Tookie and Saddam

In yet another impressive demonstration of his understanding of how the American media react to meaningless symbols, Saddam Hussein has adopted the Tookie Williams strategy as an attempt at avoiding the gallows. His act of writing a letter telling the Iraqi people to renounce hatred mirrors the stunt by Tookie Williams in which he wrote a few children's books about not joining gangs. For the record, Tookie Williams founded the Crips Gang and videotaped himself killing four people with a shotgun. His guilt for murder was not in doubt, so that even the State of California executed him last year. Two of his adherents who attended the execution immediately shouted upon his death, "The State of California just killed an innocent man!" In this case, "innocent," means a man demonstrably as guilty as sin itself, but remorseful and deserving of a second chance.
Now, with his letter, Saddam is apologizing for the myriads of people whom he oppressed and killed, using poisonous gas in some cases. But he says he is sorry and calls for reconciliation! That has to count for something, doesn't it?! In fact, Saddam's letter has gained him exactly the prize that Tookie's children's books earned him: Today, Jesse Jackson has declared that Saddam should not be executed in a story carried by the Associated Press.
Congratulations, Saddam, you have succeeded in your use of the Tookie Strategy and you will soon be another martyr of the Left, a victim of the two-headed monster American Imperialism, whose faces look remarkably like those of George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. For those of us with functioning brains, we will know that the world is a safer place at the moment your neck snaps.

Our Most Athletic President

Gerald Ford has died at the very ripe old age of 93 and some change, just a few weeks older than the age Ronald Reagan had reached when he departed this mortal coil. What do our two longest-living presidents have in common besides both being Republicans and running head-to-head in the last close primary race in 1976? Answer: they both played college football, but that is barely half of the story. Reagan played for Eureka College and cut a strong enough figure to play the Gipper, whose name he wore for the rest of his life, in a movie. Ford played center for no less a powerhouse than the Maize and Blue of the University of Michigan. As their center, he starred for Coach Harry Kipke as the Wolverines rolled to consecutive undefeated seasons and National Championships in 1932 and 1933. As a senior in 1934, he earned the honor of team MVP and played in the college All-Star game. Michigan has only retired five numbers in its history, but #48, in honor of Gerald Ford, is one of them. I had heard, "He played college football," but did not know until now that Ford turned down offers to play for the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers so that he could go to Yale Law School, where he finished third in his class. Do not be in doubt. When people call Ford, "one of our most fit presidents," they are paying him an insult out of ignorance or by intention. Gerald Ford was completely peerless for physical fitness among presidents, as his longevity can testify.
How is it that a bona fide star athlete developed an image as a klutz and a man who made distinguished marks at Yale Law as a dunce? The answer is very simple: he ran for president from the wrong party. Chevy Chase with his Saturday Night Live bits taught us a lesson about the power of mockery. Rest in peace, Wolverine. You are free of mockery now.

NCAA Football Re-alignment

Technically, there are two undefeated teams in this year's season of NCAA Division I-A football. Ohio State will either clinch its National Championship against Florida on January 8, or we will watch highlights of the greatest upset in history for decades to come. Boisie State has a record of 12-0, but every commentator expects the Broncos to lose to the Oklahoma Sooners on New Year's Day. The trouble with Boisie State's record is that their schedule lacked a truly challenging opponent. The best opponent that the Broncos beat was Hawaii, which is now ranked 23rd. Hawaii defeated the unranked Arizona State Sun Devils in the Hawaii Bowl, which highlights a schedule problem that plagues both Hawaii and Boisie State. Even a so-called bowl victory for Hawaii does not solidify a case for the Warriors to be ranked in the top 25. How many ranked teams has Hawaii beaten this year? Zero. How many ranked teams has Boisie State beaten? Counting Hawaii, One. Providentially, the big conference that suffers from the worst case of mediocrity lives next door to these two over-achievers. The PAC-10 is a mere hop, skip and a jump from the WAC. Currently 0-2 in 2006 bowls, having suffered one defeat and one utter massacre, (BYU had Oregon Duck Soup for dinner on December 21, 38-8) the PAC-10 is in need of more competitive teams. Boisie State, having won the WAC for five years running, but still gets labelled, "untried," is in equally desperate need of competitive opponents. Fortunately, the PAC-10 has one team that would never be missed except at other schools' homecomings.
I propose a trade of Boisie State to the PAC-10 in exchange for Stanford, who has a record of 1-11 this year, but they have never been good in football, even in distant memory. Stanford likely suffers from higher academic standards than those enforced by a number of other teams. The trade would give the PAC-10 another competitive team to compensate in the years (like this one) when few PAC-10 teams are good. It may be unlikely that the NCAA and school and conference officials would accept this trade idea, but this much is certain: if Boisie State had gone undefeated while playing USC and CAL this year, they would be playing Ohio State for the National Championship on January 8.

