SNIPE HUNT FOR PEACE
Karl Marx was an evil fool, but he did utter an occasional witticism - such as history does get repeated: "The first time as tragedy, the second time as farce." You can imagine his bitter laughter if he had witnessed Condi's Farce in Annapolis this week. There have been a number of first times, efforts of bottomless naiveté to "achieve peace in the Middle East." It's hard to believe, after all of this, that Condi Rice and her boss can be so actually naïve to think another Snipe Hunt for Peace is anything but. Annapolis, however, is Condi's show, not Bush's. He's not that naïve to bet his legacy on a snipe hunt. Texans know what a snipe hunt is. So he let Condi stage her extravaganza, delegates from 49 countries including a gaggle of Arabs from such places that don't recognize Israel as Bahrain, Qatar, Morocco, and Pakistan. The main achievement was they all agreed to continue talking. In the Middle East, continuing to talk is considered close enough, like in horseshoes and hand grenades. But if the talk is to actually accomplish peace between Israel and her neighbors, then three requirements have to met. First, it's got to use the actual word in Arabic for "peace," not the phony substitutes.
ISLAMOFASCISM THROUGH THE FINANCIAL BACK-DOOR
Since September 11, 2001, the men and women of the U.S. Department of the Treasury have worked tirelessly to identify and cut off sources of financing for terrorist organizations and other threats to our national security. However, their efforts are now taking place alongside an emerging financial trend that could threaten our national security in ways not yet fully grasped: the penetration of Islamofascism-tainted countries and radical Islamists themselves into Western financial markets and other Western strategic industries. The problem consists of two elements.
THE NEXT CARTOON FREAKOUT
A white South African political cartoonist, Jonathan Shapiro, famously controversial in his country, got really upset the other day when the editor, Tim Du Plessis, of a popular South African magazine, Rapport, fired one of his writers, Deon Maas, for writing a column calling for tolerance towards believers in satanism. Shapiro draws his cartoons under the pen name Zapiro - and the one he drew in anger towards Du Plessis has ticked off a major fraction of the entire population of South Africa. This just happened, with Zapiro's cartoon appearing in the November 21 edition of the Mail & Guardian newspaper day before yesterday. It's unlikely, however, that there will be Christian riots in Joburg, or elsewhere in the world, protesting Zapiro's comparing the Holy Trinity to the Easter Bunny - or Hindu riots in Delhi over comparing Shiva to the Tooth Fairy - or Jewish riots in Jerusalem over comparing Yaweh (Jehovah) to Zeus. That's because these folks are mostly grown-up adults who just wearily shake their heads at juvenile attempts to ridicule their religion. But you can bet on folks who have never grown out of the Dark Ages to engage in yet another violent world-wide temper tantrum over comparing Allah to Casper the Friendly Ghost, and worse, actually depicting Allah in a scribbled drawing. So sit back and get set to enjoy the next great Mooselimb Cartoon Freakout. Here's Zapiro's cartoon:
THE DANGER OF DEMOCRAT DENIAL
Denial is the first stage of grieving. Democrats seem stuck there when it comes to the war in Iraq. It's odd that his fellow Democrats are mourning success in Iraq, Sen. Joseph Lieberman said in a speech Nov. 8: "Democrats have remained emotionally invested in a narrative of defeat and retreat in Iraq, reluctant to acknowledge the progress we are now achieving, or even that the progress has enabled us to begin drawing down our troops there." Democrats have been enabled in their denial by a news media which has been reluctant to report the dramatically improving circumstances in Iraq. But that's changing. The New York Times has had positive stories two days in a row. The Los Angeles Times and Newsweek have noticed. This is dismaying for Democrats because journalists are herd animals. When the bell cows point toward a new story line, the herd stampedes in that direction. "The herd is likely to grow larger because the evidence of success in Baghdad and elsewhere is so palpable that reporters, regardless of their view of the war, were bound to acknowledge it at some point," said Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard. So Democrats had better work their way through the denial phase of grief fast, because if they're saying in January what they've been saying in November, they'll look ridiculous -- or worse.
A CHURCH IN BAGHDAD
Thanksgiving was celebrated a week early at the reopening of St. John's Assyrian Catholic Church in the al Doura district of Baghdad. The pews were packed. The church had been shuttered after two nearby churches were bombed in 2004. The al Doura neighborhood had been predominantly Christian until al Qaeda began targeting Christians. Since then, most of the Christians have fled to Syria, Jordan, or northern Iraq. Now they are returning. The reopening of St. John's is a heartwarming story of Iraqis reaching across sectarian divisions for peace, and a powerful indicator of how much the security situation in Baghdad has improved since the troop surge began. On Nov. 7 Michael Yon, a former Special Forces soldier turned freelance journalist, took a photograph of Iraqis, Moslems as well as Christians, placing a cross atop the refurbished church. The photo bears a startling resemblance to that of the Marines raising the flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima in 1945. Here it is, truly symbolic of what American victory is achieving in Iraq:
HILLARY’S LAUGHABLE EXPERIENCE
For months, Mrs. Hillary Clinton has hinted that Sen. Barack Hussein Obama, less than three years into his first Senate term, lacks the preparation to deal with U.S. foreign policy challenges. In a speech last Monday (11/19), she suggested the nation's budget deficit, income inequality and lack of comprehensive health coverage also required a more experienced steward. As the Associated Press reported: "The economy needs help and fast, Hillary Rodham Clinton declared Monday, claiming the experience for the job and saying the nation can't afford to break in a newcomer... ‘There is one job we can't afford on-the-job training for - our next president. That could be the costliest job training in history,' Mrs. Clinton said. ‘Every day spent learning the ropes is another day of rising costs, mounting deficits and growing anxiety for our families. And they cannot afford to keep waiting'." Good grief. What plausible claim does Miss Hillary have to experience in managing a national economy, balancing a budget or fixing income inequality? Even on health care, according to her husband, the aspiring "First Louse" (he wants to be called First Laddie, but I think the derivation from First Spouse works better) claims that she didn't have much to do with HillaryCare - it was his fault.
