I am always taken aback when I see articles and commentaries about how certain groups don’t have enough representation in elected bodies because those bodies don’t have the right proportion of those ethnic minorities filling the seats. But as is typical of many liberals, Houston City Councilman James Rodriguez gives us another one lamenting the “underrepresentation” of Hispanics on the Houston City Council.

In 1991, Ben Reyes was the lone Latino serving on the 15-member Houston City Council. By 1996, four Latino council members served on Council: Gracie Saenz, Felix Fraga, Orlando Sanchez and John Castillo. Today, 17 years later, there is once again a lone Latino council member. As the only Latino serving on City Council, I take this as an opportunity to challenge my fellow Latino leaders across our great city to intensify our efforts to help create a stronger political voice for the growing Latino community.

Latinos are the city's fastest growing population group, a fact that is not reflected on our City Council.

Houston is home to nearly a million Latinos, almost half of this city's population, and appropriate representation for the community needs to be addressed through engagement in the political process.

I challenge myself and the local Latino leadership to invest in the premise of a nonpartisan political engagement strategy involving a united Latino community.
Therefore, I have taken the initiative, along with many of my elected colleagues, to organize the inaugural Houston Area Latino Summit for Saturday, Feb. 14.

Now there are a number of things which should be noted here.

First, the reason Rodriguez is the only Latino on the council is that the other one was just elected county sheriff and so resigned his seat on the city.

Second, those four members of the city council in 1996 were term-limited out after three terms – even though it is reasonably certain that any of the four could have been comfortably reelected (and likely could be today).

Third, one major reason for the underrepresentation is turnout – which in turn is (in part) a factor of citizenship. As long as Houston’s Hispanic community remains heavily composed of first-generation immigrants (legal and illegal) who are not citizens, there will always be a smaller turnout than one would expect at first glance. Indeed, I’d argue that this will continue for at least another decade or two. Even after the districts are redrawn to include two additional seats, it is unlikely that we will see the balance shift dramatically – indeed, I suspect that the outcome will be one additional Latino member of the council and one African-American. At-large seats will continue to favor white and African-American candidates due to turnout and citizenship issues.

The real question, though, is whether or not the interests of any given community are represented on the City Council. Interestingly enough, Rodriguez does not address that issue. Is he really arguing for more of the same race-based politics? Moreover, does he really want to argue that only an individual with the right skin color can represent a particular group only one week before our majority white nation inaugurates its first black president?

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Or the notion that a university is supposed to be a place of intellectual ferment where competing points of view may be aired and debated.

At least if these union thugs in Canada get their way.

In their current war against Hamas, the Israelis recently bombed buildings at the Islamic University of Gaza. As reported in the Chronicle, an Israeli army spokeswoman said the facilities had been used as "a research and development center for Hamas weapons."

In response to the bombing, the Canadian Union of Public Employees in Ontario, the largest labor union representing staff members at the province's universities, announced its plan to introduce a resolution at its forthcoming conference to ban Israeli academics from all schoolarly activity at Ontario universities if they do not first condemn Israeli operations in Gaza.

There is, of course, the obligatory anti-Semitic quote from the head union thug comparing Israel’s defensive war to the policies of the Nazis, so we know what the REAL motive of the boycott is. But let’s pretend that CUPE Ontario president Sid Ryan isn’t a raving Jew-hater and apologist for terrorism for just a moment, and consider this proposal more objectively. What he is, in effect, demanding is that a political orthodoxy be imposed before scholars are permitted to engage in scholarly activity at universities in Ontario. That would appear to fly in the face of the very notions of academic freedom that are usually demanded by the faculty of institutions of higher education. Where is the outcry against this effort to undermine academic freedom – especially when this litmus test is being imposed upon academe by a non-academic and would be voted upon by a union which is composed primarily of those outside of academia?

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I’ll be honest – I’m not sure whether the court ought to uphold or strike down the part of the Voting Rights Act that is being challenged in this case. On the one hand, I consider the statute as written to be terribly flawed – but on the other, I don’t believe that a statutory flaw is necessarily constitutes ground for a finding of unconstitutionality. After all, an unwise enactment is not necessarily unconstitutional. Still, the argument made in this case is intriguing – namely the fact that the preclearance provision of the Voting Rights Act is based upon findings of discrimination that occurred four decades ago while ignoring current realities constitutes a flaw of constitutional proportions.

Of course, I wrote about this very issue at the time this provision was renewed – so while I won’t offer an opinion on what the Supreme Court ought to decide, I will remind you of why I was troubled by the renewal.

VRA Renewal: Solving The Problems Of 1964 Until 2032

In 2032 I will, God willing, turn 69. The data used to determine which states need special monitoring for racial discrimination in voting will turn 68 -- making it more than old enough to collect social security if that program still exists.

That is why today's knee-jerk renewal of certain provisions of that law is an absurd act of political cowardice by the House of Representatives.

The House yesterday easily approved an extension of key provisions of the landmark Voting Rights Act, after GOP leaders quelled a rebellion within the party's Southern ranks that threatened to become a political embarrassment.

Before the 390 to 33 vote to extend the measure for a quarter-century, the House defeated four amendments that would have diluted two expiring provisions and possibly derailed final passage before the November congressional elections. With the House hurdle now cleared, Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said he hoped to bring the extension to the Senate floor before the August recess.

The act's temporary provisions do not expire until next year, but Republican leaders had hoped that early action would earn goodwill from minority voters as members of Congress head into a brutally competitive fall campaign season.

"Today, Republicans and Democrats have united in a historic vote to preserve and protect one of America's most important fundamental rights -- the right to vote," said House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).

Wrong, Mr. Speaker. Democrats and Republicans have become a sleuth of pander-bears. These provisions were meant to expire in 1970, and use data that is woefully outdated to limit the effective coverage of the act to aonly a few states.

It seems clear that some members of Congress have been in hibernation for the last four decades.

In urging adoption of the act, Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia, recalled marching on Bloody Sunday, a turning point in the movement for black voting rights in 1965, when the police in Selma, Ala., beat 600 civil rights demonstrators.

"I gave blood," Mr. Lewis said, his voice rising, as he stood alongside photographs of the clash. "Some of my colleagues gave their very lives."

"Yes, we've made some progress; we have come a distance," he added. "The sad truth is, discrimination still exists. That's why we still need the Voting Rights Act, and we must not go back to the dark past."

Fine, I can accept some sort of renewal of these provisions of the VRA. But none of these provisions is about turning the clock back four decades. Indeed, one of the defeated amendments (opposed by Democrats as a killer amendment) would have targeted voting issues as they exist TODAY, not back when I was still an infant.

A second amendment, offered by Rep. Charles Whitlow Norwood Jr. (R-Ga.), would have made every district potentially subject to the pre-clearance requirement, by including any jurisdiction where voter turnout fell below 50 percent in a presidential election. It would have eased the pre-clearance requirement for jurisdictions with voter turnout above 50 percent in three consecutive presidential elections, presuming that no court had found that discriminatory voting practices were employed. The measure failed 318 to 96.

