Rhymes With Right

September 14, 2007

Which Edwards Is Running For President?

For that matter, which member of that marriage actually has the testicles?

MoveOn.org should not have labeled Gen. David Petraeus Â“General Betray UsÂ” in a controversial newspaper ad, Elizabeth Edwards said in Des Moines Friday.
Â“Someone whoÂ’s spent their life in the military doesnÂ’t deserve Â‘General Betray Us,Â’Â” said Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards.

That is all well and good, but I expect such pronouncements to come from the candidate rather than the candidate's spouse. I'd begin taking John Edwards seriously if he would quit sending his wife to do the hard jobs and begin doing them himself. Instead, he sends his sick wife on the road to confront bad behavior by his supporter, but remains silent himself so that he can deny condemning the group himself. That is the behavior of a coward.

H/T Ben Smith

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Whereâ€™s Slick Nick?

About 18 months ago, we Republicans in Texas Congressional District 22 got abandoned by Tom DeLay in one of the more craven acts of self-serving political ego gratification Iâ€™ve seen. As a result, our district went Democrat in the 2006 election almost by default, due to the difficulty involved in mounting a successful write-in campaign for the office. And that has meant the disgrace of having Nick Lampson misrepresenting us as our Congressman since January.

Given the important issues facing our nation today, it is critical that our congressman support the Presidentâ€™s military strategy in Iraq. Slick Nick Lampson doesnâ€™t.

And as the folks from MoveOn.org (and at least one local supporter) engage in libelous attacks upon the character and patriotism of the career military officer commanding troops in the field, Slick Nick Lampson has failed to offer a word of condemnation.

But then again, why should we be surprised? After all, Lampson has taken over $160,000 from MoveOn.org members, and the group has indicated it is prepared to support his efforts to continue misrepresenting CD22 in 2008.

Rather than support our troops, their mission, and their integrity, Slick Nick Lampson stands with those who undermine their mission and defame their leaders.

Given the choice between honorable conduct and political position, Slick Nick Lampson has chosen the latter.

Such conduct is shameful â€“ but not surprising.

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Posted by: Greg at 01:53 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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WhereÂ’s Slick Nick?

About 18 months ago, we Republicans in Texas Congressional District 22 got abandoned by Tom DeLay in one of the more craven acts of self-serving political ego gratification IÂ’ve seen. As a result, our district went Democrat in the 2006 election almost by default, due to the difficulty involved in mounting a successful write-in campaign for the office. And that has meant the disgrace of having Nick Lampson misrepresenting us as our Congressman since January.

Given the important issues facing our nation today, it is critical that our congressman support the PresidentÂ’s military strategy in Iraq. Slick Nick Lampson doesnÂ’t.

Rather than support our troops, their mission, and their integrity, Slick Nick Lampson stands with those who undermine their mission and defame their leaders.

Given the choice between honorable conduct and political position, Slick Nick Lampson has chosen the latter.

Such conduct is shameful Â– but not surprising.

Posted by: Greg at 01:53 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Could You Imagine

If this had been said a little bit differently?

The city's embattled police chief, acknowledging that police alone cannot quell a run of deadly violence, has called on 10,000 black men to patrol the streets to reduce crime.
Sylvester Johnson, who is black, says black men have a duty to protect more vulnerable residents. He wants each volunteer to pledge to work three hours a day for at least 90 days.
"It's time for African-American men to stand up," Johnson told the Philadelphia Daily News, which first reported the story Wednesday. "We have an obligation to protect our women, our children and our elderly. We're going to put men on the street. We're going to train them in conflict resolution."

Now think about the reaction if a white police chief had called for 10,000 white men to patrol the city protecting the vulnerable and reducing crime. We would be hearing about fears of a new racist organization, and invocations of the KKK Â– and justifiably so.

What Philly needs is NOT 10,000 black men. It needs 10,000 men (and women, for that matter) of every race and color to protect the vulnerable and reduce crime. It truly needs a rainbow coalition that spans the diversity of the city to act on behalf of the city Â– not monochromatic men. The only requirement as far as race is concerned should be the ability to check the box marked Â“human.Â”

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September 13, 2007

Rudy Best Hope To Overturn Roe?

Well, that is the belief of a commentator in today's New York Times.

Our greatest obstacle is the popular belief that overturning Roe would automatically make abortion illegal everywhere. In fact, our goal may well be undermined by politicians like President Bush, who seem to use Â“strict constructionistÂ” as nothing more than code for Â“anti-abortion.Â”
Only a constitutionalist who supports abortion rights can create an anti-Roe majority by explaining that the end of Roe means letting the people decide, state by state, about abortion.
Mr. GiulianiÂ’s ambivalence about the end of Roe is consistent with his belief that judges should not seek to achieve political ends. This is a judicial philosophy that pro-lifers should applaud, not condemn. It is, after all, the position consistently articulated by the pro-life movementÂ’s favorite Supreme Court justices: John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia.

I'm not sure that I buy this argument. As a pro-lifer who is religious, I have long recognized that the death of Roe will merely throw the ball back to the states. So have many pro-life legislators who have already passed legislation protecting the unborn in the event that Roe is overturned. As such, I can't help but think that the author is really just looking for an excuse to support Giuliani rather than making a clear-headed argument from a pro-life perspective.

Posted by: Greg at 10:18 PM | Comments (21) | Add Comment
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Do It Yourself

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I'll be honest -- "I can fix it" are words that my wife came to dread during our first couple of years in the house. I found little projects that needed doing around here -- and they did not come out nearly so well as we would have liked them to. Indeed, one of them led to a rather expensive visit from a locksmith to clean up after the mess I made within days of moving into the house.

It seemed like an easy enough task -- change a couple of door locks so that the keys were the same and we were sure that the previous owners and their family/friends didn't have keys still floating around. Its not like they were bad folks or anything like that, but just a desire for a sense of security.

Well, I headed over to Big Orange Cube for a a set of door knobs and locks that would be keyed to a single key. I found what I wanted easily enough, and immediately got to work on the project when got home. Naturally, I decided to start with the front door. I removed the old knob and lock and began to place the new one. But being the butter-fingered soul that I am, I dropped the assembly, which split into a couple parts. I simply put the thing back together and continued.

Unfortunately, nothing would line up. If the lock mechanism was in place, I couldn't screw the door knobs together, and the door would not latch if I did get them to screw together. I had damaged the entire assembly when I dropped it -- and had broken the old assembly removing it (it was 25 years old, and not in good shape). And what on earth are you going to do on a Friday night at 7:00 pm when you have no working lock on the front door? Call a locksmith, who ended up charging me the night-and-weekend rate.

