A most interesting technical item regarding the Ordinary Rite:
Recent research, confirmed by unofficial discussions with officials of the Holy See during the past several years, has made clear that the antiphons of the Order of Mass were never intended to be sung, but are provided without notation to be recited whenever the Graduale Romanum or another song is not sung.
Yah. In the missalette, those printed antiphons are meant to be spoken.
More of interest:
The antiphons of the Missale Romanum, which differ substantially from the sung antiphons of the Roman Gradual, were never intended to be sung.
No wonder they aren't the same. They ARE NOT the same!
And finally,
It seems to be, however, that the Lectionary has priority over Graduale when singing the "intervening chants" during the Liturgy of the Word. This is because the Lectionary of the Mass of Paul VI was composed on a different principle than was the lectionary of the Mass of Saint Pius V.
IOW, to sing the Latin Introit/Offertory/Communio in the Pauline Rite, you need the new Graduale Romanum--and you really should use the vernacular Psalm/Alleluia stuff given in the Missalette in preference to the Gradual/Alleluia given in that Graduale.
HT: Christus Vincit
Monday, December 31, 2007
Yoo Hoo!! Abp. Dolan!! (Part 2)
After you've acted, publicly, to help the Legislature understand the Catholic concerns with AB377, perhaps some clear and public statements about dogma will be in order.
See this from an individual who calls him/her/itself "Catholic."
See this from an individual who calls him/her/itself "Catholic."
Revolutionary Revolver: Mazda
No, it ain't a 6-gun.
Since 1991, Mazda has been working on a rotary engine that could run on hydrogen. Probably the cleanest and most abundant fuel in the world, hydrogen fuel emits only water vapor and trace amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that is one of the primary causes of global warming.
As we know, that last clause is pure BS. Pressing on, however:
The RX-8, in fact, is the only commercially available car with a rotary engine in the world and is now the first hydrogen fueled. It will also run on gasoline.
Mazda began public road testing of the RX-8 Hydrogen RE in 2004. In February 2006, it received approval from Japan's Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) to become the first company to commercially lease hydrogen powered rotary engine vehicles.
The vehicles delivered have been showcased at public events, of course, and used in daily driving. From the latter, the RX-8 Hydrogen RE has been recognized for the convenience of its dual-fuel system as well as for its balance of eco-friendliness and internal-combustion performance.
The driver can go from gasoline to hydrogen at the flick of a switch.
I had a rotary-Mazda, back in the '70's. Damn quick.
HT: McMahon
Since 1991, Mazda has been working on a rotary engine that could run on hydrogen. Probably the cleanest and most abundant fuel in the world, hydrogen fuel emits only water vapor and trace amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that is one of the primary causes of global warming.
As we know, that last clause is pure BS. Pressing on, however:
The RX-8, in fact, is the only commercially available car with a rotary engine in the world and is now the first hydrogen fueled. It will also run on gasoline.
Mazda began public road testing of the RX-8 Hydrogen RE in 2004. In February 2006, it received approval from Japan's Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) to become the first company to commercially lease hydrogen powered rotary engine vehicles.
The vehicles delivered have been showcased at public events, of course, and used in daily driving. From the latter, the RX-8 Hydrogen RE has been recognized for the convenience of its dual-fuel system as well as for its balance of eco-friendliness and internal-combustion performance.
The driver can go from gasoline to hydrogen at the flick of a switch.
I had a rotary-Mazda, back in the '70's. Damn quick.
HT: McMahon
The Next "Hello Kitty-for Boys" Product?
Note that this product is NOT "an assault weapon" under California law, either!!
HT: Arms and the Law.
"Duty, Honor, Country"
Those words are posted above the doorway at West Point, and were used often by Douglas MacArthur, General of the Armies. They actually mean something...
I bring them up for consideration as we read that Fred Thompson does not have "fire in the belly" (whatever the Hell that means) and that he "doesn't want to be President."
Fred's original statement is being mis-under-interpretated, of course. It was (and remains, I think) his considered opinion that the other (R) candidates, (and all the (D) candidates) do not fully or adequately represent a Conservative, constitutional, and cohesive platform, based on values enshrined in the Constitution.
That's not disparagement of the others--not even of the Dems.
But it's good cause for Fred to have undertaken a campaign.
It's his duty.
See also: JunkYardBlog
His "closing statement" is found here. If you're already a Republican, go to 11:30 or so--and find out what he thinks about the (D) opponents and why HE should carry the flag against them.
I bring them up for consideration as we read that Fred Thompson does not have "fire in the belly" (whatever the Hell that means) and that he "doesn't want to be President."
Fred's original statement is being mis-under-interpretated, of course. It was (and remains, I think) his considered opinion that the other (R) candidates, (and all the (D) candidates) do not fully or adequately represent a Conservative, constitutional, and cohesive platform, based on values enshrined in the Constitution.
That's not disparagement of the others--not even of the Dems.
But it's good cause for Fred to have undertaken a campaign.
It's his duty.
See also: JunkYardBlog
His "closing statement" is found here. If you're already a Republican, go to 11:30 or so--and find out what he thinks about the (D) opponents and why HE should carry the flag against them.
The Spoiler Moves?
Yesterday, while in conversation with the mind-numbed robots (conservative bloggers), there was a brief discussion of the Presidential race.
One eminento had predicted a Romney/HRC race and a Romney win.
Yours truly brought up Bloomberg--before this story broke.
Buoyed by the still unsettled field, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is growing increasingly enchanted with the idea of an independent presidential bid, and his aides are aggressively laying the groundwork for him to run.
...Next week’s meeting, reported on Sunday in The Washington Post, comes as the mayor’s advisers have been quietly canvassing potential campaign consultants about their availability in the coming months.
Bloomie's largest challenge is to find political consultants who are available and willing. The next largest challenge is to get onto the ballot in 45+ States, which takes a fair amount of time and effort.
At least money's not a consideration for him.
One eminento had predicted a Romney/HRC race and a Romney win.
Yours truly brought up Bloomberg--before this story broke.
Buoyed by the still unsettled field, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is growing increasingly enchanted with the idea of an independent presidential bid, and his aides are aggressively laying the groundwork for him to run.
...Next week’s meeting, reported on Sunday in The Washington Post, comes as the mayor’s advisers have been quietly canvassing potential campaign consultants about their availability in the coming months.
Bloomie's largest challenge is to find political consultants who are available and willing. The next largest challenge is to get onto the ballot in 45+ States, which takes a fair amount of time and effort.
At least money's not a consideration for him.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Bought a Music CD? Copied to Your Computer?
...then you could be in trouble.
...In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.
The industry's lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are "unauthorized copies" of copyrighted recordings.
"I couldn't believe it when I read that," says Ray Beckerman, a New York lawyer who represents six clients who have been sued by the RIAA. "The basic principle in the law is that you have to distribute actual physical copies to be guilty of violating copyright. But recently, the industry has been going around saying that even a personal copy on your computer is a violation."
It will be very interesting to see how this one turns out. Frankly, I don't understand how the RIAA intends to demonstrate that they were "damaged" by this. If someone is using their computer as an alternative to a CD player/stereo set, what's the harm?
HT: RedStates
...In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.
The industry's lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are "unauthorized copies" of copyrighted recordings.
"I couldn't believe it when I read that," says Ray Beckerman, a New York lawyer who represents six clients who have been sued by the RIAA. "The basic principle in the law is that you have to distribute actual physical copies to be guilty of violating copyright. But recently, the industry has been going around saying that even a personal copy on your computer is a violation."
It will be very interesting to see how this one turns out. Frankly, I don't understand how the RIAA intends to demonstrate that they were "damaged" by this. If someone is using their computer as an alternative to a CD player/stereo set, what's the harm?
HT: RedStates
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Yoo Hoo!! Abp Dolan!! Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel!!
The other day, in preparation for making some not-friendly remarks about the Cincinnatti Diocese's adoption of e-payments, Kevin Fisher said "I always worry about starting my car" after making critical observations about the Church.
It ain't my car I worry about.
It's the lighting bolts.
But it's sunny out today!--so here goes.
If two members of the Green Bay Packers (say DD and KGB) sent out press releases stating that 'the team will NOT prevail in its quest for the Super Bowl championship,' the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel would be on it like...bees on honey, so to speak.
So:
--when two Bishops of the Wisconsin Catholic Church say, in effect, that "we were double-crossed and hoodwinked," and REPUDIATE their Conference's previous approval of legislation;
--and 9 OTHER Wisconsin Bishops, including the Ordinary of Milwaukee and his Auxiliaries, clearly do NOT join with these two Bishops;
--and when lawyers for that group of Bishops are questioned by other practicing attorneys on prima-facie solid grounds (the text, folks, the text);
--and when the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference verbally extends his middle digit to two of his employers;
you'd think that the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel political and/or religious reporters would be in a finger-bleeding frenzy at their telephones and keyboards.
(Cue the crickets.)
Well, that's the Press' problem, I guess.
But (checking the weather once again) I'm not stopping there, folks.
I'm calling out Archbishop Dolan, Bishop Sklba, Bishop Callahan, Abp Weakland, Bishop Bullock, Bishop Wirz, Bishop Morneau, Bishop Banks, and Bishop Fliss.
The substance of the issue is this: the Wisconsin Legislature is about to pass AB377 (SB129), which will require hospitals to administer "Plan B" to victims of rape. This bill is advertised as a 'humanitarian' bill byNurse Rached Judy Robson who introduced the legislation back in Spring of this year to cooing and adulation from the MSM.
It's 'humanitarian' so long as you're not the dead baby, I guess.
The Wisconsin Catholic Conference gave the bill a 'green light' in September. It is clear, however, that their 'green light' rests on the assumption that the rape-victim has NOT conceived a child since the occurrence of the rape. Another problem: the "remedy" is sometimes a chemical-induced abortion. Finally, the Conference assumed that there would be a "conscience clause" in the bill.
That assumption that 'there has been no conception' is flawed. Wrong. Un-provable. In some cases there is conception; in others, there is not. But nobody knows.
And the fact that the "remedy" (Plan B) is (sometimes) abortion is horrible. Somebody at the Wisconsin Catholic Conference should be flayed, or fired--or maybe both. The term "scandal" comes to mind, as Bp. Morlino mentioned.
Here are the manufacturer's OWN words on "Plan B."
Plan B® works like a regular birth control pill. It prevents pregnancy mainly by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary, and may also prevent the fertilization of an egg (the uniting of sperm with the egg). Plan B® may also work by preventing it [fertilized egg] from attaching to the uterus (womb). It is important to know that Plan B® will not affect a fertilized egg already attached to the uterus; it will not affect an existing pregnancy.
And here's the fisking of the verbal engineering used:
However, they (the manufacturers) intentionally define the term “pregnancy” as implantation of a fertilized egg in the lining of a woman's uterus, as opposed to “pregnancy” beginning at fertilization.
The Wisconsin Catholic Conference's 'brain-trust' either winked at the elision or substitution of "conception" for "implantation", or worse, decided to ignore it. (Maybe flaying and firing isn't enough...)
Oh, yeah, there's more. Some doctors like to actually practice medicine instead of merely handing out pills.
Plan B is associated with blood clot formation and a heightened risk of ectopic pregnancy. The common side-effects of the ‘morning-after pill’ (nausea and abdominal pain) are also the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy and could therefore mask the presence of this potentially life-threatening condition. Importantly, there are no long-term studies to show whether women will be permanently damaged, or risk such diseases as cancer, from these chemicals being given in such high doses. Forcing physicians to immediately provide medication to patients based solely upon their request is simply bad medicine. In the case of emergency contraception, such a policy may contradict a physician’s medical judgment as EC could be medically contraindicated for the patient.
(Nothing like waking up to "Greetings" from your neighborhood P.I. lawyer if you're an OB/Gyn or ER physician.)
But I digress. Back to the Bishops.
The United States Catholic Conference's position paper on the question reads as follows:
“A female who has been raped should be able to defend herself against a potential conception from the sexual assault. If, after appropriate testing, there is no evidence that conception has occurred already, she may be treated with medications that would prevent ovulation, sperm capacitation, or fertilization. It is not permissible, however, to initiate or to recommend treatments that have as their purpose or direct effect the removal, destruction, or interference with the implantation of a fertilized ovum.”
It is entirely possible that fertilization occurred immediately or VERY shortly after the rape. But nobody really knows, as pregnancy-tests are not conclusive until at least a week or two into the pregnancy.
Finally, by the way, the Legislature stripped the "conscience clause" out of the bill--thus forcing MD's and/or RN's to act contrary to their deeply-held religious beliefs.
So:
Nine Wisconsin Roman Catholic Bishops are:
1) Ignoring the clear contradiction between the language of the USCC's guidelines and the stated potential effect of "Plan B", which is (sometimes) chemical abortion;
2) Ignoring the verbal gymnastics (and the sloppy work of their employees) of switching "conception" for "implantation";
3) Letting conscientious Catholic doctors and RN's (and, for that matter, non-RC practitioners who have grave reservations about the potential abortions caused by Plan B) "twist in the wind."
All because they have not simply called for re-insertion of the "conscience clause" in this bill.
The Bishops do not have to campaign against the bill as a whole. They are not required to "force Catholic morals" on doctors, hospitals, or nurses (although I think some serious persuasion would be in line here.)
All they SHOULD do is call on the Legislature to allow "conscientious objection" as part of the Bill. Fortunately, there's a letter pre-written for them, by Bishop Morlino. They could even refer Members of the Press (should any of them awaken before March) to Bp. Listecki's comments in his newspaper.
Yoo-Hoo!! Abp. Dolan!!
(HTs: T Berres, F. Klein, Pro-Life Wisconsin, P McIlheran)
UPDATE: Dan Suhr reviews the legalities of the bill (and of 253.09) and concludes that existing Wisconsin law will NOT allow "conscientious objection," although the State's Constitution will do so, given the usual formalities.
It ain't my car I worry about.
It's the lighting bolts.
But it's sunny out today!--so here goes.
If two members of the Green Bay Packers (say DD and KGB) sent out press releases stating that 'the team will NOT prevail in its quest for the Super Bowl championship,' the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel would be on it like...bees on honey, so to speak.
So:
--when two Bishops of the Wisconsin Catholic Church say, in effect, that "we were double-crossed and hoodwinked," and REPUDIATE their Conference's previous approval of legislation;
--and 9 OTHER Wisconsin Bishops, including the Ordinary of Milwaukee and his Auxiliaries, clearly do NOT join with these two Bishops;
--and when lawyers for that group of Bishops are questioned by other practicing attorneys on prima-facie solid grounds (the text, folks, the text);
--and when the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference verbally extends his middle digit to two of his employers;
you'd think that the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel political and/or religious reporters would be in a finger-bleeding frenzy at their telephones and keyboards.
(Cue the crickets.)
Well, that's the Press' problem, I guess.
But (checking the weather once again) I'm not stopping there, folks.
I'm calling out Archbishop Dolan, Bishop Sklba, Bishop Callahan, Abp Weakland, Bishop Bullock, Bishop Wirz, Bishop Morneau, Bishop Banks, and Bishop Fliss.
The substance of the issue is this: the Wisconsin Legislature is about to pass AB377 (SB129), which will require hospitals to administer "Plan B" to victims of rape. This bill is advertised as a 'humanitarian' bill by
It's 'humanitarian' so long as you're not the dead baby, I guess.
The Wisconsin Catholic Conference gave the bill a 'green light' in September. It is clear, however, that their 'green light' rests on the assumption that the rape-victim has NOT conceived a child since the occurrence of the rape. Another problem: the "remedy" is sometimes a chemical-induced abortion. Finally, the Conference assumed that there would be a "conscience clause" in the bill.
That assumption that 'there has been no conception' is flawed. Wrong. Un-provable. In some cases there is conception; in others, there is not. But nobody knows.
And the fact that the "remedy" (Plan B) is (sometimes) abortion is horrible. Somebody at the Wisconsin Catholic Conference should be flayed, or fired--or maybe both. The term "scandal" comes to mind, as Bp. Morlino mentioned.
Here are the manufacturer's OWN words on "Plan B."
Plan B® works like a regular birth control pill. It prevents pregnancy mainly by stopping the release of an egg from the ovary, and may also prevent the fertilization of an egg (the uniting of sperm with the egg). Plan B® may also work by preventing it [fertilized egg] from attaching to the uterus (womb). It is important to know that Plan B® will not affect a fertilized egg already attached to the uterus; it will not affect an existing pregnancy.
And here's the fisking of the verbal engineering used:
However, they (the manufacturers) intentionally define the term “pregnancy” as implantation of a fertilized egg in the lining of a woman's uterus, as opposed to “pregnancy” beginning at fertilization.
The Wisconsin Catholic Conference's 'brain-trust' either winked at the elision or substitution of "conception" for "implantation", or worse, decided to ignore it. (Maybe flaying and firing isn't enough...)
Oh, yeah, there's more. Some doctors like to actually practice medicine instead of merely handing out pills.
Plan B is associated with blood clot formation and a heightened risk of ectopic pregnancy. The common side-effects of the ‘morning-after pill’ (nausea and abdominal pain) are also the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy and could therefore mask the presence of this potentially life-threatening condition. Importantly, there are no long-term studies to show whether women will be permanently damaged, or risk such diseases as cancer, from these chemicals being given in such high doses. Forcing physicians to immediately provide medication to patients based solely upon their request is simply bad medicine. In the case of emergency contraception, such a policy may contradict a physician’s medical judgment as EC could be medically contraindicated for the patient.
(Nothing like waking up to "Greetings" from your neighborhood P.I. lawyer if you're an OB/Gyn or ER physician.)
But I digress. Back to the Bishops.
The United States Catholic Conference's position paper on the question reads as follows:
“A female who has been raped should be able to defend herself against a potential conception from the sexual assault. If, after appropriate testing, there is no evidence that conception has occurred already, she may be treated with medications that would prevent ovulation, sperm capacitation, or fertilization. It is not permissible, however, to initiate or to recommend treatments that have as their purpose or direct effect the removal, destruction, or interference with the implantation of a fertilized ovum.”
It is entirely possible that fertilization occurred immediately or VERY shortly after the rape. But nobody really knows, as pregnancy-tests are not conclusive until at least a week or two into the pregnancy.
Finally, by the way, the Legislature stripped the "conscience clause" out of the bill--thus forcing MD's and/or RN's to act contrary to their deeply-held religious beliefs.
So:
Nine Wisconsin Roman Catholic Bishops are:
1) Ignoring the clear contradiction between the language of the USCC's guidelines and the stated potential effect of "Plan B", which is (sometimes) chemical abortion;
2) Ignoring the verbal gymnastics (and the sloppy work of their employees) of switching "conception" for "implantation";
3) Letting conscientious Catholic doctors and RN's (and, for that matter, non-RC practitioners who have grave reservations about the potential abortions caused by Plan B) "twist in the wind."
All because they have not simply called for re-insertion of the "conscience clause" in this bill.
The Bishops do not have to campaign against the bill as a whole. They are not required to "force Catholic morals" on doctors, hospitals, or nurses (although I think some serious persuasion would be in line here.)
All they SHOULD do is call on the Legislature to allow "conscientious objection" as part of the Bill. Fortunately, there's a letter pre-written for them, by Bishop Morlino. They could even refer Members of the Press (should any of them awaken before March) to Bp. Listecki's comments in his newspaper.
Yoo-Hoo!! Abp. Dolan!!
(HTs: T Berres, F. Klein, Pro-Life Wisconsin, P McIlheran)
UPDATE: Dan Suhr reviews the legalities of the bill (and of 253.09) and concludes that existing Wisconsin law will NOT allow "conscientious objection," although the State's Constitution will do so, given the usual formalities.
The Huckabee/ster: Theory and Practice
Dreher has an interesting catch. (Scroll to 12/28 entry...)
He quotes from "Applebee's America," a political-strategy essay:
Great Connectors like Presidents Bush and Clinton adapt to their times. They also realize that tactics do not win elections. Gut Values do. Cutting-edge strategies are useful only when they help a candidate make his or her values resonate with the public. For all their faults (and they had their share), Presidents Bush and Clinton knew that their challenge was in appealing to voters' hearts, not their heads. We heard this countless times: "Sure, he had sex wiht an intern and lied about it, but he cares about me and is working hard on my behalf." And this: "The Iraq war stinks and his other politices aren't so hot, but at least I know where he stands."
...and relates that to a press-account of Huckster's "closing" speech in Iowa:
For starters, it was remarkably short on policy. Oh, he touched on issues like energy and health care and immigration and he talked about gridlock in Washington and the corruption of big money in politics. But all of these points seemed incidental to the broader message of the speech.
Huckabee's speech was long on values. It was personal and conversational and, not surprisingly, given what he has shown in debates, often quite humorous. He filled the speech with stories about himself and his family.
Then, in a self-indictment (which includes the MSM as a whole), he ruminates:
...it strikes me that Huckabee is an instinct politician who is making a gut values connection with Republican crowds. This should have been obvious as far back as this summer, when the cash-and-organization-poor candidate very nearly won the Iowa straw poll on the strength of his oratory alone. But a lot of us -- well, nearly all of us -- in the news media missed it, because hey, what chance can a flat-broke Baptist preacher from Arkansas have against this Republican field anyway?
Interesting. We'll know in a few days whether Huckabee's game plan is solid.
Not that Huckabee is alone with this--Fred Thompson has worked pretty hard on the Values thing himself, although his latest ad (at that link) is slightly more 'policy' than 'values.'
Dreher goes a little further with a prediction:
My guess is that two unpredictable news events will help determine whether or not Huckabee sinks or swims over the next month: 1) whether or not Pakistan blows up, and 2) the economic uncertainties over the credit crisis. If Pakistan's woes dominate the headlines, it's bad for Huck, and good for McCain. If bad economic news stays on the front page, it's good for Huck, especially if he pounds away on the Main St.-vs.-Wall Street theme.
Recall the recession-prediction we mentioned here. That's been confirmed (more or less) by the ECRI weekly-leading index (down again last week) and a few other folks.
Timing is everything.
He quotes from "Applebee's America," a political-strategy essay:
Great Connectors like Presidents Bush and Clinton adapt to their times. They also realize that tactics do not win elections. Gut Values do. Cutting-edge strategies are useful only when they help a candidate make his or her values resonate with the public. For all their faults (and they had their share), Presidents Bush and Clinton knew that their challenge was in appealing to voters' hearts, not their heads. We heard this countless times: "Sure, he had sex wiht an intern and lied about it, but he cares about me and is working hard on my behalf." And this: "The Iraq war stinks and his other politices aren't so hot, but at least I know where he stands."
...and relates that to a press-account of Huckster's "closing" speech in Iowa:
For starters, it was remarkably short on policy. Oh, he touched on issues like energy and health care and immigration and he talked about gridlock in Washington and the corruption of big money in politics. But all of these points seemed incidental to the broader message of the speech.
Huckabee's speech was long on values. It was personal and conversational and, not surprisingly, given what he has shown in debates, often quite humorous. He filled the speech with stories about himself and his family.
Then, in a self-indictment (which includes the MSM as a whole), he ruminates:
...it strikes me that Huckabee is an instinct politician who is making a gut values connection with Republican crowds. This should have been obvious as far back as this summer, when the cash-and-organization-poor candidate very nearly won the Iowa straw poll on the strength of his oratory alone. But a lot of us -- well, nearly all of us -- in the news media missed it, because hey, what chance can a flat-broke Baptist preacher from Arkansas have against this Republican field anyway?
Interesting. We'll know in a few days whether Huckabee's game plan is solid.
Not that Huckabee is alone with this--Fred Thompson has worked pretty hard on the Values thing himself, although his latest ad (at that link) is slightly more 'policy' than 'values.'
Dreher goes a little further with a prediction:
My guess is that two unpredictable news events will help determine whether or not Huckabee sinks or swims over the next month: 1) whether or not Pakistan blows up, and 2) the economic uncertainties over the credit crisis. If Pakistan's woes dominate the headlines, it's bad for Huck, and good for McCain. If bad economic news stays on the front page, it's good for Huck, especially if he pounds away on the Main St.-vs.-Wall Street theme.
Recall the recession-prediction we mentioned here. That's been confirmed (more or less) by the ECRI weekly-leading index (down again last week) and a few other folks.
Timing is everything.
Talk Radio Perseveres: The Poor, Minorities Hardest-Hit
You can't make this up--it passes as 'serious thought' on a local LeftyBlog.
Non-sports programming at WTMJ and WISN are built on trashing anybody to the left of Attila the Hun without even a pretense of balance. Lost are not just the views of liberals, but also the views of minorities, poor people, and the perspectives of individuals who live in urban areas.
Attila was my cousin. Sykes ain't no Attila.
Non-sports programming at WTMJ and WISN are built on trashing anybody to the left of Attila the Hun without even a pretense of balance. Lost are not just the views of liberals, but also the views of minorities, poor people, and the perspectives of individuals who live in urban areas.
Attila was my cousin. Sykes ain't no Attila.
A Bad Day for the Goblins
From the indispensable LawDog, a few suggestions that the goblins shoulda taken earlier.
Tactical advice for those intending to rob the Santa-Claus-outfit-wearing Salvation Army volunteers at shopping malls:
1. In this part of the country, those Santa's are rednecks. Large rednecks. With an attitude to match.
2. When you and your homie stick a gun in Santa's face and demand, "Gimme the bucket!" he might take you precisely and exactly at your word. Literally.
3. As you watch your homie lying on the ground, bucket over his head and Santa stomping it flat onto his (unlovely) features, it's not a good idea to forget that you're within grabbing range of Santa - or to let your gun hand sag to your side.
4. Failure to observe #3 above will result in an infuriated Santa holding your head in an armlock under his left arm while, with his right hand, he beats you heavily over the bonce with his festive Christmas bell. This musical accompaniment, whilst no carol, is nevertheless pleasing to the bystanders' ears. The same might be said about your screams.
5. When passing shoppers stop, gather around and start applauding Santa's actions, it's not a good idea to yell at them that they're mother[deleted] [deleted] and beg them to make this [deleted] stop hitting you. This may - nay, gentle reader, this WILL - encourage some of them to offer to help Santa with the hitting . . . and encourage him to accept their offer.
6. When responding cops arrive, rush up to the scene with guns drawn, and promptly sag to the ground in hysterics while ignoring your pleas for help, it's not a good idea to swear at them in words of distinctly non-festive hue. This will result in their handling the rest of your interaction in a less than sympathetic manner (drawing further cheers from the by now numerous onlookers).
7. As you languish (with your battered homie) in the back of an ambulance, both of you being treated by the medics for bleeding from the head, it's particularly galling to see Santa's now somewhat battered bucket being filled to overflowing by cheering shoppers and the responding police officers, all of whom seem rather in a rather more more festive and cheerful mood now than they did before you made your move.
8. And a merry Redneck Christmas to both of you, idiots. Ho-ho-ho.
Some thugs have to learn the hard way, I guess.
Tactical advice for those intending to rob the Santa-Claus-outfit-wearing Salvation Army volunteers at shopping malls:
1. In this part of the country, those Santa's are rednecks. Large rednecks. With an attitude to match.
2. When you and your homie stick a gun in Santa's face and demand, "Gimme the bucket!" he might take you precisely and exactly at your word. Literally.
3. As you watch your homie lying on the ground, bucket over his head and Santa stomping it flat onto his (unlovely) features, it's not a good idea to forget that you're within grabbing range of Santa - or to let your gun hand sag to your side.
4. Failure to observe #3 above will result in an infuriated Santa holding your head in an armlock under his left arm while, with his right hand, he beats you heavily over the bonce with his festive Christmas bell. This musical accompaniment, whilst no carol, is nevertheless pleasing to the bystanders' ears. The same might be said about your screams.
5. When passing shoppers stop, gather around and start applauding Santa's actions, it's not a good idea to yell at them that they're mother[deleted] [deleted] and beg them to make this [deleted] stop hitting you. This may - nay, gentle reader, this WILL - encourage some of them to offer to help Santa with the hitting . . . and encourage him to accept their offer.
6. When responding cops arrive, rush up to the scene with guns drawn, and promptly sag to the ground in hysterics while ignoring your pleas for help, it's not a good idea to swear at them in words of distinctly non-festive hue. This will result in their handling the rest of your interaction in a less than sympathetic manner (drawing further cheers from the by now numerous onlookers).
7. As you languish (with your battered homie) in the back of an ambulance, both of you being treated by the medics for bleeding from the head, it's particularly galling to see Santa's now somewhat battered bucket being filled to overflowing by cheering shoppers and the responding police officers, all of whom seem rather in a rather more more festive and cheerful mood now than they did before you made your move.
8. And a merry Redneck Christmas to both of you, idiots. Ho-ho-ho.
Some thugs have to learn the hard way, I guess.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Forecasting?
Some reminders of ....ah.... errors in forecasting, from The Shepherd:
"Who in their right mind would ever need more than 640k of ram!?"-- Bill Gates, 1981
"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."-- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."-- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year."-- The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957
"But what ... is it (the microchip) good for?"-- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968,
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."-- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."--Western Union internal memo, 1876.
"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"-- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio- 1920s.
"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible."-- A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)
OK. Now on to Global Warming!!
"Who in their right mind would ever need more than 640k of ram!?"-- Bill Gates, 1981
"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."-- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."-- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year."-- The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957
"But what ... is it (the microchip) good for?"-- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968,
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."-- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."--Western Union internal memo, 1876.
"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"-- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio- 1920s.
"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible."-- A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)
OK. Now on to Global Warming!!
Reagan Stuff You Didn't Know
...from a new book on Bill Clark, (The Judge) whose author is interviewed by FrontPage:
Really, basically the entire book is new. It is worth your time for the chapter on Suriname alone (chapter 10). [Bet you didn't know that country almost went Commie...] Also worth the pricetag is the 1982 case of Reagan threatening to shoot down Soviet MiGs in Nicaragua, which was communicated to the Soviets, and the heretofore unreported French offer in 1981 to assassinate Moammar Kaddafi.
Another unrecorded account is how Reagan asked Clark to go to China to advise on whether the United States should get involved in a civil engineering project known as Three Gorges Dam. Clark did so, and reported that we should stay out of it. As usual, Reagan took Clark’s advice. Good move!
Finally, we report brand new information on Clark’s secret meeting with Saddam Hussein in January 1986. Clark confirmed in this book that we did not arm Saddam Hussein, especially with WMDs or WMD technology, despite what the moonbat left has recklessly alleged.
The author also mentions The Leakers by name, as well as the "moderates"--like Nancy.
Really, basically the entire book is new. It is worth your time for the chapter on Suriname alone (chapter 10). [Bet you didn't know that country almost went Commie...] Also worth the pricetag is the 1982 case of Reagan threatening to shoot down Soviet MiGs in Nicaragua, which was communicated to the Soviets, and the heretofore unreported French offer in 1981 to assassinate Moammar Kaddafi.
