Hugh On Those Who Oppose a Fence

Hugh Hewitt:

It might be difficult to, say, build a border long fence and the roads to patrol it (not as difficult as the construction of the interstate highway system, though). And it might strain relations with Mexico.

As if the hoard of illegals marching into this country and sending cash back to Mexico doesn't strain the relationship already? What are the Mexicans going to do? Tell us we can't get Mexican vanilla anymore? Tell us we can't send our twentysomethings to Cancun to get puking sick anymore? A tequila embargo?

Okay. The tequila embargo would be very, very hard. I may start stocking up now.

To read what Hugh was reacting to, see his post here.

Soldiers' Question Blog

I found this in the comments over at Aubrey's place:
http://www.askthesoldiers.blogspot.com/

There were no questions yet as of this writing, so go ahead and ask them at askthesoldier@yahoo.com.

UPDATE: Here's my question answered. It is good to hear that our soldiers and Marines get what is sent.

Islamism in Denmark

Overheard on a playground at a school in Denmark:

I will kill my classmates, if Allah says so. I will also kill my dad, if Allah thinks, I have to do it. When she asked where such views stem from, the boys said that they had learnt it in koranic schools

The Viking Observer has the full report. I don't think the Danes are ready for this kind of thing.

A Shift in the Ecosystem

There was a movie entitled The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. I remember thinking "I guess I know what that one's about." (Same feeling I got when Saw came out, as I recall.) The movie was a testament to a Welsh town's determination to have a friggin' mountain and not just a hill.

The other night I went to bed a marsupial in TTLB's Ecosystem as I had for the last several nights. I had been thinking about adding a little picture of an oppossum--an American marsupial--above the TTLB script. Today I learn that I am now a Flappy Bird.

(GASP!)

What's weird is that N. Z. Bear's algorithm now counts more incoming links than before. Ah well. He's working on it, and as a lot of commenters here have pointed out, he does it for free.

Off to find a public domain pic of a quintessentially American bird. (But not a Bald Eagle, since I'm not bald, nor can I really say that I'm all that aquiline.)

SCO on the Hunter/Haworth Resolution

Only 3 Dems voted in favor of immediate withdrawal from Iraq--a la Murtha's statement.
Six voted the most cowardly way of all: Present.

Over at SCO, Doug has a very good wrap-up of the resolution.

Whoever Said It Had to Be One or the Other?

From Michelle Malkin, on the Padilla indictment:

I missed the press conference and would like to know more about the decision to indict. I thought this administration was supposed to be fighting the old Clinton/Kerry law enforcement approach to fighting terror.

Relax, Michelle. I think the Bush Administration really can walk and chew gum at the same time, despite the Big Media stereotype of the President.

Beth Takes Us All to the Internet Woodshed

Beth writes a tour de force on the use and misuse of the apostrophe. I think E. B. White would approve.

Highly Recommended.

Bill Frist: Worst. Leader. Ever.

Hugh Hewitt shows that the disgust of the base against the GOP Senate, er, "leadership" (for lack of a better word) is taking its toll on RNSC fundraising efforts. The Democrat equivalent (chaired by Chuck Schumer) has more than a 2:1 advantage in cash on hand.

Given that the Democrats haven't done well in fundraising across the board, it is as sure a sign as any that Bill Frist's tenure as "Majority Leader" is teh suck.

No End But Victory

No End But Victory is the name of a new blog by Josh Treviño. It takes a look at the present war in terms of these timely categories:

America
Defeatists
Iraq
Terrorism
War

To the camp of the Defeatists you can add every Senator that voted in favor of quarterly progress reports as a steppingstone to a timetable for withdrawal. That Bill Frist would vote in favor is somewhat surprising only in that he isn't running for re-election. I would hope he doesn't have any delusions of Presidential grandeur, since it is very clear that he lacks both moral courage and the fortitude to wage the present war.

Here are the Nay votes on the Warner bill:
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Conrad (D-ND)
DeMint (R-SC)
Graham (R-SC)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Leahy (D-VT)
McCain (R-AZ)
Sessions (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)

Presumably the D's voted No because they wanted the even MORE defeatist version that spelled out for al-Qaeda precisely when they could launch their attack on the nascent Iraqi Democracy. As for the Republicans who voted YES, let's just say that I can't wait for the next NSRC fundraising letter to come...

(Hat tip to Hugh Hewitt for the heads-up)

"Århus teens on the warpath again"

Is the headline of a story in the Copenhagen Post today. More windows smashed and a group of teens attempted to set a store on fire. A nineten year old was arrested.

