To the tune of $10 million in a single day!

Winning in Pennsylvania has been good for Hillary Rodham Clinton's flagging finances.

Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said Wednesday that the campaign was on track to raise $10 million through the Internet in the 24 hours since the candidate appealed for money in her victory speech Tuesday night. That would more than double her cash on hand.

Clinton fundraisers said they are seeing a new wave of interest from people wanting to help.

"My phone has been ringing off the hook," said Patricia Edington, an Alabama antiques appraiser and "Hillraiser," as Clinton calls those who pledge to collect $100,000 or more. "It was sort of drying up in south Alabama. I had turned over lots of rocks down here. But people have been calling this morning."

Let’s see – she’s won more popular votes than Obama (if you REALLY believe in counting all the votes), and states with enough electoral votes to win the presidency? Why shouldn’t people be giving her money, given that she is showing greater strength than Barack Obama?

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Felix over at Colossus of Rhodey got a rather interesting email from a friend in Denmark. It sort of puts some perspective on the 2008 presidential race. Enjoy!

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If it isn't being a slumlord, it is gun violence -- the second indictment on such charges against a local Democrat politician this month.

Local criminal defense attorney and former U.S. Congressman Craig Washington was indicted Thursday on a charge of aggravated assault in connection with a New Year's Day shooting incident outside his law office.

Washington, who was out of town when the indictment was unsealed, is accused of firing at Taylor Brooks, an 18-year-old senior at Cy-Fair High School. Bail was set at $30,000. An initial hearing will be scheduled once Washington surrenders and posts bail.

According to the police report on the incident, Brooks told officers Washington confronted him in the parking lot at the attorney's office in Midtown about 8:30 p.m.

As Brooks tried to drive away, Washington is alleged to have fired at his 2002 Chevrolet Camaro, with three bullets striking the passenger side. Brooks' friend, Evan McAnulty, 18, also was in the car at the time.

Brooks and McAnulty, a senior at Cy-Falls High School, declined to comment on the advice of lawyers.

Washington did not return a message left on his cell phone. An associate at his law office said the well-known local political and legal figure would not comment.

The charge in the indictment, handed up by a Harris County grand jury, is a second-degree felony punishable by a prison term of two to 20 years and a fine of up to $10,000.

Washington, a Democrat, represented the 18th Congressional District for five years before being ousted by Sheila Jackson Lee in 1994. Jackson Lee accused him of losing touch with his district. He also was hurt by adverse publicity concerning his financial affairs and a tax debt.

Personally, I don't know what is scarier -- the fact that this guy has a gun, that it took so long for the indictment to come down, or that the people of the 18th District thought he was even worse than Sheila Jackson Lee.

But this does help explain why Democrats are so in favor of gun control -- it isn't that they are afraid of what ordinary people of ordinary judgment will do. They are instead afraid of what unstable persons like themselves will do, and believe that the only way of keeping themselves from engaging in reckless, dangerous activity that threatens the lives of others is to ban handguns.

I wonder -- will the local Leftosphere again remain silent about misdeeds by one of their own?

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Not content to allow the rules of the Democrat Party to determine the timetable and the outcome of the race for the Democrat nomination for President, Harry Reid has indicated that he, Nancy Pelosi, and Howard Dean are going to attempt to circumvent the rules in a clear attempt to steer the nomination to the candidate of their choice -- Barack Obama.

Reid said he would consider writing a joint letter with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) demanding that superdelegates make their endorsements public.

“The three of us, we may write a joint letter [to superdelegates],” said Reid. “We might do individual letters. We are in contact with each other.”

Reid's comments suggest that the partyÂ’s top three officials are contemplating a high-level intervention if the primary season concludes in June without a nominee and many superdelegates still undecided.

Now let's get this straight. The DNC has a set of rules which allows superdelegates to decide their choice at any time. (For that matter, the rules allow any regular delegate to change their candidate preference at any time.) The only requirement is that they cast their vote at the convention.

But that isn't good enough for these leading Democrats. They are going to make a demand of these elected Democrats that is not contemplated by the party rules. What happens if, between the date of capitulation to the demand and the date of the convention, if a superdelegate (or a majority of superdelegates) has a change of heart? Will they then attempt to bind them to their June choice? Or will they instead create an even bigger problem when their anointed winner loses the vote for the nomination -- either to the other remaining primary contender or a drafted wild card like Al Gore?

These folks have screwed up the Democrat nomination process at every turn. Do you really think they are competent to run the country?

More At Hot Air

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I'm sorry -- when your a party whose entire history is tied to the exploitation of race and racism as wedge issues, it is no surprise that your voters might hesitate to be color blind when they go to the polls.

It is the question that has hung over Senator Barack ObamaÂ’s presidential campaign, and it loomed large on Tuesday night after his loss to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in Pennsylvania: Why has he been unable to win over enough working-class and white voters to wrap up the Democratic nomination?

Lurking behind that question is another: Is the Democratic Party hesitating about race as it moves to the brink of nominating an African-American to be president?

No one, of course, is willing to note that the Deocrats have made identity politics their stock-in-trade for decades. And after appealing to blacks as blacks, Hispanics as Hispanics, gays as gays, and women as women, is it any surprise that white Democrats might decide that similar ethnic solidarity is a legitimate thing for them to embrace? After all, no one is daring to suggest hat there is anything wrong with a 92% black turnout for Barack Obama, is there?

And let's not forget that the Democrats have never managed to unite their party around a set of fundamentals that are universally embraced After all, it embraces race-baiting charlatans like Al Sharpton and Kluxers like Robert Byrd. It embraces the radical feminists and their pro-abortion agenda, but still has a sizable pro-life vote among Catholics. And as polls have shown time after time, a great many white voters reject affirmative action -- whether in college admissions, employment, or the nomination of under-qualified presidential candidates like Barack Obama.

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Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin gave birth to her fifth child on Friday, a boy named Trig. In the announcement, she spoke of challenges that the baby would face, but gave no details. The family has now made public that Trig has Down Syndrome.

Gov. Sarah Palin was back at work Monday in Anchorage, holding a meeting on the proposed natural gas pipeline three days after giving birth to her fifth child.

She and her husband, Todd, showed their new baby, Trig Paxson Van Palin, to a few reporters and photographers and answered questions about his condition and the sooner-than-expected delivery.

Trig has Down syndrome, a genetic abnormality that affects a child's intellectual and physical development, the governor confirmed.

"When we first heard, it was kind of confusing," Palin, 44, said. She called the revelation "very, very challenging" and said she initially felt sad.

But the family has worked through that. Palin said she and Todd feel blessed and chosen by God. With a big family including four older kids, grandparents, aunts and uncles, Palin said, they will have lots of support for what's ahead. In their eyes, she said, "he's absolutely perfect."

The oldest Palin kid, Track, is in the Army and texted his mother after learning the news with something to the effect of "This is just so cool -- I finally got my brother."

In a letter she e-mailed to relatives and close friends Friday after giving birth, Palin wrote, "Many people will express sympathy, but you don't want or need that, because Trig will be a joy. You will have to trust me on this." She wrote it in the voice of and signed it as "Trig's Creator, Your Heavenly Father."

"Children are the most precious and promising ingredient in this mixed-up world you live in down there on Earth. Trig is no different, except he has one extra chromosome," Palin wrote.

As for people who think a baby like Trig shouldn't even be born, look around, the governor wrote. Who is perfect or even normal?

Indeed, all too many folks are willing to abstractly argue that a child like Trig Palin should have been aborted. One look at the baby picture that appeared in the press last week should be sufficient to dispel the notion that he is somehow less deserving of life than any other human being. And having worked for a time with Down Syndrome adults, I can tell you that their worth is no less than any other student I have taught or person I have known – indeed, I learned every bit as much from those clients as I did from many of my college professors, and cherish their memories in my heart so many years later.

This birth also raises an interesting issue. Sarah Palin has been mentioned by many Republicans as a possible pick for Vice President. Does the birth of a child – especially a special needs child – mitigate against her selection? Or does it increase her chances, given the impact that she would have upon many voters as a relatively young career woman who made a choice for life? An interesting question indeed.

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And here I thought Barack said he was above all of this sort of stuff.