My later projects have become more successful as I've gotten more experience. It also helps that I've acquired a few resources to help me better understand how to do the tasks before me. Knowledge is power, so now I can build bookshelf or fix a door, or even tile or drywall if I need to. And I've found websites that can supply me with plans and tips to make sure I'm prepared for anything that might face me in the course of my future projects, like DoItYourself.com. Check them out before you begin your next project.

Posted by: Greg at 10:07 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Patriot Penalty

It is a dumb rule.

But even dumber than the rule is violating it after the repeated warnings given by the NFL to its 32 teams.

The National Football League fined New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick $500,000 yesterday, and the team will forfeit its first-round draft pick in 2008 if it makes the playoffs, for violating league rules Sunday when a Patriots staff member was discovered videotaping signals by Jets coaches during the season opener at the Meadowlands.
The Patriots will be fined $250,000. If they fail to make the playoffs, they will forfeit their second- and third-round picks in 2008.
It is the first time in league history a coach and franchise have been disciplined for videotaping Â— essentially spying on Â— opponents. The leagueÂ’s ire with a team that has won three Super Bowls in six years and that until last week was considered a model of success was obvious in the unprecedented severity of the punishment. No coach has ever been fined such a large amount. Teams have forfeited first-round picks before, sent to other teams as compensation in tampering cases, but no team has ever lost a first-round pick as an outright punishment. No team will receive the draft pick or picks the Patriots will forfeit.
Â“This episode represents a calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid longstanding rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field,Â” Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter to the Patriots.

Quite a penalty for the offense of filming what is done in the open, able to be seen by tens of thousands of fans in the stadium and (potentially) millions on television broadcasts of the game. As such, the notion that there is something wrong with "signal stealing" is rather absurd.

However, this is a rule that has stood for years, and warnings were issued about it just last season. As a result, I have no sympathy for Belichick and the Patriots, despite Goodell's acknowledgment that the taping had not had an effect on the game.

Still, is this a rule that makes sense -- and does it need to be revisited and modified, if not completely stricken from the books?

Posted by: Greg at 09:37 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Wall Calendars

Sponsored Post

When I was a kid, it seemed like every business gave them away to customers in order to earn a little good will and keep their name in the sight of the public. I'm talking about calendars, of course, in all their various varieties and configurations. The ones that we always liked were the wall calendars with scenes and sayings on them that helped widen my horizons to other, more exotic places. Even our church did a print calendar with all the holy days and a devotional picture that fit with the liturgical season.

But you know, you businesses can still do such calendars As I linked above, they even have beautiful 2008 calendars with some of those beautiful sights -- the Coliseum, the Parthenon, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Stonehenge, and other bits of European scenery. I'd love to hang that one in my classroom, just to expose my kids to a little bit more culture, and to sites that go beyond American shores.

But you don't have to stay with that design. You can pick from a number of calendar templates -- or even upload your own images to make a calendar suited to your business. Add your logo and business information and you have an ad that is guaranteed to be seen for at least 12 months, through the entire year of 2008. That is a great use of your advertising dollar -- and guarantees to keep bringing them back.

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A Fantastic Response

TodayÂ’s NY Times editorial demanding that any AG nominee that George W. Bush would want be denied confirmation as too political is indicative of the degree to which the Paper of Wreckage has become irrelevant due to its ideology. I didnÂ’t even bother to write about it due to the intellectual light-weightedness of the piece.

But the best response I have seen is this one.

Yes, it's a shame that President Bush doesn't have a partisan, campaign-advisor brother who he can appoint to head the department headquartered in the Robert F. Kennedy building. There are probably a large number of civil rights leaders whose phones need tapping.

IÂ’ll take the editorial rant seriously when the paper demands that the buildingÂ’s name be changed.

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We Send Too Many To College

I long ago came to the conclusion that we send too many students off to college. I know that sounds like heresy coming from a teacher, but the reality is that there are too many students seeking college degrees who donÂ’t have the intellectual or academic capacity to do the work.

Ove at NRO, George Leef makes an excellent case that we need to send fewer, not more, kids on to higher education.

First, it isnÂ’t true that the economy is undergoing some dramatic shift to Â“knowledge workÂ” that can only be performed by people who have college educations. When we hear that more and more jobs Â“requireÂ” a college degree, that isnÂ’t because most of them are so technically demanding that an intelligent high school graduate couldnÂ’t learn to do the work. Rather, what it means is that more employers are using educational credentials as a screening mechanism. As James Engell and Anthony Dangerfield write in their book Saving Higher Education in the Age of Money, Â“the United States has become the most rigidly credentialized society in the world. A B.A. is required for jobs that by no stretch of imagination need two years of full-time training, let alone four.Â”
Second, the needless pressure to get educational credentials draws a large number of academically weak and intellectually disengaged students into college. All they want is the piece of paper that gets them past the screening. Most schools have quietly lowered their academic standards so that such students
will stay happy and remain enrolled. Consequently, they seldom learn much Â— many employers complain that college graduates they hire canÂ’t even write a coherent sentence Â— but most eventually get their degrees.
Third, due to the overselling of higher education, we find substantial numbers of college graduates taking Â“high schoolÂ” jobs like retail sales. ItÂ’s not that there is anything wrong with well-educated clerks or truck drivers, but to a great extent college is no longer about providing a solid, rounded education. The courses that once were the pillars of the curriculum, such as history, literature, philosophy, and fine arts, have been watered down and are usually optional. Sadly, college education is now generally sold as a stepping stone to good employment rather than as an intellectually broadening experience. Sometimes it manages to do both, but often it does neither.
Fourth, itÂ’s a mistake to assume that the traditional college setting is the best or only way for people to learn the things they need to know in order to become successful workers. On-the-job training, self-directed studies, and courses taken with a particular end in mind (such as those offered in fields like accounting or finance at proprietary schools) usually lead to much more educational gain than do courses taken just because they fill degree requirements.

How many of our young people would be better prepared for their future with a solid vocational program at the high school level? How many would instead find themselves struggling for an academic credential (whether a bachelors or associates degree) with general studies requirements that are beyond their interest or ability and which serve as an obstacle o their success?

Posted by: Greg at 12:39 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Times Discounted "Betray Us" Ad

After all, anything to slander patriots and undermine the military.

