A Manifesto for Unilateralist Cowboys

“We must never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence.”
- Sir Winston Churchill - March 5, 1946

If you remember nothing else, remember this: “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.”

Happy birthday America!

Cheers,

Charlie

CHURCHILL’S PARROT EXCLUSIVE: Intercepted Letter from Al-Zawahiri to Al-Qaeda U.K.

Fortunately, as Bushie and Blair have illegally wire-tapped not only every telephone in the free world but every computer as well, those of us in positions of influence within the VRWC (Vast Right Wing Conspiracy) are treated occasionally to exceptionally delicious communications. Following is one such communication, intercepted and translated June 30, 2007, hours after the third botched bombing attempt in the United Kingdom.

From: Al-Zawahiri
To: Saleed Salam al-Muqtallahd, Chief Operating Officer, Al Qaeda U.K.

My gracious brother Saleed Salam, God protect you and watch over you. May His religion, and His Book and the Sunna of His Prophet aid him, I ask the Almighty that he bless …oh sod it!

YOU MORONS! What the hell is going on over there? For the love of Sayf Kattab Al- Mahmoud, 3 - THREE - failed bombings in TWO days? I could behead myself!!! And now two of these stooges are in custody. As if it wasn’t bad enough they have crystal clear photographs of “Al-Einstein” staggering from the unexploded Mercedes #1 in which he also left his cell phone fully loaded with key incoming and outgoing phone numbers!

Do you have the slightest conception what kind of damage this does to our organization? Where, tell me, WHERE did you get these camel’s asses? Do they know how to push a button? It’s not like blowing yourself up all to hell requires a great deal of brain-power! You can’t just leave the car full of gasoline and nails parked (illegally mind you) out in the street, YOU-HAVE-TO-DETONATE-IT!!! Did you forget to share with them that little portion of the play book? Mercedes parked in the middle of a crowded London street: not terror. Mercedes exploding in the middle of a crowded London street: terror. That’s what we do: TERROR, remember?

And as for those Glasgow Goofs…I don’t even know where to start! One of them frantically pouring gasoline over his SUV and trying to light it; the other one inside, engulfed in flames like a human tiki torch … SOMEBODY GET ME SOME OPIUM! I haven’t had chest pains like these since Qu’ralid Dakshathi put pictures of a G.I. Joe doll on the internet and claimed it was a captured American soldier! It’s not like we’re battin’ 1000 lately. Were the infidel media not entirely in our back pocket, the name “Al-Qaeda” would inspire, not terror, but GALES OF LAUGHTER!!!

I am tempted to turn myself in. At Guantanamo, Osama and I’d get three square meals a day, first-rate health care, a quiet orderly environment in which to sleep and pray, a killer book deal, and best of all WE COULD TELL THE INFIDELS WHERE TO FIND ALL OF YOU SO THEY COULD ROOT YOU OUT AND SQUASH YOU LIKE THE WORTHLESS COCKROACHES YOU ARE!!! You have been warned.

In closing, I ask God entrust you all with His guardianship, providence and protection, and bless you all in your families, possessions and offspring yadaa, yadaa, yadaa…

Your “loving brother” Al-Zawahiri

A Victim of My Own Persuasivity

While the finger of blame is directed at talk radio and conservative cable television broadcasts, I think we all realize that I have only myself to blame for yesterday’s overwhelming demise of the Senate immigration bill.

One with powers of tongue, pen, and mind such as my own can not take to the blogosphere day after day, shedding the luminescence of conservatism upon the issues of our times, and expect the all too literate citizens of the world’s greatest free republic to sit by idly as the very essence of that citizenship is threatened with extinction at the hands of opportunists who managed to get themselves elected to the office of Senator.

But alas, I rejoice not, for what is good for America is, in this instance, virtual damnation for me. With out a fast-track to citizenship in the U.S., I am doomed to years - perhaps decades - more in this wretched U.K. nature center, enduring taunts from slug-witted youths who have never even heard the name Winston Churchill, and environmentalists frauds raving about rain forest depletion and other such rot. All this … and Tony’s gone! I shall prevail, for there is hope. But for now, you must forgive me. I’m going to become emotional.

Cheers?

Charlie

Immigration Consternation

No doubt a great many of you have anxiously awaited my exceptional perspective regarding the whole illegal immigration issue, related reform bill before the United States Senate, et al. I have been silent on the issue until now for reasons which I shall explain presently.

The issue of illegal immigration presents for me one of those dreadful occasions for Conservative pundits of international acclaim such as I, where we find ourselves at polar opposites with the vast majority of our colleagues.

My disagreement is not on principle mind you; arguments to the effect that a sovereign nation – particularly the United States – has not the right to defend its borders nor its cultural infrastructures within those borders are so utterly asinine as to scarcely warrant rebuttal.

No, my disagreement stems from personal circumstances. You see, illegal immigration is my only hope. Some background. Since Sir Winston’s passing in 1965, I have dwelled in various locations in and around the area of Surrey England. Here - as inmate of first pet shop, then nursery - I have been forced to endure passively the corrosion of British culture and sensibility which the benighted giddily refer to as, “modern times.” Upon Prime Minister Blair’s recent announcement that he would be stepping down as Prime Minister, I resolved once and for all to defect to the last best hope of mankind (the United States) on the grounds of political persecution owing to the U.K.’s steady and persistent descent into Leftism.

But alas, my efforts have thus far proven in vain. My most recent discourse with the United States State Department in fact, consisted of some lackey disparaging my sanity and hanging up the phone. Thus I am left – as are evidently 12-20 million others – with no other choice than to attempt to enter and dwell in America illegally.

