LEAVWORLD: GRAFFITI POLITTI

I love the story about the woodpecker that came back from "extinction." Maybe it just evolved a superior means of hiding from the tree-hugging enviros and bird-watchers! "Feared" extinct is how they report it now, but I bet it was claimed as such routinely in press reports before this latest video documentation. It's also interesting how the reports of sightings or hearings of this bird during it's "extinction" were generally discredited before this. GREENIE HOAX, anyone?

Today's "Political Grapevine" on Britt Hume's Special Report was indeed "the most scintillating two minutes on TV!" Mr. Hume lined up six stories about liberals having to apologize for or correct biased, sometimes even hateful statements. This is worth reprinting in full: Colorado Democratic Senator Ken Salazar this week referred to the Christian group Focus on the Family , which supports President Bush, as "the Anti-Christ of the world." But Salazar now says he didn't mean that, saying, "I regret having used [those words]." In an audio skit about President Bush's Social Security proposal earlier this week, a voice on Air America , the liberal radio network, said, "here's your answer, you ungrateful whelp," and then sounded three shotgun blasts. Air America is now apologizing for that, calling it a "bad" skit and insisting, "our normal vetting process failed." The AP this week quoted the Presid...

For those of us who have winced while understanding the rationale behind our military's policy of mostly looking the other way regarding Afghanistan's poppy harvest, here is a ray of hope. The BBC reports that Bashir Noorazi, an Afghan drug lord and Taliban supporter, was arrested here in the U.S. I'm sure someone will take his place, but getting this guy at least sours his current schemes, whether importing drugs or financing terror. Funny, I didn't catch this one on any U.S. news outlets, including FOX. That's why I post these things here; so you, my friends, will get all this kind of news! Update: I saw it reported more widely the day after I posted this, but not as prominently as it should have been.

We came this close to capturing Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in February, according to this report . Two month later, terrorist attacks are rising again in Iraq. We need to get this bastard, and put an end to his acts of terrorism. NOW.

I've heard it said that the Democrats are "Borking" John Bolton. That was just the first step. Step two, as I see it, is closer to the Clarence Thomas hearing, when they got the extension to bring in Anita Hill. Bolton's accuser of misconduct in a Moscow hotel 10 years ago is in the M.O.B. (Mothers Opposed to Bush - a group who put out commercials featuring Edie Falco, who plays Carmella on the Sopranos) leadership. I heard a report that she is "negotiating" (why would she have to do that?) to appear before the Senate comittee. I'm going to go out on a limb here, and predict he gets confirmation, as Justice Thomas did. I say this because there is one thing I haven't seen in the media: poll numbers on Bolton's popularity. I think the worse they make Bolton look, the more people want him as our UN ambassador. (Luckily, these aren't sexual allegations, or the Dems would bring up the UN sex scandals that they never seem to mention otherwise.) It ...

Larry Elder has written one of the most blunt columns about race in education I've ever read, titled An Asian student confesses -- 'we work harder' . He really "stirs the melting pot," so to speak. The larger point I see is that culture cannot supplant education. The multicultural movement, along with the liberalization of "mainstream" American culture has impeded education in this country for too many years to be easily reversed. Any statistical analysis will prove this conclusion, though it sounds like an opinion. Read Mr. Elder's piece, and decide for yourself.

John Kerry's Presidential aspirations may be dimmed with the selection of the new Pope. The former Cardinal Ratzenberger sent a letter advising the US Bishops to deny communion to strongly pro-abortion politicians while Kerry was running for President . More Catholics voted for Bush than Kerry last time, by a slight margin. Unless the Republicans nominate Giuliani, or anyone softer than Kerry on abortion, Kerry will do even worse among Catholics. This assumes he can beat Hillary in the Democratic primaries, which is as unlikely as the Republicans nominating any Giuliani-type liberal.

If you weren't watching the news closely the last few weeks, you may have missed the emerging tension between Japan and China. This is serious stuff, as noted by Peter Brookes in the column linked here . The important thing to remember that the Chinese do not tolerate protest. The anti-Japanese demonstrations are government sponsored, as alluded to in this cartoon by Cox & Forkum. Do not be fooled into thinking that this is actually a popular uprising of righteous anger at Japan, which is how I've seen it reported as. It is nothing more than Chi-Com propaganda, and as such should always invite a deeper look. Brookes' piece does this, and Cox & Forkum's cartoon is also on point regarding the protests. My analysis is this: Japan may have to go nuclear to deter China and it's puppet, North Korea. We should support them if they choose this course. Democratization is the only solution to China's belligerent behavior, and it can't be imposed from outside ...

