Archive for January, 2009



Good Question

“Where are the protesters?”

Asked by Bryon York of the Corner concerning the 2 al-Qaeda operatives killed on New Years.

But I wonder: Where are the protests? If the U.S. had arrested these guys, and made them stand up for long periods of time while being questioned, or turned the air-conditioning way down in the interrogation room, there would be an outcry about their treatment. And yet when the U.S. blows them to bits, out of the blue, with a Hellfire missile fired from an un-manned drone controlled by Americans thousands of miles away, there’s not much complaint. Now I’m sure the CIA took great care to make sure it had the right target in the crosshairs, but you can’t get a much better definition of “no due process” than a Hellfire missile. Where’s the outrage?

New Plan

Instead of all of this bailout money, why not just decrease all taxes to $0 and see what happens. Let the government run on borrowed money, but let the rebuild run on private money.
Ed Morrissey remembers when deficit spending was evil.

Israel/Hamas

How about a link fest to the biggest news of the day?

Joe the Plumber will be reporting from the streets of Israel. He’s tired of the news media interpreting the news for us and figures someone has to do it, why not him. Frankly, I find him plenty articulate and inquisitive to do this job while the ladies in the linked video – not so much. This video and todays will be preIsrael trip.

Jules Crittendom notes all the moral authority of Hamas. Or rather the moral myopia.

BTL is THE place to go for information. Today he notes how the UN handles the “fog of war” reports that come in. “Israel is to blame”

Little Green Footballs has the staged video taken inside a Gaza hospital and placed on CNN’s website only to be removed with no explanation after bloggers issued the ‘shame, shame’ at them. Oddly enough, they’re keeping the matching story up. Huh?

So, the video was questionable enough that it had to be removed, but the story supporting the fradulent video stays?

(ht Instapundit)

I know you’ve all seen the headlines, but this one cracked me up this morning. Israelis snub UN ceasefire call.
Here’s the lede:

Israel is to keep up its offensive in the Gaza Strip despite a UN call for an immediate end to nearly two weeks of conflict involving Hamas militants.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the latest firing of rockets into Israel showed the resolution was “unworkable”.
The Security Council resolution demanded a truce, access for aid workers and an end to arms smuggling.
Israel continued its bombardment during the night and on Friday morning, carrying out at least 50 air strikes.
However Israeli military operations have now again been paused for three hours to allow aid in.

Seventy-five lorries carrying food and medicine will be allowed into Gaza, Israel says.
Hamas has also dismissed the UN ceasefire call.

So
a) do most countries at war for 2 weeks listen to the UN when the resolutely call for peace?
b) the resolution calls for 1-truce 2-access for aid and 3-an end to arms smuggling. Yet Hamas continued to fire rockets, Israel held a ceasefire for aid to get across and isn’t it Hamas that receives those smuggled arms? yet
c) while even Hamas says nyet to ceasefire its
d) Israel that gets the “snub” headline.
Huh??

And finally the mayor of LA, Mr. Villaraigosa defends his support of Israel. In the story he’s accused of being ” ill-equipped to wade into the complex Middle East conflict.”
Yeah – and so am I yet until the Palestinians show an interest in peaceful coexistence with Israel, I have no sympathy. They spend all their money/time searching out ways to get back at Israel. They dig tunnels to smuggle arms and they encourage their children to die.

In the meantime Israel sends out warnings before bombings and then gets accused of rounding up refugees, putting them in a building and bombing it.

I’m not buying.

Your Tax Dollars at Work.

Actually – your children’s tax dollars at work.

GM and 0% financing.

Is it “Who you know” or Is it “What you know”?

This week, for me I’d go with “who” you know. However, for my sister it’s “what”. She got her job because of “what” she knows and how well she conveys it/strategizes about it/learns more about it and guides it.

Me….., I know her!

