Hurray for infidel magic!
I'm blogging from a train in central Italy via my Blackberry.

Spectacular day but the train is hot and unairconditioned. The windows open but as Europeans are oddly afraid of wind, all the windows remain closed . . . Except for mine

Ciao for niao.

How Did the USA Become a Warmonger?

Europeans have disliked Bush from the very beginning. Since his election they've spent an enormous amount of time thinking about what they hate about him.

The accepted wisdom, useful when waiting on line to see an old Michael Moore movie, is that Bush is a moron who is way out of his depth in the White House.

"Bush's first problem is to deal with the problems that are coming at him from every side. He had never been able to take the long view of things, rather has always made his plans from one day to the next. That is not possible in a war.

He is the worst sort of amateur. Politically clever, but otherwise weak."

Of course, now events are catching up with him and the weight of the burden is beginning to show.

"To see Bush on television and hear him over the radio, he is no longer an arrogant president, rather a broken man with a flat voice who was no longer master of the situation he had brought about."

Europeans like to think that they experienced elders to Americans. They are calm and reasoned pacifists because they know first-hand the horrors of war. They believe that some day the Americans will have to come around to the European way.

"Americans who believed that they would never even know a war was going on now have to start thinking like Europeans. They will have to pay taxes like we do.

We began by noting that Bush's government had presided over a catastrophic economy. When he took office his predecessor had left a balanced budget. He immediately began to spend money. He promised that his policies would restore economic and social health. In fact, however, the Bush policies threw billions of dollars out the window."

Europeans also believe the invasion of Iraq had nothing to do with the war on terror that began when Islamofascists attacked the United States on September 11.

To listen to them you'd think that it was all part of an effort, designed by neoconservatives, to distract American voters from the dire condition of their economy.

"Bush's election promises forced him to introduce new economic policies to stimulate the economy. Driven by his advisers he wasted countless billions in stimulating the economy, but could not end the crisis. Instead, the crisis in the United States intensified.

Once again driven by his Jewish advisers, the only remaining way for Bush to deal with the economic situation was to become a world warmonger. To prevent a domestic catastrophe, he created a world-wide catastrophe."

And now that the war is going badly, which even America's one-sided and superficial news media cannot conceal, the people confused and beginning to ask troubling questions.

"The natural result is that the war is not as popular as the American government would like it to be. The invasion of Iraq was greeted in the United States with remarkable indifference.

In the weeks and months thereafter, the American press tried to build enthusiasm for the war through every possible method. But the average American could not understand that he was in a war that was a matter of life and death. The press and government try daily to fight popular attitudes.

Although they do not understand what they are supposed to be fighting for, it is gradually dawning on them that they face years of sacrifice."

Eurpoeans saw this one coming. They spotted Bush as a problem early on and now they have nothing but contempt for the slow-witted American electorate.

"That is how naive the Americans are. They are like children playing with fire, who do not think they might be burned.

Their complete political immaturity is the only explanation as to why a sick man was elected president even though there was no doubt as to the dangers of his policies."

Of course, I'm not quoting Gerhard Schroeder, Jacques Chirac, or Romano Prodi.

These are excerpts from "Amerika als Zerrbild europischer Lebensordnung," published by Der Reichsorganisationsleitung der NSDAP in 1942.

Basically, all I did was substitute the word "Bush" for "Roosevelt."

Scary how some things never change.

Islamic Public Relations Coup

You have to hand it to the Islamofascists. Just when we begin to question whether we in the West have sunk to their level of barbarity, they remind us what true barbarity looks like.

Since the news media is suddenly squeamish about publishing disturbing images that might provoke American outrage at Muslim terrorists, I have posted a link to the video of the beheading of Nicholas Berg here. And still photos are here. Interestingly, you won't seem them in the European press.

Beware, these sounds and images will stay with you for a very long time. The video was produced by our enemies. Next time someone says George Bush is the enemy, remind them that to our real enemies your head is the same as Nick Berg’s. Regardless of what the United States does or doesn’t do, these people would murder you just as enthusiastically as they did Mr. Berg.

The New York Times, which restrained itself from publishing a picture of the Berg beheading above the fold or from even describing it in anything but the most antiseptic terms, ran a long story today about a prisoner of the Americans who was mistreated in captivity. He was humiliated, deprived of sleep, he may have even been forced to wear women’s underwear – an unspeakable torture for a proud and stylin' jihadist.