LOSING FAITH IN EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY AND JUSTICE
When the citizens of Eastern Europe rejected communism 18 years ago they were inspired by dissidents who told them that people have a right to "live in the truth" and that democracy equaled liberty and justice. Now, 18 years later, democracy is in crisis in Eastern Europe, where people have come to realize that they have not gained truth, freedom or justice. Eastern Europe is going through the same crisis of political disillusionment as Western Europe. While in Budapest last week, I read the German-language Budapester Zeitung. It had a front-page article about the adoption of a bill against hate speech. This is the same bill that the European Union is imposing on all its member states. It restricts the freedom of the people, who are no longer allowed to say things that might be deemed offensive by "ethnic, sexual, religious or other minorities." In Western Europe this legislation is not merely used to prosecute genuine racists, but is increasingly abused to clamp down on those who oppose the Islamization of their countries or on those who disapprove of homosexual behavior. Here in Eastern Europe, authorities wish to do the same, putting in place legislation to silence the defenders of Hungary's national identity and traditional morality.
DEMOCRATS AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
Most Americans clearly want their government to secure the borders and enforce immigration laws. They understand what many elected officials still don't: rewarding lawbreakers with amnesty only encourages a new flood of illegal immigrants. In September, New York Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced a plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain New York drivers' licenses. The proposal has been sharply criticized across the nation. A recent poll found 77 percent of Americans oppose drivers' licenses for illegal immigrants. The public outcry ultimately forced Mr. Spitzer to withdraw his proposal, but the damage was done. With the 2008 elections less than a year away, senior Democratic leaders and members of Congress are desperately trying to strike the right tone on immigration. But efforts by Democrats to toughen talking points against illegal immigration are disingenuous at best. In fact, Democrats and various interest groups have never been serious about reducing illegal immigration. In the last two years, an overwhelming majority of House Democrats voted against almost every piece of legislation aimed at reducing illegal immigration. For example:
THANKFUL FOR AMERICA WITHOUT GUILT OR FEAR
All my life, I have always thought it was the coolest thing on planet Earth to be an American. I have been to something close to 200 countries and political jurisdictions in the world, and whenever someone asks me, "Where are you from?" it is a special thrill to be able to answer, "America - I'm an American." Thanksgiving is the unique American holiday. We share Christmas and Easter with every other Christian nation. Most every country celebrates its Independence Day, and the birthdays of their founding heroes. Thanksgiving is ours, where we give our deepest thanks to Providence for the extraordinary gift of America to mankind. Other countries have their special times to celebrate their uniqueness, when their citizens take justifiable pride in their country's achievements, and all to the good. Thanksgiving is America's Day, the time when all Americans - all - get to celebrate the achievements of the most successful society in human history. Tragically, however, there are two groups of Americans for whom Thanksgiving will be bleak. Liberals and pessimists. The purpose of Thanksgiving is to be thankful for being American. Thankful with no buts. This is the day to celebrate the goodness of our country - the moral goodness, the moral decency of American institutions, American history, and the character of the American people. No whining and moaning about what happened to the Indians, or about slavery and poverty and racism. No buts. Think that liberals can do this? Let's see.
SOROS REPUBLICANS TO THE RESCUE?
I've heard it from more than one COS (Chief of Staff) of Republican Senators now, and the buzz is growing among Capitol Hill staffers in the House as well. Word is that a number of "Soros Republicans" are about to step up to the plate. Big time. The term is unfortunate, attaching the name of scumbag George Soros to patriotic Americans. What is meant by it is that just as Soros opened up his billion dollar wallet for the Dems, so billionaire Republicans are about to do the same for the GOP. It's about time. The Democrats' 2008 campaign is going to be the most vicious attack on America ever conducted. The recent ad blitz for local and state elections earlier this month was a taste - one over-the-top character-rape of Republican candidates after unending other. The RNC (Republican National Committee) estimates that the Dems will raise and spend - via the Clinton machine, Soros-type donors, the labor unions, the moonbats - two billion dollars to capture the White House and keep control of Congress. Finally, the Pubbies are waking up to the danger.