Generally if I link to a post, I attempt to do a bit of my own commentary on the piece but sometimes time just won’t allow for elaboration.

For some great reads across the web, check these out.

Duane Patterson post an excellent take down of Senator Schumer and his comments on the Senate floor over the past few days. On this same topic there is a must read from Sweetness and Light. It seems the Senator has done a bit of editing of his remarks on his website.

A Media Research Center Report is the topic of a piece at Pundit Review. Those of us on the right who believe there is media bias can take some comfort in this post.

Confederate Yankee points out how the Democrats are not just trying to destroy the credibility of the Petreaus report but how they are dissing the General himself.

For a great roundup of what she calls the “happenings on the “Religion of Peace” front” head over to Sister Toldjah Lots of terrific information compiled in one post.

Hope you enjoy.

I guess the Norman Hsu story is not yet complete. The Governor of Pennsylvania has now chimed in on this fugitive from the law:

I want to hear him out; I don’t want to be one of the guys to pile on,” Rendell said last Thursday. “Norman Hsu’s one of the best 10 people I’ve met. He raised money for me because he believes in all the things we’re doing and he never asked for a bloody thing - not a job, not a contract, not to attend a wedding.”

The next day, the governor said: “I think this whole thing stinks. If this conviction stands I will give the money back, but this idea of making him out to be some sort of major criminal is absurd.”

Also in that interview, Rendell said he had spoken with Hsu two days earlier - at a time he was still considered a fugitive. Rendell said Hsu “apologized for any embarrassment he caused me. I said, ‘Norman, you didn’t cause me embarrassment. . . . I wish you the best of luck.’ “

So let’s get this straight, as long as he is raising and donating money, Mr. Hsu is one of the best 10 people Governor Rendell has met? And he is admitting speaking to this man while he was still a fugitive from the law and after knowing that fact, still wished the man luck? Had he forgotten for a moment exactly why this man had been sentenced to prison 15 years earlier:

Hsu pleaded no contest in 1991 to a felony count of grand theft, admitting he had defrauded investors of $1 million after falsely claiming to have contracts to purchase and sell latex gloves. He was facing up to three years in prison when he skipped town before his 1992 sentencing date.

As of the article above, the Govenor has not yet decided to return the money Mr. Hsu had raised in his behalf , but he seems to have had a change of heart. This afternoon the AP is reporting that he has reversed his earlier decision.

Gov. Ed Rendell said Thursday he has decided to donate to charity the nearly $40,000 he received from a disgraced Democratic fundraiser who failed to show up for a California court hearing.

Rendell had said last week he planned to keep the money he received from Norman Hsu, who had failed to appear for sentencing on a 1991 grand theft charge, but would return it if California prosecutors won a “sustainable conviction” in the case.

On Wednesday, Hsu skipped a bail hearing.

“Though Norman is my friend, and remains so, his failure to appear casts a new light on his assertions regarding the original case,” Rendell said in a statement. “As a result, I will follow other elected officials and donate the money he contributed to me to charity.”

So the fact that Hsu had been convicted and sentenced to jail years earlier made no difference but now that he has once again defied the justice system, well they can still be friends but gee, let me give the appearance of doing the right thing.

I am certain there are many who wish this story would simply disappear or see no merit to it at all. But when newspapers like the LAT and the Philadelphia Inquirer are continuing to follow it closely it means it has gone well beyond only those on the Right. It is a matter of principle and justice that this story gets the attention it deserves and if that means certain politicians are seen in a less than favorable light then so be it.

26,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops are on a new offensive in the Nineveh area of Iraq.

About 26,000 U.S. and Iraqi forces are taking part in an offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

Iraqis gather at the site of a U.S. airstrike on Baghdad Thursday. Residents said people were killed in their sleep.

The operation, Lightning Hammer II, is an extension of an earlier operation in Diyala province.

About 14,000 Iraqi security forces stationed throughout Nineveh province and 12,000 U.S. soldiers are conducting the operation, which started Wednesday evening.

The military said the operation “follows Lightning Hammer I … to deny al Qaeda safe haven in the provinces” of Salaheddin, Nineveh, Diyala, and Kirkuk.

The military said the original Operation Lightning Hammer — August 13 to September 1 — ousted militants from the Diyala River valley, northeast of Baquba, the capital of Diyala province.

“Al Qaeda cells were driven from Baquba in Diyala due to Operation Arrowhead Ripper in June and July and then pursued in the Diyala River valley during Operation Lighting Hammer in August,” Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of Task Force Lightning and Multinational Division-North.

