A Story The MSM Doesn't Want You To Hear...

The U.S. Army is exceeding its re-enlistment and first time enlistment goals. It seems the press couldn't contain themselves when just a few months ago, when recruitment goals seemed to be lagging. Just another sign that Bush's war was a failure, they said.

Well where are these reporters now? Ralph Peters shares the news that they won't in his NY Post column today.

Every one of the Army's 10 divisions — its key combat organizations — has exceeded its re-enlistment goal for the year to date. Those with the most intense experience in Iraq have the best rates. The 1st Cavalry Division is at 136 percent of its target, the 3rd Infantry Division at 117 percent.

Among separate combat brigades, the figures are even more startling, with the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division at 178 percent of its goal and the 3rd Brigade of the 4th Mech right behind at 174 percent of its re-enlistment target.

This is unprecedented in wartime. Even in World War II, we needed the draft. Where are the headlines?

And the MSM hates it. They can't stand the idea that the men and women in our armed forces would actually choose to serve and continue to serve. And why do they do it? Peters explains:

Guess we have to face it: Patriotism is alive and well. Soldiers believe in the Army, and they believe in their missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. They love their comrades, too. And yes, the word is "love." They would die for the man or woman serving beside them. They're risking their lives to save a broken state, to give tens of millions of human beings a chance at decent lives, to do the grim work that no one else in the world is willing to do.

Their reward? The Cindy Sheehan Extravaganza. Predictions of disaster. The depiction of Michael Moore as a hero and our soldiers as dupes. And a ceaseless attempt to convince the American people that there's no hope in Iraq.

The ugly truth is that much of the media only cares about our soldiers when they're dead or crippled. That's a story.

It's not even as simple as "if it bleeds, it leads", though. For the MSM, the truth is too hard to squeeze into their "Vietnam" template. And it shows.

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One More Time...

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CT files suit against "No Child Left Behind Act"...

My wonderful State is filing a suit to try and void the provisions of the Federal Education Bill that mandates standards and testing of students.

The lawsuit, which officials said was the first of its kind to be brought by a state government, asks a federal judge to declare that the federal government cannot require state and local money be used to meet federal testing goals.

Umm. If States want Federal dollars, then yes they can. A pretty reasonable arrangement if you ask me. Personally, I don't see this suit passing judicial muster - although with the courts you never know. It looks more like a political move to me.

The driving force behind the suit, CT Attorney General Richard Blumenthal - probably looking to shore up his support among the teachers unions for a future gubernatorial run - said of the goals set by the No Child Left Behind Act "Indeed, Connecticut has pursued these goals for decades." And if the State of CT were actually accomplishing anything towards achieving these goals, they'd have nothing to worry about.

But the real nut of this suit can be summed up by the last paragraph in the Washington Times article:

The nation's largest teachers union, the National Education Association, joined with school districts and union chapters across the country to file a lawsuit this year challenging the law. Connecticut's union chapter is part of that lawsuit.

'Nuff said.

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Will the Kid be ready?

Nineteen days to go until Week One v. the Cardinals and Big Blue is biting their nails over the status of Eli Manning. In their 27-21 pre-season over the Superbowl-contending Carolina Panthers, the Giants QB suffered a sprained right elbow.

While listed as "week to week", Manning will not play this weekend v. the Jets. Fine with me. I hate preseason because of injury potential in meaningless games.

But will number 10 start in less than three weeks when the NFL season kicks off? If not, I will be a very cranky blogger.

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This is going to be delicious...

Kos Goes To The Mattresses Against The DLC In Two Weeks. Let the blood-letting begin!!!!

h/t: Conservative Grapevine

UPDATE: 11:38am
LGF has a countdown...and a funny graphic. I hope the "master plan" involves frickin' sharks with frickin' lasers on their frickin' heads...

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Some Perspective On The GWOT...

