Powerline has an excellent series about the behavior of members of the Senate Judiciary Committee as it relates to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. If you don't come away from reading these articles with a sense of what a sham the hearings have been, then I have a bridge you might be interested in.
Cal Ripken will be inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame tomorrow. No one deserves it more.
Reading this article makes me appreciate all over again how lucky the Republicans were that President Bush nominated two strong Conservatives in John Roberts and Sam Alito, and that Bill Frist used all of his skills in getting them confirmed
No, it's not vacation for the VP. Just goes to remind us how fortunate we are that we don't have socialized medicine and have to wait in line four months.
Cheney's new battery
As I close the first full week of my new blog, I have to keep reminding myself that this is not a dream. I am not exactly computer literate, but I have been so fortunate to have had the help of some pretty special people.
I can't ever thank Chris enough for his encouragement, support and guidance. He was the inspiration for me even trying to create my own blog. If you can, make sure to check out Chris's blog The Further West. It is awesome and where I go to find all the hockey news and a lot of other good stuff too.
Thanks also to Pete, who blogs at Ten Minute Misconduct. I enjoy his blog so much, and he has been very supportive of my amateur efforts. I can always count on Pete to have something posted on his blog with a unique perspective, as well as intriguing questions. He has been kind enough to comment on my blog, encouraging and supporting my efforts.
A special thanks to my Volpac friends River and Alvin. River is the true creative artist. Sometimes her ideas and concepts are truly breathtaking. She has been so supportive of my efforts, always encouraging and frequently making me laugh when I do something dumb. Her blog Postcards From River West is one of my favorite sites. I can always find something there to put things in perspective and cheer me up.
Alvin is the moral compass for me, and he has been since the day I first met him on Volpac. His high moral standards have been a beacon in the night and I know that I can always count on him to help me, and to understand when things go wrong. Alvin has a blog called Ethics 101, and it is well worth your time to take a few minutes and check it out. His cartoons are so funny, and there is always a message in them.
But most of all, I have to thank my personal political hero, former Senator Bill Frist. I have never met him, but he is the politician I most admire. I have always been interested in politics, and followed his career with interest, even though I was a lifelong Democrat. He is the reason that I became a Republican, a decision that I have never regretted. The Party fits my beliefs much more than the Democrat party ever did.
As he rose through the ranks in the Senate, I started to follow his career even closer. As I studied his background, I realized that he was a unique individual with so much to offer the American people. I have always liked to study politicians who have chosen courage over political expediency.
When Senator Frist made his speech about advocating a change in the stem cell policy of the Bush administration, I knew that I had found the politician that I wanted to see elected President. It hasn't turned out that way, but my respect for him has never wavered. I consider him to be an honest, moral, ethical person, a rarity in politics. He is someone I will judge all future politicians by. I am afraid that most of them won't measure up.
A dentist, who as a practical joke, implanted fake boar tusks in his dental assistant's mouth, while she was under anesthetic for another procedure, has won a lawsuit against his insurance company. The dentist took the tusks out before she awoke, but took pictures, which he passed around to the office staff. The Assistant of course sued, and settled for $250,000, which the insurance company refused to cover because they claimed it was an intentional act.
Senator Frist blogs about the Victory Caucus. As always the Senator is ahead of the curve.
Congress is working on an important bill to continue and expand the existing State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Now, which is par for the course for this Congress, politics has gotten in the way of meaningful legislation. If you want to know more about SCHIP check out River's idea on Your Ideas America. She really gives you a good overview of why this program is so important.
The Further West and Ten Minute Misconduct have a friendly debate going about the brilliance of Bob Costas. What do you think?
Newsbusters reports good news for those opposed to the Fairness Doctrine. The Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Kevin J. Martin came out strongly against reimplementation of the Fairness Doctrine.
Check out Ten Minute Misconduct for a really disturbing story about Bin Laden. The thing that I find so worrisome about the story is that evidently radical Muslims are now saying that it doesn't really matter whether Bin Laden is alive or not. What matters to them is that Al Qaeda is now an ideology rather than a hierarchy. The leader is no longer important.
There is a terrific discussion at Patterico's Pontification about which branch of government is really out of control. The conversation deals with executive privilege and which branch of government is mounting an assault on prosecutorial independence. Contrary to conventional wisdom, Mr. Patterico argues that there is an assault - but that it is Congress that is out of control.
Wednesday the Senate reached a final deal on major homeland security legislation. What makes this news so fascinating to me is that the significance of this for the Democrats is their expectation that they will somehow be able to split the Republicans in the Senate because of this legislation. I also found it interesting that The Washington Post noted that the Democrats have been able to enact only one significant piece of legislation so far this year - the minimum wage hike.
I don't usually consider Robert Novak to be credible, since he seems to be the ultimate get even guy, but this article is indicative of what I consider to be a real problem in the country as a whole - too much getting even and not enough helping each other solve the problems confronting us.
These shoes are made for walking no longer applies. Between planes, trains, and automobiles, planes seems to be the choice of political candidates. How about walking across country?
