Carter admits to being a pervert

I thought Clinton was the only known presidential pervert the US has had. Now Carter in a town hall meeting at his own Carter Town Hall meeting all but admits he is one too. He speaks of two situations most memorable to him in his travels. The first is about a woman's swollen breast from a guinea worm and the other is about a little girl "relieving herself". The story reads:

'The second image Carter recalled was of a young Ethiopian girl’s eagerness to demonstrate that she, like her brother, could use the small latrine their father had made for them.

“She spread her skirt out very carefully and she squatted down to relieve herself.” Carter said.'

Carter then admits to taking pictures of it. I know I will be accused of a personal attack because he is a Democrat, but no matter who did it, that is weird. Then he talks about it in a public speech. I thought there was quite a lot already to be embarrassed about our 39th president:

• Scared by a giant rabbit
  
• Giving away the Panama Canal
• Tough stance boycott of the olympics
• Being suckered in nuclear negotiations with the USSR
• Asking Amy for her advice for world peace
  
• The economic malaise
• Billy / Billy Beer
• Failed attempt at the hostage rescue
• His lifelong habit of worship of tyrannical dictators
• Giving his stamp of approval to obviously fraudulent elections (Ortega, Chavez, etc)
• His anti-American rhetoric in the last decade

Now we hear about him taking pictures of a little girl peeing. Maybe he can show them at the next Democratic convention.

Will they ask her the critical question?

If anybody is either buying or understanding the Judith Miller story, they must be crazy. To sit in jail for 85 days and then decide that it is all right after all to reveal Libby Lewis' name as a source in the Valerie Plame story. We all read reports that the source long ago gave her clearance to reveal his name, but she insisted that was not enough. Now she claims that it is enough.

If she had come out of jail with a downcast look like she just could not take it any more, I might buy it. However, she comes out all smiles acting like a celebrity for the cameras. If you go by what we are being told, nothing is adding up. Here are some logical slow motion points:

• Libby told Miller that she was released from confidentiality.
• Miller still went to jail claiming his release was coerced.
• Miller spends 85 days in jail, only 30 days away from her scheduled release.
• A conversation occurs between Libby and Miller.
  
• Libby says he did not actually name Valerie Plame to Miller.
• If Libby did name her to Miller, then being unwilling to admit he named Plame does not sound like a convincing release.
• Why does Miller take a stand for 85 days, then relent with a partial admission amounting to an unconvincing release?
• Before Miller is released from jail, she agrees to name Libby on the condition that Libby is the only topic discussed in court.
  

The only angle here that makes sense is that Libby was not the only source. The foolish agreement kept the court from asking the simple question: "Was Libby the ONLY source?" However, the media is under no such obligation and I am waiting for some MSM reporter to ask her the question with a camara rolling.

If the circumstances are questionable, the timing is certainly suspect. In the same week there are questions about a stock sale by Bill Frist, and dubious indictment of Tom Delay Miller decides to "out" Libby Lewis, Cheney's Chief of Staff. Of course this again highlights Karl Rove's revealing "Wilson's Wife" to Novak. If the timing of a big cloud of suspicion over Delay, Frist, Rove and Lewis is not enough - it just so happens this occurs right before the next Supreme Court nominee is named. I would be interested in the call or visiting records for Miller in jail in the last week. I want to know who called or went to her and said "Ok, Judith, it's time."

Another democrat gets a pass

Louisiana governor Blanco appeared before the Senate Finance Committee . Prior to going she requested not to be questioned about her response to the hurricane and they rolled over. There are several points here:

1) If they are truly trying to determine what went wrong so it can be prevented in the future, allowing this dodge was very irresponsible. The link between the state and federal governments is critical in the response. If it is not discussed, underlying problems cannot be fixed in that process.

2) Next election I think we will see this used in her opponent's campaign. I can see the commercial "Blanco was too afraid to take questions from the Senate and requested a pass"

While this may not have been the forum to meticulously go over these details, the Finance committee has financial oversight. To ask for funds without discussing areas that pertain to fiscal responsibility is a mistake. "Don't bother me with questions, just write the check."

Flight attendants outraged over new movie

Are things running so smoothly at the flight attendant's unions that they have to worry about the contents of a movie. Over the years all types have been portrayed as "the bad guy" and in this one they chose a flight attendant. Clergyman, teachers, police officers, judges, mothers, fathers, little children, doctors, dentists have all been similarly portrayed and I don't recall them getting upset. This is a fictional movie, not a documentary.

Military critics lack logic

If liberals held themselves to the same standard they hold others, they would call for mass resignations in our education system. The standard they hold the military is that bad apples in the military means the president and his entire administration should resign. They point to the "torture" at Gitmo and other places. They are now pointing to some soldiers taking pictures of Iraqi corpses and distributing them. Somehow this institution of thousands is not entitled to having bad apples like other institutions such as our education system.

In our education system, for years there have been male sexual predators. Now there are female predators seducing elementary school boys. There are child pornographers, drug addicts, thieves, and other various bad elements. The same analogy would apply to student behaviors, where you have bullies, murderers such as those at Columbine, rapists, etc. Should there be massive resignations because of these anamolies?

