The recent Senate Intelligence Report, part of an ongoing, and thus incomplete, release concerning intelligence on Iraq, comes up short, way short, in the analysis of Stephen F. Hayes, as published in the Weekly Standard. 

The report bases part of its findings by actually believing that the captured Saddam Hussein is telling the truth, as, for example, when Saddam says "the United States was not Iraq's enemy."

This and other kinds of errors and sloppiness are described in detail in Hayes' article.

In a stunning article, Richard Miniter describes in startling detail how well the terrorist detainees are treated at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Among the findings are that:

"Detainees are entitled to a full eight hours sleep and can't be woken up for interrogations. They enjoy three meals and five prayers per day, without interruption. They are entitled to a minimum of two hours of outdoor recreation per day."

"One interrogator actually bakes cookies for detainees, while another serves them Subway or McDonald's sandwiches. Both are available on base. (Filet o' Fish is an al Qaeda favorite.)"

Of more concern is that "a multi-cell al Qaeda network has developed in the camp," and that "cells pass messages from leaders in one camp to followers in others."

How could this be happening? 

"Detainees use the envelopes sent to them by their attorneys to pass messages. (Some 1,000 lawyers represent 440 prisoners, all on a pro bono basis, with more than 18,500 letters in and out of Gitmo in the past year.) Guards are not allowed to look inside these envelopes because of "attorney-client privilege" - even if they know the document inside is an Arabic-language note written by a prisoner to another prisoner and not a letter to or from a lawyer.

That's right: Accidentally or not, American lawyers are helping al Qaeda prisoners continue to plot."

Read the whole article.  In addition, this editorial in the Washington Times and this article by Andrew McCarthy alert us to more dangers ahead with expanded rights for terrorists like the mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

- posted by Glen Kissel

"What Would Hoy Do?" was the title of the editorial I submitted to the Evansville Courier and Press on Monday August 14.  And now, just over four weeks later, it has been finally published on the opinion page of that paper with the Courier and Press chosen title, "What will move Hoy to take a real 'walk'?"

I should not have had to write this editorial.  Instead the Courier and Press should have over recent months:

1) Informed their readers that Hoy's denomination, the United Church of Christ, is happily accepting $100,000 from the state of Connecticut to cover the cost of the Hartford Civic Center for their purely sectarian biennial Synod in June 2007.  More details can be found here, and elsewhere at www.ucctruths.com


2) Followed up with Hoy as to how he felt about this governmental expenditure for a purely church expense given Hoy's expressed disdain for entanglement of church and state.

3)  Indeed, the Courier and Press should have contrasted the absolute minimal and incidental cost to the state of Indiana for its legislative prayers (now in the middle of a court order, which, among other things, bans the use of the word "Jesus" in the prayers), and the $100,000 intentionally (not incidentally) going to a sectarian activity. 

4) Informed their readers about some of the more bizarre pronouncements and activites of the United Church of Christ.  Afterall, the Courier and Press is more than happy to print the rantings of David Waters in which he frequently bashes evangelical conservatives. 

5) Asked Hoy if there was anything that the UCC says or does that might prompt him to walk away,ever so briefly, from the denomination, or is it only when someone engages in a constitutionally protected expression of religious diversity that he walks out.

6) Covered the continuing bleeding of churches away from the United Church of Christ following the controversial 2005 Synod which endorsed same-sex marriage.  The count is now up to 203 churches that have left since July 2005.  A list of the churches can be found here.

7) Consider that if a Muslim imam is asked to pray in front of the IN legislature, then maybe Christian prayers that reflect an expressive form of Christianity that is quite common among millions worshipers in Indiana might likewise be appropriate as opening prayers for the legislature.

-posted by Glen Kissel

It's not often that Democrat politicians make the right public policy moves, but when they do it is worth giving credit where credit is due.  And interestingly, two such moves in the right direction have come to my attention just this week. 

First, Mayor Daley of Chicago vetoed the so-called "living wage" ordinance that would have applied to Wal-Mart and other "big-box" retailers.  It would have required such retailers to provide at least a $13 an hour salary and benefits by 2010.  The ordinance had been passed by the Chicago City Council in July.  The City Council could yet override the veto. 

