LET'S ATTACK A SYMBOL OF ISLAMO-MISOGYNY: BAN THE BURQA

We can strike a blow against islamo-misogyny right here in the West; PIPES:

Once-exotic forms of Muslim women's head and body garments have now become both familiar in the West and the source of fractious political and legal disputes.

... The practice of covering the face derives from tribal customs that build on Islamic law, not the law itself.

For example, some tribeswomen in Saudi Arabia's Al-Kharj region put on the burqa at puberty, then never take it off – not for other women, not for their husbands, and not for their children. These family members typically see the woman's face only when viewing her corpse.

... Nothing in Islam requires turning females into shapeless, faceless zombies; good sense calls for modesty itself to be modest.

The time has come everywhere to ban from public places these hideous, unhealthy, socially divisive, terrorist-enabling, and criminal-friendly garments.

Pipes has details and links. RTWT.

I believe that the root cause of islamo-terrorism is islamo-misogyny: a people whose ideology teaches that woman must never be seen in public or have the freedom to dress as they please, and teaches its young men that it's okay (1) to beat their wiveS (PLURAL!), and (2) force their daughters to marry their cousins, and (3) kill their sisters for "dishonoring" their family, will of teach these same young men that it is okay to commit genocidal terror against infidels.

We need to begin to go on the offensive against islamo-misigyny. Banning these sexist garments would be a start.

We must make Muslim women feel free and safe enough to dress as they please, and to marry who and when they please.

Real Sunflowers

My first mate did this:

Click on image to see a larger version.

THE UK: BROWN TO GO?

The U.K. is under enormous pressure and Gordon Brown isn't going to be the leader she needs, despite his relatively good relationship with the U.S. He has been left in between a rock and a hard place by the departure of Tony Blair. While a large majority of Brits want to distance themselves from the U.S., in reality, cutting the trans-Atlantic ties would be a revolutionary change to the foreign policy that has stood through the world wars of the last century. For reasons of his own, Brown has opted to strengthen the ties despite public opinion. See here. However, pressure from the E.U. is pulling in the opposite direction.

This is the other conundrum facing Brown; the increasing demands from the Merkel-Sarkozy led E.U. The ever more centralizing superstate want to cut out the voice of British citizens by referendum and expect to dictate to the MPs of Britain instead. Brits naturally are not keen on this either. See here.

A Brown seen to be leaning towards an increasingly centralized and dominating E.U. is unlikely to impress voters before the next elections. But one observer believes Brown may even be considering bailing out:

" U K

"There is another reason he may go early, it's the stock mkts and the problems coming from the Houseing mkt, in the US.

So far this has all been nothing much to anyone not in the mkts, but believe me there is a very serious problem in the US mortgage mkt, which is spreading to all the credit mkts. Assets worth Trillions have gone to Zero overnight. Anything other than Gu'mint debt is allmost frozen, there is no mkt for it, so all that Private Finance buying/flipping is over, no-one will lend to them.

There is also smoke comming out of the Hedge Fund World and a very nasty smell....some funds are stopping redemptions...ie you can't get yr money out and no-one has any idea, just what most have on their books. This is what is spooking the Stock mkts, which themselves are way overvalued on an historical dividend yield basis.

The old adage is that if the US catches a cold we get pneumonia, well the problems in the US involve trillions of Dollars, so they may get pneumonia this time, which means we probably die."

The U.K. is being torn from several directions and now it looks as though a political vacuum may possibly develop at the top. I have to wonder at the chances the U.K. has of retaining some vestige of sovereignty in the face of its internal and external pressures. In my opinion, the destruction has been the handiwork of the Marxist institutions such as the BBC which have worked tirelessly at tearing down the British spirit and common sense that made Britain the great empire it was.



Cross-posted at The Midnight Sun

More Proof that we're WINNING IN IRAQ

University of Michigan via HOT AIR:

Aug. 2, 2007

Iraqi attitudes continue to shift toward secular values

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—The political values of Iraqis are increasingly secular and nationalistic, according to a series of surveys of nationally representative samples of the population from December 2004-March 2007.

Findings from a July 2007 survey are expected to be released before the end of the summer.

So far, the surveys show a decline in popular support for religious government in Iraq and an increase in support for secular political rule, said sociologist Mansoor Moaddel, who is affiliated with Eastern Michigan University and the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR).

