Ken Timmerman joins me at 8AM with details

Timmerman: America's New Pen Pal
Iran's Ahmadinejad Writes Letter to Americans
Should U.S. Hold Direct Talks With Iran?

Why is the Pope going to Turkey? Does he have a death wish?

The Pope has arrived in Turkey Tuesday for his high-stakes visit to the Muslim country.

Raymond Arroyo, an internationally recognized journalist who has covered more papal visits than any other broadcaster and who recorded the only English interview with Pope Benedict, joins me at 8AM to discuss the Papal visit. He is also the author of Mother Angelica, a book about the Catholic nun who founded the popular EWTN network. Mr. Arroyo is based in Birmingham, AL and is closely following the Pope's dangerous but important visit.

Is Pope Benedict Heading for Trouble in Turkey?
Even if the pontiff sidesteps volatile Christianity-Islam controversies, Turks were angered by his skepticism over their place in the European Union.
By JEFF ISRAELY/ROME
TIME Magazine

How would you like to become a millionaire in as little as 5 years?

My guest Loral Langemeier will show you how at 7AM. Vist her website HERE.

Take Control of Your Assets
The Millionaire Maker’s Guide can teach you how to take control of your assets and generate new income, profit from non-traditional investments, use real estate and private equity to accelerate wealth, balance your risks with an even bigger reward, and earn more money than you even thought possible!

Anyone can take advantage of these wealth–building strategies, including you. No matter what your current income or financial situation, anyone can become a millionaire using the step-by-step instructions found in her latest book.

How did I miss this?

My buddies at Media Matters nailed me again!

Gibson and Campbell misrepresented NY Times article, with Gibson asserting, "The New York Times just said today Saddam had nukes"

Summary: Fox News' John Gibson repeatedly asserted -- falsely -- that because The New York Times reported that the United States had posted Iraqi documents related to constructing an atomic bomb, the Times "said today Saddam had nukes." Similarly, conservative radio host Pat Campbell falsely suggested that the Times reported Iraq was "a year away from making the atomic bomb" at the time of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. In fact, Iraq did not have nuclear weapons in 2003 or at any time -- including prior to the 1991 Persian Gulf War -- and Iraq did not have a nuclear weapons program in 2003.

US Episcopal Church Says More Interested in Decline than Growth

Not interested "in replenishing their ranks by having children"

By Peter J. Smith

NEW YORK, November 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the first woman to head the US Episcopal Church (ECUSA), has adopted a unique vision for the Episcopal church: a church not “interested in replenishing their ranks by having children.”

In an interview with New York Times Magazine, Bishop Jefferts Schori conjectured that the Episcopal Church’s now only 2.2 million faithful “used to be larger percentagewise”. However now, she says, “Episcopalians tend to be better-educated and tend to reproduce at lower rates than some other denominations. Roman Catholics and Mormons both have theological reasons for producing lots of children.”

The response provoked this query from NYT reporter Deborah Solomon: “Episcopalians aren’t interested in replenishing their ranks by having children?”

“No. It’s probably the opposite,” responded Jefferts Schori. “We encourage people to pay attention to the stewardship of the earth and not use more than their portion.”

However, Jefferts Schori’s assertion that Catholics, Mormons and those with large families have more children simply because they are not “better educated” has provoked criticism from Catholics, who point out that while the Bishop, a former oceanographer who has worked with “octopuses and squids”, advocates a diminishing population for her church, it would not be something she would view as healthy for marine populations of squids and octopi.

Domenico Bettinelli, jr, discovered that Jeffert Schori’s “better educated” remark may have actually been a “botched joke” much like Sen. John F. Kerry’s remarks that those who didn’t have college educations went into the military or got “stuck in Iraq.” Outraged troops in Iraq replied with a sign saying, “HALP US JON CARRY - WE R STUCK HEAR N IRAK.”

“Bishopess (sic) Katherine Jefferts Schori seems to suffer from the same foot-in-mouth problem as Sen. John Kerry, but if her self-satisfied moral and intellectual superiority gives her comfort as she contemplates the barrenness and decline of the Episcopal Church, she's welcome to it,” said Domenico Bettinelli, jr, former editor of Catholic World Report, who posted on his website an image of a large Catholic family at a wedding with the words “Halp us Bish-up Kate wee R Catlick”.

“As Catholics we're too busy having, raising, and especially loving our children to worry about such things, added Bettinelli. “And when my kids are paying for the good bishopess's Social Security in 30 years, I won't hold it against her.”

I went to the Street Of Dreams Friday

Unbelievable! The best of everything.

Read about it here...

Heavenly homes:Home tour gives a look inside luxury mansions

See it here...

The 2006 Orlando Street of Dreams at Bella Collina


After careful deliberation my wife and I settled on the modest Villa Esperanza.

Square footage
11,175 Heated/air-conditioned
19,288 Under roof

Sale Price
$5,800,000.00(unfurnished, excluding lot)
$8,900,000.00(furnished)

We're checking on financing right now.

Ann Coulter is on to something here.

She says if we can get C.A.I.R. to boycott all airlines we can do away with security checkpoints.

What Can I Do to Make Your Flight More Uncomfortable?
by Ann CoulterPosted Nov 22, 2006

U.S. Announces Troop Deployments to Iraq

Pentagon Announces That 57,000 U.S. Troops Have Been Told to Deploy to Iraq in Early 2007

WASHINGTON Nov 17, 2006 (AP)— The Pentagon announced Friday that 57,000 U.S. troops, including five combat brigades, have been told to deploy to Iraq early next year a move that will maintain current force levels there.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld signed the deployment orders for about 20,000 soldiers from active duty Army brigades based in North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, Kansas and Italy. Another 10,000 reserves and 27,000 active duty troops are scheduled to go to Iraq in smaller units.

I've been telling you about this since the election, here's the proof. Bush is getting ready for one big final push.

What are you thankful for?

I'm thankful to Gary Siplin for providing me with oodles of material.

I know it's hard to believe the State Senator is in trouble with the law again, but it's true! He was arrested on a probation violation. You see Gary's not allowed to leave town without his probation officer's knowledge and permission. You'll never guess who picked him up at jail after his lawyer posted bond? Juan "everybody's a racist" Lynum. What's that saying about Birds of a Feather?

How Should Children Be Taught About Thanksgiving?

Elementary school children have long learned about Thanksgiving in part by dressing up as Pilgrims and Indians and acting out what happened at the first Thanksgiving. But some educators and others believe children should be taught Thanksgiving with a more realistic view of the relationship between the Indians and European settlers.

