Sibby Online

It’s a wonderful day

As we are about to depart on weekend activities, its nice to know there is hope for the Iraqi people and the American economy is smoking. Its sad to think how much the Democrats hate it...because gaining the power of the White House is more important.

Did you hear about jobs

NewsMax reports on the 246,000 new jobs created in May:

U.S. employers added almost a quarter million jobs in May, extending a nine-month hiring spree and accommodating enough job-seekers to hold the unemployment rate steady at 5.6 percent of the labor force.

Payrolls swelled by almost 1 million in the last three months alone, the Labor Department said Friday. Employment figures for March and April were revised up to reflect the addition of 353,000 and 346,000 jobs respectively.

Iraqi hope

Glenn Reynolds found this Iraqi blogger’s thoughts on their first president Sheikh Ghazi Ajeel Al-Yawar :

On the other hand, I perceive that the majority of Iraqis have accepted him as president, even welcomed the decision, of course there will always be naysayers but for the first time in months I feel there is almost a consensus among Iraqis of all backgrounds. Also Yawar is known to have good relations with Kurds, is trusted by the Shia, is respected by other Arab nations, has a clean record, and belongs to a powerful wealthy well-known Iraqi family that leads the Shimmar tribal confederation, one of the largest tribes in Iraq, with both Sunni and Shi'ite clans, and spanning several neighbouring countries (such as Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey). That may be a unifying factor and one that Iraqis need badly at this moment of their history. After all the presidency is almost a symbolic title.

The cabinet is impressive. We now have 5 female ministers, which is an unprecedented step in the region. Just as Iraq was the first Arab country to have a female minister in 1958, it is now also the first Arab country to grant a larger role for women in the government. I expect a much larger percentage of women in the future National Assembly or parliament. The majority of ministers are independent politically, they are mostly technocrats, and come from all Iraqi social, ethnic, religious, and sectarian backgrounds. Many old players are absent such as Chalabi's INC. Also another interesting observation is that four of the ministers are also tribal figures.

Democrats hate feast

Hugh Hewitt has this on the Democrats American hate feast:

Yesterday a gathering of liberal activists cheered George Soros' assertion that the prison abuse scandal was the equivalent of the attacks of 9/11, and that the war in Iraq had turned the United States into the the equivalent of the perpetrators of those attacks.

Byron York of National Review broke the story, which was carried but buried in this morning's Boston Globe, but ignored in the account of the gathering that appeared in the Washington Post. No story on the meeting appeared in the New York Times. Thus do the bigs provide cover for the loons at the heart of Kerry's party. The Washington Times has the most complete account, including an excerpt of Senator Clinton's effusive welcome of the slanderer of the American military and people.

The New York Times does carry an account of Kerry's attempt to cast himself as a credible Commander-in-Chief. Kerry's two decades of foolishness on Vietnam, the Sandinistas, the Soviet Union, most major weapons systems, intelligence funding, and now the war in Iraq present hurdles he can never overcome, but at least Soros' remarks present him with an opportunity to try.

Kerry cannot lead a military that his party believes to be the moral equivalent of the 9/11 terrorists. Although Hillary Clinton introduced Soros, there is no report whether she applauded his insanity along with the crowd. But even silence after such a slander is an endorsement. Where's Kerry?

Al Gore's screams and Ted Kennedy's characterization of Saddam's torture chambers as "under new management, U.S. management," are not aberrations. They are the norm of the leadership of the party that Kerry leads. When Kerry does not condemn such fevers, he endorses them. This is why he is Mr. Implausibility. A party that hates America so much that it cannot see the difference between the 9/11 terrorists and the liberators of Iraq cannot lead a nation in war. It could only hope to lead a nation in surrender.

Still remember WWII?

Bob Kohn’s column compares today’s situation in Iraq with the situation in Germany after WWII…as through the eyes of the New York Times:

I reminded him that he is old enough to remember the grief Harry Truman was getting over the reconstruction of Germany in the aftermath of World War II. He didn't remember the headlines, but Mark Levin, writing for National Review, dug out some beauties from the pages of the New York Times: "Germans Reveal Hate of Americans" (Oct. 31, 1945), "Loss of Victory In Germany Through U.S. Policy Feared" (Nov. 18, 1945), and "Germans Declare Americans Hated" (Dec. 3, 1945). The second of those New York Times articles lead with the following paragraph:

Grave concern was express today by informed officials that the United States might soon lose the fruits of victory in Germany through failure to prepare adequately for carrying out its long-term commitment under the Potsdam Declaration.

