Democrats Use Ports Deal to Strike Back at Republicans

Democrats are using the Dubai Ports World deal to refute Republican accusations that Democrats are soft on national security, the Boston Globe reported on Tuesday.

Democrats are now suggesting that the Bush administration is weak on national security for approving a deal that would allow a Dubai-owned company to manage some of the terminals at six major U.S. ports

How about that. The biggest anti-Americans who don't give a fart in the wind about national security. Need you be reminded?
Let's start with Al Gore
Here's Harry Reid bragging that "we killed the PATRIOT Act."
Hillary Clinton Praises Belafonte's Anti-US Rant
Pennsylvania Democrat Congressman John Murtha
The Party Of No

PORT PROBLEM: WHITE HOUSE MESS

Dubai ports firm enforces Israel boycott
The parent company of a Dubai-based firm at the center of a political storm in the US over the purchase of American ports participates in the Arab boycott against Israel, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

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No Republican politician is going to commit career suicide simply because the president asks him to. In 2002, his politically brilliant handling of the homeland-security issue won the Senate back for his party. In 2006, he came out of the White House and essentially demanded that Republicans on Capitol Hill fall in line on a matter that is far too complicated for him or them to explain — and risk his party's majorities in the House and Senate.

Not gonna happen. Only hours after Bush made his veto threat, the Republican leader of the Senate, Bill Frist, went on Hugh Hewitt's nationally syndicated radio show and said the votes would be there to override Bush's veto.

There are suggestions that the White House has finally gotten the message. Yesterday afternoon, Bush's chief political adviser Karl Rove went on Tony Snow's radio show and said the administration might be amenable to a delay of 45 days or so in approving the deal to give Congress a "comfort level" on it. Want to bet that "delay" will stretch from now through the election? New York Post

A PORT IN THE STORM
And this is who the Bush administration thinks should be at the controls of computer keyboards that could sabotage cargo-container manifests at America's ports?

Here's a scary scenario to consider: How hard would it be for someone with the right security profile in the UAE to switch out a container with spare car parts bound for New York, with another container that has enriched uranium bound for Miami? Experts I've spoken with tell me it's not that hard at all. In fact, something similar already happened in Singapore with a load of fireworks.

If the GOP isn't careful, we're all soon going to be using the title "House Speaker" to identify Nancy Pelosi. I don't know about you, but that's a scary thought.

Now is the time for someone like Karen Hughes or someone else who the president trusts, to step in and help President Bush navigate back to a safe port in this political storm. World Net Daily

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was not aware a Dubai-owned company was seeking to operate terminals in six U.S. ports and that his agency was leading the review until after the deal's approval, an administration official said yesterday.

Both Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Treasury Secretary John W. Snow have publicly said they were unaware of the deal. Bush wasn't informed by his advisors.

We have a Homeland Security Secretary, a Defense Secretary, a Treasury Secretary and a President unaware a Dubai-owned company was seeking to operate terminals in six U.S. ports. Yea, right!
Donald Rumsfeld didn't know about the sale of the ports until he read about it in the newspapers, although his representative sat on the government panel that OK'd the sale. John Snow, the secretary of the Treasury, actually chairs that committee but he, too, sent a deputy to the meeting and had to read about it in the paper.

George W. Bush is about to fritter away his party's last advantage. What Republicans have had going for them is that they aren't Democrats. Over the past few days we've seen the men at the top of the Grumpy Old Party drifting toward something that looks suspiciously like an Old Boys' Party.

When he hears applause only from Jimmy Carter, who gave away the Panama Canal (now controlled by the Chinese), and Bill Clinton, his newly adopted little brother, George W. should be looking for the panic button. Pruden

They're aware the GOP is toast in November if they don't back off.
They were probably listening to Limbaugh's BS on this subject?

Dear Hillary: Don't Run

TBO.com Tampa Bay Online a liberal publication urges The Hill not to run for president in 2008. Here's what TBO had to say.

Published: Feb 25, 2006
Dear Hillary:
We'd like to welcome you to Tampa for your fundraiser today, and thank you for your long service to our country and your party.

