The Open Champion.

Tiger was in command, truly a great victory at the British Open. He has the greatest focus of any player on tour, focus that is essential to win the Open.

Nike, however nearly spoiled the moment by running a truly demeaning and tacky commercial where they superposed the toddler Tiger's head on his
adult body in scenes of his earlier triumph at the Open. Yuck.

This contest was won by a man, against other great men of golf - it wasn't won by a toddler. Tiger conducts himself as a man, not an enfante terrible, or some childish savant. Save that kind of marketing for the other sports, where it is much more appropriate.

The Hard Left's Brownshirts in Action.

Antiwar and anarcho/anticapitalist protests frequently have these thugs in attendance. They destroy private property, silence counterdemonstrators (for example, see the video documentation provided by Protest Warriors), and send cops to hospitals. And you don't read, see, or hear anything about these brownshirts in the MSM. Shouldn't these punks be exposed to as much disinfecting sunlight as the KKK when it parades in bedsheets through a town square?

PS - some background on these hoods found at Front Page.

In Praise of the French.

Daniel Pipes claims France is a lot tougher on Islamofascists than the Brits. Pipes makes a few good points, but I doubt that a defending the wearing of a jilbab constitutes weakness in the face of terrorism. Nevertheless, plaudits to France.

The War to Save Civilization.

The horrible events of yesterday in London are a brutal reminder that we are in a death struggle with the forces of evil and darkness. Nothing less. Tom Friedman declared it to be World War III after 9/11; the attacks in Bali, Madrid, Moscow, Beslan, and now London should be ample corroboration for Friedman's claim.

This war's stakes are basic human liberties such as speech, religion, travel, economic, intellectual, and cultural intercourse, and the dignity of individual thought as bestowed by our Creator. These essential freedoms are threatened by a splinter perversion of religion that requires complete and mindless adherence to theology - as revealed by an infalliable elite - or death with rest of the "infidel" world.

A unavoidable decision now faces the peoples of the world, and citizens of civilized societies: will you join this struggle against the forces of darkness or by your inaction collude with them?

Efraim Halevi writes in the Jerusalem Post: (thanks to The Daily Demarche)

...There will be supreme tests of leadership in this unique situation and people will have to trust the wisdom and good judgment of those chosen to govern them. The executives must be empowered to act resolutely and to take every measure necessary to protect the citizens of their country and to carry the combat into whatever territory the perpetrators and their temporal and spiritual leaders are inhabiting.

The rules of combat must be rapidly adjusted to cater to the necessities of this new and unprecedented situation, and international law must be rewritten in such a way as to permit civilization to defend itself. Anything short of this invites disaster and must not be allowed to happen.

The aim of the enemy is not to defeat western civilization but to destroy its sources of power and existence, and to render it a relic of the past. It does not seek a territorial victory or a regime change; it wants to turn western civilization into history and will stop at nothing less than that. It will show no mercy or compassion and no appreciation for these noble values when practiced by us.

This does not mean that we can or should assume the norms of our
adversaries, nor that we should act indiscriminately. It does mean that the only way to ensure our safety and security will be to obtain the destruction, the complete destruction, of the enemy.

Much has been said in recent years about the vital need for international cooperation. There is no doubt that this is essential. Yet no measure of this will suffice and it cannot replace the requirement that each and every country effectively declare itself at war with
international Islamist terror and recruit the public to involve itself actively in the battle, under the direction of the legal powers that be...

Curiosities in the matter of Kelo.

VodkaPundit has found a hot trail from Kelo involving Nancy Pelosi and some very wealthly bicoastal developers...

Cato to G8: Stop Enabling African Tyrants.

Moeletsi Mbeki has written an essay for the Cato Institute that is a breath of fresh air compared to the brain-dead calls for unconditional debt forgiveness. His solution: empower normal people with property rights and stop the top-down funding strategy that only encourages kleptocracy.

Meanwhile, anarchists and hoodlums in "solidarity" with suffering Africans, reenact their misery of the last forty-five years by laying waste to the Scottish countryside and ruining the livelihoods of innocent people.

Coming to a Theatre Near You?

Unlikely, but the talented Evan Coyle Maloney of Brain Terminal is working on a sequel to Brainwashing 101, entitled Indoctrinate U. On a related note, Thayrone X, on his WAAM talk show On the Edge, recently interviewed a fellow who has written a re-revisionist history of Hollywood's Blacklist era. Spoiler follows: there were hard-core Communists in Hollywood, and it was a good thing that guys like Elia Kazan stood up to them.

Hang Down Your Head, Al-Tikriti...

The perfect venue is picked for Saddam's trial.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America.

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness...

Life, Liberty, Property.

The Federalist Patriot Founders' Quote Daily:

"A just security to property is not afforded by that government,under which unequal taxes oppress one species of property and reward another species." -- James Madison

Brian Williams "Clarifies".

