Good Riddance!

Congratulations to the Obama Administration on killing that American traitor "Anwar al-Awlaki".  Now can we stop feeling we must explain or apologize every time we get rid of one of these vermin? (That makes 2 Obama decisions in 3 years that I agree with: this, and the killing of Bin Laden.)

Issues

Here are some language pet peeves from the always-enjoyable Greg Crosby.

Entitlement Entitlements

Shouldn't this be considered an embarrassment rather than a good thing?  "State Gets $5 Mil Bonus For Food Stamp Sign Up".

Deluded Thinking

Oh, come on! "Obama Is Israel's Captain America".   Is Israel's leg tingling? Just look at the accompanying graphic.

Politically Incorrect Sneezing?

I heard about this idiocy tonight on Fox's show "The Five".  If this sort of nonsense happened in my office, we'd all have to be fired, since whenever anyone sneezes, a veritable chorus of "bless yous" rings out.

Stamping Out a Bad Idea

I agree with Jay Nordlinger and his opinion of the new postage stamps:

"I winced on seeing this headline: 'Living people to appear on US stamps.' The article began, 'For the first time, living people will be eligible to be honored on U.S. postage stamps.' It continued, 'The U.S. Postal Service announced Monday that it is ending its longstanding rule that stamps cannot feature people who are still alive and it’s asking the public to offer suggestions on who should be first.'
I think this is a terrible development. Is it because of a stubborn conservatism within (within me, that is)? I can’t quite put my finger on it. My business is to articulate. Here, I fail.
It may have to do with this: Passions and popularity pass. The honor of a U.S. postage stamp should not be subject to temporary passions and popularity. Does that make any sense?"

Yes, it does.

My Condolences on Losing Your Shovel-Ready Job

I like Michelle Malkin's ideas for the new Hallmark cards for the unemployed.  (Can't a "thinking of you" card accomplish the same thing?)

Red Sox (Indig)Nation

No surprise here!  We who have grown up with the Red Sox have come to expect this kind of collapse; to me, the two World Series wins were aberrations.  I liked the phrase used by the Boston Globe: "the ghost of Bucky Dent."  Anyway, as always, I'll be rooting for the American League to win the World Series.

Happy Rosh Hashanah 5772!

Here are some Twitter Tweets, courtesy of Tablet Magazine. Jonathan Tobin at Commentary Magazine wishes us a Happy New Year:  "The passage of the calendar also reminds us at COMMENTARY of the urgency of our four-fold task to speak up in defense of Zionism and Israel; to bear witness against the scourge of anti-Semitism; to support the United States as well as the best of Western civilization."

"The Bloody Truth"

 
A beautiful voice, an ugly topic:Yedida Freilich
sings about the United Nations. Pass this on. (via Israpundit).

What She Meant To Say Was...

Heh-heh-heh...just kidding:  Regarding NC Dem. Gov. Beverly Perdue suggesting we suspend  Congressional elections,  Instapundit comments: 

"LUCKILY, SHE’S NOT A REPUBLICAN SO IT’S NO BIG DEAL: Hey, Let’s Cancel The Elections! You know, there were some Bush-deranged Democrats who claimed Bush would cancel the 2008 elections, but there weren’t any high-ranking Republican officeholders saying idiotic stuff like this.
UPDATE: Democrats Oppose Democracy. 'The press assures us that she was just kidding. I would modestly submit that suspending elections is not something an elected executive should kid about.'"

Obviously it was just taken out of context, unexpectedly.

Knock 'Em Dead!

Fascinating! Five of the Dead Sea Scrolls are now online.

