House Passes Measure on Religion Suits

The House passed a bill yesterday that would bar judges from awarding legal fees to the American Civil Liberties Union and similar groups that sue municipalities for violating the Constitution’s ban on government establishment of religion.

“Liberal groups . . . scour the country looking to sue cities and states with any kind of religious display, regardless of how popular these displays are,” said Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.). Because judges often require municipalities that lose such lawsuits to reimburse their opponents’ legal fees, “citizens’ precious monuments are being eroded with their own tax dollars,” she added.

The bill, called the Public Expressions of Religion Protection Act, passed 244 to 173 on a mostly party-line vote.

Nice try guys – too bad it doesn’t have much chance of making it through the senate.

Stark Words About the Navy From a Former Navy Secretary

This reports on some observations from the former Reagan era SECNAV, John Lehman, who also has had a deckplate view of naval affairs as a carrier pilot.

He knows whereof he speaks!

“We’re building only five ships a year; we’re on the way to a 150-ship Navy” he says. In his view, that is courting disaster. “That is not enough to cover our security requirements,” he says. “Seventy-percent of the world is covered by water. We no longer have basing rights around the world. If you have combat operations going on you need air cover and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and that comes from the Navy. To fly one ton of cargo into Iraq takes 14 tons of fuel. That’s not cheap. It’s got to go by sea, so you have to protect it. The Iranians, for instance, have very good submarines.”

The ultimate threat, he says, is China, which “is now building their 600-ship Navy, to fill the vacuum, and they’re very good ships.”

We can ignore this problem only at our peril.

It is part and parcel of the attitude of much of official Washington to not want to REALLY commit all-out to the war on Islamofascism, and the necessary concommitant requirement to maintain a sufficient military force to do this, as well as maintain an adequate force to meet other possible threats like that of the ChiComs, or perhaps even a revived and adventurous Russia.

Beijing secretly fires lasers to disable US satellites

This should come as no surprise – that is, unless your only source of news is the US MSM. Fortunately, there is the London Telegraph to help us keep up with what our own government is up to.

As disturbing as hostile action against US spacecraft from the ChiComs is, there is, unfortunately more to this story than just that.

China has secretly fired powerful laser weapons designed to disable American spy satellites by “blinding” their sensitive surveillance devices, it was reported yesterday.

It’s left to the reader’s imagination to determine whether or not there was any effect. Based on the Chief’s knowledge, atmospheric interference could have been a problem, but then again, sensitive optics may be vulnerable due to their high sensitivity.

Another associated problem with this is in our own backyard:

The hitherto unreported attacks have been kept secret by the Bush administration for fear that it would damage attempts to co-opt China in diplomatic offensives against North Korea and Iran.

Sources told the military affairs publication Defense News that there had been a fierce internal battle within Washington over whether to make the attacks public. In the end, the Pentagon’s annual assessment of the growing Chinese military build-up barely mentioned the threat. “After a contentious debate, the White House directed the Pentagon to limit its concern to one line,” Defense News said.

Once again, we pull our punches in the alleged interest of maintaining some sort of diplomatic influence – with a power that has little or no serious interest in helping us to do ANYTHING! What a joke!

Poll: Voters favor JAIL amendment

Interesting.

A poll paid for by supporters of the “Judicial Accountability Amendment” shows that two-thirds of likely voters favor the ballot measure, but opponents of the amendment say the survey was a “push poll” designed to skew the results.

From the question, it didn’t look too much like a “push” question to the Chief, but hey, what do I know? All I can do is look at the English language of it, not having been trained in the details of legal deconstruction in law school.

Amendment E – also nicknamed “JAIL” for “Judicial Accountability Initiative Law” – would establish a permanent, paid grand jury of citizens who would hear complaints about judges. The grand jury would also have the power to investigate and discipline judges – removing them from the bench, cutting their retirement and even indicting them.

Another interesting point here is the totally unanimous opposition to the JAIL amendment by the political establishment. I don’t know WHY I have such trouble thinking that this is at least partially viewed as a serious threat to…what? Power, prestige, independence on active review of the judiciary by (gasp, shudder) PEOPLE outside of the legal old-boys club comprising the bar?

