Odysseus has a great post on the historic election that occurred in Iraq today, from the perspective of one who was there at the first election last year.

He explains just what it means to the Insurgents Islamofacists.

.....Just WHY can't the MSM get it right?

By all account's the turnout in Iraq is nothing short of amazing...apparently, at last count, 11 M out of an electorate of 14 M have voted....if only WE could get such a turnout!

(cartoon stolen borrowed from Lucianne) Drawn by Frank Galasso, one of the best around..(please don't sue me)

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 02:14 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Navywxman waxes poetic on communism, and furthur contends that there has never been a TRUE Communist state; that they were all run by Right wing governments.

Go read it to observe a true MOONBAT IDIOTARION in full voice.

Odysseus, true to form, gives the MI a righteous Cluebatting of Truth™ in the comments. And he did it with no hyperboly, just clear basic history, something that Navywxman seems to aquire only from the ISWP.

You need to go read it. Odysseus does it right. All too often, we on the right resort to outrageous hyperboly and labeling (G-d KNOWS I am guilty of that!), that while enjoyable, and serving as a safety valve against hypertension in the face of lunacy, doesn't really cause the opponent to have a chance to really learn from the exchange.

To know that such men of calm and studied reasoning as Odysseus are part of our military command structure really gives me a great feeling of peace, knowing that the troops are in good hands.

P.S. yes I KNOW I engaged in just such labeling as I decried in the above, I'M not as eridite, or calm, as Odysseus is.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 07:38 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Hmm There may be a few pockets of sanity left in the Muslim world after all...We'll have to wait and see just how ardent these people are in being willing to risk themselves in protecting Christians from the more radical segments of their faith.

It's kind of like asking the fox to guard the hen house in one sense...but we can never build trust between religious communities without taking some risks, and if these people are sincere, it will be a good first step towards building that trust...

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I found this little ditty in the comments at the Rott. I took the liberty of reposting it here, as it describes my level of regard for what is about to transpire after midnight tonight perfectly.

Took, Took, Tookie goodbye!
Took, Took, Tookie wonÂ’t fry!
The needle that will graze ya,
Will stop yer heart in
San QuentinÂ’s Euthanasia!

Took, Took, TookieÂ’s bombshell!
Took, Took, TookieÂ’s in hell!
Walk towards the light!
DonÂ’t bother to fight!
Yer asshole will be glowing
Like itÂ’s made of graphite!

(dum, dum, dum, dum)

Took, Took, Tookie good bye!
Took, Took, Tookie Banzai!

~Sig94

Another commenter also had what I thought what a pretty good suggestion:

"Those drugs go in order like this: Sleep, Stop Lungs, Stop Heart."

"They need to do a little shell game shuffle to:

Stop Lungs. Have smoke break. Stop Heart. Fuck the sleep heÂ’s gone. My, my he apparently shit and pissed himself. What an undignified thing for such a tough guy to do."

"Can’t wait for the next Tookie Cookie™"

~ LC Ranger 6

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 07:05 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Kim du Toit, Imperial Firearms Advisor, has an excellant rant on "No Knock" police raids.

I believe that his suggestion that :

Any police department which raids an address not specifically listed on the search warrant should have to pay an immediate, no-appeal spot fine of $5 million to the homeowner, regardless of what transpired during the “raid” ($10 million to the householder’s estate if the householder is killed during the raid).

And if law enforcement doesnÂ’t want to pay the fine, then they might not like my alternative: the LEO who fired the killing shot must be charged with premeditated murder, and the supervisor who authorized the raid charged as an accessory.

Would be an effective way to cut down on the number of "oops sorry, my bad" cases of police raiding the wrong house.

As Kim says,“Extreme measures also require extreme caution.” As a former LEO, I hearily agree with Kim's assesments. Wearing a badge doesn't confer omnipotence in judgement, and that wearer should be held to a higher standard.
We confer great power to that badge holder, and as always, with great power should come great responsibility.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 04:03 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Steve macklin of Hold the Mayo has a podcast where he outlines his thoughts on why the Adminstration has been slow to respond to Democratic criticism on the war in Iraq.

I don't know if what he posits is truly the Republican strategy, but it does sound like the type of manuvering that Karl Rove is so good at....and you have to admit, the Democrats have have manuvered themselves into a bit of a corner.