If you run for president, chances are good that you'll secure your party's nomination. But realistically, how do you think you can win the White House? You are the most polarizing figure in the Democratic Party, and your negatives among likely voters are prohibitively high. Many people simply don't trust you. You may share your husband's name, but what people liked about him is not transferable to you.

You are not the person to help define a party that needs to convince voters it can govern from the vital center.

They fear, Hillary, that you would doom Democrats to impotence for decades. Republicans might relish that prospect, but on reflection, they would acknowledge the importance of a strong two-party political system. Should the Democratic Party be crippled, the Republican Party is likely to become complacent, uninspired and unaccountable.

Please, don't run.

Hillary, don't pay any attention to the TBO editorial.
They just don't want the smartest woman in the world to be president.
Run Hillary Run
2008 presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton told supporters at an Orlando, Florida fundraiser Friday night that Republicans have "had enough" of President Bush.
Get on the ballot, Hillary.
The Republicans need you.

$43M Bank Robbery Rocks Enland

LONDON — RUTHLESS armed bandits who fled with up to £40million from a security depot yesterday threatened to KILL the manager’s family unless he helped them.

Detective Superintendent Paul Gladstone, who is leading the hunt, said: “He believed they were genuine police officers and got into their car, where he was handcuffed.” The Sun UK

Two cars from raid found
TWO CARS thought to be involved in the £50million Securitas robbery have been found, police have revealed.article

Heist cops' third arrest
A 41-year-old woman was held at a building society in Bromley, south London, yesterday, Kent Police said.

She was arrested by officers from Scotland Yard and has now been taken to a police station in Kent. article

So, Three Muslims Walk Into A Port

The idea that the Democrats have any meaningful interest in America's national security is a joke, so I'm perfectly willing to believe there's more to this port story.

But Bush is going to need a better justification for turning over management of our ports to an Arab country than he's come up with so far — especially now that Jimmy Carter has said it's a good idea. Judging from his life's work to date, Carter's definition of a good idea is "an idea likely to hurt America and/or help its enemies." continued archive

Stop The Email Fee/Tax!

AOL and Yahoo have announced that they will soon begin imposing their own “tax” on email in the form of a fee charged to groups like Grassfire. For each email Grassfire sends to our AOL team members, AOL will charge a fee to ensure the email is delivered.

As proposed, the fee/tax would be paid by groups like Grassfire.org -- NOT by you the end user. But the result is clear -- it will muzzle citizen activism and could lead to the end of free email because these fees will ultimately be indirectly paid by consumers. We call it a “tax” because since AOL and Yahoo represent such a large portion of the market (50%), groups like Grassfire will ultimately be forced to pay to “ensure” that our messages are delivered. And as a private-sector tax, it ultimately amounts to extortion. For more, Listen to our audio report.

If AOL and Yahoo succeed, we expect every other ISP will quickly follow suit and it will not be long before the government finds a way to tap into this new source of revenue. This new “fee/tax” is really extortion and is one of the most serious threats to online citizen activism that we have faced. We need every concerned citizen -- not just AOL and Yahoo members -- to sign this petition to stop the email tax! Listen to Grassfire’s audio report on this issue.

For more information, including an audio report, and to sign the petition and listen to the audio report.

Saddam's WMD Tapes

Link to PowerPoint presentation (English)
If you don't have Power Point Download Free Viewer

Original recordings (Arabic)
File lengths vary between 47m & 2h 9m
File 3922 File 3978 File 3997 File 4244
File 4667 File 4923 File 5955 File 7379

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Russia Moved Saddam's WMD
"The short answer to the question of where the WMD Saddam bought from the Russians went was that they went to Syria and Lebanon," former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense John A. Shaw told an audience Saturday at a privately sponsored "Intelligence Summit" in Alexandria, Va.

