Synopsis: The would be conservative hero who probably now, never will be.
Category: Republicans
John Dickerson at Slate Magazine on Sanford
Perhaps one of the best things that I have seen yet on Sanford:
Sanford’s fumbling efforts to explain how he’s tried to rescue himself with his faith offered some people an opportunity to make fun of his religion, as if a confused, lost, flawed person were the right spokesman for anything. People tend to think the most awful thing about a person is the most true thing. They also apparently think it’s the most true thing about his or her associations. So an e-mail arrived asking, “[I]s there any Republican not sleeping around?” Maybe Sanford should have been a presidential candidate. He apparently represents an entire party and an entire religion.
What Mark Sanford seemed to be trying to say is that he screwed up, in the biggest possible way, because he lost his bearings. He lost his self-control. He was indulgent. He forgot that there were other humans in the world. Yet in the constant flow of abuse, joke-making, and grand conclusions about his failings, it seemed everyone having a good time pointing at his self-indulgence was also engaging in a form of it.
via The strange, heartless glee at Sanford’s downfall. – By John Dickerson – Slate Magazine.
Quite true. If one wanted to wax philosophical on this whole situation; one could say that those who gleeful about Sanford’s downfall, are actually saying that they are not capability of committing such an offense. Which we all know is quite untrue. However, it is not to try and say that Sanford’s actions are not above scorn. However, one could establish that the very one’s that are scorning Sanford are violating one of the most simple of Christian principles, and that is forgiveness.
Further more, much of anger by those on the Neo-Conservative right, is simple based upon one thing; Because Sanford embraced the principles of Paleo-Conservatism, most notably; a non-interventionist foreign policy. Personally, my feelings of disappointment are of a selfish nature. I was hoping that Mark Sanford would be able to make a run in 2012. I was hoping to be involved in his campaign. Hence the enormous let down. I suspect that this is why there is such disappointment among Paleo-Conservatives. Plus, he was seen as someone who would carry on the mantel of Ron Paul.
Again, it is a huge disappointment and it will be a huge blow to the G.O.P., As there is no clear leader for 2012. Sarah Palin is big Government and a “Do as I say, not as I do”, Republican and Mike Huckabee is not someone I believe needs to be in the White House, as he is too much of a Theocratic Republican and Mitt Romney is a Mormon; who is quite the asshole as well. So, if they pick him for 2012. I’m voting Libertarian again and possibly will leave the Country.
As I’ve said here many times before; it is going to be a LONG four to eight years.
(H/T Instapundit)
Andrew Sullivan Praises Obama; gets attacked by Wilsonian Republicans as an Anti-Semite
I will be the first to admit, there are times when Andrew Sullivan gets under my skin. But this is not one of this times. Sullivan has gotten attacked by Wilsonian Republicans, because someone dared to point out their pro-war mentality. The reason they are attacking him, is because he invoked a word, which is commonly used to describe that faction of the Republican Party. That word is “Neo-Cons”, Which is generally what they are. Former pro-war Democrats or intellectual classical liberals who left the Democratic Party, because of their opposing of the civil rights act and other such related events.
Anyhow, here’s what Sullivan said, I’ll bold and underline the parts that sent the “Neo-Cons”, if you will; into a tizzy:
Did you notice how many times he invoked the word “justice” in his message? That’s the word that will resonate most deeply with the Iranian resistance. What a relief to have someone with this degree of restraint and prudence and empathy – refusing to be baited by Khamenei or the neocons, and yet taking an eloquent stand, as we all do, in defense of freedom and non-violence. The invocation of MLK was appropriate too. What on earth has this been but, in its essence, a protest for voting rights? Above all, the refusal to coopt their struggle for ours, because freedom is only ever won, and every democracy wil be different: this is an act of restraint that is also a statement of pure confidence in the power of a free people.
Well, I guess now, the word “Neo-Con” is now code word for “Jew Hater”. Which is so absolutely funny. Because these bloggers are the same bloggers, who decry the race-baiting of the far left; only to do it themselves, when it comes to Jewish people. Since when does using a term, such as Neo-Con or Neo-Conservative constitute a racial slur? Sorry folks, but that is nothing more than race baiting in it’s purest form. You should all be ashamed. So, next you hear Wilsonian Republicans, like Michelle Malkin and those of her ilk, decrying the race baiting of the left, just remember; they do the same thing, when it comes to the Jewish people.
Neo-Con a racist term…. Please, as if! 🙄
Update: Please note: I originally ended this article with a rather crass term used amongst African-Americans; and I see that “The Daily Paul” linked in; and for that I am grateful. Anyhow, I changed the ending. I understand that not everyone out there gets my type of “I grew up in inner city Detroit” sort of humor. So, to those who were offended; I apologize. Again, thanks to the folks that linked in from the Daily Paul.
Round up of the race-baiting right: Don Surber, This ain’t Hell …, Riehl World View, Moe_Lane’s blog, Althouse and American Power
Iran: Voices from the resistance, from the Blogosphere and beyond
There is a great deal of opinion, talk and some great coverage on the situation in Iran. Here is what is being said now:
At about 9:20 p.m. in Tehran (12:50 p.m. Eastern time), Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the opposition candidate whose suspicious defeat by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week sparked the protests, declared he was ready for whatever happened next.
“I am prepared For martyrdom,” he wrote on his campaign Twitter page. “Go on strike if I am arrested.” – Salon.com
This is an e-mail sent to Atlantic Blogger Andrew Sullivan:
They turn this into a keystone-cops gulag, and still, no matter how they try to block it, the entire world is watching, and international disapproval is growing. At some point even life in Syria or Egypt will start to look better. The leadership will become ostracized in the Muslim world, and a large and influential Islamic country like Indonesia will come out with a public condemnation. Then other nations will feel emboldened. Even worse, Ahmadinejad, and to some extent even Khamenei, will now have a difficult time making uncontrolled appearances where the crowds are not bused from towns 100 miles away; every time they show up, crowds will chant them down.
These citizens are done with their leadership. The trust has completely and irretrievably dissipated, and the fear, although present, is not sufficient, especially as it becomes more clear the army will remain on the sidelines. And the mullahs have opened all the playbooks on repression and crowd control simultaneously; it’s a smorgasboard attempt at blocking the rising tide of resentment; if you’ll recall, that’s called the mullah’s-ass-on-a-pressure-cooker-lid-to-retard-fulmination rule. If things look bad with the pressure cooker, piling more mullahs on the lid will only result in a more spectacular finish.
