Time Immortal

So why isn’t the Left getting its underdrawers in a knot about this?

Children praying and giving a blessing to George W. Bush? ZOMG!!!!!11!two!!! Impending theocracy! Brainwashing! Child abuuuuuuuuuuuse! SCREEEEEEEEEECH!!!!

(ahem)

Children singing a frakkin’ hymn to Obama? Enlightened discourse, apparently. Not. Brainwashing. At. All.

One more bit of asteroid-fodder.

So it seems that at least some of the intelligence on which the current war in Iraq was initially based was actually true: Saddam Hussein did in fact have nuclear materials — specifically, “yellowcake” uranium stores. Over five hundred tons of yellowcake, in fact.

It’s in Canada now.

There is a happy ending. This stuff is not in the hands of terrorists, thanks to President Bush’s actions for which he has been hammered by the left for 5+ years. Reported AP:

The Iraqi government sold the yellowcake to a Canadian uranium producer, Cameco Corp., in a transaction the official described as worth “tens of millions of dollars.” A Cameco spokesman, Lyle Krahn, declined to discuss the price, but said the yellowcake will be processed at facilities in Ontario for use in energy-producing reactors.

Maybe we can buy some of that electricity since Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid refuses to allow his precious Yucca Mountain to be used to store spent nuclear rods.

And apparently that wasn’t all that was found.

I suppose the question could be asked why George W. Bush has allowed the Left to lambaste him for “lying” about Iraqi WMDs for the last few years, why the transfer of the relevant materials is only now becoming public. But then, to ask that would be to misunderstand the nature of politics and leadership, especially in America. It would be to misunderstand the principles of security as well, for some things are simply too volatile to make known until long after they have transpired. Sometimes the sacrifice one must make is to hold forth in silence, against all slings and arrows, though one’s very name be tarred and stained forever because of it — many, many lives might well hang in the balance.

Keeping something like yellowcake out of the hands of terrorists, and out of the hands of those with ill intent regarding nuclear materials (e.g. Iran), is something worthy of such silence.

Everybody’s favourite Islamist nuclear power plant worker from Ontario — Shaukat Khawja — has resumed posting at his blog, with a couple of simmering entries for your reading pleasure.

First up: the JOOOOOOOS are behind the recent failure of Dennis Kucinich’s failed attempt to impeach George W. Bush.

Second: the hijab is under attacked (sic)…and it’s not fair. Jewish and Christian women wear head coverings for the purposes of modesty too…and nobody complains. Why complain about the Islamic headscarf. So what if it’s obligatory?

It’s good to have you back, Rehmat. We missed you.

Update: Welcome, Steynians!

Fry writes in with a correction to this old article. I always find it amusing when people remark on something buried deep in the archives, although I supposeFebruary of last year wasn’t all that long ago.

http://www.timeimmortal.net/2007/02/21/more-soldiers-died- in-peacetime-under-bill-clinton/

Sorry, you are mistaken.

http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/did_more_soldiers_die_ during_bill_clintons.html
http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/deaths.asp

It does appear that the source I quoted was wrong. Pity. Ah, well, I suppose that’s the risk one takes in looking for news snippets on the Internet. Not that I trust Snopes.com as a source, mind…but Factcheck.org (which I hadn’t heard of until now) doesn’t seem to be particularly partisan (which Snopes can be).

So indeed, I was mistaken.

I think there is still some meat to the observation that left-wing governments care less about soldiers — as is evidenced by the decrepit state that successive Liberal governments allowed Canada’s Military to reach — however.

The freedom to worship according to one’s conscience is one of our Nation’s most cherished values. It is the first protection offered in the Bill of Rights: that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of Religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” In America, people of different faiths can live together united in peace, tolerance, and humility. We are committed to the proposition that as equal citizens of the United States of America, all are free to worship as they choose.

In an era during which an unprecedented number of nations have embraced individual freedom, we have also witnessed the stubborn endurance of religious repression. Religious freedom belongs not to any one nation, but to the world, and my Administration continues to support freedom of worship at home and abroad. On Religious Freedom Day and throughout the year, we recognize the importance of religious freedom and the vital role it plays in spreading liberty and ensuring human dignity.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2008, as Religious Freedom Day. I call on all Americans to reflect on the great blessing of religious liberty, endeavor to preserve this freedom for future generations, and commemorate this day with appropriate events and activities.

This speech was delivered from Saudi Arabia, one of the most repressive nations on Earth in general, but especially in regard to religion.

I think Bush is far more clever than the persona he projects, and than most people on (and a number of folks on the Right) are willing to give him credit for.

(In Soviet Russia, hat tips you: Mark Shea)