Political Digest for October 4, 2010

I post articles because I think they are of interest. Doing so doesn’t mean that I necessarily agree with every—or any—opinion in the posted article. Nor that I disagree with them, of course.
US to Tell US Citizens to Be Vigilant in Europe
http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/us-may-issue-warning-on-public-places-in-europe/19658283
Watch out for members of “The Region of Peace!” ~Bob. Excerpt: The Obama administration will warn U.S. citizens to be vigilant as they travel in Europe, updated guidance prompted by al-Qaida threats, American and European officials told The Associated Press on Saturday. Such a move could have negative implications for European tourism, business and diplomacy if travelers fear there's a possibility of terror attacks. The State Department will issue a "travel alert" for Europe on Sunday morning that advises Americans to stay vigilant on the continent because of threat information, senior U.S. officials told the AP. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because a final decision has not been announced. "This travel alert is a cumulative result of information we have received over an extended periods," one senior administration official said. "We are constantly monitoring a range of threat streams and have monitored this and others for some time." State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley declined to comment on the matter. But he said the administration remains focused on al-Qaida threats to U.S. interests and will take appropriate steps to protect Americans.

Mexican pirates killing of American boater creates outrage
http://www.examiner.com/law-enforcement-in-national/mexican-pirates-killing-of-american-boater-creates-outrage
Just take a Qur’an out with you. If the bad guys appear, threaten to burn it, and Obama will turn out the Navy. ~Bob. Law enforcement officials in Texas issued warnings Friday about Mexican pirates trolling the waters of a U.S.-Mexico border lake after a tourist was shot and killed while his wife escaped a hail of bullets and raced her Jet Ski back to American soil. The incident has renewed calls for federal action by border security advocates. Search and rescue teams patrolled the U.S. side of Falcon Lake searching for Colorado tourist David Michael Hartley, 30, whose wife, Tiffany Hartley, told police he was shot in the back of the head Thursday after being ambushed by gunmen on boats. The Texas Department of Public Safety announced during a press conference Friday that Hartley was believed to have been killed but his body had been found. The gunmen are suspected Mexican pirates who prowl Falcon Lake, a favorite spot for water-skiing and bass fishing. There have been five previously reported pirate attacks on that lake this year. The shooting has led Texas officials to warn American boaters to use caution on the 60-mile lake, in addition to issuing its initial warning following three pirate attacks. Although many Americans are outraged over this latest border incident, President Barack Obama and his Administration did not comment on the vicious attack on American citizens as well as the unbridled assault on Americans in general. During a press conference held by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, there was not one word about this unprovoked attack on U.S. citizens.

Wilderness: Expansion and (Unlawful) Beneficiary Use
http://thewesterner.blogspot.com/2010/10/wilderness-expansion-and-unlawful.html
Excerpt: The Battle of Juarez is showing signs that the good guys are not prevailing. The Juarez newspaper, El Diario de Juarez, has cried uncle in its mixed stance of reporting the progress of the war. In the front page editorial that appeared recently, the editor waved the white flag and asked the cartels publicly what they want from him. The murder of a photographer and another reporter in the recent past are hitting far too close to home for him to continue to be a brave purveyor of the truth. In a city ravaged by nearly 7,000 deaths since 2006 and the loss of as many as 40% of its businesses, the fear of the cartels is not a surprise. The only question the El Diario should have asked is should it be uncle or tio and should it be capitalized? Can any American imagine the chaos that would occur in the United States if a city the size of Detroit had experienced the loss of 40% of its businesses and suffered twice the number of casualties that occurred on 9/11? Similarly, can any logical American buy the administration’s premise that border cities are safer than they have been in years? Numbers never lie, but liars are gifted with numbers, right? Perhaps the logical place to be looking these days is not in the cities, but in the country where conflicting governmental policies and agendas have created physical voids now overrun with lawlessness.

The rise of black Republicans
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10276/1091893-373.stm
It's a big story this year, but you don't hear much about it --DH. Excerpt: I bet you haven't heard of Tim Scott, Allen West or Ryan Frazier. If they were Democrats, I might lose that bet. But they're not. Mr. Scott, Mr. West and Mr. Frazier are three of the 14 black candidates running for Congress as Republicans this November. Thirty-two black Republicans ran in the primaries. Most of the 14 are running all-but-hopeless races against black Democratic incumbents in black majority districts. But Mr. Scott, running in South Carolina, is a virtual cinch to win. Mr. West (Florida) and Mr. Frazier (Colorado) are in races that are judged tossups. If all three win, that would be a post-Reconstruction record. The largest number of black Republicans to serve together in the House in the last century is two, J.C. Watts (Oklahoma) and Gary Franks (Connecticut) between 1995 and 1997. There haven't been any since Mr. Watts retired in 2003. One might think the resurgence of black Republicans, coming as it does at a time when a black Democrat is president, would rate more than a feature story or two in the national media. But that would conflict with the liberal meme that Republicans are racist. Many liberals also say Republicans are anti-immigrant, even though Hispanic Republicans are poised to win a Senate seat in Florida (Marco Rubio) and gubernatorial races in New Mexico (Susana Martinez) and Nevada (Brian Sandoval). Nine Hispanic Republicans are seeking election to the House. Four -- Bill Flores and Quico Canseco in Texas, Jaime Herrera in Washington state and David Rivera in Florida -- are even-money or better to win. The black Republican candidates (12 men and two women) are impressive people. I'm most impressed with Mr. West, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who was a hero to his troops in Iraq. Their stories are similar. Most were raised in poverty or near-poverty by a parent or parents who instilled in them conservative values. Most have been working hard since they were children. Half the men are military veterans.

