I Hate War Too...But Evil Even More

I hate [war] as the pacifists in bad or good faith never will. I loathe it. Every book I have written overflows with that loathing, and I cannot bear the sight of guns…When peace stands for surrender, fear, loss of dignity and freedom, it is no longer peace. It's suicide.
- Oriana Fallaci

Ms. Fallaci is being sued and will face trial in Italy for a book she wrote which purportedly insults Muslims.

VIGGO SCHMIGGO: Update

I got this comment about my Viggo posting and found it rather amusing, sort of:

Anonymous said...

Sue for child support payments? lol. They settled, you idiot, out of court, and he and his ex are still friends. Trying to dig up dirt on the V-man is hard, ain't it?

You're a bleeping idiot.

You see, he/she makes a point that one can construe "facts" based on partial information. Case in point: the reference I made to the Smoking Gun scan of a legal petition for an increase in child support payments. It was not a dirt-digging mission and I didn't make it up, but used it to make a point. It's easy to judge another based on tidbits of information and as I noted, it's his personal biz, but he should hold up a mirror and perhaps hold judgement--because his perceptions, though he has every right to express them, may or may not reflect the truth.

Secondly, Anonymous decides to end his/her comment with "You're a bleeping idiot" which clearly reflects his/her state of mind. He/she is angry. Name-calling is an easy out, a way to diminish another. I'm an idiot because I have a point of view... I'm an idiot because I ask that those with media "power" take a more measured approached to the things they say... I'm an idiot because I state we need to be kind in words and in action.

If this is Anonymous' definition of an Idiot, I guess I'll take it as a compliment. Thanks Anonymous!

And finally, Viggo perhaps says it best:

"Be kind. It’s worthwhile to make an effort to learn about other people and figure out what you might have in common with them. If you allow yourself to be somewhat curious — and if you get into the habit of doing that—it’s the first step to being open minded… and realizing that your points of view aren’t totally opposite. I don’t think anyone’s are, in the end. It’s just a question of finding out by spending time with them or giving their ideas a chance to be considered." -2004

Planet of the Apes...

Chimp's Painting Fools Experts

A GERMAN art expert was fooled into believing a painting done by a chimpanzee was the work of a master.

Now THAT'S funny! Makes me think there may be a market for my paintings...


Speaking of apes, check this out: Stalin's Mutant Ape Army

SOVIET dictator Josef Stalin ordered his scientists to cross humans with APES to create an invincible breed of Red Army soldiers, secret documents show.

In an Alternate Universe

Kudos to Bono and the Gates'. But in an alternate Universe, perhaps one in which Democrat John Kerry were president, TIME magazine's persons of the year would probably be the Iraqi people. Amidst the threat of death, destruction, fear and violence, they managed to vote in 3 elections (or have the choice of voting) during the year.

This very liberal principle that has become U.S. policy since 2001, i.e. of attempting to address the root cause of the Islamofascism disease, should have liberal magazines, newspapers, organizations and politicians praising and embracing the successes and sacrifices of our country and most importantly of the more than 2,000 souls who have perished in the hopes of securing the future for all of us--not just Americans, but all freedom-loving peoples of the world.

But no, this is not an alternate Universe. And instead of heading off into the New Year feeling good about the risks we've taken and the results garnered, we're to feel bad that the Gov't is snooping on us (forget that Hollywood is too) and the gains we've made are to be lost in the ba-humbugs of the Christmas Grinches.

VIGGO SCHMIGGO

Frankly, the trashing, bashing & re-hashing of the same ol' argument is soo tiring. America BAD everyone else GOOD. Case in point:

Viggo Mortensen of The Lord of the Rings fame, recently conducted an interview and as he did, he placed a small UN flag on the table in front of him. The UN FLAG! I ask you, what has the UN done for anyone lately? Seriously? When I say the following, what comes to mind? Rwanda. Sudan. Congo. Somalia. Tibet. East Timor. Cote D’Ivore. Haiti. Liberia. Cuba. Etc. Etc. Etc.