Cruising With Betsy

Betsy has been cruising the web here and here, so you don't have to spend lots of time on the web yourself. Here's one of the interesting links that shows what the mainstream media doesn't report: 

Ron Radosh notes that Joe Klein has been traveling around the country talking to people that the media usually ignore. And he's been finding a lot of people who are upset about big government. And Klein seems to have learned a bit from actually sitting down and talking to those people showing up for tea party events.
     Anyway, what Klein finds is what concerns most people he met are not the contested social issues like abortion, evolution or immigration. Instead, he writes, the talk was 'all about too much government: too much governing regulation, too many people dependent on government.' One of the mayors complains to Klein about Social Security disability payment, which he says is giving drug addicts and drunks 'three times the amount my father-in-law does on Social Security retirement.' And another person tells him that children with ADD can get Social Security disability payments also. Says the woman: 'I don’t believe we have any legal or moral obligation to pay any money to people too drunk to work or lazy to work.'" 

Contrary to what the mainstream media would have you believe, it has nothing to do with "racism" or "the evil rich" -- we are simply just fed up with the nanny state and the entitlement mentality, and we want it to stop.

Haveil Havalim Time

Haveil Havalim #331 - The End Of תשע"א/5771 Edition is up at Esser Agaroth.

A Bubbe Story

Bubbes and Yiddish -- how can you resist this combination?

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black

Spare me: "SEATTLE (AP) -- President Barack Obama charged Sunday that the GOP vision of government would 'fundamentally cripple America," as he tried out his newly combative message on the liberal West Coast."

Politically Correct "Education"

This latest bit of idiocy is under the heading of "education" at the UK Telegraph.  The misspelled headline reads "Dress witches in pink and avoid white paper to prevent racism in nuseries, expert says".  It used to be that education meant reading, writing, and arithmetic. Not anymore. And it appears that nobody is smart enough to spell or proofread, either!  (Story via Lucianne.com)

"Jewish Prozac"

In this article about Jews and Chinese food, Josh Ozersky explains the attraction perfectly: "It's a cheap lift; you can think of it as Jewish Prozac."

Watcher's Council Winners

Click here for the latest Watcher's Council winners.  (I liked the title of the non-Council-winning post by Barry Rubin: "A New, Selective ‘Semi-Antisemitism’? Only Jews Opposing Obama Are Evil, Greedy, and Have Dual Loyalty".)

Frivolous Lawsuit of the Day

These moronic people never fail to amaze me.  (Via Fark)  She should be the poster child for the website Faces of Lawsuit Abuse. After you read the story, I'm sure you will be as depressed as she was.

Bloopers

I got a kick out of this amusing American Thinker article titled Barack's Presidential Protocol Bloopers, especially since I remember how everything President Bush said and did was magnified and mocked.

Disheartening

Rick Perry telling opponents of illegal immigration they don't have a heart reminded me of Bloomberg telling opponents of the Ground Zero Mosque that they should feel ashamed.  I don't like being lectured over politically correct matters.

Good Reading Tonight

• In this video, you will see six reasons why a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood is a bad idea. As the staff at Jewlarious.com say,  "If the consequences weren't so serious, it might just be funny." 

• Steve Feldman, Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia District of the ZOA,  has some questions never asked about "Palestine". 

• In his great post titled "I Hate Israel! I Hate America! I’m a Muslim! I’ve Got it All! Let Me Be Your Leader!", Barry Rubin writes,  "Maybe, say the Europeans, if we recognize a Palestinian state they will like us! Maybe if we say enough things about Muslims they’ll like us! After all, it is all our fault, or Israel’s fault, that they are angry. They couldn’t possibly want a revolution based on a radical ideology followed by a repressive dictatorship because that’s what they really want!" 

• And finally, from American Digest, a memo from Israel to Palestine published in 2003, the 'final notice before the termination of our relationship". Sound familiar?

Down The Drain

This must be Bush's fault: "Another Nightmarish Day: Economic Gloom Incites Dow's Worst 2-Day Plunge Since '08". Instead of attacking one another, the Republicans should be attacking Obama and emphasizing the damage he has done.  They should also point out the absolute disgrace and embarrassment of losing American jobs to China. We used to hate China and mock the cheap goods made there. Now look!  They seem to be prouder of capitalism than we are! (Cartoon by Ramirez)

Peace Explained in 17 Words

Jerusalem Post: "With Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, if peace depended solely on Israel, it would have been attained long ago."

