Bill O'Reilly on Iraq War: "Win It!" - Mark Finkelstein (NewsBusters.org)
This morning on the Today Show, Katie Couric wanted Bill O'Reilly's view of the President's impending speech on Iraq, but she got more than she bargained for:  Couric: What is your biggest fear about a premature withdrawal of troops from Iraq?  O'Reilly: It's very simple. This is not a complicated issue. If we pull out of Iraq it turns into a terror state, just as Afghanistan before 9/11 was a terror state. The terrorists are going to do whatever they want there. Who's going to stop them? Iran, Syria? They're going to help them! An Iraq out of control is a direct threat to the United States because Al-Qaida gets in there and does whatever they want. Win the damn thing! That's what I want to hear. Win it. Stop the excuses, stop the carping, stop the sniping from the press. Win it!

The U.N. must not be allowed to destroy the Volcker investigation's archives - Claudia Rosett (OpinionJournal.com)
Paul Volcker's findings on Oil for Food have been widely received as the final word on the United Nations relief program for Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Far from it--as Mr. Volcker himself has admitted. In reporting that Saddam, along with his smuggling and oil graft, diverted $1.8 billion in kickbacks from U.N.-approved relief contracts under the program, Mr. Volcker underestimates, quite probably by billions, the amount the U.N. allowed Saddam Hussein and many of his favored business partners to graft out of Oil for Food deals for goods such as oil parts, milk, laundry soap and baby food. In low-balling the total, Mr. Volcker understates the negligence of the U.N., and overlooks some of the most potentially virulent links in Oil for Food.  The most urgent implication of Mr. Volcker's incomplete findings is that his huge and expensively assembled archives must be preserved intact well beyond the Dec. 31 deadline by which Mr. Volcker now plans to start disposing of them. Above all, they must not be handed back to the U.N., where too much related to the corrupt Oil for Food program has already vanished--including, to a fascinating extent, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's own powers of recollection. The former head of the program, Benon Sevan, alleged to have taken bribes from Saddam, was allowed to skip town, U.N. pension in hand. Mr. Annan is even now resurrecting, via a new $4 million U.N. program called the Alliance of Civilizations, the career of his former chief of staff, Iqbal Riza, who officially retired earlier this year after it came to light that during Mr. Volcker's investigation Mr. Riza had overseen the shredding of three years' worth of documents that might have better illuminated the oil-for-fraud shenanigans of the U.N.'s executive 38th floor.

"Holiday" returns to "Christmas" on Capitol Hill - Gary Emerling (Washington Times)
House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert has told federal officials that the lighted, decorated tree on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol -- known in recent years as the "Holiday Tree" -- should be renamed the "Capitol Christmas Tree," as it was called until the late 1990s.  The Capitol's senior landscape architect confirmed the name switch yesterday for The Washington Times.  "It was known as the 'Holiday Tree' for several years and just recently was changed back to the 'Capitol Christmas Tree.' This was a directive from the speaker," said Capitol architect Matthew Evans.  "The speaker believes a Christmas tree is a Christmas tree, and it is as simple as that," said Ron Bonjean, spokesman for the Illinois Republican.

Mary Mapes' fraud continues unabated - Scott Johnson (Weekly Standard)
Mary Mapes is back.  With her memoir, Truth and Duty: The Press, The President, and the Privilege of Power, the former CBS News producer is trying to write a second act for her career. Sadly, if her book is any indication, her second act is just a repeat of the first.  Mapes was the producer of the CBS 60 Minutes II segment on President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard that aired on September 8, 2004. According to the segment, President Bush had received preferential treatment in being admitted to the Guard, and once in, had served dishonorably. The segment predicated the latter theme on four 1972 and 1973 documents from the "personal file" of Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Killian, then-Lt. Bush's commanding officer in the Texas Air National Guard. CBS had obtained the documents from a confidential source. In the online version of the story, CBS posted PDF versions of the four documents.

Katrina: New Orleans disaster largely man-made - Lolis Eric Elie (Times-Picayune)
Late last month, while taking the bus tour of the Lower 9th Ward, Gwenith Fletcher remarked, "I came to see what God had done."  Fletcher's sentiment parallels that of many people who see Hurricane Katrina, and all of its devastation, as one of those God-ordained natural disasters that happen sometimes, and reside far beyond the control of mere mortals.  But the more I hear about the actions of our public officials in the years leading up to the hurricane, the more convinced I am that this was not a "natural disaster" in the usual sense of the phrase.

L.A. County D.A.'s response to Stanley "Tookie" Williams' petition for executive clemency (L.A. County District Attorney's Office)
When one person kills another, there is immediate revulsion at the nature of the crime. But in a time so short as to seem indecent to the members of the personal family, the dead person ceases to exist as an identifiable figure. To those individuals in the community of good will and empathy, warmth and compassion, only one of the key actors in the drama remains with whom to commiserate—and that is always the criminal. The dead person ceases to be a part of everyday reality, ceases to exist. She is only a figure in a historic event. We inevitably turn away from the past, toward the ongoing reality. And the ongoing reality is the criminal; trapped, anxious, now helpless, isolated, often badgered and bewildered. He usurps the compassion that is justly his victim’s due. He will steal his victim’s moral constituency along with her life.