Taliban Down and Al Qaeda Down II

We have heard troubling news about Pakistan growing linguini-spined in the face of Taliban warlords who have taken full control of a Pakistani province directly adjacent to Afghanistan. While the Taliban may hope to use this safe haven to raid into Afghanistan, one leader did not get very far over the border on this past Tuesday. An American air strike killed Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani, the treasurer of the Taliban and a military leader, on Tuesday in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. He was a member of "co-equals" ranked immediately below Mullah Omar, basically tied with others for second in command. Some commentators are predicting a military disaster in Afghanistan in early 2007, but they were predicting the same debacle in 2001 before our troops went to Afghanistan. Is it possible that our soldiers are better at this job than they think?
In other news, our soldiers in Mosul nabbed an Al Qaeda leader whom they did not identify in Mosul, Iraq. As strange as it sounds, another Al Qaeda leader has been caught in Iraq, of all places. Don't ask me how he got there - it isn't my department.
In the wake of continued violence in Iraq, President Bush has announced that he wants to send more troops to the theatre. Perhaps this move seems like a late one that should have happened a while ago, but a little perspective is in order. President Bush's political adversaries were saying "quagmire," "Vietnam," and "military failure," long before any such thing existed in Iraq or Afghanistan with an obvious eye on political implications. When their nay-saying was proved false in 2001 and 2003 by the extremely rapid conquests of the capitals of Afghanistan and Iraq, they did not change their tune, but instead predicted a disaster that was about to happen. Now that a change in strategy does appear to be wise in Iraq, the Left is calling for unconditional surrender. Is it any surprise that the Bush administration has not listened to its critics very often? They are now celebrating five years of non-stop cheering for our defeat.

Rape Charges on Duke Players Dropped!

District Attorney Mike Nifong has officially dropped the rape charges on the three Duke University lacrosse players, but maintains plans to charge them with kidnapping and other sex offenses. On March 13, 2006, the team had a party which involved a couple of strippers, one of whom accused Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann of raping and sodomizing her. In the immediate wake of her accusations, law enforcement authorities examined her body and found evidence of sexual intercourse, but no DNA tests matched any of the defendants. Earlier this week, another round of DNA tests became public, which showed that the accuser sported the DNA of five men on her person - none of whom were the defendants. Nifong had originally violated the procedures for photo lineups when he showed the accuser only pictures of Duke lacrosse players. The regulation dictates that lineups for a witness to pick out the perpetrator include some innocent non-suspects in order to judge the reliability of the witness. The way Nifong rigged the deck, every face was a possible suspect, so whichever three faces she pointed out became his rape suspects.
The online Fox News story deserves an "Understatement of the Month" award for this passage:
"In recent months, Nifong has been vilified by some lawyers and members of the community for pressing ahead with what appeared to many to be a remarkably weak case." (Never mind the players whom he has vilified.)
In other words, everyone with a brain except Mike Nifong, Al Sharpton, the New Black Panthers and Johnny Cochran's Ghost can see clearly that Nifong has absolutely no case of any kind against these three players. He did not drop the rape charge until DNA evidence completely removed the possibility that they could have raped the aspiring victim. The word "aspiring" is intentional - she wants to be the new Rosa Parks, but she is a counterfeit.
About the DNA evidence, understand that when you shake hands, you leave some of your DNA on the other person's hand. This latest test means that Nifong cannot prove that the three defendants, whose names he has besmirched constantly for nine months, even touched the stripper. Another stripper who attended the same party has said that nothing happened. One defendant has bank documents showing that he was withdrawing money from an ATM machine at the precise moment that he supposedly raped the stripper. The cab driver who took him to the ATM confirms his story.
The only evidence Nifong has of anything is the accuser's story, which she has changed no fewer than twelve times. She might have been assaulted three times or twenty times, depending on which version of her story she propagates. More importantly, the law since Bible times has held that a conviction can only come from the testimony of two or more witnesses. Nifong has no case and well knows that he has no case, but he has gotten such good press from this "white men rape a black woman" story that he will continue to milk it for all of the PR that he can get.
I do not usually sympathize with guys who hire strippers to entertain them. The players could have avoided this situation easily in the first place, but if they are innocent of crimes then they need to go free, their names need to be cleared and the DA needs to face disciplinary action for his misconduct in the lineup situation, among others.

