Now here's a big surprise -- when Pete Olson went looking for consultants to perform services for his political campaign, he went to folks who worked for or with Tom DeLay. And why should that be a surprise? After all, DeLay was the congressman here for a couple of decades.

And let's look at the details.

FEC records show Olson spent $50,448 on consultants between April 1 and June 30, some of whom also have faces familiar to District 22 political observers:

- Olson's campaign spent about $15,600 with Dana Benoit of Richmond, for fundraiser consulting services. Benoit served as DeLay's finance director for several years.

- Olson's campaign spent just over $9,000 with Walden & Associates of Houston, also for fundraising consulting. According to Source Watch, the firm is owned by Sue Walden, whom the New York Times described as a "close ally of Tom DeLay" who also served as an adviser to the late Ken Lay, former Enron chief executive.

- Olson's campaign also spent about $9,650 during the quarter with Marathon Strategic Communications, for media and "grassroots" consulting. The firm's address is listed at 3771 Vinecrest Drive in Dallas. Real estate records list the owner of the property at that address as Christopher Homan. Chris Homan was DeLay's former campaign manager.

FEC records show Olson's campaign also owes Marathon another $12,000 for consulting services.

Of course, not one of the individuals involved is accused of any wrong doing -- other than having previously worked on DeLay's campaigns, a capital offense in the eyes of liberal Democrats. That gives them a greater familiarity with the district in which Olson is running, which makes them valuable resources for Olson to draw upon. That makes their involvement with Pete Olson doubly scandalous -- if you are a partisan Democrat who wants to see incumbent Democrat Nick Lampson hang on to the congressional seat in the cherry-red CD22.

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He has to be monumentally stupid -- or telegraphing his intent to abandon Israel.

"Let me be absolutely clear," Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, said today at a press conference in Amman, Jordan. "Israel is a strong friend of Israel's. It will be a strong friend of Israel's under a McCain...administration. It will be a strong friend of Israel's under an Obama administration. So that policy is not going to change."

So let's be really clear -- under Barack Obama, Israel will still be permitted to be fully supportive of Israel. On the other hand, he won't go on the record as keeping American policy supportive of Israel.

Wanna bet the LeftoSphere won't pillory him on this like they would a Republican?

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But George Bush's contemporaneous announcement of the repeal of an executive order on off-shore drilling didn't have anything to do with the 13.5% drop in oil prices.

Oil prices tumbled more than $3 a barrel Tuesday as Tropical Storm Dolly grew increasingly unlikely to threaten supply, knocking out one more reason traders had to prop up prices.

The sell-off was a throwback to last week's sharp declines, and dragged crude to its lowest level since early June. A stronger dollar helped keep prices in check.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell $3.09 to settle at $127.95 a barrel in its last trading day on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier the contract, which will be replaced by September crude Wednesday, dropped as low as $125.63. It was crude's fourth decline in the last five sessions.

So, the notion that drilling here immediately will decrease gas prices is a hoax. Speaker Pelosi? If so, then why is the mere hint of doing so depressing oil prices, as well as strengthening the dollar and the stock market?

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And as I pointed out recently, Dems actually want to raise gas taxes for the rest of us.

But they will get a gas-tax holiday at the Democrat convention.

The committee hosting the Democratic National Convention is using the city's gas pumps to fill up on fuel, avoiding state and federal highway taxes, officials said today.

"There's something there that just doesn't seem right to me because, in a sense, you're saying then that the officials who pass the laws are not willing to live by them, and that concerns me," Councilwoman Jeanne Faatz said.

The issue came up during the council's weekly meeting with Mayor John Hickenlooper when the Public Works Department requested authorization to be reimbursed by the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee for use of "fueling facilities, fuel and car washes."

"By doing it this way, by running it through our Fleet Maintenance, that means that that fuel does not pay state or federal highway taxes," Faatz said.

While Denver's Democrat mayor, John Hickenlooper, says the Republicans are getting the same deal in St. Paul, that isn't true.

Teresa McFarland, a spokeswoman for the Minneapolis-St. Paul host committee, said they're getting their gas at the pump.

"We're not getting a tax break on fuel," she said. "That's not the set-up at this end."

I'm glad to hear that my party isn't evading taxes that the rest of us are paying. But even if they were, getting the gas tax free would still be wrong and should be forbidden.

H/T Hot Air, Don Surber

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First we had Bill Clinton with Hillary.

Then there was John Kerry with Teresa.

Barack is, of course, married to Michelle.

And not to be left out, it now appears that John Edwards is stepping out on his dying wife with this.

Pretty sad, isn't it.

H/T Don Surber

UPDATE: Roger Simon confirms the affair story!

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"I was right because the surge wouldn't have worked if all the things that happened after the surge hadn't happened."

"I am not persuaded that 20,000 additional troops in Iraq is going to solve the sectarian violence" in Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, said in January 2007. "In fact, I think it will do the reverse."

In Baghdad yesterday, after a day spent witnessing the reduction in violence in Iraq, Obama was asked by ABC News' Terry Moran if he was wrong..

"Here is what I will say," Obama said, "I think that, I did not anticipate, and I think that this is a fair characterization, the convergence of not only the surge but the Sunni awakening in which a whole host of Sunni tribal leaders decided that they had had enough with Al Qaeda, in the ShiiÂ’a community the militias standing down to some degrees. So what you had is a combination of political factors inside of Iraq that then came right at the same time as terrific work by our troops. Had those political factors not occurred, I think that my assessment would have been correct."

Why were teh Sunnis able to do that? Because the American troops were beating back Al-Qaeda. Why were the Shii'a militias standing down? Because of the overwhelming superiority of the combined US and Iraqi militaries. The surge CREATED the conditions for those things to happen.

It is rather like someone saying "I would have been right about the angioplasty being unsuccessful if the blockages in the arteries to the heart hadn't been removed and the blood hadn't started having a less obstructed flow. So while I will admit that the surgeons doing the angioplasty did a fine job, the changes in the conditions of the arteries and the bloodflow are what's really significant, and those might have happened on their own if my strategy of not doing the angioplasty had been implemented."

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Who writes these headlines, anyway?

