Michelle Malkin: [1]
My blogging has been lighter than usual the past few weeks due to family time, Fox News duties, holiday chaos, holiday illness–and, yes, planning for a trip to Iraq. As you know, ex-CNN newsman Eason Jordan extended an invitation [2] to me three weeks ago to go to Iraq to investigate the Associated Press/”Jamil Hussein” story. He offered to pay for a trip. As you’ll recall, I asked if he would offer to cover travel and security costs for Curt from Flopping Aces [3]–who broke open [4] the story of AP’s dubious sources on Thanksgiving weekend and continues to lead [5] the blogospheric search for the truth. Jordan agreed.
To say the very least, huge news. I must confess, particularly given our discussion of yesterday with regards to Mr. Jordan, that I’m a little confused on his involvement, here. I value Michelle’s judgment highly. On that basis, it would appear possible I undervalued Mr. Eason. Time will tell. But just as large a news is the idea that Curt is going as well. Curt has become a friend of this blog recently, and we will be watching his progress.
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I was sorry hear tonight, of problems over at Q&O… [6]
Apparently, somebody hacked into one of the accounts there and did some serious damage. Not to worry. Dale Franks is a fairly decent programmer, and will have had the sense to keep things backed up. It does go to show that security on these things, is of large importance. They’re mostly back up, already, in fact,from the look of things, though I note the RSS feed still hasn’t updated at Bloglines, or at my server here at Casa De Bit.
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Speaking of Q&O, I hadn’t commented here on the news of Jon’s new position with the Republican leadership. It’s a nice break for him. I certainly have some disagreements with him on matters of principle, but I think he’ll do fine in that position that he’s secured for himself. Jon is if nothing else, fairly articulate and clearly knowledgeable about what goes on in the Blogging world… more so than most people in it, and certainly more so than just about anybody outside of it. I think there are better writers, but that’s not the issue here. Clearly the issue is whether not he’s a fit for the office; and I happen to agree with his betters that he’s good for that position for the most part.
I think it may be interesting to watch McConnell’s office, to determine just how much of those points of disagreement, come out in McConnell’s statements. Since I haven’t found much to disagree with McConnell on previously, I’ll take that shift in direction as evidence of influence from Mr. Henke. When I see them I will be commenting on them, here.
It’s as I said before; with the it has been and always will be about the ideas. That goes for him or anyone else. When I have gone after Jon, it’s been about the ideas. I hold neither love, nor hate for Henke, any more than I hold particular love or hate for the Republican party. Rather, I see the Republican party at the moment to be the best tool in efforts to defeat America’s worst enemy; the Democrats. To the end that Jon’s advice strengthens those tools, the better off America will be for it. But that doesn’t mean that I’m going to agree with him at all times, as I’ve tried to explain to you previously. When I disagree, you will know about it, and trust me, so will he… as he will when I agree. As I said before, [7] that’s how this game gets played. America is better for it.
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Another warm weekend; we’re seriously considering running down to Erie, Pennsylvania, this weekend. I found a couple Lighthouses on the map in the area, that my wife will be interested in, and we’ll try and shoot some of the rolling parade on the CSX and Norfolk Southern Main Lines. If I get the chance, I’ll post pics.
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Oh, about that; I’ve also ordered some RAM for the camera… a 2gb module. Oughta be able to outlast the batteries with that thing in my Powershot A95, huh? It likely won’t show up before this weekend, though, sadly.
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I notice this bit with Keith Ellison and Virgil Goode is still on the lips of Americans… as it should be. Riehl has perhaps the best line of the day [8]on that whole thing;
Allah thinks Ellison’s shrewd political move [9] of taking his private oath on a Thomas Jefferson owned copy of the Koran is checkmate [10]. But not so fast. I see Allah has it in an update. But let’s look at even more of the picture, while not forgetting that Jefferson owned a slave or two, as well. Is Ellison planing on swearing in on one of them, too? And if so, what religion do you think he or she would be?
Jefferson purchased the Koran as a student prior to his even taking the bar exam and after reading another book said to be prejudiced against Islam [11]. And the notion I suspect you’ll hear repeated by the MSM, that Jefferson used the Koran to gain insight into the law, appears to be pure academic speculation [12] with a certain anti-theist sounding slant.
Yes, well, don’t let a few facts get in the way of a moderately well worded, if ill thought-out rant. The fact of the matter is that Goode has it right. it is also fact that his position is not based in bigotry, and those who label it as such are attempting to defeat Goode by muddying the water.
Does anybody remember the battle over welfare reform? Every time the subject came up, the usual suspects from Jesse Jackson on down, started making noise about how such a thing was anti black. Now, the fact, was a little bit different, and still is. There were, and are, more white people on welfare than black. Always has been that way. Yet constant drumbeats from the left about how welfare reform was inherently racist. It can be labeled nothing less than a willful distortion of facts. But there it is.
To suggest that Goode is operating in bigotry,is to similarly mislabel the issue. Thereby, revealing the real desire to avoid it altogether.
But let’s call this one what it is; political showmanship. Eillison may very well win points within the Democratic party for using the copy of the Koran purchased by Democratic Party icon, Thomas Jefferson , but only so long as certain facts don’t come out about Jefferson;
The reality is, as Allah now points out [10] and I had planned to post via NRO, [13] is that Jefferson waged war against Islam … long after having read their book. And he went against his prior beliefs of a small coastal-restricted Navy in doing so.
Even after it became commonplace for the pirate captains or their crew to be renegade Europeans, it was essential that these former Christians “turn Turk” and convert to Islam before they could be accorded the honor of engagement in al-jihad fil-bahr, the holy war at sea.
In fact, the peoples of Barbary continued to consider the pirates as holy warriors even after the Barbary rulers began to allow non-religious commitments to command their strategic use of piracy. The changes that the religious institution of piracy underwent were natural, if pathological. Just as the concept of jihad is invoked by Muslim terrorists today to legitimize suicide bombings of noncombatants for political gain, so too al-jihad fil-bahr, the holy war at sea, served as the cornerstone of the Barbary states’ interaction with Christendom.
As Jefferson reported to the Continental Congress:
These future United States presidents questioned the ambassador as to why his government was so hostile to the new American republic even though America had done nothing to provoke any such animosity. Ambassador Adja answered them, as they reported to the Continental Congress, “that it was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise.”
Indeed, it’s a wonder the Democrats keep him as an icon, at all.
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