Nice find by Kate at "An Ol' Broad's Ramblings"

Kate from An Ol' Broad's Ramblings, discovered a great article and has posted it on her blog. It is entitled "Eagles vs Babies".

It is a very useful article when discussing embryonic stem cell research.

Check it out.

Dennis York's take on Gov. Doyle's stem cell research game

I have to admit, I do not spend a whole lot of time on Jim Doyle's campaign website. I probably should spend more time checking out what the governor is up to these days.

Fortunately, for us, Dennis York is keeping an eye on Governor Jim Doyle's campaign. He has recently discovered Jim Doyle's little game with stem cell research. It appears that Doyle is requesting a "personal story about how stem cell research affects you and your family".

Check out Dennis York's post. Here is a snippet-

It wonderful that the media complain about negative campaigns, yet they sit back and do nothing to actually investigate the veracity of the false claims made. They might want to put down their campaign finance reform pom-poms just long enough to cover the issues in a campaign, rather than covering polls, fundraising numbers, and who has the shinier new campaign bus.

What does Israel want?

It is quite easy to figure out what Israel wants from this battle with Hezbollah. They want to be safe.

Washington Post-

"We left Lebanon six years ago unilaterally and unconditionally and we were very happy to get out and never come back," he said. "We have no business or ambitions there. The only thing we want is to get Hezbollah out of southern Lebanon and live in security."

The US and worlwide media are confusing the issue more than necessary. The Israelis want to be safe and their government will do whatever they can to make that happen. The US media can sit back and judge all they want, but in the end- the Israeli government answers to the Israeli people. They do not answer to the UN, France or even Lebanon.

Has anyone seen "World Trade Center"?

Cal Thomas writes a great piece on this movie. I actually want to go and see it now.

I have a long list of favorite patriotic movies, including "Victory at Sea," "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "Sands of Iwo Jima," but Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" is right up there with the best of them. It is one of the greatest pro-American, pro-family, pro-faith, pro-male, flag-waving, God Bless America films you will ever see.

What? Oliver Stone, who hangs out with and praises Fidel Castro? Oliver Stone, who indulges in conspiracy theories and is a dues-paying member of the Hollywood left? Yes, THAT Oliver Stone.

"World Trade Center" is the story of five men who volunteered to enter the twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001 in their role as officers of the Port Authority Police Department (PAPD). Three of them died and two, Will Jimeno (played persuasively by Michael Pena) and Sergeant John McLoughlin (played magnificently by Nicolas Cage), were buried in the rubble. These are real men who love their wives and children and are not afraid to say so. They are religious men who pray without shame or reserve. In fact, Jesus makes an appearance in Jimeno's hallucination, carrying a bottle of water to quench his thirst). Treating faith as genuine and with respect has only recently made a comeback among filmmakers.

continued......

Meet Mark Green

I just received this email from a friend-

Are you past the point of disgust with Jim Doyle? Really wish you had a chance to meet and talk with the Republican challenger, Mark Green?

MARK GREEN’S CAMPAIGN FOR GOVERNOR WILL BE IN RACINE THIS SATURDAY!

Mark will be visiting Festival Hall and the grounds during Salmon-A-Rama from approximately 2:30 – 4:30 on July 22^nd.

Come and meet him, ask him your questions, help out at our Racine County Republican Party Booth (inside the air-conditioned comfort of Festival Hall) or walk around the grounds with Mark as he meets other Racine area residents.

And, did you know…THE SALMON-A-RAMA FESTIVAL IS FREE UNTIL 6 P.M.? So, bring the whole family, take in the festivities, and show your support for THE NEXTGOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN, CONGRESSMAN MARK GREEN!

Green for Wisconsin - P.O. Box 22366 - Green Bay, Wisconsin 54305 - 920-435-2006
http://www.votemarkgreen.com
Paid for by Green for Wisconsin, Rick Johnson, Treasurer

Finding the truth

It's a shame that Americans today, cannot just pick up a newspaper and expect to find the truth. Instead, Americans have to go looking for the truth.

For those looking for some truth, I found some.

