The View From Arlen

Posted 10:54 AM by Hank
SO MUCH FOR "SUPPORT THE TROOPS, NOT THE WAR"

Today's Ithaca Journal has a letter to the editor from Miriam Rice, supporting terrorist attacks on U.S. soldiers:

If the United States is ever invaded and occupied by a more powerful country ... it is likely that Americans will fight back in self-defense.
Should this happen, will [the media] call those who fight to defend the independence of the United States "rebels" and "insurgents?" I don't think so. And yet that is exactly how it and other media refer to Iraqi citizens fighting to regain control of their country after an unprovoked attack by the United States. I find these words not only inaccurate but morally offensive.
Were the U.S. Army not in Iraq, these people would not be fighting us. It would be more suitable to refer to them as "the Iraqi resistance."

Speaking of "more suitable," perhaps it would be more suitable to refer to Ms. Rice as "Baghdad Miriam"....or even "evil, traitorous skank"?

Posted 11:27 AM by Hank
HOLLYWOOD: THE REAL "GRINCHES"

I'm sitting here, with the wife and kids, being subjected to the festering sore of a movie that is the Ron Howard/Jim Carrey version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

Without a doubt, this is the worst Christmas movie of all time...worse than "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians"...worse than "Jingle all the Way"...in fact it's worse than all twenty-four hours of the twenty-four hour "Jingle All the Way" marathon on FX.

This movie is the worst because it is terrible on many levels, small and large. First off, it is loud, noisy and deliberately disjointed in the way that too many written by committee Hollywood "blockbusters" are produced.

And, like most of those Christmas blockbusters it hypocritically condemns commercialism while spawning a marketing bonanza of toys, greeting cards and plastic shot glasses.

However, what sets it apart, and below, other failed big budget Christmas movies, like "Scrooged," is the way it completely and totally inverts and perverts the whole point of one of the most beloved Christmas stories of all time, be it the original book by Dr. Suess or cartoon by Chuck Jones.

In the original story, which we should all know, "every Who down in Whoville loved Christmas a lot." And, as the ending makes abundantly clear, the Whos love Christmas for spiritual reasons: for love, for family, for all the reasons we want people to appreciate the holiday.

The Grinch, however, hates Christmas for reasons that boil down to his heart being "two sizes too small."

Ultimately, however, after stealing the toys, the decorations, the food, etc., the Grinch sees that the Whos care more about holding hands and singing the praises of the day than they do about the trappings of the day. In short, his contact with the devout Whos, and the example they set, makes the Grinch realize how empty his life is.

And, in the end, the Grinch himself converts to the Who way of thinking.

Of course, modern day Hollywood could have none of that.

So they had to reverse the whole point of the original story.

In the Howard/Carrey film, the Whos are a bunch of pious hypocrites, more concerned with toys and noise that the true meaning of the season. The Grinch, meanwhile, was the victim of their prejudice because he was different, making him hate the holidays.

Ultimately, the poor, picked upon, Grinch by an act of, basically, terrorism (stealing half the town and blowing things up by crashing his flying vehicle into the city) makes the Whos realize what a bunch of selfish, uncaring, SOB's that religious people can be.

Then, with the Whos realizing the error of their ways, and celebrating diversity by embracing the Grinch and his "alternate" views, our furry green hero can successfully re-enter the more enlightened society.

In short, the producers of the film made a Christmas film that is nothing more than a cinematic attack on Christianity.

Talk about trying to "steal" Christmas. By turning a Christmas classic into an attack on the "reason for the season," these studio executives show they are really the ones who have hearts--and brains--that are at least "two sizes too small."

Posted 8:36 AM by Hank
GOTTA LOVE CAPITALISM

The Associated Press reports on a Portland, Oregon, man who rents live Christmas trees to people who don't want to have to kill a tree:

The Original Living Christmas Tree Company founded by John Fogel, 39, has rented out more than 400 Christmas trees this holiday season, starting at $55 for a 7-foot Douglas fir.
The trees are taken out of the ground, roots and all, put into pots, and delivered to families in the Portland area. Soon after New Year's, Fogel and his crew pick up the trees and deliver them to parks, school districts and other groups who pay around $10 to have the trees planted on their property.

A quick check on prices reveals that it doesn't cost much more in some instances to buy an artificial tree that someone could use year after year for the price of this one-shot tree.

Obviously, however, some people prefer the "real thing," especially one that is still alive, and Fogel is apparently filling the need.

Proving that, once again, the free market solves problems just fine.

Posted 4:01 PM by Hank
THE MOST GAYEST REINDEER OF ALL...?

Think about it:

Rudolph is born different. His macho father can't accept it. He even tries to get Rudolph to "stop" having a shiny red nose.

His mother is more understanding, but unwilling to stand up for her son against society and her husband. She is reduced, somewhat, to half hearted attempts at chiding Rudolph's father and getting Rudolph interested in "does," such as Clarice, the girl next door:

Rudolph gets ostracized from others at "school" (reindeer games) for his differences and his inability at traditional male activities. Eventually, he ends up with only one friend: Herme (short for "Hermes," aka "Eros," aka the God of Love) a mincing elf who couldn't be gayer if played by Paul Lynde.

The two decide to go off together, realizing that they are "different" and don't fit in to the "traditional" society.

Rudolph, in leaving, also leaves behind, in essence rejecting, the doe.

In their travels, they are menanced by a giant "man eater", the Bumble, whose mouth looks like a vagina with teeth.

In their efforts to avoid being trapped by the vagina, Rudolph and Herme join up with, Yukon Cornelius, a middle aged, single, man with a lot of dogs, who looks like a reject from "the Village People."

