AubreyJ's Tribute to Freedom in Iraq

AubreyJ reminds us of what the Iraqi people themselves have done since the fall of Saddam.

The post links to a video which is best viewed over a high-speed connection. Well worth checking out.

UAE Ports to Take Over From British Company

in the management of 6 US ports.

At least that is what the President is saying should happen. Congress is saying "WHOA!"

Hugh Hewitt says that the unease we are feeling could be based on the increased likelihood of an 'inside job'. But won't all the same Union guys be working there the day after as the day before? Who else is suddenly allowed to be there to 'case the joint'?

On the radio Rush postulated that perhaps it was all just a means of drawing out simple recognition on the part of the Democrats that there is a REAL enemy out there, and that they are at war with us whether or not we want to be at war with them.

Me? I'm not sure what to think just now. I know that Bush isn't stupid, and that he tends to do things for a reason--albeit sometimes for reasons that aren't discussed. (See also: Harriet Miers). When Jimmy Carter comes out in favor of the move, I'm inclined to get on the other side. From weakness in the face of Islamic agression in Iran to giving away the Panama Canal to championing the electoral, er, successes of dictators, Jimmy has done little to strengthen the position of the US in the world and plenty to undermine it.

So, let's let Congress have a hearing about something interesting and useful for once. With the current bipartisan furor, they should be able to override a Presidential veto. (Note to myself: the President hasn't vetoed anything to date. Why is he going to the mat on THIS thing?)

I hope they answer these questions, especially:
1) Doesn't Denmark do this kind of thing, too?
2) Were they not interested in buying out the British company?

UPDATE: (Found at In From the Cold, via Vodkapundit) Perhaps basing rights in the UAE is playing a role here? That's certainly one reason why GWB would want to keep the deal alive.

UPDATE II: Kevin Drum is scratching his head, too.

UPDATE III: Heard on Laura Ingraham, a listener wrote words to the effect of "Sure Bush is digging in his heels on this, just like he did for Harriet Miers. Look what that got him..."

It got him Sam Alito, and at the same time it muted criticism over not replacing Sandra Day O'Connor with another woman. In the current case it has gotten him Chuck Schumer rooting for Halliburton to do the job (video at link).

UPDATE IV: Varifrank noticed something interesting about Emirates Air Cargo and JFK airport in New York. It has to do with ownership...

Bird Flu

...has reached Sweden.

Christopher Hitchens Wonders Why We Are Not Supporting Our Ally

Christopher Hitchens writes a piece asking for support of Denmark. At the bottom there is this:

Update, Feb. 22: Thank you all who've written. Please be outside the Embassy of Denmark, 3200 Whitehaven Street (off Massachusetts Avenue) between noon and 1 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 24. Quietness and calm are the necessities, plus cheerful conversation. Danish flags are good, or posters reading "Stand By Denmark" and any variation on this theme (such as "Buy Carlsberg/ Havarti/ Lego") The response has been astonishing and I know that the Danes are appreciative. But they are an embassy and thus do not of course endorse or comment on any demonstration. Let us hope, however, to set a precedent for other cities and countries. Please pass on this message to friends and colleagues.

Consider it passed.

(Cross-posted: Rantburg, Potbelly Stove)

(Hat tip: Michelle Malkin)


UPDATE 1607 EST: Back at home now. Christopher Hitchens was there, was was William Kristol. The only TV reporter I saw was Fox News Channel's Molly Henneberg. There were print reporters working the throng, too. The badges I noticed stated "Washington Times".

Altogether I'd say about 100 people were present, which isn't too bad for the middle of a work day. The mood was calm and good-natured which is fitting for a demonstration in support of the Danes. There was an interesting mix of people there. I saw the classical Stringy-Haired Protest Girl there, as well as a number of instances of Skinny, Bearded Protest Guy. There were men in suits, mothers with small kids, military men. Not everyone had a sign (I didn't), but there were several good ones.

Mr. Hitchens addressed the throng about 1240, saying that it was good we could make it out to express our disgust with the "invertebrateness of our State Department" a reference to the State Department's tutting about the cartoons and relative silence while the embassies of our allies were being burned in the capitals of dictatorships.


UPDATE II 1646: The Political Pitbull has photos here. I saw the pitbull, asked if today he was a Great Dane (lame? yeah, I guess) but I didn't put 2+2 together.

UPDATE III 1730: Sissy Willis is in the Buy Danish swing of things.

