January 28, 2007
The Rev. Robert F. Drinan, a Jesuit who served in Congress for 10 years until stepping down in response to a papal order, died Sunday. He was 86 and lived here in housing for the Georgetown University Jesuit community.A university statement Sunday night said Father Drinan had recently been ill with pneumonia and congestive heart failure.
An internationally known human rights advocate, Father Drinan represented Massachusetts in the House of Representatives for 10 years in the 1970s, stepping down only after a worldwide directive from Pope John Paul II barring priests from holding public office.
Interestingly enough, secularist groups had no objection to this clergyman serving in public office or commenting on political matters. Indeed, many of the same voices that today decry the participation of conservative Christians in politics were angry at the Vatican for interfering in the American political system by insisting that Drinan and other priests not hold elected office.
I didn't agree with all the conclusions reached by Robert Drinan, or the theological basis for them. Still, I admired him as a many who saw the importance of the intersection of faith and politics, and who was unashamed of allowing his political stands to be informed by the moral foundation of the Christian faith.
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"Mitt Romney should be held accountable for his contradictory record, as should all the Republican presidential candidates," Paxton says.
Translation: "Mitt Romney should be held accountable for learning and admitting his mistakes. Democrats are better for America because once they take a position on an issue they stick with it, no matter how demonstrably wrong or stupid that position is."
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"On abortion, I wasn't always a Ronald Reagan conservative," Romney told a gathering of conservatives. "Neither was Ronald Reagan, by the way. But like him, I learned from experience."During his 2002 campaign for Massachusetts governor, Romney said that while he personally opposed abortion, he would leave the state's abortion laws intact.
In his speech Saturday, he said he had had a change of heart after a discussion with a stem cell researcher.
And Romney is exactly correct on this matter --it was Reagan who loosened California's abortion laws.
And for those of you who are concerned about the gay rights issue, you would do well to remember how this issue has changed. In 1994, the issue was one of non-discrimination in housing and employment, as well as laws criminalizing homosexual relationships. It has since metastasized into gay marriage. One can easily support the earlier agenda on conservative principles while being unconditionally opposed to the latter. Indeed, his 1994 position was very close to that of Barry Goldwater -- the grandfather of the contemporary conservative movement.
If you want to hear the entire speech, you can listen here, via MyManMitt.com.
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, 
, January 27, 2007
Ellington AFB, home of the Texas Air National Guard 147th Fighter Wing, will soon be home to a $6 million Predator Operations Complex. The Predator, an unmanned surveillance plane would begin arriving in 2011. The complex will be used as a training ground for operations of the Predator and mostly for the surveillance of the border.Local media as well as our politicians have put a positive spin on the loss of the 147th Fighter Wing as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, but few have questioned the safety of an unmanned 10,000 lbs aircraft flying over a densely populated area surround Ellington. The safe operations of these unmanned vehicles should be questioned as well as it's mission.
* * * There has not been a public hearing for the communities that will be under the flight path of the Predators being flown by student pilots, but there should be. The loss of the 147th will be a large economical impact to the community, and the Predator has been offered as a way to offset this loss.
The Clear Lake community over the last 10 years have fought a number of issues such as a sludge farm, a train carrying toxic chemicals and a huge port. The community should be assured that an unmanned drone will not drop out of the sky like one did in Arizona.
John, of course, conveniently overlooks the fact that the F16s at Ellington, the trainer jets flown by astronauts, and the many commercial and private aircraft that fly over the area daily can "drop out of the sky" creating "a disaster for the community [which] should be of great concern." I don't see him proposing hearings on all aircraft, or the complete shutdown of all flight operations over populated areas of Houston (or even the Clear Lake area, where we both live). So I really don't believe this is about public safety.
No, I believe this is all about partisan politics. Congressman Tom DeLay and Congresswoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs were both supporters of keeping the 147th Fighter Wing at Ellington. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has been very active in getting the Predators to Houston, along with other mission changes that revitalize Ellington Field as a military base. I suspect that John, who suffers from Bush Derangement Syndrome has had his condition metastasize into Republican Derangement Syndrome, and is therefore willing to see CD22 and the Houston area suffer in an attempt to guarantee the reelection of his close buddy, Congressman Nick Lampson.
It is rather pathetic, really -- using scare tactics to frighten local residents and undermine national and homeland security for partisan advantage. But then again, why should we be surprised? He's a Democrat!
Then again, maybe he is just afraid that the Predators have monitoring devices that can pierce his Official Daily Kos/Democratic Underground Tinfoil Hat.
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January 26, 2007
Al Franken, Randi Rhodes and Sam Seeder — articulate liberal pundits — don't sell well, even in Santa Cruz.The trio are part of the nationally syndicated Air America, which was dropped from Santa Cruz radio station KOMY 1340 AM on Thursday and replaced with music from the 1950s, '60s and '70s.
The left-leaning radio network, aimed at taking on Rush Limbaugh and other conservative talk shows, debuted on Central Coast airwaves in July 2005, but local advertisers never bought in, station owner Michael Zwerling said.
"We didn't sell a single ad in a year and a half," Zwerling said Thursday. "I thought liberal radio would work as a viable advertising business in the most liberal town in America. I was wrong"
Santa Cruz isn't the only place Air America has problems. The network is struggling nationwide and filed for bankruptcy four months ago.
Zwerling put Air America on the air as an alternative to the Limbaugh program, which plays on KOMY's sister station KSCO 1080 AM every morning.
Limbaugh is a major moneymaker for the station, Zwerling said, and his show pulls the highest ratings of any program on KSCO or KOMY.
So let’s look at this. You’ve got a station owner offering both points of view, using different stations to do so. One format flops, while the other is hugely successful. Does it make any sort of sense to require that the station owner continue to broadcast what no one wants to listen to? And notice, please, that this is a very blue part of a blue state where liberal talk has failed – if they can’t make it there, can they make it anywhere?
What this shows is that the reason for the lack of diversity on talk radio is not that stations won’t book the format for political reasons – it is because they cannot find an audience for the format. Any attempt to require that viewpoint be aired is nothing short of suppression of the speech that people want to hear in favor of that they reject. How is that in the public interest?
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Al Franken, Randi Rhodes and Sam Seeder — articulate liberal pundits — don't sell well, even in Santa Cruz.The trio are part of the nationally syndicated Air America, which was dropped from Santa Cruz radio station KOMY 1340 AM on Thursday and replaced with music from the 1950s, '60s and '70s.
The left-leaning radio network, aimed at taking on Rush Limbaugh and other conservative talk shows, debuted on Central Coast airwaves in July 2005, but local advertisers never bought in, station owner Michael Zwerling said.
"We didn't sell a single ad in a year and a half," Zwerling said Thursday. "I thought liberal radio would work as a viable advertising business in the most liberal town in America. I was wrong"
Santa Cruz isn't the only place Air America has problems. The network is struggling nationwide and filed for bankruptcy four months ago.
Zwerling put Air America on the air as an alternative to the Limbaugh program, which plays on KOMY's sister station KSCO 1080 AM every morning.
Limbaugh is a major moneymaker for the station, Zwerling said, and his show pulls the highest ratings of any program on KSCO or KOMY.
So let’s look at this. You’ve got a station owner offering both points of view, using different stations to do so. One format flops, while the other is hugely successful. Does it make any sort of sense to require that the station owner continue to broadcast what no one wants to listen to? And notice, please, that this is a very blue part of a blue state where liberal talk has failed – if they can’t make it there, can they make it anywhere?
What this shows is that the reason for the lack of diversity on talk radio is not that stations won’t book the format for political reasons – it is because they cannot find an audience for the format. Any attempt to require that viewpoint be aired is nothing short of suppression of the speech that people want to hear in favor of that they reject. How is that in the public interest?
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January 25, 2007
The number of wage and salary workers who were union members dropped to 12 percent of the work force last year, the lowest percentage since the government started tracking that number over two decades ago.The number of workers in a union was 20.1 percent in 1983, when Bureau of Labor Statistics first provided such comparable numbers, and that number has been declining steadily. More than a third of American workers, about 35 percent, were union members in the mid-1950s.
The question, of course, is what this means. Is it a question of the growth of the workforce in areas of the country with right to work laws? Is it related to the increase in professional, white collar jobs over the more commonly unionized blue collar fields? Or is it a question of unions having ceased to meet the needs of workers as perceived by workers?
Unions, of course, are using this statistic to bolster the case for legislation that they claim would make it easier to for workers to unionize.