Yukon and his two young male friends end up on an island surrounded by a firey glow (Fire Island was a popular gay community in the 60s). There, they meet others like them, most notably a clown who WAS as gay as Paul Lynde, a pink spotted elephant and a doll who had no discernable "defect" unless she was a lesbian.

(And dont get me started that the "king" of island was basically a "fairy lion" named, get this, "King MOONracer"...they might as well have named him "King Butt Pirate")

However, eventually, Rudolph realizes that he wants to stand up and be himself at home (ie, come out of the closet).

Before entering society, however. He finds out that he needs to confront to his family (again, the first step in his coming out). However, he finds out that his family is still embracing the female doe and, in fact, have been captured by the giant vagina.

Rudolph tries to put up a fight. However, it looks lost until...

...the mincing elf and the reject from the Village People appear and defeat the vagina for him!

So, with the giant vagina defeated, Rudolph heads home to apologies ..and a noticably chaste relationship with the Clarice)

In fact, if you watch the cartoon carefully, Rudolph's nose doesn't throb and glow around the does:

But does around the males:

Then, who should show up but the mincing elf, the reject from the village people, and the now-defanged vagina, who wants a job "erecting" Christmas trees:

Finally, even Santa comes to accept his latent homosexuality. For the entire special, he was thin and cranky and wore earth tones.

But, at the end, after accepting Rudolph:

He immediately swelled up and his hat stood up straight...and his first stop was to the firey island with Rudolph to introduce the other "misfits" back into society.

And off they go, with Rudolph in the lead, with eight other reindeer and Santa "riding his tale"...

As they go down in gay cinema historee....

Posted 8:16 AM by Hank
NO PUN INTENDED, I HOPE

The Auburn, NY, Citizen, heaps praise on a new "domestic violence court" recently instituted in the city:

The new court will hear all domestic violence matters, ranging from misdemeanors to felonies. Judge Mark Fandrich will preside, and costs for the first two years will be covered by a $302,000 grant from the U.S. Justice Department's office on violence against women.

All of which is well and good.

However, maybe the newspaper, in its headline, shouldn't have referred to the new court as a "HIT"...?

Posted 5:27 AM by Hank
OH YEAAHHH....(MORE TALES FROM THE "CITY OF EVIL")

Two items appeared on the same day last week in the local paper of Ithaca, the City of Evil:

The first was yet another letter from a conspiracy minded Ithaca resident, disgruntled over the election. The writer used, as proof Bush "stole" Ohio, the fact he (the letter writer) didn't get a receipt when he voted.
Never mind the fact that Ithaca is in New York, which Kerry won.

In the second item, local police charged a woman with stealing 288 packets of Kool-Aid.

Is there a connection?

Probably not. But it sures looks like they really are just a bunch of Kool Aid drinking liberals after the last election...

Posted 5:54 AM by Hank
AND TO THINK HE WANTS TO BE U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL...

News reports indicate that one of the figures in the growing "Oil for Food" scandal at the United Nations is former fugitive Marc Rich:

Rich is suspected of having become one of Saddam Hussein's middlemen in Iraq's illegal oil trade...Rich... and several other prominent oil traders are suspected of making illegal kickbacks to Iraq to win the lucrative oil contracts...The UN program was set up in 1996 to help Iraqis get food, medicine and other items that had been scarce under sanctions imposed after the 1991 Persian Gulf War. But investigators say Saddam realized more than $21billion under the program through kickbacks and other scams.

Rich, you might recall, is an ex-fugitive because he was pardoned by President Clinton, after his ex-wife, Denise, "raised and donated more than $1 million to the Democratic Party in recent years and also provided the Clintons directly with a $10,000 contribution to their legal defense fund and $7,300 worth of furniture."

Try to remember this in four years, when Hillary runs on a platform of bringing "accountability" back to the White House.

Posted 9:25 PM by Hank
MANDATES: THEN AND NOW

Then (1992): Time magazine's cover declares Bill Clinton's forty-three percent of the vote a "Mandate for Change".

Now (2004): The media struggles to convince us that George W. Bush's nearly four million vote margin of victory is no mandate.

In other words, a clear majority, fifty one percent, counts for less than a minority, forty-three percent.

Must be some more of that "fuzzy math."

Posted 1:15 PM by Hank
"OCTOBER SURPRISE"...INCOMING....?

The blogosphere is abuzz that the SwiftBoat Vets have unearthed proof that Kerry was not honorably discharged.

At this point it is all rumor and innuendo.

However, it's potentially telling that Kerry has now admitted to Tom Brokaw that his military record "is not public" after months of insisting it was. While such a reversal could just be another Kerry "flip-flop," it could also be the first marker being laid by Kerry to claim his "privacy" is "violated" when the story of his discharge goes public.

Fasten your seat belts...

Posted 6:01 AM by Hank
ITHACA POLICE BAN US FLAG?

A letter writer to the Ithaca Journal reports that Ithaca's controversial police chief, Lauren Signer, has ordered officers to remove the American flag from their uniform:

Ms. Signer and the deputy chief of the Ithaca Police Department have decided, in their wisdom, to remove the U.S. flag from the police uniform and put a police patch in place of it.
The men and women of the police force have been told that if they do not remove the flag they will be charged with gross insubordination.
I was told that a small pin (which inaccurately depicts the American flag) will be put on the uniform and that because the city buys the uniforms, the "chief can do as she wants."

Ithaca has long claimed to be the "most enlightened city in America," for its extreme liberal policies.

Like most liberals, however, the people of Ithaca equate "enlightened" with "anti-American."

Posted 7:24 AM by Hank
THE OCTOBER SURPRISE: KERRY'S DISHONORABLE DISCHARGE?

