The Right State

George W. Bush gave a speech before the American Legion in Salt Lake City, Utah. He started the speech with some of the things he has done for veterans and then continued on why we need to stay involved in the Global War on Terror and how Iraq is a central part of that war. Here are some of the points of his speech as I watched it on Fox News.

President Bush has raised VA benefits by 75% since 2001.

Terrorists are enemies of freedom. They see freedom as a threat to their twisted view of Islam.

Veterans have seen this kind of war before when battling Nazism. This war will be long but will end in the defeat of the terrorists.

We are in a war we did not ask for but a war we can, will, and must win.

Iraq is a central front is the GWOT.

During the cold war we supported Middle Eastern dictatorships who did not like communism. These dictators repressed their people and terrorism was born. Terrorists have killed Americans at the World Trade center (twice), the Marine barracks in Lebanon, Khobar Towers, and the USS Cole. (He listed others) The lack of freedom in the ME made the area an incubator for terrorism. We do not treat terrorism as a law enforcement matter. We will face terrorism there so we do not to face them here in our own country.

Those who harbor terrorists will be on our list.

We will support democracy in the ME (Middle East). All people have the right to determine their own destiny. Freedom is a gift from the God Almighty. Freedom is the antitheses of terror.

We will support freedom and modernization. By doing this we will ensure our children are safe.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban supported and protected the terrorists who attacked us. Within a few weeks we defeated them and helped the people to have democracy. Our enemies saw progress, and fought against it. They attack the free institutions, they will fail. The future of Afghanistan belongs to the Afghan people.

In Lebanon, the UN forced Syria to leave. Hezbollah maintained a government within a government in the south. There they attacked Israel. The world community supported new democracy in Lebanon. Terrorists have no place in a free and democratic Lebanon.

Iran funds, arms and advises terrorists. They have had a hand in Iraq by arming and training the insurgents. They defy the UN. Nations are working together to stop Iran’s nuke program. It is time for Iran to make a choice, but there must be consequences and they must not be allowed to have nukes.

Iraq had an evil regime in Saddam Hussein. He defied UN, hid his WMD program, and shot at US and British planes enforcing no fly zones. Saddam is nowon trial. With the tyrant gone, the world is better off without him. Iraqi people have cast ballots, drafted a constitution, elected a government, in spite of the terrorists. Terrorists want to drive the US out of the ME to impose their dark vision on the ME. They use IEDs and assassinate leaders. Terrorists have failed to stop Iraqi democracy and they will fail to halt America or hinder their resolve.

The US commanders in Iraq say the country in not in a civil war which is only supported by a few people. 12 million voted in the last election. People have come a long way. Prime Minister Maliki says, “Iraqis have tasted freedom and they will defend it.” America is a patient nation as long as Iraq makes the necessary moves towards democracy. PM Maliki can count on the US.

I am giving the commanders a lot of latitude to fight this war. We are training Iraqi soldiers, police, and helping them become more capable. We will defeat the enemies of a free Iraq.

We can not expect immediate success. The American government is determined to help them succeed.

There is a lot of politics in Washington over the war in Iraq. Terrorists from all over the ME have come to Iraq to battle democracy. So much for a diversion. Iraq is central to GWOT. Pulling out now would be disastrous. Doing so would turn them over to Iran, and the terrorists would have new sanctuaries funded by oil. If the terrorists are not defeated there, then we will fight terrorists here in our streets. General Abizade says if we leave, they will follow us back here.

We will not leave until victory is achieved. It will require more sacrifice. And it will be a crushing defeat to our enemies. The world is watching, the forces of freedom will prevail. We have a choice. We can let the ME continue on its course and a generation from now the ME will have even more terrorists and WMDs as well. Or we can turn region into a democracy, a model for the rest of the ME to see, where neighbors do not attack their neighbors, where people have a voice in their government.

I see a day….when democracy will prevail. Freedom is always worth the sacrifice. Victory still depends on the resolve of the American people and patriots who are willing to fight for freedom. Will give our soldiers all the resources they need to accomplish their mission.

The President briefly spoke about Cpl. Adam Galvez which largest and longest applause. This guy is a true American hero. (as a side note, Adam’s brother father said it best, “You either support the war, or you don’t support the troops,” Tony Galvez said.)

This was a great speech the President gave. It was long on substance and short on hype. In brief, he said that Iraq is central to the GWOT, this will be a long war, a war we must win. I hope this new set of speeches President Bush gives this week will wake the American people up to what is at stake: the very security of the United States.