Liberals inconsistently apply their criticism and outrage. Usually the most vitriolic criticism is for those trying to do the right thing but in some areas fall short. At the same time liberals have a historical track record of turning a blind eye to some of society's most evil elements such as Lenin, Stalin, Mau Tse Tung, Pol Pot, Sadaam Hussein, Muhammed Atta, Daniel Ortega, Arafat, Chavez and Castro. Because of their track record in these people, liberal outrage is a laughable joke. They pass up the log to criticize the spec.

If it makes sense - oppose it!

The link is for a USAToday editorial by Caroline Fredrickson opposing the Carter - Baker commission recommendation to prevent voter fraud. One key element that I am shocked Carter goes along with is to require a photo ID. A photo ID makes alot of sense, but is resisted by claims that it would adversely affect the poor. They are comparing the recommendation to the current infrastructure as if no infrastructural changes would be made if the recommendation were made into law. I would be willing to see the government fund the ID's, provide taxi service for those too poor to come on their own dime, even setting up structured visits to health care facilities as needed. The right of the people to have fair, tamper-free elections is just as fundamental as the right to vote.

Even if a photo id requirement were put in place, the left will next claim that the poor and elderly are more likely to lose their ID making it unfair. Liberal activist judges will no doubt overturn any law along these lines making it a decade before it could be implemented. Then when the supreme court says it is OK, the left will claim the court is in the GOP back pocket, stolen elections, selected not elected, etc.

In recent elections both sides have complain or expressed deep concern about voter fraud. Yet only one side seems interested in doing something to prevent it. This not only removes credibility on the left, but adds suspicion that "the lady doth protest too much". With two rights at stake: the right to vote and the right for a fraud free election, the left thinks one is more equal than the other. If election are rife with fraud, the right to vote is meaningless. Did the people of Iraq exercise their right to vote when Sadaam received 100%? That is not
the right to vote, that is only the right to flip a switch.

Cindy still in media darling phase

The media still can't let go of Cindy in spite of her actions. It is like the old story of a monkey trying to get the ball out of a vase. When it's hand is empty, it can easily go in the vase but when it has the ball it is too big to take out. The media wants to get Bush so bad it can't let go of the ball even though they are beginning to realise their hand is stuck in the vase.

Cindy has decided to make friends with Workers World Party (Communist) group A.N.S.W.E.R. and demonstrated with them this weekend. If you ever wanted to know where the phrase "Commie Lib" came from look no further. Cindy obviously wanted to get arrested as you can tell by the look on her face reads "mission accomplished".

As I have posted before, she is either a Karl Rove plant, or Karl Rove is thinking even he could not have done better than this. In the media darling phase Cindy will draw alot of attention and gather alot of supporters. When it finally universally sinks in that she is a kook and reveals to the US what the left really is, these America hating groups that the Democrats are subservient to, it will be too late to stop the electoral bleeding. Regardless of any success the left has had in turning them against Bush, when it comes to a choice between the GOP and "Karl Marx" Americans will know the clear choice.

Another stroke of brilliance

When I heard some of the ridiculous charges against the Bush response to Katrina, the thought that crossed my mind was that if Bush had actually reacted as they portrayed he should have there would likely have been some kind of outcry. I can picture the reports of national guard soldiers storming the city like it was a battle field in order to occupy the place. There is after all, a reason for leaving such decisions in the hand of the state: in order to prevent the federal government from using flimsy excuses to send troops into states for reasons not related to "helping".

In a stroke of brilliance, according to the story:

"President Bush yesterday sought to federalize hurricane-relief efforts, removing governors from the decision-making process."

The reason this is brilliant is that many on the left will see this step as a power grab. If Bush had proposed this BEFORE Katrina, the outcry would have been tremendous. While the purists will resist this power grab very vocally, others on the left who see Katrina as a vehicle to take Bush down may or may not realize that a public discussion of this will reveal their deceit. Bush was at the mercy of Governor Blanco to request the guardsmen and when asked stated she wanted to wait 24 hours. We don't know if this was due to a) an ingrained liberal aversion for the military b) a purposeful delay to play politics by making Bush look bad or c) absolute stupidity. There is no other reason I can think of.

A vocal opposition by the purists would be a nightmare to the Dem's strategy. It would reveal the false spinning of the Dems AND their water carrying media. It would deny Dems the full use of Katrina in '06 without the issue making them look ridiculous. Finally, a successful resistance to passage of this new policy would both vindicate Bush as well as place a stake in Governor Blanco's political heart. I fully expect to see Louisiana ripped from the tight-clenched hands of the Democrats in the very near future. It may even be more fantastic than the GOP revolution in Georgia.

Martial arts teaches how to take the weight and attack of your opponent to counter and use against him. This master stroke was nothing short of a martial arts take down.

Is there only one comeback kid?

There is alot of attention being given to George Bush's approval numbers. While it is true they have been steadily sinking for the last few months, they have faced a number of challenges. To some degree these numbers could have been kept higher if Bush paid more attention to them. While I think every politician cares about his popularity to some degree, Bush does not seem to devote time or decisions to boosting them. In fact, the post Katrina visits are the first sign I recall seeing that they might hold some significance to him.