May The Farce Be With You!

Take a look -- Pajamas Media is liveblogging the Anti-Durban Conference (per Instapundit). 

The U.S. delegation walked out during the rantings and ravings of Ahmadinejad, who naturally blamed the Jews for everything. Why can't he be arrested and deported as soon as he gets off the plane, instead of allowing him to spew venom at the U.N. and at Columbia? It's deja vu all over again, and again, and again! There will never be peace between Israel and her neighbors as long as there are terrorists - and average individuals - bent on exterminating the Jews, period.

Alan Dershowitz: "'There are two letters that to me signify why there is no peace in the Middle East and those two letters are U and N,' he said."

A Jewish Cuban Scrabble-Player

No, it's not the punchline to a joke. It's Fidel Babani, and it's a great human interest story: "HAVANA — (MCT) He carries a dictionary under his arm and wears a very large Star of David around his neck. His name is Fidel Babani, but you can call him Senor Scrabble. Babani, in addition to being an active member of Cuba's tiny Jewish community, is president of the also small, but growing, Cuban Scrabble Assn." (Via Jewish World Review)

Solidarity With Israel

I like this idea: "Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) announced today that he is introducing legislation, the Solidarity with Israel Act, which will will eliminate U.S. funding for the United Nations if the Security Council or the General Assembly changes Palestine’s current status in the United Nations."  They should also introduce legislation to move the United Nations out of this country altogether. Why should we host these parasites?

Tony Bennett: Terrorism Expert

Well, here's yet another celebrity who (like Rosie O'Connell, Marion Cotillard and others) has opened his big mouth regarding September 11:  "Tony Bennett blames Americans for 9/11 attacks".  A great way to sell your new album!

Israel and the U.N.

You must read this nice tribute to Israel by Cal Thomas.  "Before Israel is allowed to disappear again (as Palestinian maps and school textbooks already depict) and the Jews who survive are sent into exile (who would take them?), it is worth noting a few of the numerous contributions Israel has made to the world, compared to what the Arab-Muslim-Palestinian culture has contributed."  And check out this watchdog called Eye on the U.N.

"I'm For The Rich!"

Read National Review today; there are a lot of excellent analyses of Obama’s redistribution of wealth plan, including this one by Mona Charen and I couldn’t agree more. It's titled “I’m for the Rich” and it ends this way:

"In the process of earning their wealth, the rich have created products, services, and whole industries that have dramatically improved my work life, my family life, and my health. I’m so grateful to them for the GPS, iPads, non-drowsy antihistamines, smartphones, XM radio, and The Teaching Company courses — to name only a few advances of the past decade or two.
I’m for the rich because nearly all of the rich people I’ve met are extremely public-spirited. They volunteer. They form committees to improve things in their communities. And they are incredibly generous with their money. As Arthur C. Brooks of the American Enterprise Institute notes, “The top 10 percent of households in income are responsible for at least a quarter of all the money contributed to charity, and households with total wealth exceeding $1 million give about half of all charitable donations.” In general, I think they probably make wiser choices in their charitable giving than the federal government would make if it took their money and spent it.
I’m for the rich because they create the dynamism and energy of a growing economy. The rich create businesses and hire people.
A wealthy person gave me my first job. And I’ll bet the same is true of you.
I’m for the rich and for all the people who simply want an opportunity to become rich — opportunities that are becoming scarcer with every passing day of Mr. Obama’s presidency."

I'm for the rich too -- I admire them. Unfortunately for our desperate president, the rich are not the villain here! Obama continues to vilify and discourage success and hard work and encourage idleness and dependency. It's not only blatant class and party warfare, but it’s also an embarrassment to the reputation of the United States. It's hard to believe that the same country that feared and hated communism is now embracing it.

(Cartoon seen at Lucianne.com)

Obama's Lemonade Stand

Check out the Socialist lemonade at American Digest.  (Kool-Aid is more like it!)

Eat! Eat!

I loved seeing the phrase "gesunte BBQ" from this Tablet item on the World Kosher Barbeque Championship.

