Pacifists and Anti-American Protests

Editor's Note:  Anti-war dissent began even before the war started in Iraq.  Part of this may be just reaction to President Bush's sudden popularity, but some of it is coming from people who clearly do not see the United States as having any moral justification for fighting back when attacked.  There are plenty of people who insist on waiting for permission from the United Nations before making any military move, but there are many others who, for their own political benefit, don't want to see a Republican president successfully defend or avenge the United States.

More recently, anti-war dissent has come from all over the political spectrum, because the invasion of Iraq and removal of Saddam Hussein was a good thing, but the Iraqi people have failed to pick up the ball and run with it.  So now we're stuck there, trying to get people to act like they live in 21st century civilization.  It may get very ugly when the U.S. pulls out of Iraq, just as it did when the U.S. left Vietnam.
When your country is attacked, there can be no "peace" movement.
 Featured speakers:
Cindy Sheehan,
Congressman John Murtha,
Congressman Charlie Rangel,
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney,
Senator Harry Reid,
Code Pink,
Jane Fonda, and
The Dixie Chicks.

Material about specific individuals has been moved to the bottom of the page, for the benefit of those who came to this page looking for generic anti-anti-war commentary, which is at the top of the page.  These subsections might be about to split off to a page of their own.

The so-called "peace" movement divides Americans and gives aid and comfort to our enemies.
 Anti-war crowd silent since Obama took over.  The silence is deafening.  That would be the silence of the hams, the people who for years waved signs, screamed about the evil Bush administration's war on Iraq, defaced stop signs with silly slogans, shed crocodile tears on news of the deaths of American soldiers and generally did all they could to vilify other Americans who might disagree.

Peaceniks Target Killer Drones.  For nearly 30 years, Father Louie Vitale — a 76-year-old former Air Force navigator turned Franciscan monk and peace activist — has traveled to the remote deserts of the Southwest to demonstrate against ... well, just about everything involving America's military.

Obama's War Policies Worse than Bush's, Anti-War Activist Says.  President Barack Obama's war policies in Iraq and Afghanistan are criminal and worse than those of former President Bush, according to Adam Kokesh, who serves on the board of directors of the anti-war group Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW).  Kokesh and other members of the IVAW gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to call on Obama to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

U.S. deserter ordered to leave Canada.  The first female U.S. Iraq war resister to seek refuge in Canada has been ordered to leave the country before the end of the month or face deportation. ... Roughly 200 American war resisters are believed to be living in Canada at this time.  A handful have been ordered to leave, and await court rulings to determine whether they can appeal the orders.

The Wilting Anti-War Movement:  Anti-war movements are a fixture of American culture dating back to the Revolution. Americans argue about their wars before, during and after.  That's an inherent feature of how democracies go to war.  Nevertheless, the role of dissenters in shaping American attitudes is particularly overblown.  Americans like to make up their own minds.  Anti-war movements don't drive public will.  They ride the crest of the public opinion wave.

How the Party of Defeat Lost Fallujah:  A new assessment produced by the U.S. Army has found the military's fiercest foes did not receive their training from al-Qaeda, Ansar al-Islam, or Hezbollah, but from Harvard University, the Columbia School of Journalism, and the New York Times editorial board.  An assessment produced by analysts at the U.S. Army's National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC) has found the hardest-fought battle of the Iraq War, the siege of Fallujah in April 2004, was lost not on the battlefield but in the court of public opinion.

No Vote for the Troops.  Even Barack Obama, who opposed the Iraq troop surge, has finally acknowledged its success.  But some of his fellow Democrats in Congress apparently remain unconvinced.  Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin teamed up to block a vote on a bipartisan resolution "recognizing the strategic success of the troop surge in Iraq" and thanking our men and women in uniform for their efforts.

Pacifism:  The Last Refuge of Hypocrites.  The left makes no secret of the fact that they hate war.  But the truth of the matter is that their opposition to armed conflict is situational.  It depends entirely on the party affiliation of the commander in chief and, of course, on the politics of the enemy.

An unlikely alliance:  What do the far left and Islamists have in common?  Not a lot, you may say, but you would be wrong.  Despite being ideologically at the extremes of the political spectrum, they in fact share one worrying trait. ... By having a common foe in western capitalism, which they conveniently blame for all of the world's ills, they have developed a marriage of convenience against the odds.

Losing the Information War with Amendment 56.  The Democrats are angry.  Despite investing enormous effort undermining the military, things are going fairly well in Iraq.  General Petraeus and the surge have been a success, not that you would know that from the media coverage, which has been, to say the least, sparse.  The anti-Bush themes of an "Iraqi quagmire" and "surge failure" were premature, and all the congressional show hearings, the choreographed Code Pink performance art and the MoveOn.org smears were for naught.

Great Surge, Let's Quit.  It's official.  There will be no more argument from the Democrats about the success of the troop surge.  Their plan is to bury their error in judgment in a larger fabricated argument about American hegemony.

Veterans don't forget.  Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid say they "support the troops," but they have long seemed determined to quickly surrender the achievements of our military, no matter the consequences.  If they had their way, the lasting damage of their politically-motivated inflexibility would surely include a widening of the divide between those who serve in uniform and those who merely claim to support them.  They just don't get it.

Obama's "No":  In an interview yesterday [7/21/2008] with Senator Obama, ABC's Terry Moran listed just a few of the by now seemingly endless data points demonstrating that the so-called surge, which Obama opposed at the time it was announced, is a success.  Moran then asked this (excellent) question:  Knowing what you know now, would you support the surge?"  Obama's answer was, "No."

Antiwar Hypocrites.  Am I the only one who's noticed the silence?  Mere months ago, left-wing bloggers and demonstrators were wailing Support our troops, bring them home! seven days a week.  Now their presidential candidate has announced that he won't bring all those troops home, but will simply transfer combat forces from Iraq to Afghanistan — expanding that war.  (He's discussed possibly invading Pakistan, too.)  And the left's quiet as a graveyard at midnight.

Liberals Need To Learn That Weakness Invites Attack.  Bad actors on the international scene, whether they be rogue nations or terrorists, cannot be wished away, nor can they always be convinced to see the error of their ways with sweet reason.  Moreover, the sad fact is that paradoxically, if the West doesn't prepare for armed conflict or eschews the cruel but necessary parts of it, it will only invite more violence and turmoil.

Safe From Truth:  House Democrats have passed a bill to stifle the good news that we're winning in Iraq.  They are so invested in losing that they apparently fear a popular backlash against them from victory.

"We're Not Leftists.  We're Much More Radical Than That".  The officials of modern pacifist denominations have largely coalesced with the larger Religious Left in demanding that Christianity reject all force at all times.  Often they will condemn specific U.S. military actions while not fully explaining that even if Osama bin Laden were openly targeting a nuke at an American city, they would oppose any physical force against him.  For the modern Religious Left, every security situation should be addressed through aggressive "peacemaking," apologies, or increased international welfare as an atonement.

The Left's Fairy Tale:  The trouble with the leftists' view of the war on terrorism is not merely that they believe lies, as we have so frequently and so recently proven they do.  The problem is they believe so many lies, errors so ahistorical and counterfactual as to represent an unreality.  The leftist's myths, intricately layered and mutually reinforcing, bond in such a way as to enclose their adherent within an ideologically driven mania.

Caught Between Iraq and a Hard Base.  [In late 2006] Democrats had a foolproof plan to gain power:  Use the "disastrous" war in Iraq to split the Republican base off from the center, force Republicans in Congress to desert the president, defund the war effort, and compel withdrawal.  Declaring defeat in advance, and even embracing it, they tried to cripple the surge before it started.  Nancy Pelosi in the House and Harry Reid in the Senate led a chorus of Democrats who declared the war lost.

Memory and the Left:  It's difficult to avoid exasperation over the left's absolute refusal to acknowledge the new realities of the Iraq war.  The surge, the Anbar awakening, the collapse of the militias (particularly that belonging to everybody's favorite would-be caliph, Moqtada al-Sadr) — it's as if none of it ever happened, as if one the most impressive turnabouts in modern military annals never took place.  The left, including its Democratic political wing and placeholders in the media, continue on with the same defeatist drone that we've heard since 2003….

Higher Folly:  Diplomas won't make jihadis go away.  In all the brouhaha over the New Yorker's satirical cover cartoon of Barack and Michelle Obama, a truly "tasteless and offensive" passage in the magazine's feature article got lost.  The magazine piece quotes Obama's recommendations for how to stop jihad, which he had previously published in a local Chicago newspaper eight days after 9/11.  It's a self-parody of blind, deaf, and dumb Kumbaya liberalism.

The Politics of Peace:  What's behind the anti-war movement?  Many of the organizers against the Iraq War are the same people who in 1968 disrupted the nation during the Vietnam War and helped push Lyndon Johnson from office.  The new anti-war movement has centered on an umbrella group named International ANSWER (an acronym for "Act Now to Stop War and End Racism").  However, under that new name is an old political group:  ANSWER is an off-spring of Workers World, a Communist splinter party.

Party of Defeat.  Criticism of government policy is essential to a democracy.  But in the last five years the Democratic Party has crossed the line from criticism of war policy to fundamental sabotage of the war itself, a position no American party has taken until now.

The ugly face of peace, anti-war style.  [Scroll down]  "Soon thereafter, I was walking to another appointment when I found myself stalked by the radicals who pulled up alongside me in a car yelling obscenities at me for daring to report on their disgusting conduct," [Move America Forward]'s diminutive Melanie Morgan told Canada Free Press (CFP).  "What angers me most is that these people don't stop there," said Morgan.  "They've planted bombs at recruiting centers (not allegedly just at Times Square but St. Louis too!).  They pumped eight rounds of gunfire into the Denver military recruiting center.  They've set fire to recruiting centers in San Jose, CA and Asheville, NC.

Vultures of the Left.  A ranking member of the U.S. government, [Senator Harry] Reid responded to a major terrorist attack by calling for surrender. … The vultures of the left habitually hover, waiting for bad news from Iraq.  Whatever bad thing happens becomes their propaganda item du jour.

They Really Do Plan to Surrender.  The surge's success so far has defanged the antiwar movement — for the moment. … If John McCain is elected president, Petraeus and Crocker will probably have the backing of the new administration.  But no matter who is elected in November, a large-scale American military and economic commitment to Iraq may outlast the Bush presidency.

An anti-anti-war protest...
 Protesting the Antiwar Protestors:  [Rich] Davis, 54, is a pro-military protester who makes a public stand each week in support of the troops and their mission.  In 2001, Mr. Davis retired from the Navy and ended up settling in West Chester, where he spent 2006 and 2007 watching antiwar protesters rally each Saturday from 11 a.m. until noon outside the courthouse near his apartment.

Southfield Muslim charity executive indicted as spy.  A former top official with the Southfield-based Muslim charity Life for Relief and Development spied for the regime of the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and organized a 2002 congressional junket to Iraq secretly paid for by the Iraqi Intelligence Service, a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday alleges.  There is no evidence the congressmen knew Iraqi intelligence paid for the trip.  The indictment does not identify the congressmen, but records show former U.S. Rep David Bonior, D-Mount Clemens, and two other congressmen made that trip to Iraq.

Same story as above:
 Saddam And The Three Stooges:  As the U.S. prepared for war in October 2002, Washington state's Jim McDermott flew to Iraq on a Saddam-praising junket with fellow Democrats Mike Thompson of California and David Bonior of Michigan.  Rather than support the U.S., they condemned U.N. sanctions, vouched for Saddam's probity and publicly declared America's democratically elected president a liar. … Now we learn the junket was just as it seemed at the time — a Saddam-paid propaganda production, starring three U.S. dupes.

More commentary on the same story:
 Three Blind Mice.  There was a time in this country (when people cared about such things) that those three Congressmen would have been severely reprimanded by their colleagues for being so stupid as to become a paid stooge for a murderous, thuggish, dictator like Saddam Hussein.  No more.  Instead, this entire incident will be brushed off as a "non-story." … It takes a special kind of idiot to take the Iraqis "at their face value."

Saddam's Useful Idiots:  Keeping up a long, ignoble tradition of the American Left.  Fresh allegations that Iraqi intelligence funded the prewar propaganda trip to Saddam Hussein's Iraq by U.S. Representatives Jim McDermott, David Bonior, and Mike Thompson should not surprise anyone familiar with the history of the American Left.  Ideological tourism, in which totalitarian powers engineer the junkets of influential leftists in exchange for positive publicity in the enemy nation, has seduced the likes of such radical heavyweights as Lincoln Steffens, W.E.B Du Bois, John Reed, and Tom Hayden.

Vandals dump paint on veterans memorial.  Vandals dumped a bucket of red paint on a downtown veterans memorial this morning, the fifth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, in what police suspect was a symbolic act of protest.  Passers-by spotted the blood-toned paint on the Anchorage Veterans Memorial, in the Delaney Park Strip off I Street, during the morning commute and reported it to police.

Two Marvelous Gifts From the Democrats in Santa's Workshop:  Mustering the moxie to approve just one of a dozen appropriations bills for the fiscal year begun Oct. 1 — the defense appropriation bill — they stripped it of $96 billion for the troops in Iraq, saying the measure can wait until oh, some time next year.  Proclaiming their support for the troops but insisting U.S. and allied forces could not prevail in Iraq, now, amid mounting indicators of success, they are doing their best to ensure allied defeat.

Introspection Was the Rage.  The left simply cannot imagine itself opposing any anti-American ideology no matter how depraved.  And it is hard to imagine one more depraved than Islamofascism, which seeks to do Hitler one better as regards the Jews and, for good measure, enslave the rest of us.  It is precisely the same type of intellectual who once apologized for the Nazis and the Bolsheviks, who is now able to apologize for the Bin Ladenists.

As we land punches in Iraq, Dems just hit the canvas.  "War is just like boxing," said Gen. George Patton.  "When you get your opponent on the ropes, you must keep punching the hell out of him and not let him recover."  Today in Iraq, the enemy is on the ropes.  Our Air Force has pummeled Al Qaeda with 40,000 pounds of bombs.  Soldiers and Marines have reduced northern Al Qaeda safe havens to rubble.  Contractors are delivering tons of supplies and securing our diplomats.

Dems in Denial Over Iraq Recovery.  The pessimists and defeatists who declared the surge doomed and prophesied that we were digging ourselves into a deeper hole have been proven wrong.  The story of Iraq at this point is that terrorists have been killed, captured or driven out of territory retaken and cleansed by American and Iraqi forces — a coalition that has stabilized much of the country.

With success in Iraq, Democrats must find new outlet for anger.  The once-noisy opposition has been reduced to whimpering today.  Why?  That's easy.  They all misjudged where so many Americans are on the Iraq war.  Most Americans are not opposed to Iraq as a matter of values, but as a matter of execution.  The surge of troops that then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, Sen. John McCain and others called for three years ago finally happened about seven months ago, and real progress is now being made.

Democrats Taking Cues From Left-Wing Group, McConnell Says.  The people connected with MoveOn seem to be "recycled from the 1960s," said [Senator Mitch] McConnell.  "They are not interested in what's good for the country in my view, and they don't care if our soldiers leave without honor and it's clear they don't respect General Petraeus at all, who almost everyone thinks is a straight shooter and an outstanding general."

Who Has Betrayed Whom?  The ad itself accused General Petraeus of betraying America and "cooking the books for the White House," of lying, in other words.  The Soros-backed, MoveOn folks made a number of scurrilous charges, most of which were easily debunked by the Washington Post Fact Checker, who gave the ad a three-Pinocchio label for dishonesty, stating that Move On's charges contained "significant factual error and/or obvious contradictions."

A war report discredited.  Naturally there was great interest when the Lancet published a study in October 2006, three weeks before the midterm US elections, reporting that 655,000 people had died in Iraq as a result of the US-led war. … But the truth, it turns out, is that the report was drenched with politics, and its jaw-dropping conclusions should have inspired anything but confidence. … Much of the funding for the study came from the Open Society Institute of leftist billionaire George Soros, a strident critic of the Iraq war who, as Munro and Cannon point out, "spent $30 million trying to defeat Bush in 2004."

