Verizon Wireless offers the world's fastest growing TXT Messaging network in the business. Search for information on the country you want to call below.

That is if the "country you want" is Palestine and not Israel. I'm sure there's an innocent reason for this, but it's interesting nonetheless.

You may think that you have felt dumb before, but let me tell you something: until you have stood in front of a man who knows real pain and told him that you are against your country's alleviation of his country's state-sponsored murderous suffering, you have not felt truly, deeply, like a total fucking moron.

A man who is no fan of President Bush, which he mentions several times, makes an effort to understand the feelings of Joe Iraqi. With pictures.

Here's to Howard Dean, one of the few candidates who might lead the Democratic Party.

"I hate the Republicans and everything they stand for, but I admire their discipline and their organization," the failed presidential hopeful told the crowd at the Roosevelt Hotel, where he and six other candidates spoke at the final DNC forum before the Feb. 12 vote for chairman.

Just for fun, substitute "Republicans" for "Nazis".

Every once in a while, I like to deconstruct and look at the personalities behind liberal letters to the editor in the NY Times. Today's subject is the following letter by Nita Martin.

For two years we have heard Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and President Bush ignore, distort or trivialize American casualties in Iraq. With Wednesday's loss of 31 in a single incident, you would think there would be some sign of empathy. Instead, Mr. Bush brushed it off and turned his brief and vague reference to mourning the loss of life into a platform for more hollow "freedom" rhetoric (front page, Jan. 27).

He actually had the ego and the bad taste to say, "I firmly planted the flag of liberty in Iraq." He didn't say "they"; he didn't say "we."

The president has planted nothing but the bodies of 1,377 Americans. They are heroes. As the mother of a marine in Rutba, I wish he would just once consider acknowledging their enormous sacrifice, rather than aggrandizing himself.

First, about the author. Nita Martin, the mother of at least one soldier in Iraq, was very active in John Kerry's campaign as one of the "Moms with a Mission". Part of her distaste for President Bush may come from her belief that her child(ren) are not properly equipped.

Nita Martin told reporters how the second of her two Marine sons to fight in Iraq had to spend his own money to buy an expensive helmet before he left - because the ones issued by the Pentagon don't stop bullets from an AK-47.

One blogger doesn't buy her story.



Anyway, back to the letter. We can pass by the improbability of being able to hear someone ignore something, and the dubious statement that the President has either distorted or trivialized the sacrifices of our soldiers in Iraq.

Instead I'll adress her problem with the President's ego when he said, "I firmly planted the flag of liberty in Iraq."

First of all, he probably used the first person as he was answering a question at a press conference that was addressed to him as an individual - "Mr. President, Senator Ted Kennedy recently repeated his characterization of Iraq as a "quagmire" and has called it your Vietnam.....And what kind of an effect do you think these statements have on the morale of our troops and on the confidence of the Iraqi people that what you're trying to do over there is going to succeed?"

To me, this only goes to show that the president's critics and the press characterize this as Bush's war to begin with, and not "our war".

Secondly, let's count how many times in that same press conference that the President uses the word "we".

We continue to offer our condolences and prayers for those who do suffer.

We'll honor the memories of their loved ones by completing our missions.

We anticipate a lot of Iraqis will vote.

My inaugural address reflected the policies of the past four years that said -- that we're implementing in Afghanistan and Iraq.

And I believe this country is best when it heads toward an ideal world. We are at our best. And in doing so, we're reflecting universal values and universal ideas that honor each man and woman, that recognize human rights and human dignity depends upon human liberty.

But we expect nations to adopt the values inherent in a democracy...

Now, nevertheless, we have spoken out in the past and we'll continue to speak out for human rights and human dignity, and the right for people to express themselves in the public square.

We look forward to working to make sure the Iraqis have got a democracy. We look forward to continuing to make sure Afghanistan is as secure as possible from potential Taliban resurgence. We look forward to spreading freedom around the world. And she is going to make a wonderful Secretary of State.

And, obviously, any time we lose life it is a sad moment. (Not "someone".)

OK - I think you get the idea. Taking one phrase spoken by a President (not known for his speaking proficiency) at an unscripted event out of context is mean-spirited at best.

If you haven't decided whether al-Jazeera is vile or not yet, take a look at this article on supposed Israeli teen suicides and then read the comments - "maybe they're frustated to miss out on the houloucoaust (sic) 60 years ago. lol."

36 Israelis commit suicide-Report

Recent studies found that the growing number of suicide cases amongst the Israelis was a direct result of the deteriorating security and economic situation at the Jewish state.

Assuming any of this article is true - and I don't - at least the Jewish kids don't go blowing themselves up in crowds of innocent people.

Amid Attacks, a Party Atmosphere on Baghdad's Closed Streets

But if the insurgents wanted to stop people in Baghdad from voting, they failed. If they wanted to cause chaos, they failed. The voters were completely defiant, and there was a feeling that the people of Baghdad, showing a new, positive attitude, had turned a corner.

No one was claiming that the insurgency was over or that the deadly attacks would end. But the atmosphere in this usually grim capital, a city at war and an ethnic microcosm of the country, had changed, with people dressed in their finest clothes to go to the polls in what was generally a convivial mood.

"You can feel the enthusiasm," Col. Mike Murray of the First Cavalry Regiment, said outside a polling station in Karada, who added that the scene in Karada was essentially true for the whole area.

In Khadamiya, a mixed area in northwest Baghdad, the turnout was also large, with some representatives of political parties saying the turnout could approach 80 percent.

Even in the so-called Sunni Triangle, a hotbed of resistance to the American occupation, people voted, too. In Baquba, 60 miles north of Baghdad, all the polling stations that reported indicated a huge turnout.

In Mosul, the restive city to the north, large turnouts were reported, even in the Sunni Muslim areas.

---------------------------------

There are other people, aside from the millions of brave Iraqi voters, who are also defiant in their beliefs about...what exactly do these people believe in anyway?

"It is hard to say that something is legitimate when whole portions of the country can't vote and doesn't vote....I believe the world is less safe today than it was two and a half years ago." - Senator John Kerry - Meet The Press, Janaury 30.

(Later in the interview, Tim Russert asks Kerry whether the United States safer with the newly elected Iraqi government than we would have been with Saddam Hussein. Kerry's answer is "sure".)

Thank God this man did not become President - he has zero credibility.

Here's another laughable exchange.

MR. RUSSERT: Specifically, do you agree with Senator Kennedy that 12,000 American troops should leave at once?

SEN. KERRY: No.

MR. RUSSERT: Do you believe there should be a specific timetable of withdrawal of American troops?

SEN. KERRY: No.

MR. RUSSERT: What would you do?

SEN. KERRY: I understand exactly what Senator Kennedy is saying, and I agree with Senator Kennedy's perceptions of the problem and of how you deal with it.

Big Turnout in Baghdad Points to Success in Iraq Voting

After a slow start, voters turned out in very large numbers in Baghdad today, packing polling places and creating a party atmosphere in the streets, which were closed to traffic but full of children playing soccer, and men and women, some carrying babies.

After eight hours of voting, with two to go, American officials were showing confidence that today was going to be an amazing success, although they were still wary of major attacks.

In the Karada district of central Baghdad, everyone, it seemed, was walking to the polls, where they lined up to vote 50 people deep.

Historic Vote Underway in Iraq Amid Attacks

Iraq's first democratic election in nearly half a century neared its conclusion Sunday after a day most obervers believed produced better-than-exected turnout and less-than-expected violence.

According to whose expectations?

From an Iraqi's journal on the BBC:

"Today I went and voted! I got up early, went out at 10am with my family and walked to the polling station about 10 minutes from my home. There were many people walking in the street, everyone was running around smiling and happy, it was just like a feast day."

This is absolutely amazing. From the Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House, an organization founded by Eleanor Roosevelt and currently headed by ex-CIA director (under Clinton) James Woolsey.

NEW REPORT ON SAUDI GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS IN U.S.

