A PC seasonal greeting . . .

"Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. And without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee. By accepting these greetings you are accepting these terms.

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself or himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher."

Via an email from my friend Richard Singletary.

The "doctrine" of Liberalism

I have always marveled at how the Left's perspective on Government is akin to my view of Christianity: they are devoted to it and have faith in its ability to solve our problems. Accordingly, someone like Algore could justify $353 in charitable gifts (not even to a church, necessarily) because his taxes were intended for a similar purpose. This op/ed nicely discusses the issue in the sphere of economics.

Unlikely compatriots . . . or not.

This is an excellent op/ed regarding the "coalitions" those on the Left are willing to abide in their spite for Dubya (and for their political betters, generally). It's an old saying that politics makes for strange bedfellows, but in this case the relationships are disturbing more than strange.

Intelligent Design and Evolution

David Klinghoffer exposes the fallacies in the recent Federal judge's decision that "Intelligent Design" is inherently religious and, therefore, prohibited from being presented to school children.

Here's another excellent op/ed on the issue from Pat Buchanan. Great quote from Buchanan:

If scientists know life came from matter and matter from non-matter, why don't they show us how this was done, instead of asserting it was done, and calling us names for not taking their claims on faith?

Update: I like this quote from David Klinghoffer that I read in another article,

So the debate must go on. If President Bush and others suggest that students may legitimately be made aware that the argument between Darwin and design has two sides, they are only saying it’s right to acquaint young people with reality. And who can argue with that?

In sum, it is wrong to equate Intelligent Design and Creationism (though the two dovetail nicely), and those who pooh-pooh ID are arguing against teaching facts to young people.

Media bias study (and a specimen of such)

Here's an interesting story concerning a UCLA study on media bias that is worth reading: newsflash, the media is overwhelmingly biased toward Liberalism.

One great example that I just read (via Drudgereport.com, which is mentioned flatteringly in the above article) shows a Lefty bias as a mistatement by the President (again, is this newsworthy?) is characterized as either sleight of hand or proof of a psychological disorder: Bush said "Saddam" instead of "Osama" at one point during today's press conference and immediately corrected himself. The last sentence of the article "objectively" notes:

The Bush administration sought to convince Americans before the invasion of Iraq that Saddam Hussein's government had links to bin Laden's al Qaeda. No such links have been proven.

A Liberal and the President's Iraq address

I am encouraged to see some semblance of even-handedness in Jonathan Chait's response to the President's Iraq address this evening, but I can hardly believe his several assertions about Bush not being magnanimous about the war (or about anything, for that matter). Chait wrote:

A SURPRISE IN BUSH'S IRAQ SPEECH:
I am not, to say the least, a fan of President Bush. But a portion of his speech tonight genuinely moved me and made me think more highly of him. It was the part where he addressed opponents of the Iraq war, said he understand their passion but asked that they think of the stakes of defeat now that the war had happened and asked that they not give in to despair. I cannot remember this president ever speaking to his political opponents except to mischaracterize their views and use them as a straw man. (His post-Florida speech did to some extent, but it was so vague and struck me as so patently disingenuous that it didn't produce any similar reaction in me.)This may be easy for me to say because I supported the war and oppose withdrawal. But even Bush's prior pro-war speeches mostly struck me as simplistic, ugly and demagogic, reminders that I supported the war despite the administration rather than because of it. But this moment in his speech tonight really struck me as some kind of symbolic or emotional break from the past for Bush--a genuine attempt to unify Americans rather than polarize them. Bush and his supporters (both inside and outside the administration) have made it so damn hard to support them on this war. It just got a little easier tonight.

To put it frankly, I find it absurd to state that Bush is ever "ugly" or "demagogic." Liberals are a bunch of wussies if they think that Bush is scrappy or a dirty player. There are not many people who would respond as mildly or temperately or slowly to a bunch of pansy, squishy-headed demagogues calling him an idiot and a liar for a solid six and three years, respectively.

"America's Earliest Terrorists"

This is a fascinating article about the Muslim roots of the Barbary Pirates--the world's first Islamo-fascists. A great quote from the article is that of the ambassador of the Barbary states when asked by then-Ambassadors Thomas Jefferson and John Adams why they were hostile to the new American republic:

[The Barbary Ambassador] answered them, as they reported to the Continental Congress, “that it was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise.”

I don't believe this . . .

This quote in an obituary for investigative journalist Jack Anderson really bothers me, because the accusation shouldn't be treated cavalierly--if true, nor loosely asserted.

Such scoops earned him a spot on President Nixon's "enemies list." Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy has described how he and other Nixon political operatives planned ways to silence Anderson permanently _ such as slipping him LSD or staging a fatal car crash _ but the White House nixed the idea.

Though I do believe that Liberals believe Republicans are willing to kill their political enemies (actually, I think psychologists call it "projection"), such seeming casual references are inappropriate--I'll look into the veracity of it.

Faux indignation (on cue for the Patriot Act vote)

It is interesting to watch as the Left attempts to characterize the Patriot Act, and by proxy, the Bush Administration, as a fascist hammer. For example, the NY Times conveniently "reported" a story that was more than a year old about executive-branch-approved eavesdropping on persons with terrorist links, just as reauthorization of the Patriot Act was moving through the Senate . (Incidentally, the Patriot Act is an example of a non-specific, "controversial," sticky "issue" that enemies of Bush believe they can use as a weapon to beat him with--even though the majority of them agree with the impetus behind it).

But it gets even more disingenuous regarding the NSA report: the Congress had received regular briefings on the subject over the entire course of its implementation, but is now acting as if it was all happening in secret (the former just doesn't fit into the Bushitler, Gestapo torture chamber, trampling our "civil rights" theme).

Re. GM . . .

Here's an interesting article about the GM situation, and from the looks of it, you can hardly blame them for moving operations to India.

Gee, I wonder what the reporter's opinion was?

This article concerning recent oral arguments in a Federal Appeals Court is interesting because the reporter so blatantly is slanting the story. He makes a big deal about appellate judges asking pointed questions and asking a lot of questions and cornering attorneys and wondering aloud about attorneys' legal arguments . . . uh, that's typical for an appellate court. But of course, it is important to characterize judges as being biased and to rebut their arguments (in the text of the "report") when the issue involves the Religious Right!!!!! (Oh, and I like the gratuitous swipe at the "controversial" but recently-seated appointee, Bill Pryor) In any event, the Left must put on a full-court press to defend its theory of origins--evolution. And the so-called mainstream media must do its part, even though Intelligent Design is merely a scientific observation/critique about macro-evolution.

General Motors cuts US production, invests in India

In November, General Motors announced plans to close 12 North American manufacturing facilities by 2008 and layoff 30,000 employees, a figure which represents 17 percent of GM's North American work force of 173,000.

But on Tuesday, GM unveiled a new plan to triple production and headcount in India.

If you're concerned about the loss of American jobs, take comfort in this: Lawrence Burns, GM Vice President for R&D and Strategic Planning, argued that jobs are not really being moved from the United States to India, because they plan to simply work their existing Indian employees harder before hiring new ones.

However, he added that India is the future and "the hiring momentum here will continue."

THIS is anarchy

Reading this article reminded me of the angst I felt in the month-or-so following the 2000 presidential election. In particular, it concerns me that a large segment of our population has no comprehension of the rule of law.

A group of students (primarily) stormed a meeting of the board of canvassers in Michigan to prevent a certification of ballot petitions. Amazingly, the board acceded to the intimidation in violation (for a second time) of a state appeals court's order requiring the board members to do their statutorily-defined job. These students (and others) may disagree with the policy that is behind the ballot initiative, but this is outrageous, and I am disappointed that only one person was arrested.

Don't let the facts get in the way of the demagoguery . . .

This article reports that blacks appear not to have been disproportionately victimized by Hurricane Katrina (now, of course, the Left will say this just demonstrates how much of an idiot and incompetent Bush is at executing his racist agenda).

Planned Parenthood helps cover up child rape

An interesting "testimonial" appeared yesterday on the Planned Parenthood of San Francisco web site, and it must have gotten some attention. The page is now blank, but I captured a screen shot while it was active:



The poster is a girl who describes herself as having been raped at 11 by her then-boyfriend, age 17. She's thankful for Planned Parenthood, which she says "helped me deal with the aftermath of the rape" without involving her parents or the police.

The 17-year-old who raped her is probably also thankful for Planned Parenthood's assistance in covering up the crime.

Elsewhere, under the "Just for Teens" section of the site, Planned Parenthood advises kids that "you are the only one who can decide what is right for you." Even setting aside the abortion issue, it's hard to believe any organization would help an 11-year old child cover up her own rape and hide the matter from her parents and the authorities.

Failing to report the rape of a child should not be a matter of "choice."

Justice Breyer and Judicial Mysticism

Great op/ed about SCOTUS Justice Stephen Breyer and judicial liberalism.

This is news?