I have no problem with him speaking his “mind”, but for a guy who is supposed to be well-read, he obviously hasn’t read enough. His expressed thoughts are actually emotion-based, not intellect-based and he supplies no facts—just slanders, accuses and judges.

“I’m not anti-Bush; I’m anti-Bush behavior,” Mortensen told Progressive magazine. “In other words, I’m against cheating, greed, cruelty, racism, imperialism, religious fundamentalism, treason, and the seemingly limitless capacity for hypocrisy shown by Bush and his administration.”

I find it interesting that he’s against so many of the “behaviors” of Bush and his administration, yet it could be said he practices many of the same “traits”. His ex-wife Excene has gone to court to sue him for child support payments. And maybe it's just a formality, but why go to court? Why sue? Hmmm. Greed? Cruelty? Hypocrisy? Anyone? Anyone?

Look, I know that it's his own personal bus, but when someone starts judging others, well, it's time to hold the mirror up. It’s fine to speak your mind, but when you have a world audience and influence it becomes imperative to stick to facts—for the benefit of all of us. And whether you like it or not, W is the Pres. and it IS a reflection on US when people start making our leaders out to be criminals. It was the same with Clinton and before him Reagan.

Thanks to the HollowWood folks, our world stock has dropped, our brand diminished. Isolationists will shrug and say this is a good thing. But, this is a global community, now more than ever, and we need to be kind in words and in action and not just to those in need in other countries, but to each other.

I'm not anti-Viggo, I'm just anti-Viggo behavior.

Tookie Chose Death

The not-so funny part of this entire drama is that the Save Tookie crowd didn't know the names of the victims and frankly didn't care.

Tookie chose death in his decision to execute 4 innocent people which resulted in his execution and his supporters chose ignorance, cruelty and selfish indignation.

"Tonight is a planned, efficient, calculated, antiseptic, cold-blooded murder,'' Joan Baez said.

Jesse Jackson paid a final visit with Williams and said the condemned man was trying to remain positive.

"Tell those who came, to follow my message -- anti-violence and anti-drugs," Jackson said Williams told him.

"We must not give up on redemption," Jackson said. "(Gov.) Arnold (Schwarzenegger) had a choice to make. He read the polls and washed his hands. But the blood will be there for a long time.''

"He's no threat to society," the civil rights leader added. "Why kill killing with killing?"

Homeless Shelter-less for the Holidays

According to a recent article in my Missouri hometown newspaper, homeless shelters are near capacity. With record cold temps hitting most of the US, it's going to be tough for many homeless folks to find adequate shelter and I fear mass deaths.

But, here's a solution (I'm certain it's not original): There are hundreds if not thousands of churches in my hometown--from small to large -- why not open them up to accomodate the homeless? Many have kitchens, bathrooms and fellowship halls with plenty room to house the homeless or at least get them out of the cold for a spell.

Afterall, isn't this the time of year when a homeless family found shelter in a manger?

What's the deal with vacant churches --6 of the 7 days of the week they're empty and not being used. Seems a big waste of space and potential for good.

I know dealing with the homeless is challenging and sometimes, well many times, safety is an issue, but giving them at least a few more options other than the street and freezing to death seems the Christian thing to do, doesn't it? And hey, it's not just Christian churches with space to spare, but also Synagogues and Mosques.

Is giving to the Salvation Army and plopping a dollar in the church donation basket this time of year an attempt to pay off our collective guilt by letting others take care of the problem?

A FRENCH LIBERTARIAN...Une fille après mon propre coeur

Sabine Herold is the editor and spokeswoman for Liberté j'écris ton nom (Liberty, I Write Your Name), a think tank and activist organization at the forefront of a new and growing pro-liberty movement in France.

Regarding the Liberation of Iraq by America & the coalition:

"I for one think that it's always good to be free of a tyrant. And when Liberté j'écris ton nom advocated intervening in Iraq, our arguments were not on the issue of weapons of mass destruction — they were on the issue that Saddam Hussein is a real tyrant and we have to get rid of him.

"We advocate freedom in France, and the Iraqis also should be free. They were not genetically created to be slaves. I think that when the people in France demonstrated against war, they didn't want peace for the Iraqis — they wanted peace for themselves.

