Yeah, Right, Whatever

Here's a NRCC commercial. Too bad not enough people will see it.

Ruth got a special birthday photo for her 91st birthday.

GATES MILLS, Ohio -- President George W. Bush made a pit stop on his way back to the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Tuesday evening.

After leaving a fundraiser in Gates Mills, his motorcade passed a home with a sign asking the president to stop by -- so he did.

Bush got out of the car and spent a few minutes with Ruth Harris, who was celebrating her 91st birthday with her family.

One that Senator Obama made, that is... Here's the article from the Evening Standard.

But this bucolic scene in his father's village of Kogelo near the Equator in western Kenya conceals a troubling reality that, until now, has never been spoken about. Barack Obama, the Evening Standard can reveal, after we went to the village earlier this month, has failed to honour the pledges of assistance that he made to a school named in his honour when he visited here amid great fanfare two years ago.


At that historic homecoming in August 2006 Obama was greeted as a hero with thousands lining the dirt streets of Kogelo. He visited the Senator Obama Kogelo Secondary School built on land donated by his paternal grandfather. After addressing the pupils, a third of whom are orphans, and dancing with them as they sang songs in his honour, he was shown a school with four dilapidated classrooms that lacked even basic resources such as water, sanitation and electricity.


He told the assembled press, local politicians (who included current Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga), and students: "Hopefully I can provide some assistance in the future to this school and all that it can be." He then turned to the school's principal, Yuanita Obiero, and assured her and her teachers: "I know you are working very hard and struggling to bring up this school, but I have said I will assist the school and I will do so."


Obiero says that although Obama did not explicitly use the word "financial" to qualify the nature of the assistance he was offering, "there was no doubt among us [teachers] that is what he meant. We interpreted his words as meaning he would help fund the school, either personally or by raising sponsors or both, in order to give our school desperately-needed modern facilities and a facelift". She added that 10 of the school's 144 pupils are Obama's relatives. Obiero was not the only one to think that the US Senator from Illinois, who had recently acquired a $1.65 million house in Chicago, would cough up. Obama's own grandmother Sarah confidently told reporters before his visit: "When he comes down here, he will change the face of the school and, believe me, our poverty in Kogelo will be a thing of the past." 

Granted,  Senator Obama never said he'd raise money for them. But, if you read the rest of the article, you'll see that he never even responded to their plan.

Baldilocks has decided to honor the promise that her "cousin" has made. She wants to raise money to fix up the school. If you want to help, click here. Like she said... you can show Democrats how it's done.

Zo's at it again... this time with Jedi Mind Tricks.



Here's the first video from "machosauceproductions", a short explanation of why Zo is a conservative Republican:


h/t to Fausta

Representative Louie Gohmert,a Republican from Texas' 1st District presented a bill to the House for consideration. It doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hades because of the Troll, but it makes perfect sense to me.

Here is the bill in its entirety for your reading pleasure:

Giving Inmate Terrorists More Opportunities (GITMO) Act of 2008 (Introduced in House)


HR 6615 IH
110th CONGRESS
2d Session


H. R. 6615


To provide for the transport of the enemy combatants detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Washington, DC, where the United States Supreme Court will be able to more effectively micromanage the detainees by holding them on the Supreme Court grounds, and for other purposes.


IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES


July 24, 2008


Mr. GOHMERT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned


A BILL


To provide for the transport of the enemy combatants detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Washington, DC, where the United States Supreme Court will be able to more effectively micromanage the detainees by holding them on the Supreme Court grounds, and for other purposes.


Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,


SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.


This Act may be cited as the `Giving Inmate Terrorists More Opportunities (GITMO) Act of 2008'.


SEC. 2. FINDINGS.


Congress finds the following:


(1) The United States Supreme Court issued an opinion styled Boumediene v. Bush on June 12, 2008.


(2) Justice Anthony Kennedy, in the court's majority opinion, held that foreign terrorism suspects held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba have constitutional rights to challenge their detention in United States courts.


(3) This is an obvious effort on the part of the Supreme Court to micromanage the detainment and disposition of detainees in the War on Terror who are dedicated to destroying innocent people and the American way of life.


(4) The United States Supreme Court clearly needs increased opportunity to oversee the handling of the enemy combatants, as it has seen fit to take a greater role in managing the Global War on Terror, which is a duty previously exercised by the Executive Branch.


(5) There can be no better way for the United States Supreme Court to exercise its new self-appointed war powers than to house the prisoners whom it has taken a greater role in overseeing.


SEC. 3. TRANSPORTATION AND DETAINMENT OF ENEMY COMBATANTS.


(a) Transportation- The Secretary of Defense shall immediately transport all enemy combatants detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Washington, DC, where the United States Supreme Court shall hold the prisoners on the Court grounds, confined by adequate fencing.


(b) Shelter on Supreme Court Building Grounds- The Secretary of Defense, in conjunction with Justice Anthony Kennedy, the author of the majority opinion in Boumediene v. Bush, is directed to provide shelter for the detainees outside the United States Supreme Court building, but on the building grounds. The Secretary of Defense shall provide guards to watch over the prisoners and shall implement a system to ensure that the prisoners receive the appropriate amount of food and water. Should the detainees need the use of restroom facilities, they shall use the facilities inside the United States Supreme Court building. The Chief Justice, if the Chief Justice so chooses, may perform the duties of Justice Anthony Kennedy under this subsection.


(c) Guard Duty- If any of the nine Supreme Court justices desire at any time to stand guard over the prisoners, or to provide the prisoners with their meals or water, or both, then the justices shall be permitted to perform these functions whenever they want.


SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.


If either the Secretary of Defense or any justice of the Supreme Court refuses to carry out their duties under this Act, then their respective department or court shall receive funding for the next fiscal year at half the level of funding appropriated for the current fiscal year, or until such time as the Supreme Court no longer desires to micromanage the prisoners who have sworn to destroy our way of life.

For some reason, I don't think Justice Kennedy will get the joke... or that it's on him.

(h't to HDD for finding this gem.)

1st. Lt. Thomas M. Marti
27 years old from Ward, Arkansas
C Troop, 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division
October 14, 2007


An Eagle Scout, Thomas M. Martin took on cleaning up an old red train caboose as a service project. "He remodeled it to make it where people could go inside. If you saw it before and looked in it after he was through - it was daylight and dark", said his former principal, Robert Martin, who is no relation. "Tom was involved in Key Club, German Club and band, making All-Region Band his sophomore year", said Robert Martin. "He was a wonderful young man. Those that knew him knew he was funny and outgoing."

Lt. Martin died in Al Busayifi, Iraq of wounds sustained from small-arms fire when insurgents attacked his unit during combat operations. He enlisted in the Army in 1998 after graduating high school and served in Korea before accepting an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 2005.

