Underreported

News to note:

There's more evidence that Iran is aiding the terrorists in Iraq. According to the SITE Institute, "[s]ix photographs of Iran-branded equipment and weapons" were found in Diyala, Iraq today. A man captured following a battle had on his person a communication device and left on the battle field, Katyusha rockets, all carrying the symbol of the Iranian Department of Defense. Reuters has more.

AQI (al Qaeda in Iraq) leader Abu Hamza al-Muhajir has issued a new threat to U.S. bases and troops in Iraq. He is calling for "every holy fighter in Iraq to strive during this holy month... to capture some dogs of the Christians so that we can liberate our imprisoned sheikh [Omar Abdul Rahman]." As well, al-Muhajir pleads for experts in "chemistry, physics, media, and all other sciences" to join his fight against the infadels. He continues, "American bases [in Iraq] are good places to test your unconventional weapons, whether biological or dirty."
Great Britain's Telegraph is reporting that "China has secretly fired powerful laser weapons designed to disable American spy satellites by 'blinding' their sensitive surveillance devices..." The laser tests "do not aim to destroy American satellites," however, as the piece goes on, "China is engaged in a large-scale espionage effort against American high-tech firms working on projects such as the multi-billion[dollar] DD(X) destroyer program" and their military expenditure is "increasingly designed to challenge American military pre-eminence."

Since an Islamic militia took control of Mogadishu, Somalia in June due to a power vacuum, Somalis have not been too happy. After organizing a stone-throwing demonstration against the leaders, militiamen opened fire on the citizens, killing one, wounding two. The militia chief, an al-Qaeda collaborator, said their goal was to "worship Allah and fight for the sake of Islam."

Robert Redeker, a Fenchman, received email threats for a newspaper column he wrote criticizing the Islamic response to Pope Benedict XVI's remarks two weeks ago. Islamic Internet websites are carrying his picture and home address which calls for the "pig" to be decapitated (a great way to persuade infadels to convert). Banned transcript here.

The Wednesday Lull

It's midweek and the taskers are low.

I've decided to invest non-material support in Sen. Clinton's 2006 Senate campaign. As history has shown us, a sitting senator has never been elected POTUS. Go Hil!
Correction: Of our 43 Presidents, only two have elected as incumbent senators - JFK and Warren Harding. Since President Kennedy's assassination (more than 4 decades passed), 41 sitting senators have tried their hand at winning the First Seat. All of which, ended in defeat. Big names include Goldwater, McGovern, Dole, and Kerry. Only 11 former senators have ever won the presidential slot.

Unfortunately for me, rumors from TUAW and Think Secret suggest that the much-anticipated iPhone, to be released First Quarter 2007, will be limited to the Cingular service provider until mid-year. The phone is expected to have a 100-song limit.

FYI: Not only was the increase of gas prices related to the GOP (out of greed and oil love), but critics are now accusing them of decreasing the price due to some big event in November. Nearly 50% of Americans polled thought the elections influenced the price drop. A new Gallup poll puts the number at 42% for people who believe the Bush administration "deliberately manipulated the price of gasoline so that it would decrease before this fall's elections." If the conspiracy theory is true, why would the evil Republicans allow gas to jump that high in the first place? Wouldn't that damage their image to have high gas prices during their term? For a dumb guy, President Bush is quite the powerful thinker when it comes to market manipulation.

Let the mudslinging begin! Drudge and the NYT are reporting that Republicans are pushing an October ad blitz, 90 percent said to be negative. Rep. Reynolds of New York said, (paraphrasing) "You ain't seen nuthin' yet." I love a good catfight.

The slippery slope just got a greasing. New York City's Department of Health is proposing a ban on trans fats in restaraunts. This comes three years after the city told businesses that patrons were not allowed to smoke indoors or even outdoors. The health commissioner claims trans fats are "dangerous and unnecessary. ... No one will miss it when it's gone." That is, everybody that doesn't like McDonald's fries, KFC's chicken, and Dunkin' Donuts. If the government is going to protect people from themselves, I propose we begin place labels on all sugary foods, fatty foods, high-carb foods, and caffeinated drinks. For me, it's another reason to avoid NYC at all costs.

British troops have put to rest a key al Qaeda Operative in Basra, Umar al-Faruq. The radical set up the first AQ training camp in Southeast Asia and had escaped from Bagram, Afghanistan in June 2005. More info on al-Faruq here.

I am currently reading Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity by John Stossel.

Reading Assignments:
David Ignatius: "Democrats ... ducking the hard question of what to do next [in Iraq.]"
Stephen Hayes: The Senate's Intel Report is WAY off.
Rich Newman: Bush's Failure as a Gas Price Manipulater
Jack Kelly: Leaking Times and the Declassified NIE
Rich Vos: Finding a Strategy

Six More Years!

Last Friday, I signed my reenlistment packet, adding another six years onto my current Army contract. This will bring my total service time to a total of twelve years.

I couldn't see myself outside the Army, so optioning to re-up was purely natural.