IF we can demonstrate great positive gains in Iraq in the near future, and even more importantly, inform the American public of those gains; the Democrats will have ensured their total irrelevence in the next election.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 08:58 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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With all the strife between the West and the Muslim East today, we hear
Muslims who complain about being misunderstood by the world. Islam is a religion of peace, they say, it can never condone violence and yet on account of a handful of bad people, the world labels all Muslims terrorists.

Generally, this leads to someone or other saying that the problem is that the jehadis have distorted the message of the Prophet of Islam and the world chooses to use this as an excuse to hate all Muslims. Why is this happening? Why should Islam be blamed for the activities of a handful of fanatics? Conclusion? It must be because of the ‘evil’ propaganda of Jews, Hindus and Christians.

The problem, alas, is more complicated. It is not just suicide bombers and mad mullahs who are giving Islam a bad name, it is the fact that in so many ways the religion seems out of touch with the world as it is today.

What most of us see as barbaric behaviour Muslims are ordered to accept as justice because that is how it was when the Prophet was still with us. It goes beyond criminal justice to culture, education, social behaviour and the attire of, and in the social status of, women. Islam is inextricably bound to the Arab culture of the 7th century. It has held itself to be the "pure" religion, and doesn't accept any form of adaptation to modern conditions or mores. "It should be done as it was in the days of the Prophet" is held as one of it's core belief system. Many Progressive will scoff at this and say that it is not so...but then ask them to explain the fact that a "modern" state such as Iran still imprisons women should they be so bold as to reveal too much of their anatomy, or in some cases, still stones women for adultery. Or that a woman in India could be forced to leave her husband and go to live with his father when the father raped her. Or when Muslim youths in France can set a woman ablaze with the justification " because she was traveling in public without benefit of a male companion".

The problem with Islam is that it has remained unchanged for centuries and continues to try and impose an Arab idea of religion, social behaviour and culture on the world. This causes alienation, and the strife we are now experiencing between Islam and the other major belief systems of the world.
Respecting others that hold a different belief is just not a part of the Muslim belief system, indeed, it is antithetical to the core of Islamic beliefs.

Those that refuse to conform to the precepts of Mohammed are Infidel and are not to be treated with as equals. This is esconced within the Holy texts of Islam, and really cannot be gone around without a serious amount of reform of the religion, and as I noted above, Islam is profoundly resistant to any form of reform.

V.S. Naipaul described it this way. ‘‘Islam is in its origins an Arab religion. Everyone not an Arab who is a Muslim is a convert. Islam is not simply a matter of conscience or private belief. It makes imperial demands. A convert’s world view alters. His holy places are in Arab lands; his sacred language is Arabic. His idea of history alters. He rejects his own; he becomes, whether he likes it or not, a part of the Arab story.’’

In Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and in India you see signs of Muslims becoming part of the ‘Arab story’ in recent years in a way that they were not before and therein lies the problem. In times past, there has been an uneasy truce that allowed members of all religions to, at the least, co-exist by tactful ignorance of each other. It seems that in the present however, there has reached a critical mass point of Muslim holy fervor where this is no longer possible, and the inevitable conflicts between belief systems has boiled up into a seething cauldron of terrorism and open war.

This is not to say that all the other belief systems have been innocent in the past either, there are horrific account of Christian perfidity almost as bad, the difference is that those are all in the past, and Christianity has reformed itself to make such actions unthinkable. There are elements of almost every religion that could be considered barbaric by todays standards, the practice of Sutee and the cast sytrem in Hinduism, and the "inactive" stance against injustice in Buddism as examples. (and no, I'm NOT saying that Buddists condoned injustice, it was just that they accepted it far more readily as "cosmic Karma" and didn't fight against it as most Western religions do.) These belief systems have changed with more enlightened approachs in modern times, something that Islam has failed to do, for the most part, as of yet. These barbarities were more a product of culture rather than the religious systems themselves; the systems didn't enforce these barbarities with the force of religious belief as Islam does.

The most recent example of this came last week when a court in Saudi Arabia ordered that the eye of an Indian worker, Abdul Lateef Naushad, be gouged out in the interests of justice because in a physical fight with a Saudi he caused him to lose the vision in one of his eyes. This was three years ago and Naushad has been in prison ever since, which would be punishment enough (for a fight) in most countries, but not in Saudi Arabia which, as the crucible of the Islamic faith, believes that justice means ‘an eye for an eye’ just as it did in the days of the Prophet.

