I'm... I'm... I'm speechless.

U.S. Rep. John Murtha today said he saw signs of military progress during a brief trip to Iraq last week, but he warned that Iraqis need to play a larger role in providing their own security and the Bush administration still must develop an exit strategy.

"I think the 'surge' is working," the Democrat said in a videoconference from his Johnstown office, describing the president's decision to commit more than 20,000 additional combat troops this year. But the Iraqis "have got to take care of themselves."

Violence has dropped significantly in recent months, but Mr. Murtha said he was most encouraged by changes in the once-volatile Anbar province, where locals have started working closely with U.S. forces to isolate insurgents linked to Al Qaeda.

I mean... did he... but... I never... wow.

UPDATE: Murtha clarifies surge remarks

Following a headline-grabbing uproar, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania, moved swiftly Friday to clarify earlier remarks that seemed to suggest the Iraq surge policy was working.

The surge, he said in a statement, "has created a window of opportunity for the Iraqi government," but so far the Iraqi government has "failed to capitalize on the political and diplomatic steps that the surge was designed to provide."

"The fact remains that the war in Iraq cannot be won militarily, and that we must begin an orderly redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq as soon as practicable," said the chair of the House Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee.

Fhew! I was beginning to think hell was freezing over. All is well in liberalville. We all know how dangerous it is for a Democrat who dares to suggest any progress is being made in Iraq.

Among my favorite fun facts about conservatives/Republicans:

1) More Republicans are very satisfied with their sex lives than Democrats.

2) Conservatives more generous than liberals.

And now...

3) Republicans are significantly more likely than Democrats or independents to rate their mental health as excellent.

The World Doesn't Hate America, the Left Does by Dennis Prager.

That it is the left -- and those influenced by the left-leaning news and entertainment media -- that hates America can be easily shown.

During my drive to work this morning, I managed to inadvertently catch David Keene's endorsement of Mitt Romney live on Laura Ingraham's radio program.

For those of you who don't know, David Keene is the chairman of the American Conservative Union, the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots conservative lobbying organization.

Quite a significant endorsement, if you ask me.

I admit, I did not watch the CNN/YouTube Republican debate last evening. However, it's not surprising to find out that Hillary Clinton was in attendance.

Well, not Hillary herself, per say. But a proven Hillary Clinton (and John Kerry!) operative was able to plant a question and even receive recognition in person.

The retired general who asked about gays and lesbians serving in the military at the CNN/YouTube Republican debate on Wednesday is a co-chairman of Hillary Rodham Clinton's National Military Veterans group.

Retired Brig. Gen. Keith H. Kerr was named a co-chairman of the group this month, according to a campaign press release.

He was also active in John F. Kerry's 2004 campaign for president.

As Hot Air put it: "CNN not only approved a question from someone affiliated with the Clinton campaign without identifying the affiliation, they invited him to the debate so that he could ask a follow-up."

And of course this falls directly in line with Clinton's recent statements in which she stated that under her presidency, she would abolish the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy and allow homosexuals to serve in the military openly.

Aside from CNN's admitted negligence on the issue, does this sort of tactic surprise anyone?

A new Zogby poll shows Hillary Clinton losing to all five of the top GOP presidential nominee hopefuls.

A new Zogby Interactive survey shows Democrat Hillary Clinton of New York would lose to every one of the top five Republican presidential contenders, representing a reversal of fortune for the national Democratic front–runner who had led against all prospective GOP opponents earlier this year.

Perhaps the Defeat Socialism movement has begun to rear its freedom-loving head.

All the more reason conservatives should hope for Hillary's nomination.

dictator
Pronunciation:
\'dik-?ta-t?r, dik-'\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Latin, from dictare

1 a: a person granted absolute emergency power; especially : one appointed by the senate of ancient Rome b: one holding complete autocratic control c: one ruling absolutely and often oppressively

So how does one secure the title dictator?



Well, it's quite simple actually. One sure method is to tell a nation (you are suppose to be serving) that anyone who does not vote in favor of constitutional changes that would allow you seeking unlimited reelection is a traitor.