The continuing decline in union membership, documented in the BLS report released Thursday, comes as organized labor is pushing for legislation in the Democratic-controlled Congress making it easier for workers to form unions.That proposal, called the Employee Free Choice Act, would let workers form unions more readily by simply signing a card or petition, impose stronger penalties on employers who violate labor laws, and allow for arbitration to settle first contract disputes.
Advocates of the legislation say they doubt that it will get signed into law by President Bush, but that they think passage in Congress would make eventual signing of the law more likely.
Supporters say the law is more fair to workers because employers can't mount a campaign to prevent formation of a union. Opponents say it deprives workers of the right to vote privately on their union preferences, and can lead to union intimidation of workers.
The union membership rate for government workers, 36.2 percent, was substantially higher than for private industry workers, 7.4 percent.
The problem with this legislation should be obvious. Given the history of thuggish union tactics to coerce membership, the “card check” method opens workers up to harassment and coercion that a secret ballot does not. And as recent Supreme Court arguments show, unions are all about coercing workers – even those who act affirmatively to opt out of membership – into supporting political activity and paying for services that they do not want to be involved in.
Quite bluntly, this country does, in fact, need an Employee Free Choice Act. But rather than the current legislation that seeks to deny workers choices, such legislation should start with the presumption that workers do not want to be members of a union, and which abolishes both the compulsory union shop and the agency fee for non-members. Let workers have a truly free choice on whether or not they join a union – and recognize that over 90% of private sector workers have chosen not to join. I suspect that the membership figure would be far lower in the public sector were it not for the compulsory union membership required by many school districts and other government entities. Indeed, the free choice most needed is for workers to be permitted to say "no" to having their paychecks pilfered by corrupt union bosses.
UPDATE: Want a good reason for ending the constitutional abomination of forced unionism, especially in the public sector? Look at this case from Ohio, involving the Ohio Education Association.
Told by a union official to pay forced dues or "change religions," a teacher in southern Ohio is challenging a state law that allows only those public employees who belong to certain denominations the right to claim religious objection to paying union dues.Carol Katter, a mathematics and language arts instructor in the St. Marys district, filed a federal complaint in the U.S. District Court in Columbus this week over an Ohio law that prevents the lifelong Catholic from diverting her dues from a union she refuses to fund because it supports abortion on demand.
Katter filed the complaint against top officials of the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) for religious discrimination in enforcing Ohio Revised Code section 4117.09(C), which states:
"Any public employee who is a member of and adheres to established and traditional tenets or teachings of a bona fide religion or religious body which has historically held conscientious objections to joining or financially supporting an employee organization and which is exempt from taxation under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code shall not be required to join or financially support any employee organization as a condition of employment." (emphasis added)
In other words, the law in Ohio is that a public employee is required to fund religiously repugnant speech unless their church also opposes union membership in all instances. I guess they haven't heard of the First Amendment up there, or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They also are ignoring a federal court ruling from last year in a nearly identical case which held that public employees with religious objections to union affiliation could not be forced to pay union dues.
But as far as I am concerned, there is an even more basic issue -- upon what legitimate grounds can government require payments to a private organization as a requirement for holding a public-sector, taxpayer funded job? What next -- a return to the days when government employees were expected to make contributions to the "correct" political candidates as a condition of keeping their jobs? That practice is no more repugnant to the First Amendment than the situation found in Ms. Katter's case.
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January 24, 2007
Hewitt explains the effort this way.
Yesterday General Petraeus testified that the Biden/Warner resolutions and those like them encourage the enemy.What does it mean, "to encourage the enemy?"
It means that the enemy gathers will and strength from the prospect of a collapsing political will to seek victory in Iraq and stability in the region.
With that additional strength and will the enemy redoubles and retriples efforts to kill American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.
In short, it means that more Americans will die.
If there is ever an issue for which a filibuster is obviously called, it is such a resolution, especially in the aftermath of such testimony.
Either the Republicans believe General Petraeus, or they don't. These are not a "non-binding" resolutions in the sense that they have no consequences. Either of them will have terrible consequences.
Don't believe me. Believe General Petraeus.
And act accordingly. next week should mark an epic and important debate in the United States Senate. I hope that 39 Republicans will join at least Senator Joseph Lieberman is standing by the troops and their commander in iraq, as well as the president.
In my lifetime America has walked away from one set of allies, to its eternal disgrace. We must not do so again, lest we repeat April, 1975 all over again.
The resolution that this coalition proposes can be found over at Truth Laid Bear.
If the United States Senate passes a resolution, non-binding or otherwise, that criticizes the commitment of additional troops to Iraq that General Petraeus has asked for and that the president has pledged, and if the Senate does so after the testimony of General Petraeus on January 23 that such a resolution will be an encouragement to the enemy, I will not contribute to any Republican senator who voted for the resolution. Further, if any Republican senator who votes for such a resolution is a candidate for re-election in 2008, I will not contribute to the National Republican Senatorial Committee unless the Chairman of that Committee, Senator Ensign, commits in writing that none of the funds of the NRSC will go to support the re-election of any senator supporting the non-binding resolution.
I believe this is key -- there is no room for those in the GOP who would abandon the troops in the field in this manner, and we must say so clearly. I therefore urge you to sign the pledge, refer like-minded friends to the pledge, and contact your Senators and the Senate leadership to insist that they oppose any resolution that undercuts the war effort.
This is a defining issue of our time -- we must not fail in this effort, or history will judge this nation harshly. Assuming, of course, that failure does not leave our enemies writing that history.
The following are also blogging on the issue.
KickingOverMyTraces
Reverse Spin
The Wide Awake Cafe
Say Anything.
Bear To The Right
ThreeSources
MangledCat
Captain's Quarters
UPDATE: Hewitt wrote his column today about the Pledge.
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Senator John Kerry, the Massachusetts Democrat who narrowly lost the presidency to George Bush in 2004, announced today that he would not proceed with a second bid for the White House because he preferred to use his position in the new Senate majority to press for an end to American involvement in Iraq.“We came close, certainly close enough to be tempted to try again, there are powerful reasons to want to follow that fight now,” Mr. Kerry said, invoking his 2004 race, at the conclusion of a 30-minute speech attacking Mr. Bush’s Iraq policy on the floor of the United States Senate. “I’ve concluded that this isn’t the time for me to mount a presidential campaign. It is the time to put my energy to work as part of the majority of he Senate and do all I can to end the war.”
Mr. KerryÂ’s announcement of his political plans, if unveiled in an unorthodox place, was not a surprise, notwithstanding his early statements that he would run again for the White House. He was in effect bowing to a Democratic Party that was clearly unreceptive and that had turned its attention to new candidates, in particular Senators Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, who got into the race over the past week. Many Democrats had said they expected Mr. Kerry would ultimately decide not to run after assessing how much strength he had in his party; as it is, most of his aides from the 2004 campaign have moved on.
So Kerry will forgo another run for Commander-in-Chief so he can stay in the Senate and undercut the troops and the war effort from there. Looks like he wants to be at the very heart of the effort to lose a war for the second time -- and he knows from experience that he can help do so much more effectively with irresponsible words in the Senate.
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"This is the first time that I've ever been called a liar and a bigot and an anti-Semite and a coward and a plagiarist." Carter paused and squinted at the audience. "This has hurt me."
Experts have demonstrated that your assertions are wrong. Participants in events have noted how you misrepresent them. Materials from another book have been used without attribution. And your claims of a Jewish conspiracy clearly echo the anti-Semitic canards of earlier generations and hate-filled ideologies.
But I will give you credit for stepping back from the most dangerous thing you wrote in your false, disgusting, and despicable book.
In particular, some students challenged Carter on a sentence that has brought him much grief. On Page 213 of his book, Carter wrote: "It is imperative that the general Arab community and all significant Palestinian groups make it clear that they will end the suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism when international laws and the ultimate goals of the Roadmap for Peace are accepted by Israel."This sentence, the students noted, suggests that suicide bombings are a tactic of war, to be suspended only when peace is achieved. Carter agreed -- and apologized -- and said this sentence was a great mistake on his part.
"The sentence was worded in an absolutely improper and stupid way," Carter said. "I apologize to you and to everyone here . . . it was a mistake on my part."
He added that Palestinians who embrace terrorism draw no support from him.
Calls for the destruction of Israel, he said, "are completely obnoxious to me. I would have no brief for them and no sympathy for them."
But you still stand against the security fence, which has been the most successful means of preventing terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. Maybe you donÂ’t mean to support terrorism, Jimmy, but your advocacy for tearing down that anti-terrorist barrier does provide the terrorists with aid and comfort.
