Well the snow scare here in DC was, again, not what was predicted. Our 4-6 inches was more like 2-3, but with a cap of frozen rain it seems (I have not been out yet). Earlier this week there was 4-6 inches predicted and we barely got 1 inch. But for the DC area, it was enough to keep the wild horde home from school.

In the category of stupid Hollywood tricks, we have this liberal fantasy of being able to show whites how badly we treat people of different races (forget about the fact we led the world to create race and religion and gender neutral societies). What Hollywood should show is the serious lack of women in white collar professions across Europe (let alone Asia and the Middle East). I do work in Europe and am stunned at the total lack of diversity in the companies compared to here in the US. Germans make up German companies, Brits staff the British companies (by and large). And the ratio of women engineers and managers to their male counterparts can be as high as 10 to 1. Women tend to be the majority on administrative assistant positions, though.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fisking by Atlas Shrugs of a recent Al Qaeda tape by Zarahawi extolling their victories in the war against the US. I especially liked the part where Zarahawi admits that Iraq is aligned with the US, and he projects his fear that they are now aligned against AL Qaeda.

But while that post was fun, this post by Atlas Shrugs was fascinating and riveting. One of the best I have read in a while. You might need to be a gun nut or watch the History Channel a lot to enjoy it though. I have to admit, this was a chilling, but obvious, fact of war for our troops:

The first thing our guys are told is “don’t get captured”. They know that if captured they will be tortured and beheaded on the internet. Zarqawi openly offers bounties for anyone who brings him a live American serviceman. This motivates the criminal element who otherwise don’t give a shit about the war. A lot of the beheading victims were actually kidnapped by common criminals and sold to Zarqawi. As such, for our guys, every fight is to the death. Surrender is not an option.

Pray for these brave neighbors and family members of ours.

The economic news has been incredibly good, especially in light of all the hurricane destruction this year.

The RBC CASH Index, based on polling by Ipsos, showed that consumer confidence clocked in at 85.5 in December, the second-highest reading of this year.

The pickup builds upon the rebound in consumer confidence staged in November, when the index jumped to 81. That revival came after confidence had been stuck in the doldrums in September and October, reflecting worries about sky-high energy prices and other fallout from the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Economists attributed the December improvement to a retreat in gasoline prices, a ramp up in hiring and solid growth being logged by the overall economy.

It is finally starting to sink in with the people that things are pretty darn solid on the economic front.

For an enticing view of what will come in the Plame Game once it moves to the courts, the WSJ has a great opinion piece out today presenting a glimpse of what could come. The part I would pay good money to see is:

If the Libby case goes to trial, Mr. Libby himself will be a sideshow compared to what his lawyers are likely to display to the public about the practice of journalism. It has been reported that his lawyers plan to make wide demands for reporters’ notes.
…
Reporting the news is an informal, imperfect exercise. Journalism was never meant to have the unforgiving, precise exactitude of the law’s needs imposed upon it. But because of Plame, it’s about to be. Last month an appeals court in a civil suit ruled for nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee that reporters for the Washington Post, AP, New York Times, L.A. Times and CNN had to testify about confidential government sources who leaked information about Mr. Lee.

And Joe Wilson, and Larry Johnson, and Rand Beers, and…

There are going to be endless, blessed returns from Dangerous Dean’s recent gaffe on the war in Iraq. Drudge is reporting a GOP PR push on the Dean’s ‘I Will Surrender‘ comments, and conservative commentators like Ralph Peters will roast and toast Dangerous Dean for days and weeks to come.

Doc Dean, famed for his deadly surgery on the Democratic Party, has been hiding his true light under a camouflage-painted bushel. He’s a military genius. Who knew?

Forget that Dean never bothered to serve in uniform (too important). Ignore his lack of experience in Iraq or the Muslim world (too busy). Don’t chide him for his ignorance of military history (too boring). And let’s give him a pass for providing the perfect intro to terror-chieftain Ayman al-Zawahiri’s frantic insistence that America can’t win.

