First_Things

"The power to tax involves the power to destroy" Chief Justice John Marshall

UPDATED WHEN I TAKE A NOTION. WHERE THE AIR IS THIN, THE NIGHT SKY IS FULL OF STARS, AND THE HUNTING AND FISHING ARE GOOD. A FREEWHEELING CONSERVATIVE RESOURCE DEDICATED TO THE DEFENSE OF FREEDOM, THE NEXT GENERATION, THE WAY THINGS OUGHT TO BE, AND THE REVERSAL OF THE ENTIRE PROGRESSIVE PROJECT. TO UNDERSTAND THIS WEBSITE, IT IS NECESSARY THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO READ AND TO THINK.

10/23/06 Regarding recently rising U.S. casualties in Iraq: while there are several possible reasons for this development, the Mountain Observer dismisses the largely convenient explanation of Ramadan. There is no doubt in my mind that what is going on here is IslamicFascist participation in the American elections, with seeming success. Clear-eyed objective observers should have little difficulty in gauging IslamicFascist preferences. We pray that American voters are as astute. JES

10/19/06 Irrespective of the outcome of the American elections in November, a major war, most likely involving nuclear exchange, is on the way. I have no desire to sound hyperbolic, nor do I grandstand. I am simply connecting the dots of objective reality, and it is not pleasant. JES

10/18/06 Republicans are in a lot of trouble, most frequently out of fear of supporting conservative positions, coupled with outright betrayal of Conservatives on a number of issues. Not that Conservatives will vote for Democrats, but will just stay home, which is the functional equivalent, and stupid. It has not helped that, especially in the last year, the President's foreign policy has morphed into a OJ Billyboy look-alike. We seem to be surrendering on the "war on Terror". All this means is that the challenges and burdens confronting us in the future will grow exponentially, at great cost in terms of life and treasure. The American people will have no one to blame but themselves. JES

10/17/06 The Springfield 30-'06 rifle round is 100 years old, alive, well and very healthy. Certainly good for another 100 years, and more relevant now than ever. JES

10/09/06 On Iraq, and the therapeutic war. I was disturbed when 30 days in, the uniformed resistance melted away without our side seeming to recognize the Sunni strategy of guerrilla resistance from the beginning. Meanwhile, domestic American opposition, afraid of unkind words not to mention war as a policy, fixated on the WMD issue, distorting the good news that we were able to verify more exactly what years of United Nations "inspections" had been unable to do. Like the rookie football wide receiver who tries to run with the ball before he has caught it, we then proceeded to get too caught up in democratization schemes before we had crushed all opposition. Fear of victory, it seems, is a sign of the times.

When we found Saddam Hussein in the rat hole and did not plug him on the spot, I was uneasy. Now there are signs that Iraqi assets, having gone through the ritual of a trial, what passes as a jury of "judges" is freezing up on the political implications of doing what needs to be done, apparent from the beginning.

Our fundamental error in Iraq was the failure to go in and conduct a genuine "shock and awe" campaign, on the ground as well as from the air. As with Germany and Japan, Iraq needed to be totally purged of effective resistance on the part of anyone. Totally humbled. The President relied too much on the advice of his Generals, a military generation perhaps to much traumatized by Vietnam memories and 8 years of OJ Billyboy politically correct civilian therapeutic management style. What has been missing has been a General McArthur advising a President who understood that in the end he had to take responsibility; not blaming a new age General Staff for their advice. Note: Return to LETTER 07-02 05/01/07

The Administration's subsequent efforts to enable Iraqi democracy have been noble, meeting with many successes, only to be torpedoed by the original strategic military failures. It was not an error, as the President's domestic political opposition contends, for us to invade Iraq. Saddam Hussein needed to be removed from power as a prerequisite to eventual conversion of the Middle East to 21sr Century sanity essential to our own long term national security. The President's vision, in this regard, has been long and forward thinking, and correct. He has been betrayed by an ignorant and self-serving opposition, too much the product of post historical intellectual and moral relativism, and he has been betrayed by his own natural inclination of kindness to his political enemies, foreign and domestic.