WE ARE WINNING. THE ONLY WAY WE CAN LOSE IS IF THE DEMOCRAT CONGRESS CUTS & RUNS AND HANDS IRAQ TO AL QAEDA.

ANOTHER REASON WE'RE HAWKS: The Late Shirley Horn

There's more to life than war, taxes and politics - and a lot of it's more fun, too! That's why every WEEKEND, here at THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS, we post on some of the cultural things we're into, things we think you might also find entertaining, enriching, and stimulating. And who knows: We just might turn you on to something cool.

REMEMBER: the arts - ALL ARTS, not just fine arts - are a big part of what our liberty is for, and what we're fighting to defend! SO here's goes:

Here's one of the very few videos of one of the greatest jazz singers and jazz pianist of all time - and Miles' fav' (and one who would've been BANNED by the mullahs!): SHIRLEY HORN:

"Soot From Cooking Fires Melting Himalayan Glaciers" - AND NOT MAN-MADE CO2

VIA NEWSBUSTERS:

Scientific American elaborated on the study's findings (emphasis added):

The primary culprit seems to be the black carbon in soot, which soaks up any sunlight it can, thereby warming whatever it touches. And the dominant source for all this black carbon is cooking fires, [Scripps climatologist Veerabhadran] Ramanathan says. All these cooking fires are, in effect, drying the region, both by contributing to the melting of glaciers that feed Asia's major rivers as well as by decreasing the evaporation that drives rainfall. Aerosols across the board, from black carbon to sulfates, appear to be increasing across Asia as it industrializes.

Wonderfully, the solution is likely much simpler than trying to reduce CO2 emissions, and doesn't require raising taxes or destroying economies:

But the problem can be solved by swapping other fuels and methods for the wood in cooking fires. "The aerosol lifetime is two weeks," Ramanathan says. "If the world pays attention and puts resources to it, we will see an effect immediately. I'm talking weeks, at most a few months, not decades or centuries."

That contrasts with solutions for CO2 emissions, which will require much longer periods to show effects. Because the brown cloud appears to be at least as important, eliminating it could buy time to implement more far-reaching solutions before catastrophic glacial melt and other climate change impacts occur, Ramanathan argues.

BOTTOM-LINE: MAN-MADE CO2 - SPECIFICALLY MADE BY THE USA AND THE INDUSTRIAL WEST - IS NOT THE CULPRIT. PERIOD. END OF STORY.

SCHEMES TO LIMITS OUR CO2 EMISSIONS WILL THEREFORE HAVE ZERO EFFECT ON THE CLIMATE.

Frederick Forsyth: BIG BROTHER'S CLIMATE CHANGE HYSTERIA

DAILY EXPRESS:

Thirty years ago we were all being told to rush out and buy ­thermal underwear for the coming New Ice Age.

What happened to it?

Two years ago we were assured that “global warming” would give us warmer, wetter winters but long, hot, dry summers.

Is that what has been happening in Tewkesbury?

Now we are told global warming has given us the wettest summer since records began. Maybe. But this year’s downpour is just one inch more than nine other years and eight of them took place when there wasn’t a car or jet engine on the planet. So what caused the broken records?

It is clear the climate is changing and man is a contributory factor. But as to man’s exact percentage contribution, we simply do not know. Climate has simply billions of variables which even huge computers cannot solve.

... It is clear the climate is changing and man is a contributory factor. But as to man’s exact percentage contribution, we simply do not know. Climate has simply billions of variables which even huge computers cannot solve.

What effect on ­climate does violent solar activity (in this area the sun has been going crazy for several years) have?

And why do Pacific currents such as El Nino and La Nina have such a staggering effect on the entire global climate when they mal­function (as they both just have)? And why do they do it? We just do not know.

But we do know some things. We know that there have been rhythmic warmings and coolings of the climate. And we know they occurred when mankind had nothing to burn more than a few logs from the forest.

...No, I do not believe man is doomed.

Nor do I believe he should behave as if he is insane.

But I do believe our Big Brothers will use the headless chicken hysteria to rip vast quantities of money from our ­pockets, shouting “save the planet, save the planet” while they gorge themselves on our sweat and labour.

YUP: BIG BROTHER IS A GREEN LEFTIST TAXING US FOR THE COMMON GOOD.

THE CLIMATE WON'T KILL US, BUT THEIR TAXES WILL.