Another unrecorded account is how Reagan asked Clark to go to China to advise on whether the United States should get involved in a civil engineering project known as Three Gorges Dam. Clark did so, and reported that we should stay out of it. As usual, Reagan took Clark’s advice. Good move!
Finally, we report brand new information on Clark’s secret meeting with Saddam Hussein in January 1986. Clark confirmed in this book that we did not arm Saddam Hussein, especially with WMDs or WMD technology, despite what the moonbat left has recklessly alleged.
The author also mentions The Leakers by name, as well as the "moderates"--like Nancy.
Lex Facit Regem?
Heh. A little Latin to start your day...and a description of The End of Democracy, from First Things blog.
In Civilizing Authority, Budziszewski quotes Henry de Bracton, the thirteenth-century English jurist who declared, Lex facit Regem—the law makes the king, not the king the law. The king is supreme within the system but not over the system.
As did the First Things symposium, Budziszewski cites numerous instances of this strange dynamic at work. Constitutionalism, says Budziszewski, is “the principle that the real authority of government depends not on the personality of the rulers but on antecedent principles of right.” [Conversely,] Brutus wrote that, in the proposed Constitution, “These principles, whatever they may be, when they become fixed, by a course of [judicial] decisions, will be adopted by the legislature, and will be the rule by which they will explain their own powers.” Which, of course, is precisely what has happened. The principles of right are no longer antecedent but are devised by the courts.
This was most overtly, one might say flagrantly, asserted by the Supreme Court in the 1992 decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The Court composed what Budziszewski calls a “confession of faith”: At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life. Beliefs about these matters could not define the attributes of personhood were they formed under compulsion of the State. That is heavy-duty philosophy coming from a committee of lawyers.
Budziszewski writes: “To understand this creedal statement one must recall what occasioned it. What the Court meant by defining one’s own concept of human life was not so much deciding what to think, but deciding what to do: Because I have liberty to define my own concept of life, I may kill. In strict logic, it would seem to follow that I may kill anyone. In fact, it would seem to follow that I may do anything whatsoever. For the time being, the Court restricts its universal permission to the taking of life not yet born. This serves as a salutary reminder of what may be called the first principle of judicial usurpation: Formulae of universal permission never really mean universal permission; they are always instruments for the transfer of the power to prohibit from one set of hands to another. That king who says ‘Everything is permitted’ will always add, ‘But I decide for everyone what “everything” includes.’”
Were it just the Courts! Here in Wisconsin, the Legislators of AB377 wish to do violence to the same 'principles of right' by redefining "when life begins" by fiat. Strictly speaking, they may do so under the principle enunciated by Kennedy in the Casey decision, of course.
...That king who says ‘Everything is permitted’ will always add, ‘But I decide for everyone what “everything” includes.’”
And in Casey the Court did not neglect to make the last point unmistakably clear:
The root of American governmental power is revealed most clearly in the instance of the power conferred by the Constitution upon the Judiciary of the United States, and specifically upon this Court . . . The Court’s power lies in its legitimacy, a product of substance and perception that shows itself in the people’s acceptance of the Judiciary as fit to determine what the Nation’s law means, and to declare what it demands.
And what the law means is that anybody who disagrees with the Court should shut up
I’m not at all sure, however, that this demonstrates, as Budziszewski would have it, that this is an instance of the Constitution undermining constitutionalism. It is not that unless one believes, with the 1992 majority of the Supreme Court, that the Constitution is whatever the Supreme Court says it is.
...all of which is to lend urgency to both examining the Presidential candidates, and then voting.
Remember: there's only ONE actual Federalist running...
In Civilizing Authority, Budziszewski quotes Henry de Bracton, the thirteenth-century English jurist who declared, Lex facit Regem—the law makes the king, not the king the law. The king is supreme within the system but not over the system.
As did the First Things symposium, Budziszewski cites numerous instances of this strange dynamic at work. Constitutionalism, says Budziszewski, is “the principle that the real authority of government depends not on the personality of the rulers but on antecedent principles of right.” [Conversely,] Brutus wrote that, in the proposed Constitution, “These principles, whatever they may be, when they become fixed, by a course of [judicial] decisions, will be adopted by the legislature, and will be the rule by which they will explain their own powers.” Which, of course, is precisely what has happened. The principles of right are no longer antecedent but are devised by the courts.
This was most overtly, one might say flagrantly, asserted by the Supreme Court in the 1992 decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The Court composed what Budziszewski calls a “confession of faith”: At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life. Beliefs about these matters could not define the attributes of personhood were they formed under compulsion of the State. That is heavy-duty philosophy coming from a committee of lawyers.
Budziszewski writes: “To understand this creedal statement one must recall what occasioned it. What the Court meant by defining one’s own concept of human life was not so much deciding what to think, but deciding what to do: Because I have liberty to define my own concept of life, I may kill. In strict logic, it would seem to follow that I may kill anyone. In fact, it would seem to follow that I may do anything whatsoever. For the time being, the Court restricts its universal permission to the taking of life not yet born. This serves as a salutary reminder of what may be called the first principle of judicial usurpation: Formulae of universal permission never really mean universal permission; they are always instruments for the transfer of the power to prohibit from one set of hands to another. That king who says ‘Everything is permitted’ will always add, ‘But I decide for everyone what “everything” includes.’”
Were it just the Courts! Here in Wisconsin, the Legislators of AB377 wish to do violence to the same 'principles of right' by redefining "when life begins" by fiat. Strictly speaking, they may do so under the principle enunciated by Kennedy in the Casey decision, of course.
...That king who says ‘Everything is permitted’ will always add, ‘But I decide for everyone what “everything” includes.’”
And in Casey the Court did not neglect to make the last point unmistakably clear:
The root of American governmental power is revealed most clearly in the instance of the power conferred by the Constitution upon the Judiciary of the United States, and specifically upon this Court . . . The Court’s power lies in its legitimacy, a product of substance and perception that shows itself in the people’s acceptance of the Judiciary as fit to determine what the Nation’s law means, and to declare what it demands.
And what the law means is that anybody who disagrees with the Court should shut up
I’m not at all sure, however, that this demonstrates, as Budziszewski would have it, that this is an instance of the Constitution undermining constitutionalism. It is not that unless one believes, with the 1992 majority of the Supreme Court, that the Constitution is whatever the Supreme Court says it is.
...all of which is to lend urgency to both examining the Presidential candidates, and then voting.
Remember: there's only ONE actual Federalist running...
McCain? Thompson? That's "Toady" or "Thinker"...
With the event in Pakistan, there's buzz about John McCain becoming a hot-item in the primaries; evidently, his military background makes him a better bet than the others.
What crap. A uniform is nice, but using one's brain is even better...
Here's McCain, whoring and toadying at full throat, when asked about Global Warming:
“There is no doubt in my mind that it’s real,” McCain said when he was asked.
McCain spoke of legislation he’s sponsored to create a cap-and-trade system, where companies that reduce emissions can sell credits to companies that do not. He said that reducing emissions can be a win for American companies that develop new green technology.
“Suppose that we are wrong about climate change and there’s no such thing and we adapt green technologies and we reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All we’ve done is given our kids a better world and a cleaner world,” he said. But if there really is a major problem and nothing is done, he said, polar ice caps will melt, Alaskan villages will be destroyed and sea levels will rise.
In contrast, we present Fred!!
When Thompson was asked how he would deal with the “global warming crisis,” he replied:
“First of all I would try my best to find out if that’s an apt description.”
“We need to have a little modesty about this issue. There are a lot of things we don’t know.”
He said that while it’s true that the earth is warming, it’s not clear if that’s just part of a normal cycle.
“A lot of people want to jump conclusions and say … we’ve got all the answers, we don’t want to have any more discussion about it. We want to find a big government solution that would hurt our economy.”
McPain--same old, same old. Part of the AlGore Senate Club, and even has "cap-and-trade" in his bag of tricks.
What crap.
What crap. A uniform is nice, but using one's brain is even better...
Here's McCain, whoring and toadying at full throat, when asked about Global Warming:
“There is no doubt in my mind that it’s real,” McCain said when he was asked.
McCain spoke of legislation he’s sponsored to create a cap-and-trade system, where companies that reduce emissions can sell credits to companies that do not. He said that reducing emissions can be a win for American companies that develop new green technology.
“Suppose that we are wrong about climate change and there’s no such thing and we adapt green technologies and we reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All we’ve done is given our kids a better world and a cleaner world,” he said. But if there really is a major problem and nothing is done, he said, polar ice caps will melt, Alaskan villages will be destroyed and sea levels will rise.
In contrast, we present Fred!!
When Thompson was asked how he would deal with the “global warming crisis,” he replied:
“First of all I would try my best to find out if that’s an apt description.”
“We need to have a little modesty about this issue. There are a lot of things we don’t know.”
He said that while it’s true that the earth is warming, it’s not clear if that’s just part of a normal cycle.
“A lot of people want to jump conclusions and say … we’ve got all the answers, we don’t want to have any more discussion about it. We want to find a big government solution that would hurt our economy.”
McPain--same old, same old. Part of the AlGore Senate Club, and even has "cap-and-trade" in his bag of tricks.
What crap.
The Reason to Read Charlie Sykes
In a very enjoyable review of the year, Sykes manufactures an Excellent New Word:
Former Mayor Paul Soglin endured the wrath of the quicheoisie,
After about 3 weeks of practice, I may be able to pronounce it...
Former Mayor Paul Soglin endured the wrath of the quicheoisie,
After about 3 weeks of practice, I may be able to pronounce it...
All of a Sudden, Wisconsin Could Attract Physicians
...from New York, no less.
...He’s Eric Dinallo, New York’s insurance commissioner, who isn’t very popular with the state’s doctors these days. Now, he’s less popular after threatening to impose a $50,000 fee on every doctor in the state as a solution to the state’s malpractice insurance crisis. Here’s the NY Sun story.
As you might imagine, physicians in the Empire State are none too happy. “We’re petrified of this thing,” said Robert Goldberg, the president of the Medical Society of the State of New York, told the Sun. “There’s no doubt that this is going to shutter practices.” Another doctor told the Sun: “This is a disaster. I feel like I’m watching Rome crumble.”
In comparison, Jim Doyle is just a minor pickpocket with his $100+ million theft from the Med Malpractice fund...
...He’s Eric Dinallo, New York’s insurance commissioner, who isn’t very popular with the state’s doctors these days. Now, he’s less popular after threatening to impose a $50,000 fee on every doctor in the state as a solution to the state’s malpractice insurance crisis. Here’s the NY Sun story.
As you might imagine, physicians in the Empire State are none too happy. “We’re petrified of this thing,” said Robert Goldberg, the president of the Medical Society of the State of New York, told the Sun. “There’s no doubt that this is going to shutter practices.” Another doctor told the Sun: “This is a disaster. I feel like I’m watching Rome crumble.”
In comparison, Jim Doyle is just a minor pickpocket with his $100+ million theft from the Med Malpractice fund...
Wilson's War: the Authoritative Review
Jack Wheeler, literally, was there. He was in DC; he was in Afghanistan; he was in Pakistan. He knows all the players--and this lengthy column on the movie "Charlie Wilson's War" is worth your time.
A couple of excerpts:
First, the truth: Tom Hanks has Charlie spot on. His mannerisms, voice, posture, facial expressions: Hanks is Charlie, and he might get his third Oscar for playing him...
...After all, I'm the one who explained to him how defeating the Soviets in Afghanistan could win the Cold War, not some socialite in Houston. It's that no one who had a critical role in helping the Afghans or winning the Cold War is in the movie except Charlie, whose sidekicks are a single CIA lone ranger and a blond chick in Texas – not Bill Casey, not Ronald Reagan, no one.
Here it becomes clear that the CIA of Bill Casey was filled with the same incompetent boobs who filled the CIA under Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II:
The movie is about providing weapons to Afghans fighting the Soviets, yet only one specific Afghan is named in the film, the legendary "Lion of Panjshir," Ahmad Shah Massoud.
Yet the CIA, in fact, provided little or no aid to Massoud for most of the war. The film never mentions who did get most of the CIA aid instead of Massoud: an America-hating Khomeini-loving Islamofascist named Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and his "Hezbi" mujahedeen.
...Whenever I came back from Afghanistan throughout the 1980s, along with various people in the Reagan White House, the Pentagon and Congress, I would always brief Charlie. My years of ranting at him about Gulbuddin finally got through to him in early 1987 – because it wasn't just me.
"Why do you and everyone else who's been inside [Afghanistan] tell me one thing, and the same thing, about the Hezbis, while the CIA tells me the opposite?" he mused.
"Because the CIA is lying to you, Charlie," I replied.
Even though they will read that line, our Lefty friends will STILL blame GWBush for everything that ever went wrong with the world since...oh...1998. It never occurs to them that the CIA is simply not as good as the CIA wants you to believe.
A while later,
...The president then called Bill Casey and said he just didn't care what the excuses were anymore. Any reason given by McMahon was to be disregarded. He signed an executive order to that effect on Feb. 18. Two weeks later, McMahon resigned. I was in Angola at UNITA's Jamba headquarters in April when the Stingers arrived. The Soviet-Cuban offensive was stopped, thanks to them.
Now the way was cleared for Stingers to the Afghans. The Paks (Pakistanis, particularly the ISI Inter-Service Intelligence boys who controlled all mujahedeen arms shipments and led the CIA around with a ring through its nose) got in the way and delayed things – so much so that in August I saw the mujahedeen on the ropes with my own eyes.
Read the whole thing. It's worthwhile.
A couple of excerpts:
First, the truth: Tom Hanks has Charlie spot on. His mannerisms, voice, posture, facial expressions: Hanks is Charlie, and he might get his third Oscar for playing him...
...After all, I'm the one who explained to him how defeating the Soviets in Afghanistan could win the Cold War, not some socialite in Houston. It's that no one who had a critical role in helping the Afghans or winning the Cold War is in the movie except Charlie, whose sidekicks are a single CIA lone ranger and a blond chick in Texas – not Bill Casey, not Ronald Reagan, no one.
Here it becomes clear that the CIA of Bill Casey was filled with the same incompetent boobs who filled the CIA under Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II:
The movie is about providing weapons to Afghans fighting the Soviets, yet only one specific Afghan is named in the film, the legendary "Lion of Panjshir," Ahmad Shah Massoud.
Yet the CIA, in fact, provided little or no aid to Massoud for most of the war. The film never mentions who did get most of the CIA aid instead of Massoud: an America-hating Khomeini-loving Islamofascist named Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and his "Hezbi" mujahedeen.
...Whenever I came back from Afghanistan throughout the 1980s, along with various people in the Reagan White House, the Pentagon and Congress, I would always brief Charlie. My years of ranting at him about Gulbuddin finally got through to him in early 1987 – because it wasn't just me.
"Why do you and everyone else who's been inside [Afghanistan] tell me one thing, and the same thing, about the Hezbis, while the CIA tells me the opposite?" he mused.
"Because the CIA is lying to you, Charlie," I replied.
Even though they will read that line, our Lefty friends will STILL blame GWBush for everything that ever went wrong with the world since...oh...1998. It never occurs to them that the CIA is simply not as good as the CIA wants you to believe.
A while later,
...The president then called Bill Casey and said he just didn't care what the excuses were anymore. Any reason given by McMahon was to be disregarded. He signed an executive order to that effect on Feb. 18. Two weeks later, McMahon resigned. I was in Angola at UNITA's Jamba headquarters in April when the Stingers arrived. The Soviet-Cuban offensive was stopped, thanks to them.
Now the way was cleared for Stingers to the Afghans. The Paks (Pakistanis, particularly the ISI Inter-Service Intelligence boys who controlled all mujahedeen arms shipments and led the CIA around with a ring through its nose) got in the way and delayed things – so much so that in August I saw the mujahedeen on the ropes with my own eyes.
Read the whole thing. It's worthwhile.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
No Conscience: The Left's REAL Bottom Line
Next time one of those weepy-eyed Lefties tells you about "empathy" and "killing people in Wars" and "Waterborading crimes" and all that crap, pull up this post from the "empathetic" and "conscientious" Left:
http://punditnation.blogspot.com/2007/12/mcilheran-how-dictates-of-conscience.html
...and go to the comments, wherein the Lefty weeper declares that doctors who actually HAVE a conscience should not get into "emergency" medicine.
According to the Left, killing babies IS "emergency" medicine.
Whallah!! as they say.
http://punditnation.blogspot.com/2007/12/mcilheran-how-dictates-of-conscience.html
...and go to the comments, wherein the Lefty weeper declares that doctors who actually HAVE a conscience should not get into "emergency" medicine.
According to the Left, killing babies IS "emergency" medicine.
Whallah!! as they say.
Bp. Listecki on AB377
Two of Wisconsin's Catholic Bishops have broken with the Wisconsin Catholic Conference on the issue of AB377. Earlier, we excerpted some remarks from Bp. Morlino's letter (the Bishop of Madison.)
Here are some excerpts from an interview of Bishop Listecki (LaCrosse) on the matter.
In an interview with The Catholic Times following the publication of Bishop Morlino’s letter, Bishop Listecki affirmed that the grounds that made neutrality possible were gone.
“What the neutrality position was meant to articulate has been turned around by some to see it as a confirmation for the legislation,” Bishop Listecki said.
In an earlier letter to legislators dated Oct. 24, 2007, Bishop Morlino attributed this shift in perception to “some in the mass media – in seeming collaboration with Planned Parenthood.”
“Perceptions in our world are often everything,” Bishop Listecki said in his interview. “Neither I nor any bishop in Wisconsin wants to be perceived as being for legislation that goes against the teachings of the Church.”
John Huebscher (who is retained by Bps. Morlino, Listecki, and Dolan) was also contacted.
Contacted by The Catholic Times, WCC executive director John Huebscher said the Catholic Conference is retaining its current stance of neutrality. “We respect the concerns raised in (Bishop Morlino’s) letter,” he said. “They certainly underscore the passion of the bishops in affirming human life. At the same time, the Catholic Conference has not changed its position on the bill.”
Heubscher added that there are no plans to revisit the matter as a conference.
Heubscher said the WCC’s neutrality is based on the unanimous opinion of the state’s diocesan attorneys that a current conscience exemption contained in Wisconsin Statue 253.09 would allow Catholic hospitals and individual physicians to “opt out” of the possibly abortion-inducing treatment the legislation would require.
Mr. Huebscher, apparently, has never been bitten by the Legislative dogs.
“I don’t think we can go forward on something that’s merely a legal opinion,” Bishop Listecki explained. “We don’t want to exist in a climate of maybes.”
According to Bishop Morlino, the fact that so many anti-life legislators refused to vote for an earlier version of the bill that included a conscience exemption amendment indicates that they consider the protection offered by Statute 253.09 to be inapplicable to the present situation. “If this were assured, there would be no reason why the Assembly would have rejected conscience clause exemption protection for the reasons they gave,” the bishop wrote.
Hmmmmm.
Here are some excerpts from an interview of Bishop Listecki (LaCrosse) on the matter.
In an interview with The Catholic Times following the publication of Bishop Morlino’s letter, Bishop Listecki affirmed that the grounds that made neutrality possible were gone.
“What the neutrality position was meant to articulate has been turned around by some to see it as a confirmation for the legislation,” Bishop Listecki said.
In an earlier letter to legislators dated Oct. 24, 2007, Bishop Morlino attributed this shift in perception to “some in the mass media – in seeming collaboration with Planned Parenthood.”
“Perceptions in our world are often everything,” Bishop Listecki said in his interview. “Neither I nor any bishop in Wisconsin wants to be perceived as being for legislation that goes against the teachings of the Church.”
John Huebscher (who is retained by Bps. Morlino, Listecki, and Dolan) was also contacted.
Contacted by The Catholic Times, WCC executive director John Huebscher said the Catholic Conference is retaining its current stance of neutrality. “We respect the concerns raised in (Bishop Morlino’s) letter,” he said. “They certainly underscore the passion of the bishops in affirming human life. At the same time, the Catholic Conference has not changed its position on the bill.”
Heubscher added that there are no plans to revisit the matter as a conference.
Heubscher said the WCC’s neutrality is based on the unanimous opinion of the state’s diocesan attorneys that a current conscience exemption contained in Wisconsin Statue 253.09 would allow Catholic hospitals and individual physicians to “opt out” of the possibly abortion-inducing treatment the legislation would require.
Mr. Huebscher, apparently, has never been bitten by the Legislative dogs.
“I don’t think we can go forward on something that’s merely a legal opinion,” Bishop Listecki explained. “We don’t want to exist in a climate of maybes.”
According to Bishop Morlino, the fact that so many anti-life legislators refused to vote for an earlier version of the bill that included a conscience exemption amendment indicates that they consider the protection offered by Statute 253.09 to be inapplicable to the present situation. “If this were assured, there would be no reason why the Assembly would have rejected conscience clause exemption protection for the reasons they gave,” the bishop wrote.
Hmmmmm.
Does Benedict XVI Read Chesterton?
I think so.
Here's an excerpt from B-16's Christmas sermon: (HT Fr. Z)
The Earth is restored to good order by virtue of the fact that it is opened up to God, it obtains its true light anew, and in the harmony between human will and divine will, in the unification of height and depth, it regains its beauty and dignity. Thus Christmas is a feast of restored creation. It is in this context that the Fathers interpret the song of the angels on that holy night: it is an expression of joy over the fact that the height and the depth, Heaven and Earth, are once more united; that man is again united to God.
Got that? Good.
Now recall the GKC verse I posted earlier--just the last stanza:
The Christ-child stood on Mary’s knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.
Certainly the very same imagery....
Here's an excerpt from B-16's Christmas sermon: (HT Fr. Z)
The Earth is restored to good order by virtue of the fact that it is opened up to God, it obtains its true light anew, and in the harmony between human will and divine will, in the unification of height and depth, it regains its beauty and dignity. Thus Christmas is a feast of restored creation. It is in this context that the Fathers interpret the song of the angels on that holy night: it is an expression of joy over the fact that the height and the depth, Heaven and Earth, are once more united; that man is again united to God.
Got that? Good.
Now recall the GKC verse I posted earlier--just the last stanza:
The Christ-child stood on Mary’s knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.
Certainly the very same imagery....
On Music--Benedict XVI
From Benedict XVI, via a powerful essay in NRO by Michael K. Beran:
For me, an unforgettable experience was the Bach concert that Leonard Bernstein conducted in Munich after the sudden death [in 1981] of Karl Richter. I was sitting next to the Lutheran Bishop Hanselmann. When the last note of one of the great Thomas-Kantor-Cantatas faded away, we looked at each spontaneously and right then we said, ‘Anyone who has heard this, knows that the faith is true.’ The music had such an extraordinary force of reality that we realized, no longer by deduction, but by the impact on our hearts, that it could not have originated from nothingness, but could only have come to be through the power of the Truth that became real in the composer’s inspiration.
The context:
The pope adheres to old Greek belief that words and sounds — and the rhythmic patterns in which they are bound together in music and poetry — have a unique power to awaken the mind. He has spoken frequently of the power of rhythm to prepare the soul to receive truths that would otherwise remain unintelligible. In 2002 he described the experience of listening to music as an “encounter with the beautiful,” one that becomes “the wound of the arrow that strikes the heart and in this way opens our eyes.”
Of course, the Pope speaks of music-which-is-art, not that which is 'filler' or merely noise.
It is this conception of the educational power of rhythm that underlies the pope’s defense of the Latin Mass and of the baroque and Gregorian traditions. It is a fair assumption that, in liberating these forms from liturgical purgatory, His Holiness hopes that their rhythmic virtues will serve as a bulwark against the bad rhythm (kakometros) that today permeates the West.
Critics of the Tridentine rite who contend that the Latin is a barrier to what the pope calls an “encounter with the Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist” overlook the fact that the words of the liturgy, beautiful and mysterious as they are, are but approximations of the Word (et Deus erat Verbum) that, according to the Gospels, was born in Bethlehem, died on the cross, and ascended into heaven — the logos which, St. Paul says in first Corinthians, we perceive now only as an αινιγμα, a dark saying, a riddle, an enigma. The music of the Mass does as much to illuminate this mystery as the words.
This next is, perhaps, the most intriguing commentary:
Nor is it only in the rhythms of its language that the poetic intensity of the Mass is made manifest. Its rhythms of motion have their own peculiar power. Eliot described the Mass as “one of the highest forms of dancing” he knew. It was this interplay of sound and movement that led him to say that “the consummation of the drama, the perfect and ideal drama, is to be found in the ceremony of the Mass.”
That "tanz" is what was recalled by Thomas Howard in his "Chance or the Dance?" It is the tanz of the Bach Magnificat's first movement. It is the tanz of the Kyrie of Hassler's Missa Secunda. Of the strong, quick-moving 2 of the In Gloria Dei Patris of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. Or of Bach's Ruht Wohl, the penultimate movement of the St. Matthew Passion. What-- you think that the underlying triplebeat is there for another reason?
Pope Benedict is attempting to restore a rhythmic balance that has been lost in art, in popular culture, and in the Church itself. “The writings of Plato and Aristotle on music,” he wrote in his book The Spirit of the Liturgy,
show that the Greek world in their time was faced with a choice between two kinds of worship, two different images of God and man. Now what this choice came down to concretely was a choice between two fundamental types of music. On the one hand, there is the music that Plato ascribes, in line with mythology, to Apollo, the god of light and reason. . . . But then there is the music that Plato ascribes to Marsyas, which we might describe, in terms of cultic history, as “Dionysian.” It drags man into the intoxication of the senses, crushes rationality, and subjects the spirit to the senses.
The golden triangle--Beauty, Truth, Goodness. The West is in the process of losing its bearings which emanated from that triangle. The loss of one assures the loss of the others, and the West has demonstrated that loss of Truth is well within its capacity.
Not for nothing that this Pope chose the name Benedict.
HT: Gerald.
For me, an unforgettable experience was the Bach concert that Leonard Bernstein conducted in Munich after the sudden death [in 1981] of Karl Richter. I was sitting next to the Lutheran Bishop Hanselmann. When the last note of one of the great Thomas-Kantor-Cantatas faded away, we looked at each spontaneously and right then we said, ‘Anyone who has heard this, knows that the faith is true.’ The music had such an extraordinary force of reality that we realized, no longer by deduction, but by the impact on our hearts, that it could not have originated from nothingness, but could only have come to be through the power of the Truth that became real in the composer’s inspiration.
The context:
The pope adheres to old Greek belief that words and sounds — and the rhythmic patterns in which they are bound together in music and poetry — have a unique power to awaken the mind. He has spoken frequently of the power of rhythm to prepare the soul to receive truths that would otherwise remain unintelligible. In 2002 he described the experience of listening to music as an “encounter with the beautiful,” one that becomes “the wound of the arrow that strikes the heart and in this way opens our eyes.”
Of course, the Pope speaks of music-which-is-art, not that which is 'filler' or merely noise.
It is this conception of the educational power of rhythm that underlies the pope’s defense of the Latin Mass and of the baroque and Gregorian traditions. It is a fair assumption that, in liberating these forms from liturgical purgatory, His Holiness hopes that their rhythmic virtues will serve as a bulwark against the bad rhythm (kakometros) that today permeates the West.
Critics of the Tridentine rite who contend that the Latin is a barrier to what the pope calls an “encounter with the Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist” overlook the fact that the words of the liturgy, beautiful and mysterious as they are, are but approximations of the Word (et Deus erat Verbum) that, according to the Gospels, was born in Bethlehem, died on the cross, and ascended into heaven — the logos which, St. Paul says in first Corinthians, we perceive now only as an αινιγμα, a dark saying, a riddle, an enigma. The music of the Mass does as much to illuminate this mystery as the words.
This next is, perhaps, the most intriguing commentary:
Nor is it only in the rhythms of its language that the poetic intensity of the Mass is made manifest. Its rhythms of motion have their own peculiar power. Eliot described the Mass as “one of the highest forms of dancing” he knew. It was this interplay of sound and movement that led him to say that “the consummation of the drama, the perfect and ideal drama, is to be found in the ceremony of the Mass.”
That "tanz" is what was recalled by Thomas Howard in his "Chance or the Dance?" It is the tanz of the Bach Magnificat's first movement. It is the tanz of the Kyrie of Hassler's Missa Secunda. Of the strong, quick-moving 2 of the In Gloria Dei Patris of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. Or of Bach's Ruht Wohl, the penultimate movement of the St. Matthew Passion. What-- you think that the underlying triplebeat is there for another reason?
Pope Benedict is attempting to restore a rhythmic balance that has been lost in art, in popular culture, and in the Church itself. “The writings of Plato and Aristotle on music,” he wrote in his book The Spirit of the Liturgy,
show that the Greek world in their time was faced with a choice between two kinds of worship, two different images of God and man. Now what this choice came down to concretely was a choice between two fundamental types of music. On the one hand, there is the music that Plato ascribes, in line with mythology, to Apollo, the god of light and reason. . . . But then there is the music that Plato ascribes to Marsyas, which we might describe, in terms of cultic history, as “Dionysian.” It drags man into the intoxication of the senses, crushes rationality, and subjects the spirit to the senses.
The golden triangle--Beauty, Truth, Goodness. The West is in the process of losing its bearings which emanated from that triangle. The loss of one assures the loss of the others, and the West has demonstrated that loss of Truth is well within its capacity.
Not for nothing that this Pope chose the name Benedict.
HT: Gerald.
Who Do YOU Love?
Chesterton is so damn much fun to read...
CHRIST did not love humanity, He never said He loved humanity; He loved men. Neither He nor anyone else can love humanity; it is like loving a gigantic centipede. And the reason that the Tolstoians can even endure to think of an equally distributed love is that their love of humanity is a logical love, a love into which they are coerced by their own theories, a love which would be an insult to a tom-cat.
--Twelve Types, G. K. Chesterton
CHRIST did not love humanity, He never said He loved humanity; He loved men. Neither He nor anyone else can love humanity; it is like loving a gigantic centipede. And the reason that the Tolstoians can even endure to think of an equally distributed love is that their love of humanity is a logical love, a love into which they are coerced by their own theories, a love which would be an insult to a tom-cat.
--Twelve Types, G. K. Chesterton
Robson's Choice: Lie and Kill 'Em
Before our own Nurse Rached, Judy Robson, was dumped by her fellow Party of Death pals, she managed to introduce (to great fanfare) a Senate bill which would mandate the death of babies--SB129 (its mate is AB377.)
In so doing, Nurse Rached demonstrated the First Art of the Lie very well. That First Art is called "Propaganda." So the bill is disguised as a humanitarian effort to help victims of rape by preventing a conception resulting from that rape. This is accomplished by requiring hospitals to administer "Plan B" to such victims.
There is a minor problem: "Plan B", in some cases, is an abortion pill. Or magic bullet, if you like. You know....deadly.
