September 27, 2005

Carinval of Liberty XIII

Carnival of Liberty XIII is up at Fowardbiased.

Make some time and check it out.

Oh yeah and for those of you who missed it this too.

Hat tip: Aussie on the link.

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N.O. Police Say 249 Officers Left Posts

Contrast this with the performance of NY police and firefighters during and after the 9-11 attacks.

NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans police chief says 249 officers — nearly 15 percent of the force — could face a special tribunal because they left their posts without permission during Hurricane Katrina and the storm's chaotic aftermath.

Police Superintendent Eddie Compass plans to assemble a tribunal of four of his assistant chiefs to hear each case and sort the outright deserters from those with a legitimate reason for not showing up for work.

Lt. David Benelli, president of the Police Association of New Orleans, the union for rank-and-file officers, said true deserters should be fired.

"For those who left because of cowardice, they don't need to be here," Benelli told The Times-Picayune in Tuesday's edition. "If you're a deserter and you deserted your post for no other reason than you were scared, then you left the department and I don't see any need for you to come back."

Companion OpiniPundit

Update Related: NOPD Superintendent Eddie Compass resigns.

AP: Police Chief Eddie Compass steps off the podium after resigning his position at a Monday press conference.

No details were given and no questions were answered including who would become the next superintendent.

Compass, in his announcement, said he had always wanted to be police chief and that he had led the city through some of its toughest times, including Hurricane Katrina.

Anyone think the timing of this has anything to do with the increasing scuttlebutt concerning several hundred NOLA "phantom cops" permeating the blogospere?

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Will The Real Conservatives Please Stand Up?

In catching up with the mail and stories that I've missed over the past week or so, I noticed one that seems to not be getting the full attention that it deserves. After Bush's whopping federal aid comittment to the people affected by Hurricane Katrina, and what is sure to be matching funds for Hurricane Rita, some people are beginning to ask where the money is going to come from. Of course when you ask the liberal side of the goverment that question, you get your stock answer. "We'll just tax the rich more." And if they were in control, I'm sure that's exactly what they would do. Of course with the state of our economy right now (high gas prices, other prices rising to compensate, distribution problems due to the hurricanes, etc), that reaction could very well send the US into a downward spiral from which we might never recover.

Instead, a small group of House Republicans have come up with a plan. It is being hailed as genius in some corners and most everyone agrees that it is a good idea. Of course I don't read liberal publications very much, but I have yet to read anything bad about it (and again, I'm not going to pay $50 just to hear Krugman talk about how it sucks). Everyone seems to be amazed at the ingenuity of the plan. So what is this plan? Act like a conservative. That's right, go back to the original conservative values of not spending more money than you have. These House Republicans want to start bringing government spending under control. And they want to start by reopening the atrocious highway bill that was just passed and removing 6,000 pork projects from it. There are many other changes involving cutting out excessive spending in many other areas as well, but this one stands out because most people are familiar with it.

But I have a problem with this plan. My problem is that we haven't been screaming for it from day one. How long now have we had a Republican controlled Senate, Congress and White House? Where was this group of brave Republicans when this highway bill was first passed? Honestly, some of them may have voted against it. But certainly not all Republicans did. If that were the case, it never would have passed. And our Republican President certainly didn't veto it. We would have heard about that. And what about all the other pork projects? Proponents of this plan are saying that we could save $1 Trillion dollars over ten years. Wow. That kind of money could sure go a long way toward making Social Security solvent. Or paying off our national debt. Or make one hell of a lot of tax return checks for us poor working stiffs.

So I'm asking you, is your Republican Senator or Congressman acting like a Conservatve? If not, maybe he needs a small reminder that elections are coming up very soon. And even if they aren't up for reelection this time, they are sometime. We've got Republicans back in office. Let's make sure now that we've got Conservatives.

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Lock Her Up and Throw Away the Key

I'm just curious why this woman was allowed to be out roaming society for more victims. This just further proves my previous point that Colorado is going to become the new sex offender haven.

Sentencing Delayed For 'Cool Mom' Who Held Teen Sex Parties (The Denver Channel):

GOLDEN, Colo. -- An Arvada woman who admitted to giving drugs and sex to teenage boys because she wanted to be a "cool mom" was to find out Monday what her sentence would be, but her sentencing was delayed after she was in a serious car accident that involved four adolescents.

