'Market Garden' - Michael Yon

From Michael Yon, "Market Garden," a photo-essay of a Netherlands trip for World War II reenactments and remembrance of Operation Market Garden. A parade was held in the evening of the second day of events:

General Petraeus arrived and said hello to each veteran, some of whom shook his hand while others saluted. If General Petraeus had any idea of the hectic schedule that was still unfolding, he’d probably have wanted to get straight back into the war. It seemed like everyone in Holland wanted to see the vets, and despite that the old soldiers were in their eighties and nineties, they kept going and going.

Please join me in making a contribution to Michael's support page, here.

And not to be missed: There's an interview with General Petraeus at the dispatch, here. Also, be sure to click through to the conclusion. You'll get direct reports on the war's progress you won't find anywhere else. Ultimate decision time in Washington is now.

Obama to SEIU: 'We Are Going to Paint the Nation Purple'

Truly creepy video from January 2008:

Hat Tip: The Lonely Conservative.

Political Scientist Elinor Ostrom Wins Nobel Prize in Economics

The New York Times has the story, "Two Americans Are Awarded Nobel in Economics."

Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson share the award for their research in the New Institutional Economics, and especially "common pool resources." John Sides at The Monkey Cage has a brief roundup. One link there is to Tyler Cowen, who says the award is "a nod in the direction of social science, rather than economics per se ... It's rewarding larger rather than smaller ideas, practical economics rather than abstract theory."

It's been some time since I really engaged this kind of research. A lot of this deals with overcoming tragedies of collective action, and it's one of the more fascinating areas of political science research outside of my securities studies niche. Ostrom is past president of the APSA. See her Presidential Address, American Political Science Association (1997), "A Behavioral Approach to the Rational Choice Theory of Collective Action."

Plus, here's a passage from the information page for Ostrom's book, Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action:

Whenever a group of people depend on a resource that everybody uses but nobody owns, and where one person's use effects another person's ability to use the resource, either the population fails to provide the resource, overconsumes and/or fails to replenish it, or they construct an institution for undertaking and managing collective action. The common pool resource (CPR) can be a fishery, a grazing ground, the Internet, the electromagnetic spectrum, a park, the air, scientific knowledge. The institution can be a body of informal norms that are disseminated by word of mouth, enforced by gossip or religious stricture, and passed from one generation to another, or a body of formal written laws that are enforced by state agencies, or a marketplace that treats the resource as private property, or a mixture of these forms. In the real world of fishing grounds and wireless competition, CPR institutions that succeed are those that survive, and those that fail sometimes cause the resource to disappear (e.g., salmon in the Pacific Northwest).

Elinor Ostrom's founding role in the evolution of an interdiscipline of cooperation studies grew from her challenge to currently accepted wisdom about institutions for collective action, her careful inductive examination of empirical studies of common pool resource management, and her insistence on interdisciplinary analysis. The dynamics she uncovered in her research - seven principles common to most successful, enduring common pool resource arrangements - are the starting point for anyone who wants to know how careful theoretical and experimental work can provide practical guidance for policy.

"The word commons originally denoted pastureland treated as a common resource, where individual herders were free to graze their sheep or cattle. The land can support a limited number of grazing animals. The temptation to graze more than one's share is a rational strategy for an individual herder. But if all succumb to the same temptation, the grass ceases to grow and the value of the pasture to everybody disappears."

In a 1986 lecture, Elinor Ostrom challenged the inexorable inevitability of Hardin's tragedy, noting that the situation described in Garrett Hardin's classic 1968 paper "The Tragedy of the Commons" has "the same underlying structure as the decision facing each prisoner in the so-called Prisoner's dilemma game." She also wrote:

"The Prisoner's Dilemma game has fascinated scholars in many fields. The paradox that individually rational strategies lead to collectively irrational outcomes seems to challenge a fundamental faith that rational human beings can achieve rational results. In the introduction to a recently published book, Paradoxes of Rationality and Cooperation, Richmond Campbell explains the "deep attraction" of the dilemma".

In her 1986 lecture, Ostrom emphasized the connection between the tragedy of the commons and the Prisoner's Dilemma game, but had the scientific curiosity to inquire whether tragically locked-in Prisoner's Dilemma strategies actually constrained human choice in all cases where humans have documented their use of common pool resources - she shrewdly understand that the cases in which people overcame the barriers to collective action are as important as the cases in which they fail:

"Scholars and government officials presume that all participants in situations with the structure of a PD game are necessarily trapped in the structure of the situation; as prisoners are trapped in their cells, participants are themselves trapped in their own mental apparatus. I shall argue that the structure is conceptually and methodologically necessary for analysis, but not an empirical necessity. The inability of participants to change the structure may be an empirical reality in some situations. It is not an empirical reality in many situations, however."

Ostrom argued from well-documented cases of informal institutions that had evolved into formal if localized arrangements, sometimes lasting for centuries, that groups could evolve effective institutions without externally coercive authority - if they could solve the "common set of problems." The design principles that Ostrom extracted from cases of successful CPR management turned out to be missing from most of the cases of failed CPR management she investigated - evidence that these design principles are clues to solutions to the problems preventing collective action in many instances. Ostrom argued forcefully that neither direct intervention by the state nor total privatization are necessary for people to evolve successful institutions - although state-provided courts lower the costs of creating the institutions, and the market value of well-managed CPRs provides strong incentive to create, agree, and maintain such arrangements.

Peshawar Carnage: 41 Dead as Taliban Siege of Pakistan Continues; Obama Cowardice Enables Militant's Impunity!

Four blasts in eight days. Monday's bombing in Peshawar shows who's in control in Pakistan. Both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have reports. Here's this from WSJ:

A suicide car bombing aimed at Pakistani soldiers in the country's volatile northwest killed at least 41 people Monday, the fourth terror attack in eight days and, said the Taliban, a sign of more to come.

