baxterant

unenforced laws

2004-05-03T10:44:00.000-05:00

So, one of the things that we debated last week was whether to raise the fine for failing to remove the snow from your walkway from $10 to $25 per incident. This was inserted at the behest of the Chief of Police. In his remarks, the Chief mentioned that these laws are not enforced, but the fine increase was needed "in the event that we begin to enforce the law"

Now I take a back seat to no one when it comes to my support for the police, but why are we spending time monkeying around with laws that aren't going to be enforced? Wouldn't a better idea be for the Chief to come back and say "We are going to start enforcing this law this coming winter and we need it to have some teeth?"

There are a LOT of problems with the statutes and bylaws governing this, and I cannot even go into how broken it is. The Selectmen promise a full overhaul "anytime now."

I was one of the few that voted against the fine change. I weighed proposing an amendment to raise the fine to "one million dollars" (complete with my pinkie in my mouth), but thought that the humor might be lost on the assembled. It is actually quite thrilling to be shouting out "NO!" at the top of my lungs and realize that I am the only one against.

I have a few North Stars when it comes to how I want to govern: less taxation, less government, less regulation. Anything that fails those tests needs to be very well justified before it gets my vote and may not get it. I know that I am now a voice in the wilderness, but maybe I will eventually be heard...

a kind face

2004-05-03T10:33:00.000-05:00

As is the case with a lot of local politics, a particular town is mostly rife with one particular political point of view. My town is no exception with the "progressive" politics winning out. It is not a surprise that Dennis Kucinich is the preferred Democrat candidate. So my "to right of Ronald Reagan" politics is a bit of a slap to some of the other Town Meeting members. But we all get over it.

There was a kindly little lady sitting in front of me, quizzing me about my troglodyte politics. She just could not believe that I support George Bush or the war in Iraq. Finally, in exasperation she said "you have such a kind face, how can you be a Republican?"

Before this is over, she is going to be my best friend.

Representative democracy

2004-04-27T10:04:00.000-05:00

Enough with the bitching! I finally decided to take Tip O'Neil's advice and realized that "all politics are local". I ran for a seat on Arlington's (Massachusetts) Town Meeting and won. I am a representative from my precinct. For those that are unfamiliar with the idea of Town Meeting, it is a moronic form of government, with over 100 representatives fighting out each and ever jot and tittle in the town. It is enough to make you claw your eyes out. But, like with most traffic accidents, it is impossible not to watch.

pat tillman, rip

2004-04-24T08:23:00.000-05:00

I really don't have much to say about the combat death of Pat Tillman that already hasn't been said. He was one of my favorite people in the aftermath of 9/11. I think that Arizona Cardinal's owner Bill Bidwell said it about as good as can be said:

In sports we have a tendency to overuse terms like courage and bravery and heroes, and then someone like Pat Tillman comes along and reminds us what those terms really mean.

Pat Tillman died as a hero and more importantly, as an American.

france

2004-04-14T09:45:00.000-05:00

Yahoo! News - French Journalist Taken Hostage in Iraq

France first issued its warning on Friday. In a statement, the foreign ministry said that the "risk is high that French citizens would be confused with those of member countries of the coalition."

Yes, you wouldn't want to be confused with honorable men, wouldja?

wading into a different (shark filled) pool

2004-04-07T08:21:00.000-05:00

Quite a while back, a friend of mine and I were discussing abortion. I am pro-life and he is pro-death (hey! This is my blog). He attempted a "gotcha" moment when he brought up my support for capital punishment. I attempted to explain at the time that they were not equivalent, but did not even come as close as this piece.

a few words from america

2004-04-01T15:15:00.000-05:00

Went to dinner with a friend last night. He is an apolitical sort; head down, business-focussed. He said something to me that sounded very prophetic to my ears. Something that many Americans that previously had not noticed are saying to themselves,

"You know, I am getting a little tired of Islam."

A couple more years of this endless Islamo-crapola and the whole world might be saying that...

Jay severin rocks

2004-03-31T10:32:00.000-05:00

If you live in the Boston area, then you know who Jay Severin is. He recently penned his first (?) Op/Ed in the Boston Globe about the failure that is about to be Liberal Talk Radio.

hamas: sending itself to the trash heap

2004-03-28T09:34:00.000-05:00

Rantisi, the new "leader" of the band of thugs known as Hamas is poking the bear.

john kerry: international man of mystery

2004-03-20T10:23:00.000-05:00

The RNC is getting its kicks in on Kerry. Watch it here.

what a puff piece

2004-03-20T10:21:00.000-05:00

The AP, once again shilling for Kerry fails to notice anything about yesterday's outbursts, and instead falls back to puffing JFK's manliness.

"There are very marginal conditions," said Scott Douglas, a ski instructor from nearby Hailey. Unseasonably warm weather the night before left the snow soft and treacherous. "It's a potentially dangerous scenario this time of year."

None of that was deterring Kerry, who is seeking to escape from the pressures of his Democratic campaign for president. He often complains that the campaign doesn't leave him enough time for exercise. He was making up for that by taking to the mountains with a vengeance.

