Bill Clinton says he's learned a lesson

Yahoo! News Former President Clinton says he's learned a lesson

And it did not involve relations with an intern in the Oral Office.

from the dustup over his remarks on the campaign trail — he can promote his wife's presidential candidacy, but he's not free to defend her. Bill Clinton also said that everything he said in South Carolina about Illinois Sen. Barack Obama was "factually accurate," but a lot that has been said about what he said is "factually inaccurate."

But that depends on the meaning of the word "is".

"I think the mistake that I made is to think that I was a spouse like any other spouse

Not any other. Some husbands are faithful to their wives.

who could defend his candidate," Clinton said, referring to his wife, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is waging a hard-fought contest with Obama for the Democratic nomination. "I think I can promote Hillary but not defend her because I was president.

Legally you can't defend her in court, but that is because you lost your law license for lying to a grand jury. And as a husband you can defend your wife. You just can't expect us to buy every wild defense just because you were president.

I have to let her defend herself or have someone else defend her,"

It's all about ME. I can't defend her. Poor ME. This means I might not get back into the White House where all of the pretty interns are.

Clinton said in an interview with NBC affliate WCSH-TV

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The media pick the winners

I don't normally quote WorldNetDaily, but Bill Press made a good point: Super Tuesday's over, and there's no absolute winner among either Democrats or Republicans. Nonetheless, even though no one candidate has yet locked up their party's nomination, we might as well cancel the rest of the primaries or caucuses. The media have already decided that this year's standard bearers will be John McCain and Barack Obama.

Yes, somewhere along the line, the role of the media has changed from reporting on the primaries to deciding the primaries. They pick their favorites, they give them preferential treatment, they tear down their opponents, and they anoint their winning candidates even before voters have a chance to go to the polls. Step one occurs early in the primary process, when network executives decide which candidates get covered and which ones don't. Among Republicans, too bad for Tom Tancredo, Ron Paul, Tommy Thompson, Sam Brownback and Duncan Hunter. Once the media suits decided they weren't serious candidates, they got no media attention, which, of course, resulted in their never being taken seriously as candidates.

I am not really sure any of them were serious candidates, even though some of them did raise good piints on issues that they were focused on.

Among Democrats, the same thing happened to Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd and Bill Richardson – even though Biden, Dodd and Richardson had more experience to offer, and more concrete ideas, than either Clinton or Obama.

And Richardson had executive experience, dealing with a state legislature.

Too bad. The media decided ahead of time that their ideas weren't worth being heard, and so they weren't..... That same gentle treatment extends to the candidate's spouse. Appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America," Michelle Obama was asked if she could see herself working to support Sen. Clinton, if she ended up getting the nomination. Her response: "I'd have to think about that. I'd have to think about policies, her approach, her tone."

Did they ask Bill or Hillary the same question, and what was their response?

All I'm asking is that, for the rest of the campaign, the media treat every candidate equally bad. That's their job. And there's a big difference between their job and ours. To bend a phrase: "They report. We decide."

I agree. But if they really investigate Obama I suspect they will find major problems.

Noel Sheppard blogged Interesting points all. But was Press being honest with his readers? After all, according to his website, his radio program airs from the Clinton think tank (emphasis added):

On June 27, Bill launched his new talk radio program - the "Bill Press Show" - broadcasting live from the Center for American Progress in downtown Washington, D.C.

Some coincidence that on June 21, NewsBusters reported on CAP's connections to the Clintons

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Hillary War on MSNBC

TPM Election Central reported The Hillary campaign has just gone to war with MSNBC, dispatching a top Hillary adviser to launch a lacerating attack on the network on a conference call with reporters moments ago.

With Obama beating her, she is desperate for something to change the news about that, and has decided to declare war on one of her most major allies. And this is the sort of person who thinks she should be President. Bush may have gone to war in Iraq, but Hillary might declare war on Canada if she needs to cover her a$$.

On the call, top Hillary adviser Howard Wolfson suggested that there's a "pattern" of reprehensible comments by MSNBC personalities, and said outright that the Hillary campaign could no longer "envision a scenario where we would debate on that network given the comments that were made and have been made."

And this at the time when she is begging Obama for more debates.

Wolfson made the comments in response to a question about a now-notorious comment by MSNBC's David Shustser, in which he asked if Chelsea's campaigning on her mom's behalf meant she was being "pimped" by the Hillary campaign...