Unable once again to score a knockout, Sen. Barack Obama is likely to make his new negative tone even more negative -- with a sharp eye on trying to end the Democratic presidential nomination fight after the May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's victory yesterday in Pennsylvania has only accentuated the quandary that Obama faces: Stay negative and he risks undermining the premise of his candidacy. Stay aloof and he underscores Clinton's argument that he will not be able to beat a "Republican attack machine" sure to greet him this summer.

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe indicated last night which of those options they would take. "We've done a lot of counterpunching. We've been swift and effective," he said. "For Democrats judging how we're going to perform as the nominee, we have been relentless."

Obama himself took up the cudgel after Clinton delivered a victory speech in Philadelphia devoid of attack lines. Without naming Clinton, he suggested in Evansville, Ind., that she is a captive to the oil, pharmaceutical and insurance lobbies, that she "says and does whatever it takes to win the next election," and that she exploits division for political gain.

"In the end, this election is still our best chance to solve the problems we've been talking about for decades -- as one nation, as one people," Obama said.

So for all the claims that he is a new type of politician, it looks like he is delivering the same old politics to the American people. But then again, who really believed that there was anything new or different about this inexperienced political hack? When the going gets tough, Obama acts like everybody else.

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This has to be a new low in coverage of John McCain.

Sen. John McCain has long said he is in robust health and is strong enough to hike the Grand Canyon, but he also is receiving what his staff Monday termed a "disability pension" from the Navy.

When McCain released his tax return for 2007 on Friday, he separately disclosed that he received a pension of $58,358 that was not listed as income on his return.

On Monday, McCain's staff identified the retirement benefit as a "disability pension" and said that McCain "was retired as disabled because of his limited body movements due to injuries as a POW."

McCain campaign strategist Mark Salter said Monday night that McCain was technically disabled. "Tortured for his country -- that is how he acquired his disability," Salter said.

Certain types of military and veterans pensions are either partially or completely tax-exempt, depending on the seriousness of the disability. In McCain's case, the exemption is 100%.

But the LA Times (sister to the NY Times) is able to turn what is a pretty sick attack about taxes (McCain is following the law as passed by Congress before he was ever elected to office) on a pension received due to the horrific injuries he received while serving his country into something even more disgusting.

The fact that he is legally designated with a disability pension may raise further questions.

"It is a legitimate question to ask about the commander in chief: Is he fit to serve," said Robert Schriebman, a senior Pentagon tax advisor and tax attorney who recently retired as a judge advocate for a unit of the California National Guard.

So now we are getting an attack on the disabled -- especially disabled veterans. So much for supporting the troops.

And so much for the memory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who led this country through the Depression and WWII in steel leg braces and a wheel chair. After all, neither he nor McCain has a disability that impacts the most essential part of the anatomy necessary to serve as president -- the brain.

Democrats have already begun a series of low-blow attacks upon John McCain and his military service. Now the press has done so as well. It strikes me as incumbent upon Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama -- not to mention every patriotic American -- to denounce these shameful efforts and instead honor John McCain for his service and dedication to this country.

A PERSONAL ASIDE: Growing up as a Navy brat, I had the good fortune to know one of the heroes who shared a cell with John McCain in Vietnam. I've heard some of the stories, and read others in the book written about his experiences. I've seen the scars that got shown in public, and heard about the ones that didn't from his sons. This hero of my youth is backing John McCain for President, as are an overwhelming number of their fellow POWs. It's testimonial enough for me.

H/T Hot Air

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So much for the argument that the people want a sharp break with the past.

A closely fought Congressional contest over a Republican stronghold here was apparently left hanging on Tuesday, with the two top candidates likely to face a runoff next month.

A conservative Democrat, Travis W. Childers, was seeking to wrest the open seat in the First Congressional District in northern Mississippi from Republicans who have held it since 1994. But Mr. Childers appeared to fall short, getting only 49 percent of the vote, according to The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson. The special election was to fill the unexpired term of Roger Wicker, who moved on to the Senate.

Mr. ChildersÂ’s leading opponent, Greg Davis, the Republican mayor of Southaven, a Memphis suburb, got 46 percent. Four other people were on the ballot.

A runoff will be held May 13 if official tallies show no candidate won more than half the vote. After that, Mr. Childers and Mr. Davis are running against each other again in the November general election.

Mr. Childers, who differed little on social issues from his Republican opponent, exemplified the DemocratsÂ’ strategy of running conservatives in red districts, a tactic that proved successful in the 2006 midterm elections. Its potential was underscored here on Tuesday with a strong showing by Mr. Childers, a veteran courthouse official, in a conservative area that gave 62 percent of its vote to President Bush in 2004.

What does this tell us? Mainly, it says that the Democrats really don't have a message or a platform that can appeal to Americans nationally. Rather than run a Democrat who espouses the values of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (and there really isn's a dime's worth of difference between them), they continue to run candidates who espouse the GOP platform in conservative districts, making the issue one strictly of personalities.

The problem with this strategy is that if voters select such chameleons they empower not those who hold to their own core values, but those who oppose them. It would behoove voters in Mississippi (and elsewhere, like my own CD22 here in Texas) to pay attention to the party labels and vote accordingly.

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But only just barely.

Hillary Clinton did manage to win by 10% in Pennsylvania -- but only after being up by 20 points in the polls as recently as two weeks ago.

Hillary Rodham Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary Tuesday, buoyed by support from women and blue-collar voters and pushing her duel with Barack Obama on to Indiana and North Carolina on May 6.

Amid brisk turnout, Clinton won a victory that many polls had predicted and which the New York senator had to have. The ultimate margin hovered around double digits — Clinton led 55 percent to 45 percent with nearly 80 percent of the vote counted — but no matter the numbers, her campaign insisted that a victory was a victory, particularly amid a spending onslaught by a more financially more robust Obama campaign.

"Some counted me out and said to drop out," Clinton told cheering supporters. "But the American people don't quit. And they deserve a president who doesn't quit, either."

"Because of you, the tide is turning."

As a practical matter, this means that the Democrats will be battling for at least two more weeks, into Indiana and North Carolina on May 6. It means more time beating and battering each other rather John McCain -- doing for us Republicans some of the work that we will need to do in the fall. And most importantly, it takes the edge off of the Obama inevitability arguments that have been laid out.

And hillary has made it clear that she is fighting to the bitter end -- saying that the race isn't over until the status of the Michigan and Florida delegates is decided, something that won't happen until the convention under most scenarios.

Not that all the Democrat-leaning media likes yesterday's outcome.

The Pennsylvania campaign, which produced yet another inconclusive result on Tuesday, was even meaner, more vacuous, more desperate, and more filled with pandering than the mean, vacuous, desperate, pander-filled contests that preceded it.

Voters are getting tired of it; it is demeaning the political process; and it does not work. It is past time for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to acknowledge that the negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does nothing but harm to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election.

If nothing else, self interest should push her in that direction. Mrs. Clinton did not get the big win in Pennsylvania that she needed to challenge the calculus of the Democratic race. It is true that Senator Barack Obama outspent her 2-to-1. But Mrs. Clinton and her advisers should mainly blame themselves, because, as the political operatives say, they went heavily negative and ended up squandering a good part of what was once a 20-point lead.

Oddly enough, I have to both agree and disagree with the NY Times. I agree this campaign style is hurting the Dems -- but I'm not tired of it at all, and am rather enjoying it.

And the hypocrisy of the NY Times over the issue of negativity is rather striking, because the paper has engaged in just such substanceless attacks on John McCain several times in recent weeks. You would think the so-called "paper of record" would take its responsibility to real with issues rather than mean, vacuous stories that contribute nothing to the campaign.

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Andrew McCarthy offers this fantasy discussion as a frame of reverence by which to judge Barack ObamaÂ’s lack of candor regarding his relationship with unrepentant Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers and his terrorist wife, Bernadine Dohrn.

Who is El Sayyid Nosair?

Well, I know him. I spent an awful lot of time around him. I know all about his background. So what if, upon being asked that question, I told you, “Oh, Sayyid — yeah, he’s an engineering student from Egypt who became a mechanic for the New York State courts.”

You might respond, “Wait a second. Wasn’t he the guy who murdered Meir Kahane (founder of the Jewish Defense League) in front of a room full of people at some hotel in Manhattan?”