6-legged deer an unusual sight

Yeah -- more than four is definitely an unusual sight.

Found in today's Rome News from Rome, Georgia.

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Given the obvious flaws in the decision, pointed out by the press and bloggers around the web, this case is ripe for reconsideration.

Louisiana prosecutors asked the Supreme Court yesterday to revisit its recent decision outlawing the death penalty for people convicted of raping children.

The unusual request is based on the failure of anyone involved in the case -- lawyers on both sides as well as the justices -- to take account of a change in federal law in 2006 that authorizes the death penalty for members of the military convicted of child rape.

The court almost never grants such requests, but lawyers for Louisiana said their situation is different. The 5 to 4 decision, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, said the absence of any recent executions for rape and the small number of states that allow such executions demonstrate "there is a national consensus against capital punishment for the crime of child rape."

When Congress in 1994 expanded the number of federal crimes that could get the death penalty, it did not include raping a child, Kennedy said.

Only after the decision was issued on June 25 did anyone point out that Congress changed that law and that President Bush signed an executive order in September 2007 that implemented the change. It was first discussed on a military law blog.

Now here's the problem -- it takes five justices to reconsider a ruling. Will any of the five justices in the majority vote to reconsider the case, given the glaring error upon which the decision was based? Does the majority decision even hold water any longer? And if it doesn't, isn't that an even more serious reason for the justices in the majority to refuse reconsideration, given the strong anti-death penalty bias of several of those in the majority?

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Mercy is a good thing -- but so is justice.

And when mercy is perceived by the most vicious of one's enemies to be weakness rather than virtue, and therefore to become more vicious, then mercy becomes a vice which must be set aside in the name of a more firm devotion to bringing justice to those enemies.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach brings the issue of the death penalty for terrorists to the fore.

IT IS time that we articulate what few wish to, namely, that Israel must finally institute a death penalty for convicted terrorists.

To be sure, human life is of infinite value and every human being is equally a child of God. No country upholds this statute more than Israel, which is why it is prepared to set killers free just to retrieve the bodies of its fallen soldiers. Israel could have defeated Hizbullah and Hamas with ease had it not always limited its overwhelming firepower to protect innocent civilians. A country this virtuous naturally balks from putting anyone, even terrorists, to death.

Indeed, since the Nazi Eichmann, there has been no execution in Israel.

And as a result, Israel has been forced to exchange some of the worst of the worst terrorist murderers for captured soldiers -- or the mutilated bodies of soldiers who had been tortured to death by terrorists of the same ilk as those released.

What to do?

As for those who argue that if Israel puts its terrorist captives to death the same will be done to its soldiers once captured, I ask, does anyone seriously believe that it would be otherwise? We once believed that Goldwasser and Regev might likewise come home alive, and for two years Hizbullah manipulated the emotions of the country to believe just that. But like so many other Israeli prisoners before them, they ultimately came home in a box.

I am not suggesting that Israel take unilateral action and simply hang captured terrorists. They should be given a fair trial, just like Kuntar, in which he was found guilty and sentenced to more than 500 years in prison. But once found guilty and allowed an appeal, if their conviction is upheld, they must be executed.

There are times when a country must temporarily violate a principle to ensure it is upheld. Police cars speed to catch those who themselves speed on highways, thereby endangering other motorists. Surgeons cut open people's chests with knives to save their blocked arteries and stopped hearts. And just governments must sometimes take the lives of unrepentant terrorist mass-murderers to protect and uphold the infinite value of human life.

Indeed, I'd argue that there is a moral imperative for the removal of such diseased specimens of humanity from this mortal coil. After all, mercy has gotten Israel precisely nothing.

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Begun by the Prince of Darkness himself.

Sources close to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign are suggesting he will reveal the name of his vice presidential selection this week while Sen. Barack Obama is getting the headlines on his foreign trip. The name of McCain's running mate has not been disclosed, but Mitt Romney has led the speculation recently.

The timing would be odd, but not unprecedented. And it might distract from the current Obama Blitz through the Middle East and Europe. But when would he do this? And who would be the pick?

Well, the rumor is Mitt Romney. But that would mean no announcement this week, since Romney is out of the country until Friday or Saturday (for that matter, Cindy McCain is out of the country, too -- and spouses are a must for these events)

Now you understand, I wouldn't mind that choice at all. After all, I was a Romney supporter from the beginning. But does he supply the Oomph!" that the McCain ticket needs? And would his selection harm his prospects in 2012 if Obama wins this fall?

But then again, there is also that meeting scheduled for tomorrow with Louisiana's Bobby Jindal -- another favorite of mine. But Jindal said yesterday that he wasn't going to be the pick. I'd assume that means he hasn't been asked for vetting material -- plus he may be a bit too young. Let him clean up Louisiana and run in 2012 -- at the top or bottom of the ticket, with an even more impressive record.

So if not them, who? Rudy? Crist? Pawlenty? Palin? Portman? Who?

And, of course, WHEN? Politico is saying not quite yet.

Or is this just one of those stories that rises to the surface on a bubble of speculation, only to fall away into obscurity when it does not come to pass.

More From AOSHQ, Next Right, Hot Air, Sister Toldjah, STACLU

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Another terrorist, another bulldozer.

Sixteen people were wounded, one of them moderately, as a bulldozer driver went on a rampage in central Jerusalem Tuesday afternoon in an apparent attempt to recreate the terror attack in the capital earlier this month.

The vehicle reportedly left a construction site near the Yemin Moshe neighborhood and set off towards Liberty Bell Park (Gan Hapa'amon), near the corner of Keren Hayesod and King David streets. It drove a distance of approximately 160 meters, attempting to overturn a bus and crashing into four other vehicles - one of which it flipped over. The man was then shot dead by a civilian and a border policeman.

The wounded were evacuated to hospitals in the capital.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police sealed off possible escape routes into east Jerusalem, and were searching for two suspects who fled the scene.

Thank's be to God that there were no fatalities this time.

But remember, folks -- it is all the fault of the evil JOOOOOOOS!

Oh, as an interesting side note -- the attack occurred just down the street from where Obama will be staying tonight.

