November 18, 2006
As a fifth-grader, David Henry Tuck had punched and kicked his teacher, leaving the woman with broken glasses and a black eye. A few years later, he beat a man unconscious because of his ethnicity. When a deputy tried to arrest him for that attack, he kicked the officer in the hand.After listening about the violent past of the 18-year-old, jurors sentenced him Friday to life in prison for beating another teen so severely that the youth still requires medical attention for internal injuries caused when Tuck kicked a plastic pipe into the youth's rectum.
On Thursday, a Harris County jury convicted Tuck of aggravated sexual assault for the April incident, in which a witness said he shouted "white power!" and racist epithets while assaulting the Hispanic youth.
The jury sentenced Tuck to the maximum under the law, including a $10,000 fine. He will be eligible for parole in 30 years. The jury deliberated for less than an hour. It declined to comment afterward, court officials said.
Why the attack? Because the Hispanic victim had allegedly kissed a white girl.
Now some want the Legislature to pass a new "hate crime" law because of this incident. I disagree. It seems pretty clear to me that the statutes that exist right now are more than adequate to deal with such offenses -- just as the legal system adequately dealt with the killers of James Byrd (two death sentences, with life in prison for the third perp for his testimony against his co-defendants). The question comes down to one of the will of prosecutors to pursue the cases with the tools they have -- tools that offer the maximum punishments available under state law for any crime.
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November 15, 2006
The top American military commander for the Middle East said Wednesday that to begin a significant troop withdrawal from Iraq over the next six months would lead to an increase in sectarian killings and hamper efforts to persuade the Iraqi government to make the difficult decisions needed to secure the country.The commander, Gen. John P. Abizaid, made it clear that he did not endorse the phased troop withdrawals being proposed by Democratic lawmakers. Instead, he said the number of troops in Iraq might be increased by a small amount as part of new plans by American commanders to improve the training of the Iraqi Army.
And yes, I recognize that he criticized the Bush Administration for not sending more troops earlier. I agree with him. But the solution isn't to cut and run now.
More from Captain Ed.
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Four years after racially impolitic remarks cost him the Senate's top post, Sen. Trent Lott (Miss.) rejoined Congress's leadership ranks yesterday when his Republican colleagues turned to the veteran insider and skilled vote-counter to help them plot their return to majority status.By a 25 to 24 secret-ballot vote, Lott defeated Sen. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) for the position of minority whip, the party's second-highest post. As expected, GOP senators elected Mitch McConnell (Ky.) as Senate minority leader for the new Congress that will convene in January. But his victory was tempered by Lott's come-from-behind win over Alexander, who was seen as McConnell's and the Bush administration's preferred choice for whip.
An assistant whip might have been acceptable, but certainly not the second-highest GOP slot in the Senate. It just looks bad at a time when we need more new faces in leadership.
But then again, considering the news in the post below this one, perhaps it isn't such a big deal -- if a Kluxer like Robert Byrd can be elevated to a position three heartbeats from the presidency, then certainly we can forgive an awkward statement made to an old man on his birthday.
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According to Human Events:
10. U.S.-Taiwan Military Ties - NayIssue summaries here.
9. United Nations Funding Cap - Nay
8. Religious Freedom for Churches - Nay
7. End Foreign-Language Ballot Mandate - Nay
6. Eliminate Federal Mandate for English Language Assistance - Nay
5. Government Spending Cuts (1%) - Nay
4. Illegal Immigration Residency Extension - Yea
3. Border Security Measures - Nay
2. No Child Left Behind - Yea
1. Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit - Yea
Vote for Pence and Shadegg -- Dump Boehner and Blunt.
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D,
Robert Byrd -- the only Klansman serving in the US Senate -- was named President Pro Tempore of the Senate today.
Indeed, I believe every member of the Klueless Klux Klan to serve in the US Senate has been a Democrat. That ought to make you think.
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U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the incoming speaker of the House of Representatives, supports District voting rights and is a co-sponsor of legislation that would give Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) a full vote in the House, a spokeswoman said yesterday.The statement from Pelosi's office clarified her position after heated discussion on Washington Post Radio about her position on the issue. On Thursday, Pelosi said she would change House rules on the first day of the new Democratic-controlled session in January so that Norton could vote on proposed changes but not final approval of legislation on the House floor. That would be a temporary measure, Norton said.
"She wants D.C. to have full voting rights in the House," said Jennifer Crider, a spokeswoman for Pelosi (D-Calif.). "She doesn't co-sponsor many pieces of legislation."
The District of Columbia is not a state. It is therefore ineligible to have a voting representative in Congress --period.
Indeed, there are only three legitimate avenues available to accomplish that end.
The first is to admit the District of Columbia as a state -- which would upset the Founders' desire to not have the nation's capital in any state or other jurisdiction outside of control of the Federal government. In addition, since the District is territory ceded by the state of Maryland for purposes of establishing a capital city, that state would need to grant permission for any such move.
The second would be to amend the Constitution to permit such representation without statehood -- something that I do not see as being possible politically.
The third would be to allow the District of Columbia to be counted as a part of Maryland for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives, and for residents of the District of Columbia to vote in Maryland's Senatorial and Congressional elections.
But the solution proposed at this time is unacceptable from a Constitutional standpoint -- and Pelosi's championing of it bodes ill for the level of respect to be given the Constitution over the next two years.
UPDATE -- 11/15/2006: Here is the contrary argument from the District's Mayor-elect. I still say it takes a Constitutional amendment.
OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Samantha Burns, third world county, Pirates Cove, Uncooperative Blogger, Wake Up America, Clash of Civilizations, Is It Just Me?, Adam's Blog, Random Yak, Right Nation, Pursuing Holiness, Blue Star Chronicles, Conservative Cat, Sister Toldjah, Stop The ACLU, Amboy Times, Woman Honor Thyself, Church & State, Bullwinkle Blog, Right Wing Nation
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Actually, that isn't quite accurate. What he really seems to have said is that having ethical leadership in Congress isn't nearly as important as surrendering in a war that we are winning.
In his first interview since reportedly calling a Democratic bill on lobbying and ethics "total crap," Rep. John Murtha told "Hardball" host Chris Matthews he meant it was "crap" to deal with ethics problems when there are more serious issues facing the nation such as the war in Iraq."It is total crap that we have to deal with an issue like this when weÂ’ve got a war going on and we got all these other issues," Murtha said.
And this is the guy who Pelosi wants in leadership as she allegedly seeks to "clean up Congress." It says everything that needs to be said about Democrat ethics reform.
And by the way -- has any member of the Democrat leadership gone down to Louisiana to campaign against William "$90K in the freezer" Jefferson? If they have, it sure hasn't mate the press -- which makes me reasonably certain that they haven't done it. That is the even bigger sign that all the ethics talk is just that -- talk.
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November 14, 2006
Sen. Mel Martinez, who will become the new general chairman of the Republican Party after it lost control of Congress, said on Tuesday he would not be an "attack dog" in the 2008 White House race...."One of the things that I made clear as I discussed this job role with the president is I was not going to be an attack dog, and I don't intend to, and I wasn't asked to be one," he told reporters at the White House.
We need a Newt Gingrich in this role -- we are getting a Bob Michel.
