Here’s the latest on the bird clean-up at TriState Bird Rescue. According to this article, a pair of nesting bald eagles are affected by the spill. Many don’t realize that we have bald eagles in this area of the country. I didn’t realize it when I moved here awhile back until I worked at an office near a nesting site. There’s nothing like seeing America’s symbol just outside of your cubicle with a large fish in its talons.

I just kicked in $25 to help TriState Bird Rescue with the clean-up. Here’s the link to help out.
Remember:
Liberals may talk about saving the environment, conservatives actually do so.

Friends of Kerry (FoKERs) don’t appreciate disloyalty (link):

Gardner, the father of three, now is broke and unemployed. Nonetheless, he says he’d speak against Kerry all over again because “I couldn’t ever see [Kerry] as commander in chief – not after what I saw in Vietnam, not after the lies I heard him tell about what he says he did and what he says others did.”

The Truth sure can be a bitch sometimes.

For those of you who don’t know, there’s been a rather nasty oil spill on the Delaware River just south of Philadelphia (story here). The spill is spreading southward, endangering thousands of birds on the Delaware banks.

Tri-State Bird Rescue is trying to save them.
Please consider donating to them now.

In fact, I had just tossed an appeal from them but will dig it out and send it in after reading about their efforts fighting this spill. I’ve visited this group before with assorted birds in various states of distress. This group makes a little go a long way, and guarantees the best bang for the buck when it comes to conservation.

George Will has an excellent article in the NYPO about the lack of conservative voices in academia. Money quote:

Many campuses are intellectual versions of one-party nations — except such nations usually have the merit, such as it is, of candor about their ideological monopolies. In contrast, American campuses have more insistently proclaimed their commitment to diversity as they have become more intellectually monochrome.

They do indeed cultivate diversity — in race, skin color, ethnicity, sexual preference. In everything but thought.

As a former research assistant in the African bush and general animal lover, this is good news. For the lazy, a girl in Wisconsin has survived rabies - the first known person to survive rabies without vaccine.

There is no cure for rabies once symptoms appear; this story gives us hope.

Vaclev Havel is one of the world’s greatest living heroes. He doesn’t get the press the way Nelson Mandela does; I’ve compared the two in an article here . I am quite certain that History will view him better than Mandela. Havel has been consistent in his beliefs, eschewing violence for unyielding resistance that eventually freed his nation without the firing of a shot.

Shit is hitting the fan in Ukraine. Havel offers his support to protesters here.

Dear Citizens,

Allow me to greet you in these dramatic days when the destiny of your country is being decided for decades ahead. You have its future in your hands. All trustworthy organizations, both local and international, agree that your demands are just. That is why I wish you strength, perseverance, courage and good fortune with your decisions.

Yours truly,

Vaclav Havel

There is talk that Havel should be the next Secretary General of the United Nations.
If this happened, I would have to reconsider supporting that failed institution.

As people freak out over a marine killing a terrorist who had moments before shot at him, no one is particularly upset about this atrocity carried out by the French (link to Dean, who got the story via Instapundit).

Warning: The video is way more graphic than the Marine shooting. And these are civilians - not enemy combatants.

It’s that anniversary - you know which one. I wasn’t even around during his presidency, but it didn’t matter. In an American Irish Catholic family there was really only one “St. John".

My degree is in political science, and after the first year of required courses you learn pretty quickly that Kennedy wasn’t a great president. He wasn’t even a very good one because he couldn’t push his agenda through Congress. We’ve also heard sordid stories - many of them untrue, some that are though - about his personal life.

In my family, it didn’t matter. JFK and his family was the closest thing to royalty America has had since King George V held sway over this land.

As for his death, I recently saw a Discovery Channel program that proved the “single bullet theory” and disproved the “2nd shooter". The Razor was begun to counter conspiracy theories, and since this is the “mother of all conspiracy theories” in the USA today, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that we await extraordinary evidence to prove the extraordinary claim that JFK was NOT killed by Oswald.

