The speculation about Zacharias Moussaoui's has ended, knowing that he will be imprisoned for the rest of his life. Peggy Noonan is displeased because he didn't get the death penalty.

Excuse me, I'm sorry, and I beg your pardon, but the jury's decision on Moussaoui gives me a very bad feeling. What we witnessed here was not the higher compassion but a dizzy failure of nerve.

[…]

It is as if we've become sophisticated beyond our intelligence, savvy beyond wisdom. Some might say we are showing a great and careful generosity, as befits a great nation. But maybe we're just, or also, rolling in our high-mindedness like a puppy in the grass. Maybe we are losing some crude old grit. Maybe it's not good we lose it.

[…]

He knew the trigger was about to be pulled. He knew innocent people had been targeted, and were about to meet gruesome, unjust deaths.

He could have stopped it. He did nothing. And so 2,700 people died.

Peggy may think that we wimped out by not sitting his ass down in the electric chair and pulling the switch. But she's overlooked a couple of things.

First, crazy or not, Moussaoui wanted to die, to become a martyr for the twisted harabahist ideology of a fascist Islamic cult. We denied him that 'honor'. He will rot away in a prison cell, out of sight and with no contact with the outside world for the rest of his life.

Second, by sentencing Moussaoui to life in prison at the federal Supermax facility in Colorado, we have done far worse than put him to death. He will be in solitary confinement for the rest of his life. He will have no visitors. He will have no contact with other inmates. He will be locked in his cell 23 hours a day. The only persons he will see will be the guards who will deliver his meals three times a day or escort him to a room for his daily 60 minute exercise period. That is it. He may, on occasion, be visited by some law enforcement or governmental official, but that's all. No friends. No relatives. No imams. Nobody.

To reiterate, we have done far worse than kill him. We have made him a non-entity, a living ghost who will quickly fade out of the the public's memory. And then he will die, as the presiding judge said, quoting T.S.Eliot, “with a whimper.”

I can think of no better fate for him.

Addendum: Do not think that because I believe he received an appropriate sentence that I am against capital punishment. I am not. I believe there are crimes so heinous that death is the only remedy. As I said above, in Moussaoui's case we denied him what he sought and in the process did more than kill him. We made him insignificant, something he feared far more than dying.

The great site NumbersUSA has expanded very fast in the past year. Their website lets you fax Congress for free and let your voice be heard on immigration issues.

94,000 additional people in the past year have been free faxing to fix our broken immigration system!

I firmly believe that the faxes from their members had a lot to do with the pressure applied to our representatives in the House that got H.R. 4437 passed in December.

Now they need to raise a few bucks to expand their system infrastructure to handle the explosive growth.

The good news, they have found some grateful soul who cares about the issue so much they will do a 2 for 1 matching donation!

So please, head over to their donation page and send them a few dollars. Even if you just send $20 dollars that will mean $60 dollars to them with the 2 for 1 donation!

And if you haven't already, go fax your Congressional Representatives and let your voice be heard on immigration reform.

If you run a website feel free to copy and paste this in full.

Philadelphia's Independence Mall - home of the Liberty Bell and of Independence Hall - was home to quite a spectacle earlier today as 1000 illegal aliens and their supporters marched against proposed immigration legislation. Some of them were even waving large Mexican flags. There are pictures of the protest here (including this with the flags). Here's a report from the local paper.

This was part of the “Day Without an Immigrant” protest. Illegal aliens were asked to not go to their jobs at Philly's restaurants. As was made clear in an earlier article, many Philly restaurants knowingly employ illegal aliens. It also contained a damning quote from the National Restaurant Association.

Realistically speaking, we only have two choices in this matter:

1. Give illegal aliens an amnesty or a “guest” worker scheme of some kind. (Alternatively, just leave things as they are). Those forces who support illegal immigration will still be out there, and they'll even have more power than before. And, they'll continue to support illegal immigration that occurs as a result of the amnesty. Expect to see more protests of this kind until illegal aliens are given almost all the rights of American citizens. Expect to see hostile foreign governments gaining more and more power inside our country and perhaps even agitating their citizens inside our country.

2. Completely oppose those forces who support illegal immigration. That includes those corrupt politicians who for one reason or another support illegal immigration.

With the second option, prices might rise. Would you rather pay a bit more at local restaurants, or would you rather have foreign citizens who are here illegally wave their flags on Independence Mall?

So you live in a state not affected by illegal aliens, or so you think. Did you know that they count illegal aliens in the census? Well they do and these numbers are put towards how the population is apportioned for seats in Congress.

Non-border states and states without a high population of illegal aliens probably do not take into account the fact that they are slowly being affected by states with high numbers of illegals. By including illegal aliens in the count states like California and Texas receive more seats in the House of Representatives and those with fewer illegal aliens lose seats. Illegal immigration is truly a national issue and not just a problem for those states being inundated with the security and economic implications of being flooded with them.

Your government is being hijacked by illegal immigration and the politicians and states that support them.

Boston Globe

A Republican lawmaker yesterday proposed changing the US Constitution to exclude non-citizens from the census for the purpose of drawing congressional districts, a move that effectively would deny them a voice in US politics.

Under the present system, as determined by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, the Census Bureau counts all individuals living in the country, once every 10 years. These data are used when drawing up the 435 congressional districts and when determining each state's vote in the Electoral College that decides presidential elections.

...

Supporters argue that the presence of non-citizens caused nine seats in the House to change hands between states in 2000.

California gained six seats it would not have had otherwise, while Texas, New York, and Florida each gained one seat. Meanwhile, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin each lost a seat and Montana, Kentucky, and Utah each failed to receive a seat they would otherwise have gained.

Originally posted at Diggers Realm

This also posted on Joe Gandelman's site The Moderate Voice.

It now sounds as if when Russian President Vladmir Putin looked into Iranian leaders' eyes he had the same degree of accuracy in getting a sense of their souls as President George Bush had looking into his:

Iran is secretly training Chechen rebels in sophisticated terror techniques to enable them to carry out more effective attacks against Russian forces, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

Teams of Chechen fighters are being trained at the Revolutionary Guards' Imam Ali training camp, located close to Tajrish Square in Teheran, according to Western intelligence reports.