"He was very polite and respectful. I can't think of him ever overreacting; he had a wonderful, good-natured personality", said Pat Hagge, a family friend. "It's a terrible tragedy; he was a great young man."

Lt. Thomas Martin is survived by his parents, Edmund and Candis.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

I keep telling people that Illinois is a great place, but... if y'all keep electing idiots like Turbin Durbin and His Holiness The Obamassiah, I may have to rethink that idea.

Case in point, the Tomnibus Bill came up for debate, and this what the esteemed senior Senator from Illinois had to say:


uh... um... huh? We need to spend money... but we're not spending money... but we need to spend money... but we're not spending money...

He's right on one point- any money that's spent by the US should be in and for the US. Besides that, he's lying to the voters about one point or the other. Either the Tomnibus bill creates and funds all those neat little programs, or the Tomnibus bill is just a meaningless piece of paper that needs another bill which may or may not pass for funding, thus making it pointless. Either way, he's full of it.

Can't you fine folks on the east side of The River get your acts together and stop electing morons? You're making your ex-pats look bad.

Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Michael Daly passed away last week. He was 83.

On the morning of April 18, 1945, Lieutenant Daly, serving in the Army’s Third Infantry Division, was leading his company through the shell-battered ruins of Nuremberg when the men came under machine-gun fire.


Lieutenant Daly moved ahead alone and engaged in four separate firefights. He destroyed three machine-gun emplacements — the final one by firing his rifle from a range of 10 yards — and killed 15 Germans. The next day, he was shot in the face and evacuated.


On Aug. 23, 1945, having been promoted to captain, he received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor, from President Harry S. Truman at the White House. The citation credited him with “voluntarily taking all major risks himself and protecting his men at every opportunity.” He was also a two-time recipient of the Silver Star.


...When he spoke at Fairfield High School, Michael Daly reflected on his Medal of Honor citation. “We all lose our courage at times,” he said. “It is something we pray for in the morning, that God will give us the strength and courage to do what is right.”

I haven't really looked at the news sites yet, but here's what other bloggers are yammering about this morning:

• The GOP has a new site where you can learn all about The Obamassiah and all of his friends. 
• Speaking of Senator Obama, his prayer at the Wailing Wall has been made public. Some bloggers point out how many "me"s and "my"s there are in it. My response? "So?" Sure, there's a 99.9% probability that his prayer was crafted for public consumption, and it was more than likely leaked to the press. When it comes down to it, though, it's between him and God. I don't particularly care..
  
• Remember that horribly flawed Supreme Court decision concerning the death penalty for child rapists? Well... there may be factual reasons for The Robed Ones to rehear the case. Both Louisiana and The DoJ have asked for a rehearing. Here's hoping...
• I knew melons were evil. Here's artistic proof.
• umm... better question is, "is there a single Republican employed by MSNBC?" (I mean, is Joe really a Republican?)
• Ed over at HotAir wrote a post about John Carlos and Tommie Smith receiving an ESPY award for courage for their 1968 "black power" salute at the Olympics. It's a good post, but I have to agree with rockhauler in the comments- "cheer or jeer the salute?"- ignore it. It was a symbol of violence and a last ditch attempt at attention. Well, they got it. Congrats. Moving on... 
• If you can stomach the journey to HuffPo, RJ thinks he knows who really killed the people at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville. And he didn't even come close. He did explain why they are as kooky as they are, though. One disturbed individual killed those people... not conservatives...
• John Voight is a right wing nut, by Hollywood's standards anyway.
• Here's an interview with Virgin Galactic's first pilot, if you're interested in that kind of stuff.
• This is an interesting article about a family of pilots... but I have to ask the guys out there... cute pilots?
• EA Sports is having a little fun with the whole Favre curfluffle. Can you blame them?
  

Robert Novak is in the hospital, having been diagnosed with a brain tumor.

He issued the following statement:


“On Sunday, July 27, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I have been admitted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where doctors will soon begin appropriate treatment. “I will be suspending my journalistic work for an indefinite but, God willing, not too lengthy period."

Although it's too soon to say anything, I can't help but wonder if the tumor had anything to do with the bizarre hit-and-run Mr. Novak was involved in recently. 

Best wishes to Mr. Novak for a speedy recovery.

Here's an interesting tidbit that's new to me. Rush Limbaugh is interested in buying the Rams. Granted, the Rams aren't for sale, but who's to say Georgia's kids won't jump at the chance to sell their mom's team if given a chance.

I find the comments on these forums interesting- some people are upset that he might buy the team because of his politics. Geez! These commenters get it right:

Good grief, people! An owner that would actually take an interest in winning pops up, and some would be opposed because of his political sway?

and

Rush is Right fit for the Rams. As some has stated, he would be an owner who would put alot of emphasis on winning, much in a way Marc Cuban (Dallas Mavericks), Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys) and George Steinbrenner (New York Yankees), to name a few, have for their ballclubs, (Hand-on approach type of guys).

Besides politics, Rush has always expressed great interest in sports. (I believe he used to work in the Kansas City Royals organization). Rush would be an owner who could sell the Saint Louis Rams to a Global audiance, an innovator with the drive to be successful (much in the way he has done in the media).

I agree with HUb, having an owner who's committed to putting a winning product on the field could only be a positive for the Rams organization, whatever his or her political views.

But the comment winner has to be the moderator:

Okay, I think both the pro-Rush and anti-Rush sides have had their say, so let's boil down to what we know for a fact. And that is....

...Greg Edwards of the St. Louis Business Journal believes Rush Limbaugh to be a potential buyer of the St. Louis Rams.


Everything else is just a bag of ingredients for a political stew that won't taste yummy for anyone.

The political leanings of the owner, execs., coaches, or players should have little to no bearing on the reactions of fans. For example, I know for a fact that Nick spends his weekends holding hands with hippies while they group-hug trees with Lennon blaring over their sound systems. While I, on the other hand, go hunting for the endangered Pine Cone, Speckled Tail Caribou with my fully automatic assault rifle; and lounge in a tub of crude oil fanning myself with Haliburton stock certificates.

But in the end, we both want the Rams to win regardless of political leanings.

Therefore, this thread is now closed.

All of that being said... I'm a little surprised. Now, I know that Rush grew up south of St. Louis, so there is a bit of a hometown interest there, but I can't help but think of all the times Rush has commented on his love for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Aren't they for sale?

I've never really had a problem with the Rams. They moved to STL after I moved, so I don't have the loyalty to them that I do to the baseball Cards and the Blues. And Georgia Frontiere was supposedly a good owner. Rush says he'd go into it as a business decision, which is much better than a fan playing with a real-life fantasy team.

This could get interesting...

One question- will the stadium have a Rush Room?

Andrew Klavan has an interesting op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal comparing Batman with President Bush. It's not nearly as tongue-in-cheek as you might think.