H/T Soccer Dad

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Right now, I’m waiting on a storm – there’s a hurricane headed towards Texas. Fortunately, it is headed south of here, but that doesn’t mean we won’t get a lot of rain. And who knows? The next storm may be addressed “Houston” rather than “Brownsville”. And if it is, that means I may end up with damage to my home – in particular, water damage.

But however you get water in your building – whether from a storm or a busted pipe – you need to get the matter fixed quickly to avoid bigger problems. That’s where a good disaster cleanup is important – and the folks at WaterRestoration911.com are some of the best around. They can be dispatched to you within 30 minutes, 24/7/365 – and just about anywhere in the country. They will make your flooding history – and do the restoration work you need the way it needs to be done.

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No, not for talk radio.

For the pages of the New York Times.

An editorial written by Republican presidential hopeful McCain has been rejected by the NEW YORK TIMES -- less than a week after the paper published an essay written by Obama, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

The paper's decision to refuse McCain's direct rebuttal to Obama's 'My Plan for Iraq' has ignited explosive charges of media bias in top Republican circles.

'It would be terrific to have an article from Senator McCain that mirrors Senator Obama's piece,' NYT Op-Ed editor David Shipley explained in an email late Friday to McCain's staff. 'I'm not going to be able to accept this piece as currently written.'

Oh -- the decision was made by a former White House staffer during the Clinton Administration. He's the same guy who approved Barack Obama's piece to which McCain was responding. Nothing suspicious there -- just move along.

The paper is, of course, continuing to defend itself. And some journalists are supporting them. But others are not.

But it does raise an interesting question -- why doesn't a piece by one candidate rebutting the views of another candidate expressed in your editorial pages constitute an acceptable response?

McCain's piece is below the fold (twice in one day -- and I almost never go below the fold!) -- and in the New York Post.

Others commenting include MVRWC, Patterico, Malkin, Political Radar, Don Surber, Gay Patriot, Wolf Howling, Election HQ, LGF (noting that NYT won't publish McCain, but will publish Hamas), AOSHQ, Hot Air more...

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Building a home is something many people dream of. But to fulfill this dream, you need
a builder you can trust, one who is willing and able to give you what you want. If you do your homework, you can find the right design and get all the upgrades that you are looking for. But where to find the builder?

That depends upon where you are in the country. After all, many builders work only in certain areas. For those who want South Carolina custom homes, you might want to consider Schumacher Homes. They are a custom builder in the Columbia area that is ready to expand their territory to other parts of the state. They have really great floor plans and popular upgrades at even more popular prices.

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When my wife and I moved into the area where we live, we joined a church just down the road. Among the many special people we met there were an older couple, George and Eliza. They were a truly loving couple who had married right after the war ended in 1945. George would tell stories us stories about his time in the Navy and working at NASA – including stories about interactions with our nation’s first astronauts – I remember him off-handedly referring to Neil and Buzz in one story about the Apollo program. But I haven’t heard these stories in recent years – a couple of years ago the doctors diagnosed George as having Alzheimer's disease. Now his train of thought is too short to tell such a story is gone. The dementia that comes from the brain damage associated with Alzheimer's, damage caused by the irreversible destruction of brain cells that let him share those wonderful tales. I’ll be honest -- I miss my old friend very much. And I know Eliza does as well.

What can we do for folks like George and Eliza? What can we do for to stop this terrible disease that tears our loved ones away from us while leaving their bodies still present. We can support the Alzheimer's Memory Walk this fall, either by pledging, walking, or serving as a team captain. Too many have lost too much to Alzheimer’s – we need to act now to prevent others from facing the same sad fate.

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The Watcher is retiring, but the Watcher's Council will continue. We members of the Council are trying to figure out the exact details. Watch this space for details.
Visit my fellow this week's Council Results over at JoshuaPundit. The winners for the week are:

Council Winner: Wolf Howling -- Critiquing The Obama Manifesto On Iraq.

Non-Council Winner: Melanie Phillips -- Sleepwalking Into Islamization.

There were some really great pieces this week, so check them all out!

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I'll be honest -- I did some dumb things with credit cards during my college years. I got them, charged them up, and then made minimum payments. It didn't really register just how hard it was going to be to pay them off working a part time job and paying college expenses. I'd managed to avoid the consumer economics class my school offered by taking an AP course instead, so I missed out on all the practical information that such a course would have taught me.

And then it happened. I hit credit limits on the two cards I had. I couldn't juggle balances to stay ahead, and I was barely making enough to make those payments. What's more, graduation was coming and i didn't have any immediate job prospects -- and this situation was going to interfere with any prospects for sticking around on campus and getting my master's degree, even with that full-ride scholarship. I was toast.

How did I get out of the mess? Humility. I had to ask for help from a family member, and pay that individual back at a lower interest rate. I also had to stop using the cards. It was a lifestyle adjustment. But it did let me continue my education.

How much do you know about debt? Find out your BillsIQ here in just a few minutes.

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1 货架、 货架

Posted by: Steel pallet" rel="nofollow">钢托盘 at Sat Mar 7 02:51:14 2009 (xEqmt)

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What do you know about Medicare Part D? The annual Medicare Part D enrollment period runs only six weeks each year, from November 15 to December 31. Do you know enough to make an informed decision? Do you know enough to decide to change your plan? You really need to look at the cost of Medicare D coverage to make sure that you pick the right plan, and get the most savings possible.

My late mother-in-law struggled over which Medicare Part D prescription plan to pick. I wish that she (and we) had been familiar with MyPartDUSA.com, because it would have been a great help in making a selection. After all, there are a number of Medicare Drug Assistance choices you have, and some of them are better than others. MyPartDUSA.com points you towards articles and resources that answer important questions about plans, so that seniors make the best choice for them.

Finding out the best plan for you can be as easy as entering your medications and waiting for the top 5 plans to be listed for you. YouÂ’ll even find out the co-pay for each drug! Once you know where you will save, you can then enroll in the Medicare Part D benefit plan that is best for you!

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Yeah -- the problems in the Middle East are all the fault of the JOOOOOOOOOS!

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown demanded Sunday that Israel cease settlement construction and promised more money to jump-start the battered Palestinian economy.

