A new thread! A new age of hope and peace and spiritual growth, et cetera...

He is the man

General Petraeus is a warrior and a credit to our country.

May God bless and keep General Petraeus. We desperately need this hero.

Someone gag hillary please.

Shillary -- "no clear way forward"

You dumb ass. Perhaps you haven't been paying attention of late.

Has Obama said anything yet? Or will he just remain "Present?"

re: #7 sevoguy

Democrats = the late great United States.

Republicans = the last hope of civilization before islamification.

Between the burgeoning Islamic communities in Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Illinois, it looks like the Corn Belt will soon become the Koran Belt.

Hillary has lost the shrill, at least. Betcha Obama won't be making an appearance.

The New Yorker ran a piece the other day that illustrates perfectly the role of cognitive dissonance in the progressive narrative of Petraeus in particular. Its amusing to watch them try-- and fail-- to align the competing ideas of "Iraq as failure" and "Patraeus as a successful commander". The result is a piece that half hates, half loves him, and all in all makes no sense.

Thank you Charles for giving the folks fighting the War On Terror some airtime.

No clear way forward. I think that Clinton's referring to her campaign there. They've got themselves a stalemate and quagmire in the trenches of the DNC.

Seriously, all these hearings do is show just how out of touch the politicians are and showcase those members of Congress who can't mug enough in front of the cameras for personal vanity.

Hillary is no exception.

There's a difference between pontificating and asking questions, but none of the Senators actually know the difference.

Open wide Hill ... here comes the combat boot.

Hillary's calling Petraeus a liar....?

I don't always agree with Lindsey Graham, but he was good today.

I'm curious to know if this hearing will resurrect the anti-war line in the election campaigns.

re: #15 aboo-Hoo-Hoo

Hillary's calling Petraeus a liar....?

She did last time--don't you remember her "willful suspension of disbelief" line?

CNN headlines that Petraeus said that we're making "fragile" progress. Yes, if you cut the troops and cut and run, that progress will go by the boards. Undermine the US efforts, and you'll lead to reverses in the gains.

Setting absolute deadlines will do the same.

"In the Washington Post interview, I ticked off a number of areas where there had been progress...." (Gen Petraeus)

He sure ticked off a number of dems with his proof of progress, that's for sure.

Hillary looks awful tired - she could pack at least five pants suits in those bags under her eyes.

re: #15 aboo-Hoo-Hoo

Hillary's calling Petraeus a liar....?

* * *
Hillary's going to lose some of her military supporters--whoever's left from when Hillary ran the White House's office of Military Liaison or whatever it was called.

re: #9 buzzsawmonkey
You asked me the other day about the countries that use the crescent in their flags. I finally got around to it:
Here's the picture again.
First row: Algeria, Azerbaijani Republic, Malaysia, Maldives
Middle row: Republic of Singapore,Tunisia, Turkey,Turkmenistan
Bottom row: Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Comoros, Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Uzbekistan

By the way, if you post "ban the Koran" in all capital letters, bolded, you achieve nothing except to make me and everyone here look like nuts.

I just can't watch HRC.

re: #10 EC Marm

Hillary has lost the shrill, at least. Betcha Obama won't be making an appearance.

The talking heads spouted all morning that all three of the presidential candidates would be at this hearing. If Obama isn't there there can be only one interpretation - trying to avoid making an utter fool of himself.

I haven't been listening to the hearings, mostly cause the TV's in the other room but mom has said that she almost fell asleep when Levin was speechifying - said that he said absolutley nothing new at all.
Wonder how Hillary's faring? Is she really calling Petraeus a liar? Does she give any factual basis for this?

re: #24 MandyManners

I agree. Everytime I see her face I hear that insane cackle and it freaks me out.

Hillary's voice is shot.

re: #25 galloping granny

The talking heads spouted all morning that all three of the presidential candidates would be at this hearing. If Obama isn't there there can be only one interpretation - trying to avoid making an utter fool of himself.

Then I hope he appears. Although no matter how biased, ignorant, and uninformed he may appear, his 'base' will give him a pass.

Barack Obama is coming up later.

re: #27 Cpt. Disco,

I keep waiting for her to have a Howard Dean moment, and go into full shrieking moonbat mode.

That would be funny :-)

Re # 7

Saying that something should be banned is an instance of the advocacy of violence and thus crosses the line of acceptable conduct here.