Iranian revolution heats up on the 'Net - Lillian Swift (U.K. Telegraph)
Iran is fighting a constant battle against dissenters who are using the internet to voice criticism of the Islamic Republic and to push for freedom and democracy.  With the closure of most independent newspapers and magazines in Iran, blogging - publishing an online diary - has become a powerful tool in the dissidents' arsenal by providing individuals with a public voice.  An Iranian blogger known as Saena, wrote recently: "Weblogs are one weapon that even the Islamic Republic cannot beat."  There are an estimated 100,000 active blogs written by Iranians both within the country and across the diaspora. Persian ties with French as the second most common blogging language after English.
 

Tancredo puts policy over party line - Anne C. Mulkern (Denver Post)
U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo wants to inflame people.  He speaks on talk radio and cable television as often as 15 times a week, warning that illegal immigrants are stealing jobs, destroying American culture and killing police officers.  With every word, the ex-schoolteacher son of Italian immigrants pours fuel on a grassroots brush fire.  Tancredo strives to agitate people enough that they demand change from Congress. As outraged citizens pressure lawmakers to follow Tancredo's lead, his power grows.

Russ Feingold: Hillary is "Republican lite" - Geoff Earle (New York Post)
Sen. Russ Feingold fired a warning shot toward Sen. Hillary Clinton and other Democrats who might run for president on a centrist platform.  "The Democrats need a bold, progressive agenda that does not look they're trying to be 'Republican Lite,' " said Feingold, (D- Wis.), who is exploring his own run for president.  "That's what I believe will win in 2008," he said, speaking on ABC's "This Week."

Europeans funding terrorists in Iraq - David E. Kaplan (U.S. News)
Who's funding the insurgents in Iraq? The list of suspects is long: ex-Baathists, foreign jihadists, and angry Sunnis, to name a few. Now add to that roster hard-core Euroleftists.  Turns out that far-left groups in western Europe are carrying on a campaign dubbed Ten Euros for the Resistance, offering aid and comfort to the car bombers, kidnappers, and snipers trying to destabilize the fledgling Iraq government. In the words of one Italian website, Iraq Libero (Free Iraq), the funds are meant for those fighting the occupanti imperialisti. The groups are an odd collection, made up largely of Marxists and Maoists, sprinkled with an array of Arab emigres and aging, old-school fascists, according to Lorenzo Vidino, an analyst on European terrorism based at The Investigative Project in Washington, D.C.

Exit strategies: Victory or defeat - Mark Steyn (Jerusalem Post)
Rumors of Abu Musad al-Zarqawi's death may be exaggerated. He was reported by several Arab TV networks to have been among eight terrorists who self-detonated in Mosul last Sunday. Still, whether or not he's sleeping with the fishes or the 72 virgins, he's already outlived whatever usefulness he had to the jihad.  Last Friday, the allegedly explosive "Arab street" finally exploded, in the largest demonstration against al-Qaida or its affiliates ever seen in the Middle East. "Zarqawi," shouted 200,000 Jordanians, "from Amman we say to you, you are a coward!" Also "the enemy of Allah" - which, for a jihadist, isn't what they call on Broadway a money review.  The old head-hacker was sufficiently rattled by the critical pans of his Jordanian hotel bombings that he issued the first IRA-style apology in al-Qaida's history. "People of Jordan, we did not undertake to blow up any wedding parties," he said. "For those Muslims who were killed, we ask God to show them mercy, for they were not targets."

Giving thanks to the soldier - Neil Cavuto (FOX News)
I always wonder what Thanksgiving must be like if you're not at home or not with your family.  If where you are it's not cozy, but rough and dangerous.  And the food isn't incredible, more like institutional — meant well, but not going down well.  I always wonder what Thanksgiving must be like if you're a soldier? Far from home. Very far from cozy. Very, very far from even safe.

Gen. Vines: U.S. pullout would be "destabilizing" - Rowan Scarborough (Washington Times)
The top tactical commander in Iraq says an abrupt pullout of U.S. troops would be "destabilizing" and labeled "disturbing" Washington's heated political debate that has some Democrats calling the war unwinnable.  Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who commands the Multinational Corps Iraq, said that 36 Iraqi battalions, about one-third of the total force, are now responsible for their own security sectors and can fight the insurgency. But they are not yet ready to operate totally independent of U.S. supply lines and tactical advice.  Because of that, he said, now is not the time for an American withdrawal.

"Well-qualified" (highest) ABA rating likely for Alito - Donna Cassata (AP)
The American Bar Association will grade Samuel Alito in the coming weeks. Alito is likely to receive the same rating that he did in 1990 when President Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, nominated him to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals - unanimous well-qualified, the highest rating.  The ABA has rated candidates since the 1950s on integrity, professional competence and judicial temperament, a critical evaluation for the Senate as it fulfills its advice and consent role.  While the ABA relies, in part, on the testimonials of colleagues, an interview with the nominee and the assessment of academics, two law school professors have come up with what they believe is a more objective measure for judging judges.

Florida judge, Wayne Timmerman, favors female pedophile (FOX News)
A Florida reading teacher charged with having sex with a minor pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two counts of lewd and lascivious behavior as part of a plea deal that does not include any jail time.  "I accept full responsibility for my actions," Greco Middle School teacher Debra Lafave, 25, said during Tuesday's trial in Tampa.  The deal provides that Lafave will not serve any jail time in connection with multiple sex acts with a 14-year-old student unless she violates the terms of the plea agreement, which includes three years of house arrest and seven years' probation.

