Shades of Grey

Allahpundit, Hot Air, has the video of Dennis Miller trashing Dirty Harry Reid.

H/T: Michelle Malkin.

“Rightist” being a relative term in France, of course. The “right” proposes tough new reforms to employment law, like, if you walk into work and piss all over your boss’ desk and then rub your dirty ass on his hat while pantomiming tea-bagging his daughter, you’re required to clean the mess up within 72 hours. Borderline fascist stuff like that.

Ace captures this so very well… I mean, aren’t these the same people that are claiming that Bush  was the latest implementation of Adolf Hitler?

Cheers and a hearty BBCT to Ace, who wins the award, and Reader John S, who brought this one to my attention, and so wins the other award.

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces killed a terrorist leader and detained three other suspected terrorists during an operation in Baghdad June 5 to disrupt a bombing network in the city.

Intelligence reports indicated the targeted building in the raid was a residence known to be a safe house for the targeted individual.

As Coalition Forces were securing the targeted building, numerous suspected terrorists attempted to flee and were detained by ground forces.  One terrorist made continuous hostile attempts to evade the ground forces and refused to listen to instructions given by the interpreter with Coalition Forces.

Coalition Forces, responding in self-defense, engaged the terrorist, killing him. Three suspected terrorists were also detained during the raid.

Muhammad Mahmud ‘Abd Kazim Husayn al-Mashadani, also known as Abu Abdullah, was the terrorist killed during the raid.  He was a known al-Qaeda emir in the Hay al-Jamah area of Baghdad and part of a deadly vehicle-borne improvised explosive device cell.  He was positively identified as Muhammad Mahmud ‘Abd Kazim Husayn al-Mashadani by associates and individuals detained during the raid.

“A key link in the VBIED network has been removed,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson.  “We will continue to assault the VBIED network in order to stop their indiscriminate attacks against the people of Iraq.”

Source: US Centcom 

So why is it we can get the press to relate this?  Can it be they don’t want us to know positive things are happening there?

Chuck Simmins over at America’s North Shore Journal, has been putting together a study on the results of the surge effort thusfar… and it’s more encouraging than the left and the press would have you know.

Go see.

As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher’s Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around…  per the Watcher’s instructions, I am submitting one of my own posts for consideration in the upcoming nominations process.
Here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.

Just when it seemed Joe Lieberman’s neocon qualities couldn’t get any more offensive, he manages to kick things up a notch.

This morning on CBS’s Face the Nation, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) strongly advocated preparing for a strike against Iran.

“I think we have to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the Iranians to stop them from killing Americans in Iraq,” Lieberman said. Host Bob Schieffer followed-up: “Let’s just stop right there. Because I think you probably made some news here, Senator Lieberman. You’re saying that if the Iranians don’t let up, that the United States should take military action?” “I am,” Lieberman responded.

Lieberman added that “if there’s any hope” of stopping Iran’s nuclear program, “we can’t just talk to them…. We’ve got to use our force and to me that would include taking military action.”

When John McCain sang about bombing Iran, he was kidding. Regrettably, Lieberman wasn’t.

Just when it seemed that the denizens of “talking points memo” couldn’t possibly get any more stupid, they give stupid  a miss, and take three steps beyond it, toward suicidal idiocy .

The fact of the matter is, the left’s not liking this point notwithstanding, Joe Lieberman is correct. indeed our involvement in Iraq is one of the few things that Joe Lieberman is actually been correct on.

Iranians have shown no signs of backing off, no signs of respecting any international authority whatever. Meantime, the domestic left, has decided to allow Iran into a position of destroying us via nuclear bombs, as if that’s going to make the situation any better. … to say nothing of Iran’s intrusions in Iraq.
At what point is capitulation not in the best interests of America, according to these people?  Or is it rather the case, that the best interests of America is not what they supposedly American left has in mind?

