Iraq Terror Role?

This is the title. Iraq Terror Role

This is the proof. File Not Found.

This evidence is so strong that 70% of the American people believe that Saddam Hussein and Iraq had something to do with September 11th.

Find 10 people, 7 will say Iraq had something to do with the losses we suffered on September 11.

There is no proof, despite two years of investigation.

Some people might claim that one of the September 11th bombers met with an Iraqi officer; but that story has since been debunked by the CIA and FBI. They don't believe that Mr. Atta was able to leave the United States during that period; they can't find any record of a plane ticket and they have a relitively complete record of his credit card use and purchases due to the ongoing investigation.

So remember, as we celebrate September 11th, if it makes you feel good to think of our brave soldiers sticking it to the Iraqis for September 11th go right ahead. We don't mind. And if you want to believe there are magic beans somewhere that will take you to Giantland, that won't bother us either.

Don't Compare Bush to Hitler!

Is that enough of a title for you? It's our new mission statement here at Make me a Commentator!!! All day long you can look for us not to compare President Bush to Hitler. We refuse to do it.

Jonah Goldberg's latest piece over at townhall inspired us in this course of non-Hitler Comparing. In his article today he suggests (correctly) that comparing President Bush to Hitler is a form of holocaust denying. Suggesting that George Bush's horrible mishandling of the economy or his reckless sending of troops into Iraq are the equivalent of Hitler's crimes trivilializes the Holocaust.

Unfortunately Goldberg's larger point about how wrong liberals are to do this falls on to points. First, he can't find much from mainstream liberals (one article in Vanity Fair and an article from the New York Review of Books (which, incidently, seems to be criticizing the trend, although in the harsh language Goldberg would prefer) and has to rely on websites, bulletin boards, and protestors.

Secondly, his use of the most extreme internet sites trivializes the skeletons on Conservatisms closet. Fringe Conservatives have made the wildest accusations against Clinton. But nobody is pretending there is some sort of equivalence between Robert Novak and, say, the author of that famous list of people Clinton is supposed to have rubbed out (for more details, check it out!). And, perhaps, Mr. Goldberg isn't trying to insinuate some equivalence between ihatebush.com and Howard Dean; but if not, his article could have been written a bit more clearly.

Painful Truth

Great article today at Salon by Gary Kamiya. It's clear that things are not that great in Iraq; and there is no greater sign that the Bush Administrations willingness to go to the UN, hat in hand.

Had the U.S. worked with the U.N. to deal with Iraq, as Bush's considerably more world-wise father did in 1991, we would not be facing this problem. The community of nations would have regarded Iraq as its shared responsibility and stepped forward. But by alienating the world -- and squandering the unparalleled goodwill created by 9/11 -- the Bush administration created a powerful disincentive to even those nations that understand the vital necessity of rebuilding Iraq. The unpleasant truth is that for much of the world, helping this shattered nation, even if understood to be a worthy and necessary goal, now equals lending aid and comfort to an American regime that is perceived as blustering, simplistic, addicted to violence, self-righteous, and dangerously out of control.

In a nobler world, France and Turkey and Germany and Russia would forget all those nasty things that Bush officials (and their mouthpieces in the Murdoch media empire) said about them and send tens of thousands of troops to bail us out. But the real world does not work that way. The "axis of weasels" is now enjoying every minute of it while the Bush regime squirms.

Rep. Bill Janklow

I haven't been following this story very well, but Ms. Michelle Malkin wrote very powerfully on it today.

"Politics be damned. Janklow is a repugnant lawbreaker addicted to speed and power. His callous disregard for the rules cost an innocent man his life. The Republican Party should turn its back on Janklow and bear the electoral consequences.

Last year's Trent Lott episode showed that the GOP can hold its leaders to higher standards. Party officials once again have an opportunity to show that personal accountability is more than a catch phrase."

Strong words, indeed. But she's right, Janklow's callous disregard for the law and for the dangers of speeding are a disgrace.

Remember September 11

September 11th is coming up as, I'm sure you have noticed. Week from tomorrow if I'm not mistaken. So how do we celebrate this day? MSNBC Bloggist Glenn Reynolds has some suggestion for the media.

"At any rate, the coverage so far does seem to be in the “tragedy” mold, rather than the “war” mold, based on what I’ve seen. And that suggests to me that a lot of media folks are still in denial. And that means that they’re not doing their job, which is to present the world as it is, rather than how they would like it to be. Would Pearl Harbor have been played as a “tragedy” in December of 1943?"