Much of the STATED opposition comes in from this (as far as the Chief can tell):

Opponents, such as Tom Barnett of Pierre, a spokesman for the Vote No on E Committee, say the measure would put at personal risk many public officials such as school board members and judges….South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long’s official explanation of the amendment, which will appear on ballots, says “citizens serving on juries, school boards, city councils, county commissions, or in similar capacities” could be stripped of immunity and liability insurance.

Again, the Chief really can’t see this. The amendment refers repeatedly to “JUDGES” – not all the rest. Of course, Atty. Gen. Long MAY be thinking that some twisted legal opinion MIGHT lead to an interpretation that those other officials could be included, and that WOULD be a serious flaw in the plan.

But then again, if such legal deconstruction is so likely to occur, then THAT itself is a strong argument in support of a need for an independent review of a judiciary that could twist things to that extent.

Bill Clinton: Play It as It Lies

Former President Bill Clinton, never one to let truth stand in the way of a good line, has decided to reincarnate himself as our tough, anti-terror President. The man who ran away from military service and displayed striking contempt for our armed forces has now announced that he did more – and would do more – to combat Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda than anyone else. In his view, he should be recognized as the best man to fight that enemy.

(Cough-cough, gag, gasp!) The best man to do lead a fight against the Islamofascists? What a sad, sick joke THAT one is!

The man who was in the Soviet Union demonstrating against the American military during Vietnam, who as President left our armed forces short on so many fronts, now is – in his own 20/20 hindsight – The Defense President. Now he criticizes the Bush Administration for not doing enough, proclaims himself the champion of effective military action, and implies none too subtly that the fight against terrorism would go better if we had a Clinton in the White House instead of a Bush.

This isn’t mere spin. It’s full-scale invention.

The Chief couldn’t say it any clearer that THAT!

Geagea scoffs at Hizbullah’s claims of ‘victory’

First, a sidebar comment: the Chief LIKES this way of spelling the name of the the semi-Paleswinian Shiitehead organization. It just…fits – especially in the context of this article!

Anti-Syrian Christian leader Samir Geagea scoffed Sunday at Hizbullah’s claims of victory in the war with Israel and avowals that it wanted a strong state in Lebanon. “We are the victors, and yet we do not feel it was victory but rather that a real catastrophe befell our country, and that our fate and destiny are at the mercy of the winds,” the Lebanese Forces (LF) leader and member of the “March 14″ political group told a rally attended by tens of thousands of supporters.

Crowds flocked to the hilltop Maronite cathedral in Harissa north of Beirut, site of a giant statue of the Virgin Mary, for a mass at the rally, which was staged as a memorial for LF “martyrs” who were killed during the 1975-1990 Civil War. “We are the victors because it was us who were demanding the [Lebanese] Army’s deployment [in South Lebanon], backed by UNIFIL [peacekeepers], while they were opposed,” said Geagea.

The Chief would agree with the assessment that the outcome of the recent Lebanese front of WW-IV was less than a ringing victory for the Hiz-bull-ers, as indicated by their Ubersturmbahnfuhrer Sheik Nasrullah’s admission that if he had known that Israel would have responded the way it did, he would never have allowed the attack/kidnapping that touched of the whole thing. That’s NOT the viewpoint of a victor.

Army Warns Rumsfeld It’s Billions Short

The Army’s top officer withheld a required 2008 budget plan from Pentagon leaders last month after protesting to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that the service could not maintain its current level of activity in Iraq plus its other global commitments without billions in additional funding.

Unfortunately, this is part of a pattern of taking a half as…er…baked approach to the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The problems with the “Mr. Nice Guy” rules of engagement along with this sort of semi-committment to getting the Army the resources it needs is indicative that some, at least, haven’t faced up to the fact that yes, indeed, we really ARE at war, and that yes, Army expenses ARE higher during a war! What a shocker!

The decision by Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army’s chief of staff, is believed to be unprecedented and signals a widespread belief within the Army that in the absence of significant troop withdrawals from Iraq, funding assumptions must be completely reworked, say current and former Pentagon officials.

Hopefully Gen. Schoomaker can wield the cluebat vigorously enough to make the needed impression!

