circle jerk jihad

A Kent State professor, a Muslim convert, is openly wishing for the defeat of the United States at the hands of Osama bin Laden.

This pig is Julio Pino. He currently is employed by the taxpayers of Ohio, but hopefully not for much longer. Love that religion of peace.

horse's arse

John McCain is running for President. And he announced it on Letterman. Classy.

Even classier? He started humming 'Hail to the Chief.'

Keep dreaming, Senator.

ruling

A federal judge ruled today that 'dirty bomb' suspect Jose Padilla is competent to stand trial.

nothing new

Global warming skeptics met in Australia today to celebrate the release of "Nine Facts About Climate Change" by Ray Evans.

Evans advances the idea that climate change is 'nothing new,' and that environmentalism is the new religion.

"Environmentalism has largely superseded Christianity as the religion of the upper classes in Europe and to a lesser extent in the United States," says Evans.

"It is a form of religious belief which fosters a sense of moral superiority in the believer, but which places no importance on telling the truth," he says.

"The global warming scam has been, arguably, the most extraordinary example of scientific fraud in the postwar period."

What does he think of the Gore movie?

"Bullshit from beginning to end."

pathetic pigs

The Democrats spent all or most of 2006 telling us they had a plan for Iraq. As such the American people rewarded them with election victories in the November midterms.

So why is that they are now 'revamping' their Iraq plan? Could it be that they never actually had a plan in the first place?

The latest incarnation of this latest 'plan' wouldn't cut off troop funding, it would merely 'require President Bush to 'acknowledge problems with the overburdened military.'

How counter-productive is that? How does that advance the cause of freedom and security for America and the world? What does an acknowledgment from the President do?

To the contrary, the repeated assertions that the American President has made mistakes make the job of the troops that much harder than it already is.

Way to go, Democrats! Way to support the troops! Way to place partisanship above the good of the country. What brave, courageous leaders you are!

tuesday roundup

An attempt on the Vice President's life in Afghanistan. The Taliban responsible. Twenty three died as a result of the suicide bomber.

The ever so tolerant Liberal readership of the Huffington Post reacts to the unsuccessful Cheney assassination here, proving yet again that in order to be a Liberal one must be certifiably insane.

Gore, the environmental hypocrite, 'has signed up for a program' to make his Tennessee go green. Wow. It's about time, since he's been an environmentalist for 30 years. The 'truth' sure can be 'inconvenient,' can't it, Al?

Rich Lowry shares an email he received from a buddy at the Pentagon about the new positives in Iraq.

JPod writes about red hot Rudy.

Newsflash: Hillary has been breaking the law since 2001.

Read Mitt Romney's interview with Real Clear Politics.

The Dow Jones Industrials fell 416 points today, the biggest since 2001, because of a global stock market slide. Ouch! Shut your mouth, Greenspan.

Newly added to my reading list: Gregg Jackson's "Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies: Issue By Issue Responses to the Most Common Claims of the Left from A to Z."

Consumer confidence is at its highest point in five and a 1/2 half years.

Iraqi tribes have come to a consensus on sharing oil revenues.

And Nancy Pelosi has proven to be the type of Speaker I predicted she would be: A dishonest, promise-breaking, corrupt, status quo Democrat. Is there any other kind?

5

Five western states will break with the Bush Administration on climate change policy.

Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington will develop 'a regional target for reducing greenhouse emissions in six months,' according to Reuters.

"The Western Regional Climate Action Initiative comes on the heels of an agreement in the East called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

"With the Western states you've got a huge part of the U.S. economy that are beginning to regulate greenhouse gases," said Jeremiah Baumann, an advocate with the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group."

21 pages

Mitt Romney, the first 'PowerPoint President'?

shrinking

Notice how the Dems aren't talking about the deficit lately? That's because it is shrinking dramatically, just as Bush said it would.

iranian-made i.e.d.'s

New weapons cache found in Iraq.

From the AP:

"This is a significant amount," said Capt. Clayton Combs, the commander of the company that found the cache in the volatile Diyala province. "Before we have found one or two EFPs (explosively found projectiles) at the most and those are usually at the site of deployment. This is the first cache ... that has actually been found as far as a production facility."

"Among the parts found during a raid Saturday after a tip from an Iraqi informant were 120 mm mortars and 122 mm rockets that the military said were made in Iran. Markings indicated they were made after the U.S.-led invasion nearly four years ago, which would rule out that they were leftovers from the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war.

"The cache also included artillery, anti-personnel mines, as well as more than 150 metal discs, detonation cords, electronic triggering mechanisms and C-4 plastic explosives _ all laid out in piles for a press conference at the main U.S. military base on the western edge of Baghdad. The military said some smaller munitions had been destroyed at the site."

What's that sound? It's the collective sound of silence from the Left and the mainstream media.

optimism

The political numbers cruncher Michael Barone analyzes the '08 campaign and concludes that a Rudy/Hillary matchup would heavily favor Giuliani.

"Rudy's electoral vote position against Hillary is much stronger than Bush's against Kerry. Rudy puts almost the whole East into play and is significantly stronger in several target states in the Midwest and West. Hillary puts some states into play in the South but with many fewer electoral votes than Rudy does elsewhere. The pairing does place the '08 Republicans in a stronger position than Bush was in '04."

I'll drink to that.

joe

Joe Lieberman really should become a Republican. He's the only person from the Left that gets what Iraq is about.

"We will not know whether this new strategy in Iraq will succeed for some time. Even under the most optimistic of scenarios, there will be more attacks and casualties in the months ahead, especially as our fanatical enemies react and attempt to thwart any perception of progress.

"But the fact is that we are in a different place in Iraq today from even just a month ago--with a new strategy, a new commander, and more troops on the ground. We are now in a stronger position to ensure basic security--and with that, we are in a stronger position to marginalize the extremists and strengthen the moderates; a stronger position to foster the economic activity that will drain the insurgency and militias of public support; and a stronger position to press the Iraqi government to make the tough decisions that everyone acknowledges are necessary for progress.

"Unfortunately, for many congressional opponents of the war, none of this seems to matter. As the battle of Baghdad just gets underway, they have already made up their minds about America's cause in Iraq, declaring their intention to put an end to the mission before we have had the time to see whether our new plan will work."

76%

Republicans still overwhelmingly approve of President Bush according to a new poll from USA Today.

oscar

The 79th Academy Awards? Awesome. I like Ellen. I liked the pace of the show. I loved the Sound Effects Choir. I liked how the stage dancers came together to morph into shapes relevant to the nominated films. (A gun for "The Departed" and a VW van for "Little Miss Sunshine," for example.)

BUT...Hollywood lives/loves to tell stories while blurring the line between truth and fiction. Naturally, hypocrisy is never far away.

If global warming 'isn't a political issue,' as Al Gore said last night, then why is climate change almost purely the lingua franca of the Left?

Gore and DiCaprio made a point of saying that last night's ceremony was the 'most green' Oscars ever. Really? Does that mean they required every nominee to drive a Prius to the Kodak Theatre? Were people forced to wear tuxedos and formal gowns made of hemp? Were the statuettes made of some type of recycled material? Of course not.

Click on the above link and you'll see just how serious Hollywood is about you going green. Then click here and you'll see how serious Gore isn't about saving energy at his 20 room, eight bedroom Nashville mansion.

