Pictures the MSM Will Not Show You

Here are some pictures of the LA Immigration protests the MSM did not publish(hat tip to Doc Farmer). You are not going to be happpy. - Sailor

The Tipping Point of Truth

For month upon month, we have heard that mantra of the left, MSM, so called experts and pundits, that Saddam had no ties to al-Qaida. Even the 9/11 Commission was not able to connect the dots. Now we have actual captured documents, CD, PC's and other hard data, clearly showing ties between Saddam's Iraq and al-Qaida. These documents also detail Saddam's drive for nuclear weapons. In the coming weeks and months, as more are translated, we should have a much clearer picture of both Saddam's ties to al-Qaida and his WMD programs. Of course, do not hold your breath waiting for the aforementioned groups to admit they were in error. Lt. Col. Gordon Cucullu has a few things to say in his commentary on this matter.

"Many editorialists, columnists, and talking heads in the media, backed by like-minded management and production staff, picked up these themes and ran with them. Consequently even people who know better seem willing to concede the leftÂ’s foreign policy talking points. But how much longer will this travesty persist in the face of overwhelming counter-evidence?

Reams of documents -– ultimately numbering in the millions of pages by the time CDs, hard drives, and computer memories are downloaded and printed -– are slowly beginning to be translated and released for analysis. These documents - though only 2% or so are translated and available -– substantiate without doubt the following allegations: Saddam Hussein and bin Laden, the Baathist regime and Qaida had extensive, wide reaching ties. Saddam was, at a minimum, a supporter of the 911 attacks if not a sponsor of them. Saddam'’s intelligence services trained more than 8,000 Qaida terrorists, primarily from Somalia and Sudan, at camps such as Salman Pak and Ansar al-Islam within Iraq. And Saddam helped finance Qaida and similar terrorist groups.

Further, the documents substantiate a broad, on-going program Iraq had to develop nuclear weapons. Indeed, Saddam had instructed his minions to begin preparing to re-energize the program after UN sanctions were lifted, a hope he had reinforced by French, Russian, and German diplomats, and traitors like British Parliamentarian George Galloway, all of whom convinced him that delay and obfuscation of the UN would get him off the hook. "

Mind you, as the Colonel staed, only 2% of these documents have been translated and there is already a clear picture of how deep Saddam's ties were Qaida-Qaeda. I am sure there are those on the far left that will decry all of these documents as forgeries. But then again, some of them think 9/11 was a Bush plot.

"In addition to the air sorties an uncounted amount of WMD were transported to Syria by commercial trucks -– familiar 18-wheelers -– and other civilian vehicles, including ambulances. "“Saddam was convinced,"” according to Sada, "“that commercial trucks could pass right through security checkpoints" ... and they did."” American CIA overhead assets -– spy satellites - were on the lookout for military trucks and ignored "“routine"” commercial traffic.

General Sada is not a lone voice in this matter. The Mossad, Israeli intelligence service, has long claimed that the weapons were transferred out of Iraq. American generals Paul Vallely and Thomas McInnerny noted in their 2004 book, Endgame, that extensive stockpiles of WMD were hidden in three locations within Syria and in the Syrian-controlled terrorist camps of the Bekka Valley in Lebanon. Included in the stocks were nerve agents like Tabun, Sarin 1, and Sarin 2. They did not remain hidden for long.

Up to 20 tons of these chemical agents were intendQaidar use by al Qaeda terrorists in attacking three targets in Amman, Jordan in 2004 – the Jordanian Ministry of Defense and Intelligence Service buildings, and the American Embassy. These were to be simultaneous truck bomb attacks that were thwarted by good counter-intelligence work. The trucks were large 15-ton capacity powerful vehicles that could power through barriers and obstacles to crash into the buildings. At that time the homicide drivers would detonate the ammonium nitrate load triggered by plastic explosives - probably C-4. Resting atop the explosive load were Saddam’s chemicals, sufficient to kill upwards to 100,000 people in downtown Amman, by conservative.

Supporting these allegations are details from post-war weapons inspectors Kay and Duelfer Reports that speak extensively to plans for continuing special weapons programs that they uncovered along with scientists who testified that they were told to memorize their research and destroy documents with the intention of reconstituting their nuclear programs "“after the crisis passed."” Shockingly, the mainstream media has intentionally overlooked these data, preferring to advance its own agenda."

If the media admits they were wrong on WMDs, their entire political agenda to discredit the President goes out the window. So much for finding the truth. In many media outlets, therattemptalready been an attmpt todismissnalize Sada and dimiss what he has said and written as fiction created to sell his book. Had Sada affirmed what the MSM has been telling us, you bet your last dollar the MSM would be touting him as some sort of hero.

9/11 Commissioner, Bob Kerrey has some comments as well.

""This is a very significant set of facts," Kerrey told the New York Sun.

"I personally and strongly believe you don't have to prove that Iraq was collaborating against Osama bin Laden on the September 11 attacks to prove he was an enemy [of the U.S.] and that he would collaborate with people who would do our country harm," the Nebraska Democrat explained.