Therefore I am publicly making myself available to any and all media for interviews, profiles, documentaries, music videos etc. about my plight and the plight of all fowl seeking opportunity in America without having to wade through all that miserable red tape of “citizenship.” I am quite confident just one or two sob stories on my behalf – in the manner of those aired daily regarding current “undocumented citizens” in the U.S. – would put my cause over the top and me into the home of some adoring American family.

I can be quite affectionate when I choose to be, do not smell or meow, can provide hours of engaging geo-political conversation, and am willing to do the work American parrots just aren’t willing to do (so long as it doesn’t involve cleaning, cooking, child-rearing, landscaping, or most other forms of manual labor.)

If you would like to adopt me or produce a media sob-story on my behalf, please send all enquiries to my agent, Alquastria Loppingshears at: Alquastria.Loppingshears@Loppingshearspublicrelations/mediacontact~appearances/churchills.parrot//contract13582.placement/net.
We are also accepting funds. Feel free to include with the above any monetary amount (though donations over $100.00 U.S. will earn you a coveted Churchill’s Parrot bumper sticker) in support of my plight and the plight of millions of those of us denied our God-given right to fully enjoy the privileges of citizenship within the United States merely because we are not actually citizens of the United States.

Cheers,

Charlie

Information Warrior Virtual Boot Camp

"The empires of the future are the empires of the mind."
- Sir Winston Churchill

Battlefield of the Media
In his letter dated July 9, 2005, senior al Qa'ida leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri waxed to his boy in Iraq, the very late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi:

“I say to you: that we are in a battle, and that more than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media.”

On this point, we – the Islamaniacs, the Right, and the Lefties – are all in agreement, and thus all seek to exploit that media to achieve our respective goals.

The goal of the Islamaniacs, is a world obedient to no law but Islam.

The goal of the Right is the preservation of Western Civilization through the eradication of threats – both external and internal – to its foundations (for Lefties those foundations would include the principles of freedom and the rights of man “which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habeas Corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence” as Sir Winston pointed out in 1946.)

The goal of the Lefties is, at best, to humiliate Bushie and settle once and for all who among them is the most Hippy Dippy, Anti-Establishment, Working-Class-Hero, 60’s Throwback, Hollywood Darling of all. At worst, the Lefties – euphemistically referred to as “Liberals” or the even-more hilarious “Progressives” - seek the destruction of free market capitalism and all that supports it.

Vietnam 101
The Islamaniacs are well aware that in order to achieve their goal, they must employ tactics beyond the military. As al-Zawahiri puts it in the above letter,“However far our capabilities reach, they will never be equal to one thousandth of the capabilities of the kingdom of Satan that is waging war on us.” What’s a jihadi to do? Here, as we have pointed out before, Islamaniacs take heart in certain black marks in American history, namely, Vietnam.

“The aftermath of the collapse of American power in Vietnam -- and how they ran and left their agents -- is noteworthy, " Zawahiri further counsels Zarqawi.

For in Vietnam they rightly see a flaming example of American military policy being dictated by public sentiment, which in turn was being dictated by mass media, which in turn was being dictated by enemy propaganda. Allow me to elucidate.

On the evening of February 27, 1968 the most trusted man in America felt compelled to express his feelings about the recent Tet Offensive in which approximately 35,000 Viet Cong were killed, 60,000 wounded, and 6,000 taken prisoner for no military success. By contrast, American and South Vietnamese dead totaled 3,900 combined; a tragic bloodbath to be sure, but in military terms, a clear and decisive victory for U.S. and South Vietnamese forces. And yet, Mr. Cronkite opined:

“To say that we are closer to victory today is to believe, in the face of the evidence, the optimists who have been wrong in the past. To suggest we are on the edge of defeat is to yield to unreasonable pessimism. To say that we are mired in stalemate seems the only realistic, yet unsatisfactory, conclusion. On the off chance that military and political analysts are right, in the next few months we must test the enemy’s intentions, in case this is indeed his last big gasp before negotiations. But it is increasingly clear to this reporter that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors, but as an honorable people who lived up to their pledge to defend democracy, and did the best they could. This is Walter Cronkite. Good night.”

At the conclusion of this broadcast, a woeful President Lyndon Johnson, turned from the telly and confided to his advisors, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.” And so he had. And so the Fourth Estate had administered its most lethal injection of Vietnam Syndrome (other injections are extensively catalogued here, here, and in the second half of this article) into the veins of American public sentiment, galvanizing once and for all its new role as busy broadcast stooge for enemy propaganda.

For as Bui Tin, a former colonel in the North Vietnamese army explained in an August 3, 1995 Wall Street Journal interview, “Tet was designed to influence American public opinion.” Former South Vietnamese Lieutenant-General Lam Quang Thi, lends further perspective in his 2002 book, “The Twenty-Five-Year Century.” Here he reveals (among other things) that he believes the media played a major role in the final downfall of South Vietnam. He quotes North Vietnam General Vo Nguyen Giap as stating in a French TV broadcast that Giap’s ‘most important guerrilla during the Vietnam War was the American press.’’’ This would certainly prove consistent with General Giaps’s established strategy for victory: demoralize the enemies’ resolve.

While standing before the board at a CBS annual shareholders meeting in 1985, Reed Irvine, founder of the media watchdog group Accuracy in Media, summarized profoundly the consequences of this travesty.

“Mr. Cronkite was one of a number of journalists who contributed to that communist propaganda victory, and the deaths and suffering of the millions of victims of communism in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos over the past decade should weigh heavily on his conscience."

