Dec
24
2005
Christmas White House Style
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Christmas White House Style
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A history of Christmas at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is presented in an exhibition at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library And Museum. The exhibition is titled, “Christmas At The White House”, and runs through January 8, 2006. Replete with trees decorated in period manner, original ornaments, presidential Christmas cards and other artifacts from celebrations reaching back 200 years, it is a display of a segment of our national heritage.
And we can all take joy in knowing that, at this writing, the ACLU Grinch has been unable to steal this Christmas, or the history of how our Presidents have celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ.
Merry Christmas to all!
Dec
21
2005
I’ll be home for Christmas…
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I’ll be home for Christmas…
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A while back my wife forwarded me a poem that, after reading it, I knew I would be posting. It reminded me that with all the hustle and bustle, there are many who – by their own choice – would not be enjoying the season as much. So as you begin your weekend travel plans, start preparing the Christmas pies, wrapping the Chanukah gifts, enjoy all of the festive events of this upcoming Holiday weekend, don’t forget some very important things: Christmas is a celebration of the birth of the Saviour Jesus Christ; the festival of Chanukah celebrates the triumphant return of the Jewish people to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle of the oil; and that soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coastguardsmen have been fighting, dying, and standing guard for over 225 years to protect the right of the citizens of this country (and extending that right to freedom loving peoples all over the world) to celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, Ramadan, Diwali, Juneteenth, Cinco De Mayo, Mardi Gras, or whatever other religious or non-religious events they wish, without fear of retaliation.
Just as in the past, selfless men and women guard our celebrations still, and they ask nothing from us other than our respect, thoughts, and prayers. They understand that they, like their brethren before, are the reason that we can have a safe and peaceful Holiday. So while we open our gifts, eat our meals, and hug our children, we must not forget that somewhere, someone’s son or daughter is risking their life, standing watch on a cold deck, or walking lonely a post, just to make sure we can do so in peace.
The poem did not have a title so I have dubed it
Like my fathers before me.
Dec
21
2005
Idle chit-chat!
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Idle chit-chat!
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Sometime you say something without thinking that turns out to be more profound that you thought it would. Today a co-worker (and frequent commenter here) Sue and I were IM-ing about her son’s adventures playing the PS2 game ‘Call of Duty’. If you are not familiar with the game it is a historical first-person game that places you in an infantry squad in the First Infantry Division (the Big Red One) during that Divisions exploits of WWII. As she was telling us yesterday, he was really loving the game and had played it for two days straight, but then something happened:
Sue: Since Evan’s “buddy” in Call of Duty got killed yesterday, he has not played the game at all!!
Me: War is hell!
Me: Tell him a good soldier doesn’t let his buddy die in vain! He continues the fight – eventually someone gets to go home and grow old!
Sue: Good one. I’ll tell him that. THANKS!
Me: Tell him to watch Saving Private Ryan! Not continuing is the absolute wrong thing to do! It doesn’t necessarily take courage to fight… but it takes a lot of courage to keep fighting!
Sue: Amazingly enough, I’m planning on buying him that movie for Christmas. I thought it might be just the thing he needs.
Me: It will be rough on him – reality is ALWAYS tougher than we think! And though SPR is just a movie, and by definition NOT reality, it comes closer to the real thing than anything else he could (or we would want him to) experience. But it will reinforce that it is up to the living to attach meaning to such sacrifices…. to “earn” what the blood of our buddies has bought.
Having sent that, I then read what I had written… and I couldn’t help but think about how even more disgraceful the actions and words of Murtha, Dean, Kerry and Pelosi really are. What a slap – not to the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and coastguardsmen who will eventually return from this war – but to the ones who won’t!
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
My Christmas wish? That all American’s could read that statement and shake their heads in agreement.
Hope springs eternal!
Dec
20
2005
Democratic Congressman endorses the return of slavery
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Democratic Congressman endorses the return of slavery
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A major news outlet for most Americans has broken a big story with an interview with Rep. Major Owens (D-New York), revealing his true feelings about slavery.