In his first trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories as Britain's leader, Brown repeatedly stressed that economics are key to Mideast peace and said Israel should ease travel restrictions in the West Bank that have hindered commerce.

But his strongest comments were reserved for the settlements: "I think the whole European Union is very clear on this matter: We want to see a freeze on settlements.

"Settlement expansion has made peace harder to achieve. It erodes trust; it heightens Palestinian suffering; it makes the compromises Israel needs to make for peace more difficult," Brown said at a news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

Abbas went further in his criticism of Israel's construction in disputed east Jerusalem and the adjacent West Bank, telling Brown that Israel lacks commitment to the "principles and spirit" of Mideast peace efforts. He singled out stepped-up construction of homes for Jews in areas of Jerusalem the Palestinians claim for their capital.

Now let's remind Prime Minister Brownstain that Israel gave up all settlements in Gaza a few years back, to making the area every bit as Jew-free as Hitler wanted the Third Reich. The result? Continued terrorist attacks on Israel from the abandoned territory. So we have seen how well "no settlement" and "land for peace" has worked -- but Brownstain still wants Israel to try it some more. Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over in the hopes that next time it will have a different result?

And, of course, Prime Minister Brownstain wants to give the government of terrorist leader Abu Mazen more money -- yeah -- money for terrorists is sure to bring down the level of violence and promote peace and stability.

Because remember -- it's all Israel's fault.

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It is a message of Christianity that is as old as Christ -- indeed, in the New Testament is is presented as "seek ye first the Kingdom of God." Ad the many young pilgrims who traveled to Sydney, Australia for the World Youth Day celebration with Pope Benedict XVI heard the pontiff restate it for them.

Indeed, he noted that placing the spiritual before the material was the key to bringing about the renewal of our modern society.

"In so many of our societies, side by side with material prosperity, a spiritual desert is spreading: an interior emptiness, an unnamed fear, a quiet sense of despair," the pontiff said.

Quite true -- indeed, we see the results of that emptiness every day in news reports and popular entertainment that rejects the values of God.

Sadly, the need to focus on the sensational over the spiritual was demonstrated by AP and CNN, when they recast their article to focus not on the message but on a meeting with a small group of victims of clergy abuse and the complaints by Church critics that they were not included. Perhaps the most obvious sign of this was CNN's change of headline -- from

Pope: 'Spiritual Desert' Growing Across World

Pope meets abuse victims in Australia

After all, it would never do to focus on the Good News when the salacious is available.

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From the great state of Tennessee, I bring you the incredibly corrupt John Ford -- and yes, this would be Harold Ford's uncle.

In the end, former state Sen. John Ford's disclosures, the ones he revealed and the ones he tried to hide, led to the downfall of the once-powerful Memphis Democrat, who was convicted Friday on federal corruption charges.

A federal jury convicted Ford on two counts of wire fraud and four counts of concealing material facts stemming from the secret payments he took from two TennCare contractors while he was in the Tennessee Senate.

The nine-woman, three-man jury agreed with government prosecutors: Ford cheated the people of Tennessee.

For all his gravitas and influence, Ford seemed resigned to his fate. When he heard the verdict, he didn't react. A federal judge will sentence him on Sept. 29.

The wire fraud convictions each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years. The false statement charges carry a maximum penalty of five years each. He could get a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison. Ford, 66, is serving 5½ years for a bribery conviction in an unrelated case.

Oh, yeah -- the whole thing was triggered when John Ford lied about his income during a child support hearing. That means that he not only ripped off the people of Tennessee, but was also trying to rip off his own children as well.

What a prince!

Your Democrat elected officials in action!

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Extreme partisanship? Check.

Disrespect of military service and time as a POW? Check.

Blatant anti-Asian racism? Check.

So where's the outrage over this illustration from Rolling Stone magazine?

And yet there has been nary a peep from the media over this, while we've heard all sorts of discussion of the New Yorker cover lampooning false beliefs about Obama.

What's the difference?

Oh, I think we know the answer.

The MSM is in the tank for Barack, but is willing to allow a lot of garbage to be slung at John McCain. And if that mean not commenting upon those who mock his torture at the hands of the North Vietnamese as a POW -- and the use of exaggerated facial features reminiscent of the worst stereotypes of the 1930s and 1940s (or even earlier), then so be it.

And interestingly enough, neither the McCain campaign nor the candidate himself have made a big deal about this -- in sharp contrast to the manner in which Obama and his surrogates dealt with the New Yorker cover. That just shows that John McCain is a real man who can take the nastiness that comes from the press when you are a candidate for president (and when you actually have the job) -- and that Obama's thin skin is simply one more reason that he isn't ready for the Oval Office.

More At STACLU

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If you are going to adopt "sanctuary city" policies that allow violent criminals to run free when they should be deported, are you not an accomplice to their criminal activity?

The man charged with killing a father and two sons on a San Francisco street last month was one of the youths who benefited from the city's long-standing practice of shielding illegal immigrant juveniles who committed felonies from possible deportation, The Chronicle has learned.

Edwin Ramos, now 21, is being held on three counts of murder in the June 22 deaths of Tony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16. They were shot near their home in the Excelsior district when Tony Bologna, driving home from a family picnic, briefly blocked the gunman's car from completing a left turn down a narrow street, police say.

Ramos, a native of El Salvador whom prosecutors say is a member of a violent street gang, was found guilty of two felonies as a juvenile - a gang-related assault on a Muni passenger and the attempted robbery of a pregnant woman - according to authorities familiar with his background.

In neither instance did officials with the city's Juvenile Probation Department alert federal immigration authorities, because it was the city agency's policy not to consider immigration status when deciding how to deal with an offender. Had city officials investigated, they would have found that Ramos lacked legal status to remain in the United States.

Edwin Ramos murdered three American citizens, aided and abetted by the City of San Francisco. This wasn't an oversight or a case of human error. This was a policy decision by the elected officials of the city to allow rabid beasts like Ramos to roam the streets when there was a legitimate way to promote public safety by turning him over to federal officials for deportation. That is a violation of federal law -- and makes those officials complicit in the murder of Tony, Michael, and Matthew Bologna. Will some courageous prosecutor -- state or federal -- hold Gavin Newsom and the members of the City Council accountable for their actions by indicting them and taking them to trial?

