Posted 8:13 PM by a
ORACULATIONS:

Monday, August 2

Lined up against the GOP and Bush are: all the unions, all the entertainment mega millions and power, all the newspapers and TV networks other than FOX, all of academia, teachers, blacks, and the Left business elites on Park Avenue and Beverly Hills. The news media is a potent force, a force than can determine what the public may see as issues by where they place their stories or what stories they run at all. The New York Times and LA Times blacking out trousergate as one example. The Hollywood Left makes DNC movies like the Manchurian Candidate (a box office loser) that hide the message within a story. They make TV shows which more and more contain Bush Bashing within their dialogue. And the money. The money. This election is truly a battle between what people on the Right consider the "old tired Left" and the "New Conservatism."

The old tired Left is composed of philosophical socialists and communists who are determined to "level the playing field" by taxing the rich out of all money earned over a certain pre-determined figure (to be actually determined after they win) and nearly exempting all others from paying tax at all.

The Conservatives want to allow markets to determine winners and losers and by definition there are always more relative losers than winners. The winners are always resented by most of the losers, so by inference if you can rally the country's losers you can win an election. Nothing can calm the endless rage of a burning envy; keep them hating and you can win.

I once played in Julius Caesar and I've always remembered the line,
"Such men as he be never at heart's ease while they behold a greater (man) than themselves, and therefore are they very dangerous." Old Shakespeare had them spotted, knowing that once rallied into a mob the envious have heads but no brains and are easily led.

The French Revolution with the attendant Terror and Guillotine can attest to that. Edwards is very able to make life's losers feel there is no way to become a winner. The task facing Kerry/Edwards in this regard is to convince a majority that there is no hope for success, that the deck has been stacked against them by the successful in a game they are required by citizenship to play, a tactic he used in court to make hundreds of millions of dollars. He will proclaim to the less successful that they are pre-ordained to forever to play a losing hand against a bunch of crooks out to steal their money. These victims are required by circumstance to furnish their labor to the winners in exchange for the lowest possible wage, sure in the knowledge that they will be rewarded with not so much as a single moment in the sunshine of success for their entire lives. No nice clothes, no nice cars, no homes, no health care, only a forever in shitty apartments living paycheck to paycheck, their kids in horrible schools, with not so much as the right to a doctor.

The solution to their bleak future is to somehow get money from the rich. Government can do that through taxation and entitlement programs. No need for the losers to feel guilty because they are entitled to the money stolen from them by the successful people.

The Democrats will boil the pot of voter discontent til the scum within gathers to the top so they can harvest the votes necessary to win an election. He and Kerry will quietly spread the doctrine that democracy guarantees the equality of conditions, not equality of opportunity. Blacks, many Hispanics, all the Indians, handicapped, gay and lesbian, plus feminists will unite as usual under this sacred banner of the professional loser, the only question being how much company they will have. Bush's task is to rally the troops to patriotism; that life offers plenty of opportunity for success for everyone willing to work for it.

That we have the greatest country on the face of the earth with the only Constitution guaranteeing them the absolute right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. No other country on the face of the earth has as a part of their constitution the absolute right to pursue happiness; no government can make rules as to what happiness is, can be, or should be.

The Happiness we are guaranteed the right to pursue is entirely up to us. He has to convince us that he is fair, that his vision is for fairness and not special interests. He is going to be challenged by the pension looting that has taken place on his watch without him lifting a finger to stop it, about medical care and the maldistribution of its benefits, and if Kerry is smart he will be attacked for his failure until late in the game to staff the SEC with people who cared about criminal activity in the business community. He has allowed high paying jobs to go overseas only to be replaced by lower paying jobs and Bush is going to have to show something different if he hopes to win.

The war in Iraq is where this election will be won or lost. The reactionary mob has already formed, welded together by their white hot hatred of the Vietnam era and now recalling their hate some fifty years later.

Not only do they hate Bush and everything he represents (Christians, business, the military, and so on). They want out and they want out right now. They do not want to recognize that Democracy is on trial as never before. Europe isn't worried and Europe is where civilization is real and honest. Nothing is worth fighting for "away from home." Wait til the enemy has penetrated the gates and when that happens it is soon enough to fight. The fact that the enemy has already penetrated the gates on 9/11 is old news, a secret Jewish conspiracy, a plan co- sponsored by Bush, or something to be handled by local police. There is no threat right now.

It is in this debate that Kerry has a peculiar edge. An edge because everyone on the Left believes he will get out of Iraq on the double quick if elected. It makes no difference what he says. It's what he really means that counts and he means he will get us out of Iraq. This makes him free to argue any case because "what he really means" he cannot say to a bunch of fundamentalist Christians and radical Right Wingers and hope to win.

It will be Bush's task to "explain the war" something he has failed miserably to do. Bush will have to go to the wall and tell everyone about French and German mendacity lying so they could hang on to oil contracts inside one of the most vicious regimes of the 20th century. He will have to convince us that what was happening in Iraq was our business and had to be handled.

Posted 3:47 PM by a
Dear President Bush:

I very much regret that I will not be able to support you for reelection in November.

Some of your recent decisions make it clear that your promise to bring terrorists to justice is no longer in force with respect to all known terrorists in Iraq.

I fear that nearly eight hundred American military members may have indeed died in vain.

It is equally apparent that you will not support a real investigation of the United Nations corruption regarding the Oil for Food program. The result will be that the desire of some for a socialist global government will be further advanced.

Both of these developments are simply unacceptable to this former supporter.

Respectfully,

Carthel Williams

Posted 1:47 PM by a

KEEPING THE FAITH UNTIL NOVEMBER. THIS POST IS NULL AND VOID. SEE LETTER TO PRESIDENT BUSH ABOVE.

Posted 1:09 PM by a

ANY QUESTIONS?

Posted 4:45 PM by a
Mrs. du Toit

One of the things I don't think I've ever written about is that there is disagreement in my family over the War on Terrorism generically, and the War in Iraq, specifically.

You might have guessed that the other members of my family have always been opinionated. Since we no longer live close, we discuss things in Round Robin type e-mails. We disagree, often, over trivial issues and the e-mails can get quite heated. That's normal and expected. We might have disagreed over tax increases, how to deal with crime, etc., but those ARE trivial. We all realized they were trivial and the heat of the argument never got nasty—just HOT—and being a family used to that sort of thing, it was never any more than a hot debate.

When the degree of divide over the WOT became apparent, however, it was no longer possible to reconcile those differences with one of my sisters. My response to this? I disowned her. There were no words. There was no dramatic discussion with big arms and tears. I simply stopped speaking to her. She can live her life with her friends and I'll live mine, but our paths will never again cross--ever.

I mention this because I want to make clear, in case it wasn't painfully obvious before, that there is war on. Sides must be chosen. I don't make allowances for traitors (or slip sliders), even within my own family.

We can discuss and disagree over the wisdom of a 2% hike or decrease in sales tax forever, but, when the primary directive, the security of the country and the Free World is at stake, there is no compromise. Lines in the sand and all that.

What should also be clear, but probably not so obvious, is that it is not personal. It's war. 

THANK YOU MRS. DU TOIT FOR EXPRESSING THAT VIEWPOINT. YOUR MESSAGE WAS RECEIVED AND UNDERSTOOD BY MANY WHO WERE SEVERELY STUNG BY THE ISLAMOFASCISTS COWARDLY SNEAK ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY ON 9-11-01.

"The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it will never forget what they did here."

That's what I think. What say you? Please comment.

Posted 6:09 PM by a
To The Editor:

"SCATHING ATTACK ON THE UNITED NATIONS BY THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE."

What's that all about? "It's all about the oil," and money. Over the next several months sordid details about Saddam Hussein skimming off hundreds of millions, perhaps billions of dollars from the United Nations managed Food For Oil Program in Iraq will come to light. Based on what is known, Saddam, acting much in the style of a Mafia Godfather, bribed and corrupted dozens, perhaps hundreds or even thousands of individuals around the world.

While hate spouting Leftists make gratuitous calls for the United Nations to replace the United.States as the provisional authority in Iraq primarily to discredit President Bush, It comes to light that France, Russia, and probably to some lesser extent Germany, colluded with Saddam to scatter stolen baby milk money around the world as an insurance policy for the protection of his evil regime.

If serious people with sufficient clout to force an independent investigation of all the facts of this grotesque affair prevail, some of the most vile corruption and unparalleled greed in recent history will be uncovered. Evidence will almost surely prove that France, Russia and Germany would never have agreed to the removal of Saddam from power. So, President Bush faced them down. Blood money is a powerful motivator. So are courage and leadership.

Carthel Williams

That's what I think. What say you? Please comment.

Posted 12:57 PM by a
To The Editor:

An amorphous group of characters launched another political trial balloon recently. NBC News anchorman Tom Brokaw as Vice President to John Kerry on the socialist democrat ticket in November.

Some darts thrown at the balloon carried tiny pearls of wit and wisdom and offered up alternative suggestions. In addition to Brokaw, Rosie O'Donnell, "you've got to be kidding," Katie Couric, Michael Moore, Jane Fonda, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Al Franken, Janine Garofalo, the Dixie Chicks, Bozo the clown, Elmer Fudd, Barney Frank and recently retired Senator from Georgia Max Cleland.