Check out Ed Koch's article on the Israel vs. Hezbollah

It's long been said that when war comes, truth is the first casualty. War has come to Israel, Gaza and Lebanon. Let us remember the truth about how this war started.

In Gaza, Hamas terrorists dug a half-mile tunnel into Israel, killing two Israeli soldiers and taking one prisoner. The Israeli army responded by counter-attacking the Gaza Strip, which is now ruled by a Hamas government. Since its recent election to power, the Hamas government has not only refused to recognize the State of Israel, it has restated its goal of destroying Israel and replacing it with a single Islamic state running from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Hamas will not recognize any prior agreements made by Arafat with Israel. The Hamas regime has publicly endorsed the use of terror -- the killing of Israeli civilians in Israel -- to achieve its goals.

continued......

Wow- Kerry and Hezbollah????

Wow- it should be interesting where the following information leads. It could be a dead end. Then again, maybe not.

From today's Best of the Web Opinion Journal

Kerry and Hezbollah--II
Blogger "Bookworm" has more on the connections between the Kerry family and the terror outfit that styles itself the Party of God, or "Hezbollah":

In September 2004, there was a huge gathering of anti-American, anti-Israeli organizations in Beirut to attend a conference entitled "Where Next For The Global Anti-War And Anti-Globalization Movements? An International Strategy Meeting." The resulting manifesto, simultaneously turgid and strident, has as its primary goal attacking the U.S. war in Iraq. It's [sic] secondary goal is to challenge Israel's "occupation" of Palestinian lands. It's a nasty document, with a decidedly anti-American tone. What makes it interesting today is the identity of one of the organizations playing host to all these anti-American Leftist organizations: Hezbollah (identified on the last page as one of the Local Welcoming Committees). . . .

One of the participants from the United States was a group called United for Peace and Justice. Ordinarily, this would just be one of the icky little anti-American groups that America produces, along the lines of Code Pink : Women for Peace (which also attended this little American and Israel hatefest). What distinguishes United for Peace and Justice is that Teresa Kerry funds it. So, in 2004, a couple of months before Americans decided whether to put John Kerry in the White House, his wife's money was being used to fund one of the participants in a virulently anti-American meeting held in Beirut and hosted by Hezbollah. Once again, we have reason to be grateful that American voters put their money on George Bush.

To be clear, the money trail from Mrs. Kerry* to UPJ goes through several steps: According to the WorldNetDaily report linked above, her family foundation gives money to something called the Tides Foundation, which in turn gives to UPJ.

* The outspoken ketchup heiress and philanthropist, whose second (and current) husband by the way served in Vietnam for four months.

Democrat JoEllyn Storz tossed off of the ballot

In other election news- It appears that Representative Kerkman was correct. Democrat JoEllyn Storz did not collect the required amount of legal signatures to get on November's ballot.

The State Elections board agreed with Representative Kerkman and Storz has been removed from the ballot.

MJS reports-

Rep. Samantha Kerkman (R-Burlington) had challenged the signatures of Democratic opponent JoEllyn Storz of Kenosha. Kerkman alleged that Storz hadn't gathered the required 200 signatures when those that weren't from valid addresses in the district or had appeared on another candidate's nomination papers were removed.

State Elections Board

It appears that the Wisconsin still may have not complied with federal election laws. Why is the State Elections board having so much difficulty? There are federal election laws that Wisconsin is expected to adhere to.

Now the Justice Department is involved. Good!

Have Wisconsin election laws adhered to the Help America Vote Act?

MSJ-

Madison - In an attempt to settle a political battle about how Wisconsin will comply with federal voting regulations, the State Elections Board decided Wednesday to require those registering on election day to provide a driver's license number if they have one.

Those without their driver's licenses or the license numbers with them at the polls may cast a provisional ballot. They then would have to supply the number by the end of the day after the election, the board determined. Voters who haven't been issued driver's licenses would be able to show either state-issued ID cards or to provide the last four digits of their Social Security numbers.

Elections Board Executive Director Kevin Kennedy said the compromise would likely settle the dispute. He said the U.S. Department of Justice had proposed it as a way to resolve questions about Wisconsin's compliance with the Help America Vote Act, which requires voters to provide driver's license numbers when registering.