Pakistan is reeling under a wave of suicide attacks that has in just over a week hit the country's military headquarters, a U.N. office in Islamabad, a crowded urban market and now a rural military patrol, killing nearly 120 people since Oct. 5. The attacks come after a relatively quiet summer and have served as a stark reminder of the threat still posed by Islamist militants, despite recent military efforts to beat them back.

Pakistani officials say the attacks are likely to hasten the start of a long-planned ground offensive against a major Taliban stronghold in the South Waziristan tribal area, which lies on the Afghan border. The area has been under heavy air and artillery bombardment from the military for months.

More at the link.

And what's Barack "Neville" Hussein going to do? See my earlier report for an indication, "Intelligence Assessments: Al Qaeda/Taliban Cohesion Greater Than Pre-9/11."

How long are the Democrats going to argue that Americans have no interest in defeating the Taliban? Here's Democratic Representative James McGovern on Sunday's This Week:

When I voted to use force to go to war after 9/11, I think I and everyone else in Congress voted to go after Al Qaida. That was our enemy. And Al Qaida has now moved to a different neighborhood, in Pakistan, where, quite frankly, they're more protected.

What better statement of cut-and-run are we going to find? Well, actually President Neville Hussein did just argue that the "Taliban Killers Can Be Part of Afghanistan’s Government." So who knows? The president can thank the Nobel Committee for giving him additional cover for a precipitous withdrawal. In that case, "peace" means "peace of mind" in the West -- as hundreds die in the barbarian siege in the Qaeda-Taliban-Lashkar heartland.

It almost unbelievable, but this is what you get when you hand the reins of foreign policy to the Democratic (Socialist) Party.

Intelligence Assessments: Al Qaeda/Taliban Cohesion Greater Than Pre-9/11

From the Department of I-Told-You-So, here comes McClatchy's report, "Are Obama Advisers Downplaying Afghan Dangers?":

Recent U.S. intelligence assessments have found that the Taliban and other Pakistan-based groups that are fighting U.S.-led forces have much closer ties to al Qaida now than they did before 9/11, would allow the terrorist network to re-establish bases in Afghanistan and would help Osama bin Laden export his radical brand of Islam to Afghanistan's neighbors and beyond, the officials said.

A real Gomer Pyle moment there, you think?

But check Matt Gurney at FrontPage, "What’s Their Mission, Mr. President?":

It seems strange to recall now, but there was a time when Barack Obama assailed the Bush administration for what he saw as its lax commitment to the military campaign in Afghanistan and promised to give that war the urgent priority it deserved. But despite his earlier attempts to cast Afghanistan as the “good war,” President Obama seems determined to avoid actually fighting it.

In recent months, Obama has indicated that he would like to get out of Afghanistan as quickly as possible – even if that means cutting a deal with the Taliban. It’s a telling reversal: Along with many in his party, Obama used his support of the war in Afghanistan to cultivate a tough-on-defense image during the presidential campaign. Now, as the war grows unpopular, he seems to be having second thoughts about the conflict. Thus, Obama has dawdled on the critical foreign policy decision of his administration: whether to send the additional 40,000 troops that his hand-picked commander, General Stanley McChrystal, believes necessary to winning the war.

General McChrystal is the proverbial “wise old man” when it comes to defeating insurgencies, having overseen the successful American counter-insurgency campaign in Iraq. With the benefit of that experience, McChrystal has made clear that the only way to defeat insurgencies is to protect the local population from attacks by insurgents. Only then can coalition forces gain the cooperation of locals, marginalize the insurgents, and stabilize the country. It was this hard-won expertise that prompted President Obama to fire the former leader of forces in Afghanistan, the well-respected General David McKiernan, in order to give McChrystal the reins.

But having placed McChrystal in charge, the president now appears reluctant to let him complete his mission. Although McChrystal has not formally requested the 40,000 troops, it has been known for some time that he considers this troop surge – modeled on a similar buildup in Iraq – essential to pacifying Afghanistan and turning the tide against the Taliban insurgency. On that all-important decision, the president has been A.W.O.L.

Meanwhile, the New York Times provides cover for the Barack "Neville" Hussein administration. See "Civilian Goals Largely Unmet in Afghanistan." (Via Memeorandum.)

See also, Gateway Pundit, "Feinstein Blasts Obama For Poo-Pooing Gen. McChrystal's Troop Recommendations (Video)."

No Blackface for Lady Gaga's 'Imagine' Gig at National Equality Event

Well at least she didn't go out there in black face. Gay rights activists are TFU enough already, so I'm sure they didn't need additional civil rights hypocrisy to compound the deep schisms in the Democratic Party's homosexual coalition. As the Washington Post indicates, "For Gay Activists, The Lady Is a Champ: Fans Go Gaga As Singer Joins the March."

It turns out that Gaga sang the Lennon anthem "Imagine" for the HRC black tie affair, where President Obama also made a showing. Then just today, John Harwood, interviewed by Lester Holt, reported that the White House has totally dissed the movement:

HOLT: But in general when yo look at the left as a whole, have there been conversations about some things they thought would have been done but haven’t?

HARWOOD: Sure but If you look at the polling, Barack Obama is doing well with 90% or more of Democrats so the White House views this opposition as really part of the “internet left fringe” Lester. And for a sign of how seriously the White House does or doesn’t take this opposition, one adviser told me today those bloggers need to take off their pajamas, get dressed and realize that governing a closely divided country is complicated and difficult.

I've noted many times that President Obama's totally spineless on gay rights, although considering the communist infiltration of the National Equality March, perhaps Dear Leader's finally getting serious about cutting ties to the Jeremiah Wright/William Ayers/Van Jones wing of the Democratic (Socialist) Party.

More at Memeorandum. Plus, Ruby Slippers, "Now the Gay Community is 'Fringe'."

