Thespis Journal

Airline Deregulation Act

2008-08-31T10:17:00.001-04:00

Airline Deregulation Act
Originally uploaded by chanticleer148

Jimmy Carter signs the Airline Deregulation Act fo 1978. Seems its a little misguided to blame Ronald Reagan for this Carter Debacle.

Ann Coulter Mega Post

2007-07-11T15:43:00.000-04:00

Slandering Ann Coulter has been almost important to the press this week as covering Paris Hilton’s release from prison. When Big Mama Edwards shoved herself into the debate by collaboratively staging a phone with Chris Matthews, the drive-by media went into emblematic histrionics. The so-called media covered this political fundraising stunt as if it were actual news. Elizabeth Edwards played the media like Itzhak Perlman plays a Stradivarius.

When the media types are so willing to misrepresent a story as inconsequential as the words of Ann Coulter, it is obvious what do they do when mis-reporting the major issues of the day.

Ann hit back hard in her column on Thursday:

The Edwards campaign is apparently still running low on donations, so this week they went back to their top fundraiser: me.

I doubled the ratings of the lowest-rated cable news show on Tuesday by agreeing to go on for a full hour to promote my new paperback version of "Godless" — a mistake I won't make again. As I was walking to the set, minutes before airtime, it was casually mentioned to me that Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, might call in.

For the first time in recorded history, the show's host did not interrupt a guest, but let Elizabeth Edwards ramble on and on, allowing her to browbeat me for being mean to her husband. (This delicate flower is very sensitive to rough words, having hired the Edwards' campaign staffer who wrote this: "What if Mary had taken Plan B after the Lord filled her with his hot, white, sticky Holy Spirit"?)

Say, did any TV host ever surprise Al Franken, Bill Maher or Arianna Huffington with a call by the wife of someone they've made nasty remarks about? How about a call to John Edwards from the wife of a doctor he bankrupted with his junk-science lawsuits?

I think I may have tuned out at some point, so I can only speak to the first 45 minutes of Elizabeth Edwards' harangue, but it mostly consisted of utterly dishonest renditions of things I had said on my "Good Morning America" interview this week and a column I wrote four years ago. (You can't rush Edwards' "rapid response team"!) She claimed I had launched unprovoked attacks on the Edwards' dead son and called for a terrorist attack on her husband.

We can always count on Ann for acerbic, pointed, and accurate commentary on the news of the day. Check out all of these links to find out the deplorable coverage of all the morning news shows.

Check out what Ann really said on Good Morning America.

Read about Kiran Chetry and her guest slandering Ann while totally misrepresenting the situation

NBC is despicable. ABC is an embarrassment. CBS is trying a little too hard

The New Thespis Journal

2007-01-07T13:33:00.000-05:00

Check out some of our recent posts at the NEW Thespis Journal.

Johnny One Note: The New Liberals in Washington

Fat Fools Protest Record High Temperatures

The Party of Broken Promises

Another Distraction for the Broadway Theater Patron

Kool Aid Drinker of the Week: Andrea Mitchell

Gerald R. Ford

2006-12-27T23:10:00.000-05:00

The New York Sun has a definitive editorial on the death of President Ford. The entire editorial is well worth your time.

On the death of Gerald Ford, it is tempting to remark that his presidency was a transient moment of little historic significance save for the pardon of President Nixon and, conceivably, the signing of the Helsinki Final Act. There was the brief, but doomed, fight to sustain a policy of providing military aid to the free Vietnamese forces the Democrats in Congress were determined, after their gains in 1974, to abandon. And there was the drama of the Mayaguez. But there was also his wan economic policies, captured in the slogan Whip Inflation Now. And a general sense that Ford somehow, in the great showdown with the Soviet Union, just didn't quite comprehend the deep tides and allowed himself to get out maneuvered in debate by Jimmy Carter.

Yet, if one takes the long view, Ford emerges in a different light, if not as a large figure, at least as a part, even a tribune, of a great shift in the Republican Party. This was the move away from the isolationism of the years that preceded World War II. The move began when Wendell Willkie challenged the incumbent Roosevelt to take seriously the threat posed to democracy by the European war. After the war, Senator Vandenberg of Michigan acceded on the foreign relations committee and helped swing the Senate behind the Marshall Plan with the famous principle that America's voice had to "unite at the water's edge." Vandenberg, a Republican from Grand Rapids, inspired Ford, fresh from the Navy and before that Yale Law School, in the run for Congress that began his own long rise.

Check out all of our other posts over here.

Demonic War Scene: "Mr. President, Stop This War!"

2006-11-24T10:47:00.000-05:00

From the recent XHS Production of The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail

Try The New Thespis Journal

2006-10-15T17:20:00.000-04:00

We're still in previews, but come and visit The New Thespis Journal.

Liberal Trolls and Stalkers are complaining about and undermining the new site, so we know that we have been very successful.

More people are visiting all the time, and here are some posts that represent our Sunday Best.

Coulter vs. Carter on North Korea

The Charlie Brown Democrats

John Kerry: Idiot of the Week

Very Funny

On A Clear Day, You Can See Forever

Where in the World...

2006-09-27T09:52:00.000-04:00

All of our posts are no longer here. Check out our latest posts over here.

Remembering To Listen

2006-09-26T10:13:00.000-04:00

“Putting yourself on the line means revealing yourself for who you truly are. Taking a stand for what you believe in. Allowing your friends, family and complete strangers the rare opportunity to see amazing possibilities for themselves because of who you are being and what we are all capable of doing. It means being UNSTOPPABLE and FEARLESS! “

Jeffrey Schecter
Currently playing Mike in the Broadway Revival of A Chorus Line
Schoenfeld Theater

It would an amazing opportunity for all of our students to witness the revival of A Chorus Line on Broadway this autumn. Well, the subject matter and mature themes make the material more appropriate for our high school juniors and seniors and university students. The ideals of individual freedom, competitiveness, tolerance, and responsibility are all illuminated in this classic Broadway show from 1975. The creative energies and artistic authenticity found in A Chorus Line provide a compelling story laced with earthy songs that have the flavor and spirit of the middle 1970’s in urban America.

Music and theater provide a limitless forum for teaching many life lessons. Practical lessons, history lessons, lessons in critical thinking, and the lesson of working productively with others to achieve a goal are encompassed in the production of live theater. These essential lessons in education are not contemplated in any part of any piece of legislation or statute.

As one of the world’s greatest settings for collaboration, live theater challenges and educates. The street-wise and salty characters of A Chorus Line bring a cavalcade of emotions as they relate their educational experiences, both good and bad. No character is truly shy and as they reveal the days of their lives, these multi-faceted characters provide useful insights and reminders for teachers in across the spectrum of education. We work with real people.

These rich characters remind us all to listen. Even though our students often lack proper perspective, and while we must provide mentoring and guidance, we must listen to their perceptions of reality in order to address their educational needs. We, as professionals, must guide their thinking and encourage them to use a variety of resources to formulate standards and create values for living.

We never know what our students might remember and present on stage someday. Our influence plays out on the stages of their lives every day. In an age of truncated assessment methods and measurements, the authentic nature of recollections by former students could be a useful tool for all educators striving for professional excellence.

Oh no! Rosie Shows Some Skin...

2006-09-24T16:35:00.000-04:00

This is just a little bit too much information…

BURBANK, Calif. - Rosie O’Donnell gave Julian McMahon an eyeful when they were shooting a sex scene for FX Networks’ “Nip/Tuck.” She tells “Access Hollywood” they had her wear a tube-top that they would shoot around. But O’Donnell says they kept yelling “cut” because a bit of the tube-top could be seen in the shot. So, she fixed that by pulling down the top.

She says McMahon, who plays plastic surgeon Dr. Christian Troy on the show, looked down and told her “nice boobs,” adding, “but he was so nice.” O’Donnell says she would “love to do that show again and again and again.”

O’Donnell’s episode of “Nip/Tuck” airs Oct. 3. She plays a woman who has just won $381 million in a Powerball lottery and goes to the South Beach plastic surgery practice for her whole family.

Wow! For more insanity, check out the Rosie Blog. Maybe Rosie can have brunch at Sara Beth’s West Side with Hugo, Cindy, Danny, and other liberal activists.

Rosie and Joy bash Bush for the Chavez metldown.

The Carter/Chavez Alliance

2006-09-23T13:07:00.000-04:00

Jimmy Carter has major issues. If “60 Minutes,” “Prime Time,” and “Dateline NBC” would all start exposing the details of his absurdity, Jimmy an Rosalyn would be forced into the retirement in Plains that the American intended for him when they voted him out of office. As he rotates from North Korea to Venezuela, from friendships with Hugo Chavez, Cindy Sheehan, Howard Dean, Michael Moore, and Kim Jung IL, Jimmy Carter damages the credibility of the United States every time he opens his mouth. When he side swipes President Bush at the funeral for Coretta Scott King, he shows the lack of class that began to tarnish our national portrait in 1976.

Jimmy Carter is a disgrace. We’ve said so before, and we’ll continue saying so as long as he merits the criticism. If you want to learn more, read Steven Hayward’s book The Real Jimmy Carter. Carter panted after the Nobel Peace Prize for years, seeing it as a means of gaining official redemption for his humiliation at the hands of the voters in 1980. He lobbied quietly behind the scenes for years to get the prize, and finally met with success in 2002 when the left-wing Nobel Prize committee saw an opportunity to use Carter as a way of attacking President Bush and embarrassing the United States. The head of the Nobel Prize committee openly admitted that this was their motivation in selecting Carter. Any other ex-president would have refused to be a part of such an obvious anti-American intrigue, but not Jimmy. Here we should observe that Carter conceives himself much more as a citizen of the world than as a citizen of the United States, and I think it is highly revealing that Carter is most popular overseas in those nations that hate America the most, such as Syria, where they lined the streets cheering for Carter when he visited.

Uncanny Carter poked his head up this week on Larry King Live to accuse President Bush of supporting torture. In other words, he accused the President of breaking the law again. Hell, if Nancy Pelosi gets elected Speaker of the House, she can appoint this admirer of Hugo Chavez to lead her charge against the White House. The team of Carter, Chavez, Pelosi, Murtha, Dean, Reid and Company sound like a really elect-able ticket this Fall.

Jack Kinsella has written a marvelous article demonstrating the methods Carter used in presiding over the election of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Thirty years after being elected President of the United States, Jimmy Carter is still as incompetent today.

During his four years in the White House, Jimmy Carter presided over the worst economic downturn since World War II, allowed a bunch of thugs to seize our embassy and our citizens, and supported Philippine dictator Fernando Marcos, Pakistani General Zia al Huq, Saudi King Faud and many other dictators. But Jimmy Carter was a much better president than he is an ex-president.

In fact, Jimmy Carter holds the hands-down record for being the worst ex-president the United States has ever known. His post-presidential meddling in foreign affairs has cost America dearly, both in terms of international credibility and international prestige.

Read More...

Blogging For America

2006-09-22T09:13:00.000-04:00

The issues loom larger today, and the battle has grown more fierce, but my reasons for starting to blog are still the same: people living the American dream of a life filled with a career, family, and friends are easily duped into convenient and accessible thinking patterns that are promoted and reinforced on a daily basis by a fuming, fanatical, and lopsided mainstream media. The elite media, clustered in the insular urban culture of the eastern seaboard often have no daily balancing perspective from friends and associates who haven’t joined the involuntary fraternity of artificial liberal intellectuals. This casual way of thinking, with its constantly changing code of moral equivalency, and a slippery, sliding scale of values is a comfortable fit for many Americans. The liberals and the media are always there hoping that a lot of voters want to take the easy way out.

The vacancy of ideas prevalent in this liberal theory of existence has become finely tuned in these last six years, as liberals have had to assume no responsibility for anything they say as a minority party. The media rarely holds any of these leftists accountable for any of their contrived mantras. The current cast of characters, forming the Marxist, Leninist wing of the liberal party, is forced to ratchet up their rhetoric every week to maintain the media spotlight that they crave.

Jack Murtha, Nancy Pelosi, Howard Dean, and John Kerry have become outright extremists in their hatred of George Bush, and they have used this premise as their most commonly articulated theme. They espouse the same sentiments as Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and have paved the way for these rogue dictators to ridicule our President and our nation on our soil. If Tim Russert were an honest journalist, he would use this Sunday’s Meet The Press to place statements of Pelosi, Dean, Kerry and Murtha side by side with the text of the Chavez piece and demonstrate the similarities of the tone and the language. If you include Cindy Sheehan, Danny Glover and others who side with Chavez and Ahmadinejad, the November election would be starting to look like a rout for the President and his party. Rest assured, if the shoe were on the other foot, Dick Durbin, Tim Russert and George Stephanapoulos would all be comparing the statements of republicans with these terrorists.

Undoubtedly, the media will be too preoccupied over the weekend with the news that Bush supports torture. This is another manufactured plotline that has no truth and comes directly from the liberal talking points for this election cycle. The liberal media and their colleagues in the House of Representatives are highly rehearsed in the endless repetition of false statements in a desperate effort to give these mantras the aura of truth. The amazing ability of the voters to see the transparent efforts of phony liberals in Washington is always forgotten until the votes are tallied. Let’s hope that this election cycle is no different.

Wake up America! Be certain that you are registered to vote, and go vote with our national security in mind. Bush/Cheney and Company have kept us safe for more than five years. They are leading a battle in Iraq which Osama Bin Laden calls the “first front” in the war with the Islamic fascists. Murtha, Pelosi and the party of cut and run can’t be put in charge of anything; they are so far left that they have almost left America.

Bullwinkle Blog, Stop The ACLU, Stuck on Stupid, The Conservative Cat, Outside the Beltway,
Perish The Thought, Adam's Blog, Hard Astarboard, Michelle Malkin, Betsy's Page,

Ghost Light: Thespis Glow

2006-09-20T21:53:00.000-04:00

Keeping the ghost light on to keep the theater from going dark:

The Carnival of Ohio Politics is posted over at Newshound. Take time to read one or two of the interesting articles.

The Carnival of Education is posted at The Median Sib. There are many wonderful articles and topis.

Jay at Stop the ACLU deals with Hugo Chavez's temper tantrum at the UN today. Chavez, Cindy Sheehan's best friend, is a certifiable kook.

AJ Strata says they are handing out huge fig leaves for McCain, Warner and Graham to cover their collective rear ends as the President wins the battle over interogation techniques.

Hot Air has strong evidence from ABC News that the CIA treatment of prisoners has had great success!

MsUnderestimated takes her best shot at Chavez. "Cindy Sheehan should go build her treehouse in Venezuela and live under Hugo as she said before that she’d prefer that to living under President Bush. Goodbye, good riddance, and take the rest off the peace-at-any-price freaks with you." Surely, Chavez will win idiot of the week.

Seth has a theory about the moonbat left. Read the many comments.

The Keeler Political Report has some information on the Ohio senate race, and other news items.

You'll enjoy this Lamont cartoon. It's so true!

The Confederate Yankee has it right on the so-called torture issue.

If you miss Brit Hume's grapevine, you can watch it here.

I'm a little worried about Ted Strickland. Tell the truth Ted is asking for more answers from Ted Strickland.

Check out this Broadway.com story about blogging the previews and opening of A Chorus Line on Broadway.

Update: Carter Quacks Again

2006-09-19T21:18:00.000-04:00

After dedicating the latest edition of “Ten Stupid Things Said by Liberals” to Jimmy Carter, our contempt for Jimmy Carter should be obvious. Carter continues to be one of the greatest embarrassments in United States history, so his latest idiocy is no surprise.

In a twisted rhetorical flourish, Carter claims that President Bush supports torture for terrorists. Well, about two-thirds of America would agree with President Bush on that one, and it’s too bad that it isn’t true. If the goons of mad-dogs of the middle east got word that the United States of America would not tolerate their horrid, inhumane actions any longer, some of these bad boys would shrink from the sheer acts of cowardice that have plagued the world for more than twenty five years. Too bad Mr. Carter has it wrong again.

Courtesy of News Max: "We've lost the support and trust and confidence and admiration that we've had for generations," Carter said, adding the administration "has stonewalled so they can continue to perpetrate this illegal punishment."
"They have obviously subverted facts, that has been proven, and subversion of the law is now becoming more and more apparent," he said, referring to the administration's repeated appeals of court rulings concerning the treatment and legal rights of prisoners at the Guantanamo prison in Cuba.
Carter, who has called treatment of detainees at Guantanamo an embarrassment and disgrace, said Americans were less safe since Sept. 11 because Bush mishandled the Iraq war and failed to promote peace efforts between Israel and Palestinians.
Those two factors, he said, "combined to stir up additional animosity and threats of violence not only against us but against allies like Great Britain."

Mr. Carter has no evidence of any illegal punishment. He is purposefully engaging in deceptive word games to bash President Bush, and plays to the moonbats that currently control his party. What is torture Mr. Carter? Lack of a private toilet? Loud music? Forcing a prisoner to stand for several hours? All of the various techniques which have prevented attacks on the United States since 9-11?
President Bush has not engaged in any torture. Torture is already illegal. Wouldn’t the liberal Supreme Court have already struck down the torture if it were happening?

Mr. Carter is every bit as clueless as he was in 1979. The senate and the President are debating the interrogation techniques that will be spelled out as legal to comply with the injudicious ruling of the Supreme Court. Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter should retire (again) to Plains, and stay there with their mouths shut! We’re all for free speech, but not speech that endangers our national security, and gives aid and comfort to the horrendous enemy that threatens our way of life. Carter is nothing more than a useful idiot for every enemy and adversary of the United States of America.

Poor Jimmy Carter, he can’t help it. He was born with the peanut of idiocy in his mouth!

Sam Houston, Moonbat Monitor, More on Jimmy Carter, Jimmy Carter Quacks Again.

Jimmy Carter Hall of Shame

Chasing The Caboose

2006-09-19T10:55:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday evening when I arrived at school for a 6-9pm rehearsal, a bewildered looking student was waiting to talk with me. It is routine, if not advantageous, that students seize the time before and after these weeknight rehearsals as an opportunity to talk about the surplus of topics in the mind of a teenager. My role as surrogate parent to many teenagers has its' roots in these talks beginning twenty years ago. For those of you who may not know, we maintain an after school/evening rehearsal schedule that ranges from six hours to over forty hours per week for the select vocal ensemble, dance/choreography, play, or musical rehearsals.

Throughout the last ten years, there has been a push at the school to promote and develop advisory groups as a method of providing a safe and comfortable bonding environment for all of our students. It is believed that students need a strong identity with a "family group" within the school to make them safe, invited, and wanted in the learning environment. I have stated repetitively that our performing arts students are experiencing the most unique and lasting of advisory groups through the length and scope of our program in theater, dance, and singing. The long lasting constructive influence of hours invested in rehearsals and performance has been borne out in the many diverse and flourishing careers of students who experienced the very best of our performing arts programs.

Anyway, the student said that he needed to talk to me about “a lot of things.” The conversation immediately took a turn to the serious as the student announced that he would be transferring to another school beginning the upcoming Monday-in just three days. What was said next shocked me. This well-liked, talented and well adjusted student said that he was experiencing harassment and bullying from a small group of students not involved in performing arts. The student, let’s call him Jim, is also an athlete in addition to being a budding actor/singer/dancer.

Please understand: I am not naïve about bullying in our school, or the many power plays that students pull on each other as they attempt to scrape to the top of the highly insulated world and faux society that dominates the culture at every high school. Students seem to have grown increasingly mean to each other over the last twenty years. I am also regularly startled by the kindness that students demonstrate toward their teachers and fellow students. Both of these behaviors, the mean spirited and vindictive teenager alongside the teenager who truly empathizes with fellow students and faculty members, are displayed on a daily basis, sometimes in the same student.

Jim stated that is harassed for his stature and demeanor on an almost daily basis. After seeking counseling and conferencing with his parents, he had decided to enroll at a parochial school in Dayton. The parochial school has exceedingly limited offerings in the performing arts, and is known for its core basic academic curriculum and for being an oasis from the culturally diverse population that compromises Dayton. This school has a narrow focus, and does an adequate job of educating the privileged students who pass through their doors.

It is a sad day for our school as another student who perceives that he is being harassed leaves our building for another environment. The administration, who practically stopped school for several days to avoid two football players leaving just last year, paid lip service regarding Jim’s departure, but said nothing to the student or his parents. The dual standard of treatment and privileges for athletes and non-athletes has simply been reaffirmed at our school.

Furthermore, there seems to be no plan in place to address the obvious bullying occurring in our school. The basic goal of providing a safe and secure learning environment has not been met. An apathetic attitude by administrators and some teachers creates the artificial ambiance of a productive and healthy school atmosphere. We have failed in our obligation to invite our learners to the show, give them a great seat, and be certain that the show we give them is valuable, participatory by design, and open to all. None of this is to say that the purpose or blueprint of education should be entertainment oriented. The theatrical analogy is simply a convenient method of thinking about keeping our students in the house.

As teachers and administrators, we allow extrinsic events to determine the focus of our professional spotlight. Administrators have the unique role of aiming the spotlight and keeping it shining on school-wide issues that rise to the top.

At our high school, we often have the problem of running to jump on the caboose of the latest “educational fad train” and never finishing the trip. We never bother to decide why we got on the train in the first place or what was good or bad about the train or appraise the quality of the ride. We need to set clear priorities, implement strategies to address the priorities, and utilize pre-designed assessment measurements to determine the merits of the idea or program.

This is the summit of my current thinking and the rationale for my rant today: We need to stop running to catch the caboose, and be proactive in addressing the most over-riding educational concerns in our building. Regardless of the number of committees we may form, or the number of meetings we may hold, we must set priorities, and address these priorities in a professional manner. Several well-respected colleagues have believed for a number of years that many of our students do not feel safe. In this exceedingly pressurized high stakes testing realm that we now know as public education, we must address the primary needs of our students regardless if our legislators or our voters care about the topic or not.

Teacher Blogs...

2006-09-18T15:52:00.000-04:00

There is a fascinating article posted at the USA Today that highlights teachers who blog. The account features bloggers that write anonymously and some that blog publicly. These recreational writers all have something in common; they have the need to sound-off with their thoughts, inspirations, frustrations, wisdom, experiences, expertise and rants against the administration. It’s a great (if all too short) column that should be of great interest to all bloggers who teach. Celebrity Bloggers: The Education Wonks, History is Elementary, JoAnne Jacobs, and A Shrewdness of Apes are all featured in the column.

There is a lot to be said after every long day of interacting with the students, colleagues, and administrators. Get ready for the Carnival of Education this Wednesday and read posts from all around the educational blogosphere.

Hat Tip: Board Buzz
Another article at Board Buzz

Thespis Journal Exclusive Essay: Misunderestimated Again!

2006-09-17T09:53:00.000-04:00

President Bush has used another brilliant master stroke of political genius to put the democrats on the run (they are born to cut and run). The fact that McCain and Company got in the way just adds to the President’s credibility. It’s interesting to note that the most basic of issues in the War on Islamic Fascism continue to mystify the most strident of liberal voices. Since their ideas are superficial and vacant, these liberals have allowed wide openings for a smart leader to repeatedly out maneuver their amateur political grandstanding. Democrats and their friends at Netroots and Moveon.org spent a lot of energy gloating over the misguided decision rendered in June by the Supreme Court awarding broad rights to terrorists who have been captured. The preposterous decision of the court to award rights to illegal enemy combatants provides a unique opportunity for President Bush and his administration.

Now that President Bush has sent his legislation up to the hill, the democrats are left caterwauling. They have used the most common of liberal techniques to diffuse the issue. They are attempting to win public support from people who hate Bush so much that they ignore national security and regularly support the Al Qaeda position. Pathetically, the democrats claim that President Bush is trying to legalize torture. Not that it would stop any liberal desperately hungry for power, but their characterization of interrogation techniques used during and since World War II as torture is blatantly false. The liberals, along with their allies in the media, are trying to “pull a fast one” on the American people, and McCain and Company have placed themselves in the crossfire purposefully.