And you are still a disgrace to this country, Jimmy – as well as “a liar and a bigot and an anti-Semite and a coward and a plagiarist."
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January 23, 2007
CALLER: I want a complete, impartial, and totally independent investigation of the events of September 11, 2001 . I'm tired of this bogus garbage about terrorism. Ask Michael Meacher about how he feels about this bogus war on terrorism. Can you comment on that please?HON. DR. RON PAUL: Well, that would be nice to have. Unfortunately, we don't have that in place. It will be a little bit better now with the Democrats now in charge of oversight. But you know, for top level policy there's not a whole lot of difference between the two policies so a real investigation isn't going to happen. But I think we have to keep pushing for it. And like you and others, we see the investigations that have been done so far as more or less cover-up and no real explanation of what went on.
JACK BLOOD, GUEST HOST: I think it's fair to say that of all the candidates out there, the one most interested in reopening the investigation and clearing the questions is Dr. Paul; and you should be commended for that.
Now maybe he was humoring the moonbat caller. Maybe he was lacking in his normal grace with the English language. Or maybe he was revealing a side to his views that places him so far outside the mainstream as to require people with common decency and common sense to take action against him.
Needless to say, I'm disturbed -- and I hope the good congressman will clarify his views and explain (if he can) these comments.
H/T Right Wing News
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Forget Giuliani, McCain, Romney, Obama, and Clinton. There is only one candidate that every American envisions in the White House: oneself. Which American, at least as a child, never once daydreamed of sitting behind the big desk in the Oval Office … leader of the free world … fighting evil and protecting freedom?And I was no different. Well, slightly different. I was born and raised in London, spoke the Queen's English, and never heard the date 1776 mentioned in school. But as an American citizen — born to an American mother and a British father — I too dreamed of being president. Sure being prime minister was cool, my friends certainly thought so, but who dreams of being Robin when you can be Batman?
A high school teacher shattered these dreams (don't they always?) by telling me that "natural born citizen means born in America." Sidekick it was from then on. But while living in Brussels a few years ago, an American colleague pointed out — after I told him that he was doing his children a disservice by not having them in America — that it's unclear whether children born to American citizens overseas really can't be president.
Friedman notes that many people argue that he cannot. On the other hand, my answer has always been quite the opposite – that natural born, rather than native born, would certainly be inclusive of those born American citizens regardless of their place of birth. That would include those Americans born abroad to American citizens, such as military dependents, the children of diplomats, and other expats. After all, if they are not naturalized citizens, they must be natural born citizens.
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Mainers could contribute to their favorite state government programs through the state Web site under legislation a Sabattus lawmaker proposed.Republican Rep. Scott Lansley said his is a serious proposal — even as he smiled at its name, the Tax Me More Fund.
"I got a lot of people who laughed about it at first and then said that’s a good idea and signed on as co-sponsors," Lansley said last week. He said the name makes a broader political point.
"People are either going to be hypocrites about it and not do it, or they are going to be out there saying, ‘I should pay more taxes for this or that program,’" he said. "Well, if you think that a program needs more money, here you go, pay more in taxes through this fund."
Lansley said the measure would make it easy for Mainers to pay additional "taxes" by making contributions through the state government Web site.
So I hope all you folks in Maine will get behind this proposal – and that every person who argues that taxes are too low will simply cut a check to the Tax Me More fund in their own state (if they have one). After all, if you REALLY believe that you are keeping money that should not be yours, this is the perfect way to divest yourself of it without imposing your personal morality on the rest of us!
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Mainers could contribute to their favorite state government programs through the state Web site under legislation a Sabattus lawmaker proposed.Republican Rep. Scott Lansley said his is a serious proposal — even as he smiled at its name, the Tax Me More Fund.
"I got a lot of people who laughed about it at first and then said thatÂ’s a good idea and signed on as co-sponsors," Lansley said last week. He said the name makes a broader political point.
"People are either going to be hypocrites about it and not do it, or they are going to be out there saying, ‘I should pay more taxes for this or that program,’" he said. "Well, if you think that a program needs more money, here you go, pay more in taxes through this fund."
Lansley said the measure would make it easy for Mainers to pay additional "taxes" by making contributions through the state government Web site.
So I hope all you folks in Maine will get behind this proposal – and that every person who argues that taxes are too low will simply cut a check to the Tax Me More fund in their own state (if they have one). After all, if you REALLY believe that you are keeping money that should not be yours, this is the perfect way to divest yourself of it without imposing your personal morality on the rest of us!
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January 22, 2007
The public financing system designed to clean up presidential campaigns in the wake of the Watergate scandal may have died on Saturday when Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) announced her bid for the White House.Little noticed amid the announcement rollout was a page on her Web site in which she asked potential contributors to give her campaign checks of up to $4,200. That figure signaled not only that she plans to forgo public funds for primary season but also that, if she becomes the nominee, she will not take public money for the general election.
By opting out of the system, Clinton will be able to spend as much money as she can raise, both for the primaries and for the general election, rather than being forced to abide by strict spending limits imposed by the Federal Election Commission on candidates who accept public financing.
Others have opted out of public financing for the nomination campaigns, but Clinton is the first since the current structure was created in 1974 to declare she will forgo public financing in the general election as well.
Clinton's decision will put pressure on other candidates in both parties to follow suit, and if they do, the 2008 campaign will complete what has been the rapid disintegration of a system designed to rein in unlimited spending in presidential campaigns.
I have to ask -- does Hillary's decision make her the candidate of corruption and special interests? Or does it make her a free speech heroine? Or, more realistically, does it put her somewhere in the middle?
From my standpoint, this is a good thing. The Founders, in their infinite wisdom, established a system which allowed for unlimited speech on political matters -- provided you could afford it. What Clinton is doing is simply departing from the constitutional monstrosity that was established over three decades ago, and returning to the originalist paradigm.
Now if we can only do away with the other part of this abomination -- the contribution limit. After all, if a candidate has the right to spend as much as he or she wants for purposes of engaging in political speech, there is no legitimate argument for preventing a candidate's supporters from donating as much as possible to that cause. After all, Americans associating for purposes of engaging in political speech is not a crime -- it is a right under the US Constitution.
And by the way, I'd like to encourage my readers to help kill this offense agains free and full participation in the electoral system -- DO NOT check the box on your tax return directing your money to public financing of presidential campaigns!
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State Sen. Mario Gallegos underwent liver transplant surgery late Friday night and is recovering at the Texas Medical Center, according to his family.Gallegos, a Houston Democrat, had cirrhosis of the liver, which necessitated the transplant.
Gallegos had said earlier that his doctors estimated he will need 18 days of recovery time after his surgery before he can return to work.
I don't like the man's politics, and I'll work against him in 2008 -- but in 2007, I wish him only the best of health and the smoothest of recoveries.
Because, as I have said so often, some things are simply more important than mere politics.
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Democrat Bill Richardson took the first step Sunday toward a bid to become the first Hispanic president, saying the country needs his extensive experience as a governor, cabinet secretary and ambassador.The 59-year-old New Mexico governor announced in a video posted on his Web site that he would set up an exploratory committee that will allow him to begin raising money and assembling his campaign organization.
His candidacy would make history as the field of Democratic candidates would be the most diverse ever. On Saturday, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said she wanted to be the first female president. Last week, Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) of Illinois jumped in, a formidable contender who would be the first black commander in chief.
Richardson, whose father was an international banker from Boston and whose mother was Mexican, said he believes the country "has changed enough" that voters are ready for a woman or minority president.
And I've dealt with that issue in the past -- I'm more interested in a qualified president than I am in one who can check off boxes on an affirmative action form. With his resume, Richardson should not be playing the ethnicity card -- he should be touting his qualifications and the relatively weak credentials of Edwards, Obama, and Clinton. Bill Richardson is a substantive candidate, unlike the rest of the Democrat field. And while I tend to disagree with his policy positions, I find him to be presidential timber in a way the rest are not.
Oh, and one other note on the ethnicity thing. Not long ago, I was talking presidential politics with one of my classes when we finished up a bit early. When I mentioned Richardson as a Hispanic candidate, they dismissed him -- on the basis that his Anglo name doesn't connect with the average Hispanic. Now I wouldn't make much of that observation by a group of tenth graders, except for the fact that the class was 2/3 Hispanic and many of the students are first generation Americans. I wonder if that reflects a wider sentiment, or merely a limited vision based upon age and lack of political sophistication.