And while they claim to take very seriously the mantle of social responsibility, Hollywood still continues to lead the way in dumbing down society by propagating the myth that Gore won the Presidency in 2000.

I enjoyed the show very much. I just had to remind myself that it wasn't real.

small world

Leon and I were hanging out at our local watering hole friday night when a guy tapped me on the shoulder.

The exchange:

"Are you Kent?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Cool. It's nice to meet you. We just wanted to thank you for helping our friend out the other night."

"What friend?" I asked.

"Beau Diamond. It was nice of you to take home the other night after Mardi Gras."

(Stunned silence on my part.)

"Any friend of Beau's is a friend of ours."

Are the Marines stalking me or is it just a random occurrence? Small world.

myths

I can't tell you how relieved I was when I learned that Santa Claus was/is a myth. The idea of some stranger sneaking into our house in the middle of the night scared the hell out of me.

Today kids are losing sleep worrying that their parents aren't doing enough to combat to global warming.

tribunals

Very little MSM coverage of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals decision earlier this week that upheld America's Military Commissions Act.

On to the Supreme Court.

bust out the checkbook

For the unfamiliar, the alternative minimum tax, or A.M.T., is the tax created by the Democrats in 1969 to tax 21 millionaires. Over the years the reach of that tax has ballooned to four million decidedly not rich, but middle class Americans. And if Congress doesn't act this year, the A.M.T. will apply to 23 million middle class taxpayers.

The lead editorial in today's WSJ is entitled 'Bill Clinton's AMT Bomb,' and excerpts are well worth quoting here:

"The politician most responsible for the AMT's relentless expansion in recent years is none other than William Jefferson Clinton.

"Remember the 1993 tax hike that was supposed to fall only on the rich? In addition to raising gas taxes and Medicare payroll taxes and income tax rates, the Democratic Congress that year also raised the AMT: from a 24% flat rate to a dual tax rate of 26% on AMT income up to $175,000 and 28% on AMT income above that amount.

"It's true that the 1993 bill slightly increased the AMT's family income exemption, but Democrats refused to index those exemptions for inflation. So the combination of the higher rates and the failure to index for inflation has caught more and more middle-class taxpayers in the AMT's maw. From 1992 to 2002, this Clinton stealth tax hike increased sixfold the number of filers paying the AMT, to nearly two million from 300,000."

I thought the Democrats were for 'the little guy'?

joe

According to Time Magazine Senator Joe Lieberman is considering switching parties.

"It's a remote possibility," he says. Remote? Okay, but that still sounds like a chance to me.

child care

Speaker Pelosi called the President to 'complain' about the Vice President's comments about Democrats? How adult of her.

Dick Cheney criticized Democrats who oppose the troop surge by saying they 'validate the al Qaeda strategy.' Pelosi took that to mean the Veep was questioning their patriotism.

We don't question your patriotism, Madame Speaker, we question your intelligence.

ad buy

Mitt Romney has cut his first Presidential television spot to officially introduce himself to America.

"This is not a time for more talk and dithering in Washington. It's a time for action."

On air, beginning today in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Michigan.

out

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi resigned today and guess who was there knifing him in the back on his way out the door? Silvio Berlusconi, the former PM, who lost to Prodi just nine months ago.

At issue, Italy's foreign policy, including their approach to Afghanistan.

From the AP:

"Italy has 1,800 troops in Afghanistan, which were sent in by Berlusconi. The current government has agreed to keep the troops there, sparking opposition from its own Communist allies.

"A decree refinancing the Afghan mission is awaiting parliamentary approval. It was passed by the Cabinet last month, but three radical leftist ministers walked out of the room to signal their opposition.

"Government decrees need to be converted into law by parliament. In this case, parliament has until the end of March to convert it."

friends

I had absolutely no idea. President Bush has friends? No way. And he has had friends all the way back to his days in Texas? Get outta here! Bush brought people loyal to him to Washington from Texas? Are you serious? Really? And get this: Bush hired some of these friends -- or 'cronies' as the Liberal elites would describe them -- to work in his Administration AND he even invites some of to weekends @ Camp David. Its a wonder the Republic survives.

This galling NYT piece only exposes the illogical, inconsistent, hypocritical ramblings of the Bush-hating press.

For some reason this reminded me of the time when then-President Clinton invited Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to Camp David for a screening of Good Will Hunting. Bill Clinton had celebrity 'friends' around him during his time in the White House. George Bush prefers to have his real friends around him.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg seeks to re-establish the narrative that Clay Johnson, Israel Hernandez, Alberto Gonzalez, Dan Bartlett, Margaret Spellings, Karl Rove, Alphonso Jackson and others are merely rubber stamps for Bush. That Bush only gets widespread agreement amongst the people around him. Yes men and women.

This characterization differs wildly from what I've heard about freewheeling White House meetings. Bush encourages debate and disagreement.

“I dealt with him directly at a very young age,” Mr. Bartlett said. “I don’t even think twice about telling him what I think.”

Bush, to his credit, maintains long term friendships, all of whom are loyal, all of whom speak frequently about how much they admire and love Bush. They all consider themselves to be where they are in professional life because of the President.

I've never heard anyone speak of Bill Clinton that way. I've never heard anybody thank or credit Clinton with making them into the people they are today.

beau & fat tuesday

Scott and I did Mardi Gras San Diego-style last night. Walking up Fifth Avenue, getting pinched, squeezed, kissed and fondled every other step we took. Swilling beers. Catching, finding, trading beads. We even discovered a new cool Aussie restaurant/bar, Bondi, a place I suspect will be seeing a lot more of us.

But that wasn't the memorable part of the evening. I had no idea we were going to get an impromptu late night tour of Camp Pendleton. I will always remember meeting a Marine who had been separated from his buddies. Beau approached me and asked us for a ride home. And you know what I told him at first? I told him no.

I didn't want to give this guy a ride home because it was out of our way. How big of a jerk am I? How selfish? Between the two of us, Scott is truly the better man. He had to get up really early for a meeting, and he wasn't feeling very well last night, but still, he motioned for Beau to get into the truck.

Driving up the 5 freeway Beau began telling us about himself. His commitment to the Marines ends in seven months. He returned from a tour in Fallujah, Iraq in June '06. He's a grunt from Utah.

He spoke of the troops lamenting the negative media coverage. He made it a point to tell us that the American military is doing good building schools, hospitals. He told me 'we're not hurting the people, we're helping them.' The morale of the troops, he said, is fine but there is confusion and consternation about the opinion polls and the negative media coverage.

He even talked about the dreaded WMD. According to him, the weapons 'are there' in Iraq.

Then Beau told us about the tremendous guilt he feels about killing armed Iraqi civilians. One day a group of veiled Iraqi women with small children suddenly pulled out AK-47's from under their gowns and the Marines on duty had to make a split-second decision.

He shared with us the experience of walking through a terminal at LAX upon returning to the US last summer and having people spit at him. Obviously nice, tolerant Liberals.

At the tender age of 23 this man has experienced things most of us only have imagined in the worst dreams. Twenty three years old. He doesn't look a day over 17.

Sharing a car ride with the brave and distinguished Marine Corporal Beau Diamond made a permanent impression on us. What an amazing, awesome experience.

We're glad you are back safe in the United States, Beau. Thank you for your service to our country. It was a high honor and a distinct privilege to drive you home last night.

'undistinguished'

John Murtha is a disgusting human being. Read Bob Novak's column and you'll agree with me.