But alas, Mr. Cronkite and his colleagues march ever onward, clear of conscience (almost as if they had none) employing the full arsenal of their industry to ensure that Vietnam Syndrome continues to debilitate American resolve for generations to come.

Sex Sells

Placing aside, for a moment, all accusations of political bias, which is any media more likely to feature: a flaming car bomb that kills 12 people in a crowded market, or General Hornkdweever’s press conference over viewing the effectiveness of select counter-insurgency tactics employed in identified hot zones? You see the dilemma. For all their purist, anti-materialist, 9th century yib yab, the Islamaniacs are well-versed in one of the most basic and base tenets of raw Capitalism: SEX SELLS – “sex” defined here as that which is big, bold, brash, exciting, and preferably on fire. Thus their selection of targets and tactics.

In reality, the majority of jihadi wingbats we flatteringly refer to as “insurgents” are little more than two-bit gang-bangers, hopped up on drugs, porn, and select Qur’an quotes looking to commit a little drive-by mayhem of which to brag to their homies in this life or the next. But their fiery tactics and choice of high profile - “sexy” - targets ensure they will be made Giants, for they know their every “accomplishment” will be heralded worldwide by a media in heat.

Here again General Giap’s genius is at play. In this analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Associate Director of the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs, Joel S. Fishman, explains how Yasser Arafat – godfather of modern jihad – intended to manipulate the peace process utilizing the Marxist-Leninist strategy of "people’s war" perfected by General Giap.

“One of Giap's innovations was the manipulation Western news media in a manner that turned the freedom and vulnerability of open democratic societies to his advantage. He grasped that the impact of events viewed through the prism of the media could be decisive. For example, in 1954, only four percent of the French forces in Indochina were defeated at Dien Bien Phu. However, the shock of this setback in metropolitan France - as distinguished from the event itself - shattered domestic support for the French war effort.

Although the 1968 Tet Offensive was a Vietcong defeat, and American casualty rates were relatively low, its manipulation in the American media had a strategic impact very similar to that of Dien Bien Phu.37 Further, General Giap adeptly utilized the medium of television (with the aid of eager American helpers) in order to undermine domestic American support for the Vietnam War. He said: 'In 1968 I realized that I could not defeat 500,000 American troops who were deployed in Vietnam. I could not defeat the Seventh Fleet, with its hundreds of aircraft, but I could bring pictures home to the Americans which would cause them to want to stop the war.'

Now add to all this the fact that the vast majority of those in the media are of Lefty-persuasion (As established here , here and carefully catalogued daily here, and here) and that the majority of Lefties believe – some sincerely – that America is largely in the wrong on this whole “War on Terror thing”, particularly in Iraq, and you have the current daily fiasco known as mainstream media war coverage.

The Impact
Amongst the current generation’s parents and grandparents, it was commonly understood that loose lips sink ships. The essence of this maxim was that words matter and can be of consequence, thus those using them ought be mindful of what they say and to whom, particularly where lives are at stake. (Lefties – this is, incidentally, NOT censorship but rather a call for citizens to employ a long lost art known as “self-control.”)

Everyone, including the media of the day, took this all quite seriously. But suppose they didn’t. Suppose the media of the Greatest Generation had somehow been enlightened by the Age of Aquarius in 1942 and thus produced headlines such as these:

- VICTIMS' FAMILIES: PEARL RESCUE EFFORTS "DISGRACEFUL"
- CRITICS CHARGE "STUNT" TO HELP DEMS IN '42 ELECTIONS
- FDR DUMPS MACARTHUR FOR CHURCHILL
- "NO DEFENSE" AGAINST KAMIKAZES
- IWO JIMA FLAG RAISING "STAGED"
- ATOM BOMB DROPPED TO COW SOVIETS

These could have been headlines. There’s truth to all. And yet, they were not. Why? And had they been, would the American public have stood by FDR through the obstacles, setbacks, and humiliations that are the essence of any war as they did? Yet for some reason the media deliberately chose to balance its sacred duty of informing the citizenry of a free republic, with its equally sacred duty to contribute to the preservation of that free republic. Thus, it’s “spin” on most stories was neutral or even (dare we say it?) pro-American. Unexamined, however, remains the relationship between this coverage, the unprecedented public support of the day, and the ultimate U.S. and Allied victory. No doubt, all mere coincidence.

Fortunately, no such draconian 19th century clap trap befouls the hallowed halls of the Post-Vietnam/Post-Watergate School of Journalism. In its place are enlightened progressive notions such as “War is never the answer.” “The military is intended for and made up of societal rejects.” “There is no terrorist threat.” “U.S. is the Terrorist.” “Bush, Reagan, Bush Sr. (insert name of Republican Commander in Chief here) is a lying racist greedy war mongering mass murderer” etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. Ergo we have the New York Times outing highly sensitive intelligence, a world wide campaign to set captured terrorist free, and a relentless stream of bomb-a-day bad news out of Baghdad from intrepid journalists who evidently can find little else to report - all without any regard for the consequences of such “reporting.”

Tail-spinning poll numbers tallied every hour on the hour make clear the effect of all this on public support for the effort in Iraq, Bushie's popularity, the larger War on Terror et al. Far less reported upon, however, is the affect this all has upon the men and women actually engaged in the conflict. Curious, don’t you think?

"Hello media, do you know you indirectly kill American soldiers every day,” posits Chief Warrant Officer Jim Funk in a recent e-mail from Iraq, where he has flown more than 80 combat missions since October 2006. “You inspire and report the enemy's objective every day. You are the enemy's greatest weapon. The enemy cannot beat us on the battlefield so all he does is try to wreak enough havoc and have you report it every day. With you and the enemy using each other, you continually break the will of the American public and American government.”