If the Warsaw Ghetto uprising had been broadcast to the entire world, Hitler’s demise most surely would have come several years sooner. The mullahs have no way out. They are, essentially, fucked. It’s now only a matter of time. And Iran’s negotiations on their nuclear program? Suspended indefinitely due to lack of credibility; nobody will believe anything they say now.
TICK, TOCK, MOTHERFUCKERS…
From the President of the United States, Barack Obama:
Statement from the President on Iran
The Iranian government must understand that the world is watching. We mourn each and every innocent life that is lost. We call on the Iranian government to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people. The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected, and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights.
As I said in Cairo, suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion.
Martin Luther King once said – “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” I believe that. The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples’ belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness.
This of course is a good thing. How is that? Look, there is no doubt that we need regime change in Iran. America, indeed the world, cannot tolerate a nuclear Iran. Yet there is only a couple of ways this could be carried out. Either we – as the world’s superpower of freedom effect it, or we luck out and the people rise up. Since we are still cleaning up in Iraq, and are about to dance it up with North Korea, we’re just a little busy.
All good change begins with the people.
I doubt that the people are rising up are so much Mousavi fans, than it provided the opportunity to overthrow their repressive government.
Rich Moran, Right Wing Nut House:
The Iranians don’t need a Martin Luther King right now. They need a George Washington who can win a revolution. It won’t necessarily be with guns that victory will be achieved. But even if the regime succeeds here in stamping out the reform movement, things will never be the same in Iran and the day will come – as it does for all tyrants and tyrannical regimes eventually – when the walls come a tumbalin’ down and the natural state of being that all men are born into reasserts itself and victory is achieved. People are born free. No tyrant anywhere can take that away from us. It is our heritage as human beings and our right. And whether you speak Arabic, Kurdish, Turkomen, Farsi, or any other language where dictators suppress the will of the people, the Iranians have put them on notice that their days are numbered.
In the name of God, the kind and the merciful
Indeed god demands you to safe keep what people entrust in you, and to rule them with justice. [this a verse of Koran]
Respectable and intelligent people of Iran,
These nights and days, a pivotal moment in our history is taking place. People ask each other: “what should we do?, which way should we go?”. It is my duty to share with you what I believe, and to learn from you, may we never forget our historical task and not give up on the duty we are given by the destiny of times and generations.
30 years ago, in this country a revolution became victorious in the name of Islam, a revolution for freedom, a revolution for reviving the dignity of men, a revolution for truth and justice. In those times, especially when our enlightened Imam [Khomeini] was alive, large amount of lives and matters were invested to legitimize this foundation and many valuable achievements were attained. An unprecedented enlightenment captured our society, and our people reached a new life where they endured the hardest of hardships with a sweet taste. What this people gained was dignity and freedom and a gift of the life of the pure ones [i.e. 12 Imams of Shiites]. I am certain that those who have seen those days will not be satisfied with anything less.
Had we as a people lost certain talents that we were unable to experience that early spirituality? I had come to say that that was not the case. It is not late yet, we are not far from that enlightened space yet. I had come to show that it was possible to live spiritually while living in a modern world. I had come to repeat Imam’s warnings about fundamentalism. I had come to say that evading the law leads to dictatorship; and to remind that paying attention to people’s dignity does not diminish the foundations of the regime, but strengthens it. I had come to say that people wish honesty and integrity from their servants, and that many of our perils have arisen from lies. I had come to say that poverty and backwardness, corruption and injustice were not our destiny. I had come to re-invite to the Islamic revolution, as it had to be, and Islamic republic as it has to be.
In this invitation, I was not charismatic [articulate], but the core message of revolution was so appealing that it surpassed my articulation and excited the young generation who had not seen those days to recreate scenes which we had not seen since the days of revolution[1979] and the sacred defense. The people’s movement chose green as its symbol. I confess that in this, I followed them. And a generation that was accused of being removed from religion, has now reached “God is Great”, “Victory’s of God and victory’s near”, “Ya hossein” in their chants to prove that when this tree fruits, they all resemble. No one taught hem these slogans, they reached them by the teachings of instinct. How unfair are those whose petty advantages make them call this a “velvet revolution” staged by foreigners! [refering to state TV and Khameneni, perhaps!]
But as you know, all of us were faced with deception and cheatings when we claimed to revitalize our nation and realize dreams that root in the hearts of young and old. And that which we had predicted will stem from evading law [dictatorship], realized soon in the worst manifestation.
The large voter turnout in recent election was the result of hard work to create hope and confidence in people, to create a deserving response to those whose broad dissatisfaction with the existing management crisis could have targeted the foundations of the regime. If this good will and trust of the poeple is not addressed via protecting their votes, or if they cannot react in a civil manner to claim their rights, the responsibility of the dangerous routs ahead will be on the shoulders of those who do not tolerate civil protests.
If the large volume of cheating and vote rigging, which has set fire to the hays of people’s anger, is expressed as the evidence of fairness, the republican nature of the state will be killed and in practice, the ideology that Islam and Republicanism are incompatible will be proven.
This outcome will make two groups happy: One, those who since the beginning of revolution stood against Imam and called the Islamic state a dictatorship of the elite who want to take people to heaven by force; and the other, those who in defending the human rights, consider religion and Islam against republicanism. Imam’s fantastic art was to neutralize these dichotomies. I had come to focus on Imam’s approach to neutralize the burgeoning magic of these. Now, by confirming the results of election, by limiting the extent of investigation in a manner that the outcome will not be changed, even though in more than 170 branches the number of cast votes was more than 100% of eligible voters of the riding, the heads of the state have accepted the responsibility of what has happened during the election.
In these conditions, we are asked to follow our complaints via the Guardian council, while this council has proven its bias, not only before and during, but also after the election. The first principle of judgment is to be impartial.
I, continue to strongly believe that the request for annulling the vote and repeating the election is a definite right that has to be considered by impartial and nationally trusted delegation. Not to dismiss the results of this investigation a priori, or to prevent people from demonstration by threatening them to bloodshed. Nor to unleash the Intelligence ministry’s plain clothes forces on people’s lives to disperse crowds by intimidation and inflammation, instead of responding to people’s legitimate questions, and then blaming the bloodshed on others.
As I am looking at the scene, I see it set for advancing a new political agenda that spreads beyond the objective of installing an unwanted government. As a companion who has seen the beauties of your green wave, I will never allow any one’s life endangered because of my actions. At the same time, I remain undeterred on my demand for annulling the election and demanding people’s rights. Despite my limited abilities, I believe that your motivation and creativity can pursue your legitimate demands in new civil manners. Be sure that I will always stand with you. What this brother of yours recommends, especially to the dear youth, in terms of finding new solutions is to not allow liars and cheater steal your flag of defense of Islamic state, and foreigners rip the treasures of the Islamic republic which are your inheritance of the blood of your decent fathers. By trust in God, and hope for the future, and leaning on the strength of social movements, claim your rights in the frameworks of the existing constitution, based on principle of non-violence.
