August 23, 2006

Web Reconnaissance for 08/23/2006

A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.


Craig Bernthal writing at Victor Davis Hanson’s Private Papers writes Peace Frogs “In Frankenmuth, Michigan, among a complex of little shops that sell junk to tourists, there is a T-shirt store called “Peace Frog.” On each T-shirt, there is a large squatting bright green frog, who sticks out a paw, huge in the foreground, making the sixties “V” sign for peace. The most nostalgic shirt is tie-dyed rainbow, with a big green peace frog, but if you want something more contemporary, you can get a pirate peace frog squatting in front of a dark ship, emblematized with “Pirates of the Amphibian.” There weren’t many people in the shop the afternoon I was there with my sister and my mother. My sister, who has a son who did two tours in Iraq and is more a dyed-in-the-wool Republican than a tie-dyed, Woodstock-generation Democrat, bought a shirt. It was for old time sake, worth a chuckle, and I suppose as long as there are baby boomers left who want to remember their youth, there will be a market for peace-frog T-shirts. Unfortunately, there is still plenty of peace frogism left in the national consciousness. It is exemplified by Ned Lamont’s thumping primary defeat of Joe Lieberman, and it goes back to the assumptions of people who campaigned for George McGovern and Dr. Spock. The assumptions of peace frogs are that if we stay very still, in the middle of our own ponds and don’t cause a ripple, that no one will bother us; that American foreign policy can be nothing but imperialistic and evil; and that when we are visited by events like 9/11, it must be because we’ve done something to deserve it.” (read more)

Gateway Pundit writes Judge Anna Diggs Taylor's Dirty Donations “Judge Taylor Diggs is the Secretary and a trustee for CFSEM.
* The foundation made a "recent grant" of $45,000 over two years to the ACLU of Michigan.
* The Foundation’s trustees make all funding decisions at meetings held on a quarterly basis.
* Judge Taylor Diggs also ruled last week on the government’s warrantless wiretapping program.
* The case was brought before her court by the ACLU.
* Judge Taylor Diggs sided with the ACLU in the case.
The Jimmy Carter appointee, Judge Anna Diggs Taylor may be in serious trouble.” (read more)

Hugh Hewitt writes When Michael Moore Went Yosemite Sam: The Lamont Trap and the Desperation of the Left “Howard Dean's collapse in the December of 2003 and January 2004 is obscured by the sound of his famous scream. The scream disguised the real result of Iowa, which was a resounding rejection of the orange-capped Deanics, the Al Gore endorsement and the Rob Reiner election day campaigning. Dean's oratorical excess on the night of his loss was so memorable that the rejection of the left by Iowa Democrats was quickly forgotten. The unlearned lesson of Iowa is that the left is deeply distrusted by the center, much more so than the right. This is the story that is unfolding, again, in Connecticut.” (read more)

Dafydd writes Polling Keeps a-Leaping “Commenter Terrye tipped us to an incredible new poll out from Gallup, written up by their partner USA Today (Terrye hat-tips "AJStrata" at the Strata-Sphere). As you know -- or as you should know, if you've been conscientiously reading Big Lizards -- the so-called "generic congressional poll" has been running pretty grim for Republicans lately. But in a Gallup poll taken from August 18th through the 20th, 2006, both the generic congressional poll and also Bush's job-approval have taken a sharp turn upward:” (read more)

Captain Ed writes Fast-Food Jihadists In Britain “Der Spiegel provides an extensive look at the background of the British conspirators who plotted attacks on international flights, now detained by the UK. After repeatedly noting neighbors' evaluation of the young men as "nice boys", DS makes an interesting point about the twisted perspective of homegrown jihadis:” (read more)

Confederate Yankee writes BBC Risks Lebanese Boy for Photo Op with Unexploded Bomb “It is horrific that they would risk a child's life by forcing him so close to an unexploded but still very much "live" bomb. It is even worse that they admit it…’Reluctantly’ is correct. The Lebanese boy, wearing a blue tank top and jeans that hang on his thin frame, is visably leaning away from the unexploded ordinance, hands in pockets. That someone pushed him forward to be in such a picture, and that the BCC was willing to capitalize on this obvious bit of propaganda staging, going so far to admit it openly, is reprehensible.” (read more)

Neptunus Lex writes Naifs with knives “There’s a fascinating story up at the Christian Science Monitor written by CSM correspondent - and recent AIF hostage - Jill Carroll. Turns out she had a final interview with “Abu Nour,” a self-declared leader of the Sunni-based insurgency prior to her release from captivity. The tenor of the whole thing is almost charmingly naive, childlike. So long as, when you picture “children,” you leave room on the margins for that whole “Lord of the Flies / Children of the Corn” type thing.” (read more)

Cassandra writes The Boys Of Summer The email dropped silently into my Inbox sometime while I was sleeping: ‘Today is the 2nd anniversary of the deaths of Sgt. Jason Cook and PFC Natchez "Little Fawn" Washalanta. Attached please find a picture of Wash. The newspaper column is wrong. It was two years ago today. Also, I'm copying the column written about Wash. He has no one to remember him but us. Good night.’ I stared at the photograph for a long time. I was thinking, oddly enough, not of Wash but of names, and numbers, and how we remember our fallen warriors; the two halves of America. We who support the war, and those who oppose it.” (read more)

Michelle of Reformed Chicks Blabbing writes Western nations shouldn't get too comfortable “The Germans were surprised by the discovery of bombs in their subways since they opposed the war: See, this is the problem with thinking that terrorists are attacking because of the war, it leaves you unprepared for an attack. No western nation is safe, even those that didn't support the war or who support Israel. This is about a worldview, a way of life. This is about living out what you believe. Islam is at war with the West and therefore no one is safe.” (read more)

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