Winston Churchill III, the grandson of former British prime minister Winston Churchill, spoke in Houston this week and KUHF-FM aired some excerpts today. No doubt about the family resemblence -- eloquence, courage, forthrightness. The parallels between now and the late 1930s are uncanny. (Audio is in Real format.)

The Peter Principle at work... again... utopians elevated beyond their level of competence. Go, big John!

"SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court Friday rejected the Bush administration's request to reconsider its decision that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional when recited in public school classrooms because it includes the phrase 'under God.' Attorney General John Ashcroft strongly condemned the ruling and said the Justice Department would 'spare no effort to preserve the rights of all our citizens to pledge allegiance to the American flag.' Only nine of the 24 active judges wanted the full circuit to reconsider. Writing for the dissenters, Judge Diarmuid F. O'Scannlain noted that the earlier decision provoked a public outcry across the nation, defies common sense, and 'contradicts our 200-year history and tradition of patriotic references to God.' "

An advance copy of a forthcoming article in The Weekly Standard is titled "Saddam's French Connection." Having worked for thirteen years for a large French company whose president eventually went to a French prison for corruption, it sure doesn't seem implausible to me. Here's a brief excerpt.

"Does the Iraqi dictator have the goods on French politicians? As France's political leaders feign high-mindedness in their opposition to waging war in Iraq, could it be that a little-publicized threat of blackmail--issued by none other than Saddam Hussein a year after France sided with the United States in the first Gulf War--weighs ever so slightly in the back of their minds? The threat by the Iraqi leader, published here for the first time in English, was reported in a 1992 French book..." "

Saddam was asked by the book's authors "about financial ties between his regime and French industrialists and politicians, specifically inquiring: 'Has Iraq financially supported French politicians and political parties?'"

Another reason to be glad to live in Texas. Hard to imagine this admonishment for teachers needed in our schools.

"Maine teachers told to curb anti-war talk in classroom. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - After complaints that the children of soldiers were upset by anti-war comments at school, Maine's top education official warned teachers to be careful of what they say in class about a possible invasion of Iraq. the Maine Army National Guard has received a dozen reports of children of guard members in elementary and middle schools who said teachers and fellow students have criticized the looming conflict... Charles Haynes of the Freedom Forum, an educational organization in Arlington, Va., said he has received several dozen e-mails and phone calls in recent months from parents concerned that teachers are unfair or biased in how they address the issue of Iraq in the classroom."

Received this HEADS-UP for Texas educators!

"Since the average life of previous Texas state-wide tests (TABS, TEAMS, TAAS) has been 5 years, we have decided that it is not too early to plan for the next test.

"The new instrument will be the Texas Assessment of Cognitive Operations (TACO). It will have a remedial version (Soft TACO), a regular version (Hard TACO), and an advanced version with many more pages (the Gordita). It will be graded on a normal curve (the TACO bell). Districts will be offered a report of their standings, the Summative Administrative Assessment Survey - SAAS. Ratings are excellent (TACO Bueno), unsatisfactory (Mild SAAS) or unsatisfactory (Hot SAAS).

"Districts receiving the lowest scores will be put on probation with a Basic Educational Appraisal-Not Satisfactory (BEANS). A second low rating earns the dreaded supplement: REmediation FactoRs for Individualized Education Deficits...REFRIED BEANS. This rating will cause a lot of hot air at meetings to follow with the campus faculty."

The USS Kitty Hawk has arrived on station in the Gulf region, foreign press reports indicate. Godspeed, Patrick.

"About 225 000 US forces are now massed against Iraq, including 111 000 in Kuwait, the main staging area for a possible US ground offensive, a US defence officials said on Thursday. The number of US forces in the Gulf region and the eastern Mediterranean are about 15 000 higher than a week ago, the official said.

"The arrival of aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk and its battle group in the Gulf region boosted the numbers of sailors and marines aboard warships to 46 000, the official said.

"The figures also include 14 000 in Afghanistan and surrounding countries. US forces in Saudi Arabia rose to about 7 000 over the past week, the official said. US troops in Kuwait went from 98 000 last week to 111 000, according the latest numbers."

Stars and Stripes reports that they have a new battle group commander.