This breathless headline is astonishing, "Bush: I am responsible." Followed by this foolish sentence:

President Bush today accepted responsibility for going to war in Iraq based on faulty intelligence.

He's never denied that intelligence was faulty (though I think he should only acknowledge that in a qualified way), and he's never blamed anybody else for it, and he's never wavered on the legitimacy of the decision with or without stockpiles of WMD's in Iraq. The war in Iraq was simply the next necessary step in the GWOT. It has already born fruit (see: Libya, Syria, Egypt) and may possibly result in only the third democratic republic in that part of the world. And I'd rather be fighting the Jihad in the deserts of Iraq than in the U.S.

What a Conservative jurist is NOT

This article reports a Federal judge's order that FEMA (read: taxpayers) MUST continue to pay for hotel rooms of persons displaced from Hurricane Katrina (read: New Orleans residents) through Feb. 7th--more than 6 months after the hurricane.

It's debatable whether taxpayers should still be footing these bills, but the judge's order is what bothered me:

The judge said he based his ruling on the federal law that authorized FEMA. It requires the government to ease suffering and damage caused by natural disasters. The arbitrary deadline violates that legislation, Judge Duval wrote, and discriminates against victims based on their economic status.

I'm sorry, but there is no violation of the law in this case, and it is a judge trying to act as an Executive (or perhaps a Legislator) by establishing that "eas[ing] suffering" requires 6 months rather than 4 months of free housing.

Thanks, MSM for connecting the dots

This article discusses the surprise move by the SCOTUS to take up cases concerning the Texas redistricting plan. I'll admit, it is surprising to me that they are going to hear these cases, but it is funny how the MSM does us the service of connecting the dots in all these Republican "scandals." The article states,

The Texas redistricting plan is also at the center of Mr. DeLay's September indictment for allegedly violating Texas campaign-finance laws. The campaign funds in question were being used to support Republican candidates for the newly drawn districts.

Certainly, the redistricting plan is at the center of the DeLay prosecution, but--laughably, not as portrayed by the reporter. Rather, the Dems in Texas (to include DeLay's persecutor) are spitting mad that they weren't able to hold onto their absurdly unrepresentative majority in the U.S. Congress. And, I would relish the opportunity to debate Dems on the issue of gerrymandering.

"The Year's Most-Baffling Word": Integrity

This article talks about MerriamWebster.com 's most-looked-up word of the year: "integrity." The author is pretty even-handed about drawing conclusions about why its meaning was baffling to so many, but I noticed that, whereas spikes in the searches for other words were linked to particular events, no such information was provided on "integrity." I would be interested to know that data, and I'll keep looking for it elsewhere.

What the Islamofascists don't like about elections

This article reminded me of what is at stake in Iraq and why Islamofascists are deadset against "successful" elections there or anywhere: devout Muslims do not believe that any law should govern but Sharia or religious law; thus, they reject the notion that a body of legislators (whether or not they're elected by citizens) can draft laws and govern a people. As a result, they reject democracy--as long as they're in the majority.

Good news from "the Courts" today

I was encouraged by this story of an Empire State's appeal court reversal of a lower court's ruling that restricting marriage to men and women violates the Constitution.

In addition, I was encouraged to read of a trial court's rejection of the no-jail plea agreement proffered in the most recent FL school teacher sex case.

The Left "Shoot[s] to kill" Judge Alito

This is an interesting article/anatomy of a smear by lefty mag, Slate. As the article's author states, honesty is the first casualty in a political fight with the Left.

Barbra Streisand dropping LA Times subscription

I just read that Barbra Streisand is dropping her subscription to the LA Times (hat tip, Drudge Report) because they have replaced (apparently) a favorite columnist of hers and replacing him with Jonah Goldberg.

First of all, Goldberg is both funny and insightful, and he is one of my favorite writers (from www.NationalReview.com).

Second, you can bet that including Goldberg will do more to reflect the "diversity" in southern California--a characteristic which Streisand purports to value.

Third, I love how she misspells "principles" in her letter . . . what an airhead.

Update: Here's an excellent op/ed in response by none other than Jonah Goldberg.

On the issue of fomenting distrust . . .

This op/ed by Newsweek's Howard Fineman laments the growing public distrust of the White House and frets that this political climate could divide our country along the lines of the division during the Vietnam War. Well, duh. And that explains the Dems' actions: they see everything through the prism of Vietnam (war is unnecessary/America is imperialistic/ the threat isn't that serious, etc.), and they are eager to split the country apart with the axe of a "controversial" war.

When politics intrude on the courtroom

This article about the DOJ's failed prosecution of a Florida professor (and anti-Israel fundraiser) is sprinkled with allusions to the defense's theory--that this was a "political prosecution," and I think they are sort of right. I couldn't help but wonder how the Left's virtually incessant accusations against the President's purported corruption and malevolence affected the trial. Certainly this administration--who would lie to take us to war for oil/revenge/fun, etc., is capable of prosecuting someone for exercising free speech, right?

The American Spirit

Earlier today, something from my childhood randomly sprang to mind. Google is great for curiosity-seekers, and this is how I waste a lot of time.

When I was about 9 or 10, an album of poems written and recorded by Tennessee humorist Richard M. "Pek" Gunn somehow came into my posession. Thanks to Google, I now recall that he was the first Poet Laureate of Tennessee. Beyond that, not much information exists about Pek Gunn.

But I did find a couple of poems which I remember from my childhood, and this is one of them:

THE OPTIMIST

I passed a sand lot yesterday,
Some kids were playing ball,
I strolled along the third base line
Within the fielder's call.

"Say, what's the score?" I asked the chap,
He yelled to beat the stuffin'
"There's no one out, the bases are full
and they're forty-two to nuthin!"

"You're getting beat, aren't you my lad?"
And then in no time flat,
He answered, "No sir, not as yet!
Our side ain't been to bat!"

Commenting on the poem, Mr. Gunn wrote, "We smile at these lines, but this is the spirit that caused John Paul Jones to say, 'I've just begun to fight.' It sustained Washington at Valley Forge. It built all our schools and churches, and it is this never give up spirit of the American people that says, 'I don't care how much is against me, I can still win! Just let me at bat."
Now I can't help but contrast that spirit against what we've gotten from Democrats in the last few days:

- Rep. John Murtha describing the military as "broken, worn out" and "living hand to mouth."

- Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the House, stepping to the podium to say "I'm endorsing what Rep. Murtha is saying."

- Gov. Howard Dean declaring that "the idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong."

- Sen. John Kerry calling American soldiers "terrorists" on CBS's Face the Nation:

KERRY: There is no reason, Bob, that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children, you know, women, breaking sort of the customs of the--of--the historical customs, religious customs. Whether you like it or not...

SCHIEFFER: Yeah.

KERRY: ...Iraqis should be doing that.

So we aren't going ever going to be able to defeat these roadside bombers, and the US military is broken and worn out, presumably exhausted from breaking into homes throughout Iraq in the dead of night to terrorize women and children. Which bothers Kerry, because "Iraqis should be doing that."

Pek Gunn, we need you now more than ever.

Katrina Documents!!!!!!

The media's power to propagandize is glaring when you consider the headlines/reports concerning the recently publicized documents from before during and after Katrina. The funny thing about this article is how gubernatorial cluelessness of LA's Governor (and her staff) and their apparent paranoia about the Bush White House (particularly Rove).

Dems' Retreat and Defeat Plan

It is interesting to have the media's focus turning away from the accusations made by Dems to their own plans and to the substance of their criticism. I like the phrase I heard today from Ken Mehlman: "retreat and defeat." I think it nicely summarizes what leading Dems believe about this phase in the GWOT: we are losing, we can't help but lose and we need to withdraw troops.

It is interesting to read the comments of Howard Dean's spokesperson because he mocks the Administration for paying journalists to write positive stories about the advances being made in Iraq, and yet he is the first to quote (unspecified) polls which purportedly show that 80% of Iraqis want U.S. troops to leave Iraq. Well, does public opinion matter or not? How are impressions established among a citizenry?

Roe v. Wade and "Being Outside the Mainstream"

I received this excellent info today from Family Research Council concerning LIBERAL critics of the legal basis for the infamous Roe v. Wade decision. It clearly expresses how outrageous is the claim by Liberals that those of us who criticize that decision are "outside the mainstream":

Judge Sam Alito was hauled up the Hill again last week to explain the difference between the views he expressed as a member of the Reagan Administration and his judicial philosophy. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) pronounced himself "neither satisfied nor dissatisfied" with Alito's answers. In a 1985 memo, Alito had said there is no constitutional right to abortion. The focus now is on Alito's personal views because he is a judicial conservative. He has fifteen years on the federal bench during which he did not impose his personal views on the law. But that's not good enough for some liberals, apparently. It's not that liberals haven't criticized Roe v. Wade. Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law School was an attorney for Al Gore in 2000. Tribe said of Roe: "The substantive judgment on which it rests is nowhere to be found." Edward Lazarus is a former clerk to Harry Blackmun. Blackmun wrote Roe. Lazarus said: "As a matter of constitutional interpretation and judicial method, Roe borders on the indefensible." He further said: "[Roe] has little connection to the Constitutional right it purportedly interpreted." The late John Hart Ely was Dean of Yale Law School. He famously said: "Roe is not constitutional law and gives almost no sense of an obligation to try to be." So, why is it all these liberals can criticize Roe v. Wade and get away with it? Why, even Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has criticized the grounds for Roe! It's because liberals know that each of their fellow liberals is committed to abortion-on-demand. And they know that conservatives like Alito are committed to judicial restraint, to not legislating from the bench. Nowhere is liberal hypocrisy more obvious. For them, it's all about abortion, that is, getting the result, regardless of the rationale.