National Equality March: LGBT Socialists Storm Washington

Earlier this week, prominent gay rights activist Charles Merrill denounced the communist infiltration of today's National Equality March. See, "Protesting Socialist Ties, Merrill Calls for Cancellation of National Equality March":

Merrill's plea to the LGBT community to cancel the National Equality March altogether stems from what he sees as a disturbing -- and ultimately damaging -- association between LGBT activists and Marxist march organizers Cleve Jones and Sherry Wolf.

Merrill, a Democrat and a capitalist who has long worked to secure equal rights for LGBT people, believes Wolf and Jones are using the march as a platform to further their own socialist agenda. The overwhelming majority of LGBTs are Democrats who support the free enterprise system, not socialists or Marxists, and Merrill fears all gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons could end up portrayed as socialists as a result of participating in the National Equality March -- and if that happens, President Obama is likely to further distance himself from the LGBT community.

And the folks at the Socialist Worker -- who joined with International ANSWER for last week's Afghanistan protests -- have pumped up the National Equality March as a spearhead for the larger revolutionary struggle:

SOME MIGHT conclude that LGBT activism and the march have taken off because of special circumstances--mainly, that the right has focused on attacking LGBT people as the last respectable bigotry, and that the Prop 8 issue spurred people into action.

But a closer look shows that the new LGBT movement has been produced by the same hard times--and hopes--shared by the working-class majority in this country ....

In fact, class issues and solidarity have been central to the new LGBT activism. In Chicago, for instance, activists demonstrating for equal marriage joined protests in support of the Republic Windows & Doors factory occupation in December, and striking workers from SK Hand Tools attended a Cleve Jones speech in Chicago to ask for support.

Far from being a special case on the left, the LGBT movement is shaped by both the economic crisis and the widespread hope for political change following the disaster of the Bush years. What sets the activists apart is only the fact that small groups of people started organizing ...

Also from the Socialist Worker, "Roots of the LGBT Struggle" (on the impact of Stonewall):

As Sherry Wolf, author of Sexuality and Socialism, put it:

By the time the riots subsided, activists began distributing leaflets that read, "Do You Think Homosexuals Are Revolting? You Bet Your Sweet Ass We Are," and announced a meeting at a Village leftist venue known as Alternative U. What began as an ad hoc committee of Mattachine-New York to organize a march in commemoration of the riots evolved into a full-blown organization, the Gay Liberation Front (GLF).

In conscious tribute to the South Vietnamese National Liberation Front then fighting the U.S. government in Southeast Asia, these activists wanted to confront not just the stifling homophobia of U.S. society, but the entire oppressive and exploitative imperial edifice...almost all the newly radicalizing activists agreed that the old guard's approach needed to be upended.

And the news today out of Washington finds key gay activists forging alliances with Marxists during parties and planning. Ameriqueer of the Bilerico Project writes, "Going to Meet Cleve Jones" :

What do you want me to say to Cleve Jones, Michelangelo Signorile or Lane Hudson when I see them at Bil Browning's birthday tonight?

And here's this Ameriqueer tweet:

And this one, from Michael Crawford:

The crowd size looks impressive, via Bilerico, "Live from Washington: Coverage of the National Equality March":

See also, the Los Angeles Times, "Gays, Lesbians March on Washington, Calling for Full Equality." And, "Obama Renews Pledge to Gays to End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'." (Via Memeorandum.)

Related: Charles Winecoff, "Love, War – and Gay Marriage":

Eight years after 9/11, the LGBT community gets its activism fix by indulging in nostalgic, anti-establishment indignation over petty domestic slights. Ganging up on an annoying little old lady carrying a cross at a Prop 8 rally satisfies the itch between workouts and White Parties. But wouldn’t it be genuinely awe inspiring to see masses of musclebound gay men taking on, say, a congregation of homophobic Islamic “thinkers” (who, BTW, love the idea of pushing gay men off cliffs to their death)?

Plus, some on the scene are saying the crowd's estimated at "between 100000 and 250000." When will the media investigate the crowd size numbers? Boy, the crowd estimates were extremely important on September 12, remember?

Additional Related: Dan Riehl, "Obama's Problems."

English Defence League: 'It's Not Racist to Oppose Muslim Extremists'

Check London's Telegraph, "The English Defence League: Will the Flames of Hatred Spread?":

Tommy, spokesman for the English Defence League (EDL), was adamant: there were to be no pictures of him or the other masked men holding the makeshift swastika flag before it was set alight. Otherwise, it might look as though they were supporting Nazism – which, we were assured, they abhorred.

It was both sinister and comic, this nocturnal gathering in a disused office block near the centre of Luton. There were 16 of them, mostly big men in black balaclavas sewn up into masks, wearing black T-shirts sporting the Cross of St George. The location had been kept secret until the last minute to preserve “security”.

The boys of the EDL “Luton Division” were milling about in the half darkness as The Daily Telegraph was shown in. Most appeared a little jumpy, unsure of their role in the coming stunt, but not the man going by the name of Tommy Robinson. He was smaller than most of them, but clearly in charge. Articulate, too. Look around, he said, couldn’t we see there were black men here, as well as whites. This was not a racist organisation.

“We are doing this to challenge Islamic extremists who have been unchallenged in our country for 10 to 15 years. They are recruiting on our streets and colleges and the government is doing nothing.”

See also, Atlas Shrugs, "Anti-Islamisation Demonstrators Confronted by Fascists." And, Tundra Tabloids, "UK: EDL Confronted by Fascist Anti-Fascists in Piccadilly Gardens." And more, Saber Point, "British Police Suppress Anti-Islam Demonstrations."

Plus, "Arrests as Rival Race Demonstrations Clash." And from the comments there, Laura Roberts:

Hardly a surprise. It's the start of Rivers of Blood.

I abhor racism: and that means racism from ALL sides. If you continue to impose one incoming race's laws and preferences on the indigenous people of a country, you are going to create massive turmoil, disruption, antagonism, anger, resentment and confusion.