ACLU: Plaintiffs wanted - Lee Duigon (MensNewsDaily.com)
Six months ago, a senior at Jonesboro High School, Arkansas, gave a graduation speech that included an invitation to audience members to use the moment to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. As you can well imagine, the ACLU of Arkansas has its knickers in a twist.  The ACLU is frothing at the mouth to visit the Jonesboro school district with a hefty lawsuit, probably to the tune of millions of local taxpayer dollars. There's just one thing that stands in their way.  They can't find a plaintiff!

No hype needed; Saddam, al Qaeda linked - Victor Davis Hanson (Honolulu Advertiser)
As American casualties mount in Iraq, politicians at home now fight over who said what and when about weapons of mass destruction and the need for going to war. One of the most frequent charges is that President Bush hyped a non-existent link between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida — and that as a result, we diverted our efforts from finishing off the real terrorists to start a new and costly war to replace a secular dictator.  This charge is false for several reasons — and illogical for even more. Almost every responsible U.S. government body had long warned about Saddam's links to al-Qaida terrorists. In 1998, for example, when the Clinton Justice Department indicted bin Laden, the writ read: "In addition, al-Qaida reached an understanding with the Government of Iraq that al-Qaida would not work against that government and that on particular projects, specifically including weapons development, al-Qaida would work cooperatively with the Government of Iraq."

Memo to Murtha - Cliff May (DefendDemocracy.org)
Before I say anything else, Congressman Murtha, let me thank you -- for your long public service in Washington and, before that, in Vietnam.  And let me commend you, too, for sparking an honest debate. Until now, what has passed for debate on Iraq has been mostly slander – for example, calling President Bush a liar and questioning his patriotism. Yes, questioning his patriotism: because anyone who would lie to get America into a war for reasons unrelated to national security would not be a patriot. He'd be a traitor.  I ask you, sir: Has such a vicious charge ever before been leveled at an American president in a time of war – or even a time of peace?

FOX News rejects factually inaccurate anti-Alito ad (AP)
Fox News is refusing to air an ad critical of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, citing its lawyers' contention that the spot is factually incorrect.  Fox News is refusing to air an ad critical of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, citing its lawyers' contention that the spot is factually incorrect.  The ad says that as an appellate court judge, Alito has "ruled to make it easier for corporations to discriminate ... even voted to approve strip search of a 10-year-old girl." Referring to a document Alito wrote in 1985 while seeking a job in the Reagan administration, it quotes him as saying that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion."

Mass. Attorney General to do battle against businesses daring to open Sundays and holidays (AP)
Massachusetts' attorney general is launching an investigation into several supermarkets that stayed open opened on Thanksgiving in defiance of the state's Puritan-era Blue Laws.  The laws were passed in the 1600s to keep colonists at home or in church on Sundays. Parts of the laws, such as the ban on Sunday liquor sales, have been repealed, but a prohibition on most stores doing business on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day, has not.  "If these stores want to open, there's a way to do it: Change the law," David Guano, a spokesman for Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly, told The Boston Globe. The office didn't say what sort of penalty the stores could face.
 

Vermont high school teacher gives anti-Bush vocabulary quiz (AP)
A high school teacher is facing questions from administrators after giving a vocabulary quiz that included digs at President Bush and the extreme right.  Bret Chenkin, a social studies and English teacher at Mount Anthony Union High School, said he gave the quiz to his students several months ago. The quiz asked students to pick the proper words to complete sentences.  One example: "I wish Bush would be (coherent, eschewed) for once during a speech, but there are theories that his everyday diction charms the below-average mind, hence insuring him Republican votes." "Coherent" is the right answer.

How private health care is crminalized in Canada - Steve Lambert (Canadian Press)
A showdown over private health care is looming in Manitoba, where the NDP government is threatening to impose sanctions against the Maples Surgical Centre over its plans for a private magnetic resonance imaging machine.  Health Minister Tim Sale, who said Tuesday he would wait for federal direction on the issue, changed his mind Wednesday and said the clinic will contravene the Canada Health Act if it charges patients for medically necessary diagnostic scans.  "If it's medically necessary, then the provider cannot charge the patient," Sale said.  Sale said the province is willing to enforce the Canada Health Act with fines of up to $5,000 and more serious sanctions for subsequent offences.

Al Qaeda devastated by recent U.S. offensive (NewsMax.com)
The U.S. military's recent offensive in western Iraq has had a devastating impact on the al-Qaida-backed insurgency, with coalition forces killing over 700 terrorists and capturing 1,500 in the last two months alone.  "It's been very successful," Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch told a briefing in Baghdad on Wednesday, referring to a series of security offensives conducted by U.S. and Iraq forces in Anbar province since September 28.  Though media reports suggest recent U.S. casualties are due to deteriorating security conditions in Iraq as a whole, most were incurred during the new offensive - dubbed "Operation Steel Curtain."

