If Bush Sends National Guard to the Border

UPDATE: Anderson Cooper 360 covering this after next commercial break. 

If as predicted President Bush does put National Guard or other armed forces on the border, then the left will dredge up an incident from the past. It involved a Marine shooting a goat-herder after the goat herder fired upon him in 1997 during drug interdiction patrols. These patrols stopped after this incident, and afterwards the drug cartels took over the border towns.

Although the defense department has supported the Marines — they had radioed to superiors asking for permission to load their weapons and fire at Hernandez — it has also suspended all missions that would put troops on the U.S.-Mexico border while it reviews military drug policies.

Continue reading “If Bush Sends National Guard to the Border”

NSA teapot tempest update

The case of Smith v. Maryland in 1979, the U.S. Supreme Court said that the government could continue to use phone records, who called from where to where, at what time, for what length, for intelligence and criminal investigations without a warrant.

Here’s an update on the NSA program, see Senator Kit Bond deflate Leaky Leahy here.

The case of Smith v. Maryland in 1979, the U.S. Supreme Court said that the government could continue to use phone records, who called from where to where, at what time, for what length, for intelligence and criminal investigations without a warrant.

This has been going on, and this has been gone on long before the president’s program started. And the president’s program, as he designed, as he explained it, has been designed, and is carefully monitored by the lawyers from the NSA and the Department of Justice to make sure that they target telephone communications from or to overseas al-Qaida or al-Qaida known affiliates.

And this program has given us significant leads and allowed us to identify terrorists and to break up planned plots in the United States. Telephone calls from domestic to domestic-foreign phone calls are not targeted, are not used — their content is not used — unless there is a court order.

See President Bush response here.

China and Cuba to siphon off gulf oil

China and Cuba will soon be tapping the reserves of oil under the Gulf of Mexico within fifty miles of Key West, Florida. These reserves are off-limits to US oil drillers due to extensive no-drilling zones created by congress. It’s flatly wrong to allow this to happen, if our only sources of oil are from tyranical countries how is that supporting freedom? Continue reading “China and Cuba to siphon off gulf oil”

Children of lightning or Children of terror?

Mankind is ingenious at tapping the energy bounty provided by nature. From the first fire, to windmills, to water wheels, to today’s electric generating plants we have progressed from superstitious awe and deification of nature to harnessing it to our every need.

Today however we have several movements that question and deny the need for more energy, and we have dangerous tyrants who oppose our advance at every opportunity. These forces all sprang from the romantic era, two driven by an idealized view of nature, and one from a religio-racist view—and they all ally when it’s convenient. Continue reading “Children of lightning or Children of terror?”

NSA teapot tempest

The NSA call pattern tracking efforts are really a tempest in a teapot, and similar efforts have gone on a long time. There is much misreporting going on at USA today, either from ignorance or from a suspect “unidentified source”. I think the media recognizes that most americans aren’t upset by this, but the operative word is “yet” as already expressed on-air by ABC am affiliate news and a couple of other places. Continue reading “NSA teapot tempest”

Persistent Courage

Real courage takes persistence — it’s neither the bluster or posture of a moment, nor even the brave act of an instant as most people would picture it. Real courage takes fortitude, resolve, and a strength of character that few in this world have. An example of real courage would be the small business man who fights through five years of economic downturn, and who ends by selling his house and car to make the final payroll before the IRS arrives to claim both for taxes. It would also be that same business man starting over again after paying off the IRS. Continue reading “Persistent Courage”

Securing America’s Energy Future report out at House

New House of Representatives energy policy report out, see details at NEI, excerpt below of key findings — please note the finding that current prices are demand driven and note the wake-up call regarding catastrophic supply shock, emphasis mine:

  • the current period of high, volatile oil prices is demand-driven, “and not caused by supply restrictions instituted by producers or political upheaval”
    • given today’s tight global markets with little excess capacity, the United States is vulnerable to “catastrophic supply shock” in view of current geopolitics
    • the United States must pursue production and conservation; these are not “either or” options Continue reading “Securing America’s Energy Future report out at House”

Great news from Iraq

Gateway pundit has an excellent piece about 200 tribal leaders signing an anti-terror pact, please take a stop by there this morning. Here’s a quote from the article:

A foundation speaker said that the conference will be attended by heads of Tribes from all of Iraq, Arab Kurd and Turkmen tribes. The speaker added that the conference will also discus political, security, and social issues in the country. We hope to come up with ideas and plans to cooperate in stopping terrorist activities affecting the citizens. He pointed out that the honor compact to fight terrorism and denounce sectarian violence would be the main results of this conference

An update on Acton Gordon who got fired for publshing those cartoons here.