Convention Confessions

I have a convession. Excuse me reader, it has been four years since my last convention. Here is my sin: Breaking years of tradition, I watched the infomercial that passes for our party's convention last night. I didn't feel as dirty as I thought I might afterwards. Is that wrong?

John McCain's speech was more rousing and supportive of Bush than I thought it would be, with a notable dig at the attendent Michael Moore -- who was more good natured about the slight than I would have expected. While Rudy Guiliani's speech was just about what I had expected: full of tough love, support for the President and Israel, and no BS about tertiary issues in the election.

I admit to feeling pride a few times during the grandiose speechifying, but also dismay at the continuing propogation of the idea that al-Qaeda hates us for our way of life. Parroting Imperial Hubris, it is very hard for me to believe that claim, when every communication from Osama & Co. provides a detailed list of grievances, not one of which has ever mentioned freedom of speech, the press, Britney Spears, or Madonna. Those last two, btw, are possible casus belli in most canonical military texts.

That quibble aside, both Guiliani and McCain went for the jugular and hammered at Kerry's lack of substantial policy leadership. They didn't hit him on his character in the period after Vietnam. Maybe that is a smart move, but I don't think so. They can attack his record once back in the US without impuning his actual combat record.

Maybe Laura or the Governater will hit that note tonight.

Oh, and don't we have something called a platform? I think it's where the party lays out just what it believes and why. You wouldn't know that it even exists by the convention speeches. Not one word about gays, abortions, the late JC, or anyone else. Why not? If the party feels strongly enough to make it part of the platform, why not shout it from the rooftops?

I'll tell you why -- but keep it between us, ok? The reason that they don't shout it from the rooftops is because we'll get our tuckus bloodied by starting a social civil war during this election year. We at the New Republicans know that eventually the social conservatives do not have the winning formula for a country as rich and different as the US. For the party to include language in the platform that costs us votes is to willfully slit our own throat.

Drop the divisive social engineering rhetoric, ok? If we're the party of partiotism and don't-tread-on-me, then stick to the message. We don't have to advocate gay marriage or abortion to accept it. If personal liberty is a foundational good, an inherently valuable good, then let people live as they wish. If you don't like it, make a commericial, work on outreach or think of a jingle. But stop trying to meddle with the Constitution.

The Israel & AIPAC Spy Scandal

We shouldn't be surprised that Israel is spying on us. They are not our friends in the way that many Americans suppose they are. Our interests are similar in many areas of Mid-East policy, but we are wrong-headed when we suppose that fully supporting them is our only option for Middle East policy.

The US should begin to slowly disassociate itself from Israel and engage the Arab governments for a more strategic balance in the region. While the US may remain Israel's ally, we cannot forever shape our foreign policy to the region around their interests. They can fight for themselves very effectively.

Heresy, you say?

Even stranger are some details just coming out explaining the split inside the administration about how to deal with Iran. Read this back channel explanation of events.

Dave Barry on the RNC's Site Selection Process

According to an explanation issued by the GOP site-selection committee: ``We considered such factors as hotel space, meeting facilities, transportation and the financial incentives offered by the city. Then we smoked crack.''

That's the only way it makes sense. Because if you're looking for cities that would be appropriate hosts for a large national gathering of Republicans, New York is going to be pretty far down your list, somewhere below Havana.

Politically, New York is very liberal: 68 percent of the city's registered voters are Democratic, with the remaining 32 percent evenly divided between Ché Guevara and Mao.


Herald.com | 08/30/2004 | Republicans take bite out of the Big Apple

More on the The Peace and Justice League

I'm not out on a commie-hunting expedition, but isn't it strange that communist affiliation isn't mentioned everytime there is a march against the Iraq war by socialist and/or communist-led groups like United for Peace and Justice or International ANSWER? How different would the protester turnout be if the news began with "today, a communist-led group with roots in the Soviet Union led a march against..."?

No conspiracy mongering here. Just curiousity expressing itself. Anyone have better ideas on this?

Google this: "leslie cagan" communist
Use the same search parameters listed above: name in quotes, adjective outside.

Here is one article that appears only in Google's cache, as the original article has been taken down.

Original Source: www.americandaily.com/article/2293

Washington Post Bureau Chief Whitewashing “Reds” In April 17 Puff Piece
By Cliff Kincaid (04/24/2003)

Powell, a reporter for the paper that broke open the Watergate scandal, apparently could not find it within his power or ability to reveal that Cagan is a co-chair of a group dominated by former veteran CPUSA members such as Angela Davis. The CCDS Web site refers to the Communist Manifesto as a "stirring document" that is relevant today.

Powell's article did acknowledge that International ANSWER, the Workers World Party (WWP) front group behind several Washington, D.C. protests, was a "Marxist-Leninist grouping that glorifies North Korea." But he then ignored the hard evidence of Cagan's communist connections and travels to Cuba. It's clear that Powell was trying to present Cagan, the head of a rival anti-war group called United For Peace and Justice, as a more responsible activist without the WWP baggage. He could only do that by insulating Cagan from the taint of communism or even socialism.

Powell said that, "She came of age as a radical protesting the Vietnam War, before doing graduate agitating on issues including the nuclear freeze, gay rights, El Salvador and the trade embargo on Cuba." The closest he came to acknowledging her red roots was when he noted allegations that Insight Magazine had called Cagan a Marxist agitator who has "roots in old Soviet . . . agitprop" and that she had been denounced for "letting various flavors of Trotskyites and Maoists join the antiwar marches."

A less partisan view of the movemet is found here.

Leslie Cagan is currently Co-Chair of CCDS ( Committee's of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism ) http://www.cofc.org/

This group was formed after the Soviet coup of 1991 by Manning Marable, Carl Boice, Leslie Cagan, Charlene Mitchell, Angela Davis, Pete Seeger and numerous others who were expelled from (or left) the Communist Party for supporting Mikhail Gorbachev Free of the CPUSA, the CCDS founders hoped to unite the divided American Left, and received support from a number of well-known leftists, including Noam Chomsky. However, this dream soon ran into the classic problem of sectarianism, and CCDS floundered. Over the years, the political alignment of CCDS shifted dramatically, from its infancy in Reform Communism to become a democratic socialist organization, not very different from DSA or the Socialist Party USA. However, without a clear vision of where the organization was going (i.e., merge with another group or strengthen their own) CCDS's originally strong organization has begun to disintegrate within the last few years. Some of their members, inspired by the CP's new leader, Sam Webb, returned to the CP. Others joined Nader and the Green Party and forgot about CCDS. Further, CCDS's main office in New York was damaged in the September 11th attack.

United for Peace and Justice?

Frontpage magazine has an article that claims:

The marchers will proceed west towards the river, after which, “ The plan is to attempt to turn north again as soon as we can and then turn east again as soon as we are allowed. You can see how this pattern will soon result in a circle being formed around the Garden... They are telling the police that then they will turn north again on Broadway and move away from the Garden to some "spill out" location, such as a nearby park or pier... This moving away from the Garden will, of course, never happen. They plan to move south again and join up with the marchers still coming up Broadway. This will probably work, and the police will probably shut out the people from moving around in a circle only after they realize what is going on, leaving a group of protestors cut off from the pack... That will turn into a violent confrontation... This is a planned provocation that will surely end in violence. The route and method of police negotiation will make this an absolute certainty.”

This concept - to stage a march and disrupt the convention - was developed at a national NION meeting at the offices of the Asian American Writer's Forum. This meeting was attended by – among others - Mary Lou Greenberg, a Director of NION and a member of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP), with which NION is affiliated, Peter Laarman (a founder of NION), and Joe Urgo, who is an RCP representative. Urgo and Greenberg developed the idea for the march.