Businesses would be more profitable if they went back to slavery…. You could work people the way slave masters worked them, from sunup to sundown.Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Dec
20
2005
The rules are different when there is a Democrat in the White House
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The rules are different when there is a Democrat in the White House
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Dick Morris – a man who, for a long while, sat at the right hand of President Bill Clinton and who is a also New Yorker – has written a piece in the NYPost skewering Hillary, Chuckie Schumer, and the other Democratic Senators stating that “the Democrats have shown a total disregard for national security.”
While the legislation President Bush proposed extends the entire act, certain key provisions are set to expire at year’s end. (The rest of the act is good until September 2007.) By voting to allow these provisions to lapse, the Democrats have shown a total disregard for national security.
It is particularly galling that Sens. Clinton and Chuck Schumer – whose New York constituents are in the terrorists’ bull’s-eye – voted to let these vital protections expire.
How galling? One of the key provisions due to expire in two weeks is one that President Bill Clinton presented as the cornerstone of his response to the escalation of terrorism in the wake of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
The measure allows “roving wiretaps” – so that the FBI can tap all phones a suspect uses, rather than just one specific number. Hillary’s vote to let this provision expire is incredible.
Given this bit of information, and the interesting fact that (Clinton-era Deputy Attorney General) Jamie Gorelick has completely contradicted herself in the same manner, I must conclude that Cliff May is correct when he states we now have proof of what many of us have believed for some time: The rules are different when there is a Democrat in the White House.
Big Stovepipe hat tip to Cliff May and Byron York over at The Corner (NRO) and RealClearPolotics
Update: Seems Drudge has uncovered further proof that what’s good for the Democratic goose is outrageous abuse of power for the Republican gander!
Thanks Sue!
Dec
19
2005
Bush address to the nation: “My most solemn responsibility”
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Bush address to the nation: “My most solemn responsibility”
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The President had a speech last night on national TV. From most accounts, unless you needed a pep talk or your support for the President has been waning, anti-idiotarians could skip it and not miss much. I’ll leave the details to those not working 70 hours a week outside blogging.
Meanwhile, among detached-reality-Americans…
The speech was, like everything else Bush has said on the topic, a nice object lesson in the rhetorical possibilities of the straw man and the false dilemma. As an effort to smear the opposition, it’s good work. As a serious argument, it’s patronizing and insulting. – Matthew YglesiasThis reminds me of The Princess Bride: I do not think those words mean what he thinks they mean. If there’s a logical proof that, “We support the troops!” is not wholly inconsistant with, “Pull out now!” I’d like to hear it. Please, please, explain it to me. And remember: absurd claims that peaceniks are trying to save the lives of warriors by ending a war don’t qualify as logic.
Dec
18
2005
Kerry Consistent On Domestic Torture
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Kerry Consistent On Domestic Torture
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Ever since hearing these words from John Kerry*:
“And there is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the–of–the historical customs, religious customs. Whether you like it or not…
SCHIEFFER: Yeah.
Sen. KERRY: …Iraqis should be doing that….
I have wanted to remind people that Kerry seems to have a consistent appreciation for having a country’s soldiers terrorize children on their own land. For he had no problem with this:
*This is the same John Kerry who contends he served in Vietnam, though he has refused to fulfill his promise to release the military records which could confirm his claim.
Dec
18
2005
Reality Check- Katrina Killed Across Class Lines
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Reality Check- Katrina Killed Across Class Lines
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One more myth from the Hurricane Katrina disaster is exposed as false. It wasn’t just the poor that died.
Dec
17
2005
Once again he makes us proud.
In his radio address today President Bush explained why it is necessary for him to authorize the use of wiretaps against the enemy, and he calls the leaking of that program illegal. I anxiously await the arrest of the perpetrator.
Here is his full speech:
In the weeks following the terrorist attacks on our nation, I authorized the National Security Agency, consistent with U.S. law and the Constitution, to intercept the international communications of people with known links to al Qaeda and related terrorist organizations. Before we intercept these communications, the government must have information that establishes a clear link to these terrorist networks.
