Islam: The Tolerant Religion

Not only is Islam the "religion of peace," but as some Muslims state, it is also very tolerant...more at Wizbang.

Why I Love Karzai

Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai puts liberal AP reporter Jennifer Loven in her place with her biased question to Bush. See the video here. (Bill Clinton take note: Bush didn't shout her down, wagging his finger at her accusations.)

Inhofe on Global Warming

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) gave a speech on the Senate floor that tells us everything we need to know about the reality and hype of Global Warming. It's well worth the read - especially if you think that Global Warming is a new, real, man-made phenomenon.

Condi: Clinton a Liar

I love this story. Condi Rice steps in and flatly accuses Clinton of lying during his interview with Chris Wallace.

Bill Clinton lie? That's hard to believe...

Reaction to Clinton

The American Thinker has another great post on the Clinton interview and another one of Clinton's untruths. One major point was that Clinton's critics scolded him for being too tough on terrorism and getting Bin Laden or of accusing him of "wag the dog" tactics. But as this post points out, Republican leaders were actually quite supportive of Clinton's anti-terrorist actions (very unlike today's opposition party).

*Update*
Chris Wallace shares a few post-interview reactions. It must have been one fantastic conspiracy - even Wallace himself had no idea he was such a right-wing "hit job" interviewer...

Clinton Unhinged, Cont'd.

One more interesting point from the Clinton FoxNews interview. He scolds Wallace for not asking the same tough questions of anyone in the Bush Administration. But as Patterico points out, Clinton was wrong on this point as well.

The Latest Intel Leak B.S.

Powerline has a good post about the latest article in the Washington Post related to the leak of the National Intelligence Estimate report that supposedly lends credibility to the fact that Iraq is hurting the war on terrorism.

First of all, we have seen these leaks before just before elections. There is no doubt that in a huge report, leakers can take a sentence and divine whatever they want, leak it to a reporter, and try to influence an election.

Second, after the ridiculous claim from the Senate Intelligence Committee that Iraq had no terrorist conncections, I simply cannot believe anything a government agency claims anymore. It has already been disproven so many times that it's not worth discussing. (The best refutation from Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard last week.)

So what we have is politics as usual, with anti-Bush partisans leaking information about how Bush is the source of all evil in the world.

Unbelievable Interview with Clinton

Al Gore isn't the only person from the 42nd Administration who has become unhinged since leaving office. Wow - I would not have believed this interview with Bill Clinton if I didn't see it. Clinton is literally off his chair, screaming at Chris Wallace and pointing his finger, saying that this whole interview is a right-wing conspiracy and Wallace is a stooge for conservatives:

"you've got that little smirk on your face...So you did FOX’s bidding on this show. You did you nice little conservative hit job on me."

"You didn't formulate it in an honest way....you falsely accused me of....."

"You intended to 'move your bones' by [criticizing me]."

Got that? You cannot ever ask a difficult question to Bill Clinton or you are part of the conspiracy. You really have to see this interview to believe it. This guy just proved why he is such a joke among reasonable-minded Americans. Here is a transcript of the interview. And here's a short video clip that shows how little Clinton can be.

Clinton Unhinged

I'm looking forward to Bill Clinton's interview on FoxNews Sunday. Based on excerpts, the former President attempts to defend the "right-wing" critics who said he didn't do enough against terrorism:

"But at least I tried. That's the difference in me and some, including all of the right-wingers who are attacking me now," Clinton said when asked whether he had failed to fully anticipate bin Laden's danger. "They had eight months to try, they did not try. I tried. So I tried and failed."

Obviously, Clinton's "they" is the Bush Administration, which is ludicrous. When did Bush ever criticize anything about Clinton (despite every justification for doing so)? And this is the way Clinton repays Bush's extraordinary generosity. Besides, I think Clinton's 8 years of inaction in office speaks for itself - there's no point in trying to rewrite history.

