Send Your "Dear John" Letter To Sen. McCain Here!

Just go to www.mydearjohnletter.com and we'll do the rest!

My Word Of The Year For 2006 Isn't "Truthiness."

Although it is a great one, along with "crackberry," "carbon neutral," and "new way forward in Iraq" and "path to citizenship."

But my favorite new phrase of the year (at least, it was new to me) was "Entrant Rights."

What's an entrant? Before this year, they were known as "immigrants." What's an "unauthorized entrant?" Before this year, they were illegal aliens.

And if there are "entrant rights," what are they? Well, according to people who use the phrase, every human being in the world has an inherent and inalienable right to live in America. Whether America wants them or not.

How stupid do you have to be to believe this idiocy? Ask President Bush, Sen. Kennedy and McCain and Gov. Deval Patrick. all of whom oppose defending our borders.

Hearing The Bells On Christmas Day

My latest column--on Christmas, terrorism and my mother's deep-seated need for therapy--is here. Merry Christmas!

By Popular Demand...

My mom's Trailer Park Christmas Bisquik Sausage Balls recipe!

2 1/4 cups Bisquik (there is no substitute).

1/2 pound Jimmy Dean sausage, either mild or spicy. You know which one I like.

2 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (yes, there's more cheese than biscuit in these bad boys. That's why they're so good)

3/4 cup milk.

Cayenne pepper is optional. I make two separate batches, and I use about 1/2 teaspoon for mine but none for the kids'. NOTE: Cayenne goes stale after awhile. If you open your rarely-used seasoning and the cayenne is more brown than red, either dump it and get some fresh, or use more of it for the same kick.

Mix it by hand (OK, use your mixer, you wimp) but just until all the ingredients are well blended into a ball of biscuit batter. Then pinch off and roll balls about 1" in diameter. Too big and they'll be gooey inside, too small and they're nothing but cinders.

In a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for 14 minutes (use aluminium foil, because they will stick). What you're looking for is "crusty." Not fluffy. They should be a little singed, with the cheese caramelizing for the ideal palate-astonishing experience. But not black and charred. Try to keep the balls relatively uniform in size so they'll all cook in the same period of time.

Serve in a basket by the Christmas tree, along with a slice of something sweet (we make strudel every Christmas) and a glass of something with a surprise in it (mimosa or bloody marys work great!) and Mom and Dad are sure to survive yet another Christmas morning onslaught.

It Is...

It is...the only gift you will get this Christmas. And it is the only one you will give.

It is why a pair of socks wrapped in green paper sounds so much like a dinosaur when shaken by a small boy.

It is a middle-aged man, teeth gritted and face darkly red, trying to remain nonchalant as a nubile young sales lady holds up two lacy undergarments and asks him to guess which one will fit his wife.

It is what makes him answer: "The small one."

It is the vaccination protecting a child's belief in Santa from the sound of familiar voices in the attic on Christmas Eve.

It is the meaning of the word "Nintendo" in a 7-year-old's bedtime prayer.

It is why the street person's hunger makes him sad instead of angry. And why the five-dollar bill you hurriedly shove into his shaking hand will be spent on a single Big Mac and a 12-pack of Milwaukee's Best.

It is the only reason a married man shaves before coming to bed. It is what makes his wife believe he's just trying to improve his personal hygiene.

It is the sudden, listening stillness of a woman's kitchen at Christmastime when she hears the screen door latch, even though he hasn't come home in years.

It's what turns the dollar-store, slave-labor, nylon-haired knock-off into a Ballerina Barbie when touched by her 6-year-old fingers. It's what makes her father blink back a tear and silently promise to give her a real Christmas next year.

It is why he can't remember making the same promise when she was five.

It is why we can't imagine Christmas dinner without Gramma, and why Gramma sometimes looks up with a start when she hears her name. It's why she thought, just for a moment, that it was her mother calling.

It is why she isn't sure that it wasn't.

It is the sole motivator for your sister to ever touch an oven. Ever. Especially after what happened last year.