I was sworn in by Major General Scott, USAF on Saddam's old parade grounds.

Stay Tuned...

Big news soon to come...

Hugo Chavez, hater of all things American, has accused Bush of "[walking] like John Wayne." I guess he didn't know that being compared to The Duke was among the highest of compliments you can give an American man.

Something that slipped by me a half-a-month ago: According to The Virginia Pilot, Army Reservists and Guardsmen who jumped ship when their country called them to war stayed on the military's payroll. The total worth of the checks sent out added up to more than $900,000. In fact, 75% of deserting Reservists continued to be paid. Not only should the chickens forfeit their unearned pay, they should be put on trial for desertion, which carries the maximum sentence of 10 years.

The GOP is getting the biggest gift they could wish for: Karl Rove's help. Two conservative websites, Newsmax and The American Spectator, are claiming "Turd Blossom" himself will be blessing the Republican party with an "October surprise." With the party slowly swinging to the positive in polls, this might be the key that seals the deal for a continuation of a Republican-led nation. Even with polls the way they have been perceived within the last month, I haven't been the least bit worried about Democrats taking over the House, much less the Senate.

Saturday's Comments

It looks like kids finally have a legitimate excuse for not eating their spinach. The bagged vegetable is being held responsible for the infection of E. Coli in dozens and the death of one in Wisconsin. The use of dirty water to wash spinach is being presumed as the probable cause. PETA has yet to comment on the issue, but I'm sure the inhumane treatment of cows is surely to blame.

Microsoft has debuted their "iPod-killer," the new Zune. As much as I am impulsed to despise this toy, it looks pretty freakin cool. They're attempting to reach the younger market with its wireless sync capability, public sharing of photos and playlists, and the incorporation of YouTube and MySpace home-made movies. According to the Seatle-based company, kids would rather "[share] funny homebrew video clips than [catch] up on 'Lost.'" I don't see the gadget as an iPod killer as it is not as asthetically pleasing, but it may put a small dent into the Cupertino-based company's 60% mp3 market domination. If Zune works anything like the Microsoft operating system, expect bug-fixes every few days.

The World Health Organization has finally approved DDT usage, but only indoors. The change in policy comes as a result of millions of people dying from malaria. The insecticide was banned in 1972 because of a presumtion that it would cause cancer in humans. However, the book that inspired the DDT phobia was based on misrepresented science and bias reporting. After months of testimony on the controversy, a judge concluded that the pesticide wasn't a carcinogenic, mutagenic, or teratogenic hazard to humans. The government wrote in a scholarly journal that "DDT is still needed for malaria control." I'm glad the EPA was listening. It's a step in the right direction.

The Pope has come under fire by, who else, Muslims that are outraged by his latest comments regarding the radical religion. He quoted 14th century Emperor Manuel II Paleologus who said, "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." Scathing, yes. The response was more inappropriately violent that the vicious rhetoric. Yesterday, Muslim protesters burned an effigy of the pope while shouting at a rally. Once again, I point to the hypocritical acceptance of poking fun at Catholics and priests, yet it is horribly offensive and worthy of beheading to insult Islam or draw a stick figure of Mohammed. I appreciate neither of the squabbling religions, but recognize that one happens to be responsible for less violence in the last century than the other.

E.J. Dionne of RCP makes the argument that 2006 will be an exception to Tip O'Neil's famous rule that "All politics is local." She cites Chafee, DeWine, Steele, and Mfume as proof that voters will turn out to polls to vote for or against a candidate for reasons broader than local concerns. More appropriately, she suggests, they will turn out to cast a ballot in favor of a Republican or Democratically-run House of Representatives. She gives voters too much credit. As much as I would like to rely on the common voter's knowledge of national politics and Senate or House member votes, John and Jane Doe will put into office the lesser of two evils. This year will be like any other mid-term election: Vote for whom you like most.

On a common topic, as Ann Coulter and others have stated that "it is the Democrats turn to win over the House." It's the President's six-year mark and commonly, the House swings in opposition to the sitting Commander in Chief. Along with many other Conservatives, I agree that the Republicans have gone astray from their fiscally conservative agenda made famous in 1994. I believe Neal Boortz said it best, (paraphrasing) "The Republicans deserve to be beaten, but America doesn't deserve the alternative." James Carville appropriately said, "If the Democrats can't win this November, they need to reconsider their status as a political party."

Reading Assignments:
Bill O'Reily: Red Hot Torture
Ed Koch: Losing the Will*
Joseph McQuaid: McCain's Fighting the Wrong War

*Must Read

Shame on HuffPo

The Liberal news and blog site The Huffington Post, ran by Arianna Huffington, leads today's front page with "Sr. Commander in Iraq: US Not Strong Enough To Defeat Insurgency...".

That Commander is Marine Major General Richard Zilmer. The misleading headline does not mention the general's thought on force levels. "For what we are trying to achieve out here, I think our force levels are about right." He continued later, "I think we are winning this war."

General Zilmer's took a quick shot at media outlets like The Huffington Post by insisting that "[r]ecent media reports fail to accurately capture the entirety and complexity of the current situation."