Chavez and the Democrats

I applaud Charlie Rangel's statement yesterday about Chavez's speech. However, is it any coincidence at all that third world dictators and terrorists are using talking points that Democrats have repeated over and over? The Anchoress has a good post here. A snippet:

There are some on the left who are suggesting that Hugo Chavez’s remarks are simply an indicator that the world “disrespects” President Bush…well…I wonder who gave them the idea that they could? Was it John Kerry calling him a “f***ing liar,” and not having to answer for that rudeness to anyone while the press shrugged it off? Good heavens, Bush calls terrorism “evil” and he was mocked and criticized for using that word, but the press never had a problem with “f***ing liar, f***ing crooks and thieves” or with adolescent musings about the president’s name and female genitalia. It was alllllll soooooo funnnnneeeeeee, newsreaders could hardly deliver the spite without grinning, themselves.

Muslims Want Pope's Removal

In what has become surreal, Muslims are now calling for the removal of the Pope. About 1,000 Muslim clerics and scholars in Pakistan demanded:

The "pope, and all infidels, should know that no Muslim, under any circumstances, can tolerate an insult to the Prophet (Muhammad). ... If the West does not change its stance regarding Islam, it will face severe consequences."

Just to summarize: the Pope quotes an old text that says that Muslims should not resort to violence. Now Muslim clerics are saying that if we don't change our views, they will kill us all. Sounds logical.

Where is the Latest Poll?

For the past several months, as President Bush had a bad run and gas prices skyrocketed, his poll numbers declined dramatically. The latest "new low" poll was usually the top headline on my Yahoo page, as well as the lead story on all the news programs. Now however, Bush's numbers have been coming back like the Red Sox against the Yankees in a 7-game playoff series. And you can't find a mention of it anywhere. (I had to do a google search to find this latest one, which shows Bush's approval back to 44% and rising.) True, the elections are still over a month away, but maybe Democrats shouldn't start counting their chickens just yet...

Rhetorical Question of the Day

To all the fuss over the Geneva Conventions, interrogation methods, the future security of our soldiers, etc., I just ask this:

When was the last time we fought a war with an enemy who obeyed the Geneva Conventions? I guess it could come into play if Canada or Denmark start a war with us...

Stop Apologizing

Power line believes that the Pope has apologized enough already and should leave it at that. After all, Muslim leaders haven't apologized for firebombing churches or murdering a nun in Somalia in reprisals. Radical Muslims simply will not ever be appeased until everyone adopts their brand of Islam (including the Pope himself, no doubt). It's a good point.

Allen v. Webb Debate

Virginia senatorial candidates George Allen and Jim Webb debated on Meet the Press this morning. While I wasn't overly impressed with either candidate, Jim Webb came across as pretty awful. Webb's main point on Iraq was to convene "an international conference." Great plan. He also loves to mention the fact that he served as Navy Secretary during the Reagan administration (as if that makes him a conservative).

Don't get me wrong - I love George Allen and think he came across as much more experienced than Webb, but the format and questioning made it difficult for him to really shine. When Tim Russert asks questions such as, "You voted with President Bush 96% of the time. Are you just a rubber stamp for this administration?" it becomes difficult to really get your points across well.

The most interesting take from the debate was how awful Tim Russert is as a moderator. Apart from the fact that he has name recognition and is considered by most to be a "great guy," he is one of the worst interviewers on the Sunday morning circuit.

The Comical Senate Intelligence Committee

Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard slams the Senate Intelligence Committee report that claims Saddam had no ties whatsoever to Al Qaeda. The must-read article can be found here (that is, if you want to get a non-fiction summary of events).

It's not surprising that Democrats wanted to conclude that Iraq was one of the few countries in the world with absolutely no ties to terrorism. But I don't know why Sens. Hagel or Snowe were such willing participants in this joke.

Muslims Condemn Pope

As I expected, Muslims across the Middle East condemned Pope Benedict's comments about Islam. The most telling quote comes from Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam: "Anyone who describes Islam as a religion as intolerant encourages violence."

Excuse me, but didn't you just prove the Pope's point, if Muslims have to resort to violence to counter a criticism? Or do you not understand the term 'intolerant?'

*Update*
So now Muslims firebomb churches in the name of their religion over the Pope's comments (which were factual and not commentary, by the way). Isn't that how Christians react - burning down mosques when Muslims malign their faith? (Sure, that will be the day...)

