About
Captain Ed is a father and grandfather living in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, a native Californian who moved to the North Star State because of the weather. He lives with his wife Marcia, also known as the First Mate, their two dogs, and frequently watch their granddaughter Kayla, whom Captain Ed calls The Little Admiral.
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The Crows Nest
Rule 1: Drag The Corpse On Over First
If I've learned anything in four years of blogging, don't try to be out in front of the death rumors, especially with the villains of the world. Saddam died a hundred deaths before we caught him alive in his spider hole, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi almost as many before his demise last year. Osama may or may not be alive, but everyone's avoided speculating on his fate for a while now. Maybe Val at Babalu Blog will get luckier with his "Castro Is Dead" story. We all hope so. I'll wait for the announcement ....
Hobbs Choice
Volunteer Voters is holding its annual "Best of Nashville" on-line polls, and one of the categories is for the best political writer. Our friend Bill Hobbs, now posting at Newsbusters, and he'd like his on-line fans to cast their votes. Drop by and put one in for Bill if you get a chance!
Murtha Getting Backlogged On Apologies
Gary Gross of Let Freedom Ring sees another case collapsing on the Haditha charges. He's called for Murtha to apologize earlier, and adds another reason to the tally.
No Such Thing As 'Moderate' Islam?
Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan told a television interviewer that he finds the label "moderate Islam" offensive. Shrink Wrapped has a lot more on this, but at least in the same interview Erdogan acknowledged that "radical Islam" exists, and that it's been a catastrophe. Be sure to read the whole post.
MS-NBC Gets Punk'd
Power Line has a great post on a lack of journalistic effort on the part of MS-NBC. In covering the Michael Vick story, they reported on what they thought was Al Sharpton's website proclaiming Vick's innocence. I guess Alex Johnson and two other MS-NBC reporters couldn't bother to read the title bar of the site, which proudly proclaims it as a "parody site".
New Instapundit Podcast On Pharmaceuticals
I just caught this e-mail from Glenn Reynolds about his new podcast with Richard Epstein, the author of Overdose: How Excessive Government Regulation Stifles Pharmaceutical Innovation. Haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but the topic is important enough to make sure I carve out time for it tomorrow. Get their first and tell me what I'm missing ....
Fed Trying A 'Stealth Easing'?
The Federal Reserve seems to have conducted a quiet campaign to steady markets that started spinning out of control, according to King Banaian at SCSU Scholars. He thinks that the Fed has conducted a "stealth easing". Be sure to read his explanation and follow his lnks.
A Shameless Bit Of Sel-Promotion
Gateway Pundit and Val at Babalu Blog note a crass PR move by Hugo Chavez. Venezuela has responded to Peru's eathquake disaster with food shipments -- and with Hugo's smiling picture on the cans. He also uses the tuna-can label to undermine President Garcia of Peru, who narrowly defeated Chavez' pal Ollanto Humalla, whom the labels extol for his "solidarity" with Chavez.
Tacky beyond belief.
Bush Going After Palestinian Terror Financing?
George Bush's new orders to USAID forces them to review the executive management of all NGOs to ensure that they have no terrorist connections. Carl in Jerusalem says at Israel Matzav that the order specifically intends to target Palestinian front groups for terrorists. Let's hope he's right.
Slow Start!
Yes, I'm off to a slow start today, thanks to some scripting issues, a bad back, and an alarm clock that needs replacing. Bear with me -- I'm ramping up, I promise...
And Now, In Little League Action Last Night ...
I once played in a Little League game where we lost, 30-1, obviously before mercy rules came into being. The only comfort during that shellacking was that 13-year-olds don't have to justify their salaries for being on the field. You have to wonder what the Baltimore Orioles have to feel without that caveat today, after losing 30-3 to the Texas Rangers. Sixteen of the runs came in the last two innings .... (via TMV)
Bush Speech On Iraq
I got a couple of e-mails wondering why I haven't linked to George Bush's speech today. I liked it; I just didn't have much to add. Rush Limbaugh covered it well on his site, and Power Line also links approvingly but has nothing much more to say. Michael Goldfarb notes that the Weekly Standard had made a similar argument regarding Vietnam a year ago.