I have lived around the world. I know of no other country that welcomes foreigners into it that hate it with a venom. I know of no other country that destroys it's own culture, traditions, values and everything that makes it that particular country, as we do when we try to change it to suit incomers. I know of no other country embarrassed of it's own flag, where any patriotism that on the one hand we are urged to celebrate is slammed as racism at other times.

When I have lived around the world, I rejoice in their cultures and their pride for their country, heritage and customs. I modify my behaviour to theirs and even when I have to cover my head, or take off my shoes, or have to be escorted because a lone woman out and about is not permitted I do so unquestioningly so, and I honour their rules.

I know of no other country on earth that diminishes it's own culture and gives in to the demands of visitors and newcomers that we must adapt to them, rather than the other way round. They would not do the same in their country.

And so we have a growing anger, sometimes irrational and extreme, but mostly highly rational and deserved, and it will only get worse until the traditions and culture of Britain is restored and celebrated, just as other countries do with theirs.

Failure to do so will result in carnage.

See also, Vlad Tepes, "Anti Islam protest in Manchester, U.K."

Related: Atlas Shrugs, "UK: MUSLIMS HURL ABUSE AT RETURNING BRITISH SOLDIER PARADE."

Decision Time in Afghanistan: Kimberly Kagan

Great interview with Kimberly Kagan on yesterday's "Journal Editorial Report."

Kagan's a former military advisor to General Stanley McCrystal. See her report, "Securing Helmand: Understanding and Responding to the Enemy."

'HissySpit' - Neo-Communist at Daily Kos, DU - Allied with Global Anti-American Resistance

Here's more unsurprising evidence that the Democratic Party base is overrun by communist revolutionaries: It turns out that leftist blogger "HissySpit" has joined with Larisa Alexandrova in the latter's campaign of racist smear-mongering from yesterday. He's got an entry at his Democratic Underground page here. "HissySpit" is AKA "Cary Wilson." I found his name at CBS News, "Bloggers Work – And Socialize – Inside Denver’s “Big Tent”." And no surprise, he's also a major diarist at the anti-Semitic Daily Kos. A look there indicates that HissySpit's an activist in the global neo-communist/anti-American resistance movement. Notice how I don't say "antiwar movement." That's because HissySpit's allied groups provide blind support to insurgencies and resistance movements killing American troops abroad.

In a series of entries, HissySpit has announced solidarity with World Can't Wait, which was identified earlier this decade as a "revolutionary communist movement that stages protests against the Bush administration." World Can't Wait allied with International ANSWER for last week's U.S. out of Afghanistan protest in Westwood. See my report here, "Code Pink's Jodie Evans: No 'Rethink' on Afghanistan - 'U.S. Troop Withdrawal Now' ... ANSWER Coalition Decries 'Criminal Occupation'." These groups are early backers of murderers Kim Jong-Il, Fidel Castro, and Slobodan Milosevic. The protests last week also called to "end the occupation of Palestine" -- these hardliners back the right of return for Palestinian refugees (and hence the terrorist destruction of the Jewish state). (See also, from 2005, San Francisco's WCW/ANSWER alliance poster, "March 19: Shut Down Berkeley Marine Recruiting Station.")

For full details, see HissySpit's entry at Daily Kos: "Hearts And Minds - Afghanistan (graphic images warning)." That post links to the Manchester Stop the War Coalition, "Troops Out of Afghanistan -- National Demonstration." Also, see HissySpit's post, "PROTEST WEEKEND! - Collected Info on 3rd Anniversary of War Start-Up Protest & Rallies." That entry promotes World Can't Wait's March 2006 protest, "End the War! Drive Out the Bush Regime!"

Not nice people, obviously.

Obama Stiffs Gay Rights Groups - Again!

That seems to be the meme, according to John Aravosis at AmericaBlog, "Where's the Beef?":

What did President Obama say new tonight? Absolutely nothing. What did the Human Rights Campaign get in exchange for once again giving our president cover for all of his broken promises to our community? Absolutely nothing.

Obama's not stupid, of course. Note this week's survey at Pew Research, "Most Still Oppose Gay Marriage, but Support for Civil Unions Continues to Rise." That's right. A majority still opposes same-sex marriage, but an even larger majority wants gay couples to have legal rights: In other words, don't change the traditional meaning of marriage to satisfy something that it was never intended to be. That is, two men or two women can never fulfill the biological, social, and institutional function of the union of man and woman, whether consecrated under secular or spiritual authority. And thus, President Obama's playing it straight, no pun intended:

Obama is justified in moving somewhat slowly on his campaign pledges to the gay community. As anxious as we are to see gay rights recognized throughout this country, it also is important for the administration to set priorities and make progress in a politically strategic way. It was inevitable, given the unrealistic postelection expectations of immediate and all-encompassing change, that Obama would disappoint some of his constituencies in the first year or two. Right now, the president is rightly focused on healthcare and the economy.

I'll have more on this tomorrow, with my coverage of the communist-inspired National Equality March tomorrow.

Meanwhile, check "Obama Pledges Again to End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' but Offers No Timetable" (via Memeorandum).

Oh, I almost forgot. See also, "HONESTLY, IS JOHN ARAVOSIS A PIECE OF EXCREMENT OR WHAT?"

ADDED: Common Sense Political Thought, "Now I can see why President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize: Promises and platitudes are far more important than action

Larisa Alexandrovna: Libel Blogger, Smears Conservatives as 'Racist'

It's amazing, actually. I was mostly kidding at first, amid the flamewars, when I called Larisa Alexandrovna an "airhead." But seriously, the woman truly is thick.

I mean, damn! It's not just that she's actually libeling me with a series of pathetic allegations of "racism." It's that her posts have nothing even remotely to do with what serious poeple call "evidence." You know, some kind of empirical fact that normal people use to substantiate truth claims. It's not all that hard -- well, for people who aren't pathological liars.

