The Toronto Film Festival gave liberals a lesson in cause and effect this year.

Cause: Politics takes spotlight at Toronto film festival

Political and religious conflict and humanitarian crisis were portrayed in several movies at the Toronto film festival on Sunday including “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” that premieres on Sunday night.

Effect: Toronto film festival fails to excite buyers

…The festival, heavy this year with political films, saw a mass exodus of buyers beginning Tuesday, the anniversary of September 11. The events of September 11 brought Toronto to a halt six years ago, but they weren’t even mentioned this week. Instead, it was the weak sales climate that most concerned attendees.

“A lot of people wasted a lot of money coming up here,” said a studio executive who hadn’t acquired any Toronto features. “The available films were very disappointing. It was the weakest festival in my long memory.”

Not even a crockumentary from Michael Moore, darling of the liberal left, could generate interest.

The screening was held in a theater with a capacity of about 580. I arrived very early, fearing the thing might be crowded — but I’d be surprised if there were 100 people there, maybe even as few as 50. Is Moore losing some of his magic with the festival-going press, which he could always count on for a reasonable amount of support, or at least some copy? I could almost hear tumbleweeds blowing through that theater…

I guess liberal propaganda just doesn’t sell like it used to.

First, Democrat John Edwards proposed mandatory health monitoring as part of a government-run healthcare plan he’d advocate for as President.

And that’s why it’s so important … that what we do instead is, as part of the universal healthcare system, we don’t just cover preventative care, we mandate preventative care. In other words, if you’re in this universal healthcare system, you have to go for regular, periodic checkups, you have to be monitored…”

Now, Democrat Jan Perry, on the city council in Los Angeles, is proposing new “health zoning laws” directed at restaurants.

Amid worries of an obesity epidemic and its related illnesses, including high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease, Los Angeles officials, among others around the country, are proposing to limit new fast-food restaurants — a tactic that could be called health zoning.

The party of pro-choice? Sure, as long as your choice is the one they want you to make. Now get your lazy butt off the couch before we have to send in the cops.

Lots of talk about the fake website set up making fun of Fred Thompson and whether a rival campaign was behind it. My take is that the MSM is showing “concern” about the “controversy” simply to drive more traffic to a site that’s making fun of a conservative candidate.

So when I read the first story about it, I did what any traffic-whore would do. I checked to see if similar domains were available. And to my surprise, phoneyfred.com was. I also quickly realized that since the bogus site was set up on a “.org” domain many people would likely just type in “.com” out of habit. So I registered phoneyfred.com and redirected to this site.

I figured it would be good for a few hits here and there and would allow those seeking negative information about a conservative candidate to enjoy a free education on the realities of life. So imagine my delight when I realized CBSNews and the New York Times published the wrong domain name in their rush to publish the story.

If there’s one thing you can count on in life, it’s the predictability of MSM bias.

In case you’ve forgotten how this whole thing got started… here’s a reminder.

The voice you hear is Kevin Cosgrove. He was a VP for Aon Corporation. He was 46 years old. He left behind a wife and three young children.

May we never forget Kevin and the other 2,995 souls lost that fateful day.

Despite all the rhetoric from the Left about how President Bush has created more terrorists and American foreign policy has made the world more dangerous, folks in Europe are starting to get a clue about the real culprits.

Since the terror attacks on the United States on Sept. 11 six years ago, Europe has faced far more new attacks and reported plots than the United States.

Europeans on the Fight Against Terrorism Train bombings in Madrid three years ago killed 191 people, the London transit attack two years ago killed 52 commuters, and a string of plots have been discovered and foiled. Then last week, arrests were made in Germany in a plot that the police said could have caused even worse carnage than in Madrid or London.
[…]
France and Germany both opposed the war in Iraq, and both countries have been targets of terrorist plots by Islamist extremists, noted François Heisbourg, a French expert on terrorism and a special adviser to the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris.

