Tuesday, May 4, 2004

IF YOU JUST READ AND WATCH THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA ...

... you will come away with the distinct impression that it is conservatives who are mean-spirited and nasty, and liberals who are full of love for their fellow man.  Well, take a look at this piece of work by liberal editorial cartoonist Ted Rall ...

There you are.  This loving, compassionate liberal calls Tillman an idiot?  And how do you like the line "Tillman .. falsely believed that Bush's wars against Iraq and Afghanistan had something to do with 9/11."  There may be a debate, however empty, over Iraq, but Afghanistan?  And Rall believes that our army is "low rent?"  And please don't forget the University of Massachusetts newspaper columnist who said that Tillman "got what he deserved." 

Maybe it's time for you to give a second thought to just which side is evil, wicked, mean and nasty ... especially before you put your life and your fortunes in their hands.

PUTTING THE PICTURES IN PERSPECTIVE

If you were to turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper in the past couple of days, you would think that the prisoner abuse photos from Iraq were just discovered, and that is what all the uproar was about. You'd also think that something was just now being done about it. This is not the case, and so perhaps a little fact-checking is in order.

The abuse, which apparently happened last fall, was reported to U.S. military commanders by a soldier in the 800th Military Police Brigade. That's right, one of the Army's own turned these idiots in. Anyway, a criminal investigation was launched the next day by the military. On January 19, the head of the U.S. military command in Baghdad , headed by Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez, requested a review of practices at the prison. The review was completed March 3. Also, in early February, the Army inspector general began a review of U.S. detention facilities. Yet another inquiry was started April 23, focusing on military intelligence. The ball is already rolling here, folks. These are pictures of old news, though just now becoming public.

The initial criminal investigation was finished way back on March 15, which resulted in 20 criminal charges against the six military police. Keep in mind, that's six misfits out of a military presence of 137,000 Despicable though the pictures may be, that's a pretty low occurrence of bad apples. The mainstream media has their panties in a knot because they say the pictures will "enrage the Arab world." Here's a newsflash for you: they hate us anyway. Of greater concern is how it will be perceived in Iraq, whose people we're supposed to be liberating. These six MP's and their little escapades are going to cost lives and waste time.

And we do have to ask ...where was the outrage when Saddam Hussein was torturing and murdering prisoners in those same prisons? How about North Korea's starvation camps? There's lots of evil in the world, you know.

So ... what can we do?

GET OFF THE BUS AND GO BACK TO WASHINGTON

OK. This bus tour is a nifty little campaign gimmick.  The great unwashed can more easily identify with someone riding around in a nice bus than they can someone soaring overhead in a glorified Boeing 747.  Nice touch -- bad timing. 

I think that the next two to three weeks in Iraq may well be the most critical period since the "end of major combat," as they say.  Our success in Iraq, our success in establishing an Arab / Muslim democratic beachhead in the Middle East, depends to a massive extent on our ability to win the respect of, and to a lesser degree the hearts and minds of Iraqis.  The news of torture and sexual abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison outside of Baghdad has been devastating to America and our efforts in Iraq.  There are countless Iraqis who, as little as one week ago, would have worked with the coalition to build a better Iraq, but who today would gladly pick up the nearest assault rifle to take a shot at an American soldier. 

Now it is beginning to look like some of the charges of prisoner abuse are a bit overwrought.  One Iraqi, for instance, says that the fact that he was forced to stand naked in front of Americans was a worse punishment than that inflicted upon him by Saddam Hussein.  And what did Hussein do?  This particular American prisoner was shocked, beaten and hung from the ceiling with his hands strapped behind his back.  This, he says, was better than the humiliation of being stripped.

OK .. that may be reality, but the perception is much worse, and there is probably much truth in the stories of greater abuse.  These cannot be addressed by apologies and explanations from lower echelons. 

That brings us back to Bush on the Bus.  Park the Bus.  Call in Air Force One.  Get the media covering the arrival of Air Force One at some rural airport ... Bush off the bus and onto the plane ... and back to Washington.  Shortly after arriving in Washington make a live broadcast to Iraqis on that fancy new Arabic language satellite channel that's operating somewhere in Virginia. 

And say what?  Apologize, that's what.  Tell the Iraqis that there will be bad figs in the newton, but that in America those bad apples, when discovered, are prosecuted and punished for their actions.  Explain to the Iraqis that Americans who were outraged over the graphic images of the murder and desecration of American civilian contractors in Fallujah can well understand why Iraqis would be similarly outraged over the treatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Gharib.   Put the moral onus on the Iraqis by saying something like "Just as you, if you had been in a position to do so, would have punished those for the outrage in Fallujah, we will make certain that those who abuse Iraqi prisoners will also be punished.  Who knows?  This might have the effect of making some Iraqis both ashamed of their lack of action over the Fallujah incident, and pleased with the American determination to punish the guilty for the Abu Gharib outrage.  At the very least, it would embarrass some Iraqis over their failure to act and the double standard which they apply to the coalition troops.  