Urgo has some experience in negotiations with police. Laarman, whose role in the day to day working of the organization is extremely small, is also assisting with the application of the march and rally permits. He is coordinating this with the lawyers for United for Peace and Justice who are applying for permits as well. This particular march the night of Bush’s nomination is being sponsored by NION.

NION believes, as do the other anti-war groups, that Republicans are more of a threat than Al-Qaeda or the Baathists. Whether they are just inveterate haters of Republicans or they are treasonous is uncertain. What is certain is that peace is not even a tertiary consideration for them - destabilizing the United States is. NION, and the other “peace” groups are linked to communist, Islamist, and anti-capitalist groups.

I'm skeptical of a source coming in from the cold and divulging sensitive information to a non-mainstream journalist. But I have read in sources across the political spectrum about the links between communist groups and the early anti-war rallies, especially at the organizational level.

If the prediction made above comes to pass, then I'll be very impressed by the author's scoop. If it doesn't happen, then he'll just become another reason to not believe anything outside of the traditional newspapers.

Origin of a Species

I wasn't born a Republican. In fact, I don't know that I had any political affiliation until high school. There I began to understand the divide between angry or laughable Lefties and everyone else. I don't mean that facetiously. In my world, there are two types of people: the angry, disagree-with-me-and-suffer-my-wrath type and the people with whom one can disagree without feeling morally or physically stigmatized. In the former category I lump the Right and Left's moral crusaders.

Somewhere in my high school days I felt an instinctive dislike for people who claimed to speak for everyone except for themselves and who claimed that all of the people in power were idiots to a man -- except for their man.

So when I see the protestors, I feel something I don't like: their misstated signs (such as "liar"), their wide-eyed anger, their chants of peace and love shouted through tense jaws and sweaty, furrowed brows. They don't strike me as pictures of compassion or kindness or even intellectual fortitude. No. They are angry, emotional people, united only by hatred.

I don't know how many Righties found themselves on the Right side of the aisle because they just couldn't understand or be comfortable with the sign-wavers, the too-angry-to-think-straight types, or even the silly and whimsical Lefties who dress as cartoonish characters to feel different.

I don't know how many Lefties found themselves that way because they finally found a way to fit in somewhere.

I do know that now, after arguing about what feels like the same things with the same people for more than ten years, I am no closer to feeling comfortable with the anarchists, communists, radical feminists and other protest-friendly groups than I was then.

Give me a Democrat any day. Whether beer or champagne drinker, Toyota or Lexus driver, smoker or non-smoker, I don't care. But please let him be reasonable. This is the wish of one New Republican.

Now if you thought that the Olympics were the apogee of spectator sporting, just wait until the protests really get underway...

Ayatollah To The Rescue?

Najaf is still the centerpoint of violence in Iraq. It looks like someone (maybe from Sadr's forces?) is attempting to paint either the US or the Iraqi army as responsible for two attacks on protestors in Kufa. One attack reported left 74 dead, while the other just scared 2000-3000 protestors with machine gun fire above their heads.

If, as most commentators have long since pointed out, Sistanti's influence is ultimately stronger for most Iraqi Shia than is Sadr's, then his call for a march on Najaf may be a very good thing for Iraq and the US. If foreign militants are leading the pro-Sadr brigades, then his people will call attention to that fact. If they are Iraqis, then they will have the moral authority to plead like brothers for them to put down their arms.

Sistani may be sympathetic to Iran to some degree, but he doesn't seem to be as tightly wrapped around their finger as is Sadr.

Planes Falling and Failing

Alitalia is said to be 20 days away from liquidation. Russian planes meanwhile fell out of the sky nearly simultaneously.

Will Italy go back to state control over the airline? Maybe. And the Russians, for their part, are acting more reasonably than might be expected, given this accident's similarity to al-Qaeda's typical modis operandi.

In other news, Sistani's back, calling for a march on Najaf. Will he push for Sadr's removal from Najaf, or some other equally embarrasing punishment? I'm not certain that Sistani can be counted on to do much, though I have read in the past about his desire to silence Sadr, whom he views as a hothead.

Cheney essentially came out in support of gay marriage, at least as a state's rights issue.

And Margaret Thatcher's son, Sir Mark, has been arrested over his role as the alleged financier and logistics man behind the Equitorial Guinea coup. It's a very strange story that makes sense in Africa, where rules are made to be broken.

Blue Sky Thinking:

Since today's news seems to be a continuation of yesterday's (no philosophical digressions here), I'll post a blue sky hypothetical question that should stimulate debate. I'm wrestling with some of the implications of Imperial Hubris and am seriously unimpressed with his stated alternatives: lose or kill with reckless abandon until they know that we mean business.

How about this scenario: we leave Iraq to fragment, knowing that the Kurds will declare independence, Iran will take the Shia bits and the Sunnis will hold a rump state that will probably ally with Syria. Given the increased Iranian presence in formerly Sunni lands, the Saudi will increase covert spending and encourage the growth of pro-Saudi groups opposed to the ruling Ayatollahs. This Sunni/Shia (Saudi/Iranian) showdown will weaken the middle east internally, drive their attention towards each other and away from us. In the meantime, if bin Laden and his ilk desire an Ottoman-like superstate, let them kill each other trying to build it. No Beiruti in his right mind will ever agree to be ruled by the one-eyed wonder of the Patans, no matter how holy.

Let what should be a inter-muslim fight for the direction of the faith and their respective societies become just that.

Cue the flaming arrows.

News Summary: Breaking up is hard to do & Kerry's military record

Senator Roberts proposes breaking up the CIA into three pieces (Ops, Analysis and Science and Tech). In business such separation is considered a prerequisite to effectiveness because it allows an organization to optimize its operations around a perceived core competency. Dig deeper, though, and most business leaders, their consultants and even professors can't really define the notion of core competency beyond the idea of doing One Thing really well. But since doing One Thing really well requires doing well the actions that contribute to doing that One Thing really well, the idea is not entirely coherent as it reduces to not one, but many things that must be done well.

Some questions that I would need answers to before making up my mind on this point:
1) How will the new agencies work more effectively separately than together?
2) Will separation lead them to be more effective in their individual missions than separately?
3) Will national security be better protected with separate agencies than with the current system?


Kerry's military record is getting a lot of press these days. Even Bob Dole stepped up to criticize it rather harsly. I'm not certain that this is smart politics.

Hit Kerry on changing his mind about troop redeployment (he agreed with the idea earlier this month, but then opposed it when Bush supported it). Hit Kerry on his support/lack-of-it for the Iraq affair. Hit Kerry for his opposition to the US military for so many years and now transforming into the liberal HeMan. But hitting him for his service record may make the Right look mean and cheap. Unless we have unambiguous evidence as support, drop it.

Iran's Strong Words

Iran is beating its war drum -- maybe because its play for Iraqi control via Moktada is floundering?

If Israel fires one missile at Bushehr atomic power plant, it should permanently forget about the Dimona nuclear center, where it produces and keeps its nuclear weapons," said the commander, Gen. Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr.

Admiral Shamkhani said Iran was certain that Israel would not carry out such an attack without a green light from the United States. "So you cannot separate the two," he said.

Anarchy in the USA!

Anarchists , those fun-loving guys and gals who brought you such hits as "the battle in Seattle" and no WTO, are at it again. Yes-sir-ee.

This article is unintentionally funny, like a Lefty wearing an anti-globalisation t-shirt that was made in China that he bought for 10 bucks on some street corner just before the protest started.