Ohio imam to be deported for terrorist ties (AP)
Federal authorities arrested an Islamic religious leader Friday as they began the process of deporting him for lying about ties to terrorist groups.  Imam Fawaz Damra, the spiritual leader of Ohio's largest mosque, was convicted in June 2004 of concealing ties to three groups that the U.S. government classifies as terrorist organizations when he applied for U.S. citizenship in 1994.  That conviction was upheld in March, clearing the way for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to begin deportation proceedings.  Damra, 44, was arrested early Friday without incident, the immigration office said.

N.Y. judge to decide if spousal immunity applicable to same-sex couples (AP)
A gay man charged with helping his lover loot a wealthy school district has asked a judge to rule that state law protecting spouses from having to testify against each other also applies to same-sex partners.  Stephen Signorelli, fighting charges that he stole at least $219,000 from the Roslyn, N.Y., school district, is seeking to bar testimony by his longtime companion, Frank Tassone, the district's former superintenden.  Auditors say that in all, $11.2 million was taken from the Long Island district, and state Comptroller Alan Hevesi has called the case "the largest, most remarkable, most extraordinary theft" from a school system in American history. Tassone pleaded guilty this year to stealing $1 million between 1996 and 2002. As part of his plea bargain, he agreed to testify against other defendants in the case, which meant he might have to take the stand in Signorelli's trial.

Three Mass. Democrat Congressmen try to weasal out of '02 war vote (AP)
Three years ago, Massachusetts congressmen Martin Meehan, Stephen Lynch and Edward Markey bucked their state Democratic colleagues and cast votes to give President Bush a green light to go to war in Iraq.  Since then, the three have renounced their votes and emerged as critics of the way Bush has handled the war.

The "extremism" of Judge Sam Alioto - Larry Elder (TownHall.com)
"Extreme: the most remote in any direction; outermost or farthest: the extreme edge of the field." (American Heritage Dictionary) Judge Samuel Alito, President Bush's nominee to the Supreme Court, applied for a promotion while working in the Reagan administration. His 1985 application read, in part: "I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion."  Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, immediately pounced. These "extreme statements," said Kennedy, were "deeply troubling." Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said the application raised questions about Alito's "ideological" position. The New York Times followed up with an obligatory editorial also denouncing as "extreme" Alito's assertion that "the Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion." When did opposition to quotas become "extreme"?

"Dirty bomber" Padilla indicted (FOX News/AP)
"Dirty bomb" suspect Jose Padilla has been indicted by a Miami federal grand jury on criminal charges that he conspired to "murder, kidnap and maim" people overseas.  The indicment naming Padilla and four others was unsealed Tuesday and returned by a grand jury last Thursday. While the charges allege Padilla was part of a U.S.-based terrorism conspiracy, they do not include the government's earlier allegations that he planned to carry out attacks in America. "We believe it is the appropriate thing to do," Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said during a news conference in Washington Tuesday when announcing the charges.

I firmly believe that the most precious freedom all Americans share is the First Amendment right of freedom of speech. I am committed to working unceasingly to see that it is preserved for all WCCC students, faculty and staff. 

At the same time, there are existing state laws — as well as College policies and procedures — that must be followed to ensure that all members of our College are free and encouraged to exercise their right to free speech without fear of intimidation or retaliation. I am dedicated to protecting and preserving that freedom.

The recent dispute between two members of our College community — Adjunct Instructor John Daly and a student representing a new student club — speaks clearly to the complexity of addressing these issues in these difficult and controversial times.
           
Late today, the Board was informed of Mr. Daly’s decision to resign his Adjunct position at WCCC effective immediately. In its meeting, the Board voted to accept the resignation agreement and instructed the administration to make certain that students in Mr. Daly’s class are offered the highest quality instruction in this interim period.

We have already moved ahead in finding a very able member of our faculty to conduct the remainder of Mr. Daly’s classes for this semester. We will also rededicate ourselves to a review of our current policies and procedures to make certain that we continue to foster an open and collegial learning environment at our institution. I personally pledge to see that tolerance training is included in our next faculty and staff in-service, and to consider a broad range of student input in its development

College Board Chairman, Edward Smith, added the following in a second statement:

At the request of Warren County Community College President, Dr. William Austin, the College’s Board of Trustees met tonight to review available facts concerning a recent dispute between an adjunct instructor at the College, Mr. John Daly, and a WCCC student and certain safety concerns that arose as a result thereof. The dispute revolved around, among other things, comments made in an e-mail from the instructor to the student who was representing a new student organization and other facts and circumstances that came to the Board’s attention subsequent thereto.

Tonight’s meeting of the Board was initially called to consider what if any  action would be taken.   As we prepared for that meeting, we received word from Mr. Daly that he had tendered his resignation from WCCC effective immediately. The Board has accepted his resignation.

Chris Matthews: Terrorists are "not evil, they just have a different perspective" (Edmonton Sun)
Years after 9-11 and the "crazy Zeitgeist" that permeated the United States, Americans have still not learned to know their enemies instead of just hating them, said American political journalist Chris Matthews yesterday.  In a speech to political science students at the University of Toronto, the host of the CNBC current affairs show Hardball had plenty of harsh words for U.S. President George W. Bush, as well as the political climate that has characterized his country for the last few years.  "The period between 9-11 and (invading) Iraq was not a good time for America. There wasn't a robust discussion of what we were doing," Matthews said."If we stop trying to figure out the other side, we've given up. The person on the other side is not evil. They just have a different perspective."

