Fortune Telling

So Newsweek's polling shows a Bush bump... so what? John Zogby has Bush in a slump. Which to believe? I'm personally skeptical about Zogby's ability to forecast this one as he is apparently an article to that effect which also served to encourage all Arabs to vote for Kerry. Zogby may simply be too personally concerned with the outcome to count as an outside rational pollster.

John Kerry's Bane

Senator Kerry can't be happy. The whole nation got an absolute confirmation that Bin Laden is still alive and well, waiting to strike. I admit, I thought odds were on Bin Laden dying at Tora Bora, bombed into oblivion. Reality remained as harsh as his reappearance. He calmly tries to convince Americans that he really had no choice but to order the 9/11 attacks because of the evils of the world's two greatest troublemakers -- the US and Israel.

Thankfully, Bush will probably pull out a win because anyone who was in denial about the War on Terror now knows for certain that the Bogeyman does exist and wants to kill their children while they slumber. Which hopefully only leaves unmarried, childless voters in Kerry's camp.

Surprise!

"October Surprise" is a colossal misnomer. It really should be "Republican Surprise". Iran Contra charges, 25-year-old DUIs, all point to a surprise always intended to disloge a Republican contender. Now comes the missing Iraqi explosives exposé. The real problem: CBS News would have gotten away with it if the NYT hadn't, in their eagerness to defeat their hated President, rushed forward with the story. The preemptive publishing of the story gave the thinking world enough time to show, strangely enough, that the story is a repackaged story from 2003 about a weapons caché that disappeared before the US troops arrived in Iraq.

Another problem is the obvious meddling of the IAEA -- in other words, the blundered attempt by the UN to influence the US elections in favor of their poster-child.

These errors -- first by CBS with the forged documents, now by NYT/CBS with the explosive explosives story -- demonstrate Big Media's eagerness to rid the world of Republicans. They just get sloppy. It's an interesting dichotomy with the blogosphere, which is fighting, clawing for respectability and a foothold in the annals of media history. So the average blogger is incessantly fact-checking, linking to original stories, etc. There are no hyperlinks in the home-delivered rag or evening news, and they're suffering for it. Thankfully the President won't suffer quite as much.

Pat Buchanan Gets it Right

All you ultra-conservatives out there: read Pat Buchanan's latest article. I'll try to sum it up: He says he was right on Iraq (don't go in), on NAFTA and Free Trade (Don't do it!), and everything else. But he looks to the disastrous effects of a Kerry presidency, to the issues that provide the common ground and the protection for our future. He knows that Bush has appointed conservative judges but that Kerry has stood in the way. He knows that Kerry came home from Vietnam to destroy all those who had served in the military with him. He knows that there are conservative voices, strong ones, who are set to shift the Republican party to the right, if we can just gather enough strength. He knows that any progress the Conservative movement is to make will come from a Bush Presidency and a Republican Congress.

So read carefully, right-wing nutjobs - it is in your power to save the Presidency.

There's a Time to Speak...

John Kerry says he'll chase war criminals with the same veracity that he chased the Viet Cong. This is truly precious. Let's see, he admitted to commiting war crimes in that hunt...

Please, please don't make me spell it out.

Steeling our resolve

There are reports of voter intimidation during the early-voting period. It is shocking and yet not unexpected. Almost every other day there has been one report or another about a Bush/Cheney campaign headquarters being vandalized. Do the Democrats, in their desperation, think this sort of bullying will work? Do they think they can scare us away from the ballot box?

If you were to ask a Democrat authority -- be it an authoritative voice such as Alan Colmes or just a Party official, the answer is always the same: "We've had complaints too," or "Both sides are doing it." Well, you might be able find reports of both sides' campaign signs being vandalized, but that's a big difference from breaking and entering or physical destruction of valuable property. Let's face it: the campaigns have plenty of signs to replace them. They don't have plenty of headquarters to replace them.