In addition to receiving training in the latest terror techniques, the Chechen volunteers undergo ideological and political instruction by hardline Iranian mullahs at Qom.

The disclosure that Iran is training Chechen rebels will not go down well in Moscow, which regards itself as a close ally of the Iranian regime.

Indeed, Putin has been one of the most steadfastly consistent defenders of the Iranian regime…in fact, actually, regimes…since he has backed whomever has been in power there. More recently, the Telegraph article goes on to explain:

Russia has sided with Iran in the diplomatic stand-off over Teheran's controversial nuclear programme.

While the British and American governments have accused Iran of having a clandestine nuclear weapons programme, the Russians, who are building Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, back Teheran's claim that their nuclear intentions are solely peaceful.

Of course, Russia's participation in the nuclear power plant project has nothing to do with that support. AND:

Moscow has offered a face-saving formula to prevent Iran from being reported to the United Nations Security Council for its failure to co-operate fully with UN nuclear inspection teams.

So now what does Russia have? It's getting big bux to help build a power plant and is siding with Iran on the world stage as the issue of its nuclear plans — and authentic intentions — comes into play.

It has sided with Iranian governments, this one in the middle of a major power struggle. On Saturday Iran's hard-line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blasted countries that question how Iran plans to use its nuclear power.

So while Putin sticks by Russia, Tehran is apparently sticking it to Putin…who will likely face the consquences of his across-the-boards policy of “enabling” in the form of bloody attacks on his people.

This also posted on Joe Gandelman's site The Moderate Voice.

Attention President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney: your national polling approval ratings are GREAT — compared to this guy:

Gov. Bob Taft's approval ratings have hit single digits.

But Ohio Republicans shouldn't hit the panic button, a new statewide poll suggests.

A Zogby International online survey, conducted a week after the Nov. 8 election and released yesterday, shows just 6.5 percent of Ohio voters view the embattled GOP governor very or somewhat favorably. Barely 3 percent rate his job performance as “good” or “excellent.”

“I'm not aware of anyone who's ever sunk lower,” pollster John Zogby said.

Monica Lewinsky? Oh. We're talking about polls. Yes, it's getting to the point where measuring Taft's standing with the public may require a proctologist. MORE:

Sixty-one percent of respondents said Mr. Taft should have resigned after pleading guilty in August to misdemeanor ethics charges for failing to report dozens of gifts and golf outings to state officials.

The charges stemmed from a scandal involving Toledo-area coin dealer Tom Noe, a former Republican fund-raiser and Taft golfing partner who was recently indicted on charges that include laundering money to President Bush's campaign.

Mr. Bush, for his part, registered a 46 percent favorable rating in the poll.

Nearly 50 percent of Zogby respondents said Mr. Taft ran a “purposely corrupt” administration as governor, while 33 percent called his office the victim of “corrupt individuals who scammed the state.”

See? A “purposely corrupt” administration is what got him into hot water. But corruption due to incompetence, lack of high standards, lousy management, and looking the other way isn't “purposely” … so politicos elsewhere (particularly in Washington) can take heart. AND:

Mr. Zogby said he has seen only one other politician dip below 10 percent approval: former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who hit 7 percent while immersed in a bribery scandal.

Bribery, shribery, Ryan was nice to his mother.

A spokesman for Mr. Taft dismissed the results and questioned Zogby's Internet methodology. “Governor Taft does not govern by the polls,” said Mark Rickel, the spokesman, “especially one that does not appear to be scientific.”

Well, Internet polls can be inaccurate and bloated, much like corrupt politicians. Although Internet polls aren't usually off by 20 or 30 points…

The poll surveyed 698 self-identified “likely” Ohio voters online from Nov. 15-17 and weighted the results slightly to reflect state demographics. It has an error margin of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points. Zogby conducted similar post-election surveys in California, New Jersey, and Virginia.

Attention Democrats: you have no reason to smile. Becuz:

Asked which party was more “organized and effective,” 52 percent said Republicans, compared to 12 percent for Democrats, who haven't won a statewide executive election in 15 years and who are currently looking for a new state party chairman. Only 30 percent - mostly self-declared Democrats - said it was time for a change in state government because no party should lead the state uninterrupted for so long.

Fewer than one in four said four so-called reform measures on the Nov. 8 ballot, which were pitched as an antidote to GOP scandal and all failed, “would have cleaned up a corrupt state government.”

They need a reformist governor, like Jesse Ventura…NO! Wait…They need a reformist governor, like Arnold Schwarzenegger….No! Wait…

How can they find someone who's intelligent, perceptive, wise, honest and focused? (Sorry. TMV is too busy and can't help out..)

Paging King Solomon!

This also posted on Joe Gandelman's site The Moderate Voice.

Perhaps he was just visiting to get his sheets washed:

During a visit to Syria last week, white supremacist and former U.S. State Representative from Louisiana David Duke spoke at a rally in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, appeared at a Damascus press conference, met with Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmed Hassoun, [1] and gave an interview to Syrian TV….

During the press conference, on November 21, Duke explained: “I have come to Syria to express my support to the Syrian people and their just stances… It's the duty of every free man to reject the conspiracies and threats Syria is exposed to.” He also gave his appreciation to Syria under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad.

In his speech at the November 24 rally, he stated that the U.S. and Syria were both occupied by the Zionists and went on to say that the Zionists had also occupied “WashingtonD.C., and New York, and London, and many other capitals in the world.”

Don't forget New Haven, Connecticut. They occupied my bar mitzvah many years ago (did they occupy yours too, David?).

Go to the original to view video of Duke's remarks.

Attn. al-Assad: Strictly FYI, David Duke ain't the greatest image enhancer.

I received a very informative email from Simon in France. Simon has given me permission to post it and for any other bloggers out there that wish to, feel free to repost it. Other than minor editing here it is in it's entirety.

It seems that in USA, people are misinformed about the spread of the riots. let me give you a piece of enlightenment about them.

Muslim riots happened in areas mostly populated by Muslim immigrants (up to 80%).
The riots were contained in those areas by a police which were conscious of not committing any flaw that was expected by the Mollas to upsurge all the Muslim people.