Note well, folks, that "rape victims" are the headline, and that Nurse Rached (and her pals at Planned Parenthood) never refer to "abortion" as an effect.
Sorta like using the term "Urban Renewal" to describe 'ethnic cleansing.'
Despite the ominous signs and signals, Wisconsin's Catholic Bishops sat on their hands, effectively "green-lighting" the legislation--partly due to a "conscience clause" which was inserted, allowing medical practitioners to "opt out" of administering the death-pill due to moral concerns.
But then Mark Gundrum went to Iraq and the Killer Lobby got greedy. They dropped the "conscience clause."
Two Catholic Bishops noticed that they had been double-crossed and went public.
Pat McIlheran started writing on the topic.
So it was time for the Art of the Lie's second phase to go operative: Lie by Omission. That fell to a couple of Wisconsin leggies who claimed:
"Emergency contraception is just that: contraception. It works like regular, daily birth control pills in preventing pregnancy. The vast majority of physicians, including the leading medical organizations in the country, do not believe that birth control pills cause an abortion. There is no medical evidence that emergency contraception ends a pregnancy."
Fortunately, P-Mac is pretty good with language and logic for a young whippersnapper...
This is where that line about not ending a pregnancy comes from. You hear that a lot about Plan B or other such drugs: It's usually stated as, "does not interfere with an established pregnancy."
That's what I said Plan B backers say, and it's what Musser and Wasserman are saying here.
When you keep hearing a phrase repeated, it may be a signal that words are hiding something, that someone's being a verbal weasel. Which these two lawmakers are doing in their essay. They're weaseling. They're able to say Plan B doesn't end a pregnancy since the American College of Gynecologists has maintained for years that pregnancy doesn't start when a child is conceived but rather later, when the conceived child -- by this point, no mere fertilized egg but a sphere of cells -- at last implants into the uterine wall.
Roughly akin to saying that the homeless are not people because they do not have a home.
What if you think, as do millions of people, that life begins at conception? Well, then it is an abortion, at least in the times that Plan B doesn't succeed in suppressing ovulation or impairing sperm motility. What if you're a doctor who thinks life begins at conception? Then, according to Musser and Wasserman, that's just a "religious view" that can be disregarded as the state tells you to pass out what you regard as the kill-pill.
And, of course, Musser/Wasserman are potentially afoul of the State Constitution's provision which preferences "religious views" on such things as killing people. But who cares?
P-Mac goes to the heart of it:
Musser and Wasserman are eager for the law to impose a view that life doesn't begin at conception -- and, so, Plan B can't cause an abortion -- on doctors who think otherwise.
"We shall do by our imperium that which defies common sense and the sensibility of the citizens..."
The Alternative Lie: that it is "hospitals" not "doctors" who must provide the Killer Pill.
Yup. They expect you to swallow that, too...
The mandate very much falls on individual doctors and nurses to conform their consciences to the preferences of Musser and Wasserman, even if the two can weasel out by saying the law only applies to hospitals. If they meant that, they'd include some kind of conscience clause; any such protection was stripped out of the bill.
The Lie, and The Liars.
In so doing, Nurse Rached demonstrated the First Art of the Lie very well. That First Art is called "Propaganda." So the bill is disguised as a humanitarian effort to help victims of rape by preventing a conception resulting from that rape. This is accomplished by requiring hospitals to administer "Plan B" to such victims.
There is a minor problem: "Plan B", in some cases, is an abortion pill. Or magic bullet, if you like. You know....deadly.
Note well, folks, that "rape victims" are the headline, and that Nurse Rached (and her pals at Planned Parenthood) never refer to "abortion" as an effect.
Sorta like using the term "Urban Renewal" to describe 'ethnic cleansing.'
Despite the ominous signs and signals, Wisconsin's Catholic Bishops sat on their hands, effectively "green-lighting" the legislation--partly due to a "conscience clause" which was inserted, allowing medical practitioners to "opt out" of administering the death-pill due to moral concerns.
But then Mark Gundrum went to Iraq and the Killer Lobby got greedy. They dropped the "conscience clause."
Two Catholic Bishops noticed that they had been double-crossed and went public.
Pat McIlheran started writing on the topic.
So it was time for the Art of the Lie's second phase to go operative: Lie by Omission. That fell to a couple of Wisconsin leggies who claimed:
"Emergency contraception is just that: contraception. It works like regular, daily birth control pills in preventing pregnancy. The vast majority of physicians, including the leading medical organizations in the country, do not believe that birth control pills cause an abortion. There is no medical evidence that emergency contraception ends a pregnancy."
Fortunately, P-Mac is pretty good with language and logic for a young whippersnapper...
This is where that line about not ending a pregnancy comes from. You hear that a lot about Plan B or other such drugs: It's usually stated as, "does not interfere with an established pregnancy."
That's what I said Plan B backers say, and it's what Musser and Wasserman are saying here.
When you keep hearing a phrase repeated, it may be a signal that words are hiding something, that someone's being a verbal weasel. Which these two lawmakers are doing in their essay. They're weaseling. They're able to say Plan B doesn't end a pregnancy since the American College of Gynecologists has maintained for years that pregnancy doesn't start when a child is conceived but rather later, when the conceived child -- by this point, no mere fertilized egg but a sphere of cells -- at last implants into the uterine wall.
Roughly akin to saying that the homeless are not people because they do not have a home.
What if you think, as do millions of people, that life begins at conception? Well, then it is an abortion, at least in the times that Plan B doesn't succeed in suppressing ovulation or impairing sperm motility. What if you're a doctor who thinks life begins at conception? Then, according to Musser and Wasserman, that's just a "religious view" that can be disregarded as the state tells you to pass out what you regard as the kill-pill.
And, of course, Musser/Wasserman are potentially afoul of the State Constitution's provision which preferences "religious views" on such things as killing people. But who cares?
P-Mac goes to the heart of it:
Musser and Wasserman are eager for the law to impose a view that life doesn't begin at conception -- and, so, Plan B can't cause an abortion -- on doctors who think otherwise.
"We shall do by our imperium that which defies common sense and the sensibility of the citizens..."
The Alternative Lie: that it is "hospitals" not "doctors" who must provide the Killer Pill.
Yup. They expect you to swallow that, too...
The mandate very much falls on individual doctors and nurses to conform their consciences to the preferences of Musser and Wasserman, even if the two can weasel out by saying the law only applies to hospitals. If they meant that, they'd include some kind of conscience clause; any such protection was stripped out of the bill.
The Lie, and The Liars.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
One More Christmas Poem
From G. K. Chesterton:
A Child of the Snows
There is heard a hymn when the panes are dim,
And never before or again,
When the nights are strong with a darkness long,
And the dark is alive with rain.
Never we know but in sleet and in snow,
The place where the great fires are,
That the midst of the earth is a raging mirth
And the heart of the earth a star.
And at night we win to the ancient inn
Where the child in the frost is furled,
We follow the feet where all souls meet
At the inn at the end of the world.
The gods lie dead where the leaves lie red,
For the flame of the sun is flown,
The gods lie cold where the leaves lie gold,
And a Child comes forth alone.
That "inn at the end of the world" is a recurring image in Chesterton's work--he used it in another context with the same meaning.
Undoubtedly the inspiration for Teilard de Chardin...../sarcasm
HT: RedState
A Child of the Snows
There is heard a hymn when the panes are dim,
And never before or again,
When the nights are strong with a darkness long,
And the dark is alive with rain.
Never we know but in sleet and in snow,
The place where the great fires are,
That the midst of the earth is a raging mirth
And the heart of the earth a star.
And at night we win to the ancient inn
Where the child in the frost is furled,
We follow the feet where all souls meet
At the inn at the end of the world.
The gods lie dead where the leaves lie red,
For the flame of the sun is flown,
The gods lie cold where the leaves lie gold,
And a Child comes forth alone.
That "inn at the end of the world" is a recurring image in Chesterton's work--he used it in another context with the same meaning.
Undoubtedly the inspiration for Teilard de Chardin...../sarcasm
HT: RedState
The AP: All the Credibility of Dan Rather, and Less
Over the last few years, the AP's reputation for 'quick and accurate' news has deteriorated--from their horrible "coverage" in Iraq right through the Presidential primary race.
Jed Babbin dissects their latest hit-job--done on Fred Thompson.
What AP tried to do to Fred Thompson is going to be repeated against any conservative candidate who exudes a whiff of conservatism in the primaries and whichever Republican gains the presidential nomination
Now, [an] AP crew [which mis-reported on a Rumsfeld/HRC contretemps] is contriving stories about Republican presidential candidates.
Case in point, this AP story about Fred Thompson. AP’s Libby Quaid wrote on December 21, “Thompson suffered a stinging setback Thursday, when conservative Rep. Tom Tancredo dropped out of the presidential running and endorsed another rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. ...The endorsement was a disappointment to Thompson, especially since his week had begun on a high note with the unexpected backing of another anti-immigration hero, Rep. Steve King.”
Says Babbin:
There is a small problem with the AP story: the facts. Tancredo did endorse Romney, but Thompson actually benefited from Tancredo’s withdrawal, possibly more than Romney did. Thompson’s campaign staff was stunned: not by Tancredo’s speech, but AP’s coverage.
As reported by The Politico, Bill Salier -- Tancredo’s Iowa state chairman -- is joining Thompson’s team: “He's a true-believing social conservative ...In short: He's the sort of worker bee a campaign likes to have on its side. If Salier puts his shoulder to the wheel for Fred, he could be a major asset.”
If Tancredo’s withdrawal caused his chief Iowa asset to shift allegiance to Thompson, how is Tancredo’s endorsement of Romney a “stinging setback” for Thompson? It isn’t. Which raises the same issue about AP that I raised in August 2006: which of its editors is responsible for the contrived stories?
This, my friends, is called "Editorializing in the News Story."
The really good news here is this: Fred Thompson is a target of the Left (AP). That tells you something about the dynamics of this race to which we alluded a few days ago.
The "Mo" is with Fred, who's playing 'mo' very, very well, indeed.
Jed Babbin dissects their latest hit-job--done on Fred Thompson.
What AP tried to do to Fred Thompson is going to be repeated against any conservative candidate who exudes a whiff of conservatism in the primaries and whichever Republican gains the presidential nomination
Now, [an] AP crew [which mis-reported on a Rumsfeld/HRC contretemps] is contriving stories about Republican presidential candidates.
Case in point, this AP story about Fred Thompson. AP’s Libby Quaid wrote on December 21, “Thompson suffered a stinging setback Thursday, when conservative Rep. Tom Tancredo dropped out of the presidential running and endorsed another rival, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. ...The endorsement was a disappointment to Thompson, especially since his week had begun on a high note with the unexpected backing of another anti-immigration hero, Rep. Steve King.”
Says Babbin:
There is a small problem with the AP story: the facts. Tancredo did endorse Romney, but Thompson actually benefited from Tancredo’s withdrawal, possibly more than Romney did. Thompson’s campaign staff was stunned: not by Tancredo’s speech, but AP’s coverage.
As reported by The Politico, Bill Salier -- Tancredo’s Iowa state chairman -- is joining Thompson’s team: “He's a true-believing social conservative ...In short: He's the sort of worker bee a campaign likes to have on its side. If Salier puts his shoulder to the wheel for Fred, he could be a major asset.”
If Tancredo’s withdrawal caused his chief Iowa asset to shift allegiance to Thompson, how is Tancredo’s endorsement of Romney a “stinging setback” for Thompson? It isn’t. Which raises the same issue about AP that I raised in August 2006: which of its editors is responsible for the contrived stories?
This, my friends, is called "Editorializing in the News Story."
The really good news here is this: Fred Thompson is a target of the Left (AP). That tells you something about the dynamics of this race to which we alluded a few days ago.
The "Mo" is with Fred, who's playing 'mo' very, very well, indeed.
Overpopulation?
P J O'Rourke nails it:
Fretting about overpopulation is a perfect guilt-free—indeed, sanctimonious—way for “progressives” to be racists.
Never forget that racism played a part in the banning of DDT.
HT: Little Green Footballs
Fretting about overpopulation is a perfect guilt-free—indeed, sanctimonious—way for “progressives” to be racists.
Never forget that racism played a part in the banning of DDT.
HT: Little Green Footballs
Monday, December 24, 2007
If You're Episcopalian...or Jesuit...
.....do NOT watch this video...
I pray that the Estimable Lawyer/Shark will remain on speaking terms with me.
And a couple of Jebbies I know may also remain friendly. But only a couple...
I pray that the Estimable Lawyer/Shark will remain on speaking terms with me.
And a couple of Jebbies I know may also remain friendly. But only a couple...
G K Chesterton's Christmas Poem
The Christ-child lay on Mary’s lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary’s breast,
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary’s heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world’s desire.)
The Christ-child stood on Mary’s knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.
The last verse is brilliant, gently and almost imperceptibly placing Christ at the center of Universe and Earth.
HT: Chesterton & Friends
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary’s breast,
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)
The Christ-child lay on Mary’s heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world’s desire.)
The Christ-child stood on Mary’s knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.
The last verse is brilliant, gently and almost imperceptibly placing Christ at the center of Universe and Earth.
HT: Chesterton & Friends
I Am Hillary: Fear My Roar
This one, even for a Clinton, is over the top.
When the world hears her commitment at her inauguration about ending American dependence on foreign fuel, Clinton says, oil-pumping countries will lower prices to stifle America's incentive to develop alternative energy.
"I predict to you, the oil-producing countries will drop the price of oil," Clinton said, speaking at the Manchester YWCA. "They will once again assume, once the cost pressure is off, Americans and our political process will recede." --HRC, in Manchester IA.
Sure. Old King Fahd will issue the orders, and the very next day!!! the price will be cut.
There's plenty to fear about an HRC Presidency. But the President's knowledge of Econ 101 ain't one of them.
When the world hears her commitment at her inauguration about ending American dependence on foreign fuel, Clinton says, oil-pumping countries will lower prices to stifle America's incentive to develop alternative energy.
"I predict to you, the oil-producing countries will drop the price of oil," Clinton said, speaking at the Manchester YWCA. "They will once again assume, once the cost pressure is off, Americans and our political process will recede." --HRC, in Manchester IA.
Sure. Old King Fahd will issue the orders, and the very next day!!! the price will be cut.
There's plenty to fear about an HRC Presidency. But the President's knowledge of Econ 101 ain't one of them.
Ironies in Green Bay Pre-Game Blather
So the Radio Sports Guys were chattering (indoors--it wasn't the cold) about the upcoming Bears game on 620. I tuned in around 9:15 AM, and one or the other of them made the following points within the next 25 minutes:
1) Mike McCarthy is always able to get the team "up" for each game they play.
2) The special teams are really, really, really good.
Talk about jinx-by-mouth!
1) Mike McCarthy is always able to get the team "up" for each game they play.
2) The special teams are really, really, really good.
Talk about jinx-by-mouth!
Charlie Wilson's War: More Lefty Propaganda
It's kinda cute, it is certainly instructive, and it's more Lefty propaganda.
Conservative officials who served in the Reagan administration are upset by the left-wing slant of the new movie about the covert action program that helped Afghan guerrillas defeat the Soviet army during the 1980s
The Reagan-era officials said the movie promotes the left-wing myth that the CIA-led operation funded Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda and ultimately produced the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Bin Laden, the officials said, never got CIA funding or weapons, and was not directly involved in Islamist extremist activities until years after the Afghan operation ended after the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989.
The movie also erred by showing Mr. Wilson and his CIA collaborator, Gust Avrakotos, as enthusiastic backers of supplying advanced U.S. Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to the Afghan rebels
And, by the way, it wasn't just "Good Time Charlie":
"Senior people in the Reagan administration, the president, [CIA Director] Bill Casey, [Defense Secretary Caspar] Weinberger and their aides deserve credit for the successful Afghan covert action program, not just Charlie Wilson," Mr. Ikle said in an interview
Surprise, surprise. Hollywood produces a factually-inaccurate movie.
Next thing you know, they'll be claiming that Joe McCarthy was wrong (and served on the HUAC, too.)
HT: John Lott
Conservative officials who served in the Reagan administration are upset by the left-wing slant of the new movie about the covert action program that helped Afghan guerrillas defeat the Soviet army during the 1980s
The Reagan-era officials said the movie promotes the left-wing myth that the CIA-led operation funded Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda and ultimately produced the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Bin Laden, the officials said, never got CIA funding or weapons, and was not directly involved in Islamist extremist activities until years after the Afghan operation ended after the withdrawal of Soviet troops in 1989.
The movie also erred by showing Mr. Wilson and his CIA collaborator, Gust Avrakotos, as enthusiastic backers of supplying advanced U.S. Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to the Afghan rebels
And, by the way, it wasn't just "Good Time Charlie":
"Senior people in the Reagan administration, the president, [CIA Director] Bill Casey, [Defense Secretary Caspar] Weinberger and their aides deserve credit for the successful Afghan covert action program, not just Charlie Wilson," Mr. Ikle said in an interview
Surprise, surprise. Hollywood produces a factually-inaccurate movie.
Next thing you know, they'll be claiming that Joe McCarthy was wrong (and served on the HUAC, too.)
HT: John Lott
The Blessing of Obama
Never thought about it this way, but the Captain's right.
It wouldn't convince me to vote for Barack Obama, but his rise in American politics has had at least one salutary effect. It has marginalized Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, two long-time race-baiters and both former Presidential candidates in their own right.
...Obama, with his post-civil-rights, post-Jim Crow upbringing doesn't bring the fire and brimstone to the political arena that they do. Jealousy plays a larger part than they'll admit, though, because Samuels reports that Obama has not sought them out in this campaign, no doubt angry himself after the remarks made by Jackson and Young during the campaign
About time that the 1960's were buried.
It wouldn't convince me to vote for Barack Obama, but his rise in American politics has had at least one salutary effect. It has marginalized Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, two long-time race-baiters and both former Presidential candidates in their own right.
...Obama, with his post-civil-rights, post-Jim Crow upbringing doesn't bring the fire and brimstone to the political arena that they do. Jealousy plays a larger part than they'll admit, though, because Samuels reports that Obama has not sought them out in this campaign, no doubt angry himself after the remarks made by Jackson and Young during the campaign
About time that the 1960's were buried.
RIP, Doc
He was all that the obit said he was--and more.
There was a lot to say about William C. Curtis as a doctor.
But it wasn't Curtis' medical accomplishments that his family and friends wanted to talk about Sunday as they remembered him.
It was his personal warmth, unbounded curiosity and generous spirit, and his joy in being a father and grandfather - and an Irishman.
One of the "good guys."
We'll miss him.
Requiescat in pace.
There was a lot to say about William C. Curtis as a doctor.
But it wasn't Curtis' medical accomplishments that his family and friends wanted to talk about Sunday as they remembered him.
It was his personal warmth, unbounded curiosity and generous spirit, and his joy in being a father and grandfather - and an Irishman.
One of the "good guys."
We'll miss him.
Requiescat in pace.
$100 Million in Cuts?
More on the "if-come" State budget slop. We'll see all kinds of magic tricks to make this happen.
State government agencies must return $100 million in unspent funds on June 30 - an edict that has them not filling hundreds of jobs, reorganizing and preparing for possible layoffs.
The $100 million is needed to guarantee that state government will close its books with a surplus. Without the transfers, the $66.9 million budget surplus projected for June 30 would be erased. The surplus would help build up the state's contingency fund for future emergencies.
Oh, yah, and there's that minor Constitutional mandate for a "balanced" budget. Note that the article does NOT mention the ongoing structural deficit of $2.4 billion (GAAP).
And then there's THIS little factoid:
The $100 million savings will only slow - and not reduce - the 6.6% projected overall growth in state spending, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
The horrific, blood-in-the-streets effects?
After Dec. 31, for example, La Crosse-area taxpayers will not be able to pick up tax forms, or get help filing their taxes, because the Revenue Department office in that city will close, Beil [the State employees' Union Boss] said.
Taxpayers also will miss the 18 other regional Revenue Department offices scheduled to close by the end of 2010, he said.
Somehow, I don't think a lack of Revenooers will be quite as awful as Marty does.
State government agencies must return $100 million in unspent funds on June 30 - an edict that has them not filling hundreds of jobs, reorganizing and preparing for possible layoffs.
The $100 million is needed to guarantee that state government will close its books with a surplus. Without the transfers, the $66.9 million budget surplus projected for June 30 would be erased. The surplus would help build up the state's contingency fund for future emergencies.
Oh, yah, and there's that minor Constitutional mandate for a "balanced" budget. Note that the article does NOT mention the ongoing structural deficit of $2.4 billion (GAAP).
And then there's THIS little factoid:
The $100 million savings will only slow - and not reduce - the 6.6% projected overall growth in state spending, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
The horrific, blood-in-the-streets effects?
After Dec. 31, for example, La Crosse-area taxpayers will not be able to pick up tax forms, or get help filing their taxes, because the Revenue Department office in that city will close, Beil [the State employees' Union Boss] said.
Taxpayers also will miss the 18 other regional Revenue Department offices scheduled to close by the end of 2010, he said.
Somehow, I don't think a lack of Revenooers will be quite as awful as Marty does.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
For Folkbum and Tim Rock
G K Chesterton spoke of you:
The great majority of people will go on observing forms that cannot be explained; they will keep Christmas Day with Christmas gifts and Christmas benedictions; they will continue to do it; and some day suddenly wake up and discover why.
See! He's a nice guy!
HT: What's Wrong With the World
The great majority of people will go on observing forms that cannot be explained; they will keep Christmas Day with Christmas gifts and Christmas benedictions; they will continue to do it; and some day suddenly wake up and discover why.
See! He's a nice guy!
HT: What's Wrong With the World
Choco-Fix?
Say it ain't so:
Just in time for Christmas, it turns out that Big Chocolate has been playing the Grinch. Canadian antitrust authorities have charged in a lawsuit that the Canadian branches of Hershey, Mars, and Nestlé have been conspiring to set prices for the last five years. The regulators have evidence of collusion in the form of affidavits from parties involved, as well as e-mail and printed documents.
So THAT'S what happened to the Christmas budget.
HT: Oligopoly Watch
Just in time for Christmas, it turns out that Big Chocolate has been playing the Grinch. Canadian antitrust authorities have charged in a lawsuit that the Canadian branches of Hershey, Mars, and Nestlé have been conspiring to set prices for the last five years. The regulators have evidence of collusion in the form of affidavits from parties involved, as well as e-mail and printed documents.
So THAT'S what happened to the Christmas budget.
HT: Oligopoly Watch
Pix That Changed America: Doyle's Dilemma
In the last 15 years, there have been three "watershed" events, recorded in pictures and videos, which have crept into the American consciousness and have changed forever the perceived relationship between The Government and The Governed.
First was the Clinton/Reno incineration-obliteration of the Branch Davidians at Waco in 1993:
Next was the Clinton/Reno INS-SWAT team siezure of Elian Gonzales in Miami:
And finally (link below), the brutalizing of a New Orleans woman whose 6-gun was siezed by the New Orleans Police Department after she told them she had the gun for self-protection following Katrina:
First was the Clinton/Reno incineration-obliteration of the Branch Davidians at Waco in 1993:
Next was the Clinton/Reno INS-SWAT team siezure of Elian Gonzales in Miami:
And finally (link below), the brutalizing of a New Orleans woman whose 6-gun was siezed by the New Orleans Police Department after she told them she had the gun for self-protection following Katrina:
All these events (plus the FBI's "mistaken" execution of a woman holding a baby at Ruby Ridge) have had an impact--reflected in a bill now before the Wisconsin State Senate.
The bill cakewalked through the Assembly, 84-13.
State lawmakers want to clip the power of the governor and local officials to seize people's guns during emergencies, saying that authority could trample the rights of citizens.
The governor, the adjutant general who runs the Wisconsin National Guard and local officials have long been able to exercise emergency powers during disasters or civil unrest. The bill would prohibit those officials from using their emergency powers to "restrict the lawful possession, transfer, sale, transport, storage, display or use of firearms or ammunition."
Reps Colon, Kessler, Richards, Sinicki, Travis, and Young were among those voting "No."
Although this should be a no-brainer for Doyle (even Russ Decker wants it passed through the Senate quickly,) Doyle's spokescritter issued the usual double-talk:
"We really need to understand the implications of curtailing the powers of emergency management during a time of crisis," Vigue said.
Uh-huh.
That's not what the bill says, of course:
Gunderson said his bill would not curb the normal powers of the police because they would be able to do the same things during emergencies that they can do during other times. Officers could set up roadblocks to stop traffic if needed, which would prevent everyone - including those transporting firearms - from getting into specific areas, he said.
You can believe what your eyes tell you (above.) Or you can believe Freddy Kessler & Co.
Just remember the Party affiliation common to New Orleans' Mayor, Bill Clinton, and Fred Kessler.
More important, remember the REAL purpose of the Second Amendment.
It ain't about hunting, folks.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Fred Goes All Sissy
This is sad.
A gusty winter storm set to hit Iowa this afternoon caused Fred Thompson’s lagging campaign to call it quits until after Christmas.
...After the Mason City event, instead of heading south toward Des Moines, Thompson’s bus turned north toward Minneapolis “to get away from the storm,” says Thompson spokesman Darrel Ng. They hope to hop a flight to Thompson’s HQ in Virginia later today. Mr. Thompson, who has languished in the polls, expects to resume his trek through Iowa Dec. 26. He plans to make up the missed events then.
Quick calls to the other candidates with appearances in Iowa today finds most of them undeterred by the expected 5 inches to 8 inches of snow with wind gusts of 40 miles per hour.
Look, Fred, I know you're a Southern boy and all. But up North, us Yanks know how to plow roads and drive through minor inconveniences like 5-8 inches.
Whassamatta you? Find a 4WD and drive on, bro.
A gusty winter storm set to hit Iowa this afternoon caused Fred Thompson’s lagging campaign to call it quits until after Christmas.
...After the Mason City event, instead of heading south toward Des Moines, Thompson’s bus turned north toward Minneapolis “to get away from the storm,” says Thompson spokesman Darrel Ng. They hope to hop a flight to Thompson’s HQ in Virginia later today. Mr. Thompson, who has languished in the polls, expects to resume his trek through Iowa Dec. 26. He plans to make up the missed events then.
Quick calls to the other candidates with appearances in Iowa today finds most of them undeterred by the expected 5 inches to 8 inches of snow with wind gusts of 40 miles per hour.
Look, Fred, I know you're a Southern boy and all. But up North, us Yanks know how to plow roads and drive through minor inconveniences like 5-8 inches.
Whassamatta you? Find a 4WD and drive on, bro.
Huckabee's Strange Pal
From Bonfire:
...we have another problematic report about Huckabee: he plans to preach this Sunday at Cornerstone Church, pastored by Rev. John Hagee. What's wrong with Hagee? Well, two things: one, he's virulently anti-Catholic, and moreover, he's gone over the deep end with his enthusiasm for the Old Testament and our Jewish brothers and sisters, to the point that he said, in a recent book, In Defense of Israel, some very odd things about our Lord--such as, "Jesus did not come to earth to be the Messiah." Well, as you might imagine, that didn't go down so well with Evangelicals, so Hagee has done some verbal dancing about a "failure to communicate"--which is pretty laughable under the circumstances
A Dispensationalist? That's sorta like Joe Farah of WND, although Farah never (to my knowledge) disputed the mission of Christ. Wacky.
But the Huckster has other problems with his faith, too.
Some years back, there were great battles in the Southern Baptist Convention between "conservatives" and "moderates"--or "liberals" as their opponents called them. Folks in the SBC were fighting to keep their huge denomination from following the path taken by the United Church of Christ, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and to a lesser degree, the Methodists. (The current agonies of the Anglican Communion are instructive.)
So where, according to Novak, did Huckabee stand? "Huckabee embraced the liberal church establishment to become president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention."
The Novak story matters more than it otherwise might, precisely because Huckabee clearly tilts liberal on a number of other issues: he hiked taxes substantially in Arkansas, he talks about more spending, he sounds dovish on Iran, and he's gone to war with the Club for Growth, which is probably the leading free-enterprise/small-government advocacy group.
More and more this guy smells and looks like a Centrist Democrat. Cute, but...why vote for him if he's labeled (R)?
...we have another problematic report about Huckabee: he plans to preach this Sunday at Cornerstone Church, pastored by Rev. John Hagee. What's wrong with Hagee? Well, two things: one, he's virulently anti-Catholic, and moreover, he's gone over the deep end with his enthusiasm for the Old Testament and our Jewish brothers and sisters, to the point that he said, in a recent book, In Defense of Israel, some very odd things about our Lord--such as, "Jesus did not come to earth to be the Messiah." Well, as you might imagine, that didn't go down so well with Evangelicals, so Hagee has done some verbal dancing about a "failure to communicate"--which is pretty laughable under the circumstances
A Dispensationalist? That's sorta like Joe Farah of WND, although Farah never (to my knowledge) disputed the mission of Christ. Wacky.
But the Huckster has other problems with his faith, too.
Some years back, there were great battles in the Southern Baptist Convention between "conservatives" and "moderates"--or "liberals" as their opponents called them. Folks in the SBC were fighting to keep their huge denomination from following the path taken by the United Church of Christ, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and to a lesser degree, the Methodists. (The current agonies of the Anglican Communion are instructive.)
So where, according to Novak, did Huckabee stand? "Huckabee embraced the liberal church establishment to become president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention."
The Novak story matters more than it otherwise might, precisely because Huckabee clearly tilts liberal on a number of other issues: he hiked taxes substantially in Arkansas, he talks about more spending, he sounds dovish on Iran, and he's gone to war with the Club for Growth, which is probably the leading free-enterprise/small-government advocacy group.
More and more this guy smells and looks like a Centrist Democrat. Cute, but...why vote for him if he's labeled (R)?
Local Weather: Too Local for Me
What's the deal with the local weather shows?
Turn to any of them, and what you get is local, indeed. Waaaayyyy local.
You'll be lucky to see an Upper Midwest shot, or even a State-wide shot.
Not that long ago, the local weather folks plotted out United States maps with "L" and "H" systems, upper-wind graphics, and stuff like that, by which you could see such arcana as temperatures and likely (or occurring) precipitation in the rest of the country--you know, OUR country: the USA.
Then you could actually plan intelligently for air travel--or discuss the weather conditions with friends or relatives who live outside the 4-county Milwaukee area.
Now, they tell you the temperature in Waukesha, as distinguished from the temperature in Brookfield, or Cudahy, or Whitefish Bay.
Huh?
I think it's a plot to dumb down Americans.
And it works!! Remember that beauty queen who could not place South Carolina on a US map (or whatever...)--it's because the Weather Guys no longer put full-size US maps in the forecasts.
Dear Weather Guys: we all have friends in other States. We all travel to other States.
WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN OTHER STATES!!! It's still our country!!
And don't tell me to tune in the Weather Channel, which now specializes in GoreBaloney and reruns of hurricanes from 1976--another facet of the Dumb-Down Plot.
Turn to any of them, and what you get is local, indeed. Waaaayyyy local.
You'll be lucky to see an Upper Midwest shot, or even a State-wide shot.
Not that long ago, the local weather folks plotted out United States maps with "L" and "H" systems, upper-wind graphics, and stuff like that, by which you could see such arcana as temperatures and likely (or occurring) precipitation in the rest of the country--you know, OUR country: the USA.
Then you could actually plan intelligently for air travel--or discuss the weather conditions with friends or relatives who live outside the 4-county Milwaukee area.
Now, they tell you the temperature in Waukesha, as distinguished from the temperature in Brookfield, or Cudahy, or Whitefish Bay.
Huh?
I think it's a plot to dumb down Americans.
And it works!! Remember that beauty queen who could not place South Carolina on a US map (or whatever...)--it's because the Weather Guys no longer put full-size US maps in the forecasts.
Dear Weather Guys: we all have friends in other States. We all travel to other States.
WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON IN OTHER STATES!!! It's still our country!!
And don't tell me to tune in the Weather Channel, which now specializes in GoreBaloney and reruns of hurricanes from 1976--another facet of the Dumb-Down Plot.
GWB Has a Chance to Be A Hero
Would be a good thing to do, Mr. President!
The White House threatened yesterday to cancel thousands of pet projects that Congress inserted into a massive spending bill before leaving town this week, a move that could provoke a fierce battle with lawmakers in both parties who jealously guard their ability to steer money to favored purposes.
At an end-of-the-year news conference, President Bush chastised Democratic leaders for failing to live up to their campaign promise to curb so-called earmarks and said he has ordered his budget director "to review options for dealing with the wasteful spending in the omnibus bill." Aides later said those options would include simply disregarding earmarks not included in binding legislative language.
You're several years late to the party, Mr. President, but it's nice to see you here.
The White House threatened yesterday to cancel thousands of pet projects that Congress inserted into a massive spending bill before leaving town this week, a move that could provoke a fierce battle with lawmakers in both parties who jealously guard their ability to steer money to favored purposes.
At an end-of-the-year news conference, President Bush chastised Democratic leaders for failing to live up to their campaign promise to curb so-called earmarks and said he has ordered his budget director "to review options for dealing with the wasteful spending in the omnibus bill." Aides later said those options would include simply disregarding earmarks not included in binding legislative language.
You're several years late to the party, Mr. President, but it's nice to see you here.
Lunacy of the Left
Now and then, it's good to recall how wacky the Left really is.
If an organization is getting most of its funding from public, governmental sources, then it ought to be beholden to the rules and mores codified in state and federal law. Otherwise all the arguments for "separation of church and state" being thrown around by opponents to the Plan B laws are rendered the hideously hypocritical bleats we've long suspected they were.
A hospital wishing to turn their noses up at the law should cease accepting public funding, period. Otherwise, there is simply no excuse for forcing a rape victim to jump through a series of hoops to get EC. It's about as uncharitable and uncaring as you can get.
That unhinged declamation from a "Plan B" proponent who wishes to force Catholic doctors and hospitals to provide abortion-on-demand (Plan B) to rape victims. She claims to be arguing merits against the erstwhile P-Mac. Yah, well...
Setting aside pragmatic considerations like...oh...taking Covenant's entire system out of the health-care business in Milwaukee (not to mention St. Mary's), which might produce a "health-care crisis" of truly apocalyptic proportions, let's examine the core of her "argument."
Precisely, the discussion IS about State (not Federal) law, Emily. But prior to 'legislation' is the State's Constitution. Under that document (which supercedes legislation, as you may recall from Civics 101) no mere State law can force anyone to perform an act against his/her religious principles.
Here's the language:
Under Article 1, Section 18 of the state constitution “any control of, or interference with, the rights of conscience” shall not be permitted.
AB377, as currently written, WILL "interfere with the rights of conscience" in some cases. Not all--but some.
Emily claims to ascribe to that Constitutional provision:
...just as I believe that no one should dictate what religion I should or should not follow, I also believe that no one should force someone to do something that goes against their beliefs
....which is good.
But don't confuse Constitutional protections with spite, Emily. That doesn't create good public policy. Merely fix AB377 so that it comports with the State Constitution.
And if you want to close all the Catholic hospitals and get rid of all the Catholic doctors and nurses, go ahead.
I dare you.
If an organization is getting most of its funding from public, governmental sources, then it ought to be beholden to the rules and mores codified in state and federal law. Otherwise all the arguments for "separation of church and state" being thrown around by opponents to the Plan B laws are rendered the hideously hypocritical bleats we've long suspected they were.
A hospital wishing to turn their noses up at the law should cease accepting public funding, period. Otherwise, there is simply no excuse for forcing a rape victim to jump through a series of hoops to get EC. It's about as uncharitable and uncaring as you can get.
That unhinged declamation from a "Plan B" proponent who wishes to force Catholic doctors and hospitals to provide abortion-on-demand (Plan B) to rape victims. She claims to be arguing merits against the erstwhile P-Mac. Yah, well...
Setting aside pragmatic considerations like...oh...taking Covenant's entire system out of the health-care business in Milwaukee (not to mention St. Mary's), which might produce a "health-care crisis" of truly apocalyptic proportions, let's examine the core of her "argument."
Precisely, the discussion IS about State (not Federal) law, Emily. But prior to 'legislation' is the State's Constitution. Under that document (which supercedes legislation, as you may recall from Civics 101) no mere State law can force anyone to perform an act against his/her religious principles.
Here's the language:
Under Article 1, Section 18 of the state constitution “any control of, or interference with, the rights of conscience” shall not be permitted.
AB377, as currently written, WILL "interfere with the rights of conscience" in some cases. Not all--but some.
Emily claims to ascribe to that Constitutional provision:
...just as I believe that no one should dictate what religion I should or should not follow, I also believe that no one should force someone to do something that goes against their beliefs
....which is good.
But don't confuse Constitutional protections with spite, Emily. That doesn't create good public policy. Merely fix AB377 so that it comports with the State Constitution.
And if you want to close all the Catholic hospitals and get rid of all the Catholic doctors and nurses, go ahead.
I dare you.
Terror and Drugs: Married
Not that this is a revelation or anything...
Well, for those who have argued there is no smoking gun linking the Taliban to opium production, the jig is now up. NATO forces discovered 11 tons of processed opium in a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan, meaning the opium was at the stage where it can be converted to heroin on about a one-to-one ratio. In other words, it was almost 11 tons of heroin.
This explains in large part, as I have written about over the past year, why the Taliban and the Arab/foreign fighters allied with them, have greatly increased their firepower and tactical and communications capabilities.
This is only the latest sign of the merging pipelines and blurring of the distinctions with terrorists and transnational criminal organizations. The great equalizer in this is the drug trade, which offers relatively easy access to huge amounts of money. Few seem able to resist it, from the thugs running Burma to the Central American gangs and criminal groups that control the Central America-Mexico pipeline
Umnnnhhh, yah.
The question: does one attempt to eliminate the markets (drug-users), the pipelines (via interceptions) or the sources (farmers)? All of them?
Once that decision is made, the next question: How?
HT: Counterterrorism Blog
Well, for those who have argued there is no smoking gun linking the Taliban to opium production, the jig is now up. NATO forces discovered 11 tons of processed opium in a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan, meaning the opium was at the stage where it can be converted to heroin on about a one-to-one ratio. In other words, it was almost 11 tons of heroin.
This explains in large part, as I have written about over the past year, why the Taliban and the Arab/foreign fighters allied with them, have greatly increased their firepower and tactical and communications capabilities.
This is only the latest sign of the merging pipelines and blurring of the distinctions with terrorists and transnational criminal organizations. The great equalizer in this is the drug trade, which offers relatively easy access to huge amounts of money. Few seem able to resist it, from the thugs running Burma to the Central American gangs and criminal groups that control the Central America-Mexico pipeline
Umnnnhhh, yah.
The question: does one attempt to eliminate the markets (drug-users), the pipelines (via interceptions) or the sources (farmers)? All of them?
Once that decision is made, the next question: How?
HT: Counterterrorism Blog
The Warning Flag is Flown by Kasriel
Paul Kasriel at Northern Trust (an economist who is decidedly NOT a political shill) is predicting a recession, giving a 65% probability.
His model has never, ever, shown a false positive--and it's a simple two-indicator model.
Timing is everything. Generally, this country votes its wallet...
His model has never, ever, shown a false positive--and it's a simple two-indicator model.
Timing is everything. Generally, this country votes its wallet...
Democrats Think You Are Stupid...
In a case of "projection," Queen Nancy and Dirtball Harry Reid think you'll swallow this one, too.
In a letter to President Bush on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid urged him "to make every effort to ensure" that the 23 million families who will benefit from AMT relief "receive their refund in a timely manner."
Yah, well, but...
It wasn't until Wednesday of this week -- the very last minute -- that Congress finally passed a temporary fix for the Alternative Minimum Tax, a levy that increasingly ensnares the middle class.
The New York Times reported on Dec. 5 that the delay in passing the AMT fix was already endangering a "smooth start" to the tax filing season. According to that Dec. 5 report, the main problem is reprogramming I.R.S. computers: "The agency's protocol calls for seven weeks to analyze changes in tax law, write the software code and test it, as well as notify all the tax professionals and others affected," the New York Times reported.
Never mind THAT, says the Queen:
"On October 30, 2007, the bipartisan leadership of the Congressional tax-writing committees wrote to Acting Internal Revenue Service [Director] Linda E. Stiff to notify her that Congress would soon act on our AMT legislation," Pelosi and Reid wrote to Bush on Thursday.
"This letter also provided specific details about this legislation so the IRS could prepare to process 2007 returns." The tax-writing committees urged the IRs "to take all steps necessary to plan for changes that would be made by this legislation," Pelosi and Reid said.
Sure. So the IRS should have committed 7 weeks' analysis/programming/testing payroll dollars to a "we'll actually do this sometime" promise from the Queen and Dirty Harry?
Sorta like how the Queen and Dirty Harry followed through on getting the US out of Iraq, hey.
In a letter to President Bush on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid urged him "to make every effort to ensure" that the 23 million families who will benefit from AMT relief "receive their refund in a timely manner."
Yah, well, but...
It wasn't until Wednesday of this week -- the very last minute -- that Congress finally passed a temporary fix for the Alternative Minimum Tax, a levy that increasingly ensnares the middle class.
The New York Times reported on Dec. 5 that the delay in passing the AMT fix was already endangering a "smooth start" to the tax filing season. According to that Dec. 5 report, the main problem is reprogramming I.R.S. computers: "The agency's protocol calls for seven weeks to analyze changes in tax law, write the software code and test it, as well as notify all the tax professionals and others affected," the New York Times reported.
Never mind THAT, says the Queen:
"On October 30, 2007, the bipartisan leadership of the Congressional tax-writing committees wrote to Acting Internal Revenue Service [Director] Linda E. Stiff to notify her that Congress would soon act on our AMT legislation," Pelosi and Reid wrote to Bush on Thursday.
"This letter also provided specific details about this legislation so the IRS could prepare to process 2007 returns." The tax-writing committees urged the IRs "to take all steps necessary to plan for changes that would be made by this legislation," Pelosi and Reid said.
Sure. So the IRS should have committed 7 weeks' analysis/programming/testing payroll dollars to a "we'll actually do this sometime" promise from the Queen and Dirty Harry?
Sorta like how the Queen and Dirty Harry followed through on getting the US out of Iraq, hey.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Wrapping Gifts, and Practical Men's Example
Heh.
This is the time of year when we think back to the very first Christmas, when the Three Wise Men; Gaspar, Balthazar and Herb, went to see the baby Jesus and, according to the Book of Matthew, "presented unto Him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh."
These are simple words, but if we analyze them carefully, we discover an important, yet often overlooked, theological fact: There is no mention of wrapping paper. If there had been wrapping paper, Matthew would have said so:
"And lo, the gifts were inside 600 square cubits of paper. And the paper was festooned with pictures of Frosty the Snowman. And Joseph was going to throweth it away, but Mary saideth unto him, she saideth, 'Holdeth it! That is nice paper! Saveth it for next year!' And Joseph did rolleth his eyeballs. And the baby Jesus was more interested in the paper than the frankincense."
But these words do not appear in the Bible, which means that the very first Christmas gifts were NOT wrapped. This is because the people giving those gifts had two important characteristics:
1. They were wise.
2. They were men.
--Dave Barry, quoted in The Ironic Catholic
There is, of course, a contrarian reading of the text.
COUNTERPOINT, by the Ironic Catholic:
It has been said that a critical reading of Matthew argues that the Magi, being "wise men," did not wrap the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh given to the Christ child; ergo, Christmas givers should not wrap their gifts as well.
A historical-critical interpretation of the text, as licensed by Dei Verbum, yields an important counterpoint: there was no wrapping paper in 1st century Palestine. The precious nature of papyrus did not lend itself to one-time use. Let's face it, people weren't pounding reeds on rocks, painfully extracting the fibers, and drying them into paper to wrap anything.
However, the practice of wrapping gifts is evidenced in other sections of the Bible. For example, in Genesis 43, the gifts of silver, honey, spices, and myrhh that Joseph's brothers brought to him in Egypt were wrapped in sacks. In Genesis 24:53, "Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah", the text clearly implies that the gifts came out of a container, perhaps, a gift box, by the verb "brought out."
Finally, we can agree that the greatest gift the world has known is Jesus Christ. And what did the Blessed Mother do? "She wrapped him in swaddling clothes...."
If Jesus was wrapped, so should we wrap our Christmas gifts, because...
1. The Blessed Mother was wise.
2. She was a woman.
I don't have to point out that The Ironic Catholic is a female, do I?
My exegesis, (NOT licensed by Dei Verbum, nor any responsible churchman)
We've ignored the very practical question by discussing "wrappings." It's how you SEAL the wrappings that counts.
Now when we examine the Saints highlighted in the Gospels, we find very practical people: Peter, a fisherman; John the Baptist (lived on locusts and honey); Luke, an MD; and Matthew, a tax-collector.
In contrast, the Gospel does not look with favor on the 'societal elites,'--Scribes, Pharisees, etc., who were fashionable folks.
Fashionable folks wrap--as do practical ones. It's the FASTENING that counts. Given what we know about practical people, we can reach only one conclusion:
Seal your wrapped gift with DUCT TAPE!!!
This is the time of year when we think back to the very first Christmas, when the Three Wise Men; Gaspar, Balthazar and Herb, went to see the baby Jesus and, according to the Book of Matthew, "presented unto Him gifts; gold, frankincense, and myrrh."
These are simple words, but if we analyze them carefully, we discover an important, yet often overlooked, theological fact: There is no mention of wrapping paper. If there had been wrapping paper, Matthew would have said so:
"And lo, the gifts were inside 600 square cubits of paper. And the paper was festooned with pictures of Frosty the Snowman. And Joseph was going to throweth it away, but Mary saideth unto him, she saideth, 'Holdeth it! That is nice paper! Saveth it for next year!' And Joseph did rolleth his eyeballs. And the baby Jesus was more interested in the paper than the frankincense."
But these words do not appear in the Bible, which means that the very first Christmas gifts were NOT wrapped. This is because the people giving those gifts had two important characteristics:
1. They were wise.
2. They were men.
--Dave Barry, quoted in The Ironic Catholic
There is, of course, a contrarian reading of the text.
COUNTERPOINT, by the Ironic Catholic:
It has been said that a critical reading of Matthew argues that the Magi, being "wise men," did not wrap the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh given to the Christ child; ergo, Christmas givers should not wrap their gifts as well.
A historical-critical interpretation of the text, as licensed by Dei Verbum, yields an important counterpoint: there was no wrapping paper in 1st century Palestine. The precious nature of papyrus did not lend itself to one-time use. Let's face it, people weren't pounding reeds on rocks, painfully extracting the fibers, and drying them into paper to wrap anything.
However, the practice of wrapping gifts is evidenced in other sections of the Bible. For example, in Genesis 43, the gifts of silver, honey, spices, and myrhh that Joseph's brothers brought to him in Egypt were wrapped in sacks. In Genesis 24:53, "Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah", the text clearly implies that the gifts came out of a container, perhaps, a gift box, by the verb "brought out."
Finally, we can agree that the greatest gift the world has known is Jesus Christ. And what did the Blessed Mother do? "She wrapped him in swaddling clothes...."
If Jesus was wrapped, so should we wrap our Christmas gifts, because...
1. The Blessed Mother was wise.
2. She was a woman.
I don't have to point out that The Ironic Catholic is a female, do I?
My exegesis, (NOT licensed by Dei Verbum, nor any responsible churchman)
We've ignored the very practical question by discussing "wrappings." It's how you SEAL the wrappings that counts.
Now when we examine the Saints highlighted in the Gospels, we find very practical people: Peter, a fisherman; John the Baptist (lived on locusts and honey); Luke, an MD; and Matthew, a tax-collector.
In contrast, the Gospel does not look with favor on the 'societal elites,'--Scribes, Pharisees, etc., who were fashionable folks.
Fashionable folks wrap--as do practical ones. It's the FASTENING that counts. Given what we know about practical people, we can reach only one conclusion:
Seal your wrapped gift with DUCT TAPE!!!
Not Light Reading
From Gerald's review of Leon Podles' new opus, "Sacrilege":
One of the best, and most shocking, books I've ever read is Leon Podles' "Sacrilege", on sex abuse in the Catholic Church. He doesn't have an axe to grind. He did yeoman's work, the equivalent of moving neck-deep in shit, in researching endless documents, reports, affidavits, articles and put together a book that shows the systematic, mostly homosexual, partly hetero- and partly pedophile, abuse within the Church. In addition, and this is more shocking, the systemic attitudes by monsignors, vicar generals, bishops and archbishops that enabled this culture. An attitude that set avoiding scandal first, protecting pervert priests second and protecting children last. This "don't make waves" approach permeated the entire hierarchy, with few exceptions...
The Boston Globe's expose is mentioned--unfairly, Marie Rohde's work at the Journal-Sentinel is not (at least in the review...)
...Vocations directors who first care about the flock, then about the shepherds, are the key. Bishops who first care about the flock, then about the shepherds, are the key. Unfortunately, for decades we had far too few of those. Priests, vicars and bishops who didn't care, brushed it off, swept it under the table. I feel worst for the victims, but I also feel bad for the countless good and holy priests who had to serve while these perverts were given free reign by chanceries and bishops. Many of the enablers are still in office. One hopes that the younger generation is better. A diocese stands or falls with the bishop.
Frankly, it's a book I don't want to read.
One of the best, and most shocking, books I've ever read is Leon Podles' "Sacrilege", on sex abuse in the Catholic Church. He doesn't have an axe to grind. He did yeoman's work, the equivalent of moving neck-deep in shit, in researching endless documents, reports, affidavits, articles and put together a book that shows the systematic, mostly homosexual, partly hetero- and partly pedophile, abuse within the Church. In addition, and this is more shocking, the systemic attitudes by monsignors, vicar generals, bishops and archbishops that enabled this culture. An attitude that set avoiding scandal first, protecting pervert priests second and protecting children last. This "don't make waves" approach permeated the entire hierarchy, with few exceptions...
The Boston Globe's expose is mentioned--unfairly, Marie Rohde's work at the Journal-Sentinel is not (at least in the review...)
...Vocations directors who first care about the flock, then about the shepherds, are the key. Bishops who first care about the flock, then about the shepherds, are the key. Unfortunately, for decades we had far too few of those. Priests, vicars and bishops who didn't care, brushed it off, swept it under the table. I feel worst for the victims, but I also feel bad for the countless good and holy priests who had to serve while these perverts were given free reign by chanceries and bishops. Many of the enablers are still in office. One hopes that the younger generation is better. A diocese stands or falls with the bishop.
Frankly, it's a book I don't want to read.
"O Holy Night"--vs. War
HT Kevin.
Back in France, even though the song had been banned from the church for almost two decades, many commoners still sang "Cantique de Noel" at home. Legend has it that on Christmas Eve 1871, in the midst of fierce fighting between the armies of Germany and France, during the Franco-Prussian War, a French soldier suddenly jumped out of his muddy trench. Both sides stared at the seemingly crazed man. Boldly standing with no weapon in his hand or at his side, he lifted his eyes to the heavens and sang, "Minuit, Chretiens, c'est l'heure solennelle ou L'Homme Dieu descendit jusqu'a nous," the beginning of "Cantique de Noel."
After completing all three verses, a German infantryman climbed out his hiding place and answered with, "Vom Himmel noch, da komm' ich her. Ich bring' euch gute neue Mar, Der guten Mar bring' ich so viel, Davon ich sing'n und sagen will," the beginning of Martin Luther's robust "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come."
The story goes that the fighting stopped for the next twenty-four hours while the men on both sides observed a temporary peace in honor of Christmas day.
I'm still waiting to hear of an Atheist-stimulated break in war-fighting (Tim Rock?? Jay??)
BTW, the composer's name is Adam, not Adams...
Back in France, even though the song had been banned from the church for almost two decades, many commoners still sang "Cantique de Noel" at home. Legend has it that on Christmas Eve 1871, in the midst of fierce fighting between the armies of Germany and France, during the Franco-Prussian War, a French soldier suddenly jumped out of his muddy trench. Both sides stared at the seemingly crazed man. Boldly standing with no weapon in his hand or at his side, he lifted his eyes to the heavens and sang, "Minuit, Chretiens, c'est l'heure solennelle ou L'Homme Dieu descendit jusqu'a nous," the beginning of "Cantique de Noel."
After completing all three verses, a German infantryman climbed out his hiding place and answered with, "Vom Himmel noch, da komm' ich her. Ich bring' euch gute neue Mar, Der guten Mar bring' ich so viel, Davon ich sing'n und sagen will," the beginning of Martin Luther's robust "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come."
The story goes that the fighting stopped for the next twenty-four hours while the men on both sides observed a temporary peace in honor of Christmas day.
I'm still waiting to hear of an Atheist-stimulated break in war-fighting (Tim Rock?? Jay??)
BTW, the composer's name is Adam, not Adams...
The Liars' Club Moved to Madistan
State Rep Pat Strachota shows us that the REAL Liar's Club is not in Burlington anymore.
Rep. Pat Strachota (R-West Bend) said today one measure of the state budget deficit -- GAAP, or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles -- puts it at $2.44 billion, and growing.
Strachota said the state comptroller's new year-end report on 2007 state government finances shows a GAAP deficit that grew by $290 million in a year, and grew by $1 billion over the last five years.
Strachota said GAAP measures future state obligations, including commitments of about $1 billion a year to local governments. But elected officials in the Capitol use a different bookkeeping method, which says state government will have a surplus of $66.9 million on June 30.
This year, state government will spend $13.8 billion, not including federal aid or the transportation budget.
GAAP closely resembles the way ordinary people figure out their financial position.
State Budget press releases, on the other hand, show how dopesmoking maggot-infested hippie good-time-Charlies can re-write reality to conform to Mary Jane dreams.
Rep. Pat Strachota (R-West Bend) said today one measure of the state budget deficit -- GAAP, or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles -- puts it at $2.44 billion, and growing.
Strachota said the state comptroller's new year-end report on 2007 state government finances shows a GAAP deficit that grew by $290 million in a year, and grew by $1 billion over the last five years.
Strachota said GAAP measures future state obligations, including commitments of about $1 billion a year to local governments. But elected officials in the Capitol use a different bookkeeping method, which says state government will have a surplus of $66.9 million on June 30.
This year, state government will spend $13.8 billion, not including federal aid or the transportation budget.
GAAP closely resembles the way ordinary people figure out their financial position.
State Budget press releases, on the other hand, show how dopesmoking maggot-infested hippie good-time-Charlies can re-write reality to conform to Mary Jane dreams.
A Blast of HRC from....Chris Matthews?!?!?
Yup. Even Tweety can't stand the Hildebeeste.
I always thought the problem with Hillary was, her notion of government was, "I am Evita, I am the one who gives gifts to the little people and then they come and bring me flowers and they worship at me because I am the great Evita."
"And I give things to people. I give them universal health care; I give them an energy program. I give gifts to the little people. The little people come to me and I give them gifts, like universal pre-K. I am the gift-giver to the little people. Oh, I am the grand, grand woman, the grand Evita. And I give gifts to the little people and they're going to come to me in multitudes and worship at me!"
Give me a break! That's not the transaction. It's our country, it's our government. Public officials get to serve us! They serve us, they are our servants. They are not Evitas; they are not goddesses....
Gee. You suppose metanoia happened?
HT: Moonbattery
I always thought the problem with Hillary was, her notion of government was, "I am Evita, I am the one who gives gifts to the little people and then they come and bring me flowers and they worship at me because I am the great Evita."
"And I give things to people. I give them universal health care; I give them an energy program. I give gifts to the little people. The little people come to me and I give them gifts, like universal pre-K. I am the gift-giver to the little people. Oh, I am the grand, grand woman, the grand Evita. And I give gifts to the little people and they're going to come to me in multitudes and worship at me!"
Give me a break! That's not the transaction. It's our country, it's our government. Public officials get to serve us! They serve us, they are our servants. They are not Evitas; they are not goddesses....
Gee. You suppose metanoia happened?
HT: Moonbattery
"Inculturated"? Hell, No!
The JS managed to avoid using the term "Mexico" in the article.
...But for a select few that break already has begun, as some students with families living in foreign countries sacrifice class time for the opportunity the extended break gives to see far-flung relations.
Educators in bilingual schools say the absences are particularly acute among their students, with some missing almost an entire month. State law allows students to miss up to 10 excused days
Seems that the little darlings fall behind in classwork when they take a month off.
Doh.
Oh, yeah--YOU get to pay for it:
Students missing class are given assignments to complete while they're gone. If they are still behind by the time they return, Smith said, their parents are encouraged to sign them up for the after-school program or they might be given extra time with a reading specialist
Nice.
...But for a select few that break already has begun, as some students with families living in foreign countries sacrifice class time for the opportunity the extended break gives to see far-flung relations.
Educators in bilingual schools say the absences are particularly acute among their students, with some missing almost an entire month. State law allows students to miss up to 10 excused days
Seems that the little darlings fall behind in classwork when they take a month off.
Doh.
Oh, yeah--YOU get to pay for it:
Students missing class are given assignments to complete while they're gone. If they are still behind by the time they return, Smith said, their parents are encouraged to sign them up for the after-school program or they might be given extra time with a reading specialist
Nice.
Walker: A "Conservative"?
Not only did Scott Walker sign onto a letter demanding that Warner Cable (and others) include the Big 10 Network on their basic-cable packages, which would force cable-rate increases and thus force consumers to pay AGAIN for State-tax-supported athletic programs...
Now we are reminded that Statist Scottie is also a Huckster lookalike:
The tougher ban piggybacks on a general county smoking ban enacted in 1994. Walker proposed the further restrictions in August, when he issued a non-enforceable executive order calling for them.
The article states that Milwaukee County is imposing a smoking ban in all its buildings, including Mitchell airport.
It's a mystery why the Left wants to elect a Statist in Milwaukee County. They already have a fine one.
Now we are reminded that Statist Scottie is also a Huckster lookalike:
The tougher ban piggybacks on a general county smoking ban enacted in 1994. Walker proposed the further restrictions in August, when he issued a non-enforceable executive order calling for them.
The article states that Milwaukee County is imposing a smoking ban in all its buildings, including Mitchell airport.
It's a mystery why the Left wants to elect a Statist in Milwaukee County. They already have a fine one.
PJB: Mike/Mitt?
Buchanan's take:
The front-runner since spring, Rudy Giuliani, is close to toast.
The same holds for Fred Thompson
If Mitt Romney wins New Hampshire, drop the curtain for Rudy, Thompson and McCain – and they know it.
So, two weeks out from Iowa, here are the odds.
Rudy and Thompson each 20-1. John McCain 6-1. He has to win New Hampshire, and even if he wins there, he would be an underdog. Grass-roots conservatives do not like him and would prefer Huckabee.
Mitt Romney 3-2. If he wins Iowa, he is almost unstoppable. If he loses Iowa, he has to come back and beat McCain in New Hampshire. Then it would a Mitt-Mike race through Feb. 5.
And Huckabee? He has to win Iowa. If he does, he will be the favorite in South Carolina and for the nomination, as well.
Tancredo bailed out and endorsed McPain; PJB's sister, Bay, was Tancredo's campaign manager. She saw the race the same way--Thompson's outta there.
Not all bad. I won't wind up sending a lot of money...
The front-runner since spring, Rudy Giuliani, is close to toast.
The same holds for Fred Thompson
If Mitt Romney wins New Hampshire, drop the curtain for Rudy, Thompson and McCain – and they know it.
So, two weeks out from Iowa, here are the odds.
Rudy and Thompson each 20-1. John McCain 6-1. He has to win New Hampshire, and even if he wins there, he would be an underdog. Grass-roots conservatives do not like him and would prefer Huckabee.
Mitt Romney 3-2. If he wins Iowa, he is almost unstoppable. If he loses Iowa, he has to come back and beat McCain in New Hampshire. Then it would a Mitt-Mike race through Feb. 5.
And Huckabee? He has to win Iowa. If he does, he will be the favorite in South Carolina and for the nomination, as well.
Tancredo bailed out and endorsed McPain; PJB's sister, Bay, was Tancredo's campaign manager. She saw the race the same way--Thompson's outta there.
Not all bad. I won't wind up sending a lot of money...
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Hymnody: The Easy 0/1 Tests
This is pretty good.
1. Good hymns focus on God; bad hymns focus on the self.
2. Good hymns use words and themes from Scripture or Tradition; bad hymns use words and themes from 1960s psychobabble
3. Good hymns treat transcendent concepts; bad hymns treat immanent concepts.
4. Good hymns employ sacred diction; bad hymns employ vulgar diction
There's plenty more at the link, here.
HT: Christus Vincit
1. Good hymns focus on God; bad hymns focus on the self.
2. Good hymns use words and themes from Scripture or Tradition; bad hymns use words and themes from 1960s psychobabble
3. Good hymns treat transcendent concepts; bad hymns treat immanent concepts.
4. Good hymns employ sacred diction; bad hymns employ vulgar diction
There's plenty more at the link, here.
HT: Christus Vincit
Win SP3 Available
Well, MS brought it out--but if you're not a bits/bytes type, use caution.
According to a company spokeswoman, Windows XP SP3 RC (release candidate) will be available only from the Microsoft Download Center. Unlike Vista SP1, which debuted last week, XP SP3 will not be soon added to Windows Update. In fact, the spokeswoman seemed to say SP3 wouldn't be offered to users via Microsoft's update service before the service pack is finished next year.
