For Democrats, Every Vote Counts

Famous democratic-party slogan:

"Vote early, and vote often."

So the saying goes… Everyone knows it, but nobody will admit it.

On the subject of counting votes I received another email, from Governor Howard Dean, about the democrats' new effort to drive voters to the polls.

The message itself is broken down into two parts. The first is Dean's commentary about the apparent success of  the drive to censor the ABC television mini-series, The Path to 9/11. In reality, the drive to censor the film didn't do anything except expose many democratic party members as partisan thugs and hacks. It also exposed the delicately thin legacy that the Clinton administration is trying desperately to build. According to many sources, all the pressure and threats from the democratic-party established resulted in only one minutes of film footage being edited out of the final cut. Now, on to the e-mail…

Part I:

Dear X,

Did you know that, on our web site alone, a quarter million people just like you sent letters to the ABC network about the right-wing 9/11 propaganda film they aired?

The mobilization you were part of is part of a new attitude for the Democratic Party. We're not going to be pushed around, spun, or defamed by right-wing extremists or those whom they use to disseminate their propaganda. You stood up and held your ground.

This powerful showing by Democrats who refuse to be duped or smeared created a firestorm of controversy for ABC and its parent company, Disney. It drove down ratings, mangled their promotions and gave their leadership one serious headache — a stark lesson that will make television executives think twice about becoming vehicles for propaganda and outright false claims about Democrats.

Actually, I used the website to voice my support for ABC, not my opposition to them. It makes me wonder if the quarter-million number Dean has quoted is slightly exaggerated.

Part II:

But we're not just mobilizing online. We're mobilizing on the ground in every single state across the country. As we near the November elections, our 50-state strategy operation is being transformed into a 50-state get-out-the-vote effort, and we need your help.

Our push down the home stretch is the "50-State Turnout" — an unprecedented, nationwide operation to turn voters out to the polls.

It kicks off on October 7th — exactly one month before the midterm elections. Many state parties have planned hundreds of events using our brand new PartyBuilder grassroots action tools.

There are hundreds of get-out-the-vote events — phone-banks, neighborhood canvasses or volunteer events at campaign headquarters across the country. Find one here:

http://www.democrats.org/50<snip>

The 50-State Turnout is a perfect example of how a 50-state strategy to build our party everywhere can deliver results now while building the kind of infrastructure we need for the future.We've got nearly 200 staff and thousands more trained volunteers on the ground across the country right now.They've been building towards this election for over a year in all 50 states.The 50-state strategy has meant that they got to work earlier than ever before — and it means that all the work we do between now and November will be the foundation for next year and the year after.The final 30-day sprint will kick off with events across the country on October 7th. Check for an event near you:

http://www.democrats.org/50<snip>

If you really want change, your vote isn't going to be enough. You've got to get out there and organize.The 50-State Turnout will be the broadest off-year election mobilization in our party's history — and rightly so, because the stakes couldn't be higher.I hope you'll join us on October 7th.Thank you.Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

As I said earlier, vote early and vote often, right democrats? 

Posted on: September 14, 2006 , by newyank  • Trackback
Filed in: Domestic Politics, Elections 2006, Leftwing Watch . •  No Comments  • .

Terrorist Propaganda Found on YouTube.com

The real headline in Wednesday's edition of the Star Bulletin is "Web videos mock U.S. war deaths", but I thought I'd headline my own post with something more accurate.

Via starbulletin.com:

Posted on YouTube.com, the clips include insurgent slogans and have been viewed thousands of times

The wildly popular video-sharing Web site YouTube.com has dozens of videos purporting to show individual American soldiers being killed in Iraq, in what amounts to snuff films, overlaid with music and insurgent slogans.

Some of the videos, including ones of American soldiers purportedly being picked off by snipers or being blown up by improvised explosive devices, have been viewed tens of thousands of times each in the past few months. Some are posted in YouTube's "news and blogs" category, but others are listed under "entertainment" and even "comedy."

One shows what appears to be three U.S. soldiers in desert fatigues questioning Iraqi men in a street or alley as young boys mingle around. Suddenly, one soldier slumps to the ground, felled by a single bullet, as the children scatter. In another, a U.S. soldier is standing through the top hatch of a Humvee, then slumps over as the sniper strikes.

