Discredited

Just this week three individuals of the Democratic (Party) persuasion were put on radio and TV as credible commentators on the Global War On Terror. Each had been discredited on this very subject yet the Democratic Party and the main stream media saw fit to bandy them about as if they were the final authorities.

I'm talking about Sandy Buerger - the man who shove classified documents in his under shorts and walked out of the National Archives building unmolested. This is a scandal of grand proportion that has been completely swept under the rug. Why don't we see Chris Mathews Hardballing this one day after day? Where is Andrea Mitchell to feign indignation on NBC? This man destroyed documents that were being sought by a governmental investigative body - namely the 9/11 commission. Well, you see, Sandy is a Democrat and a former Clinton appointee. Ah, yes, this is all one big misunderstanding. Nothing to see here folks, move along.

So there he was spouting off on CNN or ABC or MSNBC - one the alphabet news channels - on what the President should be doing about terrorism. Well Sandy, you guys had your chance, and as Colin Powell is want to say "you kicked the can down the road".

Following the President's weekly Saturday radio address giving us the Democratic response was none other than Joesph Wilson and Larry Johnson. Wilson, a liar and a partisan hack, could not have been more discredited by the 9/11 commission and a few hard nosed reporters and bloggers. But Larry Johnson takes the case. Larry, a former State Department counterterrorism specialist during the Clinton years, certainly has had his share of crow to eat. Besides the fact that the entire Clinton era cast a blind eye on Islamic terror Larry was the author of a most enlightening article published in the New York Times July 10th 2001 called "The Declining Terrorist Threat".

Note the date again: July 10, 2001 - exactly two months before the most savage terrorist attack in history. While Larry's "facts and statistics" may indeed be accurate his every conclusion was patently wrong. He ends his piece with that old military industrial complex conspiracy again - essentially, the military needs a boogey man now that the Evil Empire is gone.

How clueless can these people be? And how can the Democrats expect to ever be taken seriously on the subject of terrorism when they continually trot out people like this? I say, let them... At the same time pray that these fools never occupy a place of power again.


CW

Bush's War

I am pleased to announce that the St. Paul Pioneer Press has published my letter to the editor in todays edition (July 21 '05). I am always pleased to see my words in print. There is just something about the feel of newsprint and the smear of the (environmentally correct) ink. But alas, the Pioneer Press takes its editorial license quite seriously and pared down my original letter substantially. They did not, however, change the sentiment - this has not always been the case. So, for your benefit I'll repost it here since they are another one of these newspapers that makes you register. The actual submission to follow...

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Nothing is bigger than defeating the global jihad

Dear Editor,

I sincerely hope this newspaper intends to print some fact filled letters to balance what you printed on July 10th. ("Mission (not) Accomplished")

There was no rush to war in Iraq. The current conflict was twelve years in the making. Saddam Hussein had violatednumerous UN resolutions and bilked average Iraqis out of billions with the "oil for food" scandal. Saddam Hussein was a terror sponsor and an aggressor who was patiently waiting out the sanctions imposed on him by a toothless institution (the United Nations).

Lest we forget that it was President Bill Clinton who signed the resolution that made it the policy of the United States to work for regime change in Iraq. Saddam also sheltered known terrorists, sponsored Palestinian suicide bombers. Simply put, he was a terrorist.

One letter writer chided President Bush for imploring Americans not to "balk at doing big things". I can think of nothing bigger than defeating the global jihad that has as its goal the total destruction of Western Civilization.

Sincerely, Craig Willms

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Bush's War

Dear Editor,

I sincerely hope this newspaper intends to print some fact filled letters to balance the tripe you printed on July 10th. Perhaps then we can clear up the erroneous notion that the Iraq war has somehow created a wobbly American economy. This economy is as strong and vibrant as it ever was.

Secondly, there was no rush to war in Iraq. The current conflict was twelve years in the making. Saddam, with the help of his enablers in Europe had violated every single UN resolution and bilked average Iraqis out of billions with the "oil for food" scandal. Saddam Hussein was a terror sponsor and an aggressor who was patiently waiting out the sanctions imposed on him by a toothless institution called the UN.