As media darlings, McCain and Company are caught up in the liberal miasma inside the beltway. They want to appear like giant mavericks of our time, and see themselves as the heirs to Henry Clay, Lyndon Johnson, and other great compromisers of the past. McCain and Company ignore two factors that make our situation unique today: Clay and Johnson served in time when sincerity and diligence characterized the behind the scenes efforts of elected leaders. Secondly, and more significantly, none of these great compromisers served in a time of war.

The Supreme Court said that the President needs a law, so George Bush is forcing the congress to step up to the plate and specify which techniques they will legalize, and which of the techniques constitute torture. Funny thing, now that the ball is clearly in their court, the democrats, joined by McCain and Company want to write a law so vague and imprecise that the legislation is useless in fighting the terrorists. While it is probably terrible for the security of our nation, congress has been forced by the Supreme Court to be accountable for interrogation techniques, and Bush is forcing them to write a detailed bill specifying the legal interrogation strategies.

Rather then write a law drawn in meaningless platitudes that leaves and promotes a ready made platform for all the critics of the administration to continue to exploit interrogation techniques for political gain and rhetorical points, President Bush is demanding a law that leaves no technique to the imagination. President Bush has called their bluff: he is demanding a clear standard.

The senators have even publicly stated that they will not trap the CIA agents or military personnel into legal culpability as long as they can produce a bill that is vague and leaves the senators free from any responsibility. It is sadly comedic that the senators refuse to take a stand when our nation is at war. The democrats used the Supreme Court to bash the President, however when the duty in on McCain and Company they abdicate all responsibility.

President Bush should win. President Bush will win. American military and intelligence personnel will win, and the United States will win. If the President does not win this legislative battle, he will win big in the November elections. It seems that the liberals have misunderestimated George W. Bush again.

Additional Reading: William Kristol:The Trap, The Washington Times, The New York Post, Previously at Thespis Journal.

Also: Dr. Sanity, Hot Air, MsUnderestimated, TMH Bacon Bits, Stuck on Stupid, JunkYard Blog,
Red State, The Absurd Report, More from the Absurd Report, The BullWinkle Blog.

Ten Stupid Things Said by Liberals in Just Four Days

2006-09-16T14:30:00.000-04:00

In honor of a week of liberal insanity, we at Thespis Journal are happy to bring back one of most requested features, Ten Stupid Things Said by Liberals in just four days. Read on, it was quite a week. We should have sub-titled this the Special Jimmy Carter Edition.

1. It was another week of classic Jimmy Carter absurdity. To paraphrase the much beloved liberal icon and late Governor of Texas Ann Richards: “Poor Jimmy. He cain’t help it; He was born with the peanut of idiocy in his mouth.”

The first of his verbal blunders this week slammed both President Bush and British prime Minister Tony Blair. The 81-year-old former President said: “There had once been a very strong voice from London in the shaping of a common policy. I have been really disappointed in the apparent subservience of the British government’s policies related to many of the serious mistakes that have originated in Washington.” Mr. Carter, an opponent of the war in Iraq, continued: “No matter what kind of radical or ill-advised policy was proposed from the White House, it seems to me that almost automatically the Government of Great Britain would adopt the same policy without exerting its influence. This was the case in the Middle East peace process, in the case of the Lebanese/Israeli war in the recent past and certainly in the ill-advised abandonment of the war against terrorism to substitute the war in Iraq.” (Wow, Mr. Carter, you really will say ANYTHING to get your liberal media friends to notice you again.)

2. Mr. Carter used his favorite forum, Larry King Live, as the platform of choice to cloak his treasonous ideas in the perception of objectivity while spewing Bush hatred at every turn. Mr. Carter continues with his idiocy by giving us numbers 2-6 of “ten stupid things” in just this one public appearance. Well, I don't think there's any doubt that the present altercation with terrorists is a very serious problem that every person of respect in the whole world, including the United States, ought to address. But it certainly ought not to be escalated to a struggle for civilization. (Ok, Mr. Carter, tell this to the families of those who lost someone on September 11.)

3. KING: We're back with President Jimmy Carter. Your reaction to Vice President Cheney's assertion that the criticism of Iraq, the Iraq war, emboldens United States enemies and makes allies doubt American resolve.
CARTER: Well, the vice president unfortunately has been consistently very careless with the truth. He still maintains some preposterous comments and attitudes toward the origins of the Iraqi war, the circumstances in Iraq now and he's had a policy in my opinion of deliberately trying to mislead the American people by making untrue statements and there's no reason to give any credence to his ridiculous claims that you've just described. (Right, Mr. Carter. Repeatedly taking the same side with Al Quada and Al Jazeera does nothing to embolden our enemies.)

4. Jimmy Carter: “We've alienated the almost unanimous support that we had around the world for our policy in fighting terrorism as we shifted out of Afghanistan and let Osama bin Laden go free. All of these emphases have been mistaken. And when any Democrat or any citizen who doesn't have any political orientation says that we've made a mistake it seems that the vice president says "Well you are unpatriotic if you disagree with anything we've done." (Mr. Carter takes leave of his senses again: he allowed the Iranian government to walk over America for his entire term in office. Does he really think that the President “let Bin Laden go free?” Does Carter still get a daily intelligence briefing? What credentials does Carter bring to the table to criticize, his own failures in office?” Rush Limbaugh put it this way: I'm going to make some of you mad, but I'll bet you back in 1979 when the American hostages were taken from the US embassy in Iran, what did America do? Forget Jimmy Carter. What did we do? Anybody remember? I'll give you a hint: What became the theme song, essentially, on top 40 radio for the Iranian hostage crisis? "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree!" You don't think the Iranians got a big chuckle out of that? The big, mighty, United States of America tying yellow ribbons around trees and so forth?)

5. In a statement bound to curse Nutty Ned Lamont, Jimmy Carter slams Joe Lieberman. “I'm really sorry that he's running as an Independent and I'm grateful to notice that all the Democrats who are loyal to our party, loyal to our principles are not supporting him and are hoping that he will be defeated. I think Joe Lieberman is a good man. He's been strongly in favor of the Iraqi war from its very beginning. He was one of the originators of the public statements that misled the American people into believing that the Iraqi war was justified.” (Just a clue to the clueless, Jimmy Carter used to try to fool the American people into believing that he was a moderate. We knew better all the time, and recently he has confirmed his leftist credtenials repetitively.)

6. Carter sides with Hezbollah again: “Well I think Israel should have responded by attacking the southern part of Lebanon and by dealing with the Hezbollah threat if they were going to refuse to make any sort of prisoner exchange to alleviate the tension. But for them to decide to bomb the entire nation of Lebanon and to declare that the Hezbollah threat across the border that only involved the taking of two soldiers and the killing of a few others I think greatly and unnecessarily escalated the entire conflict and caused tens of thousands of people to suffer unnecessarily.” (Ok, Jimmy, we knew you were always against Israel, but we didn’t know you would take the same position as the terrorists and be stupid enough to get on Larry King and announce it to the world.)

7. A slight shift in perspective from one liberal to another. John Kerry is hinting broadly at another run for the presidency. He says he is ready to kick some (Swift Boat Veteran) ass. Even many of the goons who supported him before think his statement is too little too late.
John O’Neill of the Swift Vets states the following in the face of Mr. Kerry’s latest bloviating: It is a little difficult to imagine Kerry (“I voted for it before I voted against it”) kicking the most decorated living serviceman, Bud Day, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, or our salty commander, Adm. Roy Hoffman, anywhere. Perhaps Kerry had in mind using a “Rice Fanny Grenade” as he did by mistake on himself shortly before leaving Vietnam. If so, based on the record, he is in far more danger than anyone else. Kerry and his friends certainly seem to show much greater anger and hatred toward us than toward the murderous al Qaeda terrorists.

8. Poor George Stephanopoulos; he didn’t get the media talking points. On Monday night after President Bush’s speech George said, “Charlie, the headline is: "The War is Not Over." The president's tone tonight was not political.” On Tuesday morning, Stephanopoulos said, “The fact that the president focused on Iraq was political by its very nature.” (Thanks George for making an obvious contribution to our list.)

9. Senator Russell Feingold is really clueless. From the Washington Post, September 16, 2006: “Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) is calling on President Bush to refrain from using the phrase "Islamic fascists," saying it offends Muslims and has nothing to do with America's enemies. In a speech to the Arab American Institute in Washington, Feingold said: "We must avoid using misleading and offensive terms that link Islam with those who subvert this great religion or who distort its teachings to justify terrorist activities." (We should be publishing a weekly list so that there is a regular outlet to humiliate Feingold while using his own words.)

10. No list would be complete without mentioning Rosie O’Donnell’s faux pas of the week on The View.” Loudly and proudly, Rosie compared people of the Christian faith to radical Islamic terrorists. How many weeks until Barbara Walters has to dump Rosie?

Previous Edition of Ten Stupid Things

Others on this topic: Little Green Footballs, Noble Eagle, Decision '08, Sam Houston, Jim Rose,
View From Above, Brothers Judd.

Weekend Laugh: "The Path to 9-11"

2006-09-16T12:59:00.000-04:00

McCain, Graham, and Warner Side with the Terrorists

2006-09-16T07:53:00.000-04:00

While Senator John McCain took another turn as darling of the media elite late this week, he and his co-conspirators Senators Warner and Graham better hope that the United States is not attacked any time soon. They appear foolish to all those who have carefully examined the issue five years after the last attack. Yet, if (God Forbid) the nation is attacked by the rogue Islamic terrorists again, the American people will not be screaming for terrorist rights in the same tones as these so-called republican mavericks. McCain, Warner, and Graham have spent their energies and credibility standing with the party of Europe alongside the terrorists and in opposition to President Bush and the best interests of the United States.

Two great pieces today summarize the case against the republican rascals in the senate. The Washington Times editorial board makes a crystal clear case.

Messrs. Warner, McCain and Graham, joined by a panoply of active-duty and retired military lawyers, suggest that the administration's proposed changes to Article 3 give too much authority to the military, and would undermine our international credibility and give other nations a pretext for mistreating American troops.
Leave aside the question of whether the rogue states confronting America today would ever afford decent treatment under any circumstances. Since actual torture is already illegal, it would be helpful if Mr. Warner, et al., could explain what interrogation methods or punishment they object to (loud music? interrogating someone for a prolonged period of time? limiting commissary privileges?) even if it lessens the likelihood of preventing the next attack on Washington or on U.S. servicemen in Kabul or Baghdad.
If this is the legal standard Mr. Warner and Company insist on, they are making a serious mistake. This will compromise our ability to discover and block future terrorist attacks. And we suspect that polling will soon show that the U.S. public by a wide margin will be with the president and his commonsense views.

In the New York Post, Richard Miniter says we a performing “A Deadly Kindness.”

The kinder we are to terrorists, the harsher we are to their potential victims.
One detainee slashed a doctor who was trying to save his life; the doctors wear body armor to treat their patients.
Striking the balance between these two goods (humane treatment, foreknowledge of deadly attacks) is difficult, but the Bush administration seems to lean too far in the direction of the detainees. No expense spared for al Qaeda health care: Some 5,000 dental operations (including teeth cleanings) and 5,000 vaccinations on a total of 550 detainees have been performed since 2002 - all at taxpayer expense. Eyeglasses? 174 pairs handed out. Twenty two detainees have taxpayer-paid prosthetic limbs. And so on.
What if a detainee confesses a weakness (like fear of the dark) to a doctor that might be useful to interrogators, I asked the doctor in charge, would he share that information with them? "My job is not to make interrogations more efficient," he said firmly. He cited doctor-patient privacy. (He also asked that his name not be printed, citing the potential for al Qaeda retaliation.)
Food is strictly halal and averages 4,200 calories per day. (The guards eat the same chow as the detainees, unless they venture to one of the on-base fast-food joints.) Most prisoners have gained weight.
Much has been written about the elaborate and unprecedented appeal process. Detainees have their cases reviewed once a year and get rights roughly equivalent to criminals held in domestic prisons. I asked a military legal adviser: In what previous war were captured enemy combatants eligible for review before the war ended? None, he said.
America has never faced an enemy who has so ruthlessly broken all of the rules of war - yet never has an enemy been treated so well.

As usual, you won’t see any of these facts highlighted in the mainstream media’s latest coverage. It’s too much fun to scandalize the absurd posturing of media stunt artists McCain and Lindsay Graham. One would think that an intellectual media would tire of the excessive preening of McCain and Graham. However, these mainstream media types recycle plotlines more often than “As The World Turns,” “Dallas,” or “Dynasty.”

President Bush made a vigorous defense of the administration’s view of two pending bills at his rose garden news conference on Friday.

The bill would also provide clear rules for our personnel involved in detaining and questioning captured terrorists. The information that the Central Intelligence Agency has obtained by questioning men like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has provided valuable information and has helped disrupt terrorist plots, including strikes within the United States.
For example, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed described the design of planned attacks of buildings inside the U.S. and how operatives were directed to carry them out. That is valuable information for those of us who have the responsibility to protect the American people. He told us the operatives had been instructed to ensure that the explosives went off at a high -- a point that was high enough to prevent people trapped above from escaping.
He gave us information that helped uncover al Qaeda cells' efforts to obtain biological weapons.
The second bill before Congress would modernize our electronic surveillance laws and provide additional authority for the terrorist surveillance program. I authorized the National Security Agency to operate this vital program in response to the 9/11 attacks. It allows us to quickly monitor terrorist communications between someone overseas and someone in the United States, and it's helped detect and prevent attacks on our country.
The principle behind this program is clear: when an al Qaeda operative is calling into the United States or out of the country, we need to know who they're calling, why they're calling, and what they're planning. Both these bills are essential to winning the war on terror. We will work with Congress to get good bills out. We have a duty, we have a duty to work together to give our folks on the front line the tools necessary to protect America. Time is running out. Congress is set to adjourn in just a few weeks. Congress needs to act wisely and promptly so I can sign good legislation.

While moonbat warrior chief Keith Olbermann and his sidekicks Jonathon Turley and Howard Fineman falsely attacked President Bush in a profane edition of “Countdown” on MSNBC on Friday night, Mr. Bush is actually headed toward a moral victory on this issue that will translate into a win for our nation and the republican party.

The President was very effective in the news conference on Friday, and George Bush has succeeded once again in controlling the political agenda by playing terrific offense and cornering his opposition into a rhetorical box from which they are squealing hysterical slogans and unhinged melodies.

Senators Warner and Collins may seem like statesmen with conviction, but McCain, Graham and their admirers in the chattering class have discredited themselves by accusing President Bush of attempting to codify torture. They know that this isn’t true, and these strident voices are dangerously close to the treasonous model set forth by the New York Times.

It is time for the media’s brightest spotlight to shine on those who repeatedly share the views of our enemies the terrorists.

More at News Busters, AJ Strata, Little Green Footballs, A Lady's Ruminations, Powerline.

Moonbat rants: Tennessee Guerilla Women, Coalition for a Republican Free America, MoronCowboy.com, The Ricardo Web.

Rosie O'Donnell: Barking Moonbat

2006-09-15T19:01:00.000-04:00

We have previously stated that Rosie O’Donnell will probably not last very long at The View. The writers at Newsday appear to agree. For Rosie, there was confusion from the first day about her role as a team player. Rosie is used to being the King of her own domain.

She began by steamrolling through her first day on the show, yet this turned out to be only a warm-up for the return of her trademark liberal rants that characterized her earlier self-titled show. Rosie has been a tireless supporter of Broadway, and appears to be genuine in her love for mankind: until it comes to conservatives. Her message of peace, love, joy, and tolerance abruptly ends when she meets with any conservative. She is the darling of screeching liberals and is often championed by the most extreme elements of the liberal party.

One pro Rosie Web site describes her most celebrated controversy in the following manner: “Rosie caused much controversy on one episode of her talk show when she made comments to Tom Selleck about the National Rifle Association. The controversy only heightened when Rosie applied for a permit to carry a concealed weapon, not for herself but for her son's bodyguard.”

Fans of the Rosie O’Donnell Show tend to remember her many great moments and forget her blatant extremism and daily pontificating which dominated her show. Another site that views Rosie in rosy terms write this, “Rosie had occupied the moral high ground in the long-running daytime talk-show wars with her favorite topics: Broadway, children, extended families and charitable works, people and organizations. Even Tom Selleck would have shed a tear to see this last great bastion of decency go the way of Seinfeld and Michael Jordan - Leaving at the top of its game.”

This week, Rosie lost it in a lively debate with “The View” co-host Elizabeth Hasselbeck-the woman liberals love to hate.

“Rosie O’Donnell didn’t take long to break out of her shell and spew her liberal hate. On yesterday’s garrulous fem talk show “The View”, Meredith Viera’s replacement compared the “threat” of “radical” Christianity in America to radical Islam throughout the world. Yeah, because you know about those crazy Christians beheading terrorists and flying planes into buildings.”

Poor Rosie, she has reduced herself to playing the role of a barking moonbat. There are evangelical Christians whose views differ from mainstream Christianity, but there is no terrorism endorsed by world-wide Christianity. Murder, terrorism, and death to innocents are soundly condemned by all sects of the Christian faith. While Rosie’s lifestyle and views are not endorsed by many who follow the Christian faith, they are not suggesting, promoting, or engaging in terrorism of Rosie or any other Americans. Rosie’s unspoken demand that everyone embrace her belief system clouds her view of Christians, and her intolerant and bigoted remarks should be disavowed by the ABC television network. In making her radical comments and sticking to them, Rosie has placed herself on the side of the Islamic terrorists along with many other American liberals.

Others on this topic: Restoring Hope, Denny Burk, Slice of Laodicea, Illinois Review, Think Christian, The Curt Jester, The Conservative Voice, The Flomblog, Dumb Ox News.

News Busters , More at News Busters, Mary Katharine Ham, Stop The ACLU, TMH Bacon Bits.
Stuck on Stupid. Michelle Malkin. The Anchoress. Gateway Pundit,

A Trilogy of Truth

2006-09-14T09:50:00.000-04:00

The columns highlighted below won’t appear on CNN, CBS, or NBC they attempt to manipulate the American voter for elections being held on November 7. These propaganda artists spin their yarn, creating and imagining conspiracy theories with elaborate plotlines, yet when their stories unravel, the drive-by media never bothers to set the record straight.

The new day on Today began on Wednesday with Meredith Vierra in for Katie, and by this morning, they had Kelly O’Donnell on from the White House morphing the entire congressional election into referendum on George Bush. These screeching liberals are replaying their dearest hopes from 2002, 2002, and 2004. It seems like the new day on Today means taking page or two from the hay-day of Pravda.

I am afraid that the highly cultivated view of the war in Iraq thrust on the American people by the media, Jack Murtha, and all the remaining mouth pieces of the latest liberal creed will carry disproportionate value in the Fall voting. The media has tried to make us believe this before in 1980, 1988, 2000, 2002, and 2004. Promote the truth about our national security situation.

Robert Novak has lot to say about the “leak scandal” that has captivated the liberal media for the last three years. Speaking of the mainstreamers, they haven’t said much since the truth came out. Maybe they have become such exquisite writers of fiction that they can peddle their convoluted plot to Broadway Producer.

An accurate depiction of what Armitage actually said deepens the irony of him being my source. He was foremost internal skeptic of the administration's war policy, and I long had opposed military intervention in Iraq. Zealous foes of George W. Bush transformed me improbably into the president's lapdog. But they cannot fit Armitage into the left-wing fantasy of well-crafted White House conspiracy to destroy Joe and Valerie Wilson. The news that he and not Karl Rove was the leaker was devastating news for the Left.

Late in my hour-long interview with Armitage, I asked why the CIA had sent Wilson -- lacking intelligence experience, nuclear policy or recent contact with Niger -- on the African mission. He told the Washington Post last week that his answer was: "I don't know, but I think his wife worked out there."
Neither of us took notes, and nobody else was present. But I recalled our conversation that week in writing column, while Armitage reconstructed it months later for federal prosecutors. He had told me unequivocally that Mrs. Wilson worked in the CIA's Counter-Proliferation Division and that she had suggested her husband's mission. for his current implications that he never expected this to be published, he noted that the story of Mrs. Wilson's role fit the style of the old Evans-Novak column -- implying to me it continued reporting Washington inside information.

Michael Barone takes on Clown Wilson and his elaborate fiction made for an elitist political play in the inner sanctum of liberal expression. Remember Wilson saying that he “wanted Karl Rove frog marched in front of the White House.” It seems that Mr. Wilson should be doing little marching of his own: right out to “Happy Times:” the local ward for the mentality unbalanced.

This was supposedly done to discredit Wilson's July 2003 New York Times article, in which he said he had debunked George W. Bush's claim that Iraq was trying to obtain uranium in Africa. The Wilson claim helped to embed the "Bush lied, people died" theme in public discourse.
It has long since come out that just about everything Wilson said was false. He was not, he suggested, sent on his mission to Niger by Dick Cheney. He was recommended for the trip, contrary to his denial, by his wife, CIA employee Valerie Plame. He reported to the CIA that an Iraqi official had come to Niger on trade mission in 1999 -- evidence that tended to confirm rather than refute the British intelligence claim that Iraq was uranium-shopping in Africa -- claim that Britain's Lord Butler judged "well founded.

Michelle Malkin hits the nail when it comes to the American Left and their views this week:

Let me sum up in two words how the unhinged Left copes with the threat of global jihad: "Kill Bush!"
On the fifth anniversary week of the September 11 attacks, the anger of entertainment industry liberals and anti-war zealots is directed not at Islamic terrorists telling us to convert or die. Not at American al Qaeda operative Adam Gadahn smirking at our country's pain and praising the throat-slitting, children-incinerating hijackers "strong-willed men."
No, their thoughts are not focused on killing jihadists. Their dreams lie with killing George W. Bush. The mainstreaming of presidential assassination chic is on.

In her new book, "Peace Mom," Cindy Sheehan confesses on page 29 that she has imagined going back in time and killing the infant George W. Bush in order to prevent the Iraq War. It's the moonbat version of pre-emption. Sheehan admits she has entertained this infanticidal fantasy "often." That ice-cream-and-coffee hunger strike is getting to her head.

Share these great columns with anyone willing to listen.

Where's the Outrage

2006-09-13T21:30:00.000-04:00

Karen Hughes has an article at USA Today that expresses a common sense concern. In “Where’s The Outrage,” Ms. Hughes wonders why the world has failed to come together in condemning terrorism and the goals and tactics of the Islamic-fascists. Even liberals in Washington spend much more time criticizing President Bush and they join the terrorists and their supporters in calling for American to cut and run from Iraq. Karen Hughes has it right.

It is in the best interest of all the civilized people that the terror stops. And we have a model. Slavery’s path from international norm to pariah began with moral outrage. In 1833, one of every seven adults in Britain signed a petition against slavery. That was twice the number of people eligible to vote at the time and the largest public petitioning of Parliament to that date. The grassroots petition drive was born of the conviction that every person has value — a conviction that should guide us today.

Our challenge is to launch a new grassroots movement across all faiths and continents, a movement that clearly states that no grievance, no complaint, no matter how legitimate, can ever justify the targeting and killing of innocent civilians. A movement that commits to teach our children that life is precious, diversity should be celebrated, and hope can conquer hate.

I have read many stories of lives cut short by acts of terrorism. Almost all the victims’ families speak of the joy their loved ones brought to those around them. They didn’t deserve to die. And those who killed them earned only shame, not glory. The least the rest of us can do is say so loudly and in concert.

Of course, there will be opposition in U.S. politics, and we have previously made the case for a strong and appropriate opposition to President Bush. The appropriate response should not be treason that is extolled at the New York Times.

President Bush on September 11

2006-09-12T21:08:00.000-04:00

President Bush gave a marvelous speech commemorating the events of September 11, 2001. Today, the liberals are caterwauling about the speech. A lot is revealed in the overblown protestations of the crazed left. It’s all politics to the liberals; they must do anything to win this November. The harsh critics forget, the President is the President. He must lead! President Bush is leading the nation in the direction that he believes is right. History will record that he, Vice-President Cheney, and Condoleeza Rice were the right leaders at the right moment in the history of our great nation.

