Prepare for a second term rebound.
Consumers got back into a buying groove and boosted their spending by a solid 0.5 percent in September. Incomes also grew briskly.
Monday, October 31, 2005
IT'S ALITO!
No fooling around by Bush on this one. Alito is a proven conservative and originalist who should satisfy even the most discriminating on the right. The left on the other hand is already screaming potential filibuster. I say bring it on, this fights overdo.....long overdo.
WASHINGTON Oct 31, 2005 — President Bush to nominate Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, The Associated Press has learned, choosing a long-time federal judge embraced by
judicial conservatives to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Bush plans to announce the nomination at 8 a.m. EST, the officials said.
The choice likely will mend a rift in the Republican Party caused by his failed nomination of Harriet Miers.
Excellent pick Mr. President! We here at Opinipundit have expected this since Friday.
Mark Levin on Alito....
Things to Know About Alito. Sam Alito has spent his entire professional career defending the Constitution. The president and Alito deserve our strong support. It is clear the media this morning are urging Democrats to fight this nomination, not that they need that much encouragement. We are already hearing the usual superficial analyses about how Judge Alito will vote on specific issues, and so forth. We must be prepared to explain and defend our judicial philosophy, and contrast it with the left's lawlessness.
I have known Judge Alito for two decades. We served together in the Meese Justice Department, where he worked in the Solicitor General's Office and was considered the sharpest of Charles Fried's assistants. He is every bit as smart and personable as Chief Justice John Roberts. He is an expert on constitutional law. And he obviously has a longer judicial record, so his judicial philosophy is well-known. Judge Alito is soft-spoken. He is his own man (efforts in the media this morning to paint him as "Scalia-lite" or "Scalito" are intended to fire-up the leftwing base). If he is not qualified to serve on the Supreme Court, then no conservative is qualified.
It's a terrific day to be a conservative! For really comprehensive background and reax, go see Michelle Malkin, her roundup is excellent.
If you wanna have a little fun, head over to Kos or the DU, lot's of dementia and bloodletting.
Update: In seeking to marshal opposition to Alito, Kyra Phillips at CNN actually went so far to cite the wife of a former clerk to Sandra Day O'Connor who, apparently felt Pres. Bush should have appointed a woman or Hispanic. As to why Phillips thought the views of the spouse of a former clerk to O'Connor are deserving of attention.......we will never know. I've got news for you Kyra, so does O'Connor's father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate albeit for different reasons. H/T GLGB
WASHINGTON Oct 31, 2005 — President Bush to nominate Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, The Associated Press has learned, choosing a long-time federal judge embraced by
judicial conservatives to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
Bush plans to announce the nomination at 8 a.m. EST, the officials said.
The choice likely will mend a rift in the Republican Party caused by his failed nomination of Harriet Miers.
Excellent pick Mr. President! We here at Opinipundit have expected this since Friday.
Mark Levin on Alito....
Things to Know About Alito. Sam Alito has spent his entire professional career defending the Constitution. The president and Alito deserve our strong support. It is clear the media this morning are urging Democrats to fight this nomination, not that they need that much encouragement. We are already hearing the usual superficial analyses about how Judge Alito will vote on specific issues, and so forth. We must be prepared to explain and defend our judicial philosophy, and contrast it with the left's lawlessness.
I have known Judge Alito for two decades. We served together in the Meese Justice Department, where he worked in the Solicitor General's Office and was considered the sharpest of Charles Fried's assistants. He is every bit as smart and personable as Chief Justice John Roberts. He is an expert on constitutional law. And he obviously has a longer judicial record, so his judicial philosophy is well-known. Judge Alito is soft-spoken. He is his own man (efforts in the media this morning to paint him as "Scalia-lite" or "Scalito" are intended to fire-up the leftwing base). If he is not qualified to serve on the Supreme Court, then no conservative is qualified.
It's a terrific day to be a conservative! For really comprehensive background and reax, go see Michelle Malkin, her roundup is excellent.
If you wanna have a little fun, head over to Kos or the DU, lot's of dementia and bloodletting.
Update: In seeking to marshal opposition to Alito, Kyra Phillips at CNN actually went so far to cite the wife of a former clerk to Sandra Day O'Connor who, apparently felt Pres. Bush should have appointed a woman or Hispanic. As to why Phillips thought the views of the spouse of a former clerk to O'Connor are deserving of attention.......we will never know. I've got news for you Kyra, so does O'Connor's father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate albeit for different reasons. H/T GLGB
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Reid Calls for Rove to Resign
Reid doing his Howard Dean impression:
The leader of the Senate Democrats today called for White House chief political strategist Karl Rove to resign, saying it's time for President Bush to "come clean" with the American people about the administration's role in the disclosure of a CIA operative's name.
Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), speaking on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," said both Bush and Vice President Cheney owe an apology to the American public.
Reid said Bush should pledge not to pardon I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's chief of staff who was indicted Friday on five charges relating to statements he made to the FBI and a grand jury investigating the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame.
Now how did Dick Cheney put it...... Oh yea, Go.......................!
The leader of the Senate Democrats today called for White House chief political strategist Karl Rove to resign, saying it's time for President Bush to "come clean" with the American people about the administration's role in the disclosure of a CIA operative's name.
Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), speaking on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," said both Bush and Vice President Cheney owe an apology to the American public.
Reid said Bush should pledge not to pardon I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's chief of staff who was indicted Friday on five charges relating to statements he made to the FBI and a grand jury investigating the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame.
Now how did Dick Cheney put it...... Oh yea, Go.......................!
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Chutzpah Squared
In a letter sent to Bush on Friday, Reid and Leahy attempt to ballyrag him into picking a nominee to their liking. Don't bet on it boys.
The extraordinary circumstances surrounding the Miers nomination make it even more important that Justice Sandra Day O’Connor be replaced by a mainstream nominee, not by an activist who would bring an ideological agenda to the Court. Interest groups are not entitled to an extra-constitutional veto over Supreme Court appointments. Justice O’Connor should only be replaced by someone who inspires respect across the political spectrum, as she did.
There are some potential nominees who would clearly fail this test. As before, we strongly urge you to refrain from nominating to the Supreme Court any of the handful of judicial nominees who were filibustered during the past four years, or any other similarly divisive candidate. Instead, we urge you to pick one of the many qualified mainstream women and minority candidates who can win widespread bipartisan support in the Senate and among the American people. We have privately offered you some thoughts in this regard, and remain willing to meet with you again to achieve consensus.
The extraordinary circumstances surrounding the Miers nomination make it even more important that Justice Sandra Day O’Connor be replaced by a mainstream nominee, not by an activist who would bring an ideological agenda to the Court. Interest groups are not entitled to an extra-constitutional veto over Supreme Court appointments. Justice O’Connor should only be replaced by someone who inspires respect across the political spectrum, as she did.
There are some potential nominees who would clearly fail this test. As before, we strongly urge you to refrain from nominating to the Supreme Court any of the handful of judicial nominees who were filibustered during the past four years, or any other similarly divisive candidate. Instead, we urge you to pick one of the many qualified mainstream women and minority candidates who can win widespread bipartisan support in the Senate and among the American people. We have privately offered you some thoughts in this regard, and remain willing to meet with you again to achieve consensus.
From the Mouths of Babes
As most of my regular readers are aware, I am the proud father of 2 seven year old twin boys, Michael and Nathan. The great thing about children is that they have a decided knack for instilling humility in the parent. Case in point.......
One of the boys (Michael) is beginning to write on his own. He has taken to intermittently writing his thoughts in a ring binder that could loosely be called a diary. Yesterday my wife was straightening up the boys room and ran across his notebook laying on the floor. Not being able to resist the temptation, she opened it up to a page and read this singular entry.
Dear Jurnl
Daddy is a Fathead.
Guess that says it all.
One of the boys (Michael) is beginning to write on his own. He has taken to intermittently writing his thoughts in a ring binder that could loosely be called a diary. Yesterday my wife was straightening up the boys room and ran across his notebook laying on the floor. Not being able to resist the temptation, she opened it up to a page and read this singular entry.
Dear Jurnl
Daddy is a Fathead.
Guess that says it all.
Friday, October 28, 2005
SCOTUS Nominee, What's the Money Bet?
The odds on favorite at Tradesports for those who choose to put their money where their mouth is ..........Samuel Alito.
This is surprising considering conventional wisdom has not placed him at the top of the "likely" list.
Currency USD 11:30 Central
Session lo/hi 11.7 - 44.8
Life lo/hi 6.0 - 44.8
Previous Close 6.1
Open Price 11.9
Last Price 44.8
Last trade Time 05:33 PM, IST
Today's Volume 454
Total Volume 772
10:00 Central
Session lo/hi 11.7 - 23.9
Life lo/hi 6.0 - 23.9
Previous Close 6.1
Open Price 11.9
Last Price 23.9
Last trade Time 04:01 PM, IST
Today's Volume 255
Total Volume 573
He would be an excellent choice, after all his nickname is "Scalito" If this proves out, remember where you heard it first.
Update: ConfirmThem.com concurs
This is surprising considering conventional wisdom has not placed him at the top of the "likely" list.
Currency USD 11:30 Central
Session lo/hi 11.7 - 44.8
Life lo/hi 6.0 - 44.8
Previous Close 6.1
Open Price 11.9
Last Price 44.8
Last trade Time 05:33 PM, IST
Today's Volume 454
Total Volume 772
10:00 Central
Session lo/hi 11.7 - 23.9
Life lo/hi 6.0 - 23.9
Previous Close 6.1
Open Price 11.9
Last Price 23.9
Last trade Time 04:01 PM, IST
Today's Volume 255
Total Volume 573
He would be an excellent choice, after all his nickname is "Scalito" If this proves out, remember where you heard it first.
Update: ConfirmThem.com concurs
GDP muscles through
Despite a rough year, the economy is showing surprising resilence.
Economy brushes off storms and expands by 3.8 percent in 3Q, beating estimates.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy shook off headwinds from hurricanes Katrina and Rita to grow at a faster-than-expected 3.8 percent annual rate in the third quarter, a Commerce Department report showed Friday.
Strong spending by consumers and by the government helped power the expansion forward as growth in gross domestic product -- the measure of all goods and services produced within U.S. borders -- accelerated from the second quarter's 3.3 percent rate.
Wall Street economists had forecast GDP would advance at a 3.6 percent rate in the July-to-September quarter. The economy has now expanded at rates exceeding 3 percent for 10 straight quarters.
Despite surging prices at the gasoline pumps, the report showed that so-called core inflation, which exempts food and energy from its calculation, declined in the third quarter. A price gauge favored by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan -- personal consumption expenditures excluding food and energy -- increased at a 1.3 percent annual rate compared with 1.7 percent in the second quarter. That marks the mildest rate of core price rises since the second quarter of 2003.
Economy brushes off storms and expands by 3.8 percent in 3Q, beating estimates.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy shook off headwinds from hurricanes Katrina and Rita to grow at a faster-than-expected 3.8 percent annual rate in the third quarter, a Commerce Department report showed Friday.
Strong spending by consumers and by the government helped power the expansion forward as growth in gross domestic product -- the measure of all goods and services produced within U.S. borders -- accelerated from the second quarter's 3.3 percent rate.
Wall Street economists had forecast GDP would advance at a 3.6 percent rate in the July-to-September quarter. The economy has now expanded at rates exceeding 3 percent for 10 straight quarters.
Despite surging prices at the gasoline pumps, the report showed that so-called core inflation, which exempts food and energy from its calculation, declined in the third quarter. A price gauge favored by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan -- personal consumption expenditures excluding food and energy -- increased at a 1.3 percent annual rate compared with 1.7 percent in the second quarter. That marks the mildest rate of core price rises since the second quarter of 2003.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Rove Skates, Libby Likely Indicted
Per Drudge..........
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 - Associates of I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, expected an indictment on Friday charging him with making false statements to the grand jury in the C.I.A. leak inquiry, lawyers in the case said Thursday.
Karl Rove, President Bush's senior adviser and deputy chief of staff, will not be charged on Friday, but will remain under investigation, people briefed officially about the case said. As a result, they said, the special counsel in the case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, was likely to extend the term of the federal grand jury beyond its scheduled expiration on Friday.
As rumors coursed through the capital, Mr. Fitzgerald gave no public signal of how he intends to proceed, further intensifying the anxiety that has gripped the White House and left partisans on both sides of the political aisle holding their breath.
Mr. Fitzgerald's preparations for a Friday announcement were shrouded in secrecy, but advanced amid a flurry of behind-the-scenes discussions that left open the possibility of last-minute surprises. As the clock ticked down on the grand jury, people involved in the case did not rule out the disclosure of previously unknown aspects of the case.
White House officials said their presumption was that Mr. Libby would resign if indicted, and he and Mr. Rove took steps to expand their legal teams in preparation for a possible court battle.