(Seems we’ve heard all this before does it not?)

"We, the soldiers, keep breaking the back of the enemy. You, the media, keep rejuvenating the enemy.”

CWO Funk is not alone in his sentiments about the media and the anti-war culture they foment...

"You may support or say we support the troops, but, so you're not supporting what they do, what they're here sweating for, what we bleed for, what we die for. It just don't make sense to me." - Specialist Tyler Johnson

"One thing I don't like is when people back home say they support the troops, but they don't support the war. If they're going to support us, support us all the way.” - Staff Sergeant Manuel Sahagun

“We are winning this war. Just look at the signs. The enemy cannot safelywear uniforms, they cannot confront us directly, and instead they hideamongst and target unarmed civilians. When they succeed in blowing up anunsuspecting marketplace, they can count on you to dutifully deliver thebig sound bite about how the civilian body count is direct evidence thatthe war is lost. Then you tell the same enemy that all they need to dois kill more civilians and wait, kill more civilians and wait, kill more civilians and wait.” - First Sergeant Steven G. Cotton

“I am an American soldier, and I have one last thing to say in defense of the “Anti-War” mindset. It is contradictory to say you support the troops, but de-construct the mission. Troops at war live the mission, and at times they die for the mission. When you deconstruct, undermine, underwrite, and sharp shoot our purpose, you deconstruct, undermine, underwrite, and sharp shoot us. We testify to the hope that by protecting young constitutional democracies abroad, we can stand worthy before our forebears who provided the same for us. I see you as utterly and completely a demoralizing agent, if you agree that enough carnage, enough explosives set among innocents, enough kidnapping and torture of young sons from their homes offsets the last full devotion of thousands of American men and women; those who died trying to defend an honorable and true idea: a free and represented Iraq and Afghanistan.” - Staff Sergeant Mark J. Anderson

"Everything we do good, no matter whether it's helping a little kid or building a new school, the public affairs sends out the message that the media doesn't pick up on. How do we win the propaganda war?" – Unnamed soldier to then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on his visit to Iraq Christmas 2004.

“I was in the Army some years ago and maintained close contact with many friends who made a career of military service. Naturally, I had an interest in what was happening in Iraq–I had friends in harm’s way. But what spurred me to drop what I was doing, get on a plane and fly halfway around the world, to a war zone, was a growing sense that what I was seeing reported on television, as well as in newspapers and magazines, was inconsistent with the reality my friends were describing. I wanted to see the truth, first hand, for myself.” - Former Green Beret and Present Embedded Blogger Michael Yon

There’s more. Much more. But you get the picture.

Given the number of “Support Our Troops” magnets one sees on any given day, one has to believe that were the American people fully aware of the extent of these sentiments among the troops, the more receptive they would be to the incessant caterwauling of we right wing nut jobs about the dangers of Lefty media bias. But how will they ever know?

Somewhere, General Giap is smiling… as are the Islamaniacs.

What You Can Do
Despair not my compatriot patriots, for we exist in a new era. Gone are the days where by mere shrewdly-timed editorial or clever juxtaposition of image and sound bite can the mainstream media alter the course of public sentiment, and ultimately history.

The difference is you and I. Via Al Gore’s internet, citizen journalists – left and right – have had profound impact on political and cultural discourse the world over. From hoax to hot lead and confirmation of both, we the great unwashed unschooled journalists of the world are daily running circles around institutional media. This de facto deregulation of information is an excellent thing. The free market of ideas is once again truly free. With freedom, as always however, comes responsibility; responsibility to report and report truthfully. If you believe media imbalance is having a detrimental/disastrous affect on Western Civilization’s efforts to eradicate this latest strain of tyranny – Islamo-Fascism, (and if you’ve read this far I can’t imagine you don’t) it is time to mobilize.

An excellent place to begin – and the inspiration for our Information Warrior Virtual Bootcamp - is the book, The Troops Need You, America! Here, author Major Eric Egland (Reserve) employs his experience as a soldier in Iraq, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan as well as his operational and analytical work in defeating terrorism, narcotics trafficking, and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to detail six practical areas of focus through which civilians can genuinely impact the war effort for the better.

For our purposes here, I shall concentrate on Step 6 of Major Egland’s book, “Communication.” Here he recommends, “accept the realities of warfare in the media age by decentralizing the sharing of information with the media and the public.” In other words, FIND THE STORIES, SHARE THE STORIES! Rather than merely whine about media bias, Major Egland recommends we proactively seek the stories from the front the established media is not reporting – for whatever reason (see entirety of the above) - and “broadcast” them ourselves.

How? E-mail, blog, letters to editors, reporters and columnists; letters to representatives; conversation, bloody smoke signals – whatever you can think of.

Where does one find such stories? Behold - for your truth-spreading pleasure, we present the following: Your Information Warrior Arsenal.

