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Top Ten Awards for Sunday, March 11th, 2007

These are the full text versions of the Top Ten Awards for this week. Of the 773 posts at the time I compiled this list I've pulled posts from 55 participants and compiled a list of 241 posts worthy of special attention. That should tell you that the thread itself is getting to be very, very well done, overall. Let me emphasize, the other 532 posts are not "worthy." That's the quandary of trying to judge this thread. It's all that good. As last time, because of my lack of discipline, I will make four posts: the honorable mentions, with and without text, and the top 10, with and without text.

I have to say that the distinction between the top 10 and the honorable mention list is getting harder and harder for me, and the ranking of the top 10 is really, really painful. All of these posts are that good that I could have made any of these first place this week.

This week, based on my perception of the nature of the posts, I am leaning towards volume of "notable posts." As I've said, the quality of the posts is getting to the point where it's hard for me to rank that way, so I'm going to my secondary characteristics. This week I'm emphasizing volume, but I also have a prejudice in favor of "new information" and especially posts with links to validating information.

10th place SCHROLL - my comment when I came across this post was "just damn!" This post is included in the top 10 not only for it's own merit, but as an example of the "one shot" posts (whether it's one or a handful) that deserve special attention. Everyone has their prejudices, as do I, but I hope I am including a good cross section of the posts in these awards. Bottom line, SCHROLL done good, this week.

#616; "Some one should ask Biden since it's his opinion that Iraq be split along political and sectarian lines would he like to see the same done here. Tell him we have the 2000 and 2004 red/blue maps to use as a starting point. Each region would be fully autonomous, free to set up whatever form of government they wish and unable to enforce it's edicts on the other regions. Let's see-we can call the Northeast enclave New Camelot, the Midwest enclave Barakistan, and the West Coast enclave the Counter Culture Commonwealth of the Pacific or C.C.C.P. for short. The rest of us will welcome likeminded individuals fleeing the Liberal hoards with open arms especially the military. They would be free to pick where they choose to serve and take whatever equipment (planes, ships, tanks, and everything else) assigned to them with them."

Ninth Place OldFriend - Excellent commentary, as usual. OldFriend's posts always provide great insights that allow for more profound understandings of who and what we have seen on the shows and provide a broader context in which to consider them.

#370; "I have given Waters the honor of calling her MARXINE Waters!" (Note: catty, but true!)
#374; "If FNC is going to be damned for being too conservative, they might as well live up to that, rather than living down to trying to show they're so balanced. ... Ratner, Beckel, Ferraro, and assorted other libniks give the mute button on my TV quite the workout."
#393; "Fred made the exact same comments about the war that Rudy made last week. He, too, supports the President and acknowledges that mistakes were made which is what happens in a WAR."
#401; "Over 700,000 lives lost in the Civil War. Americans died to preserve the union and abolish slavery. ... Marxine would prefer that others remain in slavery so her homies can get more more more more 'benefits'."
#411; "With Iran having to ration gasoline I believe the economic pressure to join the rest of the world will be enough to topple Imadamnutjob. Because gasoline cost only 9c a gallon there was massive overuse and they are forced to import refined gasoline as they haven't the capacity to refind their own. ... In this case, I believe economic sanctions will work."
#421; "Rudy's street crime unit saved the city. Many were not happy with his stop and frisk. He also confiscated the cars of drunk drivers. This did not stand up in Court, but in the meantime, the drunk driving murders declined considerably. ... That stop and frisk was abolished by Blooming-idiot and the city is now reverting to Dinkins Time. ... What the answer is, I don't know. I do know that working in the city for decades showed up what a really tough SOB could do to govern an ungovernable city rife with crime."
#579; "Yup, the Crown Heights riots were during Rudy's term. ... Dinkins Time was not about the drop in crime, it was about the dreadful way the city was being run. The inmates were in charge. It was a terrifying time for those folks who worked there every day. Who had to use the subways, the streets after dark, etc." (Note: reply to saveliberty's post #452)
#581; "The old media may be dying but they have a lot of help from certain right wing elites who think they know more than the generals, the economists, the president, and of course all of us!"
#587; "Get ready, there is going to be a major slam at the FBI under Bush. ... Leslie Stahl doing a hit piece on the investigation into the anthrax attack. ... Coordinated with the dem congress creatures....as they are demanding the FBI explain the lack of progress in finding who send the anthrax. ... Look for the insinuation to me that one of our own sent the anthrax from a stateside military base."
#589; "When my son was in Germany for World Cup he said there were many many young Iranians there waving the Iranian flag of the Shah. They are begging for help from the US to free that country from the economic disaster created by Imadamnutjob."
#594; "Wallace is on WABC radio every week for a brief interview with John Gambling. ... He said his staff does all the research and gives him the questions. Whenever he is asked about something current he always claims to know nothing about it and will have to ask his staff. ... If ever there was a useless host, he's it! ... The Sunday numbers have dropped consistently since he took over the show. ... He's no better for FNC than Couric is for her station."
#601; "The more the Iraqi's fear we will pull out the less likely they are to join forces with US troops. Who could blame them."
#679; "Glenn was among the most disliked of the astronauts. He was never a good guy.......it only became public when he got into office. ... Not sure that he's paid his debt even now, but he owed much much money for his campaign. He felt he didn't need to repay that money."

Eighth Place Bahbah - the most reliably excellent play by play on the thread. I always read Bahbah's posts in full, particularly when I haven't gotten to see a particular show yet or am going to get it via download or rebroadcast. I always get more out of watching the shows after reading Bahbah's commentary.