What I expected, the left however is deeply saddened.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 - Associates of I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, expected an indictment on Friday charging him with making false statements to the grand jury in the C.I.A. leak inquiry, lawyers in the case said Thursday.
Karl Rove, President Bush's senior adviser and deputy chief of staff, will not be charged on Friday, but will remain under investigation, people briefed officially about the case said. As a result, they said, the special counsel in the case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, was likely to extend the term of the federal grand jury beyond its scheduled expiration on Friday.
As rumors coursed through the capital, Mr. Fitzgerald gave no public signal of how he intends to proceed, further intensifying the anxiety that has gripped the White House and left partisans on both sides of the political aisle holding their breath.
Mr. Fitzgerald's preparations for a Friday announcement were shrouded in secrecy, but advanced amid a flurry of behind-the-scenes discussions that left open the possibility of last-minute surprises. As the clock ticked down on the grand jury, people involved in the case did not rule out the disclosure of previously unknown aspects of the case.
White House officials said their presumption was that Mr. Libby would resign if indicted, and he and Mr. Rove took steps to expand their legal teams in preparation for a possible court battle.
What I expected, the left however is deeply saddened.
MIER'S WITHDRAWS!!
Agree with Krauthammer or not, he had this pegged perfectly. The release of WH docs was the out they used to have her withdraw and save face. Good form Charles!
From AP:Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to be a Supreme Court justice Thursday in the face of stiff opposition and mounting criticism about her qualifications.
President Bush said he reluctantly accepted her decision to withdraw, after weeks of insisting that he did not want her to step down. He blamed her withdrawal on calls in the Senate for the release of internal White House documents that the administration has insisted were protected by executive privilege.
"It is clear that senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House — disclosures that would undermine a president's ability to receive candid counsel," Bush said. "Harriet Miers' decision demonstrates her deep respect for this essential aspect of the constitutional separation of powers — and confirms my deep respect and admiration for her."
Now it's time for a Luttig, Jones, Brown or McConnell.
Mier's letter here
Update: Beware, the bed wetting right of the blogospere are chirping already. Just a few to give you all a flavor.
Lashawn Barber has this to say: Miers is gone, but I predict George Bush will nominate another unqualified person. Perhaps his tailor. Or his dentist. Or his dog walker.
What did Bush learn? Maybe he learned that the people who put him in office actually expect him to be a conservative with common sense and choose someone qualified to sit on the highest court in the land, and not an unknown quantity crony. We’ll see.
or this from Conservative Princess: I can't share in the glee this morning over the Miers pullout. Certainly she was a second-class nominee, and certainly she probably was either underqualified, or strangely qualified for the position, but whenever a nominee pulls out of the process, the follow up cannot be a positive one.
Cmon people, let's try and keep our perspective here. This will have a bit of short term damage but minimal and long term it's a net positive. If Bush comes back with a strong, well qualified judicial conservative it will have a tremendous rallying effect. Nothing motivates your base like a good fight and this positive mojo would carry all the way into the 06 midterms. The little lambs who have strayed from the pasture will come back en-masse and plenty fired up behind him and his choice. The majority of Americans are for a conservative restrained SCOTUS and in the imminent battle with the left, Bush will occupy the high ground. One need only have a bit of faith that our Pres will indeed nominate such an individual. Considering his past judicial nominations save one, I believe that faith is well founded.
From AP:Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to be a Supreme Court justice Thursday in the face of stiff opposition and mounting criticism about her qualifications.
President Bush said he reluctantly accepted her decision to withdraw, after weeks of insisting that he did not want her to step down. He blamed her withdrawal on calls in the Senate for the release of internal White House documents that the administration has insisted were protected by executive privilege.
"It is clear that senators would not be satisfied until they gained access to internal documents concerning advice provided during her tenure at the White House — disclosures that would undermine a president's ability to receive candid counsel," Bush said. "Harriet Miers' decision demonstrates her deep respect for this essential aspect of the constitutional separation of powers — and confirms my deep respect and admiration for her."
Now it's time for a Luttig, Jones, Brown or McConnell.
Mier's letter here
Update: Beware, the bed wetting right of the blogospere are chirping already. Just a few to give you all a flavor.
Lashawn Barber has this to say: Miers is gone, but I predict George Bush will nominate another unqualified person. Perhaps his tailor. Or his dentist. Or his dog walker.
What did Bush learn? Maybe he learned that the people who put him in office actually expect him to be a conservative with common sense and choose someone qualified to sit on the highest court in the land, and not an unknown quantity crony. We’ll see.
or this from Conservative Princess: I can't share in the glee this morning over the Miers pullout. Certainly she was a second-class nominee, and certainly she probably was either underqualified, or strangely qualified for the position, but whenever a nominee pulls out of the process, the follow up cannot be a positive one.
Cmon people, let's try and keep our perspective here. This will have a bit of short term damage but minimal and long term it's a net positive. If Bush comes back with a strong, well qualified judicial conservative it will have a tremendous rallying effect. Nothing motivates your base like a good fight and this positive mojo would carry all the way into the 06 midterms. The little lambs who have strayed from the pasture will come back en-masse and plenty fired up behind him and his choice. The majority of Americans are for a conservative restrained SCOTUS and in the imminent battle with the left, Bush will occupy the high ground. One need only have a bit of faith that our Pres will indeed nominate such an individual. Considering his past judicial nominations save one, I believe that faith is well founded.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Kerry: Bring 20,000 Troops Home from Iraq
The irrelevent one speaks. Odd position considering it wasn't long ago he was screaming for more troops. Obviously been hanging out at the Waffle House again.
Sen. John Kerry says President Bush should bring home 20,000 troops from Iraq over the Christmas holidays if the December parliamentary elections there are successful.
Defeated by Bush last year and a potential candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, Kerry called for a "reasonable time frame" for pulling back troops rather than a full-scale withdrawal advocated by some Democrats. He said it could be completed in 12 to 15 months.
"It will be hard for this administration, but it is essential to acknowledge that the insurgency will not be defeated unless our troop levels are drawn down, starting immediately after successful elections in December," Kerry said in a speech prepared for delivery Wednesday at Georgetown University. Excerpts of the speech were obtained by the Associated Press.
Now that's what I call some seriously contorted reasoning.
Just goes to show that my readers are sometimes more on the ball than me. Thanx to Chad for the heads up.
Sen. John Kerry says President Bush should bring home 20,000 troops from Iraq over the Christmas holidays if the December parliamentary elections there are successful.
Defeated by Bush last year and a potential candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, Kerry called for a "reasonable time frame" for pulling back troops rather than a full-scale withdrawal advocated by some Democrats. He said it could be completed in 12 to 15 months.
"It will be hard for this administration, but it is essential to acknowledge that the insurgency will not be defeated unless our troop levels are drawn down, starting immediately after successful elections in December," Kerry said in a speech prepared for delivery Wednesday at Georgetown University. Excerpts of the speech were obtained by the Associated Press.
Now that's what I call some seriously contorted reasoning.
Just goes to show that my readers are sometimes more on the ball than me. Thanx to Chad for the heads up.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Able Danger warned of attack on USS Cole
And who was Commander-in-Chief at the time? Oh yea that EX leader of the free world guy who has been berating the Bush administration for intelligence failures recently.
NORRISTOWN - Senior Pentagon officials were warned not to let the USS Cole dock in Yemen two days before terrorists attacked the ship five years ago killing 17 sailors, according to Congressman Curt Weldon, who said the crucial intelligence was gleaned from the former secret defense operation, "Able Danger."
The military's Special Operations Command ran the high-tech dragnet that searched for terrorist linkages. The terrorist associations were mapped out on large charts, according to Shaffer and other of "Able Danger" colleagues, during the program that operated between 1999 and 2001.However, following Shaffer's attempts to broker an arrangement that would draw the FBI into the operation, the program was shut down.
Weldon and Shaffer believe "Able Danger" intelligence may have disrupted - or even prevented - the Sept. 11 attacks if it had continued.In August, Navy Capt. Scott Phillpott and James D. Smith, a defense contractor, corroborated Shaffer's story.
NORRISTOWN - Senior Pentagon officials were warned not to let the USS Cole dock in Yemen two days before terrorists attacked the ship five years ago killing 17 sailors, according to Congressman Curt Weldon, who said the crucial intelligence was gleaned from the former secret defense operation, "Able Danger."
The military's Special Operations Command ran the high-tech dragnet that searched for terrorist linkages. The terrorist associations were mapped out on large charts, according to Shaffer and other of "Able Danger" colleagues, during the program that operated between 1999 and 2001.However, following Shaffer's attempts to broker an arrangement that would draw the FBI into the operation, the program was shut down.
Weldon and Shaffer believe "Able Danger" intelligence may have disrupted - or even prevented - the Sept. 11 attacks if it had continued.In August, Navy Capt. Scott Phillpott and James D. Smith, a defense contractor, corroborated Shaffer's story.
Swineaphobia part Deux
Courtesy of Musing Minds
From the BBC via GOP Bloggers - The Three Little Pigs will no longer be read to under-seven-year-old students at Park Road Junior Infant and Nursery School in Batley.
JEEEEEZ
From the BBC via GOP Bloggers - The Three Little Pigs will no longer be read to under-seven-year-old students at Park Road Junior Infant and Nursery School in Batley.
JEEEEEZ
Draft Constitution Adopted By Voters
Another milestone toward the defeat of the left...... errrrrr rather global terrorism.
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Officials said Tuesday that a majority of Iraqi voters adopted the country's draft constitution during the country's Oct. 15 referendum.
Results released by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq show Sunni Arabs who opposed the draft document failed to produce enough votes to defeat it.
he constitution is considered another major step in the country's democratic transformation. It clears the way for the election of a new Iraqi parliament on Dec. 15.
More from AP here
In related news , John Conyers sues in the ICC for a recount citing massive terrorist disenfranchisement.
Update:In case you weren't aware, for the last few months I have been guest blogging at the Jawa Report. This morn I crossposted the above and received the following comment:
"Your true colors show once again. You could care f*cking less about anyone in Iraq or from Iraq or if we ever actually defeat global terrorism. All you care about is defeating the 'lefties', whatever that means. You are just a cog in the wheels of the big murderous oil corporate killing machine. Grind on you jerkoffs. DIE." Mr. Stench (psssst Rotwang, is that you?)
Aside from the fact that I was being facetious, could this guy and people of similar mind be any more clueless. It is the left who have aligned themselves with the terrorists and therefor a defeat of one just naturally translates to a defeat for both. It is the left after all rooting for America to fail in Iraq and whether they admit it or not such a failure would be a serious blow to the overall war on global terrorism. These puny minded petty pacifists would have the United States suffer a devastating defeat just for the satisfaction of saying "I told ya so".
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Officials said Tuesday that a majority of Iraqi voters adopted the country's draft constitution during the country's Oct. 15 referendum.
Results released by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq show Sunni Arabs who opposed the draft document failed to produce enough votes to defeat it.
he constitution is considered another major step in the country's democratic transformation. It clears the way for the election of a new Iraqi parliament on Dec. 15.
More from AP here
In related news , John Conyers sues in the ICC for a recount citing massive terrorist disenfranchisement.
Update:In case you weren't aware, for the last few months I have been guest blogging at the Jawa Report. This morn I crossposted the above and received the following comment:
"Your true colors show once again. You could care f*cking less about anyone in Iraq or from Iraq or if we ever actually defeat global terrorism. All you care about is defeating the 'lefties', whatever that means. You are just a cog in the wheels of the big murderous oil corporate killing machine. Grind on you jerkoffs. DIE." Mr. Stench (psssst Rotwang, is that you?)
Aside from the fact that I was being facetious, could this guy and people of similar mind be any more clueless. It is the left who have aligned themselves with the terrorists and therefor a defeat of one just naturally translates to a defeat for both. It is the left after all rooting for America to fail in Iraq and whether they admit it or not such a failure would be a serious blow to the overall war on global terrorism. These puny minded petty pacifists would have the United States suffer a devastating defeat just for the satisfaction of saying "I told ya so".
Monday, October 24, 2005
Swineaphobia
No comment, beyond words.
Bristish banks are banning piggy banks because they may offend some Muslims.
Halifax and NatWest banks have led the move to scrap the time-honoured symbol of saving from being given to children or used in their advertising, the Daily Express/Daily Star group reported today.
Muslims do not eat pork, as Islamic culture deems the pig to be an impure animal.Salim Mulla, secretary of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, backed the bank move."This is a sensitive issue and I think the banks are simply being courteous to their customers," he said.
Bristish banks are banning piggy banks because they may offend some Muslims.
Halifax and NatWest banks have led the move to scrap the time-honoured symbol of saving from being given to children or used in their advertising, the Daily Express/Daily Star group reported today.
Muslims do not eat pork, as Islamic culture deems the pig to be an impure animal.Salim Mulla, secretary of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, backed the bank move."This is a sensitive issue and I think the banks are simply being courteous to their customers," he said.
Bernanke Named Fed Chief
A solid pick and the fact that Kudlow likes him means alot to this blogger.