NBC Nightly News anchorcritter and famous GQ coverboy Brian Williams has been roasted for his recent outrageous comments about how the modern world may view our Founding Fathers through the lens of recent history:

Many Americans woke up to a curious story this morning: several of the former Iran Hostages have decided there is a strong resemblance between Iran's new president and one of their captors more than 25 years ago. The White House and most official branches of government are ducking any substantive comment on this story, and photo analysis is going on at this and other news organizations. It is a story that will be at or near the top of our broadcast and certainly made for a robust debate in our afternoon editorial meeting, when several of us
raised the point (I'll leave it to others to decide germaneness) that several U.S. presidents were at minimum revolutionaries, and probably were considered terrorists of their time by the Crown in England.

BlogWorld immediately dumped a bucket of chum on Brian's head for these comments. And for good reason: Washington, the Adams Brothers, and Jefferson very likely did not regard England as an infidel nation whose inhabitants required annihilation. Dead Drifts greatly doubts these men would have celebrated the detonation of a keg filled with black powder and horseshoe nails in a crowded Philadelphia market. But fear not, Mr. Williams has now provided further clarification for his Deep Thoughts:

And on this busy day I'm compelled to throw in a personal note of my own...it's about a question I asked Andrea Mitchell on Nightly News last night. Coming out of the story alleging that Iran's President-elect may have been among those who kept 52 Americans hostage for 444 days in Tehran, I asked Andrea the following question:

"What would it all matter if proven true? Someone brought up today: The first several U.S. presidents were certainly revolutionaries... and might have been called "terrorists" at the time by the BRITISH CROWN, after all..."

Today, apparently, on some radio talk shows and blogs, my
friends in the media have accused me of labeling George Washington a terrorist. They apparently missed my point: That the BRITISH CROWN might have viewed American revolutionaries that way.My question — and specifically the line, "what would it all matter..." was meant to address the popular support within Iran for those who acted against the U.S. and are now in positions of power. Those of you who are regular readers of our blog know we spoke about this very issue
yesterday in our afternoon editorial meeting.

All I ask is that people re-read what was said on the air. I've talked
to several viewers today, and one conversation I actually enjoyed was with a woman from Virginia, who said, "These days, you just can't use the word TERRORIST for anything but a TERRORIST." And I take this nice woman's point about the power of words in our current climate.

While I insist that a re-reading of my question will prove that in no
way was I calling the framers "terrorists" (for starters, the word did not exist 229 years ago), I regret that anyone thought that after a life spent reading and loving American history, I had suddenly changed my mind about the founders of our nation.

Bri, you still miss the point: neither did the word exist nor would the notion have existed with Loyalists or the Crown that their American bretheren were madmen killing for the sake of killing. Traitors, to be sure, but not terrorists as we understand what this word connotes. So your comments were just...well, stupid. (stupid: lacking intelligence or reason; a word that did exist 229 years ago).

And the Low shall be brought High.

Pinehurst No. 2 chewed up the Big Five, with only Tiger offering a Sunday rally. Michael Campbell hung on, suffering an 18th hole bogey before the Big Green Sea relinquished him to raise the trophy for the 2005 US Open. Ah, golf is a game like a fine diamond, with millions of facets: some days I can't drive, on others I can't hit a fairway iron, still other days find me floundering in my short game. So many ways to fail!

Dad's Favorite Movies.

In celebration of Father's Day, here is my list of the Ten Great Guy Films of All Time (in no particular order):

• Spartacus
• Diner
• The Big Country
• The Maltese Falcon
• The Searchers
• Zulu
• Animal House
• The Godfather
• Goldfinger
• The Right Stuff

Ya got yer Bond, ya got yer Mafia, ya got yer Bogie, ya got yer Duke, ya got yer Toga Party...yer set, bub.

Honorable Mentions:

• Red River
• Battleground
• Fobidden Planet
• My Darling Clementine
• Drums Along the Mohawk
• A River Runs Through It
• Last of the Mohicans (1992)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• The Manchurian Candidate (Frankenheimer version)
• American Graffiti
• Gladiator
• The Natural

"The Notebook" did not make the cut, sorry...need a Kleenex? For an exhaustive list of Guy Films, consult The Von Hoffman Bros' Big Damn Book of Sheer Manliness.

The Oath of Office.

The blockbluster revelation of my generation's political history has occurred:

How Mark Felt Became 'Deep Throat'

Was Felt's conduct consistent with an FBI Agent's oath of office?

I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

Was it consistent with the Pledge of FBI Officers, which states in part:

Humbly recognizing the responsibilities entrusted to me, . . . . I accept the obligation in connection with my assignments to . . . consider the information, coming into my knowledge by virtue of my position as a sacred trust, to be used solely for official purposes. . . . In the performance of my duties and assignments, I shall not engage in unlawful and unethical practices . . . . While occupying the status of a law enforcement officer or at any other time subsequent thereto, I shall not seek to benefit personally because of my knowledge of any confidential matter which has come to my attention. I am aware of the serious responsibilities of my office and in the performance of my duties . . .