#43; "Zalmay is telling Timmy that he has had authority for over a year to talk to Iran about Iraq. ... Timmy is trying to imply a big change in policy as an indicator of the President's weakness."
#55; "Timmy plays a clip of one Sunni in Iraq saying that the Americans are the problem and have brought civil war and assassinations and says 'that is very telling, isn't it.' ... How intensely I dislike Timmy. Carrying water for Murtha. ... Cue the important sounding music. Dana Priest (a lefty married to another lefty) coming up. I wish she actually cared about our wounded rather than just wanting to harm a Republican administration. If wishes were horses...."
#80; "Ted Koppel just said that a pullout from Iraq could lead to a regional war and that we cannot afford to have that happen. ... Timmy quickly moves to another topic...LOL...on to how Bush said he wouldn't talk to those people (pounding his desk for emphasis) and Bechloss agrees he is now doing what the Surrender Group advised."
#124; "Everyone, I truly think Ted Koppel is worth listening to this morning. ... (Can't believe I'm saying this.) ... He's telling them that this war is not going to be over when we leave Iraq however we leave it. It's going to go on for a long, long time. It will just be fought in another way."
#141; "Michael Duffy is talking about how the whole military is broken and stressed at every level, including recruiting. ... Koppel now dishing out a dose of truth about how the vet care system has ALWAYS had problems and it's not a new story. ... Okay, Koppel backslides and says we shouldn't have tax breaks while we're fighting this war. Actually, I think he thinks we should never get tax breaks. So his idea is that, if guys are getting killed on the battlefield, we can sacrifice by having the govt dig further into our pockets. ... In fact, it is those tax cuts that have fired the engine of this economy."
#162; "Timmy turns to the prez horse race. ... Koppel steps in and says that looking at numbers like these 2 years out means you have your head in an uncomfortable place. They mean nothing and will look quite differently. He again emphasizes that whoever the next president is going to be fighting this war whatever this President does. ... Another BINGO for Ted."
#174; "'Dems who have no concept of consequences' ... Well, Ted Koppel is trying to give them a wakeup call on the war against the jihadis. I have no idea if it is penetrating the wall of "we have to do whatever it takes to get and keep power" and damn the consequences."
#221; "I forgot to mention that Koppel pointed out that saying we will stay in Iraq if Iraqis are meeting their goals but leave if they are not makes no sense at all."
#244; "Bill Kristol is right about Libby getting a pardon (I'm not sure about now or later, although I would do it now, but I'm not a politician), but he has some really weird argument about how not doing so leaves a cloud over the WH and granting it would somehow restore legitimacy to fighting the war. I simply did not understand his line of thinking."
#341; "... Thompson and Giuliani have a similar quality. They tell you what they think. Their responses to questions strike one as being carefully thought through rather than carefully crafted by a team of advisors."
#383; "'Walton had not been fair in his decisions.' ... Absolutely right. As you point out, he allowed that juror on. The defense was out of challenges, but Walton had the power to keep him off and he did not. In addition, he essentially punished Libby for NOT testifying, something he had no right to do and which was an abuse of his power. ... I have told people repeatedly for years that the "justice" system in this country has very little to do with justice. Judges are men and women with opinions and biases who, except in very few instances, do NOT set them aside when presiding over cases. They are absolutely drunk with power at every level of the" (Note: reply to Laverne's post #333)
#464; "I'm beginning to think that Dole may have been a good choice. As he just pointed out, we want to take care of the wounded properly, but there are always going to be some that think that they deserve more than they get. (Mrs. McLeod from the "hearings" comes to mind.)"
#556; "'To me, that says they aren't much in the way of being 'real' journalists.' ... Exactly. The first thing they started yelling was how this was an unprecedented action. 'Unprecedented!!!' said many FReepers immediately, some having already recalled what Presidents Clinton and Clinton did. Now THAT was truly unprecedented, i.e., it had never been done before...wiping out the whole bunch. You would think that Wallace and others would at least put some minions to work finding out something about the history of firing fed prosecutors, but they just read and feed off of others in the DBM. How lazy. Or do they just pick up the action lines that they want to run with and simply don't care about the facts?" (Note: reply to mathluv's post #542)
#715; "I see Newsbusters was as taken aback by Ted Koppel today as we here were. ..."
#732; "'I think this is the element about Giuliani that is allowing conservatives to still consider supporting him even if they disagree with him on many social issues.' ... Exactly right, I believe. While there are certainly a contingent of close-minded conservatives, I think (hope?) the bulk are relentlessly open-minded and constantly exploring and reviewing facts and opinion on lots of issues. At least that is how I became a conservative. So I like people who tell the truth. I can deal with that. That is the attraction of Giuliani, in addition to his strength as a leader." (Note: reply to my post #716)

Seventh Place Laverne - Excellent live commentary on the shows, providing insight for those who have seen them and a great roadmap for those who haven't but want to know what to look for. Coupled with great analysis Laverne offered up a tour de force this week.

#44; "For the most part pretty positive, I didn't watch all of it (I tuned in late). I was particularly interested in the callers, who seemed to suggest that they need a star as a candidate, and as yet, we don't have one. I know these comments are not very informative, but its the best I have. The guest (whose name I don't know) said something about Thompson's height (I gather he is quite tall, he said he is 6'6") and "looks" Presidential." (Note: comments are in regards to discussion of potential Fred Thompson candidacy on CSPAN)
#49; "Good for Thompson: In response to Wallace, what would you do in Iraq? 'I would do what the President is doing'. He talks about the mistakes, states 'wars are always full of mistakes', the important thing is to rectify those mistakes, and that is what we are doing."
#57; "Talking about Scooter. Asking about a pardon -- said he would pardon Libby NOW. Talks about how this is a miscarriage of justice. It was a political trial, the SP KNEW it was Armitage was the leaker and did not constitute a violation of the law. The trial was NOT FAIR, and he would do anything he could to alleviate that. ... OK, that does it for me; he's my man! :-)"