A link to the full report can be found here.

· Various Saudi government publications gathered for this study, most of which are in Arabic, assert that it is a religious obligation for Muslims to hate Christians and Jews and warn against imitating, befriending, or helping them in any way, or taking part in their festivities and celebrations;

· The documents promote contempt for the United States because it is ruled by legislated civil law rather than by totalitarian Wahhabi-style Islamic law. They condemn democracy as un-Islamic;

· The documents stress that when Muslims are in the lands of the unbelievers, they must behave as if on a mission behind enemy lines. Either they are there to acquire new knowledge and make money to be later employed in the jihad against the infidels, or they are there to proselytize the infidels until at least some convert to Islam. Any other reason for lingering among the unbelievers in their lands is illegitimate, and unless a Muslim leaves as quickly as possible, he or she is not a true Muslim and so too must be condemned. For example, a document in the collection for the “Immigrant Muslim” bears the words “Greetings from the Cultural Attache in Washington, D.C.” of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia, and is published by the government of Saudi Arabia. In an authoritative religious voice, it gives detailed instructions on how to “hate” the Christian and Jew: Never greet them first. Never congratulate the infidel on his holiday. Never imitate the infidel. Do not become a naturalized citizen of the United States. Do not wear a graduation gown because this imitates the infidel;

· One insidious aspect of the Saudi propaganda examined is its aim to replace traditional and moderate interpretations of Islam with extremist Wahhabism, the officially-established religion of Saudi Arabia. In these documents, other Muslims, especially those who advocate tolerance, are condemned as infidels. The opening fatwa in one Saudi embassy-distributed book, published by the Saudi Air Force, responds to a question about a Muslim preacher in a European mosque who taught that it is not right to condemn Jews and Christians as infidels. The Saudi state cleric’s reply rebukes the Muslim cleric: “He who casts doubts about their infidelity leaves no doubt about his.” Since, under Saudi law, “apostates” from Islam can be sentenced to death, this is an implied death threat against the tolerant Muslim imam, as well as an incitement to vigilante violence;

· Sufi and Shiite Muslims are viciously condemned;

· For a Muslim who fails to uphold the Saudi Wahhabi sect’s sexual mores (i.e. through homosexual activity or heterosexual activity outside of marriage), the edicts published by the Saudi government’s Ministry of Islamic Affairs, and found in American mosques advise, “it would be lawful for Muslims to spill his blood and to take his money;”

· Regarding those who convert out of Islam, the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs explicitly asserts, they “should be killed;”

· Saudi textbooks and other publications in the collection, propagate a Nazi-like hatred for Jews, treat the forged Protocols of the Elders of Zion as historical fact, and avow that the Muslim’s duty is to eliminate the state of Israel;

· Regarding women, the Saudi publications instruct that they should be veiled, segregated from men and barred from certain employment and roles;

The report states: “While the government of Saudi Arabia claims to be ‘updating’ or reforming its textbooks and study materials within the Kingdom, its publications propagating an ideology of hatred remain plentiful in some prominent American mosques and Islamic centers, and continue to be a principal resource available to students of Islam within the United States.”

My wife keeps pushing me to go on a cruise which I have never done. I can't see why anyone would spend so much money on a mode of travel that's not safe. Here are several incidents from this month alone where hundreds became ill, probably spending thousands of dollars for the privilege.

Gastrointestinal virus strikes Holland America voyage in Caribbean

116 Sick on Royal Caribbean Cruise

Cruise Ship With 230 Sick Returning To Port

And just in case you still weren't convinced:

Sickness reports double

Talk about seasick. Over the past two months the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received reports of 10 cruise ships stricken with outbreaks of gastrointestinal problems -- more than double the number recorded during the same period a year ago.

It's not like there are thosuands of cruises a day and these are isolated incidents. Who knows how many trips only have a dozen or so people that get sick instead of hundreds.

Thanks, but no thanks.

It's an hour before the polls are to open in Iraq. Let's take a look at whether the mainstream media feels happy or not on this historic occasion as a major goal of our Iraqi strategy is reached.

The New York Times

Insurgents Vow to Sabotage Balloting
U.S. Forces Brace for Their 'Day of Reckoning'
In Iraq, Questions About Women's Vote
The Vote, and Democracy Itself, Leave Anxious Iraqis Divided
Bush Promotes a Positive View of Iraq's Vote (Because he must be the only person that has one!)

Washington Post

City Awaits Vote With Hope and Fear - OK at least this is mixed
No Timetable for Withdrawal

CNN

Violence rages ahead of poll

- A rocket hits the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, while 8 Iraqis are killed near the Iranian border.
- Strict curfews, travel restrictions and a weapons ban are in place ahead of voting.
- Intelligence sources: Insurgents have 150 car bombs and 250 suicide bombs prepared (At least that's better than the "thousands" the the NY Times predicted. See below.)

Wendy Shalit has an interesting article in the NY Times about fiction which centers around Orthodox Jews.

The Observant Reader

The main point is that many non-Orthodox Jews seem to write about the Orthodox as a bunch of insufferable hypocritices, an attitude which unfairly leeches into society at large.

I think my vision of the Orthodox is much like that of Ms. Shalit. Her first book, ''A Return to Modesty" while not about Orthodox Judaism in particular, seems to have gotten very good reader reviews on Amazon.

Here's another bold prediction from the NY Times editorial page:

Iraq's Election Gamble

That sounds like a goal everyone should support. Yet thousands of Iraqi insurgents are expected to mount violent attacks while millions of other Iraqis - the intimidated and the alienated - seem likely to sit out the vote.

You read that right - there will be thousands of attacks tomorrow.

And by the way, the tens of millions of people who regularly ignore our own elections are greater than the entire population of Iraq - that doesn't make the elections illegitimate.

Another interesting comparison that I've been reading that I'll throw in for fun. The media seems to be focused on Sunni participation as the benchmark for the legitimacy of the Iraqi vote, regardless of the overall turnout. Since this is the minority that benefitted most from Saddam's tyrannical regime, why should we care? When South Africa held it's first free elections after apartheid, was the left claiming that the elections wouldn't be legitimate if the Afrikaaners didn't show up at the polls?

On the home page of the NY Times internet site is a perfect example of the liberal media's use of the word "but" to offset any news that would seem to contradict their beliefs, and more specifically any good news having to do with Iraq.

The story at the top of the page has this headline and subheading:

Shiite Faction Ready to Shun Sunday's Election in Iraq

A radical cleric's refusal to endorse the election foreshadowed a less than overwhelming voter turnout in Iraq.

The second story on the page reads as follows:

For Iraqi Expatriates in the U.S., a Chance to Savor the Vote

But even as they exulted in the opportunity to vote, many expatriates expressed deep fears about Sunday's vote in Iraq.

Why doesn't the negative article at the top of the page say "But, according to recent polls 80% of Iraqis expressed the likelihood that they will vote"? This is something that is bubbling up in the right-wing blogosphere as a liberal cliche.

UPDATE: I swear I didn't see this post before I wrote my post above:

OUT DAMNED BUT

So, which prediction do YOU believe?

Most Iraqis Remain Committed to Elections, Poll Finds

This was reported a week ago on page A13 of the Washington Post:

An overwhelming majority of Iraqis continue to say they intend to vote on Jan. 30 even as insurgents press attacks aimed at rendering the elections a failure, according to a new public opinion survey.

The poll, conducted in late December and early January for the International Republican Institute, found 80 percent of respondents saying they were likely to vote, a rate that has held roughly steady for months.

Or this, splashed across the front page of the MSNBC website today:

Iraqi president: Most Iraqis won't vote Sunday

On the eve of Iraq's first multi-party election for half a century, Iraq’s president said Saturday he expected that the majority of Iraqis would not vote in the poll, saying violence would keep them away from the ballot box.

“What we hope is that most Iraqis will take part in the election, but we know that the majority will not because of the security situation,” President Ghazi al-Yawar told reporters.

Stay tuned.....

