I am currently reading “The Case for Hillary Clinton” by Susan Estrich.  It was written in 2005, before Senator Clinton officially announced her candidacy for president (I think the unofficial announcement was made sometime in 1969).  I don’t think that Ms. Estrich is going to win me over to Hillary’s camp, but I like to read political commentary from all areas of the political spectrum.  Plus, when no one else is around, I like to read the book out loud in my best Susan Estrich voice.  Since my first ever cigarette on my 21st birthday eleven years ago, I think I’ve smoked in total what amounts to one pack.  So, it is quite the feat to achieve Ms. Estrich ’s scratchy, chain-smoking tone.

Estrich opens her book with the following:

Imagine yourself turning to your daughter … and saying:

“If she can do this, the world has really changed.” 

And across the globe, in every language women speak, as the pictures travel and the word spreads … billions of girls and women will turn to each other and say the same thing and the world will never be the same. 

Really?  If memory serves, there have been female world leaders before.  In fact, some of these places across the globe that Estrich mentions have had more direct experience with female heads of state than we have here in the United States (Great Britain and Israel come to mind right away).  I understand that the U.S. is the most powerful country and therefore its leader has a great world presence, but Senator Clinton would not be doing anything new on the world’s playing field.

I don’t think I will turn to Catherine when we elect our first female president and share a precious female bonding moment.  I’ve spent my entire life believing that women can do anything they want and I’ll expect my daughter to have the same view.   Therefore, I do not plan to be amazed when a woman leads our country.  If I like her policy positions and feel she is the best person for the job, I’ll be happy.  If she is Hillary Clinton, I won’t be so thrilled.  Maybe Catherine will be the first female president!  She will not need to wait to see someone else do it first in order to believe she is capable of the position.

I haven’t quite gotten tired of hearing about Michael Vick yet. Or the NBA referee scandal (huge). Or how Barry Bonds is a cheat (and a jerk). In the wide world of sports, the three majors are chock full of drama. It’s a good time to be a lawyer and a sports fan.

Most of the pundits are on target with Vick. That the charges are federal automatically catapults Vick’s troubles past that of Pac Man Jones, or even the Duke lacrosse situation, where the case was shabby from the get-go. State prosecutors are prone to waste time and resources with less provable charges (and if indigent defendants were more often able to make bond, the state conviction rates would drop to even lower levels - the number of defendants who plead out just so they don’t spend nine months in jail waiting for a trial date is shockingly high). Federal prosecutors are a contrast in total with their state counterparts. United States attorneys do not typically pursue charges until their case is substantial. And especially not so in the Eastern District of Virginia, one of the more preeminent federal districts. Even Stephen A. Smith of ESPN gets it, and he’s usually one quick to pull out the race card.

The the burden required to convict Vick criminally is not and should not be the burden used to determine whether he gets to continue his football career at the present time. And those who support him are mystifying to me for their lack of total judgment. He’s not even a good quarterback.
The upcoming plea by one of the co-defendants also complicates things. In short, Vick is in an increasingly growing serious mess of trouble.

Meanwhile, the NBA can only hope that the Vick news drowns out the basketball-fixing news. While true it is unlikely that anything Donaghy did changed the outcome of a game, the shadow of corruption slaps down a league that was finally, desperately, attempting to climb out of a ten year old pit of despair.  It’s a big deal. And it has brought the credibility of professional basketball to heel with it.
And finally…Barry Bonds would serve the sport well if he retires now, one homer from Hank Aaron’s record. His achievement (if one laughingly wants to call it that), will never be viewed legitimately. If Roger Maris’ 1961 performance came with an asterisk, there’s not a punctuation mark in modern use fitting for Barry Bonds’ 756th home run. And no matter what Bonds says or does, short of quitting the chase, the evidence mounting is weighing against, not for, him. And that doesn’t even take into account the potentiality of a federal indictment. Then again, for those paying attention, common sense coupled with some before and after pictures tell the tale well enough without having to go too deep, and too far. Bonds won’t get “beyond a reasonable doubt” benefits until he is charged with perjury.
So there. Be wise, those of the NHL - stay out the brambles.

When I was in the fourth grade, my teacher (Mrs. Casselberry) had an area known as “The Special Place”.  While it sounds like a destination that would land most elementary school teachers in prison for an extended period of time, it was actually quite innocent.  This was 1984 and my school was designed in the open classroom pod model.  There was no teacher occupying the “pod” across the way, so Mrs. Casselberry claimed it as her own.

