Yellow Cake...Was, Like, Totally, Not a Lie, Ya'll

Now the nasty (pretend) stuff isn't in Iraq anymore. Canada bought it. Specifically, it's in Ontario. Hey, I lived in them thar parts. I don't trust those people and I'm not alone. Via Ace:

Wait a second…now Canuckistan has yellow-cake? This can’t be good news, what with them a mere 0 miles from our borders. The barbarian hordes from the frozen North “say” they’re going to use the uranium for peaceful “electrical” purposes, but ever since they began their massive naval build-up a few years back, I think we need to keep a sharp eye on these Neo-Scandis.

It was so much better when the pretend, non-existent yellow cake wasn't in Iraq because it was far, far away. Now it's supposedly real and exists close to American borders. This war on terror bullshit just gets worse and worse.

You Have To See This

This picture brought tears to my eyes. It's not just our freedom that matters. Everyone deserves to be free.

H/T Tigerhawk

Bush Was Right

Liberals were wrong. History will be kind to George W. Bush.

Sadr City Celebrates American Presence

Iraqis in Sadr City celebrate the Americans and there are pictures to prove it. Some corners of the dark world are seeing light again and that's good news.

Guantanamo Military Tribunals: Bush Reviving al Qaeda According To Tim Rutten

Here we go. The trials for those accused of plotting 9/11 and other terrorist acts began last week. They are military tribunals and the rat scum who committed the crimes are doing the things one would suspect a terrorist to do--like claim mental illness, decline counsel in hopes that the trial will be null and void, and generally acting persecuted. For all their plots and planning, turns out these jerks rather like life and want to prolong this process. If they can garner sympathy and can make themselves look like a martyr, they'll do it.

Enter liberals. I love this headline "Just as Al Qaeda is falling apart, Bush's terrorist tribunals are reviving it." It goes with the equally inane editorial by Tim Rutten of the LA Times. Consider this:

It's a sad but salutary thing to recall that number and that terrible day. The consolations of legal justice never can be complete, but they're all we as a society have to offer the injured and the grieving. That's why, when it comes to the handling of these cases, the Bush administration's willful overreaching, contempt for fundamental American values and defiance of basic American notions of due process have set the stage for travesty and further tragedy.

Presidents Washington, Lincoln, and Roosevelt used military tribunals. Did they demonstrate "contempt for fundamental American values?"

The tragedy that the press currently endures is not having complete, unfettered access to the courtroom. Another tragedy: the press isn't being allowed to hear every word of testimony to achieve precisely the ends Rutten claims to want to avoid--inflaming the " fanatic-infested backwaters across the Islamic world." You see, the government knows that the press doesn't mind inflaming the idiots in these backwaters. So, to prevent that happening, they will blank out words and phrases used by the terrorists that would be used to stoke and inflame those who would definitely hear it from guys like Rutten.

Here are some of the ways the press has done it's part to help "calm" those backwaters:

Editing the President's comments about Iraq and "civil war"--May 19

Remember the flushing the Koran story that was totally bogus?

How about the rush to judgment and broadcasting the Haditha marines story? Real story here.

That's just three stories I can think of off the top of my head. Any lie, distortion or piece of sensitive information spouted by one of these bastards would be presented as absolute fact by the likes of Rutten, turning the trial into a big propaganda enterprise for al Qaeda, just what Rutten claims Bush is doing.

This trial will end one of two ways--life in prison or execution. I hope for the latter. Like the hanging of Saddam Hussein, the enemy understands nothing except complete and total domination. What Rutten ignores is the mind of the enemy where everything is "en Shallah" or "God willing". Should these guys end up at the end of a noose, it must be God's will. It will be further demoralizing and humiliating. They will have died helplessly, ignominiously and worthlessly revealing the al Qaeda way for the dead end it is.

As an aside, Rutten ignores the massive resources, also known as tax dollars, that would go into housing these guys in American prisons and pushing them through the American legal system. Americans do not want that. As an American citizen, I don't really care what those in the backwaters think, feel or believe about our legal system and military choices. I rather like the notion that terrorists would worry about being snagged as an enemy. Americans might be nice as prison guards, but American justice needs to be viewed as strong. Part of the reason these yahoos think they have a chance against the "Great Satan" is they think we're weak.

