We turned a profit on the deaths of Qusay and Uday, even though we’re paying out a $30 million reward:
The raid actually more than paid for itself: Qusay and Uday had with them roughly $100 million in Iraqi dinars and U.S. dollars.
Paul Gigot has the truth from Iraq:
Just ask the 20-some members of the new city council in this [Najaf] holy city of Shiite Islam. Their chairs are arrayed in a circle to hear from Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of defense, who invites questions. The first man to speak wants to know two things: There’s a U.S. election next year, and if President Bush loses will the Americans go home? And second, are you secretly holding Saddam Hussein in custody as a way to intimidate us with the fear that he might return? Mr. Wolfowitz replies no to both points, with more conviction on the second than the first. But the question reveals the complicated anxiety of the post-Saddam Iraqi mind.Most reporting from Iraq suggests that the U.S. “occupation” isn’t welcome here. But following Mr. Wolfowitz around the country I found precisely the opposite to be true. The majority aren’t worried that we’ll stay too long; they’re petrified we’ll leave too soon. Traumatized by 35 years of Saddam’s terror, they fear we’ll lose our nerve as casualties mount and leave them once again to the Baath Party’s merciless revenge.
Democrats in the Senate are revealing their true colors as they filibuster the president’s judicial nominees. There are now at least four nominees expected to be filibustered. Most nominees being, or expected to be, filibustered are Catholics whose religious beliefs cause them to oppose abortion. All these nominees say they will follow the Roe v. Wade precedent, thereby separating their religious beliefs from their judicial work. But that’s not enough for Senate Democrats, who insist that people abandon their religion if they want to be confirmed:
Alabama Attorney General William Pryor, the most recent Daniel to face the hungry lions, has made the “mistake” of not distancing himself from his faith. In a recent confirmation hearing for Mr. Pryor, a nominee to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) said plainly that Mr. Pryor’s deeply held personal convictions as a pro-life Catholic simply would not be left at the courthouse door. In other words, being a Catholic is just fine if you are Sen. Leahy or Sen. Kennedy and selectively follow the doctrines of the faith. But if you actually practice Catholic teaching, you need not apply for a federal judgeship.
Andrew Sullivan on the lying socialist treasonous liberal media:
There was something wonderfully strained about how various media organisations dealt last week with the news of the deaths of Qusay and Uday Hussein.From the BBC to Reuters, there was palpable
31 Iraqis died from the celebratory gunfire after Uday and Qusay were killed.
Remember that wild celebration Minnesota Democrats had when ultra-liberal Senator Paul Wellstone died in 2002? No? Well, here’s a picture you might remember from the Wellstone funeral:
Now conservatives are putting cheeky Wellstone bumper stickers on their cars and Democrats are none too happy:
Nine months after Sen. Paul Wellstone’s fatal plane crash, some DFLers [Minnesota Democrats] are outraged by what they consider disrespectful bumper sticker messages printed in Wellstone’s green and white.“Highly insensitive??” “Still grieving?” Oh, the hypocrisy!One spotted on a car parked near the State Capitol reads: “It’s time to park the bus,” a reference to Wellstone’s campaign vehicle. Another spotted around town said, “He’s dead, get over it.”
“I think it’s below the belt,” said state Rep. Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul. “I think it’s highly insensitive. It was a great tragedy when Paul died, and a lot of us are still grieving.”
You gotta love Tom DeLay:
“While everyone else got the memo that big-government, blame-America-first liberalism died with disco, the Howard Dean Democrats still want to party like its 1979. Maybe we should thank the Democrats for shedding their moderate clothing to reveal their true swinging-seventies selves. Frankly America doesn’t need a president in a hot-pink leisure suit,” DeLay said.My only nitpick with DeLay is his reluctance to call Democrats unpatriotic. They certainly don’t hesitate to call Republicans racist at every opportunity. As Ann Coulter says in her new book on liberal treason:“Just look at their presidential candidates: it’s like they’re lost in a time warp. They want to tax like Mondale, spend like Carter, and fight like McGovern,” DeLay said.
“No responsible leader could have permitted Saddam Hussein to remain in Baghdad, yet the Democrats now spew more rhetoric about President Bush than they ever did about Saddam Hussein,” DeLay said.
“Let’s be real clear, if you take their comments to their logical conclusion, they’re essentially calling our Commander in Chief, Benedict Arnold,” DeLay said. “If we are to take this nonsense seriously, that is how out of control the Democrats’ rhetoric has become. But you see that’s the whole point.
“The Democrats’ accusations aren’t meant to be taken seriously,” DeLay said. “I will never call the Democrat Party unpatriotic, but I will call their current leadership unfit to face the serious challenges of the 21st century.”
Liberals invented the myth of McCarthyism to delegitimize impertinent questions about their own patriotism. They boast (lyingly) about their superior stance on civil rights. But somehow their loyalty to the United States is off-limits as a subject of political debate. Why is the relative patriotism of the two parties the only issue that is out of bounds for discussion? Why can’t we ask: Who is more patriotic – Democrats or Republicans? You could win that case in court.Like today’s Democrats, Benedict Arnold hid behind the cloak of “true” patriotism in a letter to George Washington:
Love to my country actuates my present conduct, however it may appear inconsistent to the world, who very seldom judge right of any man’s actions.
Victor Davis Hanson puts the news in perspective:
These are still perilous times. But if anyone on September 12, 2001, had predicted that 22 months later there would still be no repeat of 9/11; that bin Laden would be either quiet, dead, or in hiding; that al Qaeda would be dispersed, the Taliban gone, and the likes of a Mr. Karzai in Kabul; that Saddam Hussein would be out of power, his sons dead, and an Iraqi national council emerging in his place; that troops would be leaving Saudi Arabia, Arafat ostracized, and Sharon seeking negotiations; that new Middle East agreements under discussion
Senate Democrats may have yet another tough seat to worry about in 2004. Senator John Breaux (D-LA) hasn’t decided whether he’s going to run for re-election. From the Wall Street Journal Today:
BREAUX’S INDECISION on a fourth Senate term unnerves Democrats, already facing some incumbent exits in Republican-leaning South. While relishing his role as legislative broker, the popular Louisianan says, at age 59, “If I want to do something else with my life, this is the time to do it.” He’ll decide after his state’s fall governor race.Breaux would be a shoo-in if he were to run. If not, this race would be wide open. My full 2004 Senate analysis is here.
The good people of Los Angeles are reacting to the Gray Davis recall.