In 7th Grade I wrote a list of people I had a beef with and left it in my desk. One day I was out sick. One of my friends found the list and passed it around the seventh grade. When I walked through the door a few days later, I was belted in the mouth and flew through the thing backwards by the guy at number 1. For the rest of the year I was harassed, bullied and beaten up by the people on that list. It was a shitty year in a string of shitty years that started the year my dad died.

But it taught me an important life-lesson: Be careful who your friends are.

Dean Esmay discusses Canada in this post. Note my comment - which formed the basis for this list.

Here is my version of America’s Shit List. This list in the order of threat and/or sheer audacity from most to least. And before the country at #1 decides to jump me, keep in mind that I am a pretty good shot with a 9 mm.

1. Saudi Arabia
- What can be said about a nation that won’t allow women to drive or people to drink? 15 of the 19 9-11 hijackers were upper middle class Saudis, and Saudi money continues funding America’s enemies even today. Looking back I think it was a mistake for America to block Saddam’s invasion of this country, although realistically we would have taken a political hit. But in the long-run, the chances for the reform of this country AND Islam would have been greater after Saddam cleaned out the Saudi Royal Family, and became the focus of Jihadists.

There is no simple solution to the relationship with Saudi Arabia. It is a cancer on the world’s body politic that cannot be excised without causing the metastasis of even more anti-Americanism in the world.

2. France
I used to think that France was like my sister who complains about the family, but when trouble arises she’s always the first one there to help.

How wrong I was.

It is clear now that France has always been a jealous Iago to our Othello who resents our influence and success. It’s relationship with Saddam, Syria, Hezbollah, and Iran as well as its blatant back-stab in the UN has shown us that France is not our friend.

Calling France a nation of weasels is an insult to weasels.

Kiss the French

3. Canada
How could Canada betray us?

We haven’t forgotten that Canada’s lax border controls has made it the #1 entry point into the USA for terrorists - including the Millennium Bomber who planned to blow up LA.

Is it because we view hockey as more exciting than the Ice Capades but less exciting than boxing?

A good chunk of Canada is French, and most Canadians live within 75 miles of the American border. Come to mention it, just what does it mean to be Canadian anyway?

4. Germany
Being lectured by a nation that has single handedly killed more humans than any other on this planet is a hoot. And that’s less than 60 years ago - not ancient history.

If it hadn’t been for us and the British, it would be a subsidiary of France now.

Oops! That’s right! In the EU that’s just what it is!

5. South Korea
25 years ago South Korea’s number 1 export to the USA was baby girls. I know about this first hand. We’ve got two of them in our family.

Now South Koreans view Americans as a greater threat than North Korea?

Seoul is within artillery range of the DMZ. That’s North Korea artillery - not American.

Here’s a link to my thoughts on this country which still apply.

Notice there is no North Korea, Iran or Syria? No Cuba?
Betrayal of trust is the deepest pain. Note that in 4 of the 5 nations in this list, Americans earned trust with blood.

How many French cemeteries are there in the USA?
How many Germans have been killed in wars that liberated America?
How many Saudis have died protecting America?
How many South Koreans have family members that served to protect America from invasion?

It’s ingratitude, and it won’t be forgotten.

Thanks to the Pirate-king for the heads-up.

Does this woman even realize how sick she sounds in this Delaware News Journal letter to the editor?Link to Letter:

Dump VX agent into red states’ rivers

Hasn’t DuPont’s vice president been reading The News Journal recently? It’s all about the pollution in our streams and bays. Delaware and New Jersey made it clear they do not want VX nerve agent in our waters. We already have enough chemicals in the Brandywine, Christina and Delaware Rivers and Red Clay Creek from DuPont-run plants.

Let’s send VX agent to the red States that voted for President Bush since they don’t seem to care about pollution and air quality. Let them dump VX agent into the Mississippi River.