While Kerrey cautioned that the 1995 pact doesn't implicate Saddam directly in the 9/11 attacks, he contended: "It does tie him into a circle that meant to damage the United States."

"Saddam was a significant enemy of the United States," Kerrey said, adding that the relationship between the Iraqi dictator and the al Qaida chief would become clearer as more materials from the former regime get translated and analyzed.

The newly released Iraqi intelligence document - first reported by the Weekly Standard last Sunday - details a February 19, 1995 meeting between an official representative of Iraq and Osama bin Laden, who is said to have requested Iraq's help with "carrying out joint operations against foreign forces" in Saudi Arabia. "

Both articles make for some very thought provoking reading. It remains to be seen if the MSM will admit to their errors, though I think it hiforeseeableely for the forseeable future. - Sailor

New FEC Rules Would Regulate Paid Web Ads UPDATE

I found this article buried in AP Tech News. I am trying to find out more, but on the surface, it looks like the FEC will keeps it's hands off the blogosphere.

"There has been an explosion of political activity on the Internet and political bloggers who offer diverse views say they should be free of government regulation.

n a summary of the proposal, the FEC said the rules "are intended to ensure that political committees properly finance and disclose their Internet communications, without impeding individual citizens from using the Internet to speak freely regarding candidates and elections."

The revised definition includes paid Internet advertising placed on another person's web site, but does not encompass any other form of Internet communications.

A recent federal court decision on campaign finance law held that the previous definition of "public communication" impermissibly excluded all Internet communications."

If anyone has more on this, a clarification or the actual text, please use my comments to leave a URL. - Sailor

UPDATE: I found the text of the FEC ruling. It is in .PDF format and 96 pages. - Sailor

50,000 Visitors

The 50,000th viewer to this blog came today. For the big boys of the blogosphere, this is a mere drop in the bucket. For this sailor, it is nothing short of a miracle! Thank you! - Sailor

Bloggers Beware

Looks like the attempt to protect bloggers from regulation by the FEC, under the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, is about to hit the House floor for debate. There are many who oppose this attempt to allow myself and my fellow bloggers our rights to free political speech. Free political speech is the cornerstone of democracy and bloggers are no different than that fellow standing on a soap box, in the public square, so many years ago. Any attempt to regulate his free political speech, would have met with a firestorm of protest. The blog, is merely electronic version of the soap box and public square. If the FEC is going to regulate the blogs, by using some sort of formula to figure out how much a blogger has "contributed" to a candidates' campaign, then the FEC should have to do the same to a campaign volunteer handing out a candidates' literature, or to any organization that provides volunteers to any candiates' campaign (are you listening Big Labor?). Jason Barnes provides some details on those for protecting the free political speech of bloggers and those that are opposed.

"Bloggers -– The Second Front

The House, meanwhile, is considering the Online Freedom of Speech Act proposed by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, The "blogger protection bill," as it is known in some circles, simply codifies the current status of Internet bloggers. Senators Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Harry Reid, D-Nev., are co-sponsoring a similar bill in the Senate.

Blogger-backers believe the bills are necessary because the Federal Election Commission is considering whether to apply the rules of McCain-Feingold to Internet communications. In fact, FEC Chairman Michael Toner delayed a long-awaited decision on the matter until the end of March to allow the House to consider Hensarling's bill.

Given Toner's public support for the measure, bloggers believe the delay was a warning. "It couldn't be more clear," wrote Michael Krempasky, one of the founders of Red State, a popular conservative blog. "Pass [this bill] or face regulations on the Internet, period."

Instead, the House passed on the opportunity to vote on the bill. It was held up in committee. At present, it does not appear that it will pass before the FEC decision. A staffer in Hensarling's office told NewsMax they anticipate floor debate sometime during the week of March 28, but it's still unclear whether it will pass at that point."

It makes one wonder why Congress is so hesitant to protect the basic American right of free political speech. What is it that they are afraid of, or who is behind the efforts to block this type of legislation?

"Traditional media organizations have come out in favor of increased regulation. "It is imperative," wrote the New York Times in an editorial, "that the courageous lawmakers who supported the McCain-Feingold reform law four years ago stand together against making the Internet a cornucopia of political corruption."

Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, countered, "A better argument for the New York Times would be to tell America that they really want to end political conversation on the Internet to resurrect their power over political commentary.""

It is not really surprising that the New York Times favors restricting the free politicall speech of the blogosphere, they are likely afraid of the competition. Typical of the types at the Times and other opponents of keeping the blog free from FEC regulation, their view issimplyy stated as 'free speech for me, but not for thee'. Any FEC regulations that stifle the free political speech rights of bloggers, is sure to end up in a court battle. This is about your First Amendment rights!

