I Say, I Say... Is That Hillary I Hear... Or Foghorn Leghorn?

Have you heard this yet? Yikes. Follow the link. This could end up as viral as the infamous Howard Dean "scream."

I wonder... is that her Nascar voice, too?

In What Passes For A "Surge" In Europe These Days...

Swiss Troops Accidentally Invade Liechtenstein

What began as a routine training exercise almost ended in an embarrassing diplomatic incident after a company of Swiss soldiers got lost at night and marched into neighboring Liechtenstein.

According to Swiss daily Blick, the 170 infantry soldiers from the neutral country wandered more than a mile across an unmarked border into the tiny principality early Thursday before realizing their mistake and turning back.

Invading Liechtenstein? Swiss warmongers.

No Blood For Ale! No Blood For Ale...!

What Liberal Media?

First Campaign Barbs Tied to Jailed Man

President Bill Clinton's Decision Not to Pardon Leonard Peltier Lost His Wife a Key Supporter -- and Helped Gain Barack Obama a Friend

The sharpest political snipes among the Democratic 2008 presidential hopefuls can be traced beyond media mogul David Geffen to a jailed man named Leonard Peltier.

Peltier, convicted of murder in 1977 for allegedly gunning down a pair of FBI agents in a shootout at South Dakota's Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, was one of the primary reasons cited by Geffen for jumping ship from New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign in favor of fellow Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.

Well, there it is, at the top of the second paragraph: "for allegedly gunning down a pair of FBI agents" (my italics).

Hey, ABC News, here's an update: Peltier (pictured above) was convicted. No need to cover yourself with "allegedly." Unless you're trying to make sure you're lefty friends won't freeze you out at the next fundraiser.

And so Geffen throws a hissy fit because his little cause celebre wasn't sprung? Guess he didn't donate as much to Bill as Denise Rich--or hold some minority votes in his pocket (see here for why Geffen only got half the story of the Clintons' digusting midnight pardons accurate).

Don't worry, David. Keep fighting the good fight! There's always Mumia.

Today's Most Naive Elitist Award Goes To....

Iranian official offers glimpse from within: A desire for U.S. ally

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- As I sat down recently with a senior Iranian government official, he urgently waved a column by Thomas Friedman of The New York Times in my face, one about how the United States and Iran need to engage each other.

''Natural allies,'' this official said....

My 90-minute conversation with the senior Iranian government official ended with him describing a way forward between the United States and Iran.

"Everything with Iranian engagement. Everything with U.S. engagement," he said.

In other words, instead of the United States saying, ''Iran out of the Persian Gulf, Iran out of Lebanon, Iran out of Iraq,'' the United States should welcome Iran's presence and work with Iran to help keep the region stable, he said.

The question now is which country will take the first step and show they're not being weak by putting diplomacy back on track.

History awaits the answer.

Is she kidding?

A tin-pot theocracy, currently funding and arming the Iraqi Shia insurgency, ramping up a nuke program while claiming Israel needs to be "wiped off the map," led by an apocalyptic kook who claims he once hyptonized the UN General Assembly by a "glow" he emanated--this is the nation that suddenly wants to be America's partner in "everything"?

Hey Christiane, In the immortal words of Bugs Bunny: "What a maroon."

She never considers the fact that we just shifted two entire aircraft carrier groups to the Persian Gulf as a possibility for this sudden (and faux) olive branch? Or the fact that Iran is potentially facing further sanctions from the U.N? While their economy is so bad, by the end of this year they expect to be a net importer of processed fuel--despite sitting on one of the world's largest lakes of oil?

Or the fact that we just increased our troop levels in Iraq--and Muqtada al-Sadr hightailed it to Iran, bringing the insurgency and America's "surge" dangerously close to home?

THIS woman is CNN's Chief International Correspondent?

Take a gander at her Wikipedia bio. It'll explain a lot.

A moral-relativist diva still running on her Gulf War I fumes (essentially: "Bush is not a liberal, so Iran must be okay").

