Is Condi "Jacked In"?

The Impudent Finger points to Condi in The Matrix.

No More Rwandas!

Well, maybe just a little bit more. CaribPundit brings us information about and pictures from Sudan. Specifically covered is an attack on the village of Hamada (107 men, women and children raped, tortured, mutilated and killed) . The UN is very concerned and is considering being more concerned. They have formed committees to consider what would be the appropriate level of concern. They have agreed on the letterhead design for official notices of concern should such notices ever be deemed appropriate. They have agreed that a higher level of concern may be necessary should the Sudanese government ever allow access to investigate the rumors of "genocide". As the UN estimates the death toll at only 70,000, that hardy justifies the level of concern that would be required if the death toll was at the level of 220,00 estimated by other independent sources. That death toll would require very serious concern.

CaribPundit quotes an official janjaweed document as urging the janjaweed militias to "Change the demography of Darfur and make it void of African tribes." Perhaps if we stopped calling it "genocide", and called it "ethnic cleansing", then the UN would be really, really concerned. On the other hand, perhaps a "coalition of the willing" will intervene.

Tim Blair Outs The VRWC

Tim Blair exposes the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (which I'm sure includes the Zionist neocon Bushitler puppetmasters) as the agents behind Rathergate. We have the statements of Democratic Congressman Maurice Hinchey concerning the genius of KKKarl Rove as the mastermind and a transcript of the meeting where the plan was launched. Many of the usual suspects were present. Read "Rove's Brilliant Plan".

Rony Abovitz Interview

Tim Blair published a transcript of a Rony Abovitz interview and includes links to fretful journalists very concerned about the actions of bloggers in the Eason affair.

Music In America

My friend Muzzy of Blogizdat "passed the stick" to me, but I will not be able to run with it at this point in time. My house is undergoing "renovation" and I would have some trouble even finding my CD collection. (My vinyl collection is still in storage at a super-secret location.) My response will be limited to the last two CD's purchased.

This past fall we heard a band perform live at the Bayfield, WI Apple Festival. We enjoyed that band, Brule', so much that we purchased two of their CD's. (Their music style is described as "Contemporary Native American".)

This is a Christmas recording that Paul LaRoche collaborated on. Some interesting takes on traditional Christmas tunes, sometimes only hauntingly familiar with titles recast in Native American (Lakota) cultural terms.
Samples from Brule' website (RealPlayer):The Miracle Of Life
Three Shaman
Serenity's Child
(Read the rest here.)

A Medal Of Honor

The Impudent Finger has an excellent post on Medal of Honor winner (posthumous) Sgt. 1st. Class Paul R. Smith. Follow the links to understand the man and the events that led to this honor.

Mark Steyn Is Back

One of the world's greatest essayists is updating his website again.

Easongate

If you are wondering about all the furor (or lack thereof) concerning Jordan Eason, go to Easongate. You may have missed an analysis of the statements made by Jordan Eason in your local newspaper. That was easy to do because the MSM seemed quite uninterested in this affair. Of greater interest to the MSM was the role of blogs (viewed as a negative influence) in the resignation of Mr. Eason. It is obvious, however, that blogs function as an alternative media, filling a vacuum created by a monolithic news media. If the mainstream media had done its job, Mr. Eason would have been forced to resign, several years ago, after he admitted CNN did not report unfavorable information (can you say "the truth"?) about Saddam Hussein and Iraq in order to maintain access.

One criticism of blogs in this affair is the publication of incorrect information. If you visit any of the blogs mentioned at Easongate, you will find FRONTPAGE corrections, retractions, and apologies. These changes were made the same day the new information became available. When was the last time you saw that in the Minneapolis Star Tribune or your local newspaper?

Does the resignation of Mr. Eason end the inquiry? No, as many questions remain unanswered. For more information, go here.

Observations On Anti-Semitism

A "Canary In The Coalmine" check on Anti-Semitism:

• Mark Steyn: Europe Has Taken Over The Holocaust
• Meryl Yourish: here and here (hat tip to CenterFeud)
  
  

Blogging Tories Found! (Well, Sort Of)

The Blogging Tories website from Canada seemed to have died a mysterious death. Recent attempts to link to it failed and their button disappeared from my blogroll. No information seemed available via Google or Technorati. I checked my original post concerning the Blogging Tories and much to my surprise, one of the links yielded a response. It did not link to the original image, but did link to a blog listing for BT and gave the following explanation for the current situation:

Blogging Tories is experiencing some technical difficulties.

