Well, maybe it isn't for them, because the fraudulent votes seem to always benefit them.

But to patriotic Americans who believe in honest elections that exclude necro-Americans and other fake voters, this sort of stuff is outrageous.

Secretary of State Jay Dardenne said Tuesday he will meet today with a Democrat-affiliated group responsible for a voter registration effort that is inundating East Baton Rouge and other parish registrars with bogus and incomplete applications.

Dardenne said his investigators are trying to determine if any state election laws have been violated as thousands of voter registration cards have been dumped on registrars offices through the efforts of VIP.

“We have some very real concerns about the data we are getting from them,” Dardenne said.

VIP is a Washington, D.C., group hired by national Democrats to register some 70,000 new voters in advance of the presidential and other federal elections this fall.

"If any state election laws have been violated"? That is certainly a polite way of putting it.

After all, dead people and those serving time for felonies have been registered. In one parish, the folks in the voter registrar's office were surprised to get a new registration card in the name of their boss turned in by the company. And let's not forget the two Shreveport registration cards turned in for George W. Bush, with the address listed as 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Frankly, there needs to be a federal investigation here -- VIP is based in Washington, DC and is clearly operating interstate to engage in election fraud.

UPDATE: It appears the group, hired by the Democrats, is an arm of the Muslim American Society, which is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood!

H/T Hot Air

Posted by: Greg at 11:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Last week, one of the Chicago area's minor newspapers insinuated that those of us voting against Barack Obama are doing so based upon race. Now Catholic priest and Chicago Sun-Times columnist Andrew Greeley has said the same. Indeed, Greeley goes so far as to imply that even the expression of otherwise reasonable objections to Barack Obama -- objections that would be legitimate if raised regarding a white candidate -- are really just a cover for a latent desire to pull on a white sheet, set a cross alight and proclaim "Ain't no BLACK man gonna live in the WHITE House."

Others have gone to great length to delegitimize opposition to Barack Obama as rooted in racism as well, as noted by fellow bloggers.

So I would like to associate myself with the forthright confession of my dear friend and fellow Watcher's Council member Bookworm.

When I vote against Obama on November 4, 2008:

• It wonÂ’t be because Obama wants to withdraw from Iraq, which I think will weaken AmericaÂ’s interests beyond repair, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because Obama thinks that a nuclear Iran is no threat to the Western World, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because I think itÂ’s an incredibly stupid idea for the most powerful nation in the world to approach evil totalitarian dictators as a supplicant, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because I hate the idea of a President who will subordinate AmericaÂ’s interests to the UN (as he inevitably will), it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because Obama has the thinnest resume ever in the history of Presidential candidates, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because I think ObamaÂ’s Leftist connections (Ayres, Dohrn, Soros, Pfleger, Wright, etc.) show him to be either stupid about or complicit with an agenda antithetical to basic American values, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because Obama consistently chooses as advisers people who have opted for the wrong side in the completely binary debate about IsraelÂ’s right to exist, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because Obama wants to socialize American medicine, which I believe will destroy the high quality of medical care available to most Americans, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because Obama wants to gut the military and reduce us to a nation with a big target painted on our collective backside, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because Obama wants to gut the Second Amendment and destroy AmericansÂ’ Constitutional right to protect themselves from foreign and domestic enemies, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because Obama has already announced loud and clear that he will support activist judges who place their “feelings” above the law, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because Obama supports judicial decisions creating a right to gay marriage, when I think that decision is one for the voters, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because ObamaÂ’s announced that he will dramatically increase taxes, putting the slow, inflexible, ill-informed government in charge of what should be a quick-reacting, knowledgeable marketplace, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because ObamaÂ’s record in the Senate (albeit short and undistinguished) has been so liberal he makes Teddy Kennedy look like a reactionary, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because ObamaÂ’s an open-borders kind of guy, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because Obama has shown himself to be a scarily slow thinker and speaker when released from the teleprompter (which really doesnÂ’t bode well for those cozy private chats with Ahmadinejad, Jong-Il, and Assad), it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because ObamaÂ’s wife clearly loathes America and everything it stands for, despite the fact that sheÂ’s done pretty well out of it, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because Obama was affiliated for more than 20 years with a church that preached white hatred and began to care only when it looked as if it would affect his campaign, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because Obama was good buddies with Tony Rezko, and other sleazy characters (showing again that Obama was complicit or a singularly bad judgment of character), it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because ObamaÂ’s a compulsive liar who clearly thinks we in the public are too stupid to catch up with his lies, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because ObamaÂ’s campaign has proven to be fly-paper for every two bit troofer and anti-Semite in America, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.


• It wonÂ’t be because ObamaÂ’s promised already to start down the totalitarian path of purging his predecessors through criminal prosecutions, it will be because IÂ’m a racist.

And might I add that even though I am a life-long Republican and have never knowingly voted for a Democrat for any position higher than county clerk (and then only when the GOP incumbent was under indictment for official misconduct), when I proudly cast my vote for a real American hero with a lifetime of distinguished service to this country rather than Barack Obama it will be because IÂ’m a racist.

After all, that is what the liberal intelligentsia in the media have proclaimed. And it isn't like they would sling around false accusations of racism against innocent victims because it fits with their political agenda, would it?

Posted by: Greg at 11:03 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I'm not a fan of the mis-named "Employee Free Choice Act", which would strip workers of the right to a secret ballot vote on whether or not to unionize. The Democrats, on the other hand, seem bound and determined to have it.

So let's offer them a compromise that offers employees REAL freedom to choose.

In light of the Democrat's obvious commitment to "Employee Free Choice", I'd like to make an offer in two parts:

1. Bring back Card Check legislation, which allows a Union to be created immediately when a majority of employees submit signed cards in support of unionization.




2. But make it real employee free choice by allowing a Union to be decertified immediately when a majority of employees submit signed cards opposing an existing Union.




3. For bonus points, let's also stipulate that an Employee Free Choice Act should give each employee a free choice about membership in a Union, and no employee can be forced to join (or leave) a Union against his will.

It's a good deal.  It's a fair deal.  It's the workplace democracy that Democrats tell us they really want.  What's not to like about it?   I think we can come to a deal.**

What say you, Democrats?

**...unless, of course, Democrats decide that reciprocity isn't they had in mind, and the Employee Free Choice Act suddenly includes a bit too much employee freedom.

All I would add to that suggestion is an addition to the last of the three points -- extend that prohibition to include a prohibition on agency shop fees, which force an employee to still pay the bulk of union dues even if they choose not to be a member of the union.