I'm going to ignore the meaningless headline in this NY Times story and replace it with the first few words which do more justice to the body of the story.

Joyful tears and frequent applause

UPDATE: I wish I would have linked to the original headline which was something like "Low Expectations for Vote". The new headline for the link above is now "Iraqi Expats Dance for Joy After Voting". Damn, I wish I would have kept it.

One poll worker could be seen weeping....

``We feel happy now. This is like America, this voting,''...

Adl Almusasarah, 30, traveled from Denver to Nashville, arriving at the polling site an hour early so he could be first in line...

Ayad Barzani, 42 flew into Nashville from Dallas on Thursday night, casting his ballot early so he could get back to the restaurant he owns before the busiest night of the week. ``This is one of the happiest days of my life,'' said Barzani...

``I am happier than on my wedding day,'' said Saja Verdi, 26, an unemployed mother of two....

``Today I feel that I am born again,'' said Darbaz Rasool, 23, a Kurd who fled Iraq in 1994...

As the Iraqi voting begins and Condaleeza Rice is sworn in as the first African-American woman to be Secreatry of State, I want to say thank you to President Bush for making me feel proud to be an American today.

UPDATE: Here's another story from my local paper about large groups of people driving from Dallas to Nashville just to vote. Since Democrats think having to wait in line for a few hours is tantamount to voter fraud, no wonder they won't see the Iraqi elections as legitimate.
'We have waited our whole lives'

Officials estimate that hundreds of Dallas-area Iraqis will be making the 700-mile journey this weekend to cast their ballots in Nashville, one of five cities selected to host the Iraqi national assembly vote in the United States.

Those who can't make the cross-country trek said they will be at home, glued to their television sets as they watch the election unfold and contemplate the future of their homeland from afar.

Mr. Sindy will leave tonight after work with 48 of his friends from Arlington's Kurdish community. They will pile into seven minivans – each carrying seven people – to drive for 12 hours.

Someone should start a website for funniest quotes taken out of context. Then again, this particular quote is funny, even in context.

Before we get to the quote by a state senator, let's remember some of the great lines spoken by his predecessors in the political arena....

"We have nothing to fear, but fear itself."

"Give me liberty, or give me death."

"Who's going to object to chickens fighting like humans do? Everybody wins," Sen. Frank Shurden said.

Writing in regards to Harvard president Lawrence Summers' controversial remarks about female aptitudes for math and science, George Will puts togehter one of the most sarcastic, image-laden paragraphs I have read in a long time.

First he mentions one particular reaction, which was also included in the first reports on the incident (linked above).

Nancy Hopkins, a biologist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, walked out on Summers' talk, saying later that if she hadn't left, ''I would've either blacked out or thrown up."

Mr. Will then commences the literary lashing.

Is this the fruit of feminism? A woman at the peak of the academic pyramid becomes theatrically flurried by an unwelcome idea and, like a Victorian maiden exposed to male coarseness, suffers the vapors and collapses on the drawing room carpet in a heap of crinolines until revived by smelling salts and the offending brute's contrition?

No wonder he gets paid to write and I don't. I couldn't have come up with that paragraph even if had I been able to memorize the dictionary and a thesaurus.

Palestinian Authority Issues Weapons Ban

The Palestinian leadership banned civilians on Thursday from carrying weapons, its latest step aimed at reining in militant violence, as the Palestinian leader said he was awaiting Israel's response on a proposal for a mutual cease-fire declaration.

If enforced, the ban on weapons would be a strong move against militant groups, whose gunmen often openly brandish their automatic weapons in the streets of Gaza and the West Bank -- reflecting the lack of control by the Palestinian security forces.

The key words are "if enforced". I am hopeful, but not expectant.

Aharon Applefeld writes an elegant piece on Auschwitz in the NY Times.

Always, Darkness Visible

This is not a story with a happy ending. A doctor who survived, from a religious background, who sailed to Israel with us in June 1946, told us: "We didn't see God when we expected him, so we have no choice but to do what he was supposed to do: we will protect the weak, we will love, we will comfort. From now on, the responsibility is all ours."

World leaders gathered at Auschwitz today to mark the 60th anniversary of it's liberation.

PBS has done a documentary on Auschwitz, parts of which are still being broadcast. I bought the DVD yesterday becuase I've already missed some of it. There's an excellent resource site here.

I know there's an incredible number of parties participating in the Iraqi elections on Sunday, but I'm pulling for the Democratic Party of the Iraqi Nation.

From An Iraqi Pol’s Risky Platform

"...the Democratic Party of the Iraqi Nation...is campaigning in the legislative elections set for Sunday on a platform advocating a close strategic relationship between Iraq and Israel."

More good news from Israel.

Israel Resumes Diplomatic Contacts With Palestinians

Israel and the Palestinians ended a nearly two-year freeze in high-level diplomatic talks on Wednesday and agreed to prepare next week for a first summit between Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President Mahmoud Abbas.

The talks aim to build on a lull in Palestinian militant attacks engineered by Abbas, who this month succeeded late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

Officials said senior aides to the Israeli and Palestinian leaders would reconvene next week to hammer out details for the summit, the first since shortly after Palestinian militants launched an uprising in late 2000.

Many people predicted, and I had certainly hoped, that the death of Arafat was the necessary catalyst for change. But who really believed that so much could change in so little time?

A terrible day in Iraq.

31 killed in Marine chopper crash

It almost seems like this was bound to happen - we were having a relatively good month as far as casualties goes.

Although it is hard to be positive on days like today, I remain hopeful that the majority of the Iraqi people appreciate our country's sacrifice and will show up in strength at the polls on Sunday and that one day we will think of Iraq as no more threatening than Denmark or Kenya.

God bless the families of the fallen.

The human rights community should be outraged! Bulldozers destroying hundreds of buildings in Gaza...maybe even using the hated Catepillar's equipment.

Oh, never mind...it's not the Israelis...let 'er rip!

Palestinians raze illegal shacks

The Pope, sounding very much like a conservative pundit, doesn't have a lot of respect for the God-hating Socialists of Spain.

The Pope said the politics of the Spanish prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, were "promoting disdain towards religion".

The Pope said: "This ideology will lead to the restriction of religious freedoms and promote a disrespect and even ignorance of religion.

The Socialists meanwhile, including the Catholic defense minister, believe that the Pope doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to the Son of God.

Spain's defense minister on Tuesday rejected Pope John Paul II's criticism of its Socialist government, which wants to legalize gay marriage and streamline laws on divorce and abortion, and he said some church positions go against the teachings of Jesus Christ.

I wonder if the Spanish have their own version of WWJD? Maybe QHJ? "Que haria Jesus"?

Here is the official link to the UN General Assembly Special Session on the 60th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz.

“But the tragedy of the Jewish people was unique,” he (Kofi Annan - ed.)stressed. “An entire civilization, which had contributed far beyond its numbers to the cultural and intellectual riches of Europe and the world, was uprooted, destroyed, laid waste....”

Turning to more recent cases of genocide in Cambodia, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, Mr. Annan declared: “On occasions such as this, rhetoric comes easily. We rightly say ‘never again.’ But action is much harder. Since the Holocaust the world has, to its shame, failed more than once to prevent or halt genocide.”

It looks like Gaza is quieting down somewhat and hope is growing for some sort of "cease-fire".

Gaza quiet remains intact

Of course, what is considered "quiet" in Gaza would still be considered "being under attack" in most corners of the world, but then again it's better than it has been and the claim is that the Palestinians have not yet deployed to the areas from where the attacks have been occurring, but that they soon will be.

If this is true, all I can say as "wow" and "I'll be back after I go out and inhale a bagful of pixie stix". I'll believe it a little more once I see it from a source other than the AFP.

Stem cell treatment reverses diabetes: Argentine researchers

Millions of diabetics worldwide could put insulin injections behind them if a stem cell treatment that Argentine physicians have successfully used to reverse the disease confirms promising early results.