"It's a matter of human rights. I think human rights are more important than culture. To me, cultural relativism is just a way to justify when human rights are being violated. "
[emphasis added]

Tookie Monster

No matter how much the media and HollowWood Elites try to "put on" their own MonsterPiece Theatre with the lead actor, Tookie the OG, playing a kid-friendly, "inspirational" and educational character, like Cookie Monster the OM, I just can't buy the story and sit through this play. He's a monster, no doubt. And this one has been played out playa.

Look I was for the Death Penalty before I was against it and it may be possible to hold conflicting positions on any number of things. It's always the OTHERS that try to pin you to absolutes. In this case, I'm in favor of an absolute or rather "final" solution. So, I'm really not against death as a penalty...afterall, don't we all face it at some point with or without penalties?

Tookie wants to live, but not bad enough to give it up ("snitch" in his words) so that others can live free from violence and fear in the neighborhoods that are owned by the Crips.

There are reasons to oppose/fight the death penalty and that day may come very soon. But Tookie is not the poster boyee for those willing to come to the table.

Creating a UN-Style Peace Farce

The rant of late is that the American military is FIGHTING a war, rather than being a "FORCE FOR PEACE" i.e. standing by and letting others fight it out as was the model for the UN "Peacekeepers" in Rwanda, Darfur and so many other conflicts.

In Rwanda for example, the UN Peacekeepers kept the peace for themselves, managing to scurry away while the killers kept on killing -- heck they weren't killing Europeans or Americans for goodness sake, just Africans. Getting in the middle of a machete fight may not be the smartest way to keep the peace for yourself or to stay alive for that matter. No, that will not do.

After all, European lives and American lives have greater value than other lives don't you know, so why bother getting involved in a battle not our own?

The best thing is to BE for Peace but take no action to guarantee or establish peace and what does peace mean if you’re dead? I’ve wondered this on occasion. Perhaps when the UN speaks of peace, they are referring to peace in the after-life.

The same rationale is now being offered for Iraq. They’re just Iraqis after all—barely people really. “Let them fight it out for themselves…It’s their problem…” It’s all the craze now amongst the peace-minded American elite and their lapdogs in the Congress and Senate.

Sticking Up for Saddam: Ramsey Clark admits that his client is guilty.

By Christopher Hitchens

[Excerpt from Slate.com 12/2/05] ...
Rather than say what substance I think Ramsey Clark is made of, I shall quote from Jeffrey Blankfort. There are various Web sites devoted to undermining the war effort in Iraq, one or two of which are also devoted to attacks on my own moral turpitude. I can't read them all but I do usually look at the e-mail I get from Blankfort. He is a very serious guy with whom I have had a few exchanges. He is one of the few to have noticed what Ramsey Clark said, and here is his comment:

The problem is … that Clark is one of the most well-known representatives of the anti-war movement and represents ANSWER coalition and in my mind this is more than the conflict of interest that it unquestionably is. Thus, the message that it sends to the Iraqi people is that the anti-war movement doesn't really care about any Iraqis other than those who have been killed by US and UK forces, that it, in fact, does not condemn Saddam for his long history of human rights violations and for his launching a bloody war against Iran that took well over a million lives.

That is to say the least of it. He adds:

It is long past time for the anti-war movement to drop its double standards. It can begin by saying Ramsey Clark does not speak for us. He certainly does not speak for me.

This is a nice twist on the self-regarding "Not In Our Name" slogan under which the anti-war movement filled the streets to hear speeches from Saddam sympathizers, Fidel and Kim groupies, and Islamic fundamentalists. Not really anti-war at all, but pro-war on the other side. It was more like a single standard if you ask me, but let's put this to the test.