Most of the rioters were known by the police for many acts of serious delinquency .Some spent few years in jails others were probably relaxed by a Justice poisoned by Marxists ( Syndicat de la Magistrature - union of leftist lawers ) .In my opinion , those gangsters were monitored by the Mollas who pushed them to provoke the authorities , expecting any flaws that could be used to upsurge the whole Muslim Mass.

Those Muslim bastards never come and put the mess in French countryside villages where most of people are deer-hunters and have hunting guns. Should they do it, be sure that they will be welcome by the same kind of "welcoming committee " that in any USA village. They know it.

Unfortunately, these riots didn't spread in well-standard living areas where the so-called "bobo" live. Should it happen , that it would wake them up from their mental anesthesia.

France people can be divided in 4 categories:
The Politicians, the " BOBO ", the French popular Mass and the aliens.

All French politicians (right and left), are graduate from ENA ( Ecole nationale d'Administration ) where their little brains were formatted by those stupid utopias ( so called "Valeurs républicaines" ) , to become the puppets of a few powerful people belonging to the international industrial and finance world .Worst , they are certainly members of a freemasonry sect called "Loge du grand orient" famous for its atheism and strong anti-clerical ideas. They let the Muslims come in, to give low-wage employees to our companies, even in a time our European countries became hit by unemployment.

Pushed by far-leftist activist, they set the Family Gathering Scheme in the name of "Human rights"
Knowing the kind of welfare system they could benefit in France, Muslims came in mass with wife (s) and made many children receiving money for it!

Even illegal immigrants came in mass knowing that they can get support from Marxist Associations.
Industrial and finance powerful men were happy with that prospect because they think only "consumers in a Multiculturalism world" and disregard religion and cultural differences.

They have done the same mistake that all Western World politicians have done.

Like Maurice Allais pointed out (French economist who received Economy Nobel Price): with their family , immigrants from undeveloped countries cost 4 to 5 more that they can give to our society. Worst their religion and customs push them to reject our western values and make them inassimilable to our European civilization. Their immigration in Europe is only profitable to a minority of swines in power.

"bobo" means bourgeois-boheme ( happy-go-lucky upper middle class) .This degenerate upper middle class controls nearly everything : education, literature, media, justice ..They are poisoned by utopist ideas ( "everybody is nice, peace and love , multiculturalism , world is a village ") and have set a dictatorship of thoughts in France .They believe that their extremely idiot thoughts is well-thinking ("intellectuel").

They enjoy a good living and can't (or doesn't want) see reality .All upper middle class in Europe have the same disease.

They are so silly that they can't make any difference between the European immigrants that came in France after www1 and www2 and the Muslim one .I spent hours to explain them that this first immigration was easily assimilated because of our common values, customs and RELIGION!

They don't want to admit that Muslims are simply aliens.

The fact that they disregard religion in the name of "laicity" blind them on Islam antagonisms with both Western civilization and the so-called "laicity".

Well set in a comfortable way of life they don't want to be told about the prospect of a Civilization War between Western countries and Muslim world that could hit down their quiet and luxury life.

They do prefer giving lessons to others all around the world rather than questioning themselves.

Even if not Marxists, they have been poisoned by Marxism dictatorship of thoughts through medias and education and probably believe that they can change the world with their big trap and little balls.

These "bobo" think that France colonialism has exploited North-Africa and Africa and they use culpabilization against French people to justify their laxism towards Muslim immigration.

Argue against them and you are systematically a racist who risk to be suited.

Everybody who knows something about history of "Industrial revolution " in Europe in XIX century knows that the corebase was coalmining and steelworking. In France, those two were in North and Northeastern France (Lorraine disputed between France and Germany for that reason).

I am a native from Lorraine: my parents and grand parents were labours in steelworking, and I can tell you and all those stupid "bobo " that Lorraine has never been neither in Africa nor in Arabian countries. This to say that no Industrial country (USA and Europe) got rich and powerful with coffee, tea, orange and bananas! From Africa. Worst, France spent a lot of money in Africa and Maghreb to help them to develop. Algeria benefits from heavy investments at a time it was a French colony. All that for peanuts.

Should we have kept our money in our pocket that our economy would be more flourishing nowadays.

Aside their anti-Christian mentality, the "bobo" has plaid an insane anti-patriotism activism, thinking that could help Europe nations to fuse in one.

As a matter of fact Marxists took profit of the WWI European suicide to inject their stinking ideology.

It is obvious that 90 yrs after WW1, France didn't really recover from it. Anybody who does visit France should take attention to the Death Monuments settled in the middle of each French village and little towns.You will find much more names engraved on stone than living inhabitants.

More than 1.5 millions of French brave guys on a population roughly 40 million sacrificed themselves with a self-abnegation that only Russians did equal during WW2 in the Stalingrad battle.

Adding probably 1 million more due to subsequent disease in 1918 and you get a reap of youth.

Marxism took the opportunity of this drama and shock to spread in France through 2 political party: Socialist Party and then Communist Party. Both fuse in the Front Popular and won the election in 1936.

Worst they welcome in France their communist brothers from Spain and Italy after these two countries turned sad. Part of French communists are descendant of these Italian and Spanish communists.

Once in power their concerns were social sheme, offering holidays to workers, favoring class-strikes, puting the mess in armament factories, at a time a guy called Adolf Hitler was rearming his Reich. Every knows the following of the story.

To end with the "bobo" and their hypocritical concerns with "social welfare ", they should learn that the first social protection for labours to be implemented in Europe was in German Reich by a man called Otto von Bismark. As you know , he was far to be a Marxist!

In conclusion with Politicians and the "bobo" chapters: in a day we are celebrating the sacrifice of ww1generation , there is no need to say that the Braves are spinning in their tombs and trenches .Looking at "bobo" and politicians , and sick of it our Brave French ancestors are throwing out .they are not the only one .

French popular mass does also: this is the so-called silent Majority formed with Middle class and labours .
They are both French rooted people and French native descendants of European immigrants, which made efforts to fuse in French people.

