Right-Thinking has an updated look, and Lee put in catch-phrases submitted by his readers, which randomly generate whenever you refresh the page. I'm happy to say that quite a few of my own submissions made it on,

You can pry my Halliburton shares from my cold, dead hands

The right-wing conspiracy just got vaster

I've come to oppress your poor, exploit your workers, and ravish your women

Now with 20% more infidel

I'll have to check with my Zionist overlords

Please remove asshat before entering premises

Go me!

by the Dictators

I am right!
So tell me pretty baby, are you still talking bout yourself?
You're such a non-conformist, just like everybody else
And if you had a heart, tell me would you use it?
And if you had a thought, I think you'd confuse it
And if you understood exactly what I'm saying
would you have the common sense to
Kiss My Ass?
Cause I am right!
I am right!
I am right!
I am right!

I'd like to take your ego and crush it into a little ball
And then I'd take my baseball bat and knock it over the centerfield wall
Cause if you had a soul, I think you would sell it
and if you had a life, you'd serve your time in hell
Justice can be sweet, power is corrupting
So it would be my pleasure to have you
Kiss My Ass
Cause I am right!
I am right!
I am right!
I am right!

And if there was a god, I think she'd give her blessings
to every dirty deed, I would be confessing
So before I knock on heaven's door please grant my last request
Would you be so kind as to
Kiss My Ass?
Cause I am right
I am right!
I am right!
I am right!

A CNN article from 1999 states:

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has offered asylum to bin Laden, who openly supports Iraq against the Western powers.

So, would any of the fine reporters at CNN care to explain this discrepancy in their reporting?

UPDATE: D'Oh! I forgot to give credit to the blogs I found this article through.

RightNation linked to the CNN article, and I found the RightNation link from A Chick Named Marzi,. Check out this post on Marzi's site, on the same topic.

The great Prof. Walter E. Williams will be filling in for Rush Limbaugh on Rush's show today. Williams is perhaps the person most influential on my way of thinking, and I highly recommend listening today, whether you are a fan of Rush's show or not.

Please read this review of Michael Moore's new movie, especially if you are planning on seeing it. Fahrenheit 911 is so thoroughly discredited, I don't even see how a hardcore Mikey fan could defend it now.

From AOL News

FORT LEWIS, Wash. (June 18) - Surrounding himself with soldiers fresh from the battlefield, President Bush on Friday used a western campaign swing to compliment America's military for the fight against terrorism and pick up praise from Sen. John McCain, who has rebuffed overtures from Democrat John Kerry to be his running mate.

''People from all over the country join me in saying, 'Thank you for what you are doing,''' the president told hundreds of camouflage-garbed soldiers gathered in a hanger. ''There is no cave or hole deep enough to hide from American justice.''

McCain, a popular Republican senator who rejected calls to join Kerry's campaign on a unity ticket, praised Bush's efforts in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

''You will not yield,'' McCain told the troops, ''and neither will he.''

Bush, in turn, praised McCain's work in the Senate and as a Navy pilot. ''It is a privilege to be introduced to the men in uniform by a man who brought credit to the uniform,'' Bush said.

McCain offered his support to Bush's decision to take America to war, saying it is a ''just and necessary fight.''

''It is a fight between right and wrong, good and evil,'' McCain said. ''It is no more ambiguous than that.''

Ten bucks says you won't hear the McCain lovers on the Left and in the mainstream media criticize McCain for looking at the world "in black and white", and in the terms of "good" versus "evil".

Here's another quote from the article, sort of unrelated but I felt like addressing it:

Kerry said the president was misrepresenting his position.

''They love to give you half-truths. They love to give you a little bit of the story,'' Kerry told reporters in Detroit on Thursday. ''They say that raising taxes is going to be bad. Of course it's bad, and I'm not raising taxes on the average American. But I'm going to roll back George Bush's unaffordable tax cut for the wealthiest Americans.''