Tags: Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, Iran, President Bush, Politics, Iraq, War by Chuck
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The Counter Terrorism Blog has an excellent article written by Walid Phares and Behrooz Bahbudi from the Washington Post.  They lament the lack of knowledge by everyday Americans of the dangers posed by Jihadism.

Because for 11 years years, the American public wasn’t informed about the threat that lead to September 11 and because the classrooms and newsrooms of the United States were not educated enough about the global threat of “Jihadism,” we feel it is incumbent on individual citizens to educate themselves about this danger and mobilize to prevent a Future Jihad looming around the world and at home. It is important that American citizens understand who the “Jihadists” are, what they want to achieve, and how they are proceeding. Without this knowledge, the American public will be unable to be part of the political debate about national security and the War on Terror. And if deprived from the support of an informed public, the US Government, now and in the future, cannot sustain difficult decisions pertaining to the defeat of the Terrorist enemy.

These two amazing writers go into a very short history of Jihadism and why it is a threat not only to the United States, but to the west, democracy, and civilization in general.  This is one of those must read articles for anyone interested in saving democracy.

The threat of terrorism is a real and present danger to the security of the United States.  The jihadists have been at war with the United States for many years.  Until September 11^th the US has treated terrorism more of as an irritant rather than a real threat.  Now that we have woke up to this global menace, we need to be prepared.  The more we know of this global threat the better we will be able to minimize or eliminate it.

Be sure to read the rest of this great article.

Tags: Terrorism, War by Chuck
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I just love the way the Associated Press uses a misleading title of an article and the first part of the story to totally mislead their reading audience.  The AP conducted a study of Texas’ High Schools using the Texas Information Act to find out what the state’s highest paid coaches were paid compared to teachers.

Football coaches at schools in the state’s two largest classifications average $21,404 more in salary than teachers, slightly less than they did 10 years ago, the Austin American-Statesman reported Sunday following an examination of public records.

The Statesman reviewed the salaries for the 2005-06 school year from schools in Classes 5A and 4A through documents obtained under the Texas Public Information Act. The findings were very similar to a similar study done by The Associated Press in 1996, using records from the 1995-96 school year.

The latest numbers show coaches making an average of $73,804, compared to $42,400 for teachers.

You have to dig way down into the article to find facts left out of the beginning which would make a difference to the readers.  First is the fact that the study only evaluated Head Coaching jobs, and does not included their assistant coaches.  Second, they leave out the fact that some teachers make more money than the head coach makes at the same high school.

The Statesman reviewed the total compensation paid to the head football coaches and salaries of their highest-paid teachers, high school principals and superintendents for all school districts with schools in 4A and 5A. To be classified in 4A or above, schools had to have at least 950 students; that covered 461 schools. There were 428 schools in 4A and 5A during the AP review. (snip)

In Houston, the district’s highest-paid teacher makes $95,191 — far more than the $76,913 drawn by the district’s top-paid coach, Tom Nolan of Houston Lamar.

And finally the kicker is near the bottom of the article which includes how many days a year each is paid and how many hours a week a coach works.  This sounds more like a joke than anything else.

Coaches receive a base salary, plus a coaching stipend that ranges from $1,000 to the $35,000 paid to Dodge. Their contracts usually are based on a 226-day work year, while teachers’ contracts are based on a 187-day year. It’s common for football coaches to log 70 to 100 per week during the season, including time on Saturdays and Sundays, compared to 40 to 70 per week for teachers.

As a former coach I can tell you that coaches work far more than 226 days a year and I worked a heck of a lot more than 70to 100 hours a week.  As an assistant football coach at a 4A High School, I worked seven days a week from 2-3 weeks from the start of school and through most holidays until the end of football season.  As an assistant coach I had other sports to coach like basketball and sometimes baseball.  There was no such thing as Spring break or Christmas break.  Summers were filled with football camps, coaching camps, weight rooms to open and other such duties.  During football season my day started at 0700 in the morning and ended at 1900 on practice days.  Three days a week we played football: varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen squads.  On game days, the day ended when all the equipment was stored, students gone and films broken down.  Saturday started at 0800 and ended at 1800.  Sundays started at 1400 and ended at 2100-2200.  This did not include preparing for classes and grading papers.  Coaching involves a lot of long days and long hours.

This is not complaining.  I could not wait to go to work and did not want to go home—I loved my job.  But there was not one teacher at my school who wanted to trade hours with me.  Their day started at 0800 and ended at 1600 on weekdays.  Then there is the issue of job security.  Teachers only have to teach to keep their jobs—coaches have to win games to keep theirs.