It is the reason you really, honestly thought you were going to eat that piece of fruitcake when you cut it.

And when she has put your children to bed, stuffed the last bit of wrapping paper into a closet, taken the potpourri off the stove, turned out all the lights in your house and finally falls onto the sofa next to you — as you sit quietly with her before the glistening tree — it is the only thing that can convince you that she might love you half as much as you love her.

It is why she does.

It is the reason women weep. It is the reason men fail. It is why every child, at least once in his life, has wanted to cry at Christmas.

It is as precious as a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger. It is as painful as a flesh-torn hand and a thorn-crowned head. It is the reason for both.

And if every Santa song and earnest prayer, every sincere gift and imagined wrong, every Christmas dinner and New Year's toast, every unanswered invitation and unwelcome guest, every office party kiss and happy child's hug — if every human moment of the entire holiday season could be stripped of its tinsel and pretense and price tag and reduced to its truest essence, we would find it there, the only gift ever given at Christmas, the same gift, passed from hand to hand.

It is...hope.

It is Christmas.

Merry Christmas from Michael Graham and 96.9 FM TALK.

UPDATE: Thanks to the Boston Herald for sharing this with their readers on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas To All!

From My lovely bride, The Warden, and the rest of the detainees on the Graham Family Compound: Mencken, Alexandra, Galen Luke and Katherine Grace (pictured).

Thanks to everyone for making this year--our first family Christmas in Massachusetts--unforgettable.

Prince Patrick, Changing The Political Culture of Massachusetts...

...one drunk, well-connected supporter at a time.

Now, the Duke of Deval (whose five-day, multi-million dollar coronation begins in two weeks) isn't responsible for the fact that one of his insider pals used her influence to get off the hook for an OUI. He's also not responsible for the fact that, according to police reports, she's an arrogant jerk.

Nor is he responsible for the leaders of the legislature already announcing that "B-A-U" begins the day he's sworn in.

But Massachusetts voters are absolutely responsible for believing that this life-long political hack would be anything other than, well, a political hack.

Prince Patrick's campaign for governor was a remarkable example of one of the great Natural Truths:

"The secret of success is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you've got it made."

From The Trans Fat Mailbag...

Michael,

If the FDA has decided to ban trans-fats our state has an obligation to fall in line.

WHAT, they didn’t? Well it must have been the CDC or some other empowered national health office.

WHAT, it’s not? Well was it the Massachusetts State Board of Health?

NO? A collection of local city & town Boards of Health.

No? Just some guy who lives in Waltham? Well I’ll be darned!

Sincerely,

RJ Woodward

Can We Still Win In Iraq?

Boston University's Bob Zelnick says "yes."

Our Dope O' The Day

Today's DO'D has got to be Massachusetts Democrat Peter Koutoujian, sponsor of a bill to ban trans fats in all Massachusetts restaurants.

Particularly annoying is Koutoujian's reasoning:

“Much of the [restaurant] industry has moved in this direction already, and others will have to move in this direction, so I believe the resistance will be much less than it would have been a year ago.”

In other words, this isn't a matter of principle--there are plenty of things we're eating and drinking today that do far more harm than trans fats. Rather, it's a matter of what the government can get away with. Yesterday, they overcame the "resistance" to the government banning smoking on private property. Today, they "resistance" to taking away your trans fat is low.

Tomorrow? If I were you, I'd eat that pork chop quick before Rep. Koutoujian sees it.

But She Seemed So Nice...

What?! A 20-year-old smokin' hot American girl is...drinking alcohol? In public? And doing drugs, too? And--wait, this can't be right--she's SEXUALLY active!

How in the world did that happen? Why, she must be some kind of freak! I mean, really, when was the last time you saw a young lady under the age fo 21 drinking and making out?

That is, other than on every network TV show, every soap opera and every mall in America. You know, other than THAT...

It's A Trans Fat Ex-TRANS-A-Ganza!