"Roll back"? You gotta love it when the government thinks that returning our hard earned tax dollars consists of us stealing from them. You can't afford those tax cuts, Mr. Kerry? Guess what, I can't afford my government.

Thanks to Bruce at mAss Backwards who added me to his blog roll. Check out the Ted Kennedy bumper sticker he has up on his blog, it's an oldie but a goodie.

And thanks to all of the kind bloggers who have linked to or blogrolled AFD(check out Free Will, the Kallini Brothers who have had to put up with me shamelessly plugging my blog in the comments section to theirs, Bunkergurl, Sipidation, mAss Backwards, and sweet, sweet Moxie on my blogroll) all of whom have way better blogs than I. Sorry I'm lazy and don't blog good.

It just came out today. If you haven't bought it yet, what are you waiting for?

McCain tells Kerry to shove it.



(If the title of this post doesn't sound familiar to you, watch this flash cartoon)

by The Vandals


Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah!

I've studied carefully,
And now I do believe
The best of the heavens
Is to accept Islam

I hope that book is right,
they promised paradise,
I'm going for the bonus
of a martyr's reward

And when we fight
I know he makes me strong
And if I die
I know I can't be wrong

I know my only chance is
Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah!

The prophet has summoned us
To attack so we must
In his defense against
Those who don't believe
The last day grows near,
my belief takes away the fear,
I made the right choice,
My god's the only God

And when we fight
I know he makes me strong,
And when I die
I know I can't be wrong

I know my only chance is
Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah!

When the infant girl buried alive
is asked for which crime she is slain
When the records of men's deeds
are laid open and heaven is stripped bare
When hell burns fiercely and paradise is brought here
then each soul will know what it has done

It's time to party with
Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah!

...John Kerry can not be president of the United States, and should not even be Senator.

Section. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Don't think Kerry's actions during Vietnam constitute giving aid or comfort to enemies of the United States? Maybe you should check this out.

I expected this sort of bullshit from the hate mongers on the far left (hat's off to all the decent leftists who have been tactful and respectful of Reagan's passing, I'm proud to call you my fellow Americans, even if I can't stand your politics), but I'm absolutely disgusted to hear one of my former heroes, libertarian Claire Wolfe slamming Reagan after his death.

I've never understood why conservatives regard the Great Statist Reagan as a hero. But he spoke some powerfully inspiring words, even if he didn't govern by them.

You'd think a professional writer, like Claire Wolfe, would appreciate the power of rhetoric alone. Her entire career is rhetoric! As far as I'm aware, that's been her entire contribution to the cause of liberty. For Reagan, that was one of his contributions as well, and Reagan's speeches reached a far greater audience than Claire's work. Reagan sold the ideologies of limited government to a majority of the American people. That's the first step towards the direction that Claire Wolfe wants our country headed in. Sorry we couldn't have had a violent coup to overthrow the entire federal government, and reinstate the institutions of liberty, but you have to take your victories where you can get them. Reagan's presidency was a victory for the cause of liberty, even if it's only impact was on the hearts and minds of the American people. That's where these battles are fought and won. Sure, government grew under Reagan. If Claire Wolfe were president, government would grow under her. It grows every year, under every president! This isn't going to change until the American people demand change from our government. President Reagan met opposition from a Democrat controlled legislative branch, and President Wolfe would surely face similar opposition from both parties. Reagan took the steps he could towards greater liberty, even if they were only baby steps. Had a true disciple of Reagan followed his presidency, he would have taken a few more baby steps in that direction. Too many Americans are not yet sold on the morality and superiority of limited government, and as believers in the free market, you'd think all libertarians would welcome their duty to compete for the hearts and minds of Americans, rather than bitch that not everybody sees things exactly your way. That's what Reagan did, and hopefully his death will help to re-ignite these sentiments.