According to TheFreeDictionary pimp means "pander" or "procure", but related words are "cater", "ply", "provide", and "supply" - "give what is desired or needed" and Wikipedia says In the first years of the 21st century, however, a new meaning of the word has emerged in the form of a transitive verb which means "to decorate" or "to gussy." The instigation for this new definition stems from Pimp My Ride, an MTV television show. Although this new definition paid homage to hip-hop culture and its connection to street culture, it has now entered common, even mainstream commercial, use.

Though Shuster apologized this morning, the Hillary campaign has clearly decided to seize upon the opportunity to launch a major attack on the network. A few weeks ago Chris Matthews publicly apologized to Hillary after suggesting that her whole Senate career and presidential candidacy was made possible only because of Bill's shenanigans in the White House.

Even though it was true.

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Camel's Nose

Telegraph reported Archbishop of Canterbury said Sharia law in Britain unavoidable and 40% of Muslims want it, but he was quickly shut down by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and a senior Church of England clergyman called today for the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Eugene Volokh says I read the Archbishop's speech, and as best I can tell, the Archbishop is arguing for an analog to something quite familiar: arbitration agreements, including prenuptial agreements. If you and I enter into a contract (such as one related to "financial transactions") in the U.S., we could agree to having our disputes resolved by an arbitrator (usually secular, but nothing stops us from choosing a religious arbitrator).

That is true, however remember the story of the camel's nose in the tent. It is one thing if they allow both parties to willingly agree to be bound by Sharia Law, but what if one of the parties (like a battered spouse) is intimidated into taking a dispute to Sharia Court, and they decide to stone her? As Robert Spencer pointed out Many have pointed out that Orthodox Jews have private arbitration courts for marriage and family issues, and that's all that Williams was saying Muslims should have in Britain. But there are key differences: Islamic law is a program for the governance of the state, and there is no easy sundering of that program from family and marriage law, so it is certain that if Islamic law is instituted even in part in the UK, some Muslims will press for the rest to follow, including the institutionalized subjugation of non-Muslims.

Ragnar Danneskjold notes The Second Court of Appeals of the State of Texas has rendered a ruling permitting the enforceability of shari'a judgments rendered by imams.

Even if that ruling involves lashes, stoning to death, or beheading? In Texas?????

Eugene Volokh blogged Now maybe Sharia law is more likely to be unfair than other systems in certain circumstances; and doubtless some people feel strong social pressure to enter into contracts endorsed by their cultural group. But people feel various kinds of pressure to enter into various kinds of contracts. American law usually enforces the contracts despite talk of pressure and unfairness. There are exceptions, but they are indeed exceptions, and the rule is enforcing contracts. Yet the skies haven't fallen, nor do they seem likely to fall even if more contracts end up being arbitrated or otherwise evaluated under Sharia law.

Crossroads Arabia, World and Global Politics Blog, and John Burgess blogged The issue is not actually whether Saudi law applies in Texas (or other states as the article notes), but whether people can, in the course of making contracts, require that Sharia law be applied as the rule for arbitration. It’s a bit complicated, but the courts’ decisions are worth reading. And certainly read the entirety of the Volokh post. The comments, particularly about how Jewish laws can be enforced through arbitration in US courts are also worth while.

Ali Eteraz does not like the idea.

Hugh Fitzgerald blogged As for that touchingly transparent attempt to liken the recognition of the imposition of parts of the Shari'a as "unavoidable" to the existence of Beth Din courts, for a handful of Jews, in a handful of matters, where not a single element contradicts, in spirit or letter, the prevailing English law -- practically on the level, in this particular discussion, of Rowan Williams telling us that "some of my friends are Jews" or "I really enjoyed 'Fiddler on the Roof,’” that won't wash. It won't justify his original endorsement -- not a mere discussion, as he now attempts to reinterpret his own words -- of parts of the Shari'a being recognized as a parallel system, in the interests of "social cohesion."

There are calls for his resignation

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The Dem plan to hit McCain

Politico.com reported With John McCain poised to win the Republican nomination, Democrats are already gathering ammunition to use against him in the general election.

Tel them to begin using it right away. That will help the conservatives rally around mCCain

A case in point: As the economy was rising late last year as a major issue for voters, McCain in New Hampshire delivered this grenade, with its pin still in it: "The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should," he said. "I've got Greenspan's book."

At least he is willing to read Greenspan's book. What military experience do Hillary or Obama have?

Doug Schoen, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, says the Democrats must act quickly. "The trick is to get him on the flip-flops and not let him get back to the center where he can be a real force," he said.

