This story is quite old, but I’d never heard it, so I figure many of you have not. In August of 2003 US forces found Iraq’s Air Force buried in the desert. We’re talking a real jet fighter, buried in the sand.

Naturally this leads to a question of whether or not WMDs could be buried in Iraq, but we have no way of knowing. What I think this example does though is show the reality of Iraq, something that few Americans grasp. People watch their TV and read their newspapers, and it all seems so easy. There is no human element to even concern themselves with. If WMDs were there, they should have been found. Nevermind that they could be buried like these jets, or flown to Syria. Nevermind that Bill Clinton, Jacques Chirac, John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer, Al Gore, John Edwards, Nancy Pelosi, and many others said prior to the war that Saddam Hussein had WMDs (here and here). Their TV news and newspaper haven’t had a picture of a barrel with "WMD" on the side, and that’s all that matters. People are so quick to forget the names mentioned above and label the President a liar.

I found an exceptional Op-Ed piece at a very unlikely location: the LA Times. The writer, Jonah Goldberg, says "The fact that Hussein turned out to be bluffing about WMD isn’t a mark against Bush’s decision. If you’re a cop and a man pulls out a gun and points it at you, you’re within your rights to shoot him, particularly if the man in question is a known criminal who’s shot people before. If it turns out afterward that the gun wasn’t loaded, that’s not the cop’s fault." Excellent analogy showing that the burden of proof was on Saddam Hussein, not the President. Read the whole thing, not too long but very enlightening.

Are your beliefs about the war in Iraq based on facts or rhetoric? Determination or emotion? Strength or pacifism? Body counts or lives liberated? I’m curious to hear your thoughts.

Harry Reid, the Senate Minority Leader, made some comments the other day that sum up very well what is wrong with the Democratic Party. I think there are two big things that have got them completely clueless.

1) Bush is Evil – We are in year 6 of Bush’s Presedential history, and still the best that Democrats can come up with is "Bush is Evil."  First it was the election results in Florida, and he was evil for "stealing" it! Then it was the tax cuts for the rich! Then it’s the war in Iraq, and then it’s prescription drug plans not being enough, and on and on. The Democrats number one problem is that the only message they have is that Bush is evil. It has become the party’s mantra: If Bush likes it, we don’t. The only alternative ideas the party can put forward are whatever is opposite the Republican party. They are not completely void of ideas though, which leads me to their second problem.

2) Hand Outs – Personal responsibility is something entirely foreign to Democrats. If you read the mentioned article you would see Harry Reid complaining about health care. "Not everyone has it, so let’s give it to them!" This is where the socialist ideals of the Democratic party come into play. A core belief of the Democratic party is that government exists to take care of people. That is BOGUS! It’s no wonder the national savings rate has gone negative. Democrats love to talk about how we’re going to pay for social security forever, and pay all health care costs. When did it become the government’s job to make sure I’m healthy? I don’t need your stupid social security, I can save my own money! Yet the government just hands out money like there is no tomorrow, and personal responsibility has started to disappear. People pay $2000+ a year in car insurance to drive around their leased Hummer, but they can’t pay $1000 a year for health insurance.

Those are the two main things you hear from the Democratic Party, and that is why Kerry lost in 2004. He had zero vision. Bush was evil, and let’s make more people reliant on government hand outs. George Washington and the rest of our founding fathers are surely vomiting in their grave.

Pandering to Blacks at a recent Martin Luther King Jr. Day event, Senator Hillary Clinton made the following remarks: The House "has been run like a plantation, and you know what I’m talking about," said Clinton, D-New York. (See the full article here via CNN.) Update: Video at PolitcalTeen. I could go many directions from here (inspiration via Larry Elder).

I could talk about how most Black voters are taken for granted by the Democratic Party, and sadly a remark like this will do little to affect support among Blacks. The oddest thing of all is that Clinton was using this to rally the Blacks she was addressing. To even suggest that the House of Representatives is comparable to a plantation is ludicrous. Blacks should be outraged that Clinton would suggest such a thing, and even more upset that she is using it to promote her political adgenda.

I could talk about how Clinton is confused about where to position herself leading into 2008. She doesn’t know if she should position herself as a centrist or a far-left liberal. If she positions herself in the center like John Kerry, someone far-left like Dean might give her problems. However, if she goes too far-left she won’t appeal to those in the middle.