The treatment, in which stem cells are injected into the pancreas, does not involve risks of rejection, requires no prolonged inpatient treatment, and any physician trained in and skilled with catheterization could perform it, cardiologist Roberto Fernandez Vina told AFP.

Fernandez Vina leads the team that successfully carried out the first implant of its kind January 3 on an insulin-dependent diabetic patient at San Nicolas Hospital in the town of San Nicolas, north of Buenos Aires.

The 42-year-old man, who had been insulin dependent since the age of 25, so far has seen his glucose levels return to normal with no need for medication.

The treatment involves extracting stem cells from the ilium, a bone in the hip, and after manipulating them in the laboratory, injecting them into the pancreas using a special catheter introduced through the femoral artery, which provides a direct route to the "tail" of the pancreas.

My hope for peace meter is going up - although notice that Gaza is more peaceful exactly because 2,000 armed men onthe Palestinian side are positioned to stop it.

Palestinian Security Forces Deploy in Gaza

Palestinian security forces took up positions in northern Gaza on Friday under orders from President Mahmoud Abbas to curb attacks by militants on Israelis as part of his plan to end bloodshed and revive peacemaking.

The deployment, preceded by cease-fire talks between Abbas and militants and a sharp drop in violence in Gaza, was the clearest sign of renewed Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation in more than four years of fighting.....

In a sign that Abbas's efforts could be working, militants have not launched a rocket or mortar bomb in Gaza since Tuesday.

Memo to the Republican National Committee - the Democrats have been taking notes...

Sen. Clinton urges use of faith-based initiatives

Addressing a crowd of more than 500, including many religious leaders, at Boston's Fairmont Copley Plaza, Clinton invoked God more than half a dozen times, at one point declaring, "I've always been a praying person."

She said there must be room for religious people to "live out their faith in the public square."

The danger for the Democrats here of course is that the Republicans will always be able to claim that this was their idea in the first place.

When I think of how close we came to having ignorant blowhards like Barbara Boxer in leadership positions, it frightens me.

I caught about 10 minutes or so of her speechifying against Condi Rice on C-SPAN last night. You could hardly call it questioning. Here's an example of how Senator Boxer uses her distorted view of events to spew her hatred.

Reality-based my ass.

BOXER: "You sent (American troops) in there because of weapons of mass destruction; later the mission changed when there were none," Boxer said. "I have your quotes on it, I have the president’s quotes on it, and everybody admits it but you."

"It was the total picture, senator, not just weapons of mass destruction, that caused us to decide that post-Sept. 11 it was finally time to deal with Saddam Hussein," Rice disagreed.

"Well you should read what we voted on when we voted to support the war," Boxer interrupted, noting that she was among the minority of senators who voted no. "It was WMD period."

Hey at least she doesn't equivocate like John Kerry and claim that the pre-war vote was for authorization only with no expectation that the Presdient would actually invade Iraq.

However, let's take closer look at what the Senate voted on when they authorized the use of force against Iraq. This is not to say that WMDs were not mentioned in other parts of the resolution, but to claim as the left does that it was all about WMDs only is ridiculous.

Whereas Iraq persists in violating resolution of the United Nations Security Council by continuing to engage in brutal repression of its civilian population thereby threatening international peace and security in the region, by refusing to release, repatriate, or account for non-Iraqi citizens wrongfully detained by Iraq, including an American serviceman, and by failing to return property wrongfully seized by Iraq from Kuwait......

Whereas the current Iraqi regime has demonstrated its continuing hostility toward, and willingness to attack, the United States, including by attempting in 1993 to assassinate former President Bush and by firing on many thousands of occasions on United States and Coalition Armed Forces engaged in enforcing the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council......

Whereas members of al Qaida, an organization bearing responsibility for attacks on the United States, its citizens, and interests, including the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq...

Whereas Iraq continues to aid and harbor other international terrorist organizations, including organizations that threaten the lives and safety of United States citizens....

Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 (1990) authorizes the use of all necessary means to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 660 (1990) and subsequent relevant resolutions and to compel Iraq to cease certain activities that threaten international peace and security, including the development of weapons of mass destruction and refusal or obstruction of United Nations weapons inspections in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 (1991), repression of its civilian population in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 688 (1991), and threatening its neighbors or United Nations operations in Iraq in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 949 (1994).....

Whereas the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-338) expressed the sense of Congress that it should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove from power the current Iraqi regime and promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime....

It can all be found here by searching for “Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.” (Select the years 2001-2002)

Last night, I saw the play "Modern Orthodox" with Jason Biggs (American Pie), Molly Ringwald (do I have to tell you?) and Craig Bierko (Music Man on Broadway).

The essence of the play is that both religious and secular Jews have a lot to learn from each other about how to best love our fellow man (and woman!), even while we live our lives differently as individuals. Everyone's got their hang-ups and only by recognizing our own and dealing with them can we then go on to help others with theirs.

The play is mostly comedy, part farce and part drama. Of the three principal actors, I thought that Molly Ringwald was the most believable character as an aspiring doctor and Craig Bierko is fascinating to watch - charismatic and powerful.
Jason Biggs did a good job in bringing memorable traits and tics to his orthodox persona, but I still found it hard to believe that he was actually orthodox as opposed to someone acting like they thought an orthodox person should act.

Overall the show was enjoyable - it's the kind of show that makes you smile throughout, with an occasional "laugh out loud" moment. I was actually expecting a little bit more of a spiritual uplift from the show - something that might drive me to be a little more religious, or at least allow me to think more deeply about my faith. However, the show was more like a philisophical "guide to better sex" than anything else. I guess I should have expected this in a theater complex that had "Pieces of Ass" playing across the hall.

A word of caution - you'll never think of hamantashen the same way again.

Here's the NY Times review.

Before the show they were playing various Jewish-related tunes over the speaker system, incuding this very funny song by Tom Lehrer which I don't think I had ever heard.

One final note - I had actually bought seats in the last row of the baclony, but due to some technical problems (and a small, half-filled house) I was moved down to about the tenth row orchestra and sat in the center. Sweet.

Hey, not every rabbi can be honest.

'BRIBE' RABBI IS ARRESTED

A Queens rabbi was arrested yesterday on charges of offering a free trip to Israel to a city employee evaluating his application to become a carting broker...

The city employee, who works for the Business Integrity Commission, reported the offer to the Department of Investigation, officials said.

Nisht gut. (That's yiddish for "not good").

Ack! I can't believe I forgot to post this yesterday!

"I Have A Dream"
by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sometimes a letter to the NY Times is so loony that I just have to call attention to it. Barbara Pleskow writes:

A truly wonderful way for Laura Bush to go down in history for all time would be as the first lady who wore a "used" dress for the inaugural ball, thus paying honor to the young people who are dying in her husband's misbegotten war.

Aside from the usual call that Republicans should declare a constant state of mourning and cancel any form of celebration public or private, I find it funny that someone who would probably champion women's rights deems that the First Lady can truly make history based solely on what she wears.

Here's some more intelligent insight from Ms. Pleskow, courtesy of the BBC. Commenting on the appointment of Iraq's interim government back in June 2004:

Anyone with half a brain knows that George W. is scrambling to get out before the election in November. What he leaves behind him is of less importance than securing another four years. I hope for the sake of the Iraqis, this leads to something better for them than the chaos they are living in right now.

Sorry that President Bush disappointed all you half-plus-brainers!

Your bi-weekly dose of All The News That's Fit to Bury.

A roundup of the past two weeks' good news from Iraq.

It only took Newsweek four years to figure this out.

Wolffe: Bush is a surprisingly hands-on executive

Bush's leadership style belies his caricature as a disengaged president who is blindly loyal, dislikes dissent and covets his own downtime. In fact, Bush's aides and friends describe the mirror image of a restless man who masters details and reads avidly, who chews over his mistakes and the failings of those around him, and who has grown ever more comfortable pulling the levers of power. Of course, those closest to Bush have a vested interest in singing his praises. But they also make a compelling case that the president is a more complex and engaged character than his popular image suggests. And that he—not Karl Rove, Dick Cheney or anyone else—bears the full weight of responsibility for the ultimate successes and failures of his reign.