The Media on Israel: the Good and the Bad

In what liberal alternative universe are the people at New York Magazine living?

"Barack Obama is the best thing Israel has going for it right now. Why is that so difficult for Netanyahu and his American Jewish allies to understand?"

Obama is the best thing for Israel? What a disgraceful assertion!

At least the NRO editors have it right:

"No to the Palestinian ‘State’. There is no such thing as a Palestinian state, and the United Nations can’t conjure one into existence. That apparently won’t stop the Palestinians from seeking recognition as a state in the Security Council this week. We should veto the Palestinian effort without hesitation."

Our Sycophantic Obamedia

Finally!  From Rex Murphy in Canada comes this long-overdue indictment of "The media's love affair with a disastrous president".   The whole thing is a relief to read and ends this way:  "To the degree the press neglected its function as watchdog and turned cupbearer to a styrofoam demigod, it is a partner in the flaws and failures of what is turning out to be one of the most miserable performances in the modern history of the American presidency."

"Depraved U.N."

At Israel Hayom, Isi Liebler discusses "the depraved United Nations".  It's a mockery of what it was formed to be.

Beatles Memories

Here's a wonderful treat for lifelong Beatles fans like me from American Digest: The Beatles in 5 Minutes and 3 Songs. I still remember DJ Andy Jackson signing off his radio show every night by playing "The End".

I'm The Taxman

Instapundit made me laugh: "OBAMA PROPOSES 'BUFFETT TAX' on individuals making more than $1 million a year. Isn’t this just a rebadged Alternative Minimum Tax? [I thought at first this was a Michelle-inspired 'Buffet tax' designed to slim us all down. -- ed. Don't give her any ideas!]"  But seriously, the Obama obsession with redistribution of wealth and extra taxes on the evil rich makes me angry and sick. If he keeps this up, many of these men will leave the United States and bring their acumen and their business elsewhere. Why stay when all you get is punishment and class warfare?

Haveil Havalim Time

Haveil Havalim #330 is up at To Kiss A Mezuzah, and you'll find many posts of interest there today.

Blog Carnivals = Great Reading

The Council has spoken! Check out the latest Watcher's Council winners.

Grab your health insurance card and join Grand Rounds 7-50: The Jobs! Jobs! Jobs! Edition, over at The Covert Rationing Blog.

Obama's Jobs Plan

Ramirez sums it up in one sentence.

Better New York Post Covers

At The Anchoress, some ideas for NY Post covers.

Weather or Not

I got such a kick out of this very expressive cartoon.

BBC News Theme

Obviously I'm not the only one crazy about the BBC News Newsday countdown theme!  ("I'm Rico Hizon in Singapore!")  And then I found this longer version above,with great photographs.

Raging at the Ragin' Cajun

In Arnold Ahlert's column, he responds to James Carville, who said this: 

"As I watch the Republican debates, I realize that we are on the brink of a crazy person running our nation. I sit in front of the television and shudder at the thought of one of these creationism-loving, global-warming-denying, immigration-bashing, Social-Security-cutting, clean-air-hating, mortality-fascinated, Wall-Street-protecting Republicans running my country."

I hate to tell you, James, but we have a crazy person running the country NOW!  Obama is a business-hating, ultra-liberal, politically correct, entitlement-pushing, socialist Democrat who is not only running, but ruining, my country!

"Jewslamists"

Rachel Raskin-Zhirhen defines "Jewslamists": 

"Along with the fact that periodically some portion of the world seeks to destroy the Jews, is the reality that in every case, some portion of the Jews seeks to help them.
I don’t know how to explain the phenomenon, but I’ve read historical accounts of it in which the anomily has been given a name – conversos, kapos – and I’ve run into it in our own day.
I think the fact that there are Jews here and in Israel who align themselves with those who would just as soon see them killed or kill them themselves, tells us several things about the human psyche and the time of man."

Read it all.

