Big stories, little headlines

Al Qaeda is reportedly crippled in Iraq.

The U.S. military believes it has dealt devastating and perhaps irreversible blows to al-Qaeda in Iraq in recent months, leading some generals to advocate a declaration of victory over the group, which the Bush administration has long described as the most lethal U.S. adversary in Iraq.

That’s really good news. And thankfully no one is getting overconfident and declaring “mission accomplished” but by the same token, let’s feel good about things for a change, shall we, and give some thanks for our soldiers, too!

Casualties continue to drop in Iraq. The evidence is becoming hard to dispute. It’s becoming hard to lie about.

This guy is sick of not hearing any good news being reported about Iraq, when there is good news to report. This general says yeah, me too.

There there is more good news about civilian deaths in Iraq, and this, this:

This doesn’t necessarily mean the war is being won. U.S. military commanders have said that no reduction in violence will be sustainable unless Iraqis reach political solutions — and there has been little progress on that front. Nevertheless, it’s looking more and more as though those in and outside of Congress who last month were assailing Gen. Petraeus’s credibility and insisting that there was no letup in Iraq’s bloodshed were — to put it simply — wrong.

Fausta has the definitive round-up on all the good news coming out of Iraq that you may not otherwise be getting.

More good news on the economic front: Bizzyblog points out that major media has ignored the story of the deficit being substantially lowered. This, of course, is not the first time they’ve ignored exactly that news before, and they’ll keep ignoring it, I gather, until there is a new president in the White House who can be credited for it. Ummm…but only if that new president is a Democrat, don’t forget.

Enjoy the good news while you can, because as Bizzy points out, once the Bush tax cuts end in ’10, there is little-to-no chance that the Democrats will re-instate them. In fact, the Democrats have been faithfully promising for some time, now to raise every tax they can think of.

The conventional wisdom that President Bush has has done nothing about Global Warming for 6 years is demonstrably false. Contrary to that editorial, Bush has not “finally recogniz[ed] global warming as real,” even though that is the approved-narrative. He recognized it in 2001! Once more, because the president deserves it:

President Bush has been acknowledging “climate change” since at least 2001:

Text of a Letter from the President to Senators Hagel, Helms, Craig, and Roberts 3/13/01 (excerpt)

Thank you for your letter of March 6, 2001, asking for the Administration’s views on global climate change, in particular the Kyoto Protocol and efforts to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act. My Administration takes the issue of global climate change very seriously.

As you know, I oppose the Kyoto Protocol because it exempts 80 percent of the world, including major population centers such as China and India, from compliance, and would cause serious harm to the U.S. economy. The Senate’s vote, 95-0, shows that there is a clear consensus that the Kyoto Protocol is an unfair and ineffective means of addressing global climate change concerns. (H/T commenter cmdicely)

President Bush has actively and successfully pursued international co-operation in working to help the environment. He just doesn’t agree that it’s all “man-made” and he (quite rightly) thought the Kyoto treaty – which (let us never forget) then US President Bill Clinton shelved when the US Senate rejected it 95-0). Bush believed the treaty would cause economic mayhem and its goals were unrealistic and unmeetable. He was right on both levels. Meanwhile carbon emissions fell in the US in 2006, umm…under President Bush.

I just thought it was only fair to present a little bit of counter to the ongoing coverage of Al Gore’s consolation er, “peace” prize, which Gore is happy to accept without debate.

Let’s see…one man followed through with the policy of regime change in Iraq, established by President Bill Clinton in 1998, liberated tens of thousands of tyrannized people, is helping them to establish a democratic government and ummm…has done good, constructive work for the sake of the environment, both internationally and domestically, while promoting an optimistic viewpoint, and the other man has flown around the world, endlessly, and stood under the burning kleig lights for hours upon hours while predicting nothing but gloom and doom “within ten years!” (Or is it thirty? I wish they’d get that straight!). Yeah, I think that Peace Prize is meaningful as all get out, don’t you? Oh, hell, let’s just impeach Bush.

Rudy News: He cut taxes approximately 23 times while he was Mayor of NYC and it helped re-juice the big apple. More good stuff about Rudy and here.

To everything there is a season and the season for this measure seems to have passed.

Non-headline stuff: Looking for some good stories for your kids for Halloween? Check out these.

One for the quote books:

In 1943, the Supreme Court, affirming the right of Jehovah’s Witnesses children to refuse to pledge allegiance to the U.S. flag in schools, declared: “No official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein.” Today that principle is routinely traduced, coast to coast, by officials who are petty in several senses. – George Will

H/T Instapundit.