:: ::

:: MAX BLACK ::

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." --C.S. Lewis

"The Swiss pocket knife of conservative thought on the web..." - Eli Kardrakian

"Bookmark Max and dump your subscription to the newspaper; if you don't have a birdcage you really don't need it anyway..." - Shirley St. James

:: Tuesday, November 30, 2004 ::

"What?!... Slow down, hee-haw, whoa... What we learned was that members of the UN security council itself--notably Russia, China and France--were bought and paid for by Saddam Hussein to the tune, so far, of twenty-three billion bucks. That's the biggest bribe in the history of known bribes by a factor of what? Ten? Twenty? A thousand? Beats me, but I do know that it is sufficient to make the entire security council itself irrelevant as a deliberative body."

If you aren't reading Roger L. Simon daily, well--you're just out of touch. If you missed it, yesterday, he (half-heartedly) Fisked Blix.

(Blix usually Auto-Fisks anyway so cut Simon some slack for not applying the full Fiskatation--he's a busy man so why bother?.)

:: Max 7:38 PM [+] ::
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Another Big Loser

Koffi Annan made a huge mistake in supporting John Kerry. Detroit News' Thomas Bray has some thoughts on the matter:

"In a transparent attempt to lend weight to John Kerry campaign's criticism of Bush administration policies in Iraq, the United Nations' secretary-general denounced the war several weeks before the election as "illegal." It was a direct slap to an incumbent president -- and all the more outrageous because no such judgment was pronounced on Bill Clinton's war in Kosovo, which also lacked UN sanction.

Given the fact that Annan is now presiding over a monumental scandal involving the UN's oil-for-food program in Iraq, he's poorly positioned to prate about legality."

Koffi Annan is the archtypal, venal, grasping, crooked bureaucrat--that there is no authority that can pierce the UN veil to get to this little criminal is testament to the danger of the out-of-control monstrosity that is the UN. That our tax dollars pay his salary is revolting.

:: Max 9:05 AM [+] ::
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THK Update

Florida Cracker snatches this quote from Democrat stratagist Susan Estrich regarding the electorate's perception of Teresa Hienz Kerry:

"she is an egocentric, arrogant, full-of-herself, spoiled rotten witch, with a checkbook, who thinks that just because she's rich she's smarter than anybody else."

I'd say that sums it up pretty well.

:: Max 8:51 AM [+] ::
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Red Thanksgiving

Wow, Modo's family is Republican? Looks like she ate a little Crow at the family gathering this year:

"There are moments--when my brothers are sharing some snarky thing Rush Limbaugh said about me, or the latest bon mot from Pat Buchanan, with whom they grew up--that I'm tempted to stuff my ears with my mom's potato stuffing, or go off and read a book by David Sedaris about normal family life."

I'd pay to watch you do it Maureen.

:: Max 8:03 AM [+] ::
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IOU and you and you...

Jason over at COUNTERCOLUMN is worried about the falling dollar and how it might affect our economy. If you are still carrying large balances on your credit cards or have an adjustable rate mortgage, you might want to drop in for a visit. Here's a little excerpt:

It's not hard to imagine China calling up the Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of State, or George Dubya himself on the phone, and saying "play ball or else," essentially blackmailing the President with the threat of a massive and sudden sell off of treasuries, which could push interest rates through the roof, choking off the housing industry, putting the screws to the automotive industry, reaming anyone holding an adjustible rate mortgage, hanging anyone on an interest-only mortgage by their ankles come refinance time, and pushing the US economy back into a sharp recession.

Catastrophic disaster senarios like this are routinely bandied about so I take it with a large grain of salt--however--if you haven't done so already--now might be a real good time to reign in your consumer debt and lock into fixed rate mortgage.

(Paranoid Rumination: I'm still wondering if George Soros has a hand in this--I don't know if he's truly big enough to cause the dollar to tank but it would be a logical deduction given the outcome of the Presidential election and his history manipulating financial markets.)

:: Max 8:13 AM [+] ::
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More Unintended Consequences of the Bush Doctrine?

Well--it's not really all that implausible is it?

:: Max 11:28 PM [+] ::
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Get Out Your Secret Amulets, Chrystals and Petuli Oil...

BUSH IS COMING!

:: Max 11:10 PM [+] ::
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Gigging Blogs

Similar to noodling but less--how you say--distasteful. Is this just a 'big-fish' story--a little State Department leger de maine--or the real McCoy? You decide [>]

Via Powerline [>]

:: Max 10:48 PM [+] ::
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Putin's Election Fraud Rebutted

They are figuring it out in the Ukraine (via The Corner):

A correspondent on the state channel, UT1, announced live on the evening bulletin that the entire news team was going to join the protests in Independence Square. She said their message to the protesters was: "We are not lying anymore".

Another unintended consequence of the Bush Doctrine?

(hey, Anatoly--get Jimmy Carter and Koffi on the phone NOW--and get the 'messege' to CNN, the BBC and Dan Rather before this shit gets out of hand! Where in the hell did all these people come from you idiot? You told me this thing was in the bag you incompetant fool...)

Update: Speaking of Koffi Annan [>]

:: Max 9:58 PM [+] ::
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Whole Stuffed Ca-Ca-Camel?!

OK--I'm not making this up--here's the recipe ("serves 80-100 friendly guests").

(hot-damn Maw, look at the size of those giblets!)