It's "All-Trans Fat, All The Time" on the Michael Graham Experience today. Join me for an on-air Trans Fat Rave from 3-7pm today.

We're going to discuss the latest attempts by the Food Nazis to ban trans fat here in Massachusetts. And I'm going to kill myself.

No, really. Trans fats will kill you, right? They're poisonous, right? That's why we have to ban them outright, instead of merely watching how much trans fat we eat.

So I'm going to spend the entire show today eating deadly, toxic, soon-to-be-banned-in-Boston trans fats live on the air. In fact, I am on an all-trans-fat diet at this very moment. I'm not eating anything for the duration that does NOT include trans fat.

Obviously, I'm a dead man. But if I'm not, will the nitwits on Beacon Hill still ban the world's best french fries?

UPDATE: Here are the facts about trans fat.

"I'm From The Government And I'm Here To Take Away Your Hot Dog"

If you want to know why your Lefty neighbors keep trying to ban all your fun, liberal activist Chris Waldrop of the "Food Policy Institute is here to tell you why: It's the government's duty to make you eat your vegetables.

“Government has an obligation to create healthy environments for their citizens - so that they can be healthy, grow and live, prosper and function in a society. To create that healthy environment, it can take several forms: laws, bans, regulations, taxation.”

Got it, kids? Your "healthy environment" requires higher taxes on stuff liberals know you shouldn't be eating, and bans on naughty behavior.

One of the people quoted in the article raises a good point: If the only reason to ban transfats is because there's something else you could be eating that is healthier, then how can New York let people get away with eating hot dogs? We COULD be eating tofu dogs. The same for beer vs. NA, glazed ham vs. turkey and mass transit vs. cars.

If banning transfat is legitimate, how can one argue that banning hot dogs, beer, ham and cars isn't?

Boston's Gay Old Time!

Developers are planning to build at least two condo communities in the Hub catering specifically to homosexual senior citizens. Some Boston politicians are scratching their heads over this, having tried to build condos specifically for local seniors, but had their plans shot down because they might violate Fair Housing laws.

How can the city allow housing that openly discriminates against heterosexuals? Are the developers bigots, or are they just looking for owners who are also excellent interior decorators?

Some gay advocates claim these communities are legal because they don't overtly ban heterosexuals. However, check out some recent housing ads that were prosecuted by the city of Boston:

"all of your neighbors in this loft building are professionals"; "great location for Medical area or Northeastern students"; "four bed ... great for four or five people"; "owner lives in the building and is older so not a place for partying."

If this language is too discriminatory, how in the world can developers announce, "we can't stop heterosexuals from living here, but these condos are really for gays?"

Margery Eagan thinks gays-preferred housing is terrific, and she says the only people who could possibly object are "Mitt Romney and his Neanderthal nuclear family set."

Yeah, that nuclear family, what a disaster. If only we could have more kids raised by non-intact-nuclear families, then we'd have some terrific outcomes for our children!

Our Dope Of The Day

Has to be Time magazine's Richard Stengel:

"If you choose an individual, you have to justify how that person affected millions of people," said Richard Stengel, who took over as Time's managing editor earlier this year. "But if you choose millions of people, you don't have to justify it to anyone."

Lame.

Am I the only person who's noted how "Needham High" this decision is? Time Magazine, lacking the stones to simply assert that some individual has had more impact on current events than the rest of us, played the "everyone is special!" card straight out of the glove compartment of the short bus.

You're special. You're important. There's nobody in the whole world more special than you!

I think I need to send out another copy of The Incredibles, whattaya think?

Santa Looked A Lot Like Reagan

At least, I think so...

Why I Love Alan Dershowitz

Just interviewed Professor Dershowitz on the radio show. He gave the real story of Brandeis' invitation to Jimmy Carter to appear on campus and discuss the former president's new book "Chicken Soup For The Anti-Semitic Soul."