Silvia Johnson, 41, was the only adult and licensed driver in a car that crashed Sunday at 5:30 p.m. on Interstate 70 near Tomah Road, south of Castle Rock, but she wasn't the one driving, the Colorado State Patrol said.

A 2005 Jeep Liberty was being driven by a 14-year-old girl when it slid across the eastern lanes during a lane change. The vehicle swerved across the frontage road and then rolled end over end, the CSP said. An 11-year-old boy who was ejected from the vehicle was airlifted to Swedish, and Johnson was also transported to Swedish. Both were in serious condition.

Two 14-year-old girls, including the driver, and a 12-year-old boy were transported to Skyridge. One of the 14-year-old girls and the 12-year-old boy were in serious condition. The 14-year-old driver has minor injuries.

The CSP is investigating the accident and deciding what, if any, charges to recommend to the district attorney. Johnson was the only person old enough to legally drive.

Johnson had already pleaded guilty to charges of sexual abuse and contributing to the deliquency of a minor. She admitted to hosting weekly parties for teens and having sex with high school boys after she supplied them with alcohol and drugs.

She pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors and nine felonies and faces up to 58 years in prison.

Investigators said Johnson told them she wasn't popular when she was in high school and throwing the parties made her feel like one of the group.

The parties took place at her home between October 2003 and October 2004 and involved boys from Arvada West High School.

One 16-year-old boy told police that Johnson performed oral sex on him on two occasions and that they had sex once. Another 16-year-old also told police that Johnson performed oral sex on him when she was engaging in sexual intercourse with another teen, according to the arrest affidavit.

The investigation began when one of the boys told his mother about what happened. Johnson was arrested in December 2004. Johnson told 7NEWS earlier that she was going through a difficult period in her life and that she has apologized to the parents of the teens who are connected to the case.

A new hearing was set for Oct. 6.

Reckless endangerment should be a good charge for this woman. There is no telling what this woman was doing out with a bunch of kids anyway but I'm hoping the authorities here in Colorado find out. Her plea deal should be withdrawn regardless.

Originally Posted at Conservative Thinking

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September 26, 2005

Pfc. Lynndie England Convicted for Abu Ghraib Abuse

File this story under crimes that are blown way out of proportion by a left-leaning mainstream media.

From LATimes.com:

WASHINGTON -- Lynndie R. England, the Army private who became a grinning icon of Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse as she held a dog leash attached to a naked Iraqi detainee, was convicted today on six of seven charges at a military court martial.

She faces up to 10 years in a military prison. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Tuesday at Ft. Hood, Texas, where her court martial trial was held.

[ ... ]

England, 22, was found guilty on one of two conspiracy charges, four counts of maltreating detainees, and one count of committing an indecent act. Conviction on all counts would have exposed her to at least 11 years imprisonment.

Military prosecutors considered her the so-called poster girl of the Abu Ghraib abuse, seen smiling and flashing her thumbs upward in numerous photos in which she posed in front of naked and bound male detainees.

England's defense attorneys contend that she was easily manipulated. Well, duh! I think it's fairly obvious that she is also not too bright.

Unfortunately though, by being stupid she became the pivot point for an international scandal. Consequently, she'll probably get hammered for something that's criminal but hardly the level of major crimes. Hell, there are female child abusers, arguably more serious criminals, that get off with probation. England will surely get significant cell time.

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

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Daily Dose Of Tolkien Geekery

Since Robbo is off putting flowers in his hair, I'll link to today's (actually yesterday's) chapter of LOTR as presented by Gary, the ex-donkey Tolkien geek par excellance.

I present it without Robert's usual commentary, except to say this; it warms my heart to see that civil rights in this nation have advanced to the point that Star Wars geeks and Tolkien geeks no longer must drink from separate fountains.

I have a dream
That one day, geeks will not be judged by their costumes at the conventions
But by the content of the characters they wish they could be.

UPDATE:

An anonymous commenter asks a vital question:

"What's a 'Tolkein'?"

Thank you, He Who Should Not Be Named, for that inquisitive nature of yours. However, I cannot answer, for I too have no idea what a "Tolkein" is.

I only know Tolkien.

But, if you simply must know, he's the guy that wrote that little read book that became that OTHER famous movie trilogy.

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No 2 Al-Qaeda in Iraq Dead as a Rock

Ok more good news I can't handle more good news.

CBSNEWS.