Students were allowed to go over to “The Special Place” once they had completed their classwork and behaved well.  Once there, we could play board games, work on extra credit, read, etc.  My friends and I usually chose to spend our time making up long division problems to solve on the chalkboard.  Yes, I was just that cool.

One afternoon, Bobby (a fifth grader!) brought the new Fat Boys tape over to “The Special Place”.  He asked me … me! … if I wanted to plug in one of the sets of giant plastic-covered cushioned headphones that we all knew and loved to listen to the music.  But, of course!  Somewhere between “The Fat Boys are Back” and “Human Beat Box, Part 2″, I started talking to Bobby about how much I loved the tape.  Apparently, the heavy foam headphones prevented me from realizing how loudly I was talking.  Mrs. Casselberry marched over to us with a stern look on her face and ordered us back to our desks.  I was banned from “The Special Place” for a whole week due to being unruly and distracting those who were still working.

I write all that to share this …

To the woman who frequents the treadmills at the YMCA around 4:00pm on weekday afternoons:

We can all hear you sing off-key to the videos on CMT.  I turned up the volume in my own headphones while watching “Hardball” and I could still hear you.  I’m sure that you are very proud to know all of the words to “Lost in This Moment” and “Wasted”.  Kudos!  However, when a fellow runner lets you know that we have all become your unwilling audience, I really don’t think that “I’m just singing a little bit … I’m not bothering anyone” is an accurate response.

I watched quite a bit of coverage of the Harlem Book Festival last week on C-Span.  Following a panel discussion on black identity in today’s society, a black man who appeared to be in his thirties walked to the microphone to ask a question.  I was shocked by his apparel!  He was wearing a t-shirt with the words “RETIRED SLAVE” written across the front!

I immediately thought to myself, “This is horrible!  I want to know this man’s home country, because any government that still allows slavery must be exposed.  And, if this retired slave lives in the United States, we must find his employer and report that person to the authorities immediately!  Did the person who kept him enslaved give him the t-shirt upon his retirement instead of the standard gold watch?  That is just plain insulting.”

After those initial thoughts, I was hit by a second wave of musings that included, “What if this man never really was enslaved at all?  What if he is just comparing his life to the lives of those who suffered through generations of actual slavery?  In reality, I don’t think that slaves were given the option to retire.  There was no pension plan in place.  Does he realize how ridiculous he looks wearing that shirt?”

I decided to stop by Howard School and get my early vote in before the certain last-day rush at the Hermitage Library site tomorrow. This is the second election where the electronic machines have been in use, and I noticed something I did not notice before - how utterly easy it now is to vote for a write-in candidate. No more requesting a special ballot. No more waiting for that ballot to be provided. And no more uncertainty about the process. You just hit the “write-in” button and type. Very nice.

I had no preferred candidate in my council district, so I wrote another one in. Same for vice mayor, though I resisted the urge to add my own candidate on the council at-large ballot. Prospectively, there are certainly going to be some worthwhile write-in campaigns.

UPDATE Oh yeah - I voted for Karl Dean for mayor.

I have had the opportunity to review the financial disclosure that was submitted by Councilman Harold White’s campaign last week. First off, I must say I find it fascinating that the front page of the paperwork indicates that White is running for office in District 15. Last I checked, it’s the lucky residents of District 14 who get to claim Councilman White as our representative in the Metro Council. Innocent mistake, I’m sure, but still amusing.

Councilman White took in just under $24,000 in contributions this quarter. Only one itemized contribution (required for those who give at least $100) came from within the district. It was a contribution of $1000 from the president of Lo-Jack Company on Central Pike. There is one contributor with a P.O. Box in 37214, which would be a post office in District 14. However, this gentleman’s home address is located in District 15.

I must say that Odell Binkley, owner of a landfill and some properties on Central Pike, is a particularly interesting contributor. He has taken out large ads in the Donelson Hermitage Herald the past couple of weeks letting the readers know what a wonderful councilman Harold White is for our district. It means a lot to me that this resident of Wilson County (Mount Juliet, specifically) cares so deeply for the well-being of his neighbors to the west. He even cares enough to make sure that his daughter, son-in-law, and daughter-in-law each gave $1000 to White. They all live in Mount Juliet as well. Is Binkley just a devoted friend to Councilman White, or does he hope to see some financial benefits come from his support? Hopefully, we won’t get the chance to find out!

