An Old War Dogs Satellite Site


Tuesday, 31 July 2007
 

A Quick Index To Today's Posts, Quick Hits, Open Post

Click here for a handy "most recently updated posts at the top" listing of the posts on this page. Click here to see a similar listing for the Old War Dogs site. 

Today at Old War Dogs:

Quick links to some things farther down the page:

Some things worth knowing about that I didn't devote separate posts to:

  • GOP resolution rejects amnesty for illegal aliens
    By Ralph Z. Hallow: State Republican officials from across the country on Thursday will formally break with the desire of President Bush and other top Republican leaders to include amnesty and other benefits for illegal aliens in immigration-reform legislation. ...
  • Will the damned fence ever get built?
    Michelle Malkin: Mexico is objecting to construction of the security fence on the southern border because it would–horrors!–block the free migration of birds, insects, and pollen. And we can’t have that: ...

Please feel free to use this post for comments and trackbacks not related to other posts on the site. If you leave a trackback your post must include a link to this one and, as always, comments claiming the sun will rise in the west tomorrow, Chimpy McHitlerburton lied, etc. will be deleted without ever appearing on the site.

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 31, 2007 at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

An Enormous Crime; The Gospel of POW Hell

The latest from poet and POW/MIA activist Marsha Burks Megehee:

"An Enormous Crime"
(THE GOSPEL OF POW HELL)

"An Enormous Crime"...truth at last!
Time's long, dark shadows flee.
The gospel of lost, abandoned men,
Denied their liberty!

Freedom's hope...stolen lives,
Lie-masters...blacked out names;
Deceit at the highest level.
"The Emperor's New Clothes," of shame!

Paper deaths...prisoners' cries,
"Taps".....falsley played.
"An Enormous Crime" sheds light upon
Sweet liberty's soul, betrayed!

Buried truth, devils deals,
False coffins....empty laid.
"There are no POWs!" Why?
Their ransom was not paid!

War with time.... shadow men,
Guardians of cruel lies.
"Search....but do not find them!
Until the last one dies"

Cover up, stonewall, deny.
The families must not know!
Re-classify the paper trail,
From Nixon....to Le Duc Tho!

It's for the country....foreign trade,
The house of cards must stand.
"There are no POWs!"
Debunk live sightings and Rand.

Build a blind....in cyber space,
"Truth's digital morgue."
Call activists "Don Quioxties"
Name it "POW Facts. org!"

Tie the truth in 'Gordian knots"
Hunt survivors....... in pantomime!
"There are no POWs!
It will be true.........with time!" 

Thank you! Billy Hendon and Beth Stewart,
for the truth..... and the courage to expose
"An Enormous Crime."

Marsha Burks Megehee

God Bless Our POWs!
2008!......Before it's too late!

Inspired by the book An Enormous Crime: The Definitive Account of American POWs Abandoned in Southeast Asia. While you're at Amazon buying that you'll also want a copy of Is Anybody Listening?: A True Story About POW/MIAs In The Vietnam War.

I should have my ass kicked for not having it finished by now but please check out the site I'm building for Marsha here anyway. 

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 31, 2007 at 03:27 PM in Books, Marsha Burks Megehee, Poetry | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

2007.07.31 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup

New British leader backs Bush on Iraq
By Joseph Curl

CAMP DAVID, Md. — British Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday strongly backed the U.S.-led war in Iraq and said the global war against terror looms as a "generation-long battle."

Despite news reports that the new prime minister quietly was looking to withdraw about 5,500 British troops from Iraq, Mr. Brown said he remains committed to seeing the war to its end.

Lorie Byrd: Brown Better Get Prepared To Be Called a Poodle

Below the fold:

  • Anti-war dance and slash
  • Lieberman escalates attack on Iraq critics
  • Lieberman On Offense On Iran, Iraq

See also:

Anti-war dance and slash
Michelle Malkin

Item number one: Fortunately, I missed last week’s episode of the Fox network show, “So, You Think You Can Dance?” If I had seen it, I might have damaged my TV set. According to Newsbusters, the show featured a dance judge wearing Marine Dress Blues with upside-down Marine emblems on the sleeves and anti-war dances by the contestants. Video at Weblogging. The moonbat judge had absolutely no idea–no, none at all–that wearing Marine insignias upside-down would offend anyone. TV Guide: ...

Lieberman escalates attack on Iraq critics

Ever since Connecticut Democrats refused to back him for a fourth term in Congress, Joe Lieberman has been burnishing his independent credentials in the narrowly divided Senate while becoming increasingly critical of the Democratic Party on the war in Iraq.

Lieberman, the Democrats’ 2000 vice presidential nominee, insists he is not actively considering joining the Republican Party. But he is keeping that possibility wide open as his disenchantment grows with Democratic leaders. The main sticking points are their attempts to end the war in Iraq and their hesitation to take a harder line against Iran.

“I think either [Democrats] are, in my opinion, respectfully, naïve in thinking we can somehow defeat this enemy with talk, or they’re simply hesitant to use American power, including military power,” Lieberman said in a wide-ranging interview with The Hill.

“There is a very strong group within the party that I think doesn’t take the threat of Islamist terrorism seriously enough.” ...

***

Lieberman On Offense On Iran, Iraq
Ed Morrissey

The Hill interviewed Senator Joe Lieberman about his unique position in the upper chamber, and how he sees the debate on Iraq and Iran. Lieberman castigated his former colleagues in the Democratic caucus as excessively partisan and unwilling to meet the threats posed by America's enemies: ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 31, 2007 at 12:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Monday, 30 July 2007
 

A Quick Index To Today's Posts, Quick Hits, Open Post

Click here for a handy "most recently updated posts at the top" listing of the posts on this page. Click here to see a similar listing for the Old War Dogs site.

Quick links to some things farther down the page:

Some things worth knowing about that I didn't devote separate posts to:

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Contributed by Bill Faith on July 30, 2007 at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Chief justice Roberts hospitalized after seizure

Justice John Roberts hospitalized
Michelle Malkin

This sounds terrible. If you pray, say an extra prayer for the Chief Justice:

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., a seasonal resident of Hupper Island, located off Port Clyde, was taken to Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport mid-day Monday. ...

***

Chief justice tumbles after seizure

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Chief Justice John Roberts suffered a seizure at his summer home off the coast of Maine, causing him to fall, the Supreme Court said Monday.

Roberts was conscious after the fall, which happened at his vacation home near Port Clyde, Maine, Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg told CNN.

The chief justice was taken to a nearby hospital where he is expected to stay overnight.

Roberts has "fully recovered from the incident," and a neurological evaluation "revealed no cause for concern," the Supreme Court said.

A hospital spokesman would not discuss the case, citing privacy concerns.

A witness said Roberts fell on a dock, and his injuries did not appear serious.

See also: Chief Justice has seizure, falls; Court says he has recovered

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 30, 2007 at 06:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

2007.07.30 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup

A War We Just Might Win
Michael E. O'Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack (Brookings Institution)

VIEWED from Iraq, where we just spent eight days meeting with American and Iraqi military and civilian personnel, the political debate in Washington is surreal. The Bush administration has over four years lost essentially all credibility. Yet now the administration’s critics, in part as a result, seem unaware of the significant changes taking place.

Here is the most important thing Americans need to understand: We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms. As two analysts who have harshly criticized the Bush administration’s miserable handling of Iraq, we were surprised by the gains we saw and the potential to produce not necessarily “victory” but a sustainable stability that both we and the Iraqis could live with. ...