Anti-war Soros funded Iraq study.  A study that claimed 650,000 people were killed as a result of the invasion of Iraq was partly funded by the antiwar billionaire George Soros. Soros, 77, provided almost half the £50,000 cost of the research, which appeared in The Lancet, the medical journal.  Its claim was 10 times higher than consensus estimates of the number of war dead.

Democrats in denial.  Denial is the first stage of grieving.  Democrats seem stuck there when it comes to the war in Iraq.  It's odd that his fellow Democrats are mourning success in Iraq, Sen. Joseph Lieberman said in a speech Nov. 8.  "Democrats have remained emotionally invested in a narrative of defeat and retreat in Iraq, reluctant to acknowledge the progress we are now achieving, or even that the progress has enabled us to begin drawing down our troops there," he said.

Shut Up or We'll Shout You Down.  Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker came to Washington lawmakers to give their views, and they did so.  The Code Pink activists in the room didn't want to hear from them, and more than that, they wanted to prevent others from hearing from them.  So they disrupted the hearings until they were removed from the room.

Code Pink Protesters Try Witchcraft at Anti-Marine Rallies.  Code Pink is now resorting to witchcraft to beef up the number of its supporters protesting a controversial Marine Corps Recruiting Center in Berkeley, Calif. … The group frequently announces bizarre theme weeks in front of the office, but their numbers have been dwindling and the events get little media attention.

58 Votes on Iraq War This Year:  Why?  Republicans Ask.  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on Thursday [11/8/2007] that she will bring another troops-out-of-Iraq bill to the House floor on Friday.  It will be the 58th "politically motivated" bill on the Iraq war by the House and Senate this year, Republicans complained.

Predicting dirtiest presidential campaign ever.  Accusing a veteran soldier of "betrayal" is pretty much the same as applying the "N" word to an African-American.  You just don't use an equivalent of the word "traitor" on someone who has dedicated his uniformed adult life to serving America spotlessly, fearlessly and honorably.  Unless you're a prominent Democrat advocating the party's left-wing "MoveOn.org" political lobbying unit, you don't play politics with an all-out war.

Senate Passed Amendment Supporting General Petraeus and U.S. Troops.  25 Democrats Voted against it and 3 Democrats didn't vote. … This Amendment also sends a clear message to the U.S. Armed Forces, letting them know that MoveOn.org and their liberal cohorts in the Senate do not speak for the majority of Americans.

Phony Soldiers, Phony Outrage, and Phony Patriotism.  Smarting from the public relations disaster of the Betray us ad, a Soros-funded group, Media Matters, ginned up a fake scandal to demonstrate to those who rely on the mainstream media for their news, that "both sides do it."

Liberals:  A Puzzlement.  What [liberals] refuse to acknowledge is that we are at war with Islamic fundamentalism.  [Saddam] Hussein may have had had nothing to do with the USS Cole or the first bombing of the Twin Towers or the attacks on our embassies and our Marine base.  So what?  Germany and Italy had nothing to do with Pearl Harbor.  It's the mission that matters, not the venue.

Why The Left Supports Defeat:  I spent the vast majority of my life in the San Francisco Bay Area and what I saw wasn't pretty; it was an unbridled, dedicated, unreasoning and unreasonable hatred of America and all that it stands for.  The present defeatist attitude; the belief that we "can't win" in Iraq, is nothing more than a present day iteration of the same fervor we saw during the Vietnam War and the Cold War.

Bill Clinton, Secret War Opponent.  As Hillary Clinton herself might put it, it is frankly naïve to be surprised when convenient historical revisions come out of Bill Clinton's mouth.  The latest retroactive adjustment is Bill's claim at an Iowa event this week that he "approved of Afghanistan and opposed Iraq from the beginning" — a revelation to the many anti-war activists who received no public help from the former President.

12 arrested as Fort Lewis cargo unloaded.  Protesters on foot blocked traffic at Fourth and Plum about noon [11/10/2007] by jumping in front of 18-wheelers towing cargo containers containing military equipment bound for Fort Lewis.  But Olympia police in riot gear moved in quickly, spraying pepper spray in the faces of the protesters, pushing them with their batons and dragging them away from the road.

Why Did FDR Invade North Africa?  One of the clichéd questions of the Left is "Why did Bush invade Iraq?  We were attacked by Saudi Arabians on 9/11!"  Or so goes the customary narrative.  This mantra is supposed to expose President Bush's stupidity.  But in fact The Question reveals the asker's own clueless blunder about war and strategy.  The proper answer is to point to other presidents and other wars.

Byrd and Clinton want to surrender.  I will not mince words.  The call to bring our troops home from Iraq is nothing short of a surrender that will move the theater of war from Baghdad to the streets of the United States. … On Sunday, the New York Times called for a surrender in Iraq.  In so doing, the newspaper abandoned any pretense of liberalism, of decency and of compassion for one's fellow man.

Anti-Bush Activists Arrested Near U.N..  About a dozen anti-war protesters were arrested today during demonstration against President Bush's speech to the United Nations General Assembly.  "I want Bush and Cheney arrested," a protester who knelt on the sidewalk before being handcuffed, Ben Maurer, said.

War and the Fallacies of Our Critics:  Victor Davis Hanson discusses whether an innate American know-how can save us from ourselves.

Fed Up With War, Some Won't Pay Taxes.  When the United States invaded Iraq more than four years ago, war opponent David Gross asked his bosses for a radical pay cut, enough so he wouldn't have to pay taxes to support the war.  "I was having a hard time looking at myself in the mirror," Gross said.  "I knew the bombs falling were in part paid with my tax dollars. I had to actually do something concrete to remove my complicity."

The Editor says...
 Yes, David, I understand.  I'd like to "remove my complicity" by withholding my tax dollars from the Departments of Labor, Education, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Energy, Interior, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development.  But unfortunately, we can't pick and choose.

Marxists and Islamo-fascists of the World Unite!  If any doubt still existed regarding bonds being formed between the hardcore left and elements within Islam, one needed to look no further than the leftist "Festival of Resistence" conference held at the University of Toronto last weekend for confirmation. ... In the audience were members from such stimulating groups as the environment, First Nations, the anti-war movement and the transgendered (Was Marx a cross dresser?).  But while diverse in nature, the one commonality they all possessed, one can be assured, was hatred of capitalism, Israel, the United States and of Western civilization.

An Open Campaign of Lies, Bribery and Treason.  The full-court press to turn Iraq into the next Vietnam is a story of international intrigue, wholesale lies, congressional bribery and systemic partisan treason on a scale never before seen in the United States.  The entire world is watching, including our enemies, and nobody is calling it a scandal?

From the Halls of Malibu to the Shores of Kennedy.  Democrats claim Gen. David Petraeus' report to Congress on the surge was a put-up job with a pre-ordained conclusion.  As if their response wasn't.  Democrats yearn for America to be defeated on the battlefield and oppose any use of the military -- except when they can find individual malcontents in the military willing to denounce the war and call for a humiliating retreat.

Sen. Clinton's Slur:  Sen. Hillary Clinton yesterday [9/12/2007] found herself positioned firmly to the left of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding that disgusting New York Times/MoveOn "General Betray Us" attack on Gen. David Petraeus' integrity.  That's not an enviable position for a woman who's trying to convince the American people that she's fit to be president of the United States.

Why the Antiwar Democrats Will Retreat:  When it comes to issues of war, Democrats are an intimidated lot.  Sens. Clinton, Edwards, Biden, Dodd and Reid were all stampeded by Bush into voting him a blank check for war in October 2002. … Now they regret what they did.  But, in a showdown, they will do it again.

Hollywood Hates the Troops.  "We've killed over 400,000 of their citizens."  That's what actor Tim Robbins thinks U.S. troops have been doing in Iraq.  He made the claim last week in an appearance on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher.  He's wrong, of course.  American soldiers have not been slaughtering 300 Iraqis a day for the last four years.  Even for one of Hollywood's most feculent personalities, this is an appalling slander of U.S. troops.

Mark Cuban Declares War On The Troops.  Billionaire Mark Cuban has decided to put all of his weight behind a campaign to smear US troops in Iraq as "monsters'.  Cuban has decided that De Palma's film "Redacted" must be seen as the cornerstone of his and De Palma's self-declared anti-victory campaign against America and her troops fighing in Iraq.

Reality Check for the Antiwar Crowd.  As an Iraq war veteran who participated in combat operations and political reconciliation efforts, I take issue with some of the arguments repeatedly being made on Capitol Hill.  Most recently I was bothered by statements from Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), who cited three common antiwar arguments in his June 21 op-ed, "Lincoln's Example for Iraq," all of which run counter to realities on the ground in Iraq.

Rosie's an idiot … or worse.  It pains me to waste valuable time and space taking issue with the rantings of Rosie O'Donnell, but her recent remarks equating U.S military men and women in Iraq with "terrorists" demand a rational response.  Yes, I know Rosie is an idiot, and a loudmouthed idiot, to boot.  Normally, I resist ad hominem attacks.  In this case, however, that description is an accurate, clinical observation.

The Left's Definition of a "Hero":  Their idea of a military hero is Army Lt. Ehren Watada.  Did Watada take a bullet for his comrades?  Rescue innocent civilians from insurgent forces?  Throw himself on a grenade?  Ambush a terrorist sniper nest?  No.  Watada's the soldier who went on trial this week for defying orders to be deployed to Iraq — after volunteering for duty.

Hating Bush is not a foreign policy.  "Hate is not a family value" is a popular bumper sticker slogan many liberals have proudly displayed on their vehicles alongside Gore/Lieberman and Kerry/Edwards stickers. … For several years, most Democrats' "policy" on Iraq consisted of hatred for whatever policy George Bush supported.  Over the past couple of years, though, that "policy" has evolved from hatred of Bush and any policy he suggested to a call for withdrawal before the mission is complete.

Disingenuous Party:  Why did a majority of Democratic senators — such as Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards, Harry Reid, Jay Rockefeller, and Chuck Schumer — vote to authorize a war with Iraq on Oct. 11, 2002?  And why is this war now supposedly George Bush's misfortune and not theirs?

Rooting for a vice president's death is evil.  The assassination attempt on Vice President Dick Cheney in Afghanistan drew praise from a few members of the antiwar left.  Have these people lost their minds?

Appeasing Our Enemies Won't Bring Peace.  Will the next President, Democrat or Republican, respond by withdrawing our troops in abject fear and sue for peace?  What will peace cost?  Perhaps conversion to Islam.  Iran's President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the leaders of al-Qaeda, bin Laden and al-Zawahiri, have publicly stated all our sins will be forgiven if we convert and urged President Bush to lead the way with his personal conversion.

The Editor says...
 The President of Iran wants the President of the U.S. to establish a Muslim theocracy.  In response, the great Democrat leaders, who seem to fear a Christian theocracy, are all completely silent.  Cowards!

Why (Some) Liberals Hate America:  What would have been considered treason 40 years ago is now accepted as cutting edge commentary.  Democrats appear to be rooting for defeat in Iraq as a way to defeat George Bush.  Pundits routinely give terrorists the benefit of the doubt while excoriating America.  Hollywood stars denounce their homeland on foreign soil.

Baez excluded from hospital concert.  Folk singer and anti-war activist Joan Baez says she does not know why she was not allowed to perform for recovering soldiers at a US Army hospital.

Anti-war protesters vow more office takeovers.  Peace activists armed with poetry occupied the Capitol Hill office of Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Tuesday to protest Democrats' support for a bill funding the Iraq war.  They camped out in his office for nearly eight hours, reading verse and reciting the names and biographies of soldiers killed in Iraq, punctuating each by banging on a gong they had brought with them.

Michigan Congressman Mike Rogers' Office Vandalized Over Iraq War.  The unknown individuals splattered red paint on the Lansing building and put up a sign saying the Republican has "blood" on his hands.  They also spray painted the sidewalk with the words "no more deaths," glued shut the front door of the building and destroyed security cameras, said Andy Keiser, Rogers' chief of staff.

Saddam Goes to the Trash Heap of History.  The simple fact that an Arab dictator may face a hangman's noose for the first time in history seems to have eluded the anti-war crowd.  But such a vivid reminder of the vulnerability of modern-day thugs who have ruled millions of Arabs through force and intimidation is not lost on the Arab masses or, for that matter, anyone else who lives where such rulers exist.

Pacifists versus peace:  One of the many failings of our educational system is that it sends out into the world people who cannot tell rhetoric from reality.  They have learned no systematic way to analyze ideas, derive their implications and test those implications against hard facts.  "Peace" movements are among those who take advantage of this widespread inability to see beyond rhetoric to realities.  Few people even seem interested in the actual track record of so-called "peace" movements — that is, whether such movements actually produce peace or war.

Appeasement as War Doctrine:  Appeasement has become the non-violent solution our Open Society Elite employ in search of a universalized democracy in what they term the Global Village.

Councilman Refuses to Stand for Pledge.  City Councilman Tom Rawles ... began getting the threats last month after he started refusing to recite or stand for the Pledge of Allegiance during council meetings to protest the war in Iraq.  He has sat out for the pledge twice so far.

Movement against war is growing, activists say.  It hasn't exactly been easy over the past few years for San Diego's anti-war activists.  They've been heckled.  Dismissed by the media.  A few have been arrested.  Many of their events have attracted only a few dozen people or so.  But some local war critics are cautiously optimistic that their movement may be gaining steam and mainstream support.  They think a tipping point may have been reached.

Code Pink Undermines War on Terror.  The women wear pink dresses and sportswear and carry pink parasols and pink protest signs that declare their opposition to the Iraq war.  Mainly white and middle-aged, they proclaim themselves to be the wives and mothers and daughters of men and women in the armed services, and they say they are earnestly devoted to peace and opposed to U.S. war policies.

Hillary Lied:  Hillary '07 vs. Hillary '02-'03.  Yesterday we did a then-and-now with Mrs. Clinton, showing how she is literally lying over the weekend in Iowa, in Des Moines as she was describing to people how she voted for the Iraq war and what it meant.  She wasn't voting for the war, she was voting for the president to negotiate, and he mistrusted everybody and tricked her and misused her vote, which she was not authorizing anybody to go to war.  We found sound bites from 2003 speaking to Code Pink where she contradicted herself in every substantive way possible, even before the Iraq war started.

The Vietnam history you haven't heard:  With ever-increasing frequency, Americans are told that Iraq is another Vietnam, usually by those accusing the Bush administration of miring the United States in a hopeless war.  For most who make this comparison, the Vietnam War was an act of hubris, fought for no good reason and in alliance with cowards.  But new historical research shows this conventional interpretation of Vietnam to be deeply flawed.  The analogy, therefore, must be rethought.

Will Democrats Dance With Terror Networks, or Destroy Them?  By underestimating and ignoring Saddam's domestic and international mandate for terror, this nation's leading Democrats have re-sown the seeds of unawareness and complacency, which can only return to haunt us all if the War on Terror is considered a moot point for pacifists, who would rather dance a political fandango with the diabolical than disturb, or demolish, our sworn enemies.

Democrats' sad heritage in wartime.  President Lyndon Johnson's administration mismanaged the Vietnam war to prevent America from winning the war.  He was aided and abetted by traitors like Hanoi Jane and John Kerry, who became heroes to the Communist government in Hanoi.  As a result, America lost 58,000 troops in vain and abandoned an estimated eight million people to "re-education" (AKA: death) camps. … You can be sure that the current crop of Democrats in Congress will strive to maintain this heritage.

Uncle Charlie Wants You!  Mr. Rangel's real argument is about class in America, not over the best way to fight Islamic terrorism overseas.  He's suggesting that somehow only the poor serve in Uncle Sam's Army.  But his views are both out of date and condescending to those who do serve.  Alas, they are shared by many on the political left, who think that the military places an unfair burden on the working class.