Yet, as of the interview, he was alive. His head was firmly attached to his body. In fact, we wasn't even in prison anymore.

A double standard? Thankfully, yes.

With Support Like This Who Needs Opposition

The New York Times has make a science of the "faint praise" approach to journalism. In its coverage of the Bush and Kerry campaigns the Kerry camp definitely gets the short end of the stick.

President Bush sweeps into a rally of 10,000 supporters and Kerry rouses about 500 of his folks with incoherent lines like "(Bush) doesn't have a record to run away from" . . . Whatever that means.

One African-American Kerry support who admits he doesn't much like his candidate is sitting at a table inconveniently marked "white ticket holders only."

Kerry supporters. When not conflicted, sound downright confused.

His wife, Terri Forrest Reed, nodded from beneath a straw sun hat. "I'm a Republican," Ms. Reed whispered. "Don't tell anybody."

Not only that, she said, but as president of Thomas Jefferson Butler Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, she is tired of the Bush administration claiming it stands for Southern values.

In fact, Ms. Reed said, Mr. Bush reminds her of no one so much as a president who she said once betrayed the Constitution.

"That's right," she said. "Abraham Lincoln."

Bush is like Abraham Lincoln . . . and that's bad.

George Bush may be a vulnerable candidate but I'm still glad I'm not a Kerry supporter.

Why We Must "Lose" in Iraq

David Brooks makes an excellent point this morning. For the Bush Administration’s visionary policy for implanting democracy in the parched heart of the Middle East to succeed, the United States will have to be defeated.

Confident nations need a compelling birth legend. For the United States it is a ragtag band of citizen-Minutemen rising up to defeat the most powerful military power on earth. For France it is the people taking to the barricades to unseat the dynastic monarchy. In Switzerland it is three fiercely independent cantons joining together in confederation.

No nation can create an enduring birth legend based on outside assistance. The American Revolution legend tends to ignore the pivotal role played by the French Navy. The French legend filters out allied invasion and elevates the resistance fighter. The Swiss almost never mention the important role played by Japanese cavalry officers in overcoming the recalcitrant Appenzallers.

The Iraqis need a birth legend.

To date the defeat of fascism, the gunning down of the happy-go-lucky Hussein brothers, and the capture of Saddam all occurred because of the United States. This is unacceptable.

To lay the foundation of The Iraqi Birth Legend, the United States must be defeated in some symbolic way. The Iraqis must be able to say that they were in control of their destiny. A bitterly contested election might do the trick.

Would the Bush Administration be willing to risk even symbolic defeat in Iraq. Yes, if it meant the successful closure if the Iraqi theatre of the War on Terror.

Would that make it more difficult to address other failed states such as Syria, Iran or North Korea? No. If anything, Iraqi Freedom proved that the United Nations and the Coalition of the Unwilling, no matter how vocal in their opposition, are largely impotent and inconsequential.

The Kims and Osamas of the world are the audience. And the prospect of an independent and confident Iraq would be undeniable loss of them regardless of the legend.

Ding Dong The Leader of North Korea Is Dead

As more details of the mysterious explosion in North Korea emerge it’s becoming more clear (to me at least) that this was an assassination attempt against the Dear Leader. In fact, I’m betting it was a successful attempt.

What do we know? Not much

We know that the Grand Wizard of Oz, the Embodiment of the Juche Ideal, the Mickey Mouse of North Korea’s Magic Kingdom, Kim Jong-il, was passing through the picturesque Ryongchon rail yard the same day as a massive explosion leveled the train station and much of the surrounding neighborhood.

We know he was on a train because the preferred method of travel among the politically insane is by armored railcar – or luxury submarine if available.

We know he was in Beijing the day before and was on his way home on the 12th Century Limited the day of the blast. Initial reports said that Kim passed though Ryongchon before dawn, eight hours before the explosion. He has not been seen or heard since.

According to The New York Times, children accounted for almost half the death toll.

About 500 of the 1,300 people wounded were blinded; scores of them were children, according to foreign aid workers who toured hospital wards in Sinuiju, the regional center.