Shilling for Obama

I could never stand Michael Bloomberg, and his reckless prediction of riots just make me dislike him even more.  He's not predicting -- he's provoking, and hoping the Republicans get the blame. Luckily, it sounds like nobody's fooled by this.

Solyndra: That's Bush's Fault, Too

Neal Boortz writes: "As you know --- every problem that Obama has faced – and failed to address successfully – is really Bush’s fault. It is rumored (not really) that Obama has a version of the Presidential Seal on his desk with a new slogan: 'It’s Bush’s Fault.'"

Jewish Antisemites

It's bad enough hearing Gentiles sneer about Jews and money, but it's even more despicable to hear another Jew speak this way. Read this: "California Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman, a prominent Jewish congressman, explained that some Jews are selecting not to vote for Democrats because 'they want to protect their wealth, which is why a lot of well-off voters vote for Republicans.'" No, you idiot -- I vote Republican because I don't want to suffer four more years of the destruction of my country by ultra-liberal Democrats! (Via Free Republic)

Guinness Book of Idiotic Records

Would you be proud of a record like this? How repulsive!

The U.N.: Like Talking To A Wall

Unfortunately, Netanyahu's eloquence will just go in one ear and out the other.

Stupid Jewish Liberals

Read Debbie Schlussel's analysis of Jewish liberals. Unfortunately, she's right.

Bright Blue Sky

Alexandra Lebenthal at New York Social Diary writes about her experiences on September 11, 2001. The color of what I call "the September 11th sky" has always remained with me.

The Dictionary of Liberal Terms

Over at American Spectator, Ross Kaminsky reveals "The Devil's Dictionary -- Obama Edition . Here are a few of the definitions: "Fair shake: The additional amount of money the government can extract from society's most successful by turning success into a vice and lack of success into a virtue; similar to shakedown.
Sincerely believe: If referring to a Democrat, believe sincerely. If referring to a Republican, must be stupid or crazy to believe."

This Day in Political Correctness

It gets more ludicrous every day. Even Keith Olbermann is outraged over the banning of the FDNY caps at the Mets game! When I saw US Open champ Novak Djokovic wearing such a cap last night, I thought how ironic it was that a man born in Serbia would feel more patriotic and heartfelt about 9/11 than many Americans, including Joe Torre, of all people! Baseball was very important in the days following September 11, 2001, and everyone became more patriotic, even singing "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch. What has happened?

Marilyn Penn comments on how 9/11 has been intentionally diminished: "For this tenth anniversary we have directives from the White House urging that at federal commemorations of 9/11, nationalistic pride (patriotism) be downplayed in favor of recognizing the international victims of terrorists. Imagine extending Veterans Day to honor the fallen of other nations in addition to our own."

September 11, 2001 - September 11, 2011

Remembering those the terrorists killed on that terrible day.  I've never stopped grieving over it, the most traumatic day of my life.  Today, on the 10th anniversary, the sky is nearly as bright a blue as it was then. You can find personal memories of that terrible day at National Review.  The Anchoress has a long list of 9/11 links. And at American Spectator, Aaron Goldstein adds: "It doesn't do us much good to remember those who died on September 11, 2001 unless we remember who was responsible for carrying out these acts of evil and the religious ideology which drove them to do it."

Krugmania!

Can I join the chorus of disgust toward Paul Krugman's 9/11 rant? I'm now waiting to see whether he will apologize, or whether the NY Times will apologize; or if there will be excuses made for his disgraceful tirade. Of all days to have an attack of Bush Derangement Syndrome! Maybe he ought to work for the Daily Kos instead.

Good For A Laugh

I needed a laugh today -- and I got one.

Haveil Havalim Time

Haveil Havalim 329 - The 9/11 Edition  is up at Just Call Me Chaviva.

Tribute to the Towers

The New York Times pays tribute to the World Trade Towers.

The Most Read Column on 9/11/01

You may remember this powerful column by Leonard Pitts Jr. published on September 12, 2001. According to Jewish World Review, it was "likely the most read column in the English language on 9/11":  

We'll go forward from this moment

By Leonard Pitts Jr.