Nancy M. Ciarlo, Rehoboth Beach

Here’s the letter I submitted in response:

I gave up reading the News Journal several years ago when it’s liberal bias on all issues except local business became apparent. However a friend has alerted me to several columns, op-ed pieces, and letters to the editor that make me wonder if you and your daily readers have lost your collective minds.

Today’s letter from a reader in Rehoboth advocating dumping VX into the rivers of “Red States” shows my amazement and continued disappointment with the Left in general and the Democratic party in particular - as well as newspapers like yours that have become the party’s propaganda wing.

The Democratic Party is imploding, and all it does is whine about President Bush. Republicans control the Presidency, the House and Senate, and a majority of governorships. The Republicans also control the majority of state legislatures as well. Bush’s election wasn’t a fluke or a conspiracy as some on the Left believe. The truth is that the Republican party now represents the vast majority of Americans, including socially liberal supporters of the military like me.

As a former Democrat who voted a straight Republican ticket this election, I want to return to the party but cannot. I believe that women are more than ovaries with legs. I believe that oppression isn’t a human right, and I recognize that there are people out there who want to murder me and my family simply because we don’t worship their god in their way.

The Democratic party has been hijacked by anti-American, anti-semitic left wing zealots and liars like Michael Moore and Jimmy Carter. They will lead the party to irrelevancy unless they are purged, and centerists like Dick Gephardt and Joe Lieberman take command.

Imagining killing millions of Republicans might be fun for some, but others should take a clear look and recognize that the problem isn’t with the Red States: It’s with the Blue.

An argument with the wife last night got me thinking about this topic.

I’m 38 years old. I can install an electrical drop and tie it in to the main safely.

I’ve taught myself basic carpentry skills and can knock out a wall and put one up without it falling down later.

I am currently learning how to sheetrock like a professional.

I know how to cook Japanese style rice so that it’s better than the rice found in most restaurants.

I enjoy using my Stihl chainsaw and do so whenever possible.

I know that the South American cichlid, Symphysydon Discus, prefers slightly acidic water with a
touch of peat. I also know that their young feed from their parent’s mucous layer soon after hatching. They are excellent parents but are a bear to breed successfully.

I have raised all manner of tropical fish and just this Summer spawned my first koi in the 1,500 gallon outdoor pond that I installed a year ago. I currently breed African cichlids without doing anything beyond providing them with a safe habitat and clean water.

I know and how to use the pivottable function in Excel.

I know how to stir fry without over or undercooking the vegetables.

I can design and build websites that don’t suck. I can also build the databases that power them.

I know that Oswald acted alone and can argue well enough to support my belief.

I can change a tire in less than 10 minutes on a busy expressway.

I have beaten the PC game Far Cry and know how to get past the hard parts.

I can explain why Japanese society today remains insulated from the rest of the world, and know the Japanese term that describes it (sakoku).

I know how to shoot a 9 mm safely and accurately.

I am loyal to my friends and family. I will defend both passionately.

I don’t drink, smoke, or gamble.

I have never cheated on my wife in the 14 years we’ve been together.

I am a hard worker and good provider for my family. My son is spoiled, and so are all the animals that I have rescued over the past 14 years.

But…
I tear into my food like a barbarian.

I often forget to use a napkin.

If the socks aren’t on my feet there’s a good chance they are on the floor or in the dirty laundry.

I hate shaving and try to avoid it whenever possible.

When I’m around the house I belch and fart as loud as I can.

I swear like a motherf****** rapper when I become frustrated or angry.

I wear short sleeve shirts in winter and long sleeves in Summer.

I believe that grey tube socks go with everything except my suits (there are limits to everything).

I collect baseball cards and enjoy playing video games.

I have built an N scale layout. The layout is completely scenicked with mountains, tunnels, bridges, rivers, buildings and lights. I most recently upgraded this layout to DCC, which involved installing tiny chips in each locomotive, and machining some parts so that they would fit.

I like sleeping and staying up late.

I don’t pick up after myself although I try.

I often forget to cover the toaster after I’ve made my kid waffles. The toaster cover therefore ends up laying on the kitchen counter.