I was a highly paid assistant coach.  Once I tried to figure out how much I was making per hour while working after school while coaching.  I was making a whopping 50 cents an hour.  What the school did not know was I would have worked as a coach for nothing.

What I find disturbing about the article is how misleading it is.  Sure coaches make more money than teachers, but a winning coach will bring in paying fans.  The schools make a lot of money from winning sports.  Good Head Coaches are worth every dime their paid.  They bring in money, prestige, and good teachers.  Most coaches are in the business because they love their jobs, while many teachers are just going through the motions with their jobs.

So I wonder, did the writers had an agenda or did they just conduct poor research.  If the AP writers were doing their research, they would know the hours coaches work and what they bring to their school.

Tags: Bias, Culture by Chuck
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I have found war protester Cindy Sheehan in a suit and tie and his name is Rocky Anderson, the mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah.  He is just as shrill and just as kooky as Cindy.  Rocky is joining a protest of President Bush as he speaks to the American Legion in a new effort to set the record straight on why we are in Iraq and remembering the attack on September 11^th, 2001.  The mayor has shown an incredible lack of class by joining the protests.  When the Democratic Party had their National Convention in Massachusetts, Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican, welcomed them even though he did not agree with many, if not most, of their stances.  In welcoming them, the Governor showed a lot of class.  But apparently class is lacking in the Democratic Party as shown by the behavior of the mayor in a very conservative state.  When the President comes to town, at the very least the mayor should be there to welcome him as a common courtesy.

But Rocky Anderson’s behavior has displayed for all to see, the tip of a much larger iceberg, Democrats have forgotten that we are at war.  Take for instance this poll taken by the Daily Kos, a popular website of the extreme left.  (Hat tip: Daily Kos via Right Wing News)

Ever since that fateful day in September, the Democratic Party has been in denial: denial that we were attacked by Islamofascists, and denial that we are at war.  Make no mistake about it; this is a war we must not lose.  For if we do the west as we know it is doomed.  Freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, freedom to be secure in our houses, and the right to a fair trial will all be gone if the Islamists win.  The Democrats philosophy towards the terrorists seems to be wrapped up in one little 1960s-70s slogan, “Why can’t we all just get along?”  They seem to think that by understanding our enemies, they will not hate us.  This is just wishful thinking, because the Islamists hate us for who we are.  They hate us for our rights, they hate us because of our culture, and they hate us because of our religions.  Sitting around in circles sing kum by yah with flowers in our hair just makes us quick and easy targets.

Donald Rumsfeld speaking before the American Legion convention in Salt Lake City, Utah has pretty much pigeon-holed the Democratic Party of today.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday accused critics of the Bush administration’s Iraq and counterterrorism policies of lacking the courage to fight terror.

In unusually explicit terms, Rumsfeld portrayed the administration’s critics as suffering from “moral and intellectual confusion” about what threatens the nation’s security.

He went on to say that many critics have not learned from history’s lessons.  There is an history axiom which states, “Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it.”  President Roosevelt knew the risks posed by inaction before World War II as did President Kennedy with the Cuban Missile Crisis and President Reagan with the Cold War.  These are men who faced a critical moment in history with decisiveness against many critics.  In this Global War on Terror, President Bush having learned from history knew doing nothing was the worst thing he could possibly do.  And so when we were attacked, this President faced a monumental decision either to send a few missiles into an empty desert and claim victory or to fight and win a long struggle against those who have been attacking this country for years.   With history in his corner, George W. Bush has become the first of what I hope will be many presidents who will declare war on terrorism.

Most of the people of Utah seem to understand and approve of how the President is conducting the war.  On the other hand, they do not approve of what the anti-war protesters are doing.  A poll of registered voters believes people like Cindy Sheehan and Mayor Rocky Anderson are undermining our war on terrorism.

The message seems to bolster a poll commissioned by The Salt Lake Tribune that shows 45 percent of Utahns believe anti-war demonstrators such as Anderson and Sheehan “aid the enemies of the U.S.” Some 27 percent say they “play an important role in the national debate over U.S. policy in Iraq.” Another 28 percent weren’t sure. The poll of 625 registered voters was conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Research firm this month.

“Part of what undermines our strength is our enemies thinking we have weakness within our ranks,” [Jeff] Hartley [Utah Republican Party Executive Director] said. “If they can pressure us to cut and run and give up the fight . . . if politicians like Rocky Anderson prevail, then we’ll give up and quit.”

Jeff Harley is right.  These far left kooks are emboldening our enemies much like Jane Fonda did during the Vietnam War.  The actions of Sheehan and Anderson are helping our enemies and killing American soldiers.  The terrorists watch the news too.  They know if they kill enough soldiers, hold on just a little while longer, and if the ever compliant American media tell enough bad news; then the American people will demand the President pull the troops out of Iraq.