 

LYING JOURNALIST AWARD: CNN anchor, Jack Cafferty "reporting" on comments made by Dick Cheney in an address on Monday: Perhaps it was just his confusion from watching Vice President Cheney's Monday address on his own network--and maybe giggling over the way the Veep's head was being "X-ed" out..  Or maybe Cafferty is just one of those lying Liberal liars who just can't see past their Bush-bashing, conservative hatred long enough to know what is the truth. In yesterday's 4 p.m. edition of CNN's Situation Room, Cafferty decided that a lie is better than the truth any day. . .so long as it helps your cause: The Lie: JACK CAFFERTY (Situation Room):  It's getting ugly out there.  According to Vice President Cheney, if you question, if you dare question the use of pre-war intelligence, according to that speech this morning, you are dishonest and reprehensible. The Truth: V.P. DICK CHENEY (American Enterprise Institute address):  My remarks today concern national security, in particular the war on terror and the Iraq front in that war. Several days ago, I commented briefly on some recent statements that have been made by some members of Congress about Iraq. Within hours of my speech, a report went out on the wires under the headline, "Cheney says war critics 'dishonest,' 'reprehensible.'"  One thing I've learned in the last five years is that when you're Vice President, you're lucky if your speeches get any attention at all. But I do have a quarrel with that headline, and it's important to make this point at the outset. I do not believe it is wrong to criticize the war on terror or any aspect thereof. Disagreement, argument, and debate are the essence of democracy, and none of us should want it any other way. If Mr. Cafferty had the slightest interest in the facts and the truth, he would have actually read or listended to Cheney's speech, and known that Cheney never said that war critics--or as Cafferty puts it, those who question the use of pre-war intelligence--"are dishonest and reprehensible."  Without any question, Cheney said that a wire service report had the erroneous headline "Cheney says war critics 'dishonest,' 'reprehensible.'"  In the very speech to which Cafferty refers, Cheney says the dead opposite: "I do not believe it is wrong to criticise the war on terror or any aspect thereof." And Cheney's criticism of the wire service headline is right on the money.  The headline referred to an address made by Cheney on November 16, 2005, at the Frontiers of Freedom Institute 2005 Ronald Reagan Gala.  Rather than characterizing war critics as the headline suggests (or "those who question the use of pre-war intelligence," as McCafferty's lie goes), Cheney was being critical of charges being made by U.S. Senators that the President deliberately misled on pre-war intelligence.  Cheney's comments, in their fuller context follow: Most of you know, I have spent a lot of years in public service, and first came to work in Washington back in the late 1960s. I know what it’s like to operate in a highly charged political environment, in which the players on all sides of an issue feel passionately and speak forcefully. In such an environment people sometimes lose their cool, and yet in Washington you can ordinarily rely on some basic measure of truthfulness and good faith in the conduct of political debate. But in the last several weeks we have seen a wild departure from that tradition. And the suggestion that’s been made by some U.S. senators that the President of the United States or any member of this administration purposely misled the American people on pre-war intelligence is one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever aired in this city. What we’re hearing now is some politicians contradicting their own statements and making a play for political advantage in the middle of a war. The saddest part is that our people in uniform have been subjected to these cynical and pernicious falsehoods day in and day out. American soldiers and Marines are out there every day in dangerous conditions and desert temperatures –- conducting raids, training Iraqi forces, countering attacks, seizing weapons, and capturing killers –- and back home a few opportunists are suggesting they were sent into battle for a lie. The President and I cannot prevent certain politicians from losing their memory, or their backbone -– but we’re not going to sit by and let them rewrite history.

Just a "bug" in the system, CNN insists (Reuters)
CNN apologized on Tuesday and offered a rare explanation from its control booth for a technical glitch many viewers failed to notice -- a large "X" the network flashed over Vice President Dick Cheney's face.  The wayward graphic, which CNN said lasted for about one-seventh of a second, appeared during the network's live coverage of Cheney's speech on Monday addressing critics of the Bush administration's conduct of the war in Iraq.  Word of the snafu quickly surfaced on the Internet, including still photos of the image posted by online columnist Matt Drudge, along with a story suggesting that some who saw the momentary "X" thought it might have been deliberate.  More ==> DrudgeReport

N.J. college prof who called for soldiers to kill their superiors may be canned (WorldNetDaily.com)
A New Jersey college's board of trustees has called for an emergency meeting tonight to discuss how to handle the controversy surrounding an e-mail by a professor suggesting soldiers in Iraq should kill their superior officers.  As WorldNetDaily reported, the e-mail by adjunct English instructor John Daly of Warren County Community College was a reply to freshman Rebecca Beach for her announcement of a campus program last Thursday featuring decorated Iraq war hero Lt. Col. Scott Rutter.  Daly wrote: "Real freedom will come when soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors.  Daly said Sunday he was worried he would be fired tonight and already had been told not to show up for the three classes he was scheduled to teach today, according to Inside Higher Ed, an online news source.