WORD FROM THE TROOPS
Troop blogs: Web logs by soldiers active and inactive and their immediate family members. Some fascinating; some mundane; most pro-war, some anti-war, some bloody strange; all providing perspective direct from the men and women putting their all on the line. http://www.milblogging.net/

Dawn patrol: A daily roundup of information regarding the War on Terror and more from Milblogs (the above) as well as other sources world wide. http://www.mudvillegazette.com/

Troop talk radio and Troop talk radio blog: Vehicles for the voices of our men and women in uniform to be heard and appreciated. http://www.trooptalkradio.com/, http://trooptalkradioblog.com/

STORIES FROM THE FRONTLINES

Heroic journalism need not be an oxymoron. Here then is your proof.

http://michaelyon-online.com/

http://billroggio.com/

http://jeffemanuel.blogspot.com/2007/04/reporting-from-iraq.html

STORIES FROM INDEPENDENT WEBSITES
Black Five: Former Paratrooper and Army Officer, Matthew Currier Burden started this blog upon learning of the valorous sacrifice of his friend which was subsequently NOT reported by the journalist whose life he saved. Need we say more? http://www.blackfive.net/

Home of Heroes: Thorough listing of stories and awards for extraordinary valor in the War of Terror. http://www.homeofheroes.com/valor/02_wot/index.html

Project Hero: An ongoing attempt to highlight the valor of our military as they fight in both Iraq and Afghanistan. http://www.qando.net/Details.aspx?Entry=3448

Patriot Man: Saluting the brave. Remembering the sacrifice. http://www.patriotman.com/?WSCam=enhanced+patriotman&WSEvt=enhanced+patriotman

Blogs of War: Collection of numerous blogs related to the War on Terror. (Scroll down blog homepage for list) http://www.blogsofwar.com/

STORIES FROM OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT SOURCES

Information routinely dismissed as propaganda by the reputable media. YOU be the judge!

Department of Defense: News about the troops on the frontlines of the Global War on Terror. http://www.defendamerica.mil/

United States Central Command: Latest news releases http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom2/Lists/Press%20Releases/Current%20Releases.aspx

STORIES FROM NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY WEBSITES
Counter Terrorism Blog: a unique, multi-expert blog dedicated to providing a one-stop gateway to the counterterrorism community.

http://counterterrorismblog.org/newslinks/2007/05/#019107

Center for Security Policy: A non-profit organization that informs the debate and ensures effective action on vital national security issues. http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/

MEDIA WATCHDOGS
Media Research Center: On October 1, 1987, a group of young determined conservatives set out to not only prove — through sound scientific research — that liberal bias in the media does exist and undermines traditional American values, but also to neutralize its impact on the American political scene. What they launched that fall is the now acclaimed Media Research Center (MRC). http://www.mrc.org/

Accuracy in Media: A non-profit, grassroots citizen watchdog of the news media that critiques botched and bungled news stories and sets the record straight on important issues that have received slanted coverage. http://www.aim.org/

Middle East Media Research Institute: Timely translations of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish media, as well as original analysis of political, ideological, intellectual, social, cultural, and religious trends in the Middle East. http://www.memri.org/

MYTH BUSTERS

Read something that just doesn’t ring quite true? Look to see if you don’t find “the rest of the story” on one of these.

News Busters: Exposing and combating media bias. http://www.newsbusters.org/

Myth Busters: Simply click on the liberal myths listed and read their debunking. http://www.myheritage.org/Issues/MythBusters/MythBusters.asp

Snopes: Excellent B.S. detector for strange news stories, misinformation, fallacies, rumors, urban legends, old wives' tales, celebrity gossip… in other words, the mainstream media. http://www.snopes.com/

Conservapedia: As Wikipedia falls increasingly into dubious repute, best to check your references here. A bit green, but promising. http://www.conservapedia.com/Main_Page

ACCESS TO MAINSTREAM MEDIA DECISION MAKERS
Media Contacts and Addresses: http://www.mrc.org/MediaAddresses/mediaaddresses.asp

ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES
House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Senate: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

SEARCH ENGINE

For the widest breadth of resources regarding ANY given topic, forget Google. Dogpile (meta search engine) is the only way to go! http://www.dogpile.com/

RECOMMENDED READING
The Troops Need You, America! http://www.troopsneedyou.com/

Fighting the War of Ideas Like a Real War http://jmw.typepad.com/political_warfare/2007/04/war_of_ideas_st.html

The Blog of War: Front-Line Dispatches from Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743294181/bookstorenow600-20

The Media vs. The War on Terror: How ABC, CBS, and NBC Attack America’s Terror-Fighting Tactics as Dangerous, Abusive and Illegal http://www.mrc.org/SpecialReports/2006/sum/sum090806.asp

When you find compelling stories, e-mail them to like-minded acquaintances. Encourage them to spread the word, emphasizing that this particular story received: A. Insufficient, B. Little, C. NO coverage in the mainstream press. (You may certainly forward them to any Lefty acquaintances you may have, but know they will likely dismiss all as ne0-con hogwash.)
If the story concerns soldiers or events from your home state or town, be sure to communicate it to your local media outlets , ever ravenous for that “local angle.”

In addition, pass any and all such stories on to national news media. Virtually all can be accessed via the “media contacts and addresses” link above. Your House and Senate representatives – Republican or Democrat – could do well with a bit of reminding about what is right with United States’ national security efforts as well. If those in the media and government you contact inform you they are aware of these stories already, no matter. What is most important is that they know we are watching!

Remember, always be polite, respectful, and dignified in your correspondence. We are not Lefties. Let’s not act like them, no matter how angry or indignant we may feel about all this.

In Conclusion
In his brilliant analysis of the media delivered before Reuters, 12, June 2007, outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair observed,

“The reality is that as a result of the changing context in which 21st Century communications operates, the media are facing a hugely more intense form of competition than anything they have ever experienced before. They are not actually the masters of this change, they're in many ways the victims. The result, however, is a media that increasingly and to a dangerous degree is driven by "impact". Impact is what matters. It is all that can distinguish, can rise above the clamour, can get noticed. Impact gives competitive edge. Of course the accuracy of a story counts. But it is often secondary to impact.

