07/06 El Decapitador
por Raúl del Pozo
El Mundo, martes 18 de julio de 2006

Con ese hábito de menospreciar, la derecha y sus órganos –me refiero a sus escritillas o cojones- aún toman a Zapatero como un cantamañanas que va a sacar de las cunetas los huesos para hacer bolas de bingo en el Valle de los Caídos. Con esa poquedad de casino, la derecha va a terminar convirtiéndose en extraparlamentaria. Tiene razón Zapatero: el PP negoció con ETA, negoció con HB, trasladó rejados, se sentó ante botellas de agua mineral con los de los hierros y no nos puede dar todos los días la barrilla con la traición a los muertos en un país de millones de apiolados y de decenas de amnistías. Sigan ustedes con su ofuscación mientras aquel Luis de provincias ha gateado en la cucaña del Estado y se ha transformado en un líder casi plebiscitario

Su propuesta, un tanto etérea de más libertades civiles -dependencia, parejas de hecho, paridad, feminismo radical- es la única invención de la izquierda desde el 68. En su brumario de fortuna hace casi lo que le da la gana, no se atreve a acelerar el mito de la autodeterminación en el País Vasco aunque está convencido de que sin pistolas en la nuca ocurriría como en Cataluña: retrocedería el independentismo.

A mí, como comprenderán me da igual que gane Zapatero o Rajoy, no espero el Premio de la Crítica, me aburro cuando me invitan a comer los políticos y sería una ofensa que me concedieran la medalla del Trabajo porque mi tarea, como la de los curas, es sermonear media hora y con vino, pero resulta extraño que aquella derecha que hizo la autopsia de un PSOE devorado por la corrupción sea un partido sin alternativa, sin inspiración, mientras Zapatero crece como un trastorno sin perder el espíritu del bizcocho. Ya hubo líderes así, sin estrés, de esos que no inspiraban temor y acabaron decapitando a los que les estorbaban. Lo más sorprendente es que cuando parece que el globo se va a desinflar encima del precipicio te pregunta si sabes jugar al mus. Caminó sobre las aguas sin mancharse los pies cuando la barca del PSOE se hundía.

"Tranquilos, confiad en mí". Así rezaba también DeGaulle no diciendo Jesucristo confío en tí, sino Jesucristo confía en mí. No sé si responderá al retrato del bribón (un rostro moldeado como un pétalo de loto, una voz agradable como el sándalo, un corazón cortante como las tijeras, una excesiva humildad) pero todo el poder está en su liderazgo. Nadie está en la línea de sucesión porque porque no hay número dos, ni número tres, ni número cuatro. Lo dice Manual Sánchez, del que me fío, es uno de los periodistas mejor dotados para entender el zapaterismo. "Ha cortado la cresta a los barones, ha exterminado dulcemente a los disidentes. El PSC come en las manos del PSOE, el guerrismo es cosa del pasado".

La derecha y sus escritillas diguen describiéndolo como un mentecato.

To some extent I agree with your long-running argument that insufficient troops were on the ground to accomplish our goals in Iraq. But, as Losing Faith now understands, the United States could not by itself provide those troops. In the first place, the American public probably would not support the manpower needs. More importantly, as we have seen, America, acting by itself, is too easily vilified, leading to exactly the opposite result intended. If we'd been able to put together a real coalition of countries, with the overwhelming force Colin Powell wanted, we might then have been able to make a difference.  A real coalition may have had to stay for years, but with the vast majority of the world lined up against a single deviant state, our chances at eventually creating the liberal democratic nation we wanted would have been maximized.

But Bush’s missteps have been a disaster. He could not build a coalition in Iraq because unlike the press and the American public, other countries around the world knew that our stated reasons for intervention were nonsense. They knew Iraq was no threat. Now, where there may well be good reasons to intervene in Iran, which is clearly underwriting Hezbollah and others, we have alienated our historical allies, blown our credibility, squandered our resources and set the precedent that individual nations should have the right to define their interests, even if it means invading another country that is no threat. The probability of building the coalition we need now is made practically impossible, and we cannot go it alone. In one of the tragedies of the last fifty years, Bush wasted our chances at real change by swaggering into Iraq with no sense of history.

The American public has got to grow up.  We cannot export our way of life unless we are willing to use overwhelming force and we have the support of a large percentage of the major powers in the world. War is ugly and it involves subjugation of a culture in order to recreate that culture. Noble war is nonsense. It is always savage, but sometimes necessary. If we are unable to build these coalitions, we must show restraint, engage in diplomacy and work with regimes that are not like us. Democracy by itself is no panacea. We are different because we recognize the individual. Without that characteristic, no country, whether it lies in the Middle East, Asia, Africa or anywhere else, will likely practice democracy as we understand it.

Schaefer, Comptroller of the State of Maryland, former Governor and former Mayor of Baltimore continues with his rampant senility to insult people left and right. Now it is Koreans, Hispanics and women. See this Baltimore Sun editorial in 2004 about multiculturalism

As for Schaefer's Here is an editorial from the Baltimore Sun:

The Schaefer legacy?
It is a sad thing to watch the self-destruction of an 84-year-old politician who meant so much to Baltimore for so many years. But the days of excuse-making are long since past. We can no longer dismiss William Donald Schaefer's tirades, his petty, misinformed and often incoherent soliloquies before the Board of Public Works, as merely Schaefer being Schaefer. This is no amusing quirk of personality, no unintended gaffe. This is calculated political theater, and its premeditation makes it all the more pathetic.
In a display that made even his most die-hard supporters cringe, Mr. Schaefer railed against the cost of educating immigrant children and Korean children in particular at this week's board meeting. His ire was provoked by a public school testing program that is financed by federal funds and required by federal law. Afterward, when he was questioned by Sun reporter Jennifer Skalka about why he objects to teaching English to non-English-speaking students, his response was to call her a "sweet little girl." And when asked if he would debate Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens, a fellow Democratic candidate for comptroller, he said he "wouldn't debate her on how to bake a chocolate cake."
What is the purpose of such behavior? To remind voters of his irrational anger toward a McDonald's clerk with poor English language skills he publicly ridiculed two years ago? Or perhaps he thought the electorate had forgotten his videotaped "walk again" remark to a young female state employee, which transformed him into a national laughingstock earlier this year. Surely it is not the behavior of a comptroller who has filed for re-election, not one who wants to retain his office - or a respected legacy.
Polls suggest Mr. Schaefer is vulnerable this fall. He faces credible opponents in the Democratic primary. These bizarre State House episodes, Wednesday's deliberate demeaning of women and immigrants being only the most recent example, go well beyond the pale. People are openly wondering if Mr. Schaefer's health or mental state is sound. It's hard to blame them. What a tragic denouement to a remarkable career of public service. And what a shame that the rest of us must bear witness to it.

7/06 Mike Bloomberg on immigration

Mike Bloomberg, bless his heart, reiterated his stance on the illegal immigration issue at the Philadelphia National Constitution Center hearing, called by Senator Allen Specter, to build support for legislation he co-sponsored that would create a new guest worker program, a path to legal status and increased border security, saying borders should be secured, but that deporting the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country is impractical. He added that the city's economy would "collapse if they were deported." He said illegal immigrants should be given a chance to earn permanent status and that improving the technology behind Social Security cards could help the government keep track of everyone.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/14975946.htm