Opposition within Iraq is fed by Iranian subterfuge among Iraqi Shia, setting up a tug of war between the commonality of Shia and the divisions between Arab and Persian cultures. IslamicFascist al Qaida remains an effective influence among the secular Sunni, because, you see, the theological divisions are not what it's really all about, and never have been. Our own domestic hate America political opposition led by the New York Times and their cronies, print and electronic, in the traditional mainstream press, have played directly into the manipulative hands of IslamicFascists everywhere, again, foreign and domestic. IslamicFascists think they will do better against us with appease prone Democrats in office, and they are right. Finally, the general cultural history of Mesopotamia does not look kindly on the artificial British colonial experiment known as Iraq. (For the trail of thinking by the Mountain Observer on this whole matter go to FOREIGN AFFAIRS- IRAQ)

What to do? Tough policy decisions need to be made, and "cut and run" is not an option. It would appear that we might want to encourage a more federated arrangement between the three major groups in Iraq. Such an approach is not without its own set of dangers. For example, it would probably tend to fuel the dream among Kurds of an independent Kurdistan, to the consternation of Turkey, setting up a serious conflict between them which is not in our interest. Otherwise, a truly Federated Iraq might be easier to manage in the future by virtue of a lessened danger of a Hussein style international threat. Maybe so maybe not. The original (current) Administration plan is the most desirable from our point of view, but we must be studying options, because it may not work. The Mountain Observer advises great policy change caution, and patience, not historically among our national virtues. With all the problems, there is a hell of a lot that is going right. In the wake of 09/11, the President accepted an enormous challenge by forces determined to destroy us, and warned from the beginning that it would be a long hard battle. He was right. "Cut and run" appeasement is not an option. JES

10/07/06 And oh, by the way, last Wednesday the President signed the bill just passed by Congress authorizing construction of 700 miles of fence along the border, however funds for only 300 miles have been appropriated. Faced with election day, kicking and screaming, the open borders crowd, sadly including the President, bow to political reality. Whether this actually goes anywhere, however, remains to be seen. Much depends on the results in November. JES

10/07/06 Somalian Ayaan Hirsi Ali. We hope to hear more about her, and from her, in the future. Welcome to America. Pay attention to this woman's story. JES

10/07/06 How much longer are we going to allow Iran and the United Nations to run our foreign policy before we lower the boom ? JES

10/06/06 I am a registered Independent. I left the Republican Party in 1995, disgusted with Republican congressional abandonment of the Contract With America. From that point on it seemed to me that what the Republican Party, too prone to cave to the Left, needed most, was observation and commentary from the Right. It was from this perspective that the Mountain Observer was launched in November 2000. Now this perspective is pertinent to the current political situation, fueled to a flash point by the Foley/Hastert fiasco. I am not a single issue Conservative (see 10/04 below). That includes values and culture, upon which the rest is nested. As for Mark Foley, a very sick man, he is gone from Congress, and may those who love him come to his personal assistance. Revelations of the apparent insincerity of some of the text messaging notwithstanding, Foley resigned, recognizing personal error on his part. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, however, does not appear publicly to recognize his own failure, as House Speaker, in coddling a Congressional institutional climate of inattentive moral turpitude. Perhaps this comes with residence near Chicago, however, in any event, in January, Hastert must go. My wing of the Conservative base (you don't need to be registered Republican to vote for the right people) is fired up by the political subterfuge of Democrats in this, and many other previous matters. We are also fired up by a Republican establishment that cannot take itself seriously. Contrary to the apparent dreams of Democrats, we will not go off and hide in a corner on election day. We are more determined than ever to take over the carcass of the Republican Party, and invite the northeastern country club types to wash dishes. So it is Denny Hastert, that you and those like you are in trouble. As for Democrats, this country is too precious to allow you to put your hands on the levers of government. Go bash gays, and continue to abort your future voters. When Conservatives someday finally get control, Liberals of all types are welcome to leave. God bless America. JES

10/04/06 Truly the silly season is upon us, and Rush gets it wrong. Contrary to what Rush has said in the last day or two, Tony Blankley of the Washington Times did not call for the resignation of House Speaker Dennis Hastert, but for the resignation of House Speaker Dennis Hastert from his speakership position. The presence of Dennis Hastert in the House of Representatives is the proper concern of the voters of his district in Illinois, and no one has suggested otherwise. Again, the Mountain Observer endorses this view.

