Since 2000 I've been a regular visitor to Townhall.com. I've recommended it on my own sites and in online discussions. I can no longer do that. If you see the URL http://www.townhall.com/ don't bother clicking the link. On July 4th they debuted a whole new site design. That's fine, AS LONG AS IT ACTUALLY WORKS!!! I can even understand and deal with site redesign glitches and even major bugs. In fact I've even documented my trials and tribulatations as they occured in various posts here. It was a matter of pride, I wanted my blog to look a certain way, and function a certain way. Making it work on Internet Explorer IS frustrating. It took me a month to get OUR FLAG to appear on IE where I wanted it to appear.
That was MY problem and I solved it. Here is what ticks me off about townhall.com, IT DOESN'T WORK!!! I was emailed this link: http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/MonaCharen/2006/09/29/alert_severe_shortage_of_grown-ups I clicked the link, nothing. hit ''reload'' and got a blank browser window. If it 404'd (page not available) I can understand that. But this is worse, it tries (and fails) to load the page leaving a blank browser window.
If they can't get their site to work, they are cheating the folks that bought ads on their site.
THAT'S JUST WRONG... posted by YIH @ 2:13 PM on  : 

When I first heard this report (Police Investigate Shooting Outside Mosque) my first thought was ''phony hate crime''. IF the trigger man is found I'm betting it'll be a muslim.
I saw this on the front page of the slantinel: ''Central Florida Muslims decry anti-pope violence''
(I made sure to preserve a copy of the page to my own server space)
Pretty much a textbook ''yeah, we're muslims, but you can trust us, we're not like those muslims''.
This has become a standard tactic of muslims here. Fake up a ''hate crime'' and scream ''racism'':

Some qwik questions: Why is there a mosque in Melbourne FL?
Why are there muslims in Melbourne FL?
Are we fighting ''a war on terrorism'' or not?
Was there a Japanese Shinto shrine in Melbourne FL in the early 1940's?
BTW, we don't need ''internment camps'' for them. Just round them up and return them to dar-al-islam where they belong. They don't belong in dar-al-harb.
We don't need them just waiting for their chance to run people over with an SUV.
Or sniping at people driving by.
Or bursting into Synagoges shooting at people.
More food for thought from a vanishing american:

Roberts and others like him, mostly those in the neocon camp (although Roberts seems, as usual, to find that term objectionable) are unable or unwilling to see how the 'war on terror' or the 'war on totalitarian Islamic terrorism' or whatever is NOT being fought seriously as long as we allow the enemy to roam freely in our countries, in the UK, in America, in Australia. There is an enormous blind spot on the part of many which denies that there is any disconnect; they cannot or will not see that it makes not an iota of sense to claim to be fighting to win against 'terror' when we allow mass immigration and access to our countries to unknown numbers of terrorists and jihadists. Whether they are jihadists of the 'slow' variety, waging war by political and demographic means, or by violent jihad -- we are allowing their infiltration into our country, in the name of 'tolerance', 'diversity', multiculturalism, globalism.

How do Roberts and his fellow neocons rationalize the following words of Churchill:

How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen; all know how to die; but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome. (The River War, first edition, Vol. II, pages248-50 (London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1899).

I wonder if Roberts honestly believes that his hero, Churchill, would have opened up the UK to mass Moslem immigration? Would Roosevelt have welcomed in millions of Germans during WWII?
But president homer simpson sure does... posted by YIH @ 11:55 AM on Sunday, September 24, 2006  : 

I will be in Andrea Shea King's chatroom Sunday 9/24. About 9pm EDT to 11pm EDT.
I tend to bring a topic with me.
This week it will be ''Are we actually fighting ''a war on terrorism'' OR NOT?''. If you are wondering, I don't think we are. I don't see ''nation-building'' as an effective way to fight this war.
Want to bash me? GO FOR IT!!!
Enter your name, city and state and join in the fun!!!
DO NOT SWEAR!!!
I REPEAT, DO NOT SWEAR!!!
If you want to call me a slime-sucking bottom-feeder (even though I'm not a catfish), I don't have a problem with that.
If you want to insult me, here's your chance... posted by YIH @ 2:02 AM on  : 