The new voter fraud:  Liberal Democrats — which is to say, most Democratic politicians and all of their leaders — are ready to try almost any "alternatives to incarceration" of criminals and almost any alternative to maintaining military strength as a deterrent to enemy nations.  More is involved than an unwillingness to face unpleasant facts of life.  There is a coherent ideology behind these positions.  That ideology goes back more than two centuries — and has failed in country after country over those centuries.

Hiding behind the "anti-war" label.  When hawkish Sen. Joe Lieberman lost by four points in the Democratic primary in Connecticut to ultraliberal millionaire Ned Lamont, the media credited this hard left with the upset.  In truth, however, the liberal media themselves were a major part of the equation.

War protesters convicted of blocking road near Bush ranch.  Two war protesters who pitched tents in a ditch near President Bush's Crawford ranch earlier this year each were convicted Thursday of obstructing a street, a state misdemeanor charge.  Hiram Myers, a retired Oklahoma attorney, and Emily Hardy, an Austin psychiatrist, each were fined $150.

[Oh yeah, that'll teach them a lesson.  $150 is pocket change for a lawyer and a psychiatrist.]

Charges dismissed against anti-war grannies.  A judge dismissed defiant-trespass charges against 11 anti-war grandmothers who had refused to leave a Center City military recruiting office in June after trying to enlist to replace troops serving in Iraq.

The Party Of Defeat.  On Iraq, the Democrats are the party of defeat.  That's not a partisan smear, but a fact.  The further we slide toward defeat, the higher the Democrats' political fortunes rise.  To the extent they offer any clear policy alternative for Iraq, it is either — depending on your point of view — to admit, or to guarantee, defeat with a rapid drawdown of American troops.  So, their political self-interest objectively coincides with a defeat, and the kind of pullout endorsed at times by high-profile leaders in the party would hasten it.

Why do Democrats crave defeat?  Why are they so intent on humiliating their fellow citizens?  And why don't they have at least some modicum of pride about the greatest nation the world has ever produced?  In other words, why are they so insistent on seeing America pummeled?

Alone At The Heart Of Liberalism.  Saddam was a contemporary Hitler.  He had used weapons of mass destruction on his own people and for the purposes of genocide.  He defied United Nations resolutions to search for them and was usually ambiguous as to whether he had them.  He labored to dupe leaders in the Arab world and his generals into thinking he had them.  He gave rewards to suicide bombers, and harbored terrorists on his soil, for instance the late Abu Nidal, the mastermind of terrorist attacks in over 20 countries, including the hijacking of the Achille Lauro.

[And in spite of all that, the article goes on to say, liberals protest the war just for the sake of protesting.]

Deadly chic:  On the fifth anniversary week of the September 11 attacks, the anger of entertainment industry liberals and antiwar zealots is directed not at Islamic terrorists telling us to convert or die.  Not at American al Qaeda operative Adam Gadahn smirking at our country's pain and praising the throat-slitting, children-incinerating hijackers as "strong-willed men."  No, their thoughts are not focused on killing jihadists.  Their dreams lie with killing George W. Bush.  The mainstreaming of presidential assassination chic is on.

Liberalism and National Security — The Ultimate Dichotomy.  The evidence is continuing to mount but it seems clear that modern liberalism is at odds with national security.  Whether they sit on the Supreme Court, occupy a seat in Congress, or publish some of our nation's largest newspapers, several high profile liberals have significantly impeded our ability to wage the War on Terror, and we may be less safe as a result.

Vice President Cheney was right.  Almost since the day many of them voted for the resolution authorizing the president to attack Iraq, the Democrats have been obstructing and hurling nonstop invective at President Bush.  Couldn't these people, just once, have put partisanship aside and applauded our progress in Iraq?  Couldn't they have celebrated the ouster of the brutal dictator?

The Politics of Peace:  What's Behind the Anti-War Movement?  In looking at the activist strategies and radical backgrounds of anti-war organizers, [John] Tierney concludes that the movement's leaders are anti-American rather than anti-war.  Indeed, the anti-war movement wants war and violence, not peace — if it will lead to the overthrow of American institutions and government.

Who is the peace movement?  Not since the Vietnam War has there been a "peace" movement as large and as ubiquitous as the one against American military action to remove the dictator Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq.  Beginning in October 2002, tens and then hundreds of thousands of citizens were mobilized by organizers to protest the policies of the Bush Administration to rein in the rogue Baghdad regime.

Wake Up!  We Are At War.  Why do so many Americans refuse to face the fact that our country is at war with international terrorism?  The leading terrorist group, al-Qaeda, is fighting us on the ground in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  Both Iran and North Korea are threatening nuclear war.  And yet many Americans, including some Congressional Democrats, denounce President Bush, and in so doing, weaken our country's ability to resist Islamic fascism.

Berserk 'peace' activism.  Nobel Peace Laureate Betty Williams displayed what the Australian media called "her feisty Irish spirit" to hundreds of schoolchildren this week in a murder-minded diatribe against President Bush. … While the kids cheered, Mrs. Williams, the world-renowned pacifist, fumed:  "Right now, I would love to kill George Bush."  In America, we don't call this irrational hatred "feisty Irish spirit."  We call it "unhinged."  Or, as Charles Krauthammer first diagnosed it, Bush Derangement Syndrome.

Activist's Fiery Death Prompts Questions.  "Here is the statement I want to make:  if I am required to pay for your barbaric war, I choose not to live in your world…," he wrote in his suicide note. … There was only one problem:  No one was listening.

A Controversial Death Provokes a Controversial Play.  Do you remember the name Rachel Corrie?  Maybe not.  She was a 23-year-old American peace activist killed by an Israeli Army bulldozer as she tried to block the destruction of a Palestinian's house in Gaza in March 2003.

What Part of the War on Terrorism Do They Support?  Assuming against all logic and reason that the Democrats have some serious objection to the war in Iraq, perhaps they could tell us which part of the war on terrorism they do support.  That would be easier than rattling off the long list of counterterrorism measures they vehemently oppose.  They oppose the National Security Agency listening to people who are calling specific phone numbers found on al-Qaida cell phones and computers.

"The terrorists have won".  In the current war on Islamofascism, no platitude is nearly as ridiculous as the constant harangue that "if we do X, then the terrorists have won."  X can be virtually anything.

Where Never is Heard a Discouraging Word.  I've been dismissive of Democratic charges that the Bush administration is suppressing dissent.  I think that I, in common with most people, define government suppression of dissent as a situation in which the government tortures, imprisons or kills dissenters. … If this type of oppression were indeed happening here, Cindy Sheehan, instead of swinging from the trees in Crawford and enjoying her milkshake hunger strike, would be in some dank prison cell having the soles of her feet whipped.

Preserve our country's values while not jeopardizing its very existence.  One Congressional Democrat, John Conyers of Michigan, announced his intention to impeach the President when Republicans lose control of both Houses of Congress.  There is something terribly wrong with people seeking to demean and weaken the president in war time, thereby strengthening our country's enemies.  As a result of the language and tactics of those opposed to our presence in Iraq, our enemies have been emboldened, believing the American public to be sharply divided on the war, and in fact at war with itself.

Here's a war protest that's hard to stomach.  Hollywood actor-activists including Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon and anti-war campaigners led by bereaved mother Cindy Sheehan plan to launch a hunger strike … Novelist Alice Walker and actor Danny Glover will join a "rolling" fast, a relay in which 2,700 activists pledge to refuse food for at least 24 hours, and then hand over to a comrade.

The Editor's sardonic humor kicks in ...
 Wow -- 24 hours without food!  This level of courage, commitment and self-denial is seldom seen in Hollywood.

'Iraq war' truth squad.  Critics of our involvement in Iraq have embraced arguments or "facts" that frequently do not stand up to scrutiny.

Democrats can't find anything good to say after al-Zarqawi hit.  Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is dead — and none too soon.  Yet within minutes of the president's Rose Garden announcement of this fact, an "expert" being interviewed on a national taxpayer-funded radio news show decreed Zarqawi's death meant little in the grand scheme of things.

The Party's Over.  The contemporary Democratic Party has corrupted itself so far in its American self-loathing that it is in every sense at odds with the Constitution its elected members have sworn not only to abide by, but to protect.  The current generation of Democrats has so railed and rebelled against the "power of America" that they have spiritually joined with those sworn to destroy us.

And This Guy Was Almost President?  Sen. John Kerry has spent a career taking the side of America's enemies.  His call last week for a pullout from Iraq was the latest evidence he is unfit to serve in the Senate — never mind the White House.  Kerry's proposal to withdraw us completely from Iraq by July of next year was resoundingly defeated in the Senate by a vote of 86 to 13.  And just days before, he said the deadline should be the end of this year.

There is more information about John Kerry here.

Calculated savagery at heart of terrorism.  While U.S. troops in an area south of Baghdad were carefully working their way through a diabolically arranged series of booby traps surrounding the mutilated bodies of two of their fellow soldiers, Democrats in Congress were tiptoeing around the issue of giving up the fight against the extremists responsible for this horrific scene. … The Democrats substituted the word "redeployment" for withdrawal … but in the lexicon of most congressional Democrats, redeployment is a synonym for retreat, if not outright surrender.

Who didn't think Iraq had WMD?  Fifty-one percent of Americans, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, think the commander in chief "deliberately misled" us about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction (WMD).  "Deliberately misled"?  Once again, let's go to the videotape.

Senator Ted Kennedy — "Peace Criminal"?  America lost the Vietnam War, not on the battlefield, but on the home front of public support.  Anti-war activists and the liberal media helped turn public opinion sharply against the war.  Although our soldiers won every major battle in the field, public opinion turned against a war increasingly perceived as "unwinnable."

Big Fat Lawsuit Filed Against Michael Moore.  A double-amputee Iraq-war vet is suing Michael Moore for $85 million, claiming the portly peacenik recycled an old interview and used it out of context to make him appear anti-war in "Fahrenheit 9/11."  Sgt. Peter Damon, 33, who strongly supports America's invasion of Iraq, said he never agreed to be in the 2004 movie, which trashes President Bush.

"I-know-better" generals get on the slippery slope.  Last time around, the anti-war left did not have a very high opinion of generals.  A popular slogan in the 1960s was "war is too important to be left to the generals."  It was the generals who had advocated attacking Cuba during the missile crisis of October 1962, while the civilians preferred — and got — a diplomatic solution.

General discontent:  Currently, there are about 4,700 living members of the retired General Officer corps, most of whom left active duty between Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.  Last week, .13 (that's point one three) percent (or 13 ten-thousandths) of them decided to help write the Democrats' '06 midterm-election playbook.

Peace Activists Benefit From Military Action.  If it is the position of these peace activists that it is an abomination before the eyes of God to even have a military or that it is wrong to use force to overcome evil in all instances, shouldn't these prisoners have been willing to remain in the custody of their captors, who are themselves merely adherents of the "religion of peace" responding to the aggression of decadent Western powers, until social workers or other do-gooder types arrived on the scene to negotiate their release through rational persuasion alone?

Anti-War Protests Dwindle.  Since the start of the War in Iraq, the number of protesters at anti-war rallies has been progressively smaller.  This year, the trend continues, much to the chagrin of the rabid left wing.

Pacifist group revealed as moral imbeciles.  When the three Western hostages were rescued by coalition forces in Iraq last week and returned to Canada, was I the only one who was disappointed?  Was I the only one who thought … Is this what all the fuss was about?  These smarmy, international busybodies, the Gladys Kravitzes of the Iraq occupation, peering out at the world from behind the curtains with their pursed little disapproving lips?  These sanctimonious, reality challenged little creeps?

The peace movement is an infantile movement.  Their Gandhi is Cindy Sheehan, who is either a lunatic or one of the many self-promoters who, with little talent and no demonstrated knowledge of international relations, become media stars on behalf of peace.  Sheehan was given a ticket to the State of the Union speech by a member of Congress.  Would you care to guess which party that member represents?  The member's name is Lynn C. Woolsey, and she insists "I didn't see this as a political act at all."  One of the Democrats' complaints about the president is that he is a liar.  What is the Hon. Woolsey?

College Radicals Take to the Streets.  An anti-war march in downtown Manhattan ends-up supporting peace, Communism and illegal immigration.  The Columbia Spectator reports that "tens of thousands took to the streets" on Saturday [4/29/2006] calling for peace and withdrawal from Iraq.  According to the Spectator, the following organizations rallied for the "Peace and Justice Festival":  United For Peace & Justice, the National Organization For Women, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition, Veterans For Peace, College Democrats, Campus Antiwar Network, and various other campus organizations.

David Letterman Denounces Iraq War and Criticism of Sheehan.  Displaying a hostility to President Bush and the Iraq war similar to that expressed by Comedy Central's Jon Stewart, on Tuesday's Late Show [1/3/2006] David Letterman went further than I've ever heard him in revealing his derision for President Bush's decision to launch the Iraq war and contempt for anyone who dares to criticize Cindy Sheehan.

The Plot to Kill the President:  The Washington Post recently reported that pro-terrorist Sunni Muslims in Iraq said they "love Cindy Sheehan" because of her anti-Bush and anti-war protests.  They said they watch the protests on satellite television.  There is also plenty of opportunity to get motivated to hate Bush by reading Frank Rich columns in the New York Times.

Peace at Any Cost:  The list of feel-good bumper stickers such as "Think globally, act locally" and "You can't hug your kids with nuclear arms" should now be countered with "Nobody can afford 'peace at any cost.'"

New 'Peace' Group Rallies Anti-War Voters.  Voters for Peace said it … aims to make the Iraq War an issue that candidates can't ignore.

Dissent or sedition?  So when does dissent become sedition?  Are they one in the same?  What's the difference between sedition and treason?  These are questions I've bandied about recently, as our politically polarized nation has split even further on issues of Iraq and the global war on terror, Iran, nuclear proliferation, port and border security, immigration, race relations, procedures for collecting intelligence, and then 360-degrees back to Iraq.

What the captured documents show.  President Bush has made errors, as all humans do, but one thing he has not been guilty of is bad faith.  The same cannot be said of his critics.

Peace activist seeks Delaware House seat.  Unlike other candidates who have challenged Delaware's popular Republican congressman in recent elections, Michael Berg shouldn't have a problem with name recognition.  Since he spoke out two years ago about the death of his son, Nick, a 26-year-old contractor who was beheaded in Iraq, Berg has been interviewed, marched in anti-war protests and given speeches around the globe.

Anti-War Movement Casualty of In-Fighting.  With new polls showing that more than half of Americans believe the war in Iraq is going badly and that Iraq will never become a stable democracy, you might think that anti-war groups in the U.S. would be trumpeting their influence.  Instead, the groups appear to be caught in their own brand of civil war, criticizing each other for management styles, sympathizing with Communist dictators and pandering to the media.

Bill would limit protesters' access to military funerals.  The bill would require protesters to remain 300 feet away from funerals and would ban them from demonstrating for 30 minutes before a funeral starts and for 30 minutes after the funeral ends.

The Tom Fox tragedy:  The death of "peace activist" Tom Fox, and the threatened execution of the three others held with him in Iraq, is doubly tragic.  It is tragic whenever an innocent person is murdered.  It is also tragic because the likelihood that the presence of Fox and his colleagues would change the attitude or behavior of their captors was zero to none.

Harry Belafonte is Flirting With Treason, Black Conservative Says.  "Harry Belafonte's hatred of President Bush is causing him to embrace America's enemies," the Rev. [Jesse Lee] Peterson said in a press release.  "I also believe that his actions are treasonous as described by Article Three, Section Three of the U.S. Constitution, which says that 'adhering to our enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort' constitutes treason."

Dead Man Talking?  When I heard there would be a protest on MLK Day in San Antonio, Texas, where the largest parade in the nation is held for this heralded man, I questioned why.

Desperate Liberals Going Stark Naked.  In a desperate attempt to get out their message to an uninterested public, antiwar leftists have turned towards increasingly pathetic protest tactics.  They have slandered our country on foreign soil, practically threatened to sue the American public for boycotting in response, disrupted urban functioning with their rowdy demonstrations and have stated their plans to vandalize military bases.

The name "American":  Democrats led by Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean have dealt treacherously with our military forces in the field, never missing an opportunity to rally them with rhetoric about "a war fought for a lie."