And you thought Turducken was wierd

via LGF [>]

:: Max 9:21 AM [+] ::
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Shopping Cart

Go ahead, put this little gem on your credit card:

Shadow War: The Untold Story of How Bush Is Winning the War on Terror
by Richard Miniter

Via Powerline [>]

:: Max 9:11 AM [+] ::
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Clinical Debunking

Just found this lengthy and comprehensive article via No Pasaran--it's a MUST read:

Masters of Deception:
Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore and the 9-11 Conspiracy Industry.

:: Max 9:01 AM [+] ::
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"amour violent"

Dang--the relationship between Chirac and Blair seem to be getting a little kinky!

Via No Pasaran [>]

:: Max 8:46 AM [+] ::
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Eurabia Update

Fox online has a four part series on Muslim immigration in Europe. Today's installment focuses on Sweden:

"Because Sweden has some of the most liberal asylum laws in Europe, one quarter of Malmo's 250,000 population is now Muslim, changing the face and the idea of what it means to be Swedish. Asylum seekers may bring spouses, brothers and grandparents with them. Civil servants say the city is swamped.

"You have 1,000 students in a Swedish school. How many are Swedes? Two," said Lars Birgersson, principal of the Rosengrad School."

Read the whole thing [>]

:: Max 8:32 AM [+] ::
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In a Nutshell

Powerline's Hinderaker sums it up nicely:

"In the end--and the end may be quite far off, for, as Adam Smith said, there is a lot of ruin in a country--there are only two alternatives for any nation: religious faith and tyranny. Because if each individual is not, as the Declaration says, endowed by his Creator with certain inalienable rights, then those rights are only the creation of governments. And what governments give, they can, and surely will, take away. In the end, it is only the religious belief that each person, by virtue of being created in the image of God, is of transcendant value that stands between all of us and the boot heel of tyranny. Absent such belief, people are but cattle and, sooner or later, will be treated as such."

Amen

:: Max 6:50 AM [+] ::
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More Blogospherics

The Economist weighs in on Rathergate (an excerpt via Drudge):

All through the recent election campaign, the new media outsmarted the old media when it came to setting the news agenda. Republican strategists admit that the Swift Boat veterans' attacks on John Kerry, largely ignored by the old media, would never have got anywhere without the online Drudge Report. Drudge was also instrumental in turning the "60 Minutes" story into an embarrassment for the Democrats, not Mr Bush. Local bloggers also had an effect; in South Dakota, for instance, they repeatedly highlighted Tom Daschle's partisan record in Washington, DC, something that the Democratic Senate majority leader's friends in the local print media had never laboured to expose.

The bloggers have often been at their most devastating when they have been criticising the old media for bias. Their favourite target has long been the New York Times, where they helped to remove the paper's previous editor, Howell Raines. But CBS is also a juicy target. Why, the bloggers are now demanding, is Mr Rather being allowed to keep a full-time job working for "60 Minutes", the very programme whose reputation he has besmirched? "This is not a victory," proclaims Rathergate.com, before declaring its intention to keep attacking CBS.

Read the whole darn thing [>]

:: Max 3:16 PM [+] ::
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A Few Good Men

RCP featured this wonderful little essay by Janan Ganesh in the London Times Online. Looks like some people are starting to figure it out:

Let's hear it for the Marines
By Janan Ganesh



THE MOTTO of the US Marine Corps is Semper Fidelis, or "always faithful". And faith is exactly what the Western media eschew in their relentlessly cynical coverage of the American Armed Forces, which plunged to a new nadir last week with the outrage at a Marine who shot dead an injured and unarmed Fallujah terrorist. Their determination to portray the Americans as trigger-happy louts and the Iraqi terrorists as mere 'rebels' slanders the former, sanctifies the latter and betrays everybody who trusts journalists to be objective. Each American transgression is covered exhaustively and reproachfully, while triumphs, such as the trouble-free elections in Afghanistan and the reconstruction of Iraqi infrastructure, are treated as background noise. The torture of a few dozen prisoners in Abu Ghraib, for example, received far more attention than the restoration of the Marsh Arabs' homeland.



And this bias predates the Iraq war. If you get your news from Channel 4, you probably believe that the detainees at Guantanamo Bay are wide-eyed young gadflies who were enjoying an innocuous 18-30 holiday in glamorous Tora Bora before being kidnapped by rampaging Navy Seals. The truth is that many are al-Qaeda members who fought coalition forces during the invasion, but whose crimes are too legally vague to guarantee a conviction in court. America is therefore faced with the choice of releasing known enemies or detaining them indefinitely. That they choose the latter is not only sensible but generous--any of history's previous superpowers, such as Soviet Russia--would have shot them on sight.

Jack Nicholson's "you can't handle the truth" routine in A Few Good Men has become an iconic monologue of modern cinema, but the point he was making is rarely grasped. The injustice Nicholson laments is not that we expect a noble minority to pay the blood price for our security--it was ever thus--but that we demand the right to tell them how to do it. Shackled by laws, norms and protocol concocted by legalists, the US Armed Forces--who have done more for freedom of the press than all the world's journalists combined--are put in an impossible position. It is nauseating enough that they are now casually disparaged as "hicks" and "rednecks" by do-nothing civilians, without the supposedly objective media joining in.


Janan Ganesh is a freelance writer

Well said.

