Another 9/11 Republican

The war on terrorism is nothing more than the great struggle of our time, and, like the earlier ones against fascism and totalitarianism, we ignore it at our peril. Whether or not one accepts that we are engaged in a war, our enemies have declared it so. It took the horrors of 9/11 to awaken me to this reality, but for others, such lessons remain unlearned. For me, it was self-evident that in Islamic terrorism, America had found a nihilistic threat that sought to wipe out not only Western civilization but also civilization itself.

It is funny how some of these former liberals are better able than long-time conservatives to see that this is a 'great struggle' against an implacable enemy (radical Islam), not an isolated war against a means (terrorism).

Monday in DC

More protesters this morning...despite the dire predictions of blizzard (more on that later).

Today, though, the PFPS (cops) were deployed in an arc protecting protesters from people walking by. I was kind of disappointed. About 8 protesters (high for a normal Monday, but down a good bit from last week) were holding the usual assortment of signs. There may have been an incident last week or a threat this week, but for whatever reason, the cops were closer to the protesters (and the lone antitester--not sure if it was Kathreja or Christine) than usual. Oh well, anything different or unusual is interesting. However, the lone antitester with the sign Thank you for defending Freedom had a cup of hot coffee, so someone from the building had obviously broken through the line of defense and provided her with needed warmth and sustenance on this blustery day.

Which brings me to the subject of weather. Washington DC is interesting. The mere threat of snow shuts down schools, county offices and the federal government. If the Soviets had been able to create a weather machine, they could have won the "Cold War" by merely threatening blizzards. The irony of it is that there doesn't actually have to be snow. Just the threat. This morning was a nippy 35 degrees, with about 10 knots of wind from the west...and not a snowflake in sight. There was, however, a forecast for possibly 3-6 inches of snow by tonight!!!! All the schools were closed, the government was on 'Unplanned leave' status. Slugging from Tackets Mill, I found a long line of cars. This is an exceedingly rare event on a Monday morning. Usually there is a long line of people. Cars mean that folks think there will be an early release...

The excuse is safety. However, on a normal day bumper to bumper traffic moves at a speed varying from 5 mph to 85 mph. Safe? When it snows, traffic thins out, slows down and yes, there is more of a chance of a fender bender, but probably a lot less chance of a major smashup. Of course, as rare as snow is here, not a lot of people know how to drive in it well, and most are shockingly unwilling to detach their phone from their ear, no matter how iffy the road conditions.

An example: a couple of years ago there was an AF member killed on the beltway in her boyfriend's SUV. Not much unusual about that, but it was threatening to snow a bit and she was talking to her boyfriend on the cell phone, trying to get some tips for driving in the snow while arranging a hookup (he was travelling the other way on the beltway, and they were trying to arrange a lunch meeting or something). When she hit the pylon doing 70, her boyfriend heard the whole thing, and then ran into the traffic jam inevitably caused by a fatal crash. Tragic, yes, but if common sense was more so, it could have been avoided.

And that is my rant for the day.

Postmodern War by Victor Davis Hanson

It is still suicidal to meet the United States in a conventional war—at least for any enemy that has not fully adopted Western arms, discipline, logistics, and military organization. The recent abrupt collapse of both the Taliban and Saddam Hussein’s regime amply proves the folly of fighting America in direct conflicts. The military dynamism that enables the United States to intervene militarily in the Middle East—in a manner in which even the richest Middle Eastern countries could not intervene in North America—is not an accident of geography or a reflection of genes, but a result of culture. Our classical Western approaches to politics, religion, and economics—including consensual government, free markets, secularism, a strong middle class, and individual freedom—eventually translate on the battlefield into better-equipped, motivated, disciplined, and supported soldiers.

To an American television audience, al-Qaida videos of pajama-clad killers in ski masks beheading captives look scary, of course. But a platoon of Rangers would slaughter hundreds of them in seconds if they ever approached Americans openly on the field of conventional battle or even for brief moments of clear firing. In Mogadishu, Somalia, everything boded ill for a few trapped Americans—outnumbered, far from home, facing local hostility in urban warfare—and yet the real lesson was not that a few Americans were tragically killed, but that the modern successors to Xenophon’s Ten Thousand or the Redcoats at Rorke’s Drift managed to shoot their way out and kill over 1,000 in the process.

Nevertheless, the numerous setbacks of Western armies from Thermopylae to Vietnam prove that there are several ways to nullify these military advantages, both on conventional and irregular battlefields. The question is: Are such historical precedents still relevant to the modern age?