#76: "Too bad Zal has to be so political. If Timmah had asked me that question, I would have asked Timmah why he filed a false affidavit with a federal court? Who is Timmah to ask any question at all, he is a proven liar, and NBC should fire him. (Rant off). ... I don't watch Fat Dim because I can't stand the clymer."
#95; "Maxine: blah, blah, blah.....blah, blah, blah; same old same old...no WMD, not greeters as liberators, Bush lied, blah, blah, blah. ... Wallace asks if Pelosi is being too timid? ... Wallace says the election was all about getting out of Iraq (she buys into the liberal media spin, of course, since the liberal media reports the DNC talking points). ... Showing the Obey "liberal idiot" tape! LOL ... Wallace: Maxine: Are you one of those liberal idiots? ... Maxine: "his language was quite unfortunate....Obey apologized..." Maxine hopes that she is not one of the liberal idiots! LOL ... blah, blah, blah."
#145; "Panel talking about Scooter now. Will anyone talk about Russert's false affidavit????? ... Brit: I think the 2 jurors who spoke out, the WAPO reporter said the adjudication "sucked", and the other one wants a pardon. ... Nina: If you use an SP, you are at risk. No underlying crime. Obstruction of justice for a crime that didn't exist....doubts about the case; SP calling LIbby a liar. ... Kristol: Pardon now. Right thing to do. SP said "there is a cloud over the WH and VP". Conviction was unfair. Pardon Libby NOW. ... Juan: says Libby should not get a pardon, it would undermine justice. ... Brit again: NOTHING WAS FOUND IN THIS CASE...NO CRIME. ... Nina: Should SP even have investigated these matters? It is a criminalization of politics.... Kristol: This trial should NOT have been brought. Thinks Bush should pardon him now -- get rid of the cloud by pardoning LIbby. Going after Wilson was legitimate, he was the LIAR. ... Juan: BS. Says if Bush pardon's libby will show no accountability. ... Brit: Should wait for pardon until after the next legal maneuvers....new trial and/or appeal. ... I'll answer my own question: NO ONE MENTIONED RUSSERT's FALSE AFFIDAVIT. Maybe I'm making too much of it."
#160; "LOL. Wallace praises Ailes comments about blacklisting ANY news organizations; which is what the dems are doing. ... Wallace puts up the letter by Reid, et al. ... Shows joke that Roger made that caused the whole bruhaha. Says the Nevada dem party is only using the joke as an excuse to cover for the girly man's (my words, not Brit's) being afraid of Fox. Says good move by Edwards in the short term. Edwards is at war with Fox, that Fox is NOT at war with Edwards. We treat Edwards fair....but Edwards is cow-towing to the left wing nut roots. ... Nina brings up the liberal left bloggers, and this is what the boycott is really all about. Edwards is most aligned with the nut roots. ... Wallace: What would MSM say if pubbies caved into the bloggers and refused to debate on the MSM. ... Kristol: Edwards has been on Fox a lot...all he is doing is pandering to the left winger. ... Juan: We are living in a world of mixed journalism, and FNC is more conservative. To his mind, the decision by the dems is contrary is contrary to open debate and free speech. Says he thinks the decision is stupid. Good for Juan."
#176; "Yes, and isn't it interesting, that Wallace talked about Clinton's firing ALL state AGs, ONLY in response to a viewer question. Had the question not ever been asked, Wallace probably would never have reported it. This is what I hate about journo's today; they have no investigative instincts anymore. The liberal mainstream media writes and reports what they get from the DNC war room (with rare exception), and the RNC war room simply does not exist. ... With the NY Times openly working for the terrorists, and repeatedly lying in their articles, and despite being caught at it time and time again, mainstream media still follows their lead. Its disgusting. ... FREE SCOOTER; FIRE RUSSERT!" (Note: in reference to reader mail to FNS correcting lies by Diane Feinstein on 3/4/07 that the removal of the 8 prosecutors was unprecedented - more posts by edpc, #169, mathluv,#275, mtnwmn, #361)
#266; "I agree with you McGavin; I think a little patience for a pardon is the best approach. Libby wants to be completely vindicated and a pardon would not do that. I would only wish that the stupid Judge Walton will recognize his reputation is in the gutter for how he allowed this case to be tried. He can rectify it by overturning the verdict (or whatever means he has to remove the guilty verdict); otherwise, he will be forever known as another Judge Ito. His decisions throughout the case were favorable to Fitzy. Fitzy should be tried for prosecutorial misconduct with Russert filing a false affidavit with Fitzy's knowledge. The whole thing sucks.... "
#333; "Thats a good point snugs, but in reality it doesn't matter. As we all know.....MSM will just make up stuff to go after republicans, it doesn't have to be true, they just have to be in unison. They do it all the time. I don't think Bush should pardon Libby just yet, I think he should wait until the next phase and see what happens. ... The whole trial was a fiasco...with the judge letting on the ex-WAPO reporter who personally two or three of the prosecutor's witnesses, including the star witness. That was a travesty and says to me Judge Walton was not seeking a fair trial...a bold statement I make only from my legal ignorant position. But Judge Walton made so very big mistakes in what to allow and what not to allow in for evidence. ... In fact, Fred Thompson made that case the other day, not today on FNS, but he did state earlier that Walton had not been fair in his decisions. Thompson was right then, and he is right now to say the whole thing was a travesty; a political witch hunt by an over zealous prosecutor." (Note: reply to snugs post #309)
#458; "... Dole is on FNC now with Brian Wilson hosting the noon-time show today. They are talking about the whole Walter Reed issue and focusing it on just well where it belongs -- on Building 18. Talking about how the WAPO would have yelled and screamed if the government has invested into Walter Reed after it was announced it made the BRAC list. They are right on that, for sure. ... Also referring to Congress's lack of over-sight on this issue, that they are also culpable because they did not know about the situation."
#463; "... Discussion about Fred Thompson possibility getting into the race coming up next on FNC. ... Dole's departing comment on that: "it sure would shake things up". Spot on."
#709; "I think if a pardon becomes necessary he will pardon him, but I don't think LIbby wants a pardon at this point in time. He is requesting a new trial....and deserves one, judge Walton refused his opportunity to put on a full defense. If Walton was a real man, one with integrity, he would overturn the verdict. He made gross errors in this trial. ... President Bush is a very patient man, he WILL NOT stoop to the levels of the dem smear machine (I don't know how he resists it, I would have used very spicey language at some of the idiot dems and press). It frustrates me that he won't fight back, but I think he really does, he just fires back behind the scenes. He will not become a public spectacle like Hilly, Billy, and the rest of them."