The link in the last post shows a lot of the specific, nitty-gritty successes we've had in the Global War on Terror, specifically in Iraq. But Rich Galen of Mullings reminds of some of the more general positive events of the last four years - in response to Chuck Hagel's asinine assessment:

• [Galen] noted the Israeli pull-out from Gaza which wouldn't have happened if Saddam were still funding homicide bombers.
• That in Kuwait and Bahrain not only do women now have the right to vote, but in Kuwait there is a woman Minister for the first time.
• The Lebanese have thrown the Syrians out of their country. The main political party in Syria is the Ba'ath party. Think Saddam's Ba'ath party would have allowed their brothers to the west to have been embarrassed that way?
• The Egyptians are working on their first multi-party elections.
• Afghanistan is preparing for its next round of elections in mid-September.
• Even the Saudis are poking their royal toes into the oasis of reform.
• And the Iraqis are working on their Constitution. According to CNN, this is the kind of thing they are stuck on: The [discussion of the] role of religion has revolved around whether Islam will be termed "a" main source or "the" main source of legislation. Even in the part of the world where haggling was invented, that doesn't appear to be a show-stopper for very long.

Idiots like Hagel need remember how painful a process the United States went through from revolution in 1776 to a ratified Constitution in 1787 - a span of ELEVEN years. Considering the odds, what's happening these days in Baghdad is pretty damn amazing.

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Chuck Hagel: Can he really be THIS stupid?

It seems more and more that the pull quotes from the Sunday morning political shows no longer make any real news. Well that went out the window yesterday.

Let me say upfront that for the life of me I cannot understand why Nebraska "Republican" Chuck Hagel thinks he has any chance whatsoever in wooing enough GOP primary voters to give him the Presidential nomination in 2008. Hagel is about as empty a suit as you'll find on Capitol Hill to begin with. But he seems to be more politically tone-deaf than anyone I've seen yet who is vying for the Presidency.

Here is his take on the future of a U.S. troop presence in Iraq:

"It would bog us down, it would further destabilize the Middle East, it would give Iran more influence, it would hurt Israel, it would put our allies over there in Saudi Arabia and Jordan in a terrible position. It won't be four years. We need to be out."

Could he give the enemy any greater positive assurance about the effect of their current activities against both U.S. and Iraqi troops? At best, Hagel is a moron - so wrapped up in his own ego and his time in front of the camera that he is incapable of realizing that such public statements are as detrimental to the safety of our troops as the ridiculous "gitmo" statements spewed recently by IL Democrat Dick Durbin. At worst, his idiotic utterings are borderline treasonous.

He goes on to say that "the longer we stay there, the more similarities (to Vietnam) are going to come together". Here's a news flash to Chuck: The only similarity between Iraq and Vietnam is that we still have the same Left-wing pinheads undermining everything we are accomplishing by giving aid and comfort to the scumbags that are attacking our men and women in uniform.

The MSM refuses to report all the positive news that comes out of Iraq every day - which can be found here - and instead sits with bated breath at the next moonbat rant of Cindy Sheehan so they can run with that.

Hagel may still decide not to run at all, but if he does run he'll be out before the first primary because the only money he's going to be able to raise will be from rich Democrats trying to keep his candidacy alive. But mark my words, come New Year's Day 2008 it will be D.O.A.

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Diane Lane Photo of the Week (Early)...

"Hey, Gary. Any more margaritas left in that blender? I'm startin' to get kind of 'antsy' if you know what I mean."

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Heading out for the weekend early...

For the last big getaway before school starts up again. Big picnic planned for my wife's extended family and my Atlanta-based brother-in-law, Cliff, will be in town to hang out with his nephews.

I've been going through the blogroll lately and noticed quite a few sites where it looks like the authors have gone the way of Jimmy Hoffa. I'll need to do a scrubbing when I get back to get rid of the dead wood. However, I'm always looking for replacements. If anyone knows a site worth checking out that I've missed (and I'm sure there are plenty), I'm open to suggestions.

Have a great weekend, all.

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An 800-Foot Bungee Jump...

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Katherine Harris For Senate...