"It's my job to have something to say.

They pay me to provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addressed to the unknown author of this suffering.

You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard.

What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn? Whatever it was, please know that you failed.

Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause.

Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve.

Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.

Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial, social, political and class division, but a family nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous emotional energy on pop cultural minutiae - a singer's revealing dress, a ball team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse.

We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though - peace-loving and compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God.

Some people - you, perhaps - think that any or all of this makes us weak. You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that cannot be measured by arsenals.

Yes, we're in pain now. We are in mourning, and we are in shock. We're still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel.

Both in terms of the awful scope of their ambition and the probable final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of terrorism in the history of the United States and, probably, the history of the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before.

But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow the last time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us such abrupt and monumental pain. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice.

I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, I think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble with dread of the future.

In the days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers pointing to determine whose failure al- lowed this to happen and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened security, misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably determined.

You see, the steel in us is not always readily apparent. That aspect of our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this day, the family's bickering is put on hold.

As Americans, we will weep; as Americans, we will mourn; and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we cherish.

So I ask again: What was it you hoped to teach us? It occurs to me that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange: You don't know my people. You don't know what we're capable of.

You don't know what you just started.

But you're about to learn."

Antisemitic Attacks in Cairo

Are you at all surprised by this? I'm not.

"On Friday night, post-revolutionary Cairo joined the long and infamous list of cities that have played host to mass anti-Jewish riots. The pogrom began when a massive antisemitic mob attacked the Israeli embassy in Cairo, using homemade implements and sometimes their bare hands to tear down a security wall recently erected by the Egyptian government. According to Haaretz, the pogromists 'reached a room on one of the embassy's lower floors at the top of the building and began dumping Hebrew-language documents from the windows.'"

Gee, I guess it's time for the United Nations to condemn Israel again, and for Israel to apologize to Egypt.

September 11 Media Coverage

At Newseum you can take a look at the front page headlines from September 12, 2001.  I've always thought the headline of the S.F. Examiner said it best. 
If you watch nothing else on TV tomorrow, make sure you see 102 Minutes That Changed America.

September 11: "Day of Horror and Heroism"

Peggy Noonan's column about September 11  is an eloquent one. She writes in "We'll Never Get Over It, Nor Should We" 

"They tell us to get over it, they say to move on, and they mean it well: We can't bring an air of tragedy into the future. But I will never get over it. To get over it is to get over the guy who stayed behind on a high floor with his friend who was in a wheelchair. To get over it is to get over the woman by herself with the sign in the darkness: 'America You Are Not Alone.' To get over it is to get over the guys who ran into the fire and not away from the fire."

By the way, the man in the wheelchair was Edward F. Beyea, about whom I wrote for the 2,996 Project. His friend was Abraham Zelmanowitz. And it is fitting that their names are adjacent to one another on Panel N-5 of the North Pool at the 9/11 Memorial. 

Obama-Go-Round

Betsy's Page offers a roundup of reaction to Obama's speech -- including a hilarious "Pass this jobs bill" video clip!

In Remembrance at Logan

Today, Boston's Logan Airport paid tribute to the victims on American Airlines Flight 11 and United Flight 175. Contrary to what the reporter says, what happened that day will never be just a "fading memory".

Obama's Jobs Lecture

Last night at Free Republic, many people were commenting on Obama's jobs speech. Comment #507 was one of the best:  "There is a pattern to his speeches. False choices. He only gives two. His banter is always grow government, or you don't care about kids and family. Cut government never an option. Raise taxes is only 'fair'"  It was the same old thing, and obviously Wall Street wasn't reassured by it! As usual, he talked about cuts to Medicare and Social Security -- but no mention of cutting welfare.
A question: if Washington has known for two days about the latest terrorist plot, then why didn't Obama take the opportunity to discuss this threat last night in his speech?

Haveil Havalim Time

Haveil Havalim #328: The Back To School Edition is up at Esser Agaroth. 