The No. 2 al Qaeda leader in Iraq was killed Sunday night, U.S. officials say. Abu Azzam, reportedly the deputy to Abu Musab al Zarqawi, was shot during a house rain in Baghdad, according to Pentagon officials. As the aide to Zarqawi, Azzam was reportedly in control of financing foreign fighters coming into Iraq

Don't confuse this guy with Azzam the American see The Fourth Rail for Abu Azzam Al-Iraqi.

Also see Right Wing News and Ace of Spades.

In case you've missed it the last few days California Conservative has been on fire the last week. Check him out the last week has been great.

UPDATE by Rusty: James Joyner has more here. This is the time at the Jawa when we dance!

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Sandra "Beth" Geisel Gets 6 Months

(Albany, New York) Updating a previous report and as anticipated, Christian Brothers Academy teacher, Sandra "Beth" Geisel, accepted a plea deal this morning which gets her six months in jail and ten years probation. She will also have to register as a sex offender and she gets credit for time served since her DWI arrest. By my calculations, that puts her on the street in about four months.

From Capitalnews9.com:

Defense Attorney Donald Kinsella said, "A trial would have been a spectacle for her family. As you can see, you all are invited by the DA's office saying this isn't something you should miss. A trial would have been a total spectacle."

District Attorney David Soares said, "This is a person who is going to be subjected to probation for the next 10 years, will have to register as a sex offender, whose life is totally changed now as a result as her behavior. We held her accountable. This is the best disposition in this case."

It's not clear what happens if she violates her probation which, frankly, I think is likely.

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

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Cindy Sheehan Busted

The good news just keeps on coming today.

FOXNEWS:

Police warned them three times that they were breaking the law by failing to move along. Then, officers began making arrests.

Obviously Cindy is trying to play for sympathy here and got herself arrested on purpose.

Updated from Yahoo news.

Others who were arrested also cooperated with police. Sgt. Scott Fear, spokesman for the U.S. Park Police, said they would be charged with demonstrating without a permit, which is a misdemeanor. Park Police Sgt. L.J. McNally said Sheehan and the others would be taken to a processing center where they would be fingerprinted and photographed, then given a ticket and released. The process would take several hours, he said.

More Yahoo here

Michelle Malkin has great pics and video too

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Al-Jazeera Reporter Convicted in Spanish Terrorism Trial

Buried far down in a report about the conviction of a Spanish al Qaeda cell leader is this nugget, which confirms what most reasonable people have suspected about the pan-Arab propaganda outlet al-Jazeera all along.

From the Associated Press via Yahoo! News:

Twenty-one others also stood trial, but on charges not directly related to Sept. 11. Of those, 16 were convicted of belonging to or collaborating with a terrorist organization and five were acquitted.

One of the 16 was Tayssir Alouny, a correspondent for the pan-Arab TV network Al-Jazeera. He was convicted of collaboration and sentenced to seven years in jail.

Al-Jazeera condemned Alouny's verdict.

"It was a black day in the history of the Spanish justice," Al-Jazeera news editor Ahmed al-Sheik told the broadcaster from Madrid. "We were all shocked because everyone expected Alouny to be freed. It is a regrettable event in the history of international journalism when a journalist who sought the truth becomes the accused."

Alouny is one of the "journalists" who interviewed Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 attacks and subsequently, al-Jazeera has become virtually the only "news organization" on the al Qaeda press release list. This is a good start, but now the civilized world needs to get serious with the rest of the terrorist sympathizers and collaborators at al-Jazeera.

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Bin Laden Isolated.

More good news on FOXNEWS. It seems life is sucking pretty hard for Bin Laden.

"For a very long time there are no intercepts about Usama bin Laden giving instructions to his regional commanders, either through radio, telephone, satellite phone or the Internet," a senior security official said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject. If he is unable to give orders physically or otherwise, it clearly indicates that his communication has been severed."


Hooray!!!!!!! I can think of a few more things the man needs severed.


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Light Blogging October: I shall return

It looks like the rest of this month and until the end of October I will be only able to do one post a day--maximum. Sorry. The good news is that by November it looks like my schedule will return to normal and that we should begin our first Jawa podcasts sometime shortly thereafter.

Until then, I recommend my co-bloggers to you. Their posts are a mix of humor, deep insight, overlooked news items, and political screeds--the kind of stuff you've come to expect at The Jawa Report. Link worthy items should be sent to them, not to me. I'll still be reading e-mail, but don't expect a response unless it is either personal in nature or urgent.

I shall return.

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Most war casualties white, report says

More talking points from the left debunked........