Lest we forget that it was President Bill Clinton who signed the resolution that made it the policy of the United States to work for regime change in Iraq. Everyone believed Saddam possessed WMD's, everyone. Hussein also sheltered known terrorists, sponsored Palestinian suicide bombers, and despite what the revisionist historians would have you believe, had extensive ties will al Qaeda. Simply put, he was a terrorist.

Finally, one letter writer chided President Bush for imploring Americans not to "balk at doing big things". I can think of nothing bigger than defeating the global jihad that has as its goal the total destruction of Western Civilization - including Democrats, liberals, peace protesters and the "hate Bush" crowd. Perhaps you have not forgotten about Sept. 11th but there were countless attacks against the West that predate George W. Bush's time in office. How many more attacks were we to suffer before we took the fight to them?

Sincerely,
Craig Willms

A Welcome Back is In Order!

Looking forward to reading new stuff from one of my favorite blogs. Word is that Mr. Twisted Steel will soon be gracing cyberland with his biting analysis of the ridiculous and the sublime. We missed 'ya!

One side note, a request, if you will. I had a spirited discussion with my 19 year old about the gay marriage debate. Her heart is in the right place as we both conveyed that the gay folks we each know are fine people and deserve to be treated with the dignity that should be accorded any human being (true even for us protohumans). However, she never really looked at the subject from a grander societal view or (heaven forbid) from a biblical view.

The request

Can someone point me to some writings that I know are out there with strong and compelling arguments against changing the institution of marriage... Please use the comment section, anonymous posts welcome as always.

"Why, Oh Why Do They Hate Us?"

Immediately after the cowardly attacks of 9/11, in fact even before the twin towers fell, some Americans, like myself uttered these words - This is war! I remember it distinctly. I was at work, as were many of us, watching it on the web. Then we heard the Pentagon had been hit and I knew what I had said earlier was true.

Yet, before the the rubble had even stopped burning some Americans uttered these words - why do they hate us? They were sure we were culpable for the "tragedy" that befell our nation. Tragedy? Tragedy? It was a cold blooded, calculated ATTACK! Friends, a hurricane is a tragedy. The piloting of airliners into buildings is an attack. Still, there are those who think that we, America, must have done something to warrant these "desperate" people to act in such an extreme way.

They ran through a litany of transgressions America was guilty of. There was, of course, colonialism. But wait - wasn't it Britain and Europe that colonized large tracts of the Arab world. Do you remember the famous French Foreign Legion operating in the Arabian desert? I'm hard pressed to come up with a single American colony in the Middle East. Yes, but, the oil, we are stealing their oil for our gluttonous SUV's. But wait - it seems to me that it was western technology that made it possible to extract the oil from the ground thus turning worthless desert into a literal gold mine. They get paid hansomely for their oil. Ok, it is our steadfast support of Israel! Guilty as charged. Somehow, I find it a bit ludicrous that a tiny nation of six million supresses the one billion muslims arrayed against them.

It isn't what we've done - it's who we are.

We are the United States of America, the most powerful and influential nation in the history of Earth. Though our reign on the summit is but a few decades old we have supassed any civilization that has come before us, including the Ottoman Empire, and that's what's bugging them.

Please read Efraim Karsh's excellent piece called "We are the World" linked here. This puts to rest the tired notion that terrorism's root cause is American actions or those of our allies. As Karsh points out America stands in the way of the ultimate Islamic goal - World Domination.

Osama bin Laden knows that he must take down America if Islam is to take it's rightful place as the only religion in the world. The Islamists will try to isolate us from our traditional allies and with the help of the global leftist movement they just might succeed.

I leave you with an exerpt from a frightening essay written by Larry Abraham in early 2004 that speaks to the genesis of this current jihad...

The Ali Pasha (Field Marshall) is now known as Osama bin Laden, the leader of the "Third Jihad", who is Wahhabi as were his 9/11 attack teams, 18 of which were also Saudi.

The strategy for this "holy war" did not begin with the planning of the destruction of the World Trade Center. It began with the toppling of the Shah of Iran back in the late 1970's. With his plans and programs to "westernize" his country, along with his close ties to the U.S. and subdued acceptance of the State of Israel, the Shah was the soft target.

