A mixture of news potpourri

I stated this earlier but in case you missed it, I am going to clean out my emails now. Most of it is news, opinion, or politics. I hope you enjoy it.

Will the Real Mitt Romney Please Stand Up?
by Gregg Jackson.

...Romney Care also significantly expanded government bureaucracy establishing at least a dozen new boards, commissions, and miscellaneous institutions. One of the commissions is charged with the responsibility of eliminating "racial and ethnic health disparities." [Continue reading.]

History of the ACLU Part V.

Stop the ACLU.

Part I, Part II and III, Part IV and now for Part V.

Here are some more interesting articles from Stop the ACLU:
ACLU and National Abortion Federation Criticize Decision by U.S. Supreme Court Upholding Federal Abortion Ban.
Justice Ginsburg: Watchdog Plan 'Scary'.
Ginsburg And Foreign Law In Interpreting Our Constitution.
The Problem with the Culture of Drive-Thru Abortions.
ACLU Loses Court Battle to DoD and Boy Scouts.

Final video: History of the ACLU.
by Stop the ACLU.

China Hardens Tibet Policy Along Ethnic Lines.
by Radio Free Asia.

WASHINGTON — China is intensifying its crackdown on supporters of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan independence out of fear that Tibetan cadres will turn against the Communist Party amid a growing wave of protests and civil disobedience.

“There still exists a small number of dissident elements within our Party whose commitment to its ideals, beliefs, and political standpoint is a wavering one,” an internal memo of the Chinese Communist Party’s Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), leaked to RFA’s Tibetan service, said. [Continue reading.]

Where Would Western Civilization Be Without the Bible?.
by Human Events and the Politically Incorrect Guide to the Bible.

In the beginning, the Bible was regarded as the "Good Book," but today it is under relentless attack from left-wing audiences, novelists, and screenwriters to justify their own political agendas. But fear not, award-winning religious journalist Robert J. Hutchinson refutes the mockers, skeptics, and deniers in his new book, The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to the Bible. [$13.95.)

And there is one more piece by Stop the ACLU. This one has to do with one of the victims of the DC sniper murderous shootings. Please check this out.

10 Questions for all the "Islam is a Religion of Peace" Multi-Culti Crowd.
by Gregg Jackson.

1. "Islam and Christianity are equally violent and intolerant religions." The purportedly "moderate" Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has claimed that gay men and lesbians should be killed in the most extreme fashion possible — a belief that is mainstream in the Koran and practiced by Muslims around the world. Can you name any renowned Christian leaders or organizations that are either advocating the killing of gays and any that are actually using the Bible to justify doing so? [Continue reading.]

What goes around - Comes around. MUST READ.
by Richard S. Lowry (on OPFOR's site).

Is it no wonder that we feel differently about the people of Iraq, when the American media only reports sensational news? If it doesn’t bleed or explode, you just aren’t going to see it on the evening news. I received a press release from Baghdad today, which I know the mainstream media will not pass on to you all. Here is an example of Iraqi charity and gratitude which touched my soul. Imagine how incredibly generous these soldiers are. They have little to support their own families. It’s not enough that they are fighting daily to bring peace to their country. They are actually reaching out to help unfortunate Americans. [Continue reading.]

No Nightmare - Why the Surge is Working.
by By PETE HEGSETH.

October 23, 2007 -- THE former top com mander in Iraq - Army Lt.-Gen. Ricardo Sanchez (ret.) - recently called the situation in Iraq "a nightmare with no end in sight." Citing insufficient prewar planning and a strained military, he painted a dismal picture of American prospects there.

War critics painted a similar picture when violence in Iraq peaked in '05 and '06 - using terms like "civil war" and "sectarian violence" - as they pushed for a rapid draw-down or immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces. An Iraq "at war with itself" shouldn't be America's problem, they argued. In fact, the existence of a "religious civil war" remains the chief antiwar talking point to this day. [Continue reading.]

Islamism on Trial.
Author: M. Zuhdi Jasser.
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: October 26, 2007.

The verdict in the federal prosecution against the Holy Land Foundation and many in its leadership was finally read by Judge Joe Fish this week after 19 days of jury deliberation by the Dallas jury. To listen to the press conferences and read the press releases of American Islamist organizations, one would think that the defendants were unanimously exonerated “with prejudice.” The Dallas Morning News reported that Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation Executive Director Mahdi Bray stated that “the government failure to get any convictions was evidence of the power of religious freedom.” He went on to say, “Feeding people is not a crime, and we aren’t going to let the American government make it a crime.” Mr. Bray must be counting on the fact that most citizens, like the jury in the trial, will be so dazed by the sheer volume of evidence that they will lazily swallow the propaganda of the Islamist spin machine. [Continue reading.]

Michael Yon.
Greetings:

Iraq is on the mend, al Qaeda is on the run, and the civil war has abated to a point where the term "civil war" no longer applies.

Accurate war coverage is increasingly important. Even prominent seemingly well-informed persons can get it wrong, such as retired Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez who previously commanded the war in Iraq. His recent public statements –selectively excerpted and then widely dispersed by the hot winds of media – made it clear that this former senior commander is far out of touch with the current situation.

But there are commanders with a finger on the pulse.