Wow -- considering voter turnout in elections taking place TODAY was labeled as being against civil right. Applying the law to what happened in 2004 and what will happen in 2008 is not as important as correcting what happened in the election when Lyndon Johnson beat Barry Goldwater. Good grief -- would you accept the advice of a doctor who shunned MRIs and CAT scans and stuck strictly to old-fashioned x-rays because that was what he learned in medical school back in the 1960s? Of course not! Then why engage in the illogically absurd practice of using antiquated measures to determine racial discrimination -- and demand that they continue to be used for another quarter century?

Even suggesting that the renewal be done for a decade rather than a quarter century was labeled as a poison pill. Never mind that those who wrote these provisions thought it sufficient that they expire after five years -- now, four decades later, anything less than an extension of 25 years is tantamount to repealing the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution.

I've expressed my frustration over this issue a number of times in the past. I'm not persuaded by anything I've read today. Far from being a profile in courage, the blind renewal of these provisions of the VRA is a profile in political and moral cowardice.

Here's hoping the Senate has the backbone either to make the Voting Rights Act relevant to the problems that exist today or to allow these provisions to expire as their authors intended them to do.

UPDATE: Interesting takes on the case at Law Blog, SCOTUSBlog, ACSBlog, BLT, The Corner

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You know, as a part of their advise and consent function regarding HillaryÂ’s nomination as Secretary of State.

While Mr. Clinton's fundraising has been an appearance of a conflict waiting to happen with his wife a senator, it will only get worse and more troublesome once Ms. Clinton is confirmed as secretary of state. Per the agreement with Mr. Obama, a list of who is bankrolling the foundation will be released once a year. Only new donations from foreign governments will be examined by government ethics officials. And there is no prior review of donations from foreign companies or individuals or those in the United States with interests overseas. Mr. Clinton's continued globetrotting while collecting checks along the way could embarrass the administration on multiple, sensitive and dangerous fronts.

When the Washington Post remarks how much this conflict of interest stinks, you know that there is a real problem. And just imagine how much louder (and widespread) the howls of outrage would be if this were a Republican administration.

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And that Tavis Smalley thinks that I (and the rest of America”) ought to is rather troubling – after all, he is merely president.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: [Reid] says he doesn't work for Barack Obama. I think he's wrong.

TAVIS SMILEY: Harry Reid, put down the crack pipe. You don't work for Barack Obama? We're all working for Barack Obama.

Tavis, maybe you need to put down the crack pipe.

First, aren't journalists supposed to be objective?

Second, Obama isn’t a dictator, monarch, or demigod – and there is no requirement that any American to goose-step along with his agenda if they oppose any or all of it.

However, I will note that Barack ObamaÂ’s inability to get the leadership of his own party in Congress to follow him may be an indication of how pathetic he will be as president.

H/T NewsBusters

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This is what Hamas and its supporters believe is “humanitarian aid”.

As for the coverage: One of my contacts with The Israeli Army called me today and said “You gotta see this.” Hidden in one of the emergency aid shipments supposed to go into the Gaza strip during the 3 hour lull in fighting, were 38 pallets of camo uniforms, green military sweaters and black fatigues.

This is one of the emergency shipments intended to bring medical supplies and food to the people who need it so badly. Half the trucks bringing the stuff in are UN. Half the trucks are private. IÂ’m not certain which trucks were hauling the uniforms. They had been off loaded when I got there. The whole thing is under investigation.

Sounds like humanitarian aid to me – if by “humanitarian aid” you mean “military supplies”.

I’m really starting to think that we need to see a “Deuteronomy 7:1-2” type solution imposed with regard to the residents of Gaza.

“When the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, and when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them.”

After all, weÂ’ve seen what good negotiations and agreements with the Palestinians are. Perhaps it is time to utterly smite them.

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Yeah, the Pyramid isnÂ’t in great shape, the tomb was looted and the mummy damanged. But still, a neat bit of Egyptology in my book.

Egyptologists have discovered the remains of a mummy thought to belong to a queen who ruled 4,300 years ago, Egypt's antiquities chief has said.

The body of Queen Seshestet was found in a recently-discovered pyramid in Saqqara, Zahi Hawass announced.

She was mother of King Teti, founder of the Sixth Dynasty of pharaonic Egypt. Her name was not found but "all the signs indicate that she is Seshestet".

Such old royal mummies are rare. Most date from dynasties after 1800 BC.
Historians believe Queen Seshestet ruled Egypt for 11 years - making her one a small number of women pharaohs.

Let’s be honest – usually the only female pharaoh we hear about is Hatshepsut. That there were actually eleven of them is news to me – and the fact that one was so early is even more surprising. Indeed, a little research showed ruling queens as early as the First Dynasty.

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Don’t call them “fish”. Call them “sea kittens”.

RADICAL international animal rights group PETA has launched its most bizarre campaign yet, demanding fish be renamed "sea kittens".
PETA - People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals - believes calling fish sea kittens will make sea food less appealing.

It wants to change the image of fish as slimy and slithery creatures by claiming they are similar to cuter, more popular animals. "Would people think twice about ordering fish sticks if they were called sea kitten sticks?" PETA asked on its website.

Of course, it doesn’t matter to the ideologues (or is that “idiot-logues”) at PETA that fish really are slimy and slippery – they are so opposed to the consumption of anything with a spinal column that they are willing to engage in absurd word tricks and shameless stunts (and sometimes acts of violence) to force others to conform to their standards.

In a related story, the leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and the Taliban are seeking to replace the word “terrorist”. On their website they ask the question “Would people think twice about opposing the world domination of radical Islam and the murder of Jews, Christians and other infidels if our noble jihadis were called sand kittens?”

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But we can apparently hear space roaring!

Space is typically thought of as a very quiet place. But one team of astronomers has found a strange cosmic noise that booms six times louder than expected.

The roar is from the distant cosmos. Nobody knows what causes it.

I don’t know about you, but I have my guess as to the cause of this roar – it is the dying screams of the trillions of souls whose planets have been destroyed by Galactus!

(What the heck – it seems as good as any explanation in the article!)

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Not only calling for genocide, but the national organization that is sponsoring the pro-terrorist demonstration refuse to condemn the call for genocide.

Like many other protests of Israel's campaign in Gaza, this one ended badly — police had to cool an ugly fight between supporters of Israel and Gaza, breaking up the warring sides as their screaming and chanting threatened to turn into something worse.

But some protesters at this rally in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., took their rhetoric a step further, calling for the extermination of Israel — and of Jews.

* * *

But as the protest continued and crowds grew, one woman in a hijab began to shout curses and slurs that shocked Jewish activists in the city, which has a sizable Jewish population.

"Go back to the oven," she shouted, calling for the counter-protesters to die in the manner that the Nazis used to exterminate Jews during the Holocaust.
"You need a big oven, that's what you need," she yelled.