Prof. John Daly's e-mail to Warren County Community College student, Rebecca Beach:  (SeanRobins.com)

I am asking my students to boycott your event. I am also going to ask others to boycott it. Your literature and signs in the entrance lobby look like fascist propaganda and is extremely offensive. Your main poster "Communism killed 100,000,000" is not only untrue, but ignores the fact that CAPITALISM has killed many more and the evidence for that can be seen in the daily news papers. The U.S. government can fly to dominate the people of Iraq in 12 hours, yet it took them five days to assist the people devastated by huricane Katrina. Racism and profits were key to their priorities. Exxon, by the way, made $9 Billion in profits this last quarter--their highest proft margin ever. Thanks to the students of WCCC and other poor and working class people who are recruited to fight and die for EXXON and other corporations who earning megaprofits from their imperialist plunders. If you want to count the number of deaths based on political systems, you can begin with the more than a million children who have died in Iraq from U.S.-imposed sanctions and war. Or the million African American people who died from lack of access to healthcare in the US over the last 10 years.

I will continue to expose your right-wing, anti-people politics until groups like your won't dare show their face on a college campus. Real freedom will come when soldiers in Iraq turn their guns on their superiors and fight for just causes and for people's needs--such freedom fighters can be counted throughout American history and they certainly will be counted again.

CNN "covers" Cheney: "X" marks the Vice President  (SeanRobins.com) As first reported this evening on the Drudge Report, during its live coverage this morning of an 11:00 address from the American Enterprise Institute, CNN superimposed a large black "X" mark upon the head Vice President Dick Cheney, as the caption quoted Cheney as stating that "I do not believe it is wrong to criticize."  Drudge reports that the "X" appeared repeatedly, for a fraction of a second each time. Cheney was in the midst of a detailed discussion of the current barrage of media and poltical attacks being lobbed at the war effort, the administration and the President.  At about the time CNN chose to "mar" Cheney's appearance, he was stating: My remarks today concern national security, in particular the war on terror and the Iraq front in that war.  Several days ago, I commented briefly on some recent statements that have been made by some members of Congress about Iraq.  Within hours of my speech, a report went out on the wires under the headline, “Cheney says war critics ‘dishonest,’ ‘reprehensible.'" One thing I’ve learned in the last five years is that when you’re Vice President, you’re lucky if your speeches get any attention at all.  But I do have a quarrel with that headline, and it’s important to make this point at the outset.  I do not believe it is wrong to criticize the war on terror or any aspect thereof.  Disagreement, argument, and debate are the essence of democracy, and none of us should want it any other way.  For my part, I’ve spent a career in public service, run for office eight times -- six statewide offices and twice nationally.  I served in the House of Representatives for better than a decade, most of that time as a member of the leadership of the minority party.  To me, energetic debate on issues facing our country is more than just a sign of a healthy political system -- it’s also something I enjoy.  It’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed in this business.  And I believe the feeling is probably the same for most of us in public life.  * * * What is not legitimate -- and what I will again say is dishonest and reprehensible -- is the suggestion by some U. S. senators that the President of the United States or any member of his administration purposely misled the American people on pre-war intelligence. Some of the most irresponsible comments have come from politicians who actually voted in favor of authorizing the use of force against Saddam Hussein.  These are elected officials who had access to the intelligence materials.  They are known to have a high opinion of their own analytical capabilities.  (Laughter.)  And they were free to reach their own judgments based upon the evidence.  They concluded, as the President and I had concluded, and as the previous administration had concluded, that Saddam Hussein was a threat.  Available intelligence indicated that the dictator of Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and this judgment was shared by the intelligence agencies of many other nations, according to the bipartisan Silberman-Robb Commission.  All of us understood, as well, that for more than a decade, the U.N. Security Council had demanded that Saddam Hussein make a full accounting of his weapons programs.  The burden of proof was entirely on the dictator of Iraq -- not on the U.N. or the United States or anyone else.  And he repeatedly refused to comply throughout the course of the decade. The lack of impartiality and journalistic integrity on the part of the mainstream media is well-documented and understood, but the levels of partisan, leftist rancor to which outlets such as CNN are even yet capable of sinking, can still be astonishing.  Not even the pretense of professionalism remains when the media sinks so low as to employ such cheap, second grade tactics as X-ing out the head of the Vice President of the United States of America.  On a live, national broadcast. Appearing on Monday's evening's Hannity & Colmes, Matt Drudge, who first discovered the "subliminal" "X" imposed over the V.P., commented: "This is the vice president of the United STates.  It is rather serious to be putting black 'Xs' over his face. . . . I felt it rather alarming that this is subliminally being sent out over the airwaves. . . . I'm just knocked out." After refusing comment for several hours, CNN issued the following statement as its fairly improbable explanation: "Upon seeing this unfortunate but very brief graphic, CNN senior management immediately investigated. We concluded this was a technological malfunction, not an issue of operator error. A portion of the switcher experienced a momentary glitch. We obviously regret that it happened and are working on the equipment to ensure it is not repeated."

Cheney: Iraq withdrawal would cause "dangerous illusion" (AFP)
US Vice President Dick Cheney launched a blistering new attack on critics of the Iraq war, saying withdrawing troops would cause a "dangerous illusion."  He also said senators and others now accusing President George W. Bush of misleading Americans into war were guilty of "revisionism of the most corrupt and shameless variety."  A respected Democratic congressman called last week for the 160,000 US troops in Iraq to be brought out, but Cheney said: "It is a dangerous illusion to suppose that another retreat by the civilized world would satisfy the appetite of the terrorists and get them to leave us alone."