If America is weak, what does that make the terrorist being sent to meet Allah by the American? Super double weak. The message will be uncomfortable for would-be terrorists to receive. Good.

Google Sucks

I'm switching away from Blogger (owned by Google) and not a day too soon. The new site should be up within a week or two. Thankfully. I don't want to give Google any more business than necessary. They left a video up of a marine being shot through the head by an Iraqi sniper for far too long. What is wrong with those people?

Australia Cuts And Runs

I'm sure they view their actions as courageous, but it just seems like Australia is bailing on a friend and even more, they are bailing on the Iraqi people. Peter Khalil extols the military (rightfully so) and simultaneously claims moral superiority for quitting combat while combat is still needed to achieve this nebulous goal:

In making the case for responsible withdrawal the Prime Minister has demonstrated independence and candour. The Rudd Government's Iraq policy is grounded in the recognition that stability in Iraq requires a political solution among all the ethnic and sectarian groups on such critical issues as the distribution of oil revenue, powers of regional governments and demobilisation of militias. The strategic reality is that an indefinite presence of foreign troops as part of a one-dimensional military campaign will never end the violence. This can be achieved only by Iraqis through negotiation and agreement.

Can you say rationalization? This is just Leftist-speak for desiring a positive outcome but being unwilling to do the tough work to get it done. Oh, they're available for the easy stuff, but the Americans can do the hard work and the Australians can feel good about themselves because they'll give some money and "support".

Sure, Americans still like Australians, but Kevin Rudd and his stupid minions and craven foreign policy? Not so much.

Cross-posted at Right Wing News.

Cultural Changes In Iraq

The New York Times couldn't find one woman who was happy with how things are changing in Iraq? Not. One.

However, people are staying connected. This was interesting:

It’s a funny thing. There is the deterioration of Iraq’s infrastructure — scarring of buildings by bullets holes, streets deformed by concrete blocks, checkpoints. But you can go inside a humble Iraqi house and you will see laptops, desktops, up-to-date technology costing hundred of dollars or even thousands.

Sometimes I tell myself Macintosh, Microsoft, and Dell should consider Iraq as a promising markets, although it exists in such a weird condition. Except for the PC, everything seems similar to the stone age, especially the absence of electricity.

Here's the the thing: Infrastructure can be rebuilt. Security will slowly be restored. Minds, however, take time to change. The connection to the outside world, though, to new ideas and different cultures, will expand the world of the Iraqis. It already is expanding. The youngsters seem thoroughly modern.

The biggest prison can be the mind. Iraqi society is becoming open, even if the doors to their homes are locked shut.

Cross-posted at Right Wing News.

American Empire

I always thought it'd be cool to be an empire. America is so awesome everyone should want to be us.

Jimmy Carter Needs To.....

Oh, I was going to say, shut up, but actually, that's not in the spirit of free speech. I think he needs to talk more. Just talk and talk and talk and talk. He is Barack Obama except, white and old. Every time he opens his yapper, people think, "Hey, that's what Democrats think and Barack Obama is a Democrat." I don't know if people think that, but I hope people think that. So keep on talking Jimmy. Your bitterness and loathing seep through every word and deed. I don't think Mr. Carter will ever forgive America for not loving him. We are just that stupid. It's a heavy burden he has to live with, no longer being able lead the dumbest people on the face of the planet.

Democrats Admit To Lying About Iraq

It's kinda shocking since Democrats don't usually lie.

"Bush Lied; People Died"....It's Catchy, Bullshit, But Catchy

Stupid slogans bug me. "Bush lied; People Died" crawled all over me like a thousand roaches. It's cliché. It's unimaginative. And it's just so simpleton simplistic and emotionally stunted. It's like we're in first grade, "I am rubber, you are glue, what you say bounces off me and sticks on you."

Anyway, there are some non-lying reasons we went to Iraq and more will surface:

Today we’re only beginning to learn about what went on behind the scenes in regard to Iraq. One important new source is the recently published War and Decision by Douglas Feith, the No. 3 civilian at the Pentagon from 2001 to 2005. Feith quotes extensively from unpublished documents and contemporary memorandums, just as in the late 1940s Robert Sherwood did in Roosevelt and Hopkins and Winston Churchill did in his World War II histories. The picture Feith paints is at considerable variance from the narratives with which we’ve become familiar.

I just don't want to hear B...L; P....D (I can't even write it out) again.

