I wanted to take a moment to wish you and your family a very Happy New Year. Best wishes for the year ahead. May you have long life, be healthy, and find success. Here’s to an even better year in 2008!

Update (12:25 AM): Welcome to 2008, everyone! Hopefully, we’re looking at a great year ahead of us. Tim Blair, Michelle Malkin, Hot Air, Ace, and Glenn Reynolds are just a few ringing in the New Year with best wishes.

Mike Huckabee announced today that he’s pulling a negative ad designed to go after Mitt Romney, saying:

Mr. Huckabee, with his wife standing silently off to the side, said that the “conventional wisdom” was that when you are attacked, you attack back. But, he said, an hour before the press conference, which was scheduled for noon, he just decided not to go that route.

“It’s not worth it,” he said.

Polls regularly show that Iowa voters do not reward candidates who go negative, and perhaps Mr. Huckabee saw some of those polls. “The people of Iowa deserve better,” he said.

Huckabee then proceeded to play the ad for a room packed wall-to-wall with reporters (including Russert) with cameras rolling. Mark Halperin has the video.

Huckabee is so full of crap I can smell him from here. His strategy was obvious and simple: Announce you’re pulling the ad at the last minute to show how nice and moral a person you are, then show it to a crowd of cameras and reporters so the content gets seen and talked about anyway. He may not know about the NIE, AIDS, immigration, foreign policy, or anything actually, ya know, important, but he definitely has the “slimy” part down pat.

Via Bryan, there’s this from WTNH Connecticut. A Vietnam War Memorial in New Haven was spray painted in orange with the words “Kill whites MS 13″. MS 13 referring to the deadly international gang which has spread across the U.S. in the last few years.

New Haven (WTNH) _ Veterans are outraged that a war memorial in New Haven has been vandalized.

The Vietnam War Memorial at Long Wharf was spray painted with the threatening words “Kill whites MS 13.”

Seeing this just crushed the veterans we spoke to. The names on that wall that are covered in paint, are the names of those who fought and died for this country in the Vietnam War. Tonight, police are investigating whether this is the work of a violent street gang, but the veterans we spoke to, say whoever they are, aren’t as tough as they might think.

“This irks me. This hurts me deep to my heart,” Vietnam Veteran Emery Linton Sr. said…

Whoever did it sprayed “MS-13? all over the place. According to law enforcement, MS 13 is a violent international gang with roots in El Salvador. Members are involved in drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and even human trafficking and their presence is growing in the U-S. Just this summer, police in the Boston area did a big round-up of MS 13 gang members.

That said, New Haven police say there hasn’t been any documented MS-13 activity so far in the city. But they are investigating this incident.

Bryan points out that vandalism isn’t outside of MS 13’s activities, so it’s entirely possible they’re responsible. I am suspicious, however, as “Kill Whites” written in orange spray paint is a bit, um, unusual. I’m not saying MS 13 didn’t do it, but I’m not laying any money down betting they did. MS 13 has been well-known for its human smuggling activities, and may have worked with Al Qaeda.

Members of the New Haven County Vietnam Veterans Group have vowed to clean up the memorial, with the cost so far unknown. I tried to find a donation link, but it doesn’t appear the group has a website.

Sleazy with a capital “S”. What makes it even worse is the state’s response.

Marine Sgt Mike McNulty is on activation orders to Iraq (second tour). On December 1st, 2007, Mike went to visit a friend in Chicago before deploying to say goodbye. In order to get to his friend’s residence, and keep in mind that Chicago is a myriad of diagonal and one-way streets, the front entrance (right way) to the one-way street was blocked. Mike, being a Marine, overcame and adapted by driving around the block to the other end of the street and backing up all the way to his friend’s place.

While saying goodbye, at about 11am, he noticed a man leaning up against his car. Mike left his friend’s apartment and caught the man keying his car on multiple sides.

After caught in the process, the man told Mike, “you think you can do whatever you want with Department of Defense license plates and tags”. (In Illinois you can purchase veteran, Marine, or medal plates. Mike has Illinois Marine Corps license plates.) During the exchange, he made additional anti-military comments.

Mike called the Chicago police and had the man arrested. A citation against the man was issued for misdemeanor criminal damage to private property.