And when the spokesman for the organizing group was contacted about such shouts, he couldn’t bring himself to condemn anti-Semitism or the genocidal rantings of some of the protesters – but he could certainly condemn Israel.

The protest organizers, asked to comment on the woman's overt call for Jewish extermination, said she was "insensitive" but refused to condemn her statement.

"She does not represent the opinions of the vast majority of people who were there," said Emmanuel Lopez, who helped plan the event, one of many sponsored nationwide on Dec. 30 by the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism ) Coalition.

Lopez, a state coordinator for ANSWER, admitted there is a problem with anti-Semitism within his organization's ranks. But then he went on to call the supporters of Israel across the street "barbaric, racist" Zionist terrorists.
"Zionism in general is a barbaric, racist movement that really is the cause of the situation in the entire Middle East," Lopez said.

Let’s see – 2000 rockets were launched from Gaza by Hamas during 2008, but it is Israel that is condemned by these folks as “barbaric” and “terrorists”? Seems to me that Lopez is implicitly supporting the calls for genocide with his non-condemnation. But why should that surprise us – Hamas itself has called for the murder of Jews.

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After all, he is seeking to medically endanger (or financially bankrupt) his estranged wife in order to get a more favorable divorce settlement.

A Long Island surgeon embroiled in a nearly four-year divorce proceeding wants his estranged wife to return the kidney he donated to her, although he says heÂ’ll settle for $1.5 million in compensation.

Dr. Richard Batista, a surgeon at Nassau University Medical Center, told reporters at his lawyerÂ’s Long Island office Wednesday that he decided to go public with his demand for kidney compensation because he has grown frustrated with the negotiations with his estranged wife. Â…

He said he gave his kidney to Dawnell Batista, now 44, in June 2001. She filed for divorce in July 2005, although he claims she began having an extramarital affair 18 months to two years after receiving the kidney transplant, his attorney, Dominick Barbara said.

As a physician, DOCTOR Richard Batista knows that to repossess the kidney he DONATED would be to cause Dawnell Batista irreparable physical harm – possibly including her death. So much for his Hyppocratic Oath!

And there is this minor detail, noted by Hot AirÂ’s Ed Morrissey.

We have plenty of experience with transplants. The First Mate has had four transplants (three kidneys and a pancreas), two of which came from live donors. For the first, I planned on donating one of my kidneys, but a cadaver donor became available before I finished my tests. During the planning, it was made clear that this gift was non-refundable and non-negotiable, and in fact I signed paperwork acknowledging that, as did the two friends who later did donate live kidneys to the FM over the last five years.

Dr. Batista would have had to sign similar forms as well – so he knows that this demand is not merely unethical but also unenforceable. And then there is the minor detail that he is effectively asking for payment of $1.5 million for the organ – a violation of American law which makes the sale of human organs for transplantation illegal. Perhaps the loss of his medical license is not the only thing that needs to happen here – perhaps he needs a bit of jail time as well.

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Why on earth the Washington Post would publish a piece by this disgrace is beyond me – his is the worst presidency (for either foreign or domestic policy) of my lifetime. And given Jimmy Carter’s clear history of anti-Semitism when it comes to dealing with Israel, I would think that rational folks would consider him effectively discredited on the matter.

His conclusion – the entire conflict is Israel’s fault for failing to give into all of Hamas’ demands.

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If the KKK had tried this tactic to protect “white votes”, there would have been howls of outrage in the mainstream press. Thank God that the Justice Department is willing to seek justice on a race-neutral basis by going after this group of armed thugs.

WASHINGTON - The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit under the Voting Rights Act against the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and three of its members alleging that the defendants intimidated voters and those aiding them during the Nov. 4, 2008, general election.

The complaint, filed in the United States District Court in Philadelphia, alleges that, during the election, Minister King Samir Shabazz and Jerry Jackson were deployed at the entrance to a Philadelphia polling location wearing the uniform of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, and that Samir Shabazz repeatedly brandished a police-style baton weapon.

“Intimidation outside of a polling place is contrary to the democratic process,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Grace Chung Becker. “The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed to protect the fundamental right to vote and the Department takes allegations of voter intimidation seriously.”

Remember – this is a violent, anti-white, anti-Semitic hate group. They need to be confronted whenever they engage in such illegal acts -- just like their white cousins in the Klan. Now the question is – will the Obama Justice Department continue to pursue this case?

H/T Jawas, Malkin

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It isn’t that an additional interstate in Texas is a bad idea – but the project was frightfully flawed from the beginning.

The ambitious proposal to create the Trans-Texas Corridor network has been dropped in response to public outcry and will be replaced with a plan to carry out road projects at an incremental, modest pace, state officials said Tuesday.

"The Trans-Texas Corridor, as a single-project concept, is not the choice of Texans, so we decided to put the name to rest," said Amadeo Saenz Jr., executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, at the agency's annual Texas Transportation Forum in Austin. "To be clear, the Trans-Texas Corridor as it is known, no longer exists."

The state will move forward with a series of individual projects that had been considered part of the Trans-Texas Corridor plan, he said. Among those is the Interstate 69 project, which, as proposed, would run from Texarkana to Laredo or the Rio Grande Valley.

Saenz said overwhelming public response was a key factor in the agency's decision to abandon the plan, and he pledged that the agency would rely heavily on input from Texans through more town hall meetings and an updated Web site.

"One practical lesson we've taken away from this experience is, we need to do a better job of communicating," he said. "We need to do a better job of listening."

And listening was the problem – Texans woke up one day to find that the state had approved a massive highway project that would involve the use of eminent domain for a for-profit highway that would benefit a foreign company, but not the Texas taxpayer. What’s more, the access to the highway would be so limited that the highway would essentially bypass the cities and towns of Texas – vehicles would essentially get on at the border with Mexico and exit at the northern border of the state, with few exits or entrances in between.

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Once again, we have Watcher's Council Results!

Winning Council Submissions

• First place with 2 1/3 points! - Joshuapundit - Gaza:A Tale Of Selective Morality and Tribal Warfare


• Second place with 1 2/3 points - The Razor - Walking In IsraelÂ’s Shoes


• Third place with 1 1/3 points - Soccer Dad - TalkinÂ’ turki


• Fourth place with 1 points - Mere Rhetoric - Anti-Israel Partisans Set New Record For Decades-Old Trick Of Brazenly Rewriting History, Blaming Israel


• Fifth place with 2/3 point - The Glittering Eye - Trust


• Sixth place with 1/3 point - (T*) - Bookworm Room - HamasÂ’ “Heroes” — and the need for total victory over evil


• Sixth place with 1/3 point - (T*) - The Provocateur - A LiberalÂ’s View of Patriotism

Winning Non-Council Submissions

• First place with 3 points! - David Keyes/Commentary - Sderot under Seige


• Second place with 2 points - Melanie Phillips - Groundhog day for the fifth column of malice


• Third place with 1 1/3 points - Sippican Cottage - The Greater Fool Theory of Housing


• Fourth place with 2/3 points - Front Page Magazine - A Caliphate ‘From the Red Sea to the CaspianÂ’?