President Lincoln held tough against much public criticism and eventually won the Civil War.  President Roosevelt held tough when he fought Germany first and led the US in a victory against Nazism.  President Reagan held tough against public criticism and won the Cold War.  If President Bush and future presidents hold tough in the face of public criticism, the US will win in the GWOT.

Much of the public criticism against President Bush is from those few loud protesters who don’t like any war, even when this country is attacked as it was on September 11^th.  Whether we are at war with the terrorists is immaterial; they are at war with us.  A fact the far left moonbats seem to have forgotten.  The Democratic Party is a more than willing partner of the far left if it means money and winning elections.  The defeat of Joe Lieberman in Connecticut’s Democratic Party Primary shows there is little room in the party for warriors.  They might as well hold up a sign which reads, “Only wimps need apply”  If there is one thing Rocky Anderson has done, it is to show the rest of the United States that Democrats can not be trusted to keep us safe in the post 9/11 world.

Tags: Democrats, Terrorism, President Bush, Iraq, Politics, War by Chuck
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If the initial reason of the crash of ComAir Flight 5191 is correct, it is indeed tragic since the plane did not have a chance. According to Fox News, early reports indicated the jet was attempting to take off from the wrong runway.

A commuter jet crashed during take off early Sunday and burst into flames, killing 49 people and leaving the lone survivor in critical condition. Investigators were trying to determine if the plane was on the wrong runway and ran out of pavement.

AOPA’s Airport Directory (2005-2005 edition) shows Lexington, Kentucky only has one airport and that airport only has two runways. Runway 4-22 is 7003 feet long while runway 8-26 is only 3500 feet long. For the plane to crash, the pilot either tried to take off on runway 8-26 which is far too short or he was trying to take off with the wind on runway 4-22. Either one would be termed as taking off from the wrong runway and both would have devastating consequences. Again I say, if the initial reports are correct because all of this is pure conjecture. For the pilot to take off with the wind on a controlled airport such as Lexington would be a tremendous mistake on the part of both the tower and the pilot. Therefore this probability is doubtful. Another possible and much more likely possibility is the combination of poor visibility and confusion on the part of the pilot. The two runways cross and with a lack of visibility, the pilot may have become confused and accidentally lined up on the shorter runway 8-26 rather than the longer 4-22. With the lack of visibility, he may not have noticed the runway was too short until it was too late to abort takeoff.

Again I say, this is just speculation, and all of this speculation is dependent on the accuracy of the initial reports coming from Fox News. My thoughts and prayers go to the families on this plane.

Update:  Further review of AOPA’s Flight Directory shows that if the pilot did take off from the wrong runway as reported, then he really missed all the clues.  Runway 6-22 is 150 feet wide while 8-26 is only half as wide.  This is easily noticeable.  And second, every airport I have ever flown into, the runways are clearly marked.  Not only did the pilot miss the clues, but so did the co-pilot.  Somebody messed up bigtime.

Tags: Culture by Chuck
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Great news.  According to Fox News, reporter Steve Centanni and cameraman Olaf Wigg have been released, turned over to the Palastinian Authority, and are now in Israel.

After the Jill Carroll incident, I have been reluctant to write anything negative on what Steve and Olaf may have said or done.  In the video released by the Islamic terrorist group who captured them, Steve said they were not threatened or harmed in any way.  Apparently, they were not as well treated as their captors would have us believe.  Steve described having his hands wrenched back behind his back and tied there with a very tight plastic tie strap.  The news crew were man-handled, threatened, guns pointed to their heads, and forced to lie face down on a dusty dirty floor with their hands forced back for hours.  Just to show just how out of touch these Islamists are, Steve and Olaf were forced at gunpoint to convert to Islam.

After Steve and Olaf were released, they had a news conference which I think was directed more at their captors and other would-be kidnappers than their fellow journalists.  Both said they hoped their abduction and length in captivity did affect journalists’ decision not to cover the Palestinian situation, specifically in Gaza.  What it seems they are saying is, ‘Abducting us at gunpoint has hurt your cause and any further kidnappings will stop any journalists from covering your plight.’  And I think it has hurt their cause.

I thank God for Steve Centanni and Olaf Wigg’s safe release.

Tags: Terrorism by Chuck
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No matter how you slice it, the US economy is slowing down as a cursory examination of the housing market will show.  Democrats are going to look at the news of the slower than expected home sales as an indication of how Republicans are bad for the economy.

