Getting To The Bottom Of Real Treason

Looks like the Justice Department going to probe for the leak sources on the NY Times' NSA story.

Blackfive nails it:

Now instead of watching a farce conducted about the non-outing of a non-covert operative, we can eyeball the consequences of disloyalty and possibly criminal behavior to those who have made themselves W's and our enemies. Many executive branch agencies have sizeable components opposed to current policies and they have shamelessly sabotaged many of them. Leaks from all of these hampered efforts to gain international support prior to the Iraq war, efforts to fight it and ultimately damaged us greatly worldwide.

If Karl Rove deserved being frog-marched off in chains for mentioning Hollywood Joe Wilson's wife, I can't wait to hear what the retribution will be for these actual compromises of programs.

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Polling Confirms What I Already Know

A recent Rasmussen poll has 64% of respondents approving of wire-tapping people communicating with suspected terrorists. Again, the majority of Americans understand that it's not a coincidence that we haven't been attacked again. Surveillance operations like the one that the NY Times reported on not only make sense but are well within the President's Constitutional authorities.

The support is pretty broad even across party lines. Captain Ed observes:

While almost the entire Democratic Party leadership has accused Bush of high crimes and talked about impeachment, a majority of their own party approves of the NSA program (51%), even as it might be endangered thanks to the NYT's exposure of it. Fifty-seven percent of independents also approve of the program, and combined with the 81% of Republicans, Bush has a solid mandate to continue using all the tools at his disposal to protect the nation.

Of course, not everyone is interpreting these numbers the same way.

John in DC at AmericaBlog sees the glass as half-full for the anti-Bushites, calling the 64% "an abysmally low number for Bush":

"That number should have been in the 90 percentile and up, Americans who support the NSA eavesdropping on conversations with suspected terrorists. Yet it was only in the low 60s. Something's up.

And may I also add that the poll question has nothing to do with the current scandal. It says nothing about whether the administration should be able to break the law in doing such eavesdropping, nor whether the administration should be permitted to do such eavesdropping without having first obtained a court order. Again, each of those added facts would presumably lower the poll number considerably.

Again, that number should have been in the 90s. The fact that only 6 out of 10 Americans are willing to agree to such a broad question, to me, says that Bush is not on solid ground on this issue at all." [his emphasis]

Hookay. That's an interesting way to look at it. First of all, when you consider that about 25-30% of the population would disapprove of anything the President did or said, I don't see how you could get to 90%. The other factor, according to John's logic, is that the respondents weren't sufficiently led with such phrases as "breaking the law" and "without having first obtained a court order". He is assuming that the respondents aren't familiar enough with NSA story and the questions need to be phrased in that context. But one of the other findings of the poll was that 68% said they are following the NSA story somewhat or very closely.

Like the Fitz-mas present that wasn't, Liberals can frame these results however they like. However, it doesn't change the fact that more Americans are concerned with protecting the homeland and winning the Global War on Terror than trampling on the "civil liberties" of people that would very much like to kill as many of us as they can or those that would help them.

Unlike the teeming masses in the Left-wing fever swamp, the Democrat leadership is more likely to look at these numbers and rethink their current strategy. As Captain Ed says:

I think we can expect to see the end of this particular line of attack. Instead of weakening Bush, this demonstration of executive will to defend the nation has Bush's numbers rebounding faster than anyone could have guessed. By the time November 2006 rolls around, these Democratic attacks might make Bush the most popular president since FDR.

But then again, many high-profile Dems have already descended into the fever swamp themselves and they've demonstrated very little political wisdom in the last five years. Why should they start now?

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Patriot Act Salvaged...For Now

The ass-hats in the Senate just reached an agreement to extend all the provisions of the Patriot Act for six months. As part of the agreement, certain provisions will be further reviewed and amendments proposed.

Six months is better than nothing. An expiration of sixteen important provisions at the end of this month would have been celebrated by the people that are plotting to kill us. Now those in Washington who are more concerned about the civil rights of terrorists than the safety of U.S. citizens can try and make their case and a vote to reauthorize it once again will come as the 2006 mid-year elections are in full swing.

Beats me why Democrats would even want to talk about National Security in an election year when this issue is seen as their biggest weakness by a majority of voters. Karl Rove...you magnificent bastard, you!

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Big Day

I can't let today pass without a tip of the hat to the Iraqi people who turned out today in huge numbers to vote for their new government.

Another milestone for a future of Freedom and self-determination for this nation.

I hope to God that President Bush shames the asshole Democrats who've been so negative about this situation in his State of the Union in January. But since I know what a class act he is, he won't do it.

He SHOULD say how ashamed he is that members of our government would bad-mouth and downplay such important events for political motive. These people are despicable. In another time and place they would be tried for treason.

He SHOULD say how disgusting the words and actions of these bullshit cowards are when they have nothing to lose except their own integrity.

He SHOULD point out how wrong they are in their assessment of the success of the Iraqi people.

But he won't. Because he has too much respect for the offices to which they've been elected even if they don't.

Congratulations again to the people of Iraq.

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A Rebuttal

To the latest aborted MoveOn.org ad - here.

Courtesy of Pam of Blogmeister USA.

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Jack Murtha: Just What Bush Needed

John Podhoretz makes the case today in his NY Post column that Jack Murtha's call for withdrawal and the GOP's forced vote on it taught the White House a valuable lesson:

Suddenly, withdrawal was off the table. But Murtha had demonstrated something important: In the absence of a constantly echoed positive line of argument about the U.S. role in Iraq, over time the debate will be framed by the war's opponents in a way injurious to the overall goal of prevailing over the enemy.

Had Bush been talking about victory throughout 2005, had he informed the American people over and over that we are in Iraq to win, he might not have found himself with a distressed and disillusioned American public sorry we had gone in there in the first place.

Evidently, what he and the rest of the GOP needed was for Jack Murtha to go out there and lose one for the Gipper.

Now, if the President can stay focused on offense, maybe he can undo some of the damage that Democrats have done to our military's morale.

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