A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention.
Special Section - Gerald Ford RIP:
Gerald Ford Dies at 93 “Gerald R. Ford, the nation's 38th president, has died. He was 93.” (READ MORE)
Don Surber writes Ford's final lesson for Bush “The public pushed Nixon from the presidency not for Watergate. The connection between the White House and the break-in and bugging of the DNC chairman’s rooms were well known before the 1972 election. Nixon still took 49 states. No, what cost Nixon his job was surrendering in Vietnam.” (READ MORE)
Kim Priestap writing at Wizbang writes Former President Gerald Ford Remembered “Even though I was just a little kid when Gerald Ford was president, I liked him. To me, he was a good, kind man, and Chevy Chase's ‘impression’ of him, which was comprised of nothing more than Chevy stumbling, ticked me off. It was mean.” (READ MORE)
Hugh Hewitt writes Remembering President Ford “President Ford was a wonderful man and an excellent president. I spent most of the fall of 1976 running around Massachusetts with a bus full of college students attempting to persuade voters that they were better off with Gerry Ford than an unknown an untried southern governor. I had no idea how right I was.” (READ MORE)
see-dubya writing at HotAir writes RIP, Gerald Ford “Best President of the 1970’s, dead at 93. By all accounts he was a decent and genuine man. He survived two assassination attempts and relentless mocking by Chevy Chase, who portrayed him as hopelessly clumsy (even though he was quite athletic and a college football star).” (READ MORE)
Gribbit writes President Ford Dead at 93 “President Gerald R. Ford, the oldest living former President of the United States, has passed away at the age of 93. As a wee little lad in 1974, I remember President Nixon’s resignation speech and President Ford taking the reigns of the nation the following day at noon.” (READ MORE)
Murphy of Pirate’s Cove writes WTW: President Gerald Ford Passes On, Liberals Seethe “Morning, y'all, Jebediah here, and I am very sad over the passing of President Gerald R. Ford at 93 years old. Teach has also sent in his condolences, as well. From one of the most popular First Ladies, Betty Ford. He will be missed. But, as Teach did yesterday, I will do today, delving into what Captain Ed calls the Fever Swamps. And, as Teach did, back to the Hufftardians, who have truly taken over from the DUmmies and Kosbats as the biggest Moonbats in the mainstream Left-O-Sphere:” (READ MORE)
GayPatriotWest of GayPatriot writes In Memoriam Gerald R. Ford “It is with greatness that I learned just a few moments ago of the passing of our nation's 38th president, Gerald R. Ford. While this good man will, alas, merit little more than a footnote in American history, the only president never elected to nationwide office, he provided steady leadership at a time of national unease and, through his most controversial action, pardoning Richard Nixon, helped the nation move past Watergate.” (READ MORE)
In the News: (Registration may be required to read some stories)
Biden To Fight Troop Surge “The incoming Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday said he will try to block President Bush from sending an additional 30,000 troops to Iraq, calling it ‘the absolute wrong strategy.’” (READ MORE)
Saddam To Be Hanged Within 30 Days “Iraq's highest court rejected Saddam Hussein's appeal yesterday and said the former dictator must be hanged within 30 days for his role in the 1982 slayings of 148 Shi'ite Muslims from a town where assassins tried to kill him.” (READ MORE)
Assad Inspires 'Flip' Theories “Recent visits by Syrian President Bashar Assad to U.S.-allied Yemen and the United Arab Emirates are prompting speculation that Syria is seeking to leave the Iranian orbit and pursue closer ties with the West.” (READ MORE)
Ethiopians Closing In On Capital of Somalia “LONDON, Dec. 26 -- Ethiopian troops fought their way closer to the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Tuesday, pushing back militias loyal to the Islamic Courts movement that has until now controlled much of the country and has vowed to wage a guerrilla war against Ethiopia lasting ‘years and years and years.’” (READ MORE)
News From the Front:
Michael Yon writes Christmas in Kuwait (And Qatar, and Hanoi, and Singapore, and Jakarta) - From a Starbucks, on a U.S. Military Base, in Kuwait “Christmas seems to have escaped the bonds of Christianity. During the past month or so, I’ve seen Vietnamese preparing to celebrate Christmas in Hanoi, “Sings” stuffing stockings in Singapore, and Muslims galore wearing Santa Claus outfits in Jakarta. It’s Christmas day in Kuwait, where I sit in a Starbucks among soldiers, sailors, marines, air force and civilians. I’ve seen probably a hundred people in the last 15 minutes, yet few were wearing uniforms, giving a lone writer plenty of cover to swim silently through the waters.” (READ MORE)
Bill Roggio writes Islamic Courts in Retreat in Somalia “The Islamic Courts are in near-full retreat in central and southern Somalia after 8 days of fighting against the Ethiopian military and the Transitional Federal Government forces. Ethiopian and TFG forces have broke the cordon around western Biadoa, and have advanced as far west as Burhakaba after heavy fighting.” (READ MORE)
On the Web:
Jack Keane and Frederick W. Kagan writing at The Washington Post write The Right Type of 'Surge' “Success in Iraq is possible only with a surge of at least 30,000 combat troops lasting 18 months or so. Any other option is likely to fail.” (READ MORE)
Austin Bay writing at Townhall.com writes The looming tower: Egyptian ideological origins of al-Qaida “The Wright vignette illustrates the fierce, unbending will of al-Qaida's most committed cadres. And demonstrates why they remain a threat.” (READ MORE)
Walter E. Williams writing at Townhall.com writes Reinstating the military draft “Rep. Rangel, D-N.Y., has it completely backward in terms of incentives created by the draft. Let's apply a bit of economic logic to it.” (READ MORE)
Ben Shapiro writing at Townhall.com writes 2006: The year of retreat “2006 saw Western civilization doubt the justice of its cause and shy away from the means necessary to preserve its survival.” (READ MORE)
Tony Blankley writing at Townhall.com writes 2006 considered “Two thousand six is coming to an end much as it began: with war, terrorism, bloodshed and moral confusion.” (READ MORE)
Michelle Malkin writing at Townhall.com writes The bipartisan Katrina boondoggle “The Bush administration, like every administration since Jimmy Carter created the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 1979, has failed mightily to break the natural disaster-federal disaster cycle.” (READ MORE)
Jules Crittenden writes A Numbers Game “Because that's what this is all about, right? The Associated Press weighs Sept. 11 dead against Iraq dead. The Democratic Daily likes a good numbers game. The Horse's Mouth sounds more like the other end.” (READ MORE)
Right Wing Nut House writes A GOOD AND DECENT MAN “The year was 1980 and Gerald Ford was on a mission. The last two weeks of October, the 38th President of the United States was fulfilling a promise he made during the tumultuous Republican Convention to the GOP standard bearer Ronald Reagan; that he would campaign his heart out for Republican candidates running for the House and Senate. He would help ‘extend Reagan’s coattails’ to bring as many GOP lawmakers to Washington as he could.” (READ MORE)
Texas Rainmaker writes John Kerry’s Stuk in Irak Tour “A picture is worth 1000 words. Here’s the email that accompanied the photo: ‘This is a true story…..Check out this photo from our mess hall at the US Embassy yesterday morning.’” (READ MORE)
Robert Farrow writing at Flopping Aces writes A World Without America - The World need not be this way. “On a foggy day at the end of August, a General surveyed the battlefield in front of him. At least 400 enemy ships lay anchored in the harbor as the best military force in the world prepared to deliver a knockout blow to his front. His outnumbered army was in danger of being cut off and destroyed as enemy frigates moved up the river to cut off his retreat and the opposing army prepared for the final assault on his position. In what was undoubtedly the understatement of the year, George Washington declared to his superiors. ‘I have no doubt but a little time will produce some important event.’” (READ MORE)
Dan Riehl writes Muslims Have Nothing To Teach America “Newly elected Congressman Keith Ellison spoke to a large gathering of Muslims. His message and the response would be laughable, were they not so disappointing. Can you imagine the reporting were another politician to speak to a crowd that responded: Hallelujah! Jesus is Lord? I doubt that it would be portrayed in a positive light. And the early signals from Ellison are very troubling for America and especially American-Muslims. When he suggests Muslims can teach America about tolerance and justice, Ellison is stealing from the legacy of Blacks in America and attempting to somehow link Muslims to that struggle. But nothing could be further from the truth.” (READ MORE)