Everytime I think of Nineveh I am reminded of the story of Jonah. Let’s hope another miracle is performed to clean that area again.

Kathleen Willey has apparently written a book about the inside workings of the Clinton White House, and says the manuscript was stolen in a Sunday night burglary.

Disclaimer: She believes someone associated with the Clintons stole the manuscript, but there is no proof of that accusation and I will not help spread the rumor by stating she’s probably right because I don’t know who did it and I doubt she knows for sure herself.

Kathleen Willey, the woman who says Bill Clinton groped her in the Oval Office, claims she was the target of an unusual house burglary over the weekend that nabbed a manuscript for her upcoming book, which promises explosive revelations that could damage Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Willey told WND little else was taken from her rural Virginia home as she slept alone upstairs – electronics and jewelry were left behind – and she believes the Clintons were behind it.

The break-in, she said, reminded her of the widely reported incident 10 years ago in which she claimed she was threatened near the same Richmond-area home by a stranger just two days before she was to testify against President Clinton in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case.

The theft of the manuscript early Saturday morning was suspicious, she told WND, coming only days after the first mainstream media mention of her upcoming book, which is expected to include accusations of campaign finance violations and new revelations about harassment and threats by the Clintons and their associates.

…

The book, “Target: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton” by World Ahead Publishing, WND Books’ partner, is due for release in November. Willey said the stolen manuscript was not the book’s final copy.

Among its revelations is Willey’s identification of the person who threatened her just prior to her testimony against President Clinton – a man who turned out to be linked to the Clintons.

No harm done about the manuscript, but it certainly has to be disconcerting to know you’ve been burglarized while asleep in your own home.

Again, since there is no evidence as to whom the burglar might be or whom their empolyers, if any, are I’m not going to accuse anyone.

I’m just reporting the manuscript was stolen, but it was not the final manuscript and the book should be interesting.

Thanks to the folks at Townhall we have a 10 minute round-up of the events of last evening.

If you would prefer the complete transcript of the debate, it is available at the Fox News website.

For further thoughts on the debate itself and the winner and losers see Riehl World View, Allahpundit, Ankle Biting Pundits and Macsmind.

I had used this as an update in a post yesterday, and for those who may have read it, I apologize for the repitition, but I believe it it is worthy of mention in its’ own setting.

You expect those elected in public office to make statements from time to time which could be regarded as less than well thought out, but this one courtesy of Senator Schumer goes well beyond any I can remember in regard to our United States Military.

“And let me be clear, the violence in Anbar has gone down despite the surge, not because of the surge. The inability of American soldiers to protect these tribes from al Qaeda said to these tribes we have to fight al Qaeda ourselves. It wasn’t that the surge brought peace here. It was that the warlords took peace here, created a temporary peace here.”

Follow the link above to the video available and watch the Senator attempt to make it through these despicable words. If this is an early attempt to attack both the President and General Petraeus prior to next weeks report, then it failed miserably. Not failed in the sense that he did not make his true feelings about our troops known, no, he fully succceeded there. It failed because I believe most Americans have an appreciation for the difficult mission these men and women undertake daily.

Even many who do not support the war come out in support of our troops..but not Senator Schumer.

You sir, are entitled to your opinion as I am in mine, and mine is, this was a shameful display of political posturing at its best but a disgusting rebuke of our troops at its worst.

For more thoughts, check out Blackfive.

Republicans and Democrats alike should be delighted and even amazed at the progress Senator Tim Johnson has made in record time. He ws extended a warm welcome upon his return to the Capitol yesterday.

The U.S. Senate welcomed back South Dakota Democrat Tim Johnson Wednesday as he rallies from a life-threatening brain hemorrhage that felled him in December.

“It’s great to be home,” Johnson said as colleagues acknowledged his return with a standing ovation, Congressional Quarterly reported.

The official welcome came when senators adopted a resolution extending “their warmest welcome” and expressing their “personal happiness at his return” and very best wishes for his continued health.”

This is such a remarkable recovery and show of determination on the part of Senator Johnson. May he continue to recuperate at this rate and become a fully productive representative of his constituents again soon.

Luciano Pavarotti has passed away.

Luciano Pavarotti, whose vibrant high C’s and ebullient showmanship made him one the most beloved tenors, has died, his manager told The Associated Press. He was 71.

Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and underwent further treatment in August 2007. His manager, Terri Robson, told the AP in an e-mail statement that Pavarotti died at his home in Modena, Italy, at 5 a.m. local time.

“The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness,” the statement said.

May he rest in peace.