H/T Malkin
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Here are the full tallies of all votes cast:
| Votes | Council link |
|---|---|
| 2 | Irony so Thick You Can Bathe In It Right Wing Nut House |
| 1 2/3 | Why Not Turkey? American Future |
| 1 2/3 | Damned Fools Done With Mirrors |
| 1 1/3 | Just Saying "No" To Junior R.O.T.C. The Education Wonks |
| 1 | Sob Stories and Voter IDs The Sundries Shack |
| 1 | Ahmadinejad's Game Soccer Dad |
| 1 | A Stale Question: What Will It Take for the French to Rebel? Gates of Vienna |
| 1/3 | Weekend Monkey Interviews Senator Kerry Joshuapundit |
| 1/3 | The Democrats' Looming Disappointment ShrinkWrapped |
| Votes | Non-council link |
|---|---|
| 3 1/3 | The Demand for Perfection Rants and Raves |
| 2 1/3 | Discussing the Developing Role of the Media During Times of War The QandO Blog |
| 1 2/3 | John Kerry STFU Ocean Guy |
| 1 | The Battle for the Middle East. Iraq the Model |
| 1 | Hamas in the New York Times Counterterrorism |
| 2/3 | Shame on Him OpinionJournal |
| 2/3 | Election 2006 Cox & Forkum |
| 1/3 | The Roast Beef of Old England The Roast Beef of Old England |
| 1/3 | Army Times Against Rummy Electric Venom |
| 1/3 | Borat Brilliant, Babel Drivel Minor Fast Days |
| 1/3 | Keith Ellison, the Wahhabist Choice for Congress PipeLineNews.org |
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November 13, 2006
House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi's endorsement of Rep. John P. Murtha's bid for House majority leader set off a furor yesterday on Capitol Hill, with critics charging that she is undercutting her pledge to clean up corruption by backing a veteran lawmaker who they say has repeatedly skirted ethical boundaries.Pelosi (D-Calif.) directly intervened in the heated contest between Murtha (D-Pa.) and House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) on Sunday by circulating a letter to Democratic lawmakers. The letter voiced her support for Murtha and put her prestige on the line in a closely fought leadership battle. Some Democratic lawmakers and watchdog groups say they are baffled that Pelosi would go out of her way to back Murtha's candidacy after pledging to make the new 110th Congress the most ethical and corruption-free in history.
Murtha, a longtime senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, has battled accusations over the years that he has traded federal spending for campaign contributions, that he has abused his post as ranking party member on the Appropriations defense subcommittee, and that he has stood in the way of ethics investigations. Those charges come on top of Murtha's involvement 26 years ago in the FBI's Abscam bribery sting.
"Pelosi's endorsement suggests to me she was interested in the culture of corruption only as a campaign issue and has no real interest in true reform," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a Democratic-leaning group. "It is shocking to me that someone with [Murtha's] ethics problems could be number two in the House leadership."
"People have known about these things for months," said one Democratic House member who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to anger the presumed incoming speaker. "I am sure they are going to become much more important in the next few days."
I love it when they eat their own.
And Murtha's spokesperson says "Just ignore the man behind the curtain!"
Andrew Koneschusky, a spokesman for Murtha, declined to discuss ethics issues, saying: "We are focused on the future. We are focused on electing the best candidate to lead our party and deliver the change the American people want, and that is Jack Murtha. We are looking forward, not backward."
In other words, "Ignore the fact that my boss has a history of corruption that stinks like the NYC Sewer system -- we need to cut-and-run from Iraq at a speed that only John Murtha can reach!"
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PP, 
(,
The man once dubbed ''America's mayor'' has taken the first step toward becoming America's next president.Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican moderate who achieved near-mythic popularity for his handling of the Sept. 11 attacks, filed papers Friday in New York to create the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee Inc. A copy of the document was obtained by The Associated Press.
Creating an exploratory committee does not make Giuliani a declared candidate, but it does mean he intends to travel the country gauging support and preparing for a White House bid.
''Mayor Giuliani has not made a decision yet,'' Giuliani spokeswoman Sunny Mindel said in a statement Monday night. ''With the filing of this document, we have taken the necessary legal steps so an organization can be put in place and money can be raised to explore a possible presidential run in 2008.''
We love him. We admir him. But are GOP primary voters willing to put aside differences with Rudy on key issues in order to nominate him? He is so centrist as to go over the line into liberal on a number of issues -- abortion and gay rights among them -- that I think many of them won't be able to hold their nose and vote for him. But he is McCain without the baggage of campaign finance reform -- and his efforts in the days and weeks following 9/11 are undeniably the stuff of legend -- and the great story of our time.
But I'm still backing Mitt.
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Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), a close White House ally and a Cuban American, has agreed to become the next general chairman of the Republican National Committee, GOP officials said. The appointment comes in the wake of an election that yielded shrinking GOP support from Hispanic voters.Martinez, a first-term senator, will remain in office and serve as the party's chief spokesman and fundraiser heading into the 2008 elections. Mike Duncan, the RNC's current general counsel and a former party treasurer, will manage day-to-day operations and be elected chairman in January, Republican aides said.
* * * The selection of Martinez was a setback for Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, who last week lost a Senate race and who has expressed interest in the job. GOP officials said it was not coincidental that both Steele and Martinez are minorities who have shown an ability to broaden the party's appeal. Republicans captured 10 percent of the African American vote last week, identical to the 2004 number.
It also does not hurt that Martinez is familiar with Florida, the electoral prize that has been a main arena in recent presidential elections. Martinez won election there in 2004, after resigning as secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make the run.
Martinez earned some national fame in 2000 when, as a top U.S. official, he strenuously argued before Congress and TV cameras that a Cuban boy named Elian Gonzalez should not be forced to return to Cuba. Five years later, he was again on the national stage, this time unintentionally, when a top aide of his was outed as the author of a memo detailing a political strategy for intervening to keep Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman, alive.
The only Hispanic Republican in the Senate, Martinez, 60, is expected to focus mostly on speaking out for GOP candidates, raising money and pushing the party to broaden its reach. Duncan will be the nuts-and-bolts leader. The dual-leadership model is fairly common for modern party committees. It allows high-profile party officials to lend their experience to the committee without being consumed by managing a large organization.
The GOP base -- myself included -- is unhappy with this announcement.
From Malkin.
Oh, well. Michael Steele has been passed up for Sen. Mel Martinez. Yes, a squish on border security is now the RNC chair. Has the GOP learned anything?
From RedState.
Oh, this is simply priceless. With Ken Mehlman retiring, we need a new RNC Chair.We could have had a promising up-and-comer with a great life story, fantastic political skills, and odds-on-sharps like you wouldn't believe.
We could have had a dirty machine politico, who may make us all cringe a little at what he's willing to countenance, but who is used to the odd knifefight with a K-Bar and a rusty razor, and who could help us work our way back into the majority.
We could have had a lobotomized sea lion, who would at least know to bark to get some kind of fish on command.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the next best thing (by a little) to making Kevin Phillips the new RNC Chair: Bonehead Martinez. Yes, that's right, Bonehead, who with a five-point Bush win in trending-Red Florida at his back, barely managed to beat one of the more anodyne, bland Democrats to run for the Senate outside of Massachusetts; Bonehead, who managed to take a dicey political situation in the Terri Schiavo affair and make himself into a Google search result; Bonehead, who if asked to eat eggs over easy and shave at the same time, would end up with shiny whites and yolk smeared in fork-tine streaks across his face; Bonehead is going to be the RNC Chair.