Now, I agree with way more Libertarian positions than Republican positions, but I can't believe there are libertarians out there who can't appreciate the contributions of Reagan to their cause. Liberty has, in most times and most places, not been a particularly popular concept. However, liberty, as manifest in Reagan, not only won elections and enjoyed some of the highest opinion polls of any president, but completely kicked Walter Mondale's ass into oblivion. It may not have been 200 proof, 100% pure, uncut libertarianism, but it was still libertarianism.

I would still recommend the Libertarian Party over voting for a first party candidate you don't believe in, just because he is the lesser of two evils. In fact, I would be grateful to any support offered to the Libertarians and libertarian causes (In fact, I think I'll take this opportunity to link to one of my favorite Libertarian blogs). Hell, I still think Ms. Wolfe's writing is some of the best venomous, no holds barred, antiestablishment reading out there, even when I don't always agree with it. I'm just very disappointed I had to read that little anti-Reagan tirade on her blog, especially right after Reagan's death.

I think this might be the first time I've ever spouted off against libertarians/Libertarians, but while I'm on this rare rant I just gotta voice one more complaint. Some libertarians have made the claim that the September 11th WTC attacks, and other terrorist attacks against the United States were brought on by a U.S. foreign policy of intervention in other countries' affairs. I think this is bullshit. The Arab terrorists who have repeatedly attacked us are of the same breed as the Christian terrorists who blow up gay bars and abortion clinics. It's sad that the Republicans (who I'll readily admit are far, far, far from perfect) are the only group that seems to recognize this. I think one of the reasons that the Libertarians have failed to catch on more than they have in the United States is because they have failed to properly recognize the threat posed by Islamic terrorism, and communism in previous decades, both ideologies which had the destruction of Western Civilization as their stated goals.

From a strictly secular point of view, I don't think there is anything more important in this world than the preservation of liberty and of civilization. I don't think either can be compromised without the other being seriously deteriorated. I think that the Libertarians are right now the most important political force for the preservation of liberty, but the Republicans are the most important political force for the preservation of civilization. I don't want to live in a world that doesn't have both of these institutions in place, and I believe Reagan was one of the most powerful and important advocates and defenders of both.

Here's a report I did on D-Day for my Western Civilization class, last semester.

The D-Day Invasion of Normandy

In 1943, the tides of World War II were turning in favor of the Allies. Axis forces had been defeated and expelled from Northern Africa and the Allies were making their way north through Italy. However, few inroads were being made into the European mainland. Josef Stalin and the Soviet Union wanted the Allies to open up a new front of attack on Germany. This setting led to the formation of what would be the largest invasion army ever gathered in history. Allied commanders began plotting an invasion on the northern coast of France. Their purpose was to free France, Denmark, and the Netherlands from German control, and ultimately to move in and defeat Germany.

In the build-up to Operation Overlord, the assault on Normandy, there came to be a rift between leaders of the American and British forces. The Americans sought to launch a smaller invasion force on the Southern border of France, referred to as Operation Anvil. British generals, as well as the British prime minister, Winston Churchill, felt that Anvil would siphon resources not only from Overlord, but also from the Allied forces moving through Italy. Troops in Italy were bogged down in fighting, and much of the Mediterranean fleet was needed to resupply the Allies in Italy, who were pinned down not only by fierce Axis resistance, but by the natural barrier provided by the Alps as well. The British felt that Anvil was completely unnecessary and distracting to their objective, but American generals were adamant about opening the southern front of France to divert the Germans from Normandy, as well as enable the Allies to bring the French Army in Northern Africa back into Europe to fight the Axis powers. British General Montgomery succeeded in persuading General Eisenhower that the Allies needed the invasion force in Normandy to be as large and powerful as they could muster. U.S. General Marshall berated Eisenhower for conceding to the British sentiments on Anvil. Both the British and the Americans persisted in their disagreement over the matter until, on April 28, 1944, when German E-Boats torpedoed five L.S.T.s (Landing Ship Tanks) during a training run for D-Day, two of which were sunk. The precious scarcity of these ships made it impossible to launch Anvil on the same day as Overlord, and a compromise was reached, with the Allies agreeing to postpone Anvil until July 10.

