The New York Times allowed G-d knows how many innocent trees to die so that it could publish a self-serving, deeply disingenuous op-ed by terrorist-cum-educator William Ayers – who actually expects us to feel sorry for his being pilloried during the presidential campaign:

I was cast in the “unrepentant terrorist” role; I felt at times like the enemy projected onto a large screen in the “Two Minutes Hate” scene from George Orwell’s “1984,” when the faithful gathered in a frenzy of fear and loathing. …

Now that the election is over, I want to say as plainly as I can that the character invented to serve this drama wasn’t me, not even close.

Let’s deconstruct “the facts” that Ayers and The Times present.

Ayers writes that he “never killed or injured anyone” and that The Weather Underground’s attacks were “on property, never on people.” The second statement is an outright lie and the first is true only by happenstance. The Weather Underground tried to kill a judge and his family. Here’s John Murtagh telling Brian Kilmeade and Steve Doocy about how his family was targeted (transcript) in an interview on "Fox and Friends" that aired October 9, 2008: 

In the bionote at the end of the op-ed, The Times uses Ayers' preferred (and sanitized) description of himself as “a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is the author of “Fugitive Days” and a co-author of the forthcoming “Race Course.” The paper’s crackerjack team of reporters somehow overlooked this publication Ayers co-authored with his comrades in the Weather Underground: "Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism." 

A couple of weeks before Election Day the Zombietime blog published scanned pages from the 1974 communist manifesto in which Ayers states the Weather Underground is "a guerrilla organization" of "communist women and men" who want to "lead the struggle, give coherence and direction to the fight, seize power and build the new society" and added this analysis (emphasis in the original):

Ayers was not simply protesting "against" the Vietnam War. Firstly, he wasn't against war in principle, he was agitating for the victory of the communist forces in Vietnam. In other words: He wasn't against the war, he was against our side in the war. … Secondly, and more significantly, the Vietnam War was only one of many issues cited by the Weather Underground as the justifications for their violent acts. … Ayers and the Weather Underground enumerated dozens of different grievances as the rationales for their bombings -- their overarching goal being to inspire a violent mass uprising against the United States government in order to establish a communist "dictatorship of the proletariat," in Ayers' own words.

As this excerpt from Ayers’ op-ed shows, he remains a communist to this very day:

In 1970, I co-founded the Weather Underground, an organization that was created after an accidental explosion that claimed the lives of thred [sic] of our comrades in Greenwich Village. [Emphasis, The Stiletto.]

Finally, Ayers downplays the seriousness of his terroristic crimes:

We did carry out symbolic acts of extreme vandalism directed at monuments to war and racism ... meant to respect human life and convey outrage and determination to end the Vietnam war. [Emphasis, The Stiletto.]

Apparently, domestic terrorists wanting to avoid Timothy McVeigh’s fate characterize their bombings as “vandalism.”

To read other posts in the “chutzpah” series, click here, here, here and here (second item).

Hopelessly Changeless: Broken Campaign Promises Watch: Part IV And Part V (A Two-Fer)

That pretty much describes Barack Obama’s dance on just when he plans to “end the war in Iraq” – the one campaign promise that drove gullible lefties and political newbies to donate unparalleled amounts of moolah to his campaign and to volunteer their time and efforts to get him in the White House. Asking Defense Secretary Robert Gates to stay on should be a humongous red flag that it ain’t gonna happen anytime soon. Reports The New York Times: 

There always was a tension, if not a bit of a contradiction, in the two parts of Mr. Obama’s campaign platform to “end the war” by withdrawing all combat troops by May 2010. To be sure, Mr. Obama was careful to say that the drawdowns he was promising included only combat troops. But supporters who keyed on the language of ending the war might be forgiven if they thought that would mean bringing home all of the troops.

Pentagon planners say that it is possible that Mr. Obama’s goal could be accomplished at least in part by relabeling some units, so that those currently counted as combat troops could be “re-missioned,” their efforts redefined as training and support for the Iraqis.

The Times notes an “evolution” in Obama’s thinking between July (“in a news conference that month in Amman, Jordan, Mr. Obama … declared that he would not hesitate to overrule American commanders and redirect troops in Afghanistan”) and now (‘“I believe that 16 months is the right time frame, but, as I’ve said consistently, [emphasis, The Stiletto] I will listen to the recommendations of my commanders,’ Mr. Obama said at that news conference on Monday.”)

For the sake candor and clarity, Obama should rephrase: “As I’ve said consistently since I’ve been getting intelligence and military briefings I did not have access to as a candidate and now more fully understand George W. Bush’s decisions as Commander in Chief …”

Another campaign promise that Obama is shoving down the memory hole even before taking the oath of office: He no longer plans to impose a windfall profits tax on U.S. oil companies, with the proceeds being used to fund a $1,000 rebate to American families to offset the skyrocketing gas and home heating oil costs of a few months back that have since been plummeting to levels not seen in years.  

To read other posts in the "hopelessly changeless" series click here (second item), here (last item) and here.

^* Hat Tip: Frank Stewart's December 6^th Bridge column. BTW: The Stiletto loves Bridge. Unfortunately for her - more so for her Bridge partners - she's not that good at it. If only she could find three other players whose enthusiasm far outstrips their skill. 

Police: NYC Hotels Not Safe From Terrorists

The NY Police Department – which has the most advanced counterterrorism program in the nation - sent three sent three investigators to India to learn how to strengthen security in the city’s hotels. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly shared their findings at a conference of private security officials, reports The Associated Press:

"In many ways, the city of Mumbai bears striking similarities to New York. It is the country's financial capital, a densely populated, multicultural metropolis and a hub for the media and entertainment industries. All of those features make it a compelling target."

The attacks, Kelly added, also "represent a shift in tactics toward low-tech weaponry and a coordinated effort by a small group of men." …

The NYPD officials advised the hotels to train their staffs to be on the lookout for anyone loitering in lobbies or guest floors. They also recommended being suspicious of guests booking unusually long stays - a sign someone may be using a room as a staging area for conducting extensive surveillance or storing weapons.

Editorial Note: Check out this riveting account of the unfolding terrorist assault at Mumbai’s Oberoi Hotel by New York Post reporter Raakhee Mirchandani, who was getting text messages and cell phone calls from a friend hiding out in the basement listening to the gunfire upstairs in the restaurant she fled when the first shots rang out (“The terrorist was unloading into the restaurant, leaving heaps of limp bodies, leaving orphans and widows, leaving a city in fear.”).

In Memoriam

Forrest J Ackerman, November 24, 1916 - December 4, 2008

Editorial Note: Ackerman was known as “Forrie” to his legion of friends and acquaintances, of which The Stiletto was one.