More Leftist Hate Speech

A Leftist site -- Firedoglake -- describes Republican supporters:

"Imagine a whole two hour debate composed entirely of questions from men lovingly cradling their assault rifles, matronly polyester-swathed frumps of much avoirdupois braying and squawking about abstinence-only education and the danger of Harry Potter in our schools, angry old men taking a break from standing on their porches shouting, "Get the hell out of my yard!" to stare Mike Gravel-like into the camera and demand to know what the candidates plan to do about "th' dayumn Mexicans".

Source

Stereotyping anyone? As Tigerhawk comments:

"Folks at Firedoglake enjoy mocking the middle-American crackers, even if they would never humiliate an African-American, Hispanic, French, or Muslim idiot for fear of social isolation. There are plenty of fools on both the left and right, but it is only safe for the media to make fun of poor white trash.

Source

It also shows how hollow is the Leftist claim to represent "the little guy". Leftists are in fact elitists who hate poor whites.

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

More slippery Leftist talk about race

The conclusion of a recent article by Matthew Syed in "The Times" is as follows: "The conclusion is unavoidable: those who invoke race as an explanation of real and perceived differences between humans have an agenda that is other than scientific"

How does he arrive at that conclusion? By pointing out, quite correctly, that there are well-known differences WITHIN races. West Africans are better at sprinting and East Africans are better at long-distance running, for instance. So therefore, he thinks, in a breathtaking overgeneralization, all talk of race is misleading.

That is an old quibble, however. While it is true that statements such as "Blacks make the best sprinters" are much less precise than they could be, they are nonetheless true statements -- as are other generalizations about race -- such as: "African-Americans commit violent crimes about 9 times as often as white Americans". Such statements are simple statements of fact and saying that anyone who utters such statements "has an agenda that is other than scientific" is just indulging in the usual fact-ignoring Leftist abuse.

Insofar as I can find any logic at all in Syed's pontification, I think he may be pointing out that what is true of any group is not necessarily true of all members in that group. I know of no-one who would dispute that, however, so Syed's attack is an attack on a straw man.

Syed also seems unaware that the usual racial classifications are well-reflected in the DNA of the people concerned. See e.g. here and here.

From his surname, I suspect that Syed is a Muslim. So let me give him another generalization to chew on: "The statements of prominent Muslims are not notable for their reliance on logic". That statement is of course a generalization and, as such, does not preclude some prominent Muslims from being very logical -- but Syed is clearly not one of those.

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

THE REAL MICHAEL MOORE

Hat tip: Wake Up America

This is a powerful video that exposes just a few of the many lies Michael Moore has foisted upon the American people through his propaganda movies and his life. It is well worth watching.

NUKES AND MIDGET SUBS: HOW AND WHERE IRAN MIGHT USE THEIR NUKES

Just a guess:

First: it's gotta be obvious to anyone with an IQ that Iran is only interested in enriching uranium to make bombs.

NEED PROOF: As the Guardian asked last week, why rush to enrich uranium for peaceful uses when the nuclear power plant they're building isn't finished and can't used what they're making? And why did they keep it secret and lie about for all those years? And why have they been running it NONSTOP on a blitz to produce enriched uranium? QUOTE:

For the time being, the wires are back in place at Isfahan, along with two IAEA cameras that stare down from high perches on either side. But the degree of international control is tenuous at best.

The very fact that the machinery is humming at Isfahan puts Iran in contravention of UN security council resolutions, calling for all work related to uranium enrichment to be suspended…

There is another huge question mark hanging over Isfahan and Natanz: why is the government in such a rush to enrich fuel, when it has no nuclear power plants in which to use it?

Okay then... let's say they build a few nukes...



WELL: HOW WILL THEY USE THEM?

I would guess that they WON'T load them on missiles and launch them at anyone.









WHY? Because, the missiles could be intercepted.

And because missiles are TRACEABLE. A missile is - after all - QUITE LITERALLY A HUGE SMOKING GUN! And that will invite a massive retaliatory nuclear strike against Iran - at the very least.

So, to avoid that mess, the mullahs MIGHT dispatch the nukes via a islam-ikaze jihado-terrorist. They maintain deniability that way.


Perhaps in a suicidal-submarine attack against a major port - (Norfolk, New York, LA, Haifa). They have subs. MIDGET SUBS.