Also linking: Weasel Zippers, Ed Morrissey, Instapundit, Brutally Honest Rick, Lorie Byrd, John Hinderaker, ...

See also: Video: Nutroots public enemy number one talks progress in Iraq; Update: Calls for withdrawal are reducing the chance of political reconciliation, says Burns

See also:

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 30, 2007 at 01:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Color this old dog's head spinning even faster

For this post to make any sense at all you have to read this one and this one first.

I don't know a thing new on the "Are we selling our place?" front. Last Thursday when we found out Aunt Mary and her son and some of her grandkids were headed this way we put off calling the contractor who supposedly wants the place till Friday, then when their plans changed (combined with some errands my sister had to run Friday) it ended up being well into Friday afternoon before we tried to call him. We didn't hear back from him so I guess we'll try again tomorrow. Mom and my sister both seem to have themselves convinced that moving's the right thing to do but I know that isn't what they either one really want to do. I guess we'll also call the gent across the road tomorrow and see if he's interested in buying enough of the place to prevent the contractor from doing what he wants to with it. That in itself looks like a major gamble even if he's interested. It's very unlikely we can end up with nearly as much money from him as we can from the contractor. Either way, our outgo seems to exceed our income enough most months so that all we can do is hope I get what I have coming from Social Security before we're broke again. Even if I don't get the big back-settlement my lawyer still thinks I'll get, once I start getting a Social Security pension we'll at least be operating in the black every month.

Regardless of what happens in the long run, I was informed Saturday afternoon we have another crisis on our hands already this week due to a failure to communicate that I feel like may have been deliberate on Capital One's fault. It's been a crazy weekend, mainly due to having a couple of extra kids here for a lot of it, and I don't know the details yet but worst case it sounds like we could be in danger of losing the only car we have that I'd even consider leaving for the nearest VA clinic in. I'll write more about that when I know more.

***

Continued here.

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 30, 2007 at 12:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Sunday, 29 July 2007
 

A Quick Index To Today's Posts, Quick Hits, Open Post

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Today at Old War Dogs:

Quick links to some things farther down the page:

Some things worth knowing about that I didn't devote separate posts to:

  • A Proposal To CNN
    Ed Morrissey: The Republican reluctance to engage in the scheduled September YouTube debate has created a fierce debate in the blogosphere, including something of a civil war at Hugh Hewitt's Townhall blog. Hugh himself has adamantly insisted that Republican candidates eschew the substanceless spectacle of the YouTube/CNN enterprise as a media setup. Patrick Ruffini, his co-blogger, insists that a refusal will show an unwillingness to engage directly with citizens. I argued that the YouTube debate amounted to a political equivalent of the game show Let's Make A Deal, while Rick Moran casts it as a test of political courage. Michelle Malkin and Mark Steyn agree with Rick, while Jasmius at Heading Right says the whole thing is a tempest in a teapot. ... So what's the solution? How can we engage voters in a national forum through the New Media, while keeping the debate substantive and serious? I have a simple solution: ...

Please feel free to use this post for comments and trackbacks not related to other posts on the site. If you leave a trackback your post must include a link to this one and, as always, comments claiming the sun will rise in the west tomorrow, Chimpy McHitlerburton lied, etc. will be deleted without ever appearing on the site.

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 29, 2007 at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

2007.07.29 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup

War In Waziristan
Ed Morrissey

Pervez Musharraf, who has just concluded a political alliance with moderates and reformers in Pakistan led by Benazir Bhutto, has opted for war in Waziristan. Now convinced after the Red Mosque incident that the radical Islamists want to "Talibanize" Pakistan, he has started to move his army into Waziristan -- and the radicals are screaming for a civil war: ...

More Gitmo catch-and-release
Michelle Malkin

Earlier this month, the US released 16 Saudis from Guantanamo Bay. A total of 77 Saudis have been freed from detention. If you shared my “Uh-oh” reaction, then you will not be surprised by this latest report in The Age (via Andrew Bolt) about freed Gitmo detainees taking up arms and resuming jihad. According to the paper, at least 30 former Guantanamo Bay detainees have been killed or recaptured after taking up arms against allied forces following their release. A Defense Department spokesman told the newspaper that most of the catch-and-release beneficiaries have been discovered in Afghanistan and Pakistan. ...

Below the fold:

  • Hasty Iraq pullout seen as high risk
  • Pakistan Reforming?
  • A brief moment of national unity in Iraq

See also:

Hasty Iraq pullout seen as high risk
By Bill Gertz

U.S. intelligence and military officials agree with President Bush's belief that a withdrawal of troops from Iraq will increase the danger of global terrorism and further destabilize Iraq, the Middle East and other parts of the world. ...

Pakistan Reforming?
Ed Morrissey

The London Telegraph reports that Pervez Musharraf has reached an accommodation with moderate opposition figure Benazir Bhutto that will kick-start Pakistan's dormant democracy. While the final arrangements remain in limbo, especially the choice of Prime Minister, it promises to further marginalize the radical Islamists if successful: ...

A brief moment of national unity in Iraq
Michelle Malkin

The Iraqi soccer team defied the odds and defeated the Saudi Arabian team 1-0 in the Asian Cup final today. Reuters reports: ...

See also:

The Naivete Sweepstakes
Ed Morrissey

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have finally broken out into an extended debate with each other over a substantive issue, and the Democratic primary race finally looks interesting as a result. Unfortunately for the rookie, the debate favors his opponent. Obama wants to communicate a change in direction for American foreign policy that evokes Kennedy, but most everyone else understands he's evoking Carter instead: ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 29, 2007 at 12:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Saturday, 28 July 2007
 

A Quick Index To Today's Posts, Quick Hits, Open Post

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Looks like I'm off to another slow start. The hour or so nap I typically take about 10:30 or so every night lasted about 12 hours last night. I think I'm back to sleeping a lot so I don't have to think about things as much -- more on that when I'm up to writing it.

Today at Old War Dogs:

Quick links to some things farther down the page:

  • 2007.07.28 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup
    • The Beauchamp story: Why we care
    • Scott Beauchamp's Problems Are Just Beginning
    • South Korean Christian hostage update: Negotiations continue
    • Korean Hostages Threatened by Taliban; America Blamed
    • ...

Please feel free to use this post for comments and trackbacks not related to other posts on the site. If you leave a trackback your post must include a link to this one and, as always, comments claiming the sun will rise in the west tomorrow, Chimpy McHitlerburton lied, etc. will be deleted without ever appearing on the site.

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 28, 2007 at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

2007.07.28 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup

The Beauchamp story: Why we care
Bryan Preston

How important, in the grand scheme of the war, is the Scott Thomas Beauchamp story? By itself, it’s not all that important. But contrary to the opinions of those who can’t be bothered to care about it but nonetheless opine on it for whatever reason, and then mainly to downplay its importance, Beauchamp hasn’t happened all by itself and to those of us who served, its context and trajectory make it very important. ...

Scott Beauchamp's Problems Are Just Beginning
Confederate Yankee

In addition to his short-lived career as a probable fabulist in The New Republic, Scott Thomas Beauchamp's blog has turned up a self-incriminating clear violation of operational security: ...

***

A New Kind of "Chickenhawk"
Baldilocks

When I said yesterday that most of Beauchamp's defenders had sense enough to steer clear of the milbloggers, I had no idea that Columbia Journalism Review's Paul McLeary had run out into the open, bare-a** naked.

See also:

I will finish Lone Survivor and get a review posted eventually but in the mean time don't miss Laughing Wolf's review at Blackfive. There's a link to the proper Amazon page to order a copy on my sidebar if you don't have yours yet.

