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Kneecapping Barack Obama at every opportunity. | ||
Best Of RWN: I'm going to be out of town on vacation from 11/23/02 until 11/30/02. That means the next RWN update will be on Monday, December 2nd.
In the interim, I have provided some links to other blogs worth checking out in the daily news section. Of course, you can always check out the web pages I've linked and the pages in our referrers section on the left.
Also, for your viewing pleasure, here are some of my favorite RWN articles. Think of this as the "Best of RWN"...
Words From The Practitioners Of A 'Peaceful' Religion: RWN's first encounter with the now infamous Clear Guidance forums...
It's A Hitler Lovefest: The racist freaks at Stormfront just llllllooooooovvvvvveeee Hitler.....
If I Was an Afghan I Too Might Have Attacked Robert Fisk: Fisking the article that inspired "Fisking"...
The Quick And Dirty Leftist's Guide To Arguing Against The War On Terrorism: Summing up the arguments of the anti-war movement in one editorial.
A Message From The Citizens Of The 'Great Satan' To The Rest Of The World: Enough with the anti-Americanism already.
Confessions Of An Isolationist Wannabe: This one got a lot of play around the internet.
The Two Year Old's Tantrum That Never Ends: Gore lost -- get over it.
The Lone Ranger Philosophy: This might not be a good one to show to your European friends who think America is a nation full of cowboys.
I Practice Speciesism: I love animals -- they taste great!
What One Conservative Believes...: Laying down some of what I believe in...
Cats or Dogs. Which are the Better Pets?: This one has gotten a surprising amount of play in the last couple of months.
The BKW Real-Estate Sale: Buy while you still can!
The Necromancer Diary: I still get people asking me to update these stories. I am toying with converting this into a running series of short stories..
Things To Remember When Dating Geeks, Nerds, Dorks, And Various Other Socially Challenged Guys: This was one of the most popular pieces on BKW before it shut it down.
The Top 10 Worst Things You Can Say on a First Date: Another popular feature that spawned two updates...
The Woman's Translation Guide: What Are Men Really Saying?: For the ladies.
The Man's Translation Guide: What Are Women Really Saying?: For the guys.
The Persistent Spammer: ICQ pranking an ICQ spammer.
And I Buried His Body in the Quarry: The first ICQ prank I ever did.
An Interview With Victor Davis Hanson: I loved interviewing Hanson -- great answers.
A Conversation with Darwin (Webmaster of the Darwin Awards): This was a fun interview with an author who had the #1 book in the nation two weeks after our interview.
Proof That Bin Laden Was Framed!: RWN has the exclusive transcript the media doesn't want you to see!
Ask Osama -- Advice for the Faithful: A column from old tall, dark, and ugly back when he was an advice columnist.
The Terrorist Quiz: Are you a terrorist? Take this quiz and find out!
Mad Osama's Super Sale!: Let the Taliban's loss be your gain!
Mad Osama's Afghani Real Estate Directory!: Nobody beats Mad Osama on price, nobody!
The Saddam Hussein Fan Club: Somebody loves you Saddam!
The First 'Axis of Evil' Joint Press Conference Degenerates Into Squabbling: After Saddam is dead, does it become the "Duo of Evil?"
The Puppy-Oil Cannon: This new weapon is only for those with a strong stomach.
Politically Correct Fairy Tales: Neal Boortz actually linked this one.
Constitution Ruled Unconstitutional: Give the left enough time and they'll get around to this eventually.
The Republican's Translation Guide: What Are Democrats Really Saying?: This is essential reading for all members of the GOP.
The Translation Guide For Middle Eastern Dictators: More essential reading for those of interested in examining the conflict in the Middle-East.
Canadian Man Mildly Offended That America Isn't Threatening To Invade Canada: Holy Canadian Bacon Batman!
French Army to Market 'Ultimate Surrender' Video Game: Making fun of the French never gets old.
The BKW Guide to Anti-Americanism: Virtually an anti-American handbook.
The Canadian Menace: Never underestimate the threat from Soviet Canuckistan.
If The World Treated WW2 Like the War On Terrorism: The title says it all.