What I do not like are ignorant bigots who oppose Scouting.  On the other boot, what I love is eternal human spirit that glows when events are the darkest.  The Anchoress has heart warming story about ‘Scouting in Baghdad.”   Just the kind of story that makes you feel better on a Sunday morning.

Don Surber has outdone himself and posted a one writer circus.   Go read it here.    It seems it was a good week after all.  Here’s hoping Don makes this a regular feature.

I like to hike, a lot, but I just do not understand this:

Outdoor adventurers call this pastime speed hiking. It combines the muscle-building benefits of altitude gain with fast-paced aerobic activity, which keeps heart rates high. Fast hikers usually wear lightweight footwear and hydration backpacks and minimize what they carry. Most trips are done in a day.

(New York Times)

If all you want is the exercise, buy a treadmill.

H/T:  Breitbart)

Another in McQ’s PROJECT HERO series…

Today we honor another one, this time in Afghanistan, where, under violent and adverse conditions 26 year old Staff Sergeant Stephen Achey risked his life to ensure the safety of his mates and the success of their mission….

Project hero, is a worthy attempt on McQ’s part to remind us that we have heroes among us.  Further, that these need to be honored as such.  We at BitsBlog are proud to lend our voice to such a project.

I’m getting more than a little bit tired of this kind of nonsense from people that ought to know better .

Via WorldNetDaily we have Ann Coulter in all her glory: Bush’s America: Roach motel in which she rants about immigration.

The grandest irony in the piece is that in the second paragraph she ponders:

I don’t know why conservatives like Linda Chavez have to argue like liberals by smearing their opponents as racists.

She then launches into an incoherent argument that Ted Kennedy personally decided to change American immigration policies so as to increase the number of Third World natives in the US to affect “a dramatic chance in the nation’s demographics.” And his goal was to

radically transform the racial composition of the country. Instead of taking 15 immigrants from England and three from China, America would henceforth take three from England and 15 from China. Payback’s a bitch, Daughters of the American Revolution!

Coulter’s entire argument is wholly predicated on calling up bogeymen. First is the notion that this is all about Ted Kennedy, perhaps the member of Congress least liked by hardcore conservatives; and second the idea that there is some grand conspiracy to change American demographics (i.e., race). The almost nonsensical reference to the Daughter of the American Revolution is clearly an attempt to label this change as somehow a reversal of American ideals.

What this is based on, however, is rather unclear. I may not be a fan of Ted Kennedy’s, but the notion that he has been on some kind of subversive anti-American crusade since 1965 is beyond ludicrous.

Steven, your statement doesn’t mesh with the facts.  Kennedy has in fact been on such a crusade.  And for quite a bit longer than 1965.  He’s also been for a number of years in flagrant violation of our laws.  One that I can consider blatantly obvious is the law as regards Murder.

Had you forgotten?

More, however, to the point, is this charge of racism that so often gets leveled, and in this case was repeated by somebody who ought to know better, namely Steven Taylor.

He argues, of course,

My point is that a human being is a human being and all are equally capable of being fully American and adhering to the ideals of America.

All very politically correct, and axiomatic… bumper- sticker- ish, in fact.
But let’s dig deeper, shall we?

Capable, perhaps.  But do they have the desire? The number of groups that are saying very loudly that they intend to take over and dismantle our society, suggests not.

Let’s get this straight; Race has nothing to do with this. Indeed; Personally, I wouldn’t mind opening up the border two people who want to become citizens. But that’s not the issue, here.

The issue is the much larger number of people who want to come here grab the money take over what of our society they can whilst sending the money to Mexico. Such people have made themselves into the face of the immigration debate. But this is a false image.

They have come here in large numbers and demanding that we speak their language, that we change our government schools to teach what they think is important, they want access to all the laws that they like such as welfare programs, housing subsidy, school subsidy, Social Security etc. etc. and then the laws that they don’t think should apply to them such as immigration, tax laws, car registrations, insurance requirements, and so on they flat out ignore.