Mort Kondracke, who I often agree with, has taken leave of his senses. He is proposing the government fight FAT FOODS with higher taxes, as has been done with cigarettes. He rightly rejects the McDonald's lawsuits, but cites other intrusive government regulations to support this cockamamie proposition. The one he finds least "helpful" is a Dept. of Agriculture report that recommends "60 to 90 minutes of daily exercise — so much that most people will give up before trying." Instead, he wants to tax fatty foods, whether they're bought by obese people or not. At least with tobacco, the smokers were the only ones paying the extra tax. This tax will fall on all food consumers (pretty much everybody), and like the tobacco tax, it will disproportionally affect the poorest Americans, or force them to buy less fatty foods, if you believe Mort. I don't think that this will do anything but hurt the people and the economy, and it will do less to fight obesity than r...

I just couldn't resist this one. Mark Steyn writes about UN ambassador appointee John Bolton's confirmation hearings. Apparently, Bolton is not qualified for this job because he chewed out two subordinates. The funniest part is reading the testimony saying that Bolton had his "hands on hips," to which I have to ask: Maybe he was just doing the TIME WARP?

Pres. Bush is right on Social Security reform, especially private accounts. We'll get private accounts, maybe as an add - on, or extra tax. I would pay it, as I'm confident it would get a better return than Social Security. Previous Medicare reforms, including the new drug benefits, need re-reforming, being in a more advanced default than Social Security is in. The President's vision regarding immigration is close to right, but he lacks the political will (or power) to enforce current immigration law, much less propose any new policy. Only an attack through either land border would prompt action on this, if not for the Minutemen . If the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) was lowered to 19%, and taxpayers were able to pay the LOWER tax rate when compared to the current rate system, it could be a backdoor to a FLAT TAX, according to Stephen Moore of the Club for Growth . The judicial branch of government will respond as either other branch would to political pressure, and slow d...

My young friend Mike just came back from Iraq for a few weeks well-deserved leave. I got to talk with him for an hour or so, which was a real pleasure. I remember regaling him with tales of my USMC adventures when we first met, several years ago. Then came 9/11. Being 39 at the time, I felt helpless regarding my first instinct, which was to meaningfully fight the terrorists. Mike, almost 20 years my junior, joined the USMC. I never had children, but this young man gave me a sense of pride that I never felt before, and could only describe as paternal. I reassured his father that he enlisted too late to be involved in the Afghanistan campaign. He has, however, ended up guarding our embassy in Iraq. I got some impressions from our talk, and in general terms, he was skeptical about the Iraqis' ability to "fix up their own places." I take this to be a function of how close he is to the center of the US presence, where Iraqis may expect us to take up the role of the previous Ba...

I'm still amazed at critics who say that Pope John Paul II's preaching against condoms increased the spread of AIDS. If the people did what he preached, they would not use condoms, but they also wouldn't have sex outside of wedlock. Wouldn't this decrease the spread of AIDS more than if they had sex with multiple people, even using condoms? --Just asking.

Mark Steyn rants about intelligence reform, and makes many good points. My favorite is his wrap-up, commenting on how little we get for our $30 BILLION intel spending: "Anybody who watches cable news or reads an occasional foreign paper would know as much. How about if that $30 billion was allocated to, say, a program for subsidized bicycling helmets for grade-schoolers or some other federal boondoggle, and they bulldozed Langley, and gave the CIA director 20,000 bucks to put all his agency's global ''analysis'' up on a blog — spook.com — and invite comments from readers around the world? It couldn't possibly be less informed than the CIA's decades-long record of incompetence in the Middle East. U.S. intelligence needs a fresh start, and short of buying ol' Sandypants a larger pair of trousers and getting him to smuggle out every single classified document, it's not clear how it's ever going to get it." --as it is, there is alot of go...