Gee, and who created this "popular image" considering the man won a clear majority of the popular vote in November? Assuming this is all true, that means that either the media or the Democratic Party have done a great disservice to the country in defaming the President's character.

Um, maybe I'm mistaken, but isn't this treason and shouldn't someone get the death penalty for this? The reporting, I mean, not the spying.

Report: U.S. conducting secret missions in Iran

I mean, if it's OK to broadcast our undercover operations against enemy countries, why shouldn't the media be allowed to report on all our troop movements, weapons capabilities, etc?

Does this not help Iran?

US Constitution - Article III - Section 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.

Unfortunately, it seems like the media's primary task isAiding and Abetting the Enemy.

Four more victims of the Religion of Peace - in Jersey City.

'ISLAMIC HATE' EYED IN SLAYS

The father of a murdered New Jersey family was threatened for making anti-Muslim remarks online — and the gruesome quadruple slaying may have been the hateful retaliation, sources told The Post yesterday...

"I am concerned for the safety of our community," said Ayed, who knew Hossam for 30 years. "People are scared because one family was slain like cows," said Moheb Ghabour, publisher of a local newspaper for the Coptic community.

If only the Times recognized the similarities between New Jersey and Iraq.

When the Price for Speaking Out Is Death

Mahmoud Abbas may have trouble trying to get Palestinian "militants" to lay down their arms against Israelis, but he has no problem allowing them to kill Palestinian "collaborators".

A young Palestinian man suspected of "collaboration" with Israel was executed on Friday in a public square in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus....

In recent months, at least 13 "collaborators" have been ruthlessly murdered in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, all by Fatah gunmen.

Mahmoud Abbas has been chariman of Fatah since the death of Yasser Arafat.

Read how the NY Times pontificates on the Israeli "overreaction" to the relatively large terrorist attack in Gaza a couple of days ago.

In choosing to respond by cutting off all Israeli contacts with the Palestinian Authority, Mr. Sharon has become their unwitting ally.

So, (although Israel did take some military action) what the Times is saying that it's not legitimate for Israel to combat murder even with political action.

Nor can it (Israel) be expected to negotiate with Palestinian leaders who equivocate in word or deed about terrorism. But that is not the situation Israel faces, as someone as canny and experienced in these matters as Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, must surely recognize.

That is not the situation Israel faces!?! When Mahmoud Abbas coddles the terrorists, how is that being an unequivocal supporter for peace?

That's why some of Mr. Abbas's words and actions in campaigning for Palestinians' votes on Sunday have been so disturbing. Rather than reject armed militants, he has clambered onto their shoulders, called them "heroes" and vowed to protect them. Rather than prepare Palestinians for compromise, he has reiterated Yasser Arafat's unachievable commitment to "the right of return" for refugees.

Many Palestinians and some Israelis brush off Mr. Abbas's declarations as campaign rhetoric...But Mr. Abbas didn't need to appeal to hard-line Palestinian opinion.

For those not following closely, Abbas was long-ago predicted to win in a landslide and if we are to believe the peace camp, terrorists and their supporters are just a small percentage of the Palestinian population.

Finally, if you think that Israel overreacyed because of one terrorist attack, then you're not paying close enough attention. See if you can count the number of successful and aborted terrorist actions that took place just in the last day or so.

1 - A fourteen-and-a-half-year-old Israeli girl was seriously wounded and three others lightly wounded by a Kassam that landed on the Gaza settlement of Sderot Saturday night.

2 - Later Saturday, the IDF identified two armed Palestinians approaching the Kissufim crossing. One was shot and killed and a search is ongoing for the second one, Channel 2 reported.

3 - Also on Saturday, a seven-year-old Israeli child was moderately wounded after a mortar shell hit a house in the Gaza settlement of Netzarim. The boy lost his arm in the blast...

4 - Palestinian sources reported that a combatant was killed on Friday night after IDF soldiers fired at three Palestinians who were spotted planting an explosive charge in the southern Gaza Strip.

5 - In other incidents, Palestinians fired at IDF posts on the Israel-Egypt border and near the Gaza settlement of Neve Dkalim.

6 - Also Saturday, Palestinian terrorists fired a mortar shell at a Gaza settlement. There were no injuries, but one house sustained damage.

7 - Three more shells hit Gush Katif overnight, causing no injuries or damage.

This is a constant, multi-front attack by the Palestinians - not some simple "cycle of violence" where one terrorist act is answered by one Israeli action.

UPDATE: Apparently, even this is a fraction of what's been going on.

The military said that in the last two weeks, attacks in Gaza increased to 100 a week from 40 a week.

The only remaining question now is who will be the first to Photoshop a Star Wars character on Titan?

European Craft Lands on Strange Terrain of Saturn Moon

European spacecraft plunged through the murky atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan today and successfully came to rest on a bizarre landscape of mystery never before explored.

Astronomers expressed joy at achieving the first landing on another planet's moon, particularly Titan, the only moon in the solar system with a substantial atmosphere.

The first picture from the Huygens spacecraft did nothing to undermine the reputation of Titan as a strange and otherworldly place. The picture showed terrain of what appeared to be deep channels leading to the shoreline of a dark, flat surface, possibly one of Titan's hypothesized lakes of liquid methane.

Space...the final frontier....

Sharon orders all contact severed with PA government

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has ordered all contact cut with newly elected Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas until Abbas reins in terrorists, a Sharon spokesman said Friday.

The report comes following a deadly attack Thursday night at the Karni terminal crossing in the Gaza Strip, in which six Israelis were killed, and five civilians were wounded.

In response, Israel has announced that it will not negotiate with the PA until the attack is investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice.

In don't think this is the right move given that Israel is bound to hunt down the people involved in this attack anyway - what's the rush?

Saeb Erakat, spokesman for the Palestinians also has a good point, at least one that will be easily swallowed by the Western media:

Erekat viewed the gesture as extreme and wholly unjustified, in particular because the PA's chairman-elect Mahmoud Abbas has not yet entered office. Erekat noted that Abbas has vowed to take steps against violence, but he has not yet been in the position of authority to do so. Abbas will be sworn in as PA chairman at noon this Saturday.

The reality is that Mahmoud Abbas has been the chairman of both the PLO and Fatah since Yasser Arafat's death. The Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade is the militant faction of Fatah. They were responsible, with others, for the terrorist attack in Gaza yesterday. Therefore, either Abbas is bullshitting everyone and condones terrorism just like Arafat did, or he can't control the organization that he purportedly leads.

Looks like Powell can see through all the Palestinian b.s. as well:

Referring to Abbas by his familiar name, Powell said "Abu Mazen, who I know very well, knows full-well, and we've talked about it many times, that he's got to get these terrorists under control."

Powell did not criticize Sharon for his break with Abbas, rather praised the Israeli Prime-Minister for welcoming the election of the new Palestinian leader and saying he wants to be a partner for peace with him.

Apparently, some people in the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees didn't get the President-elect's memo on attacks on Israelis being counterproductive.

Truck Bomb Attack Kills 8 in Gaza Strip

At least two and possibly three Palestinians blew up a truck bomb and then themselves late Thursday at a busy crossing point in the Gaza Strip in an attack coordinated with other militants who fired mortars and automatic weapons at Israeli soldiers.

At least five Israelis and three Palestinians were killed in the attack, according to the Israeli Army and news media and Palestinian medics. Another 10 people were wounded, at least 4 of them Israeli.

And why did this particular target become attractive to the terrorists? Appeasing the liberals.

The operating hours at Karni were recently increased to allow more goods to cross, in an Israeli move to help Mr. Abbas by slightly loosening its tight grip on Gaza.

Welcome to Oslo II.

If this is real, it would be a major step towards peace.