It is this necessary devotion to impact that is unravelling standards, driving them down, making the diversity of the media not the strength it should be but an impulsion towards sensation above all else. …The audience needs to be arrested, held and their emotions engaged. Something that is interesting is less powerful than something that makes you angry or shocked. The consequences of this are acute. First, scandal or controversy beats ordinary reporting hands down. News is rarely news unless it generates heat as much as or more than light.”

He concluded…

“I do believe this relationship between public life and media is now damaged in a manner that requires repair. The damage saps the country's confidence and self-belief; it undermines its assessment of itself, its institutions; and above all, it reduces our capacity to take the right decisions, in the right spirit for our future.”

Here, here Mr. Prime Minister! And make no mistake, the dynamic Mr. Blair describes holds as true for America as for the United Kingdom, and will prove equally disastrous for both should we – particularly in times of war – do nothing to counteract it.

Military Public Affairs Officers are doing all they can. But legal parameters, protocols, and presumptions of propagandism have rendered their efforts largely ineffective in the face of chronic anti-militarism running rampant through the post-Vietnam media.

It remains for us then – the Information Warriors – to remind the free world that our soldier’s in the Middle East do more than just die; much more. And for this we owe them far more than most of us will ever know; at the very least, a fair telling of their work, successes, and very genuine hopes for a better world.

Cheers,

Charlie

REAL news from the front

Memorial Day 2007

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

—Sir Winston Churchill, House of Commons, 20 August 1940.

You are Rosie’s Terrorists, those the Mediacracy routinely refers to merely as casualties, the troops they all “support,” those unwitting dupes implementing “Bush’s war.”

Here at Churchill’s Parrot and throughout the New Media, however, you are recognized as true heroes, the best of the West, this generation’s men and women of extraordinary valor who have taken it upon themselves to risk all in defense of human liberty.

For this we are deeply and eternally grateful, and commit ourselves to ensuring the whole story be told – regardless. In your honor, we promote this exquisite tribute to heroes in the war on terrorism.

Cheers,

Charlie

Today’s Lesson: No Retreat, No Surrender

(On April 30, we posted and mailed a Letter to the United States Senate wherein we posed the ever-relevant question, “What would Winston Do” in regards to the Senate’s vote on the Iraq war funding bill H.R. 1591. All 100 Senators were written.Two responded.Here’s our reply to one of them.)

My Dear Senator Feingold,

I greatly appreciate your responding to my letter regarding the Senate vote on H.R. 1591. While your response was in fact an all-purpose form letter, it was at least about the Iraq war and your position on it. It is that position which compels this follow-up missive. My direct responses to the points made in your letter can be found below.

First, however, I would like to say that your recent display of resilient optimism in the face of what some might characterize the staggering rejection of your proposal to cut off funding for the war in Iraq is to be commended. Although the Senate rejected your proposal by a margin of 67-29, you were quoted as saying "I don't know how anyone can possibly regard this as a setback. This is enormous progress. And anyone who tells you this wasn't a big vote in our direction has completely lost any sense of the history of this issue."

A big Churchill’s Parrot hurrah for you my good Senator; advocating real progress where virtually all others see only abject failure requires vision, commitment, and courage indeed. Such courage of conviction is distressingly rare these days, particularly among political creatures. In fact, I can think of only one other politician who so steadfastedly holds true to his original hope and vision amidst a tsunami of naysayers, ridicule, and cowardice. His name is George W. Bush.

Faced with an overwhelming case to be made for our invading the nation of Iraq (see my March 15, 2007 post, IRAQ INVASION ANNIVERSARY ONLINE REFRESHER COURSE for details … and details, and details…), Mr. Bush did what any responsible Commander in Chief would do in the post-9/11 realm into which we have all been violently thrust.

However, as it became apparent during the 2004 presidential election that Iraq was beginning to prove a bit of a political anvil – as wars lasting more than a few weeks tend to do in this Age of Mediacracy – the rats began leaping from the ship. I give you, Senator John Kerry.

You, on the other hand have been consistent from the start on this issue and - though entirely in the wrong direction - your consistency in the ever-changing winds of politics is undeniably honorable and heartening.

Regarding that position; in your April 2, 2007 editorial in Salon.com regarding your fund-cutting proposal, you commit a considerable portion comparing our present conundrum in Iraq to that of Somalia 1993. We always applaud the employment of historical context in political discourse, however, when doing so, one must remember to provide the FULL context. To begin with, the rationale, mode of entry, and manner of military conduct in Somalia 1993 was markedly different than that of Iraq 2003-present. More urgently, however, the consequences of our failure in and retreat from Somalia have proven – and continue to prove - disastrous. In fact, Mr. Osama Bin Laden himself, in his interview with ABC Reporter John Miller in 1998, declared that the United States’ retreat from Somalia encouraged future attacks on America.

“After our victory in Afghanistan (against the Soviet Union) and the defeat of the oppressors who had killed millions of Muslims, the legend about the invincibility of the superpowers vanished. Our boys no longer viewed America as a superpower. So, when they left Afghanistan, they went to Somalia and prepared themselves carefully for a long war. They had thought that the Americans were like the Russians, so they trained and prepared. They were stunned when they discovered how low was the morale of the American soldier. America had entered with 30,000 soldiers in addition to thousands of soldiers from different countries in the world. ... As I said, our boys were shocked by the low morale of the American soldier and they realized that the American soldier was just a paper tiger. He was unable to endure the strikes that were dealt to his army, so he fled …After a few blows, it (America) forgot all about those titles and rushed out of Somalia in shame and disgrace, dragging the bodies of its soldiers. America stopped calling itself world leader and master of the new world order, and its politicians realized that those titles were too big for them and that they were unworthy of them. I was in Sudan when this happened. I was very happy to learn of that great defeat that America suffered, so was every Muslim.”