Why My Grounding Last Summer Is Like The Holocaust And The Occupied Territory Of Palestine: I always liked this article by RWN reader Jon Dickey.
The 2nd Annual 20 Worst People, Places, and Things on the Internet for 2001: Look for the 2002 version of this one next month.
The Best Quotes From The Left Since 9/11: I decided to post this article since Tom Daschle complained about "shrill" comments coming from talk radio. If you want to see what "shrill" comments really look like, look here.
That's it for now. See you on Dec. 2nd!
Razor Blade Campaign Aims to Cut Suicide Bombings: A grassroots campaign has been launched to solve the Palestinian suicide bomber epidemic in Israel, just in time for the holidays.
The effort, called 'Razor Blades for Jenin', is an attempt to collect thousands of ordinary razor blades which will be shipped to the Jenin refugee camp and other Palestinian towns. The blades will be distributed to disenchanted Muslim youth who want to kill themselves.
"In America, we have disenchanted kids as well," said one organizer of the charity, "but here, if a teen feels he's oppressed and has no future, he quietly kills himself in his bathroom. When we heard about these suicide bombers, our hearts were moved. Thanks to 'Razor Blades for Jenin,' from now on when a Muslim kid snuffs out his life on a city bus, he goes alone, and quietly into that dark night."
Organizers will also accept monetary gifts. A mere $22 can provide one razor blade to every depressed young person in an average-sized Palestinian village.
If you liked this satire by Scott Ott, you can see more of his work at Scrappleface.
The Democratic Underground Post Of The Day: I was reading a thread on the DU that started out with a Harry Belafonte style "your skin color determines which way you have to vote" rant and I ran across this post...
Clete: I've got to admit I was flabbergasted today. I took a box of stuff to the Goodwill truck at our Kmart. The guy, who usually mans it is black and gay. He's an affable and pleasant person and I have never discussed politics with him. Today, when I left the box off, he was listening to Rush Limbaugh. Why would a gay, black man who works for the Goodwill listen to Limbaugh? Does he also vote Republican? I don't think I can handle it.
Oh but I can handle it =) Hey Goodwill guy -- nice to have another member of the VRWC out there and keep that radio on from 12-3, it'll drive the lefties crazy...
Gun Control Doesn't Work: RWN reader Harley W. Daugherty sent me a link to a page called Handgun Free America. And yes, as their name suggests, their goal is to ban all handguns in America.
Well let's take a look at places in America where handguns have for all intents and purposes have been banned and see how that worked out. Here are some facts from the National Center for Policy Analysis...
"- New Jersey adopted what sponsors described as "the most stringent gun law" in the nation in 1966; two years later, the murder rate was up 46 percent and the reported robbery rate had nearly doubled.
- In 1968, Hawaii imposed a series of increasingly harsh measures and its murder rate, then a low 2.4 per 100,000 per year, tripled to 7.2 by 1977.
- In 1976, Washington, D.C., enacted one of the most restrictive gun control laws in the nation. Since then, the city's murder rate has risen 134 percent while the national murder rate has dropped 2 percent.
- After Evanston, Ill., a Chicago suburb of 75,000 residents, became the largest town to ban handgun ownership in September 1982, it experienced no decline in violent crime.
- Among the 15 states with the highest homicide rates, 10 have restrictive or very restrictive gun laws.
- 20 percent of U.S. homicides occur in four cities with just 6 percent of the population - New York, Chicago, Detroit and Washington, D.C. - and each has a virtual prohibition on private handguns.
- New York has one of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation - and 20 percent of the armed robberies. Even more troublesome is the fact that the places where gun control laws are toughest tend to be the places where the most crime is committed with illegal weapons
- After Canada passed a gun control law in 1977, the murder rate failed to decline but armed robbery and burglary, crimes frequently deterred by gun ownership, increased.
- Violent crime accelerated in Taiwan and Jamaica after handguns were banned."
Wow, gun control really has a sterling record doesn't it? Maybe Handgun Free America could craft a slogan based on that? Something like, "Gun Control -- making YOU a victim!" or "Ban Handguns -- save the criminals!"