I don't live in Florida. Hell, I haven't even visited Florida in over two years. So why endorse a Senate candidate from a State so far away? Because Katherine Harris could use all the support she can get. Apparently, the White House - for the second time - has requested that Congresswoman Harris not run for a seat being defending by a Democrat. She moved aside once already, for Sen. Mel Martinez in 2004. But enough is enough.

Despite the lack of support from team Bush, Harris announced anyway on Aug. 9th. Good for her. Maybe the President's handlers fear that association with Harris would be viewed as "payback" for her doing her job as Secretary of State of Florida in 2000 when she certified the Florida electors for George W. Bush. Who cares. She did what she was elected to do - uphold the law. And the sore loser Democrats who tried to steal that election - as well as the cretins in the MSM - hurled horrible insults and personal attacks at Harris. I commend her for her courage in the face of that garbage.

Harris would be a Senator that any Republican could be proud of. And despite the conventional wisdom (and the slings and arrows of outrageous Democrats), I think she has a strong shot at winning. IMO, the GOP Senatorial Committe should take the money they have earmarked for Sen. Lincoln Chafee's reelection bid and give it all to Katherine Harris. Here's her website for anyone interested: ElectHarris.org. Good luck, Katherine.

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The Taunting Will Soon Begin...

As I mentioned yesterday, while Democrats are not expected to mount any serious opposition to the Roberts nomination, certain Senators on the Judiciary Committee do plan to subject the judge to what amounts to a token "grilling" in the confirmation hearings.

MSNBC is reporting that the first "Monty Python" French knight to launch the verbal barrage will be VT Senator Patrick Leahy (aka "Sir Leak-a-lot"). And he has already begun the Washington equivalent of "I fart in your general direction."

White House spokesman Steve Schmidt said Leahy’s remarks were part of a Democratic strategy — predating Roberts’ nomination — of trying to depict Bush’s nominees as ideologically extreme.

“The ease with which Sen. Leahy distorts Judge Roberts’ record is troubling and may indicate that the Democrats are not yet done trying to make that argument, although it has already been discredited,” Schmidt said.

Leahy was also said to be preparing such statements toward Roberts as "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!"

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Clinton too busy getting "serviced" by Monica to worry about Bin Laden...

The NY Times reports former State department officials confirming that Bubba ignored warnings about the threat Osama Bid Laden in July 1996 - about the same time he was carrying on with an itern in the Oval Office.

Paul at Wizbang has more.

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Today's "Day By Day" Strip...

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Tall men for fun, short men for marriage?

Every once in a while I find one of these odd studies that draw an unexpected conclusion. This one is a doozy. Apparently, researchers are claiming that while women are attracted to tall men when they want to screw around, they actually prefer shorter men with whom they settle down. Poetic, no?

Personally I'm kind of scratching my head over this one.

"If they are very handsome and very desirable there will be lots of other women competing for their attention. For a short-term relationship, you want somebody you are sexually attracted to, they don't have to be the best to get on with.

"But for a long-term relationship, yes, you are having kids together, but you are also raising them and educating them. For that you want someone much more amenable, who has resources and who is kind and caring." Dr Neave, of orthumbria University, said men should not be too quick to blame their height for any lack of success with women. Life is much more complex than the findings suggest, he said.

Now, I myself am of average height, so I don't have a dog in this fight (there's that rhyming again). But Tom Cruise is 5' 7" and he married the very leggy Nicole Kidman. Rod Stewart is pretty short and he got Rachel Hunter. But Cruise is a good looking guy and Stewart is...well...not. But what do these two guys have in common? Show me the money!!!!

Perhaps the research is focusing on the wrong measurement here. Length maybe? Hmmm.

Seriously though, I can imagine that it's every woman's dream to look up at her man when she is kissing him. But I suspect that when the rubber meets the road (no pun intended) there are much more important factors for women than height, which makes them the nobler sex.

Alright, that pun was intended.

UPDATE: 8/17/05 9:00am
What is going on here? Now according to a poll of Playgirl readers (women, that is), the word sexy has been redefined ("You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." - Inigo Montoya).