That ought to do it - don't you think, Hugo?

President Hugo Chavez warned his supporters on Friday that anyone voting against his proposed constitutional changes would be a "traitor," rallying his political base before a referendum that would let him seek unlimited re-election in 2012 and beyond.

...

"He who says he supports Chavez but votes 'no' is a traitor, a true traitor," the president told an arena packed with red-clad supporters. "He's against me, against the revolution and against the people."

Nevertheless, some will continue to defend tyrants such as Chavez.

Hat tip: newprotest

Certainly too much to list.

However, I'm certainly thankful for the "phenomenal" drop in Iraq violence that has surprised military officials and even an architect of the "surge".

Violence in Iraq has fallen at a rate that has surprised military commanders and even one of the architects of the "surge" that boosted US troop numbers in the country this year, according to figures gathered by the US.

The figures show the numbers of suicide attacks, roadside bombings, mortar and other attacks on US forces and on the Iraqi population have more than halved since 30,000 extra troops in June.

...

"When you understand you are dealing with the complexity of a counter-insurgency operation which can take years to resolve, to have this dramatic a success in a short period of time, it’s unprecedented," [said Jack Keane, the former army general who helped persuade George W. Bush to increase troop numbers in Iraq].

The US military says the number of civilian deaths has also fallen 60 per cent since the surge took effect, with a drop of 75 per cent in Baghdad. According to icasualties.org, the average monthly US death toll dropped from 96 for the first half of 2007 to 66 in the past four months. The average monthly death toll for Iraqi civilians and security forces has dropped from 2,157 to 1,223 in the same period.

Two questions:

1) Does success in Iraq help or hurt the modern Democrat establishment?

2) Does what you know to be the correct answer to question #1 bother you?

GOP presidential nominee hopeful Mike Huckabee appears to be gaining ground in Iowa.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, buoyed by strong support from Christian conservatives, has surged past three of his better-known presidential rivals and is now challenging former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for the lead in the Iowa Republican caucuses, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News Poll.

Huckabee has tripled his support in Iowa since late July, eclipsing former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.) and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Huckabee now runs nearly evenly with Romney, the longtime Iowa front-runner.

...

Still, there are other signs in the poll suggesting that Romney remains the candidate to beat in the state and that gains for Huckabee may be harder to achieve in the next 43 days than they were over the past four months.

Romney outperforms Huckabee and other Republicans on key attributes, with two notable exceptions -- perceptions of which candidate best understands people's problems and which candidate is the most honest and trustworthy. On both, Romney and Huckabee are tied. At the same time, Iowa Republicans see the former Arkansas governor as less credible than Romney, Giuliani or McCain on some top issues.

The poll found that overall, 28 percent of likely GOP caucus-goers support Romney, while 24 percent support Huckabee.

I managed to take in a late showing of American Gangster last evening.

American Gangster is the based-on-a-true-story film about drug lord Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), who smuggled drugs into the country from the Far East in the midst of the Vietnam War, and the morally conflicted detective (Russel Crowe) assigned to bring him down.

Set in the 70s, this dirty-groovy flick takes awhile to get going, but after a particularly "mind-blowing" scene, I found to be worth my money. Of course I knew it would be tough to dislike a movie that casts two of my favorite actors against each other.

If you struggle with profanity, nudity, intravenous drug use, violence, and/or blood, perhaps this movie isn't for you. If you're a fast-paced, in-your-face action flick addict, perhaps this movie isn't for you.

A bit slow (especially early on), American Gangster is a graphically chilling depiction of the life and surrounding circumstances of a man more powerful - in terms of dealing dope - than any other criminal organization including the Mafia.

I dug it.

Three and a half stars (out of five) for American Gangster.

Am I the only one who wonders what goes on in the minds of liberals - who have in the past acted like embryonic stem cells were the only hope for humanity - when they read a story like this?

Scientists have made ordinary human skin cells take on the chameleon-like powers of embryonic stem cells, a startling breakthrough that might someday deliver the medical payoffs of embryo cloning without the controversy.