Honors Pouring In (A Satirical Acceptance)

I must say that at this time I am grateful for and humbled by the prestigious honor recently bestowed on me for writing this blog. Time magazine has named me Person of the Year, which is probably the highest-profile honor I have ever received. Since I do not affix my name to this blog, the plaque in the Hall of Fame that chronicles the people whom Time honors with this award will note me simply as "Bountyhawk," which is fitting and appropriate. I sent the editor a note to make sure he/she understands that my blog name is one word, not two. As you the reader probably know, the award for Person of the Year is not mine alone. I will point out the distinction of my achievement, however. Of all of my co-winners, how many can say that they won this award after less than four months of blogging?
I would like to thank God, my parents, my teachers and professors in school who taught me how to read and write effectively. I have to thank Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter for the contributions they have made to my style of rhetoric and I must note James Taranto and Jonah Goldberg for their brilliant columns that have informed my opinions and helped shape my worldview. Thanks also to Victor Davis Hanson and Richard Miniter for their excellent works on military history. Last but the opposite of least, a poshumous tribute is due to Ronald Reagan, the Gipper himself, who won the Cold War and gives us cause for hope today. I cannot express how amazing it is to share the honor of Person of the Year with so many of my role models. Thank you very much, and God bless America.

Operation Square Garden

Well, we had a civil war break out for about five minutes last night in New York. The extreme poverty in which our urban young men are forced to live has prompted another brawl. These poor inner-city boys face such a struggle for survival, which none of us can understand. They are victims of the unforgiving society that devalues and disrespects them. Of course, this script may not work particularly well when it concerns millionaires playing in the NBA, but we all know from drive-be media coverage that violence comes from poverty. These players must have delusions of poverty.
Here is the play-by-play: Mardy Collins of the Knicks threw a flagrant foul on J.R. Smith of the Denver Nuggets with 1:30 left in the game. Smith jumped up showing signs of aggression and the Knicks' Nate Robinson escalated the fight, jumping between Smith and Collins, trash talking and throwing some shoves and faux punches. Smith tackled Robinson into the seats and the two rolled around a bit before being pulled back to their feet and restrained. The fight appeared to be over when the Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony threw a sucker-punched Collins in the face and ran backwards up the court as the Knicks' Jared Jeffries gave chase. NBA officials in suits poured onto the court to restrain the players, which they did using physical force. In a demonstration of NBA Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action discipline, all ten players on the floor were ejected from the game, including the ones did no fighting. David Lee spent the whole time trying to restrain the fighters of both teams, but out he went, ejected just like the thugs.
Knicks Coach Isaiah Thomas blamed the Nuggets' coach for the brawl becaust he kept his starters in the game during a 19-point blowout. Robinson explained, "it escalated," rather than, "I escalated the fight." Thomas evidently will not discipline his own players, but he will likely keep his job because he is the Knicks president as well. Maybe that's why we have separation of powers in government. About those delusions of poverty, Carmelo Anthony, who threw the sucker punch, has been caught in possession of marijuana and made an appearance last year in a drug dealer's video. He had to add brawling to his gangsta portfolio. Now all that remains is for him to bust a cap from his nine in his b- I mean woman. Note to all young women: stay away from Carmelo Anthony.