As for me, should the FEC makes rules that limit my First Amendment right to express my opinion on core political issues, I will not obey those rules. - Sailor

Internet Radio Update

I will be on air, Wednesday, 22 March 2006, from 8pm to 10pm CST. Just click on the banner to the right. See you on the radio! - Sailor

Best job market in 5 years for grads

Much to the chagrin of the left, democrats and the leftist MSM, the economy counties to grow and expand. If their efforts to minimize this fact, the aforementioned group makes claims that the jobs being created are all low paying one. Here is a report that takes the air out of that balloon.

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. college graduates are facing the best job market since 2001, with business, computer, engineering, education and health care grads in highest demand, a report by an employment consulting firm showed on Monday.

"We are approaching full employment and some employers are already dreaming up perks to attract the best talent," said John Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

In its annual outlook of entry-level jobs, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said strong job growth and falling unemployment makes this spring the hottest job market for America's 1.4 million college graduates since the dot-com collapse in 2001.

The firm pointed to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers which showed employers plan to hire 14.5 percent more new college graduates than a year ago."

The article also pointed out that there have been increases starting salaries in several job categories. Unemployment now stands at 4.8%, which is some what better than it was under the previous administration.

Collapsing economies, do not create jobs, a fact that has been over ignored by the MSM. This economy continues to expand despite the higher costs for energy. A note to those claiming the economy is crashing, the facts do not support your conclusions. - Sailor

Sunshine for the Iraq Files

Finally, massive numbers of documents, audio and video tapes have been released for scrutiny. These items were captured in Iraq and Afghanistan and may contain insights into alliances, WMDs, terrorist links and other vital information that will help aid fighting terrorists world wide. An article at OpinionJournal, maps out the struggle to get these items released.

"Mr. Hoekstra told us last week he's been talking to Mr. Negroponte and other senior DNI officials in recent days, and that they've committed to begin "aggressively" releasing documents on the Internet. He says he also senses a spirit of openness and compromise that he hadn't before. For example, DNI officials initially balked at releasing their own potentially flawed translations of the largely Arabic-language documents. But they have now agreed to do so with the caveat that interested parties would be well-advised to double-check the accuracy of the DNI's work.

The Congressman has also been told that documents won't be kept secret because of mere uncertainty about possible--and vague--"national interest" implications. And, finally, Congress will have an oversight role regarding documents that the DNI decides should remain classified for whatever reason.

We don't think Mr. Hoekstra is exaggerating when he says that removing these materials from the exclusive domain of the U.S. intelligence community and offering them to all interested analysts will cut years off the amount of time it takes to extract the important information they contain. While some of what's uncovered may be misleading, we trust an open process to discover the truth more than we do intelligence services with a stake in defending their previous (mis)judgments.

This information may well shed light on whether Saddam planned the insurgency that we and the Iraqis are now fighting, or whether he canoodled with Islamist terrorists, as some of the documents already translated suggest. We are learning from the new book on Iraq by Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor that many of Saddam's own generals believed he had weapons of mass destruction and was prepared to use them. So much for the allegation that "Bush lied" about WMD; Saddam lied to everyone."

It took a great deal of effort By Mr. Hekstra and Mr. Santorum to get a fire lit under the asses of the DNI. You can find the documents on-line. They are in PDF format, so you will need Adobe Reader to view them. Be warned that the vast majority of the documents have not been translated and are still in Arabic. - Sailor

Censure Feingold?

Senator Russ Feingold has been hemming and hawing about censuring President Bush over the NSA wire tapping. Quite frankly, Feingold is a presidential wannabee, trying to impress the far left of the dem party, of which he one of. Naturally, wire tapping done without warrants, by Roosevelt, Truman and other dems was all quite legal. Lets not forget Carter's warrantless searches either. I have yet to hear Feingold whine about the illegalities there. There was also Clinton's wide ranging electronic eaves dropping whish the NY Times supported in an editorial. Terence P. Jeffrey asks if Feingold should be censured and provides some insight as to why in his article.

"There is a difference, however, between the eavesdropping Roosevelt and Truman authorized and the Bush eavesdropping. Roosevelt and Truman did it in peacetime without congressional authorization. Mr. Bush is doing it during a war Mr. Feingold voted Sept. 14, 2001, to authorize.

Nonetheless, Roosevelt and Truman acted within their constitutional authority to defend the nation against attack. They were doing their duty, as is President Bush.
But in the Senate on Monday, while introducing his censure resolution, Mr. Feingold said, "The president's claims of inherent executive authority, and his assertions that the courts have approved this type of activity, are baseless."

Franklin Roosevelt could not have agreed. On May 21, 1940, the United States was at peace, but Roosevelt wasn't taking chances. "It is too late to do anything about it after sabotage, assassination and 'fifth column' activities are completed," Roosevelt wrote Attorney General Robert Jackson in a memorandum cited by Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts in a letter he sent last month to Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter. "You are, therefore, authorized and directed in such cases as you may approve, after investigation of the need in each case, to authorize the necessary investigation agents that they are at liberty to secure information by listening devices directed to the conversation or other communications of persons suspected of subversive activities against the government of the United States, including suspected spies. You are requested furthermore to limit these investigations so conducted to a minimum and to limit them insofar as possible to aliens."

