The Black Republican

I strongly suggest this piece by Amir Taheri as "Recommended Reading".

All the King's horses, and all of the King's men can not create enough laws to correct our illegal immigration situation, unless somone has the fortitude to enforce the laws.

I strongly suggest this piece by Thomas Lifson as "Recommended Reading".

Does the Democratic culture of corruption know no bounds? McDermott caught, and fined.

Addendum 3/29/06
Also, Rush couldn't help but laugh as he recited this story yesterday, and then called for McDermott's censure. The Senate does have the power to censure its members, and no joke, they should censure this criminal.

I strongly suggest this piece by Thomas Sowell as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by Tom Segel as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by Cathy Young as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by Rich Lowry as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by Adrian Wooldridge as "Recommended Reading".

From yesterday's Best of the Web:

World War II left Europe owing an incalculable moral debt to both America and the Jews: America because it saved Europe from its own savagery, Jews because they were the primary victims of that savagery. European anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism are often hard to tell apart, and it may be because they both reflect a self-loathing aspect of the European psyche--a neurotic need to compensate for an overwhelming sense of historical guilt.

One can almost hear the self-deceiving follow-up:"Were things really so bad before they invited themselves in?" The last time I heard that, it came from an abused wife on Cops.

I strongly suggest this piece by Christopher Hitchens as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by John Fund as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by Stephen F. Hayes as "Recommended Reading".

If the faithful continue to listen to him, maybe

Update:

Then again, there are a lot of intolerant Muslims who almost certainly are not listening to reason.

Will winter end anytime soon? Where is spring? Not in Denver

I really need to stop Googling the word "Gettysburg".

The price tag is justifiably hefty at $130. I can't afford it, but if you'd like to give Stephen Recker a small token of support, help me purchase a copy.

I promise I'll tease you tell you all about it when it arrives.

For those of you with resources of your own, I've added a permanent link to Mr. Recker's site in the sidebar. (Maybe he'll take pity on me and give me a discount.) :-)

I strongly suggest this piece by Tom Elia as "Recommended Reading".

Put in the best light, one would assume that the Democrat leaders who plan to campaign on military installations are simply unaware that such activity violates Department of Defense rules. But, given that the Democrats who distributed such instructions to their brethren are our lawmakers, and should know better, they must be reprimanded for their error. Obviously Harry Reid et al must be censured. Sorry guys, but given the circumstances, it is the only right thing to do.

Drudge Report

In a stunning development, the, so-called, "morning after" abortion pill is believed to be rendering unviable some embryos which have survived their gestation period, survived their own birth and have survived enough intervening years so as to allow them to mature to the point at which they themselves have become pregnant. Reporting has it that this pill, intended to kill only people of pre-birth, is being mis-administered and has a potentialy fatal effect upon the pregnant post-birth embryo.

"RU-486 is a deadly drug that is killing pregnant women,... This drug should never have been approved, and it must be suspended immediately." -Senator Jim DeMint, South Carolina

Ironically, it is legal to kill pre-birth embryos in this nation, but the unintended death of post-birth, and criminally innocent, embryos still receives special attention and requires corrective measures. Some embryos remain more equal, under the law, than do others.

Drudge

Update- FDA clears one case, RU-486 not culprit.

"Liberty without obedience is confusion, and obedience without liberty is slavery."

William Penn

Yes, How many times?

Rhetorical, yet, on point.

Ever wonder why it seems that the liberal kooks just keep getting kookier? Tin foil hats amplify the wavelengths. The more they wear their supposed protective garb, the stronger they get the right message. That must be very disconcerting for their tiny little brains.

I strongly suggest this piece by Shmuel Rosner as "Recommended Reading".

I heard it said yesterday, the censure measure which Senator Russ Feingold has proposed is not found in the US Constitution. If that is so, then Feingold has done exactly the act for which he accuses the President, making up the law. And, if Feingold has begun an extra-Constitutional measure; shouldn't he be censured?

Of course, there is no finding of fact that the President has actually violated the Constitution. Feingold is not one of those members of Congress, (the 'do-nothing' branch of our government), who has been privy to all of the details of the terrorist surveillance program, (those who have seen the details seem impressed by the program's virtue). So, he doesn't know of which he speaks when he claims that the President is out of bounds.