What objection could there possibly be to providing workers with REAL freedom of choice regarding membership and financial support of unions? Unless, of course, the point is not freedom for workers but welfare for unions.

Posted by: Greg at 02:23 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Really.

Don't.

But it is still funny in a sick, twisted sort of way.

Thanks for sharing this on your site, T.F.!

And I thought Richard Sutton was such a nice man; can't believe he sent me this...

If you are sitting next to someone on a plane who irritates you follow these simple instructions:

1. Quietly and calmly open up your laptop case.
2. Remove your laptop.
3. Start up.
4. Make sure the guy who is annoying you, can see the screen.
5. Close your eyes, tilt your head up to the sky & move your lips as if praying.
6. Then hit this link

Like I said, though, don't do this -- you really don't want to risk the jail sentence that might follow.

Posted by: Greg at 01:42 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I've been ignoring this silliness for some days now, but since it continues to get traction in the press, I'm finally going to give in.

Political activists planning protest rallies at the upcoming Democratic Convention in Denver have their stomachs in knots over a rumor about a crowd control weapon - known as the “crap cannon” - that might be unleashed against them.

Also called “Brown Note,” it is believed to be an infrasound frequency that debilitates a person by making them defecate involuntarily.

Mark Cohen, co-founder of Re-create 68, an alliance of local activists working for the protection of first amendment rights, said he believes this could be deployed at the convention in August to subdue crowds.

“We know this weapon and weapons like it have been used at other large protests before,” he said.

Cohen, who described Brown Note as a “sonic weapon used to disrupt people’s equilibrium,” cited eyewitness accounts of its use during free-trade agreement protests in Miami in 2003.

“I think these weapons were mostly intended for military use and so their use for dealing with innocent protesters seems highly inappropriate,” he said. “The idea that they might be field testing them on people who are doing nothing more than exercising their first amendment rights is disturbing.”

Of course, scientific researchers say that the "brown note" doesn't actually exist -- and since there is no actual evidence other than loony ramblings of these aging hippies and '60's wannabes, I'm inclined to believe the researchers.

Maybe the real problem that the Recreate 68 folks have is that radicals like them are have simply become so full of crap that it is waiting to burst out in all its glory.

Posted by: Greg at 12:59 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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And this is coming from Obama's side of the aisle, not from ours.

Democratic Rep. Dan Boren of Oklahoma said Tuesday Barack Obama is "the most liberal senator" in Congress and he has no intention of endorsing him for the White House.

* * *

Boren, the lone Democrat in Oklahoma's congressional delegate, said that while Obama has talked about working with Republicans, "unfortunately, his record does not reflect working in a bipartisan fashion."

Boren, a self-described centrist, is seeking a third term this year in a mostly rural district that stretches across eastern Oklahoma.

"We're much more conservative," Boren said of district. "I've got to reflect my district. No one means more to me than the people who elected me. I have to listen them." He called Obama "the most liberal senator in the U.S. Senate."

But absurdly enough, this superdelegate will cast his vote for Obama at the Democrat Convention, and will vote for Obama in the fall, so this move is purely symbolic and completely without substance. It proves that Boren talks a good game, but will still care in to the demands of the party leadership when pushed.

Voters of Oklahoma, recognize what you have in Dan Boren and do your duty -- vote him out of office for his fecklessness.

Posted by: Greg at 12:50 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Last week, Jordan indicted a group of Danish publishers and cartoonists for daring to publish the Muhammad Cartoons -- claiming international jurisdiction over any act of alleged blasphemy against Islam. Now the Jordanians are actively stripping human and civil rights from their own citizens who turn away from Islam and embrace the truth that Jesus is the Savior.

The North Amman Sharia Court in April dissolved the marriage of Mohammad Abbad, on trial for apostasy, or leaving Islam. The 40-year-old convert fled Jordan with his wife and two young children in March after another Christian convert’s relatives attacked Abbad’s family in their home and his father demanded custody of Abbad’s children. “Marriage depends on the creed [religion], and the apostate has no creed,” a May 22 court document stated, detailing reasons for the April 22 annulment. According to the document, Judge Faysal Khreisat had “proven the veracity of [Abbad’s] apostasy.”

JordanÂ’s penal code does not outlaw apostasy, and the countryÂ’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion, as does the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that was given force of law in the country in June 2006. But Islam, JordanÂ’s official religion, forbids conversion to another faith. Jordanian sharia (Islamic law) courts that rule on family law have convicted converts of apostasy, stripping them of all legal rights.

“I can’t win this case as long as I insist that I converted to Christianity,” Abbad wrote after arriving in a European country where he has applied for asylum. Abbad and his 10-year-old son were violently attacked in their home on March 23, when relatives of another convert, staying with Abbad, stormed the house. Abbad suffered injuries to his head and chest and bleeding in his right eye, according to medical reports from Jordan University Hospital. When Abbad went to the police station the same day to file a complaint he found his father there, demanding custody of Abbad’s son and 11-year-old daughter.

By allowing the religious courts to take on civil jurisdiction, Jordan has placed itself in defiance of international human rights norms again, even as Kin Abdullah attempts to present his country as a moderate, modern nation that honors human rights. In the end, however, the reality shows that Jordan is still mired in the seventh century when Abdullah's ancestor, the false prophet Muhammad, first preached Islam.

Posted by: Greg at 12:29 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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"The odds are you won't live to see tomorrow."

We can only hope so after this video.

I donÂ’t know anyone who doesnÂ’t love candles. They provide a touch of class to a table, a touch or romance to a special time with one you love, and a touch of warmth to that place we call home. Candles provide atmosphere, illumination, warmth, and a gentle scent that makes them something special.

Most candles are made from a petroleum-based wax. Well, given what oil prices are doing, we can expect to see candle prices go up in the weeks and months ahead as the cost of abarrel of oil sky-rockets. But what if I told you that there is another substance that you can make a candle from – one that is renewable and biodegradable. Believe it or not, that source is soy. Yes, that is right – Soy Candles!

Caterpillars Candles is a reputable seller of candles made from soy wax. Unlike many soy wax candles, theirs are made of 100% soy wax. Not only that, their candles are certified organic – no pesticides, herbicides, or genetically-modified beans go into these candles. So whether you want Soy tealights, pillars, or jar candles, you can be assured that you are getting a high-quality, safe product.

Not only that, but you can even buy Wholesale Soy Candles for resale at your place of business, starting with an order of as little as $100.

Posted by: Greg at 11:52 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Hebe-Land? Elders of Zion? What next -- resurrecting Leni Riefenstahl to produce his show?

Contact Comedy Central to protest this anti-Semitic humor.