The Allies adopted a “Europe first” policy, championed by General Marshall, which dispatched all ships, soldiers, and equipment in reserve to the European theater. It was believed to be necessary to focus the majority of effort on defeating Germany, and postponing efforts in the Pacific. So Germany was made the main focus of Allied efforts, and Japan was put on the back burner. The Germans were certainly not oblivious to the fact that millions of Allied soldiers and equipment were being gathered in southern England. However, German speculations as to the time and location of the inevitable Allied invasion were typically rather inaccurate.

The day before the invasion, June 5, tensions ran high among the Allies. There was cause for celebration, since Allied soldiers in Italy had successfully taken Rome on that day. Among the commanders, however, they knew full well what was at stake in tomorrow’s invasion. Churchill was especially aware of the realities that the next day might bring. A former naval commander, he had initially made plans to board the HMS Belfast for the Gold invasion, but the King had forbid it at the last minute. When the prime minister was joined by his wife that night, he pointed out to her, “Do you realize that by the time you wake up in the morning 20,000 men may have been killed?” The sober reality was not lost among any of the Allied leadership. Ironically, among the Germans, they had relaxed in their anticipation of the coming invasion due to poor weather, even making light-hearted jokes about the invasion coming on that day.

The goal of the Normandy invasion was for Allied troops to overtake German defenses of the beaches, and quickly move inland into France. Troops would be dispatched to five separate beaches: the Americans at Utah and Omaha, the British at Gold and Sword, and the Canadians at Juno. The Germans held fortified positions and pillboxes, with a clear view over the beaches. The fight would obviously be an uphill battle for the Allies, quite literally. Obstacles littered the beach, many of which were mined, designed to impale invading ships. This forced any invasion to come in at low tide, leaving the invaders with a large, open beach to traverse, exposed to German artillery fire. The Allies had the advantage of sheer numbers, which served to demoralize many of the German soldiers defending the beachheads, surprised and angry at their commanders for not warning or preparing them for such a task. Indeed, the invasion force the Allies had built up for Normandy is the largest assembled in all of history. Allied air support would bombard German defenses, as well as spot for the naval support and land assault. Allied landing ships launched amphibious tanks, which often served as the only source for cover on the beaches. Some of the Allied tanks were specifically designed to sweep for mines. Ships provided naval bombardment of German positions, which were far more accurate than the air assaults. The German position was certainly preferable, but the Allies had known what to expect, and planned accordingly.

June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord had begun. Slightly after midnight the initial air assault began. Allied planes made bombing runs over France, softening up German resistance and hopefully disrupting the organization of an effective counter attack. Soldiers parachuted in to secure roads, bridges, and causeways. There were efforts by Allied soldiers, as well as members of the French resistance, to disrupt German communications, cutting telephone wires and destroying radio towers. Many members of the Airborne Division, who parachuted in, landed far off target. Toy crickets were used to locate fellow soldiers by sound, but unfortunately the Germans discovered some of the toy crickets on captured paratroopers, and used the clicking sound to lure many paratroopers to their deaths. A second “invasion” was launched as well, the idea being to create the illusion of a massive assault further inland than the northern beaches. Planes dropped aluminum foil, called Windows, that would appear as a large invasion fleet on radar, as well as straw dummies on parachutes. Communications between the Germans was chaotic and incoherent, and they were unaware of the severity of the situation facing them.

Because of the eastward movement of the tides in the English Channel, Utah beach was made the first of the Allied landings, since it was the western most of the five beaches to be taken in Overlord. The first wave of the amphibious assault was, as with all of the beaches, preceded by an air assault to take out German emplacements. Only limited damage to the fortified positions was caused by the bombardment. When H-Hour came, at 6:30am, it was left to the battleships and destroyers, accompanying them, to take out German defenses with their more accurate firepower. The German positions were taken by the Americans rather quickly. It was soon realized that the Utah invasion had missed it’s intended landing point by over a mile. This, however, worked to the Americans’ advantage, since there were less obstacles to deal with. General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of the former president, made the decision to stray from the initial plan drawn up for Utah beach, since the Americans faced heavy fire from the direction of their intended destination. The Americans had taken the beach with only 43 killed and 63 wounded, and proceeded to move further inland on the Cherbourg peninsula.