Worth reading...

VeggieTales Blogged!

As always ScrappleFace does it again, this time with a reference to my favorite tomato!

Rants and Ramblings

It has been a while since I just rambled. The tyranny of the immediate...

So I was reading a thing in the Harvard Magazine (no snide comments, please. It just shows up!) about Social Security. The liberals have pretty much acknowledged that the President has set the agenda to talk about SS, though occasionally they try to point out that Medicare/Medicaid are going to break the bank also...interesting way of trying to change the topic, since I really think in this case they better hope they don't get what they are asking for. Anyway, the consensus is that we have to do something since the whole SS thing is on the table, and I have even heard a few honest liberals admit that the most important part of the program is the wealth redistribution aspect. So they argue about the best way to let change happen with as little 'damage' to the Social Security system as possible. Any the article (getting back on track) talked about the need to 'maintain replacement rates', or make sure that benefits continue to be indexed to wages, instead of cost of living.

But that got me thinking, a dangerous thing on a Saturday morning. From Econ, I remember that you can basically do three things with your wages: save them, spend them, or get them taken from you (taxes). Lets say that you save 10% and are taxed at 30%, that means that you are spending 60%. Your standard of living is based on your consumption, because you are getting no benefit from your savings or taxes, only from your consumption. So if, in retirement, I want to have the same standard of living from my savings (and taxes, if you believe in Algore's Lockbox), I need to plan on consuming savings at the same rate as I consumed my wages, that is, less savings and taxes. But if I am consuming savings (retired, right?) I don't need to be adding to them, so you can discount that, and if the gummit is paying me some of the money they took while I was working, it makes no sense for them to turn around and take some of that back again. Double taxation, anyone? So if SS returns are indexed to wages, people are getting a much better 'real returns' than they should. Instead, a 'fair' rate of increase would be based on wages less savings and taxes. But then people would save less, since more consumption now would mean more SS later. However, if people know that they are not going to be able to maintain the same standard of living (or consume the same amount) in retirement, maybe they will then have some incentive to save on their own. Thus, the benefit of indexing SS payouts to cost of living.

However, this ignores the whole wealth redistribution aspect of the program, which gets to the fundamental nature of belief in the system. Conservatives look at it in one of two ways. The first is as a minimal safety net that provides a very basic income for grasshoppers (those too dumb to plan for themselves) and the severely unfortunate (who tried, saved and had a tornado wipe out everything the day after they retired, and have no remaining family). These people believe that government is the fourth and final choice for the safety net: first is personal responsibility, second is family, then community (or church), and finally government. The other group of conservatives, leaning toward libertarianism, would argue that there should be no fourth option, and that SS was a bad idea from the get-go. Liberals, of course, have a similar division, and generally the order of precedence is reversed, with personal responsibility coming in last, and sometimes even meriting punishment (confiscatory taxes--soak the rich!). The first reason for SS for them is a redistribution program, and a way for the government to make sure that things are pretty much even in the end.

I guess it comes down to your belief in Equality of Opportunity, vs. Equality of Outcome, and how you answer that defines the way you look not only at Social Security, Welfare, Medicaid/Medicare, but also school, hiring practices, markets, science, government, and promotions in the military.

In other ramblings, JB and Zephyr have completely torn up the back yard, thanks to the melting snow, so I put up an ugly green fence to keep them off it for a few weeks while I reseed with the hardiest grass I can find at Home Depot. Gloria is in her jump-up having a big old time, and Tamsey is getting ready to see if that thump we just heard was JB announcing his waking from a nap, or ice melting off the roof.

Feelings...Whoa whoa, feelings

From the great state of Massachusettes, we have the thrilling tale of "war guilt" by someone who was never there, never supported it, and feels guilty that he failed to stop it. Remember children, only you can prevent forest fires...

That said, perhaps some readers will understand why my friends and I rip yellow ribbon "support the troops" magnets off of cars or wherever people have affixed them. By ripping off these ribbons, we find a way to deal with our guilt, as though with each ribbon swiped we take back a life that was taken by this senseless war started by our senseless president and those who support him.

We say, "support the troops" so that we won't feel guilty about saying "no" to war. We reason that if we say that we support the troops, somehow we aren't monsters for not saying a word when the death tolls of U.S. soldiers climbed above 1,000. Those ribbons are yellow for a reason, they are not the mark of armed forces support, they are the mark of cowards. Pundits on the radio advise their cowardly listeners to approach men and women in army uniforms and say "thank you." I cannot do that...