Below are excerpts from the Bush speech.

“For America, 9/11 was more than a tragedy -- it changed the way we look at the world. On September the 11th, we resolved that we would go on the offense against our enemies, and we would not distinguish between the terrorists and those who harbor or support them. So we helped drive the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. We put al Qaeda on the run, and killed or captured most of those who planned the 9/11 attacks, including the man believed to be the mastermind, Khalid Sheik Mohammed. He and other suspected terrorists have been questioned by the Central Intelligence Agency, and they provided valuable information that has helped stop attacks in America and across the world. Now these men have been transferred to Guantanamo Bay, so they can be held to account for their actions. Osama bin Laden and other terrorists are still in hiding. Our message to them is clear: No matter how long it takes, America will find you, and we will bring you to justice. “

“On September the 11th, we learned that America must confront threats before they reach our shores, whether those threats come from terrorist networks or terrorist states. I'm often asked why we're in Iraq when Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks. The answer is that the regime of Saddam Hussein was a clear threat. My administration, the Congress, and the United Nations saw the threat -- and after 9/11, Saddam's regime posed a risk that the world could not afford to take. The world is safer because Saddam Hussein is no longer in power. And now the challenge is to help the Iraqi people build a democracy that fulfills the dreams of the nearly 12 million Iraqis who came out to vote in free elections last December.”

At the start of this young century, America looks to the day when the people of the Middle East leave the desert of despotism for the fertile gardens of liberty, and resume their rightful place in a world of peace and prosperity. We look to the day when the nations of that region recognize their greatest resource is not the oil in the ground, but the talent and creativity of their people. We look to the day when moms and dads throughout the Middle East see a future of hope and opportunity for their children. And when that good day comes, the clouds of war will part, the appeal of radicalism will decline, and we will leave our children with a better and safer world.

On this solemn anniversary, we rededicate ourselves to this cause. Our nation has endured trials, and we face a difficult road ahead. Winning this war will require the determined efforts of a unified country, and we must put aside our differences and work together to meet the test that history has given us. We will defeat our enemies. We will protect our people. And we will lead the 21st century into a shining age of human liberty.

Earlier this year, I traveled to the United States Military Academy. I was there to deliver the commencement address to the first class to arrive at West Point after the attacks of September the 11th. That day I met a proud mom named RoseEllen Dowdell. She was there to watch her son, Patrick, accept his commission in the finest Army the world has ever known. A few weeks earlier, RoseEllen had watched her other son, James, graduate from the Fire Academy in New York City. On both these days, her thoughts turned to someone who was not there to share the moment: her husband, Kevin Dowdell. Kevin was one of the 343 firefighters who rushed to the burning towers of the World Trade Center on September the 11th -- and never came home. His sons lost their father that day, but not the passion for service he instilled in them. Here is what RoseEllen says about her boys: "As a mother, I cross my fingers and pray all the time for their safety -- but as worried as I am, I'm also proud, and I know their dad would be, too."

Our nation is blessed to have young Americans like these -- and we will need them. Dangerous enemies have declared their intention to destroy our way of life. They're not the first to try, and their fate will be the same as those who tried before. Nine-Eleven showed us why. The attacks were meant to bring us to our knees, and they did, but not in the way the terrorists intended. Americans united in prayer, came to the aid of neighbors in need, and resolved that our enemies would not have the last word. The spirit of our people is the source of America's strength. And we go forward with trust in that spirit, confidence in our purpose, and faith in a loving God who made us to be free.

Thank you, and may God bless you.

In Memory and Commemoration...

2006-09-12T14:51:00.000-04:00

This slideshow was created by Travis Matson in honor of the Five year anniversary of September 11, 2001. May God Bless all of the families and friends of those lost on 9.11.01

Outrage of the Week

2006-09-11T08:47:00.000-04:00

ABC News presented a special edition of "Nightline" last night to bash the Bush administration after presenting the failures of the Clinton administration in the docu-drama "The Path to 9-11." As I sat and watched in amazement, I realized the master strategy of ABC News: air the movie as an excuse to stage a news event that would blame President Bush and Condoleeza Rice for all of the events of 9-11. The ABC News division should be totally ashamed for the manner in which "Nightline" was staged and fabricated. This contrived "news program" represented little more than propaganda forced upon the public in the style of Pravda and Al-Jazeera.

By interviewing Richard Clarke as the resident expert, ABC demonstrated their slanted bias toward his twisted view of events. He was repeatedly fed softball questions by host Cynthia McFadden. Richard Clarke has been totally discredited before.

It is a shame that the liberals and their co-horts in the mainstream media have collaborated to try to discredit conservatives for the November elections. Clinton, Sandy Burglar, and other Clinton cronies pre-emptively tried to spin the movie as totally innacurate. Fortunately, Dick Morris was there in those Clinton years, and is still around to provide some facts.

Several other bloggers have more extensive coverage on this topic today. We covered the Sandy Burglar angle in detail on Saturday. with Trousergate.

Others on this topic. You really have to read them all; it's unbelievable: Betsy Newmark, Michelle Malkin
Hot Air, Betsy has more, AJ Strata,

Another Contrived Clinton Controversy

Looking Forward From September 11

2006-09-10T07:30:00.000-04:00

We have watched and waited as the planners worked on a final design for the World Trade Center site in lower Manhattan. On Thursday there was an unveiling of the new scheme for the sixteen acre site which has been largely vacant space for five years. Surely, everyone looks forward to the day when the new towers are complete, and the downtown skyline is restored.

A master design of three buildings which draw the eye to the 9.11 memorial that will be the central focus of the development is the latest concept for the site.

From the New York Daily News: The new World Trade Center came into dazzling view yesterday with designs for three gleaming towers intended to complete the sacred site and revive the downtown skyline.

The tallest and most striking of the new buildings will feature a top cut into four diamond shapes that will shine down upon the sunken pools where the twin towers stood.

Unlike the fallen towers, the planned office buildings - 78, 71 and 61 stories tall - will show off different profiles, while working as an ensemble when they're completed by 2012.

Standing along the eastern side of the 16-acre site, opposite the much bigger Freedom Tower, the newly designed buildings will form a descending spiral toward the planned World Trade Center Memorial, architects said yesterday.

May God Bless The United States of America

The New York Daily News, The New York Post

Remembering September 11. 2001

2006-09-09T23:08:00.000-04:00

Ronald Reagan’s principal speech writer, Peggy Noonan, has an exemplary column at the Wall Street Journal from Friday. In all of the reflective pieces to be written and aired in the next two days, Ms. Noonan captures the essence of the moment in her illuminating words. The creative genius which characterizes all of Noonan’s work is supremely evident in this column.

Everyone remembers the pictures, but I think more and more about the sounds. I always ask people what they heard that day in New York. We've all seen the film and videotape, but the sound equipment of television crews didn't always catch what people have described as the deep metallic roar. The other night on TV there was a documentary on the Ironworkers of New York's Local 40, whose members ran to the site when the towers fell. They pitched in on rescue, then stayed for eight months to deconstruct a skyscraper some of them had helped build 35 years before. An ironworker named Jim Gaffney said, "My partner kept telling me the buildings are coming down and I'm saying 'no way.' Then we heard that noise that I will never forget. It was like a creaking and then the next thing you felt the ground rumbling."

Noonan powerfully concludes her thoughts:

This reminded me of that moment when Todd Beamer of United 93 wound up praying on the phone with a woman he'd never met before, a Verizon Airfone supervisor named Lisa Jefferson. She said later that his tone was calm. It seemed as if they were "old friends," she later wrote. They said the Lord's Prayer together. Then he said "Let's roll." This is what I get from the last messages. People are often stronger than they know, bigger, more gallant than they'd guess. And this: We're all lucky to be here today and able to say what deserves saying, and if you say it a lot, it won't make it common and so unheard, but known and absorbed. I think the sound of the last messages, of what was said, will live as long in human history, and contain within it as much of human history, as any old metallic roar.

May God Bless the United States of America on this fifth anniversary of one of our greatest tragedies.

Check out our effort in The 2996 Project

See our September 11, 2005 Tribute

The 2996 Project: Remembering Ivan Vale

2006-09-09T21:00:00.000-04:00

The 2996 Project is a blogosphere memorial, conceived by D.Challener Roe, where each victim of September 11 is remembered by a writer to mark the five year anniversary of that infamous day. Apparently, most bloggers were randomly linked to the September 11 hero they would be memorializing, allowing fate to make the connection between two lives, between blogger and hero.

As a part of the blogosphere tribute to each and every victim of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, we are honored, humbled, and grateful for the opportunity to present one of those heroes of September 11, Ivan Vale, an employee of Cantor Fitzgerald, who was working at the Trade Center at the time of the attack. Ivan was a remarkable man to his family, and a regular American like the rest of us, trying to live and lead his life on September 11.

Ivan Vale was obviously loved by his wife, mother, and older brother. His middle brother, Felix was also killed on September 11, 2001.

Newsday had this lovely article on December 7, 2001.

There were no tearful memorial services for Felix and Ivan Vale, brothers who worked floors apart in the World Trade Center. Instead, the family decided to throw a block party in the neighborhood where the two grew up in the East New York section of Brooklyn.

Read More...

Check out Stop The ACLU
Michelle Malkin
AJ Strata

Trousergate Convict Serves as Source on CNN

2006-09-09T13:13:00.000-04:00

Simply astounding: Sandy Berger is taken seriously by the mainstream media as a credible source for events in the Clinton administration leading up to September 11, 2001. You must be kidding. Surely this is a joke. Even after Burglar stole classified national security documents hid them in his trousers, and cut up the only copy of the documents, CNN even takes the incredible step of having Wolf Blitzer interview Berger. Certainly the powerful bosses at CNN have forgotten about Berger's Burglary.

From the New York Post, April 4, 2005:
Sandy Berger, the top Clinton national- security official and erstwhile close adviser to Sen. John Kerry, has finally confessed what he spent nearly a year heatedly denying: that he intentionally smuggled classified documents from the National Archives — and deliberately destroyed them.

In pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count Friday — for which he'll get a slap-on-the-wrist $10,000 fine and lose his security clearance for three years (but probably not his law license) — Berger admits to secreting the documents in his suit jacket.

Then, once he got them home, he cut them to pieces with a pair of scissors.
So much for the "honest mistake" Berger last year maintained he'd committed.

From the Washington Times:
As we noted last week, Sandy Berger stole some of the nation's most highly classified terrorism documents from the National Archives. He scissored them to pieces in his downtown Washington offices. Then he lied about it. Mr. Berger's lenient plea bargain with the Justice Department fines him an amount he can shake from the couches at his Stonebridge International LLC offices and promises his security clearances will be restored in time for Election 2008.
It's hard to underestimate the effect a case like this has on national-security professionals. For cynics, it shows that big players get off easy when they commit the crimes smaller fry lose their careers over. Meanwhile, spies, policy-makers and other handlers of secrets are effectively being told their efforts aren't taken seriously. It's a classic Washington double standard.
"This is one of the most dissatisfying and demoralizing legal decisions possible from a national-security standpoint," former National Security Council staffer John Lenczowski told us. "It sends the signal that the U.S. government is not nearly as serious about the protection of classified information as our laws would indicate."
In conversations about the case, foreign-affairs veterans use words like "stomach-turning" and "demoralizing" to describe their reaction to the plea agreement. It is not hard to see why. Lives depend upon observing national-security rules. Untold man-hours and billions of dollars are spent acquiring and keeping secrets. All this is risked when the rules and laws are broken. In this case, Mr. Berger's stolen documents detailed the Clinton administration's failure to guard adequately against terrorist plots during the 2000 millennial celebrations. These weren't some low-level briefing papers. They were among the most-sensitive materials anywhere in government.
Far from acknowledging the ill effects of Mr. Berger's free pass, however, some of his defenders are actually excusing his behavior and sweeping its ill effects under the carpet. We wouldn't have thought the Wall Street Journal editorial page would number among them, but it does. The Journal praised the agreement for "restraint" and glossed over its morale-wrecking effects, pausing only to note that "lesser officials have received harsher penalties for more minor transgressions."
With this wink and nod, the Wall Street Journal is telling national-security professionals that double standards should govern the nation's secrets.
Meanwhile, Mr. Berger seems to be getting away with a novel defense: that he's ignorant. Mr. Berger "didn't exactly know how to return the documents once he'd taken them out," the Wall Street Journal explains credulously. This is laughable. Mr. Berger was the highest-ranking official at the National Security Council and has held national-security jobs since the Carter administration. If a former national security adviser "didn't exactly know" the rules, who does?

From the New York Sun:
According to the commission report Sandy Berger was presented with plans to take action against the threat of Al-Qaeda four separate times, spring '98, June '99, December '99, and August 2000, and each time, Mr. Berger was an obstacle to action. Had he been a little less reluctant to act, a little more open to taking preemptive action, maybe the 3,000 killed in the September 11th attacks would be alive today.

From the CNN Program, The Situation Room:

The following is a portion of hte transcript with Mr. Burglar trying to rewrite history on Friday. Mr. Burglar's desperation to rewrite the history of the days leading up to 9-11 is obvious in even the written form of this interview. Read the whole transcript look here.

SAMUEL BERGER, CHAIRMAN, STONEBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL: I haven't been told that at all, Wolf. And I've not seen the movie. I've not seen -- been provided with a copy of it. Those who have seen it describe it as misleading, inaccurate, and in some cases, a fabrication. The producers themselves say it's fictionalized. The events of 9/11 are very real and we don't need to play fiction with 9/11.

BLITZER: Is it a problem of those scenes? Because in this letter that you wrote, you together with Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state, you want ABC to simply pull the entire film. What's wrong with simply making those last-minute edits, those changes so that the controversy perhaps would go away?

BERGER: I don't think this is just a question of fixing something around the edges, Wolf. My impression is that this is a misleading film to the core. And it seems to me the only appropriate thing at this point is for ABC to withdraw the series.

BLITZER: I know you've had friends, former Clinton officials, who have actually seen it who have said to you that -- what have they said to you about the film?

BERGER: They said that some parts of it are fabrications, other parts are misleading and inaccurate, and this is simply a work of fiction, as the producers have said. In some cases, they've said the actors improvised on the set. Well, you know, 9/11 is something very powerful to the American people and we shouldn't be playing fiction with 9/11.

BLITZER: Have you spoken to your former boss, former President Bill Clinton about this?

BERGER: I have.

BLITZER: And what did he say to you?

BERGER: He's very upset about it as well.

BLITZER: And did he -- can't one of you or both of you pick up the phone and call Bob Iger, the chairman of Disney and complain?

BERGER: I have written to Mr. Iger and said that we believe that the scenes that we're talking about are complete fabrications. They simply did not happen. They should be fixed. But quite honestly, at this point, I don't think this is something you can fix. I think you just have to yank it.

BLITZER: Do you have any sense they will do that?

BERGER: I would hope so. I think that's appropriate. The credibility of this show has been called into question.

BLITZER: Do you know if the former president has called Bob Iger himself and said, you know what, yank this film?

BERGER: I have no idea what the president and Mr. Iger did or did not say. But I can tell you my own view is this is not something that we should be showing to the American people.

BLITZER: What about the bigger picture? Forget about that one specific scene, because the 9/11 Commission, a lot of other people, say it wasn't you that pulled the trigger on going after Osama bin Laden, it was George Tenet, the CIA director. I wonder if you want to clarify that before we move on.

BERGER: On no situation, Wolf, did we ever refuse authorization to the CIA for an operation against bin Laden. The one time we had good information about bin Laden's whereabouts was in August of 1998. We fired 50 tomahawk missiles into the camp where we believed he was.

We apparently missed him by a few hours. There was no other occasion while we were in office that we had an opportunity to get bin Laden or eyes on bin Laden. And the fact is, Wolf, five years later, despite the fact that we have thousands of American troops in Afghanistan, we still have not gotten bin Laden.

BLITZER: Because there was one incident. There was some intelligence that he was in a place -- Osama bin Laden -- called Tarnak Farms. You remember that incident?

BERGER: That incident -- I believe in that situation the CIA itself called off the operation because they didn't believe it was reliable.

Is Mr. Berger capable of judging the difference between fact and fiction?

Since Berger stole and destroyed some of the documents related to this precise circumstance, he and Bill Clinton can tell any story that they wish to tell. Burglar's story doesn't match up well with the slightly left of center report issued by the 9-11 commission.

Wake-up America! No serious person can give Sandy Burglar any credibility. Talk about needing a disclaimer every time he appears on the television screen...

Rush Hits the Nail

2006-09-09T11:47:00.000-04:00

The reaction of the loony left to the movie The Path to 9-11 has been hilarious. Combatting this unhinged, moonbat, nutroots faux outrage and demand of censorship requires the efforts of all conservatives. Rush Limbaugh hits the nail on the head:

RUSH: I warned you people about this. I told you this was going to happen. Bill Clinton and the Democratic Party are just a bunch of thin-skinned bullies now trying to pressure ABC and the Disney CEO, Robert Iger, into dropping the mini-series, The Path to 9/11. The entire Democratic establishment is now involved. They are essentially demanding censorship. I told you that this was going to happen. I warned you about it, and I don't know how this is going to end up, I really don't. I don't want to talk about how this is going to end up, because I don't know. I don't know what ABC is going to do. But a couple things I want to focus on here, folks.

This illustrates just how flimsy the surface on which the Clinton legacy is built. This illustrates the desire that they have to get this whole thing not shown. You know, I've always told you, when somebody says something about you, and you scream the loudest, that's the indication, "man, they must have hit gold, must have hit the bull's eye with the criticism." The Clinton administration and all of its members have tried for years now to build a legacy where one does not exist. We had a president in the nineties who did not tackle big issues, preferring, instead, to score phenomenally high approval ratings, creating the image that we had a happy-go-lucky carefree decade of rampant economic expansion, no threats anywhere, while Americans are being bombed and killed all over the world and not a single act of retaliation that had any substance was taken to avenge any of it.

What's really driving 'em nuts is, is that I have said on the radio that I know the guy who wrote it! That's in every story. "Rush Limbaugh, who knows Cyrus Nowrasteh --" Well, that automatically fires up the libs, that fires up the Clinton people and automatically discredits the work of the writer. I didn't write it. I didn't talk to Cyrus when he was writing it. Well, he did tell me that he was working on this movie a long time ago, and he'd send me a copy of it when it was done. A long time, it slipped my mind until all it is came up, until this screening in Washington. You ever heard Bush complain about any of the books that have been written about his assassination? The latest one from Cindy Sheehan, by the way. She admits she had fantasies about killing Bush before he was born or when he was a kid so he wouldn't become president. We've got this movie debuting in Canada at the film festival up there in Toronto and it's all about Bush's assassination. Do you hear the White House blowing and whining and complaining about anything?

Contrast these two administrations and contrast these two men. Does Bush whine and moan about what's in the media about him, ever? No. You know why? Because Bush is not depending on the media to write his legacy and his history. Clinton has to because there was nothing of any real substance in his administration, other than welfare reform, which was a product of the Republican Congress, that he can point back to. "We were safe, Limbaugh, we didn't have--" No, Mr. President, we were not. Do we have to go through this? You want me to go through it? World Trade Center attacks '93, we cut-and-run in Mogadishu.

Thanks Rush!

Read the whole commentary.

Another Contrived Clinton Controversy

2006-09-09T10:21:00.000-04:00

All of the contrived hysteria in the last two days regarding the ABC made for television movie, The Path to 9-11 has its’ generations in the political philosophy of Bill Clinton. The highly orchestrated response of the Clinton spin machine wafted over the mainstream media like stale remnants of Hurricane Lewinsky. The unique ambiance replete with faux outrage that Clinton displays when he is caught in a lie (“I did not have sex with that woman, Miss Lewinsky) made its’ reappearance right on cue. Clinton simply can not be trusted on any critical matter.

Clinton’s team made the war room famous in 1992 when they managed, against all odds, to win a plurality of the vote in a three way race dominated by the antics of Ross Perot. The shrill tone piercing through the media bubble this week indicates that the dramatic representation of the Clinton administration is more truthful, more detailed, and more complete than any previous account of Bill Clinton, his team, and Osama Bin Laden. By threatening the ABC network, and by dispatching every Clinton acolyte to shriek “foul” to all of the liberal media outlets, the movie is being altered to match the Clintonite, sanitized view of “The Path to 9-11.” This 9-10 mentality dominates most liberal thinking today, and truthful representations of the failures of the Clinton administration would be a virtual earthquake to the democrat party. It might also remind voters that liberals can not be trusted with national security.

It’s too bad that Dick Morris already penned his wonderful book “Rewriting History.” Perhaps Mr. Morris will now write a sequel. Madelaine Albright, Sandy Burgler, and other flunkies from the Clinton years were eerily omnipresent in their odious unison as they sang from that tarnished Clinton songbook of half-truths and detestable lies.

Let us be clear: anything that is blatantly false has no credibility whether it is shown or not. Michael Moore’s ode to fantasy: Fahrenheit 9-11, the upcoming Bush Assassination movie, and countless other tools of propaganda should be the subject of the same standard and scrutiny and outrage as this ABC movie.

Of course ABC blew it! They seemed to have no interest in presenting an accurate documentary/drama that would show the real picture of the Clinton administration’s failures on the topic of National Security and terrorism. On what could have a useful part of the public discourse on the matter, ABC seems to have been more interested in publicity stunts than revealing any truth. The truth in the movie may be now entirely overshadowed by the hysterical ranting of the Clintonites.

John Podhoretz of the New York Post makes the point crystal clear. "The Path to 9/11 gives the impression that, as president, Clinton never took bin Laden's declaration of war against the United States and the West seriously enough. And that is simply the unvarnished, undeniable truth.”

In this way, the entire controversy misses the point. The obvious failures of the Clinton Administration were manifested on September 11, 2001. Clinton and his failed national security team never took Bin Laden’s declaration of War on the United States seriously enough. Clinton believed in treating episodic terrorist acts with a disconnected law enforcement strategy. Clinton was unable and unwilling to put this war at the top of his agenda.

America has been paying the price for Clinton’s delinquencies ever since. Hopefully when history is recorded, the Clinton legacy will include his irresponsible lack of action, lack of seriousness, and lack of a coordinated strategy to fight this 21st Century War. If Clinton were the intellectual heavy-weight, legendary leader that his minions still embrace, America might not be in peril in the same way that we are today.

Others on this topic: AJ Strata always has it right! Michelle Malkin, Powerline, The Anchoress. Seth at Hard Astarboard is wonderful. You have to see Stuck on Stupid! Stop the ACLU is great!The State of Ohio Blogger Alliance, A great suggestion from the Cosmic Conservative...
The Bullwinkle Blog

Rush Speaks for America

2006-09-07T23:00:00.000-04:00

The great one, the all-knowing Rush Limbaugh (with talent on loan from God) appeared on Katie Couric's newscast tonight in her "free speech" segment. Since I never get to watch the evening news, I watched the video online. The entire transcript appears below.

Rush understands the crisis facing our country. It is unfortunate that the loony left of this country chooses repeatedly to brazenly politicize the global war on Islamo-fascism. Rush states emphatically that America will win. In his plain spoken Missouri manner laced in the reverberations of Ronald Reagan, Rush asserts that each generation must protect peace and freedom for the next generation.

Here are the words of Rush Limbaugh: one of the greats of our time appearing on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

“My friends., it's time to face a hard cold fact: Militant Islam wants to kill us just because we're alive and don't believe as they do. And they have been killing us for decades. It is time to stop pretending these are mere episodic events and face the reality that our way of life is in grave danger. Now, this threat is not just go away because we choose to ignore it.

“Some say we try diplomacy. Yeah, well tell me, how do we negotiate with people whose starting point is our death? Ask them to wait for 10 years, before they kill us? When Good negotiates with Evil, Evil will always win. And peace follows victory, not words issued by diplomats.