Why would so many children be blinded by an explosion unless they were looking right at it? Perhaps because they were lined up along the track to wave little flags as The Dear Leader passed by.

And who would want to ice The Dear Leader?

Just about everyone it seems.

The United States – Accelerating Kim’s departure from the planet would surely serve American interests as North Korea has posed the most serious threat of the Evil Axis trio and is the most unlikely candidate for imminent regime change . . . at least as long as Kim Jung Il is still ambulatory. Without Kim an interesting and destabilizing power vacuum opens up which would be fun to watch.

China – Locking Kim in a crystal mausoleum as few years early wouldn’t be a bad thing for President Hu Jintao who is trying to establish a new look and feel to Chinese communism. Hu prefers a technocrat's suit and tie which frankly clashes with Kim’s Red Scare tunics by Blofeld. Kim family values are a pesky reminder of the bad old days in Peking.

North Korea – Recall the purpose of Kim’s “rare and secretive” visit to Beijing. Following tough talk from Dick Cheney, Chinese President Hu summonded Kim and the next thing you know North Korea has agreed to immediate multilateral talks about giving up its nuclear program – a rather stark reversal of policy that some of the more Armageddon-minded policy makers in Pyongyang may have found objectionable. Or perhaps Kim wasn't so agreeable. Then perhaps it was the dove-ish wing of the insane clown posse who felt the urgent need to off Kim.

Such foreign visits are rare and secretive for good reason . . . they give your opponents an opportunity to set massive explosive devices next to your armored train.

My guess is that that’s exactly what happened last week.

The New York Times > International > Asia Pacific > North Korea's Top Priority Remains Secrecy After Blast

Why the Left Has Nothing Left to Offer

Used to be that the compassionate Left in this country could be expected to add a worthwhile perspective on human events. Today, the Left seems capable only of blind reactionary hatred.

Case in point: yesterday's posting on the popular left-leaning Daily Kos blog about the murdered and mutilated Americans in Fallujah.

That said, I feel nothing over the death of merceneries. They aren't in Iraq because of orders, or because they are there trying to help the people make Iraq a better place. They are there to wage war for profit. Screw them.

Hmmm . . . I thought the Left was supposed to be the voice of the working man.

For that matter, I thought the Left was supposed to be the conscience of the nation, the fighter of fascism, the advocate of democracy, freedom and human dignity.

For those who care, here is a site where you can read more and get know these char-broiled war profiteers as fellow human beings.

Germany Implosion Watch

"Germany, like much of Europe, has a psychological investment in longer holidays, free healthcare, early retirement, unsustainable welfare programmes, decrepit military: the fact that these policies spell national suicide is less important than that they distinguish Europe from the less enlightened Americans."

Mark Steyn

Another Simplistic Cowboy Explains the "War on Terror"

"Today's Madrid represents precisely the negation of the radical inhumanity of the obtuse, exclusive tribal spirit of fundamentalism, religious or political, which hates mixture, diversity and tolerance and, above all, liberty.

This is the first European battle in a savage war that began exactly two years ago with the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York, and whose inroads will probably fill with blood and horror a good part of this new century.

It is a war to the death, of course, and owing to the present fantastic development of the technology of destruction and the fanatic, suicidal zeal that inspires the international movement of terror, it is perhaps a trial even more difficult than those represented by fascism and communism for the culture of liberty."

Mario Vargas Llosa

France On Alert

An ex-Administration official who knows about these things reports that in light of the Madrid bombing and blackmail from a shadowy terrorist organization that the French government seems reluctant to talk about, France has raised its terror alert level from "run" to "hide".

The only two higher levels in France are "surrender" and "collaboration"

Jihad Is Over. If You Want It.

So the Israelis make good on their promise to send terrorists and their leaders to an early grave by dispatching Sheikh Ahmed Yassin of Hamas -- seemingly just months before nature itself finished the job on the "spiritual leader." And what happens?

The Palestinians were enraged and vowed to kill more Israelis, but come on, it's pretty hard to wratchet up the rage when you're already at max power. The rage level is at 10. What are they going to do, turn it up to 11? "It's one more."

Well, Reuters is reporting today that some Palestinians are raged-out rather than outraged.