The board had earlier decided to allow people to register at the polls by supplying the last four digits of their Social Security numbers if they didn't have their driver's licenses with them or if they didn't know the numbers.

Republicans said the policy was too lax and could invite a federal lawsuit, but some thought voters' rights could be violated by a too-strict standard.

Those who had been pushing the board to adopt a stricter standard said the Elections Board had taken a positive step Wednesday toward balancing voters' rights with the need for tight election rules, while others still questioned whether the state had done enough to comply with federal law.

"This is a victory for the legal and legitimate voters of this state, and it's one additional small step toward restoring integrity to our election process," said Sen. Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan).

Wisconsin Republican Congressmen Jim Sensenbrenner and Mark Green, who is running against incumbent Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle for governor this fall, had urged the U.S. Department of Justice to review the board's earlier decision.

U.S. Department of Justice officials are willing to sue the state to ensure the federal law holds in the September primary and the November general elections, Kennedy has said.

In a statement, Green said the board's action Wednesday was a move in the right direction but he still had concerns that the rule didn't adhere to the Help America Vote Act.

"This rule remains unclear and in order to facilitate the integrity of elections in Wisconsin, the (Elections Board) should simply comply with HAVA and require a driver's license number without the provisional ballot exception," Green's statement says.

Cynthia Magnuson, spokeswoman for the federal Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, said the department had no comment on the Elections Board's decision.

Some board members who voted Wednesday to adopt the compromise policy said they were reluctant to do so and acknowledged the politics behind the controversy. In the end, they said, they wanted to avoid a lawsuit.

"Some voters' rights in Wisconsin are going to be eroded by this rule, whether that's one person in the fall election or thousands," said board member Carl Holborn of Milwaukee. "They were prodded and pushed by Mark Green to pursue this."

The Elections Board's rule now goes to the Legislature's Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules.

"It sounds like a big step in the right direction, and we'll see what the Justice Department has to say about it," said Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend), co-chairman of the committee.

The party of tolerance?

Democrats consider themselves the party of tolerance. Fred, from RealDebateWisconsin, shows us how very intolerant the "party of tolerance" has become.

I have confirmed from multiple sources Assembly candidate Tim Daley (D) had an offer from a local Racine County Democrat, one thrown out of office in Kurt Vlach's takeover, to become his campaign's Treasurer.

Daley denied his offer, not because of his qualifications but because the man was gay. Daley indicated he feared what it would look like to have an openly gay man on his campaign team. Frankly I have no idea what sexuality has to do with the ability to keep campaign books.

It's over for now

The House failed to over-ride Bush's veto.

Good- the President vetoed this bill

Those in the media leading folks to believe that the President vetoed Stem Cell Research- are flat out lying. Normally, I don't like to call anyone a "liar", but this time, the term fits. The media are pumping the line "Bush vetoes Stem Cell Research", or they are saying something very similar to this line.

It's a bald faced lie!

President Bush is the only President in the history of the US who has every allowed federal funding for stem cell research. That has not changed. Stem cell research continues. The difference is now the Congress wanted to expand the program and provide even more federal funding. The Congress wants to dump even more federal money.

There are two extreme problems with this new expanded research that the Congress is demanding.
1. The first problem is that absolutely no cures or even a hope for a cure has been created by studying embryonic stem cells. After many years of embryonic stem cell research, there have been documented successes in embryonic stem cell research.
However, adult stem cell research is moving forward, there is some real hope for adult stem cell research. Unfortunately, today's vetoed bill was about embryonic stem cells, not adult stem cells. Once again- many in Congress are bound and determined to throw perfectly good money away on a program that up to this point has had no success whatsoever.
There are years and year’s worth of embryonic stem cells still available to researchers without expanding the program. Why rush to expand a failed program?

2. The second problem with expanding embryonic stem cell research is the moral question. Morally, many people believe that the destruction of a human embryo for research is morally wrong. Federal dollars do not pay for abortions because many believe that it is morally wrong.

Why then should the destruction of embryonic stem cell be any different? I understand that it is called research, but is the research necessary?

I believe in adult stem cell research and so far, this research has proven itself morally dignified and has been successful. However, embryonic stem cell research has not.

