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Monday, March 5, 2007
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Here's an open letter about Ann Coulter's speech last week from several conservative bloggers to the ACU and CPAC sponsors. Read the whole thing. Thanks to Captain's Quarters for printing it.
Money quote: "Ann Coulter used to serve the movement well. She was telegenic, intelligent, and witty. She was also fearless: saying provocative things to inspire deeper thought and cutting through the haze of competing information has its uses. But Coulter's fearlessness has become an addiction to shock value. She draws attention to herself, rather than placing the spotlight on conservative ideas."
"2008 pres"
7:23:43 AM 
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Channel 4: "In a polemical and thought-provoking documentary, film-maker Martin Durkin argues that the theory of man-made global warming has become such a powerful political force that other explanations for climate change are not being properly aired."
Thanks to Blogs for Bush for the link.
"2008 pres"
7:11:43 AM
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Captain's Quarters: "The Pentagon has not discussed an alternate strategy for Iraq if the surge does not produce the desired results, the Washington Post reports. Peter Pace, Joint Chiefs chairman, parries such questions with the response that 'Marines don't talk about failure,' and that 'Plan B is to make Plan A work'"
Daily Kos: "...after four years of over-extending our military, this plan would effectively end Bush's escalation and force the redeployment of troops already in Iraq. Bush's endless war could not be sustained. And who could argue against requiring that our troops are rested, trained and equipped before they are sent into battle? Only the administration and the entire Republican Party, it seems. Republicans do not want to face a vote that would force them to do what they so often talk about; supporting the troops, rather than this administration.
"The question is, does the Democratic Party agree? In the weeks since Murtha outlined his plan, there has been a continuous attack against it by the GOP and their mouthpieces that has gone largely unanswered. With accusations of micromanaging the war, enabling the terrorists and harming the troops, the obvious question goes unasked and unanswered. Should our military be properly rested, trained and equipped before they are sent to Iraq? But that question isn't just for Republicans, it's for any Democratic Congressman who opposes or wants to weaken Murtha's proposed legislation."
Captains Quarters: "The Democratic win in last year's midterms gave more credibility to the anti-war wing of Congressional Democrats, who spent most of 2006 trying to get reporters to show up to press conferences, and mostly unsuccessfully. With the new majority, these members of the so-called Out of Iraq Caucus have received much more attention and regularly get their message into the mainstream. However, they have begun to discover that all of the seats they won in November came from districts that don't appreciate a cut-and-run policy."
Iraq The Model: "As we noted more than once before, Operation 'Imposing Law' is an escalating effort with military and political components. After the troops fixed their feet on the streets of Baghdad, PM Maliki and the troops are pushing forward with both components."
"2008 pres"
6:47:44 AM
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Political Wire: "John Edwards is mailing DVDs to more than 70,000 Iowa households this week, The Politico reports, 'introducing the audience of likely caucus-goers to his plan for universal health care with a combination of passion, wonkiness, and implicit comparison with his rivals.'"
Rocky Mountain News: "The Los Angeles Times surveyed 133 of the 165 Republican National Committee members about their early picks and pans for the party's 2008 presidential nomination...The survey showed Tancredo, of Littleton, grouped with others at the bottom of the pack. Leading were former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani."
Political Wire: "New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and political adviser Kevin Sheekey 'are meeting with pollsters and consultants to assess the mayor's chances as a third-party, independent candidate,' Newsweek reports. Said Sheekey: 'There is no Bloomberg campaign. But we have certainly reached out.' Whether he runs 'depends on who the nominees are for the two major parties, and how much cash Bloomberg is willing to spend.'"
Political Wire: "'Personally, I'm a Bill Richardson fan. I think he has the Bill Clinton touch with people.' -- Former Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK), quoted by Washington Whispers, on his favorite 2008 presidential candidate."
Political Wire: "'In case you harbored any eensy-weensy shred of doubt that Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) is running for re-election, word comes that he has hired veteran Democratic operative Jeff Link as his general consultant for the 2008 campaign,' the Des Moines Register reports."
"2008 pres"
6:44:18 AM
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Here's Part I of the Denver Post's series, Fortress America, about efforts to secure the southern border with Mexico. From the article, "Gerardo Carbajal sits on a bench on the Mexico side of the Rio Grande, shivering. Caught that morning by the U.S. Border Patrol as he stepped out of the ice-cold river, he's exhausted, hungry, and he's going home. At just 17 years old, Carbajal has sneaked across the border six times before. 'It's never been this hard,' he said, confessing that he would return to his home in the Mexican state of Guanajuato rather than try again. Although he may not know exactly why, Carbajal knows this for sure: The border is changing. In federal courthouses in Laredo and Del Rio, a small army of illegal immigrants who a few years ago would have been set free or dumped back across the Fortress America border are instead going to jail. In Artesia, N.M., there is a ballet of cranes twirling over half-finished barracks in frenzied preparation for a flood of trainees headed to the Border Patrol Academy there."
Here's an Part II of the Post's series about efforts to secure the border down south, from the Denver Post. They write, "A 10-foot-high wall snakes along the U.S.-Mexico border south of here, and behind it another fence, steel mesh and even higher. Cameras sit atop 50-foot poles, and stadium lights can turn night here to day. It's a daunting sight that looks utterly secure. Until you notice the dozens of divots. 'Everywhere you see a divot, that's where someone has gone over with a ladder,' said Damon Foreman, a young Border Patrol agent, pointing to the nicks across the top of the secondary fence. Sold for $5 on the Mexican side, the ladders are made of rebar and can be carried with one hand at a quick run. 'Ten guys are over that fence in a minute,' Foreman said. For Department of Homeland Security officials trying to secure the country's land borders, it's a hard lesson: A $5 ladder trumps a $30 million fence...
"Despite some notable successes in deploying technology, experts warn that there have also been spectacular failures: Private contractors have shoved off shoddy materials; an unforgiving environment has wreaked havoc on sophisticated systems; and the Border Patrol has misjudged technology's value. In a cramped control room in the Border Patrol's Del Rio sector in Texas, a crisply uniformed agent shows off the program's most technologically advanced system, part of a network originally known as ISIS, for Integrated Surveillance Intelligence System. From this spot, two dispatchers have a remarkable view of a 24-mile stretch of the Texas border. Using joysticks, they manipulate more than 40 day-and-night cameras, scanning the border's weed-choked riverbanks for illegal immigrants and dispatching agents via encrypted radios. On a central console, hits from an array of buried ground sensors roll across a computer screen, alerting the controllers to possible smugglers hidden amid the mesquite and river grass. 'With manpower and technology, you can bring the border under control,' said Randy Clark, a Border Patrol supervisory agent, as he stood in front of the impressive array."
"2008 pres"
6:30:03 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 12:40:22 PM.
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