Councilman White did receive $450 in unitemized contributions. Even if all of this money came from within District 14 (which I doubt), it’s still a very small percentage of the total raised. Candidates certainly have the right to raise money from people in any location, and they can accept support from whomever they choose. Isn’t it telling, however, when no one from your own district is willing to step up and be a significant contributor?

I went to vote this morning at Hermitage Library.  Several candidates were there holding signs and asking for votes, mostly those who represent the nearby areas (Districts 12-15).   Surprisingly, my councilman, Harold White, was actually there.  I thought he might not be able to find the library, since he apparently couldn’t find the adjacent police station the night of the candidate forum.

As I walked by, Councilman (for two more weeks) White said, “Hi, Mrs. Moore.  Nice to see you see this morning.  How are you doing?”

After recovering from the giddy blush of excitement that came from him remembering me, I let him know that I was having a wonderful day.

I was almost to the entrance of the library when White yelled out, “Thank you for your blog … moorethoughts.com!”

I responded with a hearty, “You’re welcome!” and proceeded inside to vote.

I’m not sure if Councilman White expected me to be intimidated or embarrassed upon learning that he has seen my blog.  I haven’t exactly been complimentary of his leadership in District 14.  Quite the contrary, sir!  Thank you for taking the time to visit the blog.  Nathan and I appreciate every reader!

I also would like to thank Councilman White for loudly yelling the name of the blog in front of fellow candidates and the dozens of voters who were there.  I always love free publicity!  I’ll have to check for a spike in page views this evening as a result of his comment.

I am not an expert on Hades, but I imagine its dimensions must be pretty large.  Lucifer needs plenty of room to host all of the horrible people who find their way to his dwellings.  He will have to place a couple more mints on the bed pillows when these disgusting excuses for parents meet their demise:

A couple who authorities say were so obsessed with the Internet and video games that they left their babies starving and suffering other health problems have pleaded guilty to child neglect.

These losers were apparently “addicted” to Dungeons and Dragons and were too busy living out fantasy lives to care for their real-life responsibilities.  If you are a teenager and you want to spend hours role-playing D & D with some friends in your basement (preferably not the video game version … let’s use some imagination, boys), more power to you.  But, mothers and fathers, it’s time to put down the joystick and be parents.

The children of Michael and Iana Straw, a boy age 22 months and a girl age 11 months, were severely malnourished and near death last month when doctors saw them after social workers took them to a hospital, authorities said.

Police said hospital staff had to shave the head of the girl because her hair was matted with cat urine. The 10-pound girl also had a mouth infection, dry skin and severe dehydration.

It is stories like this one that make me amazed at the strength of children.  A toddler and a baby somehow survived inexcusable neglect.  I cannot imagine not playing with Catherine and hugging her every day, let alone providing her with basic nutritional needs.  The article states that these people had plenty of food in the house, but just couldn’t be bothered to give it to their precious little ones.

The clincher for the story is that the “father” is an unemployed cashier (are those jobs hard to come by?) who spent a $50,000 inheritance on computer equipment and a plasma TV.

Why do these slackers have children?  If they were so devoted to the video game, they should not have stopped to procreate.   Since my libertarian beliefs would never allow me to support government-sanctioned sterilization, let’s just hope that in this instance the extended close proximity of electronic equipment to a man’s sperm factory does really cause sterility and that the effects kick in soon.

I love my husband. My husband loves the ridiculous movies on the SciFi Channel that focus on some form of mutant animal life. So, as a way of spending quality time with Nathan, I joined him on the couch last night for two hours of cinematic genius. The prime time feature we enjoyed was Supergator. A huge alligator/dinosaur gets brought back to life by an idiot who grabbed some DNA from a fossilized leg bone. This beast then runs around Hawaii ripping at flesh and biting off people’s heads. As the intricate plot developed and took spellbinding turns, I sat on the edge of my seat and marveled at the exquisite acting and directing I was having the honor to observe.

Some highlights from the movie include:

* A great deal of time is spent developing the sexual tension masked by verbal barbs that takes place between an old boat captain and an old scientist who can’t figure out how to use her GPS device to track the monster. It was like African Queen for a new generation. Imagine our shock when we discovered halfway through the movie that the aging scientist was being played by Kelly McGillis! First of all, aren’t those Top Gun residual checks enough to keep you in the black for a lifetime? Second, my poor husband will never be able to kick back and enjoy “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin in the same way again. Kelly McGillis is the hot flight instructor no more.

