"Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil" - Thomas Mann

I don't think that Rusty chose that quote for his blog lightly.

We are in a war. Not a cold war, not a proxy war, but a red hot shooting war.

To date, no war has been won by American jurisprudence.

Under the United States Constitution, the prisoners in Guantanamo have no rights.

Under the Geneva Conventions, the prisoners in Guantanamo have no rights.

None. Zero. Zip. Nada.

Yet we have gone out of our way to make their stay in the tropics as comfortable as possible. From meals prepared in accordance with Islamic teachings to prayer rugs given upon arrival. Riots have occurred over fictional accounts of Koran flushing, never mind that we have no obligation to provide them with Korans. In short, they are being treated under the Geneva Convention even though it doesn't apply to them.

Were German POWs, who actually wore a uniform, and carried arms openly, given copies of Mein Kampf and shown newsreels of Hitler's speeches? Hardly.

While the focus is on three terrorists who committed suicide, no mention is being made of the dozens released who returned to their chosen vocation of killing Americans.

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Michelle Malkin and California Conservative have the news on Murtha's latest blabber.
more...

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If these men arrived in a stolen plane there should be some criminal law in Britain they could use? Certainly the plane was still hijacked when it arrived in Britain therefore they should be charged. But today they are walking around free.

BBC: The government has said it will appeal against a decision to allow nine Afghan hijackers to stay in Britain because it was unsafe for them to return home.
Home Secretary John Reid said it was important to challenge any ruling which may "appear inexplicable or bizarre to the general public".

A High Court judge ruled the nine, involved in a four-day stand-off at Stansted Airport in 2000, could remain.

Prime Minister Tony Blair had said the ruling was an "abuse of common sense".
In a statement in Downing Street, Mr Reid said: "When decisions are taken which appear inexplicable or bizarre to the general public, it only reinforces the perception that the system is not working to protect or in favour of the vast majority of ordinary decent, hard-working citizens in this country.

"That is a perception that should worry all of us and it is a perception that all of us should be working to put right."
'Abuse of justice'..

..."We can't have a situation in which people, who hijack a plane, we're not able to deport back to their country," Mr Blair said on Wednesday.

"It's not an abuse of justice for us to order their deportation; it's an abuse of common sense...

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Cindy Sheehan has no business telling Canada HTF to run their country!

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General Douglas MacArthur, a man used to winning wars, was deeply dissatisfied with the limited Allied goals in Korea. He bitterly resented sending men to die for such goals, and, while still Supreme Allied Commander, spoke out publicly about his frustration with the way Harry Truman was conducting the war.

Truman's response:

With deep regret I have concluded that General of the Army Douglas MacArthur is unable to give his wholehearted support to the policies of the United States Government and of the United Nations in matters pertaining to his official duties.

What then, to make of the six American generals who have publicly demanded the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld? Their statements about the conduct of the Iraqi theater of the War on Terror would suggest that things are quite dire indeed. Men are dying needlessly, they say.

Why then, did not one of these generals feel that these men were more important than his own career?

Also posted at The Dread Pundit Bluto.

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It's not often that I find anything to praise in the Washington Post, but today I give them kudos for running this piece by the executive director of Vets for Freedom.

Democratic representatives Jim Moran of Virginia and John Murtha from Pennsylvania organized a purported "townhall meeting", which was in reality a cheerleading session for anti-war activists, including Code Pink and MoveOn.org, who helped organize the event.

During the question and answer session a wounded veteran got up and violated the agenda: more...

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(Seattle, Washington) The Garfield High School PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association) has collected enough signatures to put an anti-war measure on the city-wide November ballot. Called the College Not Combat Initiative, I-86, the initiative will decide whether military recruiters should be allowed on Seattle city property and in schools.

In the past, the Garfield PTSA has spearheaded anti-military measures with most people believing them to be symbolic. However, supporters disagree.

From Seattle Times:

Amy Hagopian, president of Garfield's PTSA, is a lead organizer of the initiative effort. She bristles at the word "symbolic" and compares the initiative to effective historical protests such as civil-rights sit-ins.

It's not clear exactly what comprises 'inadvertent encouragement.' It is clear, however, that the parent-teacher association seems to pay more attention to promoting a liberal political agenda than educating students in reading, writing, and arithmetic.

From Interested-Participant.

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The Associated Press is running an update article on Cindy Sheehan. She's a hard leaning lefty at this point (I know; that's putting it mildly) and is doing things that I'm sure her own son would despise her for. I'm not going to quote the article but I'll just show you a few keywords from it to give you some idea as to what the article is all about:

SAN FRANCISCO ... leftist ... Berkeley ... Peace and Conflict Studies ... Hugo Chavez ... "Fahrenheit 911" ... Michael Moore ... Michael Stipe ... CODEPINK

That's nine keyword phrases that should make anyone wonder just what Cindy Sheehan is all about. She's affiliated with America haters, communists, hippies, and nut jobs; kinda makes you wonder what her moral standing is.