Sixth Place rodguy911 - With only semi-recharged batteries after a grueling travel schedule rodguy911 is back with a vengeance. Biting but very funny comments, excellent and informative links and some lively discussions. Great contributions this week.

#27; "Actually I love hearing Maxine, Barney, Piglosi, dingy and all the other rat/idiots, it's lets the populace see just how wacked out these people really are."
#42; "Hopefully everyone will be able to put together what is really going on with these rabid rats. The biggest problem we have with them right now is they are determined to sabotage the war with their 17 attempts at defunding. Here is the net effect so far. ... "Iran is at war with Us"--by Michael Ledeen --NRO ... Ledeen makes a compelling case that since the dems have basically given in on the war Iran has stepped in, in a big way, and is basically playing a waiting game until we leave Iraq. It's a wakeup piece that shows just what happens when you have a determined foe who sees war, struggle, conflict, jihad, in terms of hundreds of years instead of yearly budgets. You will find it here ... I got it here from a scrappleface link about how sanctions could hurt Iran and how they are concerned. That one is here..."
#67; "(Imus) had a good week--it's here ... Every once in a while the I "man" gets it! ... Although if you try and make sense of him or his show it's usually counter productive."
#82; "The final paragraph of your link pretty much says it all where 26 more Iraqis were killed after the meeting by more suicide bombers. The Iranians think they can play the world for suckers, let's hope we don't fall for it." (Note: reply to MNJohnnie's post #40 regarding article and thread ran Tells US To Set Timetable For Iraq Exit)
#99; "A lot of people want to see Scooter pardoned, it's just part of what you will read this week at Horowitz's 'Memo to Karl Rove' Front Page mag, where he continues the battle to free our college students from the vices of liberal college professors' clutches...."
#156; "Good point on Ledeen! There is no question in my mind that short of lots an lots of force, all the talking in the world will not dissuade the Iranians from trying to conquer every infidel in the world and those who oppose them in any way. ... They are truly the nut cases of the Middle East. Difficult if not impossible to deal with other than in a forceful manner. ... If we "are" ever successful in dealing with them, and I don't see it happening right now,it would go a long way to solving many of the problems we now have in the Mid-East. But like you said, fireside chats won't get the job done."
#164; "35 years later it still pays to recall that the Shah of Iran (whose son is waiting in the wings to go back to a free Iran) was sabotaged by Jimmy Carter when he would not cave to Carter's bribe demands for his Ga. buddies. That little deed alone has had huge ramifications for the world ever since. ... Dems who have no concept of consequences or who just don't care like Bubba, can go along way at recreating an other wise much different world."
#193; "Red State has a good take on just how scared the dems really are of FNC and the upcoming debate in Reno: ... You can find it here: ..."
#247; "I sometimes wish the panel on FNC made a few changes, I would love to see Michell Malkin or Laura Ingram, Monica Crowley, or many others on the panel instead of Barnes and Kondracke all the time. Neither one is what I would call a broadcast ace. They may be good writers....."
#257; "Hillary and co. may have a lot more to worry about than a time line if some of her old worries are brought up: ... Here's one: ... Many are wondering if indeed there really was a cover up of the TWA 800 flight explosion. Was it really knocked down by a rocket, some think so.. here is a take that could be tough for the Clinonistas to explain if there is anything to it: (link)"
#260; "The great think about Maxine Waters is that she is blatantly stupid! She brings about some appeal to black voters but has to turn everyone else off!! I love it whenever the rats put her up front, it can only help us."
#337; "I you want to see just how fragmented the dems really are scroll down the page at flopping aces and see just how frustrated Rep. David Obey is with his own left wing. ... There are just tons of great stuff at FA including Bill Maher imploding ..."
#353; "Making the claim that the dems won't like it and they will be even harder to get along with if we pardon Scooter is hardly compelling. Since when do they like anything this President has ever done. ... IMHO, the dems are just like the terrorists, they only respond to overt actions. Words hardly scare or get their attention. Deeds are what it takes. ... Many conservatives are waiting to see GW resolve several lingering issues including the border agents who still sit in jail -- Ramos/Compean, Libby and other shall we say 'unresolved' issues. Not that we don't support him anyway, just that we can use a boost every now and then. ... I tend to disagree with your analysis this time." (Note: reply to kabar's post ##316)
#382; "Pardoning Libby right now I think would really fire up the base which sorely needs it."
#404; "... The naiveté of the day was we were getting a peace dividend. Well our peace dividend was 911 and we go it with 400k fewer troops. ... Anyone with half a brain would have know to have maintained our military strength and even slowly increased it in the world we live in, but no! We got algorr and bubba instead, and well... here we are, with 400,000 fewer troops. ... The problem is that we have become accustomed to thinking in terms of a socialist agenda! We need, more Medicare, more free this, more free that, instead of thinking about the basics of what the country needs and why it was formed, which is security and safety in order to live as free men. We need to get back on track."
#425; "... The dems have always gone after GW for any old reason and always will! ... If they don't have something current to use they make it up,it's actually starting to work to our advantage since anytime you do anything too much people start getting suspect and suspicious. More and more voters should and may start to realize just what complete phonies they truly are.(and we will help them to realize it here in the New Media.)"
#468; "Love him or hate him Rudy was right there after 911. ... Someone else who has covered 911 from stem to stern is writer Peter Lance. ... Perusing the Able Danger Blog once again I stumbled across an 8 minute video that was truly fascinating especially after watching "Breach" for the second time yesterday at the movies. ... Lance is now enamored with how the Bureau covered several aspects of events before 911. ... I mention it only because he claims within the video to have read over 10,000 papers of research on the topic or related events and appears to be well versed in what he says. ... Anyway you can decide for yourself here: ... You will have to scroll down to the You tube video, it moves really fast."
#477; "But in the end you are still taking about how the dems will claim their lies are bigger and better than our truths. ... I readily admit they have a huge msm advantage but that does not follow that they have any truthfulness on their side whatsoever. ... Truth always counts. No matter who says what."
#480; "Yeah I guess killer hurricanes are GW's fault as well, who knew!"
#489; "Your stuff on Chavez is truly amazing. ... To think that Carter is so stupid he makes the same mistakes over and over, appeasing dictator after dictator it's a wonder anyone ever takes the guy serious at all. What a huge traitor he is. ... As I get it, basically Chavez bought his voting machines from us, controlled them, and then found out which sites Carter would monitor during the elections. ... Not only that I never knew that there were 1.25 million protesters against him supporting the opposing candidate before the election, chances are he lost big time and everyone everywhere just let it slide!! ... This is really unbelievable! Great links SL." (Note: reply to saveliberty's post #467)
#537; "Wow, am I glad to hear you say that! ... From my standpoint, every time that GW ignores what the rats do they just think of even more things to do. ... They are like the terrorists. You can't really talk to them, you have to spank their butts before they understand. ... Consequently we remain on defense all the time instead of offense. ... The rats are the dirty party not us! They have much to apologize for not us! It's time the general population knew that and it was more at the forefront,of course if GW doesn't do it that always leaves us!" (Note: reply to Morgan in Denver's post #530)
#541; "... when you analyze Rudy's entire candidacy, much of it depends on whether or not voters think he has evolved or remained static. ... Is the Rudy Guilani of 15 years ago the same Rudy as today? Or, has he changed on certain issues and if so which and why. ... Those questions could be a crucial aspect of his candidacy."
#598; "Hopefully they are reporting that the surge is succeeding since it is. I have always had complete confidence in the surge since it is a new and brilliant formula for fighting what MNJ calls an asymmetrical war. One that is not traditional, where the enemy hides near civilians, children, and uses terror techniques I like to call the chicken sh___t methods to disrupt life in a city. ... Our new leaders have figured out that it's necessary to put our troops right in with Iraqi troops,let them live together and do everything together. ... The key to winning this war has alway been to get the locals to turn in the terrorists without fear of being killed themselves. ... the only way to do that is give them them the security they need, we are doing that and apparently it's working. there is new thread here on the surge working its here: ..."
#681; "I Understand you don't want to negotiate with terrorists, who does, but if I know GW and Condi (and i don't i am guessing) it will be negotiation from a point of strength.... In the past the Iranians have used negotiations to spin their side and stall for time. They still are. ... If I had to guess, now we are using the negotiations to increase pressure with sanctions and stall for time. The longer they are denied any goods longer they will suffer and maybe regime change who knows. I would have to be naive to think that we are not supporting some sort of regime change within the country as well. Has to be going on at full speed."
#686; "Actually when you consider all the options available, which are few, GW's strategy is probably a stroke of genius...uh let's see where have we said that before....oh yeah right here on a regular basis."

Fifth Place MNJohnnie - as usual MNJ is involved in some of the most informative and thought provoking discussions on any thread. After reading through the posts and replies, along with the replies that those generate from still others, we are always better informed and have broader understanding of whatever topic is being discussed.