He is already at the center, and the more the Dems say he is not, the more conservatives will like him.

One broad theme that will be used against him is that he's offering little more than an extension of the Bush economic policies that have exacerbated the nation's wealth gap and brought about a return of giant deficits.

That is not true. Bush's mistake was not to slow spending, except for the military. McCain wants to do that.

Democrats could also take some sharper shots at his economic plan, which centers on two core messages: cutting taxes and cutting spending.

Shoot away. I like both.

On taxes, McCain's votes against President Bush's 2003 tax cuts and his explanation for them are likely to become major talking points. "I just thought it was too tilted to the wealthy, and I still do," he said of those tax cuts. "I want to cut the taxes on the middle class." Democrats are sure to argue that if the Bush tax cuts were "too tilted" toward the rich in 2003, they are only more so now.

They may argue that, but they would be wrong.

McCain will have to square his previous comments with his call today to make Bush's tax cuts permanent and add new cuts for the middle class. To recover the lost revenue from the tax cuts, McCain is promising to cut earmarks and wasteful spending — a line that plays well with his party's fiscal conservative wing.

Absolutely

On this point, the senator is on firmer footing since he's earned solid credentials on the issue by leading some major fights against pork barrel projects. But his opponent could note that McCain's campaign is being led by Tom Loeffler, whose lobbying firm has made millions inserting earmarks into spending bills.

That is Tom's problem.

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Landlord says Clinton staff stiffed me on rent

Seacoastonline.com reported Rochester physician Terry Bennett said he rented a city building to people who worked for Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign — and skipped town without paying the bill.

She probably did not want to loan herself monty to pay the bill.

Making matters worse, Bennett said, the 3,000-square-foot building at 236 Union St. was left trashed. Campaign signs were left lying all over the place, he said. "It's a very nice little building, with an 1,800-foot warehouse and the rest can be offices," Bennett said. "There's a full kitchen and bath. They used it as a campaign center and dormitory. I expected them to hand the Realtor a check as they left. They did not."

And she won New Hampshire. Just think what she must have done to people in Iowa.

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McCain VP

Pat Toomey (head of the Club for Growth) suggested five conservatives: South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford; South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint; Indiana Representative Mike Pence; former Senator Phil Gramm; and Forbes CEO Steve Forbes as potential VP candidates for McCain.

blogged You can get more details on each one of Pat Toomey's recomendations here.

Sister Toldjah blogged Of the above, the one I would support the most would be Gov. Sanford, who has won the respect of many in the South with his commitment to fiscal conservatism, small government, and family values. I like Senator DeMint, too, but we desperately need his strength in the Senate.

Alex blogged Of course, Pat Toomey himself wouldn’t be a bad name to add to that list either.

Bryan blogged I doubt McCain goes with any of these picks. Charlie Crist is likely as the popular governor of Florida and probably the man who won the nomination for McCain. Several picks including Christie Todd Whitman would be mistakes. Joe Lieberman might shake things up a lot, but he’s so far to the left on social issues that he’s more useful as a speculative pick than a real one. For a really out of the box pick, try former mayor and spaghetti western gunslinger Clint Eastwood. There is the little matter of Eastwood’s skepticism on the Iraq war, which McCain has pledged his all to win. It’s a very unlikely pick, but I’d love to see him debate pretty much any Democrat on national security. “I know what you’re thinking. Did Iran really halt nuke development in 2003, or 2005? Or did they stop at all? Do you feel lucky, Barack? Well. Do you?” The squint alone would roast the donks.

So who’s McCain going to pick? Beats me. A pick to the left would probably hurt him more than a pick to the right would potentially help him, though a pick to his right is the way to go to shore up the base. But whoever he picks, at the end of the day John McCain will still be John McCain. That’s his blessing and his curse.

Stephen F. Hayes blogs The final two are probably better suited to be Secretary of the Treasury. (And McCain floating Forbes for that slot early could help him in his efforts to convince McCain doubters that he takes seriously his pledge today to draw heavily on the advice of his "fellow conservatives.") Each of the other three -- Sanford, DeMint and Pence -- would bring conservative credentials and seriousness about policy that would surely help McCain among the Republican base. There are two others who are almost certain to get a long look: Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and former Ohio Representative (and OMB Director and U.S. Trade Representative) Rob Portman. McCain and his staff have strong personal regard for Pawlenty and the governor endorsed McCain early. The two men were to have traveled to Munich, Germany, together this weekend for a national security conference, but McCain pulled out to remain on the campaign trail..... This list will grow like kudzu.

