The Democrats' First 100 Hours, Part I: Surrender

Gateway Pundit offers a translation of Nancy Pelosi's demands that the United States surrender in Iraq:

...Not content with mass murder and genocide in Southeast Asia after America's cessation of aid behind a democratic Congress in the 1970's... ...Speaker Pelosi paved the way this morning for the next killing fields... This time in Iraq. Nancy Pelosi announced today that Democrats do not intend to fund the war in Iraq if they decide it is not worth it. If this sounds familiar, Democrats did the same thing years ago in Southeast Asia...

And Jules Crittenden describes the inevitable outcome of such a foolish plan.

[The Democratic Option is:] Pull out. Achieve short-term gratification for those who believe our absence from Iraq will solve our problems. Watch Iraq descend into further violence. Watch a nuclear-armed Iran come to dominate Iraq and the world's richest oil fields. ...Maybe we'll be restored to our national senses, as we were a decade after Vietnam, when we woke up and realized we never really had the luxury of disengaging from the fight... This time, it will be harder... The only good side to this is the army gets to rest. Don't count on the Democratic Congress to refit or build it up, or to do anything but dither when we need to use it again. ...I predict a dark age, in which brutal second-rate powers such as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea do what they choose to whom they choose without restraint. An age of modern warlords, with no over-arching, feared power to keep them in check. We can watch the sick man that is Europe slowly succumb. We can watch small free nations try to fend for themselves. We can await the inevitable nuclear crisis. Does that sound at all medieval or apocalyptic? It is. Don't think we can't go back to that... Does it sound overly melodramatic and alarmist? If so, you're a fool with no understanding of history...

Wait! You're saying that brilliant media personalities like Rosie O'Donnell and Joy Behar are uneducated buffoons who have never read a history book in their lives? Do tell.

And the Democrats' House Intelligence Chairman, Silvestre Reyes, doesn't know the difference between Sunni and Shia?


Well, what could possibly go wrong with the Democratic strategy of retreat as Iran's mullahs prepare for the arrival of the Mahdi?


I could think of a couple of things, but maybe I'm just a pessimist who's read too much history.


Oven-baked good readin', just like Mama used to make:
Hang Right Politics, Rick Moran, Riehl World View, RWN, STACLU

The Future of the New York Times - Illustrated

Need more evidence of the diminished value of the old-line newspaper business? Powerline and American Thinker report that the money-losing sale of the Tribune Company was even worse than previously thought. The seller was forced to throw in five blocks of prime land on the edge of downtown Minneapolis.

A/T's Rosslyn Smith wonders "what a dead tree media outlet is worth as [an] ongoing business today." Let's review and predict, shall we?


The New York Times, circa 1933.


The New York Times, circa 1960.


The New York Times, circa 2004.


The New York Times, circa 2006.

Detecting a trend in newspaper size?


My newspaper, circa 2008.

* * *

Looks like the size of the paper is diminishing nearly as fast as the stock price. And I'm quite relieved that I've never owned any Times stock. It's sinking faster than an old canoe carrying Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell.


Hat tip: Larwyn

Oven-fresh good readin', just like Mama used to make:
Anchoress, Blogs of War, Conservative Beach Girl, Gateway Pundit, Hugh Hewitt, Ironic Surrealism, Jules Crittenden, Moonbattery, In the Bullpen, OTB, Passionate America, Patterico, Rick Moran, Sister Toldjah, STACLU, USS Neverdock, Wizbang

John Conyers' Culture of Cranberries

So the staff of John Conyers (D-MI) absconded with sixty turkeys intended for low-income residents?


