musing minds

Tony Blankley of the Washington Times, gives one of the best sports analogies I’ve seen in awhile. Take a look at this snippet and then go read the whole thing:

President Bush plays politics the way my friends and I used to play pick-up football when I was a kid. In the huddle, the quarterback would tell everyone else to go out long. On the snap the quarterback would dance around in the backfield until one of us five or six receivers got open, at which point he would complete the pass. With both sides going long all the time, we often ended up with basketball scores.

The Democrats, on the other hand, when on offense, merely receive the snap and fall on the ball. When on defense, they put all their men on the line, trying for a quick sack of the quarterback. If the quarterback is too agile for them, they are vulnerable to be scored upon, given their lack of a pass defense.

When two such teams meet, the best score the all-defense Democrats can hope for is a 0-0 tie. The best score the all-offense Republicans can expect is at least a 56-0 win. So far, since 2001 the score is about 42-0…

Tony’s bang on.

Kofi Annan just came out with his views on how the world should react to Hezbollah’s attempt to assert control over Lebanon:

Annan said the world needs to accept that in every society different groups may hold different views. “Of course, we need to be careful of the forces at work in Lebanese society as we move forward,” he said.

“But even the Hezbollah — if I read the message on the placards they are using — they are talking about non-interference by outsiders… which is not entirely at odds with the Security Council resolution, that there should be withdrawal of Syrian troops,” Annan told reporters.

“But that having been said, we need to recognise that they are a force in society that one will have to factor in as we implement the resolution,” he said.

The basic premise of the U.N. is that all nations and regimes are considered equal. All countries have a vote whether they are democratic or despotic. Totalitarian countries such as Cuba sit on special human rights bodies. No regime is good or bad, only different, and deserving of respect. So while we shake our heads in disgust at the above quote we must remind ourselves that Kofi’s statements are far from radical. In fact, they sit squarely in the center of U.N. philosophy. Let’s not shoot the messenger. Let’s get rid of the great world moral equalizer we call the U.N.
More at Polipundit.

Today is Dan Rather’s last day as the anchorman for CBS News. There will be lots of posts about it today on many different sites. Here’s my connection – Rathergate was my first exposure to the blogosphere. Like so many others, I didn’t even know blogs existed prior to that event. The first blog I ever visted was Rathergate.com. I went there today and thanked them for introducing me to this amazing new world. Dan Rather stories will come and go, but the blogosphere is here to stay.

It was just a few short months ago that I started checking out the links at Rathergate.com. I did so again today, clicking on PoliPundit, a site I started going to regularly soon after my exposure to Rathergate.com. And there, just a few lines from the top of PoliPundit’s site, was a link to Musing Minds.

Things move fast around here.

My Uncle David passed away this morning about 4 a.m. He passed peacefully into the Lord’s arms. He had pancreatic cancer and was taken to the hospital Monday with pneumonia. He was surrounded by family and love.

Uncle David was a wonderful man. He made my aunt the happiest she’d ever been. He was a loving father and grandfather.

He will be missed. But we know he is in with the Lord. And he’s probably playing on the heavenly back nine with Dad right now.

Brit Hume interviewed Ari Fleischer on Special Report March 8, 2005. I have just finished transcribing it.

[Videotape]:

Helen Thomas: Why then is a family grudge included in official papers States Acquisition on war and peace?

Ari Fleischer: Helen, if you’re referring to, form, an attempt to assassinate a former United States President which Iraq tried to do when former President Bush went to Kuwait.

Helen Thomas: that’s why we’re killing thousands of people in Iraq?

Ari Fleischer: Helen I also think it’s why former President Clinton responded to that assassination attempt with four days of cruise missile strikes against Iraq.

Helen Thomas: People are acting like this is a conversion to democracy by the sword. How can you, I mean, are you going to kill all these people to get democracy?

[Live]:

Brit Hume: That is what daily press briefings were like in the first years of the Bush Administration and that’s pretty much what they’re like today. Briefers come and go, but the press, and some of its prominent members seem to be forever. Why is this? Well who better to ask than the man who, as you just saw endured the slings and arrows for most of President Bush’s first term, his former press secretary, Ari Fleischer, author of Taking Heat the new book about his experiences on the job. Ari, welcome.

Ari Fleischer: Thank you Brit.

Brit Hume: So what causes, in your judgment, the atmosphere, that intensely adversarial atmosphere which has existed for some time in the White House briefing room?

Ari Fleischer: Well part of it is the healthy way every democracy should be carried out with press holding the government accountable and asking the tough questions. But I also happen to think that in the modern media, particularly live TV coverage, it’s almost now become a performance in that briefing room, half by reporters, half by the press secretary, it’s just a new era.

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“Zoinks Scoob, Miss Sgrena said she was shot at by a hail of bullets,” said Shaggy. “But there’s no bullet holes.”

“Rhosts Raggy??”

“Jinkies Scoob I don’t think a ghost shot at her, after all there is one bullet hole. But where’s the rest? Something funny is going on here,” Velma added.

“That’s right Velma, this story doesn’t add up,” noted Fred.

“Look here, these articles by Miss Sgrena are all about how evil Americans are,” Velma said pointing to her computer screen.

“I’ve got it!” said Daphne. “Miss Sgrena just wants us to believe that the U.S. soldiers tried to kill her. See, she’s been writing for years about how bad the Americans are, so she’s using the accidental death of one of her countrymen to convince the world she’s right.”

“Wow, exploiting this unfortunate death to push her own political agenda, that’s really creepy Daphne, but I think you’re right,” said Fred, shaking his head in disgust.

Just then the local Sheriff showed up with Sgrena. “We found her about a half mile away, she was just about to give another statement to CNN when we caught her.”

“Ok, you figured it out. But I would’ve gotten away with it if it wasn’t for you meddling kids with your lap top computers,” Sgrena wept.

Welcome Jawa Report readers. Please look around. Welcome also to No Easy Answers readers.

Non Sequitur 3/7/05 – This is just too funny…

Dad would have been 71 years old today. He died September 4, 2002 of esophageal cancer. We miss you Daddy.

Below I posted about the Italian journalist Sgrena. According to the Washington Times, the U.S. may have been kept in the dark about the release because the Italians were paying a hefty ransom. The U.S. (the adult in the family) disapproves of such practice because it only serves to create a “market” for hostages in the future. Not to mention the fact that now the terrorists have that much more money with which to buy explosives.

If I’m a journalist in Iraq right now I’d be thinking how much I’m worth on this market…..and wondering if my government would be willing to pay that price. Be sure to check out the links to the post below, there’s lots more.

You would think Assad was in a strong bargaining position by the way he’s currently acting. As reported by the LA Times:

Speaking to the Syrian parliament in Damascus, a defiant Assad seemed determined to display Syrian imperviousness to foreign pressure, refusing to say how soon the soldiers would pull out. The troops would first move to the Bekaa Valley, a strip of villages and farmland near the Syrian border, the president said. Then the Syrians and Lebanese would negotiate a move to the frontier between the two countries, but Assad didn’t say which side of the border they would occupy.

I like this quote from Assad:

“They may say this isn’t enough,” Assad told lawmakers. “But we say it’s enough.”

Really. I suggest Assad contact his real estate agent to start looking for a nice luxury spider hole because if Bush is willing to stand up to France, Germany, Russia (and a whole lot of other countries) to oust Saddam Hussein, he sure as heck isn’t going to back down against little Assad here, especially when Assad’s only backer appears to be our international darling Iran.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, a French commando supply ship has quietly slipped into the region. Hat tip Instapundit.