'with ease'

Barack Obama pulled in $1.3 million last night at the Steven Spielberg/Jeffrey Katzenberg/David Geffen fundraiser. And Geffen is ripping Bill and Hill new ones.

Hotline speculates he's still steamed that Clinton didn't pardon Leonard Peltier.

"Everybody in politics lies, but they [the Clintons] do it with such ease, it’s troubling,” Geffen had said."

Bill's “a reckless guy” who “gave his enemies a lot of ammunition to hurt him and to distract the country.”

More Geffen on Hillary:

"I don’t think anybody believes that in the last six years, all of a sudden Bill Clinton has become a different person."

“It’s not a very big thing to say, ‘I made a mistake’ on the war, and typical of Hillary Clinton that she can’t. She’s so advised by so many smart advisers who are covering every base. I think that America was better served when the candidates were chosen in smoke-filled rooms.”

“Marc Rich getting pardoned? An oil-profiteer expatriate who left the country rather than pay taxes or face justice? Yet another time when the Clintons were unwilling to stand for the things that they genuinely believe in. Everybody in politics lies, but they do it with such ease, it’s troubling.”

Meanwhile Maureen Dowd opines about 'a Queen and a Dreamboy.'

regarding harry

Britain is drawing down their troop presence in Iraq. Over the next few months they will withdraw some 1,600 from their 7,100 total in theater. And more will leave if Iraqi forces secure the country's south.

Sounds like the evidence of extraordinary success to me, not some type of embarrassment for Blair, as the current MSM narrative goes. Check out this BBC link from November. England was planning to withdraw troops five months ago.

Drudge asks if Blair is 'doing it for Harry?' Rampant speculation about the Prince here.

sage

Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch -- a Democrat -- poses an interesting question. Will embarrassing President Bush make America safer?

"Democrats and some Republicans in Congress are seeking to humble, embarrass and, if they can, destroy the President and the prestige of his position as the Commander-in-Chief who is responsible for the safety of our military forces and the nation's defenses. By doing so, they are adding to the dangers that face our nation. And so I ask again them again: do you think that leaving a power vacuum in Iraq will make us safer? If, as a result of the power vacuum, the terrorists are emboldened and God forbid we sustain here in the U.S. civilian casualties comparable to those caused in Iraq by car bombs, will you publicly accept responsibility?"

'inappropriate dress'

Pay attention Liberals. A woman in Pakistan was killed because she refused to wear a veil.

And only Fox News is reporting on it. What a shocker.

results

Yes, France has a counter-terrorism czar and his name is Jean-Louis Bruguiere.

From the WSJ:

"It would be reassuring to believe that somewhere in the ranks of the FBI or CIA America has a Jean-Louis Bruguiere of its own. But we probably don't, and not because we lack for domestic talent, investigative prowess, foreign connections, the will to fight terrorism or the forensic genius of a Gallic nose. What we lack is a system of laws that allows a man like Mr. Bruguiere to operate the way he does. Unless we're willing to trade in the Constitution for the Code Napoleon, we are not likely to get it.

"Consider the powers granted to Mr. Bruguiere and his colleagues. Warrantless wiretaps? Not a problem under French law, as long as the Interior Ministry approves. Court-issued search warrants based on probable cause? Not needed to conduct a search. Hearsay evidence? Admissible in court. Habeas corpus? Suspects can be held and questioned by authorities for up to 96 hours without judicial supervision or the notification of third parties. Profiling? French officials commonly boast of having a "spy in every mosque." A wall of separation between intelligence and law enforcement agencies? France's domestic and foreign intelligence bureaus work hand-in-glove. Bail? Authorities can detain suspects in "investigative" detentions for up to a year. Mr. Bruguiere once held 138 suspects on terrorism-related charges. The courts eventually cleared 51 of the suspects -- some of whom had spent four years in preventive detention -- at their 1998 trial.

"In the U.S., Mr. Bruguiere's activities would amount to one long and tangled violation of the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments to the Constitution. And that's not counting the immense legal superstructures that successive Supreme Courts have built over and around the Bill of Rights. In France, however, Mr. Bruguiere, though not without his critics, is a folk hero, equally at home with governments of the left and right. The main point in his favor is that whatever it is he's doing, it works."

Attempts to bomb France since 1995 have 'been stopped before execution.'

contingency

Governments have contingency war plans for every country. The Beeb purports to report on the US plan for Iran.

the 'i' word

Peter Bart says some interesting things about John Edwards in Variety.

"The aggressively photogenic John Edwards was cruising along, detailing his litany of liberal causes last week until, during question time, he invoked the "I" word -- Israel. Perhaps the greatest short-term threat to world peace, Edwards remarked, was the possibility that Israel would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities. As a chill descended on the gathering, the Edwards event was brought to a polite close."

more bore gore

Gore might receive a doctorate in climatology? Holy crap!

predictable

Should it really be surprise to anyone that al Qaeda is still active, functioning and, according to reports, regrouping? This is exactly what Bush has been telling us for five years was very likely to happen. He also told us that the war on terror was going to last a long time, well beyond his time as President.

inevitable

The future of satellite radio is a $4.6 billion merger of Sirius and XM. I like what I heard about consumers being able to pick and choose channels and programs from both systems.

idiots rule

Carter's ineptness enabled modern terrorism. Clinton's ignorance caused 9/11. Now the Democrats want Bill to serve out the remainder of Hillary's senate term should she become president.

fingers, wind

Hillary wants to start pulling out of Iraq within 90 days? What about all her pro-war votes in the Senate?

This isn't a principled position, this is poll-driven cowardly stupidity.

more w.o.f.

I am going to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune. We tape March 24.

victory

Read what Cal Thomas thinks about victory in Iraq.

disgraceful

It is disgraceful that 17 so-called Republican representatives voted in favor of the non-binding resolution opposing the troop surge in Iraq.

Representative James T. Walsh

Phone: 202-225-3701
Fax: 202-225-4042

Representative Walter Jones
Phone: 202-225-3415
Fax: 202-225-3286

Representative Wayne Gilchrest
Phone: 202-225-5311
Fax: 202-225-0254

Representative Michael Castle
Phone: 202-225-4165
Fax: 202-225-2291

Representative Richard (Ric) Keller

Phone: 202-225-2176
Fax: 202-225-0999

Representative Philip Sheridan English

Phone: 202-225-5406
Fax: 202-225-3103

Representative Ronald Ernest Paul

Phone: 202-225-2831

Representative Frederick Stephen Upton

Phone: 202-225-3761
Fax: 202-225-4986

Representative Thomas M. Davis

Phone: 202-225-1492
Fax: 202-225-3071

Representative Mark Kirk

Phone: 202-225-4835
Fax: 202-225-0837

Representative Howard Coble

Phone: 202-225-3065
Fax: 202-225-8611

Representative John J. Duncan Jr.

Phone: 202-225-5435
Fax: 202-225-6440

Representative James Ramstad

Phone: 202-225-2871
Fax: 202-225-6351

Representative Steven C. LaTOURETTE

Phone: 202-225-5731
Fax: 202-225-3307

Representative Robert Inglis

Phone: 202-225-6030
Fax: 202-226-1177

Representative Timothy V. Johnson

Phone: 202-225-2371
Fax: 202-226-0791

Representative Thomas Petri

Phone: 202-225-2476
Fax: 202-225-2356

I expect poll-driven cowardice from Democrats, not Republicans.

preferred

Mitt Romney voted for Paul Tsongas in '92? Yes, he was registered as an Independent and yes, he preferred Tsongas over Clinton. And he changed his mind on abortion. I get that. I've changed my mind on baby killing, too.