This is a highly classified program that is crucial to our national security. Its purpose is to detect and prevent terrorist attacks against the United States, our friends and allies. Yesterday the existence of this secret program was revealed in media reports, after being improperly provided to news organizations. As a result, our enemies have learned information they should not have, and the unauthorized disclosure of this effort damages our national security and puts our citizens at risk. Revealing classified information is illegal, alerts our enemies, and endangers our country.
As the 9/11 Commission pointed out, it was clear that terrorists inside the United States were communicating with terrorists abroad before the September the 11th attacks, and the commission criticized our nation’s inability to uncover links between terrorists here at home and terrorists abroad. Two of the terrorist hijackers who flew a jet into the Pentagon, Nawaf al Hamzi and Khalid al Mihdhar, communicated while they were in the United States to other members of al Qaeda who were overseas. But we didn’t know they were here, until it was too late.
The authorization I gave the National Security Agency after September the 11th helped address that problem in a way that is fully consistent with my constitutional responsibilities and authorities. The activities I have authorized make it more likely that killers like these 9/11 hijackers will be identified and located in time. And the activities conducted under this authorization have helped detect and prevent possible terrorist attacks in the United States and abroad.
The activities I authorized are reviewed approximately every 45 days. Each review is based on a fresh intelligence assessment of terrorist threats to the continuity of our government and the threat of catastrophic damage to our homeland. During each assessment, previous activities under the authorization are reviewed. The review includes approval by our nation’s top legal officials, including the Attorney General and the Counsel to the President. I have reauthorized this program more than 30 times since the September the 11th attacks, and I intend to do so for as long as our nation faces a continuing threat from al Qaeda and related groups.
The NSA’s activities under this authorization are thoroughly reviewed by the Justice Department and NSA’s top legal officials, including NSA’s general counsel and inspector general. Leaders in Congress have been briefed more than a dozen times on this authorization and the activities conducted under it. Intelligence officials involved in this activity also receive extensive training to ensure they perform their duties consistent with the letter and intent of the authorization.
This authorization is a vital tool in our war against the terrorists. It is critical to saving American lives. The American people expect me to do everything in my power under our laws and Constitution to protect them and their civil liberties. And that is exactly what I will continue to do, so long as I’m the President of the United States.
Dec
16
2005
Tom DeLay has been violated!
Filed Under Law and Ethics | 7 Comments
Tom DeLay has been violated!
Filed Under Law and Ethics | 7 Comments
I was watching Special Report w/Brit Hume last night (as I often do) and he related a story about the political firestorm created by President Bush when he declared, in an interview conducted the night before by the same Brit Hume, that he believed that Tom DeLay was [GASP!] innocent. Here – in context – is exactly what the President said in that interview:
“I want this trial to be conducted as fairly as possible. And the more politics that are in it, the less likely it’s going to be fair,” Bush said. Asked if he thinks DeLay is innocent, Bush responded; “Yes, I do.”Well, that “Yes, I do.” line seems to have sent Senate Democrats off the deep end because they went absolutely apoplectic. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) had this to say:
“The president of the United States announced that the jury need not assemble in Texas, that Tom DeLay is innocent. To have someone of his stature that is the president of the United States prejudge the facts on a case is something I’ve never heard of before. And here is a president who believes in law and order?”Perhaps the Senate Minority Leader hasn’t got the memo yet, but we have a principle in this country that an accused person is “innocent” until proven guilty – not the other way around! But we do know for a fact that Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean didn’t get the memo – either that or he just does not believe in the principal because back in May he declared that he [Tom DeLay]:
“ought to go back to Houston where he can serve his jail sentence.”In case you don’t know the timeline here, May was before DeLay was even indicted. So here we have a prominent Democrat, Howard Dean, proclaiming Tom DeLay guilty before he was even indicted, and another prominent Democrat, Harry Reid, chastising the President for presuming that DeLay is innocent before he has been convicted of any crime.