H/T LGF

Posted by: Greg at 09:25 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Bravo to Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL 14) for his honessty about the budgetary priorities of his own party!

“I can’t support a budget, from either party, that raises taxes on the middle class. This bill hurts families all across the 14th District by eliminating the 10-percent bracket for lower-income taxpayers, reinstating the marriage penalty and increasing taxes on small businesses and investments."

So for those of you folks who think that electing Democrats means higher taxes for the rich and cutting your taxes, think again -- the Democrats are already out to raise your taxes RIGHT NOW. It isn't "soak the rich" -- it is "soak the middle class".

H/T Blogs for Victory

Posted by: Greg at 01:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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One more example of how environmentalism run wild is a threat to human needs.

Two conservation groups plan to sue to protect polar bears from petroleum exploration and drilling off Alaska's coast.

The Center for Biological Diversity and Pacific Environment gave the federal government formal notice Monday that they will sue under the Endangered Species Act to protect the bears, which were listed as threatened last month by Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne.

Polar bears are threatened -- likely to become endangered -- because their sea ice habitat has melted dramatically and computer models predict further losses, Kempthorne said. Polar bears use sea ice for mating, denning and hunting.

Kempthorne said the best scientific judgments did not conclude that polar bears were threatened by oil and gas development.

The conservation groups do not agree.

Of course, there is no real threat to the polar bears, whose population has been expanding. But the willingness of the Bush Administration to make the faulty classification of the bears as threatened now threatens America's energy independence and national security.

After all, one group recently indicated its intent to start challenging projects it considers "global warming threats" ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY as threatening the polar bear's habitat in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

Two things need to happen here.

First, the Bush Administration needs to admit its error and remove the polar bear from the threatened list.

Second, the Endangered Species Act needs to be amended to put human needs first -- or better yet, it needs to be repealed completely.

Posted by: Greg at 01:21 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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This is one of those stories that takes on a different hue because it is not just a national in scope, but also local -- after all Galveston is just a few miles down the road from where I type this post.

And so it is with sadness and admiration that I note the passing of Roger Stone, who saved two fellow sailors at the cost of his own life on a boat owned by Texas A&M at Galveston.

A college student who survived a boat sinking with four others said Monday that a safety officer who died on their boat was a hero for staying behind and pushing him out.

Steven Guy, a Texas A&M University sailor, said Roger Stone saved him and another sailor by helping them to safety.

"He is my hero," Guy said. "He saved me. If it wasn't for him, I would not be here."

The group never saw Stone after he pushed the two men out of a hatch in the boat, the mariners said. Stone, the boat's second safety officer, was found dead by the Coast Guard on Sunday afternoon.

The two men said they spent a day in open water after their vessel sank in the Gulf of Mexico.

The survivors -- four university students and a safety officer -- told the Coast Guard they were forced off their sailboat after it took on water and capsized early Saturday.

The five survivors were found and airlifted to land around 2 a.m. Sunday, the Coast Guard said.

Stone sacrificed himself so that the other sailors, students from the university, might live. But on a day to day basis, his job was to safeguard those others. By all accounts he did it well -- and in the end, without regard for his own life. May he rest in peace.

Posted by: Greg at 12:44 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Democrats have been sounding off about their candidate for Senate, Slick Rick Noriega. They keep telling us over and over again how he will soundly defeat the incumbent, Senator John Cornyn.

What do the polls say?

United States Senator John Cornyn has opened a seventeen percentage point lead in his bid for re-election. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state find Cornyn leading Democratic state legislator Rick Noriega 52% to 35%. ThatÂ’s a significant improvement for the incumbent from a month ago when his lead dwindled to four percentage points.

Cornyn is supported by 86% of Republicans and has a two-to-one edge among unaffiliated voters. Last month, his lead among the unaffiliateds was just four percentage points. Noreiga attracts 72% of Democrats, down from 81% a month ago.

The Democrat leads among voters under 30, reflecting a nationwide trend. He is competitive among those who earn less than $40,000 a year. However, Cornyn has the advantage among adults over 30 and those with annual incomes topping $40,000.

Yeah, Noreiga was pulling close a month ago -- but I think this poll makes it pretty clear that the previous result was an outlier, one of those occasional results that does not present a true picture of the real world. After all, this result matches well with what other polls are showing.

Posted by: Greg at 10:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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One in four New Yorkers has herpes!

A city Health Department study finds that more than a fourth of adult New Yorkers are infected with the virus that causes genital herpes.

The study, released Monday, says about 26 percent of New York City adults have genital herpes, compared to about 19 percent nationwide.

The department says genital herpes can double a person's risk for contracting HIV.

Herpes can cause painful sores, but most people have no recognizable symptoms.

Among New Yorkers, the herpes rate is higher among women, black people and gay men.

You know what? There are some good reasons to engage in monogamous relationships with partners you know are not infected. Anyone familiar with the rates of multiple sex partners among the groups with the highest rates of infection? And want to bet we would find a correlation?

Posted by: Greg at 07:40 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Here's hoping the EU and the rest of the civilized world tell the Pakistanis to bugger off!

Pakistan will ask the European Union countries to amend laws regarding freedom of expression in order to prevent offensive incidents such as the printing of blasphemous caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and the production of an anti-Islam film by a Dutch legislator, sources in the Interior Ministry told Daily Times on Saturday.

They said that a six-member high-level delegation comprising officials from the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Law would leave Islamabad on Sunday (today) for the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium and explain to the EU leadership the backlash against the blasphemous campaign in the name of freedom of expression.

The delegation, headed by an additional secretary of the Interior Ministry, will meet the leaders of the EU countries in a bid to convince them that the recent attack on the Danish Embassy in Pakistan could be a reaction against the blasphemous campaign, sources said.

They said that the delegation would also tell the EU that if such acts against Islam are not controlled, more attacks on the EU diplomatic missions abroad could not be ruled out.

Notice that little threat at the end -- "Dhimmify or face more terrorism with our approval!"

We in the West cannot accept such demands -- or the threat that goes with them. If I want to mock the false prophet Muhammad (May He Burn In Hell For All Eternity) then I have an absolute right to do so, both based upon freedom of speech and freedom of religion. For a government to seek to restrict that right goes against the entire thrust of Western Civilization since the Enlightenment -- and violates provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

H/T American Thinker, Ezra Levant

Posted by: Greg at 03:00 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Now here's something I know a lot about -- the need for more poll workers at election time.

States and counties are putting out "help wanted" signs five months before Election Day in hopes of finding hundreds of thousands of younger, tech-savvy poll workers needed to handle an expected record turnout.