“Bush is incredibly reviled in Germany, and Iraq is viewed as a total disaster, which it is,” he said. “But it doesn’t lead people to say we have terror because of Bush. Why? Because these guys strike a country that is against the Iraq policy.”

Ding, ding, ding. This has never been about President Bush’s foreign policy. These islamic nutjobs have been attacking innocent civilians for ages as they pursue their retarded ideas of access to the afterlife.

Syria is identified as a state sponsor of terrorism around the world. In fact, the U.S. State Department says most suicide bombers striking in Iraq come through Syria. It’s also suspected that the reason we never found Iraq’s WMDs is because they were transported to Syria before the invasion.

So it’s fitting that a Democrat candidate for President would travel overseas to meet Syria’s leader (following in Nancy Pelosi’s footsteps), calling it an “honor to speak with his excellency” and saying that said leader should be “respected and appreciated”… while simultaneously going on Syrian television to call the sitting U.S. President a liar and American troops in the field of battle “illegal occupiers”.

Here’s the video (transcript below):

Transcript:

Dennis Kucinich: Well, of course, my presence in Syria, in meeting with President Assad, is so that people are aware that there are members of Congress and in this case, a presidential candidate, who believes that Syria has a very important role to play in bringing about stability, in participating in a political process, which will help to create the conditions which will lead to peace. But this must come about from communication and so those of us who want to see this change are in a position to model the change that we hope to occur. So it was important to meet with his Excellency to exchange views as to how we can create a more peaceful world.

Interviewer: So, how did the meeting go?

Dennis Kucinich: It was a very good meeting. It was a meeting where President Assad showed a real desire to play a role in helping to create a peaceful settlement of the conditions in Iraq, as well as a grander approach towards creating peace. So it was a very important meeting, and I felt honored to have the chance to speak with him.

[…]

To me, Americans have an increased understanding today of how wrong the war was and is, and I think they’re looking for a new direction, and that’s certainly what I’m offering.

Interviewer: So, you were talking about the moment of decision. When it’s time to withdraw George Bush sends in more troops - the “surge.” How do you find that? How useful was that surge?

Dennis Kucinich: I’ve repeatedly challenged the thinking behind the surge. What I have said in offering a plan to our Congress, embodied in a resolution known as House Resolution 1234, is that the United States must end the occupation, close the bases, bring the troops home, but we must have a parallel political process that reaches out to the international community, with the help of Syria and Iran, that would bring an international peace-keeping force, move it in as our troops , so there is no vacuum. That’s the beginning – it’s not the whole plan – but that’s the beginning of a plan. Certainly, increasing the occupation with a surge is counter-productive. It can only result in more deaths.

Interviewer: So you are with strengthening the position of the U.N. in Iraq?

Dennis Kucinich: Of course. I mean, there is a role for the U.N. I crafted my peace plan with the help of people who served in the U.N., including peace-keeping missions over the years, who understand that not only must we stabilize Iraq, but we also must pay reparations to the people of Iraq for the great human tragedy that has been caused. Perhaps as many as a million innocent Iraqis have lost their lives as a result of this war. You have countless people injured. Millions of refugees, many of them now…

Interviewer: In Syria.

Dennis Kucinich: A million and a half in Syria, and I met with some of them, and I can tell you that this is a great human tragedy. The United States must take steps to repair the damage that has been done to the lives of the people of Iraq for the people who have lost their lives. We need to help bring about a process of reconciliation between the Sunnis, the Shiites, and the Kurds. That cannot occur as long as there is an occupation. We need to see that there is honest reconstruction in Iraq, no Halliburton dishonest cheating of the people of Iraq and the people of the United States – the taxpayers.

[…]

Dennis Kucinich: There are many good-hearted people in the United States. I love my country.

Interviewer: You’re one of them.

Dennis Kucinich: Thank you. But I love my country, and I want my country to be loved by the world.

Interviewer: Which is not happening at the moment.