:: Max 1:07 PM [+] ::
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Blogospherics

Check this [>]

It's all good lest the grid crashes--is there a reliable backup? Has anyone figured out 'plan B'? Hmmm...

:: Max 11:48 PM [+] ::
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Sanctimonious Hollywood Gasbags Ignore van Gogh Murder

It's curious, isn't it, that the Hollywood elite would choose to completely ignore the barbaric murder of documentary film-maker Theo van Gogh? Michael Moore when you need him? Bridget Johnson of the The WSJ OpinionJournal has some thoughts on the subject.

:: Max 1:12 PM [+] ::
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What's up with the greenback?

Irwin M. Stelzer of the Daily Standard makes sense out of a very complicated subject.

Via RCP [>]

:: Max 7:49 AM [+] ::
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Could it happen here?

Never say never. Here's the scoop on how Putin stole the Ukraine election from the popular, pro-Western Democrat, Viktor Yushchenko.

:: Max 7:38 AM [+] ::
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Help...

...the troops celebrate the hollidays (via NRO's Kathleen Lopez):

1. http://www.uso.org/pubs/93_325_1391.cfm

2. Just looking around on the USO site see that they need $$ for phone cards. In most forward areas there are phone centers for the soldiers and Marines to call back to the US but they need phone cards (which they typically pay for at the PX). The PX is always out of phone cards though for some reason. Anyway the USO has come up with 'Operation Phone Home' to get phone cards to these guys so they can...phone home.

3. http://www.operationgratitude.com">www.soldiersangels.com is a good one if people want to 'adopt' an individual soldier/Marine/sailor. The only thing is, packages need to be sent by this Saturday to make it to either Iraq or Afghanistan by Christmas.

4. www.operationgratitude.com is another good one- just send $$, they send packages. Their holiday drive is already completed but it doesn't mean the guys in the field don't still need stuff.

5. www.ustroopcarepackage.com also sends packages to the wounded soldiers at Walter Reed, and in Germany and Kuwait. The guys especially need underwear, socks and sweats.

:: Max 7:59 AM [+] ::
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Thanksgiving--The Debate Rages On

Pinot Noir or Gewurztraminer?; canned or whole Cranberries? NRO's Cornerites are hammering it out.

:: Max 7:06 AM [+] ::
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Losing Ohio

What was it like to be inside the Ohio ACT 527 in an ballroom watching Tom Brokaw call Ohio for Bush on November 2nd, 2004? Well...it was like this.

:: Max 9:44 PM [+] ::
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"Peter Heath, the owner operator, said the rent rises had been unavoidable because his land tax had ballooned from $20,000 in 2000 to a staggering $175,000 this year."

Liberals will take it all if they can get their hands on it--marxist vermin.

here's the whole scoop via Tim Blair [>]

:: Max 8:06 PM [+] ::
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It's Working

The 'Bush Doctrine' appears to be spreading throughout the middleast but I never thought--at least in my lifetime--I'd see something like this coming out of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip--check out this post via Blogs of War.

Related: Also, don't miss this post by The American Thinker's Olivier Guitta on the evolution of post-Arafat Palestine. Here's an excerpt:

"For the past ten years, Arafat has been ruling the PA like his own kingdom. He has installed a terror regime, which allows him to control every aspect of its 'territories.' Between the atrocious killings of "collaborators" and constant threats on journalists and "democrats," Palestinians have been too afraid to rebel against the Arafat Kingdom (AK).

But things might be changing: Friday's kidnappings of the security chief and five French social workers inside Gaza, plus Prime Minister Abu Ala's resignation, and the burning of PA offices might constitute the beginning of a revolt."

Update: This article lends a rational perspective to the reality of 'democracy' in the middle east.

:: Max 6:37 PM [+] ::
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Simon says...

"Europe is in an extraordinary crisis with great overtones of 1930s." Well--things do seem to be getting rather ugly.

:: Max 8:33 AM [+] ::
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Dissident?

"I told the president, 'In spite of all the polls warning you that talking about spreading democracy in the Middle East might be a losing issue--despite all the critics and the resistance you faced--you kept talking about the importance of free societies and free elections. You kept explaining that democracy is for everybody. You kept saying that only democracy will truly pave the way to peace and security. You, Mr. President, are a dissident among the leaders of the free world.'"

--Natan Sharansky

Powerline has the scoop on the Sharansky-Bush meeting.

:: Max 8:20 AM [+] ::
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"REAL" Plastic Bush Turkey Deal

This is a keeper--trust me--it's an hierloom. Get out your VISA card.

VIA the Corner [>]

:: Max 10:25 PM [+] ::
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Theo van Gogh Fallout

The Dutch are finally figuring it out.

:: Max 6:59 AM [+] ::
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"It had scared the dickens out of the neighbors, scratching one woman and denting her car."

No, it's not Howard Dean...

:: Max 6:54 AM [+] ::
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upheaval

I know, I haven't been posting since the election.

Here's the deal--I'm 'remodeling'--my world is upside-down. Now, I should know better, I've been in the construction industry for most of my adult life and I can deal with many of the routine problems associated with having the house all torn up. However...

The wife? That's another deal entirely. Although I've been the victim of scorn from many a disgruntled housewife, no one has ever been quite as intolerant and picky as my loving spouse--she's the worst customer I've ever had.