Below the fold:

  • South Korean Christian hostage update: Negotiations continue
  • Korean Hostages Threatened by Taliban; America Blamed

See also:

Surge up, U.S. deaths down
Don Surber

I don’t know if the Surge is working or not. I am not in Iraq. But Thomas Frank of USA Today reported that U.S. casualties are at their lowest number in the past year.

Wait a second, I thought more fighting means more deaths. But the chart shows otherwise. How can this be?

Thomas reported: ...

***********

South Korean Christian hostage update: Negotiations continue
Michelle Malkin

The latest:

Two lawmakers—one of them a former Taliban member—and several influential elders have joined negotiations with the hardline militia to step up pressure for the release of 22 South Korean hostages, an official said Saturday.

A South Korean presidential envoy, Baek Jong-chun, was scheduled to hold talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday, an official from the South Korean Embassy in Kabul said. She spoke on condition of anonymity because of embassy policy.

***

Korean Hostages Threatened by Taliban; America Blamed
Hatched by Sachi

According to Robert Koehler of the Marmot's Hole, the Korean press is all set to blame America if the Taliban makes good its threat to kill the 23 (now 22) Korean Christian-evangelists currently held hostage.

The Korean press reasons thus: Kabul is reluctant to negotiate with the Taliban only because of pressure from the West... i.e, the United States and our "lapdog," Great Britian. Since Afghanistan relies upon foreign aid, the press concludes, Afghan President Hamid Karzai dares not offend America or our allies. So it's all America's fault.

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 28, 2007 at 01:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Friday, 27 July 2007
 

A Quick Index To Today's Posts, Quick Hits, Open Post

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I'll probably get off to a slow start this morning. We're expecting out of town family we haven't seen in years to be by about the time I normally get up and stay, I hope, for several hours. Dad's sister who lives in Alton IL finally talked her son into taking her to see their other sister in Hartford KY. We thought they were going to be here for a while mid-afternoon yesterday then go on home but they got a late start out of Kentucky, spent about 10 minutes here, then headed for a local motel with the intention of coming here for a while tomorrow before going ahead home. My aunt, my cousin, three of his kids and one grandkid. I hadn't seen my aunt or cousin since the mid '80's and had never met any of his kids. *** Our guests came by for a much shorter visit much earlier in the day than I'd expected. I've been surfing the web in a sleep deprivation stupor since they left. Mom and my sister combined some errands with window shopping for houses and I try not to sleep when I'm the only one here in case someone comes by unexpectedly. Now that I'm not the only one here I'm crashing for a while. Maybe I can get some blogging done after I catch up on my sleep.

*** ***

Some things worth knowing about that I didn't devote separate posts to:

Please feel free to use this post for comments and trackbacks not related to other posts on the site. If you leave a trackback your post must include a link to this one and, as always, comments claiming the sun will rise in the west tomorrow, Chimpy McHitlerburton lied, etc. will be deleted without ever appearing on the site.

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 27, 2007 at 12:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Thursday, 26 July 2007
 

A Quick Index To Today's Posts, Quick Hits, Open Post

Click here for a handy "most recently updated posts at the top" listing of the posts on this page. Click here to see a similar listing for the Old War Dogs site.

Quick links to some things farther down the page:

  • 2007.07.26 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup
    • Scott Thomas revealed; Update: So is his blog
    • Video: Flying imams stunt may have been set up to provoke lawsuit, says Peter King; Update: CAIR after Rudy now?
    • Unhinged mechanic demands troop withdrawal, threatens bombings, murder
    • The Iraq Dodge
    • ...

Some things worth knowing about that I didn't devote separate posts to:

  • No verdict required on Thompson the lawyer
    Paul Mirengoff: Today's Washington Post has a front-page story about Fred Thompson called "No Easy Verdict on Thompson The Lawyer: Cases Indicate Willingness to Defy GOP Orthodoxy." The title is just plain silly. A lawyer's duty is always to his client, not to any political orthodoxy. Had Thompson not been willing to "defy GOP orthodoxy" when necessary to promote his client's interest (as where he argued against a search that found incriminating evidence), he would have violated the rules of his profession. Moreover, most of the legal positions the Post actually cites (e.g., having a client invoke the Fifth Amendment, winning reinstatement for an employee) do not defy any political orthodoxy. ...
  • Thompson -- The New Maverick?
    Ed Morrissey: Yesterday, I noted the strange appearance of two appellate briefs relating to the legal career of Fred Thompson and wondered aloud what the Washington Post had in mind by publishing them. Today the Post ran a front-page story that looks at Thompson's record as an attorney and his resistance to federal regulation and tort reform, as well as noting the apparent dichotomy of running for the Republican nomination and his involvement in these cases:
  • Border Security Finally Gets Addressed (Update: 89-1 Approved)
    Ed Morrissey: The Senate finally decided to listen to their constituents and allocate funds for increased border security and visa tracking today, after an overnight compromise between Democrats and Republicans. The agreement puts the White House in a bind, as President Bush had already threatened to veto the homeland security bill for spending too much money:
  • Video: Sen. Reid apologizes for “tantrum”
    Bryan Preston: The Senate has just passed a bill that would actually enforce the border. Here’s what it would do: “There is hereby appropriated $3,000,000,000 to satisfy the requirements set out in section 1002(a) and, if any amount remains after satisfying such requirements, to achieve and maintain operational control over the international land and maritime borders of the United States, for employment eligibility verification improvements, for increased removal and detention of visa overstays, criminal aliens, aliens who have illegally reentered the United States, and for reimbursement of State and local section 287(g) expenses. These amounts are designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 204 of S. Con. Res. 21 (110th Congress).” ...
  • Harry Reid eats crow on border security funding:
    “I was wrong and Senator Cornyn was right”
  • Democrats pitch citizenship path for some illegals
    S.A. Miller and Stephen Dinan: Senate Democrats yesterday defeated a Republican effort to authorize $3 billion for new border security and immigration enforcement. Instead, the Democrats proposed a new agriculture workers program to bring in hundreds of thousands of foreign workers and grant legal status to illegal aliens now working in the fields.

Please feel free to use this post for comments and trackbacks not related to other posts on the site. If you leave a trackback your post must include a link to this one and, as always, comments claiming the sun will rise in the west tomorrow, Chimpy McHitlerburton lied, etc. will be deleted without ever appearing on the site.

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 26, 2007 at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

2007.07.26 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup

Scott Thomas revealed; Update: So is his blog
Bryan Preston

He’s Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp, a member of Alpha Company, 1/18 Infantry, Second Brigade Combat Team, First Infantry Division. He’s also calling most of his critics chickenhawks, even though most of his critics a) served in the military and/or b) have been to Iraq or c) both. The pre-amble to Pvt Thomas’ letter is one more exercise in silliness from TNR: ...

See also:

Below the fold:

  • Video: Flying imams stunt may have been set up to provoke lawsuit, says Peter King; Update: CAIR after Rudy now?
  • Unhinged mechanic demands troop withdrawal, threatens bombings, murder
  • The Iraq Dodge

See also:

Video: Flying imams stunt may have been set up to provoke lawsuit, says Peter King; Update: CAIR after Rudy now?
Allahpundit

Yeah, that theory's been floated before. He's only speculating but his cop pals evidently think there's something to it. As for who he thinks is behind it, I'll make you watch the clip for that. A hint: they're "a terrible organization, they are a disgrace, they support Islamic extremism." See if you can guess!