Their presence on YouTube shows that insurgent propaganda — including genuine footage — already available on more obscure Web sites has seeped in the mainstream of American popular culture, said Eben Kaplan, assistant editor of CFR.org, the Web site of the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan think tank headquartered in New York.

Read more: Web videos mock U.S. war deaths.

Posted on: September 13, 2006 , by newyank  • Trackback
Filed in: Counter Terrorism, Global Jihad, Iraqi Freedom, Miscellaneous . •  No Comments  • .

U.S. Embassy in Syria Attacked but Failed

From the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA):

Damascus, Sep. 12 (SANA),

Syrian Anti-Terror Forces Thwart Terrorist Operation that Targeted the American Embassy in Damascus

Syrian anti-terror forces on Tuesday morning thwarted a terrorist operation by a terrorist Takfiri group of four gunmen who tried to storm the American embassy in Damascus using hand grenades and machines guns.

The guards assigned to protect the American embassy clashed with the terrorists, killing three of them and wounding the fourth.

The terrorists used in their terrorist operation a car they were in and another booby-trapped car that parked in front of the embassy door to detonate it.  Competent experts from anti-terror forces dismantled the explosive charge and the timing devices inside the car.

Investigations are still underway into this terrorist incident.

Read the rest here, but there's more:

Damascus, Sep. 12 (SANA),

Interior Minister: The Terrorist Operation Failed to Achieve its Aims

Syrian Minister of Interior General Bassam Abdul Majid stressed that the terrorist operation that targeted the American embassy in Damascus Tuesday morning has failed to achieve any of the aims or premeditated dimensions plotted by the criminal sides that stood behind it.

The Minister, in statements at the scene of the terrorist incident, praised the role of anti-terror forces in thwarting this terrorist operation and their alertness to protect the nation and citizens.

He said that the preliminary investigations revealed that the two cars used in this incidents were stolen, adding that investigations area underway to divulge those who are behind this terrorist operation.

The Interior Minister indicated that the scene of the terrorist operation is a public street that any car can use and stop for moments, a thing exploited by the terrorist group.

A Syrian guard assigned to protect the American Embassy was killed, and another wounded in the clash:

Damascus, Sep. 12 (SANA),

One of Anti-Terror Forces was Martyred, Others Wounded in the Terrorist Operation That Targeted US Embassy in Damascus

Following to preliminary information on the terrorist operation that targeted the American embassy in Damascus Tuesday morning, one Syrian security guard assigned for the protection of the American embassy in Damascus was martyred in the clash between anti-terror forces and the terrorist Takfiri group, another was wounded along with a policeman of the embassy guards and a security employee in the embassy.

Another 11 citizens were also injured in this terrorist operation, seven of them were workers of a technical workshop of the Syrian Telecommunication Establishment who were on a repair mission in the area, a man and a woman of Iraqi nationalities in addition to a Chinese citizen who  was  on the roof of his house in the area.

The wounded were taken to public hospitals for treatment.

Via CNN World:

DAMASCUS, Syria (CNN) — Syrian security forces killed four attackers Tuesday outside the U.S. Embassy in Damascus after a car exploded near the walls of the American compound, the Syrian Information Ministry said.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, but an al Qaeda offshoot group called Jund al-Sham — or Soldiers of Lebanon — is suspected, said Imad Moustapha, Syrian ambassador to the United States.

The radical fundamentalist group has been blamed for several attacks in Syria in recent years, Moustapha said.

One Syrian security guard protecting the embassy was killed in the attack, Syria's state-run news agency SANA reported.

Syrian authorities wounded and arrested another suspected attacker, the ministry said. No American diplomats were harmed.

SANA reported 13 others were wounded, including an embassy policeman, a security worker and 11 civilians, among them two Iraqis and a Chinese.

"The State Department confirms an attack by unknown assailants," U.S. State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said from Washington. "The event appears to be over and handled by local authorities … on the scene."

The Syrian Information Ministry said none of the staff was wounded and the embassy incurred no damage.