The interesting effect of the intellectual 'life' on college campuses is that private property is no longer sacrosanct if your private property interferes with my feelings.

Morning reading

Ok, before you click here, sit down, and make sure you don't have anything in your mouth that could spew onto the monitor (coffee, tea, latte, gum)...

And if that doesn't get you rolling, try this.

GWOT: are we winning? Yep!

The blogosphere is great. I found this scorecard thanks to Freepers and James Dunnigan, linked from TigerHawk. The chain is dizzying, when you think about it, but the info is great. Check out how many bad guys we have rolled up. It is not an easy graph for talking heads to speak to, and it is not really breaking news, so don't expect to see this on FNC or CNN anytime soon. Still, it is worth checking out.

Fraught with fraud

It appeared to be one of archaeology's most sensational finds. The skull fragment discovered in a peat bog near Hamburg was more than 36,000 years old - and was the vital missing link between modern humans and Neanderthals.

This, at least, is what Professor Reiner Protsch von Zieten - a distinguished, cigar-smoking German anthropologist - told his scientific colleagues, to global acclaim, after being invited to date the extremely rare skull.

However, the professor's 30-year-old academic career has now ended in disgrace after the revelation that he systematically falsified the dates on this and numerous other "stone age" relics.

Interestingly, these and other frauds are still taught in school...piltdown man is a prime example. Unquestioning Faith...it manifests itself in humanist religious fanatics, too.

Protest of the WEEK

We had Monday off, and I guess that that gave lots of energy to the protesters, because there were about 20 of them out there Tuesday morning, and they were singing! Yes, it has been a while since we had musical accompaniment for the weekly protest, but they were singing a mournful tune about the 'SOA' and that it was not needed anymore. Most of the 'signs' were oh-so-creative 8 1/2 by 11 sheets of white paper with something printed on them about the SOA which was basically illegible. For the first time that I can recall, they were all made to stand behind the protest fence, which gave them the opportunity to hang a banner, the continents of which I have since forgotten.

Kathreja and Christine were both there, looking happy, lovely and contented to be holding an eeevill American flag and posters supporting the troops. I wonder what all the granolas think about them. Probably they are bugged to get some of 'their' space and spotlight stolen by those who support murderers and genocidal maniacs in uniform. Oh well.

Today, the old lady was back with her young boyfriend, holding their usual signs. Not much else to report on them...

They are among us...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — An American citizen was charged Tuesday with conspiring to assassinate President Bush and with supporting Al Qaeda.

If convicted of all the charges, Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, faces a maximum sentence of 80 years in prison.

Abu Ali, a former Virginia high school valedictorian, made an initial appearance Tuesday in U.S. District Court. He contended that he was tortured while detained in Saudi Arabia since June of 2003 and offered through his lawyer to show the judge his scars.

Of course, there is more to the story. Thanks to LGF, we know that he was valedictorian, not of your average Northern VA high school, but of the Islamic Saudi Academy. Why are no MSM reporting this little bit of useful info?

Scott Ritter, what are you up to?

And history will condemn the immorality of the American occupation, which has debased the values and ideals of the American people by legitimising torture, rape and murder as a means of furthering an illegal war of aggression.

So, Scott is now working for al Jazeera. And against this country, judging by the wild conspiracy ideas he spews in this article.

Protest of the Day

I was sick yesterday, so I missed my usual Monday AM pick-me-up of protesters. But fortunately, today as I staggered in sucking on throat lozenges, my favorite scowling protester was there. With A NEW SIGN!!! YipEEE!! And this one, dear friends, was one of the best yet. Someone had gotten her not only posterboard and markers, but also a glue stick and some glossy magazines! Yes, her new sign, which said

Peace! Please Peace Now!

was festooned with pictures of smiling, gap-toothed kids of all colors and sizes. Obviously someone had fun with scissors this weekend!

Fox jumps onto the EVIL ASSAULT WEAPON bandwagon

FOXNews.com - U.S. & World - Gunman Opens Fire at Upstate New York Mall:KINGSTON, N.Y. — A lone gunman opened fire with an assault rifle Sunday inside a crowded mall in upstate New York, wounding one person before running out of ammunition and being subdued by employees, authorities said...

"Police did not identify the suspect or the type of gun he used. State police Capt. Wayne Olson said investigators did not know the exact number of shots fired."