There seems to me no question that the Batman film "The Dark Knight," currently breaking every box office record in history, is at some level a paean of praise to the fortitude and moral courage that has been shown by George W. Bush in this time of terror and war. Like W, Batman is vilified and despised for confronting terrorists in the only terms they understand. Like W, Batman sometimes has to push the boundaries of civil rights to deal with an emergency, certain that he will re-establish those boundaries when the emergency is past.


And like W, Batman understands that there is no moral equivalence between a free society -- in which people sometimes make the wrong choices -- and a criminal sect bent on destruction. The former must be cherished even in its moments of folly; the latter must be hounded to the gates of Hell.


"The Dark Knight," then, is a conservative movie about the war on terror. And like another such film, last year's "300," "The Dark Knight" is making a fortune depicting the values and necessities that the Bush administration cannot seem to articulate for beans.

Things that make you go "hmmmm," no? Read the rest of the op-ed piece. It's worth it.

What is behind the Barack Obama hype? Citizens United Productions has made a movie about it. From the Hype website:

Citizens United Productions examines the phenomenon that is Barack Obama. HYPE: The Obama Effect examines the Junior Senator from Illinois and his record. Is he the new Kennedy or recycled Jimmy Carter? Is he the one who will finally change Washington, or will challenges like the Tony Rezko trial reveal politics as usual? Is he the uniter the country begs for, or a liberal divider? HYPE: The Obama Effect seeks the answers.


Including interviews with political leaders, media experts, and social commentators, HYPE provides the in-depth analysis that can only occur in a full-length feature documentary. HYPE goes to Illinois and interviews those who know the Senator's record as a state legislator. Go on the road with the campaign and experience the enthralled crowds as they are consumed by the HYPE. Washington insiders analyze Senator Obama's Senate record, his views on abortion, his statements on the second amendment, his plan for a troubled economy, and his foreign policy-will the US be safer or will the US become a bigger target? Will Senator Obama's actions match his eloquence in the toughest job in the world, or will his rapt and motivated crowds be left with little substance at the end of the day? HYPE: The Obama Effect lays out the truth.

Here's the trailer for the movie:


The trailer is interesting in and of itself. It's funny, though. It's nothing that conservatives don't know already. I fear that Hype might only preach to the choir and not reach those who have been duped by the Obama Effect. 

Citizens United has made several other movies, as well as commercials. Go and check them out.

Randy Pausch, the CMU professor who became famous for his final lecture on "Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" passed away early this morning from pancreatic cancer.

In May, Dr. Pausch spoke at the Carnegie Mellon University commencement. He said a friend recently told him he was "beating the [Grim] Reaper" because it's now been nine months since his doctor told him he would die in six.


"But we don't beat the Reaper by living longer. We beat the Reaper by living well," said Dr. Pausch, who urged the graduates to find and pursue their passion. He put an exclamation point at the end of his remarks by kissing his wife, Jai, and carrying her off stage.

Here is "the" lecture.



Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

This news is probably old, but it's worth repeating.

Oklahoma is on fire these days. First the State Legislature tries to get its act together concerning The 10th Amendment, now Oklahoma's Senator Tom Coburn is getting it right. Is it any surprise that it's making Harry Reid see red?

Coburn is blocking roughly a hundred bills that are generally non-controversial or have broad support. By placing a hold, Coburn prevents the bills from passing quickly through the Senate under a unanimous consent request. With floor time at such a premium, Reid would have trouble bringing up each bill for an individual debate and vote.

But in a stroke of legislative creativity that may have no precedent, Reid could lump all of the bills into one package and bring up the Coburn Omnibus for a single vote. Coburn can still object, but the broad popularity of the bills means that there would likely be more than enough support for veto-proof passage.

Here's the deal. Senator Coburn wants debate on each of the bills. These 100 bills have gone to a "unanimous consent" vote- meaning no debate, no discussion. Some of them are probably worthy of passage, or at least consideration.Others? Not so much.

Here's what Senator Coburn had to say about the Omnibus:

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), the inspiration for Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) “Coburn Omnibus,” says he’s looking forward to debating the package but threatens a “rough time” if Reid doesn’t allow debate or amendments. “I don’t mind taking a week to debate them all,” he says.


“We’re holding a bill because we either want to amend it or we want to debate it. They don’t want to debate these issues because they know if they debate them they’re vulnerable. I’m happy if they want to debate them. There’s tons of waste — tons of new programs — [that] we don’t have the money for,” he says.


Coburn is worried that Reid won’t allow amendments or debate. “If he cuts off debate and doesn’t allow amendments, then what he does is he takes away and changes the tradition of the Senate, which says things ought to be debated and ought to be amended,” he says. “I think he’s fine doing what he wants to do, but he’s got to allow debate, and if he doesn’t allow amendments then he is bastardizing the process.”


The Oklahoma senator says that his chief objection to most of the bills is that they authorize more spending without offsetting it elsewhere. “They don’t want to do the hard work of getting rid of stuff that doesn’t work and putting in new stuff that does. They just want to spend money and say they did something and that’s the culture that’s got to change,” he says.


Coburn, a medical doctor, is also fairly certain he’ll lose in the end. “I’ll get beat. There’s no question I’ll get beat and I’ll get rolled, but at least we’ll have a debate. At least we’ll show the cowardice of people who want to steal the future from our kids in this country,” he says. “I don’t try to win things in Washington; I try to win them with the American public.” 

Well, Senator, you won it with me! It seems like many Republicans want to ride conservative coattails to Washington and then ignore the principles when they get there. Thank you, Senator, for meaning what you say and following through.

Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with Senator Coburn. As of publication time, fourteen whole people agree with Senator Reid.

UPDATE: Yesterday, the Republicans in the Senate threatened to block all bills that aren't energy related, so the Omnibus bill might be stalled right now. Then the Republicans defeated a bill that would have punished speculators but do nothing about the supply problem. I guess the Republicans are dusting off their backbones for once, perhaps taking a cue from the fine folks north of the Red River. 

This just landed in my "in" box. Talk about a true friend!

1. When you are sad -- I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on mountain dew.
2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.
3. When you smile -- I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.
4. When you are scared -- I will rag on you about it every chance I get.
5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining.
6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.
7. When you are sick -- Stay away from me until you are well. I don't want whatever you have.
8. When you fall -- I will point and laugh at you.
9. This is my oath.... I pledge it to the end. 'Why?' you may ask;
'because you are my friend'.

I'm not going to do a news-dump today, but here's a short link dump of what I found this morning:

• I'm pretty sure the Left will not see the humor in this.
• Speaking of humor, Denny takes apart an op-ed on satire, explaining exactly why, as a nation, we've lost our sense of humor. 
• Karl Rove takes a few verbal jabs at Urkel.
  