The activist Left is out of its mind. They have found a hatred for this President that is, frankly, a natural successor to their former hatred for President Reagan. I truly am concerned of the meltdown that could happen if Bush wins again. Frighteningly enough, the Leftists in Britain are drawing a map for our native Leftists -- that if they can't beat Bush at the ballot box, they need to shoot him. No mainstream, or even anywhere near the mainstream, voice on the right called for an end to Clinton's life on the worst days. Once again, were you to ask a voice of the American Left, I assure you they would say that it happened to Clinton and Carter too.

All this "they're just as bad as us" -- what is it? Patent moral equivalency of the kind the Left has been perfecting for half of a decade. So vandalism, intimidation, calls to end the President's life -- it's ok and no one should be punished because you're just as bad as we are. Well I promise: we're not. And it's not ok. And people should be punished.

A Repulican President was brought down for one burglary of Democrat Party offices in 1972. With Kerry's refusal to denounce a single burglary in what appears to be a dangerous pattern of offensive behavior, it makes the campaign look awfully complicit. After all: why not turn a blind eye if a few voters might stay home in fear in an election season where every vote counts? The Republican Congressmen need to call for hearings -- especially if Kerry wins. It could be a mighty short Presidency.

At any rate, the law of unintended consequences may follow this despicable behavior by the Left: the Right will not stay home -- we'll drag our friends to the polling booth. After all: there's strength in numbers! There's strength of a Presidency and increased Congressional seats if we vote in increased numbers

UPDATE: GOP HQ in Hollister, CA (San Benito County) vandalized.

Hidden Blood Money

More evidence that the War on Terror is producing results: Syria just admitted they have been holding onto Saddam's money -- for safekeeping, for sure. It makes me wonder what else they've been holding onto for Saddam... but too much investigation into that possibility would put egg on too many Leftists' faces, so we probably shouldn't try to find out.

Selling out Israel

It's awfully superflous to say, "Charles Krauthammer is right." However, in his latest column, he's spot on. The Michael Moore-Jimmy Carter-John F. Kerry party is itching to throw Israel to the wolves. They are infatuated with power and they see only pure numbers: 20-or-so Muslim nations vs. 1 Hebrew nation. Kerry would gain esteem throughout the world if he'd cast aside Israel as his advisors are begging him to do. One of our staunchest allies, one of the world's strongest and greatest democracies would be set upon by its enemies if we turned our backs for even a moment.

What to take home from reading his article: The face of the world will change if Kerry is elected. Israel could very well disappear.

And don't forget the inventor of the "global test" already has shunned about 30 nations around the world. Good luck building a consensus.

Rain Forests Saving the World

I'm sure we all remember the old anecdote about the scientist trudging through the Rain Forest, finding a plant that could have cured cancer, and going home for the night. When he returns in the morning, evil loggers have torn down the forest and the cure for cancer is gone. Well, that anecdote might be able to die its long-overdue death. A scientist in the Australian rain forest found a fern 26 years ago with a potential to cure Alzheimer's. After looking for it ever since (he had thought rain-forest-killers had killed it), he has re-located the fern and wants to cultivate it.

What I don't understand is the following: he says there is a similar fern in China with promising Alzheimer's effects. Why worry so much about the Australian fern then? It appears this story may shed light on a certain regional arrogance of these rain forest botanists - if they can't find the specific plant they've always dreamed of in their own territory, nothing else can measure up. Sprinkle in a little overenthusiastic environmentalism, and every plant is sacred.

Simply put: people bad, logs bad, plants good, mother earth good.

Rethinking Business Strategy

One thing we learn in grad school is the necessity of reinventing your business to keep it alive. The U.S. Airline industry has evidently not yet implemented that strategy. How many millions of dollars do they have to lose, how many of their compatriots in the industry, do they need to lose before they start reinventing? As the article says, the big four are all losing money; stalwart U.S. businesses, legends in the industry, are filing for Bankruptcy protection.

These airlines are at fault foremost for not seeing the writing on the wall. They're operating a 9/10 business in a 9/12 world. They need to wake up now. They need to think forward -- for starters, they need to lure every executive they can from airlines that work -- Southwest, Jet Blue, etc.

Next, the unions need to back off. Take pay cuts, take benefits cuts, just dissolve. This isn't the 19-friggin-30s. They aren't suffering from $0.50/hour wages or child labor. They get to fly to cool places and get paid plenty. Something unions don't recognize is that their survival depends on their host industry's survival. But they'd rather see the ship sink than let the captain plug the gaping holes in the hull.

