Happy Independence Day

Widow to Bush "Stay the Course"

Widow tells Bush to stay the course in Iraq war - washingtontimes.com
Ooh Rah!

'I said: 'I know people are pushing you, but please don't pull the guys out of Iraq too soon,' ' said Crystal Owen, whose husband, Staff Sgt. Mike Owen, was killed in Iraq last year.
'Don't let my husband -- and 1,700-plus other deaths -- be in vain,' she added during a private meeting with Mr. Bush at the North Carolina base. 'They were over there, fighting for a democratic nation, and I hope you'll keep our service members over there until the mission can be accomplished.'

and Some are Worried about Other Nations

Agents Said to Dismantle a Korean Sex Ring - New York Times
I have always said we need to hold our criticism of other nation's "forced sex slaves" -- until we clean our own house. Well this is a good start... Unlike somes opinion Asian sex slaves is not a normal thing -- and just think some California's call me a racist because I voted Republican and reside in a "red" state.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 1 - Federal agents raided scores of brothels and businesses and arrested more than two dozen people here in the dismantling of an international sex trafficking and human smuggling ring that lured Korean women to the United States and forced them to work as captive prostitutes, the authorities said on Friday.
The crackdown on human smuggling was set in motion late on Thursday, when about 400 federal and state law enforcement officials searched 50 brothels and other businesses in San Francisco and the Bay Area, stemming from the indictment of 29 men who were subsequently charged with sex trafficking, money laundering and harboring illegal aliens. The men are also charged with conspiracy to transport women from South Korea and force them to work as prostitutes, said the United States attorney, Kevin V. Ryan.

One Found

CNN.com - Special ops' member rescued in Afghanistan

(CNN) -- One member of a U.S. special operations reconnaissance team missing in Afghanistan since Tuesday has been rescued, a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity told CNN.
The team member 'evaded the enemy and was successfully rescued by U.S. forces,' the official said.

What Arrogance

Democrats warn Bush to consult - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper
Does anyone else have a problem with Ted Kennedy issuing a warning to the President? What unmitigated gall! Teddy just have a drink and shut-up!

'If the president abuses his power and nominates someone who threatens to roll back the rights and freedoms of the American people, then the American people will insist that we oppose that nominee -- and we intend to do so,' Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat and member of the Judiciary Committee, said.

Army Meets June Numbers

Well after a whopping four months, disastrous isn't it, the Army meets their June recruting numbers... Time will tell if there is a crisis or not, but declaring an "gloomy" end to the "volunteer military" was and is jumping the gun over "four" months. It was not and will not be the first time the military has shortfalls during the year. I have always thought claiming the "end" and predicting "gloomy" recruiting woes showed how liberals desperately grasping at straws.

PENTAGON After months of declining enlistment, the Army has more than met its recruitment goals for the month of June.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers announced the turnaround during a "town hall" meeting this afternoon at the Pentagon. (read more here)

Interesting Poll Results

United Press International -The Washington Times
Like I have said before -- I hope the democrats keep their current hate fest going... The current Deanisms are better for the Republican party then any strategy a political strategist can come up with.

A poll on the political mood in the United States conducted by the Democratic Party has alarmed the party at its own loss of popularity.
Conducted by the party-affiliated Democracy Corps, the poll indicated 43 percent of voters favored the Republican Party, while 38 percent had positive feelings about Democrats.
'Republicans weakened in this poll ... but it shows Democrats weakening more,' said Stanley Greenberg, who served as President Clinton's pollster.

Blair Speaks on Downing Street Memos

Blair Denies Memos Prove Iraq Decision - Yahoo! News
Well I wonder exactly how this will be spun by liberals on both sides of the pond... I see it as a sound "ah shucks" for US liberals and the media.

'People say the decision was already taken. The decision was not already taken,' he said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press.
Blair added he was 'a bit astonished' at the intensive U.S. media coverage about the leaked memos, which actually were leaked minutes of a July 23, 2002, meeting between Blair and top government officials at his Downing Street office.

PM Blair and President Bush -- Agree

USATODAY.com - Blair: Troops must stay in Iraq 'until the job is done'
Hear much about this on the the major news networks -- didn't think so.