"They were moved by Russian Spetsnaz (special forces) units out of uniform, that were specifically sent to Iraq to move the weaponry and eradicate any evidence of its existence," he said. article

'America Supports You' Links Troops

If you or another servicemember or military family you know needs help, the support you're seeking might be just a few clicks away on the "America Supports You" website. The site has a long list of resources and partners all standing by and ready to help. Resources available include donated frequent flier miles, home renovations for disabled veterans, free phone cards, and care packages. This program includes not only traditional military and government programs, but also corporate, grassroots and individual efforts that help meet needs of deployed servicemembers and their families that the Department of Defense simply can't.

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VA Holds Women's Retreat
The Specialized Outpatient/Post Traumatic Stress Disorder treatment program of the VA Black Hills Health Care System is hosting its semi-annual Women's Retreat April 28-30, 2006 at the Fort Meade VA Medical Center, two miles east of Sturgis. The program is intended for women veterans (all eras) and collaterals (wives, significant others, mothers, etc.) of male veterans traumatized by experiences during military service. The weekend retreat begins at 12 Noon on Friday and ends at approximately 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Those wishing to participate must pre-register by phoning 605.720.7449 or 1-800-743-1070, extension 7449. Prior to registration, a brief telephone screening is required.

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Returning Troops Get Additional Screening
Servicemembers returning from deployments will now participate in a new health screening program three to six months after arriving home. The Post Deployment Health Reassessment program, or PDHRA, is designed to identify deployment-related health concerns that persist or problems servicemembers notice after coming home. The PDHRA provides education, screening, assessment and access to care for a wide variety of questions and concerns that servicemembers may have about their health after a deployment.

Cheney Doesn’t Owe the Media an Apology

The hissy fit thrown by the national media appears to be working. Just like spoiled children, the media’s temper tantrum over the lack of information flowing directly to them regarding Vice President Cheney’s hunting accident has now started to yield results. Democrats, media members, and even some Republicans are beginning to criticize the vice president. Get real! Iran is enriching uranium, and the only concern in Washington appears to be the hurt feelings of left-wing journalists.

Let’s stop the pouting and temper tantrums and get back to covering REAL news stories. I’m sure the American public would appreciate it.
GOPUSA The Loft Posted by Bobby Eberle
These graphics are not part of the Loft article

Congress's Secret Saddam Tapes

Top-secret tapes of Saddam Hussein capture him talking with his son-in-law in the 1990s about how well Iraq hid its weapons of mass destruction.

The tapes also reveal Saddam's top deputy telling him how easy it would be to create a biological weapon, "drop it into a water tower and kill 100,000."

They reveal Saddam predicting a WMD attack on the United States.

"Terrorism is coming," Saddam is heard saying on the tape. "I told the Americans a long time before Aug. 2, and told the British as well, that in the future there will be terrorism with weapons of mass destruction." source

The recordings will available to the public on February 18 (tomorrow) at the annual meeting of the Intelligence Summit

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Wednesday, February 08, 2006
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is studying 12 hours of audio recordings between Saddam Hussein and his top advisers that may provide clues to the whereabouts of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

The committee has already confirmed through the intelligence community that the recordings of Saddam's voice are authentic, according to its chairman, Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, who would not go into detail about the nature of the conversations or their context. They were provided to his committee by a former federal prosecutor, John Loftus, who says he received them from a former American military intelligence analyst.

Mr. Loftus will make the recordings available to the public on February 18 at the annual meeting of the Intelligence Summit, of which he is president. On the organization's Web site, Mr. Loftus is quoted as promising that the recordings "will be able to provide a few definitive answers to some very important - and controversial - weapons of mass destruction questions." Contacted yesterday by The New York Sun, Mr. Loftus would only say that he delivered a CD of the recordings to a representative of the committee, and the following week the committee announced that it was reopening the investigation into weapons of mass destruction. More

Gore Laments U.S. 'Abuses' Against Arabs

Al Gore Event Funded by Bin Laden's Family

Al Bore should be told to leave his key underneath the mat. He should be charged with treason. Who knows what kind of secrets he is telling the Bin Laden family.~ Katy

Former Vice President Al Gore told a mainly Saudi audience on Sunday that the U.S. government committed "terrible abuses" against Arabs after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and that most Americans did not support such treatment.