"The new Hamas leader is even more hard-line than the last one. This worries me. I just want some peace and stability. The top priority is feeding my six children, not Jihad," said Omar Hajaj, 40, a trader.

Could it be that Hamas is loosing its grip at last? Could it be that the average Palestinian is not willing to incinerate himself in order to ensure a Judenrein Middle East? Perhaps there are radicalized believers who are nonetheless more interested in replicating the Israeli's economic and social progress rather than wrecking it.

If so, this would be a very troubling development for those in Europe who claim that terrorism cannot be countered with military force. If the "extralegal" assassination of a crippled old man who inspired one of the most virulent Islamofascist dealth cults -- in a region notable for its virulent dealth cults -- can actually bring a measure of peace to the region then offing Yassin was what's called a game changing event.

The result? First of all, the various death cult leaders may feel their popularity waning . . . and in that part of the world unpopularity can get you killed. Second of all, they may begin to look for more vulnerable targets than Israel and the United States . . . targets such as France or Italy.

"We are sick of seeing heads and body parts. We treat about 100 victims of Israeli troops a month. When I heard Yassin was killed I was sad and worried because Rantissi is more hard-line."

So finally and new calculation is setting in. Every time Hamas mounts a murder "operation" against the Israelis, it's the Palestinians who seem to suffer more. That kind of cause and effect is difficult to express diplomatically. Helicopter gunships generally deliver the message more effectively.

Having experimented with negotiation and conciliation during the Barak years, Israelis are now experimenting with military force focused against the people and organizations most willing to employ violence. And the experiment is working.

One of the most interesting findings of this experiment is that far from breeding more and more terrorists, targeted killings of the most radical thugs seems to decrease the number of radical thugs in a perfect 1:1 ratio.

If all the Palestinians who claimed they wanted to be martyrs actually attempted to become martyrs there would be wave after wave of suicide bombers in numbers limited only by the number of explosive garments the Arab fashion industry is capable of producing in a 17 hour shift.

The world braces for a volcanic eruption of violence in Gaza and what happens? Nothing happens.

That's because the Israelis are not scared to call the bluff of the Islamofascists. They are addressing the root causes of death cult terrorism -- the leaders of the death cults -- knowing that death cult leaders are a finite upset of the larger Palestinian set which is itself a tiny segment of the human being set. Eliminate the subset and al the other sets can live in peace.

Last week a death cult cell scared the bejeebus out of the French government by claiming "We love death as much as you love life." But that's not true. Unless, of course, the author was dead when he wrote that.

At some point the frightened nations of Europe will have to recognize that the root cause of Islamofacsist terrorism is the existence of Islamofacsist terrorists. Reduce their number and you reduce their threat. But give them a seat at the table and soon you'll find yourself sitting all by yourself.

Here's the Strategery, Folks

"A year ago, Iraq was ruled by the whims of one cruel man. Today, Iraq has a new interim law that guarantees basic rights for all: freedom of religion, the right to cast a secret ballot, and equality under the law. And these historic changes are sending a message across the region from Damascus to Tehran: Freedom is the future of every nation."

President Bush

What Does Taiwan Have to Do With Spain?

The President of Taiwan is shot during a closely contested political campaign just days before the election. Will the violence influence the outcome?

Of course it will just as violence influenced the outcome of the recent election in Spain.

Assuming you nothing about the candidates or the would-be assassins, wouldn't you conclude that someone or some group does not want the attacked candidate elected? Wouldn't you then conclude that a vote for the opponent of the attacked candidate would further the attackers' political aims?

And observing in perfect ignorance of the local politics wouldn't you feel a slightly greater desire to vote for the attacked candidate simply as a way to show that political violence will not be rewarded?

I know how I would vote. I don't know the politics of Taiwan or Spain but I don't think that I'm alone in thinking that the people of Spain who responded to violence by voting for the candidate and party that takes the more conciliatory approach to the perpetrators of political violence (be they ETA or al Qaeda or Hamas) make a mistake and have, as a result, rewarded the terrorists who murdered 200 innocent people in Madrid.

Some say the Socialists were leading the Popular Party before the bombings. It doesn't really matter, does it? The impression is already deeply made around the globe: Spain faced the threat of violence and capitulated.