It is incredibly frustrating to see an industry on the verge of collapse when they should be at the forefront of all things going right in the nation. The Bankruptcy courts need to let a couple airlines fail -- that will wake up the corporate execs, the union bosses and even the consumers. Let's stop propping up the corporate mis-managers.

The Showdown

It turns out I made comments on the other blog re: whether Bush was at best a useless fool or at worst a deserter, and instead of a discussion with that blogger I have encountered the source of his information. That source is unhappy b/c I wanted to post blogger v. blogger, instead of mostly invisible comment links. Although this is a conservative blog, usually free from wanton bursts of liberal tripe, I will grudgingly post everything this gentleman, one Mr. Lukasiak, has to say:

Punctilious: "It is also established that the particular class of aircraft for which the
USAF/ANG trained him was decommissioned. "

Lukasiak: I suggest that you check your "established facts". The F102A continued to be
flown by the Texas Air National Guard until the fall of 1974 (and continued to
be flown by other Guard units until 1976). In fact, in 1971, the 111th FIS
(Bush's unit) was designated an "training unit" and was providing all training
for Fighter Interceptor pilots during that period...and in the six months prior
to Feb. 1973, trained 27 new F102 pilots for the Air National Guard.

Punctilious: (See my request to go blog-to-blog on the subject)

Lukasiak: A few quotes for you...

From the 147th website...

By January 1970 the wing was starting a new mission: training all F-102 pilots in the United States for the Air National Guard.

On 6 May 1971 the unit received F-101F fighter interceptors and became the training center for all Air Guard interceptors. In August 1974, after 14 years of service, the unit's F-102s were retired, but the unit maintained a full
fleet of F-101s.

https://www.txelli.ang.af.mil/147history.html

From Aerospaceweb.org

First Flight (YF-102A 8-80) 24 October 1953
(YF-102A 8-90) 19 December 1954
Service Entry April 1956
Retirement 1976 (US)

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/fighter/f102/

Joe Baugher's F102 history site...

The only F-102As still in service with the USAF at the beginning of 1970 were all stationed overseas. At that time, the USAF still retained a few F-102A squadrons in Germany and the Netherlands. In the early 1970s, European-based
F-102As were replaced by F-4 Phantoms. By the end of June 1973, the number of active F-102As had been reduced to ten.

The last ADC unit to operate the F-102A, the 57th FIS based at Keflavik in Iceland finally traded in its F-102As for McDonnell F-4C Phantoms in mid-1973.

http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/f102_1.html

the point here is that the 147th continued to fly the plane that Bush was qualified to fly until after the completion of Bush's Military Service Obligation, and not much longer after that. Your statement was that Bush's plane was decommissioned, which was completely false.

There is not a single piece of documentary evidence that suggests that the Air Force (and it was the Air Force's decision, not TXANG's) decided that Bush was not needed as an F102 pilot. Anecdotal evidence (including the story of Jan Peter Linke, and comments by Gen Bobby Hodges, former commander of the 147th) suggests that the 147th could have used Bush as an F102 pilot for the entire time he was supposed to serve.

And, because the elimination of the F102 from the active duty Air Force was all but completed by the early 1973, the ongoing force reduction in the Air Force that coincided with the end of the Vietnam war would not have resulted in any significant surplus of F102 pilots during the period in question.

given these facts, the claim that Bush was "allowed" to stop flying because "his plane was being phased out" and/or "there were too many pilots available" cannot be considered supportable without additional evidence.

...and, since were being punctilious, the person who responded (and is responding here) to you was not the blogger, but the person who wrote the piece on PTI 961 cited by the blogger.

Punctilious: (Posted the prior entry about how the Air Force works -- as a former Airman)

Lukasiak: rather pathetic.

I respond to your post with the information you wanted, and you do not post it. Instead, you provide a "witness" (Campenni) who is either lying through his teeth, or talking out his ass--probably both.

