Glenn Reynolds remembers the not so distant past:

...we've heard for decades that Arab terrorism resulted from Arab despotism, and that if we wanted to end terrorism we ought to quit supporting Arab despots and work for democracy. But it was all talk until one brave man in the White House stood up for Iraqi freedom.

That man was Bill Clinton...

I've always maintained that it wasn't me who changed, it was the Democrats. Democrats used to be ideologically committed to spreading freedom and democracy. Why the change:

I think it's jealousy. Bush-hatred has become all-consuming among a large section of the Democratic Party, and they can't stand the thought of anything that reflects well on him, even if it's good for the country, and if it's something that was their idea originally.

Protesting Democracy

It's sad that so much of the world won't celebrate with the Iraqi people because of the petty and childish dislike of George W.

There was actually a protest against the election in Madrid. So it's OK if the the Spanish use democracy to suck up to terrorists, but when the Iraqis use it defeat terrorists, it's time to take to the streets. Let's hope these losers are a small portion of the Spanish population that didn't have anything better to do with their Sunday.

Courage

A quote from Jeff Jarvis' extensive coverage of the Iraqi election:

This morning, I asked myself whether I would go to vote if I thought I could be bombed at the polling place or shot because of my blue finger. I don't think I'd have that courage. Most Americans would not (hell, most of us don't vote even in the lap of safety). Remember that every single Iraqi who came to vote today is a victory for democracy.

Amen. It's over for the fascists. High voter turnout in the face of an all-out assault on voters is a blue-stained finger in the eye of the "insurgency". Their terrorism failed to terrorize. They're losers.

As George Will said on This Week this morning, the Iraqis used to have two unappealing options: support the fascists who wanted to bring back brutal dictatorship (with plenty of severed heads and scattered body-parts to sweeten the deal) or support the American occupation. Now they have a third option: their own democratically elected government.

They faced down those fascist bastards today. I have no doubt they will continue to do so.

Condi has more class in her little finger

than Democrats have in their whole party. She's on This Week being asked about the large number of Senators who voted against her. She doesn't play the race card or blame post-election sour grapes. She just said she's grateful for the 85 senators who voted for her and then went on to talk about how great everyone at the State Dept. has been.

Better Late Than Never

Tim Russert is grilling Kerry on whether or not he was in Cambodia and the whole lucky hat thing. Now?? 2 months after the election? What is the point of this? Kerry, by the way, is spinning like a top.

Now he's going after Kerry on the form 180 thing (to release his military records). Kerry just said he will sign the form, if the people who challenged him to sign will release their own records. The only other person relevant to this issue (George W), released his records before the election. What is this, kindergarten?

Update: More on Kerry's appalling appearance on Meet the Press.

Iraqis Vote

The Iraqi elections are shaping up to be a big success. My only real concern was that devastating violence would make it impossible for the Iraqis to celebrate this historic day. Well, the polls are closed in Iraq and "only" 36 people have been killed by terrorists (so far). It's sounds callous, but I was really expecting a lot worse.

Here's an excellent point from Glenn Reynolds:

I'll observe, as James Taranto did last week, that high turnout among the Afrikaners wasn't seen as the test of the South African elections' legitimacy. Likewise, high turnout in pro-Ba'ath areas shouldn't be the test here.

Absolutely true, but expect the press to harp endlessly on it.

John Kerry is telling us not to be too excited about the election since there is no way Bush can do the things he needs to do to succeed in Iraq. What an A**. Everytime I see him, I thank God he's not president.

Take all the pie you can, we'll make more

Jay Nordlinger is posting his notes from the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. This thought jumped out at me:

It is axiomatic at Davos — among the people I tend to meet — that an economy, including the world economy, is a pie. To the extent that one person has a bigger piece, another person has a smaller piece (and there are no other pies in the oven).

I suppose that is sometimes true. For example, when Yasser Arafat dies a billionaire, one can safely assume that he ran off with most of the Palestinian pie. While the pie analogy could be useful when discussing those third world leaders who squirrel away what assets their countries have in Swiss bank accounts, people who take this attitude are never referring to the likes of Arafat. Such references are always directed at the United States.

Presumably this attitude results from socialism having much more influence in Europe than in the US. To socialists, all economic transactions are win/lose, never win/win. They never try to make more pie. It never occurs to them, for example, that those folks with all that pie burning a hole in their pockets (to mix metaphors) might want to trade some pie for an item or service that you have to offer. Oh look, now you have more pie. You might even have to hire some pie lovers to help you out.

And then there's technological innovation and economies of scale working to give your pie more purchasing power. Now if I can come up with three ways to make more pie, why can't those nuanced thinkers of Europe figure it out? For great examples of pie making (with no annoying pie analogies), I highly recommend this article by Virginia Postrel.