You can practically feel the machismo in this piece! Well, I guess with a pair of weeks like Kerry had, he needs a little bucking up.

john kerry: horse's ass

2004-03-19T10:52:00.000-05:00

This priceless NYTimes article attempts to fluff Kerry's image, but it falls flat when it reports that Kerry blamed a fall on a "fucking" secret service agent and then blustered, "I don't fall down." What the fuck? Everybody falls down. What a complete asshole.

this stuff just writes itself!

2004-03-17T17:54:00.000-05:00

John Kerry is a walking John-Kerry joke machine. Check out this nuance...

I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it

Man, I could write the Bush re-election ad copy with this guy!

heh, the coalition of the wilting

2004-03-17T15:10:00.000-05:00

quick france, time to surrender

2004-03-16T13:47:00.000-05:00

Don't let the Spanish beat you to their knees!

hmmm, this might be my new banner...

2004-03-14T19:39:00.000-05:00

rumsfeld kept 9/11 items?

2004-03-13T14:46:00.000-05:00

This article seems to act like that is a bad thing. It ain't. It is a good thing. All of our elected officials, especially the Democrats should be forced to keep a reminder of 9/11 in their office. Maybe that will remind them that there is something more important than their constant will-to-power. For the Democrats, nothing is more important than getting back in power. Not American lives, not America. Nothing. Un-patriotic? You bet, and more.

I call it treason. Get some rope.

want france to like us? elect john kerry!

2004-03-13T14:41:00.000-05:00

What is so hysterical about this translation of a Le Monde (Al Jazzera on the Seine) article is that this guy is serious. He really thinks that there is a substantial part of the American electorate that really gives a flying fuck what the fucking traitorous frogs want. You know what I want? A mushroom cloud over Paris. That might get their fucking attention.

In our interdependent and already multipolar world, the two main axes being wielded by Mr. Bush (as opposed to his father) are therefore a threat to the very foundation of the historical alliance between the U.S. and Europe. This is why John Kerry is, a priori, perceived with so much sympathy. He personifies the promise of an America that will get back on track--more just, more cohesive, more generous. In brief, less "unilateral." So that we can still all remain "American" in years to come.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck you.

assault weapons ban STILL dead

2004-03-02T18:04:00.000-05:00

In a bizarre move, the Senate Republicans killed their own bill today after it had been larded with a bunch of gun-control shit, such as the onerous 'assault weapons" ban. Many of the bill's supporters believed that the House/Senate conference committee would have stripped out the anti-gun shit and leave the tort protections, but apparently the dimocraps had a card up their sleeve: the could block their bill somehow (another filibuster?) from getting to the conference committee. Not sure how that works since the House's version was nothing like the Senate version. But leave it to the dimocraps to find some "extra-legal" ways of getting their nefarious shit passed.

In the end, the Republicans got wind of this (or suspected it) and killed their bill. The Senate dimocraps joined in the bloodbath and the bill died 90-8. In the end a good bill died, but the AWB is still on track to die of natural causes. I would expect that hysterical anti-gunners like Feinstien and Schumer to attach their crap to every fucking thing that comes out of the Senate. Or look for them to stall all Senate business until they get their way.

the fighting styles of don rumsfeld

2004-02-19T10:21:00.000-05:00

OK, this is hardly political fare, but it is damn funny. The Rumsfeld Fighting Technique.

I like Drunken Temple Boxing!

the state department finally takes a stand against something

2004-02-03T13:17:00.000-05:00

Maybe this is the font that UBL uses?

In a sign that no matter is too small to affect international diplomacy, the US State Department has issued an edict banning its longtime standard typeface from all official correspondence and replacing it with a "more modern" font.

Sigh. Winning The War on Terror, one (small) step at a time...

a really good way to get beat up (a lot)

2004-02-03T09:51:00.000-05:00

The H-Wing
UPDATE:
This is the text of an email regarding the above vehicle:

Jonah:

I know Shawn Crosby, the creator of the car. He's a very nice person - and so
is his wife, Colleen. While he did decorate the car *after* they were married,
she certainly approves and is also a science fiction enthusiast. There are
pictures and some verbage about them on their web site - or would be, if heavy
traffic over the last week hadn't made their ISP close them temporarily.

As an aside, you might want to know that the car had another prominent admirer
not too long ago: VP Dick Cheney, who stopped his motorcade to pull over and
look at it. He had a short chat with Shawn, shook his hand, and so on.

Just thought you might want to give ol' Shawn a break.

from http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/04_02_01_corner-archive.asp#024304

From Dean-o's 'blog

2004-01-29T10:47:00.000-05:00

"Dated Dean. Married Kerry...woke up with Bush"

Doesn't get any better than that!

MoveOn.org dipshits

2004-01-21T10:27:00.000-05:00

Remember these buttholes. They are not merely on the "other side" politically. They are the enemy...

"blog this, if you dare..."

2004-01-21T10:25:00.000-05:00

The gauntlet was thrown, unfortunately by me, to restart my blog. I REALLY don't have the time, but this seems like as good a time as any.

possibly one of his best speeches

2003-07-10T12:01:00.000-05:00

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/07/20030708-1.html

By a plan known only to Providence, the stolen sons and daughters of Africa helped to awaken the conscience of America. The very people traded into slavery helped to set America free.

tomorrow is the day...