In many cases, workers don't even have to be old enough to vote.

With a one-day workforce of nearly 2 million poll workers wanted by November, election officials are busily recruiting at high schools, colleges and businesses. They're looking for people who can speak foreign languages or help voters with disabilities. They're making training more convenient and splitting long workdays in half.

"The first challenge is just in the sheer numbers," says Dean Logan, acting clerk of Los Angeles County, which needs 25,000 poll workers in the nation's most populous voting jurisdiction.

More than 122 million Americans voted in 2004, up from 105 million in 2000. The number is expected to jump again because of high interest in the White House contest, which drew near-record primary turnout on a percentage basis.

What are the requirements down here in Texas? You have to be a registered voter in the county where you are working the polls. That's it. Contact your county clerk (the top election official in the county) and let them know you are interested -- they will in all likelihood be thrilled to hear from you. Or contact the county GOP or Democrat headquarters -- they know precincts that are chronically short-handed on election day and may offer suggestions of election judges to call. For that matter, if you are in the southeast corner of Harris County, send me an email and I may have a spot for you on election day.

Posted by: Greg at 02:29 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I'm with Kevin Drum -- too many down sides for her, and not enough up.

But I have a different question: what makes anyone think that Hillary wants to be Obama's VP? I just don't see it. On a social level, it's hard to picture someone of Hillary's age, experience, and temperament being willing to play second fiddle to a young guy like Obama. On a political level, she has more clout in the Senate than she would as vice president. On a personal level, Obama and Clinton (and their respective teams) just don't seem to like each other much.

Now, maybe she wants the VP slot anyway. Who knows? But I think she'd be more effective in the Senate, have way more freedom of movement, have more career opportunities, and would do more for the party by helping to hold down a second branch of government than she would by being Obama's shadow. Anyone disagree?

I'll take it a step further. Should the Obama campaign implode, Hillary Clinton doesn't want to be anywhere around it. After all, serving as the vice presidential candidate will make it her failure, too -- which would be another blot on her record in 2012. Similarly, does she want to be Walter Mondale to Obama's Jimmy Carter?

No, the Senate is where she needs to stay -- unless she decides to run for Governor of New York (or relocate into NYC to run for Mayor in 2010) in order to get some executive experience. And then there is always that speculation about Justice Hillary Clinton...

Posted by: Greg at 02:10 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Not that it has kept many liberals from claiming differently. But today's Washington Post carries an important piece that points out that time and again George W. Bush and members of Congress were following the guidance of the overwhelming majority of the intelligence community in this country and abroad.

But dive into Rockefeller's report, in search of where exactly President Bush lied about what his intelligence agencies were telling him about the threat posed by Saddam Hussein, and you may be surprised by what you find.

On Iraq's nuclear weapons program? The president's statements "were generally substantiated by intelligence community estimates."

On biological weapons, production capability and those infamous mobile laboratories? The president's statements "were substantiated by intelligence information."

On chemical weapons, then? "Substantiated by intelligence information."

On weapons of mass destruction overall (a separate section of the intelligence committee report)? "Generally substantiated by intelligence information." Delivery vehicles such as ballistic missiles? "Generally substantiated by available intelligence." Unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to deliver WMDs? "Generally substantiated by intelligence information."

As you read through the report, you begin to think maybe you've mistakenly picked up the minority dissent. But, no, this is the Rockefeller indictment. So, you think, the smoking gun must appear in the section on Bush's claims about Saddam Hussein's alleged ties to terrorism.

But statements regarding Iraq's support for terrorist groups other than al-Qaeda "were substantiated by intelligence information." Statements that Iraq provided safe haven for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and other terrorists with ties to al-Qaeda "were substantiated by the intelligence assessments," and statements regarding Iraq's contacts with al-Qaeda "were substantiated by intelligence information." The report is left to complain about "implications" and statements that "left the impression" that those contacts led to substantive Iraqi cooperation.

In the report's final section, the committee takes issue with Bush's statements about Saddam Hussein's intentions and what the future might have held. But was that really a question of misrepresenting intelligence, or was it a question of judgment that politicians are expected to make?

In other words, no lies. What you have instead is the responsible reliance on intelligence provided to the Executive and Legislative branches. Indeed, in 2002 it was Senator Rockefeller himself who said:

"There has been some debate over how 'imminent' a threat Iraq poses. I do believe Iraq poses an imminent threat. I also believe after September 11, that question is increasingly outdated. . . . To insist on further evidence could put some of our fellow Americans at risk. Can we afford to take that chance? I do not think we can."

Did Rockefeller lie? Or did he draw the same conclusion as the President did based upon the same data? Anyone who reasonably considers the issue has to accept that it is the latter -- and that the Rockefeller of 2002 is significantly more honest than the Rockefeller of 2008 who implied Bush lied during his press conference about the report.

WaPo's Fred Hiatt then ends with a point that I have made here and in other places any number of times -- that national security decisions must be made based upon the best evidence you have at the time, and that making the right choice relying in good faith upon what later turns out to be questionable data is not "lying us into war". Indeed, it isn't even incompetence -- it is merely tragedy.

Posted by: Greg at 01:59 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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It's Jimmy Carter all over again!

Also aboard the windfall-profits bandwagon are presidential hopefuls Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. "We've got to go after the oil companies and look at their price-gouging," proclaims Obama. "We've got to go after windfall profits."

* * *

We've been down this road before. Under a windfall tax signed into law by Jimmy Carter, domestic oil production plummeted by an estimated 795 million barrels, while imports of foreign oil surged. Congress had anticipated windfall tax revenues of $393 billion. The actual take: just $80 billion. Like so much else associated with the Carter era, the windfall-profits tax was a counterproductive flop. Do Democrats really believe a new dose of Carternomics is going to make today's economy stronger?

If you want to see a real windfall, take a look at what Big Oil pays in taxes. The 27 largest US energy companies forked over $48 billion in income taxes in 2004, $67 billion in 2005, and more than $90 billion in 2006 - an 87 percent increase. Since 1981, the Tax Foundation calculates, the oil industry has earned a cumulative $1.12 trillion in profits - but it paid a cumulative $1.65 trillion in taxes (add another half-trillion to account for taxes paid to foreign governments).

So let's be clear on this -- the Democrats are out to kill the goose that lays the golden egg, all in the name of getting more gold from the goose. We know what happens when these "solutions" are tried -- because they did it three decades ago, and they failed.

And all because the oil companies make 8.1 cents for every dollar in sales -- a modest rate of profit, by any standard that allows for profit.