Rove Fears Me -- No, Really!
Hot Air notes the latest fundraising letter from John Edwards. No longer content to indulge his paranoia when Ann Coulter mentions him, now he wants to indulge it when Karl Rove doesn't. Has any candidate seemed this desperate before now?
Racism Or Hard Truth?
Angela Winters looks at an editorial cartoon and the controvery it has caused in Jacksonville, Florida, especially in the black community. Truth or racism? When rap artists tell young listeners not to cooperate with the police, how much responsibility do they have for the victimization that follows? Read all of the essay at The Moderate Voice.
Support Citizen Journalism
Bill Ardolino at INDC Journal reminds us that there is a reporter shortage on the front lines. The best way to solve that problem? Donate to Public Multimedia, the citizen-journalist organization that supports Bill Roggio, Bill Ardolino, and others. (And a direct donation to Michael Yon would be much appreciated as well.)
Comments (23)
Posted by Mr. Michael | June 6, 2007 6:30 PM
Nations that have opposed our get-tough efforts against Iran will have to realize that Iran presents a threat to their own troops - and one they will need to address quickly.
...and which they will probably address by pulling their troops out of NATO obligations...
Posted by RiverRat | June 6, 2007 6:31 PM
Yah! They'll address it quickly, they'll cut and run.
Posted by Geistmaus | June 6, 2007 6:54 PM
"This is quite an interesting development. For one thing, the Taliban and Iran considered each other enemies until ..."
No doubt. It's every bit as interesting as the stuff in the holds of the Lusitania or the Lend-Lease program in their days. Especially considering how derisive us Yanks were about European adventure.
Regardless of how you see the morality of things I cannot help but see irksome comparisons with Pershing's excursion in Mexico. Not least the issue of being stretched thin enough to be satisfied suffering slights from Carranza.
Posted by patrick neid | June 6, 2007 7:50 PM
ok. lets all pretend we are shocked! yes, i'm shocked. how about you? you are shocked to. ok. we are all shocked.
at some point, i don't know when, this charade will have to stop. why are we collectively such losers? we know who they are, where they are and what they are up to. why do we need to convince people, who will not be convinced, that iran, syria, hamas, hezzbollah and al sadr mean to kill us. they give speeches telling us the same just as reminders. how many dead is it going to take before we execute the leaders of these terror states? who cares what the rest of the world thinks. they want us to lose anyway.
we are cowards. we are afraid to execute these monsters because we are afraid to live with the aftermath. an aftermath, i might mention that we can only speculate about. such speculation history has proven to be inaccurate most of the time. but back to the cowardice. we are guilty of this because our fears preclude the actions necessary to help prevent the daily slaughter in iraq, afghanistan and sudan to name a few spots. that blood is on our hands because we let these monsters live. everyday they facilitate the killings taking place worldwide.
Posted by Bill Faith | June 6, 2007 8:18 PM
Fred Thompson made it clear on H&C last night that he favored preemptive military action if that's what it takes to keep Iran from getting nukes. I wish Sean had asked him how much more of this sort of shiite he'd put up with if he were CiC. I added a link to my 2007.06.06 Iraq/Iran/Afghanistan Roundup.
Posted by Ham | June 6, 2007 8:32 PM
Let's see how Huff Post will spin this one. Maybe the CIA is hiring Iranian thugs to hire illegal immigrants to smuggle them into Iraq.
Posted by Joe | June 6, 2007 8:34 PM
Hey Patrick, news flash, when countries get invaded by FOREIGN ARMIES, they fight back. If we are invaded by a foreign army, would you fight back? The US should have stayed out of Iraq, now were screwed.
Posted by TyCaptains | June 6, 2007 8:40 PM
Yea, now we've turned two former enemies into allies against us.