What I would do is to raise the question: If the literal interpretation of Islamic doctrine denies the validity of all "man made law" including the U.S. Constitution, then how can Islam claim to be a religion that is protected under the First Amendment?

re: #30 Charles

Barack Obama is coming up later.

Funny--I find I have things "coming up" whenever I think about him these days.

re: #25 galloping granny

The talking heads spouted all morning that all three of the presidential candidates would be at this hearing. If Obama isn't there there can be only one interpretation - trying to avoid making an utter fool of himself.

* * *
Obama would go last of the three, as he is on Senate's Foreign Affairs subcommittee, but McCain & Clinton are on Senate's Armed Services Committee.

Clinton slammed Obama but good this morning on Fox & Friends for Obama's not holding a single committee hearing as Obama was supposed to on his subcommittee, concerning boosting NATO-European forces in Afghanistan (the "good" 'Bush' war)

re: #32 The Other Les

Re # 7

Saying that something should be banned is an instance of the advocacy of violence and thus crosses the line of acceptable conduct here.

What I would do is to raise the question: If the literal interpretation of Islamic doctrine denies the validity of all "man made law" including the U.S. Constitution, then how can Islam claim to be a religion that is protected under the First Amendment?

Point!

Well Hillary, that was pretty lame. Much like your campaign of late.

anyone listening to the hearings online? and where?

I thought that Hillary's questioning was suprisingly mild. I think she's trying to establish more moderate ground as a counterpoint to Obama.

I don't think it will make any difference, whoever wins that race.

re: #33 buzzsawmonkey

Funny--I find I have things "coming up" whenever I think about him these days.

Just keep a bag at hand, or stand near a basin.

re: #22 EC Marm

You asked me the other day about the countries that use the crescent in their flags. I finally got around to it:
Here's the picture again.
First row: Algeria, Azerbaijani Republic, Malaysia, Maldives
Middle row: Republic of Singapore,Tunisia, Turkey,Turkmenistan
Bottom row: Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Comoros, Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Uzbekistan

Thanks! ...I've never even heard of Comoros.

re: #37 bosforus

anyone listening to the hearings online? and where?

C-SPAN generally carries them.

re: #28 Charles

A pity she didn't lose it completely.

re: #37 bosforus

anyone listening to the hearings online? and where?

School hours here and the TV is in the school room, so I am depending on all ya'll to keep me informed. The kiddo is reading El Cid so I don't want to disturb here. (Becoming one very hard to find book. . . . . . I wonder why?)

I think that questioning the veracity of Gen Petraeus in the past reflected
poorly on Hillary and that's the reason she's rather subdued today.

Just turned Fox on. Is this a planned break or did I miss it? A Neb. Senator is being interviewed and now commercials.

re: #30 Charles

Barack Obama is coming up later.

Super. Perhaps he will want to have Petraeus check his math to confirm exactly how many flights out of Baghdad it will take to airlift all the troops home.

re: #37 bosforus

fox news has it

re: #28 Charles

Hillary's voice is shot.

The cackle has croaked?

I tried to watch it.

couldn't make it past the first 5 minutes of Carl Levin

re: #43 galloping granny

School hours here and the TV is in the school room, so I am depending on all ya'll to keep me informed. The kiddo is reading El Cid so I don't want to disturb here. (Becoming one very hard to find book. . . . . . I wonder why?)

* * *
Get the Charlton Heston [movie] version with Sophia Loren!

Or read it in Spanish. El Mio Cid.

re: #32 The Other Les Uh, not looking for a fight here, but if I said we should ban all Child Pornography, I don't think that would amount to "an instance of the advocacy of violence".
As to the second part of your post, I agree that as long as Islam denies the right - indeed the need for SECULAR law to govern citizens' everyday conduct, than that would be unconsititutional. I do however think that Islam - as a religion - is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

re: #28 Charles

Hillary's chances at the nomination are similarly shot. Besides, her voice has two settings - shrill and loud.

re: #50 alegrias

* * *
Get the Charlton Heston [movie] version with Sophia Loren!

Or read it in Spanish. El Mio Cid.

Un hombre que fresaba sesenta...

re: #22 EC Marm

The Malaysian flag reminds me of the Islamerica flag from "Prayers for the Assassin"...

re: #40 buzzsawmonkey

Thanks! ...I've never even heard of Comoros.