In this, we are not confronting the Basij. Basiji is our brother. In this we are not confronting the revolutionary guard. The guard is the keeper of our revolution. We are not confronting the army, the army is the keeper of our borders. These organs are the keepers of our independence, freedom and our Islamic republic. We are confronting deception and lies, we want to reform them, a reform by return to the pure principles of revolution.
We advise the authorities, to calm down the streets. Based on article 27 of the constitution, not only provide space for peaceful protest, but also encourage such gatherings. The state TV should stop badmouthing and taking sides. Before voices turn into shouting, let them be heard in reasonable debates. Let the press criticize, and write the news as they happen. In one word, create a free space for people to express their agreements and disagreements. Let those who want, say “takbeer” and don’t consider it opposition. It is clear that in this case, there won’t be a need for security forces on the streets, and we won’t have to face pictures and hear news that break the heart of anyone who loves the country and the revolution.
Your brother and companion
Mir Hossein Mousavi
Americans are still in the grips of a Bush foreign-policy hangover. Obama refocused a drunk-on-democracy country by reminding it that “the difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi in terms of their actual policies may not be as great as has been advertised. Either way, we were going to be dealing with an Iranian regime that has historically been hostile to the United States; that has caused some problems in the neighborhood and is pursuing nuclear weapons.”
In other words, thumping majorities in the Middle East do not necessarily coincide with American national interests. Or as Dr. Johnson said, “There is no settling the point of precedency between a louse and a flea.”
Richard Spencer, Taki’s Magazine:
Hate to break it to Jonah, but they don’t like you, they really don’t like you.
And there’s actually little definitive evidence that the election this past week was actually stolen or that it marked a definitive repudiation of President Bugaboo. Yes, the large turnout, especially among the young, would seem to point to support for a “reform candidate,” and, yes, Ahmadenjehad’s margin of victory is rather incredible; however, as the Washington Post reports, a “nationwide public opinion survey [pdf] of Iranians three weeks before the vote showed Ahmadinejad leading by a more than 2 to 1 margin—greater than his actual apparent margin of victory in Friday’s election.” At the very least, the idea that we’re witnessing some national awakening to liberal democracy is clearly overdone.
And who is this Mr. Democracy, the man all these Persian admirers of Martin Luther King are cheering for? I admit, I’d never heard of Mir-Hossein Mousavi until this week. Well, according to his wikipedia page, he’s been an editor of the Islamic Republic Party’s official newspaper and a member of the High Council of Cultural Revolution. He served as prime minister of Iran under the Ayatollahs from 1981-89, during the infancy of Iran’s nuclear program. He’s also made no indication whatsoever that he wants to reverse Iran’s development of nuclear power and weapons so as to live in harmony with the peace-loving United States and Israel. Put another way, if poor Mousavi gets elected, the neocons might decide that they need to bomb Iran anyway.
Even if the Narcissists tell us that Our Man in Tehran is but an unlikely, perhaps unwilling, “repository for the Iranian people’s hopes,” the simpler explanation is that the people in the streets are marching for … Mousavi—a reform-minded, slightly more liberal candidate who’d retain Iran’s independence, nuclear policy, and position towards the Great Satans.
Tehran certainly is a more modern, secular, multicultural place than one might imagine from watching FOX News—with its urban centers, its non-Muslim, Persian, and Zoroastrian traditions still in effect, and its girls who seductively push us their hajibs to display their bangs. I’ve heard that in parts the capital is almost parisien. But then does any of this mean that Iranians will like America any more than, say, the Parisians? I think not.
I expect a rather rude for many a beltway journalist and blogger when some 32-character “tweets” much like the following start coming over the wire:
Aktar213: OMG! Americans think we do this because we love them and their “freedom”
Fereshteh345: LOLROTF!!!
&Atoosa:Sullivan & Goldberg are such tools!!!!!!The Iranians have surely got their own version of dumbed-down, sassy blogspeak, but the sentiments would be much the same.
Michael C. Moynihan, Reason Magazine:
While it is less interesting to focus on the Internet—yes, the Internet in general—as a vital tool for Iranian dissidents, it’s necessary to point out that, for non-Iranians both observing and covering the rebellion, Twitter is playing a secondary role to websites like YouTube and Flickr, both of which have provided compelling images and video from the streets of Tehran. And while Twitter is not the reason students are on the streets, it has played a significant role in allowing the opposition to organize and spread its message to supporters in the West. To dismiss it as pure media hype would be foolish.
Statement before the US House of Representatives opposing resolution on Iran, June 19, 2009
I rise in reluctant opposition to H Res 560, which condemns the Iranian government for its recent actions during the unrest in that country. While I never condone violence, much less the violence that governments are only too willing to mete out to their own citizens, I am always very cautious about “condemning” the actions of governments overseas. As an elected member of the United States House of Representatives, I have always questioned our constitutional authority to sit in judgment of the actions of foreign governments of which we are not representatives. I have always hesitated when my colleagues rush to pronounce final judgment on events thousands of miles away about which we know very little. And we know very little beyond limited press reports about what is happening in Iran.
Of course I do not support attempts by foreign governments to suppress the democratic aspirations of their people, but when is the last time we condemned Saudi Arabia or Egypt or the many other countries where unlike in Iran there is no opportunity to exercise any substantial vote on political leadership? It seems our criticism is selective and applied when there are political points to be made. I have admired President Obama’s cautious approach to the situation in Iran and I would have preferred that we in the House had acted similarly.
I adhere to the foreign policy of our Founders, who advised that we not interfere in the internal affairs of countries overseas. I believe that is the best policy for the United States, for our national security and for our prosperity. I urge my colleagues to reject this and all similar meddling resolutions.
AMEN, Congressman — you hit the nail exactly on the head. And to my fellow Americans who lean to the Right of MOI, yet claim to possess a fetish with the intents, thoughts and minds of our Framers — whatchya gotta say now?
Various Quotes from Blogs @ The American Conservative:
The case for an activist academy is again on the table, and this time it seems rooted in a strange combination of American exceptionalism and cosmopolitanism-lite (one that evokes John McCain’s “We’re all Georgians now” remark). The revolutionary campus spirit of the ’60s will be taken on world tour—not with tanks, but with the kinder, gentler approach of NGOs. Michael Walzer and other cheerleaders for soft intervention are ready to send America’s best and brightest abroad to remake Iran. On second thought, maybe they prefer to just twitter some suggestions.