Gore said Arabs had been "indiscriminately rounded up" and held in "unforgivable" conditions. The former vice president said the Bush administration was playing into al-Qaida's hands by routinely blocking Saudi visa applications.

"The thoughtless way in which visas are now handled, that is a mistake," Gore said during the Jiddah Economic Forum. "The worst thing we can possibly do is to cut off the channels of friendship and mutual understanding between Saudi Arabia and the United States."

Gore told the largely Saudi audience, many of them educated at U.S. universities, that Arabs in the United States had been "indiscriminately rounded up, often on minor charges of overstaying a visa or not having a green card in proper order, and held in conditions that were just unforgivable."

"Unfortunately there have been terrible abuses and it's wrong," Gore said. "I do want you to know that it does not represent the desires or wishes or feelings of the majority of the citizens of my country." (Which country is that?)
Only 500-some votes kept this buffoon from being our President!

Gore is a traitorous liar who should have his citizenship revoked. He should be deported to the wonderful Arab countries with whom he seems to value more than Americans or America. He is an idiot liberal who has lost touch with reality and reason. He should be deported or locked up for treason. ~ Gary

REP. KING RIPS GORE 'DISGRACE'
February 14, 2006 -- WASHINGTON — House Homeland Security Chairman Peter King yesterday blasted Al Gore as "disgraceful" for claiming that President Bush committed "terrible abuses" against Arabs after 9/11 and is wrongly barring Saudi visitors.
"Since 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 were Saudis, it would have been irresponsible for us not to impose strict conditions. It's just common sense. Al Gore seems to have gone off the deep end," said Rep. King (R-L.I.).

"It certainly answers the question of what Al Gore would have done if he'd been president on 9/11. He would have apologized to Saudi Arabia. Either he's lost it or he's putting his hatred of Bush ahead of America's security."

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, "I have a great deal of respect for Al Gore but I simply disagree with his view on Saudi immigration in a post-9/11 world."

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) declined comment.
New York Post
Gore's Remarks in Saudi Arabia Draw Strong Criticism

Big Labor Sees Big Pushback:

Union leaders have long betrayed the trust of their members. Political contributions made without members' consent and other misuses of dues that end up being more of a harm than a help. But now steps in the first real union watchdog website. The Center for Union Facts has just launched http://www.unionfacts.com/, where users can see where all their union dues are going, to which candidates, which private interests, and more.

Union chiefs spent hundreds of millions of dollars of their members’ money to elect Democrats and push a radical social agenda in the 2004 election, even though 40% of their own members voted for President Bush. That’s just one of the millions of facts publicized by the newly-launched Center for Union Facts, which ran full-page ads in today’s Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. Most people can’t see the real face of the union leadership, but it’s time the public knows the facts.
Did you know that...

greedy union personnel have been forced to give back $400 million in racketeering investigations in just the last five years?

labor leaders have been tied to more than 9,000 violent events over the last thirty years? That means nearly every working day of the year, unions threaten, beat up, or otherwise attack Americans that don’t kowtow to Big Labor.

Now there’s someone to provide facts to union members and non-members alike. Today, the Center for Union Facts officially launched its website www.unionfacts.com -- with 3.8 million facts union leaders don’t want you to know.

Sheehan invites Chavez to camp out in Crawford

Article Three, Section Three of the U.S. Constitution, 'adhering to our enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort' constitutes treason."
Sheehan Cozy In Caracas With Communist Chavez
CARACAS, VENEZUELA - Cindy Sheehan, the peace activist who just announced that she is weighing a run for Senate, plans to protest again outside President Bush's Texas ranch, Venezuela's president said Sunday.

Hugo Chavez, his arm around Sheehan's shoulders, told a group of activists that Sheehan had told him that during Holy Week, in April, "she is going to put up her tent again in front of Mr. Danger's ranch."

"She invited me to put up a tent. Maybe I'll put up my tent also," Chavez said to applause from an audience invited to his weekly broadcast on the final day of the World Social Forum.

Noting that the singer and activist Harry Belafonte recently called Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world" on Chavez's show, Sheehan said: "I agree with him."