Mr. Bin Laden also cites our actions in Somalia in his Letter to America dated November 24, 2002, wherein he attempts to answer the question, “Why do we fight you?”

(Incidentally, in this letter, Mr. Bin Laden credits American military actions in Iraq and U.N. sanctions against Iraq – all Pre-Bush mind you - as contributing to the “justification” for jihad. Apparently no one has informed Mr. Bin Laden that there is no connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda?) (Oh yes… he also makes mention of “President Clinton's immoral acts committed in the official Oval office” proving most distressing to devout Muslims and, thus, evidently compelling them to fly planes into buildings … but I digress.)

Here we might also note the United States’ retreat from Vietnam proves equally inspiring to jihadi-wingbats as reiterated in this “hang in there big fella" letter from to al- Zawahiri to al- Zarqawi, wherein he writes:

"The aftermath of the collapse of American power in Vietnam -- and how they ran and left their agents -- is noteworthy."

Let us also recall that for the people of South Vietnam, the U.S. leaving them to face the North on their own was hardly a good thing.

Now then, to your letter. It follows, in its entirety, with my point-by-point responses interspersed in bold.

May 16, 2007

Dear Mr. Charlie Parrot

Thank you for contacting me regarding the war in Iraq. The pleasure was all mine.

I appreciate hearing from you about one of the most important issues facing our country today. Agreed

I strongly support our troops who have courageously answered the call to service Bully for you! but I remain deeply concerned that the President's policies in Iraq are undermining our top national security priority: fighting al Qaeda and its affiliates. Actually my dear Senator Feingold, with all due respect, the United States’ top national security priority is fighting and eradicating Islamic Radicalism of which al Qaeda is a major part, but by no means the whole. Thus we have launched a multi-tiered strategy involving diplomatic, financial, intelligence, and military operations on numerous fronts around the world with unprecedented international cooperation. Prior to September 11, 2001, (i.e. the Clinton Administration) the top national security priority for the U.S. was Iraq; not as a conventional military threat, but as a state sponsor supplying funds, conventional weapons, and yes WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION to any of the numerous Islamic radical groups - of which al Qaeda is but one - who have sworn death, destruction, and mayhem to America, Israel, et al.

By the by, who exactly do you think we are fighting in Iraq? The Iraqi Son’s of Liberty? See here, and here , and here ( let me know if you’d like more.)

In October 2002, I voted against the resolution authorizing the President to use force in Iraq because I questioned the shifting justifications for this mission and feared that it would weaken our capacity to combat terrorism. These must be awfully shifty shifting justifications because, try as I might, I cannot seem to find them. Please point out to me what is shifting here or here. Since the war began, I have repeatedly pressed the Administration to provide a clear strategy for success in Iraq and the Administration has provided that strategy again and again and again and again, and again and a strategy for defeating the global terrorist networks that threaten the United States. For this you can look here or here or virtually any Conservative blog you can find (such as, for instance, www.churchillsparrot.com ) or simply await the New York Times’ next devastating revelation about the United States’ attempts to gain the upper hand in the global war on terror.

Unfortunately, the Administration continues to pursue a misguided and open-ended military mission in Iraq that has diverted resources and attention from other places around the world where terrorist networks that threaten the U.S. are operating. Yes such as Greensburg, Kansas; New Orleans; or Fort Dix, New Jersey.

I am deeply concerned by the President's decision in January to increase troop levels in Iraq, which ignores the wishes of the American people and members of both parties. Unless, of course, it works, in which case everyone will support it. Courageous lot. In the meantime I stand with this man, and this man, and this man, among others. We must do what must be done to prevail.

I am working to bring an end to our involvement in this war. Perchance does this “end” for which you are working have anything to do with attempting to achieve “victory?” I recently introduced legislation with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and eight other Senators to safely redeploy United States troops from Iraq. To where precisely? Our bill would require the President to begin redeploying troops within 120 days and would require redeployment to be completed by March 31, 2008, with three narrow exceptions. Splendid. Gunpoint conversions, mass torture, and beheadings begin April 1, 2008 9:00 am sharp!

You may also be interested to know that on April 26, 2007, I voted for H.R. 1591, the fiscal year 2007 emergency supplemental bill. Quite. I was pleased that this bill included binding language to effectively end the current misguided military mission in Iraq by requiring the President to begin redeploying U.S. troops from Iraq, and am disappointed that on May 1, 2007, the President vetoed this bill. But not nearly so disappointed as this lot.

I encourage you to visit my website for a more detailed account of my work on Iraq at <http://www.feingold.senate.gov/>. Will do.

I am also working hard to help ensure effective oversight and accountability for reconstruction efforts in Iraq. Splendid. The economic costs of this war have been staggering, and I am dismayed that we are running up debts to pay for this war that the next generation of Americans will be called upon to pay. Yes, after all, Americans only this year finished paying for the Spanish-American War! I continue to push for accountability and transparency in the use of taxpayer money in Iraq. You have our full support in this matter! I led efforts to create and then extend the life of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR), whose office is charged with making sure that U.S. reconstruction dollars in Iraq are not subject to waste, fraud or abuse. Then might I suggest you begin your investigations here.

As a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Senate Committee on the Budget, I will continue to work to end our involvement in this war. Yes well that will make it easer for al-Qaeda, Iran, and Syria to tidy up the mess we’ve made, eh? Thanks again for contacting me about this extremely important issue. I look forward to hearing from you in the future. I’m sure you do.