For example, Dershowitz put the lie to the claim that Jimmy Carter will willing to debate but just wasn't willing to debate him. Not true. Carter refused to agree to any debate of his idiotic "Blame The Jews First!" theories. Reading Carter's pseudo-conspiracy theories about the Jewish cabal running America and his complaints that he can't get invited to universities where Jews attend, one is reminded that Carter is a Southern Baptist from Georgia who grew up
during the Klan era.

I asked Dershowitz why Carter seemed to always find a way to embrace anti-Semites among the Arabs or in Iran and simultaneously was willing to blame Israel for all the ills in the world. He told me "I wonder if Carter has crossed the line into anti-Semitism."

Jimmy Carter may think he was manhandled by Ronald Reagan and the Ayatollah Khomeini, but he ain't seen nothin' yet. Dershowitz pledged on my show tonight to follow Carter around the country, challenging his statements and pointing out his failed logic.

"Carter is going to debate me one way or another," Dershowitz told me. "The only question is, will it be face to face, or will it be through others. "

"What's the difference between a Rottweiler and Alan Dershowitz?," he asked me. "The Rottweiler will eventually let go."

Good luck, President Carter. You're going to need it.

We Got Your Honor Roll Right Here!

Seriously, if your son or daughter has received an "Honor Roll" letter from Needham High, or any of the other area schools who no longer publish their "honor" roll, please send the name, grade and school and I'll happily post them right here!

I'm also proud to publish members of the "Normal Roll" and "Below Normal Roll," too! You send 'em and I'll post them here.

The Needham Nitwit Strikes Again!

When the story of Needham High School abandoning a public "honor roll" to reduce student stress first hit, I hoped that by mocking it, we might convince the bureacratic boneheads to reconsider.

Obviously, I forgot Graham's First Law Of Bureaucracy: "In the great sea of stupidity, there is no bottom."

Needham High Nitwit (and principal) Paul Richards is mad that he's being forced to discuss the issue at all, telling the Boston Globe-Democrat that "This was simply an FYI to the parents...I had no intention of making a public stand."

Well, professor, if I were this dumb, I wouldn't be bragging about it in public, either. But when you announce that you're taking away a reward from your achieving students in your pursuit of excellence, you can't be surprised when people mock you for it.

And just to make sure his students continue to feel comfortable while underachieving, Richards is also responsible for the "no homework over long weekends" and "we'll give you extra days off for showing up at school on time" policies. Richards is the kind of educator who, no matter how low the standards are set, he can find a way to push them just a little lower.

Richards still doesn't get it. "By having an honor roll in the first place, the school participates in a sorting of students," Richards wrote. "When we publish this sorting, there are values attached that we should be mindful of."

Uh, no. The school doesn't sort the kids, the kids do. They sort themselves through effort and accomplishment. Kids who perform deserve to be honored. If they aren't honored, how can you call it an honor roll.

I've got a homeword assignment for Principal Richards, one easy enough to pass even his requirements. I'm sending him this DVD.

Will it make a difference? Probably not, at least the point will be made.

Our Dope Of The Day!

Today's winner--in a landslide--is Paul Richards, principal of Needham (MA) High School and the man responsible for taking the "honor" from the Honor Roll.

Richards has ended the school's practice of publishing the names of Honor Roll achievers in the local paper because, as he puts it, "The publishing of an honor roll has been identified as a potential contributor to the focus on grades." (emphasis added).

What?! A public school that focuses on grades? What an outrage! What's next-- a football team that focuses on points?

The problem with honoring the Honor Roll, Richards says, is that "When you make the honor roll public, there's a set of values that go behind it." You know, like accomplishment, excellence, hard work, dedication...oh, the humanity!

These are clearly values that we need to keep out of our government run schools. Why, if we start differentiating between students based on their performance, someone might suggest doing the same for the teachers.

No wonder it had to be stopped.

UPDATE: Want to know the real problem at Needham High? Just read this pathetic p.c. "mission statement." 'Nuff said.

The Best Christmas Music Ever?

This is it. Nothing else is even close.