In fact, I can forward you the decommissioning date of EVERY F102 that was ever built. Its a rather large file, and you probably wouldn't understand what you are looking at anyway....but the fact is that I've DONE the research, and you haven't.



Ok, a few notes.

I'm sure he stuck his tongue at me (through his computer monitor, hopefully earning him at least a little static shock) as he wrote that last line. This gentleman has devoted far too great a portion of his life to his partisan work, but hey -- that's what the Internet's for. As soon as he learns how to capitalize his words and actually put information together, rather than taking each piece separately, he might be able to form cogent political thought. At this point, Mr. Lukasiak is merely taking one piece at a time -- i.e., that there were a lot of F102s, so Bush would not have been any part of a soft force reduction -- and blasting away. The truth is, the military will continue to train people as it draws down. GWB was not a trainer -- those guys are usually have to re-up before they can do so. He was a fighter pilot in a plan that was being slowly brought out of service... a fighter pilot ready to kill bad guys stuck in a unit that had been designated for training.

Another scattered fact Mr. Lukasiak whines about is the President's PTI code -- Lukasiak admits he can't figure out what exactly it means, but he thinks it looks really bad. Since it looks bad, and appearances are everything.... BUSH LIED, KIDS DIED. Or something to that effect.

And as I predicted below, the gentleman's hackles raised up as soon as he saw the statement by a real veteran -- one who served with Lt. Bush and kept on serving for a couple more decades.

And oh yes, he admires his own intelligence so very much, no one could possibly understand the Air Force documentation he covets so dearly. A fine source, King of Zembia. A partisan political hack who over-values his own intelligence and is reduced to name-calling when confronted with real testimony. Typical for today's Leftist.

Bush and the ANG

A distinguished blogger recently wrote that Bush was, essentially, disliked by the Air National Guard -- or at least he was of no value to the ANG. Not thinking to work within the blog system and just cite him and respond, I posted a comment. Basically, I said Bush's plane was decommissioned, so of course he was unneeded. The blogger responded:

I suggest that you check your "established facts". The F102A continued to be flown by the Texas Air National Guard until the fall of 1974 (and continued to be flown by other Guard units until 1976). In fact, in 1971, the 111th FIS (Bush's unit) was designated an "training unit" and was providing all training for Fighter Interceptor pilots during that period...and in the six months prior to Feb. 1973, trained 27 new F102 pilots for the Air National Guard.

Now... I admit that's a good point. There are a couple points I have to offer in return:

1. I'd like to see the source for the decommissioning dates for the F102A. It could be more complicated than just the continuing mission in certain bases (i.e., if limited numbers were in service with decreasing #s of pilots at those specific bases).

2. The Air Force/ANG is an interesting beast. They will be mid-drawdown and yet continue training people for the spot -- sort of a big "just in case" program. Case in point: In the late 1980s, when the Cold War was succumbing to the death knell, the military kept training Korean linguists while allowing thousands of them to retire early, separate or retrain. The assumption: the DPRK would fall with the USSR and the Warsaw Pact nations. Fortunately, their protective stance of training newbies while releasing all the veterans proved right -- the DPRK didn't fall and we needed Korean linguists more than ever. Similarly, if the ANG were quietly encouraging F102A pilots to leave, they would keep training F102 pilots (per your 'training base' fact) just in case -- and they'd retrain them once the decommissioning was final.

3. A fighter interceptor pilot is not a universal pilot - they fly specific planes -- depending on the mission, they'll be little trainer planes or they'll be two-pilot trainers of the specific model the pilot is being readied for. Unless it was a specific F102A training base, GWB wouldn't have been qualified to train anybody -- not to mention, if he wasn't gonna be a 'lifer', the ANG wouldn't have wanted to spend the money putting him through the 'train the trainer training'. After all, it's one thing to strap GWB to a rocket and tell him to fend for himself and don't let any bad guys through -- it's another to strap him and a friend and tell'm to keep the friend alive.

UPDATE: I stumbled on an article by another ANG pilot. I fear the reaction from the GWB detractors - they hate this President so much I'm afraid they will not be swayed by this testimony. But it's worth reading. The Left, I'm sure, has called him a liar, or a fool, or any manner of names they reserve for combat veterans which they spout out of one side of their mouth while the other side utters, "I honor the veterans."