Casualties in October

You have probably heard about how bloody October was for our soldiers in Iraq. The liberals said that the high loss of life showed that our mission in Iraq was failing, whereas some conservatives believed that October's violence reflected a surge aimed at affecting our Congressional elections. Now that the casualty numbers from November are in, we see the October surge in violence as just that: a temporary surge. The Coalition suffered 110 deaths of all kinds in October, including 102 from hostile action, which places October 2006 in a tie with November 2003 as our fourth-worst month thus far. September showed 76 losses and November 77, so the spike in October appears to be a surge that the insurgents arranged to influence our elections. Make no mistake about how savvy our enemies are about using our own media against us. They got CNN to air video footage of sniper teams killing American soldiers, so in that case Ted Turner's network did their publicity job for them.
What you haven't heard is that the casualty numbers for 2006 - even if December is our worst month ever - will fall far short of the casualty numbers from 2005 and 2004. As you know, the media calculates casualties by including all deaths, lumping hostile deaths in with vehicle accidents and illnesses. I have been recording casualties noting a separation between hostile and non-hostile causes of death. We have lost so few men to non-hostile causes of death in the last year that the numbers of total casualties are coming down. Our hostile losses are about the same, and could possibly surpass hostile losses from 2005, but the total is all you ever hear about, so it looks as though the insurgents are killing fewer of our troops. Ironically, the favorite tactic of the anti-war drive-by media is backfiring.

A Criminal Re-elected, Commemorated, etc.

William Jefferson, a man caught months ago with $90,000 in bribe money hidden in his freezer (the precise source of that bribe is well-documented) has won re-election to his seat. Any guesses about his party affiliation? Yes, Jefferson is a Democrat from Louisiana who refused to resign his seat when the bribe money turned up in Tupperware containers in his freezer. His constituents did not see his criminal conduct as any cause to oust him. He is a victim of society, the descendant of slaves after all.
In other crime-related news, the House of Representatives passed a resolution days ago, "condemning the decision of St. Denis, France, to name a street in honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the convicted murderer of Philadelphia Police Officer Danny Faulkner." The motion, which did not carry the weight of sanctions or any other action, produced a landslide 368-31-8 vote along predictable lines. Of the 31 lawmakers who voted for commemorating the murderer, and eight who voted "Present," all were Democrats, naturally. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia, an outgoing lame duck who yesterday produced a bill to impeach President Bush, voted for commemorating cop killing and John Lewis, a Georgia Representative who was beaten by police on the Civil Rights march in Selma forty years ago, voted "Present."
Looking at the demographics of the Congressmen favoring commemorations for murderers, none came from South Carolina, I am proud to report, but the plurality reside in New York. Nine of New York's Representatives voted for commemorating a cop-killer, more than the combined total of eight Representatives from the eleven states of the Confederate South. Out of the 39 who voted for commemorating Mumia Abu-Jamal, 1 Representative is Asian by race, 4 are Hispanic, 13 are White and 21 are Black, including 4 of the 5 officers of the Congressional Black Caucus. (CBC) The entire CBC boasts exactly 39 members, which means that over half of the CBC voted to commemorate a murderer of a policeman. I need not mention that this voting pattern is far out of proportion with the rest of Congress. Opposing criminals should not be a partisan issue at all, but evidently a strong majority of one certain group of Representatives cannot find it in their hearts to condemn the murder of police officers.