Where is the ACLU and the free speech police? But as we know, free speech doesn't exist for Christians or Jews - only for Muslims, Atheists and Scientologists.

Bush Approval Skyrockets

Ok, I'll be the first to admit that he was at such a low figure for virtually no new reason except that he disgruntled many conservatives. Still, Rasmussen's poll yesterday that Bush now has a 47% approval rating has to be good news for the GOP going into the fall's elections.

You can also never believe single polls, but most have shown that his numbers have risen recently. I wonder if the MSM will give their hourly updates on his numbers as they did when they were falling...

About That Senate Intelligence Report...

Democrats wonder why they are weak on security after they go out of their way (along with RINOs Olympia Snowe and Chuck Hagel) to defend Saddam Hussein and discount his danger to the world. The claim that he did not support Al Qaeda is preposterous. As Barham Salih, Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister points out,

"The alliance between the Baathists and jihadists which sustains Al Qaeda in Iraq is not new, contrary to what you may have been told." He went on to say, "I know this at first hand. Some of my friends were murdered by jihadists, by Al Qaeda-affiliated operatives who had been sheltered and assisted by Saddam's regime."

The Democrats' reasoning is that Ansar al Islam, the terrorist group supported by Saddam, was indeed supported by Al Qaeda, but it was not a branch of Al Qaeda. That's a bit like saying that Hitler was not a genocidal dictator, he merely supported the people that helped him commit genocide. And yet the MSM eats it up as if this reasoning makes sense and repeats the headline "Saddam Has No Terrorist Dies" without realizing how idiotic the statement is.

Iraqi Prisoners Want Americans Back at Abu Ghraib

I bet you a dollar that the world turns a blind eye to what's going on at Abu Ghraib prison now that the US is not guarding it. Interesting enough, there were 27 executions there on Wednesday and then screams were heard coming from the prison.

I heard shouting, like someone had a hot iron on their body, screams. The officer said they were just screaming by themselves. I was hearing the screams throughout the visit.

Someone was shouting 'Please help us, we want the human rights officers, we want the Americans to come back'," he said.

Well, this is what happens when the rest of the world gets involved. The US was running the prison. Sure there were a few college-like pranks there, but those people were punished and now the world has what they want. Funny thing that the UN couldn't care less if arab nations are torturing one another. They just care if an American soldier takes a few pictures or spit on someone's Koran (even if they didn't).

The First Damning of the Clinton Admin for 9/11

Despite successful attempts to date about sharing any blame for not acting on terrorism during the 90s, Clinton's administration just ran out of luck. ABC decided to air its miniseries, "The Path to 9/11." Even if only half of it were true, it is so damning of key players including Clinton, Tenet, Berger, Albright and Reno that I think Clinton's record on terrorism just became even further tarnished - if not devastated.

Too bad that the MSM decided that none of it was Clinton's fault and terrorism began only when Bush took office.

*Update*

Betsy Newmark has more details on the Clinton team's approach to terrorism and offers these words about the film:

Think for a moment about the concerted action by Democrats, their lawyers, former White House operatives, Bill Clinton, sympathetic historians, and lefty bloggers to stop this show. Remember that this was the same crowd that was full of praise of for Fahrenheit 9/11 for crystallizing their opposition to George Bush. Accuracy and versimilitude didn't bother them then. And they weren't saying a word about 60 Minutes "fake but accurate" story on Bush's National Guard service. Now, ask yourself. If this crowd were to control the White House, how many more of these attempts to stifle any criticism of them would we be seeing? Think of how much has been aired during Bush's tenure, even a movie depicting him being assassinated and
more denials of civil liberties gets made without Bush's White House unleashing its lawyers. But, for this thing, the Democrats go to the mattresses. Are they perhaps modeling for us what their response would be to further criticism if they should gain control of the White House - or even of Congress? Don't forget those not-so-veiled threats to ABC's license. Ponder that chill wind.

I Just Called To Say I Love You

Michelle Malkin is right that Peggy Noonan's piece is a must read. Unlike all these critical pieces written mainly by democrats and watching CNN talk about why the world isn't safer, this article really brings us back to 9/11/01 and what many of us were thinking that day.