The majority of soldiers and Marines killed or wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan were young, white, enlisted personnel from active-duty units, according to a study released Friday by the federal Government Accountability Office.

The demographic study involved 1,841 service personnel who were killed and 12,658 who were wounded, as of May 28.

Whites, who constitute 67 percent of the active-duty and reserve forces, accounted for 71 percent of the fatalities. Blacks are 17 percent of the overall force and were 9 percent of the fatalities. Hispanics are 9 percent of the force and were 10 percent of the fatalities.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are 3 percent of the force and were 3 percent of the fatalities. American Indian/Alaskan Natives are 1 percent in each category. The race of the remaining fatalities was listed as "multiple or unknown."

Isn't it refreshing when the press actually do their own homework.

Companion Opinipundit

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Cindy Sheehan is God: Links of Interest

Left demands U.S. out of U.S. now. Neocons respond: U.S. must invade U.S. now!

More anti-war protesters reveal true agenda.

Best. ACLU. Idea. Ever. ACLU demands girls join Boy Scouts. I would have made Eagle had there been some chicks around.

A look at Navy Seal's hell week. Almost as bad as finals week in one of Rusty Shackleford's classes.

Today's masochism link: Asshat interviews asshole.

RINO sightings is up. Check it out.

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Cindy Sheehan Brings Everyone But the Kitchen Sink

Numerous news reports have ignored the fact that anti-war protesters weren't the only ones riding Cindy Sheehan's stained coat tails this weekend. Apparently every liberal loving, America hating, Bush bashing group in the United States was there in DC which means NOW, PETA, and only God knows who else was on-board at the event.

This puts the numbers of actual Cindy Sheehan supporters and anti-war folks that attended the anti-war rally in question. When you look at the pro-war folks that were partaking in their events you can pretty much guarantee that it was nothing but pro-war folks and not a myriad of other organizations using the death of American servicemembers in Iraq to forward their cause for liberalism.

Update: Cindy Sheehan now has a criminal record.

Originally Posted at Conservative Thinking

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Bush Vindicated Once Again: Right-Wing Wins in Polish Elections

polish_elections.jpg
The Left constantly whines about Bush driving away European allies, yet, at nearly every turn in the past several years, those more closely aligned with the principles of limited government, lower taxes, open markets, and a defense of liberty abroad have won. Now if we could only get Bush to live up to his own rhetoric this country would be in much better shape.

Poland:

Polish papers are in little doubt that the apparent victory of the centre-right Law and Justice party, the PiS, in the country's first general election since joining the EU was a convincing one.

"PiS beat the Platform," says a headline in the influential Gazeta Wyborcza, referring to the Civic Platform, which seems to have come a close second.

"A radical change of power achieved with record low turnout" is how the paper sums up the result.

The Right, it says, will dominate the new Sejm (parliament).

How bad was the Left's defeat in Poland? Reuters:
The outgoing ruling left looks set to see its strength slashed from 217 to about 50 deputies, marking the lowest point since it was created in 1990 by reformed communists.
The hand wringing has already begun by Leftist European elites and are spinning the stunning defeat of the ruling Leftist party in the best possible light. BBC:
There was, however, one surprise: the fact that the outgoing ruling party, the former Communist Democratic Left Alliance, appears to have come third.

Beset by a series of corruption scandals, it had been expected to do worse.

"It got 11% of the vote and as many as 50 seats," Gazeta Wyborcza says. "Could this be because President Kwasniewski had campaigned on its behalf?"

This theme is echoed in the weekly Wprost.

"A sense of joy, even triumphalism reigned on Sunday night at the headquarters of the greatest winner among the losers - the Democratic Left Alliance."

So, according to this logic, you lose 167 seats in parliament and this is a victory because, you know, it could have been much worse.

What is extremely good news for the U.S. is that the ex-communist government that has been ousted from power was a supporter of the Iraq war. The two incoming right-of-center parties that are expected to rule also support the Iraq war and are Western in orientation. That is to say, alliance with the U.S. is not on the table in Poland, all major parties agree to that--Left and Right.

Here is a run down from the BBC on the two incoming parties' foreign policy stance:

What kind of foreign policy would the two pursue?

Both parties say they want to maintain Poland's close relations with the US and to play an assertive role in the EU.

Both see Russia as a potential strategic threat - and say Poland should seek to diversify its sources of oil and gas.

But while Civic Platform would also like to work closely with Germany, Law and Justice is more prone to nationalist rhetoric.