The Real Root Cause Of Terrorism: People don't support terrorism because of poverty, hopelessness, lack of education, or the other supposed "root causes" that anti-war activists love to cite. To the contrary, people support terrorism because they believe it will help them achieve their goals. If you want proof of that, look to the "disputed territories" where Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi has just commented on a suicide bomber blowing up a bus full of school children....
"Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi was quoted today as justifying the bus bombing in Jerusalem because such attacks pressure Israel into making concessions to the Palestinians.
According to Army Radio., Rantisi said in an interview after the early morning bombing that such attacks are what led the newly elected leader of the Labor Party, Amram Mitzna, to seek an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Mitzna promised on Tuesday, during the Labor primary, that if he is elected prime minister in the January 28 elections, he would move Israeli settlers and soldiers out of Gaza as part of a new peace deal with the Palestinians."
Do you know how you stop terrorism? You convince the Palestinians that not only does terrorism not work, it's counterproductive. As long as they're committing terrorist acts, not only do you not negotiate, you crack down harder after every attack. You kill every terrorist you can get your hands on, deport their families, put the entire area under military rule, respond to every physical attack with overwhelming force, and threaten transfer. The only way the Israelis can ever end the attacks against them is to either kill all the Palestinians (which I don't view as morally acceptable), transfer the Palestinians (which would greatly upset most of the world), or convince the Palestinians that anything has got to be better than terrorism. If the Israelis going to pull off the third option, then they need to crank up the intensity level a little bit higher because the Palestinians obviously still believe that they can get what they want via terrorism.
U.S. Intercepts Iraqi Order For One Million White Flags: There are now more signs of Saddam's preparations for war. The New York Times today announced that not only had Iraq ordered 1 million doses of a nerve gas antidote, but high ranking officials of Saddam's army have begun placing large orders for white flags.
"We can only assume the worst" said U.S. General Richard Mortel. "Our military budget cannot once again absorb the cost of housing thousands of surrendering Iraqi soldiers."
In a report released to the press following the Gulf War, the average cost of housing one Iraqi soldier was near $300 a day. Food, clothing, housing, counseling, and tennis lessons can add up fast at a time of war.
The bulk of flag orders have be traced to a small sweatshop in Haiti. U.S. officials are attempting to contact Kathy Lee Gifford to stop the sale.
If you liked this satire by Steve Tanner, you can see more of his work at Broken Newz.
Daschle Tries To Demonize Talk Radio: Since at least 1995, the Democrats have been bitter about the fact that Conservatives have been able to build huge talk-radio audiences while liberal hosts haven't been able to draw flies with a pile of manure on AM radio. This frustrates left-wingers to no end and every so often one of them gets so upset about it that they just snap. Today, it was Tom Daschle's turn...
"I think we're in a different place because of the way politics has become such entertainment. We were just talking with some experts a couple of days ago about how if we're going to try to break through as Democrats, we have to have the same edge that Republicans do," said Daschle in a press availability this morning.
"You know, Rush Limbaugh and all of the Rush Limbaugh wannabes have a very shrill edge, and that's entertainment. We were told that even people who don't agree with them listen because they – because they're entertaining. And, you know, but what happens when Rush Limbaugh attacks those of us in public life is that people aren't satisfied just to listen, they want to act because they get emotionally invested. And so, you know, the threats to those of us in public life go up dramatically and – on our families and on us in a way that's very disconcerting. I don't think it's appropriate for me to dwell on that or to even go beyond that. But I will say that it has created a far different dimension. When I was accused of being an obstructionist, there was a corresponding and very significant increase in the number of issues that my family and I had to deal with. And I worry about that. If entertainment becomes so much a part of politics, and if that entertainment drives an emotional movement in this country among some people who don't know the difference between entertainment and politics and who are then so energized to go out and hurt somebody, that troubles me about where politics in America is going."
Asked if he thought there was a direct link between the talk radio criticism and the threats to his personal security, he answered: "I do. Oh, absolutely."
"You know, we see it in foreign countries, and we think, 'Well, my God, how can this religious fundamentalism become so violent?'" Daschle said. "Well, it's that same shrill rhetoric, it's that same shrill power that motivates. You know, somebody says something, and then it becomes a little more shrill the next time, and then more shrill the next time, and pretty soon it's a foment that becomes physical in addition to just verbal. And that's happening in this country. And I worry about where, over the course of the next decade, this is all going to go."