There were several key low points in Bill Clinton's career that he was able to rise above gaining the moniker "Come Back Kid". I think George W. Bush learned a valuable lesson from his father: the timing of polls is critical. After the victory in the gulf, his poll numbers were 88%. After the Dems swindled him into breaking his no new taxes pledge, they dwindled all the way to the election. The fact is the media abhors high poll numbers, so they will seek to do their part in dwindling them. To have high poll numbers at this time is electorally a waste. The times he will need the highest poll numbers is November 06 and November 08, and I am sure in January 09 he would like to go out well, too.

I predict the numbers will languish about where they are at right now until the end of the year. I suspect things to begin to occur early next year with perhaps a big event next September. You will likely see his numbers rise steadily and spike right before the '06 election. I have predicted a pick up of 2 Senate seats for the GOP - against most current thinking I am sure. With these pickups and Bush's numbers on the rise, there will be enough capital for a final push in his presidency to go out well.

I will suffer the inevitable question of "what are you smoking, dude", but I would ask the same of those on the left who see Al Gore as their best shot at the White House in '08. For the most part reasons for anger at Bush has been manufactured by the left. The elections of 2000 and '04 are the only true reasons for their anger; the rest is blown up. Most are immune to the temper tantrums of the left, but even if some have been caught up in this quagmire of deceit anger does not last long. We have seen the highest level of anger in the country dwindle after 9-11. As for the war, most don't want to see another Vietnam early pull-out. So time is not on the side of the left, but on Bush's side.

So look for talk of another "Come Back Kid" in the future.

Immigration nominee too green?

Bush has drawn criticism by nominating a seemingly non-credentialed young lady, Julie Meyers, to head immigration. After Michael Brown all nominations are falling under scrutiny. Conservatives are particularly hard on Ms. Meyers, including right wing champion Michelle Malkin.

Actually, my take on this is that perhaps due to her youth and inexperience Ms. Meyers may inadvertantly enforce immigration laws. Lacking experience in immigration, she may actually make the mistake of sealing the borders instead of turning a blind eye as the experienced immigration heads have been doing for years. I say give her a shot.

Global Warming on Mars

This news story reveals that the South Pole cap of Mars is eroding due to a warming trend. Sounds alot like global warming and the melting of earth's polar ice caps. This may be the best evidence so far of life on Mars. Apparently the red planet is populated by Republicans and greedy capitalists that have trashed the environment causing global warming. No doubt the liberal scientists of the planet have been putting out warnings for years to no avail.

Actually, it is George Bush's fault. During his administration NASA's rover touched down and roamed all over the pristine and pure environment reeking havoc on the fragile Martian environment.

Just keep president Bush away from a telescope. He might look at Jupiter and cause the red spot to disappear.

Cindy Sheehan a Karl Rove plant?

I have avoided criticizing Cindy Sheehan too much due to the loss of her son. However, the more I see of her the more I suspect she is a Trojan Horse sent by Karl Rove to further take down the left. First, she has a wonderful son and a sensible (soon to be former) husband. Then she had nothing but good things to say about George Bush a year ago. Now she comes out as a 60's flower child, gets a following of both the kooks and many in the mainstream media (I know:redundant). She then gets wackier and wackier. She even comes out against the campaign in Afghanistan. A majority of Democrats support Afghanistan as an unquestioned response to 9-11. Then she got on the global warming band-wagon with Katrina. Then she claimed the national guard was occupying New Orleans and needs to get out.

Today she calls out Hillary Clinton for supporting the war in Iraq. Of course most Democrats know it is a simple ploy for Hillary to garner votes in '08 because she is tough on national security. She doesn't dare be against it for fear some good will come of it and she would be left hanging on the wrong side. So most Dems give her a pass. Cindy challenges her to speak out against Iraq or lose her job. Of course the hard-core kook fringe that controls the Dems are going to support Cindy and cause trouble for Hillary. They certainly cheered that line in her speech.

Karl Rove is the master of the "rope-a-dope". This is basically a trick designed to get people to do something they think is the opposite that you want. Then when they do, you spring the trap already prepared ahead of time. So here is Rove's plan in slow motion:
- Cindy becomes darling of the media by bashing Bush at his home in Crawford
- Cindy gains a following of media, leftist fringe and moderate Dems
- Cindy becomes a household name that is associated with the Dems against Bush
- Once the hook is well set, Cindy evolves into a maniacal kook
- During this evolution, Dems cringe but continue to support her
- When Cindy reaches the end of her evolution all see this mega-loon and in their minds link her to the Dems and main stream media where both take a huge credibility hit as they are all lumped in with the loony leftist fringe.
- From then until Rove is gone, every potential media darling will be heavily scrutinized; unless they don't learn their lesson and he pulls it off again.



Update: Police intervene in a Cindy Sheehan rally because the organizer did not get a permit. I wonder how consistent they are in enforcing this? Regardless, this is an interesting development that may look to some like retribution for her comments against Hillary yesterday. Now you will see a polarization between moderate Dems who want Hillary for president and pure leftist kooks who don't care how many elections are lost. My theory continues to hold some water in spite of it being conspiratorial.

Danny Glover delivers low hanging curve ball

In my link (click on title) the following quote appears quoting Danny Glover:

"When the hurricane struck, it did not turn the region into a Third World country ... it revealed one," actor and activist Danny Glover said in a speech with Harry Belafonte in which both criticized the government, not only for the response to the hurricane but for the conditions prior to it.