#40; "Iran Tells US To Set Timetable For Iraq Exit ... If I had not seen this who published this, I would of taken it for satire. Simply unbelievable that the Democrat Party is taking it's talking points on today's shows from the same script the Mullahs in Iran are writing! Are these people in the US Congress really this completely clueless?" (Note: link is to FR thread with article)
#47; "'Curiously, approval among Democrats for the Democratic-ruled Congress slipped slightly this month, down to 33 percent from 39 percent last month. In particular, support fell among Democratic men, from 44 percent last month to 34 percent this month.' ... Which corresponds to their big push to Resolution themselves out of Iraq. Dems better be careful. This is exactly the same dynamic that started in 1993 in their polling data. Remember 1994 was the year of 'The Angry White Male'?"
#51; "This from the same Russert who was part of the Leftwing's caterwauling because Bush was NOT talking to Syria and Iran? These people are so deranged they cannot even be logically consistent in their talking points week to week!"
#94; "Only problem with Ledeen he is another one of the gutless "Do Nothings" who thinks if we just play around the edges supporting pro Democracy groups the Iranian people will magically rise up and throw the Mullahs out. ... Only problem is History shows his idea is absurd nonsense. If Iran did this it would be the first time an authoritarian Govt was overthrown by a purely popular uprising. Every single popular revolt in history has arose when an authoritarian govt tired to reform the existing system to cope with an external threat. Without the external threat, there is no crack in the facade or oppression reformers can hammer a wedge into. ... I have never understood Ledeen's popularity with Conservatives. His every answer to any issue is whine about what we ARE doing and bitch that we ARE doing things. Guy is way past is time. Still stuck in an 09-10-01 world view."
#106; "'Timmy plays a clip of one Sunni in Iraq' ... Did they bother to find out what the scum did under Saddam? Saddam did not staff all the rape rooms, torture chambers and execution yards all by himself. Of course there are going to be people pissed off Saddam is gone. Either the the US Junk media is incredibly naive, or they are out right traitors who simply do not care they are actively propagandizing for the enemy. ... Simple sick and sad of Russert to carry the water for terrorists and other mass murdering scum."
#149; "Ms Water. Whites and blacks 'got along' during Slavery the same way Shia and Sunni 'got along' in Saddam's Iraq. That did not make it right. ... What and utterly despicable shamefully ignorant thing for here to say about Iraq."
#177; "'How could we possibly prosecute the WOT with Saddam in power?' ... Dirty little secret to tell you. People like Maxine Waters et al do not think we SHOULD be fighting the WOT. In their world, we DESERVED 09-11 because 'of our historic and current oppression of colored peoples'. ... Some one might want to clue in the Rabid Left that Arabs are Caucasians."
#186; "'Michael Duffy is talking about how the whole military is broken and stressed at every level, including recruiting.' ... Guess someone better update Mikes propaganda. He is only about 3 years out of date. ... Recruiting Numbers Exceed Goals"
#284; "Only problem with the talk point is it is totally at odds with factual reality. ... Facts are Clinton lied under oath and actively solicited others to lie on his behalf under oath in a matter involving his criminal sexual conduct. Libby is guilty of making comments during his marathon repeat grilling by an out of control Special Prosecutor that are at odds with documented facts. ... Clinton lied by commission actively trying to conceal criminal conduct while Libby made statements that were contradicted by documents. To compare the two cases is intellectually absurd." (Note: reply to Fishtalk's post #209)
#302; "'Scrap the current ROE's. Dust off the bombers.' ... Russians tried your style Counter Insurgency doctrine in Afghanistan. The Nazis tried it during WW 2 in Eastern Europe. How did that work out for them? ... Counter Insurgency is not Total War. Most of the troops who are doing the bulk of the fighting and dying on ourside are Muslims. Practicing this sort of "kill them all" doctrine would make all those allies enemies instead. ... This is the sort of trash talking from the pseudo "tough guy" never been anything Talk Radio Hosts that might make for good Talk Radio sound bites, in real life it is prescription for guaranteed failure." (Note: reply to aligncare's post #214)
#313; "Yeah we could use that. Then we can run all the various clips of him running as a 'Reagan Clone' while stumping in VA then show all his way Leftist trash talk as a member of the US Senate new 'Progressive Caucus' and simply end with ... 'Which Jim Webb are you voting for'?" (Note: reply to Txsleuth's post #249)
#348; "'because we aren't splitting the country in 3, like he wants to do.' ... This is positively the stupidest idea. I am curious who is putting this idea in Joe's ear. He is even too stupid to come up with this idea on his own so SOME one is telling him this. CFR maybe? This is exactly the sort of stupid short term "quick fix" the "Stability uber alles" crowd would come up with."
#376; "Adding it to my reading list now. ... The Looming Tower Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 ... desc ... A sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, a groundbreaking look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plans and the Western intelligence failures that culminated in the assault on America. Lawrence Wright’s remarkable book is based on five years of research and hundreds of interviews ..." (Note: considerably more to the description of the book in the post and at the link - recommended reading)
#406; "There are no Kurds nor oil in the former Yugoslavia. ... BTW Has JOE gone and seen what a disaster this partition has turned into? Basically you have 5 failed states that have to be garrisons and paid for via the UN. That a decade AFTER the Dayton Accords came up with this stupid partition plan, there is NO end in sight to them being anything but wards of the UN (The poor bastards do not even deserves this.) Oh, then there the little fact that they are pretty much lawless regions, openly the base for the world's current sex slave trade. Life inside the partition areas is almost as bad as it was under the Commies. ... I guess someone might need to explain to Joe that there is no equivalent to the Kurds in Yugoslavia. A Kurdish state would almost guaranteed end up in war with both Turkey and Iran who have large restless Kurdish minorities. The he might want to consider the fact that Yugoslavia does not sit on the 2nd or 3rd largest know oil reserves in the world the war Iraq does. Like it or not, Yugoslavia has no bearing at all on US National Security interests while Iraq clearly does. ... Joe Biden is an idiot studying to be a moron.....and failing."
#460; "Instead you demand perfect omnipresent from the White House that would have to have KNOW, before any investigation was conducted, that no crime was committed? Otherwise following your program would of been a clear and obvious attempt at Obstruction of Justice and instead of Libby you would have an impeached President. ... Gee sorry the President did have the 20/20 foresight the way the Talk Radio screamers have 20/20 hindsight. ... The President IS Commander in Chief, the VA problem happened on HIS watch. He IS responsible. That the different between a real world serious, appropriate political response and fantasy talk radio land politics. We all loathed Bill Clinton for his continual bobbing and weaving to ever avoid responsibility for anything. NOW the people who screamed loudest about Clinton want US to adopt his tactics? ... Sandy Burger? I hate to disappoint these Hollyweird fantasy land view of US Politics that keep cropping up among people who should know better but the Judiciary is a co equal branch of Govt. The President is not the all powerful god king Hollyweird action movies and never been anything talk radio hosts, make him out to be. Sorry reality of how the US Govt really works doesn't conform to the fantasizes of the politically ignorant Talk Radio screamers. ... Sorry but I prefer an adult in the White House. Sorry even if reality is causing screaming lunatic Democrat Campaign contributors pretending to be "Conservative Talk Radio Hosts" to go into hysteric fits because of it." (Note: reply to greyfoxx39's post #413)

Fourth Place kabar - excellent and always informative posts, kabar also brings out the best in other posters when he challenges us and makes us reexamine our thinking or forces us to back up, or correct, our statements. The thing that is so outstanding about our community here is that we're mostly past letting that sort of thing degenerate into flames and instead are responding and learning from each other. Even our arguments are fun and informative discussions, not antagonistic contests.