Islamic Fascism 101

Victor Davis Hanson writing at National Review Online lays out in as concise and brief summary as could be done, on WHY exactly, based on historical evidence, the terrs et al are, indeed and in fact, Islamofascists, which is a concept that the Chief understood long ago, as I am sure VDH did also.

It’s still beneficial to cut the crap and lay it all out on the table for use as a cluebat to hopefully impart, if not aquiesence, then at least the silence of shame from the moonbats who would negotiate with these religious thugs.

First, the general idea of “fascism” – the creation of a centralized authoritarian state to enforce blanket obedience to a reactionary, all-encompassing ideology – fits well the aims of contemporary Islamism that openly demands implementation of sharia law and the return to a Pan-Islamic and theocratic caliphate.

In addition, Islamists, as is true of all fascists, privilege their own particular creed of true believers by harkening back to a lost, pristine past, in which the devout were once uncorrupted by modernism.

…and HERE’S an unforgettable image for you:

True, bin Laden’s mythical Volk doesn’t bath in the clear icy waters of the Rhine untouched by the filth of the Tiber; but rather they ride horses and slice the wind with their scimitars in service of a soon to be reborn majestic world of caliphs and mullahs. Osama bin Laden sashaying in his flowing robes is not all that different from the obese Herman Goering in reindeer horns plodding around his Karinhall castle with suspenders and alpine shorts.

PHEW! Spare us!

Because fascism is born out of insecurity and the sense of failure, hatred for Jews is de rigueur. To read al Qaeda’s texts is to reenter the world of Mein Kampf (naturally now known as Jihadi in the Arab world).

There’s more, much more. Check it out, and let not your hearts be troubled at calling the enemy by an accurately descriptive name: Islamofascist.

Iraqis to Consider Autonomous Regions

Iraq’s feuding ethnic and sectarian groups agreed Sunday to consider amending the constitution and begin debating legislation to create a federated nation, while the Shiite prime minister appealed for an end to violence during Ramadan.

This could well lead to the splitting of Iraq – which may not be a bad thing to do at this point. The one BIG caveat in the Chief’s mind is a US guarantee of the integretiy of the sections after the division.

This is needed because of stuff like this:

Iran and Turkey Prepare for War in Iraqi Kurdistan

A new Middle East war is in the offing. DEBKAfile’s exclusive military sources in Iraq and sources in Iran reveal that Turkish and Iranian air units as well as armored, paratroop, special operations and artillery forces are poised for an imminent coordinated invasion of the northern Iraqi autonomous province of Kurdistan.

The source for this DEBKAfile, isn’t always on the money, but this is certainly one that would be Bad if it came to pass.

Clinton, Wallace Battle in Fox Interview

This is all over the place – ex. Prez Bubba seems to have lost it in his Fox News Sunday interview.

Wallace said Sunday he was surprised by Clinton’s “conspiratorial view” of “a very non-confrontational question, ‘Did you do enough to connect the dots and go after Al Qaida?'”

Seems to the Chief that Wallace’s question must have pierced a sensitive nerve.

U.N. shows why it’s incapable of reform

There are a multitude of specific recent cases noted here before Steyn reaches the conclusion:

It may be news to the Council of Foreign Relations types and the Dems, but the U.N. demonstrated this last week that it is utterly incapable of reform. Indeed, any reforms would be more likely to upgrade and enhance the cliques of thugs and despots than of the few states willing to stand up to them. The most sensible proposal this week came from Chavez, who demanded the U.N. relocate to Venezuela. You go, girl!

PUH-leeeze go!

Japan’s quiet successor vows to restore army

Shinzo Abe is planning a revolution in Japan which will see the return of a full-strength imperial army for the first time since the Second World War. After securing the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidency last week, he is now certain to succeed Junichiro Koizumi as prime minister, and he clearly has an eye on re-examining the post-war era.

What’s the matter over there? With the ChiComs’ military surging, and the North Koreans shooting missiles over Japan, one would think that Nippon is losing faith in the US shield. Wonder why? Couldn’t be the libDonk anti-war claque over here, could it? Say it ain’t so!