2003-07-08T14:32:00.000-05:00

machine gunning

2003-05-05T11:19:00.000-05:00

Went machine gunning yesterday. Fun.

now THAT is a President...

2003-05-02T09:33:00.000-05:00

cox and forkum II

2003-04-10T10:46:00.000-05:00

cox and forkum

2003-04-07T10:06:00.001-05:00

war

2003-03-17T10:40:00.000-05:00

I wanted this war to happen because I thought it was the best of a bunch of crappy options. I have to live with that. Now I just want it to be over. Pray for peace.

well done

2003-02-20T11:30:00.000-05:00

peace protest idiocy

2003-02-17T21:00:00.001-05:00

How can the stupidity of the entire "peace" movement be summed up with a single picture? I wouldn't have thought it possible, but I was wrong. Quod erat demonstradum.

pioneers and cowboys

2003-02-02T10:38:00.000-05:00

Mark Steyn does a good job (as usual) of nailing it with regards to American pre-eminence. It might also be time to remind the stupid EUro-dickheads that "cowboy" is not a pejorative term to Americans.

shuttle down

2003-02-01T10:45:00.000-05:00

No real information yet, but it appears obvious that the space shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas on its way home. Our prayers go to God.

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed,
And joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of -
Wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence.
Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delerious burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew.
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

John Gillespie Magee, Jr

update: "The crew of the space shuttle Columbia did not make it back to Earth, but we can all pray that they made it home." -- President Bush.

"unilateral" my fucking ass

2003-01-30T15:42:00.000-05:00

Open letter from the leaders of eight European countries (these would be from "Rumsfeld's Europe") fully supporting Bush's plans for Iraq. All I can say to France is, "good job!" Single-handedly, you have:

- Destroyed the credibility of the UN Security Council.
- Probably destroyed the UN itself.
- Destroyed NATO.
- Destroyed the idea of a united EU.

Jeez, I couldn't have asked for more!

update: Now, it seems that France is colluding with one of its remaining allies, Syria. Perfect.

and now for something completey different

2003-01-29T20:57:00.000-05:00

OBL's State of the Union Address. Not bad!

why to fight

2003-01-27T13:39:00.000-05:00

Blogger Bill Whittle makes a good (if long) case about why the upcoming war in Iraq is not only necessary and right, but good. The final paragraphs of this essay were the money shot for me:

Let us remember an image from that ruin of a nation, in June of 2002, at a meeting hall in Kabul. Inside were all manners of warlords, refugees, opposition leaders, even their old king. Women demanding positions of power, wizened old tribal leaders opposing them at every turn, mullahs and warlords making veiled threats and all the rest of the unruly, loud, preposterous accoutrements of democracy that make up a Loya Jirga or a US Congress.

And let us remember the image of US soldiers, forming a cordon, a bubble of security around this howling, screaming catfight. Not inside. Not dictating terms. Not so much as laying a hand on a gavel. But rather outside, armed and powerful, seeing to it that the future of that tortured country rested in the hands of their own people, protecting this newborn, imperfect, and astonishingly fragile proto-democracy against the legions of Taliban, Al Qaeda and petty warlords who would like to see nothing so much as its failure. Remember them guarding the life and pure, undiluted courage of Hamid Karzai. And remember our soldiers giving them, day by painful day, another week, another month without torture and repression so that they in all their infinitely adaptable humanity have the time to come to find such things intolerable.

Remember that, and smile. Because that is America at war.

update: for added hilarity, read the voluminous distortions of Saddam-fluffer "Mark Tinsley" in the comments directly beneath the essay. In the words of Daffy Duck, "what a maroon"

un war criminal

2003-01-25T15:37:00.000-05:00

Look at the useless fat fuck in this picture. Sitting idly by while a desperate Iraqi with a notebook (can you say "evidence"?) is pulled from his car. This UN piece of shit (or is that redundant) does nothing. The UN is morally bankrupt.

is al quaeda stupid?

2002-11-13T10:18:00.000-05:00

If the latest dispatch from the risen-from-the-dead OBL is to be believed, then yes.

hardcore

2002-10-31T12:02:00.000-05:00

The Russians have decided to bury the Chechen terrorists wrapped in a pigskin. The Islamacists believe that this will prevent them from ascending to heaven. Power move.

ready for a little pant-filling?

2002-10-28T10:11:00.000-05:00

The Washington Times is reporting that Al Quaeda might already have nukes. Several of them. Crap.

death penalty

2002-10-23T15:54:00.000-05:00

Liberal whackjob governor Ryan in Illinois is trying to garner support for his idea of blanket clemency for 159 garbage bags on death row. The hearings were supposed to be about (booo-hoo) the rights of this shit-sucking, lifeless crap whores. But, unsurprisingly, the sheer truth and brutality of the murders these people committed is being turned into the rightful main issue.