His veto has angered organized labor and the left-wing activist group ACORN.  With opponents like that, you know Mayor Daley is doing the right thing. 

In his veto message the mayor stated this about the ordinance, "I believe it would drive jobs and businesses from our city, penalizing neighborhoods that need additional economic activity the most. In light of this, I believe it is my duty to veto this ordinance." 

There is actually a much more powerful reason for vetoing such a bill.  It is a violation of the civil liberties of companies to tell them how much they must compensate their employees.  Some people may argue that government should in fact require private companies to provide a "living" or "minimum" wage.  If so, it makes their complaints about "civil liberties" in other realms much more suspect. 

Second, Democrat State Senator Jack Scott of Pasadena, California has written a bill to curtail the "Dance of the Lemons" in California's public schools.  This "Dance" occurs when an incompetent teacher who voluntarily leaves a school, must be hired, by union rules, by another principal in the district who has an opening.  Scott's bill is meant to ban the practice for low-scoring schools and limit it for others.  The good news is that the bill passed with strong majorities in the Democrat controlled CA House and Senate, and is awaiting the governor's signature. 

The teachers unions, the California Teachers Association and California Federation of Teachers opposed the bill, as well as hard core leftists like Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg.  With opponents like this, you know it must be a good bill.

Indeed, conservatives in California have praised the bill as a step in the right direction.

- posted by Glen Kissel

I guess it was too much to expect that an opinion piece in The Shield (USI student newspaper) for the run-up to the fifth anniversary to 9/11 would rise any where to the level of today's editorial insights of left-wing journalist Christopher Hitchens.

Instead we are treated to an incoherent and rambling discourse taking us from Lebanon to Iraq with the requisite smart-mouthed remarks about the President peppered here and there.

Ironically, the Lebanon-Iraq orbit in which the USI opinion writer was erratically traveling provides an insight into the importance of the liberation of Iraq from Saddam Hussein. (Iraqi liberation has been official US policy since 1998).

This past summer, the Middle East was an absolute powder keg with Hamas attacks and kidnappings and then more seriously with Hezbollah kidnappings and missile attacks from Lebanon on Israel. It was believed by many that the Middle East was on the verge of a major war. If Saddam Hussein had been in power, he alone, or in conjunction with his ally Syria (already assisting Hezbollah), could have launched a scud missile attack on Israel.

Saddam Hussein had a history of scud missile attacks on Israel that goes back to the first Gulf War in 1991. During that war, 39 missiles launched from Iraq hit Israel, some of them landing in populated areas. Unfortunately, the US Air Force was never able to knock out any scud launchers pointed at Israel, because the Iraqis would quickly hide them after firing the missiles. Israel was on the verge of responding militarily, but the Gulf War quickly came to an end.

If Hussein had not been deposed and Iraq liberated in 2003, the possibility of Hussein again shooting missiles into this tinderbox would have been a real possibility. As we now know, Hussein still had scud missiles and used them against Kuwait at the beginning of the Iraq War. We also know that sanctions were crumbling against Iraq at that time.

But Saddam Hussein and his scud missiles were never a factor in the Middle East battles this summer.  So a huge Middle East conflagration may very well have been avoided because President Bush carried out what has been US policy since 1998: the liberation of Iraq.

To be sure more needs to be done. As Christopher Hitchens puts it very directly concerning the war on Islamo-Fascism, “’We’ –and our allies—simply have to become more ruthless and more experienced.”

-posted by Glen Kissel.

On the fifth anniversary of 9/11 CNN.com will carry a replay of their coverage of that day, Tuesday September 11, 2001.

Democrat Senate leaders have called upon ABC to cancel "The Path to 9/11," a five hour movie scheduled to air this Sunday and Monday.  The letter from Senate Democrats was issued earlier today.

National Review Online asks an interesting question.  And Mary Ham has more analysis on her blog.

The Senate Democrat letter includes the following paragraph:

The Communications Act of 1934 provides your network with a free broadcast license predicated on the fundamental understanding of your principle obligation to act as a trustee of the public airwaves in serving the public interest. Nowhere is this public interest obligation more apparent than in the duty of broadcasters to serve the civic needs of a democracy by promoting an open and accurate discussion of political ideas and events.

and then concludes with these words:  

We urge you, after full consideration of the facts, to uphold your responsibilities as a respected member of American society and as a beneficiary of the free use of the public airwaves to cancel this factually inaccurate and deeply misguided program.