Turns out the man who keyed Mike’s car is an anti-military lawyer named Jay R. Grodner. The determining factor as to whether or not the damage is a felony is whether the cost to repair it is over $300. After a visit to a body shop, it was determined the damage would cost about $2,400 to repair, which would make it a felony. However…

Though the damages are over $300 (the amount which determines felony or misdemeanor) Grodner offered Mike to pay his deductible, $100, and have Mike’s insurance pay for it.

The Illinois States Attorneys tried to coerce Mike into accepting the offer. Appalled, Mike said he wanted this to be a felony. The state told Mike that it was not worth pursuing felony damage against Grodner because they don’t have the time. In addition, the state prosecutors told him that he would never it ‘would be difficult to recover the damages’ from Grodner because he is a lawyer.

Instead, the State asked Mike if he would accept probation for Grodner. Mike accepted, probation was offered to Grodner, and Grodner declined the offer, saying within ear shot of Mike, “I’m not going to make it easy on this kid”. Mike’s next court date is tomorrow, Monday, December 31st, to pursue misdemeanor charges against Grodner.

Mike’s leave is over on January 2nd when he reports to Camp Pendleton before heading to Iraq.

Jay Grodner knows this and is going to file for a continuance until Mike is gone and cannot appear in court.

Props to Mike for not pulverizing this asshat on the spot. Says See-Dub:

I’m sure one of those big law firms who did all the pro-bono work for the Gitmo detainees will send someone right over.

Here’s a quote by John Edwards in today’s New York Times.

“You can’t nice these people to death. You’d better send somebody into that arena who’s ready.”

Before you look, what do you think he’s talking about? Fighting terrorism? Dealing with Iran? Nope. He’s attacking Senator Obama for how Obama plans to deal with drug companies. As for fighting terrorism? Edwards considers the “war on terror” a bumper sticker slogan.

Shh! Wouldn’t want the American people knowing about this, now would we?

Iraq’s interior ministry spokesman said Saturday that 75 percent of Al Qaeda in Iraq’s terrorist network had been destroyed this year, but the top American commander in the country said the terror group remained his chief concern.

Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf said the disruption of the terrorist network was due to improvements in the Iraqi security forces — which he said had made strides in weeding out commanders and officers with ties to militias or who were involved in criminal activities.

He also credited the rise of anti-Al Qaeda in Iraq groups, mostly made up of Sunni fighters the Shiite-dominated government has cautiously begun to embrace. Additionally, an increase in American troops since June has been credited with pushing many militants out of Baghdad.

General Petraeus readily admits that al Qaeda remains the biggest threat for us in Iraq, but the Interior Minister says its activity is now “limited to certain places north of Baghdad” and forces are now pursuing those groups. The Associated Press, to its credit, notes the significant improvement since the surge.

But violence in Iraq has dropped significantly since June — the U.S. military says it is down 60 percent nationwide — demonstrating success in fighting the terrorist network…

According to an Associated Press count, civilian deaths in Iraq have steadily dropped in the second half of 2007 after seeing a high of 2,155 killed in May. Through Friday, deaths in December stood at 691, the lowest for the year and much lower than the 2,309 killed in December 2006.

Then there’s this:

Meanwhile, the radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on Saturday for reconciliation between his followers and Iraqi security forces in the holy city of Karbala, according to al-Sadr aide Sheik Mohannad al-Gharrawi.

I’m sure it’s simply a coincidence that media coverage of the war has been down as of late…

I know the act of actually using his own words against him is often considered “bashing” by many of his supporters in the blogosphere, but that just means I’ll have to “bash” him for a minute here. Both come at you via Hot Air.

First, Huckabee claims that more Pakistanis come across our border illegally than any other country, with the exception of those directly south of the border.

On Thursday night he told reporters in Orlando, Fla.: “We ought to have an immediate, very clear monitoring of our borders and particularly to make sure if there’s any unusual activity of Pakistanis coming into the country.”

On Friday, in Pella, Iowa, he expanded on those remarks.

“When I say single them out I am making the observation that we have more Pakistani illegals coming across our border than all other nationalities except those immediately south of the border,” he told reporters in Pella. “And in light of what is happening in Pakistan it ought to give us pause as to why are so many illegals coming across these borders.”

Um, no. The Department of Homeland Security lists several eastern countries with more illegals coming across our borders than Pakistan. When asked, Huckabee claimed 660 illegals from Pakistan crossed the border last year, citing a “newspaper report”. AllahPundit could only find one article, from the Denver Post, which gives the same exact number. However, it explicitly mentions that that number is for 2002-2005. As a matter of fact, Pakistan hasn’t even ranked in the top 10 nations of origin since ‘05.