2002-10-22T14:03:00.000-05:00

france

2002-10-22T10:45:00.000-05:00

I am morbidly curious as to why anybody, let alone the United States, gives a flying fuck what France thinks about the latest UN resolution. Maybe France has forgotten that the only reason that they are on the UN Security Council is to assuage the guilt that the French felt at basically being a collaborator's nation during WWII. The reality is that they have no power, no identity and no moral authority for setting the course for world affairs.

speed and skill: the level of trauma care in the US

2002-10-17T10:28:00.000-05:00

This is the incredible story of how the surgeons saved the child shot by The Sniper.

dogs and cats, living together

2002-10-17T10:05:00.000-05:00

In a stunning admission, the Democrat minority leader (for life) in the House, admitted "The one thing you don't do when you're in slow or no growth going into a recession is raise taxes, [...] You cut taxes."

clinton's foreign policy successes

2002-10-17T09:20:00.000-05:00

Let's run them down, one by one:

- Israel: Fucking mess. Intifatah started almost immediately
- North Korea: Fucking mess. Now the bastards are pointing nukes with our plutonium at us.
- Ireland: Fucking mess. Looked good for a while, though.
- China: Fucking mess. The Chinese can now hit us with ICBMs that contain our MIRV design.
- Haiti: Fucking mess. Oh yeah. That one was a disaster from the get-go.
- Bosnia: Fucking mess. How's that trial of Milosovich going?

Christ, Jimmy Carter looks like Teddy Roosevelt next to Clinton. What a joke!

another clinton foreign-policy triumph

2002-10-17T08:52:00.000-05:00

As many Democrats are soon going to be trying hard to forget, Bill Clinton and his odious and idiotic SecState Half-Brite, succeeded in a "dialog" with the murderous and insane thugs in North Korea. For a shit-load of money, plus a new nuclear reactor, the regime in North Korea renounced nuclear weapons. The predictable nytimesbostonglobewashingtonpost hailed this as a "foreign policy triumph".

Now, of course, we learn that the North Koreans have been pursuing nukes all along. They took our money and our reactor too. The real shocker is that they were proud to tell us how badly they fucked us.

Clinton is not only a fool, but a dangerous and traitorous fool to boot.

if you want peace, prepare for war

2002-10-11T08:51:00.000-05:00

Den Bestes' excellent commentary on the votes in Congress on the resolution against Iraq and what it means to international diplomacy.

We will now observe one of those marvelous paradoxes which keep appearing in politics. Since Bush won't require UN authorization for war, he'll get it. If the bill which passed Congress had included a requirement for UN authorization, it would not have happened. Isn't political logic grand?

further proof of the nobel's irrelevance

2002-10-11T08:21:00.000-05:00

The Nobel committee decided to award that gasbag Jimmy Carter the Peace prize for...doing nothing! Then the chairman of the Nobel committee said that it was to send a signal to the current administration. I guess the signal was "we are idiots".

Signal received.

always entertaining

2002-10-10T10:42:00.000-05:00

The ever-entertaining Ann Coulter weighs in again with the latest on the Democrats stall tactics in Congress:

Democrats don't think it's too close to an election to be switching Senate candidates in New Jersey, but its definitely too close for a vote on Iraq. All summer, Democrats were huffily demanding that Bush come to Congress for approval before taking any action against Iraq. So Bush comes to Congress for approval, and now the Democrats are indignant he's come to Congress for their approval.

how lame is the state department

2002-10-10T10:36:00.000-05:00

Joel Mobray at National Review Online (great website, btw) makes the startling discovery that 15 of the 19 terrorists that perpetrated 9/11 never should have been issued visas under current law. However, the ever-compliant State Department went ahead and issued the visas anyway (copies of the actual visas are available with this story).

The rest, as they say, is history.

another million for the first felons

2002-10-10T08:47:00.000-05:00

NY Times is reporting that the Clintons actually took in more that one million dollars of previously unreported gifts during his tenure.

lincoln chapstick

2002-10-09T15:23:00.000-05:00

Just saw a fawning interview on CNN with the pseudo-Republican Lincoln Chafee. In this interview, Lincoln mentions that:

- He is not supporting the President on Iraq
- He did not support the tax cut
- He would repeal the tax cut
- He would not rule out switching parties if the Senate "fell" into Republican hands

Fuck! Can the Republicans throw this idiot out of the party first?

friedman finally gets it

2002-10-09T13:09:00.000-05:00

Thomas Friedman, in the NY Times, finally gets the concept of "to make peace, prepare for war".

whom do you trust: bush or saddam?

2002-10-09T10:15:00.000-05:00

This should be the driving question to ask all people irrationally opposed to a regime change in Iraq. As a practical matter, I do believe that there are valid reasons that some on the left are giving for taking it slower with Iraq, it is just that the majority are flapping idiotic canards that are easily dismissed. Jonah Goldberg has a handy pair of postings that do a nice job of dissecting these arguments

heroes

2002-09-09T08:23:00.000-05:00

Dave Barry in a touching tribute to the passengers of Flight 93. Mesmerizing:

And we know that the people on the plane fought back. On a random day, on a random flight, they found themselves - unwarned, unprepared, unarmed - on the front lines of a vicious new kind of war. And somehow, in the few confusing and terrifying minutes they had, they transformed themselves from people on a plane into soldiers, and they fought back. And that made them heroes, immediately and forever, to a wounded, angry nation, a nation that desperately wanted to fight back.

saddam, indicted

2002-09-06T17:24:00.000-05:00

The Scotsman offers this devastating dossier on Saddam's violations to date. All of it has been known before, but seeing it in it's chronological and lengthy glory is still quite disturbing. It is disturbing that there is even a debate on whether or not to knock his ass out.

to remember

2002-09-06T08:29:00.000-05:00

Lileks ask us to remember Christine Hanson.