[….]
Unlike the poor protestors on the streets of Tehran, though, we don’t have to get our heads kicked in by security forces. We just tune into the revolution from the gym, or gorp at videos of the violence on our IPhones.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s wonderful that new technologies can help dissent against oppression. It’s great that Iranians can, to use the phrase, by-pass traditional media to show that their country is not the neocon caricature of a monstrous theocracy.
But there is something fraudulent in our online admiration for those battling on freedom’s behalf in Iran; our virtual participation, even, in their struggle through the global communion of the world wide web. It’s as if we are vicariously living out fantasies of courageous rebellion against the oppressor on our laptops and cellular devices. But we don’t get blood on our keypads.
[….]
While we may sympathize with the plight of Iranian protesters, we should also think carefully about what revolution, regime collapse and the possible fissuring of the state would mean for regional stability and the security of American forces. The experience of Iraq should remind Americans that political convulsion is often accompanied by other upheavals, including violence. Those consequences are never entirely foreseeable and the costs are always borne most heavily by civilians. It would be the height of folly and the ultimate expression of national narcissism for our government to cheer for a revolution without considering the price to be paid by those who live with its consequences. – Daniel Larison posting at The Week
Eyal Press posting on a Blog called “The Notion” at The Nation:
“The world is watching,” President Obama said yesterday about the confrontation currently unfolding on the streets of Tehran, where demonstrators are clashing with riot police in an extraordinary display of courage and defiance. Depending on how harsh the crackdown gets – and it looks, as of this moment, that it will be harsh indeed – Obama can and should issue a forceful condemnation. A policy of restraint should not be confused with a policy of cold-eyed indifference, particularly when ordinary people are risking their lives to challenge a brutal regime that claims its repressive conduct is divinely sanctioned.
Paul Craig Roberts via Chronicles Magazine:
Ideological and emotional agendas result in people distancing themselves from factual and analytical information, preferring instead information that fits with their material interests and emotional disposition. The primacy of emotion over fact bids ill for the future. The extraordinary attention given to the Iranian election suggests that many American interests and emotions have a stake in the outcome.
I do not believe that people are dying in the streets for this Islamist Mousavi. He sounds like Ahmadinejad. It’s like switching your panties that say “Monday” for the ones that say “Tuesday”. Why bother?
The Southern Avenger on “Neocons for Ahmadinejad”
WOW! 😮 Me and Jack must be on the same Wavelength or something…
—
Synopsis: Conservatives who still subscribe to neoconservative doctrine on Iran have learned nothing.
The Southern Avenger @ Taki’s Magazine
Update: Want to see a perfect example of Neo-Conservatives agreeing with liberals on Iran? Look no further than here. I would have thought that Ed Morrissey was a bit more smarter than that. I guess I was quite mistaken. Once a Neo-Conservative, always a Wilsonian Neo-Conservative.
Iran’s election showdown begins; Neo-Conservatives continue to goad our President
It appears that the Iranian Islamic powers that be are beginning to clamp down on the dissent in that Country. The New York Times Reports:
TEHRAN — In his first public response to days of mass protests, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sternly warned opposition supporters on Friday to stay off the streets and raised the prospect of violence if the defiant, vast demonstrations continued.
Opposition leaders, he said, will be “responsible for bloodshed and chaos” if they do not stop further rallies.
He said he would never give in to “illegal pressures” and denied their accusations that last week’s presidential election was rigged, praising the officially declared landslide for the incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as an “epic moment that became a historic moment.”
He spoke somberly for more than an hour and a half at Friday Prayer to tens of thousands of people at Tehran University, with Mr. Ahmadinejad in attendance. His sermon was broadcast over loudspeakers to throngs in the adjoining streets, and the crowds erupted repeatedly in roars of support. Opposition supporters had spread the word among themselves not to attend.
“Street challenge is not acceptable,” Ayatollah Khamenei said, according to a rendering by the BBC. “This questions the principles of election and democracy.”
There was no immediate response from opposition leaders.
The article continues on and I personally encourage you to read it. This is all shaping up, just as I thought it would. Iran’s supreme leader is calling the shots; as always. This is why I basically removed the green from my twitter account. Because I knew it was pointless to support the protesters in Iran. The will of the people is just not respected in that country, the will of the Islamic Government is.
Meanwhile, the Wilsonian, Warmongering, and now highly discredited wing of the Republican Party still continues to goad our President in to entering the fray in Iran. The recently sold Weekly Standard continues it’s pandering to the Zionists abroad:
Fourth, now, today, is another opporunity for President Obama to speak. Mousavi has been threatened, as have the thousands of protesters. The ayatollah offered no conciliatory language for the protesters or the West. There was no talk of redoing the stolen election, or giving Mousavi a seat at the table. Obama has gone out of his way not to “meddle” in this affair, thinking that America’s “meddling” may compromise efforts to negotiate with the Iranian regime going forward.
What has been the reward for America sidelining itself? More condemnations from the regime that Obama wants to negotiate with. That same regime may be on the verge of an even more violent convulsion.
That quote up there is why the American people voted the Neo-Conservatives out of power and put in a outright socialist President. Because of that nonsense quoted up there. As a I said in my Blog entry/column that I sometimes write, America should stay out of the affairs of Iranian Government:
I have noticed that some of my Neo-Conservative counterparts have been goading the President of the United States for not taking a more vocal stance against the Iranian Government and by proxy, the Islamic leaders of that Country. In case that sounds a bit familiar, these people are the same people played cheerleader to President Bush’s decision to go into Iraq. Hence my reasoning for disliking the Neo-Conservative wing of the Republican Party; Not because of some idiotic Hatred of the Jews; but because of the Wilsonian, warmongering stance of those types of Conservatives.
As a Paleo-Conservative, my feelings about Iran are this that the United States of America should stay out of the affairs of the Iranian Government. If the Iranian people want to overthrow that Government, let them do it. If the Iranian people want to topple that Islamic regime, let them do it. The less the United States becomes involved in that situation, the better. The same kind of meddling with the affairs of other Governments has gotten us into other situations in the past. The list is quite long — Korea, Vietnam, Both Iraq Wars, World War I, and so on.
After I wrote that entry, I realized that I had not stated well enough as to why we should not get involved with the situation in Iran. The answer simply is this; say the Iranian people do overthrow the Islamic Government in that Country, an anti-Islamic Revolution, if you will; then there is a Democratic or Parliamentary Government established there. If at anytime that Government is overthrown and an Islamic Government is placed back into that Country; guess who will get the blame for overthrowing the previous Islamic Government? The United States will; that’s who! The Neo-Conservatives, in their blind and quite foolish desire to go to war with every country that rejects their foolish Zionist agenda; have forgotten one thing, Arabs hate us already, and they will really hate us, if the United States is seen to be meddling in their internal affairs. It is too bad that this Country, and more specifically the Republican Party and it’s Wilsonian, Neo-Conservative wing have not learned that lesson. Had they learned it long ago; those trade center towers would still be standing.