Over at Rick Moran's blog I left a comment on his most recent post: DOES CONFRONTING TERRORISM MAKE IT WORSE?
The issue I take with that point is ARE WE EVEN DOING SO AT ALL?
My own opinion is this so-called ''War On Terrorism'' has yet to be ''confronted''!!!
In dealing with ''terrorists'' (AND those who support them) I have always used the 'hot stove' anonlogy: We have been 'mommy' telling the 'child' ''Don't touch the stove, it's hot'' while shooing the 'child' away from the 'hot stove'.
We have indeed been quite effective at shooing the 'child' away from the 'hot stove', but we can't do that forever. In fact, we NEED the 'child' to learn by doing.
It's time for 'mommy' to LET the 'child' touch the 'hot stove'. THEN 'mommy' can yell ''DID THAT HURT?!?! I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH THE HOT STOVE!!!''
So far the 'child' has been prevented from 'burning their fingers' on 'the hot stove'.
We have been trying TO DISTRACT the 'child' with a 'toy' (so-called ''democracy'') thinking that it will solve the problem. At most it's a temporary solution to the problem.
After nearly 4 years into afganistan and 3 1/2 years into iraq I see no progress being made. In fact, just the opposite! All our involvement in those countries have accomplished is to reduce them to pure anarchy. With little more than a ''sock puppet'' as a ruling government.
THAT CANNOT EVEN ESTABLISH ANY SEMBLENCE OF ORDER IN EITHER COUNTRY!!!
And to make it worse, we don't have the manpower, resources OR EVEN WILL to do it for either iraq or afganistan anymore. We have been reduced to 'force protection' with expiditionary missions outside of heavily guarded enclaves. INSTEAD OF siezing control in either country as a transitional period toward self-rule. That's where the WWII anologies fail; we did indeed sieze complete control of both countries, only relaxing complete control of them as they proved themselves to not be any threat to the Americans that were there and not allowing either Germany OR Japan self-rule until WE were convinced they did not present a threat to America.
Another difference is that in WWII we HAD to fight both Germany and Japan at the same time. While the argument that we had to deal with afganistan right away was a legitimate one, the argument that iraq was also a threat to us that needed our immediate attention was based purely on theory and conjecture.
One of the most common methods of dismissing any and all critisim of our actions in iraq is to YELL ''conspiricy theory'' at us.
The REASON for our involvement in iraq IS ALSO ''a conspiricy theory''!!! WHY?
''iraq has WMD that are a threat to America's security''. What has been found there BY OUR TROOPS IS NOT proof of that.
''there was a meeting between an envoy of saddam and an envoy of al-quida''. Can you even show that cell phone numbers from saddam to osama were exchanged between the two?
''iraq HAS WMD AND WILL give them to al-quida''. Did Elvis Presley tell you this?
''we will create a new middle east that doesn't harbor terrorists''. YEAH, sure you will. SO WHY HAVEN'T YOU READ THE KORAN?
NOTE: If the writer spells KORAN with a ''Q'' and an apostrophe that means the writer is a WIMP who can ''talk a good game'' but when it comes right down to reality will just run and try to hide.
If you want to find ''an al-quida cell'' just go to Dearborn MI, USA. THERE IT IS, waiting for you. To dittoheads of president homer simpson: If we CAN'T remove al-quida FROM AMERICA, HOW CAN WE REMOVE IT FROM IRAQ? posted by YIH @ 10:45 PM on Saturday, September 23, 2006  : 

Atlantis. It has been commited to a KSC landing. There is NO 'abort landing' now.
As I write this I am waiting for the twin sonic booms. Just happend (6:17am). It's landing. Cross you fingers.
TOUCHDOWN!!! NAILED IT!!! YEAH!!!
Welcome home... posted by YIH @ 6:18 AM on Thursday, September 21, 2006  : 

Like it or not, WE are ''married'' to this foul ''husband'' known as islam. The president we have elected TWICE has made it QUITE CLEAR that the USA has become ''the beaten wife'' of the muslims:


I too am disappointed that the Pope HAD TO RETRACT his carefully watered-down statements. He is forced to deal with reality, the muslims said ''how many divisons does the Pope have''? The muslims realized they could ''beat him into submission'' merely by getting violent. It was plainly sucessful. And that's our fatal flaw, we WANT ''to make friends'' with islam, but President Homer Simpson and his dittoheads CAN'T UNDERSTAND we CAN'T ''make friends with them''. The koran makes what muslims are about QUITE CLEAR.
Our only options are be a dittohead of the president and hope our muslim MASTERS will treat us kindly if we are really, really REALLY nice to them, OR FIGHT BACK.
I say FIGHT BACK, no longer try to ''bring the muslims freedom''. Trouble is, the president I voted for twice has clearly been comprimised by our enemies... posted by YIH @ 12:08 PM on Sunday, September 17, 2006  : 

And muslims protest this by getting violent.
In other news, 2+2=4 and the sun rose in the east this morning and will set in the west later today.
I guess Pope Benedict XVI HAS read the koran.
Here's how it works: We NEED TO STOP THE APPEASEMENT of our enemies with this ''we will bring them freedom'' garbage. You want ''freedom'' for these people? WHY?