Video footage from the scene showed the burned-out wreckage of a car and blood-soaked streets near the embassy, which in a residential area of the Syrian capital.

The armed attackers apparently tried to storm the embassy with hand grenades and machine guns after detonating a car bomb near the compound walls, according to the ministry and the state-run news agency.

Read the entire CNN article here.

Posted on: September 12, 2006 , by newyank  • Trackback
Filed in: Counter Terrorism, Global Jihad, International, al-Qaeda . •  No Comments  • .

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Other Key al-Qaeda Suspects Reported Captured

From South Asian News:

Kabul - In an operation launched by Afghan coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan, a known al-Qaeda facilitator and six other suspected al-Qaeda associates were detained, coalition forces said.

The commander of the Hizb-i-Islami militia in Hafezan in the eastern province of Nangarhar, Gulbuddin Hikmatyar, was arrested after credible intelligence led Afghan and coalition forces to his compound, the statement said.

No shots were fired and there were no injuries reported.

Hikmatyar, the former prime minister of Afghanistan, announced jihad or holy war against what he called the US invasion of Afghanistan four and half years ago and the joint opposition of the Afghan government by Taliban and al-Qaeda in the fight against coalition forces.

Two other al-Qaeda suspects were arrested last week in the south- eastern province of Khost.

Read more: Seven al-Qaeda suspects arrested in eastern Afghanistan. 

Bill Roggio has some very good background information about Hekmatyar:

On the day of the fifth anniversary of the 9-11 attack, Coalition forces score a high value target in Afghanistan. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the commander of Hezb-i-Islami and ally of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, has been captured during a joint U.S. and Afghan Army raid in “eastern Afghanistan.” Hekmatyar, contrary to his rhetoric gave up to the Coalition forces without a fight. Hekmatyar's arrest is said to be part of an 'ongoing operation.'

Hekmatyar has been designated by the U.S. Department of State as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" and "has participated in and supported terrorist acts committed by al-Qa'ida and the Taliban." The 9-11 Commision report indicates Osama bin Laden kept lines of communication open with Hekmatyar. "bin Laden apparently kept his option open, maintaining contacts with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who, though an Islamic extremist, was also one of the Taliban's most militant opponents," states the report.

Read more: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Reported Captured. 

Posted on: September 11, 2006 , by newyank  • Trackback
Filed in: Afghanistan, Global Jihad, International, al-Qaeda . •  No Comments  • .

Live Blogging The Path to 9/11

Warning: Spoiler Ahead…

Last Segment, September 11th, 2006:

See below for commentary regarding yesterday's segment.

Impressions:

• The NSC, headed by "Sandy" Berger, clearly places the blame for failure to protect the country on the CIA.
• Politically correctness is a theme that prevents most FBI agents and counter-terrorism officials from acting in a meaningful way.
• The portrayal of Condoleeza Rice is awkward.

(Break: Presidential address.)

First Segment, September 10th, 2006: 

So far, I've seen the first hour and forty-five minutes of The Path to 9/11.

The movie opens with scenes from the early morning of 9/11, the hijackers boarding plane's and getting settled… Followed by the sequence of the 1993 WTC bombing.

First impressions:

• Historically glossed over in some respects but altogether not bad.
• The movie definitely depicts the Jihadist's as America's sworn enemy.
• There are many scenes that you would expect to see footage of former president Clinton (press conferences, speeches, etc.)

Strangely enough, Clinton isn't present in the movie at all so far. (With the exception of his image on a television set in the NYC FBI office.)

Update (10:00 PM EST):

Concerning the scene showing Osama bin Laden surrounded by field agents and Ahmed Shah Massoud's men…

• A shorter scene involving the meeting between Berger and the NSC was shown. The decision to scrub the operation was implied.
• Most of the footage showing bin Laden's camp being surrounded was edited out. Massoud's men approach Tarnak farms, FBI agents await orders and the scene cuts to the NSC meeting. Following that, the film cuts back to Massoud's quote "Aren't there any men left in Washington, or are they all cowards."
• The scene showing Clinton giving the press interview about his Lewinsky testimony was completely cut. Instead there were at least two "we'll get 'em…" type speeches, one after the NSC meeting and the other five or so minutes later during the Nairobi embassy bombing sequence.