You can't see them demonstrating in street: THEY do WORK! Except when hit by unemployment .
They are bored of paying taxes:

• to feed illegal immigrants


• to assist lazy people who does not want to make any effort


• to refill the loss of government owned companies

They are bored of being insulted of racist and fascist by the "bobo" , when they complain about Muslim unwillingness to accept our European values.

They are bored of corrupted politicians.

They are bored of strikes by a few Marxist activists, which nowadays do represent NOTHING in the Labour population.

In my humble opinion, I think the pot is boiling, nobody knows yet how and when it will explode.

Let me say something about the European immigrants in France:

My father ancestors were Austrian and migrate in 1715 while my mother's parents were Italians and migrate in 1919. I was at school with the French native sons of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish Hungarian immigrants. Their parents came in France with a snotty nose and nothing even a bundle. They work hard: to build a House, and to give a welI education to their children.

I grew up with their children. Never saw them rioting, selling drugs, burning cars.
THEY worked hard at school, they wanted to learn and get a job. Bloody hell! There was a kind of gentle competition between us to be the best at School!

The "Bobo" and Politicians, who both never grew up with European immigrants, are so blinded by their shit "Republican Values and Laicity " that they ignore what made the fusion possible: CHRISTIAN VALUES and GRECO-ROMAN VALUES. Believers or not believers, most of European immigrants were educated at home through a remaining of CHRISTIAN VALUES.

I am not a believer, my Mum is a strong one. Even ignorant about religion, I was educated with mother's Christian values and I can tell you that I know all the benefit of them! Like it or not: These values are the Key success in both USA and Europe.

So long we will keep them against winds and tides, we will survive.
Let the bastards of any kind undermine them, and we westerners will be destroyed.

Aliens: Those are the Muslims immigrants. There is nothing to be said about them (you saw them at TV news) except that our European politicians let them do their Djiad in our home with the support of stupid "bobo" who think that the riots are a expression of "social despair ". BULLSHIT!

My late father was a labour and a non-believer, he worked with some Muslims labours in a steelwork company and therefore knew very much about their beliefs. Some of them were living in a house next to my grand mother's one, at a time the Muslims were staying as "single". Of course they were nice and helpful people.

But the day the Politicians bastards allow them to call their wife and family in France 30 yrs ago, my father who knew much about his Muslim colleagues told me something I will never forget.

"These Muslims are nice persons BUT they are different from us. Once settled, their Imans and Mollas will come and put their hand over Muslims. They will tell them to make as many children as they can to conquest and impose Islam. My bet that in 50 years, Europe will be the next Liban." Was he wrong? Have a look on TV news!

Some brave historians who dared facing the Marxist "well thinking ", told several years ago of a tough "wake-up" and a "RECONQUISTA " in all Europe in the future. Whatever the human cost, this reconquista will be beneficial for all Europeans, because it will remind them what are their real identity and VALUES. Those they should have never swapped for bullshit something values.

Diggers, that was long to write and long for you to read. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Please, do me a favor: be nice to repost it to how many blog you can: la shawn barber and so on

BEST REGARDS from FRANCE

Well Simon, I don't actually operate La Shawn Barber's Corner, but I'll send it to her and see what she thinks.

Originally posted at Diggers Realm

On the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, the guns ceased. Today, the British Commonwealth countries remember those who came before, and those who came after, and all who have given in their nation's service. Americans know this day as Veteran's Day, and a number of European countries know it as Armistice Day.

Too many others have said it better than I can, so I'll just let them do so:

• Must-Sees: Armed Liberal; Support the Troops; Destroying Hitler's birthday cake…
• Remembrance Day: Background
• Canada's Remembrance
• Veteran's Day, USA
• Stories from Today's War: Heroes, Soldiers, et. al.
• Commentary

The Senate Judiciary committee approved of a Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) plan to sell high tech work visa's and green cards to big businesses. The deal includes going back to 1991 and counting up all the unused visa's and then selling them to companies for $500 a pop.

This is an outrageous violation of fair immigration practice and a direct attack on high tech workers in this country.

The American people deserve better than these peddlers to big business and the sellout of the constituents who put these asshats in Congress.

I am not the only one outraged by this. NumbersUSA had this to say.

“Senators Specter and Kennedy’s plan is a travesty to American students studying to enter scientific, engineering and high-tech fields, as well as to those Americans who have worked hard to become masters of their craft,” said Roy Beck, Executive Director of NumbersUSA. “Selling huge numbers of additional jobs to foreign workers adds insult to injury for American citizens who are already having a difficult time finding full-time employment in their professional field at a family wage.”

The plan was devised to satisfy the requirement for each congressional committee to come up with spending cuts or revenue increases to offset the profligate spending in recent years by Congress and the President. Senators Specter and Kennedy’s proposal sells hundreds of thousands of high-skilled American jobs over the next several years to corporations that will then be allowed to import additional foreign workers instead of hiring Americans. A portion of the jobs will be given for three to six years to foreign workers, and the rest of the jobs will be taken away from American workers forever by importing permanent foreign workers.

“It is truly unfortunate and tragic that the Judiciary Committee has decided to balance their part of the budget mess on the backs of unemployed and underemployed high-tech and other professional workers,” said Beck. “This action sends the message to American students that if they pursue a specialized field, they may not be able to find jobs in the U.S. This plan will cost corporations $500 per visa, but will cost American workers their livelihoods.”

While any amount is a disgrace, $500 dollars is an insult to anyone in the high tech field. "Hey you, that money you spent on college to learn something, well it's only worth $500 bucks, so go screw yourself!"