This little girl�s death wasn�t even a comma in the manifesto they hoped to write. They made sure that her last moments alive were filled with horror and blood, screams and fear; they made sure that the last thing she saw was the desperate faces of her parents, insisting that everything was okay, we�re going to see Mickey, holding out a favorite toy with numb hands, making up a happy lie. And then she was fire and then she was ash.

good VDH

2002-09-06T08:11:00.000-05:00

Hanson gives an interesting read.

typical terrific steyn

2002-08-23T09:19:00.000-05:00

Although not a particularly happy piece, once again Mark Steyn nails the Bush administration on failing to fight the war on terror on very important -- if overlooked -- points.

hanson, again

2002-08-09T09:47:00.000-05:00

Another tour de force from Victor Davis Hanson about the Israeli/Palestinian mess...

Palestine, in contrast, is a Potemkin democracy, with the sham facade of elections and republicanism but the dreary reality of an uninterrupted dictatorship since its inception under the Oslo accords. Arafat's initial election was rigged and the absence since then of a real opposition, parliamentary debate, and an independent judiciary proves that � along with the creation of a corrupt clique of hangers-on and often-murderous sycophants. The nature of the Palestinian Authority in and of itself lies at the heart of the entire crisis. Of course, there are sober and responsible leaders in Palestine, but they have no chance to come to the fore through a democratic and legitimate process.

rumsfeld injects some sanity

2002-08-06T13:44:00.000-05:00

Leave it to Donald Rumsfeld to inject a little sanity into the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. It is refreshing to actually hear an administration official speak the universally known, but unspoken truth...

"My feelings about the so-called occupied territories are that there was a war," Rumsfeld said. "Israel urged neighboring countries not to get involved in it once it started. They all jumped in and they lost a lot of real estate to Israel because Israel prevailed in the conflict."

kofi to saddam's rescue

2002-08-06T10:20:00.000-05:00

And now Kofi is warning that any attack on Iraq should not happen while the violence in Israel continues. That everybody who opposes our attacking Iraq uses this as an excuse for inaction should tell all that a continuing escalation of violence in Israel is in the interests of the UN and all other tinhorn dictatorships in the world, and allows the UN to continue their favorite pastime: slamming Israel.

The UN's time has been up for a very long time. The very idea that every country's opinion is equally valid is ludicrous on it face, and doubly so during the War on Terror.

talking warhead

2002-07-29T14:26:00.000-05:00

Jed Babbin speaks of yet another UN disgrace. This time at the Israel/Syrian border.

The "it" they referred to is shown in two of the pictures Paul took. One shows two flagpoles flying about fifteen feet apart at the U.N. compound on the Israel-Lebanon border. On one flagpole, to the left of the picture, is the blue U.N. flag. On the other flies the yellow flag of the terrorist group Hezbollah. The unmistakable symbol on the Hezbollah flag is the upheld fist holding an AK-47. The other picture is of a billboard that faces an Israeli outpost. It shows an Hezbollah fighter holding up the severed head of an Israeli soldier. The caption, as I have been told, says something like, "death to the Israeli dogs." Paul and John assured the Israelis that America didn't know about these depraved displays. Now the word is out, and we cannot tolerate it. The time has come to stop the U.N.'s game of coddling terrorists.

good sullivan

2002-07-29T14:20:00.000-05:00

Good article by Andrew Sullivan on the differences (and similarities) between 41 and 43.

And that's what some Democrats are aiming for - not that the war against Iraq will fail, but that it will never be attempted. They know that under current circumstances, their political openings are minimal. They also know that when war breaks out, they will be further shunted to the sidelines. So they desperately need to change the subject or forestall the war. What they long to do is use the corporate scandals to so weaken the president that he blinks in his mission against Saddam. If they can weaken the president's resolve, use the European media and governing elites to keep up the diplomatic pressure, and undermine the president's own ratings at home, they can perhaps avert a war and gain an edge. Last week saw the beginnings of the strategy. There were carefully placed op-eds in the New York Times and Washington Post questioning the need and resources for a war against Iraq. There was a bizarre love-note disguised as a profile of Colin Powell in the Times. There was a speech by Al Gore, questioning the timing and diplomatic blowback of war with Iraq. With each day that the horror of last September recedes from memory, the chances of lulling the American public back to sleep increases. And the chances of wounding Bush grow.

nine for nine

2002-07-29T09:14:00.000-05:00

Incredibly inspiring piece on why Somerset PA is and should be a model for the rest of America.

why I hate the UN, part MCMLXXVI

2002-07-29T09:01:00.000-05:00

Innocents abroad nails it here.

time to make the donuts

2002-07-15T15:33:00.000-05:00

The US is making some serious iron in an effort to stockpile precision munitions.

good God

2002-07-11T08:58:00.000-05:00

Maybe those that say the Israelis are being too nice are right, if this is any indication...