Let's be clear about what Murtha said

I'm intrigued by all the discussion about Rep. Jack Murtha's comments over the Iraq war . . . it is important to know precisely what Murtha said (transcript) and what he's being criticized for.

Murtha said our efforts in Iraq weren't succeeding, we couldn't succeed in Iraq and we needed to withdraw all of our troops out of Iraq. That, sir, is based on a hand-wringing view of war and this war, in particular. And your proposal, sir, amounts to cutting and running.

Of course, something that you notice if you read the transcript is that he was simply a different messenger for the Dem meme that Bush lied us into an extracurricular war. He deserves criticism for what he has said.

Disturbing aspects of French face transplant story

A couple aspects of this "face transplant" story are disturbing to me, in particular:

Brain-dead patients in France are presumed to be organ donors unless they have made explicit provisions to the contrary, and approval by next of kin is not normally required.

Likewise, this aspect of the story is disturbing (though it is much less surprising in light of the above French policy)

Harvesting of the face was complicated by the convergence of several teams to remove other organs from the donor, but the operation was complete by 5 a.m.

"Moderate" Dem Governor (and likely Dem Pres. Candidate, shhhh) Commutes Death Sentence

Here's a report of a Virginia death sentence commuted by the "moderate" Dem Governor Mark Warner. The interesting thing is that there was NO reason (per the VA Sup.Ct. and U.S. Sup. Ct.'s) to overturn this jury's guilty verdict. NO trial is without errors, but absent intentional wrongful acts by the state, there is no reason that an error should negate an otherwise supportable-beyond-a-reasonable-doubt conviction. Of course, the doubt supporting commutation need not be reasonable if the person assessing the evidence intends to run for president as a Dem.

It's also interesting that the embodiment of prosecutorial abuse (Clinton Special Prosecutor Ken Starr, of course!!!) had advocated on behalf of this murderer on appeal. Wow.

"Catholic Church says homosexuality not good." This is news?

This article is fascinating in that it makes it seem like news that the Catholic Church thinks that homosexuality is not a positive phenomenon.

Sort of makes me lean toward a golden retriever

This report of five pit-bull/rottweiler mix dogs attacking two persons in TX (and killing one of the victims) makes me lean toward a golden retriever (if and when we get another dog). We've flirted with the idea of getting a german shepherd (I was even thinking the other day--ironically, during a family viewing of Beethoven, how beautiful a doberman pinscher is). Our family german shepherd growing up was a great/gentle dog, but I don't know . . .

If every Dem lawyer had the luxury of no political ambition . . .

I suspect that every Dem defense lawyer in America who has the luxury of no political ambition would probably love to be like former Dem U.S. Attorney General and volunteer (interject) him/herself into Saddam Hussein's defense team.

Piece of SCOTUS facade falls . . .

Here's a report that part of the facade on the front of the Supreme Court Building in D.C. fell. The article states, "The marble was part of the molding that serves as a frame for the frieze of statues atop the court's main entrance." I wonder if it was the statue depicting Moses and the Ten Commandments? I wonder if Ralph Neas can account for his whereabouts over the weekend?

Poll: Majority of Americans Oppose Abortion

Interesting polling data at CNN regarding abortion 55% of Americans think abortion should be heavily restricted (of that group, 26% think it should be completely illegal); 69% believe in spousal and parental notice. This is good to keep in mind when the Libs claim that someone like SCOTUS appointee Alito is "outside the mainstream." Sorry, but I don't believe the Left has one whit of firsthand knowledge of the "mainstream."

Sharpton and Jackson tarnish Rosa Parks' legacy

It's no surprise to me that Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton took the opportunity to demagogue racial politics during the eulogies offered at Rosa Parks' recent memorial service. Read for yourself what these racists had to say . . .

Recent howler from N. Korea

In response to a recent video depicting a public execution and broadcast by CNN (via Drudgereport.com) , N. Korea correctly observes that CNN's popularity is crashing, but foolishly assert that CNN carries water for the Bush Administration.

"CNN is losing popularity as the days go by although it had high audience rating in the world in the past," KCNA said. Much upset by this, CNN staged such poor farce to improve its image." In the process, the U.S. broadcaster has been "reduced to a trumpeter and a political waiting maid for the U.S. administration," it said.

Uh-oh, critically injured shooting victim in Tacoma Mall shooting may not have been a "real victim"

This article from Washington state reveals that the critically-injured victim in the Tacoma Mall shootings may not qualify as a "victim": it appears he is (a) a devout Christian, (b) registered to carry a firearm and (c) was armed with his own handgun, and (d) may have responded to violence with violence.

On a serious note, it is DESPICABLE to read what this loser perpetrator (Maldonado) claims were his reasons for committing these crimes. I hope they SLAM him.

Winning the GWOT and "the Islamofascist Snowball"

This is an interesting article which details ways in which the U.S. (or the West) could proceed to win the Global War on Terror/Islamofascism. My only disagreement with Michael Ledeen, the article's author, is that the war in Iraq is--like the revolt in Poland was in the 80's, the battle of the moment, and the battle that can ultimately lead to the downfall of larger enemies. Sure, it would have been nice to take on Syria, Iran and Iraq at the same time (to heartily put the Islamofascists on the defensive), but that wasn't feasible. Iraq was simply next on the list (a list which can get shorter, as in the case of Libya) of terror sponsors. The financial planning expert Dave Ramsey emphasizes that a person with multiple debts needs to tackle the smallest debt first (even if it isn't the highest interest rate) and then move to the next smallest debt and so on (I think he refers to it as the Debt Snowball). We needed to deal with Iraq/Saddam under the same principle.

Woodward, the Grinch who stole fitzmas

If you haven't heard, Bob Woodward--investigative reporter extraordinaire, is really stealing the Left's Fitzmas. The transcript of Woodward's appearance on Larry King Live! (I love that exclamation point) is very interesting, in particular, this statement in response to King's questioning Woodward about not coming forward with info he had about the Plame affair:

You know the significance of this is yet to be determined and what's the good news in all of this is when it all comes out, and hopefully it will come out, people will see how casual and offhand this was. Remember, the investigation and the allegations that people have printed about this story is that there's some vast conspiracy to slime Joe Wilson and his wife, really attack him in an ugly way that is outside of the boundaries of political hardball.The evidence I had firsthand, small piece of the puzzle I acknowledge, is that that was not the case. So, I'm trying to find out and focus on immense questions about are we going to go to war in Iraq? How are we going to do it? What is the nature of Powell's position? What did Cheney do? What was the CIA's role? How good was the intelligence on all of this?I think at this point I was learning things like that the CIA Director George Tenet went in and told the president the intelligence on WMD in Iraq was a slam dunk. That was new. That was the basis of this incredibly critical decision the president and his war cabinet were making on do we invade Iraq?

Wow, the Watergate icon is saying, there's nothing to the Plame affair. HeeHeeHee.

Reagan's "Star Wars" still needed?

This report about Russia's efforts to foil America's missile-defense system is a little troubling. That being said, I am convinced that democracies don't attack democracies, so we can still focus on moving the former commies toward republican and democratic forms of gov't.

Red state, blue state, me vs. you state

This is an interesting report about charitable giving in Red States and Blue States. The finding? Citizens (and, therefore, voters) in Red States are more generous! This is not a new finding as I've seen previous studies on the subject that found the same thing.

Of course, Blue Staters are bothered by this finding (and--believe it or not) have funded their own study of the statistics.

By the way, I don't deny that the statistics on this subject are complicated and any such study can produce false findings, but AT LEAST it neutralizes the "mean-spirited," "selfish," "ungenerous" blahblahblah characterizations hurled by the Left at non-Liberals. And I think it is also fascinating to consider how higher costs of living and higher taxes and higher regulatory burdens, etc. factor into the whole issue. Those poor blue staters may be taxing themselves (inasmuch as taxes equal coerced giving) so much that their ability to give is seriously diminished.