Be sure to click on the links in Jeff Jacoby's columns -- they'll show you just how much the oil companies are paying in taxes already.

Posted by: Greg at 07:37 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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If something like this showed up on a conservative or Republican website, each and every one of us would be depicted as goose-stepping Nazis.

But this is hosted on the Obamessiah's official campaign website -- and as of the time of my posting about it, is still there.

This is from the Socialists for Obama community blog that is a part of the official campaign site of Barack Obama.

Socialists for Obama? Yeah -- National Socialists, quite obviously. It seems like every freak and weirdo that didn't gravitate to Ron Paul is now a part of the Obamanation -- drawn by the incredible lightness of Obama and his record of accomplishments.

Maybe this is the reason that Barack is the favored candidate Hamas -- and why he backtracked so quickly from his seemingly pro-Israel speech at AIPAC. After all, he's got to keep the anti-Semites firmly in his corner.

UPDATE: The page is purged from the site -- but don't worry, there is plenty more anti-Semitic crap all about "the Jewish Lobby" that they haven't gotten rid of.

UPDATE 2: LGF spots another one by the same poster that survived the memory hole -- but not for long. Whatever would Obamessiah's webmasters do without conservative blogger to point out all the anti-Semitism that was acceptable the first time the Obama staff saw it?

H/T LGF, Doug Ross, Israel Matzav

Posted by: Greg at 06:15 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 So, if you're not Socialist you must be pro-Israel and pro-Zionism? I'm not a socialist and I'm not pro-Israel/Zionism. What a Freak Show Politics in America has become. Question Israel and watch out! There's nothing questionable about that country whatsoever. Iran, here comes another war for Israel.

Posted by: jane at Sun Jun 8 06:53:34 2008 (7NFi4)

2 Well, Jane, I can accept that you are not a socialist, but are instead simply a garden variety anti-Semite. After all, you clearly are in agreement with the hate that post contained -- or are so contemptuous of Jews that you signed on to defend the post without bothering to actually read what was written.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Sun Jun 8 07:08:46 2008 (YtsIz)

3
Oh, she's "contemptuous of Jews" just because she does not want her kids fighting in Iran for the interests of the Israeli regime ? You neocons are such a joke

Posted by: Sharon at Sun Jun 8 09:56:58 2008 (2+t3q)

4 "Israeli regime"? Well, well mark you down as another National Socialist for Obama, Sharon.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Sun Jun 8 10:03:39 2008 (YtsIz)

5 This is a great opportunity for everyone to see how a zealot works and how so many people are anxious to find dirt where there is none. The board where this garbage was posted is a community board and anyone can post there and it sometimes takes a while to police every single entry. Someone named Brother Nathanael Kapner who left his screed at the Senator's web community runs his own web site called Real Jew News - http://www.realjewnews.com/ Some of the stories over there include the following, “McCain Bought By Jews Via Rothschilds!” "OBAMA PANDERS TO THE JEWS By Brother Nathanael Kapner - Copyright © 2008 " "BIG BROTHER JEW is watching you my fellow Americans. And Big Brother Jew resides at US Homeland Security." "JEWS DESPISE CHRISTIANS. Now that the Christian candidate, Mike Huckabee, Governor of Arkansas, has won the Republican Iowa caucuses, the Jews have fired up their propaganda machine against him." “THE JEWISH STRANGLEHOOD ON THE MEDIA HAS GOT TO STOP!” said Billy Graham in a 1972 conversation with President Nixon. “Will Hilary Clinton Be The Next Jewish President” If anyone cares about the truth you might want to visit this guys site. he is not exactly playing with a full deck. To blame Obama or anyone that runs a community board for everything a passing nut says is a little unfair don't you think.

Posted by: Winston Smith at Sun Jun 8 14:57:51 2008 (rlXHu)

6 Let me ask you a question -- not that you'll be back, because you've been spamming every site that has posted on this subject. Is Barack Obama running for President of the United States, or is he attempting to set up a rival to Blogger, Facebook, and MySpace? If the latter, then let him make that clear and quit pretending to be a serious candidate for the Presidency -- if the former, then he and his campaign are responsible for EVERYTHING on his campaign website. The most positive spin you can put on this situation is that he is such a rank amateur with such a profound lack of judgment that he is willing to open his campaign website up to anyone and everyone to post pretty near anything they want, free from monitoring. After all, it is only when the conservative blogosphere began commenting on the anti-Semitic crap that Barack and his team allowed on their site that they bothered to do anything about it. But then again, like Wright, Ayers, Pfleger, and Rezko, maybe it turns out that Juan Carlos from Knoxville, TN and Brother Nathaniel Kapnner aren't the folks he has know for all this time.

Posted by: Rhymes With Right at Sun Jun 8 15:06:13 2008 (YtsIz)

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Now they can't travel freely because their identification might be checked, leading to their deportation.

Pedro Perez has not left Orcas Island in more than four months. Not for weekend trips with his family, not for cheaper groceries on the mainland, not for medical care—not for anything.

He is afraid border agents will stop him and send him back to Mexico, wrecking the quiet life he has built on one of Washington's remote San Juan Islands.

"I had my eyes on this place for my kids to grow up in," Perez, who is married with two young children, said in Spanish. "There's no gangs here, no crime. It's the kids who suffer."

Perez—who does odd jobs, mostly landscaping—is one of perhaps dozens of illegal immigrants on the islands who have been essentially trapped since February, when the U.S. Border Patrol began checking IDs on ferry runs from the islands to the mainland.

Boo-frickin'-hoo! You are in this country in violation of the law. You ought to be afraid -- very afraid. Indeed, you ought to be so afraid that you go back home and wait in line to enter this country legally.

But there is some good news.

Others have taken the risk and paid the price: As of late May, 49 people had been arrested by the Border Patrol and face deportation. All but one were Latin American.

It is really very simple -- we don't need to deport all the illegal aliens in this country. We simply need to turn the heat up enough that they leave on their own.

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Just one more example of the sort of compassionate medical care we can expect from a government-run health care system of the sort the Democrats propose.

An Oregon woman suffering from lung cancer was notified by the state-run Oregon Health Plan that their policy would not cover her life-extending cancer drug, telling her the health plan would cover doctor-assisted suicide instead.

Barbara Wagener discovered her lung cancer had recurred last month, the Register-Guard said. Her oncologist prescribed a drug called Tarceva, which could slow the cancer growth and extend her life.

The Oregon Health Plan notified Wagner that it would not cover the drug, but it would cover palliative care, which it said included assisted suicide.