Bus tour ... good idea. Very American.  So is owning up to your failure and mistakes.  Off the bus ... on to Washington.

SOME PHOTOS ARE BOGUS

More on the prisoner abuse story. You surely know that similar charges are being made about British soldiers.

Over the weekend, pictures surfaced in a London newspaper showing British troops abusing Iraqi prisoners. This is, of course, part of the anti-war media's campaign to make things in Iraq seem far worse than they are. The pictures were picked up by the international media and broadcast around the world. Tony Blair condemned the images and the British Army is investigating.

But wait...the pictures have all sorts of inconsistencies in them. Military experts say the SA80 rifle shown in the images was not issued to British soldiers currently serving in Iraq. Strike one. They also say the alleged captive's shirt depicts the pre-1988 Iraqi flag, and is too clean to be that old. Strike two. And what about the location of the photos? It looks like they were taken inside of a Bedford truck, which, you guessed it, is not being used by British forces in Iraq. Strike three. The conclusion: the pictures are fakes. Somebody made it all up.

The newspaper says it stands by the story, but cannot explain the inconsistencies. What..a newspaper make up a story just to sell newspapers? They would never do that. Riiight.

THE MEDIA JUST CAN'T HELP THEMSELVES

Worried that The Poodle might be losing, the Bush-hating media continues to carry the water for the DNC. Unbelievably, they have trotted out the dead horse of President Bush's National Guard service once more, intent on beating it to death. Once Republicans brought up real questions about Kerry's anti-American statements upon returning from Vietnam, the left was out for blood. The Bush campaign has never questioned Kerry's military service, but that hasn't stopped them from questioning the president's.

Remember, Kerry made his military service an issue in his campaign, where Bush has not. Anyway, the phony hysteria is once again swirling about whether or not the president showed up and completed all of his National Guard duty. They have released every single record they could find...but of course, that's never enough for the media and their masters at the DNC. Bush released all of his records, Kerry selectively released some of his -- sounds like a double standard to me.

The bottom line is this: who cares? We were told military service didn't matter in 1992 when it was revealed that Clinton dodged the draft. The Poodle thinks he has a winning issue here. Maybe it's the ONLY issue he has. Can any of you name one single legislative initiative pursued by The Poodle during his years in the U.S. Senate? I'm not asking for a list. Just give me one. The fact is that the ONLY thing that sKerry has to market is the fact that he went to Vietnam, where, by the way, he quickly acquired three band-aid, paper cut Purple Hearts and got his Brahman butt out of town as quickly as he could. That's it. That's The Poodle's resume ... unless, that is, you want to count his sterling career as a political gigolo.

If this is the best the Democrats can do, it's going to be a long six months.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

This from the Wall Street Journal editorial page:  "I was on Mr. Kerry's boat in Vietnam. He doesn't deserve to be commander in chief."

So now Bob Kerrey is sorry that he walked out on the 9/11 Commission meeting with the president?  Why?  Sorry because it made him look like a partisan hack?  Or tired because he wasn't doing the job he was appointed to do? 

Remember what I said about lottery winners generally being miserable?  Read this.  You will read about a person who won one million dollars in a lottery ... and seven years later had nothing to show for it but a mobile home.  Remember, the rich keep getting richer because they keep doing whatever it was that made them rich.  Ditto for the poor.

A political science professor at the University of California in San Diego (not the lost liberal part of the state) says that colleges and universities need to do more to curb the obvious leftist bias of professors.

Researchers are reporting that children who were spanked may have behavioral problems later. Exactly....because they weren't spanked hard enough.

Political correctness is hurting the war on terrorism, says William F. Buckley.

In an op-ed piece by Barbara Amiel, she says we're fighting in Iraq for the right to be outraged at those photos.

John Kerry's problems on the campaign trail should come as no surprise. After all, liberalism is his problem. David Limbaugh explains.

So what is really the cost of medical care? Is it just your out-of-pocket expenditures? Thomas Sowell will set you straight.

Democracy in America is becoming more and more dysfunctional, but the people are fighting back. Here's more from Paul Jacob.

Not only do we have to win the war, but we also have to win the peace in Iraq, says Jack Kemp.

No matter what anyone says, there is no argument that justifies amnesty for illegal aliens. Phyllis Schlafly reports.

A favorite target of politicians, the pharmaceutical industry is learning that no good deed goes unpunished. Doug Bandow explains.

Still wondering why The Poodle's wife won't release her tax returns? This report explains why, and it isn't pretty.

The Federal Censorship Commission is overlooking Spanish radio stations in their latest crackdown. Why?

19 of the 23 officers that served with The Poodle in Vietnam say he is unfit to be the Commander-In-Chief. Imagine what they know that we don't.

The DNC is complaining about the White House "smear machine," and accusing the RNC of attacking Kerry's patriotism. But are they? Fred Barnes breaks it down.

More Pat Tillman-bashing from the loony left. Don't these people have anything better to do?

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