I think they would love to sneak a nuke inside of Israel. Right now, the Iranians are looking for Hebrew speakers; they claim to do propaganda. But I think they need them in order to get inside of Israel: I think they might want these Hebrew speakers to smuggle a nuke into Israel piece by piece, and build it there. And sneak in the uranium in via the sea - in a midget sub. Perhaps they'd do this during a major Hizballah and Hamas attack - an attack staged as a diversion.

Just a guess. Just gaming it. Just a scenario.

Update/other scenarios - 8/2/07: (1) Iranians could also try to attach a submersible nuke to a commercial ocean liner heading for a major port.

Or (2) they might have 19 jihadis take an ocean cruise from NYC to the Caribbean. All they'd take aboard in NYC (where there's ample security) would be the non-radioactive parts for a nuke. They'd get the radioactive parts and the trigger - (disguised as some silly tourist crap) - at one of the island stops, and smuggle back on board down there - where there's next to no security. They'd blow it up upon their return.

IT'S JUST SCENARIO... but I wonder how we'd stop either of these operations?

WHY THE US CONSTITUTION MADE THE PRESIDENT- AND NOT CONGRESS OR THE COURTS - COMMANDER IN CHIEF

LATIMES:

A special court that has routinely approved eavesdropping operations has put new restrictions on the ability of U.S. spy agencies to intercept e-mails and telephone calls of suspected terrorists overseas, U.S. officials said Wednesday.

The previously undisclosed ruling by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has prompted concern among senior intelligence officials and lawmakers that the efforts of U.S. spy agencies to track terrorism suspects might be impaired at a time when analysts have warned that the United States is under heightened risk of attack.

IF WE'RE ATTACKED BETWEEN NOW AND 8/11 - RAJAB 27 - THEN I'LL BLAME CONGRESS AND THE COURTS.

JOHN KERRY DOESN'T KNOW THE MEANING OF THE WORD "VICTORY"

Yahoo/AP:

Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, argued that the Bush administration's lack of planning for the occupation of Iraq shows Congress needs to be involved in planning the withdrawal.

"The Pentagon ought to be planning to save lives, not save face," Kerry said.

Planning withdrawal!?!? Before the job is done. SHEESH. Did Ike do this in 1944!?

No, Senator; the Pentagon ought to planning how we win.

WINNING: now that's a word which Kerry has probably never used in relation to any US military effort. He only knows about retreating and then slandering the troops.

Kerry is left-wing dove scum. Like Obama and Edwards and Hillary.

Patton knew what wars were about and how they're WON :

• War is a killing business. You must spill the enemy's blood or they will spill yours.
• ... The pacifists are at it again. I met a 'visiting fireman' of great eminence who told me that this was to be the 'last war'. I told him that such statements since 2600 B.C. had signed the death warrants of millions of young men. He replied with the stock lie, 'Oh yes, but things are different now'. My God! Will they never learn?
• The pacifist actually refuses to defend what defends him; his country. In the final analysis this is the most basic immoral position.
• ... Politicians are the lowest form of life on the earth. Liberal Democrats are the lowest form of politician.

HOW TRUE: Politicians are the lowest form of life on the earth. Liberal Democrats are the lowest form of politician.

And Kerry and Edwards and Hillary and Obama are the LOWEST form of liberal Democrat.

JOHN EDWARDS VERSUS DAVID LETTERMAN: WHO IS RUDY GIULIANI?

EDWARDS: "RUDY IS BUSH ON STEROIDS."

LETTERMAN: "RUDY IS THE PERSONIFICATION OF COURAGE."

RELIAPUNDIT: "EDWARDS IS A FAIRY. RUDY IS NOT."

MORE HERE.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER - Part 40

Hmm, what do you know? Forty! The number which basically means spiritual trial in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The Israeli's suffered for forty years in the wilderness. Jesus was tempted for forty days in the desert. Noah tossed and turned 40 days on the storm that flooded the entire world.

Forty is the number of spiritual struggle.

Oh, and gee, it also happens to be the number of this post about Sean Penn, who is truly a spiritual struggle for all of us who have to support his art and his defiant personlality.

Check it out:

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has praised Sean Penn for his critical stance against the war in Iraq, saying the two chatted by phone and soon plan to meet in person.

Chavez said Penn traveled to Venezuela this week wanting to learn more about the situation in the country and walked around some of Caracas' poor barrios on his own.