#97; "... Poland and Solidarnosc' started the downfall of the Soviet Union." (Note: in response to MNJohnnie's post #94)
#130; "And if Saddam and his sons were still around, we would still be enforcing the Southern and Northern no-fly zones at a cost of about $9 billion a year and Saddam [and the UN] would be still be skimming the Oil for Food revenue. Moreover, there would be mounting pressure to remove the sanctions from Iraq by France and Russia. How could we possibly prosecute the WOT with Saddam in power?"
#148; "The only good reason to pardon Libby now is to save him the enormous legal costs of filing an appeal. Otherwise, a pardon now would be a negative politically. It is a foregone conclusion that Libby will be pardoned by Bush. It is a matter of when, not if."
#182; "If you want a good analysis on the situation in Iran, I recommend Ed Luttwak's, 'Three reasons not to bomb Iran - yet' ... The worst thing we could do now is to make a preemptive, overt attack against Iran. The Iranian regime is intentionally trying to create an external threat to deflect the widespread domestic opposition to the regime. Ahmadinejad's outrageous statements also help raise the price of oil, which helps the flagging Iranian economy."
#199; "Most of the world's Muslim's live in democracies, including the two countries with the largest Muslim populations, Indonesia and India."
#292; "'I don't really understand the mechanism for stopping them getting nukes.' ... Obviously, a preemptive US military attack is the last resort. In the meantime, we should work on regime change in Iran, overtly and covertly. We should be aiding the opposition forces inside and outside of Iran. There are various diplomatic levers and economic sanctions that can be employed to further isolate Iran and its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. ... Domestically, Iran's economy is in poor shape and the brain drain is real with more than 150,000 educated young people leave Iran annually for countries such as the U.S. and Canada. Some 4 million Iranians now live abroad. The current regime is very unpopular. The question is can we change it without using military force. We should try given our long term strategic interests in the region and our relationship with our once and future ally, Iran." (Note: reply to rodguy911's post #238)
#316; "'I gotta hear this explanation why it would be bad to pardon Libby now?' ... The Dems and MSM would go bonkers attacking the corruption of the WH and its disregard of the law and the justice system. Reid and Pelosi have already fired warning shots across the bow. I am sure that the WH would rather have good relations with the Dem controlled Congress so it can pass comprehensive immigration reform and a fix for SS. Moreover, there is still the funding of the war in Iraq that remains a Dem target. Pardoning Libby will give some backbone to wavering Dems in Congress. It will be played that the Libby conviction was really part of the WH cover up about the lies it used to get us into the War in Iraq, i.e., using the famous 16 words in the STOU. There may even be a greater clamor from the kook Left to impeach Bush. ... There is a reason why Presidents usually wait until the end of their terms to grant most of their pardons. Certainly, the highly charged political show trial of Libby would act as a lightening rod should a pardon be granted now. And Fitzgerald is still out there waiting to pounce. ... What are the politicial advantages to pardoning Libby now?" (Note: reply to rodguy911's post #245)
#342; "Then all bets are off. The only caveat is that if the Dems win the WH in 2008, they will implement a policy of containment and not initiate any military action. We cannot win the WOT without regime change in Iran, the world's biggest state sponsor of terrorism and the spawning grounds of militant Islamic fundamentalism." (Note: reply to rodguy911's post #303 asking if Iran does "get nukes, what then?")
#410; "'What race does Bush lose if he pardons Libby?' ... It is not about his reelection, but it could play a role in the 2008 election cycle and affect some GOP candidates. It is about politics and relations with a Dem controlled Congress that is aided and abetted by the MSM. Why pick a fight, which does not serve your interests? Bush may have some items on his agenda that he would like to see passed by Congress." (Note: reply to NautiNurse's post #375)
#457; "'Kabar, you just don't get it.' ... rodguy911, you just don't get it. I thought I would emulate your courteous introduction. I guess if I would agree with you, then I would "get" it. ... 'The dems have always gone after GW for any old reason and always will!' ... Agreed. But do you have to give them [and the MSM] more ammunition now? ... 'If they don't have something current to use they make it up, it's actually starting to work to our advantage since anytime you do anything too much people start getting suspect and suspicious. More and more voters should and may start to realize just what complete phonies they truly are. (and we will help them to realize it here in the New Media.)' ... The old media may be dying, but it still has a very powerful voice. In this case, they would not have to make anything up. We have the President of the US pardoning the former COS of the VP who was convicted by a jury in a court of law by a WH/DOJ special prosecutor. As spun by the MSM, Libby was involved in the outing of a covert CIA agent because her husband revealed the fact that the WH was lying about Saddam's WMD, including placing those famous 16 words in the STOU address that George Tenet said in a press release were a mistake. As a result, the WH lied to get us to invade Iraq. ... Does the President really want to pour gasoline onto this fire now?"
#754; "'What was the final vote margin in the Congress on McCain-Feingold? Fyi, 68-32. Would be pretty politically stupid to veto a bill you KNOW you are going to be overridden on.' ... H.R. 2356 [Shays-Meehan] was originally introduced as H.R. 380. A Senate companion bill, S. 27 [McCain-Feingold] was passed by the Senate on 4/2/2001. On 2/13/2002, H.R. 2360 [Ney-Wynn], with some modifications, was offered as a substitute amendment [H.Amdt. 430] to H.R. 2356. The amendment was not agreed to. H.R. 2356 was passed by the House on 2/14/2002 and by the Senate on 3/20/2002. ... FYI The final bill was passed in the Senate 60-40, so there were not enough votes to override a Presidential veto." (Note: reply to MNJohnnie post #486)

Third Place Txsleuth - excelling in both direct reporting of the activities on the threads and in analysis, our Txsleuth has provided the classic case of what is worthwhile about this thread each week