Let me guess, Christiane: Is the answer to Iran (and North Korea, and Iraq) "constructive dialogue"?

Thanks for the great analysis.

Lightweight.

UPDATE: Hey, glad to see I have some company on this (good company, at that). The guys over at www.powerlineblog.com, known as a must-read for much of the Washington, DC wonk set, are on this story as well. Guess I'm not the only one who sees the code in Christiane's "reporting."

Shouldn't This Sort of End the Argument?

Tiny baby to leave Florida hospital

MIAMI - A premature baby that doctors say spent less time in the womb than any other surviving infant is to be released from a Florida hospital Tuesday.

Amillia Sonja Taylor was just 9 1/2 inches long and weighed less than 10 ounces when she was born Oct. 24. She was delivered 21 weeks and six days after conception. Full-term births come after 37 to 40 weeks.

"We weren't too optimistic," Dr. William Smalling said Monday. "But she proved us all wrong."

First off: I am not some religious nut--in fact, the last time I was in church, my feet probably didn't reach the floor while sitting.

But good lord--this little girl will grow up, laugh, go to school, get married, etc. And in most of America--it would have been legal to kill her in the womb on the very day she was born.

If this planet has a future, all I can hope is that a future generation will see us for the venal narcissists we are today.

I wonder what John Edwards' (former) blog-team would have to say about this. I'm sure I'd be written off as some "christo-fascist."

Must be nice to cede yourself the moral highground, without troubling with any of the responsibilities that entails.

Hates Bush?

Ricky Martin Sticks Up Middle Finger While Singing About Bush

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Ricky Martin, who was a headliner at the 2001 inauguration ball for President George W. Bush, has a message for the American commander in chief about war.

At a recent concert, the 35-year-old singer stuck up his middle finger when he sang the president's name in his song "Asignatura Pendiente," which includes the words, "a photo with Bush." The gesture last Friday prompted cheers from thousands of fans in the San Juan stadium.

"My convictions of peace and life go beyond any government and political agenda and as long as I have a voice onstage and offstage, I will always condemn war and those who promulgate it," Martin said about his action in an e-mail statement sent to The Associated Press via a spokesman.

Sorry--couldn't resist that title.

Forget all the predictable sentiments expressed here--just more foreign policy advice from that powerhouse think tank, "Menudo." Let's just focus instead on Ricky's "statement."

Does anybody alive really think Ricky Martin not only knows the meaning of the word "promulgate"--but that he can actually spell it?

Europe Discovers Its Inner Connie

Markos Moulitsas on Bush

Fact is, even Bush's staunchest allies in Europe have given up on the failed Bush presidency. NATO nations Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Hungary have already ditched him in Iraq, with Poland and the UK eager to get out this year. Bush is toxic in those countries, and more than one government has fallen in part because of having too close a relationship with Bush.

And he's going to demand troops from them? This is why a failed presidency matters. That's why diplomacy matters. That's why building and nurturing international respect matters.

There is a scene in one of the Godfather movies (forget which one) where Michael Corleone's sister, Connie, tells him, "I understand now, Michael. You were just being strong for all of us." This, after she had been disparaging her brother, dismissing his leadership and their family ties.

Europe today is well down the path to its Connie Corleone-dom, resenting America for its strength while ignoring its own peril. (How bad is it? See this).

There is, alas, a point at which international relations become neatly simple. Essentially, the whole thing reverts to the schoolyard. Vladmir Putin copped on to this faster than most, and has leveraged it to his advantage. Strangely, George Bush, an undeniable child of privilege, gets it too. Count his wealthy upbringing for his momentary lapses (the first seige of Fallujah, early dealings with Muqtada al-Sadr, etc.).

Folks, listen: It's on.

And it was coming for a long time. The left should be grateful to George, because he has spared any would-be Democratic President the difficulty of being the first in. But whether it be Iraq or Iran, it was coming.