"XP SP3 2ill be added to WU [Windows Update] in 1H '08," she said in an e-mail late Tuesday.
The download weighed in at about 336MB, but when SP3 is offered through Windows Update, the installation file will be much smaller -- around 70MB.
Even though the release candidate can be installed by anyone running XP SP2, Microsoft warned off casual users from trying the preview. "As this is a release candidate, we strongly encourage only those who are comfortable installing pre-release code to download Windows XP SP3," said the spokeswoman.
Some benchmark users claim that SP3 is 10% faster than XP2.
Hmmmm.
According to a company spokeswoman, Windows XP SP3 RC (release candidate) will be available only from the Microsoft Download Center. Unlike Vista SP1, which debuted last week, XP SP3 will not be soon added to Windows Update. In fact, the spokeswoman seemed to say SP3 wouldn't be offered to users via Microsoft's update service before the service pack is finished next year.
"XP SP3 2ill be added to WU [Windows Update] in 1H '08," she said in an e-mail late Tuesday.
The download weighed in at about 336MB, but when SP3 is offered through Windows Update, the installation file will be much smaller -- around 70MB.
Even though the release candidate can be installed by anyone running XP SP2, Microsoft warned off casual users from trying the preview. "As this is a release candidate, we strongly encourage only those who are comfortable installing pre-release code to download Windows XP SP3," said the spokeswoman.
Some benchmark users claim that SP3 is 10% faster than XP2.
Hmmmm.
Scott Walker: WRONG on Big10 Network
Scott Walker, normally a common-sense kinda guy, blew this call.
In a letter sent to Time Warner Cable, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker said,
“Frequently, my office hears from frustrated constituents regarding their inability to receive
college sporting events on the Big Ten Network. Naturally, most would prefer that Time Warner
provide that service as a part of their basic cable package of channels.”
Dear Scott:
You can pay for the increased costs of TWC after the Big 10, a STATE-TAX-SUPPORTED venture, extorts even more money from the cable companies. Why in Hell should WE pay?
Same-o with the NFL extortion (except they're not supported by State taxes.)
Wrong call, Scott. Take a 10-yard penalty, re-play 1st down.
In a letter sent to Time Warner Cable, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker said,
“Frequently, my office hears from frustrated constituents regarding their inability to receive
college sporting events on the Big Ten Network. Naturally, most would prefer that Time Warner
provide that service as a part of their basic cable package of channels.”
Dear Scott:
You can pay for the increased costs of TWC after the Big 10, a STATE-TAX-SUPPORTED venture, extorts even more money from the cable companies. Why in Hell should WE pay?
Same-o with the NFL extortion (except they're not supported by State taxes.)
Wrong call, Scott. Take a 10-yard penalty, re-play 1st down.
Men/Women, Mars/Venus, etc.
HT McMahon...vive la difference...
Ask a woman in the street how to get somewhere and she will direct via shops. Ask a man and it will be via pubs
Women put things on the bottom stair to take up next time she has to go upstairs. Men just step over them until told to pick them up
Women pick up on subtleties and then think about them. Men need things explained IN CAPITAL LETTERS before the message gets through
At weddings, women cry then get drunk. Men get drunk, then cry
More at the link, here.
Ask a woman in the street how to get somewhere and she will direct via shops. Ask a man and it will be via pubs
Women put things on the bottom stair to take up next time she has to go upstairs. Men just step over them until told to pick them up
Women pick up on subtleties and then think about them. Men need things explained IN CAPITAL LETTERS before the message gets through
At weddings, women cry then get drunk. Men get drunk, then cry
More at the link, here.
The Lawsuits Begin on the Sub-Primes
Well, let's see how this plays out.
...Barclays is now the first big plaintiff against the major Wall Street brokerage houses.
The United Kingdom bank was burned this summer when they lent $400 million to the firm's funds, whose collapse wiped out $1.6 billion in capital.
Barclay's is essentially claiming fraud, that Bear misled it about the performance of the highly leveraged funds at the time they were collapsing, and Bear was out raising lines of credit and seeking loans to shore the funds up
There will be more--such as the various Governmental money-fund managers who discovered that the cupboard was bare when they attempted to monetize CDO holdings to pay obligations--
Couldn't happen to nicer guys /sarcasm
HT: The Big Picture
...Barclays is now the first big plaintiff against the major Wall Street brokerage houses.
The United Kingdom bank was burned this summer when they lent $400 million to the firm's funds, whose collapse wiped out $1.6 billion in capital.
Barclay's is essentially claiming fraud, that Bear misled it about the performance of the highly leveraged funds at the time they were collapsing, and Bear was out raising lines of credit and seeking loans to shore the funds up
There will be more--such as the various Governmental money-fund managers who discovered that the cupboard was bare when they attempted to monetize CDO holdings to pay obligations--
Couldn't happen to nicer guys /sarcasm
HT: The Big Picture
GWB: Another Stupid Move
It's obvious that the President simply wanted to top his "No Child Left Behind" crap with something--ANYTHING--so he signed legislation which will force more starving Mexicans to illegally cross the border.
Not to mention enriching Phillips.
I can't wait for Fred Thompson's term to begin.
HT: Random10
Not to mention enriching Phillips.
I can't wait for Fred Thompson's term to begin.
HT: Random10
Bp Morlino: 'We Were Double-Crossed'
P-Mac highlighted a letter from Bp. Morlino, the Catholic Bishop of Madison, which objects to AB377 (as currently proposed.)
We expected that the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (a lobbying/policy creature of the Wisconsin Catholic Bishops) would be unhappy with AB377's provisions which seem to create an opportunity for abortion, despite the ostensible purpose of the bill--which is to help rape victims avoid conception through administering "Plan B" to rape victims.
However, the WCC remained "neutral" on the bill. Based on the science, some Catholic doctors and ethicists objected to the bill in toto; and I thought that the WCC should have done the same thing. WCC did NOT object--and as it turns out, they were also double-crossed by the Legislature.
Now Bishop Morlino calls a spade a spade.
The hoped-for effect of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference’s earlier stance of neutrality on this bill was to protect women who are the victims of rape, while also protecting the possible pre-born human being, by affirming the necessary conscience exemption for institutions and individuals with regard to the appropriate testing, so as to avoid abortifacient emergency
contraception. It is my judgment as Bishop of Madison that the earlier position of neutrality did not have its hoped for effect, and so it is now moot, and this neutrality position has now expired. Our conference’s neutrality stance has also unintentionally provoked scandal among Catholics who have been persuaded by statements in the media that we are becoming less fervent in our defense of the dignity of pre-born human life
...
It is clear that the Assembly, in rejecting explicit conscience exemption language in this AB 377, is opening the door to the coercion of consciences by the state. As the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, we had been advised that there would be statutory protection of conscience exemption from another statute. If this were assured, there would be no reason why the Assembly would have rejected conscience exemption protection for the reasons they gave. Therefore, I am firmly convinced that our conscience exemption protection is threatened by the approach in the legislation presently being considered. 3) It is clear that Planned Parenthood,
NARAL, and their colleagues are more interested in promoting a state-supported, contraceptive ideology than they are in simply, reasonably, protecting women.
In other words, the WCC was double-crossed by the Legislature. As a professional cynic, my only response is "Doh!"
Now here is a most curious comment from the Bishop's letter:
I might add that Bishop Jerome Listecki of LaCrosse finds himself completely in accord with the sentiments that I have expressed
Which leaves the question: where was the Ordinary of Milwaukee? Marquette?
The Bill has serious constitutional issues as written; it is blatantly pro-abortion; and those who re-wrote it to eliminate the "conscience" clause are scumbags, at best.
We expected that the Wisconsin Catholic Conference (a lobbying/policy creature of the Wisconsin Catholic Bishops) would be unhappy with AB377's provisions which seem to create an opportunity for abortion, despite the ostensible purpose of the bill--which is to help rape victims avoid conception through administering "Plan B" to rape victims.
However, the WCC remained "neutral" on the bill. Based on the science, some Catholic doctors and ethicists objected to the bill in toto; and I thought that the WCC should have done the same thing. WCC did NOT object--and as it turns out, they were also double-crossed by the Legislature.
Now Bishop Morlino calls a spade a spade.
The hoped-for effect of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference’s earlier stance of neutrality on this bill was to protect women who are the victims of rape, while also protecting the possible pre-born human being, by affirming the necessary conscience exemption for institutions and individuals with regard to the appropriate testing, so as to avoid abortifacient emergency
contraception. It is my judgment as Bishop of Madison that the earlier position of neutrality did not have its hoped for effect, and so it is now moot, and this neutrality position has now expired. Our conference’s neutrality stance has also unintentionally provoked scandal among Catholics who have been persuaded by statements in the media that we are becoming less fervent in our defense of the dignity of pre-born human life
...
It is clear that the Assembly, in rejecting explicit conscience exemption language in this AB 377, is opening the door to the coercion of consciences by the state. As the Wisconsin Catholic Conference, we had been advised that there would be statutory protection of conscience exemption from another statute. If this were assured, there would be no reason why the Assembly would have rejected conscience exemption protection for the reasons they gave. Therefore, I am firmly convinced that our conscience exemption protection is threatened by the approach in the legislation presently being considered. 3) It is clear that Planned Parenthood,
NARAL, and their colleagues are more interested in promoting a state-supported, contraceptive ideology than they are in simply, reasonably, protecting women.
In other words, the WCC was double-crossed by the Legislature. As a professional cynic, my only response is "Doh!"
Now here is a most curious comment from the Bishop's letter:
I might add that Bishop Jerome Listecki of LaCrosse finds himself completely in accord with the sentiments that I have expressed
Which leaves the question: where was the Ordinary of Milwaukee? Marquette?
The Bill has serious constitutional issues as written; it is blatantly pro-abortion; and those who re-wrote it to eliminate the "conscience" clause are scumbags, at best.
Study Blows Away Gun Mythology
For years and years and years and years, the Brady Bunch ("We'll take your guns"), the social-worker bleeding hearts, and the MSM have attempted to establish a myth as Holy Writ.
The myth? That merely having a handgun in the house would result in gun violence in that house.
Now, after the Intellectualoids "studied" the reality, we learn what anybody with the common sense God gave rabbits knew in the first damn place:
The vast majority of homicides in Milwaukee this year were committed by people who have been arrested before and one-quarter of them were on probation or parole at the time of the killngs, police officials said today.
The commission found that 90% of suspects in this year’s homicides had arrest records, she said. Some 77% of homicide victims also had been arrested and one in six was on probation when they were killed.
To re-state the obvious: it ain't the gun, it's the critter pulling the trigger.
Doh.
Your Mom was right: bad companions are not good for you. Not only that, they can be fatal.
HT: Owen
The myth? That merely having a handgun in the house would result in gun violence in that house.
Now, after the Intellectualoids "studied" the reality, we learn what anybody with the common sense God gave rabbits knew in the first damn place:
The vast majority of homicides in Milwaukee this year were committed by people who have been arrested before and one-quarter of them were on probation or parole at the time of the killngs, police officials said today.
The commission found that 90% of suspects in this year’s homicides had arrest records, she said. Some 77% of homicide victims also had been arrested and one in six was on probation when they were killed.
To re-state the obvious: it ain't the gun, it's the critter pulling the trigger.
Doh.
Your Mom was right: bad companions are not good for you. Not only that, they can be fatal.
HT: Owen
Obey, Kind Want Your Blood (and Money)
Evidently Reps. Obey and Kind think they are bulletproof for re-election.
The House voted 352-64 to prevent middle- and upper-middle-income taxpayers from being hit by the tax, which was designed in 1969 to target only the very rich. In the Wisconsin delegation, Democratic Reps. Ron Kind and Dave Obey voted against the bill...
Both would be happy to take more of your earnings.
The House voted 352-64 to prevent middle- and upper-middle-income taxpayers from being hit by the tax, which was designed in 1969 to target only the very rich. In the Wisconsin delegation, Democratic Reps. Ron Kind and Dave Obey voted against the bill...
Both would be happy to take more of your earnings.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
A Response to Aussie Wacko
While professors from Down Under may understand kangaroos better than we do, it's clear that they don't know a lot about ecology--nor self-preservation.
Fortunately, the World Congress of Families pays attention to such things.
...a recent Michigan State University study actually showed that married households contribute less to global warming than single person households. The former (with or without children) are more environmentally efficient and use significantly less energy and resources than single households according to Jianguo Liu, an ecologist whose analysis appears in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0707267104v1).”
Worse, the prof is proposing social suicide for Australia, according to Alan Carlson of the Worlkd Congress:
“Australia’s birthrate is currently 1.75 – less than half of what it was in 1960 and well below the number of births-per-woman needed just to replace current population (2.11),” Carlson noted.
“Who does Walters think will pay his pension, if not children from large families when they become workers?”
Carlson continued: “Any human contribution to global warming is a function of poor stewardship of the earth, not total population size.”
Fortunately, the World Congress of Families pays attention to such things.
...a recent Michigan State University study actually showed that married households contribute less to global warming than single person households. The former (with or without children) are more environmentally efficient and use significantly less energy and resources than single households according to Jianguo Liu, an ecologist whose analysis appears in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0707267104v1).”
Worse, the prof is proposing social suicide for Australia, according to Alan Carlson of the Worlkd Congress:
“Australia’s birthrate is currently 1.75 – less than half of what it was in 1960 and well below the number of births-per-woman needed just to replace current population (2.11),” Carlson noted.
“Who does Walters think will pay his pension, if not children from large families when they become workers?”
Carlson continued: “Any human contribution to global warming is a function of poor stewardship of the earth, not total population size.”
A Bishop Speaks on AB377
As we've mentioned, AB377 is bad news. Not only is it a de-facto abortion license, given the properties of "Plan B"--it's also likely un-constitutional.
FINALLY, a Wisconsin Catholic Bishop speaks out to call a spade a spade.
Congrats to Bp. Morlino!
HT: P-Mac
FINALLY, a Wisconsin Catholic Bishop speaks out to call a spade a spade.
Congrats to Bp. Morlino!
HT: P-Mac
Old Farts' Economic Gauge? Down
Copper has been called 'the metal with a Ph.D in Econ.'
It's also the Old Farts' economic measuring stick.
Ugh.
It's down 90 points from late September (~370 to ~280).
Now there's a bit of history here, too. Until 2005, copper traded around 125 (average over several years, spot prices.) It spiked beginning 2005--getting to ~350 and holding there through 2006 and most of this year.
Now the trend is down. Could be seasonal (last year it dropped fast year-end, then popped back up.) Could be long-run--but the trend-line doesn't drop too hard.
Hmmmm.
It's also the Old Farts' economic measuring stick.
Ugh.
It's down 90 points from late September (~370 to ~280).
Now there's a bit of history here, too. Until 2005, copper traded around 125 (average over several years, spot prices.) It spiked beginning 2005--getting to ~350 and holding there through 2006 and most of this year.
Now the trend is down. Could be seasonal (last year it dropped fast year-end, then popped back up.) Could be long-run--but the trend-line doesn't drop too hard.
Hmmmm.
Which Came First--Christmas or some Pagan Feast?
Well, folks, it was Christmas.
Here a quotation from Mark Shea, (HT: the Jester)
Time was when I, like most people, took it for granted the winter solstice and, in particular, the Roman Feast of the Birth of the Unconquered Sun were simply pagan celebrations that hung around into Christian times. In fact, when I set out to write this book I still thought this. But I discovered the reality is far more complicated and interesting.
Indeed, it turns out this widely assumed "fact" that "everybody knows" is probably another sample of pseudo-knowledge. For according to William Tighe, a church history specialist at Pennsylvania's Muhlenberg College, "the pagan festival of the 'Birth of the Unconquered Sun' instituted by the Roman Emperor Aurelian on 25 December 274, was almost certainly an attempt to create a pagan alternative to a date that was already of some significance to Roman Christians. Thus the 'pagan origins of Christmas' is a myth without historical substance.
"For the fact is, our records of a tradition associating Jesus' birth with December 25 are decades older than any records concerning a pagan feast on that day. [T]he definitive "Handbook of Biblical Chronology" by professor Jack Finegan (Hendrickson, 1998 revised edition) cites an important reference in the "Chronicle" written by Hippolytus of Rome three decades before Aurelian launched his festival. Hippolytus said Jesus' birth "took place eight days before the kalends of January," that is, Dec. 25.
Tighe said there's evidence that as early as the second and third centuries, Christians sought to fix the birth date to help determine the time of Jesus' death and resurrection for the liturgical calendar—long before Christmas also became a festival.
What we learn from this is that the Emperor has always been concerned about the King...
And that certain twits are perfectly willing to swallow the Emperor's version. After all, the King isn't around to comment, is He?
Here a quotation from Mark Shea, (HT: the Jester)
Time was when I, like most people, took it for granted the winter solstice and, in particular, the Roman Feast of the Birth of the Unconquered Sun were simply pagan celebrations that hung around into Christian times. In fact, when I set out to write this book I still thought this. But I discovered the reality is far more complicated and interesting.
Indeed, it turns out this widely assumed "fact" that "everybody knows" is probably another sample of pseudo-knowledge. For according to William Tighe, a church history specialist at Pennsylvania's Muhlenberg College, "the pagan festival of the 'Birth of the Unconquered Sun' instituted by the Roman Emperor Aurelian on 25 December 274, was almost certainly an attempt to create a pagan alternative to a date that was already of some significance to Roman Christians. Thus the 'pagan origins of Christmas' is a myth without historical substance.
"For the fact is, our records of a tradition associating Jesus' birth with December 25 are decades older than any records concerning a pagan feast on that day. [T]he definitive "Handbook of Biblical Chronology" by professor Jack Finegan (Hendrickson, 1998 revised edition) cites an important reference in the "Chronicle" written by Hippolytus of Rome three decades before Aurelian launched his festival. Hippolytus said Jesus' birth "took place eight days before the kalends of January," that is, Dec. 25.
Tighe said there's evidence that as early as the second and third centuries, Christians sought to fix the birth date to help determine the time of Jesus' death and resurrection for the liturgical calendar—long before Christmas also became a festival.
What we learn from this is that the Emperor has always been concerned about the King...
And that certain twits are perfectly willing to swallow the Emperor's version. After all, the King isn't around to comment, is He?
Has the National Review Gone Bonkers?
Probably.
From a lively Conservative blogger who is justifiably skeptical of NR's delusions quoting an NR piece:
We may not be able to persuade our robot that atoms exist, but we can call in quantum physicists to do the job, and their explanation will be clear and rational. Has anyone in the history of the world explained clearly and rationally how a virgin birth works?...Let’s keep things simple and stick with god, lower-case. I invite any reader to e-mail me what he would say to convince the robot that there exists a god of any sort. Aspirants should consult the efforts of, among others, Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Kant before improving on them. (“Improving”: There is a depressing philosophical consensus that those guys failed. You can disagree — but the robot will make you say why.)
Our blogger remarks:
In addition to being rationally untenable, and arriving at the convenient time of NR's endorsement of Romney, such sentiments reflect the growing alienation of much of establishment conservatism from its own heritage; the National Review of a generation ago would not have published such vacuous and sophomoric thoughts.
But it gets better. Not only are all religions more or less equally irrational - except for those that may be still less rational, as those inclined to read Steort's piece on Romney's Mormonism will discover - but Steorts would apparently have us believe that Christianity is no more warranted by reason than religious beliefs...
Actually, one wonders what Buckley actually would have published, once he decided that he was smarter than the Roman Catholic Church (of which he was a member) with his infamous "Mater, si, Magistra no" editorial.
One adds that their endorsement of Romney is curious. Romney is the epitome of the "back-and-forthright" candidate, right-flavored.
Is pusillanimity the marque of an NR hero?
From a lively Conservative blogger who is justifiably skeptical of NR's delusions quoting an NR piece:
We may not be able to persuade our robot that atoms exist, but we can call in quantum physicists to do the job, and their explanation will be clear and rational. Has anyone in the history of the world explained clearly and rationally how a virgin birth works?...Let’s keep things simple and stick with god, lower-case. I invite any reader to e-mail me what he would say to convince the robot that there exists a god of any sort. Aspirants should consult the efforts of, among others, Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, and Kant before improving on them. (“Improving”: There is a depressing philosophical consensus that those guys failed. You can disagree — but the robot will make you say why.)
Our blogger remarks:
In addition to being rationally untenable, and arriving at the convenient time of NR's endorsement of Romney, such sentiments reflect the growing alienation of much of establishment conservatism from its own heritage; the National Review of a generation ago would not have published such vacuous and sophomoric thoughts.
But it gets better. Not only are all religions more or less equally irrational - except for those that may be still less rational, as those inclined to read Steort's piece on Romney's Mormonism will discover - but Steorts would apparently have us believe that Christianity is no more warranted by reason than religious beliefs...
Actually, one wonders what Buckley actually would have published, once he decided that he was smarter than the Roman Catholic Church (of which he was a member) with his infamous "Mater, si, Magistra no" editorial.
One adds that their endorsement of Romney is curious. Romney is the epitome of the "back-and-forthright" candidate, right-flavored.
Is pusillanimity the marque of an NR hero?
A Little Background on Jim Rowen, Blogger
...on Jim Rowen, who (for some reason) actually has credibility around Milwaukee.
...A history of the UW System documents in great detail the violent advocacy of the Daily Cardinal radical writers.
At great length, it also discusses a campus radical group, SDS, identifying Rowen as a member.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a Communist-influenced (if not worse) organization which was just this side of the "violent" line.
Not a bunch of dope-smoking hippies sitting around a bong in their kitchen, intoning "...peace, mon..." repeatedly. These were genuine nasties.
The book notes that the Madison protests in the year leading up to the Sterling Hall bombing were distinguished by their "violent and disruptive character, and the justification, if not active participation by many students and by the increasingly radical Daily Cardinal." Around that time, Rowen published what the history calls his "series of polemical articles" attacking the AMRC and the military industrial complex (Profit Motive 101). The research was published in a pamphlet distributed at SDS rallies, according to the book.
Interesting, no?
The next protest was against GE, supported by the Cardinal and organized by SDS. The protesters smashed windows and sprayed graffiti, some of it with the name of Armstrong's supposed gang. Cardinal columnist Rowen, notes the history, "exulted" over this, writing: "Combining understanding and action, students hit their precisely defined oppressors harder and longer than ever before in this city - and that is revolutionary."
Rowen went on to work for Soglin, a radical Lefty, and for "Adam's Apple" Norquist.
HT: Jessica
...A history of the UW System documents in great detail the violent advocacy of the Daily Cardinal radical writers.
At great length, it also discusses a campus radical group, SDS, identifying Rowen as a member.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a Communist-influenced (if not worse) organization which was just this side of the "violent" line.
Not a bunch of dope-smoking hippies sitting around a bong in their kitchen, intoning "...peace, mon..." repeatedly. These were genuine nasties.
The book notes that the Madison protests in the year leading up to the Sterling Hall bombing were distinguished by their "violent and disruptive character, and the justification, if not active participation by many students and by the increasingly radical Daily Cardinal." Around that time, Rowen published what the history calls his "series of polemical articles" attacking the AMRC and the military industrial complex (Profit Motive 101). The research was published in a pamphlet distributed at SDS rallies, according to the book.
Interesting, no?
The next protest was against GE, supported by the Cardinal and organized by SDS. The protesters smashed windows and sprayed graffiti, some of it with the name of Armstrong's supposed gang. Cardinal columnist Rowen, notes the history, "exulted" over this, writing: "Combining understanding and action, students hit their precisely defined oppressors harder and longer than ever before in this city - and that is revolutionary."
Rowen went on to work for Soglin, a radical Lefty, and for "Adam's Apple" Norquist.
HT: Jessica
Why the EU Bureauweenies Do NOT Want a Second Amendment
The real reason for the 2A is addressed, indirectly, by the video here.
Background:
Having failed to establish a European Super-State through democratic processes, bureauweenies are now ramming it through by force, with the assistance of complicit state-run media and sneaky quislings like Gordon Brown. The few people who know enough to protest are hushed and ignored.
HT: Moonbattery
Background:
Having failed to establish a European Super-State through democratic processes, bureauweenies are now ramming it through by force, with the assistance of complicit state-run media and sneaky quislings like Gordon Brown. The few people who know enough to protest are hushed and ignored.
HT: Moonbattery
Pause for a Moment of Sympathy to Anti War Voters
Now that the Democrat-controlled Congress has passed the spending bill, and will pass spending bills to finance the Iraq war, and will pass the AMT "patch" without raising taxes, let us pause and be sympathetic to our anti-war bloggers. They lost.
OK, enough of a pause.
So why am I being so thoughtful? (After all, a good gloat would seem more appropriate.)
From the Captain:
The Democrats will have to hope that their pork will serve as a consolation prize to the anti-war activists that they have now abandoned twice in this session of Congress.
Because those anti-war folks now know EXACTLY how Conservatives feel. We, too, got "pork" instead of rational spending limits from the "Republicans" in Congress.
IOW, both the Congressional Dems and the Congressional Pubbies think that we can be purchased--bought off--for a fistful of dollars.
Says a lot about Congressional principles, eh?
Here's what Real Conservatives have to say about RINO McConnell & Co.:
It's hard to understand why Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was so shortsighted. In exchange for giving up his coveted earmarks, McConnell could have held the growth of government to 2% next year. Instead, it will increase between 4% to 5% under the omnibus. Even House Minority Leader Roy Blunt admitted today during a lunch with conservative bloggers that a continuing resolution would have been catastrophic for the Democrats in comparison to the omnibus.
During the same briefing with bloggers, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) seemed downright frustrated by his leadership's willingness to sign off on a bad bill. Short of keeping senators and staffs in the Capitol through Christmas, Coburn admitted there was little that could be done to stop the legislation.
For as frustrating as it is to watch McConnell roll over, what's even more disappointing is that President Bush is willing to sign a bill (assuming troop funding for Iraq is added) that violates so many of the principles he's been fighting for all year...
We know all about unprincipled political whores, folks. While we cannot agree with your positions, we understand your frustration.
So you have Baldwin and Feingold. We have Sensenbrenner and Ryan.
Even match.
OK, enough of a pause.
So why am I being so thoughtful? (After all, a good gloat would seem more appropriate.)
From the Captain:
The Democrats will have to hope that their pork will serve as a consolation prize to the anti-war activists that they have now abandoned twice in this session of Congress.
Because those anti-war folks now know EXACTLY how Conservatives feel. We, too, got "pork" instead of rational spending limits from the "Republicans" in Congress.
IOW, both the Congressional Dems and the Congressional Pubbies think that we can be purchased--bought off--for a fistful of dollars.
Says a lot about Congressional principles, eh?
Here's what Real Conservatives have to say about RINO McConnell & Co.:
It's hard to understand why Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was so shortsighted. In exchange for giving up his coveted earmarks, McConnell could have held the growth of government to 2% next year. Instead, it will increase between 4% to 5% under the omnibus. Even House Minority Leader Roy Blunt admitted today during a lunch with conservative bloggers that a continuing resolution would have been catastrophic for the Democrats in comparison to the omnibus.
During the same briefing with bloggers, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) seemed downright frustrated by his leadership's willingness to sign off on a bad bill. Short of keeping senators and staffs in the Capitol through Christmas, Coburn admitted there was little that could be done to stop the legislation.
For as frustrating as it is to watch McConnell roll over, what's even more disappointing is that President Bush is willing to sign a bill (assuming troop funding for Iraq is added) that violates so many of the principles he's been fighting for all year...
We know all about unprincipled political whores, folks. While we cannot agree with your positions, we understand your frustration.
So you have Baldwin and Feingold. We have Sensenbrenner and Ryan.
Even match.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Vatican to Israel: Straighten Out Your Act!
The Vatican, under B-16, is noticeably more 'edgy.'
The Vatican urged Israel Monday to send out the "positive signals" Pope Benedict XVI needs to pave the way for an historic visit to the Holy Land.
Israel and the Vatican have been in negotiations since 2004, following a 10-year hiatus, over a bilateral accord on the legal and financial status of the Roman Catholic Church in Israel
...Centered on the economic element of a heads of agreement signed between the two states in 1993, the negotiations are principally concerned with the legal and tax status of Church property and commercial activities of Christian communities in Israel.
In a related complaint, the Custos of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has bemoaned the difficulties for priests and monks who come from Arab countries in obtaining visas to travel to Israel.
He also described "the great suffering" of Israel's 170,000-strong Christian community, given political, economic and social problems in the region
It's not exactly news that Israel has found lots of twitzy rules, objections, and minor roadblocks for Catholics in the Holy Land--Palestinian Christians, for example, have very few (if any) job opportunities because it's almost impossible for them to cross into Israel to work.
But Israel's continuing foot-dragging is an embarassment.
The Vatican urged Israel Monday to send out the "positive signals" Pope Benedict XVI needs to pave the way for an historic visit to the Holy Land.
Israel and the Vatican have been in negotiations since 2004, following a 10-year hiatus, over a bilateral accord on the legal and financial status of the Roman Catholic Church in Israel
...Centered on the economic element of a heads of agreement signed between the two states in 1993, the negotiations are principally concerned with the legal and tax status of Church property and commercial activities of Christian communities in Israel.
In a related complaint, the Custos of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has bemoaned the difficulties for priests and monks who come from Arab countries in obtaining visas to travel to Israel.
He also described "the great suffering" of Israel's 170,000-strong Christian community, given political, economic and social problems in the region
It's not exactly news that Israel has found lots of twitzy rules, objections, and minor roadblocks for Catholics in the Holy Land--Palestinian Christians, for example, have very few (if any) job opportunities because it's almost impossible for them to cross into Israel to work.
But Israel's continuing foot-dragging is an embarassment.
The AMT: Still Looming
23 million Americans will get hit by the AMT--unless Queen Nancy gets off her ass.
Dear Madam Speaker:
As the year draws to a close, I respectfully call upon you to bring much-needed alternative minimum tax (AMT) relief to the American people by allowing the Senate passed AMT patch to proceed to the House floor.
In previous years, Congress has protected taxpayers from the ever-expanding reach of the AMT. This year, Congress has the opportunity to do the same, but so far has not taken meaningful action to protect taxpayers. Treasury Secretary Paulson has said that the inaction will now delay the issuance of approximately $75 billion in taxpayer refunds. If Congress does not act soon, 23 million Americans will become ensnarled in the AMT and face an unjust tax increase of nearly $2,000 each.
....
Regards,
Eric Cantor
United States Congressman
One suspects that Nancy is too busy sending flowers to pay attention to business.
Dear Madam Speaker:
As the year draws to a close, I respectfully call upon you to bring much-needed alternative minimum tax (AMT) relief to the American people by allowing the Senate passed AMT patch to proceed to the House floor.