Not that not knowing ever stops a Congressman from reaching a conclusion, they need only know what the poll numbers are, and in this case the poll numbers must indicate that this measure will gain him support for his own Presidential bid. One wonders what he would do as President though, as he and his compadres do everything they can to castrate the Presidency of all power to act. If elected, and if he were to follow the principles the Democrats now espouse, Feingold (or any liberal Democrat) as President would be on a four year paid vacation where he would have a front row seat from which to watch the courts run this country to a halt.

A masterful recitation of political arrogance in today's Wall Street Journal editorial.

Mr. Feingold [has done a] public service in floating his "censure" gambit now. He's doing voters a favor by telling them before November's election just how Democrats intend to treat a wartime President if they take power.

Not only do they want to block his policies, they also plan to rebuke and embarrass him in front of the world and America's enemies. And they want to do so not because there is a smidgen of evidence that he's abused his office or lied under oath, but because they think he's been too energetic in using his powers to defend America. By all means, let's have this impeachment debate before the election, so voters can know what's really at stake.

Don't listen to the mainstream media, and don't pay any attention to those silly, Democrat-heavy, manufactured poll numbers. The Democrats just lost the 2006 elections in a landslide.

UPDATE: James Taranto has labeled this Dana Milbank column about Democrat consternation, "hilarious". I don't think that word does justice to the level of my glee.

The recent Dubai ports deal highlighted a perpetual trait of our Congressmen, they are always thinking first of their safety come November, and only as a corollary to their primary goal, re-election or electoral advancement, do they allow themselves to be distracted by concerns over the general safety of the American people. The demagoguery over the UAE's involvement in our ports, where they would be performing the same handling operations now handled by another foreign country, has yet to end, And the same operations Congress has permitted the Republic of China, and others, to perform. And, the UAE contract was approved by a US governmental agency which correctly followed the application process in place at the time and still in place today. And, given that the UAE nor the principle of foreign entity operations at our ports were not exacted out of consideration for receipt of these type of contracts, the deal was legal, and by all technicalities proper.

To be sure, it was worth investigation to completely understand if, and in what ways, our security would have been impacted by allowing the UAE to acquire the now British run operations at those ports. But, that answer was never achieved. Today we no more know whether the elements of such an arrangement, where a foreign entity manages the loading/off-loading at our ports, is a security threat than we did before the UAE hysteria. And, we have no new determination as to whether the UAE is to be considered friendly or hostile. Instead what we got from Congress was a reaction to the American public's legitimate questioning of whether such an arrangement is prudent. The people fairly asked the question as to whether we could trust this Mideast country in the proposed circumstance, and to be fair there were some who reacted unfavorable simply because the proposed tenant is Arab, but nobody actually answered the question. Yet there were plenty of Congressmen willing to ride on the wave of fear, rather than taking the lead in getting to the truth. From Congress we got reinforcement of all manner of rumor and unsubstantiated gloom and doom predictions. Oh, and lest I forget to mention it, we also got a huge load of self-congratulation. The Congress achieved its only goal in the UAE matter, it made itself feel safer.

It has not made us, the American people safer, because nothing has changed. There are no new laws or review directives with regard to the port contract applications. There is no new universal understanding of principle to use in setting future policy. There is no exact determination of whether we accept the UAE, or any Arab nation, as a trusted ally (not that we ever tell any ally everything, or that we ever trust any ally without continued verification). There is no consensus on anything. Some of the same people who now champion their vigilance on this matter obstructed on the Patriot Act, FISA, Guantanamo, and even the war to defeat the terrorists. And nearly all of Congress seems so uninformed about the real particulars of the port dealings that if they were asked to perform in a high school debate on the subject they would be ill-equipped to speak to either side, pro or con, and they should know both sides so well that they can make the case for both their own side and the opponents arguments before they profess to have solved the matter in our best interests.

No, today in Congress we don't have leaders; we have poll watchers spending every day's energy on getting past their next election with a job in hand. They do not focus on knowing the facts, and they do not focus on finding lasting principles and repeatable solutions. They play politics. And when they win at that goal, they pat themselves on the back in congratulation and vote themselves a pay raise.

Once again there is controversy between those who are in charge (government) and those who truly understand the purpose for the WTC Memorial (the families). This time it is about the fire codes to be used in the construct of the Memorial. It seems that instead of building it under the stricter NY State and City codes the builders are seeking an exemption which will allow them to cut safety corners and build this shrine in accord with the Port Authority's less stringent codes.

Given the history of loss of life at this location I am appalled to learn that anyone would be flat out dumb enough to even suggest, much less dumb enough to build it, using anything less than the most comprehensive and effective safety standards.

