Hardball Ignores Facts and Blasts Giuliani

Transcript from Hardball May 23, 2007:

MATTHEWS: …Rudy Giuliani—he seems to get away with a lot of factual mistakes. He was on David Letterman the other night. And I know David Letterman's not a newsman. It's not his job to fact check. But listen to this. Let's take a look at—here's the former mayor of New York, the most respected man in the Republican Part right now, if you look at the polls, and here's what he's saying about the Iraq Liberation Act, as if he knows what he's talking about, on David Letterman's show the other night.

RUDOLPH GIULIANI ®, FMR NYC MAYOR, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, it's hard to say. I mean, it got the vote of a lot of Democrats who supported it, and actually, when Saddam was overthrown, praised the president for doing it. It was the policy of the Clinton administration to have regime change in Iraq. So in a way, George Bush carried out what Bill Clinton wanted to do and didn't get the opportunity to do.

MATTHEWS: Absolutely BS, Senator, absolute BS. You cannot say that we had—that President Clinton had the authorization to go to war with Iraq. You can't say he just didn't have an opportunity to go. No one told him to go until Bush got the authority from Congress, including you, in 2002. What is Giuliani getting applause for on complete nonsense like that? This is—the Iraq Liberation (INAUDIBLE) was something cooked up by the INC, the Iraqi National Congress, with McCain and Lieberman pushing it. It had nothing to do with an American war in Iraq, nothing to do with it.

[End Transcript]

However, for one, Former Mayor Giuliani did not say that President Clinton had the authorization to go to war with Iraq. He said that the Clinton administration supported "regime change in Iraq."

In fact, President Clinton, along with a majority in Congress, did.

Text from the Iraq Liberation Act states:

SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD IRAQ.

It should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove the regime headed by Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq and to promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime.

Secondly, the Iraq Liberation Act, which Matthews refers to as "something cooked up by the INC, the Iraqi National Congress, with McCain and Lieberman pushing it," passed by unanimous consent in the Senate.

The House approved it with a vote of 360 – 38.

Democratic members of the House voting yea include: Richard Gephardt, Barney Frank, Charles Rangel, Charles Schumer, James Traficant, Henry Waxman, and Robert Wexler.

Nancy Pelosi and Frank Murtha abstained from voting.

President Clinton signed the bill into law on October 31, 1998.

Would you like some Earth and Water Mr. Ahmadinejad

In 483 B.C. the Persian emperor Xerxes began making preparations to conquer the Greek world. Part of this campaign included the deployment of messengers to Greek cities. The Persian envoys offered each city a chance to submit to Xerxes. All they had to do was fork over a little earth and water as a symbol of their capitulation. However, two cities refused to submit to Xerxes' demands—Athens and Sparta. As Herodotus notes, the Spartans went as far as to throw the Persian envoys into a well while telling them to "Dig it out for yourselves." Greece prepared for war.

The Battle of Thermopylae, arguable the most famous battle of the Greco-Persian War, erupted in 480 B.C. The massive Persian army, lead by Xerxes, arrived at the pass of Thermopylae via the Malian Gulf (accounts estimate the Persian army at 2.6 million).

Their forces were met by a small, but defiant, band of Greek soldiers. The roughly 5000 man army was lead by 300 Spartans. The Persian army was held off for three days, suffering enormous casualties.

At one point, Xerxes sent an emissary to the Spartan King, Leonidas. Xerxes demanded they surrender their weapons. Leonidas replied, "Come and get them."

A Greek traitor, Ephialtes, navigated the Persians through a mountain pass. His treachery enabled the Persian army to surround the remaining troops—300 Spartans and 700 Thespians—held their ground, dying courageously.

Fast-forward to the year 2007. The Persians are at it again—this time lead by the megalomaniacal President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mr. Ahmadinejad has publicly called for the total annihilation of Israel—a nation founded on the ideas of liberty and self-reliance. However, the Iranian leader refuses to acknowledge the historical atrocities that lead to the creation of Israel. He has called the Holocaust a hoax and gone as far as hosting a Holocaust conference intended to show the tragedy as a sham—a conspiracy to give Jewish people political power.

Against the will of the United Nations, Mr. Ahmadinejad has carried out an illegal uranium enrichment program. He has defied sanction after sanction, all the while boldly announcing his plans to do whatever he wishes.

The reaction from the Western World? Finger-waving. "No, no Mr. President. That's not nice. You need to stop developing your ability to produce nuclear weapons while talking about blowing countries off the map."

Where's the courage and conviction displayed by the Western World so long ago. Where is the leadership of King Leonidas that refuses to bow to tyrants—even if that means a fight to the death?

Domestically, U.S. Democrats call for appeasement and talks (and probably hugs too); Mr. Ahmadinejad continues to advance his nation's nuclear capability; Israel finds itself wondering when the world will step up and help defend the second coming of the Holocaust; And I find myself wondering why the United Nations doesn't just go ahead and invite Mr. Ahmadinejad to the floor of the General Assembly and give him a nice big bowl of earth and water.

"Here you go Emperor. Now, is there anything else we can do to help make the rise of your Caliphate any easier?"

Noteworthy Quotes from the World of Political Philosophy

Many of us call ourselves "liberals," And it is true that the word "liberal" once described persons who respected the individual and feared the use of mass compulsions. But the leftists have now corrupted that once-proud term to identify themselves and their program of more government ownership of property and more controls over persons. As a result, those of us who believe in freedom must explain that when we call ourselves liberals, we mean liberals in the uncorrupted classical sense. At best, this is awkward, subject to misunderstanding. Here is a suggestion: Let those of us who love liberty trademark and reserve for our own use the good and honorable word "libertarian."

~Dean Russell

I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.

~Thomas Jefferson

America's abundance was created not by public sacrifices to the common good, but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes. They did not starve the people to pay for America's industrialization. They gave the people better jobs, higher wages, and cheaper goods with every new machine they invented, with every scientific discovery or technological advance- and thus the whole country was moving forward and profiting, not suffering, every step of the way.

~Ayn Rand

It is not the business of government to make men virtuous or religious, or to preserve the fool from the consequences of his own folly. Government should be repressive no further than is necessary to secure liberty by protecting the equal rights of each from aggression on the part of others, and the moment governmental prohibitions extend beyond this line they are in danger of defeating the very ends they are intended to serve.

~Henry George

If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.

~John Stuart Mill

Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

~Barry Goldwater

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. 

~C. S. Lewis

Pigs in the Trough: Buy This Book!!!

The Pig Book: How Government Wastes Your Money

The Pig Book on Amazon


Examples from the book:

$50 million for an indoor rain forest in Iowa

$102 million to study screwworms, which were long ago eradicated from American soil

$273,000 to combat goth culture in Missouri

$2.2 million to renovate the North Pole

$50,000 for a tattoo-removal program in California

$1 million for ornamental fish research (what the hell does this even mean)

Pork-barrel projects and spending is the most destructive force in American politics and both sides of the political fence are GUILTY. Stop the spending!

Washington: The Top Two Primary, Iniative 872

Washington State voters have created a new primary system that seeks to diminish the power political parties have in the process. The Top 2 program, will open the primary to all voters. Instead of voting by party, there will be one general ballot with all of the candidates.

Subsequently, the top 2 vote-getters will proceed--regardless of the party. It could mean two Democrats, or two Republicans advance. Parties are rejecting the new system. They argue that it forces the candidate on the party and infringes upon their right to choose their own nominee.

The Supreme Court will review the system.