Jun

29

2007

Sounds Fair To Me

Filed Under Law and Ethics | 3 Comments

Wizbang Blog calls our attention to a tactic used in Panama City, Florida to discover illegal aliens. The local Sheriff is sending multiple police cars to construction sites with lights and sirens turned on, when the illegals take it on the lam the police track them down and report them to Immigration. It is having the desired effect.

“We immigrants, we are leaving Panama City. People are afraid they will be deported,” he said. “The companies don’t want to hire illegal people. Now they’re only hiring those with papers.”

Dang, ain’t that a shame, no papers, no worky!

Sheriff Frank McKeithen is apparently one of many local and state officials willing to do the work our Federal government won’t do. No word in this story on whether the INS immigration services follow up or if any of the illegals are actually punished; but we can guess that result, can’t we?

Oh, and the story wouldn’t be complete without the ACLU charging in to claim the tactics are like “Nazi Germany”.

Jun

28

2007

An incredible day

Filed Under Economics, Foreign Affairs, Law and Ethics, Politics, Race and Prejudice | Leave a Comment

Today was one for the books.

It began with a vote in the Senate that beat, throttled, and mutilated the hotly contested immigration bill before it finally died. Good riddance. I can’t help but wonder if we’ve seen a life preserver thrown to the Republican Party.

You can continue to follow the spectacle on the thousand-or-so blogs covering the action, but make sure you hear about Sam Switchback and MSM Dimwittery from the WSJ, both via HotAir.

FULL DISCLOSURE: As someone who has clicked occasionally on the “Those Shirts” ads on HotAir, I am apparently involved in the plot.

That would have been a full day’s news, but we’re not finished.

SCOTUS decided to get into the action by offering its final ruling (yet another 5-4 with Kennedy siding with the Originalist/Textualist half of the court) [ SCOTUSBlog] on affirmative action in public schools. We’ll need time to really digest this mammoth ruling; I’ve only managed to skim the Chief Justice’s opinion for the court. But, as widely reported, the CJ has offered a statement in conclusion that I trust will become one of the great catchphrases of Supreme Court jurisprudence:

The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.
Can I hear a Hallelujah?

Next, Mike Pence’s preventative measure banning the UnFairness Doctrine thundered out of the House, 309-115. Expect the Senate to pass it on a voice vote some Friday night in July.

To finish off a tumultuous day with a little comic relief tonight, the Dems had a debate, where they discussed the evils of resegregation being forced on America by the Supreme Court. The event was held at Howard University.

Jun

27

2007

John Kerry Endorses Equal Time, Continues To Ignore His Opportunity For Equal Time V Swift Boaters

Filed Under Politics | 1 Comment

So, John Kerry has received the talking points on reviving the unFairness Doctrine and has dutifully chimed in with his endorsement of the directive. The Politburo has spoken and comrade Kerry is down with the party line.

Of course, we must assume that his enthusiasm for the mandated opposing views dictated by a fairness doctrine would subside if he, and his service record, were the subject of discussion. In that instance he would not only opposes the presentation of an opposing view, he even opposes the full presentation of his own view, which is illustrated by his failure to fulfill his promise to release his service records; a failed promise now 878 days old.

At once we know that it isn’t fairness or equality that proponents of the fairness doctrine desire, it is a favorable outcome whenever they enter into the public arena. They want to win, always, and if they can’t they will take their ball and give it to a friendly reporter under the promised protection of his confidentiality. Oh, and then they will tell everyone that they let everyone play just as they promised. Liars. And confidence artists.

We don’t need a, so-called, fairness doctrine, or a return to the old equal time mandates; there are plenty of outlets for every voice. We just need more of them to say worthy things. And, it would be nice if those, like Kerry, who don’t take advantage of the opportunities afforded them, it would be nice if those people would not try to tell the rest of us about free speech; we understand it just fine thank you. We understand, for example, that John Kerry is not free to talk about his service because the Swift Boat Veterans were right. And we also understand that he would not lift one finger to support their fair right to equal time.

Jun

27

2007

Overshooting the target

Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment

Union soldiers during the Civil War knew at certain times they needn’t duck so hastily when the sound of Confederate artillery approached. Many of the South’s gunners had a bad habit of overshooting their targets, and the failure allowed many Union units to escape much more serious casualties before a Confederate assault than they otherwise would have. Many historians credit this particular trait with saving the Union at Gettysburg, so ineffective was the long barrage before Pickett’s Charge. For the South, it was a wasted opportunity from which they never recovered.

Next year, we might say the same of Fred Thompson’s opponents and a new video that surfaced today on YouTube. The video, which appears to be a crude attempt to discredit the former senator using old video we’ve seen before, alleges that Fred Thompson isn’t really pro-life, and closes with the statistic that Fred only voted pro-life 33% of the time in the 107th Congress.