* A young woman with large breasts wearing a pink thong bikini runs through the woods to escape the feared supergator. She reaches a point of exhaustion and decides to take her chances hiding behind a fallen tree. Instead of crouching and making herself as inconspicuous as possible, she stretches out into a pose that belongs on the front of Maxim. She dies.

* In a shocking twist that is sure to rock the horror/sci fi industry to its core, the black character is still alive at the end of the movie. (Didn’t they read the horror movie manual? Girls with large breasts, stupid drunk guys who at first laugh at the beast because they think it’s a hallucination and black characters always die first) This surviving character who defied the odds is a journalist for a college newspaper who traveled with a professor of volcanology to document his research. I’m sure all aspiring journalists in their early 20s are clamoring for that gig. “No, really, Sally. You cover the drunk spring break parties in Panama City and then head to the Final Four for interviews with our championship team. I want to go with the old dude and listen to him talk about lava.”

Overall, Supergator delivered a lovely way to spend a Saturday night. I hope that next week brings us a mutant spider or a twenty-foot-tall cricket that kills people by rubbing them between his legs. Is that a cricket chirping or the bloodcurdling screams of a human being rubbed to death? Tune in to find out!

I spent an inordinate amount of time at one particular Panera this week while my daughter took part in a vacation Bible school.  (How much “schooling” was going on in a room filled with one-year-olds?  Not sure, but she had a lot of fun!)  After consuming too many cinnamon crunch bagels with honey walnut cream cheese, I am left with a couple of lingering questions:

1. Since when does a Cadillac Escalade qualify as a compact car?  The front row of parking is reserved for “compact” cars.  My little Honda Civic certainly qualifies.  But, I often found myself wedged between large SUVs.  If you are ambulatory, do not park in the handicapped spaces.  If you are not housing a growing life in your womb, do not park in the spots reserved for expectant mothers.  And, if you drive a beastly ride such as an Escalade, please remove yourself from the compact area before you leave another scratch mark on an innocent Civic because you didn’t have enough room to open your door.

2. Is it really appropriate to allow your four-year-old daughter to writhe around on a dirty restaurant floor and then say to her, “Show Grandpa how you sing and dance to ‘Badonkadonk’!”?

3. Will I ever get used to the grown men who sit alone in dark corners of Panera attached to voice-activated computers in order to play video games with an avatar (just learned that word!) they spent hours creating?  I have a feeling that men with this level of commitment to computer games probably have internet access at home.  Do they think, “I believe that a chicken pomodoro sandwich and a background conversation of two teenaged girls discussing how ’the new boy is, like, so cute and totally sweet’ will make my gaming experience reach the ultimate level.”?  

A recent Associated Press report indicates that al Qaeda is at pre-9/11 strength. The question then is, where does that lead us?
I suppose many may conclude that our position and tactics are ineffective. That may be so. But the inquiry begs the question as to what ought to be done.

Some would assume the enemy to be rational and adopt an isolationist approach. Live and let live, those might say. Why anyone would say that escapes any sense of rationality. You cannot reason with a Muslim terrorist any more than you can reason with a dog or a one year old child. A long litany of recent history enables us to know that Muslim terrorists are not rational in the sense of utilitarianism, capitalist incentive, or any tenet of Western philosophy, and at their basest are no more interested in living themselves than letting us alone.  This enemy is so unreasonable that it has declared war on Pakistan, which has remained rather moderate in the grand scheme of the Muslim world, yet very much Muslim nonetheless.  If Islamists are peaking once again, empowering a cadre of individuals who can justify infinite death and destruction to bring about a new religious world order, it means only one thing. We have not destroyed enough of them yet.

That’s not terribly understanding of me, I know. In fact, it is quite harsh. And at once, it is completely rational and morally right.

Our most recent religiously fueled war ended over sixty years ago. The Japanese empire thrived on the cult of emperor worship - Shintoism. The result of our victory was the complete decertification of the emperor as a god. Our terms of victory made it impossible to revive the religion. I am not advocating the destruction of Islam, but I am certainly advocating the destruction of a particularly virulent form of it.

However, for sake of discussion, I am happy to entertain thoughts and comments otherwise.