But c'mon. I don't like liver. Is that relevant in this discussion?

Certainly I like Mitt. Democrats fear his candidacy. But all this stuff will make Conservatives wonder, y'know?

media bias, part ii

Talk about favorable coverage. Nobody cared if Denny Hastert was smiling.

Imagine being able to smile this broadly after quite possibly sealing the genocide of hundreds, if not thousands of people in Iraq?

What person in their right mind could ever think the Democrats are good, honest Americans just serving their country? And they have the gall to call Bush, Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld war criminals?

All in the name of popularity and power.

media bias, part i

More proof that America's news media is slanted hard Left...

Keith Olbermann has signed a four year contract extension.

And most interestingly, NBC News President Steve Capus, asked whether or not it is a good idea to have someone like Olbermann, who has 'clearly stated political opinions' on his network's signature news broadcast, said the following:

"I think the viewers are sophisticated enough to welcome all viewpoints," he said.

Liberals would disagree. Which is why they question the veracity of the Fox News Channel. That's why they seek to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine to kill Conservative talk radio.

'diminished impact'

David Broder thinks President Bush is 'poised for a political comeback.'

stipulation

JPod talks about Scooter Libby's likely liberator. Hint: It's Tim Russert.

'growing weariness'

The non-binding bill opposing the troop surge to Iraq is 'likely to pass,' according to sources.

From the AP:

There was no doubt about the outcome of the vote, with nearly all Democrats in favor and as many as two dozen or so Republicans expected to break ranks.

Passage would set the stage for a test vote Saturday in the Senate, where Republicans have said they intend to block consideration of the measure unless Democrats grant equal treatment to an alternative measure that opposes cutting funds for the troops.

"I will do everything in my power to ensure the House resolution dies an inglorious death in the Senate," said said Lindsey Graham, (R-SC).

I keep remembering what Osama bin Laden said a few years ago. He believed America to be 'a paper tiger,' and he thought that if we suffered a few military casualties, we'd quickly lose our resolve.

"There are serious consequences to our national security if we fail in Iraq," said Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio. "Cutting off funding, limiting military options, or pushing for immediate withdrawal will only make our future more dangerous. It is time to stop the politics, stop the games, stop the finger pointing and do what is best for America."

Non-binding. That means 'nothing.' It means 'not responsible.' It means 'not serious.' A non-binding resolution is the most cowardly of all political games because it allows elected officials to voice displeasure over something -- in this case Iraq -- without being held personally responsible for any negative consequences that come as a result.

For a time this resolution, which just passed by a 246-182 margin, gives our enemies a lift, a shot in the arm. It emboldens the terrorists, knowing that American's lack the commitment, the resolve to finish the job we started in '03. This resolution makes the mission in Iraq even more difficult and puts our troops in even more danger.

I'm growing extremely weary of people who don't understand how important Iraq is to America's national security. I'm growing weary of the Democrats and their so-called 'leadership.' I'm weary of the shameless poll-driven, political posturing by the Left. I'm weary of the abuse President Bush is [and has been receiving] over Iraq. And, I'm beyond weary of the inaccurate reporting of all things Bush and most things Republican.

setting limits

John Murtha intends to introduce legislation that would set limits on the types of troops President Bush can send to Iraq.

They "won't be able to continue. They won't be able to do the deployment. They won't have the equipment. They don't have the training and they won't be able to do the work," Murtha said. "This vote will limit the options of the president and should stop this surge."

That's quite an unsuccessful war strategy.

tough decisions

Deb Saunders thinks Rudy Giuliani might be the next 'Decider-in-Chief.'

"What I don't get is the nonbinding resolution," said Giuliani. "I don't get that. In the business world, two weeks spent on a nonbinding resolution would be considered nonproductive. It's a comment without making a decision."

"In time of war, you don't talk about pulling out."

mitt tv

The Politico's Terry Michael really likes Mitt Romney.

"No one else in either party’s field of presidential wannabees comes close to Romney’s communication skill and executive presence. He makes Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., look like just another charming candidate for high school class president."

07.07.07

Have you ever seen a more robotic representation of our former Vice President? Whatever disagreements I might have with 'The Bloated One,' I will say he's quite the event planner.

"Live Earth," a 24 hour continuous global concert featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dog, Sheryl Crow, Foo Fighters, Lenny Kravitz, John Mayer, Korn, the Black Eyed Peas, among others, will be happening on July 7th to promote Save Our Selves, [S.O.S.] a campaign to further advance the wildly popular myth called global warming.

Organizers expect to brainwash an estimated 2 billion people via concert attendance, as well as radio, television and Web broadcasts.

From Reuters:

"In order to solve the climate crisis, we have to reach billions of people," Gore said in a statement. "We are launching SOS and Live Earth to begin a process of communication that will mobilize people all over the world to take action.

"The climate crisis will only be stopped by an unprecedented and sustained global movement. We hope to jump-start that movement right here, right now, and take it to a new level on July 7, 2007," Gore said."

I wonder what Bjorn Lomborg thinks of this?

runway

Being stuck on a plane for ten hours with overflowing toilets, stale air and irate passengers? Sounds like a party.

Good overtime pay if you can get it.

united states

During his new conference this morning the President was asked a question about troop morale.

I kept waiting for him to say something like "People certainly have the right to disagree with my policies. But it is important for the troops, for their mission and for their morale that America speak with one voice. Politics should stop at the water's edge."

Bush did say that our enemies are listening to what Americans are saying about Iraq, clearly and correctly implying that our enemies have been very much emboldened by the anti-war, terrorist-sympathizing Left.

right wing comedy?

"24" producer Joel Surnow has created a right-leaning satire show in the mold of SNL, "The ½ Hour News Hour." The first episode will be tested this Sunday night at 10 pm on the Fox News Channel. The second episode will air March 4.

From Variety:

"The show, which stars comedians Kurt Long and Jenn Robertson, owes quite a bit to "Saturday Night Live" segment "Weekend Update" in both format and spirit. The "newscasters" will take a story of the day and then spin it to a comedic extreme.

"We're calling it news with a sense of humor," said Surnow, producer of Fox's "24." "It's a show that satirizes the targets that have been missed by the mainstream satirists on TV."

This should drive the Left even crazier.

slush

The House was to hold hearings today on global warming, but hey had to cancel because of a snowstorm.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. Read Bjorn Lomborg.

release

Reuters is reporting that Vice President Cheney will not testify in the Libby case.

established

Bank of America is marketing a new credit card to illegal aliens.

mitt

Mormon boy is in.

sealing

Iraq is planning to close borders with Iran and Syria? Wow. Freaking geniuses! Wish I'd thought of that.

asked, answered

I didn't blog about Doug Feith last week because the intelligence question isn't a question anymore. Informed people understand this point. Even still, time and again Democrats accuse the White House of monkeying around with pre-war Iraq intelligence and time and again we learn that nothing of the sort occurred.

Dead horse.

Even Hillary believed Saddam had WMD and she voted for the war.

From the WSJ:

"In a reasonable world, Douglas Feith would have received an apology late last week from Senator Carl Levin. But the obsessive Democrat won't let go of his story that the Bush Administration "politicized" pre-war Iraq intelligence no matter how many times the facts disprove it. Senator Ahab is now going even further and suggesting behavior standards that would make the U.S. intelligence bureaucracy less accountable to elected officials; this could get Americans killed.