• Fifth place with 1/3 point - (T*) - Daled Amos - Notes on TodayÂ’s Conference Call on Gaza


• Fifth place with 1/3 point - (T*) - Yourish - TalkinÂ’ Turki Part two


• Fifth place with 1/3 point - (T*) - Counterterrorism Blog - Jihad by the Shoe: Who Was Behind it and why?

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When I first started my original blog, I really didnÂ’t know what to do or what my options were. That's why I went with the leading free host and followed their cookie-cutter directions on how to make a rather generic site. Over time, I found the limits to be rather, well, limiting. That is when I decided to look into a moving to a paid host. After all, my site had become a small business for me as well.

One of the great things about the internet is that national borders do not confine us when it comes to web hosting services. Indeed, there are certainly as many good hosting services outside the US as there are in the US. That's why I find this hosting service to be a good option. Their prices are right (and with with the exchange rate to US dollars, they are really great) and they have a guarantee of 99.9% up-time -- hey, there's no way to guarantee 100%. They even have some great starter packages for someone who is just beginning a site -- whether a blog or an e-commece site. And as you grow, there is always the possibility of upgrading your service as you find it necessary. So consider the folks at CanadianWebHosting.com if you are located in Canada -- and maybe if you are located elsewhere, too.

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Israel is acting to stop a continuous stream of war crimes by Hamas. The Hamas official, on the other hand, has made it very clear that he wants to see war crimes stepped up to include genocide and the intentional murder of children.

[Hamas spokesman Mahmoud Az-Zahar] called to murder Israelis and Jews worldwide, including children. “The Israelis have sentenced their children to death... They have legitimized the killing of their people all over the world,” he said. Hamas' platform calls for all Jews to convert to Islam or be killed, based on an Islamic saying (Hadith), and the group has not refrained from targeting children in the past.

Now letÂ’s see how long the anti-Semitic advocates of moral equivalence take to agree with him.

But on the other hand, Zahar has indicated that Hamas will consider a ceasefire provided that Israel refrain from defending its people from terrorism and Hamas is allowed to openly import the weapons used to commit its war crimes against Israeli civilians by sea and freely send terrorists into Israel by land without fear of discovery by IDF checkpoints.

And lest you think that the Zahar is alone in his views, consider the views of one Hamas leader recently dispatched to Hell by the IDF.

There is no chance that true Islam would ever allow a Jewish state to survive in the Muslim Middle East. Israel is an impossibility. It is an offense against God.“ (H/T Founding Bloggers)

So if you think that this is a case of Israel crating terrorists with its policies, think again – these jihadi swine seek the destruction of Israel and the murder of its people based upon their sense of religious duty growing out of Islam.

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That seems to be the proposal of former UN Ambassador John Bolton – return Gaza to Egypt and the West Bank to Jordan because the two-state solution has failed.

nstead, we should look to a "three-state" approach, where Gaza is returned to Egyptian control and the West Bank in some configuration reverts to Jordanian sovereignty. Among many anomalies, today's conflict lies within the boundaries of three states nominally at peace. Having the two Arab states re-extend their prior political authority is an authentic way to extend the zone of peace and, more important, build on governments that are providing peace and stability in their own countries. "International observers" or the like cannot come close to what is necessary; we need real states with real security forces.

Of course, neither government wants to deal with the Terrorstinians that the Arab world spent the last six decades radicalizing with a visceral hatred of Israel (not that the residents of the region were not frighteningly anti-Semitic before there even was an Israel – anti-Zionist Arab leaders were even funded by the Third Reich before and during the Second World War). Thus, I don’t believe the three-state solution is viable.

Maybe Israel ought to expel every Palestinian from Gaza and the West Bank in precisely the same way that Arab states expelled their Jewish populations following the creation of Israel in 1948. Call it the one-state solution -- the least desirable option, to be sure, but could it really be any worse than the stated policy of Hamas?

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After all, only enemies of public education want the predominantly minority students of the District of Columbia to be able to escape the cityÂ’s failing schools.

We have seen the enemy -- and he is Obama.

It remains awfully difficult to catch a glimpse of First Kids-to-Be Malia and Sasha Obama, but at least we can say for certain where they are this morning: getting to know their new classmates at the Sidwell Friends campuses in upper Northwest Washington and Bethesda.

The president-elect moved his transition operation to Washington yesterday in order to be with his girls as they started at their new school. Obama, who will meet with congressional leaders today to discuss an economic stimulus package, did not accompany his daughters to school this morning. But transition officials released these photos of him saying good-bye to them at their hotel suite.

Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, left the Hay-Adams Hotel with their mother, Michelle Obama, at 7:10 a.m. Their motorcade emerged from a security tent that has been erected outside the posh hotel, and they drove off with nary a wave to the throngs of cameras or the waiting crowds.

Malia, a fifth-grader, arrived at Sidwell's middle school in the 3800 block of Wisconsin Avenue at 7:30 a.m., a full half-hour before the school day began. The motorcade bypassed the main entrance to the underground garage at Wisconsin Avenue and Rodman Street NW, opting instead for a side entrance adjacent to Fannie Mae's James A. Johnson Housing and Community Development Center.

Whatever Michelle Obama did to settle Malia into her class, it didn't take long. At 7:41, the motorcade exited another driveway slightly to the north, adjacent to the Friendship Post Office.

Only the best for the First Kids – but neither hope nor change for children stuck in the public schools in the District of Columbia. Instead, Obama stands in the schoolhouse door to make sure that his little darlings don’t have to mix with the masses.

But we shouldn't be surprised -- the Chicago Public Schools run by his new Secretary of education weren't good enough for the little Obamalings.

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IÂ’ve been peripherally aware of Brandon Darby over the last three years as a liberal activist who was scathingly critical of the Bush Administration and its policies. I disagree with him on many of those points. However, I applaud him for having the courage to act as an FBI informant in cases involving planned acts of domestic terrorism at the 2008 GOP convention. Indeed, any American with any sort of functioning moral compass should do the same.

Which is why the response of liberal activists to DarbyÂ’s acknowledgment of his role in preventing terrorist acts by a pair of terrorist-wannabes is quite telling.

When The St. Paul Pioneer Press published an article in October that cited an unidentified source who named Mr. Darby as an informant in the case against Mr. Crowder and Mr. McKay, a co-founder of Common Ground, Scott Crow, defended Mr. Darby publicly and warned against “rumors, conjecture and innuendo.”

“I put it all on the line to defend him when accusations first came out,” Mr. Crow said. “Brandon Darby is somebody I had entrusted with my life in New Orleans, and now I feel endangered by him.”

Endangered? By daring to assist law enforcement in preventing acts of political violence in the streets of America? Exactly where do your loyalties (and those of your fellow “activists”) lie, Mr. Crow?

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One out before the confirmation battle:

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to be commerce secretary, withdrew from consideration yesterday, citing an ongoing federal "pay-to-play" investigation involving one of his political donors as a significant obstacle to his confirmation.