The New York Times dramatically slashed its normal rates for a full-page advertisement for MoveOn.org's ad questioning the integrity of Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.
Headlined "Cooking the Books for the White House," the ad which ran in Monday's Times says Petraeus is "a military man constantly at war with the facts" and concluded - even before he testified before Congress - that "General Petraeus is likely to become General Betray Us."
According to Abbe Serphos, director of public relations for the Times, "the open rate for an ad of that size and type is $181,692."
A spokesman for MoveOn.org confirmed to The Post that the liberal activist group had paid only $65,000 for the ad - a reduction of more than $116,000 from the stated rate.
A Post reporter who called the Times advertising department yesterday without identifying himself was quoted a price of $167,000 for a full-page black-and-white ad on a Monday.

I wonder Â– can this discount be viewed as a contribution to MoveOn.org? And does this discount put the lie to claims of journalistic objectivity by the New York Times?

Rudy Giuliani has gone the next step, seeking to show that there is a political motivation for the rate given to MoveOn.org.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) said Thursday he is asking the New York Times for the Â“same heavily discounted rate they gave MoveOn.org,Â” for his campaign to run an ad in FridayÂ’s paper.
Giuliani, calling MoveOn.orgÂ’s controversial Â“General Betray UsÂ” ad Â“abominable,Â” said his campaign is asking the paper for a comparable rate for an ad to run following the President BushÂ’s speech on Iraq. The New York Post reported that MoveOn.org paid less than 40 percent of the regular ad rate.
The former mayor said his ad Â“will obviously take the opposite viewÂ” from MoveOn.org, which argued in its ad that Gen. David Petraeus is Â“cooking the booksÂ” on Iraq and cherry picking facts that support his recommendation to keep a large number of troops in Iraq for some time.

Will there be equal treatment for all messages? And will all political organizations and candidates be charged the Â“MoveOn rateÂ”?

Oh, and by the way Â– I love the GeneralÂ’s response to the slanderous comments of his moral, intellectual, and patriotic inferiors in the cut-and-run movement.

'I disagree with the message of those who are exercising the First Amendment right that generations of soldiers have sought to preserve for Americans,' he told reporters. 'Some of it was just flat completely wrong, and the rest is, at least, more than arguable.'

IÂ’m proud to have your back, sir.

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Posted by: Greg at 12:36 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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September 12, 2007

Release The Records

Any attempt to stop the release of these records of Hillary Clinton as First Lady should be taken as evidence of malfeasance on her part, and therefore held to be a disqualifier for her as a presidential candidate.

An estimated 10,000 pages of dailyschedules fromSenator Clinton's tenure as first lady could be made public as soon as December, though Presidents Clinton and Bush could postpone the records' release, a National Archives official said yesterday.
"Our hope is to get it done by the end of the year," the acting director of the Clinton Presidential Library, Emily Robison, told The New York Sun. She stressed that she was only referring to the review and redaction of the records by archivists. Under the Presidential Records Act and an executive order issued by Mr. Bush, Mr. Clinton's representatives then have 90 days to review the records for materials that could be covered by executive privilege. After that review is complete, Mr. Bush has an unlimited amount of time to make his own privilege assertions.
It is unclear whether the disclosure of redacted versions of Mrs. Clinton's schedules will ultimately have significance for her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. However, it seems likely that Mr. Clinton's former aides will have control over the timing of the process just as the nominating contest reaches its peak early next year. The political atmosphere is sure to increase pressure on the former president not to be responsible for any delay.

Hillary Clinton can lay this all to rest right now. She needs to call for the release of the records immediately upon the completion of the archivists' work. Neither Bill Clinton nor George W. Bush can be permitted to stand in the way of full knowledge of a candidate for the office of President of the United States -- especially when it involved keeping public documents from public view without a compelling reason.

Posted by: Greg at 10:47 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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UCI Must Keep Chemerinsky

When I got my masters degree 20 years ago, my area of focus was US Constitutional law. Over the years, I've worked to keep current in that field. And while I've not always agreed with him, I've always respected the work of Erwin Chemerinsky. His expertise and competence are beyond question, even if his conclusions are not. That is why I am outraged by the decision to dump him from the position of dean of the new University of California -- Irvine law school.

In a showdown over academic freedom, a prominent legal scholar said Wednesday that the University of California, Irvine's chancellor had succumbed to conservative political pressure in rescinding his contract to head the university's new law school, a charge the chancellor vehemently denied.
Erwin Chemerinsky, a well-known liberal expert on constitutional law, said he had signed a contract Sept. 4, only to be told Tuesday by Chancellor Michael V. Drake that he was voiding their deal because Chemerinsky was too liberal and the university had underestimated "conservatives out to get me."
Later Wednesday, however, Drake said there had been no outside pressure and that he had decided to reject Chemerinsky, now of Duke University and formerly of the University of Southern California, because he felt the law professor's commentaries were "polarizing" and would not serve the interests of California's first new public law school in 40 years.

Whether or not there was political pressure brought to bear, the firing of Chemerinsky by a public educational institution over his political orientation is simply wrong. And just as I would in the case of a conservative legal scholar, I wish to register my disgust with the decision to do so. It is clear that Chancellor Drake, not Professor Chemerinsky, needs to go.

And I'm not alone on the right in registering my opposition to this move. They include Hugh Hewitt, Glenn Reynolds, John Leo, Steven Greenhut, Stephen Bainbridge the esteemed crew from Volokh Conspiracy, B. Daniel Blatt (of GayPatriot), and Ed Morissey. I'm proud to stand in such company

UPDATE -- 9/14/07: Today's Washington Post has an interesting overview of the controversy.

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Happy Ramadan

Let's mark the entire month this way, with the elimination of more jihadis.

More than 57 Taliban fighters were killed late overnight and during Wednesday in southern Afghanistan on the eve of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, officials said.
No coalition or Afghan forces were injured in the clashes. But three Afghan soldiers and an engineer were killed Wednesday in two separate roadside bomb attacks in south-eastern Afghan province of Paktia, officials reported.
Forty-five of the Taliban fighters were killed Wednesday after they fired anti-tank weapons at coalition and Afghan soldiers patrolling in Uruzgan province. The ground troops returned fire with air support as backup, officials said.
About a dozen Taliban fighters were killed in US-led coalition air strikes in Arghandab district of southern Zabul province overnight, officials said on Wednesday.
The Taliban have announced an offensive - called 'Nasrat', or 'success' - for the month of Ramadan, which begins Thursday. The announcement came just a short time after it had indicated it wanted to open talks with the government.

And since the jihadis have seen fit to declare a Ramadan offensive, it seems only appropriate that Coalition forces respond -- send every single terrorist possible to Hell during the Muslim holy month.

Posted by: Greg at 10:22 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Thank You, Kay

This is a good move by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. It needs to be made permanent.

