Individual Liberty — Individual Responsibility 

Speculation Mounts On Death Of Bin Laden

Has the rumor of Osama bin Laden’s death been greatly exaggerated, or is there more to it than initially thought? The news first surfaced last September, when a French regional newspaper citing French and Saudi intelligence sources claimed that the most wanted man in the world had died while hiding in the mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

If one is to read into behavioral changes among Saudi Arabian jihadi fighters returning from Pakistan and Afghanistan, bin Laden could indeed be dead.

Source: Homeland Security National Terror Alert » Speculation Mounts On Death Of Bin Laden

It would be good news in the war on terror if Osama bin Laden is indeed dead. It still wouldn't end the war. So far though, this is all speculation.

There's a more complete article on the World Peace Herald's website. They conclude with this...

Maybe now with Robert Gates, a former head of the CIA, as the new secretary of defense, more effort will be placed in finding bin Laden. Unless, of course, he is already dead.

Maybe there will, and maybe there won't. Whether Osama bin Laden is dead or not isn't really the issue. If he's dead, that's obviously not stopping the terrorists from continuing to plot and mount terror attacks. The capture or death of one man, even if that man is Osama bin Laden, is not going to be enough to win the war on terror.

Unless you're a Democrat.

Pelosi supports Murtha for majority leader

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Likely House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will back prominent Iraq war critic John Murtha over her current deputy for majority leader in the Democratic-led Congress, Murtha's office announced Sunday.

In a letter released by Murtha's office, Pelosi told the Pennsylvania congressman that his surprise call for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq in 2005 "changed the national debate and helped make Iraq the central issue of this historic election."

"Your leadership gave so many Americans, including respected military leaders, the encouragement to voice their own disapproval at a failed policy that weakens our military and makes stability in that region even more difficult to achieve," she wrote.

Read the whole article on CNN.com.

Now there's a one-two punch that's sure to hurt our servicemen, and the Iraqi people. With Murtha's "leadership" the Democrats will have the military in full retreat within a few months of the opening session of the 110th congress.

Despite what they may have said, it looks like "cut and run" will still be high on the Democrat agenda. Rep. Murtha may want to avoid "another Vietnam", but he's well on the way to producing the same results in Iraq -- just with far fewer U.S. Casualties. His six month timetable for leaving Iraq is going to embolden the terrorists (I still refuse to call them "insurgents").

Within six months of leaving Iraq, we can expect a similar result to the one that occurred when the U.S. cut and run in Vietnam, with the terrorists overrunning Bagdad and capturing control of the country. The Democratic leadership and the media will have finally done it. They will have re-lived their "glory days" from the 1960s and 1970s when their thoughtless protests ultimately resulted in an American loss of will, followed by the loss of the war and a loss of American prestige in the world.

And once again, another nation will have to suffer for their folly. And the world will be an even more dangerous place.

Others blogging on this: Sister Toldjah.

Second Half - Even More Ugliness, But a Win For The Seahawks

The Seahawks defense looked good to start, nearly giving the Rams a three and out, but then a ten yard reception and a really big play gave the Rams some momentum. The Seahawks defense just seemed to fall apart at that point.

But then, on the eighth play of the drive Lofa Tatupu almost picked off a pass. On the next play, a false start made it third and nine. Then, another mistake. On fourth and five, Ken Hamlin intercepted the ball on the seven yard line. If he'd just dropped the ball instead of going out of bounds, the Seahawks would have taken over on about the 30 yard line. Instead, they took over on the seven.

It's good to see Marc Bulger intercepted, and it's only the second time he was intercepted all year. Even so 23 yards is 23 yards. Nobody was close enough to Ken Hamlin for it to make a difference if he batted the ball away rather than catching it.

The offensive line was porous again, and Seneca Wallace was sacked. The Seahawks couldn't capitalize on the interception and went three and out. The Rams ended up with good field position on the exchange.

Ken Hamlin almost redeemed himself by knocking Steven Jackson out of bounds on a 30 yard run that almost resulted in a touchdown. The next play, he batted the ball away, making it second and goal. He was involved in the stop again to make it third and goal, and avoided a flag for trashmouthing Steven Jackson. Then, Marc Bulger was sacked by Chuck Darby, the third sack of the day. The Rams field goal unit then made the score 16-14.

Maurice Morris was impressive on the next drive, with a couple of 15 yard runs. This kid is good. If the Seahawks continue to play him together with Shaun Alexander when he comes back, they'll have a real killer running game!

Unfortunately for the Seahawks, the Rams came back with some aggressive defense. On third and thirteen Seneca Wallace was nearly sacked, and instead fumbled the ball. The Rams recovered on the Seahawks 33 yard line. Two Seneca Wallace turnovers!

