Shot In The Dark - Politics and Current Events in Minnesota and Beyond

Saturday, October 26, 2002

Fatwa Rules - As Instapundit notes, the media's definition of "Terrorist", as far as the DC sniper case is concerned, is specious. Bin Laden's fatwa specifically calls, not only for action by terrorist groups, but also by individual Moslems. Instapundit clips the money quote:
The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies--civilians and military--is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty God, "and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together," and "fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God."

This is in addition to the words of Almighty God "And why should ye not fight in the cause of God and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated and oppressed--women and children, whose cry is 'Our Lord, rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will help!'"

We -- with God's help -- call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan's U.S. troops and the devil's supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson.

In the meantime, the media seem to be doing their damnedest to de-islamicize the sniper case.
posted by Mitch Berg 10/26/2002 09:15:24 AM

Siege Ends - Russian commandos stormed the theatre in Moscow, ending a three-day siege where Chechen terrorists had held 800 Russians hostage.

67 hostages died, along with all 34 Chechens. Around 750 hostages - 90% - were saved.

This quote is the beef:
...one bystander, Igor Konstantinov, in his 60s, was in no doubt about what he thought.

"Putin has only one choice. (U.S. President George W.) Bush showed the world what to do with these bastards after September 11. It's Putin's turn to liquidate them in Russia."

Terrorism seeks to force people to adopt a bunker mentality, to abrogate all they believe in out of fear. The US, after September 11, showe that terrorists aren't safe in their bases. The Russians, I think, have showed us that terrorists aren't invincible, even given their disdain for life and ability to start their battles on their own agenda. And it shows that even the impossible situations can be turned into victories - albeit costly ones.

One wonders what Al Gore would have done in a situation like this.
posted by Mitch Berg 10/26/2002 09:08:37 AM

Friday, October 25, 2002

Wellstone - Dead at 58 in a plane crash.

For those of you who follow these things; this is interesting. Since 1990, in Minnesota, the rule has been that parties can replace candidates on the ballot, at least four days before the election.

However, according to a private email from a source in the DFL, the party's bylaws may not allow the party to get a legitimate Central Committee meeting together to select this candidate.

Which might leave Wellstone on the ticket. And if Wellstone wins, that would mean Governor Ventura would appoint the successor. I'd think that would very likely be Independence Party candidate Jim Moore.

My big question; assuming the DFL is allowed to nominate a replacement, who are the frontrunners? I'm personally thinking State Senators John Marty or Becky Lourey, but if I understood the inner workings of the DFL, I'd be a much less stable person.

Your feedback on this is eagerly encouraged.
posted by Mitch Berg 10/25/2002 02:09:47 PM

Selective Coverage - Earlier this year, a gunman at a Virginia law school, apparently intent on mass-murder, was stopped by three students - two of them armed with legally-owned handguns.

Yet the media's ignored it completely.
posted by Mitch Berg 10/25/2002 10:43:18 AM

The Problem with Socialists - Interesting to notice that the Democratic Socialists of America have removed the web page that stirred up the election fraud furor last week.

The part that amazed me is that the left wrote the whole thing off to "trying to disenfranchise minorities".
posted by Mitch Berg 10/25/2002 08:54:28 AM

Ashcroft in Hong Kong - This bit from the Gweilo Diaries sums up a big part of our problem - at least, the diplomatic one.
Ashcroft observed that the September 11 terrorists were recruited in Germany, received general training in Afghanistan, received operational training in Florida, assembled and initiated their mission in New England, struck New York and Washington, and received financing "from the capital city of another country."

That last bit encapsulates everything that is wrong with the US "war" on terrorism. How likely are American leaders to confront Saudi Arabia regarding their continued funding of terrorists, when the chief law enforcement officer of the US won't even utter their name for fear of offending them?

What the hell is the explanation for this inordinate deference to the Saudis?
Two words - Foggy Bottom?
posted by Mitch Berg 10/25/2002 08:50:28 AM

Have, Eat Cake - The Violence Policy Center has done its damnedest to make all the political hay it could from the sniper incident.

Today - with the news that the sniper's rifle was both illegally owned and did not fit the post-1994 definition of "assault rifle" that the VPC itself helped ram though - they're still trying to have it both ways.

So suddenly hunting rifles with scopes aren't the end of civilization - but "assault rifles" are, again?

Got it.
posted by Mitch Berg 10/25/2002 07:11:21 AM

Ugh - Dog died yesterday. Probably cancer. Chaos ensued.

Yet another way I can't be confused with Lileks.

Will have more later today, though.
posted by Mitch Berg 10/25/2002 07:04:42 AM

Wednesday, October 23, 2002

Enigma wrapped in a Jumble swathed in a Tarot Card- As far as I'm concerned, the theory that the DC sniper is a terrorist may be taking a big hit. Would anyone that's this big a grandstander be an actual foreign agent?

...unless, as Jayna Davis claims of Tim McVeigh, the sniper is a patsy for someone else's agenda.
posted by Mitch Berg 10/23/2002 02:11:59 PM

Generic TV Product - After five months without, we finally have a TV in my house.

This is what we have to look forward to, it seems - more cookie-cutter David Kelley productions. Yeesh, and I thought Steven Bochco's formula aged badly.

