What was that?

Yesterday, at a campaign event for Phil Angelides at a college in California, John Kerry said the following:

“You know, education, if you make the most of it, if you study hard and you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you, you can do well. If you don’t, you get stuck in Iraq.”

I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt; perhaps the words came out wrong. If it was any other politician I would probably ignore such a statement. However, Senator Kerry made it clear in the early 70s that he doesn't mind slandering the troops for a little political gain.

Watch the video here, courtesy of YouTube:



Here is a great response:
Senator John McCain said Kerry “owes an apology to the many thousands of Americans serving in Iraq, who answered their country’s call because they are patriots and not because of any deficiencies in their education.”

Kerry's statement caused a tremendous amount of outrage, to say the least. Read more:
Michelle Malkin
More Michelle Malkin
Andi at Milblogs
Blackfive

Waging Jihad

It's Friday morning in Kabul, a day of rest for the Humble Patriot and 30 million Afghans. I usually spend most of each Friday morning at my laptop, skimming through the news and checking out my favorite blogs. Back in the States, the Internet was my primary source of news. Here in Afghanistan I get very little news from other sources. I really depend on the Internet here!

Most of my postings to this blog are rather impetuous and spontaneous. I will spot a news article or a post from somebody else's blog that really gets my attention, and I start writing. Not so today. As I scan through the Internet this morning, no single story is calling out to me.

However, one thing I am noticing is a growing number of stories that deal with Islamic craziness in the United States and Western Europe. Is it because as an active participant of the Global War on Terrorism I am simply more attuned to it? Perhaps so. Was I was lulled into complacency by the "Religion of Peace" propaganda campaign, deftly carried out by so many in Western civilization? I wanted to believe that Islam was a religion of peace, but I am now convinced it is not.

Throughout Europe, major cities like Paris and Rotterdam have entire neighborhoods of Muslim residents. Although only about 5% of Europe's population, their number has tripled in the last thirty years. As the birthrate among native Europeans has dropped, demographic trends point to a rising percentage of Muslims on the continent.

What about the United States? As an example, in the Humble home state of Minnesota, large numbers of Muslim immigrants from Africa and the Middle East are changing the demographics and the political scene. Muslim student groups, political aspirants and others are making a lot of noise in Minnesota, loud enough to be heard here in Afghanistan! How about assimilating into the local culture like my ancestors did? Don't hold your breath.

What does the future hold for Americans? A fight is already underway, a domestic "Cold War" with a new enemy. Taking advantage of our country's tolerance, affinity for immigrants, and First Amendment rights, radical Muslims will continue their push. Will the Islamic crazies overplay their hand? It takes a big event to awaken the sleeping giant called America (think Pearl Harbor, 9/11 attacks, etc). In the end, no matter what path we take, I believe the United States of America will prevail.

Links to current Islamic craziness:
Little Green Footballs' Fatwa in Minnesota
Daniel Pipes' Voice of America – CAIR's Shill
Youths Torch Buses Around Paris - Breitbart.com
French police face 'permanent intifada' - Jihad Watch
LGF's Religion of Peaceful Beheading

2Lt Joshua Booth, USMC

U.S. Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Joshua L. Booth, 23, of Sturbridge, Massachusetts, was killed Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2006, by a single sniper shot in Haditha, Anbar Province, Iraq.

2Lt Booth graduated from The Citadel in 2005. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. He had been in Iraq for about one month. 2Lt Booth leaves behind his pregnant wife Erica and 18 month old daughter Grace.

Hey CNN, maybe you could ask your jihad sniper buddies if they have any video footage that shows the head shot that killed this Marine? If showing one snuff film of an American targeted by terrorsts is good, why not show more? All over the blog world there is widespread condemnation of the CNN. I hope they're starting to understand that their "not taking sides" or their "affinity for the underdog" tells us all we need to know.

Rest in peace, Lt Booth. I am proud to call you a brother in arms.

The NY Times Public Editor

“I hated Bush so much I couldn’t do my job…”

Byron "Barney" Calame seems like a decent, honorable guy. He served in the U.S. Navy in the early 60s, and then worked for the Wall Street Journal (my favorite newspaper) for nearly 40 years, retiring as their deputy managing editor in 2004. Currently Mr. Calame is the Public Editor (formerly known as the ombudsman) at the New York Times.