Ms. Alexandrovna's latest attacks are in response to my suggestion that she's a runner-up "candidate for race-baiter of the year." And that's not a joke. Janeane Garofalo's a cinch for 1st prize, but Larisa's hot on her heels: As she alleged previously, "Donald Douglas, is an ultra-nationalist, openly racist professor of political science." And what was the factual basis for that claim? Well, nothing actually, only that I'm conservative. So, in response to my post today, where I denounced the Patrick Lanzo incident -- fully, comprehensively, and unambigously -- Larisa still can't resist to let go again:

Donald Douglas is really just hoping to show himself as not a racist. He points over yonder and says "see" that is what racism looks like and I don't support that. But if you read his blog you will see a exactly why he is a racist. Douglas then goes on to claim the following:

"Larisa recently attacked me with this odd description, "Donald Douglas, is an ultra-nationalist, openly racist professor of political science." I guess that puts me in good company, with Michelle Malkin, for example: "Malkin and the Racists..."I'm putting up Larisa Alexandrovna with Janeane Garofalo as a candidate for race-baiter of the year."

Odd description? Malkin is a racist. There is no debate on this from rational people, including actual Republicans, not the knuckle-dragging glue sniffing kind. Odd description? Not hardly. It is an entirely accurate description of a Muslim hating, birther peddling, racist, white power nationalist. If those terms offend you, then stop supporting those movements and championing those talking points. Otherwise embrace what you are and get it over with already.

Notice that? Her evidence that I'm racist is that -- wait for it -- Michelle Malkin is racist! And we know that because -- don't hold your breath! -- "rational people, including actual Republicans, not the knuckle-dragging glue sniffing kind," say so!

Well, blow me down! That is devastating. I think there's an actual philosophy of science term for that kind of logic: Argumentum ad verecundiam, which is an appeal to authority. And in Larisa's case, it's not just amorphous "rational people" and "actual Republicans ... it's well, nobody. But wait! She does actually refer quite liberally to one of America's greatest experts on racism, Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs!

That's right! Who would have guessed? Charles Johnson is the kind of "rational person" that Ms. Alexandrovna cites as a source of authority for her theories of conservative racism! And then, by logical implication, the libelous claims at LGF provide the evidence that I'm racist by way of Michelle Malkin being racist! Oh well, that's kind of round-a-bout, so let's go to Larisa's earlier post (because remember, Larisa makes allegations with any actual evidence). Note that I took issue with her post, "Republicanistan - A Country of Its Own," which was basically setting the table for her race-baiting smears cited above:

Obama has been attacked for efforts of diplomacy and attempts to dismantle the violence of the previous administration. Although IMHO, he has not gone far enough on many of the issues of diplomacy and ending our illegal war in Iraq - his achievements are still remarkable in this political climate and in such a short-time in office.

The Glennbeckistanians deploy their hatriots

So, while I have no problem with legitimate criticism from both the left and the right (as I have said previously, Little Green Footballs continues to earn my respect) of the Nobel Peace Prize in general and of Obama's award in particular, what I do have a serious problem with is those who attack rather than criticize and not on legitimate points, but out of pure hate.

The only problem there being that Charles Johnson's no longer on "the right." And he hasn't been for a long time now. Not only that, C.J.'s certifiably crazed. We find a new example of his megalomaniacal paranoia virtually every day. My friend John Lilyea had his account blocked most recently. Jonn, who admired C.J., and who stayed out of C.J.'s blog flamewars, had this to say after finding that error message below:

I know you’re so damn petty that you Google your name and chase links looking for LGF infidels…so eat shit, Charles. I hope you get your ponytail caught in your bike spokes, you dick. See, I can be petty, too. Dick.

And just today, Little Green Footballs found evidence of "racism" at this thread at Fox Nation:

The most damning piece of evidence there? A link to Lew Rockwell's homepage. Of course, the Lew Rockwell-types not only hate the GOP, but Rockwell himself is in bed (literally) with the neo-communist left!

Wow, that Larisa's a real Nobel-caliber scientist! Impeccable evidentiary analysis!

And it's like I said earlier today at my post: Airheads like Larisa Alexandrovna have drained the word "racism" of any significant meaning, and thus they've in essence "joined folks like Patrick Lanzo in the racist hall of shame." For in assuming that everything in society is institutionally racist, one automatically condemns blacks to systematic non-achievement: They're always going to be shufflin' fools, looking out for Mr. Charlie. The Democrats love it that way, since they'll always have a dependent lumpenproletariat population to exploit for its dependency. The irony of it all is that it's the Democrats themselves who are the real racists in today's day and age. They can get away with it, and they do so all the time: I mean if a top GOP figure argued that he'd like to string Barack Obama up and castrate the mofo ... well, there'd be hell to pay. But it's okay when you've got the Democratic-leftist race card to play. Hey, come to think of it, maybe Larisa Alexandrovna's pretty clever after all!

Babe Blogging: Bar Refaeli Sports Illustrated Video

Well, I think I'll have Bar Refaeli thank my good friend Linkmaster Chris for sharing some generously sweet traffic this weekend. I didn't even know these Sports Illustrated videos existed, but as Rod Blogojevich might say, "I’ve got this thing and it’s f***ing golden":

Three Beers Later's been doing some babe-blogging video hotness as well. And Jules Crittenden's got the news on the "bodacious beauties" who'd be glad to give you a knockout (haircut). And check more golden-goodness at the Classical Liberal: "Beyoncé. Supervirtuous."

Also, my good friend Carol at No Sheeples Here! has been firing up some great posts. See, "We Must Stand Together to Preserve The Greatness of America." And it'd be good to send some linkage over to William Jacobson, who riffs on the Obama's Nobel Non-Accomplishments, "Farce Repeats Itself As History."

Gator Doug's roundup is worth a look as well. See, "Linktastical Saturday, the Return!" Plus, TrogloPundit's finally given the Sarah-Motivators a rest. Check, "You Know They’re Going to Airbrush the Hell Out of Those Pictures."

And thanks to Theo Spark for the hot SI video inspiration.