Danny, you say Katrina REVEALED a third world country. Let's see, for years Louisiana including New Orleans has been controlled by Democrats at the state and local level. I say you are right, due to this location being totally subject to the tenets of the Democratic party, these good people have been help back by economic and social oppression in spite of billions of federal dollars going there. It is time for a change in Lousiana and I would wager we will see those changes begin in the next few elections.

I recently saw Senators Landrieu and Vittner being interviewed at the same time. It was obvious that Vittner had his finger on the pulse of the impending overthrow of the Dems while Landrieu was talking herself out of a job. Looking forward to future La. elections!

Siemens timing is curious

The timing of German company Siemens announcement of 2400 layoffs is curious. The immediate business day after the election. Germany's economy has been choking under the socialism of Schroeder. Last I heard German unemployment was 12% and climbing. Siemens is a well respected icon in Germany, and I am certain if layoffs announced prior to the election would have driven home the point that a change was needed. Their economy needs the flat tax that Ms. Merkel is proposing to implement, and if Siemens would have announced prior the need would have been underscored. At this point it is not certain which will become chancellor, but if Ms. Merkel squeaks it out it is not likely she would have the backing for the sweeping reforms needed. In fact this election could be a major spike in the coffin of the European Union.

Eureka! Power Line News

I don't know how I've missed it, but I have finally found Power Line News. It is a definite keeper. I have been very careful to select links to my blog, and this is my next pick. Check it out.

Can't shake the feeling there is something weird going on

In the last month I have spent a fair amount of time delving into the world of liberals. I have watched more CNN and MSNBC. I have deeply explored the blogosphere of the left. I have even listened to Air America some since I noticed they are on the Chicago radio. The result is that I am absolutely stunned and astounded. I have tried to be completely objective. Not to boast but I think I have a gift for being fair and objective. I would call a spade a spade even if it killed me.

My objective opinion of my research of the left is - - they are stark raving crazy. The things they say are like people you know that just talk a mile a minute and never say anything. While at times they make a rational point, 99% of the time they are spewing out hatred, anger and frustration. Their "facts" are usually a straw man they have quickly constructed and then continue to argue against the straw man. It really boggles the mind that they think anyone not already of their mind set could take them seriously.

There is the rub. I can't shake the feeling that these guys, the mainstream media and most politicians are up to something sinister. My best guess is that they are purposefully churning out nonsense that inevitably will turn people away from trusting them. Like they are flushing out a rabbit or a pheasant in hunting - toward the hunter. Those on the right keep moving toward the left, while the far left's loony ideas push people toward the right. They run toward the right either as a place they think they can trust, or as an alternative to the craziness.

Even with politicians, most current Republicans are to the left of JFK and LBJ and moving more to the left with each election cycle while talking about moving right. The Democrats are getting more and more extreme and incredible which only pushes people to the right. They have this unending shrill criticism of all things 'George Bush' and / or GOP, yet they propose no answers or solutions. They see the results of this at the elections, yet they continue to do the same thing.

I am not so trusting and gullible that I do not know there is opportunity every day to be duped by somebody on the left or right. However, the magnitude of what I see as a potential mass duping is a bizaare phenomenon.

I have my eyes on both sides. On the left is sure folly. There is nothing there at all, but when both the left and right seem controlled and maneuvered by some strange hand it is almost enough to make me a believer in conspiracy theories.

Global Warming - past the point of return

In this article linked by my header, scientists are claiming global warming is so entrenched it is now past the point of no return. GOOD. Now that we can't do anything about it, we can take this off the table and move on to more important issues. Once we make that claim, will scientists then say they may be wrong about the point of no return. Funny how they can be selectively sure of their correctness. If they are wrong about the point of no return, then they logically could be wrong about global warming itself. "No, no were sure about that part." Right, man.

Another person arrested for defending himself

I have linked to a tragic story of road rage. Apparently a teenage boy cut off a 53 year old man who got so angry he followed the teen home and tried to run him down with his car. The man actually struck the teenager with his car. The boy was fortunately not injured badly, but angry and not knowing what else to expect from the raging man, went to the drivers side of the car and punched him twice through the open window. He apparently got in some good hits because tragically the man lost consciousness and later died.

Two things jumped out at me when I read this tragic story. First, given the circumstances of defending himself why was this boy arrested? It is a sickening trend in our society that those who defend themselves are arrested first and (hopefully) freed later when the facts come out. After being chased and shouted at for three miles and run down by the car, how did the boy know if the man had a weapon or not? The best action was to immobilize the man which he did. Perhaps the medical examiner will shed light onto why 2 punches to the head killed the man, but it was not reasonable to think they would. It is not reasonable to assume the boy was trying to kill the man.

Our society, however, increasingly frowns on people who defend themselves. Whether it is with fists or weapon, self defense is becoming taboo. This is the nonsensical thinking that lead to much of the tragedy in New Orleans, where people no longer think of looking to their own safety. Instead they only look to the government and many paid for it with their lives. Forget poverty and color - most had two healthy feet and could have walked if nothing else to safer ground. While looking to your own safety may be a last resort, it is often the only "resort" you may have or you will die.