Lightning writing at OPFOR writes Required Reading “The below article, by MAJ Bill Edmonds of the United States Army, is one of the best written pieces I have seen on the war. Although a few blogs have picked this up, why it is not on the front page of every major newspaper in the country is beyond me. Highlight of the article? ‘I have come to realize that we isolate our soldiers from the societies in which we operate. We airlift and sealift vacuum-sealed replicas of America to remote corners of the world; once there, we isolate ourselves from the very people we are trying to protect or win over.’” (READ MORE)
Captain Ed writes So The Message Got Delivered, Then “Iran has acknowledged that its oil industry has fallen on hard times, and guess who they blame for their troubles? The Great Satan, this time, might not mind: ‘Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh has lamented that the development of Iran's Oil industry was suffering from US pressure.’” (READ MORE)
Dafydd writes The Way the Future Wasn't “Talk about ‘the biter bit,’ or perhaps people getting their ‘just desserts’ -- Iran appears to be running out of oil, or more accurately, running out of oil revenues: The problem is that they're pouring so much of their revenue into their military, into terrorist groups like Hezbollah (and now Hamas), and into nuclear research -- that they have neglected to reinvest in oil exploration and extraction technologies.” (READ MORE)
Major Z writes Three Kings “I went to Walter Reed again on Wednesday. I’m now scheduled for surgery #34 on the 9th of February. They’re going to do another skin graft into my left hand, hopefully to increase the web space in my left hand, and also a Z-Plasty (imagine Zorro carving his mark betwixt your thumb and forefinger.) Lovely. Although that was the purpose of my visit, the true highlight was meeting three young men who were spending Christmas (and New Years, and probably Easter) on ward 57. I spent some time with each one, heard their stories, and shared my experiences with them. I tried, at best to give them hope, and at least to prepare them for what is coming.” (READ MORE)
Jay Tea writes An uncomfortable parallel “In the past few weeks, I've been noticing more and more news about Iran, and once again I'm seeing parallels with the War on Terror and World War II -- and I don't think I care for this one. First, ABC News reported that US forces have captured brand-new, fresh-from-the-factory Iranian weapons from terrorists in Iraq. This is case-closed, irrefutable evidence that they are, indeed, supporting and fomenting the fighting in Iraq -- a clear-cut casus belli against both Iraq and us.” (READ MORE)
see-dubya writing at HotAir writes Burning Memories: Watch the AP change their Hurriya sourcing (UPDATED) “Confederate Yankee thinks he’s so clever, poking holes in the AP’s version of the Sunni-burning in Hurriya. When first revisiting the story, the AP reported that ‘two workers from Kazamiyah Hospital’ confirmed that “bodies from the clashes and immolation” had shown up at the Kazamiyah hospital morgue.” (READ MORE)
Kobayashi Maru writes Religious 'Tolerance', Hamas Style “Not a pretty picture: ‘This Christmas was the first under a Palestinian Authority controlled by the militant Islamic group Hamas. To alleviate Christian fears, Hamas promised to provide $50,000 for decorating Manger Square in the town's center for the holiday, but it wasn't clear if the money arrived. There were fewer Christmas decorations than in the past, and for the first time no Christmas carols were piped over the loudspeaker system.’” (READ MORE)
Paul Mirengoff of Power Line writes Will Iran wither away? “According to an analysis by the National Academy of Sciences, Iran is experiencing a serious decline in revenue from its oil exports and, if the trend continues, income could virtually disappear by 2015. The author of the study is Roger Stern, an economic geographer at Johns Hopkins University and, as reported by the Washington Times, Stern seems a bit too eager to convince us that the U.S. doesn't need to worry much about Iran's development of nukes (and to argue for Iran's need to develop nuclear energy for its own consumption).” (READ MORE)
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