Kudlow's Take in The Corner:
CEA chair and former Fed governor Ben Bernanke is about to be nominated to succeed Alan Greenspan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. In my view it is a good choice. Though Mr. Bernanke is not a hardcore advocate of the price rule, he does favor an inflation target, which is the second best option. Noteworthy is the fact that in recent speeches he has emphasized the slow and steady 2 percent zone of core inflation and inflation less energy. So he is not as militant as some of the crazed Fed presidents. Bernanke does watch financial market indicators such as the inflation-adjusted Treasury bond and the TIPS spread.
Bernanke will also support an extension of Bush’s tax cuts for capital gains and dividends, and he has told me in the past that raising tax rates would only harm the economy. He is widely respected in the economics profession as a former chairman of the Princeton Economics Department. Thank heavens that Fed board member Donald Kohn, who is a demand-sider and a Phillips Curver, did not get the nod. (I'll be tracking this development closely on my blog, Kudlow's Money Politic$)
btw Ann Coulter is going ballistic again.....her schtick is becoming tiresome. The market appears satisfied as the Dow is up 120 Nasdaq + 20.
Kudlow's Take in The Corner:
CEA chair and former Fed governor Ben Bernanke is about to be nominated to succeed Alan Greenspan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. In my view it is a good choice. Though Mr. Bernanke is not a hardcore advocate of the price rule, he does favor an inflation target, which is the second best option. Noteworthy is the fact that in recent speeches he has emphasized the slow and steady 2 percent zone of core inflation and inflation less energy. So he is not as militant as some of the crazed Fed presidents. Bernanke does watch financial market indicators such as the inflation-adjusted Treasury bond and the TIPS spread.
Bernanke will also support an extension of Bush’s tax cuts for capital gains and dividends, and he has told me in the past that raising tax rates would only harm the economy. He is widely respected in the economics profession as a former chairman of the Princeton Economics Department. Thank heavens that Fed board member Donald Kohn, who is a demand-sider and a Phillips Curver, did not get the nod. (I'll be tracking this development closely on my blog, Kudlow's Money Politic$)
btw Ann Coulter is going ballistic again.....her schtick is becoming tiresome. The market appears satisfied as the Dow is up 120 Nasdaq + 20.
"Goodfellas" tops greatest movies list
I must concur.......
LONDON (Reuters) - Mobsters in the 1990 film "Goodfellas" have beaten a fear of heights in
"Vertigo" and the great white shark of "Jaws" to help the Martin Scorsese film clench the mantle of greatest movie of all time in a survey of UK film experts.
Goodfellas, which featured Ray Liotta, Robert de Niro and an Oscar winning supporting role from Joe Pesci, topped the list of 100 movies in a survey of film critics by Total Film.
"Goodfellas has everything, in terms of its technical brilliance, its huge influence on modern film-making and its spikiness and rewatchability," Total Film features editor Jamie Graham told Reuters.
LONDON (Reuters) - Mobsters in the 1990 film "Goodfellas" have beaten a fear of heights in
"Vertigo" and the great white shark of "Jaws" to help the Martin Scorsese film clench the mantle of greatest movie of all time in a survey of UK film experts.
Goodfellas, which featured Ray Liotta, Robert de Niro and an Oscar winning supporting role from Joe Pesci, topped the list of 100 movies in a survey of film critics by Total Film.
"Goodfellas has everything, in terms of its technical brilliance, its huge influence on modern film-making and its spikiness and rewatchability," Total Film features editor Jamie Graham told Reuters.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Friday, October 21, 2005
Irrational Exuberance?
WAPO is positively giddy about this.......
Special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has just launched his own brand-new Web site.
Could it be that he's getting ready to release some new legal documents? Like, maybe, some indictments? It's certainly not the action of an office about to fold up its tents and go home.
Fitzgerald spokesman Randall Samborn minimized the significance of the Web launch in an interview this morning.
"I would strongly caution, Dan, against reading anything into it substantive, one way or the other," he said. "It's really a long overdue effort to get something on the Internet to answer a lot of questions that we get . . . and to put up some of the documents that we have had ongoing and continued interest in having the public be able to access."
OK, OK. But will the Web site be used for future documents as well?
"The possibility exists," Samborn said.
The EM is absolutely going off the deep end on this stuff. Their intense desire for Bush to suffer is translating into wild speculation and ridiculously tortured conclusions. It will be wonderful to watch if Libby and Rove are exonerated because the beltway talking heads will be exploding like a tin of Jiffy Pop.
Special prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald has just launched his own brand-new Web site.
Could it be that he's getting ready to release some new legal documents? Like, maybe, some indictments? It's certainly not the action of an office about to fold up its tents and go home.
Fitzgerald spokesman Randall Samborn minimized the significance of the Web launch in an interview this morning.
"I would strongly caution, Dan, against reading anything into it substantive, one way or the other," he said. "It's really a long overdue effort to get something on the Internet to answer a lot of questions that we get . . . and to put up some of the documents that we have had ongoing and continued interest in having the public be able to access."
OK, OK. But will the Web site be used for future documents as well?
"The possibility exists," Samborn said.
The EM is absolutely going off the deep end on this stuff. Their intense desire for Bush to suffer is translating into wild speculation and ridiculously tortured conclusions. It will be wonderful to watch if Libby and Rove are exonerated because the beltway talking heads will be exploding like a tin of Jiffy Pop.
Markets Betting Against Mier's Confirmation
The markets ie. Tradesports are showing a significantly less than 50% chance of Mier's being confirmed to SCOTUS.
Session
lo/hi 11.0 - 45.0
Life lo/hi 11.0 - 92.5
Previous Close 62.0
Open Price 45.0 last price 35.2 Last Trade Time 05:32 PM, BST
Today's Volume 668 Total Volume 7191
For those not familiar with these markets and odds, basically people with money riding only believe there is an approximately 1 in 3 chance of confirmation, not the greatest odds if your a Mier's fan.
Session
lo/hi 11.0 - 45.0
Life lo/hi 11.0 - 92.5
Previous Close 62.0
Open Price 45.0 last price 35.2 Last Trade Time 05:32 PM, BST
Today's Volume 668 Total Volume 7191
For those not familiar with these markets and odds, basically people with money riding only believe there is an approximately 1 in 3 chance of confirmation, not the greatest odds if your a Mier's fan.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Calif. Deputy Ordered to Trial for Allegedly Pulling Gun on Two Slow-Playing Golfers
Have to side with the sheriff on this one.
CHINO, Calif. -- An Orange County sheriff's reserve deputy was ordered to trial for allegedly pulling a gun on two slow-playing golfers and threatening them at Los Serranos Golf & Country Club.
Witnesses said Raymond Yi, 44, pointed a gun at the golfers and flashed his sheriff's badge during the July incident.
"When I saw him cock his gun, something fell out and my mouth dropped. I couldn't believe this was happening on a golf course," said golfer Marcelo Bautista, 35, a Los Angeles teacher who was playing on the course with his uncle Gustavo Resendiz.
autista said Yi had hit two balls toward the men and at the 14th hole Bautista hit Yi's ball back toward him. According to Bautista, Yi confronted him, left the fairway and returned with a badge and pointed a gun to his head.
Bautista and Resendez continued playing but Yi followed them, pushed Resendiz and then cocked his gun.
"I really thought I was gonna be killed right then and there," said Resendiz, 61.
At the end of Monday's preliminary hearing, Superior Court Judge Raymond Youngquist said there was enough evidence to order trial. Yi is charged with two counts of assault with a firearm and two counts of making criminal threats. He will be arraigned Nov. 1.
This is the primary reason I don't carry when I'm golfing, much too tempting.
CHINO, Calif. -- An Orange County sheriff's reserve deputy was ordered to trial for allegedly pulling a gun on two slow-playing golfers and threatening them at Los Serranos Golf & Country Club.
Witnesses said Raymond Yi, 44, pointed a gun at the golfers and flashed his sheriff's badge during the July incident.
"When I saw him cock his gun, something fell out and my mouth dropped. I couldn't believe this was happening on a golf course," said golfer Marcelo Bautista, 35, a Los Angeles teacher who was playing on the course with his uncle Gustavo Resendiz.
autista said Yi had hit two balls toward the men and at the 14th hole Bautista hit Yi's ball back toward him. According to Bautista, Yi confronted him, left the fairway and returned with a badge and pointed a gun to his head.
Bautista and Resendez continued playing but Yi followed them, pushed Resendiz and then cocked his gun.
"I really thought I was gonna be killed right then and there," said Resendiz, 61.
At the end of Monday's preliminary hearing, Superior Court Judge Raymond Youngquist said there was enough evidence to order trial. Yi is charged with two counts of assault with a firearm and two counts of making criminal threats. He will be arraigned Nov. 1.
This is the primary reason I don't carry when I'm golfing, much too tempting.
Franken & Co. Continue to Flounder
In DC Err America spirals to new lows....
Air America, the liberal talk network carried on WWRC-AM (1260), went from bad to nonexistent. After WWRC recorded a mere fraction of a rating point in the spring with syndicated shows from the likes of lefty talkers Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo and Stephanie Miller, Arbitron couldn't detect a measurable listenership for the station this time around.
Air America, the liberal talk network carried on WWRC-AM (1260), went from bad to nonexistent. After WWRC recorded a mere fraction of a rating point in the spring with syndicated shows from the likes of lefty talkers Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo and Stephanie Miller, Arbitron couldn't detect a measurable listenership for the station this time around.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Spanish Judge Has a Don Quixote Moment
A Spanish judge has issued an international arrest order for three US soldiers whose tank fired at a Baghdad hotel during the war in Iraq, killing a Spanish journalist, a court official said Wednesday.
Jose Couso, who worked for the Spanish television network Telecinco, died April 8, 2003, after the tank crew fired a shell at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad where many journalists were staying to cover the war.
The Spanish judge said he issued the arrest order because of a lack of judicial cooperation from the United States regarding the case.
US officials insist the soldiers believed they were being shot at when they opened fire.
Any doubt in your mind why why President Bush has-quite rightfully-rejected the International Criminal Court?
Jose Couso, who worked for the Spanish television network Telecinco, died April 8, 2003, after the tank crew fired a shell at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad where many journalists were staying to cover the war.
The Spanish judge said he issued the arrest order because of a lack of judicial cooperation from the United States regarding the case.
US officials insist the soldiers believed they were being shot at when they opened fire.
Any doubt in your mind why why President Bush has-quite rightfully-rejected the International Criminal Court?
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
The NY Times Does it Again
In typical fashion the NY Times won't let facts get in the way of a good line of speculation. Johnson and Stevenson hypothecize that there is a greater liklihood that Rove, Libby etc will be indicted because Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald will not be issuing a final report on his findings in the Plame affair.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 - The special counsel in the C.I.A. leak case has told associates he has no plans to issue a final report about the results of the investigation, heightening the expectation that he intends to bring indictments, lawyers in the case and law enforcement officials said yesterday.
The prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, is not expected to take any action in the case this week, government officials said. A spokesman for Mr. Fitzgerald, Randall Samborn, declined to comment.
A final report had long been considered an option for Mr. Fitzgerald if he decided not to accuse anyone of wrongdoing, although Justice Department officials have been dubious about his legal authority to issue such a report.
By signaling that he had no plans to issue the grand jury's findings in such detail, Mr. Fitzgerald appeared to narrow his options either to indictments or closing his investigation with no public disclosure of his findings, a choice that would set off a political firestorm.
Interesting spin if it didn't happen to be prohibited by law. Victoria Toensing addresses Fitzgeralds options here....
Fitzgerald cannot write a report. It is forbidden by law as the information he has accumulated is grand jury material prohibited by law from disclosure. There is no longer an Independent Counsel statute, which permitted this type of report. I have never heard of a federal judge ordering a prosecutor to write a report of a grand jury investigation and then make it public. A court does not have the authority to do so.
Don't these people have editors??? Don't the authors do just the bare minimum of fact checking before penning a piece for what was once the most respected publications in the free world? Mind you, this is not some obscure little known and ill defined statute that is open for interpretation. A quick Google and anyone would know that the premise of this article is totally bogus.
Much of this can be summed up in four words......... agenda driven lazy journalism, not a combination that lends itself to the pursuit of truth and accuracy. The Times is becoming nothing more than a politically orientated National Enquirer where veracity is secondary to the narrative. Contrary to managements beliefs, a firing here or there is not going to change things. The problem is pervasive and endemic, nothing less than a top to bottom clean out will cure what ails this old grey lady.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 - The special counsel in the C.I.A. leak case has told associates he has no plans to issue a final report about the results of the investigation, heightening the expectation that he intends to bring indictments, lawyers in the case and law enforcement officials said yesterday.
The prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, is not expected to take any action in the case this week, government officials said. A spokesman for Mr. Fitzgerald, Randall Samborn, declined to comment.