/slaps forehead
Posted by DubiousD | June 6, 2007 8:53 PM
"Hey Patrick, news flash, when countries get invaded by FOREIGN ARMIES, they fight back. If we are invaded by a foreign army, would you fight back?"
Hey, Joe, news flash, Iran and Iraq are two separate countries. It is Iran (with an "N") that is shipping arms to the Taliban. We did not invade Iran.
Posted by David L | June 6, 2007 8:53 PM
The Captain notes that "nations that have opposed our get-tough efforts against Iran will have to realize that Iran presents a threat to their own troops - and one they will need to address quickly." Unfortunately, they may choose to address the threat through preemptive surrender, winding up their involvement in Afghanistan as quickly as possible.
In my opinion, the ugly truth is that we face a choice among:
1. Studiously ignoring what any diplomat or student of international relations would call acts of war, and continuing to take higher casualties month after month while repeating Defense Secretary Gates' mantra that there is no evidence "of the involvement of the Iranian government in support of the Taliban". This as a means of avoiding either
2. War with Iran at a time when our military is brutally overstretched in both material and human terms and the US and British electorates are thoroughly alienated from and mistrustful of political leadership which seems to take an almost perverse pleasure in revealing new areas and refinements of incompetence with every issue they deal with and every decision they take, or
3. Getting out of the Middle East and Central Asia - not just Iraq and Afghanistan - as quickly as possible, making it plain that we have decided on preemptive surrender and leaving Iran to pursue its drive for a Shi'ite Caliphate dominating the Middle East. Said drive is likely to be stopped dead - literally - by Israel, and the stopping is likely to involve the first use of nuclear weapons in more than half a century.
Gates' weaseling, and others', on the responsibility of the Iranian government flows from a real and justified fear that if the electorate knew the real dimensions of the crisis and the choices we face, they would panic: demanding prompt withdrawal from the Middle East and Central Asia regardless of the likely and foreseen consequences. However, what Gates and the Administration are doing is buying time without using it or even thinking through how we will use it. if war with Iran breaks on an unprepared electorate we are certain to face vociferous demands for unilateral cease fire and withdrawal after hostilities begin, and that would be even worse than demands that we break and run before hostilities have started.
Posted by Sue | June 6, 2007 8:54 PM
"Hey Patrick, news flash, when countries get invaded by FOREIGN ARMIES, they fight back. If we are invaded by a foreign army, would you fight back? The US should have stayed out of Iraq, now were screwed."
Right, the talaban is a sovereign nation that we invaded. (sarcasm) And since when did we invade Iran?
It sort of defeats your "Iraq" example doesn't it?
And no, it's only the defeatist liberals who are so convinced that we are screwed that they do everything in their power to make sure it happens.
Posted by Realist | June 6, 2007 9:03 PM
Alright, all you warmongers calm down now. Let us chant our slogans that will bring peace:
Viva la raza!
Viva la reconquista!
Viva El Presidente Jorge bin Jorge al-Bush!
Islam is a religion of peace!
Allahu akbar!
There, don't you feel better now?
Posted by Del Dolemonte | June 6, 2007 9:35 PM
Ham said:
"Let's see how Huff Post will spin this one."
Breaking
"New York is vere I'd rather stay,
I get ALLERGIC smelling hay
I just adore a penthouse view,
Dahlink I love you but give me Park Avenue!"
Posted by MarkJ | June 6, 2007 9:51 PM
Dear Joe,
"Hey Patrick, news flash, when countries get invaded by FOREIGN ARMIES, they fight back. If we are invaded by a foreign army, would you fight back? The US should have stayed out of Iraq, now were screwed."