"Welcome to Venezuela, Mr. Penn. What drives him is consciousness, the search for new paths," Chavez said Wednesday in a televised speech. "He's one of the greatest opponents of the Iraq invasion."

Chavez read aloud from a recent open letter by Penn to President Bush in which the actor condemned the Iraq war and called for Bush to be impeached, saying the president along with Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are "villainously and criminally obscene people."

The socialist president, who shares those views, said he and Penn talked by phone — "with my bad English but we understood each other more or less."

Chavez said the two plan to meet Thursday. He called the actor "well-informed about what is happening in the United States and the world, in spite of being in Hollywood."

What's more, Chavez said, "he's made great films." The Venezuelan leader said he recently watched Penn's Oscar-winning performance in the film "Mystic River."

For his part, Penn on Wednesday toured Venezuela's new film studios on the outskirts of Caracas. Penn, whose visit was unannounced, did not speak publicly.

Reliapundit: It's truly AMAZING how idiot Lefties like Penn admire true tyrants like Chavez and Castro and defend true murderers like Che and Saddam, but attack Bush - who has liberated 50 million people. IDIOTS.

CAIR Tries to Censor YAF Talk

We read:

"The Council on American-Islamic Relations is demanding that the Young America's Foundation cancel a planned speech Thursday by author Robert Spencer. Mr. Spencer, author of "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam" and founder of Jihad Watch, is scheduled to speak on the topic, "The Truth About CAIR," at 4 p.m. today at YAF's national student conference at George Washington University.

Calling Mr. Spencer "a well-known purveyor of hatred and bigotry against Muslims" with a "history of false and defamatory statements," an attorney for CAIR on Wednesday wrote a letter (click here to see the letter in PDF format) to"demand that YAF cancel the subject session, or else take steps to ensure that false and defamatory statements are not disseminated at that session."

"CAIR has consistently taken a principled position against terrorism and extremism," Joseph E. Sandler, attorney for CAIR, wrote in his letter to YAF. "Our clients have instructed us to pursue every available and appropriate legal steps to ensure that false and defamatory statements are not disseminated" during Mr. Spencer's speech, wrote Mr. Sandler.

"We're not going to be intimidated" by people "who are opposed to free expression," YAF spokesman Jason Mattera told The Washington Times. "Not only are we going to have [Mr. Spencer] speak, but [we] are opening the session up to more interns and we will publicize the event further." More than 400 conservative college students from around the country are attending the weeklong YAF conference..........

Source

YAF have told them to get lost. Needless to say, it is CAIR who are uttering hate speech against Mr Spencer, who is very careful what he says about Muslims on his blog -- sourcing everything from Muslims themselves

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

Leftists worldwide are moving Right -- except in America

The excerpt below comments on European developments but it perhaps even more so in Australia -- where the Leftist leader (Rudd) sounds very conservative indeed on most issues. He even seems to be a genuine Christian

In Europe, reforms are in vogue. Though many special interests are fiercely resisting change, it is striking to see just how many European Social Democrats have come to recognize the need for structural reforms to welfare states.

Witness Gerhard Schroeder, the center-left former chancellor of Germany: in 2003, he called for a "change of mentality" in his own party, the SPD, as well as in German society as a whole. "Much will have to be changed to keep our welfare and social security at least at its current level," he added, as he argued in favor of reforms that would trim entitlements, and cut taxes. The chairman of the SPD, Franz Muentefering, supported Mr. Schroeder by saying that "we believe that things must be rearranged and restarted in Germany in this decade." Not long thereafter, Mr., Schroeder took the lead in making German labor laws more flexible.

In France, Socialist former prime minister Lionel Jospin shocked the left several years ago: When asked on TV what he was going to do to help laid-off factory workers beyond the public assistance already on the books, he said that "the state cannot do everything." It was not so much the truth of the statement that came as a shock; it was that a leader of the French left would say it so candidly. Throughout his tenure, Mr. Jospin privatized numerous state-owned companies, including Air France, even as he criticized capitalism.

Labour former British prime minister Tony Blair became famous for his "Third Way" philosophy, which he said moved "beyond an old left preoccupied by state control, high taxation and producer interests."