LONDON (AP) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Wednesday that it was 'vitally important' for coalition troops to remain in Iraq 'until the job is done.'

Sunnis Will Nab Zarqawi - IF

Sunnis will nab Zarqawi
This is interesting and if an accurate and honest claim by "Sunni 'fence sitters" it is good news. What do you think?

Sunni 'fence sitters' in Iraq say they would be willing to take on master terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi and rid the country of foreign saboteurs if the Shi'ite-run government's new political structure is acceptable to them, according to a senior U.S. official.
'The Iraqis will kill every foreigner who comes into their neighborhood when they're ready,' said the senior official who has spent months in Iraq. 'They don't want foreigners in Iraq.'
The official, who has held numerous meetings with what he called 'influential fence sitters,' said the representatives have told him they are only tolerating foreign terrorists because they are a 'pressure tool' to force the Shi'ites and the U.S. to consider Sunni political demands for more representation in the Baghdad government.
'We'll catch him when we're ready,' the official quoted one Sunni as telling him, referring to Zarqawi.

Coming Home

Remains of U.S. airman returning from Vietnam War
Lest we forget!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The remains of a U.S. Air Force pilot shot down and killed 39 years ago on a bombing raid in the Vietnam War have been identified and are being returned to the United States for burial at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
Lt. Col. Darel Leetun of Hettinger, North Dakota, will be buried with full military honors on July 8 at the cemetery in rolling hills near the Pentagon.

A Point From a Member of our Air Force

via Conservative Thinking - Support the Troops and Their Wishes
This is worth mentioning -- I believe it represent the feelings of a majority of our men and women currently serving our country around the world. Please go and read the entire post.

Another reason liberals want failure in Iraq (pulling the troops out before the mission is complete is failure) is because it will give them a talking point during the 2008 Presidential election campaign. Could you imagine Senator Hillary Clinton standing at a podium saying that she was the reason our troops came home and that she won't send our troops anywhere they aren't needed. The fact of the matter is the world is a better place with US military forces projected around it. There is no greater deterrent than a contingency force sitting off a nation's coast or B-2s and B-52s on standby. But there are also no greater servants to the spread of Democracy and freedom than soldiers, sailors, Airmen, and Marines.
Some say they support the troops and they also want them to come home immediately. That's not true support. I'm willing to say (with no research, polling, etc.) that a vast majority of the troops want to finish the mission in Iraq no matter how long it takes. No timelines, no Iraq goal checklist, nothing. I know I want Iraq to be a powerful Democratic Republic able to defend itself and to maintain peace in a region of the world that is in such turmoil. I'm not asking you to support the troops and their mission; you can hate the fact we're in Iraq all you want. What I am asking every, single American to do is to support the troops and their wishes. We want to finish what was started in Iraq. We want Iraq to be a model to the rest of the Middle East and the world as to what great things can happen when your country listens to the majority of its people.
I'm sure every soldier, sailor, Airmen, and Marine wants the MC (mission complete) in the final block in section 15, column d of their DD Form 1351-2 (travel voucher) to mean more thathan, "Our politicians told us to tuck tail and run." I know us troops don't want our fallen brothers and sisters to have died for absolutely nothing. Please, support the troops and our wishes.

Aiding the Enemy

Al-Jazeera to look at open U.S. border
Haven't I heard US media praise Al-Jazeera? This is a crime against our country and if accurate any "press passes" should be immediately revoked, period, no further explanation needed. By the way, kudos to Chris Simcox for rejecting their request.

The Arab TV news network criticized by the new Iraqi government and others for its anti-American bias and willingness to carry the messages of terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, is headed for the U.S.-Mexico border to document how easy it is to enter America illegally.

Al-Jazeera has contacted Minuteman Civil Defense Corps leader Chris Simcox to try to arrange interviews. Simcox, who rejected the request for cooperation with the TV network, says al-Jazeera, seen by millions throughout the Arab world and elsewhere, is producing an hour-long documentary news special on lack of security at the U.S. southern border.

Google Earth -- Neat! and Free!

Some may remember Google acquisition of Keyhole -- they offered a 30-day trial but then you had to subscribe. Well Google has released a free version now called Google Earth. Go here to download Google Earth. Travel the world from your home!