The pendulum is swinging away from patriotism.  In response to the editorial writers, reporters and politician who are critical of President Bush's policies regarding Iraq – some of whom are calling for the president's impeachment – and especially Howard Dean, who is declaring the war a lost cause, I offer the following quotes by a former president who was well liked and respected by the American people and highly regarded by the media….

Liberals Hate Freedom, Not War.  "How DARE you imply that we hate freedom?"  That's what red-faced Liberals say, even as they protest against the war for freedom in Iraq and call our President a war criminal.  Liberals are such hypocrites, and I for one am sick of it.

Partisanship and patriotism.  The Democrats are determined to win the war and will stop at nothing to vanquish the enemy.  The only problem is that they're fighting the wrong war against an imaginary foe.

Unserious Syriana:  How hopeless is Hollywood?  More than four years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, America's movie moguls seem to have not a clue about who attacked us or why, or what sort of war we're fighting.

New idea for the Abortion Party:  Aid the enemy.  There is no plausible explanation for the Democrats' behavior other than that they long to see U.S. troops shot, humiliated, and driven from the field of battle.  They fill the airwaves with treason, but when called to vote on withdrawing troops, disavow their own public statements.  These people are not only traitors, they are gutless traitors.

Hillary's Code Pink:  The aimless John Kerry continues his long legacy of public troop-smearing — taking to CBS News airwaves to accuse American soldiers in Iraq of "terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the — of — the historical customs, religious customs."  This kind of deranged defeatism will earn you a Code Pink T-shirt and a hug from Cindy Sheehan.

One Marine's words:  I don't know if the war in Iraq is ultimately unwinnable, but what I do know makes me skeptical of those who say so. … Liberals seem always to believe that America will lose its wars, and when it doesn't, that it should.

Sounding the Trumpet of Retreat.  We now have a legitimate comparison between the Vietnam War and what is taking place in Iraq. … Those who would impose a timetable rather than seek victory have an obligation to say what they believe will follow precipitous withdrawal.  If it's disaster for the Iraqis and for us, will they take full responsibility?  Quitting before a stable democracy and self-sufficient Iraqi military is in place isn't a strategy.  It is surrender.

Sheehan Allies Sue to Protest Near Bush Ranch.  Three war protesters on Monday [11/21/2005] filed a federal lawsuit against McLennan County, claiming two new ordinances banning roadside parking and camping infringe on their right to protest near President Bush's Crawford ranch.

Call them what they are — Traitors.  Let's be clear:  There is nothing wrong with honest criticism of an American president; to the contrary, we have written extensively about President Bush's policy failures.  The dishonest and politically motivated accusations of Kennedy, Reid, Durbin and their ilk, however, are nothing short of — and we don't use this term lightly — treasonous.

Bochco's Botched and Biased "Over There".  "Peace at any price" purveyors are going gaga over the new FX Channel series "depicting" the Iraq war, "Over There," produced by Steven Bochco of Hill Street Blues fame.

Hollywood:  rotten to the Corps.  It's pretty clear that those making movies in Tinsel Town don't know any real men like Aaron Mankin.  They apparently prefer cowardice over courage; witless whiners to real patriots; gutless wimps and hollow phonies to men who know the meaning of self-sacrifice and integrity.  That's the only conclusion one can draw after seeing Hollywood's latest anti-military travesty — "Jarhead."

Did Hillary lie America into war?  Reasonable people could and did disagree on whether it was wise to invade Iraq.  President Bush and Sen. Clinton, relying on the same intelligence, happened to agree.  But reasonable people can draw only one conclusion now on the argument advanced by some of Sen. Clinton's Democratic colleagues that President Bush lied America into war.  It is simply preposterous.

Canadian Alternative:  Disappointed with the outcome of the 2004 election?  By all means, if you're an unemployed, tree-hugging, dope smoking, homosexual war protester, please do renounce your US citizenship and leave the country.  Canada is your kind of place.  They welcome you.  (And don't come back.)

This has nothing to do with the war, but as long as we're talking about going to Canada . . .
 Immigrating to Canada becomes a revolving door for some.  For many, immigrating to Canada is not a permanent move, according to a new Statistics Canada report.  The report addresses the choices of men who immigrated to Canada between the ages of 25 and 45.  It found that between 1980 and 2000, nearly one-third of those who immigrated to Canada left within 20 years.  Nearly 60 percent of those who left, did so within one year of arriving in Canada.

It's Important To Ask The Right Questions.  A favorite slogan of the anti-war crowd is, "War is not the answer."  Yet everyone, except extreme pacifists would agree that whether war is in fact the answer depends on the question.  In some contexts, war is the answer.
A strong defense establishment is essential to the preservation of our nation.
 The Left doesn't support the troops and should admit it.  Liberals, Democrats and others on the Left frequently state that they "support the troops."  For most of them, whether they realize it or not, this is not true.  They feel they must say this because the majority of Americans would find any other position unacceptable.

Investigate the CIA.  Political correctness reigns in the U.S. government at every level, and the CIA is no exception.  The result is an agency that is conducting a steady leak campaign against President Bush designed to discredit the Iraq war and undermine the war on terror.

The super-patriots:  Perpetual critics of President Bush's initiation and prosecution of the war in Iraq are displaying a perverse glee over his currently low approval ratings and the public's waning support for the war.

Hollywood's New War Effort:  Terrorism Chic.  Slow to awaken after the 9/11 attacks, Hollywood has finally come around to contributing what it can in the War on Terror:  namely, glossy, star-studded movies that sympathize with the enemy.

The Pennsylvania funeral furor:  Someone needs to tell these Democrats that you can't be against the war and supportive of the troops at the same time.

The Peace Movement Isn't About Peace.  It's about carrying on the left's war against America.  When your country is attacked, when the enemy has targeted every American regardless of race, gender or age for death, there can be no "peace" movement.  There can only be a movement that divides Americans and gives aid and comfort to our enemies.

Many are anti-war only if the president is Bush.  Did Barbara Streisand, now loudly clamoring against a possible Bush attack on Iraq, speak out when President Bill Clinton in 1999 arm-twisted our reluctant NATO allies and launched a massive and devastating air war against Serbia?  That was a tiny sovereign country that had never attacked the United States nor threatened any vital U.S. interests.  Clinton even did so without U.N. approval and against the explicit denunciation of the U.N. secretary general.

Let's quit confusing.  It's easy to blame President Bush for failing sufficiently to articulate his case for the war against Iraq, but he does have a nation to lead and a war to fight.  Plus, he already made the case for attacking Iraq at the time it mattered — before we attacked.  He convinced Congress — overwhelmingly — and the American people.

Just one question for opponents of the war:  Do you believe we are fighting evil people in Iraq?  That is how supporters of the war regard the Baathists and the Islamic suicide terrorists, the people we are fighting in Iraq.  Because if you cannot answer it, or avoid answering it, or answer "no," we know enough about your moral compass to know that further dialogue is unnecessary.

The left is worth nothing.  There were intellectually and morally honest arguments against going to war in Iraq.  But once the war began, a moral person could not oppose it.  No moral person could hope for, let alone act on behalf of, a victory for the Arab/Islamic fascists.  Just ask yourself but two questions:  If America wins, will there be an increase or decrease in goodness in Iraq and in the world?  And then ask what would happen if the Al Qaeda/Zarqawi/Baathists win.

Vietnam protesters fall silent.  Many myths and half-truths about the Vietnam War whipped up by the communist propaganda machine have been allowed to persist unchecked in discourse about Iraq.  Today, on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, perhaps some lessons can be learned from this painful chapter in history.

Moonbats on parade:  With freedom on the move across the Middle East and beyond, aggrieved anti-war protesters here in the United States have nothing better to do this weekend than what they have always done:  stand in the way.

Saddam's Secret Campaign to Stop the War:  Shocking evidence demonstrates that controversial former U.S. Marine and former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter, who now writes for the anti-American Arab "news" organization Al Jazeera, was involved in a controversial effort to stop the war by enlisting prominent personalities in a "peace" campaign.

New Accuracy In Media Film Tells Truth About Iraq War.  The release of AIM's powerful new documentary, "Confronting Iraq," could represent the last best hope to change the national debate over the war in Iraq.  Produced by Roger Aronoff of AIM, the film sets the record straight about Saddam Hussein, his weapons of mass destruction, ties to terrorists, and threats to America and the world.  It portrays the war in Iraq as a noble cause essential to America's survival in the "clash of civilizations" between the West and fanatical Islam.
No foreign military bases should be allowed on American soil.
  Read this   One Thousand Dead U.S. Soldiers in Iraq:  A Much Needed U.S. Perspective.  The average monthly death toll for US soldiers in Iraq is 55.6 deaths per month while the average reported murders per month in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City are 48.7, 51.9 and 49.3 deaths per month respectively.  The murder stats in the US cities are for hostile deaths only — whereas the death toll in Iraq includes both hostile and accidental deaths.  This makes our own murder rate in Los Angeles even more staggering.  Yet there is not an equivalent amount of reporting or mourning in spite of comparable death.

Safety first?  Wars cannot be won by pursuing safety.  They can be won only by accepting risks.  The ouster of Saddam did not lead to the flourishing of Rotary clubs and political party conventions where everyone wears funny hats. Instead, Saddam loyalists —Iraq's former ruling class — went underground where they re-grouped, re-armed and are now on a killing spree.

What's the worst that could happen?  Viewed in the context of the possible negative results of a decision, only the most partisan and disingenuous fool could suggest that President Bush's choice to invade Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power was the wrong one.

No Diversion:  The Case Against the War in Iraq Has Weakened.  You can argue that the conflict in Iraq is a distraction from the "War on Terrorism".  But that argument is weaker than it was a few days ago — before Abu Musab Zarqawi, the leader of the foreign jihadis in Iraq, formally declared his allegiance to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda.

Environmentalists are AWOL on Saddam.  Saddam Hussein has committed some of the biggest environmental crimes of all time.  During the 1991 Gulf War, Saddam's troops set 600 Kuwaiti oil wells ablaze "creating a toxic smoke that choked the atmosphere and blocked the sun," according to news reports.  However, most environmental groups have gone absent-without-leave when it comes to removing Saddam — even without the use of force.  A few are protesting the war.

Protesters Oppose War, Yet Support Deadly Policies at Home.  The claim that the U.S. has gone to war to acquire Iraqi oil is a malicious lie.  The U.S. could have bought Iraq's oil for less money than the war is costing.

Why GI Joe Riles the Left:  Over the 4th of July weekend, antiwar protesters demanded that the Minnesota Twins baseball team cancel a promotional giveway of "G.I. Joe" action figures. … The campaign against "war toys" is another example of American leftists emulating the decadence of socialist Europe.

Civilization vs. Trivia:  Do the trivialists want Saddam and the Taliban back in power?

Will the West survive?  The Muslim world is at war with Western civilization.  We have the military might to thwart them.  The question is:  Do we have the intelligence to recognize the attack and the will to defend ourselves from annihilation?

A Justifiable, Necessary and Winnable War.  Anti-war activists have been feeling their oats.  Pro-liberation advocates have been feeling woozy.  So let's get back to basics, and ask three simple questions, to remind ourselves how we got here — and to consider where we need to go.

The pugnacious antiwar left,  after shooting mostly blanks at President Bush since we invaded Iraq, believes he is finally wounded.  And like sharks, their appetites are surging with the scent of his first drops of blood.

Give Peace a Chance To Do What, Exactly?  Sometimes, there is no choice but to meet danger with force.  To resort to war is not the sign of ultimate failure, as some argue, it's just the sign of diplomacy's failure.  But we shouldn't let failed diplomacy fester while stealthy enemies strengthen and scheme.  Now that we've seen how easily terrorists can bring death to our door, we must prevent them from acquiring weapons from thugs like Saddam Hussein.

Peaceniks:  Warmongers for America's Enemies.  The suicidal stance of peaceniks is no innocent error or mere overflow of youthful idealism.  It is the product of a fundamentally immoral commitment:  the commitment to ignore reality — from the historical evidence of the consequences of pacifism to the very existence of the violent threats that confront us today — in favor of the wish that laying down our arms will achieve peace somehow.

God Bless Our Assassins, Commandos and Bombs.  An Answer to the Hollywood and other leftist types condeming our war on terrorism.

Iraq is not Vietnam:  Why Operation Iraqi Freedom can remain a success.  As American and British troops continue to be killed in Iraq, some observers are comparing the guerilla-style attacks with the guerilla war the U.S. faced in Vietnam.  We're even hearing the word "quagmire" again.  While there are superficial similarities — U.S. troops ambushed by unseen assailants — the differences are much more significant.

America At War:  The Enemy Within.  The radical left uses the anti-war movement to wage war on America.

Some Dared Call it Treason.  In remarks ignored by the major media, Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky called for correspondent Peter Arnett to be tried as a traitor to the U.S.  "I think Mr. Arnett should be met at the border and arrested should he come back to America," he said.

Peace Marchers Make Strong Case — for Bush.  "We support our troops when they shoot their officers" proclaimed a banner carried by protesters at a pro-homicide march in San Francisco recently.  Whoops, sorry, it was a "pro-peace" march.  Perhaps you'll forgive me if I can't tell the difference.  So many of the "peace" marches contain assaults on police officers that it sometimes seems the peace protesters have taken a page from the Baath party handbook.

People Against the American Way:  The same people who were colossally wrong about the war on terror (in both Afghanistan and Iraq); who clamored for America to sheathe its sword when America itself was under attack; who defamed America and its supporters as enemies of freedom even after the wars that led to liberation - these same people, now that history has thoroughly embarrassed them and refuted their claims, are … on the attack!

Betting Against the U.S. Could Be Detrimental to One's Hollywood Career:  A media watchdog says several Hollywood celebrities have egg on their faces, now that their predictions of gloom and doom in Iraq have turned out to be completely wrong.

Hollywood Appeasers Cash In on Anti-U.S. Rants.  Don't believe the whining of Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon and other Tinseltown leftists who claim they're paying a price for opposing Operation Iraqi Freedom.  They're getting rich from their anti-U.S. activism, according to the liberal Washington Post.

Former NBC Journalist's Comments Teetering on Treason, Critics Suggest.  Rich Noyes, research director at the Media Research Center, says Arnett's statements gave aid and comfort to the enemy.

Leftist Lies About the War:  Almost invariably, when protesters cry "peace" they mainly mean peace for their own minds – absolution from sacrifice or the need to make difficult choices.  To that end, they are willing to wage total war against the truth.

Greens and Socialists Unite to Oppose War.  There is hardly any element of our economy that hasn't been under attack by these "environmentalists."  The immediate enemy is Iraq.  The other enemy is the environmentalists for whom Socialism/Communism is the guiding agenda behind their varied agendas.

Democratic party turns French.  Rep. Dennis Kucinich and Sen. John Kerry are simply this week's poster boys for what we might call the Frenchification of the Democratic Party.  France's opposition to America bares a striking resemblance to the Democratic Party's opposition to President Bush.

France helped Iraqis escape.  The French government secretly supplied fleeing Iraqi officials with passports in Syria that allowed them to escape to Europe, The Washington Times has learned.

 Supplemental information:   French Products and Companies to Boycott

The "other Jesse" slams war protesters:  Outspoken cultural activist Jesse Lee Peterson is blasting the organizers of anti-war protests occurring across the nation, saying they are "trying to rip our country apart from within."

Subversion in Bush Country:  What Texas anti-war activists really believe and who is funding their activities.

Sen. Murray Praises bin Laden.  Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is under fire for "outrageous and despicable" comments to schoolchildren, remarks largely ignored by the media establishment, that America should emulate mass-murdering terrorist Osama bin Laden.

Democrat senator praises bin Laden.  Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., told a group of high-school students in her state that the U.S. should adopt Osama bin Laden's nation-building tactics.

Congresswoman Likens bin Laden to America's Founding Fathers.  Sen. Patty "Osama Mama" Murray isn't the only Democrat on Capitol Hill who has kind words for mass-murdering terrorist Osama bin Laden:  Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, likens him to our Founding Fathers.