A final report had long been considered an option for Mr. Fitzgerald if he decided not to accuse anyone of wrongdoing, although Justice Department officials have been dubious about his legal authority to issue such a report.
By signaling that he had no plans to issue the grand jury's findings in such detail, Mr. Fitzgerald appeared to narrow his options either to indictments or closing his investigation with no public disclosure of his findings, a choice that would set off a political firestorm.
Interesting spin if it didn't happen to be prohibited by law. Victoria Toensing addresses Fitzgeralds options here....
Fitzgerald cannot write a report. It is forbidden by law as the information he has accumulated is grand jury material prohibited by law from disclosure. There is no longer an Independent Counsel statute, which permitted this type of report. I have never heard of a federal judge ordering a prosecutor to write a report of a grand jury investigation and then make it public. A court does not have the authority to do so.
Don't these people have editors??? Don't the authors do just the bare minimum of fact checking before penning a piece for what was once the most respected publications in the free world? Mind you, this is not some obscure little known and ill defined statute that is open for interpretation. A quick Google and anyone would know that the premise of this article is totally bogus.
Much of this can be summed up in four words......... agenda driven lazy journalism, not a combination that lends itself to the pursuit of truth and accuracy. The Times is becoming nothing more than a politically orientated National Enquirer where veracity is secondary to the narrative. Contrary to managements beliefs, a firing here or there is not going to change things. The problem is pervasive and endemic, nothing less than a top to bottom clean out will cure what ails this old grey lady.
Miers Supports Ban on Most Abortions
The latest on Miers' stand on abortion.....
Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers pledged support in 1989 for a constitutional amendment banning abortions except when necessary to save the life of the mother, according to material given to the Senate on Tuesday.
"If Congress passes a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution that would prohibit abortion except when it was necessary to prevent the death of the mother, would you actively support its ratification by the Texas Legislature," asked an April 1989 questionnaire sent out by the Texans United for Life group.
Miers checked "yes" to that question, and all of the group's questions, including whether she would oppose the use of public moneys for abortions and whether she would use her influence to keep "pro- abortion" people off city health boards and commissions.
The survey was part of the material sent to the Senate with Miers' Supreme Court questionnaire, according to two sources, one working with the White House and the other with the Senate, speaking on condition on anonymity.
Not that this tells us how she would interpret the constitutions view of abortion, but it does give us an peek into her personal feelings on the issue.
Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers pledged support in 1989 for a constitutional amendment banning abortions except when necessary to save the life of the mother, according to material given to the Senate on Tuesday.
"If Congress passes a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution that would prohibit abortion except when it was necessary to prevent the death of the mother, would you actively support its ratification by the Texas Legislature," asked an April 1989 questionnaire sent out by the Texans United for Life group.
Miers checked "yes" to that question, and all of the group's questions, including whether she would oppose the use of public moneys for abortions and whether she would use her influence to keep "pro- abortion" people off city health boards and commissions.
The survey was part of the material sent to the Senate with Miers' Supreme Court questionnaire, according to two sources, one working with the White House and the other with the Senate, speaking on condition on anonymity.
Not that this tells us how she would interpret the constitutions view of abortion, but it does give us an peek into her personal feelings on the issue.
Key CIA leak detail disputed as announcement nears
Uh oh, how are they going to square this with the prevailing narrative?
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff may have given New York Times reporter Judith Miller inaccurate information about where the wife of Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson worked at the CIA, a former intelligence official said on Monday.
The possible discrepancy comes amid signs the federal prosecutor investigating who leaked the identity of Wilson's wife, covert CIA operative Valerie Plame, will announce whether he will bring charges as early as Wednesday, people close to the case said.
Investigators have questioned Miller and other witnesses about whether Cheney was aware or authorized his chief of staff, Lewis Libby, to talk to reporters about Wilson, Miller and others involved in the case have said.
More indication that the original info came from journalist's rather than administration officials "in the know".
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff may have given New York Times reporter Judith Miller inaccurate information about where the wife of Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson worked at the CIA, a former intelligence official said on Monday.
The possible discrepancy comes amid signs the federal prosecutor investigating who leaked the identity of Wilson's wife, covert CIA operative Valerie Plame, will announce whether he will bring charges as early as Wednesday, people close to the case said.
Investigators have questioned Miller and other witnesses about whether Cheney was aware or authorized his chief of staff, Lewis Libby, to talk to reporters about Wilson, Miller and others involved in the case have said.
More indication that the original info came from journalist's rather than administration officials "in the know".
Monday, October 17, 2005
Press Reaction to Iraqi Constitution Referendum
After listening to 24 hours of the EM pontificating, they agree across the board on two things .......
1. Iraqi Constistution not approved = Bad News
2. Iraqi Constitution Approved = Bad News.
1. Iraqi Constistution not approved = Bad News
2. Iraqi Constitution Approved = Bad News.
ABC/AP, The Big Lie
The headline on this story is just false.....
White Supremacists Riot in Toledo, Ohio
Protesters at a white supremacists' march threw rocks at police, vandalized vehicles and stores and cursed the mayor for allowing the event.
Mayor Jack Ford said when he and a local minister tried to calm the rioters Saturday, they were cursed and a masked gang member threatened to shoot him. At one point, the crowd reached 600 people, officials said.
Rioters set fire to 86-year-old Louis Ratajski's neighborhood pub, Jim & Lou's Bar, but he and his nephew escaped the flames.
I am by no means trying to defend these idiot white supremecists, but for crying out loud the riot was carried out by locals in the neighborhood, the Nazi's were nowhere near the rioting. The EM can't understand why the American people don't believe them anymore. Maybe if they would stop reporting things the way they'd like them to be and start reporting things the way they are, people would begin to listen.
Real story here
btw........how ironic is it that one of the main thrusts of the neo-Nazi rally was to protest the violence perpretrated by minority gangs in Toledo.
White Supremacists Riot in Toledo, Ohio
Protesters at a white supremacists' march threw rocks at police, vandalized vehicles and stores and cursed the mayor for allowing the event.
Mayor Jack Ford said when he and a local minister tried to calm the rioters Saturday, they were cursed and a masked gang member threatened to shoot him. At one point, the crowd reached 600 people, officials said.
Rioters set fire to 86-year-old Louis Ratajski's neighborhood pub, Jim & Lou's Bar, but he and his nephew escaped the flames.
I am by no means trying to defend these idiot white supremecists, but for crying out loud the riot was carried out by locals in the neighborhood, the Nazi's were nowhere near the rioting. The EM can't understand why the American people don't believe them anymore. Maybe if they would stop reporting things the way they'd like them to be and start reporting things the way they are, people would begin to listen.
Real story here
btw........how ironic is it that one of the main thrusts of the neo-Nazi rally was to protest the violence perpretrated by minority gangs in Toledo.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Friday, October 14, 2005
Iraq Insurgents Attack Sunni Party Office
A clear illustration of total desperation....
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sunni insurgents determined to derail this weekend's constitutional referendum attacked the largest Sunni Arab political party Friday, bombing and burning offices and the home of one of its leaders after the group dropped its opposition to the draft charter.
The reprisals came as Sunni and Shiite clerics gave their last advice to their followers in sermons during weekly Friday prayers — a key political platform. Shiite imams transmitted the word of the majority community's most powerful cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani: Go to the polls Saturday and vote "yes."
The message among the Sunni Arab minority was more muddled after the Iraqi Islamic Party threw its support to the constitution following last-minute amendments to the draft to try to assuage Sunni objections ahead of the referendum.
Maybe slaughtering your base is not the most effective political strategy.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Sunni insurgents determined to derail this weekend's constitutional referendum attacked the largest Sunni Arab political party Friday, bombing and burning offices and the home of one of its leaders after the group dropped its opposition to the draft charter.
The reprisals came as Sunni and Shiite clerics gave their last advice to their followers in sermons during weekly Friday prayers — a key political platform. Shiite imams transmitted the word of the majority community's most powerful cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani: Go to the polls Saturday and vote "yes."
The message among the Sunni Arab minority was more muddled after the Iraqi Islamic Party threw its support to the constitution following last-minute amendments to the draft to try to assuage Sunni objections ahead of the referendum.
Maybe slaughtering your base is not the most effective political strategy.
Did Al Gore Trade Aviation Security for Campaign Contributions?
This has resurfaced since Freeh's revelations in his new book have been released. Just another example of the EM burying that which could reflect poorly on the Clintoon administration. It's far more interesting chasing after Karl Rove for the non-breaking of a misaplied law.
In mid-1996, President Clinton created the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security and assigned it three specific mandates: to look at the changing security threat, and how the US could address it; to examine changes in the aviation industry, and how government should adapt its regulation of it; to look at the technological changes coming to air traffic control, and what should be done to take best advantage of them.
In the wake of concerns over the crash of Trans World Airlines Flight 800, President Clinton asked the commission to focus its attention first on the issue of security. He asked for an initial report on aviation security in 45 days, including an action plan to deploy new high technology machines to detect the most sophisticated explosives.(snip)
btw, One of those recommendations was hardened cockpit doors that could not be opened from the passenger cabin.
The Gore Commission called for criminal background and FBI fingerprint checks for all airport and airline workers who screen passengers for weapons or have access to secure areas. The airlines industry had long opposed mandatory criminal checks.
Two weeks later, as reported in the Boston Globe, Gore retreated from his own commission's proposals in a letter to Carol B. Hallett, president of the industry's trade group, the Air Transport Association. ''I want to make it very clear that it is not the intent of this administration or of the commission to create a hardship for the air transportation industry or to cause inconvenience to the traveling public,'' Gore wrote. To reassure Hallett, Gore added that the FAA would develop ''a draft test concept ... in full partnership with representatives of the airline industry."
The day after Gore's letter to the Air Transport Association, Trans World Airlines donated $40,000 to the Democratic National Committee. By the time of the presidential election, other airlines had poured large donations into Democrat Party committees: $265,000 from American Airlines, $120,000 from Delta Air Lines, $115,000 from United Air Lines, $87,000 from Northwest Airlines, according to an analysis done for the Boston Globe by the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks donations. A total of $627,000 was donated to the Democrats by major airlines.
Two of the commission members -- Victoria Cummock and Kathleen Flynn, who lost loved ones in the terrorist attack on Flight 800 -- believe that campaign contributions by the airline industry were a direct result of Al Gore backing away from the commission's security recommendations. Don't bet on the mainstream news media reminding Al Gore of this flagrant example of homeland security taking a back-seat to campaign cash the next time they quote one of his frequent fever-pitched rants.
In mid-1996, President Clinton created the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security and assigned it three specific mandates: to look at the changing security threat, and how the US could address it; to examine changes in the aviation industry, and how government should adapt its regulation of it; to look at the technological changes coming to air traffic control, and what should be done to take best advantage of them.
In the wake of concerns over the crash of Trans World Airlines Flight 800, President Clinton asked the commission to focus its attention first on the issue of security. He asked for an initial report on aviation security in 45 days, including an action plan to deploy new high technology machines to detect the most sophisticated explosives.(snip)
btw, One of those recommendations was hardened cockpit doors that could not be opened from the passenger cabin.
The Gore Commission called for criminal background and FBI fingerprint checks for all airport and airline workers who screen passengers for weapons or have access to secure areas. The airlines industry had long opposed mandatory criminal checks.
Two weeks later, as reported in the Boston Globe, Gore retreated from his own commission's proposals in a letter to Carol B. Hallett, president of the industry's trade group, the Air Transport Association. ''I want to make it very clear that it is not the intent of this administration or of the commission to create a hardship for the air transportation industry or to cause inconvenience to the traveling public,'' Gore wrote. To reassure Hallett, Gore added that the FAA would develop ''a draft test concept ... in full partnership with representatives of the airline industry."
The day after Gore's letter to the Air Transport Association, Trans World Airlines donated $40,000 to the Democratic National Committee. By the time of the presidential election, other airlines had poured large donations into Democrat Party committees: $265,000 from American Airlines, $120,000 from Delta Air Lines, $115,000 from United Air Lines, $87,000 from Northwest Airlines, according to an analysis done for the Boston Globe by the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks donations. A total of $627,000 was donated to the Democrats by major airlines.
Two of the commission members -- Victoria Cummock and Kathleen Flynn, who lost loved ones in the terrorist attack on Flight 800 -- believe that campaign contributions by the airline industry were a direct result of Al Gore backing away from the commission's security recommendations. Don't bet on the mainstream news media reminding Al Gore of this flagrant example of homeland security taking a back-seat to campaign cash the next time they quote one of his frequent fever-pitched rants.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Rocky VI ...A Geriatrics Revenge
This from ABP:
Say it ain't so! Sylvester Stallone (age 59) has agreed to make Rocky VI, in which Rocky goes back in the ring. Rocky is one of my all time favorite movies, but they shouldn't have made any sequels. The only bigger heresy I can think of would be if some studio went ahead and made the long-rumored full length feature remake of Hogan's Heroes.
You have got to be kidding me!