In previous years, Congress has protected taxpayers from the ever-expanding reach of the AMT. This year, Congress has the opportunity to do the same, but so far has not taken meaningful action to protect taxpayers. Treasury Secretary Paulson has said that the inaction will now delay the issuance of approximately $75 billion in taxpayer refunds. If Congress does not act soon, 23 million Americans will become ensnarled in the AMT and face an unjust tax increase of nearly $2,000 each.
....
Regards,
Eric Cantor
United States Congressman
One suspects that Nancy is too busy sending flowers to pay attention to business.
Ending Wisconsin's Internet Tax: Zipperer
A freshman Leggie has introduced a bill to eliminate the Wisconsin tax on Internet access.
On Tuesday, the Assembly committee on Energy and Utilities held a public hearing on Assembly Bill 223, the Wisconsin Internet Tax Freedom Act authored by Representative Rich Zipperer (R-Pewaukee).
"Presidents Clinton and Bush, Nancy Pelosi, Dave Obey, Jim Sensenbrenner and Russ Feingold all agree-taxing internet access right now is bad public policy. In fact, not a single member of Congress voted against the recent extension of the tax moratorium. Yet, Wisconsin is one of only a handful of states that continue collecting the tax, costing Wisconsin families and businesses millions every year."
According to the original fiscal estimate prepared by the Department ofRevenue on April 17, 2007, (updated), taxpayers will save $74 million over two years if Zipperer's legislation is successful. --source, Zipperer press release.
Wonder how the Dems will play this one....
On Tuesday, the Assembly committee on Energy and Utilities held a public hearing on Assembly Bill 223, the Wisconsin Internet Tax Freedom Act authored by Representative Rich Zipperer (R-Pewaukee).
"Presidents Clinton and Bush, Nancy Pelosi, Dave Obey, Jim Sensenbrenner and Russ Feingold all agree-taxing internet access right now is bad public policy. In fact, not a single member of Congress voted against the recent extension of the tax moratorium. Yet, Wisconsin is one of only a handful of states that continue collecting the tax, costing Wisconsin families and businesses millions every year."
According to the original fiscal estimate prepared by the Department ofRevenue on April 17, 2007, (updated), taxpayers will save $74 million over two years if Zipperer's legislation is successful. --source, Zipperer press release.
Wonder how the Dems will play this one....
Fred Thompson Continues to Roll
Fred plans on spending a few weeks in Iowa, and picks up Steve King's endorsement.
Dipwad Dave-led Dems Delete Border Fence in Spending
Chairman/Comrade Dave Obey (D-Anarchy) "fixed" GWB with his new budget, alright.
Congress last night passed a giant new spending bill that undermines current plans for a U.S.-Mexico border fence, allowing the Homeland Security Department to build a single-tier barrier rather than the two-tier version that has worked in California.
...The 2006 Secure Fence Act specifically called for "two layers of reinforced fencing" and listed five specific sections of border where it should be installed. The new spending bill removes the two-tier requirement and the list of locations
Nice move, Dave. You just handed the Big Stick to the Republicans for the next elections.
HT: The Captain
Congress last night passed a giant new spending bill that undermines current plans for a U.S.-Mexico border fence, allowing the Homeland Security Department to build a single-tier barrier rather than the two-tier version that has worked in California.
...The 2006 Secure Fence Act specifically called for "two layers of reinforced fencing" and listed five specific sections of border where it should be installed. The new spending bill removes the two-tier requirement and the list of locations
Nice move, Dave. You just handed the Big Stick to the Republicans for the next elections.
HT: The Captain
Monday, December 17, 2007
$50 Million--for WHAT?
The muck and mire of big-time litigators.
Dickie Scruggs, big-time Democrat, brother-in-law of Trent Lott, and the litigation lawyer who made ~$1 billion on the tobacco deal, had an employee.
The Times also picks up on Scruggs's liberal dispensing of resources to sway Mississippi political influence-holders during the tobacco caper:
In his deposition with Mr. Merkel in 2004, he discussed some $10 million in payments he made to P. L. Blake, a onetime college football star in Mississippi. After running into financial troubles, Mr. Blake became a political consultant for Mr. Scruggs, helping his boss navigate the back rooms of state politics and tobacco litigation.
In the deposition, where he was represented by Mr. Balducci, Mr. Scruggs praised Mr. Blake for keeping “his ear to the ground politically in this state and in the South generally, and he has been extremely helpful in keeping me apprised of that type activity.” Mr. Blake could not be reached for comment.
When Mr. Merkel further pressed Mr. Scruggs about Mr. Blake’s services, Mr. Scruggs elaborated: “He has numerous connections -- in terms -- when I say connections, I don’t mean that in a sinister way, I mean he just has a lot -- he knows an awful lot of people in the political realm.
And he -- depending on the stage of tobacco litigation proceedings was keeping his ear to the ground, prying, checking. I mean, I never asked who or what or all that.”
It wasn't $10 million. It was $50 million.
Well, for only $5 million, I'd pretend to be a coat-rack, too.
Dickie Scruggs, big-time Democrat, brother-in-law of Trent Lott, and the litigation lawyer who made ~$1 billion on the tobacco deal, had an employee.
The Times also picks up on Scruggs's liberal dispensing of resources to sway Mississippi political influence-holders during the tobacco caper:
In his deposition with Mr. Merkel in 2004, he discussed some $10 million in payments he made to P. L. Blake, a onetime college football star in Mississippi. After running into financial troubles, Mr. Blake became a political consultant for Mr. Scruggs, helping his boss navigate the back rooms of state politics and tobacco litigation.
In the deposition, where he was represented by Mr. Balducci, Mr. Scruggs praised Mr. Blake for keeping “his ear to the ground politically in this state and in the South generally, and he has been extremely helpful in keeping me apprised of that type activity.” Mr. Blake could not be reached for comment.
When Mr. Merkel further pressed Mr. Scruggs about Mr. Blake’s services, Mr. Scruggs elaborated: “He has numerous connections -- in terms -- when I say connections, I don’t mean that in a sinister way, I mean he just has a lot -- he knows an awful lot of people in the political realm.
And he -- depending on the stage of tobacco litigation proceedings was keeping his ear to the ground, prying, checking. I mean, I never asked who or what or all that.”
It wasn't $10 million. It was $50 million.
Well, for only $5 million, I'd pretend to be a coat-rack, too.
PVS and the Vatican: Sustain Life!
A controversy has erupted over the question of nutrition and hydration of PVS patients--and a couple of canonists/ethicists (O'Rourke and Hardt) are on very thin ice, indeed, according to Ed Peters, JCD.
Background:
(2004): Pope John Paul II tells an international medical-moral congress that ". . . the administration of water and food, even when provided by artificial means, always represents a natural means of preserving life, not a medical act. Its use, furthermore, should be considered, in principle, ordinary and proportionate, and as such morally obligatory. . . ." The qualifications included in the pope's remarks and his citations to various Church documents show that his statement is basically an application of well-established Catholic moral principles to more specific types of medical situations.
"Moral principles" is highlighted for a reason, as we shall see.
(2005): The US bishops send two follow-up questions to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The bishops ask: (1) Is the administration of food and water (whether by natural or artificial means) to a patient in a "vegetative state" morally obligatory except when they cannot be assimilated by the patient's body or cannot be administered to the patient without causing significant physical discomfort? and (2) When nutrition and hydration are being supplied by artificial means to a patient in a "permanent vegetative state", may they be discontinued when competent physicians judge with moral certainty that the patient will never recover consciousness?
The answers: to the first question, "Yes," and to the second question, "No."
Now come O'Rourke and Hardt, attempting to circumvent the Vatican decision--but on Canon Law grounds.
Claiming to be putting this CDF Response "in perspective", Hardt & O'Rourke assert that it "limits the free exercise of rights [and thus] will only apply to a restricted number of cases, specifically to patients with a firm diagnosis of PVS" and add that the Response only applies in the United States. They further assert that had CDF wanted to make its response more widely applicable, it would have used "another form of communication, for example, an Apostolic Instruction." Hardt & O'Rourke claim their conclusions are based on Pope Boniface VIII's Regulae Iuris (Rules of Law), which they say are applicable in "interpreting and applying the documents of the Holy See", and on Canons 18 and 52 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law
Peters, effectively stating "sed contra":
Canons 18 and 52 and the Rules of Law upon which they draw are, by their plain terms, meant to inform one's interpretation of laws and legal directives. In issuing its Response on nutrition and hydration, however, CDF was not issuing a law, or an authentic interpretation of a law (1983 CIC 16), or indeed any other kind of juridic decree (administrative or otherwise). Instead the dicastery is setting forth moral criteria for personal decision-making, a point reinforced by the CDF Response being posted among the dicastery's doctrinal statements, not its disciplinary ones. In other words, by subjecting CDF's enunciation of moral principles to interpretive techniques that were developed for assessing legal norms, Hardt & O'Rouke are basically criticizing the CDF Response for not being something it never claimed to be...
Peters, in sum:
The moral principles set out in the CDF Response are meant to be applied regardless of the fact pattern that lead to an individual's plight and regardless of where his or her suffering is taking place.
Or, put a more familiar way: "Thou shalt not kill."
It is not unusual for lawyers to attempt circumvention of the moral law with juridical arguments dealing with form or process. But the ACLU-patented approach in this case misplaced, at best.
Background:
(2004): Pope John Paul II tells an international medical-moral congress that ". . . the administration of water and food, even when provided by artificial means, always represents a natural means of preserving life, not a medical act. Its use, furthermore, should be considered, in principle, ordinary and proportionate, and as such morally obligatory. . . ." The qualifications included in the pope's remarks and his citations to various Church documents show that his statement is basically an application of well-established Catholic moral principles to more specific types of medical situations.
"Moral principles" is highlighted for a reason, as we shall see.
(2005): The US bishops send two follow-up questions to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The bishops ask: (1) Is the administration of food and water (whether by natural or artificial means) to a patient in a "vegetative state" morally obligatory except when they cannot be assimilated by the patient's body or cannot be administered to the patient without causing significant physical discomfort? and (2) When nutrition and hydration are being supplied by artificial means to a patient in a "permanent vegetative state", may they be discontinued when competent physicians judge with moral certainty that the patient will never recover consciousness?
The answers: to the first question, "Yes," and to the second question, "No."
Now come O'Rourke and Hardt, attempting to circumvent the Vatican decision--but on Canon Law grounds.
Claiming to be putting this CDF Response "in perspective", Hardt & O'Rourke assert that it "limits the free exercise of rights [and thus] will only apply to a restricted number of cases, specifically to patients with a firm diagnosis of PVS" and add that the Response only applies in the United States. They further assert that had CDF wanted to make its response more widely applicable, it would have used "another form of communication, for example, an Apostolic Instruction." Hardt & O'Rourke claim their conclusions are based on Pope Boniface VIII's Regulae Iuris (Rules of Law), which they say are applicable in "interpreting and applying the documents of the Holy See", and on Canons 18 and 52 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law
Peters, effectively stating "sed contra":
Canons 18 and 52 and the Rules of Law upon which they draw are, by their plain terms, meant to inform one's interpretation of laws and legal directives. In issuing its Response on nutrition and hydration, however, CDF was not issuing a law, or an authentic interpretation of a law (1983 CIC 16), or indeed any other kind of juridic decree (administrative or otherwise). Instead the dicastery is setting forth moral criteria for personal decision-making, a point reinforced by the CDF Response being posted among the dicastery's doctrinal statements, not its disciplinary ones. In other words, by subjecting CDF's enunciation of moral principles to interpretive techniques that were developed for assessing legal norms, Hardt & O'Rouke are basically criticizing the CDF Response for not being something it never claimed to be...
Peters, in sum:
The moral principles set out in the CDF Response are meant to be applied regardless of the fact pattern that lead to an individual's plight and regardless of where his or her suffering is taking place.
Or, put a more familiar way: "Thou shalt not kill."
It is not unusual for lawyers to attempt circumvention of the moral law with juridical arguments dealing with form or process. But the ACLU-patented approach in this case misplaced, at best.
Zero Tolerance: 4th-Grader Goes to Jail
You can't make this stuff up:
An elementary student in Marion County was arrested Thursday after school officials found her cutting food during lunch with a knife that she brought from home, police said.
The 10-year-old girl, a student at Sunrise Elementary School in Ocala, was charged possession of a weapon on school property, which is a felony.
According to authorities, school employees spotted the girl cutting her food while she was eating lunch and took the steak knife from her.
You ever try to slice school lunch food with plastic?
HT: Arms and the Law
An elementary student in Marion County was arrested Thursday after school officials found her cutting food during lunch with a knife that she brought from home, police said.
The 10-year-old girl, a student at Sunrise Elementary School in Ocala, was charged possession of a weapon on school property, which is a felony.
According to authorities, school employees spotted the girl cutting her food while she was eating lunch and took the steak knife from her.
You ever try to slice school lunch food with plastic?
HT: Arms and the Law
Mitt Produces "Unusual Nebulosity"
What the blazes does THIS mean?
With Russert, yesterday, Mitt finally showed the Rockefeller, we think.
...Romney said he "would look at weapons that pose extraordinary lethality." [to ban them].
"I would have supported the original assault weapon ban," Romney said.
Here I always thought that "lethal" was an adjective which could not be modified upward too easily.
And, of course, "picture-book" definitions of weapons (looks bad="assault"; looks pretty= "OK") tells you something about Mitt's convictions.
It tells you he doesn't have any of them, for openers.
The AmSpec blog notes that Romney claims NRA support in his '02 Governor's run--but that they cannot find any evidence of that.
'Bye, Mitt!
With Russert, yesterday, Mitt finally showed the Rockefeller, we think.
...Romney said he "would look at weapons that pose extraordinary lethality." [to ban them].
"I would have supported the original assault weapon ban," Romney said.
Here I always thought that "lethal" was an adjective which could not be modified upward too easily.
And, of course, "picture-book" definitions of weapons (looks bad="assault"; looks pretty= "OK") tells you something about Mitt's convictions.
It tells you he doesn't have any of them, for openers.
The AmSpec blog notes that Romney claims NRA support in his '02 Governor's run--but that they cannot find any evidence of that.
'Bye, Mitt!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Words to Live By
Heh.
When violence looms and every second counts, recall that the police are only minutes away.
I'll take another H&K, please. 9mm is fine, thanks!
HT: Caveman
When violence looms and every second counts, recall that the police are only minutes away.
I'll take another H&K, please. 9mm is fine, thanks!
HT: Caveman
Greetings from Planned Parenthood
(Signed) the Best Pals of Dan Maguire, Professor of Embarassment, Marquette University.
HT: The Jester
WI Department of Corrections Overtime Abuse Scam
Interesting what one learns, running a blogsite.
A few weeks ago we mentioned the very generous benefits given to WI DofC guards.
Turns out that's not all that the guards can squeeze from the system. A commenter suggested that DofC's overtime payments can be rigged by the guards:
What the story misses is the bigger story of sick leave abuse by Correctional Officers. If you dig deeper you will more than likely find that many of these Officers have used most of their sick leave if not all. This ensures overtime will continue to be available. For example in a normal 80 [hour pay period] , if the officer uses 16 hours of sick leave, they can work another 16 hours outside their regularly scheduled work hours and get paid for 96 hours and only have to work 80. At the same time they are calling in sick they are making "overtime" hours available to their fellow "blue shirts"
One would think that an audit might be in order, no?
A few weeks ago we mentioned the very generous benefits given to WI DofC guards.
Turns out that's not all that the guards can squeeze from the system. A commenter suggested that DofC's overtime payments can be rigged by the guards:
What the story misses is the bigger story of sick leave abuse by Correctional Officers. If you dig deeper you will more than likely find that many of these Officers have used most of their sick leave if not all. This ensures overtime will continue to be available. For example in a normal 80 [hour pay period] , if the officer uses 16 hours of sick leave, they can work another 16 hours outside their regularly scheduled work hours and get paid for 96 hours and only have to work 80. At the same time they are calling in sick they are making "overtime" hours available to their fellow "blue shirts"
One would think that an audit might be in order, no?
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Pundit Nation, Dad29 Reach Historic Agreement
...and probably the last one for the next several years.
Pundit:
...I don’t think our democracy is better off with this focus on religion either. I certainly wasn’t going to vote for either Mitt or Mike, but their qualifications to be president shouldn’t rest solely or at all on their ability to convey the sincerity of their religious beliefs.
Dad29:
I don't really care what the guy believes. I care how he/she acts.
G K Chesterton, in a discussion about superstition:
Creed and credence and credulity are words of the same origin and can be juggled backwards and forwards to any extent. But when a man assumes the absurdity of anything that anybody else believes, we wish first to know what he believes: on what principle he believes; and, above all, upon what principle he dis-believes.
So far, Fred Thompson is the only candidate of EITHER party to have posted his principles for examination.
G K Chesterton would have approved.
I don't know about Pundit...
Pundit:
...I don’t think our democracy is better off with this focus on religion either. I certainly wasn’t going to vote for either Mitt or Mike, but their qualifications to be president shouldn’t rest solely or at all on their ability to convey the sincerity of their religious beliefs.
Dad29:
I don't really care what the guy believes. I care how he/she acts.
G K Chesterton, in a discussion about superstition:
Creed and credence and credulity are words of the same origin and can be juggled backwards and forwards to any extent. But when a man assumes the absurdity of anything that anybody else believes, we wish first to know what he believes: on what principle he believes; and, above all, upon what principle he dis-believes.
So far, Fred Thompson is the only candidate of EITHER party to have posted his principles for examination.
G K Chesterton would have approved.
I don't know about Pundit...
Wisconsin's Most Excellent "First"
I didn't know this:
By late 1917, with all surveys and field reconnaissance completed, the State Highway Commission laid out a system of 5,000 miles of numbered state trunklines on paper. During one week in May of 1918, all route designation signage was erected and Wisconsin became the first in the world with a signed system of route-numbered highways.
HT: Headless
By late 1917, with all surveys and field reconnaissance completed, the State Highway Commission laid out a system of 5,000 miles of numbered state trunklines on paper. During one week in May of 1918, all route designation signage was erected and Wisconsin became the first in the world with a signed system of route-numbered highways.
HT: Headless
"Education" in Harlem
You may have thunk this was going on, but never had the proof.
Well, here it is:
Last month, Principal Bennett Lieberman sent off a stern memo to teachers.
"If you are not passing more than 65 percent of your students in a class, then you are not designing your expectations to meet their abilities, and you are setting your students up for failure, which, in turn, limits your success as a professional."
IIRC, the same sort of thing occurred in Rockford, IL., in the last 90 days or so. Slightly different facts/circumstances, same overall message.
HT: Vox
Well, here it is:
Last month, Principal Bennett Lieberman sent off a stern memo to teachers.
"If you are not passing more than 65 percent of your students in a class, then you are not designing your expectations to meet their abilities, and you are setting your students up for failure, which, in turn, limits your success as a professional."
IIRC, the same sort of thing occurred in Rockford, IL., in the last 90 days or so. Slightly different facts/circumstances, same overall message.
HT: Vox
Feingold (D-AlQuaeda) Votes Against Soldiers, Again
One of three Senators who don't like current Iraq policy.
Rusty stamped his widdle feets and voted "NO."
The Democratic-led Congress authorized more Iraq war spending on Friday, sending President George W. Bush a defense bill requiring no change in strategy after failing again to impose a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawals.
The defense policy bill, approved 90-3 by the U.S. Senate, also expanded the size of the U.S. Army and set conditions on the Bush administration’s plan to build a missile defense system in Europe.
The measure already had passed the House of Representatives and now goes to Bush, who is expected to sign it into law. It authorizes Pentagon programs expected to cost $506.9 billion during fiscal 2008, which began in October.
Let's not forget that if it were not for Tommy Thompson's shenanigans, Feingold would be practicing law with Ed Garvey, and Mark Neumann would be our other US Senator.
Rusty stamped his widdle feets and voted "NO."
The Democratic-led Congress authorized more Iraq war spending on Friday, sending President George W. Bush a defense bill requiring no change in strategy after failing again to impose a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawals.
The defense policy bill, approved 90-3 by the U.S. Senate, also expanded the size of the U.S. Army and set conditions on the Bush administration’s plan to build a missile defense system in Europe.
The measure already had passed the House of Representatives and now goes to Bush, who is expected to sign it into law. It authorizes Pentagon programs expected to cost $506.9 billion during fiscal 2008, which began in October.
Let's not forget that if it were not for Tommy Thompson's shenanigans, Feingold would be practicing law with Ed Garvey, and Mark Neumann would be our other US Senator.
No Hildebeeste? Then Who's the Pubbie?
It's all over the 'net today.
Should the Hildebeeste continue to shrink away (think Wicked Witch of the West), which Pubbie should be the nominee?
In the link above, The Captain speculates on an Obama run, which would certainly be less acrimonious than a Hildebeeste run. It may even focus on stuff like principles and policy--you know, actual ISSUES--which would be a pleasant change from the last 3 cycles.
That leaves Ruuuuudeeeeee! with a problem. As the Captain mentioned, a good part of Rudy's game was to paint himself as the Hillary-Killer. But if there's no Hillary, why Rudy? Thus, it's no surprise that Rudy's numbers are floating downward... nor that he's changed tactics slightly, returning to the "terrorist-killer" theme which is his (only) strength. (What? Yes. He has no social conservative stripes, he has little in "small-Gummint" stripes..he's a Rocky Republican with an attitude. That's all.)
Sykes noticed (citing Politico) another Third Rail which will also hurt Rudy, Romney, McCain, and the Huckster, (but not Fred!, nor Hunter): the illegals. (Much, much more from Pete here.)
Only Fred and Hunter have a solid and meaningful track record on the illegals. And between the two, only Fred has painted himself with Federalist colors. And, while Hunter is a sterling candidate, he can't seem to get traction.
Should the Hildebeeste continue to shrink away (think Wicked Witch of the West), which Pubbie should be the nominee?
In the link above, The Captain speculates on an Obama run, which would certainly be less acrimonious than a Hildebeeste run. It may even focus on stuff like principles and policy--you know, actual ISSUES--which would be a pleasant change from the last 3 cycles.
That leaves Ruuuuudeeeeee! with a problem. As the Captain mentioned, a good part of Rudy's game was to paint himself as the Hillary-Killer. But if there's no Hillary, why Rudy? Thus, it's no surprise that Rudy's numbers are floating downward... nor that he's changed tactics slightly, returning to the "terrorist-killer" theme which is his (only) strength. (What? Yes. He has no social conservative stripes, he has little in "small-Gummint" stripes..he's a Rocky Republican with an attitude. That's all.)
Sykes noticed (citing Politico) another Third Rail which will also hurt Rudy, Romney, McCain, and the Huckster, (but not Fred!, nor Hunter): the illegals. (Much, much more from Pete here.)
Only Fred and Hunter have a solid and meaningful track record on the illegals. And between the two, only Fred has painted himself with Federalist colors. And, while Hunter is a sterling candidate, he can't seem to get traction.
Different State, Same.....Stuff
In November, Florida will vote on a constitutional amendment which will ban gay "marriage." It will be the 28th State to do so when that happens.
Here's the language of the amendment:
"Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."
Sure enough, the dishonesty emerges.
"Amendment opponents are attempting to argue that the marriage amendment could take away benefits from senior citizens and other persons in Florida who might be registered with domestic partnerships,"...
Lying seems to be the most polished skill of some folks.
Here's the language of the amendment:
"Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."
Sure enough, the dishonesty emerges.
"Amendment opponents are attempting to argue that the marriage amendment could take away benefits from senior citizens and other persons in Florida who might be registered with domestic partnerships,"...
Lying seems to be the most polished skill of some folks.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Guns and Taxes
In Milwaukee, a Circuit Court judge is dreaming of becoming a Ways-and-Means chairman. He refuses to return 1 of the 2 guns owned by a pizza deliveryman who had shot a robber.
Think about it.
The pizza guy acquired the assets honestly, working for them.
He used one of them in the normal course of business.
The Government (here, a judge) takes away 1/2 his assets without complete (if any) justification. When you add up Fed and State taxes, fees, etc., 50% is about right.
VOILA!!
The Judge wants to be a Tax-Man.
HT: Jessica
You have
Think about it.
The pizza guy acquired the assets honestly, working for them.
He used one of them in the normal course of business.
The Government (here, a judge) takes away 1/2 his assets without complete (if any) justification. When you add up Fed and State taxes, fees, etc., 50% is about right.
VOILA!!
The Judge wants to be a Tax-Man.
HT: Jessica
You have
Milwaukee's Future
Look at Oakland, CA.
The body count is woven into the civic consciousness here - a number chased by homicide inspectors, studied by criminologists, lamented in churches, reported by journalists. Every mayor leaves City Hall on broken promises to quell the violence, and the killings continue. An additional 115 have been killed this year, putting Oakland on pace for another gruesome record.
In the last five years, 557 people were slain on the city's streets, making Oakland the state's second-most murderous city, behind Compton
...Experts fear that the neighborhoods are only getting more violent. There are entire blocks without a single two-parent family, where drug dealers have become the predominant male role models, and children fend for themselves in crowded, chaotic homes where they are routinely exposed to drugs, sex and guns.
Criminal families are on their third and fourth generations. Grandparents - the ones who have historically stepped in to help raise fatherless boys and instill a sense of right and wrong - are dying off.
Witnesses are cowed into silence because snitches have been known to disappear. Nearly half of all murders in Oakland go uncharged for lack of a willing witness, so a shooter knows he has about a 50-50 chance of getting away with it
Because witnesses won't testify, certain Oakland neighborhoods have an abnormally high per capita rate of killers walking the streets. They are known, feared, and have an incredibly toxic influence on impressionable young boys aching for structure.
"In these neighborhoods of concentrated poverty, all the doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, architects and postal workers have left," said Richard Miles, chief executive officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area.
"The kids have nobody but drug lords to look up to."
The Great Project of the Left--creating "marriage" between the State and unwed mothers through licensing of wanton illicit sex, has borne its natural fruit.
How long before Oakland's script plays in Milwaukee?
HT: ClayCramer
The body count is woven into the civic consciousness here - a number chased by homicide inspectors, studied by criminologists, lamented in churches, reported by journalists. Every mayor leaves City Hall on broken promises to quell the violence, and the killings continue. An additional 115 have been killed this year, putting Oakland on pace for another gruesome record.
In the last five years, 557 people were slain on the city's streets, making Oakland the state's second-most murderous city, behind Compton
...Experts fear that the neighborhoods are only getting more violent. There are entire blocks without a single two-parent family, where drug dealers have become the predominant male role models, and children fend for themselves in crowded, chaotic homes where they are routinely exposed to drugs, sex and guns.
Criminal families are on their third and fourth generations. Grandparents - the ones who have historically stepped in to help raise fatherless boys and instill a sense of right and wrong - are dying off.
Witnesses are cowed into silence because snitches have been known to disappear. Nearly half of all murders in Oakland go uncharged for lack of a willing witness, so a shooter knows he has about a 50-50 chance of getting away with it
Because witnesses won't testify, certain Oakland neighborhoods have an abnormally high per capita rate of killers walking the streets. They are known, feared, and have an incredibly toxic influence on impressionable young boys aching for structure.
"In these neighborhoods of concentrated poverty, all the doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, architects and postal workers have left," said Richard Miles, chief executive officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area.
"The kids have nobody but drug lords to look up to."
The Great Project of the Left--creating "marriage" between the State and unwed mothers through licensing of wanton illicit sex, has borne its natural fruit.
How long before Oakland's script plays in Milwaukee?
HT: ClayCramer
"Pro Bono" Gitmo Lawyers?
Sure, if you believe in the Tooth Fairy. Here are a couple of passages from a piece written by Deborah Burlingame, whose husband was a victim of the 9/11 terrorists.
...Mr. Mutairi was among 12 Kuwaitis picked up in Afghanistan and detained at Guantanamo Bay in 2002. Their families retained Tom Wilner and the prestigious law firm of Shearman & Sterling early that same year. Arguably, it is Mr. Wilner's aggressive representation, along with the determined efforts of the Kuwait government, that has had the greatest influence in the outcome of all the enemy combatant cases, in the court of law and in the court of public opinion. The lawsuit filed on their behalf, renamed Rasul v. Bush when three cases were joined, is credited with opening the door for the blizzard of litigation that followed.
...How did Shearman & Sterling get tapped for this historic assignment? Speaking at Seton Hall Law School in fall of 2006, Mr. Wilner recounted that he visited the facility at Guantanamo Bay in 2002, months before he met the Kuwaiti 12's families. What was Mr. Wilner doing at Gitmo more than two years before Rasul established the legal basis for lawyers getting access to detainees inside the camp? One of his Gitmo legal colleagues has said that Mr. Wilner was brought into the case by an oil industry client.
It turns out that Shearman & Sterling, a 1,000-lawyer firm with offices in 19 cities all over the world, has substantial business dealings on six continents. Indeed, Shearman's client care for Middle Eastern matters has established a new industry standard: The firm's Abu Dhabi office states that it has pioneered the concept of "Shariah-compliant" financing. In Kuwait, the firm has represented the government on a wide variety of matters involving billions of dollars worth of assets. So the party underwriting the litigation on behalf of the Kuwaiti 12--from which all of the detainees have benefited--is one of Shearman & Sterling's most lucrative OPEC accounts.
"Follow the money" is usually a very good first step when asking questions.
I have yet to understand the alternative-universe theory which applies the Constitution's protections to non-citizen/illegal combatants. Obviously, $2 million or so in fees can make black into white.
The blogger who's following this, JunkYard, has more:
One of the fairly shocking things Burlingame uncovered was the existence of a crisis PR program designed to demonize Guantanamo and rehabilitate the image of the detainees, funded by the Kuwaiti government. Nothing illegal, but still: wouldn't you want to know where this is coming from?
The existence of a PR campaign on behalf of the Gitmo detainees doesn't mean that everything is peachy keen there, or that abuses of rights never take place. It also doesn't mean the lawyers defending the detainees are bad people. But it's just one of those things, like figuring out that Linda Greenhouse's husband is one of the Gitmo lawyers, [Greenhouse is the SCOTUS reporter for the NYTimes] that at the very least provides some crucial context about events there and the coverage they receive.
HT: JunkYardBlog
...Mr. Mutairi was among 12 Kuwaitis picked up in Afghanistan and detained at Guantanamo Bay in 2002. Their families retained Tom Wilner and the prestigious law firm of Shearman & Sterling early that same year. Arguably, it is Mr. Wilner's aggressive representation, along with the determined efforts of the Kuwait government, that has had the greatest influence in the outcome of all the enemy combatant cases, in the court of law and in the court of public opinion. The lawsuit filed on their behalf, renamed Rasul v. Bush when three cases were joined, is credited with opening the door for the blizzard of litigation that followed.