Second up, Huckabee claims former Ambassador John Bolton, someone who definitely swings a chunk of weight with many conservatives, is among his advisers. That’s actually a surprise to Ambassador Bolton, who says he’s yet to speak to Huckabee at all:

In recent days, Mike Huckabee has tried to answer long-standing questions about who is on his foreign policy team. On Friday morning, he listed former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton as someone with whom he either has “spoken or will continue to speak.”

At a Thursday evening press conference, Huckabee said, “I’ve corresponded with John Bolton, who’s agreed to work with us on developing foreign policy.”

Bolton, however, has a different view. “I’d be happy to speak with Huckabee, but I haven’t spoken with him yet,” said Bolton, now a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington.

“I’m not an official or unofficial adviser to anyone,” said Bolton, who mentioned he’d had conversations with other Republican candidates but refused to name any names.

Good to know.

To be specific, the anti-gun ad is being run by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group primarily funded by none other than Michael Bloomberg. I share Dan’s feeling that “If that’s the first card Bloomberg has decided to play, his entry into the race is bound to help the Republican candidate more than anything else.”. I can’t see him pulling many votes from Republicans.

I’m not quite sure this is a sign of a foray into election ‘08, as much as another sign of Bloomberg’s nanny-statism. On the other hand, I’d point out that Mayor Mike is front-and-center in the ad’s graphic. We’ll just have to see.

Via Glenn Reynolds.

CNN reports on the significant confusion as to exactly how Benazir Bhutto died, and who exactly killed her. While the official story states she hit her head on a lever, fracturing her skull, most reported hearing multiple shots before Bhutto disappeared into the car. Now, The New York Sun claims she may have been taken out by a team of five snipers.

American and Pakistani military leaders are seeking to account for what may be renegade commando units from the Pakistani military’s special forces in the wake of the assassination of Pakistan’s opposition leader and former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto.

The attack yesterday at Rawalpindi bore the hallmarks of a sophisticated military operation. At first, Bhutto’s rally was hit by a suicide bomb that turned out to be a decoy. According to press reports and a situation report of the incident relayed to The New York Sun by an American intelligence officer, Bhutto’s armored limousine was shot by multiple snipers whose armor-piercing bullets penetrated the vehicle, hitting the former premier five times in the head, chest, and neck. Two of the snipers then detonated themselves shortly after the shooting, according to the situation report, while being pursued by local police.

A separate attack was thwarted at the local hospital where Bhutto possibly would have been revived had she survived the initial shooting.

Like Allah, I’m skeptical. What’s the benefit of using a suicide bomber as a “decoy”? Wouldn’t it be easier to shoot her as she stuck her head through the roof, instead of when she would be pulled back in the car, bodyguards most likely piled on her, with the SUV speeding away? Just doesn’t make sense.

But then there’s this from McClatchy. In Hot Air’s comment section, I said I seemed to remember a discrepancy in the reports of how many shots were fired. Some said two, others claiming 3. McClatchy says…between 3 and five.

Police officers had frisked the 3,000 to 4,000 people attending Thursday’s rally when they entered the park, but as the speakers from Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party droned on, the police abandoned many of their posts. As she drove out through the gate, her main protection appeared to be her own bodyguards, who wore their usual white T-shirts inscribed: “Willing to die for Benazir.”

Why did the police abandon their posts all of a sudden? Why, at one of her possibly most vulnerable times, was her only protection her personal bodyguards? Allah also points out that the bomb couldn’t have been too close to the bomb, because she was taken to the local hospital in the same SUV — not transferred to another car.

So claims the Interior Minister, via CNews.

But later Friday, Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said all three shots missed her as she greeted supporters through the sunroof of her vehicle, which was bulletproof and bombproof.

He also denied that shrapnel caused her death.

Instead, Cheema said Bhutto was killed when she tried to duck back into the vehicle, and the shock waves from the blast knocked her head into a lever attached to the sunroof, fracturing her skull.

Who’s responsible? Allegedly a group with “ties” to Al Qaeda. Pakistan’s government apparently came to that conclusion from two findings: A) Reconstructing the attacker’s mangled head, B) Intercepting a “good job” memo from Baitullah Mehsud, a Taliban chieftain.
Update: Allah also points out that we’ll never know for sure exactly how she died. Per her husband’s request, no autopsy was performed.