If you are as pissed as I am you can call these Senators and voice your displeasure of the sellout of the American worker. Their numbers are listed below (courtesy of NumbersUSA

=========================
Pennsylvania
=========================
Sen. Specter, Arlen
(202-224-4254)

=========================
Delaware
=========================
Sen. Biden, Joseph
(202-224-5042)

=========================
Illinois
=========================
Sen. Durbin, Richard
(202-224-2152)

=========================
Kansas
=========================
Sen. Brownback, Sam
(202-224-6521)

=========================
Massachusetts
=========================
Sen. Kennedy, Edward
(202-224-4543)

=========================
New York
=========================
Sen. Schumer, Charles
(202-224-6542)

=================
Ohio
=========================
Sen. DeWine, Mike
(202-224-2315)

=========================
Pennsylvania
=========================
Sen. Specter, Arlen
(202-224-4254)

=========================
South Carolina
=========================
Sen. Graham, Lindsey
(202-224-5972)

=========================
Texas
=========================
Sen. Cornyn, John
(202-224-2934)

=========================
Utah
=========================
Sen. Hatch, Orrin
(202-224-5251)

=========================
Vermont
=========================
Sen. Leahy, Patrick
(202-224-4242)

=========================
Wisconsin
=========================
Sen. Feingold, Russell
(202-224-5323)
Sen. Kohl, Herb
(202-224-5653)

Originally posted at Diggers Realm

On September 5, 2005 The New York Times ran with a statement by Mexican President Vicente Fox that the US shares the blame for the border problem with Mexico. In that article Fox was quoted as saying:

"The reconstruction of that city and of that region is going to require a lot of labor," Mr. Fox said of New Orleans, Mississippi and Alabama. "And if there is anything Mexicans are good at, it is construction."

I'd like to add that they're also good at coming to our country illegally, taking our jobs, costing taxpayers a fortune, running our education and health care systems into the ground through overpopulation, increased spending, bringing long eliminated diseases back into our country and closing our emergency rooms. In addition they're good at whining about how they don't have drivers licenses when they're here illegally, killing our cops, attacking peaceful protests and trashing citizens property.

Now Fox wants to send more labor here to get a chunk of all that money the federal government is spending in the disaster area so that it can be sent back to Mexico. Well you know what President Fox

SCREW YOU

I've said it and now Charlie Norwood, a Republican Congressman from Georgia, says it (though more eloquently) in his latest piece Vicente Fox – Hurricane Looter found on the Congressional website.

We will be rebuilding the Gulf Coast states for years to come. We will do so with both public and private monies, with cost estimates now running into the hundreds of billions.

Estimates are that at least half a million Americans from the affected areas have permanently lost their jobs, as their workplaces are totally destroyed.

It makes perfect sense that we ought to employ as many of those folks as possible in the rebuilding efforts, for their personal good and the good of the country.

Last week, the President approved a temporary waiver of Davis-Bacon labor rules for exactly that purpose – to allow many of these individuals to participate in federally-funded reconstruction projects as general labor helpers.

We need to follow that up with providing whatever vocational training is necessary to allow displaced workers to gain the skills necessary to fully participate in those reconstruction efforts.

We need a revival of the Civilian Conservation Corps from the 1930’s for this emergency, in which we offer every able-bodied displaced person an immediate training wage on top of whatever other federal benefits they may be receiving, and full-time participation should be mandatory.

We shouldn’t spend any time worrying about those who can work, yet refuse these opportunities.

But there’s already someone else with an eye on those construction jobs – Mexican President Vicente Fox.

“‘The reconstruction of that city and of that region is going to require a lot of labor,’ Mr. Fox said of New Orleans, Mississippi and Alabama. ‘And if there is anything Mexicans are good at, it is construction.’” – The New York Times, September 5, 2005.

While we appreciate the disaster aid assistance Mexico is providing by sending a military convoy across our southern border, we cannot afford to pay them back with the jobs of our hurricane victims.

Rebuilding our Gulf Coast with labor from Mexico would divert a large part of the estimated $200 billion cost to rebuild – paid for by American taxpayers – out of our economy, and into “foreign remittances”, the monies sent back to Mexico from the U.S. by illegal immigrants.

These “remittances” have now surpassed oil revenues as the number one source of income for Mexico – drawn directly out of our economy.

We should not allow our national tragedy to become Mexico’s gain. The time for talk is over. The time for pleas for the Administration to simply enforce the law is over.

Every police and sheriff’s department in this nation should begin vigorously enforcing immigration law while in the course of their routine duties, and get those people out of our country during this national emergency. For every illegal worker removed, there’s a ready job for the hundreds of thousands of legal American residents who just lost theirs in this tragedy.

The CLEAR Act that we just reintroduced has an excellent chance of passing this session, and if it does, the federal government will be responsible for paying 100% of these local law enforcement costs for immigration law enforcement efforts.

Hardship has a way of bringing families together. If there is anything positive that can come from such an incomprehensible disaster as Hurricane Katrina, it could likely be in forcing us to come back together to help defend each other, instead of letting potential taxpayer-funded jobs for storm victims to be looted by illegal immigrant labor cheered on by Mexican Presidente Vicente Fox.

Originally posted at Diggers Realm

Tipped by: Lonewacko

Original artwork shamelessly stolen from Cox and Forkum, then amateurishly modified by me. See the original, and clearly superior, images here and here.

Continue reading "Four Years On - Remembering 9/11"

Great Victory for Muslim Pride

This is really something. Steven Vincent, author of the book The Red Zone, has been shot to death in Iraq. I assume you all know about it; Drudge linked to the story.

I reviewed The Red Zone on my blog. I was one of the bloggers who received complimentary copies. I can't say enough about the book. It impressed me tremendously that Vincent, an art critic from Manhattan, was enough of an independent thinker to go to Iraq, see things for himself, and then write a book fervently supporting our intervention there. I'm sure Manhattan art society charged him a steep fee for that offense. I very much doubt that he was welcome at Manhattan social events after that.

The story about Vincent doesn't give details. It merely says he was killed, and that his translator, who was also shot, is alive.

This is a shining example of the kind of thinking we're up against in the Muslim world. Liberals would have us believe that Muslim violence is somehow linked to misdeeds on our part. That Muslim violence has some sort of rational objective. Radical Muslims want us to alter our behavior, so they punish us with terrorism. This crime proves, once again, that the left's analysis is wrong.

Steven Vincent was not a person the terrorists—they are not and never have been “insurgents”—had a logical reason for killing. If anything, he was a potential tool. Journalists don't fire weapons or implement our government's strategy. They merely expose what happens in Iraq. Lately, that consistently works in favor of the terrorists. Even Fox, the supposed “cheerleader” for the war effort, has abandoned coverage of positive events in Iraq, and the American public is fatigued by news of an increasing body count. You would think the terrorists would welcome journalists.