Some dart chuckers suggested that Kerry's cabinet should also be considered. Perhaps Donald Duck as Secretary of Defense and Goofy or Jimmy Carter as Secretary of State. As one can readily see, the possibilities are infinite.

This important choice should be carefully considered. After all, it will complete the team of hit men charged with cutting down the Bush, or the "Shrub" that in the period of a year delivered up more than fifty million human beings out of bondage and from under the bloody boots of maniacal tyrants in Afghanistan and Iraq, bringing to a near end the sorry history of torture, rape and murder carried out in those forsaken lands for more than a generation, under the nose of the ever alert United Nations.

There is no higher purpose than to strive for a day when all mankind will be able to smell and taste the sweet air of freedom. Something President Bush knows instinctively, but sadly, the narcissistic John Kerry and his kind will almost surely never learn.

Carthel Williams

That's what I think. What say you? Please comment.

Posted 9:17 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Extra:

"There are Democrats who want to loosen the Clintons' grip on their party. That grip has always been good for the Clintons but bad for the party. Will front-runner Mr. Kerry be the next victim of the Clintons' political research teams? Possibly not--he is the Washington insider that Mr. Dean is not. And it is not clear that he will be sailing into the summer convention with a great deal of brag and bounce. He may be limping in after still more primary battles. Then Hillary will make her grand entrance. With Mr. McAuliffe smiling from the podium her power will be vast. Possibly she will allow herself to be nominated to the No. 2 spot to assist her party in its moment of peril. Either way, Hillary and her husband will remain the Democratic powerbrokers for 2008. Or possibly just the powers."

Posted 5:09 PM by a
To the Editor:

Congratulations Times Editors. A Margulies political cartoon was masterfully placed alongside commentary by Betsy Hart recently. The banner read, "Dems becoming the self-destruction party." A jackass was displayed and captioned, "In the last election, the Supreme Court handed Bush the presidency." A second jackass, prominately displaying campaign buttons of each of the nine Democrats seeking the presidency replied, "That's OUR job..." Priceless.

Ms. Hart's commentary warned that If the Democratic Party is to avoid irredeemable self-destruction, its braying jackasses must be reigned in forthwith. The nine wannabes have become a national disgrace and are an embarrasment to most Americans.

"The crazies are in control. Hating Bush has destroyed their ability to think and follow a logical argument. They are like raving madmen howling at the full moon." Childish name calling, gutter language, retractions and denials, outright lying, late stage comings to Jesus, and false charges including insane conspiracy theories about the President are unworthy of serious political candidates.

Three lonely ideas, buying friends, turning the foreign policy and security of the nation over to Kofi Annan and a feckless United Nations and establishing a socialist system of health care, are merely pandering to people who believe that government has an orchard full of money trees and the free lunch wagon is just down the road preparing to feed them.

Real Democrats should restore some sanity to this six month old circus by unsaddling the jackasses and purging the clowns from their ranks before they kill the Golden Goose. So how's that for mixing up metaphors?

That's what I think. What say you?

Posted 3:38 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article Responses: "The Rest Are Out of Touch
Betsy Dehler - St. Paul, Minn.

"Sen. Zell Miller is a breath of fresh air amidst the smog of the Democratic Party. Democrats would be smart to listen to what this wise man has to say. They are so out of touch from middle America and they don't have a clue they are. The only strategy they have is to bitterly attack our president. They have no solutions. Thank you, Sen. Miller, for telling it like it is. This is a man with integrity, something these Democratic presidential candidates lack."

Posted 3:12 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article:

"Look closely, there's not much difference among them. I can't say there's 'not a dime's worth of difference' because there's actually billions of dollars' worth of difference among them. Some want to raise our taxes a trillion, while the others want to raise our taxes by several hundred billion. But, make no mistake, they all want to raise our taxes. They also, to varying degrees, want us to quit and get out of Iraq. They don't want us to stay the course in this fight between tyranny and freedom. This is our best chance to change the course of history in the Middle East. So I cannot vote for a candidate who wants us to cut and run with our shirttails at half-mast."

Posted 2:10 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Extra

"The "fair and balanced" approach that Fox trumpets in its slogan is part of this iconoclastic tone, too. Sure, the anchor is almost always a conservative, but it's clear he is striving to tell the truth, and there's always a liberal on hand, too. By contrast, political consultant and Fox contributor Dick Morris notes, "the other networks offer just one point of view, which they claim is objective." Not only does the Fox approach make clear that there is always more than one point of view, but it also puts the network's liberal guests in the position of having to defend their views--something that almost never happens on other networks."

Posted 11:24 AM by a
OpinionJournal - Extra Responses: "It Isn't Easy Being Green
Roy Fassel - Los Angeles

You can talk all you want about the makeup of the 'International Community' as expressed through the U.N. The debate about the Iraq matter has had many diversions such as WMD and countless resolutions which Saddam Hussein violated openly. All of Saddam's recent actions prior to going into hiding were based on one certainty. Saddam Hussein was absolutely sure that France, Germany and Russia would never approve the overthrow of his regime in Iraq. Repeat! Saddam Hussein was 'absolutely sure' that his regime would never be removed by the 'International Community.' Never. Ever.

There is an old saying. If you owe the bank a little, they own you. If you owe the bank a lot, you own the bank. Saddam Hussein owed France, Germany and Russia an awful lot of money. So much so that he 'owned them.' Saddam was right. France, Germany and Russia did everything they could to stop the overthrow of Saddam. Saddam Hussein made one miscalculation. Probably with the advice of France. He miscalculated that 'the willing coalition' would follow through with the 'serious consequences.' My hunch was that he never thought the coalition would attach until they entered Baghdad.

Why was he so sure? France, Germany and Russia are owed $7 billion to $8 billion from the 'Saddam-era' Iraq. France, Germany and Russia were willing to allow the killings and open human rights violations to hopefully get repaid. If France, Germany and Russia would have had their way, the U.N. inspectors would, by now, been relieved of duty and Hussein would have been given a clean bill of health and the sanctions would have been lifted.

That is the only other alternative. The Bush-Blair plan or the 'International Community's' plan to be "

Posted 12:52 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Wonder Land Responses: "The PC Nomenklatura
Denis Armstrong - West Des Moines, Iowa

"We are no longer free to express our opinions in this country without assessing the potential damage to our careers, livelihoods and reputations. We are being forced into an Orwellian straitjacket of politically correct speech tailored by an ideological nomenklatura who will relentlessly seek and destroy anyone who sins against their dogma.

Ironically, the political liberals who are the enforcers of these new speech codes are the same crowd who constituted the 'free speech' movements of the mid 1960s."

Posted 7:21 PM by a
William J. Bennett & Seth Leibsohn on Middle East on National Review Online

"To create a new state under the current conditions would be to reward terrorism. Yasser Arafat and the terrorism he has brought to the modern world have wreaked enough havoc. In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, Arafat taught the world the "benefits" of hijacking civilian airliners — he was rewarded with U.N. resolutions, U.N. speaking engagements, and U.N. status. From the U.S. he received respectability, including multiple White House visits and meetings with President Clinton. Over the past several years, just as Israel was moving toward implementing full Palestinian statehood, suicide bombings began in Israel."

Posted 7:16 PM by a
Byron York on Janice Rogers Brown on National Review Online

"In the end, what was striking was how little Democrats seemed inclined to dig into the actual questions involved in the cases Brown has decided; each time Brown delivered a crisp defense of her reasoning, Democrats simply moved on to another sound bite. It was as if Durbin and his colleagues had chosen to make a series of short-form attacks, get the hearing out of the way, and then move on to the more serious matter of filibustering Brown's nomination."

Posted 6:32 PM by a
Walter E. Williams: Racial censorship:

"The true tragedy of the flap over Limbaugh's remarks is that it's reflective of an ongoing process in our increasingly politically correct world where people are losing the freedom to say what they think lest they be subject to intimidation, extortion and other costs by our well-established grievance industry."

Posted 12:18 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Wonder Land Responses: "Theophobia
Ed McMerty - Springfield, Pa.

"What Mr. Henninger describes is basically another 'religion,' although not God-based: secular humanism. It is what's essentially taught now in the public schools--a non-God-based state religion.

It is interesting that many tenets (abortion, euthanasia, homosexual unions, this atheism in the public schools, etc.) of this humanism have been imposed on us; i.e., not by laws by our elected officials, but by 'judicial' rulings.

In effect, the liberal wing of both parties are populated by (to imitate a word created by them) theophobes.

The tragic fact lurking is that if they succeed, especially through the courts (no surprise that it now takes 60 senators to confirm a practicing non-theophobe), they will leave all of us with a country without a soul and filled with people never 'endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.' In short, a country not worth fighting for."

Posted 11:32 AM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article Responses:

"If the Democratic Party really wants a sheep in wolf's clothing they should all get behind Sen. John 'I served in Vietnam, threw my medals on the steps of the Capital to protest that war, married into money, and America should pander to the United Nations' Kerry. If Sen. Kerry becomes president and it is necessary for him to send our troops into battle, he can send them in and then just walk outside the White House and protest the war himself. Then he could walk back inside, order the troops home, and ask the United Nations to send in peace keepers to just stand around and watch all the ensuing crimes against humanity. If Kerry needs France's vote in the Security Council, he can have our troops surrender instead of just pulling them out of the fight."