Richardson, 61, who competed unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, becomes the first political casualty in Obama's Cabinet, and his withdrawal marked the first visible crack in what had been one of the smoothest presidential transitions in modern history.

Yep – another political ally into pay-to-play. What is it about these dirty Dem governors? And given the ties between Obama, his Chicago crew, and Gov. Blagojevich in Illinois, how can anyone call this transition “smooth”. Hell, it already appears that there is serious need for a special prosecutor to investigate the Obama administration two weeks before the man even takes office.

And then there might be another dirty Dem in the prospective Cabinet – the nominee for Secretary of State, Senator Hillary Clinton.

A developer in New York state donated $100,000 to former President Bill ClintonÂ’s foundation in November 2004, around the same time that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton helped secure millions of dollars in federal assistance for the businessmanÂ’s mall project.

Hillary Clinton helped enact legislation allowing the developer, Robert Congel, to use tax-exempt bonds to help finance the construction of the Destiny USA entertainment and shopping complex, an expansion of the Carousel Center in Syracuse.

She also helped secure a provision in a highway bill that set aside $5 million for Destiny USA roadway construction.

The bill with the tax-free bonds provision became law in October 2004, weeks before the donation, and the highway bill with the set-aside became law in August 2005, about nine months after the donation.

Mighty suspicious timing, don’t you think. Here’s hoping the Senate takes the time to look at this before confirming her – assuming that she isn’t as dirty as she appears here. Remember the old standard of the Democrats – the appearance of impropriety is itself an impropriety.

And, of course, there is Attorney General nominee Eric Holder, whose involvement with the Marc Rich pardon and the unsolicited pardon of a gang of Puerto Rican terrorists is already predicted to be the source of fireworks during his confirmation hearings.

All of which leads me to ask – is it possible that the incoming Obama administration did as poor a job vetting cabinet nominees as the press did vetting their candidate during the campaign.

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After all, she is seeking to implement rules that effectively bar full participation of Republican lawmakers in the business of the House of Representatives. Fortunately, the GOP is standing up to her.

In reaction, the House Republican leadership is sending a letter today to Pelosi to object to changes to House Rules this week that would bar Republicans from offering alternative bills, amendments to Democrat bills or even the guarantee of open debate accessible by motions to recommit for any piece of legislation during the entire 111th Congress.

Will President-elect Obama speak out against these moves towards legislative tyranny? Or is this the sort of change we are supposed to believe in as a part of the new tone in Washington?

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Let's put this into perspective -- these are the areas of Israel that the Terrorstinians can now attack from Gaza. That range, 40 km, is the equivalent about 25 miles -- and some 1/8 of Israel's population lives within the attack zone, which is within the internationally-recognized pre-1967 borders of Israel.

And the word is that Hamas may have bought missiles from Iran that give the Terrorstinians the possibility of targeting even more civilians in the rest of Israel.

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R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. offers this observation.

It is dreadful that Gaza, one of the most densely populated places on earth, is under heavy aerial bombardment from Israel. Yet Hamas, the governing entity in Gaza, has been lobbing shrapnel-filled missiles into Israel on a regular basis for months. Two weeks ago, Hamas arbitrarily broke its six-month ceasefire with Israel, and the danger to Israeli life and property has gotten worse. How many missiles is Israel to suffer before it is warranted to defend its territory and its people?

Now that word "disproportional" is being raised among foreign policy elites. Israeli air strikes since Saturday have killed several hundred Palestinians and injured several thousand. So we are hearing that the Israeli actions are "disproportional."

* * *

I have no idea how many Hamas strikes against civilians warrant how many Israeli acts of retribution. Frankly, such calculations seem to me as beside the point. The real question is how many Israeli strikes are needed to close down Hamas? That is what is necessary. The Israelis have at their border a violent, unprincipled enemy that has vowed to destroy Israel. Hamas not only vows to destroy Israel, it bombards Israel and expects the world to object when Israel counterattacks.

Now let me begin by noting that the very concept of proportionality in warfare is absurd. Following Pearl Harbor, the US was not limited to a "proportional response" against Japan and its Axis partners. Following 9/11, no one expected the US to stop fighting al-Qaeda and the Taliban after we inflicted three thousand enemy casualties (and no one tried to calculate the military equivalent of four hijacked jetliners so that we didn't exceed the force initially used against us).

Besides, Tyrrell is correct in noting that he (and, by implication, we) do not know what a proportional response is. Indeed, it would appear that the Terorstinian leadership of Hamas is the only group that does know what a proportional response is -- for when it is reached, Hamas will stop firing missiles into Israel, indiscriminately hitting homes, schools, and shops with no military significance. Given that Hamas continues to attack despite over 400 dead this week, it is clear that Israel has yet to inflict sufficient damage for the response to be proportional to the goal -- the end of Terrorstinian rocket attacks on civilians. It may be that the proper proportion is 100, or even 1000, dead Terrostinians for every dead Israeli -- but it is only Hamas that can set the figure, not Israel or the international community.

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From our future president, Bobby Jindal:

"Some think the job of government is simply to collect taxes and spend money. I do not subscribe to that view."

Thank God we still have some in public office who recognize that the purpose of government is to provide ESSENTIAL services that we cannot provide for ourselves, not provide all services while socializing the costs through ever-higher taxation and spending.

In one move, Jindal wiped out nearly half of this year's budget deficit (due to falling oil prices) by ordering spending cuts. He also recommended cuts that will eliminate the rest of that deficit if Louisiana's legislature goes along with them. Here's hoping that his actions will be noted in Washington -- and that they will serve as an example to other public officials on how to govern in a fiscally responsible manner.

H/T American Thinker

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Well, it is that time of year again. The district switched our health insurance company again, moving us to yet another company (the fifth in the last ten years) in an attempt to save the district money even if it ends up costing the employees even more. Actually, I think we may come out ahead on this one, even if I am paying a bit more every month. Given that we have two diabetics in the house, and my darling wife's medical issues, we need insurance to keep us out of the poor house.

Frankly, I'm not sure what we would do without the insurance that we have. I suppose that we would have to try to find Affordable Health Insurance for the two of us. It is available, too, even for individuals, through various insurance companies if you take the time and look. For example, if you look for Health Insurance at Online-Health-Insurance.com , you will be able to find some good quotes on health insurance, as well as links to many articles that will help you determine what your health insurance needs are and how to maximize your health insurance dollar. And given the state of the economy as w enter this new year, that is important -- who knows how many folks employed today will find themselves without a job -- or health insurance -- over the coming weeks and months. So be prudent and examine your health insurance options today.

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Want to know what makes their food taste good? Salt and fat.

THE woman given the job of promoting McDonald's has revealed the secret of the fast-food chain's success – salt and fat.

In what some might see as a slightly-too-honest appraisal of her company's products, Jill McDonald, chief marketing officer for McDonald's UK, admitted that if the firm removed unhealthy ingredients, consumers would vote with their feet and eat elsewhere.