And if gets better! He's going to multitask!
This was brought to you today by the same morons who griped all last week about do-nothing leadership in the House, only to ... wait for it ... prepare to vote in the same losers!
I'm proud to be a Republican today.
Even the more circumspect Captain Ed is underwhelmed.
I completely agree with the sentiments expressed over at BizzyBlog.
Dear GOP,As a member of the base you appear to be abandoning, allow me to make two points:
- The current apparent pick is a sitting Senator, and no matter how worthy he may be as a person, putting someone who actually is voting on laws and resolutions (in charge) is inappropriate bordering on irrational.
- Michael Steele ran such a stellar campaign to get as far as he did in the Maryland Senate race. He is a passionate and outstanding spokesperson that who the party could rally around. Frankly, selecting anyone else would be foolish.I am surely supported by millions of other Republicans BEGGING you to PLEASE select Michael Steele.
There's a poll over at HotAir.
Sorry -- I just don't think we need to have a part time party chair. If Martinez is staying in the Senate (and I think he would be a fool not to do so), then he will have to delegate much of the day-to-day activity to staffers. But the GOP needs full-time nurturing after the debacle that occurred a week ago, with a full-time public face who will not conxstantly be triangulating between his role as a senator, a supporter of the administration, and a party-builder.
And in addition, Michael Steele needs to stay out of the "black slot" in the Cabinet.
UPDATE: The President has announced the Martinez appointment -- before the RNC members even vote on the matter. Seems to me that he is counting on an acclamation. Why don't we start contacting the men and women of the RNC from our states and tell them Mel Martinez is not acceptable -- and demand Michael Steele. If you think it can't happen, just remember the words "Harriet Miers".
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November 12, 2006
House Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) endorsed Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) yesterday as the next House majority leader, thereby stepping into a contentious intraparty fight between Murtha and her current deputy, Maryland's Steny H. Hoyer.The unexpected move signaled the sizable value Pelosi gives to personal loyalty and personality preferences. Hoyer competed with her in 2001 for the post of House minority whip, while Murtha managed her winning campaign. Pelosi has also all but decided she will not name the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) to chair that panel next year, a decision pregnant with personal animus.
Pelosi had been outspoken about her frustration with Murtha's declaration that he would challenge Hoyer, currently the House minority whip, for the majority leader post long before Democrats had secured the majority. Many believed she would remain on the sidelines, just as Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) did earlier this year when three Republicans vied for the post of House majority leader.
But in her first real decision as the incoming speaker, Pelosi said she was swayed by Murtha's early stance for a withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Her letter of endorsement yesterday made clear that she sees Iraq as the central issue of the next Congress and that she believes a decorated Marine combat veteran at the helm of the House caucus would provide Democrats ammunition in their fight against congressional Republicans and President Bush on the issue.
"I salute your courageous leadership that changed the national debate and helped make Iraq the central issue of this historic election. It was surely a dark day for the Bush Administration when you spoke truth to power," she wrote. "Your strong voice for national security, the war on terror and Iraq provides genuine leadership for our party, and I count on you to lead on these vital issues."
Seems to me that they really are Surrendercrats.
And the decision on Rep. Harman means that the new chair of the Intelligence Committee will be Alcee Hastings -- whose impeachment and removal from his federal judgeship on bribery charges seems not to be an obstacle in Pelosi's eyes, even though she voted for it. So much for fighting the culture of corruption.
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,
Though red-eyed and exhausted from staying up most of Election Night, Amber Moon was ebullient over tasting the first victories of her career in Democratic politics.The 27-year-old University of Houston graduate began working for Democrats in 2002 and now is the state party's official spokeswoman. The last time Democrats had a major victory in Texas, Moon was 14.
Though they were small in comparison with the gains Democrats made nationally, the changes were noticeable: Democrats swept county races in Dallas and Hays. They narrowed the Republican margin in Harris County. They picked up five seats in the state House on Tuesday, plus one more earlier this year.
They captured the U.S. House seat once held by Republican strongman Tom DeLay, and U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-San Antonio, is facing a runoff.
"We were very excited about the victories we have," Moon said. "People definitely sense a wind of change, and it's not just a national mood trickling down."
But the big question is whether these gains are a fluke of this one election cycle.
The statewide Republican vote this year was the lowest since 1998. And the top vote-getter of the Democrats' 2006 ticket still received fewer votes than the best-performing loser of the party's 2002 ticket.Plus, the Democrats still face a Republican Party that is far better financed.
And therein lies the story. The vote for the statewide ticket was down because of a four-way gubernatorial race,and many people not voting down-ballot. Had it been a straight-up race between Chris Bell and Rick Perry, Perry would have handed Bell his head by a margin of at least 20 percentage points – and the other statewide races would have been even more strongly Republican than they were this year. The CD22 race would have turned out different if there had been a Republican on the ballot (Dems won a court fight to prevent that) and the Bonilla race is a runoff because of the redistricting decision this summer and the resultant free-for-all with multiple candidates. Bonilla will likely hold his seat, and CD22 will be Republican again in two years.
But there are changes. Dallas County continued its trend towards the Democrats, with a sweep of local races. Harris County judicial races went for the GOP, but by smaller margins which were probably the result of the drop in straight-party voting this year. And the shift of GOP voters to suburban counties from the urban core in Dallas and Harris are likely to make both Democrat strongholds with a majority of minority voters – but with shrinking populations. In the mean time, the suburban counties are growing and growing Republican.
And then there is the Hispanic vote – and the question of how it ultimately breaks here in Texas. If Republicans can get anywhere near a 50% share, we are likely to remain the majority party. And there is evidence of such a trend.
Carney said Hispanics cannot be counted on as Democratic voters when the new immigrant population begins voting. He said Republicans are reaching out to those potential voters.He said that is why a decade ago a quarter of the Hispanic voters cast Republican ballots and now it is about 35 percent.
Perry won heavily Hispanic South Texas with 35 percent of the vote.
So what will happen here in Texas? My guess is that we will remain a conservative Republican state, but that races might get more competitive – particularly if the Blue Dogs begin to have significant and long-term influence in the Democrat Party.
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That’s right – as a teacher, I have no right to know that I have students who are felons – even violent felons – in my class room.
There is one exception – convicted sex offenders. But even then, will the local police do their job and notify my school? Will the school do its job and notify me? This article leaves me questioning whether I really know who is in my classroom.
Background checks prevent teachers who are registered sex offenders from working in schools, but no law keeps students with histories of committing sex crimes from sharing history lessons and hot lunches with their classmates in Texas.That leaves parents in the dark about who might be sitting in the desks next to their children.
No single authority knows how many registered sex offenders are high school students. About 2,400 registered sex offenders are younger than 21, the oldest age allowed for high school students in Texas. About 320 are younger than 17, said Tela Mange of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
But those figures do not likely reflect the actual number of youthful sex offenders. Those who are 17 or 18 can petition the courts to have their cases removed from the registry. Others may have dropped out of school, said Shannon Edwards, a staff attorney with the Texas District and County Attorneys Association.