I could talk about how the mainstream media is going to give her a pass like they always do. Trent Lott was crucified over his comment to Strom Thurmond, which in and of itself was not racist (it was interpreted as an endorsement of Thurmond’s political stance at the time, though it’s likely Lott was simply saying he was a good man for the job.) Why isn’t the NAACP making an uproar and denouncing Clinton’s comments?

I will leave you with another quote from Senator Clinton from the same speech (this is for those of you that didn’t actually read the article). In two years when Clinton is running for office and promising to bring the country together, don’t forget this mean-spirited foaming at the mouth remark:

"I predict to you that this administration will go down in history as one of the worst that has ever governed our country."

While the cliche that hindsight is 20/20 may apply here, this article has all kinds of stuff in it that many on the right knew before the outcome of the election. Many on the left, and especially the media, were very willing to overlook all the problems and inconsistencies that came out of the Kerry camp if a victory was still possible. Now however, after all is said and done, the media can finally look back and see the obvious screw-up’s and muddled messages that Kerry tried to campaign on. It’s a long read, but I picked a few parts out and they were very good. If you didn’t get interested in politics until just before or right after the election, give this a read.

Kerry: Everything That Went Wrong

I thought this article was hilarious. For being such a big Red Sox fan, he sure doesn’t keep track of the score very well.

The score is what?

Since every talk show host has been talking about “scare tactics” lately, I guess I’ll throw in my two cents.

The Kerry Campaign is doing something so transparently wrong: they are claiming positions for Bush that he is not taking! Here are some key examples that explain what I mean.

1) A Draft – They Kerry Campaign is “warning” that President Bush is going to reinstate the draft. The problem with this statement is that he’s NEVER said he will! He’s never even suggested such a thing. Troop levels in Iraq are sufficient, and with technology we can fight wars with less troops than we’ve ever needed. So why is the Kerry camp making this up? (hint hint, to scare you.)

2) Privatizing Social Security in January – Another “issue” Kerry is spouting is that Bush is going to privatize social security, probably around January. When Bush does this he tells all the senior citizens they’ll lose benefits. The problem with this? It’s completely made up! While Bush is for privatization of social security, claiming some made up change will occur in January is a bold faced lie. Simply not true.

3) Voter Supression – Back in 2000 there were many Democrats who felt cheated because their guy lost. There were reports of “widespread voter supression” and “disenfranchised voters” everywhere. Now some Democrats are using this as political fuel, claiming Bush is going to do the same thing. The problem with this? There was not ONE validated claim of voter supression last year. Not a SINGLE case brought before any court. No law suits were filed, and no people found guilty. NOTHING. So now the Democrats are trying to scare people with something that never even happened.

These are non-issues, because they are NOT TRUE. The problem however is that the media gives them equal time despite the ridiculous claims. Hopefully people are smart enough to find out both sides of these issues….err, I mean to figure out they aren’t issues in the first place.

I’m going out with Stacie and some of her friends from school tonight, but I’ll be sure to catch a video feed of the debate later tonight. I think President Bush will do better in this format, and since he “lost” according to some people in the first debate, I think he’ll come out extra strong tonight. I’m sure much time has been spent on his appearance despite how unimportant it really is.

The whole Iraq issue has been beaten beyond recognition. Bush is doing it one way, Kerry would do it “better,” but nothing new has been said in weeks. Sean Hannity suggests Bush focus on Kerry’s senate record tonight. Kerry has years and years of voting a certain way and for certain things that can’t be erased by a couple debates, or shouldn’t be anyways. He loves tax increases, he’s voted against defense and intelligence bills numerous times, and he voted against the first Gulf War. John Kerry can talk tough in the midst of a debate, but it doesn’t change his record. What the Bush camp needs to do is effectively remind the public that he is indeed a flip-flopper.

I’ve been so busy working, going to school, and being engaged, lately I’ve been missing my guy buddies. It’s hard because they’re all busy with some of the same things, so ultimately we just don’t see each other much. I wish I could do the bowling thing, but I’m just too busy . It’s hard to admit, but I suppose this is just how things start to work when you get older. Your family starts to become your closest circle of friends, which isn’t bad, just different. So anyways, all us guys should go do something.

Right now I’m watching the video feed of the VP debate last night. If John Edwards says “the reality is….” one more time, I’m going to puke. Cheney is well spoken, makes it much more enjoyable. It’s great how Cheney points out Kerry’s crappy defense record, and all John Edwards can say is “but didn’t you listen to the debate last week!?!” Hopefully Friday’s town hall debate setting will be more friendly to the President.