• Eight years after the soldiers over-seas didn't get their vote counted, the problems are still not fixed.
• Lt. Caleb Campbell won't be wearing a Lion's uniform this fall.
• In other football news, how bad is it when a coin toss chooses your starter?
• Olby's lying through his teeth again. Not like anyone cares, but I like johnny dollar's coverage.
• I wonder if he realizes that he'd have to wear a suit every day. I've seen him in a suit... and I won't go there... honestly, he means well. I have no idea if he'd help, though.
• If you care about (or understand) demographic trends, you might find this interesting.
• Does Obama really want his support?

Oh, yeah... lots on the interwebnettubes today. blech... I'm going to go clean my house or something.

Being raised in the 'burbs near STL and being raised with a healthy appreciation for sports to the point of being a total homer, there are a few things that are obvious to me:

• The baseball Cards are IT, and Auggie is probably spinning in his grave over what the new owner has done to with the team. (To be fair, we're getting our tails handed to us against the Brew Crew... but... well... work with me, here...)
  
• Because the Cards are IT, the Cubs stink, and the Mets are pond scum. (Just ask my grandma- she has the t-shirt.) 
  
• Bill Bidwell is evil.
• Because Bill Bidwell is evil, my dad can't have his yearly season-ticket dose of the football Cards, and must resort to watching *gulp* the Rams in the Dome with the too high ticket prices. 
• STL fans know how to "Rock The Blue Note". (I have family members who loooooove the Blues... one went into labor at a Blues game... she's gonna kill me...)
  
• As per traditional division rivalries, the Blues and the Blackhawks hate each other, but Blues' fans hate the Red Wings even more. (It has something to do with Jacques Demers, or maybe he was just the final straw.) 

What does that have to do with anything? I mean, I'm sure there must be  2 readers who care about STL professional sports rivalries, right? No, this is more about one of the rivals than about STL sports.

Next New Years Day, the Red Wings and the Blackhawks will play a game at Wrigley Field. (I'll give you a moment to wrap your brain around that.) In honor of the occasion, a Cook County Commissioner was nice enough to draft a resolution honoring the occasion.

Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley is a Blackhawks fan. It goes without saying he hates the Detroit Red Wings.

So when Quigley put together an official resolution Tuesday celebrating the Hawks' outdoor showdown against the Red Wings on New Year's Day at Wrigley Field, he included a secret message to the reigning Stanley Cup champions and their fans.

He used red capital letters in the last line of his resolution to spell out a favorite chant he learned while growing up a Hawks fan ''in the second balcony in Chicago Stadium.'' The letters spelled out, ''DETROIT SUCKS.''

Besides declaring Jan. 1 will be ''Chicago Blackhawks Day'' in Cook County, Quigley's resolution designates Wrigley Field and the surrounding area an ''Octopus Free Zone'' -- a dig at Red Wings fans' tradition of throwing octopi on the ice after their team scores.

''The good thing about being a Blackhawks fan,'' Quigley said, ''is you don't have to live in Detroit.''

I think I like Mr. Quigley... even if he is a *spit* Blackhawks' fan.

UPDATE: Here's is PuckDaddy's take on the resolution. PD isn't a Dead Things fan,  is he? He does have a point about banning the Swedes, though.

Read this Joint Resolution from the Oklahoma legislature. It will give some of you a warm fuzzy.

STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 51st Legislature (2008)
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 1089 By: Key
AS INTRODUCED
A Joint Resolution claiming sovereignty under the
Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States over certain powers; serving notice to the
federal government to cease and desist certain
mandates; and directing distribution.

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States reads as follows: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."; and
WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and
WHEREAS, the scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and
WHEREAS, today, in 2008, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and
WHEREAS, many federal mandates are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and
WHEREAS, a number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the Constitution of the United States.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
AND THE SENATE OF THE 2ND SESSION OF THE 51ST OKLAHOMA LEGISLATURE:
THAT the State of Oklahoma hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States.
THAT this serve as Notice and Demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.
THAT a copy of this resolution be distributed to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate of each state's legislature of the United States of America, and each member of theOklahoma Congressional Delegation.

You can find some analysis of this "rebellion" here and here. Both are fairly short and worth the read.

Unfortunately, the measure stalled because the Democrats pulled a Pelosi and won't let it come up for a vote. I can't help but hope that it's the start of a movement, though.  (h't to Duncan)

This Weeks Hero Was Suggested By Toni


1st LT. Frank B. Walkup, IV
23 years old from Woodbury, Tennessee
2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
June 16, 2007


Toni already has a great post up on her site, so I'll just link to it.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Seven Congresscritters missed a vote in DC on an aviation safety bill... because their plane had to make an emergency landing.

A Continental Airlines flight carrying former presidential candidate Ron Paul and six other members of Congress to Washington, D.C., made an emergency landing in New Orleans on Tuesday after a loss in cabin pressure.

The seven congressmen, all from Texas, were trying to get back in time for a Tuesday night vote on an aviation safety bill when the flight landed without incident, a spokesman for one of the representatives said. No injuries were reported among the 128 crew and passengers.

FAA spokeswoman Lynn Tierney said Flight 458 from Houston initiated a rapid descent to bring the plane to an altitude below where adding oxygen was necessary and was given priority to land at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport...

...Also on the flight were Reps. Paul, Ted Poe, John Carter, Solomon P. Ortiz, Ciro Rodriguez, and Henry Cuellar, Kincaid said. The group was trying to make a vote on the Aviation Safety Enhancement Act.

I'm glad everyone is safe. That's a good thing. Taxpayers footing the bill (which I'm presuming they are) so that Congresscritters can go home for the weekend... not such a good thing. 

These people have no frickin' clue who Republicans (and, more importantly, conservatives) really are.(h't to Jane)



The question is... where is the conservative response?

This was the winner of the Cannes Short Film Online Competition. (h't to Boortz, via HDD) Worth the watch. Grab a hankie first:

I haven't touched on the Presidential race in a while because... well... I'm not a huge fan of the GOP candidate, I loathe the Democratis candidate, and the thrid party candidates, for the most part, need lithium. However, there are a few interesting tidbits that caught my eye.

First, the McCain campaign has put together two videos about the media's love affair with Senator Obama. Both of them will make your stomach turn, but they're honest.

Second, an Obama aide made a gaffe today.

 “It is not going to be a political speech,” said a senior foreign policy adviser, who spoke to reporters on background. “When the president of the United States goes and gives a speech, it is not a political speech or a political rally."

“But he is not president of the United States,” a reporter reminded the adviser.

Hey, I guess we should just be happy that it wasn't Obama, as usual. Memo to the aide... wait until the votes are counted, ok?

But, wait... looks like Senator Obama was good for a couple of gaffes of his own.