A quick look at the NRLC website for those sessions tells the truth: Fred voted pro-life once, but against the NRLC position on legislation twice. We’re talking about three votes here – one on abortion, and two on campaign finance, which the NRLC opposed. In Fred’s other six years of service, he also voted for the pro-life position 100% of the time.

I guess some politicians are just scared of someone who walks the walk.

Jun

27

2007

I blame George Bush…

Filed Under Science | Leave a Comment

Hmmm… I was out on Drudge and happened to notice this story right next to this one.

All that unusually cold weather must be caused by something, right? I know… GLOBAL WARMING!! And we all have George Bush to blame for not signing the Kyoto treaty and therefore single handedly causing all global warming and all the bad things caused by global warming (which is everything, of course).

Though I am doing so tongue-in-cheek, $10 say’s I’m not the only one who will claim this – only anyone else who does will do so with a straight face and perfect sincerity.

Any takers?

(Editors Note: To those of you who know better, and for the sake of the fragile egos of those that will make such arguments, let’s just ignore the fact that Presidents cannot enter into treaties without the approval of 2/3rds of the Senate, and that the Senate voted 95–0 against Kyoto. Those facts just do not fit into the narrative and interfere with their ability to blame GWB for every bad thing that has ever happened, so let’s just pretend they don’t exist. OK?)

Jun

21

2007

Give me a break!

Filed Under Science | 6 Comments

Will you people please make up your frickin’ minds as to exactly what I supposed to be afraid of?! Twenty years ago Newsweek and the “Scientific community” told us it was “Global Cooling.” Today of course, the inventor of the Internet and eminently renowned climatologist Professor AlGore tells us that “Global Warming” is going to raise the oceans 20 feet (or is that 20 inches?) and wash away Manhattan and most of Florida. OK, leaving aside that the assertions by the new “Scientific community” are 180 degrees from the old “Scientific community”, now this guy and his cronies are trying to tell me that it really is “Global Cooling” that I should be afraid of!

Damn it, would you idiots get your shit together! This so called “Scientific community” of yours is changing directions faster than Mrs. Bill Clinton changes her dialect.

Jun

20

2007

Transcending Politics: 86% Of Americans Say Congress Sucks

Filed Under Law and Ethics, Liberty and Democracy, Lies, Corruption and Scandals, War and Terrorism | Leave a Comment

“Just 14% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in Congress.

This 14% Congressional confidence rating is the all-time low for this measure, which Gallup initiated in 1973.”

You might say that I made a leap of judgment by claiming that 86% of Americans believe Congress sucks, but I beg to differ. Only 14% have a “great deal or quite a lot of confidence”, and any other rating for an institution with so much control over ours lives (in a time of war no less) is so sub-standard that it equates to the colloquial term; so Congress sucks! And while I am not afraid to point out that this Congress is run by Democrats, party affiliation alone is not the cause of our displeasure with these bums. Whether they have a D, or an R, or an I in front of their names they are not getting the job done. On the whole they seem to lack common sense. They are easily swayed by political correctness. And, mostly they worry too much about winning re-election and making side deals under the table. When they do attempt to pass a bill it gets loaded with pork, which they now call by a new name, earmarks, in the insulting belief that we are too stupid to see that we are being taken.

They regularly behave less like Statesmen and more like confidence men. They use the English language in such a way that native speakers need an interpreter to sort out what their Congressman has just said. And then you find that you don’t like half of what they meant and don’t trust them to keep their word on the other half. Need I go on?

Basically, there is little wonder that Americans are discouraged by this bunch of insider trading, lying, demagogue, propagandists. After all, we are paying for that government, and it isn’t that one we are sold each election year. Or is it? I’ll have to wait for the translation.

Btw, there is a portion of our money that we feel is being used well.

“By way of contrast, 69% of Americans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the military, which tops the list.”

Jun

19

2007

National Lampoon’s 72 Virgins

Filed Under Entertainment and Sports, War and Terrorism | Leave a Comment

Very funny stuff, if you are not an Islamofacist.

“ National Lampoon’s 72 Virgins
Two idiot college students unwittingly join an Al Qaeda cell in order to get the 72 virgins promised to terrorists when they die.”

To see the video short and vote for the full-length movie, go here

LGF

Jun

19

2007

The dry rot of victimhood politics!

Filed Under Lies, Corruption and Scandals | 1 Comment

The ever brilliant Thomas Sowell hits the nail on the head with his observations regarding last year’s “rape” case against Duke University lacrosse players, and the as of yet unfinished business surrounding the entire spectacle:

There is not the slightest reason to believe that Nifong was deceived or mistaken. He was not some kid fresh out of law school. He had decades of experience as a prosecutor. He knew exactly what he was doing.