Hey john kerry hawkins: Why do you hate our troops, and why do you hate America?
The only ''freedom'' I want ''to bring muslims'' is the freedom from the need to continue inhaling and exhaling. The anti-christian bush worshippers HATE AMERICA AND HATE OUR TROOPS just as much as cindy sheehan!!! posted by YIH @ 10:09 AM on Saturday, September 16, 2006  : 

I've mentioned Rick Moran's post ''Iraq: Quit or Commit'' before. And I agree with him, we are at a crossroads in iraq, ''Get it right or get out''. And that's exactly what we're faced with there.
I consider ''stay the course'' unviable and doomed to failure.
It looks to me like someone with an old, beaten-up car who keeps procrastinating about replacing it. ''I know Ol' Betsy has to go, but if I can just flog one more (day, week, month, year) out of her that's what I'm going to do''. I understand that mentality, as one gets older it's natural to think that way. ''It served me well in the past, and I know how to keep it going so why change?''.
If you just want to postpone the replacement of A MACHINE for another (day, week, month,year) I see the point. It's YOUR problem to deal with as you see fit.
And that's where the president and his dittoheads OUTRAGE me. ''OUR TROOPS'' are not merely replaceable parts of a machine , THEY ARE PEOPLE. THEY ARE AMERICANS, THEY ARE YOUR FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS AND FAMILY MEMBERS.
WE OWE IT TO THEM to come up with A VIABLE way to accomplish their mission!!!
Sorry dittoheads, ''stay the course'' just doesn't cut it. And merely blaming the democrats and media just doesn't cut it either. Saying ''this is going to take a long time'' doesn't cut it either.
When it comes to ''the war on terrorism'' I have two questions:
1. What are we trying to get done?
2. How do we do it?
I have a lot of respect for Dr. Krauthammer,

He has to come up with A WORKABLE answer to those two questions CONTINOUSLY.
I have to deal with the same two questions. I just have a different perspective on them.
I understand his perspective here. He understands his limitations.
He would like to be able to stand up and walk, but he also understands that is unrealistic due to paraplegia. With me it's eyesight. It sucks but I gotta deal with it.
To borrow an acronym from SDB, DWL!!!
I mentioned Rick Moran's post above. The latest meme to justify iraq is ''we will us iraq as a staging area against iran''. This appears again and again throughout the comments to that post.
I added my own two cents on that idea:

I’ve been hearing this idea that we need to stay in iraq ‘as a staging area’ for action against iran. Now let’s say we do just that in early ‘07, here are the problems:
1. In order to have any real chance of succsessfully taking on iran would require about 90% of our forces currently in iraq now. It would be a de facto ‘abandonment of iraq’.
2. That would immediatly plunge us into the worst possible situation; A ‘Two-Front War’ with the need to establish a rear guard to prevent our enemies BEHIND US (iraqi shias) from overrunning our offensive positions.
3. By attacking iran from within iraq our forces will be in a ‘landlocked’ position. With the primary means of resupply of manpower and material being by air.
4. Rick Moran ‘’danced around’’ the other issue but I have no problem with saying it:
OUR ARMED FORCES ARE STRETCHED THIN. He noted that we are MOVING forces from areas that we have previously ‘cleared’ of the ‘insurgency’ in order to shore up our forces trying TO ESTABLISH some semblance of security in baghdad.
5. The iranians don’t NEED the NYT,CNN or ‘al-rueturs’ to tell them what is going on in iraq. They can see (and hear from their shia iraqi allies) it for themselves…

On Point 1; Krauthammer realizes that a de-facto 'abandonment of iraq' would plunge it into complete chaos. The ''government of iraq'' would quickly fall.
Personally, I belive that when (either tomorrow or 50 years from now) we 'abandon iraq' the ''iraqi government'' will fall and be replaced with either a shia or sunni thugocracy.
I'm now convinced that such will be the fate of iraq with or without our presence there. Krauthammer even realizes WHY support for the so-called ''war in iraq'' is faltering:

There are two rationales for withdrawing from -- let's be honest: abandoning -- Iraq: (a) Iraq is not worth it, and (b) worth it or not, the cause is lost.

For the record, my position is (b) worth it or not, the cause is lost.
In short, 'a new saddam' will soon emerge and sieze control out of anarchy. Lord of the flies on a huge scale.
In fact, that is the point of Hugh Fitzgerald, leave iraq and allow the sunnis (western iraq, syria, and saudi arabia) to focus their jihad on the shi'ites (eastern iraq and iran) and vice-versa. Namely, ALLOW the muslims to expend manpower and material waging jihad against each other to weaken them. Literally a form of jujitsu where we use our opponent's strength as a way to help defeat them.
On Point 2; The top-level of iraqi shi'ites are solidly allied with iran. In fact, both sistani and al-sadr spent considerable time in iran (for protection from saddam's henchmen) so who they see as their natual allies is plainly obvious. And it ain't us. Because the shi'ites are about 60% of iraq's population and at best barely tolerate US presence they would likely be 'activated' to help defend iran should we (or Israel) attack it. That's what I meant by a 'two-front war'. It would sandwich 100,000+ US Army and Marines between the iranians that we are launching assaults on and the iraqi shi'ites who would act against us with the bidding and support of iran.
On point 3; The most effective use of a 'Shock and Awe' type of assault on iran would 'landlock' our forces hundreds of miles within iraq. So resupply would depend on either increasingly dangerous overland convoys or (also vulnerable) airlifts. The only other alternative would be to base an assault on iran from basra (to ensure sea access and reduce the size of the iraqi shia front) which would greatly increase travel distance to iranian targets. And as the British discovered, basra is a not very friendly place for our forces to be.
The reason I mentioned Krauthammer is that he also realizes how impractical this would be as well. In his most recent column:

Military. Iran will activate its proxies in Iraq, most notably, Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. Sadr is already wreaking havoc with sectarian attacks on Sunni civilians. Iran could order the Mahdi Army and its other agents within the police and armed forces to take up arms against the institutions of the central government itself, threatening the very anchor of the new Iraq. Many Mahdi will die, but they live to die. Many Iraqis and coalition soldiers are likely to die as well.