"The familiar accusation against Mr. Feith is that the former Undersecretary of Defense was responsible for all the government's intelligence failures on Iraq because his office had the temerity to review and critique intelligence on the relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda. His alleged pressure to find a strong link is said to have so influenced apparently weak-kneed CIA analysts that they made a false case for war. Senate Intelligence Chairman Jay Rockefeller went so far as to accuse Mr. Feith of "running a private intelligence failure [sic], which is not lawful."

"This preposterous narrative has already been debunked many times -- notably in a bipartisan report from the Senate Intelligence Committee itself. That 2004 report found that not only had CIA analysts not been pressured to change their views but that Mr. Feith's review had sometimes "actually improved the Central Intelligence Agency's products." A year later the Robb-Silberman commission also found no evidence that prewar intelligence had been politicized. And last week the Defense Department's Inspector General delivered to Congress a report that likewise exonerates Mr. Feith of doing anything unlawful and acknowledges that his actions were authorized by the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of Defense."

courage, cowardice

Democrat Barack Obama, if elected President, has promised an immediate draw down of American troops from Iraq, resulting in complete withdrawal by March '08.

To wit Australian Prime Minister John Howard declared:

"If I was running al-Qaeda in Iraq, I would put a circle around March 2008 and pray, as many times as possible, for a victory not only for Obama, but also for the Democrats."

That's the unvarnished truth. I believe the same thing. But not Obama, who replied:

"So if he is ginned up to fight the good fight in Iraq, I would suggest that he calls up another 20,000 Australians and sends them to Iraq," Obama said. "Otherwise it's just a bunch of empty rhetoric."

Could the difference between Conservatives and Liberals be any more clear?

swerve

Here's a story that will go largely unreported: Bob Woodward's testimony today in the Scooter Libby trial revealed that former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage 'disclosed that the wife of a prominent Iraq war critic worked for the CIA.'

From the AP:

"Armitage mentioned several times, in sometimes explicit terms that had to be redacted, that former Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife was a WMD analyst for the CIA.

"His wife is at the agency and is a WMD analyst," Armitage said on the tape.

"The exchange occurred at the end of a lengthy interview for one of Woodward's books on the Bush administration's war policy. Woodward did not publish an article on Plame, who was outed a month later by columnist Robert Novak. Armitage also was the source for that story."

The lazy, intellectually dishonest American press really does this country a huge disservice.

thorn in his own side

Have you noticed that John McCain is suddenly getting really bad press coverage? A couple of years ago he was a media darling. All my uninformed Liberal friends loved him and wanted him to run for President.

Now that he agrees with Bush and the Administration's policies, he's not such a sexy story anymore, huh?

fashion forward

I think chicks look really hot wearing stuff like this. Praise Allah.

stars and stripes

Bob Novak writes today about how 'unsold' California Democrats are on Hillary Clinton and that Steven Spielberg only backed off on a recent public endorsement of Barack Obama after a conversation with Bill Clinton.

Novak has gotten an off-the-record earful about Hillary's '05 sponsorship of a flag burning bill. Isn't that amazing? Of all things going on in the world, of all the things to be mad about, Hollywood Libs want to be free to burn our flag?

There is concern too over Hillary's 'cautiousness' about Iraq, taxes and health care. And they want no part of any 'coronation.'

over her head?

We haven't talked about Segolene Royal lately.

The French Socialist presidential candidate has made some major gaffes lately. So, in an effort to make up lost ground in the polls, she's unveiled a hard core Lefty agenda, featuring a minimum wage hike, and increased pension and unemployment benefits, all without concrete policy explanation.

Is this woman even qualified to be president? Her claim to fame as Health and Education minister was handing out the morning after abortion pill. She's even more of a lightweight than Hillary. Shouldn't intelligent women everywhere be at least a little bit embarrassed by some types of women running for high office?

Lest anyone accuse me of sexism, let me say that I find many male politicos to be in over their heads from time to time.

diplomacy

The AP is reporting that the US has reached 'a tentative agreement' on the nuclear disarmament of North Korea.

"Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said the agreement outlined specific commitments for North Korea and would set up working groups to implement those goals to begin meeting in about a month. He declined to give other details.

"I'm encouraged by this that we were able to take a step forward on the denuclearization issue," Hill said.

"The draft agreement came after 16 hours of what Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang called "extraordinarily intensive consultations" on the fifth day of talks."

How will the Bush-hating Left spin this one?

bloody brilliant

We are so accustomed to hearing unproven, illogical statements from foreign leaders it is truly refreshing to hear a intelligent man like Czech president Vaclav Klaus say that he thinks global warming is 'a myth.'

"It's such a nonsense that I have probably not heard a bigger nonsense yet," said Klaus.

music education

Recording Academy President Neil Portnow said some interesting things about arts and music education in public schools last night at the Grammy's. He said 'that music is just as essential to the next generation's development as any other subject. ' I don't disagree. But I don't support raising taxes for the express purpose of pumping millions of dollars more into schools.

The Grammy Foundation and Grammy Camp programs are in place, ostensibly, to 'teach and encourage thousands of kids who love music.' The mission statement of the Foundation declares that it 'works in partnership with its founder, the Recording Academy, to bring national attention to important issues such as the value and impact of music and arts education and the urgency of preserving our rich cultural legacy.'

If the recording industry is so concerned about music and arts education, why don't they [pardon the pun] band together to create a private music education fund for America's public schools? The big record labels could donate a percentage of their profits and musicians and artists could contribute a portion of their earnings. That would really make a huge difference.

the grammy's

I enjoyed the show. But Justin Timberlake? What a talentless dork he is.

Whenever I hear James Blunt sing "You're Beautiful," I want to kill myself. What a ghastly song. Certainly not Grammy-worthy. Although, I must admit it sounded great after that headache-inducing Ludicris/Mary J. Blige duet.

Gnarls Barkley didn't win because everybody thinks they are a one hit wonder. Let's hope Danger Mouse comes up with something even cooler for album # 2.

The Dixie Chicks won because of their supposedly 'brave' anti-Bush rhetoric. Wow. Imagine that. I think a majority of Americans believe as I do that it is an act of classlessness and cowardice for celebrities to criticize their government and their country from abroad. That topic is a dead horse.

They said they were ashamed the President is from Texas. And as a result they had to cancel/reschedule a ton of concert dates across America last year, and instead booked shows in Canada and elsewhere. That record that won them four awards tonight? It was largely rejected by American radio and it was a bomb in terms of sales. So keep that in mind.

I'm no great fan of country music, but I'm less offended about their stupid political beliefs than I am about the way they've insulted their audience, saying in general terms they didn't want country fans anymore. That attitude has been reflected in their music and by their hiring of super producer Rick Rubin, who has previously elevated the sounds of Johnny Cash and the Chili Peppers.

I'm just excited about Corinne Bailey Rae and that Wolfmother [pictured above] won for 'Best Hard Rock Performance" for "Woman."

And did you see the less-than-lukewarm reaction from the crowd when Al Gore got onstage with Queen Latifah? He's almost as dorky as Timberlake.

early

It is much, much too early to begin handicapping the '08 Presidential campaign. So says Larry Sabato.

phony rhetoric

So much for the Democrats changing the supposed 'culture of corruption.'