Texas would be barred from turning existing interstate highways into toll roads by a provision in a major spending bill approved Wednesday by the Senate.
The amendment by Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison would delay for one year a plan by Texas transportation officials to turn to toll roads. State officials have said they need the revenue to help defray an $86 billion shortfall in highway funding for the state.
Hutchison argued that it is unfair to turn highways already paid for by taxpayers into toll roads, and she has pledged to press for a permanent ban.
Her measure, tied to the one-year, $104.6 billion transportation and housing spending bill approved by the Senate, would be in effect only for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
"Today we protected Texas taxpayers from paying twice for a highway," Hutchison said.

The current plan from the Perry Administration is to take roads that Texans have paid for, sell them to private companies who would then make Texans pay to use them, so that the state could use the money from the sale to build more toll roads that Texans would have to pay to use. In other words, Texans will end up paying three times for highways we have already bought and paid for.

Posted by: Greg at 10:09 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Directors Chairs

When I was a kid, I had a directors chair in my bedroom -- I just loved it. Well, directors chairs are a hot promotional item these days -- from providing seating at trade shows to serving as promotional swag for your business, they are quite popular. Imprinted with your name and logo, directors chairs can help provide a boost to your name id and sales.

Camelback Displays has a great selection of director's chairs in stock, ready to be imprinted with logos, names, and art. You just decide what you want, and they can make it happen for you.

Posted by: Greg at 10:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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POLL: 61% Of Americans Support Keeping Troops In Iraq

For all the partisan spin placed on the poll numbers, that is what these polling numbers really come down to.

And when asked what they think is the most acceptable outcome to the war in Iraq, 24 percent say that American troops should remain in Iraq until it becomes a stable democracy. Twenty-six percent want them to begin the process of leaving now, and 37 percent want them to leave within the next year Â— but still keep some of them in the region.

In other words, only a small minority insist upon the "get out now" strategy advocated by the militant cut-and-run crowd. However, the media is loathe to present those numbers that way, for fear that its template might have to be changed.

Posted by: Greg at 10:04 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Save On Christmas With Coupon Chief

Christmas is coming. Well, you need to start thinking about the gifts you are going to buy for the holidays. And if you are going to be buying gifts online, you need to remember Coupon Chief.

At CouponChief.com, you can find all sorts of great savings on gifts for the whole family. Are you looking for a new computer? Coupon Chief has coupon codes for HP desktop and laptop computers that will really make your holiday a merry one. They've got coupons for high dollar discounts and promo codes for big money off the cost of that new computer. That will certainly stretch your holiday budget.

Or maybe you'd rather buy a computer from Apple -- Coupon Chief can help hook you up. They have free shipping to go along with that free gift with certain purchases. Again, you can make that gift-giving dollar go a lot farther just by using these great coupons and promo codes when you make your purchases.

Hey -- these are gifts you were planning to buy anyway? Why not be a smart holiday shopper and save yourself some cash in the process?

Posted by: Greg at 06:03 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Hillary To Take Back Tainted Funds

Donors whose contributions to Hillary Clinton were bundled by Norman Hsu were to have their contributions returned to them. However, the Clinton campaign will take back those donations from those donors.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose campaign is returning $850,000 in contributions linked to disgraced fundraiser Norman Hsu, indicated Wednesday that donors who contributed that money could donate to her presidential campaign once again.
"We're not asking that that be done," she said in a teleconference with reporters. "But I believe that the vast majority of those 200- plus donors are perfectly capable of making up their own minds about what they will or won't do going forward."

* * *
Clinton's campaign said this week that any donors whose money was returned could donate once again if they confirm to the campaign that the contributions are from their own personal funds.

Which means, of course, that the tainted funds will be coming back. After all, a failure to send back the cash could be construed that the original donation was not their own funds to begin with, opening them up to greater scrutiny from federal investigators.

In other words, the Clinton campaign is only claiming to divest itself of the tainted funds Â– but is really going to be keeping them. The appearance of propriety is apparently more important to them than actual propriety.

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Partisan Democrats Criticize, Vow To Block AG Nominee

He is recognized as one of the countryÂ’s top legal minds, but the Democrats are vowing to block Ted OlsonÂ’s confirmation if the President nominates him as attorney General.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vowed on Wednesday to block former Solicitor General Theodore Olson from becoming attorney general if President George W. Bush nominates him to replace Alberto Gonzales.
Congressional and administration officials have described Olson as a leading contender for the job as the nation's chief U.S. law enforcement officer, but Reid declared: "Ted Olson will not be confirmed" by the Senate.
"He's a partisan, and the last thing we need as an attorney general is a partisan," Reid told Reuters in a brief hallway interview on Capitol Hill.

Olson did an outstanding job as solicitor general. His grace and strength following his wifeÂ’s murder on 9/11 was an inspiration to the nation. For Harry Reid to seek to thwart OlsonÂ’s nomination is a move of gross partisanship that the American people should reject.

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Fred Thompsonâ€™s Religion

There will be some who argue that it is a big deal that Senator Thompson does not attend church regularly. I disagree.

Republican presidential contender Fred Thompson, who has based his campaign on appealing to conservative voters, said he isn't a regular churchgoer and doesn't plan to speak about his religion on the stump.
Thompson, in his first campaign stop in South Carolina, told a crowd of about 500 Republicans yesterday that he gained his values from ``sitting around the kitchen table'' with his parents and ``the good Church of Christ.''
Talking to reporters later, Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, said his church attendance ``varies.''
``I attend church when I'm in Tennessee. I'm in McLean right now,'' he said referring to the Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., where he lives. ``I don't attend regularly when I'm up there.''
Thompson said he usually attends church when visiting his mother in Tennessee and isn't a member of any church in the Washington area.

Frankly, this doesnâ€™t matter to me. After all, we saw the Clintons traipsing in and out of church during the 1990s, and it made not a whit of difference in how Bill governed or how Hillary wants to lead us. And besides, faith and values are more of an internal thing.

I also cannot help but remember the habits of the greatest president of my lifetime, Ronald Reagan. Not a regular church-goer during his presidency, he still led this country wisely in a direction consistent with the values I and many Christians hold. The question is whether or not Thompson (or some other candidate) can and will do the same, regardless of whether or not his (or her) seat warms a pew on the weekend. Just as I donâ€™t consider Romneyâ€™s Mormonism to be a disqualifying factor, neither do I consider Thompsonâ€™s Sunday morning worship practices.

Posted by: Greg at 12:04 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Fred ThompsonÂ’s Religion

There will be some who argue that it is a big deal that Senator Thompson does not attend church regularly. I disagree.