Asked again if he believed there was a direct tie between the critics and increased physical violence, Daschle responded: "Right. Well, fortunately – and let's just pray, and I mean pray, that it doesn't get to that point. But certainly in terms of threats, I think that there's no question – I don't know what they were in the '60s. All I know is that in the course of my time in public life, it has gone up exponentially."
Is the media causing this problem?
"No, I'm saying that the media plays a role in creating this foment, in creating this – this extraordinary emotional fervor that is sometimes not – not contained and, therefore, then leads to other – other actions that are outside the control of anybody in the media or anybody in politics," explained Daschle.
Who exactly in the media is responsible?
"The talk shows." said Daschle.
Like Rush Limbaugh?
"Right," said Daschle."
I'm just tempted to sigh like the Gorebot after reading all of this stuff. Of course, it's inexcusable that Daschle or any other American politician is getting death threats. But, does he blame the lunatics who are actually making the threats? Noooooooo....he blames people like Rush Limbaugh for calling him an "obstructionist." That's the best example Daschle can come up with for the "shrill" commentary on talk radio that's causing him and his family to receive threats? What a joke. If calling Daschle an "obstructionist" (which was true by the way) was supposed to be too inflammatory for people to handle, what were talk radio hosts supposed to talk about? Daschle's shoe size?
Furthermore, has Daschle ever heard the sort of rhetoric that gets tossed around on the left these days? People claiming that Bush isn't the legitimate President, that the GOP fixed the 2002 elections, that Wellstone was assassinated, that the GOP is full of Nazis, that Ashcroft is going to set up internment camps, etc, etc, etc. Despite all the left-wing hype, Rush Limbaugh is a bush leaguer (no pun intended) in the "shrill" category compared to people like Jesse Jackson, Ted Kennedy, Michael Moore, Cynthia McKinney, Ted Rall, Maureen Dowd, etc.
Whoops, I better be careful about giving out all these examples. I might entertain somebody and they might get "emotionally invested" in politics and the decisions that shape our country. And as Tom Daschle has pointed out, that's supposed to be a bad thing....
***Update***: According to Drudge, here's John McCain has chimed in on this issue, "The Snowy-Haired Senior Senator from Arizona replied that he thinks of Limbaugh as a 'circus clown' and is 'entertaining' in much the same way as a clown... "
I think that might have something to do with Limbaugh's relentless criticism of McCain, McCain's favorite issue (Campaign Finance Reform), and the many McCain song parodies that Rush does.
Ridge -- New Department Is 'Not What You Think': (2002-11-19) -- Tom Ridge, soon to be Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said the new mega-agency is "not what you think."
"I know a lot of folks think that we're going to be spying on Americans," said Mr. Ridge. "I know that because of all the emails and phone calls from average Americans that we've intercepted."
Mr. Ridge said information from phone and internet "chatter" indicates that Americans are concerned that the government will track web surfing, store information about credit card purchases, take pictures of people in public places, tap phones and even pay 'friends' as informants.
"You don't need to be concerned about those things," said Mr. Ridge. "I'm not saying we won't do those things...just that you don't need to be concerned about something that you can't control anyway. Relax. We're from the government, and we're here to help you."
If you liked this satire...ehr I hope...by Scott Ott, check out more of his work at Scrappleface.
Who's Scared Of Naked Nurses?: Is this threat supposed to scare anyone?
"Home-help nurses in Sweden are threatening to go to work in the nude.
The nurses in Orebro are preparing for the naked protest if their bosses fail to help them them pay for new uniforms.
According to the Nya Orebro-Kuriren newspaper, they are demanding a financial contribution to get new working clothes.
They will reportedly make the naked protest if they don't get help."
Oh no, anything but a bunch of nubile nurses coming to work naked! I'm sure their bosses are running out to buy them uniforms right now! Would this work anywhere? Maybe if these women worked at Scores and threatened to stay dressed at work they might be on to something, but otherwise I think they're barking up the wrong tree.
The VRWC Handbook: Kissenger in on vacation this week so I don't have to worry about him sending a predator after me for revealing what the VRWC handbook looks like. While I can't reveal the contents of the book, I can at least give all of you a look at the cover which was designed by RWN reader James Corbett...
