THE TENSION: The Decline and Fall of Western Civ for 31 Mar.

The Decline and Fall of Western Civ.: Barbarians have Crashed the Gate

A man holds sign during a protest in Washington, D.C. during the Iran hostage crisis 1979. The sign reads "deport all Iranians" and "get the hell out of my country."
It's the end of the world as we know it...

The Associated Press reports members of the House left Washington on Friday for their two-week spring break without weighing in on the international crisis tormenting the nation's closest ally: the capture of 15 British sailors and marines by Iran.

Perhaps the liberal elite simply wanted to slink away before anyone linked them to the last time a cowardly lack of leadership by Democrats provided an environment conducive to an Iranian hostage crisis. The current hostage crisis also lends credence to the allegations that president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was active in the participation, planning and leadership of the U.S. embassy takeover in Tehran in 1979. Yes, I know this time the hostages are British. But let's just hope that this time the hostages will be released long before 444 days elapse and a new Reaganesque leader takes power and puts an end to the foolishness. Then again, another Reagan wouldn't be such a bad thing....

More from: The Washington Post; The Associated Press.

The leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, toured Jerusalem holy sites Saturday, along with a congressional delegation that included Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, CBS News reports.

The group looked like any another busload of American tourists visiting the region's holy sights on a warm Jerusalem spring day -- but with security guards wearing earpieces to move the delegation along. The tour was not announced ahead of time.

As part of the trip, Pelosi and the delegation will visit Syria, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

"[Syria] is a state sponsor of terror, one that is trying to disrupt the Saniora government in Lebanon and one that is allowing foreign fighters to flow into Iraq from its borders," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. Fuad Saniora is prime minister of Lebanon.

Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said the delegation "intends to discuss a wide range of security issues affecting the United States and the Middle East with representatives of governments in the region, including Syria," as recommended by the Iraq Study Group.

The independent bipartisan commission suggested in December that engaging Syria and Iran could help the war effort. The Bush administration eventually agreed to reach out to the two countries, but only to discuss Iraq.
We can already see how that talking with Iran business is working out.

AP reports this year's presidential candidates are trying to get good mileage out of getting good mileage. The candidates, who do a lot of talking about the need for greater energy efficiency, are not just asking who walks the walk but also, who drives the hybrid?

Perhaps the candidates would do more for the environment by limiting their output of generic hot-air and carbon by talking less and taking fewer breaths.

While President Bush is ready to veto a pork laden spinach bill with war funding limitations, CNN reports a new analysis of funding for U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan concludes the Army could continue to wage war through July without additional funding from Congress.

In a report prepared for the Senate Budget Committee, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service said the Pentagon has flexibility to transfer money from elsewhere for "urgent requirements" and could finance the war with current appropriations "through most of July 2007."

While the mainstream media has tried to convince us of the impending doom of global warming, a key element of the second major report on climate change being released Friday in Belgium, AP reports: a rise in temprature means more food production in northern regions of the world.