Iraq: This Is How History Works

James Jay Carafano "...The fact that the “combat” troops are gone does not mean that the mission is done or that U.S. troops won’t see some kinds of combat. While troops don’t and should not remain permanently in Iraq, they will obviously need to stay longer than one or two more years. Withdrawing U.S. forces too fast would jeopardize progress. Freedom may lose its momentum. Everything is contingent on events on the ground. There cannot even be serious discussions about the long-term U.S. presence until after an Iraqi government is formed." James Jay Carafano is director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation.

Taking Your State’s Lawsuit Temperature

Institute for Legal Reform "It may not seem obvious, but a state with a fair and reasonable legal system has a leg up on its neighbors when it comes to encouraging businesses to locate their operations or grow jobs within its borders. Conversely, those states with sickly lawsuit systems can shackle their economic opportunities. "....
"Some states, like Texas – which has moved up 10 spots since the survey began to #36 this year – have enacted comprehensive tort reforms and have seen their Lawsuit Climate rankings gradually improve. These states are on the road to recovery, but just like the long-term health of a patient, constant vigilance is required to prevent reforms from being undercut by those who wish to turn local businesses into cash machines."

We Can’t Spend Our Way to Recovery

Heritage "Even leftist economists are now admitting that this administration’s borrow and spend economic plan has been a complete failure. But instead of cutting their losses, the left wants to double down … with your tax dollars. Last month, Vice President Joe Biden told ABC News that the only problem with the Obama administration’s economic policies was that they failed to spend more and drive us into debt faster. This is insanity. It must stop. To get our country back on the right track The Heritage Foundation’s Solutions for America chapter on Reining in Runaway Spending and Deficits recommends:"

AP Bans "Ground Zero Mosque" Phrase

Atlas Shrugs "WE WILL CHANGE OUR SLUG ON THIS STORY LATER TODAY from “BC-Ground Zero Mosque” to “BC-NYC Mosque.”

In short headlines, some ways to refer to the project include:
_ mosque 2 blocks from WTC site
_ Muslim (or Islamic) center near WTC site
_ mosque near ground zero
_ mosque near WTC site
We can refer to the project as a mosque, or as a proposed Islamic center that includes a mosque.
It may be useful in some stories to note that Muslim prayer services have been held since 2009 in the building that the new project will replace. The proposal is to create a new, larger Islamic community center that would include a mosque, a swimming pool, gym, auditorium and other facilities."

Quoting guidelines from an AP deputy managing editor.

http://townhall.com/cartoons/cartoonist/KenCatalino

"Ground zero mosque is the SECOND mosque being built on a 9/11 site"

Atlas Shrugs "Few people know that this giant crescent actually points to Mecca, or understand the religious significance of this orientation. A crescent that points the direction to Mecca is a very familiar construct in the Islamic world. Because Muslims face Mecca for prayer, every mosque is built around a Mecca direction indicator called a mihrab. The classic mihrab is crescent shaped. Here are the two most famous mihrabs in the world:"

Questions about the Design From the NPS brochure:
Is there Islamic religious symbolism incorporated into the design of the Flight 93 National Memorial?
No. This memorial solely honors the heroic actions of the 40 passengers and crew, who defeated the terrorists.

How do you know?
The intent of the architect was to honor the passengers and crew. When questions were raised about the design, they were taken very seriously. The National Park Service and the Flight 93 partner organizations investigated the issues and consulted with the Board of Directors of the Families of Flight 93, university and religious scholars, all of whom concluded that the memorial design does not imply or depict religious iconography.

Why Wasn’t United States v. Arizona Filed in the Supreme Court from the Outset?

Volokh Conspiracy "1. A federal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1251, provides that:"

(a) The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction of all controversies between two or more States.
(b) The Supreme Court shall have original but not exclusive jurisdiction of:
(1) All actions or proceedings to which ambassadors, other public ministers, consuls, or vice consuls of foreign states are parties;
(2) All controversies between the United States and a State; (Emphasis added)
(3) All actions or proceedings by a State against the citizens of another State or against aliens.

In other words, the US did not have to go through lower courts first. That's significant, but I don't know why.

With a Whimper or a Bang — or Not at All?

Victor Davis Hanson "I don’t believe America is in inevitable decline or will falter, but I am starting to see things, superficially, that I have not observed in the past."....
"So the problems are solvable, given the natural and human strengths of the United States. I end with some eccentric suggestions that would have far more positive repercussions than we think."...

"...7.Insist on a national exit test for BA degrees. A simple test of common knowledge would do. When Johnny does not know what the Parthenon is, but thinks Harriet Tubman, not Grant and Sherman, won the Civil war, we are in deep trouble."...

Blago Holdout Juror Involved in Chicago Politics, Big Fan of NPR, Liberal Talk Radio

Big Government "Jurors who have been interviewed so far will not identify the juror, other than to say the juror was a female.
"FOX Chicago News reported that speculation is centering on juror Jo Ann Chiakulas of Willowbrook, after a second-hand acquaintance said that she has been saying for weeks that she would find Blagojevich not guilty."

Sources tell CBS 2 News that the holdout juror is Jo Ann Chiakulas, a retired state employee.

Politics or Civility?

Inside Higher Ed "...You know the stories -- mocked for displaying the American flag or a Ronald Reagan bust, shouted down for suggesting that that Iraq war is just, always in fear of earning a low grade for criticizing affirmative action or some other widely held belief among the left-leaning campus majority.
"Research presented here Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association affirmed that many conservative students feel that way, but also that many do not -- and that the latter group in fact thrive on the very campuses that tend to be portrayed as hostile to them."

Why 'Atlas Shrugged' is flying off the bookshelves (Updated)

Infidel Bloggers Alliance "What happened in Ayn Rand's narrative is coming to pass today, with an anti-business administration reviling private industry, capitalizing on crisis to expand and redirect investment within and between sectors of the economy -- setting quotas, prices and compensation. Businesses responded by retrenching -- ceasing to invest, innovate and expand. Whole industries contracted, closed down, or moved offshore; much like the U.S. gas and oil drilling industry is doing today. Then, just as now, management became frustrated and discouraged, reluctant to create jobs in an environment of excessive government meddling."

Atlas Shrugged, the book:  "The protagonist, Dagny Taggart, sees society collapse around her as the government increasingly asserts control over all industry, while society's most productive citizens, led by the mysterious John Galt, progressively disappear. Galt describes the strike as "stopping the motor of the world" by withdrawing the "minds" that drive society's growth and productivity. In their efforts, these "men of the mind" hope to demonstrate that a world in which the individual is not free to create is doomed, that civilization can not exist where men are slave to society and government, and that the destruction of the profit motive leads to the collapse of society." Wikipedia.

Jon Stewart Rips Fox's GOP Contribution, Ignores Viacom's Dem Donations

Newsbusters "Unfortunately, Stewart failed to inform his viewers that Viacom, the parent company of Comedy Central, has so far given disproportionately to Democrats this year.

"Also missing in the "Daily Show" host's attack of FNC and Glenn Beck was that News Corp. prior to this contribution had historically given more to Democrats than Republicans."

Letter from a Pearl Harbor survivor to President Obama

Congress.org Corroborated by Snopes.com :

"...You're not going to restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated economy. That's not our greatest threat. Losing the heart and soul of who we are as Americans is our big fight now. And I sure as hell don't want to think my president is the enemy in this final battle.
Sincerely,
Harold B. Estes