"It's a very fluid number," said Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the public safety department.
In one recent case in Austin, a teacher was attacked by a student who was already a registered sex offender – one of three in the district. She didn’t know about his status, though it is unclear whether the school knew and withheld the information or whether they were unaware.
One of the major state teacher organizations (we have four – and as a right-to-work state, membership is voluntary) is seeking to ensure that the current law is followed. They are also seeking closer monitoring of those students convicted of violent or sexual crimes.
It's also led at least one teachers' advocacy group to call for stricter monitoring of students with histories of committing violent or sexual crimes."In my mind, good public policy dictates that the public and specifically educators be aware when there is a registered sex offender in their midst," said Jeri Stone, executive director of the Texas Classroom Teachers Association.
I agree wholeheartedly – and question why students with histories of sec crime or crime of violence are permitted back in a regular classroom setting. This isn’t me looking to add one more level of punishment, it is me being concerned about the safety of every other student on the campus. Shouldn’t these individuals be in a closely monitored alternative setting where it is less likely that they will have the opportunity to do harm to other students?
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Cabinet ministers from Hezbollah and an allied party resigned Saturday, a decision that could cost the Western-backed government crucial support from Lebanon's Shiite Muslims.Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said he would not accept the resignations. He has the authority to order the five cabinet ministers to stay on, but it was unclear if his weak government could enforce the demand.
The resignations are not enough to bring down Siniora's government -- eight cabinet ministers must resign for the government to collapse -- but they could cost him support among Shiites, the majority sect in Lebanon, and make it difficult for him to govern.
The ministers of Hezbollah and the allied Amal party resigned because talks on forming a national unity government collapsed hours earlier, Hezbollah said in a statement broadcast by its al-Manar television station. Hezbollah accused the government of insisting on "imposing terms and premature results for negotiations," the TV station said.
Hezbollah, a Shiite militia that is by far the strongest political and military force in Lebanon, has been demanding at least one-third of the seats in the 24-member cabinet for itself and its allies. That would give them veto power over key decisions and the power to bring down the government if they disagreed with a decision.
Lebanon exists because of borders drawn by outsiders in the early 20tth century. As has happened elsewhere in the Middle East and Africa, the resulting borders have placed together groups that are traditional rivals with seriously different interests. The result has been states which are not truly viable entities. Thus Lebanon is a conglomeration of groups that have been unable to live together peacefully for decades. And when militias and terrorist groups hold more sway than the government authorities, then there is little hope for an end to civil strife – or conflict with Israel brought on by terrorist attacks by Hezbollah.
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November 11, 2006
We owe so much to those who defend us -- men and women who ask so little in return.
Project Valour-IT is a program to supply voice-controlled laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand and arm injuries or amputations at home or in military hospitals. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field without having to press a key or move a mouse.
In honor of my father, a retired US Navy officer, I have affiliated myself with Team Navy in this fundraising effort. Please give generously.
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The 2006 elections were for the technocrats and the operatives, pitting the Democratic tacticians against the Karl Rove machine. But the next election is already beginning to look quite different: 2008 may be one for the novelists.Viewers of the election returns late on Tuesday, after all, got an early start on the iconography of the next presidential race. The cable networks' cameras cut between Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, thanking her supporters for an overwhelming victory in the New York Senate race, her husband standing pointedly behind, and a smiling Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, giving cautious, professorial analysis to the television viewers. Nobody noted the significance, but it stared us all in the face: The two presumed leading contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination are a woman and an African American.
Their candidacies -- coming after elections resulting in the presumed first female speaker of the House and the second black governor since Reconstruction -- suggest that the next elections may play in ways that are more cultural and symbolic than tactical and political. Are Americans ready to put a black man or a woman in charge of the country? And does the hefty symbolism that Obama and Clinton would bring help one of them more than the other -- in other words, is the country more racist or more sexist?
Of course, this commentary makes some incredible assumptions -- assumptions that need to be challenged.
Does the author, Rolling Stone national affairs correspondent Benjamin Wallace-Wells really believe that a vote against Obama is a vote against blacks? That a vote against Clinton is a vote against women? Is it really his contention that ideas, policies, and ideology don't matter -- that candidates are and should be judges by the color of their skin or the genitalia between their legs, not the content of their character or (just as importantly) the content of their policy statements?
If that is the case, what does Wallace-Wells make of the defeats of Michael Steele, Ken Blackwell, and Lynn Swann on election day? Are the voters of Marryland, Ohio, and pennsylvania racists who for having rejected these highly qualified African American Republicans? Or does the presumption of bias only apply to votes against Democrat candidates like Obama, Clinton or (as happened Tuesday in Tennessee) Harold Ford?
And I cannot help but notice that Wallace-Wells gives dismissively short shrift to the possibility of a Secretary of State Condoleezza as a presidential candidate, despite the fact that she currently sits just four heartbeats from the Oval Office. Too bad he doesn't consider the implications of the reservoir of support that exists for Rice among conservative Republicans -- including this conservative white man -- if she would even hint that she were interested in making a presidential run. Nor does he consider that Rice is the name most often heard as a potential Vice Presidential pick in 2008 even if she doesn't seek the nod for the top spot.
Could it be that he, like most left-wingers, believe that membership in the GOP revokes the membership cards of the offender in the black race and the female sex?
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What percentage of arrests for DUI offenses in 2005 were illegal aliens? Recall that Justin Goodman of Thornton was killed in 2004 on his motorcycle by an illegal alien driver who had six prior DUI and other driving violations in Boulder and Adams counties. The man had never been referred to ICE for deportation.Does the Denver city attorney's standing policy of not asking questions in court about the legitimacy of Mexican driver's licenses presented by defendants have any consequences for the law-abiding citizens of Denver? Recall that the man who killed police officer Donnie Young had used an invalid Mexican driver's license to avoid jail in Denver municipal court only three weeks before the slaying.
Why is it that a full year after the Colorado attorney general stated that one- quarter of Colorado's outstanding fugitive homicide warrants are for people who have fled to Mexico, no newspaper has asked how many of the individuals named in the warrants were illegal aliens with prior arrests? (In Los Angeles County, there are more than 400 such fugitive warrants.)
How are sanctuary cities like Durango, Boulder and Denver responding to SB 90, the new state law passed in 2006 to outlaw sanctuary cities? What is ICE doing to respond to SB 90?
If Denver received federal reimbursement for the incarceration of more than 1,100 illegal aliens in 2004, why were only 175 deported when they finished their terms? What subsequent crimes did the other 925 criminal aliens commit?
After the murder of officer Donnie Young in May 2005, the Denver ICE office renewed its routine surveys of the Denver jail population to identify illegal aliens subject to deportation. How many criminal aliens have actually been deported out of the Denver jail since then, compared to prior years when such checks were not being made?
There is a societal cost to our nation's lax immigration policies. Why don't we honestly discuss it and try to solve teh problem? Or will the newly elected Democrats surrender on the border issue like they want to in Iraq?
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Democrats will look again at the legislation mandating 698 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border and might seek to scrap the plan altogether when they take control of Congress next year.Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi Democrat, told reporters this week that he expected to "revisit" the issue when he becomes chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee in the 110th Congress.