...How did Shearman & Sterling get tapped for this historic assignment? Speaking at Seton Hall Law School in fall of 2006, Mr. Wilner recounted that he visited the facility at Guantanamo Bay in 2002, months before he met the Kuwaiti 12's families. What was Mr. Wilner doing at Gitmo more than two years before Rasul established the legal basis for lawyers getting access to detainees inside the camp? One of his Gitmo legal colleagues has said that Mr. Wilner was brought into the case by an oil industry client.
It turns out that Shearman & Sterling, a 1,000-lawyer firm with offices in 19 cities all over the world, has substantial business dealings on six continents. Indeed, Shearman's client care for Middle Eastern matters has established a new industry standard: The firm's Abu Dhabi office states that it has pioneered the concept of "Shariah-compliant" financing. In Kuwait, the firm has represented the government on a wide variety of matters involving billions of dollars worth of assets. So the party underwriting the litigation on behalf of the Kuwaiti 12--from which all of the detainees have benefited--is one of Shearman & Sterling's most lucrative OPEC accounts.
"Follow the money" is usually a very good first step when asking questions.
I have yet to understand the alternative-universe theory which applies the Constitution's protections to non-citizen/illegal combatants. Obviously, $2 million or so in fees can make black into white.
The blogger who's following this, JunkYard, has more:
One of the fairly shocking things Burlingame uncovered was the existence of a crisis PR program designed to demonize Guantanamo and rehabilitate the image of the detainees, funded by the Kuwaiti government. Nothing illegal, but still: wouldn't you want to know where this is coming from?
The existence of a PR campaign on behalf of the Gitmo detainees doesn't mean that everything is peachy keen there, or that abuses of rights never take place. It also doesn't mean the lawyers defending the detainees are bad people. But it's just one of those things, like figuring out that Linda Greenhouse's husband is one of the Gitmo lawyers, [Greenhouse is the SCOTUS reporter for the NYTimes] that at the very least provides some crucial context about events there and the coverage they receive.
HT: JunkYardBlog
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The Hildebeeste's Accomplishment
Some cynics wonder what the Hildebeeste ever, actually, DID while in the White House.
Wonder no more. She reduced teen pregnancy by 1/3rd!
"To address this important issue, my husband issued a call to action in 1995 to America's parents and leaders to join together to cut America's teen pregnancy rate by one-third over a decade. In order to help achieve this ambitious goal, I helped launch the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, and we successfully achieved a one-third reduction by 2005"
Damn!
HT: The Jester
Wonder no more. She reduced teen pregnancy by 1/3rd!
"To address this important issue, my husband issued a call to action in 1995 to America's parents and leaders to join together to cut America's teen pregnancy rate by one-third over a decade. In order to help achieve this ambitious goal, I helped launch the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, and we successfully achieved a one-third reduction by 2005"
Damn!
HT: The Jester
The Colorado Shooter
A bit of information which is reported, but not headlined by the MSM.
"After Murray rejected religion, he became fixated on people and groups that explore the dark side of spirituality, obsessing over the satanic lyrics of Swedish metal bands, for instance."
Murray attended events held by [a] Denver-based occult group [...] during the last two years, but was turned down when he sought to become a member of the group. His involvement with them apparently ended in October.
"Murray also heard voices -- a sign of a type of schizophrenia, as we know. So he had many problems.
Not real surprising.
HT: LACatholic
"After Murray rejected religion, he became fixated on people and groups that explore the dark side of spirituality, obsessing over the satanic lyrics of Swedish metal bands, for instance."
Murray attended events held by [a] Denver-based occult group [...] during the last two years, but was turned down when he sought to become a member of the group. His involvement with them apparently ended in October.
"Murray also heard voices -- a sign of a type of schizophrenia, as we know. So he had many problems.
Not real surprising.
HT: LACatholic
How's Sales Lately?
There's the Commerce Department numbers (rosy, rosy...), and then there's the actual real-live retailers' reports.
American consumers opened their wallets mostly on a need-to-buy basis last month, or when big sales lured them to the mall, bolstering concerns that the nation's retailers will need persistent discounting to move merchandise this holiday season.
While sales improved after two weak months, warnings from Target Inc. and others that business fell off sharply in the final week of November rattled many retail stocks . . .
The lackluster sales are another indicator that consumers may be slowing their spending after a multiyear binge fueled by cheap credit and a housing boom. --WSJ, quoted in Big Picture.
A decent chunk of November's retail-sales gains were based on inflation. Another decent chunk was the price of gasoline--which, some may recall, was over $3.00/gal. in Wisconsin for a while.
American consumers opened their wallets mostly on a need-to-buy basis last month, or when big sales lured them to the mall, bolstering concerns that the nation's retailers will need persistent discounting to move merchandise this holiday season.
While sales improved after two weak months, warnings from Target Inc. and others that business fell off sharply in the final week of November rattled many retail stocks . . .
The lackluster sales are another indicator that consumers may be slowing their spending after a multiyear binge fueled by cheap credit and a housing boom. --WSJ, quoted in Big Picture.
A decent chunk of November's retail-sales gains were based on inflation. Another decent chunk was the price of gasoline--which, some may recall, was over $3.00/gal. in Wisconsin for a while.
What's the Gummint SUPPOSED to Do?
Robert George at First Things has an opinion.
The obligations and purposes of law and government are to protect public health, safety, and morals, and to advance the general welfare—including, preeminently, protecting people’s fundamental rights and basic liberties.
At first blush, this classic formulation (or combination of classic formulations) seems to grant vast and sweeping powers to public authority. Yet, in truth, the general welfare—the common good—requires that government be limited. Government’s responsibility is primary when the questions involve defending the nation from attack and subversion, protecting people from physical assaults and various other forms of depredation, and maintaining public order. In other ways, however, its role is subsidiary: to support the work of the families, religious communities, and other institutions of civil society that shoulder the primary burden of forming upright and decent citizens, caring for those in need, encouraging people to meet their responsibilities to one another while also discouraging them from harming themselves or others.
...Why not subordinate the individual to the ends of the collectivity or the state?
...our commitment to limited government is itself the fruit of moral conviction—conviction ultimately founded on truths that our nation’s founders proclaimed as self-evident: namely “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
At the foundation is the proposition that each human being possesses a profound, inherent, and equal dignity simply by virtue of his nature as a rational creature—a creature possessing, albeit in limited measure (and in the case of some human beings merely in root or rudimentary form), the Godlike powers of reason and freedom—powers that make possible such human and humanizing phenomena as intellectual inquiry, aesthetic appreciation, respect for self and others, friendship, and love. This great truth of natural law, which is at the heart of our civilizational and civic order, has its theological expression in the biblical teaching that man, unlike the brute animals, is made in the image and likeness of the divine creator and ruler of the universe.
Nice opening, and plenty more at the link.
The obligations and purposes of law and government are to protect public health, safety, and morals, and to advance the general welfare—including, preeminently, protecting people’s fundamental rights and basic liberties.
At first blush, this classic formulation (or combination of classic formulations) seems to grant vast and sweeping powers to public authority. Yet, in truth, the general welfare—the common good—requires that government be limited. Government’s responsibility is primary when the questions involve defending the nation from attack and subversion, protecting people from physical assaults and various other forms of depredation, and maintaining public order. In other ways, however, its role is subsidiary: to support the work of the families, religious communities, and other institutions of civil society that shoulder the primary burden of forming upright and decent citizens, caring for those in need, encouraging people to meet their responsibilities to one another while also discouraging them from harming themselves or others.
...Why not subordinate the individual to the ends of the collectivity or the state?
...our commitment to limited government is itself the fruit of moral conviction—conviction ultimately founded on truths that our nation’s founders proclaimed as self-evident: namely “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
At the foundation is the proposition that each human being possesses a profound, inherent, and equal dignity simply by virtue of his nature as a rational creature—a creature possessing, albeit in limited measure (and in the case of some human beings merely in root or rudimentary form), the Godlike powers of reason and freedom—powers that make possible such human and humanizing phenomena as intellectual inquiry, aesthetic appreciation, respect for self and others, friendship, and love. This great truth of natural law, which is at the heart of our civilizational and civic order, has its theological expression in the biblical teaching that man, unlike the brute animals, is made in the image and likeness of the divine creator and ruler of the universe.
Nice opening, and plenty more at the link.
The Hildebeeste: About to Crash?
It ain't pretty when the Conservatives start writing about it, and the Captain lays it on thick.
...Barack Obama has managed to do what the "vast right-wing conspiracy" could not -- show how the Clintons operate against their political opponents. The rapidly collapsing Hillary Clinton campaign's desperation has forced them to go public with accusations they normally whisper, because their whispering campaign has proven ineffective against Obama...
(Citing a story by Bob Novak, he quotes):
Last summer, a senior Clinton aide told a famous Democrat believed to favor Obama that the Illinois senator was using his "leadership" political action committee to spread money around the country to grease his presidential prospects. That message was private when Clinton seemed far ahead in the race for the Democratic nomination. It became public when Obama threatened to overtake her.
Not that HRC hasn't done exactly the same thing with her "leadership PAC."
This ain't winning the Hildebeeste any pals in the Democrat Party.
I feel a schadenfreude coming on...
...Barack Obama has managed to do what the "vast right-wing conspiracy" could not -- show how the Clintons operate against their political opponents. The rapidly collapsing Hillary Clinton campaign's desperation has forced them to go public with accusations they normally whisper, because their whispering campaign has proven ineffective against Obama...
(Citing a story by Bob Novak, he quotes):
Last summer, a senior Clinton aide told a famous Democrat believed to favor Obama that the Illinois senator was using his "leadership" political action committee to spread money around the country to grease his presidential prospects. That message was private when Clinton seemed far ahead in the race for the Democratic nomination. It became public when Obama threatened to overtake her.
Not that HRC hasn't done exactly the same thing with her "leadership PAC."
This ain't winning the Hildebeeste any pals in the Democrat Party.
I feel a schadenfreude coming on...
The Benefits of Corrections
Waaaayyyy down in the story about the Department of Corrections' payroll you find this:
Officers make $29,591 when they start on the job. With benefits, their total compensation package is $45,339.
Which is a 53.2% cost-of-benefits.
Tell me again about "underpaid" State employees.
Officers make $29,591 when they start on the job. With benefits, their total compensation package is $45,339.
Which is a 53.2% cost-of-benefits.
Tell me again about "underpaid" State employees.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
WSJ Likes Fred
From the Washington Wire/WSJ:
Fred Thompson provided most of the lighter, and funnier, moments, including his exchange with Mitt Romney over who shoulders the biggest tax burden in the country.
“I don’t stay awake at night worrying about the taxes that rich people are paying, to tell you the truth,” the multimillionaire Romney said. Thompson responded that his goal “is to get into Mitt Romney’s situation, where I don’t have to worry about taxes anymore.” Romney shot back that he wouldn’t mind being in Thompson’s shoes either. “You’re getting to be a pretty good actor actually,” Thompson joked. “Takes one to know one,” Romney said.
Thompson had a good afternoon, maybe even the best debate performance by the former Tennessee senator since he entered the race Sept. 5. Thompson also gave the most direct answer of the candidates when asked which programs they’d be willing to run deficits to support.
“The military,” Thompson said, “Always.” The Des Moines Registers’ David Yepsen opined that Thompson “did himself the most good” among the candidates in the debate. Where was this candidate three months ago?
The answer, folks, is timing for "mo." Yah, Huckabee(ster) looks great in Iowa. But check his numbers in New Hampshire, if you can see down that far. Smart campaigns want the "mo" going into the Convention, not in the first 2 primaries/caucuses.
By Feb. 3rd, 1200+ delegates will be selected for the Republican Convention. It takes 1190 (or 1259) to be nominated.
Does ANYONE seriously think that ONE Pubbie will run the table between now and 2/3? (Hint: the answer begins with the letter "n".)
Only Belling--and I doubt seriously if he put 10 Large on that bet.
Fred Thompson provided most of the lighter, and funnier, moments, including his exchange with Mitt Romney over who shoulders the biggest tax burden in the country.
“I don’t stay awake at night worrying about the taxes that rich people are paying, to tell you the truth,” the multimillionaire Romney said. Thompson responded that his goal “is to get into Mitt Romney’s situation, where I don’t have to worry about taxes anymore.” Romney shot back that he wouldn’t mind being in Thompson’s shoes either. “You’re getting to be a pretty good actor actually,” Thompson joked. “Takes one to know one,” Romney said.
Thompson had a good afternoon, maybe even the best debate performance by the former Tennessee senator since he entered the race Sept. 5. Thompson also gave the most direct answer of the candidates when asked which programs they’d be willing to run deficits to support.
“The military,” Thompson said, “Always.” The Des Moines Registers’ David Yepsen opined that Thompson “did himself the most good” among the candidates in the debate. Where was this candidate three months ago?
The answer, folks, is timing for "mo." Yah, Huckabee(ster) looks great in Iowa. But check his numbers in New Hampshire, if you can see down that far. Smart campaigns want the "mo" going into the Convention, not in the first 2 primaries/caucuses.
By Feb. 3rd, 1200+ delegates will be selected for the Republican Convention. It takes 1190 (or 1259) to be nominated.
Does ANYONE seriously think that ONE Pubbie will run the table between now and 2/3? (Hint: the answer begins with the letter "n".)
Only Belling--and I doubt seriously if he put 10 Large on that bet.
A REAL Churchman Addresses the Cult of Global Warming
The Pope is wading in.
Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.
The leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics suggested that fears over man-made emissions melting the ice caps and causing a wave of unprecedented disasters were nothing more than scare-mongering.
The German-born Pontiff said that while some concerns may be valid it was vital that the international community based its policies on science rather than the dogma of the environmentalist movement.
Dogma, indeed. It's a false religion...
The 80-year-old Pope said the world needed to care for the environment but not to the point where the welfare of animals and plants was given a greater priority than that of mankind..
We are responsible for "good stewardship," but as usual, common sense should prevail. He said as much:
7. The family needs a home, a fit environment in which to develop its proper relationships. For the human family, this home is the earth, the environment that God the Creator has given us to inhabit with creativity and responsibility. We need to care for the environment: it has been entrusted to men and women to be protected and cultivated with responsible freedom, with the good of all as a constant guiding criterion
HT: Insight Scoop
Pope Benedict XVI has launched a surprise attack on climate change prophets of doom, warning them that any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not on dubious ideology.
The leader of more than a billion Roman Catholics suggested that fears over man-made emissions melting the ice caps and causing a wave of unprecedented disasters were nothing more than scare-mongering.
The German-born Pontiff said that while some concerns may be valid it was vital that the international community based its policies on science rather than the dogma of the environmentalist movement.
Dogma, indeed. It's a false religion...
The 80-year-old Pope said the world needed to care for the environment but not to the point where the welfare of animals and plants was given a greater priority than that of mankind..
We are responsible for "good stewardship," but as usual, common sense should prevail. He said as much:
7. The family needs a home, a fit environment in which to develop its proper relationships. For the human family, this home is the earth, the environment that God the Creator has given us to inhabit with creativity and responsibility. We need to care for the environment: it has been entrusted to men and women to be protected and cultivated with responsible freedom, with the good of all as a constant guiding criterion
HT: Insight Scoop
Tim Tebow, Heisman Trophy Winner
A couple of random facts about Tebow.
1) His mother was told to abort him, as he was "irreversably damaged" while in the womb.
2) He was home-schooled.
1) His mother was told to abort him, as he was "irreversably damaged" while in the womb.
2) He was home-schooled.
Ass'y Pubbies Who Don't Care About the Constitution
Yeah, there are a few.
As we mentioned yesterday, AB377 is un-constitutional, violating (in prospect) the Wisconsin Constitution's provision that the State cannot mandate actions against one's religious objection.
But hey, what's a Constitution or two? We expect the Democrat Party members to vote in lockstep against life--it's their religion (so to speak.)
Thinking that an (R) label means good things, however, is silly.
We offer the list of (R) jackasses:
Davis, Hines, Kaufert, Moulton, Musser, Nerison, Ott, Stone, Tauchen, Townsend, Wood.
As we mentioned yesterday, AB377 is un-constitutional, violating (in prospect) the Wisconsin Constitution's provision that the State cannot mandate actions against one's religious objection.
But hey, what's a Constitution or two? We expect the Democrat Party members to vote in lockstep against life--it's their religion (so to speak.)
Thinking that an (R) label means good things, however, is silly.
We offer the list of (R) jackasses:
Davis, Hines, Kaufert, Moulton, Musser, Nerison, Ott, Stone, Tauchen, Townsend, Wood.
NR Endorses Mitt. Giuliani to Sue
Well, he won't exactly sue, but you can bet he's not happy.
The National Review, Buckley's magazine, likes Mitt.
They're wrong, of course, but hey---it ain't Ruuuudeeeee!
HT: Jessica
The National Review, Buckley's magazine, likes Mitt.
They're wrong, of course, but hey---it ain't Ruuuudeeeee!
HT: Jessica
Sinatra's Birthday
He's really good, that Frank.
Little-known fact:
When Vince Lombardi was a high-school football coach in New Jersey, the team would play on Friday nights. After the games, Vince would take Marie to a small restaurant/roadhouse for a late dinner.
They enjoyed the singing of a scrawny young man at that roadhouse, and often (feeling sorry for him) would buy him a dinner, too...
Thus began a lifelong friendship between Lombardi and Sinatra.
More at PowerLine including Frank's 1958 recording of "One More for the Road."
Little-known fact:
When Vince Lombardi was a high-school football coach in New Jersey, the team would play on Friday nights. After the games, Vince would take Marie to a small restaurant/roadhouse for a late dinner.
They enjoyed the singing of a scrawny young man at that roadhouse, and often (feeling sorry for him) would buy him a dinner, too...
Thus began a lifelong friendship between Lombardi and Sinatra.
More at PowerLine including Frank's 1958 recording of "One More for the Road."
A Really Hard Poll Question
NewsBusters has a tough one here.
WHICH IS THE MEDIA MORE LIKELY TO REPORT?
1) Good news from Iraq
2) Incidents of Defensive Gun Use.
Hell, I don't know.
WHICH IS THE MEDIA MORE LIKELY TO REPORT?
1) Good news from Iraq
2) Incidents of Defensive Gun Use.
Hell, I don't know.
50 Years Make a Difference
You've seen stuff like this before, but this version is a bit sharper.
Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.
1957 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2007 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested forADD. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.
Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1957 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2007 - Billy's Dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their Dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has affair with psychologist.
Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1957 - Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.
2007 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.
Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.
1957 - Ants die.
2007 - BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.
HT: Grim
Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.
1957 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2007 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested forADD. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.
Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1957 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2007 - Billy's Dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their Dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has affair with psychologist.
Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1957 - Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.
2007 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.
Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.
1957 - Ants die.
2007 - BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.
HT: Grim
Madistan: Still 10 Square Miles Surrounded by Reality
Since DarthDoyle is a Madistan native, this makes sense.
Seventy-six percent of Wisconsin residents oppose allowing illegal immigrants to apply for state driver’s licenses. Only 19% supported the idea.
The most support for this issue came from Madison, where it was only opposed by 49% to 48%,
Maybe we could sell Dane County to New York City.
HT: Fraley
Seventy-six percent of Wisconsin residents oppose allowing illegal immigrants to apply for state driver’s licenses. Only 19% supported the idea.
The most support for this issue came from Madison, where it was only opposed by 49% to 48%,
Maybe we could sell Dane County to New York City.
HT: Fraley
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Elmbrook's Snow Decision
Actually, you could pronounce it "Elmbrook's NO Decision" and be correct.
It was a no-brainer. The roads in Brookfield in the morning were in very good winter driving condition, with only a little packed snow here and there, but mostly wet bare pavement.
In the afternoon, the worst driving was encountered in the Brookfield Central parking lot--the roads, while being snow-covered, were not dangerous, nor difficult to negotiate.
But sure enough, one of the local TV stations managed to find a few....how shall I say this...unhappy moms (apparently all from Alabama or Floriduh or Arizona) who were convinced that a few inches of snow is the equivalent of Nuclear Winter, or the Apocalypse, or Defcon 4.
And they bitched.
Well, folks, they were wrong, and Matt Gibson was right. In Wisconsin, during the winter, one is expected to pack a snow-shovel and tow-strap into the car, just in case. (Of course, if you have to USE those items, you don't know how to drive.) It's what we call "life."
Put your kid on the bus, shut up, and shovel your driveway. Get used to it. There could be another 40-60 inches of snow to come this year. Don't waste your breath bitching.
It was a no-brainer. The roads in Brookfield in the morning were in very good winter driving condition, with only a little packed snow here and there, but mostly wet bare pavement.
In the afternoon, the worst driving was encountered in the Brookfield Central parking lot--the roads, while being snow-covered, were not dangerous, nor difficult to negotiate.
But sure enough, one of the local TV stations managed to find a few....how shall I say this...unhappy moms (apparently all from Alabama or Floriduh or Arizona) who were convinced that a few inches of snow is the equivalent of Nuclear Winter, or the Apocalypse, or Defcon 4.
And they bitched.
Well, folks, they were wrong, and Matt Gibson was right. In Wisconsin, during the winter, one is expected to pack a snow-shovel and tow-strap into the car, just in case. (Of course, if you have to USE those items, you don't know how to drive.) It's what we call "life."
Put your kid on the bus, shut up, and shovel your driveway. Get used to it. There could be another 40-60 inches of snow to come this year. Don't waste your breath bitching.
Blackwell Endorses Fred!!
The endorsement reads a lot like Rush's blessing after one of the debates...
Today the Fred Thompson campaign announced that conservative leader and Virginia Republican National Committeeman Morton Blackwell is endorsing Senator Thompson for President of the United States.
"Of all the candidates who have a chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination, Fred Thompson is my choice," said Morton Blackwell. "Senator Thompson has the most conservative instincts on the public policy issues that are important to America."
Morton Blackwell is well known in conservative circles as the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute, an educational foundation, which trains young conservatives for leadership in the political sphere. Prior to founding the Leadership Institute, Mr. Blackwell was Barry Goldwater's youngest elected delegate to the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco. He was a national convention Alternate Delegate for Ronald Reagan in 1968 and 1976, and a Ronald Reagan Delegate at the 1980 national convention. He currently serves as a Virginia Republican National Committeeman.
Mort still has traction with a lot of Conservatives.
Today the Fred Thompson campaign announced that conservative leader and Virginia Republican National Committeeman Morton Blackwell is endorsing Senator Thompson for President of the United States.
"Of all the candidates who have a chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination, Fred Thompson is my choice," said Morton Blackwell. "Senator Thompson has the most conservative instincts on the public policy issues that are important to America."
Morton Blackwell is well known in conservative circles as the Founder and President of the Leadership Institute, an educational foundation, which trains young conservatives for leadership in the political sphere. Prior to founding the Leadership Institute, Mr. Blackwell was Barry Goldwater's youngest elected delegate to the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco. He was a national convention Alternate Delegate for Ronald Reagan in 1968 and 1976, and a Ronald Reagan Delegate at the 1980 national convention. He currently serves as a Virginia Republican National Committeeman.
Mort still has traction with a lot of Conservatives.
The Moral Case FOR the Iraq War
Robert Reilly provides a Just-War-Theory based positive assessment of the war.
Many people will be very surprised at his primary argument:
...the United States had the lawful authority to wage this war, as it was the primary signatory to the agreement to end the First Gulf War in 1991. As a signatory, it had a responsibility to see to the enforcement of that agreement. Saddam Hussein was in violation of its major provisions, as well as those of the subsequent 15 mandatory UN Security Council Resolutions for which the United States voted. Among these violations were: Saddam's repression of the Iraqi people; his refusal to account for Gulf War prisoners; his refusal to return stolen property; his support for international terrorism; his efforts to circumvent economic sanctions; his refusal to account for weapons of mass destruction and to cease his development of WMD.
Some seemed to think that ignoring this wholesale violation of the cease-fire agreement and the UN resolutions was preferable to the war that was necessary to enforce them. However, they never accounted for the costs of this neglect or suggested an alternative way to end the Gulf War....
IOW, Reilly sees the current conflict as a continuation of the First GW, the one which liberated Kuwait (easily justifiable under JWT.)
HT: The Jester
Many people will be very surprised at his primary argument:
...the United States had the lawful authority to wage this war, as it was the primary signatory to the agreement to end the First Gulf War in 1991. As a signatory, it had a responsibility to see to the enforcement of that agreement. Saddam Hussein was in violation of its major provisions, as well as those of the subsequent 15 mandatory UN Security Council Resolutions for which the United States voted. Among these violations were: Saddam's repression of the Iraqi people; his refusal to account for Gulf War prisoners; his refusal to return stolen property; his support for international terrorism; his efforts to circumvent economic sanctions; his refusal to account for weapons of mass destruction and to cease his development of WMD.
Some seemed to think that ignoring this wholesale violation of the cease-fire agreement and the UN resolutions was preferable to the war that was necessary to enforce them. However, they never accounted for the costs of this neglect or suggested an alternative way to end the Gulf War....
IOW, Reilly sees the current conflict as a continuation of the First GW, the one which liberated Kuwait (easily justifiable under JWT.)
HT: The Jester
Applause for the USCCB!!
Without further ado:
Today the U.S. bishops withdrew the review of the film, "The Golden Compass," which opened in theaters in the United States Dec. 7. The review was written by Harry Forbes and John Mulderig, the director and staff reviewer respectively of the Office for Film and Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The review was released and posted on the CNS Web site Nov. 29. The USCCB gave no reason for withdrawing the review.
Some quack-reviewer named Forbes reviewed this loser-flick positively.
And I think I know who axed the review from the website...
Congrats, Mgr.!!!
Today the U.S. bishops withdrew the review of the film, "The Golden Compass," which opened in theaters in the United States Dec. 7. The review was written by Harry Forbes and John Mulderig, the director and staff reviewer respectively of the Office for Film and Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The review was released and posted on the CNS Web site Nov. 29. The USCCB gave no reason for withdrawing the review.
Some quack-reviewer named Forbes reviewed this loser-flick positively.
And I think I know who axed the review from the website...
Congrats, Mgr.!!!
Mommy's Letter to Santa
Heh.
Dear Santa,
I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground.
I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.
Here are my Christmas wishes:
I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple,which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze,but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.
I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy. If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint-resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.
On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, 'Yes, Mommy' to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.
I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting 'Don't eat in the living room' and 'Take your hands off your brother,' because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.
If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.
If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.
Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.
Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet. Brush your teeth when you're done.
Yours Always,
MOM
...P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.
Dear Santa,
I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground.
I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.
Here are my Christmas wishes:
I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple,which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze,but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.
I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy. If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint-resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.
On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, 'Yes, Mommy' to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.
I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting 'Don't eat in the living room' and 'Take your hands off your brother,' because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.
If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.
If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.
Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.
Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet. Brush your teeth when you're done.
Yours Always,
MOM
...P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Obey: Obstreperous, but Doing the Right Thing?
Dave Obey pouts loudly these days--and he's in mega-pout status. In fact, it appears that GWBush out-foxed Davey, when you get right down to it.
Heh.
A $522 billion omnibus spending bill had been scheduled for a House vote Tuesday, but House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D., Wis.) abruptly announced he won’t file it tonight and recommended substantial revisions before a floor vote. Obey said he is prepared to cut billions from domestic programs and eliminating all home-state projects or spending “earmarks” favored by lawmakers in both parties
That's the "good" Davey.
“I want no linkage what-so-ever between domestic [spending] and the war. I want the war to be dealt with totally on its own. We shouldn’t be trading off domestic priorities for the war
That's OK, too. No more pork? Who's to argue?
The chairman is described as most upset with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.), whose comments last week triggered new stories suggesting a year-end bargain trading war money for domestic funds. Obey is not alone. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) was described by one top Democrat as “livid” about Hoyer’s comments at a Washington Post editorial board breakfast.
So what's Davey gonna do? Apparently, propose only a war-funding bill, and let the chips fall where they may.
“If we’re going to lose we might as well lose with clarity so that people understand who is responsible for those inadequate investments,” the combative Obey said. “And if you take those bills down to the president’s level, [of spending before it gets vetoed] it is very hard for me to understand how earmarks can survive. It’s not a threat. It’s a reality.”
It's also a reality that pissing billions of dollars down pork-drains is criminal, Davey.
Heh.
A $522 billion omnibus spending bill had been scheduled for a House vote Tuesday, but House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D., Wis.) abruptly announced he won’t file it tonight and recommended substantial revisions before a floor vote. Obey said he is prepared to cut billions from domestic programs and eliminating all home-state projects or spending “earmarks” favored by lawmakers in both parties
That's the "good" Davey.
“I want no linkage what-so-ever between domestic [spending] and the war. I want the war to be dealt with totally on its own. We shouldn’t be trading off domestic priorities for the war
That's OK, too. No more pork? Who's to argue?
The chairman is described as most upset with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D., Md.), whose comments last week triggered new stories suggesting a year-end bargain trading war money for domestic funds. Obey is not alone. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) was described by one top Democrat as “livid” about Hoyer’s comments at a Washington Post editorial board breakfast.
So what's Davey gonna do? Apparently, propose only a war-funding bill, and let the chips fall where they may.
“If we’re going to lose we might as well lose with clarity so that people understand who is responsible for those inadequate investments,” the combative Obey said. “And if you take those bills down to the president’s level, [of spending before it gets vetoed] it is very hard for me to understand how earmarks can survive. It’s not a threat. It’s a reality.”
It's also a reality that pissing billions of dollars down pork-drains is criminal, Davey.
Brokered Pubbie Convention? Odds Are...
Hell, I'M not going to put big bucks on it, but Freddoso is the second pundit to make the observation.
(Belling has spent about 200 hours in the last week telling you that it's all over on 2/1. Would you like some of that action? Or would you just like him to STFU about it?)
The February 5 Super-Duper Tuesday is something completely new — it could have all kinds of unintended consequences. In the past, the large number of late delegates has allowed voters to unite around a single candidate late in the game, after he proved himself early on. This will not be so easy this time, as Republican voters will choose 1,102 of roughly 2,500 delegates on a single day, not knowing what their fellow Republicans will do in other states. Given this dynamic, and the lack of a clear frontrunner at the moment, the odds of a brokered convention have never been better.
To make it fun, Fred Thompson has to start rolling the "mo" about now--he's currently at about 10% in a couple of national polls. If he ramps up, buy a stash of popcorn.
(Belling has spent about 200 hours in the last week telling you that it's all over on 2/1. Would you like some of that action? Or would you just like him to STFU about it?)
The February 5 Super-Duper Tuesday is something completely new — it could have all kinds of unintended consequences. In the past, the large number of late delegates has allowed voters to unite around a single candidate late in the game, after he proved himself early on. This will not be so easy this time, as Republican voters will choose 1,102 of roughly 2,500 delegates on a single day, not knowing what their fellow Republicans will do in other states. Given this dynamic, and the lack of a clear frontrunner at the moment, the odds of a brokered convention have never been better.