I'm tired...the dishwasher is installed but I haven't swept the carpets from the dust from the plaster removal and it's almost midnight. To make matters worse, I'm out of beer. But this I promise you...

I'll be up before sunise to recap come hell or high water (which is a distinct possibility!)

Thanks for dropping by, I'm fairly amazed (and somewhat humbled) you all keep checking in--despite my eradic posting--Thanks and may you never-ever have to procure a 3/8 X 3/8 (diswasher), no-burst, braided stainless steel, connection with an angel-stop ever again!

:: Max 9:58 PM [+] ::
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Congress Criminalizing Your Remote Control

At first, I thought this had to be a joke but it's not--it's for real.

:: Max 6:58 AM [+] ::
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Oil For Food

Here's an interesting post by No Pasaran that explains why the French were so reluctant to support the US invasion of Iraq, and--surprise--it's all about oil!

:: Max 8:00 PM [+] ::
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Arafat Update

The truly inimitable Scott Burgess compares Arafat obituaries--don't miss it [>]

:: Max 2:46 PM [+] ::
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Europe Waking to Threat of Islamofascism

The barbaric murder of film-maker Theo van Gogh is apparently causing a backlash in Western Europe. LGF points to this story about a TV crew that went undercover to record a 'sermon' in a Berlin mosque--and the Germans aren't real happy with the results of the investigation. Here's a snippet of the Imam's comments:

"These Germans, these atheists, these Europeans don't shave under their arms and their sweat collects under their hair with a revolting smell and they stink," said the preacher at the Mevlana Mosque in Berlin's Kreuzberg district, in the film made by Germany's ZDF public TV, adding: "Hell lives for the infidels! Down with all democracies and all democrats!"

Yikes--sounds like they hate democracy almost as much as the French!

Here's a thorough update on the political move that sparked the van Gogh murder and how the Dutch are dealing with it.

Update: Tim Blair has a fresh post on the van Gogh tradgedy (and don't forget to browse the comments section).

:: Max 2:00 PM [+] ::
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Leveraging FOIA

Jeff Jarvis utilized the Freedom Of Information Act for this eye-popping report. He also posts links to and instruction for the use of the FOIA. Bookmark it.

Hmmm...the Mayors expense account? Excellent idea!

:: Max 2:00 PM [+] ::
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"sinkhole of corruption"

Norm Coleman tears the lid off Oil-For-Food via Powerline [>]

:: Max 11:06 AM [+] ::
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Le Brown Nose

No surprise here...

Chirac is just an insufferable pig of a man...

:: Max 11:39 PM [+] ::
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Award

Vodkapundit deserves some kind of blog-award for this prescient post (via Instapundit). Here's an excerpt:

...I would guess that there are many more conservatives who have traveled the world than liberals, simply because more of them have served in the military...

This post triggered some fascinating comments; read the whole thing [>]

:: Max 11:14 PM [+] ::
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The Party of Values?

Big Trunk posts this interesting observation:

"The founders of the United States never spoke of "values"; the concept was foreign to their political discourse. The concept of "values" derives from the thought of the German intellectual Max Weber. Weber maintained that the fundamental distinction of social science was that between "facts" and "values." Regarding "values" -- the deeply held beliefs that shaped the lives of citizens -- social science could render no judgment.

"Values" are by definition relative. They have no objective status or connection to a commonly shared nature. The supplanting of nature and self-evident truths by "values" is more or less the great project of modern liberalism, whose home is in the Democratic Party. It is but a short distance from the orthodoxy of "values" to the related dogmas of "multiculturalism" and "diversity" that permeate liberal thought. In this sense the Democratic Party is the party of "values."

On the other hand, the Republican Party has its roots in the founders' thought. Recall, for example, that in its first platform the Republican Party condemned slavery and polygamy together as "the twin relics of barbarism." Can anyone today explain why? Or how "homosexual marriage," for example, should be viewed in light of such an explanation?"

Read the whole thing [>]

:: Max 5:55 PM [+] ::
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OFF

Powerline has an update on Senator Norm Coleman's investigation of the Oil For Food (OFF) scandal--good to see this highly competant Senator leading the charge.

:: Max 6:02 AM [+] ::
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Fearless Leader

Yasir Arafat was a small-minded, corrupt little goofball. Maybe someday, the Palestinian people will come to realize just what a total moron this guy really was.

:: Max 5:38 AM [+] ::
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NEWSFLASH-Black is White/Up is Down

Harry gets it right:

We have 'peace' campaigners who are in favour of terrorism.

We have 'anti-fascists' who support fascists.

We have 'feminists' supporting the oppressors of women.

We have 'socialists' against trade unions.

We have 'revolutionaries' in favour of the status quo and stability.

We have 'anti-racists' who support racists.

We have 'secularists' against secularism.

And now we have anti-censorship campaigners who respond to a political murder by saying the victim had 'abused his right to free speech'.

And they say we are the ones who have sold out?

:: Max 5:30 AM [+] ::
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Voter Fraud

Florida Cracker has an update from Broward County--this report shouldn't really surprise anyone.

:: Max 9:22 PM [+] ::
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Get A Grip

The hopelessly depressed Dem Bloggers--an update.

:: Max 8:08 PM [+] ::
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Falluja

Just keep your eye on Hammorabi.

Related:

Don't forget to check in with the war bloggers--you might want to start out with Smash.