The “fairness doctrine” has been revived by a cadre of congressional, well - weenies. Wimps, maybe. Legendary local journalist and publisher John Siegenthaler takes on the lunatic belief that the fairness doctrine holds up to even the most basic constitutional muster. Plus, if traipsing upon the Constitution doesn’t ruffle one’s feathers, it’s also easy to see that the idea just makes for bad public policy.

In summary, the fairness doctrine would demand that any station that played three hours of Rush Limbaugh, such as WLAC talk radio in Nashville, would have to offer a counterpoint equivalent to that three hours in some form.  Among those advocating that the First Amendment be gutted are Democrat Senators John Kerry, Dick Durbin, and Dianne Feinstein.  Not to be outdone, Democrat Congressman Maurice Hinchey of New York and Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio dutifully walk about the House side with the First Amendment stuck firmly to their heels.

If anything approaches Newspeak, the term “fairness doctrine” is it. To support it, you must believe there is some First Amendment penumbra / exception that the Warren court never got to, or that the free market, and the free market of ideas, is an expendable luxury. Republicans get unfairly blasted daily for shredding the Constitution in fighting the War on Terror. In reality, it is proposals such as this that really put the Bill of Rights in the outhouse.

The New York Times editorial staff has outdone themselves this time, call for the full and immediate withdrawal of American forces from Iraq, the consequences be damned - or, in this case, simply wished away absent any critical thought.

Much like our local Gannett affiliate, the Times opinioneers often live in a delightful world where fairies, gnomes and Teletubbies are each courted equally for their vote. Toon Town never had it so good.

Adding to the amusement, while the editors consider Iraq an unmitigated disaster, the front page of the Week in Review discusses how successful American and Iraqi forces have been in using both diplomacy and force to quell the unrest in Anbar Province, most specifically in the former deadliest city in Iraq, Ramadi

Until only a few months ago, the Central Street bazaar was enemy territory, watched over by American machine-gunners in sandbagged bunkers on the roof of the governor’s building across the road. Ramadi was Iraq’s most dangerous city, and the area around the building the most deadly place in Ramadi. Now, a pact between local tribal sheiks and American commanders has sent thousands of young Iraqis from Anbar Province into the fight against extremists linked to Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. The deal has all but ended the fighting in Ramadi and recast the city as a symbol of hope that the tide of the war may yet be reversed to favor the Americans and their Iraqi allies.

This is no small feat. And it was done by using ingenuous tactics combined with effective force. More interesting is a rather gloomy, and now incorrect, Marine assessment of Ramadi from just last year

Ramadi, which lies on the edge of a desert that reaches west from the city to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria, had a population of 400,000 in Saddam Hussein’s time. That was before the insurgents — a patchwork of Al Qaeda-linked militants, die-hard loyalists of Saddam Hussein’s ruling Baath Party and other resistance groups fighting to oust American forces from Iraq — coalesced in a terror campaign that turned much of the city into a ghost town, and much of Anbar into a cauldron for American troops. Last year, a leaked Marine intelligence report conceded that the war in Anbar was effectively lost, and that it was on course to becoming the seat of the Islamic militants’ plans to establish a new caliphate in Iraq.

Now back to the call for withdrawal.

The Times’ editors want an ample dessert to accompany their din call for surrender. Broken down into easy-to-refute sections, the editorial blasts Bush for failure, yet sets up a roster of haughty goals unattainable without a significant troop presence in Iraq. For instance, the Times wants us out, yet still demands that the Turks stay out of Kurdistan, that Iran’s influence be checked among the Shiites in the south, that al Qaeda not be given refuge to train anywhere in the country, and that those who allied with the Americans be protected. How this is to be done without an effective military ground presence is apparently left up to the gnomes. Though in fairness one solution is presented - work closer with the United Nations.

That must come from the Teletubby wing of the ideological Left. They are of European origin, after all.

I daresay that the opinion leaders at the world’s paper of record are nothing short of naive. Tucked between the Hudson and the Atlantic, they toil away, devising a world recognizable only to them and the self-proclaimed elite who buy into such rank nonsense. And then in an effort toward self-validation, offer pronouncements as to how they would make their world work better. Of course, this is a completely useless exercise. A make-believe world where you concoct your own rules and offer your own pronouncements does no one anywhere much good, except those who buy into the hype, who receive the benefit of a feel-good ideological fix. Meanwhile, the real world demands real solutions. Whiny, thoughtless editorial pieces only work to make those solutions harder to find.