UPDATE: Captain Ed has two good analyses at Captain's Quarters -- one about Richardson as Hillary's worst nightmare, and the other noting that he is the most well-rounded of the Dem candidates so far.
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January 21, 2007
First, Newt Gingrich said he would run for president in 2008 only if no other Republican emerged as a clear front-runner. Now, the former House speaker says he will run only as a "last resort."His assessment came in response to a question by Chris Wallace, host of "Fox News Sunday."
"You sound as if you think about running for president as a last resort, not as a first resort?" Wallace asked.
"Exactly," Gingrich answered. "I mean, nobody's ever said it quite that way, but you're right."
Gingrich said he first hoped to influence the presidential race by providing candidates in both parties with his "solutions" to problems such as health care, energy, education, national security and immigration.
I'm sorry Newt, but while you may be one of the brightest idea people in the conservative movement, you've got some pretty high negatives among the general public. And given that your love life is almost as sordid as Bill Clinton's, do you really think that you can serve as a credible standard-bearer for a party that still considers family values to be one of its cornerstone issues?
There's simply no place for you in the 2008 race -- or any other year, either.
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January 20, 2007
Invoking Thomas Jefferson and Mr. Hankey from the television series "South Park," the lawyer for an ex-professor accused of leaving dog feces at a congresswoman's office said her client's actions qualify as protected speech under the First Amendment.Kathleen Ensz faces a misdemeanor charge of "use of a noxious substance." She is accused of taking dog feces from her backyard, wrapping it in a political mailer from Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, and leaving it at the Republican's office, according to court documents.
Ensz, a Democrat, was angered by repeatedly receiving mailings from Musgrave, the documents said.
That's odd -- I simply trash the mailers I get from Democrat candidates and supporters of al-Qaeda.
And as a supposedly educated woman, I would have thought she might have found some more mature, creative way of expressing her political beliefs. Oh, that's right -- expecting maturity out of a Democrat activist is usually wasted effort (although I'm blessed with a wonderful one who serves as my alternate election judge -- she is the second best Democrat I know). And lest you think she is just some run of the mill registered Dem or occasional volunteer, please realize that she is (or was) the vice chair of the Democrat organization for Colorado Senate District 13 -- an elected position voted upon by her fellow Democrats.
And then there is this inane argument from her lawyer.
"What she did was probably crude and boorish," Patricia Bangert, one of Ensz's attorneys, argued during a hearing Tuesday, when she likened the conduct to a form of political protest such as Jefferson's criticism of the King of England.Bangert held up Mr. Hankey, an animated, talking piece of human excrement from "South Park," as evidence of how commonplace feces is for expressing disdain.
"Etiquette and propriety aside, it is commonplace in today's society to equate a distasteful or disliked person, situation or thing, to feces," Bangert said.
Yeah, the comparison is one that is often used, but the analogy breaks down there. If I say you are full of sh!t or that you are a piece of sh!t, that is one thing. If I throw sh!t at you, that crosses a line that takes my actions out of the realm of free speech and into the realm of assault. Similarly, Enz committed a violation of the law when she shoved sh!t in the congresswoman's mail box. Jefferson, whose name is taken in vain by the shyster in question, would quickly acknowledge the difference.
On the other hand, if Enz really believes that she was just giving the congresswoman a piece of her mind, perhaps that is evidence that the professor has sh!t for brains.
H/T Gateway Pundit
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Hillary returns to Antartic for final time
Unfortunately, it was the wrong Hillary. I should have known that the Hildebeast wouldn't retreat to the South Pole -- but I could hope.
We get the joys of this headline instead.
Sen. Clinton Launches 2008 Campaign
Yeah -- the anti-climax has arrived.
New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D) today announced she will establish a presidential exploratory committee, launching a 2008 campaign that could make her the first female president in history and the only former first lady to succeed her husband in the White House.In a posting on her campaign Web site, Clinton announced her decision with a headline that read, "I'm In."
I'm surprised that she put that on her website -- that is usually Billzebubba's line.
Her big money quote?
"The stakes will be high when America chooses a new president in 2008," Clinton said in the written statement. "As a senator, I will spend [the next] two years doing everything in my power to limit the damage George W. Bush can do. But only a new president will be able to undo Bush's mistakes and restore our hope and optimism."
Odd -- when conservatives acted to limit the damage done by her husband, she labelled it a "vast right wing conspiracy." When she does the same thing, it is patriotic and grounds for electing her president despite her lack of substantive accomplishments as a Senator -- or in life.
Now the race for money is on -- and speaking of money, will she have lost the support of many of her husband's former supporters? After all, Barack Obama is this year's Howard Dean-style rock star candidate.
Her entrance into the race followed Mr. ObamaÂ’s by less than a week, and highlighted the urgency for her of not falling behind in the competition for money, especially in New York, where the battle has already reached a fever pitch.George Soros, the billionaire New York philanthropist, has made maximum donations in the past to both candidates, for instance, and last week he faced a choice: support Mr. Obama, who created his committee on Tuesday, or stay neutral and see what Mrs. Clinton and others had to say. In his case, the upstart won. Mr. Soros sent the maximum contribution, $2,100, to Mr. Obama, the first-term senator from Illinois, just hours after he declared his plans to run.
“Soros believes that Senator Obama brings a new energy to the political system and has the potential to be a transformational leader,” said Michael Vachon, a spokesman for Mr. Soros.
Mrs. ClintonÂ’s presidential operation is only one day old, but she already finds herself in a breakneck competition against Mr. Obama for fund-raising supremacy in two towns that she and her husband have mined heavily for political gold: New York and Hollywood. Mr. ObamaÂ’s entrance into the race has also put up for grabs other groups that are primary targets for Mrs. Clinton, including African-Americans and women.
At this early stage in the nomination fight, securing donations and signing up fund-raisers are among the best ways of showing political strength in a crowded field (seven Democrats and counting). And Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton are looking to raise at least $75 million this year alone.
Advisers said yesterday that they had begun corralling donors to build quickly on the formidable $14 million that Mrs. Clinton already had in the bank. They predicted that they would outpace Mr. Obama, though they acknowledged that he is moving impressively to try to match Mrs. ClintonÂ’s national fund-raising network, which has been in the making far longer than his.
Mrs. Clinton faces some fatigue among donors after more than 15 years of Clinton fund-raising, Democratic contributors and strategists said, and some skepticism about whether she can win. Yet she has the DemocratsÂ’ most popular rainmaker at her full disposal, former President Bill Clinton, and she has influential friends like the lawyer and power broker Vernon E. Jordan Jr. to help keep African-American donors and others by her side.
On the bright side, I've kept all my "Impeach Clinton" paraphernalia, so I am set for the horrific possibility of another Clinton Presidency.
And maybe she'll bring back that missing silverware.
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"The president does not have the authority to launch military action in Iran without first seeking congressional authorization," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told the National Press Club.
So when the Iranians test their first nuclear weapon, Harry Reid says Bush cannot respond.
When the Iranians drop a nuke on downtown Tel Aviv, Harry Reid says George Bush is merely permitted to click his tongue.
And when the Iranians begin to terrorize the rest of the world following that attack, Harry Reid insists that the President cannot use our military to deal with the threat.
I wonder – does Harry Reid believe that American troops are allowed to respond to a direct attack by Iranian troops that have crossed the border into Iraq? Or do the troops have to flee in the face of the invasion, since military action is not authorized against Iran?
But then again, I wonder if Harry Reid is part of the 22% (see question #19) who need their asses kicked?
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January 18, 2007
When former North Carolina senator and Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards finally succeeded last month in selling his imposing Georgetown mansion for $5.2 million after it had languished on the market, the names of the buyers were not publicly disclosed.At the time, Edwards's spokeswoman told reporters that the house had been sold to an unidentified corporation. In reality, the buyers were Paul and Terry Klaassen, according to several sources and confirmed by Edwards's spokeswoman yesterday.
The wealthy founders of the nation's largest assisted-living housing chain for seniors, the Klaassens are currently cooperating with a government inquiry in connection with accounting practices and stock options exercised by them and other company insiders. They are also the focus of legal complaints by some of the same labor unions whose support Edwards has been assiduously courting for his presidential bid.
The grand 18th-century house had lingered on Washington's slowing real estate market for more than 18 months. The Edwardses paid $3.8 million in 2002 for the six-bedroom Federal-style house once owned by socialite Polly Fritchey, and they did substantial renovations. The final sale price was half a million dollars below the asking price but still $1.4 million more than the Edwardses paid four years earlier.