Abbas Ready to Meet Security Commitments

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that he is ready to honor the security commitments in an internationally backed peace plan, and a Hamas leader said the violent Islamic group does not seek to eliminate the Jewish state.

Sheik Hassan Yousef, Hamas' top official in the West Bank, also held out the possibility of a cease-fire with Israel.

"Hamas doesn't want to eliminate Israel. Hamas is a realistic political movement," Yousef said, in a marked departure from the group's previous calls for the Jewish state's destruction.

No bias here, just keep moving along.....

According to a news article by AFP a tragedy occurred in the Gaza Strip. This is not in question. Now let's say you had two versions of events.

This one:

"The vehicle was speeding towards the force, seemingly about to carry out some form of attack," added the (Israeli - ed.) source. "The IDF (army) opened fire and the vehicle veered off the road and crashed.

"They were were specifically deterrent warning shots fired at open field and not at the car."

And this one:

However Mahmud al-Asali, director of the Beith Lahiya hospital, said that Hassuna died of fatal gunshot injuries.

"He was shot in the right eye and the bullet exited from the back of the brain. There were no scratches to show that he had been in an accident," he told AFP.

His wife sustained a bullet wound in the hand while the second passenger was slighly injured by a gunshot wound to the leg, Asali added.

Keeping in mind both of these accounts and without any comment that the reporter was able to verify either one, you as the AFP editor choose to go with:

PALESTINIAN SHOT DEAD IN GAZA WHILE DRIVING PREGNANT WIFE TO HOSPITAL

And did I mention this from an Australian account of the incident which is nearly identical to the AFP report except for a minor detail?

Some reports say the woman is not his wife but is his neighbour.

I don't mean to be skeptical here, but could the dead man have been declared a "martyr" so as not to have been known as an adulterer or helper of an unmarried pregnant woman? Just curious.

I've got one of these down the road apiece from my house. If you think this is controversial, imagine if they would have used photos of real imams from across the Arab world who sermonize about the death of Jews and Americans every Friday.



Here's the Dallas Morning News' comments - Cheap marketing stunt

A reader responds.

Great story about a NY State Assemblyman and his anger that his bastard love-child will soon be born to a woman 33 years his junior.

Live, on Radio, a Dust-Up at the Capitol



You stud, you!

Here's the NY Post article - SHAME ON PAPA POL

At one point, an irate Farrell indicated that in another place, he might have done more to Dicker than just voice his anger.

"I'm so freakin' mad. If this was a neighborhood, you know how this could end," Farrell yelled.

Man, what did I used to do for entertainment before the internets were around?

I can't really explain it, but I get so happy when I read Tom Friedman agreeing with the Right on the more important aspects of our Iraq policy.

Ballots and Boycotts

The notion that delaying the elections for a few months would somehow give time for the "Sunni moderates" to persuade the extremists to come around is dead wrong - literally. Any delay would simply embolden the guys with the guns to kill more Iraqi police officers and to intimidate more Sunnis. It could only convince them that with just a little more violence, they could scuttle the whole project of rebuilding Iraq.

On the same page, Maureen Dowd deems it necessary to criticize all men because of her distorted view on relationship movies.

In all those great Tracy/Hepburn movies more than a half-century ago, it was the snap and crackle of a romance between equals that was so exciting. Moviemakers these days seem far more interested in the soothing aura of romances between unequals.

First of all, Ms. Dowd apparently doesn't know that the one romance movie that was actually nominated for Best Picture that same year was Born Yesterday whose one line plot is described as follows - "A million dollar Tycoon hires a tutor to teach his lover proper etiquette." (Adam's Rib was nominated for Best Writing, but did not win). She also seems to ignore the top grossing modern movies like Shrek 2 and Harry Potter where it's the normal, intelligent, likeable women who oftentimes saves the day for their sometimes bumbling (somewhat freakish) men.

Her premise is that today's movies glorify the ideal that men need to be involved with "lower quality" women who will not challenge them. What she fails to recognize is that relationship movies in particular are made for women, not for men and that the ideal being promulgated is that women dream of marrying up, not that men need to marry down. The roles of cold, aloof, professional women which she seems to lionize are disliked by not only the men in their lives, but by the women as well. That's right Maureen - nobody like people like you.

Remind me not to have her read any children's stories at my local library. I can see her telling the little girls that men like Prince Charming are jerks that should really be looking for a nice lawyer or newspaper columnist to marry.

Remember the great flu shot crisis created by the media and the Kerry campaign in the waning moments of the Presidential campaign and how everyone on the left was blaming Bush?

N.E. pushes to find takers for flu shots - Remaining vaccine could go to waste

Thousands of flu shots are languishing on the shelves of health departments, clinics, and physicians' offices in New England, even as federal authorities prepare later this month to take delivery of an additional 2.6 million doses.

John Kerry was even proud enough of the panic he helped caused by posting the following on his campaign site.

• California Woman Collapsed and Later Died After Five Hours in Line.
• Three-Year-Old Girl Waited Four Hours and Was Turned Away.
• “Scores of People …. Some in Wheelchairs or Hobbling on Canes, Had Begun Lining Up Hours Before the First Shot.”

Shame on them all for causing so much suffering and stress for political gain. Doom and gloom is what the left is all about.

Heil Harry!

Daily Kos gets right with Jesus.

But using Christianity or Buddhism or any other religion as a moral foundation is really no less superior than the moral structure I use to guide my life (I'm a utilitarian). All that should matter is that we all arrive at the same conclusion.

In other words, it doesn't matter how we get there, as long as we all arrive at the same place. And there should be no shame for Democrats to explain the reasoning for their value structure. And if Jesus is the reason, then so be it.

This may take awhile to get through, but I'm sure it will be worth it. By Norman Podhoretz.

The War Against World War IV

Search for Banned Arms In Iraq Ended Last Month

Well it looks like I was wrong about this one. But you'll never get me to say that I, as a citizen, was misled by Presdient Bush and his administration. I was misled by just about every decent government and intelligence agency in the free world including that of our previous President. You don't think the Israelis distributed millions of gas masks for fun do you?

Oh my. It's not about the burger, is it?

Nicholas Kristof has an interesting piece on infant mortality rates and how the U.S. is actually behind countries like Cuba and Singapore.

I do however disagree with his knee jerk reaction that spending more money on "healthcare" or anti-poverty programs will resolve the problem. Who knows how much this has to do with illegal immigration here or underreporting from other countries? Perhaps it's easier to treat infant diseases in other countries, or there are fewer of them because of their more homogeneous population. Maybe more babies are brought to term here, even with serious health issues, instead of aborted - just throwing out ideas. I'm not claiming that we have to have the lowest rate in the world, but I would dig a bit deeper into the reason before proposing solutions.

Also, I can't stand how he picks and chooses facts to make his argument. First, he mentions that in 2002 it appears that the annual U.S. infant mortality rate increased for the first time since 1958 - from 6.8 per 1000 to 7.0 per thousand. Here he uses information he supposedly has from the Centers for Disease Control.

However, according to the CIA World Book which he quotes as a source for his numbers for other countries to which he compares the U.S., the U.S infant mortality rate is as follows:

2001 - 6.76 per thousand
2002 - 6.69 per thousand
2003 - 6.75 per thousand
2004 - 6.63 per thousand

You can't compare apples to oranges Mr. Kristof.

He then goes on to say that "for all their ruthlessness, China's dictators have managed to drive down the infant mortality rate in Beijing to 4.6 per thousand; in contrast, New York City's rate is 6.5." Even ignoring the fact that the Chinese data may or may not be reliable, the number for China overall is 25.28 per thousand.

Hey, but look at it this way - a baby born here is still about 8 times more likely to survive their first year here than in the world at large. (See here for country by country and global stats).

As much as I agree with all the criticism that's been heaped upon the United Nations in recent years, I will always have fond memories of what the organization used to represent. I can still remember the excitement of my first tour of the U.N. as a child 30 years ago.

That being said, I applaud the U.N. for the upcoming special session of the General Assembly.