So, how about it, Cindy Sheehan and Michael Moore and Tim Robbins and all the rest of you? Do you need any prompting to say what you think? Or is the only crime scene to be found in the Downing Street memo and the identifying of a CIA bureaucrat? We know what Clark is made of: What about you? I meanwhile shall recline, happy in the knowledge that Saddam Hussein has engaged the services of an attorney who proclaims him to be guilty as charged. [emphasis added]

This is What I'm Talkin' 'Bout

FIFTH COLUMN DISTORTION
by Jack Kelly
Friday, 02 December 2005

In his speech at the Naval Academy Wednesday outlining U.S. strategy in Iraq, President Bush paid tribute to Marine Corporal Jeffrey Starr, killed in a fire fight in Ar Ramadi April 30th. He was 22, on his third tour in Iraq.

A letter to his girlfriend was found on Starr's laptop computer:

"If you're reading this, then I've died in Iraq," Cpl. Starr wrote. "I don't regret going. Everybody dies but a few get to do it for something as important as freedom. It may seem confusing why we're in Iraq; it's not to me. I'm here helping these people so they can live the way we live, not to have to worry about tyrants or vicious dictators. Others have died for my freedom; now this is my mark."

In a mammoth article in October taking note of the 2,000th U.S. death in Iraq, the New York Times mentioned Cpl. Starr and his letter, but didn't quote the passages above. All the Times quoted from his letter was: "'I kind of predicted this,' Corporal Starr wrote of his own death. 'A third time just seemed like I'm pushing my chances.'"

The Times' omissions and distortions -- which are more the rule than the exception in news coverage of Iraq -- explain why so many Americans think we're losing a war we're plainly winning.

[snip]
When Rep. Murtha called for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, he led the network newscasts. But when Sen. Lieberman -- who had just returned from his fourth trip to Iraq -- declared Tuesday that "visible and practical" progress has been made, neither ABC or CBS mentioned it on their evening newscasts, and neither the New York Times nor the Washington Post published a single word of what he had to say.

Some in the media go beyond omission and distortion to outright fabrication, as Reuters news service did the day after the president's speech.

"Iraqi militants attacked a U.S. base and a local government building with mortar rounds and rockets in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, on Thursday, before holding ground on several streets, residents said," Reuters reported. "They've taken control of all the main streets and other sections of Ramadi."

But Marine Captain Jeffrey Pool, who is stationed in Ramadi, said: "as of 2:00 p.m. there were no signs of significant insurgent activity anywhere in the city. At 9:30 a.m. an RPG was fired at a joint U.S.-Iraqi observation post which in no damages or casualties. That is all. No other attacks."

Capt. Pool said the false report of an al Qaida offensive in Ramadi "is clearly a sign of how desperate insurgents have become." It's also a sign of how desperate Reuters is becoming, as progress in Iraq becomes more difficult to ignore.

DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!

10 Marines Killed in Bombing Near Fallujah. I just had to make a mention. God bless. RIP.

Oil IS Blood...

I have been stating this from the beginning when those in opposition to the war decried, and still do, that the Iraq Liberation was/is for oil as though that possible motive diminishes the noble deed of liberating 25million PEOPLE (they ARE PEOPLE by the way)--that a State or person can have only ONE reason for doing any thing is absolute fallacy and a ridiculus notion.

Environmental & global economic issues aside, I don't take issue with the Iraq war being "for oil" because oil is FOOD and medicine and education and hospitals and shelter and luxury items, not just for Americans but for those that peddle the black gold. For Saudis and too long for Iraqis, the spoils of oil were bequethed to the excellency of the Saudi family, Saddam and the elite upper class of those societies and never trickled down to the common folk. As the populations live in squalor, the king, princes and dictators live in splendor.

Christopher Hitchens made a similar point in a recent Slate.com article:

How strange that the anti-war left should have forgotten all of its Marxism and superciliously ignored the fact that oil is blood: lifeblood for Iraqis and others. Under Saddam it was wholly privatized; now it can become more like a common resource. But it will need to be protected against those who would shed it and spill it without compunction, and we might as well become used to the fact. With or without a direct Anglo-American garrison, there is an overwhelming humanitarian and international and civilizational interest in defeating the Arab Khmer Rouge that threatens Mesopotamia, and if we could achieve agreement on that single point, the other disagreements would soon disclose themselves as being of a much lesser order. [emphasis added]

Blue Crab on the Menu

Space...ain't it cool?