The Democratic Underground Is Fascinating: I have come to enjoy watching the liberals at the Democratic Underground in their natural environment. I could literally do 3 or 4 ACPOTIs a week just from the stuff I find at the DU. The paranoia and ultra-leftism over there is so thick that it's almost as if you've entered the Twilight Zone. Let me just give you some of the thread titles in the general forum of this mainstream page for Democrats and you'll see what I mean...
- Wellstone Theory (About the Wellstone "assassination")
- Anyone worried about Byrd??? (Will Robert Byrd be assassinated?)
- The Kosovo war: Who here accepts the "official" reason for it?
- Were World Trade Terrorists Lucky? ("I'd hate to think some Americans let it happen on purpose")
- WHY IS THE VNS WITHHOLDING EXIT POLL DATA? (Many posters speculate GOP stole the election)
- brief history of Nazi/Republican ties
- Bush's target isn't Iraq, it's US!
- These are the FACTS. When will we ever hear the TRUTH? (Speculating that GOP fixed the elections)
- Wonder what it would take ("for the survivors of September 11 to have their "revenge" or for Bush to have his "comeuppance" concerning that.")
- Why is today abnormally paranoid?
- Does anyone here NOT believe elections were rigged?
- Is the American Dream a Ponzi Scheme?
- is there anyone in DU who is willing to laydown their life for freedom? ("When the police state takes hold...WOULD YOU TAKE UP ARMS FOR THE SAKE OF RESTORING FREEDOM?")
- Bush Gestapo can stop/search in NYC, SF, LA, Seattle,...
- quote: Bush is a slimeball, scumbag loser.........
- A Fascist Fairy Tale, Circa 1938
- Finally! A Real Tinfoil Hat!
- Does this scare you? It scares the bejeezus outta me!
- The odds the election were legit are NOT 1 in 363,000.
- What Bodies? does Gulf War I explain Bush control of Powell?
- An article with a a great idea: Utopian Defense Policies
- I'm Truly Becoming Frightened that We Are Not Protected.
How could it be that the Democrats have lost control of the Presidency, the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court, and the majority of governorships? It must be the "Bush family evil empire" at work! It certainly couldn't be that independent voters are turned off by all of this hysterical leftism and paranoia could it?
So What Do The People Of Afghanistan Think About Our Removal Of The Taliban?: The Guardian sent a reporter to Afghanistan to see what the word in the street was about the war. Are the people of Afghanistan happy we liberated them or are they nostalgic for the Taliban? Here's what they had to say...
"So was it worth it after all?...Of course it was, said everyone I asked. They all had their grotesque Taliban tales. "Right there, bodies hanging, rotting, stinking!" said a trader in Chicken Street, the tourist trinket centre. Taliban horror stories poured out of everyone, unstoppable like water from a broken tap: "I was walking with my cousin and her husband outside here," said another man. "The vice and virtue police beat them both with big sticks, beat them to pieces, blood everywhere, because her ankles showed too much under her burka. I stood there, ashamed, but there was nothing I could do. I didn't go out after that." He was a young Pashtun and no friend of this new mainly Tajik government, but he had no doubt that the Americans did the right thing.
An old carpet-maker in a village out west was standing in his backyard beside the loom where his daughter was click-clacking at the warp and woof. Was it worth it, I asked? He pointed up at the sky: "We shouted with joy when the American planes came over this way. They hit a Taliban police barracks down the road. Boom! It was a big ammunition dump, we knew that. But we were amazed at how precise it was. Yes, we cheered!"
Not surprising, perhaps, as this is Hazara territory, the downtrodden, spat-upon tribe that makes up 20% of the population. But what of the bombs that missed, the innocent dead, among them Hazaras too? Hussain Dad spread his arms wide: "How many more do you think the Taliban would have killed in this last year? Thousands! And they would still be killing now. I hardly went out then. If you saw a Talib coming down the street, you hid your face, you looked away. If you looked at them, they said, 'Who are you looking at?' and they beat you for nothing.