I often leave the sink full of dishes.

I often don’t change the litterboxes.

I like watching cartoons and anime.

See why the wife gets frustrated?

What does it mean to be a man today? Why must women control them?

What is going on with Discovery Channel reality TV shows and the deaths of their stars?
First there was Michael Tata on American Casino.

Then there was the death of Tim Roberts from Wingnuts.
Then Indian Larry from Biker Buildoff.

Who’s next? And is that channel cursed or what?

Thanks to Powerline:

A Marine Writes Home

Later on, I intend to link to several sources talking about the shooting of the wounded terrorist in Fallujah. For now, I want to pass on this email from a Marine in the 11th MEU:

This is one story of many that people normally don’t hear, and one that everyone does.

This is one most don’t hear:
A young Marine and his cover man cautiously enter a room just recently filled with insurgents armed with Ak-47’s and RPG’s. There are three dead, another wailing in pain. The insurgent can be heard saying, “Mister, mister! Diktoor, diktoor(doctor)!” He is badly wounded, lying in a pool of his own blood. The Marine and his cover man slowly walk toward the injured man, scanning to make sure no enemies come from behind. In a split second, the pressure in the room greatly exceeds that of the outside, and the concussion seems to be felt before the blast is heard. Marines outside rush to the room, and look in horror as the dust gradually settles. The result is a room filled with the barely recognizable remains of the deceased, caused by an insurgent setting off several pounds of explosives.

The Marines’ remains are gathered by teary eyed comrades, brothers in arms, and shipped home in a box. The families can only mourn over a casket and a picture of their loved one, a life cut short by someone who hid behind a white flag.

But no one hears these stories, except those who have lived to carry remains of a friend, and the families who loved the dead. No one hears this, so no one cares.

This is the story everyone hears:

A young Marine and his fire team cautiously enter a room just recently filled with insurgents armed with AK-47’s and RPG’s. There are three dead, another wailing in pain. The insugent can be heard saying, “Mister, mister! Diktoor, diktoor(doctor)!” He is badly wounded. Suddenly, he pulls from under his bloody clothes a grenade, without the pin. The explosion rocks the room, killing one Marine, wounding the others. The young Marine catches shrapnel in the face.

The next day, same Marine, same type of situation, a different story. The young Marine and his cover man enter a room with two wounded insurgents. One lies on the floor in puddle of blood, another against the wall. A reporter and his camera survey the wreckage inside, and in the background can be heard the voice of a Marine, “He’s moving, he’s moving!”

The pop of a rifle is heard, and the insurgent against the wall is now dead. Minutes, hours later, the scene is aired on national television, and the Marine is being held for commiting a war crime. Unlawful killing.

And now, another Marine has the possibility of being burned at the stake for protecting the life of his brethren. His family now wrings their hands in grief, tears streaming down their face. Brother, should I have been in your boots, i too would have done the same.

For those of you who don’t know, we Marines, Band of Brothers, Jarheads, Leathernecks, etc., do not fight because we think it is right, or think
it is wrong. We are here for the man to our left, and the man to our right. We choose to give our lives so that the man or woman next to us can go home and see their husbands, wives, children, friends and families.

For those of you who sit on your couches in front of your television, and choose to condemn this man’s actions, I have but one thing to say to you. Get out of your recliner, lace up my boots, pick up a rifle, leave your family behind and join me. See what I’ve seen, walk where I have walked. To those of you who support us, my sincerest gratitude. You keep us alive.

I am a Marine currently doing his second tour in Iraq. These are my opinions and mine alone. They do not represent those of the Marine Corps or of the US military, or any other.

Just when you thought you were safe, he stirs.
Kerry Hints He May Try Again for the Presidency
Lock the doors. Shut the windows. Hug your loved ones.
He’s baaaa-ack!

Any anti-war lefty should read this article from the TimesOnline.

A man in his sixties, half-naked and his underwear stained with blood from shrapnel wounds from a US munition, cursed the insurgents as he greeted the advancing marines on Saturday night.