The CD has now gone double platinum, according to this great Washington Post backgrounder.

Hey, Baby--Your Tele Tubbies Bunk Bed Or Mine?

Not only did this four-year-old get suspended for "sexual harassment," he actually put the moves on a full-grown adult woman! That's a performance even a young William Jefferson Clinton would envy.

At least, so say the education professionals of the La Vega Independent School District in Blackwell, TX. They claim that this pre-schooler was involved in "inappropriate physical behavior interpreted as sexual contact and/or sexual harassment" after the boy hugged a teacher's aide and "rubbed his face in the chest of (the) female employee"

Got that? A four-year-old nestles into a woman's chest while getting a hug...and what he's really thinking is "Yeah, baby!"

If this seems ridiculous, stupid and astonishingly idiotic, well, you obviously don't have a degree from a Graduate School of Education. If you did, this story would make perfect sense to you.

UPDATE! The line of the night on this topic: Caller Barbara, a pre-school teacher explaining the excited-but-innocent mauling she regularly experiences at the hands of preschoolers and said "I get felt up at work more than I do at home!"

Happy Birthday, John Kerry!

Today is John Kerry's birthday, and Sen. Ted Kennedy sent him the gift that keeps on giving: A Bay State knife in the back.

In Boston, even the birthdays ain't beanbag.

Another Proud Member Of The Religion Of Peace

Another day, another whackjob Islamist trying to blow people up. This time, in Chicago, IL.

It's such a common story that, normally, it wouldn't be worth mentioning. However, I spent quite a bit of time this week being asked to defend my statement "Islam is a uniquely dangerous religion." Bill Press just about jumped out of his chair when we were on MSNBC together earlier this week. He denounced the comments and then point to...The Crusades.

Folks, please--stop being stupid in defense of (so-called) tolerance. The Crusades were 700 years ago. I'd be willing to bet that sometime in the past seven hours, someone was blown up, beheaded or beaten in the name of Mohammed. Would you take that bet?

I have no comment on the "true" nature of Islam. I never debate people who call me and insist that people screaming "Allahu Akbar" and waving Korans as they cut off an infidel's head aren't really Muslims.

But it is sheer idiocy to argue that Islam's relationship to terrorism is identical to Christianity's or Buddhism's or Scientology's. Was there ever a moment when today's story out of Chicago broke that you even wondered "Gee, I wonder what religion motivated this guy to throw grenades at families shopping in the mall? Hmmmm....probably a Quaker...."

So argue all you want about how evil Israel is or how inept America's foreign policy has been, blah, blah, blah. I'm happy to consider your position. But please--lose the "Islam is a religion of peace" crap. It's nonsense, and worse--you know it's nonsense.

Any cause that demands your willingness to be stupid is a cause you should abandon at once.

"Other Than That, Mrs. Lincoln..."

My, oh my, the Deval Patrick era is off to a glorious start. When they're not busy holding "marketing events" with Big Dig lobbyists or planning Gov.-elect Patrick's five-day-long, $1.8 million, most-expensive-ever inauguration party, Team Deval is busy shooting down various campaign promises.

Or, as the AP reports it:

Gov.-elect Deval Patrick's new budget chief said Thursday that local option taxes on meals, hotels and other services [Strike one!] should be one of the things the state considers as it seeks to create a stable long-term financial picture.

Leslie Kirwan also said she isn't sure she can find the $735 million in wasteful spending Patrick said he wanted to eliminate during this fall's gubernatorial campaign. [Strike two!]

At the same time, the outgoing financial official for the Massachusetts Port Authority said she isn't sure the state can cut property taxes, as Patrick said he hoped to do
when he said he opposed a rollback in the state income tax rate during this fall's gubernatorial campaign. [He's outta there!]

Oh, and did I mention that Deval Patrick is thinking of killing the deal Massachusetts made with the feds to help catch illegal immigrants? And that he refuses to defend the state constitution from the legislature currently trashing the rule of law and denying 170,000 citizens their civil rights?

