Islamic fascism’s new strategy

Using the elderly as suicide bombers.

In a major strategic change, the Algerian arm of Al-Qaeda appears to be using terrorists older than 60 to carry out its attacks.

That is the finding to have emerged from early analysis of the dual bombings that struck Algiers on Tuesday.

Arab media and analysts have spoken of the “return of the elderly” to describe the strategic change by Al-Qaeda’s Branch in the Islamic Maghreb (BAQMI) that claimed responsibility for the bombings in the Algerian capital.

Maybe they’re running out of children, the mentally retarded, and the emotionally abused.

Technorati tags: Algeria, al-Qaeda, AQIM, suicide bombing, terrorism, Hamas, al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade

Crocodile apologies

Hillary Clinton campaign staffers yesterday raised the issue of Barack Obama’s admitted experimentation with drugs in high school, claiming Democrats should be concerned because "Republicans might exploit this," should Obama become the nominee. (Ignore the fact that the issue has been known for a while and the Republicans have so far said nothing.) Now, in light of the negative reaction to this latest smear attempt (see here, for an example), Clinton and the staffer have apologized:

On tarmac at Reagan Airport en route to debate, Clinton tells rival that negative, personal characterizations are not a part of her campaign.

Oh, please. You can lie to me, but don’t insult my intelligence. This is the same Hillary who said just a few weeks ago "this is where the fun starts," in reference to dirty, hardball campaigning. This is the same woman whose campaign made a fool of her by attacking Obama for essays he wrote in kindergarten and third grade saying he wanted to be president someday. This is one half of the couple who made nasty, innuendo campaigning a lifestyle choice. This is a woman for whom lying is second nature. And now she tries to claim that personal attacks aren’t part of her campaign?

I’ll take that bridge in Brooklyn, while you’re at it. And give me the former mayor, too. He may have a wreck of a personal life, but he at least doesn’t treat me as if I’m an idiot.

LINKS: More at The Moderate Voice and Blue Crab Boulevard.

Technorati tags: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, 2008 elections, Democrats, sleazy politics, Shaheen, New Hampshire, Giuliani

Second nature

Michael Barone wonders if we really want to revisit the dirty laundry of the Clinton Administration when considering Hillary Clinton for president. I think we do. While not every personal foible is something to disqualify one from office (otherwise, none of us could run), a general pattern of ethical lapses or other signs of a weak character should be a factor in our choice. Stuart Taylor of the National Journal shows us such a pattern in Hillary’s character by reviewing her troubled relationship with the truth. Here’s an example:

Cattle futures. The New York Times revealed in March 1994 that in 1978, just before her husband became governor, Hillary had made a $100,000 profit on a $1,000 investment in highly speculative cattle-futures contracts in only nine months. Hillary’s first explanation (through aides) of this extraordinary windfall was that she had made the investment after "reading The Wall Street Journal" and placed all the trades herself after seeking advice from "numerous people." It was so preposterous that she soon had to abandon it. Eventually, she had to admit that longtime Clinton friend James Blair had executed 30 of her 32 trades directly with an Arkansas broker.

In an April 1994 press conference, Hillary denied knowing of "any favorable treatment" by Blair. But the astronomical odds against any financial novice making a 10,000 percent profit without the game being rigged led many to believe that Blair, the outside counsel to Arkansas-based poultry giant Tyson Foods, must have put only profitable trades in Hillary’s account and absorbed her losses. The heavily regulated Tyson needed friends in high places, and Bill Clinton helped it pass a 1983 state law raising weight limits on chicken trucks.

Looking this over, it’s little wonder (and quite appropriate) that some are starting to compare her to Richard Nixon.

LINKS: Power Line compares Huckabee and the Clintons, damning Huckabee with faint praise.

UPDATE: And she’s doing it again, today. I wonder if she even knows when she’s lying anymore.

Technorati tags: Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee, 2008 elections, corruption, liars, Whitewater, Castle Grande, cattle futures, ethics