Johnny Waffle on How to Make the World Safer

We're on the eve of another September 11, and it's not surprising that democrats, fearful of GW talking about terrorism, are coming out of the woodworks to voice their opinions. Nothing wrong with that, but they're sooo ridiculously predictable in what they're saying - basically - the US is not safer.

Criticism of government policy is easy, because they're so much that's been done wrong, from lack of profiling to the fact that most airport security guards don't speak English. That being said, Johnny Waffle's latest article in the Boston Herald on a Safer World in 5 Easy Steps, is laughable:

STEP 1: Redeploy from Iraq. Never mind that Kerry has both voted for and against troops in Iraq and has also criticized the administration for not having enough troops. Also, never mind that even ultra-lefties in the MSM write daily about what Al Qaeda is doing in Iraq. Sounds like he's back to let's move out.

STEP 2: Reduce Foreign Oil Dependence. Umm great idea, but didn't you vote against drilling in Alaska and against windfarms in Massachusetts?

STEP 3: Recommit to Afghanistan. This would be fine if Al Qaeda didn't have legs and were only in Afghanistan. But guess what, they're all over the place.

It's not worth going through his additional points. It's great to criticize, but this guy's not only a waffler but a hypocrite, and pretty naive too. If this is the democrat's message, republicans might not be in as much trouble as they should be come 2008.

The Brouhaha Over the Senate Intelligence Report

No doubt the media and Democrats will have a field day with the recently released Senate Intelligence Report, which they believe is ammunition to prove that "President Bush lied." I just have a few comments:

1) Everyone has assailed the Bush Administration for listening to the CIA, who apparently got none of the pre-war intelligence correct. But now we are supposed to take this report regarding the CIA's findings to be proven fact.

2) Abu Nidal and Abu Abbas were terrorists who Saddam harbored in Iraq. Does it matter that they were not part of Al Qaeda? Furthermore, earlier this year, we found documents proving that Saddam trained thousands of terrorists in Iraq. Does it make a difference if they were Al Qaeda or not?

3) The aforementioned documents prompted Bob Kerrey, a Democrat on the 9/11 Commission to state just a few months ago that this new evidence clearly shows that Saddam was a threat.

4) Just look at this page of quotes from Democratic leaders before the war and compare them with their slightly different comments today. I wonder when a single one of them will be challenged by a MSM journalist.

Rush Limbaugh on CBS

Rush Limbaugh appeared on CBS News last night for a special commentary that CBS is experimenting with. His topic was terrorism and I think he nailed it, as usual.

“My friends., it's time to face a hard cold fact: Militant Islam wants to kill us just because we're alive and don't believe as they do. And they have been killing us for decades. It is time to stop pretending these are mere episodic events and face the reality that our way of life is in grave danger. Now, this threat is not just go away because we choose to ignore it.

“Some say we try diplomacy. Yeah, well tell me, how do we negotiate with people whose starting point is our death? Ask them to wait for 10 years, before they kill us? When Good negotiates with Evil, Evil will always win. And peace follows victory, not words issued by diplomats.

“But some Americans, sadly, are not interested in victory. And yet they want us to believe that their behavior is Patriotic. Well, it's not. When the critics are more interested in punishing this country over a few incidents at Abu Grahib and Guantanamo Bay than they are in defeating those who want to kill us; when they seek to destroy a foreign surveillance program which is designed to identify those who want to kill us and how they intend to do it; when they want to grant those who want to kill us, U.S. constitutional rights, I don't call that patriotic.

“Patriotism is rallying behind the country, regardless of party affiliation, to defeat Islamo-Fascism. Patriotism is supporting our troops on the battlefield, not undermining the mission and morale. But let there be no doubt about this. America will prevail. We're the same country that survived a bloody Civil War, defeated the Nazis and the Soviets. Each generation has a responsibility to the next. Our generation will not disappoint.”

Clinton Administration Assails 'Path to 9/11'

ABC's new miniseries "Path to 9/11" has enfuriated many Clinton administration officials, who are not portrayed as softly and innocently as they were by the 9/11 Comission.