Instead, he spoke of revising the United States-imposed Constitution, which forbids Japan from having a full-fledged military, passing legislation to allow Japanese troops to be deployed overseas and making it possible for Japan to exercise the right to collective self-defence with the US. He also wants to revise the other legal document of the post-war American occupation, the Fundamental Law of Education, and emphasise moral values, patriotism and tradition in schools.

One hopes that the New Model Imperial Army comes up with something of better quality than their sorry Arisaka front-line rifles of WWII. No doubt they will.

Thousands of Israel Supporters Rally for Release of Kidnapped Soldiers

Another obvious case of the MSM following the lead of the NY Slimes: “All the news that fits, we print.” (Based on their masthead lying brag that they have “All the news that’s fit to print”.

As world leaders convened for the second day of the United Nations General Assembly, tens of thousands of supporters of Israel gathered across the street from United Nations headquarters to protest President Ahmadinejad of Iran and to call for the unconditional release of the Israeli soldiers kidnapped on July 12. The international and national leaders who stepped up to the podium also challenged the United Nations to take preventative action against the Iranian leader who threatens the Jewish people with genocide.

Hmmmmm. On second thought, maybe they WERE observing their slogan – they just don’t consider this “news that’s fit to print”, since it was actually news that doesn’t fit their PC worldview.

Bush ready to OK border barrier

President Bush will sign the bill to construct 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border if it is approved by the Senate, the White House said, as Congress continued yesterday drafting more legislation to combat illegal immigration. On Wednesday night, Mr. Bush told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that he would sign the bill if approved by the Senate, which spent the past two days debating whether they should even consider the fence bill.

Why the movement on this? Methinks that the pols are catching a whiff of the concern about this issue from back in the hustings.

Even the Senate has started moving out of its languor and has (at last!) shown some signs of life on this, but as always in dealing with the Senate, it ain’t over ’til it’s over:

Late yesterday, Democrats finally agreed to allow the bill to be taken up…While the bills passed the House by wide margins yesterday, they face an increasingly dim future in the Senate, which has refused to approve major border-security legislation unless it is coupled with a guest-worker program and a direct path to citizenship for most of the illegal aliens currently in the U.S.

Well, one can still hope they wake up and smell the electoral coffee on this and advance the bill.

ENEMIES

This is a summary with links to three excerpts from Bill Gertz’s new book concerning laxity in our counter-intel, especially with regards to the ChiComs, but not neglecting the North Korean freak show, or those charming al Qaida sheet-heads.

Nobody covers this stuff as well as Gertz – at least check out the articles if not the book also!

Rangel rebukes Chavez on Bush

WOW! It’s got to be a cold day in hell for the Chief to be in agreement with something from Donk Cong. Charlie Rangel, but that’s the case this time.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez took his Bush-bashing to Harlem yesterday and earned a stiff rebuke from the New York district’s congressman, Rep. Charles B. Rangel, who is no fan of President Bush. “You don’t come into my country, you don’t come into my congressional district and criticize my president,” Mr. Rangel, a Democrat, told stunned reporters on Capitol Hill.

Well said! Give credit where credit’s due.

Other NY pols are also reading from the same page:

The Big Apple hits back – hard

Clinton, Pataki, Schumer, Rangel, and Bloomberg all swing the cluebat on this one, not that even that’ll penetrate Chavez’ thick skull.

MINNESOTA TRUCKER’S ROLLING 9-11 MEMORIAL

Have you heard about this trucker who has painted his cab and trailer with the names of all those who lost their lives in 9/11? The trucker’s name is John Holmgren from Shafer, Minn. He has been “pulled over” numerous times just so the troopers can get their picture taken with the truck. The names & images were painted on by Applied Images, Fargo, North Dakota.

These pictures were received by e-mail from my daughter…the artwork speaks for itself.

This is taking the thoughts and sentiments of the Darrell Worley song Have You Forgotten? to a higher level of personal action.

This makes me realize yet once more how great the folks can be out here in “flyover country” on the northern plains. Maybe some of my redneck Alabama ancestry is coming out here, but the Chief thinks this is too cool for words!

Bring Them Freedom, Or They Destroy Us

Here’s a very interesting and worthwhile lecture from Bernard Lewis that’s posted on Real Clear Politics. It’s semi-long, but well worth a good, thoughtful look.