And in Italy, on July 20, center-left prime minister Romano Prodi announced a deal raising the retirement age to 61 from 57. Though the deal was a somewhat watered-down version of the pension reform plan originally passed by his center-right predecessor, Silvio Berlusconi, it shows that the Italian left is aware that structural reforms are urgently needed.

Source

(For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, GREENIE WATCH, POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH, FOOD & HEALTH SKEPTIC, GUN WATCH, SOCIALIZED MEDICINE, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS, DISSECTING LEFTISM, IMMIGRATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL and EYE ON BRITAIN. My Home Pages are here or here or here. Email me (John Ray) here.)

NOW IN CONTROL OF GAZA, THE JIHADISTS KILL EACH OTHER

BBC:

Two people have been killed in clashes overnight between gunmen from the Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, reports from the Gaza Strip say.

The incident follows clashes on Wednesday in which one Hamas fighter died and several others were injured.

Hamas says the clashes come after its men tried to detain Islamic Jihad men violating a ban on celebratory gunfire.

Hamas banned such gunfire, at weddings and funerals, after it seized control of the Gaza Strip last month.

Correspondents say the incidents are an indication of the growing animosity between the two Islamist groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, now that their common enemy, the secular Fatah has been vanquished in Gaza.

No celebratory fire, but using guns to kill each other is OK. Sheesh. THESE JIHADISTS ARE ALL FREAKIN' ANIMALS.

No. That's an insult to animals. Wild beast are better them them, too. These people are scum. And their ideology/religion is evil.

People who claim that Hamas is popular because they deliver social services are idiots and dupes.

Jihadists in Gaza - whether Hamas or Islamic Jihad - are no different than the Taliban or al Qaeda. They're all terrorist scum. The sooner we annihilate them the better.

HARRY REID IS WRONG: we're winning in Iraq

CNN:

The Mosul leader of al Qaeda in Iraq was shot to death by Iraqi soldiers during a combat operation in the northern Iraqi city Wednesday, a U.S. military statement said.

U.S. and Iraqi troops have been taking on militants in the Baquba area and throughout Diyala province

It comes as the U.S. records its lowest monthly troop death toll since November, reflecting military hopes that the recent military buildup is making strides.

Killed by IRAQI soldiers. Lowest troop death toll since last year.

THE POLITICS OF PERSONAL DESTRUCTION--ALBERTO GONZALES

Remember Hillary Clinton whining about how her enemies were engaged in the "politics of personal destruction". It was the ultimate pot calling the kettle black since the Clintons have perfected the "politics of personal destruction".

Yet, this is exactly what is going on when it comes to the purely political witch hunt against Gonzales. How is any of this even logical? Clinton fired all the U.S. attorneys upon entering the White House and yet hysteria erupts over Bush and Gonzalez firing 8, years into Bush's 2nd term.

Kudos to Dick Cheney for calling this exactly what it is, a witch hunt. Here is an excerpt:

"First of all, there's no charge," Cheney said. "What's the allegation of wrongdoing here? Frankly, there isn't any."

"They keep rolling over rocks hoping they can find something, but there really hasn't been anything come up that would suggest there was any wrongdoing of any kind," Cheney told CNN's Larry King.

Rush brought up that Chris Wallace lambasted Russ Feingold on this issue this past weekend on Fox News Sunday. Here is how Rush described it and some of the actual exchange between Wallace and Feingold:

Chris Wallace says, "Senator, according to this morning's New York Times, Alberto Gonzales may actually have been right. The dispute may have been over -- it's very technical -- the computer searches of databases not the interception of phone calls. But in any point it's a very technical issue we're discussing here. Does this really rise to the level of appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the attorney general for perjury?"

FEINGOLD: You bet it does. This is technical, and it is classified, but there's really nothing more important than not having the attorney general of the United States tell false statements to Congress about these programs and about what's going on. Now, the truth is that the attorney general, in my view, has at least lied to Congress and may have committed perjury. And I think we need to have somebody who is able to look at both the classified and non-classified material in a way that he can actually determine whether or not criminal charges have to be pursued.

RUSH: Chris Wallace then says, "Senator, wouldn't the American people rather see Congress do something about lowering drug prices, about energy policy, about student loans, all part of the Democrat agenda that you haven't passed so far rather than engage in this political theater?"

FEINGOLD: That's just not true. We have passed a major energy bill in the Senate. We have passed major legislation on student lowers and higher education.

WALLACE: Forgive me, Senator, but none of it has gotten through Congress.