But that would only happen if the enemy were rational, as the left says it is. Unfortunately, the enemy is far from rational. In all likelihood, they killed Vincent simply because he was an American. His killing probably served the same low purpose as a lynching. “We got another one. That felt good, didn't it?”

I strongly suggest you read The Red Zone, partly because it's a excellent book, but also because Steven Vincent has a widow, and she is going to have expenses.

I have to wonder what kind of ugly, sniggering remarks are being made in New York art galleries today.

I congratulate Michael Moore's “Minutemen” on their glorious victory. This ranks right up there with blowing up children while soldiers give them candy.

Steven Vincent blogged from Iraq. Here is his site.

I have to admit that they almost got me. Almost. But then I woke up.

For years we've been told that we should have tolerance for people who are different from us, whoever the collective “us” happens to be. For the most part I don't have a problem with that, assuming you're talking about people who may come from a different part of the country or from an entirely different country. Their social mores may be different or they may use figures of speech or terms that are unfamiliar to us. As one of my co-workers, a nice young woman from Louisiana said to us the other day, “There are phrases that we use back there that are considered offensive here in New England.” It's all a matter of the differences.

But there are some differences, some actions that I am not willing to tolerate.

One of those “things” is foul language in public. While not the biggest thing I am no longer willing to tolerate, it has quickly become one of the more annoying. Poor language skills is right up there next to it. There is no need for every other word to be an expletive. Some folks use the worst expletives like punctuation marks and generic adjectives. And let's not get me started on this ebonics crap. All it is is a way to trap black youth into poverty. To quote Bill Cosby:

“I can't even talk the way these people talk. 'Why you ain't, where you is?'...They're standing there on the street corner and they can't speak English...I don't know who these people are. And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk. And then I heard the father talk. It's all in the house. You used to talk a certain way on the corner and when you got in the house you switched to English. Everybody knows that at some point you switch to English, except for these knuckleheads. You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth.”

Continue reading "My Growing Intolerance...Particularly Of The 'Tolerant'"

While working to fix the Wikipedia article on the subject, I realized that no-one has really put this together. It's an important piece of blogosphere history, so let's begin at the beginning. Prof. Glenn Reynolds started the ball rolling when he said on Jan. 5, 2002:

“What bloggers are more than anything, I think, is anti-idiot. That makes life tough for Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, and the Revs. Falwell, Robertson, Jackson, & Sharpton, for reasons that transcend traditional partisanship and ideology.”

The term “anti-idiotarian” was coined by Charles Johnson of LGF that same day, and caught on like wildfire. Australian warblogger Tim Blair later refined the term by reading a Lyndon LaRouche interview re: 9/11 and referring in April of 2002 to:

“…the ongoing process by which the world's multiple idiocies are becoming one giant, useless force (suggested slogan: “United, Retarded, We'll Never Be Defeated!”)”

This, and the original inspirations, were picked up and developed by Eric S. Raymond in his widely-linked “Anti-Idiotarian Manifesto,” which slams both left and right as its key excerpt reads:

Read the Rest…

While working to fix the Wikipedia article on the subject, I realized that no-one has really put this together. It's an important piece of blogosphere history, so let's begin at the beginning. Prof. Glenn Reynolds started the ball rolling when he said on Jan. 5, 2002:

“What bloggers are more than anything, I think, is anti-idiot. That makes life tough for Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, and the Revs. Falwell, Robertson, Jackson, & Sharpton, for reasons that transcend traditional partisanship and ideology.”

The term “anti-idiotarian” was coined by Charles Johnson of LGF that same day, and caught on like wildfire. Australian warblogger Tim Blair later refined the term by reading a Lyndon LaRouche interview re: 9/11 and referring in April of 2002 to:

“…the ongoing process by which the world's multiple idiocies are becoming one giant, useless force (suggested slogan: “United, Retarded, We'll Never Be Defeated!”)”

This, and the original inspirations, were picked up and developed by Eric S. Raymond in his widely-linked “Anti-Idiotarian Manifesto,” which slams both left and right as its key excerpt reads:

Read the Rest…

Miners used to keep canaries in the mines for company. Not because they were lonely, but because they were early warning systems. If the local air became hazardous, the birds would pass out or die before people were seriously injured. This gave the miners enough warning to take preventative action.

Remember all the commotion when Newsweek incorrectly stated that Americans were desecrating the Koran? Wonder what the Arabian street will do when they see video of American citizens using legal firearms to blow away a Koran? Team Infidel has elected to serve as canaries for their fellow Americans. If any Islamic terrorists have managed to cross our somewhat porous borders, they will surely make a beeline for Team Infidel.

I'm very interested in comments on this. Should this behavior be legal? For my part, I say yes although I cringe at the potential impact this video will have when shown on Arabian television. And I'd like to publicly thank Team Infidel for their willingness to serve as our canaries.

Update: I cross posted this at my own site and I've already received a few emails about this post. Yes, Team Infidel is being crude, unpleasant, and not helpful to bringing peace to the world. Yes, my thanking them for being canaries was said tongue-in-cheek. No, I do not condone such behavior, although I support their right to be disagreeable. The first amendment does not just protect your right to your opinion. It protects the right of all individuals to express their own opinions. While disagreeing with Team Infidel's actions, I agree and defend their right to exercise their first amendment rights. I encourage frank discussion about these rights.

Harold Meyerson of the Washington Post offers “A Deportation Tragedy” which, among other things, promotes Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT)'s Dream Act. That Act is an illegal alien amnesty plan that would also let illegal aliens pay for college at the reduced, in-state rate. Meanwhile, U.S. citizens who want to attend a college in another state would continue to pay the full rate.

Leaving aside its amnesty provisions, here's a chart summarizing the Dream Act:

some illegal aliens: discount
some U.S. citizens: full price

In other words, the Dream Act is explicitly anti-American: we should not be giving citizens of other countries a better deal than our own citizens. (Thankfully, a similar state law in Kansas is currently being challenged: “Suit challenges in-state tuition for illegal immigrants”. The Dream Act would be a national version of state laws in Kansas, California, and other states.)