Marines Are Stooopid

A friend and staunch Obama supporter argued extensively with me yesterday about the "criminal" Bush. One of his chief arguments was that the military enlistees were a bunch of rubes who "didn't sign on" for Iraq. They didn't believe that a "misguided" war was part of the bargain. It seems to me that a soldier should have the idea that he or she might do the work of soldiering and that often involves war.

So, are the new Marine recruits stupid? The Marines hit 142% of their recruiting target. Why? Tigerhawk has some theories:

I wonder three things. First, we are in the middle of a presidential election in which even the anti-war candidates repeatedly claim to "support our wonderful troops". Perhaps that is rubbing off -- I mean, if you have heard nothing but praise for our military from politicians of all stripes for years on end, maybe you might actually absorb the idea that military service is a meaningful and respectable way of life. Second, perhaps new recruits have become a bit desensitized to the risk of combat. After all, we have been at war a long time against a tough enemy in a very difficult part of the world, and notwithstanding predictions to the contrary the numbers of killed and permanently injured remain relatively low as a percentage of the total exposed to the risk. Perhaps new recruits today are more willing to confront the personal risk than during -- say -- 2005, when recruitment swooned under the press of the war. Finally, I wonder whether the apparent success of the new strategy under David Petraeus is also helping recruitment. It is obviously more appealing to join the military if you can believe that its leadership knows what it is doing.

I also think people are seeing the veterans come back. What an impressive group of people! They walk tall. They seem sensible. I have yet to meet one vet who is crazy in the head or otherwise unstable (the Vietnam mis-perception). They seem strong and centered and mature in a world where young people act aimless, self-centered and immature. It's nice to see the veterans. They are impressive and not at all the caricature the Left would portray them as.

Maybe, people are accumulating enough evidence to judge for themselves and the media has less impact than it did.

Michael Yon's Book

Hey, ya'll (I never say that in real life, but it sounds endearing doesn't it?)! Anyway, I got the Micheal Yon's signed book Moment of Truth in Iraq. Yo, Michael! Looks good, so far. If you want the real story of what is going on in Iraq, read this.

Around and About

Tigerhawk asks, "Is John McCain a cylon?" My only thing is this: Why'd they go and make a cylon with a faulty arm? Does it have some special fighting capability? Is the arm actually weaponized? That's my theory. It's not just an arm, it's a diversion and a weapon. Makes him look old, but he could kill you. I believe that anyway. McCain scares me.

If you don't know about the Canadian human rights commission crap, go here and here. This is important people. One of my favorite Canadian bloggers, Small Dead Animals, is being sued because he used speech that some dude in Canada didn't like. Imagine saying something a liberal didn't like and being hauled before a bureaucrat (this isn't a real court with a real judge, this is just some pencil pusher who is "following the rules") to defend yourself. Canada sucks.

The Pope is visiting New York. Catholics are happy (especially cult escapees). I'm not Catholic, but I have found myself warming to the Pontiff. He's an acquired taste. Pope John Paul was more approachable.

Glenn Reynolds needs a new phone soon but says that it won't be the iPhone. Too bad for you, is what I say. I love my iPhone. The direction GPS stuff is phenomenal (I got around San Antonio and upstate New York with it)--no more maps. I text and IM on it. I love the visual messages. I keep track of my schedule. I read the news. Hell, Instapundit is one of my saved pages. Really, this little machine is my life. It were to disappear. Aughhhh!

Advice for men giving women advice at the gun range: Back the frak off! Ditto advice at the gym. No joke, a girlfriend of mine is ripped, could be in body building competitions and she gets guys coming up to her in the gym explaining how to use the equipment. Same thing happens to me. When I say, I'm a chiropractor, yadda, yadda, guys will still press on advising. Sheesh! They would never do that with a guy, ever.

I am consistently impressed with Shiite cleric Ali Sistani over in Iraq. This man, who seems to live behind some mysterious shroud, has consistently put the best interests of Iraq first. It has to be life-threatening to be standing firm the way he does. It is also life-threatening to be one of al-Sadr's henchmen. C'est la vie mon cherie terrorist thug!

Have I told you people that I loath Keith Olbermann? If I have, I haven't said it enough.

Poor, poor Hillary! She's being hated on because she's a woman. If her hearty chortle, lack of humor, boorish behavior and leftist rhetoric were coming from a man, he would definitely be a shoo-in for president. Definitely.