Posted 12:41 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today:

"President Bush spoke at a New Hampshire National Guard base today, part of what the media are inevitably disparaging as a 'public relations campaign' to call attention to progress in Iraq:
Who can possibly think that the world would be better off with Saddam Hussein still in power? Surely not the dissidents who would be in his prisons or end up in mass graves. Surely not the men and women who would fill Saddam's torture chambers, or the women in his rape rooms. Surely not the victims he murdered with poison gas. Surely not anyone who cares about human rights and democracy and stability in the Middle East. There is only one decent and humane reaction to the fall of Saddam Hussein: Good riddance."

Posted 12:21 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article:

"It's now up to Governor Schwarzenegger to do something about the 'progressive' train wreck he's inherited. That won't be easy with hostile Democratic majorities in the legislature. But Arnold brings considerable assets to the fight, not least of which is his star power. The state legislature in Sacramento has been operating under a rock for 20 years with almost no news coverage. Mr. Schwarzenegger can turn over that rock, shine a light and threaten to take issues to the voters if the legislature resists."

Posted 2:51 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today:

"The Moral Authority of the United Nations

"The UN has told the Canadian government to ban all forms of corporal punishment of youngsters--including even a light slap,' reports the CanWest News Service. The Committee on Rights of the Child said Canada, as a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, is obliged to make spanking illegal. So if you're a Canadian parent and you want to discipline your children without running afoul of the U.N., you may soon have to hire a Palestinian to blow him up."

Posted 4:37 PM by a
WorldNetDaily: Hillary's name filed for president

Then what to make of ID # P00003392, an electronic filing to be found at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) database?

"Clinton, Hillary Rodham – Office Sought: President; Election year 2004; State: Presidential Candidate; District 03; Party: DEM (Democratic Party)."

A call to Sen. Clinton's Washington office elicited a surprised reaction from a spokesman who said: "I don't know anything about it."

Posted 12:20 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article Responses:

"Excellent article on the abject failures of liberalism. What continues to astound me is the socialist liberalism promulgated at the vast majority of our universities, supported, of course, by our liberal media. It seems that both the media and the university professors are self delusional since all they need do is look at California to see the failed policies of liberalism; flight of businesses and population. Then, too, if one looks across the pond at socialist Europe and looks at the unemployment figures for the past decade, ones sees an average unemployment rate of 10%! Liberalism definitely hurts the little guy more than wealthy people. Why don't the Republicans harp on this?"

Posted 12:09 PM by a
OpinionJournal - The Western Front:

"The difference in the California race is that challenges normally reserved for primaries are playing themselves out in a high-profile general election. Messrs. Bustamante and McClintock are showing off the strength of their supporters not only within their parties, but among the electorate at large. Far from 'wasting a vote,' anyone who pulls the lever for two candidates projected not to win today will be sending a clear signal on how he wants the state to be governed. And that's a signal that will be heard loud and clear by all Golden State politicians--including the governor."

Posted 5:57 PM by a
washingtonpost.com: Surprise Front-Runner In La. Governor's Race:

"He spent a year in Washington as executive director of a federal commission charged with saving the nation's Medicare system, then two more years in Louisiana as president of the University of Louisiana System, overseeing eight four-year universities, 80,000 students and 4,000 faculty members. In 2001 he joined the Bush administration as assistant secretary for planning and evaluation for the Department of Health and Human Services -- against the advice of his mentor Foster, who publicly urged him to stay home and run for office."

Posted 12:20 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Thinking Things Over:

"America's citizens had the patience to support resistance to Soviet expansion for a half-century, until the threat vanished in 1989. We now face the threat of terrorism allied with Arab radicalism. In Iraq, we've set back terror and won the opportunity to nurture a modern Arab state. The American people will support this; George Bush's task is to brush aside the carping and rally them."

Posted 1:06 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Extra Responses:

"Why Bush Will Win
Stefania Lapenna - Cagliari, Italy

"There is an anti-Bush campaign around the world, specially in Europe. It's not only the Democratic Party that wants Mr. Bush to be beaten, but the major part of Europe. The media make us believe that Mr. Bush has already lost the re-election campaign. In reality, they ignore some important facts: The Americans could focus more on the economy than on Iraq. And the economy seems to be doing better, according to yesterday's news. Also, they ignore that the Democratic candidates are not as popular as many believe. Even Mr. Clark, despite some say that he has good chances to beat Bush, he lacks of much knowledge on many issues. The word 'general' will not make him win. Americans will be looking at important issues such as the economy and the war on terror. The first seems to improve and so in the next months. The latter can be handled only by a strong leadership, which is Mr. Bush's. The American people knows this very well. The liberals want a Vietnam-style end in Iraq. For this they will be judged by the voters."

Posted 12:49 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Extra Responses:

"Sorry, Marquess
Michael Page - Phoenix

I hope you're right, but the Dems and their allies in the media have proved that lying pays--especially if there's no rebuttal or if there's evasion rather than a full-blown counterattack.

Logical explanation is futile with a populace that has been 'dumbed down' by years of an educational system that scorns the basics, negates logic and promulgates 'politically correct' speech, leasing to absolute thought control that makes the Inquisition and its predecessors seem like an 'opening act.

George W. Bush has fallen in my opinion because of his reverence for the U.N., where we give our taxpayer money to a flock of sworn enemies, and invite them to partner up with us in Iraq, where all opposed us because of their selfish financial interests.

Someone once said something to the effect that 'the best defense is a good offense.' If the left is going to play dirty, we are under no obligation to play by the Marquess of Queensbury rules."

Posted 12:05 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article Responses:

"Yes, it is time to quit playing patty-cake games with terrorist organizations and those countries that foster and provide support for them. At the same time let us acknowledge our own stupid diplomatic blunders of the State Department 'ass kissing,' and 'money wagging,' tactics. When you play with fire, you can get easily get burned or get consumed by the flames. Evil does exist; to play with it is to court disaster, and to ignore it only opens the back door so it can enter into one's reality to do as evil does. The road to peace is not by ass kissing or buying off terrorists countries or leaders. The road to peace is made possible by an instillation of virtuous character and the will to do good. Hatred, prejudices and biases all foster the roots of evil actions through one's 'ego.' Master the ego and then the personality can shine the light of peace and good will toward all life--this is the true road on which 'peace,' can be achieved."

Posted 11:49 AM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article Responses:

"Those who berate Messrs. Bush and Blair for implementing the pre-emptive regime change in Iraq are also saying they wish that Saddam Hussein would still be in total power in Iraq continuing all of his activities, which included both attempts to develop better WMD and the continuation of sponsoring terrorism overseas and practicing terrorism within his own borders. If people were not for the complete overthrow of the Saddam requiem, then by simple deduction, they were 'for' allowing Hussein to continue his operations. There were, and are still, no other options. Ask the people of Iraq for the truth. Don't ask the Democrats in America."

Posted 7:47 PM by a
Eject! Eject! Eject!

SIMPLY THE BEST FROM BILL WHITTLE.

"As we began to fight back against the worldwide terror network, their corrupted ideology, and the states that harbor them, I and many of my fellow countrymen were shocked to discover all of the sympathy and affection generated by our status as victims suddenly evaporated the moment we decided to utilize our power to try to put an end to this threat. We were counseled by our moral superiors that terrorism was a fact of life in this new millennium – best just to ignore it as much as possible, and not make things worse by poking it with a stick. And as for all those new skyscrapers and super-jumbo airliners and all those other dreams…forget it. Too much of a target. Who would ever want to inhabit the building replacing the fallen towers? The terrorists will just blow it up again. Better to build a park or something less provocative."

Posted 7:10 PM by a
To The Editor:

"Retired TV anchorman Walter Cronkite, once known as "Uncle Walter," is sounding a little like Helen Thomas, American journalism's crazy old aunt in the attic. In his newspaper column, he writes:

In his two and a half years in office, Attorney General John Ashcroft has earned himself a remarkable distinction as the Torquemada of American law... He was largely responsible for its methods, including torture and the burning of heretics--Muslims in particular.

Now, of course, I am not accusing the attorney general of pulling out anyone's fingernails or burning people at the stake (at least I don't know of any such cases)..."

The Opinion Journal concluded, "Wow, this is loopy stuff. Either Cronkite is lost without a script, or he's lost his mind. And that's the way it is."

In the Philadelphia Enquirer, Cronkite wrote this: "Since I won't like the look of that vast field of towers; and I won't like their interference with glorious sailing in the Sound; and I will worry about the wildlife, including porpoises and whales and several birds of endangered species on their annual migrations; I'm opposed to the project."

The project consisted of placing wind-turbines in Nantucket Sound.
Walter reversed course when his position became national news.

Cronkite's hit pieces on the Bush administration are purely hogwash, worthy only of a second class political hack. What justifies their publication in the center of the opinion page, displacing Letters To The Editor, other than being in sync with the In Our View column?