Other Impressions:

• Scenes involving FBI agents investigating or arresting a suspect, or suspects, are pretty cool. There's almost a CSI feel to the movie.
• FBI agents, notably Agent John O'Neil, come across as heroes frustrated by the bureaucracy and the Clinton administration.

The first part of the mini-series wraps up by revisiting the scenes of the 9/11 hijackers preparing for their takeover of the first plane…

Posted on: September 11, 2006 , by newyank  • Trackback
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In Honor of Edmond Young

Edmond Young of Owings, Maryland was a twenty-two year old loving father of Stephen, brother of Marvene, Markia, and Michele who passed away in 1990.  Edmond held a position working as a Computer Technician for defense contractor BTG Inc. He had earned the respect of his peers and a reputation as being a resourceful, problem solving Computer Technician working at the Pentagon.

Edmond's life was cut short during the terrorist attack at the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001. 

I've created a special web page to honor Edmond as part of project 2996 involving more than three thousand bloggers.

• Honoring Edmond Young (1979 − 2001)

Posted on: September 11, 2006 , by newyank  • Trackback
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Senator Rockefeller Says World Would Be Better With Saddam

From CBS News:

Quote by Senator Rockefeller:

"Yes. [Saddam] wasn't going to attack us. He would've been isolated there," Rockefeller said. "He would have been in control of that country but we wouldn't have depleted our resources preventing us from prosecuting a war on terror which is what this is all about."

Quote by CBS Reporter:

Rockefeller went a step further. He says the world would be better off today if the United States had never invaded Iraq — even if it means Saddam Hussein would still be running Iraq.

You have to see it, to believe it. So here's the video .

If the democrat party regains control of Congress this November, perhaps they'll put Saddam Hussein back in power?

The Senators' remark is just about the dumbest thing I've heard in weeks coming from a democrat. How does this party expect anyone in mainstream America to take them seriously? I know of more than a few Iraqi's who would question this man's sanity (not to mention whether or not he actually has any testicles.)

This is the same man who used his position on the Senate Intelligence Committee to play dirty political games after the initial phase of the Iraq war ended. And he's at it again.

I know one thing; America would be better off without him in Washington. Perhaps he ought to consider a new career. 

Posted on: September 9, 2006 , by newyank  • Trackback
Filed in: Domestic Politics, Elections 2006, Iraqi Freedom . •  No Comments  • .

The Path to 9/11 Miniseries Under Fire from Democrats (Updated)

Update (September 9th, 2006):

• Clinton's lawyer pressures ABC to "yank the film". Strangely enough there's also speculation that the letter may be a fake.
• Peggy Noonan recalls the sounds of 9/11.
• Redstate has the video clips from the film that democrats don't want you to see.

Update: Blackfive weighs in with 9/11 Truthers & Clintonistas in the Crosshairs.

Uncle Jimbo says:

On top of this ABC has a miniseries that follows the completely feckless response of Clinton’s national security team to 8 years of provocation by bin Laden and AQ. The Clintonistas are predictably appalled at having the inherent weakness of the current Democrat party on national defense so brutally exposed. They have been coasting on nostalgic feel good memories of peace and prosperity when the stock market soared, there was a Hummer in every driveway, and people worldwide loved us. Except the internet bubble burst draining away all that faux-prosperity, as it turned out we weren’t actually at peace we were just failing to act as our enemies continued to attack us, and trust me nobody loved us then either. 

Update: Another e-mail from the executive director of the Democratic National Committee

Note: I'm not a registered democrat and I actually wrote a letter via their website encouraging ABC to air the film as scheduled. They obviously didn't read my letter.

It would seem that the entire demcratic party machine is rallying against this movie. Which begs the question, what are they so worried about, and why are they trying to shield the public from seeing it? 

