The "Loser" Mentality Has Got To Go

I know this may have been overlooked by many of you who follow the news lately, and the fact that I'm just bringing this up now shows how unimportant it really is, but... we lost the war on terror.

Okay, that's probably a huge overstatement (if not a bold-faced lie), but I'm pretty much summing up what many on the left want to say but don't dare to, and what some on the left have already said and will now scream in magazine and column headlines for weeks and months to come. I, of course, am referring to the recent National Intelligence Estimate, which stated, among other things, that al-Qaeda has returned to the strength it was at on 9-11. The immediate reaction from many liberals was predictable: they blamed President Bush. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid even reprised his "we've lost the war in Iraq" line for the occasion, just to use the occasion to further whoop up the 23% Crowd for a new (and again futile) push for withdrawal.

Reid, of course, doesn't get it. He's never gotten it. He continues to tell anyone who will listen that our troops in Iraq are only "mired in an Iraqi civil war." Democrats tell us over and over again that "al-Qaeda In Iraq" is not the same people as the Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda over in the remote parts of Pakistan. Well, just days after the NIE was released, our troops in Iraq captured an al-Qaeda In Iraq leader who carried messages from Bin Laden to Iraq. Does this not prove once and for all that these ARE the same people? Look at the evidence on its face with an open mind and you will see that it is impossible to believe what the likes of Senator Reid and the 23% Crowd say.

The only reason people DO believe these guys is because of politics. Sure, many of these same Democrats voted for the war initially, but many thought it was the politically expedient thing to do... after all, the 2002 Congressional elections were approaching and they wanted to appear tough on foreign policy. But once the election had passed and the war had begun, they started to armchair quarterback the war as quickly as possible, trying to spread the "big lie" that we've lost the war. Headlines suggesting that we had "lost" the Iraq war started popping up in columns and magazines everywhere. And this is why as more threats and follow-ups to the NIE are made public in the coming weeks and months, I have a "gut feeling" (sorry Michael Chertoff, but I had to go there) that we'll start seeing claims that we've "lost" the war on terror. Such claims will be used for tactical political advantage (just like the "lost" Iraq war claims), without thought of what it does to the morale of either both our troops and al-Qaeda.

And maybe it's already started... There was a recent column by Froma Harrop, a columnist whose views often skew to the left of my own. In this case, though, her view of our return to complacency for the most part was on the mark. We have become a little less vigilant because terror alerts are a way of life but without an actual attack in several years, the fear of what could be doesn't motivate as much. It's almost the "cry wolf" syndrome, where until an actual attack happens, we dismiss it as just another terror alert. And of course, when a terror plot does get busted up, the spin immediately begins that the terrorists were too stupid to avoid getting caught so the threat could not have been taken seriously.

However, look at the actual headline used for this column: "In Face of Terror, We Press On." Pretty neutral, pretty accurate, and most importantly it's more positive, as in the threat is there but we are capable of doing something about it. Whomever chooses the headlines for the Syracuse Post-Standard chose this title instead: "Fiddling While the U.S. May Soon Burn." It's negative; it distorts what Harrop is saying, and it also makes one think, "We've lost the war on terror." It also smacks of many letters to this same newspaper (and images in other publications) where liberals have compared President Bush to Nero fiddling while Rome burned; perhaps this served as inspiration for the headline? It shouldn't have, since Bush was not even mentioned in this column, so it wasn't even about him.

My argument here is not even about defending Bush; it's about presenting a united front on terror, which despite John Edwards' "bumper sticker" comment, is a REAL threat. We need to be united in saying we will stop terrorism. Stories like the capture of the Bin Laden-Iraq ink don't have much shelf life, so it's easy for liberals to ignore them or just wait for them to pass. They certainly ignore it when Bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, puts out more and more tapes proclaiming that they are "closer to victory" in Iraq. Letter writers and columnists swear that if we just pull out of Iraq, Al-Qaeda will leave Iraq and everything will be hunky-dory. If we pull out, and Al-Qaeda in Iraq declares victory (which they will), why would we think they would stop there? You mean all these cells that are trying to get members into the United States (and some fear already have) will say, "Okay, we're good, we'll stop trying"?