“But some Americans, sadly, are not interested in victory. And yet they want us to believe that their behavior is Patriotic. Well, it's not. When the critics are more interested in punishing this country over a few incidents at Abu Grahib and Guantanamo Bay than they are in defeating those who want to kill us; when they seek to destroy a foreign surveillance program which is designed to identify those who want to kill us and how they intend to do it; when they want to grant those who want to kill us, U.S. constitutional rights, I don't call that patriotic.

“Patriotism is rallying behind the country, regardless of party affiliation, to defeat Islamo-Fascism. Patriotism is supporting our troops on the battlefield, not undermining the mission and morale. But let there be no doubt about this. America will prevail. We're the same country that survived a bloody Civil War, defeated the Nazis and the Soviets. Each generation has a responsibility to the next. Our generation will not disappoint.”

Check out more at News Busters, Rush Limbaugh Home Page, Hot Air.

Revisiting Clown Wilson's Calamity

2006-09-07T14:12:00.000-04:00

The Joe Wilson/Liberal media debacle is worth revisiting for the rich tapestry of truth that has been exposed within Mr. Wilson’s and Senator Schumer’s tangled web. As much as the media touted, exploited, and overplayed this contrived plot that is so well-matched for a tabloid excursion, the journalists have not been at all interested in revisiting the embarrassing facts revealed as Wilson’s grand production became a tattered fairy-tale. It is well worth it for all of us who are sick and tired of the media’s repetitive mantra that Karl Rove and the Bush administration had broken the law and leaked the name of a secret CIA operative. Clown Wilson should consider moving to Hollywood (they already adore him), and working in idea and script development. His imagination is obviously brilliant and fiction is his forte. As Hollywood and Michael Moore develop their moonbat fantasies into movies that they affectionately refer to as documentaries, Wilson and his subordinate wife, Valerie Plame, could certainly develop second vocations, and live happily after with the over-population of liberals in America’s entertainment Mecca.

The unrelenting Ann Coulter has been on the story since day one. Oh how her enemies hate it when she is right all along. From the beginning, Ann smelled a rat, and the truth turned out to be worse than she suspected.

Now it turns out, even point No. 3 of liberals' conspiracy theory was false: The original "leaker" of Plame's name to columnist Bob Novak -- not a crime -- was not in the White House at all. It was Richard Armitage, a State Department official and opponent of the Iraq war.
The information that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA had nothing to do with harming Wilson. It did not come from the White House. It did not even come from someone who supported the war in Iraq.
The rest of the world found out Armitage was Novak's source last week, something Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald knew from the first week of his investigation. So what was Fitzgerald investigating?
Even people who think the president should not be subject to civil suits in office do not deny that Bill Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky and lied about it in a civil suit brought by Paula Jones. However irritating it is to liberals that lying about sex under oath is a crime, there was a crime that Ken Starr was investigating.
What was Fitzgerald investigating? Not only was there no underlying crime, there was not even -- as the Times put it -- "an attempt to silence Mrs. Wilson's husband" (or an attempt "to respond to people calling you a liar in the New York Times," as normal people put it).
Fitzgerald's entire investigation was nothing but a perjury trap from beginning to end for anyone who misremembered anything about who told whom what about a low-level nobody at the CIA who happened to be married to a Walter Mitty fantasist.

One would think that the liberal media could admit the mistake and correct the record. David Broder comes close in today’s Washington Post.

Of course it is of no benefit to the deranged hate-Bush crowd, however, dignity, ethical behavior, and the very lining of our nation’s dialogue has been harmed by the amplification of Wilson’s strident and libelous statements. Admission of the errors in the matter would go a long way toward restoring faith in a mainstream media that seems a lot more like a promoter of fictionalized tales that supplant a liberal agenda than being a responsible part of the public discourse. Wilson’s close association with the democrat party leadership should be enough to convince voters not to elect Sherrod Brown and other liberal voices this November.

Others on the topic: Brent Bozell, The Muslim Question, Mark Levin, Ankle Biting Pundits, Webloggin', The American Spectator, From on High.

Kander Without Ebb...Start Spreading The News

2006-09-07T10:29:00.000-04:00

There is an instructive article over at The New York Times that I have been meaning to post for anyone who may have missed it. Kander without Ebb, Start Spreading the News, is a marvelous piece about one of the greatest writing teams of the 20th century. Best known for their hit musicals Chicago and Cabaret, this writing team has had an almost unparalleled string of artistic and commercial hits.

“Constant to their themes and to each other, Kander and Ebb were among the most
successful songwriting partners in musical theater, and among the longest
lasting. Most of the great composers and lyricists either hooked up serially
(Rodgers with Hart then Hammerstein) or were, like Cole Porter, professionally
celibate. But from “Flora, the Red Menace” in 1965 through “Steel Pier” in 1997,
and for a few years on either side, Kander and Ebb, who seldom socialized with
each other, wrote almost nothing with anyone else. (Mr. Ebb even declined an
offer to work with Rodgers, post-Hammerstein, on “Rex.”) In all, 11 Kander and
Ebb musicals appeared on Broadway; when Mr. Ebb died, at 76, another four were
waiting in the wings.”
Kander and Ebb’s library of works may not be quite finished. Their final musical Curtains recently opened in Los Angeles to successful reviews. It will be interesting to watch the path of this show, and to hear the melodious music of Mr. Kander yet again.

Broadway World, Broadway.com has their usual reviews summary, The Pasadena Star News.

The ACLU: Defending the Contemporary Hitler

2006-09-07T08:44:00.000-04:00

The comparisons of terrorists to Hitler, Hirohito, and Lennin made by President Bush and Don Rumsfeld in the last week have the liberals screeching! One of the patron saints of American liberalism is screeching the loudest.

From Jay at Stop the ACLU, their latest Blogburst:

It isn’t surprising that the ACLU were quick to react to Bush’s jaw dropping speech admitting to secret CIA prisons and pushing Congress to pass legislation that would put captured terror suspects under the rule of a military tribunal.

Via ACLU:
America is a nation dedicated to upholding the rule of law. However, President Bush’s draft proposal for military commissions fails to meet the standards recognized by the Supreme Court in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. The court held the President’s initial military commission scheme was illegal because it violated Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, the most basic standards regarding treatment of detainees. The new proposal has nearly all of the same problems, and will eventually be found to be illegal. For example, it would allow a person to be convicted based on secret evidence and would allow the use of evidence obtained as the result of horrific abuse.

Of course the ACLU automatically accuses the U.S. of using horrific abuse to obtain our evidence without any evidence whatsoever to back that claim up. You can also bet that if one of their terrorist plaintiffs were to go before our court system they would make the claim that any evidence we have against them was obtained through such procedures and argue it was inadmissible. This is only one of hundreds of reasons that Congress needs to pass the legislation the President is requesting so these terrorist creeps, several of which are in the top Al Qaeda chain of command, need to go before a military tribunal. They are not American citizens and we can not afford the dangers involved in allowing them to be represented before the U.S. courts, in all probability represented by the ACLU.

“The president should have listened to the current Judge Advocates General for the four military services, all of whom have urged close adherence to the court-martial procedures, and all of whom oppose the use of secret evidence and coerced evidence. By contrast, Senators John Warner (R-VA), John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are reportedly following the advice of these top generals and admirals and supporting due process protections that are more in line with the time-tested courts-martial procedures.
“The president also proposes to gut enforceability of the Geneva Conventions by amending the War Crimes Act to completely immunize from prosecution civilians who subjected persons to horrific abuse that may have fallen short of the definition of ‘torture.’ As a result, government officials and civilian contractors who authorized or carried out water boarding, threats of death, and other abuse would get a ‘get out of jail free’ card under the president’s bill. The nation’s soldiers and sailors would remain liable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, but civilians would be immune from prosecution under the only statute that applies to many of these acts.
That is simply wrong.

No, what is “simply wrong” is that cowards committed to terrorism and jihad against America that do are not signatories of nor abide by the Geneva Conventions should be afforded the protections of it. The sickening fact that the ACLU would steep low enough to represent an enemy of our nation to sue a military member for doing their job in capturing and interrogating these killers. This is exactly what the President is asking Congress to keep from happening. The President is asking Congress to make it clear what our protectors can and can not do and to protect them from prosecution of being sued by the very scum buckets they protect us from.

“The new Army Field Manual avoids some of the worst problems with earlier drafts and clarifies that those held by the military or at military facilities must be afforded the protections of the Geneva Conventions. However, it then creates loopholes for so-called ‘unlawful combatants’ by depriving them of the same protections–and specifically authorizes holding persons in isolation. And, the new manual does not apply to those held by the CIA. The Bush proposal is lip service unless the executive branch actually holds people accountable for violating it."

“So called” unlawful combatants? If you are not abiding by the rules of being a lawful combatant then you aren’t one. It is that simple. The ACLU are the ones looking for loop holes in the system, and the very reason they are so up and arms on this is that it closes them up. What the President is asking is for Congress to make the definitions clear. In the Hamdan case, which the ACLU played a major part in, the door was left wide open for Congress to clarify and create legislation making military tribunals the main process for due process dealing with terrorists caught on the battle field. What does the ACLU have against bringing these murderers to justice?

The ACLU Defend the enemy. They have a long history of this one. They defended the P.L.O. in 1985. They defended Quadafi in the 1980’s. And they continue today. They have told Gitmo detainees they have the right to remain silent, as in not talking to interrogators. One issue that really disturbs me is their refusal of funds from organizations such as the United Way that were concerned the money would be used to support terrorism.

In October of 2004, the ACLU turned down $1.15 million in funding from two of its most generous and loyal contributors, the Ford and Rockefeller foundations, saying new anti-terrorism restrictions demanded by the institutions make it unable to accept their funds.
“The Ford Foundation now bars recipients of its funds from engaging in any activity that “promotes violence, terrorism, bigotry, or the destruction of any state.”
The Rockefeller Foundation’s provisions state that recipients of its funds may not “directly or indirectly engage in, promote, or support other organizations or individuals who engage in or promote terrorist activity.”

They have since then demanded that the government release and make public top secret security information regarding not only the activities of our military, but also that of our intelligence forces. They have also initiated one lawsuit after another against the government to stop the searching of individuals for security purposes in mass transit situations, to stop what they call profiling (we will never see a Protestant white middle-aged woman as a terrorist working with an extremist Islamic organization) by race, sex and religion, and to stop the government from detaining and questioning or interrogating individuals who have ties or contact with known terrorist individuals and organizations.
They tried to kill the Patriot Act because they see the rights of an individual who may or may not be an American citizen as more important than the safety of the nation at large. They want the borders open because they see that as an infringement of the rights of non-Americans to become Americans however they can manage it. They want to have military and intelligence sources, activities, and planning revealed to the public so they can “watch dog” and ensure freedoms of individuals and/or groups are not being compromised, but in doing so will enable those very individuals and/or groups under surveillance the ability to avoid surveillance and possible capture before they do something destructive to American citizens.

When it comes to America’s enemies you can count on the ACLU to be there to defend them.

Ghost Light: September Morning

2006-09-05T23:10:00.000-04:00

You can see a lot of Katie Couric coverage at the MRC Couric Summary Blog.

Thank goodness for Ms. Underestimated and Josh Bolten. Both of these mavericks put foolish Harry Reid in check!

Katie's debut looks confusing.

The New York Daily News reviews Katie's Opening Night.

You have to see Scott's Education Carnival over at Get on The Bus.

The New York Post pans Rosie's debut. The Daily News on Rosie.

Check out the Carnival of Ohio Politics.

Bush Shows His Presidential Timber Again

2006-09-05T22:32:00.000-04:00

"Bin Laden and his terrorist allies have made their intentions as clear as Lenin and Hitler before them."
President Bush, September 5, 2006

President Bush demonstrated his Presidential timber in a speech today. Read the whole speech here. Many of our citizens rely on disengenious reporting and commentary that comes from political enemies of George Bush. The President lays out a clear case here. It would be interesting to note the coverage of his speech today. President Bush made the case again. Rally the common sense conservative base. It's time to come home and vote Republican this fall in all of the federal elections. Way to go President Bush. The following are excerpts of the President's speech today.

In the five years since our nation was attacked, we've also learned a great deal about the enemy we face in this war. We've learned about them through videos and audio recordings, and letters and statements they've posted on websites. We've learned about them from captured enemy documents that the terrorists have never meant for us to see. Together, these documents and statements have given us clear insight into the mind of our enemies -- their ideology, their ambitions, and their strategy to defeat us.

We know what the terrorists intend to do because they've told us -- and we need to take their words seriously. So today I'm going to describe -- in the terrorists' own words, what they believe… what they hope to accomplish, and how they intend to accomplish it. I'll discuss how the enemy has adapted in the wake of our sustained offensive against them, and the threat posed by different strains of violent Islamic radicalism. I'll explain the strategy we're pursuing to protect America, by defeating the terrorists on the battlefield, and defeating their hateful ideology in the battle of ideas.

The terrorists who attacked us on September the 11th, 2001, are men without conscience -- but they're not madmen. They kill in the name of a clear and focused ideology, a set of beliefs that are evil, but not insane. These al Qaeda terrorists and those who share their ideology are violent Sunni extremists. They're driven by a radical and perverted vision of Islam that rejects tolerance, crushes all dissent, and justifies the murder of innocent men, women and children in the pursuit of political power. They hope to establish a violent political utopia across the Middle East, which they call a "Caliphate" -- where all would be ruled according to their hateful ideology. Osama bin Laden has called the 9/11 attacks -- in his words -- "a great step towards the unity of Muslims and establishing the Righteous… [Caliphate]."

During the last five years we've learned a lot about this enemy. We've learned that they're cunning and sophisticated. We've witnessed their ability to change their methods and their tactics with deadly speed -- even as their murderous obsessions remain unchanging. We've seen that it's the terrorists who have declared war on Muslims, slaughtering huge numbers of innocent Muslim men and women around the world.

Now, I know some of our country hear the terrorists' words, and hope that they will not, or cannot, do what they say. History teaches that underestimating the words of evil and ambitious men is a terrible mistake. In the early 1900s, an exiled lawyer in Europe published a pamphlet called "What Is To Be Done?" -- in which he laid out his plan to launch a communist revolution in Russia. The world did not heed Lenin's words, and paid a terrible price. The Soviet Empire he established killed tens of millions, and brought the world to the brink of thermonuclear war. In the 1920s, a failed Austrian painter published a book in which he explained his intention to build an Aryan super-state in Germany and take revenge on Europe and eradicate the Jews. The world ignored Hitler's words, and paid a terrible price. His Nazi regime killed millions in the gas chambers, and set the world aflame in war, before it was finally defeated at a terrible cost in lives.

Bin Laden and his terrorist allies have made their intentions as clear as Lenin and Hitler before them. The question is: Will we listen? Will we pay attention to what these evil men say? America and our coalition partners have made our choice. We're taking the words of the enemy seriously. We're on the offensive, and we will not rest, we will not retreat, and we will not withdraw from the fight, until this threat to civilization has been removed. (Applause.)

We know what the terrorists believe, we know what they have done, and we know what they intend to do. And now the world's free nations must summon the will to meet this great challenge. The road ahead is going to be difficult, and it will require more sacrifice. Yet we can have confidence in the outcome, because we've seen freedom conquer tyranny and terror before. In the 20th century, free nations confronted and defeated Nazi Germany. During the Cold War, we confronted Soviet communism, and today Europe is whole, free and at peace.

And now, freedom is once again contending with the forces of darkness and tyranny. This time, the battle is unfolding in a new region -- the broader Middle East. This time, we're not waiting for our enemies to gather in strength. This time, we're confronting them before they gain the capacity to inflict unspeakable damage on the world, and we're confronting their hateful ideology before it fully takes root.

We see a day when people across the Middle East have governments that honor their dignity, and unleash their creativity, and count their votes. We see a day when across this region citizens are allowed to express themselves freely, women have full rights, and children are educated and given the tools necessary to succeed in life. And we see a day when all the nations of the Middle East are allies in the cause of peace.

We fight for this day, because the security of our own citizens depends on it. This is the great ideological struggle of the 21st century -- and it is the calling of our generation. All civilized nations are bound together in this struggle between moderation and extremism. By coming together, we will roll back this grave threat to our way of life. We will help the people of the Middle East claim their freedom, and we will leave a safer and more hopeful world for our children and grandchildren.
Next week, America will mark the fifth anniversary of September the 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks. As this day approaches, it brings with it a flood of painful memories. We remember the horror of watching planes fly into the World Trade Center, and seeing the towers collapse before our eyes. We remember the sight of the Pentagon, broken and in flames. We remember the rescue workers who rushed into burning buildings to save lives, knowing they might never emerge again. We remember the brave passengers who charged the cockpit of their hijacked plane, and stopped the terrorists from reaching their target and killing more innocent civilians. We remember the cold brutality of the enemy who inflicted this harm on our country -- an enemy whose leader, Osama bin Laden, declared the massacre of nearly 3,000 people that day -- I quote -- "an unparalleled and magnificent feat of valor, unmatched by any in humankind before them." Five years after our nation was attacked, the terrorist danger remains. We're a nation at war -- and America and her allies are fighting this war with relentless determination.

Media Obsession: Sunny Election Forecast for Liberals

2006-09-05T21:50:00.000-04:00

Someone take a message to the mainstream media: Election Day is November 7, 2006. CNN and MSNBC have been relishing in celebrating an election victory with their buddies in the liberal party all afternoon. The apparent template today calls for a dismal view of the republican chances this fall. Their misleading stories, “push media” tactics, and classically biased coverage would have you believe that there isn’t any need to count votes on November 7: the democrats have already won. How quickly things change: remember their November 2000 slogan: “count every vote.” Al Gore and Joe Lieberman wanted to count every vote twice if it meant that they would win.

Clearly, the horizon looks strongly liberal for November 7. All the experts believe that history will repeat itself and the democrats will pick up seats in this election. There is a long history of the party out of power picking up many seats in the sixth year of a presidency. The drive-by media has taken their cue from the democrat national committee, and in their customary style, have invented their own self-serving plotline. The conclusion of their fantasy plot has the democrats celebrating well into the night on November 7 as they take over both houses of congress. Only time will tell.

It may be possible that democrats peaked too early, or are over-reading their tea leaves. There’s a long way until November 7.

• President Bush and other nationally known leaders of the Republican Party have only started to truly engage the campaign.

• Voter turn-out efforts, a highly successful technique in 2002 and 2004 for the Republicans, is not considered in the many faulty polls being touted in the mainstream media.

• The campaign could be permanently altered with dramatically and rapidly changing international or domestic events.

While democrats see their fortunes dwindling slightly, expectations for the Republicans are very low. Regardless of reality, the media have developed their template for the Fall season, and they are sticking to it. I hope that conservatives can break though the ludicrous cacophony of out of tune anti-republican voices that are sounding off daily and amplified by the liberal media.

Before Republicans and conservatives get too discouraged, just remember the trademark inaccuracies of the mainstream media. Exit polls, largely regarded by professional pollsters as the most reliable and accurate of all polls proved to be very fallible and were incorrectly reported in 2000, 2002, and 2004. The unison forecast for the elections this autumn may prove to be more off the mark than the forecasts for this year’s hurricane season.

You'll want to read this article at the American Spectator

Thespis Journal: Celebrating One Year

2006-09-04T22:51:00.000-04:00

Exactly one year ago today, September 5, 2005, I wrote this post to begin the adventure known as Thespis Journal. The mainstream media outlets were in various stages of hystronics over Hurricane Katrina. The coverage of the aftermath of Katrina was abhorent and absurd. I had been thinking of starting a blog for a long time. I was irate, and looking for an outlet. My best friend, Kevin, and my brother, Kevin had encouraged me for a long time to find a forum for my writing, and begin sharing my own brand of punditry.

Although this is the one year blogiversary, I have only blogged for eight months. I did not blog at all during February, March, April, and May due to work demands. I did not blog regularly in June either. I now have 305 posts on the blog, and I am ramping up to unveil Thespis Journal 2.0. Opening night for the new blog should be in the next few weeks.

Thespis Journal has had in excess of 20,000 unique visitors, and over 40,000 page loads. This is very small time in the world of blogging, but I am satisfied that someone is reading our material.

Special Thanks to the following blogs for being loyal friends and throughout the first year.

George at Stuck on Stupid
All our friends at TMH's Bacon Bits
Seth at Hard Astarboard
MsUnderestimated
Gull at Perish The Thought
Bryan of Hot Air and the JunkYard Blog
Ian at Hot Air
Our friends the EdWonks
Scott at Get on the Bus
Basil at Basil's Blog

Jay at Stop The ACLU

This is the 100th post on Thespis Journal. It has some interesting information from November, 2005.

Please leave a comment today to help celebrate this milestone. Here's looking forward to another great year, or in our case, another great eight months of writing during a 12 month period!

Pulling Back the Curtain on Modern Marxists

2006-09-04T08:15:00.000-04:00

The time has come for a new American emancipation--a great national drive to tear down economic barriers and liberate the spirit of enterprise in the most distressed areas of our country. My friends, together we can do this, and do it we must, so help me God.

From new freedom will spring new opportunities for growth, a more productive, fulfilled and united people, and a stronger America--an America that will lead the technological revolution, and also open its mind and heart and soul to the treasures of literature, music, and poetry, and the values of faith, courage, and love.

At the heart of our efforts is one idea vindicated by 25 straight months of economic growth: Freedom and incentives unleash the drive and entrepreneurial genius that are the core of human progress. We have begun to increase the rewards for work, savings, and investment; reduce the increase in the cost and size of government and its interference in people's lives.

President Ronald Reagan, January 21, 1985
Second Inaugural Address

The dramatic vision outlined so eloquently by President Reagan almost twenty three years ago has manifested itself bountifully in contemporary American life. Reagan’s policies that were maligned by Uncle Teddy Kennedy, Walter Mondale, and other liberal icons, have wrought an unprecedented period of sustained economic growth. Yet another economic renaissance has been underway since 2003. Even in the face of the most vicious and fatal attack in American history and a raging war on Islamic-fascists, the American economy flourishes and is the envy of the world. In fact the success of the American economy is likely causing the rise of terrorists if you follow the logic of Jack Murtha, and there is no doubt that radical Islamists despise American capitalism.

When it comes to the American economy, the liberals find themselves on the same side as the terrorists. In fact, these liberal democrats appear to have the same level of discontent with our American, capitalist way of life.

The present pace of the United States economy and the current level of economic growth are not satisfactory to the liberals and their leaders. Economic conditions that are repetitively demanded by socialist, liberal democrats have never been more elusive. It seems that these leftists can not be appeased on the economy.

In a dinner conversation the other night, some liberal friends expressed sincere doubt regarding the state of today’s economy. Historical perspective seemed to have no meaning. The unprecedented growth, level of employment, and other significant economic signals have no relevance when a discussion turns to bashing Wal-Mart or other broad unsubstantiated claims of economic despair throughout the United States.

A snapshot of current economic news should include the following.

• The economy is averaging 4% growth for this year.
• Excluding transportation, new orders for durable goods are up 9.6% at an annual rate in the first five months of 2006 while unfilled orders are up 12.8%.
• U.S. sales of domestically produced cars and trucks rose to 13 million in July, 4.5% above the second-quarter average. This provides a strong start to the third quarter's GDP
• The Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index rose to 54.7 in July, which the ISM estimates is associated with a 4.4% real GDP growth rate.
• Pending sales of existing homes rose 0.4% in July, going against expectations of a decline.
• Federal tax receipts rose approximately 13% year over year in July. For fiscal year 2007 the deficit looks like it might fall to $200 billion due to burgeoning tax receipts.
• The current unemployment rate 4.6% is very low, and is a figure that represents full employment as it is understood and theorized by many economists. 1.7 million new jobs have been created over the past year;

Employment has increased in 48 of the 50 states;
Manufacturing output is at an all-time high and production employment in manufacturing has increased by 117,000 over the past year -- the largest annual increase in over 8 years;
The economy has grown at 3.5% over the past year, while productivity has grown at 2.4%
Real per capita disposable income has risen 9.2% since 2001
Real compensation has risen 1.7%.