Terrorist vs VW

VW wins. I doubt you'll be able to keep from laughing, though you may feel guilty about it later. (via Michelle Malkin)

Bush's Speech

My favorite line:

America will not pretend that jailed dissidents prefer their chains, or that women welcome humiliation and servitude, or that any human being aspires to live at the mercy of bullies.

That should be obvious to even the most casual observer, yet I am forever hearing on the news shows "So Bush wants to bring democracy to these countries, whether they want it or not?" Yes, Mr. Talking Head, that's exactly right. Bush, for his own nefarious reasons, is going to force the blissfully ignorant little natives into a state of political freedom which they aren't suited for and don't really desire. We know this will somehow advance Haliburton's interests, we just haven't quite figured out how. One would think it would be easier to buy the oil (or whatnot) from one corrupt dictator than to win the support of an elected legislative body, but if Bush supports it, we know there must be an imperialist agenda. Sigh.

Honestly, this speech appeals to the liberal in me. It's idealistic and optimistic:

In America's ideal of freedom, the exercise of rights is ennobled by service, and mercy, and a heart for the weak. Liberty for all does not mean independence from one another. Our nation relies on men and women who look after a neighbor and surround the lost with love. Americans, at our best, value the life we see in one another, and must always remember that even the unwanted have worth. And our country must abandon all the habits of racism, because we cannot carry the message of freedom and the baggage of bigotry at the same time.

What's not to like? Except for the possible pro-life line in there, why can't liberals get behind this? It saddens me to see them so angry and pessimistic, as if their only agenda is to be against anything Bush wants, even things liberals should want. "If Bush wants more fuzzy kitties, then we think all fuzzy kitties should die."

Update: Powerline imagines the Democratic response to Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address:

The president harped on the "colored slaves." He claimed that "this interest was somehow the cause of the war." But the president well knows that ending slavery was never part of the original justification for fighting this war. It is simply an after-the-fact rationalization, developed after it became clear that we had no plan to defeat the South. Nor can the president honestly claim that the slaves are better off in their current, parlous state than they were prior to the war when they lived in peace and tranquility.

That's what I'm talkin' about. (via Instapundit)

"Everyone" knows girls aren't good at math

Reaction to Harvard president Larry Summers' remarks to the effect that men are hard-wired to do better in the sciences than women has been all over the web. I don't want to see the man made the subject of a feminist jihad, but I can certainly see why a female scientist would be irritated. So what if most other women's eyes glaze over at the thought of equations and computer models. I happen to be one of those blank gazers, but I can see that if a woman's area of expertise is in the sciences, it must be infuriating to deal with men who assume they know more than you because "everyone knows women don't do the math/science thing."

I understand that Summers was just offering an explanation as to why there were not more women in the sciences and his point probably accounts for some of the gap, but really... can he be surprised by the reaction? I know he didn't intend to, but he told every female scientist in the room that they were either not as smart as the men, or they were freakish women, since women don't do science. Hmmm, maybe that was his male lack of verbal ability coming into play.

I could go on, but I have that stereotypical sick kid to take care of. Check out Sissy Willis on the topic. Great site, even if she does blog like a girl.

By the way, I happen to fit this stereotype of women pretty well. I don't do the math thing at all and I only do the science thing a little. However, my daughter is so much like her father (the professor of mechanical engineering) that I have a feeling we will be dealing with this issue in the future.

Dems bash heads against stone wall that is Condi

I'm sorry, but Condi is just so impressive. I only saw snippets of her testimony on the news (had to choose between cable TV and high speed internet. I think I made the right choice), but she was cool as the proverbial cucumber while Boxer and Biden looked like morons. I love the way she remained so unruffled by the hostile cross-examination from Boxer. She was the same way at the 9/11 hearings. If I were still a Democrat, I'm sure I'd feel she was boring and possibly cold, but I know I'd still be impressed by her poise.

And I'm not the only one who thinks so. (via Instapundit)

Protest Blogging

Check out the always fascinating protest/counter-protest blogging by Zombie. (Link is to a mirror site). Especially note the chanting by the Palestinian protesters:

One, three, five, seven, all our martyrs go to heaven!
Two, four, six, eight, we are martyrs, we can't wait!

Excuse me? This is in the United States, in Berkeley, CA for god's sake. These people are not just chanting support for suicide bombers, which would be bad enough, but saying they can't wait to become one themselves. Now my first instinct is to freak a little. "Terrorist wann-a-bees in the US. Eeeek." But on the other hand, it can't be that hard to "martyr" oneself, if one really wanted to. If these guys are so hot to get to heaven, what's keeping them? For most of these weenies, this is just some sort of twisted trash talking. Still, it's highly inappropriate given that most of these folks are probably guests of this country: student visa, resident aliens, etc. I would be OK with asking them to leave.
(via LGF)

Slightly disturbing story on All Things Considered

So I turn on the radio in the middle of a story about a guy released from prison after 44 years. It's all about how he's learning to use a cell phone and wants to ride a roller-coaster. I'm thinking this is inspirational stuff about wrongfully convicted man restarting his life. But no, it soon becomes apparent that the man actually did rob a bank, kidnap three staff members, shoot them on the side of the road and leave them for dead. The girl whose throat he slit died.