Uncomfortable Analogy Watch

“And do not suppose this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in olden time. … We are in the presence of a disaster of the first magnitude which has befallen Great Britain and France. Do not let us blind ourselves to that. It must now be accepted that all the countries of Central and Eastern Europe will make the best terms they can with the triumphant Nazi Power. The system of alliances in Central Europe upon which France has relied for her safety has been swept away, and I can see no means by which it can be reconstituted.”

Winston Churchill, 1938

Blame it on The Jews

Ever wonder where the people outside of the United States get their rather unorthodox views of George Bush and American foreign policy? The most credible sources to these well-meaning auslanders are people like Michael Moore or Noam Chomsky who are, after all, Americans and carry with them comforting messages that seem to validate rather than challenge cherished stereotypes.

Today another American voice articulates the warm and fuzzy hatreds that most of the rest of us have long since discarded.

Dr. W. Scott Thompson of the prestigious Fletcher School at Tufts University publishes an article in The Jakarta Post that would not be out of place in Der Sturmer. His thesis: Jews control the United States in order to benefit Israel. How else, he speculates, can you explain America’s suicidal alliance with the devilish Israelis?

On the marrow of Sept. 11 Israel proclaimed that now we could understand their suffering from terrorism. That is the central fallacy. They were a major cause of our suffering. For terrorism against America, more than any other single factor, is caused by the sense of deprivation in Palestine and on behalf of Palestine.

According to Osama bin Laden two weeks after 9/11:

”What America is tasting now is something insignificant compared to what we have tasted for scores of years. Our nation (the Islamic world) has been tasting this humiliation and this degradation for more than 80 years.”

That would seem to predate the state of Israel. But no matter.

Israel is an annoyance to al Qaeda but hardly the sole reason for their humiliation. Does anyone think al Qaeda would evaporate and its members become good global citizens if only Israel ceased to exist?

Yes, apparently a lot of people think that. I know it’s a tired analogy but it’s true that there were also a lot of people who thought the Nazis would moderate themselves if only the Jews left Germany peacefully. Hell, there are still respectable people in Europe who believe that.

If there was any doubt that Thompson is on the fringe of respectable discourse he eliminates it by invoking the vision of that grand old statesman Mahathir Mohammed.

It is simply not permitted to call attention to the fact of record of Jewish financial influence and ownership of major media in the U.S. -- or, far more importantly, American political circles.

Not permitted yet constantly repeated, not coincidentally, by every political extremist on the Right and Left from David Duke to the Rev. Al Sharpton. It’s certainly permitted in America to say that the Jews control the banks and the media but unlike in Europe or Malaysia you will not be taken seriously.

It’s well known that the Dutch are among the biggest investors in the United States but as yet there is no mass movement to drink genever or license prostitutes. Of course, The Netherlands is another member of the non-existent coalition of the unilateral and may actually be the puppeteer nation pulling the strings of the United States but calling attention to Dutch influence is simply not permitted in the U.S.

Thompson goes on to uncover the suppressed news that Israel has weapons of mass destruction.

“If WMD were the problem,” he says, “apparently we went after the wrong country.” In fact, the United States has even more nukes that Israel. Perhaps we should have invaded Nevada.

WMD, like handguns, do not kill people by themselves. Intentions make the rather crucial difference.

Israel is waiting to unleash nuclear holocaust until when? Until its very existence is at stake. And a nuclear armed Osama would wait to unleash his nukes until when? Until the date happens to have an 11 in it.

Slight difference. A nuance as the WMD-possessing French would say.

Thompson says that Israel is also building a new Berlin Wall and oppressing minorities. Another nuance: the Berlin Wall was built to keep people in, not out.

Israel is the only country left in the world that legally enshrines suppression of an ethnic group by another.

Presumably Thompson was not writing that from a hotel room in Mecca because non-believers like him are not allowed to set foot there even if he happens to be a Saudi citizen.

On the other hand, Israeli Palestinians not only can vote in Israel, they can form political parties, campaign for office without fear of being beaten to death with rocks and serve as elected officials. If only the same could be said for Palestinians in the Arab world . . . or any Arab in the Arab world for that matter. (Outside of Iraq of course where democracy is taking root).

And what ranting apology for the Islamofascist death cult would be complete without a bizarre psychoanalysis of George W. Bush?