So as the debate moves forward, don't believe the media lies. President Bush did not veto stem cell research. He vetoed the expansion of an unsuccessful embryonic stem cell program.

Per the Washington Post, the President stated:

Each child on the stage, he said, "began his or her life as a frozen embryo that was created for in vitro fertilization but remained unused after the fertility treatments were complete. . . . These boys and girls are not spare parts."

Israeli ground troops in Lebanon

Per the AP/Yahoo- Israel has sent a small group of Israeli soldiers into Lebanon searching for tunnels, weapons and to destroy Hezbollah outposts-

At daybreak Wednesday, a small number of Israeli troops were operating just across the border inside southern Lebanon, looking for tunnels and weapons, the Israeli military said without providing any more details.

The incursion came a day after Israel indicated that it might send large numbers of ground troops into the southern Lebanon, but Israel's U.N. Ambassador Dan Gillerman denied Wednesday's operation was part of any such operation.

"What is going on at the moment is a number of Israeli ground troops very near to the border on the Lebanese side, trying to destroy some Hezbollah outposts," he told CNN.

Has Kenosha millionaire purchased Governor Doyle?

We never knew the exact numbers, now we do. Something really fishy has being going on between Governor Jim Doyle and Kenosha millionaire Dennis Troha.

We already knew that Troha has aligned himself very nicely with the out of state Indian Tribes in order to purchase a casino in Kenosha. We also know that Troha will make millions upon millions off the development deal that he has for the Kenosha casino.

So has Troha purchased Governor Jim Doyle?

Here are the details, per AP in the Milwaukee Journal(quote highlighted in blue) and Wisconsin Democracy Campaign(quote highlighted in red)-

In an unusual twist, members of one family represent Doyle’s largest Wisconsin, as well as out-of-state contributors from 2002 through 2005. The family is leading an effort to build a controversial $800 million off-reservation gambling casino in Kenosha, a project that will eventually need a final okay from Doyle if it is approved by federal authorities.

From 2002 to 2005, gambling interests gave Doyle and the Democratic Party almost $1.3 million, while other candidates received almost nothing, an analysis done in February by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel showed.

1. Nathan and Tina Cambio of Highland Park, Illinois, who gave Doyle $20,000 each from 2002 through 2005. Tina Cambio is the daughter of Kenosha businessman Dennis Troha (Another $80,000 came from Nathan and Tina Cambio of Highland Park, Ill., over those four years, the report said. Tina Cambio is Troha's daughter)

2. Troha, his wife and eight other family members gave $152,500, the report said.

3. Troha also gave $50,000 to the Democratic Governors Association, and three members of his family gave the state Democratic Party $25,000, the report said.

So, is it any wonder that Governor Jim Doyle vetoed legislation that would have provided legislative oversight to the Kenosha casino? Doyle had previously stated that he approved legislative oversight.

We all knew that Troha was in deep with the Democrats and Governor Jim Doyle. Today we find out the exact numbers that Jim Doyle has benefited from Dennis Troha and his family.

Edited to add: Campaign donations are not illegal. The problem is, what is Dennis Troha getting for these massive campaign donations?

Washington Post's Cohen claims "Israel is a Mistake"

Really, who gives these folks a pen and tells them to go out an write this type of nonsense?

It appears that some at the Washington Post agree with the terrorist appeasers-

The greatest mistake Israel could make at the moment is to forget that Israel itself is a mistake. It is an honest mistake, a well-intentioned mistake, a mistake for which no one is culpable, but the idea of creating a nation of European Jews in an area of Arab Muslims (and some Christians) has produced a century of warfare and terrorism of the sort we are seeing now. Israel fights Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south, but its most formidable enemy is history itself.

This is why the Israeli-Arab war, now transformed into the Israeli-Muslim war (Iran is not an Arab state), persists and widens. It is why the conflict mutates and festers. It is why Israel is now fighting an organization, Hezbollah, that did not exist 30 years ago and why Hezbollah is being supported by a nation, Iran, that was once a tacit ally of Israel's. The underlying, subterranean hatred of the Jewish state in the Islamic world just keeps bubbling to the surface. The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and some other Arab countries may condemn Hezbollah, but I doubt the proverbial man in their street shares that view.