Well, at least Blind Date is still on.
posted by Mitch Berg 10/23/2002 02:08:10 PM

Transformation - What Janis Ian lacked as a songwriter (she was the queen of pre-Oprah pseudo-feminist bathos in the seventies) she more than makes up for as a pundit.

This is a great piece from USA Today on the file sharing controversy, and how music industry execs' problems with the practice have nothing to do with those of actual musicians.
posted by Mitch Berg 10/23/2002 02:00:50 PM

Desperation? - Maybe it's just the proximity of the election - but is it just me, or are Democrats diving into the gutter head-first, looking for anything to toss at the GOP?
On the Minnesota Politics mailing list, Democrats are accusing the Coleman campaign of systematically vandalizing Wellstone's yard signs. Leaving aside the mass of vandalized Coleman signs one can see around town, one wonders how DFLers would think any GOPer would risk being caught doing something so utterly stupid.
Also on the MNPOL list, Democrats, stung by the allegations of electoral fraud arising from the Democratic Socialists of America's attempt to bring students up from Iowa to organize voters (DFL version) or vote under fraudulent ID (here in Minnesota, a registered voter can vouch for another voter, making their registration valid), are uttering the "M" word; McCarthyistic. Allegedly, the allegations are about disenfranchising the poor, not safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process. Doncha know. As if they're contradictory.
A Dem apparatchik has is accusing Lamar Alexander of...maliciously twisting his finger?
Normal election-period crankiness? Or the sign of a party awash in desperation?

It'll be an interesting election.
posted by Mitch Berg 10/23/2002 01:40:58 PM

Blah - I'm battling one of those rotten, pre-flu headaches today. This blog's been running light the last few days, and I say I'm feeling ill not to beg off writing more so much as because I've noticed that the more I say I won't write, the more I write.

Let's see how it works...
posted by Mitch Berg 10/23/2002 01:40:29 PM

Child Abuse - Jennifer Roback, on the abuse and exploitation inherent in the support of the leftist sacrament of abortion.
The abortion lobby seems to think even a very young girl is entitled to abort without any adult influence. But honestly, if a 14-year-old girl babysits for your family, you walk her home. If your 13-year-old has to go to the orthodontist, you take her, and wait for her in the waiting room. We wouldn't send a 16-year-old to buy a car or choose a college without any adult guidance. Yet, under the guise of protecting her autonomy, the abortion lobby wants to let her go through the decision to abort, and the abortion itself, completely on her own, with no support from the people who love her. This is not respectful; this is abandoning a young girl at one of the most vulnerable moments of her life.

A set of legal rules that allows secret abortions for any girl, no matter how young, increases the number of abortions performed. It is easy to understand why a chain of abortion clinics wants such rules. Planned Parenthood sells abortion services. They want the demand for their services to be as high as possible. They want the costs associated with getting an abortion (other than their fees) to be as low as possible.

posted by Mitch Berg 10/23/2002 01:39:07 PM

Economics of War - We can afford this war, says Laurence Kudlow.

He's talking economics, of course. In terms of human cost, hopefully it'll be no different.

My son is nine. I'm praying every night that this madness (from without) is done by the time he's 18. He's just starting to get interested in military stuff - and, as big of a military history buff as I am, it makes me nervous.
posted by Mitch Berg 10/23/2002 01:34:57 PM

Tuesday, October 22, 2002

The Story Spreads - For most of the last eight years, suggesting Arab involvement in the Oklahoma City bombing has been enough to get you consigned to the Art Bell set - at least, according to the left and the media.

But in the past few months - since the Wall Street Journal ran with Jayna Davis' story linking Arab/Iraqi agents with Tim McVeigh - the story's been picking up steam.

Now, it's crossed the Atlantic - and not via tabloid.

This one, however, is new to me (albeit perhaps not to you):
There is another confirmed incident that suggests something more sinister. Two of the 11 September conspirators held a crucial meeting at a motel in Oklahoma City in August 2001. The motel's owner has since identified them as ringleader Mohammed Atta and Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker, who has known links with shoebomber Richard Reid.
Read the whole thing. (Link courtesy of Instapundit).
posted by Mitch Berg 10/22/2002 01:02:48 PM

Curb My Enthusiasm - The Democrats could come in third for the gubernatorial race, behind GOP and Independence candidates...

...In New York!
posted by Mitch Berg 10/22/2002 09:02:56 AM

Brits - Not that smart, but not too dumb either.
posted by Mitch Berg 10/22/2002 08:29:31 AM

They Say Thurmond is Senile? - In today's George Will column:
During the House debate on authorizing the use of force against Iraq, Rep. Pete Stark, a paleo-liberal from northern California, cried, "Rich kids will not pay; their daddies will get them deferments." He meant draft deferments. It is almost unkind to awaken Stark from his dogmatic slumbers to notify him that there has not been a draft since 1973. And the Beatles have broken up

posted by Mitch Berg 10/22/2002 08:26:53 AM

Sunday, October 20, 2002

Gefuffles - More server trouble left the site off the air for most of the past week.

I'm looking for different hosting.

OK - let's see if we can pick up where we left off...
posted by Mitch Berg 10/20/2002 07:51:42 AM

Berg's Law of Liberal Iraq Commentary:

In attacking the reasons for war, no liberal commentator is capable of addressing more than one of the justifications at a time; to do so would introduce a context in which their argument can not survive