Carthel Williams
136 Clubhouse Lane
Santa Maria, Ca. 93454

Posted 12:25 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Thinking Things Over:

"Now comes George Bush asserting that American power will be used pre-emptively to avert terrorist attacks on America, to establish American values as universal values. This so profoundly challenges the activists' self-image that they can only lash out in anger. Not many of them actively hope the U.S. fails in Iraq, of course, but they are in a constant state of denial that it might succeed.

What's more, this challenge is brought to them by a born-again MBA from Midland, Texas. This is a further challenge to their image of the best people, secular Ivy-league intellectuals. And to twist the knife, President Bush actually comes from an aristocratic family and went to prep school, Yale and Harvard. He has rejected these values for those of Texas."

Posted 12:18 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today:

"George W. Bush is a liar. . . . Lying has been one of the essential tools of his presidency. To call the forty-third President of the United States a prevaricator is not an exercise of opinion, not an inflammatory talk-radio device. Rather, it is backed up by an all-too-extensive record of self-serving falsifications. While politicians are often derided as liars, this charge should be particularly stinging for Bush. During the campaign of 2000, he pitched himself as a candidate who could 'restore' honor and integrity to an Oval Office stained by the misdeeds and falsehoods of his predecessor. To brand Bush a liar is to negate what he and his supporters declared was his most basic and most important qualification for the job.

This is calm only by contrast with Chait. And the idea that Bush is a liar must seem counterintuitive to ordinary, nonpartisan Americans. After all, he is a pol who generally does what he says he's going to do: He said he'd cut taxes, and he did; he said he'd liberate Afghanistan and Iraq, and they're liberated. On the really important matters, Bush has to be reckoned one of today's more honest politicians."

Posted 11:45 AM by a
OpinionJournal - Extra:

"I belong to that camp of Americans known as 'Clinton-haters.' At The Wall Street Journal, I wrote Clinton-unfriendly editorials. On the day of his impeachment, I radiated joy. Once, over dinner at New York's Metropolitan Club, Jean Kennedy Smith told me I was mentally ill. Others have told me that Clinton-hatred is a sexual thing, mixing frustration, envy and dysfunction.

Maybe this is true, although the Lewinsky business never bothered me; there's something endearing about Bill's taste for zaftig women. But perjury is no less a crime than burglary, and there's no question Mr. Clinton perjured himself in his deposition to Paula Jones's lawyers. If you think Nixon deserved to go down, then so too did Mr. Clinton."

Posted 11:08 AM by a
Memory drain at dis-United Nations - The Washington Times: Commentary:

"The United Nations, which has repeatedly failed to usher in peace on Earth, good will to men, has a chance to help the United States guarantee a better life for millions of Iraqis. By doing so, it would greatly improve its standing in this country and much of the rest of the world. I'm betting it won't. It is difficult to stand up when one lacks a skeletal structure."

Posted 7:25 PM by a
USS Clueless:

"In 1991 after the Gulf war, when Saddam had been weakened, the Bush administration gave speeches supporting revolution against Saddam, and many Iraqis responded by rising in revolt. Then they discovered that we weren't willing to back that up with actions, and without our help they didn't have a chance. It's not unreasonable for them to wonder if we're really determined this time to see the whole thing through. Even now, with Saddam deposed and in hiding somewhere, will the mercurial Americans suddenly lose interest and pull out, leaving a power vacuum which Saddam will once again fill by reestablishing Baathist rule? Were I an Iraqi, I could not dismiss that possibility.
And those who speak freely today, might discover that their names had been added to a list of 'those to be liquidated' after the Americans cut and run and Saddam returns to power."

Posted 12:32 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article Responses:

"I am also appalled at the level of criticism from the Democrat presidential hopefuls. What has happened to this country when our military is putting their lives on line and doing a tremendous job only to hear such trash against their commander-in-chief. The people in Iraq are so much better off and their country is being put together by people who care. We have spent years giving money to many countries for many reasons. Why is this different now? It's different because some would make it a political move. "

Posted 12:27 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article Responses: "Giving Political Advantage to the Left
Denis Armstrong - West Des Moines, Iowa

"The American mainstream media makes a valiant effort at portraying the American political and economic system as failed. Iraq will present a deliciously easy target for them in this respect.

As with most news issues, it's time to stop paying attention to mainstream press on Iraq given their nostalgic craving for another Vietnam. They could care less about Iraq and their only interest is to exploit the situation to the political advantage of the left."

Posted 1:05 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Extra:

"More U.S. or coalition troops mean more U.S. and coalition targets, injuries and deaths; and those we do not need. The coalition can't fight someone they can't see and they'll never deter those who are willing to, or more so want to, die. What we need is the ability to identify, locate and capture or kill the enemy that's trying to prevent freedom from growing in Iraq--and no one can do that better than the Iraqis themselves. The creation of a new Iraqi intelligence service is more critical right now than ever and expediting that, and the recruiting, training and deployment of Iraq's new police and military, is essential. All of this is being done, and at speeds that make our federal and state bureaucracies look like they're standing still. And yet the political criticism is deafening."

Posted 8:20 PM by a
Cal Thomas:

"Bush said 'The success of a free Iraq will be watched and noticed throughout the region.' So will the failure to solidify Iraq's freedom. The terrorists and thug regimes in the region, some of whom are members in good standing at the United Nations, tremble at the idea that their privileged positions might be endangered by their people determining their own futures. Political and religious dictators see Iraq as either their Waterloo or our Vietnam. The world has the resources to make Iraq and much of the region a success. The question is whether it has the will. The dictators and terrorists are betting it doesn't. "

Posted 6:32 PM by a
Victor Davis Hanson on War on National Review Online

"The United Nations is running from trouble in Iraq as fast as possible, proving the wisdom (yet again) of President Bush's decision to use force without U.N. "authorization." The problem for the president, and for the efforts of the coalition of the willing generally, is the iron triangle that now exists determined to defeat our efforts to stabilize and democratize Iraq: the Democrats, their allies in the mainstream press, and of course the guerrilla terrorists who launch the hit-and-run attacks against our troops."

Posted 1:18 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article Responses:

"History will be the final judge and Mr. Bush with the support of a free Iraq and Afghanistan and a more stable Middle East will be kindly judged. Apologies are not and should not be given by our President, he must continue to work on his vision of a more peaceful world, for us and all to see that America has a true leader."

Posted 12:43 PM by a
Arnold The Terminator has a good speach writer. In today's opinion Journal Arnold presented a clear and concise description of the problems faced by California. But that's not the only thing the article disclosed. That is, Arnold hasn't a clue as how to go about fixing the sorry state of affairs we now find ourselves in.

If Arnold should become Governor Terminator, there is one thing that you can take to the bank. Taxes will soar.

That's what I think. How bout you? Comments are welcome.

Posted 11:49 AM by a
OpinionJournal - Outside the Box Responses: "Those Evil Conservatives
Robert Lovretich - Niceville, Fla.

"Why is it such a surprise that Democrats oppose vouchers and school choice? Liberals acquire and maintain political power by keeping a majority of voters uneducated, poor, and dependent.

Their largest campaign donor, the National Education Association, has dumbed down public education turning out a steady stream of low skill, no skill graduates qualified for poverty level minimum wage jobs. This large underclass depends on government handouts to subsist, so they vote for the party that maintains and expands these subsidies. With their basic needs satisfied, they have little incentive to work harder and smarter improving skills to get more challenging and rewarding jobs."

Posted 11:38 AM by a
OpinionJournal - The Western Front:

"Like these two presidents, Gen. Clark was propelled into the race by party elders (Bill and Hillary Clinton) and is trying to be everything to everyone. In an attempt to soften him in the eyes of angry Democrats, he has flip-flopped on Iraq. And his warrior credentials, as well as news that he thinks he remembers voting for both Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan before becoming a Democrat, are a clear attempt to soften him in the eyes of the broader electorate.

But unlike in the 1840s and '50s, at least one political party is willing to face up to the pressing national problem of our times, terrorism. What Gen. Clark is left with is an impossible argument: that he somehow found a better way to defeat al Qaeda in the skies over Kosovo, than Mr. Bush has in defeating first the Taliban and then Saddam Hussein."

Posted 12:38 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today:

"In short: the same people who chide America for its short-attention span think we should have stopped military operations after the Taliban was routed. (And they quite probably opposed that, for the usual reasons.) The people who think it's all about oil like to snark that we should go after Saudi Arabia. The people who complain that the current administration is unable to act with nuance and diplomacy cannot admit that we have completely different approaches for Iraq, for Iran, for North Korea. The same people who insist we need the UN deride the Administration when it gives the UN a chance to do something other than throw rotten fruit."

Posted 12:02 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Political Diary Responses: "Is Clark His Own Man?
Alice Felt - Walla Walla, Wash.

"How intriguing. Wesley Clark as a sort of surrogate Clinton, either gaining the White House with Bill and Hillary pulling the strings or possibly as Hillary's running mate. While Mr. Clark provides something the Clinton's desperately need which is credibility in regards to the military, the Clintons provide the campaign staff. Nice setup. But, if the campaign apparatus essentially belongs to the Clintons, does Wesley Clark also? I can just see Bill and Hillary working hard to refine their ventriloquist skills."