What is this guy saying? Since the rest of the middle east thinks that Israel does not have the right to exist, then it must be true?

The Washington Post's writer suggests Israel should further appease the terrorists, by giving up the West Bank and sitting back, with their fingers crossed, hoping that the terrorists will ignore them after a while.

The smart choice is to pull back to defensible -- but hardly impervious -- borders. That includes getting out of most of the West Bank -- and waiting (and hoping) that history will get distracted and move on to something else. This will take some time, and in the meantime terrorism and rocket attacks will continue.

Much of the Islamic world, notably Iran under its Holocaust-denying president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stands outside that circle, refusing to make even a little space for the Jews of Europe and, later, those from the Islamic world. They see Israel not as a mistake but as a crime. Until they change their view, the longest war of the 20th century will persist deep into the 21st. It is best for Israel to hunker down.

H/T Little Green Footballs

A few months ago- this man was believed to be a coward, today.....

Today, this man shows the courage of a national leader. Today the hopes and dreams of the Israeli people rests on his shoulders, and this man stepped up and proved his great courage and his love for his people.

I have not read so powerful a speech, since President Bush delivered his speech after 9/11.

Even as he is hammered by tremendous pressure from the UN and a great number of nations, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert delivered an incredible speech directed at his enemies, taking a stand for his country and his people.

Here is an excerpt-

We are at a national moment of truth. Will we consent to living under the threat of this Axis of Evil or will we mobilize our inner strength and show determination and equanimity?

Our answer is clear to every Israeli, and it echoes today throughout the entire region.

We will search every compound, target every terrorist who assists in attacking the citizens of Israel, and destroy every terrorist infrastructure, everywhere. We will persist until Hizbullah and Hamas comply with those basic and decent things required of them by every civilized person. Israel will not agree to live in the shadow of missiles or rockets against its residents.

Citizens of Israel,

There are moments in the life of a nation, when it is compelled to look directly into the face of reality and say: no more!

And I say to everyone: no more!

Israel will not be held hostage - not by terror gangs or by a terrorist authority or by any sovereign state.

In the life of a nation there are moments of transcendence, of purification, when political and sectarian disputes which separate us are replaced by a sense of mutual responsibility. I highly value and appreciate the way the Opposition has been conducting itself in the Knesset these days. The human competition and personal rivalries are dissolved and instead our feeling of mutual responsibility arises, our sense of partnership, and primarily, our eternal love for our people and our land.

This is such a moment!

All of us - Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze and Circassians - now stand as one person, as one nation, subject together to the same hatred and malice, and fighting against it in consensus and partnership. When missiles are launched at our residents and cities, our answer will be war with all the strength, determination, valor, sacrifice and dedication which characterize this nation. There is nothing we want more than peace and good neighborly relations - in the east, north and south. We seek peace, we pursue peace and we yearn for peace. At the same time, there is nothing we reject more than an attempt to harm us and make us give up our right to live here, in our land, in security and peace.

On behalf of the people of Israel, on behalf of all the residents of the country, I came here today, Madam Speaker, to announce to the world: we seek neither war nor direct confrontation, but we will not be deterred from them when the need arises. Only a nation that can defend its freedom truly deserves it. We are entitled to our freedom, and when necessary, we know how to fight for it and defend it.

Wow, read the whole thing when you have time- it is incredible.

Stand Tough Israel- Most of America stands with you!

Pro Israel rally in downtown Chicago yesterday-



Here is Pro Israel Rally in New York-



And of course a few liberals decided to crash the party, with some horrifying protest signs-



H/T Photos posted on Powerline

Article in Kenosha News

Thank you to Jay, my county chair, for allowing me write in this week's Kenosha News. Here is a copy, just click on the photo to enlarge it. Click on it a second time and it becomes HUGE.


Each month, there Kenosha News allows a "Republican View" and a "Democratic View". They are printed on the third Saturday of every month. Tomorrow I will post the "Democratic View".