The final sentence of the piece is simple and profound in reference to the war on Islamofascism:

I think that the effort is difficult and the outcome uncertain, but I think the effort must be made. Either we bring them freedom, or they destroy us.

Now, read the rest to see why he reaches that conclusion.

Is It A Cuddly Universe?

This interesting post over at SDP both asks and answers this question. As if you couldn’t guess – it’s not (cuddly).

Many years ago the late Richard Grenier wrote an essay asking the question, “Is it a cuddly Universe?” The subject of his essay were the films E.T. (cuddly) and Blade Runner (not cuddly). Is there any doubt that after the speeches by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo Chavez before the United Nations that our corner of the universe is not cuddly?

This is an very incisive metaphor:

Some Americans have a view of the world that is similar to “battered woman syndrome.” This is the syndrome in which a battered woman blames herself for her beatings and is sure that if she just loves her man more or better then he’ll stop hitting her. Surely, some argue, we have done things to make the Iranians and Venezuelans angry, and if we are just a little nicer to the world then people will stop trying to kill us.

Hear, hear!

Colorado State professor disputes global warming is human-caused

There’s a LOT of other stuff out there (in the scientific research) that backs this up.

Global warming is happening, but humans are not the cause, one of the nation’s top experts on hurricanes said Monday morning. Bill Gray, who has studied tropical meteorology for more than 40 years, spoke at the Larimer County Republican Club Breakfast about global warming and whether humans are to blame. About 50 people were at the talk.

Gray, who is a professor at Colorado State University, said human-induced global warming is a fear perpetuated by the media and scientists who are trying to get federal grants. “I think we’re coming out of the little ice age, and warming is due to changes to ocean circulation patterns due to salinity variations,” Gray said. “I’m sure that’s it.”

LIVE BLOG REPORT:

The tinhorn neo-Commie virtual dictator of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez is speaking to the so-called United Nations even as the Chief types this.

He has apparently raised the status of President Bush. No longer is he a latter-day Hitler. Now he is nothing less than el Diablo – the devil himself.

Meanwhile his incipient and metastatizing neo-Stalinism is engaging in such old Soviet tricks as refusing travel rights to citizens who have offended his government by, for example, having the temerity to get married to an American.

OOOOH! OOOOH! Chavez just suggested moving the UN from the land of the devil to another location “to the south”.

WE SHOULD BE SO LUCKY!

It was telling that he received hearty applause to his remarks from the enlightened masses of the UN General Assembly, thus demonstrating that no one will ever err by underestimating the worthiness of that body to engage in credible judgment.

F.E.T.E.

Next Attack Imminent: Muslims ordered to leave the United States

Take this for what it’s worth. Hopefully this report doesn’t bear out in the end, but the way things are these days, one never knows.

Urgent news from Abu Dawood, one of the newly appointed commanders of the al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan: Final preparations have been made for the American Hiroshima, a major attack on the U. S. Muslims living in the United States should leave the country without further warning.

OK? Might it not behoove one to be somewhat prepared for contingencies at least? It certainly couldn’t hurt.

The search for Adnan El Shukrijumah

There is a hunt…er…at least of Inspector Clouseau quality…for the principal Islamoterr of the operation:

…no one on planet earth is more of a threat to the lives and well-being of every man, woman and child within the United States than ferret-faced Adnan.

Read on to see why.

This piece is VERY detailed, with a lot of citations and footnotes of sources. Sports fans and fun-seekers, we MAY be in for some Bad Things Happening.

Headlines from the Book of Isaiah:

CHAPTER 17
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
3 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts.
4 And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.
5 And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim.
6 ¶ Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel.
7 At that day shall a man look to his Maker, and his eyes shall have respect to the Holy One of Israel.
8 And he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands, neither shall respect that which his fingers have made, either the groves, or the images.
9 ¶ In that day shall his strong cities be as a forsaken bough, and an uppermost branch, which they left because of the children of Israel: and there shall be desolation.
10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:
11 In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.
12 ¶ Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
13 The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
14 And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

Jihad, the Lord’s Supper, and eternal life

Spengler’s laser-sharp logic once again cuts through the fog of political correctness to slice and dice the prevailing miasma of appeasement that has the West in danger of asphyxiation.