What makes Meyerson's bleeding heart screed interesting is that articles like this are hardly unique. Newspapers large and small from one end of the country to the other have published what amount to advertisements for the Act, and all of them seem to follow the same formula.

Here are just a few examples:
“Best & brightest in bind” (NY Daily News)
Dozens rally to support proposed immigration law (Lincoln Neb. JournalStar)
“Behind Top Student's Heartbreak, Illegal Immigrants' Nightmare” (NY Times)
Group rallies in support of Dream Act (Brownsville Tex. Herald)
(other examples in my pro-illegal immigration puff piece category)

For an example of how formulaic these tales are, here's a quote from Meyerson:

next Tuesday Marie and her parents will move to a country she doesn't know.

A search for country “dream act” “hardly know” reveals 53 hits, and a similar search brings up 27.

To my knowledge, no newspaper has yet looked for the story behind the story and reported on the source(s) for all these barely-concealed advertisements. If you'd like to suggest that the WaPo does some real reporting rather than just propagandizing, (or if you'd like to suggest that they might want to start a private fund to pay for illegal aliens' college educations), please contact:
meyersonh at washpost.com
ombudsman at washpost.com

UPDATE: Shortly after I posted this, the student mentioned in Meyerson's ad got a reprieve. However, her parents are still due to be deported: “Teen Wins 1-Year Delay in Deportation”.

Recently, a reporter named Chris Nelson, since retired and gone into the consulting business, made the mistake of preparing a confidential report for the South Korean Embassy in Washington, and then erroneously sending that report to his entire list of hundreds of e-mail newsletter subscribers. Two different anonymous sources sent me copies of the report, and the Washington Post has since covered the story of its accidental disclosure.

I have decided that at least one section of the Nelson Report merits printing: the section Nelson wrote about other journalists and his advice to the Korean Embassy on how to deal with them. As you read this, bear in mind that Nelson is an ex-UPI reporter and a die-hard advocate of “engagement” with the North Korean government, very much in the Jack Pritchard mold. Whether you agree with that view or not, this section is a fascinating look at who is writing your news and what biases they bring to their stories. Even if you agree with him, you should be disturbed about so many journalists' abandonment of objectivity and not-so-concealed desire to influence events and gain “player” status.

Continue reading "Why Won't the Media Tell the Truth About North Korea?"

This is also posted on Joe Gandelman's blog.

Editor's Note: President George Bush delivered a long-awaited speech in Iraq last night at Fort Bragg. Accounts of the speech were carried by news organizations and shown on television. The speech received mixed editorial reviews and was criticized by some as being dull — but The Moderate Voice has learned the REAL SPEECH was not.

A reliable source has provided TMV an exclusive video of the REAL speech delivered last night without after-the-fact editing changes. Here are excerpts which clearly show the White House had tried to make the speech livelier. These excerpts suggest the mainstream media did not tell the whole story on what President Bush said in his speech:

Text of President Bush's speech Tuesday night at Fort Bragg, N.C., as NOT provided by the White House:

Thank you and good evening. I am pleased to visit Fort Bragg, home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces. It is an honor to speak before you tonight and have you serve as props for me to improve my image.

Take Howard Dean. Please.

My greatest responsibility as president is to protect the American people, get my poll numbers up — and make sure that from now on I have lunch with Bill Frist at least once a week.

The troops here and across the world are fighting a global war on terror. This war reached our shores on September 11, 2001. The terrorists who attacked us and the terrorists we face murder in the name of a totalitarian ideology that hates freedom, rejects tolerance and despises all dissent.

Speaking of rejecting tolerance and despising all dissent, just attend one of my speeches. You'll have to sign a loyalty pledge first and if you shout out anything, you're outta there. And, by the way: no pies allowed….

To achieve these aims, the terrorists have continued to kill in Madrid, Istanbul, Jakarta, Casablanca, Riyadh, Bali and elsewhere. They won't try anything in Bridgeport, Connecticut, because its dead enough there already.

The terrorists believe that free societies are essentially corrupt and decadent. Speaking of corrupt and decadent: What's the latest on Tom DeLay and Randy Cunningham?

With a few hard blows the terrorists can force us to retreat. A “few hard blows”? Who put in that reference to Monica Lewinsky?

These are the jokes, guys. You're supposed to laugh

Is this a military audience or the NAACP?

Iraq is the latest battlefield in this war. Many terrorists who kill innocent men, women and children on the streets of Baghdad are followers of the same murderous ideology that took the lives of our citizens in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. There is only one course of action against them: to defeat them abroad before they attack us at home.

Some have made accusations against us of torture — but we have never forced anyone to listen to a lecture on psychiatry by Tom Cruise.

The commander in charge of coalition operations in Iraq, who is also senior commander at this base, General John Vines, put it well the other day. He said, “Do you know where I can get Viagra at a discount?”

Our mission in Iraq is clear. We are hunting down the terrorists. We are helping Iraqis build a free nation that is an ally in the war on terror. We are advancing freedom in the broader Middle East. We are removing a source of violence and instability and laying the foundation of peace for our children and our grandchildren. We are trying to improve our image by talking in front of a military audience. We are unleashing Karl Rove tomorrow to give a speech that will reveal that Harry Reid doesn't wear underwear.

The work in Iraq is difficult and dangerous but not as dangerous as teaching high school.

Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed…but enough about parental behavior at Little League games.

Every picture is horrifying and the suffering is real. But let's not talk about those nude photos of Dick Cheney.

Amid all this violence, I know Americans ask the question: Is the sacrifice worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the future security of our country. And tonight I will explain the reasons why or my name isn't Joe Lieberman.

Some of the violence you see in Iraq is being carried out by ruthless killers who are converging on Iraq to fight the advance of peace and freedom. Our military reports that we have killed or captured hundreds of foreign fighters in Iraq who have come from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, Egypt, Sudan, Yemen, Libya and other nations in search of a place that serves REAL pizza.

They are making common cause with criminal elements, Iraqi insurgents and remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime who want to restore the old order and make sure Sadaam from now on only wears boxer shorts.