I think that all talk of civil disobedience of this type would have the originators of that idea turning over in their graves. A nice dissertation topic for a political philosophy student might follow from this: The Changing Politics of Personal Liberty: Autonomy from Marx to Madness, Berkely University Press 2005

Since Marx argued for the idea that state not coerce anyone to do anything that he doesn't want to do, the etiology of the modern anarchists' belief system is well established. Problematically for both Marxists and anarchists, the idea of absolute autonomy is flawed in theory and practice. Theoretically, what if someone's idea of personal liberty involved the enslavement of others or constant warfare? Who adjudicates the conflict? Secondly, for practical matters, what is the incentive to be a garbage man or work for the sewerage and water board as a pipe-cleaner (an essential service to all societies)?

Maybe Barzun was right. We are decadent.

Definitions vary but most see anti-capitalism as the bedrock of their ideology. They question and disdain authority and hierarchal government as corrupting and intrusive in personal affairs. "Neither slave nor master'' is a common slogan.

Some are zealots [some? ed.]; others see anarchism as a way to raise awareness of problems like hunger, greed and materialism [How would uncoordinated effort achieve this? Isn't the very effort of uniting to do X (even without a nominal head) an effective acknowledgement that organisations are better at coordinating activities than are individuals? ed.].

"My guiding vision is a society without a state, but I am not necessarily a fundamentalist,'' said Meddle Bolger, 29, an anarchist from Sonoma County in California, who has led several San Francisco Bay Area demonstrations as part of Green Bloc, an anarchist group with an environmental bent. He said he is in New York now to take part in the Aug. 31 day of civil disobedience and rehabilitate community gardens in the South Bronx.

Chuck Munson, a 39-year-old anarchist in Kansas who runs the anarchist site infoshop.org, said he has observed more young people, particularly those once drawn to the "do-it-yourself politics'' of the punk movement, drawn to anarchism after the first Persian Gulf war and the fall of the Soviet Union.

After those events, "people saw the traditional radical left as not as relevant any more,'' he said. "I think it opened up interest in anarchism [like painting or poetry? ed].

North Korea Unbound?

The PDRK is described in this article as movin' on up, with food on the shelves, engagement by most nations (save the US) and the potnential to be the next China or Vietnam. Critics of the regime who support our dear POTUS are painted as retrograde squares who haven't quite kept up with the times.

Is this propaganda or truth?

The streets will run with blood at the RNC, says whacko...

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0818-11.htm

Perhaps one of the most amazing things about the hardcore leftists is their ability to hate the Republicans for being "anti - XYZ" - then lumping all Republicans together for the sake of anti -us...

$20 reward for anyone that can convert this guy.

The Coming Battle?

Najaf is possibly the turning point for the new Iraqi government. Their ability to keep Moktada in check without angering the Shia nationwide will show their political skill and strength.

In related news, the Shia fighting for a role in the new parliment are fighting hard to be the dominant force in any new Iraq.

It's a stubborn determination not to give in" on the part of the religious parties, "who made a very big demand," said Samir Sumaitey, a former interior minister. But as the conference closed Tuesday night, it seemed the Shiites did not prevail, and one cleric from the Shiite Dawa Party denounced the gathering. In an attempt at 11th-hour diplomacy, some delegates paid a visit to Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, an influential Shiite political organization.

With Sadr pinned down -- but definitely not out -- the Shia are also close to a monumental moment: back Sadr, oppose Allawi's government for failing to respect their importance in the country and start an (Iranian backed) coup or disown Sadr publically and renounce some of their more extreme claims to power.

The likely response is some middle position to the above, but the Shia must come out publicly with a stand either for or against Sadr and the Iraqi government. Playing it both ways may only undermine their power as they will seem to be indecisive and weak.

UPDATE

On Wednesday evening, however, Safiya al-Suhail, an independent Shiite delegate at the conference, said she had received a letter from al-Sadr's Baghdad office saying he accepted the proposal.

"Moqtada al-Sadr has agreed on the conditions set by the National Conference," she said reading the letter to the conference.

"We call on the Iraqi government and the National Conference to participate in implementing what is proposed by Moqtada al-Sadr, otherwise everybody will bear the responsibility," the letter said.

Truth?

Sadr Refuses Iraqi Envoys

Even the Shia tried.

Sadr must believe that he is in a win-win situation: get killed in the Imam Ali mosque, go to paradise, become a worthy martyr or watch the Americans and Iraqis leave him alone, Master of Najaf, Defender of the Holy Place.

Anyone care to guess odds for that Mosque coming down? I don't think any good will come if does fall. We'll get blamed no matter what happens there. If it falls, then it is because we instigated the violence, causing a Shia uprising the likes of which even Saddam never saw. Shia all over the world, including Iran (whose population was and possibly still is broadly pro-American according to Gallup), will join their Sunni brethren in Jihad.

Not good.

Oh, and cynically I wonder if Sadr wants to bring down the mosque knowing that the US will take the blame? It would be one helluva strategy to get moderate and undecided Shia off of their butts and fighting against the US and Allawi's government. Dangerous, but effective strategy. Sadr knows that they can build that mosque again -- but not before the Shia have unleashed hell.

Who is Public Enemy #1?

I personally think the EPA is closing in on the IRS.

Imagine, just for a moment, that the head of the IRS was an elected official.

There is little to no hope for the EPA. Misinformation, virtually unlimited power and huge budgets have turned them into the Baby Huey Agency.

No links, just venting.

76 Degrees in Louisiana in August -- Global Warming?

While I don't doubt that humans have an impact on the environment, the notion that we are the determining factor in climate change never fails to amaze me. This planet has had tremendous climate changes for millions of years. Humans and the internal combustion engine didn't have any role in the ice ages or extremely temperate climates of days gone by.

I propose a new, commonsense approach to enviro regulations. We can start by pulling the EPAs head out of the arse.

By the way, for everyone worried about global warming - I'm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and it have been in the 70s and 80s for the better part of a week. We're setting records for LOWEST temps ever recorded in August.

Story Here

The People's Republic and The People

Has this politician from HK been framed or is this a coincidence that makes the PRC look bad?

He is fighting for the most contested seat in HK and, while it looks bad for the Reds to beat up political candidates, it looks worse to lose elections when you claim to speak for the people.

Any chance that this is anything but what it appears to be (a setup of a politician to get him eliminated from the election)? Or did he really get caught with a prostitute?

Survey says...Framed.

Leading Nepalese Firms Shut by Maoists

In the lastest round of Nepal's slide into nonexistence, many of the country's leading businesses were forced to shut down by Maoists intent on disrupting the economy there.

Using crude but effective techniques (i.e. shut down or we bomb you), the Maoists may be quietly taking the upper hand in this conflict against the monarchy. Just as al-Qaeda uses its dispersal to its advantage, so do these rebels. Like them, someone is sending money to fund and arm the organization.

Who is the more likely organizer, PDRK or PRC (North Korea or China for the acronym illiterate)?

I don't know enough to state definitively who is supporting these guys, but they are living proof that Communism is still a force in world politics that we shouldn't turn our back on. The last thing that we need is a resurgent Communism and Islamism.

Idema's Trial

I'm not certain what to make of this guy. On the one hand, it is by no stretch of the imagination impossible for him to be working for the US government under some type of arms-length arrangement. But on the other hand, he should have access to a fixer of some sort if he is as well connected as he says he is.

His background leads me to think that he might have known people in the DoD who maybe told him that if he kept his head down and just focused on finding wanted suspects, then he would be allowed to operate. When he got out of hand, we [US gov't] had to do something about him.

