CALIFORNIA YANKEE

Friends of John Kerry

The Boston Globe reports that John Kerry plans to set up a federal campaign committee, Friends of John Kerry, which would allow him to seek a fifth term in the US Senate in 2008 while not precluding another run for president that year.

The Committee will be a vehicle for fund-raising for either campaign.

According to the Globe, Kerry transferred all the money from his previous committee to his presidential campaign committee after retaining his Senate seat in 2002 and Kerry could do the same should he decide against seeking reelection in favor of a second bid for the presidency.

Or Kerry could break new ground and run for both President and Senate. This would go beyond the precedent set by Lyndon Johnson in 1960, Lloyd Bentsen in 1988, and Joe Lieberman in 2000 who all ran for the vice presidency and the U.S. Senate simultaneously.

Is running for two offices at the same time just a Democratic thing?

Al-Qaeda Called To Action In Afghanistan

Agence France-Presse reports that Major General Eric Olson, second in command of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, says that al-Qaeda is believed to have called its followers to action in response to the Afghan election:

"I think there now is a call out to do something to reverse the momentum that right now is going in the direction of freely elected governments," Olson said in an interview here.

According to AFP, U.S. intelligence has found evidence of Taliban anger and disarray because of the success of the elections, which drew millions of Afghans to the polls despite the threat of insurgent attacks:

Olson said "there is a lot of recrimination and finger pointing about the failure to get something going, some kind of spectacular event."

"There are some groups that splintered off from the mainstream of the Taliban. They are going to try their own way," he said.

On the other end of the spectrum we've had Taliban fighters come to us, and tell us that they are through, they want to come over and they will put down their arms and stop fighting.

Karzai's inauguration on December 7 and parliamentary elections targeted for early April offer the Taliban and al-Qaeda tempting targets.

This is further evidence of the success of our efforts and strategy to bring freedom and democracy to the greater Middle East.

Declaration Of Independence Banned

Reuters reports that Steven Williams, a fifth-grade teacher at Stevens Creek School in Cupertino, California, has been barred from giving students historical American documents that refer to God, including the Declaration of Independence.

Williams, sued for discrimination on Monday, claiming he had been singled out for censorship by principal Patricia Vidmar because he is a Christian and alleging his rights to free speech:

"It's a fact of American history that our founders were religious men, and to hide this fact from young fifth-graders in the name of political correctness is outrageous and shameful," said Williams' attorney, Terry Thompson.

"Williams wants to teach his students the true history of our country," he said. "There is nothing in the Establishment Clause (of the U.S. Constitution) that prohibits a teacher from showing students the Declaration of Independence."

According to Reuters, Williams asserts in the lawsuit that since May he has been required to submit all of his lesson plans and supplemental handouts to Vidmar for approval, and that the principal will not permit him to use any that contain references to God or Christianity:

Among the materials she has rejected, according to Williams, are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, George Washington's journal, John Adams' diary, Samuel Adams' "The Rights of the Colonists" and William Penn's "The Frame of Government of Pennsylvania."

What is so hard about this? The constitution provides for freedom "of" religion, not freedom "from" religion. How could anyone, let alone an educator, accept the looney idea that there is anything wrong with providing students with a copy of one of the most important American historical documents. It scares me to death that the people allowed to supervise the education of our children could be so dense.

UPDATE: Thursday the Oakland Tribune reported on this story and included comments from Williams:

"I've never even tried to hint the kids need to believe this or this is the right religion to believe," Williams told the Oakland Tribune on Wednesday. "I'm just trying to teach history."

[. . .]

Williams said he thinks society has become hypersensitive to any reference of Christianity in the public arena, especially schools. He said he has taught students about Ramadan and Kwanzaa and been applauded for those lessons.

People are like, Oh good, that's diversity,' he said. As soon as Christianity is involved, it's separation of church and state.

[. . .]

Williams said he wants to bring attention to how sensitive society has become to religious references, even when it comes to American history.

He added he has only respect for Vidmar and the staff at Stevens Creek.

I really feel blessed to be there, he added.

Williams' attorney, Terry Thompson of the Alliance Defense Fund, said:

It is a matter of history that the founders were "men of deep religious faith," Thompson said. "To hide this fact from young fifth-grade students is shameful and outrageous. We're not founded by the Boston agnostic club."

This story struck a nerve in the blogosphere.

At Power Line, Hindrocket posts that the Trunk has been saying for a while that it is only a matter of time until the Constitution is held to be unconstitutional.

At Wizbang, Kevin Aylward posts that now that they've banned all the holidays, they're on to the history books.

At Blogs for Bush, Matt Margolis posts that Our Founding Fathers must be rolling over in their graves.

At Young Pundit, Willis posts that this has nothing to do with "separation of church and state," it's blatant anti-Christian bias.