"The Navy announced Saturday that Rear Adm. Matthew Moffit, recently commander of the USS John C. Stennis Battle Group, will take the helm of the USS Kitty Hawk Battle Group."

People unclear on the concept. Why is this so difficult for some folks to grasp? Obviously care must be taken not to infringe on the legitimate rights of Arabs and Muslims, especially when they are citizens. But the hard fact is that it is precisely Arabs and Muslims who want to take down our country. Well, then there are the French too....

"A leading civil rights groups has asked President Bush to end the extra scrutiny given to Arabs and Muslims in the post-Sept. 11 fight against terrorism. In a letter Thursday to the president, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights said singling out people of Middle Eastern or South Asian ancestry is just as wrong as racial profiling directed against blacks and Hispanics. The organization asked to meet with Bush to discuss how to end the practice."

CNET.com reports on the scope of funding for TIA, the Pentagon's Total Information Awareness program -- "a controversial data-mining project aimed at compiling electronic dossiers on Americans." Millions of dollars in contracts have been awarded to companies and universities for research projects with descriptions such as a "Terrorism knowledge base," "AUDIT: Automated Detection, Identification, and Tracking of Deceptive Terrorist Activity," and "Confronting Surprise: Robust Adaptive Planning for Effective Total Information Awareness."

Information is the lifeblood of intelligence and vital to efforts to improve our national security. But I agree with critics on both the left and the right who are very concerned about the privacy implications of TIA. It's particularly tainted by the fact that it's being supervised by John Poindexter, one of the brains behind the Iran-Contra scandal. Surely there are ways to get enough data to do the job without building Forbin's COLOSSUS.

Not be totally outdone, the tinhorn dictator closer to our shores weighed in this week.

"Cuba Seizes U.S. Mission's Book Shipment: Works by Martin Luther King Jr., John Steinbeck and Groucho Marx were among 5,101 books seized by Cuban authorities after being shipped in by the U.S. government, America's top diplomat in Havana said Thursday. American diplomats were told it was a 'firm decision by the government' not to allow the books into the communist-run country for distribution to dissident groups, including independent libraries, U.S. Interests Section Chief James Cason said. 'They said it wasn't the books, but who we were going to give them to,' he told a small group of international reporters. He said the American mission has imported similar books in the past."

Is there some sort of ego thing going on in the Evil Overlord circuit? Kim Jong Il has his new nukes; Robert Mugabe can't resist talking up his impoverishment of Zimbabwe, the former breadbasket of Africa. Now Castro tries for some minor headlines. Who would've guessed they couldn't stand seeing Saddam get all the attention?

Today's International Herald-Tribune reports second thoughts in France about Chirac's relentless opposition to the liberation of Iraq. Interesting to note that not everyone in France has lost the ability to look down the road to see the oncoming headlights.

"Significant elements - perhaps more than half - of Jacques Chirac's presidential majority in the National Assembly are making clear they oppose France's eventual use of its veto in the Security Council to block a new American-led resolution that would justify a strike against Iraq. The development did not suggest diminishing support for the French approach favoring more inspections and holding war out as a last resort. But it constitutes a clear statement of concern about where the current French position would eventually lead and the damage that a possible veto could do to relations with the United States, the future of the United Nations as an institution, NATO, and France's place in Europe."

The AP reported the story as well, including this statement: "A veto is unimaginable," Claude Goasguen, another UMP lawmaker, told the daily Le Monde in its Thursday edition. "We are not going to break the United Nations and Europe just to save a tyrant," he said, referring to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Brian Kilmeade of Fox News and activist/comedian Janeane Garofalo nearly came to verbal blows Tuesday morning about the prospect of war with Iraq. Fox News has posted the video on their site (requires registration). It's a hoot.

President Bush spoke today about the long term strategy for Iraq and the Middle East. Compare the thoughtfulness of these remarks to the witless sloganeering of the peace-at-any-price crowd. Which side offers more hope and respect for humanity?

"The world has a clear interest in the spread of democratic values, because stable and free nations do not breed the ideologies of murder. They encourage the peaceful pursuit of a better life. And there are hopeful signs of a desire for freedom in the Middle East. Arab intellectuals have called on Arab governments to address the "freedom gap" so their peoples can fully share in the progress of our times. Leaders in the region speak of a new Arab charter that champions internal reform, greater politics participation, economic openness, and free trade. And from Morocco to Bahrain and beyond, nations are taking genuine steps toward politics reform. A new regime in Iraq would serve as a dramatic and inspiring example of freedom for other nations in the region.