Today's New York Sun is reporting that a "Mystery Surrounds Kerry's Naval Discharge":

An official Navy document ...opens a door on a well kept secret about his military service. The document is a form cover letter [that] describes Mr. Kerry's discharge as being subsequent to the review of "a board of officers."

The article goes on to note:

There is nothing about an ordinary honorable discharge action in the Navy that requires a review by a board of officers.

The article goes on to tie the year the review occurred, 1978, with certain policies of then-President Jimmy Carter:

The "board of officers" review reported in the ... document is even more extraordinary because it came about "by direction of the President." No normal honorable discharge requires the direction of the president.
The president at that time was James Carter.
Mr. Carter's first act as president was a general amnesty for draft dodgers and other war protesters....in March 1977 it had been expanded to include other offenders who may have had general, bad conduct, dishonorable discharges, and any other discharge or sentence with negative effect on military records. In those cases the directive outlined a procedure for appeal on a case by case basis before a board of officers.

The timing of the review in 1978 is even more suspicious, the Sun reports, because it is six years after Kerry should have received an honorable discharge:

Mr. Kerry's military commitment began with his six-year enlistment contract with the Navy on February 18, 1966. His commitment should have terminated in 1972.

Furthermore, the article notes, the government had grounds to deny Kerry an honorable discharge due to his anti-war actions "while still a reserve officer of the Navy":

For example, while America was still at war, Mr. Kerry had met with the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong delegation to the Paris Peace talks in May 1970 and then held a demonstration in July 1971 in Washington to try to get Congress to accept the enemy's seven point peace proposal

Given the above, the Sun's writer has to conclude:

The review was likely held to improve Mr. Kerry's status of discharge ...to an honorable discharge.

Of course, Kerry could clear up much of this mystery by simply releasing all his military records. However, as the Sun, and others, have reported:

Kerry has repeatedly refused to sign Standard Form 180, which would allow the release of all his military records [and] the Naval Personnel Office [has] admitted that they were still withholding about 100 pages of files.

So far, this story is confined to the Sun, and the various blog sites out there (including, now, this one).

However, if this theory is correct, and if the story gets traction, it could be that the "October surprise" against Kerry is that he, in fact, did not "serve honorably" while in the military, as he has always claimed.

Posted 11:57 AM by Hank
OBIT ENDORSES BUSH-CHENEY

Today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contained the following paid death notice:

Dey, Jeffrey Gordon

Publication Date: October 1, 2004

Born to Eternal Life on September 25, 2004, age 48 years. Loving husband of Mary Dey. Father of Jason (Karina), Christopher, Red Reynolds and PFC Benjamin Reynolds. Loving son of Gordon and Carrol Dey. Dear brother of Brian (Amy) Dey. Dear son-in-law of John and Judy Ristow. Dear brother-in-law of Diane, Lisa and Karen. Further survived by aunts, uncles cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. Funeral Service Saturday, Oct. 2, 2004 10:30 AM at MAX A. SASS & SONS-GREENRIDGE CHAPEL. Interment Chapel Hill Cemetery. Visitation Friday, 4-8 PM and thereafter on Sat., 9:30-10:30 AM at the funeral home.
Jeff was an avid George W. Bush supporter--Vote for Bush!!

It's not often a death notice makes you smile. This one did.

Posted 4:49 AM by Hank
CHURCH AND STATE: ITHACA STYLE

The Ithaca Journal (fourth item), is reporting that a public forum will be held in that City on various election issues.

The series, entitled "The Morals Behind the Headlines: Election 2004", will focus on "the value dimensions of the issues voters will face in the 2004 elections [including] church and state."

Despite a concern over the separation of church and state, the forums will be held at "The First Unitarian Church of Ithaca."

I guess they feel that there's no need for separation of church and state if the church promotes liberal causes.

Posted 5:08 AM by Hank
"He trav'led with a gun in ev'ry hand..."

Heading up the week's "irony" department is the news that music legend Bob Dylan, muse to a million hippies and pacifists, believes in handguns for self defense.

In his new autobiography, Dylan speaks about how he got the guns, " two pistols and a rifle," to protect himself from his "fans":

"At first, it was merely the nomadic homeless making illegal entry - seemed harmless enough, but then rogue radicals looking for the Prince of Protest began to arrive - unaccountable-looking characters, gargoyle-looking gals, scarecrows, stragglers looking to party, raid the pantry"

Dylan also seems to disparage the very baby boomers that worship him, when he notes:

"I had very little in common with and knew even less about a generation that I was supposed to be the voice of...In my real life I got to do the things that I loved the best and that was all that mattered - the Little League games, birthday parties, taking my kids to school, camping trips, boating, rafting, canoeing, fishing.."

So to recap: Bob Dylan owns handguns for self-defense, lives a suburban dad lifestyle, would go fishing, and disparages the 1960s generation.

Are we sure he isn't a closet Republican?

Posted 10:27 AM by Hank
JUST A "GRIEVING MOM"?

Liberals, and their willing allies in the media, were aghast when the "grieving mother" of a soldier killed in Iraq was arrested for disrupting a New Jersey appearance by First Lady Laura Bush last week.

For example, columnist Jimmy Breslin bemoaned, "they whisked her out of the place and arrested her for using free speech." CBS News, that bastion of accuracy, declared her a "Grieving Mom."

Now, however, it turns out that the woman, Sue Niederer of Hopewell, N.J., may have been more of a threat than the media portrayed her.

WNBC news is reporting that the Secret Service in investigating Niederer for threatening to shoot President Bush last May:

In portions an interview posted online in May on the Web site Counterpunch.org, Niederer said she wanted to "rip the president's head off" and "shoot him in the groined area."