Finally, egads! Mitt Romney won first place in a blogger poll as Veep to McCain. Heaven help us! I must be out of touch because who in sam hill is hot for Romney? He as inspiring as as....cordovan wing tips. What the hell? Michael Steele? Now, him, I like.

General Betray Us, NOT!--UPDATED

Well, I haven't posted on General (or is that Admiral, snort) Petraeus' testimony. Not because it's not important, mind you, but because the outcome was foreordained. He would sound imminently reasonable, intelligent, and commanding and the Senators would sound unreasonable, stupid and vapid.

Predictably, the lefties hated the testimony. Ted Kennedy being the most inane, as usual. They are just in denial, plain and simple.

Some complex thoughts on the subject of Iraq here. More thoughts on that corpulent troll Muqtada al-Sadr. I've wanted him dead for so dang long. He needs to be expunged from Iraq's memory.

UPDATE: By the way, Iraq and Afghanistan has created heroes, brave men and women who have sacrificed for their comrades and saved lives by choice, knowing that they'd forfeit their own to do so. Mike Monsoor is one such soldier . Please read all about him.

Spring in San Fran & The Crazies Are A-Bloomin'

Stink! I hate being slow on the uptake and it totally escaped me that on the 5th Anniversary of the War (which I did note), I forgot about the fine citizens of the Golden Gate. They did, of course, come out in force. Dr. Seuss riseth again. Zombie captured the nonsense. Remember last time? The naked tree dwellers? This time, it's just crazy hate. But they love the troops. They really, really love the troops. H/T Little Green Footballs

The Pain of A Love Leaving

But you can’t feel sorrow like this without truly loving someone, and I figure, it’s worth it. I know it is, and I feel incredibly lucky to adore someone so much that his absence feels like a hole in my soul.
--Rachel Lucas on her boyfriend leaving for Iraq

Iraq Five Years Later

Yesterday was the five year anniversary of our troops being in Iraq. Here's what's going on:

People are stilling sending their loved ones off and making sacrifices.

Libya is now linked to supporting terror in Iraq. Nuke 'em, I say. Let's just get this clear: the Iraqis are taking the brunt of their Islamic brother's hate. By keeping the fight over there, Muslims are being toasted by Muslims. These people are very brave and would like peace just like everyone else.

Michael Yon's blog has a new look (hey, Michael, it looks good) and if you want the dirt on what's going on, you need Michael Yon.

Want to know the machinations of Iraq's politics? Learn more here. As an aside, I chortle at the Dem's high standards for Iraq when Congress is such a flipping mess. Clean up your own house, boys and girls, and then you can lob pot shots at a new and struggling government.

Austin Bay writes about Al Qaeda's declining influence. At this point, it seems like going to the sources of funding is key and blasting other terrorist states contributing to Iraq's instability would be good too. Everyone needs to shape up so Iraq has a chance.

Giving an honest opinion in a totalitarian regime is dangerous. Recovering from a victim mentality is difficult. Michael Totten explains the strange opinion polls coming out of Iraq.

As it turns out, Saddam did fund terrorism. Wow, shocking.

Personally, I think Bin Laden is dead and met Allah some time ago. But there is news that he's going to be giving one of his pep talks soon. Meh. Okay. I think it's funny how irrelevant he is dead or alive. If he isn't toes up yet, it's got to piss him off.

Is Iraq our ally? Uncle Jimbo says yes. I say yes, too, but I never felt like the Iraqis were the enemy. Saddam Hussein and his merry band of deviants were our enemy. The Iraqi people were victims of this brutal tyrant. It's going to take a while for their minds and hearts to change, but there's nothing like a taste of freedom to make a good friend.

Greyhawk notes that 3%, yes you read that correctly, 3% of the media coverage is dedicated to the war in Iraq. Wow, could it be because it would make the President look good? Would it make America look good? Would it be inspiring? And the MSM wants us to believe they're unbiased. Please.

Matt Sanchez remembers the start of the war and where we've come.

Learn about the geniuses of counterinsurgency: General David Petraeus and Raymond Odiemo. There are heroes and generals and some are one and the same. History will be kind to these men.

Surging: One Year Anniversary

Celebrations all over Baghdad! Wait, have you heard it on the news? Go read all about it.