Republican presidential contender Fred Thompson, who has based his campaign on appealing to conservative voters, said he isn't a regular churchgoer and doesn't plan to speak about his religion on the stump.
Thompson, in his first campaign stop in South Carolina, told a crowd of about 500 Republicans yesterday that he gained his values from ``sitting around the kitchen table'' with his parents and ``the good Church of Christ.''
Talking to reporters later, Thompson, a former Tennessee senator, said his church attendance ``varies.''
``I attend church when I'm in Tennessee. I'm in McLean right now,'' he said referring to the Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., where he lives. ``I don't attend regularly when I'm up there.''
Thompson said he usually attends church when visiting his mother in Tennessee and isn't a member of any church in the Washington area.

Frankly, this doesnÂ’t matter to me. After all, we saw the Clintons traipsing in and out of church during the 1990s, and it made not a whit of difference in how Bill governed or how Hillary wants to lead us. And besides, faith and values are more of an internal thing.

I also cannot help but remember the habits of the greatest president of my lifetime, Ronald Reagan. Not a regular church-goer during his presidency, he still led this country wisely in a direction consistent with the values I and many Christians hold. The question is whether or not Thompson (or some other candidate) can and will do the same, regardless of whether or not his (or her) seat warms a pew on the weekend. Just as I donÂ’t consider RomneyÂ’s Mormonism to be a disqualifying factor, neither do I consider ThompsonÂ’s Sunday morning worship practices.

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The GOP: The Party Of Civil Rights In 1861, In 1957, And Today

I realize that it is an inconvenient truth for Democrats, but the true party of civil rights in this country was, is, and always will be the Republican Party. From the GOPÂ’s demand for the containment and elimination of slavery to the passage of multiple pieces of civil rights legislation designed to overcome Democrat efforts to keep African-Americans in bondage as second-class citizens, at every turn it was the Republican Party that sought expanded rights for American blacks.

Unfortunately, Democrats continually tried to frustrate those plans.

Eisenhower complained in 1967 that if his critics felt Â“there was anything good doneÂ” in his presidency, Â“they mostly want to prove that it was somebody else that did it and that I went along as a passenger.Â” That has been especially true of his championship of civil rights.
The Â“somebody elseÂ” in this instance was Lyndon B. Johnson, who in 1957 was the SenateÂ’s Democratic majority leader. Historians have consistently credited Johnson for the billÂ’s passage. Yes, Johnson played a role, but hardly the one his advocates might imagine: Eisenhower and his attorney general, Herbert Brownell Jr., first proposed strong legislation, and it was Johnson and his Southern cronies who weakened it beyond recognition.
Johnson wanted a cosmetic bill that would enhance his presidential ambitions without alienating his white Southern base. It was a balancing act, as even a weak bill depended on EisenhowerÂ’s new legislative coalition, which formed after he persuaded the Republicans to abandon their longtime opposition to civil rights legislation. (Republicans provided 37 of the 60 yes votes when the final bill passed the Senate.)
The Eisenhower proposal had four main parts. The first two Â— the creation of a civil rights commission to investigate voting irregularities and a civil rights division in the Justice Department Â— survive to this day. The other two pillars, unfortunately, became victims of politics. Part 3 proposed to grant the attorney general unprecedented authority to file suits to protect broad constitutional rights, including school desegregation. Part 4 provided for federal civil suits to prosecute voting rights violations.

Now many Republicans had opposed more civil rights legislation because of repeated efforts by the Democrats to use their congressional majority to prevent its passage or to water it down to the point of uselessness. Even the older statutes had been rendered useless by the refusal of Southern judges and juries to convict defendants under them. Eisenhower wanted to change that by allowing for strong civil enforcement of civil rights laws. Lyndon Johnson and Southern Democrats blocked that change, substantially weakening the legislation and delaying the promise of civil rights for more than a decade.

Republicans today still stand for civil rights for all individuals, with a call for equality under the law for all Americans. We still stand for non-discrimination Â– as we have for our entire existence as a party.

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Troop Cuts Coming

And the Democrats STILL arenÂ’t happy.

President Bush will tell the nation Thursday evening that he plans to reduce the American troop presence in Iraq by as many as 30,000 by next summer but will condition those and further cuts on continued progress, The Associated Press has learned.
In a 15-minute address from the White House at 9 p.m. EDT, Bush will endorse the recommendations of his top general and top diplomat in Iraq, following their appearance at two days of hearings in Congress, administration officials said. The White House plans to issue a written status report on the troop buildup on Friday, they said.

In other words, the reduction will be based upon military considerations and a plan for American victory in Iraq, not political considerations and a plan for Democrat victory in the 2008 elections.

That, of course, upsets the Democrats.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Bush appears poised merely to bring the country back to where it was before the election that put Democrats in control of Congress Â— with 130,000 troops in Iraq.
"Please. It's an insult to the intelligence of the American people that that is a new direction in Iraq," she said. "We're as disappointed as the public is that the president has a tin ear to their opinion on this war."

Last time I checked, Nancy, polling data wasnÂ’t the relevant issue when it came to conducting a war. That you think it is shows precisely how unfit you are for ANY office.

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September 11, 2007

Will Truthers, Other Anti-Bush Conspiracists, Recognize That Al-Qaeda Did It?

After all, in the latest video Osama clearly takes credit (again) for 9/11, and he has the evidence to prove it.

And he is calling for more homicidal activity by his fellow Muslims.

''It remains for us to do our part. So I tell every young man among the youth of Islam: It is your duty to join the caravan (of martyrs) until the sufficiency is complete and the march to aid the High and Omnipotent continues,'' Bin Laden said.

A note to those who claim Islam is, by its very nature, a religion of peace.

In Christianity, martyrs are those who accept death at the hands of others for the sake of the faith. They don't court martyrdom.

In Islam, martyrs are those who die while actively seeking to take the lives of others, including innocents.

I know that is an inconvenient truth, but I think it clearly demonstrates a difference between the two faiths. And it certainly explains why I will meekly accept martyrdom as defined by my Christian faith rather than embrace a religion that calls on its embrace the latter in all its bloody "glory".

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Timesheet

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Best of all, Journyx Timesheet is available for a 45 day free trial. Test it and see if it is right for you and your business.

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The Website Scandal

The current kerfuffle over over the anti-Fred Thompson website connected to a pair of Romney advisers is rather amusing. After all, since when don't candidates highlight negatives about their opponents?

