Double Standard

“…when Mr. Richards was interrupted by a small group at a nearby table, he should have been competent enough to deal with it without engaging in racist invective. Having said that, let’s look at what it means to lose your temper and make a few stupid remarks in the ultra-sensitive country that we’ve become. Since the guy imploded onstage, the video quickly made its way onto the international airwaves, resulting in the type of condemnation that should be reserved for, say, a man who butchered 2 people and got away with it.”

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Niccolo Machiavelli

"And what physicians say about disease is applicable here: that at the beginning a disease is easy to cure but difficult to diagnose; but as time passes, not having been treated or recognized at the outset, it becomes easy to diagnose but difficult to cure. The same thing occurs in affairs of state; for by recognizing from afar the diseases that are spreading in the state (which is a gift given only to a prudent ruler), they can be cured quickly; but when they are not recognized and are left to grow to the extent that everyone recognizes them, there is no longer any cure." -- Niccolo Machiavelli

More.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Day the World Stopped

“Dallas, Nov. 22--President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was shot and killed by an assassin today.
He died of a wound in the brain caused by a rifle bullet that was fired at him as he was riding through downtown Dallas in a motorcade.
Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson, who was riding in the third car behind Mr. Kennedy's, was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States 99 minutes after Mr. Kennedy's death.”

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Who is Barak Obama?

‘Senator Barack Obama's (D-Ill) platform is his politics of "understanding." Obama has been careful not to define the issues upon which he runs; rather, he explains that it is time to "move forward," to discard "ideology," to reach a new "common ground" built on an "understanding" of broad-based values. Of course, this is pure Grade A pap, since Obama fails to define those values, except in broad generalities. Yes, he's for the flag (but not against burning it -- he voted against the flag-protection amendment), motherhood (as long as taxpayers foot the bill for daycare and abortion on demand remains legal) and apple pie (he has not had to vote on apple pie). But where does he stand?’

Read it all.

Have We Lost Our Minds?

‘Remember Alberto Fernandez? The State Department press officer was forced to apologize last month after telling Al Jazeera that the U.S. had shown “arrogance” and “stupidity” in Iraq.
Well after a month of silence, the State Department is finally speaking out on Fernandez — not to condemn him, but to praise his “integrity, courage, [and] sensitivity.”
Fernandez was selected from three department nominees for the Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Public Diplomacy by Tufts University... for his work with pan-Arab media ... to increase the number of appearances by U.S. officials.
He receives a certificate signed by Secretary Condoleezza Rice — and $10,000 in cash.’

Read it all.

Quote of the Day

“Given our monstrous, overgrown government structure, any three letters chosen at random would probably designate an agency or part of a department that could be profitably abolished.” —Milton Friedman

The Road to Peace

Michael Fumento


Hat tip: Michelle Malkin

Majority Drool

‘Media people are feverish. They've discovered an exotic new life-form, the missing link, the elusive "walking fish" that just might be the key to existence itself. Known as The Democrat, this fascinating beast has been the subject lately of countless earnest, hopeful news stories.’

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Hat tip: Real Clear Politics

Alcee Hastings, Corruption Personified

“Eighteen years ago, Democratic Rep. John Conyers came to believe that Alcee Hastings, at the time a federal judge in Florida, was guilty of impeachable offenses. Hastings stood accused of conspiring to take bribes, and, although it is little remembered today, Conyers served as the chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee that investigated Hastings and unanimously recommended his impeachment. After the House voted 413 to 3 to impeach Hastings, Conyers went on to serve as one of the House impeachment managers who successfully argued before the Senate that Hastings should be convicted and removed from office.”

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Tastes of Philadelphia

‘Long Italian roll with meat, tuna etc. and lettuce, tomatoes, onions, oil, oregano, salt, pepper and sometimes hot or sweet peppers. Never pickles. That was invented by Subway. (They can't even cut the rolls right!). Other places have similar sandwiches but they are all slightly different. People claim everything is in the bread. Amoroso makes a lot of hoagie and steak rolls. In Atlantic City, the Italian bread is slightly crustier on the outside and more dense on the inside.
Many stories have circulated about the origins of "hoagies". Basically, shops that catered to the Hog Island and Navy Yard workers started to call the sandwiches "hoagies".’