“Treatment of advanced cancer that is meant to prolong life, or change the course of this disease, is not a covered benefit of the Oregon Health Plan,” said the letter Wagner received from LIPA, the Eugene company that administers the Oregon Health Plan in Lane County.

“I think it’s messed up,” Wagner said. She said she was particularly upset because the letter said doctor-assisted suicide would be covered.

“To say to someone, we’ll pay for you to die, but not pay for you to live, it’s cruel,” she said. “I get angry. Who do they think they are?”

Got that -- the state is saying that they won't bother trying to cure cancer patients, but they will pay to kill them.

Fortunately, Wagener's physician appealed to the drug company for help, and they are supplying the drug to her for at least a year.

And the state? it will continue to offer cancer patients the option of being killed immediately or dying a slow painful death -- something which is out of step with what the minimum standard of care set by oncologists nationwide.

But remember -- "We're from the government and we're here to help you!"

H/T Blogs for Victory

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No details yet, but what we do know is that the pre-Civil War structure was reported burning this morning around 1:45 AM Central Time and that it apparently has suffered "extraordinary, bordering on catastrophic," damage.

An early morning, four-alarm fire caused extensive damage to the Governor's Mansion today. But no one was in the building, which has been closed several months for renovation.

Gov. Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, are in Stockholm, Sweden, finishing up a weeklong, trade-related trip to Europe.

Damage to the 150-year-old historic structure is "extraordinary, bordering on catastrophic," including a partially collapsed roof, said Perry spokesman Robert Black.

Security officers staying on the grounds in a carriage house discovered the fire, and when the first firefighters arrived about 1:45 a.m., the fire already had spread to the second floor and the ceiling.

About 100 firefighters responded; none were injured, Black said.

The state Fire Marshal's office has begun an investigation, he said.

The building is in the midst of a $10 million renovation project, which raises the question of whether the fire is somehow related to the work in progress.

And the irony of it all.

Ironically, one of the purposes of the renovation project was to install a sprinkler system in the building, which had none. Before work began, the mansion had a fire alarm system on the first floor but none on the second floor, where the governor and his family lived.

UPDATE: Eyewitness report from YouTube.

Also, let me respond to a private email about this sad event: No, I don't think that delegates to the Texas Democrat Convention in Austin this weekend burned the Governor's Mansion -- even though I agree with the assessment that they are unlikely to have a member of their party win that office anytime in the next decade.

UPDATE 2: Now they say it is arson. Maybe that emailer was on to something after all.

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I've always found trade show booths to be fascinating in their scope and variety. Some displays are basic, others quite elaborate. How do you design such displays, and where do you get the supplies to best market your wares? Try GodfreyGroup.com for a wide variety of products that will make your display stand out from the crowd.

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The winning entries in the Watcher's Council vote for this week are Memorial Day by Done With Mirrors, and John McCain, Prisoner of War: A First-Person Account by US News and World Report.

Here's where you can find the full results of the vote:

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And if that means imprisoning his opponent and banning all election activity by the opposition party, that is how it has to be. Oh, and he is requiring all food distribution to go through government programs -- where he can have government employees sing his praises to the poor and deny assistance to opposition supporters.

With only three weeks to go before ZimbabweÂ’s presidential runoff, the police briefly detained the oppositionÂ’s standard-bearer, Morgan Tsvangirai, on Friday for the second time this week and directed his party to cancel political rallies, effectively preventing him from addressing voters.

At the same time, the Zimbabwean governmentÂ’s requirement that all nongovernmental organizations suspend their aid operations, which grew out of the authoritiesÂ’ allegations that some were supporting the opposition, was condemned Friday by officials in the United States and Europe, as well as the United Nations.

Relief agencies said the order, issued this week, would deprive millions of desperately poor Zimbabweans of food aid and other basic assistance. Unicef, for example, depends on 25 nongovernmental organizations to provide education, health care and food to 185,000 orphans in Zimbabwe.

“It’s a horrible situation,” said James Elder, Unicef’s spokesman in Zimbabwe. “The children and their families continue to find stoic means of surviving, but this is a profoundly disturbing blow to them. We can’t reach these children today.”

I don't know which disturbs me more -- this attempt to starve those who might vote for the opposition, or the campaign of outright murder that has gone on since the first round of the election that Mugabe's thugs tampered with to give him a second shot at winning.

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If AMD has its way, it just might.

A.M.D. has accused Intel of systematically giving its customers — the world’s leading personal computer makers — large discounts, at times below Intel’s own manufacturing costs, in exchange for commitments not to do business with competitors. Intel has responded that its discounts were legitimate incentives, not offered below cost, and benefiting customers who can buy computers at lower prices.

Intel has also maintained that A.M.D. tried to make up in the courts for its failures in the marketplace.

While Intel has denied the allegations, A.M.D. executives are hoping the case will present an easy opportunity for the next administration to take a noticeably more aggressive approach to competition issues. Technically independent of the White House, the trade commission is led by appointees of the president.

The charges, if true, would be indicative of a major violation of antitrust law. The possible result? Think about what was done to Ma Bell in the 198os..

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Today, sixty-four years later, our troops are again in the field in another Great Crusade against another unholy enemy, an enemy no less opposed to the freedom that marks our nation and our civilization out from theirs than were the forces of totalitarianism which bathed Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific in blood. American troops again come not as conquerors, but seekers of liberty for the oppressed and security for a free world. May they be inspired by the example of the men who braved the fire in landing craft as they stormed the beaches of Normandy, and by those who parachuted behind enemy lines. And may the American people recover that sense of purpose that led our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents on the home front to support the efforts of those troops with prayer and sacrifice.

Other Remembrances At Done With Mirrors, Flopping Aces, Dave in Texas, Hot Air, Michelle Malkin

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Could it be due to government actions that made hiring workers more expensive?

Especially since the number of jobs lost is relatively modest -- too modest to account for the jump in unemployment. It has to be because of the influx of new workers that happens in late spring and early summer each year, as teens and college students seek jobs.

Why have these new job seekers found it difficult to get jobs? One reason is that Congress made jobs costlier just in time for this economic slowdown. Congress raised the minimum wage last year by seventy cents an hour, from $5.15 to $5.85. It will rise again in July to $6.55 an hour, and next year will hit $7.25 per hour. That makes entry-level labor as much as 27% more expensive this summer, when consumers have already slowed down their spending. The natural loss of work from the slowdown amplifies the effect of the minimum-wage increase, because businesses now cannot afford to raise prices to maintain their entry-level positions.