This amazing new photograph was taken from the Hubble Space Telescope of the six-light-year-wide Crab Nebula, the remnant of a supernova explosion nearly a thousand years ago.

Sen. Clinton Defends Iraq War Vote

She's getting slammed, but IMHO this is a very smart and absolutely "right" move. Finish It. Clinton is offering criticism that isn't positioned as a partisan hack-job, it's thoughtful and not mean or vicious. She is showing leadership though many on the Left have disowned/disavowed her.

And the Right, well, they'll NEVER trust her, but for those undecided, in the middle and just-don't-care folks, this position may move them closer to her. We're still a few years out, but she's laying the groundwork now. Smart.

Update: 12/3/05 Iraq War Protestors Protest Clinton
Senator Clinton was interrupted several times during a speech at Roosevelt University.

A group in the balcony chanted and held signs that together read "Out of Iraq", while another group started chanting, "Troops Out Now."

Flyers were also thrown down from the balcony, accusing Democrats and Republicans of being alike when it comes to Iraq policy...and condemning Senator Clinton for voting for Iraq invasion in 2002.

The Sky is Falling...or is it just the price of gasoline?

A little more than a month ago the sky was falling...and it wasn't the opening of the Chicken Little film. The media was on to a big story: "Gasoline prices skyrocketing, prices at the pump over $3 a gallon, record barrel prices ($70), pricing gouging, no end in sight to rising, rising, rising gas prices. Prices on other goods and services will increase. Americans will suffering. Americans ARE suffering."

I know, it WAS painful paying $3 or more for a gallon of regular unleaded. But the media was hitting it hard, so hard I'm surprised there weren't reports of people jumping out of skyscrapers because it was so bad, you know, with the "sky falling and world ending" and all...

And now, not with a bang but a whimper, the price of gas has gone down--by as much as $.50 a gallon/ $57 a barrel. The media talks the talk of balance & fairness but there's no balance, no fairness, we're left thinking the sky is still falling (and it may very well be, have you seen the sky lately?) because that's what we were programmed to believe (thought has no place in the religion that is media).

The media promoted the crisis (they need ratings too because ratings = $$$), but have done little to inform us that gas prices have fallen.

I learned gas prices had dropped when I went to the pump and later that same day, it was mentioned on the ticker that speeds along the bottom of the more important broadcasted news --hurry, you might miss it. I guess the media is on to the next story...what will it be this time-- a return to...Arabian Nights?

Russia Hid Saddam's WMDs

By Ion Mihai Pacepa
Washington Times | October 2, 2003

On March 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the U.S.-led "aggression" against Iraq as "unwarranted" and "unjustifiable." Three days later, Pravda said that an anonymous Russian "military expert" was predicting that the United States would fabricate finding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov immediately started plying the idea abroad, and it has taken hold around the world ever since.

As a former Romanian spy chief who used to take orders from the Soviet KGB, it is perfectly obvious to me that Russia is behind the evanescence of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. After all, Russia helped Saddam get his hands on them in the first place. The Soviet Union and all its bloc states always had a standard operating procedure for deep sixing weapons of mass destruction — in Romanian it was codenamed "Sarindar, meaning "emergency exit." I implemented it in Libya. It was for ridding Third World despots of all trace of their chemical weapons if the Western imperialists ever got near them. We wanted to make sure they would never be traced back to us, and we also wanted to frustrate the West by not giving them anything they could make propaganda with.

[Excerpt]

The Media IS a Plane Crash

The media uses this common excuse for not reporting good news in Iraq: If it bleeds it leads.

But it's ironic that there is a plethora of entertainment "news" shows such as the Insider, Entertainment Tonight, Extra and so on and they manage to package "news" and get viewers. If bad news attracks viewers, then why don't the entertainment mags only report bad news? They don't. While they do report breakups and deaths ad nauseam, they also report the most superficial and mundane aspects of entertainers' and their lives.

Are reporters after the truth or after Nielson numbers? If "it bleeds it leads" means exactly what? That there's more truth in blood, in conflict, in disaster?