Truman went further. Testifying before the Church Committee Oct. 29, 1975, Attorney General Edward Levi quoted a letter Attorney General Tom Clark sent Truman in 1946. Clark wanted to continue Roosevelt's program. Warrantless eavesdropping, he argued, was needed "in cases vitally affecting the domestic security, or where human life is in jeopardy."

In his letter to Mr. Specter, Mr. Roberts notes that "Truman broadened the scope of the authorization by removing the caveat that such surveillance should be limited 'insofar as possible to aliens.' "

Federal appeals courts have upheld the authority Roosevelt and Truman used. "[B]ecause of the president's constitutional duty to act for the United States in the field of foreign relations, and his inherent power to protect national security in the context of foreign affairs, we reaffirm... that the president may constitutionally authorize warrantless wiretaps for the purpose of gathering foreign intelligence," the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the 1973 case of United States v. Brown. "

Even the Courts have upheld the President's authority to conduct warrantless wire taps to collect foreign intelligence. Feingold and the rest of the left is quite selective in what they consider illegal wire taps and high crimes and misdemeanors. Perhaps Feingold should be censured for bringing nonsense like this to the Senate floor. - Sailor

Forever Blue Projects

A dear friend, and the lady of one of my brethren, is putting together some events to honor Navy SEALs. As some of you may know, the SEAL Community lost 11 members not that long ago. This loss was staggering, especially to such a small community. Navy Blue's (that is the name she uses to post with), project is threefold:

"To partner with the Naval Special Warfare Foundation in educating the public about the history and role of America'’s Naval Special Warfare Sailors.

To raise funds that directly benefit the Naval Special Warfare Foundation in its mission to serve active duty naval special warfare personnel and their families, and the children of fallen US Navy SEALs.

To honor the US Navy SEALs for their service to our country and remember their fallen comrades, including the eleven SEALs who died during combat/rescue operations in June 2005."

Please support Navy Blue by visiting the web site she has created and by helping and participating as you can. - Sailor

Myths of Iraq

We have all seen the reporting on Iraq by the MSM. I have posted about this here numerous times, especially pointing out the distortions, spin, half-truths and outright lies. I will continue to do so, as long as the MSM tailor's their information to meet their world view and agenda. Of course, there are still those that believe there is no media bias. I fully believe it is because their agenda and world view is the same as the MSMs. Once again, Ralph Peters, explodes the myths on Iraq the MSM is trying to force feed us.

" Consider just a few of the inaccuracies served up by the media:

Claims of civil war. In the wake of the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, a flurry of sectarian attacks inspired wild media claims of a collapse into civil war. It didn't happen. Driving and walking the streets of Baghdad, I found children playing and, in most neighborhoods, business as usual. Iraq can be deadly, but, more often, it's just dreary.

Iraqi disunity. Factional differences are real, but overblown in the reporting. Few Iraqis support calls for religious violence. After the Samarra bombing, only rogue militias and criminals responded to the demagogues' calls for vengeance. Iraqis refused to play along, staging an unrecognized triumph of passive resistance.

Expanding terrorism. On the contrary, foreign terrorists, such as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, have lost ground. They've alienated Iraqis of every stripe. Iraqis regard the foreigners as murderers, wreckers and blasphemers, and they want them gone. The Samarra attack may, indeed, have been a tipping point--against the terrorists.

Hatred of the U.S. military. If anything surprised me in the streets of Baghdad, it was the surge in the popularity of U.S. troops among both Shias and Sunnis. In one slum, amid friendly adult waves, children and teenagers cheered a U.S. Army patrol as we passed. Instead of being viewed as occupiers, we're increasingly seen as impartial and well-intentioned.

The appeal of the religious militias. They're viewed as mafias. Iraqis want them disarmed and disbanded. Just ask the average citizen.

The failure of the Iraqi army. Instead, the past month saw a major milestone in the maturation of Iraq's military. During the mini-crisis that followed the Samarra bombing, the Iraqi army put over 100,000 soldiers into the country's streets. They defused budding confrontations and calmed the situation without killing a single civilian. And Iraqis were proud to have their own army protecting them. The Iraqi army's morale soared as a result of its success.

Reconstruction efforts have failed. Just not true. The American goal was never to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure in its entirety. Iraqis have to do that. Meanwhile, slum-dwellers utterly neglected by Saddam Hussein's regime are getting running water and sewage systems for the first time. The Baathist regime left the country in a desolate state while Saddam built palaces. The squalor has to be seen to be believed. But the hopeless now have hope.

The electricity system is worse than before the war. Untrue again. The condition of the electric grid under the old regime was appalling. Yet, despite insurgent attacks, the newly revamped system produced 5,300 megawatts last summer--a full thousand megawatts more than the peak under Saddam Hussein. Shortages continue because demand soared--newly free Iraqis went on a buying spree, filling their homes with air conditioners, appliances and the new national symbol, the satellite dish. Nonetheless, satellite photos taken during the hours of darkness show Baghdad as bright as Damascus."