California Death Penalty Once Again Thwarted by Thug Huggers
http://townhall.com/columnists/DebraJSaunders/2010/10/03/california_death_penalty_once_again_thwarted_by_thug_huggers
“Thug Huggers”? There’s a great tag. Expect to see it again in my comments on this blog. ~Bob. Excerpt: On Oct. 28, 1980, Albert Greenwood Brown snatched Susan Jordan, 15, raped and strangled her to death with her own shoelace. Brown, who was on parole after raping a 14-year-old girl, then spent the night tormenting the dead girl's parents over the phone, telling them that they would never see their daughter again and where to find the girl's half-nude corpse and belongings. A jury sentenced him to death for that crime. Last Wednesday, almost 30 years later, Brown was scheduled to be executed. Of course, it didn't happen. Various judges intervened, the state's meager supply of lethal-injection drugs was about to expire -- and so California's death penalty is on hold until 2011. There hasn't been an execution in California since January 2006. In February of that year, federal Judge Jeremy Fogel essentially ordered a de facto moratorium on California's three-drug lethal-injection protocol because there was "undue risk" -- not that he knew if it had ever happened -- that a condemned murderer could "suffer excessive pain when he is executed."

Muslim Extremists Murder Christian Family in Pakistan
http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/pakistan/26168/
Guess they didn’t get the “Islam is a religion of peace” memo. Had to murder the kids, too. Nits make lice. Note it’s always “extremists.” How many do there have to be before it’s not considered “extreme” in Islam? ~Bob. Excerpt: Islamic extremists killed a Christian lawyer, his wife and their five children in northwestern Pakistan this week for mounting a legal challenge against a Muslim who was charging a Christian exorbitant interest, local sources said.

LHC upholds death for blasphemy accused
http://tribune.com.pk/story/56578/lhc-upholds-death-for-blasphemy-accused/
This is the “tolerance” people can expect anywhere a Muslim majority enacts Shari’a law. ~Bob. Excerpt: A division bench of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday confirmed the death sentence handed down to a blasphemy convict and ordered that he be hanged till death. This is the second case of its kind in the country when the death sentence of a blasphemy accused has been confirmed by the LHC since inception of the blasphemy law. An Additional District and Sessions Judge Lahore on May 27, 2002 had awarded Wajihul Hassan death sentence for allegedly uttering blasphemous remarks against the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and other prophets. He was also accused of hurting religious sentiments of the complainant – Senior Advocate Muhammad Ismail Qureshi.

Curb Corruption or Lose the War
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748703440604575496131772049018-lMyQjAxMTAwMDMwMDEzNDAyWj.html
Excerpt: President Hamid Karzai recently intervened to free Mohammed Zia Saleh, a top security aide arrested on charges of corruption in Afghanistan. He also made it clear he wants to end U.S. aid to the corruption fighters who pulled Mr. Saleh out of his home in handcuffs. It then emerged that Mr. Saleh has been on the payroll of my old employer, the CIA. This is a perfect illustration of how different government agencies such as the CIA and the Defense Department can work at cross purposes even in a war zone—something that is familiar to me from serving in South Vietnam in the 1950s and 1960s. As a former agency case officer and official of the U.S. Agency for International Development, where I led its counterinsurgency effort, I know the CIA has a weak leg to stand on. An anonymous former agency official claimed in the Washington Post last month that putting people in Mr. Karzai's inner circle on the payroll was necessary because "the head of state is not going to tell you everything." This is misleading. Finding out what is going on in Kabul requires developing relationships with Afghans who trust you and will tell you truthfully what is going on—not because they want to buy Dubai real estate, but because they think it's in their country's best interests.

One Nation Rally Respect for Our WWII Vets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCcwXlvb74Y&feature=player_embedded
After the Glenn beck rally, the pictures showed all the trash picked up and bagged. Compare with this. Typical leftists. Bleat about the environment and trash the surroundings. ~Bob.