The second thing in the story is how this faulty thinking is exhibited in our education system; which is in turn being propigated to the students and making it even more prevelent in our society. At the end of the story there is a quote from the boy's school superintendent: ' "The boy, she said, is an "excellent student, which is why this is very uncharacteristic." ' Uncharacteristic??? As if a good student would not choose to defend himself! We continuously see ridiculous statements like these from our educators. Is it any wonder that more and more are sending their kids to private schools or home schooling.

If the boy and witnesses are telling an accurate story of what happened here, the boy should be out of jail NOW.

Reuters asks to be kicked again

In another unbelievably mean-spirited photo incident, Reuters hatred and bias against Bush turns scatalogical. Somehow a note to take a bathroom break is news to Reuters. Would they rather him blurt out "hold on folks, I have to pee". While this simple photo may not seem important to most, Americans need to see the news organizations as they are. If they will post these non-subtle personal digs at Bush, what other subtle bias is lurking in ALL of their news stories? As people wake up to this fact more and more turn to alternative news sources. When you see the Fox News Channel sweeping the ratings across the board and growing, it is not because they are more entertaining. My claim has consistently been that people watch/read the news source they trust.

Reuters borrows CNN's 'Kick Me' sign

This ridiculous close up shows a mean spirited nature in Reuters. I'm sure most have noticed Judge Roberts has very unique eyes. However, they look fine from a natural distance. Can you imagine the uproar if they did a close up of the bags under Hillary's eyes? Or a close-up of her saddle-bags for that matter. This is another case of Reuters like CNN taking a bite out of the credibility zeroing apple. And what did they gain by it? A slap on the back in the bar after work tonight?

Hypocrisy of the left swirls like London fog

The chicken in the cage is dead and it's time to reach for our gas masks. A weapon of mass regurgitation has been set off in the form of hypocrisy. There are so many things the left accuses the Bush administration of doing that they themselves do. It is like some sort of psychological mirror complex where what they should see in the mirror somehow they think they see in others.

Basically it all boils down to the left going through this presidency with chronic foam on their chin - fomenting whenever the president just breathes. Everything that goes wrong is a brand new opportunity to tar and feather Bush. The cart is before the horse here. If they truly cared about people, they would want to discover what happened,how to fix it and how to prevent it from happening again. This process of determining what happened doesn't work very well when there are preconceived ideas prior to doing the research.

With every accusation that comes out from the left about Katrina, there are many layers of government, people, votes, actions and decisions that participated in the problem. Each time we hear Bush did such and so, we look and find significant culpibility in others.

With Michael Brown you have a heyday on the left of charging how irresponsible it was to appoint someone with his "experience". That may be true and a blot on Bush's record, BUT it also lays bare how irresponsible Democrats were during these Senate confirmation processes. While highly qualified appointees to various positions get grilled, stalled, smeared and sometimes blocked, Michael Brown sails through on a VOICE VOTE OF 100% CONFIRMATION.

While the Dems pompously proclaim the rights of the Senate to advise and consent as an excuse to harrass good nominees like Condi Rice, John Bolton, Gonzales, Priscilla Owen, Miguel Estrada, etc. they fall asleep at the switch when someone like Michael Brown is nominated. The Senate Democrats decrying "Brownie's" appointment are hypocrites of the foulest kind because they had the power to stop it.

I'm not sure if the left will ever learn that hypocrisy and credibility are not compatible.

We need to insist on a real memorial for flight 93

Since the outrageous revalation of the selected memorial design for flight 93 there has been quite alot of heated discussion. Many see the obvious similarity between the crescent shape on the design and the Islamic crescent. If the leaders of Islam had across the board denounced the attacks of 9/11 and handed Osama Bin Laden on a silver platter to the US, the similarity would be less innappropriate. Since they dug in their heels on Bin Laden, cheered and danced in the streets without rebuke and claimed the US deserved it , the crescent is an outrageous insult to the victims, their loved ones and our country.

There are many foolish arguments claiming we should not be offended. Here are some:

1) Why are you right-wing neo-cons wasting time on a non-issue? Answer: They just love throwing around the name neo-con whether or not it applies. It is not a non-issue to those of us who see 9/11 as an act of pure evil against innocents, as opposed to those who try to find reasons why the US deserved it. Finally, if it is non-issue then those who have no problem with the proposed design can step aside and allow those of us who do to tank this plan. Any resistance on their part robs them of the right to claim it is a non-issue.

2) Some fools have done comparisons to "crescent-shaped" symbols in our country like the "C" logo of the Christian coalition, or the crescent on the South Carolina state flag. Answer: While they can foolish claim that the definition of a crescent can include a half circle or more, most people think of a crescent as more than a half circle and looking different from the letter "C". The astute person will notice that the words Christian AND Coalition begin with the letter "C" and realize that this reason is much more likely than copying the Islamic crescent (do I really need to point that out - I guess so). The crescent moon shape is very prevalent in American culture, so it is not surprising that it appears on the South Carolina flag (perhaps it came from the common outhouse crescent). It also appeared on the flag long before 9/11. I highly doubt if any South Carolina official would propose using it on the flag AFTER 9/11.