* * *

Ms McDonald said the core market remained burgers because that was what the public wanted – along with the salt and fat which came with them.

"Although we are very clear we are a burger business – that is why primarily people come to us – our customers are more aware of the need to follow a balanced diet and we needed to move in line with what customers wanted," she said.

"But fat and salt makes food taste good. There is no point taking all the fat and salt out of your food because people won't like it and they will eat with someone else. We have to make small steps to help people improve their diet."

Let's be honest -- she's right. Salt helps bring out the flavor of food -- that is the reason it is such a common ingredient in the foods we buy. And the fat in meat we eat provides both texture and flavor -- what do you think is the major component of that juice in that oozes from a juicy burger or steak. Eliminate the fat and salt and you get a dry, tasteless piece of meat with the texture and flavor of a hockey puck.

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As anybody who regularly reads the blog here at Rhymes With Right knows, my wife and I took a pretty serious hit from Hurricane Ike back in September. Right now we are waiting for construction to finish on the post-flood renovation -- and that means that we are looking at getting a lot of different things for around the house.

Would you believe that one of the items on our list is Blinds? And that is even though the only three sets of blinds actually took damage from the 30 inches of water, mud, an sewage that turned our lives upside down. We basically lost all the furniture (my dad's desk and her mom's bookcase might be able to be restored) -- and that means we will need all-new window treatments to go with our all-new furniture.

I've been looking at a lot of online sites for these blinds, since there are so many great possibilities on the internet. For example, there is an incredible selection of curtains, mini blinds, bamboo shades, shutters, are some window drapery hardware and window blinds offered by Smith+Noble. We've not made a decision yet, but I think we may end up with some of those bamboo shades in the bedrooms and other parts of the house. Best of all, the prices are quite competitive, so we are likely to save some cash on their quality merchandise!

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When any sort of vandalism occurs at or near a mosque, it is major news indicative of "Islamophobia". But where is the outcry over this assault on a synagogue?

A Molotov cocktail thrown early today against the wall of one of Chicago's oldest synagogues caused minimal physical damage but worried local Jewish officials, who said the incident could be a response to the latest fighting in the Middle East.

"I can't help but think there's a relationship," said Roger Rudich, president of Temple Sholom of Chicago, 3480 N. Lake Shore Drive.
No one was hurt in the arson that police are investigating as a hate crime. Bomb and arson detectives were at the scene Monday afternoon and the investigation was ongoing, said Chicago police officer Daniel O'Brien.

O'Brien said the fire "extinguished itself, nothing ever caught fire." No suspect was in custody as of Monday afternoon, he said.

"The offender drove off and made a derogatory statement" to a witness, and police were working to obtain and review surveillance equipment in the area, said O'Brien.

How has the media responded? With fewer than 40 news reports nationwide -- and most of the reports local ones.

I guess anti-Semitism is no longer high on the priority list for the media -- or maybe they just think the Jews are getting what they have coming to them, and that hate only counts as hate if it involves the "right" victims.

H/T Debbie Schlussel

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This is a proposal that only the most hard-core advocate of open borders could argue with. We need to deport those who, after having already disregarded our nation's immigration laws, turn around and break our criminal laws as well.

Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire wants illegal immigrants serving time in state jails deported, a move intended to save the state more than $9 million in the next two-year budget.

The deportation proposal is modeled after a program in Arizona that has saved the state more than $18.5 million since 2005, said Eldon Vail, Secretary of the state Department of Corrections.

"It's not an ideal choice, if revenue was there, I'd say have them do their time," Vail said. "Is justice better served? It's a tough question to wrestle with when you don't have resources."

New York and Arizona are already working with ICE to do this. Other states ought to consider it.

But more to the point, we need to start getting rid of those who have so little respect for America's laws that they cross our border illegally. After all, every illegal immigrant is a law-breaker, and therefore an undesirable alien.

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After doing a pretty good job of serving as a mouthpiece for Hamas for the last week, it is good to see the Washington Post start 2009 with some information about the current Israeli military action in Gaza that provides a bit of balance. Bet of all, Professor Robert Lieber of Georgetown points out some important details about the reasons for the Israeli attacks and how they have been conducted.

Let's break down his main points.

First, despite the tragic deaths of civilians, Israeli's airstrikes have been precisely aimed at Hamas fighters, installations and rocket launchers. Inevitably, the use of force causes injury and death to innocents, but from initial figures announced by U.N. personnel, it appears that more than 80 percent of those killed were Hamas security personnel or other militants -- a ratio that might compare favorably with the use of force by U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. In view of Hamas's practice of deliberately placing missile launchers and other weapons in the midst of densely populated areas, the precision is remarkable. It also reflects the fact that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) seek to minimize civilian deaths, while Hamas deliberately targets civilians.

Indeed, one of the reasons that Israel has shown extreme forbearance is because of the concern abut civilian casualties. However, the decision of Hamas to unilaterally end the six month truce with Israel and to step up attacks on Israeli civilians led Israel to act -- while still seeking to minimize civilian deaths.

And then there is this important consideration.

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Second, what we are witnessing is not a "cycle" of violence. The IDF airstrikes are a reaction to the unrelenting rocket and mortar attacks against the Jewish state. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 in the hope that the Palestinians would use the opportunity to prepare for an eventual agreement and a two-state solution in which they would live side by side in peace with Israel. Since then, there have been more than 3,500 such attacks aimed at areas of southern Israel, including over 200 launches since Dec. 19, after Hamas chose not to extend a six-month truce. The expanding range of these missiles now covers an area populated by as many as 700,000 Israelis.

That's right -- Gaza is as Judenrein (translation: clean of Jews) as Hitler's ideal Germany would have been (the only Jew in Gaza is kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad_Shalit). Israel forcibly removed the last recalcitrant Jewish residents of Gaza (which had had a continuous Jewish presence for the previous three millennia) and turned it over to the avowed enemies of Israel in 2005 in a vain and foolish attempt to implement a so-called "two-state solution" to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Since that time, there have been regular attacks from Gaza. And while Leiber says that there have been 200 launches since December 19, I'd like to suggest that the number is higher -- I've received text-message updates in the last two days indicating that at nearly that many rockets have been fired into Israel in the last 48 hours.

Lieber also makes another point -- Hamas rejects any two-state solution to the current conflict. As long as it maintains a hold on power, there can be no peace. Israel has acted in good faith to bring an end to six decades of instability in the region -- some of us would argue recklessly and foolishly so -- while having never had an actual partner for peace willing to act to actually bring about peace. Only by completely undermining Hamas might Israel create a situation in which the two-state solution might work -- and then only if Fatah is prepared to finally step up and act as a government rather than a terrorist organization or criminal gang.

Maybe the outcome of this military action will, finally, be peace.

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If Islam is the "Religion of Peace", why was the mosque a munitions dump and a site for rocket launches?

On Wednesday, The IAF reported that it had hit 25 terror-related targets including the offices of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and a mosque in the city of Gaza where Hamas activists were hiding, and which had been used as a weapons storehouse.