Symposium (The Great Elections Race)

First, why vote for Bush: We have four years of his leadership. In that time, we have gotten to know the man who holds the Presidency. We know he will command with strength in times of weakness abroad. We know he will stick to principle.

Something remarkable about our President is that he extends Conservative ideals into areas traditionally outside our grasp – health care, education, social security. He thus puts these issues in play, plucking them out of the firm grasp of the Carville mantra of “It’s the economy, stupid.” We ran the risk in past years of being accused of not caring about these concerns which run right through the heart of so many Americans. It was hard for the masses, I think, to understand the nuance involved in pulling the government back in order for us all to better take care of ourselves. President Bush’s initiatives therein – such as private control of Social Security – truly humanize these behemoths.

Why not Kerry? Because he is The Great Unknown. When he speaks out of both sides of his mouth, it is impossible to know which issues he’ll wrongly, firmly stand behind, and which ones he’ll accidentally get right. Can we take the chance that the wind will blow him out of Iraq, concomitantly taking our lives with him as the wind blows the terrorists onto our home ground? We can’t give him our lives, our marriages, our economy, our futures and our international position of strength.

Kerry Gone Wild [from the Church]

The Catholic Church may be set to excommunicate Senator Kerry -- a remarkable development on the eve of the most important election in memory.

Interestingly, the line of "I personally disagree with abortion but I will always support a woman's right to choose" exactly provides the grounds for the excommunication. Kerry likes to take both sides of every issue, but he cannot back away from this one -- it's on tape in myriad instances.

If the Church re-injects itself into politics thus, it will signal a phase shift of Catholicism worldwide. The Church hasn't stood firmly by its teachings in a generation; this turn will certainly thin the ranks of membership, but it will strengthen the faith of those who remain.

By crossing this Rubicon, the Church of Rome will become a markedly more ecclesiastical organization; for far too long it has drifted toward the land of the Unitarians -- i.e., that all beliefs are acceptable as long as you show up on Easter and Christmas. The stalwart few who actually stick to their beliefs -- Orthodox Jews, Baptists, L.D.S., and a ew others -- will be greatly enriched if they are able to count the Catholics among them.

Note: This blogger graduated from an all-boys Catholic high school. Though a proud Latter-Day Saint, he appreciates the position of the Catholics and particularly believes they could regain their former greatness if they would indeed stick to their dogma.

UPDATE: The Vatican is denying any participation in such excommunications. Sadly, it is not willing to actually change the world yet. And abortions will continue, full speed, thanks to the stalwart support of Catholic politicians.

But I am not going to release this tiger that easily. Take, for instance, the story a few months back where the Pope allegedly said of Mel Gibson's film: "It is as it was." As Peggy Noonan commented, it is quite strange that the Vatican denied the interchange shortly thereafter. As such, I am quite suspicious of this retraction. It is well known that the Vatican is a politically-charged environment with various factions vying for power, trying to consolidate influence... especially in a time of a declining Pontiff. As such, I would still put much stock in the original story, despite the denial.

Iraqi Intelligence Documents

I am not particularly familiar with Cybercast News Service, but after an admittedly brief investigation, it appears legitimate. Now, those who have been paying attention might remember that Iraqi Prime Minister Alawi had presented some of Saddam's Intelligence Service documents to the world which were largely ignored because they're not as sexy as 'Bush lied, kids died'. So, if you want to spend a little time looking at documents in Arabic (which this blogger cannot read), and then use up a little bandwidth reading the English translations, check them out here. They're unsurprising -- Saddam had chemical weapons. Well, Saddam's own inventory as supplied to the UN listed many thousands of tons of chemical weapons stores. This is just proof that Saddam bought the sort of weapons he admitted to.

Something I wish the Left were a little more honest about -- there's really no question that Saddam had plenty of chemical and biological weapons. In the world of WMD, there are three types -- NBC: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical. Only one leg of that tripod has not been found in completed form: Nuclear. If the Left were intellectually honest in the slightest, they would admit that Iraq abounds in Biological and Chemical, and attack Bush on the lack of nuclear weapons. It's shameful, really.