Remember "America Held Hostage"?

Thanks, in large part to the hypocritical and disastrous policies of the Jimmy Carter State Department, the revolution was set into motion, the Shah was deposed, his armed forces scattered or murdered and stage one was complete. The Third Jihad now had a base of operations and the oil wealth to support its grand design...


So, can we get them to stop saying "it's Bush's fault". George W. Bush did not start this war, but, thank God he has the guts to fight it!

The Subtle Bias of PBS

Yes, I know the headline is cause for snickers and maybe a little bewilderment for the more conservative readers of this blog. I know PBS is institutionally biased against conservative ideals, but that aside they really do put out programming that you just won't find anywhere else. Some of their programs are first rate and fascinate me more than anything on commercial TV - except, of course, for American Chopper...

Let me also admit here and now that my wife and I are sponsors of our local PBS affiliate. However, if PBS were to be defunded entirely by the government I would not weep for them. In this day and age there is certainly enough diversity in media that the old arguments for the establishment of a government broadcast channel won't hold up. This is especially true since PBS demonstrates a clear left-leaning, socialist sensibility - no political balance here. Still, that being said, much of their fine programming trancends ideology and goes to places commercial TV can't or won't. I for one feel that much of the programming is worth paying for (just not with my tax dollars).

Now - My Point

Following the lastest terrorist atrocity in London, England, PBS ran a incredibly revealing Frontline episode about the global musilm jihad. It was at once facinating and depressing. It left one feeling that there is no winning this War on Terror and that the success of the Caliphate is inevitable.

The Caliphate in essence calls for is the replacement of all secular leadership in any country with Muslim majorities. We are talking about Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, Algeria, Iraq, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, Yemen, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Malaysia and, of course, what they like to call the "occupied territory" Israel. Once that has been achieved - then its on to the rest of the world.

What the show revealed is that it's in today's Europe where the jihadists find the money, resources, training and recruits to pursue these goals. Europe is such a basketcase of politically correct thinking that apeasement is treated as a virtue. To be sure, European governments are doing much of the leg work in gathering intelligence and tracking these al Qaeda cells in their midst, but the loopy political class and their loose immigration policies have much to be desired.

Frontline proceeded to broadcast interviews with everyone and anyone with a stake in this "fight" except for one glaringly omitted point of view - the Bush Administration's.

One can argue that the Bush Doctrine and the action the administration has taken is wrong, but how can one simply ignore it altogether. Frontline let everyone from jailed terrorists to highly ranked (European) government officials have their say. The lone American interviewed was an ex-CIA guy who had written books critical of the President. Go figure.

It became clear that despite what the demagogues on the left spew, Iraq is not the breeding ground for terrorists, it is the proving ground. Europe is breeding terrorists. It is not that difficuult to get in a car and drive from France or Germany to the Sunni triangle in Iraq.

Frontline cited one family- an upper middle class family in Morocco - who had lost three brothers to the jihad. None of the three were particularly political or religious until they went to study in Europe. Now one is dead and two are "detained" in Europe for terrorist activity.

In a pattern that repeats itself over and over homesick muslim students gravitate toward local mosques and fall under the spell of charismatic jihadists. They are brainwashed to hate Jews, Americans and even their European hosts until they have been persuaded to become suicide bombers.

It is the western tradition of tolerance of all religious views (except for the Jews) that has allowed these terror breeding mosques to rise up in our midst. America is no exception. It is our own freedoms that the jihadists use against us. It is this reason that we simply must unite and make perfectly clear that we will not tolerate the breeding of hate.

This global problem needs a global solution. President Bush and his team have set out on a course to try to transform the Middle East into democracies and full fledged members of the world community of nations. It is without question that this has met with some success. Did Frontline and PBS even mention the elections in Afghanistan and Iraq? No. Did they show the blue fingered old ladies holding their hands high in defiance of the terrorists. No. Did Frontline even bring up Lebanon and the expelling of the Syrian presence or Lybia's aquiescence in their bid to develop WMD's. Again, no.