If you want to see Cindy Sheehan in action I'd suggest reading LT SMASH's most recent articles on the mother that spits on her own son's grave:

The Cindy Circus
Cindy, Revisited

Originally Posted at

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Do our troops support withdrawal from Iraq? Duh. Every one wants to get out of Iraq. But there are ways to rig, spin, and manipulate poll numbers. First, set up a straw man argument: Bush wants us to stay indefinitely in Iraq. Second, ask if people agree with the straw man: Do you think we should leave Iraq? Third, make sure that whoever does the polling has your agenda in mind.

UPDATE: Related analysis of the poll.

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From Insight On The News:

The U.S. military has been developing a gunship that could literally obliterate enemy ground targets with a laser beam.

The laser could have tremendous repercussions on the battlefield, particularly in urban warfare in such countries as Afghanistan and Iraq. "It's the kind of tool that could bring about victory within minutes," an official said.

But suppose a weapon really were developed that completely eliminated collateral damage. That would mean the end of most of the anti-war movement, right? Wrong, the so-called anti-war movement in this country has never been about preventing deaths; it was and is about advancing a political agenda. more...

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1 We need many of those giant "lasers". (I wonder how they'd perform shooting through a smokescreen)

Posted by: Ariya at February 02, 2006 12:52 AM (uxW3N)

2 Bluto No offense - but standard PR spin for R&D and funding from the contractors and Pentagon. Its just a "selling point" for what may or may not be an effective weapons system. Bad Approach - telegraph placing a priority on collateral damage - simply pushes opposition to insure same as operational policy. Even gives them an additional goal to exploit as a "weakness". Even has that kinda Green Evironmentally Friendly pitch to it - see it a lot in government spending.

Posted by: hondo at February 02, 2006 02:54 AM (3aakz)

3 Once they perfect the lazer beam, they should mount them on sharks.

Posted by: Improbulus Maximus at February 02, 2006 07:32 AM (0yYS2)

4 hondo, I think I covered that in the post. The real point, though, was to explore the concept of collateral damage as it applies to ultra-leftists' inflicting gross mental stress on the families of servicepeople, all in the name of their own scorched earth, anti-American jihad.

Posted by: The Dread Pundit Bluto at February 02, 2006 12:48 PM (RHG+K)

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Last night Cindy Sheehan was arrested and expelled from the gallery for disruptive behavior. I don't blame Cindy one bit. Mother Saint Cindy Sheehan was just doing what Mother Saint Cindy Sheehan does. To claim that you didn't see that coming is worse than sheer stupidity, it's a lie.

So, who is responsible for the Cindy Sheehan train wreck? Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif.

Rep. Woolsey is directly responsible for disrupting the President's State of the Union Speech. It was she who gave her one invitation to last night's event to a known anti-American activist and traitor.

No, Cindy Sheehan is not an anti-war activist as the MSM constantly reports, she is an anti-American activist. The kind of anti-American activist who believes in a global Jewish conspiracy. The kind of anti-American activist who believes Washington takes its marching orders from Tel Aviv. The kind of anti-American activist who embraces strong-men like Hugo Chavez because they both share the same vision of a weak America which will not meddle in the affairs of third-rate countries' schemes to oppress their own people.

Cindy Sheehan is more than an anti-war activist, she is a traitor to her own son who volunteered to fight in Iraq. She believes her own son was in Iraq to oppress the Iraqi people and to steal their oil.

If that wasn't enough, she is a criminal. And a criminal with poor manners, at that. Arrested on numerous occasions in acts of civil-disobedience, what the hell did any one expect she would do last night? Frown at the President.

So, the person responsible for bringing her to the State of the Union address had to have known what she was planning. To say Lynn Woolsey didn't know is to say Lynn Woolsey is stupid.

Lynn Woolsey ought to be impeached and removed from the House of Representatives for her part in facilitating an unlawful act. At the very least, she should be immediately censured by that body.

I will update this post later and see what other people are saying about Lynn Woolsey and Cindy Sheehan. I hope I'm not alone in my utter disgust at one very irresponsible Congresswoman's actions. Excuse any typos but I banged this out pretty fast and no time to check it now.

Yet another update: It looks like Lynn Woolsey isn't the only Congressperson who stands in dire need of censure. Add to that list Rep. Pete Stark, D-CA.

Some other members were upset about Sheehan’s arrest. “I’m still trying to find out why the president’s Gestapo had to arrest Cindy Sheehan in the gallery. … It shows he still has a thin skin,’’ said Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont.

