Free Speech - Not Quite

If a news organization does not shill for Democrats, then it is not a legitimate news organization. Well, at least not according to the Kos kids, MoveOn.org, and several other of the far left. They believe that any such news organization is unworthy and must be silenced. Which has the liberals once again demonstrating how they view the concept of freedom of speech -- that speech should only be free if it is in consonance with their own beliefs.

In that vein, the far left -- who more and more seem to be in total control of the Democratic Party -- are demanding that Fox not be allowed to host a debate among Democratic primary candidates for President. And when the far left makes demands, all current members of the Democratic Party listen. Joe Lieberman is excluded from that group, of course, following the far left pogrom to insure ideological purity. But not such other luminaries as Harry Reid or John Edwards. Edwards has been the first candidate to jump on the far left side of the bandwagon, stating that he will not attend the debate hosted by Fox news.

Edwards' campaign said the involvement of Fox News, which is often accusedby liberals of having a conservative bias, was part of the decision to pass on the Aug. 14 debate in Reno. . .

The two Democratic presidential frontrunners, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama, have not indicated whether they will attend the Nevada debate. .

Online activists and bloggers quickly hailed Edwards' decision as a victory in their campaign to urge Nevada Democrats to drop Fox News as a partner. MoveOn.org Civic Action says it has collected more than 260,000 signatures on a petition that calls the cable network a "mouthpiece for the Republican Party, not a legitimate news channel."

Fox News Channel vice president of news David Rhodes issued a statement calling it "unfortunate that Sen. Edwards has decided to abandon an opportunity to reach the largest mainstream cable news audience in America." On the language of the petition, Rhodes has said: "Everyone has a right to free speech."

Democratic Party officials and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid initially touted the partnership with Fox News as an opportunity to reach out to a different bloc of voters. But in a letter posted Wednesday on the party's Web site, Democratic Party Chairman Tom Collins said Reid now shares activists' concerns and "has asked us to take another look." . .
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"The Fox debate should just be canceled and a more legitimate news source should be found," Green said.

Read the rest of the story here.

The bottom line is this: If anyone ever tells you that the left in America are or would ever be the best protectors of our rights -- and I mean those rights explicitly set out in the Constitution -- then they are being something even less then dishonest. Open your eyes and time after time, you will see the left do all that they can to suppress any speech not in agreement with their own. This is but the latest example.

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WAR ON THE SURGE. And no, not the Democrats this time. This time it was the insurgents who staged a rare frontal assault on a U.S. base north of Baghdad. The insurgents attempted to breach the entrance to the base with a suicide bomber and followed up with an attack by gunmen. Two U.S. soldiers were killed and 17 injured. The base was apparently of company size -- a little more then 100 men. We do not know how many of the insurgents were killed or captured. As ominous as the attacks is the NYT take on it.

As American troops move into small combat outposts throughout Baghdad for the first time since the early months after the invasion in 2003, today’s attack underscored the inherent risks in the Bush administration’s new security strategy.

The insurgents in Iraq, of whatever stripe, have a fairly sophisticated grasp of our news media, politics, and history. It seems clear that what they desire more then anything at this time is a TET style offensive. TET was the 1968 offensive undertaken by the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese regulars that doomed American involvment in Vietnam. It was a fight that we clearly won militarily, but it was played up as a huge win by the North Vietnamese in American press, leading shortly thereafter to our withdrawal from South Vietnam.

While not on TET's scale, I have no doubt that the assault that occurred today on a U.S. base was aimed directly at MSM. One of the truths of our military is that we have, in fact, because of our training, professionalism and equipment, a force far superior to anything that can be fielded by anyone else in the world today. In Iraq, we have never lost an engagement occurring at the platoon level or higher. Strip us of that mystique just once and I have no doubt that the calls for withdrawal from Democrats and a few White Flag Republicans, hand in glove with wall to wall coverage by MSM, would reach deafening levels.

Look for more attacks like these in the coming months -- and ask yourself, just how much of a disservice are Murtha, Pelosi, Reid, and their ideological companions in the MSM doing to our soldiers in the field?

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SOMEBODY TELL REID AND PELOSI as well as all the other members of congress who orchestrated or otherwise voted for the sham resolution against the surge . . . .

Attacks in Baghdad down by 80%

Since the multiple bombings in Shroja market district on the 12th, Baghdad hasn’t seen any major attacks and there’s a tangible decrease in all kinds of attacks. Not only official statements say so (Defense ministry officials said today that attacks are down by 80% in Baghdad). It’s a reality I live in nowadays, at least in my neighborhood and its surroundings.
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Side by side with new security efforts is a campaign to clean and redecorate many streets, circles and parks in Baghdad. New trees are planted and damaged street medians and sidewalks are being refurbished. This offers a small yet much needed breeze of hope and normalcy to the traumatized city.

The most significant and encouraging development . . . that the total number of families that returned home is as high as 130 families across the city, including several families in the, until recently, hopelessly violent district of Hay al-Adl.

The report adds that Maliki ordered that the Bab al-Muadam and al-Shuhada bridges on the Tigris be reopened to traffic next week. This decision came in response to the “notable increase in traffic activity which in turn is a result of the growing feeling of safety”.

Confirming what we said earlier about the recovery of civilian activity, the spokesman said “most stores in the Alawi al-Hilla districts have reopened after times when this area was a scene for repeated terrorist attacks”.As the effort continues in Baghdad, four other provinces are launching simultaneous plans to support operation ‘Imposing the Law’. . .

From Iraq the Model. Perhaps the Democrats can accelerate their efforts to end this war and call it a defeat now before we actually seem to be making significant inroads to victory.

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