Interesting Review of Liberal Thinking

Herald Sun: How the Left gets loonier
I found this article describing one of Australia's "liberal media elites" comments interesting -- if we did not know it was a Australian liberal one could easily think it was a United States liberal.

Jaspan is editor-in-chief of The Age, Australia's most Left-wing daily newspaper, and on ABC radio on Wednesday said how 'boorish' and 'coarse' Wood was at his press conference this week when he called his captors 'a---holes'.
You might wonder whether Jaspan, the Englishman whose paper on that same day published a big picture on page one of naked girls from Big Brother, has the right to call anyone else 'coarse'.

Amnesty International - "Hyperbole" - Pavel Litvinov

Amnesty's gulag idiocy
Very interesting opinion by Pavel Litvinov who knows about Gulags. I believe this was published in the US earlier when I was unable to blog and felt it worth mentioning.

Several days ago I received a telephone call from an old friend who is a long-time Amnesty International staff member. He asked me whether I, as a former Soviet 'prisoner of conscience' adopted by Amnesty, would support the statement by Amnesty's executive director, Irene Khan, that the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba is the 'gulag of our time'.
'Don't you think that there's an enormous difference?' I asked him. 'Sure,' he said, 'but after all, it attracts attention to the problem of Guantanamo detainees.'
[...]
There is ample reason for Amnesty to be critical of certain US actions. But by using hyperbole and muddling the difference between repressive regimes and the imperfections of democracy, Amnesty's spokesmen put its authority at risk. US human rights violations seem almost trifling in comparison with those committed by Cuba, South Korea, Pakistan or Saudi Arabia.

Farewell and God Bless "Good and Faithful Servant"

CNN.com - Graham kicks off last U.S.crusade
I can remember going to my first Billy Graham crusade in Liberty Bowl memorial stadium before my teens and my Mom remembers listen to Billy Graham when she was young... This man was and is truly a servant of God and many of todays evangelist can and should learn something from Billy Graham... Mr. Graham met with many presidents but never repeated what was said, never clamored for the spotlight to prove he had the ear of the president -- would that not be refreshing today, to know that our president asked the counsel of a Godly man and that man proved his Godliness by not seeking fame. Just my opinion. Reverend Graham if this is your last crusade good luck, farewell, and God bless.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Despite illnesses that have diminished his once powerful voice and left him frail, the Rev. Billy Graham vowed to preach each night of his final American crusade.
He kept that promise Friday night, the start of a three-day event at a city park that marks the completion of his six decades of mass meetings.

The President Doesn't Bend

Bush Says No Timetable for Iraq Withdrawal - Yahoo! News
I believe the President is right, let's not make the enemy smarter by giving them a date they need to "try and hold out till"... Give me a break, setting a timetable is not an "exit strategy" like it is touted... An exit strategy is a definition of when we are done, finished, war won -- which was sorely lacking in Vietnam, but not Iraq. The finish has been defined by the President and everyone in the administration -- short version, when the country is secure, when Iraq security forces can provided adequate security, or both.

WASHINGTON - Despite growing anxiety about the war in Iraq, President Bush refused to set a timetable Friday for bringing home U.S. troops and declared, 'I'm not giving up on the mission. We're doing the right thing.'

Dubin's Non-Apology

BostonHerald.com - Opinion & Letters: Durbin's wimpy apology...
This was not an apology at all -- Mr. Durbin I was offended and I don't accept your apology unless you choose to apologize for saying it and thinking it -- if you are simply sorry I took offense then it is not an appology... I agree with the writer here; he needs to be "removed from his leadership post".

Having equated the conduct of American soldiers serving as prison guards at Guantanamo Bay to Nazis, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) finally apologized on the Senate floor this week.
Well, sort of. As apologies go, it was nothing to write home about.
"Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line,'' he said. "To them I extend my heartfelt apologies.''
[...]
A party with a real conscience would still insist on removing him from his leadership post.

Added Social Security NOdometer

I have added a "Social Security Nodometer" to the main page (top right). It shows what continuing to say "NO" to Social Security reform is costing us!