Nor was the New York Times a naive ingenue in these matters. It had backed Al Sharpton’s fraudulent accusations of rape in the Tawana Brawley case, which had the same politically correct elements of a black woman accusing white men of rape.

Nor were the 88 Duke faculty members who promoted a lynch mob atmosphere naive. Most were from departments promoting the “race, class, and gender” vision of victimhood.

This case served their purposes. That trumped any question about whether the charges were true or not.

Don’t expect any of these people to recant or apologize. But be aware of how wide and how deep the moral dry rot goes.

Dry rot! What an absolutely perfect term for the race, class, and gender victimhood personalities that made up the lynch mob promoting this sham. The thing is about dry rot, you don’t realize the extent of the damage until you start pushing back to expose the weaknesses it has caused. We all need to work to expose this affliction plaguing our national house, or the house is lost.

Michelle Malkin.

Jun

18

2007

The religion of the left redux… redux?

Filed Under Religion | Leave a Comment

Did Don Quixote ever hit that windmill? The question is germane because I’m picking up the bat for a third time to beat what I have the feeling is a very dead horse. Bones even. At least to the MSM. But, hey, just like the lottery, you can’t win if you don’t play, and so I play the game.
Thanks to the people at Wisconsin’s Capital Times (via NewsBusters), we have a story in which the father of scientific climatology, Reid Bryson, has this and more to say about the global warming theories being disseminated by media and the scientific alarmists:

There is very little truth to what is being said and an awful lot of religion. It’s almost a religion. Where you have to believe in anthropogenic (or man-made) global warming or else you are nuts.
But so what, right? This is only the guy who taught the professors, who taught the professors who are teaching the graduate students who are looking to get government grants to study “global warming” so that they are never forced have to look for real work. Who the hell does he think he is?!

Jun

18

2007

Paul Potts

Filed Under Entertainment and Sports | 1 Comment

Well it seems the man I dubbed an underdog isn’t so much the underdog after all… he’s actually won!

I must wholeheartedly disagree, however, with the comment judge Amanda Holden made in the first clip about this guy being a lump of coal about to turn into a diamond. I think this guy has proven that he is the diamond among a pile of cubic zirconia.

Even though I have watched American Idol and other talent competition shows that have proliferated over the past few years, I have become ever more disenchanted with them, mainly because they tend to lampoon people like Paul Potts rather than extol their talents. Any more it seems the American talent competitions have become as much about making fun of and embarrassing people as they are about finding talent.

With so much to be depressed about in this world it’s uplifting to see an ordinary guy, an Everyman, not only get his shot at greatness, but actually reach out and grab it! That is why in my original post I called this guy a Samwise Gamgee, because he, like Sam, was an ordinary man with an ordinary life who just happened one day to take a walk down a different road… and that has made all the difference. Congratulations Paul Potts. I look forward to purchasing your debut CD.

It’s a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.

Jun

17

2007

Poor timing

Filed Under War and Terrorism | Leave a Comment

I just finished watching the Robot Chicken Star Wars special on Comedy Central. I hope that’s why I burst out laughing when I saw this. This one’s stupid and real.

Jun

15

2007

At “The Raw Story” ironically enough

Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment

Pardon my language, but this story is “da shit!”

“Usually, if a turd gets into the Senate, it’s because he or she was elected,” Emily Heil reports for Roll Call.

Jun

15

2007

I do love an underdog!

Filed Under Entertainment and Sports | Leave a Comment

I saw this on Brit Hume last night and was blown away. We live in such a cynical, media driven, Paris Hilton pop culture world that we seem to have forgotten the simple elegance and passion of the Samwise Gamgee’s of the world; the Everyman. Watch and listen… and see the passion in this man’s eyes and hear the power in his voice. And pay special attention to the crowd. That is the reaction of ordinary people to a frumpy man with bad teeth as he restores their belief that somewhere within us all resides this quiet nobility, a trait so often overlooked or dismissed by those who believe themselves to be our betters. This is his one moment, his time, and he seizes that moment for himself, and for us all, with such unassuming, humble grace that, win or lose, you could almost hear this guy going back home and saying “Well, I’m back.”


UPDATE: It seems that this underdog has made it to the finals. This truly warms my heart.

Jun

15

2007

This is why we like Fred Thompson.

Filed Under Politics | 2 Comments

Given the fact that he is at least second now in most polls (see this and this) even though he has yet to officially declare his candidacy, it’s becoming obvious that Fred Thompson is going to change the way political campaigns are run from this point onward.

And just to toot our own horn a bit here, we here at TBR have been talking about Fred for quite a while now and were, as far as I know, the first to suggest what is becoming a favorite prognostication out in the blogosphere… Thompson/Steele ‘08.

Kathryn Jean Lopez at NRO.

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