Decision ‘08 » 2006

Archive for February, 2006

Friday, February 24th, 2006

Krauthammer to the Rescue (Again!)

The Bush Administration would do well to heed any advice coming from Charles Krauthammer on the ports deal; after all, he famously anticipated the clean exit from the Harriet Miers mess. Before he dispenses with his prescription, though, he has a bit of a tongue-lashing to deliver:
Congress is up in arms. The Democrats, in […]

10 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Foreign Affairs by Mark

Thursday, February 23rd, 2006

A Crucial Weekend in Iraq

One gets the feeling that the next few days will be decisive in determining how badly the prospects for a united Iraq have been damaged by the attack on the Shia shrine. I’ve been posting links to Iraq the Model when available; here’s another Iraqi blog that indicates how widespread the violence has been […]

No Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Iraq, Foreign Affairs by Mark

Thursday, February 23rd, 2006

The Curt Weldon Conference Call

There was a second Able Danger Conference Call today, this time with Congressman Curt Weldon. I was invited, but had a conflict, timewise; that didn’t worry me, though, because I knew with AJ there, I couldn’t have added much to the story anyway. Read his comprehensive coverage here…

No Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Radical Islam / GWOT by Mark

Thursday, February 23rd, 2006

It’s Official: The Biden Vanity Run Is A Go

Even though he’s got no more chance of winning than I do, Joe Biden will give it the ol’ college try in 2008. The Political Pit Bull has the footage…

3 Comments » - Posted in Joe Biden, 2008 News, Democratic Candidates by Mark

Thursday, February 23rd, 2006

Is Iraq Tipping Into Civil War?

I’m sure I have regular readers on both sides of that fence - and I think both persuasions will find this excellent post by Bill Roggio (and the comments, as well) a pretty constructive discussion…

No Comments » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

Thursday, February 23rd, 2006

Come On, Get Clueless!

It’s that time again…Rick Moran has your latest roundup…

No Comments » - Posted in Linky Love by Mark

Thursday, February 23rd, 2006

The Marist Poll: Dead Heat For Republicans

It doesn’t get better than this for political junkies…earlier, we looked at the latest 2008 poll with respect to the Democratic ticket; now, we take a look at the three-way tie for the Republicans. At the top of the elephant heap, we see the following:
Condoleezza Rice: 22%
Rudy Giuliani: […]

7 Comments » - Posted in George Allen, Mike Huckabee, Al Gore, Condoleezza Rice, John Edwards, John Kerry, Mitt Romney, 2008 Polls, Republican Candidates, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Democratic Candidates by Mark

Thursday, February 23rd, 2006

Marist Poll: Hillary Dominates Dems

Some interesting results from the most recent Marist Poll on the 2008 election. Hillary leads big (40% of Democrat-leaning respondents would support her as the nominee), with John Edwards second at 16% (Al Gore moves into second if he’s included, with 17%, and Hillary drops back to 33%). More than half of Democrats […]

5 Comments » - Posted in Condoleezza Rice, Al Gore, Mark Warner, Evan Bayh, John Edwards, John Kerry, Rudy Giuliani, Republican Candidates, 2008 Polls, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Democratic Candidates by Mark

Thursday, February 23rd, 2006

Behind The Summers Resignation Is The Same Old Democratic Split

So says Stanley Kurtz, about soon-to-be-former Harvard President Larry Summers:
Summers is from the sane side of the Democratic Party (yes, there is one). These moderate Democrats want to bring the academy closer to the center of the country. But when push came to shove, the leftist faculty wouldn’t play along.
That left Summers and his moderate […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Donkeys, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots® by Mark

Thursday, February 23rd, 2006

Baghdad Tension Continues

Things are very, very dicey in Iraq at the moment, and it’s got nothing to do with pro-war, anti-war, left or right, and everything to do with sectarian violence. Dozens have been killed in reprisal attacks for the bombing of the Al-Askariya shrine. It’s important to realize how important this particular shrine is:
The […]

9 Comments » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

Thursday, February 23rd, 2006

Our Government at Work

Representative Sue Myrick, in a letter to George W. Bush:
Dear Mr. President:
In regards to selling American ports to the United Arab Emirates, not just NO - but HELL NO!
Sincerely,
Sue Myrick
What a bunch of - um, hooey…
Breathtakingly ignorant -besides the juvenile nature of the letter, you have the fact that it’s not even correct on the […]

11 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Foreign Affairs by Mark

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006

Ports, Ports, Ports…

…my kingdom for a horse (I haven’t had a winner in weeks). If you’re wondering what the hell I’m talking about, so am I…let’s see, where was I? Oh, yeah, ports!
It’s all about the ports, now, isn’t it? Still, it’s better than it all being about the Vice President’s hunting accident, so I […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Foreign Affairs by Mark

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006

The Hitchens Solidarity Meetup

I mentioned before that, for those of you in the Washington, D.C., area, you have an excellent opportunity to hang out with the great Hitchens and show your support for Denmark. Now he has released the particulars:
Thank you all who’ve written. Please be outside the Embassy of Denmark, 3200 Whitehaven Street (off Massachusetts Avenue) […]

No Comments » - Posted in Hitchens the Great, Foreign Affairs by Mark

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006

Headlines You’ll Never See At The Huffington Post, Part One

Documents Support Cheney’s Shooting Account (hey, Jane, I’m still waiting for that lull in the story to end)…

No Comments » - Posted in Dick Cheney, Republican Candidates by Mark

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006

It’s Greenwald Versus Maguire…

…in a battle of blogging heavyweights - the winner? This judge scores it 10-7 Maguire; a note to Glenn, on the off chance he reads this (he and Tom are sometimes good enough to pay us a visit) - the fact that you can find numerous examples of Bush supporters labelling his Republican critics ‘liberal’ […]

8 Comments » - Posted in POTUS, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots® by Mark

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006

Tensions Rises After Mosque Bombing

Strange days in Iraq, or should I say in the media’s coverage of Iraq. Prior to the recent bombing of the Shia mosque, it seems that the war had almost slipped out of view (and it’s still overshadowed by the port hysteria - as Jonah Goldberg said, “…[O]f course, overnight everyone has become an […]

No Comments » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006

Maguire’s First Law of Congressional Inaction

I’ve gone to the trouble of formalizing a rule of thumb helpfully supplied to us by the MinuteMan, Tom Maguire:
When faced with any issue of even moderate complexity, Congress will choose the path of least responsibility.
The law is especially predictive with issues involving national security. For examples, see the law applied to the Port […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Domestic Affairs by Mark

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006

Portgate Roundup

Washington Times: Against
John McIntyre: Against (”[C]ommon-sense seems to tell me that we probably should not approve management of key U.S. ports to a state-owned Arab company)…

James Lileks: Against
L.A. Times: For (”Dubai Ports World, like the foreign companies that already run the majority of key U.S. ports — including 80% of the terminals in Los Angeles […]

24 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Foreign Affairs by Mark

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2006

The WSJ On The Ports: Much Ado About Nothing

The Wall Street Journal:
Some of us are scratching our heads all right, but we’re wondering why Mr. Graham and others believe Dubai Ports World has been insufficiently vetted for the task at hand. So far, none of the critics have provided any evidence that the Administration hasn’t done its due diligence. The deal has been […]