ADL (Anti-defamation League) and the bogey man

Abraham Foxman--the head of the ironically (in light of this story) named Anti-Defamation League, is warning that the biggest threat (and fundraising foil!) for Jews in America is . . . evangelical Christians. This is so blatantly partisan it is despicable . . . there is no better friend to Israel (and, thus, no less anti-semitic segment of American society) than evangelicals. Of course, even Jews in America can't be overtly supportive of Israel, because such a sentiment could be interpreted as politically incorrect and could possibly result in some benefit to Dubya and the GWOT.

Bush rebutting Liberal accusations

I am glad to see that the President is responding to the endless and baseless accusations from the Left concerning the Iraq war. (When I read the article's headline --"Bush escalates bitter Iraq war debate," I thought maybe I had stumbled upon the DNC website--who made the debate "bitter" in the first place?).

The buzz about "evolution" and "intelligent design"

I hesitate to post on this subject because it is so politically incorrect not to believe conventional wisdom, but I just read an article on FoxNews.com purporting to forthrightly explain evolution. The genesis (clever of me, huh?) of the story was recent school board elections around the country which were decided on the issue of teaching evolutionary theory and intelligent design. What kills me about the whole debate is the arrogance and propensity to squelch disagreement by those believers in macro-evolution. As scientists, they should be slower to draw conclusions and especially to twist/obfuscate the facts to support their belief system.

This excellent rebuttal demonstrates the intellectual and scientific problems with teaching evolution as fact.

the deafening silence about Iran's threats

This op/ed is great concerning the American so-called MSM's indifference to threats against Israel by Iran's prime minister. The killer quote:

"How can even the dreariest press in the English-speaking world maintain their interest in the third year of Joe Wilson’s 15 minutes? What a pitiful spectacle. If they’ve a sense of humor, the Iranians will time the mushroom cloud for the first day of the Bush-Cheney impeachment trial."

Difficulty demonizing Alito

Robert Novak (yes, of Libby leak fame) has this excellent report about the difficulty the Left will have in demonizing SCOTUS appointee Alito . . . the reality is that the majority of Americans don't agree with Dems on abortion (nor on many issues, once they see past the spin to the substance). As Novak demonstrates, the Left has to rely on mischaracterizations (even lies) to prevail in the debate on abortion policy and the SCOTUS.

Nuclear Threat Initiative

This organization (NIT.org) is doing a good job of educating the public and the pols about the serious threat posed by--among other things, unsecured nuclear materials across the globe. Though it is decidedly Democrat in its makeup, its mission is wholly necessary and as long as they continue to be non-partisan, I will support their work. (Frankly I was--and still am a little suspicious at the birth of the organization in the months prior to the 2004 presidential election, but we can't look at everything through a partisan prism. Even a broken clock deserves respect at least twice a day).

I just read today about one successful NTI.org program to secure some nuclear raw mat'ls which were sitting in Kazakhstan (just over the border from nuke-coveting Iran).

If you visit their site, you can request a free DVD of the movie Last Best Chance--a docudrama which has been aired on HBO. Pretty cool movie . . . former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson (R-TN) plays the President.

"Jihad" in France . . . contrast with U.S.

I think that you can get a good look at the efficacy of appeasement with fundamentalist Islam by looking at what has been going on in France over the past week-and-a-half. I've posted on this before, but I believe Islam is only compatible with democracy as long as Muslims are in the minority.

The Libby prosecution

This is an excellent article (tip 'o the hat to Mark Levin) about the difficulty of proving charges of perjury, false statements and obstructing justice. It is politically unfortunate that, in the event that Libby is acquitted, the Left will complain of a right-wing legal cabal.

Craven Dems

This is a great op/ed about the Dems' craven efforts to politicize the war on terror . . . hey, whatever works, right?

Cognitive dissonance from Mr. Ex-Pres?

This article is a real pick-me-up regarding former President Jimmy Carter, and it could explain some of the strident Bush-bashing by Carter: he now says he thinks that all abortion is wrong . . . and that the best treatment he has received since leaving office was from George HW Bush, next best treatment was from Reagan and the worst was from Bill Clinton. Maybe Carter's actions in recent years could be explained by cognitive dissonance.

Review of Jimmeh Carter's latest tome

This is a great review of former President Jimmy Carter's book, Our Endangered Values, which amounts to a rubberband gun aimed right at Dubya's head. I especially like the numerous factual inaccuracies (and concomitant false assertions) noted by the reviewer. Before the 2004 election, I thought Carter was at least a nice man . . . now I don't even give him that much credit.

Astonishing hypocrisy re. "race"

This article about haters of Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele reveals an astonishing degree of hypocrisy on matters of race.

In sum, because Gov. Steele is African-American and not a Liberal Democrat his African-American adversaries claim that race-based bashing of him is fine and dandy (because he doesn't think the way these Democrat black politicians think he should). This is, frankly, despicable in my eyes. What hypocrites.

Former Clinton hack has it right . . .

Lanny Davis, a former Clinton hack, seems to have it right on the Plame/Wilson affair . . . which is refreshing (but demonstrates that he was simply a tool in the Clinton White House).

"The indictment against Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, by the special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald presents a challenge in
political-crisis management not just for the White House, but for the Democrats
as well. And based on recent evidence, both are falling into the same old
mistakes."

The only thing I disagree with is the notion that the MSM were equally "culpable" in the criminalization of politics then as they are now. Folks in the so-called Mainstream media clearly think that Conservative politics is nigh unto criminal, but smile upon Liberal pols.

Cool website

This website, called Truthmapping.com, advertises itself as "a tool to elevate debate," and I agree. It is an interactive site that uses rules of logic to arrive at sound conclusions. This quote on the site well states the efficacy of logic for arriving at truth in a debate:

"Truth will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; Nay, you may kick it around all day like a football, and it will be round and full at evening."-- Oliver W. Holmes, Sr.

Currently on the site: a "truthmapping" exercise for the Wilson/Plame affair.

Don't miss this point, folks . . .

From USAtty Patrick Fitzgerald's press conference announcing the indictment of Scooter Libby:

Q: Terry Moran…There are some who see this is vindication of their views on
the war. Is it?
A: This indictment is not about the war. Not about the
propriety of the war. This is stripped of that debate and focused on a narrow
transaction…they will be frustrated and not good for process and fairness of
trial.

A prosecutor's prosecutor, it seems

As I listened to the Fitzgerald press conference today I couldn't help but long for the days when I was a prosecutor. Fitzgerald's scrupulous refusal to divulge information from the grand jury investigation and his focused response to baited questions from the media demonstrated (to me at least) that he is above the politics of this situation.

The bottom line (and this is what will separate me from a Liberal, who only likes a prosecutor if the prosecution target is a Republican) is that it appears Scooter Libby lied during the investigation ,and even though this whole investigation is the result of disingenuous accusations of Dem partisans (particularly Joe Wilson), Libby was wrong to lie. And as has often been said since Watergate, it is generally the coverup--more than the purported offense, that gets an administration in trouble.

More about Rosa Parks

Here's a great op/ed about Rosa Parks who passed away this week. Great quote, "Her feet weren't tired. Her soul was exhausted."

Irony (and spinning) abounds

Just saw this press release from so-called "People for the American Way" (PFAW) bemoaning that the Miers' withdrawal demonstrates the "ultra right wing's" control over the GOP. I wish. What would these freaks be feeling if Kennedy and McCain weren't driving Bush's agenda on Capitol Hill?

Two ironies jump out to me: first, PFAW would surely not be saying the same thing if Dubya were taking his left wing advice on anything; second, the name of their spawned-just-for-the-judicial-nominations website is "savethecourt.org" . . . they--I assume inadvertently, left off the traditional first word of that well-known phrase--"God."

Thoughts on parenthood . . .

John Derbyshire (yes, he's originally from Britain) has written a great article on child-rearing in the age of Madonna as supernanny. I particularly was interested in the part contrasting the experiences of today's children with their much-less-unsupervised lives of yesteryear.

This a pretty good article, too.

Another attorney weighs in on the faux CIA "leak" scandal.

Definitive article on CIA "leak" story

The definitive article on this Faux Scandal is one by Mark Levin.

Inspiring announcement about Maryland Senate race

Lt. Gov. Michael Steele of Maryland has announced his GOP candidacy for U.S. Senate, and he quoted these inspiring words from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:

Cowardice asks the question - is it safe?Vanity asks the question - is it
popular?Expediency asks the question - is it political?But conscience asks the
question - is it right?

Kick some donkey, Gov. Steele.

Roving for scandal

This article gives a fairly reasonable account of the Joseph Wilson/Valerie Plame affair; but you have to read the entire article, overlook look the characterizations and pay attention to the facts.

The bottom line is that, since early in Bush's first term, the Dems have been trying with all their might to characterize Dubya as a liar. When they stumbled upon a purported fabrication by the administration: the assertion in the State of the Union address that British intelligence had determined that Sadaam Hussein had attempted to buy yellow cake mat'l from Niger.