Also related: The Messopotamian has an important post regarding the kidnapping of Alawhi's close relatives, with emphasis on the young, pregnant woman who is facing a brutal beheading at the hands of these ignorant pigs.

Also related: Samizdata weighs in.

Update: The BBC--willing accomplices.

(CBS eat your hearts out--the British really know how to dish anti-US propaganda).

:: Max 7:34 PM [+] ::
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My Dog Ate My Homework

Sorry for not posting but I've been busy with my other life. HOWEVER--Here are a few things I've picked up that are well worth your time:

Don't miss this Roger L. Simon post--it's a keeper and John Perry Barlow Greatful Dead fame has an apologia of sorts--call it an epiphany--regarding how the left should come to grips with reality--this is exactly the kind of discussion we should all be having right now.

OK...now I've got to go wash the paint off my arms, legs, head, keyboard [keyboard?!]....

:: Max 5:36 PM [+] ::
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NYT Calls for Bush Assasination?

Blogging has been light because I have been busy with LIFE but I couldn't pass this one up. I really don't think they are at all happy Bush won this election--can't wait to see how they handle a Hillary loss in '08. They are SOOOO clueless.

:: Max 3:02 PM [+] ::
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Powerline Classics

Today, Powerline has three classic posts that all relate to appeasement of Islamofascism. The first post links to a website for all those Americans who feel the need to apologize to the world for our having re-elected GWB, the second and third posts relate to the brutal murder of Theo Van Gogh, the documentary film-maker. These three posts are all you need to know about how liberal apologists approach international terrorism.

:: Max 3:59 PM [+] ::
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American Statesman

I was never a big fan of Daniel Patrick Moynihan but I considered him an American statesman and political philosopher of the first order--I respected him as a 'liberal'. But today, the ephemeral and chimeric 'Democrat big tent' isn't big enough to accomodate such a wide-ranging and percepive progressive talent--they've become so factionalized, you have to think were John Kennedy still alive, he'd probably be a Republican.

I think it was Lyndon Johnson who once said "it's better to be on the inside of the tent pissing out than on the outside of the tent pissing in", an excellent observation but I'm not so sure the metaphore will withstand this man's scrutiny. Who's really pissing into the tent here?

:: Max 10:25 PM [+] ::
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What 'Agenda'

Hugh Hewitt posts this comment today:

"It is a Republican country, but it is very hard for the left to see this because they believe so deeply in their agenda."

I'm having real trouble identifying a discernable 'Democrat agenda'--they're so wishy-washy, they're completely unable to isolate and market a cohesive and comprehensible plan to the electorate other than promising all things to all people--this approach never works, something Bill Clinton understood. On the other hand, it's been said many times during this election cycle about Bush, 'like him or hate him, at least you know what he stands for'.

Veiled nuance and tip-toeing diplomacy go out the window when it's your turn to shove your chips in the pot. You simply can't say 'I've a pair of aces but--and depending upon the status of the next three cards I'm dealt--I shall or shall not, wager (some amount of money)--on the potential outcome--you understand my dilema--depending on the outcome of future events not under my control--I'll participate in some manner or form--please, move on to the next player and get back to me after I have eliminated more of the unknown veriables'.

Kerry and the Democrats, with the help of MSM have sidestepped the risk of specifying their 'agenda' (assuming they have one) and are therefore, unable to shove their chips into the pot. MSM can keep screaming at the top of their lungs that the Democrats have a winning hand, but until they are willing to bet the farm on it, no one will take them seriously.

I've watched this election as close as anyone possibly can and for the life of me, beyond the "anybody but Bush/Bush is Hitler" meme, I still cannot figure out what Soros & Co. are proposing in the way of a 'Democrat agenda' with maybe one possible exception.

Hillary was chrystal-clear about the Democratic agenda when she stated unequivocally, 'they' would take more money from you for the 'common good'. You got to give 'the smartest woman in America' credit--this is the only clear and honest agenda that I can discern from the Democrats and no liberal I know of has stated it with such succinct and breathtaking clarity.

:: Max 7:55 PM [+] ::
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Dang--she kinda looks like grandma's vericose veins or Courtney Love after a hard night on the town. Here's the source via The Corner [>]

:: Max 7:13 PM [+] ::
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Bush Win Reveals Liberal Mentality

There's a lot of this kind of thinking floating around in Democrat circles--nice to see them admit it publicly:

"But like many liberals I'm betting on the Armageddon theory of politics. Bush and the GOP majorities in the House and Senate will make things so bad in the next four years that the country will never elect a Republican ever again. So here's hoping things get much, much worse!"

--We can only hope--nay pray for Armageddon...

"From a Democratic perspective, what this country needs is a good recession."

Oh Joy--the good-ole days! a recession!--Yep, that'd do the trick, we'd all be licking our chops for Government subsidized jobs, housing and higher taxes whilst humming Woody Guthrie songs in the soupline...Michael Moore, Barbara Striesand, The Boss, Jesse Jackson, Howard Dean, George Soros, Jacques Chirac, Koffi Annan, Al Franken, Dan Rather, Bill Moyers, P-diddy and Hillary would sure know what to do!

:: Max 6:37 PM [+] ::
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Rare Find

Check out Ebay item number: 3850553305

Via Tim Blair [>]

:: Max 1:49 AM [+] ::
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"How Are We Going to Survive The Next Four Years?"