I guess by now I've come out of "Rule 5" retirement, but continued babe blogging will depend on my mood. It's taken a while to get things back to normal around here, and I've learned some key lessons. And one of those is to make sure to thank your friends for the linkage!

And since it's like the good old day, readers should send links if they'd like to be added to the babe-blogging roundups. My e-mails at my Blogger profile at the right.

Anita MonCrief: 'My Conversion From the Far Left to the Conservative Movement'

From the Green Room, "How This Ex-Liberal Found Fortitude and Her Way Home":

Often in interviews I am asked about my conversion from the far left liberal (radical) to the conservative movement and I always think back to first grade. While I had been Catholic all my life, I did not realize it until I went to school. I felt a little lost and very scared. That’s how I feel about blacks and conservatism. I left the church as a young woman, the church never changed but my desire not to live by its rules led me to break free.

Over the years, I have tried and studied other religions but Catholicism is home, and nothing feels like home. As a liberal there was a certain part of me that fought against the world. It was never a fair fight though, because my opinions were set and no amount of proof could change that. As a liberal trying to find her way, I often felt like I was trying on religions again. I didn’t fit in, asked lots of questions and was uneasy about my path. Being lost will do that, only I did not know I was on the wrong path. I channeled that anger at the “system” into art work, I went home at night and tried not to think about the moms living on Section 8 in the “projects” who worried about their kids and still tried to look out for me too. I ignored the feelings of desperation when I talked to my young friends, so full of promise but without an adequate foundation to succeed.

The Democrats seemed to be the answer: social programs, better schools, and politicians who cared. I do think that if I had never seen the other side of community organizing that I would still be blindly following along that same path. Being a conservative gives me hope, and peace. While it has not been easy, I decided to start with what made me love America as a child - its history and Constitution- and go from there. Friends who are still radicals rail at me for loving a country that enslaved us, and I tell them I don’t. I love a country that had the guts to stand up time and time again and right a wrong. A country that is not afraid to pick itself up and start again.

Read the whole thing at the link.

For background, see Anita MonCrief, "ACORN and SEIU: Anatomy of a Shakedown." and the Wall Street Journal, "An Acorn Whistleblower Testifies in Court: The Group's Ties to Obama Are Extensive."

Abu Askar, Knife-Wielding Al Qaeda Barbarian, Vows Victory for Islam in Afghanistan (VIDEO)

The full video is here: Islamisten trainieren Kinder für Dschihad ("Islamists train children for jihad"). And from London's The Sun, "Head Hunter: An al-Qaeda Fanatic Brandishes a Giant Razor-Sharp Blade in a Pose Intended to Scare British and U.S. Troops in Afghanistan":

The knife is too cumbersome to use in battle - but could behead or dismember any hostage his terror group grabs.

The insurgent, also seen sitting with an AK47 rifle, belongs to one of Osama Bin Laden's "foreign legions" fighting in Afghanistan.

He appears in a new terror video posted online and vows to use the huge blade to achieve a victory for Islam.

The bearded thug was identified as "Abu Askar the German".

Last night a military source warned: "If anyone needed reminding, this is the face of the enemy."

Terrorism expert and author Chris Dobson said: "The bloodthirsty threat of Abu Askar the German and his giant cleaver is plain - anyone who opposes us will lose their heads. Fanatical Islamic Jihadists have a record of beheading captives and boasting about it to cause fear among their enemies.

"Abu Askar and his knife are undoubtedly part of the 'war of the mind' the Jihadists are waging against the West.

"But they also reflect a growing confidence, especially among home-grown terrorists, that the West is becoming vulnerable."

See also London's Daily Mail, "Picture of Evil: Bloodthirsty German Al Qaeda Fanatic Poses With 2ft-Long Knife for Beheading British Soldiers in Afghanistan."

Related: As Obama Dawdles, Taliban Mount Terrorist Offensive Across South Asia

Taliban Escalate Siege of Pakistan: Militants Hit Army HQ; 10 Die in Brazen Attack on Military's Nerve Center!

Well, this an unwelcomed update to my entry last night, "As Obama Dawdles, Taliban Mount Terrorist Offensive Across South Asia."

The Taliban continued their siege of South Asia Saturday morning with another brazen incursion, storming Pakistan's military headquarters and killing 6 soldiers, with 4 militants dead in the fighting. Here's the report at the Los Angeles Times:

In a brazen attack that struck the Pakistani military's nerve center, gunmen disguised in army uniforms broke into the grounds of the country's army headquarters in Rawalpindi on Saturday, sparking a furious firefight that left four attackers and six soldiers dead.

As of late Saturday afternoon, two of the gunmen remained at large on the army headquarters premises, military officials said.

The initial attack, which lasted about 90 minutes, illustrated the breadth of the militants' ability to launch attacks virtually anywhere in the violence-racked Muslim nation -- even the epicenter of Pakistan's vaunted security establishment.

Full details at the link.

And just in case it's not clear: THESE ARE TALIBAN MILITANTS!! Hello President Obama? No threat to Afghanistan's recovery? Say what? No threat to Afghanistan is no threat to America, right? God help us!

See also, the Washington Post, "Gunmen Assault Pakistan Army Headquarters, at Least 6 Troops Dead." Plus, Right Truth, "Taliban Gunmen Invade Pakistan's Military HQ, Push Towards its Nuclear Arsenal."

I have been covering the AF-PAK security crisis with increasing regularity. The Taliban South Asian offensive is the real thing. And the terrorists' timing couldn't have been better. With President Obama's Nobel Prize, the world community is looking for the U.S. to achieve "peace" in the region, and that's to be achieved by a redeployment of U.S. forces from Afghanistan. The appeasers in Oslo sent a message with the award: Don't escalate the mission President Obama. Repudiate the Bush administration's robust stand against terror. Join the international community in capitulating to evil. We've got your back in the court of public opinion. Indeed, this morning's New York Times asks, "What Does a Nobel Do for U.S. Leaders?" And we know the answer: It gives them cover to cut-and-run from the threatening storm of a hegemonic terrorist takeover. Meanwhile, we've got radical left journalists cheering on the president, not only for a surrender to terrorists, but for moving toward a unilateral U.S. nuclear disarmament ("God willling," they say). It's only a matter of time. We'll have another Mumbai for sure. And it's the next WMD Armageddon -- increasingly likely under this administration's watch -- that's going to come sooner rather than later.