Sincerely,

Russell D. Feingold

United States Senator

If you wish to contact me again, please visit http://feingold.senate.gov/contact.html.

Senator Feingold, your no retreat no surrender disposition is truly admirable. We need more men and women like you in positions of leadership. We wish most earnestly, however, that you would apply that disposition less towards discrediting the Bush Administration, and more towards efforts to protect and preserve the Free World.

Cheers,

Charlie

Open Proposal to Children’s Television Producers

My Dear Children’s Television Producers,

By now I’m sure you are quite familiar with your Palestinian colleague’s ingenious production Tomorrow’s Pioneers (a.k.a. The Pioneers of Tomorrow) featuring a monstrous yet strangely familiar mouse named Farfur and his young sidekick Saraa teaching children about the importance of drinking milk, daily prayer, martyrdom, and Islamic dominion over the world.

Some highlights:

Farfur: "Sanabel, what will you do for the sake of Al-Aqsa Mosque? How will you sacrifice your soul for the sake of Al-Aqsa"?

Sanabel: "I will shoot… We will annihilate the Jews … I will commit martyrdom."

Magical!

While it was originally reported that the program was to be cancelled, the Al -Aqsa Satellite TV Channel is now vehemently defending the show and denouncing its critics. Producers cite the program’s noble message which aims to produce a believing generation that will bear the noble values of Islam and spread goodness and justice in Palestine and the world.

Other than the shooting, annihilating Jews, and advocacy of martyrdom, I submit that these producers are onto something - a sincere desire to instill the values of a culture into its future leaders – and that it is high time we in the West do the same.

Thus I propose to you, "Charlie the Parrot’s Finest Hour" – a one-half hour program full of fun, singing, dancing, and exegesis of the texts, philosophies, and events that are the foundation of Western Civilization. The kiddie-winkies will LOVE it!

Hosted by, of course, yours truly - Winston Churchill’s lovable 107 year-old parrot - the program would consist of my cavorting and frolicking with a cavalcade of enchanting characters, all the while subtly instilling in our youthful viewers that strict adherence to the concepts of limited government, individual liberty, free enterprise, and Judeo-Christian values constitute mankind’s only hope of maintaining a society that has anything to do with respect for human dignity.

The highlight of each episode, however, would be a visit from "Uncle Winston", an actor (classically trained of course) made-up to play the part of Prime Minister Churchill Himself and declaiming some of His quotes most inspiring to the future leaders of the free world:

"We have not journeyed across the centuries, across the oceans, across the mountains, across the prairies, because we are made of sugar candy."

***
"We have surmounted all the perils and endured all the agonies of the past. We shall provide against and thus prevail over the dangers and problems of the future, withhold no sacrifice, grudge no toil, seek no sordid gain, fear no foe. All will be well. We have, I believe, within us the life-strength and guiding light by which the tormented world around us may find the harbour of safety, after a storm-beaten voyage."

***

"This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

And more!

Why it practically writes itself! And what child wouldn’t delight in hearing – many for the first time – that their’s is a civilization based, not upon racism and greed as they are instructed in school, but rather upon the notion that all men are created equal and that their lives, liberty, and pursuit of happiness are rights granted them by God which no human being has the right to take away from them.

I’m sure you’ll agree it is worth wedging this little gem within your agendas, right between The Teletubbies and Buster’s daily celebrations of the joys of diversity, alternative lifestyles, and tolerance of pretty much anything at all.

Those who consider themselves our enemies are preparing their children to fight for what they believe in. What are we teaching our children?

Cheers,

Charlie

(For further enquiries regarding our proposed production of "Charlie the Parrot’s Finest Hour" please contact my manager, Alquastria Loppingshears at: Alquastria.Loppingshears@Loppingshearspublicrelations/mediacontact~appearances/churchills.parrot//contract13582.placement/net

Lost Weekend

Gadding about with Bushie and HRM Lizzy 2, we’ve been somewhat remiss in our posting duties. Our apologies to our million + readers. I had hoped, however, that perhaps slowing my prolificacy to the dullard’s pace typically adopted by standard Mediacracy would enable our esteemed U.S. Senators the time necessary to read, comprehend, and respond to my letter delivered and posted April 30. But alas – silence. Too important to respond to a centenarian British parrot eh, Senator? Bloody wankers!

Nevertheless, a wondrous time was had by all and while largely ceremonial and useless – as are most things involving royalty – Lizzy’s visit and toast to U.S. and U.K. unity
was an important transaction, fortifying the Special Relationship which has been and will likely be the only thing that keeps the scimitar of Islamofacism from the world’s otherwise defenseless throat.

Naturally the Mediacracy took the opportunity to highlight the fact that, among humans who take polls, Bushie’s approval ratings are now lower than those of the Unibomber, while Her Royal Majesty continues to enjoy ratings well over 80%.

What can we deduce from this? After all, the Queen – with all due respect – is purely a figurehead with no real authority in any capacity whatsoever, and therefore can make no decisions nor take any actions of consequence. Thus, she is universally adored. Bushie, by contrast, has real authority and can take real action. He has. And ever since, his approval ratings have been in a tail spin.

Some claim this as evidence of Bushie’s “disconnectedness with the American people.” Others – Former New York Mayor Rudolf Giuliani among them – see it as courageous leadership in a time of peril despite political consequence.

Such leadership has proven Western Civilization’s only salvation before. One would hope, this time around, we all might have learned a little something from the past. But – oh look, the Queen!

Cheers,

Charlie