Others: BBC, Telegraph, MoJo Blog Posts, Wall Street Journal, The Lede, The Cable, Democracy in America, Maggie’s Farm, Michelle Malkin, New York Magazine, Jihad Watch, Hot Air, democracyarsenal.org, Washington Post, Wonk Room, Outside The Beltway, Wolf Howling, The BLT, A Blog For All, Salon, On Deadline, The Daily Dish, The Washington Independent, ATTACKERMAN, Gateway Pundit, FP Passport, Danger Room and The Huffington Post and more via Memeorandum
Video: The Southern Avenger on “The Extreme Right”
Synopsis: When New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and other liberal pundits tried to lay the blame for the murder of abortion doctor George Tiller and neo-Nazi James von Brunn’s actions on the alleged “extremism” of the broader conservative movement, an examinination was in order of how they couldn’t be more wrong.
From the “can’t keep in his pants” dept: Sen. John Ensign has an affair
Man, as if the Republicans did not need any other problems right now… now this:
Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign has told colleagues that he plans to admit an extramarital affair, a senior Republican official tells POLITICO.
Political insiders in the Senate and in Nevada told POLITICO that Ensign began an affair with a staffer several months after he separated from his wife. When Ensign reconciled with his wife, the sources said, he gave the aide a severance package and parted ways.
Sometime later, a Nevada source said, Ensign met with the husband of the woman involved and had what this source described as a positive encounter. Sources said that the man subsequently asked Ensign for a substantial sum of money – at which point Ensign decided to make the affair public.
Ensign’s office did not return calls for comment, but the senator told the Associated Press Tuesday: “I deeply regret and am very sorry for my actions.”
Ensign’s staff said he would be making a statement about a “personal matter” at 3:30 p.m. local time in Las Vegas.
Ensign informed fellow Nevadan Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, about his situation earlier today.
“I don’t know the details. I talked with him today,” Reid told POLITICO. “Of course, he’s my friend. This is a private, family matter. I just hope that Darlene and he work things out.”
Reid said he didn’t offer any advice on how to handle the situation. “I didn’t give him any advice. I just told him he’s my friend. I’m pulling for him. Anything I can do to help, let me know.”
Ensign, a born again Christian, is chairman of the GOP Policy Committee, making him the highest ranking Republican Senator in Nevada’s history. He has three children.
Amanda Carpenter says on Twitter:
“I came home to Nevada to come forward and explain to the citizens of our state something that I was involved in about a year ago. Last year I had an affair. I violated the vows of my marriage. It is the worst thing I have ever done in my life. If there was ever anything in my life that I could take back, this would be it.
“I take full responsibility for my actions.
“I know that I have deeply hurt and disappointed my wife Darlene, my children, my family, my friends, my staff and others who believed in me. To all of them, especially my wife, I am deeply sorry. I am truly blessed to have a wife who has forgiven me. We sought counseling last year and have built a stronger marriage — stronger than ever.
“I will not mention any names but the woman who I was involved with and her husband were close friends and both of them worked for me. Our families were close. That closeness put me into situations which led to my inappropriate behavior. We caused deep pain to both families and for that I am sorry.
“I am committed to my service in the United States Senate and my work on behalf of the people of NV.
“Thank you.”
[…]
His wife, Darlene, is issuing this statement: “Since we found out last year we have worked through the situation and we have come to a reconciliation. This has been difficult on both families. With the help of our family and close friends our marriage has become stronger. I love my husband.”
Video: Something to make you think
This an excellent video: (Via True Conservatives on Facebook)
More G.O.P. Stupidity….
Our asses are going to be kicked harshly in 2010 and 2012 and this is why:
Newscoma posted details of a racist email sent from Sherri Goforth, legislative aid for Sen. Diane Black R-Gallatin. The email depicts the Presidents of the United States with President Barack Obama as a pair of eyes in a black background.
I spoke with Sherri Goforth minutes ago to confirm she sent this email. She confirmed she had sent it and also said she had received a letter of reprimand from her superiors but said she will stay on the job.
When I asked her if she understood the controversial nature of the photo, Goforth would only say she felt very bad about accidentally sending it to the wrong list. When I gave her a second chance to address the controversial nature of the email, she again repeated that she only felt bad about sending it to the wrong list of people.
“I went on the wrong email and I inadvertently hit the wrong button,” Goforth told NIT. “I’m very sick about it, and it’s one of those things I can’t change or take back.”
via Sen Diane Black’s R-Gallatin legislative aid circulates racist email « Nashville Is Talking.
There are people calling for this aid’s firing; and rightly so. This sort of nonsense has no place within the Republican Party. Do I think it is funny? No, I do not. I have had people send me that very e-mail and they’ve gotten a stern warning never to send me that sort of nonsense ever again.
As I said about the other little incident, if the G.O.P. gets it’s tail kicked in the 2010 and 2012 elections; it will because of nonsense like this here. You do not think that the Democrats will try and use this sort stuff against the Republicans in 2012? Do not kid yourselves, they will.
Some people just seriously need to get over the fact that we have a black President. Do not misunderstand me here; I am not a fan of President Obama’s socialism at all, but I find these little incidents to absolutely sickening. Because the Republican Party is, in fact, the party the freed the slaves, in order to preserve the union. But yet, we have idiots within that party that still hold on to the old ideas about the Minorities, including blacks in this Country.
To all African-Americans that might happen to read this Blog. I want you to know; we are not all like that. May this be noted of one time, in my career as a blogger; that I actually side with the Identity Politics crowd, this idiot needs to be fired and right away!
Some idiot thinks we need to change the National Anthem
Seriously, what on earth is wrong with these idiots?
I’m not quoting that b.s. here, you want to read it? You go there.
Some stuff to watch:
Sung by The Cactus Cuties
The TRUE Story of the Star Spangled Banner
By David C. Gibbs
CHRISTIAN LAW ASSOCIATION
http://www.christianlaw.org
I do not know about you. But I will keep my National Anthem just exactly like it is.
Others: Atlantic Correspondents, Neptunus Lex, Hot Air, The Opinionator, Argghhh! and This ain’t Hell …
Mixed feelings on the Blogger outing
I am commenting on this because I think it deserves a comment. I have very mixed feelings on the outing of a centrist Blogger, who blogged under the name of publius over at Obsidian Wings.