...There must be people who think the American-led conquest was wrong, but no one will say so. Even Pashtuns you meet from the Taliban's own tribe - the big losers under the new regime - say the outside world had a duty to rescue them from the Taliban horror. But perhaps some lie. Perhaps you are looking right into the eye of a shaved Talib, one of the multitude who just melted away into the shadows, waiting and watching for their time to come again. Which it might, if the world again loses interest here.
However, the Afghans aren't happy with everyone...
"Seething resentment of the UN and the NGOs bursts out everywhere, with the usual unavoidable ugly spectacle of highly paid western aid experts rubbing up against Karzai cabinet ministers who earn only $35 a month. "They expect Pringles wherever they go," said one Afghan aid worker acidly of the itinerant aid community.
When I spoke to the Afghan minister for public works, he flailed his long arms in the air, expostulating with frustration, claiming that the UN and NGOs spend all the country's donated money, and spend it badly. "Stand outside my window and you'll see 200 white Land Cruisers pass by in an hour, I swear it! Our money, they spend! How can I build my roads?"
Do keep in mind that there is still a lot of work to be done in Afghanistan and as I've said before, we need to put more money, manpower, and influence into helping Afghanistan get back on its feet. Not only is that a strategically wise decision, it's the right thing to do.
The Coming Invasion Can't Be Stopped By The UN: I know there are a lot of people who worry that Bush got snookered at the UN. They're afraid that we're now signed up for an unending round of inspections that the Iraqis will thwart at their leisure while the Kofi Annan, the Europeans, and the inspectors apologize for them.
That's not going to happen.
If Bush is just looking for a causis belli, Iraq's firing at out planes would certainly qualify under the new UN resolution. While the rest of the UN Security Council wouldn't like it if Bush declared that those attacks violated the new UN resolution, they would go along with it if Bush decided to declare war based on those attacks. That's because Bush is holding all the cards. Since Bush has that resolution from Congress and obviously has enough support in the region to attack with or without UN approval, he can hit Iraq whenever he pleases. That means getting UN approval is nothing more than cream for us. But if we go into Iraq without getting approval from the UN, it will destroy their credibility which would be a huge negative for the other nations on the UN Security Council and the nations that believe in the UN. Because of that, France, Russia, China, would go along with us if Bush decided to call them on Iraq's breach of the resolution.
So since Bush isn't going back to the UN Security Council now, that tells me he believes he has an ace in the hole coming up in December. My best guess is that we either believe Saddam is going to claim he has no WMD or he's going to drastically under report what he has. Then, we're going to send the inspectors to sites all over Iraq right after the 12/08/02 deadline where they'll either be obstructed or will prove Saddam is lying. At that point we go back to the UN Security Council, they'll get on board for an attack, and we'll be ready to invade by January with all of our weak kneed allies on board.
Remember, Bush can't afford to wait around to much longer. There is only so much cool weather left in Iraq and waiting until 2004 isn't an option politically for Bush since he spent most of this year talking about how urgent it is for us to hit Iraq. Moreover, we're not moving all those troops and equipment to the Middle-East just for show. So don't pay a lot of attention to the mewlings of Kofi Annan, Hans Blix, and the euro-weenies, everything is still on track as I think we'll see within a couple of weeks of the December 8th deadline passes.
What Is There For The Inspectors To Negotiate With The Iraqis?: According to the Washington Times, euro-weenie arms inspector Hans Blix is having negotiations with the Iraqis...
"International arms inspectors, led by Hans Blix, and Iraqi officials on Tuesday had a second round of talks ahead of the resumption of searches for Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction.
Additional talks were scheduled for later Tuesday, but a scheduled meeting between Blix and Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri was postponed with no reason given.
Blix, after the first round of talks, said tangible progress was achieved despite the difficult and sensitive negotiations."
Excuse me, but what makes these negotiations "difficult and sensitive" and what is there to "negotiate?" It basically boils down to the fact that either Iraq does everything the inspectors ask of them or we invade. If Hans Blix asks to use someone's tie to wipe a stain off of his mouth, they give it to them. If Blix demands that Naji Sabri's wife spend the night in his tent giving him a backrub, the Iraqis give in. If Blix wants to walk out into the Iraqi countryside and demand that people either guess his middle name or he gets their firstborn child a la Rumplestilskin, that's what they have to do. At this point, it's do or die -- or do and die, same difference. Either way, the time for "negotiations" is long since over.
