Capitalism Reigns in a Post US Election Iraq
You gotta love it. Another happy circumstance of the recent American elections.
THE FREE MARKET IN ACTION
"An Iraqi businessman was negotiating several months ago to sell a prime piece of commercial real estate in central Baghdad. He had tentatively agreed on a price with a Kuwaiti investor, who planned someday to build an electronics superstore on the 9,850-square-foot property. But after President Bush was reelected in November, the Iraqi jacked up the price 25 percent. The prospect that a reelected Bush administration would stay and fight -- and ultimately stabilize Iraq -- had instantly made his property more valuable."
- Washington Post columnist David Ignatius
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ann Coulter Nails It Again
She minces no words and she's alternately revered or hated for it. Below a cut-to-the-quick take on liberal reaction to the appointment of Dr. Rice to Secretary of State.
COULTERGEIST
"When Madeline Albright was appointed the FIRST WOMAN secretary of state, the media was euphoric. . . . But Bush nominates a brilliant geopolitical thinker (Condoleezza Rice) who happens to be black and female and all of a sudden she's Butterfly McQueen, who don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no Middle Eastern democracies. . . . Apparently, liberals believe Rice compares unfavorably to Madeline Albright, whose principle accomplishment before becoming secretary of state was managing to attain the age of 60 without realizing she was Jewish…
"Or how about Clinton's first secretary of state, Warren Christopher, a lawyer whose dazzling foreign policy experience consisted of being President Carter's chief negotiator for the hostages in Iran? That's almost as impressive a resume entry as ‘Chief Iceberg Lookout, the Titanic,' ‘Senior Design Engineer, the Edsel,' ‘Navigator, Exxon Valdez,' or ‘Writer/Executive Producer, 'Alexander.' "
- Columnist Ann Coulter
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To Neal Boortz Who Says It Handily
KEEPING CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS
"Frankly, I'm getting a little weary of this ‘Happy Holidays' nonsense. Could be I need to calm down. Lately I've been just a wee bit terse with people who hit me with the ‘Happy Holidays' line. It's Christmas, dammit! About 85% of the people in this country celebrate this time of the year as Christmas, and that's enough for me. If 43% of the voters could decide that Bill Clinton would be president for four years, I'm willing to accept the mandate from 85% of the people that this particular season of the year is Christmas."
- Talk show host Neal Boortz
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, A Few Moments for Christmas Thoughts
The Sands of Christmas
by Michael Marks.
I had no Christmas spirit when I breathed a weary sigh,
And looked across the table where the bills were piled too high.
The laundry wasn't finished and the car I had to fix,
My stocks were down another point, the Dolphins lost by six.
And so with only minutes till my son got home from school
I gave up on the drudgery and grabbed a wooden stool.
The burdens that I carried were about all I could take,
And so I flipped the TV on to catch a little break.
I came upon a desert scene in shades of tan and rust,
No snowflakes hung upon the wind, just clouds of swirling dust.
And where the reindeer should have stood before a laden sleigh,
Eight Hummers ran a column right behind an M1A.
A group of boys walked past the tank, not one was past his teens.
Their eyes were hard as polished flint, their faces drawn and lean.
They walked the street in armor with their rifles shouldered tight,
Their dearest wish for Christmas, just to have a silent night.
Other soldiers gathered, hunkered down against the wind,
To share a scrap of mail and dreams of going home again.
There wasn't much at all to put their lonely hearts at ease,
They had no Christmas turkey, just a pack of MREs.
They didn't have a garland or a stocking I could see,
They didn't need an ornament-- they lacked a Christmas Tree.
They didn't have a present even though it was tradition,
the only boxes I could see were labeled "ammunition."
I felt a little tug and found my son now by my side,
He asked me what it was I feared, and why it was I cried.
I swept him up into my arms and held him oh so near
and kissed him on the forehead as I whispered in his ear.
There's nothing wrong my little son, for safe we sleep tonight,
Our heroes stand on foreign land to give us all the right,
To worry on the things in life that mean nothing at all,
Instead of wondering if we will be the next to fall.
He looked at me as children do and said its always right,
to thank the ones who help us and perhaps that we should write.
And so we pushed aside the bills and sat to draft a note,
to thank the many far from home, and this is what we wrote:
God Bless You all and keep you safe, and speed your way back home.
Remember that we love you so, and that you're not alone.
The gift you give you share with all, a present every day,
You give the gift of liberty, and that we can't repay
No comments:
Post a Comment