The reason why I have these mixed feelings is this. Because I personally know how frustrating it can be, when you have some anonymous Blogger or even person on the internet harassing you. Believe me when I tell you; I have been there and done that. However, I also believe in the right to privacy as well. So, I am quite conflicted.
To his credit, publius or John Blevins gives some very valid reasons for his wanting to remain anonymous:
As I told Ed (to no avail), I have blogged under a pseudonym largely for private and professional reasons. Professionally, I’ve heard that pre-tenure blogging (particularly on politics) can cause problems. And before that, I was a lawyer with real clients. I also believe that the classroom should be as nonpolitical as possible – and I don’t want conservative students to feel uncomfortable before they take a single class based on my posts. So I don’t tell them about this blog. Also, I write and research on telecom policy – and I consider blogging and academic research separate endeavors. This, frankly, is a hobby.
Privately, I don’t write under my own name for family reasons. I’m from a conservative Southern family – and there are certain family members who I’d prefer not to know about this blog (thanks Ed). Also, I have family members who are well known in my home state who have had political jobs with Republicans, and I don’t want my posts to jeopardize anything for them (thanks again).
All of these things I would have told Ed, if he had asked. Instead, I told him that I have family and professional reasons for not publishing under my own name, and he wrote back and called me an “idiot” and a “coward.” (I’ve posted the email exchange below).
So there you have it – I’ve been successfully pseudonymous since the Iowa caucuses in 2004. During that time, I’ve criticized hundreds of people – and been criticized myself by hundreds more. But this has never happened.
And yes – I criticized Whelan rather harshly. But that’s what the blogosphere is about. Blogging is not for the thin-skinned. And you would think that someone who spends their days trying to destroy other people’s reputations in dishonest and inflammatory ways wouldn’t be so childish and thin-skinned.
Again, I believe that Ed did have a right to know who it was that was criticizing him. However, I have reviewed the posts in question, and I simply do not believe that a public outing was necessary and quite frankly; it shows a lack of class and a very childish demeanor on the part of Ed Whelan. I do however disagree with the line of “But that’s what the blogosphere is about.” I feel that if you are going to criticize someone, you should have the guts to give your true identity. Criticizing someone behind the cloak of anonymity is the essence of cowardice, in my humble opinion.
The bottom line is this; if you are going criticize someone and you are going to hide behind an assumed named, you should be prepared to be exposed for the coward that you are. Further, one should not complain that they are being exposed, because a “pen name” is not a guarantee of privacy.
However, in the wake of the shooting of the abortion doctor and many of the other incidents in the last few months, one would think that Ed Whelan would have used a bit more common sense in a situation as this. But then again, we are talking about Neo-Cons. Not that they care about privacy, just ask George W. Bush. 🙄
Update: Ed Morrissey gives his take and quite surprisingly basically somewhat agrees with me. Not to rip off Redd Foxx or anything, but….This is the big one, Elizabeth I’m coming join you honey! Oh hell, Here’s Mr. Foxx doing it better, than I ever could: (Scroll to the 3:13 mark, if you want to see what I’m referring to…)
Update #2: Ed Whelan posts a follow up, further proving that he’s nothing more than a fucking asshole. But then again, you most likely already knew that. I retract this, click here to see why.
Update #3: Whelan Apologizes and Outed blogger accepts. Case Closed. Well done on both sides.
Others:The Anonymous Liberal, Washington Monthly, Outside The Beltway, JustOneMinute, Opinio Juris, The Strata-Sphere, Riehl World View, PointOfLaw Forum, PoliGazette, Sadly, No!, TBogg and Balloon Juice
The reading room: Friday Church News Notes
The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this does not imply an endorsement. For instructions on how to unsubscribe to this list or to change mailing addresses, please consult the information paragraph at the end.
HOW THE POP CULTURE HAS DUMBED DOWN SOCIETY (Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The rock & roll pop culture has been dumbing down society since its inception in the 1950s. The pop culture image of cool is the individual who excels in foolishness, the Elvis Presleys, the James Deans, the John Lennons, the rock & roll playboys, the Hollywood starlets. Influential pop culture movies such as “Blackboard Jungle,” “Rebel without a Cause,” and “The Wild One” emphasized irresponsibility, insubordination, free sex, and scholastic laziness. “The Blackboard Jungle” used a Bill Haley soundtrack to encourage young people to forget their studies and “rock around the clock.” In “Rebel without a Cause” James Dean exuded the essence of pop cool: unisex sensuality, narcissism, and rebellion to authority. “The Wild One,” played by the very cool Marlon Brando, glorified self-centered living and neglect of education. Chuck Berry’s hit “School Days” encouraged young people to exchange their boring studies for the glories of rock & roll partying: “Hail, hail rock and roll/ Deliver me from the days of old/ Long live rock and roll/ The beat of the drums, loud and bold/ Rock, rock, rock and roll/ The feelin’ is there, body and soul.” By the 1960s, the modern teenage culture was well established, with its own me-first attitude, Dionysian philosophy, oft ridiculous fashions (anything to differentiate the teenager from his elders), and particularly its own music. The modern teenager has always been driven by pop music. Rock stars set the tone. A serious education is downplayed for the sake of having “fun, fun, fun.” I was dramatically influenced by the pop culture from the time I arrived in junior high school in 1962. Though I had some God-given intelligence and love for reading, I soon realized that being a diligent student was not cool. I became far too busy being a proper pop culture teenager to give serious attention to my studies and as a result I was a mediocre to poor student. Nothing has changed since then. The term “nerd” comes from the climate of teenage cool. It defines a young person who is serious about scholarship and probably doesn’t fit in too well with the foolish but oh-so-cool crowd. I was reminded of this by a recent Associated Press report entitled “I Love Nerds” about the 2009 National Spelling Bee contestants. It observed that the bright students “stand out as a bit dorkey back home.” Jose Cabal of Miami said, “It’s like back home I’m a nerd. Up there, everyone else is a nerd.” The serious spellers have memorized tens of thousands of words and have sharpened their intellect and perfected their use of the English language, but they aren’t cool. The entire concept of the “nerd” exposes the vanity and foolishness of the pop culture. It is the “nerd” that is using his or her life sensibly, whereas the cool crowd is dedicated to vanity. The pop culture teenage philosophy typically leaves young people ignorant and deeply scarred with sin. But the power of teenage cool is enormous and the average young person is not wise enough to withstand its appeal. Many reports have been written on the decline in education in America. In 1994 the editor of Harper magazine characterized the national test scores as “a coroner’s report … [that] returned a finding of mortal ignorance.” But most studies on modern American education neglect one of the most powerful influences, which is the pop culture. When the Herman’s Hermits sang in the 1965, “Don’t know much about history/ Don’t know much biology/ Don’t know much about a science book,” they were expressing the philosophy of teenage cool.