Best Wishes to Kory and the Tsar

On their announcement that they are expecting a child.

Was Jimmy Carter Nearby?

From Norway's Aftenposten:

A large and unusually bold hare was apparently so irritated when a dogsled team entered its territory that it went on the attack, in an otherwise peaceful forested area of northern Norway.

So the seemingly timid Lagomorph is now known to attack canoes AND dogsleds. Good thing they don't use beagles to pull sleds; who knows where they'd be by now.

I Want to Thank the Wizbang Academy...

...for lifting my Bon Jovi cover to third place in the weekend caption contest.

There seems to be some controversy over how the line actually goes. Not having listened to it in the years since buying a "real" stereo, I plead guilty to not remembering. I certainly wasn't going to look it up.

But in the interest of accuracy:

Shot through the heart
and you're to blame

Of course as I mentioned in the comments, "Shot through the pericardium" would have been more accurate still, but it really would have killed the meter.

David Gregory on the White House Press Corps

(via Hugh Hewitt)

[T]he debate playing out in the blogosphere, cable airwaves and on talk radio pits the Vice President against an allegedly left-wing, overly cynical, prissy White House press corps in a tizzy because it wasn't the first to know and angry because it hates the President and Vice President anyway.

To which Hugh adds regarding Gregory:

"Gregory goes on to announce that this description is "nonsense," but of course Gregory has not allowed himself to be questioned outside of his network. He doesn't return calls and he won't make himself available for questions about what appears to be his deep seated hostility for the vice president and the Administration."

From which I infer that Gregory is too cynical to see an apt description and too prissy to answer questions.

Throw Mohammed From the Train

Beth is hosting a gigantonormous movie thread where each title has had one word replaced with the name of Islam's founder.

Check it

Blanco Threatens Energy Embargo?

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco seems to be threatening an energy embargo... against her own country:

Ms. Blanco, a Democrat, said Monday that she sought to split the leasing fees 50-50. "If no effort is made to guarantee our fair share of royalties," she said, "I have warned the federal government that we will be forced to block the August sale of offshore oil and gas leases."
(source: NYT)

From elsewhere in the article comes this from Andy Kopplin, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority: "There's a very clear connection between our role providing one-quarter of the oil and gas produced in this country and our vulnerability to hurricanes."

Not to mention Louisiana's penchant for electing the corrupt and apparently, now, the crazy.

Meanwhile, another story at the Potbelly Stove suggests that the Governor of West Virginia is threatening an energy embargo of his own, this time coal. The AP's headline: "W.Va. Gov. Seeks Halt in Coal Production". Actually the article says that they are going to do safety inspections on the mines.

Frog-march Anyone?

From Hugh Hewitt (via Lorie Byrd at Polipundit):

The American Spectator's Jed Babbin was on John Batchelor's radio show yesterday, and stated that the intelligence community believes West Virignia Senator Jay Rockefeller is the leaker who illegally supplied the New York Times with the details of the NSA program.

Given that the CIA's Porter J. Goss stated emphatically that the leak had done very serious damage to the Uniterd States, if Rockefeller is a suspect, he should be hauled before a Grand Jury asap.

See the Polipundit post for Lorie Byrd's late-2005 prognostication in light of Rockefeller's infamous memo. Seems like the junior senator from West Virginia was just trying to spark some of the media interest he hoped for back in 2003.

Given the seriousness of the charge, shouldn't Rockefeller be asked to step down from the Intelligence Committee? I mean: passing classified information to someone not authorized to receive it (such as a NYT reporter) is pretty bad form, no?

They're also keeping an eye on this around the Potbelly Stove.

Just Another Day in the Kentlands...

...the sun is shining, the temperature is around 60F. Oh, and someone found a bomb under a park bench.

UPDATE: 1645 - They've been goofing around with it since 1230. I can hear helicopters hanging around now. Probably newsies.

UPDATE: 1745 - Now they're saying nevermind. It was nothing. Go about your business.

Vanilla Coke

I see I'm not the only lunatic that liked Vanilla Coke. Mary Katherine Ham has scored some, thanks to eBay.

Buy Danish

The Muslim world (or at least the loonier portion) is demanding a boycott of things Danish over some cartoons published in a Danish paper.

I know where I'm looking next time we need vodka.

(h/t Michelle Malkin. Thanks to Gaijin Biker at Riding Sun for the icon.)
Technorati Tags: Buy Danish