The Huffington Post has yet to run a quote from a senior commander in Iraq or Afghanistan that places the missions in a positive light. Only statements from former General Officers calling for Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation or one-liners taken innapropriately from a GO's speech are worthy of HuffPo's website.

Shame on you, Arianna.

Apples, Stingrays, & Homos

The weather's getting better, but the food stays the same. On with the news and views...

It was a big day for Apple yesterday. Announcements included iTunes 7, a new iPod shuffle (world's smallest digital playback device), a new iPod nano line, a new 30gb and 80gb iPod, and the revelation of iTV, a wireless computer-to-television device debuting in 2007. My favorite unveiling was the update of iTunes. The new version allows iPods to sync up to two computers, convenient for travelers and multiple-computer nerds. It also has a better feel, movies, and NFL Season Pass, and Artist Album updates.

In addition to the War on Terrorism, the War on Poverty, the War on Drugs, the War on Christmas, and the War on Smoking, another frontal assault can be added to the agenda of the war machine: the War on Stingrays. Seeking vengance for the Croc Hunter's death, Aussies are beginning to slaughter the stinging beasts. Ten have already been found "mutilated" on Australian beaches. Also, in rememberance of Irwin, the down-under government designated September 8th as "Khaki Day" where everyone wears stereotypical Aussie multi-pocketed shirts and pants. Steve was probably the best thing to come out of Austrailia, because, as we all know, Foster's tastes like Croc piss.

Apparently, to Sen. Feingold (potential 2008 candidate), the moniker "islamic fascist" is "offensive." Since when was it important to shield people from hurt feelings when defending your nation was on the line?

Unfortunately, the 35-year-old Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade has lost a little of its pizaazz. The city council has commissioned a group to study the fizzle. One council member wonders, "How do we make it appealing to somebody who went to gay pride 20 years ago and doesn't have any compelling reason at this point to come back?" One suggestion was to bring in celebrities, like Paris Hilton in 2005, to bolster attendance. Unfortunately for these weirdos, Hilton (believe it or not) wasn't the best "role model for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people." Pherhaps Buffalo Bob (Silence of the Lambs) would have been more appropriate for their lifestyle.



Reading Assignments:
Claudia Rosett - "[T]he president ... has not beaten those tom-toms enough."

Post-Vaca Wrap-Up

It's been a while, but I'm back and have a few things on my mind.

On the flight back to the states, I finished reading American Soldier by Gen. Tommy Franks. I don't read too many military books, but it was well worth the change in topics. My current literary endeavors are Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden and The Neo-Con Reader by Irwin Stelzer.

There is growing controversy over ABC's docudrama The Path to 9/11. Al Gore is "deeply concerned" about the network's plan to air, Former President Bill Clinton is calling the movie "indisputably wrong," and other Democrats are calling for an edit of the film or outright pull from showtime. Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11 was not only championed by the Left, but the filmmaker/writer was invited to speak at Sen. John Kerry's 2004 Democratic National Convention. Why the outrage over a silly ABC flick, but an embrace of Moore's proclaimed "documentary"? (The party also claims the Administration is "playing politics" when the White House brags about successes in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the War on Terror.)

On Larry King Live, talkshow host and comedian Bill Maher explained that "we [and the world] are not better off" with Saddam gone. Not only that, "Saddam was a bullwork against terrorism" and he's not sure "whether Iraq is better without Saddam." He continues, "We're running out of things that Saddam did that we didn't - like torture...rape. About the only one left is mass graves. So in a lot of ways, we are Saddam Hussein." I used to be a big fan of Maher. In fact, one of my favorite books is When You Ride Alone, You Ride With bin Laden. However, respect for him and his views has been sliding for the last two years.

"Branjolina" have decided not to get married until "everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able." What about Warren Jeffs' "right" to marry minors or multiple partners? A friend of mine made the same vow last year, though I don't think her promise will truly be upheld. On a similar note, what's with combining celebrities' names: Branjolina, Bennifer, Tomkat, Benlo? I think it's safe to assume that the name-combos serve as inspiration by the celebs to come up with their even crazier children's names: Suri, Shilo, Apple, Phinnaeus...

DOH! Apparently, Rove, Scooter, Cheney, and Bush weren't the leakers of the super-top-secret Valerie Wilson/Plame name to Bob Novak to discredit Ambassador of Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe Joe Wilson. It was former State Department diplomat Richard Armitage who opposed the Iraq War from the beginning. I'm sure Joe Wilson will be seeking the frogmarch of Armitage too. Chris Matthews says the story is now too "complicated" to cover it in the news.

I have to say, I honestly enjoy the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric. I don't know what it is, but it's not as boring as Bob Sheifer, as biased as Dan Rather, and the "free Speech" segment is enjoyable. It also beats the hell out of listening to Lou Dobbs yammer on and ask pointed questions.

Reading Assignments:
Larry Elder - More On Chickenhawks
Walter E. Williams - Thank You For Discriminating