UPDATE More water to douse on the Times’ fire.

UPDATE UPDATE And of course, Turkey would never interfere with Kurdistan.

I discovered yesterday that I occasionally (by “occasionally” I mean once while his mom went to the post office) babysat one of the contestants from the season of The Apprentice that was filmed in Los Angeles.  Since I never watch the Trump marketing tool, I was not aware of my link to a celebrity until my sister called me from Brooklyn with the news.  She was looking up some old friends on My Space and found our long-lost neighbors.

I remember Aaron Altscher as a three-year-old boy who joined his older sister for afternoons of play in my backyard (his sister was good friends with my sister … I was several years older than all of them and therefore quite self-important).  We had several conversations sitting by our sandbox during which he would explain life through his toddler eyes.  I’m sure he doesn’t remember these conversations, but my mind is like a steel trap (I can tell you about the time when I was four years old and my friend Greg accepted a dare to walk over a driveway filled with broken glass and what I was wearing when my first boyfriend asked me out after German class in ninth grade).  Also, I had the benefit of already being ten years old so my memories of 1985 would understandably be a bit clearer.

Aaron and his family moved to another town in Maryland when he was still quite young, and I never saw him much after that.  Imagine my surprise, then, when I see that little Aaron has grown up into quite the good-looking young man.  Way to go, Aaron!  I’d like to think those early years in Laurel, MD on Clarington Court helped you in some small way become the success you are today!

Ronnie Steine, convicted thief and a front runner for a Metro Council At-Large seat (or so I’m told), has seemingly returned to his roots, lifting a significant portion of mayoral candidate Howard Gentry’s message. See here and here. It really bites when you get caught in camera - but Ronnie already knows all about that.
It’s true - real life is better than fiction.

Back by popular demand, I present to you more instances of the close relationship between Harold White and developers (or just anyone else besides your average dweller in District 14).  If you happened to be in Hermitage earlier today and you saw a woman in her 30s jumping out of a Honda Civic along busy roads just to capture these photographic statements for her readers, you were looking at me.

Here is a Harold White sign along Old Hickory Boulevard.  The yellow and black beauty joins a sign advertising retail space for sale:

Nothing says, “I’ve got the support of my community” like planting your sign in front of an abandoned house.  I hope the place is haunted by only White-friendly ghosts.  Otherwise, there could be some trouble!

Finally, if you are looking for a good rental property along Lebanon Road, just keep your eye out for one of Harold White’s signs.  There may very well be a “For Rent” sign nearby.  And then … bingo! … your search is over.

Financial disclosures are due on July 10.  I certainly will be requesting a copy of Harold White’s forms, and I look forward to seeing the sources of his campaign funds.  You can be sure I will post them here.

Bob Clement starts his air war for Nashville mayor tomorrow during the evening broadcast news. The first roll-out is a 2 minute spot (ahem, yes, that would be 120 seconds), which, according to the Nashville City Paper, is intended to show that Clement is the right candidate to transform Nashville from “good to great”

A source close to the Clement campaign said the television add will posit that with the “right leadership Nashville can reach its destiny as a ‘World Class’ city.”

“Bob Clement is presented as candidate with experience and a specific plan to improve schools, attack crime and ‘hold the line’ on property taxes,” the same source told the newspaper Wednesday.

The ad will also feature “real people” giving testimonials about Clement, as well as a “brief” appearance from Clement stating that Nashville can move from being “good to great” – a allusion to the popular business books by author Jim Collins.

Buy some Twizzlers, pour the 128 ouncer, and settle in. In the world of advertising, 60 seconds is long. Most television ads are 30 seconds. This is practically an inescapable infomercial, the primary difference being that it’s not on the Sci-Fi channel, it’s not running at 2am, and there won’t be a creepy animated fox pitching his candidacy (I hope).  Plus, I’m not so sure that 2 minutes of Bob Clement is going to make anyone more likely to vote for him, anyway (anybody see that debate on public television a few days ago?). He claims to have great proposals drenched in specifics, but I’ve yet to hear him say much of anything I’d deem worthy of making Nashville “great”, and I can’t say there was a single original idea during the campy “30 ideas in 30 days” played out on YouTube. For the most part, I’d say he’s hardly even been cogent, whether in one of the debates or being interviewed on 104.5 The Zone.

But hey, no one has proven to have great media, so maybe this will be effective.  If I’m off the mark, you’ll hear it here first.