Now you made me look; a capital city of "Moroni" and 98% sunni muslim, 2% Roman Catholic population.
[Link: www.cia.gov...]

re: #50 alegrias

* * *
Get the Charlton Heston [movie] version with Sophia Loren!

Or read it in Spanish. El Mio Cid.

She is only 11 - does not read Spanish yet. I hunted heaven & earth for the Oxford translation. Heston did a movie version? (who knew!) I'll have to hunt that up.

re: #34 alegrias Do you know if that's true - that Obama hasn't had a single meeting of his subcommittee on Foreign Affairs concerning boosting NATO-European forces in Afghanistan? IIRC, Sen. McCain said something very similar recently and I don't recall whether or not Sen. Obama responded to it or not.
For that matter, given all his campaigning, I wonder what his attendance record in the Senate is this year? And, to be fair, I'd have to ask that about Sen. McCain and Sen. Clinton.

Because of Iran...we may end up with an Iraq that is not our friend

Yes.

re: #51 realwest

Uh, not looking for a fight here, but if I said we should ban all Child Pornography, I don't think that would amount to "an instance of the advocacy of violence".
As to the second part of your post, I agree that as long as Islam denies the right - indeed the need for SECULAR law to govern citizens' everyday conduct, than that would be unconsititutional. I do however think that Islam - as a religion - is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

I'm not looking for a fight either.

All Hail General Petraeus.

What a saint to put up politely with these phonies & pretenders to the Commander in Chief job--who truly want him & our troops to fail, and our country to retreat to its rocker like we did during Carter's cowardly bow to islamoterrorists from Tehran.

Petraeus is dealing with Tehran's attacks on our troops because of Carter. It is a straight line from Carter's cowardice towards Iran to direct attacks on our country by Iran.

Yes, but how do you go about banning *part* of a religion?

Consider the case of the Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) and their ongoing polygamy problems. Did the U.S. need ban the LDS entirely? No, just enforce the "one man one woman" definiton of marriage. We still get some "literal interpretation" types (google "polygamy texas" to see recent cases) but overall it's been a peaceful change.

There are peaceful, willing to play within the rules sects in Islam. They aren't "mainstream" in Saudi Arabia or most of the Arab world, but they do exist. Banning Islam altogether as "unprotected" is the wrong approach, and most of the more violent reactions from Muslims are already covered by existing laws.

Mew

re: #32 The Other Les

Re # 7

Saying that something should be banned is an instance of the advocacy of violence and thus crosses the line of acceptable conduct here.

What I would do is to raise the question: If the literal interpretation of Islamic doctrine denies the validity of all "man made law" including the U.S. Constitution, then how can Islam claim to be a religion that is protected under the First Amendment?

MSNBC is still carrying the hearing live. Fox cut away to make some money.

CSPAN has it also.

'I Know the Jews Inside Out'

Alan Colmes talks to Yousef al-Khattab:

re: #57 realwest

Do you know if that's true - that Obama hasn't had a single meeting of his subcommittee on Foreign Affairs concerning boosting NATO-European forces in Afghanistan? IIRC, Sen. McCain said something very similar recently and I don't recall whether or not Sen. Obama responded to it or not.
For that matter, given all his campaigning, I wonder what his attendance record in the Senate is this year? And, to be fair, I'd have to ask that about Sen. McCain and Sen. Clinton.

* * *
Please note with a grain of salt, it is CLINTON's WORDS I'm quoting here from the Fox News website:

"....Clinton, speaking with FOX News Tuesday morning, said she was baffled by the claim.

“I’m somewhat shocked by that since I don’t see any evidence of it,” Clinton said, chuckling. “This is, you know, kind of hard to square with his failure ever to have a single policy hearing on the only responsibility he was given, chairing the European and NATO subcommittee on the Foreign Relations Committee.

“And as he admitted in the last debate, he was too busy running for president to pay attention to what we needed to do to improve our chances in Afghanistan and get NATO more involved. So, you know, I, I ,I don’t, I don’t know, I’m speechless. I mean, you know, making an assertion like that belies the facts and the record.”

Obama is scheduled on Tuesday to chair the subcommittee’s hearing on the nomination of Kurt Volker to be the permanent U.S. representative to NATO. All three presidential candidates are in town for Senate hearings with Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker, the top U.S. military and diplomatic leaders in Iraq.