• "You know, it's always a bad practice to say 'always' or 'never.'" — Obama, speaking in Amman today.
• "Let me be absolutely clear," Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, said today at a press conference in Amman, Jordan. "Israel is a strong friend of Israel's."

Will either of those show up in the MSM on the nightly news? Uh... no. None of his gaffes end up where the sheeple will read about them. But they're sure to point every misstep Senator McCain makes. 

 The NYT refused an op-ed by Senator McCain because it didn't "mirror" Senator Obama's op-ed that they published recently. (The Drudge link has the text of the op-ed, as submitted.)

The McCain campaign is right- the MSM is clearly in love with Senator Obama, and this field trip to the Middle East is just one example. Now the question is whether pointing it out will be seen as simply bring light onto the subject or whining. Anyone want to place a bet?

UPDATE: I missed this one (or maybe it happened after I posted this). Does Senator Obama know what committies he's on? 

I kind of, sort of watched the ESPYs last night (I mean, really... the Cards were... attempting to play the Brewers... and they didn't do bad until extra innings... blech...) The one part of the ESPYs that caught my attention, though, was when Kevin Everett received the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance. The clip is about 5 minutes long, but worth it.





HDD pointed out that Kevin received the award for... well... walking. For Kevin, that's plenty. 

Congrats, Kevin, and best wishes for your continued recovery.

OK... as soon as I say "I'll live-blog as long as I long as the battery holds out," the battery dies with NO warning. So... I took notes on Saturday. Here's a summary:

First up, Tim Phillips, President of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation,  spoke. He believes that the climate change "crisis" hoax is one of the greatest threat to the freedoms and pocketbooks of American taxpayers. The climate change "crisis" has caused the following:

• ↑ taxes
• ↑costs
• ↓ jobs (more than one million lost)
• ↓ freedoms (the demise of incandescent lights, as one example)

Peggy Vanable, State Director, Americans for Prosperity Foundation- Texas, was up next. She reappeared several times during the General Session to introduce guests. During her opening remarks, she commented that the Number 1 Texas political news site on either side of the political spectrum was The Lone Star Times. The media was a tad confused when they realized a conservative site trumped the liberal sites out there.

The next speaker was Steve Moore from the Wall Street Journal. He discussed the editorial that appeared yesterday that pointed out the latest tex data:

• The top 1% of taxpayers pay 40% of all taxes. 
• The top 10% of taxpayers pay 72% of all taxes. 
• The top 50% of taxpayers pay 97.1% of all taxes. 

And yet, even with those numbers, Senator Obama, if elected, would raise the top tax rate to 53%. It's interesting... other places (places that have up to a 20% flat tax) have flourishing markets. But the Democrats' answer is always to raise taxes.

Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform, was next on the line-up. (I know that there has been some debate over his religious affiliation, but that's not what he was discussing at the conference, and I'm not sure if I want to trust the op-ed pieces of people who have a grudge against him for some reason.) His talk focused on taxes, which was no surprise. We, as a nation, have had fifteen tax cuts of one form or another in the past eight years. Not bad, but most Americans want more. When asked, most Americans would prefer fewer services and lower taxes. Mr. Norquist has some great points:

• The Right just wants to be left alone with as few rules and regulations as possible. The Left's "list" of things to do is "slightly longer and more tedious than Leviticus." 
• The Left is not made up of friends and allies, but competing parasites. If we just stay out of the way, they will eat each other. 
• Politicians who brand themselves as fiscally conservatives and then vote for tax increases are like "rat heads in Coke bottles."
• More than 2/3 of voters own stock in one form or another, and yet the stock market is a Democrat target. An interesting fund is congressionaleffect.com, which invests only when Congress is not in session.

Merrie Spaeth of Spaeth Communications spoke next.  The one item that stuck out to me about what Merrie said was about the need to use "good words"- positive words, and not negative words. Negative words, mixed in with positive words, stand out, so you need to be consistent about speaking positive words.

Michael Williams was up next. He was great, as always. Here's a brief video of his remarks. He's right. We have an abundant supply of energy in this country- we just have to go and get it. And yet the Left wants to sue OPEC to get them to drill more. Unlike Chairman Williams, I'm not a lawyer, and yet I think I could win that case for OPEC.

More in part 2 of "I Hate Laptop Batteries" (which I will label as earlier, so you can read it straight through).

Next at the Defending the American Dream conference general session was John Fund of the Wall Street Journal. His focus was on the upcoming elections, not just the Presidential election, but also the local elections. The Left knows that they are not the majority, so they spend their time blurring the message to make it more palatable. Americans need to be convinced to vote Democrat (only one Democrat in the past ten Presidential elections received 50.1% or more of the vote, but eight of those Democrats were ahead in the polls in July). If Democrats succeed in getting veto-proof margins in the US House and Senate and the Presidency, then they will begin changing the rules (same day registration and voting, felon voting, no excuse absentee balloting, more "finance reform", etc.) The state legislators chosen in the next 2 years will decide Congressional boundaries for the next decade. The election isn't over, and we need to fight for each seat and office.

Elizabeth Ames Jones, Texas Railroad Commissioner, spoke next on some of the nuts and bolts of Texas energy resources. Right now, Texas provides 30% of the natural gas and 20% of the crude oil used by our country. 7300 wells were drilled in 2007 alone in the Texas Barnett Shale formation. Texas also has large deposits of coal and uranium. If the federal government would just get out of the way, Texas is ready for another energy boom.

After Mrs. Jones, Steve Lonegan told his inspirational story. He took a struggling business and turned it into a great success, then made a bloated city government manageable, and had a lower city budget in 2007 than he did in 1995.

 Congressman John Carter spoke next. He was funny and insightful. He spoke about the Democrats' energy plan, which amounts to taxes anyone who wants to explore for oil. He believes that we just stand firm and fight, many Democrats can be swayed- not all, but many. Some are just too brain dead to think it through.
 
Erick Erickson from Redstate discussed the need to move from punditry to activism, and the easy ways to get involved.

Michael Steele wrapped up the general session asking how serious those of us in attendance are about our conservatism. How committed are we to making a change? How important is the future of our country? How willing are we to spread the conservative message?

During lunch, Michelle Malkin spoke. I'll let Ed tell you about her talk.

There you go. The "Defending the American Dream" Texas summit. Good seminars, great speakers. If you have the chance to go to a state summit, do it. If you have a chance to go to the national summit in October, I'm jealous.

Rick Noriega has released an ad, accusing Senator Cornyn of "being about the status quo" when it comes to energy policy. I guess he hasn't been paying attention. Senator Cornyn understands that we need to look beyond petroleum for our energy needs, but he also understands that we're dependent on fossil fews for quite a while longer. Increased drilling and refinery capacity, nuclear power, clean coal technology, and alternative fuel research and application are all parts of his plan.