The House Speaker is responsible for the overall management of how the House conducts business, and for House Speaker Dennis Hastert to now claim that he had limited knowledge of what was going on regarding the Pages and Rep. Mark Foley describes the Speaker either as short sighted, or a dolt, maybe both. Once upon a time there was this thing called HONOR, in which the resignation of the leader of an institution was assumed proper consequent to institutional failure, which is what we have here. I am an economic conservative, a defense conservative, a cultural conservative and a values conservative, which is to say that I am a Conservative. Those of a genuinely Conservative persuasion are fed up with being pandered to for votes every two years, and then being immediately tossed aside the day after election by partial conservatives frequently more accurately described as Libertarians. Now it so happens that the behavior(s) of Mr. Mark Foley are totally unacceptable to much of the "base" we all know is essential to Republican victories, but so to is Jack Abramoff, bridges to nowhere, unnecessary compromises with a fickle Senate and on and on it goes. What is missing is the production of more actually Conservative results, buggering boys not to be included. Since 1994, the House Republicans have gotten very sloppy about themselves.

Now, Mr. Limbaugh, in the opinion of the Mountain Observer you need not fear that Conservatives will stay away from the poles this Fall, a point on which we appear to agree. The key issue before the voters is the War on IslamicFascism and the border. So it is that the best way to re-assure and build on the strength of values is to support them, not run away. The strength on our side is so strong on the security issue; we can well afford to expose our values to the test. This is not a small matter. At the end of the day, without the values, there will be no Conservative accomplishment of any kind. In January, it will be time to elect a new Republican Speaker, preferably not one from the suburbs of Chicago. Why, Rush, are you so afraid of us ? If you agree that the turnout this Fall will be in our favor, than what can possibly be the problem with some intra-party discipline ? If we are both wrong about the outcome of the election, then I also agree with you that the key issue will have been the border.

As for Democrats stoking the pot on matters Foley and Hastert, again we agree; let them overplay their hand and also explain their actions. I believe the voters can sort through all this, apparently better than you do. JES

10/03/06 The Mountain Observer endorses the call by the Washington Times for the resignation of House Speaker Dennis Hastert from his speakership position. His dissembling over the events surrounding the Mark Foley affair, in the opinion of the Mountain Observer, are only the most recent of a series of matters that do not describe a serious leader, and certainly never one to be mistaken as a Conservative. Later. JES

09/30/06 Wish to read the full texts of 3 speeches given at the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly in September? Even got Al Sharpton fired up. President Bush. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Further evidence that we need to re-locate this train wreck to Iceland. Go to 3 Speeches. JES

09/28/06 The difficulty with a Senate almost evenly divided along partisan lines, in the more subtle sense of Liberal v. Conservative, is the power of individual Senators, drunk with self-importance, to disrupt what is in the interest of the polity, especially dangerous in times of war. Dressed in apparently principled, but frequently self-serving rhetoric, and perhaps even believing it themselves, certain Senators seem not to be able to resist the temptation to stand on the tracks of history. So it is that a Senate, forced by a similarly puffed up Supreme Court decision to extend beyond recognition Article 3 of the Geneva Convention, is charged with the duty of fabricating a band-aid fix to the Court's transgression. Enter John McCain, and two wannabes, offering specious arguments irrelevant and counter-productive to the issue at hand. The issue at hand is the ability of American intelligence operatives to question and obtain information from captured terrorists without themselves being subject to prosecution by either the so-called International Court or Senator Dick Durbin and friends.

Finally, after weeks of political grandstanding, and an explanation by the President that in the face of an unsatisfactory product from Congress the relevant programs would grind to a halt, the Senate caves, having been thrown a couple of fish to ease the hurt. Operations at Guantanamo will continue in a fashion already much too comfortable for the guests. JES

09/27/06 For the last few days I have stood by and witnessed in wonderment at the absurdity of the most recent attempt on the part of cut and run appeasers to undermine and subvert the real American Project against IslamicFascism, aka the War on Terror. Again, subversives from somewhere within the sprawling Intelligence Community selectively leak portions of the recently updated National Intelligence Estimate, properly classified for national security reasons, to the New York Times, the national flagship of anti-Americanism and the semi-official mouth piece of those with a far Left, or otherwise fortress America, agenda. The President, caught in the midst of a highly divided and partisan political season, concludes, for political reasons, that he has no choice but to declassify the entire document, enabling the IslamicFascist world insights, knowledge of which are detrimental to our national security and the safety of our own forces, raising again the true motives of those who clamor so for the blood of our President (They continue to recommend impeachment and/or assassination). The central focus, or "revelation", has to do with claims in the report that our policies, especially relating to Iraq, have been counterproductive by creating hatred and new waves of jihadists that did not previously exist.