AP reports that Bill Morgan, a third-grade teacher in San Francisco, does his lesson by walking into his class wearing a Pilgrim hat made of construction paper and taking the children's pencils, backpacks and other supplies and saying they belong to him because he "discovered" them. This provokes the reaction he wants, the kids get angry and want their things back, a way he tries to get them to view things from the Indian point of view. But some people believe this is extreme. Janice Shaw Crouse, a former college dean and high school teacher who's now a spokesperson for the conservative organization Concerned Women for America, told AP, "I think that is very sad. He is teaching his students to hate their country. That is a very distorted view of history, a distorted view of Thanksgiving."

James Loewen, a former history professor and author of Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Get Wrong, told AP that during the first Thanksgiving, in 1621, the Wampanoag Indians and the Pilgrims had in fact been living in relative peace. It was only later in the 17th century that bloody warfare broke out between the two groups.

If this teacher was really creative he'd give the kids blankets laced with smallpox!

Bomb Iran

Diplomacy is doing nothing to stop the Iranian nuclear threat; a show of force is the only answer.
By Joshua Muravchik

JOSHUA MURAVCHIK is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

WE MUST bomb Iran.

It has been four years since that country's secret nuclear program was brought to light, and the path of diplomacy and sanctions has led nowhere.

First, we agreed to our allies' requests that we offer Tehran a string of concessions, which it spurned. Then, Britain, France and Germany wanted to impose a batch of extremely weak sanctions. For instance, Iranians known to be involved in nuclear activities would have been barred from foreign travel — except for humanitarian or religious reasons — and outside countries would have been required to refrain from aiding some, but not all, Iranian nuclear projects.

But even this was too much for the U.N. Security Council. Russia promptly announced that these sanctions were much too strong. "We cannot support measures … aimed at isolating Iran," declared Foreign Minister Sergei V. Lavrov.

It is now clear that neither Moscow nor Beijing will ever agree to tough sanctions. What's more, even if they were to do so, it would not stop Iran, which is a country on a mission. As President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad put it: "Thanks to the blood of the martyrs, a new Islamic revolution has arisen…. The era of oppression, hegemonic regimes and tyranny and injustice has reached its end…. The wave of the Islamic revolution will soon reach the entire world." There is simply no possibility that Iran's clerical rulers will trade this ecstatic vision for a mess of Western pottage in the form of economic bribes or penalties.

So if sanctions won't work, what's left? The overthrow of the current Iranian regime might offer a silver bullet, but with hard-liners firmly in the saddle in Tehran, any such prospect seems even more remote today than it did a decade ago, when students were demonstrating and reformers were ascendant. Meanwhile, the completion of Iran's bomb grows nearer every day.

Our options therefore are narrowed to two: We can prepare to live with a nuclear-armed Iran, or we can use force to prevent it. Former ABC newsman Ted Koppel argues for the former, saying that "if Iran is bound and determined to have nuclear weapons, let it." We should rely, he says, on the threat of retaliation to keep Iran from using its bomb. Similarly, Newsweek International Editor Fareed Zakaria points out that we have succeeded in deterring other hostile nuclear states, such as the Soviet Union and China. Read the rest HERE.

If we DID bomb Iran, and it later turned out that the Iranian president is lying about his WMD program, and all of the intelligence saying he's serious is wrong... would our president be accused of misleading the American public into war? Can we afford to take the chance that Iran is bluffing?

Hat Tip to JESSICA MCBRIDE

Check out this e-mail

Pat,
I thought you might like to know, that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (C.A.I.R) has set up a display in the lobby of Orlando's City Hall. A prayer rug facing Mecca, various Islamic literature and artifacts are on display. There is even an open Koran in a glass display case. Imagine what the ACLU and the liberals would say if the Christian Coalition set up a display of religious items and had The Holy Bible open for viewing. The ACLU and the liberals would scream that there needs to be separation of church and state. It is sad that religious tolerance is not shown towards Christians. Keep up the good work!

Dan

P.S. We checked, it's true.

Imam booted from flight doubted Muslims were behind 9/11

U.S. Airways refused to sell him a new ticket this morning so he’s calling for a boycott. And why wouldn’t he? It’s not like there have been any major airborne terrorist attacks in the United States involving Muslims:

Shahin and Saadeddin expressed doubt that Muslims were responsible for the Sept. 11 attack. They also said they don’t trust much of what the FBI has divulged - including the hijackers’ identities…

Shahin of the Tucson Islamic Center said more than 1,200 Muslims died in the World Trade Center catastrophe, and no genuine member of Islam would do such a thing. Nor, he added, would Muslims have gone to strip joints prior to the attack, as several of the terrorists in Florida reportedly did. As for Al-Qaeda nests in America, Shahin said, “All of these, they make it up.”

He also admitted that members of his mosque might have helped out Osama Bin Laden back in the early 1990s, when he was still one of America’s good guys. But once we stopped backing him, they stopped backing him. Scout’s honor.

Did I mention the Hamas connection yet?

This is going to be the best boycott evuh.

Hat Tip to HotAir

Doug Hagmann from NEIN joins me at 6:05AM ET with all the details.

Hagmann is quoted in today's Washington Times...

Muslims escorted off Minneapolis flight

The Push is on!

Check out this cleverly crafted piece in USA Today.

When religion loses its credibility

Galileo was persecuted for revealing what we now know to be the truth regarding Earth's place in our solar system. Today, the issue is homosexuality, and the persecution is not of one man but of millions. Will Christian leaders once again be on the wrong side of history?
By Oliver "Buzz" Thomas

What if Christian leaders are wrong about homosexuality? I suppose, much as a newspaper maintains its credibility by setting the record straight, church leaders would need to do the same:

Correction: Despite what you might have read, heard or been taught throughout your churchgoing life, homosexuality is, in fact, determined at birth and is not to be condemned by God's followers.

Based on a few recent headlines, we won't be seeing that admission anytime soon.

Last week, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops took the position that homosexual attractions are "disordered" and that gays should live closeted lives of chastity. At the same time, North Carolina's Baptist State Convention was preparing to investigate churches that are too gay-friendly. Even the more liberal Presbyterian Church (USA) had been planning to put a minister on trial for conducting a marriage ceremony for two women before the charges were dismissed on a technicality. All this brings me back to the question: What if we're wrong?

Religion's only real commodity, after all, is its moral authority. Lose that, and we lose our credibility. Lose credibility, and we might as well close up shop. Read the rest HERE.

Here's a similar screed by ELLEN GOODMAN

The closet of self-hatred

Nevertheless, this week Catholic bishops meeting in Baltimore offered guidelines for ministering to gays that might have been -- indeed were -- from the distant past. The tone, said one bishop, was meant to be "positive, pastoral, and welcoming" to gay Catholics. But the message was that "homosexual inclinations" are "disordered," that gays should live in chastity, and that they are banned from marrying or adopting. In short, gays are welcome with open arms into the church as long as they declare themselves sinners and reject -- repel? -- their own sexuality.