“I wish the Americans had come here the very first day and not waited eight months,” he said, trembling. Nearby, a mosque courtyard had been used as a weapons store by the militants.

Another elderly man, who did not want his name used for fear the rebels would one day return and restore their draconian rule, said he was detained by the militants last Tuesday and held for four days before being freed. He described how he had then sought refuge in a friend’s house where they had huddled together clutching Korans in silent prayer for their lives as the massive US bombardment put the insurgents to flight.

“It was horrible,” he told an AFP reporter."We suffered from the bombings. Innocent people died or were wounded by the bombings.

“But we were happy you did what you did because Fallujah had been suffocated by the Mujahidin. Anyone considered suspicious would be slaughtered. We would see unknown corpses around the city all the time.”

The same story of arbitrary executions was told by another resident, found by US troops cowering in his home with his brother and his family.

“They would wear black masks, carry rocket-propelled grenades and Kalashnikovs, and search streets and alleys,” said Iyad Assam, 24. “I would hear stories, about how they executed five men one day and seven another for collaborating with the Americans. They made checkpoints on the roads. They put announcements on walls banning music and telling women to wear the veil from head to toe.”

It was not just pedlars of alcohol or Western videos and women deemed improperly dressed who faced the militants’ wrath. Even residents who regard themselves as observant Muslims lived in fear because they did not share the puritan brand of Sunni Islam that the insurgents enforced.

One devotee of a Sufi sect, followers of a mystical form of worship deemed herectical by the hardliners, told how he and other members of his order had lived in terror inside their homes for fear of retribution.

“It was a very hard life. We couldn’t move. We could not work,” said the man sporting the white robe and skullcap prescribed by his faith. “If they had any issue with a person, they would kill him or throw him in jail.”

Following through with his promise, director Michael Moore has announced that he is in the planning stages for a sequel to his smash hit Fahrenheit 9/11. Appearing backstage at the American Music Awards, the famed director and outspoken Bush critic told Variety.

“After Theo Van Gogh’s death at the hands of an Islamic extremist in Amsterdam, I decided to put my money where my mouth is and prove to my critics that I’ve got the gut to take on Islamic fundamentalists.”

Moore says that he is in the planning stages of a documentary that takes a critical look at Islam, tentatively titled “Submission” – the literal translation of the word “Islam” into English.

“Instead of documenting supposed attacks on human rights, I am going to show what has been happening throughout the Islamic world for the past 30 years.” He paused as Anna Nicole Smith fell into him, then rebounded back into the crowd. “Did you know that people today have fewer human rights in the Islamic world than they did back then?

It’s startling, and the public needs to learn about the lack of freedom of religion and basic human rights for women in most of the Islamic world. The stoning to death of women in public. The public execution of gays under the Taliban. The book burnings in Cairo, and a virulent anti-semitism that breeds homicide bombers throughout the region. The threats against freedom of expression experienced by Salman Rushdie and any other writer that attempts to show the reality behind the religion. Van Gogh attempted to expose these truths and paid for it with his life. The least I can do is spend the millions I’ve made attacking the Bush administration to promote basic human rights around the world for everyone – regardless of religion.”

“The bottom line is that people do not have a right to oppression,” the director added. “Human rights are universal regardless of whether you are a Jew, Christian, or an atheist like me. My God, did you realize that all music is banned in some areas? Not just bands like Green Day - but all music - and singing too? Hell, kids couldn’t even fly kites in Kabul until city was lib… I mean occupied by the US.”

When asked about whether he fears for his safety, the director scoffed. “If I can survive Christian Fundamentalists, what do I have to fear from a few Islamic radicals? Fundamentalists are the same everywhere.”

Production is expected to wrap up this summer and Moore hopes the film will hit the theaters by the end of Ramadan 2005.

I was going to write something about France and then realized that France is too inconsequential to write about.