Everyone says just get Osama. Since Tora Bora, it hasn't been that easy. Even before Pakistan gave Bin Laden implied amnesty by pulling their forces back from the North Waziristan region where al-Qaeda makes its home, a U.S. military incursion would have been seen as overstepping our bounds, invading a friendly nation, a crushing blow to U.S.-Pakistan relations. Now that Musharraf finally realizes he has to do something and wants to do it without our help, his government is under siege by Islamic militants.

Remember, I was against the Iraq war at the start, but ever since we decided to go to war, I have stated repeatedly that we have to confront the present reality. Let the TV talking heads and the historians decide whether or not it was a good idea. William Kristol wrote a good column recently where he declared that history will likely prove Bush right about many things. Of course, in the present tense, that very article is being skewered by Bush-haters of all stripes, but that's the point. This is the present, Kristol's talking about the future, one in which we emerge as a winner in our foreign conflicts. That's never going to happen if the opposition continues to insist on telling us all that we cannot win or have already lost. Just because it appears that we've taken a step back, you don't cry "failure" and give the appearance that you just want to quit. Unfortunately, it seems like that's all Democrats are good at.

Observations From the Road

I recently took a week off from the rat race and took a nice long driving trip to various places in the U.S. and Canada. I have to say that during a nice 1700-plus mile trip like that, you have a lot of time to think. And see things. Things that don't make sense. But then again, when you think about it (and I have), much of what we do doesn't really make sense, but we do them anyway. That's all for the Philosophy Corner, now back to the dumb jokes...

I started out in Philadelphia, where the mayor got into some hot water on that particular weekend because he decided that the best way to do the work of the people of the City of Brotherly Love... was to wait in line to buy an iPhone. This in a city with a huge murder problem, not to mention the fact that they have the Phillies... who just lost their 10,000th game all-time. Apparently, Mayor Street felt that he was trying to prove a point about being able to do the work of the people without necessarily having to be in City Hall, but all it came off as was a giant PR misstep. Okay, it's nice to have the latest in new technology; hell, it's nice to be able to AFFORD it. However, if I'm Average Philadelphian, I don't need to know that the mayor has an iPhone, and I certainly don't need to SEE HIM PERSONALLY WAITING FOR ONE.

That's okay, though; I'm sure they have other things on their minds. How else can you explain their driving habits when in New Jersey? This was brought to my attention by some talk show hosts on a New Jersey radio station (as in "not New York, not Philadelphia..." There, that oughta give it away without me ID'ing it...) Apparently, PA Driver, who when in PA drives like a total maniac as you would know from reading this blog, when in New Jersey suddenly becomes SnailMan. In the passing lane. Now, New Jersey Driver has no problem doing 80 no matter WHERE he or she is driving, as I can also tell you from personal experience, but in their home state, I'm sure nothing galls them more than the desire to go 80 being stifled by PA Driver going 65 in the left lane and getting passed. I now can corroborate these talk show hosts' claims, as on my way up the AC Expressway, I repeatedly had to pass several PA Drivers on the right doing my normal just-above-the-speed-limit. Nothing like hearing a good truism when it actually IS the truth...

After that, it was a quick shot through Delaware, where everything is tax-free but they'll get you with a $3 toll if you try to leave the state on I-95, to Maryland. I've been to Maryland many times, but never its capital, and Annapolis is quite a lovely city, mostly for the fact that its center hasn't changed all that much in the last century or two. Still 2-3 story buildings and a state capitol that looks more like a museum in a park than a real seat of government.

After coming back through Syracuse for a day of rest, it was up to Canada for the outdoors portion of the trip. Which meant camping. Which meant rain. For the first night anyway, and then things became quite nice weatherwise for the rest of the trip. I went to Ottawa and got to see the changing of the guard, which of course is ceremonial but what a ceremony. The great thing about Parliament Hill and its surroundings is that there's a lot of history in such a small area, and if you aren't well-versed in Canadian history, like, oh, just about EVERY American, you can learn a lot of things you didn't know.