When the minimum wage increase was under debate last year, many of us warned that it would have precisely this effect. Now we see it unfolding before our eyes. Will the Democrats acknowledge the error and take the blame for hundreds of thousands of jobs lost to their economic meddling — or will they try to shift the blame to the Bush administration for no good reason at all? (via Power Line)

I know I pointed this out in mid-February of last year.

Think about it -- increasing wages by 27%. Why wouldn't we have a decrease in low-wage entry-level jobs as a result? And how can anyone call the increase in unemployment that resulted an unforefeen consequence of the wage increase.

But don't worry -- the additional wage increases coming next summer is sure to make the situation much better. Won't it?

UPDATE: A great real-world example of the impact of the minimum wage increase on a real business over at Patterico's Pontifications-- one operated by the blogger's parents.

OPEN TRACKBACKING AT Outside the Beltway, A NEWT ONE- NATIONAL EMERGENCY, The Virtuous Republic, Rosemary's Thoughts, Shadowscope, Leaning Straight Up, Cao's Blog, Big Dog's Weblog, The Amboy Times, Democrat=Socialist, Conservative Cat, Allie is Wired, Nuke Gingrich, Woman Honor Thyself, McCain Blogs, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, , and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

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Looks like there is a FIFTH tax warrant out against Emperor Keithius Smallpenius of the Olbermann Broadcast Empire.

Olbermann Watch has confirmed that the New York State Department of Labor filed an Industrial Commission Warrant against Olbermann Broadcasting Empire on April 1, 2008 for $1,039.15 with the New York County Clerk's office.

An Industrial Commission warrant is a remedy available to the Labor Department after all administrative procedures have been exhausted - the employer had been given notice of the claim, had an opportunity to contest it, and the time for all appeals has lapsed. It creates a lien on all property of the corporation within the county and gives the county sheriff the right to execute the warrant by, among other things, attaching and selling the employer's property within the county. There are various procedures that the sheriff has to go through before selling the property.

And if you don't like the source on that story, we can always give you the AP's confirmation of the initial report.

Here's my original post on the subject.

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So now he is on the record saying that his wife never said such a thing.

Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday batted down rumors circulating on the Internet and mentioned on some cable news shows of the existence of a video of his wife using a derogatory term for white people, and criticized a reporter for asking him about the rumor, which has not a shred of evidence to support it.

“We have seen this before. There is dirt and lies that are circulated in e-mails and they pump them out long enough until finally you, a mainstream reporter, asks me about it,” Obama said to the McClatchy reporter during a press conference aboard his campaign plane. “That gives legs to the story. If somebody has evidence that myself or Michelle or anybody has said something inappropriate, let them do it.”

Asked whether he knew it not to be true, Obama said he had answered the question.

“Frankly, my hope is people don’t play this game,” Obama said. “It is a destructive aspect of our politics. Simply because something appears in an e-mail, that should lend it no more credence than if you heard it on the corner. Presumably the job of the press is to not to go around and spread scurrilous rumors like this until there is actually anything, an iota, of substance or evidence that would substantiate it.”

The problem is that this tape has been rumored for so long, with folks even offering quotes and paraphrases from it, that one has to wonder if it is true. After all, this isn't JUST Valerie Plame's ex-boyfriend, Larry Johnson, offering up suggestions that the tape exists. It has been "in the air" for several weeks now, from a variety of sources.

But I wonder how things will play out if there actually is such a tape. Will we be getting a statement that "This isn't the Michelle Obama I know and have been married to for sixteen years." as he throws her under the bus?

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Some news headlines sound so dumb.

Clinton Says Running Mate Choice Is ObamaÂ’s

Well -- DUH!

Unless, of course, you want to launch a floor fight against Obama's selection -- or Obama shows a decided lack of leadership and decides to let the convention choose his VP for him, something that hasn't happened in over half a century.

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Th NY Times offers this explanation of how the newly anointed Democrat nominee is weaker against John McCain than his defeated rival is.

In 2004, Mr. Kerry won 251 electoral votes, 19 shy of the 270 that would have won him the election. Which states among those that had gone to President Bush would today swing only to Mr. Obama, or only to Mrs. Clinton? And which of Mr. KerryÂ’s states would swing away from only Mr. Obama or only Mrs. Clinton? All this, of course, is based on current polls.

In Ohio, for example, Mr. McCain beats Mr. Obama two polls to one. But Mrs. Clinton beats Mr. McCain two polls to nothing. So Ohio, which Mr. Kerry did not win in 2004, would go into Mrs. ClintonÂ’s column, giving her an additional 20 electoral votes.

In Florida, Mr. McCain beats Mr. Obama three polls to zero. But Mrs. Clinton shuts out Mr. McCain two to zero. Because Florida went to President Bush four years ago, Mrs. Clinton grabs 27 more electoral votes.

In Michigan, Mr. McCain beats Mr. Obama three polls to zero. But the median poll between Mr. McCain and Mrs. Clinton is a tie. Mr. Kerry won Michigan in 2004, so Mrs. Clinton gets to keep it. But Mr. Obama loses its 17 electoral votes.

When you complete this exercise for each state, Mr. Obama picks up Colorado, Iowa and New Mexico, three states that went Republican in 2004, but he also loses Michigan and New Hampshire, two states that Mr. Kerry had won. Mrs. Clinton loses the previously Democratic states of New Hampshire and Wisconsin, but she would nab 57 electoral votes from the Republicans by winning Florida, New Mexico, Nevada and Ohio.

If the general election were held today, Mr. Obama would win 252 electoral votes as the Democratic nominee, while Mrs. Clinton would win 295. In other words, Barack Obama is losing to John McCain, and Hillary Clinton is beating him.

In other words, Democrats, we of the GOP would like to thank you for putting ideological purity ahead of electability in the selection of your party's candidate. So while a lot of us may not have been initially enthused by the selection of one of a nominee who is a moderate conservative rather than a movement conservative, we will be quite happy to do the thing that political parties are created to do -- win elections so as to set policy and control the operation of government.

Posted by: Greg at 01:36 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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One of the first things my wife and I did when we moved into our house seven years ago was start making some changes with the lighting and ceiling fans. If you could have seen some of the stuff that was here when we moved in – good lord, there was even a wagon-wheel chandelier in the dining room!

You can guess, no doubt, what the first move we made was in the lighting department – we found a black wrought-iron chandelier to replace it. We also standardized all the kitchen and hallway lights throughout the house, using Forecast lighting products. There had been such a mish-mash of styles that we just had to scrap them all and find something better.

In the end, though, we had particular fun with the ceiling fans – something that is a real necessity in most rooms here in Texas. We found several attractive fans, chosen to accent the size and color of the rooms. Most importantly, they were significantly more quiet than the older fans installed only a few years before – and I made sure that they were properly secured to the ceiling so they didn’t shake and rattle like the old ones.