DeLay's lawyer to argue this week actions alleged were not crimes in 2002 - R.G. Ratcliffe (Houston Chronicle)
U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay returns to court this week for a pivotal hearing that could lead to the dismissal of the case against him on felony charges of violating state election and money-laundering laws.  The core issue before visiting Judge Pat Priest on Tuesday will be whether the crimes DeLay is accused of committing were actually crimes in 2002 when they allegedly occurred. DeLay and his co-defendants — Jim Ellis and John Colyandro — have proclaimed their innocence and are asking Priest to throw out the case.  "This could be the end of the case. Frankly, there's no crime charged and the law is on our side," said DeLay lawyer Dick DeGuerin of Houston.

GOP targeting Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in '06 - Michael Levenson (Boston Globe)
Last week, he introduced himself to 15 Republicans at Reading Public Library, 20 at ParkView Specialty Hospital in Springfield, and 12 assembled over slices at Caruso Pizza in Melrose. Thursday brought a welcome treat: 100 Republicans in a ballroom in Pittsfield, rapt and ready for his pitch.  No crowd is too small, no event too far-flung for Kevin P. Scott, Wakefield Republican on a mission. The former selectman and member of the town Board of Public Works has been barnstorming the state hoping to be more David than Don Quixote. Despite the odds, he wants to unseat US Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Johnny Depp: France no longer such a great place to hide (ContactMusic.com)
Hollywood star Johnny Depp is so shocked by the riots raging through France, he's considering abandoning his home in the country.  The Finding Neverland heart-throb moved to Europe when life in Los Angeles became too violent.  He has since divided time between two continents - but he fears France will be scarred permanently by the current troubles.

Vatican: Intelligent design not science. . .it's religion - Nicole Winfield (AP)
The Vatican's chief astronomer said Friday that "intelligent design" isn't science and doesn't belong in science classrooms, the latest high-ranking Roman Catholic official to enter the evolution debate in the United States.  The Rev. George Coyne, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, said placing intelligent design theory alongside that of evolution in school programs was "wrong" and was akin to mixing apples with oranges.  "Intelligent design isn't science even though it pretends to be," the ANSA news agency quoted Coyne as saying on the sidelines of a conference in Florence. "If you want to teach it in schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science." 

Half of all Americans OK with use of torture in war on terror (NewsMax.com)
Nearly half of all Americans think torturing terror suspects to gain information can be justified, according to a new survey, reports the Washington Times.  The survey, by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press by, of 2,006 persons found that 46 percent thought torturing terrorists to gain important information was sometimes (31 percent) or often (15 percent) justified; 17 percent thought it was rarely justified; and 32 percent were opposed. By contrast, the study found that of 520 opinion leaders questioned on the issue, no more than one in four thinks that torture of terrorist suspects can be sometimes or often justified, Agence France-Presse reports.

Vietnam flashbacks: The hottest front in the Iraq war is now in Washington - Fred Barnes (Weekly Standard)
Many have forgotten how the United States lost in Vietnam, but not former Defense Secretary Melvin Laird. When the last American military unit was withdrawn in 1973, the Viet Cong had been defeated and the North Vietnamese army checkmated. For the next two years, "South Vietnam held its own courageously and respectably against a better-bankrolled enemy," Laird writes in the current Foreign Affairs. "Given enough outside resources, South Vietnam was capable of defending itself." Instead, "we grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory [in 1975] when Congress cut off the funding for South Vietnam that had allowed it to continue to fight on its own. . . . Without U.S. funding, South Vietnam was quickly overrun." It was a stunning and unnecessary defeat for America and for a free Vietnam. And the lesson is clear: A war can be won on the ground overseas and lost in Washington.

Springsteen: Not "Born to Run" says U.S. Senate (NewsMax.com)
Bruce Springsteen famously was "born in the USA," but he's getting scorned in the U.S. Senate.  An effort by New Jersey's two Democratic senators to honor the veteran rocker was shot down Friday by Republicans who are apparently still miffed a year after the Boss lent his voice to the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

Rep. Murtha, in the past 24 or so hours, has become the latest media "starlet" of the Democratic Party, garnering enthusiastic support of the media and the rabid kook elements of the party.  As a further demonstration of its lack of objectivity, and its obvious far left leanings, the mainstream media has cast Murtha as a rare hawkish Democrat, whose views on Iraq are particularly significant in view of his ardent, long-running support for the war.  According to the media, and others signing Murtha's praise as the Democrats' heir apparent to the John Kerry "war hero" throne, Murtha has staunchly supported the war, and his recent turnabout in position must mean that things are really going badly.  The stuff of such rhetoric is amazingly similar to a whitish substance that is often found littering the floor in a chicken coop. 

Far from being a hawk, Murtha has on several occasions since before Congress voted in October, 2002 to give the President the authorization to go to war in Iraq, spoken out forcefully against U.S. military action, and in 2003 and 2004, declared that the war effort in Iraq had failed.  The U.S. mainstream media, however, has conveniently omitted any reference to Murtha's real positions on the war in its coverage of his actions yesterday and today.

At one point in this evening's particularly acrimonious debate, Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH), relayed the comments of a Marine colonel, who serves in the Ohio legislature: "He asked me to send Congress a message," said Schmidt. "Stay the course.  He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message - that cowards cut and run, Marines never do."