Rather like Senator Oldsmobile, huh?
That point aside, somehow this doesn’t strike me as wanting to be a “citizen”. Are you really saying that this is something that we shouldn’t have a say in? All of this becomes a matter for the American taxpayer to fund, but apparently they are not allowed to object… if they do they’re tagged as ‘racist’.

Such a charge misdirects the conversation, perhaps intentionally so on the part of some. For example, the aforementioned Hispanic groups.

The sad part is, Steven, that you know better. Or you should. We’re not dealing with matters of race. We’re dealing with matters of culture, and the continuance of America as such. Quit leaning on the crutch of “you’re being a racist”. The false pretext, does your argument no good whatever.

On the other hand, without that false pretext, what would your argument be, then?

Suppose President Bush had to go in for some elective surgery that necessitated anesthesia and, with his temporary executive authority, Dick Cheney pardoned Scooter Libby.  A grave injustice would be remedied and we could watch a massive breakout of Paris Hilton’s symptoms on the Left.

Kate had me laughing for a half hour with this one.  She’s correct, of course…. the howling from a few hundred cats being skinned alive would not compare to the screaming the left would generate. Can’t you see the press going to wall-to-wall mode on that one?

BBCT The Corner

Everybody on the planet that has a web site was discussing the subject of Paris Hilton yesterday, and how she was headed back to jail.  I must admit watching the whole thing with a certain level of satisfaction. How, after all, can one watch events like that, and then see equality under the law finally win out despite it all, and not feel satisfied over the outcome? Well, of course not everyone feels that way, which is the subject, here.

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Despite watching it yesterday, I didn’t bother with blogging it, for a couple of reasons….  But I think the most important one, was that I didn’t believe the situation would stick long enough.  I figured she’d manage to wriggle our way out of it, yet again. And she yet may. Certainly they’re trying to soften the blow, here. (Pardon the pun)

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I notice, for example, that she’s spending at least the weekend in what passes for a mental health containment unit. initially, I thought this might have been a situation of either they were going easy on her again, or perhaps the Sheriff’s department is trying its best to accommodate the situation .  After all, the other prisoners were likely to take offense to the treatment provided this primadonna.  But I wonder, if such a venue isn’t appropriate; I don’t know of anyone who can watch that situation, particularly as regards the impending train wreck that her life has become, and not wonder about her mental stability, or rather, the lack of it.
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In watching this, however, one almost gets the feeling that the whole thing is being orchestrated for a purpose.  Or, at least WAS, at the beginning.

Think; Here is an individual who apparently has no redeeming qualities about her whatsoever.  None.  There are Hookers in any city or town in America that have talent that this woman does not have.  Those same streetwalkers probably have more in the way of morality about them as well.

She can’t act. (Save for the crying scenes we were treated to these last few days.) If you’ve heard the recordings that they’ve released on her, she darned well can’t SING.  (Though, given the quality of most popular these days, that certainly doesn’t inhibit her recording career .) She’s not known as a dancer.  Her philanthropic qualities are of something less than legendary status.
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So, how does one so bereft of any outstanding talent or redeeming quality, call attention to herself with such outstanding success?  On what basis is it that she attracts such?  And, come to think of it, on what basis — does she garner the kind of sympathetic support she has ? Publicity. The kind of publicity that only being a flagrant slut can cause.  I can’t help but wonder if at least some of this isn’t an orchestrated effort to get her name out in front of the public.

That said, there are two types of publicity, good and bad.  What could take such bad publicity and turn it into a positive as she has apparently done, here?  After all, the woman has turned into something of a cultural phenomenon.

The only thing I can think of, is the issue of money.  She’s certainly got it.  Indeed, it it’s probably the only thing she’s got going for herself.