Humble readers may recall the public furor over the Times revealing a secret program called the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program last June. (Flashback: Michelle Malkin's column at Townhall) The program essentially gave the Treasury Department and the CIA access to SWIFT communications. As a tool in the Global War on Terrorism, it allowed the U.S. to track terrorist financing. Well, not anymore. Clearly the disclosure of TFTP persuaded the terrorists to change their methods. Our terrorist enemies are not THAT stupid.

Here's where Mr. Calame showed his new boss that he feels right at home with the supreme arrogance of the Grey Lady. After much public criticism (especially from the blog community), he writes a Public Editor column on July 2nd, defending the actions of the Times in revealing the secret program. More outrage ensues!

Fast forward to yesterday (it's already the 23rd as I write this in Afghanistan). Mr. Calame writes a new column where he admits it was a mistake to reveal the TFTP. Here it is:

My July 2 column strongly supported The Times’s decision to publish its June 23 article on a once-secret banking-data surveillance program. After pondering for several months, I have decided I was off base. There were reasons to publish the controversial article, but they were slightly outweighed by two factors to which I gave too little emphasis. While it’s a close call now, as it was then, I don’t think the article should have been published.
Those two factors are really what bring me to this corrective commentary: the apparent legality of the program in the United States, and the absence of any evidence that anyone’s private data had actually been misused. I had mentioned both as being part of “the most substantial argument against running the story,” but that reference was relegated to the bottom of my column.

Uh-huh. Do you want to know why? Here it is:

…What kept me from seeing these matters more clearly earlier in what admittedly was a close call? I fear I allowed the vicious criticism of The Times by the Bush administration to trigger my instinctive affinity for the underdog and enduring faith in a free press — two traits that I warned readers about in my first column.

It's President Bush's fault! My favorite is the part about "...my instinctive affinity for the underdog..." I believe that statement could be used to explain much of the bad behavior we see in the press. When it comes to the United States vs. (insert any noun here), who is the underdog? Are there any journalists who have an "instinctive affinity" for the United States? Probably not many.

It certainly appears that the Times jeopardized national security just to add luster to its Bush-bashing reputation. Calame should take his job more seriously, and not act as Chief Toady for the Times. All of us have to live in this world, and undermining U.S. counterterrorism efforts for political gain is reprehensible.

Liberals Gone Wild!

As I have said before, I love Victor Davis Hanson, although not in the same way I love my wife or my dog. I love the way Professor Hanson puts ink to paper, linking strings of English words that eloquently voice many of my own Humble opinions. He is a most interesting blend of farmer, classics professor, military historian, and author.

Prof Hanson delves into the craziness of the modern leftist with his latest column, Liberals Gone Wild. I couldn't have said it better myself!

CNN: Part of the Opposition Playbook in Iraq?

Hot Air: CNN airs video of jihadi sniper shooting American soldier

Does anybody disagree that we are at war? What is it with CNN these days? They apparently have dubious relationships with these terrorist groups (CNN uses the euphemism insurgent groups), as they are able to obtain videotape from the Islamic Army of Iraq showing one of their sniper teams targeting U.S. forces in Iraq.

Everyone knows this is a public relations campaign on the part of the terrorist groups aimed at influencing the American public. Clearly the terrorist groups use CNN and other news media as useful idiots in their cause.

Link to video and accompanying story at CNN.com

Air America Radio Files Chapter 11

Breitbart.com: Air America Radio Files Chapter 11

I am no fan of Air America Radio. I have listened to it occasionally out of sheer curiosity, but it was never to my liking. I would much rather listen to Laura Ingraham or G. Gordon Liddy or Sean Hannity. At the time AAR got its start, I can recall Sean Hannity's prediction that a radio station or network that primarily airs left-wing talk will fail. He gave these reasons (not exact quotes):
1. There are not enough people willing to listen to liberal talk radio.
2. The "mainstream media" already has the left wing well covered.
3. Most members of the liberal talent pool are not willing to work hard. Top guys like Limbaugh and Hannity are workaholics who spend several hours preparing for each show.

AAR's short life has been notable for its scandals, contract disputes, poor ratings, and sad tales. Progress Media, the initial parent company, started off with a dubious bang when they claimed to have amassed $30 million in venture capital. The real figure was closer to $6 million.