They are the masters of phony rhetoric.

playing straight

Front page, above the fold in the San Diego Union-Tribune this morning was a story about the Bush Administration 'lacking credibility' in claiming that Iran is providing weaponry to terrorists in Iraq. Somehow, since there 'were no WMD...'

As of 15 minutes ago, that story is now gone from the U-T website and it has been replaced with this, a better, more factual account of what is happening on the ground in Iraq.

dragged from an elevator

The attack on Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel in San Francisco is very disturbing.

true support

Jonathan Gurwitz is a member of the editorial board for the San Antonio Express-News. He writes an op-ed in the weekend edition of the WSJ about Americans really supporting our troops.

"John Melia is a Marine veteran who was severely wounded in a helicopter crash in Somalia in 1992. After his recuperation at BAMC, he began the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit organization that places veterans at the bedside of wounded military personnel to support them and their families.

"Kirk Bauer is an Army veteran who lost a leg in a grenade attack in Vietnam in 1969. A year later, he began working with Disabled Sports USA, a nonprofit that provides adaptive sports opportunities for individuals, military or civilian, with permanent physical disabilities. Today Mr. Bauer is executive director of the organization, which now has 87 chapters in 35 states.

"Janis Roznowski is a flight attendant for American Airlines. After volunteering on a government-chartered flight bringing troops home from the Middle East, Ms. Roznowski felt compelled to follow up on the needs of the wounded. She started Operation Comfort, a nonprofit organization that plans recreational projects and events for convalescing personnel and their families."

Do you oppose the war? Donate your time time and energy to help America's military families.

'a more hopeful america'

Look who is running for President.

How will Obama make America 'more hopeful'? By raising taxes, gutting the defense budget and increasing social programs.

I'll be the first to admit that he's a likable candidate. But his agenda is same same tired, old, failed policies of the Left.

Lisa beat me to the punch. Obama's candidacy doesn't mean a thing, but it sure allows Liberals feel good about themselves, which is all they really care about.

on tour?

I get all the boys together each October for a weekend of carousing and football. Maybe this year we'll focus on music instead and catch Rage Against The Machine, Van Halen, The Police and Genesis as they tour America.

Sound like a plan, Stan?

approval

My buddy Chris is a good Democrat, but he's taken a hard Left turn as of late. And I notice he takes particular glee in Bush's new 32% job approval rating via Gallup Poll.

Certainly, public approval makes it easier to push your agenda. I'm sure the President would like to have wider support for his policies, but his perceived level of unpopularity doesn't change his belief system or his priorities for the country.

It's disgusting how Democrats worship at the Holy Grail of public opinion. To them, popularity is priority #1, even trumping national security issues. Doing things solely for the sake of being popular is easy and convenient. Good leaders aren't short term thinkers. Bill Clinton was the poster child for this type of Presidential 'leadership.' In this context, popularity is meaningless.

My comment on Chris' blog:

"Job approval means very little when 70% of the electorate isn't smart enough to understand what the Iraq war means in terms of America's national security.

"Job approval means very little when an uninformed electorate believes Democrats would be better at handling foreign policy, taxes, health care and immigration.

"Job approval means very little when an uninformed electorate views Bush -- the very man who has kept Americans safe for six years and has liberated over 50 million Muslims -- with scorn.

"Job approval ratings would only be meaningful if respondents were informed about the policies of their government and the realities of the world in which they live."

Sadly Americans are far too disengaged to notice the important things the President is doing domestically and internationally. When you combine the brutally unfair and dishonest media coverage he's received for six years and the insanely disingenuous behavior of the Democrats, no wonder he's viewed negatively.

'smear'

Everyone engaged in the global warming debate should pay special attention to the instructive editorial in today's WSJ called 'The Global Warming Smear,' which exposes more Liberal lies connected to the rapidly evolving climate change hysteria:

"Last week the London Guardian published a story headlined, "Scientists Offer Cash to Dispute Climate Study." The story alleges that the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative-leaning think tank in Washington, collected contributions from ExxonMobil and then offered climate scholars $10,000 so they could lobby against global warming legislation.

"Another newspaper, the British Independent, picked up on the story and claimed: "It has come to light that one of the world's largest oil companies, ExxonMobil, is attempting to bribe scientists to pick holes in the IPCC's assessment." (The IPCC is the United Nations climate-change panel.)

"It would be easy to dismiss all this as propaganda from British tabloids, except that a few days ago the "news" crossed the Atlantic where more respectable media outlets, including the Washington Post, are reporting the story in what has become all too typical pack fashion. A CNNMoney.com report offered that, "A think tank partly funded by ExxonMobil sent letters to scientists offering them up to $10,000 to critique findings in a major global warming study released Friday which found that global warming was real and likely caused by burning fossil fuels."

"Here are the facts as we've been able to collect them. AEI doesn't lobby, didn't offer money to scientists to question global warming, and the money it did pay for climate research didn't come from Exxon.

"What AEI did was send a letter to several leading climate scientists asking them to participate in a symposium that would present a "range of policy prescriptions that should be considered for climate change of uncertain dimension." Some of the scholars asked to participate, including Steve Schroeder of Texas A& M, are climatologists who believe that global warming is a major problem.

"AEI President Chris DeMuth says, "What the Guardian essentially characterizes as a bribe is the conventional practice of AEI -- and Brookings, Harvard and the University of Manchester -- to pay individuals" for commissioned work. He says that Exxon has contributed less than 1% of AEI's budget over the last decade.

"As for Exxon, Lauren Kerr, director of its Washington office, says that "none of us here had ever heard of this AEI climate change project until we read about it in the London newspapers." By the way, commissioning such research is also standard practice at NASA and other government agencies and at liberal groups such as the Pew Charitable Trusts, which have among them spent billions of dollars attempting to link fossil fuels to global warming.

"We don't know where the Brits first got this "news," but the leading suspects are the reliable sources at Greenpeace. They have been peddling these allegations for months, and the London newspaper sleuths seem to have swallowed them like pints on a Fleet Street lunch hour.

"So, apparently, have several members of the U.S. Senate. Yesterday Senators Bernard Sanders, Patrick Leahy, Dianne Feinstein and John Kerry sent a letter to Mr. DeMuth complaining that "should these reports be accurate," then "it would highlight the extent to which moneyed interests distort honest scientific and public policy discussions. . . . Does your donors' self-interest trump an honest discussion over the well-being of the planet?"

"Every member of AEI's board of directors was graciously copied on the missive. We're told the Senators never bothered to contact AEI about the veracity of the reports, and by repeating the distortions, these four Democratic senators, wittingly or not, gave credence to falsehood.

"For its part, Exxon appears unwilling to take this smear campaign lying down. Bribery can be a crime, and falsely accusing someone of a crime may well be defamation. A company spokesman says Exxon has written a letter to the Independent demanding a retraction."

impossible

Boston Globe's Ellen Goodman compares global warming skeptics to those who deny the Holocaust.

How could any thinking person possibly compare the proven, undeniable slaughter of some 12 million people with a hypothesis of illegitimate science and hysterical politics?

Goodman also lends credence to the growing myth [she is purposefully reprinting lies] that the American Enterprise Institute paid scientists to disagree with a recent UN global warming study. See above post.

anna nicole smith

I remember her as Miss May 1992. Back then she called herself Vickie Smith. She was one of the hottest women I'd ever seen.