"It is presumptuous and insulting to suggest that a whole region of the world -- or the one-fifth of humanity that is Muslim -- is somehow untouched by the most basic aspirations of life. Human cultures can be vastly different. Yet the human heart desires the same good things, everywhere on Earth. In our desire to be safe from brutal and bullying oppression, human beings are the same. In our desire to care for our children and give them a better life, we are the same. For these fundamental reasons, freedom and democracy will always and everywhere have greater appeal than the slogans of hatred and the tactics of terror."

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld gave an insightful speech today to the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Thought-provoking excerpt:

"Preventing an attack is always difficult. Convincing the publics of the world that there's a need to take preventative action, to stop something before it happens, is an even more difficult task. Go back to September 1st, for example, before the September 11th attack, and imagine what was available. A phone call here, a credit card there, someone trying to learn how to fly but he wasn't terribly interested in learning how to land... And you know, and you've got this scrap, and that scrap and this piece. And imagine if the president of the United States had had that three or four, five, six, eight, 10 scraps of information possibly, and had gone to the country and the world and said, "We need to invade Afghanistan and overthrow the Taliban and stop the al Qaeda from using Afghanistan as a terrorist training center and root out the al Qaeda terrorist network and other terrorist networks all across the globe, or we run the risk of suffering a September 11th-like attack." How many countries would have joined us in a coalition? Many? Any? Unlikely. Yet, had that happened, September 11th might have been avoided. And 3,000 innocent lives, men, women and children of every conceivable faith would have been saved.

"But in our new security environment, the consequences of failing to act until the dots are all connected could well be not 3,000 lives but possibly 30,000 or 300,000. We have truly entered a new security environment in the 21st century. It is possibly the most dangerous security environment the world has known."

Sean Bean and Orlando Bloom, two of our favorite actors from The Lord of the Rings, and Peter O'Toole are among the cast of Wolfgang Peterson's new film project TROY, based on Homer's Iliad. Sean will have the role of Odysseus; O'Toole will play Priam; Orlando will be Paris. Could be very cool.

The Iliad was widely considered to be the pivotal book of Western civilization for most of the last two millenia, but has in this century been eclipsed by the Odyssey, when people can be bothered to think of such things at all. A good excuse to revisit these profound works and continue avoiding the usual mass-media drivel.

The inimitable Ann Coulter certainly summed up the decision-making process about Iraq recently.

"Democrats claim they haven't seen proof yet that Saddam is a direct threat to the United States. For laughs, let's suppose they're right. In the naysayers' worst-case scenario, the United States would be acting precipitously to remove a ruthless dictator who tortures his own people. As Bush said, after detailing some of Saddam Hussein's charming practices: "If this is not evil, then evil has no meaning." It's not as if anyone is worried that we're making a horrible miscalculation and could be removing the Iraqi Abraham Lincoln by mistake.

"Either we're removing a dictator who currently has plans to fund terrorism against American citizens or -- if Bush is completely wrong and Eleanor Clift is completely right -- we're just removing a dictator who plans to terrorize a lot of people in the region, but not Americans specifically. Even for someone like me, who doesn't want America to be the world's policeman, the risk of precipitous action against Saddam Hussein doesn't keep me up at night."

The last 30 years -- since the 1972 Munich terrorist attacks -- should have taught us that terrorism is a threat that is limited in its danger without the support of uncivilized states. Middle Eastern terrorism is very dependent on the availability of cash, bases, training, and weapons that are ONLY available to state sponsors. States provide the cover of diplomatic means and channels. Claire Sterling documented this thoroughly when she examined the support of the USSR and its captive satellites for European terrorism in the 1970s. Note that widespread terrorism in Europe has dwindled following the breakup of the Soviet evil empire. Individual terrorists cannot always be stopped, but sophisticated terrorist networks CAN BE stopped, or at least kept back, if we deprive them of their state support. Iraq, Syria, Iran, North Korea, and Libya are well-known state supporters of terrorism. This is, of course, only the first item on the indictment list against Saddam.