OK, So if police did not ID the type of weapon, which 'authority' did? And someone please, please tell me, what is an assault weapon? A weapon with which one assaults? So a knife would be one... Or is it a scary looking gun, a la Feinstein? Grrrrr...

Al-Qaeda number two throws weight behind Dean for DNC Chair

Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri sides with Dean in new audiotape: "Liberty as construed by the Americans was based on 'usurious banks, giant companies, misleading media outlets and the destruction of others for material gain,' charged the voice in the recording aired by Arabic news channel Al-Jazeera."

The tape was released at about the same time as Howard Dean was making a nearly identical speech in Washington.

MSM - 0 NEW MEDIA - 4

CNN's Chief News Executive Resigns Over Iraq Comments Remarks at Davos Economic Forum About Journalists' Deaths Sparked Outcry By JOE FLINT and MARTIN PEERS Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL February 11, 2005 6:54 p.m. NEW YORK -- CNN Chief News Executive Eason Jordan resigned late Friday in the wake of a controversy over remarks he made at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, about deaths of journalists in Iraq. Mr. Jordan said in a resignation note that he was stepping down to "prevent CNN from being unfairly tarnished by the controversy" over his remarks. During a panel presentation in Davos late last month, Mr. Jordan made remarks that were interpreted by some people present as suggesting the U.S. military in Iraq had deliberately targeted journalists to be killed. Mr. Jordan subsequently clarified his remarks to emphasize that he didn't mean to imply the U.S. military had targeted journalists. In his resignation note, he said his comments during the Davos panel discussion "were not as clear as they should have been." "I never meant to imply U.S. forces acted with ill intent when U.S. forces accidentally killed journalists," he said in the note. Mr. Jordan is a former president of news gathering at network, a unit of Time Warner Inc., but he hasn't held day-to-day responsibilities for editorial direction or news content since September 2003, a CNN spokeswoman said.

FBI QUESTIONS MUSLIM IMAM!!! CONSTITUTION THREATENED!!!

Oh, wait. Never mind. It was a Christian pastor. Put it on page 27, next to the coffee cake recipes.

"I shared the number of people who have died in wars versus the number who had died through legal abortion since 1973. There have been 1 million die in all the wars and more than 43 million abortions - that's quite a gripping contrast," [Rev. Randy] Steele said. "I also tied it together by stating that we are in a different type of war that is being fought under the presupposition of freedom."

During that same sermon Steele also talked about Hope Center, a Granite City-based clinic where he said as many as 45 abortions are performed every week. He said he also talked about how abortion is a $400 million per year business in the United States, when life actually begins and the legal requirements to consider when a person is alive.

So someone tipped off the FBI that this rabble rouser was preaching violence? At least the FBI is listening to tips, and from the article, it sounds like they are satisfied with what they heard. My issue is not with them, since they are doing their job. The warped coverage of ‘outrageous infringement on constitutional rights’ by questioning, (merely asking!) implies that it is OK to question those dangerous Christians, but a threat to democracy to even consider that peace-loving Imams like Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman might merit a visit.

Reformation or Enlightenment

This is a topic I have often pondered and bandied about with friends, with the usual contention that Islam needs a reformation to enter the modern age and become peaceful. However, Chrenkoff has a take on it I had not considered: the Reformation in the Church took a long time to reach the modern, tolerant for it is today. We may not be able to wait that long for Islam.

This leads me to consider other analogies, not as exact answers but as general guidance for general movements. One that I have been pondering for the last week is the idea of pride and shame as motivators in national, religious or ethnic movements. One of the events leading to WWII was the shame that Germany felt through their defeat and humiliating terms of surrender in WWI. We did the opposite after WWII because we did not want national shame to motivate them again to strike out at neighbors. Shame can also be seen as a factor in Russia’s overthrow of the Tsar at about the same time. Sanctions are often seen by the targeted country as a humiliation, and thus become a means of rallying people around the flag and consolidating power in a ruler. This is especially true in closed societies…

So getting back to the problem of Islam, I think that shame is used (justly or not) as a strong motivator in Wahabbism and other violent sects. They point to the storied years of the Caliphate and feel the shame of lost glory. If the glory was lost though fault of the ummah, then that leads to a path of repentance and reform through humility. In the Bible, the book of Lamentations, Nehemiah 9, Daniel 9 and Ezra 9 all show this sort or mourning and reflection.