From there, I went to Trenton... no, not back to New Jersey, but Trenton, Ontario. And if that's not confusing enough, I had to cross the Mississippi to get there. Don't believe me? Here's proof...



Not quite sure what's going on there, but I would say that if we can have two Red Rivers in the U.S. alone, we can probably have another Mississippi River in another country. It's not like you can copyright a body of water...

After another night of camping, it was off to Toronto. Toronto is easily one of the most exciting cities in the world, and a place everyone should go to. If you've been to NYC, you can handle Toronto; the only difference is you have to be on the lookout for streetcars and that lighted "X" above the road means "yield to pedestrians." Yes, there is a subway and buses and LOTS of taxis, but you can walk most places in the general downtown area, although after two nights of sleeping on the hard earth prior to such walking might make your back a bit sore. It certainly did for mine. Queen Street was my destination on that particular Friday night, the club and bar district. After seeing that my first choice was packed, I went to Rivoli, which has a pool hall on the second floor, a very nice modern social bar look when you first walk in the door... and live bands in the back. On this night, I got to see a pair of excellent Canadian groups, the Dress Whites and Fact or Fiction. While radio plays the 800th single off Nickelback's album, one might want to divert their attention to lesser-known bands like these just to get the realization that there is great rock in Canada, just like anywhere else.

I almost overlooked something... before my trip to Rivoli, I ate at the Loose Moose, the sports bar next to the Rogers Centre (nee Skydome). I had some "sliders" (a la White Castle) there, but the burgers tasted different. The next day in Hamilton on my way home, I ate at what I presume to be a Canadian-only burger chain called Harvey's and the burgers seemed to be very similar, as in not like American hamburgers. Well, in the case of Harvey's, a little Net research found that their burgers are charcoal-broiled over an open flame. All I know is they were EXCELLENT. We have Canadian-style bacon (otherwise known as "ham"), now we have Canadian-style hamburgers.

I also managed to deftly navigate the metric-English conversions, although I have to say that Ontario Driver can't seem to navigate the legal-illegal conversion, as in if the speed limit is 100 km/h, 120 km/h is TOO MUCH. Luckily, PA Driver hasn't made an appearance in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), or else that would not make for fun driving. As for gas, well, I think the gas prices are the same as here. All I know is I got $30 of gas at $1.04 a liter and the car didn't run out of gas for a good few hundred miles. That's all I have to go on...

Along that note, it should be mentioned that this trip was done rather inexpensively, thus proving that you don't have to spend much money to go places where things are done a little bit differently than in your boring old neck of the woods. In the case of Canada, you'll soon need a passport to get back from there but it's well worth it.

What's the Point?

I guess congratulations are in order for our Congress... don't be shy, stand up and applaud, because they are currently on pace to set a standard probably never seen in this country's grand history. Yes, the 110th Congress may be about to set a record... for getting the least amount of work done of any Congress ever.

Okay, maybe congratulations may not be in order...

Name one thing the Congress has done since Nancy Pelosi and her fellow Democrats took office. No, investigations don't count, nor do meaningless resolutions or the passing of bills that were doomed to be vetoed by President Bush. I want you to name one thing that has been passed by this Congress that has actually become law and bettered our lives.

The minimum wage hike. Okay, that's one... even though it took several months and lots of partisan bickering, and even though Democrats are still attacking Bush and his fellow Republicans for not passing the minimum wage bill THEY wanted. Name another...

Still waiting...

And it looks like we'll be waiting for quite a while, since Congress has now successfully nuked immigration reform. This may well have been a sad milestone, because I think it will unfortunately rank as the last compromise measure to be proposed in this Congress. The two parties are now far too polarized and far too politicized to vote for ANYTHING proposed by moderates from either their party or the oppostion. Nobody seemed to understand that this was the best we could do in terms of federal legislation, and that neither the conservatives' "kick them all out" policy nor the liberals' "amnesty for everyone" policy was ever going to get the required votes to pass. And Democrats were certainly not going to get behind a bill supported by President Bush in enough votes to allow him to win on a piece of legislation. So, the measure failed, and the partisanship began...