This looks bad, both in terms of the high-dollar profit from a seemingly corrupt source and what looks like a cover-up of the purchasers' identity by Edwards. What would the Dems say if this were a GOP candidate?
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Because there was simply no point.
The other part didn't want a dialogue -- they wanted a concession and/or an abject surrender.
"If three thousand dead Americans haven't convinced you that this war is wrong, then you are either stupid, immoral, or insane."
Good grief! How does one even begin to respond to that comment as if it deserves to be dignified at all? how does one pretend that there is any intellectual or logical rigor to it?And when the speaker brought up the possibility, of friends, former students, or family members dying in Iraq, how could I even pretend it was anything but pathetic emotional blathering?
But I do have a response -- one I could have given if I thought that an argument might have had any chance of producing a meeting of the minds, or even mutual respect.
You see, I'm willing to concede that much of the premise for this war was wrong -- though not that Saddam Hussein was uninvolved with terrorism. And I'll concede that knowing what I know today, I would oppose beginning the war. However, both of those points are irrelevant.
The reality is that we are at war, and the criteria for determining whether or not US involvement is warranted does not revolve around why the war began or even the raw number of Americans and/or Iraqis killed to date.
No, the correct measure is whether we have the ability to improve the situation, the means to do so, and a plan for doing so. Indeed, if the answer to the first two is yes, then there is something of an obligation to develop the third.
You see, our actions created the reality that now exists in Iraq. Our obligation is to help the Iraqi people attain stability. If that means making an additional commitment of troops to do so -- as was the position of the Democrats for most of the last two years -- then we should do so. Indeed, withdrawal should only be an option if it can be shown that it will lead to an improvement in the status quo. That is one of the lessons that needs to be drawn from the debacle in Southeast Asia thirty years ago -- the situation that followed America's withdrawal was infinitely worse than what preceded it. Our departure from Iraq would similarly lead to sectarian and ethnic strife being rachetted up, unless the paramilitary groups are neutralized and the terror groups defeated by securing Baghdad and Anbar OR unless the country is peacefully partitioned. The former is the President's goal, and it is attainable.
Now there is the focus on casualties. Iraq has been a relatively low-casualty conflict for American troops. During WW II, there were single days that saw more dead. Vietnam saw years with more casualties than the American military has sustained in nearly four. And while every death is an unspeakable tragedy, that does not mean it is a useless or senseless tragedy. I learned that lesson at my father's knee growing up, listening to him explain that the job of a soldier or sailor is to be prepared to die for something greater than himself. The only unacceptable death is one that does not come in the furtherance of a necessary objective in the conflict at hand. As such, the notion of "too many deaths" is almost a nonsensical one, provided that those lives are not being pissed away with no objective, or after it becomes clear that the objective cannot be attained. I do not yet believe that we are at such a point.
Does this mean I am evil? No, it means that I view the death toll as a gut-wrenching but unavoidable by-product of the nation's decision to go to war.
Does this mean I am insane? I think not, for my position is based upon facts and reality, not upon a spasmodic emotional reaction.
Does mean I m stupid? I do not believe so, as my position is one based upon an analysis of the facts.
On the other hand, I will concede one point quite willingly -- it is quite possible that my analysis of the situation is somehow flawed. Error, how ever, is not the same as immorality, insanity, or stupidity. I remain prepared to be convinced that I am wrong by a fact-based logical analysis of the consequences of withdrawal and/or our ability to improve the situation by staying.
Emotional attacks and ad hominem argument, on the other hand, will not even be acknowledged.
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January 17, 2007
Now the Bush Administration is doing what it out to have done -- but it looks like a move made out of weakness.
The Bush administration, in a surprise reversal, said on Wednesday that it had agreed to give a secret court jurisdiction over the National Security Agency’s wiretapping program and would end its practice of eavesdropping without warrants on Americans suspected of ties to terrorists.The Justice Department said it had worked out an “innovative” arrangement with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that provided the “necessary speed and agility” to provide court approval to monitor international communications of people inside the United States without jeopardizing national security.
The decision capped 13 months of bruising national debate over the reach of the presidentÂ’s wartime authorities and his claims of executive power, and it came as the administration faced legal and political hurdles in its effort to continue the surveillance program.
None of this is going to mollify Administration critics -- but it is going to look like the Administration is conceding their arguments. Wrong move at the wrong time -- which seems to be the story of the Bush Administration over the last year or so.
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Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, whose best-selling books and political travels generated huge pressure to run for the White House, joined a crowded Democratic field yesterday, vowing to advance "a different kind of politics" in a campaign that could make him the nation's first African American president.Obama, a state legislator just three years ago, announced that he has formed a presidential exploratory committee, accelerating his already rapid emergence in national politics and establishing him as his party's most formidable rival to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, the Democratic front-runner. He will formally announce his candidacy on Feb. 10.
The problem is, though, that his career includes no significant accomplishments. Indeed, he was elected to the US Senate only two years ago, after his Republican opponent’s campaign imploded in a sex scandal and the GOP could not find a credible replacement. During his time in the Senate he has been a big draw on the campaign trail, but is an absolute cipher as a legislator. Even his state legislative career is painted in only the most general terms in this article.
In 1996, he was elected to the Illinois state Senate, where he earned a reputation as a consensus-building Democrat who was strongly liberal on social and economic issues, backing gay rights, abortion rights, gun control, universal health care and tax breaks for the poor.
Indeed, the only two things that Obama has going for him as a candidate are his unquestioned skill as an orator and the color of his skin. This was illustrated yesterday when a representative of Young Democrats for America appearing on Sean Hannity’s radio show to speak about his announcement was unable to name a single substantive thing Obama has done during his time in Washington – or at any other point during his career.
What is going to happen to Obama’s candidacy? It will ultimately fail – and he will in all likelihood end up in the VP slot of a Clinton-Obama ticket. And if he does beat the odds and get the nomination? Expect him to crash and burn.
Oh, by the way, if you want to know about Obama’s record as a state legislator, you can find that information here.
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Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, whose best-selling books and political travels generated huge pressure to run for the White House, joined a crowded Democratic field yesterday, vowing to advance "a different kind of politics" in a campaign that could make him the nation's first African American president.Obama, a state legislator just three years ago, announced that he has formed a presidential exploratory committee, accelerating his already rapid emergence in national politics and establishing him as his party's most formidable rival to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, the Democratic front-runner. He will formally announce his candidacy on Feb. 10.
The problem is, though, that his career includes no significant accomplishments. Indeed, he was elected to the US Senate only two years ago, after his Republican opponentÂ’s campaign imploded in a sex scandal and the GOP could not find a credible replacement. During his time in the Senate he has been a big draw on the campaign trail, but is an absolute cipher as a legislator. Even his state legislative career is painted in only the most general terms in this article.
In 1996, he was elected to the Illinois state Senate, where he earned a reputation as a consensus-building Democrat who was strongly liberal on social and economic issues, backing gay rights, abortion rights, gun control, universal health care and tax breaks for the poor.
Indeed, the only two things that Obama has going for him as a candidate are his unquestioned skill as an orator and the color of his skin. This was illustrated yesterday when a representative of Young Democrats for America appearing on Sean Hannity’s radio show to speak about his announcement was unable to name a single substantive thing Obama has done during his time in Washington – or at any other point during his career.
What is going to happen to Obama’s candidacy? It will ultimately fail – and he will in all likelihood end up in the VP slot of a Clinton-Obama ticket. And if he does beat the odds and get the nomination? Expect him to crash and burn.
Oh, by the way, if you want to know about ObamaÂ’s record as a state legislator, you can find that information here.
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Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday that he hopes to patch things up with conservative Christian leader James Dobson, who said last week that he would not support the lawmaker's presidential bid "under any circumstances."In an interview last Thursday with a Christian radio station in Dallas, Dobson argued that McCain did not support traditional marriage values "and I pray that we will not get stuck with him."
"Speaking as a private individual, I would not vote for John McCain under any circumstances," said Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family.
"I'm obviously disappointed," McCain said during a stop in Columbia.
McCain has said gay marriage should not be legal, but he has angered some conservatives with his opposition to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions. He said the issue should be left to the states.
Frankly, I donÂ’t care about this. IÂ’m opposed to John McCain and his candidacy, and that opposition is irrevocable. And the reason is not the gay marriage amendment, which I support but on which I believe people of goodwill can disagree. Rather, it is McCainÂ’s flagrant opposition to an amendment already part of the Constitution, the First Amendment with its guarantee of freedom of speech, that leads me to reject him for any office.