Say it ain't so! Sylvester Stallone (age 59) has agreed to make Rocky VI, in which Rocky goes back in the ring. Rocky is one of my all time favorite movies, but they shouldn't have made any sequels. The only bigger heresy I can think of would be if some studio went ahead and made the long-rumored full length feature remake of Hogan's Heroes.
You have got to be kidding me!
Iraq police prevent Al-Qaeda bombing campaign ahead of vote
I know I post quite a bit of Iraq military "gets" but the EM refuses to report it so it's important this gets some exposure.
Iraqi police commandos have aborted a "terror campaign" planned by Al-Qaeda in Iraq to disrupt the constitutional referendum in two days' time, a senior officer said.
"In all, 17 car bombs have been found, 17 members of the network killed and 65 others arrested," Colonel Ali Abu al-Hassan of the controversial Wolf Brigade told media following an offensive on the southern outskirts of Baghdad.
"During the operation, which was launched following tips from intelligence sources and which ended this morning, terrorist hideouts were surrounded in the Sayafia and Arab Jubur neighborhoods," the police officer added.
"The cell's aim was to strike Baghdad on referendum day," when 15.5 million Iraqis are to vote on a proposed constitution for the post-Saddam Hussein era. Firefights between the troops and suspected rebels lasted 48 hours.
17 car bombs, 17 network members killed, sounds about right.
Iraqi police commandos have aborted a "terror campaign" planned by Al-Qaeda in Iraq to disrupt the constitutional referendum in two days' time, a senior officer said.
"In all, 17 car bombs have been found, 17 members of the network killed and 65 others arrested," Colonel Ali Abu al-Hassan of the controversial Wolf Brigade told media following an offensive on the southern outskirts of Baghdad.
"During the operation, which was launched following tips from intelligence sources and which ended this morning, terrorist hideouts were surrounded in the Sayafia and Arab Jubur neighborhoods," the police officer added.
"The cell's aim was to strike Baghdad on referendum day," when 15.5 million Iraqis are to vote on a proposed constitution for the post-Saddam Hussein era. Firefights between the troops and suspected rebels lasted 48 hours.
17 car bombs, 17 network members killed, sounds about right.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Al Qaeda threatens Iraq Sunni leaders over charter deal
Message is simple, conform or die.
DUBAI (AFX) - An Al Qaeda-linked Iraqi militant group has threatened to kill leaders of the country's main Sunni Arab party for having called for a 'yes' vote on the constitution, according to an internet statement.
The Iraqi Islamic Party called for a 'yes' vote in the Oct 15 constitutional referendum. 'The Geish al-Taifa al-Mansura (army of the victorious confession) has decided that the apostates
(Iraqi Islamic Party leaders) Mohsen Abdel Hamid and Tareq al-Hashemi are targets of the mujahedeen (fighters) wherever they are,' said the statement whose authenticity could not be confirmed.
Talk about pi$$ing on your base!
DUBAI (AFX) - An Al Qaeda-linked Iraqi militant group has threatened to kill leaders of the country's main Sunni Arab party for having called for a 'yes' vote on the constitution, according to an internet statement.
The Iraqi Islamic Party called for a 'yes' vote in the Oct 15 constitutional referendum. 'The Geish al-Taifa al-Mansura (army of the victorious confession) has decided that the apostates
(Iraqi Islamic Party leaders) Mohsen Abdel Hamid and Tareq al-Hashemi are targets of the mujahedeen (fighters) wherever they are,' said the statement whose authenticity could not be confirmed.
Talk about pi$$ing on your base!
Irrelevant Headline of the Week
Gore: No Plans to Run for President Again
Former Vice President Al Gore said Wednesday he had no intention of ever running for president again.
"I have absolutely no plans and no expectations of ever being a candidate again," said Gore, who lost the 2000 election to President Bush.
Former Vice President Al Gore said Wednesday he had no intention of ever running for president again.
"I have absolutely no plans and no expectations of ever being a candidate again," said Gore, who lost the 2000 election to President Bush.
Al-Qaida No. 2: U.S. 'Ran' From Vietnam
If you don't think the anti war left is doing al -Qaida's job for them, read this........
WASHINGTON - In a letter to his top deputy in al-Qaida's No. 2 leader said the United States "ran and left their agents" in Vietnam and the jihadists must have a plan ready to fill the void if the Americans suddenly leave Iraq.
"Things may develop faster than we imagine," Ayman al-Zawahri wrote in a letter to his top deputy in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. "The aftermath of the collapse of American power in Vietnam — and how they ran and left their agents — is noteworthy. ... We must be ready starting now."
Senior U.S. military commanders have said that Iraqi security forces are improving significantly and some U.S. forces could return home early next year. Yet skeptics have raised concerns about whether such statements simply let the insurgency know how long they must wait for the U.S. to leave.
"More than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media," he wrote. "We are in a media battle in a race for the hearts and minds of our umma," or community of Muslims, he wrote.
Sheehan, Kennedy, Boxer, Dean, Durbin, the Press and the rest of the blame America first contingent, willing patsy's for sure.
WASHINGTON - In a letter to his top deputy in al-Qaida's No. 2 leader said the United States "ran and left their agents" in Vietnam and the jihadists must have a plan ready to fill the void if the Americans suddenly leave Iraq.
"Things may develop faster than we imagine," Ayman al-Zawahri wrote in a letter to his top deputy in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. "The aftermath of the collapse of American power in Vietnam — and how they ran and left their agents — is noteworthy. ... We must be ready starting now."
Senior U.S. military commanders have said that Iraqi security forces are improving significantly and some U.S. forces could return home early next year. Yet skeptics have raised concerns about whether such statements simply let the insurgency know how long they must wait for the U.S. to leave.
"More than half of this battle is taking place in the battlefield of the media," he wrote. "We are in a media battle in a race for the hearts and minds of our umma," or community of Muslims, he wrote.
Sheehan, Kennedy, Boxer, Dean, Durbin, the Press and the rest of the blame America first contingent, willing patsy's for sure.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Subway Plot a Hoax
Not surprised. I've had a hinky feeling about this from the start.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Information that led to heightened security for the New York City transit system was a hoax, government sources said Tuesday.
The sources said an informant in Iraq who provided the tip had told investigators there was a terrorist plot involving New York's subway system. That informant admitted he gave false information, the sources said.
On Monday, New York police said they would reduce the increased security measures put in place last week on the city's subways.
Law enforcement sources said last week the person who passed along the New York tip also gave information that prompted a military operation in Iraq, which led to the arrests of three al Qaeda suspects in Musayyib, about 45 miles south of Baghdad.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Information that led to heightened security for the New York City transit system was a hoax, government sources said Tuesday.
The sources said an informant in Iraq who provided the tip had told investigators there was a terrorist plot involving New York's subway system. That informant admitted he gave false information, the sources said.
On Monday, New York police said they would reduce the increased security measures put in place last week on the city's subways.
Law enforcement sources said last week the person who passed along the New York tip also gave information that prompted a military operation in Iraq, which led to the arrests of three al Qaeda suspects in Musayyib, about 45 miles south of Baghdad.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Frum Fumbles Facts
I have always respected the NRO for their quality reporting and track record of accuracy. Recently more of this type of shoddy opinion based drivel mixed with half truths has been emerging making them appear closer to a right wing Kos than the top shelf opinion journalism I that have come to expect.
More talking over the weekend to more conservative lawyers in Washington. It is hard to convey how unanimously they not only reject, but disdain, the choice of Miers.
One commented on this news story that Miers' favorite reading was John Grisham novels:
"Look, it's inevitable these senators are going to ask you some obviously stupid questions. You just can't give them obviously stupid answers. How hard is it to say that you are reading Jean Smith's biography of Chief Justice John Marshall?"
Another told me of a briefing session to prepare Miers to enter into her duties as White House Counsel. A panel of lawyers who had served in past Republican White Houses was gathered together. After a couple of hours of questions and answers, all agreed: "We're going to need a really strong deputy."
It's been reported the reason Miers was named White House Counsel in the first place was that she had proven incompetent as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. Her boss, Chief of Staff Andy Card, badly wanted to get her out of his office - but couldn't fire her because she was protected by the president and the first lady. So he promoted her instead. Now we learn that it was Card who was the strongest advocate of moving Miers out of the West Wing altogether and onto the high court - raising the question of whether the ultimate motivation for this nomination is to open the way to hiring a new Counsel by kicking a failed Counsel upstairs.
Few of the people I talk to can talk on the public record, although Judge Robert Bork has courageously done so and as time passes others may decide that they have to accept the risks of stepping forward and telling what they know. In the meantime, ask yourself this: Think of all the conservative jurists you know and respect. Have any of them had anything positive to say about this nomination? I can think of only one, Ken Starr, when he was interviewed last week on Fox's Hannity and Colmes.
And even Starr confined himself to vague generalities about Miers' "track record." I've reprinted the transcript below. Notice what Starr does not say. He never says Miers possesses a deep knowledge of the law, he can muster no praise for her intellect or abilities as a lawyer, he does not say she'll be a credit the court. He doesn't even say that this is a good nomination beyond a jovial: "She's terrific." In fact, the only specific praise he offers is praise for Miers' formal statement to the press accepting her nomination - a statement that, as Starr would know, was written for her by others on the White House staff.
Starr in other words sounds to me like somebody who has been deputized to go on television and find something good to say - and who is searching for a way to be kind without saying anything affirmatively untrue. So, as Ann Coulter mockingly puts it, he emphasizes "how nice, tidy, helpful, and prompt" Miers is.
As tepid as Starr's endorsement was, it is just about the only endorsement Miers has received from any conservative with an established reputation in the law. James Dobson, Charles Colson, and Richard Lane of the Southern Baptist Convention have all endorsed Miers heartily. Good men all. But suppose you needed a lawyer to go to City Hall to fight a parking ticket. Would you look to Dobson, Colson, or Lamb for advice on who to hire? I very much doubt it.
There are enough legitimate criticsms of Harriet Miers to offer up without resorting to obvious and quite verifiable falsehoods. Jay Sekulow and Leonard Leo were among the first to come out strongly in favor of the Miers nomination. Only an imbecile would attempt to argue that they are not "conservative with an established reputation in law"
The disagreement in the conservative ranks over Miers nomination is not neccessarily a bad thing, it may even be healthy. The attempted furtherment of ones argument through rancor and distortions, however, is not, and it needs to stop.
Frum certainly has altered the tenor of his writing since July 2005.
More talking over the weekend to more conservative lawyers in Washington. It is hard to convey how unanimously they not only reject, but disdain, the choice of Miers.
One commented on this news story that Miers' favorite reading was John Grisham novels:
"Look, it's inevitable these senators are going to ask you some obviously stupid questions. You just can't give them obviously stupid answers. How hard is it to say that you are reading Jean Smith's biography of Chief Justice John Marshall?"
Another told me of a briefing session to prepare Miers to enter into her duties as White House Counsel. A panel of lawyers who had served in past Republican White Houses was gathered together. After a couple of hours of questions and answers, all agreed: "We're going to need a really strong deputy."
It's been reported the reason Miers was named White House Counsel in the first place was that she had proven incompetent as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. Her boss, Chief of Staff Andy Card, badly wanted to get her out of his office - but couldn't fire her because she was protected by the president and the first lady. So he promoted her instead. Now we learn that it was Card who was the strongest advocate of moving Miers out of the West Wing altogether and onto the high court - raising the question of whether the ultimate motivation for this nomination is to open the way to hiring a new Counsel by kicking a failed Counsel upstairs.
Few of the people I talk to can talk on the public record, although Judge Robert Bork has courageously done so and as time passes others may decide that they have to accept the risks of stepping forward and telling what they know. In the meantime, ask yourself this: Think of all the conservative jurists you know and respect. Have any of them had anything positive to say about this nomination? I can think of only one, Ken Starr, when he was interviewed last week on Fox's Hannity and Colmes.
And even Starr confined himself to vague generalities about Miers' "track record." I've reprinted the transcript below. Notice what Starr does not say. He never says Miers possesses a deep knowledge of the law, he can muster no praise for her intellect or abilities as a lawyer, he does not say she'll be a credit the court. He doesn't even say that this is a good nomination beyond a jovial: "She's terrific." In fact, the only specific praise he offers is praise for Miers' formal statement to the press accepting her nomination - a statement that, as Starr would know, was written for her by others on the White House staff.
Starr in other words sounds to me like somebody who has been deputized to go on television and find something good to say - and who is searching for a way to be kind without saying anything affirmatively untrue. So, as Ann Coulter mockingly puts it, he emphasizes "how nice, tidy, helpful, and prompt" Miers is.
As tepid as Starr's endorsement was, it is just about the only endorsement Miers has received from any conservative with an established reputation in the law. James Dobson, Charles Colson, and Richard Lane of the Southern Baptist Convention have all endorsed Miers heartily. Good men all. But suppose you needed a lawyer to go to City Hall to fight a parking ticket. Would you look to Dobson, Colson, or Lamb for advice on who to hire? I very much doubt it.