“Oh, that. Yeah, well — but that was nearly 20 years ago.”

“And didn’t he, like, shoot a 70-year-old man who tried to block him from getting away?”

“I suppose.”

“… And then shoot it out on the street with a cop while about a thousand people buzzed around?”

“Technically speaking, it was a postal police officer, but I take your point.”

“Wasn’t Nosair pals with that big red-headed Egyptian guy whose picture they used to show on TV all the time?”

“Sure, Mahmud Abouhalima. He was a cabdriver from Brooklyn.”

“A cabdriver from Brooklyn? Wait a second. I remember this now. This Mahmud guy was here on some immigration scam, right?”

“Well, ‘scam’ is such a divisive term. He was legally in our country: he had a work permit under the Agricultural Workers Program.”

“Agricultural worker? In Brooklyn?”

“Er, yes, okay, but that just underscores that we have to do something to bring these people out of the shadows — ”

“Hold on. Didn’t Mahmud end up bombing the World Trade Center? Didn’t he work for that blind sheikh who kept telling everyone to kill all the Americans?”

“You mean Omar Abdel Rahman. Well, actually, he was a doctor of Islamic jurisprudence graduated from one of the world’s great universities — became a professor and a renowned expert in Muslim law. I don’t know why you keep dwelling on ancient history that distracts us from the real issues …”

Such inanity is not far from last weekÂ’s Philadelphia debate, when ABCÂ’s George Stephanopoulos displayed the audacity of hope that Barack Obama might try to explain his friendly relationship with Bill Ayers, a terrorist.

Now let’s be really honest here. No one would accept such a line of argument regarding Muslim terrorists like this motley cast of murderers discussed above. No politician would dare to attempt such an argument. And yet Barack Obama has the audacity to make such an attempt to do so in order to defend a long chain of personal, professional, and political associations with the “respected English professor who lives in my neighborhood.” It ought to be sufficient for any decent person to declare Obama unfit – after all, it isn’t like Ayers’ was living underground under an assumed name – he openly bragged about his terrorist acts, and the only contrition he showed was his regret that he failed to set off more bombs and do more damage. Obama is therefore incapable of arguing that Ayers was a changed man, the way that one can look at Watergate conspirator Chuck Colson and see a change of heart and break with past misdeeds.

And then there is these little details – ones which have nagged me from the back of my mind for some time now, and which I have resisted writing out of a desire not to engage in what some would call harsh, extremist rhetoric.

Ayers bombed the Capitol, Pentagon, and NYC Police headquarters. He was involved in a plan to bomb Fort Dix, seeking to blow up the officer’s club during a dance for officers and their wives – one that was averted when some of his co-conspirators accidentally detonated the nail-packed bomb (designed to inflict maximum human casualties) before it could be planted.

What was his motivation? Primarily, it was opposition to the Vietnam War and a desire to bring about its end by undermining the US war effort.

When one considers these facts, they add up to something much bigger than terrorism. Indeed, they add up to a singular offense, the only crime defined as such by the US Constitution itself.

Article III Section 3 Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

William Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, and the rest of their Weather Underground colleagues were engaged in nothing less than treason against the United States of America. Their acts cannot be defined as anything other than levying war against the United States in an attempt to give aid and comfort to America’s enemies in Vietnam. That isn’t me making some sort of half-assed leap to tar a political opponent – that is the only legitimate interpretation of the words and deeds of Ayers, Dohrn, and the rest of the Weather Underground.

Which again takes us back to the question of judgment on the part of the junior Senator from Illinois -- having maintained a long cordial relationship with an unrepentant avowed terrorist who he knew (or should have known) committed treason against the United States, is Barack Obama fit to be President of the United States and Commander-in Chief of the Armed Forces?

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Frankly, I don't see where McCain has any choice.

First, he is the champion of such schemes, having long been involved in imposing such political speech limitation schemes upon candidates for office and their supporters.

Second, he is behind in the race for money and this option will give him a big financial boost in the final two months of the campaign.

John McCain is abandoning any hope of catching the Democrats in fundraising.

Based on new financial disclosure reports released Sunday, and interviews with his finance team, the Republican PartyÂ’s presumptive nominee will instead accept taxpayer money to finance his general election and share other costs with the Republican National Committee.

The strategy will allow McCain to stretch his campaign dollars by splitting the cost of television advertising and other campaign activity with the RNC.

But the decision also puts the Arizona senator at risk of being badly outspent – even with RNC help – by a Democratic nominee who will be allowed to spend as much as he or she can raise on the November race.

But there is also another advantage to doing this. Barack Obama stated early in the campaign that he would take public financing and accept the related spending limits in the event his Republican opponent did so. The Illinois Senator must now decide whether or not he will abide by that vow, or whether he will break his word tot he American people -- opening himself up to all sorts of questions regarding his integrity and trustworthiness.

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I often fuss back and forth with one of our local Democrat bloggers. I think heÂ’s wrong much of the time, but my personal dealings with him have led me to recognize that he is, at his core, not a bad guy. And since heÂ’s a federal employee, I was thinking of sending him a link to this article from the Washington Post regarding the Hatch Act.

It's so easy. A friend sends an e-mail about the presidential campaign and you forward it to an office buddy.

With that click of the mouse, you are at risk of being fired. For a Hatch Act violation.

E-mails, blogs and campaign Web sites can be cyber-traps for federal employees, especially those accustomed to using their government computer for personal matters, such as trading messages with children or sharing jokes with friends.

The Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency that investigates and prosecutes allegations of improper political activities by government employees, is getting calls these days from federal workers who are confused about the rules or worried they may have committed an "e-Hatch" violation, said Ana Galindo-Marrone, chief of the Hatch Act Unit at the OSC.

After all, I razzed him last year about some concerns I had related to precisely such issues, wanting to see him avoid running afoul with the law – one I’ve though overly broad since the days when I worked at the base PX and had to limit my activities with the College Republicans accordingly.

And then I saw this bit at the end of the story.

In recent months, Galindo-Marrone has been touring federal agencies, explaining that technology is increasing the ways that employees can get into trouble at their office desks.

That is what happened to a NASA employee in Houston.

An OSC investigation found that in 2006 and 2007, the employee used his government e-mail account to coordinate and plan activities for a political group and to assist a candidate running for state representative while at his NASA office. He also made blog postings from work to promote campaigns of several candidates, and, at least twice in 2006, urged blog readers to make political contributions.

As a result, the OSC found him in violation of the Hatch Act. The employee was suspended for 180 days without pay.

The shock of recognition hit.

These were, in fact, the very issues I raised with my esteemed nemesis (and I do hold him in high personal regard).

To the degree that these efforts happened in the office, some action should have been taken. But the mere solicitation of political contributions on his blog on his own time should not be a violation of any law – it should be regarded as First Amendment protected political activity, as should every act of soliciting and donating of campaign contributions by individuals, subject to no limitation whatsoever by the government. I respectfully urge Congress to restore the right to freely participate in the political process to all federal employees.

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Strangely enough, it isn't delegate totals or popular vote counts -- it is who they believe can win in November.

Many of the Democratic superdelegates who are still undecided say the most important factor in their decision is simple — they just want a winner in November.

Problem is, after nearly four months of primaries and caucuses in 46 states, territories and the District of Columbia, they still aren't sure who that is, don't seem be in any hurry to make up their minds and aren't interested in any artificial process that might force them to choose between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Most of the more than 100 undecided superdelegates who discussed their decision-making with The Associated Press in the past two weeks agreed that the primaries and caucuses do matter — whether it's who has the most national delegates or the candidate who won their state or congressional district. But few said the primaries will be the biggest factor in their decision.

"I think it's really important that we keep our eye on the prize, and the prize is the win in November," said Gail Rasmussen, an undecided superdelegate from Oregon.

Indeed, Rasmussen is articulating precisely the rationale that led the Democrats to create the superdelegates -- the notion that party officials and elected officials should serve as a brake upon primary voters whose enthusiasm for a candidate saying the right left thing in a way that attracts the party faithful but not the general public. One can argue whether such a brake upon popular will is appropriate (after all, listen to Dems rail against the electoral college), but it is how the system is designed to work. These undecided superdelegates should therefore be praised for taking their role so seriously.

