Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Willful Suspension of Belief

Bill Roggio observes that even The Washington Post has taken note that things are looking much better in Iraq than they were just last spring:

Ten months after the announcement of the new counterterrorism strategy in Iraq -- often misleadingly referred to as "The Surge" -- and four months after the last combat brigade was positioned and major operations against al Qaeda and the Shia extremist groups began in mid-June, the US military can point to real results in the security field. Violence has dropped in Iraq, and dropped significantly.

The Washington Post laid out the evidence of the drop in violence in Iraq. Iraqi deaths are plummeting. US combat deaths -- which can be a poor indicator of success or failure -- are at a near all-time low. Al Qaeda's declared Ramadan campaign did not materialize. "The evidence of a drop in violence in Iraq is becoming hard to dispute," The Washington Post reported.

Maybe the Post will send the column to Senator Clinton. Having told General Petraeus that his testimony before the Senate required "a willful suspension of belief" and effectively branding him a liar, she would no doubt appreciate learning that Petraeus was telling the truth.

RLC

Paranoia Will Destroy Ya

You may have heard reports that an Air America (a liberal broadcasting network) radio host named Randi Rhodes was mugged in New York the other day. Without bothering to check with Ms Rhodes the left wing blogosphere and her co-host at Air America immediately deduced that the villains were conservatives who were trying to shut Ms Rhodes up.

You can read the details along with samples of the bizarre and hate-filled allegations here. They're pretty funny given that what actually happened was that Ms Rhodes fell while walking her dog and bumped her head. No mugging, no right-wing fascists, just a common accident and a lot of egg dripping down the faces of the left-wing paranoids at Daily Kos and Air America.

RLC

Do it Yourselfers

So you think you'd like to try nationalized health care. That's the system being touted by Senator Clinton who promises to get it for us if she's elected. It's also the system they have in Canada where those who are able come south for American medical treatment and those who can't often wait for months for the simplest procedures. It's also the system they have in England where dental patients, in pain and unable to find a dentist, are so desperate they're pulling their own teeth with pliers.

When was the last time you couldn't get an emergency appointment for dental care, or any other kind of medical attention? Looks like if Senator Clinton is elected President a year from now a lot more of us might be able to give an answer to that question. On the other hand, it may be good for us to learn the virtues of rugged individualism, self-reliance, and the use of hand tools.

RLC