#212; "Yes...alas the Dems are helping get Prs. Bush in trouble with his own people. ... I was pinged to the thread about these 'talks' between Khalilizad and the Iranians...and, there are some unhappy Freepers. ... I can understand...it sounds like Pres. Bush is going back on one of his more forceful statements...that he won't negotiate with Iran or Syria. ... I think Zalmay tried his best to tell Russert that the talks were much LESS substantive that Timmy is implying..but, the damage is done, I am afraid."
#249; "OH...good grief. ... Stephy just asked James Webb about "all of the talk on the blogs, wanting Webb to be the VP candidate in 2008"...and what does he think about that??? ... Of course Webb just said he is only just know getting his feet wet in the Senate...blah, blah. ... I watched Face the Nation for a nanosecond...but with Specter and Schumer on with Scheiffer, it was one big bash Bush party over there...waste of time."
#258; "Dole is on with Stephy....Dole said that Pres. Bush gave he and Shalala full reign to go out and do what it takes for the troops. ... He said that the Pres. told them that if they find even on injured soldier that isn't getting the help they need...he wants them taken care of. ... Stephy keeps asking about all of the possible horror storied...Dole did say that they have gotten a lot of e-mail about conditions to check out...but, he said they have gotten a LOT of positive feedback about care at some of the facilities."
#263; "Maxine Waters isn't just clueless...she is a close friend of that dictator that was run out of Haiti... She was NOT happy that the US helped transport him out of the country. ... IOW, her best friends are dictators and communists."
#299; "John Roberts, in for Wolfie, is interviewing Zebari, the Iraqi Foreign Minister...and posted a quote by him that said something about how he is anxious to work with the Iranians. .and how Iran has always been a HELP to Iraq. ... Zebari said that he had seen that quote, and it was totally wrong...but that he says that he told Iran that he didn't want Iran to try to settle scores with the US by using the Iraqi war to do it. ... Roberts is saying that he knows Zebari has a good relationship with Iran, so why doesn't he just tell them to stop. ... Zebari said we do, all of the time... Roberts reading that quote from the Iranian saying that peace will only come with withdrawal of American forces. ... Zebari disagreeing of course...Roberts bringing up Congress' plan for a date certain. ... Zebari said the of course there will be a time when US leaves.. but not now. Some places in Iraq can be on their own, but not Baghdad.. and any quick withdrawal would make things worse for the whole country."
#330; "Great idea....(Jim Webb) is the cockiest snot to get into the Senate since Osama Obama! ... Lindsey Graham just said that these Dem plans are 'giving a road map to the insurgents on how to beat the Americans'...because they have timetables, and conditions and date certains. ... GOOD LINDSEY...and great new GOP talking point. ... 'The Dems' plan is giving a road map to the insurgents on how to beat the Americans'. ... Biden, though has said that Bush's plan will never, never, never, never gonna work...because we aren't splitting the country in 3, like he wants to do." (Note: reply to MNJohnnie's Post #313)
#336; "LOL...Roberts just showed the press conference from last week, when Pelosi and Obey and the rest were giving the big announcement of the "DEMS PLAN" for Iraq... It showed them giving wrong dates, and having to back and reread things...almost like an SNL skit!! ... WOW, they are gonna be MAD at CNN now. ... Did you hear that CNN was going to hire Tom Delay as a contributor...but, they got so much NEGATIVE feedback from the LIBS.. that they backed off???"
#349; "... I noticed the other day that Pres. Bush selected some of the wounded troops from Iraq to serve on the commission with Bob Dole. ... I like that he is getting the ones from THIS war...and not a bunch of old geezers that want face time. ... Even Bob Dole said today that he was reluctant to do this until Prs. Bush said that this was not just a commission to 'write a report in 90 days and get on TV' ... but a commission to actually see what needs to be done, and authority to call for those changes. ... However, I am sure that Dole is aware of the BRAC studies.. he just didn't get into it with Stephy today."
#362; "Oh.. Joe said that he is using the Kosovo, splitting up of Yugoslavia as a MODEL for what we should do in Iraq!!! ... Yes, he pretty much is incredulous that this hasn't been Pres. Bush's plan for solving the strife all along."
#447; "I have seen Dole twice today...on ABC and CNN, which go out of their way to paint this as a SCANDAL, and were wanting Dole and Shalala to point fingers and name names. ... Neither of them rose to the bait...and Dole even said that things have changed so much since we was injured in combat that the situation requires a different approach. ... He said that brain injuries that in the past would have meant certain death, are now being treated...but, in some cases, require longer term care than some of these hospitals are made to deal with...and in those cases, he wants to see if there could be some kind of way to put those patients in a private hospital near the home of the injured soldier."
#465; "LOLOLOLOL....GREAT POST!! ... Of course you are right...and it is ridiculous for the Dems, especially Harry Reid to use an excuse that Fox is too right wing. ... They would rather quit than fight...it is their war plan...and now their debate plan. ... WIMPS!! ... Oh, I am sure you will be excited to hear the Fox News is adding Harold Ford, Jr. to it's "expert" guests list. hehehe" (Note: reply to OldFriend's post #374)
#476; "Economic sanctions COULD work... and Bibi Netanyahu believes that also. ... The problem is....just like with Iraq, getting other countries to STOP supplying Iran. ... We know that Hugo Chavez would sail a ship of fuel to Iran himself if he had to...just to stick it to the USA."
#484; "Donna Shalala started out well today. ... When she was on CNN a little while ago...John Roberts was asking she and Dole if Kiley should be fired, and who else is to blame. ... SHE was the first to answer, and she said that that isn't in their job description...that they are to go to all of the DOD facilities, the VA Hospitals.. and any other medical facilities in the US that treat our troops and/or vets. ... She would NOT talk about anything political TODAY. ... Now, once Bubba Clinton gets ahold of her, and tells her that her interview today was way to non-partisan, she may change her tune....but, for today, I give her an 'A'."
#487; "Well....we don't have to worry about Fred Thompson. ... Donna Brazile just said that Fred Thompson couldn't beat Hillary OR Barack Obama...because 'he was only a Senator and not there that long'... HMMMMMMMMMM ... that sounds more like OBAMA than Thompson, methinks.... LOL"
#501; "I remember Fox News sent Geraldo Rivera to Venezuela back before those elections...and he did report how there was a hugh number of Venezuelans that did NOT want Chavez.... He pretty much acknowledged the election must have been fixed for Chavez to win like he did."
#506; "... Then of course Bill Schnieder chimes in with his nonsense and it just goes downhill from there. ... He said that he went to CPAC and that NONE of the candidates are conservative and they were ALL of course speaking of being the next "Reagan"..because who would want to associate with this White House...blah, blah."
#508; "WHOA...what an ad!!! LOL ... Where have you been every Sunday, save??? ... You are really contributing some great stuff! ... Thanks for all of the links...they are great." (Note: reply to saveliberty's post #495)
#520; "... I just hope that Bob Dole is stronger than James Baker and Tom Kean were. ... Baker and Kean were the "Republicans" on the ISG and the 9/11 Commission...but they never stood up to the lefties..and pretty much signed onto the lefties propoganda. ... But, the article that I read yesterday did say that some of the injured troops from this Iraq war are on the panel, so I hope they can bring some of the troops' perspective ABSENT any politics, but we will see. ... I saw that despicable Reikert guy that is an Iraq War vet that started some anti-Iraq war group...and he was pretty much claiming this "abuse" is system wide because of Bush and Rummy. Something tells me that Paul Reikert will be the go-to guy if the troops on the panel don't step up to criticize the Bush Admin."
#533; "Michael Barone on Fox News just said that one thing that will go against Rudy was that he was instrumental in Pres. Bush nominating Bernie Kerik for Homeland Security Director.. and is shows he isn't good at discerning 'character'. ... Well...maybe so....but, I dare say that character or not...I think if Bernie Kerik had been made Homeland Security Director, it would be MUCH better run and more effective than it has been...but, that is JMO>"
#547; "I haven't even come close to endorsing a candidate yet..I am still watching, reading and listening to all. ... I just think possibly that in that case, Rudy may have had a better "type" person in mind for Homeland Security chief...and that "type" of person may be what is necessary. ... After all it is about SECURITY...which means thinking like the bad guys enough to know what needs to be taken care of. ... A "street cop" type may be better than what is there now. ... But, then I would be second guessing, which I abhor, so I think I will leave it there." (Note: reply to rodguy911's post #541)
#558; "There is the little problem of getting Fred to run!!! ... If he chooses not to...after all of the excitement this has caused...it actually makes it worse for the other candidates, because we feel like we are having to 'settle'."
#620; "GREAT POINT!!! ... Of course Biden would say that "we" aren't fighting like the Shiites and Sunni...but, I might disagree. ... I think it is getting to the point where the Dems are becoming an "enemy" within...and I wouldn't mind them living in their own 'country'." (Note: reply to SCHROLL's post #616)
#697; "I posted this on the preview thread...but I am going to post it here...some good stuff RE: the Clintons" (Note: link to external blog, Sigmund Carl and Alfred, and an article titled “Yeah, leftists really do care about justice. Just like pedophiles care about children”)
#743; "DrDeb posted this on the DOSE thread...but, it might give you all a hint where Bush's "head" is at these days...even mentions the Libby verdict." (Note: link to Weekly Standard article Cheerleader in Chief )

Second Place saveliberty - excellent political analysis, useful and informative links and a truly great idea on immigration. Simply Wonderful!