The Thought Police, Before and After September 11th:  Since September 11th, expressions of patriotism have flourished and the American flag has flown proudly.  However, there are those who have challenged displays of patriotism on the grounds that they may offend others, especially foreign students.  For example, the town of Chapel Hill banned a restaurant's banner proclaiming "God Bless America, Woe unto Her Enemies."  Elsewhere, a college librarian ordered an employee to remove a sticker proclaiming "Proud to Be an American."  Some colleges have banned the display of the American flag on campus stating that it may be considered offensive to others.

Liberalism and terrorism: stages of same disease.  Like everything liberals oppose but don't have a good argument for, all reasonable national security measures are called "unconstitutional."  Whenever liberals are losing on substance, they pretend to be upset about process.

The Intellectual Rape of Oakland's Schools:  This week, Dan Siegel and the Oakland school board led their corrupt and failing school in an exercise in anti-American propaganda, turning over all of Oakland's schoolchildren, from the first grade to high school, to the tender mercies of radical ideologues and their rants against the war in Iraq, the president and America.

Beware this "peace movement".  Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., the darling of the new "peace movement," has introduced a resolution calling for the U.S. to work with the United Nations rather than take on Iraq in the war on terrorism.

Harvard Loves Jihad – But Hates America.  Hiding jihad's awful legacy is standard operating procedure at Harvard.  A professor of Islamic history portrays jihad as "a struggle without arms."  The Harvard Islamic Society's faculty adviser defines true jihad as no more fearsome than "to do good in society."  All this is part of a pattern of pretending Islam had nothing to do with 9/11.

Another War Brought on by Pacifism.  Those who shape public opinion at home and abroad had still not gotten over the fashionable attitudes from the Carter administration years that the West should retreat gracefully before the emerging forces of the Third World, as well as accommodating the advancing might of the Communist world.

Liberal Bishops Blame America and Poverty For Terrorism.  Unwilling to acknowledge that hate-filled Muslim extremists declared war on the United States on September 11, these befuddled liberals believe that we should reason with the killers and establish a global welfare system to eliminate poverty.

Susan Sarandon Urges Sympathy for Suicide Bombers.  Left-wing actress Susan Sarandon says the U.S. and Israel should show some understanding toward suicide-bombing terrorists currently trying to provoke World War III in the Mideast, and not react like "shoot-'em-up" cowboys.

Anti-Americanism blamed on college teachers.  Professors and administrators are to blame for anti-American sentiment on college campuses today, according to a report by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni.  More than 140 college campuses in 36 states have held anti-war rallies denouncing the country's military actions in Afghanistan, the report says.

Criticism from Conservative Columnists:  Conservatives have been troubled by actions taken by the Bush administration that are aimed at withholding information that would normally be made public and that by law and precedent should be made public.

Bobby Fischer Applauds WTC Attacks:  Bobby Fischer, the reclusive American chess grandmaster, has broken years of silence to support the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  Mr. Fischer said: "This is all wonderful news.  It is time to finish off the US once and for all.

A Patriotic Professor is Falsely Accused.  If higher education is an enlightened search for truth, these misguided Muslim students have chosen a dead end paved with lies.

Anti-war movement blames U.S..  Groups finger "imperialist powers" as the ultimate enemy.

P.C. College Condemns War on Terror.  A liberal — and we do mean liberal — arts college in Massachusetts has won the dubious distinction of being the first to officially condemn America's war against terrorism.

The New War on Ashcroft:  Patrick Leahy's latest strategy.  Today [11/28/2001] Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy begins an intensive series of hearings designed to examine military tribunals, detention of suspects and witnesses, and other aspects of the Bush Justice Department's response to terrorism.  But Republicans believe the hearings have a secondary purpose as well:  to renew the attacks on Attorney General John Ashcroft that began during his confirmation hearings ten months ago.

All We Are Saying, Etc.  If there's one quality that defines the antiwar movement, from the generals down to the foot soldiers, it's thoughtlessness.  Absent thought, in the literal sense, the movement is sustained by gesture.  By chanting.  By ranting.  By guitar-strumming and candle-waving.

Losing on the home front.  America-haters have the upper hand on many campuses.  They are ever so sensitive to the feelings of Middle Eastern Muslims and completely insensitive to the feelings of patriotic Americans.

"Desperate" Democrats Attack War on Terrorism.  The Democrats have taken off the gloves.  Ever since September 11 they've fumed over President Bush's popularity and kept up the pretense of a loyal opposition by claiming to support the war on terrorism while attacking him on everything else.  Now they're even questioning the war effort.

Clinton Joins the Blame-America-First Crowd.  Bill Clinton says that terror has existed in America for hundreds of years and the U.S. is "paying a price today" for its past sins.

A Little Help From Our Enemies:  Rushing to find allies in the "war on terrorism," America has enlisted the help of some new "friends" who are themselves longtime sponsors of terrorism.

Liberal Intolerance:  A few weeks ago, the Madison, Wisconsin, school board banned the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner from its classrooms.  The AP reports that proponents of the ban argued that the pledge's phrase — "one nation, under God" — is inappropriately religious, and the national anthem's lyrics are militaristic.

Debunking the Clichés of Pacifism:  The philosophy of pacifism can be expressed in a single principle:  "The use of force is morally wrong."  This means that ALL force — any kind of force — is out of the question and must be opposed.

Leftists Plan Nationwide Anti-War Protests.  Leftist groups and individuals are organizing anti-war demonstrations all across the country on October 27.

ACLU Demands California School to Drop 'God Bless America' Display.  The Northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is battling to prevent a school in Rocklin, Calif. from displaying the phrase, 'God Bless America.'  The group argues that any demonstration of patriotism in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks should be secularized.

Politically correct terrorism:  America is in danger of losing this war.  But not because of any lack of military might or intelligence capability, nor even because of any unwillingness to sustain grievous human and financial losses.  No, America is in danger of losing this war because of political correctness.

Pacificism Empowers Terrorism.  When pacifists hold-up their "Global peace and unity" signs, remember that their version of "peace" means standing in a circle singing "kum ba yah" while terrorists murder your loved ones.

Pacifism on Principle is Suicide.  Pacifists of the 20th century had a lot of blood on their hands for weakening the Western democracies in the face of rising belligerence and military might in aggressor nations like Nazi Germany and imperial Japan.

The A-bomb was a lifesaver.  The 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has arrived with little of the fury that accompanied the 50th.  A decade ago, a bruising battle broke out over the Smithsonian Institution's plan for an exhibit suggesting that the American use of atomic weapons had been a racist war crime that served no legitimate military aim.

Berkeley vs. America:  President Bush urged citizens this week to go back to work and try to restore normalcy to their everyday lives.  Accordingly, the People's Republic of Berkeley, Calif., wasted no time in returning to its business as usual:  stifling political dissent under the guise of "tolerance," stamping out every last ember of patriotism for the cause of "peace," and hating America while greedily feasting off the fruits of freedom so lovingly tended by their fellow countrymen.

Environmental Group Retracts Editorial Bashing US.  The environmental group Earth Island Institute has pulled from its Internet web site an editorial that blamed U.S. energy and environmental policy for the September 11 attack on New York and Washington, D.C.

Kids' Page Promotes Pacifist Line.  A nationally syndicated newspaper page for kids ages 6-11 urges young readers to put the September 11 terrorist attacks in perspective, stressing peace, compassion, and prayers for terrorists.

Celebrities, Activists Say No To War.  A coalition of Hollywood celebrities, left-wing groups and pacifists are calling on the United States and President Bush to suspend any planned military response to the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.

 Editor's Note:   If you're a pacifist, please read the quotation at the bottom of this page.

All About Rep. Lee the Appeaser:  Rep. Barbara Lee has replaced Rep. Gary Condit as America's most despised California Democrat.  Even the liberals on NPR Saturday night were clucking over Lee being the only member of Congress to vote against using force on terrorists.

Lone House dissenter's extremist history:  Barbara Lee has extensive Communist, foreign ties.

Traitorous Media Works Leftist Agenda.  Even now, in the midst of the most vicious and horrific attack on Americans on American soil, the leftist media have shown themselves not only incapable of supporting the nation, but of actually undermining the President, with relish.  The despicable traitors have made it their mission to undercut the authority of President Bush during America's darkest hour, proving themselves even more cowardly than the terrorist murderers who are the only beneficiaries of such contemptible conduct.

Washington Post, Jennings, ABC Step Up Attack on President Bush.  Major media, including Peter Jennings' ABC News and the Washington Post have launched a full-scale spin war against President Bush.  Already, liberal media outlets have been raising questions about the president's taking a circuitous route back to Washington from Florida after being informed of Tuesday's terrorism.

Newsweek, ABC, Newsday, Dowd Join Media's Anti-Bush Assault.  The leftist media's shocking anti-Bush hatred in the face of national tragedy continues to grow.

A Few Suggested Targets:  While Washington scurries about looking for appropriate targets for retaliation against America's enemies, I have a few suggestions for Mr. Bush about who he ought to put in the nation's cross hairs:  Peter Jennings, Dan Rather, Andrea Mitchell, the New York Times, Mary McGrory, The Washington Post and all the other Benedict Arnolds in the anti-American media rat pack mindlessly attacking President Bush.

New York Times Attacking President Bush.  How depraved can the liberal media be?  How despicable?  How utterly anti-American?  The New York Times, the flagship of the liberal elites, the group that helped lead us to this mess, the same cabal that had only nice things to say about Bill Clinton, opened up a ferocious broadside against President Bush in the middle of one of the worst crises ever to hit our country.

Stand for America, Stand With Bush!  I am as outraged by the American media elitists — supposedly on our side — as I am by our enemies.  NewsMax has been reporting on the snide, undermining and absolutely unpatriotic comments being made by the major media as the country faces one of its worst crises ever — with even greater potential dangers looming over the horizon.

"The quickest way to end a war is to lose it."
— George Orwell   

Code Pink:

Time to Curb "Code Pink".  Finally, a member of Congress has announced a laudable plan to do something about the abusive behavior of demonstrators of the anti-war left. … The First Amendment protects vitriolic insults to military personnel, but anti-war anarchy goes beyond constitutional rights of free speech.

Code Pink co-founder is Obama bundler.  A co-founder of the anti-war group Code Pink, which has made a name for itself by interrupting hearings on Capitol Hill, is a fundraising bundler for Barack Obama.  Jodie Evans has pledged to raise at least $50,000 for Obama, according the Democrat's campaign site.

Top Dem Meets Regularly with Code Pink.  Code Pink, an anti-war group known for its frequent and sometimes raucous protests on Capitol Hill, meets regularly with Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), who serves on the Armed Services Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence, according to his staff.

'Peace' Advocates Playing Dirty.  Once content to thump drums and dig deep for chants that rhyme, the "peace" movement's foothold on the public soapbox has slipped.  The peaceniks — ANSWER, MoveOn.org, Code Pink and the rest — are in the midst of very public identity crisis.  They are facing, for the first time, visible and vocal opposition to both their words and their methods.  And it has made them angry.

The Violence of the Lambs.  The disgusting pro-tyranny group Code Pink met with the Iranian president for two hours during his visit to New York, and I'm not sure what is more revolting:  that Ahmadinejad had the opportunity to hold court with his most dedicated western apologists, or that those apologists continue to be described in the press as "peace activists."  If Code Pink is a peace group, then the United States Marine Corps is a knitting club.

Protester in SF attempts to handcuff Karl Rove.  An anti-war protester confronted former Bush administration aide Karl Rove while he spoke at a San Francisco mortgage bankers' meeting.  A statement by the group Code Pink identified the woman as 58-year-old Janine Boneparth, who tried to handcuff Rove in what she called a citizen's arrest for "treason."

Code Pink embraces shoe-thrower.  Following the lead of Iraqi shoe-thrower Muntazer al-Zaidi, Code Pink on Thursday launched its own protest using footwear.  The anti-war group known for disrupting congressional hearings featuring prominent Bush administration officials gathered in Washington Thursday to put hundreds of shoes in front of the White House.

Code Pink Hearts Iran's Mullahs.  On Wednesday, November 26, a 39-year-old woman, Fatemeh Haqiqat-Pajouh, was hanged, together with nine male prisoners, in Tehran's infamous Evin prison.  In 2001, Fatemeh had killed her husband while he was attempting to rape Fatemeh's then-14-year-old daughter, Zahra, born from a previous marriage. ... A few days before Fatemeh's execution, Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans, two wealthy American women and co-founders of Code Pink, arrived in Tehran on a "citizen diplomacy" trip. ... Benjamin and Evans wrote daily accounts of their trip to Tehran on their blog — and wasted not a word on poor Fatemeh or on the tragedy of women's rights in Iran under the mullahs and their Sharia laws.

More about Islam vs Feminism.

A Toast to Old Media's — and Old Medea's — Defeat in Iraq.  This victory — or, if you must, "the end of the war with Iraqi and U.S. forces firmly in control" — is a major setback for those who worked tirelessly for defeat.  At every opportunity, the defeatists employed or extended tactics that had ultimately "succeeded" in bringing about the fall of South Vietnam and Cambodia's killing fields — but which also led to Carter-era weakness, which finally caused enough disgusted Americans to elect Ronald Reagan.

Even the Democrats don't like them.
 Code Pink changes its hue.  With its cardinal mission not yet accomplished and Iraq now back seated by the domestic economic crisis, Code Pink is broadening its protest efforts and engaging in a two-front war of its own.  Is the mission now survival? ... "I don't think the Democrats ever fully embraced Code Pink," said Rebecca Kirszner, former communications director to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).  "Code Pink was always a little more extreme than the establishment."  Even outside Washington, other left-leaning groups have viewed the rosy ring of peaceniks with incredulity, if not contempt.  "Code Pink has never been more than a nuisance — an ineffective, self-indulgent, obnoxious and tone-deaf organization," said Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas.

Whose side are they on?
 Obama Ally Code Pink Invites Muslim Brotherhood:  'Join Us In Cleansing Our Country'.  Fresh on the heels of their Hamas-protected trip to Gaza, the so-called feminist, American antiwar group Code Pink, co-founded by top Obama funder Jodie Evans, is running banner advertisements on the English language version of the official Web site of a terrorist sympathizing group, the Muslim Brotherhood, one of which invites the Muslim Brotherhood to "join us in cleansing our country."

Code Pink's Support for the Enemy:  Code Pink members became known during the Bush Administration as confrontational anti-war protestors, but the group is actually worse than that.  Code Pink's leadership has aligned with almost every tyrannical force opposing the U.S., from Chavez to Ahmadinejad to Hamas to Iraq insurgents.  Code Pink is acting more like the ambassador for enemies of the free world than an advocate for peace.


Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney:

Congresswoman Cynthia "Jihad" McKinney:  An Enemy from Within.  Between September 11 and December 31, 2001, 100 of the 108 McKinney contributors of more than $100 were identifiably Arab or Middle Eastern.  Throw in McKinney's seats on the House Armed Services and International Relations Committees, and you have yourself lots of interesting questions.

Rep. Ackerman Turns Blue Over Congresswoman's Antics.  Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., doesn't think much of his colleague Cynthia McKinney's efforts to win a $10 million donation from Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal, and said so Friday in language usually reserved for R-rated cable television comedy.

Cynthia McKinney:  Today's Hanoi Jane.  During World War II, we had Tokyo Rose sending demoralizing messages to our troops.  During Vietnam, we had Hanoi Jane Fonda sending her treasonous messages to our boys in Southeast Asia, while aiming the Communists' cannons at them.  And in this War Against Terrorism, we have Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., – Jihad Cindy – to demoralize us and give aid and comfort to the enemy.

Update:
 Former U.S. Rep. McKinney enters presidential race as Green.  Former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is running for president as a member of the Green Party, which she says shares her views on ending the Iraq war, protecting the environment and other issues.  McKinney, who served five terms in Congress before losing her seat to a fellow Democrat last year, declared her candidacy in a video posted late Sunday on the Web site of a group that had been drafting her to run.

Much more about Ms. McKinney can be found on this page.