Colin Powell has resigned, and INDC Journal nominates Zell Miller as his replacement

I nominate Zell Miller for SecState; he’d make Donald Rumsfeld look like Jimmy Carter:

“I don’t much care what France thinks… they’re just a buncha wine drinkin’, crossandwich eatin’ buncha pansies that make love with their mouth and ain’t never seen no bath water … the only beret worth wearin’ is a green beret and they’d all be doin’ the Sieg Heil shuffle if it weren’t for our brave boys over there in Dubya Dubya Two. And Jock Chir-rack? I’d like to git that greased-up toe-licking mama’s boy out behind a woodshed and slap him stem-whinin’. Problem is, he’d run like his feet was on fire and his ass was catchin’, jes like all them damn frogs.”

“Press conference over; my cow died last night so I don’t need your bull, and I’m busier than a cat covering crap on a marble floor. Now git!”

Works for me…

Unlike our enemies, I do not celebrate the deaths of my enemies - although I just might make an exception for OBL.

Yassir Arafat is finally dead after several weeks of circling God’s toilet bowl. The PLO has played an important role in my personal evolution as the following attack is one of my first memories of the world beyond US borders:

– Sept. 6, 1970: TWA, Pan-Am, and BOAC airplanes are hijacked by PLO terrorists.

CAMERA has a list of Arafat’s atrocities - one that you won’t find in the left-wing press either here or in Europe.

As President Bush said, “May God have mercy on his soul.”

Update: Andrew McCarthy has an excellent round-up of Arafat’s atrocities and American stupidity that tried to rehabilitate the thug.

Update2: Honest Reporting weighs in on the media coverage and proves once again that CNN sucks dictators dry.

Dean Esmay has an excellent analysis of the Electoral System in this article. This got me thinking.

Imagine the following:
Everyone in a Red State votes for Bush, perhaps after John Ashcroft threatens to eat their livers; the vote in states won by Kerry doesn’t change - no doubt because they were protected by Michael Moore. Michael Moore! Hero to Jihadists who kill gays and the gays they kill!

Now, imagine that 160,000 voters in Ohio found the urge to vote Kerry instead of Bush.

Kerry therefore wins the election by carrying Ohio’s Electoral College votes.

What would be the maximum popular vote won by George Bush, that would still result in his loss in the electoral college?

I did a quick analysis of the popular vote based on the above scenario that can be found here.

The answer: Bush could have won the popular vote by 25,581,879 votes and still lost the election.

Me? I smell a conspiracy!
Wait, that’s just my dog…

I’m the son of one. I’m the step-father of one. And I’m married to one.
Wish I was one.
Take the time today to thank a Vet. The President does.

The Razor wishes the Marine Corps a Happy 229th Anniversary.

Link to story here.

French forces opened fire Tuesday as protesters massed between the Ivory Coast president’s home and an evacuation post for foreigners. A hospital reported seven people were killed and more than 200 wounded.

It’s Indochine all over again.

Howard Dean Considering DNC Chairman Bid

Dean has been outspoken since the beginning of his presidential bid in saying that the Democratic Party must establish a separate and unique identity from Republicans.

The Ku Klux Klan has a separate and unique identity from Republicans. (It also has roots in the Democratic Party.)

11/18/04 Update: FoxNews has a piece here that discusses what I point out below.
The idle talk of secession by the Blue States from the USA made me realize something.

Regarding Abortion, the Democratic party’s fetishistic devotion to this controversial procedure revolves around the 1973 Supreme Court Decision Roe v. Wade. I am not a legal scholar, but I have learned a thing or two despite my earning a degree at university.

Roe v. Wade legalized abortion on the federal level by granting it federal protection through a “right to privacy” that does not explicitly exist in the Constitution. As such states could not pass laws outlawing the procedure because to do so would violate federal law.

Overturning Roe v. Wade would NOT make abortion illegal in all 50 states. Should Roe v. Wade be overturned, the legality of the procedure would be decided at the state level, since the US Constitution explicitly states that any law not decided at the federal level should be handled at the state level.