Perhaps, and perhaps not. Given the twisted mental conditions of Islamic fantasizers, how does one actually measure, or differentiate, between those previously and consciously committed from those consciously or sub-consciously ripe for the call? The difficulties we have encountered in Iraq have only elevated the wisdom of the original effort by drawing out into the open the full dimensions of the worldwide problem for the West of IslamicFascism. As the IslamicFascist world has exposed itself, we have removed some of their key players. The President correctly stated after 09/11 that we faced a long tough pull against forces that we admittedly did not well understand. It took the West 70 years to defeat the threat posed by the USSR, a battle arguably still not closed. Against an asymmetrical challenge posed by non-statist proxies of an extreme fascist ideology dressed up as a religion, we have yet to recognize that there is no political solution, and that attempts to speak and act otherwise are only read as weakness and cause for encouragement by the jihadists.

After 09/11, to have avoided the inevitable confrontation with Saddam Hussein, consistent with the foreign policy constructs of the previous administration, would only have continued to add fuel to this fire. Afghanistan was not enough, nor is Afghanistan and Iraq. Many of our current problems arise directly from the existence of our own domestic dispute, demonstrably encouraging to the jihadists. There is a portion of the Constitution that is cogent, but we have had patience, aka compassionate conservatism, and would prefer to defer to a diagnosis of Left wing and Liberal idiocy.

So, for the sake of discussion, let us stipulate as accurate the premise and conclusions of the National Intelligence Estimate, that our policies have created jihadists that would not otherwise exist. My response to this is "So What". Our choice is to continue to cave before thuds and bullies, or to say "enough is enough". "Nuanced" responses are a cave-in, fooling only ourselves, and feeding the crocodile one fish at a time. Objections that we committing ourselves to a project for which we do not have the resources to sustain only invite the question as to how seriously do we take our own survival. The United States, real Americans, are not interested in empire; we just want to live alone in peace. That requires that sometimes it is necessary to dust off the guns. Those who hate cowboys need to get out of the way, or move to France. The existential reality is that it is High Noon at the OK corral.

09/16/06 The country is in the midst of a great crisis over spinach (I haven't eaten any in years). What remains to be determined is who picked it and packed it. Meanwhile, what would Popeye say? JES

09/16/06 It seems that Pope Benedict XVI has offended the Muslim world. or, more correctly, the Muslim world, much practiced in western theories of victimization, has embraced the opportunity to be offended. The Pope, attempting to open a dialogue about religiosity v. violence has rather met Islam as it is. Surely he will apologize for the result of his effort, but I pray for his insight to refuse, as kindly as possible, apology for his words. He spoke the truth. One hopes this will bring the world, and the Pope, to a closer understanding of the real nature of this conflict. Go to WHAT THE POPE ACTUALLY SAID 09/12/06. JES

09/15/06 Under the rules of the system, the economy is as strong today as it has ever been. I can testify to that through my direct daily observations on the road as a trucker. I am busier than hell. The highways and rail lines are loaded with freight, only problem being that much of it is in intermodal containers that stack up after being unloaded for lack of export freight. This country has a balance of payments problem, a lack of savings problem, a Federal tax code that is out of control and nobody understands, and a congressional budget management process that is out of control with only "insider" fingers in the honey pot. It has been a major premise of this website from the beginning that the introduction of the Federal income tax was the hugest political error of the 20th Century. (See Mission Statement). Also notice the charts below. The Laffer Curve works, however, without spending disciple, Republicans are as bad as Democrats. Neither party is addressing fundamental problems. Time for a Conservative alternative? JES

09/15/06 Copied down from www.libertydollar.org/ . Check out this website and follow the unfolding legal tussle with the Department of Justice, outcome TBD. Tea Party time? You decide. JES

National Debt

The national debt has climbed to alarming levels since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913.
Source: U.S. Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt

Purchasing Power

As a result, the Federal Reserve Note (US dollar) has lost 96% of its purchasing power since 1913.
Source: U.S. Dept, of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI

09/10/06 Finally, finally, somebody in the mainstream media has the guts and the gonads to stand up and say "enough is enough!". It is reported that ABC will air the five hour "docudrama" miniseries The Path to 9/11 on 09/10 and 09/11.