The National Review Online question is worth repeating here: 

Who in the press will stick up for ABC's right to air this miniseries without having its broadcast license threatened?

- posted by Glen Kissel.

As the Space Shuttle Atlantis is prepared for a potential launch this week, news and television coverage is available from NASA's website.  This mission is intended to resume the building of the International Space Station, after almost four years with no component added. 

Details about the International Space Station can also be checked out on the NASA website. Opportunities to see the Space Station fly over the night sky can be viewed here. 

Also, the interested reader might be interested in an unusual view of the previous Shuttle launch at this link.  Scroll down on the right to "STS-121 Right Forward Solid Rocket Booser Video" and click on one of the two "View Video" options.  The first 45 seconds have nothing happening, then the water for the sound suppression system begins spraying, the main engines ignite, then carefully watch as the shuttle bends back slightly and returns at which point the solid rocket boosters ignite and there is liftoff.  The roll shortly after liftoff is interesting, as well as the solid rocket booster separation 2 minutes after launch. 

- posted by Glen Kissel

While East Timor (Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste) has suffered greatly on its path to independence achieved in May of 2002, continuing troubles have required a United Nations (UN) presence. Unfortunately, that presence has come with a shocking price. As revealed by The Age, an Australian news source, the UN has been covering up, "perverted and outrageous behavior by uniformed and civilian personnel who have served in East Timor since 1999."

The article in The Age continues, "the top UN official in East Timor, has acknowledged for the first time that the UN system failed to bring anyone to justice for crimes that included sex abuse of children and bestiality."

Further, "the UN establishment in New York was shocked when it received an internal report last month exposing a culture that covered up behaviour that enraged many UN staff, several of whom resigned in disgust."

According to The Age, the internal UN report revealed, among other things, that one UN peacekeeper had sexually abused two boys and two girls, and in 2001 two Jordanian soldiers had to be sent home after their male organs were injured while attempting sexual intercourse with a goat. 

The situation has become so serious that on August 25, the UN Security Council included specific language to address the sexual abuse in Resolution 1704 (click on the resolution, then scroll down to point 13).

This comes on top of the more widely reported sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers and staff in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including documented cases of pedophilia, rape and prostitution.

- posted by Glen Kissel.

One of the editorials, in this academic year's first edition of the The Shield, the student newspaper at the University of Southern Indiana,  "Upcoming anneversary [sic] Remind [sic] US of Past Priorities," came up short, not only on spelling and grammar in its title for the print edition, but also on some key facts concerning the war on Islamo-Fascism. 

The editorial states, "The original scapegoat for the war on terror - the mastermind behind the terrorist attacks - has evaded capture by the United States Armed Forces for five years."  Apparently the writer never got the memo that in fact the mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, was captured on March 1, 2003 in Pakistan. The 9/11 Commission report describes him as "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks."  

At one point the editorial writer says, "The U.S. government even flirted with the idea that the government of Iraq had connections to bin Laden and al-Qaida."

In fact, not only had the government "flirted" with this idea, it explicitly stated it back in 1998 when, in this Clinton administration indictment of Usama Bin-Laden, it stated, "that Al Qaeda reached an agreement with Iraq not to work against the regime of Saddam Hussein and that they would work cooperatively with Iraq, particularly in weapons development."  More details on the Iraq - Al Qaeda connection can be found here. 

In between these arguments, the editorial states that "The U.S. invaded Iraq based on false intelligence reports that the Iraqis possessed - the now infamous - weapons of mass destruction."  

Interestingly, a New Yorker magazine (no friend of the administration) article published one month before the invasion of Iraq summarizes the arguments made by President Bush for the invasion of Iraq, and the phrase "weapons of mass destruction" doesn't even come up in this summary.

The New Yorker states it this way:  "In his State of the Union address, President Bush offered at least four justifications, none of them overlapping: the cruelty of Saddam against his own people; his flouting of treaties and United Nations Security Council resolutions; the military threat that he poses to his neighbors; and his ties to terrorists in general and to Al Qaeda in particular." 