As WNBC notes, "It is a federal crime to threaten to kill the president."

With the Secret Service involved, Niederer now claims that she did not mean it when she threatened the president.

However, given that threats to shoot the president were made, no one should be surprised, or disturbed, that Niederer was taken away from the First Lady as soon as possible.

Posted 7:55 PM by Hank
MEMOGATE: A TANGLED WEB BEGINS TO SHOW

Connections between CBS, the Kerry campaign and the likely source of the forged documents about President Bush's National Guard service are beginning to develop.

The Associated Press is reporting that two Kerry advisors, Joe Lockhart and Max Cleland, spoke to the CBS story's source, "retired Texas National Guard officer Bill Burkett," at least twice before the story aired.

Furthermore, the AP notes, in the case of Lockhart, he spoke to Burkett after CBS news producer Mary Mapes suggested he do so.

In short, evidence is developing that seems to establish a coordinated effort between a presidential campaign and a major news organization to attack the other candidate...with a story based on forged documents.

Is it time to start talking about a "vast left wing conspiracy" yet?

Posted 1:37 PM by Hank
JUSTICE IS BLIND...AND, IN NEW MEXICO, CROOKED?

Ralph Nader was booted off the ballot in New Mexico Friday by a State Judge.

This, in and of itself, would not be news. However, it turns out that the Judge, Wendy York, is a contributor to the Kerry campaign, having donated $1000.00.

As the Albuquerque Journal noted:

[The New Mexico] Code of Judicial conduct ...says in part, "A judge is disqualified and shall recuse himself or herself in a proceeding in which the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including but not limited to instances where: (1) the judge has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party or a party's lawyer ..."

York now faces complaints to the New Mexico Commission on Judicial Conduct from Republicans. Libertarians, the Green Party and even one Democrat, the article notes.

Given that, as the article says, York made a sizeable contribution to Kerry's campaign, it seems like the Judge would have a hard time claiming that she didn't have a "personal bias" towards Kerry and against Nader (and Bush for that matter).

On the other hand, as a Kerry supporter, maybe the Judge can chalk it up to some sort of "flip flop" or "nuance."

Posted 7:30 PM by Hank
YOU'D THINK A GUY THIS RICH
COULD AFFORD A TISSUE, III

Posted 11:36 AM by Hank
FORGED (?) MEMOS: MORE EVIDENCE?

Fellow Blogger Kevin Probasco, brings more evidence to the table that the documents being vetted by CBS are forged.

Probasco, who "served as administrative communications officer and assistant chief of central base administration for the 92d Combat Support Group at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington," is familiar the the document formatting of the National Guard during the time these memos were reportedly written.

He notes:

As has been pointed out by many observers, twelve pitch Times Roman font in Microsoft Word automatically and precisely generates the superscript, line breaks, and letter spacing (including kerning) of the Staudt memorandum if the left and right page margins are set at one-inch on 8.5 x 11 paper (Word’s default settings). That’s a problem.
The Air Force and Guard did not adopt 8.5 x 11 paper until the early 1980s. The standard paper width in 1973 was only 8.0 inches. The half-inch difference is critical.
If page formatting is resized to one-inch margins on 8.0 inch paper, Microsoft Word breaks the sentences at entirely different points in the text, after “trouble,” from,” “wasn’t,” and “I” versus “running,” “regarding,” “rating,” “is,” and “either” in the CBS memo.
The line breaks themselves are powerful circumstantial evidence that Microsoft Word generated the Staudt memorandum using Word’s default settings of one-inch margins on 8.5 x 11 paper.

He also points out:

Paper stocks at Air Force and Guard units in the 1970s were ordered and maintained by the office of central base administration, a headquarters-level staff office, to be distributed to individual units and squadrons as needed.
The mechanical IBM typewriters used by the Air Force and Guard in 1973 were by regulation and routine set at one-inch margins for 8.0 inch paper.

Probasco concludes:

It defies common sense to believe that in 1973 Lt Col Killian used nonstandard three-quarter inch margins on 8.0 inch paper that by astounding coincidence would produce the exact line breaks generated by Microsoft Word 31 years later using Word’s default one-inch margins on 8.5 x 11 paper.

With the evidence mounting, the question is becoming less and less about Bush's service and more and more about whether Rather and, perhaps, Kerry, can survive this scandal.

Posted 6:49 AM by Hank
LIBERAL MEDIA: THE SAGA CONTINUES...

What's up with the Associated Press these days?

First, their coverage of the Republican Convention contains more "Bush bashing" than a press release from Michael Moore, even going so far as to write stories from John Kerry's point of view.

Now they are manufacturing stories to make Republicans look bad:

On Friday the AP falsely reported that a crowd at a Bush rally booed the news that Bill Clinton had been hospitalized, and President Bush "did nothing to stop them."

Did George Soros buy the company lately and no one bother to report it?

Posted 10:32 AM by Hank
LIBERAL MEDIA? WHAT LIBERAL MEDIA?

The following is the opening of the Associated Press article on President Bush's acceptance speech last night, appearing in thousands of newspapers across America:

An unpopular war and 1.1 million lost jobs is enough to kill a presidency, so President Bush tried Thursday night to make the election about something else: himself and his leadership style. "Even when we don't agree," he told an anxious and divided nation, "you know what I believe and where I stand."

Not content to tell insinuate that Bush is a failure, the AP also claimed that he is out of touch:

He sought to make a virtue of his differences with half or more of the electorate...

They even out and out mocked his speech:

He'll simplify the tax code (who wouldn't?) and put health centers in every poor county (why not?), but he didn't say how.