The ACLU has already started whining about the "John Doe" provision, incidentally: ...

Unhinged mechanic demands troop
withdrawal, threatens bombings, murder
Michelle Malkin

Moonbat of the day:

An aircraft mechanic sent e-mails to the FBI claiming he had planted explosives at Utah's Hill Air Force Base and planned to take six hostages in Idaho, authorities said Wednesday. Five buildings were evacuated Tuesday after the e-mails began surfacing, but the threat turned out to be false and no hostages were taken, FBI agent Tim Fuhrman said.

William Stiffler, 39, was unarmed when he was arrested Tuesday in Malad, Idaho, as he prepared to board an employee shuttle to the base, Fuhrman said. Stiffler has worked on C-130 planes at Hill since 2001.

Even weirder: ...

The Iraq Dodge
By Philip Klein

Last week, when key findings of the National Intelligence Estimate were released reporting that al Qaeda was thriving, Democratic candidates seized on the opportunity to declare President Bush's strategy for fighting terrorism a dismal failure.

John Edwards fired out a statement calling the NIE "proof positive that George Bush's 'Global War on Terror' Doctrine is more of a bumper sticker than a strategy to eliminate terrorism." He added that "the next president will need a bold new strategy that will attack the root causes of terrorism, rather than wait for the problem to get worse."

Not to be left out of the party, Barack Obama declared: "It is deeply troubling that more that [sic] nearly six years after 9/11, al Qaeda maintains a safe haven, an intact leadership, and the capability to plan further attacks. It is time to act to correct those mistakes, and the first step is to get out of Iraq, because you can't win a war when you're on the wrong battlefield."

The release did not include a second step -- i.e. a part about how Obama proposes to eliminate terrorist groups, or to pursue them in Afghanistan and Pakistan once U.S. troops leave Iraq.  ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 26, 2007 at 12:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Wednesday, 25 July 2007
 

A Quick Index To Today's Posts, Quick Hits, Open Post

Click here for a handy "most recently updated posts at the top" listing of the posts on this page. Click here to see a similar listing for the Old War Dogs site. 

Quick links to some things farther down the page:

  • 2007.07.25 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup
    • “Scott Thomas”: A psychological profile
    • A new critique of the 2004 Lancet Iraq death toll study
    • Breaking: Bullet-riddled body of S. Korean found…
    • John Doe wins!
    • Bush links al Qaeda to Iraq militias
    • ...

Please feel free to use this post for comments and trackbacks not related to other posts on the site. If you leave a trackback your post must include a link to this one and, as always, comments claiming the sun will rise in the west tomorrow, Chimpy McHitlerburton lied, etc. will be deleted without ever appearing on the site.

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 25, 2007 at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Color this old dog's head still spinning (Updated)

For this post to make any sense at all you have to read this one first.

I really will get back to posting about things that matter to more than a handful of people one of these days. For now I'll at least put the bulk of this post below the fold to make it easier to scroll past.

(Scroll down for updates if you've already seen the first part of this.)

Just some thinking out loud that may or may not add up to a sensible answer sometime:

Yesterday afternoon I called the lawyer who's handling my Social Security appeal to remind him how long it's been since he told me he thought we'd be getting a date for an Administrative Law Judge hearing sometime soon. He still seems confident that we'll win my case when we finally get a hearing -- he doesn't get paid unless we do and he's still investing time the matter -- but he didn't have a good answer for me about why it's taking so long. He did say he'd call and try to stir things up a little. He's still predicting that after the hearing I'll get benefits retroactive to about 4 years ago; I made good enough money during my best 4 earning years for that to add up to a non-trivial amount.  If I could be sure he's right about winning the case eventually and that it was going to happen in the near future it would have a definite affect on the decision we need to make about selling this place or holding on to it.

Some history for those who haven't been reading my blog (actually my original Blogspot blog) long enough to know it: When my health degraded to the point that I couldn't work to support myself I ended up moving "home." I now share the house I grew up in with my mother, my sister, my brother in law and two nephews. Things were tight for a while but with my sister and her husband both working and Mom's Social Security we got by reasonably well, then after the VA declared me "totally and permanently disabled" we actually had some money to spare now and then; I even hit a few tip jars here and there. We went through a financial crisis when my sister missed several weeks work for cancer surgery, but made it through it with some help from the online community. After that things looked OK for a while till my sister needed more surgery, for a separate problem, and we had a small fire due to a corroded natural gas line. Shortly after that my sister lost her job due to being too exhausted from the surgery and fire to do it as well as she had for almost 10 years. Mom's health got enough worse at about the same time that she needed, and still needs, my sister to be home with her just about full time. We've been barely hanging on from month to month since then, with zero reserves for any unexpected expenses.

The house is old -- I wouldn't be surprised if the oldest part of it's been here a hundred years -- but it was built solid to begin with and there's no reason it shouldn't outlast Mom, and with a little upkeep probably even my sister. The only thing even a little urgent that I know of that needs done to it is that we need to have a natural gas line replaced before it gets corroded enough to cause another fire. (The one that caused the fire last winter has been replaced and I don't think the other one's as old as it was but it still worries me.)

An aside so the previous paragraph and some things I may say later make sense: The house was built in at least three four, and possibly four five or six, stages. The only part of the house I'm sure has been here all along is what was the Living Room, Dining Room, and Master Bedroom when we moved here. Judging from the roofline I think the kitchen was probably added later, and there's no question the hall bath was originally a back porch, but I don't know what happened in what order. Judging, again, by the roofline I'd say what became my brother's and my bedroom was added later yet, but still over 50 years ago. I know the bedroom my sister and her husband use now was added in 1970 when Dad's mother moved in, and the garage was added in '76; those are the only things I'm sure of.

The natural gas line that corroded and caused that fire last year was between the gas range in the kitchen and the Warm Morning stove in the Living Room, which are back to back about two feet apart, and was replaced from the shut-off valve in to that point after the fire. The line from that area ahead to the water heater in the hall bathroom is apparently as old as the bathroom. If we're still living here when I get my Social Security settlement I'll have it replaced but we can't afford to before then.

The immediate issue isn't whether this house is going to hold together a while longer, it's our financial problems. Even after the help we got when I posted that bleg last week we still have no reserve for any sort of unexpected expenses and it's just a matter of time till the wolf's at the door again. If we can move to a more modern house and end up with as much cash out of the deal as it sounds like we may be able to, it's the only logical choice we have. Mom apparently has herself convinced that's what she wants to do, but I'm  not sure how well she'll deal with it when the time comes to actually do it, nor am I sure my sister can handle it emotionally -- She's lived here for all but about 10 years of her life and moving will be very, very difficult for her.

When I called my lawyer yesterday I told him we were looking at having to sell this place and he told me not to let anyone sign anything until we'd discussed the situation more, but I really don't know if there's any realistic hope there. He's said in the past that once my case reaches the top of the list and is a assigned to a particular Administrative Law Judge he thinks there might be some chance he can get a decision in my favor without actually having to wait for a hearing. (By submitting a sworn statement that he's met with me and knows I'm just as sick as I say I am? Hell, I don't know.) I don't see how he can make anything happen soon enough to give us the option of staying here, but I'll at least do like he said and check with him before we make any final decisions. If he could somehow get a ruling in my favor within the next few days that would change everything.