[Link: elections.foxnews.com...]

re: #61 MijaCat
The problem with your logic is that banning polygamy will not destroy the Mormon religion. Ban murder and cruelty from the Islamic religion and suddenly its unrecognizable.

CSPAN's better, you don't have to put up with MSNBC's puerile commentators.

Thanks! Nothing was on Fox or CNN.

Hillary - pwned!

“You want to know who wants you to come home more than anybody?” Graham continued. “al Qaeda because you’re kicking their ass.”

[Link: www.politico.com...]

re: #61 MijaCat Much better said than did I in my #51, but iirc, Mormons outlawed polygamy something like 100 years or so ago (we have at least two Mormon lizards and I learned a lot from them late last night, early this morning) and that's what they indicated.

"Major suspension of disbelief" - Perfect!

Thinking, Thinking, Thinking.

Democrats.

15% La Raza separate nation thugs
15% Nation of Islam seperate nation thugs
10% Kos Kids Kult , basement dwellers on line thugs
10% old loon commie anti war/anti American Kerry/Fonda kooks
10% mob connected vote fraud , freezer cash thugs
10% Calif. freaks of Holliewerid cross gender skanks
10% re-election money kick back money scums
10% Jack Kennedy Democrats who hide in bunkers year round.

re: #72 jamgarr

"Major suspension of disbelief" - Perfect!

She said it again?

Link to live web feed:

[Link: www.c-span.org...]

re: #71 realwest

Much better said than did I in my #51, but iirc, Mormons outlawed polygamy something like 100 years or so ago (we have at least two Mormon lizards and I learned a lot from them late last night, early this morning) and that's what they indicated.

The Mormons outlawed polygamy as a precondition for statehood for Utah.

re: #74 buzzsawmonkey

She said it again?

No! It was said "to her"!

re: #73 taxfreekiller

And the other 10%?

I'm watching and listening here on FOX Live Stream. It's uninterrupted and runs fine in the background.

FOX Stream

re: #30 Charles

Barack Obama is coming up later.

I'll be very interested to hear how he does without a prepared script, trying to sound like an informed adult. I don't think he'll do very well unless he's allowed to spread some of his Hope Change Pixie Dust^TM.

re: #74 buzzsawmonkey

No! It was said "to her"!

As in, it would take a major suspension of disbelief not to recognize the significant improvements made by the surge!

re: #64 Ben Hur

Pure honesty.

As it were.

/"His views aren't representative of the Muslim community as a whole!"

#78

oops, the dead from Chicago voter rolls

So, Petraeus is resisting calls for timetables.

How exactly is this situation any different than the last time that Petraeus testified? The Democrats want timetables, despite knowing, or having reason to know, that timetables will make the situation less secure and provide a deadline for which terrorists simply have to outlast the US in order to claim victory. It would be a victory for the terrorists only in their survival - a media inspired victory that has nothing to do with the facts on the ground.

re: #74 buzzsawmonkey

It was directed back at Hillary over the undeniable progress in Iraq. Hilarious.

re: #65 alegrias Ah, thanks for that clarification! As I said, I heard Senator McCain making essentially the same point.
In any "ordinary" presidential election that would be a BIG shot at a potential* candidate, but I doubt if it will sway many Obama supporters because I don't think many Obama supporters really THINK about Senator "Rock Star" Obama's positions, if he has any, on anything.

*I'm still not convinced that Hillary is out of the game here - if she should win Pennsylvania, they she'd have a legitimate argument with the DNC that Obama hasn't been able to carry ANY large states in a primary and hence wouldn't in a general election. You know, the old "electability" question.

They have to have these hearing to justify their jobs. If they were not having hearings today, then what would these politicians be doing? You can only abuse your interns and staff for so long before they start to cplin. Then you have to do something else. They have a few weeks before their next junket to Belize . . . might as well grill the general and get in some good press-face time.

re: #23 Charles

By the way, if you post "ban the Koran" in all capital letters, bolded, you achieve nothing except to make me and everyone here look like nuts.

The Koran should not be banned, rather everyone should be required to read it... read it though... not rote memorize it like in islamic schools... and read with full historic and cultural footnotes... education is the best way to ensure that islam is rejected by the west and walked away from by the rest of the world.