In short, the AP, told the reader that "The idea is to make people afraid to change, even as they're craving it."

This is objective news coverage? On what planet?

Maybe this is not the AP's fault. Maybe the local paper I got this from took an intended "news analysis" piece and put it on the front page, by accident or otherwise>

However, even if this was analysis, the AP's biases still show loud and clear.

Posted 3:00 PM by Hank
MOORE: MCCAIN A "LOSER"

Now that the Democrats' favorite Republican, John McCain, has gone from Kerry's first choice for a running mate to Bush's first endorser at the GOP Convention, he has apparently also gone from "man of principle" to "loser" at least in the opinion of their "intellectual leader," Michael Moore:

John McCain, speaking from the podium, mentioned "a disingenuous film-maker", an obvious reference to Moore, whose film Fahrenheit 9/11 was a scathing attack on the US President, George Bush. Moore just happened to be sitting in the hall, having found his way into the gathering with a press pass. Seated in the stands with other journalists, he gave a wave and held up his hand in the shape of an L, for loser...

Funny how McCain's no longer "principled" as soon as he doesn't tow the Moore/Kerry/MoveOn line...

Posted 10:01 AM by Hank
KERRY COUNTS ON MEDIA BIAS?

The American Spectator (last item) reports that John Kerry's campaign is not overly concerned about the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" movement.

The reason? Not the truth (or lack thereof) in the allegations, but the fact that the campaign believes the media is too liberal to give much coverage on the allegations:

"'the media wouldn't have the nerve to come at us with this kind of stuff...the media is committed to seeing us win this thing.'"

When even the Democrats think the media is liberal is the debate on bias over?

Posted 3:27 PM by Hank
YOU'D THINK A GUY THIS RICH COULD AFFORD A TISSUE II

Posted 5:25 AM by Hank
Ithaca Police Chief Chosen: Quotas Trump Experience, Again

ITHACA--According to the Ithaca Journal, the former aerobics instructor/Democrat who Ithacans voted their Mayor recently has named a new police chief.

To the surprise of absolutely no one who knows how Ithaca operates, Mayor Carolyn Peterson passed over the popular and highly qualified John Beau Saul to appoint Lauren Signer, the controversal former "Acting Chief" to the post.

Signer spent much of her tenure in that position attending topless protests and was accused of assaulting a resident during a roadside incident, resulting in a $1.25 million lawsuit being filed.

However, Signer also has a history of suing for sex discrimination, so her appointment to the post was probably a fait acompli...especially in the most liberal city in America.

Posted 5:24 AM by Hank
MEDIA BIAS: "L.A. TIMES" GETS OUTED

The prestigious Columbia Journalism Review recently did a piece on the Los Angeles Times' placement of political articles within the newspaper.

Read the article and learn how the editors made the decision on one day where to put articles on Iraq that are favorable to Bush (buried inside) and unfavorable (page one).

It's clear from the dialogue that they don't even recognize the decision making process is driven by their liberal bias and antipathy to Bush.

Posted 5:58 AM by Hank
TAX CUTS WORKING...AGAIN

Reuters has an article which helps to demonstrate that tax cuts don't cause deficits, they cure them.

According to the article, the "U.S. government posted a larger-than-expected budget surplus in June, propped up by higher quarterly business tax receipts."

The higher tax receipts were the result of the economic recovery. The economic recovery was spurred by the tax cuts.

This is nothing new. Every time taxes are cut, whether by Bush, Reagan, Kennedy or any other president, it stimulates the economy and brings in more revenue to the treasury.

Now, if we could just get our elected officials to cut spending, we could really cure the deficit.

Posted 11:48 AM by Hank
FILE THIS UNDER "DUH..."

The New York Post reports that Big Apple politicians are aghast at the fact that "[t]city is sending as much as $11 billion a year more in taxes to Albany than it's getting back in state aid."

However, what did they expect?

Have these politicians forgotten that the whole purpose of a system of taxation is the redistribution of wealth? Since New York City has more money than upstate, it's the logical consequence of progessive taxation that more goes out than comes back. Furthermore, if the same amount of money were returned to New York City as was sent to the State, there would be no reason to send it to the State in the first place.

If these politicians really want to end the exodus of cash from their constituents, the answer is simple: cut taxes.

Posted 9:40 PM by Hank
"MOORE" LIES

The Smoking Gun finds out that Moore lied about his party affiliation:

Prior to last week's Washington, D.C. premiere of "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore denied that the new documentary represents his de facto endorsement of John Kerry. "I am an Independent," the filmmaker told reporters. "I'm not a member of the Democratic party."

Which is not exactly correct.

New York City Board of Elections records show that Moore, 50, registered to vote in Gotham in 1992, checking off "Democratic" as his party affiliation. He listed his address as the swanky Upper West Side building where he owns a multimillion dollar condominium (Moore's office is on West 57th Street). The filmmaker's New York registration remains active...

But, wait, there's more (pun intended). He may have committed a crime also:

Moore is simultaneously registered to vote in Michigan....We're sure this is some kind of innocent mix-up, that Moore forgot to cancel his New York registration before signing up in Michigan. Though, as a New York City voter, TSG can tell you it's hard not to realize you are registered, since a voter's mailbox is regularly bombarded with candidate mail, official voter guides, and Board of Election notices about upcoming elections and reminders about the location of your polling place.

Be a real "shame" if they charged him. Maybe they can get the prosecutor from Florida that's always after Rush.