However, there is another way to look at the past. Ecclesiastes 7:10 is a verse that has often confused me:
Do not say, "Why is it that the former days were better than these?" For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.
Instead of asking ‘what did we do to deserve this?’ the person out to gain power blames failings mostly or completely on outside forces. On a national level, Saddam Hussein is a good example, as he blamed the poor Iraqi economy not on his war with Iran or poor financial management, but rather on Kuwaiti greed and avarice. The culture of victimhood here in the US among certain groups is another example, as are some of the homeless that I worked with in Boston: I am where I am today solely because of malicious actions by others in the past.

This is a temptation in for those in unfavorable circumstances because it preserves pride (I am not responsible), even as it hurts it (others have done me wrong and I could do nothing). In some ways Islam is promoting this attitude as it recalls the halcyon days when Arabia and Europe were one, the Sharia governed the world justly and the Mhadi was around the corner. However the evil crusaders and godless western ideas came in and destroyed this paradise on earth! Why promote such shame? Because it leads to pride, which, when combined with shame and the concept of religious duty, becomes a very powerful motivating and controlling factor. It gives followers something greater than the ‘here and now’ for which to live. And for which to die.

Protest of the Day

I know, it is Tuesday...I didn't have time to post yesterday. But the protesters and antitesters (?) were there. Not much new or interesting to report on the protesters except that they looked exceptionally sour. They were carrying only the usual (and previously reported) signs. The one that they kept shoving out at people said in big, block letters:

Thou Shall Not Kill

as if those entering the building were headed there to launch missiles at hapless civilians this very morning. In addition to being a perversion of the 5th commandment (6th in Jewish rendering) and offensive to the original meaning, the holder of this sign was probably oblivious to the suffering and death under Saddam, the Taliban and that which is still ongoing in Sudan and other places.

Interestingly, the worldview which holds that all killing is wrong can have integrity, but it has to hold that killing for any reason is wrong: to stop Hitler, to stop Saddam, to stop the rape of Nanking, to stop the rape of the girl next door, to prevent a nuclear holocaust, etc. To hold this view, you'd have to believe that there is something worse than death, torture, rape and tyranny: the effect on the soul of the person willing to kill the killers. But this leads to a dilemma. If the worst thing in the world is killing (as opposed to being killed, torture, whatever), and I refuse to stop someone who is killing, I am saying that I care more for my soul than for the life and soul of my fellow man, unless by my inaction I can somehow cause him to see the error of his ways (everyone cites Ghandi here). But how often does that really work? Internally consistent as it may be, it is not a pretty worldview. Ok, enough philosophizing for now.

RESCUED!!!!

Marines rescue GI Joe, the American Hero held hostage by Islamic Militants and threatened with beheading.

 

Pictures from the dead

According to the NYT, Karl was killed a couple of weeks ago in Iraq, this is a link to his website. Some great pictures there...makes you think.

SOTU

Hey, everyone else is doing it, so why not me? Hence, my thoughts on the SOTU address

1)Well delivered. The President looked confidant and spoke well. He obviously was sincere without being sappy.
2)No surprises. He spoke about those things he has said were important. And the most shocking part? His mention of Saudi Arabia. Thought that was still not that much of a departure from recent speeches.
3)Pointed. Especially on Social Security, he added enough details to take on probable Democratic arguments, but did not lay out a ‘my way or the highway’ plan.
4) Hard hitting. To see two women who had lost so much meet and hug, and share that loss with a grateful nation, was wonderful. The fortuitous symbolism where the American mom got her dead son’s dog tags tangled on the Iraq woman’s sleeve was magical.
5)The Democratic response seemed scared. It looked like a move of desperation to have two responders, and both Dem leaders. Neither was dynamic, both seemed to just repeat the same liberal cant, revealing that that is their strategy is ‘stay the course and obstruct’. We’ll see how it goes.

Comments, of course are welcome. Oh, and there was another protester out there this morning with the usual sour faced woman. He was a younger man, with olive complexion, a beard and middle eastern looks. Wearing fatigue pants and carrying one of her signs, he was an interesting addition. We’ll see if he lasts.

The Magnificent 19

'There Can Be No End to Jihad' - Christianity Today Magazine

Why do you believe hatred toward the United States could lead to the 9/11 attacks?

Islam is the final revelation, therefore those believing in it submit to Allah—the only One worthy of obedience in every sphere of life. To understand 9/11, we must go back to Tawhid— the exclusive worship of God in every sphere—religious, political, social, etc. Every human action must relate to this. 9/11 was undoubtedly an unpleasant moment for its targets or their relatives (Muslims and non-Muslim), but those committing it acted as a result of the predestined divine decree (although God does give man free will).