Senator Harry Reid:

Harry Reid:  Professional Menace.  Reid joined House Speaker and fellow president-slanderer Nancy Pelosi in sending a letter to President Bush berating him for not listening to the will of the American people on Iraq.  If Reid were truly interested in deferring to the will of the American people, he would tender his resignation today….

Harry Reid:  Working Overtime For Failure in Iraq.  The time for niceties has passed.  The leaders of the Democratic party not only do not support the war effort, they do not want our troops to win and it is getting harder every day to pretend that they do.

Reid adjusts antiwar strategy.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has refocused his antiwar crusade as his and Congress' job-approval ratings plummet to all-time lows.  Mr. Reid began the week Monday by vowing to "push very, very hard" for troop withdrawal from Iraq in a Defense Department budget authorization bill in two weeks.

Harry Reid's White Flag:  With enemies like Democratic Senate Majority Harry Reid, the terrorists don't need friends.  Yesterday, all by his lonesome, Reid ran up the white flag in the War on Terror — at least in the Iraqi theater.  "This war is lost," he said.  "[The troop] surge is not accomplishing anything."  And in the dark recesses of some damp cave, Osama bin Laden broke into a wide grin — even as Tehran's mullahs swapped high-fives.

Harry Reid, Loser.  The Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, believes the war in Iraq is lost. … Last November, the Democrats seized control of Congress on the pretense that they wanted to change our policy regarding Iraq but not — as they, to a man (and a woman) insisted — to merely cut and run.  We knew they weren't being truthful then, but too many people were taken in.  Now all pretense is dispensed with:  we can see the man behind the curtain.

Why Insurgents in Iraq Think They're Winning:  So how much damage did Harry Reid do when he blurted out recently that the war is lost?  Well look no further than the "Today" show and the interview by Matt Lauer of John Burns … Insurgents in Iraq only act like they come from the Stone Age.  In fact they are modern people who know how to find out how their enemy's morale is holding up.

Enemy has found a good friend in top Senate Democrat.  The world now knows this for certain:  America will cut and run when and if Democrats gain control of the White House.  Meanwhile, Reid has become the poster boy of the Muslim world — their most valuable ally and their most effective saboteur.  Considering the competition from fellow Democrats, that's quite an accomplishment.

The Price We Will Pay For Reid's Perfidy:  If Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat, is not a traitor, then the word has no meaning.  Mr. Reid, as the entire world now knows, said last week that the war in Iraq is already lost.  This week we learn that Senator Reid's remarks are being quoted on Islamist jihad Web sites.  The damage Reid and his comrades have done to the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan is incalculable.

Reid labels military leader 'incompetent'.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, "incompetent" during an interview Tuesday with a group of liberal bloggers, a comment that was never reported.  Reid made similar disparaging remarks about Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said several sources familiar with the interview.

'Orrible 'Arry Reid:  How much lower can Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-NV) sink?  Every time he seems to hit bottom, Reid does something that delves deeper.

Good news in Iraq is bad news for the anti-war lobby.  In April, US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid declared the war in Iraq lost, saying the the extreme violence in the country proved the surge was accomplishing nothing.  This week Senator Reid is still engaged in the vain attempt to block funding for the war in the US Senate, refusing to acknowledge the extraordinary success of the surge.


Congressman John Murtha:

John Murtha is Sorry.  Representative John Murtha is one sorry man, and by sorry, I do not mean apologetic.  His efforts to smear the military in the court of public opinion, the Marines in particular, has been elaborate, elongated and disgraceful.  It is hard to fathom that this man was ever a member of a group that he seems to hold in such contempt.

John Murtha, Hero of the War Protesters.  To embrace him, the antiwar left has ignored Murtha's dealmaking with a man they revile, former Republican leader Tom DeLay.  And his support for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and doling out pork from his seat on the powerful Appropriations defense subcommittee to defense companies in his district.  And the delight he also inspires in antiabortion, pro-gun advocates.

The cut-and-run crowd.  It would be easy to portray Jack Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid or any of the other wheezy prophets of the Defeatocrat Party as oddities were it not for the fact that their position on Iraq is deeply consonant with what the Modern Democratic Party has believed for 50 years.

It's (Past) Time for Murtha to Resign.  In a video teleconference last Thursday [11/29/2007], Murtha told his constituents, "I think the 'surge' is working."  Jack Murtha is remembered as the main opponent of American involvement in Iraq, who argued not merely against the surge but for an immediate withdrawal while al-Zarqawi still treated Anbar province as the beachhead of a new, pan-Islamic Caliphate.  The Abscam unindicted co-conspirator has demoralized the troops for years by claiming the war is "lost" and can never be "won militarily"; he has now vindicated the president and invalidated his unchanging, interminable counsel of withdrawal.

Memo to Murtha:  I ask you, sir:  Has such a vicious charge ever before been leveled at an American president in a time of war — or even a time of peace?  But you have not taken this low road.  Instead, you have said you believe the war in Iraq "cannot be won" and that "it's time to bring the troops home."  This is a discussion worth having.

The Murtha 'strategy'.  Rep. John Murtha (D., Pa.) imagines himself to be the scourge of the hawks in the Bush Administration.  Many journalists do, too, because they keep inviting him to appear on talk shows. … Mr. Murtha's newfound fame is a product of his call for immediate withdrawal from Iraq — or, in the dishonest way he likes to phrase it, "redeployment" from Iraq.

Will the Real Murtha Stand Up?  Contrary to popular opinion, Rep. John Murtha, the decorated ex-Marine who called for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, is no hawk.  He may also soon be probed for misusing defense appropriations. … Despite media and partisan insistence that after some deep introspection Murtha just recently changed his position on Iraq, his stand is nothing new.  A year and a half ago, he and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., held a joint press conference to announce that the war in Iraq isn't winnable.

Murtha's Anti-War Stance Overshadows Abscam Past.  Members of the press have given extensive and glowing coverage to Rep. John Murtha's criticism of the war in Iraq, but have overlooked a number of other controversies the Pennsylvania Democrat has experienced over the past 25 years.  This includes his reported role as an un-indicted co-conspirator in the Abscam bribery scandal of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Murtha's War Hero Status Called Into Question.  Murtha is a retired marine and was the first Vietnam combat veteran elected to Congress.  Since 1967, there have been at least three different accounts of the injuries that purportedly earned Murtha his Purple Hearts.  Those accounts also appear to conflict with the limited military records that are available, and Murtha has thus far refused to release his own military records.

Murtha's mangled medal stories.  Like Kerry, Murtha's medals came for surface wounds that never caused his evacuation from the battlefield, and like Kerry, he attempted to get his medals by political manipulation, in Murtha's case, through then-Rep. John Saylor.  But Saylor's office felt it was odd for Murtha to seek medals for "superficial lacerations."

'Murtha Democrats Believe America Can't Win,' GOP Says.  Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) says the United States needs to "change direction" in Iraq — because "we can't win a war like this."  Murtha, appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday [6/18/2006], said he's concerned about the financial and emotional costs of the war, not to mention the way it's being conducted.

Osama's Congressman:  Murtha claims we need to withdraw now, because, "It's worse today than it was six months ago when I spoke out initially." His evidence? Insufficient rubbish collection. "When I spoke out, the garbage wasn't being collected, oil production below pre-war level — all those things indicated to me we weren't winning this, and it's the same today, if not worse."

Murtha's irresponsible remarks:  Rep. John Murtha, who last year called for the immediate pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq, this week accused an entire Marine company of murdering 15 Iraqis "in cold blood." … By turning the presumption of innocence standard on its head, Mr. Murtha is duty-bound to name his sources or provide evidence.  Otherwise, he must immediately apologize to the Marines he so recklessly labeled as cold-blooded murderers.

Haditha:  Reasonable Doubt.  Eager to score points against President George W. Bush, US Representative John Murtha (D-PA) is calling the November 19 incident in Haditha "murder".  He claims there is a "cover up."  Over 40 news stories appeared Memorial Day weekend calling Haditha, "an atrocity" or "a massacre."  Murtha says, Haditha "is worse than abu-Ghraib."

The Editor says...
 If Congressman Murtha is so worried about murders and cover-ups, he should read about Ron Brown, Mary Mahoney and Vince Foster.

Murtha's second act:  [Congressman] Murtha, at age 74, has announced his candidacy for majority leader if the Democrats regain control of the House in the 2006 elections.  Jack Murtha proves there are second acts in American politics.  I had forgotten that federal prosecutors designated him an unindicted co-conspirator in the Abscam investigation 26 years ago.

America might not have beaten the Japanese if Jack Murtha had been around.  Are we serious about the war?  Can anyone imagine Congress in 1942 passing a provision like the one in the current bill?  Would they constrain Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower the way they propose to constrain Gen. David H. Petraeus?  Mr. Murtha has good intentions, but he's got it exactly wrong.  If U.S. forces lack the equipment or training they need, it's his job, as the chairman of the one subcommittee specifically responsible for originating defense appropriations, to make sure they get it.

Murtha Lied; Marines Were Tried (And Acquitted).  Even the infamously left-leaning Reuters (which refuses to call the 9/11 hijackers "terrorists") noted, "The reports brought international condemnation on U.S. troops in Iraq and famously inspired Rep. John Murtha, a Democrat from Pennsylvania and critic of the war, to charge that the Marines had killed the civilians 'in cold blood.'"  The damage of Murtha's single news conference alone can hardly be overestimated.

Half-cocked on Haditha.  If you call someone a cold-blooded killer in public, you'd better have the facts on your side.  That's our free, untrained legal advice for Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., who said precisely that about a handful of Marines once accused of killing civilians in Haditha, Iraq.

The Marines Vs. Haditha Smear Merchants:  Yet another U.S. Marine, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, had charges dropped Tuesday [6/17/2008] in the so-called Haditha massacre — bringing the total number of Marines who've been cleared or won case dismissals in the Iraq war incident to seven. "Undue command influence" on the prosecution led to the outcome in Chessani's case.  Bottom line:  That's zero for seven for military prosecutors, with one trial left to go.

Condemn And Remove Congressman Murtha.  Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, a father of six children and a 20-year war hero, spent the past three years having to survive under the horrendous pressure of being considered a war criminal.  He was not granted due process, neither were the other seven supposedly murderous soldiers.  Each was presumed guilty and had to prove their innocence.  Seven out of the eight soldiers have already been exonerated and the eighth has not yet been tried.  The opportunist, Murtha, rushed to judgment and did not even wait for an internal military investigation.

Ousting Jack:  Seven Marines have been cleared or won case dismissals in the Iraq war incident Murtha recklessly adjudicated in the court of public opinion — with willing mainstream journalists swinging their nooses.  Perhaps that complicity explains the great media wall of silence around [Bill] Russell's upstart campaign.

Exonerated Marine to sue Rep. Murtha.  One of the Marines cleared in the killings of Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha plans to sue his congressman today for statements he says defamed him and other members of his squad.  Former Marine Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, 24, of Canonsburg, will file a civil lawsuit against U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Johnstown, who was widely quoted two years ago saying that eight Marines carried out a cold-blooded killing of 24 civilians in the Iraqi town on Nov. 19, 2005.

Pennsylvania Marine sues Rep. Murtha over Haditha comments.  A former Marine sued Rep. John Murtha for slander on Thursday [9/25/2008], saying the congressman damaged his reputation by saying he and his comrades killed women and children "in cold blood" in Haditha, Iraq, in November 2005.  Former Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt filed the federal lawsuit in Pittsburgh.  Sharratt claims the comments the high-ranking Pennsylvania Democrat made on news shows in May 2006 also violated his constitutional rights to due process and presumption of innocence.

Murtha sued over remarks.  In May 2006, six months after 24 people were killed in a small Iraqi town, U.S. Rep. John Murtha made a startling accusation.  American soldiers, he contended, had killed innocent civilians "in cold blood."  Now, less than six weeks before the longtime Johnstown Democrat is up for re-election, a Marine involved in the now-infamous Haditha incident is suing Murtha for slander.

Trying to Lose The War We're In.  Even as [Secretary of Defense Robert] Gates was telling unpleasant truths to people in uniform — for it is they who will most bear the brunt of the Long War — congressional Democrats revealed how deeply they remain a state of denial.  Rep. John Murtha, the chairman of the House appropriations defense subcommittee, announced his opposition to the Bush administration's plan (and the supposed position of presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama) to increase the size of the active-duty Army and Marine Corps.

Murtha seeks immunity from suit.  A Marine who sued U.S. Rep. John Murtha for defamation urged a federal appeals court Tuesday [11/18/2008] to order the Johnstown Democrat to testify under oath in the case.  An attorney for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich told the court that he needs Murtha's deposition to determine how often the congressman made the claim that Marines in Iraq engaged in "cold-blooded murder and war crimes" in the slayings of civilians in Haditha.

Distinguished Disservice:  In honoring Murtha, the Navy insults its own.  In bestowing the navy's highest civilian medal, the Distinguished Public Service Award, upon Rep. John P. Murtha (D., Pa.) last month, the secretary of the Navy acted as a supplicant — an accountant happy to be given funds and disinclined to question the source.

Marine acquitted on all counts.  U.S. Marine Sgt. Ryan Weemer was acquitted by a military jury Thursday [4/9/2009] of murdering an unarmed Iraqi insurgent during fierce fighting in the city of Fallujah in 2004.

Murtha immune from Marine's defamation suit.  Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) is immune from a defamation suit filed against him by a U.S. Marine, a federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday [4/14/2009].  Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich filed suit against Murtha, claiming that the veteran lawmaker damaged his reputation when he told the press that Wuterich's squad in 2005 killed civilians in cold blood in Haditha, Iraq.

Suit vs. Murtha revised.  U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Johnstown, shouldn't be immune from a defamation lawsuit for saying Marines killed Iraqi women and children "in cold blood," because the lawmaker's comments came outside the scope of his official duties, a former Marine's attorney said.


The Dixie Chicks:

Celebrities display indifference toward American sovereignty.  Like every gasbag with a soapbox before her, from Jane Fonda to Barbra Streisand, Natalie Maines has no clue what it took in blood, sweat and sacrifice to obtain the freedom she now so blithely takes for granted.  Unfortunately for us, her celebrity gives her a mass forum with which to waste our time, and her fame lends an air of credibility to her obtuseness.

How the Chicks survived their scrap with Bush.  When [Natalie] Maines made her comment on March 10, 2003, 10 days before Operation Iraqi Freedom unleashed "shock and awe" over Baghdad, the Dixie Chicks were probably the biggest act in country music.  Yet within days, their music vanished from the charts and the airwaves, apoplectic rednecks crushed piles of their CDs with tractors, and the FBI was feverishly monitoring death threats against the trio.

They're singing the songs, but is anybody listening?  In music, as in politics, timing is everything.  In early 2003, just six weeks after performing the national anthem here to kick off Super Bowl XXXVII, the Dixie Chicks became national pariahs after its lead singer, Natalie Maines, told a London concert audience the Texas trio was "ashamed" to be from the same state as President Bush.  Result:  derision, death threats, charges of sedition and worse.

The Dixie Chicks:  Counting Chickens Before They are Hatched.  Just a short while ago, USA Today did a feature article on the country band The Dixie Chicks.  They became infamous in March of 2003, when their leader, Natalie Maines, stated that she was embarrassed to be a native of Texas because of President Bush's decision to invade Iraq.  Immediately radio stations boycotted their albums, former fans boycotted concerts, and they were dubbed as unpatriotic cheap shot artists.  The starship that had soared to the top of the country music charts abruptly crashed to earth.

Rockers Open Tour in Support of Kerry.  The Dixie Chicks faced radio-station boycotts and a talk-show furor last year after their lead singer, Natalie Maines, disparaged President Bush onstage.  "We have nothing to lose at this point, so any sort of fear or inhibition is out the window," Ms. Maines said by telephone this week.  "We definitely want a regime change, and now that we're getting down to the wire I'm even less afraid to speak out.  I just think things are absolutely life or death right now."