Dennis Kucinich: I know that, and that hurts me. It hurts my heart to know how America is seen in places around the world right now. But in my own way I am trying to change that, and the best way that we can change that is by telling the truth. The truth is the war was wrong. The truth is that great damage has been done to the Iraqi people. The truth is that we have to find a way to heal that. The truth is that we have to reach out to the world to get help. And so all those things are what I try to do to follow the path of the truth, and I think that as America shows its goodness once again we can cause the world to love America once again. And that’s what I’m about.

[…]

The fact of the matter is we are all being weakened by continuing a war that’s based on a lie. This war was based on lies. Iraq didn’t have the weapons of mass destruction. It wasn’t connected to 9/11. It had nothing to do with Al-Qaeda’s role in 9/11. What are we there for? So I have stood up repeatedly and said: “Look, stop the war.” Once the war started: “Here’s the plan to get out and stop funding the war.” And so we’ve had many opportunities now and I think it’s very clear that we now have to focus on a peace plan, reach out to the world community, and that can only happen with those of us who are involved in the process meeting with people to see if there is an interest. And I’ll tell you, President Assad, today, indicated a very strong interest in playing a role to help bring about stability in Iraq, and the fact of the matter is - whether the Bush administration wants to admit it or not – that President Assad is actually helping by providing a sanctuary in which Iraqi refugees can come. This is a great humanitarian crisis that’s been created by this war. And Syria is one of the few countries in the world who has opened its arms to the Iraqi refugees, who have come here, with only the clothes on their back, and are looking for a way to survive. It is an extraordinary gesture on the part of the Syrian government that they would provide an opportunity for people to save their lives. And so this is something that I think needs to be recognized. And it also shows that here is a man, President Assad, who should be respected and appreciated for the role that he has played. And so it is important for the United States to take that gesture as a sign, a very powerful demonstration, of the willingness to try to achieve peace. And I think we need to move forward with that understanding.

[…]

Interviewer: So does George Bush actually not see himself as having failed in Iraq? Does he think that he has done something right?

Dennis Kucinich: I would expect that he probably believes that he’s doing the right thing.

Interviewer: So he would continue using the same rhetoric in Lebanon as well - this is with Syria in mind.

Dennis Kucinich: I think that’s probably true. And of course, this is part of the tragedy - that our president is not understanding the mountain of evidence which indicates what a failure the policy in Iraq has been. Not only failure, but how totally wrong it was from the beginning. Because you can talk about something being a failure, and perhaps the cause may have been correct. But in this case, the cause was wrong from the beginning. In the Christian Bible, there is a phrase that says: “That which is crooked cannot be made straight.” The effort against Iraq was dishonest, or crooked, from the beginning, and nothing good can come of it, except: The international community is needed to become involved to put together a peace-keeping and security force that can move in as the U.S. determines that it must end the occupation, close the bases, bring the troops home. That’s the direction we must take. But we have to understand that the policy was based on a lie.

If this isn’t “aid and comfort”, I don’t know what is. The only thing missing is a shout out to his homies, Mahmoud and Osama.

They can continue to claim they’re simply disagreeing with policies of the Bush administration, but listen to their words and you’ll see it’s much more than a simple disagreement. And it’s downright disgusting.

Senator Harry Reid is trying to preempt the report General David Petraeus is to give to Congress tomorrow… by calling the four-star general a liar.

“Before the report arrives in Congress, it will pass through the White House spin machine, where facts are often ignored or twisted, and intelligence is cherry-picked,” said Reid.

On Friday, Reid went so far as to question not only the true source of the report but also the four-star general’s honesty. “He has made a number of statements over the years that have not proven to be factual,” Reid said.

Of course, Reid doesn’t give us any specific examples of the numerous lies he claims General Petraeus has told. To call a four-star general who is commanding troops in an active war a liar in a public statement is not a “disagreement of policies”… it’s unpatriotic and disgusting.

Not to be outdone, Democrat Dick Durbin (who likes to compare our soldiers to nazis) said:

“By carefully manipulating the statistics, the Bush-Petraeus report will try to persuade us that violence is decreasing and that the surge is working. Even if the figures are right, the conclusions are wrong.”