Even in the midst of all of these strong economic indicators, the Marxist socialists (the modern left wing of the democrat party) are never satisfied. Like some of my dinner guests, they decry our system by saying that Americans are forced to live below the poverty line, and that the minimum wage needs to be raised. These hysterics use snapshots of evolving data to claim that millions of Americans live without health insurance, or that most Americans can not afford a trip to the Emergency room.

At The American Spectator, Lisa Fabrizio makes a compelling indictment of these modern day socialist democrats.

Democrats often portray themselves as a beacon to the poor and especially protectors of the sacred American middle class. They are prone at almost any time to break into song over the way Republicans "cater to the rich" by cutting taxes and "balance the budget on the backs of the poor."
The ultra-liberal wing of the Democratic Party, which has now become its dominant voice, is essentially made up of socialists, or those who endorse one of their main tenets: state-controlled distribution of wealth. They might couch these ideas in wholly American terms like workers' rights, or claim that it's really only "for the children," but make no mistake about it; they endorse the mantra of Papa Karl Marx.

Fabrizio addresses one of the leading tenants of the democrats fall campaign: their anti Wal-Mart crusade that makes little sense to average common sense Americans.

And the sad part of this tale is that liberal hatred of companies like Wal-Mart keeps them from opening stores in inner city neighborhoods which would be most likely to benefit from their presence. Those of us who grew up in the days when most teenagers had part-time jobs know that working in a retail store is usually only a stepping-off point, yet more than three quarters of Wal-Mart managers joined the company as hourly employees.
Add to these job opportunities for under-educated or retired people, the lower prices which are said to free up $2,300 per average household per year -- possibly for investment or education -- and you can see why liberals quail at the mere mention of the W-word. It's hard to sustain an atmosphere of class warfare when one of the sides is in danger of disappearing.
Contrary to the way liberals treat them, more and more minority Americans refuse to be used as fodder in that war. They want and desire their share of the American dream, and if a job at Wal-Mart or the savings gained by shopping there will enable them to attain it, they will not be denied.
From all indications, liberals will continue to encourage their minority base to remain uneducated, abort their children, deny their religion and wallow in poverty. The more they do, the quicker those good people will assume their rightful place in American society -- a classless one.

I have one wish for the fall campaign: The liberal democrats will run as the socialist/Marxist/party of Europe that they have become.

Huber Heights Final: Kick Kirby to the Curb

2006-09-03T12:03:00.000-04:00

The contract settlement which brought closure to the Huber Heights teacher’s strike sounds like a big win for the Huber Heights Education Association. From the perspective of outside observers, it’s a little difficult to believe that Superintendent Kirby and the board permitted the situation to spiral out of control. When the heat kicked up in their self-imposed pressure chamber, Kirby and his board collapsed, and sounded rather off-key with their sour notes in the paper the next day. These off-pitch comments signaled that the teachers got a settlement which met their overall demands. While the HHEA clearly did not get everything that they wanted, they are to be congratulated on using their strength as a professional association to achieve a fair and equitable settlement for their members.

First and foremost, the teachers were able, with relative ease, to close school and bring attention to their plight. From the moment it began, this was a successful strike because Kirby closed school. The natural tension between schools being open with scab teachers means that teachers are loosing their pay for every day on the picket line. In Huber Heights, it is likely that all the school days will be made up, teachers lost no pay, and the teachers spent no days without their health-care. There wasn’t even time to cancel and reinstate the insurance by Friday. Kirby bungled his attempt to scare the teachers back to work. Even precious athletic programs were halted. For those who might be inclined to criticize the teachers in their efforts, one must remember that the Superintendent and the board have the obligation to settle a contract and have employees in place to operate school and all of the extra-curricular programs. Kirby failed in this obligation, and the students and the community suffered the consequences.

The unconfirmed settlement details reported by Scott at Get on the Bus, and sources from within the HHEA, indicate a nice financial deal for the teachers.

Apparently, the teachers will get raises of 3.5%, 3.5%, and 3.0% over the next three years. The teachers have minimal (very minimal) increases in their co-pays for some of the health-care benefits. There is no mention of any increases in their premium contributions. In today’s climate, this is a major win for the HHEA members. The teachers also got some language items that are needed in order for the school environment to remain productive and safe.

All of this leaves the lingering question of what was gained by the hapless Kirby and his board. The board allowed, even encouraged, public perceptions to develop that the Huber Heights schools do not and will not need more money to operate their district in the next few years. By allowing the situation to spiral out of control, Kirby and the ineffectual board brought a level of scrutiny and inquiry upon the board and their every expenditure. The strike highlighted the spectrum of administrative salaries-never a winner for any board. While teacher salaries are the source of public discontent, there is unanimous resentment of administrative salaries. Administrative salaries can provoke a public riot.

Kirby and his board placed their ineptitude from and center under the glare of the public spotlight. As the CEO of the district it is incumbent upon Kirby to have prevented the strike in the first place. Clearly, one day of mediation, and an undercurrent of strenuous public pressure, was enough to settle the issues. Kirby should have had the professionalism and personal integrity to bring closure to the matter in the hours immediately preceding the strike. In the days ahead, Kirby’s lack of good judgment, verbal clumsiness, lack of sophistication and outright intolerance will haunt him and the Huber Heights school district.

Kirby might consider marketing his “skills” in Labor/Management and dispute resolution to another district in the state where they desire an orchestrated public conflict with disastrous results for the school and the community.

On second thought, those skills aren’t really needed in Ohio any more. Huber Heights should kick Kirby to the curb and start over with someone more capable. Only qualified Superintendents with the dexterity, flexibility, and intellectual capacity to work collaboratively with teachers and the community need apply.

It's Carnival Time Again

2006-09-03T09:12:00.000-04:00

It's time once again for the weekly Carnival of Insanities at Dr. Sanity. This is an opportunity to laugh at some of the insanity we all live with each and every day.

You also still have the chance to look at the 82nd Carnival of Education.

There's a lot of great reading at both of these blogger festivals.

Nazis/Terrorists; Rhetorically Speaking: The Same Thing

2006-09-02T11:22:00.000-04:00

Jeffrey Lord wrote a splendid piece yesterday for the American Spectator. The need to constantly place the current war on Islamo-fascists into a meaningful historical context will never go away with the mainstream media and their radical friends in the democrat party beating the drum to bring the troops home, and allow the word to take care of itself.

Were there no economic and security consequences, the entire nation would like to forget about the terrorists. We never hear any liberal leader or leftist politician expound fully on their theory of leaving Iraq and their vision of the post war global geo-political composition. The dirty little secret is that there is no plan.

If the media were to expose this vast, intellectually vacant philosophy, the democrats would lose in a landslide this November.

Although the liberals are screeching loudly, the lessons of Nazi Germany from World War II are directly applicable to the situation today.

After more than a decade of losing elections to Democrats, after three straight presidential losses to Franklin D. Roosevelt -- the man conservative Republicans loved to hate -- the scent of victory was at last in the air for the GOP.

But there was a problem, and a big one at that. The previous December 7th America had been attacked at Pearl Harbor. The attack was a disaster, killing 2,471 military and civilians and destroying a considerable portion of the U.S. Navy. For the second time in just over twenty years the country was now at war. Not only were we fighting the Japanese but the Germans and the Italians too.

Lord goes on to ask the question, what did the Republicans do?

Savage FDR? Run on a campaign of "Roosevelt lied and people died"? Should they go out and tell the American people just how dangerously incompetent the man was, that the best thing to do was make peace with Hitler and Japan's Hirohito, then elect Republicans who would simply force FDR to bring home the boys and let the rest of the world cope with chaos? After all, a few years earlier FDR himself had turned back an ocean liner filled with 937 Jews escaping the looming Holocaust. The idea of not making Hitler, Hirohito or Mussolini any angrier than they were was certainly one approach.

The Republicans did none of the above. Instead, with the President on the political ropes at last, with a burgeoning team of attractive GOP candidates all over the country they did something else.

They rallied to FDR.

The Republicans won 44 seats in the house that Fall, and supported FDR through to victory in 1945. These Republicans did not commit the heresies against our people and our way of life as the current liberals do.

The disgusting display of political opportunism currently being demonstrated by the elected leadership of the democrat party is treasonous, and should NEVER be rewarded by voters at the polls this November.

Searching for Kaye Saunders-Sloan

2006-09-02T08:33:00.000-04:00

Good Morning All:

My great friend Kaye Saunders Sloan tried to contact me recently using the email provided on this blog in my contact information. The email address she used will not permit me to respond. There is something corrupt with the address. Kaye: please contact me again, and yes, it's me. I could easily write an entire post about days at Anderson College, now Anderson University. There is "holy ground" at Anderson University. Any Anderson Alumni reading this post feel free to comment on your days at Anderson. Please join in the dialogue!

Here's hoping that Kasey will try again! And here's to Anderson University.

Paul Hackett: Latest Liberal Hatchet Man

2006-09-01T22:22:00.000-04:00

Outrageous comments are made daily by news anchors, reporters, and commentators on cable news. Partisan hacks often join in the fun, and it’s a little difficult to keep up with the profuse insanities. Great sites like News Busters, Hot Air, MsUnderestimated, and others have a constant flow of information regarding ridiculous assertions and tainted liberal comments. A few hours of watching the shrill voices of cable news in a week conjures up images of a screeching cat fight on a hot summer night. In the midst of these outrage fests, it is difficult to find the new low, but this week Paul Hackett stopped the show with his mean-spirited, hate-filled comments directed at the dignified and humble Dan Senor during the Bill O’Reilly program.

A critical fact is that Bill wasn’t there that night. John Kasich is a nice guy, and does a fine job most of the time, but Hackett had obviously had his insults prepared and succeeded in shouting down Kasich. I am surprised that any host on Fox News would permit a guest to remain on the air after referring to a noble American as a Nazi. Hackett launched into his prepared insults by referring to Dan Senor as Herr Senor, and then called this former Press Secretary as the Unterfuhrer. Hackett had unleashed his rehearsed his Nazi rhetoric, and caused a sensation in the nutzville blogger community.

The editors at The Unalienable Right tell the story.

Look what Hackett is trying to say there. Some conservatives and members of the Bush administration have been making the comparison of our current terrorist enemies to some of our enemies of the past, such as Nazis, communists and fascists. Hackett is calling a fellow American who served in Iraq (as a civilian) a Nazi. By saying in essence "he started it" Hackett is implying that calling the terrorists fascists and calling his fellow American a Nazi are somehow equivalent, or that the former somehow justifies the latter. In other words, Hackett is asserting some equivalence in "the Nazi dialogue" comparing Osama bin Ladin to the Nazis and Hackett's own words comparing Senor to the Nazis. There also seems to be an implicit objection from the left to calling our Islamofascist enemies "fascists." Not just that it's an inaccurate historical reference, which is debatable, but that it's somehow wrong to call them that.
Or, Hackett is a foul-mouthed, hot-headed, unthinking ignoramus who just plain doesn't know what he's saying. Take your pick.
We caught a few minutes of the Rush Limbaugh show this morning, and he was making a similar observation - liberals/Democrats didn't object much, if at all, when Senator Durbin compared U.S. troops serving at Guantanamo Bay to Nazis and communists, but they are speaking up to object when our radical Islamist enemies are compared to Nazis or fascists. People who are so morally confused simply cannot be trusted with the majority in Congress in 2006 or with the presidency in 2008.
The Democrats think the enemy is the Bush administration. Republicans think the enemy is radical Islamic terrorism. Voters must decide which view they agree with in November

.

Paul Hackett has had his fifteen minutes of fame. MSNBC has tried for eighteen months to make Hackett into a star. The radical left wing loves him. The truth is that liberals think that it’s fine to refer to any conservative as a Nazi, but it is anathema to do not compare our Islamo-fascist enemies to Hitler or Hirohito.

These radical views, embodied so fully by Paul Hackett and others, may make a huge splash in the media, but they certainly do not have the moral weight to win the fundamental debate of our time. A large portion of our citizens have lost focus in the global war on terror. The terrorist threat no longer seems real, and until our nation experiences (God forbid) another massive attack, the radical democrats and their will accomplices in the media will continue their blame America, cut and run scheme as a strategy to appeal to voters. The United States may have to experience the debacle of having the liberals in charge of things to realize that it is time to vote for and demand a responsible government once again.

Others on this topic: Hugh Hewitt, Johnny Dollar's Place, Mark Levin Fan, Round Two at Hot Air, First State Politics.

Check out Stop The ACLU.

Kirby, Board Fumble Again

2006-09-01T09:19:00.000-04:00

While the Huber Heights teachers appear to be thrilled to be returning to their classrooms, and their satisfaction with the settlement is clear, the ineffectual Superintendent Kirby and his board appear to continue with their comedy of errors. At the conclusion of a strike it is customary and expected that both sides will ratify the agreement within twenty-fours of the other party ratifying. Kirby makes apologies for his board, who obviously were not too worried about the situation since some of the members are out of town. Wow! What a board. It’s easy to see why the board hired someone as hapless and misguided as Kirby. One of the board members even had the nerve and lack of graciousness to sound off with sour comments in the Dayton Daily News.

"I'm not happy the leadership of the HHEA led our teachers out on strike," board member Carl Fisher said.
"The deal was more expensive than I feel the community can afford. I'm afraid it will put future funding in jeopardy."

This total lack of class and integrity does not demonstrate a willingness to move forward with a productive attitude on the part of the board. Mr. Fisher must be speaking for the entire board since his comments appear as the exclusive public statement from the Huber Heights board. His lack of competence is further revealed when he blames the leadership of the HHEA. The union was obviously united behind its’ leaders, and for Fisher to blame the leadership for the strike is short-sighted, childish, and just plain wrong. My guess is that the teachers got a deal they deserved, and that Kirby, Fisher, and the rest of this unimpressive cast of characters on the board are unhappy with their loss.

In a teacher’s strike there are no winners. But, there’s nothing worse than a sore loser.

We hope to do a complete wrap-up this weekend, though we are waiting on sources from both sides to confirm details.

A Slender Rosie...

2006-08-31T13:53:00.000-04:00

With all of the photo-shopping going on lately, it seems that Rosie O'Donnell was the next most likely candidate. Katie Couric looked great in her new pictures, and Al-Reuters and the New York Times have been doing it for years.

It's a great picture. I'm glad that it doesn't endanger any lives or blame America or George Bush first. In fact, Rosie says she likes the picture.

Here's wishing Rosie O'Donnell and The View a great season in 2006-2007.

God Bless Don Rumsfeld

2006-08-31T09:13:00.000-04:00

In the midst of the worst attack on any public figure in recent history, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld gave a stunning speech on Monday further explaining and defining the current events in Iraq. He received little coverage for the speech with the exception of incessant, liberal sniping for being political. Wow! The liberal elites who manipulate the media every day are calling an American who has spent a large part of his adult life in resplendent service to our nation a hypocrite. Smarmy news bimbos get to mislead the public about the war while calling Mr. Rumsfeld a hypocrite. While Rumsfeld and the men and women of our armed forces fight terrorism, these people blame America for everything wrong with the world. After all, Jack Murtha said that we created the terrorists.

Secretary Rumsfeld’s articulate words speak for the entire conservative movement at this point.

I'm not one to put much faith in opinion polls. But the other day, I came across an interesting set of statistics that I want to mention. It seems that the Pew Research Center asked opinion leaders in the United States their views of the prospects for a stable democracy in Iraq. Here were some of the results: 63% of people in the news media thought the enterprise would fail. So did 71% of people in the foreign affairs establishment and 71% in academic settings or think tanks.
Interestingly, opinion leaders from the U.S. military are optimistic about Iraq by a margin of 64% to 32%. And so is the American public, by a margin of 56% to 37%. And the Iraqi people are also optimistic. I've seen this demonstrated repeatedly--in public opinion polls, in the turnout for the elections, and that tips to authorities from ordinary Iraqis have grown from 483 to 4,700 tips in a month.
This prompts the question: Which view of Iraq is more accurate? The pessimistic view of so-called elites in our country--or the optimism expressed by millions of Iraqis and by the roughly 158,000 troops on the ground? But, most important is the question: why should Iraq's success or failure matter to the American people? I'd like to address these questions today.

Secretary Rumsfeld concludes with these comments:

"So I suggest to editors and reporters--whose good intentions I take for granted--to do some soul searching. To ask: how will history judge--if it does--the reporting decades from now when Iraq's path is settled?
I would urge us all to make every effort to ensure we are telling the whole story. To take a moment for self-reflection and reassessment.

Further it is worth noting that there are 158,000 Americans in uniform who are sending e-mails back to friends and families, telling them the truth as they see it. And much of it is different than what those in the United States are seeing and reading about every day
Our country is waging a battle unlike any other in history. We are waging it in a media age unlike any that war fighters have ever known. In this new century, we all need to make adjustments--in government and in the media. And change is hard.

But to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, we are all Republicans. We are all Democrats. We are all Americans. We are all in this together. And what we do today will not only impact us, but our children and our grandchildren, and the kind of world they will live in. "

God Bless Don Rumsfeld!

Others on this topic: Sister Toldjah has it right! From the Left has an interesting take.

Villanious Compnay has a treatise on the topic. The American Spectator has a wonderful article.

Neal Boortz on TV

2006-08-31T08:06:00.000-04:00

The always wonderful MsUnderestimated has up two exquisite posts this morning that provide detail on the brainless dribble of some folks on cable news. Tucker Carlson’s latest pathetic attempt at a news show has a segment called “three on three.” I wish we had video like so many other blogs.

I just happened to see this part of his show on Wednesday afternoon when Tucker was “interviewing” his three guests: Jerry Springer, the always hateful and creepy Jennie Backus, and libertarian Neal Boortz. There is little wonder why Tucker Carlson is a failure. He is one of two or three faux conservatives who provide a slight veneer on the otherwise liberal façade at MSNBC. Both Tucker and Joe Scarborough are huge disappointments as anchors and as conservatives. These two gentlemen don’t even do a good job posing as anchormen or conservatives any longer.

Anyway, as MsUnderestimated demonstrates in her commentary and video, that the “three on three” segment was completely ridiculous. Tucker has no concept of balancing the time between his guests, and he seems to be compelled to argue with every conservative as he tries to prove his independence to the authorities at NBC. Tucker joined in on shouting down Neal with Jennie and Jerry. When given his few seconds to talk, Neal made some excellent points.

Jenny and Jerry are obviously both accustomed to and enjoy shout fests, and Jerry showed why his syndicated spectacle is always a frenzied mess without any useful purpose to an intellectual pursuit of living. It is amazing that in our free society that anyone would consider having Jerry Springer on as a guest commentator for any political or international affairs topic. It would seem that Mr. Springer would have forfeited any credibility by hosting that trash talking, tabloid sickening circus for the last ten years.

MSNBC and the low rated, disgraceful performance of Tucker Carlson are barely worth a comment. At least Ms U. was able to make the entire episode entertaining. Stop by and check her out-she’s got a great news site with precious commentary and useful insight.

See the original post of Ms. U.

She has another great post featuring video of Neal on Hannity and Colmes.

Well, Well, Well, It's Armitage-Not Rove, Cheney, or Libby...What Now...

2006-08-30T18:40:00.000-04:00

Although it has been known and reported for some time, The Wall Street Journal today made the news very mainstream: the entire Valerie Plame identity scandal was nothing more than a media obsession with a crime that NEVER existed.

From its very start, the ballyhooed case of who leaked the name of CIA analyst Valerie Plame to columnist Robert Novak has been drenched in partisan politics and media hypocrisy. The more we learn, however, the more it also reveals about the internal dysfunction of the Bush Administration and the lack of loyalty among some of its most senior officials.In other words, the leaker wasn't Karl Rove or Scooter Libby or anyone else in the White House who has been accused of running a conspiracy against Ms. Plame as revenge for her husband Joe Wilson's false accusations against the White House's case for war with Iraq. So what have the last three years been all about anyway? Political opportunism and internal score-settling, among other things.
While conspiracy theories can be used to weave an intricate plotline, the wild-eyed, totally contrived theories promulgated by liberals and their willing accomplices in the media are finally exposed as the deceitful heresy that has become the foundation of the democrat party. If democrats plan to use these fabricated mantras as Fall campaign slogans, the November elections should prove to be very entertaining.

Although Richard Armitage has been outed as the source for the original Rober Novak column, we must remember that there is not now, nor has the ever been a crime committed against Valerie Plame or the United States government. It has been well established the Plame was not an undercover employee any longer, and in any case, she had already outed herself publicly many times over. We explained this in a detailed post on October 23, 2005.

"So, here is what we have. Valerie Plame uses here married name, her cover name, working at the CIA front company called Brewster-Jennings & Associates, contributes $1,000 to the Gore campaign. The media spins this as a revelation resulting from the Novak article-and of course, Karl Rove. But, this is not what this shows. What this shows is that Valerie Plame blew her own cover because she contributed to the campaign of Gore under the same name that she used for her undercover, her married name, and the name of a CIA front company that she worker for. So, Valerie Plame violates who knows what other kinds of protocol using her undercover name, exposing the existence of a CIA front company and all of this is totally ignored because supposedly her name was leaked and that is how people noticed. Now, this is a clever, clever attempt to try to spin the as she didn't do anything wrong. Why is it perfectly normal for an American and CIA agent to contribute and want to contribute to the Gore campaign."

Also, often lost in the devious, democrat, demagoguery parroted by the mainstream media for more than three years is the fact that every assertion by Joe Wilson (aka Clown Wilson) has been proven indisputably false.

"ON JULY 22, 2005, the New York Times published a lengthy, front-page article detailing the work of two senior Bush administration officials, Karl Rove and Scooter Libby, on the Niger-uranium story. A seemingly exhaustive timeline ran alongside the piece. In 19 bullet points, the Times provided its readers in considerable detail with what it regarded as the highlights of the story. The timeline traces events from the initial request for more information on the alleged Iraqi inquiries in Africa to Joseph Wilson's trip to Niger; from the now-famous "16 words" in President Bush's 2003 State of the Union to the details of White House telephone logs; from Bush administration claims that Karl Rove was not involved in the leak to the naming of special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, and on from there to the dates that White House officials testified before the grand jury.
As I say, seemingly exhaustive. But there is one curious omission: July 7, 2004. On that date, the bipartisan Senate Select Intelligence Committee released a 511-page report on the intelligence that served as the foundation for the Bush administration's case for war in Iraq. The Senate report includes a 48-page section on Wilson that demonstrates, in painstaking detail, that virtually everything Joseph Wilson said publicly about his trip, from its origins to his conclusions, was false."

Only a media culture in which Bush hatred has become the psychotic, impenetrable template for news could produce news stories that make Wilson appear at all credible. The mainstream media continued today to focus on their own irresponsible vendetta while missing the two key elements of this episode.

Since the embarrassing revelation, the Paul Begala wing of the liberal party has been strangely silent. When any of these strident voices fall silent on any topic, it means more than an admission of defeat, it means that further discussion of the tired issue might endanger Ned Lamont or some other current “cut and run” darling of the extreme left. Valerie Plame and Clown Wilson must be sitting at home feeling like a used woman: they were paid for their services and discarded afterwards.

Others on this topic: Rhymes with Right, Donklephant, Mike's Noise has a Fabulous post.
InstaPundit, GOP Bloggers. Not-A-Pundit.

Mark Levin weighs in..

Huber Heights Teacher's Strike: Media Circus

2006-08-30T15:46:00.000-04:00

As we previously stated at Thespis Journal, things aren’t always as they appear to be in the mainstream media.-especially in a strike situation. Although the Dayton News stations have made valiant attempts to cover the news radiating from Huber Heights, these mainstream media outlets have lived up their nickname of being the “drive-by” media. Sketchy facts and supported by sound snippets and finished off with remarks from anchor people who have no idea what might be actually transpiring. All three of the newscasts led their 11:00pm Tuesday telecasts with the news of the “forced” federal mediation taking place in Columbus today. Each of the three networks also foolishly sounded a clarion call that school might resume on Thursday, August 31. While school could resume on Thursday, it seems unlikely, and the real news coming from Huber Heights had nothing to do with school resuming on Thursday or any other day in the near future.