They fight because they know that the survival of their hateful ideology is at stake. They know that as freedom takes root in Iraq, it will inspire millions across the Middle East to claim their liberty as well. And when the Middle East grows in democracy, prosperity and hope, the terrorists will lose their sponsors, lose their recruits and lose their hopes for turning that region into a base for attacks on America and our allies around the world — and they won't get many presents at their bar mitzvahs.

Some wonder whether Iraq is a central front in the war on terror. Some wonder whether this recycled speech is at all necessary.

Among the terrorists, there is no debate. Hear the words of Osama Bin Laden: “The fleas in my beard are killing me” and “The whole world is watching Desperate Housewives.” He says it will end in “a ratings triumph for ABC and they'll eventually turn it into a movie, which will have big B.O. — just like me.”

The lesson of this experience is clear: The terrorists can kill the innocent but they cannot stop the advance of freedom. The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September 11, if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like Zarqawi and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like bin Laden. For the sake of our nation's security, this will not happen on my watch — because my watch is small and Mickey Mouse takes up a lot of space on it.

A little over a year ago, I spoke to the nation and described our coalition's goal in Iraq and that speech wasn't so terrific, either.

Rebuilding a country after three decades of tyranny is hard and rebuilding while at war is even harder. It requires work. Hard work. Our progress has been uneven but progress is being made. That's hard work. We are improving roads and schools and health clinics and working to improve basic services like sanitation, electricity and water. And together with our allies, we will help the new Iraqi government deliver a better life for its citizens. That's hard work.

Why isn't that getting any laughs? Repeating a funny phrase works for Letterman….

Hey, Rove — who wrote this comedy material? Ralph Nader?

You guys in the front row: sit down NOW or you'll be guilty of desertion. I still have more:

Whatever our differences in the past, the world understands that success in Iraq is critical to the security of all our nations.

As German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said at the White House yesterday, “Heil Hitler!”

Hey, Rove: who wrote that crappy Schroeder joke? Oh. Well, next time I'LL handle Laura's contributions….

Finally, we have continued our efforts to equip and train Iraqi security forces. We have made gains in both the number and quality of those forces. Today Iraq has more than 160,000 security forces trained and equipped for a working as telemarketers. That's about 1/4 the number in the average American city.

Iraqi forces have fought bravely helping to capture terrorists and insurgents in Najaf, Samarra, Fallujah and Mosul — and in Sherman Oaks.

And in the past month, Iraqi forces have led a major anti-terrorist campaign in Baghdad called Operation Lightning, which has led to the capture of hundreds of suspected insurgents.

This is not to be confused with the Operation Lightning that took place in the Oval Office with women who worked on Bill Clinton's staff. And I do mean who worked on his staff.

Hey, Rove, who wrote THAT loser? Oh. Well, tell Limbaugh his brother Dave is FUNNIER….

The progress in the past year has been significant and we have a clear path forward. To complete the mission, we will continue to hunt down the terrorists and insurgents. To complete the mission, we will prevent al-Qaida and other foreign terrorists from turning Iraq into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban - a safe haven from which they could launch attacks on America and our friends..a country named after a long haired dog…What do you mean it isn't?

So our strategy going forward has both a military track and a political track. And believe me you're watching the political track in frantic action right now.

The principal task of our military is to find and defeat the terrorists and that is why we are on the offense. And no adminstration has ever been as offensive as mine.

And as we pursue the terrorists, our military is helping to train Iraqi security forces so that they can defend their people and fight the enemy on their own. Our strategy can be summed up this way: As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down. As the Iraqis get fed down, the American public gets fed up.

We have made progress but we have a lot more work to do. Hard work. Today Iraqi security forces are at different levels of readiness. Hard — hey, I TOLD you this stuff isn't working! Next time when I want a FUNNY speech I'll have Scalia write it!!

Where was I? Oh…

I recognize that Americans want our troops to come home as quickly as possible and for me to shut up. So does my wife.

Some Americans ask me, if completing the mission is so important, why don't you send more troops? And I say to them: I have a better question for you. Knock Knock. Who's there? Sadaam. Sadaam who? Sadaam shame we can't really set a timetable on this war…

If our commanders on the ground say we need more troops, I will send them. I will send the COMMANDERS — not more troops. Just think of the backlash and poll numbers if I sent more troops now. No way, Jose.

Sending more Americans would undermine our strategy of encouraging Iraqis to take the lead in this fight. And sending more Americans would suggest that we intend to stay forever, when we are in fact working for the day when Iraq can defend itself and we can leave. As we determine the right force level, our troops can know that I will continue to be guided by the advice that matters: the sober judgment of our military leaders.

Speaking of sober: did you watch that video of Tom Delay slurring his speech the other day? It was posted on Crooks and Liars. I'd make a joke about who that site is named after but Rush and Sean wouldn't like it.

These are JOKES, you guys.

Is this an audience or a scuplture exhibit?

The other critical element of our strategy is to help ensure that the hopes Iraqis expressed at the polls in January are translated into a secure democracy. Translation is vital — especially when I speak….

As Iraqis make progress toward a free society, the effects are being felt beyond Iraq's borders. Before our coalition liberated Iraq, Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons. Today the leader of Libya has given up his chemical and nuclear weapons programs but he won't leggo my Eggo.

We have more work to do. Hard work — Jez, how many times did you idiots insert that phrase in this and think it'd get a laugh??

And there will be tough moments that test America's resolve. We are fighting against men with blind hatred and armed with lethal weapons who are capable of any atrocity. Even playing Kathy Lee Gifford CDs at full blast.

They wear no uniform; they wear no socks; they wear no underwear. Hey, Karl: if that's true then do a speech linking Reid with the terrorists. Oh. And remind me not to let Reid sit on our couch ever again….

They respect no laws of warfare or morality. Hey, they sound like my former frat brothers on party weekend!

That's a JOKE, guys! Who booked me into THIS gig? Diane Feinstein?

They are trying to shake our will in Iraq just as they tried to shake our will on September 11, 2001. They will fail. The terrorists do not understand America. The American people do not falter under t