It is the laziness of reporters that is at play here and they use this excuse as a cover for their ineptitude and bias against the war and this administration. And so, reporters use their other favorite excuse: It's not news if a plane lands at Kennedy airport safely — only if it crashes.

... or if Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are on board.

The China Connection

On a recent CNN show, the "reporter" claimed that 90%+ of Wal-Mart products come from China. This is presented as a bad thing for America, though the reporter never comes right and states this, it is implied.

What's interesting is that Wal-Mart does not manufacture these products, U.S. companies do. Wal-Mart is merely the middleman --the aggregate--between the consumer and the manufacturer. Wal-Mart merely sells the products these manufacturers produce. Why not go after the companies manufacturing in China?

Wal-Mart is being villainized because the unions want a piece of the Wal-Mart money pie. The unions don't care about the consumer and they really don't care about workers. Wal-Mart pays taxes, Wal-Mart employees pay taxes. Wal-Mart offers good pricing for consumers that allow consumers to have access to more and better products. Which in turn allows consumers more money to spend elsewhere. Wal-Mart contributes to the circle of economic life, it's not clear how unions do.

Hollywood Hypocrites

"Hollywood's female and minority writers have seen little progress in job opportunities during the past seven years and remain underrepresented, a new Writers Guild of America West report shows." -Variety 10-12-05 [emphasis added]

My Hollywood Hypocrite List:

Invasion of privacy: Snooping around citizens' computers for "pirated" software, music & videos and "planting" spy code --snooping for money/greed = good; snooping for non-fiction bad guys who really want to kill you = bad

Filming outside the U.S. (outsourcing) = good; employing workers in India/China= bad

Using non-union workers outside & inside U.S. = good; Wal-Mart non-union shop = bad

Imperialism for movies/tv/music = good; "Imperialism" of democracy/freedom/liberty = bad

Making ridiculus amounts of money for actors/producers/studios = good; free-market = bad

Just Say "No!"

Something pecular happened tonight as I was purusing the latest "news" headlines. I noticed a few headlines about Gweneth Paltrow, Warren Beatty and Barbara Striesand.

But, rather than click on the link, I read the headline and moved on. Nothing to see here folks, move along, move along.

At first, I had an inclination to take a peek and see what these celebs had to say, but then I mustered up the strength to NOT look at the car wreck on the side of the road--to not slow down, but rather keep going--averting my eyes and my interest toward other matters. Matters more pressing, more interesting, more helpful and more real.

NASA Planning Moon Launch for 2018

Sep 19 4:47 PM US/Easter

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

The price tag for new rockets to return astronauts to the moon is $104 billion, a cost the nation can afford over the next decade despite the expense of Hurricane Katrina, NASA's chief said Monday.

Described as "Apollo on steroids," the new moon exploration plan unveiled by the space agency will use beefed-up shuttle and Apollo parts and aims to put people on the moon by 2018.

******************************************
This seems odd, strange... Why has it taken, or will take, nearly 50 years to return to the moon? Why is NASA reusing old parts? If we went to the moon, why have we not gone back? Where is the exploration? Where are the moon bases? Why have the Russians never gone to the moon? Or the Chinese?

It doesn't make alot of sense. When Columbus discovered the New World, colonies formed shortly thereafter. Granted, the moon's hostile conditions and distance from Big Blue make colonizing a challenge, however those obstacles have never stopped man in the past.

Blaming the Blamers

I've noticed a lot of people say there's too much blaming of the hurricane victims. Let's be clear, we're not blaming the victims FOR the hurricane, but we're tired of the tirades and exhibitionism and the constant cries for help from able-bodied people who are responsible for THEIR LIVES and who did not get out, did not take cover and did not prepare.

Danish Artists Fearful of Reprisal

Since the murder of the Islam critical Dutch film director Theo van Gogh, and the violent attack on a lecturer at the Danish Carsten Niebuhr Institute, Danish artists are fearful of criticising Islam.

Author, Kare Bluitgen, is due to publish a book on the profit [sic] Mohammed in two weeks time, but so far no one has agreed to illustrate the work through fear of reprisals from Islamic extremists. According to the author, three artists have turned down an offer to illustrate the book based on their fear of being attacked if they do so.