After providing analysis the NYT is neglecting positive news regarding the economy, Kohn then gives this advice:

There is a lesson here: The New York Times is mounting a relentless campaign to defeat President Bush this fall. Concealing reality, they are creating in their news pages the perception of a failing economy and the collapse of our foreign policy. If the New York Times provided its readers with reality, giving our victories their due and putting our setbacks in perspective, Bush would be looking forward to a landslide this fall.

Quite simply, what the Bush campaign must do to win re-election is follow its own prescription for winning the war on terror: adopt an uncompromising resolve, an aggressive battle plan, and an enlightened understanding of who the enemy is. In other words, it's time for Carl Rove to take off the gloves by making the press – and the false perceptions they are striving to create – the issue. In that way, the debate will shift from a false premise (e.g., bad economy and how to fix it) to a premise that favors Bush: the truth (i.e., the economy is doing well).

Similar advice can be given to South Dakota conservatives. It is time to take the gloves off and hold the Argus Leader accountable for their refusal to print the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Welcome back Hugh Hewitt

Hugh Hewitt just returned from Europe and made this observation:

I am just returned from two weeks in Europe, which meant having to watch CNN International, with its wall-to-wall anti-Bush anchoring, reading the International Herald Tribune --a New York Times lite-- and of course enduring the BBC. I don't know if the world hates us, but American and British media reporting to the English-speaking world living in Europe certainly do. The coverage is most distorted on the issue of the war, where anchors routinely set up questions that presume the failure of the war in Iraq and the collapse of support for the war in the United States. No bit of good news is allowed to stand unchallenged, even when its significance cannot be overstated. Like the arrival of a multi-ethnic, multi-regional representative government on its way to direct elections.

Media supporting Dems

David Limbaugh has a great column on the Democrat’s use of negative campaigning as the media's focus is on the Republicans' defense to such attacks as being the bad guys. Excerpt:

Amazing. Democrats have been assassinating Bush's character nonstop since 2000, and especially during the primary season, and the media are exercised over Bush's alleged negativity?

Indeed the entire impetus for the Democrats' drive to reclaim the White House has been a palpable Bush-hatred rather than anything positive about their own candidates. Yet the press decides to focus on Bush's long-overdue counterattack? It's nothing short of surreal.

Please don't miss the irony in the media's characterization of President Bush as negative when they, operating as a virtual arm of the Democratic Party, have consistently engaged in the kind of negativity they pretend to decry.

South Dakotans should understand this also applies to the politics used by the Democrats in South Dakota with the cooperation of certain media such as the Argus Leader.

UPDATE: Byron York has a National Review Online column that backs up the Limbaugh column.

Daschle fooling SD voters

Here is an excerpt from an Ann Coulter column:

In January 2003 – or three months after Sen. Tom Daschle voted for the Iraq war resolution hoping to fool the voters of South Dakota this November – he was horrified that Bush seemed to be actually contemplating war with Iraq! According to Daschle, Bush should have waited for Iraq to grow into a problem of crisis proportions before deciding to do anything – citing the Cuban missile crisis as a model to be emulated. "If we have proof of nuclear and biological weapons," Daschle asked, "why doesn't [Bush] show that proof to the world as President Kennedy did 40 years ago when he sent Adlai Stevenson to show the world U.S. photographs of offensive missiles in Cuba?"

The answer is and was: Because by the time Saddam had nuclear weapons, we wouldn't be able to do anything. That's why it's known as the "Cuban missile crisis," not the "Cuban missile triumph."

Nebraska connects with Sibby

Not only did Nebraska’s Democrats have an impact on our elections, but they have also impacted Sibby Online. Here is the link back to the source of that impact. Here is the Nebraska Young Democrats web site. Note Dan Matajka is in the photo with anti-war advocate Martin Sheen. They must have found out about this post. I hope we can have a conversation.

Maybe we have already. I got this email last week from Husker DC (Nebraska Corn Huskers?)

"Great Job Jason Jason Van Beek has a post that shows the deception and cover up by the Argus Leader regarding a false accusation by Tim Johnson and Tom Daschle surrounding Johnson's Taliban gaffe. The have been whining that Johnson was compared to terrorists by a John Thune ad in the 2002 Senate race. Great job of digging deep and disclosing the truth Jason! Matt Drudge would be honored."

Cute! But wouldn't it be easier for you, Jason Van Beek and Jon Lauck to sit in a room and talk to each other rather than going through the trouble of putting all of your big thoughts and your searing "insights" online? But then again, you would deprive me and the other 7 readers of your site of the amusment of critiquing your sophomoric attempts at investigative journalism. [see SDP post] For your sake I hope the Mitchell paper doesn't shut down and leave you without a forum besides your "blog." Speaking of which, why don't any of your 3 blogs allow for reader feed-back? Could it be that facts might complicate your "search for truth." [I don't see how comments like this that have no substance and full of negative attacks have anything to do with the truth.] [I am not posting hate emails I received from Kossacks last week. Way over the top.]