Republicans

Kyle-Anne Shiver offers a very good explanation of why Republicans keep losing the propaganda war.  And in his list of highlights in last night's debate, Andrew Malcolm notes that Newt Gingrich was the most eloquent, "...warning moderators probing for differences among the eight Republicans that any minor distinctions pale in comparison to their unity over defeating Barack Obama." Absolutely! They should be working together for the common good instead of attacking one another; this is their greatest opportunity, and they need to take advantage of it before it's too late.

What Liberals Think

We really shouldn't be surprised by this sort of liberal thinking by E. J. Dionne Jr.  The title alone ("Time to leave 9/11 behind") tells you everything you need to know about the way these people think.  You cannot simply "leave behind" a crime of unprecedented proportions. Have Americans left the attacks on Pearl Harbor behind, or the assassination of JFK, or the Holocaust? Certain earth-shattering events cannot and should not be left behind. If anything, we should be talking about the September 11 attacks more, not less -- or has political correctness determined that silence is preferable than hurting the feelings of Muslims?

Read this Mark Steyn column on the politically correct view of September 11:

"And so we commemorate an act of war as a 'tragic event,' and we retreat to equivocation, cultural self-loathing, and utterly fraudulent misrepresentation about the events of the day. In the weeks after 9/11, Americans were enjoined to ask, 'Why do they hate us?' A better question is: 'Why do they despise us?' And the quickest way to figure out the answer is to visit the Peace Quilt and the Wish Tree, the Crescent of Embrace and the Hole of Bureaucratic Inertia."

Nothing But The Truth

I was relieved when Popular Mechanics ran this series debunking the despicable "truther" conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks.   And yet even now there are still Americans who feel this way, and nothing will change their mind.  I just don't get it.

Hee Haw!

I just saw this clever political ad on Fox's "The Five".

Nordlinger On Israel

This is from Jay Nordinger's Impromptus column at National Review:

"From time to time, I write about the singling out of Israel: the attempt by the world at large to render it illegitimate, to make it a pariah state. The world is very good at this.
Everywhere they go, Israeli musicians are harassed, Israeli athletes are harassed. They are not allowed to participate in the normal affairs of life.
The latest example occurred at the BBC Proms in London, when the Israel Philharmonic was not allowed to proceed. Last year, the Jerusalem Quartet was not allowed to proceed at Wigmore Hall (also London).
People sometimes ask me, 'Why do you care so much about Israel? Why are you so hung up on Israel?' Leave them alone — let them live — and I won’t be." 

Grating Green

I was extremely annoyed to see this "Go Green" stamp on a letter today. I'm sick and tired of this green obsession, and I don't want to be lectured by mail (or by e-mail, either, with those "save a tree" messages at the end). Of course, at the rate things are going,  we may not even have a post office to complain about at all! That would be a shame to let the USPS fade away -- it's been in our lives forever, and I'm old enough to remember two mail deliveries a day, and no zip codes!

Ground Zero Flag

I saw this lovely video on the news last night. They are referring to this flag as "A Modern Day Star Spangled Banner".

Hallowed Ground in Shanksville

Here's an article about Flight 93's resting place.  If not for those heroes and their courage, the U.S. Capitol or the White House would have been destroyed, and who knows what our lives would be like today? So how about completing their memorial already?

"I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you!"

Here's the speech by President Bush at Ground Zero, and here's the fireman who was by his side.

"Simply Evil"

Via Instapundit, Christopher Hitchens' description of Al Qaeda  is correct.   After ten years, the liberal, PC euphemisms and the excuse-making and the apologizing and fawning continue, but we've always called a spade a spade. Remember the Achille Lauro and Leon Klinghoffer;  the Khobar Towers; the US Embassies in Africa; the USS Cole, etc., etc.  What else could you possibly call this but evil?

Sanitizing September 11

John Podhoretz links to an article about how our September 11 day of infamy has been sanitized by the politically correct: "Essentially, it is the conversion of 9/11 from an act of wanton destruction and murder to a moment requiring an examination of our own sins."  Excuse me if I have never felt that way.  I'd much rather mourn the dead and hate the enemy.