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January 16, 2007
Texas is on track to be the biggest winner when all 435 House seats are reallocated after the 2010 Census, getting as many as four new districts and Electoral College votes because of population gains.And that, in turn, will translate into more federal dollars and increased political clout for Texas.
The growth assures Texas a gain of at least two seats, according to recent analyses of Census data by two redistricting-consulting and data-analysis firms.
If population increase continues in similar fashion through the end of the decade, as expected, Texas will definitely add a third and possibly a fourth seat, said Clark Bensen, a Virginia analyst who counsels Republicans on redistricting strategy through his firm, Polidata.
Kimball Brace, who typically advises Democrats through his Election Data Services, also projects that Texas will pick up three seats during the once-a-decade rebalancing in the House. Texas gained two seats after the 2000 decennial count and now has 32 House members.
How these districts are allocated will be the key. Houston suburbs are growing, and that could translate to an additional district or two here. Similarly, Dallas/Fort Worth will likely see at least one seat added. Assuming they are drawn by a GOP controlled legislature, I would anticipate at least a two seat pick-up for Republicans. That puts me at odds with the analysts -- but I base my projection upon what areas are growing and the fact that much of that growing Hispanic population is non-citizen (in fact, illegal alien) growth. And sorry, but every new Democrat Hispanic district will require cannibalizing Hispanics from other districts -- making the other districts more white, more affluent, and more Republican. The only area where redistricting would not have that impact would be down in the Valley.
I would even suggest that this growth could mean that my own district, CD22, could be split. What that would mean for my representation could be just about anything, depending upon what parts of neighboring districts are brought into the newly created districts.
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U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter's long-shot bid for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination got a boost over the weekend when he emerged on top in a straw poll of Republican precinct committeemen in Arizona's most-populated county.Hunter, R-El Cajon, got 96 votes among the 458 ballots in the non-binding poll of Maricopa County party officials asked to list their first choice for president.
Hunter easily beat Arizona's own U.S. Sen. John McCain, considered a front-runner in the GOP presidential race, who drew a comparatively paltry 50 votes. Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney came in second in Saturday's poll with 82 first-place votes.
The total for Hunter is interesting, but I don’t believe it is significant in the long term. Hunter is not well-known nationally, and therefore is not likely to duplicate his feat elsewhere in the country. This even was shown in the straw poll when he placed seventh overall among the candidates when the same group was asked to rank who they considered “acceptable”, not just their first choice.
Here are the full results of the straw poll.
458 Ballots cast
| First Choice for Presidential Candidate: | ||
| 1 | Hunter | 96 |
| 2 | Romney | 82 |
| 3 | Gingrich | 53 |
| 4 | McCain | 50 |
| 5 | Rice | 27 |
| 6 | Tancredo | 24 |
| 7 | Giuliani | 22 |
| 8 | Brownback | 14 |
| 9 | Huckabee | 10 |
| 10 | Hagel | 2 |
| 11 | Barbour | 1 |
| 12 | Pataki | 0 |
| Unacceptable Presidential Candidates: | ||
| 1 | McCain | 282 |
| 2 | Hagel | 272 |
| 3 | Pataki | 260 |
| 4 | Giuliani | 213 |
| 5 | Barbour | 113 |
| 6 | Brownback | 108 |
| 6 | Huckabee | 108 |
| 7 | Rice | 91 |
| 8 | Tancredo | 85 |
| 9 | Gingrich | 81 |
| 10 | Hunter | 71 |
| 11 | Romney | 65 |
| Acceptable Presidential Candidates: | ||
| 1 | Rice | 269 |
| 2 | Gingrich | 265 |
| 3 | Romney | 239 |
| 4 | Tancredo | 219 |
| 5 | Barbour | 182 |
| 6 | Brownback | 178 |
| 7 | Huckabee | 167 |
| 7 | Hunter | 167 |
| 8 | Giuliani | 157 |
| 9 | McCain | 89 |
| 10 | Pataki | 70 |
| 11 | Hagel | 28 |
| Republicans lost last November because: | ||
| Primary Reason | Iraq | 136 |
| Secondary Reason | Spending | 115 |
| Tertiary Reason | Too Lenient on Immigration | 94 |
As you can see, McCain is unacceptable to 65% of those voting! On the other hand, Romney is the only declared candidate among the top three finishers in the poll of acceptable candidates -- and for reasons I've pointed out before, Gingrich really is not a viable candidate for the general election. Add to that the reality that the Secretary of State has repeatedly indicated a lack of interest in running for the top job, and I believe this shows Gov. Mitt Romney to be the real front-runner among these party activists.
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January 15, 2007
Precisely because an armed populace can serve as an effective backup for law enforcement, the ownership of firearms was widely mandated during Colonial times, and the second Congress passed a statute in 1792 requiring adult male citizens to own guns.The twin purposes of self and community defense may very well lie behind the Second AmendmentÂ’s language encompassing both the importance of a well-regulated militia and the right of citizens to keep and bear arms. As the constitutional and criminal law scholar Don Kates has noted in the journal Constitutional Commentary, thinkers at the time when the Constitution was written drew no real distinction between resisting burglars, foreign invaders or domestic tyrants: All were wrongdoers that good citizens had the right, and the duty, to oppose with force.
Now i personally don't have a problem with those who choose not to own guns -- but do not dare to impose your petty fears on my right to defend myself, my family, and my community. Your decision not to exercise your right to secure your safety and fear of those who do does not give you license to abrogate the Second Amendment, any more than your decision not to engage in speech or journalism or religious exercise constitutes a legitimate basis for ignoring the First.
Good job, Glenn!
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The full results may be viewed here.
Matt Margolis of GOPBloggers offers this analysis.
Supporters of the top 3 potential candidates (Romney, Guiliani and Gingrich) are largely committment to their respective candidate of choice, which puts Romney in a very strong position to launch a very successful online grassroots campaign. With his impressive exploratory committee website, and his campaign's clear understanding of how to use the internet to respond to attacks quickly, Romney has proven himself very able to win the GOP nomination.
Indeed, the Romney lead is significant in that he has surged to the front of the pack in a very short period of time, according to John Hawkins of Right Wing News.
The Front RunnersMitt Romney: +46.6%
Newt Gingrich: +45.8%
Rudy Giuliani: + 33.9%Analysis: Mitt Romney has really rocketed up the charts in the last few months. For example, if you look back to July of last year, he was sitting at only 17.9%. Back then, the number one candidate was George Allen at 48.9%. After Allen went down in flames, it looks as if most of his support went to Romney with a little spillover going to Gingrich while Rudy has stayed in about the same spot (he was +30.6% back then).
And while Hawkins does note the strength of the Gingrich support, I can't help but think he is a candidate with so much negative baggage as to make a successful candidacy difficult to imagine.
Columnist Jeff Jacoby offers this bit of analysis of Mitt Romney's rightward shift since the 1994 Senatorial race against Ted Kennedy.
Romney's very public migration rightward over the last few years is a different kind of act, one intended not to hide his real views but to liberate them. In 1994, Romney struck me as an extraordinarily bright, talented, and decent man -- and a political neophyte who fell for the canard that the only way a conservative could win in Massachusetts was by passing for liberal.Thirteen years later, Romney is where he should have been all along. Yes, it took some tap-dancing and artful dodging to get from there to here, and some voters will wonder which Mitt Romney, the 1994 edition or the one on offer today, is the real deal. Can he put those doubts to rest? If he's going to win his party's nomination, he'll have to.
Gov. Romney has been very clear about his journey from 1994 to 2007, and that journey shares much in common with Ronald Reagan himself -- not to mention a great many members of the GOP who have moved from the mushy moderation of Rockefeller Republicanism to the conservatism that is the cornerstone of the GOP today.
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January 13, 2007
Rep. Ron Paul, the iconoclastic, nine-term lawmaker from southeast Texas, took the first step Thursday toward a second, quixotic presidential bid _ this time as a Republican.Paul filed papers in Texas to create a presidential exploratory committee that will allow him to raise money. In 1988, Paul was the Libertarian nominee for president and received more than 400,000 votes.
Kent Snyder, the chairman of Paul's exploratory committee and a former staffer on Paul's Libertarian campaign, said the congressman knows he's a long shot.
"There's no question that it's an uphill battle, and that Dr. Paul is an underdog," Snyder said. "But we think it's well worth doing and we'll let the voters decide."
I like Ron Paul personally, and consider him to be a charming individual. I like many of Ron Paul's stands on the issues, though there are a number of places where we part company. And I consider Ron Paul to probably have more integrity than almost any politician in Washington -- of either party.