FEINGOLD: Well, the fact is a minimum wage increase got through Congress.

RUSH: (Laughing.) Whoop-de-doo! Yip yip yip yip yahoo. Wallace says, "Can you point to a single smoking gun, any hard evidence that the White House has done anything illegal?"

FEINGOLD: I think clearly with regard to the NSA surveillance program --

WALLACE: No, I'm talking about the US attorneys, sir.

FEINGOLD: I believe they probably have. I can't give you anything definitive on that, but I do believe there's been terrible misconduct and misleading approaches here.

WALLACE: But I think the question is, "Is this really going anywhere?" Is this substantive oversight, or is this political theater? I mean, the point is, on the US attorneys which we're talking about, six-, seven-month investigation, 8500 pages of documents, 14 witnesses, and you say yourself as a member of the Senate judiciary, you haven't found any hard evidence that the White House has broken the law.

FEINGOLD: Well, I happen to think they probably did break the law here --

WALLACE: But do you have any evidence?

FEINGOLD: -- over until we -- well, that's why we're asking for people like Karl Rove and others to come down and testify so we can actually examine the evidence.

RUSH: They don't have anything, and he had to (grumbles), "Well, we did pass a minimum wage." My guess is that Senator Feingold does not know how shellacked he was when he left the Fox News broadcast complex on Sunday.

Even Feingold admits that they have nothing and that this is no more than a fishing expedition.

Kimberly Strassel from the Walstreet Journal also talks about how this is about politics, not the law in her column entitled, Beneath Contempt.

Is it any wonder as Chris Wallace pointed out that this "do-nothing" Congress has such low approval ratings? They aren't accomplishing anything but wasting our taxpayer money and time by trying to dig things up on Bush to try and smear him and his administration.

DHIMMITUDE STRIKES AGAIN: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

NRO/CORNER:

... under threat of a law suit, Cambridge University Press has just agreed to pulp all unsold copies of the 2006 book, Alms for Jihad: Charity and Terrorism in the Islamic World.

... this is the fourth such book on terrorism funding to be pursued by a libel action.

... In a blog post entitled, "Attention Authors: Be afraid, very afraid....especially if you write about the Saudis and their support of terrorism," Emory University professor, Deborah Lipstadt elaborates.

In addition to the links within Lipstadt’s post, you can find related stories at the website of Ehrenfeld’s American Center for Democracy.

Given MSM’s silence, this looks like one for the blogosphere.

THIS IS LIKE THE MOHAMMED CARTOONS. THE ENEMY IS ENCROACHING ON OUR LIBERTIES.

WE MUSTN'T LET THEM.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER - PART 39: OBAMA AND AL QAEDA LEADER AL LIBI BOTH ATTACK MUSHARRAF

BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA:

In his speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, D.C., — billed as a major foreign policy address — Obama said that as commander in chief he would remove troops from Iraq and put them "on the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan."

He offered harsh words to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who has been the target of assassination attempts for his efforts to aid the United States in rooting out terrorist havens in the northwestern region of his country.

"I understand that President Musharraf has his own challenges. But let me make this clear. There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again," Obama said. "If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will."

AL QAEDA LEADER AL LIBI:

Al Qaeda Commander Calls for Overthrow of Pakistani Government

CAIRO, Egypt — An Al Qaeda commander who escaped from a U.S. prison called on Pakistanis in a new Web video to overthrow President Gen. Pervez Musharraf as revenge for the killing of a pro-Taliban cleric in the Red Mosque showdown.


The video was issued by Abu Yahia al-Libi, who broke out of the Bagram Air Base prison north of Kabul in 2005 and who Western and Afghan intelligence officials believe has since worked training suicide bombers in a camp in eastern Afghanistan.

"O people of jihad (Holy War) in Pakistan ... hurry up and get rid of this corrupt and tyrannical apostate and his secular infidel rule. Destroy the fortifications of his weak army and the nests of his filthy intelligence agency and the core of his infidel rule," al-Libi said.

FUNNY HOW THE DEMS AND AL QAEDA ALWAYS SEEM ALIGNED, AIN'T IT: WHAT'S GOOD FOR ONE IS GOOD FORE THE OTHER.

What's bad for them is good for the Free World and the GOP. WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?

This is why we won't defeat the jihadist enemies abroad until we defeat the Leftist enemies at home.