3) Families are quoted as being accepting of the design. Answer: I have seen several news stories claiming a positive reaction by family members to the design. Since the design is not ugly, this is not a surprising fact. However, in none of the news stories I have seen was there any reference that a possible similarity was pointed out to the families and then get a reaction. Also, I have only seen positive comments from a few family members. There are hundreds of family members. I would want to hear from them AFTER pointing out a "possible" similarity.

4) The similarity was not intentional. Answer: Even in the unlikely event that this is true, most people after having such things pointed out to them stop in their tracks and say "oh, maybe we shouldn't risk causing them pain". There are also reports that a similarity was anticipated and that during finalization some on the committee recommended using a word like circle or arc instead of crescent in the name "Crescent of Embrace".


I think a more appropriate memorial would be to have in stone a cross-section of a portion of an airplane with men and women rising from their seats with purpose to storm the cockpit and foil the terrorists. A brass plate under the stonework would say in bold lettering "Let's Roll" with names of the passengers and crew lost that day. A denouncement of the evils of terrorist attacks on the innocent would also be a plus.

Here is some information for to contact the superintendent of the flight 93 memorial:

Phone: (814)443-4557
Fax: (814)443-2180

Just imagine a memorial design for Pearl Harbor that included a picture of a "rising sun". In a land of free speech there are plenty of opportunities to make statements in support of the enemy and in blame of this country. A memorial of these heroic victims is not the appropriate place. Please call or fax these numbers to register your opinion.

September 11, 2001: the day we were revealed for what we are

From the moment the planes hit the twin towers until now Americans were revealed for what they were. In some cases that was great even to heroic, while in other cases an enemy within. Even before United flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, PA. heros were born as the men of the flight determined they would not die without a fight. When the passengers of the other flights were told by the terrorists that if they did not resist all would be fine. By this time the passengers of flight 93 knew they were liars and rose up with the battle call "Let's roll". When the towers were hit, heroes from the police and fire departments risked and gave their lives attempting to save others. When the towers fell, the people of New York showed what they were made of as they helped others less fortunate than themselves. The leadership of New York showed that it could rise to the occasion and lead when leadership was needed most. George W. Bush showed both compassion and firm resolve. On that day, people saw that he was genuine. Whether you agreed with his politics or not, you knew he was the real thing.
All over the country, we saw that people could step up and help their fellow man even from afar with donations and prayers. September 11 revealed to us what was important in life. For a time we we began to really notice our fellow Americans around us. Americans looked upward and outward. Church attendance increased for a time and more people spoke with each other and about more meaningful things. Americans had a renewed spirit of patriotism as they clearly saw how much God has blessed this country and how great it is to be an American. Not only beauty was revealed on that day, however. The ugliness began with the first tower strike as we saw evil most had not seen in their lifetime. We saw the evil face of a terrorist in Mohammed Atta and Osama Bin Laden. We saw evil in an Islamic world not willing to condemn the attacks, even seeing many cheer and dance in the streets. We saw evil in our own country as slowly voices began to emerge actually hinting that American actions may have played a part in the attacks. The evil began to get more bold and soon we heard some boldly blaming the US for the attacks and defending those that did them. Many leaders also saw that we could no longer always wait until attacked before using military force. With evil so present in the world, preemption in some cases would be the only way that had a chance at preventing more massive attacks. September 11 revealed those in power or wielding influence who were willing to risk American lives because they did not have the backbone to preemptively strike. Finally, we saw revealed many willing to politicize September 11 in order to advance their agenda. The 9/11 Commission was exhibit A in how far some would go to score politically; looking for ways to point fingers of blame in hopes of garnering votes instead of locating the real causes of why September 11 happened. These games were played throughout the presidential election in a shameless manner.

Yes, September 11 revealed many things and has many lessons for us. Americans are fast forgetting these important things. The prudent man or woman will not forget that tragic day in our country's history.

Time to check legalities but no time for planning

Someone has gone through the trouble to take a satellite photo of New Orleans and notate some very useful information. In addition to the now infamous buses, this person shows the location of stocks of food, supplies and water in an unflooded area AND an unflooded route to the Superdome to get those supplies there. When a mandatory evacuation was ordered BEFORE Katrina hit, Mayor Nagin (or some other official) picked up his phone and commissioned some lawyers to research the legality of doing that. At some point while uncertain about evacuating, it was decided to encourage people to go to the Superdome. If there was time to call about legalities, time to decide to send people to the dome AND time to let people know to go to the dome SURELY there was time to locate supplies to send to the dome. The picture shows their location. Doesn't a leader think things through to the end? Apparently not. Later at some point, the Red Cross offered to bring supplies to the dome, but Governor "blocking" Blanco stopped that from happening so as not to encourage more people to go to the dome. Did either of these individuals think this through to the end? No. It is obvious they did not. While FEMA can be criticized for it's performance, if these two had done their job or thought things through almost all would have been either evacuated or better cared for until FEMA could get in gear.

Where are the missing leaders?

While many criticize city, state an federal leadership in the New Orleans crisis, my question is where were the leaders among the victims? I received an email from my brother describing the 1970's flooding of the Brisbane River and the subsequent actions of leaders and victims. It describes leaders within and help from neighboring people. It ends with "Citizens who, at the first sign of trouble, stand around bewildered. You see it on the news. Faces screaming, 'Help me!', 'Tell me what to do!' "

What has happened when people cannot take leadership in dire circumstances? Why could not the victims band together as a community and watch each other's backs instead of standing by while looting and rapes occurred?