Ironically, Democrats opposed the initial vote to bring Murtha's bill to a vote, because they know all too well that their votes--yea or nay--are a losing proposition.  "Yes" votes by Democrats are an endorsement of Murtha's cut-and-run strategy, and will be viewed, rightly so, by Americans as calling for U.S. surrender in Iraq.  "No" votes by Democrats on the other hand, will be roundly condemned by the lunatic far left fringe, which has all but completely overtaken the power base of the Party, and will subject Democratic opponents of cut-and-run to ceaseless attack from within. 

In a move which, in saner times would be viewed as unbelievably bizarre, House Democratic leadership condemned as partisan trickery, efforts by the majority to place House members views as to Iraq policy on the record.  Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called the move to bring Murtha's resolution to a vote "disgraceful."  Steny Hoyer (D-MD), the 2nd-ranking Democrat in the House, declared the vote "the rankest of politics and the absence of any sense of shame."  The House completed its procedural vote and began debating the Murtha Resolution at 9:50 p.m. 

The open question at that hour is: Will Murtha vote for or against his own resolution?  He may want to check with Charlie Rangel about how he voted last year on his own bill to reactivate the draft.

At it again? Wash Post's Dana Priest reveals "secret Counterterrorist Intelligence Centers"  (SeanRobins.com)
In what seems to be an ongoing theme, the same Washington Post reporter, Dana Priest, who on November 2nd, blew the cover off of a covert CIA prison system, has now done the same thing for "counterintelligence centers" established by the Agengy in "more than two dozen countries where U.S. and foreign inteligence officers work side by side to track and capture suspected terrorists and to destroy or penetrate their networks,. . ."  Ms. Priest's prior (Nov. 2nd) leak has drawn sharp criticism, and calls for Congressional and criminal probes.  Today's leak should likewise be closely scrutinized, as the Post and Ms. Priest continue to show disdain for the sanctity of classified operations vital to our national security.
 

Senate Iraq War timetable amendment defeated - Bill Sammon (Washington Times)
President Bush said yesterday that it was "a positive step" for the Senate to defeat a Democrat-led effort to establish a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.  "The Senate, in a bipartisan fashion, rejected an amendment that would have taken our troops out of Iraq before the mission was complete," Mr. Bush said during a press conference in Kyoto with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. "To me, that was a positive step by the United States Senate."  Mr. Bush rejected a reporter's suggestion that he was embarrassed by the Senate's subsequent approval of a watered-down measure that requires the White House to give lawmakers regular progress reports on Iraq.

Jimmy Carter's dimentia on-the-move: Praises own presidency - Ben Johnson (FrontPageMagazine.com)
The only thing more painful than listening to Jimmy Carter lecture President Bush on how to conduct a successful presidency was living through his disastrous attempt to turn his advice into reality.  As I noted earlier this week, Carter has channeled his hatred of non-leftists, secular and religious, into a glut of slanders in his new bestseller, Our Endangered Values. He charges his opponents with, among other things, countenancing female circumcision, defending the murder of federal judges, torturing innocent Islamofascists, and forcing North Korea to manufacture nuclear weapons. Jimmy once again offers himself as the nation’s savior-by-acclamation, leading his errant people, like a latter-day Moses, to the Promised Land. Every time he flashes his toothy grin before an adoring interviewer, the American people should ask why they should listen to anything he has to say. Jimmy Carter’s presidency could be summed up by a Billy Joel couplet: “Ayatollahs in Iran/Russians in Afghanistan.” However, this would omit so much: “malaise,” the misery index, soaring interest rates, a “helpless giant” foreign policy, stagflation, gas lines, record deficits, and killer jackrabbits. The former president doesn’t ignore his record in his book; he lies about it.

House bill would end "catch and release" policy for illegals - Stephen Dinan (Washington Times)
The House Homeland Security Committee yesterday passed a border security bill that would expand expedited removal of illegal aliens across all U.S. land borders and boost funding for border enforcement and detention.  "Expedited removal" is an attempt to speed up the processing and return of illegal aliens to their home countries, which takes about 90 days under the old system, but has been cut to about 30 days under a limited Department of Homeland Security pilot program. The program allows immigration authorities more discretion to deport someone without a set of hearings, and cuts down on processing time for other countries to take back their citizens.  The bill, which passed by voice vote, also would penalize countries that refuse to take back illegal aliens and would end the current "catch-and-release" policy. Under that policy the Department of Homeland Security processes so-called OTMs, or "other than Mexicans," and then releases most of them into society with the hope -- usually dashed -- they would return in order to be deported.

House denounces (320-91) Ninth Circuit decision in parental rights case - Lisa Friedman (L.A. Daily News)
Lawmakers in the U.S. House overwhelmingly denounced the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday for tossing out a lawsuit by Palmdale parents furious that their children were surveyed at school about sex.  In a 320-91 vote, legislators passed a resolution demanding the court rehear the case and charging that it "declared parenting unconstitutional" when it rejected last month the Mesquite Elementary School parents' claim that they have the exclusive right to tell their children about sex.  The measure carries no enforcement or legal weight but is the latest in a string of congressional attacks on the 9th Circuit Court as the House nears a vote on a budget bill that may include a provision that would split the court. The Senate is expected to oppose that move.