Some Patrick supporters claim to be surprised that Deval is coming out so liberal, so fast. These people are shmucks. Of COURSE Patrick is raising taxes. Of COURSE he's not cutting any government spending. Of COURSE he's on the side of government bureaucrats and illegal immigrants. It's who he is.

Deval Patrick spent the entire campaign telling anyone who would listen "I'm a movement liberal, folks!" But so many Massachusetts voters were so determined to vote Democrat they just didn't listen.

Well, they'll have four long, expensive years to hear what Gov. Patrick has to say.

[hat tip: MassBackwards]

The Left's New Friends

Andrew McCarthy has another terrific piece on why the ISG Student Council Report was so foolish to suggest serious negotiations with Iran and Syria. In his article, McCarthy points out that it's impossible to make an argument for negotiations with Iran/Syria that isn't also simultaneously an argument for negotiating with Hamas/Hezbollah.

Then McCarthy reminded me of facts that I'd forgotten, even when I was mocking liberals like Grace Ross for holding their pro-Hezbollah rallies here in Boston:

Fresh from its 1979 siege of the U.S. embassy and the humiliating hostage-taking that ensued, the Islamic Republic of Iran... created Hezbollah in 1982. Primarily based in Lebanon, where American forces were massed to calm the bloody aftermath of Israel’s expulsion of Arafat’s PLO, the “Party of God” (Hizb Allah) claimed in its manifesto to be

"the vanguard … made victorious by God in Iran. There the vanguard succeeded to lay down the bases of a Muslim state which plays a central role in the world. We obey the orders of one leader, wise and just, that of our tutor and faqih (jurist) who fulfills all the necessary conditions: [Ayatollah] Ruhollah Musawi Khomeini. God save him!"

Over the quarter century that followed, Hezbollah received billions in aid from Iran, as well as aid, logistical support, and safe haven from Syria, with which it works hand-in-glove to strangle Lebanon and wage war against Israel... In April 1983, for example, a Hezbollah car bomb killed 63 people, including eight CIA officials, at the U.S. embassy in Beirut. More infamously, the organization six months later truck-bombed a military barracks in Beirut, murdering 241 United States Marines (and killing 58 French soldiers in a separate attack).

Hezbollah: Murderers, terrorists, anti-semites...and friends of the Massachusetts Left. How can a liberal candidate for governor appear at a Hezbollah rally and not be challenged by the press? How can James Baker urge negotiations with terror-sponsors while they are committing terrorism and be cheered by the Boston Globe-Democrat?

This is the same Boston Globe-Democrat who just ran an editorial denouncing economist Milton Friedman for giving the Pinochet government of Chile economic advice that helped lift hundreds of thousands of its citizens out of poverty. So it's OK to make bargains with terrorists but NOT OK to give non-political economic advice to help poor people with governments the BG-D doesn't like?

I can't wait to hear the new chant at the next Lefty rally here in Boston: Screw The Poor, but Support The Terrorists!

Name That Loon!

What prominent American politician were these voters discussing when they gave the following responses to Gallup?

Already lost/Had his chance 12
Don’t like him 7
Dishonest/Don’t trust 6
Wishy-washy/Too indecisive 6
Poor choice for candidate 5
Poor speaker/Needs to think before speaking 5
Weak/No backbone 5
Would make a good candidate 4
Traitor/Disloyal to military 4
Not very smart/intelligent 3
Like him 3
Good politician 3
Phony 2
Veteran/War hero 2
Out of touch 2
Honest/has integrity 2
Experienced 2
Incompetent/Not qualified 2
Liberal 2
Don’t think he can win 1
Millionaire/rich 1
Conceited 1
Uptight/Stiff 1
Dislike his wife 1

Here's a hint: Think "France."

Iraqi Soldiers React To The Iraqi Study Group

"I'll flee the country as soon as the US leaves." That's the message of several members of the Iraqi military in reaction to the idea of abandoning Iraq to the Islamists, thugs and crooks who are fighting to control it:

The sergeant, dressed in a US Army shirt, bemoaned the intensifying government pressure. He feels that the Americans have taught his men to be a professional, non-sectarian force and political parties are undermining them.