At Truth, Lies & Common Sense, Walt Anthony posts that every culture in this land is sacred and deserves the utmost respect except for the culture we all share that enabled this great land to be formed.

The Cassandra Page ties this story to a post about Islamic methods for spreading their religion in American public schools. "Leading children to the slaughter" is an interesting post.

At The Education Wonks, Ed posts that this may be one of the worst examples of Political Correctism Run Amok in recent years. Ed's post also stated he would like to withhold judgment until we get a chance to personally speak with school representatives and get their side of the story. Ed will need a lot of luck in that effort because according to the Tribune, District officials would not comment on the lawsuit, saying only they received it and referred it to their attorneys.

At Caerdroia, Jeff posts this would make teaching American History a little difficult

At Right Thinking from the Left Coast, Lee posts that fundamentalist secularism is just as big an evil as fundamentalist Islam.

At Ramblings' Journal, Michael King posts the very audacity to eliminate the Declaration of Independance from a school curriculum is unconscionable.

At In Search Of Utopia, David wonders where our country is going.

Woody's Woundup posts that education administrators live in mortal fear of not being considered "politically correct."

Who Tends the Fires wonders are we just going to erase our entire history and go about in "blissful" ignorance?

At rightpundit, Gary posts that unfortunately lawsuits have become the only way for conscientious teachers and parents to force school administrators to actually teach history the way it happened instead of some version sanitized of all references to the religious beliefs of historical figures

Flopping Aces posts that banning important parts of our history to schoolchildren just makes his blood boil.

UPDATE II: A number of blogs have linked to Smoking Gun for a copy of the complaint filed on behalf of Williams and staring the law suit. The smoking gun only has the first 8 pages of the complaint. The entire 16 page complaint is available (as a PDF) here.

UPDATE III: At Power Line, Big Trunk posts that Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defense Fund has written them advising:

We have checked out the facts that we alleged in the complaint, and I believe them to be true. Of course, the School District has not responded yet with its side of the story. But from my direct investigation, this does seem like a situation where a school official thinks that a serious Christian teacher cannot be trusted to use "religious" materials in the classroom in a professional and Constitutional way.

[. . .]

As you know, the Supreme Court has ruled that religious materials can be used in public schools to teach history, literature, etc. What a deficient education students receive if school officials buckle under to pressure from secular activists to pluck public institutions bare of any mention of God. The Establishment Clause is no mandate for a search and destroy mission against all things religious.

Lorence is scheduled to appear on Hannity and Colmes Monday night to talk about the Declaration of Independence case.

Fallujah Insurgent Leaders Were Iraqi

The Associated Press reports the insurgent's commanders in Fallujah were an electrician and a mosque preacher, both natives of the community:

After U.S. Marines lifted the siege of Fallujah last April, central government control collapsed. That enabled men like Hadid, an electrician who lived with his mother, and al-Janabi, a local imam and member of an important local clan, to emerge as powerbrokers until the Marines took the city back this month.

[. . .]

Those who knew him said Hadid came from a lower middle class Fallujah family. Since his father died a few years ago, Hadid had lived with his mother in the family home in the city's al-Moatasim area until the fighting in April. He's married but without children.

About two months ago, one of Hadid's brothers and a nephew were killed by a U.S. airstrike that also injured several other family members, the neighbor said. Hadid escaped with a minor injury, he said.

People who know Hadid differ over the depth and nature of his religious persuasion. Some said he is a Salafi, a conservative sect whose members try to emulate the appearance and behavior of Islam's 7th century prophet, Muhammad. Others said he is a Wahhabi, the austere and radical brand of Islam dominant in Saudi Arabia.

Al-Janabi, on the other hand, is a Sufi, a mystical version of the faith that seeks closeness to God through the cleansing of one's soul. Sufis abhor violence, but al-Janabi found in Hadid a like-minded partner as Salafis and Wahhabis began to prevail over Sufis in Fallujah.

I don't know what to make of this development.

Republican Rossi Wins Washington's Recount

The Associated Press reports that Republican Dino Rossi beat Democrat Christine Gregoire by just 42 votes in the recount for Washington governor.

Rossi won the original tally, but his 261-vote margin triggered an automatic recount.

Don't expect Democrat Gregoire to concede anytime soon. Democrats made it clear they would seek a hand recount in at least part of the state even before it was known that the result was so close.

And some people don't think their vote matters.

Ukraine's Election Crisis

Reuters reports that signs of compromise emerge in Ukraine. If true, it is none too soon:

Ukraine's political crisis is appearing to ease with both presidential candidates in a disputed election offering ways out of their bitter feud that has taken the country to the brink of violent conflict.

Before Ukrainian authorities formally declared Moscow-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich was the winner, both Yushchenko and Yanukovich made statements easing the crisis.

