Surprise!! More positive news from Iraq. Bet you didn't see this article anywhere in the mainstream media.
Big Lizards has a superb analysis of the fiasco created by Pat Leahy, Chuck Schumer, and the rest of their cronies. Big Lizards takes you through the whole chain of events before pointing out that the only person not heard from is "Attorney General John Doe" a/k/a John Ashcroft.
How is this for a weird story. It happened in Lakewood Colorado. Two men decided to settle a dispute over a gambling debt by killing the man who allegedly owed them money, using rattlesnakes. The idea was to build a wooden box to hold the snakes, and "the lid was to be built to allow the victim's legs to be put inside but not pulled out." Just the mention of snakes is enough to freak me out. Oh by the way, the two men have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
If you read Joe Klein's article in Time Magazine you come away (at least I did) with two distinct impressions: 1. The Republicans are a whacky group, and are ready to fall on their sword for the sake of principles, like they did in 1964; 2. The Republicans want to win at all costs, even if it means nominating someone they aren't really happy with (Mitt Romney) because he has the money to wage a battle. I am no fan of Joe Klein, in fact, I find him obnoxious, and this article is just another example of his smugness. The Republican party can stand on principle and they can raise the money to compete with any of the Democrats.
The Politico has an article about Governor Mike Huckabee, the other man from Hope, Arkansas. I've always liked Governor Huckabee. But I've never thought that he is a viable candidate for President. The article in the Politico really points out what I think his fatal flaw is - he is a social conservative, but really a fiscal moderate. It will be interesting to see what happens to Huckabee when and if Fred Thompson gets into the race.
Patrick Ruffini has a terrific article about the Daily Kos trying to smear a Maine Blogger. It's well worth taking the time to read this strange article.
The Democrats have made a campaign issue out of votes of Republican House Members against the SCHIP legislation. The DCCC Chair Rep. Chris Van Hollen said that they intend to label those Republican House Members as obstructionists. What he failed to mention is that the House Schip bill would reduce payments to Medicare Advantage Plans, and make a number of revisions to Medicare. President Bush has threatened to veto the bill. In the Senate, there are enough votes to override the President's veto, but in the House there are not presently enough votes to override his veto. It should be an interesting campaign. Thanks to River West for the information.
Dr. Bill Frist continues his work to help cure illnesses and poverty around the world. For the next ten days he will be working with Save the Children in Bangledesh. Dr. Frist is firmly committed to using medicine as a currency for peace. Those of us who respect and admire Dr. Frist can only hope that his mission succeeds.
The Census Bureau wants the government to stop enforcement actions during the 2010 census. Why? They say that they need to be able to count the illegal immigrants, and that if our government is conducting raids on illegals, the immigrants won't trust the government, and won't cooperate with the census takers. It is never a good idea not to enforce our laws, regardless of the consequences.
Cnn News is reporting that Fred Thompson is definitely going to enter the race for the White House. It will be interesting to see if he has waited too long. In any event, his entry into the race will really shake things up for the Republican field.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a new mascot. After spending a week in the Pittsburgh area recently, I can tell you that the majority of the Steeler nation that I talked to are not very happy with a mascot at all. Their attitude is, as it has been since the Steelers came into existence - Steeler fans don't need mascots because we are the mascots. Our fans are among the most rabid fans anywhere in the country, and weird sights are routine at every Steeler game. Check out the mascot and let me know what you think.
Dan Eggen of the Washington Post has been writing story after story about Alberto Gonzales. Well, surprise, surprise!! Not all of them have been accurate. Powerline has the story under the heading "The Washington Post facricates a 'contradiction.' "
It makes me wonder what the media thinks they are doing!!
Move On has launched another campaign against Republican candidates. They are going to highlight the cost of the Iraq war for individual congressional districts. The article is important reading for all of us. According to CNS NEWS.com MoveOn is being helped in this latest tactic to derail the Iraq war by the National Priorities Project. My thanks to my good friend River West who provided me with this article.
