Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Operation Starfish

 
On July 9, 1962, a high-altitude nuclear test named Starfish Prime was conducted by the United States military above Johnston Island in the Pacific Ocean. Its unexpected electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effects caused disruptions in electrical systems and equipment in Honolulu 700 miles away.

The EMP shut down long-distance telephone calls and disabled three satellites in low earth orbit. Radiation resulting from the test later destroyed a total of seven satellites by knocking out their solar arrays or electronics.

A massive current of EMP could be unleashed with catastrophic effect on the United States if a nuclear weapon were detonated high above the earth. The energy of this pulse would disable and possibly destroy any electronic device and power grid in line-of-sight of the detonation.

Cars.

Buses.

Trucks.

Planes.

Trains.

Any vehicle with an electronic ignition or engine control system could be rendered useless.

The lifeblood of America -- food, energy, goods and services -- would be gridlocked.

The power grid: knocked out.

The phone system: gone.

Several years ago, an Iranian military journal publicly considered the idea of launching an electromagnetic pulse attack as the key to defeating the world's lone superpower.

Yet, Copperhead Democrats call the threat of Iran "hype" and "fear".

Frank Gaffney, author of Warfooting, states "If [EMP] hits the electrical grids of the United States... if it hits electronic devices, computers, chips of various kinds--the things, in other words, that power our society--they're likely to be severely damaged, if not destroyed."

This would wreak havoc on the country's electronic systems, and plunge much--if not all--of the continental U.S. into a pre-industrial state. A blue-ribbon commission created by Congress confirmed this danger in a report submitted in August 2004.

At a height of 300 miles, the entire continental United States would be exposed to EMP attack, along with parts of Canada and Mexico. Congress was warned of Iran's plans by Peter Pry, a senior staffer with the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack in a hearing of the subcommittee on terrorism, technology and homeland security.

Pry pointed out the Iranians have been testing mid-air detonations of their Shahab-3 medium-range missile over the Caspian Sea. The missiles were fired from ships.

"A nuclear missile concealed in the hold of a freighter would give Iran or terrorists the capability to perform an EMP attack against the United States homeland without developing an ICBM and with some prospect of remaining anonymous," said Pry. "Iran's Shahab-3 medium range missile mentioned earlier is a mobile missile and small enough to be transported in the hold of a freighter. We cannot rule out that Iran, the world's leading sponsor of international terrorism might provide terrorists with the means to execute an EMP attack against the United States."

Lowell Wood, acting chairman of the commission, said yesterday that such an attack – by Iran or some other actor – could cripple the U.S. by knocking out electrical power, computers, circuit boards controlling most automobiles and trucks, banking systems, communications and food and water supplies.

"No one can say just how long systems would be down," he said. "It could be weeks, months or even years." Wood said he could think of no other reason Iran would be experimenting with high-altitude detonations of missiles besides planning for an EMP attack.

One nuclear weapon. One missile. One motivated maniac.

Those are the realities of the situation, no matter how the Copperhead Democrats try to spin the NIE.

Sources: Warfooting: Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the US from EMP Attack and Joseph Farah

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

When Progressives attack

 
Gateway Pundit alerts us to a hilarious development in Iowa: "Progressives" are attacking Hillary Clinton.

Democratic Courage, a liberal activist group "dedicated to electing a progressive, courageous, and winning Democratic presidential candidate" released their first Hillary attack ad today that will be aired in Iowa.

The transcript of the ad is entertaining:

Hillary has some good ideas...

...like giving every American an equal shot at success.

(Hillary Clinton) "I like the idea of giving every baby born in America..."

(Hillary Clinton) "a five thousand dollar account that will grow over time..."

But then Republicans attacked.

(Rudy Giuliani) "Tell me this isn't a socialist idea."

And then Hillary backed down.

(Rudy Giuliani) "Remember the Hillary Bond Program?"

(Rudy Giuliani) "I challenged her on it... and she backed off that."

We need a candidate who can stand up to the Republicans.


No matter how stupid or crazy the idea.


Like free money for every baby born in America.

That's because we're DemocraticMoonbats. Help us fund more stupid ideas by visiting our website.

* * *

Okay, so I made up those last three frames. But all the rest was real. Seriously. And that's what's so scary about these people. A free $5,000 for every baby born in the U.S.? Why not just jack it up to $100 grand? Then every baby will be born with a silver spoon in their mouths!

InfoUSA visits; encouraged to participate

 
A Google search for Vin Gupta returns around 80,000 results. On the first page of results is a November 24, 2007 blog post entitled "The bizarre ties between the Clintons, Vin Gupta and InfoUSA".