What about Rick Noriega? Let's see... he's against inreased drillling and refinery capacity... he's against increased nuclear power... he's against clean coal...

If it's not a lot of hot air, I guess Mr. Noriega's not interested in it.

It's far too early on a Saturday to be coherent, but I'm trying. Just let me adjust the IV drip on my coffee... there you go! Much better...

This morning, there is a general session with a host of awesome speakers. In the lineup:

• Michael Steele (Chairman of GOPAC and former Maryland Lt. Governor)
• John Carter (US Congressman, 31st  District of Texas)
• Grover Norquist (President  of Americans for Tax Reform)
• John Fund ( Editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal)
• Steve Moore (Wall Street Journal)
• Michael Williams (Chairman, Texas Railroad Commission)
• Elizabeth Ames Jones (Texas Railroad Commission)
• Merrie Spaeth (Spaeth Communications, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth)
• Erick Erickson (Redstate.com)
• Steve Lonegan (Americans for Prosperity)
• Peggy Venable (Americans for Prosperity)
• Tim Phillips (President, Americans for Prosperity) 

After the general session, Michelle Malkin will speak during lunch. 

I'll update that list with links later. I'll do this as long as the battery on the laptop holds out. 

This is going to be an interesting weekend in Austin. At the downtown Hilton, Netroots Nation (otherwise known as the Yearly Kos) will be celebrating their special brand of "progressive" whackiness. Uptown at the Renaissance Hotel, Defending the American Dream (sponsored by Americans For Prosperity) will hold one of their state conferences.

The Kos Kids have a pretty decent line up, if you like listening to liberals whine . Honestly, I have never heard of most of them, but they seem important to Nutroots. General Wesley Crusher Clark will be there, as will Howard Dean. Glancing through the seminars, you can see how... um... diverse they are- they have a seminar for just about every liberal activist group you can name. I couldn't help but notice how pessimistic they are, though - there is no hope. Sad, really. But I guess if you think the world has let you down, you just can't help it.

There is one interesting little twist to the Nutroots gathering. Rick Noriega (the Democrat running against Senator John Cornyn) is being played up big time there. He's bragged that he's raised more money from the liberal blogosphere than any other congressional candidate. I wonder why he needs to raise so much money nationally... could it be that he can't raise enough in his home state to be a threat? 

Onto the AFP conference. Granted, it is smaller, but it's only a state ramp up for the main event in October.  The seminars are not quite so alarmist, and they follow two tracts- the individual and the organization. Makes sense. The list of speakers is nothing to sneeze at, either- Michelle Malkin, Michael Steele, Grover Norquist, Michael Williams,  and John Carter, to name a few. 

I'm biased. I don't even try to hide it. You can guess which one I'll be at.

I suppose you all know by now that InBev has purchased Anheuser-Busch. As part of that deal, a few more things will change.

First, since they now own the rights to the stadium that the St. Louis Cardinals play in, they are changing the name. Here's the new logo:
That's not so bad... I guess... Then came this press release:

7/14/08 ( Brussels ) Anheuser-Busch has accepted a $52 billion takeover bid from Belgium-based InBev NV to create the world’s largest beer maker and end a month-long standoff. While pitching the deal in recent weeks, InBev chief executive Carlos Brito has said that he is "committed to the city of St. Louis " and that changes here would be minimal. One that Brito said will show up shortly after this weeks Major League Baseball All-Star event in New York will be a minor one in the long standing uniforms worn by the St. Louis Cardinal Baseball team.


First-baseman Albert Pujols, one of the first to try the new outfits said “while it may take a little time for Cardinal fans to fall in line behind the change, I personally like them a lot. They’ll really be enjoyable during those hot, muggy days in late July and August. I expect all of the fans will be wearing them before the end of the season!”


Sporting goods stores around the St. Louis area report brisk sales of the new Cardinal memorabilia.

Want to see the new uniform?


Feel free to blame my sister. She sent it to me.

Burning bridges... torpedo under the waterline... pulverize... raze... trash... total... you get the idea, right? That's what it looks like Brett Favre has done to his relationship with the Green Bay Packers.

This week, Greta van Sustern has been showing an interview with Favre on her show. (Here are the links to the video of the entire interview. No, I haven't watched the whole thing. Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 - if those don't work, here's a partial transcript. ) He's laying it on the line, telling everyone what he really thinks. I hate to say it, but, from the parts I have watched and heard on the radio, he sounds like a little brat.

First, he said that he was pressured into having that press conference in March where he announced his retirement. Well... he has/had enough clout in Green Bay to tell them to back off. I understand management's need to know which way he was leaning because they had to make plans. Brett caved, and he's blaming them because he didn't stand up to them.

Then, Brett is upset with Ted Thompson because Thompson said some things that, in Brett's point of view weren't quite truthful or up front or whatever. First, Thompson didn't sign Brett's linemen. Then, when Mike Sherman left Green Bay, Brett asked Thompson to interview his friend, Steve Marriucci. Thompson said sure, but then hired Mike McCarthy without interviewing Marriucci first. And then Brett lobbied hard to get Randy Moss, and Thompson didn't push to sign Moss, and then said that Brett hadn't really lobbied for Moss as much as he had.

Now, I don't claim to have insider information about what was going on in the front office, but I can make some guesses. When it comes to the linemen, who knows? Maybe they were offered better deals. As for Marriucci, I'm guessing that they were already in final negotiations with McCarthy, and the token call to Marriucci was out of consideration to Favre. Then there's Moss- all indications was that Moss was a problem child, and Thompson may not have wanted to deal with him. As for Thompson saying that Brett didn't lobby... he probably wanted to downplay it for PR reasons. Nothing personal, Brett.

Greta didn't ask the tough questions, though. Why did Brett tell the Packers that he wanted to come back for spring training, and then change his mind days before it started? Why has he changed his mind over and over since the March press conference? It's one thing if he had announced his retirement and then went to camp. We're used to professional athletes changing their mind about retirement. But to change your mind more than most women is uncalled for.

I completely understand the Packers' position right now. They can't trust that Favre won't change his mind again before the season starts (and it doesn't really matter that Favre says he's 100% committed to playing). The Packers had to make plans for the coming season, and they needed to go with the quarterback who is sure to be there- Aaron Rogers.

As for the Packers' charges of inappropriate contact... I'm not sure. Brett Favre is friends with Darrell Bevell, and I have no idea what the rules are concerning friends talking as opposed to "official" talking. We'll see.

This is all really sad. Some people think Brett will play for Green Bay, some say he'll play for someone else. There are a lot of people who just wish he'd be quiet and enjoy his retirement. I really hope he just stays retires before his legacy is damaged anymore.

VFF has a new ad out. Odds that they'll get the same press on CNN as the new moron.org ad? I wouldn't put money on it. I mean, after all, the VFF ad actually has facts and honesty in it. The moron ad? Not so much.