She became much more famous as the years wore on, not so much because of her beauty but because of various oddities.

She married a man old enough to be her grandfather only to become entangled in a big legal battle over his estate. She was the Guess jeans girl. She became grotesquely overweight and starred in her own 'reality' television show. She battled booze and drugs. She lost all that fat and was hot again. Her son died. She married her lawyer. She had another baby and then battled over the custody of the newborn with another man.

Soap opera city! And now she's dead at age 39.

Sad, sad, sad. Smith reminded me very much of a girl I dated a couple of years ago. That whole Playboy scene might look glamorous and sexy, but it's a grind.

air nancy

The "Pelosi One" controversy continues...Update courtesy of the Washington Times.

irresponsible

Good editorial from the NY Post about the 'cowardly Congress.'

This insane parsing of words -- supporting the troops, but not their mission -- is patently absurd.

The next time someone tells you they support the troops but not the war, ask them how, exactly, are they 'supporting' the troops? Are they donating money to military families? Buying them groceries? Are they volunteering their time to visit wounded soldiers?

Typical responses: Blank stares and frustrated shrugs.

w.o.f.

Guess what? Scott and I have been selected as finalists to be 'team contestants' on Wheel of Fortune.

The audition is on 2/15.

1800 mission street

Over the years, the San Francisco Armory, built in 1914 and the former home of the National Guard, was thought to be the perfect site for apartment buildings, for public storage, even for a church.

The SF Planning Department turned all of those proposals down because they wanted to preserve the property, but they welcomed a new owner with open arms: Peter Acworth, the CEO of Kink.com, who paid $14.5 million for the right to shoot bondage films inside the 200,000 square foot landmark.

'under way'

The AP is negatively reporting that the new security operation in Baghdad is under way.

duh

Legislation will be introduced in New York state that would ban the use of iPods, Blackberries, cell phones, and other electronic devices in the pedestrian crosswalks of major New York cities.

State Senator Carl Kruger calls it 'iPod oblivion.'

"If you want to listen to your iPod, sit down and listen to it," Kruger declared. "You want to walk in the park, enjoy it. You want to jog around a jogging path, all the more power to you, but you should not be crossing streets and endangering yourself and the lives of others."

I don't disagree that it is potentially dangerous to jog around city streets without the ability to hear what's going on around because you're listening to your MP3 player. A cyclist died in Britain while listening to his iPod. Obviously, being distracted while running, jogging, cycling or driving is dangerous and irresponsible. Duh.

Washington DC has been legislating stupidity for a long time and as a result America is a nation of apathetic idiots.

We now require restaurants to place protective sleeves over portable cups of hot coffee so consumers don't burn themselves. We now require drivers in some states to use wireless headsets so they don't get into accidents while talking on their cell phones. Do we really need more legislation to further dumb down our society?

Kruger's bill is Liberalism at work. Democrats believe that people are so dumb they cannot be trusted to life their lives and make their own decisions sans big government involvement.

I say hell no.

ego trip

I don't have a problem with Nancy Pelosi having access to an Air Force jet for her trips home to San Francisco. As the Speaker of the House, she is now second in line to the Presidency. God forbid there ever will come a day when this country will need a President Pelosi, but life in America changed forever on 9/11/01.

Appropriately, the Bush Administration will allow Nancy Pelosi to have regular access to an Air Force passenger jet, as Dennis Hastert did.

But there's a key difference. Hastert was satisfied with a commuter jet for use to his home district in Illinois; not only does Pelosi want a bigger plane with more amenities so she can fly non-stop to Northern California, but she also wants to be able to bring with her whomever she wants on these flights. [In-flight fund raisers, anyone?]

Hastert wasn't on an ego trip. I can't say the same about Pelosi, who seems to believe that she was crowned Queen last November.

cyber attack

I love the Web as much as anybody. In fact, I can't remember life without it. But there's no question that it is a big target for terrorists.

From the AP:

"Hackers briefly overwhelmed at least three of the 13 computers that help manage global computer traffic Tuesday in one of the most significant attacks against the Internet since 2002.

"Experts said the unusually powerful attacks lasted as long as 12 hours but passed largely unnoticed by most computer users, a testament to the resiliency of the Internet. Behind the scenes, computer scientists worldwide raced to cope with enormous volumes of data that threatened to saturate some of the Internet's most vital pipelines."

I'm picturing that scene from "The China Syndrome" where the nuclear techs are scrambling to prevent a core meltdown.

serious business

It takes a special type of coward to travel abroad and criticize your country from afar.

Victor Davis Hanson writes today about the elitist John Kerry's badmouthing of America from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

I stopped listening long ago to the stupid, nonsensical things that frequently come out of Kerry's mouth. The man is an intellectual midget, a lying opportunist, a partisan hack.

Voting is extremely serious business. You should be very embarrassed if you voted for this unserious man to be President of the United States.

predictable

Last September I told you about the plan from Bill Lockyear, then-California's Attorney General, to sue America's auto manufacturers for allegedly causing global warming.

New Attorney General Jerry Brown isn't backing down, even though he has 'changed his view' of the lawsuit. Last year, candidate Brown was non-committal about the suit, saying that he 'wasn't sure that [California] could prove to a court's satisfaction that the emissions were causing harm' in the state. He also expressed concern over the fiscal condition of the car companies.

How's that for a predictable turnaround? Now elected and safely protected, suddenly, the auto makers be damned. And somehow it's all George W. Bush's fault.

"The problem is so huge that they [the manufacturers] have to be part of the solution,'' Brown said at a news conference. On the other hand, he said, "we've got a solid lawsuit'' that is all the more necessary because of "the absolute failure to do anything on the part of the White House."

No wonder an apathetic, clueless, uninformed public believes that the Democrats are the party of the people.

balance

The lead editorial in today's subscriber-only WSJ should be required reading for everyone who follows politics.

"Politicians are typically late in picking up trends, so it will be interesting to see how long it takes Washington to acknowledge the big story in the Fiscal 2008 budget that President Bush unveiled yesterday: To wit, with a little spending restraint, Congress could balance the budget in no time.

"You wouldn't know this from all the garment-rending yesterday in response to Mr. Bush's proposal to spend the not-so-meager sum of $2.9 trillion. Our favorite agonist is Kent Conrad, the Senate Budget Committee Chairman, and he didn't disappoint. "The President's budget is filled with debt and deception, disconnected from reality, and continues to move America in the wrong direction," said the Senator who was himself blocked from sneaking nearly $5 billion in "emergency" farm spending into a military construction bill in the final days of the last Congress. The North Dakotan needs to keep shouting disaster in a crowded political theater so he can justify his desire for a big tax increase.

"The news Mr. Conrad won't broadcast is that over the past three years the federal deficit has shrunk by 58%. The Congressional Budget Office -- not the White House -- is estimating that the current year's deficit (for fiscal 2007) will fall to $172 billion. That's not bad given continuing Katrina relief spending, $30 billion for homeland security, and a couple hundred billion or so to fight the war on terror.

"The White House is projecting that its new budget will eliminate the deficit by 2012 assuming Mr. Bush's tax cuts are extended after 2010. We don't put much stock in future budget forecasts because they depend on so many variables. But even CBO predicts the deficit should remain near or below 1% of GDP for the rest of the Bush Presidency. That's well below the 40-year average of 2.4% of GDP.