On point 4; Perhaps Rick Moran read my comment on his blog. Or perhaps not, but he clearly understood it. WE DON'T HAVE the addtional manpower and material to 'Commit' to stablize iraq. Our Armed Forces 'gas gauge' is pointed at ''E'', and we can't readily do anything to change that:

The equipment problems will not be solved overnight. A $50 billion shortfall cannot be made up in a year or two. And while it is worrisome, the problems with material pale in comparison to the difficulties in attracting the quality and quantity of personnel needed to fight the war effectively. Whether the problems can be rectified with increased incentives and other monetary enticements is not the issue. The issue is that if these problems do indeed exist, precious little has been done to address them to date.

On Point 5; There is a sports term known as 'telegraphing', where one player (or team) shows its opponent(s) what will likely happen next. It has come into the common lexicon as 'a poker face'. By shifting forces (instead of bringing in more of them) from anbar province to baghdad in an attempt to stabilize baghdad 'we have tipped off' the iranians to what our ACTUAL capabilites are...
UPDATE: Hmm, looks like my little blog has gotten some notice... posted by YIH @ 3:43 PM on Friday, September 15, 2006  : 

Oh boy, why does hawkins belive in fictonal characters such as unicorns, khajits, ''moderate muslims'', elves and orcs?
OBLIVION is a kickass GAME, but it is NOT reality.
Non-fighting a non-war against non-enemies toward a non-victory is the way to ''win the war on terrorism''?
OK, JOHN KERRY HAWKINS how do we DEFEAT OUR ENEMIES?
While you use your ''bring them freedom'' special attack the muslims keep using the ''kick 'em in the nuts HARD'' special attack. No wonder the muslims are DEFEATING us.
I see JOHN KERRY HAWKINS point here, he's trying ''to get his'' while it's still possible.
I'm doing the same. You should as well... posted by YIH @ 1:03 AM on Wednesday, September 13, 2006  : 

I'm a regular reader of View from the Right. I've used the phrase ''junk food conservitive'' to describe much of talk radio and blogs such as ''right wing news''. Their patriotism and ''love of god and country'' is expressed quite broadly. Just not very deeply.
Back when I was a regular listener of limbaugh he liked to say ''many on the left simply consider me a showman throwing 'red meat' to right-wingers'', when he was often saying this (late 80's-early 90's) I didn't think that was true. By the time I stopped listening to him in '95 that's exactly what he'd become. Day in, day out, ''beat on billy''. Hammer the clintons, hammer the democrats, praise republicans, and put on call after call praising him.
The reason I gave up on him was what I then called ''the chocolate ice cream factor''.
Think of your absoulte favorite food. Then picture where you could have all the 'chocolate ice cream' you could want. A ''magic freezer'' where an unlimited supply of chocolate ice cream appears. Where you eat all the chocolate ice cream you could want (but all other food has to be replaced as it's consumed). For a couple of days this you would enjoy the idea of an unlimited supply of your favorite food. Then you will start to tire of it. Then comes the point where you will open the ''magic freezer'' and say ''MORE chocolate ice cream? Couldn't it be something ELSE?''. Then comes the point where if offered chocolate ice cream you refuse it because you don't want any more. But that's my own personality, there are people who if offered an unlimited supply of their favorite food would happily enjoy ''the magic freezer'' no matter what it does to them. They would become bloated on the production of ''the magic freezer'' and enjoy it.
When someone says to these folks ''Um, y'know, you're up to 450 lbs, maybe you should cut back on the chocolate ice cream'' they either dismiss it with ''OK, you're right'' and go right back to it. Or get defensive and say ''that's not the problem, it's something else''.
That describes the ''bush can walk on water'' crowd. Those who unthinkingly accept ''We have learned that they form a global network of extremists who are driven by a perverted vision of Islam''.
I said to a Catholic friend: ''You're aware of the term 'cafeteria catholic' right? Those who 'pick and choose' what parts of Catholism to follow and what parts of it to ignore?''. My friend said ''Of course''. I said ''It's usually considered a derogatory term among Catholics right?''. My friend said ''Of course''. I said ''If non-Catholics (such as myself) were demanding that ALL CATHOLICS become 'cafeteria catholics' what would you say to me?'' My friend said ''I'd tell you to go to hell''.
Well, when the president says ''We have learned that they form a global network of extremists who are driven by a perverted vision of Islam'' is DEMANDING muslims become 'cafeteria muslims' that pick ''the religion of peace'' and ignore such things as:
Qur’an:9:88 “The Messenger and those who believe with him, strive hard and fight with their wealth and lives in Allah’s Cause.”
Qur’an:9:5 “Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, harass them, lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war.”
Qur’an:9:112 “The Believers fight in Allah’s Cause, they slay and are slain, kill and are killed.”
Qur’an:9:29 “Fight those who do not believe until they all surrender, paying the protective tax in submission.”
No other religion has such an open-ended call to war. I'm a Protestant (born and raised Methodist, became Southern Baptist) but I mostly respect Catholisim.
In fact, the only problems I have with the Catholic Church are issues OUTSIDE of Doctrine.
There are Catholics who advocate unlimited immigration.
But the Pope has not yet stated that he supports that. And as soon as the Pope does, I will also advocate unlimited immigration to Vatican City.
''The priest scandal''; Again, NOT Church Doctrine, but the Church is responsible for what was done and not done about certain priests that violated their Oath of Celibacy.
I've always been taught that ALL sex is ''off limits'' to someone ''that serves the calling'' regardless of gender or age. A Preist or Nun can be ''tempted of the flesh'', but they cannot ACT upon those ''temptaions'', that would be A MAJOR SIN.
And there is NO ''convert OR DIE'' teaching in Catholisim. Nor is there A COMMAND TO KILL a Catholic that changes his or her faith... posted by YIH @ 7:00 PM on Tuesday, September 12, 2006  : 