How would these people have acted if there was no sense of a government agency stepping in? How does the knowledge that some agency is coming to help change how people make decisions? Instead you have the people just taking up residence in the Superdome and Convention Center waiting for help to arrive. You have the mayor instead of using available resources to evacuate or help afterward waiting for state help to arrive. You have the state waiting for FEMA to arrive. FEMA has always been a red taped, bureaucratic federal agency that cannot move quickly in most disasters, much less one like this where there is mass flooding. To stand around waiting on FEMA is foolish and irresponsible.

If these people had a mindset that nobody was coming to help, most would have stirred themselves to action to save themselves and their families instead of waiting. The legacy of a bloated government is created dependency. Liberals either want the masses dependent or they cannot grasp the disservice they do to their fellow man when they rob them of the opportunity to help themself. This does not mean society or the government should not help. Just that the help given should not be seductively addicting.

I thought we were honoring the dead, not the killers

The leaders of al-quaeda must be very proud today. A memorial design has been selected that seems to give honor to the hijackers, not the victims of Flight 93. We all know that al-quaeda is a radical Islamic group that hijacked 4 aircraft on 9/11. If an al-queada member would have been commissioned to design a memorial to give praise and honor to the killers of that day, I think it would look very similar to the design that has been selected.

The news report gets some nice reactions from family members of the victims. Indeed if there were no symbolism attached to the Red Crescent, the design would be quite nice. However, as is written in this link, the Red Crescent is THE symbol of Islam and these killings were done in the name of Islam regardless of how many muslims espouse this type of action. Indeed, neither the murders of 9/11, nor the bombings in London, nor the the gruesome acts of the insurgent terrorists in Iraq have been strongly denounced by the leaders of Islam. There have been a few timid words here and there, but no strong categorical denouncement.

Is it a surprise that the designers of the design come from Los Angeles, a major hub of people who are rooting for the insurgents to win? The initial responses of the family members were likely due to them not making a connection between the design and the symbol. The reporter should go back and say "Some have commented on the similarity between the design and the Red Crescent. Does this trouble you at all?" If they are still fine with it, then who am I to say anything. I think that once the similarity is pointed out they will recoil in horror. This is a disgrace.

Libs suddenly convinced of my polls, smolls post

Those who usually tout polls as being the end-all of truth, will likely suddenly embrace my "polls, smolls" attitude. Drudge just put up a flash report of a CNN USA Today / Gallup poll showing only 13% of the people blame Bush most for the handling of the Katrina recovery. It says:

"Blame Game -- 13% said George W. Bush is "most responsible for the problems in New Orleans after the hurricane"; 18% said "federal agencies"; 25% said "state and local officials"; 38% said "no one is to blame"; 6% had no opinion. -- 29% said that "top officials in the federal agencies responsible for handling emergencies should be fired"; 63% said they should not; 8% had no opinion."

If the poll had shown the majority blaming Bush, many would embrace it. Since it does not this poll will likely be avoided by the MSM. Or they will ridicule people for their stupidity.

Polls, Smolls

Polls are pretty worthless things. While many in politics live and die by them, the really do not accomplish much. The same people that might point to the results of a poll showing lower support for the Iraq war might pretend this ABC poll showing a minority of people actually blame Bush for the response problems with Katrina. This basically means that people have their opinions and if a poll agrees with it, they tout it. If not, they ignore it. So I do not tout this ABC poll, merely refer to it. I am sure if the media keeps chiseling away they can change those numbers in a week or two.

Others actually are under the delusion that if a majority of people agree with something it must be so. I think there have been obvious moments in history that prove that the majority can often be wrong. In those times it takes a leader to do the right thing whether others agree. The leader must lead and hope that history vindicates him. The concensus leader who makes decisions based on the ever changing winds of opinion cannot be trusted to do the right thing.

Polls are also influenced by false information. False information by the way, can be believed by the person distributing it. I am sure many in the media actually believe the false statements they make. They also as I mentioned earlier, follow a poll with reporting designed to change the results in a future poll.

Finally, contrary to the lazy media's current trends polls are not news. Instead of doing the difficult task of investigating, today's mediocre media will simply commission a poll and create a story based on it. The good news is that I think so many polls of this and that are making the public immune to any influence they may have once had. So I say "Polls, Smolls"

The more they try to blame, the more foolish they sound

The problem with the liberals is that their utter hatred for Bush completely blinds them from having an objective perspective. They are like a piano that plays one note and they keep banging on that one key over and over again; all the while they are thinking they are sounding credible.

I would be remiss if I claimed that the Bush administration handled this perfectly. There are obviously problems in FEMA that need to be evaluated and addressed. An objective person, however, would begin at the individual level and go outward (city, county, state, then federal) evaluating what preparation plans existed and how they were executed before laying the blame at the feet of one individual.

What was the plan for evacuation and rescue at the local level? What was the plan for policing the area after such a disaster? If people were to stay as is always the case, what preparations and warnings were given to spur individuals to stock up on water and food? It appears that New Orleans and Lousiana were all along planning on leaving it up to the federal government to take over from the first minute after Katrina struck. If that were the case, did they communicate that they were planning to do NOTHING but cry to FEMA for help?