The only other even possible solution I can think of is selling part of our place to the neighbor across the road -- the one that bought the field between our place and the road several years ago so he could keep it from ever being developed. He's already made it clear he won't allow anything to be done to that field. If he'd allow a road to cut across one corner of it and across our side field we could keep the house and lawn. (Look at the aerial shots I posted in that previous post if you need to.) Since he won't allow that, the only way they can put in the road they want to is to put it in farther west, which means tearing this house down. It probably won't do any good but before we agree to move and let them tear the house down I want to give him a chance to buy most of our side field and a strip across the front of the place to block the road they're wanting to build. Probably not much hope there but at least it's worth a try.

I told my sister last week that if we're still in this house if/when I get that big retroactive disability benefits check and start getting monthly Social Security checks I'll be moving out before too long after that. Right now I share "my" room with a Dining Room table (which actually gets used for dining exactly once per year) and a washer and dryer, and the path from the Living Room and kitchen to the hall bath passes through my room, right by my bed. It beats sleeping under a bridge somewhere but I'd get a lot more sleep in a room there's no reason for anyone to walk through. I earned enough money during the last 4 years before the Defense market collapse at the end of the Cold War to entitle me to a big enough pension to be able to afford a small apartment and still be able to give my sister enough help so she's not in a bind at the end of every month, especially if getting Social Security doesn't mean losing my VA pension, which my understanding is that it won't. I'll use part of that back-benefits check to have some repairs done on this place, such as having that old natural gas line replaced, then start looking for a small apartment nearby. I consider that the ideal outcome for the whole situation but the only way it's going to happen is if the neighbor across the road buys part of this place like I mentioned earlier I'm going to suggest. If we do end up moving to a more modern house so I can have a room no one has any reason to be in but me I'll at least try staying there after I get my Social Security settlement. I'd be able to help my sister's financial situation a lot more that way and youngest nephew is bright enough that eventually he's going to start bringing home homework I'm the only one in the family with enough education to help him with. If we try it and it doesn't work out I can still move later.

Time for me to take my happy pills the nice man at the VA clinic gives me and go to bed. I'll probably look this over in a few hours and realize it doesn't even make sense to me but after I took time to write it I'm going to go ahead and post it.

*** 2007.07.26.00:06 CDT

I guess either what I wrote earlier does half-way make sense or I'm still in such a confused state of mind that to me it does. I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to that breakdown.

Nothing new happened today except a lot of waiting and stewing. My sister called the contractor who wants our place Monday morning, told him we might at least consider selling it, and asked him what sort of budget we'd be looking at for finding some place to move to. He told her he needed to check with some people and if she hadn't heard from him by tomorrow (Thursday) to call him again. He didn't call yet so I guess that's next.

I've been getting a reminder all day how much help I'll be packing and unpacking if we do move. Yesterday after I got that email from TypePad saying their power was off and it would be a while before I could do any more blogging I went for a walk around the perimeter of our place and part way down one side of the field behind us to see what who was up to where. I woke up so stiff and sore today that it's about all I can do to move around in the house; been that way all day, not just when I first got up.

I need to stop thinking in terms of what's best for me in the short term and start thinking of what's best for Mom and Vicki in the long run. As much as I'd like my own room somewhere with central heat and air I'm not sure they can either one handle the emotional pain of leaving this place, no matter how much sense it makes financially and how bad we need the money. It's time for me to quit encouraging them to think about selling and start trying to figure out how to stay here. When and if I get that Social Security settlement I can move then and keep giving them enough to make ends meet, and if things get too tight I guess I can move back. That leaves the question of holding on from now till I get that money. If the neighbor across the road buys part of the place like I hope he will I guess we stay here and hope that with the money we get for it we can ride things out till the Social Security money comes through. If he doesn't, and I don't get real good news from my lawyer real soon, the only logical thing to do is sell but I'm not at all sure that's what we'll end up doing.

Counting the place we moved here from, this place, two rooms at U of I, Basic Training, Tech School, two apartments near Kelly AFB, three rooms at Cam Ranh Bay and two in Saigon, two apartments and one house in Austin, two houses in the Ft Worth area, an apartment and house in the St. Louis area, etc, etc, I'm not sure if I could even come up with an accurate total of how many places I've moved out of at one time or another. Mom, on the other hand, has lived a total of 4 places in her life, including over 50 years in this place. My sister grew up in this house, moved out briefly the first time she got married, moved back when that marriage failed, moved out for 6 years or so when she got married the second time, moved back when that marriage failed, and has been here ever since. There's a tree in the yard that was planted to celebrate my daughter's birth and another one for each one of my nieces and nephews, a pet cemetery in the back field, and not a room in the house that Dad didn't lower the ceiling in (from 12' to 8' -- I said this place was old), panel, or build from scratch. All in all, even if we do agree to sell the place I'm not sure Mom or Vick either one will have the will power to walk out for the last time when the time comes.

So, where's that leave us? I guess it leaves us praying the guy across the highway will buy enough of our place so we have enough money to hang on till my Social Security comes through, and if he doesn't it leaves us praying the fridge, that old Warm Morning stove, etc hold up a little longer. I know the fridge and stove are both going to have to be replaced in the not very distant future if we stay and I have no idea where the money's going to come from if that happens before I get my SS settlement.

Wish us luck. Pray for us if you're so inclined.

***

Continued here.

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 25, 2007 at 04:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

2007.07.25 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup

  • Bush links al Qaeda to Iraq militias
    By Joseph Curl: In his most direct effort to date to connect al Qaeda to the Iraq war, President Bush yesterday cited declassified intelligence to tie terrorists operating in Iraq with September 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, saying new evidence "clearly establishes this connection." ...
  • Al Qaeda. . .in Iraq
  • Blocks of cheese with wires sticking out
    Michelle Malkin: NBC News obtained a TSA unclassified bulletin about possible airplane/airport dry runs by terrorists probing homeland security. What caught my eye were the photos of some of the suspicious devices taken by airport authorities: ...
  • TSA: Dry Runs Indicate Terrorist Attack Near
    Ed Morrissey: The Transportation Security Administration has issued a bulletin that confirms that an uptick in suspicious incidents indicate that a terrorist attack on airliners may be close at hand. The items seized by TSA include clay-like substances, potential IED components such as wires and switches, and cell-phone components that could be used as remote triggers: ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 25, 2007 at 12:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Tuesday, 24 July 2007
 

A Quick Index To Today's Posts, Quick Hits, Open Post

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Between the situation I discussed here and waking up with a major headache I may be looking at a real slow day. I'll try to wake up enough to get something accomplished before the whole day passes.

Quick links to some things farther down the page:

Some things worth knowing about that I didn't devote separate posts to:

  • ID Cards For Illegal Immigrants?
    Ed Morrissey: In the absence of immigration reform, advocates of the McCain-Kennedy bill from this summer warned us, states and localities would start responding with their own patchwork of oddball legislation. Some opponents of the reform bill welcomed the idea, but probably won't delight in this development from New Haven, Connecticut: ...
  • Limericks for John Kerry
    Michelle Malkin: A few days ago, The Hill noted John Kerry’s nasty mocking of Sen. David Vitter’s D.C. Madam-related woes. Kerry was speaking at a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fund-raiser last week: ...

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Contributed by Bill Faith on July 24, 2007 at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Does anyone know exactly how long TypePad was down?

Sorry for the absence. Not my fault this time, any way. TypePad crashed right around 15:50 CDT due to a power outage. There was a period of time, somewhere around two hours long, when TypePad blogs (like this one) weren't available for reading and a longer period, somewhere between 3 and a half and four hours, when they couldn't be updated. I have some catching up to do but I may not get it all done right away. After I realized I couldn't blog I spent some time walking around trying to make sense out of what they're doing in the fields behind and next to our place (see my post here) and trying to think of some good way out of the situation. It doesn't take a lot of walking around to wear this old dog out and I think I got the job done.