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Has the New York Times Violated the Espionage Act?
This is quite a long article to be published in Commentary Magazine advance from the March 2006 issue.

Al Qaeda Planned to Slam West Coast Building

President Bush on Thursday described a foiled al Qaeda plot to fly a plane into the tallest building on the West Coast -- a plot that began forming shortly after the successful terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"We now know that in Oct. 2001, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, had already set in motion a plan to have terrorist operatives hijack an airplane using shoe bombs to breach the cockpit door and fly the plane into the tallest building on the West Coast," Bush said.

"We believe the intended target was Liberty Tower in Los Angeles," he added. (Bush apparently meant Library Tower, now the
US Bank Tower.) CNS News
The President On The Global War On Terror Thursday, Feb. 09, 2006

The following article is for those of you on the left who advocate The Al Qaeda Bill Of Rights and don't take the terror threat seriously?

When bin Laden calls…
For several months, liberals have been raising a ruckus about the National Security Agency’s interception of enemy communications from abroad. “Civil liberties are being abused,” they cry. “It’s an abuse of executive power,” they cry.

This is simply not true.

“During war, it is the President’s obligation to intercept every [enemy]communication that he can reasonably make use of” to defeat the al Qaeda terrorists we are at war with, he said, though normal warrant requirements still apply to domestic criminal investigations. The NSA’s targeted Terrorist Surveillance Program falls well within the military obligation of our commander-in-chief, which is established in Article II of the Constitution.

The leakers “have done a great disservice to the country and its defenders,” Woolsey said. “The government is not doing its job if it’s not investigating this vigorously.”

Brit Hume: Muslim Cartoon Protests 'A Disgrace'

US Newspapers Should Publish Cartoons
Click Thumbnails
The cartoons, first published by a Danish newspaper in September and then reprinted in other European newspapers, have prompted rioting in the Muslim world as well as debates about freedom of speech.


"Americans need to see for themselves what has outraged Islamofascists in certain parts of the world," said William Greene, president of the online organization, RightMarch.com.

Iran has decided to rename Danish pastries "Mohammedan" pastry - a new twist in the crisis which has triggered protest by Muslims throughout the world against cartoons of Mohammed first published in Denmark.
The name change recalls when some Americans started calling French fries, "Freedom fries" to protest France's opposition to the United States-led invasion of Iraq. Michelle Malkin

Related article By Ann Coulter
CALVIN AND HOBBES — AND MUHAMMAD Archives

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Fox News Channel "Special Report" anchorman Brit Hume said Sunday that violent demonstrations by radical Muslims protesting five-month-old cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Mohammed betray a "howling double standard."

"This is really a disgrace," Hume told the panel on "Fox News Sunday." "And it is a disgrace because of the obvious, howling double standard involved here."

"What is striking about this is what offends these Muslims who are protesting and these imams," Hume complained. "Does the slaughter of innocent people in many parts of the world in the name of Allah offend them? Is that a sacrilege worthy of protest?

"No, not in the least," he said.

Hume noted that there has also been no outrage on the Arab street over "the kinds of slurs against Christians and against the Jewish faith that are regularly spread abroad in the Arab world by the mass media and by many of these imams themselves."
Prior to Hume's comments, "Fox News Sunday" aired a shot of the cartoon deemed most offensive by the protesters - a drawing of Mohammed wearing a turban shaped like a bomb. NewsMax

Veterans History Project Online

A selection of 23 fully digitized collections of materials titled "African Americans at War: Fighting Two Battles," and will be added to "Experiencing War" stories from the Veterans History Project. The Veterans History Project site now has 2,248 stories online, many of which include audio and video interviews, photographs, diaries, letters and other materials, consisting of more than 100,000 online items. Those interested in becoming involved in the Veterans History Project are encouraged to send e-mail to vohp@loc.gov to request a project kit. The kit is also available on the Veterans History Project Website or calls the toll-free message line at (888) 371-5848.