Now let’s check out this mini vacation I just had:

*Saturday – A visit to a couple of museums, then on to The Kennedy Center, to sit in the President’s box and watch a ‘Salute to Vienna’, and get an introduction to the very excellent conductor, Sascha Göetzel. While sitting there, we all wondered if maybe it would be assumed that my dad was VP Cheney. They look a little similar and with dim lights, yada yada, anyway – we did get the thumbs up sign and sent some M&M’s from the White House through security to see if we could give Mr. Göetzel our personal admiration.

*Sunday day – a tour of the West Wing of the White House AND the presentation to me of an American Flag flown over Camp Fernandez-Long-Plank in Iraq and on a combat mission on board an MQ-1B Predator. Another, it’s “who” you know. Yes, it was given to me for my support of the troops and this nation, but this treat came to my doorstep because of “who” I know. Here’s where it’s sitting for now, but I think there needs to be a change in the whole room to display this baby.flag

Throw in a trip to the private museum of a recently promoted Colonel (not sure what they are called before the promotion is official) of military memorabilia and it was another great day.

*Monday – We’ll start with lunch in the White House mess. (Mediterranean pasta salad) Sadly we had to scarf it down, happily, there’s a good reason.

How about an introduction to President Bush?
Ok – then how about an introduction to President Bush while in the Oval Office of the White House?
Ok – then how about after an introduction to President Bush while in the Oval Office of the White House we throw in a conversation with President Bush concerning how smart, helpful, sweet, and did I say smart my big sister is? I know I didn’t raise her, but sheesh – I’m going to take some credit for how she turned out!!

President Bush after 8 years in office, after dealing with a big meeting with the VP of Sudan, after talking with tons of people in line ahead of us, looked each of us in the eye and made us feel like a person worth talking with. He is so personable and charming, you have to like him.

Let’s go ahead and throw in yet another incredibly cool time conversing with Dana Perino and Tony Fratto who wanted to see if I’d be writing about this little adventure here.

Hello!? You bet your sweet bippy I am!!

I am a very very lucky woman. My sister has not only done a great job but she knows and is liked by everyone there. I’m related to her so she has to be nice to me and gave me this huge opportunity! I vowed not to embarrass her and I suspect I was too much a deer in the headlights to have done much damage other than the stammering.

Way cool.

ooh – my big claim to fame for President Bush?
Recognizing that the painting that he looks at everyday in the Roosevelt room is basically the view from my hometown. (or rather an artist’s rendition of it.)

Anyway – it was awesome! May you also know someone or know something someday that will allow you to be so lucky as me!! I will treasure this trip forever.

Quote of the Day

By George Will.

As is said, if you think health care is expensive now, just wait until it’s free.

More on the President

In the Washington Post today Josh Bolton and Stephen Hadley discuss the President. Key quotes are here, but read the whole thing.

[Bolton] “The president is, possibly contrary to public opinion, very good about hearing and wanting contrary advice.”

……………

[Hadley] describes the troop buildup in Iraq as “the most remarkable thing” Bush did in office. “With all the naysayers and the doubters and all the people who by the fall of 2006 say, ‘Mr. President, this was a mistake; why won’t you admit it and pull the plug on this effort?’ he is the one guy who said we have to make it work,” he said.

…………….

Hadley invoked Bush’s 2000 campaign theme in summing up the president’s personal qualities. “He has got this great compassion which was not just a slogan, ‘compassionate conservative.’ It is who he is. It is one of the great things he brought to this office,” Hadley concluded. “This is the one thing that just drives me crazy, that somehow this is an arrogant administration, an arrogant president running an arrogant policy. This guy — one thing he is not is arrogant.”

Happy New Year!!

I’m probably going to be taking a few days off to travel to DC so you all enjoy the start of this year.

To help kick it off watch these 2 minutes of 40 inspirational speeches and then try, just try to step out without thumping your chest first!

(ht Anywn)

« Previous Page


RSS Feed

Categories

 

January 2009
M T W T F S S
« Dec   Feb »
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.