I agree the list will grow. Considering that the Dems will nominate either a woman or a black (and if they nominate Hillary she will have had to pull so many dirty tricks that it will really have the blacks ticked off, I suggest he go with JC Watts , former Lt. Governor Michael S. Steele, Thomas Sowell, Michelle Malkin, La Shawn Barber, or Walter E. Williams. That should make the conservatives happy, and help peel off black and or women (or both) votes from the Dems.

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Huckabee wins Texas

Hot Air joked He needs something like 98% of the remaining delegates to clinch and 54% just to send it to the convention.

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A seat at the table

Captain's Quarters blogged McCain focused the latter part of his speech on the big issues that he says will define the election -- the war, the Democratic insistence on statist policies, and entitlement reform. He concluded that part of the argument with this (emphasis mine):

These are but a few of the differences that will define this election. They are very significant differences, and I promise you, I intend to contest these issues on conservative grounds and fight as hard as I can to defend the principles and positions we share, and to keep this country safe, proud, prosperous and free.

We have had a few disagreements, and none of us will pretend that we won't continue to have a few. But even in disagreement, especially in disagreement, I will seek the counsel of my fellow conservatives. If I am convinced my judgment is in error, I will correct it. And if I stand by my position, even after benefit of your counsel, I hope you will not lose sight of the far more numerous occasions when we are in complete accord.

If conservatives hear that carefully, that is an invitation to the table. They should accept that invitation and start seeking to fill the seats. McCain will eventually have a need for advisers on a myriad of public policy issues, and we can test the offer by pushing for more conservative voices in that inner circle.

And if we are supportive enough, we may even persuade him to appoint a true conservative as VP, who will be in a position to become President shuld McCain's age became a factor, or at least after he has served two terms.

McCain already got a head start in this regard by bringing Ted Olson and Steve Forbes onto his team, but especially on energy and immigration, we can press for more influence.

One reason Mitt appealed to conservatives was his ability to listen and learn. Mitt became more conservative the longer he was in office, while the perception of McCain has been the opposite. McCain has always been his own man, and that will not likely change now; in fact, it's been part of McCain's appeal, especially on fiscal discipline and the war. A presidency is a lot different than a legislative term, however, and an executive has to appoint a lot of people to carry out policy in detail. Conservatives can put themselves in position to fill a number of slots -- but only if they help put McCain in office.

And as bad as having him in office will be, Hillary or Obama would be much worse.

As I believe Georges Clemenceau once said, in order to get a seat at the feast, one has to help set the table. This is the choice facing conservatives. Either we help set the table and join in public policy and use our influence to help shape a Republican administration, or we abandon McCain and get four or eight years of statist policy that could take a generation to undo.

With the threat if Islamic terrorism still significant I am not certain what would follow four or eight years of Hillary or Obama.

Even worse, the conservatives might watch McCain get elected without their assistance -- and watch themselves get marginalized as a movement for a very, very long time.

Betsy Newmark identified several bills currently being worked on which show what problems we would have with Hillary or Obama in the White House, and with a Democratic Congress.

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Studies Deem Biofuels a Greenhouse Threat

New York Times reported Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing these “green” fuels are taken into account, two studies being published Thursday have concluded.

This confirms what I have always thought. We should do as France and several other European countries are doing and build more nuclear power generation stations, and work toward improving hydrogen fuel cell technology, which could use the nuclear power to generate hydrogen cleanly, and until we get there we sould drill offshore and in Alaska, and pursue clean coal, liquid coal, and oil shale recovery.

The benefits of biofuels have come under increasing attack in recent months, as scientists took a closer look at the global environmental cost of their production. These latest studies, published in the prestigious journal Science, are likely to add to the controversy. These studies for the first time take a detailed, comprehensive look at the emissions effects of the huge amount of natural land that is being converted to cropland globally to support biofuels development.

Here is more from the other side of the pond.

James Joyner blogged Not to mention the fact that we’re converting a cheap, nutritious food source into an expensive, inefficient energy source and thus raising the price of the former. Or, as a commenter at Tyler Cowen’s place notes, “causing many farmers to replace barley crops with corn which is leading to higher beer prices”

What’s particularly baffling is that the Europeans, who have been on the environmental bandwagon much longer than we have, get a substantial percentage of their energy from nuclear power whereas we haven’t built a new nuclear plant in a generation.

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Jail politicians who ignore climate science

National Post reported David Suzuki has called for political leaders to be thrown in jail for ignoring the science behind climate change.