You mean, the right-wing party that garnered more votes is skeptical of the Germans--the country within the EU that most vehemently opposed the Iraq war for ideological reasons?

Here is how the Polish government classifies these two parties:

The Law and Justice Party (PiS) is a right-wing party which cherishes the traditions of independence and derives from the Solidarity movement of the 1980s. PiS represents a right-wing electorate which favours a traditional social order, a free-market economy, a strong and wholesome state, the principle of law and order and a resolute fight against crime and corruption. PiS was created in 2001. The best-known Law and Justice politicians are: Lech Kaczyński, Jarosław Kaczyński, Ludwik Dorn, Zbigniew Wasserman, Wiesław Walendziak, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz.

The Citizens' Platform (PO) was created in 2001 by Andrzej Olechowski, Donald Tusk, and Maciej Płażyński (then Speaker of the Senate), former members of the UD and AWS parties. The Citizens' Platform is a group which represents the liberal electorate, private entrepreneurs and business circles, as well as all who want a wholesome and robust state based on a free-market economy and the principle of competition. The leaders of Citizens' Platform are: Andrzej Olechowski, Donald Tusk, Paweł Piskorski.

So how come ex-commies in Germany hate the U.S. but ex-commies in Poland love the U.S.? The only logic that I see is the ex-commies in Germany have strong connections to communist parties in Western Germany. Western communist parties always had a single agenda: anti-americanism at all turns. The old communists from Western Germany never really experienced Soviet oppression. Their discourse is shaped by Western anti-capitalism and anti-Americanism.

In Poland, in contrast, there was never any doubt as to where oppression came from: Moscow. The Polish Left was never privy to the kind of anti-Americanism that prevails among the Western elite. They were anti-American because their masters in the USSR commanded them to be.

But, maybe there is a better theory floating around out there.

Posted by: Rusty at 08:37 AM | Comments (21) | Add Comment
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Treat Yourself

Iowahawk's intercepted another missive from Zarqawi.. and he's not a happy man. Warning: Do not have coffee in your mouth while reading this.

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New Spectator Blog

I see the American Spectator is firing up a staff blog, presumably something like NRO's Corner without all the Star Trek. The AmSpec has some smart people among their regulars--Bob Tyrell gets a lot of good inside-DC dirt for his Prowler column, Jed Babbin has some good military analysis, and Ben Stein's particularly quotable. No link yet, just an announcement, but it looks like they should be on in the morning.

The AmSpec puts up four or five free columns every weekday midnight, by the way, and it's already a daily stop for me.

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How did I miss this?

A hijacking in Colombia on Sept. 12? Interesting. It was a paralyzed guy with a grievance, his son, and a couple of hand grenades. No one was hurt, and the hijackers were arrested.

Not every hijacker will be wearing a turban and carrying a Koran.

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September 25, 2005

CSPAN Late Night Delight

There were two rather profound offerings on CSPAN this evening. If you missed them you can still get your fill:

The first was an interview with Tony Blankley about his new book The West's Last Chance. Although the interviewer did her best to insinuate her own conventional anti-Bush agenda she was at least respectful and allowed Tony to make his points. I guess I see pretty much what Blankley sees, and I agree that we're probably at the turning point. The other program was the incendiary "debate" between George Galloway and Christopher Hitchens that ended with Galloway standing in a pool of his own intellectual and emotional vital fluid... a fact that I'm sure escaped him. One of the highlights was Hitchens' ridicule of the "Moveon Left's" brave opposition to Dick Cheney, which he compared rather unfavorably to the revolutionary courage and leftist bonafides of the Kurdish Workers Party, and the Pesh Merga; who are (he was quick to note) fighting on our side.

What I'd like someone to tell me some day is how and why a movement that gets its inspiration and financial resources from one of the most venal and amoral capitalists on the planet, and which tacitly supports nearly every authoritarian fascist dictator in the world, can properly wear the insignia of "the Left." How did that happen? Listening to Hitchens it occured to me that the Left may have a second wind some day, since at least part of it (admittedly the smaller part) hasn't betrayed its own principles.

The "turning point" that Blankley refers to may be very close indeed. I don't know how anyone who isn't brain dead could walk away from that Hitchens/Galloway debate believing that the anti-war Left is salvaging even a morsel of dignity. Wish it had broader circulation... There's lots more, including links to video and transcripts of the debate series on Hitchensweb. Really good stuff!

(Cross-posted by Demosophist to Demosophia)

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