I fear the Danes may not be concerned enough:

"City officials reacted to the original disturbances by entering into a dialogue involving the young people and their parents, social workers, the police, teachers, and housing association members."

Smells like an invitation to future violence. Worse, Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen called the series of events "pranks". Attempted arson?

It doesn't bode well.

The Lies That Led to the Antiwar Movement

Max Boot in the LA Times:

So much for the lies that led to war. What we're left with is the lies that led to the antiwar movement. Good thing for Wilson and his pals that deceiving the press and the public isn't a crime.

Yes, really, the LA Times. Read the whole thing wherein they detail the real liar in the Plame Name Blame Game: Joe Wilson himself.

(Hat tip: Rantburg)

UPDATE: Norman Podhoretz weighs in at Commentary Magazine. Some good quotes here.
(Another tip of the hat to Rantburg)

Orson Scott Card on Realism in Foreign Policy

Orson Scott Card has some great points in this article. This one, in particular, caught my eye:

"I know from experience that what passes for political thought in America today is largely at the level of first-year high school debaters. Instead of listening to ideas and measuring them, most people seem to be looking for anything that resembles a contradiction, whereupon they pounce."

As I've pointed out in a number of comment threads, pointing one's finger and stating "hypocrite!" is not an argument. (And you always have to look at the three fingers pointing back at yourself.) I haven't stumbled across anyone hopping up and down about any perceived self-contradiction in OSC's article, but he apparently fully expects it.

The bulk of the article rips Brent Scowcroft a new orifice for his carping about the War on Terrorism. Here's my other favorite quote: "[I]t is not 'peace' to postpone a war, or 'statesmanship' to end a war under such terms as to generate the next one."

Check it out.

"Granny Brigade" on the Border

Heard about this on Laura Ingraham this morning. (Hat tip to Rantburg for the link.) It's good to see people participating in the defense of the country on a grassroots level.

Can we get the National Guard down there to help? And if we can't afford that, every state should give back some pork (*cough*Alaska*cough*) to Get Er Done.

Warriorsvoice?

I clicked on Warriorsvoice and Blogger says "Beats me." Did I miss something in the last couple of days? Or was it unceremoniously yanked?

Here We Are

A photo of My Honey and me behind our wedding cake.

The cake is a spicecake from Custom Cake Design, Gaithersburg, MD.
Flowers by Kentlands Flowers and Bows.
Dress by Casablanca, from P. Lawrence.
Tuxedo by After Hours Formalwear.
Photo courtesy of our friend Bruce.

A Different Perspective

Was watching a show yesterday on Discovery Channel that had robotic recreations of dinosaurs duke it out. After the ankylosaur tail simulator smashed into a side of pork, My Honey declared "You just like to watch machines smash meat, don't you?"

I never thought of it that way before, but I guess I do.

The tail also smashed through a pretty sturdy timber. The scientists took that as an indication that the ankylosaurus could have smashed the lower leg bone of a large predator. For the predator's part, they showed the robotic jaws chew up a Mini Cooper, indicating that the actual dinosaur could have eaten through the ankylosaurus's bony armor... but only if it could get close enough.

I missed out on the tail vs. the (thawed) turkey simulation (apparently velociraptors were a little smaller than shown in Jurassic Park). Anyone know how that one came out? I'm betting on "turkey went flying".

Riots in Denmark

No, it is not a joke. The town of Århus has been the site of rioting the likes of which Denmark hasn't seen in years. Check out the Viking Observer for the details. Here's something to get you started:

Rosenhøj Mall has several nights in a row been the scene of the worst riots in Århus for years. "This area belongs to us", the youths proclaim.

(Hat Tip: Rantburg)

Do the Danes have it in them to crack some skulls? Deport the troublemakers? Here's a Copenhagen Post story that suggests they are working on it. "A government committee is preparing a report on how to improve Denmark's response to terror, which is to be presented on Thursday. The study comes after seven people have been arrested on suspicion of planning a terror act."

Here's a story from another paper: Zero Tolerance for Århus rioters. "The Mayor of Århus Louise Gade dismissed the concerns of experts and said that a hard-line must be taken with these troublemakers so ordinary law-abiding citizens could feel safe in their homes." She seems to get it. (Hat tip: Fjordman)

Here's a Copenhagen Post story on youths arrested last week for fomenting terrorist activity in Denmark: All went to the same mosque. And at least one mom maintained the kind of denial that only a parent can:

'The mother said her son had lately become more and more frustrated and angry towards Danish society, which he criticised harshly. Even if he sometimes sounded like he could go to extremes, his mother is certain that he would never had carried any of it out - and mothers can usually tell the difference between their children's words and deeds,' - Abu Laban, leader of the mosque in question.