More alarm bells for the stumbling housing market rang Thursday, as a government report on new home sales showed a bigger-than-expected drop in sales, along with a continued rise in unsold homes and a further weakening of prices in the closely watched sector. (snip)

The pace of new home sales is now down 21.6 percent from year-earlier levels, with every region of the country showing double-digit percentage declines compared to July 2005.

No doubt Howard Dean will attribute the slower sales to President Bush’s failed economic policies.  But slower home sales are more of an indication of how high interest rates are than anything else.  Current Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has shown a willingness to raise interest rates about a quarter percentage point per month for the last two years.  As the interest rates have risen, people have to pay more to buy their home.  Eventually the rate is to the point where people have had enough and they stop buying houses until the interest rate declines.  The only problem is that the housing market is a good reflection of the rest of the economy.  When the housing market starts to slide usually, the rest of the economy follows.

The US economy is like a huge locomotive with a series of brakes.  When the interest rate is raised as it was two years ago, the effects of the change may not be seen for a while.  Our engineer (Fed Chairman) sets a brake, and another, and another.  When the engineer notices the train is slowing, he starts releasing brakes.  The problem is that the train is already slowing down and there are still other brakes set.  The train will still continue to slow until enough brakes are removed for the train to start speeding up again.  The US economy is huge, so huge it takes a series of interest rate hikes to slow the economy down.  Our engineer, Bernanke, has set the brakes without waiting long enough to see what the effect is.  Sometimes raising the rate a quarter point may not be felt until six months have gone by.  So raising the rate steadily for two straight years is overkill.  Bernanke needs to slow down and take his time.  The US economy is too cumbersome for quick fixes.  But don’t expect the Democrats to understand this.  All they know is that a slowing economy is George Bush’s fault.  Then again, don’t they blame him for everything that goes awry.

Tags: Democrats, President Bush, Politics by Chuck
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Every time I think we as a nation of individual races and ethnicities are just about to put away our differences, something like this happens.

A Louisiana school district suspended a white bus driver while it investigates complaints that she ordered nine black children to sit at the back of the bus.

I hope this is not true and is just a hoax, but I am afraid that it is not.  Weeks and months go by without any word of racial differences in our great country and then boom, here comes a story which seems to suggest there are still bigoted people out there.  All something like this does is to give ammunition to ‘civil rights’ leaders like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to push their racist agenda.  Just a few short weeks ago it was the Duke rape where three LaCross players were charged with raping a black stripper.  The news was all in the media until contrary evidence revealed that the case seemed to be failing apart.  With little physical evidence to try this case, the rape charge was motivated in large part by an ambitious D.A. eager to use a weak case to further his political life.  The media for their part are always ready to show just how far we have to go in becoming a color-blind society.  The true of the matter is that we will never become the utopian society they want as long as there are those who have something to gain by promoting divisiveness.  Let’s face it, what would Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have to do if everyone got along.  They profit by promoting divisions among the people.

So far, I have yet to hear why the driver of the school bus would do such an asinine thing as segregating the kids in this manor.  But be sure, both Jackson and Sharpton will make an appearance if they feel they can use this story to their advantage.

Tags: Culture by Chuck
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What is happening over at Google? After receiving a tip from my brother, I googled the word “failure” and came up with some of the usual stuff, Failure Magazine, the movie ‘Failure to Launch,’ heart failure and others. But the very first entry is concerning our President. Michael Moore is listed number 4. I don’t understand that either.

George W. Bush

Biography of the 43rd President of the United States. www.whitehouse.gov/president/gwbbio.html - 20k - Cached - Similar pages

What does his White House biography have to do with failure? I don’t know what determines how different items are listed, but this looks mighty suspicious to me. Does anyone know?

Update: A reader directed me to this website by Google which tells how certain people have manipulated the system by a practice called googlebombing.  Now I know.

Tags: President Bush, Bias, Culture by Chuck
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It is looking more and more like former Marine and Congressman John Murtha is either a liar or a much too eager opportunist.

A sergeant who examined the scene hours after Marines killed two dozen Iraqis in Haditha last year said the shootings appeared to be an appropriate response to a coordinated insurgent attack, according to a sworn statement obtained by The Washington Post. (snip)

But Laughner said the scenes of the slayings appeared to match the version of events the Marine squad provided that day and did not seem especially out of the ordinary, according to a transcript of Laughner’s interview with military investigators in March.

What do you have to say now, Mr. Murtha?  If the Congressman wasn’t so pathetic, he would be embarrassing.

Hat tip: BlackFive 

Tags: Democrats, War by Chuck
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