1. British intelligence stands by its report to us--the Bush admin. didn't lie in the state of the union speech.
2. Joe Wilson was asked by the CIA to take a boondoggle at least in part because his wife worked on the Anti-terrorism task force (or something along those lines) at the CIA--it's still not clear, even to Wilson, whether she was "covert." One thing that IS clear is that she is not a non-partisan civil servant.
3. Wilson said he found no indication that British intell was right or that Sadaam had sought yellow cake; he merely filed an oral report of such upon his return.
4. After the state of the union assertion, Wilson wrote a column in the NY Times claiming "BUSH LIED . . . blah, blah, blah"; subsequently he joined the Kerry for President campaign as an advisor.
5. As the buzz started--in the couple of months prior to the 2004 election, about Wilson's accusations in the NYT, the WH began to look into who this critic was and what was motivating him . . . they determined that he was sent to Niger because of his wife and had not WMD expertise nor intell expertise . . . they set out to discredit him and his attacks on the WH . . . Discrediting Wilson is not a complicated task, but it certainly is a scandalous one in the eyes of the so-called MSM.
6. Then Wilson pretends that the WH's noting that Wilson got the Niger assignment because of his wife's job amounted to trying to "get to him through exposing his wife's covertness" and that such references to how he got the assignment amounted to "exposing a covert agent" which violates a federal law.
7. Two years later, a special prosecutor is working his tail off to come up with something/someone to indict and I predict it will be for inconsistent statements made by Bush admin. people who have been fully cooperative and given multiple instances of testimony/statements to the prosecutor.

Where's the beef, Dems?

It's not against the law to be a Conservative or a Republican.

Pillar of pro-life movement dies

I just read that Wellington Mara, long-time owner of the N.Y. Giants and a pillar of the pro-life movement has died from cancer at age 89. Since I've been paying attention to the abortion holocaust I have often heard of his pro-life views and respected him for that alone, but I was encouraged to read that so many people in his life--from co-owners of NFL franchises to players on his teams, had unqualified respect for him. R.I.P. Mr. Mara.

How ironic . . . FEMA now accused of spendthriftyness

This article has a time-warpish feel to it . . . local officials (and the so-called MSM) are raising questions about use of taxpayer monies by FEMA to provide relief dollars following Katrina. It appears that boatloads of money have been given out to undeserving persons making exaggerated and fraudulent claims. Yeah, tell us about it. I wonder if Howie Dean will want hearings on this aspect of the Federal Gov't's response to Katrina.

Civil rights heroine dies

I am saddened to read that Rosa Parks has died, though she lived a long, full life. Her death reminds me of an account I've heard of her moment in history. In particular, I remember reading that she has said of her decision not to give her seat to a white man, she had done so because she was just tired . . . of course, it wasn't akin to laziness, but rather a resolve that is borne from being fed up. She made her mark in history (and paved the way for societal change) because she finally decided she wasn't going to take it anymore. And sometimes I think we have to get tired of doing things the easy or convenient or acceptable or popular way before we'll do what's best. I'm glad she made that choice, though it would have certainly been understandable for her to have chosen differently. Mrs. Parks, R.I.P.

Correction: I read this a.m. that Rosa Parks demurred from the general perception that she had not gotten up because her feet hurt. Here's a quote from the Melbourne Herald Sun,

Speaking in 1992, she said history too often maintained "that my feet were
hurting and I didn't know why I refused to stand up when they told me. But the
real reason of my not standing up was I felt that I had a right to be treated as
any other passenger. We had endured that kind of treatment for too long.

Nonetheless, I admire her example and am glad she was willing to take a stand, so to speak.

"Young Singers Spread Racist Hate"

This disturbing article reports that a pair of beautiful young twins (a la the Olsen twins) are performing lyrics with White Nationalistic themes. I am glad they are being shunned by most people, but, of course, they probably don't mind the PR from ABC. I'm also glad they're being called out by the NAACP for their racist, hateful lyrics . . . now, if we can just get the NAACP to do the same with racist, hateful rap lyrics . . .

"Playing God" has gotten easier over the centuries . . .

This WashPost op/ed (hat tip Bobbie Patray) about abortion and Down's Syndrome children made me think about how advances in technology and medicine, in particular, have fed our hunger to control our lives . . . essentially, we feel more capable of scripting our lives; but the problem is that our desire to avert pain or discomfort at most any cost to others can delude us. Abortion for example, may not be as starkly cruel as throwing a less-than-perfect newborn in a trashcan, but is it substantively different?

I'm sorry, but the DeLay prosecution is almost laughable . . .

This article (hat tip, The Corner) states that Tom DeLay "could face up to life in prison if convicted" of "conspiracy and money laundering in a [purported] campaign finance scheme tied to his political action committee, Texans for a Republican Majority, or TRMPAC."

I am almost speechless (luckily, I am still able to type) upon reading that such a purported crime could merit a life sentence. But this is consistent with Liberalism: only first-degree murder is a greater offense than contributing money to a politically incorrect political cause.

Here's an op/ed on "the criminalization of Conservatism."

This is an intriguing story about a recipient of an ABC Extreme Makeover and how the folks at ABC were not aware that he had a conviction for armed robbery in 1982. What makes the story relevant is that the guy only served 60 days and the rest of his 1-year sentence (!) was suspended. And they are saying DeLay could get a life sentence?!?

By the way, this is a funny article about how DeLay's winsome smile in his mugshot (taken today) will make it difficult for the Dems to use it against him.

Leftist Media = Castro-philes

This article was music to a Conservative's ears--the secretary of homeland security is planning to end the "catch and release" model of dealing with people attempting to enter the country illegally, but it seems as if the journalist could not restrain himself from an absurd assertion at the end of the article. In particular, the writer proclaims that this policy of the Bush Administration would clash with our policy of not returning Cuban immigrants, who reach our soil safely, to Cuba. Only a flaming Liberal idiot could sincerely not appreciate the difference between a person caught leaving Mexico and a person caught fleeing Cuba.

Revealing article about Algore

I can't remember/determine if I have posted a link to this New Yorker article before, but it is fascinating reading if you're interested in Al Gore. The writer spends a day with Gore in Nashville, and it is interesting to see behind the image of Gore the candidate or elected official. Happy reading.

Bush's live chat with troops in Iraq "carefully scripted"? I don't think so.

I've heard a lot in the so-called MSM the past couple of days about how a live videoconference between the President and troops in Iraq was "carefully scripted"; however, if you read details (or FACTS rather than characterization of facts) about what happened, you see that this is yet another example of the Left's obsession with hating Dubya. It is a freaking interaction between the Commander-in-Chief and soldiers in the field, of course there needs to be some coordination about who will speak, when they will get to speak and what subjects the big guy is interested in. This is more of a morale booster than a "listening tour" for Pete's sake.

Seems like there's no "there" there . . .

This report of Judy Miller's testimony that she "can't recall" who told her Valerie Plame's name is pretty fishy. It bolsters the speculation from Clifford D. May that the source of the "leak" was actually Joe Wilson, as he tried to parlay his embarrassing situation into a smear on the Bush administration.

200 reasons Clinton stunk

This NRO "re-print" provides a succinct look back in time to why Clinton was not, as Algore claimed, "one of America's greatest presidents."

Teaching the Bible in public schools

Interesting report of an initiative to teach the Bible in the public schools which is--brace yourself, endorsed by a number of groups to include the so-called People for the American Way Foundation. The Left in America is so intent on denying God--of removing any trace of His existence, I am skeptical of this program. That being said, there's some value in acknowledging that Judeo-Christian scriptural principles were central to the development of the greatest civilizations in Earth's history.

Bankruptcy binge

This story reports that the number of bankruptcies being filed is shattering prior records in the face of a tightening up of current law on Monday. I think that bankruptcy has its place in a society, but only if the law/system is not so lax that irresponsible or spendthrift persons can declare themselves bankrupt and then return to irresponsible or spendthrift habits.

Disturbing story about attempt to steal baby from womb

This story is disturbing in so many respects. The objectification of children/babies (that is, treating them like possessions) has got to contribute to this evil . . . It's scary to think about what kind of parent this perpetrator would make.

Here's an article with a picture of the evil mother-wannabe.

Another article quoting the man who discovered the crime:
The suspect, seemed "spaced out, like she was hollow. She barely said a word," Silvas said.

Indeed, the suspect is hollow . . .

GWOT, Part II

This article further illustrates the task before us in the Iraqi phase of the GWOT. The Dems fail to understand the Global aspect of our task.

Homeschooling by hook or by crook . . .

This is an interesting article about how some parents in the hurricane-ravaged gulf coast region are having to turn to homeschooling until public schools re-open. The most interesting quote in the article is one mother's statement that her biggest challenge will be to get her children to sit down and listen to her. Reminds me of the new book, It Takes a Parent: How the Culture of Pushover Parenting Is Hurting our Kids and What to Do About It. I hope that this parenting experience--even though involuntary, will change parents (and their children) forever and for the best.