Here's the VFF ad:



Like I said... that honesty thing just won't play on CNN...

Many people refer to the Speaker of The House, Nancy Pelosi (D-California), as "San Fran's Grand Nan." Now she has a new, even better nickname. The Troll at the Bridge.

Any leader with an energy record as derelict as Speaker Pelosi's ought to step down. Where she once was just incompetent and irresponsible, she has now — with her latest scheme to fix oil prices — become dangerous.


Despite polls showing Americans in favor of drilling more oil from America's huge untapped supplies, Pelosi won't allow it. She just wants to empty our Strategic Petroleum Reserve for a short-term fix to get through Election Day.


It's an irresponsible suggestion, signaling not only an ignorance of how the economy works but also a willingness to place the nation at risk in the case of emergency. 

That editorial wasn't signed by an individual- it was signed by the Investor's Business Daily editorial board. They're all fed up with Pelosi's incompetence.  Here is an interview with IBD's Monica Showalter. (This is my first attempt to use RedLasso- let's see if I did it right.) :



I don't doubt for a moment that Rep. Pelosi has the best interest in mind... the best interest of her party, not the United States. It's the Democrats' failed policies that brought us to this place, and they're not the ones to count on to get us out of it. 

I like the name...

Spc. Kisha Makerney
23 years old from Fort Towson, Oklahoma
120th Engineers, Oklahoma Army National Guard


Spc. Kisha Mackerney isn't being profiled today because of something she did on the battlefield. She's being profiled because her spirit and determination. In 2002, Makerney joined the Oklahoma Army National Guard out of a sense of patriotism, because, as she put it, "I love our country and our people." Between 2004 and 2005, she served in Iraq as a gunner and helped provide battalion security. She returned home in early 2005 and was in a terrible motorcycle accident on June 25, 2005. The front wheel of her brand new bike had blown out and sent her flying into a highway sign. She looked up at her now mangled bike and was angry. That's when she noticed that her left leg below the knee was missing. The first thing she thought of when she saw her leg was that her military career was over.

Makerney pulled herself out of the ditch that she had landed in and was able to flag down a passing motorist. She was taken a hospital in Hugo, Oklahoma before being flown to Dallas, Texas.

As soon as word spread about her accident, her fellow soldiers, her second family, rallied and rushed to her bedside. "Even before I was out of surgery they were waiting in the halls," she said.

Continue reading Spc. Kisha Makerney's story here. There are some despicable comments by a few readers on the story. Just ignore them.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Have Every Right To Dream Heroic Dreams. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

The Phelps' Freaks are going to picket at Tony Snow's funeral on Thursday. No, the link isn't to their vile site- it's too Ms. Underestimated's post.

Patriot Guard? I hope they're on duty that day.

Tony Snow has passed away.

Tony Snow, the former White House press secretary and conservative pundit who bedeviled the press corps and charmed millions as a FOX News television and radio host, died after a long bout with cancer. He was 53.

A syndicated columnist, editor, TV anchor, radio show host and musician, Snow worked in nearly every medium in a career that spanned more than 30 years.

The President has issued this statement:

Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend, Tony Snow. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Jill, and their children, Kendall, Robbie, and Kristi. The Snow family has lost a beloved husband and father. And America has lost a devoted public servant and a man of character.

Tony was one of our Nation's finest writers and commentators. He earned a loyal following with incisive radio and television broadcasts. He was a gifted speechwriter who served in my father's Administration. And I was thrilled when he agreed to return to the White House to serve as my Press Secretary. It was a joy to watch Tony at the podium each day. He brought wit, grace, and a great love of country to his work. His colleagues will cherish memories of his energetic personality and relentless good humor.

All of us here at the White House will miss Tony, as will the millions of Americans he inspired with his brave struggle against cancer. One of the things that sustained Tony Snow was his faith - and Laura and I join people across our country in praying that this good man has now found comfort in the arms of his Creator. 

The first time I ever heard Tony Snow was when he guest-hosted for Rush Limbaugh. I'll admit it- I've been a fan ever since, whether it was listening to him on Rush or his own show (when I could catch it, that is) or watching him on FoxNews or watching him mock Helen Thomas as Press Secretary. From what everyone says, no matter what he did, he did it with integrity and honesty and kindness.

While Press Secretary, Tony Snow travel with President Bush to Memphis. Here is a photo of Mr. Snow taken on Air Force One:




My thoughts and prayers go out to the Snow family and his many, many friends.

UPDATE: Daily Kos' morons have already started in, trashing him. (No, I'm not going to link to them. Go find it yourself if you really need to see the bile.) What's funny is that they said that FoxNews said horrible things about Tim Russert, and that is a total lie. FoxNews was nothing but respectful of Tim Russert and his family. I guess they're just into projection or something. 

Rick Noriega, Senator Cornyn's competition in November's election, spoke at a breakfast earlier this week. I have to guess that the following "quote" is more of a paraphrase, but it's dumbfounding, nonetheless.

"Somebody has to stand up and say the emperor has no clothes.There needs to be a new path in the Iraq War, beginning with a new Commander-In-Chief to correct this strategic blunder. Then benchmarks need to be established for the Iraqi government to meet, an idea from the Iraq Study Group. Nothing compels the Iraqi government to perform." (emphasis mine- B)

Mr. Noriega hasn't been paying attention. Last year, Congress established eighteen benchmarks (scroll down to Title I, section 1314 (b)(1)(a) and you can see them yourself). That bill was passed by the House on 5.10.07 and by the Senate on 5.17.07. President Bush signed it into law on 5.25.07. Over a year ago.

How are the Iraqis doing on their To Do list? Just last week, the Washington Post reported on an evaluation that found that all but three of the eighteen benchmarks passed by Congress have been met. Is that a good enough start, Mr. Noriega?

Probably not. I mean, his fellow Democrats, when told about the successes of the Iraqi government, said that it would have gone faster if we had left. Mr. Noriega is just following their lead.

Edited to fix HTML- what is up with Blogger, anyway?

Senator Cornyn has some common sense ideas about how to gain energy independence. I'm not sure how we'll get the batteries that have enough capacity to allow cross country trips without stopping every two hours to recharge, but the rest makes sense. Check out the video. BUT, WAIT... THERE'S MORE: I forgot to add these little tidbits. Gateway Pundit has been following the folly that is the Democrat's plan for the energy crisis. Today's plan? Take the bus! And we can't forget this lovely little quote from The Hill:

“Right now, our strategy on gas prices is ‘Drive small cars and wait for the wind,’ ” said a Democratic aide.

You should read the whole article from The Hill. Then again, you should also read all the links from Gateway Pundit. GP has been all over this subject.

Edited to fix messed up HTML.