Posted by: Greg at 10:05 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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From Chicago!

After all, it looks like it is more dangerous to be an American in Barack Obama's hometown than it is to be an American in Iraq. (H/T Urban Grounds)

A violent and deadly weekend continues in Chicago. At least 12 people have been shot, two of them killed, since Saturday morning. Two others were stabbed in a home invasion. This comes after at least 20 people were shot, four of them killed, from Friday night through early Saturday.

If this sort of carnage is still going on, it is clear that the American policy for pacifying Chicago has failed. I want to know the exit strategies proposed by Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton -- and I want to know them now!

Posted by: Greg at 09:27 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Liberty Pundit points to this outrageous quote regarding Obama buddies William Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn.

During the 1996 Democratic convention in Chicago, Ayers and his wife, Weather Underground alumna Bernardine Dohrn, hosted a fundraiser at their Chicago home for Democrats Online.

Lytel said Friday that no one from the Clinton White House showed up for the 1996 event.

He added, “I’m a Clinton supporter, but I think it’s the absolute height of stupidity” and “preposterous” for her to try to use the Ayers connection as a weapon against Obama. “This is an insane way for her to try to define her opponent.”

“I have no reason to think that Ayers is anything other than smart, skeptical American,” Lytel said. “He’s like anyone else who has activities in his past that might be embarrassing to them as a middle-aged person.”

Now hold on here one moment -- "activities in his past that might be embarrassing to them as a middle-aged person"?

We are talking about setting off bombs in the United States Capitol, the Pentagon, and New York City Police Headquarters. In other words, acts of terrorism, not youthful hijinks that cause one to blush and shake one's head in dismay over having been so foolish.

Am I willing to excuse Ayers and Dohrn for their advocacy of the oppressive Marxist-Leninist ideology that has killed more people than Nazism? Sure -- just as I hope folks are willing to forgive me for my youthful flirtation with the notion that we should adopt a socialized medical system like the ones that deliver substandard medical care in Canada and the UK. Young people sometimes adopt crazy ideas which they later recognize to be flawed.

But let's draw a distinction about activities. I had a string of relationships -- some meaningful, some not -- in which I rather callously broke hearts. I'm embarrassed by those. I have several nights when I had way too much to drink -- and which would be fodder for YouTube if they were to have happened today. There are things I said then which I would take back in a heartbeat if I could, because time has taught me lessons that I needed in my youth.

But for all my youthful follies, I didn't commit acts of violence in the furtherance of political goals. I may have picketed outside of abortion clinics, but I didn't blow them up. I may have objected to the methods of the police chief in our college town and appealed to the city council to fire him, but I didn't plant a bomb in the offices of the police department. I may have objected to Jimmy Carter's restoration of draft registration, but I did not attempt to destroy the building where the registration forms were processed -- even though it was around the corner from my place of employment.

Why didn't I do any of those things? Was it fear of embarrassment? No -- it was recognition that such actions would not have merely been criminal, they also would have been fundamentally immoral.

And to this day, Ayers and Dohrn remain unrepentant.

And are embraced by the political and social elite of Chicago, and by presidential candidate.

And let's be clear -- William Ayers is not embarrassed by his terrorist activities. If anything, he only repents his failure to commit more and bigger acts of terrorism.

“I don’t regret setting bombs,” Ayers told the Times. “I feel we didn’t do enough.”

'Nuff said.

UPDATE: Bravo, Senator McCain!

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Posted by: Greg at 02:23 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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If we were to ever allow someone not born an American to become President of the United States, I'd argue that Mark Steyn would be the perfect candidate.

His current column int he Orange County Register includes the above assertion in a fuller form -- and bears frequent repetition.

As for "gun-totin'," large numbers of Americans tote guns because they're assertive, self-reliant citizens, not docile subjects of a permanent governing class. The Second Amendment is philosophically consistent with the First Amendment, for which I've become more grateful since the Canadian Islamic Congress decided to sue me for "hate speech" up north. Both amendments embody the American view that liberty is not the gift of the state, and its defense cannot be outsourced exclusively to the government.

Indeed, Steyn pegs it. A government that is viewed as the source of liberty is one which can claim the authority to revoke those liberties as unnecessary. A government that is the sole defender of liberty is one which also assumes the right to squash those same liberties in the name of a greater interest. On this day, the 233rd anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, we find ourselves reminded that it was the attempt by the British government to seize the colonists' means of self-defense -- their guns, shot, and powder -- that brought about a Revolution.

Steyn's timely reminder fits well with the words chosen by a group of patriots the following summer -- words which have inspired those seeking freedom for over two centuries and in every corner of our world.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Endowed by our Creator.

Certain unalienable rights.

Let us not forget.

H/T Malkin

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Posted by: Greg at 12:46 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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They are precisely the sort of questions that need to be asked to get past the "Obamessiah" image that Barack Obama and his campaign have created. Americans need to see beneath the facade.

And it would appear that asking questions that do that raises the hackles of Obama supporters.

The political fallout from the Philadelphia faceoff between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton was all but eclipsed yesterday by a fierce debate about Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos.

The ABC moderators found themselves under fire for focusing on campaign gaffes and training most of their ammunition on Obama. Huffington Post blogger Jason Linkins called the debate "utterly asinine." Washington Post television critic Tom Shales called the duo's performance "despicable." Philadelphia Daily News columnist Will Bunch said the moderators "disgraced the American voters, and in fact even disgraced democracy itself."

Tough crowd out there.

"I think the questions were certainly pointed -- tough at times, as they should be in a presidential debate -- but not inappropriate or irrelevant at all," Stephanopoulos said yesterday. "The questions have been part of this campaign and in the news. We did our job. You're not going to satisfy everyone."

In the first 40 minutes of Wednesday's two-hour Democratic debate, the moderators asked Obama about his remarks that small-town residents bitterly cling to guns and religion; the inflammatory sermons of Rev. Jeremiah Wright (Stephanopoulos followup: "Do you think Reverend Wright loves America as much as you do?"); why Obama doesn't wear an American flag pin; and his relationship with William Ayers, a former Weather Underground radical who has acknowledged involvement in several bombings in the 1970s.

In the only comparably aggressive question directed at Clinton, Stephanopoulos cited an ABC/Washington Post poll challenging her honesty and tied it to her false tale of having once come under sniper fire in Bosnia.

The reality is that Americans know all about Hillary, and don't like her. They know all about John McCain, and do like him. But Obama? He remains an unknown, and as such those debate questions were appropriate in terms of helping America take the measure of the man.

My guess? They won't like what they see.

And I pose this question to you -- if Obama were a white man, would he be given a pass after attending Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church for two decades? Would he not be questioned if he were friends with Olympic/abortion clinic/gay bar bomber Eric Rudolph? Wouldn't either of those associations be a deal breaker for most of the American public -- and for the American media?

Posted by: Greg at 06:24 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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It took a little bit of time, but John McCain is getting the base -- and more -- to rally behind him. Anyone want to talk about this being the Democrat's year?

Republicans are no longer underdogs in the race for the White House. To pull that off, John McCain has attracted disgruntled GOP voters, independents and even some moderate Democrats who shunned his party last fall.

Partly thanks to an increasingly likable image, the Republican presidential candidate has pulled even with the two Democrats still brawling for their party's nomination, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo! News poll released Thursday. Just five months ago — before either party had winnowed its field — the survey showed people preferred sending an unnamed Democrat over a Republican to the White House by 13 percentage points.

Also helping the Arizona senator close the gap: Peoples' opinions of Hillary Rodham Clinton have soured slightly, while their views of Barack Obama have improved though less impressively than McCain's.

The survey suggests that those switching to McCain are largely attuned to his personal qualities and McCain may be benefiting as the two Democrats snipe at each other during their prolonged nomination fight.

I think this voter sums up the reality of the situation quite well -- and demonstrates exactly what is happening among Democrats and those who earlier leaned that way.

"You can't trust Hillary and Obama's too young," said Pauline Holsinger, 60, a janitorial worker in Pensacola, Fla., now backing McCain who preferred an unnamed Democrat last fall. "I like him better, he's more knowledgeable about the war" in Iraq.