No thread yet at Memeorandum, but there should be -- a long one.

See also, Snooper Report, "Taliban Aren't A Threat To Anyone - REALLY?"

Added: Riehl World View, "Taliban Making Big Push In Pakistan?" And Atlas Shrugs, "Islam Attacks: Muslim Militants Hold Hostages After Storming Pakistan Army Headquarters."

When to Call a Racist a Racist

Where are all the radical leftists? You'd think we'd see a better race-baiting turnout in response to Georgia's Patrick Lanzo. The guy posted a sign out in front of his Paulding Country restaurant suggesting the administration's ObamaCare legislation is a "nigger rig" to fix the healthcare system (and the dude's said to boast "a mannequin in a Klu Klux Klan costume" back by the pool tables). Another Black Conservative calls out the lefties, "This Is What Real Racist Opposition To Obama Looks Like":

Memo to all members of the Raaacism Industrial Complex:

Please read and study this picture and article above. This is what REAL racist opposition to Obama looks like. Notice, there is no use of “speech codes” like the word “socialism”. There is no trick photography required and not a subliminal message to be heard.

So to all you members and followers of the Raaaaacism Industrial Complex who applaud in agreement to the manufactured racism of Janeane Garofalo, Jimmy Carter, Rep. Hank Johnson and the like know this, you are helping to hide real racists like Lanzo in a sea of falsely accused racists.

Actually, there are a couple posts linking Lanzo to conservative opponents of the president. For one, Gawker has an entry titled, "Racist Old Man: 'I Am Not Racist'." That piece then links to some stupid episodes during the campaign last year that no one takes seriously (Obama food stamps?). Recall, in every single case like this conservatives denounce the racist imagery. Normally, the idiots who post such stuff are shamed by the PC police, and it's not unusual for a political career to implode.

Folks like those at Gawker will take every chance they can get to remind white America of its racial past. At the sidebar to the Paulding County story is this post, "Why We Need to Be Reminded That Michelle Obama Is Descended from Slaves. And that entry includes this image below for extra schock value. Never mind the fact that Michelle Obama, to the best of my knowledge, has never been chained like an animal her entire life, readers are already commanded to feel sorry for the First Lady because of her race:

Further, in discussing a recent New York Times story on Mrs. Obama's slave history, the Gawker article notes that:

Michelle Obama's ancestry isn't really the point: It's that the distant monumental evil that lives in history books can be tangibly connected to her, and to see the actual lives of her ancestors who lived with slavery and its consequences recounted with texture and detail is all the more moving because it is so rarely done.

As someone who teaches the "monumental evil" every semester - starting with the slavery clauses in the Constitution, then all the way to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and affirmative action today - I can guarantee you that America's pernicious, peculiar institution is not a distant memory. Young people are constantly bombarded with America's slave past. My oldest son's in 8th grade and U.S. history is assigned this year. Anyone who's looked at the contemporary history curriculum is well aware that historians rarely if ever pass-up the chance to retell the story of our "monumental evils." It's just there. And it ain't going away, and I don't think folks want it to go away.

Racism is wrong. Slavery was wrong. And I think Patrick Lanzo's sign is wrong. But the man is not representative of conservatives today. If Mr. Lanzo wants to exercise his First Amendment rights, at least he's putting his money where his mouth is: If folks are upset by his sign, they don't have to patronize his restaurant. Indeed, what more fitting way to protest his racist imagery than to reverse the pattern of Jim Crow segregation. Boycott the guy in the great tradition of the civil rights movement.

Of course, with yesterday's big outrage over President Obama's Nobel award for his manifest non-accomplishments, the race-card maniacs are due out for another big showing today. Larisa Alexandrovna, for example, starts off the day with her entry, "Republicanistan - A Country of Its Own." Hmm, "Republicanistan"? Conservatives as Taliban? Where'd we here that one before? Larisa recently attacked me with this odd description, "Donald Douglas, is an ultra-nationalist, openly racist professor of political science." I guess that puts me in good company, with Michelle Malkin, for example: "Malkin and the Racists..."

I'm putting up Larisa Alexandrovna with Janeane Garofalo as a candidate for race-baiter of the year. (See my previous post, with my picture, "White Power! Janeane Garofalo Has Revealed My Secret!") Folks like this, who have denuded the word "racism" of what real revolting impact it should evoke, have joined folks like Patrick Lanzo in the racist hall of shame. (See also, Confederate Yankee, "Diluted.")

Thank God for we still have some folks, like Clifton cited above, and Mary Baker (author of the majesterial essay, "Why I am No Longer an African American"). More commentary at Memeorandum.

As Obama Dawdles, Taliban Mount Terrorist Offensive Across South Asia

Atlas Shrugs reported yesterday, "Taliban Bomb Indian Embassy in Kabul, Obama Surrenders, Accepts Some Taliban Involvement in Afghanistan's Political Future."

Now today, three back-to-back reports at the Los Angeles Times illustrate the catastrophic dangers likely to follow from the Obama administration's vacillation on Afghanistan:

First, "Obama Shifting Focus to Al Qaeda Over Taliban: The Evolving Strategy Could Help the Administration Avoid the Major Troop Increase Being Sought by U.S. military Commanders in Afghanistan."

That's followed by, "Taliban Claims Responsibility for Kabul Embassy Attack: The Suicide Bombing is the Second Against the Indian Embassy in the Afghan Capital in 15 months. It kills 17 people and injures 76. In India, Suspicions Focus on Pakistan."