DNC Head Howard Dean immediately fired off this salvo: "Today's immigration vote is a reminder of why the American people voted Republicans out in 2006 and why they'll vote against them in 2008. After using the immigration issue to inflame people with divisive rhetoric, the Republican Party, led by President Bush, had neither the capital nor the political will to work with Democrats on a reasonable compromise that would have delivered on the promise of immigration reform."

Uhhh... WHAT? If this is really all the Republicans' fault, then why did 15 MEMBERS OF YOUR OWN PARTY vote against this? Had your party all gone for this compromise, it would have passed. You cannot blame the president for failing to come up with a "reasonable compromise" when the most reasonable compromise we could get, one Bush was behind, one that the majority of your party's senators was behind, one that all of your presidential contenders in the Senate (Biden, Clinton, Obama, and Dodd) voted for, didn't pass because your most liberal senators DIDN'T WANT THIS TO PASS. Among the nays in the Democratic caucus... Jon Tester and Jim Webb... two senators who you, Mr. Dean, got elected for the sole purpose of OPPOSING BUSH ON EVERYTHING.

Of course, the Congress then proceeded to do what a "do-nothing" Congress usually does after a debacle like this... they voted themselves a pay raise, then took a vacation. And what was the first thing on the docket upon the Congress' return this week? No, not any substantive legislation... the Senate vowed to once again try to revoke their authorization of the Iraq war or pull the troops out immediately, and the House started more investigations of the president and vice-president.

Here's where it gets worse... while the Congress was away, President Bush made, in my opinion, a very dumb move when he commuted the prison sentence of Scooter Libby. All along, the debate was going to be whether or not Bush would flat-out pardon Libby for his conviction. I predicted he would not, and indeed he has not, but saying, "Well... at least he didn't pardon him" sounds a little hollow right now. I don't know if the president now feels he has nothing to lose politically because he is a true "lame duck" now, or if he's just sick of enduring 6-plus years of politically-motivated attacks on him, but he has now decided to fight politics with politics, and all that has done is create what appears to be a political arms race between him and Vice President Cheney and the Democrats. Well, Cheney is flat-out ridiculous to begin with; that assertion that his office is not part of the executive branch is not laughable so much as it just makes you shake your head and wonder what is wrong with the guy... so he's making his own bed too, unfortunately. However, the president did not need to join him in this effort. Now, each day brings new headlines of stonewalling by the president followed by threats from the Congress.

Ironically, it seems the 23% Crowd are the ones who are getting the most excited out of this political escalation... and here I was thinking they preferred peace. After an all-too-brief "retirement" from public view, Cindy Sheehan came out of hiding and announced that she will run against Nancy Pelosi for her Congressional seat in 2008 if Pelosi does not introduce articles of impeachment against President Bush IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. Of course (as usual), she doesn't say what she wants Bush impeached for, although my guess is she wants it to be for the war, which she still doesn't understand is NOT a high crime or misdemeanor. Unfortunately, Bush's altering of prison sentences and refusal to cooperate with investigations, in this politically charged atmosphere, may create just enough of a groundswell among Congressional Democrats to make them decide that they HAVE to impeach him. Impeachment is the little red button that the Democrats have that can blow everything sky-high, and in a game of brinksmanship such as this, you have to wonder how long things can escalate before the button gets pushed.

Especially when the 23% Crowd is well on their way to winning (and by that, I mean fixing) the war of opinions on impeachment. A USA Today-Gallup poll conducted just a few days ago showed 36% of Americans want Congress to begin impeachment proceedings. A disturbing enough number on its own, but that's nothing compared to how the numbers are being just plain fixed in online polls from reputable news sources like MSNBC. Show enough Congressional Democrats a "big lie" like that and you'll get articles of impeachment in no time.

You might notice that I am blaming BOTH sides for this, and it's true, and it's always what I've believed. I want a Congress that does the right thing for the people who elected it, one that passes needed legislation to fix the problems facing this country, one that is not afraid to give a little to get a lot. I don't want a Congress that spends all of its time playing politics and none of its time actually SERVING THE PEOPLE. Alas, I think we have to accept that we're not going to get that from this Congress, and as I've theorized in the past, if this Congress does impeach the president, we may never get it from another Congress ever again.