Good question. We need to get the American people all worked up again so that they can continue the war on terror, because . . . well, so we can stay in Iraq where none of the hijackers were from.

In good news, by the way, President Bush is going to the United Nations so that's good to hear.

stop me if you think that you've heard this one before

We are entering the election season. Labor day officially starts it, apparently (although many candidates have been running furiously for months). So what are Republicans going to say for the next year? A vote for the Democratic Candidate is a vote for terrorism.

Let's make sure we understand. A vote for Kerry, Dean, Clark, Graham, Gephardt or any of the others is a vote for terrorism.

Of course the President isn't going to be saying this himself; he has people that do that for him. As a happy member of the upper class since birth, he's used to having other people doing his dirty work for him. But not to worry, there are dozens of conservatives who are willing to unfairly trash their opponents.

David Limbuagh happily comments on the unenviable position of the Democrats. You see the only issue that matters is the war on Terror, and Democrats, in order to make that issue work for them, have to attack the President. Speaking as if to Terry McCaulliff, he states, "You have concluded that to win the White House you have to discredit and slander President Bush and undermine his performance in the War on Terror."

I'm not sure we need to slander the President to note that we have just passed an unhappy milestone; more American soldiers have died since President Bush declared peace than died during the war. I'm not sure we have to slander the President to note that he apparently has no exit strategy. I'm also not sure we need to slander the President to note that while the economy might be roaring ahead in some sectors, we still have a large unemployment rate.

At any rate, the message is clear. Democrats are in a position where their lack of patriotism and hatred of America had led them to attack a sitting President in a time of (undeclared) war. If they were loyal Americans, they would spend this campaign cycle praising President Bush as a noble leader who deserves our support. Who needs Democracy?

Bill Murchinson makes the same point from another angle. He begins his comments by discussing radio transcripts from the World Trade Center on September 11, 2003, and comments that the war begun that day is still being fought. And that the war in Iraq is part and parcel of that war. He is optimistic about our chances, at least.

"At some point, things will start to break our way, if only because guerrillas, even the fruit-cakiest of them, cannot sustain themselves indefinitely against what Robert E. Lee, at Appomattox, called "overwhelming numbers and resources." Only an explicit decision by the United States to tuck tail and run could deliver Iraq back to the Baathists and similar riffraff. It is somehow comforting to know that even Howard Dean rejects this expedient."

But don't worry, if Mr. Murchinson is unwilling to describe the Liberals as cowards who will abandon the war on Terror, I'm sure there are dozens of others who will take up the task.

Deregulation

There just isn't much in the news today--I'll keep digging. But Paul Krugman does have an excellent article on energy deregulation, and the recent troubles in California. It appears likely that at lease part of the problem was created by energy companies in order to drive prices up. Krugman discuess how tis may apply in the future.

"There is a theoretical case for a deregulated electricity market. But making such a market work, it's now clear, requires at least three preconditions. First, it requires a robust transmission system, yet the recent blackout made it clear that we have now created a system in which nobody has clear responsibility for the transmission network. Second, it needs a watchdog agency with adequate powers to prevent and punish price manipulation; FERC doesn't have those powers. Third, that watchdog must not be an agent of the very companies it's supposed to be policing. Enough said.

I admire the virtues of free markets as much as anyone. But given what we've seen so far, any state government that lets the federal government prod it into deregulation is just plain crazy."

Labor Day

Today is Labor Day, which was created in the United States as a celebration of American Workers, and, in part, to draw a bit of the fire away from May Day. May Day had been created in the U. S. of A., but it had been appropriated by Marxists.

Paul Greenberg, writing at Townhall, accurately describes the difference, "The spirit of Labor Day isn't at all like that of May Day -- a much more European., i.e., class-conscious holiday. One unites people, the other divides them.

E Pluribus Unum is scarcely a European concept. But over here everybody cheers for the rich tycoon and the poor jockey and the old cowboy in "Seabiscuit," and for the same reason everybody celebrates Labor Day: We're all part of the same team in America, or would like to think we are, which is the first step toward becoming one nation indivisible."

Strong words; but hopeful.

New Quote

Yep, I done changed the quote at the top, and updated the Quotes Page. Enjoy.