Indeed there are still problems and all is not the picture o peace and tranquility. But, the Iraqi people are making it quite clear that they will no longer tolerate the violence and sectarian strife. This is evidenced by the number of Iraqis coming forward and supplying information to the authorities on suspected terrorists and others. Iraqi forces were the ones that responded after the mosque bombings, US forces stayed in reserve. Those that want to see democracy fail in Iraq are going to be very disappointed. - Sailor

US CENTCOM

I have added a link to United States Central Command in the right margin. - Sailor

Internet Radio Schedule

For any of those interested in hearing the Sailor on internet radio, here is my schedule: (all times are CST)

Friday 10am to Noon and 8pm to 10pm

Saturday 9am to Noon for Oldies with Meg and Me
and 4pm tp 6pm

Sunday 6pm to 8pm

Monday 10am to Noon

Tuesday 2pm to 4pm

Wednesday 10pm to Midnight


Click Here to select your player and bandwidth.

See you on the radio.

Be there or be square! - Sailor

All bad news, all the time

The continuous stream of bad news about the war on terror continues to dominate the MSM. A good deal of this is distorted, spun and in some cases downright incorrect. Of course there are those that actually believe there is no media bias, likely because what they read and see, concurs with their own world view. Jack Kelly points out some of the media distortions in his column. The fact that this distorted reporting lends aid and comfort to those that want us dead, is lost on many.

""Some lawyers who represent deserters say the war in Iraq is driving more soldiers to question their service and that the Pentagon is cracking down on deserters to discourage antiwar sentiment," wrote reporter Bill Nichols.

'The last thing (Pentagon officials) want is for people to think ... that this is like Vietnam,' said Tod Ensign, head of Citizen Soldier, an antiwar group that offers legal aid to deserters."

Mr. Ensign is full of horse manure, as Mr. Nichols demonstrates in his story. The data show desertions have plunged since 9/11, and are much lower than during the Vietnam war.

The Army, Navy and Air Force reported 7,978 desertions in the 2001 fiscal year, but only 3,456 in 2005, Mr. Nichols noted. In 1971, the Army reported 33,094 desertions, 3.4 percent of its total force. In 2005, desertions represented just 0.24 percent of 1.4 million of active service members."

The headline of the USA Today article would have led one to believe that desertions had increased because of the Iraq War, when in fact they were decreasing from the years prior to the war. The full article did point this out. But too many never bother to read past the headline

"For instance, The Washington Post reported on Feb. 25 that 120 Sunni mosques had been attacked in retaliation for the destruction of the Golden Mosque, holy to the Shiites. In a March 3 news conference, Gen. George Casey, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said:

We can confirm attacks on about 30 mosques around the country, with less than 10 of those mosques moderately damaged, and only two or three severely damaged. We visited eight mosques (in Baghdad) that were reportedly damaged. We found one broken window in those eight mosques."

Exaggeration and misinformation are hallmarks of chaotic situations, and it is hard for journalists who do most of their reporting from the safety of their hotels to sort fact from fiction. But Secretary Rumsfeld noticed a pattern in the errors:

"Interestingly, all the exaggerations seem to be on one side," he said. "The steady stream of errors all seem to be of a nature to inflame the situation and give heart to the terrorists.""

Mr. Kelly has more and is well worth the time to read. The media seems to be going out of their way to have us believe that Iraq is in a civil war. - Sailor

Missing The Boom, The Duping of the American People

To read and listen to the leftist MSM, one would think that the economy is in a shambles. You can read the same nonsense on the leftist blogs and of course, any web site that has the DNC's stamp of approval. The facts, do not bear any of this out, though the American people have been duped, by these distortions, half-truths and in some cases, outright lies. Investor's Business Daily points out some of the facts, that do not fit into the agenda's of the aforementioned groups.

"So before the data are spun beyond recognition by others, let's recount the good news: Since May 2003, when President Bush's tax cuts became law, the U.S. has created 4.7 million jobs. Payrolls have now expanded for 30 straight months. The jobless rate, though up a tick at 4.8%, is still near its five-year low.

Worker pay is also on the increase. Average weekly earnings rose 3.5% last month from a year earlier — the best gain in more than four years.

Last summer, we all were fretting about the economic impacts of higher interest rates, surging energy prices and Hurricane Katrina. But over the last year, including the hurricane season, monthly job gains have averaged 197,000 -— more than enough to sop up the 130,000 to 150,000 monthly growth in the U.S. labor force.

Based on the continued job growth and powerful gains in retail spending, most analysts now expect GDP to jump at least 4.5% in the first quarter and 3% for all of 2006 — even as the Federal Reserve continues to tighten credit.

In spite of all the great news, Americans remain strangely downbeat. A Gallup Poll taken earlier this year found just 38% who viewed the economy as "excellent" or "good" — down from 46% at the start of the last recession.