Please sign the petition to correct this sloppy practice.
Sign the Elimination of Port Authority Exemptions at Ground Zero Petition

I strongly suggest this piece by Sen. Bill Frist as "Recommended Reading".

Dubai Firm Backs Out of U.S. Ports Deal

Addendum-

Of course, there may be repurcussions to follow. Will Dubai remain friendly toward the US dealings within their country? Will they continue to reform in the manner which has occured since 9/11? Will they take offense at the manner in which many in our Legislative Branch of government portrayed them, as our enemy? What follows now?

I strongly suggest this piece by Gilbert Meilaender and Robert P. George as "Recommended Reading".

Todd Manzi has a very good article at TownHall.com today that does a great job of exposing the obvious bias of the MSM in general, and The Associated Press in particular. But I must take exception to the articles conclusion:

The AP and the mainstream media control the news. They set the agenda. They determine what will be a story and what will not be a story. They determine how the story will be spun. Nobody is holding them accountable. The MSM would be all over a teacher who made a disagreeable comment about women, gays, minorities or Democrats. But, geography teachers who attempt to indoctrinate their students toward socialism while deriding capitalism get a pass.

Don't worry... they will not be given a pass, and there will be no quarter given.

Or a stone, or pebble, or whichever small, hard, spherical type object you prefer. I mean that metaphorically, of course. I have come to this conclusion because of an interview I heard on the radio this past weekend (though it may have been a re-broadcast). The venue was The Tammy Bruce Show, the interviewee (?) was Glenn Reynolds, and the subject was his new book "An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths."

Given the title of the book, I think many of you may see how I'm extending the metaphor here. We all know that there are indeed "Davids" out there trying to slay the "Goliaths" of our modern world - Glenn, Bill at InDC, Scott at LGF, Michelle, Drudge, Ace, Dean, Wretchard at the Belmont Club, and James Taranto, just to name some of the more renown rock-slingers. And I think we all understand that the Internet in general, and the blogosphere specifically, is the slingshot in this metaphor - the technological advancement that gave the original David the ability to do what he did. But where is the rock, the pebble, the stone? All the technology in the world would have done David no good, no matter how much skill he had with that slingshot, if it weren't for that rock!

So in this metaphor - where is the rock?

Right here! Those of us in the blogosphere not big enough to actually sling the big missiles, we are the rocks. Those of you who don't actually blog yourselves but just use blogs as a source of news and information, you are the rocks. We are the ones that make the impact, the ones who make sure the shots from the Davids are felt by the Goliaths. Oh, we little Davids may occasionally take a shot or two ourselves, but our real value lies elsewhere. By bringing up issues at home, work, or school and using arguments advanced by the New Media (whatever your viewpoint), by holding elected officials accountable for their actions with information gleaned from blogs, by writing letters to newspaper editors, by informing friends, family, and coworkers about the issues that affect their everyday lives that otherwise gets hidden or overlooked by the MSM, we ensure that those shots fired by the Davids actually strike flesh. The choice of those "five smooth stones" by David was of critical importance, as is the impact each of us can have.

But given the entrenchment of the giants we are fighting, one David with one rock could never have been enough. The Goliaths are still standing tall and leading a mighty army. An army that has, like the Philistines, invested all their confidence in their champion. But we in the Blogosphere are not one David, we are legion, and these mighty champions of the left are beginning to show the affects - both in fear and fatigue - of the thousands of shots being lobbed at them. When this bold experiment called the Blogosphere first began to take its shots, the rocks and stones (We, and our arguments and debating skills) were rough and hard to aim. But as time has passed we rocks have become more polished, smooth, hard, and have learned to be self directed... and our impact is being felt. Expect the leftist Philistines to become more and more anxious as they begin to see their champion Goliaths - big Government, the MSM, Hollywood, Academia - suffer a death from a thousand cuts.

I have already ordered the book, and I suggest you do the same. Let's strike fear in their hearts and show these big Government, MSM, Hollywood, and Academia Goliaths that not only do we have bigger stones, but that we have an unlimited supply of them!

I strongly suggest this piece by Dan Eggen as "Recommended Reading".

I strongly suggest this piece by Daniel Henninger as "Recommended Reading".

"The makers of the gay cowboy flick 'Brokeback Mountain' were too rough on sheep, an animal-rights group charged yesterday." - New York Post

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