When John Conyers enters the room, turkeys tremble
Daled Amos has the fowl details:

[Conyers'] staff members picked up 60 turkeys from a local food bank, ostensibly to deliver to those in need. However, the Director of the charity became suspicious when word reached him that a federal court worker was offered a turkey by a member of Conyers' staff. Conyers has also failed to meet a December 27 deadline to provide an accounting of where the birds were delivered... [an] aide also expressed concerns in a memo to the FBI... ...Conyers, of course, is no stranger to scandal. The Democrat was investigated last year by the Ethics Committee for improperly using staff members during office hours for political campaigning. DeWayne Boyd, a former aide fired in 2002, was convicted just last month on fraud charges resulting from a scam he ran out of the Representative's office... the turkeys (meant to feed hungry poor people), were picked up from the food bank by current Deputy Thief of Staff Marion Brown, and former Aide turned felon, DeWayne Boyd. The very same Boyd fired in 2002 and convicted in December. Now my question is this, what in the world is the Deputy Thief of Staff of a member of the U.S. House of Representatives doing running around on official business with a former staff member who was fired and convicted of fraud?

Talk about a culture of corruption... and of cranberries.

Mmmmmmmm... cranberries.


Hat tip: Larywn

Oven-baked good readin', just like Mama used to make:
Boring Made Dull, Flopping Aces, Fausta's Blog, Flying Debris, Maryland Conservatarian, RedState, WuzzaDem

Lazy. Links. Only.

Yep, I'm feeling unmotivated. Anything but artistic. Fortunately, I've come across some interesting, high-class links. Classier than James Wolcott, even - though with fewer chins. Check 'em out. Tomorrow, I'm banking on a brainstorm of epic proportions wherein I'll find myself capable of posting a Hajj-esque Photoshop or two.

American Digest: Jane's Got Questions. I've Got Answers. Never heard of left-wing blogger Jane Hamsher? Neither have I. But you won't soon forget her after reading Vanderleun's giggle-inducing smackdown.

Belmont Club: The Blogosphere at War. Looking for an overview of information warfare in the age of blogs? Your search is over.

The Objective Standard: No substitute for Victory. An important and thought-provoking article that contrasts the suicidal death-cult of World War II-era Japanese Shintoism with a more current challenge.

Patterico: Patterico’s Los Angeles Dog Trainer Year in Review 2006. Snark, cynicism, and a failing West Coast Pravda-clone - what could be more delicious?

Right Wing News: Twenty Most Annoying Liberals - 2006 Edition. Shocker - Jimmy Carter beaten for the top spot in a stunning upset!

ZombieTime: The Concourse of Hypocrisy. 'Hypocrisy' is an ugly term. But when Berkeley residents drive gas-guzzling junkers, not a lot of other words come to mind.


Hat tips: Atlas Shrugged and Larwyn

Net Disingenuity: Letter to the Editors of the Wall Street Journal

Your streak of outstanding editorials has hit a few potholes in recent months. I am speaking of your series pillorying network neutrality. Uncharacteristically, these pieces have suffered from major inaccuracies and omissions.

Months ago, your claim was that even defining net neutrality was fraught with complexity. In "The Web's Worst New Idea" (May 18, 2006 [1]), the Journal stated that net neutrality regulations would lead to, "years of litigation." When the screws tightened on AT&T, however, it easily conjured a trivial definition of net neutrality that codifies the status quo. The carrier simply said it would not prioritize or degrade network traffic based upon "source, ownership or destination." That's not exactly difficult to understand, nor is it significantly different than the principles of neutrality enunciated by former FCC Chairman Michael Powell years ago [2].

In "Net Discrimination" (Jan. 2, 2007), you claimed that Google, Microsoft, and other network application providers had, "loaded up on beltway lobbyists." However, a CNet report last year stated that AT&T, Comcast, Time Warner, and Verizon have "spent $230.9 million on politicians" since 1998, a sum that dwarfs the amount spent by the major Internet application providers (estimated at $71 million) during the same period [3]. Somehow you omitted that disparity in spending. One wonders what innovations the carriers might have arrived at had some of these funds been allocated to R&D.

And the companies you decry -- including eBay, Google, and Yahoo -- are compelling arguments for net neutrality by dint of their mere existence. Created in garages and dorm rooms, they are fountainheads of innovation and tens of billions of dollars of market value. A new crop of startups -- YouTube, Flickr, and Digg among them -- also relied upon non-discrimination to secure funding and technical viability.