Christianity has traditionally taught that all sex outside of marriage is wrong, immoral. Now we're going to make exceptions, because it's politically correct? What other group is "born that way" and can't control their behavior? Is it the fornicators, masturbators, pedophiles those that are attracted to barn yard pets?

Secret Pentagon Study Comes Up with Three Options: 'Go Big, Go Long and Go Home'

A secret Pentagon study commissioned by General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has come up with three options for Iraq, dubbed, "Go big, go long and go home," the Washington Post reported Monday (November 20th). "Go big" would be sending substantially more troops to Iraq, "go long" would mean reducing the size of the force in Iraq but staying longer, and "go home" would be pulling out.

But GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, the House Armed Services Committee chairman, said in an Associated Press interview that he favors another option he dubbed "Go Iraqi." He said the U.S. should push trained and available Iraqi security forces to the front lines of the fight to stabilize Iraq. He said the Pentagon had told him that 114 Iraqi battalions are trained and equipped, and 27 of those units are operating in areas that see less than one attack a day.

The Pentagon review reported on by the Post is not the much-anticipated report being prepared by a special advisory commission led by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Rep. Lee Hamilton, which is due out shortly.

Olbermann's latest rant on Bush and Vietnam

It is a shame — and it is embarrassing to us all — when President Bush travels 8,000 miles, only to wind up avoiding reality, again.

And it is pathetic to listen to the leader of the free world, talk so unrealistically about Vietnam, when it was he who permitted the "Swift-Boating" of not one but two American heroes of that war, in consecutive Presidential campaigns.

But most importantly — important, beyond measure — his avoidance of reality is going to wind up killing more Americans.

And that is indefensible — and fatal. Read the rest of the rant HERE.

Mark Steyn stopped by to discuss Milton Friedman

FRIEDMAN’S LESSONS : WHAT THE REPUBLICAN CONGRESS COULD HAVE LEARNED

In the Wake of Freidman’s Death Mark Steyn Outlines Friedman’s Policies, Role They Could Have Played In Republican Re-elections

The policies of Nobel-Prize winning economist, Milton Friedman broke the government’s over-handed grip on national economics. His most famous quip, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch,” would have served outgoing Republicans well, declares Mark Steyn, author of the New York Times Best-selling America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It (REGNERY, 2006).

“He was one of the most important figures of the age, and, had the Republican Congress understood why, they might still be in power,” Steyn reports from the National Review Cruise where Friedman was to be a fellow panelist prior to falling ill.

We also discussed the election results, Iraq and Iran. Check out the audio on our podcast page.

Woman Who Vanished After Tucking Kids Into Bed Charged

BARTOW — Gretchen Morales, the 31-year-old woman who disappeared from her home last week, admitted to detectives Monday that she staged the abduction to win back her ex-boyfriend's heart.

Do you think Nancy Grace contributed to Melinda’s suicide with her hard line of questioning?

Parents Of Missing Boy's Mom To Sue Nancy Grace Over Suicide

Mark your calendars: Peaceniks call for global orgasm on December 22nd

That must be what the lady from OverStock.com was talking about with the "Big O".

Kissinger: Iraq Military Win Impossible

"If you mean by 'military victory' an Iraqi government that can be established and whose writ runs across the whole country, that gets the civil war under control and sectarian violence under control in a time period that the political processes of the democracies will support, I don't believe that is possible," - Henry Kissinger, speaking the bleeding obvious.

To see why it's obvious, check out this report in the NYT about an American captain trying to "stand up" a local Iraqi police force. In the current security climate, created by Rumsfeld, Bush and Cheney, it's like trying to nail jello to a wall.

Hat Tip to Andrew Sullivan

Video: Rangel says he’ll introduce a bill to bring back the draft

He floats this idea periodically when his side needs a little boost. The last time he really pushed it was before the election in 2004, when the left tried to scare voters into Waffles’s camp by whispering about a secret Republican plan to restart the draft after Bush won. The GOP called his bluff by bringing the bill to the House floor for a vote, where it failed, 402-2. Among the nays? Charlie Rangel. (Among the yeas: Jack Murtha.)

With talk now of Bush sending 20,000 more troops to Iraq and Zinni and Batiste telling the Times that withdrawal would be disastrous, doves need to recapture the momentum. Enter the draft bill, which is doomed to fail but at least gives the media a few weeks of material with which to dissuade anyone leaning towards redoubling our efforts to win this thing.

Hat Tip to HotAir

John McCain evolving into the "right" kind of candidate?

Check out this clip of John McCain on ABC talking about Roe vs. Wade.

Monday Morning

7AM
WHO: James Olson, James M. Olson spent his entire career in the Directorate of Operations of the Central Intelligence Agency. He served as chief of counterintelligence at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, and also in field assignments in Moscow, Vienna, and Mexico City. He is the recipient of the CIA's Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the Intelligence Medal of Merit, and the Donovan Award. He retired from the CIA in 2000 and now teaches courses on intelligence and national security for the Master's Program in International Affairs at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service of Texas A&M University. He is the author of "The Ten Commandments of Counterintelligence," which appeared in the fall/winter 2001 issue of Studies in Intelligence.

WHAT: Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying

8AM
Kate O’Beirne exposes why women like Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton are making the world worse.

Local6 Expose on Melinda Duckett

Mom's Adult Videos, Nude Photos Investigated In Missing Boy Case
Adult videos and photos of Trenton Duckett's mother are uncovered in the search for the missing 2-year-old.

Private Investigator P.A. Turner from FindTrenton joined me with details this morning.

Guetzloe Sentenced To Jail, Announces He Has Cancer

WFTV Reports...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Controversial political consultant Doug Guetzloe was sentenced to jail, probation, and a fine Tuesday. He pled no contest to 14 counts of sending out flyers as part of a smear campaign during the Winter Park mayoral race without identifying them as political ads.

Guetzloe's lawyer said in court Tuesday that Guetzloe has been diagnosed with cancer and that his radiation treatments start Thursday. Moments later, the judge sentenced him to 60 days in jail and three years probation.

I'll have exclusive audio for you Wednesday morning.

Correction! Bush was involved in this boneheaded decision.

WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) today commented on the recent Midterm elections. During a brief media availability with reporters, he was also asked about President Bush’s recommendation that Senator Mel Martinez serve as the next chairman of the Republican National Committee.

After suicide, stations should rethink 'gotcha stories'

KDKA issues apology, Owen calls for restraint - (11/7) Was the suicide of a Ben Avon church pastor the fault of KDKA-TV (2)? Some viewers seem to think so. The station ran promos last week for a story that claimed investigative reporter Marty Griffin had uncovered "illicit, possibly illegal" activities by a minister. Though the minister wasn't named, the picture was of the Rev. Brent Dugan of Community Presbyterian Church. When the station learned that Dugan was suicidal, it pulled the story, but the damage was done; police say Dugan took his own life. Rob Owen of the Post-Gazette says the "activity" KDKA was going to expose was Dugan's trips to an adult bookstore --- seedy, but not "illegal" or "illicit." "There's not much in it to serve the public interest," says Owen, who asks if "TV station promos for stories of wrongdoing have to be so licking-their-chops sensational? They're designed to lure viewers, but clearly they can have unintended consequences as well."