Our own IBD/TIPP Polls have shown sharp drops in economic optimism and consumers' six-month outlook. (Results of our March survey are due Tuesday.)

No doubt about it, the economy keeps powering along. Yet many Americans seem to think it's all a mirage and are sold on the idea that these are the worst of times.

Why the gloom? Much of it, no doubt, stems from misreporting by the media. Against the backdrop of surging payrolls, for example, we keep seeing story after story, in print and on TV, about job "losses."

A recent study by the Media Research Center bears this out. It looked at TV news coverage of jobs in 2005 -— 151 stories in all - carried on all three major networks.

This, mind you, was a year that saw the creation of 2 million new jobs, the addition of $350 billion to gross domestic product and an increase of $2 trillion in the value of household financial assets.Yet more than half of the networks' job reports focused on losses, not gains -— a picture that wasn't just distorted, but wrong."

I, for one, am getting sick and tired of the MSM pontificating on the public's right to know. The American people do have the right to know, we deserve the facts from the media, not spin and distortions. - Sailor

The Perils We Face

Congressman Curt Weldon,(R-PA), recently gave a speech on some of the perils we now face and how these perils came to be. It is rather lengthy, but well worth yout time to read. I will post a few excerpts here.

"I think of Dr. Gordon Oehler. Buried in the bowels of the CIA, Dr. Gordon Oehler was in charge of non-proliferation. When Benjamin Netanyahu came out in 1997, Dr. Oehler told us that Israel had evidence that Russia was working with Iran on the Shahab missile system. He came over to brief Congress and made a fundamental mistake that you didn’t make during the Clinton years: he told us the truth. He said, “We have the same information that Israel has: that in fact there is cooperation between Russian engineers to allow Iran to build a missile system that will one day threaten Israel directly and will eventually threaten all of Europe and the U.S.”

Because of Gordon Oehler’s work, we introduced the Iran Missile Sanctions bill. I was a prime sponsor and had bipartisan support. In spite of Al Gore personally lobbying against the bill, we passed it in the House with 398 votes. I got called back down to the White House a second time. The vice president lobbied us for another 90 minutes, before the Senate voted and passed it with 98 votes. That was four months before Clinton vetoed the bill.

As you all know, last summer, Iran paraded the Shahab-3 missile system down the streets of Tehran. It’s now complete. In 1997, we could have stopped it. Gordon Oehler was that patriot who told us the truth, and for that, he lost his job."

Then there is this on Able Danger.

"When the data-mining operation was shut down, General Lambert was in charge of the Special Forces operation, and he saw one of the military analysts in an airport a month or so later and said, “Why did you destroy my data? That data was being used to understand where al-Qaeda cells were worldwide.” Eric Kleinsmith, who has testified before my committee that he was ordered to destroy that data, said, “General, I had no choice. I was told that data had to be destroyed.” The Clinton administration didn’t want that data kept at Fort Belvoir because of the Chinese proliferation study that had been done in the months leading up to that revelation.



Unbeknownst to me, that team, known as Able Danger, was doing unbelievable work on al-Qaeda cells in 1999 and 2000. Now, I knew the operation of data mining, but I didn’t know the specifics of what they were doing until last May, when I went to publish my book, Countdown to Terror, and I called them back in to give me a chart they had given me after 9/11 occurred. They said, “Congressman, let us tell you what we were doing in Able Danger.”



Now, these weren’t people off the street. These are career military intelligence officers:

* Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Schaffer, a 23-year Army veteran, bronze star recipient; letters of commendation in his file from every DIA director; deployed in Afghanistan with our troops under cover under an assumed name as an intelligence officer.
* Scott Philpot, Navy Captain, commanding one of our newest destroyers next month. An able intelligence officer working as the point person for the head of SOCOM.
* General Schoomaker, leading Able Danger.

The two of them – Schaffer and Philpot, came to me privately and said, “Congressman, our unit identified five cells of al-Qaeda a year and a half before 9/11.”"

All and all a must read! - Sailor

Rep. Curt Weldon, R-PA, delivered the following speech at Restoration Weekend, which took place at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix February 23-26, 2006

The Ground Zero Scandal

Why is it that monies, into the form of Liberty Bonds, are being spent on projects other than at Ground Zero? The Bank of America has received money from Liberty Bonds and they are building in midtown Manhattan, miles away from Ground Zero,. So is Goldman Sachs, as is the Museum of the American Indian. An editorial in the New York Sun, delves into to this scandal.

"Meanwhile, those organizing the memorial to those killed at ground zero are being asked to resort to private fundraising. It's a scandal - downtown rebuilding money for Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, the Museum of the American Indian, and the South Ferry subway station, but Larry Silverstein, who bought a 99-year lease to the trade center site fair and square, is being forced to practically beg for rebuilding money he needs, and the families of victims are being asked to raise money privately for a memorial.

