have to remind myself that occasionally the WaPo exhibits a sliver of good sense (h/t to Philip Klein at American Spectator).
Still, it can’t please the White House or Pelosi to have it pointed out so clearly that the House bill won’t do what it claims and will likely bankrupt the country. They weren’t that brutal, of course, but that’s the essence of the column.