The third quarter ended with the Rams at second and four on the 17 yard line.

This time, Seneca Wallace's turnover wasn't quite as expensive as the first one. The first one cost the Seahawks seven points. Just before the field goal attempt, St. Louis threw the red flag, challenging the call of an incomplete pass.

The challenge was sustained, and it was fourth down and two at the twelve and a half yard line. On fourth down, Marc Bulger threw an incomplete pass, and the Rams blew an opportunity for another three points. Seahawks ball on the twelve and a half, their second worst field position of the game, but only two points down, instead of five or nine!

The Seahawks didn't manage to do anything with their reprieve though. They went three and out, with an offensive pass interference call on Jerramy Stevens. The Rams got the ball back on the Seahawks 48.

The Seahawks defense came back aggressively! On third and seven, Chuck Darby sacked Marc Bulger again! The punt was almost blocked, and Seattle got the ball back on the eleven.

Once again the offense fell apart. Seneca Wallace was sacked again on the eight yard line, and the Seahawks went three and out again. The punt was fair caught on the St. Louis 42 yard line.

St. Louis failed to do anything with the ball, and went three and out. The Seahawks Nate Burleson ran the punt back for a touchdown! 21-16.

St. Louis' offense came back, making several first downs, including a good scramble by Marc Bulger that was nearly a sack again. The Seahawks defense failed again, and Steven Jackson put things away with a 14 yard touchdown run. A personal foul on Richie Incognito would be assessed after the touchdown. The Rams went for two, and Incognito held, pulling the Rams to the 12 yard line for the conversion, which failed, leaving the score 22-21 Rams.

The Seahawks took over with 2:23 left on the 49 yard line, with two timeouts left. Maurice Morris ran for 5 yards to bring the clock to two minutes.

On the next play, Maurice Morris ran for a first down to bring the Seahawks into field goal range. A Darrell Jackson reception gave the Seahawks a first down at the 22, with 1:05 left to go. Well within Josh Brown's field goal range.

On the next play, Maurice Morris ran, for a loss of one and was slow to get back up. The clock stopped with 1:01 left to play. The next play resulted in no gain and St. Louis used their final time out with 57 seconds left. Mack Strong ran to bring the ball to the twenty and the Seahawks let the clock run down.

Josh Brown's 38 yard field goal attempt, with 13 seconds to go, was good.  With 9 seconds left to go the kickoff return was chaos. Time ran out and the Seahawks won!!!! 24-22 Seahawks.

The Seahawks move to 6 and 3 and the Rams move to 4 and 5. The Seahawks take a two game lead, and the tiebreaker if necessary in the NFC West!!!

Josh Brown is now probably the most hated NFL player in Missouri, winning at the last moment for the Seahawks in two games against the Rams this season!

Seahawks - First Half Ugliness

It got ugly early. On their opening drive the Seahawks looked impressive and almost unstoppable. Until they reached the 15 yard line. Then a pass interference call put them on the 1 yard line and the drive stalled with penalties against the Seahawks. Then, on third and goal (the second third and goal), Seneca Wallace fumbled and the Rams returned it for a touchdown. Not an auspicious beginning.

On their second drive, the Seahawks looked good again, reaching the three yard line in less than half the time they took on their first drive. Darrell Jackson then caught a touchdown pass and the Seahawks managed to tie it. Seven plays, 76 yards.

The Seahawks should have been leading 14 to nothing at this point. Instead, it was tied.

The twelfth man was Seattle's best defensive player on the next drive. The defense on the field just didn't seem to be able to prevent the Rams from getting first downs, but the crowd noise contributed to false start after false start. The defense finally managed to stop the Rams with an incomplete pass followed by a rush for a loss of yardage when Lofa Tatupu managed to make it third and 15. After failing to make another first down, the Rams brought on the field goal unit and took back the lead.

That was the way the first quarter went. Fast, and ugly.

Early in the second quarter, Seneca Wallace proved why he belongs in the NFL. He was nearly sacked when the porous front line let the Rams through, and he scrambled back to the line of scrimmage. Sadly, it was for naught as on the next play the Seahawks were unable to get a first down, and they punted the ball away.

The defense managed to stop the Rams on their next drive, but on the punt return there was a holding penalty that pushed them back half the distance to the goal. A Deon Branch reception gave them a first down, and on the next play it was Seneca Wallace again on a broken play, this time running for 31 yards, taking the Seahawks into Rams territory.

After almost stalling, the offense again had a gain, Darrell Jackson caught the ball and ran to the 15. Then Jerramy Stevens caught a 15 yard pass for a touchdown. 14-10.