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National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans
From Feb. 12 through 18, the annual National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans will be observed at VA medical centers throughout the country. The week of February 14 each year is our opportunity to say thank you to a special group of men and women, the more than 98,000 veterans of the U.S. armed services who are cared for every day in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers, outpatient clinics, domiciliaries, and nursing homes. During the National Salute, VA invites individuals, veterans groups, military personnel, civic organizations, businesses, schools, local media, celebrities and sports stars to participate in a variety of activities at the VA medical centers. The activities and events include special ward visits and valentine distributions; photo opportunities; school essay contests; special recreation activities and veteran recognition programs. For more information, contact your nearest VA Medical Center and ask for Voluntary Service to discover the wonderful things you, your group or organization can do to salute America's Heroes. To find your nearest VA Medical Center, visit the VA Facilities Locator and Directory.

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Overseas Voting Instructions
U.S. servicemembers and federal employees stationed overseas need to act quickly to request absentee ballots for this year's primary and general elections. To participate in their home states' elections, servicemembers and overseas citizens need to complete a Federal Post Card Application requesting an absentee. The application needs to be completed and returned as quickly as possible, to give the local election office time to mail the ballot to the citizen and then time for the ballot to be returned before the state's deadline. The forms can also be accessed on the Federal Voting Assistance Program's Website.

Ted Kennedy's Children's Book

Mallard FillmoreSen. Ted Kennedy has found himself the target of a new wave of ridicule following the publication of his new children's book, "My Senator and Me: A Dog's Eye View of Washington." Kennedy wrote the book from the point of view of his hilariously named dog, Splash (no, you can't make this stuff up).

Hillary Clinton Has 'Anger' Problem

When Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman told ABC "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos on Sunday that presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has an anger management problem, there's a reason Stephanopoulos didn't look surprised.

"Hillary Clinton seems to have a lot of anger," Mehlman insisted. "When you think of the level of anger, I'm not sure it's what Americans want" in the White House, he added.

Though almost never reported by the establishment press, Mrs. Clinton's angry outbursts are legendary among those who know her best - including Mr. Stephanopoulos, who, according to at least one White House insider, had to absorb Hillary's verbal beatings when he was a top advisor to the Clintons.

Interviewed for a PBS retrospective on the Clinton administration six years ago, former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers described an incident where the then-first lady exploded at the diminutive aide.

"Mrs. Clinton got really angry," Myers recalled. "She attacked George, which everyone knew was coming, which is why I guess nobody was willing to ride in there to the rescue . . . Everyone just sat there and let George take the beating."

While interviewing Mr. Mehlman on Sunday, Stephanopoulos offered no comment on whether he thought Mrs. Clinton has an anger management problem. NewsMax

Top US Generals Outraged, Blast the Washington Post

click graphic to enlarge

In an unprecedented move, the nation's top military officers blasted the editors of the Washington Post and editorial cartoonist Tom Toles for an editorial cartoon published in the newspaper on Monday and on its website.

The Toles cartoon shows a soldier, a quadriplegic, in a hospital, being visited by a Dr. Rumsfeld who is scribbling on a form. Rumsfeld says, "I am listing your condition as battle hardened." At the bottom a smaller figure of the doctor adds, "I'm prescribing that you be stretched thin. We don't define that as torture."

The letter to the Post editors charges that the six military leaders "believe you and Mr. Toles have done a disservice to your readers and your paper's reputation by using such a callous depiction of those who have volunteered to defend this nation, and as a result, have suffered traumatic and life-altering wounds. ... As the Joint Chiefs, it is rare that we all put our hand to one letter, but we cannot let this reprehensible cartoon go unanswered."

"This is where the news media has sunk to -- in their hatred for Bush and for the military, they publish a horrid cartoon and don't believe they crossed the line," said a former Marine intelligence officer and NYPD detective.

"Anyone who thinks they're getting the truth reading the Washington Post is sadly mistaken -- I expect to see cartoons like [the Toles cartoon] on terrorists' pamphlets!" The National Ledger Article
by Jim Kouri is currently fifth vice-president of National Association of Chiefs of Police

Without the liberal media the Democrat party would be dead and buried.