Given all this, I was all set to criticize the Democrats for not reading and adhering to the US Constitution – but that principal, while implied, is not specifically spelled out in e Constitution. But (surprise, surprise!) it is spelled out in this document – The Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.
That’s right ladies and gentlemen, it seems that Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean have violated Tom DeLays human rights, while the President, by proclaiming his innocence, is championing them.
Someone call AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL!
Dec
15
2005
Question Everything
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Question Everything
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In the tradition of myth busting for which Snopes.com is famous, I have discovered a site which I recommend. Break The Chain.org is dedicated to helping us, “Stop junk e-mail and misinformation!”, by offering their conclusions about the truth in the various stories which are being sent around the electronic universe.
I came across BreakTheChain while engaged in a face-saving effort to verify the information in an e-mail received today, before I made the unforgivable mistake of sending it on without knowing if it was true. My effort was not wasted, as the story about the soldiers who guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier within Arlington National Cemetary, was both true and false.
I replied to the friend who sent the e-mail to me thusly:
I was about to forward this when I remembered who is on my list, and how I was taken to task once before for sending something which one of my friends knew to be false. So, I did some quick research. First I found this site which outlines some of the guard’s specifications. Then I found this site which purports to debunk a few myths in the very language you forwarded to me, while upholding the truth in other parts.
Sorry to be so anal, just thought you’d want to know too.
Rick
That said, the e-mail I received is not entirely true, but the honor of the men who guard the Tomb of the Unknown is true; and I am grateful to have been reminded of their service.
To read the myth busting of the image above of the two Presidents Bush, click on the image.
Dec
15
2005
Speaking truth to power – the right way!
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Speaking truth to power – the right way!
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Hey Howard Dean, you need to scream a bit louder next time…
…the people in Iraq seem not to have heard your words that the “idea that we’re going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong”.
And in case you don’t yet understand the meaning of the images coming out of Iraq, todays election is absolute proof that it is you and those like you who are “just plain wrong.”
Every life lost in this war is not just a tragedy for the families, but a great loss for our country. But if it was worth the cost of 200,000+ precious lives of America’s best and brightest to liberate Europe from the grip of a fascist tyrant, it was certainly worth the cost of 2100 precious lives of America’s best and brightest to liberate Iraq from the grip of a similarly fascist tyrant. To say that it was not is not only a bald faced lie, it smacks of racism. The people of Iraq and the middle east deserve freedom at least as much as the French and Europeans, don’t you think?
Dec
14
2005
I cannot let today pass without acknowledging our third blogiversary.
It’s been a tough year. We knew it was going to be a tough one coming in, but we were at times surpised by disaster from unexpected directions. We have seen moments of terrible injustice, disturbing inappropriateness, and hilarious ineptitude.
That said, we have also seen moments of great determination and inspiration. Familiar faces wore new hats, and noble heroes followed radical saints to their great reward.
Skimming back on the year in our archives, I’ve barely begun to recap the best and worst of the last year. Take a trip through the months yourself and tell us in the comments what moments will be most memorable for you. And while you’re doing that…
I think it’s about time we started a tradition that Steve, Rick, and I have mulled over for some time. While skipping through the archives, and as our friends in the MSM begin their “Year in Review” pieces (like TIME Magazine’s “Man of the Year”), take a moment to think who might deserve the honor of Black Republican of the Year.
While I am tempted to nominate our Secretary of State, and despite his many missteps throughout the year, I believe the man who made this happen may be the person most exemplifying the principles and ideals of The Black Republican: George W. Bush.
Who will you nominate?
Dec
13
2005
Brilliance and inspiration
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Brilliance and inspiration
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Norman Podhoretz has written a brilliant analysis, and Paul Greenberg has written an inspiring condemnation.
There is little that I can or feel compelled to add other than a hearty “Well done gentlemen. Well done!”
Dec
13
2005
Inspired To Vote Alex
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Inspired To Vote Alex
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Won’t you also vote for Alex?
Voting has actually closed, but this wonderful little girl is among the three finalists, let’s hope the panel gives her her due. It is not too late, however, to donate to Alex’s Lemonade Stand.