And let's face it -- Hillary remains a Clinton, and Obama remains an untested political neophyte who lacks the experience and seasoning necessary to be an effective president. What was the word a cycle or two back? Gravitas. Obama lacks it, while McCain has it in spades. When will that be a topic of discussion in the MSM -- or will it, since it hurts their anointed candidate?

Posted by: Greg at 10:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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After getting his butt handed to him on national television, Barack Obama has decided to go sulk in the corner -- and he isn't going to debate any more.

Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday suggested he doesnÂ’t see any point in having another debate with Democratic rival Sen. Hillary Clinton.

Clinton has agreed to a debate next week, but Obama has not yet accepted the invitation.

At an appearance in Raleigh, North Carolina, Obama said he has a lot of campaigning to do in a limited amount of time.

Obama said he had agreed to an earlier debate, but Clinton declined that one.

“I’ll be honest with you, we’ve now had 21,” he said. “It’s not as if we don’t know how to do these things. I could deliver Sen. Clinton’s lines; she could, I’m sure, deliver mine.”

Gee, Senator, it is tough being the leading candidate for the nomination -- it means the candidate behind you has you in her sites.

Plus it must be a real shock to have journalists start asking you tough questions, not the sort of softballs you've fielded up until now.

Just wait until John McCain starts to hammer you on substance later on this year. You'll wilt like a week-old lettuce leaf in Death Valley, dude.

Maybe you can get William Ayers to blow something up for you -- just to distract from how weak and unqualified a candidate you really are.

H/T Hot Air, STACLU

Posted by: Greg at 10:08 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I will not support this candidacy. Indeed, I will acively work against it.

Gov. Rick Perry said today he will seek re-election in 2010, but an aide said nothing will be final about that decision until after next year's legislative session.

Perry has been hinting that he will seek another term of office since even before he won re-election in 2006 with 39 percent of the vote. But his statements to reporters in Dallas today were the strongest to date, saying flatly that he will be a candidate.

As Perry exited a news conference at the Republican Governor's Association meeting in Grapevine, a reporter asked him if the 2010 Republican gubernatorial field would include him as well as U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

''I don't know about them, but it will be Perry in 2010,'' Perry responded, according to The Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

"I don't know about the other two. You need to ask them."

Asked whether he will run, Perry said, "Yes."

My personal inclination at this point is to support Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, but I would like to see how the field shapes up before making a commitment -- talk to me next spring for a firmer commitment. After all, I'm hearing at least one other candidate besides Perry, Dewhurst, and Hutchison will be seeking the office -- a Houston area state senator -- and I suspect that we could have more.

Why am I opposed to Perry? Weak efforts at tax reform that have saved no one money. His quick post-election flip-flop on border issues. His attempt to assume dictatorial powers to make law and appropriate money so that he could play doctor with every eleven-year-old girl in the state by mandating Gardasil on his say-so alone.

I think Rick Perry really doesn't understand the depth of the opposition to him and his pathetic efforts since the 2006 election.

Posted by: Greg at 11:21 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The local Democrat bloggers still remain silent on this situation.

But the realities of Mr. Vo's Neighborhood are pretty wretched indeed, as documented by this commercial offering.

Interestingly enough, it isn't just the local bloggers who are silent. I've yet to read or hear a single word from a single Democrat in office here in Houston -- not even Mayor Bill White, whose police force Vo attempted to bully with a letter on official House stationery. Nice support for the boys in blue, Mr. Mayor!

But then again, you know the Democrat's position on such things.

H/T LST

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Posted by: Greg at 11:16 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Damn!

Damn damn damn!

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter's cancer has returned. The five-term Republican said in a statement released by his office Tuesday that he was diagnosed with an early recurrence of Hodgkin's disease, which is a cancer of the lymph system.

Specter, 78, underwent treatment for the same type of cancer in 2005 and was later given a clean bill of health. The statement said that the cancer was revealed in a medical scan but that he has no symptoms.

"I was surprised by the PET scan findings because I have been feeling so good," Specter said in the statement. "I consider this just another bump on the road to a successful recovery from Hodgkin's, from which I've been symptom free for three years."

In his recent book, "Never Give In: Battling Cancer in the Senate," Specter credited hard work with getting him through the cancer treatments.

"An illness like Hodgkin's serves as a reminder that we have a limited time _ and how our time can end when we least expect it," Specter wrote. "Moreover, the event of death could never eclipse what is most important, which is how we spend the time we have."

The statement released by his office said tests showed cancer in lymph nodes in his chest. A follow-up biopsy of one of the chest lymph nodes was positive for recurrence.

I've not always been a fan of Arlen Specter. indeed, i've supported his opponents more than once. But I do respect him as a man of honor and integrity -- and high personal decency. I rejoiced in his beating cancer before, and am saddened by this recurrence.

You are in my prayers, Senator -- because I truly believe that political differences don't matter when put up against the fight you are facing.

Posted by: Greg at 10:24 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In their editorial attacking Hillary for critiquing Obama's anti-White, anti-middle America comments.

Mr. Obama is not a hapless victim. His comments made for just the sort of rookie error that the Illinois senator is prone to make, and they have reinforced a feeling that he can be too aloof, or, yes, elitist. His attempts to explain himself have fallen flat, as have his insulting Annie Oakley jokes and demands to see pictures of Mrs. Clinton in a duck blind. Sexist jabs are as offensive as racist jabs.

Yeah, these are rookie mistakes.

And that is the problem. Obama is an unseasoned, unqualified rookie.

If he keeps saying and doing stupid stuff like this, it is clear that he is not qualified to sit in the Oval Office.

The Democrats are on the verge of offering us an untested neophyte. At least Hillary Clinton knows her ass from a whole in the ground. Barack Obama doesn't even have that going for him.

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Posted by: Greg at 10:19 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The way to make sure that people have enough money to pay for housing, gas, food, etc is to have the government STOP TAKING THEIR MONEY AWAY FROM THEM.

Senator John McCain offered the broadest look yet at his economic policies in a speech here Tuesday, calling for tax cuts, a freeze of discretionary spending for a year, higher premiums for better-off Medicare recipients and elimination of federal gas taxes this summer to reinvigorate the sagging economy.

Mr. McCain, who made no mention of his previous pledge to balance the budget by the end of his first term, outlined a long list of tax cuts he favored in the speech, which was delivered on the deadline for filing taxes. He called once again for making the Bush tax cuts, which he voted against, permanent, and for cutting corporate taxes, phasing out the alternative minimum tax and doubling the value of exemptions for each dependent to $7,000 from $3,500. He also proposed giving people the option of using a simpler, shorter tax form.

One of Mr. McCain’s tax proposals would take effect even before the Republican Convention: he called on Congress to suspend the 18.4 cent a gallon federal gas tax from Memorial Day until Labor Day. Mr. McCain said that doing so would provide “an immediate economic stimulus,” but some environmentalists said that the change might encourage more people to use their cars, while Mr. McCain has made combating global warming central to his campaign.

Given that both leading contenders for the presidency propose to tax the American people into prosperity by letting the Bush tax cuts for every American expire, we have an amazing dichotomy. And given the calls of Democrats to lower the cost of gasoline, the opportunity to bring about a 5% decrease in gas prices without government interfering with the market, every Democrat should be on board with that gas tax proposal -- if they really believe that lowering gas prices is a good thing. After all, gas taxes are highly regressive and hit the working poor hardest.

Posted by: Greg at 10:01 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I love it when Democrat leaders tell the world what they really think of "the common people" they claim to represent.

Take this example from one of our local Dem bloggers, who is also a head of a local Democrat organization and a close personal friend of our not-for-long Congressman, Nick Lampson.

John Coby said...

If voters could think, McLame wouldnt have a chance.
6:30 PM

Now we'll let the insulting nickname for a dedicated public servant and war hero go, because Democrats don't believe in things like respect for veterans. It is the disrespect for the voters -- apparently he doesn't believe that most Americans are very smart, so they have to be ruled by their betters, folks like himself and Obama.

So remember, Americans -- and especially Texans -- what Democrats really think about you. They think you are stupid if you vote against them -- and hope you are stupid enough to vote for them.

Posted by: Greg at 02:01 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Sounds like a definitive statement to me. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will not be a candidate for Vice President in 2008.