This is not the Cold War. Hostile nations with the clout of a mid-sized American state can now strike from halfway around the world. Thanks to the Internet, political movements one step removed from caves can turn populations to their cause, raise enormous sums, and carry out significant actions. Never mind what they could do with a nuke.

The point is that the showdown with a homicidally hostile Middle East is not the result of anything George Bush has done--after all, there have been other relatively recent showdowns, pre-George (disasters like the Iran hostage crisis, for instance). What has changed is the ability of hostile elements in the Middle East to reach us. Does anybody really think that if the students who pulled off the Iranian hostage grab could've orchestrated the 9/11 attacks, they wouldn't have done it? Of course they would have--they just didn't have the means.

The pie-in-the-sky ideal of a "global village" is in fact more like a global arena--or again, a global schoolyard. And that crazy kid from another class that sometimes jumps you for no reason? He now owns a machine gun.

So Europe and the softest of America's soft can continue to blame George for everything. But whether the Dems or the Repubs take the Presidency, whether Jack Murtha or Trent Lott holds sway: it's been coming, it's here, and there's no going back.

We either fight this, all out, or we lose. And if we lose, we lose everything.

And if Europe and the far left don't wise up fast, they won't be around for their "Connie Corleone" moment, recognizing why someone, finally, had to be strong. They'll either be composing their "Why Do They Hate Us?" treatises in an irradiated teachers' lounge--or they'll be dead.

Who Says The Media Isn't Supporting the War on Terror?

NYPD To Receive $5M In Seized Drug Money

After gathering about $19 million in cash and assets from drug busts in 2006, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced yesterday that it will dole out a large portion of the funds to the New York City Police Department.

I'd like to just take a moment to thank media members on both coasts--so many of whom remain unrecognized!--for the extra funding.

True patriots, all.

And For Chief of Staff... Emo Phillips!

Al Franken enters Minn. Senate race

Comedian Al Franken said Wednesday he will run for the Senate in 2008, challenging Republican incumbent Norm Coleman.

National Football Lemmings

NFL rejects Border Patrol ad

The National Football League refused to run a recruitment ad for the U.S. Border Patrol in last week's Super Bowl program, saying it was "controversial" because it mentioned duties such as fighting terrorism and stopping drugs and illegal aliens at the border.

"The ad that the department submitted was specific to Border Patrol, and it mentioned terrorism. We were not comfortable with that," said Greg Aiello, a spokesman for the NFL.

So let me get this straight -- all parties agree that, if nothing else, the border needs to be secured by providing more Border Patrol Agents. We're just not allowed to recruit any?

I have a simple question here. Why is America the only nation in world history not allowed to have a border?

This is the result when the shrillest elements of any debate get center stage (as in the "Reconquista" crowd). Taking a common sense stand is suddenly somehow "controversial."

Nice backbone, guys. Thanks for chipping in on this whole secure the border, War on Terror thing.

Could we have expected America's big business to lead by example here? To show that regardless of party affiliation, the country's border is far too porous? To do the simple, decent thing of supporting the agency that helps keep them safe to reap their billions?

The answer, of course, is NFL--Not Friggin' Likely.

Oops--Never Mind...

DEATH OF A MYTH

For days, the dramatic story gripped the nation: Cesar Borja, a retired NYPD officer who had worked at Ground Zero after 9/11, died of pulmonary fibrosis just hours before his son and namesake - campaigning for ailing first-responders - was a guest at President Bush's State of the Union Address.

Days later, the younger Borja met with the president, who pledged an additional $25 million in federal aid (on top of the $75 million already allocated) for first-responders.

High drama?

Try hype, courtesy of The Daily News, the circulation-starved daily which had seemingly gotten its hooks into a good one.

The point here (from my perspective, anyhow) is not whether Officer Borja's illness was related to the WTC. I'd just like to know where all the media outlets that bashed the President for supposedly "ignoring" Officer Borja's plight are now.

The Daily News created this story--or at least that aspect of it. And they blew it.