The Huber Heights Education Association has repeatedly requested to return to the table. The hapless Superintendent Kirby seemed to think that he would force the teacher’s to return to the table and forfeit their right to strike. He still seems intent on having the strike declared illegal, yet he has never explained to the public the benefit of having this strike declared illegal. Absent an agreement on a new master contract, the teachers could strike again with a new ten notice, and the district could experience another several days or weeks of turmoil.

Without a doubt, every member of HHEA is thrilled that talks are taking place today. True professionals would always rather be with their students teaching and learning. The blame for the interruption of school lies with Superintendent Kirby, his team and his board. Their failure to bring closure to the process has earned him the distinction of being idiot of the week. Kirby has spent more than a week worried about the legality of the strike. He should have been worried about getting students and teachers back in school.

A lot of the current crisis has been brought about as a result of an alternative Mutually Agree Dispute Resolution Procedure (MAD). Both sides agreed to a legally binding change in the procedure. In a pattern that he established in his previous district in Indiana, Mr. Kirby could not abide by his own agreement. He is very familiar with contracts not being settled since the teachers in his last school district worked for two years without a contract. Kirby brought this baggage with him to Huber Heights. Kirby’s tarnished history with labor relations demonstrates what we have been saying all along: the Superintendent is at the center of all that is wrong in the Huber Heights crisis.

Hopefully, the talks went well today. The football team was practicing, so all is well in the district. Prior to Wednesday, all co-curricular and extra-curricular activities had stopped. Surely, the pressure to settle a contract must be enormous. Parents should be demanding to get their students back in school. School may be in session yet this week. While it is a guessing game, Mr. Kirby’s history and blatant disregard for his teachers and his lack of integrity may cause a longer strike than the mainstream media wants us to believe. It seems like the real question to some is the status of the football game on Friday night.

The Dayton Daily News has more.
Detroit Schools Show Down: Teachers on Strike
Perkins Teachers are on Strike too. More on the Perkins Strike

The 82nd Carnival of Education

2006-08-29T17:33:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the 82nd Edition of the Carnival of Education
Special Theatrical Edition
Featuring Articles submitted from across the Edusphere

Have you ever had a day, a week, a month, or an entire school year when you thought it would be appropriate for your students, colleagues, or administrators to form the cast of a Broadway play or musical? Do you sometimes find yourself in melodramatic episodes that could be written into a fully formed script or libretto? If so….read on…

Thespis Journal is proud to present education articles from a panoramic view across the horizon of teaching and learning. You might want to play some music from Phantom of the Opera, Annie, Gypsy, Hairspray, or even Wicked as accompaniment for your trip to the Great White Way.

I am expressing my sincere apology to each of you in advance for the lack of parallel structure in the outline of these posts.

Scott Elliott at Get on the Bus will host next weeks carnival. Submissions are due to Scott next Tuesday, September 5 by 9:00pm. EDT. Send your submissions to scemel@aol.com.

Leading Actor...

From the Trenches of Public Education takes a leading role in today’s theatrical carnival with his post, The Right to Burn the Flag and Shoot Ourselves in the Foot. The fine line between innovative lesson demonstrations and public perceptions of our work is carefully explored by Mr. Fermoyle. You might want to check out the book In The Trenches.

The Textbook Evaluator has a great post relative to the marketing and creation of textbooks. There is true expertise in his post.

“Let me be clear, however. I am not against textbooks, nor do I have it in for the big textbook publishers. I do not support the radical decentralization of instructional decisions to individual classroom teachers. My general beef with instructional materials is NOT the materials themselves. My frustration is that the structure of the market for educational materials does not reward innovation, does not reward effectiveness, and does not lead to general improvements in student performance.”

At Texas Ed (a voice from outside public education), there is a powerfully worded, well conceived post about the over-valuation of football coaches in Texas. It’s hard to argue with T-Ed’s reasoning.

The Education Wonks award The Knucklehead of the Day. You have to read the post-the driver is truly a bonehead.

D-Ed Reckoning has a post regarding clueless newspaper reporting.

Ms. Cornelius at A Shrewdness of Apes wins a Tony Award for her leading role in being the most theme appropriate this week when she writes, When Teaching School is like a Divine Comedy. How did she know we needed a comedy, and it's only the second week of school?

The King And I...
In the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein classic the King and I, the King of Siam rules with infinite authority making all decisions: Mrs. Anna teaches the King’s numerous children.

The King’s Choice:

In this touching and revealing post at Meri Musings, the author tells of taking her daughter to the first day of kindergarten.

The American Spectator has a thoughtful and instructive post “No Sex Please: We’re Teenagers.”

Right Wing Nation takes Educration and Liberalism to task. They invented the term, go there for the instruction. No doubt, Right Wing Nation would have no tolerance for the King's dictatorship.

Mrs. Anna’s Lessons:

The Author of Teaching in the Twenty-First Century quotes the most well-known lyrics sung by Mrs. Anna in The King And I. The very appropriately titled post is “Getting to Know You."

It’s a very ancient saying,
But a true and honest thought,
That if you become a teacher,
By your pupils you’ll be taught.

There’s nothing to Teach is the title of a post at Supreme Narcissism. The post explores the debate over teaching “intelligent design,” and the pitfalls of sex education.

Sex education from a different perspective is featured in an astute post at NYC Educator. NYC Educator titles the post: Forget Merit Pay!

Mrs. Anna must have some very difficult lessons to teach the children of Siam these days because Jon Swift takes an off-beat view of funding for subjects like science and the like. Swift’s sarcastic wit could be put to good use at our school.

Diane Weir has a lesson for all of us on being an advocate for pre-schoolers vs. being an advocate for preschool. This pungent post is worth it for all of us as a reminder to keep the kids needs first.

The History Boys...
(The 2006 Tony Award for best new play)

There’s a Colorado Flag update at Millard Fillmore’s bathtub.

The Good Human has more on the Colorado flag incident. This is a great post with several links.

A History Teacher says "They Don't Get It, We Can Help." I hope that this History Teacher gets to see History Boys.

From History is Elementary: What is it Going to Take -a wonderful post on motivation.

Wicked...
(The 2003 smash hit featuring songs of the legendary Stephen Schwartz. Wicked is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, and is noticeably more inspired and artistic.)

Scheiss Weekly has a post for us that reminds me of Elphaba, that Wicked Witch of the West: Fire burn and cauldron bubble; That one witch is rambling again.

I keep saying this but here it is again: There are certain skills that intelligent persons simply must have, at certain ages. When one becomes a self-sustaining adult, (which status of course many 'adults' never attain because their families and they themselves allowed them to go through school without doing or learning anything!!!) (My SELF ESTEEM!!!!!!) a decent person will be armed with skills, marketable skills, with which to earn one's own living.

Alexander at This Week in Education writes about the rate of Blogging, and the appropriate number of posts for an education blogger. There are two week totals of posts from several prominent education blogs and a comparison chart. This is Wicked good.

Edspresso has a salty posting in which they respond to commentary and concerns from AFT members.

NCLB Let's Get It Right pours the java right back in Wicked fashion to Edspresso. These two bloggers could create and intriguing plotline to watch at the theater.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest...
The Tony Award winning play by Dale Wasserman that explores a ward of mentally challenged patients. Cuckoo’s Nest is a compelling drama, and a famous movie circa 1975.

Campus Watch has an article filled with additional information regarding the use of the popular site Facebook as a coping technique relative to the tragedies at Virginia Tech.

Going to the Mat has a detailed post with analysis regarding Principal Signing Bonuses In Maryland: Incentive without Insurance. Like many concerned citizens today, Matt demands accountability measures that accompany the pay incentives.

At Get Lost Mr. Chips, the author tells a tale about the first day of school that had to make the teachers believe they were starring in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.

Children of Eden...

This post reminds me of the show-stopping musical number Generations from the Stephen Schwartz musical Children of Eden. What It’s Like on the Inside has a post regarding the class of 2010. Warning: this might make seasoned educators feel as though you have been teaching for Generations.

Chris Quimby illustrates that there is no back to school for homeschoolers and boasts about the advantages of home schooling in a poetic treatise called Back To School.

Online Charter Schools are not synonomis with Home Schooling! Spunky Home School has quite an essay on this topic, and she's right! I'm not sure what qualifies an online charter as a school. (This is an editor's choice article.)

Trivium Pursuit Blog has information on Vitruvius in for home schooling.

Creative Home Schooling Is Thinking Out of The Box boasts of a success on a standardized test for a home schooled child. Way to go!

Sometimes it is better to do nothing! Read all about it in Paul's Tips.

The Pajama Game...
In this 1954 musical, the workers at the Sleep Tite Pajama Factory are about to go on strike for a pay raise.

Scott says the Huber Heights Strike is difficult to handicap. Thespis says that Superintendent Kirby needs to lead. Best wishes to the Huber Heights, Ohio teachers who are fighting for teachers wages and rights for local teachers and teachers across Ohio!

Featured Actor...

Scott Elliot at Get on the Bus has a caution for teachers-especially teachers of primary grade children-regarding overly complex and demanding school supply lists. Scott has a point about public perceptions regarding alternative agendas being promoted through the very specific supply list.

The Hall Monitor also has new ways of acquiring school supplies.

The Workplace Prof Blog has an insightful post on age discrimination in the hiring and promotion of adjunct faculty members.

Where are the students in the National Standards Debate is a question posed and answered by Poor, Starving College Student.

Ms_Teacher is shaking her head in disbelief at grade level promotions. I thought NCLB was supposed to solve all of these issues.

At Discourse About Discourse, the author talks about metawriting and best and worst writing prompts. This featured performer asks for feedback about the performance.

Anonymous Educator posts on the topic of internet addiction for students and battling this internet addiction.

The Jill Carroll Story comes from The Current Events in Education from an extremely creative and imaginative teacher. There are even lesson ideas; how wonderful!

A Teacher from New York spending a year in Turkey sends in the latest report.

In a timely post the HunBlog provides an update on Katrina's Aftermath on Education.

How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying...
The 1962 Tony-Award Winning Best Musical

Matt Inglot shares secrets with college students regarding starting their own business. Success Points for Starting A Business as a Student could make you a millionaire by age 40!

Peter Pan...

Scheiss Weekly has a wonderful post about her confused experiences with a teacher and the novel for children, Peter Pan. This is a fascinating post. You might want to think of the marvelous Jule Styne music, Never land Waltz as you are reading.

Applause! Applause! Thanks for visiting the special theatrical edition of the Carnival of Education. See you on the midway next week!

Check out the Carnival of Education Archives.

Check out the Mudville Gazette on the naming of a school.
A Post on Guest Blogging at Junkyard Blog
The Conservative Cat

Kirby's Latest Fumble

2006-08-29T08:51:00.000-04:00

Superintendent William Kirby seems like he has done it again! He has proven that he is inept at utilizing two of the most fundamental management techniques in a strike situation. If he manages the Huber Heights Schools so recklessly on a daily basis, there is little wonder why the district is facing this crisis.

Kirby should be using his time to facilitate a settlement in the on-going dispute. All of the efforts of Kirby and his negotiating team should be directed at bringing closure to the conflict. Students need to be in school, and they deserve competent teachers who are in the classroom eager to teach and mentor all the young people in the Huber Heights Schools.

Instead Kirby is playing classic games, yet he obviously has no skill or expertise in forcing a settlement. His efforts appear bumbling at best, and totally mean-spirited at worst. First, according to the Tuesday edition of the Dayton Daily News, Kirby admits to having tried (unsuccessfully) to intimidate his teachers with the threat of canceling their health insurance. He says that the law requires that the benefits be canceled. Kirby's statement is blatantly false. The Board of Education can continue to pay for the benefits if they choose to do so. Most boards do not in a strike situation. Kirby should be man enough to own up to his decision to threaten his teachers and agitate this situation.

Secondly, Kirby has still not made good on his threat to file with the State Employment Relations Board to have the strike declared illegal. Any idiot could have filed that complaint on Friday of last week. Apparently Mr. Kirby's incessant talking about the filing is all that has happened. Surely the public must wonder about Kirby's leadership abilities: it is now Tuesday, and Mr. Kirby and his board have yet to file the concern that has seemed to be the center piece of their strategy to settle the strike. Kirby has been talking about having the strike declared illegal for more than a week. The flaws of Kirby's ridiculous plan are exposed here.

Superintendent Kirby seems to lack the motivation to settle the strike. Obviously, the circumstances of the work stoppage have overwhelmed him. Perhaps it's time for someone else to take the leadership role to get the Huber Heights community through this situation.

Superintendent Continues Delay Tactics

2006-08-28T09:47:00.000-04:00

One has to wonder if Superintendent William Kirby has any intentions of ever settling a contract with his teachers. According to the Dayton Daily News, Kirby plans to spend the day today trying to penalize and outmaneuver the teachers instead of talking with them. While refusing to engage a federal mediator, Kirby and his fellow administrators are playing legal games again. Kirby appears willing to invest time in arguing over semantics and trivialities rather than get his teachers and students back in school.

One has to wonder how long this hapless leader will allow this drama to play on.

Lots of other links from the Dayton Daily News.

True Leadership Needed in Huber Heights Strike

2006-08-27T21:16:00.000-04:00

While Superintendent William Kirby and his highly paid negotiators spend valuable time worrying about the legality of the teacher’s strike, he and his team could be using their time to foster and promote a settlement that will get the students back to school permanently. The Huber Heights teachers, students, and community deserve more from a man who is supposed to be the educational leader of the community. Kirby seems to have a propensity to focus on trivialities while the community senses a crisis. He displayed a bizarre brand of intellectual bankruptcy when he placed last week’s football game above the fundamental educational needs of the students in the Huber Heights schools. The Huber Heights students and teachers deserve more. Those involved in Huber Heights schools deserve a productive year with a singular focus on teaching and learning; however Mr. Kirby appears to be more concerned with the possibility of a temporary victory that would be nothing more than a band-aid on a gushing wound.

Every time that we see Mr. Kirby in the news or read about him in the newspaper, he is touting his effort to have the strike by the local OEA affiliate declared illegal. Kirby behaves as if the state employment relations board declaring the strike illegal would make the whole situation evaporate. His thinking represents nothing more than a simplistic myth. Teachers would retain their right to strike, and would no doubt file another notice, and be on strike again within a matter of days.

Kirby’s lame move to the State Employment Relations Board followed his pathetic attempt to get the press and the public interested in his blizzard of paperwork which amounted to administrative propaganda regarding the current state of bargaining. Surely, he must have been hoping that if he, acting as deity, could let the teachers know his “final offer” that the teachers would sense his warm personality and melt in their resolve to achieve a fair and equitable settlement. Kirby may have hoped that teachers would shrink from the challenge and be afraid to strike. Friday must have been a harsh reality check for Mr. Kirby.

There’s obviously a lot going on in the Huber Heights teacher’s strike than we are seeing and reading in the mainstream media. There are always many factors at work behind the scenes which are not witnessed by the media or the union members. What is public, however, is Kirby’s determination to keep the district solvent in the years ahead, without regard for the interim stability of the district. A rigid philosophy, holding the financial bottom line above all other factors will not produce an effective district. A truly creative, imaginative leadership team must think beyond the unencumbered balance of the district for fiscal year 2010. Most Ohio school districts are fortunate if they have a fiscal management plan that extends further than two years. By allowing a narrowly defined fiscal policy to control every decision, Kirby has allowed controversy to erupt in the Huber Heights community, and has exposed the district to a level of scrutiny that raises the negative perception of the district in the mind of average voters. Kirby will live to regret all of the circumstances which led to this strike.

In the meantime, it is incumbent on Kirby to get his negotiators back to the table to meet with the Union representatives. Non-stop negotiations should begin immediately. The administration/board side must show some flexibility. Clearly there are resources to produce a settlement that is more attractive than the so-called final offer. It is a little shocking that the administration would resort to the obsolete technique of releasing a “last offer” unless their intent was to implement the offer (forcing the teachers to accept it), and to inflame an already strained process. Kirby seems to have excelled at both of these goals.

A leader must lead, and Kirby has seemed more like a professional whiner than a dynamic leader who can facilitate a solution in this current situation. Superintendent Kirby should lead the way back to the table, and join his teacher’s in a collaborative effort to construct a fair settlement sometime early this week. It’s time to stop playing the games that he has obviously been playing for several months.

Read more in the Dayton Daily News here, here, here, and here.

Kathie Bracy has more.

Ghost Light: Posts of the Week

2006-08-27T09:02:00.000-04:00

The drive-by media is trying their best to convince us today that the only story this week is the anniversary of Katrina. Please! There are lots of other interesting news stories and commentary available. Enjoy, and keep the ghost light on.

Seth at Hard Astarboard pokes fun at the democrats for their agenda for the Fall campaign: A War on Wal-Mart. Now, that is laughable!

Dr. Sanity has her weekly "Carnival of the Insanities." You'll enjoy it.

Gull at Perish The Thought has new insights claiming that Kofi Annan has softened his stance against Israel.

The Buzz Blog has the weekly Fair Tax Blogburst. Keep the Fair Tax Alive!

The Education Wonks are tracking the travels and commentary of Margaret Spellings again. It must a terrible life to have to travel the world defending the NCLB legislation.

Mr. McNamar has a great post at The Daily Grind called Whaddya Wanna Bet.

Blue Crab Boulevard tells the story of 128 Hammond, Indiana students suspended on the first day of school for dress code violations.

Joanne Jacobs has information that debunks the cry for more and more P.E.

Scott Ellioit at Get on the Bus has a list of MSM Education Bloggers.

AJ Strata has a short column on Liberal Whiners.

Hot Air reports again on Britan's George Galloway and his moonbat views of the world. He should get over here quick and campaign with Nutty Ned!

They're Alive, Safe, and Free

2006-08-27T07:20:00.000-04:00

Fox News is reporting that Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig are safe and free. Everyone is thankful for the release of these two inncocent journalists. So many bloggers kept the story from being forgtotten, and the outcome is a welcome relief. You can watch and listen to Centanni with Shepherd Smith on Fox News this morning. Centanni is was very emotional and relieved. May God Bless these men and their families. Only Centanni, Wiig, and their families understand the meaning of this ordeal.

Fox News has the video and all the news.

Previous post, and links. Michelle Malkin has more.

Right Winged tells of the forced conversion to Islam. MsUnderestimated has her usual comprehensive coverage.

Check out Blue Crab Boulevard

Shame, shame, shame!

2006-08-26T21:11:00.000-04:00

Shame, shame, shame! The shame is on visiting Judge Gary McKinley for turning the tables on justice, teaching, and common decency in Kenton, Ohio.

This is almost unbelievable. I say “almost unbelievable” because, if you have witnessed the emphasis that most administrators place on school athletic teams, it is not difficult to believe this sad circumstance. It seems that a local judge believes football to be more important than teaching a life lesson, more important than upholding the intent of the law, and more important than the lives of two young men. The Toledo Blade provides a summary of the story with some editorial content.

And then there are the victims, two blameless young men who are left with disabling injuries and the distinct impression that what happened to them matters less than the future of those who committed the thoughtless act.
In what apparently was supposed to be a prank, the Kenton boys stole a deer decoy and put it in the middle of a road last November so they could watch as motorists swerved to avoid it.
One driver, Robert Roby, Jr., crashed his car, suffering a broken neck, collar bone, arm, and leg. Now 19, he faces his 11th surgery to repair those injuries. His passenger, Dustin Zachariah, 18, wasn't as fortunate. He has brain damage.
The perpetrators, Dailyn Campbell, 16, and Jesse Howard, 17, pleaded no contest to charges of vehicular vandalism and juvenile delinquency counts of possession of criminal tools and theft.
The two were sentenced to house arrest, ordered to pay fines and restitution, and they must write 500-word essays on "Why I Should Think Before I Act." But they're still free to play with the Kenton Wildcats when the team opens its season next Friday. Their coach testified on their behalf.
While it may be true in theory that football builds character in young men, we believe the more important lesson to be taught is that criminal behavior - even a stupid prank gone awry - has serious consequences, and that there are worse things in life than missing a football season.

The anti-public alliance is no doubt lurking in the wings ready to blast public education once again, yet the failure this time is clearly with the legal system.

In an appalling, yet not surprising statement, the Superintendent of Schools, defended the decision of the School Board to permit convicted felons to participate in school sports. ‘‘The healing’s got to start some time,’’ Superintendent Doug Roberts said afterward.

The lesson being taught to countless students, students who are sharp and can figure things out for themselves, is that football players are above the law. Each year, there are many compromises made and lessons learned for student athletes of all stripes. These issues are “in house” issues such as grades and work completed. These episodes that occur in practically every high school in the nation often teach the wrong lesson as well. However, the life and death circumstance perpetrated in Kenton, Ohio by two delinquent young men is beyond the pale.

As a teacher and coach, it would not be good for team morale or the long term efficacy of any program to have convicted felons play on the team. The punishment must fit the crime, and while the punishment might fit for the two guilty boys, the accommodations made for these delinquents are not acceptable.

It’s just another case of athletics trumping everything, and in this case everyone-even precious human lives still hanging in the balance.

Others on this topic: If You Would Just Listen to Me, Conservative Culture, This and That, Mommies at Law, Michael's Corner.

WICKED: Starring Hilary, Ned, Jack, and Ray

2006-08-26T11:13:00.000-04:00

Hilary Clinton, Jack Murtha, and Ray Nagin, taken collectively, had quite a week. This is not the first time that they have been cited as singing their song of gauche harmony within a few days of each other. It’s almost as if the New York Times kicked off another story for the cast of Hilary, Jack, and Ray to sound off in a discordant unison. Hilary was responsible for the round off back tuck that brought the verbal gymnastics to a conclusion on Friday. Attempting to pull off the mother of all political triangulations, Hilary had a rendezvous with Ned Lamont to stage-manage and scheme for his campaign against Joe Lieberman. Never mind that Bill Clinton campaigned vigorously for Lieberman in the primary or that Hilary endorsed old Joe just a few weeks ago. The leftist, socialist wing of her party has surrounded her like the winged monkeys of Oz to demand her loyalty to their patron saint, Ned, as he attempts to unseat the evil Joe. Leave it to Hilary to fly in on her broom and attempt to save the day. The monkeys’ will no doubt protect her as they fly rapidly, in a vulture like formation, to protect her against all the elements of Oz, or in this case, The Times, The Post, and The Daily Kos.

From the New York Post: August 26, 2006 -- WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday jumped off the sidelines to throw the full weight of her monstrous political machine behind anti-war Democratic darling Ned Lamont - a move aimed at appeasing her liberal critics. To help Lamont thwart an independent general election challenge from Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, Clinton is loaning Lamont her trusted political spinmeister Howard Wolfson and vowing to help the political novice raise gobs of campaign cash. The relationship is mutually beneficial: While Lamont gets access to Clinton's campaign experts and fund-raisers; she can reap some of the liberal love being heaped on Lamont by party activists and bloggers. She revealed the stunning scope of her support over coffee during an hour-long meeting with Lamont, his wife Annie and his campaign manager Tom Swan at her Chappaqua home yesterday morning.

And, the Daily Kos loved it! In well over 300 comments, readers of the Daily Kos express their obvious glee at the meeting of Elphaba and Fiyero. (If lost, see the Wicked homepage). In the meantime, The Times, The Post, and The Daily Kos are cheering Hilary on in her latest display of unadulterated duplicity. These media outlets hold only conservatives accountable.

Jack Murtha had his moment in Oz this week too. Murtha continues to blame America for the rise of terrorism in the world, and therefore espouses the appeasement strategy of Europe by default.

Poor Jack Murtha, he's tried everything, and he obviously can't help it. He will say anything to get back to the front and center of the mainstream media circus. He seems to know precisely what to say to return his name and picture to the front pages of the mainstream media. "Instead of deterring terrorism, our policies are fostering it," Murtha said. "We're spending $8 billion a month on this war, our courageous fighting men and women are being killed and maimed and we are wreaking havoc on Iraq. An end must be brought to this now.” Murtha truly believes that America has created the terrorism. His logic surely applies to pre-9.11 policy as well. Therefore, Murtha blames America for 9.11 and the entire scope of worldwide terrorism. What a fool! It looks like Murtha has the early lead for idiot of the week.