This story is more about the dangers of throwing around large quantities of federal tax dollars than about anything else. The availability of so much "free" money - at least free to the politicians themselves, although certainly not to the taxpayers who elect them - has distorted and delayed the debate over ground zero. That debate, in turn, has led to a delay of years, not months, in redeveloping ground zero itself. Mr. Silverstein likes to note that while ground zero has been mired in bureaucratic strife, he is ready to sign leases on 7 World Trade Center, a site across the street that was also destroyed but that the private sector, in the person of Mr. Silverstein, has already succeeded in building. Yet Mr. Silverstein's is not the only private-sector vision for Lower Manhattan; private developers are already realizing the mayor's dream of a 24/7 residential neighborhood around Lower Manhattan by converting obsolete office space into apartments."

When the Feds throw out monies like this, there needs to be some oversight. After all, politicians of any party will try and curry favor, using Fed dollars, if and when they can. - Sailor

Iraqi Mayor Thanks US Troops

Here is another item you will not see in the leftist MSM. (Hat tip to Old_Salt at ChronWatch)

"Iraqi Mayor Thanks U.S. Troops

From: Mayor of Tall 'Afar, Ninewa, Iraq


In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful

To the Courageous Men and Women of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who have changed the city of Tall' Afar from a ghost town, in which terrorists spread death and destruction, to a secure city flourishing with life.

To the lion-hearts who liberated our city from the grasp of terrorists who were beheading men, women and children in the streets for many months.

To those who spread smiles on the faces of our children, and gave us restored hope, through their personal sacrifice and brave fighting, and gave new life to the city after hopelessness darkened our days, and stole our confidence in our ability to reestablish our city.

Our city was the main base of operations for Abu Mousab Al Zarqawi. The city was completely held hostage in the hands of his henchmen. Our schools, governmental services, businesses and offices were closed. Our streets were silent, and no one dared to walk them. Our people were barricaded in their homes out of fear; death awaited them around every corner. Terrorists occupied and controlled the only hospital in the city. Their savagery reached such a level that they stuffed the corpses of children with explosives and tossed them into the streets in order to kill grieving parents attempting to retrieve the bodies of their young. This was the situation of our city until God prepared and delivered unto them the courageous soldiers of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who liberated this city, ridding it of Zarqawi's followers after harsh fighting, killing many terrorists, and forcing the remaining butchers to flee the city like rats to the surrounding areas, where the bravery of other 3d ACR soldiers in Sinjar, Rabiah, Zuma and Avgani finally destroyed them.

I have met many soldiers of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment; they are not only courageous men and women, but avenging angels sent by The God Himself to fight the evil of terrorism.

The leaders of this Regiment; COL McMaster, COL Armstrong, LTC Hickey, LTC Gibson, and LTC Reilly embody courage, strength, vision and wisdom.

Officers and soldiers alike bristle with the confidence and character of knights in a bygone era. The mission they have accomplished, by means of a unique military operation, stands among the finest military feats to date in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and truly deserves to be studied in military science. This military operation was clean, with little collateral damage, despite the ferocity of the enemy. With the skill and precision of surgeons they dealt with the terrorist cancers in the city without causing unnecessary damage.

God bless this brave Regiment; God bless the families who dedicated these brave men and women. From the bottom of our hearts we thank the families. They have given us something we will never forget. To the families of those who have given their holy blood for our land, we all bow to you in reverence and to the souls of your loved ones. Their sacrifice was not in vain. They are not dead, but alive, and their souls hovering around us every second of every minute. They will never be forgotten for giving their precious lives. They have sacrificed that which is most valuable. We see them in the smile of every child, and inevery flower growing in this land. Let America, their families, and the world be proud of their sacrifice for humanity and life.

Finally, no matter how much I write or speak about this brave Regiment, I haven't the words to describe the courage of its officers and soldiers. I pray to God to grant happiness and health to these legendary heroes and their brave families.

NAJIM ABDULLAH ABID
AL-JIBOURI

Mayor of Tall 'Afar, Ninewa, Iraq "

I guess this was not newsworthy. Or more likely, it just does not fit into the agendas of the leftist MSM, the defeatists or the terrorist ass kissers. - Sailor

SOURCE

An Act concerning the posting of certain Internet messages

Leave it to the State of New Jersey to find a way to line the pockets of lawyers. Assemblyman Peter J. Biondi is proposing a bill that will make the operators of interactive computer services and Internet service providers liable to persons injured by false or defamatory messages posted on public forum websites. Here is the proposed bill:

"ASSEMBLY, No. 1327

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

212th LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2006 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman PETER J. BIONDI

District 16 (Morris and Somerset)

SYNOPSIS

Makes certain operators of interactive computer services and Internet service providers liable to persons injured by false or defamatory messages posted on public forum websites.


CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As introduced.

An Act concerning the posting of certain Internet messages and supplementing chapter 38A of Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act:

"Information content provider" means any person or entity that is responsible, in whole or in part, for the creation or development of information provided through the Internet or any other interactive computer service.