Columnist Austin Bay has a very good take on our national security challenge, including the vital link between dangerous states and the terrorists who depend on them.

Just finished seeing CD-ROM developed to educate teens about dangers of smoking. Included much "Beavis & Butthead"-style Flash animation and lots of humor. Will transition nicely to the Web. But also included options to view pictures of what happens to the human body when smoking has taken its toll, including the results of cancer surgeries. Devastating. How do tobacco company people live with themselves? They are purveyors of pain and death. DON'T SMOKE!

Armed exhibitionist peaceniks - gotta love those Aussies. I'm just glad the blokes "laid down their weapons." But sounds like the women were typically more artistic.

Byron Bay, Australia - About 250 men took off their clothes Sunday and lay down to spell out the words "Peace Man" on a rugby field to protest the Australian government's strong support for Washington's hardline stance against Iraq. Protest organizer Cameron Sparkes-Carroll said the protesters bared themselves to send the peace message to the Australian government, which has sent 2,000 troops to join U.S. forces preparing for a possible war in the Persian Gulf. "Men of all shapes and sizes laid down their weapons and overcame fears of exposure to make the protest," Sparkes-Carroll said. The protest follows a similar demonstration two weeks ago when about 750 women shed their clothes in protest on a hillside near the same coastal resort town of Byron Bay, 435 miles north of Sydney. The women disrobed and lay end-to-end on a grassy knoll to form a heart shape around the words "No War" for an aerial photograph

The OpinionJournal.com alerts us to this item from Iran News, a reformist publication in Iran. This is a tough neighborhood, but relatively free voices sure sound different from what our mass media claims is the opinion of the "Arab street."

"What about the Iraqi people who have been taken hostage by a megalomaniacal dictator for so long? Why is nobody thinking about the immense suffering of the nation of Iraq? If one negotiates or yields to the demands of this hostage-taker Saddam Hussein, he will only be emboldened to increase his demands. He might even take more hostages. In any event, it is only the hostages [the Iraqi people] who will suffer further loss and injury….If Saddam Hussein is allowed to finesse his way out of this crisis, he may take the entire region as hostage in the near future….Moreover, someone should ask these antiwar protesters…if they realize how truly terrifying it is to live near a deranged and demented ruler such as Saddam Hussein, who has already invaded two of his neighbors?…Where were these protesters when Saddam Hussein was killing hundreds of thousands of citizens with conventional and unconventional weapons?…In conclusion, the same high and mighty Western powers who created the monster that is Saddam Hussein owe a debt of honor to the people of Iraq, as well as to the people of the entire region, to disarm and remove him from power now."

William Safire is eloquent in today's New York Times:

"In calculations by terror governments, only the certainty of relentless military pressure and ultimate defeat truly focuses the mind. In Baghdad, that necessary assurance of doom is still lacking. Thanks to the populist pacifism of Germany's chancellor, the crowd-pleasing anti-Americanism of France's president and the blossoming of the perennial peace "movement," Saddam Hussein is convinced that he can persevere.

With some logic, the dictator of Iraq has taken heart from the marching rallies and the TV railing. He believes that the tried-and-true technique that has maintained him in power will work again: deceive and resist, shift the burden of proof, concede enough to prevent attack, divide and delay. For as long as U.N. bickering gives him a chance to avoid disarming, he will take his chances on a war.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, however, the prospect of sustained counterattack by a stable government representing a united Israel is at last focusing the minds of Palestinian leaders and their Arab allies."

Today I received this question from daughter #1 away at college: Do we actually have $6 billion to give to Turkey? And another $12 billion to give to Israel? Yikes, more debt for America.

My response to her: Let's see... $6 billion and $12 billion, out of a federal budget of $2+ trillion and a GDP of $10 trillion? Peanuts. Money is the least of our concerns. The real issue with Turkey right now is not money, but their fear of restive Kurds if the oppression of Saddam is lifted. Much more important than economic factors and harder to handle. Deficit hand-wringing is a political smokescreen put up by those who want to damage this administration. Don't be deceived. (The issue of the dramatic growth in federal spending IS important, but how it's paid for, taxes or debt, is a technical issue.) And budgets are much less important than the threat to our very lives posed by terrorists and their protectors among the dictators and Islamic fascists.