Debate #3 Wraps Up

Listened to the 1st half, watched the 2nd. Kerry stuck to the offensive throughout, but Bush was surprisingly solid. Admittedly, Prez Bush repeated himself a few times, returning to the topic of Education whenever the pressure got too strong. But President Bush reminded America of 1) exactly how liberal Senator Kerry is; 2) that he'll stay on target re Iraq; 3) that the economy is swinging around from the recession the prior administration began; and 4) where the nation needs to go during the next four years.

President Bush kept his face straight, stayed positive and yet firm. He answered clearly in substance though he did slur his speech. He gesticulated -- a little too much sometimes. He missed a couple obvious strikes: 1) that Senator Edwards made a very good living directly contributing to the medical crisis; 2) that he (Bush) in fact met with Black leadership when he spoke to the Urban League; 3) that Senator Kerry helped to create the current judicial crisis and played dirty with judicial nominees; and 4) if Senator Kerry wants to clean up campaign finance, he needs to start with George Soros and Michael Moore, from whom he consistently refuses to distance himself.

Senator Kerry kept trying to blame the President for everything -- really, that is what he needs to do to win. But I don't think any of it will stick. He made a few admissions -- such as a litmus test for any judicial nominee -- that will hurt. He continues to deride our allies. Also, every one of his solution involves sticking it to business. He says he wants to decrease corporate taxes but anyone listening knows he's going to spend way too much to be paid for with a rollback of the Bush tax cuts. He wants to force a 40% increase in minimum wage on business. He needs a lot more money to shove into the current Social Security system, which means the worker, the corporations, or both will have to foot the bill. He wants to foist artificial pay increases on businesses b/c of perceived pay differences. In his anti-outsourcing move, he wants to get rid of tax deferments (not forgiveness -- at most, a slight reduction if you count in the time value of money).

Remember: opening an overseas factory, paying the workers a fraction of what unionized America would demand, means incurring costs that take time to pay back any profits. If you don't let corporations defer taxes in these situations, they cannot invest in corporate life-saving measures.

All in all, I'd have to say 60-40 Bush. Bush hit every talking point, repeated important topics and redirected uncomfortable questions. He'll probably enjoy a couple points' bounce in the polls. This tiresome election season is almost, finally, over.

Jordan, Al-Qaeda

CNN Reports that the CIA is keeping the top Al-Qaeda criminals in Jordan. They're also complaining that the CIA is using "banned interrogation techniques" on these poor people.

So let's see: we might be making uncomfortable the dozen or so people who would know the most about when the next large lot of Americans is slated to die. Just watch the outcry begin. Moveon.org, Michael Moore, and the DNC, and maybe even the Kerry campaign will all start whining that George W. Bush didn't do enough to stop it. Maybe (insert *gasp* here), just maybe, they tacitly approved the tactics in an attempt to keep us all safe at night while we slumber.

I'm unsure this reporting is entirely responsible of CNN. If you ever wanted to target an ally of the US, to pressure them to withdraw before they suffer the onslaught of a wave of terror, this article is a great way to start. I would never accuse CNN of anything of the sort, but it looks awfully suspicious to me.

Clinton Strategist on the Debates

I'm beginning to like Dick Morris' play-by-play of the election. This guy knows his elections. The latest installment of his analysis puts Bush back ahead. It's nice to know Bush learned from his 1st-debate mistakes.

I know several left-of-center folks from New York, Boston, and other Northeastern cities who would normally vote Democrat in a heartbeat. With the War on Terror, however, the closeness of the 9/11 attacks puts these votes in play. If Bush can keep focus on the war at all costs, he'll bring home a victory. Remember when u readd Morris' article that he was at the forefront of the Clinton Revolution in the 90s.

Superman Flies Into the Skies

Drudge is reporting that Superman (Christopher Reeve, for the vegetative among you who know not) died. A sad day for the world when the Man of Steel finally goes. His debilitating injury was hard on those of us who spent our youth wishing we could be like him, to fight for Truth, Justice and the American way. Now he can go fight for those ideals on the other side.

You can also see here in case Drudge takes it down.