But I won't be backing his campaign for president -- though I will likely see about helping out his congressional campaign in 2008 if he runs for reelection in CD14.
For those of you who ask why, the reason is simple.
Ron Paul cannot win the presidency. He cannot even win the GOP nomination.
Scratch that last part. He cannot even pull 5% in any primary in any state. His quixotic, gadfly role guarantees that he has and will alienate more folks than he attracts. the best he could do would be raise some ideas that would likely be lost in the crushing defeat he would suffer in every state -- no matter how optimistic some libertarian bloggers are.
By the way -- I'd like to call your attention to this post by Chris Elam of Texas Safety Forum, a definite insider in past Ron Paul campaigns.
Well, I'm sure many of you have heard about it by now. Pop and I have known for a while, and if Ron decides to make a big push for the Presidency - we're behind him 100%. Goodness knows that the current crop of candidates are extremely disheartening when it comes to the topic of conservative government.Let me address one thing. The internet is abuzz with rumors on who will replace Ron in his Congressional seat. Off the top of my head, I can name at least 8 people who would put their names into the ring for a primary battle.
However, I also have no indication on whether or not Dr. Paul intends to retire from Congress in 2008. At this moment, he is exploring the Presidential bid. He has not announced his impending retirement, and I would not be surprised in the least if we see Dr. Paul on the ballot for CD 14 in 2008.
If I hear something different, and Ron personally tells me that I have permission to share it here - I'll let you know.
My big fear is that this move will set off a bloody primary fight for the CD14 GOP nomination -- and that such a fight could create problems for the GOP holding the seat, regardless of the nominee.
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But how can that be?
I thought that the Bush tax cuts were a give-away to the rich and were creating the deficit.
At least that is what the Democrats have been assuring us -- especially during the 2006 election and in the weeks since their congressional victory.
The federal deficit has improved significantly in the first three months of the new budget year, helped by a continued surge in tax revenues.In its monthly budget report, the Treasury Department said Friday that the deficit from October through December totaled $80.4 billion, the smallest imbalance for the first three months of a budget year since The budget year ends Sept. 30.
Tax collections are running 8.2 percent higher than a year ago while government spending is up by just 0.7 percent from a year ago. Last year's spending totals were boosted by significant payments to help the victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes.
The Treasury said for December, the government actually ran a surplus of $44.5 billion, the largest surplus ever recorded in December and a gain that reflected a big jump in quarterly corporate tax payments.
The $80.4 billion deficit for the first three months of the current budget year was down 32.6 percent from the imbalance for the same period a year ago of $119.4 billion.
For the year, analysts are still forecasting that the deficit will worsen from last year's total of $248.2 billion, which had been the lowest in four years.
The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting that the deficit for the 2007 budget year will rise to $286 billion, an increase of 15.2 percent from last year, but that figure could be lowered when the CBO releases its revised estimate later this month.
In other words, we have pessimistic estimates of the budget deficit, based upon worsst-case scenarios. But then this ugly little thing called reality kicks in, and shows us once again that lower marginal tax rates produce higher tax revenues. It was true under John F. Kennedy. It was true under Ronald Reagan. And it is true under Geerge W. Bush.
But don't worry, folks -- the Democrats will do their best to raise taxes on every American and kill the goose that laid teh golden egg. After all, that is their standard approach to economics -- because they are the bastion of the "Out-Of-Contact-With-Reality"-Based Community. The Pelosi/Reid Recession is just around the corner!
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With disgraced former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham eligible to collect a congressional pension from behind bars, the Senate on Friday voted to deny taxpayer-funded retirement benefits to lawmakers convicted in the future of serious ethics offenses.
* * * "The best way to restore and rebuild the trust of the American people is to ensure that we stand firmly against members of Congress who betray the public trust," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the measure's sponsor. The legislation would not apply retroactively. Kerry said such a law would be unconstitutional.
Cunningham, of California, is serving an eight-year prison term after pleading guilty to taking $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors who sought earmarks and to evading more than $1 million in taxes. He is eligible for an estimated $64,000 annual pension with his military service, including $36,000 a year from his eight terms in Congress.
An attorney for Cunningham declined comment.
The measure enjoys strong bipartisan support in the House.
"The fact that the Senate passed it puts a lot of pressure on the House to do the same," said Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., sponsor of a similar measure in the House.
At least 20 former lawmakers convicted of crimes are eligible for taxpayer-funded pensions, some as high as $125,000 a year, according to the National Taxpayers Union, which supports denying pensions to lawmakers turned felons.
Interestingly enough, the public doesnÂ’t get to know how much these taxpayer-funded pensions for elected officials cost the nation each year.
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January 12, 2007
. House Republicans yesterday declared "something fishy" about the major tuna company in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco district being exempted from the minimum-wage increase that Democrats approved this week."I am shocked," said Rep. Eric Cantor, Virginia Republican and his party's chief deputy whip, noting that Mrs. Pelosi campaigned heavily on promises of honest government. "Now we find out that she is exempting hometown companies from minimum wage. This is exactly the hypocrisy and double talk that we have come to expect from the Democrats."
On Wednesday, the House voted to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour.
I guess that some workers just don’t need a “living wage” if it might impact the bottom line of the fat cats from a certain San Francisco congressional district. Right, Madam Speaker?
UPDATE: Guess whose husband has a $17 million dollar stake in one of the companies benefitting from this exemption? The new Speaker of the House, Queen Nancy Pelosi!
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Condoleezza Rice came under a shocking Democratic attack yesterday - as a childless woman who canÂ’t understand the sacrifices made by families of U.S. troops in Iraq. In a bitter personal assault on the secretary of state during her appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, anti-war Sen. Barbara Boxer fumed that Rice didn't comprehend the "price" of the war."You're not going to pay a particular price, as I under stand it, with an immediate family," Boxer (D- Calif.) ranted.
"Who pays the price?" she repeatedly demanded during Rice's Capitol Hill grilling.
"I'm not going to pay a personal price. My kids are too old, and my grandchild is too young . . . So who pays the price? Not me, not you."
Boxer continued:
"You can't begin to imagine how you celebrate any holiday or birthday. There's an absence. It's not like the person's never been there. They always were there, and now they're not, and you're looking at an empty hole."
Excuse me? Apparently the pro-choice feminist Boxer wants to disqualify and disparage a highly qualified and accomplished woman – the Secretary of State – from participating in the formulation of public policy on Iraq because she has not borne a child. So much for the notion that Democrats respect a woman’s right to choose, and value a woman’s brain over her uterus.
Dr. Rice, of course, responded in the sort of fashion that shows why she should be on the 2008 GOP ticket.
The unflappable Rice responded at the packed hearing that she well understood the sacrifice of service members and families."I visit them. I know what they're going through," said Rice, who has never been married and has no children.
"I talk to their families. I see it. I could never and I can never do anything to replace any of those lost men and women in uniform, or the diplomats, some of whom . . ."
At that point, however, the Wicked Witch of Marin County interrupted Dr. Rice and refused to allow her to continue her too-the-point answer – and made an even more offensive attack on the Secretary of State.
"Madam Secretary, please," Boxer said. "I know you feel terrible about it. That's not the point. I was making the case as to who pays the price for your decisions."
Good grief! Is this really an attempt to argue that being childless renders one less of a citizen and less worthy of commenting on political matters – an irrelevant and intellectually bankrupt ad hominem attack not dissimilar to the “chickenhawk” meme the left has used for years?
I’m curious – would Senator Boxer suggest that other childless officials are equally incompetent to formulate military policy? You know, someone like the Sugar Plum Fairy Barney Frank, who is also single and childless. Probably not – because he is on her side, and because only liberals have the requisite "sensitivity" to empathize with the pain of others.
And let me speak as a man with no children despite the deepest desires of both my wife and I -- I feel the absence of the miscarried children on every holiday, every birthday, and the anniversaries of those losses. And as a teacher with dozens of former students in uniform, including a least a half-dozen currently deployed in combat zones, each announcement of a local casualty leads me a moment of dread -- Is it Angel or Andrew? Jason or Marcus? Am I about to hear them say Ricky's name, or see Robert's picture on the television screen. These are my boys, of whom I am most proud and for whom I fervently pray. In two cases I also taught their wives, and I have held one of their daughters in my arms as I have beamed with pride at the fine young man her father has become. And having grown up as a part of the military community during Vietnam, I know just how real the dangers are any time we commit our armed forces to the field of combat. It is for that reason that I am particularly offended by Barbara Boxer's reprehensible attack upon the my fellow educator, Dr. Rice.