Patrick Hynes has written a thought provoking post titled "Identity Group Conservatism" at Ankle Biting Pundits and Patrick Ruffini has written a compelling response titled "The Threats to Conservatism". I believe that this type of debate is exactly what the Conservative movement and the Republican party needs to engage in. We must get back on track with all of the voters who call themselves Republicans, and this is a good start. An open and honest dialogue about where we want to go as a party is crucial.
Chris Cillizza, who blogs for the Washington Post at "The Fix" has an interesting story about the GOP candidates for Senate races. I'm not sure that the situation is as dire for the GOP as Cillizza makes it sound, but it is worth reading, especially for his list of the top ten Senate races.
Bill Hobbs, who is one of my favorite bloggers, has an article in Newsbusters expanding on the media bias that seems to have become a way of life. Take a look at his story titled Media Bias Shows in Coverage of Complex Securities Case
I have enjoyed reading Allen Roth for quite some time. His article on how to build a conservative web operation is a must read for every Conservative.
Just read a fascinating article about the misrepresentations of the MSM. This article particularly talks about CBS News, but this kind of reporting is all too common.
According to the Associated Press, President Bush intends to push his agenda without Congress. It will be fascinating to see how the President's strategy develops. While there are a lot of things that President Bush can do in the form of executive orders and regulations, he runs the risk of making things much worse for Republican candidates across the country, by pursuing agendas that are unpopular with the American public.
Score one for the good guys. Jose Padilla was convicted of federal terrorism charges.
Redstate has a devastating post about Mel Martinez. They call him an incompetent fool. What has the folks at Redstate so riled up? It seems that Mel attacked Rudy Guiliani and Mitt Romney for their opposition to illegal immigration. As Redstate correctly points out, one of the fundamental principles of the Republican party is DO NO HARM. Seems like Mel forgot. He has been to say the least, an ineffective Chairman of the Republican Party.
Powerline has a good post on how the media can twist a story to achieve the result they want. ABC News has been doing some research on Mitt Romney, and the investments he has made. Their headline reads "Romney in Stem Cell Biz, Despite Political Opposition." As Powerline correctly points out less than one thousandth of Romney's fortune is invested in a company that carries out some kind of stem cell research. Check out the Powerline article.
There are all kinds of stories being reported on Cable News today that Michael Vick is about to enter into a Plea Bargain, where he will plead guilty and serve one year in jail. If it is true, its not a bad idea. Vick is young enough that he could give up one year of his career and still be a force in the NFL, that is if the NFL will let him come back.
This is a really strange story circulating on Yahoo right now. It seems that a group of researchers at the University of Texas, Austin have studied every called pitch in Major League Baseball from 2004 and 2006 and has decided that umpires are racists, based on their calls. I kid you not. Check it out.
At least 337 people have been killed in a massive, 7.9 earthquake that struck near Lima, Peru late Wednesday. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Peru.
I came across another article that interested me, just because of the pure magnitude of what former Senator Bill Frist wants to accomplish. The New York Sun ran this article on August 10, but again, I think it is well worth reading. The article mentions just a few of the many tasks that Senator Frist is undertaking: " working to overhaul health care in America, researching the origins of animal-borne viruses, performing heart surgery in Sudan, visiting refugee camps in Chad, and going to Bangladesh to work with Save the Children."
As I try to catch up on my reading after being away for two weeks, I came across an article by Peggy Noonan in the Opinion Journal. I know it is old news, but I think it is worth reading again. Take a look at it.
David Broder has an interesting column in the Washington Post. He talks about his interview with former Senator Fred Thompson, and what Senator Thompson intends to try to do when he enters the race. If just half of this is true, it could be a very interesting election in 2008.
If this story by the Victory Caucus doesn't make you proud of our troops, then nothing will. I have always known that our soldiers are the best and the brightest the world has ever known. Now I know they are also the most compassionate. They make me proud to be an American.
