RSSFinally
Red has finally got a wireless connection and is ready to go. With very little sleep I have finally arrived in Nashville and am posting from Two Doors Down. Met Rebecca MacKinnon and LaShawn Barber earlier at the hotel. Look forward to hearing them speak later.
A special thanks to the crew of Southwest that supplied Red with a continuous flow of coffee on the trip down. Very much appreciated and necessary.
War On Terror Strikes Again in Dearborn, MI
Here is your government at work in the “War on Terror.” Funny I haven’t seen or heard this on any of the major wires. So I guess we can fight a war on terror and do other things at the same time. Take a good look at what your government is doing to protect us from future attacks. From the Detroit News comes this win against terrorism.
DEARBORN — A 41-year-old Dearborn businessman sought to support the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah by collecting at least $600 to send to relatives of suicide bombers, the FBI said Tuesday.
FBI agents arrested Nemr Ali Rahal on April 20 at his Dearborn home. They found a videotape of a 2002 Hezbollah rally in Lebanon attended by Rahal. Agents also found books, posters and videos — one of which was titled “A Martyr Speaks About Martyrs.”
One tape was described by a federal prosecutor as a recruitment video. A picture showed Rahal and another man tearing and burning an American flag.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Oberg said that when Rahal returned to Detroit from Canada on Feb. 9, U.S. Customs agents found traces of “military-quality” explosives on both his and his young son’s passports.
Democratic House Ethics; Welcome To Pandora’s Box
Democrats in Washington, DC crying “ethics” abuse is as laughable as the fox doing good in the hen house. For that matter any politician in Washington pointing the finger at another is as hypocritical as it gets. Everyone outside the beltway knows that it is not a matter that whether politicians breech ethical standards, its a matter of whether they have been caught.
The Democratic Party in their rabid behavior to get a victory somehow or to create another Newt Gingrich or another John Ashcroft went after TX Representative Tom DeLay with both barrels but just forgot one thing. They forgot their skeletons and the fact that they are just as guilty of the ethics violations. If there ever were any.
Drudge is reporting:
14 Lawmakers Now Under Scrutiny In Travel Scandal
The scandal over Congressional travel continues to grow, with at least 14 Members, as well as numerous Capitol Hill staffers, are now under scrutiny because of the sources of funding for domestic and overseas trips they took.
ROLL CALL reports: Although House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is by far the most high-profile lawmaker caught up in the scandal so far, to this point, more Democrats than Republicans have found themselves the subject of news reports outlining potential violations of House ethics rules for taking trips funded by registered lobbyists or lobbying firms.
The number is sure to rise as researchers for both parties, as well as reporters and political activists, continue to dig through tens of thousands of pages of travel documents on file with Congress.
Democrats were privately taken aback that two of their more prominent members, Reps. James Clyburn and Bennie Thompson, had become embroiled in the political furor surrounding lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Democratic sources said they expect Clyburn and Thompson to face an ethics inquiry given all attention surrounding DeLay and his overseas trips.
But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Wednesday that Democrats cannot be considered in the same category as Republicans when it comes to ethics problems. Rep. Pelosi said, “It is not an issue of members of our Caucus having the same sort of a problem. Make no mistake – there is a drastic difference between the timing of reporting things and ethical behavior.”
Developing…
Now how ridiculous do Democrats appear? Democrats get caught up in the very scandal that they accuse Tom DeLay of but some how it is different for them according to Nancy Pelosi. So Democrats are more ethical than Republicans according to Ms Pelosi. Really? I never knew it was a qualification to get into the Democratic Party. If so Nancy, you guys better start sending a lot of people home this afternoon.
How much more hypercritical can the Democratic party get. Their own plan blows up in their face as it implicates Democrats as well, buts that’s different. Just forget about those ethics violations and only go after DeLay. They may have occurred in the old days when you ran the Congress, but not anymore. Nancy, Welcome to the 21st century.
Terrorism or Prank in NYC?
At 3:50am this morning two small explosions occurred in Manhattan, NYC outside the British Consulate. According to Fox News, they were “two small makeshift grenades that exploded early Thursday, Election Day in England, causing slight damage to the building but injuring no one.” Luckily there was not much damage and no was seriously injured.
The grenades had been placed inside a cement flower box outside the front door of the midtown Manhattan building that houses the consulate, police spokesman Noel Waters said.
It is hard to imagine that this is a coincidence as the blast, no matter how minor, occurred on Election Day in England at the British Consulate. CNN reports the following on the British election angle and the fact that no group has yet taken credit for the incident.
The explosions occurred as voters in Britain were casting ballots in a general election in which Prime Minister Tony Blair is seeking a historic third term for his Labour Party.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said police had no indication who was responsible for the blasts.
“We do not at this point have any idea who did it or a motive,” Bloomberg said, adding that there had been no warning call before the blast or any call claiming responsibility.
It is hard to imagine that this incident was not a reaction or show of displeasure to Tony Blair’s role in aiding the United States in the war on terror and in Iraq and todays British Elections. Whether more sophisticated plot or individual nut case trying to make a point; terrorism is still terrorism.
Michelle Malkin seems to have the same worry. Although it appears that she has taken the prank option away and has strictly gone with terrorism.
At the very least it shows just how difficult it is to prevent terrorism on a day to day basis.
Here is some more reaction to the explosions in NYC:
The UK Today, “Conspiracy Theory” (THE ALTERNATIVE VIEW from across the Pond) “How convenient for Tony Blair that there should be a potential bomb explosion on election day.”
The Command Post reports further including links from the BBC.
UPDATE: The Jawa Report has a great in in depth round up on the incident.
My tin-hat theory is that this is could be a “test run” for a much larger act. The media is linking the explosions to the elections in the UK, but there could be something more going on and the UK elections could just be a diversion.
Kerry, What Happened to your Allowance
For all you Kerry contributors for the 2004 elections; here is your hard earned money at work trying to elect your candidate.
Sen. John F. Kerry tapped campaign funds for Red Sox tickets and to pay nearly $300 in overdue Boston parking tickets in March, records show.
Kerry’s Senate campaign committee wrote a $287 check to the City of Boston Parking Clerk on March 31, 2005. The Bay State senator listed “travel expense” as the purpose for the expenditure.
Kerry, meanwhile, used presidential campaign funds for a $3,150 tab for Boston Red Sox tickets in July when he threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park before the Democratic National Convention.
All these expenses and he still had money left over that he did not share with other Democratic candidates. What’s the matter didn’t Teresa give you your allowance that week? A man surrounded by all that money and I guess none of it really is his or at his disposal. No wonder Kerry had to put up with all of her antics during the campaign, he needed milk money.
I am going to have to agree with Wizbang 100%. Please run for President again Senator Kerry, please. It represents an endless supply of material. Although Kerry makes it too easy sometimes.
Recent post: Kerry Running in 2008; Run Kerry, RUN.
