Links and Minifeatures 10 30 Sunday

Captain's Quarters has an article up on the universal outrage to the statements of Irans president on wiping Israel from the map. But the money quote is from the Palestinians:

In fact, Saeb Erekat said on behalf of the Palestinians that they had already accepted Israel's right to exist and that the extant question should be about adding Palestine to the map.

Did I read that right? I've been waiting for them to admit that the starting point for negotiations contains a sovereign Israel since at least the Six Day War in 1967. And they said it to Iran - one of their most steadfast supporters. Wow. This 1) Illustrates the changed environment since George Bush's anti-terror policy, and 2) demonstrates that miracles happen when you're not looking. Or at least the start of miracles.



Meanwhile Atlas Shrugs has a tally of why we have a War on Terror. But you won't see those numbers on any major newspaper, hear them on news radio, or see them on any television braodcast.



How about we start setting up a media event like the leftists had for the 2000 dead soldiers mark, for when it gets to be 5000 such attacks, since that's the next real milestone we'll be hitting (the current total being 3173 attacks - not number dead, number of attacks. I strongly suspect it's actually "separate attacks with at least one fatality each."). And yes, that means we've had more than 1.5 fatal islamic terror attacks for every soldier we're lost in Iraq.



Meanwhile, Iraq the Model covers the start of the Iraqi campaign season. I know that I suffer from election burnout from the Perpetual Campaign Season here in the US, but I'd rather have what we have today than no elections (or ones that offer no real choices), and they are getting ready for their third real election, so I can't help but get a little excited for them.



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Victor Davis Hanson has an article up that starts by agreeing with what I posted here yesterday, and takes it from there with what else the president should do. I agree. The DU on the left has been unremitting. It's past time to push back. It's hard to argue that his gentlemanly silence has slipped in effectiveness from last year.



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Michelle Malkin publishes the last letter of another hero, much like this one from Mudville Gazette that I linked yesterday. This is real moral authority, when despite the ultimate misfortune happening to you as a result of liberating Iraq, you still agree that liberating Iraq is a good thing.



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Wizbang about sums up my take on whole Libby-Clinton liberal-conservative lying thing. I didn't think I could get any more disgusted by the political hypocrisy and irregular verbs they use.



Irregular verbs, for those who don't follow politics regularly, are phrases describing the same actions that change materially depending upon the political allegiances of those who they apply to. For Example: "I am being persecuting by a mindless attack dog of the vicious right wing. He is an inveterate perjurer who should be locked up along anyone he ever worked for, and we're going to keep after him until we find the evidence!"



If Starr Fitzgerald can convict Libby, Libby should receive the appropriate legal punishment. But we're still in an innocent until proven guilty society, even if Libby is an Elephant.



(Later) Paul at Wizbang has the best exercise in perspective on this that I've seen.



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Hmm - I see my old .com URL has finally fallen out of Large Mammal Status sometime this last week.



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Captain's Quarters has an excellent review and thoughts concerning an article in the LA Times about the MS13 gang from El Salvador.



Quite simply, this is what comes from denying facts. Instead of a manageable but politically incorrect situation, we have a much worse and steadily worsening morass that will take much more invasive methods to stop than the original problem ever would. And for once, I'm pointing fingers squarely at everybody in both parties. I can name those politicians who have tried to do something real about the problem on the fingers of one hand with leftovers.



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Michael Barone has two articles about the significance of the non-indictment of Rove and the Indictment of Libby.



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"What are they afraid of?"/Censorship in America department:



Remember I told you a few days ago in this post about one of the worst and most misleading political ads I'd ever heard?



They are at it again. Michelle Malkin and The Political Teen report (anybody watching the video Michelle links to will have material to forever deride those who think the media doesn't tilt hard left. Basically, they commited robbery and possibly assault on a lone opponent at one of their rallies.



There is no justification for this whatsoever. Suppose it were 180 degrees reversed, with a lone dissenter at a pro prop 75 rally? Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez was present and egging them on. He needs to hear from us, and he needs a stinging rebuke at the ballot box on November 8th. His office numbers (from Michelle Malkin) Sacramento Office: (916) 319-2046 Los Angeles Office: (213) 620-4646



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Armies of Liberation has all kinds of news about the execreble excuse for a government in Yemen. Go read it all.



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Asymmetrical Information makes as concise an economic case for school vouchers as I have ever seen. So much for the teachers unions wanting to protect the interests of poor children.