BOMBING KILLS TWO AT CHURCH IN NEPAL (Friday Church News Notes, June 5, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – A Hindu organization took credit for a bombing on May 23 that killed two and wounded 15 others at a Catholic mass in Kathmandu, Nepal. An unidentified woman entered the church just before mass began and left the bomb behind in a bag. A second bomb was disarmed by police. The Nepal Defense Army took responsibility for the murders. This is a radical Hindu group with probable ties to extremist Hindus in India that have viciously persecuted Christians. It was formed in 2007 with the objective of reinstating a Hindu state in Nepal (hindujagruti.org, Sept. 13, 2007). The Nepal Defense Army has demanded that all Christians leave Nepal and has stated its intent to “fight against the foreign religious invaders” (telegraphnepal.com, May 30, 2009). The NDA murdered a priest in July 2008. They have also bombed a mosque and another church. Police have quietly visited the churches in Kathmandu and warned them to be on the outlook for suspicious packages.
Read More …
The Southern Avenger on “The Problem with Sotomayor”
Yeah, I know what I wrote here, But Jack does bring up some vary valid points.
—
How President Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, will place identity politics and liberal ideology above the Constitution.
The Obligatory Obama nominates Sonia Sotomayor to SCOTUS posting
Yes, I know about the story that is burning up the Blogosphere right now. I am talking about the nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor to the SCOTUS.
I suppose some of you are expecting me to go on some sort of half-cocked, loose cannon, type of rant about this. Well, surprise. I am not going to do that. Not on this one anyhow.
For starters; quite bluntly, elections have consequences. The American people decided that the George W. Bush style of rule, that being the Wilsonian, Neo-Conservative, Cowboy syle of rule was not going to stand any longer and they voted against it and John McCain and his wish-washy style of Conservatism. Instead, the American people elected a progressive; some would say, far left wing liberal President. The appointment of this lady to the SCOTUS is a direct byproduct of this. This is the normal course of a free society, and a Constitutional Republic and the cost of free elections. This is why it pays to be fully informed of whom exactly one is voting for.
For what I have read and observed on the far right; The Conservatives are acting like President Obama nominated Karl Marx. Hopefully, the Republican Party does not get into this dangerous game of stupidity with this woman. It could very well cost them dearly in the coming 2010 elections. Because you just know that the Liberals will take any sort of criticism of this woman that even remotely sounds racist and run it up a flag pole. As sad as it is for me to have to write this and make this observation; But it is the facts, quite bluntly, The Democrats are holding the cards right now and controlling the poker table; the Republican Party and the Conservative are best to just stick to the issues and the facts, and stay as far away as possible from the stupidity people like Glenn Beck. I mean, if I or some other well known blogger went off on him about his Mormon Religion or his Alcoholism or his inability to keep his first marriage together; we could be derided as haters, would we not? So, why should Beck get a free pass? He doesn’t. Not with me anyhow.
I believe in a balance of political opinion in the SCOTUS, some feel it is tiliting too far to the left. I disagree. I believe that for too long it has tiltled too far toward Conservatism. I would love to see a true blue Libertarian in there. Of course, we all know that this will never happen. So, you take what you can get.
I will be following this story and will post more, as details come out.
The Southern Avenger Says “Obama and Cheney Make Us Less Safe”
In the ongoing debate between President Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney on torture, former CIA terrorism expert Michael Scheuer points out how both leaders’ refusal to address U.S. interventionism as the primary catalyst for terrorism makes us all “less safe.”
Quote of the Day
on the morning of Thursday, April 10, 2003, Donald Rumsfeld’s Pentagon prepared a top-secret briefing for George W. Bush. This document, known as the Worldwide Intelligence Update, was a daily digest of critical military intelligence so classified that it circulated among only a handful of Pentagon leaders and the president; Rumsfeld himself often delivered it, by hand, to the White House. The briefing’s cover sheet generally featured triumphant, color images from the previous days’ war efforts: On this particular morning, it showed the statue of Saddam Hussein being pulled down in Firdos Square, a grateful Iraqi child kissing an American soldier, and jubilant crowds thronging the streets of newly liberated Baghdad. And above these images, and just below the headline secretary of defense, was a quote that may have raised some eyebrows. It came from the Bible, from the book of Psalms: “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him…To deliver their soul from death.”
[…..]
Referring to Bush and Cheney, Rumsfeld said, “I wanted them to have fun.”
But at the end of the ceremony, the president could be seen climbing into his sedan, wearing an expression that one could interpret any number of ways: guilt, disappointment, self-loathing, a general sadness. Not “fun,” however.
From beginning to end, the Rumsfeld experience was never that.
No Maggie, The problem is Social Conservatism itself
It is not everyday that I find myself talking back to the writers of the National Review‘s Blog “The Corner“.
But, I saw this entry, and I felt the need to let my feelings be known.
Maggie Gallagher, who, in typical cowardly Republican fashion, does not divulge her e-mail address in her profile; says the following:
Back a while ago, when I was complaining about Republicans who think the GOP has just too darn many religious voters (“funny, so do the Democrats”), I promised I would explain how social conservatives have contributed to this misimpression — and also to their oddly subordinated role within the GOP governing coalition.
It’s simple. Social conservatives have had bad models for political action. We’ve depended on two basic strategies, and neither of them work very well:
1. The Mass-Uprising Model. “The people will rise up and throw off their oppressors spontaneously.” Well, it’s nice when it happens, but it’s hardly a plan, is it?
2. The Secular-Messiah Model: Join with others in the GOP to elect a godly man to office and then expect him to solve all your problems for you. This last model resulted in me fielding calls from reporters about whether or not I thought Bush was responsible for failing to pass a Federal Marriage Amendment — at a time when the poor man was 33 percent in the polls. Gay-rights groups don’t behave like this. They understand it’s their job to make it easy for politicians to do what they ask, not the other way around.
Social conservatives simply have not been in politics. We lack institutions that can defeat our enemies and directly assist our friends.
After a while, threatening to leave the coalition unless the coalition does what you want gets old. And tiring. And ineffective. It makes your allies not like you very much. Social conservatives talk like that because it’s our one lever of power.
Time to get some new levers.