Never mind that fencing/walls are an important part of border security in urban areas where the proposed electronic monitoring system will be rendered ineffective by the ability to quickly hide in densely populated areas.
In other words, the Democrat solution to border control is erecting billboards that read "Welcome Undocumented Workers!"
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Democratic leaders this week vowed to make the alternative minimum tax a centerpiece of next year's budget debate, saying the levy threatens to unfairly increase tax bills for millions of middle-class families by the end of the decade.The complex and expensive tax was designed to prevent the super-rich from using deductions, credits and other shelters to avoid paying the Internal Revenue Service. But because of rising incomes, the tax is expected to expand to more than 30 million taxpayers in 2010 from 3.8 million mostly well-off households in 2006.
Fixing the AMT has long been a top priority for Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who is in line to head the Senate Finance Committee. Last year, Baucus co-authored a bill to repeal the tax with Senate Finance Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa).
Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.), the presumptive chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, this week put fixing the AMT at the top of his agenda, calling it far more urgent than dealing with President Bush's request to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, which are scheduled to expire in 2010.
And yesterday, House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), who is campaigning to keep his leadership post, said Democrats will make "fixing the AMT . . . a priority of tax policy next year."
But hold it -- doesn't this mean you are giving tax cut to "wealthy" Americans? Isn't cutting taxes for such folks a blow to the poor? And aren't such cuts irresponsible in a time of war and "skyrocketing" budget deficits? And didn't you folks just campaign against tax cuts, and for repealing (or allowing to expire) the ones implemented by the Bush administration? Why would you do this?
The focus on the AMT is hardly surprising, given that victims of the tax have been concentrated in high-cost urban areas such as Washington, New York and San Francisco -- places that tend to vote Democratic. Rangel, Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the presumptive House speaker, all represent states hit hard by the AMT, which is sometimes called the "blue-state tax." To map states with the highest concentrations of AMT taxpayers is to draw bull's-eyes over California and the Northeastern seaboard.
Oh, I see -- you want to fix a tax that hits the Democrat base. This isn't good tax policy, fairness, or anything else -- it is tinkering with the tax structure to reward your political base, rather than cutting taxes for all Americans like the Bush plan did. And your decision to forgo over $1 trillion over the next decade seems fiscally irresponsible for a party that ran on a platform of reducing budget deficits or getting GOP agreement or other tax increases.
And the utter hypocrisy of this complaint from the top Democrat staffer for the House Ways & Means Committee is so brazen as to almost be beyond belief.
"The real story on the AMT is how it takes back the Bush tax cuts," Buckley said. "For people who are married with children or live in states with income taxes, the tax cuts are temporary unless you fix the AMT."
But wait -- I thought you were the folks who complained that the Bush tax cuts were irresponsible and that people were wrongly being permitted to keep their own the government's money. Why on earth would you object to some Americans not getting them when you have committed yourself to taking those cuts away from all Americans?
Oh, by the way -- who originally supported the Alternative Minimum Tax and insisted that most tax breaks and deductions be taken from those who pay it? I believe it was the Democrats, who insisted that too many folks were not "paying their fair share" when they followed the rules that Congress applied to everyone. It was originally passed by a Democrat controlled congress in 1969, and restructured to its current form by a Democrat Congress in 1978, when it was signed into law by Democrat President Jimmy Carter. And efforts at repeal or reform have been blocked by Democrats, who object to wider tax cuts and changes sought by Republicans -- including the Bush tax cut mentioned above.
If this is going to be the sort of stuff tried by the Democrats for the next two years, i expect that we Republicans will have a lot of fun during that time -- and big celebrations in November 2008.
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November 10, 2006
His party may have taken "a thumpin'," in the words of President Bush, but ABC News has learned that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his political team have decided it's full steam ahead for his 2008 presidential campaign though he has yet to make the final, official decision.Sources close to McCain say on Wednesday in Phoenix, he and a half dozen of his top aides huddled and decided to proceed more formally with his quest for the White House.
A final decision will come after Christmas.
But there are a few problems.
Moreover, McCain has yet to resolve the problems he's had with the Republican Party's conservative base."He has a problem with pro-lifers on judges, he Â… became very hostile to the Second Amendment community and supportive of gun control. He has a problem with the economic conservatives because he's been bad on taxes for six years now," said longtime critic Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, which includes individuals and businesses opposed to higher taxes.
"Conservatives who care about the tax issue are very concerned that he opposed Bush's tax cuts," Norquist said.
Count me among the disaffected.
I cannot imagine supporting any ticket with John McCain on it, short of a joint apparition of Jesus Christ and Ronald Reagan telling me to give him my vote.
I reject him because of the sell-out of President Bush's judicial nominees as a part of the Gang of Fourteen, which he led.
I reject him because he tried to keep veterans who served with John Kerry from speaking out about his Vietnam service.
I reject him because he counts the dishonorable Richard Armitage among his close advisors.
I reject his contempt for the First Amendment -- as demonstrated by his campaign finance "reform" legislation.
I reaffirm my statement in 2005 in which I joined with Patterico in his statement of opposition to John McCain.
The next time John McCain runs for any elective office, I pledge to support his opponent. I will use my blog to encourage others to vote for his opponent.
I am singling him out because of his fascist campaign finance law, which will not stop me in any way from using this blog to oppose John McCain for the rest of his days.
That is my solemn pledge to you.
Anybody But McCain In 2008!
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2) Of course, it could be worse – at least they are not reenacting Kristallnacht style destruction of Jewish institutions, like they are in France.
3) And speaking of Kristallnacht, will the world ever learn the lesson of that evil night? Or will we continue to allow Jew-hatred to be taught unchallenged by Muslim governments and schools around the world – and by “anti-Zionist†professors in the rest of the world.
4) Which leads us, of course, to the issue of terrorism. In the UK, they are tracking two hundred plots and hundreds of plotters. Care to guess the religion of the overwhelming majority of the terrorists?
5) Illegals can get away with murder in this country – if they are taken into custody by immigration authorities, they may be deported without ever facing charges for the death they cause. If they are not taken into custody by immigration authorities, they often get bail and skip town. We need a new solution – no bail for illegals, and all costs of imprisonment should be reimbursed to the state or federal government from their homeland’s foreign aid allotment.
6) Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has the genes for this comment about the election results – “I'm Dan Rostenkowski." If he carries his father’s genes for dishonesty and corruption, he might just live up to down to the level set by the original Rosty.
7) To all those who voted Democrat this week – did you feel a draft in the polling place? If so, it was just John Murtha and Charles Rangel killing the all-volunteer military and taking you or your children into military service against their will. Did you know that’s what you would get? If it passes, I hope the president lets it become law without his signature – just so the American people recognize how the Democrats are all about taking away freedom of choice.
8) Speaking of Democrats, Evan Bayh recognizes that his party has no mandate for a liberal agenda.
9) Here’s a congresswoman I think the world of – and hope there is a place for her in the leadership of the GOP. After all, anyone who stands up to the terrorist apologists of CAIR clearly has her head screwed on right.
10) Here’s an interesting First Amendment conundrum – can a school ban on drug paraphernalia and images trump the right of students to wear shirts promoting a ballot initiative favoring medical marijuana?