(An excellent example of the proper application of the KISS principle.)

Another Dayton Departure Dilemma

Dayton v. Kennedy has a "Dayton Departure Dilemma". What do you call yourself after the announced departure of Senator Dayton from the 2006 race? The blog name, as it stands currently, is "TBFKADVK" or "The Blog Formerly Know As Dayton v. Kennedy". Still very much worth reading as they continue to add more contributors to their team of fine writers. The latest addition is "First Ringer". Here is a little taste:

Don't count the Star Tribune's resident over-the-top liberal columnist Nick Coleman as among those excited by the prospects of the rumored DFL field. The man who idolized Paul Wellstone's "Green Bus" is willing to trade down to the king of Minnesota's "short bus" politicos---Jesse Ventura:

"Short bus politicos" deserves a prize for its descriptive power.

Meditations From A Mundane Mind, Parts Two - Four

What does one do when one has planned on spending time and energy working to ensure the eventual electoral defeat of "Grandmaster D, Righteous Rapper" and the Good Senator announces his intention to not run again? I have a "Dayton Departure Dilemma". On the one hand, I have already written three more installments of "Meditations From A Mundane Mind" and could continue to write commentary based on Mr. Dayton's homily for the foreseeable future. (That homily is, as they say, a "target rich environment".) On the other hand, publishing those does seem a bit like beating a dead horse.

I have decided to resolve the dilemma by publishing the three remaining "Meditations" elsewhere and not pursuing the topic further. If you wish to read those, go here, here, and here.

Safe, Legal And Rare?

Dawn Eden gives us an excerpt form a letter by Virginia State Senator Ken Cuccinelli regarding keeping abortion Safe, Legal and Rare. She opens with this quote:

In following up on this tragedy [of the woman's death], I learned some startling facts. I did not know that abortion clinics are not regulated, nor are they required to be inspected by the Virginia Department of Health....

His attempt to legislate even the most basic medical standards failed in committee. He sums up this way:

Sadly, even reduced to these minimal provisions, it was too much for most of the members of the committee. We often hear that pro-choice advocates want abortions to be safe, legal and rare. But it is often hard to see this in their actions. I explicitly stated to the committee members that I was prepared to let any senator delete any of the provisions in the bill they felt were onerous. It was equally clear that each and every person there who claimed to be for safe abortions wanted no protections in place....

See Dawn's post for a fuller text of the letter and a link to the original. Ms. Eden's website is a valuable source of information on this and related topics. I would encourage you to make her site a regular read.

(Hat tip to Jinx McHue who directed me to The Dawn Patrol back in the day - not that long ago, but seeming ever so far away - when he wrote about such topics.)

(For an update on Ms. Eden's recent employment problems, see Tim Blair and The Dawn Patrol(here, here, here, here, and here).)

An Open Letter Of Apology

I wish to apologize in the most public forum available to me to the fine people of Canada and, in particular, to The Blogging Tories. Your lives will be made more difficult by the immigration of these people. Our loss is definitely not your gain. As I am, in some small way (one man, one vote), responsible for their desire to live in your fair land, please accept my most humble apology. (The Blogging Tories website seems to be "off-line" at this point in time. To see a BT link list , go here and here.)

(hat tip to Laura Ingraham)

(Update: Blogging Tories Found! (Well, Sort Of)

Meditations From A Mundane Mind, Part One

Senator Mark Dayton, very modern Presbyterian, preaches Hindu gospel to really modern Catholics. He asks the question, “If we’re so right, why are there so few of us left?” (Maybe it's lack of marriage, birth control, and abortion. Just a thought.)

Powerline starts us off with this analysis of a passage, but Powerline let The Honorable Senator off too easily. The website cited above gives his faith as "Presbyterian", which, I assume, means PCUSA. (I was orignally tempted to describe the good Senator as a "lapsed" Presbyterian, but then realized that nothing he says is inconsistent with the beliefs of the heirarchy of PCUSA.) In view of that, let us consider his statement:

"Our country has moved decidedly to the right. Our citizens, many are less involved. Our social system is less compassionate, government is less effective and liberalism is more distrusted....Where is God in the midst of all this injustice? I don't have a clue. I don't know if He, or She, or Whatever doesn't exist, died, is incompetent, doesn't care, is laissez faire, or has a master plan I don't understand."