More At Michelle Malkin, Patterico

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That is the suggestion of Lani Guinier, commenting on the sort of Obamanations that will be nominated to the Supreme Court if the Democrats win the presidency this fall.

Harvard law professor Lani Guinier hopes to get scholars, as well as judges, to rethink the role of a Supreme Court justice, a role she describes as "the justice as a teacher in a national seminar, an educator."

"They're not just making laws and delivering those tablets from Mount Olympus," Guinier said. "The project of being a Supreme Court justice is also a project of being an important citizen in a democracy."

While Guinier said she would not necessarily argue that the next president should nominate a politician, she said it was important to "make the court more democratically accountable."

Funny, I've read the US Constitution -- it does not include any role for a justice as "teacher in a national seminar". It vests them with the judicial power -- the authority to interpret and apply the laws and the Constitution. Indeed, too many judges have forgotten that since the 1930s, believing that the language of statutes and Constitutional provisions are secondary to the latest legal theory or foreign law and precedent.

But if she really wants to make the Supreme Court (and the rest of the courts, too) "democratically accountable", I've got an idea -- let's follow the model here in Texas. Let's bring some real democracy into the picture by allowing the voters to democratically elect judges.

Indeed, let me offer a proposal. We have nine Supreme Court justices Let's break them into three separate classes, just like we do Senators. Stagger their elections -- put three of them up for election to a twelve year term every four years, during the even-numbered year in which there is not a presidential election. Give Circuit Court judges eight year terms, staggered so that half are reelected every four years in the non-presidential year. Put District Court judges on the ballot every four years, during the non-presidential year.

Oh, wait, you don't want them THAT democratically accountable? You're afraid that the people will vote the entire Ninth Circuit off the island? That the justices who oppose the Second Amendment and coddle terrorists and teenage killers would be booted from the bench -- along with any judge who tried to impose gay marriage nationwide? Isn't that "democratic accountability"?

Oh, I see -- what you meant is that the justices must be "Democratically accountable". That there must be some mechanism for getting them to always rule in a manner consistent with the Democrat platform, since it is so hard to get many of its more liberal ideas enacted by legislative bodies that are "democratically accountable".

And given that the overwhelming majority of Americans view the Supreme Court as "just right" or "too liberal", I find your suggestion that the Court doesn;t really represent the mainstream of the American mind to be rather disingenuous anyway.

Posted by: Greg at 09:47 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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It doesn't matter what the people have to say on the matter. It's all about Queen 9% and what SHE wants.

A plan to lift the ban on coastal drilling is stalled on Capitol Hill, for one simple reason: A Californian who opposes President Bush's proposal is calling the shots in the House of Representatives.

Despite growing public support for ending the ban, even in California, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco said she won't allow the immediate vote the president wants.

"I have no plans to do so," Pelosi said last week.

Her position is that if drilling won't reduce prices tomorrow, it shouldn't happen -- but she supports all sorts of alternative energy programs that ALSO won't do a damn thing for energy prices tomorrow. Maybe we shouldn't do solar, geothermal, or windmills -- oh, that's right, no windmills where they might obscure the view of Senator Teddy the Hutt (D-Chivas, Oldsmobile, and Chappaquiddick Bridge).

So while 73% of Americans -- and 51% of Californians -- support such drilling, it isn't going to happen because Nancy Pelosi doesn't believe it should happen.

What do we need here? Tar and feathers? A short rope and a tall tree? What will it take to get rid Queen 9% to quit obstructing energy independence?

Posted by: Greg at 09:05 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I remember sitting and watching this as it happened, live.

(H/T Ace)

Hard to believe it has been thirty-nine years -- and that it has been three-and-a-half decades since man last walked on the moon.

And that our space program has been such a mess in the decades since that I'll be approaching sixty before Americans again set foot on Earth's closest neighbor. I doubt I'm alone in considering that to be shameful.

On the other hand, I am blessed to have a number of friends -- honest-to-God rocket scientists -- who work over at Johnson Space Center. Among other things, one of them is working on Project Constellation, hoping to see Americans back on the moon before his daughters finish college. It is history in the making, made by ordinary men and women doing extraordinary things.

And I'm also blessed to be friends with a number of old NASA hands who tell some of the funniest "inside stories" about the glory days. One couple that I love dearly told me stories about a group of NASA wives making dinners for the families of the Apollo crews during the missions -- and how thirty-nine years ago their kids made a killing selling lemonade to the reporters covering the Armstrong home just around the corner, since it was a typical sweltering July here in Houston. It's the sort of stuff that doesn't make it into the history books.

So take a moment to remember that moment when mankind accomplished one of the greatest achievements of the twentieth century.

Posted by: Greg at 08:44 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Let’s be honest – for the longest time I didn’t think anything about how my page ranked when folks used a search engine or anything else. Heck, at most I cared about traffic, and even that didn’t particularly matter to me since a “good day” brought me 50 hits on my site. However, eventually I came to understand about things like Page Rank and positioning on search engines – and discovered that I was slowly building credibility. Once I moved over to my current site, I began drawing even more traffic as I published more content and became better known. Moreover, while I may not be the biggest blog on the internet, I still get 500-1000 hits every day and have a respectable Page Rank. Most importantly, I show up high on the search engines for a number of topics on which I’ve written.

Now if I were into blogging for the money, I’d contact an SEO company and have them do an optimization for me. For example, there is this interesting Chicago Search Engine Optimization company called Digital Third Coast that offers a variety of services to help sites bring traffic their way. And when your website is at the heart of your business strategy, getting ranked high can be the key to your success. And if you are looking for Search Engine Optimization Chicago in, then you really do need to visit DigitalThirdCoast.net to learn more about what they can do to help you make it to the top of the search engines – and therefore the top of your field

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That seems to be the course being taken by the Democrats now that the price of gas has doubled during their control of Congress.

The political vision of a summer gas tax holiday died a quick death in Congress, losing to a view that federal excise taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel will have to go up if they go anywhere.

Despite calls from the presidential campaign trail for a Memorial Day-to-Labor Day tax freeze, lawmakers quickly concluded — with a prod from the construction industry — that having $9 billion less to spend on highways could create a pre-election specter of thousands of lost jobs.