“I do not want to be, don’t intend to be, won’t be on [McCain’s] ticket,” she told the Associated Press in an interview in Alabama today where she received an honorary degree from Air University at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base.

“It’s time for me to do something else,” she added, saying she would return to Stanford University after the Bush administration leaves office next January.

Rice praised Sen. McCain, of Arizonia, as “an amazing man” with “great intellect” but said the last time she spoke with him was last month after his passport file had been breached…

“We’ll see in a few year’s what I do. But I — this is not the time for me,” she told the AP.

I would have liked to see her on the ticket, but I don't know that she would balance out McCain's policy strengths, though she would bring ethnic, gender, and age differences to the ticket that cannot be ignored. But would her more moderate social credentials have harmed her candidacy?

Interestingly enough, though, the statement does leave open some interesting possibilities for 2012...

H/T Hot Air

Posted by: Greg at 10:03 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Interesting, isn't it, that the local lefties are so silent when it is one of their own who is facing tie in jail -- and for engaging in gun violence, no less.

Tsk! Tsk! Tsk!

State Rep. Borris Miles was indicted Monday on two counts of deadly conduct stemming from complaints he brandished a pistol and made threats at a pair of parties last December.

Miles, D-Houston, is expected to turn himself in this week, prosecutor Paul Doyle said. Bail has been set at $2,000. If convicted, each count of the Class A misdemeanor carries a punishment range of up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Ben Hall, an attorney for one of the people who accused Miles of threatening him, said the two counts stem from two incidents.

In the first, Miles is accused of showing a pistol and threatening TSU regent Willard Jackson and his wife during a Rockets/Mavericks game at the Toyota Center, Hall said.

He said the second count is connected to an incident later that night in which Miles is accused of displaying a pistol and forcibly kissing another man's wife while crashing a party at a St. Regis Hotel ballroom.

Hall said his client, party host David Harris, decided to press charges after a drunken Miles shocked guests with loud, profane language, grabbed his face and planted a Godfather-style "kiss of death" on his cheeks. Harris also said Miles handed him a pistol and declared, "You don't know what I'm capable of doing."

Harris said he thought the grand jury made the right decision but said it was not a happy day for anyone involved.

Fortunately this clown lost in the primary, but a number of our local liberal bloggers actually endorsed his reelection, despite the fact that Miles' behavior was already public knowledge. Seems they didn't like the other candidate, who had shown a willingness to work with the GOP leadership of the Texas House -- proving once again that when a liberal says they support "bipartisanship" they really mean "Republicans surrendering to Democrats".

But imagine the uproar if Miles had been a Republican. I'm quite sure that the Houston leftosphere would be in rare form, denouncing the behavior of a "bitter Republican gun nut" and talking about the arrogance of power. Considering how upset they got over Chuck Rosenthal's dirty emails, you'd hope they might have a few words over the indictment of a legislator who made terroristic threats to political opponents.

I guess not -- it's apparently not a problem when Dems do it.

Posted by: Greg at 09:15 PM | Comments (35) | Add Comment
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This may be one of the funniest videos directed at a politician I have ever seen.

Talk about an ineffective, incompetent Senator! Here's hoping that he draws a challenger on the GOP side.

Shout it with me, folks:

RUN, MITT, RUN!

H/T The Corner & Hot Air

Posted by: Greg at 11:11 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Barack Obama wants to be President of the United States, which would make him commander-in-chief of the US Military. Why, then, is he taking donations from Code Pink, an organization known for committing acts of harassment and vandalism against military recruiters and their offices in an effort to impede the recruiting efforts of the armed forces and undermine their readiness to defend the country? Why would he accept money funneled through an organization that stands outside veteranÂ’s hospitals mocking wounded soldiers?

The co-founder of the radical anti-war group Code Pink has “bundled” more than $50,000 for Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, and pro-troops groups are demanding that he return the money.

Jodie Evans, a Code Pink leader, gathered at least $50,000 from friends and associates and donated it to ObamaÂ’s presidential campaign, according to information compiled by the nonpartisan watchdog group, Public Citizen.
Evans and her son, a student who lives at her Southern California address, each also gave the maximum individual allowable donation of $2,300 to ObamaÂ’s campaign.

The donations have raised questions about Obama’s association with the more radical elements of his base. Code Pink has harassed, vandalized and impeded military recruiters across the United States in a campaign it calls “counter-recruitment.” The group also gave $600,000 to the families of Iraqi terrorists in Fallujah, whom it called “insurgents” fighting for their homes.

The Code Pinkos have, of course, a right to participate in the political process. However, Barack Obama has a responsibility to disassociate his campaign from those who attack our military – unless he supports those efforts.

After all, if he wants to argue that he is fit to be the commander-in-chief of our brave men and women in uniform, he can prove it by rejecting those who major political activity is undermining the troops.

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Posted by: Greg at 09:00 AM | Comments (40) | Add Comment
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Just a quick note on The Wrong Reverend Jeremiah Wright and his oft-quoted eulogy for a Chicago judge over the weekend. Look at how the Racist Reverend characterized the faith of Judge R. Eugene Pincham.

Reflecting on the late Pincham, Wright said his faith “was not the jingoistic, chauvinistic ‘you’re either with us or against us’ demonizing kind of faith.” Wright said Pincham was friends with “Jews, Muslims, rabbis, imams, fathers in the Catholic church and [Louis] Farrakhan in the Islamic faith.”

Well letÂ’s consider how that faith was lived out. I seem to recall this little incident from the past.

[Pincham] won seats on the circuit and appellate courts in Chicago and was not afraid of controversy, such as the time he suggested that anyone south of Madison Street who did not support Mayor Harold Washington should be hanged.

Did you get that, folks – failure to vote for the correct candidate should be grounds for lynching. Interestingly enough, the Illinois Courts did not consider that grounds to deem him unfit to serve as a judge – but I wonder if they would have ruled the same way if he had been a white man.

You see, it is no wonder that a short time later that Pincham joined Wright’s church – after all, he came from the same violent, hate-mongering mind-set as the pastor. Seems to me that there is a pattern here – especially as we hear more and more racist comments come out of the mouth of another member of Trinity UCC, Senator Barack Hussein Obama.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Posted by: Greg at 08:56 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Rebecca Traister of Salon.com writes an interesting piece on how the anti-Hillary rhetoric of (male) Obama supporters is beginning to turn off fmale Obama supporters.

OK, it is an interesting hypothesis, one that I'd love to see backed by more than anecdotal data.

But the scary thing is Traister's revelation about herself -- and what it tells us about the institutional mindset at Salon.

I began reporting this story in part because, as a 32-year-old woman who is more liberal than either candidate, and who was quite torn until Super Tuesday, I had found myself increasingly defensive of Clinton in the face of the Obama worship that rules the mostly white, liberal, well-educated circles in which I work and travel.

MORE LIBERAL than Obama, who is rated as one of the most liberal members of the US Senate by liberal groups? More liberal than Hillary, who is not far behind him in those ratings? That certainly explains the absurd biases we see at Salon.com!

And interestingly enough, we discover just how lacking in diversity Salon.com and the circles liberal opinion leaders travel in really are, with the description of her co-workers and friends as "mostly white, liberal, well-educated" -- and clearly out of touch with large segments of the American people.

Many of us involved in the conservative movement count among our colleagues, friends, and loved ones a great many individuals who hold different political views from us, are of different ethnicities, with different educational levels. Yet somehow we are teh ones tagged as enemies of diversity. maybe we need to look much more closely at the liberal opinion leaders instead, and call them on their lack fo commitment to diversity in their day-to-day lives.

Posted by: Greg at 10:14 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Because Marylanders have cried out "Not In My Back Yard!"

Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) announced yesterday morning that he will bar commercial wind turbines from state-owned land, satisfying Western Maryland opponents of the turbines but disappointing supporters of the wind energy industry.

Speaking at a scenic overlook in the Savage River State Forest in Garrett County, O'Malley said the state remains committed to exploring renewable energy sources but said the wind energy industry should look to other land for large-scale wind farms.

"While we must continue to explore and make progress on creating a more sustainable and independent energy future for Maryland, we will not do so at the expense of the special land we hold in the public trust," he said.