Basically I couldn't listen to the radio today. Jerry Doyle called it ''a big pity party''.
No, I've not forgotton, nor will I ever forgive. But what infuriates me more is the fact we have NOT done anything effective internationally (and NO, non-fighting a non-war toward a non-victory IS NOT an effective way to deal with our enemies). And worse we are not doing what needs to be done at home either. Instead of HALTING IMMEDIATLY muslim immigration AND EJECTING any and all muslims who are not naturalized US citizens we are admitting more and more into our country. Sorry mr. saudi, if you want to visit Disneyland try Paris, Tokyo or Hong Kong. The ones in CA and FL are ''off limits'' to you.
In NYC (you know the main targets for muslim attacks five years ago) we get nonsense like this:

HUH? Why are YOU here? It's time for you to be returned to dar-al-islam, you CLEARLY don't belong in dar-al-harb.
I'm not advocating 'internment camps' for muslims, I'm advocating mass deportations for muslims. The latest 'spin' is comparing ''the war on terrorism'' to WWII. In a previous post I gave an example of why I don't accept that anology. There was NO ''Council on Japanese-American Relations [CJAR]'' 65 years ago (do the math) complaining about ''Japanaphobia'' every chance they got. We didn't WASTE 2700 lives on ''Operation Korean Freedom'' to ''liberate the Korean people'' and ''win the hearts and minds of the Korean people'' while the Japanese and Germans make it quite clear they see us as no threat to them.
FYI, both the Japanese and the Germans were also trying to develop ''the bomb'' as well. We DEFEATED Germany with conventional means then demonstrated to the Japanese that we had functional 'atomic bombs' before they could develop one of their own. Which scared the living hell out of them. We made the Japanese ''the offer they can't refuse''; Namely ''Surrender OR ELSE''. Obviously they made the correct choice.
I agree with Rick Moran; Iraq: Quit or Commit. I can understand why he says:

The situation in Iraq has gone far beyond the politics of the moment and now engages the future security of the United States. If he can’t be a man and take the inevitable finger pointing and name calling, then all hope is lost and we should start bringing the troops home now. The whispers in Washington that the President wishes to simply “hang on” in Iraq and leave the denouement to his successor is possibly the most immoral, cynical thing I’ve ever heard – which leads me to believe that it is not true. But it is equally immoral to simply apply more of the same prescriptions to a war that is now clearly out of control. Drastic changes are necessary. And if the President is not willing to apply them whether out of fear of the political consequences to his presidency or the Republican party, then he doesn’t deserve to sit in the big chair.

He's correct that its immoral and cynical. As is leading the Republican Party into massive spending. As is calling The Minuteman ''vigilantes'', and stating (that illegal immigrants are) ''doing the jobs Americans won't do'' and making sure that incidents like these ''are not terrorism'':
* The July 4, 2002 attack on the El Al counter at Los Angeles International airport.
* The October 1 University of Oklahoma suicide bombing outside of a crowded football game.
* The March 4, 2006 attack on the UNC campus.
* The July 28, 2006 attack on Seattle's Jewish Community Center.
* The August 29, 2006 attacks on pedestrians in San Francisco.
Granted, none of these muslim attacks were of the massive scale of 9/11, but they ARE muslim.
In fact, all these attackers STATED they were muslim and either used muslim tactics and/or quoted from the koran as the source of ''allah's'' justification for what they did.
IF WE WERE ''fighting a war on terrorism'' WE WOULD BE REMOVING as many of those ''ticking time bombs'' as possible.
To hell with ''operation iraqi freedom''!!! I want ''Operation Dearborn Freedom''!!!
HOW STUPID CAN YOU POSSIBLY BE? THE MUSLIMS DON'T WANT WHAT WE CONSIDER FREEDOM!!! THEY MAKE IT QUITE CLEAR!!! THEY WANT ''FREEDOM FOR ISLAM''!!! Which is NOT freedom for non-muslims!!!
I actually now feel sorry for Tariq Aziz. The former ''Vice President of Iraq'', also an Iraqi Christian. He is likely outside of Iraq now, and can never 'go home'. Say what you will about Tariq Aziz, but there are THOUSANDS of Iraqi Christians that we have created a living hell for.
As president homer simpson spells it 'S-M-R-T'. Remember that while he ''puts food on your family''... posted by YIH @ 3:52 AM on  : 