The Americans would not have as much luck with Omaha, the second beach of the assault. The Allied leaders knew not to take Omaha beach lightly. They put their most battle-hardened soldiers, who had seen action in both Italy and North Africa, to the task of taking this beach, with the most stubborn German resistance and natural obstacles. Visibility was poor, so bombardment of German entrenchments was terribly inaccurate, and really only served the American troops as a morale boost. Ships were being sunk from mined obstacles and heavy fire from the Germans. Massive casualties were suffered by the Americans, from the horrific accuracy of German artillery. Omaha could very easily have turned into a defeat for the Allies. U.S. Rangers were forced to scale the cliffs at La Pointe-Du-Hoc, a strong defensive position for the Germans, and perform the seemingly impossible assault of a powerful German battery. The Rangers were successful, and though little was gained from taking Pointe-Du-Hoc, the well coordinated efforts of the assault forces and the naval fire power was quickly picked up on by the American troops, and this coordination allowed them to turn the battle in their favor. The assault on Omaha was the most difficult of D-Day, and suffered the highest casualties. In the end, the Allies succeeded, and Omaha would be the final beach taken.

The British would invade Gold beach at 7:25am, followed by the Canadian invasion of Juno beach ten minutes later. British and Canadian morale was heightened by the desire to avenge their severe losses at the battle at Dieppe. Early in the Gold invasion, it looked as if the British might see a disaster similar to Omaha. It had been decided that the water was too rough to launch the amphibious Dual Drive tanks, needed for support. However, successful naval and air bombardment enabled British troops to rapidly move up through the beach and through obstacles. A few remaining pockets of resistance were dealt with, and the British moved inland to the French villages, where they were joyously greeted as liberators by the villagers.

The Canadians at Juno had suffered a delayed H-Hour and a quickly rising tide, which served as early disadvantages, especially to demolitions parties. As with Omaha, bombardments of German defenses had limited success, and only served to improve troop morale. Many ships had been forced onto the obstacles by rough waters, and many of the troops had been forced to swim up to the beach. The Canadians successfully launched their D.D. tanks, much to the surprise of German soldiers, who had presumed the amphibious vehicles to be boats until they hit the shores. The Canadians soon successfully moved south into France.

The British launched the western most invasion, at Sword beach, simultaneously with their Gold invasion. Bombardment had once again suffered from low visibility. The British also had trouble launching some of their tanks, which they needed to sweep out mines. Several landing ships intentionally beached themselves at full speed, just to get troops ashore. With the help of the Airborne divisions, who were already inland, defending bridges, the British troops were able to successfully take out entrenched German defenses. As the British moved south into France, they were once again greeted by French villagers as heros. Interestingly, in the city of Caen, where the new liberators were being celebrated, there was still a monument to the successful defeat of a British invasion from 1792.

Though the war had already begun to turn in the Allies’ favor, the invasion of Normandy allowed Allied forces to really have a presence on continental Europe. Operation Anvil was delayed until August, and was rather disappointing, and ultimately unnecessary. The Allies would soon successfully liberate France, Denmark, and the Netherlands from Axis control, and open a new front on Germany, leading to Hitler’s eventual downfall. The battles at Normandy, especially Omaha, were very brutal indeed, but had achieved their intended purposes.

Bibliography:

Tute, Warren, John Costello, and Terry Hughes. "D-Day".
Nautic Presentations Limited, 1974.

Goldstein, Donald M., Katherine V. Dillon, and J. Michael Wenger. "D-Day Normandy:
The Story and Photographs". Brassey's (US), 1994.