11) Look at who sees the Democrat victory as a sign America is in retreat – al-Qaeda. Rumsfeld is “fleeing the battlefield†and they plan on blowing up the White House.
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2) Of course, it could be worse – at least they are not reenacting Kristallnacht style destruction of Jewish institutions, like they are in France.
3) And speaking of Kristallnacht, will the world ever learn the lesson of that evil night? Or will we continue to allow Jew-hatred to be taught unchallenged by Muslim governments and schools around the world – and by “anti-Zionist” professors in the rest of the world.
4) Which leads us, of course, to the issue of terrorism. In the UK, they are tracking two hundred plots and hundreds of plotters. Care to guess the religion of the overwhelming majority of the terrorists?
5) Illegals can get away with murder in this country – if they are taken into custody by immigration authorities, they may be deported without ever facing charges for the death they cause. If they are not taken into custody by immigration authorities, they often get bail and skip town. We need a new solution – no bail for illegals, and all costs of imprisonment should be reimbursed to the state or federal government from their homeland’s foreign aid allotment.
6) Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has the genes for this comment about the election results – “I'm Dan Rostenkowski." If he carries his father’s genes for dishonesty and corruption, he might just live up to down to the level set by the original Rosty.
7) To all those who voted Democrat this week – did you feel a draft in the polling place? If so, it was just John Murtha and Charles Rangel killing the all-volunteer military and taking you or your children into military service against their will. Did you know that’s what you would get? If it passes, I hope the president lets it become law without his signature – just so the American people recognize how the Democrats are all about taking away freedom of choice.
Speaking of Democrats, Evan Bayh recognizes that his party has no mandate for a liberal agenda.
9) Here’s a congresswoman I think the world of – and hope there is a place for her in the leadership of the GOP. After all, anyone who stands up to the terrorist apologists of CAIR clearly has her head screwed on right.
10) Here’s an interesting First Amendment conundrum – can a school ban on drug paraphernalia and images trump the right of students to wear shirts promoting a ballot initiative favoring medical marijuana?
11) Look at who sees the Democrat victory as a sign America is in retreat – al-Qaeda. Rumsfeld is “fleeing the battlefield” and they plan on blowing up the White House.
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November 09, 2006
And his replacement? If all goes as expected (and, for my part, hoped), outgoing Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele will be the new head of the Republican National Committee.
Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, whose party just lost both chambers of Congress, will leave his position in January, and the post as party chief has been offered to Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele."It is true," Mr. Mehlman told The Washington Times when asked about reports last night that he would resign. "It's something I decided over the summer. No one told me I needed to. In fact, folks wanted me to stay."
Mr. Mehlman said he "told the White House over the summer it was my decision" to leave the RNC post, "win, lose or draw."
Also last night, Republican officials told The Times that Mr. Steele, who lost his bid for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, has been sought out to succeed Mr. Mehlman as national party chairman. Those Republican officials said Mr. Steele had not made a decision whether to take the post, as of last night.
Other Republican Party officials said some Republican National Committee (RNC) members, including state party chairmen, have mounted a move to have Mr. Steele succeed Mr. Mehlman.
Word is that Karl Rove would prefer that Steele be made Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, but I oppose that. It is the traditional "black" Cabinet job, and I don't want to see us go back tot he days where serious black leaders within the GOP are shunted that direction by default. Besides, Steele showed what a fighter he is, and we need such a personality at the helm of the national party in the wake of this week's defeats.
UPDATE: Michelle Malkin notes this interesting comment from Howard Dean -- and gives us a history flashback.
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The second step is preventing the people from having their say on the matter.
And that is exactly what has happened in Massachusetts, where a parliamentary tactic was used to prevent the people from having a say on the issue.
In a flurry of strategic maneuvering, supporters of same-sex marriage managed to persuade enough legislators to vote to recess a constitutional convention until the afternoon of Jan. 2, the last day of the legislative session.On that day, lawmakers and advocates on both sides said, it appeared likely that the legislature would adjourn without voting on the measure, killing it.
“For all intents and purposes, the debate has ended,” said Representative Byron Rushing, a Boston Democrat and the assistant majority leader. “What members are expecting is that the majority of constituents are going to say, ‘Thank you, we’re glad it’s over, we think it has been discussed enough.’ ”
The measure had been expected by both sides to gain easily the 50 votes required from the 200 legislators as the first step toward making same-sex marriages illegal.
If Mr. Rushing really believed that a majority want this matter to be over, he and his colleagues would have sent the measure on to the people, where they could have voted it down. Could it be that they left-leaning legislators know that the people will vote to uphold tradition and what to prevent that at any cost? Given that poll numbers show that a gay marriage ban would likely be adopted by teh electorate even in liberal massachusetts, i think the answer is obvious.
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They have scurried out of the sewer in Germany.
German neo-Nazis, some shouting ``Sieg Heil,'' rampaged in the eastern city of Frankfurt on Oder and destroyed wreaths placed to mark the anniversary of the 1938 Nazi pogrom against the Jews, police said on Friday.A police spokeswoman said the group had launched an attack on Thursday evening, shortly after a memorial service by community and Jewish leaders at a monument where a synagogue once stood.
She said the neo-Nazis trampled floral wreaths placed at a memorial stone to the synagogue in the Polish border city that was destroyed 68 years ago in the Nazis' Kristallnacht or ''Night of Broken Glass.''
They threw away candles left at the memorial, which had been attended by about 200 people. When police arrived, some of the neo-Nazis shouted ``Sieg Heil,'' police said. Authorities stayed on guard at the memorial site through the night.
That this malignant mindset still holds sway over any minds after the documented evil perpetrated in its name is rightening. And the choic of the anniversary of Kristalnacht is clearly intentional, showing that anti-Semitism is alive and well in Europe.
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2) Democrats back-stabbed Joe Lieberman – but he remains loyal to them. Proof positive that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks.
3) A controversial speaker is invited to campus. The administration condemns the invitation. Students attempt to assault the speaker to prevent the speech. Welcome to the wonderful world of left-wing collegiate academia at Ball State University – where everyone is encouraged to be diverse in precisely the same way.
4) How did the Democrats do it? By running to the right, and winning with conservative candidates. Meet the Blue Dogs.
5) Even Bill Clinton agrees – this election does not represent a fundamental shift to the Left in American politics.
6) Given that observation, who will control the agenda – the far-left bomb-throwers, or the more conservative candidates who made the victory possible? We will find out once the Democrats outline their policy proposals.
7) Maybe the outcome of this leadership election will be the sign. Hoyer or Murtha – moderate or liberal?
8) They shipped their Jew to Hitler, so why should we be surprised that the French are itching to fire on the Israelis? The “peacekeepers†have let the terrorists rearm, so maybe the time has come for Israel to recognize that the UN forces are not a neutral broker – and to treat those forces accordingly.
9) Speaking of which, the UN is seriously concerned about the death of Palestinian civilians as Israel tries to defend itself from terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, they are not at all concerned about the Qassam rockets that Hamas has been launching from civilian neighborhoods into various areas of Israel. After all – dead Jews don’t matter to the international community today, any more than they did in the 1930s and 1940s.