But then again, he could just be a very good BS'er. Has anyone been following this story? What about the mercenaries picked up in Zimbabwe on the way to an alleged coup in Equitorial Guinea?

Reminds me to ask: after seeing Collateral last night, I wonder how many (if any) contract killers of that type actually exist. I know that in most countries you can find someone to kill for money -- but as professionally as Cruise portrays it? Doesn't seem even remotely true.

Trial on Private Prison in Afghanistan Is Underway

Vox Populi Vox Dei?

Lesson #1221 for neo-cons: Democracy occasionally installs populist blowhards with penchants for Marxist rhetoric and exaggeration.

Question for the rest of us: Is Venezuala now stable? It has rebel infiltration from the narcotics trade from the SW corner of the country up to Lake Maracaibo. Its army is restive and only partially behind Chavez. Although he [Chavez] has been a relatively mild leader (as judged by actual policy changes), he is an aggressive and outspoken advocate of policies designed to make Havana look like a capitalist utopia. Is he likely to increase policy changes now or export his revolutionary ideas to an eager audience?

I doubt that he can export his rhetoric in any practical sense because the surrounding countries (Columbia and Brazil, noteably) have their own insurgents and revolutionaries with more or less domestic concerns. A pan Latin American revolution is unlikely. Don't, however, mistake that fact for a lack of influence on the domestic politics of the region.

Oh, and how poor does your economy have to be before the narco-rebels' offers of cash in exchange for assistance in transiting the country begin to look very tempting? All of those poor, bored army guys stationed near Columbia should be considered prime recruiting grounds for drug smugglers.

BBC NEWS | Americas | Chavez claims referendum victory

Ikea Republicans

This blog is written by a self-proclaimed "30something, gay, African American, Republican minister living in Minneapolis, Minnesota." From a quick read of his site, I found it to be intelligent and balanced. Dennis Sanders seems to understand the party he has chosen, and especially the tension between it and his traditionally left-leaning demographic profile. As a believer in the GOP's core values of limited government and personal responsiblity, he is not willing to throw the baby out with the bath water on some of the side-line, hot-button issues. Check out the posting titled "More on Wal-Mart Republicans." I like the term Mr. Sander's coins here: "Ikea Republican." I think I qualify to associate myself with that title, although I have friends who truly embody it...

The Moderate Republican

US Airways Could Fail Next Month

With Delta's recent announcement that it too is likely facing bankruptcy, any thoughts on the aviation industry? As a consultant, I have quite a lot to say on the matter, but most of it you have already heard from others.

The most important aspect of this, politically, is should the government do anything to save these airlines? I don't think so, but if you have a compelling argument (such as national infrastructure, national security, etc), I'd like to hear it.

Otherwise, it looks like Ted, Independence, jetBlue and Southwest are the future for most domestic air travel -- not an ultogether unpleasant future. I also predict the emergence of more 1st class or business class only flights (a longtime prediction of mine).

The entire sector may yet shake out according to price point, just like luxury goods. Rather than fly a mix of classes, each airline may customize its service offering to a single class of passengers, attempt to price competitively within its class and then maximize marketshare.

The firms could then gain economies of sameness (jetBlue, SW) by using the same type of aircraft fleet, concentrating on fewer, but more lucrative routes, and finally becoming a branded lifestyle carrier, much like driving a Mercedes is a lifestyle statement.

Thoughts?

US Airways Could Fail Next Month (washingtonpost.com)

The Terrorists: Officials Investigate a Qaeda Suspect's Shadowy Life

When trying to formulate the proper response to terrorism, it is good to know as much as possible about those already captured. Their early years seem to be unremarkable. Only when they begin to enter adulthood does the door open for a new life...

If they choose the path of religious extremism (which to them is just religion, neat), they seem to follow a well traveled path to Afghanistan. Where is that path now? Who directs these young people? Surely we must be capable of appearing to be converts and following the trail?

The Terrorists: Officials Investigate a Qaeda Suspect's Shadowy Life

Iraqi Blogger Covering Najaf Fighting

Tigerhawk blogged this first, but I'll mention it here too. Hammorabi is writting about the attacks and firefights inside Iraq, but especially Najaf right now.

He also fingers Iran as the prime mover of events there. What is our next step against them? Only activities in Iraq?

Hammorabi

New Republicans 2.0

We've changed the look, but not the message. Give us your feedback on the new header.

We're not your father's GOP (or maybe we are, but we dress better)...

McGreevey: "I am a Gay American"

New Jersey Governor, James E. McGreevey (D) just announced on national television that he is a "gay American" and that he has had sexual relations with another man despite his marriage to Dina Matos McGreevey. Their first child Jacqueline Matos McGreevey was born in 2001.

Developing...

Suggested blog topics: How will Americans respond to the Governor's announcement? How would the response be different if he was Republican? Should an elected official who engages in socially controversial behavior resign his/her post?

Top Evangelicals Still Await GOP Invite

Could the GOP be heeding the call of the New Republicans? Unlike the 2000 GOP Convention where Jerry Falwell was asked to offer the prayer, this year the GOP might be more cautious not to scare off those centrist Republicans, Independents, and the socially-more-liberal crowd. Graham, Falwell, Robertson, Baur--all of them are without official invite to the NYC event. If the GOP is intentionally keeping the Christian Right on the sidelines, they are denying it.

There are two possible explanations for this change of strategy. First, that the Christian Right is so embedded in the party that the GOP sees no reason to openly court them--they are one and the same. Second, the GOP is trying to widen its demographic appeal. I hope that we're dealing with the later possibility...

My Way News

Fifty-nine Deceits in Fahrenheit 911, Dave Kopel, Independence Institute

May be the last word on Fahrenheit 9/11. Not only does the guy document Moore's dishonesty (with links to transcripts, etc), but he even engages Moore's war room.

In places, he admits that the evidence could go both ways, but seems determined to logically demonstrate the careful orchestration behind many somewhat true statements leading to an overall false conclusion.

Very good reading.

Fifty-nine Deceits in Fahrenheit 911, Dave Kopel, Independence Institute

The Belmont Club Expounds on the Terror War

Good analysis by The Belmont Club. Read the whole article. He clearly identifies the differences separating right and left on this, most notably the failure of the left to articulate a post 9/11 terror strategy.

Although it may be premature to say that the War on Terror is rising to a crescendo, recent events have imparted a distinct sense of movement, as in 'hey, this thing might actually be going somewhere'. If so, it will force those who opposed the notion of fighting fundamentalist terrorism, as distinct from negotiating with or appeasing it, to admit at least to themselves (if they have any intellectual honesty) that they were not only wrong, but deeply and fundamentally mistaken. Some ground for salvage may be found in Todd S. Purdum's New York Times article of February 2003, in which he argues that the strategy for bringing democracy to autocratic regimes in the Middle East sprang in part from impeccable liberal antecedents.

Belmont Club

Yet More Evidence of Iranian Influence

Iran is and has been one of the most deeply involved third parties to the Iraqi insurgency. Just how far their influence goes and to what extent the Shia insurgency would have erupted if not funded and organized by Iran is difficult to say. But just days after Condi upped the ante on Iran regarding its nuclear facilities, Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has himself upped the ante regarding Najaf.

The United States is slaughtering the people of one of the holiest Islamic cities and the Muslim world and the Iraqi nation will not stand by," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in an address broadcast on Iranian state television, according to the official government news agency.

For better or worse, the US and Iran are coming closer to a conflict. It may be played out only via covert ops or in diplomatic meetings, but the two sides are clearly beginning to directly target one another.