There are enough legitimate criticsms of Harriet Miers to offer up without resorting to obvious and quite verifiable falsehoods. Jay Sekulow and Leonard Leo were among the first to come out strongly in favor of the Miers nomination. Only an imbecile would attempt to argue that they are not "conservative with an established reputation in law"
The disagreement in the conservative ranks over Miers nomination is not neccessarily a bad thing, it may even be healthy. The attempted furtherment of ones argument through rancor and distortions, however, is not, and it needs to stop.
Frum certainly has altered the tenor of his writing since July 2005.
750 insurgents arrested, 20 killed or injured in northern Baghdad
Now this is what I call a dirtbag roundup!
BAGHDAD, Oct 10 (KUNA) -- The Multi-National Force (MNF) said on Monday that it arrested 750 insurgents, killed 12, and wounded eight others in a joint operation with the Iraqi security forces.
Spokesperson for Task Force Liberty in the MNF said the joint US-Iraqi force executed over 175 attacks and missions during the first week of operation.The source added that over 50 road-side bombs were discovered on roads in northern and central Iraq, in addition to seizing over 50 mortar rounds, 80 mortars, 70 rockets, and anti-tank mines.
A car bomb had exploded on October 6 about 50 meters away from a Task Force Liberty vehicle nearby Samara, killing one Iraqi child, said the source.The spokesperson noted that the Task Force Liberty clashed with a group of gunmen south of Dalash town, where the forces killed a gunman, arrested another, and seized a car bomb.Meanwhile, the Iraqi Army and Police cordoned the city of Najaf and spread inside the city as part of a security plan in preparation for the referendum on the constitution.(more) mhg.
BAGHDAD, Oct 10 (KUNA) -- The Multi-National Force (MNF) said on Monday that it arrested 750 insurgents, killed 12, and wounded eight others in a joint operation with the Iraqi security forces.
Spokesperson for Task Force Liberty in the MNF said the joint US-Iraqi force executed over 175 attacks and missions during the first week of operation.The source added that over 50 road-side bombs were discovered on roads in northern and central Iraq, in addition to seizing over 50 mortar rounds, 80 mortars, 70 rockets, and anti-tank mines.
A car bomb had exploded on October 6 about 50 meters away from a Task Force Liberty vehicle nearby Samara, killing one Iraqi child, said the source.The spokesperson noted that the Task Force Liberty clashed with a group of gunmen south of Dalash town, where the forces killed a gunman, arrested another, and seized a car bomb.Meanwhile, the Iraqi Army and Police cordoned the city of Najaf and spread inside the city as part of a security plan in preparation for the referendum on the constitution.(more) mhg.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Harriet Miers, Just What Do We Know
When illness struck her family, Harriet went to work to help pay for her own college education. (A commoner...probably the elite's problem with her)
Graduated Southern Methodist University, and received a Bachelor's Degree in mathematics. (A mathematician...most of us know firsthand what a b!tch math is)
Graduated SMU law school and earned a place on the law review. (One of the best in her class)
Prestigious two-year clerkship for a federal trial judge.
The first woman to be hired at her law firm, the first woman to become president of that firm,
The first woman to lead a large law firm in the state of Texas, the first woman head of the Dallas Bar Association, and the first woman elected as president of the State Bar of Texas.
Ms. Miers handled hundreds of cases in state and federal courts, from massive commercial litigation to criminal cases to civil disputes.
She served in local government on the Dallas City Council held office in state government . long hours of volunteer legal work on behalf of the poor and underprivileged, and served as a leader for more than a dozen community groups and charities.
*Harriet Miers was regularly rated one of the top 100 lawyers in America,
*One of the top 50 women lawyers in the country. White House Counsel, one of the most important legal positions in the country. chief legal advisor during regular meetings of the National Security Council, handles sensitive issues of executive-congressional relations,
Led the effort to help nominate outstanding judges for the federal judiciary. In charge of the process that resulted in the appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts. H/T Xzins
My question.....Why are the same people who are willing to trust President Bush's judement to put their sons and daughters in harms way in Iraq now unwilling to trust his judgement to seat a strict constructionist on the Supreme Court?
Graduated Southern Methodist University, and received a Bachelor's Degree in mathematics. (A mathematician...most of us know firsthand what a b!tch math is)
Graduated SMU law school and earned a place on the law review. (One of the best in her class)
Prestigious two-year clerkship for a federal trial judge.
The first woman to be hired at her law firm, the first woman to become president of that firm,
The first woman to lead a large law firm in the state of Texas, the first woman head of the Dallas Bar Association, and the first woman elected as president of the State Bar of Texas.
Ms. Miers handled hundreds of cases in state and federal courts, from massive commercial litigation to criminal cases to civil disputes.
She served in local government on the Dallas City Council held office in state government . long hours of volunteer legal work on behalf of the poor and underprivileged, and served as a leader for more than a dozen community groups and charities.
*Harriet Miers was regularly rated one of the top 100 lawyers in America,
*One of the top 50 women lawyers in the country. White House Counsel, one of the most important legal positions in the country. chief legal advisor during regular meetings of the National Security Council, handles sensitive issues of executive-congressional relations,
Led the effort to help nominate outstanding judges for the federal judiciary. In charge of the process that resulted in the appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts. H/T Xzins
My question.....Why are the same people who are willing to trust President Bush's judement to put their sons and daughters in harms way in Iraq now unwilling to trust his judgement to seat a strict constructionist on the Supreme Court?
Friday, October 07, 2005
Al Qaeda's Zarqawi backs killing civilian 'infidels'
With this edict he can now kill anyone without conscience as long as their an infidel. Who determines who is an infidel and who is not....why Zarqawi of course. Covenient isn't it.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iraq's al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said militants were justified under Islam in killing civilians as long as they are infidels, according to an audio tape attributed to him on Friday.
"Islam does not differentiate between civilians and military (targets) but rather distinguishes between Muslims and infidels," said the man on the tape posted on the Internet, who sounded like Zarqawi.
"Muslim blood must be spared ... but it is permissible to spill infidel blood," said the speaker.
The comments appeared a day after the Pentagon said it had obtained a letter to Zarqawi from al Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri, saying tactics being used such as bombing mosques and killing hostages might alienate the Muslim masses.
Nothing like making it up as you go.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iraq's al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said militants were justified under Islam in killing civilians as long as they are infidels, according to an audio tape attributed to him on Friday.
"Islam does not differentiate between civilians and military (targets) but rather distinguishes between Muslims and infidels," said the man on the tape posted on the Internet, who sounded like Zarqawi.
"Muslim blood must be spared ... but it is permissible to spill infidel blood," said the speaker.
The comments appeared a day after the Pentagon said it had obtained a letter to Zarqawi from al Qaeda's second in command, Ayman al-Zawahri, saying tactics being used such as bombing mosques and killing hostages might alienate the Muslim masses.
Nothing like making it up as you go.
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Who's the Real Spendthrift
An astute reader at Polipundit posted this. I googled it and his figures appear accurate, who'd a thunk it.
Johnson - INCREASED spending 55%
Nixon - INCREASED spending 81%
Ford - INCREASED spending 23%
Carter - INCREASED spending 66%
Reagan - INCREASED spending 69%(dramatically increased defense spending to defeat USSR)
Bush I - INCREASED spending 23%
Clinton - INCREASED spending 32%
Bush II - INCREASED spending 23% (so far)
Answer: there isn't one
Johnson - INCREASED spending 55%
Nixon - INCREASED spending 81%
Ford - INCREASED spending 23%
Carter - INCREASED spending 66%
Reagan - INCREASED spending 69%(dramatically increased defense spending to defeat USSR)
Bush I - INCREASED spending 23%
Clinton - INCREASED spending 32%
Bush II - INCREASED spending 23% (so far)
Answer: there isn't one
Bush's WOT Speech
Bush was in totally stride today and delivered an overall terrific speech, Lots of memorable quotes but this is the one that sticks in my mind......
In fact, we're not facing a set of grievances that can be soothed and addressed. We're facing a radical ideology with unalterable objectives: to enslave whole nations and intimidate the world. No act of ours invited the rage of the killers, and no concession, bribe or act of appeasement would change or limit their plans for murder.
On the contrary, they target nations whose behavior they believe they can change through violence.
Vintage Bush and spot on.
In fact, we're not facing a set of grievances that can be soothed and addressed. We're facing a radical ideology with unalterable objectives: to enslave whole nations and intimidate the world. No act of ours invited the rage of the killers, and no concession, bribe or act of appeasement would change or limit their plans for murder.
On the contrary, they target nations whose behavior they believe they can change through violence.
Vintage Bush and spot on.
Bush Fires Howitzer in Culture War?
I have been paying awfully close attention to the kerfluffle on both sides of the aisle concerning the nomination of Harriet Miers. As you have probably noticed, I have mellowed somewhat and am actually encouraged to a degree. The left is beginning to crawfish on their position as a picture of Miers begins to develop.
The right is also beginning to feel more comfortable with her excepting some big names who appear to be far more interested in the general public noticing their over the top tantrums than a thoughtful dialogue. Ann Coulter comes to mind. (Ann remember the left do not buy your books).
Reflecting this morning as I sipped my first cup of coffee and browsing the comments left to me last night on FR a light bulb suddenly appeared over my desheveled head. What if Bush had this whole thing choreographed from the start. He knows Miers, her down to earth fundamentalist values, her conservative temperment, her staunch religious conviction and her tendency to read law in the vernacular. He knew that at least some Dims had voiced acceptance even support for this nominee in discussions, so they were essentially neutered. But they didn't know her like he did, they hadn't done their homework and therefor were oblivious to the fact that this lady was one tenacious fundamental Christian whos dedication to strict constuctionism was surpassed only by her conviction to Scripture.
He realized that at least initially he would catch hell from the right, but once they knew her as he did, they'd come around. Sooner or later he also knew that the left would begin to understand who this women was and what they had stepped into. They would come to the horrifying revelation that they were about to put a bible thumping, pro-business, rigid fundamentalist social conservative on the bench. Behind closed doors the ranting from the left would be hysterical "My God, what have we done".
There options would be few. Attack on her percieved lack of pedigree, and far more importantly, attack her Christian beliefs as an overriding disqualification. The former has no teeth, the latter fraught with peril, and therin lies the rub. Bush is going to get his battle in the Senate but it's going to be on his terms and the stakes..... immense. The battle will pit the spiritualist against the secularists and given the makeup of the American populace and untenable position for the left.
He gets a justice perfectly in line with his beliefs and the Dims in the Senate come off looking like religion hating zealots who have nothing but disdain for people of faith. This is a battle that has been smoldering for years and what better time for it to erupt into flame than during televised heraings of a SCOTUS nominee. For the Republicans it will be a rhetorical goldmine that would likely pay dividends for years to come. For the Democrats it's a lose lose proposition. They lose a SCOTUS seat and look exceedingly bad doing it.
Did the Dims get monumentally suckered? The only other alternative to this theory is that Bush just wimped out and picked a milktoast moderate because he was scared of a fight with the Senate. That he compromised all that he believes a SCOTUS nomineee should be in order to avoid confrontation. That, folks I am not ready to believe nor should you. If that's the case than you and I and 52% of the population were hoodwinked last November. Most of us believe we were not and I feel very shortly that belief will be vindicated............IN SPADES.
Musing Minds has some interesting background via Beldar
The right is also beginning to feel more comfortable with her excepting some big names who appear to be far more interested in the general public noticing their over the top tantrums than a thoughtful dialogue. Ann Coulter comes to mind. (Ann remember the left do not buy your books).
Reflecting this morning as I sipped my first cup of coffee and browsing the comments left to me last night on FR a light bulb suddenly appeared over my desheveled head. What if Bush had this whole thing choreographed from the start. He knows Miers, her down to earth fundamentalist values, her conservative temperment, her staunch religious conviction and her tendency to read law in the vernacular. He knew that at least some Dims had voiced acceptance even support for this nominee in discussions, so they were essentially neutered. But they didn't know her like he did, they hadn't done their homework and therefor were oblivious to the fact that this lady was one tenacious fundamental Christian whos dedication to strict constuctionism was surpassed only by her conviction to Scripture.
He realized that at least initially he would catch hell from the right, but once they knew her as he did, they'd come around. Sooner or later he also knew that the left would begin to understand who this women was and what they had stepped into. They would come to the horrifying revelation that they were about to put a bible thumping, pro-business, rigid fundamentalist social conservative on the bench. Behind closed doors the ranting from the left would be hysterical "My God, what have we done".
There options would be few. Attack on her percieved lack of pedigree, and far more importantly, attack her Christian beliefs as an overriding disqualification. The former has no teeth, the latter fraught with peril, and therin lies the rub. Bush is going to get his battle in the Senate but it's going to be on his terms and the stakes..... immense. The battle will pit the spiritualist against the secularists and given the makeup of the American populace and untenable position for the left.