Since GW has become a sort of "religion" of the west, I guess the crime would be heresy, but heresy was defined by St. thomas as "a species of infidelity in men who, having professed the faith of Christ, corrupt its dogmas", We have never professed a belief in Global Warming, so I guess this is more like Muslims who believe anyone that does not accept Islam is an infidel, and most be converted, subjugated, or killed.

.... Addressing the McGill Business Conference on Sustainability, hosted by the Faculty of Management, Dr. Suzuki's wide-ranging speech warned against favoring the economy to the detriment of the ecology -- the tarsands in Northern Alberta being his prime example.... "You have lived your entire lives in a completely unsustainable period," he told students and fans. "You all think growth and [climate] change is normal. It's not."

Yes it is. But I don't think you should be put in jail because you don't realize it.

.... "What I would challenge you to do is to put a lot of effort into trying to see whether there's a legal way of throwing our so-called leaders into jail because what they're doing is a criminal act," said Dr. Suzuki, a former board member of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. "It's an intergenerational crime in the face of all the knowledge and science from over 20 years.".... When asked for further comment, Dan Maceluch, a spokesman for Dr. Suzuki, said that he did not mean the statement to be taken literally. "He's not advocating locking people up, but he is pulling his hair out."

So now global warming is causing David Suzuki to go bald?????

Gaius blogged Green jackboots are still jackboots. The current departure from normal snow cover for the entire northern hemisphere is here . Note the blue areas and how large they are. Here is the current southern hemisphere sea ice anomaly . Note that is is quite a lot higher than "average." Here is the current northern hemisphere ice. Here's a comparison of northern ice areas with historical records for February 6, 1980 and the same date this year. Pay particular attention to the west coast of Greenland.

Michael Goldfarb blogged That's certainly one way to achieve consensus.

Hube blogged A member of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association!! Can you friggin' believe THAT?? How so perfectly Orwellian!! Actually it fits perfectly into the "progressive" paradigm. Free speech is not truly free unless it conforms to the "proper" belief system and ideology, which must be, of course, "progressive."

Curt blogged It’s a crime to question the bad science of man-made global warming now. Now you can understand why I call them environazi’s, because that is exactly where they are going with this. To throw someone in jail for pointing out that their science is just plain unproven is ludicrous. But to that leftist at least it all makes sense.

Maybe they will go after The Climate Skeptic for making this great 10 minute compilation of his longer 60 minute version about the science of global warming, and how unreliable it is:


Gina Cobb blogged If Suzuiki keeps it up, soon someone will propose jailing scientists for allowing politics to cloud their scientific judgment, or for ignoring the ruinous economic effects of their proposals. Guess who will be first in line for the Big House?

Wretchard blogged It's now possible to commit a crime by simply holding an inappropriate attitude.... Not only are speech codes being created all over the world, but cut-down languages are being legislated into existence. George Orwell describing the synthetic dialect of 1984, Newspeak, described the goal of the new languages: to reduce the scope of thought.

Noel Sheppard blogged It appears the witch hunt has moved from calling non-believers "deniers" to the burning phase, which is comically ironic if you think about it long enough.

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Romney suspends campaign

At CPAC he said If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or (Barack) Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.

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Weathermen Fight for Global Cooling Funding

Popular Mechanics reported Every day, scientists hoping to see an increase in solar activity train their instruments at the sun as it crosses the sky. This is no idle academic pursuit: A lull in solar action could potentially drive the planet’s temperature down, or even prompt a mini Ice Age.

Al Gore and the Global Warming fanatics will heat things up just with their voices. Already John Kerry is blaiming the 'intense storms' (tornados) that have killed more than 50 on climate change.. Calmer heads must prevail. Bob Krum wonders if Kerry thinks Global Warming was the cause of this far more severe Super Outbreak he remember 34 years ago.

For millennia, thermonuclear forces inside the star have followed a regular rhythm, causing its magnetic field to peak and ebb, on average, every 11 years. Space weathermen are watching for telltale increases in sunspots, which would signal the start of a new cycle, predicted to have started last March and expected to peak in 2012. “When the sun’s active, it’s a little bit brighter,” explains Ken Tapping, a solar researcher and project director for Canada’s National Research Council.