One of the distinctions between the Right and the Left regarding the ongoing war with Islamic fundamentalism is the cause the underlying the conflict. The Left seems to believe that our presence in Iraq and elsewhere is “breeding” terrorists - as if the primary reason for Islamic fundamentalism’s penchant for terrorism is a reactionary one. It’s a “blame the West” mentality. The Right, in marked contrast, believes that the actions of Islamist terrorists are at their very source religious, compelled into action by a belief structure absent any sort of real world prodding by free people.

Hassan Butt, a former member of the British Jihadi Network, validates the conservative interpretation. In an article in Britain’s Daily Mail, Butt explains

When I was still a member of what is probably best termed the British Jihadi Network - a series of British Muslim terrorist groups linked by a single ideology - I remember how we used to laugh in celebration whenever people on TV proclaimed that the sole cause for Islamic acts of terror like 9/11, the Madrid bombings and 7/7 was Western foreign policy.

By blaming the Government for our actions, those who pushed this “Blair’s bombs” line did our propaganda work for us.

The West certainly is to blame for Islamic terrorism, simply by its existence. It this sort of insight from a former fanatic that helps frame the long term nature of this conflict, and the need for Western civilization’s persistence and patience, not self-flagellation and 1960s mired intellectualism. In the world of the Islamic fanatic, there is no grey

There isn’t enough room to outline everything here, but the foundation of extremist reasoning rests upon a model of the world in which you are either a believer or an infidel.

Formal Islamic theology, unlike Christian theology, does not allow for the separation of state and religion: they are considered to be one and the same.

For centuries, the reasoning of Islamic jurists has set down rules of interaction between Dar ul-Islam (the Land of Islam) and Dar ul-Kufr (the Land of Unbelief) to cover almost every matter of trade, peace and war.

But what radicals and extremists do is to take this two steps further. Their first step has been to argue that, since there is no pure Islamic state, the whole world must be Dar ul-Kufr (The Land of Unbelief).

Step two: since Islam must declare war on unbelief, they have declared war upon the whole world.

Along with many of my former peers, I was taught by Pakistani and British radical preachers that this reclassification of the globe as a Land of War (Dar ul-Harb) allows any Muslim to destroy the sanctity of the five rights that every human is granted under Islam: life, wealth, land, mind and belief.

In Dar ul-Harb, anything goes, including the treachery and cowardice of attacking civilians.

So do with this anecdotal redemption what you will. The best way to defeat your enemy is to understand him. If American and Western leadership refuses to accept the truths about the showdown between our culture and the culture of the caliphate, the war will continue and more lives will be lost. An all-out press is still needed, and I am afraid that a significant portion of our Western populace prefers the instinct of the ostrich to the will of a Churchill.

UPDATE Further proof of my point.

It’s the right decision. Here’s why.

First, the sentence he received was unduly harsh. A sentence of thirty months, followed by two years of probation, did not fit the crime. Take for example someone we all ought to be more outraged about, like former Clinton national security advisor Sandy Berger, who stole multiple copies of classified documents by sticking them in his pants and hiding them under a construction trailer. He also made two other trips to the same archive prior to all available documents being cataloged. The result? A misdemeanor plea and no jail time. Compare and contrast.

Second, the alleged wrong for which Libby was convicted occurred only because of the actions of the special prosecutor. The investigation itself resulted in the crimes for which Libby was convicted. If Fitzgerald had not begun an investigation into a case of no wrongdoing, Libby would not have been charged. This does not excuse the wrongs committed by Libby, but it ought to bring with it a sense of fairness in the sentencing - two and a half years of prison time is not commensurate with the crime.

Now, remember all this “Fitzmas” garbage in December of 2005? Nothing came up it, save the prosecution of Scooter Libby. The Fitzgerald investigation found that Valerie Plame was not covert for purposes of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. Fitzgerald himself has stated there will be no further prosecutions regarding the alleged Plame leak. In short, the Left’s contentions regarding the corruption of the Bush White House have been greatly exaggerated. So far, they’ve come up with the Plame kerfuffle and faux outrage about at-will employees in the Justice Department. So much for reality in the era of corruption politics.

The right thing to do, at minimum, is commute Libby’s sentence. I would not oppose an outright pardon, and consider some of the pardoning practices of recent administrations (ahem, Marc Rich), Libby is more than deserving of the executive’s clemency.

UPDATE Now, this is funny.