If you're Phil Gramm, you learned that McCain will denounce you and Obama will make fun of you if you tell the truth.
"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession," he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. "We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet."
"We have sort of become a nation of whiners," he said. "You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline" despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.
"We've never been more dominant; we've never had more natural advantages than we have today," he said. "We have benefited greatly" from the globalization of the economy in the last 30 years.
What was wrong with that? You can't walk outside your front door or turn on the TV or radio and not hear the whining. It's everywhere.

As for the "no recession," he's right. We don't even have a stagnant economy. It's growing. We continue to have an uptick in the economy each quarter. It's small, but it's there. Our economic problems, in my opinion, and mostly the fault of Congress.

What do I mean? Well, several years ago, Congress moaned and groaned because "poor people" were being "disenfranchised" because they couldn't get a home loan. Loan companies, not wanting to get Congress upset, gave sub-prime loans to people who had no business getting a loan. And when those "lucky" borrowers couldn't pay their debts, we had the "housing crisis." And the whining begins.

Also, Democrats in Congress, led by the nose by environmentalists, refused to allow new drilling in the US, and made regulations so strict that there have been no new refineries or nuclear power plants in decades. Energy prices go up because of that. And the whining continues.

I can go on, but you get the idea. 

Senator Gramm got it right. We are in the middle of a mental recession. We have become a nation of whiners. And it needs to stop.

For some of you, this might be review, but it can't be said enough. I shall quote Benjamin Franklin:

"Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

In the link above, George Will explains that, time and again, beer (and other "adult" beverages) has saved civilization. No, really. I'm not making that up.


Just thought you should be reminded. Again.

A group of emergency room doctors are worried that there will be more accidental shootings now that the Constitution is going to be followed in the District of Columbia.

Last month's Supreme Court ruling striking down a strict gun control law in the U.S. capital will lead to more deaths and accidental injuries, the editors of the New England Journal of Medicine said on Wednesday.

They joined a growing clamor from medical doctors, especially emergency room physicians, who fear a surge of accidental deaths, murders and suicides if handguns become more easily available than they already are.

The three editors of the prominent medical journal, Dr. Jeffrey Drazen, Stephen Morrissey and Dr. Gregory Curfman, said handguns were far more likely to cause harm than do good.

"In our opinion, there is little reason to expect an optimistic result; research has shown and logic would dictate that fewer restrictions on handguns will result in a substantial increase in injury and death," they wrote in a commentary released in Thursday's issue. 

They went on to cite stats on gun-related deaths in America. They didn't look into the number of gun-related deaths and injuries that have been happening every year in DC with the ban in place. They didn't look at how many of the gun-related injuries and deaths occur due to crime, and how many of those happen in gun-restricted area as opposed to how many occur in areas with less restrictive gun laws.

They are probably right in that accidental shootings may go up. Crime-related shootings, however, may go down, and, not that the doctors are concerned with this fact, but crime in general will probably go down. 

Why wouldn't they look at the rest of the data? Then again, why would they? I mean, that would show them something that more than likely goes against their opinions. Can't have that.

UPDATE: h't to Omnibus Driver, who pointed us to this post by GruntDoc. According to GruntDoc, this is more the work of the editors and not the opinion of the every day ER docs. Makes sense to me. 

Let's take a look at the headlines, shall we?

General:

• Good call. I would find it humorous if it wasn't so depressing that they had to go to court in order to tell a pregnant woman the truth.
• The Pentagon is re-opening the bidding for the tanker contracts. Good.
• Senator Durbin does his stopped clock impersonation.
• I think a suspension is a bit much in this case.
• Isn't this a freedom of religion issue? I may not agree with his religious choices, but he's free to make them.

Politics:

• But... but... I always thought it was an astronomical phenomenon.
• Jesse has issues with the Obamessiah.
• Speaking of Obama, his plan to campaign in Germany has ruffled some feathers.

Sports:

• Tony Gonzalez is a hero in someone's book. (It's cool that it was Gonzalez that saved the guy, but I'm not real enthused about all the people just sitting there, staring, like they had no clue what to do. Then again, most of them probably didn't know. Pathetic. I'm glad at least one person- especially one with the strength to do it correctly- was there.)
• Mark Mulder threw a total of 16 pitches in last night's Cards' loss. Like we need fewer pitchers...
• Here's a list of reasons that baseball is "rigged" for Lefties.

Science: Global Climate Change Junk:

• We'd save energy if we were all skinny. (Yeah, it's a couple of months old, but I don't think I posted the link before.)
• This cartoon by Bob Lang says so much:
  
  
  
• Hey! Al Gore can now honestly say that he created something- crazy people!!!
• Mt. Shasta's glacier is growing. But... but... global warming! Right?
• Speaking of global warming, politicians are still just a smidge behind the science.
  
  • UPDATE: It looks like President Bush has a bit of a backbone left. He's going to "think about" halving emissions by 2050, and he left the conference by saying, "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter." Granted, he was wrong on that point. That was one reason he didn't agree to all the global warming drivel they wanted to endorse at the summit- the other big polluters were not going to be held accountable. Hold everyone to the same standards, and we'll think about common sense actions. See how easy that is? 
• Burps? I thought it was cow farts that had all the methane.
• Now here's a conservation idea that makes sense.

Misc.:

• Let me guess. They can't figure out how this happens. It's the same reason so many kids are born in December. Do the math.
• A future Darwin Award winner. She's just practicing now.
• The airline was right to pull them off of the plane. IF the kids calmed down, then they probably should have tried to put them on a different plane. But, in the end, it was the mother's fault. I don't care how excited my kids got when they were little, they behaved themselves 99% of the time.When they disobeyed, they were disciplined. And they definitely didn't run around on an airplane in flight.
• A-Rod, according to a magazine, says he's in love with Madonna. Well, at least the feeling is mutual (they both love Madonna, that is).
• Honestly, I'm disappointed that she couldn't hit a sleeping target. Granted, I have no idea what their story is or anything, I just know that she shot the mattress. How can you not hit a sleeping target?
• Maybe he should just take it up with The Author.

Sgt. Kenneth J. Schall
22 years old from Peoria, Arizona
2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division
May 22, 2005


"It was very tough not to be touched by him in some way," said Terri Schall, Sgt. Kenneth Schall's mother.

Kenneth Schall was enrolled at Glendale Community College and was studying to become a history teacher when the country was attacked on September 11, 2001. The event spurred him to join the Army. He served a four and a half month tour in Iraq in 2004 and returned in February of 2005.

Terri Schall last spoke to her son on Mother's Day in 2005. "He sounded great — tired — but he said he was doing OK", she said. Sgt. Kenneth Schall died when the Humvee he was riding in was involved in an accident in Yusafiyah, Iraq.

Along with his mother, Sgt. Schall is survived by his father and two younger siblings.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

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