Country Fried Dixie Chicks:  Natalie Maines has the right to speak her mind, but what she said was imbecilic.  Since her commercial success is predicated in part on her band's ability to capture the American sense of life musically, I can't help but think her statements signed the death warrant of her public career.

Country radio nixes Dixie Chicks.  It appears the war U.S. country radio stations mounted against the politically outspoken Dixie Chicks has not abated in the least.

The Dixie Chicks Question Your Patriotism, But Don't Question Theirs.  The Chicks can't hide their disgust at the lack of support they received from other country performers.

Old 'tude keeps Dixie Chicks' new music off the air.  The Dixie Chicks aren't ready to make nice, and it seems the feeling is mutual.  With their new album, Taking the Long Way, in stores Tuesday [5/30/2006], no Houston stations — country or pop — claim to be playing any of the trio's new music.

Ditsy Chicks foul the nest.  When their formerly roaring career imploded overnight, Natalie Maines, the engaging lead singer who'd made the self-destructive statement, eventually made a reluctant half apology.  But their record sales all but vanished, their audiences dwindled dramatically and it appeared the Dixie Chicks might well wind up on a Col. Sanders menu.

... and don't come back!
 With U.S. ticket sales slow, Chicks head north of border.  They may not be running for elected office, but the Dixie Chicks appear to be struggling to work out a kind of political map of their own, heading for concert arenas where ticket sales are brisker and the fans may be more forgiving.

Dixie Chicks:  Crossing over burning bridges.  It's the best of times and the worst of times for the Dixie Chicks.  Ostracized by country fans in 2003, the trio — Emily Robison, Natalie Maines and Martie Maguire — have fallen gratefully into the loving arms of the national media on the strength of a defiant new CD.  Last month the Chicks scored a cover story in Time magazine and a flattering profile on "60 Minutes."

If you're interested in their side of the story ...
 "Let them Hate Us".  Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks discusses her group's new album and her outspoken criticism of "acting" US President George W. Bush, the boycotts, the death threats, their betrayal by Nashville and why the group is "not ready to make nice."

Not ready to make nice.  Marketing of the latest Chicks' CD has had little to do with the music.  It has mainly consisted of selling an image of a trio of rebels exercising their right to dissent and playing the role of victims suffering political persecution.

Dixie Chicks tour struggling in several markets.  Initial ticket sales for the Dixie Chicks' upcoming tour are far below expectations and several dates will likely be canceled or postoned. … Early ticket sales are clearly not meeting projections.  The plug was pulled on public on-sales for shows in Indianapolis), Oklahoma City, Memphis and Houston because of tepid pre-sales in a national promotion with Target stores.

The Editor says...
 Hmmm... Target.  Isn't that the same store that chased away the Salvation Army last Christmas?

Willie:  Dixie Chicks 'got a raw deal'.  Willie Nelson says the Dixie Chicks "got a raw deal" from a disapproving public following their criticism of President Bush.

Dixie Chicks cancel shows.  Several concerts on the Dixie Chicks' "Accidents & Accusations" tour have been canceled after slow ticket sales, but the group says it has replaced them with other dates.  Kansas City, Houston, St. Louis, Memphis and Knoxville are among 14 cities no longer on the original schedule released in May, according to a revised itinerary posted Thursday [8/3/2006] on the Dixie Chick's Web site.

Dixie Chicks at Center of Ad Flap.  The Dixie Chicks are again at the center of a controversy over the limits of opinionated talk.  A film company said Friday that NBC wouldn't accept an advertisement for "Shut Up & Sing," a movie about the fuss created by Dixie Chick Natalie Maines' comment that she was ashamed President Bush was a fellow Texan.  The network suggested the complaint may be a publicity stunt.

Bias alert:  The article below is very sympathetic to the Dixie Chicks.
 Dixie Chicks dissed again.  Television networks the CW and NBC are allegedly refusing to air commercials for the band's movie, "Shut up and Sing." … The ad, which is a truncated form of the full trailer, is a 30 second montage with voice over stating "If you think we're living in a free society, wait until you disagree with it."

Radio, promoter each blames other for cut in Chicks tour.  More than 20,000 Dixie Chicks fans in Houston bought the band's latest album, the 1.5 million-selling Taking the Long Way.  That much is clear, along with the fact that the Dixie Chicks' Houston concert date was canceled. … The Houston-based concert promoter that booked the Dixie Chicks' Accidents and Accusations Tour says Houston's country radio stations refused advertising dollars to promote the show.

Chicks stay the course; fans still stay away.  Some music lovers can't forgive the popular Dixie Chicks for dissing the president and then country music. … The Texas trio first upset fans when lead singer Natalie Maines dissed President Bush at a London concert in 2003.  She issued an apology, then retracted it.  More recently, the Chicks said they don't want their album in the same changer with discs by Toby Keith and Reba McEntire, a pronouncement akin to a NASCAR driver dissing rednecks.

The Dixie Chicks are still Big in Canada.

Dixie Chicks Lead Singer Natalie Maines Blasts Bush Again in New Documentary.  Natalie Maines, the lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, has not changed her tune.

Chicks still steaming, by George.  Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines says she's not ready to make nice with US president George W Bush.  The outspoken country music singer is sticking to her comments that she's ashamed Bush was from her home state of Texas.

Dixie Chicks, dissent, and "whacked" paranoia.  The singers were free to say whatever they wanted, just as the buying public was free to say whatever they wanted with respect to what the Dixie Chicks said.  There was public outcry, and indeed the Dixie Chicks lost fans and concertgoers.  But they also garnered new fans, including fawning press.  Their "naked" cover on Rolling Stone seems to have started a new fad:  the Multimillionaire Artist As Suffering Figure of Persecution.

Dixie Chicks singer sued for defamation.  Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines is the target of a defamation lawsuit by the stepfather of one of three 8-year-old boys slain in 1993.  Maines spoke out for three people convicted of the slayings and alleged the stepfather was instead involved in the killings.


The Cindy Sheehan Subsection:

Dear Useful Idiot:  That [Howard] Zinn's introduction overshadows anything in Cindy Sheehan's book underscores what a puppet she is of the more experienced Left.  She's still their most useful symbol of that strange new notion of bleeding-heart entitlement:  All citizens (or maybe, these days, all illegal aliens) who disagree with the president are entitled to have him stop what he's doing and listen to their complaints individually — especially if they're parents of soldiers killed fighting in Iraq.

Sheehan's controversial remarks:  Some of the comments [Cindy Sheehan] has made since she first came to prominence this summer have provoked heated criticism. … In one widely-disparaged remark, made in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, she called on Bush to pull US troops out of "occupied New Orleans."  On another occasion, Sheehan caused controversy by saying that a Republican senator who supported Bush had fallen "in lockstep behind his Fuhrer." … In an e-mail sent in her name to a US television show, she allegedly wrote that "my son joined the Army to protect America, not Israel."

Selective outrage on free speech:  I feel sorry for Cindy Sheehan.  She lost her beloved son, Casey, in the Iraq war, and for that she has my sympathy.  But losing your son in a war doesn't give you license to violate House decorum, as she did by wearing a t-shirt (reading: "2,245 Dead.  How many more?") before President Bush's State of the Union speech Tuesday night.  It also doesn't grant you special wisdom on foreign relations in South America.  If it did, Sheehan would not have let herself be embraced by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

'Peace Mom' Sheehan brings message to Canada.  Cindy Sheehan, an American whose son was killed serving in Iraq in 2004, has brought her anti-war message to Canada.

The reception is chilly in Canada.
 Cindy Sheehan:  a shameful example of grieving.  Surprise can not sum up the feeling I got when I learned that Cindy Sheehan, pawn of the American press, had flown to Canada to petition our government to encourage treason in her own country.  This is the same woman who felt it necessary to dishonor her own son's memory by protesting the fact that her son, an adult, had died doing what he had chosen to do; protecting freedom.

Crocodile Tears.  Cindy Sheehan has now been squatting in a roadside ditch near President Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch since August 6.  And every day more aging hippies, professional grievance-mongers, and underemployed liberal arts majors show up with their backpacks and banjos to join her.

Fred Barnes Calls Sheehan a "Crackpot," Rues Media Focus on Her.  Barnes criticized both her and the media's treatment of her:  "This woman wants to go in and tell the President that the war is about oil because the President wants to pay off his buddies.  She's a crackpot, and yet the press treats her as some important protestor."

The Liberal Media's Newest Hero.  Numerous quotes illustrate the transparent media bias in favor of anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan.

Looking the other way.  On August 6, as her 15 minutes of fame was just beginning, Cindy Sheehan used an odd term in a TV interview with Mark Knoller of CBS.  She referred to the foreign insurgents and terrorists in Iraq as "freedom fighters."  Knoller cut those words out of his report, he told me, because he "really wasn't interested."  He should have left them in.  In fact, alarm bells should have rung in his brain.

Exploiting Cindy Sheehan's Emotional Crackup.  The media frenzy surrounding Cindy Sheehan, the woman who lost a son in Iraq, is a prime example of what has gone wrong with 24-hour "news" coverage.  The woman is clearly unhinged, and while we need to respect her grief at losing her son, it is now abundantly evident that her campaign has moved beyond her personal loss to her political ideology.

"America is not worth dying for!"  So said Cindy Sheehan in April of this year at a rally in support of Attorney Lynne Stewart, who was convicted of aiding and abetting terrorism.  Some commentators have speculated that Sheehan is a political innocent being controlled by radical leftists such as Michael Moore.  I say her words prove that she has become a radical leftist in her own right.

NY Times Only Tells Half the Story on Cindy Sheehan.  It's one thing to be anti-war. … But, anti-American statements?  That's a different story and one the MSM does not want to bring out because it would open too many eyes to the whole truth.

Who's Behind Cindy Sheehan?  The story of Cindy Sheehan is a sad story all the way round.  It is sad she lost her son in the Iraq War.  It is sad that she is being exploited by far left.  It is also sad that she is being exploited by the media and that she seems to enjoy it.  The latest example of this crass exploitation is the August 13 page-one story in the Washington Post about how the anti-war mother has gained "visibility."  The Post and other media have given her this "visibility."  They are feeding off one another to promote an anti-war agenda.

Cindy Sheehan's Sinister Piffle:  Sheehan has obviously taken a short course in the Michael Moore/Ramsey Clark school of Iraq analysis and has not succeeded in making it one atom more elegant or persuasive. … What dreary sentimental nonsense this all is, and how much space has been wasted on it.  Most irritating is the snide idea that the president is "on vacation" and thus idly ignoring his suffering subjects….

Cindy Sheehan:  Victim of Liberal-Left.  With each new interview and TV commercial, it is increasingly clear that she has allowed herself to become the mouthpiece for the liberal left's anti-war, anti-Bush vitriol.

Sheen, Sheehan and Sharpton star in theater of absurd.  When Cindy Sheehan knelt to place flowers on her son's grave, alone with her pain, she was a sympathetic character whose loss would break a million hearts.  When Cindy Sheehan knelt to place flowers next to a stage-prop cross erected for Nikons and networks in Crawford, she was an actress studiously performing for an audience that may easily find other places for their sympathies to repose.

Even Cindy Sheehan can go too far.  In their haste to assault President Bush and the war in Iraq, Sheehan's allies have ignored her extremism.  They have ignored her attempt to undermine other military families and to destroy the morale of troops still in combat.  Those on the radical anti-war left are only too happy to trumpet Sheehan's disgusting message.

Some parents mean more than others.  Cindy Sheehan is wrapping up operations in Crawford, Texas, and preparing to torment the East Coast with her "Camp Casey" circus, much to the delight of the cheerleading national media.

What Cindy Sheehan Really Wants:  When are the bureau chiefs of our newspapers and networks going to snap out of their own vacation-induced trances and send some grown-up correspondents down to Crawford, Texas?  For weeks now, Cindy Sheehan has not been asked a single question that is any tougher than "How does it feel?"  The media have been acting as her megaphone.

Now You Sheehan, Now You Don't.  We're guessing Sheehan won't come back, and even if she does, who cares? … Reporters can't possibly be both bored enough and creative enough to keep this story going.

Dear Cindy Sheehan:  I know you want to talk to President Bush about the conflict in Iraq, the war in which your son, Specialist Casey Sheehan, was tragically killed.  I also know that while the President met with you previously, he is not eager to see you again — not now that you are affiliated with Moveon.org and supported by David Duke and handled by slick public relations professionals.

Cindy, the War in Iraq, and Dissent in a Time of War.  Speech that endangers American lives can be restricted in wartime, censorship in wartime is standard for all countries, including all democracies, and speech has led to trials — and convictions — for treason, Tokyo Rose and Axis Sally being two obvious examples.

www.iowapresidentialwatch.com

The Editor mutters:
 [Not only does Cindy not speak for me, I doubt if she speaks for her son.]

Cindy Sheehan Delivers Katrina Aid To Moslem Radical.  As discussed elsewhere, Cindy Sheehan's compadres, the august Veterans For Peace, have been helping themselves to Red Cross food and other supplies.  So the supplies they brag about having delivered to former Black Panther and now Moslem radical, Malik Rahim, were almost certainly pilfered from the Red Cross.

The Million Yawn March:  I count 29 people.  This is her entire protest party.  Including Cindy. … The organizers backing her show hope to draw "ten of thousands" of fellow protestors this weekend, but if this sad crowd and last night's turnout of just 150 in New York are any indication, the fledging anti-war movement of Cindy Sheehan is all but dead.

Reds and Cindy Sheehan Come to Town.  As the U.S. gets hit by another hurricane, the Cindy Sheehan media circus is blowing into Washington, D.C. On Saturday [9/24/2005] she's a featured speaker at a communist-organized "anti-war" rally.

Whitewashing the colorful fringe.  One potentially big story was the most recent left-wing march on Washington to protest the Iraq war, which was reduced to snippets on some network shows.  But the nation's biggest newspapers, with ample space to fill, were there.  And based on their stories, it was hard to tell whether they were covering it — or sponsoring it.

Anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan:  The whole world is watching.  A lengthy list of Sheehan's irresponsible statements.

Sheehan has spent her sympathy.  Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in action in Iraq on April 4, 2004, has become the face of the anti-war movement in the United States.  While her grief is understandable, her rhetoric is outrageous.

You don't build a movement on that.  A large number of Americans feel deep and understandable unease about the war in Iraq, and want nothing more than to pull out.  But the antiwar movement is singularly disserved by its leadership, such as it is.  Its de facto leader is Cindy Sheehan, who catapulted herself into that role by quite brilliantly exploiting the media's hunger for political news during the August recess, and by wrapping herself in the courage of her son Casey, who died in Iraq.

Cindy and Jesse Find Each Other.  A picture that says a thousand words.

Pushing bad news:  Cindy Sheehan was more or less a summer-long anti-Bush media construct, kept aloft by withholding the news that she regards "insurgents" in Iraq as "freedom fighters," hates her country (America "is not worth dying for") and thinks Lynne Stewart, the lawyer convicted of aiding terrorists, is a real-life Atticus Finch, the heroic attorney of "To Kill a Mockingbird."  She's a loony Michael Moore clone, protected by the media's "bereaved mom" image.

Cindy:  Answer a Question about ANSWER.  One of the few remaining high-class shows on the Fox News channel, Special Report with Brit Hume, explored the sensitive topic of who ran the September 24 demonstration in Washington, D.C.  First there was a report by reporter Jim Angle on how the communist Workers World Party played a key role, and how it supports dictators such as Kim Jong Il and even the Iraqi terrorists.

This is what's known as cahoots:
 Cindy vs. Hillary.  Harsh criticism of President Bush by [Cindy] Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, was faithfully reported for months.  But she was hardly covered last Saturday when she called [Hillary Rodham] Clinton "a political animal who believes she has to be a war hawk to keep up with the big boys."

Cindy Sheehan Found Guilty of Misdemeanor.  Iraq War protester Cindy Sheehan and 26 other peace activists were found guilty Thursday of protesting without a permit near the White House.  They were each ordered to pay $75 in fines and court costs, but Sheehan's lawyer said he plans to appeal the verdict.