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Interesting news from Dem land

TPM Election Central reported Hillary Loaned Her Campaign $5 Million, some Clinton senior staff are working without pay, and when that news hit TPM Election Central revealed the Obama Campaign Raised Over $4 Million -- Since Polls Closed Yesterday! and Politico.com reported Obama is on pace to raise $30 million in February. This clearly is not good news to Queen Hillary who expected a coronation. She tried to counter with the fact that she raised a bunch online in the last couple of days, but will that go to repay her loan to the campaign, or will she pay her staff, or make them continue to work for free and buy TV ads. Guess what, paying the staff will be very low on her priority list, as long as she can get away with it.

I do not expect Hillary to give in. Rather she will pull some more dirty tricks like they pulled against Conservatives, but the Dems that liked it then will not like it when she pulls them on another Democrat. It really looks like they are headed for a brokerd convention, but Howard Dean is saying reported he may have to broker Clinton-Obama deal to prevent that. Good luck Howard. If the deal shafts Obama, Republicans have a good chance to capture some of the disaffected black voters.

Michael Duffy writes in Time about how some in the Clinton campaign are encouraging speculation that she would put Obama on her ticket if she were to get the nomination. Betsy Newmark discusses both alternatives, a Clinton Obama ticket, and an Obama Clinton ticket, and she correctly shows that both would be a major mistake, especially for Obama.

Gaius also addresses this possibility, and comes to the same conclusion: Obama has been running extremely well, much better than I initially expected, frankly. For him to give up all his aspirations to be President is pretty well unthinkable. For Clinton, she believes that job is hers, almost as a birthright. I can't see her giving that up, either. So if have a virtually unsolvable problem there.

Compound all that by trying to imagine what an Obama Presidency would be like with Hillary and her co-Vice President standing over his shoulder the whole time.

He would have to spend all of his time disavowing statements by Hilary and Bill.

Or what a completely insignificant role Obama would play when the Bubbapalooza is upstaging him at every turn.

That Vice Presidency really would not be worth a bucket of warm spit.

The Democrats are caught in a trap of their own making here. They have played identity politics for years and have the unfortunate historical timing to have two "identity" candidates appear to be viable at the same time. And the "brokering" will likely cause real damage.

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Five reasons Hillary should be worried

Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen wrote at Politico.com Five reasons Hillary should be worried

1. She lost the delegate derby.

   She would have lost even more had some of the states not had early voting, and people voted when she was still "inevitable".

2. She essentially tied Obama in the popular vote

   Even with early voting.

3. She lost more states.

   And Obama won more southern states.

4. She lost the January cash war.

   She had to loan her cam[aign $5 Million

5. The calendar is her enemy.

   Actally her baggage is her worst enemy, and that baggage includes Bill.

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Did not want to answer

This is one way to avoid answering a question you don't have an answer to:


Hat tip to Pamela Geller

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Britain Eliminates Islamic Terrorism

lgf reported The British government has, amazingly, managed to completely eliminate “Islamic terrorism” and “jihad.” From their vocabulary. ‘Don’t mention Islamic extremists’: Government phrasebook tries to avoid upsetting Muslims.

The Government has drawn up a controversial phrasebook on the language of terrorism and is insisting civil servants no longer blame fanatical extremism on Islam, for fear of upsetting the Muslim community.

Maybe they should not have let so many into their country.

The new counter-terrorism guidelines suggest that phrases such as “Islamic terrorist” and “jihadi fundamentalism” are too inflammatory and imply that all Muslims explicitly are responsible for extremism.

No, only the ones that support terrorism or jihadi fundamentalism. Oh, is that a lot of them? Then why did you let them in your country?

Instead the leaked Home Office document advises Whitehall bosses that they refer to violent extremism and criminal murderers or thugs to avoid any link between Islam and terrorism.

Why confuse them with common murderers and thugs.

However, the war on terror handbook has provoked an unfavorable response from people claiming the Government are bowing under the pressure of political correctness.

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Don't make perfect the enemy of the good

Betsy Newmark blogged I'm clearly of the camp that argues that it is monumentally stupid to make the perfect the enemy of the good. Yes, McCain is not the perfect candidate, but he sure is better than Clinton or Obama on the war in Iraq and on judicial nominations.

That is true, and the threat of Islamic Terrorism has not gone away, and the next president will make several supreme court appointments. If McCain can be persuaded to select a good strong Conservative (not Huckabee) for VP we just might win the White House. Can anyone think of a strong conservative Black Woman? What about La Shawn Barber or Condi Rice???. If not her, then what about a Conservative Black (Thomas Sowell???) or a Conservative Woman (Michelle Malkin???). Obama is ahead in delegates, but Clinton will call in her chits with the Super Delegates to steal the nomination, and that should tick off the blacks who supported Obama, and the Hispanics will support McCain.