At least two top members of Mitt RomneyÂ’s South Carolina operation appear to be connected to an anti-Fred Thompson Web site that was taken down today after reporters began to make inquiries about it.
The Web site, PhoneyFred.org, had attacked Mr. ThompsonÂ’s conservative credentials, opening with the line: Â“Phoney Fred. Acting like a conservative.Â” But Internet queries reveal connections between the site and Warren Tompkins, a South Carolina political consultant hired by Mr. Romney, and Terry Sullivan, Mr. RomneyÂ’s South Carolina state director.
The site is hosted by a Utah company, Bluehost.com. But a search of that site reveals a long list of associated Web accounts that are hosted by the same server, including one for TTS Strategies, a political consulting firm where Mr. Tompkins and Mr. Sullivan are partners, and another for Under the Power Lines, which identifies itself as Â“South CarolinaÂ’s only online campaign strategy firmÂ” and lists Mr. Tompkins and Mr. Sullivan as partners as well. Another Web account listed on the same server is palMITTostate.com, a pro-Romney Web site which bills itself as a Â“volunteer grassroots community to help Mitt Romney win the South Carolina Presidential Primary.Â”

That sounds awful, but is it? After all, opposition research has a long and honored history in American politics -- as is releasing information about one's opponent to the public. And from what I hear, no one is actually alleging that there is anything inaccurate in the material on the website before it was pulled down, merely criticizing its taste and propriety. But aside from violating Ronald Reagan's Eleventh Commandment, is there anything wrong with posting a website about a primary opponent that provides accurate, if unflattering, information?

And is the information on the website any more extreme than the rhetoric from the Thompson people?

"Mitt Romney will do anything, say anything, smear any opponent and flip flop on any position in order to win," - Todd Harris, spokesman for Fred Thompson, after Romney's "half-baked cover-up" of an alleged surrogate's hit-job on the Tennesseean.

My experience is that such a statement could be applied to most major candidates for most major political offices.

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Trinidad

Sponsored Post

Trinidad is one of those places I've always wanted to visit, mainly because I keep having various folks from Trinidad enter and leave my life as friends and co-workers. What I've noticed is that Trinidad natives are among the warmest, most friendly folks you could ever want to meet. And the cultural variety of these people has been incredible -- the people of Trinidad run the gamut from East Asian/Indian to African to European to various mixtures of ethnicity reflecting that diversity. What's more, because of the rich and diverse history of both Trinidad and its sister island, Tobago, the culture and architecture of the island reflects a unique blending of styles and customs.

So I'll have to see if I can make my way south to the islands one day, to see if I can experience for myself what I first heard of from my friends Elizabeth and Paul when we were kids together. I wonder if they followed their parents into the hotel business. After all, toruism and hospitality are among the most important industries for Trinidad.

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In Memoriam -- 9/11/2001

Originally Posted on September 11, 2004 -- As is my custom, I repost it today.

So many died that horrible day.

One was my classmate at Washington and Lee University, Commander Robert Allan Schlegel.

I would love to tell you he and I were close. That would be a lie.

I would love to share stories of great times together. I don't have any.

What I can tell you is that I remember Rob Schlegel as a good guy, a friend of some friends. I remember him as being a bright guy, sitting a couple rows over and a couple seats back in a US History class. One of those classmates you later wish you had gotten to know when you had the chance.

Rest in Peace.

May all the victims of September 11 and the many men and women of our armed forces who have died fighting terrorism since that day rest in peace.

And let us not forget those heroes who still live.

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Support A Marine

I don't usually pass on the content of emails, but I received this last night and feel it is worth sending on, even though the interview quote is about two years old. After all, there are still Marines from this unit in Iraq.

The CO of USMC Regimental Combat Team (RCT) 6 in Iraq, is asking for e-mails - Undisclosed Recipients
US Marine Colonel Simcock, the commander of USMC Regimental Combat Team (RCT) 6 in Iraq, is asking for 6,000 positive emails to his Marines. That's one email for each Marine in his RCT command. COL Simcock is concerned about the effect of the negative barrage that those Marines are getting through the electronic media. So far, they've only mustered 2,000 emails. That's a crying shame compared to the amount of crap I get daily in email. This is a legitimate request. It's not one of the "little Johnny wants to break the world's record in Christmas cards" situations. It takes only 30 seconds of your time. Here's the email address:
RCT-6lettersfromh@gcemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil
If you're reading this email, then you can probably click on the address, type a few words, and then hit "send" to be all done. It doesn't have to be the Gettysburg Address. Something as simple as "Hello, Marine. We thank you for what you're doing. You are in a noble task. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Best wishes & get home soon" is more than sufficient.
An excerpt from an interview with the Colonel:
GRIM: Is there anything that you and your Marines need that we could send you?
COL. SIMCOCK: (Chuckles.) I'll tell you what, the one thing that all Marines want to know about -- and that includes me and everyone within Regimental Combat Team 6 -- we want to know that the American public are behind us. We believe that the actions that we're taking over here are very, very important to America. We're fighting a group of people that, if they could, would take away the freedoms that America enjoys.
If anyone -- you know, just sit down, jot us -- throw us an e- mail, write us a letter, let us know that the American public are behind us. Because we watch the news just like everyone else. It's broadcast over here in our chow halls and the weight rooms, and we watch that stuff, and we're a little bit concerned sometimes that America really doesn't know what's going on over here, and we get sometimes concerns that the American public isn't behind us and doesn't see the importance of what's going on. So that's something I think that all Marines, soldiers and sailors would like to hear from back home, that in fact, yes, they think what we're doing over here is important and they are in fact behind us.

So, friends -- send your support to those fighting for us.

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson's Website, Rosemary's Thoughts, DeMediacratic Nation, Adam's Blog, Right Truth, Big Dog's Weblog, Inside the Northwest Territory, The Populist, Shadowscope, Nuke's News & Views, Webloggin, The Amboy Times, Conservative Cat, Conservative Thoughts, Pursuing Holiness, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Planck's Constant, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Posted by: Greg at 05:59 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Hold On One Minute

Now let me get this straight Â– the Left insists that terrorism should be treated as a criminal matter, and that accused terrorists should be tried and imprisoned before courts constituted under Article III of the US Constitution. However, they object when a lawyer actually represents an accused (not convicted) terrorist Â– or consults with another lawyer who is on the case. Take the outrage of Christopher Orr of The New Republic, who is on the offensive against Fred Thompson over 3.3 billing hours of consultation with another lawyer in his firm..

In a political era in which the cost of a man's haircut can be treated as though it were a window into his soul, you'd think people would be a little more curious what it says about Fred Thompson that he'd do work--even just 3.3 hours of it--for indicted terrorists.

Well, letÂ’s look at that.

Lefties like the TNR staff want terrorists treated on the field of battle treated as criminal suspects, not prisoners of war.

They want them tried in the courts, with the presumption of innocence until proven guilty (which would mean they are indicted terrorists) and all the other rights a criminal defendant has under our system (including the right to an attorney).