Bob Iger, Chairman, Walt Disney Company, most profound thanks to you for your courageous decision. The true friends of the First Amendment understand the battle you have joined against the certain Statist forces of darkness; we will be with you in the court rooms and in the political battles likely to follow. It is now time for CBS, NBC and the rest of you media airheads to straighten up and fly right; shed the political agenda and just report the news based on properly sourced and documented facts. That is all Conservatives have ever asked for. Three cheers for the First Amendment! JES

09/09/06 I am in a bad mood, apparently like many other American Conservatives. Monday will be the 5th anniversary of the most outrageous attack yet on American soil by IslamicFascists, for which, it seems, half the nation appears to blame President George W. Bush. The President himself does not seem to understand the problem on our borders, and particularly, the definition of the word "amnesty". Neither does the President understand the actual NEED, if our society is ultimately to survive, to not just cut back on spending, but to slash the total debt and cut the actual size of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT in half (a rhetorical recommendation to make the point). The Republican Party in general has gone soft and sloppy with political success in recent years as the Democrat Party seems to have completely lost its senses, disqualifying it from any claim to responsible opposition or potential leadership. Traditional American culture and values are under attack from every direction, and the only vestiges of honor and leadership are to be found exclusively in the American military establishment. So on November 7th we must first choose whether or not to enter the election booth at all, to come away feeling morally soiled by the necessary compromises, or voting for the lesser of several evils as a duty to those who have died in defense of the American idea, rapidly deteriorating. As always, I will vote, go home, and puke. Thankfully, I have an avenue of salvation. His name is Jesus Christ. He comes highly recommended. JES

09/01/06 Well folks, 08/31 has come and gone, and Iran has dug in its heels. From their point of view, the West has no credibility, and perhaps they are right. What they understand, and too few people in the West understand, is that there is no political solution to this problem. The problem is religious, and non negotiable. From the Islamic perspective Christians, Jews, and Secularists are all infidels and subject to destruction. It is Allah's will, and martyrdom in Allah's name is blessed. There is no room here for negotiation. This is a form of theocratic fascism completely out of control. We, of course, could simply let them twist in the wind, except for the nukes, and the suicide bombers, all very portable. Islamic believers, not simply content with their opinions, but invested with the self-righteousness of the active destruction of all non-believers, are the functional equivalent of rabid dogs, a fact not anticipated by western multiculturalists and the high priests of moral equivalence. Perhaps something to keep in mind when you go to vote this Fall. Meanwhile, the folks at Ellsworth AFB and on Diego Garcia hopefully are in a preparation mode. High noon at the OK corral is fast approaching. JES

08/27/06 Reality is fast approaching, and Iran has made its position very clear on its nuclear intentions. The West is blinded by self denial, liberal guilt, moral cowardice and intellectual obfuscation of the real world choices confronting the future of civilization. There is a choice to be made, and not much time left. President George W. Bush, you are the only person left on the planet in a position to make that choice. It is high noon at the OK corral. I believe you know that. Which way is it going to be? JES.

08/19/06 Back during the 1950's, great debates raged over the details of battlefield compatibility of our forces with European NATO forces. One of the consequences was the adoption of the 9x19mm, or 9mm for military side arms, displacing the venerable American 45 cal ACP. The reasons were many, some good, some questionable. One argument supporting the change, from the heavier round to the lighter round, was that a general policy of disabling an enemy rather than killing him would tie up more of the enemy attending to wounded comrades. (A similar case was made for the change from 30 cal. rifle ammo to the 5.56x45mm for rifles). Smacking of an early version of political correctness, perhaps the premise was at least arguable in the context of conflict among European cultures, however debatable considering Russians. What is clear today in the struggle against IslamicFascists is that an enemy perfectly willing to strap bombs on its own women and children will certainly not slow down to attend to battlefield wounded. Real, actual killing power is called for. Dating from 1911, the 45 ACP is returning. Truth be told, it never entirely went away. Now I ask the question; Would it be possible to manufacture a bullet out of some composite form of pig's feet? JES