Emma Brockes, Professional Handwringer, UK Guardian:

At lunchtime, friends from America woke up and joined the chorus. With a defeated sneer, the Brits among them threatened to move home in protest; it isn't hard to imagine a Republican reply to this. "There's going to be a brain drain from this country which will leave the Red-State [Republican] morons to fend for themselves," wrote an American on the Guardian talk-boards. "I wonder what the immigration requirements are like in the UK?"
A friend in New York wrote: "The one consolation that people are clinging to is that he will fuck things up so badly in the next four years that the Democrats will move back into favour. That's if we still have a world." People in the city, he said, were wondering, "How we are going to survive the next four years. Unbelievable." I rang my cousin in Chicago. "I'm good," she said. "Well, no, actually, not great." The hope thing had prospered there, too. "We thought we were going to win. Bruce Springsteen ... the youth vote ... "

The Captain has more with pithy commentary here [>]

Update: The Captain has also posted an amazing smack-down of Nancy Pelosi's reaction to the Bush win--definitely a must-read [>]

:: Max 1:09 AM [+] ::
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Lileks and Gnat Discuss the Election (an excerpt):

"The "progressive" impulse questions everything; the conservative impulse wonders why we question what has worked for us before. What emerges from this dynamic satisfies neither, and fuels the next round of debate. I'd rather have that than 30 years of a static society that ends up so ossified and brittle it shatters into a thousand pieces. Because there's always someone there with a dustpan, a broom, and a long loud speech about how the Jews wanted it to turn out this way because they control the Hefty Bag industry.

You want comity? You want progress? Enough with the catastrophe rhetoric, then. Enough with the nonsense. Enough with the gasbag fantasies. Reading the Klemperer diaries make me realize again what real true perfidy looks like, and how those who view a Bush victory as "four more years of evil" are parading their petulant variety of moral idiocy for the approval of the claque. They're the modern Rumpelstiltskins, ripping themselves in half in anger to protest the price of pants.

It's a great & rare idea: one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all. I think we can hammer out the particulars in a spirit of good will, eh? Or not. Our choice."

Of course, there's a lot more where this came from. Go read the whole dern thing [>]

:: Max 11:59 PM [+] ::
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More Iraqi Reaction

This from Salaam The Messopotamian:

"All those who have been following my blog from the start should know how I feel towards El Bush, the Avenger, the Lion-Heart and I cannot hide my happiness for this outcome, purely from a personal feeling of gratitude for what he has done for us, despite all the pain and hardships that we suffered and still do. But the objective is so great and so important that all sacrifices and difficulties pale when contemplating the benefits and goals that are hoped for.

{...}

Meanwhile I don't want to spoil this sublime moment; and raise my hand in military salute to honor our great Allied American people and their fighting men and women, who have demonstrated their true fiber and true worth through civilized democratic choice.

Hail the People's Republic of the United States of America. It is you who have the right to use such a title and no one else."

Salaam

God I pray these guys make it to the finish-line...

:: Max 11:08 PM [+] ::
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The Arabs Weigh In

"I'm not very informed about Bush or any other candidate but logic says that this is the president who will save the world from terrorism and fanatics. President Bush is always serious in his words and does not back of if he sees in it the common interests of his country, like what he did in Iraq. By God's will he will win and I'll be the first one who congratulate all who wish him to win.

--Al Muhannad Al Baka'a-Baghdad-Iraq."


"President George W. Bush will win and the "Big Middle East" will become a reality and all dictatorships will fall."

--Karhad Karmity-Holland.


"Victory will be for Bush because he works to secure the interests of his country and this is what the American voters want. I don't wish Bush to win because I like him, but because I hate the Arab dictatorships that he terrorized when he toppled Saddam."

--Saif Ali-Nassyria-Iraq.


"There will be a great competition between the two candidates but I expect Bush to win. As for what will happen for Iraq, I believe who started the war is the only one who will finish it. Bush has toppled Saddam the tyrant and I'm sure that some Arab rulers are afraid that their fate will be like Saddam's."

--Rasoul Jamil-Iraq.

That discussions like these are happening all over the Middle East is testament The Bush Doctrine is taking root--inspite of the criminals in the UN and elswhere who moved to block it.

Typically, the high-punditry that dismissed entirely the Reagan Revolution and were humiliated when the Berlin Wall fell have not learned from such journalistic malpractice; they're commiting the same mistake again by 'misunderestimating' the scope and scale of another extraordinary, world-altering event. Fortunately, reality on the ground, not the New York Times or CNN will write the legacy of GWB's bold gambit to liberate the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Arab quotes Via Iraq the Model [>]

:: Max 9:08 PM [+] ::
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Why did the Democrats lose this election?

This pretty well sums it up for me:

"Vote for my health care plan, you racist, homophobic, fundamentalist maroon!"

Related: Kevin over at Wizbang has it all figured out and I tend to agree--when the Dems come to realize that guys like Micheal Moore and George Soros cost them many, many thousands of votes, they'll at least have a clue. Until then, they'll remain in the minority party. Interestingly, suggestions now eminating from the leftblogs that Howard Dean be named head of the DNC would indicate that they really and truly don't comprehend what's going on here. If they field Hillary on '08, they aren't merely clueless, they're masochists.

:: Max 8:12 PM [+] ::
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Here's another big loser (so to speak)...

:: Max 1:25 PM [+] ::
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Biggest Surprise of the Election?