This time he is highlighting the harsh-seeming truth that Islam’s ultimate stance towards the non-Islamic dar al Harb (that means YOU and me, infidel!) is intrinsically similar to the attitude of the (apace) aliens in the SciFi potboiler Independence Day. Recall the scene when the President met with the alien emissary who communicated that they were here to basically dissect the planet for raw materials. When the Pres. then asked what they expected us to do, the alien simply replied “Die!”.

Actually Islam DOES offer us another choice – conversion, and/or complete submission to the mullahs and ayatollahs. As far as the Chief is concerned – no thanks – not in this world, OR the next!

The Islamic world now views the pontiff as an existential threat, and with reason. Jihad is not merely the whim of a despotic divinity, as the pope implied. It is much more: jihad is the fundamental sacrament of Islam, the Muslim cognate of the Lord’s Supper in Christianity, that is, the unique form of sacrifice by which the individual believer communes with the Transcendent. To denounce jihad on theological grounds is a blow at the foundations of Islam, in effect a papal call for the conversion of the Muslims.

Just a bit from this column – but the Chief’s recommendation is that it is well worth reading carefully. The kernal is in his conclusion:

There is no Grace in Islam, no miracle, no expiatory sacrifice, no expression of love for mankind such that each Muslim need not be a sacrifice. On the contrary, the concept of jihad, in which the congregation of Islam is also the army, states that every single Muslim must sacrifice himself personally. Jihad is the precise equivalent of the Lord’s Supper in Christianity and the Jewish Sabbath, the defining expression of sacrifice that opens the prospect of eternity to the mortal believer. To ask Islam to become moderate, to reform, to become a peaceful religion of personal conscience is the precise equivalent of asking Catholics to abolish Mass.

Islam, I have argued for years, faces an existential crisis in the modern world, which has ripped its adherents out of their traditional existence and thrust them into deadly conflicts. What was always latent in Islam has now come to the surface: the practice of Islam now expresses itself uniquely in jihad. Benedict XVI has had the courage to call things by their true names. Everything else is hypocrisy and self-delusion.

DEUS VULT!

Pope lashes evil of jihad

POPE Benedict has hit out at Islam and its concept of holy war during a visit to his Bavarian homeland. The thinly veiled attack on extremist Islam’s justification for terrorism came during a theological lecture to staff and students at the University of Regensburg, where the former Joseph Ratzinger taught theology in the 1970s.

Using the words, “jihad” and “holy war”, the Pope quoted criticisms of the prophet Mohammed by a 14th century Byzantine Christian emperor, Manuel II, during a debate with a learned Persian.

Yowch! Not exactly an example of political correctness!

He also went on and noted a real problem that the West has given itself:

But in reiterating his concerns about a modern world “deaf” to God, he warned that other religious cultures saw the West’s exclusion of God “as an attack on their most profound convictions”. “A reason which is deaf to the divine and which relegates religion into the realm of subcultures is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures,” he said.

A double dose of unpleasant truths.

DISCLOSURE: I am as Catholic as Brigham Young!

Of course, the reaction to this from the “Religion of Piss Peace is predictable:

Pope’s speech stirs Muslim anger

Muslim religious leaders have accused Pope Benedict XVI of quoting anti-Islamic remarks during a speech at a German university this week.

Seems to the Chief that calling a spade a spade is NOT considered acceptable – but then, that’s what political correctness is all obout, isn’t it?

Air America: The end.

It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving bunch of moonbats. Of course they have a replacement in the wings – the Feminazi network of Steinam and Fonda – who the Chief is willing to predict will meet with the same success as Al “Weiner” Franken.

BWUAHAHAHAHAHAH!

sic: Facile ‘fascist’ terminology

Here’s another academician who has thought himself right out of contact with reality:

Fascism as a form of government has no meaning in today’s political market. And adding an adjective like “Islamofascism” doesn’t make it so. What the Islamic terrorists are doing is not “fascism,” it’s terrorism, pure and simple based on their reading of the Koran supported by guest appearances of Osama bin Laden.

The Chief’s read on this is that Islamofascism IS a good descriptive term. The current crop of Islamists can be historically traced back to ideologic contact with the 3rd Reich’s National Socialists. The Baath movement was organized as a pan-Arabist version of national socialism to be implemented mutually in a pan-Arabic state.