Perhaps that explains why we're seeing visitors from database marketer InfoUSA. We'd like to invite InfoUSA to explain why Americans should trust its Opinion Research Corporation subsidiary, given all of its documented ties to prominent Democrats.

Monday, December 03, 2007

"Hi. My name is John Edwards. And I'm a Communist."

 
Breaking 12/18/07: Who does a "John Edwards' Love Child Scandal" Benefit?

Ian Schwartz links us to the latest John Edwards commercial.

We don't have universal health care because of the drug companies and the insurance companies and their lobbyists in Washington, DC. And everyone who argues that every American is not entitled to [free] healthcare, I want them to explain to you what child in this country is not worthy of health care?

You're gonna sit at a table with drug companies and oil companies and they're going to give away their power. Right. You have to take their power away from them. There is nothing we can't do if we do it together.

What the oil companies have to do with socialized medicine, I have yet to ascertain.

In any case, nationalizing health care has worked out really, really well in the UK. Oh, except for those prostate cancer rates. And dental care. And women in childbirth. And so on. Et cetera.

Oh, and John, there are these teensy, weensy little programs called Medicaid and SCHIP that ensure children of lower-income Americans have access to health care. They're such small budget items -- and you've been out of the Senate so long -- you probably forgot about them.

As for nationalizing the petroleum industry? Johnny, you appear to be channeling Jimmy Carter. Or perhaps Carter's illicit love-child, Hugo Chavez.

I know Communism didn't work out very well over the last century, but it'd be a real shame to give up on it so soon.

Hat tip: The Astute Bloggers

The perfect gift that will cause liberals' heads to explode

 
Ray Robison's new book -- Both in One Trench - Saddam's Secret Terror Documents -- promises to be a must-read. Robison carefully culled through Saddam's cache of secret documents to reveal the facts that the Democrats and the media (but I repeat myself) don't want you to know.

* Hussein supported Al Qaeda? Check.
* Hussein acted through proxy terror groups throughout the world? Checkety-check.
* Hussein supported terrorists with direct links to 9/11? Check and mate, biznatch.

Go ye therefore hence and order the book. What's a better gift for the holidays than a book to enlighten truth-seekers and to cause liberals' heads to explode?

Senator Harry Reid vs. General David Petraeus

 
The Democratic leader noted that ...the surge has not been successful in allowing Iraqis to reach national reconciliation.

However, Reid acknowledged that the surge might be responsible for reducing the violence in the war-torn country. He was careful not to give the strategy too much credit and instead blasted Republicans for being “committed to an open-ended war in Iraq.”

“They’re boasting now about, if things work out well by next summer — that is, the summer of 2008 — the war will be six and half years in endurance [sic] at that time, they’re talking about maybe we can start drawing down troops...

"The surge hasn't accomplished its goals," Reid said. "... We're involved, still, in an intractable civil war."

Reid's comments show that Democratic leaders in Washington may not be on the same page as their rank-and-file members when it comes to interpreting results on the ground in Iraq. Reid, as a leader, still needs to maintain some negotiating leverage as Democrats try to figure out a way to give President Bush some $50 billion in temporary war finding while at least attaching some strings to the money so it's not a blank check for the war...
Q: What was the key? I remember your very contentious report in front of Congress. There was very great skepticism about the surge. Too little, too late was the predominant criticism. What do you think was the tipping point?

GEN PETRAEUS: There have been a number of factors... The popular rejection of Al-Qaeda in Anbar was a catalyst. It gave other Iraqis an example of the fact that they could also reject this extremist form of Islam that is not Iraqi in all the violence... There is a momentum and the momemtum starts to have a positive effect.

Q: Your commanders though are suggesting that if they have not already won, they are winning the battle of Baghdad.

GEN PETRAEUS: There is no question that there has been impressive and enormous progress made in Baghdad by levels in attack, by civilian deaths, by coalition Iraqi security force casualties, you name it. There has been improvement... I would not have recommended what I did in September, if I would not have projected what we are now seeing in Iraq...

...This is a team effort. This is the new greatest generation of American soldier, sailor, air force, marines, coast guard and we have civilians that are out here in huge numbers as well... Our country should be very proud on the way our services have changed during the course of this."

Our country -- excluding the Copperhead Democrats -- that is.

I wonder which the average American trusts more: Harry Reid or General David Petraeus?

And suffice it to say that Reid and the Copperhead Democrats have left quite an impression on the U.S. military. That should work out well for them in 2008.