Posted 7:20 PM by a
Walter Williams: America's academic tyrants:

"Both as taxpayers and donors, Americans have been exceedingly generous to our universities. The academic elite has contempt for American values and the wealth that make that generosity possible. I think university administrators might get the message if we'd put a halt to our generosity. Maybe a good donation strategy is to search a university's website or catalog. See whether it has multiculturalism, diversity or equity offices and programs. If it has, it's probably practicing some form of racism. The next step is simple: Close your pocketbook."

Posted 6:05 PM by a
WorldNetDaily: How nations perish:

"What amnesty is ultimately about is whether America is still a country, whether we Americans are any longer a unique people. Or is America nothing more than the biggest 24-hour-a-day mall in the Global Economy, where anybody walks in and nobody cares?"

Posted 6:00 PM by a
WorldNetDaily: How nations perish

"After amnesty, anyone who wants to live here would be stupid not to sneak in. If breaking into the United States is rewarded with permanent residency and citizenship – and access to all the social welfare benefits of the richest nation on earth – the 5 billion people now living in the Third World will say to one another: "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Illegals who become citizens can bring in wives and children. Amnesty will thus mean that legal – as well as illegal – immigration will soar. As new immigrants are mostly poor, the tax costs of Medicaid, welfare, schools, food stamps, earned income tax credits will soar. If you think California and the U.S. government have big deficits today, you ain't seen nothing yet."

Posted 12:45 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Extra:

"We do not have to be a president, soldier, attorney general, prosecutor or intelligence agent to wage this battle and win this war. Every one of us, in little ways, in thoughts and words and spirit, can pull an oar, however small or seemingly slight. Each of us can make a difference. But it will take all of us, in our own individual lives, to lead or somehow, in some way, support the achievement of this goal. If we do not, we will pay a tragic price in our neighborhoods, our schools, and our homes. None of us, no matter where we live, no matter how carefully we live our lives, is immune from terrorism. We will either root it out and extinguish it wherever it may hide, or it will find us and strip us of our safety, happiness and everything we cherish."

Posted 12:42 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Extra:

"Remembering and honoring the victims of September 11 is therefore not remotely sufficient. We must engrave their faces and tragically shortened histories on our hearts and in our souls. We must commit ourselves to the only goal that is worthy of their memories: to eradicate the disease that killed them, wherever it is and however long is takes. Their suffering and deaths must fuel our dedication to stamp out this cancer, and, in doing so, save those we love, and those who come after us, from future September elevens and the pain, loneliness and helplessness we experienced on that day two years ago and have lived with every day since then."

Posted 12:04 PM by a
Newsday.com - Clark Set to Enter 2004 Presidential Race: "By RON FOURNIER
AP Political Writer

September 11, 2003, 2:05 PM EDT


WASHINGTON -- "Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark has told friends he is likely to become the 10th Democratic presidential candidate, a move that could shake up the crowded field just four months before the first ballots are cast."

Posted 12:48 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article:

"The danger now is not that the U.S. will be drawn into some quagmire, a la Vietnam, but that we will show a desire to leave too soon, as in Somalia. Terrorists thrive on such weakness, indeed it is the basis for their current strategy. They think that if they can impose enough casualties, or create enough havoc, the voices of retreat will begin to say once again, 'Come home, America.' Judging by Sunday night, those voices will first have to defeat Mr. Bush in 2004."

Posted 12:13 PM by a
OpinionJournal - The Western Front Responses:

"President Bush has been honest from the beginning; he never said this war was going to be easy, short or promised that no Americans lives will be lost.

Democrats know in their hearts what's at stake here for our country; but they won't mind an American retreat here, for they will exchange the honor, blood and tears of the nation for the elixir of power: A return to the White House."

Posted 11:25 AM by a
OpinionJournal - Thinking Things Over:

"The Bush Doctrine and the fall of Saddam have created a new world environment. It surfaces problems previously ignored, as we once ignored the threat of terrorism. But once the problems surface we have an opportunity to resolve them. While there's no guarantee we will always succeed, we've also learned that the United States has great power, not only military but moral. And over these last two years since September 11, the naysayers have been consistently wrong."

Posted 12:21 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Extra:

"This cost shift helped to send the cost of health-insurance premiums skyrocketing, causing more businesses and individuals to drop their coverage and go into the state program, thus stimulating a new round of cost shifting and higher premiums. Even so, the legislative joint fiscal office has projected a Medicaid deficit of $95 million by 2008. This mandating of popular benefits without raising taxes to pay for them is a prominent characteristic of Dr. Dean's fiscal record."

Posted 2:24 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article Responses: "Where's the GOP's Manhood?
Salvatore Reale - Seminole, Fla.

"I read your article and concur completely. You state the fault lies with us, which my be true, but actually it lies with the gutless Republican members of the Senate, led by Bill Frist. The Republican party has for the most part lost its manhood to the likes of drunkards, liars, globalists and the demagogues that make up the lunatic left branch of the Democratic Party. They are more than content to get leftists jurists who rewrite the Constitution in order to forward their socialist agenda, and America's religious middle class sits idly by, allowing it to occur.

I'm happy your article was printed, giving me an opportunity to tell you Justice Thomas was maligned by the Democrats unfairly, but the great man that he is, has stood up to them these may years and has won. President Bush should nominate him as chief justice once William Rehnquist retires. Justice Thomas is what America needs more of. "

Posted 1:54 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Political Diary Responses: "Veging Out
Gerald Arcuri - Thousand Oaks, Calif.

"I'll say it again: Arnold Schwarzenegger is not a serious Republican, and he does not constitute a serious candidate for the governorship of the state of California. (Which he refers to by mispronouncing the state's name like some sort of vegetable.)Arnold is a celebrity, and if there's one thing that California has an excess of, it's celebrity. Republicans--and not just California Republicans--must unite behind Tom McClintock in order to offer the citizens of this great, but rapidly declining state, a real hope for a prosperous future."

Posted 12:18 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Wonder Land Responses:

"People can say anything that they like about the policies of our current commander in chief, but one thing they cannot deny is the fact that there has not been one single terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11. That tells me that the guy in charge is doing his job, and I am not interested in hearing a bunch of out-of-touch lefties tell me how they would do the job better. I also do not give a damn about what France, Germany or any other country thinks; our national security is paramount to any other consideration, and it should not be sacrificed to the altar of bilateralism. Given the current global terrorist threat, why on earth would the voters hire a commander in chief who is more concerned about how other countries perceive us, than doing whatever is necessary to protect us? "

Posted 8:27 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article Responses

Winning It All
Mark Noonan - Las Vegas

"Am I the only person who sees the plan unfolding with hardly a hitch?

When I read the papers, its like I'm reading about some other war happening in an alternate universe.

From what I can gather we've whacked the Baathists pretty good, got the foreign terrorists to no longer be quite so interested in directly attacking Americans, started an Iraqi government, built up a lot of infrastructure, got an Iraqi police force up and running, are building up a paramilitary police force to go after the Baathist/terrorist remnants, put the fear of Almighty God into the Syrians and Iranians and now we're reaching the end-game wherein we get a fig-leaf for India, et al to come in and help sweep up after the serious business is done."

Posted 4:31 PM by a
Ann Coulter: No quagmire here!

"Rent control was introduced as a temporary wartime measure during World War II. Sixty years later, the Germans have been subdued – but government bureaucrats in New York are still setting rents, leading to the surplus of affordable housing for which the city is duly famous. The anointed live in lush five-bedroom apartments in marquee buildings for $350 a month while newcomers are forced to bid up the few units in what's left of the housing market, paying thousands of dollars per month to live in rat-infested tenements."

Posted 4:09 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Political Diary Responses:

"The unpleasant truth is that Mr. Bustamante and many Hispanic leaders support bilingual education in order to keep their fellow Hispanics from becoming fully a part of the political, economic and social mainstream in the state. If Hispanics can understand only Spanish, they are dependent on a small number of media as their information sources. By carefully controlling what information is fed them, such media grow increasingly powerful. In turn, office holders such as Mr. Bustamante have a useful tool with which to spoon-feed Hispanics political propaganda. Well-educated, English-speaking Hispanics are a threat to those for whom they are nothing more than a voting bloc on which they depend to maintain their mediocre careers."

Posted 2:07 PM by a
Victor Davis Hanson on Iraq on National Review Online:

"our real problem? We must shed our complacency that has habitually arisen after the absence of another 9/11 attack in the United States, and the rapid victories in Afghanistan and Iraq, and press on. Either the Middle East will be a breeding ground for terrorists and rogue regimes that threaten sober nations and peoples the world over, from Manhattan to Jerusalem, or it will desist and join the rest of the world. It really is as simple as that."

Posted 1:58 PM by a
Victor Davis Hanson on War on National Review Online

"The U.N. has simply ceased to be the liberal, Western-inspired utopian body that arose from the ashes of World War II with the promise that reasonable, civilized nations could adjudicate differences rather than killing each other over perceived grievances. Instead, it is a mobocracy, where majority votes reflect a passive-aggressive stance toward the United States — guiltily desiring our money and support, while still eager for a televised forum in high-profile New York to pose and showcase its cheap, easy defiance of America."