But they want to disqualify for office any lawyer who ever does any legal work of any sort for them.

Are they truly intent of depriving those terrorists of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel?

Do they mean that such accused terrorists should receive only the worst, least competent counsel?

Or could it be that they are merely engaged in a partisan political attack upon an opponent who they know can beat them?

IÂ’d argue that it is the latter Â– and that is reeks of rank hypocrisy for them to demand due process of law for terrorists while condemning those who work to see that they receive it.

H/T Ramesh Ponnuru of NROÂ’s The Corner.

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Apostasy â€“ A Human Right

I was raised Catholic. During the first year of my marriage, though, I realized that I was finding myself drawn in a somewhat different spiritual direction, and left the Church. At no time did I expect the force of law to be applied against me â€“ nor did I need to live in fear that I would be murdered for following my conscience.

Unfortunately, that is not the case for these folks.

A group of young Muslim apostates launches a campaign today, the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America, to make it easier to renounce Islam.
The provocative move reflects a growing rift between traditionalists and a younger generation raised on a diet of Dutch tolerance.
The Committee for Ex-Muslims promises to campaign for freedom of religion but has already upset the Islamic and political Establishments for stirring tensions among the million-strong Muslim community in the Netherlands.

Ehsan Jami, the committeeâ€™s founder, who rejected Islam after the attack on the twin towers in 2001, has become the most talked-about public figure in the Netherlands. He has been forced into hiding after a series of death threats and a recent attack.
The threats are taken seriously after the murder in 2002 of Pim Fortuyn, an antiimmigration politician, and in 2004 of Theo Van Gogh, an antiIslam film-maker.
Speaking to The Times at a secret location before the committeeâ€™s launch today, the Labour Party councillor said that the movement would declare war on radical Islam. Similar organisations campaigning for reform of the religion have sprung up across Europe and representatives from Britain and Germany will join the launch in The Hague today.
â€œSharia schools say that they will kill the ones who leave Islam. In the West people get threatened, thrown out of their family, beaten up,â€ Mr Jami said. â€œIn Islam you are born Muslim. You do not even choose to be Muslim. We want that to change, so that people are free to choose who they want to be and what they want to believe in.â€

Indeed, that threat of death is quite real, given the murders that have taken place in the Netherlands. The courageous Ayaan Hirsi Ali was forced to flee the country because of the threats against her. And around the world, individuals like Abdul Rahman and Lina Joy have faced death and imprisonment for exercising their right to follow the call of Christ, while forced conversions have become a hallmark of jihadi terrorists.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is clear on that such oppression is a violation of a fundamental right of every human being.

Article 18.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Notice, please, that there is no exception for Islam â€“ EVERYONE had the right to change oneâ€™s religion or beliefs.

So unless we are to conclude that Muslims â€“ including those born and raised as Muslims without their consent â€“ are not human, then it is obligatory for every government to not only permit individual Muslims to freely change their religion, but also protect such ex-Muslims from violent reprisal by their former co-religionists.

Of course, given the violations of the rest of the rights in Article 18 in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries, I somehow doubt that the governments of those countries will suddenly embrace the right to renounce Islam and become an apostate. It is up to the rest of the world to apply pressure until that right is universally accepted.

Unfortunately, this does not help us to deal with the greater philosophical question â€“ how much tolerance should we grant to a religion that not only rejects tolerance, but does so in a murderous fashion?

H/T Malkin

Posted by: Greg at 02:30 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Apostasy Â– A Human Right

I was raised Catholic. During the first year of my marriage, though, I realized that I was finding myself drawn in a somewhat different spiritual direction, and left the Church. At no time did I expect the force of law to be applied against me Â– nor did I need to live in fear that I would be murdered for following my conscience.

Unfortunately, that is not the case for these folks.

A group of young Muslim apostates launches a campaign today, the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America, to make it easier to renounce Islam.
The provocative move reflects a growing rift between traditionalists and a younger generation raised on a diet of Dutch tolerance.
The Committee for Ex-Muslims promises to campaign for freedom of religion but has already upset the Islamic and political Establishments for stirring tensions among the million-strong Muslim community in the Netherlands.

Ehsan Jami, the committeeÂ’s founder, who rejected Islam after the attack on the twin towers in 2001, has become the most talked-about public figure in the Netherlands. He has been forced into hiding after a series of death threats and a recent attack.
The threats are taken seriously after the murder in 2002 of Pim Fortuyn, an antiimmigration politician, and in 2004 of Theo Van Gogh, an antiIslam film-maker.
Speaking to The Times at a secret location before the committeeÂ’s launch today, the Labour Party councillor said that the movement would declare war on radical Islam. Similar organisations campaigning for reform of the religion have sprung up across Europe and representatives from Britain and Germany will join the launch in The Hague today.
Â“Sharia schools say that they will kill the ones who leave Islam. In the West people get threatened, thrown out of their family, beaten up,Â” Mr Jami said. Â“In Islam you are born Muslim. You do not even choose to be Muslim. We want that to change, so that people are free to choose who they want to be and what they want to believe in.Â”

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is clear on that such oppression is a violation of a fundamental right of every human being.

Article 18.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Notice, please, that there is no exception for Islam Â– EVERYONE had the right to change oneÂ’s religion or beliefs.

So unless we are to conclude that Muslims Â– including those born and raised as Muslims without their consent Â– are not human, then it is obligatory for every government to not only permit individual Muslims to freely change their religion, but also protect such ex-Muslims from violent reprisal by their former co-religionists.

Unfortunately, this does not help us to deal with the greater philosophical question Â– how much tolerance should we grant to a religion that not only rejects tolerance, but does so in a murderous fashion?

H/T Malkin

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Misplaced Priorities

I canÂ’t help but be struck by where this story places the emphasis.

A woman who authorities said was sexually abused, beaten, stabbed and humiliated while held captive in a home for at least a week was repeatedly called a racial slur during the attacks, the victim's mother said.

So thatÂ’s the bit of information you want to emphasize Â– not that this woman was brutalized, but that someone dared to utter a racial slur while doing it. Frankly, I view that as the least disturbing part of the attack, with the incredible acts of violence and violation being significantly more important, and much more worthy of outrage.

Six people, all white, including a mother and son and a mother and daughter, have been arrested in connection with the alleged abduction of the 23-year-old black woman, sheriff's officials said Monday. Authorities were looking for two people they believe drove the woman to the home, Logan County Chief Deputy V.K. Dingess said Monday evening.
The FBI, which was asked by the sheriff's department to aid in the investigation, will look into whether a hate crime occurred.