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 24, 2007 at 08:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

2007.07.24 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup

Between the situation I discussed here and waking up with a major headache I may be looking at a real slow day. (Update: That TypePad outage didn't help any either.) Just go read these:

  • Video: Gold Star women confront Code Pinkos
    Bryan Preston: From now until the end of time, in every single conflict in which the US finds itself a combatant, we will have to confront the udder lunacy of the left (*nsfw). If they don’t see the evil inherent in the actions of the terrorists and insurgents our troops are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, they never will see any evil other than what they imagine to reside in Washington. And rest assured, they never, ever will see any other evil. Their imaginations are much more vivid than reality. But confronting them is a worthwhile endeavor. ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 24, 2007 at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Monday, 23 July 2007
 

A Quick Index To Today's Posts, Quick Hits, Open Post

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Quick links to some things farther down the page:

Some things worth knowing about that I didn't devote separate posts to:

  • John McCain's Integrity Problem
    Ralph Peters: Senator John McCain has an integrity problem: He has too much of it. At a time when would-be presidential candidates in both parties alter their views depending on the prevailing winds, McCain stands up for what he truly believes. And he's paying for it. ...

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Contributed by Bill Faith on July 23, 2007 at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

2007.07.23 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup

Victory Caucus Relaunches 
Ed Morrissey

The Victory Caucus has its new website up and running, and NZ Bear has applied his talents towards expanding the information on Iraq and Afghanistan to put data in easy reach. Want to know the statistics on weapons-cache discoveries? A handy graph on the main page tells you that the success rate has skyrocketed this year. Another graph details the decline in sectarian violence since the start of the surge. NZ has linked blogs, official military sources, and news feeds into one daily stop for all readers. ...

Worthy of an excerpt but I can't do it justice without violating fair use: 'It Didn't Happen'

Below the fold:

  • Suspicious Behavior
  • Impeach-a-palooza comes to Washington

See also:

Suspicious Behavior
NRO Editors

Those who watch for suspicious behavior will want to keep a close eye on House Democratic leaders this week. A House-Senate conference committee is expected to produce the final text of the homeland-security bill, and Democrats want to eliminate a provision that would protect citizens from being sued for reporting possible terrorist activity.

In March, the House adopted that provision — an amendment sponsored by Rep. Peter King (R., N.Y.) — by a margin of 304 to 121. It shields from civil liability not only citizens who report threats in good faith, but transportation employees and organizations that take reasonable actions to mitigate those threats. It is retroactive, in order to cover events that took place on or after November 20, 2006.

That was the date of the “flying imams” incident, which prompted King’s efforts. Six Muslim clerics were removed from a U.S. Airways flight in Minneapolis after fellow passengers reported their suspicious behavior. The men didn’t sit in their assigned seats, asked for seatbelt extenders that they apparently didn’t need, and were overheard making anti-American statements. All were cleared after questioning by the authorities. But, with the help of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), they filed suit against the airline and the “John Doe” passengers who had called attention to them. Their suit alleges nothing less than a “malicious . . . conspiracy to discriminate.”  ...

See also:

Impeach-a-palooza comes to Washington
Michelle Malkin

St. Cindy Sheehan and her unhinged minions will descend on Arlington National Cemetery Monday morning for an impeachment parade that will end at John Conyers’ office doorstep. Similar protests are taking place in the offices of Rep. Howard Berman in California and Rep. Pete Visclosky in Indiana, and at Rep. Conyers’ district offices in Detroit, among others. This is no fringe movement. The nutroots machine has kicked into high gear. Far Lefty Bill Moyers joined the bandwagon with a one-hour PBS special on impeachment last week. Jimmy Breslin banged the impeachment drum in his Newsday column today. Sen. Russ Feingold is crusading for censure. ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 23, 2007 at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

About yesterday ...

Some of you may have noticed I didn't get as much done yesterday as usual.

Excuse #1:
The matter I discussed here has me so preoccupied I'm having a hell of a time trying to make myself think about anything else, even when there's nothing I can do on that front but wait.

Excuse #2:
Yesterday was my sister's birthday, a fact I managed to completely forget about till her daughter and grandkids showed up with a cake. I'm getting old, people; I can call her from Saigon on her 10th birthday and forget her 45th when we're sleeping under the same roof? Usually when that gang shows up I pretty much just hide in my blogging corner with my hearing aid turned off but it wouldn't have been right to do that yesterday. We spent a big part of the day sitting around in lawn chairs in the back field (all you see is trees on those aerial views I posted) and ended up cooking weenies over an open fire back there, something we do on a lot of special occasions and will miss big time if we end up parting with the whole place.

A little before 10 I decided I could use a short nap. Usually when I crash without my bedtime anti-depressant I sleep for about an hour or so then get up and catch up on my blogging, then take my pills and go back to bed till midmorning. I was tired enough last night that I slept through till about 10 this morning without the pills. I suppose I must have needed the rest but now I have some catching up to do, which I may or may not get done between sessions walking around the yard wondering what's next in the field behind us and worrying about what we're going to end up letting them do with this place.

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 23, 2007 at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Sunday, 22 July 2007
 

A Quick Index To Today's Posts, Quick Hits, Open Post

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Today at Old War Dogs:

Today on this site:

  • 2007.07.22 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup
    • Killing a Career
    • Some words about Iraq and Iran from Gen. George Patton
    • Aide to Iraq's Top Shiite Cleric Fatally Stabbed
    • Turkey Faces The Polls
    • Which way, Turkey? Update: 17 hurt in election violence
    • ...

Some things worth knowing about that I didn't devote separate posts to:

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Contributed by Bill Faith on July 22, 2007 at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

2007.07.22 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup

Killing a Career
Chuck Colson (Hat tip: Russ Vaughn)

have what some might consider the macabre habit of reading the casualty reports from Iraq every day in the New York Times. This may reflect the fact that I served in the military or that I worked in the White House during Vietnam.

But there’s one name that hasn’t yet appeared in the casualty reports: the name of General Peter Pace, the first Marine—and I say this with pride as a former Marine—to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Why am I looking for Pace’s name on the casualty list? His distinguished military career was recently ended by the crudest kind of politics. ...

Below the fold:

  • Some words about Iraq and Iran from Gen. George Patton
  • Aide to Iraq's Top Shiite Cleric Fatally Stabbed
  • Turkey Faces The Polls
  • Which way, Turkey? Update: 17 hurt in election violence

See also:

Some words about Iraq and Iran from Gen. George Patton

Aide to Iraq's Top Shiite Cleric Fatally Stabbed
Supporters of Sistani See Attack as a Warning, Consider Moving Leader Out of Najaf

BAGHDAD, July 21 -- A top aide to Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani was stabbed to death in what Sistani's supporters believe was a warning to Iraq's senior Shiite cleric, authorities said Saturday.

Abdullah Falaq was killed Friday in his office, which is adjacent to Sistani's home in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, about 100 miles south of Baghdad, according to an aide to the cleric. Sistani is considered one of the most influential Shiite leaders in Iraq, and Falaq was his chief adviser on matters of Islamic law.

Police said they had taken four suspects into custody. An officer said he could not comment on whether the men were part of any insurgent group. In January, an attempt to assassinate Sistani was foiled during a battle between U.S. and Iraqi military forces and insurgents near Najaf.