The question remains, posed by none other than G. Gordon Liddy: what was Felt's duty as one of the highest law-enforcement officials of the United States? Wasn't that duty to bring his information to some authority (like the grand jury) to pursue the criminality in the Nixon White House through our laws? Or did Felt feel that there was no such untainted authority to which he could turn? Or was this payback for Patrick Gray being named as FBI chief rather than him?

Whar's Ol' Possum?

WSDS 1480 bites the dust tonight, as we knew the funky little classic country radio station that brought SE Michigan George Jones, Loe-rettie Lynn, the Man in Black, Ernest Tubb, and all the other legends. At midnight tonight it transmogrifies into an all-Spanish language format. More of the story courtesy east-cross.com .

Bob Herbert's Troubled Psyche.

In recognition of Memorial Day, Bob Herbert offers up this dreck:

This Memorial Day is not a good one for the country that was once the world's most brilliant beacon of freedom and justice.

...The U.S. is now widely viewed as a brutal, bullying nation that countenances torture and operates hideous prison camps at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and in other parts of the world - camps where inmates have been horribly abused, gruesomely humiliated and even killed...

...William Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International USA, said in an interview last week that it's important to keep in mind how policies formulated at the highest levels of government led inexorably to the abusive treatment of prisoners.

"The critical point is the deliberateness of this policy," he said. "The president gave the green light. The secretary of defense issued the rules. The Justice Department provided the rationale. And the C.I.A. tried to cover it up."

...In much of the world, the image of the U.S. under Mr. Bush has morphed from an idealized champion of liberty to a heavily armed thug in camouflage fatigues...

It's waste of time to try to refute the claims of a mind so convinced of the inherent evil of our government. One can pity him, though.

Celebrating the Slob.

Brent Staples has offered his interpretation of the brouhaha caused by Bill Cosby's recent comments on the misguided priorities of some inner-city parents, namely that such comments are an example of class antagonism with the African-American community. And of course, class antagonism is a bad thing.

Staples' arguement is an insult to anyone - of any race - who wanted greater meaning to their life than eating, sleeping, and reproducing. It is antithetical to the American ideal, which is to make our children's lives better and more significant that our own.

Mr. Staples, what Bill Cosby was confronting was the phenomenon of "The Celebration of the Slob": anti-intellectualism, narcissism, immediate gratification, and apathy. This malady has infected all of American life. If it's snobbery to reject such behaviors, then let us "Celebrate the Snob".

Looking Back at the War with Japan.

PBS' "American Experience" recently discussed the history of the last year of war in the Pacific Theatre ("Victory in the Pacific"). It was, surprisingly, balanced. It refuted revisionist claims that the last year of the Pacific war was unnecessary, that American blood-lust, desire for revenge, or anti-Soviet maneuvering prevented a chance for a satisfactory peace between Japan and the Allies. It described in detail the fanatical strategy of Ketsu-Go, the defense of the Japanese homeland by mass suicide attacks. It also dispelled the myth that there was any serious challenge within the Japanese war leadership to Ketsu-Go (there was opposition, but it had no real chance of reversing this tragic policy). It is this point that most revisionist histories of the Pacific War either omit or dismiss. The documentary came to the same conclusion as Truman: that the atomic bombing of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki was necessary to conclude the war as quickly as possible, that Bushido and Japan's war culture were as pernious to global peace as Nazism and to destroy them would require a complete unconditional surrender by Japan.

Unfortunately, such an honest analysis of the Pacific War is about 25 years too late.

Bring it On.

In the last week we've learned that the Dems' declaration of "unacceptable...radical...extremist" judicial nominations was just milquetoast: a judge previously regarded as a troglodyte can suddenly be acceptable for a lifetime federal appointment by a 82-18 majority in the Senate. Provided a certain senator can get the satisfaction of political payback. Now the Dems are threatening fillbuster on the Bolton UN appointment. Well, go ahead...make our day. Go right ahead and paralyze the Senate's ability to get the people's business done for the sake of rejecting an appointment that reasonable people - even those in your own party - find acceptable. You go right ahead and become the "Party of Nyet". No ideas for Social Security and Medicare reform, no ideas on the WOT, no ideas for UN reform, no ideas for a realistic energy policy, no ideas on education, no ideas on stopping illegal immigration...just no, no, no.

With Profound Gratitude We Remember.

If at all possible, please take the time to attend a Memorial Day parade and ceremony this weekend. If you meet a vet on the street, shake his hand and say thanks. Include in your daily and Sunday prayers the men and women now in harm's way. Find a service-related charity and give some time or money to help the families of those who serve. These efforts are trivial compared to the sacrifice of life, limb, family, or prosperity that our soldiers have made to serve our country and protect our liberty, and to give the same to other peoples around the globe.

• Veterans of Foreign Wars
• Disabled American Veterans
• Korean War Veterans Association
• Vietnam Veterans of America
• Cold War Veterans Association
• The American Legion
• AMVETS