Leading up to the two-minute warning, the Seahawks defense just didn't seem to be able to stop the Rams. Then on first down, they almost sacked Marc Bulger, but he scrambled and ran back to the line of scrimmage. On the next play, Steven Jackson didn't manage to get anywhere. Then, an 18 yard pass reception brought the Rams to the Seahawks 20 yard line.

The next play was a false start, that pushed the Rams to the 20, then a 6 yard pass. Then on the next play, Marc Bulger was sacked to about the 25. Then, an incomplete pass. With 27 seconds left in the half, the Rams field goal unit made the score 14-13 with a 42 yarder.

Seneca Wallace took a knee to end the half.

Democrats to 'revisit' law creating border fence

Democrats will look again at the legislation mandating 698 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border and might seek to scrap the plan altogether when they take control of Congress next year.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi Democrat, told reporters this week that he expected to "revisit" the issue when he becomes chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee in the 110th Congress.

Source: The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

About two weeks ago I noted that the border fence will probably never be built. The then Republican controlled congress voted to authorize the fence, but not to fund it. Now we have even more proof that the Democrats are soft on security.

Hat tip to Traction Control

Linked to Basil's Blog.

Today at 1:00 PM PST - Seahawks vs. Rams

The Seahawks are 5-3. The Rams are 4-4. A loss for the Seahawks will tie them for the lead in the NFC West. The Seahawks have won their last 10 divisional games in a row. Last week the Seahawks won and the Rams lost.

It gives me hope for a victory today. Even so, in meetings between the Seahawks and Rams, the Rams have a 9-7 lead. Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck are both still out, so it's our second string yet again. Maybe after having shut out the Raiders on Monday night in a game that included 9 sacks the Seahawks will once again rise to the challenge.

It should be an interesting game.

Their Lips are Moving!

OLYMPIA — Washington's top Democrats, from the governor to the speaker of the House, are rushing to reassure voters they won't use their new mega-majorities in the Legislature to launch expensive programs and raise taxes to pay for them.

But interest groups that helped sweep Democrats into office say they want bold moves from those politicians, starting when the Legislature convenes in January.

...

The party has emerged from Tuesday's elections with its strongest legislative majorities in decades. Ballots are still being counted, but Democrats expect at least a 31-18 seat majority in the state Senate and a 62-36 split in the House.

...

Democratic leaders say their party will act on top issues, including education and health care, but in measured steps. Tax increases, they say, aren't very realistic in a time of budget surpluses.

Plus there's the danger of going too far, said House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam. She was around for the 1994 election when Democrats lost 28 seats in the House and had two members switch parties. A $1 billion tax increase passed by Democrats to fix a big budget shortfall was largely blamed for the upheaval.

...

For Gregoire, there's an added incentive to rein in her party — she'll be up for re-election in 2008 and faces a possible rematch against Republican Dino Rossi, the man she beat by just 129 votes two years ago.

...

All the Democratic leaders have the same message: They plan to make progress on multiple fronts and do it without dramatic increases in spending.

Read the whole article in the Seattle Times.

I'll believe it when I see it. While she was campaigning for the 2004 election, Gov. Gregoire beat the anti-tax drum. Once the recounts were over, she pushed through the legislature a massive tax increase, including an unpopular gas tax that she specifically said she didn't support.

One of the "top issues" for Democrats this next legislative session is to push a Constitutional Amendment to eliminate the supermajority requirement for school levies. That sounds an awful lot like they want to raise taxes more easily.

The special interests that financed their campaigns are already putting pressure on the Democrats to advance an expensive agenda. That, coupled with their natural proclivity to grow government and I expect taxes to raise fairly quickly, once they've settled in and the election is a few months in the past.

Even without raising taxes, there are some pretty business unfriendly things on their agenda. You can bet that the attacks on Wal-Mart will continue, with a new bill to require large companies to spend a larger percentage of their payroll on healthcare benefits.

Add to that the requirement for paid family leave for childcare or sick family members and it's going to be more expensive for employers to keep people on the payroll. Somehow I don't see that as giving small businesses, or even larger businesses for that matter, much incentive to hire people and keep them on payroll. Expect unemployment in Washington to rise after that.

I don't trust politicians, especially politicians with power. They say they'll exercise restraint, but the Democrat's big-brother agenda is coming, and it's going to cost the people of Washington in higher taxes, fees, and unemployment.

NW Bloggers Unite!

The new era of politics is upon us, and it is time to be ready to respond. As the democrats take the country in a new direction, let's make sure us bloggers are ready to respond. 

NW Bloggers Unite! » Leaning Straight Up »