The decision primarily affects one project, a proposal by Pennsylvania-based U.S. Wind Force to build 100 wind turbines, each 400 feet tall, in two state forests in Garrett County. The company had asked to lease state land for the project.

Clean, renewable energy is what liberals cry for -- until it might inconvenience them by cluttering their view. Energy independence is a burden for someone else to bear, they argue, because it will require building roads to get to the best available sites. In one case, Ted Kennedy and his fellow fat-cats got a project side-tracked for years because they might be able to see the towers from their vacation homes -- as a smudge on the horizon five miles away.

Just wait -- next they'll be looking to ban the projects on private lands on the argument that the turbines make noise, kill birds, or are unsightly. Those have been the tactics of the anti-wind NIMBYs elsewhere.

Posted by: Greg at 01:17 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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My darling wife, a Democrat, and I were both seized with the same thought when we heard the latest bit of inanity to come out of the mouth of Barack Obama (and his attempts to justify and explain his words) -- much of what he has to say describes himself more than your average small town American.

You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothingÂ’s replaced them. . . . And itÂ’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who arenÂ’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Why do I say that he is describing himself (I won't speak for my wife here)? Let's look at what he said.

Clinging to religion? You mean like refusing to dissociate yourself from a string of ministers -- including your own pastor -- when it is disclosed that they frequently make racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, and anti-American comments from the pulpit and in their speeches and writings?

Antipathy to people who aren't like them? You mean like the comments preached from the pulpit of your very own church while you lacked the testicular fortitude to denounce them or go elsewhere?

Anti-trade? Like opposing NAFTA or the free trade agreement with Columbia?

Anti-immigrant? Like opposing Asian business owners who open stores in black neighborhoods?

Indeed, the only thing that doesn't describe Barack Obama, his wife, and his closest associates is the comment about clinging to guns -- but then again, they really don't give a damn that this has been an American characteristic since the founding of our country, and that the right to keep and bear arms is an individual liberty enshrined in the Bill of Rights itself. So except for fidelity to the Constitution itself and exercising the rights guaranteed by that august document, the candidate and those closest to him display every one of the pathologies he diagnosed "small town" Americans as suffering from.

Oh, and by the way -- since it seems implicit in the context of this comment that he is referring to small town WHITE Americans, this would make it simply another example of the bigotry that Obama has publicly espoused in the weeks since his infamous "race speech"

This leads me to ask an important question.

Will the Democrats return to their roots in 2008, nominating yet another racist for President, this time one named Barack Hussein Obama

H/T The Caucus Blog, Michelle Malkin, Hot Air (multiple times), Stop the ACLU

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Posted by: Greg at 01:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Incredible, isn't it, that the local Democrat bloggers have remained so silent about this story. Could it be that they are trying to cover up the evil and corruption in their midst? After all, the saga started on April 2, with this article in the Houston Chronicle.

City building inspectors on Wednesday issued several safety citations against an East End apartment complex owned by state Rep. Hubert Vo.

The citations to the Courtyard Apartments on Villa de Matel allege eight structural and electrical problems, including rotting wood, missing balcony railings, loose boards and broken windows, city officials said.

"There were the kinds of things you'd see in a building that has not been well-maintained," said Susan McMillian, a senior staff analyst in the city's Public Works and Engineering Department. "It needed more intense maintenance than what had been done."

Homeowners in the nearby County Club neighborhood have complained about the property for years, calling it a visual blight and a magnet for crime.

"It's really a deplorable situation, and the sad thing is that people are actually living there," said Charles Mayfield, a member of the area's Super Neighborhood Council. "It's really disheartening to see, and surprising, to say the least, that anybody — no matter who they are — would let the property get into such a condition."

Vo, a Democrat running for re-election to his southwest Houston seat in the Texas House, has owned the four-building, $2.8 million property under one of his companies, Newlink Investments, Inc., since 2002.

His campaign issued a statement late Wednesday:

"At the property in question, work was started a month ago to correct items the city has concerns about," the statement read.

"The city understands I will make all the necessary repairs because I want my properties to be a safe place for my tenants and an asset to the neighborhood."

Interesting, isn't it, how one four-building complex could get so bad, especially with an "upstanding citizen" like Vo -- a Democrat lawmaker and all that -- as teh owner. After all, he would certainly be quite concerned about the welfare of the "little people" who live in his property, wouldn't he? After all, he's part of the so-called party of the little guy, standing against all of us mean-spirited Republicans. Certainly he couldn't be a slumlord.

But then the story went a little bit further earlier this week, when it came out that it isn't just one complex -- it would appear to be many of the apartment complexes owned by the Houston Democrat.

Residents in local apartments owned by state Rep. Hubert Vo live in conditions that appear to violate numerous health and building standards, a Houston Chronicle review of the properties has found.

In recent days, the Houston Chronicle documented exposed electrical wires, rotting wood, broken and boarded-up windows and other potential violations of the city's "minimum standards" for occupied buildings.

After seeing the Chronicle's photographs, inspectors from two city departments pledged investigations into properties owned by Vo, D-Houston, saying the conditions could lead to misdemeanor criminal citations.

"There was nothing in those pictures that wasn't a violation," said Jodi Silva, a spokeswoman for the Houston Police Department's neighborhood protection division. "You have to keep your property to certain minimum standards, and that's what these are falling under."

The Chronicle's inquiry began last week after city inspectors, acting on complaints, cited Vo for conditions at an apartment complex he owns in the East End. There, inspectors found open electrical boxes, loose wiring and inadequate balcony railings — all misdemeanor violations.

Vo's other properties, in varying degrees, showed similar problems, though one complex was outside the city limits and not subject to post-construction inspections.

Among other potential city violations at three complexes were overflowing Dumpsters, damaged parking lots and an algae-filled swimming pool — all conditions that could prompt criminal fines.

Vo, who has owned the properties for years, took blame for the problems Wednesday, saying he had not done enough to ensure the complexes were maintained. He said he would improve the conditions, pledging personal inspections of individual units, cooperation with city officials and outreach to residents to encourage them to report concerns.

"It's not my intention to have those apartments like that," said Vo, a 51-year-old Vietnamese immigrant who founded a computing business and became a millionaire before seeking public office. "I don't want to blame anybody. I take full responsibility."

Now please note that quote that I highlighted. "It's not my intention to have those apartments like that." He did, of course, have them like that and profit off them like that for years -- including his entire tenure in the Texas House of Representatives. But he's getting them fixed up, don't you know - so that makes it all better, right. But somehow it doesn't explain how most of his properties unintentionally became slum properties that are unsafe and unfit for human habitation. Any explanation for that, Hubert? Nah -- I didn't think so.

And the city took even more action against Vo the next day.

City inspectors on Thursday ordered structural and electrical repairs at an apartment complex owned by state Rep. Hubert Vo, the latest action against his properties in recent days.

The city issued a notice giving Vo a month to make the changes, except for a few electrical issues that must be fixed immediately, said Tony Balay, a code enforcement chief inspector.

Vo, who had one of his East End complexes cited last week for similar issues, hired contractors to address the problems, many of which were documented Wednesday in the Houston Chronicle.

Misdemeanor citations could result if the work is not completed, but Balay said Vo appeared serious about the work.

"I'm convinced Mr. Vo is trying to get this done," he said. "To me, he's working in good faith."

Vo, who is seeking re-election to a third term this fall, could not be reached for comment on Thursday, but his campaign issued a written statement.

"I have talked to the city officials, and we are working to correct all the issues they pointed out," the statement said.

Vo, D-Houston, has owned the property, the Northpoint Apartments on Lyerly, since 1996. Residents interviewed by the Chronicle said poor conditions have been a chronic problem.

"Working to correct all the issues." That is great -- though the properties should never have gotten into that condition in the first place. And city officials are even being very careful to indicate that Vo has been cooperative with these efforts. That's good -- after all, one would hope that a lawmaker would make a good-faith effort to stop being a lawbreaker, especially when his violations of the law jeopardize the lives and safety of his tenants. Never mind the possibility that management of one of Vo's complexes appear to have engaged in retaliation against one of those who complained about the problems -- another violation of the law, I might add.