Unconnected for the past week or so . . .

Wow, what a frustrating week as we waited to have cable internet connected at our new house and then waited a week for it to work properly. It's like buttah, though, as I work online this evening. The folks at Comcast have redeemed themselves in my eyes in the homestretch.

I believe the beating victim . . .

I believe the beating victim, and I do believe that he should receive some compensation for what he endured. I am encouraged by his refusal to raise the issue of race (indeed, here the victim pointed out that one of the officers--the one on the horse, was black); however, I do believe that more people need to realize that resisting an arrest--no matter the basis, is foolish. For obvious reasons, fighting with a police officer is not treated like standing up to the playground bully and it is frowned upon by society. I perceive that the officers escalated the force (aside from a punch or shove by an initial officer) because Mr. Jackson would not submit. From what I've heard, one of the officers in this incident was very rude and unprofessional (well before any serious violence occurred), but I don't think that this event would have been as serious if Mr. Jackson had not refused to handcuffed. Then he could have filed his complaint against the rude/abusive officer and in time (if not immediately) the officer's bad actions/attitude would have caught up with him.

"Bold" move for N.O.?

From a Reuters story, "New Orleans' mayor on Friday proposed building a casino zone near the historic French Quarter to jump start the hurricane-ravaged city's economy, saying a bold move was needed to restore lost tax revenue."

What's "bold" about a Liberal promoting gambling?

Bush's GWOT speech and Democrat demands of "exit strategy"

This story reflects the importance of Dubya's message in his Thursday speech . . . it is not wise to make withdrawal (or "an exit strategy") from Iraq a priority. It disturbs me that the Dems and our enemies, like Islamofascists, are so often on the same sheet.

The Miers nomination

My family and I have been (and still are) living in a maze of boxes after moving this past week, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Remind me next time to get cable and telephone service ordered well in advance of the move.

This op/ed (from Pat Buchanan, with whom I've become somewhat disillusioned over the past years) sounds just about right on the Miers nomination.

A money quote from the article:

Why is a judicial cipher like Harriet Miers to be preferred to a judicial conservative like Edith Jones? One reason: Because the White House fears nominees "with a paper trail" will be rejected by the Senate, and this White House fears, above all else, losing. So, it has chosen not to fight.

Indictment of Tom Delay

This editorial from the Editors at National Review shines a bright light on the indictment of Tom Delay. The editors provide details I hadn't heard before and demonstrate to me that this indictment is a sham.

Media bias 101

This article in the L.A. Times is a textbook case of slanted coverage on an issue. It's an article on proposed legislation that would reform aspects of the Endangered Species Act. Reform is generally expected on such laws, but it appears that the article's author doesn't think so.

Read for yourself, but here are a couple highlights: The writer is careful to give various special-interest-sounding groups which are members of the lone Conservative, yet environmentally-sensitive-sounding organization ("Coalition for Habitat Conservation") cited in the article. We aren't given the benefit of information about the likely suspicion-spawning special interest groups that make up the Environmentalistic group cited in opposition to the proposed changes.

Also, the writer attempts to paint a picture of the bill's sponsor, Rep. Pombo (great name, I think) by listing any and every "controversial" position he's ever taken on such matters. We aren't given a similar overview of the people who are opposing his bill. It'd be equally-relevant for the reader to know that opponents of the bill have supported people-hating, tree-hugging legislation that is at least arguably "outside the mainstream" on the issue.

I have to say that it is pretty impressive that this legislation has bi-partisan support.

Go Big Orange . . .

Maybe I'm just a little misty-eyed after watching the Vols' come back from a 21-point deficit to win at LSU in overtime, but this article by former NCAA coach Bill Curry is great reading. It reminds me of the principles in The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard. The principle is that you can't expect to rise to the occasion on cue if you haven't prepared yourself physically, emotionally, psychologically, etc. to rise to the occasion. But such thinking is so counter to modern conventional wisdom.

After reading the following story, I'm really glad that, "Tennessee refused to be part of LSU's feel-good story." (AP) This story somewhat off-handedly reports that LSU fans broke windows on the UT team busses as they made their way into the stadium prior to the game--yikes, it kind of makes you wonder what these butt-heads would have done after the game . . . I'm also a little bothered by the LSU university official's attituded about the whole thing. Read for yourself.

Surprise, surprise . . . N.O. mayhem greatly exaggerated

The Times-Picayune (New Orleans' major periodical) is reporting that the stories coming out of N.O. about death and mayhem were greatly exaggerated. Watch and see how much coverage this information gets from the so-called mainstream media . . . (hat tip, Drudgereport.com)

The L.A. Times story on the same subject. In particular, note how the linchpin to the exaggerated reports becoming mainstream was their "confirmation" by the N.O. mayor and police chief . . . in an appearance on Oprah. Those fellas were enjoying the limelight.

Election reform proposals

This Cincinnati Post editorial criticizing the bi-partisan, blue ribbon commission headed by Jimmy Carter and James Baker on the issue of election reform. The Post article makes this obvious assertion about the durability of the issue:

But the 2004 presidential election, particularly as it played out in Ohio,
resurrected the issue. Even though, in the end, there was no credible proof of
significant partisan shenanigans - nor, even, of systemic, genuine problems -
the issue of election reform has stayed alive.

This statement is true, because as long as the Dems are losing elections, they will claim that the elections are somehow unfair. I believe I've stated it before, but the 2004 election was the most scrutinized--and thereby most reliable, election IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND. Dems, you lost (and are losing), stop whining and start thinking of honest means to success.

New Details on Katrina response

This op/ed provides a number of details I had not heard concerning the Katrina response. To put it bluntly, I doubt the Dems are going to want any type of credible commission to look into the gov't's response, because most of the culprits are big gov't Dems.

Federal response is not much different...

This article declares that all levels of government are drastically changing their emergency preparedness due to the Katrina disaster, but if you read the details, there is not much different on the Federal side of things. I would argue that the drastic difference after Katrina is in state and local leadership.

P.C. Religion

This article reports about a controversy surrounding the Washington Nationals MLB franchise. It appears that a Christian chapel leader, in response to a direct question from a player during a chapel, stated that Jews without Christ would not have salvation. The rabbi quoted in the article (who apparently demanded a meeting with team mgt.) is attempting to make hay about the remark, and calls the rather (in my humble opinion) obvious religious inference "bringing hate into the locker room." The issue about the Christ-rejecting Jews is a complex theological issue, but to say that it is "hate" for a religion to assert that it is correct is laughable relativism.

Wow; excellent article on so-called "Price-gouging"

Econ professor Walter Williams opines about what is commonly known as "price-gouging."

Roberts' is all but in . . .

This article reports that Sen. Arlen Specter has announced he will vote in favor of Roberts' appointment to the SCOTUS. As a result, absent the Dems finding out that the appointee made a crude joke to a female coworker 20 years ago, Roberts' is all but in. The article also has provides insight into how the Dems view this issue . . . they appear to feel entitled to equal political "power sharing" as if the court were a parliament. I'll say it again, Liberals just don't seem capable of comprehending (or willing to accept) rule of law and basic tenets of Federalism.

God bless America...

After reading these details about the German election, all I can say is I'm thankful for the political system we have.

N.O. Mayor Ray Nagin slow to learn

This article highlights the character qualities that N.O. Mayor Ray Nagin evidenced in the run up to and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina . . . he's rash, unwise, duplicitous.

Islamofascist in Memphis?

This article (courtesy of drudgereport.com) details a troubling situation in Memphis: an illegal alien . . . from Egypt . . . inexplicably in possession of a airline captain's uniform.

"Judicial v. Political Philosophy" Soapbox, Part 3

From the Sep. 26, 2005 issue of National Review :
Justice Scalia, in a California speech: "Now the Senate is looking for moderate judges, mainstream judges. What in the world is a moderate interpretation of a constitutional text? Halfway between what it says and what we'd like it to say?"

"Judicial v. Political Philosophy" Soapbox, Part 2

I just read an interesting report from ABC about the Roberts hearings. The hearings excerpts in the article show Sen. Charles Shumer's (D-N.Y.) gross misunderstanding of "judicial philosophy" and John Roberts' sense of humor.

Sen. Lindsey Graham and Roberts Hearings

I am watching re-runs of the Roberts Hearings and after listening to the questioning of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), I can see how he is so often on the muddled side of many issues. He is, you may remember, a member of the Gang of 14 who reached a "compromise" to break the judicial appointments stalemate (more like a "Survivor" alliance than governing). And he often sides with Sen. John McCain, the squishiest "leader" I can think of. But what bothered me today was his assertion that judicial philosophies inherently break down along the same lines as political philosophies. That's wrong, I think (see below 6/26/05 "judicial philosophies"), and it is not "Republican" to respect Federalism or "rule of law."

Sheehan speaks! . . . (on N.O.)