Book Review: Dereliction of Duty

I took advantage of my first few days after final exams to finish Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies That Led to Vietnam by H. R. McMaster. Counting appendices, this book runs 480 pages with small print, so it is not by any means light reading that you can take in over a weekend. Chronicling the onset of the Vietnam War from Kennedy's administration to the large commitment of troops in 1965, Dereliction of Duty follows the action minute by minute, meeting by meeting as Presidents Kennedy and Johnson installed the generals that would tell them what they wanted to hear and Robert McNamara implemented his new vision of warfare. Of the five members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kennedy and Johnson replaced all but the Marine Corps Commandant at least once each in order to weed out the opponents of their new and untried (and eventually disastrous) theories.
"Graduated Pressure" was McNamara's brainchild. A quantitative data analyst who had most recently worked for Ford Motor Company, McNamara had absolutely no tactical or strategic training, although he had worked in logistics during World War II. In logistics, the application of certain quantities of food, fuel, bullets and supplies can equip an Army unit: as supplies go up, the soldiers' needs go down. McNamara and President Johnson imagined that they could apply the same principles to warfare. With the right experimentation, as their insertion of troops went up, North Vietnamese support for the Viet Cong would go down. Of course, no wars in history have ever worked this way. When one side raises its commitment, the other side raises its commitment, with victory the prize for which no price is too high to pay. The Joint Chiefs retorted repeatedly early on that the United States should invest enough troops to win the Vietnam War or pull out completely. At one pivotal moment, the Joint Chiefs asked for 500,000 troops and Johnson replied that he would give them 15,000, comparing the Joint Chiefs to a farmer asking for a loan from the banker, "Mr. McNamara."
McMaster does not excuse the Joint Chiefs of blame - placing a little more at their feet than I would - but highlights their complicity in President Johnson's bald-faced lies to Congress about the number of troops required and the cost of the War in Vietnam. Johnson always considered his politics ahead of all else, so he put off any decision on Vietnam commitment in 1964 until after the election. In 1965, he deceived Congress and the American people about his investments of men and materiel in Vietnam until after his Great Society programs had passed.
Dereliction of Duty is an excellent, well-researched, highly detailed history of the beginning of the Vietnam War. McMaster does not belabor the point that Johnson's lies led to the deaths of tens of thousands of American servicemen, but faithfully reports the process that brought about the American commitment of troops to Vietnam. A sobering account for any strategist, the lesson of Dereliction of Duty is that the civilians who control the military have a responsibility to understand the nature of warfare, to learn the lessons of history rather than reading one book, The Uncertain Trumpet, and deciding that everything in the world has changed and history does not matter. Kennedy's unbridled enthusiasm for The Uncertain Trumpet shows the danger of electing presidents because they are young and good-looking.

She Belongs to the Ages

Jeane Kirkpatrick has died. A former Democrat who, like Ronald Reagan, switched parties when her party proved too affectionate for Communists, Kirkpatrick served as Ambassador the UN under the Gipper. A co-founder with Jack Kemp of the Empower America think tank, she authored a controversial article in the November 1979 issue of Commentary titled, "Dictatorships and Double Standards." Her article delivered a scathing critique of the Carter Administration's foreign policy, in which the President and his State department never applied their normal standards for human rights to Communist dictators. Former Governor Ronald Reagan read the article and contacted Kirkpatrick, eager to appoint her as his ambassador to the UN, should he win election in 1980. When Reagan defeated Carter soundly, he made Jeane Kirkpatrick one of the best and most decisive diplomats to serve as UN Ambassador from the United States.
The most enduring legacy of Jeane Kirkpatrick is probably the phrase she coined that seems extremely applicable today as the Iraq Surrender Group produces its report. Her speech from 1984 highlighted a number of positions the Liberals had taken, blaming American policies of Communist aggression and she observed repeatedly, "With them, it is always Blame America First." As we accept the resignation of John Bolton from the post she held, we observe with some sorrow the loss of one outstanding diplomat and the passing of another great public figure. Kirkpatrick understood the times in which she lived and worked effectively against Soviet aggression, calling an acquisitive agenda by its correct name. We need leaders like her now more than ever. The link to her article "Dictatorships and Double Standards" is below:
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/cm/main/viewArticle.aip?id=6189

Child Molester Gets Probation!

We all knew that this headline would appear eventually. Months ago in Vermont, Judge Edward Cashman sentenced a serial child molester to 60 days, explaining that he did not believe in punishment for child molestation. A month later, it happened again in Vermont. This week, the news came out of Missouri that Kenneth Slaght, who raped his 6-year-old step granddaughter, received a sentence of 5 years' probation.
Judge Larry Meyer, an elected judge who calls himself a Republican, refuses to discuss his irrational impulse to turn a dangerous child molester loose on the law-abiding community. In truth, Judge Meyer probably fears for Mr. Slaght's life because prisoners have in the past killed such evil people. If only he had the same sympathy for Slaght's next victim. Governor Blunt of Missouri is now campaigning for the legislature to pass Jessica's Law for his signature, which would mandate minimum prison sentences of 30 years for child rape. We need such sentencing guidelines when our judges commit such grotesque miscarriages of justice. Judge Meyer needs to be impeached.
This is the worldview of Social Justice: a crime is a tragedy that is no one's fault and has two victims: the perpetrator and the victim. We enlightened members of society who reject such silly old-fashioned notions as deterence and cause and effect must work for healing for both of them.
Believers in Real Justice hold the perpetrators responsible for their own actions. Real Justice seeks to prevent crimes through deterence. Tough sentences, including the death penalty, can prevent the current perpetrator from committing any crime for several years at least and dissuade would-be criminals from doing what the perpetrator did. For now, we must check our local listings of registered sex offenders and beware.