So what we have is Hubert Vo, a Democrat elected official, unaware for years that his properties were a shambles and that he was making profits while endangering his tenants -- but he's going to make everything right. After all, now that he knows about the problem he is on the case.

Not so fast. Read this letter from Vo -- written weeks ago, on his official legislative letterhead, seeking to intimidate the Houston Police Department for harassing the management of one of his complexes over non-structural violations of city ordinances!

A month before complaints about problems at his apartments were disclosed publicly, state Rep. Hubert Vo used his government letterhead to complain to Houston police commanders about the department's scrutiny and accuse officers of harassment.

"What I am concerned with is the appearance that the NPC officers are using their authority to harass and issue tickets instead of working with the apartment managers to remedy any deficiencies," he wrote in the Feb. 25 letter to Assistant Chief Dorothy Edwards, who heads the Houston Police Department's Neighborhood Protection Corps.

"The word 'harass' is a very strong word and I use it very cautiously, but the conduct of the officers involved in this situation leads me to no other conclusion."

The three-page letter, which goes on to complain that the manager at the Villa De Matel apartments was not treated fairly and "taunted," was obtained from HPD by the Houston Chronicle late Friday under the Texas Public Information Act.

Vo's campaign manager, Karen Loper, said he was not available for comment.

A spokeswoman for the corps, which issues citations for blight such as illegal trash dumping, graffiti and nuisances on private property, but not structural problems handled by city code inspectors, denied any mistreatment.

Interesting, isn't it, that "Mr. Responsibility" is unavailable for comment when he has been caught trying to avoid responsibility for the conditions of his apartment complexes? Especially when he is engaged in what is clearly unethical behavior in using his official position to cover his personal ass in this manner.

So what do we have here? A Democrat slumlord seeking reelection using his office to get preferential treatment form those charged with enforcing the laws that protect his tenants. And interestingly enough, the local Democrats are all notoriously silent about this situation. Could it be that they are more interested in holding on to the legislative seat in question than the protection of the residents of Hubert Vo's personal ghettos?

Oh, and there are a couple of questions I'd like the Houston Chronicle to report on:

1) What percentage of the resident's of these properties are receiving federal housing aid (Section 8) to pay for their apartments, and how much money has Hubert Vo been paid over the years from these programs?

2) Given the amount of government assistance given to our permanent guests from New Orleans , how much money has Hubert Vo received for housing victims of Hurricane Katrina in his slum properties?

After all, if Hubert Vo is willing to rip-off and endanger his tenants by renting them apartments in such deficient properties, doesn't it also stand to reason that he would have no scruples against ripping off the taxpayers while doing so?

UPDATE: I just found one Democrat blogger who dares to speak out on this issue -- and even he notes his own silence and that of his fellow Democrats.

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Posted by: Greg at 11:00 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Why on earth would anyone give the original "story" any credence whatsoever?

he Virgin Mary on a grilled cheese and the Illinois-shaped corn flake appear to have new competition for webbies' fascination: Dick Cheney's mysterious sunglasses.

An undated photo of the vice president on the White House Web site has caused a stir on the Internet, causing some people to wonder if he's in eyeshot of an unclad female.

The White House says it's just someone holding an innocuous fishing rod (the veep -- allegedly -- is fly fishing in Idaho).

Image analysis of the photo shows that the image is, in fact -- a hand holding a fishing rod.

Just one more example of deranged Cheney-haters wanting to find something -- anything -- nefarious in the deeds of the VP.

I'm curious, though -- given the Left's defense of Bill Clinton and his lies regarding Monica Lewinski, why would Cheney looking at a nude woman even be a matter for public concern?

Posted by: Greg at 04:34 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I've always been struck by the credulous nature of the left-wing extremists who embraced David Brock following his conversion to their side of the political divide.

After all, how can you trust a man whose main credential to bolster his credibility s his own admission that he is a political/journalistic whore who is willing to lie for the highest bidder?

And now left-winger George Soros, a Jewish collaborator with the Nazis during WWII and convicted financial swindler, is putting Brock in charge of his high-dollar smear campaign against John McCain -- an American hero and the Republican nominee for President.

Wealthy Democrats are preparing a four-month, $40 million media campaign centered on attacks on Sen. John McCain. And it will be led by David Brock, the former investigative reporter who first gained fame in the 1990s as a right-wing, anti-Clinton journalist.

The planned campaign is the product of a shakeup in the top ranks of the struggling independent Democratic groups. Brock, now best known as the ex-conservative founder of the liberal group Media Matters, last month quietly assumed the chairmanship of what's expected to be the main vehicle for independent Democratic attacks on McCain, now called Progressive Media USA.

The move comes after the groups that had been expected to spearhead attacks on McCain — the Fund for America and Progressive Media USA's previous incarnation, the Campaign to Defend America — failed to raise the money needed to dent McCain's armor.

"We're a little behind where we need to be," he said.

But after a dinner Tuesday night at the Manhattan apartment of liberal megadonor George Soros, at which Brock and consultant Paul Begala laid out the group's plans, Brock said his group now has commitments worth $7.5 million — almost twice what the Fund for America is expected to report raising in the first quarter of this year. He said the group would begin running ads before it meets its $40 million goal.

So let's see -- we have the uniting of two of the greatest scumbags of the Left in an effort to destroy a man of high moral character who has served the country well for over half a century. A confessed liar and a larcenous kapo teaming up to destroy a war hero. That the Left will stand by and support this effort after attacking those who served honorably with John Kerry for daring to speak out against him shows how unfit the Democrats are for any elective office in this country.

Posted by: Greg at 10:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Yes, I know.

It is still early.

It is only a snapshot of now.

And the only poll that counts happens in November.

But for McCain to close the gap on the singularly unqualified junior senator from Illinois is a good sign that the GOP may retain the White house this year.

Republican Sen. John McCain has erased Sen. Barack Obama's 10-point advantage in a head-to-head matchup, leaving him essentially tied with both Democratic candidates in an Associated Press-Ipsos national poll released Thursday.

The survey showed the extended Democratic primary campaign creating divisions among supporters of Obama and rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and suggests a tight race for the presidency in November no matter which Democrat becomes the nominee.

And with plenty of time for the Democrats to continue bloodying each other -- and an increasing number of embarrassing revelations about Obama, his associates, and his absurd stances on the issues -- this trend is likely to continue.

The Dems may find, once they wake up with a hangover, that they have entered into the political equivalent of a drunken Vegas wedding in selecting the Obama over Hillary Clinton.

Posted by: Greg at 10:09 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I guess he really doesn’t give a rat’s ass about human rights after all – you know, like a true believer in freedom and liberty would.

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution Wednesday calling on China to end its crackdown on Tibet and release Tibetans imprisoned for "nonviolent" demonstrations.

The vote was 413-1. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, who recently dropped out of the presidential race, was the lone congressman voting against it.

I guess that the disgrace from CD14 is of the belief that Jefferson got it wrong, and that the people of Tibet were not endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. After all, upon what basis – constitutionally or morally – could one oppose a resolution calling upon the Communist slave masters of Red China to respect the human rights of the people of occupied Tibet?

H/T Hot Air

Posted by: Greg at 10:00 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Maybe.

Or maybe not.

If she is, it is news to John McCain.

Is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice campaigning to be John McCainÂ’s running mate? If so, Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said on Sunday that he had not noticed.

“I missed those signals,” Mr. McCain told reporters on his campaign plane en route to Kansas City.

Nonetheless, Mr. McCain took a few moments to compliment Ms. Rice. “I think she’s a great American, I think there’s very little that I can say that isn’t anything but the utmost praise for a great American citizen, who served as a role model to so many millions of people in this country and around the world,” Mr. McCain said, adding that “her overall record is very, very meritorious.”

Frankly, I think that Condoleezza Rice would be a superb choice. She is a well-qualified, acomplished woman who has served this nation well.

But while I have the opportunity, let me take the NY Times to task about what Ihope is an unintentional slight of the Secretary of State.

To refer to her as "Ms. Rice" is incorrect.

Given her office, Secretary Rice would be appropriate.

Given her academic accomplishments and earned degrees, Dr. Rice would be appropriate.

I'm sure the slight is unintentional, but the editors of the paper should know better.

Posted by: Greg at 10:28 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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