I wonder if Iraq's Ayatollah Sistani can calm the Iranians, or if this posturing is just a cover to allow the US to finish off Sadr without Iran or Sistani looking like wimps? Does anyone think that actual war is likely here or just huffing and puffing?

I have a deep suspicion that Iran doesn't want to lose its most powerful puppet in Iraq, but that Sistani may want to be rid of him without appearing to be involved in the mess. The Americans can then capture or kill Sadr (helping Sistani and hurting Iran). Sistani can then make amends with Tehran (become the recipent of its largesse?) and the Americans take the rap.

Thoughts?

U.S. Planning Assault in Najaf (washingtonpost.com)

The Kerrymeleon is at it again.

One day he's a Democratic Senator voting for war. Months later he's the anti-war candidate, the same soldier that "threw away" his medals (ok, he didn't throw them away, just the ribbons--does that count?).

One day we were wrong to go to war in Iraq, but now that we're there we have to win the peace.

The next (e.g., TODAY)--when pushed by the President to say whether or not he'd vote for war in Iraq even with the hindsight of no WMD found to date--Kerry says he'd still have voted for war with Iraq, but, dang-it, he would have had a plan to win the peace.

This lack of uh. . . consistency. . . is really going to humiliate him eventually. Is he against the Iraq war or not? I may be as confused as Candidate Kerry before he walks out onto a campaign rally stage.

Hoorah for the advisors that pushed the President to force the issue. The fact is that Iraq was a reasonable and strategic move on the part of a nation that must consider its national interests first, even if feigning, fair-weathered friends don't stand by us because their hands are dipping into the blood-soaked coffers of a madman. Even without WMD, which was NOT the only justification for war by far, we'd still be in Iraq. Democrats or Republicans. It would have happened--even if the dream, the fantasy, the distant and ill-conceived hope of a would-be Kerry White House were a reality.

He said so himself.

Keyes: Obama holds 'slaveholder's' view

The GOP is going to lose the Illinois Senate race and they are going to lose badly. Recent remarks by GOP candidate Alan Keyes are already solidifying my worst fears. Obama is very smart and has a very good feel for his constituency. According to the 2000 U.S. census, Illinois is 15.1% Black and 73.5% White. Obama is looking for the issues that unite (God, I hate admitting that) while Keyes is using language that is offensive to both demographic camps. "Slaveholder's position!" This is the best the GOP has to offer? At the Boston Convention, Obama spoke to a whole nation when he dreamed about a colorblind America of "just Americans" without prefix or subtitle.

Obama's response to Keyes' recent rant offers a window into a man with a superior political compass:

Asked specifically about the phrase "slaveholder's position," Obama said Keyes "should look to members of his own party to see if that's appropriate if he's going to use that kind of language."

He's right. Keyes is a wildcard. Unless the Illinois GOP has some incredibly bad political consultants, I cannot imagine anyone actually agreeing to these comments in advance. There will come a point in this campaign when Keyes' radical views will dominate public discourse in Illinois. The GOP asked for an old-guard Conservative vs. Liberal fight, and that's just what they have on their hands.

Here is the real reason why Keyes doesn't have a chance:

"As I travel around this state, I don't get asked about gay marriage, I don't get asked about abortion," Obama said. "I get asked, 'How can I find a job that allows me to support my family.' I get asked, 'How can I pay those medical bills without going into bankruptcy."

While Keyes is talking about the plight of the unborn, Obama will be talking about getting people jobs and affordable medical coverage (whether he can provide these things has nothing to do with the point I'm trying to make).

I do not like saying this, but in many ways, I hope the liberal Obama wins with an overwhelming majority (I am in no way endorsing Obama or his liberal ideas of governance). The GOP has to learn a lesson about alienating huge blocks of potential voters. Conservatism is a good thing up to a certain point, but it must take into consideration an ever-evolving America.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/keyes09.html

Louisiana Congressman Leaves the Dems

According to Roll Call magazine, Representative Rodney Alexander (LA) has left the Democratic party and has declared himself Republican. I can think of other Democrats over the years that have switched their loyalties, but I can't think of a single Republican to do the opposite (not there haven't been any, I just can't think of one). Senators Ben Nighthorse Campbell (CO) and Richard Shelby (AL) were both Democrats at one time.

One thing is for sure, the Democrats are not going to be happy to see the majority-minority gap widen. I wonder how the Republicans will reward their new poster boy? A seat on the Appropriations Committee would be nice.

Scary John Kerry and Michael Moore

We Americans suffer from an enforced ignorance. We don't know about anything that's happening outside our country. Our stupidity is embarrassing.
--Moore, 2003 interview with the Mirror

Watch this slideshow to see Moore's contempt for the average American (those he claims to protect), his hatred for America, and the Democratic establishment's support for his efforts.
(More on Tigerhawk and Wizbangblog.com)

Scary John Kerry and Michael Moore

Florida Slayings

This is one of those murders that calls for capital punishment -- and I rarely argue for such. If Victorino were to impaled on a spike, it would be a good and just punishment.

Police said the attack was the brutal culmination of an argument between Victorino, an ex-convict, and one of the victims, who is believed to be Erin Belanger, 22 . She was singled out for a beating so vicious that even dental records were useless in trying to identify her.

My Way News

Two Generations of Sadr Martyrs?

Sadr is nowhere to be seen. His Mahdi army, a rather exaggerated title given to his mix of the bored, the religious and the poor, is still running amok in Najaf.

Allawi seems to be going one step further than Bremer was willing to go: increasing violence and threats against Sadr for the good of the nation.

The million dollar question is: will Iraq fissure along religious lines as a result?

Law and Order: Iraq's Premier Takes Hard Line Against Rebels

Diplomacy Fails to Slow Advance of Nuclear Arms

Apropros, my earlier post on declawing the PDRK. What is the right solution?

We are militarily limited by our peace-activists and generally everyone in the world who thinks that Bush is a shoot first, ask questions later kind of guy (in spite of evidence to the contrary).

Diplomacy doesn't seem to be working, either. What's left? Do we dare go through the motions of UN inspectors, then Security Council, then coalition building, followed by war?

Would the US be riven forever after that between two groups, both irredeemably hostile towards one another and skeptical of the other's intentions (i.e. the doves and hawks) [ed. note: please come up with new names for these groups].

Comments?

The New York Times > Washington > Diplomacy Fails to Slow Advance of Nuclear Arms

The Investigation: U.S. Says Man Had Ties to Plot to Disrupt Vote

Good weekend reading. Oh, and just bought Imperial Hubris. More later.

The New York Times > Washington > The Investigation: U.S. Says Man Had Ties to Plot to Disrupt Vote

A Tennessee Republican's failed attempt to play Race Politics

If the Catholic Church can excommunicate someone, why can't a political party?

I have been laughing since I read this. It is ridiculous, but hilarious, because the person who wrote it is absolutely serious? His platform is his fear that the U.S. will become a giant Detroit. To stop this he wants to protect the good genes that produce intelligent children and stop the stupid genes. First political platform to quote Darwin. Sort of a cross between a James Bond supervillian and a Saturday Night Live sketch gone horribly wrong. By the way, I found this at: www.dailykos.com

Here's a section from his Political Platform section:

Because genes have a more devastating effect on civilization than nuclear bombs, and the reason for Detroit's decline is that there are less 'favored races' in Detroit with an average IQ of 85 and more 'favored races' in Japan with an average IQ of 104. (It is noted there are less 'favored races'* in Africa south of the Sahara with an average IQ of 70-75, which accounts for the extreme poverty there.)

I think we found a challenger for Obama in Illinois... Or better yet, the head of the new oppostion party to oust Robert Mugabe...