Speaking of mentally unstable, and as an aside, I see where the left is already starting to blame others for her misdeeds .  And guess who they are blaming?  Jules Crittenden observes:

My mistake, she’s not an irresponsible privileged and pampered victim of society at all. She’s a victim of Bush, or would be, if he suspended habeas corpus in the United States. It’s all clear to me now. Thanks, TalkLeft, for the translation of “habeas corpus” and the explanation of the politic ramifications of the Paris Hilton affair:

… Paris will spend the weekend in the medical facility of the jail and her lawyers will file a writ of habeas corpus for her on Monday. Habeas corpus literally means “bring forth the body.”* At least she still has the right to bring one, unlike those at Guantanamo, and if we don’t watch the Republicans in Congress closely, none of us may in the future depending on what crimes we’re charged with and where they decide to house us.

* In Pig Latin, which is linguistically a close cousin to Bushian Newspeak, that’s “Ring-Bay Orth-fay the Oddy-bay.” It literally means “habeas corpus.”

Leftfield revels in the comeuppance:

No one is above the law, not Administration Lapdogs like Scooter Libby and not Pampered Princesses.

Interesting how that all gets rolled together.  Sounds like class warfare.

Yes, isn’t it?

Frankly, (and here’s the point of all of this)…  given the number of “second chances” she received, before finally being told to get her shapely and much- used booty to the hoosegow, I wonder about the long-term consequences of cases like this. Consider with me; What finally sent her to the slam, was ticking off the wrong judge. The message being sent, is that it’s OK to flaunt the law, but you’d better not flaunt the black robes. Is that really the message that we want to send? That doesn’t seem to make a great deal of sense, but there it is.

I think what we’re dealing with is another level of class warfare… in reverse.

Seriously.

BBCT Photo:Ace

There is an undercurrent through all of this, that suggests a sentiment amongst much of the country, that the rich and privileged still get protected from the consequences of their crimes. That’s supposed to be a bad thing.  And yet, look at the amount of support that she receives in public opinion and news coverage.
So the question becomes do the rich and famous get a pass on the consequences of their crimes, because a goodly number of us want it that way? I commented the other day about the amount of coverage that she was getting.  Since then, Matt Drudge has spent the last several days in wall to wall “Paris Hilton” mode as have a number of other sites such as TMZ, and so on. The mainstream news organizations have not been immune to this either, as I’ve pointed out recently.  Much as I bitch about it, I’ve been forced to comment a few times. but I think I’m beginning to understand why all this is true. The first conclusion that one draws, given news is driven by polling and popularity contests anymore, is that there is a good deal o demand for this subject; the public wants it so.  Why?

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The answer is both more complex to describe and simple to understand, than most people will admit. And, lest we forget this, it’s the same thing that drove the over-wrought coverage of Anna Nichole Smith.

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I think it was Robert Frost, who poetically suggested that there is something in human nature that doesn’t like a wall.  We, the common people, the less than millionaires, face many walls…. which in reality is what drives class warfare, from both sides.

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We’re never going to be a rich.  We’re never going to be young again.  In all likelihood we’re never going to be as irresponsible as we were in our youth. However we are cosmetically altered, we won’t look that way again, much less be that young.  The concept of running around in public in a short dress with no underwear, is a concept restricted for our wildest fantasies, as is the concept of multiple sexual partners in one life, much less one night.  all responsible people sees that the kind of choices that Paris Hilton makes are self destructive.

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Yet there is a certain side of us that refuses to let that kind of fantasy disappear .  And so, when, despite our innate understanding of the self destructiveness of the situation, along comes somebody who has all of those qualities, we watch with a certain drooling longing.  What develops, is a relationship which is both distant and highly vicarious in nature.

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It’s my opinion that from a viewpoint of the protection of our society and our culture, it is more important in this case than most, to make sure that the law does, in fact, get enforced.  Failure to do so, can only encourage more of the irresponsible behavior that Paris Hilton has so flagrantly engaged in.  I will leave to your own thought processes the consequences that would incur.  There are those who would argue that this is making an example of Paris Hilton. Perhaps that’s true.

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On the other hand, she’s the one who put herself in that position of being that example.

Hot Air has lots more

As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher’s Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around…  per the Watcher’s instructions, I am submitting one of our own posts for consideration in the upcoming nominations process.
Here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.