Dhimmi This!

Just for the Record

Image found on Wikipedia of Prophet Muhammad is subject to protest by Muslims as being disrespectful of their religion. See here.  Just for the record -

UPDATE: Laughing Wolf at Blackfive says it better here.

Since few if any newspapers in the U.S. (much less broadcast outlets) see fit to stand up for and with those who are literally putting their lives and the lives of their families on the firing line for true freedom of speech, I will step forward. To all those who are true enemies of freedom, no matter what country, religion, or party I have but one thing to say: Bite Me. - LW

More on the Current Status of the Haditha Investigation

    More thoughts on the incident at Haditha and the rush to judgment by the media to cast guilt upon innocent Marines.  Thad Coakley a former Marine Corps judge advocate and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, including a tour with an infantry battalion in the Hit-Haditha Corridor of al-Anbar Province during which he was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon, has written "Another perspective on Haditha" at the North County Times.  (Hattip to FBL)

Without knowing all that is to be presented by both the prosecution and the defense at the trials, a few conclusions and lessons are apparent from Haditha's aftermath:

Haditha is not a case of Marines carrying out purposeful murder by summary execution. The oft-made comparison between Haditha and My Lai is categorically unsupportable except by those who ignore the differences in mission, context, numbers, and manner of deaths in their zeal to define an atrocity in support of their views. The courts-martial will conclude whether the two Marine shooters made unreasonable judgments in responding to an initial attack, identifying hostile actors, and using appropriate force in self-defense.

Haditha is not an unveiling of widespread troop behavior or of any overall military policy or training purposefully dismissive of civilians. Considering the multitude of instantaneous life-and-death decisions made in Iraq, the U.S. military has exercised remarkable restraint and concern for the civilian populace ---- a key component of mission accomplishment in a counterinsurgency campaign.

The Washington Post's recent statistic ---- of all the allegations of service members related to Iraqi civilian deaths, only 69 have been charged with, and only 22 convicted, of murder, negligent homicide or voluntary manslaughter ---- reflects the American forces' commitment and level of professionalism in behavior, training and operation. Adjudicated misconduct is outside the norm and has been punished accordingly.

Haditha is not a debate platform for rashly criticizing the rules of engagement and what those rules "could" or "should" have been. The self-defense ROE in effect at the time are the authorities under which the two squad members' use of force will be evaluated. Because these ROE require judgment calls, they are subjectively applied. Only facts known to a Marine when he makes the decision to engage can be considered; those reviewing his actions must see the scene through his eyes at the time.

Even if a Marine was later shown to be mistaken, but reasonably perceived and engaged a hostile threat, his use of force is authorized under the ROE. This subjectivity inures to the benefit of the Marine and has already resulted in the dismissal of charges against Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, another Haditha squad member.

Louisiana Justice Fund - The Verdict is In!

    Planned Parenthood is off the hook for this one.   The reports have been filed and the winner is the Democratic Attorneys General Association. Substitute Democratic Attorneys General Association for Planned Parenthood and all of the other players stay the same. [DAGA was my second guess but given the connection between Foti and the DAGA (coordination between a candidate and 527 is forbidden) along with the principal of Occam's Razor (Planned Parenthood website with Louisiana Justice Fund listed) I projected Planned Parenthood as the funding source].  IRS filings show that the Democratic Attorneys General Association gave $635,000.00 to the Louisiana Justice Fund for the purpose of defeating Republican Candidate for Louisiana Attorney General Royal Alexander. Report for DAGA is here and the report for Louisiana Justice Fund is here.

    A close review of the report also shows that DAGA paid the Dewey Square Group $30,760.00 during this time period as well. 

    Well, I guess a Louisiana election was decidedly influenced by money spent from a Washington DC Democratic organization which had exactly zero dollars ($0.00) donated to it from Louisiana.  It is also interesting to note that Mr. Charles Foti, former Attorney General, was a card carrying member of the DAGA during this time period.  I am sure that The Honorable James Buddy Caldwell' s membership application is soon to be forth coming. 

    Well, I am sure that any concern that there could have been any improper coordination between the Foti or Caldwell camp and/or the DAGA/La. Justice Fund will be quickly reviewed ignored by the appropriate authorities under the guise of Louisiana's newfound love for Ethics Reform. 

    As a candidate, I would love to know that an outside organization was going to spend $635,000.00 on advertisement solely attacking my opponent and thus allow me to spend all of my money on advertisements touting how clean, pure, and experienced I am.

    Oh, and hats off to the Republican Attorneys General Association which responded by expending exactly zero dollars ($0.00) in trying to get a life long Republican elected Attorney General.

    Want more - My suggestion is to follow the money.

    Update: Flashback here. I guess you can teach an old dog a new trick.

 

Times-Picayune (
New   Orleans)

August 13, 2004 Friday

GOP backers fined for ethics violation;
Group didn’t report anti-Foti ad expenses

BYLINE: By Robert Travis Scott, Capital bureau

SECTION: NATIONAL; Pg. 4

LENGTH: 741 words

BATON ROUGE -- A Washington, D.C., group calling itself the Republican State Leadership Committee was fined $20,000 Thursday by the state ethics board for failing to report its activities when it ran television attack ads against Democrat Charles Foti in the attorney general’s race last fall.

The ads temporarily put Foti on the defensive and raised the rancor in the heated campaign. Foti’s opponent, Republican Suzanne Haik Terrell, and national and state-level Republican parties denied ties to the committee. ...