Women like "regular joes"? Apparently:

"Playgirl asked 2,000 of its readers what they find sexy in a man and the answers were surprising: 42% said they thought love handles were kind of sexy and 47% approved of chest hair...Metrosexuals are also out: 73% want a guy who is "rough around the edges."

Damn, by that standard I'd be judged the "sexiest man alive"! ;-)

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"Dancing" Hillary...

Unfortunately, the "Dancing" Bush site is a dead link, so we can't do any side-by-side comparisons. But I'll give credit to Hillary, she has better "funky moves".

h/t: The Corner

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Democrats Throw In The Towel On Roberts...

Bush wins again! The WaPo reports that at most the Dems on the Senate Judiciary Committee will ask some tough questions but no concerted campaign is planned. And then, like the knights of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", they will turn and yell "run away, run away..."

Capt. Ed writes:

"This will drive their activist base mad, of course. They will face remonstrations about caving in to the Republican majority and carry twisted hangers in front of Democratic offices instead of GOP, for a change. This might prove rather instructive for the Democrats if they can manage to keep this in perspective. The amount of protest differs from the level of invective, a lesson that they have not yet understood. The majority of Democrat voters in this country already understand that elections have consequences and fully expect Bush to nominate conservative judges and the Republican majority to confirm them. They want to create an environment where the opposite is true, but through the ballot box, not through self-defeating and mindless obstructionism."

Unfortunately, level-headed Democrats like this aren't the ones in charge of the party.

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MSM wringing the last drops out of "grieving mom" story...

Thanks to the beautiful thing that is the internet (as well as talk radio), the Main Stream Media is learning that they can only ride this story until it runs out of gas - and the "E" warning light is beginning to flash.

George Neumayr in The American Spectator sums it up well:

What the media are interested in is Sheehan's politics, and the window of that interest will close for good once the public learns of her ambitiously radical views -- that Bush should be impeached as a war criminal, that America is an abomination not worth defending against terrorists, and so forth. In the end, the media will probably have added to her grief once they take away from her the new life of celebrity activism they have encouraged her to pursue in the absence of the life of her son.

Sheehan doesn't speak for war widows and grieving moms any more than the Jersey Girls spoke for all relatives of 9-11 victims. And like them, Sheehan hasn't crafted her case very carefully or modestly. Just as the Jersey Girls acted as though their grief somehow made them experts on rearranging the CIA and entitled them to harangue Condi Rice, so Sheehan is making outrageous demands upon the military's commander in chief -- demands only possible in a democracy in which a fatuous media can get its leaders, who are supposed to be thinking about the common good, entangled in all sorts of absurd and superficial controversies.

That little tick-tock sound you hear is the final seconds winding down on Ms. Sheehan's 15 minutes of fame.

Cross-posted at The Llama Butchers - Llama alert! Robb-o is baaaaaack!

UPDATE: 2:06pm
Is it me? Or do these quotes sound a little to "chipper" for a grieving mother? And this is very telling:

"I have discovered that the White House press corps is always looking for something to do and someone to cover. We have been happy to oblige them..."

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Unfortunate Headline...

"Silent...But Deadly"

NY Giant DT William Joseph making his presence known at training camp.

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Hitchens on Sheehan...

Slate's Christopher Hitchens has some thoughtful commentary on Cindy Sheehan's antics:

"Sheehan has obviously taken a short course in the Michael Moore/Ramsey Clark school of Iraq analysis and has not succeeded in making it one atom more elegant or persuasive. I dare say that her "moral authority" to do this is indeed absolute, if we agree for a moment on the weird idea that moral authority is required to adopt overtly political positions, but then so is my "moral" right to say that she is spouting sinister piffle. Suppose I had lost a child in this war. Would any of my critics say that this gave me any extra authority? I certainly would not ask or expect them to do so. Why, then, should anyone grant them such a privilege?"

Read the whole thing.

UPDATE: 7:45am
And from Frank Gaffney - "Poster Child For Surrender":

"Ms. Sheehan has morphed into a pawn in the hands of partisans who are indifferent whether the United States is defeated on the central front in this global war."

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