That's enough for me. It's time for Romney and Huckabee to give it up and throw their support behind the party's choice. They've had their best shot but they haven't demonstrated viability across the board. And conservatives need to stop sniping at each other over the outcome of the nomination fight.

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Palestinians Whine About Suicide Bomber Shooting

Mark.org.il reported How stupid is this:

1. Two suicide bombers were dispatched to Dimona
2. One triggered his charge, killed a woman and wounded about a dozen people.
3. The second was injured, probably by the blast of the first charge.
4. After rescue forces arrived on scene, the wounded bomber was identified as such and was promptly shot by a police officer.
5. THE PALESTINIANS DENOUNCED THE SHOOTING AS “INHUMANE”.

I guess the inhumane thing is they deprived hi of his right to kill more joooz, and maybe he did not get his 72 virgins because of that.

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Super Tuesday

I can't stand any of the candidates in either party, but here are predictions from two guys I trust, James Joyner and Michael Bates, and Michael has provided a link to check the results.

Republicans	James Joyner	Michael Bates	Results
Alabama Primary (48 delegates)	McCain	Huckabee 23, McCain 16, Romney 6	Huckabee 20, McCain 16
Alaska Caucus (29 delegates)	McCain	.	Romney 12, Huckabee 6, paul 5, McCain 3
Arizona Primary (53 delegates)	McCain	McCain 50	McCain 53
Arkansas Primary (34 delegates)	Huckabee	Huckabee 31	Huckabee 26, McCain 1, Romney 1
California Primary (173 delegates)	McCain	Romney 110, McCain 60
Colorado Caucus (46 delegates)	Romney	.	Romney 22
Connecticut Primary (30 delegates)	McCain	McCain 27	McCain 27
Delaware Primary (18 delegates)	McCain	McCain 18	McCain 18
Georgia Primary (72 delegates)	McCain	Huckabee 60, McCain 9, Romney 3.	Huckabee 35, McCain 3
Illinois Primary (70 delegates)	McCain	McCain 33, Romney 24	McCain 54, Romney 2
Massachusetts Primary (43 delegates)	Romney	Romney 27, McCain 13	Romney 22, McCain 18
Minnesota Caucus (41 delegates)	McCain	Huckabee 58	Romney 36
Missouri Primary (58 delegates)	McCain	Huckabee 58	McCain 58
Montana Caucus (25 delegates)	McCain	Romney 25	Romney 25
New Jersey Primary (52 delegates)	McCain	McCain 52	McCain 52
New York Primary (101 delegates)	McCain	McCain 87	McCain 101
North Dakota Caucus (26 delegates)	McCain	Romney 12, McCain 9, Huckabee 5	Romney 8, Huckabee 5, Paul 5, McCain 5
Oklahoma Primary (41 delegates)	McCain	Huckabee 32, McCain 6	McCain 32, Huckagee 6
Tennessee Primary (55 delegates)	McCain	Huckabee 27, McCain 16, Romney 9	Huckabee 21, McCain 14, Romney 9
Utah Primary (36 delegates)	Romney	Romney 36	Romney 36
West Virginia Caucus (30 delegates)	McCain	Huckabee 18	Huckabee 18
Democrats
Alabama Primary (60 delegates)	Clinton		Obama 20, Clinton 21
Alaska Caucus (18 delegates)	Clinton		Obama 9, Clinton 4
American Samoa Caucus (9 delegates)	Clinton
Arizona Primary (67 delegates)	Clinton		Clinton 26, Obama 21
Arkansas Primary (47 delegates)	Clinton		Clinton 23 Obama 6
California Primary (441 delegates)	Obama in a squeaker
Colorado Caucus (71 delegates)	Clinton		Obama 13, Clinton 6
Connecticut Primary (60 delegates)	Clinton		Obama 26, Clinton 22
Delaware Primary (23 delegates)	Clinton		Obama 9, Clinton 6
Georgia Primary (103 delegates)	Obama		Obama 27, Clinton 18
Idaho Caucus (23 delegates)	Clinton		Obama 15, Clinton 3
Illinois Primary (185 delegates)	Obama		Obama 62, Clinton 31
Kansas Caucus (41 delegates)	Clinton		Obama 23, Clinton 9
Massachusetts Primary (121 delegates)	Clinton		Clinton 54, Obama 37
Minnesota Caucus (88 delegates)	Clinton		Obama 48, Clinton 24
Missouri Primary (88 delegates)	Clinton		Obama 30, Clinton 30
New Jersey Primary (127 delegates)	Clinton		Clinton 51, Obama 37
New Mexico Caucus (38 delegates)	Clinton		Obama 12, Clinton 13
New York Primary (281 delegates)	Clinton		Clinton 127, Obama 87
North Dakota Caucus (21 delegates)	Clinton		Obama 8, Clinton 5
Oklahoma Primary (47 delegates)	Clinton		Clinton 24, Obama 14
Tennessee Primary (85 delegates)	Clinton		Clinton 34, Obama 21
Utah Primary (29 delegates)	Clinton		Obama 14, Clinton 9
Democrats Abroad Primary (11 delegates)	Clinton