By 'he', I mean the President Of The United States. I DO INDEED consider ''W'' a dullard.
LITERALLY ''President Homer Simpson''.
''The Peter Principle'' writ large.
Whenever I hear or read the phrase ''stay the course'' I think ''y'know, that's what the captain of the Titantic said as well''.
It's why I now have a deep hatred for the president. He thinks he can MISUSE ''Our Troops''
for unending ''nation-building'' missions...
UPDATE: I was likely the one who introduced Disinfotainment Today to Ironic Times. And the author of Disinfotainment Today often likes to quote it. Myself, I like it for the humorous phony 'banner ads' that I use to link to Ironic Times.
Now I will quote them as well:

Bush Warns Iran
Threatens it with undermanned invasion, inept occupation, incompetent reconstruction.

Pretty much sums up iraq. While I disagree that the invasion (a.k.a. ''Shock and Awe'') was undermanned, the post-invasion phase that we are now engaged in has been nothing BUT inept.
As an American I'm ashamed to admit that it's true.
''We will be greeted as liberators''; save for some staged 'photo-ops' that hasn't been true.
We embraced a fantasy land idea of what invading iraq would accomplish.
To give you an idea how bad it's gotten, the blog ''Iraq the Model'' which has a prominent link on Little Green Footballs (right below the PJM ad) may well be operating OUTSIDE iraq. Although I find it interesting that I cannot find the Blogger Profile for ''Omar'' of Iraq the Model. For someone on Blogger finding somone's Blogger Profile is usually quite easy.
UPDATE: Another reason I think the president is an idiot is even though it appears that rumsfield not only didn't plan for the post-'shock and awe' phase of 'operation iraqi freedom' he was actually hostile to the idea that there should be plans in place for dealing with post-invasion iraq.
You can call me names all you want, but more and more people are realizing iraq IS INDEED in a state of 'civil war'. And we are in denial of that fact and are trying to 'game' the numbers to make it look like things are improving in iraq when they are actually getting worse there... posted by YIH @ 2:12 AM on Saturday, September 09, 2006  : 

 Steve Irwin RIP. Yes, an animal did it. A stingray to be precise.
UPDATE: I don't even feel much sorrow for Terri Irwin. THE WHOLE WORLD KNEW he was playing russian roulette with God's creatures.
He finally pulled the trigger with the bullet in the chamber.
If you live a 'daredevil' life, there is a strong possiblity you will die a 'daredevil' death.
The Wallenda Family at least understood that they were gambling their lives with each performance.
I don't think Steve Irwin even thought of himself as a 'daredevil'. I think he underestimated the risk he put himself in. In fact, he even did a TV commercial where he picked up ''the very danegrous FEAR SNAKE'' which of course bit him. ''But don't worry, the antivenim is coming by COMPANY A''. [offscreen voice] ''We didn't use COMPANY A!!!''. And Irwin feigns succumbing to the venom.
And that's the way Steve Irwin ACTUALLY DIED. He thought ''no matter what danger I get myself in, there is a rescue squad at the ready to save me''.
No wonder he had so little fear of dangerous wild animals. He even teased a 15-foot Austrialian croc with his infant son.
That is the ultimate liberal mentality: ''I can throw caution to the wind, because there is a 'rescue squad' that can be dispatched at my beck and call''.
For Steve Irwin that was quite true. It wouldn't suprise me that The Discovery Channel/Animal Planet PAID FOR 'a rescue squad' to be near Steve Irwin at all times.
The ''Flying Wallendas'' also had 'a rescue squad' at the ready.
And 'Evil Knievel's ''handlers'' knew that 'a rescue squad' at the ready was ACTUALLY part of the show.
Having seen ''The Crocodile Hunter'' it always seemed to me that his uncautious attitude WAS PROMOTED by MEDIA INC.
That is the tragedy. Terri Irwin will have to try to explain to her childern WHY their daddy died.
And she'll have to deal with A LOT of video footage as well...












posted by YIH @ 4:08 AM on Monday, September 04, 2006  : 