It includes the forcible imposition of a particular world-view, and the suppression of opposition and dissent from whatever source. It also happened to adopt the anti-Jewish attitudes of the German (and others) to the extent of continuing to promulgate anti-Jewish literature from such sources as the late unlamented Reich, and the old Russian Czarist forged history called “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”.

Terrorism is a tactic. Fighting a “War on Terror” makes as much sense as fighting a “War Against Amphibious Assault”. Same logical difference. Of course the Chief DOES admit the aspect of terror attacking non-military targets to obtain a desired reaction is particular repulsive, but then hey, attacking ANY target in any way is ultimately a means of forcing a behavioral response from the enemy.

As General Sherman noted, “War is Hell” – an organized effort to kill people and break things. The current war needs to be properly focused on the properly identified enemy, who are not just “terrorists”…they are indeed identifiable as Islamofascists, with a commonality of goals, ideology, and focus shared by the Iranian and Syrian states, organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood, and openly terrorist groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Fatah, et al.

All of them share the goal of either forcing the conversion of the west to their point of view, or of imposing the subjection of the state of Dhimmitude on those of us who do not accept that program.

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and lays duck eggs, it must be a duck! The Islamist radicals of whatever stripe are close enough to fascism to make a quibble pointless. Since they are generally similar to the original fascists in their actions and programs, and are after all, Islamic, the term ISLAMOFASCIST fits the bill nicely for identification.

’nuff said.

Greenstone launches all-women radio talk network

Greenstone Media, a radio company whose founders include social activist Gloria Steinem and actress Jane Fonda, has launched an all-women, all-talk network across the United States.

It’s NOT the basic concept that turns the Chief’s stomach, rather it’s the quality, or lack thereof in the main instigators of this new way to waste electricity and radio spectrum.

On the other hand, if it was Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, and Laura Ingraham…it would be another story.

Marines vs. Military-Industrial Complex

The U.S. Navy’s last two battleships appeared in December 2005 to have seen their final combat, on their way to being museum pieces. That’s not necessarily so. A decision to be made on Capitol Hill this week will determine whether the USS Iowa and USS Wisconsin are ready for a possible naval confrontation in the Persian Gulf with Iran.

Advocates of maintaining the World War II-vintage warships as troop-support firing platforms fell short nine months ago in efforts to block a provision in the Defense Department authorization bill sending the vessels to museums. Overlooked then was the bill’s conference report requiring that the battle wagons be returned to active duty if the president declares a national emergency. But they will be useless relics unless this year’s Defense authorization prohibits changes in the battleships that “would impair their military utility.”

The Chief’s duly considered opinion is that these ships are still a valuable asset to the defense of the United States. Right now we couldn’t replace them if we HAD to…the infrastructure just isn’t there anymore.

Remember: “BATTLESHIPS ARE CHEAPER THAN BATTLES.” – Lord Charles Beresford.

Fatah, Hamas move toward unity

This is another one of those DUH! reports, as if anyone with half a brain and/or some degree of situational awareness didn’t already know that both of these outfits are essentially different expressions of the same attitudes and beliefs that characterize Islamofascism.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh announced an agreement in principle yesterday on the formation of a unity government comprising ministers from their rival Fatah and Hamas parties.

The real underlying issue behind this move is financial:

T

he final agreement is expected to include an implicit recognition of Israel by Hamas, but it was not clear whether it would go far enough to end an international aid boycott that has paralyzed the Palestinian government and left its workers unpaid for months.

The United States and European Union have insisted that aid cannot resume until the Palestinian government recognizes Israel, renounces terrorism and agrees to honor previous treaties with the Jewish state.

The Chief wouldn’t make any bets that the State Department’s Foggy Bottom Boys don’t proclaim that this is a major new change that justifies resuming payment of baksheesh tribute support payments to these bloody-handed weasels.

What happened to the attitude of the fledgling Congress that proclaimed 200 years ago in relation to the Barbary “pirates” (the same peoples that are running Islamoterrorism today) “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!” as they authorized construction of the first ships of our new government’s navy.