As currently enforced by the FCC, neutrality simply ensures that the carriers can't discriminate between different types of content. Traffic from Google, Yahoo, or Joe's-Search-Engine.com is treated equally. Neutrality ensures that all users can access the content or run the applications and devices of their choice. And it prevents the companies that control the wires from discriminating against content based on its source or ownership.

Put simply, net neutrality has resulted in the greatest value creation machine the world has ever seen: the Internet. Letting a tiny set of carriers constrict the Internet by turning it into cable television is a mistake of monumental proportions. At risk is America's technological leadership position and, by extension, its national security. Do you trust America's entrepeneurs or a reconstituted Ma Bell? I'll take our garages and dorm rooms any day of the week.

Best Regards,

Doug Ross

[1] http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008391
[2] http://www.techlawjournal.com/topstories/2005/20050805.asp
[3] http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6058223.html

Welcome to the Joseph Rago Pro Journalist Institute

Hello.


I'm Joseph Rago and I'd like to personally thank you for choosing the Joseph Rago Pro Journalist Institute.


As a budding journalist, you'll be pleased with your choice. Our beautiful Newark campus is truly a sight to behold.


And because you're here, you know that traditional mainstream media isn't dead yet - not by a long shot, sparky!


Our rigorous curriculum and distinguished faculty members make for a collaborative and dynamic learning environment.


And what can you expect to learn from instructors like Dan Rather and Eason Jordan?


You'll learn how to use forged documents... even unbelievably bad ones!


You'll discover how to collect reports from make-believe sources like "Jamil Hussein" and "Green Helmet Guy."


You'll also learn how to curry favor with dictators and suppress news in order to keep your foreign bureaus open.


And we haven't forgotten multimedia! Under the tutelage of reknowned instructor Adnan Hajj, you'll use Photoshop to create on-the-scene, live-action photographs... almost as if you were there!


Not only that, you'll find out how to sway public opinion with enhanced or even completely fabricated "news" stories!


And what about disclosing national security secrets like the pro journalists at the New York Times? Yep, you'll learn how to cultivate sources holding grudges and reveal critical programs like terrorist surveillance and SWIFT that endanger Americans.


You can only find this exciting program in one institution: the Joseph Rago Pro Journalist Institute! So thank you again for choosing us. Just remember - we're the mainstream media... and we're not dead yet!


And don't forget to ask about our new work-from-home program... it doesn't involve "blogging" or even having to talk with "bloggers" like Hugh Hewitt. We guarantee it!


Oven-baked good readin', just like Mama used to make:
Anchoress, Belmont Club, Captain's Quarters, Hang Right Politics, HotAir, OTB, Patterico, Rick Moran, Sparks from the Anvil, Thomas P.M. Barnett, Wizbang, Wuzzadem

What should the media's New Year's resolutions be?

Firing up an open thread, Newsbusters asks, "what should the media's New Year's resolutions be?"

Mine is simple. How about they connect the freaking dots on their own news stories? Check out the top ten stories of 2006, as they were listed in one of the major newspapers:

 1) Iraq war: political disarray and mounting casualties among civilians, U.S. troops
 2) U.S. election: Democrats seize control of House and Senate
 3) Scandals bring down several in Congress including DeLay, Foley
 4) Iran, North Korea pursue nuclear programs despite international pressure
 5) More than 900 killed in month of fighting between Israel, Hezbollah; Lebanon hit hardest
 6) Muslim protests -- violence sparked by Danish cartoon, papal speech
 7) Darfur: deaths, devastation mount as outside world struggles for solution
 8) British police thwart plot to blow up jetliners; new carry-on rules imposed
 9) Saddam convicted and executed
10) Illegal immigration and Mexican protests

Maybe pro journalist Joseph Rago can help us figure out what thread links the stories in blue.

Hint: it rhymes with "Hislamofascism."