James Hart for Congress Committee - Preserving Intellectual Capacity

The infamous 7 minutes

I don't understand why the Left criticizes the fact that Bush didn't jump out of his seat on 9/11 and start shouting orders. Jack from Tigerhawk examines the issue.

TigerHawk

Strange Recovery

Few jobs added. Corporate profits broadly stable or rising. Favorable macroeconomic environment. Surplus capital still flowing into new projects. But still few new jobs.

What gives?

I have a theory about the use of capital and labor in the US, partly borrowed from the Economist and partly from experiece.

The Economist writes that under certain macroeconomic circumstances of low nominal interest rates, artifical demand for capital rises and demand for labour shrinks because it is cheaper to use capital than labor (the details are longer than I care to write about just now).

I am not certain that the jobs picture is solely a function of capital being relatively plentiful and cheap at the moment.

Almost all of my friends have graduate degrees, some have multiple degrees. They are finding that the job market is very tight -- not because there are no jobs, but because the job requirements are written in a way that as few people as possible can fit into the job without a day's training. Yet many companies will not train a Harvard Masters degree graduate (who is obviously smarter than the average bear) in any discipline other than his degree.

I might be incorrect, but it seems as if training for a position is given only under rare circumstances, and mostly for entry-level jobs. For a service economy to devalue its stock of intellectual capital because relatively narrow skills have not been learned is to waste productivity (keeping the production possibilities frontier artificially low in the jargon).

When I see jobs that require MBAs from top schools only, I wonder if the rules of finance change starting at school #11 in the US News rankings? Couldn't someone from school #11 be trained for a short time to fill any real or imaginary gaps in their education? Or is it better to keep the job unfilled?

There is more to this jobless recovery than cheap capital. There are also (personal rant here) loads of people working in HR with absolutely no knowledge of what an education is. For them all universities are glorified trade schools whose mission is to teach what to think, not how to think.

Until the process of recruitment is redesigned, there will be larger numbers of structurally unemployed persons than there has to be for full employment. I bet that some of the increasing number of consultants are also children of this phenomenon.

Thoughts on redesign? I don't know if there is a better way than the current one, but hit me, anyway.

The New York Times > AP > Business > U.S. Employment Growth Surprisingly Weak in July

One Nation, Divided?

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said Thursday that America remains a nation divided along racial and economic lines, and pledged to ``lift up those who are left out.''

Fine sentiment, to lift up those who are struggling, but incorrect assertion: that this nation is divided along racial and economic lines. Or more precisely, it's false to claim that this country is divided without using a thousand provisos. It would have been much more accurate to state that some areas of racial and economic progress are models of positive change, while other areas need attention. But nope. Just straight line division of the old style (or for the Left, W's Us versus Them, Bad versus Good dichotomy, here replayed by their man.)

Maybe belief, more than data, define the mutual suspicions with which Right and Left interpret the same data about this country's future. But I see more integration, not less, along racial lines, and I don't understand what an economic line looks like.

If the economic line that Kerry mentions is manifested in something like the rich and poor living in different neighborhoods, then I would ask when this was not true? How would he possibly fix this...problem? Is it really a problem? Would a poor person like to live in Kerry's neighborhood? Would Kerry like to have a ghetto next to his house?

It is a shame that real problems of opportunity are buried under the weight of so much class rhetoric.

How will he (Kerry) lift these people out of poverty? How can he assume that the government can lift them out of poverty -- or that they are in fact "left out?" More than $1 trillion dollars have been spent on anti-poverty programs in the US since the 60s and the poor are still with us. What magic does Kerry know that no one else does?

I'm not trying to be silly. His point of argumentation is counterproductive to real debate about how to fix problems in that it assumes that Republicans don't want to see change here (or, worse, created and maintained the poor).

Use data about possible solutions to interest me. Stop this "we love the poor" bullshit. Everybody loves the poor during elections.

I guess that moments like this are indicative of my skepticism about Democrats' motives. For all of the consoling words, this speech is pure class envy/warfare/call-it-what-you-will.

If I were to use a favorite tool of the lefty postmodernist, I would bring out my handy institutional analysis stick and note that Democrats have virtually defined themselves as the party of the poor. To reduce their numbers would be to reduce their voting power. This is enough evidence to make a Michael Moore film.

In Paul Fussel's book, Class, he assumes that the concern for the poor in the Democratic party platform comes from nobless oblige. He might be right -- but that would hardly help a party trying to define itself as a blue collar redoubt. (Maybe that should read, blue-blooded redoubt.)

America is still a house divided, in health status, living standards, access to capital, schools, all the things that make a difference,'' he said.

Divide, divide, divide. Sheesh. What happened to the One America that featured so prominently at the DNC Convention?

Well, in health status, how will the government assist people? Most of the poor already depend on the government for their health needs via free clinics and government hospitals. If Kerry believes that giving them more of what they already have (which presumably is not good, since he has just insisted that it isn't), then ok. But how are they better off than before?

BTW: I'm concerned about the current lack of medical insurance for many poor people, and the rising costs of employer-provided coverage, but how will Kerry fix that? The most detailed article I have found about reforming the current medical insurance system recommended limiting malpractice suits as they were the largest driver of cost increases doctors face -- but I am skeptical that Edwards would bite the hand that fed him so well.

Kerry mentions access to capital? Does he mean bank loans? I would bet credit scores play a bigger role in limiting access to capital than evil bankers intentionally denying otherwise qualified applicants. It's a sad but true statement that many minorities have bad credit. How would the government fix that problem? Guarantee their loans?

Regarding education, rich kids go to private schools. Poor kids don't. Does Kerry want to send the rich kids to public schools, or the poor to private schools? If the latter, doesn't that signal a problem with government-funded education?

Kerry cited statistics that 50 percent of black men in New York City are without work, while in some cities 40 percent of Hispanic children are school dropouts.

50%? I doubt that number very much.

How is the government going to help these people? First, let's establish the basis of Kerry's claim. Is he upset because he believes that racists are keeping blacks out of industry or because they don't have the skills and education necessary to secure employment?

Though few on the Left want to say anything, Bill Cosby is closer to the truth about black unemployment than is John Kerry. Many black men I know openly ridicule the gansta-rap lifestyle that is the most culturally dominant in poor black communities - -but few whites of any stripe will. Is that lifestyle enhancing their job prospects? Or does Kerry believe that the 50% [really?] of unemployed black men in NYC are that way because of organized, but still secretive, cabals preventing them from working?

If you argue that it's their lack of schooling that prevents them from finding employment, then how would the government change that? Dropping out of school in a free country is an individual's choice. Since that choice is influenced by the cultural milieu in which the individual lives, can we still maintain that culture has no legitimate presence in the debate? Does it (gangsta-cultcha) see education as a road to success?

If you think it's all a racist conspiracy against black culture, talk to black immigrants from Africa or the Carribean. Their stories tend towards how little racism they've encountered -- except from American blacks urging them to "be more black."

Until someone talks about this openly, I don't need John Kerry telling me how concerned he is with black/hispanic/anybody-not-white unemployment.

There could be much more to minority unemployment that simple racism or culture, but how will we find it when people are accused of racism for even examining the issue? First we need to get over the idea that examining racial issues are expressions of racism. Otherwise we'll just hurl invective back and forth, until we really are One Nation, Divided.

At Conference, Kerry Asserts Race and Economics Divide U.S.

Blogged in Boston: Politics Gets an Unruly Spin

Centerfield mentioned New Republicans and the NY Times mentioned Centerfield. That's only two degrees of separation between New Republicans and the NY Times. We are quickly becoming one of the most talked about blogs in politics. (I talk about us all the time.)