Posted 6:10 AM by Hank
"MICHAEL MOORE HATES AMERICA" COMING SOON

From MoviePoopShoot.com, comes the news that Michael Moore may be getting a taste of his own medicine:

Michael Moore Hates America is a documentary that forces audiences to rethink the genre. It challenges conventional wisdom and takes on the top documentary filmmaker of all time. Join Mike Wilson as he travels from coast to coast in search of the American Dream, and chases down Michael Moore in an effort to figure out why the two have such different visions of America....all the same tactics used by Michael Moore to get his own movie made about Roger Smith, GM’s CEO at the time, [are now used by] a new filmmaker to seek some answers of his own about Moore’s claims about “the country, its people, and our way of life” as Americans.
“I’m not in anyone else’s movies other than my own.” ...Moore is shown in an interview uttering these words when he says he would not participate in Wilson’s movie. There is a funny moment as the screen goes black and white and the names of eight films where Moore did exactly that appear on the screen.

You can view the film's trailer here, and it looks at least as funny as Moore's fans claim his films are.

For some reason, however, I don't expect the American Media and Hollywood elite to lavish this film with the same level of attention and praise they give Moore's.

Posted 3:24 PM by Hank

PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN'S FAREWELL SPEECH
This is the 34th time I'll speak to you from the Oval Office and the last. We've been together 8 years now, and soon it'll be time for me to go. But before I do, I wanted to share some thoughts, some of which I've been saving for a long time.

It's been the honor of my life to be your President. So many of you have written the past few weeks to say thanks, but I could say as much to you. Nancy and I are grateful for the opportunity you gave us to serve.

One of the things about the Presidency is that you're always somewhat apart. You spent a lot of time going by too fast in a car someone else is driving, and seeing the people through tinted glass--the parents holding up a child, and the wave you saw too late and couldn't return. And so many times I wanted to stop and reach out from behind the glass, and connect. Well, maybe I can do a little of that tonight.

People ask how I feel about leaving. And the fact is, `parting is such sweet sorrow.' The sweet part is California and the ranch and freedom. The sorrow--the goodbyes, of course, and leaving this beautiful place.

You know, down the hall and up the stairs from this office is the part of the White House where the President and his family live. There are a few favorite windows I have up there that I like to stand and look out of early in the morning. The view is over the grounds here to the Washington Monument, and then the Mall and the Jefferson Memorial. But on mornings when the humidity is low, you can see past the Jefferson to the river, the Potomac, and the Virginia shore. Someone said that's the view Lincoln had when he saw the smoke rising from the Battle of Bull Run. I see more prosaic things: the grass on the banks, the morning traffic as people make their way to work, now and then a sailboat on the river.

I've been thinking a bit at that window. I've been reflecting on what the past 8 years have meant and mean. And the image that comes to mind like a refrain is a nautical one--a small story about a big ship, and a refugee, and a sailor. It was back in the early eighties, at the height of the boat people. And the sailor was hard at work on the carrier Midway, which was patrolling the South China Sea. The sailor, like most American servicemen, was young, smart, and fiercely observant. The crew spied on the horizon a leaky little boat. And crammed inside were refugees from Indochina hoping to get to America. The Midway sent a small launch to bring them to the ship and safety. As the refugees made their way through the choppy seas, one spied the sailor on deck, and stood up, and called out to him. He yelled, `Hello, American sailor. Hello, freedom man.'

A small moment with a big meaning, a moment the sailor, who wrote it in a letter, couldn't get out of his mind. And, when I saw it, neither could I. Because that's what it was to be an American in the 1980's. We stood, again, for freedom. I know we always have, but in the past few years the world again--and in a way, we ourselves--rediscovered it.

It's been quite a journey this decade, and we held together through some stormy seas. And at the end, together, we are reaching our destination.

The fact is, from Grenada to the Washington and Moscow summits, from the recession of '81 to '82, to the expansion that began in late '82 and continues to this day, we've made a difference. The way I see it, there were two great triumphs, two things that I'm proudest of. One is the economic recovery, in which the people of America created--and filled--19 million new jobs. The other is the recovery of our morale. America is respected again in the world and looked to for leadership.

Something that happened to me a few years ago reflects some of this. It was back in 1981, and I was attending my first big economic summit, which was held that year in Canada. The meeting place rotates among the member countries. The opening meeting was a formal dinner of the heads of goverment of the seven industrialized nations. Now, I sat there like the new kid in school and listened, and it was all Francois this and Helmut that. They dropped titles and spoke to one another on a first-name basis. Well, at one point I sort of leaned in and said, 'My name's Ron.' Well, in that same year, we began the actions we felt would ignite an economic comeback--cut taxes and regulation, started to cut spending. And soon the recovery began.

Two years later, another economic summit with pretty much the same cast. At the big opening meeting we all got together, and all of a sudden, just for a moment, I saw that everyone was just sitting there looking at me. And then one of them broke the silence. 'Tell us about the American miracle,' he said.

Well, back in 1980, when I was running for President, it was all so different. Some pundits said our programs would result in catastrophe. Our views on foreign affairs would cause war. Our plans for the economy would cause inflation to soar and bring about economic collapse. I even remember one highly respected economist saying, back in 1982, that `The engines of economic growth have shut down here, and they're likely to stay that way for years to come.' Well, he and the other opinion leaders were wrong. The fact is what they call `radical' was really `right.' What they called `dangerous' was just `desperately needed.'

And in all of that time I won a nickname, `The Great Communicator.' But I never though it was my style or the words I used that made a difference: it was the content. I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn't spring full bloom from my brow, they came from the heart of a great nation--from our experience, our wisdom, and our belief in the principles that have guided us for two centuries. They called it the Reagan revolution. Well, I'll accept that, but for me it always seemed more like the great rediscovery, a rediscovery of our values and our common sense.

