Read about Cinnamon Stillwell.

Having been indoctrinated in the postcolonialist, self-loathing school of multiculturalism, I thought America was the root of all evil in the world. Its democratic form of government and capitalist economic system was nothing more than a machine in which citizens were forced to be cogs. I put aside the nagging question of why so many people all over the world risk their lives to come to the United States. Freedom of speech, religious freedom, women’s rights, gay rights (yes, even without same-sex marriage), social and economic mobility, relative racial harmony and democracy itself were all taken for granted in my narrow, insulated world view.

So, what happened to change all that? In a nutshell, 9/11. The terrorist attacks on this country were not only an act of war but also a crime against humanity. It seemed glaringly obvious to me at the time, and it still does today. But the reaction of my former comrades on the left bespoke a different perspective. The day after the attacks, I dragged myself into work, still in a state of shock, and the first thing I heard was one of my co-workers bellowing triumphantly, "Bush got his war!" There was little sympathy for the victims of this horrific attack, only an irrational hatred for their own country.

(via LGF)

Syria, under pressure to leave Lebanon and quit helping the Iraq insurgency, hands over Ba'athists from the former Iraqi government.

Egypt's Mubarak calls for multi-party elections after Condi expresses displeasure with the arrest of a reform protester.

The Syrian puppet government in Lebanon resigns.

As Sam Jaffe says, "We begged him to listen. He didn't. And now we're very close to the point where historians will be naming George Bush as the founding father of democracy in the Middle East. Yes, they will gag on the words. But that version of history will be inescapable if the trendline upon which events are currently racing continues."

I have been pretty hard on Ted Rall, and am still quite disgusted by his character assassination of Pat Tilman after his untimely death by friendly fire. I have to admit, however, that he has shown me something with his willingness to acknowledge something that went against his preconceived notions about the hatred underlying a lot of people's politics. In typical Rall fashion, he extrapolated some death threats against him by some commenters on a blog to mean that the Right is overrun with hatemongers who threaten violence against anyone who disagrees with them. And of course, he claimed to believe that there was no such equivalent on the left. He got called on it, and still not believing it, challenged those who disagreed to provide proof that there was just as much vitriol on the left. Well, he got so many examples emailed to him that it appears his server started bouncing emails. After modifying the rules to say that only specific death threats to specific individuals qualified, he got still more examples. Today, he did a big thing and admitted the obvious. This may be the first, last, and only time I will ever agree with him on anything, but he is right - there should be no place for this kind of shit in American politics.

As reported in The Washington Post:

"It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has started because of the American invasion of Iraq," explains Jumblatt. "I was cynical about Iraq. But when I saw the Iraqi people voting three weeks ago, 8 million of them, it was the start of a new Arab world." Jumblatt says this spark of democratic revolt is spreading. "The Syrian people, the Egyptian people, all say that something is changing. The Berlin Wall has fallen. We can see it."

Hat tip to Jim Geraghty at TKS.

The left blogosphere has moved the Democrats off to the left, and the right blogosphere has undermined the credibility of the Republicans' adversaries in Old Media. Both changes help Bush and the Republicans. RTWT.

So says the North Korean Foriegn Ministry. Maddy'll drink to that!

As Thomas Friedman says, "If France - the mother of all blue states - can do it, so, too, can the Democrats."

Dems and other assorted lefties can continue to prattle about WMD's and lies, all the while trying to deny that the main reason to invade Iraq was state sponsorship of terrorism. And they can continue to not be taken seriously. Or they can wise up and RTWT.

I mean, hate is such an ugly word...

Dick Morris thinks so.

As she tours the continent after her Senate confirmation, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is like a rock star - her every movement, her every meeting covered by an adoring media.

America's first black female secretary of state is doing in public what she has always done in private - speaking frankly about America's priorities and the realities of the post-Cold War world. As she jokes with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, loosening up his dogmatic anti-American policies, lectures Russia about freedom and warns Israel of tough decisions ahead, one thing is obvious: A star is being born.

There are many reasons this would be a wonderful thing, not the least being keeping Hillary far from the office. Morris puts it rather well in his article:

America longs to put the period on the disgraceful chapter in our nation's history that began when the first slave arrived at Jamestown, Va., more than 400 years ago. We also want to send a message to every girl, and every African-American or Hispanic baby, that there is no ceiling and that you can rise as far as your ability will carry you. The day Condi Rice is sworn in as president, regardless of the fate of her administration, that message and the punctuation of our history of racism will be obvious.

This is an encouraging development. For democracy to take hold, they have to want it bad enough to fight for it. Sounds like many are fed up with Michael MooreOn's minutemen and their insurgency.

Here is an excerpt, but you really should read the whole thing:

You may think that you have felt dumb before, but let me tell you something: until you have stood in front of a man who knows real pain and told him that you are against your country's alleviation of his country's state-sponsored murderous suffering, you have not felt truly, deeply, like a total fucking moron.

I still am no Bush fan, and I know that America got lied to. I know we shouldn't have gone, and I think Rove is as evil as they come. But through all this deception and lying, through all this dismemberment and pain, America has wrought a beautiful, fantastic side effect: joy, freedom and a hope for peace. Does it take lies and misdirection to do this?? Is this what the other side of justice is? I feel like such a whiner and I don't know what to think anymore. Ultimately, in total defiance of my mother and grandmother's teachings, two wrongs have made a right and my moral compass is tired and busted.

I can't tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys, and I want a clear cut mandate, some lines to believe along. But there aren't any. There's just right and wrong and following your heart of hearts. And for the first time in my life, I can say that I was wrong to be compulsively critical of the current administration without seeking my own truth.

Some clear wrongs rise from this morass like an evil swamp monster, reeking of decay and crawling with filthy insect larvae. Puppeting a belief for social or financial gain, wihtout seeking the truth within one's heart is real, real wrong. The level of discourse in Amaerica has plummeted to a name-calling ping-pong match with a turd for a ball. It doesn't matter how wicked the serve is, both sides are still smacking a bunch of shit around. Just like Ann Coulter and the Protest Warriors, those "Fuck Bush" signs hurt America and all that it stands for. Even though I don't know what it stands for anymore...but I am so glad those people can vote.

More on this here - an exhange between the author and a "hawk" who has served in Iraq.

This has become my number one issue - as these guys demonstrate, we as Americans need to get beyond the politics of personal destruction, humanize each other, and engage in dialog instead of shit slinging.

The left is fond of making accusations of warmongering. They fail to understand that some people sincerely believe, as the above author states, that America is the only country in the world with the power to effect the kind of change that took place in Afghanistan and Iraq, and as such, it has the responsibility to do what it can. To whom much is given, much is expected.