First Yushchenko, said he is open to a rerun of the vote that showed he lost to the prime minister. Then Yanukovich hinted that he too was open to compromise saying he was not interested in official results that handed him a fake victory.

"I need no fictitious victory, a result which could lead to violence and victims. No position of authority, no matter how important, is worth a single human life."

Thank goodness the grownups showed up.

Shortly before Yanukovich was declared the winner Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder urged Ukraine to solve its political crisis through legal means.

That came after European Union threatened that there would be economic consequences for Ukraine if Ukraine does not review the disputed elections.

Ukraine's Supreme Court rejected Yushchenko's complaint about election irregularities. That development seem to douse hope of a peaceful resolution.

Earlier today things looked grim. Mass protests have been ongoing in Kiev for three days. There were reports of plans to use force, prompting Ukrainian Defense Minister Kuzmuk to say there would be no movement of troops because of the unrest and appealing to the army to keep calm.

Ukraine is deeply divided along ethnic, geographic, and historical lines. According to MSNBC election results split the country along territorial lines, with the north and west largely supporting Yushchenko while the south and east backed Yanukovych.

An estimated 20 percent of Ukraine's 47 million population are ethnic Russians. Ukraine, which was first absorbed by Russia in the 18th century was the second-most important Soviet Union after Russia, and remains heavily dependent on Russia for energy.

Western and Northern Ukraine lean more toward Europe and the West, like Yushchenko.

Ukraine's geographic situation makes the situation all the more dangerous. The New York Times reported about Ukraine's election crisis in cold war terms, calling the situation a "cold-war-style proxy confrontation:"

Not since NATO's war in Kosovo, or perhaps the cold war itself, have the political differences between Russia and the West appeared so starkly as they have in Ukraine's disputed presidential election.

It is not just that Russia and President Vladimir V. Putin himself have come out so strongly for the candidate promising closer relations with Moscow, Viktor F. Yanukovich, while Europe and the United States are supporting Viktor A. Yushchenko, albeit more subtly.

It is that both sides - rivals in what the United Financial Group, a Moscow investment banking company, calls "a cold-war-style proxy confrontation" - have staked out diametrically opposed views of what unfolded in Ukraine.

Mr. Putin, through a Kremlin spokesman, called "open and honest" an election that the European Union, the United States and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called everything but that.

The Washington Post saw the U.S. engaged in a balancing act seeking to support Ukrainian demonstrators without risking an open break with Russian President Vladimir Putin:

"This is not a U.S.-Russia issue," an administration official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of sensitive diplomacy. "It is not an East-West issue." He said that a fully democratic Ukraine would have to have close relations with Russia, no matter who wins the presidency.

I often wonder if it wouldn’t be better if Condoleezza Rice was a China expert. But at times like these, it's good to have a National Security Advisor and Secretary of State designate who is recognized as a Russia expert.

Dan Rather To Leave CBS Evening News

Reuters reports that CBS' Dan Rather will resign in March as the CBS network's top news anchor:

"I have decided to leave the CBS Evening News on March 9, 2005," Rather said in a statement issued by CBS.

The Reuter's article noted the RatherGate story that stained the credibility of both Rather and CBS:

But in an enormous blow to its credibility, CBS News in September said it had been deliberately misled over the authenticity of documents it aired in a story challenging Bush's military service.

"Based on what we now know, CBS News cannot prove that the documents are authentic, which is the only acceptable journalistic standard to justify using them in a report," CBS News said in a statement at that time.

Rather, who reported the story, was forced to apologize on national television.

According to the CBS report about Rather's departure, he is only leaving the "CBS Evening News:"

Rather will continue to work full-time at CBS News as a correspondent for both editions of 60 Minutes, as well as on other assignments for the news division.

CBS deserves little credit for acknowledging that Rather came under fire for his bias against President Bush:

Rather, 73, has come under fire for his 60 Minutes report on President Bush's service in the National Guard during the Vietnam War. The report relied on documents that cast Mr. Bush's service in a negative light. Critics charged that the documents were forgeries, and CBS News was unable to vouch for their authenticity. An independent panel is now investigating the matter.

CBS's response to Rather's shoddy attempt to influence the presidential election has been and continues to be woefully inadequate.

Rather said the decision to "retire" was not influenced by the National Guard story:

He said the purpose of announcing his decision now - prior to the release of a report on the story by an outside panel - was to separate the two events.

Rather's denial that his decision to retire is related to RatherGate and the comment about separating the announcement of rather's retirement from the release of the report suggests that the "independent" investigation may finally be nearing completion.

Any credibility CBS hoped to gain by the departure of Rather is more than lost by the unfathomable decision permitting Rather to continue to work for 60 Minutes. What possible rationale can there be top allow the completely discredited Rather to continue to be associated with anything CBS?