Cindy Sheehan buys property in Crawford.  War protester Cindy Sheehan has purchased a 5-acre plot in Crawford with some of the insurance money she received after her son was killed in Iraq.

[Eventually somebody sold rifles to the Indians, and now somebody has sold land in Crawford to Cindy Sheehan.]

Texas Town Disturbed by Sheehan and her Protests.  The protesters group said it outgrew a 1-acre lot about a mile from Bush's ranch that a sympathetic landowner provided.  Several hundred demonstrators returned to the lot over Thanksgiving and Easter.  Many of the town's 700 residents fear the traffic congestion, noise from rallies and odor from portable toilets — complaints from residents near the other campsite — will affect those closer to town.

Sheehan returns:  "peace mom" back in Central Texas.  Cindy Sheehan is back in town.  After flying in from Jordan on Saturday night [8/5/2006], Sheehan led a day of anti-war protests that culminated in an afternoon march in heat exceeding 100 degrees from the site of Camp Casey I to a checkpoint outside President Bush's ranch.

Sheehan resumes war protest near Bush's ranch.  Under the blazing Texas sun, Sheehan and more than 50 demonstrators again marched a mile and a half toward Bush's ranch, stopping at a roadblock.  As the Secret Service agents stood silently, Sheehan held up her California driver's license and said she wanted to meet with the president.

[AS IF the Secret Service guys don't know who she is.]

 Lonesome doves:  Praying for peace, or at least a breeze.  As night fell, about 50 peace activists sat in a circle under a blanket of stars and chanted a Hindu mantra.  "Ommmmmm," they began, as one, in a droning monotone. ... The anti-war demonstrators don't complain about the heat and Spartan conditions and shrug off the occasional "drive-by shoutings" from motorists traveling along state Texas 317.  Passers-by yell at the strangers, telling peaceniks to get a life, to get a job, to go home.

Socialists Back Out Of Sheehan Protest.  The International Socialist Organization has rescinded its sponsorship of Cindy Sheehan's upcoming 17-day anti-war protest in Washington, D.C., according to a spokesman for the event.

Scofflaw!
 Sheehan tracked down for unpaid traffic ticket.  Police tracked down war protester Cindy Sheehan at a vigil near President Bush's ranch for failing to pay a traffic ticket.  Officers from the Waco suburb of Woodway went to a roadblock near the ranch Tuesday night [8/29/2006] where Sheehan and other war protesters had gathered, said Sheehan's spokeswoman Tiffany Burns.

Cindy Sheehan's friend in need.  The news is as cruel lately as the Midwest's Children's Blizzard.  First you find out that Cindy Sheehan was a paid shill of the Kerry campaign all along, that she dabbles in the darker side of the internet, and you dab at a reflexive tear at that news.

Cindy Sheehan Goes on Trial for Trespassing at U.N. Mission.  Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who protested the Iraq war by camping outside President Bush's Texas ranch, went on trial with three other women Tuesday [12/5/2006] on charges of trespassing at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.  The women tried to deliver an anti-war petition with 70,000-plus signatures to mission officials on March 6.

Sheehan Among 4 Convicted of Trespassing.  Peace activist Cindy Sheehan and three other women were convicted of trespassing Monday [12/11/2006] for trying to delivery an anti-Iraq war petition to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and refusing to leave.

Sheehanoia Redux:  Remember Cindy Sheehan?  Neither does anyone else, which we suppose is why the Associated Press is now putting forward a new "folk hero" for the "anti-war movement":  Rosemarie Jackowski, a diminutive sexagenarian from Vermont who was arrested in 2003 for disrupting traffic and has been appealing her conviction ever since.

Worn Out Welcome?  Cindy Sheehan No Longer on Tips of Everyone's Tongues.  Public opposition to the war in Iraq reached a crescendo in 2006, fueling a backlash against the Bush administration and the Republican Party in the congressional midterm elections.  But throughout the fall election season, the "peace mom" who played a large part in launching the anti-war movement was comparatively silent.  Cindy Sheehan has been largely absent from the political stage in recent months.

[And that's probably because the liberals in the news media realize that we're all tired of hearing about Cindy, so her appearance on television does more harm than good, from their perspective.]

And yet she struggles to stay in the headlines ...
 Cindy Sheehan Arrested Outside Bush's Texas Ranch.  Peace activist Cindy Sheehan and four other protesters were arrested Thursday [12/28/2006] for blocking a road near President Bush's ranch, delaying the arrival of Vice President Dick Cheney's motorcade, authorities said.

Cindy Sheehan routs the Democrats.  Cindy Sheehan, the "peace activist" who famously besieged President Bush at Prairie Chapel Ranch, yesterday [1/3/2007] routed the leaders of the new House Democratic majority from their press conference where they attempted to present their legislative agenda.  Chants of "de-escalate, investigate, troops home now," drowned out the new majority leaders, including Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the chairman of the Democratic House Caucus.

I Paid for This Microphone, Mr. Emanuel.  Like the ghost of Hamlet's father haunting Elsinore Castle, antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan appeared at the Capitol this week to send the new Democratic leaders a clear message:  Remember me.  "Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leadership can no longer tell us what is on the table," Sheehan said on Wednesday [1/3/2007], after commandeering a set of microphones from Democratic Rep. Rahm Emanuel.  "We are the ones that put them in power and they are not including the peace movement."

Sheehan in Cuba to Protest Gitmo Prison.  American "peace mom" Cindy Sheehan called for the closure of the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as she and other activists arrived here Saturday to draw attention to the nearly 400 terror suspects held at the remote site.

Saying 'No!' to Cindy.  How many times have you sat in front of the TV over the last four years, watching anti-war activists march on Washington, chase the ROTC off your local college campus, vandalize war memorials, insult the troops and wreak havoc under the surrender banner?

Bush critic Sheehan blasts US Democrats.  Prominent Iraq war opponent Cindy Sheehan urged US President George W. Bush on Friday to "end this madness" and accused his Democratic foes of having "betrayed" their anti-war supporters.

Anti-war activist mother quits role.  US anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan has announced she no longer wants to be the public face of the movement against the US-led invasion of Iraq, a cause she spearheaded following the death of her soldier son.  Ms Sheehan, best known for camping out at US President George W. Bush's Texas ranch, said she has become disillusioned with the struggle, which has ravaged her bank account, wrecked her marriage and strained her relationship with her surviving children.

Sheehan leaves Crawford, 'resigns' as protest leader.  Cindy Sheehan, the soldier's mother who galvanized an anti-war movement with her monthlong protest outside President Bush's ranch, says she's done being the public face of the movement.

Crawford happy to see war foe hit the road.  Folks in this one-stoplight town near President Bush's ranch said Friday they are thrilled that Cindy Sheehan is packing up her tents and lanterns as she steps down as the face of the anti-war movement.

War backers seek to buy protest site.  Days after Cindy Sheehan said she was stepping down as the face of the anti-war movement, an organization that supports the U.S. intervention in Iraq said Friday it plans to buy her protest site outside President Bush's ranch.

Sheehan Selling Land to Radio Show Host.  Cindy Sheehan will sell her war protest site near President Bush's ranch to a California radio talk show host, who will preserve it as a peace memorial, her spokeswoman said.

Sheehan Considers Challenge to Pelosi.  Six weeks after announcing her departure from the peace movement, Cindy Sheehan said Sunday that she plans to run against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unless she introduces articles of impeachment against President Bush in the next two weeks.

The Party of Cindy (Sheehan):  Cindy Sheehan's announcement that she will challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi if she doesn't move to impeach President Bush raises a serious question:  Who comprises Cindy's base? … Aside from aliens, Sheehan would draw from a wide range of people:  felons, drug addicts, and anybody with more body piercings than Frankenstein's wife.  The one group she may not have in the bag is the anti-war group.

The epic narcissism of Cindy Sheehan:  Even the American left's netroots are getting tired of Cindy Sheehan.  It's a shame it took them so long.  Sheehan, the epic narcissist who became the face of the anti-war movement, has been banned from posting any further entries on Daily Kos, arguably the most influential of all liberal blogs in the US. … Sheehan has said she will decide on July 23 whether to go ahead with her attempt to oust Pelosi — who is, incidentally, about as liberal as congressional Democrats get — from her San Francisco district.  "Democrats and Americans feel betrayed by the Democratic leadership," Sheehan recently proclaimed with her customary certitude.

Sheehan wants impeachment, Pelosi's job.  [Cindy] Sheehan, whose 24-year-old son Casey was killed in Iraq, has been saying for two weeks that she would seek to oust Pelosi from office by running against her as an independent in her San Francisco district if Pelosi didn't change her mind by July 23 on trying to impeach Bush.

Dems hit Sheehan candidacy.  A local Democratic Club has criticized the decision by anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan to run against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  "If you continue with this threat to embarrass the speaker, it is very possible that the voters will turn against the Democratic leadership in Congress and return the Republicans to the majority," stated a letter written by J. Paton Marshall, corresponding secretary for the Robert F. Kennedy Democratic Club.

Washington, D.C., Judge Issues Bench Warrant for Cindy Sheehan.  A bench warrant was issued Thursday [9/27/2007] for antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan, who did not appear for arraignment Thursday in a Washington, D.C., courtroom to face charges related to her Sept. 10 disorderly conduct arrest on Capitol Hill.

Cindy Sheehan in Egypt for Islamists.  Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan joined a protest Wednesday [2/13/2008] seeking the support of Egypt's first lady in ending a military trial of members of the country's largest Islamic organization.

Anti-war Cindy Sheehan files to take on Pelosi.  Peace activist Cindy Sheehan wants to snatch House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's congressional seat from her in November, but first she's going to need the help — and signatures — of 10,198 friends and supporters.  Sheehan was at San Francisco City Hall on Friday [4/25/2008] to take out papers for her independent run for Congress, but without those signatures from voters in the district, her name won't show up on the ballot.

Cindy Sheehan to Lead Protest at Bush House.  Remember the grieving mother turned war protester who camped outside the Bush ranch in Crawford during the blazing summer heat?  Well, Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, is scheduled to lead a protest outside the Bush house in Preston Hollow this weekend, according to the Dallas Peace Center.

It's Not Easy Being a Has-Been.  Like a child star, Sheehan has gone from being the center of attention to standing around wondering where all the cameras went.

The Principled Protester.  Turns out at least one person from the anti-war left has principles, after all.  Too bad it's ... Cindy Sheehan.

Cindy Sheehan:  Where Have All the Cameras Gone?.  Cindy Sheehan brings Camp Casey to Martha's Vineyard.  Meanwhile, the mainstream media is as apathetic about her new protest as they are about an Afghan body count.


Congressman Charlie Rangel:

Some people will say anything to get on television.  That appears to be the primary motivation for Congressman Charlie Rangel's proposal to reinstate the draft.

Rep. Rangel Will Seek to Reinstate Draft.  Americans would have to sign up for a new military draft after turning 18 if the incoming chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee has his way.  Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said Sunday he sees his idea as a way to deter politicians from launching wars and to bolster U.S. troop levels insufficient to cover potential future action in Iran, North Korea and Iraq.

Uncle Charlie Wants You!  Mr. Rangel's real argument is about class in America, not over the best way to fight Islamic terrorism overseas.  He's suggesting that somehow only the poor serve in Uncle Sam's Army.  But his views are both out of date and condescending to those who do serve.  Alas, they are shared by many on the political left, who think that the military places an unfair burden on the working class.

Congressman Rangel brought this same subject up several times over the last couple of years and in the last session of Congress the Republicans called his bluff.  They called for an immediate floor vote and Mr. Rangel voted against the draft.*.  The vote was 402 to 2.*.

See also Rangel introduces bill to reinstate draft, 1/7/2003.

Trying to "Rangel" some facts.  If Rangel has facts that support his contention that our troops are poor, ill-educated dead-enders with no prospects for success in civilian life, he ought to present those facts.  Otherwise, he should stop abusing our brave men and women in uniform, learn to face the truth and start acting like a responsible leader.

Charlie Rangel Is Wrong About Recruits.  Rep. Charlie Rangel (D.-N.Y.), soon to chair the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has announced his intention to try to reinstate the draft. … Rangel claims that mostly poor people with few opportunities enlist, often driven to military service because of structural unemployment. … This serious charge — that the most vulnerable citizens are being hauled away to fight in corporate America's wars of choice while the elite are earning fortunes — is untrue.

Democrat Would Draft Your Daughter.  By now, anybody paying attention to the media in recent weeks knows that Rep. Charles Rangel (D.-N.Y.), who will become Ways and Means chairman in the next Congress, wants to reinstate the draft.  What many may not know is that Rangel wants to draft not only all young American males, but also all young American females, to serve in the military or some alternative civilian service.

Reinstating the Military Draft.  Contrary to Rep. Rangel's assertion, a draft would tend to give rise to greater, not less, use of the military.  Today's all-volunteer military consists of high-quality soldiers and fewer misfits than yesteryear. … The military draft is an offense to the values of liberty, causes misallocation of resources, and there's a higher risk of getting a bunch of misfits.  The all-volunteer military does none of this.

Draft Equals Moral Bankruptcy.  Turning citizens into slaves is no way to instill loyalty or to build a competent army.  You don't preserve freedom by sacrificing freedom.  If a war is truly in a nation's defense, people will be willing to fight to defend themselves.  If they aren't, then they deserve what they get.  It the war is not worth fighting, then the government has no business fighting it, much less drafting people to fight in it.

The Military Draft and Draft Registration Versus Freedom:  The Constitution says to Congress, "Raise an army, but do it with volunteers."  So how is it we've had a military draft?  Mostly, by means of the same justification given for other intrusions on our liberty:  crisis.

Charlie Rangel Doesn't Understand Real Men.  When Charlie Rangel closed out the year by seconding John Kerry's sentiment that men end up in the military by default rather than choice, he exposed something that many have long suspected not only about Rangel and Kerry, but about the Democratic Party itself:  they don't understand the nature of men.


Jane Fonda:

Jane Fonda's second coming:  Having made her first movie in many years that was a box office success, [Jane] Fonda apparently thinks her new visibility gives her a certain credibility to comment on the Iraq war.

An American Traitor:  Guilty As Charged.  For three decades Jane Fonda obfuscated, distorted and lied about virtually everything connected with her wartime trip to North Vietnam:  her motive, her acts, her intent, and her contribution to the Communists' war effort.  With the aid of clever handlers, she so successfully suppressed and spun her conduct in Hanoi that many Americans didn't know what she had done there, and, more important, the legal significance.

Treason is Not Merely Dissenting Against Wars.  Most prominent (but hardly alone) among the Vietnam war protestors was actress Jane Fonda, whose name still arouses indignation among American patriots, and deservedly so.  Two of her deeds merit special condemnation and indelibly blacken her character.

Cindy, the War in Iraq, and Dissent in a Time of War.  Speech that endangers American lives can be restricted in wartime, censorship in wartime is standard for all countries, including all democracies, and speech has led to trials — and convictions — for treason, Tokyo Rose and Axis Sally being two obvious examples.

Cindy Sheehan's Radical Strategist:  To anyone familiar with the world of professional protesting — protests against globalism, capitalism, war, police tactics, and dozens of other causes — the presence of [Lisa] Fithian is a sign of how far Cindy Sheehan has strayed from the roots of her "one mom" crusade against George W. Bush.  Or, perhaps more accurately, it is a sign that the "one mom" crusade was never just one mom.

Vegetable oil and tours of "duty":  "Hanoi Jane" Fonda seems to have tired of her moniker.  The wilted flower child who firmly established her place in American history when she mounted a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun has decided it's time to teach a whole new generation to blame America first.

Jane Fonda's Magical Mystery Tour:  Many Vietnam vets do not forgive Fonda for what they view as treason and for making their lives harder, especially prisoners of war who were tortured in her name.  To her limited credit, Fonda has apologized.  Still, her newest foray into antiwar territory feels like a cartoonish parody of her former self.

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things.  The decayed and degraded state of morals and patriotic feelings which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.  The man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight and nothing that he cares more about than his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.

- John S. Mills (1806-1873)  
English philosopher and economist  


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