Check out these Philly foods here. You’re guaranteed to become a loyal fan. But, I beg you, do not become a fan of Philadelphia sports teams!

Goodbye, Mr. Friedman

"Today, upon news of the death of Nobel Laureate economist Dr. Milton Friedman, Gordon St. Angelo, president and CEO of the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation, offered the following statement:

America has lost a true visionary and advocate for human freedom. And I have lost a great friend.

Milton’s passion for freedom and liberty has influenced more lives than he ever could possibly know. His writings and ideas have transformed the minds of U.S. Presidents, world leaders, entrepreneurs and freshmen economic majors alike. The loss of his passion, incisive mind and dedication to freedom are all national treasures that we mourn for today."

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Iraq Solution

“With Iraqi society decomposing - or, at best, reverting to a medieval state with cell phones - the debate in Washington over whether to try to save the day by deploying more troops or withdrawing some is of secondary relevance.

What really matters is what our forces are ordered - and permitted - to do. With political correctness permeating our government and even the upper echelons of the military, we never tried the one technique that has a solid track record of defeating insurgents if applied consistently: the rigorous imposition of public order.

That means killing the bad guys. Not winning their hearts and minds, placating them or bringing them into the government. Killing them.”(emphasis mine)

Read it all here.

Republicans Learn Nothing

“Last night, a prominent conservative blogger was telling me that she "hates Republicans" and that she wants to vote independent. When I asked her why, she said, "Yeah, they're totally gonna elect Boehner and Blunt. And then the Martinez thing. They're killing me."

All I can say is that yeah, they're killing me, too.

Although it's too early to tell who's going to win, the same Republican leaders in the House who failed miserably in the last election, such as Representatives John Boehner (R.-Ohio) and Roy Blunt (R.-Mo.), seem to be on track to win re-election. Worse yet, Sen. Trent Lott (R.-Miss.) of all people is trying to make a comeback as minority whip in the Senate. Then there's the Republican National Committee, where Ken Mehlman, who was an excellent chairman, is being replaced by sitting Sen. Mel Martinez and an RNC staffer. After the drubbing the Republican Party just took, does it really make sense to replace an effective RNC chairman with a pro-amnesty, part-timer like Mel Martinez?”

Read it and weep.

Hat tip: Lucianne

Open Borders

“Andy Ostroy has posted a poignant message about his wife, Adrienne Shelly, whose accused murderer, illegal alien day laborer Diego Pillco, reportedly tried to cover up the crime by faking a suicide scene.”

Please read the whole article.

Socialist

“Conservatives are suicidally polite. We feel bound to act nice, and so we go along with whatever euphemism the Left chooses for itself. On their side, Democrats loudly argue for truth in advertising for baldness cures—- but not in the marketplace of political ideas, where telling the truth is a lot more important. That is why the Left constantly seeks new PR labels to disguise itself.”

Read it all.

Always in Our Memory

Here We Go!

'LOS ANGELES - The Democratic congressman who will investigate the Bush administration's running of the government says there are so many areas of possible wrongdoing, his biggest problem will be deciding which ones to pursue.

There's the response to Hurricane Katrina, government contracting in Iraq and on homeland security, political interference in regulatory decisions by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, and allegations of war profiteering, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., told the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

"I'm going to have an interesting time because the Government Reform Committee has jurisdiction over everything," Waxman said Friday, three days after his party's capture of Congress put him in line to chair the panel. "The most difficult thing will be to pick and choose."' (emphasis added)

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Quote of the Day

“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. A man who has nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance at being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.” —John Stuart Mill

Mad As Hell!

“Like many Americans, I’m really angry. It was bad enough to watch Republicans fall like dominoes this week. Hearing liberal Democrats claim that the election was all about the war when they didn’t offer a single alternative plan was infuriating.
But receiving the knock-out punch of Donald Rumsfeld being fired the day after the Democratic Party windfall election is making a lot of us about as mad as we’ve been in a long, long time.”

Read the rest.