Just accept that Howard Dean, from his battle-hardened position atop the Democrats’ Central Committee — sorry, I meant “National Committee” — knows more than our troops, their commanders or the millions of Iraqis anxious to go to the polls on Dec. 15.

Evidence doesn’t matter anymore. Emotion and ambition rule. Dean cast the secret astrological charts and found Aquarius rising. If we just abandon the Iraqi people to terror, peace will reign in the heavens and on earth.

Well, Merry Christmas and happy holidays to our troops who are risking their lives for what Dr. Dean assures us is a lost and worthless cause.
…
Here at home we’ve reached a sorry pass when the Chairman of the DNC and the Dems’ House leader team up with terrorists to lobby for an American surrender.

I spend a lot of time with our troops (who are always inspiring). Let me risk paraphrasing what they might say to Dean & Co.: “If you don’t have the courage to fight for freedom, shut up and get out of the way.”

Thanks for the early Christmas present Howie!

In an counter example of how things are changing in Iraq, we see numerous Sunni Clerics calling for the release of American aid workers held hostage and call on their fellow Sunni’s to join democracy:

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Prominent Sunni Arab clerics and residents of a Baghdad neighborhood where four kidnapped Christian humanitarian workers had aided people appealed Friday for their release a day before a deadline set by their abductors to kill them.

Sunni Arab clerics also took the opportunity of Friday prayers to urge a big Sunni turnout in the Dec. 15 elections, saying that voting was a “religious duty” that could hasten the departure of American troops.

Yes indeed, it very well could hasten our departure because it will hasten success.

More and more the news on Iraq is pointing to historical change. A change which will be made permanent in next week’s elections for the permanent, democratically elected, Iraqi government. Our Ally in the ME. But there are so many on the left who have pinned all their personal, political relevancy on us losing they will not celebrate this day. Instead, the ywill, for reasons only their egoes can explain, turn away from the progress for humanity, and instead head into the dustbin of history. These normal, every day people may not even realize what path they took. This sad realization struck me as I read this Cliff May piece:

was having dinner with some people I didn’t know well, and I happened to mention that a good deal of my time in recent years has been spent working with Arabs and Muslims on questions relating to democracy.

A Brit sitting across the table leaned in, arched an eyebrow and almost spat at me: “Do they ever tell you to just bugger off?”

I replied, as evenly as I could, that that had not happened. The Arabs and Muslims I have had the opportunity to work with have not needed to be convinced that it’s preferable to choose your own leaders. I did not have to sell them on the idea that speaking your mind and not ending up in a mass grave as a result is a good thing. And they decided on their own that they should have the right to worship as they choose – and be willing to tolerate others enjoying the same right.

I asked my dinner companion: “Is this hard for you to believe? Is it your impression that Arabs and Muslims would rather take orders from dictators and can’t appreciate freedom the way sophisticated people like you do?”

Of course to these people who bet so heavily on vindication in Iraq, defeating conservatism and Bush is much more important than these trifling ideals. But as much as our generation will miss the point, it is not lost on our children:

Someone who grasped this earlier and better than did most politicians and journalists was Shelby Dangerfield, a 10-year-old girl from Billings, Montana. In January, she inked her index finger purple to show her support for Iraqis who had done the same (a means to ensure voters only vote once) and who had been so daring as to display the evidence of having voted in public.

“We take it for granted,” Shelby said about voting to the Billings Gazette. She added that it was particularly “important for women to be getting to vote.”

Yes, it is very important, for every person to be free to live a productive, responsible and satisfying life, and to participate in this grand experiment called humanity. We would rather be equal participants than tools or consumables for others. But so many have either missed or forgotten this simple truth.

Finally, the Weblog Awards our going on and many of the Raging RINOs (and the Coalition of The Chillin’) are nominees, so please vote for your favorite Blog in as many categories as possible. And remember you can vote once a day.

Hope you all have a great day!

UPDATE:

Thanks to Burbank Ernie we have the link to the GOP ad on Dangerous Dean’s call for surrender.