Mitch McConnell, who I admit remains a real enigma to me, recently gave a speech calling the Democrats "Old Europe Democrats". Mitch's point seemed to be that Harry Reid and company want to ram through legislation that would turn the government into "Old Europe." Well, I think that has been going on for quite a while, but leaders like McConnell, who say they don't like a piece of legislation, then turn around and vote for it, sure don't help matters. McConnell really needs to get the Republican caucus in the Senate in order. Trent Lott has certainly been no help to McConnell, in fact he has been a big part of the problem. What I would really like to see from McConnell is less of the phony little speeches on the floor of the Senate, all prefaced with remarks about his good friend the Majority Leader, and more action to sock Harry Reid in the nose.
The latest Zogby poll is out. According to Zogby, President Bush's approval rating is at 32%, a slight drop from last month, when it was at 34%. Congress, however, has an approval rating of 15%, less than half of what the President's is. I continue to wonder "Is anybody on Capitol Hill listening to us?"
To those of you not from the Pittsburgh area, this may seem like a curious post. But I have long been concerned with how our government, both state and federal, handle the mentally ill. Mayview State Hospital is one of the few state hospitals left in Pennsylvania to treat the mentally ill. The hospital, which at its peak, cared for more than 350 people, will be closed, and patients who cannot be moved to homes in the community, will be moved to Torrance State Hospital, which handles mentally ill persons who have committed crimes. My problem with the closing of these kinds of facilities is what we do with people who are mentally ill. Releasing them is certainly not the answer. I believe that one reason that we have so many homeless people in this country can be directly tied to the last massive closings of mental hospitals across the country. Now the courts are involved, directing that people with mental illnesses be served, whenever possible, in community settings. Placing the mentally ill in community settings is not fair to the mentally ill or to the community itself. We need to re-examine how we care for our most vulnerable people.
Former NBA Referee Tim Donaghy pleaded guilty to felony charges related to his activities in betting on games he officiated and accepting payoffs from gamblers. I guess my question is - Is this the end of the story or just the beginning? It will be interesting to see how this turns out.
Ten Minute Misconduct has a terrific story on Rumsfeld. Evidently, Secretary Rumsfeld sent the letter of resignation before the 2006 election, but President Bush did not announce it until the day after the elections. Could it have made a difference? Check out the article at Ten Minute Misconduct.
The Bush Administration is preparing to list Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a Terrorist organization. Well, it's about time.
Newsmax has an article about Fred Thompson and the Fair Tax. The Newsmax article is a little misleading in that the headline says that Thompson embraces the Fair Tax. What he actually said is that the Fair Tax is a good place to start. Read the Article and let me know what you think.
Posting has been sporadic the last couple of weeks since I have been on vacation. I wanted to take a few minutes and reminisce about my trip up North. It was a hectic two week period, but well worth the effort. As we drove north, we stopped in Fayetteville, NC and were able to have dinner with Volpac volunteer and good friend, Alvin Reed. It was a real delight to meet his beautiful wife Donna and their three little boys, Joseph, Jeremiah, and Jacob. Alvin is a lucky man to have such a beautiful family. The boys were so enjoyable and Donna is such a joy to talk to. As we headed North we were able to visit with family in Lancaster, Columbus, Ohio, and Pittsburgh. We were also able to catch up with Volpac Volunteer Parker Novak. I had an opportunity to have lunch with Parker, who will be starting his freshman year at Ohio State University. Parker is already hard at work for Republican candidates throughout the State of Ohio. What a bright young man, and what a terrific future he has. On our trip to Pittsburgh we were able to have breakfast with another Volpac volunteer, Joshua Fellers. Joshua is another incredibly bright guy, with a tremendous future ahead of him. After having the chance to meet with these three guys, I can't help but think that with people like this involved in Republican politics, the future of the Republican party is bright, indeed.
Former Senator Bill Frist has been interviewed by the Associated Press. It's an interesting perspective on where Senator Frist's priorities are, but for those of us who continue to hold out hope that he will re-enter the political process, a somewhat disturbing interview.
Whether you agree with John Sununu's political philosophy or not it is refreshing to see a politician who will not change his political philosophy even when his Senate seat may be at risk.
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