A representative from Sistani's office expressed concern that an armed attacker had gained entrance to the heavily guarded compound and said he suspected that one of the cleric's bodyguards aided the killer. He said officials close to Sistani interpreted the attack as a threat to the ayatollah and are considering moving him out of Najaf. ...

Turkey Faces The Polls
Ed Morrissey

Turkey faces a critical test today in its national elections, and the results could have wide implications for the entire region. The government has remained unsettled since the attempt to elect Abdullah Gul president and the threatened military coup that scotched Gul's rise. Now the Turks will recast its parliament, and the West waits to see whether Islamists can grab enough power to change the relentlessly secular government: ...

***

Which way, Turkey? Update: 17 hurt in election violence
Michelle Malkin

Turkey is holding parliamentary elections today. The importance of the vote there can’t be emphasized enough. The choice in the minds of many Turks is this: sharia or secularism? East or West? Submission or resistance? A battle over Muslim headscarves prompted the elections:

A general election on Sunday in this mostly Muslim nation might help answer a divisive question: whether women should be allowed to wear head scarves in official settings and state institutions.

It was a tempest over a head scarf that helped trigger the elections in the first place. Secularists reacted with outrage when the Islamic-oriented ruling party proposed a presidential candidate whose wife covered her head ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 22, 2007 at 12:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Saturday, 21 July 2007
 

A Quick Index To Today's Posts, Quick Hits, Open Post

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Contributed by Bill Faith on July 21, 2007 at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

2007.07.21 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup

Kinder, Gentler Treatment of Terrorist Detainees
John Hinderaker

The long-festering issue of how far the CIA can go in questioning terrorist detainees has been resolved, for now at least, with a new executive order that authorizes resumption of the use of some "severe interrogation methods" by the agency, while at the same time accepting the State Department's definition of “humiliating and degrading treatment."

The practical effect of the change is to deny the CIA use of waterboarding and temperature extremes as interrogation tactics. What "severe interrogation methods" remain available has not been made public. ...

And of course that same executive order forbids beheading noncombatants and flying of airplanes into tall buildings. George, did they find your head when they did that colonoscopy?

Below the fold:

  • The 9/11 Generation
  • Were Gitmo lawyers leaking info to detainees?
  • Officials debate sustained Iraq 'surge'

See also:

The 9/11 Generation
Michelle Malkin: Dean Barnett has a nice piece about our troops in the Weekly Standard. It tells the story of some young American men and women who joined the military after 9/11. I met members of the 9/11 Generation in Iraq much like the ones Barnett features, and correspond with many of them every week who serve our country all over the world. They are brave, smart, dedicated, faithful, and committed to protecting our country’s best interests.  ...

Were Gitmo lawyers leaking info to detainees?
See-Dubya

There’s a new ruling on the Guantanamo detainees and their relationship with their lawyers out of the DC Circuit. Andy McCarthy notes that the NYT has, as usual, spun it as a dramatic rout of the Bush administration when in fact it looks to him (and to me) that both sides won a few arguments.

Skipping the Times’ spin on it, I went straight to the text of the ruling (pdf here). I’ll leave the legal analysis to the specialists in this area like McCarthy, but I found a pretty big news nugget stuffed down on page 18. The Government was seeking to control what information lawyers could communicate to their clients–they wanted to make sure that it was limited to legal filings and documents and not chit-chat and world news. Well, actually, they already prohibited that; now they want to be able to examine the text of documents sent from lawyers to detainees in order to enforce it. Here’s why, emphasis mine: ...

Officials debate sustained Iraq 'surge'
Administration and military leaders haven't decided whether progress would mean ending or extending the troop buildup.
By Peter Spiegel, LAT Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — In Congress, a passionate debate over the war in Iraq ended abruptly in legislative deadlock this week, leaving President Bush free to continue his military buildup into September. But inside the administration, a less visible but no less passionate debate is quietly underway — over whether the "surge" should continue even longer.

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the overall commander in Iraq, is expected to present Bush with several options in a key September report, along with an analysis of where each path might lead.

But senior administration officials are far from unified on the question of whether progress over the summer should lead to an extension of the surge — or to an opportunity to declare victory and end the increase in forces.

Evidence is mounting that military commanders favor a continuation of the buildup, which now has the troop level at 158,000, through next spring. On Friday, two senior military commanders in Iraq indicated that efforts to stabilize their provinces will stretch well beyond September. ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 21, 2007 at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack


Friday, 20 July 2007
 

A Quick Index To Today's Posts, Quick Hits, Open Post

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  • 2007.07.20 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup
    • “Scott Thomas:” The new Winter Soldier?
    • Come clean, New Republic; Update: TNR investigating
    • Tipster shields lifted by Democrats
    • Audio: Iraqi ambassador can't believe U.S. would walk away from the mess it's made
    • Undersecretary of Defense to Hillary Clinton: Stop Helping the Enemy
    • Drums of War
    • ...

Some things worth knowing about that I didn't devote separate posts to:

  • Does your senator support voter fraud?
    Michelle Malkin: On the Senate floor right now, members just finished voting on an amendment to a student loan bill that would require voters to show photo ID at the polls. You know, so illegal aliens and other ineligible people don’t undermine the integrity of the election process. The amendment failed 42-54. Stand by for the roll…

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Contributed by Bill Faith on July 20, 2007 at 11:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Color this old dog's head spinning (Updated)

Well, hell!

The financial problems I've been worrying myself sick over for the past week are finally under control for at least a little while, thanks to way too much help from way too few people. I'll update my bleg post as soon as I calm down enough to be able to.

I mentioned earlier that we're getting a new Super Wal-Mart a lot closer to us than I wish it was going to be. There was some talk at one time about one of the contractors buying some fill dirt from us but that fell through when they decided they wanted to buy the whole place and we said no. This morning about half the fence row that's separated our place visually from the cornfield behind us disappeared, including a couple of chunks of a fence that was half ours. If they tear the rest of it out we'll be in direct line of site of the new store. (Our place is triangular. I'll post some aerial shots later.) Now that Mom's realized that the place she and Dad bought 50 years ago to be close to town without actually being in town is going to be very close to town soon whether we like it or not she's decided she wants to at least think about just selling the whole place and moving farther out. Logically I guess I should be in favor of the idea. The place is old -- we had a fire about a year and a half ago due to a corroded gas pipe and the place desperately needs rewired, which would cost more money than we have any hope of coming up with, which means the room where I sleep and blog can't be air conditioned except for what cool air leaks in from other rooms. This is one of those situations it's going to be damned difficult to be logical about.

Part of what we do or don't end up doing depends on a neighbor we haven't discussed the matter with but will soon. Several years back he bought the pasture field that separates our place from the highway so he'd be in a position to keep it from ever being developed (He lives right across the highway from it.) Depending on what he decides, we might have the option of selling part of the place but keeping the house and lawn with a reasonable buffer zone around them. If he won't cooperate our choices are going to be all or nothing. (That'll all make more sense after I get some aerial views posted after bit.)

I think I'm about ready for my breakdown. The contractor who wants our place has offered to put us in a nicer place and give us enough money on top that we can quit barely holding on from payday to payday for a while. That and having a room all to myself that stays at a reasonable temperature year round sounds good. The problem is it won't be the place where I grew up, where my sister's spent her whole life minus a total of under 10 years, and the place Mom's lived in for over 50 years. The final decision isn't even mine to make; Mom's still at herself enough of the time that if she decides she wants to move we'll move, and if she doesn't we won't.

Have I got you good and confused? Probably so. I'll get busy on some aerial views after bit so anyone who's curious enough has a better chance of understanding what I'm talking about.