And I therefore passionately cry out against this mean-spirited and dishonest assault upon the character and humanity of Condoleezza Rice.
Shame, Senator Boxer!
Shame!
UPDATE: Secretary Rice makes a great retort in an interview with the NY Times -- and clarifies what feminism really is, as opposed to the false version espoused by Boxer.
In an interview this afternoon with The New York Times, Ms. Rice suggested that the California Democrat had set back feminism by suggesting during the hearing that the childless Ms. Rice had paid no price in the Iraq war.“I thought it was okay to be single,” Ms. Rice said. “I thought it was okay to not have children, and I thought you could still make good decisions on behalf of the country if you were single and didn’t have children.”
Women can rise to the highest ranks of American society without relying on millionaire husband's money or riding their politically powerful spouse's coattails, based upon their own hard work and and expertise. That is why I expect to see Dr. Rice in the White House one day.
Boxer, on the other hand, continues to defend her comments, proving she is an unprincipled bitch.
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January 11, 2007
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The text of the letter is as follows.
Dear President Carter,As members of the Board of Councilors each one of us has been proud to be associated with the Carter Center in its noble struggle to repair the world. However, in light of the publication of your latest book Palestine; Peace Not Apartheid and your subsequent comments made in promoting the book, we can no longer in good conscience continue to serve the Center as members of the Board of Councilors.
In its work in conflict resolution the Carter Center has always played the useful and constructive role of honest broker and mediator between warring parties. In your book, which portrays the conflict between Israel and her neighbors as a purely one-sided affair with Israel holding all of the responsibility for resolving the conflict, you have clearly abandoned your historic role of broker in favor of becoming an advocate for one side.
The facts in dealing with the conflict are these: There are two national narratives contesting one piece of land. The Israelis, through deed and public comment, have consistently spoken of a desire to live in peace and make territorial compromise to achieve this status. The Palestinian side has consistently resorted to acts of terror as a national expression and elected parties endorsing the use of terror, the rejection of territorial compromise and of Israel's right to exist. Palestinian leaders have had chances since 1947 to have their own state, including during your own presidency when they snubbed your efforts.
Your book has confused opinion with fact, subjectivity with objectivity and force for change with partisan advocacy. Furthermore the comments you have made the past few weeks insinuating that there is a monolith of Jewish power in America are most disturbing and must be addressed by us. In our great country where freedom of expression is basic bedrock you have suddenly proclaimed that Americans cannot express their opinion on matters in the Middle East for fear of retribution from the "Jewish Lobby" In condemning the Jews of America you also condemn Christians and others for their support of Israel. Is any interest group to be penalized for participating in the free and open political process that is America? Your book and recent comments suggest you seem to think so.
In the past you would inject yourself into this world to moderate between the two sides in the pursuit of peace and as a result you earned our admiration and support. Now you repeatedly make false claims. You wrote that UN Security Council Resolution 242 says that "Israel must withdraw from territories" (p. 3
, but you know the word "must" in fact is not in the resolution. You said that since Mahmoud Abbas has been in office there have been no peace discussions. That is wrong. You wrote that Yassir Arafat told you in 1990 that, "The PLO has never advocated the annihilation of Israel" (p. 62). Given that their Charter, which explicitly calls for Israel's destruction, was not revised until the late 1990s, how could you even write such a claim as if it were credible?
You denied on Denver radio on December 12 that Palestinian Prime Minister Haniyah said he would never accept or negotiate with Israel. However the BBC monitoring service reported just the opposite. In fact Haniyah said: "We will never recognize the usurper Zionist government and will continue our jihadist movement until Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) and the Al-Aqsa Mosque are liberated. When presented with this fact you said, "No he didn't say that, no he did not do that, I did not hear that." These are not points of opinion, these are points of fact.
And finally, it is a disturbing statement to write: "that it is imperative, that the general Arab community and all significant Palestinian groups make it clear that they will end the suicide bombings and other acts of terrorism when international laws and the ultimate goals of the Roadmap for Peace are accepted by Israel." In this sentence you clearly suggest that you are condoning violence against Israelis until they do certain things (p.213). Your use of the word "Apartheid," regardless of your disclaimers, has already energized white supremacist groups who thrive on asserting Jewish control of government and foreign policy, an insinuation you made in your OPED to the LA Times on December 8, 2006: "For the last 30 years, I have witnessed and experienced the severe restraints on any free and balanced discussion of the facts." According to Web site monitoring by the Anti-Defamation League, U.S. white supremacists have enthusiastically embraced your suggestion that the Israel lobby stifles debate in this country, saying it confirms Jewish control of government and foreign policy as well as and the inherently "evil" nature of Jews. If you doubt the support you are giving and receiving, please refer to: [http://www.adl.org]
From there you can get to the postings of four different White Supremacist organizations that both support and make use of the contents of your book and what you have said in public.
As a result it seems that you have turned to a world of advocacy, including even malicious advocacy. We can no longer endorse your strident and uncompromising position. This is not the Carter Center or the Jimmy Carter we came to respect and support. Therefore it is with sadness and regret that we hereby tender our resignation from the Board of Councilors of the Carter Center effective immediately.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Counstitution, the following are signatories to the letter.
1. Alan R. Abrams, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Servidyne, Inc., an Atlanta-based company serving the needs of commercial customers in the hospitality, industrial, corporate and institutional real estate markets.2. Steve Berman, managing partner, OA Development, an Atlanta based real estate developer company.
3. Michael Coles, chairman of Minneapolis-based Caribou Coffee Co., the country's No. 2 coffeehouse chain.
4. Doug Hertz, president & CEO, United Distributors, a privately held Atlanta beverage distribution business.
5. Jonathan Golden, Partner and Chairman, Arnall, Golden, Gregory LLP, an Atlanta law firm.
6. Barbara Babbit Kaufman, author; formerly of Chapter 11 Books as its founder.
7. Liane Levetan, former state senator and DeKalb CEO.
8. Jeff Levy, Chairman and CEO of Atlanta-based PrDigital Media and its parent company, Biltmore Communications. PrDigital provides high density residential and commercial properties with a complete suite of broadband services.
9. Leon Novak, principal, The Trilogy Group, a full-service provider of commercial real estate services based in Atlanta.
10. Gail Solomon, Georgia Dome executive services manager.
11. Cathey Steinberg, Executive Director of the Juvenile Justice Fund, former state Consumers' Insurance Advocate and former state Senator.
12. Steve Selig, President and Chairman of the Board of Selig Enterprises. Has been in the commercial real estate field and employed with Selig Enterprises for over 35 years. He is also the Chairman of the Board of AAA Parking, a Selig subsidiary.
13. William B. Schwartz, Jr. was the U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas from 1977-1981 during the Carter Administration.
14. William B. Schwartz III, formerly senior wealth management professional at Offitbank, an arm of Wachovia, Rockefeller & Co.
Again, I'd argue that Carter's book and recent statements are functionally, if not intentionally, anti-Semitic in nature -- a conclusion I came to after my recently-banned Holocaust-denying troll began promoting Carter's work as proof that Israel and the Jews were a malignant force in the world.
Additional coverage may be found here.
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January 10, 2007
We are not winning in Iraq, despite the courage and immense sacrifice of our military.
Durban on American troops fighting the Crusade Against Islamofascism -- June 15, 2005
If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime -- Pol Pot or others -- that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners."
So which is it, Senator Durbin? Are our troops the equivalent of the worst regimes of the twentieth century, or are they courageous patriots making great sacrifices on behalf of the United States?
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In Vietnam, the White House grew increasingly obsessed with victory, and increasingly divorced from the will of the people and any rational policy.
I'm sorry -- I always believe that during time of war the nation and its leaders are SUPPOSED TO BE obsessed with victory. And while I will agree that the Johnson Administration grew divorced from rational policy, that was because it was too connected with ephemeral public opinion and was unwilling to do the things necessary to secure the victory we were achieving militarily.
Instead, it is obvious that Kennedy and company are obsessed with ensuring that we lose the war in Iraq, just as like they were forty years ago. Even though the United States was winning in Vietnam by any objective measure, a certain segment of the American populace lost their will and demanded defeat at any price.
And the lessons of April, 1975, show us the next step will be by Kennedy & Co., as we abandon our allies to defeat and destruction at the hands of an enemy that has the will to win and is not troubled by "public opinion".
Confirming, of course, that the United States is a paper tiger, unwilling and unable to fight a sustained conflict despite its technological and numerical superiority.
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