The president, desperate to prove his worth to his father, like any son, has sought to outdo him and win where his father lost. "Arik" (Sharon) showed him the way. Allied with the "moral majority" and its fixation on the Israel of Biblical texts, Bush the younger found someone who could allow him both to differentiate himself from -- and stand up to -- his father, whose views of the Israelis as president was ever so much less generous. In fact, almost diametrically opposed.

I must admit, I had never thought of this one.

In order to stand up to his domineering father, young George became president of the United States so that he could support Israel. I’m sure that would have pissed off my father too, but I found other outlets that didn’t involve convincing 50 million people to vote for me.

What would an Indonesian student or Swiss banker or Egyptian cab driver make of an article like this? Well, first of all it would validate their prejudices because it comes from a seemingly reliable source.

But how much do you or I know about Dr. Thompson? Nothing at all but this tirade with his name on it. It stands on its own. You are forced to draw your own conclusion. Does this person sound like a thoughtful observer or a bit of a crank? And importantly, does his affiliation with The Fletcher School reflect badly on the institution?

Why not contact Stephen Bosworth, the Dean of The Fletcher School at (617)627-3050 or stephen.bosworth@tufts.edu tell him what you think?

Prodi: Resistance Is Futile

The grinning face of European appeasement shows up on Al Jazeera today.

The president of the EU, Romani Prodi, says

"It is clear that using force is not the answer to resolving the conflict with terrorists."

Keep in mind he is speaking of the same terrorists who blew body parts all over Madrid last week using explosives packed with nails and metal shards to inflict as much physical damage on men, women, and children as possible. One observer said the area near the blasts was covered in ribs and severed limbs.

What would Prodi do to counter such people? What misunderstandings does Prodi think can be resolved? What common ground does Prodi see with Islamofascists? What does Prodi think these people want?

"We must remember," Prodi says, "that it has been a year since the war in Iraq started. Terrorism is infinitely more powerful than a year ago."

This is, of course, absurd. Where might this infinite power be coming from? Certainly not Afghanistan, or Iraq, or Libya. Where is this infinite power manifesting itself? Not in the United States, or Israel, nor again, Iraq.

Does Prodi really believe that confronting terrorists and dismantling their networks makes the world unsafe? Apparently so. But Prodi has a solution.

"In Madrid, there are explicit demands from the population for Europe to ensure people's security and protection."

Notice, these Madrilenos are not calling for Spain to ensure their safety but Europe.

Prodi conveniently goes on to take sides in the American presidential campaign.

He said he felt "encouraged" by changes taking place in the US which appeared more willing to cooperate with the rest of the world.

"All the Democrats and some Republicans believe that the United States must cooperate with other countries and should act alone only in exceptional circumstances."

"It is not Europe which is getting closer to the United States but rather America which is moving toward us."

Could Romani Prodi be one of those shadowy European leaders that is rooting for John Kerry? Without a doubt.

Spain Surrenders

Voters in Spain have spoken. But what did they say?

Apparently they said that al Qaeda has targeted them because of their government's support of the Bush Administration's opening of an Iraqi front in the War on Terror. But that's odd . . . I thought Iraq and al Qaeda were not related?

They said that barbaric violence against innocent people is actually a pretty persuasive political tactic, persuasive enough to throw a national election.

They said that the only moral position that Spain is willing to take in the world is peace. Peace at all costs. Peace even if innocent people elsewhere, anywhere but in Spain, have to die or be subjugated or be denied basic human rights. This is the peace one might find in a prison cell or the sort of peace Spain enjoyed under the Franco regime.

The New York Times runs a picture on its front page this morning that looks like a crowd of Spaniards holding up their hands in mass surrender. (here's another) This image is complemented by an insightful quote:

A 26-year-old window frame maker, who identified himself only as David, said he had changed his vote from Popular Party to Socialist because of the bombings and the war in Iraq. "Maybe the Socialists will get our troops out of Iraq, and Al Qaeda will forget about Spain, so we will be less frightened," he said. "A bit of us died in the train."

The bit that died seems to have been their courage.

Perhaps it's not surprising to see people acting this way after being conditioned by political hacks and provincial media to despise George Bush rather than think through the policies he's advocated. The core policy is this: terrorism, particularly unreasoning religious-based terrorism, is unacceptable in a globalized society and should be countered not tolerated.