Now, lawmakers quietly are talking about raising fuel taxes by a dime from the current 18.4 cents a gallon on gasoline and 24.3 cents on diesel fuel.

In other words, Democrats think you aren't paying enough for gas -- especially since you are driving less -- so they will add an additional dime to the cost of every gallon you buy. So the net time you here Democrat leaders talk about the price of gas being too high, remind them that it is their own party that wants to INCREASE the cost of gasoline while prohibiting new exploration and drilling in this country that will bring the price down -- even though it might take much less than ten years to bring the new oil to market.

And then there is this gobbledy-gook from carbon sasquatch Al Gwhore.

Doug Ross offers these stickers for your consideration.

H/T Gateway Pundit

Posted by: Greg at 01:42 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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My grandmother grew up poor, having lost her father when she was only a couple of months old. Indeed, the only way she was able to finish high school in the spring of 1929 was by spending her last two years of school as a live-in housekeeper for a family in town, with her pay going to support her mother.

Like I said, she graduated in 1929, only a few months before the stock market crash. She briefly went to work for one of the two stores in town -- working for my great-grandfather -- but then left to take a higher paying job when the other store in town went bankrupt and was taken over by a company, Watson's out of Knoxville, Tennessee, that liquidated such stores.

Here's where it got to be fun. My grandmother made only half of the salary the men made -- but her boss soon found that she was the most reliable employee in the store, and gave her a raise to what the men were making on the condition that she not tell anyone. Then the bookkeeper quit, and my grandmother was asked to take on the job at a rate that made her the second highest paid employee in town, since she would also continue her work as a clerk.

After a six months or so, the liquidation of stores in the area was over and the company prepared to pack up and leave. My grandmother was asked to come move to Tennessee and work in the offices -- but she didn't want to leave her mother or her new young beau, my grandfather. They married a few months later, and had four children, running the town grocery store and movie theater for much of their marriage.

Fast forward six decades. A new department store came to open in the area where she lived, selling primarily discount apaprel. The name? Watson's. She checked with the manager, and sure enough, it was the same company that she had worked for sixty years before. He called the main office, and they confirmed that my grandmother had worked for them -- and that she was the oldest living employees of the company! They had her make a video on customer service for their training program, and it was shown until the company was bought out in the late 1990s. Funny, isn;t it, how things in life sometimes go full circle?

Posted by: Greg at 12:58 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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This would have to be one of the more arrogant moves by a political party in the history of the United States -- but then again, it is being done in the service of the most arrogant presidential candidate of my lifetime, an accomplishment-free neophyte who thinks he is somehow owed the support of those who oppose his candidacy.

Dear Democratic Friends:

2008 is a Democratic year-at all levels in all the states. The opportunity is ours. We just have to seize it.

We experienced an exciting, intense, sometimes difficult, campaign to nominate our presidential candidate. Now it's over. Barack Obama won.

I supported Hillary Clinton and am proud and pleased that I did. But she lost. Barack Obama won. It's over.

It is time for all Democrats, supporters of Senator Clinton and all other contenders for the nomination, to stand with him to secure his election and the election of Democrats at all levels of competition.

I must confess a bit of fatigue and irritation with people who continue to carp, complain, and criticize the results of the primary and lay down conditions for their support. The Los Angeles Lakers didn't establish conditions to recognize the Boston Celtics as NBA Champions; Roger Federer did not demand concessions before recognizing that Rafael Nadal defeated him at Wimbledon.

It is time to act in a mature and resourceful fashion. It's time to put the primaries behind us. It's time to support Barack Obama without conditions or demands.

It's time to WIN for Barack Obama, the Democratic Party, America, and our future. We have an unparalleled opportunity. I hope we will all do everything we can to seize the moment.

See you at the Inauguration.

Sincerely,

Don Fowler
DNC Member At-Large, South Carolina
Former Chair of the Democratic National Committee

Alice Germond
Secretary, Democratic National Committee

Can you believe the insanity of this email?

The difference between Barack Obama and the Celtics or Nadal is that Obama has yet to win anything -- he technically is not even the party's nominee yet, and the rules of the DNC allow delegates to change their mind on who they support between now and the convention, so there is absolutely no guarantee that Barack Obama will be the actual nominee. Indeed, that is one of the "conditions" laid down by those who supported Hillary -- that she actually be nominated at the convention and the delegates actually be permitted to reflect the vote of the people by casting their votes for her if they so choose.

But beyond that, Fowler and Germond forget one other aspect to this matter -- the election isn't over yet. Indeed, these folks who are unhappy with Barack Obama and the DNC are fully vested with the right to vote for any candidate they want in November, including John McCain. As American citizens, their ballots belong to themselves, not to the Democrat Party to dictate for them even if they are not satisfied with the party's nominee. They might want to re-read the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution -- put there by Republicans over the howling protests of an earlier generation of Democrats.

Besides, the folks receiving this email are acting in the best tradition of their party -- the Democrats "continue[d] to carp, complain, and criticize the results" of the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, attempting to overturn the results of one of them in the courts and questioning the legitimacy of the Bush presidency for the last 7 1/2 years. Carping, complaining and criticizing are the only things the Democrats have been good at during this time -- Lord knows they have been repeatedly unsuccessful in passing much meaningful legislation in support of their own agenda even with a majority of both houses of Congress.

On the other hand, this Republican wants to point out that we respect the right of every American citizen to vote their conscience this November -- and that includes disaffected Democrats who choose to reject Barack Obama's candidacy for the presidency and instead vote for a candidate with a substantive record of accomplishment and service to this country -- John McCain.

More At Wake up America, No Quarter, Buck Naked Politics

UPDATE: Protein Wisdom points out that one Jesse Jackson was given significantly more respect two decades ago than Hillary is getting today from the Obamessiah. He asks why. I think we all know the answer to that question -- the relative melanin levels of the candidates. The Democrats can't win without blacks, but think they can without women.

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Posted by: Greg at 01:33 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Now I'll be honest -- I have some problems with the treatment this woman received. Some of what was done probably should not have been.

However, this quote shows a certain arrogance on her part that infects a great many border-jumping immigration criminals.