08/19/06 Elections 2006 heats up. Keeping track of Kerry / Murtha comparisons: http://bootmurtha.com./

08/17/06 It's time for both the United States and Israel to either put up or shut up about their own futures and very existence. Both countries need to get serious about their own borders. Both have legitimate claims to the right of self defense, however, if you are going to properly act on that right, and kill people in the process, you have a moral obligation to follow through to victory and end the charade. We are destroying ourselves with political correctness. Politicians lose wars. Soldiers win wars. It is not inconceivable that we will someday be pushed to the point of needing to defer to the soldiers in both politics and war. America wake up. JES

08/15/06 Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the Israeli Cabinet surrender to the United nations and Hezbollah in a shocking display of incompetence that Israel will surely pay a heavy price in blood for at a future date. It is a major victory for Hezbollah; that is a simple fact. About this, I am speechless. JES

08/13/06 It has become impossible to not be straightforward about the fundamentally religious nature of World War IV. It has not been helpful to have bobbed, ducked and weaved about this issue. What we have on our hands is a three way struggle between Judeo-Christianity, Western Secularism and Islam. Islam claims to find its roots with Abraham, however any commonality with Judeo-Christianity ends right there. We do not believe in, or worship, the same God.

Western Secularism, as we know it, aka Liberalism, is one of the many products of the Age of Enlightenment, aka the Corrosion of the Church of Rome, itself evolved from the Church of Peter. As Sunni and Shia tussle with one another within the world of Islam, so it is that the Church of Western Secularism and Judeo-Christian Believers tussle with one another throughout the world. For those interested in my more focused thoughts on these matters, go to PERSONAL NOTES-08/13/06 JES

08/11/06 In accepting a UN ceasefire proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert screws up. Where is Benjamin Netanyahu? Absolutely unbelievable. It's not clear here whether this was the direction Bush actually intended things to go. Need more details. JES

08/10/06 The pending Lieberman race as an Independent, subsequent to the revelations of terrorist threats against international air travel, takes on an accelerated meaning in defining which side of the great political divide you are on. The political polarization of America has reached new highs. Your candidate for Devil Incarnate: George W. Bush or the IslamicFascist terrorists? Dissemblers run for the tall grass, invoking the "wisdom" of moral and intellectual relativism as a dodge to duck the clarity of right v. wrong. It is evil to whack off the heads of people with whom you disagree, and it is a measure of the age in which we live that it is necessary to point this out. Those still willing to claim that current unfolding events are all George W. Bush's fault (and there are thousands of "Americans" who so subscribe) are living in a parallel universe to this writer. Each of our election cycles tightens the knot further. Will America break and capitulate, or will the character and wisdom of the Founders re-emerge? Time is getting short. JES

08/09/06 Back to Lebanon. Folks, I would propose that right now the most serious question before the world is whether or not President George W. Bush is caving in to the "international community" on the issue of a "cease fire", or whether he is engaged in a strategy of "rope-a-dope", with or without Israeli complicity. Given the public record, either case could be made. Arguing the "rope-a-dope" scenario, August 22 looms large (see 08/08/06 below). Israel is in the midst of adjustments in its strategy, folding toward an ever more aggressive pursuit in Lebanon of its Hezbollah (Iranian) tormentors. No predictions here, either way; the public record is yet too murky. Either way, we are coming upon some dangerous moments that could heavily define the Century before us. The decision points that matter are Washington, Jerusalem, Tehran, Moscow and Beijing. The rest is a side show. JES

08/08/06 Well now the ongoing meltdown of the Democrat Party is documented with the apparent party primary defeat of Senator Joe Lieberman by one Ned Lamont, an obscure draftee in the War on Bush. Aside from the crash landing of the Democrat Party as a serious national party, what does this mean for America? That remains for voters this Fall to decide, however, even if Republicans retain control of one or both houses of Congress, the absence of a serious opposition can only lead to greater intellectual flatulence among Republicans leaving another terrorist attack on the country as the only way to wake folks up. Our condolences to Joe Lieberman, however, may be premature; he still has the Independent option. As a Conservative, it doesn't matter; as an American, I would hope he can prevail. JES