Rockets had also been fired at Israel from the mosque.

Shin Bet security service officials said that over the last few days, Palestinian militants have been seen carrying Katyusha and Qassam rockets, as well as a large supply of other weapons, around the vicinity of the mosque. The Shin Bet said that these weapons were destroyed in the IAF strike.

We Christians do not use our churches as storehouses for weapons to be used in terrorist attacks. Jews do not use their synagogues that way. Indeed, most religions practiced in the world today treat their houses of worship as demilitarized zones, and international law tends to recognize them as such. But when such houses of worship are used for military purposes, they lose any legitimate claim of protection they might have. And when we see members of the same faith using their houses of worship for purposes of military and terrorist attacks time and again, it does lead one to question whether it is legitimate to call it a religion of peace.

Additional news coverage on this issue from AP, Guardian, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post

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How do we know?

The Terrorstinian scum lobbed one into an Israeli school in the middle of a civilian neighborhood -- that's how.

The army official said the rocket that struck the school in Beersheba was manufactured in China, is heavier than the Qassam and can "potentially cause much greater damage." He said the rocket contains metal pallets that can spread out across a radius of up to 100 meters (about 328 feet) from the point of impact.

Now for those of you who are confused, let me explain the purpose of those metal pellets. They are an anti-personnel feature designed to cause maximum human casualties in the area around the impact site, up to the length of a football field in all directions from the point of impact.

In other words, this weapon was sent into the middle of a civilian area -- a school where there would usually be children present -- with the goal of killing and wounding as many non-combatants as possible. Unlike the Israelis, who have made great efforts to avoid civilian casualties in the recent fighting, the Terrorstinians made an intentional effort to kill and maim as many children as possible.

Will the world hold China accountable for supplying weapons to terrorists who will use them in violation of international law? Or are only the US and Israel subject to condemnation by the international community when the Jewish state exercises its legitimate right to self-defense?

Debbie Schlussel has more on this matter -- including information and photos from relatives whose children attend the damaged school and who would likely have been among the victims of this war crime.

I teach in a school here in America -- and as I look through the gaping hole into that classroom, I see a sight that could be my own classroom. I praise God that I don't have to worry about things like this happening on a daily basis, and I pray that God will consign those who willfully and intentionally perpetrate such deeds to the deepest bowels of Hell (along with those who aid and abet them).

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One more sign that the US has acted as a liberator in Iraq rather than an occupier or colonizer.

The walls of the majestic Republican Palace in Baghdad's Green Zone have been stripped bare. The vaults that secured American cash and classified documents are gone, and the cement blast walls that protected the front entrance were taken down this week. The U.S. military dining facility inside what was once the American Embassy served its last meal New Year's Eve.

"This is the end of the world as we know it," said Sgt. 1st Class Patrick McDonald, 47, who co-authored a guide to historic sites in the Green Zone. "It's not like everyone is shredding documents and fleeing Saigon. But we are stepping away from a building."

Saddam Hussein had the palace compound's main building decorated with giant busts of himself to demonstrate his hold over Iraq. After the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the palace came to symbolize the American role in the country, first as the headquarters of the U.S. occupation authority and later the U.S. Embassy. American civilians and troops held "salsa night" dances around the pool behind the palace before retiring to trailers sheathed in sandbags.

When the clock struck midnight on Wednesday, the U.S. returned the palace to the Iraqi government and relinquished formal control over the Green Zone, a heavily fortified six-square-mile enclave on the Tigris River where key U.S. and Iraqi bureaucracies are situated.

This move is as it should be -- it was never teh goal of teh United States to stay in Iraq indefinitely. Since the invasion, it was always American policy to place control of all of Iraq in the hands of the Iraqis. This is simply one more step in the process -- one that has seen millions of Iraqis freed from the yoke of Saddamite tyranny.

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The only columnist in the publication worth reading on a regular basis has been fired in a cost cutting move.

The troubled Village Voice laid off three employees Tuesday, including Nat Hentoff, the prominent columnist who has worked for the paper since 1958, contributing opinionated columns about jazz, civil liberties and politics.

* * *

“Nat Hentoff wrote liner notes for every great musician that I’ve ever loved, from Billie Holiday to Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin, and that’s not even what he’s been writing about for the last 30 years,” said Tom Robbins, a Voice staff writer.

More importantly, Hentoff has been one of the great voices on issues of freedom of speech and freedom of the press over the last couple of decades. I was first introduced to him in graduate school, when one of our ancillary readings was his classic book, The First Freedom. Even though I depart with him on the Crusade Against Jihadi Terrorism, I have never doubted that his views are worthy of respectful consideration. Indeed, he is one of only two syndicated columnists whose work I insist upon reading as soon as it comes out. To see the Village Voice dump him is a shock.

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Pretty badly -- but not badly enough to keep Obama from appointing the head of the Chicago's public schools to the top spot at the Department of Education. And it is even worse than I have mentioned in earlier posts -- the district has received five straight failing grades under NCLB with Arne Duncan at the helm.

The Chicago Public Schools, whose superintendent, Arne Duncan, has been tapped by President-elect Barack Obama to be the next education secretary, failed to meet the Illinois state standards set under the No Child Left Behind Act for the last five years.

From 2004 to 2008, the Chicago district (District 299) failed to make “Adequate Yearly Progress” (AYP) in key areas, according to the district’s progress report on the Illinois State Board of Education Web site.

Now I am a critic of NCLB, and think it needs serious revision to do a better job of measuring student learning. But a district in which only 60% meet the minimum standard in reading and only 20% of special needs students meet the minimum standard is clearly not up to snuff.

If he can't lead effectively at the district level, why should we believe that Arne Duncan can be an educational leader at the national level? The US Senate must reject Duncan's nomination.

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I do a lot of work with political campaigns, and have found that there is always a need for good looking stickers and labels. After all, a candidate needs to increase his or her name recognition, right? That's why they are so important to a campaign.

Of course, the same is true in any field of business -- labels are an important way to sell a product to sell or establish a brand identity. packaging and advertising are key -- and the use of labels and Stickers can be very important in that regard.

Frontier Label is a company that prints custom labels and Stickers. They are a leader in the field, creating their own machinery to enable them to create the best in stickers and labels to take advantage of their knowledge of marketing and establishing a brand.

Now you may wonder -- why would you want to buy Stickers and labels on the internet rather than finding a local supplier. Well, how about price? I know how much things like bumper Stickers cost, and I was surprised at how well Frontier Label stacked up against the competition. Similarly, the cost for their other labels was quite reasonable. So if you need labels or stickers for your product or business, why not check them out?

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After all, they must kill Jews wherever they are found -- even if all they are doing is selling cosmetics.

Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists attacked a group of young Israelis at a stand in a Danish mall early Wednesday evening.

Local police said the attack took place at approximately 3:20 p.m. at the Rosengirdscentret Center, one of the largest shopping centers in the city of Odense, located about 200 kilometers from Copenhagen.