This shows how much of a sham the 9/11 Commission really was, particularly with Clinton's No. 2 DOJ official serving as member (Jamie Gorelick). And even if the mini-series dramatizes certain events, I don't recall the same level of uproar from folks when Michael Moore made his crockumentary film about 9/11.

I thought the debate-loving Democrats always insist on seeing both sides of a story? I'd say it's about time we see the true side to what happened during the Clinton Administration regarding terror.

*Update*
It appears that ABC is caving and will do some editing for the Democrats, after veiled threats of potential FCC action and other punitive actions. Nevermind Michael Moore's film; perhaps we should revisit every movie ever made that was "based on a true story," but differed from actual events. Just think what the reaction would be if President Bush asked a movie studio to adjust its movie - wouldn't the media lash out calling him a Nazi dictator?

Chris Matthews Likes Idea of Killing President Bush?

Chris Matthews' response to his guest's idea of instituting capital punishment if President Bush were the person indicted? "I like you already."

The reason no one seems to care is because Matthews gets virtually no viewers, so he has no one to influence. But when did it become ok for a tv personality to think killing the President is a good idea? Power Line has more.

Kofi: "Don't Isolate Iran"

Kofi Annan loves to demonstrate his uselessness and that of the UN. In a newspaper interview today, Annan had the following money quotes:

"The international community should count on Iran, not isolate it;" and

"The main thing is we have to avoid confrontation. This is an issue which requires patience and perseverance. The viable solution is negotiation."

I don't think Neville Chamberlain could have said it any better. Annan continued,

"The Iranians assured me that they are not seeking nuclear weapons and their intentions are peaceful."

"Israel should withdraw, without needing to wait for the deployment of the 15,000 (international troops) to be complete. Also, mutual trust has to be created, by, for example, Israel lifting its blockade on Lebanon."

Hmm. I don't need to say anything else.

RI, PA Senatorial Race Predictions

I saw the debate between PA Senate candidates Rick Santorum (R) and Bob Casey (D). Although Casey is supposedly ahead by roughly 8% in the polls, I believe that will change the more Santorum debates Casey. Although not a disaster, Casey showed himself to be a clear novice and could not offer any specifics about his policy stances. I predict Santorum keeps his seat.

I also saw Lincoln Chafee and Stephen Laffey's interviews on George Stephanopolous and was highly impressed with Laffey. I predict an upset in the Republican primary with Chafee losing his seat. Unfortunately, Republicans in Rhode Island are a really long shot to win the general election. Still, Chafee hasn't supported the GOP cause any more than most Democrats, so it doesn't really matter.

Violent Deaths Decreasing in Iraq

It seems that every news outlet spends its time explaining how there is now universality of opinion that violence in Iraq is getting worse by the day. They must not have read this USA Today article that shows violent deaths in Iraq were down by approximately 70% in August from July. Powerline has more here.

Unfortunately for the GOP, even if the situation in Iraq does improve dramatically before the November elections, the media likely won't report it. I'm afraid we could see another situation like President Bush 41 in 1992, where the economic recession was well over by the election, but because of the lack of positive news coverage, the public had no idea we were doing so well. Only after the '92 elections did the media start reporting any of the positive news coverage. And by then it was too late to save Bush.

Plamegate Hall of Shame

Fred Barnes lays out several people who acted shamefully in the nonsensical "Valerie Plame leak" case. Among those Barnes identifies are Richard Armitage and Colin Powell:

Armitage: the deputy secretary of state under Colin Powell, was the first to reveal that Wilson's wife was a CIA employee. He blabbed carelessly to Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, then to columnist Robert Novak, who mentioned it in a July 2003 column. Armitage, after admitting this to the FBI in October 2003, stood by silently year after year as Vice President Cheney, Cheney's chief of staff Scooter Libby, Karl Rove, and other White House officials were blamed for what he had done, and President Bush suffered politically. Loyalty is not Armitage's strong suit.

Colin Powell: Bush's friend and secretary of state in the first Bush term, knew what Armitage had done and never let on. He met with Bush countless times as the White House was being pummeled in the media and by Demo crats for outing a CIA agent to take revenge on her husband. Bush called publicly for the leaker to be identified. Powell knew the identity, but remained silent. Some friend.

With friends like this, who needs enemies?