And now this evening's report, "Pakistan Suicide Car Bombing Kills 49 at Market: The Government Believes the Taliban is Behind the Bombing. The Militants Have Vowed to Step Up Suicide Attacks as the Military Prepares for an All-Out Offensive in South Waziristan":

The attack was a deadly reminder of the risks President Obama faces as he considers shifting his regional strategy to focus on Al Qaeda rather than the Afghan Taliban as the biggest threat to American security. The administration wants to make a distinction between the Taliban, based in Afghanistan and Pakistan and regarded as fundamentalist militants driven by a local agenda, and Al Qaeda's global terrorist network.

However, such a shift will have to take into account the role that the Pakistani Taliban plays in providing sanctuary to Al Qaeda in Pakistan's largely lawless tribal areas. When Al Qaeda militants fled eastern Afghanistan during the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, they entrenched themselves in the Waziristan region of northwestern Pakistan with the help of Pakistani Taliban fighters.

But recall Tuesday's briefing from the New York Daily News, "Taliban Claims Responsibility for Attack on United Nations World Food Program's Pakistan Compound." This article notes that an "estimated 10,000 Taliban fighters are preparing for battle" in South Waziristan, in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Also, pay attention to the last minute of the video above, featuring South Asia expert Daniel Markey of the Council on Foreign Relations. Markey says that "it's hard to draw a line between those groups that are not threatening to us" and those like al Qaeda. Markey notes that the Taliban have ties to a number al Qaeda offshoots. And thus recall my report from last week, "Another Mumbai? Qaeda-Taliban-Lashkar Ready to Strike Again." Intelligence reports indicate that the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba is gearing up for another round of attacks across South Asia, and a new round of Mumbai-style strikes could further destabilize the region. Wikipedia's entry for Lashkar-e-Taiba notes that the group has "developed deep linkages with Afghanistan and has several Afghan nationals in its cadre. The outfit had also cultivated links with the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan and also with Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network."

I simply fail to appreciate the wisdom of the Obama administration's rethinking of the Taliban danger in Afghanistan. President Obama's dawdling is putting in danger the lives of people around the world. But, the folks up in Oslo really like him!

See also, Hot Air, "New White House Sin: Taliban Nt Rally An Enemy, Has Role in Afghanistan’s Future."

RELATED: The Washington Post, "If We Lose Afghanistan..."

'Insha'Allah': Obama Nobel Emboldens Islamist/Socialist Enemy Alliance!

Well, it's not taking long. It certainly didn't escape the Nobel Commmittee that President Obama hasn't actually achieved anything. So, what better way to facilitate further capitulation to the terrorists than by emoldening the Islamist/socialist alliance to bring pressure on the administration?

As Fox News reports, "John Bolton, a U.N. ambassador in the Bush administration, told FOX News that the award will give leverage to Obama advisers opposed to sending more troops Afghanistan at the request of commanders."

And it's giving leverage to the Islamist and socialist critics of the administration. The Taliban, for example, "Taliban Condemn Obama as Nobel Prize Winner":

The Taliban Friday condemned the decision to award this year's Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama, saying he has "not taken a single step towards peace in Afghanistan".

"We have seen no change in his strategy for peace. He has done nothing for peace in Afghanistan," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP.

"We condemn the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for Obama," he said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

"When Obama was elected president, we were hopeful he would keep his promise to bring change. But he brought no change, he has continued the same old strategy as (President George W.) Bush.

"He reinforces the war in Afghanistan, he sent more troops to Afghanistan and is considering sending yet more. He has shed Afghan blood and he continues to bleed Afghans and to boost the war here," he said.

Michael Moore joined the Taliban's denunciation, "Congratulations President Obama on the Nobel Peace Prize - Now Please Earn it!." And also, the hardline communist World Can't Wait, "In the Nobel Peace Prize for War Makers Department."

But get this: Firedoglake's radical Spencer Ackerman even praises the Nobel Committee in Arabic! Insha'Allah -- God-willing -- the prize will enable Obama's further prostration to the world's terrorists:

There are 120,000 troops in Iraq -- but by the summer of 2010 there will be 55,000; and by December 2011; practically none. There is a consideration of another Afghanistan escalation -- but as part of a measure, if adopted, to bring stability and peace to a region whose volatility threatens millions. (Yes, this isn't so convincing, even to me.) The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is heating up again -- but Obama has taken risk after risk already to address it, and his bigger risks are yet to come. We probably won't have a real climate bill in time for Copenhagen -- but through no fault of Obama's, and he's working to mitigate its consequences. The U.S. still has the world's biggest stockpile of nuclear weapons -- but Obama never promised that he could yield nuclear disarmament overnight. Guantanamo Bay is in business -- but not, insh'allah, for long.

Progressives have a unique responsibility to hold Obama to his own stated vision, and the vision that the Nobel committee honored today. But there is a difference between an incomplete agenda and a counterproductive one. And in truth, the agenda is never complete. The work goes on. But we are on a path. Fired up, ready to go.

So, no it's not the Republicans who have joined the Taliban, it's the neo-communist left!

Image Credit: Bosch Fawstin, "oBOMBa: When Envy Goes Nuclear."

Partisan Backlash Erupts Over Obama's Non-Accomplishments

Here's the RNC's response to the DNC's response to Michael Steele's response to President Obama's Nobel Prize:

“Like most Americans, the DNC can’t think of one achievement that the president has accomplished, so they resort to their predictable response and standard playbook of demonizing those who disagree with them. First they call Americans concerned over health care ‘rabid extremists’ and ‘angry mobs.’ Now, when challenged to answer the question of what the president has accomplished, Democrats are lashing out calling Republicans terrorists. That type of political rhetoric is shameful.”

More at Memeorandum.

See also, Dana Loesch, "DNC Says That People Who Question Obama’s Accomplishments Are Terrorists or Something."

Image Credit: The People's Cube, "Now Everyone Can Have A Nobel Peace Prize."