Hat Tip to PBRTV

“Phased withdrawal”

Ace makes a good point:

They’re (the Democrats) also pushing for troop withdrawals to begin in 4-6 months.

Horrible. If you’re going to withdraw, withdraw them all immediately. This “phased withdrawal” is just a half-a$$ed way to get more troops killed — and while pursuing a strategy of defeat and surrender to boot.

But an immediate withdrawal would be too politically unpopular. Better to kill some more troops in a war you’ve decided to surrender on than risk losing too much party approval rating.

John Kerry Tries To Tell Other Jokes

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?

A: To head into the army recruiting office so he could fight in Iraq.

Oh, wait. I told that wrong. I forgot to say the chicken was retarded.

Caucasian Club "Racist"

A 15-year-old girl's effort to start a Caucasian Club at her California high school has won her some support — and an avalanche of anger.

Freshman Lisa McClelland gathered about 250 signatures from students and adults to start a club at Freedom High School in Oakley, Calif., that would focus attention on European heritage and history.

Her campaign has won the support of many students, not all of them white, who say such a group would be no different from the school's other ethnic clubs, which include the Black Student Union, the Latinos Unidos and the ALOHA club for Asian-American students.

"I applaud Lisa McClelland. She should be allowed to be proud of her heritage and want to know more about it just like anyone else," said one student on the high school's e-mail forum. "What a bunch of hypocrites when people start using the word 'racist.' Why isn't the Latino club racist? Or the Asian or African-American club?"

But the Caucasian Club has run into opposition from those who accuse the club of fueling racial tension.

Darnell Turner, vice president of the East County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he fears the club could morph into a white-supremacy group after Lisa graduates.

Hat Tip to Washington Times.

Democrats to 'revisit' law creating border fence

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

Martinez to become new RNC chief

You have got to be kidding me?

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Mel Martinez, a Florida Republican elected in 2004, has accepted an offer by the White House to become the new chairman of the Republican National Committee, three sources tell CNN.Under the arrangement, Martinez will remain in office and serve as the party's lead spokesman as well as take a major role in fundraising and political outreach, while RNC General Counsel Robert (Mike) Duncan will oversee the committee's day-to-day responsibilities. Duncan is serving his fourth term as a RNC committeeman from Kentucky and was also elected the committee's Treasurer in Jan. 2001.

RICHARD MINITER stopd by to tell us WHY AL QAEDA'S HAPPY

WHY AL QAEDA'S HAPPY

Should a convicted Felon(Rapist) be allowed to play High School football?

Felon on field upsets C. Fla. parents

A school policy that allowed an 11th grade convicted felon to play in a high school football game Friday has angered some Central Florida parents, according to FLORIDA TODAY news partner WKMG Local 6 News.

Chris Perry, who is considered a star player on the Lake Howell High School football team, recently pleaded guilty to aggravated assault after being arrested on rape charges.

Despite Perry's status, he was allowed to play in Friday night's game.

The Student Conduct and Discipline Code rule book for Seminole County Public Schools states that if a student commits a crime off campus and over the summer, as with Perry's case, the district does not have jurisdiction.

"We ran into many parents who say they would very much like to see this policy to change, especially after what they saw here on the field tonight," Local 6's Erik von Ancken said. "They said the student is being rewarded and not punished."

"(He) shouldn't be allowed to play sports," parent Tina Nelson said. "I don't think he should be in the school system. I thought that was against school policy."

Official Veterans Day Web Site

2006 Presidential Veterans Day Proclamation

By George, Let's Lose Another War!

"George McGovern, the former senator and Democratic presidential candidate, said Thursday that he will meet with more than 60 members of Congress next week to recommend a strategy to remove U.S. troops from Iraq by June," the Associated Press reports from Lincoln, Neb.

Well, let's not make too much of this. It turns out that the group with which McGovern is meeting is "the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a 62-member group led by Reps. Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee." Rep. Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against authorizing military action against al Qaeda in 2001.

Still, 62 Democrats are enough to make up slightly over one-fourth of the new congressional majority, and it's mildly unsettling to consider that such a significant faction would agree with nonsense such as this:

*** QUOTE ***

McGovern told the audience Thursday that the Iraq and Vietnam wars were equally "foolish " and that the current threat of terrorism developed because--not before--the United States went into Iraq.

*** END QUOTE ***

McGovern must have a really short memory. For his information, here's a timeline:
-Dec. 29, 1992: Al Qaeda bombs a hotel in Aden, Yemen, and attempts to bomb a second one, unsuccessfully targeting U.S. Marines staying there.
-Feb. 26, 1993: Al Qaeda bombs World Trade Center, killing six adults and an unborn child.
-Feb. 22, 1998: Osama bin Laden issues a fatwa declaring war on the U.S.
-Aug. 7, 1998: Al Qaeda bombs U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing more than 220.
-Oct. 12, 2000: Al Qaeda attacks USS Cole in Aden, killing 17 sailors.
-Sept. 11, 2001: Al Qaeda attacks World Trade Center and Pentagon with hijacked planes, killing some 3,000 people, mostly civilians.
-December 2002: George McGovern, in an essay for Harper's, blames America for terrorism.
-March 20, 2003: Operation Iraqi Freedom begins.

Hat Tip to Opinion Journal

Sherriff Beary quits Republican Party, becomes independent

The Orlando Sentinel reports...

The Republicans didn't lose just both houses of Congress -- they lost Orange County's Sheriff, too.

Sheriff Kevin Beary issued a statement this afternoon, annoucing that he is leaving the Republican party and becoming an independent.

"I am tired of party politics. I am tired of the bickering and not getting anything accomplished for the American people," Beary said in a statement. "In Washington, we refuse to address the emerging violent crime problems, pretending one does not exist. In Florida, our violent crime issues have fallen on deaf ears. Our juvenile crime rate is skyrocketing and we don't want to address the problems. In Orange County we don't address public safety needs as they relate to growth and increasing tourism.

"Maybe it's time for Republicans and Democrats to put people first and not their party agenda," Beary said.

Ann Coulter on the Democratic Victory

But according to the media, this week's election results are a mandate for pulling out of Iraq (except in Connecticut where pro-war Joe Lieberman walloped anti-war "Ned the Red" Lamont).

In fact, if the Democrats' pathetic gains in a sixth-year election are a statement about the war in Iraq, Americans must love the war! As Roll Call put it back when Clinton was president: "Simply put, the party controlling the White House nearly always loses House seats in midterm elections" -- especially in the sixth year.