Sources: Gateway Pundit, Politico and The Hill

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Good news for America. Bad news for the Copperheads.

 
Gateway Pundit has the good news for America and the bad news for Copperhead Democrats.

* Violence in Iraq is down by 50%.

* Civilian casualties in Iraq are down by 60%.
* Baghdad casualties are down by 75%.
* Basra violence is down by 90%.

* Terrorist attacks in Iraq are down by 80%.
* IED attacks down by 55%.
* Average daily attacks down by 42%.

* Foreign insurgent flow into Iraq down by more than 50%
* Suicide bombings down 70% since March.
* Foreign Terrorist flow into Iraq down by 50%.
* Diala Province violence down by 68%.

Oh, and 5000 troops are coming home this month.

The Politico reports that even the most egregious of Democrats (hint: his name rhymes with Burtha) have admitted that the U.S. military has won the war and that Iraq is a non-issue for voters.

And Don Surber points out that the New York Times is scraping the last smidgen of residue at the bottom of the "quagmire" barrel. The Times has resorted to scooping all other media outlets on... Iraq's illicit car-washes.

Palestinians prepare for statehood

 
Atlas has the pictures:

"Daddy, which has more stopping power? The M-16 or the AK-47?"

How to set up a defensive barricade using children.

"Peace, yo!"

Clinton calm in hangnail crisis

 
By Glen Johnson, Associated Press Staff Writer

Washington DC - After her hangnail had been treated and her foot soaked in a warm bath, a regal-looking Hillary Rodham Clinton strolled slowly out of her Washington home, the picture of gravitas in the face of personal calamity. The image, coincidentally broadcast the instant the network news began, reinforced the impression that the Democratic presidential favorite can face a crisis with makeup and coiff intact.

"I am very grateful that this difficult day has ended so well," she declared as she stood alone at the microphone.

Little more than three hours later, just in time for the 11 p.m. local news, Clinton reaffirmed that perspective. She embraced her doctors, nurses and their families, and lauded the paramedics who had quickly driven her to Bethesda Medical Center after the hangnail was detected.

It was a vintage example of a candidate taking a negative and turning it into a positive. And coming just six weeks before the presidential voting begins, the timing could hardly have been more beneficial to someone hoping to stave off a loss in the Iowa caucuses and secure a win in the New Hampshire primary.

Aides said Clinton was home Friday afternoon, getting ready to deliver a partisan speech in Virginia to the Democratic National Committee, when a personal assistant noticed that her the nail of her big toe was embedded into the skin and appeared to be in imminent danger of becoming infected.

Aides said Clinton immediately canceled her trip and began working the phones. She later told reporters she had paramedics on the phone in eight minutes.

Over the ensuing five hours, as Clinton staffers rounded up a convoy of police and medical vehicles, Clinton continued to call up and down the medical food chain, attempting to locate experts who could treat her painful toe.

"I knew I was bugging a lot of these people, it felt like on a minute-by-minute basis, trying to make sure that staffers knew everything that was going on so I was in a position to inform the country, to tell my campaign and to be available to do anything that medical officials asked of me," the New York senator said.

At the same time, the woman striving to move from former first lady to the first female president was eager to convey that she knew the traditional lines of command and control in a crisis, even if the events inside the hospital were far short of a world calamity.

"The doctors and nurses were the professionals, they were in charge of this situation, whatever they asked me or my campaign to do is what we would do," Clinton said.

Along with taking charge while giving the professionals free rein, Clinton offered up a third dimension to her crisis character: humanity. She said she felt pain and concern when she first heard the news of the danger an imminent infection might pose.

"It affected me not only because of the pain, but the confusion among my staff members and volunteers, but as a mother, it was just a horrible sense of bewilderment, confusion, outrage, frustration, anger, everything at the same time," Clinton said.

It was a thawing moment for a stoic figure who once snapped that she opted for professional life instead of staying home to bake cookies. She buttressed it with one final message. Clinton sought to use the moment as a national teaching opportunity, another skill often employed by presidents.

She paid tribute to the thousands of believers who set aside their lives every four years so they can propel presidential campaigns on little more than blood, sweat and tears.

"I know they were worried about me. They're invested in me, my future. They work around the clock for me. They are so committed to my cause, and I just want to commend every one of them," Clinton said. "A lot of them postpone school, leave their families, move across the country, and I'm so grateful for them every single day, and I'm especially relieved to have this situation come to a conclusion without an infection or -- worse -- an amputation."

Then, like an elegant ballet dancer, Clinton pirouetted on her healthy foot and gingerly walked back into her home without entertaining questions from the press.