Obama Bingo!

Prepare yourself for Obama's public relations stunt jobs speech by using this handy Bingo card!

Liberals on the Titanic

This is funny - and a good metaphor for the sinking ship that is the Obama administration.  (But it would have been even better if the captioner had been able to spell!)

Powerful Photographs

From Life Magazine, the 25 most powerful photos of September 11,  including the memorable photograph of Father Judge (#3); the stark horror of the falling man (#7); and the firemen raising the American flag (#22). Whenever I saw photo #24, or video footage, I always wished I could stop time and physically prevent that 2nd jet from flying into the South Tower.

Lies The Democrats Told Us

Read this list at Doug Ross @ Journal. Of course, not everyone fell for these lies, and we didn't vote for Obama.  But why should we have to suffer?
Next week he is giving his jobs speech, which I won't bother watching -- but if VodkaPundit drunkblogs it, I'll follow along there!  I can't get over the spin that's been going on,  making it sound as if the high unemployment, and the failing economy, and the lack of jobs and manufacturing somehow happened overnight unbeknownst to the President, but you can rely on him (3 years after the fact) to wave a magic wand just in time for the same idiots to reelect him! What can he possibly say that will repair what he's destroyed -- other than "I resign"?

I'm Sorry, So Sorry. Please Accept My Apology!

Read  Israeli's "apology" to Turkey by Rabbi Kaufman, at Yourish.com!

Who's The Enemy?

I thought this was satire at first. Greg Crosby explains the "new vision" at the Pearl Harbor Memorial Museum. Again, political correctness and multicultural "we are all one" nonsense has taken over:

"The spokes-folks for the 'new improved' memorial claim that the end result is a broader, more in-depth view of the Sunday morning attack nearly 70 years ago. The passage of time helped achieve the new vision they say. So did the efforts of Japanese pilots and American survivors to reach out to each other and overcome deeply ingrained bitterness, they also say.
Gee, I can't imagine why those grumpy American GIs would have any 'bitterness' over the surprise attack. They need to just get over it, right? And excuse me, but what the hell do the Japanese pilots have to be bitter about - that they didn't hit ALL their targets?"

Can you just imagine what would have happened to us if political correctness had reigned during WW2?

A Big Fat Zero

Today's jobs report, and the Obama presidency as a whole, is summed up perfectly by Don Surber in his lesson "What Zero Means".

Casualties of September 11

Here are some solemn statistics, from New York magazine, just for the Twin Towers alone, not counting the Pentagon or Flight 93:

"The initial numbers are indelible: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m. Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes. Time they took to fall: 12 seconds. From there, they ripple out."

    Total number killed in attacks (official figure as of 9/5/02): 2,819

    Number of firefighters and paramedics killed: 343

    Number of NYPD officers: 23

    Number of Port Authority police officers: 37

    Number of WTC companies that lost people: 60

    Number of employees who died in Tower One: 1,402

    Number of employees who died in Tower Two: 614

    Number of employees lost at Cantor Fitzgerald: 658

    Age of the greatest number who died: between 35 and 39

    Bodies found "intact": 289

    Body parts found: 19,858

    Number of families who got no remains: 1,717

    Estimated units of blood donated to the New York Blood Center: 36,000

    Total units of donated blood actually used: 258

    Number of people who lost a spouse or partner in the attacks: 1,609

    Estimated number of children who lost a parent: 3,051

    Percentage of Americans who knew someone hurt or killed in the attacks: 20

    Number of funerals attended by Rudy Giuliani in 2001: 200

    Number of FDNY vehicles destroyed: 98

    Tons of debris removed from site: 1,506,124

    Days fires continued to burn after the attack: 99

    Jobs lost in New York owing to the attacks: 146,100

    Estimated number of New Yorkers suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder as a result of 9/11: 422,000

America's Mayor

Seth Mandel at Contentions offers a nice tribute to Rudy Giuliani, who helped comfort the nation on September 11, 2001.