In Franklin D. Roosevelt's sixth year in 1938, Democrats lost 71 seats in the House and six in the Senate.

In Dwight Eisenhower's sixth year in 1958, Republicans lost 47 House seats, 13 in the Senate.

In John F. Kennedy/Lyndon Johnson's sixth year, Democrats lost 47 seats in the House and three in the Senate.

In Richard Nixon/Gerald Ford's sixth year in office in 1974, Republicans lost 43 House seats and three Senate seats.

Even America's greatest president, Ronald Reagan, lost five House seats and eight Senate seats in his sixth year in office.

But in the middle of what the media tell us is a massively unpopular war, the Democrats picked up about 30 House seats and five to six Senate seats in a sixth-year election, with lots of seats still too close to call. Only for half-brights with absolutely no concept of yesterday is this a "tsunami" -- as MSNBC calls it -- rather than the death throes of a dying party.
MORE

I'm on MSNBC's Tucker at 4:30 & 6:30PM ET.

Here's what we are talking about today.

TOPIC #1 - BUSH A JOKE OVERSEAS?/AL QAEDA
Al Qaeda gloats over Rumsfeld

TOPIC #2 - FORD TO REPLACE DEAN?
Replace Dean?

TOPIC #3 - PELOSI'S EFFECT ON HILLARY IN '08
Pelosi heralds new era in US politics

BREAKING NEWS: Terror Alert in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA --Pittsburgh Steelers football practice was delayed nearly two hours this morning after a player reported finding an unknown white powdery substance on the practice field. Head coach Bill Cower immediately suspended practice and called the police and federal investigators.

After a complete analysis, FBI forensic experts determined that the white substance unknown to players was the GOAL LINE. Practice resumed after special agents decided the team was unlikely to encounter the substance again this season.

What do they mean?

By now you’ve all seen the Democrats’ campaign slogan: “A New Direction For America — Vote DEMOCRATIC!”

Let’s analyze this empty and misleading promise.

The stock market is at a new all-time high and America’s 401K’s are back. A new direction from there means what??

Unemployment is at 25-year lows. A new direction from there means what??

Oil prices are plummeting. A new direction from there means what??

Taxes are at 20-year lows. A new direction from there means what??

Federal tax revenues are at all-time highs. A new direction from there means what??

The Federal deficit is down almost 50%, just as predicted over last year. A new direction from there means what??

Home valuations are up 200% over the past 3.5 years. A new direction from there means what??

Inflation is in check, hovering at 20-year lows. A new direction from there means what??

Not a single terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11/01. A new direction from there means what??

Osama bin Laden is living under a rock in a dark cave, having not surfaced in years, if he’s alive at all, while 95% of Al Queda’s top dogs are either dead or in custody, cooperating with US Intel. A new direction from there means what??

Several major terrorist attacks already thwarted by US and British Intel, including the recent planned attack involving 10 Jumbo Jets being exploded in mid-air over major US cities in order to celebrate the anniversary of the 9/11/01 attacks. A new direction from there means what??

Just as Bush had planned and foretold us of on a number of occasions, Iraq was to be made “ground zero” for the war on terrorism — and just as Bush said they would, terrorist cells from all over the region are alighting the shadows of their hiding places and flooding into Iraq in order to get their faces blown off by US Marines rather than boarding planes and heading to the United States to wage war on us here. A new direction from there means what??

Hat Tip to MsUnderestimated

More Hate Mail

From: AudelXXX@aol.com
Sent: Wed 11/8/2006 11:30 AM
To: Campbell, Pat (orlando)
Subject: (no subject)


Yo Pat;
Yeah, those polls were really tightening up, huh?? Can you spell BLOWOUT?
maybe you should have had 2 sessions of "good news from Iraq" per week--maybe that would've helped. Great predictions, Pat--you've got the pulse of the public really figured out.

Nick D.

Dear Dick,

Every one of my Florida predictions came true. The polls in several key races had tightened in the final days, that is a fact. I was wrong on the House I admitted that on air. Even I can't be right 100% of the time. It's is a great day for talk radio. For the last couple of years I've had to defend the indefensible(i.e. Bob Ney, Tom Foley, etc...). Now I get to play offense! It's like bobbing for water I can't miss. Thanks for listening!

Best~
Pat Campbell

Hate Mail

From: Brian J. [mailto:bXjX@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wed 11/8/2006 1:30 AM
To: Campbell, Pat (orlando)
Subject: Your comments


Pat,

Don't be such an uniformed moron. Where are you quoting from or getting your information when you said that " It's well known that crystal meth is widely used in the gay community"? Do you know that for a fact?? Or are you just assuming that because of your hate for gays and lesbians?

And regarding the "poor preacher"...Don't you feel somewhat responsible?? If it wasn't because of the radical rights position on homosexuality, he would have enjoyed his life as a homosexual and been able to do what he loved to do, be a preacher. But, no, that can't happen in this country. So you should be ashamed as well, Pat.

Brian,

Looks like I struck a nerve. I read your publications including Out Magazine & The Washington Blade to name a few. They've been very open about the rampant drug use in the homosexual community, including why you use Crystal Meth.

"If it wasn't because of the radical rights position on homosexuality, he would have enjoyed his life as a homosexual and been able to do what he loved to do, be a preacher. But, no, that can't happen in this country."

I guess Gene Robinson the gay Episcopalian bishop didn't get the memo. Nice try!



Best~
Pat Campbell

Why did Bush wait?

RUMSFELD STEPS DOWN

Bush taps ex-CIA chief Robert Gates as new defense secretary

Video: Bush on Rumsfeld, election

New golden age of peace and prosperity dawns

It's is a great day for talk radio. For the last couple of years I've had to defend the indefensible(i.e. Bob Ney, Tom Foley, etc...). Now I get to play offense! It's like bobbing for water I can't miss.

What can we expect from Pelosi?

Set a time-table for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq

Reject most of President Bush’s nominations for federal judges

Increase the minimum wage

Conduct major investigations of the Bush administration

Increase federal income taxes(hold on to your wallet)

Pass legislation to provide healthcare insurance to those who do not have it

Allow Americans to buy prescription drugs imported from other countries

Cut back on efforts to fight terrorism

Repeal the Patriot Act

Take steps to make same-sex marriages legal

Implement all of the anti-terror recommendations made by the 9/11 commission

Blanket Amnesty for 20 million illegal aliens

Bush Gives Top Ten Positive Outcomes of Election

President George Bush, in an effort to lift the spirits of dejected Republicans after Democrats yesterday took the House and perhaps the Senate, this morning issued his Top Ten list of Positive Outcomes from the Election.

10. New York Times and CNN will carry much less negative news about Congress.

9. Rhode Island Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee lost and Connecticut Democrat Sen. Joe Lieberman won, a net gain of two for the GOP.