"This also means that the federal debt burden will continue to fall. Alarmists point to the $1.4 trillion rise in total federal debt from 2003-2006, but that amount is dwarfed by the $14 trillion in new household wealth created over the same period. And for all the international scolding of an allegedly profligate America, U.S. federal debt as a share of GDP is falling again (see the top chart nearby). At 37% in 2006 and heading south, the U.S. figure compares to 52% in Germany, 43% in France, and 79% in Japan. Once again rising total "debt" is a scare word used to justify higher taxes.

"The real game to watch isn't debt or deficits but spending. Here, too, Mr. Bush has an improved track record in his second term. From 2001-2005, outlays ballooned by $609 billion, or 33%, and Mr. Bush never did veto a spending bill. By contrast, on current pace his second term outlays will grow by 21% -- hardly tightfisted, but a third slower.

"The other news you won't often hear concerns the soaring tax revenues in the wake of the 2003 supply-side tax cuts. Tax collections have risen by $757 billion, among the largest revenue gushers in history. Receipts, especially from high-income individuals and corporations, have been growing for some two years at nearly twice the rate of spending, which explains the falling deficit. Economic growth is always the key to eliminating red ink, which is why keeping this 63-month expansion rolling needs to be the main domestic priority. This requires making those lower 2003 tax rates permanent, rather than letting them expire in 2010 and socking the economy with the biggest tax increase in history."

spike

Because of Mark Foley, or perhaps in spite of him, there is increased interest in the Congressional Page Program.

the gipper

President Ronald Reagan would have turned 96 today.

blockage

They heard us. And they reacted. GOP Senators blocked more damaging and worthless debate on Iraq today.

This is the best news I've heard all day.

$2,900,000,000,000.00

President Bush is asking Congress for $2.9 trillion to spend on the military, the war in Iraq and the broader Global War On Terror, while proposing domestic spending cuts to balance the budget within five years.

The plan would make Bush's first term tax cuts permanent while shaving off $78 billion from the Medicare and Medicaid. I can't wait to hear the Democrats' demagoguery on that!

Bush is also asking Congress to boost spending on Homeland Security spending for 3,000 additional agents and for an expansion of the use of surveillance gear along the Mexican border to prevent illegal immigration.

From the AP:

"My formula for a balanced budget reflects the priorities of our country at this moment in its history: protecting the homeland and fighting terrorism, keeping the economy strong with low taxes and keeping spending under control while making federal programs more effective," Bush said.

warrior

My friend Jacqui will be a part of President Bush's troop surge. She's deploying with her Air Force Reserve unit 'in a few days,' to fly and refuel aircraft over Iraq and Afghanistan. How cool is that?

God bless you, sweetheart. I love you.

monday round up

President Bush got some private, one on one face time with the House Democrats on Saturday when he dropped by their retreat in Williamsburg, Virginia. Read about that here.

George Clooney told Newsweek that the US 'has no moral high ground' because of Iraq, Europe 'just hates us,' the American media 'are as responsible for marching us into Iraq as the Bush Administration,' and he 'likes what the International Criminal Court is doing.'

This weekend, my buddy Scott and I auditioned for Wheel of Fortune, discovered a favorite new bar, and had some unprintable beach adventures.

Reuters is reporting that the military operation to crackdown on Baghdad will begin shortly. Good.

AP is reporting that Rudy Giuliani has filed a so-called "statement of candidacy" with the Federal Election Commission.

The Colts beat the Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI. Read my prediction on 'El Jocko' from last Friday.

Super Bowl commercials? Watch them here. The Doritos spots were the best.

the bush economy

Liberals routinely gush about the Clinton economy as 'the greatest ever,' while simultaneously bashing the Bush economy. Remember 'the jobless recovery'?

Yet in statistic after statistic, the Bush economy of '01-'06 is superior to the Clinton economy of '91-'00.

From the WSJ:

"We now know the economy has created 7.4 million new jobs since mid-2003, as revisions by the Bureau of Labor Statistics have added hundreds of thousands to its original monthly estimates. Thus the hand-wringers have had no choice but to move on, turning their laments to allegedly "stagnant wages." Well, that's now vanishing too.

"Let's look at the record of this expansion compared with that of the sainted 1990s. Economist Michael Darda has been looking at the numbers, and yesterday he put out a side-by-side employment comparison of the first five years of the 1991-2000 expansion with the current one that began in the fourth quarter of 2001.

"Between 1991 and 1996, the unemployment rate averaged 6.4%, compared with 5.4% from 2001 to 2006. Today's jobless rate is now down to 4.6%. As for real (inflation-adjusted) wage growth, it averaged 0.6% annually for non-farm workers in the first half of the 1990s compared with 1.5% a year so far in this decade. "This cycle as a whole has witnessed twice the average real wage growth than the first 64 months of the previous expansion," Mr. Darda writes. For the last 12 months, real wages have risen even faster, at a 1.7% clip."

It's all about the tax cuts, baby.

'the libby injustice'

My friend Jaz and I have been discussing the Scooter Libby trial. I told him about a January 20 WSJ editorial that I found extremely interesting.

"As it happens, Messrs. Fitzgerald and Libby had crossed legal paths before. Before he joined the Bush Administration, Mr. Libby had, for a number of years in the 1980s and 1990s, been a lawyer for Marc Rich. Mr. Rich is the oil trader and financier who fled to Switzerland in 1983, just ahead of his indictment for tax-evasion by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Bill Clinton pardoned Mr. Rich in 2001, and so the feds never did get their man. The pardon so infuriated Justice lawyers who had worked on the case that the Southern District promptly launched an investigation into whether the pardon had been "proper." One former prosecutor we spoke to described the Rich case as "the single most rancorous case in the history of the Southern District."

"Two of the prosecutors who worked on the Rich case over the years were none other than Mr. Fitzgerald and James Comey, who while Deputy Attorney General appointed Mr. Fitzgerald to investigate the Plame leak. Mr. Fitzgerald worked in the Southern District for five years starting in 1988, at the same time that Mr. Libby was developing a legal theory of Mr. Rich's innocence in a bid to get the charges dropped. The prosecutors never did accept the argument, but Leonard Garment, who brought Mr. Libby onto the case in 1985, says that he believes Mr. Libby's legal work helped set the stage for Mr. Rich's eventual pardon.

"This was all long ago, it's true. But Mr. Libby and Mr. Comey tangled more recently as well. In 2004, as Mr. Fitzgerald was gearing up his investigation, Mr. Libby was the Administration's point man in trying to get Justice to sign off on the NSA wiretapping program. In early 2004, Mr. Comey was acting Attorney General while John Ashcroft recovered from gall bladder surgery, and Mr. Comey reportedly refused to give the NSA program the greenlight, prompting the White House to seek out Mr. Ashcroft in the hospital in a bid to circumvent Mr. Comey.

"Motive is a difficult thing to gauge. We don't know whether this long personal history played any role either in Mr. Fitzgerald's single-minded pursuit of Mr. Libby, or in Mr. Comey's decision to grant the prosecutor plenary power even though the central mystery of the case had already been resolved. But connecting the dots linking the three men at the heart of this case seems worth doing given the puzzling nature of this prosecution."

That might be a good way to explain this puzzling, illogical prosecution, especially when you consider that Fitzgerald knew from the day of his appointment back in December, 2003 that the person who leaked the name of Valerie Plame was none other than Richard Armitage, Colin Powell's then-deputy at the State Department.