Posted 11:39 AM by a
OpinionJournal:

"Whether there are temporary visas or not, foreign nationals will continue to enter and remain in this country illegally so long as they can expect minimal and sporadic punishment for either illegal entry or residence. If they receive temporary visas, they will overstay them. In the future they can rely on people such as Sen. McCain to advocate amnesties for those who have violated their visa requirements, or for all those who have entered illegally. And the continuing toleration of unfettered immigration from Mexico provides the Mexican government with few serious reasons to significantly reform its own economic and political culture; so long as the corrupt and the elite of Mexico can fob off their people on America, the longer Mexico will remain the undeveloped, unattractive economic backwater that it is."

Posted 3:11 PM by a
Justice Moore, Part 2

"Therefore, while I may be personally certain that some actions the courts declare unconstitutional (such as Judge Moore’s display) should be constitutional according to an honest reading of the Constitution, by definition they are not, because the Constitution, under our system, means what the Court says it means. This is not just semantics. It’s the way the system works. Judges are people – many of whom unfortunately don’t even believe in interpreting the Constitution according to its original intent. Or, they sometimes make mistakes. But under our system, the highest court’s rulings are the law whether they are mistaken or not. (Similarly, jury verdicts are binding whether or not they are correct)."

Posted 2:25 PM by a
Welcome to anncoulter.com!:

"The Clinton approach was working great, if you don't count the first bombing of the World Trade Center, the bombing of our Air Force housing complex in Saudi Arabia, the bombing of our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the bombing of the USS Cole and, finally, the greatest terrorist attack in the history of the world right here on U.S. soil on Sept. 11, 2001.

We have seen how well the Democrats' surrender approach works for 50 years. We saw it again last week. The United Nations stood shoulder to shoulder with American liberals, France, Germany and Saddam Hussein in opposing war with Iraq. And then last week in Iraq, the little darlings bombed the U.N. embassy in Baghdad. But that's Bush's fault, too. Perhaps Bush is also responsible for J-Lo and Ben Affleck's bomb of a movie. The only people whom liberals absolutely refuse to hold accountable for anything are their friends, the Islamofascists."

Posted 11:40 AM by a
The need for patience - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED

"Those who say we should turn over responsibilities to an international set (who are already mentally committed to appeasing the terrorist culture) are impatient not for success, but for a nightmare world of biologically- and nuclear- armed jihadists. The United Nations, France and the rest will never support going after the terrorists in Syria, Iran or Saudi Arabia — although one way or the other, it will take that to be successful. If others want to help, good. But we must keep our fate in our own hands. That will take an untypical American patience. We had best start teaching it to our children — because success will take that long."

Posted 11:19 AM by a
OpinionJournal - Wonder Land: "BY DANIEL HENNINGER
Friday, August 29, 2003 12:01 a.m. EDT


"The most significant voting bloc in California's famous recall election isn't Hispanics or angry male Democrats but the people who were so eager to weigh in that they've already voted--with their feet. According to a report out this month from the U.S. Census Bureau, an astounding 2,204,500 Californians threw in the towel from 1995 to 2000 and highballed it out of the 'Golden State.' The state's net migration figure for the period is minus-755,536, and would be worse if Latin American immigrants didn't still drop in for a look. This is the first time the net migration number for California has ever gone negative."

Posted 6:33 PM by a
Q&A with Victor Davis Hanson on Mexifornia on National Review Online

"Yet no one really knows due to the large number of illegal aliens who reside here. Immigration from Mexico was once as measured and legal as it is now uncontrolled and unlawful. And instead of meeting the challenge of turning illegal immigrants into Americans, our teachers, politicians, and government officials for some time have taken the easier route of allowing a separatist culture, from bilingualism and historical revisionism in the schools, to non-enforcement of legal statutes and a general self-imposed censorship about honest discussion of the problem."

Posted 5:36 PM by a
New York Post Online Edition: postopinion:

"Is there a salvation for our democracy? Yes. It will come through the Internet. Just as word of the Dean campaign spread virally through the 'Net without the aid of huge expenditures and anti-globalism demonstrators mass together without publicity from any establishment news organs, the free communication of the Internet will create an alternative to top-down manipulation by opinion leaders. The flow of information on the Internet is opening the door to grass-roots activism. The lack of money for postage, phone calls or ads need not deter average people from mobilizing. "

Posted 5:07 PM by a
Q&A with Victor Davis Hanson on Mexifornia on National Review Online:

"Hanson: Seek the truth, and shed the old fears of being called a 'protectionist' by the free-market Right and a 'racist' by the manipulative Left. Hand-in-glove, the two have conspired to create an alternative society of illegal aliens who are used by both groups, remain in the shadows of the law, and are fed the half-truths and excuses of 'at least it is better than in Mexico' by the former, and 'the borders crossed you, not you the borders' by the latter."

Posted 5:03 PM by a
Q&A with Victor Davis Hanson on Mexifornia on National Review Online

"The result is that we are seeing in the area the emergence of truly apartheid communities — like nearby Orange Cove, Parlier, Mendota, and Calwa — that resemble Mexican rather than American societies, and that are plagued by dismal schools, scant capital, many of the same social problems as Mexico, and a general neglect by the larger culture, including prosperous and successful second- and third-generation Mexican Americans who would never live there."

Posted 11:56 AM by a
Welcome to anncoulter.com!


"It turns out that Schwarzenegger's after-school programs would be paid for out of the state's general fund – unless the fund dried up. The Parasite Lobby opposed the after-school programs on the grounds that it would reduce flexibility in government spending and divert money away from other needed programs – such as even bigger pensions for the parasites. Schwarzenegger's initiative basically required that some taxpayer money be spent on taxpayers. It's not as good as a tax cut, but at least Schwarzenegger is not Gray Davis."

Posted 11:51 AM by a
Welcome to anncoulter.com!

"Thanks to Davis' fiscal wizardry, California is fast becoming a Third World country. Taxpayers are leaving the state in droves, sick of paying for government workers' Riviera retirement plans. In California, the fabulously rich support the poor with government jobs, paid for by the middle class – which is now living in Arizona."

Posted 8:01 PM by a
HUMAN EVENTS ONLINE :: Bring Back Proposition 187 by Staff

"California’s special October 7 election on whether to recall Democratic Gov. Gray Davis ought to resurrect an issue that fainthearted Republicans have too long avoided: Should taxpayers be forced to fund education, non-emergency health care and welfare benefits for foreign nationals living illegally in the United States?"

Posted 7:15 PM by a
The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler:

"I hate collectivism in all of its hideous incarnations, hate it with a rage burning white hot. It is not 'just another ideology' to be listened to, debated, given due consideration etc.
It is a lethal virus and it must be eradicated because it, and it alone, has the power to destroy everything that we are and ever will be.

Yes, I'm serious as a heart attack here:
IT...MUST...BE...DESTROYED!
If it isn't, it'll destroy us, destroy us by making us commit suicide."

Posted 11:43 AM by a
OpinionJournal - Political Diary Responses:

"Arnold Schwarzenegger had my backing fully, recognizing him as a fiscal conservative while a more social liberal. However, when his economic guru Warren Buffett came out against Prop. 13, I had a very sinking feeling, very sinking! I expected Arnold to rebuke the statement vehemently, but, so far, a weak rebuttal from his troops and nothing from his own mouth. If Arnold doesn't fire Mr. Buffett my support will probably fade away."

Posted 11:32 AM by a
OpinionJournal - John Fund's Political Diary:

"Mr. Laffer also explained to Mr. Schwarzenegger why he thought California is in such a mess: the state's boom-and-bust tax structure offers only short-term surpluses during economic booms and plenty of red ink during busts; onerous regulations and very high marginal tax rates drive businesses and citizens out of the state (including Mr. Laffer's son); and the sheer number of different state taxes make compliance difficult and offer an unfriendly climate for new businesses.

California needs bold reforms, starting with a flat tax similar to what even liberal Massachusetts has, as well as a tax amnesty program to bring in short-term revenue, Mr. Laffer had said. "

Posted 5:50 PM by a
[Think About It]

"But he needs to find the old Bush. Don’t apologize for 16 words in the State of Union address. Don’t sit idly by as the Democrats pick you apart. Take the offensive. Early. Pre-emptively. The American people will pick the right side, if they hear both sides."

Posted 5:23 PM by a
The perils of 'multiculturalism':

"There's an interesting debate occurring in the US, accelerated by a Washington Times commentary by Cal Thomas, who posits that 'When Muslims gain political power, the historical and contemporary record is not encouraging for people who hold democratic values and are of the 'Judeo-Christian' persuasion. If politicians succumb to pressure from Muslim activist groups and equate Islam with the religious and political heritage of this country, we will know that an important beachhead has been attained by our enemies. From their behavior in other parts of the world, one can safely predict they will use this beachhead to advance their cause.'"

Posted 11:54 AM by a
OpinionJournal - Thinking Things Over Responses:

"Excellent article! Why can't the Democrat duplicity be given more coverage? Sadly, this is further evidence that George Bush's domestic policies could use a dose of 'conservatism.' On most domestic policies--other than the tax cuts--he is no different from the average Democrat. Why he continues to 'work with' Teddy Kennedy is a mystery, especially after Teddy stated anything by way of new entitlements is just the beginning, and will grow in the future. "

Posted 11:39 AM by a
OpinionJournal - Thinking Things Over:

"For the biggest thing Congressfolk will face back in Washington is the proposal for prescription drug benefits under Medicare, and it's galling that none of them rely on Medicare. Instead they've given themselves, their employees and the bureaucrats an entirely different system, now and in retirement. It's called the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Lo and behold, it looks a lot like the Medicare proposals Sen. Edward Kennedy and other Democratic millionaires say would destroy Medicare."