UPDATE: The New York Times reports that the "independent" investigation into RatherGate may be drawing to a close:

The inquiry's two panelists, Louis D. Boccardi, the former chief executive of The Associated Press, and Dick Thornburgh, a former United States attorney general, have interviewed dozens of people - from the highest echelons of CBS News to its rank and file, as well as outside it - and are expected to submit their report to senior network executives early next month. Among the central questions they are examining is why Mr. Rather, who anchored the segment, and Mary Mapes, the producer who shepherded it, were so convinced of the authenticity of four memorandums purportedly drawn from the personal files of Mr. Bush's Vietnam-era squadron commander.

At Power Line, Hindrocket posts that the way the Times poses the question assumes that Rather and Mapes were the victims of a hoax, not perpetrators of a hoax. I agree with Hindrocket that it is difficult to believe that they actually thought the documents were genuine.

At Wizbang, Paul posts that he will refrain from I'm joining mountains of bloggers, including yours truly, calling for Rather to leave 60 Minutes as well because Paul is sure Rather will only stay at 60 Minutes long enough to make it look like it was his decision to leave there as well.

Ninme posts that CBS' decision to allow Rather to remain on 60 Minutes is not exactly a ringing endorsement for journalistic honesty and transparency.

At Blogs For Bush, Matt Margolis rounds up some of the blogosphere's reaction.

Thank Anybody, Except God?

According to Fox News Maryland public school students are free to thank anyone they want while learning about Thanksgiving, as long as it's not God:

"We teach about Thanksgiving from a purely historical perspective, not from a religious perspective," said Charles Ridgell, St. Mary's County Public Schools curriculum and instruction director.

School administrators statewide agree, saying religion never coincides with how they teach Thanksgiving to students.

Religious tolerance and the lack of it is an important part of the history of the United States. To remain a society that is respectful and tolerant of all religions it is important that this aspect of our history is taught. How can you teach about the Pilgrims without teaching about religious persecution and tolerance?

The Pilgrims left England in search of religious freedom. They were very religious and that should not be ignored. Teaching about the Pilgrims and the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to teach about religious tolerance and effects of religious intolerance.

UPDATE: at Captain's Quarters, Captain Ed posts that the forces of political correctness threaten to turn us into a nation of historical illiterates. Amen

Iraq Debt Cut

Yesterday the Paris Club of 19 nations agreed to write-off 80 percent of the $38.9 Iraq owes its members. The New York Times reports that Iraq's debt will be forgiven in phases:

Under the plan announced Sunday, Paris Club members would immediately forgive 30 percent of their Iraqi debt and write off an additional 30 percent in 2005 once the International Monetary Fund has approved an economic reform program for Iraq. A final 20 percent would be canceled in 2008 provided Iraq has carried out the I.M.F. program. The remaining debt owed to Paris Club members is to be repaid over a 23-year period, with no principal or interest due for the next three years.

Reuters reports that the deal with the Paris Club nations was the easy part of Iraq's drive to resolve its massive debt problems:

Baghdad now faces the difficult task of resolving its differences with other creditors, such as Gulf States and private creditors, who account for about two-thirds of Iraq's $120 billion debt pile.

In addition to it"s $120 billion debt, Iraq is also saddled with reparation claims as well. After Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Iraq was asked to pay claims to corporations and individuals. Since 1991, the United Nations Compensation Commission has received some 2.6 million claims seeking total compensation of nearly $350 billion.

Iraq's exports are expected to be about $20 billion this year. That would make Iraq's debt about six times its exports. Countries are considered to be in trouble when their external debt level exceeds one-and-a-half times their annual exports. Iraq's debt is a very real and severe problem. Any reduction in what Iraq owes will enable Iraq to better encourage the investment necessary for its development.

At PoliBlog, Steven Taylor posts that even though the debt reduction announced yesterday is less than what was sought it is a major diplomatic success of the Bush administration. I couldn't agree more.

Support The Troops

The Defense Department has a new program, "America Supports You," to showcase America's support for the men and women of the armed forces and the many ways the country is expressing that support.

"America Supports You" not only provides information about how you can help show support for the troops, the program highlights actions taken by citizens and groups supporting the troops and is designed to gather information about the activities and programs Americans undertake to support for the troops.

American Forces Press Service reports that Charles Abell, Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, told reporters, "communicating America's support for service members and their families is a big morale booster for 'those who are fighting to defend our freedom' and communicates America's 'recognition and appreciation of the courage and commitment of those who serve.'"

Visit "America Supports You" and learn how to, or to share your efforts to, support our troops.

UPDATE: At Electric Venom, Kate has posted links to many programs that enable you to support the troops.