“I felt like they were treating me like a criminal person,” Mrs. Villegas said, speaking in Spanish in a telephone interview. The phone in her room was turned off, and she was not permitted to speak with her husband when he came to retrieve their newborn son from the hospital on July 7 as she returned to jail, she said.

Let's see -- she was driving in a manner just one step below what would get her charged for reckless driving. She had no driver's license (and presumably no insurance). She was in the country illegally, and had reentered the US after having been deported once before for illegally living and working in this country.

Imagine that -- she was treated like she was a lawbreaker!

Round 'em up. Ship 'em back! Build a wall!

Posted by: Greg at 01:07 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Well, not explicitly.

However, John McCain does make a telling point here.

“His voting record … is more to the left than the announced socialist in the United States Senate, Bernie Sanders of Vermont.”

McCain is, however, not quite correct. The American Conservative Union gives both Obama and Sanders an 8% rating -- meaning that Obama is not more left-wing than a socialist, merely as left-wing as a socialist. However, I don't think that is anything that Obama wants to brag about.

UPDATE: Ed Morrissey offers a somewhat different take.

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One year on, it appears that too many on the Left don't get the point on last year's Supreme Court decisions upholding Brown v. Board of Education's essential ruling that race-based school decisions on where children should attend school were a violation of the Constitution.

With its decision in Meredith, the court was forcing Louisville to rethink the way it would assign elementary-school students and, in the process, to confront some tricky questions. Is the purpose of integration simply to mix students of different colors for the sake of equity or to foster greater familiarity and comfort among the races? Should integration necessarily translate into concrete gains like greater achievement for all students? If so, is mixing students by race the most effective mechanism for attaining it?

The problem, of course, is that INTEGRATION of schools is not a requirement under the US Constitution -- ending de jure segregation is the standard which has to be met. Thus, when I go to work this fall at a school that is around 90% Hispanic, there is no Constitutional violation provided the school receives appropriate resources and the attendance zone decisions are not made on racial criteria -- the residential patterns of the district and the district and the geographic reality of an interstate highway that serves as the north/south attendance boundary between my district's high schools serve as a legitimate basis for de facto differences in the ethnic make up of the two schools.

Desegregation, properly understood in light of Brown, requires that race-based government action not result in segregation of schools. Equity requires color-blindness only. It does not mean achieving "balance" everywhere, regardless of geographic realities and parental choice. And while "familiarity" and "comfort" may be nice goals, being treated as an individual rather than a member of a group who must atone for ethnic sins (or be compensated for the ethnic sins of others) is the Constitutional standard.

And improving achievement is an entirely separate goal from the mixing of races in some bureaucratically defined proportion -- which is why the kids at the school I'm moving to performed at the same high level on my subject's TAKS test as did kids at the more ethnically diverse school where I taught last year. It comes down to how and where you focus your efforts and money in order to maximize achievement by every student -- and the expectations you set for the students to accomplish that end.

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After all, if the point is to get uranium enrichment suspended, this statement negates the entire purpose of the meeting.

Iran on Saturday ruled out freezing its uranium enrichment program, casting doubt over the value of its talks with six world powers less then an hour after they started.

The talks _ with the U.S. in attendance for the first time _ had raised expectations of possible compromise on a formula under which Iran would agree to stop expanding its enrichment activities. In exchange, the six powers _ including the five permanent U.N. Security Council members _ would hold off on passing new U.N. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

But the comments from Keyvan Imani, a member of the Iranian delegation, appeared to indicate that his government was not prepared to budge on enrichment _ at least going into the talks.

"Suspension _ there is no chance for that," he told reporters gathered in the courtyard of Geneva's ornate City Hall, the venue of the negotiations.

Time to put away the documents, lock the briefcases, and return home. Iran just isn't interested in progress towards disarmament.

Looks like the Israelis may have to handle this matter after all.

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After all, that is usually my reaction to Conan O'Brian.

There, the Republican nominee-to-be was well-received, even when Conan begged the 71-year-old war vet and POW to give late-night comedians something other than his age to joke about.

There was a pause. And McCain fell over asleep.

Sorry, Conan, McCain's right. You are boring. You put people to sleep. Now you are even putting your guests to sleep.

Posted by: Greg at 05:32 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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This is Bud Day.

He served this country in three different branches of the United States military (Marines, Army, Air Force) in three different wars (WWII, Korea, Vietnam).

See that medal hanging around his neck?

Yeah, the one on the blue ribbon.

Here's a close-up of it.

It is the Air Force version of Medal of Honor. And here's an explanation of what he did to receive our nation's highest military honor.

So why am I pointing all this stuff out? So that what I say next has its full context.

BUD DAY HAS EARNED THE ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO SAY WHATEVER HE WANTS ABOUT WHATEVER HE BELIEVES -- and those who disagree with him, while free to do so, have an obligation to do so with deep respect for his military service which defended and vindicated their right to do so.

So what did Bud Day say that has so many people's panties in a twist?

The Muslims have said either we kneel or they're going to kill us. ... I don't intend to kneel and I don't advocate to anybody that we kneel, and John doesn't advocate to anybody that we kneel. (.wav file)

Now that is a very stark, striking statement about the reality of the current battle against terrorism that we are fighting. And sadly, it is accurate -- though I would be inclined to suggest that dropping the first word of the statement would make it more accurate -- and it appears that Bud Day may agree with me.

Here's the reality. For at least the last 15 years, America has been subject to a series of terrorist attacks by those acting in the name of Islam. They have been Sunni and Shi'a, from many different countries. What they have shared is an ideology of Islamic supremacy that would require that those of us who reject Islam convert, submit, or die.

Such individuals were responsible for the first World Trade Center attack in 1993. They were responsible for attacks on American Embassies in Africa, the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, and the USS Cole. They were responsible for the September 11 attacks, and they have been our opponents in Iraq and Afghanistan for the last seven years. Their leaders explicitly state that the imposition of some form of Islamic domination over us is their goal. These facts about violent jihad against America cannot be denied, however inconvenient some may find them.