Posted 7:09 PM by a
Thomas Sowell:

"Environmentalists are against crowding -- at least crowding where they live. Of course, this means that other places where they don't live will be more crowded than otherwise. But, somehow, that doesn't count. Nor do the people who die on a highway that the greenies don't want fixed.

And we mustn't forget the rioters, for whom San Francisco is the place to be. First of all, nobody who is anybody calls them rioters, no matter how much vandalism and violence they commit, including violence against the police. The politically correct word is 'demonstrators' -- and this is the place to be politically correct. "

Posted 7:06 PM by a
Thomas Sowell:

"One reason is that California's politicians are following a strategy which has worked well politically in New York City -- milking the productive people in order to support the unproductive, whose votes count just as much and are easier to get.

This may be killing the goose that lays the golden egg, but that is all right politically, so long as the goose doesn't die before the next election."

Posted 6:58 PM by a
Cruising to California on a heavenly breeze - The Washington Times: Pruden on Politics

"Republican pandering to the Schwarzenegger phenomenon will become more transparent each day. The Terminator would be the target of conservative contempt and partisan bile if he were running as a Democrat — a candidate who proposes homosexual rights far beyond anything the gay blades or the Episcopal Church have dreamed up, expansion of abortion rights and restrictions on the citizen's right to own a gun. Here's the man who proclaimed himself "ashamed" of his party for impeaching Bill Clinton for mocking the law and the courts."

Posted 6:34 PM by a
Richard Lowry on California Recall on National Review Online:

"It would be a mistake, however, to overpersonalize his failings. The populist upheaval in California is the result of a chapter in state government that will be compared to the robber-baron era. It is a tale of how unions and trial lawyers can ruin a state's economy with assistance from a very willing governor."

Posted 6:23 PM by a
Targeting Campus Speech Codes

"In reality, speech codes are merely an excuse to justify censorship of certain disfavored student speech. The Times' Archibald quotes Wendy McElroy, a research fellow for the Independent Institute of Oakland, Calif., as saying, "University campuses are strongholds of left-liberalism where constitutionally protected rights, such as freedom of speech and religion, are routinely violated." Most victims, McElroy points out, are "students who are male, white, conservative, openly Christian or from affluent families."

Posted 6:03 PM by a
Liberals in Denial

"In addition, to liberals, conservatives are not only close-minded, reactionary and regressive. They're hateful. You heard me right. Conservatives are no longer just uncompassionate. They're hateful and intolerant – merely for opposing socialism and defending traditional values."

Posted 5:52 PM by a
Anti-Christian Litmus Test:

"The judicial appointment process has become a disgrace. Democrats have used every trick to thwart the president's appointment power. If President Bush is one-fourth as savvy at communicating this to voters as he has been at raising campaign funds and handling his duties as commander in chief, Republicans just might end up with the veto-proof majority they need to stop this foolishness and begin to restore some sanity to the federal bench."

Posted 5:39 PM by a
The Truth About Daniel Pipes (washingtonpost.com):

"The attack on Pipes for stating this obvious truth is just another symptom of the absurd political correctness surrounding Islamic radicalism. It is the same political correctness that prohibits ethnic profiling on airplanes. We are all supposed to pretend that we have equal suspicions of terrorist intent and thus must give equal scrutiny to a 70-year-old Irish nun, a 50-year-old Jewish seminarian, and a 30-year-old man from Saudi Arabia. Your daughter is on that plane: To whom do you want the security guards to give their attention? "

Posted 5:20 PM by a
WorldNetDaily: Yes, Virginia, there is a religious war

"But it does reveal a painful truth. America is again a house divided. The "don't ask, don't tell" moral community in which we grew up has dissolved irrevocably. Christianity, dying in Europe, is under siege in America. A paganism that holds homosexual unions to be "sacramental" – the Rev. Robinson's term – is ascending."

Posted 4:50 PM by a
Wishing California well - The Washington Times: Editorials/OP-ED:

"Most curious of all Mr. Will's belittling observations was his charge that California's Republican Party is frivolous and opportunistic. That is a cruel and unfair charge coming from a principled conservative such as Mr. Will. The plight of that party is precisely that they are not opportunistic. As the state has moved steadily to the left over the last two decades (due in part to massive illegal immigration), the state Republican Party has stood heroically by its values and convictions. It has seen its numbers in state and local government diminish, precisely because it would not endorse abortion on demand, liberal social welfare programs, radical environmental provisions, nanny state hectoring, higher taxes and bountiful welfare for illegal immigrants."

Posted 12:12 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Extra:

"In a campaign so far lacking in policy proposals, Mr. Schwarzenegger has said that his approach to California's budget crisis will be to stimulate growth by making the state a friendlier place for business. That's just the ticket, but will Mr. Buffett advise him how to achieve that by using taxation to 'distribute the prosperity'? Been there, done that.

California is already taxed to death. And Mr. Buffett's well known opposition to every major tax cut proposed by the Bush administration suggests that Mr. Schwarzenegger will be advised to just keep on taxing."

Posted 8:01 PM by a
Victor Davis Hanson on War on National Review Online

"What is the United Nations? It cannot stop slaughter in Liberia, as it did not in Rwanda or Serbia. It asks the United States to preempt in Liberia to prevent chaos — but not in Iraq, when our security and the world's stability were in far greater danger. The only time many of its members ever approve of the idea of democracy is when voting in the General Assembly; horrific regimes like Libya, Syria, and Iran sometimes chair committees on humane causes. France claims it is a powerful nation worthy of a veto on the Security Council, but it is also a mere one state in a new European Union that as yet has no collective voice at the U.N. A better definition for the current body is something like the following: an international organization where Western liberal states seek to ingratiate themselves with tyrannies, theocracies, and tribes — appeasement winning accolades of justice, while principles earn slanders of racism, colonialism, and imperialism."

Posted 7:57 PM by a
Victor Davis Hanson on War on National Review Online

"What is an ally? Were NATO brothers like France and Germany allies — whose U.N. performances made China's seem friendly? Is Greece an ally — whose mass anti-American demonstrations were larger than those in Cairo or Damascus? Perhap it's Mexico, which opposed our efforts in Iraq and exports 1-2 million of its own people illegally across the border as a means to prevent much-needed radical reform at home. In this context, the current meaning of "ally" too often reads as a state benefiting from American friendship that in turn expresses its thanks by gratuitous expressions of hostility in times of crisis."

Posted 6:06 PM by a
New York Post Online Edition: postopinion:

"The Bolsheviks never preached liberty. Their credo was the nanny state, a 'fair share' for the workers and the promise that decisions would be made 'for the good of all.

We elevate the individual; Europeans worship the group. We dream. Europeans fear. Indeed, the only belief that has been pronounced dead more often than religion is the American dream. Professors write its obituary almost daily. The rest of us live it.

Life isn't fair, of course. But too much enforced 'fairness' robs life of its vitality. We Americans live in the one country where each of us, regardless of race or religion, has the chance to realize our potential. Reaching that potential is up to us. But our laws and our culture don't stand in our way."

Posted 5:35 PM by a
USS Clueless:

"After the US and UK gave up screwing around with the UN, and occupied Iraq, there was much disgruntlement especially in Paris and Berlin and Moscow. They had spent most of a year trying to wrap the US in chains, and had totally failed.

They've been disappointed a lot lately. They didn't manage to prevent us from attacking. There was no blood bath. It didn't turn into a quagmire.

They weren't able to force us after the war to give primary control over Iraqi reconstruction to the UN. (The public face of that disagreement had to do with statements about how 'important' and 'central' the UN role would be.' Answer: not very damned central or important.

Specifically, the UN was not granted any ability whatever to veto the actions of the American-led occupation force.)"

Posted 7:22 PM by a

HEADS UP AMERICA. WE HAVE A PROBLEM. OR MAYBE A THOUSAND. HOW ABOUT TEN THOUSAND? THE UNITED STATES APPEARS TO BE IMPLODING. AND DAY BY DAY, IT BECOMES CLEARER AND CLEARER THAT ALL OF OUR PROBLEMS, OR THE PROBLEMS OF OTHER FRIENDLY NATIONS CAN'T BE SOLVED NOW THAT WE HAVE BECOME NANNY TO THE WORLD.

The idiocy of the notion that the entire world can live large on the dime that comes from United States taxpayers has once again reared its ugly head. Turn on the T.V. and look at the chaos in New York City. This for the one simple reason that responsible political leaders have not ensured a functional backup system in the event of a major power outage. There is only one way to say it; THE UNFIXED OUTAGE IS AN OUTRAGE. NOT ONLY IN NEW YORK, BUT EVERY OTHER STATE IN THE NATION.

Loudly and clearly, the people of the United States of America should rise up and demand that governments, local, state and federal get cracking and provide and pay for a first class civilization for the American People. Charity for the rest of the world should wait until that job is done.