To continue with the Wicked theme, Murtha seems to see himself as the great Wizard himself, behind the curtain, pulling the strings and pushing the buttons. Too bad Murtha already overplayed his hand, and pulled his own curtain away as he exposed his true motive: to run for majority leader when Nancy Pelosi ascends to Speaker. Murtha’s fifteen minutes of fame has probably just entered its final Act.

With Hilary as Elphaba, Lamont as Fiyero, and Murtha as the Wizard, Nagin completes our cast today in the role of Madame Morrible. An aging magician, trying to instruct others in the craft, Morrible often gets her foot in her mouth. The comparison to Nagin is obvious. His colorful comments are approaching the status of legendary, and if we didn’t know they were true, Nagin’s comments would seem like something straight from the Myth of Oz.

With the onslaught of Katrina anniversary stories just about to begin there is just another irresponsible statement from Ray Nagin: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin criticized efforts to develop the empty World Trade Center site when confronted in a television interview about delays in rebuilding his city after Hurricane Katrina. During the CBS "60 minutes" interview, a correspondent pointed out flood-damaged cars still on the streets of New Orleans' devastated Ninth Ward. Nagin replied, "You guys in New York can't get a hole in the ground fixed, and it's five years later. So let's be fair," according to CBS.

From the New York Daily News: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin refused to apologize for taking a cheap shot at the sluggish rebuilding of Ground Zero - but Mayor Bloomberg would not hit back. Bloomberg said he was "scrupulously avoiding criticizing anybody" and focused on the efforts New Yorkers made to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina last year. "We sent down police officers, firefighters, correction officers, equipment to New Orleans," Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show. "So I'll let Mayor Nagin worry about [rebuilding] New Orleans and I'll try to do everything I can to help the governor here." Nagin had upset some New York officials by invoking Ground Zero during a tour of New Orleans' still-decimated Ninth Ward in an attempt to deflect criticism about the pace of the cleanup in the Big Easy.

Come on Ray, you're slipping. This comment didn't have the humor of your earlier comments like "Chocolate City." This was just mean-spirited and stupid. Maybe you and Kathleen Blanco need another skirmish to bring out your best verbal fireworks.

Is it possible in Nagin's twisted mind that the Katrina disaster and a terrorist attack are equivalent events? In what universe does Nagin exist...

We have assembled part of our cast for this upcoming production of Wicked. The days ahead, replete with fabricated Katrina plotlines and half truths, will no doubt provide fodder for more trips down that famed yellow brick road of fantasy, fiction, and contrived intrigue.

Check out Stop the ACLU, MsUnderestimated, Michelle Malkin, Captain's Quarters, TMH's Bacon Bits, Mudville Gazette, Hot Air.

Ray Nagin's Twisted Mind

2006-08-25T22:24:00.000-04:00

With the onslaught of Katrina anniversary stories just about to begin there is just another irresponsible statement from Ray Nagin:

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin criticized efforts to redevelop the World Trade Center site when confronted in a television interview about delays in rebuilding his city after Hurricane Katrina.

During the CBS "60 minutes" interview, a correspondent pointed out flood-damaged cars still on the streets of New Orleans' devastated Ninth Ward. Nagin replied, "You guys in New York can't get a hole in the ground fixed, and it's five years later. So let's be fair," according to CBS.

Come on Ray, you're slipping. This comment didn't have the humor of your earlier comments like "Chocolate City." This was just mean-spirited and stupid. Is it possible in Nagin's twisted mind that the Katrina disaster and a terrorist attack are eqivilent events? In what universe is Nagin existing...

Red Hawk Review
Ten Stupid Things Said By Liberals
Junkyard Blog
The Jerry Springer, Al Gore, Ray Nagin, Hilary Clinton, and Jack Murtha America
The New York Daily News

Our Covert Enemies

2006-08-25T21:51:00.000-04:00

Michael Barone is almost always fabulous. This week, along with Ann Coulter, he writes about those within the United States who are the covert enimies of our way of life. "Our covert enemies don't want the Islamo-fascists to win. But in some corner of their hearts, they would like us to lose." His writing is brilliant, and it is unfortunate that millions of Americans will never see it and understand it.

In our war against Islamo-fascist terrorism, we face enemies both overt and covert. The overt enemies are, of course, the terrorists themselves. Their motives are clear: They hate our society because of its freedoms and liberties, and want to make us all submit to their totalitarian form of Islam. They are busy trying to wreak harm on us in any way they can. Against them we can fight back, as we did when British authorities arrested the men and women who were plotting to blow up a dozen airliners over the Atlantic.

Our covert enemies are harder to identify, for they live in large numbers within our midst. And in terms of intentions, they are not enemies in the sense that they consciously wish to destroy our society. On the contrary, they enjoy our freedoms and often call for their expansion. But they have also been working, over many years, to undermine faith in our society and confidence in its goodness. These covert enemies are those among our elites who have promoted the ideas labeled as multiculturalism, moral relativism and (the term is Professor Samuel Huntington's) transnationalism.

At the center of their thinking is a notion of moral relativism. No idea is morally superior to another. Hitler had his way, we have ours -- who's to say who is right? No ideas should be "privileged," especially those that have been the guiding forces in the development and improvement of Western civilization. Rich white men have imposed their ideas because of their wealth and through the use of force. Rich white nations imposed their rule on benighted people of color around the world. For this sin of imperialism they must forever be regarded as morally stained and presumptively wrong. Our covert enemies go quickly from the notion that all societies are morally equal to the notion that all societies are morally equal except ours, which is worse.

Barone is a fascinating and gifted author. Read the entire column, it is well worth the time and the effort. When you watch CNN, NBC, MSNBC, and other mainstream media outlets they demonstrate their central role in aiding and promoting our covert enemies.

Blackwell and Strickland

2006-08-25T21:24:00.000-04:00

With the approach of Labor Day, the race for Ohio Governor is heating up. At Thespis Journal, we are watching the election from the wings at this point. Our hearts may be with Ken Blackwell, but the burning issue of public education keeps Strickland as a viable alternative.

Oh no! Eric Kephas says that Strickland is nothing more than “Ohio’s Jimmy Carter.” Eric could easily be right.

The Democratic Party still has no plan, and Ted Strickland is really nothing more than Ohio's Jimmy Carter. When push comes to shove, a lot of people are going to decide that - regardless of what they think about the Ohio GOP - Strickland is too liberal, too inexperienced, and too much like what we've already had.

You'll see more of this as the campaign goes on. Unhappy Republicans may flirt with Ted Strickland, but they'll come home to Ken Blackwell. Eric is sharp. Eric’s guess is my forecast too.
At the Boring Made Dul l, there is a report of Blackwell in the Lion’s Den. We share the concerns of the professional educators in the room.

The political forces in Ohio are polarized when it comes to dealing with the issue of public education. The education of an entire generation of Ohio’s students may be sacrificed while so-called leaders posture themselves with ideological purity and partisan demagoguery. This polarization wins elections. It is terribly unfortunate that Ohio’s leaders will not come together and make education in Ohio a real priority, and join in a collaborative model that can sell Ohio to the nation.

More at Project Logic
Stop the ACLU

Ann Coulter Hits The Nail

2006-08-24T21:18:00.000-04:00

With her column today, Ann Coulter cuts through the daily birrage of liberal drivel that the Iraqi war has nothing to do with the War on Terror. As usual, she puts into words what many others are thinking. Ann asks the question, "What part of the war on terror do liberals support?" Ann is really correct in her analysis. Liberals do not support the Patriot Act, the Iraqi War, the NSA survellance program, or any of the other efforts of our military to defend the United States in this current war. Here's the preamble of Ann's article today.

This year's Democratic plan for the future is another inane sound bite designed to trick American voters into trusting them with national security.

To wit, they're claiming there is no connection between the war on terror and the war in Iraq, and while they're all for the war against terror — absolutely in favor of that war — they are adamantly opposed to the Iraq war. You know, the war where the U.S. military is killing thousands upon thousands of terrorists (described in the media as "Iraqi civilians," even if they are from Jordan, like the now-dead leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi). That war.

As Howard Dean put it this week, "The occupation in Iraq is costing American lives and hampering our ability to fight the real global war on terror."

This would be like complaining that Roosevelt's war in Germany was hampering our ability to fight the real global war on fascism. Or anti-discrimination laws were hampering our ability to fight the real war on racism. Or dusting is hampering our ability to fight the real war on dust.

It's Ned Lamont time for the democrat party. I still believe that some issue will rally the conservative base of voters and get these people to the polls. There were indications of a narrowing of the races this week.

With Sherrod Brown and Ted Strickland emboldened in Ohio to speak of overtly liberal causes, it seems like quite a year of the liberal. I guess time will tell. The liberals are measuring curtains in the speaker's office and the Governor's mansion. They seem very confident. Again, only time will tell. These early polls are not the same result that we will see on election day. If the election were held today, there might be a democrat landslide. But the election is November 7. Maybe someone needs to take a message to Howard Dean: the election is on November 7.

Eyes on Fox has a ridiculous view of Ann's appearance on Neil Cavuto today. Read it to get an idea of leftist views.

Watch Ann's heated appearance on Hannity and Colmes last night.

Usher's First Preview Night

2006-08-23T20:57:00.000-04:00

This post is dedicated to Daniel Gould and Kevin McColaugh.

There was a great deal of coverage in today's New York papers after last night's first appearance by Usher in the Broadway revival of Chicago. Although he is technically only in previews-his official opening takes place on September 5, there were hints that Usher can sing, dance, and sometimes act his way through the role of Billy Flynn. There has been lots of press, and ticket sales for Chicago are hot.

Check out the coverage, and hurry to Manhattan to see it for yourself if you have the time, financial backing, and interest.

The New York Post, The New York Daily News, Broadway.com

Carnival Time

2006-08-23T20:36:00.000-04:00

You'll want to check out these useful and informative carnivals. Thanks to the wonderful hosts for providing this invaluable service. There is a lot of good reading at both. Sit back, read, and enjoy a "day in the woods."

The 81st Carnival of Education

Carnival of Ohio Politics #36

The Murtha of all Morons...

2006-08-22T21:54:00.000-04:00

Poor Jack Murtha, he's tried everything, and he obviously can't help it. He will say anything to get back to the front and center of the mainstream media circus. He seems to know precisely what to say to return his name and picture to the front pages of the mainstream media.

"Instead of deterring terrorism, our policies are fostering it," Murtha said. "We're spending $8 billion a month on this war, our courageous fighting men and women are being killed and maimed and we are wreaking havoc on Iraq. An end must be brought to this now."

Murtha truly believes that America has created the terrorism. His logic surely applies to pre-9.11 policy as well. Therefore, Murtha blames America for 9.11 and the entire scope of worldwide terrorism. What an idiot. It looks like Murtha has the early lead as a nominee for this week's Carnival of the Insanities.

Heavy-Handed Politics Murtha's Big Waves,

Still Missing...

2006-08-22T21:08:00.000-04:00

MsUnderestimated and Michelle Malkin have been all over the story of missing Fox News reporter Steve Centanni and his cameraman Olaf Wiig. Please pray for these Americans facing an unknown circumstance. Here's more courtesy of Michelle Malkin:

Fox News Channel reporter Steve Centanni and freelance cameraman Olaf Wiig are still missing. It has now been more than a week since their kidnapping at gunpoint in Gaza by unknown terrorists. FNC top management, the journalists' families, and Palestinian journalists continue to press for their release.

Following up on my post late Sunday night, some media types are now musing that one possible reason the story is not getting the attention it deserves is that there aren't any "new" developments to report. Vaughn Ververs, CJR Daily, and Stephen Spruiell at The Media Blog weigh in. TV blogs are covering the story: check TV Newser, Johnny Dollar, and Inside Cable News.

My opinion: No news is news. So is unchecked terrorist thuggery against Western journalists. The disappearance of Centanni and Wiig is at least as newsworthy as--and far more threatening to our national security than--people falling off cruise ships or getting eaten by alligators or attacked by bees.

Thanks Michelle and others covering this topic: MsUnderestimated, Hot Air, Media Blog, TV Newser and many others.

Dwelling on a Faulty Report Card

2006-08-21T21:32:00.000-04:00

Scroll for updates.

Scott Elliot, education reporter for the Dayton Daily Democrat, is a reputable reporter who maintains a fine blog on the Daily News site. In his blog, Get on the Bus, Mr. Elliot covers a variety of topics spanning the scope of current trends in education. Lately, however, he has been exercised about test scores, and on the premise that “if it bleeds it leads,” Elliot has produced a series of posts that inflate the importance of the high stakes testing scheme imposed by the state and federal government. Elliot has also permitted these rankings and scores to dominate much of his reporting in the newspaper, and he has become an inadvertent cheerleader for the slimy politician’s defective paradigm that these tests actually reveal the worthiness of individual schools and school districts. These willing mainstream media types have allowed themselves to be duped by all those in the anti public school alliance into thinking that these inconsistent, one day, high stakes assessments are reliable and worthy of so much commentary and attention. The excessive emphasis on these tests in now more widely exaggerated as the media have sung their same tired song as if reporting a drive-by shooting. The media hype fostered by Mr. Elliot and the Dayton Daily News has placed school districts in the Miami Valley and throughout the state of Ohio at greater risk. Education professionals are now facing a stage that has been reprehensively and defectively set for the voters of Ohio. While Scott Elliot has no doubt attempted to focus his readers on the critical issues facing public schools, his blog has become a something of a propaganda tool for artificial thinking and twisted logic.

Spotlighting several of Mr. Elliot’s posts will illuminate the egregious and untimely prominence given to test scores in recent days.
In the post “The Valley’s Top Fifty Elementary Schools,” Elliot writes, “It just so happens that a small school in the city that exclusively serves handicapped students (some of them with severe handicaps) was rated the top school in the area on state reports that came out last week.”
“THE top school!” (The emphasis is all Mr. Elliot’s)

In a post fitting for tabloid night on ESPN’s Sports Center, Elliot anoints this year’s winners and losers in “The Miami Valley’s Winners and Losers.” These metaphorical acrobatics promote illegitimate thinking and foster non-productive attitudes among administrators who allow themselves to attempt to win the super-bowl sweepstakes of education assessments and thereby achieve status in publications like the Dayton Daily News. This type of thinking and writing permits and encourages an undeserving and unfortunate credibility to the testing regimen. To quote Mr. Elliot in his best sportscaster tone, “Here’s one way to judge. I looked at last year ranking of the 60 Miami Valley school districts for performance index score (the state’s measure of test performance across all grades) and compared it to this year’s ranking to see what the biggest changes were. From that comparison, here are the Miami Valley’s biggest report card winners and losers this year.”

Two posts, “Lots of Report Card Improvement,” and “What’s Your District’s Ranking,” emphasize rankings and standings above any true measurement of achievement and ignores comprehensive reform plans that span the entire educational program offered to students.

The sheer volume of posting about the test score component and the incessant sports-like comparisons endorses the flawed prototype promulgated by those who view education as an exact science that can only be measured on one high stakes testing day. The preponderance of posting at Get on the Bus is a productive and enlightening discourse that represents a valid addition to any serious discussion of trends in education. Any further dwelling upon the state report card and all of the ensuing contrived comparisons would be irresponsible reporting-especially in such a highly visible blog of far reaching influence in the Miami Valley. Spending this much time covering the little league World Series of an underhanded scheme designed by the haters of public education is not warranted or constructive. Using an unfairly designed, competitive educational model pretending that all factors are equal, as the foundation for a week’s worth of reporting is a risky and badly chosen proposition for any newspaper or journalist of class and status.

Perhaps Mr. Elliot, or another fine journalist in the Miami Valley will find a voice reporting on the inestimable innovations and successes to be found in public schools throughout the Dayton area. As any educator or parent knows, the results of one high stakes testing day are important only to pompous, bloviating politicians looking for votes in the November elections, and to sensational tabloid artists trying to sell newspapers at the expense of the public servants who may be achieving daily miracles while facing insurmountable odds.

Update: The following comment exchange with Mr. Elliot's participation is worth printing in the text of the article.

This post is a classic case of blaming the messenger. We're in the information business in MSM. The simple fact is people want this information. The blog is a useful venue to make it available to them. It's really not up to me to decide on behalf of readers whether or not they SHOULD want this information, or if this is an appropriate way to judge schools. The fact is, this IS how we judge schools as a state and nation. In other reporting, the DDN has established a track record of asking very tough questions about our state's testing program and NCLB in a pair of award-winning series, just as you are urging the MSM should do.
Scott Elliott

Simply operating by cliché (“A classic case of blaming the messenger”) ignores and misses the point of the negligent choices that Mr. Elliot is making to dwell inordinately upon this issue. He also avoids responsibility for his unwavering effort to make the entire scheme about winning and losing. This narrow view of the situation is suitable for tabloid, sensationalist reporting that does not require the detail, nuance, and diligence of in-depth reporting. There is little attempt to acknowledge or report facts which impact upon success in the high stakes testing scheme. I suppose that a comprehensive report is too much work, and, “the public doesn’t want it.”

It is shallow and short-sighted to blithely, even naively, state that this is how “we” judge schools as a state and as a nation. There are other methods of evaluating and assessing the effectiveness of schools. The erroneous impression given by Mr. Elliot in his profuse blogging on this topic is that schools systems should be compared and discussed using the same parameters as any athletic event. By dwelling on the test scores, Mr. Elliot only furthers misconceptions about public education. While simplifying the topic for the mass public, Elliot makes it appear that there are not any other apposite measurements by which to judge public schools. Elliot fosters the drive-by approach of viewing education through the same prism as a sporting event. When called on for this obvious deficiency, he cowers behind the cloak of “providing a service for the public” when reality demonstrates that he is doing the precise opposite.

Theater Quick Links

2006-08-20T20:32:00.000-04:00

Update: Pippin to extend its' run.

Citing a demand for tickets, Goodspeed Musicals has extended its production of Pippin to Sept. 29 at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT.

Check it out: Playbill has the details.

The New York Times has a wonderful article on National Tours of hit Broadway shows. It seems like the shows are having a great deal of difficulty.

By lifting the quality of its road shows, Broadway also raised their cost and the audiences’ expectations. And when the show coming through town is “Little Shop of Horrors” rather than an internationally acclaimed hit, fewer people are willing to pay $150 for a pair of tickets, especially when they can instead watch a rented movie on their flat-screen television. “There are no inexpensive shows anymore,” said Scott Zeiger, a producer who previously ran the division of Clear Channel Communications that promoted touring shows. “Ticket buyers are now forced to make choices. They can’t necessarily afford to see every single show in a year.”

The artist, Usher, is preparing for his Broadway debut in the role of slick lawyer, Billy Flynn in the on-going Broadway revival of Chicago. This production of Chicago will reach its’ ten year anniversary this November. There have been several episodes in this long run that have seen the ticket be the hottest ticket on Broadway. It’s going to be hard to get a ticket while Usher is in the show.

Read a summary of reviews regarding Patti Lupone’s performance as Mamma Rose in Gypsy last weekend. It sounds like it must have been a truly spectacular Gypsy. Gypsy is so impossible for many community theater programs and most high schools. It’s too bad because Gypsy is such an outstanding show.

Spring Awakening will be one of the first new musicals on Broadway for the 2007 season. Moving from off-Broadway as is Grey Gardens, Spring Awakening sounds like it could be something wonderful.
Pippin at the Goodspeed Opera sounds like a tremendous period presentation of this classic by Stephen Schwartz

Jimmy Carter, Anna Diggs Taylor, Ned Lamont, and the Implications for the November Elections

2006-08-20T10:27:00.000-04:00

Unexpectedly, the events of the last two weeks are likely to be the best news for conservatives in a while. While the followers of Ned Lamont and the minions of George McGovern and Jimmy Carter celebrate perceived victories in the never ending war of public perceptions, there are signs that the victories for the left will be short-term. As grown-up, mature, and thoughtful Americans wake up to the reality that the McGovern/Carter/Kerry party may be about to take over, there may be a renewed vigor in those voters who support the war on Islamic Fascists-just in time for the November elections. The thought of Jimmy Carter’s philosophical heirs being in charge of anything should be enough to frighten anyone over the age of forty into rushing to the polls to vote conservative.

David Limbaugh brings Jimmy Carter’s latest blunder into sharp focus.

Want to know where the Democratic Party stands and where America would be under their leadership? Just ask Jimmy Carter.
Carter is certainly not bashful about bashing the United States, even on foreign soil or to the foreign press. He sat for an interview with Der Spiegel recently and fired with both barrels at President Bush, "fundamentalist" Christians and Israel.
Carter states the Democrats' position quite clearly. Islamo-fascist terrorists aren't that bad. They are probably peace-loving people like the rest of us who just have their noses out of joint over Bush's "unilateral" foreign policy and his "preemptive" attack on Iraq. Indeed, Carter said the Arab world hates us because we invaded Iraq, and even more so for "supporting and encouraging Israel in its unjustified attack on Lebanon."
So the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, occurred because we attacked Iraq in 2003? Israel was unjustified in retaliating against Hezbollah, which is supported by (and a part of) the Lebanese government and its people? If we would just talk to these reasonable terrorists -- such as Hezbollah and Mike Wallace's hero, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, we could achieve peace?
In the interview, Carter pointedly blamed Bush's foreign policy on his Christian "fundamentalism." He nicely articulated the position of today's Democratic leaders, which while scrambling for "values voters," consistently insult them, and while holding themselves out as superior guardians of our national security, see America, not the terrorists, as the problem.

WOW! Jimmy Carter never ceases to amaze me with his whacky statements and total lack of class. As we stated on August 6, “Mr. Carter has opened his mouth again, and while he is bashing President Bush, Carter succeeds in embarrassing himself and has given aid and comfort to the enemy once again. There has been a long standing policy that Former Presidents provide their critiques of current policies in private. Mr. Carter has never accommodated this unwritten rule. Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter have always the lacked the class, wisdom, wisdom, good judgment, and dignity to lead our nation in any meaningful manner.”

Anyway, at the risk of giving away an undisclosed strategy for the Republicans to have another victory in an off year election, Karl Rove must be thinking that he couldn’t have come up with a better series of events to pull back the curtain and expose these liberals of the 21st century. Of course, he has already been accused of orchestrating all of these events. Even the greatest producer on Broadway couldn’t orchestrate an elaborate scheme of key events that is this fantastical or intricate.

The fact that the NSA surveillance program led to the prevention of the London terror plot, the Carter appointed leftist striking down the authority of the NSA and the government to protect US citizens, and the rise of Ned Lamont and his supporters should provide the best opening that conservatives have had all year to focus the issues and draw the contrasts for the American People.

There is increasing evidence that many citizens do not take the threat of terrorism seriously. Various conspiracy theories regarding the imminent attack in London have sprouted wings all over the internet. The left is cheering the decision of Judge Anna Diggs Taylor. No matter that the liberals are joined in all of their positions by Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Hammas, defeating George Bush and the republicans is more important than genuine national security issues. A statement that represents the typical liberal position can be found here. Another author says, “Poor Decision, Right Result.” In fact, a cursory look at the posts in the blogosphere have the liberal catching up today with outrageous claims of “unconstitutional!” “Impeachable Offenses,” and “YESSSSS! Judge reigns in Bush's warrantless snooping!”

At times like this, there is no more qualified legal scholar to turn to than Mark Levin, author of the fabulous book, Men in Black.

“The New York Times editorial today, cheering on Judge Taylor's lame and irresponsible decision striking down the Terrorist Surveillance Program (TSP), is, like Taylor’s opinion, a joke. The liberals like to talk about judicial review and judicial precedent. Yet, this judge ignored all of it. Over the years federal appellate courts have recognized the president's inherit constitutional authority to protect our nation from foreign threats against our national security without the requirement of warrants.”