“If we detain Sunni terrorists, many of the Sunnis working for the Government will keep pushing us and our battalion commanders and ask us why you do that. Sometimes they will make a complaint against us. If we do the same thing in Sadr City, they (Shia officials) will make an announcement on television that we are doing the wrong thing and killing innocent people.”

He criticised restrictions placed on troops by the Government which he says means that the Army cannot raid Sunni or Shia mosques being used by militant groups to kill people.

“If their mosque is a Sunni mosque, I can’t do anything about it. If it is a Shia mosque, I can’t do anything about it because the al-Mahdi Army will be mad,” the sergeant said. “I have learnt from the Americans that if there is a place where people are hiding weapons and terrorists even if it’s a place to pray then we do not consider it a place of God anymore.”

Some say that there is no way the West can win in Iraq. It's only going to be chaos and Islamism, no matter what we do. "How can we possibly win," they ask?

Here's how: A professional military with these values and a commitment to the idea of Iraq. That's a realistic, pragmatic way to achieve victory. A professional, non-sectarian military could destroy the militias, fight the insurgents and give moderate Muslims the protection to speak out against the Islamists and promote a modern vision for Islamic nations.

The cut-and-run crowd says a professional, non-Baathist national army will never exist in Iraq. If they're right, the Islamists will win and they will have yet another army in the field to support the Iranian and Syrian militaries. Hezbollah will have a new ally. Islamist terrorists will have more trainers. Iranians nuclear program will have a new customer.

It's hard to imagine a worse outcome.

But what if the cut-and-runners are wrong? What if--it's a crazy idea, I know--but what if the members of the military speaking out in this Times of London article speak for a significant number of Iraqis? What if there are enough Iraqis to wear these uniforms and fight against the Islamists, but they never get the chance because the West won't do the hard word required to give them that chance?

What makes more sense? To surrender in the face of uncertainty, knowing the disastrous outcome, or to come up with a smarter, more effective way to fight, and then keep fighting?

The Latest On Menino's Mosque

Remember that mosque the Islamic Society of Boston is building on city land given to them by Mayor Menino for pennies on the dollar? Remember that the guy responsible for representing the city in the land deal was also a major fundraiser for the ISB? Remember how the ISB tried to intimidate me from talking about this shady land deal by threatening legal action?

Well, the plot continues to thicken.

The David Project, a non-profit educational initiative, is trying to find out who paid the expenses for Boston Redevelopment Authority Deputy Director Muhammad Ali-Salaam's fundraising trips for the ISB to the Middle East. But for some strange reason, the city's BRA won't hand over the public records regarding Ali-Salaam's trip. Hmmm....I wonder why?

Could it be that Ali-Salaam was fundraising for a mosque with (ahem) "interesting" links to terror advocates while on the taxpayer's dime? Then again, given that the taxpayers are on the hook for $1.8 million to the ISB already, should we be surprised?

Your High School Studen Council Gone Wild

Watching James Baker and Lee Hamilton and the rest of the ISG oozing self-importance and slapping each other's backs, all I could think of was my high school student council.

Remember those pompous, clueless kids so desperately seeking popularity and power? Remember the time they wasted on irrelevant resolutions and pointless debates? Remember how proud your local student council president was announcing the "official position" of a bunch of 16-year-olds on nuclear disarmament and apartheid?

Well, they're back. Only this time, they could get us all killed.

Parents? We Don' Need No Stinkin' Parents

So says the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the SCOTUS declined to review the case.

Parents in Palmdale, CA were (understandably) horrified to discover their 5th, 3rd and FIRST graders were participating in a sex survey at school. The questions included "How often do you have sex," and "how often do you touch your private parts?"

Parents argued that they should have the right to keep their young children from participating in such conduct. The school argued that they had the right to make these decisions for the children without parental interference.