10) Sad news at CBS – Ed Bradley, long a mainstay of 60 Minutes and the CBS Evening News, has died at age 65 of leukemia. Rest in peace, Ed – and may your name be found written in the Book of Life.
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2) Democrats back-stabbed Joe Lieberman – but he remains loyal to them. Proof positive that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks.
3) A controversial speaker is invited to campus. The administration condemns the invitation. Students attempt to assault the speaker to prevent the speech. Welcome to the wonderful world of left-wing collegiate academia at Ball State University – where everyone is encouraged to be diverse in precisely the same way.
4) How did the Democrats do it? By running to the right, and winning with conservative candidates. Meet the Blue Dogs.
5) Even Bill Clinton agrees – this election does not represent a fundamental shift to the Left in American politics.
6) Given that observation, who will control the agenda – the far-left bomb-throwers, or the more conservative candidates who made the victory possible? We will find out once the Democrats outline their policy proposals.
7) Maybe the outcome of this leadership election will be the sign. Hoyer or Murtha – moderate or liberal?
They shipped their Jew to Hitler, so why should we be surprised that the French are itching to fire on the Israelis? The “peacekeepers” have let the terrorists rearm, so maybe the time has come for Israel to recognize that the UN forces are not a neutral broker – and to treat those forces accordingly.
9) Speaking of which, the UN is seriously concerned about the death of Palestinian civilians as Israel tries to defend itself from terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, they are not at all concerned about the Qassam rockets that Hamas has been launching from civilian neighborhoods into various areas of Israel. After all – dead Jews don’t matter to the international community today, any more than they did in the 1930s and 1940s.
10) Sad news at CBS – Ed Bradley, long a mainstay of 60 Minutes and the CBS Evening News, has died at age 65 of leukemia. Rest in peace, Ed – and may your name be found written in the Book of Life.
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November 08, 2006
Jolted by the dramatic shake-up on Capitol Hill, the incoming Congress may prove more receptive to sweeping immigration changes such as a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, lawmakers and policy experts said.Among the causes: Democrats' big gains, a shift by Latino voters away from the GOP and the defeat of several conservative Republicans who ran on a strident anti-illegal immigration message.
"I do see a light at the end of the tunnel," Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, of Houston, the top Democrat on the House immigration subcommittee, said Wednesday.
But if Jackson-Lee sees a light, it is probably a flashlight being held by human traffickers leading even more illegals across the border. After all, she has steadfastly opposed shoring up our nation's borders.
And those of us worried about a repeat of the mistakes made in the 1980s with the Simpson-Mazolli amnesty legislation don't find the president's words comforting.
On Wednesday, President Bush identified immigration as an area in which he'd work with Democrats. And in comments directed to congressional conservatives who stymied his push for a guest-worker plan, Bush noted that strides have been made on border security."I would hope we can get something done," Bush said. "There's an issue where I believe we can find some common ground with the Democrats."
But if it involves legalization/amnesty, we may as well throw open the borders and admit that our nation can and will do nothing to stop the flow of illegal immigrants. And a guest worker program may be exactly that -- especially if it contains no effective enforcement provisions to make the "guests" leave.
Not only that, but the incoming Mexican president opposes our current efforts to illegal regulate border crossings.
In his first visit to Washington as Mexico's president-elect, Felipe Calderon is expected to urge President Bush today to resolve the immigration problem by investing in Mexico and eventually creating a European Union-style economic region where goods and services — and people — flow freely throughout North America.* * *
Their cooperation will be key in determining the fate of 700 miles in new border fencing that Congress approved, but didn't completely fund, this year.
The fence has been heavily criticized in Mexico, and Calderon has called it an unnecessary barrier that threatens to permanently damage the relationship between the two neighbors and trading partners.
In other words, he wants to expand upon NAFTA -- something the Democrats are unlikely to go for. And the EU analogy will turn off conservatives, who recognize that the EU has eroded the sovereignty of European nations and placed it in the hands of a more or less unaccountable EU bureaucracy.
Any solution that doesn't involve building a fence to control access to the United States through regulated border checkpoints is doomed to failure -- and any solution that rewards those here illegally is a surrender of the national interest.
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With a wry smile, Donald H. Rumsfeld gently alluded to the controversies of his tenure as defense secretary, perhaps the most consequential since that of Robert S. McNamara during the Vietnam War.Thanking the president for the opportunity to serve, Rumsfeld said in a brief Oval Office session yesterday afternoon that the experience brought to mind the words of Winston Churchill -- "something to the effect," he quipped, "that I have benefited greatly from criticism, and at no time have I suffered a lack thereof."
It was a rare melancholy moment for the alpha male and onetime Princeton wrestler who ran roughshod over the military brass, sparred bitterly with the media and mounted fierce rear-guard battles against the State Department during a six-year run that saw him become, first, an unlikely television celebrity and then the face of an unpopular war.
Though Bush affectionately patted Rumsfeld on the shoulder as he ushered him out of the Oval Office, there was little sugarcoating the reality that the defense chief, 74, was being offered as a sacrificial lamb amid the repudiation of Bush and his Iraq policy that the American electorate delivered on Tuesday.
Andrew H. Card Jr., then the White House chief of staff, had actually recommended this course of action to Bush two years ago. The fact that the defense chief lasted so long in the job was essentially a reflection of the fact that, in firing Rumsfeld, "you are basically admitting you made some serious mistakes in the conduct of the war," observed former White House chief of staff Leon E. Panetta.
Bush has made a solid move by naming former CIA director Robert Gates to fill the vacant cabinet position. Let's hope that the new Democrat majority in the Senate chooses to act responsibly and not play politics with the nomination.
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Voters in Fort Bend County couldn't be troubled to vote for Shamsi.
Republican Ken Cannata maintained a sizeable lead in his victorious campaign for Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace, taking 21,745 votes, or 69.6%, to Democrat Farhan ShamsiÂ’s 9,499, or 30.4%.
That sort of warms my heart. Maybe he'll have the time to answer my questions now.
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During the campaign, many of us in the GOP pointed out that a vote for Lampson was a vote to make Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House. His supporters responded that Lampson had said he would not support her selection.
Question -- When will the newly-elected Nick Lampson declare his opposition to the selection of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House? Will he vote against her on the floor of the House on the first day of the new Congress in January? Or will his first action as the "representative" of CD22 be to break faith with the people of the district by voting for her?
I suspect that Lampson Watch will become a regular feature of this blog.
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Some observations.
1) Shelley's victor came in a race in which Lampson didn't compete -- because he knew he could not win and did not wish to expose the weakness of his support in CD22. That is part of why the Democrats fought so desperately to keep any GOP candidate off the general election ballot. But if you can barely scrape by with half the vote when you are the only major party candidate on the ballot, how much of a mandate can you really claim? I'd suggest that the answer is NONE -- and that Lampson begins his term in office as a lame duck.