There sits "In , "We the Peoples U.S. Senate"," Lt. for Life, traitor, fraud, fake awards and citations John F. Kerry, a shame and disgrace to America.

Tick Tock goes the clock, America take a good look at him, then look at yourselves, chose a path.!

re: #86 savage_nation

He's tentatively scheduled to head-up Nato.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he resigns.

I couldn't help it, but:
Look at the pen in his right hand. Are there any vets that can id that pen? It looks like one of those "Lighthouse for the Blind" contract pens the military uses (the C-1101T Retractable Ballpoint Pen.)! Those pens kick ass! !

Heh. Dog vs. Cat, eh?

The problem is not with my logic, Dog. Not all Muslims are violent thugs.

The problem is with the re-interpretation of Islam that the Saudis (indeed, most of the Arabs) have been using to maintain their hold on power - and exporting, fueled by the insane number of petrodollars flowing into Arab hands.

Either stop the flow (which worked so well with Iraq, eh?) or change the culture.

Mew

re: #66 maddogg

The problem with your logic is that banning polygamy will not destroy the Mormon religion. Ban murder and cruelty from the Islamic religion and suddenly its unrecognizable.

It's a bunch of politicians playing the same politics that make the job longer and harder...

Try to look good for their own base and the troops who suffer because of the image they send to the enemy be damned...

re: #49 Shug

I tried to watch it.

couldn't make it past the first 5 minutes of Carl Levin

I can't take the partisan denigration of man so far above them in intellect and honor either. It's like the a big DNC campaign event, not Socratic elucidation of fact in the name of their constituencies.

Glad folks here have the patience to report on it though.

re: #93 Fasternu426

You guys attach designation numbers and letters to your pens as well as the guns and airplanes?!

/mightier than the sword, lol

re: #75 Charles

Link to live web feed:

[Link: www.c-span.org...]

much thanks

re: #90 taxfreekiller

There sits "In , "We the Peoples U.S. Senate"," Lt. for Life, traitor, fraud, fake awards and citations John F. Kerry, a shame and disgrace to America.

Tick Tock goes the clock, America take a good look at him, then look at yourselves, chose a path.!

* * *
Did anyone else see droopy eyebrowed John Francoise Kerry supporting Obama's candidacy, and trashing his 'good friend' John McCain two days ago with Chris Wallace grilling Kerry?

Kerry--who asked McCain to be his Vice Presidential candidate in 2004--suddenly denied he had done so, and then morphed McCain into GWBush, ripping into McCain, invoking the 100 years-in-Iraq straw man, etc.

McCaskill (D) Mo. is right to bring up the cost of nation building in Iraq. Shiias and Sunnis must be trained to provide security for themselves but at what point do we stop pouring $$ in.

re: #33 buzzsawmonkey

Funny--I find I have things "coming up" whenever I think about him these days.

Yeah. Like lunch.

now I understand,

The Dead did vote for these Democrats.
that is the only way possible

re: #98 laZardo

Those pens kick ass, really! I couldn't help it, but I got into a conversation the other day about those pens with another vet (my life is a thrill a minute!).

On second thought, I need to get out more often.......

Real,

Concur. That's actually one of the reasons I picked it as an example. You see, the current mess in Texas is due to a "fundamentalist sect", not dissimilar to what Whabbism is to Islam.

Take away the petrodollars, you take away the unnaturally large Whabbist influence. Take away Whabbist ifluence, and you give peaceful Islam a fighting chance. (grin)

This won't likely help Israel any time soon - the wounds between Jew and Muslim are too deep to heal in a single generation - especially while the rockets are still falling on Israel - but given *enough* time.... who knows?

Mew

re: #71 realwest

Much better said than did I in my #51, but iirc, Mormons outlawed polygamy something like 100 years or so ago (we have at least two Mormon lizards and I learned a lot from them late last night, early this morning) and that's what they indicated.

Who's this dumbie?

Thank you General Petraous is all they need to say.

I'm watching Tom and Jerry on the Cartoon Channel. So, shoot me.

re: #85 aboo-Hoo-Hoo

It was directed back at Hillary over the undeniable progress in Iraq. Hilarious.

Damn! I missed it! Who dealt it back at her?

re: #98 laZardo

The Pen is mightier than the Sword?
OK... Lets fight, You get pen... I get Sword.

re: #91 aboo-Hoo-Hoo
I couldn't blame him for re