08/08/06 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has promised a response to U.S. proposals regarding Iranian nuclear development on August 22. Why this date? There are some well informed theories afloat that are downright scary, however this letter has never been a transmission belt for what could prove to be unfounded hysteria. We would only recommend that you follow events closely on or about that date. I will subsequently comment, if necessary. JES

08/07/06 Jack Murtha again. Ranking Democrat on the defense appropriations subcommittee, apparently working hand in hand with his brother Robert Murtha, lobbyist for certain defense contractors, Mr. Jack has been very successful in funneling millions to friends in the industry. Now, of course, this is not unusual congressional behavior on either side of the aisle, but that is exactly the point. This declared "unindicted co-conspirator" in an Abscam mess 26 years ago pulls his pants on every morning just like everybody else. JES

08/07/06 Ah, yes: Remember the great "Star Wars" controversy in the 1980's? Dumb Ronald Reagan, don't you know. Might upset the Soviets and provoke a nuclear exchange. Besides, everyone with an east coast brain knows it will never work anyway. Best let sleeping dogs lie. Well in spite of OJ Billyboy's best efforts to spike research, the hated defense industry kept working on the idea as best as meager funding would allow. Finally enter North Korea and Iran, and suddenly the whole idea takes on a life. Nothing like Hollywood bubbleheads and French snobs coming to realize that they will soon be under the gun. But we thought the United Nations and the striped pants crowd could solve those problems? Must have been mistaken. One wonders how much more effective our capabilities in this area would be today if the Left had never been allowed to get in the way. Yet there are those who continue to insist that nothing should be deployed short of perfection. On December 8th, 1941, America went to war in the Pacific armed with F4F's. The F6F's and Corsairs came later. Too many American's today fail to understand that we are at war again, against a much more dangerous enemy. As Donald Rumsfeld has correctly pointed out, "you go to war with the army you've got". Democrats should pray (yes, to God) that our current crop of Aegis missiles will be effective when called upon. JES

08/05/06 The time is long overdue for our new Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, to go sit in the corner and shut up. I am more convinced than ever that he hasn't the slightest idea as to what he is doing. Typical Statist, running amok. JES

08/04/06 Shiites demonstrate in Baghdad in behalf of Hezbollah, raging against both Israelis (Jews) and Americans. What are we to make of this? To start with, we don't make out of it proof that Bush is a dunce and our intervention in Iraq was an error. What we make out of it is that there are young hot heads of both Sunni and Shia persuasion, also willing to cut each other’s heads off. Our presence and efforts in Iraq have been directed at drawing out the potential in Islamic culture for the political growth and survival of cooler heads of a more moderate temperament. Much very tough love is called for, including such measures as Israel is currently delivering to Hezbollah. Now the Iraqi government and people are free to disinvite our presence anytime they wish. That is a calculated risk on our part, as it is on theirs. The Mountain Observer makes no hard predictions in this regard. However things work out eventually between Sunnis and Shia in Iraq, little notice is being given to our smashing success with the Kurds. Is there a Kurdistan in the future? Possibly, however a very delicate matter on several levels. Some forward thinking on our part is called for. Meanwhile, the toughest political issue in the entire Middle East has to do with the acceptance of Israel by Islam. That is an issue that we run away from at our peril. The resolution of this issue demands our ongoing support of the moderately inclined of the muslim persuasion coupled with an unambiguous rejection of those who resort to violence and intimidation outside the parameters of civilization as we understand it. No apologies or guilt trips are welcome here.

Repeating myself from 07/19,"during the 1930's, there were those who said of the Nazis that "first they went after the Jews, but it did not affect me. Then they went after the Catholics, but if did not affect me. Then they went after the Protestants, and the Liberals and people of color, but it did not affect me. Finally they came after me, and it was too late." America, you really need to wake up." JES

08/01/06 48 hour pauses aside, Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert correctly rejects ceasefire proposals pending destruction of Hezbollah capacity to launch missile attacks. Following the unfortunate bombing of civilians in Qana last weekend, perhaps civilians will take more seriously the warning leaflets dropped in their midst. A painful readjustment from the ineffective habits of concession over the years. The Hezbollah tactic of hiding behind innocent women and children to launch attacks against other innocent women and children can only be ended by soldiers, not diplomats. JES