Now, I'm not going to comment on whether or not he'd "served his time". Alas, 44 years is longer that most murderers serve. But why on earth is this guy getting the head-shaking, it's all so sad treatment, usually reserved for, you know, tragic stuff. Tragic, like the death of the girl he murdered.

Update: Hey, it's not just me. Jonah is posting about this at the Corner.

Good thing there's no racism on the left

Yikes! Michelle Malkin has posted a harrowing collection of hate e-mail she has received accusing her of being a whore for the Republicans. Here's a nice one:

Hi Self hating flat nosed Filipino B***ch! As we used to refer to your kind - little brown F***ing Machines. Looks like this little LBFM learned to whore in a different way to make some pesos. How sweet. (asterisks mine)

She gets this kind of abuse because she's a minority and a conservative. I guess I shouldn't be, but I'm still shocked by the racist vitriol hurled at minorities who don't tow the Democratic party line.

I noticed this even before I went over to the dark side. In fact, it's part of what pushed me over. This column by Maureen Dowd regarding Clarence Thomas' opposition to affirmative action really struck me. A large part of Thomas' problem with affirmative action is that it taints all minorities, since you can never know if they were the most qualifed candidates or if some bureaucrat just needed to fill the quota. Maureen answers this concern with:

It drives him crazy that people think he is where he is because of his race, but he is where he is because of his race.

Did she not notice that she just proved his point?

UN Update

Things aren't looking good for Kofi. From the Telegraph:

Calls for Mr Annan's resignation were once restricted to ideologically driven hardline US conservatives. Now diplomats in New York are openly asking whether the secretary-general can remain in office until the end of his term in December 2006.

Do "ideologically driven hardline US conservatives" care who heads the UN? Don't they just want the UN to go away? If so, then the worse the secretary general, the better. Shouldn't they be big Kofi boosters?

But I digress. It may, in fact, be unfair to pin the numerous scandals of the UN on Kofi. If not unfair, then certainly unproductive. Replacing Kofi with another bureaucrat who would be acceptable to the dictatorships and kleptocracies that make up the majority of the member states probably wouldn't change much. There are serious problems with the stucture of the UN.

Take a look at this article on the UN's latest sex scandal:

Peacekeeping troops guarding refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo sexually abused girls as young as 13, giving out scraps of food or money in return for favours, the United Nations admitted yesterday. {snip}

Investigators found "freshly used condoms" littering guard posts and command centres around Bunia, where peacekeepers from Pakistan, Morocco, Nepal and Bangladesh are based. "We are shocked, we are outraged, we are sickened," said William Lacy Swing, who heads the UN mission in Congo. "Peacekeepers who have been sworn to assist those in need, particularly victims of sexual violence, instead have caused grievous harm. It is inexcusable. We are determined to stamp it out."

Now I'm sure Mr. Swing is sincere in his disgust. He's already furrowed his brow. Can a strongly worded letter be far behind? Seriously though, what are the options open to him to "stamp out" this abuse?

Reports say Pakistani, Moroccan and Uruguayan soldiers have all been charged with abuses. The UN can only repatriate them but it has called on member states to prosecute offenders.

So basically, no matter what the offence, UN soldiers can only be kicked out of the UN with the hope that his home country prosecutes. Can we really blame Kofi for this?
(via Instapundit)

Tsunami donations

President Bush on Friday signed legislation allowing people who donate to Indian Ocean tsunami relief to claim deductions on their 2004 tax returns, if they write the check before the end of the month.

Great idea. Here's an extensive list of organizations that are accepting funds.

I want to highlight Heart to Heart, a group based here in Kansas City that has been flying around the world delivering medical supplies for about 10 years now. They've already sent a plane load of medicine and water filtration supplies to Sri Lanka. A couple local news anchors are going along with the flight, so you can keep an eye on what your donation is accomplishing.

Good Fences and Bad Fences

Cliff May notes a plan for even more fences:

The new fences will be chain-link and six feet tall, topped with small spikes to “deter” those who might consider scaling them. Well, we’ll see what the International Court of Justice in The Hague has to say about this!

Oh, wait a minute, sorry. These fences are not being erected along the West Bank to protect Israeli communities from Hamas terrorists, these fences are being erected between the District of Columbia and Prince Georges County in Maryland, and they are meant to stop “criminals” from crossing from the city into the suburbs.

If it's OK to erect a fence to keep junkies out of you neighborhood (and I think it is), how can a fence that keeps out suicide murderers be wrong?

For more fences from Belfast to Zimbabwe that somehow escape the ire of the international community, see here.