The president of the Danish Writers Union, Frants Iver Gundelach, said that it is a gross attack on freedom of speech, and the issue will be taken up at the next union meeting.

Where are the "courageous" Hollywood "artists" speaking out against this form of "censorship and blacklisting"?

Hollywood elites were silent when Rushdie was threatened (by IslamoFascists) and silent when Van Gogh was murdered (again by IslamoFascists) and they continue to be silent. It is much safer to rail against the evils of Bush and America, than to rail against the true villains of freedom of expression--IslamoFascists.

We are shown the true face of cowardice and that face, though it may exude beauty on the outside, is wretched and ugly.

RIP: Steven Vincent, 3 August 2005

I had enjoyed reading Steven's articles & blog for nearly a year after his book, "In the Red Zone" came out last November.

After reading his latest article about Basra (regarding corruption & traveling death squads) in the NYT on the evening of August 2, I wondered to myself, "I hope he's o.k. --an American running around with a female Iraqi escort, he could get kidnapped or worse..." And then I said a prayer for him. Later that night (early morning hours), which would have been the 3rd of August in Iraq, I was stunned, no SHOCKED and very upset, to learn he had been kidnapped and murdered--shot in the head and torso and his female escort was critically injured, but managed to escape. I nearly collapsed. Strange reaction. But I felt that I had known him--known his hopes, his dreams, his courage, his humor, his wife, his life as he shared so much of it in his writings.

Vincent was an idealist, yet a realist. He was hopeful and human and was, IMHO, the only voice of "truth" in the wilderness that is Iraq -- reporting what everyday Iraqis' lives are like in the post-Saddam world. Rather than "call it in" from the Green Zone, as most reporters do --espousing the anti-American talking points, he went into the war zone, armed only with a pen, his intellectual curiosity and remarkable insight. He will be missed…

His blog: http://spencepublishing.typepad.com/in_the_red_zone/2005/07/the_naive_ameri.html

Vincent says it best:

"WORDS MATTER..." Steven Vincent said in an interview. Indeed. Tragically and infuriatingly.

Words matter. Words convey moral clarity. Without moral clarity, we will not succeed in Iraq. That is why the terms the press uses to cover this conflict are so vital. For example, take the word “guerillas.” As you noted, mainstream media sources like the New York Times often use the terms “insurgents” or “guerillas” to describe the Sunni Triangle gunmen, as if these murderous thugs represented a traditional national liberation movement. But when the Times reports on similar groups of masked reactionary killers operating in Latin American countries, they utilize the phrase “paramilitary death squads.” Same murderers, different designations. Yet of the two, “insurgents”—and especially “guerillas”—has a claim on our sympathies that “paramilitaries” lacks. This is not semantics: imagine if the media routinely called the Sunni Triangle gunmen “right wing paramilitary death squads.” Not only would the description be more accurate, but it would offer the American public a clear idea of the enemy in Iraq. And that, in turn, would bolster public attitudes toward the war.

Supporters of the conflict in Iraq bear much blame for allowing the terminology—and, by extension, the narrative—of events to slip from our grasp and into the hands of the anti-war camp. Words and ideas matter. Instead of saying that the Coalition “invaded” Iraq and “occupies” it today, we could more precisely claim that the allies liberated the country and are currently reconstructing it. More than cosmetic changes, these definitions reflect the nobility of our effort in Iraq, and steal rhetorical ammunition from the left.

The most despicable misuse of terminology, however, occurs when Leftists call the Saddamites and foreign jihadists “the resistance.” What an example of moral inversion! For the fact is, paramilitary death squads are attacking the Iraqi people. And those who oppose the killers--the Iraqi police and National Guardsmen, members of the Allawi government, people like Nour—they are the “resistance.” They are preventing Islamofascists from seizing Iraq, they are resisting evil men from turning the entire nation into a mass slaughterhouse like we saw in re-liberated Falluja. Anyone who cares about success in our struggle against Islamofascism—or upholds principles of moral clarity and lucid thought—should combat such Orwellian distortions of our language…