My sense of decorum and fair play normally preclude my kicking a man when he's down, but, in your case, I'll make an exception. I guess you were in a coma all through the 1980's and 1990's when Saddam Hussein launched three--count'em three--wars:
1. The invasion of Iran (1980)
2. The invasion of Kuwait (1990)
3. The war against his own people (especially Kurds, Jews, and Shiites)
Or have you forgotten a little place called Halabja?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halabja_poison_gas_attack
Really, pal, if you're going to be a troll, try to at least be an informed troll before you feverishly pound away at your keyboard.
Posted by Scrapiron | June 6, 2007 10:13 PM
You can spot a democrat from a mile away. His/Her white flag and apologies for the terrorists give them away, not to mention their poor memory on the numerous attacks on the U.S. (yes an attack on an embassy is an attack on America) prior to 9-11 and 9-11 . Wasn't there actually a terrorist attack on NYC prior to 9-11 also? I don't think we had invaded Iraq or Iran. Wake up Joe.
Right now the Administration needs to miss one planned attack and let a few thousand die to wake up the masses, again.
Posted by patrick neid | June 7, 2007 1:27 AM
joe,
grasshopper, you have much to learn. when you can get your arms around this thought you will have taken your first baby step.
" the reason radical islam wants to kill you is because you exist." they could care less about your fat little fingers tightly clinging to your bong making noises through the haze.
who says it better than this:
"We are not fighting so that you will offer us something. We are fighting to eliminate you."
Hussein Massawi, former leader of Hezbollah
now i understand what a traumatic event this is going to cause. i mean, you had it all figured out. we deserved 9/11 and if we didn't then it was an inside job. i mean even rosie o'donnell believes that! now, finding out that people actually hate your divine likeness, that has just got to earth shaking.
but hang in there dude. the adults in the world will give you the time you need to get some hugs while you gain consciousness.....
Posted by Dale Michaud | June 7, 2007 3:34 AM
' why are we collectively such losers?'
Uhh, well, in short, it is due to what is passed off as liberalism in America.
Posted by Asmodai | June 7, 2007 5:50 AM
I think Joe has cheetos dust on his fingers and lives in is mothers' basement.
Posted by Cybrludite![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| June 7, 2007 6:36 AM
I seem to recall a similar troll bleating pretty much the same words in response to the story about how one in four young muslim males in the US support suicide bombings. Unless he was planning to blow up in the parking lot of a Home Depot, I haven't noticed too many invaders around here...
Posted by brainy435![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| June 7, 2007 9:07 AM
"Iran and the Taliban had been fierce enemies when the Taliban was in power in Afghanistan, and their apparent collaboration came as a surprise to some in the intelligence community."
Isn't this the same community that said Saddam and Al Qaida would never work together either, for mostly the same reasons?
Posted by KauaiBoy | June 7, 2007 1:51 PM
If the NATO evidence is good (and don't ask Joe Wilson or the MSM or ACLU or Amnesty Int'l to bless it) then we must do whatever is necessary to stop the flow of weapons. This was the President's promise to this country after 9/11 that we would do whatever is necessary to prevent other nations/states from sponsoring terrorists and we must show these barbarians that we will back up our words. These savage bastards deserve the full wrath and anger that we can deliver because that is all they understand and respect. I trust the military to select the correct option and do the job. Just Do It !!!!!
Posted by Paul A'Barge | June 7, 2007 2:22 PM
Nuke Iran. Now.
Posted by NeClark | June 13, 2007 4:56 PM
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof"
Remember a few months back when the Admin tried to pedal a similar claim of Iran supplying weapons to the Al Queda boogie-men...and they showed photos of munitions. The only problem was, the bold paint-identification on the shells were in ENGLISH, and used Western date conventions -- completely unlike the I.D.s that the Iranians are known to use on their weapons and munitions.
The Cheney Administration seems to be offering the same grade of Bushit this time-around.
And what an irony; the White House is wringing its hands about the Iranian nuclear program(s) -- but their inner-circle crippled the CIA's "brass-plate" surveillance of Iran when their minions blew the cover of Valerie Plame Wilson.
Deprived of viable espionage, our "only option" is now to launch pre-emptive attacks. What a coincidence...