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Lent

My good friend The Anchoress just emailed me (and a number of other bloggers) asking what we were giving up for Lent. Having just gotten back from voting in the Democratic Primary for Obama (although I would hate to see him win), I started to say "having a woman president in 2009", but I suspect that is not exactly what she was looking for. Let's see: I don't smoke, or drink, and my carousing abilities are very restricted. Can I give up tobacco, booze, and wild wild women? No, I didn't think that would count. Although it does seems unfair, because there are a lot of people that need to give up on some of those, and I am offering to stop all three. I am on the Atkins diet, and have been cheating on the carbs recently. I guess I can try to cut back on that, and try to stay on Induction for Lent.

I hope the Anchoress does not do as she talked about and cut back on blogging about Politics. In this crazy season we need her presence in the Blogospere.

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Arctic ice isn't vanishing after all

Christopher Booker wrote in Telegraph Last autumn the BBC and others could scarcely contain their excitement in reporting that the Arctic ice was melting so fast there would soon be none left.

Ice melting in autumn. Whoda thunk it.

Sea ice cover had shrunk to the lowest level ever recorded. But for some reason the warmists are less keen on the latest satellite findings,

Which show they were wrong.

reported by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on the website Cryosphere Today by the University of Illinois. This body is committed to warmist orthodoxy and contributes to the work of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Yet its graph of northern hemisphere sea ice area, which shows the ice shrinking from 13,000 million sq km to just 4 million from the start of 2007 to October, also shows it now almost back to 13 million sq km.

More ice in February? It looks like we may have a cycle here.

A second graph, "Global Ice Area", shows a similar pattern repeated every year since satellite records began in 1979; while a third, "Southern Hemisphere Ice", shows that sea ice has actually expanded in recent years, well above its 30-year mean.

Don Suber blogged And China suffers its worst winter storm in 50 years.

And Jerusalem suffers a major snowstorm.

And Baghdad suffers snow for the first time in memory.

And Iran suffers snow and a harsh winter that may cost Ahmadinejad his job.

And Afghanistan suffers snowstorms that have collapsed its emergency services.

And Chicago suffers its worst snowstorms in a while.

It snowed in Southern California.

Weather is cyclical. Next summer the ice will melt again, and ten next winter it will form again.

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Muslim family values

Times Online reported A girl of 15 was tricked into a "telephone marriage" ceremony to a Sheffield man with a mental age of five in a ceremony recognised by sharia (Islamic law). When the girl arrived from Pakistan expecting to meet the handsome man she had been shown in a photograph, she found that he was 40 years old, unemployed and disabled.

Note don't marry someone you have never met, and have just talked to on the phne, and been shown a photograph by someone you can't trust

To make matters worse, her mother-in-law decided to exploit her attractive looks by forcing her into prostitution. The family invited men to the family home to rape her.

Muslim family values

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Sharia law enforced

THISDAY ONLINE reported Tension was rife in Kano following moves by the state’s sharia police against brothel, hotels and cafes situated in non-Muslim sections of the Sabon Gari area of the metropolis. The sharia police numbering about two hundred were seen at night patrolling in seven open vehicles that carried dangerous weapons including bows, arrows, sticks and cutlass. They attacked a civil service club at Magajin Rumfa Road, and all the hotels that are located in Sabon Gari, an area where most of its inhabitants are Christians. The Sharia Police, otherwise called, Hisbah Police, earlier turned down summons by the Kano State Police Command, which had cautioned them about their unconstitutional activities. “We’re operating our duties based on law of the state, and shariah must be complied with by anyone residing in Kano” a top official of the Hisbah said following the police summons.

European countries allowing sharia law in parts of their country, in a foolish bit of "multiculturalism" should take notice.

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