A fascinating read on why this fight will go on. Those who believe that Sept 11 was a one time event, or that we don't need to worry about terrorism much because it is part of the beliefs of a fringe group of extremists ought to sleep less well at night... The whole piece is worth reading. But not before bed.

The race is over, sir.

Earth to Sen. Kerry: the elections are over! An interesting interview with Tim Russert has these tidbits:

MR. RUSSERT: But you voted against Condoleezza Rice to be secretary of state. That's not finding common ground. She is qualified to hold that job, no?

SEN. KERRY: Yes, and I said so...But I wasn't voting on whether she was just qualified. I was voting on the judgments that she brought to the table. I was voting on the answers that she gave us in committee. And I was voting on the vision that she offered to the country. And I found all three, frankly, faulty.

Uh, yeah, so you voted for her before you voted against her? And I think you just said that you think a SECSTATE with faulty judgment, integrety and vision is qualified. Hmmm.

MR. RUSSERT: During the campaign you said that Howard Dean did not have the credibility or judgment to be president. Do you believe he has the credibility or judgment to be chairman of the Democratic National Committee?

SEN. KERRY: Sure, absolutely.

Huh? Is Kerry out to do in the party? It gets stranger...

SEN. KERRY: We have pro-life Democrats today. Harry Reid is a leader. He is pro-life. We have others who are pro-life. I think what I was saying, Tim, is that, you know, you can't be doctrinarian negative against somebody simply because they have that position. There's more to it. Now, does that change the position of the Democratic Party in defending the right to choose? No, absolutely not. Not in the least.

But you can't be--I mean, let me put it this way. Too many people in America believe that if you are pro-choice that means pro-abortion. It doesn't. I don't want abortion. Abortion should be the rarest thing in the world. I am actually personally opposed to abortion. But I don't believe that I have a right to take what is an article of faith to me and legislate it to other people. That's not how it works in America.

So you have to have room to be able to talk about these things in a rational way.

So much here: Too many people in America believe that if you are pro-choice that means pro-abortion. Um, yeah, most people, on both sides of the issue, believe that. Once again we see a strong tendency to blame the American people for his failures to communicate.

But I don't believe that I have a right to take what is an article of faith to me and legislate it to other people. That's not how it works in America.
This is even better. When talking about global warming, greenhouse gasses, gay marriage, sex education, gun laws, etc, that is exactly what liberals believe. Fundamentally, political decisions are made on 'articles of faith': faith in democracy, faith in the wisdom of the leaders, legislators and judges, faith in the Constitution as a viable national law and democracy as a legitimizing process. Liberals are losing in so many areas that they have let their own faith in these things has been shaken, rather than lose faith in themselves. Too many self-esteem classes, or just classic hubris? This is what so often happens to elitists when they can get no one to listen to them. In frustration, they turn to trying to de-legitimize those institutions that have spurned them.

GI Joe held hostage...

My Way News: "BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqi militants claimed in a Web statement Tuesday to have taken an American soldier hostage and threatened to behead him in 72 hours unless the Americans release Iraqi prisoners. The U.S. military said it was investigating, but the claim's authenticity could not be immediately confirmed.

The posting, on a Web site that frequently carried militants' statements, included a photo of what that statement said was an American soldier, wearing desert fatigues and seated on a concrete floor with his hands tied behind his back. The figure in the photo appeared stiff and expressionless, and the photo's authenticity could not be confirmed.

A gun barrel was pointed at his head, and behind him on the wall is a black banner emblazoned with the Islamic profession of faith, 'There is no god but God and Muhammad is His prophet.'"

Take one look at this picture and you'll see that the terrorists really have a sense of humor, or have really lost it. Ken and Barbi are heading the rally for his release...

An Iraqi Speaks

As for some of the Arab scum and other detractors, they are appearing on TV screens looking like they have just swallowed a cockroach, or perhaps had some awful lizard creeping up their backsides; They fidget, they try hard to find some words, some way to get round this, to belittle, twist to distort facts; but it is not easy, not easy when the entire world, the entire humanity are watching intently this incredible event.

Colorful and real. The whole blog is worth reading. Oh, and the usual lone protester was at her post again today, but had no new or interesting signs. One of these days I'm going to buy her a coffee and see if I can get her to sit down and talk a bit.