This was in response to this post and this Op-ed. Why are Democrats scared of disclosing who they are? The answer lies in the fact that they do not want a discussion on the issues, so they throw out the “negative campaign” card, poke jokes, whine, cry, and outright lie. They are playing chicken with South Dakotan conservatives and they just won the last two big elections. South Dakota conservatives...time to wake up!

Now is the time to fight, but NOT chicken fight. We are in the middle of a culture war and the results in November will tell the world where South Dakota stands. Do we stand with the liberal Democrats and the socialistic ideology that causes us to depend on Big Government as we give up on ourselves? (It is sad to see how that ideology has negatively impacted South Dakota Native Americans) Or, do we stand for the traditional beliefs that made America the greatest Nation this world has ever saw. A Nation whose citizens believe in the individual and freedom. A Nation whose strength comes from the responsibilities accepted by its citizens.

We should not accept the ground rules established by the liberal media elitists [Gannett], who have bought the State’s largest newspaper. Now is the time to take action, to speak out, to write letters. Now isn’t the time to be apathetic, to do nothing, to depend on others, and to depend on Big Government. Now is the time to show the United States of America the character of the people of South Dakota. Now is the time to remove the Democrats’ liberal leader in the U.S. Senate. Now is the time to remove the potential future Tom Daschle from the House. Now is the time to send two Republicans to Washington DC…John Thune and Larry Diedrich.

Argus Leader gets their Democrat

(Editor's note to frequent visitors: I have added updates and analysis at the end of this post.)

Congratulations to Stephanie Herseth and the Argus Leader for their victory. As David Kranz gives credit to Sioux Falls voters, this could not have happened without his biased journalism.

This battle is over, but the war continues. The next questions is whether the Argus Leader will continue to prevent a full and honest discussion of the issues by promoting the “negative campaign” card the Democrats use to slander the Republicans with. This is a theme that I will be focused on.

Also, the attack on conservative outsiders has also been a theme the Argus Leader has helped the Democrats with. They downplayed the role of outsiders who came to South Dakota for both campaigns over the Memorial Day weekend. They could not ignore what one of the out of state Democrats did while here. On page 1B of Today’s Argus Leader is a report with the headline, “Volunteer arrested in sex assault”. Here is the report (could not find an online report):

A volunteer for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was arrested Tuesday after police said he sexually assaulted a fellow volunteer at a Sioux Falls hotel.

[Editor's note 1/12/2007: I have received proof that the charges have been dismissed. Out of respect for justice that says innocent until proven guilty, I have removed the name of the person accused.] [A person] is charged with sexual contact with a person incapable of giving consent, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The alleged incident took place at the TownPlace Suites by Marriott, 4545 W. Homefield Drive. The victim, 20-year-old Fremont, Neb., woman, told authorities she awoke to find [Editor's note 1/12/2007: I have received proof that the charges have been dismissed. Out of respect for justice that says innocent until proven guilty, I have removed the name of the person accused.] [a person] in bed with her.

Would like to hear Bill Clinton's response to this incident.

[Editor's note 1/12/2007: I have removed links that prove the person was out of state and protested President Bush's tax cuts. I done so as the charges were dismissed, and that the charges was not the message of this post. The message was the lack of reporting of the out of state Herseth supporters by the Argus Leader.]

ANALYSIS: Jon Lauck has opined on this issue. I agree that the outside influence has not been covered and should be. I welcome those outsiders who come here. As long as they are honest about who they are and what they represent.

As already noted, the media promotes the Democrat’s whining about conservative outsiders and charge they are trying to tell South Dakotans how to vote. No…they are trying to inform South Dakotans on the issues. This should not be considered negative.

In this case, I could care less about the alleged sexual assault. Who knows…it could be just a misunderstanding between the two parties. That is what the justice system is responsible for.

What’s relevant to the House race is…what this guy represents. If he is the same political consultant who protested Bush’s tax cut, then it applies. Herseth made allegations that Diedrich used negative campaigning on her position regarding Bush’s tax cuts. Will she represent the conservative position on tax cuts, or this liberal’s position?

Looks like to me her allegations are false. Herseth is guilty of negative campaigning. Unfortunately the media lead the voters to the polls believing Diedrich was the guilty party. This should cause us to rethink what has been happening in South Dakota politics that last few years.

Why can't we have a clean campaign on the issues...not a he says-she says on who is being negative? Answer: this doesn't sell newspapers, and it does not fit the pro-Democratic agenda of the Argus Leader.

Final note of clarification: I first heard about the incident on KELOAM radio yesterday at noon. When did the rest of the media report on it?