2) Why did Shelley Sekula-Gibbs lose the general election? Because of the difficulty associated with casting a write-in vote. As an election judge, I spoke with at least a dozen folks (mostly elderly) who thought they had to cast two different ballots to vote for the special election and the general election -- and unintentionally cast their ballot before seeking to move on to cast any votes in the general election. I've heard similar stories from other precincts in the area. Others thought they could vote for Sekula-Gibbs by casting a straight-ticket GOP vote. They couldn't -- and came back later wanting to know if they could "fix" their error. And I have heard horror stories from the early ballot board of folks who sent in their ballots not marked "just so" -- Lampson's folks fought tooth and nail to keep them out, despite the clear intent of the voter. I suspect the same thing is going on now with any write-in vote that did not spell the name exactly right -- and we do not know exactly how many that would be. In other words, it is likely that a majority of voters in CD22 intended to vote for Shelley Sekula-Gibbs in the general election, but failed to do so because of confusion with the process of doing so.
3) Shelley's victory in the special election makes her the odds-on favorite for the GOP nomination in 2008. I know that those of us who supported her during the nomination this spring very happy. I don't know if we have any local office-holders willing to give up a safe seat to challenge her for this position -- and David Wallace lacks credibility after his behavior back in August. I have no doubt that CD22 will be safely back in Republican hands two years from now -- and am pretty confident that Shelley Sekula-Gibbs will be returned to Washington for a full term at that time. After all -- being the face of hope for the party when all seems lost is what made ultimately made Ronald Reagan President of the United States.
By the way, let's attribute the loss of this at to the man who deserves the blame -- Tom DeLay. If, as is often claimed by the Democrats, DeLay knew he was not going to run in the general election as early as January, he should never have filed for office. His decision to drop out after getting an atta-boy for the GOP primary voters was selfish and led, I believe, to the Lampson victory and the larger GOP meltdown nationwide.
MORE ON THE CD22 RACE AT Texas Safety Forum.
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November 07, 2006
Here's hoping that I can get everything shut down and delivered to the county pretty quick -- I want to get to the celebration for Shelley Sekula-Gibbs!
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Here are the full tallies of all votes cast:
| Votes | Council link |
|---|---|
| 3 | Female Genital Mutilation in Georgia: Who is the Perp? Gates of Vienna |
| 2 1/3 | You Would Weep Done With Mirrors |
| 2 | The Least Bad Choice American Future |
| 1 2/3 | Day Book, October 23, 2006 The Glittering Eye |
| 1 1/3 | Rats in the Kitchen: A Parable Joshuapundit |
| 2/3 | The Best Hasbara Soccer Dad |
| 1/3 | John Kerry Says Soldiers Just ArenÂ’t That Smart The Sundries Shack |
| 1/3 | Gays Win In New Jersey -- GOP Handed Winning Issue Rhymes With Right |
| 1/3 | Enough Is Enough Right Wing Nut House |
| Votes | Non-council link |
|---|---|
| 3 | Isis' Guide to Sensible Islam Posting Smart and Final Isis |
| 2 2/3 | Covering Iraq: The Modern Way of War Correspondence Michael Fumento |
| 1 1/3 | Absolute Moral Authority Revisited Hugh Hewitt |
| 1 | The Dark Ages VDH's Private Papers |
| 1 | Hanson on the Terror Network Thomas Joscelyn |
| 2/3 | Muslim Solidarity and Veiled Threats Canker |
| 2/3 | The Veil Fausta's Blog |
| 2/3 | One Good Punch, That's All I Ask MaxedOutMama |
| 2/3 | If Todays Press Covered the "Battle of the Bulge" Varifrank |
| 1/3 | More John Kerry "Misinterpreted Jokes" Ace of Spades HQ |
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I expect a heavy turnout, so don't wait until the last minute to come to the polls -- PLEASE!
By the way, in my precinct I've had a 12% early voting/absentee rate this year.
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November 06, 2006
A man apparently cured of lung, kidney and spinal cancer just weeks after doctors said he had no hope left has been cited as the final miracle required to secure the sainthood of Pope John Paul II.Nicola Grippo, 76, a tailor from Salerno, southern Italy, contracted the cancer three years ago. Until a few months ago his body was riddled with tumours and his doctors told him he would die.
However, he made a dramatic recovery after a vision of John Paul II apparently came to his wife Elisabeth. "One night, the Pope appeared to her in a dream, holding a small child in his hand and walking on a road of white cobblestones," he told La Stampa newspaper.
"The doctors came to me and asked if I was a believer, if I had prayed to a saint. So my wife told them about her dream. They told me that my lungs were clear of all traces of cancer, and that they could not claim credit for the cure," he added.
His recovery has been held up by a senior Vatican prelate, Archbishop Gerardo Pierro, as the second miracle that John Paul II needs to be canonised. "It was a prodigious intervention, a miracle of the first order," he said.
This is the second miracle ascribed to the late pontiff. We may see the canonization of Saint John Paul the Great in our lifetimes.
And yet, this miracle is tinged with sadness for the Grippos.
He also spoke of his sadness that the miracle did not come to save his daughters, both of whom died young. "Now I and my wife are alone. I have lost two daughters. One was 20 and died of leukaemia. The other died in a car crash. I would have wanted the miracle for them," he said.
May God look with great love on these dear people, and comfort them in their old age. And may He also bless those considering the cause of Pope John Paul II.
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2) It seems that American isn’t the only country where the Left would rather ignore Islamic extremism rather than risk someone thinking an un-PC thought about Islam.
3) How much voter fraud will there be in St. Louis this year?
4) This is unprofessional, and the principal in question should be fired. No educator should be trying to use his or her job to influence the political views and voting patterns of students or their parents. That is why I have fought so hard to keep this blog anonymous – I view it as a professional responsibility.
5) Looks like the people of West Virginia will send a Klansman back to the US Senate – Democrat Senator Robert Byrd.
6) British doctors proclaim that Hitler was right – Disabled children should be killed.
7) The poll margins are closing, favoring the GOP – turnout tomorrow will be the key. We can win if we show up and vote GOP.
8) In another oppressive move, Iran’s president has closed down newspapers and broadcast outlets critical of the government and its policies. So much for human rights.
9) If you want to talk about absolute moral authority on the war in Iraq, maybe it is best found among the men and women serving our country over there – and they say “Fight on!†So shut up, John Murtha, John Kerry, and Cindy Sheehan!
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2) It seems that American isnÂ’t the only country where the Left would rather ignore Islamic extremism rather than risk someone thinking an un-PC thought about Islam.
3) How much voter fraud will there be in St. Louis this year?
4) This is unprofessional, and the principal in question should be fired. No educator should be trying to use his or her job to influence the political views and voting patterns of students or their parents. That is why I have fought so hard to keep this blog anonymous – I view it as a professional responsibility.
5) Looks like the people of West Virginia will send a Klansman back to the US Senate – Democrat Senator Robert Byrd.
6) British doctors proclaim that Hitler was right – Disabled children should be killed.
7) The poll margins are closing, favoring the GOP – turnout tomorrow will be the key. We can win if we show up and vote GOP.
In another oppressive move, IranÂ’s president has closed down newspapers and broadcast outlets critical of the government and its policies. So much for human rights.
9) If you want to talk about absolute moral authority on the war in Iraq, maybe it is best found among the men and women serving our country over there – and they say “Fight on!” So shut up, John Murtha, John Kerry, and Cindy Sheehan!
Posted by: Greg at
01:20 PM
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Post contains 272 words, total size 2 kb.
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