The Zionist experiment, he told me, is over. The Palestinians have discovered a strategic weapon: suicide bombers. Once anathema, they are now considered heroes. The shahids (martyrs), once seen as religious fanatics, are now nationalist freedom fighters. Moreover, he continued, they are growing in legitimacy all the time. The Arab world understands them and even some Europeans seem to. The Israelis have F-16s, the Palestinians, suicide bombers. The equivalency is obvious to all.

Now, he continued, there are thousands out there waiting in line to kill as many Israelis as they can, to make your lives hell on earth. They belong to no organization, but want revenge and are prepared to die for it. You think you are going to stop them by punishing their parents. You are wrong. You won�t even know who they are or where they came from. Nothing will be left of them.

steyn on hadayet

2002-07-10T08:52:00.000-05:00

A good and ironic piece from the irascible Mark Steyn on the El Al shooter and the law enforcement community's collective inability to say the word. C'mon now, it is spelled T-E-R-R-O-R-I-S-M...

Meanwhile, a London newspaper says that Mr. Hadayet may have met with Osama bin Laden's deputy on at least two occasions in Cairo. If last Thursday's shooting is the spectacular Fourth of July massacre al-Qaeda have been promising for months, then they're to be congratulated for a bloody slaughter on an epic scale never before seen in America except from incompetent grade-school psychos who steal Uncle Bud's hunting rifle but forget to take any extra ammo.

suitcase or footlocker?

2002-07-09T08:28:00.000-05:00

This story puts to bed a lot of the little lies about "rogue nuclear munitions"

Wherever did the idea get abroad that the Soviet ADMs were "suitcase" size? Well, Lebed told Congress � in Russian � that they were "footlocker" size. His interpreter translated that into "suitcase" in English. Lebed immediately realized his interpreter had made an error and tried to correct it. Too late.

a nice thanks from israel

2002-07-03T13:49:00.000-05:00

A nice little piece from a writer in Israel thanking the US for its patriotism. De nada.

Every Israeli reporter stationed in America since that terrible September 11 has commented on Israeli television or radio about the incredible patriotism of the American people. American flags everywhere. Flag pins on every lapel. Patriotic themes appeared in every media outlet. Every store, every religious institution, every school had patriotic signs up. Every caller and every host on radio talk shows felt the need to verbally wave the flag, too. Ceremonies, ecumenical, and otherwise, were created out of whole cloth, just to express patriotism and unity of purpose. It was awesome to behold. Domestic anti-American sentiment was given its fair hearing relative to its size � i.e., virtually none.

icc crap

2002-07-02T09:48:00.000-05:00

Brilliant commentary from Steven DenBeste about why the ICC blows and why there is not a chance in hell that we will ratify it or relent in our efforts to gain immunity from prosecution for US troops engaged in "peace keeping"

expulsion

2002-06-27T19:57:00.000-05:00

Well, this is scary.

stratfor analysis

2002-06-26T12:24:00.000-05:00

Excellent analysis on the new Bush policy in the Middle East.

well said

2002-06-26T09:21:00.000-05:00

Of all the analysis that I have read lately about Bush's Middle East policy speech the other day, Michael Kelly's sums it up best.

saddam's pr firm

2002-06-25T20:34:00.000-05:00

There are some striking similarities in the letters opposing any action against Saddam.

child torturers in iraq

2002-06-23T08:42:00.000-05:00

I wish somebody in the US State Department could hear these charges, but you know those asswipes wouldn't listen.

gaza == palestinian state

2002-06-21T10:57:00.000-05:00

I like this idea. I got this from one of the many postings on Little Green Footballs. The idea is that Israel should remove every Jew from Gaza and relocate every Palestinian from Judea and Samaria (formerly and never-again known as "the West Bank"). What the hell, it already has a fence around it.

the face of the latest terrorist palestinian freedom fighters have killed

2002-06-21T07:49:00.000-05:00

Good job guys, the world is loving you right now!

top twenty reasons

2002-06-20T08:23:00.000-05:00

Kolkata's top twenty reasons to love Israel, from the Indian perspective.

what the fuck!?

2002-06-19T16:14:00.000-05:00

This is a mirror image of a US State Department document describing (in excruciating detail) what it is like for a western woman to marry a Saudi national. The ever-loathsome American Muslim Council petitioned State to remove this from their website, which they naturally did. I am beginning to think a "Crowd Pleaser" on Mecca might just be the ticket!

black humor

2002-06-19T15:44:00.000-05:00

lileks

2002-06-19T14:52:00.000-05:00

Just read it. Not the Jesse Ventura part, but the last part.

not numbers, but lives

2002-06-19T14:23:00.000-05:00

by Harvey Tannenbaum (with some corrections from concerned family members)

1. Dr. Moshe Gottlieb came to the Holy Land from Los Angeles, where he had a thriving practice. A Holocaust survivor, in his youth, he was surrounded by death but managed to overpower it. At 70, nobody would have thought it unusual, if he would have slowed down; stopped doing the Creator's work. He didn't, though. Every Tuesday, he would travel from his home in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo to volunteer his services and expertise in various clinics around the country. Helping and healing children, that is what he did; that is what he lived for. Those who knew him, said on more than one occasion he'd proclaimed that he "owed God" for allowing him to survive the Nazis, when so many of his friends and family perished. Dr. Gottlieb was en route to a clinic in the Tel Aviv suburb of B'nei Brak that treated children with Down's Syndrome, when he was killed --- burnt alive, much in the same way his relatives were during World War II.