According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Yossi Levi, an undetermined number of Palestinian Authority gunmen approached the group of young Israelis at a "basta", or stand which sells Dead Sea products and other items from Israel and opened fire "with guns or rifles."

I'm curious -- how long until the world is willing to acknowledge that there is something fundamentally dysfunctional within the so-called "religion of peace" that leads its followers to be decidedly unpeaceful?

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In my life, I've made a few interesting and exciting trips, including a couple out of the country. Lately that hasn't been an option, as health issues, deaths, and an unpleasant meteorological event called Hurricane Ike have turned the lives of my wife and I upside down. But 2009 will be different -- this I pray.

What brought all this to mind? Well, the impending new year, of course -- but also a couple of YouTube videos that I came across. Both are humorous takes on what can happen when one goes on vacation. I could easily see myself being this Americans in Paris, given my success with building and rebuilding things. Hopefully i would not be the cause of any sort of international demolition -- and I certainly would not get myself into the sort of jam that teh fellow in their Brazillianvideo did -- clearly he needs to be on the internaional equivalent of jerry Springer.

Of course, these videos are quite fun, but vacationing is a serious business. Like they say, what happens on vaction is, in the end, your own business (well, maybe not for the folks in these videos). All I know is that they have helped reignite my wanderlust, and perhaps they will inspire my darling wife and I to travel to our preferred destination this year -- probably some place with a glacier to beat the Texas heat.

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Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevic is truly the gift that keeps on giving.

What has he given us today? An eminently qualified African-American nominee to replace Barack Obama in the US Senate -- and a full-blown constitutional crisis on both the state and federal level.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected today to name former Illinois Atty. Gen. Roland Burris to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. SenateÂ…

Shortly after ObamaÂ’s Nov. 4 victory, Burris made known his interest in an appointment to the Senate but was never seriously considered, according to Blagojevich insiders. But in the days following BlagojevichÂ’s arrest, and despite questions over the taint of a Senate appointment, Burris stepped up his efforts to win the governorÂ’s support.

Though he is 71, Burris has said that ObamaÂ’s replacement should be able to win re-election and he has noted that despite a string of primary losses in races ranging from Chicago mayor to governor and U.S. senator, heÂ’s never lost to a RepublicanÂ…

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada previously warned Blagojevich, following the governorÂ’s Dec. 9 arrest, that Senate Democrats would not seat any appointment the two-term Democratic governor made. ReidÂ’s warning was contained in a letter signed by all 50 sitting Democratic senators, including the No. 2 Democrat in Senate leadership, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.

Now I lived the better part of two decades in Illinois. I remember Roland Burris as a public official and a candidate for office. He always struck me as a fundamentally decent man, well-qualified and eminently worthy of public trust. And even though I voted against him at every opportunity, I always believed him to be the sort of Democrat I could live with if my Republican candidate lost. And I will say this loud and clear -- given the failure of the Illinois legislature to act to strip Blagojevic of his power to appoint Barack Obama's successor, I fully support his decision to appoint Burris.

Of course, this action by the corrupt governor has given rise to several interesting responses.

Consider this response from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, with Illinois Senator Dick Durbin giving him a measure of cover.

Senate Democrats said Tuesday they would refuse to seat the man Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has picked to succeed President-elect Barack Obama, saying that the taint of scandal would follow the new senator to Washington.

"Anyone appointed by Gov. Blagojevich cannot be an effective representative of the people of Illinois and, as we have said, will not be seated by the Democratic Caucus," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and his deputy, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, said in a statement.

Well, the Senate DOES have the right to judge the qualifications of its members -- but there could be a constitutional problem with this declaration. More on that in a bit.

And then there is this statement from Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White.

The appointment was instantly rejected by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White who said he would refuse to certify Burris' selection....

His argument amounts to a claim that the current legal cloud under which Blagojevic finds himself makes the appointment illegitimate. However, does that apply to all appointments, or just to this one -- and on what basis does he make and enforce that judgment. Another constitutional crisis, this on the state level.

And wherein lie the constitutional crises?

Well, let's start with the state constitutional crisis. After all, state law REQUIRES the Secretary of State to perform the following acts, and the state constitution (Article V, Section 16) obliges him to carry out the duties prescribe by this law.

1. To countersign and affix the seal of state to all commissions required by law to be issued by the Governor.

2. To make a register of all appointments by the Governor, specifying the person appointed, the office conferred, the date of the appointment, the date when bond or oath is taken and the date filed. If Senate confirmation is required, the date of the confirmation shall be included in the register.

There is nothing optional or discretionary in this. His failure to do so will lead to state court action to require White to do his job. That means lots of drama on another front in Blago-gate.

And the federal constitutional crisis? I'll let Eugene Volokh explain this one.

If there's some evidence that Burris's appointment was indeed the result of a bribe or some illegal maneuvering, then indeed the Senate can refuse to seat him. But if there is no such evidence, then for reasons I noted earlier, I think their position is legally unsustainable, given the Supreme Court's Powell v. McCormack precedent.

Given that Burris meets all the requirements set by the US Constitution to hold a Senate seat, any failure to seat him will almost certainly be struck down -- just as any attempt to toss ted Stevens would have failed if the Senate had tried to expel him following his reelection after a bribery conviction. Of course, that will require another nasty court fight.

Now as a Republican, I see a great political upside for my party if White refuses to certify or Senate Democrats refuse to seat Burris. The ensuing court battles as the Democrats try to keep a black man out of the Senate seat previous held by the only black member of the US Senate (by then the first black president) would be entertaining -- and would likely serve to drive a wedge between some elements of the black community and the Democrat Party. That could only serve to help turn Illinois (and perhaps some other states) from blue to red.

But to be honest, I don't want it to come to that. I actually agree with Bobby Rush on this score -- words you may never see again.

"This is a good decision," Rush told reporters. "Roland Burris is worthy. He has not, in 20 years of public service, had one iota of taint on his record as a public servant. He is an esteemed member of this state and this community."

"I would ask you not to hang or lynch the appointee as you try to casitgate the appointor," Rush added. "Separate, if you will, the appointee from the appointor. Roland Burris is worthy."

Let's be honest -- at 71, Roland Burris is unlikely to be a Senator for more than two years. He will certainly face challengers in the Democrat primary in 2010, and the Blagojevic connection will not serve him well. The GOP will put up a strong candidate as well, who will have a better than even chance to win. In other words, he is a sear-warmer -- and one whose service to the people of Illinois would be capped by this honor, and who has the stature to rise above the current scandal. He should be accepted by all parties as the ideal compromise appointee.

UPDATE: Obama says not to seat Burris -- and here I thought he knew enough constitutional law to know that the Senate really has no choice.

Others Blogging: Top of the Ticket, Ace (twice), Malkin, Hot Air (twice), Gateway Pundit, Sister Toldjah, Bench Memos, Concurring Opinions, Patterico, The Glittering Eye, Don Surber

Posted by: Greg at 01:56 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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