I just read this story about Cindy Sheehan on Drudgereport.com

CINDY SHEEHAN CALLS FOR U.S TO 'PULL OUR TROOPS OUT OF OCCUPIED NEW ORLEANS'Mon Sep 12 2005 12:42:11 ET Celebrity anti-war protester, fresh off inking a lucrative deal with Speaker's Bureau, has demanded at the HUFFINGTON POST and MICHAEL MOORE'S website that the United States military must immediately leave 'occupied' New Orleans. "I don't care if a human being is black, brown, white, yellow or pink. I don't care if a human being is Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, or pagan. I don't care what flag a person salutes: if a human being is hungry, then it is up to another human being to feed him/her. George Bush needs to stop talking, admit the mistakes of his all around failed administration, pull our troops out of occupied New Orleans and Iraq, and excuse his self from power. The only way America will become more secure is if we have a new administration that cares about Americans even if they don't fall into the top two percent of the wealthiest."Sheehan is in the middle of a bus trip across America in support of her cause. Developing...

I like this story because it demonstrates how crazed Mother Sheehan is. She obviously didn't read the memo from the DNC about Bush's failure to do whatever it took to protect N.O. from Katrina.

In a related story: Tennessee's Democrat governor made an interesting comment in a public appearance the other day, as reported in the Knoxville News-Sentinel:

"Yet the Gulf Coast disaster, which spurred widespread criticism for a sluggish and uncoordinated response by federal, state and local officials alike, has underscored the need for workable plans and the leadership to carry them out, Bredesen said in response to the mayor's question about lessons learned.
"If something like that were to happen in Tennessee," he said, "to heck with the law somebody would have to take charge." (emphasis added)

That's what I love about Liberals . . .

Judicial "smearings" not panning out for Dems

Senate Democrats have struggled to lay a glove on SCOTUS nominee John Roberts; unfortunately for them (though not for Americans), they were forced to battle this nominee on issues of relevance because they were unable to uncover something like a p*bic hair on a Coke can. Since Clarence Thomas' appointment, the Left--which has been steadily losing ideological support, has resorted to obfuscation (e.g., "Conservative judicial activism" is an oxymoron because of Conservative judicial philosophy) and personal attacks in their efforts to derail nominations.

Ann Coulter on "judicial activism"

This op/ed calls the Left on their efforts to appear "in the mainstream" on the judiciary by redefining "judicial activism." I think it's a must read.

I think my head is going to explode...

I am watching a replay of the Roberts hearings on C-SPAN2. For the record: Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) is despicably condescending, arrogant, disrespectful and self-absorbed.

Yikes, this sounds like the end times

This article sounds like something you'd read about in the end times--just substitute "the AntiChrist" for "Bill Clinton."
(hat tip: DrudgeReport.com)

Algore, my hero . . .

This fawning article about Algore's wild-eyed, enviro-freak accusations concerning "global warming" and Katrina sounds like a Gore2016! press release (or one of Sidney B.'s wonderful "articles"). Sigh . . . if only Algore had been in charge during Katrina . . .
(tip 'o the hat to www.drudgereport.com)

Moving story of a church's ministry to La. relief workers

This is a fantastic report of a Baton Rouge church's ministry to relief workers . . . it describes the harrowing circumstances for rescuers/workers and the inexplicable stubbornness of some N.O. residents. Aside from the reporter's misinterpretation of God's promise never to wipe out mankind with a flood, it is a great piece of reporting.

Some important questions that ought to be answered regarding the New Orleans disaster

Oliver North poses a number of salient questions that ought to be answered regarding the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans.

Fact: local and state officials rejected Federal (read: Bush admin.) help until it was too late

This fascinating report chronicles the various Federal overtures that were rejected by state (Blanco) and local (Nagin) officials in Louisiana. Blanco's own words reflect that Bush was doing all he could to avert a disaster.

In an effort to avoid criticism, many Dems are attempting to cast blame on the Fount-of-evil-in-the-Universe (that is, Dubya).

Looks like tree-huggers don't care about black people.

This op/ed at nationalreview.com reports that Environmentalist whackos have long-opposed efforts to shore up the levees and manmade structures which protect New Orleans. The obvious conclusion is that tree-huggers don't care about black people.

Understanding the F.A.I.R. Tax plan

This is a good article about the F.A.I.R. Tax plan, something you should be hearing more about in the coming months. I think it is a swell idea as I think that equal treatment by gov't is a fundamental principle of a nation under rule of law not rule of men.

"Blame Amid the Tragedy"

This is the dispositive (perhaps my favorite legal term) op/ed on the issue of assigning blame for any avoidable problems in New Orleans' response to Katrina. I encourage you to read it and remember it in the coming months when the media machine is shaping public perception on this issue.

Colin Powell's ABC Interview

You're bound to hear A LOT more about Barbara Walters' interview with Colin Powell to be aired tomorrow (Friday) night on ABC. Unfortunately--after reading the above story on the interview, I perceive the reports about the interview will be very misleading. Powell's stated positions on Iraq, Katrina, etc. are very much consistent with Dubya's (read the article yourself, don't trust blurbs to know what his real opinions are). I am thankful that the teasers were not reflective of the interview, and I still have a lot of respect for Powell.

Truthmonger's Day Off (hurricane relief trip to Biloxi, MS)

I returned early this morning from a last-minute mission trip to Biloxi, MS for Katrina relief work. It was a great experience, and I am thankful my wife made it possible for me to make the trip. Naturally, I thought a lot about relief work and the challenges in responding to such a disaster while I was away, but this op/ed (written by the guy who played Ferris Bueller's monotoned teacher, "Anyone? Anyone?") is an excellent rebuttal to the partisan idiots trying to blame the disaster on the President.

And Kanye, if you're reading, I would bet my IRA that every one of the 26 people on our trip voted for George W. Bush. Dude, it ain't all about race. Quit the hatin'.

New Orleans catastrophe was foreseen . . .

This National Geographic article ominously foreshadows a Katrina-like catastrophe for the city of New Orleans. Aside from some reckless (but predictable) assertions about global warming, etc., it fairly lays out the challenges posed by a storm such as Katrina.

Were National Guard troops late in coming?

Some people (it seems like ALL people because the so-called MSM is pounding its message home) are charging the Federal gov't failed to adequately deploy National Guard troops to New Orleans after Katrina, but was the Federal Gov't (or anyone, for that matter) at fault? In a word, No.

"Why we homeschool"

I and my wife (mainly my wife) homeschool our oldest, who is starting first grade this year. We have various reasons for this choice, but I thought this list of reasons--from a homeschooling dad who is the news editor of his local paper, was thought-provoking and humorous (e.g., "no one, and I mean no one, has the right to teach my son to square dance.")

P.S. I actually enjoy square dancing, but appreciate his point.
(tip o' the hat to www.TNHomeEd.com )

Moving story of refugee family

Here is an inspiring story of a black family refugeed from New Orleans. I mention the family's race because race is a theme of the report. (tip 'o the hat to Drudge Report).

Racist reporting from New Orleans?

I just read this interesting article about alleged racist reporting about looting in New Orleans. You have probably seen both of these photos (with the alleged captions). I noticed this problem when I first saw the photo of the "lighter-skinned" couple, I guess because it was linked on Drudge's front page at one point. But, ironically, my first thought was, "they didn't 'find' something in a grocery store and have any more right to it than someone who 'looted' it from a grocery store."

I also heard G. Gordon Liddy yesterday opining that reporting from N.O. might be racist, but I'm not sure I want reporters trying to "report" with self-determined or self-perceived representative samples. The reality is that 2/3 of the people--from what I've heard, that lived in downtown N.O. were black. Unfortunately, that statistically means that 2/3 of the images coming out of there will contain photos of blacks. When a photographer takes 300 pictures and tries to pare it down to three focused, poignant, "good" photos, the likelihood that the three shots will contain blacks is VERY high.

My main observation, though, is that I seriously doubt that the major-league PC-types at AP and the French AFP intended anything racist.

Economic principles front and center

I just read this in an article about Katrina's impact: "A few [gas] stations turned off their pumps because wholesale prices were rising so fast that they were selling fuel at a loss -- even as prices spiked overnight to levels well above $3 a gallon."

This is the irony of interfering with the free market. Gas is more valuable now than it was on Saturday morning; there's less of it; there's a perception that it is going to be even more scarce as time goes on, so people are buying up more of it, and so on, and so on . . . When politicians order a business to only sell it at a loss, then business owners will likely opt not to sell it at all, and so on . . . and so on . . . The higher price of gas in my area has caused me to (a) drive the speed limit, (b) drive without a/c today (temp. 97 degrees), and (c) put off piddly/unnecessary errands til later or combine all my errands in one trip. That is a valuable change in behavior, and it wouldn't have happened if I could buy gas for cheap.

Here is an excellent op/ed explaining why letting the market set the price of gas does not deserve the label "gouging."