Islamic justice also ordains that thieves pay by having their hands chopped off and adulterous couples be stoned to death. These may have been progressive measures 1,400 years ago but in todayÂ’s world they are acts of barbarism and this is where the disconnect begins between Islam and the rest of us.

Unless and until Islam can reform itself from this outmoded view of thought, there will be strife between our peoples.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 12:22 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Thanks to Michell Malkin, here's the link to the "Retreat and Defeat" video that will be playing in selected races in the next election cycle. I think it should be run country wide.

You can't simultaniously advocate policies negating everything they've accomplished in the last three years and still claim to "support the troops".

I do hope that the Democrats persist on this tact though, I can't think of a better way to assure a continued Republican majority....

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I've been remiss and missed the entry of a new member to the Hoosier Blog Alliance, I've tried to rectify my oversight, so please welcome Tip Jar to the party.

Welcome MTS, hope you enjoy the group.

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I've been reading a lot of editorials pro and con on the upcoming execution of Stanly "Tookie" Williams on Dec.13....I must admit that a couple of them did touch me in that they didn't try to excuse Mr. Williams of his crimes, but pointed out the possibility of his being granted clemency might prevent someone else from suffering as did his victoms....That is the only argument that might sway me in my opinion that his date with the needle is far overdue.

Several editorials have tried the "redemption" tack, and I don't find those too convincing....I HOPE that Mr. Williams may have found some sense of peace with his past and felt himself forgiven in penitance by his activities in trying to warn children from following his example. BUT redemption is a personal thing, between a person and their concept of whatever higher power they may believe in, and doesn't mitigate the societal need for punishment.

In the end, I found that the cartoon below sums up my feelings best:

While executing Mr. Williams won't bring back these victoms, it will bring some sense of justice to their families.

It must also be remenbered that Mr. Williams is not only guilty of the deaths he was convicted of, but by his being the founding member of one of the most vicious gangs ever to victomize society, the Crips, I believe that he has a responsibility for every bit of misery that has ensued from that group.

And that misery will continue to build long after Mr. Williams has met his end. He may be remorseful about his part in that misery, I hope so anyway, but that doesn't negate his responsibility for it. His actions subsequent to incarceration may prevent a few for falling into that trap, but how many more will? He bears a responsibility in the misery of every one of those that do, and the misery they inflict on the society at large.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 10:06 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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OH NO!! Seems one of the jackbooted Air Marshals of DHS has shot and killed a passenger of an aitliner that claimed to have a bomb in his carry on bag, and the man was a US citizen....HORRORS! Shouldn't he have tried to reason with the man? The Marshal totally ignored this mans right of free expression! (/sarcasm)

As far as I'm concerned, as a commenter at Lucianne's said:
"Good aim, big holes, what's the problem?"

There are those that will note that the decident was a Bi-polar that had missed a couple doses of his meds as an excuse for excoriating the Air Marshal.
Having been in similar situations where a life or death decision has to be made in less than two seconds, I can catagorically state that I think that the Marshal did exactly the right thing.

It is a tragedy that a man died because he failed to properly manage his illness, but it would have been a far greater tragedy if the Marshal had erred on the side of PC caution and the man had been serious about setting off a bomb next to an airliner filled with passengers, parked next to a teminal and other planes.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 05:44 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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December 7th, 1941....the day that will "live in infamy". Today is the 64th Anniversary of that dark day that launched the US into the hardest fought war that has ever occurred.

Take a moment out of your busy like to remember all those that died, both on that day, and the in the ensuing four years, as the world fought to determine the course it would take....

The brave men and woman of the generation that endured those bleak days are quickly passing on into the Great Unknown, and we must endeavor to remember the sacrifices they made to ensure that we would continue to live free. Only by remembering can we ensure that their sacrifices were not made in vain.

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Please welcome two new additions to the Blogroll in the LC catagory:
Appalachian Gun Trash, and A Room With A view

The Room with a view belongs to the mother of one of the best LC's I have had the privilage to meet, the Humble Devildog, known to his friends as "AJ". AJ credits his (CONSIDERABLE)debating abilities to his mother, and now she's bringing her views to the blogosphere; I'm certain that she will make a fine addition to the conversation. Just be sure to be polite when you visit...AJ doesn't take kindly to those that cause trouble to his familiy or friends, and as an inactive Marine, he's MORE than capable of exhibiting his displeasure in a manner that you would be certain to find HIGHLY uncomfortable.