But the primary focus of the 4000 word article is a fifth reason the New Yorker columnist detected: "Yet another argument for war, which has emerged during the last few months, is that removing Saddam could help bring about a wholesale change for the better in the political, cultural, and economic climate of the Arab Middle East."  Again, nothing about "weapons of mass destruction" here.   

Nonetheless, we know that WMD were discussed prior to the war, and apparently Clinton-appointed CIA Director George Tenet claimed "it's a slam dunk case" in response to President Bush who expressed skepticism about the intelligence available concerning WMD. 

In fact Saddam Hussein had used WMD in the past.  As Charles Duelfer put it in his 2004 report on WMD, "The Iraq experience with WMD stretches over 30 years and three wars. Thousands of victims died on battlefields, and civilians have been gassed in domestic terror campaigns."

And while the WMD stockpiles did not turn up in the locations that Tenet had apparently expected, nonetheless, Duelfer gave this chilling testimony to the Senate concerning his findings:  "By 2003, Iraq would have been able to produce mustard agent in a period of months and nerve agent in less than a year or two."

And further Duelfer stated, "What is clear is that Saddam retained his notions of the use of force and had experience that demonstrated the utility of WMD. He was making progress in eroding sanctions and, had it not been for the events of 9-11-2001, things would have taken a different course for the Regime. Most senior members of the Regime and scientists assumed that the programs would begin in earnest when sanctions ended---and sanctions were eroding."

It should also be noted on this point, that this past summer a memo from the Director of National Intelligence confirmed that leftover WMD from the Iran-Iraq War were found in Iraq. 

The memo states, "Pre-Gulf War Iraqi chemical weapons could be sold on the black market.  Use of these weapons by terrorists or insurgent groups would have implications for Coalition forces in Iraq.  The possibility of use outside of Iraq cannot be ruled out."

The Shield editorial came up short where it could have done a great service to the students and wider USI community.  Let's hope for better in the future.

- posted by Glen Kissel

It's bad enough that illegal aliens counted in the US Census in states like California have caused Indiana to lose a Congressional District, and that Hoosiers who attend universities in California have to pay out-of-state tuition, while illegal aliens in California can qualify for in-state tuition.  But now to add insult to injury, the State Assembly of California has approved a bill giving illegal aliens a shot at state financial aid for their college education. 

“We're talking about limited resources here,” said Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine. “There's only so much that can go around. It's a slap in the face to people who have followed the rules.”

The bill is still subject to consideration by the California state senate and gubernatorial signature. 

Meanwhile, a lawsuit is underway by out-of-state American citizens attending college in California to force California to charge them in-state tuition as long as illegal aliens are allowed to pay in-state tuition.  Federal law requires that states that offer in-state tuition to illegal aliens must also provide the same to US citizens. 

So what was the headline that made it above the fold in the opening issue of the USI Student Newspaper, The Shield, for this academic year?  Was it about the opening of the new David L. Rice Library? No, that was at the bottom of the page.  Was it about the Congressional hearing held in Evansville on the illegal alien problem?  No, that was no where to be found, but it might be in next week's edition. 

Instead, we were greeted with "OTC emergency contraceptive approved by FDA."  Why should this be the headline story greeting the USI community as it embarks on a fall semester?  Even worse, why was key information about the controversial morning-after pill missing? 

Indeed, this was not the first time The Shield has pulled a stunt like this.  For last January 19th's edition the newspaper had a similar article, which in that case, had a nonscientific survey on student views about the morning-after pill, and an accompanying editorial calling for the morning-after pill to be availabe at USI.  (Interestingly, there is no link that can be found for the January 19, 2006 Shield edition at the Shield website. [The editor of The Shield has indicated to me that the link is not in its proper place on the website.  It can be found here, and it is mislabeled as January 19, 2003.])

USI alumnus and Indiana Right to Life Executive Director Mike Fichter, as well as USI employee, Natalie Reidford responded to the misinformation in that article and editorial.  As a result, the Shield journalist issued an apology for the lack of objectivity in the January 19 article. 

But here we are again.  This week's front page story fails to give the crucial information that the morning-after pill can abort an embryo (if it has been conceived by the time the drug is used), and that such embryo abortions may occur in as many as 75% of the cases in which the morning-after pill is used. 