War Is No Time For Idealism: I received an email yesterday titled "Not In My Name" that read in part...
"...People all over the world want peace.
What I'd like to ask you is what is your agenda? I love the USA and all the liberties it provides me. I'd like to see it offered to other nations but I am not of the belief that we can force it upon them.
Surely, we have to address the despotism of someone like Saddam Hussein, but his anger is generated from perceived injustices. How do we empower other nations without the threat of war? Why can't we do it from a loving space and know that communicating about the fact that we all have a loving Divine Spirit, in the voices of all of our prophets, will bring our nations together?" (Cont)
It's Time For The GOP To Go After The Black Vote: I've always thought that we in the GOP have not worked hard enough to pull in the black vote. That rational has always been "why spend all kinds of time and money trying to convince blacks to vote for us when we know that they're going to go 90/10 for the Democrats no matter what we do?"
But, if you take a look at the polling data from the latest election, it becomes obvious that we can capture a larger portion of the black vote. According to Douglas MacKinnon, in the last two years the number of blacks identifying themselves as Democrats has dropped from 74% to 63% and the number of blacks identifying themselves as members of the GOP has risen from 4% to 10%.
Now your first thought after looking at those numbers may be, "Awww, those still aren't great numbers." But, what if we were able to make similar progress for the next two years? In 2004, if the black vote went 52% for Democrats, 16% for the GOP, and 32% Independent we'd be in fantastic shape for the elections. Imagine the political shockwaves we could cause in 2004 if the GOP was able to take say 25% of the black vote.
So how do we raise our numbers? One issue we should definitely pursue is school vouchers. Most polling data I've seen shows that 60% of blacks support school vouchers, yet the Democrats will fight vouchers tooth and nail because they're in bed with the teacher's unions. That's one important issue we can make headway on. We also need to try to go around the traditional "black leadership" to churches and black Conservative groups that are willing to work with us on issues like crime, helping small businesses, and faith based initiatives. Most polling data I've seen seems to suggest that roughly 1/3rd of all blacks are Conservatives. It's crazy for them to be voting for anyone but the GOP and we need to work hard to show them that's the case and make them feel welcome in the party. We have a great opportunity to take part of the Democrat's base that they've long taken for granted, but we have to work towards it much more consistently and persistently than we have in the past to make it happen.
Give Al Gore The Presidency Or He'll Hold His Breath Until He Turns Blue: The Washington Post gave Al Gore a big, sloppy Monica this week-end in their Sunday magazine. I thought some of the article was interesting so I wanted to offer up a few quotes along with some commentary. The article started like this...
"A gavel stroke away from being the world's most powerful human, he becomes someone's suburban neighbor instead. What is that like? Al Gore wasn't telling...until now."
First off, Al Gore wasn't a "gavel stroke away" being President. As I detailed back in July, the media recount after the election concluded Gore would have lost a statewide recount. Here's the opening paragraph from the New York Times, certainly not a paper friendly to Bush, about what would have happened if the recount continued...
"A comprehensive review of the uncounted Florida ballots from last year's presidential election reveals that George W. Bush would have won even if the United States Supreme Court had allowed the statewide manual recount of the votes that the Florida Supreme Court had ordered to go forward"
Of course, there's no guarantee that the Florida State Supreme Court wouldn't have just had the votes counted again in a different way if Gore won. It's not like they were paying attention to the law written before the election anyway right?
Here's the one of two funny passages in the piece...
"He thanks her for her opinion and manages to keep moving to the curb, where he attracts the attention of a big, yellow-haired man in a gold-colored T-shirt who looks at Gore and then looks away, and then looks at him again, with wonder, as if he cannot believe what he is seeing.
"Mr.--Mr. Quayle?" he breathes.
Gore looks at him, quizzical.
"Dan--Dan Quayle?" says the man."
I don't suppose you can blame him for confusing Gore with Quayle. It's hard to remember those #2 guys who are never going to make it to the top spot if you're not into politics. Next the author gets into the election...