See this plan to rebuild the Twin Towers opposite the footprints of the original. This is what should be done. Compare models of this plan vs. the Freedom Tower , also known as the "I SURRENDER, PLEASE DON'T HIT ME AGAIN" plan. Also read Nicole Gelinas' excellent piece from the NY Post, which inspired this post. Nothing has been built yet. It's not to late to do the right thing, instead of what is being planned.

NOW, I'VE SEEN IT ALL. I've ranted before about Bill Moyers , among others, using religion to promote their political views on taxes and entitlement programs, while bashing Pres. Bush for his "faith based initiatives." It's ironic that this post I found starts off with the words "Does this count as a faith-based initiative?" The author, Shava Nerad , posts a newsletter from the Unitarian Universalist Association , which represents a group of congregations. The letter, "adapted from the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon ," states that they will be performing "THE BLESSING OF THE TAXES" at several congregations around the country between Apr. 8th and 17th. An excerpt: "What you can do: * Lay hands on envelopes containing tax returns or copies of returns in worship, and pray over them; or create an altar for tax returns * Weave the blessing into sermons or pastoral prayers * Conduct special worship services * Conduct prayer vigils ...

There is a new show on Iraqi TV, "Terrorism in the Hands of Justice," in which captured terrorists are berated and interrogated on camera. The Washington Post has this report , including these quotes: "Sabah Kadhim, an Interior Ministry spokesman, added, 'The last few weeks have been incredible in terms of tips coming in from the public.'" and "Many of the suspects are former policemen who claim they were coerced into joining the insurgency by threats against their families. Though many claim to have attacked U.S. forces, the interviews focus on their atrocities against Iraqis and payments they allegedly received from Syrian and Saudi paymasters." THIS IS GREAT! Just another sign of the mood of most Iraqis toward these terrorist bastards who are trying to stop the spread of freedom in that country. The paper calls it "Iraq's hottest new television program," and quotes al-Iraqiya's Baghdad station director, Ahmed Yasseri: "we ...

This is a post I have been thinking of for some time; a fitting tribute to two men I've come to see as teachers. You see, I dropped out of college after one semester, and never went back. However, I never stopped educating myself, mostly from my own mistakes. Part of my life's journey has been an evolution from a knee-jerk, bleeding heart liberal into what can only be described as a "compassionate conservative." This is where the two old black men come in. I first heard Dr. Williams on the Rush Limbaugh radio show, and was taken aback. "BLACK, by popular demand" was how they introduced him! The radical reality that he saw was far removed from the reality I saw portrayed by most media at that time, and it was shocking. I was also introduced to the eminent Dr. Sowell, and bought one of his many books, "The Quest for Cosmic Justice." (See my STARBORN gallery as to why this title appealed to me.) Being a former liberal, the first thing that drew me ...

It seems that the ACLU and some other liberal groups are pressuring the Health and Human Services Department to take down a website promoting abstinence, but HHS Sec. Leavitt (no relation) is sticking to his guns. The article linked above shows how the ACLU and others would rather promote sexual activity among youngsters than allow facts to be presented to them. The worst thing in the story was the assumption that "sexually active" teens couldn't abstain. Luckily, I know of at least 2 Leavitts that don't buy that, and one of us is in a position to do something about it. The ACLU and these other groups need to butt out, or they need to be looked at and exposed for supporting underage sex. The ACLU is already representing NAMBLA (a MAN-BOY LOVE group under Federal indictment), so this should be a no-brainer. This sick group is attacking the promotion of common sense traditional values, while defending pedophiles. This is a far cry from their mission of protecting "...

AARP'S "Horrible Handyman" Have you seen the latest commercial from the AARP? The one where the handyman tells the woman "your sink is clogged, so we're going to have to tear down your house," or words to that effect? A demolition crew begins doing just that, as a voiceover says that Social Security can be fixed with some "minor adjustments." THE OPPOSITE OF THIS COMMERCIAL WOULD BE TRUE: The commercial SHOULD be of a construction crew coming to a house with a rotting foundation and an obvious lack of structural integrity, and telling the lady "I'm here to fix the sink." The voiceover would say that "minor adjustments" will not fix the structural flaws in the Social Security system, as debris falls on the handyman tinkering with the sink. AFL-CIO Rally for Hypocracy The AFL-CIO, a very large investor of retirement funds in the stock market, had a rally AGAINST letting everyone else invest their money the same way the union d...