To make it fun, Fred Thompson has to start rolling the "mo" about now--he's currently at about 10% in a couple of national polls. If he ramps up, buy a stash of popcorn.
AB 377/SB 129: Unconstitutional!
AB377/SB129 (the "Rape Victim" bills) are unconstitutional on their face under the Wisconsin constitution (and, arguably, under the US constitution.)
They should be rejected.
Wisconsin law protects the right of hospitals to refuse to participate in morally objectionable practices such as abortion and sterilization. The proposed legislation appears to be in conflict with Wisconsin Statutes 253.09(1) because of the abortion causing effect of so-called emergency contraceptive drugs, as well as with the Wisconsin Constitution that expressly protects the rights of conscience. Under Article 1, Section 18 of the state constitution “any control of, or interference with, the rights of conscience” shall not be permitted. The legislation also violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees the right to freely exercise one’s religious convictions.
Despite propaganda to the contrary, these bills will place practitioners in a situation which is impossible.
...the National Catholic Medical Association passed a resolution stating that the term “emergency contraception” is "a misnomer as it does not consistently prevent fertilization.” The resolution concludes since the drug "has the potential to prevent implantation whether given in the pre-ovulatory, ovulatory, or post-ovulatory phase that it cannot be ethically employed by a Catholic physician or administered in a Catholic hospital in cases of rape.” All four Wisconsin Guilds of the Catholic Medical Association ( Milwaukee , La Crosse , Chippewa Valley & Central Wisconsin) specifically oppose AB 377 and SB 129. Their legislative memo concludes that “the law will mandate the use of medication that actually causes early abortions by preventing embryos from implanting on the wall of the uterus.”
The facts are simple. The bills (as currently written) are both "abortion-enabling" AND un-constitutional.
They should not pass.
(Research from Pro-Life Wisconsin.)
They should be rejected.
Wisconsin law protects the right of hospitals to refuse to participate in morally objectionable practices such as abortion and sterilization. The proposed legislation appears to be in conflict with Wisconsin Statutes 253.09(1) because of the abortion causing effect of so-called emergency contraceptive drugs, as well as with the Wisconsin Constitution that expressly protects the rights of conscience. Under Article 1, Section 18 of the state constitution “any control of, or interference with, the rights of conscience” shall not be permitted. The legislation also violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees the right to freely exercise one’s religious convictions.
Despite propaganda to the contrary, these bills will place practitioners in a situation which is impossible.
...the National Catholic Medical Association passed a resolution stating that the term “emergency contraception” is "a misnomer as it does not consistently prevent fertilization.” The resolution concludes since the drug "has the potential to prevent implantation whether given in the pre-ovulatory, ovulatory, or post-ovulatory phase that it cannot be ethically employed by a Catholic physician or administered in a Catholic hospital in cases of rape.” All four Wisconsin Guilds of the Catholic Medical Association ( Milwaukee , La Crosse , Chippewa Valley & Central Wisconsin) specifically oppose AB 377 and SB 129. Their legislative memo concludes that “the law will mandate the use of medication that actually causes early abortions by preventing embryos from implanting on the wall of the uterus.”
The facts are simple. The bills (as currently written) are both "abortion-enabling" AND un-constitutional.
They should not pass.
(Research from Pro-Life Wisconsin.)
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Steyn's Warning
As pointed out by CWN, Mitt Romney made an interesting point on which Mark Steyn did an excellent arabesque.
Steyn picks up on Romney's reference to the great European cathedrals: "so inspired... so grand... so empty." Romney argued: "The establishment of state religions in Europe did no favor to Europe's churches." And Steyn agrees: "In Europe, the established church, whether formal (the Church of England) or informal (as in Catholic Italy and Spain), killed religion as surely as state ownership killed the British car industry."
The steady growth of the state, Steyn argues, led many Europeans to see the government as "the all-powerful beneficent provider of cradle-to-grave welfare." State agencies provided material welfare and moral guidance. And with churches viewed as adjuncts to the state, active religious faith slid into desuetude.
Directly quoting Steyn:
"Freedom requires religion," said Mitt Romney, and, whether or not one agrees, in Europe big government has led naturally to small religion...
Europe's religious decline derives in part from the state's usurpation and annexation of so many of the other supporting structures of society, including the church.
Fortunately, the Founders were smart cookies.
But the growth of the State in the US portends badly for organized religion, even though there is no "state Church."
Steyn picks up on Romney's reference to the great European cathedrals: "so inspired... so grand... so empty." Romney argued: "The establishment of state religions in Europe did no favor to Europe's churches." And Steyn agrees: "In Europe, the established church, whether formal (the Church of England) or informal (as in Catholic Italy and Spain), killed religion as surely as state ownership killed the British car industry."
The steady growth of the state, Steyn argues, led many Europeans to see the government as "the all-powerful beneficent provider of cradle-to-grave welfare." State agencies provided material welfare and moral guidance. And with churches viewed as adjuncts to the state, active religious faith slid into desuetude.
Directly quoting Steyn:
"Freedom requires religion," said Mitt Romney, and, whether or not one agrees, in Europe big government has led naturally to small religion...
Europe's religious decline derives in part from the state's usurpation and annexation of so many of the other supporting structures of society, including the church.
Fortunately, the Founders were smart cookies.
But the growth of the State in the US portends badly for organized religion, even though there is no "state Church."
A Fair Tax of 30%? Nope.
Nota Bene: Read the Combox. The discussion is technical, but enlightening.
Charlie Sykes doesn't like the Fair Tax.
Fair enough (cough.)
But let's not hinder the conversation with un-sustainable allegations on the proposed rate.
A refresher:
The FairTax plan is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with an integrated approach including a progressive national retail sales tax, a prebate to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, dollar-for-dollar federal revenue neutrality, and, through companion legislation, the repeal of the 16th Amendment.
The FairTax Act (HR 25, S 1025) is nonpartisan legislation. It abolishes all federal personal and corporate income taxes, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, and self-employment taxes and replaces them with one simple, visible, federal retail sales tax administered primarily by existing state sales tax authorities.
The FairTax taxes us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn.
In other words, it is a tax on consumption, not on earnings.
The proposed rate is 23%, not 25%, not 30%.
As the FairTax gains more national attention, questions have again arisen about whether the FairTax rate is 23 percent or 30 percent. In the toxic environment that often accompanies public policy debates, FairTax.org has even been accused by some of misleading the public, even though full descriptions of "tax-inclusive" and "tax-exclusive" calculations abound on our Web site.
The link shows a table which demonstrates that the number is, in fact, 23%.
Those who object to the Fair Tax are usually those whose interests lie in maintaining the existing system, or those who are pumping for the Flat Tax (usually described as taxing 15% of personal earnings to replace all existing taxes.)
IIRC, Charlie likes the Flat Tax, not the existing system. I think he's wrong--I think the FairTax is genuinely "conservative" as opposed to "libertarian."
But let's get the numbers right.
For that matter, get something else straight: ONLY the Fair Tax promises to virtually eliminate the IRS. The Flat Tax will perpetuate it--and the megafleets of tax lawyers and accountants who will argue endlessly over jots and tittles...
Charlie Sykes doesn't like the Fair Tax.
Fair enough (cough.)
But let's not hinder the conversation with un-sustainable allegations on the proposed rate.
A refresher:
The FairTax plan is a comprehensive proposal that replaces all federal income and payroll based taxes with an integrated approach including a progressive national retail sales tax, a prebate to ensure no American pays federal taxes on spending up to the poverty level, dollar-for-dollar federal revenue neutrality, and, through companion legislation, the repeal of the 16th Amendment.
The FairTax Act (HR 25, S 1025) is nonpartisan legislation. It abolishes all federal personal and corporate income taxes, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, and self-employment taxes and replaces them with one simple, visible, federal retail sales tax administered primarily by existing state sales tax authorities.
The FairTax taxes us only on what we choose to spend on new goods or services, not on what we earn.
In other words, it is a tax on consumption, not on earnings.
The proposed rate is 23%, not 25%, not 30%.
As the FairTax gains more national attention, questions have again arisen about whether the FairTax rate is 23 percent or 30 percent. In the toxic environment that often accompanies public policy debates, FairTax.org has even been accused by some of misleading the public, even though full descriptions of "tax-inclusive" and "tax-exclusive" calculations abound on our Web site.
The link shows a table which demonstrates that the number is, in fact, 23%.
Those who object to the Fair Tax are usually those whose interests lie in maintaining the existing system, or those who are pumping for the Flat Tax (usually described as taxing 15% of personal earnings to replace all existing taxes.)
IIRC, Charlie likes the Flat Tax, not the existing system. I think he's wrong--I think the FairTax is genuinely "conservative" as opposed to "libertarian."
But let's get the numbers right.
For that matter, get something else straight: ONLY the Fair Tax promises to virtually eliminate the IRS. The Flat Tax will perpetuate it--and the megafleets of tax lawyers and accountants who will argue endlessly over jots and tittles...
The "Energy Bill" Pork-Laden Horsehockey
It's over 1,000 pages, and few (if any) Congresscritters read it before voting it out of the House.
The bill raises fuel economy standards for auto manufacturers; it also cuts [off] billions of dollars in tax breaks to oil companies (which will only increase the cost of energy for consumers, critics complain). The bill also requires utilities to get 15 percent of their power from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2020.
Common sense? Absent:
Unlike energy bills produced by Republicans, the Democrats' version does not call for an increase in domestic production of conventional energy sources, such as oil, gas, and coal.
Ahhhh, but the Pork? Present!!
On the other hand, Boehner said the bill does contain earmarks: "Oh, yeah, we've got to have earmarks," he said. For example, Boehner said he found $161 million earmarked for the Plum Creek Timber Company's Montana landholdings -- for native fish habitat conservation. "I didn't know the fish lived in trees," Boehner said.
In addition, he pointed to a $2-billion earmark to help New York develop a rail line from the J.F.K. Airport to lower Manhattan. "That's something I'm sure my constituents want to pay for," Boehner, from Ohio, said.
He also complained about a $3-billion slush fund" included in the bill for "green projects" in cities and counties around America. But, Boehner warned, the definition of green projects is so wide that almost anything could be done with the money.
Fortunately, the bill's not likely to get any further. The Senate version is different.
Maybe it's even better. Then again, maybe not.
The bill raises fuel economy standards for auto manufacturers; it also cuts [off] billions of dollars in tax breaks to oil companies (which will only increase the cost of energy for consumers, critics complain). The bill also requires utilities to get 15 percent of their power from renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2020.
Common sense? Absent:
Unlike energy bills produced by Republicans, the Democrats' version does not call for an increase in domestic production of conventional energy sources, such as oil, gas, and coal.
Ahhhh, but the Pork? Present!!
On the other hand, Boehner said the bill does contain earmarks: "Oh, yeah, we've got to have earmarks," he said. For example, Boehner said he found $161 million earmarked for the Plum Creek Timber Company's Montana landholdings -- for native fish habitat conservation. "I didn't know the fish lived in trees," Boehner said.
In addition, he pointed to a $2-billion earmark to help New York develop a rail line from the J.F.K. Airport to lower Manhattan. "That's something I'm sure my constituents want to pay for," Boehner, from Ohio, said.
He also complained about a $3-billion slush fund" included in the bill for "green projects" in cities and counties around America. But, Boehner warned, the definition of green projects is so wide that almost anything could be done with the money.
Fortunately, the bill's not likely to get any further. The Senate version is different.
Maybe it's even better. Then again, maybe not.
Deport Criminal Aliens? Fuggedaboutit!
Despite all the political noise about "deporting" criminal aliens, it's not happening.
The reasons?
Smart lawyers, SCOTUS, un-cooperative "home" countries, and a ridiculously-undermanned system.
What if you had to choose whether to release a child molester into your neighborhood, or else release a murderer. Which would you choose to unleash on your neighbors? What if the choice were a kidnapper versus a rapist? One of them must be given permission to live among the innocents in your town, and you‘re the one who must choose which it will be.
What if you had to make impossible choices such as these every day? That’s the situation faced by deportation officers (DOs) in their jobs, as described in The Deporter, written by former deportation officer Ames Holbrook. Deportation officers are responsible for finding and removing the worst elements among America’s foreign population -- both legal aliens gone bad and illegal aliens who never bothered to start on good terms and then went downhill from there.
Not enough Deporters to do the job:
The ways that deportation officers are sabotaged are legion, as described by Holbrook’s first-person account of his four years as a DO. To start with, there are only 600 DOs for the whole country -- responsible for deporting the worst among millions of legal aliens and millions more illegal aliens
Not enough time to do it:
Even if the DOs were willing to work as long as it took to deport the worst offenders, it wouldn’t matter, since the whole operation is (by order of the Supreme Court) being conducted under a time limit. No alien, however threatening, can be held for more than 180 days while awaiting deportation. You can know for a fact, from his own mouth, that a criminal alien in custody has raped a 14-year-old girl, and if you can’t get past the legal hurdles in 180 days, you must -- by law -- release this child rapist into the streets.
No place to put some of them:
Those from certain countries, such as Cuba, that simply refuse the return of any of their exported criminals will be set free for lack of options. ...And on top of all this comes the real kicker -- the biggest obstacle to deportation is that we ask a country’s permission before we will send back their criminals. All they have to do is drag their feet for a few weeks on issuing this permission and the 180 days works its magic. You want us to accept Pablo the molester of little boys back into our country? Well, how do you know he is even from our country? Can you send the form again? No, we never received the request! And on and on ... 180 days later and Pablo is standing at a day-labor center again, waiting to get into some fool’s car.
The reasons?
Smart lawyers, SCOTUS, un-cooperative "home" countries, and a ridiculously-undermanned system.
What if you had to choose whether to release a child molester into your neighborhood, or else release a murderer. Which would you choose to unleash on your neighbors? What if the choice were a kidnapper versus a rapist? One of them must be given permission to live among the innocents in your town, and you‘re the one who must choose which it will be.
What if you had to make impossible choices such as these every day? That’s the situation faced by deportation officers (DOs) in their jobs, as described in The Deporter, written by former deportation officer Ames Holbrook. Deportation officers are responsible for finding and removing the worst elements among America’s foreign population -- both legal aliens gone bad and illegal aliens who never bothered to start on good terms and then went downhill from there.
Not enough Deporters to do the job:
The ways that deportation officers are sabotaged are legion, as described by Holbrook’s first-person account of his four years as a DO. To start with, there are only 600 DOs for the whole country -- responsible for deporting the worst among millions of legal aliens and millions more illegal aliens
Not enough time to do it:
Even if the DOs were willing to work as long as it took to deport the worst offenders, it wouldn’t matter, since the whole operation is (by order of the Supreme Court) being conducted under a time limit. No alien, however threatening, can be held for more than 180 days while awaiting deportation. You can know for a fact, from his own mouth, that a criminal alien in custody has raped a 14-year-old girl, and if you can’t get past the legal hurdles in 180 days, you must -- by law -- release this child rapist into the streets.
No place to put some of them:
Those from certain countries, such as Cuba, that simply refuse the return of any of their exported criminals will be set free for lack of options. ...And on top of all this comes the real kicker -- the biggest obstacle to deportation is that we ask a country’s permission before we will send back their criminals. All they have to do is drag their feet for a few weeks on issuing this permission and the 180 days works its magic. You want us to accept Pablo the molester of little boys back into our country? Well, how do you know he is even from our country? Can you send the form again? No, we never received the request! And on and on ... 180 days later and Pablo is standing at a day-labor center again, waiting to get into some fool’s car.
Friday, December 07, 2007
Piero Marini's "Mein Kampf"
An excellent review of Mgr Piero Marini's (partial) confessions (A Challenging Reform) is available at TNLM, written by Fr. Alcuin Reid. A couple of excerpts follow.
Marini claims that the result of this reform was that “at long last the hopes and dreams of the liturgical movement had borne fruit.” Sixty years after Pope Pius XII’s seminal encyclical Mediator Dei, we may well ask whether this is indeed the case. Many pastors and scholars would not agree that, in Marini’s words, that “the liturgy inspired by the Council needed to leave behind Tridentine forms in order to embrace the genuine expression of the faith of the whole church”.
For the liturgy is more than an “expression of faith” of this or of any other passing generation...
It's more than a possibility that Marini was overcome with the narcissism we mentioned below.
...Some ask whether the Consilium was itself faithful to the vision of the Council, or whether it operated from its own ideologies under the auspices of Vatican II. Marini regards Bugnini’s work as “one of the greatest liturgical reforms in the history of the Western church.” He writes: “unlike the reform after Trent, it was all the greater because it also dealt with doctrine.” Doctrine? This is precisely the point that critics of the reform – Marini calls them “reactionaries” – have made for decades: that the reform was inspired by different if not divergent doctrine.
Indeed. That the 'doctrine' expressed by Mgr. Bugnini, Cdl. Lercaro, et al was found in 16 Exceptions, 3:4 is the problem.
More at the link.
Marini claims that the result of this reform was that “at long last the hopes and dreams of the liturgical movement had borne fruit.” Sixty years after Pope Pius XII’s seminal encyclical Mediator Dei, we may well ask whether this is indeed the case. Many pastors and scholars would not agree that, in Marini’s words, that “the liturgy inspired by the Council needed to leave behind Tridentine forms in order to embrace the genuine expression of the faith of the whole church”.
For the liturgy is more than an “expression of faith” of this or of any other passing generation...
It's more than a possibility that Marini was overcome with the narcissism we mentioned below.
...Some ask whether the Consilium was itself faithful to the vision of the Council, or whether it operated from its own ideologies under the auspices of Vatican II. Marini regards Bugnini’s work as “one of the greatest liturgical reforms in the history of the Western church.” He writes: “unlike the reform after Trent, it was all the greater because it also dealt with doctrine.” Doctrine? This is precisely the point that critics of the reform – Marini calls them “reactionaries” – have made for decades: that the reform was inspired by different if not divergent doctrine.
Indeed. That the 'doctrine' expressed by Mgr. Bugnini, Cdl. Lercaro, et al was found in 16 Exceptions, 3:4 is the problem.
More at the link.
The Red Flashing Signal
That phrase is not MY description--it's that of the Wall Street Journal.
Here's the signal:
Here's the signal:
In downturns, the Household survey of employment LEADS the BLS (or ADP) surveys. That's because the BLS survey is a "catching-up" collection of numbers--whereas household is a snapshot of "now."
HT: BigPicture
How to Acquire a Gun (or several)....
For the twits who think that putting up a "Gun-Free Zone" sticker on their door will actually stop the goblins, a story from Atlanta.
A crew of brazen thieves stole an arsenal of nearly 80 weapons from a Fayette County gun shop early Wednesday after using a stolen pickup truck to rip burglar bars from the front of the store.
Security video showed that the six suspects were inside Autrey's Armory on Bethea Road at West Fayetteville Road for only about 70 seconds during the 4 a.m. burglary, Fayette sheriff's Lt. Belinda McCastle said.
McCastle said the suspects, all wearing hooded sweatshirts that covered their faces, were very organized.
"It appeared that each individual had an assigned task," she said. "They did not fumble over each other, they went in, crashed the counters, swiped the weapons and boom, they were out of there."
Most of the 75 to 80 guns stolen were handguns manufactured by Glock and Sig Sauer, McCastle said.
The thieves also stole a Springfield .308 semiautomatic rifle with a collapsible stock and bipod, she said.
And I'm sure that they went back to fill in the paperwork later. /sarcasm
HT: RedState
A crew of brazen thieves stole an arsenal of nearly 80 weapons from a Fayette County gun shop early Wednesday after using a stolen pickup truck to rip burglar bars from the front of the store.
Security video showed that the six suspects were inside Autrey's Armory on Bethea Road at West Fayetteville Road for only about 70 seconds during the 4 a.m. burglary, Fayette sheriff's Lt. Belinda McCastle said.
McCastle said the suspects, all wearing hooded sweatshirts that covered their faces, were very organized.
"It appeared that each individual had an assigned task," she said. "They did not fumble over each other, they went in, crashed the counters, swiped the weapons and boom, they were out of there."
Most of the 75 to 80 guns stolen were handguns manufactured by Glock and Sig Sauer, McCastle said.
The thieves also stole a Springfield .308 semiautomatic rifle with a collapsible stock and bipod, she said.
And I'm sure that they went back to fill in the paperwork later. /sarcasm
HT: RedState
Immigration Law: It's Not Just About Mexico
We're reminded of the deadly side of immigration-law violations by the CounterTerrorism folks.
Within the past week or so, we have learned (or re-learned) the following:]
• al-Qaeda is recruiting western/European Muslim radicals who can easily enter Europe and the US, including those who can utilize the US Visa Waiver Program with European passports;
• the GAO has found serious security concerns with the US “Diversity Visa” Program - finding it ripe for exploitation by those utilizing false or fraudulently procured identity documents, particularly in terrorist producing countries;
• a US Marine Captain born in Lebanon, who had served in Iraq, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit naturalization and passport fraud and is linked to a similar Lebanese fraud/felon ex-FBI agent and CIA officer, both of whom are associated with a Hezbollah-linked fugitive restaurateur from Detroit wanted for tax and immigration fraud;
• an unknown but significant number of Iraqi military and law enforcement officials who were brought into the US for training deserted that training once in the US and have either claimed political asylum or are completely missing.
What do all these have in common? As often reported in the CTB, these matters reflect upon the close linkage of US national security and immigration issues. A beating victim smacked repeatedly in the head with a baseball bat will soon succumb to the attack, especially if it is a large bat. This combination of immigration law violations and security threats equals a very big bat. Any guess who might be the victims?
Meantime, Congress fiddles.
Within the past week or so, we have learned (or re-learned) the following:]
• al-Qaeda is recruiting western/European Muslim radicals who can easily enter Europe and the US, including those who can utilize the US Visa Waiver Program with European passports;
• the GAO has found serious security concerns with the US “Diversity Visa” Program - finding it ripe for exploitation by those utilizing false or fraudulently procured identity documents, particularly in terrorist producing countries;
• a US Marine Captain born in Lebanon, who had served in Iraq, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit naturalization and passport fraud and is linked to a similar Lebanese fraud/felon ex-FBI agent and CIA officer, both of whom are associated with a Hezbollah-linked fugitive restaurateur from Detroit wanted for tax and immigration fraud;
• an unknown but significant number of Iraqi military and law enforcement officials who were brought into the US for training deserted that training once in the US and have either claimed political asylum or are completely missing.
What do all these have in common? As often reported in the CTB, these matters reflect upon the close linkage of US national security and immigration issues. A beating victim smacked repeatedly in the head with a baseball bat will soon succumb to the attack, especially if it is a large bat. This combination of immigration law violations and security threats equals a very big bat. Any guess who might be the victims?
Meantime, Congress fiddles.
It's the SPENDING, Stupid!!
The Captain reminds us of Principle # 1:
The Washington Post reports on the anguish of the Democrats in fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), one of the dumbest ongoing fiscal issues over the last several years. Why the anguish? Democrats can't find another tax to replace the AMT revenue this year.
The Democrats in this article act as though they have only one choice in dealing with the AMT, which is to play a shell game and find another way to tax Americans. Even the Republicans in the article, gleeful over forcing Democrats to violate Paygo, seem to forget that other options exist for fiscal responsibility.
At Heading Right, I remind Congress that the budget "hole" supposedly blown by the AMT fix amounts to a whopping 1.67% of the federal spending plan for next year. Congressional anguish over fixing the ludicrously broken AMT apparently has clouded their minds so much that they've forgotten about the option to reduce spending 1.67% instead of jacking up taxes by a much larger percentage.
The Washington Post reports on the anguish of the Democrats in fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), one of the dumbest ongoing fiscal issues over the last several years. Why the anguish? Democrats can't find another tax to replace the AMT revenue this year.
The Democrats in this article act as though they have only one choice in dealing with the AMT, which is to play a shell game and find another way to tax Americans. Even the Republicans in the article, gleeful over forcing Democrats to violate Paygo, seem to forget that other options exist for fiscal responsibility.
At Heading Right, I remind Congress that the budget "hole" supposedly blown by the AMT fix amounts to a whopping 1.67% of the federal spending plan for next year. Congressional anguish over fixing the ludicrously broken AMT apparently has clouded their minds so much that they've forgotten about the option to reduce spending 1.67% instead of jacking up taxes by a much larger percentage.
They didn't forget, Cap'n. It never occurs to them.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Romney: Good Speech!! But Irrelevant
Frankly, I've never thought that Romney's faith was particularly important--his prior work in Gummint DOES count, however, in making a decision about the Presidency.
For that reason, I think Romney gave a great speech, but about the wrong topic. He shoulda 'splained how he had all these right-leaning 'conversions' in the period leading to his Presidential campaign--countering all those left-leaning practices and prior beliefs.
Look, Mitt Romney is a nice guy and bright.
He's another East Coast (read: Rocky) Republican, just like Rudy!!.
Except Rudy has all the wives of a Mormon, and Romney just has the T-shirt.
For that reason, I think Romney gave a great speech, but about the wrong topic. He shoulda 'splained how he had all these right-leaning 'conversions' in the period leading to his Presidential campaign--countering all those left-leaning practices and prior beliefs.
Look, Mitt Romney is a nice guy and bright.
He's another East Coast (read: Rocky) Republican, just like Rudy!!.
Except Rudy has all the wives of a Mormon, and Romney just has the T-shirt.
Rudy Unraveling
The WSJ's Washington Wire:
The former New York mayor was the choice of 25% of Republican-leaning respondents in new USA Today/Gallup poll. That gives him a nine-point lead over Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, whose support surged to 16% from 6% a month ago. It was Giuliani’s worst showing in the poll all year.
Another survey — also taken Nov. 30 through Dec. 2 — for the Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg pegged Giuliani’s support at 23% among likely Republican voters, down from 32% in October. Huckabee, meanwhile, had shot to 17% from 7%.
If the trend continues and Giuliani looses his national lead, he would find it harder to raise funds. It would also greatly complicate — perhaps even doom — his unorthodox primary strategy.
Hmmmmnnnn.
Still think this is all over by 3/1?
Ol' Huck's Arkansas-byzantine dealings won't do him any good, either--
McCain's weak--
Paul's another Perot--
Romney's going to 'slick' himself out--
Look for a Thompson/Hunter ticket. AFTER the Convention.
The former New York mayor was the choice of 25% of Republican-leaning respondents in new USA Today/Gallup poll. That gives him a nine-point lead over Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor, whose support surged to 16% from 6% a month ago. It was Giuliani’s worst showing in the poll all year.
Another survey — also taken Nov. 30 through Dec. 2 — for the Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg pegged Giuliani’s support at 23% among likely Republican voters, down from 32% in October. Huckabee, meanwhile, had shot to 17% from 7%.
If the trend continues and Giuliani looses his national lead, he would find it harder to raise funds. It would also greatly complicate — perhaps even doom — his unorthodox primary strategy.
Hmmmmnnnn.
Still think this is all over by 3/1?
Ol' Huck's Arkansas-byzantine dealings won't do him any good, either--
McCain's weak--
Paul's another Perot--
Romney's going to 'slick' himself out--
Look for a Thompson/Hunter ticket. AFTER the Convention.
In A Mall When the Shooting Starts?
VERY useful advice from the Confederate Yankee, so I'll swipe/copy/paste for you.
Get in. The long, wide corridors and hallways lined with stores in a mall provide us with easy access from one store to another. In situations where a shooter is on the loose, they are also going to be the first route of escape for shoppers. The panicked rush of people attempting to use these corridors to escape increases the risk of being trampled in a mob. It goes without saying that these long open hallways provide next to no cover from any bullets fired. If you happen to be walking in the mall and a shooting occurs, get into the nearest store or side hallway.
Get low. Firearms, be they handguns, rifles, or shotguns, are typically fired from the shoulder. Most bullets or pellets travel roughly on a horizontal plane from shoulder to waist high. By going prone, you decrease your chances of getting hit. Once down, stay down. Bullets have no problem penetrating multiple layers of building materials. Just because you do not see the shooter does not mean you are out of danger.
Get out. Stores do not bring their merchandise in through the front door. Almost all have loading docks, and to comply with fire codes, an emergency exit that leads either to a back hallway, or provide directs access to the outside of the building. Look up for the "exit" sign on the ceiling at the back of the store, and make your way there as fast as possible, keeping as low as possible.
Keep moving. Once you make it outside, keep moving. Put as much physical space and as many physical objects between you and the scene as possible.
Since packing heat is illegal in Wisconsin, the following does NOT apply to residents of this State:
DO NOT be an idiot by drawing and attempting to take out the shooter from 50 yards with hundreds of people running around.
Take him out from 10 yards instead.
Get in. The long, wide corridors and hallways lined with stores in a mall provide us with easy access from one store to another. In situations where a shooter is on the loose, they are also going to be the first route of escape for shoppers. The panicked rush of people attempting to use these corridors to escape increases the risk of being trampled in a mob. It goes without saying that these long open hallways provide next to no cover from any bullets fired. If you happen to be walking in the mall and a shooting occurs, get into the nearest store or side hallway.
Get low. Firearms, be they handguns, rifles, or shotguns, are typically fired from the shoulder. Most bullets or pellets travel roughly on a horizontal plane from shoulder to waist high. By going prone, you decrease your chances of getting hit. Once down, stay down. Bullets have no problem penetrating multiple layers of building materials. Just because you do not see the shooter does not mean you are out of danger.
Get out. Stores do not bring their merchandise in through the front door. Almost all have loading docks, and to comply with fire codes, an emergency exit that leads either to a back hallway, or provide directs access to the outside of the building. Look up for the "exit" sign on the ceiling at the back of the store, and make your way there as fast as possible, keeping as low as possible.
Keep moving. Once you make it outside, keep moving. Put as much physical space and as many physical objects between you and the scene as possible.
Since packing heat is illegal in Wisconsin, the following does NOT apply to residents of this State:
DO NOT be an idiot by drawing and attempting to take out the shooter from 50 yards with hundreds of people running around.
Take him out from 10 yards instead.
Fred Thompson: Principles First; Platform Later
On Charlie Rose, responding to the question "What does conservatism mean today?"
It means things that are consistent with God's design for man, is consistent with human nature, it's consistent with the lessons of history, the lessons of ages. They found form in the Constitution I think and what our founding fathers believed. They understand that man can do great and wonderful things, but man is prone to error and sometimes do terrible things. That too much power in too few hands is a dangerous thing. That power is a corrupting thing.
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It means things that are consistent with God's design for man, is consistent with human nature, it's consistent with the lessons of history, the lessons of ages. They found form in the Constitution I think and what our founding fathers believed. They understand that man can do great and wonderful things, but man is prone to error and sometimes do terrible things. That too much power in too few hands is a dangerous thing. That power is a corrupting thing.
Comments the