A RINO's last gore

One of our most talented diplomats has announced today that he will resign his post as soon as his recess appointment expires in January. John Bolton, who has worked the unenviable job of UN ambassador, has pressed the United Nations body for resolute action as the other members, including Kofi Annan himself, have proven willing only to take bribes from dictators, dispute Israel's right to exist, and to thwart the efforts of the United States in the War on Terror. Bolton has remained diplomatic but firm in his negotiations. No one could have done the job better, in my humble opinion.
Today, the most infamous RINO (Republican In Name Only) in Washington, lame-duck Senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, has decided to block a vote on Bolton's confirmation. As you might remember, President Bush nominated Bolton in August 2005. All nominations require Senate Approval and the Senate sends each diplomatic nominee to the Foreign Relations Committee that must vote to submit the nominee back to the floor for a final vote. Every Democrat opposed Bolton, so a single Republican could prevent him from receiving a confirmation vote on the Senate floor. Citing concerns over Bolton's diplomatic abilities, Senator Voinovich (R) of Ohio cast the vote blocking Bolton's nomination from reaching the floor in 2005, but President Bush installed Bolton on a recess nomination while Congress was not in session. About one month ago, Voinovich announced that he had changed his mind, approving Bolton's performance without reservations, and would vote for Bolton to receive a vote on the Senate floor. As soon as Voinovich reversed his stance, Chafee switched his vote from pro- to anti- confirmation, thus preserving the committee's block on Bolton. The Senator from the smallest state, who just got defeated for reelection, has developed a reputation as the most dependable back-stabber in the Senate. He has probably voted with the Democrats more often than he has with his own party. Even today, I am not sure what the Democrats object to about Bolton, aside from his position in favor of American sovereignty. During his confirmation hearings, they unveiled stories of Bolton as a tough boss, which hardly testifies to his abilities as a diplomat. I doubt that we want all of our bosses to be as affectionate to their employees as was our last Democrat president with his interns. Good riddance to Chafee. Many thanks to Bolton.

Profiles in Liberal Tolerance

I'm sure this is another posting topic that will enjoy several sequels. As I reported on the San Francisco City Council banning JROTC from the city's high schools, similar sentiments are visiting us here in Dixie. The News & Observer of Raleigh, Durham, Cary and Chapel Hill reports here: http://www.newsobserver.com/722/story/510469.html about a new Army Recruiting Office in Chapel Hill. The Town Council of Chapel Hill passed a resolution calling for all American soldiers to be withdrawn from Iraq, which I am sure was more important than the matters of the town budget, policies on pedestrian traffic, and where the new traffic lights should be built.
Now, pacifists are organizing a march to protest the construction of the recruiting office. The News & Observer quotes one of the leaders thus:
"We really tie the construction of this facility [the recruiting office] to the war in Iraq and the difficulties that the military is having recruiting youth and students," said Ben Carroll, who is involved with UNC-CH Students for a Democratic Society, one of the march's organizers. "We are not just saying we don't want military recruiters in Chapel Hill," Carroll said. "We don't want them in our schools and targeting our youth."
I'm sure your reaction was the same as mine: STUDENTS FOR A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY?!?!! Yes, I had also thought that this Vietnam-era cover organization for communists no longer existed. Once again, we see that today's anti-war movement is largely a reenactment for the aging flower children of this country. As a veteran, I resent their portrayal of us as children being targeted for military service. Many of us love our country and want to serve in the defense of the society that gave us birth. Love for country is a motive so foreign from them that they assume we cannot possibly hold it sincerely. How pitiable.