***

Maybe it'll make more sense this way:

The triangle with the red X in it is our little 2.5 acre corner of the world. When we moved here 50 years ago the house with the red dot on it was the only thing on the south side of the road for over a quarter mile east of us; James street wasn't even there. The large building near the top of the picture is the existing Wal-Mart, which has been there something like 15 years. It's there, but as you can see in the picture there are enough trees in the right place that we don't have to look it at other than being able to see one corner of the parking lot. The new store is going in somewhere in that big field behind the existing one and one of the contractors has permission to move a bunch of dirt out of the field directly behind us. The trees along that fence row, unfortunately, are nearly all on that side of the fence; some of them are already gone and we can't stop the rest of them from going away.

OK, so where does the contractor wanting our place fit into this? He wants to put in an alternate entrance/exit to the Wal-Mart parking lot coming south off the highway and turning east at an appropriate point. If the neighbor across the road, who owns the field in front of us, will permit it it looks to me like they could do that by coming off the highway at a right angle, which our lane doesn't, passing east of our house and west of the house with the dot on it. Our place ends up smaller and closer to the traffic on the new road than would be ideal, but it doesn't have to be torn down. If the neighbor across the road doesn't cooperate the only place to put the new road is farther west, passing through where our house is now.  In that case it seems to me like we could be in a pretty good bargaining position; the house itself isn't worth all that much but the land it's on is worth a bundle, maybe enough that it makes sense to sell it.

We have a lot of thinking and negotiating to do at this point and I'm not even sure how I want things to turn out. I'll update this post and/or do some follow-up posts as time goes on.

*** 2007.07.21

Color this old dog confuseder and confuseder. Here's a picture of the area from higher up; the red dot near the left edge is right on top of my head:

We don't have any new hard news to go on but we did pick up some interesting rumors. The guy across the road (the one who bought the field between us and the road years back to keep it from being developed) says he hasn't heard a thing from anyone about building a road across his field but if and when he does he'll tell them to get lost. He also said that he's heard that the plans for that field behind us include a 9 acre lake and a high-end housing development. He thinks anyone who invests money in building expensive houses there will lose their shirt on the deal, but that's what he's hearing. (He's 79 years old but still spry and alert, with a lot of business connections around the area.) He also says there are lots for sale between where the new store's going to be and Porter Ave. for a per-acre price that sounds absolutely ridiculous to him and to me.

So where's that leave us? I'd guessed we were going to end up with a lake back there as soon as I found out how much fill dirt they needed. (An old friend of my sister's was offered a chance to bid on the contract for the dirt and turned it down.) What I hadn't anticipated was the new subdivision. If someone's serious about putting fancy houses around the lake, they're going to sell better if there's access to them from Hwy 250 (see the top picture; time was when Hwy. 250 was U.S. 50, on the way from Denver to DC.) If that's all true, we could be sitting on enough money to buy a more modern house farther from town and have enough left over to quit just hanging on from paycheck to paycheck for a while, maybe until the Social Security people admit I'm too sick to hold down a "real" job and I start getting a big enough pension to keep us in the black for good. If we stay here we're going to be "in town" whether we like it or not. On the other hand, what are memories worth?

Daddy, are you reading this? We need a sign.

***

I've started a follow-up post on this subject here.

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 20, 2007 at 03:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

2007.07.20 Long War // Dhimm Perfidy Roundup

“Scott Thomas:” The new Winter Soldier?
Michelle Malkin

... For the past few days, debate has bubbled on the right side of the blogosphere about “Scott Thomas,” an alleged soldier serving in Baghdad who penned a piece for The New Republic about war atrocities he allegedly witnessed. Michael Goldfarb at the Weekly Standard first raised questions and asked bloggers to look into the charges. Milbloggers dissect Thomas’s tales: Read Greyhawk and Blackfive, where troops at the FOB where “Scott Thomas” is allegedly stationed respond to Thomas’s claims that a female civilian contractor with a “more or less melted” face works there and was ridiculed by cruel soldiers. Read them all. ...

Scott Johnson has more.

***

Come clean, New Republic; Update: TNR investigating
Bryan Preston

Set your BS detector on its lowest possible setting. If you know anything about Iraq or guns at all, your detector will bury the needle when you read this:

Someone reached down and picked a shell casing up off the ground. It was 9mm with a square back. Everything suddenly became clear. The only shell casings that look like that belong to Glocks. And the only people who use Glocks are the Iraqi police.

That’s from Dead of Night by “Scott Thomas,” the pseudonymous soldier whose claims have raised much suspicion among the blogs of late. It’s completely insane. ...

Tipster shields lifted by Democrats
By Audrey Hudson

Congressional Democrats yesterday declined to protect tipsters who report suspicious behavior from nuisance lawsuits.

"This is a slap in the face of good citizens who do their patriotic duty and come forward, and it caves in to radical Islamists," said Rep. Peter T. King, New York Republican and ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Republicans tried to write the protection provision included in final homeland security legislation, crafted yesterday by a House and Senate conference committee, to implement final recommendations from the September 11 commission. ...

See also: Video: Peter King rips the Democrats for voting against “John Doe”

Audio: Iraqi ambassador can't believe U.S.
would walk away from the mess it's made
Allahpundit

Believe it. Biden gave Ryan Crocker a message at the Senate briefings today to take back with him to Baghdad: “We’re not staying. We’re not staying. (There’s) not much time.” So much for Odierno’s estimate that he won’t be able to properly assess the merits of the surge until November. As I write this, there’s a report on the wires of our great moral tutor, the Messiah himself, shrugging off the prospect of genocide as a justification for continuing the troop presence on grounds that genocide’s happening in Africa too and we’re not traipsing off to prevent that. That’s an odd subject on which to take a hard egalitarian line, and god only knows where it leaves the left’s table-pounding about Darfur, but it’s also flatly, knowingly incorrect. Click here and listen to Iraqi ambassador Samir al-Sumaidaie explain the difference. If you can’t spare five minutes to listen to the whole thing, fast forward to the second half. Money: ...

Undersecretary of Defense to Hillary Clinton:
Stop Helping the Enemy
Kim Priestap

The Undersecretary of Defense tells it like it is and points out in a letter that Hillary Clinton reinforces enemy propaganda when she insists we need to prepare to surrender to the terrorists in Iraq: ...

Drums of War

From CNN: Americans held in Iran on alleged security offenses shown on state TV.

Two detained Iranian-Americans were shown on state television Wednesday night in a program contending they tried to foment regime change in Iran with the support of the U.S. government.

The 50-minute program showed a montage of disparate quotes from Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh combined to form what could be interpreted as incriminating statements, which their supporters and the U.S. government called illegitimate and coerced.

The scholars appeared alongside footage of anti-government protests in the former Soviet Union and of President Bush saying that the "untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world."

From AP: US takes a step toward talks with Iran. ...

Al Qaeda said to operate across Pakistan
By Josh Meyer, LAT Staff Writer

WASHINGTON -- Al Qaeda has strongholds throughout Pakistan, not just in the areas bordering Afghanistan that were emphasized in a terrorism assessment this week, according to U.S. intelligence officials and counter-terrorism experts who say Osama bin Laden's network is more deeply entrenched than described.

The National Intelligence Estimate on the Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland, which reflects the consensus of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, described Al Qaeda as having "regenerated key elements" and freely operating from bases in northwestern Pakistan. But several officials and outside experts interviewed since the document's release this week say the situation is more problematic. ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on July 20, 2007 at 12:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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