This sort of clarity does not sit well with people used to moral relativism. And it's easy to stoke this discomfort and translate it into political advantage as Gerhard Schroeder had done, Joerg Haider is doing, and Jose Zapatero just did.

In this campaign Zapatero pledged to mend fences with France and Germany and "return Spain to its rightful place with in Europe." That may be a popular position but it is a strategic disaster for Spain.

President Aznar's great policy innovation was to turn Spain toward the West, toward the United States and Latin America, rather than take its traditional place, frankly, as a second tier European country.

Aznar saw Spain as a bridge between stagnating Europe and the vibrant nations in the Americas. He recognized that the United States is one of the world's great Spanish speaking nations and he saw an opportunity to forge a "special relationship" with the U.S. He saw an opportunity to raise Spain's profile and prestige by taking a lead against Islamic terrorism. Aznar would have done this had Gore or Kerry been president of the U.S.

Now, because the voters in Spain were unwilling to admit that the swaggering, arrogant, cowboy, oilman, Texan, cowboy, Texan Bush might have been right about the existential threat posed by religious fanatics equipped with weapons powerful enough to actualize their apocalyptic agenda, Aznar's vision of a New Spain are dashed. And worse still, the terrorists have demonstrated that violence gets results.

Thanks to the peace-minded voters of Spain, there will be no peace in Europe.

BushHate® vs Reality

Jimmy Breslin, Newsday's tough talking, hard boiled, voice of the little guy bloviates about how "working people" were forced to build an asphalt walkway for George Bush at the 9/11 memorial dedication on Long Island last week because, Jimmy suggests,Bush doesn't like to touch dirt.

Unfortunately, Breslin's own paper offers rather convincing evidence on its website that Breslin is not only hallucinating but probably wasn't even at the event and most likely doesn't read Newsday.

Outraged Over Bush and 9/11? Don't Be Shy.

There's a really funny Bush ad storyboard making the rounds of the more fevered sections of the blogosphere. You can find it here at The Poor Man

The great thing about it that even though it is meant as a searing indictment of George Bush's handling of September 11 and its aftermath, it's still fundamentally pro-Bush!

It's futile to oppose Bush on anything having to do with 9/11. Bush owns September 11 just the way FDR owns December 7.

Sure, there are still some people who think FDR knew about Pearl Harbor before it happened. They may even think his decison to declare war on Germany -- who had nothing to do with the Pearl Harbor attacks -- was unlawful and misguided and a LIE!!!

But they probably outnumber the people who can remember FDR's opponent in 1944.

Obviously citing 9/11 even tagentially drives the pro-Saddam wing of the Democratic Party into apoplectic fits. More of the same I say!

Imagine all the crazies pouring onto Sixth Avenue this summer with paper mache heads and Bush=Hitler signs while W shakes hands with firefighters and 9/11 families at Ground Zero. The distinction makes itself!

Every time 9/11 is invoked duringthe campaign people are going to think back to that day. They'll remember that Bush was unexpectedly taking control of the situation. Rose to the occasion. Made me reassess tha man.

And John Kerry? Well, Kerry must have been running for his life somewhere on Capitol Hill. In any case, Kerry was at best just another scared face in the crowd back then. Hmmm, Bush is tested. Do I really want to risk it with Kerry? The world does seem pretty dangerous.

Bring it on! This is getting funner.

Gitmo Horror Show
The International Herald Tribune reports that some of the young Afghans recently released from the U.S. concentration camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have returned home with gruesome stories of maltreatment.

One boy was made to endure endless indoctrination until he could read and and write fluently not only in his native language but in English as well.

At times he was forced to eat lunch on the beach and swim underwater with a mask and snorkel.

They are deeply scarred by their experiences but their neighbors have welcomed them home at last.

"The boys have returned home as minor celebrities because of their education and their ability to speak English. 'He can work as a secretary to President Karzai,' said one of Naquibullah's uncles proudly.

Nonetheless they are stigmatized.

"But there is also suspicion of their pro-American attitude, and the boys are careful not to speak too highly of the Americans in front of fellow villagers."

Don't worry, boys. They same silly rules apply in Greenwich Village.