Common sense told us that when you put a big tax on something, the people will produce less of it. So, we cut the people's tax rates, and the people produced more than ever before. The economy bloomed like a plant that had been cut back and could now grow quicker and stronger. Our economic program brought about the longest peacetime expansion in our history: real family income up, the poverty rate down, entrepreneurship booming, and an explosion in research and new technology. We're exporting more than ever because American industry because more competitive and at the same time, we summoned the national will to knock down protectionist walls abroad instead of erecting them at home.

Common sense also told us that to preserve the peace, we'd have to become strong again after years of weakness and confusion. So, we rebuilt our defenses, and this New Year we toasted the new peacefulness around the globe. Not only have the superpowers actually begun to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons--and hope for even more progress is bright--but the regional conflicts that rack the globe are also beginning to cease. The Persian Gulf is no longer a war zone. The Soviets are leaving Afghanistan. The Vietnamese are preparing to pull out of Cambodia, and an American-mediated accord will soon send 50,000 Cuban troops home from Angola.

The lesson of all this was, of course, that because we're a great nation, our challenges seem complex. It will always be this way. But as long as we remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will always be ours. And something else we learned: Once you begin a great movement, there's no telling where it will end. We meant to change a nation, and instead, we changed a world.

Countries across the globe are turning to free markets and free speech and turning away from the ideologies of the past. For them, the great rediscovery of the 1980's has been that, lo and behold, the moral way of government is the practical way of government: Democracy, the profoundly good, is also the profoundly productive.

When you've got to the point when you can celebrate the anniversaries of your 39th birthday you can sit back sometimes, review your life, and see it flowing before you. For me there was a fork in the river, and it was right in the middle of my life. I never meant to go into politics. It wasn't my intention when I was young. But I was raised to believe you had to pay your way for the blessings bestowed on you. I was happy with my career in the entertainment world, but I ultimately went into politics because I wanted to protect something precious.

Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: `We the People.' `We the People' tell the government what to do; it doesn't tell us. `We the People' are the driver; the government is the car. And we decide where it should go, and by what route, and how fast. Almost all the world's constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are. Our Constitution is a document in which `We the People' tell the government what it is allowed to do. `We the People' are free. This belief has been the underlying basis for everything I've tried to do these past 8 years.

But back in the 1960's, when I began, it seemed to me that we'd begun reversing the order of things--that through more and more rules and regulations and confiscatory taxes, the government was taking more of our money, more of our options, and more of our freedom. I went into politics in part to put up my hand and say, `Stop.' I was a citizen politician, and it seemed the right thing for a citizen to do.

I think we have stopped a lot of what needed stopping. And I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.

Nothing is less free than pure communism--and yet we have, the past few years, forged a satisfying new closeness with the Soviet Union. I've been asked if this isn't a gamble, and my answer is no because we're basing our actions not on words but deeds. The detente of the 1970's was based not on actions but promises. They'd promise to treat their own people and the people of the world better. But the gulag was still the < i>gulag, and the state was still expansionist, and they still waged proxy wars in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Well, this time, so far, it's different. President Gorbachev has brought about some internal democratic reforms and begun the withdrawal from Afghanistan. He has also freed prisoners whose names I've given him every time we've met.

But life has a way of reminding you of big things through small incidents. Once, during the heady days of the Moscow summit, Nancy and I decided to break off from the entourage one afternoon to visit the shops on Arbat Street--that's a little street just off Moscow's main shopping area. Even though our visit was a surprise, every Russian there immediately recognized us and called out our names and reached for our hands. We were just about swept away by the warmth. You could almost feel the possibilities in all that joy. But within seconds, a KGB detail pushed their way toward us and began pushing and shoving the people in the crowd. It was an interesting moment. It reminded me that while the man on the street in the Soviet Union yearns for peace, the government is Communist. And those who run it are Communists, and that means we and they view such issues as freedom and human rights very differently.

We must keep up our guard, but we must also continue to work together to lessen and eliminate tension and mistrust. My view is that President Gorbachev is different from previous Soviet leaders. I think he knows some of the things wrong with his society and is trying to fix them. We wish him well. And we'll continue to work to make sure that the Soviet Union that eventually emerges from this process is a less threatening one. What it all boils down to is this: I want the new closeness to continue. And it will, as long as we make it clear that we will continue to act in a certain way as long as they continue to act in a helpful manner. If and when they don't, at first pull your punches. If they persist, pull the plug. It's still trust by verify. It's still play, but cut the cards. It's still watch closely. And don't be afraid to see what you see.

I've been asked if I have any regrets. Well, I do.The deficit is one. I've been talking a great deal about that lately, but tonight isn't for arguments, and I'm going to hold my tongue. But an observation: I've had my share of victories in the Congress, but what few people noticed is that I never won anything you didn't win for me. They never saw my troops, they never saw Reagan's regiments, the American people. You won every battle with every call you made and letter you wrote demanding action. Well, action is still needed. If we're to finish the job. Reagan's regiments will have to become the Bush brigades. Soon he'll be the chief, and he'll need you every bit as much as I did.

Finally, there is a great tradition of warnings in Presidential farewells, and I've got one that's been on my mind for some time. But oddly enough it starts with one of the things I'm proudest of in the past 8 years: the resurgence of national pride that I called the new patriotism. This national feeling is good, but it won't count for much, and it won't last unless it's grounded in thoughtfulness and knowledge.

An informed patriotism is what we want. And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world? Those of us who are over 35 or so years of age grew up in a different America. We were taught, very directly, what it means to be an American. And we absorbed, almost in the air, a love of country and an appreciation of its institutions. If you didn't get these things from your family you got them from the neighborhood, from the father down the street who fought in Korea or the family who lost someone at Anzio. Or you could get a sense of patriotism from school. And if all else failed you could get a sense of patriotism from the popular culture. The movies celebrated democratic values and implicitly reinforced the idea that America was special. TV was like that, too, through the mid-sixties.