Let me just say this to all the conservatives out there who are saying something like, "Well, it's okay to throw Cindy out because they also threw out Pete Stark's wife." Look, if you want to equivocate Cindy Sheehan's anti-Americanism with Mrs. Stark's patriotism, be my guest. However, doing so is kinda, I dunno, wimpy. Like, who on earth are we to judge the content of the speech being said? Screw that. I'll judge if you aren't willing to. Cindy Sheehan's very presence in the Capital building is an offense to that institution after she went down and hugged Hugo Chavez last week. But to allow her to come into that building wearing that shirt is even worse.

And to the 'free speech' crowd who seem so well versed in the 1st Amendment, let me remind you of Article 1, sec. 5 of the U.S. Constitution:

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member.

UPDATES: Ah, I knew Michelle Malkin and I would be on the same page on this one. Of course, I call for greater sanctions than revoking her tickets, but other than that Michelle is right on:

When it comes to whether she knew Sheehan would pull the stunt she pulled, Woolsey has absolutely no plausible deniability. She is one of disruptive guerilla group Code Pink's biggest advocates.

It is bad enough that Rep. Woolsey would lend credence to the kind of vile, vicious rhetroric spewed by Cindy Sheehan but to invite such a loose cannon into a Presidential speech with the clear intent on disrupting it is beyond the pale.

Another update: At the request of John Ryan, here is what Mother Saint Cindy's shirt says. 2,242 DEAD How Many More?

Here is an image from Mother Saint Cindy Sheehan's reaction over at big fat traitor's website here.

I won't bother to look, but I'm sure the Leftards are up in arms over this.

UPDATISHNESS: Interested Participant: It looks to me like an anti-Bush and anti-America T-shirt. Heh.

Traderrob: Thinking straight has perenially been an issue for you Ms. Sheehan. Bwahahaha!!

Taylor: I can see a teenager who thinks that showing up at “The Man’s” place to show him what for with a placard or shirt would be speaking truth to power and all that, but I continue to be amazed at Ms. Sheehan’s puerile, and indeed often juvenile, attempts at scoring political points.

Dan Riehl's sure bet: But what do you think the chances are that Cindy Sheehan gets invited to the Oscars, gets a prominent seat and at some point some Hollywood moonbat will point out that she's among friends and not subject to arrest?

Kevin Aylward: What's next for Mama Moonbat, streaking through a presidential press conference? My eyes, they burn!

Goldstein: Whereas, Elaine Benes being forced to remove her Orioles’ cap while sitting in one of the Yankees’ owners’ boxes—now we’re talking restriction of speech that are unconscionable…

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CNN's Pose of Objectivity Blown To Smithereens By Amanpour
Speaking on Larry King Live yesterday, CNN international correspondent Christiane Amanpour let the cat out of the bag on one of the worst-kept secrets in the world of journalism: Amanpour is grossly biased against US efforts in the war in Iraq.

Newsbusters has a transcript: more...

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Radioblogger has posted a transcript and audio of Hugh Hewitt mercilessly (yet politely) bitchslapping Joel Stein over Stein's anti-troops column in the LA Times. Here is one of the many telling points in Hugh's interview:

HH: Do you honor the service that their son did?

JS: To honor the service their son...now this is a dumb question, but what do you mean by honor? That's a word you keep using. I'm not entirely...maybe that's my problem. But I'm not entirely sure what you're...

Also posted at The Dread Pundit Bluto and Vince Aut Morire.

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In news on the media war against Western intelligence-gathering activities, MSNBC reports that the Justice Department is going to investigate the leaking of a classified NSA foreign cellphone call and email intercept program (the MSM prefer to use the disparaging term "eavesdropping"):

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Justice Department has launched an investigation to see who disclosed details about a secret domestic eavesdropping operation, department officials said Friday.

“We are opening an investigation into the unauthorized disclosure of classified materials related to the NSA,” one official said, referring to the National Security Agency.

The intelligence service at the centre of the row over eavesdropping tracked visitors to its website, despite US government regulations. Monitoring files, known as "cookies", were discovered by a privacy activist at a time when the White House is on the defensive about its use of the National Security Agency to monitor the communications of US citizens.

Also posted at The Dread Pundit Bluto.

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The "non-profit, nonpartisan organization" Freedom House notes improvement in the state of democracy in the Middle East in a December 19 press release:

The people of the Arab Middle East experienced a modest but potentially significant increase in political rights and civil liberties in 2005, Freedom House announced in a major survey of global freedom released today.

Unfortunately, even this implied faint praise for President Bush's Middle East foreign policy is a threat to Fred Hiatt at the Washington Post:

But even those bright spots had shadows. The gainers in Arab elections were Islamist parties that may or may not be committed to the democratic process. The elected government in Ukraine faced internal and external pressures. Liberia's president will need help from wealthier countries that she may not receive.

Also posted at The Dread Pundit Bluto.

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