8. We may finally get to see the Democrat plan for victory in Iraq.

7. Taxpayers will be relieved of the burden of making so many investment decisions.

6. Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is now available for Supreme Court appointment.

5. Possible reduction in attacks on our troops in Iraq, since terrorists fear attorneys.

4. NSA agents could soon be freed from having to listen to annoying terrorist chatter.

3. Lynn Swann will be remembered as a great wide receiver during the Pittsburgh Steelers 1970s dynasty.

2. Since a lot of the polling places are in church buildings, millions of Democrats actually went to church yesterday.

1. C-Span could get a ratings boost for new reality show: Impeachment 2007

In addition, the president noted that “millions of American Democrats will sleep more peacefully now that they are assured that Karl Rove doesn’t control everything.”

Hat Tip to ScrappleFace

My Bold Prediction!

You heard my bold prediction Monday morning at 8AM. Republicans retain control of the Senate and they retain control of the House(although by the narrowest of margins). Will I be hailed as the Swami or have egg on my face? Tune in Wednesday morning to find out!

**UPDATE**
Wow! I was wrong! Not only do I have egg on my face, I may have to eat some crow.

Looks like I'm in good company!

Mark Steyn
Well, my petard was hoist a long time ago. I said months back that the Republicans would hold both houses, and I’m stuck with that even if the polls show Rosie O’Donnell winning the Utah Senate race by a landslide. But fortunately for me the GOP will come out ahead on the night, more or less. I figure a Republican majority in the House of three-to-five seats, and the Senate not so different from what it is now, except for the loss of Lincoln Chafee’s seat.

To be honest, I’m not even sure Chafee will lose, but he ought to. This is beyond partisanship: If only 100 citizens from a population of 300 million get to be senators, Lincoln Chafee should not be among them. On the other hand, if Rick Santorum loses, he will nevertheless emerge from this election with a reputation more enhanced than the winner — and, for the party, the loss of the Pennsylvania seat will be offset by gains elsewhere, either in Maryland or Washington State. In the House, I think both the Foley and DeLay seats will be retained.

If I’m wrong, of course, it will be a sobering moment: The American people will have chosen to reward a September 10th party mired in sour oppositionism and cobwebbed boomer pieties. Don’t get me wrong. Both wings of the political class have underperformed since 9/11, and this unlovely election is the consequence. But even a narrow Dem victory will embolden the media: Unlike 2004, they’ll have succeeded in dragging the dead horse of the Democratic party across the finish line, and they’ll be even more audacious in two years’ time.

— Mark Steyn is author of America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It.

While Ted Haggard Is Pounded, Gay Gene Robinson Was Rewarded

Over at GetReligion, newlywed Mollie Hemingway forwarded to her blog audience an e-mail from a reporter comparing Ted Haggard to much-celebrated gay Episcopalian bishop Gene Robinson. The big difference between the two is which side of the political/cultural divide they stand on:

A pastor is married for years, has children, runs a successful church, advances in his denomination/sector of Christianity, and then “finds himself” and abandons wife and children for a live-in situation with another man. His reward? Consecration as a bishop in the Protestant Episcopal Church of America and wide-ranging media praise. LATimes, I believe, had a nice kiss-up interview with Gene Robinson just this week.

Hat Tip to Newsbusters

Hot Babes Of The Bench 2007

Circuit Judge Julie H. O'Kane

She's the Judge that let Gary Siplin walk.

I made my weekly appearance on MSNBC's Tucker Friday

Here's what we talked about...

D BLOCK TOPIC #1 - EVANGELICALS MISGUIDED?/HAGGARD
Gay sex allegation sidelines Haggard

D BLOCK TOPIC #2 - GOP SECURITY/NUKE INFO ON WEB U.S.
Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Primer

D BLOCK TOPIC #3 - WHY DIDN'T GOP TARGET PELOSI?
A look at Pelosi's voting record

I'll have audio Monday morning.

Here's last week's transcript.
'Tucker' for Oct. 27
Read the transcript to the Friday show

VANITY FAIR: NEOCONS TURN ON BUSH...

Perle: Vanity Fair Lied to Me...

Frum: Vanity Fair's Inventions...

Army Times: "Time for Rumsfeld to go"

Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times and Marine Corps Times calling for Donald Rumsfeld to be fired. Coast Guard Times still on the fence

Now the rest of the story...

Behind the call for Rumsfeld's head
Military Times editor accused of 'treason' at Stars & Stripes

Iran has a big party to celebrate the anniversary of the hostage taking at the American embassy in 1979

Protesters made fun of the US and President George W Bush - comparing him to Adolf Hitler

German priest burns himself to death in protest of Islam's growth in Europe...

Self-immolation 101

Saudi gang-rape trial ends with 90 lashes — for the victim

A Saudi court has sentenced a gang rape victim to 90 lashes of the whip because she was alone in a car with a man to whom she was not married.

The court heard that the victim and her friend were followed by the assailants to their car, kidnapped and taken to a remote farm, where the raping occurred.

When is a hate crime not a hate crime?

When victim is Catholic and the murderer is homosexual.

ChicagoThe defense attorney for a homosexual man who stabbed, strangled, raped and beat a Catholic woman to death claims that the victim 'assaulted' the man by questioning his gay lifestyle.

She threw them out! Should he give them back?

Naked ploy for Cross' cash

Camera-shy Marcia Cross doesn't want you to see those photos of her in the shower.

Marcia Cross is a real redhead — judging by some nude photos that the genuinely desperate "Housewife" hopes to keep off the market.

Phoenix-based agent David Hans Schmidt has gotten his hands on more than 200 personal photos of the titian-tressed actress.

"There are some pictures of her showering outside," Schmidt tells us. "She looks absolutely gorgeous. And yes, the carpet does match the curtains."

Schmidt is representing the owner of a carting firm hired to remove trash from Cross' home in L.A. According to Schmidt, one of the firm's employees discovered the photos when he got to the dump.

Cross is demanding their return. Her lawyers argue that no matter where the photos were found, they are the copyrighted property of Cross and her husband, Tom Mahoney, who may have taken some of them. Cross' attorneys maintain the photos were thrown out by mistake.

"The pictures were not stolen," says Schmidt. "When you throw something away, you forfeit that property.

"We recognize the copyright issue, but U.S. copyright law stops at the border," he adds. Schmidt won't say whether he's ready to shop the shots abroad.

Just as he did earlier this year, when he offered to sell Paris Hilton the embarrassing contents of a rent-due storage locker that went up for public auction, Schmidt has invited Cross to buy back her trash.

"I'm not looking to mortify Ms. Cross," says Schmidt. "I just want the most money for my client."

He says that Cross' representatives have so far balked at his price, which he won't name.

Schmidt says his client also has Cross' tax returns. "I know how much she made, but out of respect for Ms. Cross, I won't discuss it," he says.