The irony of the Liberal’s religious belief in abortion then becomes apparent:
Liberals are chafing at federal rule by the great “unwashed” in the Red States as evidenced by the talk of secession, yet they are against states rights.

This leads to the following conclusion:
Liberals don’t care about women or their “right to choose". Instead they care about forcing their beliefs on those who find them morally repugnant.

I recognize that the Democrats are going through some soul searching, but they must because they have lost touch with mainstream America. What’s the mainstream? Look at a Red/Blue map by county, and notice the sea of Red - even in the Blue states. That is the mainstream.

Democrats need to get real. Electing Howard Dean head of the DNC isn’t getting real.

I want an alternative to the Republican Party, but so far the Democratic Party is not it.

Dean Esmay gets medieval on the whining-loser-Left:

“A lot of us grew up being told to question authority, and a lot of that authority we now question is the left-wing orthodoxy of your generation…”

Question Authority! - unless the Left is the authority.
Fight the Power! - unless the Left is the one in power.

I think it’s time to reread Orwell’s Animal Farm.

Threat to Dutch Pol Found on Slain Filmmaker.

The killers of an outspoken Dutch filmmaker threatened his scriptwriter — a politician who renounced Islam and has criticized its customs — in a letter that was pinned to the victim’s body with a knife.

This is true censorship - not the kind that Michael Moore frets about.

Update: Link

In the Netherlands, artist Chris Ripke reacted to the murder on Theo Van Gogh by an islamic fundamentalist by painting a mural with the text “Gij zult niet doden” ("Thou Shalt Not Kill"), one of the ten commandments of the Christian religion.

But because the head of the nearby mosque complained to the police that this was ‘offensive’ and ‘racist’, the cops came and sent in city workers to sandblast the mural.

Bush part 2: John Ashcroft will be the first to go.

Buh-bye!

Arafat may or may not be dead as I write this, but expect the mourning to begin in the Arab world and the EU.

Here’s why I won’t be mourning his death:

Interesting biography of Arafat at wikipedia.
What does Israel have on Araft?
More here.

And don’t forget that the Marines were in Lebanon in 1983 to protect him from the Israelis and the Syrians. 243 died.

It’s true: I can’t.
A clean slate, a new start. A slew of possible candidates that I would consider voting for:

John McCain - early favorite. I’ve been wanting to vote for this guy for years.

Rudy Giuliani - sentimental favorite. Grace under pressure. Cleaned up The City and kept it sane during its darkest hour.

Hillary Clinton - While she drives many up the wall, she has time to formulate some policies. Her healthcare program was ahead of its time. Could she be the American Margaret Thatcher?

John Edwards - young, but a trial lawyer who made his fortune off of suing doctors. I’m married to a doctor, and he’s not popular among the stethoscope-wearing set; but I’ll keep an open mind.

Barak Obama - young and black, with charisma and a sharp mind to match.

Colin Powell - America hasn’t done well with Generals turned President, but this guy could be different.

Arnold Schwarzenegger - long shot because it requires an amendment - sure to be blocked by Dems. Proof that the American dream still exists. Fun to imagine the Terminator as President, and one who could bench-press the entire G7 leadership.

2008 is only 4 years away, with the race beginning to firm up in 2 short years. For you Kerry loving Bush haters, there is a bright future ahead.

Coyote Blog looks at French Imperialism vs. Anglo Imperialism and finds much to be desired:

The results are striking. When arrayed in order of GDP per capita, ex-French colonies occupy only 4 of the top 25 spots. And, if you leave out Louisiana and Quebec, which one can argue are much more shaped by the US and British, and if you leave out Mexico, where there is arguably little French influence and none in the last 150+ years, then ex-French colonies occupy only 2 of the top 25 spots. When arrayed by the Freedom Index, and again leaving out Quebec, Louisiana and Mexico, ex-French colonies only occupy one of the top 25 spots! The ex-French colonies occupy 14 of the bottom 20 poorest slots and 11 of the bottom 15 least free slots. Finally, one could argue that none of the ex-French colonies have really grown up into world players, while British colonies in America, Australia, India, South Africa, Palestine (Israel) and even Egypt play a significant role on the world stage.