Young, Peter. "A Short History of World War II 1939 - 1945". Thomas Y. Crowell
Company New York, 1966.

Collier, Richard. "D-Day". Canopy Books, 1992.

Astor, Gerald. "June, 6 1944: The Voices of D-Day". St. Martin's Press
New York, 1994.

Eisenhower Foundation, the. "D-Day: The Normandy Invasion in Retrospect."
The University Press of Kansas, 1971.

Ronaldus Maximus 1911 - 2004

In closing, let me thank you, the American people, for giving me the great honor of allowing me to serve as your president. When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future. I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead. -- Ronald Reagan

I just picked up the new one by P.J. O'Rourke. I'll let y'all know how it is.

You gotta love this,

Wielding baseball bats and sticks, a mob in northwest Houston today chased down a man suspected of preying on neighborhood children in recent weeks.

"We know him. The whole neighborhood knows him," said Carlos Gonzalez.

Residents told police the 44-year-old man tried to lure children into his van last week while it was parked at a nearby elementary school. They also accused him of hugging a 12-year-old boy on Saturday while he was wearing women's clothing.

Sharp-eyed neighborhood children initiated the pursuit of the suspected child predator.

"The little kids spotted him. The little kids started the chase," Gonzalez said. "All the little kids in the neighborhood -- they had sticks an everything."

About 20 children, mostly armed with sticks, began following the man when they spotted him at 12:45 p.m. near Peg and Bolin.

One of the pursuers, Francisco Garcia, 12, said the man -- who doesn't live in the area -- approached him Saturday night.

"He came up to me dressed like a woman and tried to hug me and talk to me," Garcia said. "I saw that he was a guy so I left."

Adults joined in the chase when the man threatened the young pursuers.

"I came out with a baseball bat," Gonzalez said. "When he saw the men coming, he ran."

The mob cornered the man in a fenced-in yard near Granite and Bolin where he waited for police to arrive.

The homeowner called police and pleaded with the crowd to not harm the man. Gonzalez said the man dropped a bundle on the ground which contained a girl's shirt wrapped around several pictures of small children.

"He was sitting there sniffing the shirt, laughing at us," Gonzalez said.

Officers arrested the man when they discovered the van he was driving had been stolen. They found several pairs of socks, a boy's T-shirt and a pair of girl's underwear inside the vehicle.

The world really needs more angry mobs.

by Johnny Cash

I walked through a county courthouse square,
On a park bench an old man was sitting there.
I said, "Your old courthouse is kinda run down."
He said, "Naw, it'll do for our little town."
I said, "Your old flagpole has leaned a little bit,
And that's a Ragged Old Flag you got hanging on it."

He said, "Have a seat," and I sat down.
"Is this the first time you've been to our little town?"
I said, "I think it is." He said, "I don't like to brag,
But we're kinda proud of that Ragged Old Flag.

"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there when
Washington took it across the Delaware.
And it got powder-burned the night Francis Scott Key
Sat watching it writing Say Can You See.
And it got a bad rip in New Orleans
With Packingham and Jackson tuggin' at its seems.

"And it almost fell at the Alamo
Beside the Texas flag, but she waved on though.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee, Beauregard, and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on that Ragged Old Flag.

"On Flanders Field in World War I
She got a big hole from a Bertha gun.
She turned blood red in World War II.
She hung limp and low by the time it was through.
She was in Korea and Vietnam.
She went where she was sent by her Uncle Sam.

"She waved from our ships upon the briny foam,
And now they've about quit waving her back here at home.
In her own good land here she's been abused --
She's been burned, dishonored, denied, and refused.

"And the government for which she stands
Is scandalized throughout the land.
And she's getting threadbare and wearing thin,
But she's in good shape for the shape she's in.
'Cause she's been through the fire before
And I believe she can take a whole lot more.

"So we raise her up every morning, take her
down every night.
We don't let her touch the ground and we fold
her up right.
On second thought, I do like to brag,
'Cause I'm mighty proud of the Ragged Old Flag."