As for "Appalachian Gun Trash", it was a serendipitous find by Mamamontezz, who passed it along to me...you HAVE to like a guy who quotes Luke 11:21 on his side bar: "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his palace, his possessions are safe.” ~Jesus Christ~

And a retired AF veteran....

That is a man that I'm sure I can respect, and reading some of his posts only confirms me in that opinion. He lives in eastern Kentucky, so who knows, perhaps some day I'll have the pleasure of meeting him in person.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 02:48 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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With all the arguements over the comercialization of Christmas and wether or not public reference to religion should be allowed, I got the following card from some very old and dear friends/mentors, and it made me stop and try to recoup what the true meaning of the holiday really is. Thank you Bob and Gerry, I needed that.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 05:46 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Charley Daniels has an open letter to the troops that really should be read....read, absorbed, and the advice at the end followed: "I believe if we could take the politics and hostile media coverage out of this war for one year, you guys would “get er done” and everybody could come home and vote against these backstabbers." (emph. mine)

I wish more celebraties would follow Mr. Daniels lead and actually SUPPORT our troops instead of being schills for the Moonbat Left and their policies of appeasment and surrender.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 05:11 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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FINALLY! A quiz that actually has some real meaning!

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

If an immigrant can pass !00%, it was a little too easy, but it still poses a good bechmark of basic knowledge.

They don't give the answers, and in the spirit of not learning unless you can know where you made a mistake, I have posted the answers under the fold. more...

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Swiped from Lucianne:

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ELROND A stern yet benevolent organizer who often knows best, your wits are keenly fixed on aiding efforts you deem worthy.

"Now at this last we must take a hard road, a road unforseen. There lies our hope, if hope it be. To walk into peril to Mordor."

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 08:27 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I read this piece by Donald Myers, and found all I could say was "AMEN"!.

Ever notice that all the naysaying, gloom and doom members of the "Progressive" Left only have negatives to espouse? Never do we hear a positive proposal for a solution, just excoriation of the status quo.

Don't like the causelty rates in Iraq? "Pull out, NOW!" is their only response; ignoring the fact that it would lead to only greater conflict. Rep. Murtha says that it's now "time for a political solution, rather than a military one"....Tell me Mr. Murtha, with all due respect for your past service, just HOW do you use diplomacy with a group who's ONLY desire is the total destruction of everything the West represents?

I honestly believe that a great deal of the discontent that is being exhibited by the general population can be directly laid at the feet of a partisian press dedicated to the goal of running President Bush out of office in whatever manner possible. Read the news, and all you'll find are body counts of Alliance soldiers and threats of even great mayhem relayed through Al Jazeera from the "Arab street"...yet talk to the soldiers coming home on rotation and you'll hear about how they have given the Iraqi people a chance at a better life by building schools, power plants, and water treatment plants....You'll hear how on an indivudual basis, they have been befriended and encouraged by Iraqis on the street.

Yes, the Iraqi people do want the soldiers to leave; what patriot would want to have foreign troops on their soil?, but they don't want them to leave untill their job is done, and the Iraqis know they are capable of standing on their own.

Another example of media partisianship is how they give wall to wall coverage to Rep. Murtha, yet almost totally ignore Sen. Lieberman when he stated that it would be the height of folly to precipitously withdraw troops at this time.

Try to find a pro-administration article, and your pretty much limited to the WSJ, if you want to find the Progressive stance, all you need do is open just about any other paper. The media has great power to influence opinion, but we must always ask: does a particular paper or station have an agenda? Are they telling the whole truth, or only that part of the truth that serves that agenda? What AREN'T they reporting? What they DON'T say can be more important than what they do say.

This is not to say that we have to march in lock-step with the Administration, they are just as guilty of spin as the Left...excessive spending rates, ignoring the border security problems, trying to sugarcoat the hard realities of war, the Administration is guilty of all these, and they should be held accoutable for these and other issues. But the American people have to wake up and demand that issues be debated in an open and honest debate of ideas, not a constant barrage of spin and partisian sniper attacks.

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 07:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Clarice Feldman has a good article exploring just how partisian based special prosecutions are harming the security of the United States.

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