"Does he think he lost? "I believe that if everyone in Florida who tried to vote had his or her vote counted properly, that I would have won," he says. "I strongly disagreed with the Supreme Court decision, and the way in which they interpreted and applied the law. But I respect the rule of law, so it is what it is."
Tipper shares his viewpoint. "I believe we won. I still believe we won," she says. Actually, she does say, once, "When we lost," but immediately corrects herself to say, "I mean, we didn't lose. When we had to concede," and then, refining her thought: "When we had to abide by the rule of law." Asked what phrases she uses in casual conversation, she has to think. "I usually say, 'When we won but the Supreme Court decided we couldn't serve.' But that's too long."
We were robbed!! Wah!!!!! Even two years later they're STILL whining. How classy, how "presidential"...
"Some Gore staffers say, looking back, they see now they never had much of a chance; when the networks called it for Bush, the Gore camp was put into a hole too deep to dig out of. "Had the recount gone forward and had we been announced as having taken a lead; had the tally screen shown Gore is now up by 100, 200, 300, then there would have been a change . . . Then it would have been, the Republicans are stealing this from Gore," says Gore's longtime friend and former chief of staff, Roy Neel.
Yes, it is funny how you never really have a shot when you're never ahead in the election. Here's the second hilarious part of the interview, about the "defeat party" after Bush was announced as the winner...
"You were dancing, you'd bump into someone and you would turn around at it would be Al Gore, getting down," says Philippe Reines, a member of Gore's communications staff."
Al Gore getting down? Hahahahahahahah! I bet Gore is the master of that robotic break-dancing they used to do back in the eighties. Gore then gets into what he COULD have done after the election...
"I didn't have to" stay quiet, he continues, almost as if working it through one more time. "I could have handled the whole thing differently, and instead of making a concession speech, launched a four-year rear guard guerrilla campaign to undermine the legitimacy of the Bush presidency, and to mobilize for a rematch. And there was no shortage of advice to do that."
So instead he sat by for a year while his supporters tried to undermine the legitimacy of the Bush Presidency and then he jumped into the fray himself? Give yourself a big pat on the back Al.
The article goes on from there but let's cut to the chase. Not only did Gore lose fair and square -- the FSSC actually changed the rules to try to keep him in the election. So isn't it about time for him and Tipper to stop carping and whining? How petty and small does he have to be to still be crying two years later? He sounds like a kid who couldn't get his mommy to buy a toy he wanted. It'll be interesting to see if even the Democrats get tired of his sniveling by the time the Democratic primaries are over.
Misc. Things: A few things...
-- My host has been having problems with their MySQL database for the last couple of days. That's why comments haven't been working and why I only have one post so far. Hopefully, the database is up for good and won't be crashing again later tonight.
-- I've gotten around 50 hits from Tech Central Station in the last two days but I can't find the link to RWN anywhere on that site. Does anyone know where the traffic is coming from?
-- I need some more buttons and banners for RWN. The banners would be 468x60 and the buttons would 88x31. Send me a decent button or banner that I decide to use and I'll plug your web page and give you a permalink.
-- I'm always looking for more link trades. The only requirement that I have is that I like your web page, the amount of traffic you have is not important. So if you want to trade links, send me an email.
-- Just a little forewarning, once a year I kick back and take an entire week off to relax. This year, that will be next week. That means there will be no updates all of next week. However, I will have links up to other websites you can check out while I'm gone in the daily news section. I'm compiling a general list of pages to link while I'm gone but if you'd like to barter your way on the list, feel free to send me an offer. I'm always looking for people who can do php scripting, who can send me traffic, and who can help me get interviews with big name Conservatives, among other things. I pull in the 2200-2400 unique range per day during the week (a little less on the weekends).
Gore's Theme for 2004 -- 'You People Are Idiots': Scott Ott makes a brilliant point with this piece of satire. Gore just said in Time that "the president's economic agenda is "catastrophic," his foreign policy "horrible," his environmental stance "immoral." Yet, Bush has a 68% approval rating and the American people just handed Bush's party control of the Senate. So either Al Gore is WAY off base or the American public has got to be a bunch of idiots to be voting for someone Gore is making sound like Jimmy Carter redux -- except worse.
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