No Megan, what it is time for; is this, it is time for the social Conservatives to leave the Republican Party and make alliances with a new Party, like the “America First” Party or something similar. I am going to be perfectly blunt, the Social Conservatism movement is, essentially a very bad joke. A perfect example would be no other than Sarah Palin. That is correct, Sarah Palin. I mean this woman, who before the 2008 election was a little known Governor outside of the state of Alaska. John McCain selects her, on a whim, and attempts to steal Hillary’s voters away from Barack Obama. We see how well that worked out, did we not? It is quite the buzz kill and sobering dose of reality to point this out. Nevertheless, because I believe in the truth; even when it is not considered popular or even politically correct; I will state the obvious.
Sarah Palin came charging to the forefront of the Republican scene, like an Alaska Buffalo on the prairie farm. She was to come in, riding on the White Horse of Social Conservatism, she was the evangelical Church’s new female Messiah, and she was going to wrangle the victory away from those who were going to try to expand the Government to Anti-Christ-like Levels. Again, as I wrote a minute ago, we all see how that worked out, did we not?
Instead, Sarah Palin became the poster woman of everything that is essentially wrong with the Evangelical Christian movement as a whole. One of the biggest and most grotesque problems with the movement as a whole is just innate and abject hypocrisy. Sarah Palin came into the 2008 election as the beacon of moral pureness. By the time, the people had come to vote, Palin was exposed as someone; who preached moral values, but her own children were not even listening. In fact, her own daughter said that abstinence was unrealistic.
To add insult to injury, instead of Sarah Palin leaving the McCain campaign taking her family back to Alaska and salvaging what little of a political career that she actually had left. Instead she continues to bring a black mark to the campaign of John McCain and allows his campaign to be trounced by one the most unqualified candidates ever. Further, instead of actually owning up to her daughters mistakes and basically admitting that she lied about her daughter and also admitting that her accepting the offer John McCain was a mistake; Palin then spins her daughters sexual promiscuity into this sister souljah moment. Frankly, it was quite sickening to watch.
Meggie, the Religious do-gooders do not need levers. They need to stop trying to pull levers, because every time they do. The secular world sees them for exactly for what they are. You would have thought the Conservative Christian world would have learned this lesson in the 1980’s. I suppose some dogs are not trained as quickly as others are.
Others: Politics Daily and AmSpec Blog
The Southern Avenger says “Just Say No” to Government
When South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford was attacked by Republican state leaders for not accepting federal stimulus dollars, it was worth pointing out the utter uselessness of GOP politicians who refuse to follow through on their conservative rhetoric.
Terrorist plot to blow up Jewish Synagogues in the Bronx thwarted
This news broke last night, but I was not in any mood to write about it.
Video Report, showing NY’s Mayor Bloomberg:
Four men were arrested Wednesday night in what the authorities said was a plot to bomb two synagogues in the Bronx and shoot down military planes at an Air National Guard base in Newburgh, N.Y.
The men, all of whom live in Newburgh, about 60 miles north of New York City, were arrested around 9 p.m. after planting what they believed to be bombs in cars outside the Riverdale Temple and the nearby Riverdale Jewish Center, officials said. But the men did not know the bombs, obtained with the help of an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, were fake.
The arrests capped what officials described as a “painstaking investigation” that began in June 2008 involving an F.B.I. agent who had been told by a federal informant of the men’s desire to attack targets in America. As part of the plot, the men intended to fire Stinger missiles at military aircraft at the base, which is at Stewart International Airport, officials said.
“This latest attempt to attack our freedoms shows that the homeland security threats against New York City are sadly all too real and underscores why we must remain vigilant in our efforts to prevent terrorism,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said in a statement. The mayor was expected to appear at 6:45 a.m. Thursday at the Riverdale Jewish Center morning services, joined by Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly.
The charges against the four men represent some of the most significant allegations of domestic terrorism in some time, and come months into a new presidential administration, as President Obama grapples with the question of how to handle detainees at the Guantánamo Bay camp in Cuba.
Rabbi Jonathan I. Rosenblatt, the senior rabbi at the Riverdale Jewish Center, a modern Orthodox congregation, said the police informed him on Wednesday evening that his synagogue was a target of the plot, as well as the Riverdale Temple, a Reform synagogue that is a short distance away, on Independence Avenue. The two buildings are about six blocks apart, each with a brick facade. Outside the synagogues on Wednesday night, the streets were eerily quiet.
Rabbi Rosenblatt said in a phone interview that he took the news with “shock, surprise — a sense of disbelief that something which is supposed to belong to the world of front pages and the evening news had invaded the quiet world of our synagogue.”
via 4 Accused of Bombing Plot at Bronx Synagogues – NYTimes.com.
Of course, the Neo-Conservative Blogs are all over this one. A couple of things to point out:
- There’s no proof at all, that these guys were connected to any sort of formal terrorist group
- They never were able to obtain any sort of real weapons
So, what we have here is a group of wanna-be’s who got caught. This is what, the second time? The first was the much hyped Fort Dix plot; which turned out to be a great deal of nothing. I am sure that the Conservative media and blogs are going to hype this for all it is worth. The liberal-controlled media; hopefully, will take a more reasoned approach to the situation and report the facts, and shy away from the hype.
Do not misunderstand me here. I personally believe that the war on terrorism, as George W. Bush rightfully called it, is quite real. However, I have a hard time believing that this group of bumbling idiots were a part of it formally. If anything, these guys were a group of morons who could not even make a pipe bomb; much less a damn bomb capable of causing any sort of real damage.
As to why they did it. These guys were upset about our involvement in Afghanistan. We can expect to see this sort of a thing, as that War progresses. Now the idiots on the far liberal left will try and say that this is why we should leave Afghanistan. Which any sane, rational person knows is foolish. We should not leave until Osama and his henchmen are dead and Al-Qaeda is formally defeated. Some say this is impossible. I believe nothing is impossible, if it is done correctly. The far left likes to bring up that Russia tried to fight a war in this region and ended up pulling out. I say; apples and oranges. Different kind of a war, and the Russians did not have nearly the Military that we have and the technology that we have today.
The good thing about all this is, that this terrorist cell was broken up and these idiots are going to jail. Thanks to the fine work of our men at the F.B.I. Good show guys, keep up the good work.
Update: …and then there’s the Libertarian conspiracy theorist angle. No wonder the Republicans think that most libertarians are kooks.
The Southern Avenger on “Lindsey Graham Republicans”
When Lindsey Graham denounced Ron Paul-style libertarianism and advocated for George W. Bush-style neoconservatism during a speech at the South Carolina Republican Convention, it was worth pointing out that Graham’s suggested GOP path is the road to nowhere.
Video: Your Monthly Awesome Gun Shootin’ Video
The owner of this video sent this to me. Enjoy!
These guys are shooting SKS’s, Remington 870, Marlin 60, and Ruger Mkiii 22/45