Not only that, we have seen multiple attempts to use "soft jihad" tactics here and abroad to limit the rights of others to speak critically of Islam. Need I remind anyone of the Muhammad Cartoon controversy, and the Islamic response? You do remember that some of those involved in publishing them are under the threat of criminal prosecution by "moderate" Jordan, don't you? Salman Rushdie still finds it difficult to go out in public, two decades after publishing his (really awful) book, The Satanic Verses. In Canada, so-called Human Rights Tribunals are being used by Muslims to silence those who speak words that call Islam into ill-repute -- under rules which hold that the objective truth of those words is no defense. In Australia, Christian ministers were convicted of inciting hatred against Muslims after outcries from Muslim groups there -- for quoting the Qu'ran accurately. Muslim nations are currently seeking to make it a violation of international law to speak in a manner that Muslims view as denigrating of Islam. I yesterday pointed out what the Saudis are teaching their own kids -- and kids in this country and around the world. And I won't even get into the efforts a couple of years back to silence me for daring to speak negatively about Islam.

So yes, Bud Day is essentially correct. There are Muslims out there who insist upon submission or death. Indeed, there are a lot of them -- if only 10% of Muslims hold to such beliefs we are talking about over 100,000,000 who want us dead or enslaved. And some polls show that the number is well above 10%.

But I'll be the first to agree with those who say there are many decent, peaceful Muslims who are not out to destroy or subjugate the rest of us. There are many Muslims I know who are not -- from my wife's many doctors to the Muslim students I have taught to dear Ruth who is finally able to open her Islamic bookstore nearby. Most Muslims in America are patriots, and most Muslims around the world ARE decent peace loving people -- but that does not negate that there are too many who are not. Those are the folks to whom Bud Day refers, and to whom we as a nation (regardless of race, or religion) must never, ever submit!

So to those who take offense at the words of Col. Day, I ask you this -- are you merely offended at the inartful phrasing of his words? Or do you truly believe that we should submit to those who are out to destroy American liberty? Answer carefully -- for your answer determines which side you are really on.

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Posted by: Greg at 05:26 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Adding more capacity that the aggregate capacity of the next 14 states combined!

Texas officials gave the go-ahead Thursday to the nation's largest wind-power project, a plan to build billions of dollars worth of new transmission lines to bring pollution-free energy from gusty West Texas to urban areas.

Texas is already the national leader in wind power, and wind supporters say Thursday's move by the Public Utility Commission will make the Lone Star State a leader in moving energy to the urban areas that need electricity.

"We will add more wind than the 14 states following Texas combined," said PUC Commissioner Paul Hudson. "I think that's a very extraordinary achievement. Some think we haven't gone far enough, some think we've pushed too far."

Once again, it is up to Texas to lead the way in the search for energy resources for our country -- this has the potential to be the Spindletop of wind energy.

Too bad certain a certain liberal Senator from a very blue state can't accept a little inconvenience in behalf of energy independence. Typical lib-ocrite.

And by the way -- while this is great, it is only one part of the solution.

We need to increase nuclear power.

And tap the oil resources of ANWR and the outer continental shelf.

DRILL HERE!

DRILL NOW!

Posted by: Greg at 07:04 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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This would be front page news if such things happened to Obama supporters at the hand of disgruntled Clinton backers or Republicans.

Why the silence from the media?

Why the lack of condemnation from the Obama campaign?

I live in a neighborhood that is poor and predominately African American. The Obama campaign has staked out my neighborhood since the PA Primary. I live in Allegheny County-- the Democratic Nominee must win Allegheny County and Philadelphia if they wish to win the state of PA. The Obama campaign used very dirty tactics for which I seemed to be a target. Why? Because I was backing Hillary Clinton. I was called names and had these volunteers coming onto my property and taking down my Hillary sign. I made her put my sign back up.

On June 3, 2008 I put a PUMA sign up on my front door. I also put an nobama sign up. The entire neighborhood knew I was not going to vote for Obama {Most told me I would be stupid to vote for the man who spent weeks trying to terrorize me.}.

Two weeks later as PUMA began to gain attention the Campaign began bothering me again. I received an email and then the phone calls started.
One evening I received a phone call another death threat and then shortly after my son came in and yelled fire. Someone set my tree on fire. The fire department said the fire was arson.

There is a list Obamabot threats and violence against other PUMA (Party Unity My Ass) Democrats being kept here.

And Doug Ross is also chronicling the rising problem of Maoist tactics by Obamabots, as is Wake Up America.

H/T Gateway Pundit

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1 strict influence buddy. craving to get more from your side

Posted by: Penisa at Sun Dec 28 09:04:16 2008 (Bxg1u)

2 货架、 货架

Posted by: Steel pallet" rel="nofollow">钢托盘 at Sat Mar 7 02:05:29 2009 (xEqmt)

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Seems to me the AP just wants to find a scandal where none exists in order to smear John McCain.

What's the best they can do?

Criticize John McCain for taking his Social Security Check when he dares to criticize the system as a failure.

Although Republican presidential candidate John McCain has called Social Security "a disgrace," he still cashes his own retirement check every month.

Big freakin' deal. The man paid into the system. He is legally and morally entitled to receive money from the system.

He is also correct in stating that "the system is broken and, unfortunately, my children and grandchildren, according to the trustees of the Social Security system, will not have the same benefits the present retirees have." Heck, there is a serious question as to whether the system will be capable of paying benefits at a reasonable level when I reach retirement age in another couple of decades -- something I don't have to worry about because federal law screws me out of my Social Security benefits that I paid for before I started teaching (and also from other jobs after I started teaching) because I will be receiving benefits from my state's teacher retirement fund.

Heck, I've got criticisms of how our teacher retirement system works down here in Texas -- would I be a hypocrite for daring to question this government program while also taking the benefits I paid in for?

Here's the problem for the AP (and the rest of the MSM) -- McCain is an incredibly clean, honest candidate, so they have to make crap up to try to diminish his stature and derail his campaign against the Obamessiah.

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If you are like most Americans, you want to see yourself become more than merely prosperous – you want to become fantastically rich! But how can you CREATE WEALTH like that? You have to learn how – just like one has to learn any other skill. And for that, you might be interested in the checking out the distance learning program of Nouveau Riche University, which has had remarkable success teaching wealth-building strategies to its students.

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