When it comes to Iraq, WE LOST.
After ''Shock and Awe'' we HAD to sieze complete control of Iraq. By invading, our forces HAD TO ''take over''. In order to replace saddam, we needed to TO BECOME saddam for a while.
We CAN still ''snatch victory from the jaws of defeat'' in Iraq.
But it will take A MAJOR COMMITMENT that I'm not convinced we are capable of.
Rick Moran put it quite accurately: ''escalate or leave.''
We MUST focus OUR ENTIRE troop strength in order to secure Iraq now. That's how bad it's gotten. All of our able forces that are relaxing in places such as Japan, Germany and South Korea must now ''be redeployed'' to bolster our troops in Iraq.
THEN we have to get over ''purple finger fever''. We TRIED establishing ''a freely elected democratic government in Iraq'' that has been A TOTAL FAILURE.
Did you know that after Japan surrendered to end WWII we (The USA) ruled Japan with ''an iron fist''? Notice that I didn't say we PERMENTLY ruled Japan ''with an iron fist''. By 1950 we BEGAN the process of turning over the governance of Japan to ''the Japanese people''.
By 1955, Japan was quite capable of self-rule and we ceded control to them.
Just the opposite of Iraq. After ''shock and awe'' we didn't sieze control of Iraq.
And that is where we failed.
We were led to belive ''Once we rid Iraq of saddam and his henchmen it will quickly 'westernize'''.
CLEARLY that has not been the case. It is time to tell ''The Government of Iraq'' to get it's act together NOW. Not ''some time in the future'', NOW!!!
We offer ''the carrot'' to ''The Government of Iraq'' to assume control of the situation regardless of how they accomplish that task.
I say give ''The Government of Iraq'' ONE LAST CHANCE to stabilize Iraq. No matter how they accomplish it, no matter how brutal it will be.
If by October 1, 2006 ''The Government of Iraq'' CANNOT establish order NO MATTER HOW, IT IS NOT A LEGITIMATE ''Government of Iraq''.
BUT, BUT, ''As they stand up, we'll stand down''. That is a the mentality of a liberal democrat welfare beauracrat. NO MORE WELFARE FOR IRAQ.
How far have we gone? IRAQ IMPORTS OIL!!! Whatever happened to ''the oil will pay for it all''? Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining... posted by YIH @ 1:28 AM on Sunday, September 03, 2006  : 

Of all sports/games the game of Baseball is both the most quintessentially American and yet now the most ''international'' of all. So I merely typed ''baseball iraq'' into Google and this NYT article popped up:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The opening pitch of the Northern Regional Junior Baseball Tournament last March was a slow ball that struck the dirt an inch behind home plate, bounced into the catcher's face mask and knocked him to the ground.

Ismael Khalil Ismael, in red shirt, brought baseball to Baghdad in 2003. Using donated equipment, Iraq now has 26 teams in 18 provinces.

For anyone focusing on details, like skill, it may have seemed an inauspicious start. But to the players and the two dozen spectators, most of whom did not know the difference between a ball and a strike, the moment underscored something far more important: Baseball had come to Iraq.

Founded in the fall of 2003 by Ismael Khalil Ismael, a shop owner in Baghdad, the national league has grown to 26 full-fledged baseball teams in 18 provinces stretching from Nineveh in the north to Basra in the south. Using hand-me-down gloves and other cast-off equipment, much of it donated from the United States, the teams play on sandy lots, rutted pastures and soccer pitches.

"I'm doing it for the history of Iraq," he declared.

If this were the full outline of the league's narrative, it would be a rare, happy story for this troubled country. But like Iraq since the American invasion, the league, after less than two years in existence, has itself been torn by political infighting and charges of malfeasance that have cast its future into doubt.

And as if that were not enough, Mr. Ismael said he had been menaced by people who have who accused him of supporting an American cultural export.

"I'm under huge pressure," he said. "There is no freedom and democracy here. There is only plotting and conspiracy."

Mr. Ismael, 40, a former member of the national judo team, said he first heard of baseball when he was a child. His father had been working with an American contracting company building a dam near the northern city of Sulaimaniya, and the American workers would play.

The sport had also popped up at some private grade schools around the country, he said, though it never extended beyond physical education class.

In 1994, a cousin working at the Iraqi Embassy in Washington, sent him a supply of bats, balls and gloves - "enough for a team," recalled Mr. Ismael, whose physique these days is less outfielder and more home plate umpire.

But fearful that his interest in a decidedly American sport would antagonize Saddam Hussein, he shelved the idea. "My friends advised me not to fulfill my dream because I might be interrogated or put in prison," he recalled on a recent afternoon while sitting in one of four clothes and gift shops he owns in the lobby of the Babylon Hotel.

After the fall of Mr. Hussein's government, Mr. Ismael felt free to start the baseball league. In visits to sports clubs and college campuses, he mustered interest in the new sport, and held his first practice in November 2003.

In July 2004, the National Olympic Committee of Iraq admitted the league as a member and since then has budgeted more than $50,000 to support it. Called the Iraqi Baseball and Softball Federation, the league also includes 15 women's softball teams and a national baseball team, which has yet to play an international game.