Powerline and Instapundit apparently ran out of bandwidth! I haven't been able to load these two conservative mega-bloggers since yesterday morning and I'm starting to jones here...SHEESH!

:: Max 10:35 AM [+] ::
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The Aftermath

An emailer to the Corner:

"Just went outside my house for a smoke on Q Street in Georgetown and the lights are going out on numerous Kerry parties all along the block... Quiet groups of well-heeled liberals traipsing home all around... Long faces, consoling hugs and muttering all around... Just a snippet for you from the epicenter neighborhood of Kedwards country..."

Long faces, how...poignant.

:: Max 1:25 AM [+] ::
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The Concession Speech

Senator Kerry, assuming he's a statesman, owes 43 a concession speech. Senator Kerry, we're waiting.

:: Max 1:19 AM [+] ::
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Bush Wins?!

12:05 PM Central Time (Kansas City, MO.)

Just popped into Drudge--siren thingy and Drudge reports Bush Win! Developing...(so to speak)...

:: Max 1:00 AM [+] ::
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OHIO

It's tentative but it looks like Bush has taken Ohio. HOWEVER, the dems are going to contest and sue for the provisional votes (votes that are assumed to be illegal). Given the reported margin (Bush +180,000 votes), I can't imagine they'll actually attempt this stunt but I certainly wouldn't put it past them.

Sore losers...

:: Max 11:51 PM [+] ::
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Re: Exit Polls: "I'm embarrassed"

Quote from PBS pollster guy (sorry I didn't get his name):

"we're talking about significant differences between what was reported and what was shown"

Surprised?

:: Max 11:40 PM [+] ::
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It ain't over

Michigan? Ohio? Minnesota?

Have another.

(I cannot imagine waking up to Carl Castle on NPR uttering the words "President Elect Kerry"--I just can't fathom it)

:: Max 11:19 PM [+] ::
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Vock the Rote (dude)

Rock the Vote utter failure (surprise)--Jonah has material for a lifetime--here's the post.

:: Max 11:13 PM [+] ::
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Surprise...It's Ohio!

Ohio, Ohio, Ohio.

Note to Iraqis and Afghanis; are you paying attention?

C'mon Buckeyes....

:: Max 11:06 PM [+] ::
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New Hampshire

It's been roughly four hours since the polls in New Hampshire closed and this state is still in play? Note to New Hampshire--Get your sh*t together.

(my take? Bush won and they are reluctant to release the results)

:: Max 10:55 PM [+] ::
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CNN: Dems concede Florida?

The Corner's KJL reports CNN just reported "high ranking Dems" are conceding Florida--if true, it's probably over (but...well...not exactly in the bag).

11:00PM Update: It's in the bag.

:: Max 10:45 PM [+] ::
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Funny Business

Minnesota should have been called by now--something's going on--call it a hunch but I think Ohio is also behind the curve--somebody is reluctant to drop the hammer (they're terrified)--they're grasping at straws.

:: Max 10:34 PM [+] ::
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Denial

Speaking of metrosexual lunatics:

The Frenchie guys are in utter denial--they're beginning to believe their own lies--no Pasaran reports--you laugh your ass off.

:: Max 10:29 PM [+] ::
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More Laughs

If you need another little diversion, check out Medienkritik for live-blogging the German media's reaction to the US election--it's a hoot.

:: Max 10:23 PM [+] ::
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Democratic Underground--Shock and Awe

If you really want some comic relief, drop into The Democratic Underground for some laughs--looks like it's Zoloft time for Michael Moore's Minions: "there's too much damn red!"

:: Max 9:37 PM [+] ::
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RealTime

Drudge has just posted links to realtime results in Florida and Ohio.

Update: MiddleCheese checks in [>]

:: Max 7:05 PM [+] ::
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6:50 PM Kansas City

PoliPundit is reporting that "a senior Bush campaign official was saying, 'Ohio is won, Florida is won, and Pennsylvania is tied.' Then Shannon Coffin noted a White House source saying, 'Confident that Bush will win OH and FL, that he will roll in WVa (ten points?) and that Mel Martinez will carry Florida."

However, the Corner is reporting Tradesports has bush tanking on the dismal exit-poll reports and suggests now might be a good time to buy low and sell high (so to speak).

Of course, everybody is cautioning against calling it either way at this point, given what happened in 2000--this thing could still go either way. And don't forget, both camps are biting at the bit to call it for their respective candidate to win the momentum if this thing turns out to be another 2 point disaster. If it's within the margine of error, look for both Kerry and Bush to claim victory and throw the ballots into a litigious sausage machine.

Side Note: Still unable to load Instapundit or Powerline--their servers are obviously swamped.

(c'mon guys--you should have expected traffic like this!)

:: Max 6:45 PM [+] ::
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Oregon?!

This from DJ Drummond at PoliPundit:

"Kerry people are stressed, too.

A guy at my office works the phones for the Kerry Northwest campaign (Washington, Oregon, etc.).

Their people are freaking out over exit polls indicating Kerry tied or losing in Oregon."

If this is true, it can't be a good sign for the Kerry camp.

:: Max 5:29 PM [+] ::
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Clogged Blog

Powerline and Instapundit aren't loading again--they're probably getting record numbers of pageloads. (Gotta work on that bandwidth thingy guys--we need ya).

Update: Shazaam--just checked in with LGF and they're apparently getting slammed too.