The New York Times > Fashion & Style > Blogged in Boston: Politics Gets an Unruly Spin

Police Investigating Sleeping 911 Operator

Now here's an issue that should get non-partisan coverage: a 911 operator fell asleep on the job.

While everyone has a bad day at work, doesn't the nation's emergency hotline have a redundancy plan for employees not fit for work on any given day?

This is a core part of terrorism preparedness.

Anne Arundel Police Investigating Sleepy 911 Operator (washingtonpost.com)

Mothers Kill Children

It touches my heart to see America's youth calming debating the finer points of politics (see picture in this article).

Actually it reminds me of almost every conversation (argument?) with angry Lefties I have had at Harvard. Why are they so angry? (I know the answer, but it's always funny to see someone write in angrily denouncing my description of them as angry.)

Oh, and look at the homemade sign behind the Democratic Strategist: War Kills Children.

Sigh.

Is that all there is to war? Do we base national security decisions on the fact that a child might die? Why special attention to children, anyway?

Here I recall a particular article that Florence King wrote in the National Review ridiculing the use of children as evidence for or against any issue. If you don't like something, just say that some kid will choke on it, fall on it, fall off of it, trip over it, slip on it, get blinded, burned, or scared by it.

Like her, I am rather disturbed by the tone of awe and reverence (faked, in my opinion) that commentators take when describing that "last year, more than two hundred children died when they crapped themselves to death. It is time to put a stop to this tragic, preventable loss. We should provide all Americans with an automatic poop sucking machine to relieve our muscles of such dangerous work."

I appreciate her misanthropic eye.

War kills children. So does water.

Not Swept Away by Political Confluence (washingtonpost.com)

Centerfield

The Centerfield (Centrist Coalition) blog quoted us in a story about civil liberties and the terror threat. They have a good mix of right and left on the site, and offer yet more proof that there is a middle in American politics.

Check it out Centerfield.

Also, they have a story that the Washington Post is accepting nominations for best political blogs. While we don't have the numbers necessary to win (unless there is a microsite category), we would like to dream of bigger, better things...

Vote Here

Bomb Him?

Sadr is a hothead. More than that, he is a constant irritant to the new government, a reminder of the unrest bublbling below the surface.

Even if the poor Shia are alienated for a time, better to bomb him than have a throbbing wound reopened whenever Iran dumps more funds into Sadr's account. Or is that a step too far?

If we can't appease Sadr, make him part of the solution, is the only viable option for the new Allawi gov't to incinerate him?

I'm curious to know if you think this would reduce or increase stability long term in Iraq. My gut feeling tells me that Sadr is an Iranian puppet, killing him won't solve the problem. But, killing him will send a message to Iran that their influence will be checked whenever it gets out of hand or directly conflicts with the new government's ability to rule Iraq.

We're already at war with Sadr, why should we pull any punches?

Rebel Cleric Calls for Uprising as Clashes Erupt in Najaf

Dems unified by hatred

"It will mean exiling the Whoopi Goldbergs of the world and perhaps quietly suggesting to George Soros and Michael Moore that little more can be gained by comparing the president of the United States to Adolf Hitler"

I just took my afternoon stroll along Independence Avenue where the familiar DNC "red-shirts" were doing their daily duty of getting people registered with the DNC. Something was different this time. For the past two months, the college-aged volunteers would challengingly inquire: "Would you like to help defeat George Bush?" With that self-righteous confidence that comes from a year or two of enlightened university training, they were ready to cut their intellectual teeth on any person with enough free time on their hands to enter into a debate.

Today, however, a slightly more conservative (no tattoos or nose rings) group of young men asked in a friendly, non-confrontational tone, "Would you like to help John Kerry become President." One asked me, and I politely said no thanks and walked on.

It doesn't matter what party or group it is, I love political strategy. I see it as an art, an art of influencing people. It's an art of taking someone who has nothing in common with you or your cause and making them feel that you are soldiers in the same foxhole. I cringe when I see bad political strategy or tactics. I remember a couple years back, a large Pro-Israel group staged a rally on the National Mall. There were Israeli flags and American flags and Soccer Moms and hot dogs (Hebrew Nationals, I'm sure) and V-neck sweaters and penny loafers, etc., etc. It was as American as apple pie. Probably most Americans didn't watch it, but if they had stumbled upon it, they would have felt comfortable in the crowd. A week or so later, the Palestinians had their rally. Young men doning Hamas-style masks, Communist flags, anarchists, women yelling about oppression, upside-down American flags, and enough Che Guevara shirts to blanket La Paz. It was angry, it was foreign (not in the fun Octoberfest way), it was virulently un-American, and it was scary.

The sheer failure of their rally when compared to the Israeli rally grated on me like fingernails on a chalkboard. It's not that I'm pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel, it's just that I think in terms of targeting an audience and effectively communicating a message. It seems that the Democrats are belatedly attempting to soften the Bush-bashing platform for a more positive message. It will be difficult for them to keep the blood of their liberal core from boiling over every five minutes, but this is their best shot at getting those swing voters who have already been gravitating towards Bush's positive platform. They are, however, fighting against a monster of their own making--and one that has taken on a life of its own.

Dems unified by hatred=The Hill.com=

The Kerry Doctrine by Robert Kagan

Someday, when the passions of this election have subsided, historians and analysts of American foreign policy may fasten on a remarkable passage in John Kerry's nomination speech. "As president," Kerry declared, "I will bring back this nation's time-honored tradition: The United States of America never goes to war because we want to; we only go to war because we have to. That is the standard of our nation." The statement received thunderous applause at the convention and, no doubt, the nodding approval of many Americans of all political leanings who watched on television.

Only American diplomatic historians may have contemplated suicide as they reflected on their failure to have the smallest influence on Americans' understanding of their own nation's history. And perhaps foreign audiences tuning in may have paused in their exultation over a possible Kerry victory in November to reflect with wonder on the incurable self-righteousness and nationalist innocence the Democratic candidate displayed. Who but an American politician, they might ask, could look back across the past 200 years and insist that the United States had never gone to war except when it "had to"?

The Kerry Doctrine

Taliban Training in Pakistan

Duh.

Why is this news? Take a country without strong central government control over its border regions, mix an ethic and religious similarity with groups that we are fighting just across that same ungoverned border, simmer for a few years in anti-American hatred and...voila! Taliban training in Pakistan and then attacking in Afghanistan.

As Ahmed Rashid describes in his book about the Taliban's rise to power, the ISI assisted them. Some members probably still assist them. Find those guys and you have a news story. Breathlessly telling us that somewhere in Pakistan the Taliban has found a refuge where they can freely train is like saying that somewhere in Cambridge, Massachussets Marxists openly gather and train.

Pakistan Allows Taliban to Train, a Detained Fighter Says

N Korea missiles 'could reach US'

Can't we convince China to attack PDRK based on regional stability, or stir up something that provokes them to war to finish our business for us?

A nuclear NK without much to lose is like a wildcat. Thoughts on declawing it? Other options? More UN? More inspectors?

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | N Korea missiles 'could reach US'

A New CT Motto

Nemo me impune lacesset.

No one will provoke me without impunity.

(See Gadsden Flag History).

Thank God for Former Presidents

OK, I was never a Clinton fan, God knows. Oh alright, maybe once: when I got to count the Hope tax credit towards my taxes. BUT President Clinton has just provided an excellent rational scope of the state of the Nation in the last few days, in light of the heightened terror alerts here in NYC, in Jersey, and DC.

On Dave Letterman tonight, former President Clinton said the following (I paraphase):

Responding to the question of whether or not he believes the raising of the terror alert is political: "I do not believe it's political."