Amazing tragedy in Iraq

This is an amazing story (hat tip, Drudgereport) about the tragedy in Iraq . . . a procession of Shiite Muslims reacted to a rumored suicide bomber in their midst while walking across a bridge and 800 people were either trampled or killed from falling off the bridge.

The Dems' religion problem...

I've posted before about the Democrat Party's "problem" with religion. Today I read a Pew Center study on the public's perception about the two major parties and their relationship with religion. I also read that the Dems have responded to the release of the study by saying "we've hired religion outreach consultants"; that actually proves the point, if you ask me.

US Forces 2nd biggest cause of death of journalists!!!

This article (via google world news) reveals that U.S. military is the second biggest cause of death to journalists in Iraq. The first, by a long shot (300%) is, well, Islamofascists. But if we could just get those Americans out of there, folks in the media would be a lot safer . . .

Confirmation hearings gotten worse, indeed...

This article chronicles (somewhat honestly) the development of inquisition-like confirmation hearings to the SCOTUS. But the article neglects to point out that the hearings have moved from being about judicial philosophy to being about political philosophy--that is, how a judge would vote if they were in a legislature. An "expert" quoted in the article says about the Dems' reaction to Reagan's appointees: "They said, 'If the president can nominate based on ideology, then why can't we reject on the basis of ideology, and why can't we ask questions about the ideology of nominees.'"

That's inaccurate. Political ideology is only relevant to the discussion of the judiciary because the Left's vision of the Court as a super-legislature has prevailed. That is not rule of law and it is not the vision of our country's founders.

In fact, the pattern has been for the Dems to excoriate GOP nominees and attempt to derail them by any means necessary (remember Clarence Thomas?). That is the thesis of the article that should be written about this process.

Look in the mirror to see who is "divided"

This AP story and this one asserts that the GOP is deeply divided over the immigration issue, but the real split personality is within the Democrat party, which unlike us has the gall to demagogue on BOTH sides of the issue--depending on the audience or the donor or the hit ad or the particular campaign. I would posit that the GOP's dilemma reflects the genuine dilemma of reaching a consensus on the issue while the Dems' dilemma reflects the difficulty of pandering to a coalition of crass special interest groups.

The disingenuous comment from the Democrat Governor of AZ--"We just kept waiting and waiting and waiting but never did see a sense of urgency from Washington," is laughable; but the funniest part of this report is writer Fournier's "earnest" comment that, "McCain may seek the White House in 2008." [emphasis added]

Liberal law school professors

This NYT article reports that a study by a Georgetown U. law journal will demonstrate a markedly Liberal political ideology dominates most law school faculties. The article attempts to pooh-pooh the findings, I think, by asserting that such Liberal dominance (particularly extreme at the most elite schools) is of no effect because it has produced the most "conservative" members of the SCOTUS. That's a non sequitur.

The reality is that ideological folks (and I don't mean that to be derogatory) are only minimally affected by the views of professors (or those in authority, or "experts" or what "everyone else" believes); it is the folks who are relatively unmoored in their views (and who are substantially in the plurality) that are so impressionable. Thus, the fact that Antonin Scalia would not have turned out "Liberal" regardless of whom he sat under or where he got his JD, does not mean that the Liberal slant of law school faculties is insignificant.

"Jesse Jackson offers support to Chavez"

This story demonstrates the knee-jerk Liberalism of folks like THE REVEREND Jesse Jackson. Even though Pat Robertson's statements were imprudent for a Christian minister, I think that a person can condemn the statements without embracing the dictator Chavez.

On the homefront.

My wife spent the night on a scrapbooking retreat, so I was playing single parent with the three sweeties yesterday and today. Not much time for blogging . . . however, I read an article that highlights the Left's struggles to find a message and a volume control for said message, this well-researched article at Salon details how troubled they are. Any communicator is wise to consider substance and delivery of their message, but when you have no substance, delivery becomes everything. They have little or no substance and Howard Dean is their party's chairman; yikes.

Gender, gender what is gender?

This article (and several similar articles in other journals) talk of the murder of a "transgender youth" who was a female (actually, the youth was living as a female) but had the genitals of a male.

What?

I will concede that sexual proclivities are not as easy to categorize as gender. And I will concede that genitalia aren't always consistent with one's sex (though the instances of this are very rare or they are very fake). But how can these journalists write such nonsensical sentences? A person is either a male or a female. Is EVERYthing relative or subjective to these idiots?

Hardee, har, har . . . humans are merely primates

This article from England reflects the definite post-Christian worldview in Old Europe--"humans are no different than any other animal!"

Yeah, right.

Why Rich Liberals?!?

I've often wondered what motivates wealthy persons to vote Democrat or to be "limousine liberals"--why? because I don't believe that they are deeply motivated by goodwill in supporting Liberal tax policy (it hardly appears to motivate them in any other area of their material lives). In today's last (most likely) "deep thought" from visiting RushLimbaugh.com, I read that the Dems rely much more on fat cat donations than does the GOP. That is old news for those who follow politics and campaign finance stuff, but it illustrates what type of wealthy folks support liberal causes. Sure, there are exceptions to the rule, but one characteristic is that someone like Madonna reasonably can conclude that her immense wealth is akin to winning the lottery and has precious little to do with hard work, honest labor, etc. From that perspective, it makes sense to feel like wealthy folks surely are "advantaged" and that life's winners and losers are determined by mere fortune. Accordingly, a multimillionaire (who can hardly spend their money even after giving up half of what they have in taxes) can "painlessly" advocate for confiscatory tax policies.

Talk about imposing morality on others . . .

I just endured Jimmy Carter's infamous "malaise" speech on C-Span (hat tip, Rush Limbaugh) and my first thought was that I can't believe how politically tin-eared this speech was.

My second thought was that I can't believe the Left accuses me and other religious Conservatives of imposing morality on others. Carter is preachy, whiny and hand-wrings for a solid 32.5 minutes. Listen for yourself to see how he nags--like an impotent minister, in this speech.

My third thought (I think--I had a lot of thoughts) was that Carter was not so much a terrible president (as all Conservatives assert and most Democrats agree) but rather he was simply a president whose Liberalism was not obscured by the luck of external events. In particular, because Liberalism is premised on various foolish ideas and a flawed worldview, it is destined to fail (aside: Carter amazingly admitted that he had failed to enact most of his campaign promises--though he did point fingers at other factors).

This ain't Hollywood...

Two recent news stories have pained me and reminded me of a phrase I used to ruminate on: "this ain't Hollywood." What I mean when I use that statement is that Hollywood doesn't represent reality, and too many people do not realize the "danger" of living life as posed by the elite establishment.

First, I heard about a women in the middle-Tenn. area whose husband was beaten to death by her paramour when the husband discovered them together in the married couple's home. The dead husband's body was put in a closet and left there for several hours as the woman ran errands. Folks, life isn't like "Desperate Housewives" and our moral choices have real consequences. Adultery hurts families, well beyond the obvious injury of murder. Sadly, the consequences of adultery don't "go away" with a sweet jingle or the previews of next week's drama.

Second, I heard today that the ex-RN and Tennessee convict's wife who gunned-down a law enforcement officer as she helped her husband escape from incarceration had been keeping a diary after she had been apprehended in Ohio: the title she had written on the journal was "A Modern-day Bonnie and Clyde." I had been bothered by romantic allusions to this mythic man and woman when I heard references to Bonnie and Clyde in the reporting as the two perpetrators were "at large." Again, how tragic for those who happened to cross paths with this delusional, base man and woman and were harmed. This ain't Hollywood; wisdom is vindicated by her children (Matt. 11:19).

On the subject of Bush's lifestyle . . .

Below I noted how slanted is the so-called MSM's reporting on Dubya's Western White House, but I just found this lame smear attempt of Bush's energy use (courtesy of RushLimbaugh.com). Ironically, the piece's last paragraph hints at the author's motivation for writing the hit piece:

Remember Jimmy Carter donning a sweater and asking Americans facing an energy crisis to turn down their thermostats? Or giving the speech about the nation's "crisis of confidence" that led to his permanent association with "malaise?" Carter's critics turned both utterances into emblems that contributed to his political undoing.

The MSM would love to orchestrate Dubya's "political undoing."

The open-minded Left...

This quote from a NY Times article REALLY grates on me:

At a recent scientific conference at City College of New York, a student in the audience rose to ask the panelists an unexpected question: "Can you be a good scientist and believe in God?"

Reaction from one of the panelists, all Nobel laureates, was quick and sharp. "No!" declared Herbert A. Hauptman, who shared the chemistry prize in 1985 for his work on the structure of crystals.

Belief in the supernatural, especially belief in God, is not only incompatible with good science, Dr. Hauptman declared, "this kind of belief is damaging to the well-being of the human race."

The theory of "Intelligent Design" simply acknowledges the scientific evidence that macro-evolution is mathematically impossible. It is interesting to see how unscientific the Left is when a pet theory is challenged by science.