NYTime article on flying candidates
Great article at Ten Minute Misconduct about my space and 29,000 sex offenders.
Any volunteers? Only two requirements - you must be non-hairy and bold.
For many years, knowledgeable fans of pro football have been aware of a disconnect with how the teams handled players recovering from concussions and how the medical professionals thought they should be handled. Not many fans remember that the main reason that Lynn Swann, the Pittsburgh Steeler hall of famer, retired from football so early was because of all the concussions that he had suffered.
The New York Times has a good article about possible economic problems facing us. The article quotes Countrywide Financial, the nation's largest mortgage lender as saying "more borrowers with good credit are falling behind on their loans..." It is well worth reading.
The Politico has an intriguing article about shifting political loyalties. I can't help but wonder if this is really the way the game is played inside the beltway, is it any wonder that the American public holds politicians in such low regard?
Rahm Emanuel, a key architect of the Democrat victory in the 2006 mid-term elections is quoted as saying that there will be no attempt to reform the immigration system until at least the second term of a Democrat President. So much for dealing with a national security issue in a timely manner.
My friend Chris at The Further West yesterday posted the utube video of the incident of Mitt Romney facing hostile questions because he posed with a person holding a sign that reflected unfavorably on Barack Obama. Chris wondered if the whole thing was a set-up. Well, according to Newsmax, in an article published July 24, Jerid Kurtz, the guy who asked the question is a former Democratic campaign operative. Governor Romney refused to apologize and finally told Kurtz to "lighten up slightly". Great job by Chris at the Further West
Arlen Specter has never been one of my favorite Senators, despite the fact that he is a Pennsylvanian, as I am. Sometimes he seems to go off the deep end. Now he is being quoted as saying that there may be a need to appoint a special prosecutor, or possibly even to hold what he calls "an internal contempt trial" over the issue of Executive Privilege. What has Specter so fired up? The Justice Department has indicated that it will not permit the US Attorney for Washington DC to go to court to seek contempt citations against those members of the Bush administration asserting executive privilege.
Nine years ago today an incident occurred on Capitol Hill that many of us still remember. A crazed gunman entered the House side of the Capitol, armed with a weapon, and in the ensuing chaos two brave capitol hill police officers were shot, as was a tourist and the gunman. Killed were Detective John Gibson and Officer Jacob Chestnut. At that time, Senator Bill Frist, who later became Majority Leader, had just finished presiding over the Senate, when he was informed of the shooting. He immediately rushed over to the Capitol, where he rendered aid to two of the people who had been shot. Ironically, Senator Frist saved the life of the gunman. Afterwards, Senator Frist said, "I'm a doctor, not a judge and jury." Just another reason why I admire Senator Frist. A class act.
Nice story about Troy Polamalu in this morning's Post Gazette. He is a real class act, and although I generally think we pay our athletes way too much money, in this case I am glad to see that he will be with the Steelers for at least the next several years. Now let's work on Alan Faneca.
I don't usually agree with Bobby Eberle, who writes for GOP USA, but this is an interesting perspective on the Conservative Base.
When I graduated from law school, I took with me the mantra of every attorney - a person is innocent until proven guilty. Well, so much for that ideal when it comes to the National Football League. Commissioner Roger Goodell has told Michael Vick not to report to training camp until the League completes its investigation. Oh yeah, Michael don't worry too much, the League won't let you in camp, but the Falcons have to keep paying you, and they can't take any disciplinary action against you until the league prejudges what you are accused of.
Just read a very interesting article in the Washington Times, telling how the US Military has brokered an agreement between Sunni and Shiite tribe leaders. They have agreed to join forces against Al Qaeda and other extremists. Bet you haven't heard about this on CNN or MSNBC. For sure it hasn't been mentioned in the Democrat Presidential debate this evening.
Michael Barone has an interesting perspective in today's issue of Townhall, entitled "Leaving Boomer Conflicts Behind". As a marginal baby boomer (1945) I have often railed against the polarization in American Politics. Never thought of it as a boomer issue, but Mr. Barone makes a lot of sense.
Interesting column on Michael Vick by one of my favorite sports columnists, Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
When I see stories like the one about Senator Russ Feingold planning to introduce a censure resolution against the President and other administration officials, I have to wonder who in the world is minding the Senate.
After reading this article, I couldn't help but think, if this is what our reporters and journalists are being taught, we really need to make some changes in the curriculum. This article by Penelope Trunk really brings home what is wrong with the mainstream media.
Fox News Specials has aired a film entitled "Muslims Against Jihad". PBS had previously banned the film. Why? According to PBS the filmmakers were "alarmist, overreaching and unfair." According to the filmmakers, it was because of liberal bias at PBS.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed their number one draft pick Lawrence Timmons to a multi-year contract.
It is my hope that this blog will contain anything of interest to you and me, including politics, the war on terror, the war in Iraq, all sporting events, books and articles, and anything else that appeals to us. The only request that I make is that your comments be civil and contain no profanity. I have invited a few very good friends to join me in contributing items of interest to this site, and it is my hope that they will do so often.
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