And maybe politicians could suspend the pocket lining exercise until the work is done.

Posted 5:44 PM by a

If anyone on the planet is stupid enough to believe that Arnold Swarzenegger believes in a single republican principle or has a conservative bone in his body, he or she should be required to move to Disneyland and spend the rest of their life there. Let's face it. Darrell Issa came up with an idea that was hijacked by some people with unpure motives. That idea then made a u-turn and came back to bite him where it hurts. Based on what? How about the teary-eyed announcement of his withdrawl from the recall election. Appeared to me he didn't voluntarily lay his neck on that chopping block. Blackmail? Welcome to high stakes politics Darrell.

You can bet your bottom dollar that the political backroom power brokers gathered like a pack of starving hyenas pouncing on a dead carcass, and wrote a script about how the election would be conducted, who the winners and losers would be, and how it could in the long run be made to work to the advantage of a long settled game plan, which is to promote the cause of socialism in the United States and also the world. United Nations, International Criminal Court anyone?

Ahnuld, after twenty years of hanging with the Kennedy clan, is the perfect foil. Big name recognition, big ego, mucho financial clout, and many friends in high places. But what he failed to bring was a program and new ideas about how to improve the state of Kalifornia or the lives of its people. What he did say was, "We have to have all the programs for the people." "Programs for the people." "Power to the people." Where have we heard that rhyme before?

On the left; first try try to defeat the recall. Failing that, ensure that no substantial democrat other than the hispanic, Cruz Bustamante, would appear on the ballot. Note the abrupt withdrawl of John Garamendi, California's Insurance Commissioner. That almost surely required some heavy duty pressure to get him out of the way.

At this point, even though the recall is bound to succeed, the socialist one worlders are the drivers seat. It's obviously a contest between Bustamante and Ahnuld. And no matter which man emerges as the victor, the real winner will be the looney-leftists. And the United States propels right along toward the beautiful utopian paradise. One more mission accomplished by our faithful leaders..

Had there been any desire on the part of the republicans to win this election, they would have offered up Bill Simon as their sole candidate, and supported him to the max. He would have won in a breeze based simply on how narrowly he lost in the last general election. From then until now, Gray Davis has become a wounded turkey looking for a place to die. But Mr. Simon was offered up as a human sacrifice to the system. George Bush, where were you when you could have helped?

Peter Uberoff and Tom McClintock splitting the vote on the right with Issa out of the way, seals the deal for the one worlders. Either Bustamante or Ahnuld will mean victory for the cause and there can be no other outcome.

More illegal immigrants, more people on welfare, more food stamps, more taxpayer supported medical care, more schools and the teachers to run them, more subsidized housing, more crime and all of the social problems that will be created by more low income ghettos and barrios.

This rush to socialism is starting to get scary. I still wonder, why the death wish on the part of so many people? For a clue, they should have studied the impending implosion of France and Germany.

Posted 12:38 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Political Diary Responses:

"Why is it still permissible for the Democratic Party to promote racial profiling by classifying candidates such as Mr. Bustamante as 'Hispanic' or 'Latino'?

Mr. Bustamante is an American. Whether Mr. Bustamante's family is from Spain or Latin America or Mexico or any other Spanish speaking country is not relevant.

Mr. Bustamante's problem is that a vote for him is a vote for Gray Davis. Mr. Bustamante simply should not have entered the race. The question is now whether he has the courage to step aside and support his partner--Gov. Davis. "

Posted 12:36 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Political Diary Responses:

"I would rather see Gray Davis remain. This would be a better scenario for the Republican Party at election time. It seems that all states that are Democratically controlled are states that are in debt and depend on 'Republican' states to bail them out, mostly the Midwestern states. Democrats stay in power by buying votes with taxpayers money and by creating victim classes of people, that they can offer entitlements to in an effort to make them 'equal' to the so called 'rich' people. "

Posted 12:27 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Political Diary Responses:

"Editor's Comment:

The lieutenant governor in California would become governor if Gray Davis stepped down. But the recall election would proceed and whoever won that election would then become governor. The reason, other than standard governing responsibilities, California has a lieutenant governor is to replace the governor in the event of death or should the governor step down while not facing a recall."

Posted 6:23 PM by a
USS Clueless:

"And so with the International Criminal Court (ICC). In the end, even the Clinton team correctly understood the underlying thrust of the ICC. Claiming the right to pass judgment on military interventions by prosecuting malfeasants ex post facto, the Court might deter and thus constrain America's forays abroad. All the Liliputians would gain a kind of droit de regard over American actions.

Europe and others cherished this expansion of multilateral oversight precisely for the reason why the United States opposed it. Great powers loathe international institutions they cannot dominate; lesser nations like them the way the Lilliputians liked their ropes on Gulliver. The name of the game was balancing-on-the-sly, and both sides knew it, though it was conducted in the name international law, not of raw power."

Posted 4:12 PM by a
Victor Davis Hanson on National Review Online

"After a long shootout precipitated by American troops who tried to approach a private residence in Mosul, the sons of Saddam were killed in a deadly firefight. Several of our own troops were wounded. Almost immediately, columnists and congressmen — Mr. Rangel was especially visible in this regard — implied that we had engaged in targeted assassinations. Indeed, we had apparently not even made an attempt to provide due process!"

Posted 7:54 PM by a
Grouchy Old Cripple: "Here is a list of the California members of the House of Representatives who are also members of the Democratic Socialists of America:

Rep Lynn C Woolsey (CA-06)
Rep George Miller (CA-07)
Rep Nancy Pelosi (CA-08)
Rep Fortney 'Pete' Stark (CA-13)
Rep Henry A. Waxman (CA-29)
Rep Xavier Becerra (CA-30)
Rep Julian C. Dixon (CA-32)
Rep Esteban Edward Torres (CA-34)
Rep Maxine Waters (CA-35)
Rep George E. Brown (CA-42)
Rep Bob Filner (CA-50)

That's eleven menbers of the California delegation to the House. I think California has 45 House members. That means 1/4 of the California delegation are avowed socialists. 1/4! 25%! Is it any wonder that California is going down the drain?"

Grouchy old cripple made a bad guess. Kalifornia in fact has 52 idioticians in the house.

Posted 5:32 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article Responses:

"When one fans away the blue smoke of the leftist mainstream media--when one embraces mental clarity and sees the liberal Democrats' pathological hatred of President Bush--when one awakens the senses to finally become aware of the two joined hand in hand in the grand scheme to reacquire, at any cost and by any means, the power that they once held--even the presence of bin Laden and his merry maniacs armed to the teeth on a ship in Boston Harbor would not be an imminent threat to them if a Republican commander in chief gains popularity from repelling them. "

Posted 3:53 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Wonder Land: "In the weeks to come, as you hear a lot about Recall Madness in California, listen or read closely for how often you're also told that state spending went up from $39 billion in 1994 to a truly insane $78 billion in 2001. It's a wonder even Bob Hope isn't trying to run for governor; maybe he is. "

Posted 7:40 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Taste:

"The new gospel subordinates thinking to 'feelings.' As a result, its adherents show little concern that approval of homosexual acts renders the church's doctrine on marriage and sexuality largely incoherent. (The Rev. Kendall Harmon of South Carolina has described same-sex unions as 'relationships in search of a theology.') Inclusion's disciples have little interest in doctrinal consistency. They are content to proclaim vaguely that 'God is doing something new,' and to urge other Christians to have faith, because the Holy Spirit is leading the charge."

Posted 7:22 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Taste:

"To be sure, the new gospel's disciples do not generally jettison Scripture outright. Instead, they radically reinterpret it, using techniques imported from America's postmodern universities. Walter Brueggemann, a theologian quoted in a pro-same-sex-union Episcopal publication, put it like this: Scripture is 'the chief authority when imaginatively construed in a certain interpretive trajectory.' Approached this way, inconvenient passages can be dismissed as inconsistent with 'Jesus' self-giving love.'"

Posted 12:34 PM by a
Dean's World: Comment on Please Retain Gray Davis:

"Rampant leftists regulating everything and squeezing the life-blood out of the State. Hordes of illegal immigrants positively encouraged by State action to come in. Cops put on trial whenever they make the slightest mistake. Public school unions allowed to dictate down to the last iota how public schools shall be run. Insane environmental fanaticism allowed to essentially call a halt to any activity they deem inappropriate. Jobs moving out of the State in droves as businesses find it harder and harder to make a profit. State taxes always getting higher while services always get worse."

Posted 12:30 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Featured Article Responses:

"You are missing the Freddie Mac fiasco which has reached the $4.5 billion mark of fraudulent mortgages. I think you are missing something the rest of the investors are not missing, a ton of 'over priced' mortgage paper that has been dumped on the market. People will have to discount this incredible increase in risk."

Posted 12:03 PM by a
OpinionJournal - Leisure & Arts:

"Nevertheless, in an attempt to appease Messrs. Cochran, Jackson and Mehri, and to avoid any distasteful protests, the NFL has attacked one of its top advertisers and stained Mr. Millen--from all accounts an honorable professional--as a racist.

Ultimately, it seems, the NFL would rather set up black candidates as token interviews for the sake of a failed 'race-conscious' hiring process than allow deserving black candidates, of whom there are plenty, to find work based on merit."