The only thing that will stop this jihad and there desire to turn back the clock to the fouteenth century is a strong hand and a united front. The evidence that this is true is clear - What surprised the jihadists following the 9/11 attack was how Americans mobilized around President Bush and a deep sense of patriotism spread across the land. The jihadists were not expecting this reaction based on what had happened in the past. They saw Reagan pull out the troops after the horrific bombing in Lebanon. They saw President Clinton withdraw from Somalia after a soldier was dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. They clearly did not expect the determined resolve of President Bush. Still, it will take more than George W. Bush and Tony Blair to win this war, it will take the entire western world and Asia.

It must start here at home.

Americans somehow need to be convinced that everything they hold dear is at risk. One would have thought that 9/11 would have done it. The global leftist movement, however, is never going to let George W. Bush and the dreaded "neocons" have victory, even if it means the death of America and Europe.

I do not expect PBS or any news media outlet to become propagana machines like al Jazera and state-run media in muslim countries.

(No, FOX News is not propaganda megaphone for the right - they actually give the right a droplet in the media ocean)

I would like government funded PBS to present all sides fairly. I won't hold my breath.

Song of the Earth

Something truly remarkable has happened and yet hardly anyone knows about it. If it were not for the PBS program called NOVA:Volcano's Deadly Warning I would not know about it. I am talking about our (humankind's) ability to predict volcanic eruptions.

Enter one Bernard Chouet (pronounced: Shooway) of the US Geological Survey and his new interpretation of seismic readings - we now have a way of predicting an eruption to within days if not hours. In a dramatic fashion this method was used to warn and evacuate unsuspecting people within hours of devastating eruptions.

Using existing seismic readings but focusing on previously discarded seismic events known as type B events Chouet was able to interpret their meaning and use them as reliable predictors of eruptions. These events, he has since renamed 'long period events' had baffled scientists for years. He explained that what they are is resonance. Like the sound of air resonating in the long hollow tube of a pipe organ. This is the volcano literally singing its song to us. The song of the Earth.

Chouet's theory: the more of these long period events the closer an eruption is.

Using this untried method of prediction Chouet and authorities in Alaska used every ounce of their persuation to get an oil storage facility at the base of Mt Readoubt to shutdown the operation and evacuate. This, of course, was not a suggestion taken lightly as they were millions of dollars at stake in shutting down such a facility. At 4pm that day the last man drove out of the compound and within an hour the volcano erupted. Because the oil storage had been properly sealed none was lost, but more importantly no human casualties occured. Had they not shutdown and evacuated it would have been a tragedy.

In Columbia the volcano Galeras became the site of a challenge of theories; Chouet's long period event method versus Stanley Williams' volcanic gas method. Williams believed that as a volcano was pending an eruption that it would emit more and different gasses than a during a more stable period. The first round was a draw as both men were able correctly predict an eruption.

Months later Williams returned to Galeras - this time with a group a volcanologists. The highlight of the conference was a trip to the lava dome in the center of Galeras. Williams, having done his gas readings the previous day, had declared the mountain safe. However, the seismic readings were "singing" a different tune. Chouet was not in attendance but his lessons were not lost on Columbian scientists who put out a cautionary warning about going to the crater that day. In the end nine people died when Galeras erupted just as Chouet's theory predicted.

In Mexico some years later Chouet warned the authorities that the volcano Popocatépetl was about to erupt. The dilemma for the Mexican authorities was when to ask people to evacuate. If it was too soon and nothing happened then people would surely resist ever leaving again. If it was too late, well, it was too late and people would die.

When the decision was made two thousand soldiers were dispatched to move 30,000 people from their homes. Just as the last of them got out of town the volcano erupted - just as predicted.

It is a remarkable thing Chouet has done, but what I found most intiguing was his descritption of the long period event as the volcano singing a song. Could it be that the Earth is literally alive? Now imagine the thousands of volcanos on the Earth singing in some kind of epochical choir that spans the centuries. For all we know these sounds travel through space and time to communicate with other heavenly bodies. Could the Earth be just a giant bagpipe in a cosmic orchestra? Intriguing, isn't it?

What Chouet has really taught us is that the answers to some of our deepest questions are already there - we just have to learn how to interpret them.

CW