When earlier this year I wrote about the 1-4 CAV transforming an abandoned seminary in a Baghdad neighborhood that had been decimated by civil war, the "surge" had not even begun; but already pundits, politicians and editors had declared it a failure. Though I'd spent only a few days with LTC Crider and his 1-4 CAV soldiers at the new COP Amanche, I ended the dispatch on a note of hope based on observation. I recently received an email from LTC Crider with an update on that Baghdad neighborhood. Please read "Achievements of the Human Heart" and see for yourself.

I was in al Basra province when I saw news reports claiming that Basra city had descended into chaos in the wake of an announcement about the draw down of British Soldiers. I emailed the facts about Basra to several bloggers who hold the media accountable, and the resulting effort got the attention of Tom Foreman who anchors CNN's "This Week at War." We were able to make a CNN interview, and the result is a segment that accurately reflects a complex and changing situation. Bravo to CNN for setting the record straight, and to the tireless bloggers who are making a substantial difference in the way news about the war is delivered.

There are major developments to share with readers in upcoming dispatches. If things go at-least-mostly according to plan (which is all we can hope for in war), and if I can rely on the help of readers who share my frustration with the lack of accurate reporting, we can significantly widen the stream of news flowing from Iraq so more people can obtain a truer picture. This will require the will and generosity of readers. But more on that, soon.

Michael
Basra, Iraq

Resistance is futile: You will be (mis)informed.
by Michael Yon.

All describe the bizarro-world contrast between what most Americans seem to think is happening in Iraq versus what is really happening in Iraq. Knowing this disconnect exists and experiencing it directly are two separate matters. It’s like the difference between holding the remote control during the telecast of a volcanic eruption on some distant island (and then flipping the channel), versus running for survival from a wretch of molten lava that just engulfed your car. [Continue reading.]

Update: More news.

Freed Artists Describe Prison Conditions in Burma.
by Radio Free Asia. (To join this newsletter, EngNews-Join AT RFA News.

HONG KONG — Police in China’s southern Guangdong province used electric prods to break up a crowd of several dozen villagers as they pressed a village leader over suspected graft, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports. Witnesses said three elderly residents were injured and four people were detained.

“Yesterday afternoon, more than 70 police vehicles pulled up,” one resident of Huangchong village in Shunde’s Beijiao township told RFA’s Mandarin service of the Oct. 25 clash.

“There were up to 1,000 policemen. Some were anti-riot police. But at the time there were only 30-some villagers there. Three elderly villagers were injured after being beaten by police with electric prods,” the villager said, speaking on condition of anonymity. [Continue reading.]

Project Valour It.
by Stop the ACLU. (There is a competition in each branch, of course. lol. Stop the ACLU is supporting the Air Force this year. Please give as much as you can, to whichever branch or all branches if you can.)

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled and adaptive laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries at major military medical centers. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the ‘Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field. The experience of MAJ Charles “Chuck” Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered serious hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important these laptops can be to a wounded service member’s recovery. [Continue reading.]

Now I am going to introduce you to two articles that peaked my curiousity. They turned out to be quite good, with few exeptions. These two articles are from Opinion Journal.

Modern Heroes.
Our soldiers like what they do. They want our respect, not pity.

BY ROBERT D. KAPLAN

I'm weary of seeing news stories about wounded soldiers and assertions of "support" for the troops mixed with suggestions of the futility of our military efforts in Iraq. Why aren't there more accounts of what the troops actually do? How about narrations of individual battles and skirmishes, of their ever-evolving interactions with Iraqi troops and locals in Baghdad and Anbar province, and of increasingly resourceful "patterning" of terrorist networks that goes on daily in tactical operations centers?

The sad and often unspoken truth of the matter is this: Americans have been conditioned less to understand Iraq's complex military reality than to feel sorry for those who are part of it. [Continue reading.]

The Realignment of Iraq.
We're winning because the Iraqis want us to--Moqtada al-Sadr included.
BY BARTLE BULL

The war in Iraq was always going to be won by the Iraqis, and so it has proven. But the Iraqis who have won it are on our side.

It was in the spring of 2004--a month or so before I first arrived in Baghdad in a taxi to stay in a small hotel--that the Sunnis launched their disastrous insurgency. Its defeat is becoming ever more clear this autumn as new reports reach us of the patriotic stand of the Anbar tribes, the pacification and nascent prosperity of Fallujah and Ramadi, the isolation of al Qaeda, and the peace overtures of defeated Baathists. [Continue reading.]

This is Open Trackback Sunday. Please stop by with some of your posts. Please remember to use this Permalink and trackback. Not the ones from my other site. Oops. :)

Posts I have trackbacked to: Stop the ACLU, Lost Paradise, Perri Nelson's Website, A Blog For All, AZAMATTEROFACT, 123beta, Stix Blog, Big Dog's Weblog, The Amboy Times, Jo's Cafe, Conservative Thoughts, Nuke's, The Uncooperative Radio Show!, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, The Pink Flamingo, Republican National Convention Blog, and Church and State, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Kind people who've trackbacked to this post:
1. Me, by accident. *blush*
2. The Florida Masochist: The Knucklehead of the Day award.
3. Right Voices: Who Would’ve Thunk The NFL Would Outsource Games. Digg!