General Assembly to mark 60th anniversary of liberation of Nazi death camps

I am in the middle of Dore Gold's book, Tower of Babble : How the United Nations Has Fueled Global Chaos. It's a pretty stunning indictment of how the UN's desire for peace at any price actually leads it to reward agressor nations and protect genocidal regimes. It seems that the UN only tries to stop agression once it's occurred as opposed to preventing aggression - and it doesn't even do a good job of that.

I don't know if God had anything to do with the tsunami or not, but I have a feeling he was having a little fun with Derek Kieper.

Just read about the iPod shuffle - looks like something I may want to get my hands on - the regular iPods were a little too expensive for my needs. It weighs all of 0.78 ounces. Is that even possible?

I love the technical detail at the bottom of the page.

- Music capacity is based on 4 minutes per song and 128Kbps AAC encoding.
- Do not eat iPod shuffle.
- Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced. Battery life and number of charge cycles vary by use and settings. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information.
- Some computers require either the optional iPod shuffle Dock or a USB cable extender (sold separately).

Walter Mossberg has a review.

The liberals are out for political blood, trying to maintain the image of President Bush as an unfeeling, uncaring Republican because he wants to enjoy his inauguration. Doesn't he know that FDR for all intents and purposes canceled the inaugural festivities in 1945 during WWII?

Here's where I'm going to propose by own conspiracy theory as to why this happened. We can even ignore the fact that the US had already suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties in a world that had seen the death of tens of millions, cities destroyed, and incredible privation the likes of which the world had never seen. We can even ignore the fact that this would have been his fourth inauguration which would have been a bit redundant.

In January 1945, FDR was months away from death having battled polio and been consigned to a wheelchair which was hidden from the public at all costs. I have to imagine that the inaugural restraint was due in part to his illness and/or the fear of his aides of showing his handicap in public - something they would be reluctant to do in a time of war. 60 years ago people didn't have the same tolerance for the disabled as we do today and I'm sure there would have been concerns about his ability to lead.

Oh, and by the way, FDR gave a very short inaugural speech that year. In fact it was only 26 sentences long. In those 26 sentences, the Presdient used the terms "our God", "Almighty God", "He" (twice), "Him" and "His". Even George Bush in his "worst" moments never sounded like such a preacher.

So we pray to Him now for the vision to see our way clearly—to see the way that leads to a better life for ourselves and for all our fellow men—to the achievement of His will to peace on earth. - FDR

He has given our people stout hearts and strong arms with which to strike mighty blows for freedom and truth. - FDR

"Freedom is not America's gift to the world, it is the Almighty God's gift to every man and woman in this world." - GWB

Not too far off. God Bless America and the men who lead her.

Once more, Paul Krugman decides to lecture us on something he knows absolutely nothing about. The Iceberg Cometh

I won't argue here with his general rant on Bush's plans for Social Security. There are many others who defend the overhaul who know much more than I about the topic. But when he starts talking about Argentina, his ignorance becomes clear.

Add borrowing for privatization to the mix, and the budget deficit might well exceed 8 percent of G.D.P. at some time during the next decade. That's a deficit that would make Carlos Menem's Argentina look like a model of responsibility.

In other words, if we ever were to have a deficit like Argentina's we'd be up sh*ts creek. Well guess what Dick Tracy, the U.S. has always had a larger deficit as a percentage of GDP than Argentina.

The (Argentine - ed.) budget goes from a surplus of $2.7 billion pesos (1.2 percent of GDP) in 1993 to a deficit of $6.8 billion (2.4 percent of GDP) in 2000. This is a significant change in the government's fiscal position, although it is worth emphasizing that a deficit of 2.4 percent of GDP, the largest in this period, is still relatively modest for a nation in a deep recession, with more than 16 percent unemployment. For comparison, the United States ran a budget deficit amounting to 4.7 percent of our economy (or GDP) coming out of the last recession; 1983, at the end of a more serious downturn, the deficit was 6 percent of GDP.

So how come we don't have 15% unemployment and a 50% poverty rate Professor Krugman? Doesnt a large deficit mean disaster? Guess not.

Just ask the Argentines: their version of Social Security privatization was also supposed to save money in the long run, but all it did was move forward the date of their crisis.

To blame Argentina's economic crisis directly on the partial privatization of their pension system is ridiculous. There are so many other causes it's almost hard to keep track....the 1998 collapse of several currencies in Asia, political instability, dwindling foreign investments, IMF/World Bank restrictions, implacable labor unions and government corruption in general.

Natan Sharansky gets it right - as always. Our Test for Abu Mazen

Oslo failed because it was based on the premise that a strong dictator would make a strong peace. What Oslo's architects did not understand was that dictators need external enemies to justify the repression necessary to keep their societies under control. In contrast, democratic leaders, dependent on popular support, have a powerful incentive to deliver peace and prosperity to their citizens. In order to avoid the mistakes of the past, the focus this time must be less on summits and envoys and more on helping the Palestinians build a free society.

Here's to hoping that Abbas-Bush-Sharon is a more successful trio than Arafat (isolated, dead) - Clinton (impeached) - Rabin (assasinated, dead).

Bush Opens Talks with Abbas, Urges Israel to Help

This is a nice touch from Reuters:

Bush came to office wary of engaging in high-stakes Middle East diplomacy. But analysts say the White House sees a rare opportunity in Abbas to reshape Bush's presidential legacy after a bloody Iraq occupation.

I really don't think he's worried about his legacy. Do you? After four years of doing whatever the heck he wants, Reuters thinks he's worried about what people think of him?

Yes, there really is a 6-7, 330 pound Minnesota Viking named Adam Goldberg.



Minnesota Vikings receiver Randy Moss jumps into the arms of tackle Adam Goldberg after catching a 20-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.

I keep promising that I'll do more of this...here's some thoughts on this week's parsha, Bo.

Perhaps it comes from watching The Ten Commandments too many times, but I always thought that when Moses said, "Let my people go", he was speaking on his own behalf. Apparently, this is not the case. The follwing is from Exodus 10:3 -

So Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and said to him, "So said the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, and they will worship Me.

I realize that G-d promised Moses that He would tell him what to say when he confronted the Egyptians, but I didn't realize that Moses was speaking as if he were G-d himself. When he says "My people" it's with a capital "M".

Another very important concept of Jewish law is found in Exodus 12:49 -

There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who resides in your midst.

Of course, simple human nature and the backdrop of war prevents a utopia in Israel today where everyone under Jewish rule is treated fairly. However, there is no concept like dhimmi in Judaism, nor as far as I know has a non-Jewish population ever been forced to live in a ghetto or wear different clothing as has been done with Jews in Christian cultures. No one should be looked upon as inferior simply becuase of their religion or race. After all, just like all Americans are immigrants (even the Native Americans came from other continents), all Jews are descended from converts, as will be the Moshiach who is supposed to be descended from Ruth.

Grabbed this gem from Instapundit. You really have to read the whole thing, but there's two parts to this story that are fantastic.

Today, during an afternoon conference that wrapped up my project of the last 18 months, one of my Euro collegues tossed this little turd out to no one in particular:

" See, this is why George Bush is so dumb, theres a disaster in the world and he sends an Aircraft Carrier..."

After which he and many of my Euro collegues laughed out loud.

and then they looked at me. I wasn't laughing, and neither was my Hindi friend sitting next to me, who has lost family in the disaster.

I'm afraid I was "unprofessional", I let it loose -

"Hmmm, let's see, what would be the ideal ship to send to a disaster, now what kind of ship would we want?

Something with its own inexhuastible power supply?

Something that can produce 900,000 gallons of fresh water a day from sea water?

Something with its own airfield? So that after producing the fresh water, it could help distribute it?

Something with 4 hospitals and lots of open space for emergency supplies?

Something with a global communications facility to make the coordination of disaster relief in the region easier?

Well "Franz", us peasants in America call that kind of ship an "Aircraft Carrier". We have 12 of them. How many do you have? Oh that's right, NONE. Lucky for you and the rest of the world, we are the kind of people who share. Even with people we dont like.