2. Glila Bugla, 11, was from Ethiopia. Every night, she would awaken from sounds of shots being fired into her suburban Jerusalem neighborhood by Arab vigilantes. The deteriorating situation in Israel, the land of her dreams, was causing her nightmares. She was scared to venture out anywhere she did not have to go. On Sunday, Glila informed her 5th grade class that a kind family in America had helped her struggling immigrant family buy an apartment there. On July 10, they would settle in New York. Glila's body was blown into pieces and today that which is left of it, is buried here.

3. Shani Avitzedek, 15, was a 9th grader who dreamed of becoming a ballerina. Tomorrow, was to be her last day at school. She had a ballet performance scheduled for Sunday. Yesterday, was the "Yom Kef" fun day. Her class had picked the Mesilat Zion pools as their destination. Shani's parents reminded her before she boarded the city bus for the start of her big day to make sure she had sufficient sunscreen and water. She tried to calm her parents. "The sun won't kill me," she told them.

4. Mendel Barzon, 71, who emigrated from Russia in 1991, loved to ride the busses. A friendly fellow, he had many "commuter friends." In fact, yesterday morning, his son had offered to drive him to work, but he declined. Mendel enjoyed a reputation as the best shoemaker/repairman in Jerusalem's Ben-Yehuda area. He survived the Ben Yehuda bombings and other terror attacks and was a leader in the Meretz party, which continues to believe peace can only come to the Jewish State via a reconciliation with Arafat. Mendel's body was blown to "peaces."

5. Gila Nekev, 55, was a Fench immigrant who settled in Israel 30 years ago. Gila was a bus rider, too. Gila never liked driving her car, as parking was always a hassle where she worked. Gila was a single mom who raised her three daughters, Ela, 28, Orit, 24, and Noa, 20. She was always proud of her three soldier daughters. Yesterday the three recited "Kaddish" together for Mom, who was to start her vacation today.

6. When Rachamim Tzidkyiahu, 51, arrived for work yesterday, he was thinking about the upcoming bar mitzvah of his son, Ron. The boy was to be called to the Torah for the very first time at Judaism's holiest site, the Western Wall. The date was to be "Shabbas Nachamu," the "Sabbath of Consolation," which follows Tisha B'Av, Judaism's annual day of mourning. Yesterday, Tisha B'Av arrived early. Instead of the boy's first public affirmation of his bond with the Jewish people being joyous, it was tragic, when he began to recite the word of "Kaddish."

7. Boaz Aluf, 54, had just celebrated his young son's bar mitzvah the previous week. The sexton of his synagogue in Gilo, which was fired on and hit by Beit Jalla's bullets months ago, he would also give public lectures on Talmudic ethics every morning at 6:30 am, reminding the assembled at the beginning of the day to be good, God fearing folks. His wife, Esther, a nurse, was on duty at the local hospital when she was informed of her husband's death. The call came, as she was scrambling about trying to treat other injured victims.

8. Michal Biazi, 24, had not ridden busses for months. She was terrorized by terrorism. But yesterday, she made an exception, though not willingly. In the afternoon, she and her husband were to attend the bris, circumcision, of their nephew. The childless couple were to be given a special honor that is said to act as "good luck" on their behalf. That morning, as the two traveled to work, Michal remembered that she had forgotten her change of clothes at home. Not wanting his wife to be late, her husband offered to drop his wife off at a bus stop and pick up the clothing, which he would bring to the ceremony. In one day, the family went from celebrating the miracle of birth to mourning a senseless death.

9. Baruch Garani, 60, was on his way to Machane Yehuda shuk (open-air market) to buy vegetables. Though he was a regular customer, every time he would go, his wife would remind him to be "careful." After the bombing at the bazaar, his children bought Baruch a cellphone, so they could be in touch instantaneously, should the need arise. Two months ago, his wife was hospitalized at Shaarey Zedek in Jerusalem, an hour and a half walk from Baruch's home. On the Sabbath, he would trek to be at her bedside and recite the "Kiddish" sacrament. Yesterday, Baruch's wife and four children recited not "Kiddish," but "Kaddish" at the same hospital for him.

10. Liat Gan, 24, often sat next to her baby brother,Yoni, 16 on the bus. When the Arab boarded yesterday, Yoni whispered to his sister that he was suspicious he might be a terrorist. Seconds later, the bomb went off. Yoni talked to his sister and tried to "revive" her. Yoni soon fell into a state of unconsciousness and thought that his sister had fainted. Liat was engaged to be married in August.