But now, we're about to enter the nineties, and some things have changed. Younger parents aren't sure that an unambivalent appreciation of America is the right thing to teach modern children. And as for those who create the popular culture, well-grounded patriotism is no longer the style. Our spirit is back, but we haven't reinstitutionalized it. We've got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom--freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is special and rare. It's fragile; it needs production [protection].

So, we've got to teach history based not on what's in fashion but what's important--why the Pilgrims came here, who Jimmy Doolittle was, and what those 30 seconds over Tokyo meant. You know, 4 years ago on the 40th anniversary of D-day, I read a letter from a young woman writing to her late father, who'd fought on Omaha Beach. Her name was Lisa Zanatta Henn, and she said, `we will always remember, we will never forget what the boys of Normandy did.' Well, let's help her keep her word. If we forget what we did, we won't know who we are. I'm warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American spirit. Let's start with some basics: more attention to American history and a greater emphasis on civic ritual.

And let me offer lesson number one about America: All great change in America begins at the dinner table. So, tomorrow night in the kitchen I hope the talking begins. And children, if your parents haven't been teaching you what it means to be an American, let 'em know and nail 'em on it. That would be a very American thing to do.

And that's about all I have to say tonight, except for one thing. The past few days when I've been at that window upstairs, I've thought a bit of the `shining city upon a hill.' The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man. He journeyed here on what today we'd call a little wooden boat; and like the other Pilgrims, he was looking for a home that would be free. I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it, and see it still.

And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was 8 years ago. But more than that: After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.

We've done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for 8 years did the work that brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger, we made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all.

And so, goodbye, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

PRESIDENT REAGAN'S FAREWELL LETTER
Nov. 5, 1994

My Fellow Americans,

I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Upon learning this news, Nancy and I had to decide whether as private citizens we would keep this a private matter or whether we would make this news known in a public way.

In the past Nancy suffered from breast cancer and I had my cancer surgeries. We found through our open disclosures we were able to raise public awareness. We were happy that as a result many more people underwent testing.

They were treated in early stages and able to return to normal, healthy lives.

So now, we feel it is important to share it with you. In opening our hearts, we hope this might promote greater awareness of this condition. Perhaps it will encourage a clearer understanding of the individuals and families who are affected by it.

At the moment I feel just fine. I intend to live the remainder of the years God gives me on this earth doing the things I have always done. I will continue to share life’s journey with my beloved Nancy and my family. I plan to enjoy the great outdoors and stay in touch with my friends and supporters.

Unfortunately, as Alzheimer’s Disease progresses, the family often bears a heavy burden. I only wish there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience. When the time comes I am confident that with your help she will face it with faith and courage.

In closing let me thank you, the American people for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your President. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future.

I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead.

Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you.

Sincerely, Ronald Reagan

Posted 5:30 AM by Hank
HERE'S A HEADLINE FOR JAY LENO:

Same-sex partners demand action

Posted 8:00 PM by Hank
RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS DEBUNK KYOTO

The Russian Journal Daily is reporting that "top scientists" over there have confirmed what conservatives and open-minded people of science in the United States having been saying for years: that the Kyoto Treaty is bunk.

"The Kyoto Protocol to limit greenhouse gases has no scientific basis Russia's leading scientists said ....the Russian Academy of Sciences said the global treaty would not stabilise greenhouse gases even if it came into force"

The article also notes that the Russian scientists told Russian President Vladmir Putin that the treaty "will strangle Russia's recovering economy."

When even a group of, presumably, former communists can figure out that this treaty would destroy the economy of a country that adopts it, isn't it time for the people of the United States to give up on it once and for all?

Posted 8:45 AM by Hank
YOU'D THINK A GUY THIS RICH COULD AFFORD A TISSUE:

Posted 9:46 PM by Hank
Michael Moore: Iraqi terrorists are "minutemen",
American troops must shed blood

At his website, this despicable son of a bitch all but cheers on the Iraqi terrorists, compares them to our founding fathers and practically says our troops deserve to die:

The Iraqis who have risen up against the occupation are not "insurgents" or "terrorists" or "The Enemy." They are the REVOLUTION, the Minutemen, and their numbers will grow -- and they will win....I oppose the U.N. or anyone else risking the lives of their citizens to extract us from our debacle...the majority of Americans supported this war once it began and, sadly, that majority must now sacrifice their children until enough blood has been let that maybe -- just maybe -- God and the Iraqi people will forgive us in the end.

Moore is extremely lucky that Bush and Cheney are not the ruthless dictators squashing dissent that the left claims them to be. Otherwise they would have taken this sick mother out in the street and shot him in the head by now.

Posted 8:21 AM by Hank
A MAN OF THE PEOPLE?

The many homes of Democrat Presidential candiate, John F. Kerry:

Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania (Assessed value: $3.7 million)

Ketchum, Idaho ski getaway/vacation home (Assessed value: $4.916 million)

Washington, D.C - Georgetown area (assessment: $4.7 million)

Nantucket, Massachusetts waterfront retreat on Brant Point (Assessed value: $9.18 million)

Boston, Massachusetts - Beacon Hill home (Assessed value: $6.9)

oh, and he sold this estate in Italy to activist actor George Clooney, just before announcing his running for president. I guess he thought it might not sit well with the common man. ($7.8 million)

other foreign property ownership by John Kerry is unknown... because he denied repeated requests for this information.

(Thanks to Free Republic)