WeÂ’ve not made all our changes, though. When we reface the cabinets, we will definitely add under cabinet lighting. After all, it would be nice to see clearly into every corner of the kitchen.

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Because after all, when confronted with a conflict between America's staunchest ally and the terrorist horde they are daily fighting for survival, it wouldn't do to anger the terrorists by supporting the ally.

Facing criticism from Palestinians, Sen. Barack Obama acknowledged yesterday that the status of Jerusalem will need to be negotiated in future peace talks, amending a statement earlier in the week that the city "must remain undivided."

Obama's statement, made during a speech Wednesday to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying group, drew a swift rebuke from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

"This statement is totally rejected," Abbas told reporters in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "The whole world knows that holy Jerusalem was occupied in 1967, and we will not accept a Palestinian state without having Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state."

* * *

"Well, obviously, it's going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues. And Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations," Obama said when asked whether Palestinians had no future claim to the city.

Obama said "as a practical matter, it would be very difficult to execute" a division of the city. "And I think that it is smart for us to -- to work through a system in which everybody has access to the extraordinary religious sites in Old Jerusalem but that Israel has a legitimate claim on that city."

Of course, Obama's new position isn't any worse that that of the last two administrations. But the fact that in a matter of days he is backtracking from what he said in a major policy speech because the jumped-up terrorists of the West bank and Gaza is one more sign of his foreign policy weakness.

But then again, America should never have deviated from the most correct position on the Holy Land -- Jerusalem should always be one city, undivided, in the hands of Israel, and the Palestinians have no claim upon any state not currently named Jordan.

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I love clocks. They are fascinating to me both as mechanical devices (which are well-beyond my technical understanding) and as signifiers of the passage of something that is both real and ethereal in nature – time itself.

That is part of why I regularly check in on the folks over at clocks blog -- they talk about different types of clocks, how to use them in decorating schemes, and how to maintain them so they give you a long life. I particularly like this post on how to incorporate clocks into a bedroom setting – after all, we all need one there, even if we don’t always give much thought to the question of style.

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Forty years ago today, triumph was cut short by a bullet.

Bobby Kennedy, perhaps the most accomplished and competent of the Kennedy brothers, was laid down by a man who today can only be described as a Palestinian terrorist.

Let us not forget the day.

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I've been remiss in not reporting on recent events honoring recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. But this little story today caught my eye, and I wish to reach back over sixty years to share the heroism of a Marine who at age 17 years and 6 days engaged in actions deemed so heroic as to merit the nations highest military award.

JACKSON, Miss. — Jack Lucas, who at 14 lied his way into military service during World War II and became the youngest Marine to receive the Medal of Honor, died Thursday in a Hattiesburg, Miss., hospital. He was 80.

Ponda Lee at Moore Funeral Service said the funeral home was notified that Lucas had died during the pre-dawn hours at Forrest General Hospital. He had been battling cancer. Lee said funeral arrangements were incomplete.

Lucas was just six days past his 17th birthday in February 1945 when his heroism at Iwo Jima earned him the nation's highest military honor.

Let me share with you the citation.

LUCAS, JACKLYN HAROLD

Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division.

Place and date: Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 20 February 1945.

Entered service at: Norfolk, Va.

Born: 14 February 1928, Plymouth, N.C.

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, 5th Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, 20 February 1945. While creeping through a treacherous, twisting ravine which ran in close proximity to a fluid and uncertain frontline on D-plus-1 day, Pfc. Lucas and 3 other men were suddenly ambushed by a hostile patrol which savagely attacked with rifle fire and grenades. Quick to act when the lives of the small group were endangered by 2 grenades which landed directly in front of them, Pfc. Lucas unhesitatingly hurled himself over his comrades upon 1 grenade and pulled the other under him, absorbing the whole blasting forces of the explosions in his own body in order to shield his companions from the concussion and murderous flying fragments. By his inspiring action and valiant spirit of self-sacrifice, he not only protected his comrades from certain injury or possible death but also enabled them to rout the Japanese patrol and continue the advance. His exceptionally courageous initiative and loyalty reflect the highest credit upon Pfc. Lucas and the U.S. Naval Service.

May God welcome this hero home into the company of his comrades.

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Simply put -- he'd probably be dead before he would have ever gotten treatment for his brain tumor if required to rely on a government-run universal health care scheme.

Consider Jennifer Bell of Norwich, England. In 2006, the 22-year-old complained of headaches for months - but Britain's National Health Service made her wait a year to see a neurologist.

Then she had to wait more than three months before should could get what the NHS decided was only a "relatively urgent" MRI scan. Three days before the MRI appointment, she died.

Consider, too, the chemo drug Kennedy is receiving: Temodar, the first oral medicine for brain tumors in 25 years.

Temodar has been widely used in this country since the FDA approved it in 2000. But a British health-care rationing agency, the National Institute for Comparative Effectiveness, ruled that, while the drug helps people live longer, it wasn't worth the money - and denied coverage for it.

That's the UK.

Things aren't any better in Canada.

Things are no different in Canada, where the wait for an MRI (once you finally get a referral) has grown to 10 weeks. For Canadians relying on their government health care, the average wait time from diagnosis of cancer to surgery is beyond the guideline set by both the US and European societies for surgical oncology.

And HealthCanada, the government system, similar refuses to pay for treatments that are often covered in America.

Chad Curley, a 37-year-old auto worker from Windsor, Ontario, had a brain tumor like Kennedy's but can't have surgery because his is too large to be operable.

His tumor didn't respond to Temodar and the same doctors now treating Sen. Kennedy told him and his wife that the Avastin combination could stop his tumor from growing and add months to his life. But HealthCanada wouldn't pay to use Avastin to treat his tumor.

Chad's family and friends scraped together the $5,000 for the first round of treatment in mid-November; they later saw Chad's left-side paralysis start to subside. But the money ran out - and he died on Feb. 21.

But then again, maybe Ted Kennedy would have gotten the best treatment -- after all, the bootlegger's son has lot's of cash, so he would be able to pay for whatever he needed (if the government didn't make it illegal to go outside the system, like Hillary Clinton proposed 15 years ago). That would mean he would get the sort of medical care that average Americans would not be able to get under the sort of health care scheme he and his party are pushing -- medical care that is standard today in the United States.

And the rest of us would simply have to die for the collective good. Sounds like the old Soviet Union to me -- the elite get the best care, and the people suffer.

Don Surber also comments.

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