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Tim Blair notes that soon the Australian government will have reduced to zero it's public indebtedness. Not "eliminated the deficit." Eliminated the debt. When you consider that public indebtedness acts like giant vacuum cleaner with regards to available investment cash, it's no wonder they're in the middle of their longest period of growth, as investors find alternative places to put their dollars. Places that really do cause economic growth.



This is a lesson for the United States, and an example to emulate. As I implied here to Q and O about the budget process reform that I favor, zero public debt, or better, the government actually making investments in private enterprise, is something to strive for.



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Stop the ACLU busts the ACLU's hypocrisy on suing the schools for a better notification of the right to opt out of having recruiters have access to student information, while not informing them of the deluge of marketing materials from organizations that the ACLU sells its membership and contributors lists to.



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I saw this somewhere before I started this website, but Mudville Gazette republished it. Note that none of this excuses what those people did, but it thoroughly debunks any notion that it was systematic, involved higher-ups, or was covered up in any way shape or form. Nor, as Bill Whittle observed, is is a fraction of the abuses that went on in the very same prison under the previous administration of Saddam Hussein. Those guards deserved to be punished. But claiming this went any further than the prison itself is nonsense.



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Eric's Grumbles has not only made Playful Primate, he's got a topical stance on California's Special Election with which I largely agree.



My Stances:



Proposition 73: I am responsible in all other ways for my daughters until they turn 18. If they damage someone's property, I can expect to be held responsible. If they break certain laws, I can expect to be charged also. If one of my daughters becomes pregnant and terminates the pregnancy (because the state says she can), how am I going to take steps to rectify whatever problem brought said pregnancy on if I don't even know it happened? I will be voting Yes.



Prop 74: is about making public school teachers (and other employees) a little more responsible for what they teach (or fail to teach) our children. Currently, they have this thing called tenure after two years. The original thought behind tenure was to prevent college level professors from being fired for researching controversial subjects. I don't know about you, but I have yet to meet a high school or lower level teacher who is engaged in serious scientific research on any level above "human guinea pig". I imagine it does happen, but can certainly the right of free scientific inquiry can certainly be protected while nonetheless being able to fire them because their students all emerge a grade farther behind reading level. Proposition 74 does nothing that anybody except a school union activist would object to. I will be voting yes.



Prop 75: As I've already said, union dues need to go to job actions and paying defense for those injustly accused, which really aren't that many. Political action and contributions can and should be accomplished by adjunct PACs - it's just that then unions cannot then force their membership to participate. I will be voting Yes.



Prop 76: School Funding. Even considered in isolation from our state's school budget history and politics, I see more good than evil here. Considered in light of the state's school budget history and politics (our schools budget is a monster, and current law says that the more we feed it today, the more we must feed it tomorrow, and still more the day after that - in short, a con game sold to the gullible People's Republic of California by the teacher's unions), it is essential. I will be voting Yes.



Prop 77: Redistricting: In last year's election, we had 20 State Senate seats, 80 state assembly seats, and 53 US House of Representatives up for election. Our electoral districts, currently drawn by the legislature, are so gerrymandered that not one of them changed party affiliation. This is not the way to have a representative, responsible state government. I will be voting Yes.



Prop 78 and Prop 79: Drug coverage. I don't know what business that state of California has mandating drug prices. Furthermore, setting price controls on drugs is one way to make certain fewer new drugs gets to market, as well as raising drug prices for everyone who is not covered. The pharmaceutical industry must charge more than production costs to stay in business. If you don't understand this, report back to your fourth grade school district for a refresher. Proposition 78 seems mildly less obnoxious if you must vote for one - at least it is only mandating that people covered receive the lowest price received by anybody else. I will be voting No on both.



Prop 80: Utility regulation. This proposition takes the fact that we had price gouging and rolling blackouts and reacts to it with a mindless "do something!" despite the fact that the system has now been largely repaired, those conspiring were charged with crimes, etcetera. In short, this permanently locks the barn door after the horse has returned of it's own volition, heedless of the fact that the reason you have a horse is that you want to use him to work the fields. In short, about what you'd expect from the People's Republic of California. I will be voting No.



And while we're on the subject of the election, I plan to hold my nose and vote for Saunders for replacement Mayor of San Diego. His opposition has convinced me she wouldn't understand or recognize what we need to do if it bit her, much less have the political will to actually do it (here's a hint, Donna - it starts with reducing public employee benefits as well as the number of said employees). At least with Saunders there is a possibility that we'll start doing some things right.