The 9th Circuit Nuts (shock!) agreed with the radicals in the local school system and ruled that "there is no fundamental right of parents to be the exclusive provider of information regarding sexual matters to their children" and that "parents have no due process or privacy right to override the determinations of public schools as to the information to which their children will be exposed."

In other words, the school board members are co-parents, with a parent's equal right to determine whether or not your six-year-old son should be talking about "spanking the monkey" at school.

If a public school were forcing children to answer questions about their religious beliefs for evangelical teachers, the Left would be screaming "theocracy!", and rightfully so. But it's funny how those evil right-wing Christians never seem to use the school system to require mandatory participation in religious activity.

Why is it that, in America today, the jackboot always seems to be worn on the LEFT foot?

From The Dept. Of The Irony Impaired: Banning Trans Fat

December 5th is the anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition--a failed experiment in government control over the unhealthy but pleasurable behavior of adults. H. L. Mencken (left) bashed this idiocy relenlessly and was given the honor of the ceremonial first beer announcing its demise 73 years ago today.

Thus, it was the perfect day for the Food Nazis of New York City to vote to criminalize the use of trans fats by city restaurants.

The arguments against trans fat are unimpressive--the stuff isn't healthy, but eaten in moderation it's irrelevant to your health. In fact, trans fat was promoted by Food Nazis twenty years ago as a healthy alternative to the "naughty food de jour," saturated fats. Now the same groups are threatening lawsuits against the same food companies they pressured into using trans fats.

What makes today's irony even more (pardon the pun) delicious is that, in Mayor Jackboot Bloomberg's New York, it will be illegal for a bar to sell you a plate of fries, but totally legal to sell you six Jack and Cokes--all the alcohol and high-fructose corn syrup you can drink!

Now, really. What kills more people each year, in both per capita and raw number terms: trans fats, or alcohol? The answer is obvious.

So why is the real killer found on every street corner in Bloomberg's nanny-state duchy, while relatively benign trans fats are being cast out as evil? Is it because this is as much Big Brother as New Yorkers will accept...for now?

The "Green Zone" Should Be In Syria

Mark Steyn is right, as usual:

It's not the planes, the tanks, the men, the body armor. It's the political will. You can have the best car in town, but it won't go anywhere if you don't put your foot on the pedal. Three years ago, when it was obvious Syria and Iran were violating Iraq's borders with impunity, we should have done what the British did in the so-called ''Confrontation'' with Indonesia 40 years ago when they were faced with Jakarta doing to the newly independent state of Malaysia exactly what Damascus and Tehran are doing to Iraq. British, Aussie and Malaysian forces sent troops on low-key, lethally effective raids into Indonesia, keeping the enemy on the defensive and winning the war with barely a word making the papers. If the strategic purpose in invading Iraq was to create a regional domino effect, then playing defense in the Sunni Triangle for three years makes no sense. We should never have wound up hunkered down in the Green Zone. If there has to be a Green Zone, it should be on the Syrian side of the border.

This Is The Only Article You Need To Read About The "Iraq Study Group"

John Podheretz says it all, including:

YES, it's been quite a week for the 10 members of the Iraq Study Group, the committee formed last spring to offer recommendations on a path forward in Iraq.

They had a wonderfully invigorating leak session the other day with The New York Times, which was the first recipient of the group's key top-level save-America recommendation.

Co-chairmen James "Is There An Arab Dictator Nearby Whose Butt I Can Kiss"
Baker and Lee "Yes, I'm Still Alive" Hamilton didn't even bother to pretend to
brief the president or key lawmakers first.

The so-called "Study Group" is a classic study in government arrogance and establishment cluelessness. James Baker would have been a proud supporter of Chamberlain's negotiations with Hitler in 1938, leaking word to the Times of London about "peace in our time."

Your Handy Mormon-to-English Dictionary

"Aw, geez": Mormon for "Oh S--t."

Hat tip to NRO.