So the French even suck at imperialism. Figures…

Yesterday I cast my first party ballot (save one position) for the Republican Party. I consider myself a Democrat at heart and come from a Democratic family.

I wrote this piece two years ago about the party. In my opinion, it cannot win ANYTHING until it drastically changes.

The Razor recently passed it’s 3rd anniversary. It was born in the Post-911 Explosion of blogs in Oct 2001, received it’s first (and only) Instalanch in Jan 2002 - and has soldiered on as one by one other blogs have disappeared from the blogosphere.

This got me to wondering: What is your favorite dead blog?

My favorite Dead Blog is Zach Barbera’s “Voice From the Commonwealth” - which you can see here (should we call blogs that haven’t been updated in a long time but still appear “zombies"?). Zach was (is - he’s not dead) a good writer with an eye for the absurdity of politics. As a Libertarian in MA, I guess it came with the territory. “VOC” provided a unique perspective on the news that I miss, although Dean Esmay has appeared to take Zach’s place in my daily reading. Still, Dean writes from Michigan, which isn’t quite the left-wing ghetto as MA is, and I still miss the unique musings found only at “VOC".

So, this being the blogosphere, here’s the chance to speak out: what is your favorite “Dead Blog"?
The only rule is that the blog must be inactive for over 1 year. This disqualifies Den Beste’s USS Clueless.

A month ago I wrote about a close family member’s struggle with alcoholism and divorce here. Here is an update.

One more month of sobriety, and the effects of not poisoning herself are beginning to show on my sister-in-law. Her mind has become sharper. She sounds like a completely different person on the phone and in person. She has also spent more time with the Wife in the past month than she has cumulatively over 25 years. Wife is playing the role of an AA sponsor by helping her become more independent, doing her steps, and facing reality. The reality she is facing isn’t pretty.

Earlier in the month, the charges of assault with a deadly glass of water - were dropped - lucky for the State of Delaware and the peace of mind of our ruling governor. Girly Man came to the court with a stack of papers prepared to make the state’s case, but the State wisely threw it out instead.

However the PFA still stands. Evidently this is how things work nowadays, according to a psychologist I know who counsels married couples. When a marriage is falling apart, one party will call the police and accuse the other of some kind of transgression in order to get a PFA. The PFA is granted without evidence or hearing, and the other party is completely barred from his/her own residence even when the accusing party isn’t there.

Consequently, my sister-in-law has been unable to enter her own house to get her own clothes. The only clothes she has are the ones purchased for her by her parents, or brought to her by her own children.

The PFA lasts for a year, and can be renewed. It can only be withdrawn through a formal petition to the court. According to the psychologist I spoke to, this is now the norm. People are abusing a law set up to protect victims of serious spousal abuse in order to pretty much remove the other party in a marriage from their lives. It’s a cheap and effective way of pretty much ruining your spouse’s life. This is divorce, after all.

Girly Man’s mistress has pretty much moved in to my sister-in-law’s house.

Throughout all of this, Sister-in-law remains sober. She doesn’t understand how powerful she is becoming by staying so and surviving this hellish reality.

Why do I care?

Because I like seeing good guys win. I like seeing bad guys lose. I want people to survive, triumph over adversity, and come back strong. In movies I never cheer for the villain; instead I cheer for his victim who survives and vanquishes him in the end. There is enough evil in the world, and contrary to what Taoists preach, there is no balance.

Usually Evil triumphs. Evil is the norm, Good the exception.

I have always been the underdog in fights, and in Life Good is the underdog. What is happening in my family is but one injustice in a world full of injustice. So I fight the injustices whenever I can, and cheer on those who do the same.

Sister-in-law is at war with herself, her addiction, her husband, and the State of Delaware. She deserves our support.