Ask the children of the now-defunct Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club of New York what they think about AAR. In the summer of 2005, Progress Media borrowed (some say stole) $1.2 million from the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club to help fund AAR operations. In the wake of an investigation by the New york Attorney General, Piquant LLC, the new parent company of AAR agreed to repay the "loan." In the meantime, the Boys and Girls Club had to shut its doors because of the monetary loss. To this day the loan is still outstanding. Kids, don't hold your breath waiting for that check to arrive. Read more about this scandal here and here.

The radio network is not officially kaputt, but filing Chapter 11 is certainly a bad sign. AAR is apparently unable to service its debt or pay creditors, so filing for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 is an attempt to stay in business while getting relief from its debt. In my own Humble opinion, the network is doomed unless their wealthy supporters come up with a big infusion of cash. Something tells me that even their big supporters are growing weary of coming to the rescue with checkbooks.

Extremist Pastries?

The French Fry became the Freedom Fry.

Will the Danish become the Dervish?

Read Gateway Pundit's story that describes how the "Mullacracy" got punked. Here's a quick summary of what happened, in chronological order:

Feb 3, 2006 - Anger continues to spread throughout the Muslim world over the September 2005 "Danish cartoons" that appeared in the Jyllands-Posten newspaper in Denmark. Go to this link to read about it from the Canadian Television website. Pay close attention to the photo of the guy holding the "NO FOR DANISH" banner. Bad grammar, but we get the point.

(Date unknown) - Earlier this year BerryBurger.com posts a satirical response to the Muslim response. James Love posts edited versions of various photographs to show Muslims burning Danish pastries! One of the photos is the one shown on the Canadian Television site. A little Photoshop work transforms the "NO FOR DANISH" pic into an anti-pastry message. BerryBurger also suggests the pastry "will now be called the 'Dervish' after the sufi whirling dervishes of Middle Eastern fame..."

Oct 8, 2006 - The über-humorless Islamic Republic News Agency (Iranian news outlet) website posts this story about the outrage felt by Iranians on the anniversary of the publication of the Danish cartoons. The Danish People's Party released new "blasphemous" videos that once again insult the Islamic world. The great part is that they stole a photo from BerryBurger, showing the "NO FOR DANISH" banner with the pastry on it for the serious news story! Is their webmullah a total idiot, or did Ashton Kutcher hack into the IRNA website?

It didn't take long for Gateway Pundit and Michelle Malkin to pounce on this. The Humble Patriot decided to get in on the fun as well. Why should those heavy-hitters of the blogosphere have all the fun?

The Democrats Support the Troops

"O Canada! Our home and..."

It seems that those in the Democratic Party are always telling us they support the troops, they're patriotic, etc. If they truly are, why do they have to yell it to us at political rallies? Why is it not a little more apparent that the big "D" Democrats support those of us in military service? Maybe because they really do not support us, but they want us to think they do?

Michelle Malkin's latest post shows a portion of the Democratic Party's website dedicated to Veterans and Military Families. Michelle asks "DNC supports vets...but from which country?" There is a picture of a soldier in a green uniform who is plainly not in the U.S. Army. Michelle believes it may be a Canadian soldier; she may be correct. The Humble Patriot finds it very telling that nobody at DNC HQ would notice such an error. Is that because none of the employees or volunteers at the DNC ever served in the military, or even have close family members who have served? I'm quite sure my mother could tell that the pictured soldier is not an American. What is wrong with those Democrats anyway?

More: Little Green Footballs digs a little deeper on this issue.

Those Early Patriots

Some of my regular readers seem frustrated by my lack of recent postings. My excuse is that I've been rather busy here in Afghanistan. In the meantime, here's a joke that my youngest sister thought was funny. It's a little old, but still brings a smile to my face:

When Osama bin Laden died, he was met at the pearly gates by George Washington, who slapped him across the face and yelled: "How dare you try to destroy the nation I helped conceive!"

Patrick Henry approached, punched him in the nose and shouted: "You wanted to end our liberties but you failed."

James Madison followed, kicked him in the groin and said: "This is why I allowed our government to provide for the common defense!"

Thomas Jefferson was next, beat Osama with a long cane and snarled: "It was evil men like you who inspired me to write the Declaration of Independence."

The beatings and thrashing continued as George Mason, James Monroe and 64 other early Americans unleashed their anger on the terrorist leader.

As Osama lay bleeding and in pain, an angel appeared. Bin Laden wept and said: "This is not what you promised me."

The angel replied: "I told you there would be 70 Virginians waiting for you in Heaven. What did you think I said?