:: Max 5:18 PM [+] ::
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Blogosphere Jitters

Looks like there's a lot of uncertainty out there but the White House seems to be pretty nonplussed--best to wait until the real results begin comming in before you smash your TV (or keyboard or radio or whatever). If you didn't trust MSM yesterday on such matters, why believe them today? Bear in mind that much of the early 'exit polling' is comming from the AP and there are some good signs that Bush isn't in a hole yet. This from The Corner:

"Just got off the phone with a source connected to the White House. Political operations there is very confident and completely dismissive of the early day numbers, citing the skewing of the sample that has been discussed here. Confident that Bush will win OH and FL, that he will roll in WVa (ten points?) and that Mel Martinez will carry Florida. Not someone who is given to bluster."

Keep your fingers and toes crossed.

:: Max 5:07 PM [+] ::
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OHIO?

The Corner's Katherine Jean Lopez reported that Ohio exit polls had bush up 49%-41% but in a later, corrected post she has Kerry up by 4--hold on to your hats, it's 2:00 PM eastern and the exit polls are about to begin.

:: Max 1:48 PM [+] ::
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Moveon.org Electioneering INSIDE Polling Places In Ohio and Florida!

The Corner is reporting Moveon.org thugs are creating havoc in some polling places--I report, you vomit.

:: Max 1:27 PM [+] ::
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Election Resources

N.Z. Bear has a nice post with links to many election related web resources to keep you occupied while the results are tallied.

Update: Just noticed the WSJ Opinion Journal has a concise election guide they'll be updating throughout the evening.

:: Max 1:25 PM [+] ::
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Hrrumph...

Drudge has his little siren-thingy going and is reporting first wave of exit polls shows Kerry with slight leads in Florida and Ohio...c'mon guys...GOTV!

(on the bright side, Guam went for Bush and the Guamians have a twenty year record of voting for the winner in a presidential election)

:: Max 1:20 PM [+] ::
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Cool Tool

For all you hard-core political junkies, here's a nifty little EV Calculator courtesy of the the WSJ Opinion Journal.

Via PoliPundit [>]

:: Max 11:51 AM [+] ::
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Bottleneck?

Just noticed that both Powerline and Instapundit aren't loading--they must be getting slammed.

Well...dog-gone-it.

:: Max 11:39 AM [+] ::
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IEM Update

Don't quite know what to make of this--I guess the chart is depicting the 2-3 point lead that most polls are showing for Bush.

Update: Jim Robbins over at the corner is also watching the "money guys" and Intrade.com shows "Bush elected up 5.6%, Bush to take Ohio up 7.9%, Bush to take 300+ electoral votes up 13.3%".

:: Max 11:14 AM [+] ::
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Meagan McArdle, over at Instapundit has a good handle on the cost of the war--a bargain by any standard you wish to invoke. America is a Hyperpower because of the sacrifice we all make to pick-up for the slack of micro-states like France. Maybe someday, they'll thank us (sure). In the meantime, there is something you can do to send a message to the likes of Koffi Annan and Jacques Chirac:

VOTE for GWB.

:: Max 10:33 PM [+] ::
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Typical Daschle

When you are losing in the arena of ideas, sue.

The Dems are truly undermining the system and trashing any semblance of statesmanship in the process. People generally hate lawyers and the miserable little men, like Tom Daschle, who would invoke the legal system to endrun the popular vote of the people--they are beyond insufferable--they're cowardly. I cannot believe this helps the democrat cause (whatever it is) in the general electorate and does irrepairable damage to our country in the process. I'll always hate Tom Daschle and the Democrats for such small-minded, crass political moves--they're not only sore losers, they're transparent in their venal grasp for power.

:: Max 10:05 PM [+] ::
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Iraqis Watching US Election

The Iraqi bloggers are keeping a watchful eye on the outcome of the election. Check the Sandbox frequently (to your left on the blogroll) for news and opinion from the cradle of civilization.

Note: Look for a spectacular terrorist stunt to convolute the news-cycle tomarrow-- it's hard to imagine they'd let this media opportunity slip away without creating havoc somewhere in the world (call it a hunch), especially on the heels of OBL's latest video tape.

:: Max 7:48 PM [+] ::
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Author of The Painted Word says Libs "don't have a clue"

Tom Wolfe outs the 'liberal elites' in a little Q&A with the Guardian. In my opinion he doesn't go far enough but at least he's dropped a stinky little turd into their punchbowl. If you like Wolfe's take, you love the Daily Ablution--Check in frequently.

:: Max 6:59 PM [+] ::
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Whacky Polling Numbers

Powerline has an interesting post on why the poll numbers are vascilating and it sounds about as plausible as anything I've read--sure hope it's true.

:: Max 6:51 PM [+] ::
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Peaceniks For Bush

This back-to-nature group of pacificts is solidly in the Bush column--go figure.

Via Florida Cracker [>]

:: Max 2:17 PM [+] ::
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The Sin of Omission

An alert LGF reader found this little Pravdaesque MSNBC gem. Not a big deal really, just more of the same dishonest BS from MSM.

:: Max 10:16 AM [+] ::
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Iraqis Send Chirac a Message

The Iraqis aren't very happy with the French or the UN and have sent a little note to that effect to 'his excellency' Koffi Annan. Don't miss it.

:: Max 8:38 AM [+] ::
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