Cross' lawyers didn't immediately return calls.

Church: Haggard Admitted To Some Indiscretions

“This is election year politics at its worst, and Mike Jones has admitted that the reason he has come forward is the gay marriage initiatives on the ballot.” -Patrick Hynes

According to respected political analyst and author Patrick Hynes, a campaign is afoot to marginalize-- even demonize-- conservative Christians from public life.

THE PREACHER AND THE METH...

Evangelist Admits Massage -- But No Release...

Allegations by former gay male escort...

But accuser fails lie detector!HOPES TO SWAY ELECTION...

Radio Host Fired Over Candidate Insult

Speaking the truth, stating the obvious can be career ending in this day and age of political correctness run amok.

A radio talk show host was fired Friday after he made a derogatory comment about the weight and sexuality of the Green-Rainbow party candidate running for Massachusetts governor.

WRKO-AM pulled host John DePetro from the air after he made the comments Thursday. It announced Friday that he had been fired.

"In the context of what he said and the tone with which he said it, the comments were completely inappropriate, derogatory and will not be tolerated," said Jason Wolfe, the vice president of AM programming and operations for station owner Entercom Boston.

DePetro did not immediately return an e-mailed request for comment Friday, however, he told The Boston Globe in a story posted Friday on its Web site that he was "stunned" that he had been fired.

He said he had called the candidate, Grace Ross, to apologize for calling her a "fat lesbian."

The host, who calls himself the "Independent Man," said he made the remark because he was exasperated that Ross and independent candidate Christy Mihos were eating up time during a debate earlier in the week that included Republican candidate Kerry Healey and Democrat Deval Patrick.

He said it was then that he told listeners he wished someone would "tell the fat lesbian to shut up."

"I just think both her and Christy have served their purpose and I had a problem with them still thrusting themselves into the debate," he told the Globe. "I think I vocalized what a lot of people were thinking _ will you just shut up and let them go at it. I added a little more."

Ross, who is openly gay, laughed when she heard about it but said the comment was offensive.

"Big, fat? I guess that's supposed to be his way of saying he doesn't like somebody," she said.

After hearing DePetro had been fired, she said: "I think that the comment was offensive in general, so I hope that many people in the state were offended by it and will help set a standard of what political debate is supposed to be about." MORE

Slip Sliding Away!

Q: Why is this man smiling?

A:He just beat the system!

Siplin won't serve more jail time
The Orlando Sentinel reports...

An Orange Circuit Court judge sentenced state Sen. Gary Siplin to 36 months probation, 300 community service hours, $1,890 in fines and court costs. He also was sentenced to one day in jail but was credited for time served when he was arrested.

Siplin, now a convicted felon, didn't comment when he left the Orange County Courthouse trailed by a handful of reporters.

"We are glad this part is over," said Siplin's attorney Diana Tennis. "We will let the appeals court sort it out. It will be interesting."

Assistant State Attorney Ken Lewis asked Judge Julie O'Kane to sentence Siplin to a year in jail.

"He's acting like only he is above the law," Lewis said.

Before the sentencing, O'Kane acknowledged how unique the case has been and how much attention it has drawn from the public.

"My decision today has no way been influenced" by what anyone has said in the community, she said.

"Mr. Siplin is a public officer, and the crimes for which he was convicted resulted in a breach of the public trust," she added.

Membership has it's privileges. Did anyone see the secret handshake?

Boehner Says Blame Generals, Not Rumsfeld, for Iraq Chaos

House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is coming under fire for comments he made on CNN, suggesting that critics should lay off of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. In a Wednesday (November 1st) interview with Wolf Blitzer, Boehner said, "Let's not blame what's happening in Iraq on [him]...The fact is, the generals on the ground are in charge and he works closely with them and the president." Democrats were quick to pounce on the remark. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) issued a statement saying, "He's blaming our troops for failures in Iraq. If he wants to cast blame, he can start by looking in the mirror, because he and his congressional Republican colleagues have rubber-stamped the Bush administration's failed policy for nearly four years."

Ralph Peters: War Is Over, If You Want It (And Even If You Don't)

Last gasps in Iraq
I supported this war, but the deteriorating situation is starting to convince me that we can’t win. Those of us who hoped that the Iraqis could achieve democracy were wrong — and their failure has implications for the entire region.-Ralph Peters

Ralph Peters is a tough-minded veteran, formerly a strong war supporter and optimist on Iraq. Not any longer. He thinks the war is lost. Here's what he has to say.

Iraq is failing. No honest observer can conclude otherwise. Even six months ago, there was hope. Now the chances for a democratic, unified Iraq are dwindling fast. The country's prime minister has thrown in his lot with al-Sadr, our mortal enemy. He has his eye on the future, and he's betting that we won't last. The police are less accountable than they were under Saddam. Our extensive investment in Iraqi law enforcement only produced death squads. Government ministers loot the country to strengthen their own factions. Even Iraq's elections — a worthy experiment — further divided Iraq along confessional and ethnic lines. Iraq still exists on the maps, but in reality it's gone. Only a military coup — which might come in the next few years — could hold the artificial country together.

This chaos wasn't inevitable. While in Iraq late last winter, I remained soberly hopeful. Since then, the strength of will of our opponents — their readiness to pay any price and go to any length to win — has eclipsed our own. The valor of our enemies never surpassed that of our troops, but it far exceeded the fair-weather courage of the Bush administration.

Yet, for all our errors, we did give the Iraqis a unique chance to build a rule-of-law democracy. They preferred to indulge in old hatreds, confessional violence, ethnic bigotry and a culture of corruption. It appears that the cynics were right: Arab societies can't support democracy as we know it. And people get the government they deserve.

For us, Iraq's impending failure is an embarrassment. For the Iraqis — and other Arabs — it's a disaster the dimensions of which they do not yet comprehend. They're gleeful at the prospect of America's humiliation. But it's their tragedy, not ours.

Iraq was the Arab world's last chance to board the train to modernity, to give the region a future, not just a bitter past. The violence staining Baghdad's streets with gore isn't only a symptom of the Iraqi government's incompetence, but of the comprehensive inability of the Arab world to progress in any sphere of organized human endeavor. We are witnessing the collapse of a civilization. All those who rooted for Iraq to fail are going to be chastened by what follows.

Iraq still deserves one last chance — as long as we don't confuse deadly stubbornness and perseverance. If, at this late hour, Iraqis in decisive numbers prove willing to fight for their own freedom and a constitutional government, we should be willing to remain for a generation. If they continue to revel in fratricidal slaughter, we must leave.

Shocker: New York Times Confirms Iraqi Nuclear Weapons Program

When I saw the headline on Drudge earlier tonight, that the New York Times had a big story coming out tomorrow that had something to do with Iraq and WMDs, I was ready for an October November Surprise.