Dear Fellow Democrat,

This is it: crunch time for getting the slanderous ABC television docudrama "The Path to 9/11" yanked off the air. The network schedule has this slanderous attack on Democrats slated to start on Sunday night, September 10, at 8 o'clock — and as long as it stays on the schedule, we have work to do.

http://www.democrats.org/pathto911/send

Here's the good news: the suits at ABC and the Walt Disney Company have started panicking under pressure, thanks to your ferocious response to the outrageous decision to put this irresponsible miniseries on the air. But until Disney quits defending its plan to broadcast conservative propaganda — fraudulently presented to Americans as "based on the 9/11 Commission Report" — the company should plan to keep taking every bit of heat we dish out.

Here's a quick catch-up on developments over the last 48 hours:

• President Clinton, through his attorney, rebuked ABC for producing a "factually and incontrovertibly inaccurate" miniseries — and walked the network through three make-believe scenes in the "the Path to 9/11" that defame people and misrepresent events during his administration.

• Clinton's spokesman later stepped up the pressure, condemning Disney as "despicable" for "airing a fictional version of what is a serious and emotional event for our country. No reputable organization," he said, "should dramatize 9-11 for a profit at the expense of the truth."
• The families of September 11 victims have weighed in on the controversy, telling "entertainers" not to "promote misleading or incorrect information as fact to the public."
• House and Senate Democratic leaders hammered Disney president and CEO Robert Iger, in letters that questioned the company's commitment to its "reputation … as a corporation worthy of the trust of the American people and the United States Congress."
• Scholastic has pulled teaching materials off its website and has scrambled to adopt a plan to help teachers show students "the differences between factual reporting and a dramatization," but is still encouraging teachers to show their students this propaganda.

Thanks for helping to make all this happen by joining over 150,000 Americans who told Disney president Robert Iger to keep this cheap right-wing miniseries off our airwaves. But our work isn't done. Before we deliver your letter today, tell your family, friends, neighbors and colleagues to insist that Disney and ABC live up to its duty to tell the truth:

http://www.democrats.org/pathto911/send

Thank you,

Tom

Tom McMahon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

Update (Sept. 8th):

Democratic efforts to censor
FREE SPEECH (again)

Below is a copy of an e-mail that is being circulated by the democratic party.

Hi,

The ABC television network — a cog in the Walt Disney empire — unleashed a promotional blitz in the last week for a new "docudrama" called "The Path to 9/11".  ABC has thrown its corporate might behind the two-night production, and bills it as a public service: a TV event, to quote the ABC tagline, "based on the 9/11 Commission Report".
 
That's false. "The Path to 9/11" is actually a bald-faced attempt to slander Democrats and revise history right before Americans vote in a major election.
 
The miniseries, which was put together by right-wing conservative writers, relies on the old GOP playbook of using terrorism to scare Americans. "The Path to 9/11" mocks the truth and dishonors the memory of 9/11 victims to serve a cheap, callous political agenda.  It irresponsibly misrepresents the facts and completely distorts the truth.

Join me in telling Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger to keep this propaganda off the air.

http://www.democrats.org/page/
petition/pathto911/ftvala

Thanks!

Please allow me to translate the meaning of the langauge used in the e-mail:

The ABC television network — a cog in the Walt Disney empire — unleashed a promotional blitz in the last week for a new "docudrama" called "The Path to 9/11".  ABC has thrown its corporate might behind the two-night production…

Translation: We're VICTIMS of "big business" again.

…and bills it as a public service: a TV event, to quote the ABC tagline, "based on the 9/11 Commission Report".
 
That's false. "The Path to 9/11" is actually a bald-faced attempt to slander Democrats and revise history right before Americans vote in a major election.

Translation: Only WE are allowed to revise history, and only WE are allowed provide a public service.

The miniseries, which was put together by right-wing conservative writers, relies on the old GOP playbook of using terrorism to scare Americans.

Translation: We're being VICTIMIZED by the vast right-wing conspiracy again. And since we're not strong on national security, we'll resort to accusing republicans of scaring the public instead of drawing up an effective plan of our own.

"The Path to 9/11" mocks the truth and dishonors the memory of 9/11 victims to serve a cheap, callous political agenda.  It irresponsibly misrepresents the facts and completely distorts the truth.

Translation: We think Fahrenheit 9/11 was a much more accurate and honorable portrayal of the failures that led to the September 11th. So much so, we invited its producer to sit with us at our 2004 national convention.