OWN wants to know why Congressman Paul Ryan voted against Bilingual Ballots

To those of you who do not know who the group OWN actually are, here is how they describe themselves-

One Wisconsin Now, Inc. (OWN) is the beginning of a long-term effort to re-light the flame of Wisconsin's proud progressive tradition on public policy with a state-based plan to modernize and strengthen our state's progressive infrastructure, to build the common good, and to win the ideas and values debate in Wisconsin.

Basically they are liberals, trying to push their liberal agenda in Wisconsin.

OWN asks the question- "Why did Paul Ryan vote against bilingual ballots?"

Well there are a couple of different possible answers to this question-

1. Congressman Ryan may have voted against bilingual ballots for the same reason that this blogger posted his blog in English- because this is America and in America we speak, read and write in English.

2. Another reason Congressman Ryan may have voted against bilingual ballots is because he knows that in order to become a US citizen, every person, not born in this country, have to take a citizenship test. The citizenship test is written in English- so some basic skills for citizenship is reading and writing in English, or they cannot even take the citizenship test. (by the way, unless a person is a US citizen, it is illegal for them to vote. Even if a person has lived here for 50 years, if they are not a legal US citizen, they cannot vote.)

3. Congressman Ryan could have been doing his job as a representative and represented the people in his district. Polls show overwhelming support for English being the official language of this country.(Rasmussen poll) As a representative of the people who live in the first district, Congressman Ryan is listening to these people.

There could be a multitude of reasons why Congressman Ryan voted against bilingual ballots. I don't know why he did. However, I do know that when he voted against bilingual ballots, his vote was representing my opinion, which is precisely why the 1st district keeps sending him back to Washington.

Congressman Paul Ryan represents us, the 1st district of Wisconsin!

By the way, as a side note- a friend of mine(you people know her as "Republican Teacher" on this blog) asked me an interesting question today when we were discussing this. She asked how it is possible to accurately translate the referendums or constitutional amendments onto a bilingual ballot?

We all know how difficult some of the referendums and amendments can be to understand for folks who think they have mastered the English language. Yikes. How is it possible to translate these verbatim into another language.

We know that English is it's own unique language and does not translate exactly to any other language in the world.

We have also seen knock down drag outs in the legislature over one single word or a phrase that goes into a amendment.

How are these being translated exactly the way the legislature wrote them? Hum? That's a good question. I don't know. I'll look into it and see if I can find an answer. If anyone else can shed some light- that would be great.

'Great Men' have grating effect on Mideast

Every Sunday, in the Chicago Sun-Times, one of my favorite writers has an article. They are normally very funny and entertaining. Even so, if you read closely, there is always a serious message being addressed.

Once again, Mark Steyn hits it out of the ballpark-

I was on the road the other night and so found myself watching CNN's coverage of Israel, Lebanon, Gaza, etc. It was "Larry King Live," and it was one of those shows where Larry interviews great men about what needs to be done and the great men all agree that what needs to be done is that the president needs to get other great men involved to "broker" a "deal." Sen. Chuck Hagel proposed that Bush appoint Colin Powell or Jim Baker as his Special Envoy; Sen. Barbara Boxer proposed that Bush appoint Madeleine Albright as his Even More Special Envoy. Sen. George Mitchell, who himself served as Extra-Special Super-Duper Envoy a few years back, proposed that Bush involve the European Union. And someone else proposed the G-8. And Larry suggested Putin. Oh, and some smooth-talking apologist in Savile Row pinstripes proposed Chirac, because he and Bush had agreed a U.N. resolution on something or other a year or two back.

Aside from Larry's closing tribute to Red Buttons, I've never heard more rubbish in a single hour since . . . well, come to think of it, since the last time I saw "Larry King Live." But at least that was a special with Heather Mills (Paul McCartney's missus), with which subject Larry seemed rather more engaged, at least after Lady McCartney plunked her artificial leg up on the desk and invited Larry to feel its lifelike texture, which is more than one can say for Larry these days. But the point is that Larry and his Friars' Club Roast approach to geopolitics is about as irrelevant to what's going on there as could be devised, short of Sen. Hagel proposing Heather Mills as his Special Envoy, which may be just what Hamas and Hezbollah deserve.