And I say to you Â– who cares if this is a so-called Â“hate crimeÂ”? As vile and violent as these acts were, I cannot imagine that there is much need for any enhancement of the penalties or additional charges. And to be honest, I donÂ’t care why this woman was brutalized Â– the mere fact that she was so cruelly abused should be sufficient to send the perps away for the duration of their natural lives.

Indeed, this story illustrates the utter inanity of Â“hate crimeÂ” laws. What needs to be punished here is not the words directed at the victim, or even the motive for the crime. Instead, we need to be punishing the very real and offensive criminal acts which were perpetrated upon the victim, without regard for side-show issues like race.

Posted by: Greg at 02:25 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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September 10, 2007

NY Times Condones Lawlessness

After all, the editors agree with the folks who disrupted yesterday's hearings.

The American people deserve more than what the general and the diplomat offered them yesterday.
For that matter, they deserve more than what was offered by Representative Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. When protesters interrupted the hearing, Mr. Skelton ordered them removed from the room, which is understandable. But then he said that they would be prosecuted. That seemed like an unnecessarily authoritarian response to people who just wanted to be heard.

I'm curious -- will they be that indulgent when Americans they disagree with engage in the same tactics, whether in the halls of Congress or the newsroom of the New York Times? How about on the sidewalk in front of an abortion clinic, where the NY Times has long supported draconian punishments for nonviolent protesters engaged in sit-ins or even just trying to talk to women before an abortion.

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Clinton Returning Hsu Funny Money

It sure took long enough -- will other Democrat candidates and organizations follow suit?

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign said Monday it will return $850,000 in donations raised by Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, who is under federal investigation for allegedly violating election laws.
Clinton, D-N.Y., previously had planned only to give to charity $23,000 she received from Hsu for her presidential and senatorial campaigns and to her political action committee, HillPac.
The FBI is investigating whether Hsu paid so-called straw donors to send campaign contributions to Clinton and other candidates, a law enforcement official said Monday.
"In light of recent events and allegations that Mr. Norman Hsu engaged in an illegal investment scheme, we have decided out of an abundance of caution to return the money he raised for our campaign," Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said in a statement Monday night. "An estimated 260 donors this week will receive refunds totaling approximately $850,000 from the campaign."

* * *
In addition to the $260,000 he contributed to federal candidates, Hsu also contributed at least $330,000 to state Democratic candidates and state party committees and ballot initiatives during the 2004 and 2006 election cycles. Among the state officials who received money were New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Both have said they would divest their campaigns of the donations.
Additionally, last week Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said he would donate nearly $40,000 in contributions, and Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., said he had donated a $1,000 contribution to a charity that helps soldiers.

It is all well and good to get rid of the direct Hsu money -- but will they get rid of the bundled cash, in light of the clear evidence that Hsu was illegally reimbursing donors to direct more cash to his chosen candidates?

Posted by: Greg at 09:58 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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FISA Wiretaps Stopped Jihadi Bombs In Germany

This is why such wiretapping programs are necessary.

The governmentÂ’s ability to eavesdrop on terrorism suspects overseas allowed the United States to obtain information that helped lead to the arrests last week of three Islamic militants accused of planning bomb attacks in Germany, Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, told senators on Monday.
But another government official said Mr. McConnell might have misspoken. Mr. McConnell said the information had been obtained under a newly updated and highly contentious wiretapping law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. But the official, who has been briefed on the eavesdropping laws and the information given to the Germans, said that those intercepts were recovered last year under the old law. The official asked for anonymity because the information is classified.
The previous law required officials to seek warrants to monitor at least some phone calls and e-mail messages between foreign locations when they were collected from fiber-optic cable in the United States; the new law waived that requirement.

In my book, it doesn't matter which version of the FISA law was used to get the intelligence that stopped attacks on Americans abroad. They key thing is that these jihadis were prevented from carrying out their own 9/11 commemoration by spilling American blood.

Ultimately, we must decide as a nation whether we are going to treat the jihadi terrorists as criminals to be prosecuted or a military enemy to be rooted out and destroyed. I vote for the latter, and believe that we need to use all necessary means to defeat them, just as we did with the Nazis in WWII. The only question is, are we serious about stopping this enemy -- and what it will take to make us serious if we aren't.

Posted by: Greg at 09:53 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Exam Prep

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Dems Protest Prosecution Of Corrupt Dem Governor

Because after all, laws against official corruption were never meant to apply to Democrats.

House leaders are beginning an investigation this week of the prosecution of Don Siegelman, the former Democratic governor of Alabama who was imprisoned in June on federal corruption charges. The case could become the centerpiece of a Democratic effort to show that the Justice Department engaged in political prosecutions.

* * *
In Alabama, a small war of editorial boards has erupted since Mr. Siegelman was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison in late June. Newspapers in the stateÂ’s smaller cities have repeatedly raised questions about the former governorÂ’s treatment.
Alabama Democrats are seething over a judgeÂ’s decision to have Mr. Siegelman immediately shackled and jailed on the day of sentencing, with no chance for him to seek bond or put his affairs in order. Republicans say the ex-governor is nothing more than a crook who ran a Â“pay for playÂ” administration.
Mike Hubbard, chairman of the stateÂ’s Republican Party, called Ms. SimpsonÂ’s allegations Â“a bunch of hogwashÂ” and said Â“the state of Alabama was for sale when Don Siegelman was governor.Â”
Democrats are equally passionate. Â“My sense is, there is a great unease with what has gone on here,Â” said Jack Miller, former chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party. Â“ItÂ’s kind of, if it could happen to him, it could happen to anybody.Â”

I'll tell you what -- I'll be glad to have a probe of politically-motivated prosecutions. Let's put the non-crimes of Scooter Libby at the top of the list, along with the prosecutions of law enforcement officers over incidents with illegal immigrants and drug smugglers. Then we can get around to Siegelman, whose bribery conviction seems a lot more solid.

What we see here, friends, is that the Democrats are chickenhawks when it comes to battling official corruption. They only want their opponents prosecuted, not their own.

Posted by: Greg at 09:45 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Costumes

Sponsored Post

I've been talking with my students recently about the need to obtain a new costume for our school's mascot. That old horse has started looking really ragged the last few years -- as well it should, given that it has been in use since the Reagan administration. I found a replacement for it on a site that specializes in halloween costumes, and they have quite a selection of mascot costumes as well. I wonder if the student council would be interested in raising the money for a replacement?

Of course, they do have some great halloween costumes as well. I just love this kid's penguin outfit! I wonder if my wife and I can find something good to scare the trick-or-treaters?

Posted by: Greg at 06:08 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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