He gets a justice perfectly in line with his beliefs and the Dims in the Senate come off looking like religion hating zealots who have nothing but disdain for people of faith. This is a battle that has been smoldering for years and what better time for it to erupt into flame than during televised heraings of a SCOTUS nominee. For the Republicans it will be a rhetorical goldmine that would likely pay dividends for years to come. For the Democrats it's a lose lose proposition. They lose a SCOTUS seat and look exceedingly bad doing it.
Did the Dims get monumentally suckered? The only other alternative to this theory is that Bush just wimped out and picked a milktoast moderate because he was scared of a fight with the Senate. That he compromised all that he believes a SCOTUS nomineee should be in order to avoid confrontation. That, folks I am not ready to believe nor should you. If that's the case than you and I and 52% of the population were hoodwinked last November. Most of us believe we were not and I feel very shortly that belief will be vindicated............IN SPADES.
Musing Minds has some interesting background via Beldar
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Harriet Miers Called 'Fifth Vote Against Roe'
This folks is going to be fun I'm telling you....
Bloomberg News columnist Margaret Carlson is warning Democrats that Bush Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers will give conservatives the fifth vote they need to overturn Roe v Wade.
"This time [President Bush is] tricking Harry Reid," said Carlson, referring to Reid's words of praise for Miers before key details about her past emerged.
Notes Carlson:
• "Miers's former campaign manager, Lorlee Bartos, said Miers told her when running for city council in 1989 that she had been 'pro-choice in her youth.' Then, according to Bartos, Miers said she underwent 'a born-again, profound experience' that caused her to change her mind and oppose abortion.
Remember you heard it here first, the Dims got blindsided and they're only just beginningto realize it.
Bloomberg News columnist Margaret Carlson is warning Democrats that Bush Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers will give conservatives the fifth vote they need to overturn Roe v Wade.
"This time [President Bush is] tricking Harry Reid," said Carlson, referring to Reid's words of praise for Miers before key details about her past emerged.
Notes Carlson:
• "Miers's former campaign manager, Lorlee Bartos, said Miers told her when running for city council in 1989 that she had been 'pro-choice in her youth.' Then, according to Bartos, Miers said she underwent 'a born-again, profound experience' that caused her to change her mind and oppose abortion.
Remember you heard it here first, the Dims got blindsided and they're only just beginningto realize it.
Delusional Moonbat Alert!!
Their are approximately 20% of the people in this great country of ours that are quite frankly pretty scary. A mind that is capable of even cosidering this sort of lunacy is capable of anything.
Did Bush administration attack peace movement with military grade biological bacteria?October 4, 2005What do we make of the Saturday, October 1 Washington Post headline “Poison Found in Air During Anti-War Protest”?
Washington D.C. Public Health Director Greg A. Pane posed the right question in the Post article, “Why that day? That’s what is not explained.” Pane pointed that it was “just this 24-hour period and none since.”
The Post noted that Pane found “. . . it was puzzling that the finding was from a day when the mall was packed with people.”
Puzzling? Indeed. Biohazard sensors detected tularemia bacteria at the mall on Saturday, September 24.
Equally puzzling was an earlier Post report: “Weekend protesters hit travel snags.” The article reported that Amtrak trains from New York City were turned back, cancelled or delayed from heading to the nation’s capitol for the biggest peace demonstration since the Vietnam War era. Also, Metro subway cars coming into the capitol were disrupted by repairs.
Federal officials are still pondering the death of five people on U.S. soil and scores of others who were infected with U.S. military-grade anthrax in the fall of 2001.
The wholly implausible “working hypothesis” put forward by Pane is that the bacteria found in rodents, rabbits and other small animals just happened to occur on the same day the trains failed to run on time and more than quarter of a million people assembled to directly challenge the Bush regime’s illegal war in Iraq.
Sites such as the DU and Bradblog spoon feed their loyal readers steady diets of this paranoid, softheaded nonsense. Whats disturbing is that there are more than a few people willing to believe it.
Did Bush administration attack peace movement with military grade biological bacteria?October 4, 2005What do we make of the Saturday, October 1 Washington Post headline “Poison Found in Air During Anti-War Protest”?
Washington D.C. Public Health Director Greg A. Pane posed the right question in the Post article, “Why that day? That’s what is not explained.” Pane pointed that it was “just this 24-hour period and none since.”
The Post noted that Pane found “. . . it was puzzling that the finding was from a day when the mall was packed with people.”
Puzzling? Indeed. Biohazard sensors detected tularemia bacteria at the mall on Saturday, September 24.
Equally puzzling was an earlier Post report: “Weekend protesters hit travel snags.” The article reported that Amtrak trains from New York City were turned back, cancelled or delayed from heading to the nation’s capitol for the biggest peace demonstration since the Vietnam War era. Also, Metro subway cars coming into the capitol were disrupted by repairs.
Federal officials are still pondering the death of five people on U.S. soil and scores of others who were infected with U.S. military-grade anthrax in the fall of 2001.
The wholly implausible “working hypothesis” put forward by Pane is that the bacteria found in rodents, rabbits and other small animals just happened to occur on the same day the trains failed to run on time and more than quarter of a million people assembled to directly challenge the Bush regime’s illegal war in Iraq.
Sites such as the DU and Bradblog spoon feed their loyal readers steady diets of this paranoid, softheaded nonsense. Whats disturbing is that there are more than a few people willing to believe it.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Nattering NRO in 1991
The Editors at NRO got together and produced this analysis of Clarence Thomas in 1991. Contrast this with current statements coming out of NRO concerning Miers nomination.
Ultimately, however, the importance of Supreme Court Justices is not in the image they offer but in their workaday decisions that affect our lives. Clarence Thomas's (and George Bush's) legacy will be defined not by his pigmentation, but by his written opinions and by whether he contributes to the transformation of the Supreme Court into a responsible interpreter of the Constitution.
On the basis of what is known, there is every reason to believe that Judge Thomas will live up to his promise. Truth be told, however, his public record on issues other than civil rights is still more Souteresque than Borkian. So it is vital that conservatives, during these brief moments of accountability in the judicial-selection process, should participate fully in public dialogue with the nominee. Unlike the liberals, however, our aim should be to learn not what Judge Thomas thinks about abortion, South Africa, contraception, and funding for the arts, but what he thinks about the role of the judicial branch within our constitutional system. — The Editors.
Although they are more deferential in their interogative, the skepticism rings familiar. Sop much for the reliability of "paper trails".
h/t Sir Linksalot
Ultimately, however, the importance of Supreme Court Justices is not in the image they offer but in their workaday decisions that affect our lives. Clarence Thomas's (and George Bush's) legacy will be defined not by his pigmentation, but by his written opinions and by whether he contributes to the transformation of the Supreme Court into a responsible interpreter of the Constitution.
On the basis of what is known, there is every reason to believe that Judge Thomas will live up to his promise. Truth be told, however, his public record on issues other than civil rights is still more Souteresque than Borkian. So it is vital that conservatives, during these brief moments of accountability in the judicial-selection process, should participate fully in public dialogue with the nominee. Unlike the liberals, however, our aim should be to learn not what Judge Thomas thinks about abortion, South Africa, contraception, and funding for the arts, but what he thinks about the role of the judicial branch within our constitutional system. — The Editors.
Although they are more deferential in their interogative, the skepticism rings familiar. Sop much for the reliability of "paper trails".
h/t Sir Linksalot
Michelle Malkins' "Fit of Vapors" part Deux
For the second time in a month I find myself disagreeing with Michelle Malkin and that folks is a first.
I am presently still undecided about Miers' nomination myself, but one thing is for sure, I am not going to go off half cocked and condemn the President for a choice that could range between anything from imbecilic to brilliant.
MM has has had a bee in her bonnett concerning this administration ever since her Michael Brown tirades and I believe she is working diligently to become a charter member of the blame Bush first consortium. Maybe that comes from sucess or maybe from a desire to appear noble by willing to attack ones own party as easily as the opposition, whatever the reason, it's counterproductive and I don't like it one bit.
Malkin wants a proven on paper dyed in the wool conservative to replace SDO as do many of her fellow bloggers who collectively make up this Bush bashathon. There is presently nothing to indicate that Miers is not such a conservative. Paper trails and people "opinions" mean nothing when it comes to SCOTUS nominees. Remember Anthony Kennedy's nomination to replace Robert Bork?? He was without doubt such a "paper trailed" conservative. Guess who vetted him.....Mark Levin. Well, we all know how that turned out, he's at about a 50% concurrence rate with Scalia and Thomas.
What MM fails to aknowledge is that Bush's judicial picks have been exceptional. He has put talented, conservative non-activist judges on the court consistently. So now suddenly she doesn't feel that he is worthy of her trust on this issue because his SCOTUS nominee doesn't have a Scarlett C tattoed on her forehead? Shame, with conservatives like that who needs the left.
Presidents in the past have made the mistake of relying too much on paper trails, and peer recomendations, that's why 7 of 9 justices were appointed by Republicans and only (untill recently) 3 were staunch originalists. I'll take Bush's first hand knowledge of his nominee over all the paper and pundits in the world.
Some conservatives feel that we haven't won unless we have a knock down drag out over this. That untill the Democrats cave and beg for mercy it's not truly a victory. Steaming cowpie! I'll take a "stealth victory" all day long. The fact that Reid, Schumer and the rest aren't spewing the vicious rhetoric concerning this nominee is nothing more than an acute ignorance of who and what this women is. A nominee with what they perceive as a benign background is hard to demonize. Just wait, those on the left may very well regret they got what they wished for.
One thing for sure, if Harriet Miers reads the constitution in the vernacular, fundamentalist, way she reads her bible, the left will rue the day she was nominated and the "bedwetting right" will will dine on crow under glass.....again.
The Anchoress "gets it".
So does California Conservative.
Musing Minds is chillin while various members of the "Donner party" howl.
I am presently still undecided about Miers' nomination myself, but one thing is for sure, I am not going to go off half cocked and condemn the President for a choice that could range between anything from imbecilic to brilliant.
MM has has had a bee in her bonnett concerning this administration ever since her Michael Brown tirades and I believe she is working diligently to become a charter member of the blame Bush first consortium. Maybe that comes from sucess or maybe from a desire to appear noble by willing to attack ones own party as easily as the opposition, whatever the reason, it's counterproductive and I don't like it one bit.
Malkin wants a proven on paper dyed in the wool conservative to replace SDO as do many of her fellow bloggers who collectively make up this Bush bashathon. There is presently nothing to indicate that Miers is not such a conservative. Paper trails and people "opinions" mean nothing when it comes to SCOTUS nominees. Remember Anthony Kennedy's nomination to replace Robert Bork?? He was without doubt such a "paper trailed" conservative. Guess who vetted him.....Mark Levin. Well, we all know how that turned out, he's at about a 50% concurrence rate with Scalia and Thomas.
What MM fails to aknowledge is that Bush's judicial picks have been exceptional. He has put talented, conservative non-activist judges on the court consistently. So now suddenly she doesn't feel that he is worthy of her trust on this issue because his SCOTUS nominee doesn't have a Scarlett C tattoed on her forehead? Shame, with conservatives like that who needs the left.
Presidents in the past have made the mistake of relying too much on paper trails, and peer recomendations, that's why 7 of 9 justices were appointed by Republicans and only (untill recently) 3 were staunch originalists. I'll take Bush's first hand knowledge of his nominee over all the paper and pundits in the world.
Some conservatives feel that we haven't won unless we have a knock down drag out over this. That untill the Democrats cave and beg for mercy it's not truly a victory. Steaming cowpie! I'll take a "stealth victory" all day long. The fact that Reid, Schumer and the rest aren't spewing the vicious rhetoric concerning this nominee is nothing more than an acute ignorance of who and what this women is. A nominee with what they perceive as a benign background is hard to demonize. Just wait, those on the left may very well regret they got what they wished for.
One thing for sure, if Harriet Miers reads the constitution in the vernacular, fundamentalist, way she reads her bible, the left will rue the day she was nominated and the "bedwetting right" will will dine on crow under glass.....again.
The Anchoress "gets it".
So does California Conservative.
Musing Minds is chillin while various members of the "Donner party" howl.
Quote of the Day
Being that Harriet was responsible for all of Bushs judicial nominees, Bush's previous judicial picks constitute Harriet Meirs' actual "paper trail." Reader
interesting take
interesting take
Monday, October 03, 2005
ACLJ Calls Harriet Miers - President Bush's Nominee to Replace Justice O'Connor - an "Excellent" Choice for the Supreme Court
I remain unconvinced, but enough of this and I could be convinced to change my initial impressions.
((Washington, DC) – The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), specializing in constitutional law said today that Harriet Miers, the nominee named by President Bush for a seat on the Supreme Court of the United States, is an excellent choice who represents the conservative mainstream of judicial philosophy of interpreting the Constitution, not re-writing it.