#298; "(Juan's) delusional, he can be frustrating in his defense of asinine positions. But think about how much we appreciate it when Brit takes him to task. ... I will add that while he is who he was in his thirties but now more so (LOL), he's also someone you can reason with on some issues. He is taking heat for taking on the liberal CW of victimology and his book is being ignored on the left. ... Last December (I think) BOR got him to concede that there is a culture war. ... He is a liberal who has occasions (LOL Sparse, but give him some credit) in which he's lucid. That's more than can be said of Mara Liasson, who always finds a way to uphold the party line. And he has a sense of humor. ... Given how the left treats FNC, don't you think he gets a hard time from his NPR associates for appearing on FNC?"
#311; "Oh I think I get it-- a pardon basically submits that yes, Libby was guilty but he shouldn't be punished. Look what it did to Gerald Ford and to Richard Nixon, although Nixon being a liberal (remember wage and price controls?) was able to rehabilitate his reputation substantially before he died. ... I read an account after President Ford died that Nixon had to consider whether to accept the pardon, as by doing so he was accepting guilt. He had many flaws, but he accepted the pardon at his own perceived loss because he thought it was better for the country and the party." (Note: reply to Bahbah's post #244)
#329; "... There's a blog that says it's all Fred all the time ... http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/silence/ ... LOL It took me a while to find where I'd seen it."
#351; "... I had an inspiration-- how to really quirk up the immigration reform process. So let's say under a new plan, the illegal and family has to go to the place where a legal applicant is from. The legal applicant gets an expedited process to be here legally (i.e., truly taking precedence over the illegal) ... There are holes to be closed up, but this would put an entirely new perspective on things. We'd reward due process and compliance and would punish noncompliance. We'd just do it differently."
#354; "Fred shows better temperament and judgment than does Rudy. And Fred has more experience on the national level."
#407; "Rudy is solid on the war, but there's information from Powerline that he should be looked at with closer scrutiny relating to his record on crime... "
#452; "And yet the largest drop in crime occurred before (Rudy) was elected and he threw good people out. ... Furthermore, the bad behavior he has in office is going to risk taking valuable resources if he is elected. (link to NRO article Rudy the Rude)" (Note: reply to OldFriend's post #421)
#467; "Lots of stuff going on in Venezuela. It turns out that Chavez really did falsify the election with Carter's say so. ... And who could forget this? ... Fausta has more on Brazil ... Gateway pundit has good news about captured Al Q in Iraq and scroll down for information about the 2.1 million Spaniards who protested against appeasing terrorists."
#482; "Rudy responded well on 9/11 - no question. I will point out that he gained national celebrity as a result. Why that is a significant point is that there is a trait in individuals who are promoted too far too quickly -- they may have an overblown ego and if so, those who work with and for them will be mentally checking the box "does not work well with others". It doesn't always happen this way, but it's easier to find a good manager who has worked his way up over a longer period of time."
#495; "LOL ... Fred could beat Hillary. If Obama supporters are calling her a communist dictator, she's really toast. ..." (Note: link is from post #3 on the thread Democrats' party chief casts his lot with Obama(Massachusetts) by saveliberty)
#652; "Mark Twain said that history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. ... How appropriate."

First Place txradioguy - insightful and on point comments, useful information all coupled with first hand knowledge. For me this is what FreeRepublic is all about and this series of posts is among the best I've ever seen on this thread. Thank you.

#120; "The only reason the Shia and Sunni's were "getting along" was because Saddam and the Ba'ath Socialist party were severy repressing the Shia majority."
#170; "We couldn't...and quite frankly...the Dems never wanted us to inthe first place IMHO. Albright was running around behind the scenes at the U.N. trying to get the security council members to vote in favor of loosening the sanctions back in the 90's...while talking tough to the cameras...it's no wonder that France and other nations engaged in the Oil For Food scam...they thought we were secretly condoning their actions."
#178; "In case anyone missed this...I haven't heard it on the DBM ... (Franklin) Graham's Son Hurt in Iraq ... "
#219; "I think what (Fred Thompson) meant was that he'd do the surge...keep the troops in in country till the mission is finished and NOT listen to the weak sisters in the Congress. ... Like Sen. Thompson said... 'wars are full of mistakes' ... this one is no different...what matters is who comes out the winner when the shooting stops. ... And the world can NOT afford to let the Islamofascists win." (Note: reply to aligncare's post #214)
#229; "I think the only reason that Koppel is getting a free pass to finish his sentences from Mr. Potatohead is that he's stunned at what Ted is saying. ... It's like a football team seeing a running back for the first time and that guy runs all over them cause the "D" didn't know what to expect. ... I have a feeling that Mr. Potatohead won't be so nice next time."
#320; "The Left and the DBM have seized on ONE BUILDING that is part of Walter Reed Hospital and is in the process of making it sound to everyone like the ENTIRE facility is one big roach motel. ... Bullsh*t. ... The place is a world class hospital bar none. ... The advances made in treating wounded soldiers on the battlefield and once they return stateside couldn not IMHO have been made anywhere else but maybe Bethesda. ... Something the media is NOT telling you is that Walter Reed is scheduled to be closed within the next two years...everything moved to Bethesda and a new hospital built here at Ft. Belvoir to augment Bethesda. ... This was all public knowledge in the last round of BRAC hearings. ... But lets look at what I see is the real reasons behind the "problems" at WRACH. ... To me it goes back to the gutting of the military from 1993 - 2001. When we went from 17 down to active combat divisions...400 THOUSAND military members shown the door. Back when Soldiers were applying for food stamps and welfare...readiness levels for divisions falling below 75% ... Budget cuts don't just affect the beans and bullets...it hits places like WRACH too. They have to do the best they can with the money allotted to them in the defense budget. If you need 4 doctors to fully staff a floor but the budget only allows you to pay for two...what do you do? ... But you won't hear any of this from the Congress Critters decrying the deplorable conditions at Walter Reed. ... Why incriminate yourself in the alleged conditions of the place when it's far easier and expedient to bash President Bush? ... We started the WoT with a $56 billion dollar shortfall in equipment thanks to the prior administration...the shortfall in healthcare for the soldiers was just as great...only we don't find out about it until something like Iraq and Afghanistan popped up."
#356; "When I first heard that Sen. Dole was going to be on this commission ...I thought he was the perfect choice. ... He's a combat wounded veteran who has seen the best.. and worst that the military and VA hospitals have to offer."
#372; "I can't forget...I lived through it. I remember when there was a rash of suicides in the 10th Mountain Div because they were on such a heavy deployment schedule. ... When the 1st Armored Div was in a non deployable status because of shortfalls in readiness and manning. ... And I remember Algore GLOATING in a stump speech about how his re-inventing government plan cut "400 thousand jobs from the Federal payroll" and if he was elected President "not one single job" would be added. ... And people that weren't cognizant of politics then or the military then need to know these things before they start hearing the reckless ranting sound bites being played by the DBM trying to lay all of this at the Presidents doorstep."
#380; "The ROE we have over there now...in my opinion is the result of political correctness. ... There is NOTHING that is PC about war or combat. Yet we are trying to fight that way. ... I had more briefings by JAG in Iraq over how to conduct ourselves under the ROE than any other class instruction I had...it was incredible."
#385; "Guilt by association. ... The DBM will tar and feather EVERY Republican with the pardon if the President does it right now. ... What race does the President stand to lose? The 2008 race for ALL of us." (Note: reply to NautiNurse post #375)
#459; "Dole on w/ Brian Wilson right now...mentioning the under reported fact that WRACH is scheduled to be closed. ... Wilson also pointed out that 'the headline in the Post could have easily have read 'Millions spent on hospital that is closing'' ... I love it when Wilson injects some good old fashioned West Texas sensibilities into his reporting."
#466; "What is even more confounding is that people still swallow 100% the BS the media feeds them about this. ... 'It never ceases to amaze me how Democrats can cause problems, then try to blame Republicans or anyone else they can blame to avoid taking responsibility for their actions.' ... It's the cornerstone of Liberalism. You are never EVER responsible for what you do or say...it's always....ALWAYS someone else's fault." (Note: reply to Morgan in Denver's post #461)
#511; "I guess ms. Brazille forgets what Mr. Thompson was doing in the 70's BEFORE he got into acting." (Note: reply to Txsleuth's post #487)