It's easy to fly in a guy in a suit to hold a meeting. Half the fellows inside the Beltway have Middle East "peace plans" named after them. Bush flew in himself a year or two back to announce his "road map." Before that it was Cheney, who flew in with the Cheney plan, which was a plan to open up a road map back to the last plan, which would get us back to "Tenet," which would get us back to "Mitchell," which would get us back to "Wye River," which would get us back to "Oslo," which would get us back to Kansas.

And none of these Great Men meeting with other Great Men gets us anywhere. Some of the Great Men can't speak for their peoples (Mubarak) or their legislatures (Abbas). And a lot of the Great Men can't even speak for themselves: From the late Yasser Arafat to Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, they say one thing in meetings with Western emissaries and something entirely different to their compatriots. And some of the Great Men we send to negotiate aren't all that great: the wretched Mohammed El Baradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Authority, is, in fact, a patsy for the nuclear mullahs. To reprise one of my all-time favorite Iranian negotiating positions, let's recall the perfect distillation of what Great Man diplomacy boils down to in the Middle East, as reported in the New York Times exactly a year ago:

"Iran will resume uranium enrichment if the European Union does not recognize its right to do so, two Iranian nuclear negotiators said in an interview published Thursday."

If we don't let Iran go nuclear, they'll go nuclear. Negotiate that, Chuck Hagel.

The forces at play in the Middle East are beyond the Geopolitical Friars' Club. The median age in Gaza is 15.8 years old. How likely is it that any of those bespoke Palestinian "moderates" who've been permanent fixtures on CNN and BBC Middle East discussion panels for 30 years have any meaningful sway over a population of unemployed uneducated teenage boys raised by a death cult? Israel withdrew from Gaza and, instead of getting on with a prototypical Palestinian state, Hamas turned the territory into an Islamist camp. Israel withdrew from Lebanon entirely in 2000, yet Hezbollah is now lobbing rockets at Haifa.

Why? Because in both cases these territories are now in effect Iran's land borders with the Zionist Entity. They're "occupied territories" but it's not the Jews doing the occupying. So you've got a choice between talking with proxies or going to the source: Tehran. And, as the unending talks with the EU have demonstrated, the ayatollahs use negotiations with the civilized world as comedy relief. They don't get Larry King's salutes to Red Buttons and Don Knotts on Iranian TV, so entering into talks with the French foreign minister is as near to big-time laughs as the mullahs get.

One of the interesting features of the present escalation is the circumspection of Israel's Arab neighbors. Once upon a time, it would have been Egypt and Jordan threatening the Zionist usurpers. But these countries have been, militarily, a big flop against the Zionist Entity since King Hussein fired Sir John Glubb as head of the Arab Legion. So after '73 they put their money on terrorism, and schoolgirl suicide bombers -- the kind of "popular resistance" that buys you better publicity in the salons of the West. And one result of that has been to deliver Palestinian pseudo-"nationalism" away from Arab influence and into hard-core Iranian Islamist hands. It's Iran that wants war, not Egypt or Jordan, So Jim Baker jetting in to shake hands with, say, Jordan's King Abdullah is a waste of time, because King Abdullah cannot impact on the scene in any useful way.

During all the time the Great Men were shuttling back and forth, a kind of toxic globalization occurred: The Palestinian "movement" (insofar as there ever was a genuine nationalist movement) became infected and eventually annexed by hard-core Islamism and the Palestinians' most depraved terror techniques were exported to every corner of the world. You can build a "security fence" in the region, but what we might call Palestinianism has leapt the psychological fence and incubated in radicalized Muslim communities worldwide: It's not just Palestinians but also Yorkshiremen who now blow themselves up on public transit. What's happened in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Syria and elsewhere is that the weaknesses of those polities were exploited by Iran and others through various client groups and a potent ideology that's really a virus.

That's a much more cunning and effective strategy than sending a fellow in a suit to concoct a plan in his name. We need to learn from the Iranians. We need to wage war on the ideology, because until we do, the reality is that the Middle East's fetid "stability," its demography, its remorseless nuclearization and proxy militarization all favor Israel's and our enemies.

© Mark Steyn, 2006