Gonzo gone, Recess Appointment?

With Alberto gone will W do a recess appointment? Please Mr. President do the right thing. WE don't need more Dems and their railroading hearings.
Talking Points Memo here.
Captian's Quarters here.
Michelle Malkin here.

Lil' Red/CoCo

Where in the world is Osama?

From Maj. Ed Dames site

Sub full of coke

HT Blackfive
Talk about subs and drug smugglers! I have to find a picture of it!
Story from Drudge/BreitBart here.
Update: Thanks to Blackfive I found the picture of the drug smuggling sub caputerd on Aug. 19. Read BlackFive's post here.

Bush's VFW speech

Sock it to 'em W! Pelosi, Murtha and Reid and the rest of the defeatists listen up:

In Iraq, our troops are taking the fight to the extremists and radicals and murderers all throughout the country. Our troops have killed or captured an average of more than 1,500 al Qaeda terrorists and other extremists every month since January of this year. (Applause.) We're in the fight. Today our troops are carrying out a surge that is helping bring former Sunni insurgents into the fight against the extremists and radicals, into the fight against al Qaeda, into the fight against the enemy that would do us harm. They're clearing out the terrorists out of population centers, they're giving families in liberated Iraqi cities a look at a decent and hopeful life.

Our troops are seeing this progress that is being made on the ground. And as they take the initiative from the enemy, they have a question: Will their elected leaders in Washington pull the rug out from under them just as they're gaining momentum and changing the dynamic on the ground in Iraq? Here's my answer is clear: We'll support our troops, we'll support our commanders, and we will give them everything they need to succeed. (Applause.)

Join the fight to save our country!

Sign up here.

Terrorists and the drug cartels

I heard about this on John and Ken last night. My congressman Ed Royce was interviewed!

Rep. Ed Royce of California, ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs terrorism and nonproliferation subcommittee, said the DEA document substantiates information that his committee has been given in the past year.

"Hearings I held in Laredo [Texas] last year and this DEA report show that our southern border is a terrorist risk," Mr. Royce said. "Law enforcement has warned that people from Arab countries have crossed the border and adopted Hispanic surnames. The drug cartels have highly sophisticated smuggling and money-laundering networks, which terrorists could access."

Please build that fence quickly!

Patrick Henry's full quote (not in the textbooks!)

"An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death."

A-Q in Iraq is on the run

From Michael Yon's article in NY Daily Times here.

Al Qaeda is in Iraq, intentionally inflaming sectarian hostilities, deliberately pushing for full scale civil war. They do this by launching attacks against Shia, Sunni, Kurds and coalition forces. To ensure the attacks provoke counterattacks, they make them particularly gruesome.

Five weeks ago, I came into a village near Baqubah with American and Iraqi soldiers. Al Qaeda had openly stated Baqubah was their worldwide headquarters — indeed, Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed just a short drive away.

Behind the village was a palm grove. I stood there, amid the crushing stench of death, and photographed the remains of decapitated children and murdered adults. I can still smell the rotting corpses of those children.

Clearly, not every terrorist in Iraq is Al Qaeda, but it is Al Qaeda that has been intentionally, openly, brazenly trying to stoke a civil war. As Al Qaeda is now being chased out of regions it once held without serious challenge, their tactics are tinged with desperation.

This may be the greatest miscalculation they've made in their otherwise sophisticated battle for the hearts and minds of locals, and it is one we must exploit.

He writes about the horror of war and the atrocities that A-Q has done in Iraq to cause a civil war. The surge is working and its saving the Iraqi people. The tide is turning. Our troops are winning this war.

Hamster's wheel problems

One man sub

Video of one man sub, turtle in NY harbor

MN brigde collapse and the Tacoma Bridge collapse

I35W under construction in 1967
I had thoughts about the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse back in May 1940? here:

The Interstate Hwy. 35W bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed during the evening rush hour Wednesday, dumping an estimated 50 vehicles into the water and onto the land below, creating a horrific scene of damage, fire, smoke, injuries, frantic rescuers and bloody, terrified motorists.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said at a news conference tonight that six people had died.

As of 7:30, one construction worker was unaccounted for and three injured.

One death was reported by Dr. Joseph Clinton of the Hennepin County Medical Center. Clinton added that HCMC had admitted 22 serious but non-critical patients.

"It's obviously a catastrophe," said Gov. Tim Pawlenty. "We want to make sure we can do all we can to help those in need.

"Our thoughts and prayers" are with the families of all the victims.

Family members of victims are asked to go to the Holidy Inn Metrodome.

From the Strib here.