My colleague John had another thought: what's $6 billion or $12 billion compared to the cost of recovering from a dirty bomb? And that's what's coming if we don't take this struggle to the enemy.

BAFTA, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, awarded Roman Polanski, fugitive and convicted child molester, its award for Best Film today, making him a front runner for the Oscar in March. VARIETY noted "...one person who will be absent from the Oscars is Polanski, who lives in France after fleeing the United States as he was about to be sentenced for having sex with a minor, and would face immediate arrest if he returned."

In the finale. producer Saul Zaentz was honored with one of the "highest honors in film," the Academy Fellowship. Mr. Zaentz chose to use his acceptance speech to re-fight the Bush-Gore election, claiming the Bush administration is illegal and illegitimate -- essentially dishonoring his country abroad during a time of war. Naturally, he got a standing ovation from the movie crowd. What a great example they all set for Western culture.

Only good moment was when The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers won the Orange award as favorite film, as voted by real people. The pros raced by that as fast as they could.

The White House continues its diligent efforts to "make the case." Are any utopians listening? Of course not...

Report - Apparatus of Lies: Iraq has "a highly developed, well disciplined, and expertly organized program designed to win support for the Iraqi regime through outright deceit. This elaborate program is one of the regime’s most potent weapons for advancing its political, military, and diplomatic objectives. In their disinformation and propaganda campaigns, the Iraqis use elaborate ruses and obvious falsehoods, covert actions and false on-the-record statements, and sophisticated preparation and spontaneous exploitation of opportunities. Many of the techniques are not new, but this regime exploits them more aggressively and effectively – and to more harmful effect – than any other regime in power today."

The bad guys are very, very busy.

Courtesy of InstaPundit.com: From Venezuela, A Counterplot
INSIGHT Magazine reports: As Washington prepares a high-stakes military venture in the Persian Gulf, a growing physical threat is being posed by Iraq, Libya and Iran to the soft underbelly of the United States. Hundreds and possibly thousands of agents from rogue Arab nations are working hard to help President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela take control of South America's largest oil industry and create al-Qaeda-friendly terrorist bases just two hours' flying time from Miami.

Hypocrisy Watch.
Ironic that many of the ads showing at the top of this free web page, asking visitors to buy their stuff, are apparently paid for by self-professed anti-capitalists. They have funds and are seeking more. They'll get even more $$$ from their fellow utopians when the shooting starts. Sort of like RFK Jr. who says people who drive SUVs are "anti-American" then leaves to get on a private jet to fly to Florida and this week's Democratic Party meeting. "No Blood for T-Shirts!"

Some good guys respond. More is coming - March 1 will be a big day around the world.

As tension builds over North Korea's suspected nuclear weapons program, pro-American rallies are drawing big crowds in the South Korean capital. "The majority has been silent too long," said Kim Bum-soo, who is helping organize a major pro-U.S. demonstration March 1 urging Washington to keep its troops here.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance and constancy of purpose. We must not tire, we must not falter, and we must not fail.

"Always after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and grows again." - J.R.R. Tolkien (author, scholar, soldier, veteran of the Battle of the Somme)

Sean Astin was great at Texas A&M. He was interviewed, took questions from the audience, and showed his short film. Very decent guy, well-spoken, mentioned with pride his volunteer work with the Pentagon and the Secretary of the Army. No politics (smart). He did talk about the fact that he realized quickly in September 2001 what would be the significance of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring when it came out less than 3 months after the 9/11 attacks. Made for a nice day. Drive to College Station took ninety minutes - less than a drive into work on a bad traffic day.

Yep, we're goin. Geek road trip.

Sean Astin To Visit Texas A&M Saturday Sean Astin who starred as Samwise Gamgee, the Hobbit, in "The Lord of the Rings," as Rudy Ruettiger in "Rudy," and Mikey in "The Goonies" will visit Texas A&M at noon Saturday (Feb. 22). He will take part in a tribute to him during which a short film he directed will be screened in competition at the 10th Annual Texas Film Festival in Rudder Theater.

Why am I not surprised?

S.F. Protest Smaller Than First Estimates 9:00 p.m. ET
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- An aerial survey of Sunday's anti-war protest in San Francisco showed the number of attendees was around 65,000 people -- not the 150,000 to 200,000 estimated by organizers and police.