Later in the breakroom, one of the laughing Euros caught me and extended his hand in an apology. I asked him where he was from, he said "a town outside of Berlin". He is a young man, in his early 20's.

I asked him if he knew of a man named Gail Halvorsen.

He said no.

I said "that's a shame" and walked away to find my Hindi friend.

Gail Halvorsen became famous during the Berlin airlift for dropping candy and sweets to the children of the besieged city using miniature parachutes. His personal mission soon brought him international fame and became part of U.S. policy, as he received thousands of pounds of candy and other donations from home.

This piece in the NY Times by Leon Wieseltier is so wrong on so many levels that I have to bring attention to it.

Must Peace Wait for Democracy?

Somehow, Mr. Wieseltier believes that it's OK for a country, or a people to be ruled by an autocratic region as long as they keep their hands to themselves.

The view that his failure to make peace with Israel was owed to his failure to govern justly is refuted by Israel's experience with some of its neighboring regimes. The peace with autocratic Egypt is frigid, and Hosni Mubarak's use of anti-Semitism to divert the political energies of his population is disgusting, but the peace with Egypt is strong, and its chill is preferable to the fire of war.

Does he not think that by having a formal policy of hatred against Jews that Egypt is not sowing the seeds for further conflict? Is he not aware that Egyptians are allowing Palestinian militants to funnel arms over the border into Gaza?

Is Israel wrong in it's desire to be treated as a neighbor instead of an outcast not to be dealt with?

I pulled this straight off Little Green Footballs - the NY Times rewrites history...

In this article, the New York Times describes the origin and goals of the Palestinian Fatah gang: Palestinian Ballot Presents Quandary for Hamas. (Hat tip: Daniel S.)

Fatah was founded by Mr. Arafat. The name means “conquest,” and is a reverse acronym for the Movement for the National Liberation of Palestine. It has a nationalist rather than Islamist foundation, with the stated goal of an end to Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, leading to Israeli and Palestinian states side by side.

This simple paragraph is a masterpiece of misinformation, a perfect example of why you shouldn’t trust anything you read in the Times about the Arab-Israel conflict.

Here’s the Constitution of Fatah, easily accessible on the web. They’re not hiding anything. Articles 12 and 19 are especially pertinent:

Article (12) Complete liberation of Palestine, and eradication of Zionist economic, political, military and cultural existence.

...

Article (19) Armed struggle is a strategy and not a tactic, and the Palestinian Arab People’s armed revolution is a decisive factor in the liberation fight and in uprooting the Zionist existence, and this struggle will not cease unless the Zionist state is demolished and Palestine is completely liberated.

So where in hell did the Times’ Steven Erlanger get the idea that Fatah’s goal is “Israeli and Palestinian states side by side?”

J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS!

I was reading the latest "it's hard to find a job, isn't the economy terrible" article in the New York Times and I have to say that they do have a point. Apparently, the people who are out of work are out of work longer. The article really doesn't answer the question as to why that is, but nevertheless it is something that is not good.

Even as overall unemployment dropped last year, the share of unemployed workers who have been jobless for more than six months - the point at which most state benefits run out - has remained historically high. As of November, about 1.8 million, or one in five, unemployed workers were jobless for more than six months, compared with 1.1 million when the recession officially ended in November 2001.

Since the start of the recession in March 2001, the average length of unemployment has risen to 20 weeks from 13.

One of the quotes that I found that was quite interesting was from the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, a "conservative" organization. (You don't see other organizations labeled as "liberal" in the article, but that's just another generic right wing complaint).

"It's not a partisan issue, it's a fact. The labor market is worse than in the typical recovery."

This quote made me wonder...was it even possible for Bush to have a large number of jobs gained compared to other recoveries? Apparently, when the 2001 recession ended, the unemployment rate was already lower than at the trough of any recession in recent history:

May 1954 - 5.9%
April 1958 - 7.4%
February 1961 - 6.9%
November 1970 - 5.9%
March 1975 - 8.6%
July 1980 - 7.8%
November 1982 - 10.8%
March 1991- 6.8%
November 2001 - 5.6%

Also, the Republicans have always argued that Bush was handed an economy on the way down from Bill Clinton, but I never realized how true it was until I looked at the following numbers which show the unemployment rate at the time of a president's inauguration through September of their first year in office. Since a president's first budget doesn't take effect until the fiscal year that begins in October and I didn't want to include the effects of September 11, 2001, I think this is a fair comparison.

Eisenhower (1953) - 2.9 to 2.9%
Kennedy (1961) - 6.6 to 6.7%
Nixon (1969) - 3.4 to 3.7%
Carter (1977) - 7.5 to 6.8%
Reagan (1981) - 7.5 to 7.6%
Bush I (1989) - 5.4 to 5.3%
Clinton (1993) - 7.3 to 6.7%
Bush II (2001) - 4.2 to 5.0%

Therefore, not only did President Bush start off his recovery with an economy that was already at historically low unemployment, his whole term was affected by the economy that he was handed where the unemployment rate was rising at a historically fast rate before he could take significant action. (This is without even talking about the effects of 9/11). In other words, to expect Bush's first term performance on jobs to be similar or better than that of previous presidents is wholly unrealistic.

Is this the real Abbas? Who knows?

He emphasized two central themes of his campaign, restoring negotiations with Israel and calling for an end to the "militarization" of the Palestinian uprising.

At present, Palestinian gunmen openly carry weapons in many Palestinian cities and towns, and Mr. Abbas said that only the security forces should be armed.

"When I go to the streets, I only want to see legal weapons," he said.

Now we know why Gavin Newsom, mayor of San Francisco, was so willing to give out thousands of marriage licenses to gay couples. It's not that he was fighting for gay rights, it's just that he doesn't give a crap about marriage as an institution.

San Francisco mayor, wife to divorce

In a joint statement issued Wednesday by the mayor's office, the Newsoms cited the strain posed by their high-profile, bicoastal careers as the reason for the split.

Yeah, that's good reason - they were too successful to be together. I guess it's happening to a lot of people.

Then again, maybe he's....nah.

How ironic is it that Hillary Clinton's ex-finance director was indicted today for basically stealing money to fund the Senator's campaign kitty the day after Hillary joined a minority of her Senate colleagues to decry the legitmacy of President Bush's election.

And how much more do we need to know about Senator Clinton's character that while she verbally supported Senator Boxer of California in her effort to delay the electoral college vote, she left Boxer out to dry and didn't even vote against certifying the election results.

"Clinton took to the Senate floor to thank Boxer for her move, saying the government needs to set higher standards for voting accuracy....."

The Senate voted, 74-1, with Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the lone dissenting vote there.

John Kerry, of course, was not there.

This is my favorite line about where he was and what he was doing, from the Daily Star of Lebanon.

Senator John Kerry, who's shifting positions on the war in Iraq may have cost him the presidency, arrived in the Iraqi capital this week searching for clues about the ongoing conflict.

Too bad he didn't have a clue during the election campaign.

Being an accountant an all, my first thought when I heard that President Bush would be donating $10,000 of his personal funds to the tsunami relief effort was this - mightn't he have been better off donating in 2004? If the tax rates are coming down in 2005, that means that he would have been able to deduct a slightly larger percentage of the donation had it been made prior to December 31st.

Well, it looks like Congress just took care of that.

New Law Allows Tsunami Contributions to be Deducted on 2004 Tax Returns

Also, a funny thing I've noticed is that in every story on "the President's donation", no matter the source, the moneys are described as coming from Bush "personally" or "from his own funds" etc.

What about Laura Bush? Isn't the president married? According to all that feminism and divorce law preaches, isn't it true that what's his is his and what's his is also hers? Shouldn't the reports say that "The President and First Lady have donated..."

My family has made a significant donation recently and even though I am the only wage-earner in the home I make sure that all my correspondence says that this donation is from Mr. & Mrs. GBAM, not just me.