He, evidently, proposes a multiple choice answer to his earlier question:

"He, or She, or Whatever:

• a) "doesn't exist" - the "scientific rationalist" atheist answer
• b) "died" - the National Council of Churches answer
• c) "is incompetent" - the Jesus Project answer
• d) "doesn't care" - the depressed adolescent answer
• e) "is laissez faire" - the Arminian answer
• f) "or has a master plan I don't understand." - the historic Reformed Presbyterian answer
  

The answer for our senior Senator is . . . . . . . agnosticism. (More courage of conviction in that choice.)

(Hat tip to Dayton v. Kennedy and Powerline)

More Gun Control!

Please support this gun control organization. Watch their educational video. Donate to the cause for much needed material. Fight Fascism.

(Hat tip to our friends at ?No Pasaran!)

J. Garofalo, Mighty Fascist Finder

Janeane Garofalo practices the fine art of the non sequitur by comparing the purple stained fingers of the Republicans as a sign of solidarity with the Iraqi people with the Nazi salute. When asked to show the Democratic sign of solidarity, she demanded an immediate withdrawal from Iraq and a return to Iraq as it existed under the watchful eye of the extremely effective UN. Chrenkoff directs us to the video and transcript, and gives us this commentary:

Garfofalo's own idea of solidarity with the Iraqi people is fighting tooth and nail to keep Saddam in power. Had her efforts succeeded, the January 2005 election would have returned a 99.8% vote of confidence in the Great Leader. Keep on practicing that salute, Janeane; it suits you well, sister.

Re: CIA Competence

Chrenkoff gives us this adroit observation:

This is just too bizarre: "The CIA is publishing a series of classified reports revising its prewar intelligence assessments of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction... A Jan. 18 report, titled 'Iraq: No Large-Scale Chemical Warfare Efforts Since Early 1990s,' concludes that Saddam Hussein abandoned major chemical weapons programs after the first Gulf War in 1991." The CIA is still pretty average about telling us what's going on at the moment or what might happen in the future, but they're getting pretty damned good at predicting the past.

Tsunami-Care: UN Style

The Diplomad updates us on the UN's "response" to the tsunami.

Democracy Venezuelan Style

Iberian Notes gives us this ominous report:

La Vanguardia is reporting that Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's elected dictator, is going to permit Cuban government agents to "investigate, arrest, and interrogate" Cubans in Venezuela. Opposition leader Julio Andrés Borges of the Justice First party said "This agreement means a cession of sovereignty and it violates the Venezuelan extradition law by permitting Cubans to make arrests in our country and transfer them to Cuba, with no limit on the nationality of those investigated. Cuba will be able to investigate, arrest, confiscate property, and transfer to Cuba citizens of any nationality." Cuba has been sending "volunteers", doctors and teachers, to Venezuela, and many of them have deserted. There are also some 30,000 Cuban dissidents and refugees living in Venezuela. Even Venezuelan citizens "whose actions might be considered attacks on Cuban security or sovereignty" or who are wanted by the Castro government could be affected--arrested, deported, and locked up in the Castro gulag.

(Read the conclusion here)

Doh! People Actually Wanted To Vote

A gift from a Tim Blair reader.

An Analysis of Gender As A Cultural Factor In Torture

BlameBush! exposes the dishonorable deeds of Bushitler & Company in Bush Using Sinister New Technique To Torture Gitmo Prisoners. This is a rather obvious strategery to corrupt the morals of the youth of the Middle East. Such petty antics on the part the Shrubster's minions will only get in the way of far more competent organizations such as MTV and Planned Parenthood. Thanks to Liberal Larry for telling the Chimpmeister to "Stand down!"

On Burying The (Aborted) Dead

Fraters Libertas gives us this story on the uproar created by a Catholic church holding a burial service for the cremated remains of aborted children. Question to the pro-choice objecters: On what philosophical, moral or (as noted in the article) legal grounds, would you object to this (by your own standards) meaningless superstition? Objections based on other things would speak to either pathology or triviality.

(May God bless this Church.)