This is not an unsuspected disaster. For decades they have known that the levee needed bolstering to handle a strong hurricane. On the individual level, people both chose to live in and stay in a dangerous place. On the state and local level we have seen there were plenty of buses that could have been used for mass evacuation. There were a high number of deserters on the police force. On the state level, reserves were not mobilized quickly to help and there are plenty of school buses in the entire state that could have been mobilized to use for evacuation. FEMA should have recognized sooner that the lower levels were failing miserably in their efforts and come sooner. A disaster scenario should have been on file for this situation as it was not unlikely. Finally, while Bush does hire administration officials to orgnize and plan, he should have been more attentive even if he would have been accused of being a camera hog.

So there is plenty of blame to go around, but the libs are giving out free passes right and left to anyone but Bush. They just cannot be believed due to their myopic partisanship. The more shrill they get, the more thinking people will turn away. Additionally, as always they only have criticism and no answers. If they think they are going to turn this into votes they are sadly mistaken. Who wants to vote for those who can only criticize and have no solutions of their own?

As a follow up here is a link to a fascinating post from EU Rota showing how the libs are grasping at every straw and scraping every barrel to drudge out blame for Bush but keep striking out.

Time for the Mayor to face tough questions

While many are singling out Bush for 100% of the blame, there is an interesting picture circling the blogosphere. I took the time to attempt to count the buses in this picture that could have been used hours before Katrina hit to evacuate alot of people. While it is hard to get an exact count without going cross-eyed, there are over 200 buses in this picture. I distinctly remember as a kid riding these buses and seeing the "Capacity 66" at the front. Seeing as it was an emergency, we could round it to 70 per bus. Just using the buses in the picture would have evacuated 14,000 people! Judging by the angle there is at least 100 more buses in that lot. That would bring it to 21,000 that could have been moved. Of course a 1-2 hour drive would be all that was needed to get people to safety, so they could have made at least 2 trips. That would bring the total to 42,000 people that could have been evacuated using these buses. In addition, the buses would not be sitting in water being damaged at the expense of the tax payers. Of course since the mentality seems to be that only the federal government can help people and the buses are state owned so that would not work. Yeah, that mayor has been shooting off his mouth quite a bit. It will be interesting to see if they ask him about the buses. I can just see the "Homina Homina" from Ralph on the Honeymooners.

Update: Ok, I just saw that junkyardblog was already on top of this and gets similar numbers plus some interesting commentary on the mayor crying "we need 500 buses". oops!

The Blame Bush Game

One thing that the blogosphere of the left can't come to grips with is that if every single time something goes wrong they lay 100% of the blame at Bush's feet that they will not be perceived as credible. There are a few very aggressive and very venomous blogs I have been visiting the last few days that will never get past the 20% core of looneys that they represent. Every time there is a cloud in the sky, it is an opportunity to knock Bush around. If they hit a pothole driving home from work, I am sure you would hear them say "@#&^! Bush".

Leftists always overplay their hand. When the levee broke, within hours they're creating posts showing why Bush is to blame. I honestly think some of them were doing research on New Orleans while Katrina was still a tropical storm. Then the moment the levee breaks "Aha! Did you know Bush cut the budget for this and that and the other thing!" They think of course that somehow a calculated political blame game gives them the appearance of caring about the hurricane victims.

Regardless of what happened in the budget this year, New Orleans and hurricanes greater than
Cat 3 have been in existence a long time. Why wasn't the levee engineered to stand up to a Cat 5 decades ago? Where was New Orleans, where was the state, where were other congresses and administrations? All get a free pass so that one lone man can take the whole blame! This somehow makes them credible? Then add names like monkey and bubble-boy and suddenly it is indisputable in their mind.

Cindy Sheehan uses the death of her son to score political points and now the left exploits the death of Katrina victims for their political gain. Since they overplay their hand, the American people see right through it.

Tee Ball for Libs

Ok, all you libs who have spent 5 years spewing nothing but hatred and criticism for Bush have an opportunity to say something nice about him today. According to this story we now have a incredibly low 4.9 unemployment rate. That is virtually full employment. While you make comments about Bush being stupid, this is quite an accomplishment for a so called "monkey" you like to brand him with. Unlike Clinton, there are actually policies driving this economy and not just being carried by the dot.com phenomenon.

So today there are no fast or curve balls, it is just sitting there on the tee waiting for you libs to hit it. After all if you are going to constantly claim that he does 100% everthing wrong, you will not have an ounce of credibility.

More surprise kudos

Unlike liberals, I will gladly give out kudos to those on the other side when they deserve it. After all when they do something right I want to encourage it. Today's kudos are non-political other than they go to those that many dislike for political reasons: the French. Apparantly, a French company has designed the Poseidon system for swimming pools. The link is to a news story where the system monitoring the swimming pool identified that a little girl had sunk to the bottom and was drowning - sending out an alert to the lifeguard. The girl was able to be saved because of this great technology. I'll treat them to a surrender by surrendering some kudos.

Libs take note on how to find some good in those that you usually see bad in. It is what happens when you wish well for all mankind regardless of whether or not they agree with you. Now go out and find something good to say about Bush. It's very therapeutic.