The Olympic committee's contribution, Mr. Ismael said, helps to pay for equipment, salaries for himself ($150 per month) and his vice president ($60 per month), a $25 per month honorarium for each player on the national team, team travel and clinics for players, coaches and umpires.

Mr. Ismael said the amount was not enough to cover all the league's expenses and he says he has contributed thousands of dollars of his own to keep the organization alive. The scarcity of resources is so bad, he said, that teams in Baghdad need to practice on alternate days because there is not enough equipment to go around.

League officials have been particularly conflicted about whether they should approach the most obvious source of financing - the American authorities here - and how they might go about it.

On one hand, Mr. Ismael points out, he desperately needs help, both financial and instructional. But on the other hand, he does not want to appear to be supported by the Americans, thereby inspiring attacks by insurgents.

He has already received menacing cellphone calls and two e-mail notes from strangers questioning his devotion to what one writer, a Saudi man, bitterly called "an imported sport."

That opposition - and the threat of something worse - has put Mr. Ismael in an unfortunate dilemma: a higher profile could invite more problems, yet without promotion the league can not grow.

"I've said this more than once: We are not bringing weapons of mass destruction to Iraq," he sighed. "We're only playing a simple game."

In spite of the threats, he has had surprisingly little trouble finding players. More than 200 people have attended his seminars and clinics, which he offers without charge.

"I like it because it's a new game in Iraq and it's exciting" said Yassir Abdullah, 21, a muscular second baseman on Baghdad's Salam, or Peace, team and a third-year student at the College of Athletic Education at Baghdad University. Like many players, he has caught only glimpses of American baseball in the background of movies.

The league took a bad turn in July when 15 players filed a complaint with the Olympic committee accusing Mr. Ismael of using the league's minibus for personal business and of providing them with substandard food and lodging during a road trip to Sulaimaniya. The committee has opened an investigation into the allegations.

A high-ranking committee official, Salman Abdul Hamza, suggested that the details of the league had probably overwhelmed Mr. Ismael. "He's a hard worker; he's doing a good job," Mr. Hamza said. "But some people may do good things in their job but administratively are not successful."

Mr. Ismael denies the charges and says they are part of an attempted power grab by people envious of his successes. At the same time, he has accused the president of the Olympic committee, Ahmed Assamarai, of underfinancing the sport in retribution for his refusal to allow Mr. Assamarai's son to run the league.

The spokesman for the Olympic committee denied that Mr. Assamarai had ever insisted that his son be put in charge of the league. Mr. Assamarai's son, the spokesman pointed out, lives in Britain.

The new season is supposed to begin sometime in September when the weather begins to cool down - Mr. Ismael said there was no particular opening day. The summer heat has made any regular practices absolutely unbearable, though on a recent afternoon, Mr. Ismael assembled a squad, including several players from the south, to put on a demonstration for a visiting reporter.

The players laid out the bases at the edge of a fallow soccer pitch, where the grass had grown to shin height and was full of dust from sand storms. A herd of cows and sheep grazed nearby. The players drew from a communal stockpile of gloves - most do not own their own - and took turns batting and running the bases.

There were a lot of wild throws, and few hits made it out of the infield. The shortstop was out of position, playing nearly on top of second base, and for some reason everyone referred to the catcher as "the umpire." Many players in the league said they had never seen the sport played by non-Iraqis; even Mr. Ismael has only seen college or professional players from abroad on instructional DVD's and videos.

But there was no shortage of enthusiasm. Ali Muhsen, the 27-year-old captain of the national team, said afterward that he dreamed of one day traveling to the United States with the Iraqi national team and playing the Americans.

Asked if beating the Americans was also part of the plan, he smiled bashfully and shook his head no.

The conversation went on but Mr. Muhsen remained silent, apparently reconsidering his answer.

"Inshallah," he finally said. "I hope."

Now it would be a wound to my pride as an American if an Iraqi Baseball team beat an American baseball team on the field, by standard rules, in an honest game.
To be blunt about it, I ALWAYS get ticked off when a non-American team beats an American team. My attitude is ''*&^%$#@! we should have fielded a better team!!!'', but I'd grumble and accept the loss. As I said to a Peurto Rican friend of mine when during the 2004 Olympics: ''Team Peurto Rico beat Team USA in Basketball?!?! Now if it were Baseball I wouldn't even be suprised, but Basketball!?!?''.
When it comes to Baseball, I would not bet on ''Team USA (a MLB all-star team)'' vs. ''Team [insert country name here] (that country's all-star team)''... posted by YIH @ 12:29 AM on  : 

Let it rain, let it rain on down on me,
Let it rain, let it rain on down on me,
Let it rain, rain, rain.
A Central FL summer thunderstorm. No worse than 'Ernesto'. That is what is happening as I write this.
WHEN ''the big one'' (earthquake) hits Palm Springs CA, it WILL BE Al Gore's fault.
If a treaty of any kind can stop an earthquake, I'd like to see it...
posted by YIH @ 4:52 PM on Saturday, September 02, 2006  :