He tries to hedge on Reid’s calling Petraeus a liar by including Bush’s name when claiming the report will be a fraud, but look at his last line: “Even if the figures are right, the conclusions are wrong.” He’s saying that Bush and Petraeus plan to manipulate the statistics to make the report say something that doesn’t jive with reality but then admits that even if they don’t manipulate the statistics, the report will still be wrong… (even though Petraeus hasn’t even delivered the report yet). Durbin’s arguing in the alternative here. He’s betting the report will contain some good news and is trying to explain the report away before it arrives… saying that the numbers are fake and the conclusions are flawed or the numbers are accurate, but the conclusions are flawed.

Of course, it’s obvious why they’re doing this. Democrats have already admitted that good news from the Petraeus report would be bad news for them.

Many Democrats have anticipated that, at best, Petraeus and U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker would present a mixed analysis of the success of the current troop surge strategy, given continued violence in Baghdad. But of late there have been signs that the commander of U.S. forces might be preparing something more generally positive. Clyburn said that would be “a real big problem for us.”

Bottom line, Democrats think Petraeus will deliver a report that highlights successes in Iraq and they’ve already admitted that good news for America will be bad news for Democrats.

The logical conclusion then is simply that Democrats and America have mutually distinct and independent goals.

UPDATE:
“U.S. poll finds more faith in military than politicians in resolving Iraq.” Hello, backfire.

Was the latest bin Laden tape a fake?

Could be. Looks like al-Qaeda’s taken some editing tips from Michael Moore… clip, snip and cut until you’ve created a new reality.

Why not? Afterall, the transcript read like a Michael Moore Oscar acceptance speech.

It’s funny how Democrats will claim President Bush is trashing the Constitution and trampling civil liberties when they talk about a program to monitor communications with suspected terrorists… then they turn around and not only endorse government monitoring of American citizens, but call for such monitoring to be mandated.

Listen carefully to what John Edwards is proposing:

“I think one of the reasons that young people have these kind of results from cancer is, unlike you Lance, they don’t go to the doctor very often, they don’t ride through their pain. Basically what they do is, they either don’t have healthcare coverage or they don’t believe they need to go to the doctor because they feel healthy, they’re young, they see no reason to go to the doctor.

And the result is, whenever they have some kind of symptom, they put it off and they put it off. They’re much more likely to do that than a 54 year old like me. And the result is, by the time they get to the doctor, they have their diseases advanced to the stage it’s hard to treat.

And that’s why it’s so important … that what we do instead is, as part of the universal healthcare system, we don’t just cover preventative care, we mandate preventative care. In other words, if you’re in this universal healthcare system, you have to go for regular, periodic checkups, you have to be monitored…”

If this doesn’t scare the hell out of you, you’re not paying attention. Democrats want to turn our entire healthcare system into a government-run operation, thereby eliminating our ability to pick and choose our doctors and the level of care we prefer (which I still find ironic as they continue to complain about the level of service received at VA hospitals… which are government-run healthcare facilities). And on top of that, Edwards is proposing that the government mandate monitoring of every citizen to force them to see the doctor if they show symptoms of health issues.

So where are the “defenders of civil liberties” now? Why aren’t they burning effigies of Edwards and claiming that he wants to trash the Constitution? Where are the cries of fascism? Where are the protests and marches to protect our freedom?

The silence is deafening…

Ok, her actual words were:

“When I’m president, privatization is off the table because it’s not the answer to anything.”

The logical extension, then is that government is the answer. She’s just crafty enough not to actually say that.

She was, of course, referring to Social Security, the federally-sponsored Ponzi Scheme that will soon see a more recipients than contributors, hence rendering it bankrupt.

She also says she will not cut Social Security benefits, raise the retirement age or privatize the taxpayer-funded system. That leaves just one solution and again, she’s crafty enough not to say it out loud.