Also on the story:

• Hotair has a good roundup and more about another democrat-led censorship situation.
• SeeDubya has details about the scene in the movie that has liberals' underpants tied up in knots.
• Rumors that uncut, bootleg copies of the movie is beginning to circulate around Europe.

Good commentary:

• Dick Morris, former top Clinton advisor, calls Clinton's attack on the film outrageous.

Update (Sept. 8th):

Stephen of MediaBlog over at NRO is reporting that senate democrats may have issued a veiled threat regarding Disney's broadcast license if they don't cancel the mini-series.

This is simply outrageous. I guess free speech is only good enough for liberals and terrorist statesmen that agree with their cause. The democrats are making complete jackasses of themselves. You can't revoke a television network's broadcast license because they air a film containing views you don't agree with. 

Update (Sept. 7th):

LGF has links showing the democratic party is officially trying to censor ABC network programming.

Update (Sept. 6th):

Hugh Hewitt may have evidence that ABC may have edited the film under pressure from liberals. 

I had to interrupt a busy workday to post this example of utter hypocrisy from democrats.

This party has been campaigning as the vanguard of free speech in its opposition to NSA wiretaps, its defense of the New York Times after the paper revealed classified information about counter-terror programs that help to keep us safe, and its opposition to the renewal of the USA Patriot Act.

From UPI :

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (UPI) — An upcoming TV mini-series about the origins of the Sept. 11 plot is provoking angry complaints from Democrats about the portrayal of the Clinton administration's response to terrorism.

"The Path to 9/11," a five-hour dramatization laying out the history of the Sept. 11 plot from the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, will be aired over two nights on the anniversary of the attack next week by ABC Television.

The movie is billed as a dramatization based on the report of the U.S. commission that investigated the events of Sept. 11 and circumstances leading up to it. According to a disclaimer shown at the beginning of each episode, it "has composite and representative characters and incidents, and time compressions have been used for dramatic purposes."

But a portion of the film showing an aborted effort to capture al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden before the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa has aroused the ire of some of the officials portrayed.

Here's where the hypocrisy begins:

And Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., called on ABC to show disclaimers throughout each episode, not just at the beginning. "ABC has a responsibility to make clear that this film is not a documentary, and does not represent an official account of the facts surrounding the Sept. 11 attacks," she said.

I don't recall democrats calling for disclaimers throughout Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11? Furthermore, the Clinton liberals are doing everything they can to prevent ABC from airing the film "as-is." That in and of itself should tell you this is going to be one good film.

The mini-series is actually an accurate portrayal, albeit re-enacted, of what really happened in the years leading up to the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. It's time the country learned the truth about what happened instead of buying into the liberal myth that it was all George W. Bush's fault.

In one scene, CIA operatives working with Ahmed Shah Masud (sic), the charismatic Afghan mujahedin leader who fought al-Qaida and their Taliban sponsors, are assembled on a hillside above bin Laden's residence at Tarnak Farms. "It's perfect for us," says "Kirk," a composite character representing several of the CIA operatives and analysts involved in the hunt for the terrorist leader.But the team is forced to abort the mission when Berger hangs up on them in the middle of a conference call, after telling them he cannot give the go ahead for the action."I don't have that authority," he says."Are there any men in Washington," Masud asks Kirk afterwards in the film, "or are they all cowards?"

Former national security advisor to President Clinton, Sandy Berger, had this to say:

"The incidents depicted did not happen," said Berger in the statement. "They are not contained in the Sept. 11 Commission report, which is the most authoritative review of the events before and after the attack."

This coming from a man who plead guilty to stealing classified documents from the National Archive. (I wonder what he was trying to hide…)

Read the entire UPI article: Analysis: Sept. 11 miniseries under fire.

Other commentaries: Blackfive, Hugh Hewitt, Little Green Footballs, HotAir, JunkyardBlog, Sticky Notes. 

Posted on: September 9, 2006 , by newyank  • Trackback
Filed in: Counter Terrorism, Domestic Politics, Elections 2006, Media Bias, al-Qaeda . •  5 Comments  • .