On intelligence in general: "Intelligence is not a science: it's often times an art."

And on the election, when Dave mentioned his 82-year-old uncle responded to the Bush campaign entreaties more out of exhaustion than anything else, President Clinton admitted that this election will turn on the clarity of distinctions between the current President and the other candidate's views. President Clinton unfortunately lies quite well and is somber when feigning respect and admiration for Kerry's supposed clarity on his positions regarding security and terrorism. (Refer to the Dowd column from the NY Times that is linked in the Day 3 of my Convention response.)

Dave brought up the excellent point that many people will turn to our President (in the voting booth) for fear of the uncertainty that change brings. This election will turn on national security. That fact is evident already. So far b/c of that fact the outcome is certain, if not nailbitingly close.

I am glad that someone--President Clinton-- in an unexpected and highly-watched forum, finally took the media's cloak out of the spin cycle. Just because intel that is now being found was gathered pre-9/11--yes, some of it three and more years ago--does NOT mean that it's not a threat. You know, it sickens me--quite literally--when the local news and Jay Leno and CNN and any other media outlet leads todays stories with how defensive Sec. Ridge and DHS and the Administration are today in light of these facts.

They're defensive b/c of the stupidity of the media that is being rehashed ad nauseum today. This invocation of false security serves no one, and will only hurt us when finally we are pricked and hundreds or thousands more bleed again, even to the point of death. This issue of vigilance is not a laughing matter. It is not a light matter to be brushed off with stupid obsession on the wrong details. The threats are real. They are not limited to the Citibank Buildings, to the NYSE, to the IMF or the World Bank or to the Prudential Building: these are six of many threats.

When are we going to wake up and take the threat seriously, even here in NY or DC? At least President Clinton, even amidst his mild complicity--at least by omission in things he could have done or reneged upon (Iraqi coup plot in 1998, re: Robert Baer's "See No Evil")--is able to speak resonably about the threats, even if he is not being honest about the future, i.e., Kerry's willingness (or lack thereof) to honestly face those threats.

Thank God for Former Presidents--and for the sitting President.

Contemporary Architecture

I looooooooove contemporary design. Give me angles, then curves dressed out in glass and steel. Give me sleek, even svelte forms to excite me. I need furniture shaped like a beautiful woman: thin and light. Give me new ideas and creativity.

Keep the ruffles, quilts and Super Sized furniture. Keep the drab interiors stuffed with too much stuff. Keep the ponderous window coverings that hide light from the pile of romance novels on the floor.

What the Right needs is a new ethos, an American ethos that looks to the future, an ethos that excites...We need a fresh alternative to life, something suited to America that doesn't take its inspiration from a defective form of El.

What the Right needs is a conceptual version of contemporary architecture.

The Clarion Call: GOP wooing Keyes to take on Obama

I meant to post this on NR. Check out the GOP's new plan to defeat Obama... That's oBama not oSama.

The Clarion Call: GOP wooing Keyes to take on Obama

Political Theory Daily Review

Political information of all stripes, but leaning left (as is most of academia). Good resource, for all that...

Political Theory Daily Review

9/11 Commission still unsure who pays Bin Laden's bills

If OBL ran out of money in 1996 when he was kicked out of Sudan, where did he get the funds to build the Afghanistan operation that successfully bombed U.S. embassies and administered the 9/11 attacks. This article demonstrates that the elements to create a Saddam-OBL link were there: Bankrupt OBL with a terrorist network, rich Saddam who hates U.S. but can do nothing about it, etc. It's all circumstantial and any American judge would dismiss the case, but the motive was definitely there on both sides. The 9/11 Commission, having talked to all the major government players, was unable to track down the funds that were used in the 9/11 attacks. I'm not trying to sound like a conspiracy theorist, I'm just exploring possibilities...

An Oil-for-Food Connection?

Al Qaeda Arrest In June Opened Valuable Leads

If you read only one article today, let it be this one.

Al Qaeda Arrest In June Opened Valuable Leads (washingtonpost.com)

Carnival of the Liberated

Links to Iraqi blogs...

Funny, not too much Bush bashing here.

soundfury - Carnival of the Liberated

The Republican Majority for Choice

Look what I found. According to their website, 73% of Republicans believe that the right to choose should be a woman's decision, not the government's. That certainly flies in the face of those strategists who believe the GOP's base lies with the right-wing Christians. I bet these folks don't like Bush's stem cell policies either.

Our recent successes include efforts on behalf of Senator Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in California that helped bring out the votes of Republican moderates, who provided the margin of victory," said Stockman.

The Republican Majority for Choice :: Formerly The Republican Pro-Choice Coalition

TigerHawk

Another seemingly worthy stop on the blog highway...

TigerHawk

U.S. seized 77 Mideastern aliens in Southern Arizona

I'm not really sure how realiable this news agency is, but if this is true... Three or four Arabs sneaking across the U.S.-Mexico border is a terror plot--53 at one time is an invasion. I will see what else I can find to back up this article. (Is anyone familiar with this news source?) I think Vaughn mentioned how illegal immigration concerns have taken on more weight since 9/11. Securing both our southern and northern borders has less to do with stopping cheap labor and more to do, unfortunately, with fighting terrorists.

WorldTribune.com

BBC NEWS | Americas | Analysis: A very real threat

BBC NEWS | Americas | Analysis: A very real threat

Intelligence: Captured Qaeda Figure Led Way to Information Behind Warning

See my comments on Vaughn's last post.

The New York Times > Washington > Intelligence: Captured Qaeda Figure Led Way to Information Behind Warning

Israel plans to expand settlement

Yet more indications that the Israelis don't care what the US says, as long as they keep receiving checks and arms.

The US recognizes Israel as a close ally in the Middle East. Fair enough. But these actions also show that Israel will go its own way when necessary. Why don't we?

Any action (real, measurable, demonstrable) would be a step away from the one to one identification with Israel which is central to the motivation of many jihadist groups' messages.

As to whether any distancing would play into the jihadists' hands, the answer is probably. But to what end? Will they start to kidnap us, cut off our heads< and maybe try to blow us up with roadside bombs?

Oh. You mean they are doing that. Already. I see.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Israel plans to expand settlement

U.S. Warns of Qaeda Attack in 'Near Term'

The New York Times > Washington > The Overview: U.S. Warns of Qaeda Attack in 'Near Term'

Alert Critics & New Intel

First of all, to all would-be Presidential yahoos (read: Gov. Dean), unless you're willing to move to New York or Washington, you have no right to sling libelous nonsense such as today's claim that the Bush Administration is politically motivated when it raises the terror alert, as it did today.

We have no idea, as the public citizenry, how often this heightened awareness has saved lives. If it saves lives or even minimizes the loss of life at any point going forward then thank God for Secretary Ridge and the entire DHS for risking humiliation when advising the public to be more aware. They're damned if they do and damned if they don't. If they don't warn us then there will be hell to pay after another attack.

The warnings at hand are so specific that they have documented (and corroborated) references to pedestrian and vehicular traffic patterns, the slope of parking garage ramps, the particular arms (or lack of) of building security. How can this be politically motivated, Dr. Dean? DHS has been helpful enough to specify 6 specific buildings. How does this affect you, Dr. Dean? For me it means passing physically beneath one of the sites two times a day. And I for one am thankful for the heightened awareness.

Regarding the arrest last week of a Pakistani operative crossing the vast and open Mexican-American border , this event reemphasizes the necessity of securing our borders (north, south, east and west) to cease preventable breaches of security.

Oh, and while we're at it, why don't we demand that our Intel agencies communicate--efficiently and effectively.