If the liberals are to be believed, this debate will provide a razor sharp focus for the fall elections. The current stark contrast of views could be abandoned by the democrats if they moderate their radical views like John Kerry attempted to do in 2004. It is more likely, however, that the liberals plan to use their sharply pointed rhetoric and deep-seated views to draw the starkest of contrasts and motivate enough of the same voters who elected Ned Lamont to elect their candidates in a national swing not seen since 1994. There are not enough of these voters nationally to make this a feasible strategy.

It’s time for a major public relations blitz, an education for the average voter about the Carter/Kerry/Lamont party and their appeasement motives accompanied by their cut-and run military plans. The failure of the liberal democrats to acknowledge the threat of terrorism in today’s world is more distasteful and unbelievable than all of the other offenses of the liberal elites. Their propensity to blame America first is the principle inspiration of their politics. They repeatedly state that the United States has created more terrorists despite the lessons and light of history shining on us, and with the ghosts of Hitler and other radical extremists hovering over. These philosophical purists fail to see any real threat to the United States and our way of life. All of this radical liberalism, proposed by the party of Europe plays conveniently into the hand of Osama Bin Laden who has expressed his faith in the lack of America’s resolve. Too bad the democrats appear to be out to prove Bin Laden right again.

Others on this topic: Stuck On Stupid, The American Thinker, The American Spectator, The Come Home Democrats, Don Singleton, Don Surber.

Get on the Education Carousel

2006-08-17T09:05:00.000-04:00

It's time for the weekly Carnival of Education hosted by the originators of this carnival: The Education Wonks. The Wonks are also tireless promoters of educational writing. This carnival, along with many others, gives voice to the concept of freedom of speech, as opposed to others who only talk about freedom of speech while working to limit those who oppose them.

School is starting for many teacher and students across the nation. There is always time for another thoughtful piece by anyone involved in education. Guest bloggers are welcome at Thespis Journal: please let me know.

London Plot Exposes The Left

2006-08-16T23:44:00.000-04:00

Michael Barone is simply outstanding. He consistently writes interesting columns, and as the 2004 campaign season proved, Barone is the unrivaled expert on elections, voting patterns, and voter turn-out issues. This week, Barone's colum is priceless. Hopefully, many people will have the opportunity to read the enitre article.

Tuesday and Thursday. On Tuesday, anti-Iraq war candidate Ned Lamont beat Sen. Joseph Lieberman in Connecticut's Democratic primary. On Thursday, British authorities arrested more than 20 British Muslims who were plotting to blow up American airliners over the Atlantic Ocean.

Tuesday was a victory for the angry antiwar Left that set the tone in the Democrats' 2003-04 presidential cycle and seems likely to set the tone again in 2007-08. Thursday was a reminder that there are, as George W. Bush has finally taken to calling them, Islamic fascist terrorists who want to kill us and destroy our way of life.

Thursday's lesson was not one Tuesday's victors wanted to learn. Left-wing bloggers played an important part in Lamont's victory. Here's the reaction of one of them, John Aravosis, to the red alert ordered here in response to the British arrests: "Do I sound as if I don't believe this alert? Why, yes, that would be correct. I just don't believe it. Read the article. They say the plot had an 'Al Qaeda footprint.' Ooh, are you scared yet?"

What we are looking at here is cognitive dissonance. The mindset of the Left blogosphere is that there's no real terrorist threat out there.

Barone continues on in the article to draw detailed comparsions of Lamont and Chamberlain. It is a brilliant piece of poltical theater, and Barone skewers today's extreme left for their obvious error in judgment.

Can we expect as much of our Left? It seems doubtful. Our Left criticized George W. Bush when The New York Times revealed that the National Security Agency was surveilling telephone calls from al-Qaida suspects overseas to the United States. Now it appears that the United States surveilled the British terrorists, and that they made phone calls to the United States. The Left cried foul when The New York Times revealed that the United States was monitoring money transfers at the SWIFT bank clearinghouse in Brussels. Now it appears that there was monitoring of money transfers by the British terrorists in Pakistan. On Tuesday, the Left was gleeful that it was scoring political points against George W. Bush. On Thursday, it seemed that the supposedly controversial NSA surveillance contributed to savings thousands of lives.

Joseph Lieberman is being criticized for saying, "I'm worried that too many people, both in politics and out, don't appreciate the seriousness of the threat to American security and the evil of the enemy that faces us -- more evil, or as evil, as Nazism and probably more dangerous than the Soviet communists we fought during the long Cold War. We cannot deceive ourselves that we live in safety today and the war is over, and it's why we have to stay strong and vigilant."

That view didn't prevail on Tuesday. But it sure made sense on Thursday.

The United States needs to deal with its historical ghosts. Exorcise all of these ghosts by refusing to take the European route of appeasement and cowardice.

Hot Air has a post that proves Barone's point: Liberals Do Not Take the Threat Seriously

Check out Stuck on Stupid
MsUnderestimated has great video of Shepherd Smith smacking around a confirmed terrorist: The President of Lebanon. He doesn't get it either!

More examples of liberals not taking it seriously: Urbangrounds,

Notes to Ned

2006-08-16T22:52:00.000-04:00

Ned Lamont, democrat candidate for Senate in Connecticut, took a bold step in his general election campaign by writing an Op-Ed piece for the Wall Street Journal today. We say a bold step because his radical, socialist supporters might consider anyone writing for the Wall Street Journal to be treasonous to the religion of ultimate faith in Moveon.org, and the team of netroots bloggers.

Lamont tries to assume the attire of a moderate, yet he ends up the column with his trademark rant about the Iraqi war that is filled with cliché, reminiscent of Helen Thomas, Hezbollah, Cynthia McKinney, and Cindy Sheehan. Additionally, Lamont attempts to highlight a campaign platform and appeal to a wider spectrum of Connecticut voters. A barely masked attempt to play catch up with Senator Lieberman’s revitalized campaign; Lamont is on uncertain footing, and may realize that the dynamics of the race are not in his control. When the New York Times writes an adoring piece on Senator Lieberman, Lamont must be feeling especially uncomfortable. And by the time Chris Matthews starts telling you to your face that Old Joe has the money all lined up from major backers, the air certainly has escaped from that euphoric moment when the mainstreamers televised you with Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Mad Max last Tuesday night.

To remind us while we are all praying for Lieberman to win this November, let’s review a few of the highlights of Lamont’s column today.

• "That's why I talked about my work as a volunteer teacher in the Bridgeport public schools, which can't afford to be open later than 2:30 p.m., schools that send children home to an empty house." (Note to Ned: Many schools close at this hour, and the closing time of school has nothing to do with the achievement level of students, but as a volunteer teacher, you might not know that!).

• "Meanwhile, the government is spending $250 million a day on an unprovoked war in Iraq while starving needed social investment at home. I am a fiscal conservative and our people want their government to be sparing and sensible with their tax dollars. (Note to Ned: This is a “Clinton Whopper.” Your tired mantra about the war in Iraq is trumped by your blatant stupidity regarding social spending. Government spending is up astronomically during the Bush years. Maybe you were kidding when you wrote this statement.)

• "By every available metric, the "stay the course" strategy in Iraq is not a winning strategy. Changing course is neither extreme nor weak; it is essential for our national security." (Note to Ned: your rhetoric here is not only unimaginative; it also misrepresents the situation our military faces in Iraq. You offer no real solutions or strategy for coping with Iraq after you and Murtha lead our troops in cutting and running.)

• But we're bogged down in Iraq, and hamstrung in the war against terror, by leaders who lacked judgment, historical perspective, openness to other cultures and plain old common sense. We offer something different. (Note to Ned: we understand your “diversity” code language for “sharing the love” with Kim Jung Il, Amadenejad, and other Islamic fascists all over the world. Neville Chamberlain said the same things about Hitler, and I trust you know how that turned out.)

• "But in the final analysis, the results of this election say less about me, and more about the people of Connecticut. They turned out in record numbers; they spoke every day with a simple eloquence and urgency about the country we love." (Note to Ned: those record numbers of votes that you write about are minuscule compared to the numbers that you will need to defeat Lieberman this November. Good luck, and may the best man win-there’s no question who that is!)

One has to admire Ned for trying. After all, the New York Times did endorse him, and now Hilary and Bill have joined in the effort. It’s so interesting to note how quickly Al Gore, Howard Dean, Donna Brazile, and the entire democratic machine three Joe overboard. Take heart, Joe! If security concerns stay at the top of the list, you might even win a landslide this Fall. The political post-mortem on that one will be rich with political implications and nuance.

More at The American Prospect, Hang Right Politics, Uncommon Sense, The Big Tent,
Deny My Freedom, Talk Show American, Jay Reading.

Ridiculous Liberal Attempt to Steal The Security Issue

2006-08-16T18:46:00.000-04:00

September 11, 2001 changed the national political dialogue for the forseeable future. George Bush and the Republican Party have won the two national elections since 9-11 primarily with their advantage on the most significant isssue of our time: national security.

In the wake of each successful attempt to thwart a terrorist attack, the spokesmen of kook fringe left are utilizing their biased platform (endowed them by mainstream media types) to blast the Bush administration for failing in the war on terror. In their desperate attempt to turn security into a winning issue for democrats, liberals are trying to make up for lost time and lost elections in 2002 and 2004. The goal of the liberals it to make the Bush administration pay for successfully using the security issue in the last two national elections. These liberals, still smarting from the loss of Senators Clelland, Carnahan, Daschle, Mondale and others, are shamelessly clamoring for greater security measures in the face of a five year record of success.

They are against the patriot act, against the war in Iraq, against securing our nation’s borders, against effectively prosecuting a war on Hezbollah, constantly call for a cease fire under the code language of American being an “honest broker,” and promote a purely European agenda at the expense of American values. Every line of attack is followed by the freshest call for a cut and run approach, and a redeployment of troops across the horizon in Okinawa. The right will never stop laughing at Jack Murtha for that faux paus.

The current practice of democrats reached a fever pitch today as Representative Ed Markey spoke about the issue at Reagan National Airport, and again at Boston’s Logan National airport after the successful attempt today to divert a plane from Washington to Boston. This political grandstanding (in the style perfected by Chuckie Schumer) has raised the unseemly aura of having these liberals roll the dice; betting on a successful terror attack against the United States as a stratagem for a democrat victory on November.

When you hear these liberals call for a greater spending on homeland security, propose another cut and run scheme to end the Iraqi War, and when they blame President Bush for the success of foiled terror plots, just remember that these are the politicians who proudly state that they defeated the Patriot Act, who strenuously argue against every terror fighting strategy proffered while offering none of their own, and who are naively asking for your vote this November.

Also, someone needs to tell Representative Markey that cockpits are now safe, security measures are in place and have been working, and that there have been no successful domestic terrorist attacks since September 11. The Patriot Act, the NSA, and the monitoring of international terrorist funds-all of which you and the democrat leadership oppose, have saved countless lives in the five years since that horrific attack.

Other similar topics: TMH Bacon Bits, Dr. Sanity
MsUnderestimated-Thanks!

For Whom The School Bell Tolls.....

2006-08-14T23:21:00.000-04:00

A Fresh New Year, Same Musty Old Problems

As I was listening to Neal Boortz blasting all aspects of “government schools” this morning, I realized that school work and thoughts of school work could not be put off any longer. Despite all of the negativity, all the hours of work and challenges ahead, all of the common misunderstandings about the role of a teacher in today’s society, the nearly insurmountable odds, and the sometimes treacherous working conditions, the job must be done, and it must be done well.

It would be best of all of our students came to school prepared emotionally and physically to learn. If these young people were properly fed, loved and suitably parented and nurtured at home, and if each student had sufficient clothing that is not distracting, we would have a nearly model situation for learning. If the school environment were acceptably heated and cooled, if class sizes were reasonable, and if teacher’s abilities were well matched to the needs of their students, we would be on our way to reaching an ideal state for education to occur. If we had apposite materials for each of the classes, and an inviting environment with the technical support and equipment necessary to teach the mandated course of study, we would have met the optimum condition for a school for our students. We would have also met the conditions that the home-schoolers and conservatives think that we operate in every day. Yet, none of these rudimentary prerequisites that create an appropriate educational environment will be true at our school this year, or many other schools around the nation.

The amount of money spent on education appears monumental at first glance. The level of expenditure has voters upset in the state of Ohio and in our local school district. Citizens who have never worked in a school have no idea why schooling our children takes so much money. Additionally, since these voters pay the salaries of every school employee, they tend to demand services at any time of day or night, and expect the school to work miracles with every average student.

I have never been a pessimist. My experiences in education have taught me that student achievement is possible in many circumstances. From day one, the teacher, as the educational leader in the classroom, must set the tone for success. A teacher must believe strongly in himself and just as forcefully in his students. A master teacher must expect the unexpected, and be eclectic enough to believe in the unbelievable. A teacher must carry a vision in her mind and be flexible in altering and molding the vision as the creative process of education moves forward.

Highly successful teachers invest in the success of their students, find innovative and remarkable methods to motivate students, set high goals and standards, push tirelessly toward specific objectives, and aspire to greatness within their discipline. Teaching and learning is a long distance run, an endurance test with many pratfalls and “easy outs” along the way. Sometimes the educational environment is the breeding ground for epic excuse makers. One thing all teachers seem to know, and all students seem to learn are methods of rationalizing away any wayward form of behavior or failure to meet an established target.

Successful teachers, however, must form alliances with students to .promote achievement and in the process transfer the primary responsibility for learning to the student. Providing the tools for independent learning and exploration is a gift that great teachers can sometimes impart to students. A lifetime of learning, exploration, and enjoyment is often the harvest reaped by a student who has made a unique connection with that one significant teacher.

Like many of you, there are teachers in my background of extraordinary abilities and talents. The impact of their teaching is evident on many of their former students and is manifest in my interaction with students today. Their consummate professionalism and breath-taking skills as musicians, directors, and producers has been an inspiration as I have taken each step in teaching across the years.

With all this talk of achievement, motivation, and success here are a few things I could live without in the coming academic year.

• I could live without the extra heating and air-conditioning requests: we have to ask for heating and cooling, and if you forget-it’s too bad for the students. The so-called energy savings program has cost more in manpower, paper pushing, and days of intolerable heat than we ever had prior to the “savings program.” The beneficiary of the savings program: the school district coffers which stand at a record unencumbered balance while teaching positions were eliminated and academic cuts were implemented.

• I could easily live without "Waiver Days." Waiver days are two district wide professional development days that are never well planned, and become an excuse to sit around an eat ice cream and talk with colleagues. The students do not attend school on these days at all. What ever happened to teachers and students committing to time on task directed by the administration?

• I could easily live without the magnified educational jargon, buzz words, and unevaluated building wide initiatives that never come to closure. Teachers and administrators seem to be using our faculty and students as unwilling participants in an educational research lab. Our collective heads are spinning as if we had been on a carousel operating in overdrive, and 90% of it is our own making-not the state legislature.

We experience constantly evolving building goals and projects. These projects are added to the never ending stream of ideas flowing from central office into our lowly valley. Some of these initiatives end up as mandates that cause a major upheaval.

Presentations of ideas explored in some inner sanctum are made with pompous fanfares, yet practical reality never enters the forum. We’ve tried everything from advisory groups to sustained silent reading, from a freshmen academy and smaller learning communities to two column notes. Change is great; however, there is no substitute for a dynamic, engaging teacher who effectively plans and implements lessons that culminate in a variety of assessments. How about simply teaching students, developing a rapport with these students, and focusing on curriculum?

• I could easily live without a master schedule that doesn’t work well for students and teachers: there is a serious administrative failure in comprehensively developing and implementing a schedule which permits a student to access the curriculum that he wants and needs. Surely in the year 2006, there is a better way to complete this critical task.

• I could easily live without the overblown emphasis on school athletic teams at the expense of other curricular and co-curricular programs. This one speaks for itself!

• I could easily live without the constant and supremely unnecessary announcements from the main office in the middle of class. There was a period in my career when teaching time was valued in practice, not just in empty words and meaningless directives.

• I could easily live without adults generating and thriving off of rumors and hearsay. Just the facts, M’am. When someone tells me something, I immediately scan it with a common sense truth test. People expend a ridiculous amount of energy on things that are not true. Busy administrators sometimes operate on rumor too. We can all do better.

A wonderful colleague told me early in my career that teaching is the noblest profession in the world. As professionals we should always remain focused on our number one priority: our students. As teachers, we are among the world’s greatest agents of change. We think, we do, we know, and we act. Teachers are creating a challenging and forward looking educational environment that should not be sidetracked by triviality. Standing in contradistinction to a commonly held thought, we are not mind-numbed robots that wake up every morning waiting on orders from the big house.

Surveys show that members of the public more closely identify with their child’s teacher than with the administration, and that teachers have more credibility than administration on most educational matters in the public view.

Although I don’t write about it often, there are many great things in teaching and working with young people. There are great things happening in the public school each day. Maybe I won’t spend this year living with so many things that I could easily live without.

Late Summer Ghost Light

2006-08-14T07:41:00.000-04:00

This late summer day is perfect time for a cup of coffee or glass of iced tea and reading news you'll never see covered in the mainstream media. Just hearing the headlines from the drive-by media: CBS, NBC, CNN, or other liberal media outlet is confusing and confounding on a daily basis. Enjoy the best of the web.

Hot Air has more about the Michigan men and their cell phone problem. It seems that the Treason Times is connected to this plot too.

Captain Ed has an excellent summary of the Sunday News programs and their emphasis on the foiled terror plot. The inane agrument that the Iraqi War is a major distraction from the "real war" is decimated by Ed.

Much of the conversation on yesterday's interview shows centered on the tools needed to provide the necessary security for the US. Chertoff noted that the British have more flexibility for counterterrorist efforts within their country, and those additional powers played a significant role in discovering the extent of the conspiracy. Chertoff declined to explicitly endorse the no-warrant NSA surveillance on international communications, but he told two news shows that we should not leave "tools on the table" in our fight against terrorists. That assertion came under some fire from other talk-show guests. Senator Russ Feingold, widely rumored to be staging a presidential run, says that he thinks NSA surveillance of terrorists is fine, but he wants the NSA to get the warrants first when part of the communication comes from within the US. Ned Lamont struggled to answer Chris Wallace's questions on Fox News Sunday in an appearance that lent little luster to his flagging campaign. He insisted that the US is distracted by the war in Iraq despite the discovery and halt to this massive terrorist plot and the lack of successful attacks on the US since 9/11. He told Wallace that it was "time to focus", but then opposed the Patriot Act and the surveillance programs that Chertoff mentioned. The distraction argument sounds great as a political sound bite, but the evidence seems very thin. It assumes that the government can only perform one task at a time. Congress created the DHS in order to allow for homeland defense while the Pentagon focused on a forward strategy against the terrorists. DHS has nothing to do with Iraq or Afghanistan, and no one has yet to explain why those wars distract DHS from its primary mission. If anything, Katrina showed that homeland security had distracted Chertoff and his team from emergency response, a secondary task that Congress grafted onto the department in what has now widely been acknowledged as a mistake. Chertoff emphatically discarded the notion that Iraq or the successful end to the terrorist plot against British and American airliners had provided a distraction. Their track record speaks to their success, and the collapse of this grand al-Qaeda plan seems to demonstrate even better competence and cooperation than we had hoped.

Rummy Outlfanks Hilary: see it at Blogs for Condi!

Vote for a presidential ticket here. It's interesting for republicans.
Sister Toldjah has the internals of the Rasmussen poll showing Lieberman ahead in the senate race. The Lamont voters want Bush impeached.

Ouch! Betsy has an analysis of Michael Barone's column today comparing the American Liberals to Neville Chamberlin. These American Liberals don't look too good by comparison.

Tuesday was a victory for the angry antiwar Left that set the tone in the Democrats' 2003-04 presidential cycle and seems likely to set the tone again in 2007-08. Thursday was a reminder that there are, as George W. Bush has finally taken to calling them, Islamic fascist terrorists who want to kill us and destroy our way of life.

Read the whole article-it is worth it.

Centerfield has lots of information on Joe Lieberman in Setting the Record Straight.
AJ Strata has a great piece: Lamont Shaken by Big League Politics
We Need A Hero at Ankle Biting Pundits highlights Charles Krauthammer's latest, and predicting the further demise of Democrats.

Miracle at the Booth: Faith Healer Closes on Broadway

2006-08-13T00:55:00.000-04:00

A dazzling run of Brian Friel’s arresting play, Faith Healer closes today on Broadway. Leave it to the New York Times to attempt to slap a Broadway Legend in the face on her way out the door. The New York Theater Community and critics have collectively expressed some concern about Ms. Jones performance in this show, yet the concern has never seemed more speculative, tenuous or ill-timed than in the Times post mortem in Sunday’s edition.

I never wrote a planned review of Faith Healer. After completing reviews of The House in Town, Jersey Boys, The Drowsy Chaperone, and The History Boys, I lacked the creative energy to write glowing reviews of Faith Healer, and The Color Purple. Each of these two shows are dramatically captivating and worthy of the highest accolades.

As Clive Barnes states in his New York Post review, “this is an evening of the most wonderful theater.” There are four independent monologues which recall the same events in striking contrasts. None of the actors physically interact with one another. We are left feeling as though we were in the middle of a bitter disagreement as each character begins his monologue as if they are telling a friend a story. Using humor, anecdote, and metaphor each actor weaves a complex, multidimensional tale more harrowing as it moves forward, and in the case of Ms. Jones, more haunting and disturbed. The monologues are greatly conflicted and conflicting, and with the exception of the Faith Healer’s oblique death, there is no resolution to the eerie dysfunctional saga.

Each of the actors, Ralph Fiennes as the Faith Healer Frank Hardy, Cherry Jones as his wife Grace, and Ian McDiarmid as Teddy turns in a bravura performance with nuance, eloquence, and disquieting emotion. This trio of spectacular performers provides riveting drama which shall linger in the memory like a shimmering autumn evening that is accompanied by the sweetest, fresh, warm apple cider.

It takes a great admirer of the art of acting to enjoy such an evening as some critics referred to the show with such mundane language as boring, lackluster, tedious, and too much to endure. There were, however, other glowing reviews, and I find myself more in tune with these.

Cherry Jones is the Colleen Dewhurst, Julie Harris, or Helen Hayes of this generation. Her towering performance makes her a colossal presence in the company of legends. She possesses a range of emotion that spans anger, rage, perplexity, hurt, and despair that are ensconced in a fragile prey of the psychotic Faith Healer. It would be worth the time to see Ms. Jones perform this tour de force several times to catch all of her tone, imagination, and sensitivity as Grace.

These supreme qualities in Ms. Jones are precisely the remedy for the foolish expose in the Times. Charles Isherwood, who authored this tortured piece in the Times, is believable as a supporter of Ms. Jones, yet he goes to great lengths to prove the she was “trying to hard”: in the role. He must have seen something contrived or forced in the performance that many other observers did not detect. His pertinacious essay sounds like an supercilious Manhattanite caught up in the liberal miasma that has swept up the theater elite.

Although a breath of fresh country air and an extended intermission from these esoteric conditions could benefit Mr. Isherwood and others, they would rather look down their nose and tell other practical theater professionals that Ms. Jones was simply trying too hard, and that we wouldn’t understand. While Isherwood and his ilk are aloof, drinking cinnamon spice mocha skim latte, the rest of us are basking in the glow of the honor of seeing Ms. Jones grace the stage again with her unrivaled skill and prevailing emotion.

Other reviews: The New York Post, Broadway.com, Variety, The NY Daily News

Saturday Ghost Light

2006-08-12T08:17:00.000-04:00

Keeping the Ghost Light on this Saturday morning:

The Peach Pundit has an aritcle about a Friday morning breakfast meeting with Senator Chambliss.

The ACLU Loses: Subway searches in NYC are ok!

Project Logic is keeping us updated on Jean Schmidt and the Ohio Political Scene.

With School starting soon, Scott at Get on the Bus asks the question, do schools even matter?

On Reality and Liberalism is a great article over at the Cosmic Conservative.

My thoughts on the security council resolution are very similar to those from Rhet at Perish The Thought.

Clueless NBC Reporter covered by Betsy