Could not the author have called Indiana Right to Life (with an office here in Evansville) to get more information on this controversial drug and controversial FDA decision?  As USI student Aaron Ridlen pointed out to me, the Shield reporter could have called or stopped by the Pregnancy Resource Center just a few miles from USI to get another view on the issue. 

Ironically the reporter states that, "The drug is surrounded by misinformation and controversy."  Unfortunately the article contributes to the misinformation, in large part by failing to honestly address what the controversy is.

-posted by Glen Kissel.

Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter has announced that he will be agressively pursuing legal action against entities sending out pre-recorded automated calls in Indiana.  Such calls are in violation of Indiana's "Automatic Dialing Machine" statute.  Apparently his announcement has been prompted by an increasing number of such automated calls by Democrat activist groups. 

Those of us living in southern Indiana have been subjected to numerous automated calls in recent months attacking Congressman John Hostettler. 

Just last night I received an automated call (on my answer phone) from www.nationaldemocraticmessage.net, attacking President Bush and Republicans in Congress. 

Such automated calls are illegal.  Here is the relevant language from the statue: 

"Sec. 5. (b) A caller may not use or connect to a telephone line an automatic dialing-announcing device unless:
(1) the subscriber has knowingly or voluntarily requested, consented to, permitted, or authorized receipt of the message; or
(2) the message is immediately preceded by a live operator who obtains the subscriber's consent before the message is delivered. "

Attorney General Carter fully intends to pursue legal action including extracting monetary penalties against offenders.  He already has collected over $5,000,000 from nonpolitical entities violating the statute. 

His press release explains how citizens can help to nab violators:

"When filing complaints on pre-recorded or artificial voice messages, consumers are asked to provide as much detail as possible. It will be important to provide the attorney general’s office with the following information:

• Date & time of the call
• Name of the company calling (or the name they used)
• Product/service offered, or what the message was about "

I fully intend to make the relevant information available to the Attorney General so that he can prosecute www.nationaldemocraticmessage.net. 

-posted by Glen Kissel.

Contrary to popular thinking and erroneous court decisions, the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S Constitution does not give automatic citizenship to children born in the U. S. to illegal aliens.  This is explained in detail in testimony given by Professor John Eastman on September 29, 2005.   The hearing at which the testimony was presented was chaired by none other than Eighth District Congressman John Hostettler.  (Hat Tip to Hugh Hewitt)

-posted by Glen Kissel.

The Media Research Center has documented media bias in favor of the illegal alien agenda this past spring.  (Hat Tip to Michelle Malkin). 

Examining the major network coverage from late March (when the illegal alien protests began) to late May, the Media Research Center found: 

"Advocates of opening a wider path to citizenship were almost twice as likely to speak in news stories as advocates of stricter immigration control. Advocates for amnesty and guest-worker programs drew 504 soundbites in the study period, compared to just 257 for tighter border control. (Sixty-nine soundbites were neutral). On the days of pro-illegal-alien rallies, their critics nearly disappeared from the screen. For instance, on the night of April 10, the soundbite count on the three evening newscasts and ABC’s Nightline was 43 to 2 in favor of the protesters. When the debate shifted to Capitol Hill in May, coverage grew more balanced."

"While conservative labels were common, liberal labels were rarely or never used. In the study period, reporters referred to 'conservatives' or 'conservative' groups 89 times, most intensely during legislative debate in May, when President Bush was presented as having to 'appease' his 'conservative' base. NBC’s Matt Lauer even referred to Bush’s base as the 'far right.' By contrast, the 'liberal' label was used only three times – all of them by ABC. CBS and NBC never used the word, even as hard-left protest organizers described the House bill on public radio as full of 'horrendous and macabre clauses, fascist clauses.'"


"While protests centered on underlining the vital role illegal aliens play in the American economy, the burdens of illegal immigration in added government costs or crime were barely covered. While the networks poured out their air time to the sympathetic stories of hard-working immigrant families, only six out of 309 stories mentioned studies that illegal aliens cost more to governments than they provide in tax dollars. Only six stories gave a mention to the problem of the cost or threat of criminal aliens."

-posted by Glen Kissel