...

The "direct reprogramming" technique avoids the swarm of ethical, political and practical obstacles that have stymied attempts to produce human stem cells by cloning embryos.

...

The White House lauded the papers, saying such research is what President Bush was advocating when he twice vetoed legislation to pave the way for taxpayer-funded embryo research.

Perhaps they ignore it all together.

Spread the word among your liberal friends, I will be doing the same. Will liberals welcome this breakthrough? I'm curious to hear about the reactions of the self-proclaimed champions of alternative energy, when confronted with the idea of an alternative to embryonic cloning.

Hat tip: MJG

In lieu of the short week, this week's Article of the Week comes a few days early.

America, Here Are Your Democratic Presidential Candidates
by Dennis Prager.

If you want to know what the Democratic presidential candidates and the Democratic Party believe, the debates, often derided as intellectually inconsequential, reveal a great deal. The problem is that news media almost never report the most important statements the candidates make. Here then are some of those statements from the most recent debate, followed by a comment on their significance.

No big surprise here. Democratic presidential nominee hopeful Hillary Clinton wants to change the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy her husband signed into law.

She drew another ovation, too, with her response to an Air Force major, a 20-year veteran of the service who had served three tours in Afghanistan, when he asked how she would protect the privacy of service members if she went ahead with her plan to let gays serve openly in the military.

Mrs. Clinton hewed closely to conduct regulations in the Uniform Code of Military Justice, saying that, under her, the armed forces would punish or discharge any straight or gay service member whose conduct was inappropriate.

Most gay people, she said, were not dismissed because of conduct, but because they had been seen attending a gay rights parade or socializing with openly gay people. She drew a comparison with female service members, noting that some of them had been harassed and mistreated, but said the proper response to such tensions was not to bar women from serving.

"I feel strongly that if someone wants to serve their country, if they’re a patriot, if they comply with the code of military justice and they have the appropriate behavior, they shouldn’t be disqualified from serving simply because they’re gay," Mrs. Clinton said to applause.

The Air Force major, Gary Mathis of Cedar Rapids, said afterward that he appreciated Mrs. Clinton’s points about conduct, but that she had side-stepped his question about privacy – specifically, what she would do to ensure the privacy of male soldiers who shower, sleep and work out in the gym alongside other male soldiers.

"I don’t think her answer fully recognized the day-to-day realities of military life," Major Mathis said. "You could extend her argument and say that you don’t need any separate facilities for men and women because as long as their conduct is appropriate with one another, there is no privacy concern."

Hat tip: Hugh Hewitt

Being the avid movie-goer that I am, I try to resist reading too deeply into any political subtleties a particular picture may include. I prefer to use movies as an escape from reality, regardless of what the picture may be trying to "say".

However, this feat is unattainable with Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs - which is a blatant call to anti-war activism today.

Conservative, independent, or liberal, this flick of only four or five scenes will most likely urke you in some way.

The movie's basic premise and conclusion that standing against an evil enemy on the battlefield is no more courageous than standing against the American government - and going to a college class - was particularly disturbing.

Aside from its politics, Lions for Lambs is only mildly entertaining at best. I enjoyed the debate between Tom Cruise (US Congressman) and Meryl Streep's (reporter) characters, but that was about it. Theatrically, the movie was quite weak.

Redford appears to have put far more time into the political messages he wanted to convey than actually producing a movie to entertain.

Two stars (out of five) for Lions for Lambs.

It only took a couple weeks of prodding, but Democratic presidential nominee hopeful Hillary Clinton if finally on the record in her opposition to granting drivers licenses to illegal immigrants.

"I support Governor Spitzer's decision today to withdraw his proposal," Clinton said in a statement. "As president, I will not support driver's licenses for undocumented people and will press for comprehensive immigration reform that deals with all of the issues around illegal immigration including border security and fixing our broken system."

I can hear the screams of "racism" coming from the Left now.

Oh, wait... nope.

But props to Hillary. Apparently it was a tough decision to come out in opposition to such an asinine idea.