"Interactive computer service" means any information system, service, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides service to the Internet.

"Internet" means the international computer network of both federal and non-federal interoperable packet switched data networks.

"Internet service provider" or "provider" means any person, business or organization qualified to do business in this State that provides individuals, corporations, or other entities with the ability to connect to the Internet through equipment that is located in this State.

"Operator" means any person, business or organization qualified to do business in this State that operates an interactive computer service.

2. The operator of any interactive computer service or an Internet service provider shall establish, maintain and enforce a policy to require any information content provider who posts written messages on a public forum website either to be identified by a legal name and address, or to register a legal name and address with the operator of the interactive computer service or the Internet service provider through which the information content provider gains access to the interactive computer service or Internet, as appropriate.

3. An operator of an interactive computer service or an Internet service provider shall establish and maintain reasonable procedures to enable any person to request and obtain disclosure of the legal name and address of an information content provider who posts false or defamatory information about the person on a public forum website.

4. Any person who is damaged by false or defamatory written messages that originate from an information content provider who posts such messages on a public forum website may file suit in Superior Court against an operator or provider that fails to establish, maintain and enforce the policy required pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C.) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and may recover compensatory and punitive damages and the cost of the suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee, cost of investigation and litigation from such operator or provider.

5. This act shall take effect on the 90th day following enactment.


STATEMENT

This bill would require an operator of any interactive computer service or an Internet service provider to establish, maintain and enforce a policy requiring an information content provider who posts messages on a public forum website either to be identified by legal name and address or to register a legal name and address with the operator or provider prior to posting messages on a public forum website.

The bill requires an operator of an interactive computer service or an Internet service provider to establish and maintain reasonable procedures to enable any person to request and obtain disclosure of the legal name and address of an information content provider who posts false or defamatory information about the person on a public forum website.

In addition, the bill makes any operator or Internet service provider liable for compensatory and punitive damages as well as costs of a law suit filed by a person damaged by the posting of such messages if the operator or Internet service provider fails to establish, maintain and enforce the policy required by section 2 of the bill.

As if the courts are not already filled with frivolous lawsuits, this can only add to that logjam. Note that it is the providers that will be liable as well as those posting comments that might be construed to be injurous. Leave it to NJ. - Sailor

Internet Radio

I have been informed that there have been some problems accessing the station from the Naughty Radio page. So, here is a direct link to Loud City.

I do some Internet radio shows. So, if you like Classic Rock, Oldies, R&B, Soul and a little Country, please tune in. This is some thing I do for fun, I receive no compensation. If you would like to listen, click here. Then click on the blinking sign, which will take you to Loud City, where you can select your player and bandwidth. Loud City is the licencing agent for Naughty Radio, so the artists that I play will receive what ever compensation they are entitled to. My schedule for this week, all times are CST, is below. If you have any requests, let me know in the comments area. Thanks for listening! - Sailor

Sunday - 6pm to 8pm
Monday - 10 am to Noon and 4pm to 6pm
Wednesday 8pm to 10pm
Saturday 7am to 10am for Oldies with Sailor and Meg

A Real Challenger for Hillary?

There was Ed Cox and Jeanne Piro, now there may very well be a real challenger in New York for Hillary to contend with. Kathleen Troia McFarland is seriously considering taking one Clinton. McFarland has some very serious credentials, having been the highest ranking Pentagon official in the Regan Administration. She was also one of the architects of Regan's cold war policy. She is what most would call a moderate Republican, which is what is needed to win in a red state such as New York. Any debates between her and Clinton will be most interesting, especially on foreign policy.

John Avalon, of the New York Sun and Independent Thinker has some more on this possible match up.

"While Mrs. McFarland is, like the vast majority of New Yorkers, pro-choice, she is an unabashed fiscal conservative of the kind we see too few of these days, concerned about government spending and the national debt. "Anyone who keeps the family's accounts knows that you cannot just keep borrowing money," she says, while raising a red flag over countries like China owning a disproportionate amount of our debt, sensibly asking: "Is that a leverage that we really want them to have down the road?"

Likewise, Mrs. McFarland seeks to distinguish herself from Senator Clinton not through personal attacks - what she calls "Gotcha! Politics" - but on policy debate. One point of contrast comes in her support of school vouchers. "As a kid who put herself through college on a combination of student loans, scholarships and jobs, we as a society need to encourage the maximum opportunity and responsibility."

"I am in the sensible center" she says, referring to Republicans like Mayor Giuliani and Senator McCain as contemporary political heroes, showing why some party leaders feel she would be able to build the broadest coalition in a campaign. There are many hurdles on the road ahead - a pivotal meeting in June of Republican county chairmen, followed by a September primary and a November general election against an incumbent who is planning to use the campaign as a launching pad to the presidency - but in terms of style and substance, KT McFarland may be the best candidate to beat Hillary Clinton. "

This could make the NY Senate race a lot closer than many would have ever imagined. - Sailor