Kudos to the NY Times (a phrase I may never have before used) for nailing this.

Will we hear any acknowledgments now? Any apologies?

That's what I thought. Crickets.

How To Build An Arab Ghetto, 101

City To Open Arabic Public School In Brooklyn

The Department of Education says that it will open a public school next fall dedicated to Arabic language and culture.

The Khalil Gibran International Academy is one of 40 new schools that will their debut in the city next September.

Education officials say that although half the classes at the school will be taught in Arabic, they want to enroll a diverse student body.

The school is set to open in Brooklyn.

That's New York's Mayor Bloomberg, in the duncecap above. He deserves it.

If this isn't the most boneheaded move by New York City government ever, it's certainly up there.

The Dept. of Education -- which gives us such standout institutions in New York as "The High School for Social Justice"--still manages to produce students well below the national average in basic literacy and math skills. But now, with this breakthrough... they can produce future "unemployables" in Arabic!

Try suggesting to New York's Dept. of Ed that a state-sponsored Catholic or Jewish school should open. The cries of "separation of church and state" will deafen you.

And no--I'm not blind to the idea that Arabic is a language, not a religion. You're not really suggesting that argument, are you? Are we actually trying to pare Islam away from Arabic here? (Here's the litmus test: Will this school get off the same holidays as the rest of NYC's schoolchildren--Christmas, to name one?).

New York doesn't even have SPANISH schools, for chrissake.

Yet another move by New York's politically correct crowd to ensure the ghetto-ization of a segment of the public by granting them "special" status--but in reality cutting them off from the society they are supposed to form a part of.

What a sad joke. We learn nothing.

Dropped Your Briefs, Counselor?

Attorney Allegedly Found Naked in Pennsylvania Courthouse With 14-Year-Old Girl

A criminal defense lawyer was arrested after a sheriff's deputy found him naked with a 14-year-old girl in a courthouse conference room, authorities said Tuesday.

Larry Charles, 49, has been charged with solicitation, attempted statutory sexual assault and related counts, said Lt. Dan Bagnell of the police department's Special Victims Unit.

Wonder if he'll claim attorney-client privilege.

Not So Fast There, Big Guy....

DA in Duke Rape Case Asks to Be Taken off Case After Weeks of Criticism

District Attorney Mike Nifong Asked to Be Recused

District Attorney Mike Nifong has requested that he have himself removed from prosecuting the Duke Lacrosse rape investigation, ABC News has learned.

A source close to the investigation said Nifong sent a letter to North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper asking his office to assume responsibility of the case. Calls to the Attorney General's office and Mike Nifong's office were not yet returned.

All I can say to this is: bull-SHIT, pal. You ain't runnin' off now, after you created this mess.

This overzealous DA engaged in the most cynical, manipulative ploy I've ever seen from a prosecutor (and that's saying something). Now he's decided he wants to "recuse" himself?

The fiction that will be floated here is that he has a conflict of interest--ie, since he is being investigated for procedural/ethical violations regarding this case, he has a vested interest in winning it on his own behalf (as opposed to simply "seeking justice," as prosecutors are supposed to do).

The truth is that he has had a vested interest in this ALL ALONG, and has behaved as such. Now he's been caught, and he's going to run off and leave this disaster for some other prosecutor to clean up?

What a garbage pail this Nifong is.

This case is in its endgame. Look for the charges to eventually be dropped--with Nifong and the accuser potentially looking at criminal charges themselves.

What an affront to honest prosecutors, genuine rape victims, and Nifong's constituents.

And of course: to the three accused and their families, who must have suffered greatly through all this.

Nifong may get off this case--but his involvement in it is far from over.

UPDATE: Have received some comments (here and elsewhere!) that indicate that my above post was less than clear. Sorry about that.

For what it's worth: I agree that this is the right decision. My point is only that Nifong's involvement in this disaster is not over. He still bears responsibility for what occurs, whichever way the case goes.