“Once again, President Bush showed exceptional judgment in naming Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court to replace Justice O’Connor,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, who argues regularly before the high court and has a pro-life protest case at the high court this term. “At a time when the high court is facing some of the most critical issues of the day – including a number of cases dealing directly with abortion and life issues – the person who replaces Justice O’Connor is critical.
Harriet Miers is an excellent choice with an extraordinary record of service in the legal community and is certain to approach her work on the high court with a firm commitment to follow the Constitution and the rule of law. I have been privileged to work with her in her capacity as White House counsel. She is bright, thoughtful, and a consummate professional and I enthusiastically endorse her nomination.”
Sekulow added: “We look forward to a speedy confirmation process and will work aggressively to ensure that Harriet Miers gets full and fair consideration before the Senate. We call on members of the Senate to reject the partisan political rhetoric and focus on the judicial philosophy of this conservative mainstream nominee.”
Sekulow said the ACLJ.
Update I: I will continue to post update information on nominee Miers as it becomes available. This is modestly encouraging.....
Miers Led Bid to Revisit Abortion Stance
President Bush's choice to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court Justice and moderate abortion rights supporter Sandra Day O'Connor was a leader in an unsuccessful fight to get the nation's largest lawyers' group to reconsider its pro-abortion rights stance.
As president of the Texas State Bar in 1993, Harriet Miers urged the national American Bar Association to put the abortion issue to a referendum of the group's full membership. She questioned at the time whether the ABA should "be trying to speak for the entire legal community" on an issue that she said "has brought on tremendous divisiveness" within the ABA.
Miers was among a group of lawyers from the Texas bar and elsewhere who had argued that the ABA should have a neutral stance on abortion.
Update II: Interesting.......Harriet Miers gave $150 donation in 1989 to a Texas-based group opposed to abortion rights, the group confirmed to CNN. Miers was a Dallas City Council woman at the time.
Kyleen Wright, president of Texans for Life, which was called "Texans United for Life" in 1989, says that although she appreciates the donation, she's "not convinced" that it means that Miers is a committed opponent to abortion rights.
Wright confirms that then-city councilwoman Harriet Miers made a $150 donation to the organization in 1989 and was listed as a "bronze patron" in the program for the group's annual dinner, keynoted by GOP Rep. Henry Hide of Illinois.
Update III Miers on RKBA:
How does a free society prevent" such crimes, she asked. She then explained:
The same liberties that ensure a free society make the innocent vulnerable to those who prevent rights and privileges and commit senseless and cruel acts. Those precious liberties include free speech, freedom to assemble, freedom of liberties, access to public places, the right to bear arms and freedom from constant surveillance. We are not willing to sacrifice these rights because of the acts of maniacs.
Miers, however, rejected the notion that "precious liberties", including "the right to bear arms," should be sacrificed in the name of crime prevention. Quite obviously, she was referring to the "right to bear arms" as an individual right. via Volokh
Update IV: Miers religious affiliation: Harriet Miers has been a member of Valley View Christian Church in Dallas for 25 years, where Hecht (Nathan Hecht, the Texas Supreme Court justice who is a prolife hero for strongly supporting parental notification laws five years ago when a SCOTEX majority was scuttling them) has been an elder. He calls it a "conservative evangelical church... in the vernacular, fundamentalist, but the media have used that word to tar us." He says she was on the missions committee for ten years, taught children in Sunday School, made coffee, brought donuts: "Nothing she's asked to do in church is beneath her." On abortion, choosing his words carefully for an on-the-record statement, he says "her personal views are consistent with that of evangelical Christians... You can tell a lot about her from her decade of service in a conservative church."
Update V: Abortion
A former campaign manager says Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers opposed abortion rights while running for Dallas City Council in 1989.
"She is on the extreme end of the anti-choice movement," said Lorlee Bartos, who managed Miers' first and only political campaign and said they discussed abortion once during the race. "I suspect she is of the same cloth as the president."
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said she couldn't comment on Bartos' recollection but added that President Bush "does not have a litmus test for his judicial nominees."
Miers served on the City Council from 1989 to 1991,
Bartos said Miers told her she was "pro-choice in her youth" but underwent "a born-again, profound experience" that caused her to oppose abortion.
Ron Key, Miers' pastor since the early 1980s, said his church is anti-abortion. Key recently left Valley View Christian Church to found a new church with Miers and others. Miers was a leader in an effort to persuade the nation's largest lawyers' group to reconsider its pro-abortion-rights stance.
((Washington, DC) – The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), specializing in constitutional law said today that Harriet Miers, the nominee named by President Bush for a seat on the Supreme Court of the United States, is an excellent choice who represents the conservative mainstream of judicial philosophy of interpreting the Constitution, not re-writing it.
“Once again, President Bush showed exceptional judgment in naming Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court to replace Justice O’Connor,” said Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ, who argues regularly before the high court and has a pro-life protest case at the high court this term. “At a time when the high court is facing some of the most critical issues of the day – including a number of cases dealing directly with abortion and life issues – the person who replaces Justice O’Connor is critical.
Harriet Miers is an excellent choice with an extraordinary record of service in the legal community and is certain to approach her work on the high court with a firm commitment to follow the Constitution and the rule of law. I have been privileged to work with her in her capacity as White House counsel. She is bright, thoughtful, and a consummate professional and I enthusiastically endorse her nomination.”
Sekulow added: “We look forward to a speedy confirmation process and will work aggressively to ensure that Harriet Miers gets full and fair consideration before the Senate. We call on members of the Senate to reject the partisan political rhetoric and focus on the judicial philosophy of this conservative mainstream nominee.”
Sekulow said the ACLJ.
Update I: I will continue to post update information on nominee Miers as it becomes available. This is modestly encouraging.....
Miers Led Bid to Revisit Abortion Stance
President Bush's choice to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court Justice and moderate abortion rights supporter Sandra Day O'Connor was a leader in an unsuccessful fight to get the nation's largest lawyers' group to reconsider its pro-abortion rights stance.
As president of the Texas State Bar in 1993, Harriet Miers urged the national American Bar Association to put the abortion issue to a referendum of the group's full membership. She questioned at the time whether the ABA should "be trying to speak for the entire legal community" on an issue that she said "has brought on tremendous divisiveness" within the ABA.
Miers was among a group of lawyers from the Texas bar and elsewhere who had argued that the ABA should have a neutral stance on abortion.
Update II: Interesting.......Harriet Miers gave $150 donation in 1989 to a Texas-based group opposed to abortion rights, the group confirmed to CNN. Miers was a Dallas City Council woman at the time.
Kyleen Wright, president of Texans for Life, which was called "Texans United for Life" in 1989, says that although she appreciates the donation, she's "not convinced" that it means that Miers is a committed opponent to abortion rights.
Wright confirms that then-city councilwoman Harriet Miers made a $150 donation to the organization in 1989 and was listed as a "bronze patron" in the program for the group's annual dinner, keynoted by GOP Rep. Henry Hide of Illinois.
Update III Miers on RKBA:
How does a free society prevent" such crimes, she asked. She then explained:
The same liberties that ensure a free society make the innocent vulnerable to those who prevent rights and privileges and commit senseless and cruel acts. Those precious liberties include free speech, freedom to assemble, freedom of liberties, access to public places, the right to bear arms and freedom from constant surveillance. We are not willing to sacrifice these rights because of the acts of maniacs.
Miers, however, rejected the notion that "precious liberties", including "the right to bear arms," should be sacrificed in the name of crime prevention. Quite obviously, she was referring to the "right to bear arms" as an individual right. via Volokh
Update IV: Miers religious affiliation: Harriet Miers has been a member of Valley View Christian Church in Dallas for 25 years, where Hecht (Nathan Hecht, the Texas Supreme Court justice who is a prolife hero for strongly supporting parental notification laws five years ago when a SCOTEX majority was scuttling them) has been an elder. He calls it a "conservative evangelical church... in the vernacular, fundamentalist, but the media have used that word to tar us." He says she was on the missions committee for ten years, taught children in Sunday School, made coffee, brought donuts: "Nothing she's asked to do in church is beneath her." On abortion, choosing his words carefully for an on-the-record statement, he says "her personal views are consistent with that of evangelical Christians... You can tell a lot about her from her decade of service in a conservative church."
Update V: Abortion
A former campaign manager says Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers opposed abortion rights while running for Dallas City Council in 1989.
"She is on the extreme end of the anti-choice movement," said Lorlee Bartos, who managed Miers' first and only political campaign and said they discussed abortion once during the race. "I suspect she is of the same cloth as the president."
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said she couldn't comment on Bartos' recollection but added that President Bush "does not have a litmus test for his judicial nominees."
Miers served on the City Council from 1989 to 1991,
Bartos said Miers told her she was "pro-choice in her youth" but underwent "a born-again, profound experience" that caused her to oppose abortion.
Ron Key, Miers' pastor since the early 1980s, said his church is anti-abortion. Key recently left Valley View Christian Church to found a new church with Miers and others. Miers was a leader in an effort to persuade the nation's largest lawyers' group to reconsider its pro-abortion-rights stance.
Bush's Supreme Court Nominee is........
Harriet Miers. Breaking: Fox and Friends indicating that AP has reported that Harriet Miers will be Bush SCOTUS pick. We shall see.
Update I: It's official, it's Miers. The best thing I can say about her at the moment is, she's not Gonzales. That is about it. From what I know of her is she's "moderate", not pro-life and had democratic leanings in the past ie. Donations to both Gore and Bentsen campaigns.
To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. When he had names such as Luttig, McConnell, Brown, and Owen to choose from and he picks Miers, jeeeez. If Bush thinks this will molify the Dims he's sorely mistaken. They will hate him regardless, now they will just hate him with a "moderate" SCOTUS nominee. Not only that but it gives the left an opportunity to charge cronyism.
This was a fight worth picking and the fact that he didn't gives me pause to question his tenacity. If as time goes on information comes to light which contradicts my opinion of Miers as a nominee, I will gladly recant, untill that time all I can say is PU.
Update II: There is one positive that I failed to mention, Miers is a longtime friend of Bush so the chance that a stealth liberal like Souter emerging is unlikely. Bush at least, if not the rest of us, knows what he is getting.
Update I: It's official, it's Miers. The best thing I can say about her at the moment is, she's not Gonzales. That is about it. From what I know of her is she's "moderate", not pro-life and had democratic leanings in the past ie. Donations to both Gore and Bentsen campaigns.
To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. When he had names such as Luttig, McConnell, Brown, and Owen to choose from and he picks Miers, jeeeez. If Bush thinks this will molify the Dims he's sorely mistaken. They will hate him regardless, now they will just hate him with a "moderate" SCOTUS nominee. Not only that but it gives the left an opportunity to charge cronyism.
This was a fight worth picking and the fact that he didn't gives me pause to question his tenacity. If as time goes on information comes to light which contradicts my opinion of Miers as a nominee, I will gladly recant, untill that time all I can say is PU.
Update II: There is one positive that I failed to mention, Miers is a longtime friend of Bush so the chance that a stealth liberal like Souter emerging is unlikely. Bush at least, if not the rest of us, knows what he is getting.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
ACLU Objects to Posting Photos of Those Convicted of Prostitution
The ACLUs rank hypocrisy rears it's ugly head again.......
WILMINGTON, Del. (WBOC/AP)- Civil liberty advocates are objecting to New Castle County's new effort to fight prostitution: posting offenders' names and photos on a Web site.
The new Web site features photos of convicted prostitutes and their clientele. The police say they hope it will discourage others from committing the same crimes.
But Delaware ACLU Executive Director Drew Fennell said public humiliation should not be used as a law enforcement tactic. He said the photos are degrading not only to the individual, but the person's family, friends and employer.
Fennel said the expediency of the computer and people's sense of voyeurism make the World Wide Web a handy tool.
Protect the privacy of prostitutes and their johns because it's "degrading" to the individuals involved , friends, family and employers but our soldiers who are putting their lives on the line for their country deserve no such protection from the release of the violence inciting Abu Ghraib photos because "the people have a right to know". This group has singlehandedly perfected the despicable art hypocrisy and expediency to the level of a crime.
WILMINGTON, Del. (WBOC/AP)- Civil liberty advocates are objecting to New Castle County's new effort to fight prostitution: posting offenders' names and photos on a Web site.
The new Web site features photos of convicted prostitutes and their clientele. The police say they hope it will discourage others from committing the same crimes.
But Delaware ACLU Executive Director Drew Fennell said public humiliation should not be used as a law enforcement tactic. He said the photos are degrading not only to the individual, but the person's family, friends and employer.
Fennel said the expediency of the computer and people's sense of voyeurism make the World Wide Web a handy tool.
Protect the privacy of prostitutes and their johns because it's "degrading" to the individuals involved , friends, family and employers but our soldiers who are putting their lives on the line for their country deserve no such protection from the release of the violence inciting Abu Ghraib photos because "the people have a right to know". This group has singlehandedly perfected the despicable art hypocrisy and expediency to the level of a crime.
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