Well, Drudge is giving us the scoop. And if it's meant to be a slam-Bush story, I think the Times team may have overthunk this:

U.S. POSTING OF IRAQ NUKE DOCS ON WEB COULD HAVE HELPED IRAN...

NYT REPORTING FRIDAY, SOURCES SAY: Federal government set up Web site — Operation Iraqi Freedom Document Portal — to make public a vast archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war; detailed accounts of Iraq's secret nuclear research; a 'basic guide to building an atom bomb'... Officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency fear the information could help Iran develop nuclear arms... contain charts, diagrams, equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that the nuclear experts say go beyond what is available elsewhere on the Internet and in other public forums...

Website now shut... Developing...

I'm sorry, did the New York Times just put on the front page that IRAQ HAD A NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM AND WAS PLOTTING TO BUILD AN ATOMIC BOMB?
What? Wait a minute. The entire mantra of the war critics has been "no WMDs, no WMDs, no threat, no threat", for the past three years solid. Now we're being told that the Bush administration erred by making public information that could help any nation build an atomic bomb.

Let's go back and clarify: IRAQ HAD NUCLEAR WEAPONS PLANS SO ADVANCED AND DETAILED THAT ANY COUNTRY COULD HAVE USED THEM.

Hat Tip to TKS on National Review

US Military Spokesman: Press Shouldn't Pry Into Soldiers' Private Concerns

NewsBusters is reporting...

As reported here, in a story airing on 'Today' of October 28th, NBC reporter Richard Engel delved into the most private concerns of US soldiers serving in Iraq. Engel queried one solider about his fears of dying in combat, or as he put it:

"You ever worry one day your number's gonna come up?"

Engel also drew soldiers out on their concerns as to the faithfulness of their loved ones back home, inviting them to discuss "the Jody," described by one soldier as "the guy who is back home with your wife or your girlfriend." Added Engel: "They worry and tell stories about soldiers going home to empty houses."

Maj. General William Caldwell, chief spokesman for the US military in Iraq, responded to the story today in the course of a conference-call interview. Gen. Caldwell, in Baghdad, took questions from media representatives in the United States including this NewsBuster, who invited the General to comment on Engel's story. Said General Caldwell:

"I don't think that's something that needs to be asked about. It really should not be in the public domain. I don't think these people should pry into people's personal lives."

GIS DROP SMART BOMB ON KERRY

HILARIOUS HEROES FIRE BACK OVER DEM AND DUMBER CRACK ABOUT IRAQ

WASHINGTON - A group of GIs showed they are smart enough to take on condescending Sen. John Kerry - by deploying a hilariously misspelled sign mocking the failed presidential candidate's comments about their education.

"Halp us Jon Carry - We R stuck hear n Irak," read the sign, which was apparently the brainchild of a group of service members from the Minnesota National Guard.

The picture was first revealed yesterday on the blog Web site of Milwaukee talk radio host Charlie Sykes, who said he got it from a listener who had a buddy in the unit.

The picture soon raced around the Internet, and it got much of the nation chuckling when it went up on Drudge Report later in the day.

Report: U.S. Military Judged Iraq as Heading Towards Chaos

As discussed with LTC Chris Garver on our Iraq The Real Story segment this morning.

Military commanders said in an assessment two weeks ago that Iraq is edging towards chaos, according to a classified military chart published yesterday (November 1st) in the New York Times. The chart, called "Index of Civil Conflict," is a color-coded bar with "peace" in a green area on the left and "chaos" in a red area on the right. The current situation was marked by an arrow inside the red area on the far right, close to "chaos." The chart also showed a steady movement towards "chaos" since the bombing of a Shi'ite shrine in February in the town of Samarra, which began sectarian conflict in earnest. But White House spokesman Tony Snow said the chart was only a snapshot that was taken at the height of the violence during the recently-ended Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The chart was prepared by U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in Iraq. Air Force Captain Gary Arasin, a spokesman for Central Command, said he couldn't comment on classified material. But he told Reuters that although the situation is very difficult in Iraq, quote, "we have considerable confidence in our leadership, our troops and the Iraqi government and its expanding ranks of security forces to stop the violence and to allow the people of Iraq to live without fear in a democratic society." U.S. commanders have said that although the violence in Iraq is at its highest level since the 2003 invasion, a full-scale civil war can be averted.

Why and how is the Times publishing classified information?

How to shed light on children's nightmares

Lauri Loewenberg from TheDreamZone stopped by to discuss...

From The Orlando Sentinel

Nightmares become more common this time of year as families decorate the yard with tombstones, tune in to horror flicks and shop for costumes featuring bulging eyeballs.

And although child nightmares are generally nothing to worry about, you don't want your child haunted by dark images night after night, says dream analyst Lauri Loewenberg, author of So, What Did You Dream Last Night? (The Dream Zone, $19.95).

Children start experiencing nightmares between ages 3 and 5. "If your child starts getting nightmares, they are right on track," Loewenberg says. "The reason they start getting nightmares is because he or she is realizing that bad things can happen -- the nightmares are the way they start to process negative things in life."

Question: What do you do if your child is jolted awake from a nightmare and shows up at the foot of your bed?

Answer: The first thing you need to do is reassure your child it's just a dream -- it's not real. Then have your child tell you as much as possible about the dream. And then together, be creative. Ask your child to draw out the dream and rewrite it -- you can turn those big mean eyes into balloons. Have your child use his Harry Potter wand to turn the monster into a teddy bear.

Q: What tips do you have for parents to limit the number of nightmares?

A: Be more vigilant about what they are seeing. If a movie looks scary to you, that's something that doesn't need to be put in their psyche. Children are going to have nightmares, but you don't need to add to it unnecessarily. Also, try not to give your child any candy within two hours of going to bed, as this can affect their blood sugar and interfere with their getting a good night's rest.

Q: When do the nightmares become a concern?

A: If it's night after night or every other night for a month and you've tried talking it through and it still keeps happening, this may be an indication of an underlining issue. Is there a bully at school? Did their goldfish die?

Three Students Arrested When Evacuation Turns To Chaos

WFTV9 reports...

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. -- Chaos erupted outside an Osceola County high school on Tuesday morning. One student was slammed to the ground, while two others were pinned against cars. All three were arrested.

Ciara Smith, 17, was the first student to be arrested by Kissimmee police officers after she tried to jump a fence to skip school. Her mother said Ciara was wrong, but she also said the Kissimmee officers were wrong in the way they handled her.

Smith defied an officer's order more than once to stop. She walked away, she pulled her hand away when he tried to arrest her and, again, kept walking away when he told her to stop. So the officer tackled her. Check out the video HERE.

Ciara's mom is on TV crying the blues claiming the police used excessive force. She should have been tazed! The other girl that struck the officer from behind is lucky she wasn't shot.