11. Shiri Nagari, 22, is the third child of the five children of Dr. Tuvia and Esther Nagari. Dr. Tuvia is a well known dentist in Jerusalem and Esther is a editor for the government's statistic office. Shiri was a graduate of Pelech, a religious high school, where she graduated with honors before serving the Israel Defense Forces as a teacher. Shiri had just returned from a year of studies in America. She was near the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 and witnessed its destruction.

12. Helena Avon, 63, immigrated from Romania, 20 years ago. Helena was a "nanny" and caregiver to Mani family. She survived the earthquake at Bucharest many years ago, before settling here. Helena had fed the family's dogs and boarded the bus to go to the city for errands when she was murdered by a different sort of animal.

13. Tania Braslavsky,41, immigrated to Israel 11 years ago with her husband and child. Tania was an engineer. She and her husband were fearful of raising achild in Russia. Her husband had been beaten by anti-Semites in Russia for wearing his yarmulke (skullcap) in public. Tania loved of the sea. She brought her family each weekend to Tel Aviv for swim and fun. Her hands were found separated 100 meters from the bus' charred frame.

14. Rafael Berger, 27, served with the IDF as a reserve officer in Jenin during Passover. Only nine months ago, he and Orit, his wife, moved to Gilo. Rafael was working on his doctorate at the Hebrew University. He was supposed to finish oral exams next week for his Phd.

15. Leah Baruch, 59, worked for the President of Israel for 23 years, as a housekeeper. She was a 'mother' and a sister to the Presidents and their families. Leah's funeral was attended by former First Ladies Herzog and ,Weizman, and by President and Mrs. Katzav.

16. Iaman Gazi, 25, was an Arab from Wadi Ara, and a student at a vocational school in Jerusalem. He had been awarded a special scholarship to the vocational school from the Israeli. He was an Israeli Arab who was killed by a terrorist Arab.

Bodies 17, 18, and 19 are still in pieces and have yet to be identified.

put powell on a bus...

2002-06-19T10:10:00.000-05:00

Instead of just "sending Secretary Powell back to the region", why not put his ass on an Israeli bus -- the one that runs from Meggido to Jerusalem -- for an entire day. No guards, no protection, nothing, nada, zippo, rien. See how he backs the "Palestinian state" then. If he survives.

"The president condemns this act of terror in the strongest possible terms"

2002-06-18T10:15:00.000-05:00

How many times have we heard these impotent words? I am sick. Sick of waking up almost every morning and hearing about another bus blown up, more lives lost, Arafat saying he had nothing to do with it. Kids not making it to school. And now Bush is sending Powell back to the Israel. What the fuck good is that? It is just going to get more innocents killed. And the US State Department is a fucking ship of fools. I hate their Arabist asses.

excellent denbeste commentary

2002-06-17T10:23:00.000-05:00

The most interesting tidbit out of this is the rumor that Powell is going to quit after the midterm elections. Can we be so lucky? Political pragmatists would say that this means that Powell is going to run for president against Bush as a Democrat. I wouldn't put it past him.

some fucking stupid ideas from vedrine

2002-06-17T10:06:00.000-05:00

As usual, the (former) French foreign minister Hubert Vedrine has a plan for the Middle East. That this plan is virtually indistinguishable from any plan that the Arabs has offered is purely a coincidence. Note that he helpfully suggests that the US station troops along the Israel/"Palestine" border. What a jackass.

as somebody once said, this is no time to go wobbly

2002-06-17T09:05:00.000-05:00

Good piece from the inventor of "wobbly" herself, Margaret Thatcher.

dems tacking right on bush

2002-06-17T08:48:00.000-05:00

Daschle this weekend, talked tough on the Saudis. It shows that 9/11 really did change things as the democrats have decided the only way to beat Bush is to move to his right. Where does that leave the traditional lefties?

oh no, we are worrying the dutch

2002-06-13T11:51:00.000-05:00

Apparently, the wording of the Senate measure to "use all means necessary" to keep US servicemen out of the stupid ICC is worrisome to the blockheads in the Netherlands. Two words: "tough shit"

what idiots

2002-06-11T15:29:00.000-05:00

Democrats are suing Bush for getting us out of that God-forsaken ABM treaty.

are we doing something?

2002-06-10T10:47:00.000-05:00

Jeepers, we are now claiming that we have arrested a guy that was gonna blow a dirty bomb in the US. He is being held as an "enemy combatant", even though he is a US citizen. This oughta be good! Fry his ass!

how sad is this?

2002-06-09T17:31:00.000-05:00

Jacques Chirac is the "right" candidate in the French elections. He shows up on the American scale to the left of Hillary Clinton

daniel pearl video

2002-06-06T12:07:00.000-05:00

I have seen the video and it is not pretty. I was thinking about posting it someplace and then linking to it, but refrained due to deference to the family. However, I think that it is a very important thing for every American to watch. The people that did this are sub-human...and they would do this to you and your family in a heartbeat. The Boston Phoenix is serving an important public function by linking to this. It is certainly not for the faint of heart, but you should watch it and learn.

the sound of government growing

2002-06-06T10:53:00.000-05:00

In a slightly ominous move, Bush is proposing a Cabinet-level position for Domestic Security.