Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Interesting
I ran across an op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal penned (okay, co-penned) by one John Merriman. Merriman is a partner at DLA Piper, which is effectively the third largest law firm in the world by number of attorneys. He previously served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee's Business Council.
So, an uber-trial lawyer once headed the DNC's chief "business" committee? If that shocks you, raise your hand. (I don't see any hands raised!)
So, an uber-trial lawyer once headed the DNC's chief "business" committee? If that shocks you, raise your hand. (I don't see any hands raised!)
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Congressional Republicans: Showin' they have a pair
U.S. Representative Roy Blunt is going to see if Democrats are willing to put their votes where their mouths are vis-a-vis the "culture of corruption":
"Republicans plan to force a floor vote on Rep. William Jefferson's move to the Homeland Security Committee in an unprecedented maneuver to force Democrats to go on the record supporting their embattled colleague who is the target of a federal bribery investigation.
"House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) pledged to call for a recorded vote on the House floor when Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) introduces a resolution to make the Jefferson move official.
"Pelosi removed Jefferson from the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee in response to Justice Department allegations that the Louisiana Democrat had accepted $100,000 in bribes and stored $90,000 of them in his freezer. The speaker then gave Jefferson a seat on the Homeland Security, and Democrats agreed to the change in a closed-door caucus in February."
Have you ever noticed that the only time Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate seem able (willing?) to find their cojones is when they're in the minority?
"Republicans plan to force a floor vote on Rep. William Jefferson's move to the Homeland Security Committee in an unprecedented maneuver to force Democrats to go on the record supporting their embattled colleague who is the target of a federal bribery investigation.
"House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) pledged to call for a recorded vote on the House floor when Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) introduces a resolution to make the Jefferson move official.
"Pelosi removed Jefferson from the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee in response to Justice Department allegations that the Louisiana Democrat had accepted $100,000 in bribes and stored $90,000 of them in his freezer. The speaker then gave Jefferson a seat on the Homeland Security, and Democrats agreed to the change in a closed-door caucus in February."
Have you ever noticed that the only time Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate seem able (willing?) to find their cojones is when they're in the minority?
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Beatin' the Big Three
John Hawkins has ranked "the Democrats' Big Three 2008 Candidates on beatability in the general election." Here 'tis:
"1) Barack Obama: Charisma and a fake moderate tone will only carry you so far. He's way too inexperienced and way too openly liberal to have any shot of winning the presidency. After a year's worth of attack ads and debates on the issues, where he had to discuss things more controversial than 'hope,' he would be beaten into the ground and left far behind the Republican candidate who'd defeat him easily.
"2) Hillary Clinton: Truthfully, Hillary is also too inexperienced to be President and in addition, she's extremely polarizing, has high negatives, and has an enormous amount of baggage. Although she has worked hard to give people the idea that's she a moderate, not a liberal, everyone on the left and right knows she's posturing, so it's doubtful that it will do her much good. Moreover, does the country really want to put itself through the bitter infighting and squabbling another Clinton would undoubtedly produce? I think not. In other words, Hillary would have problems for the same reason that Jeb Bush would have a tough time making a run this time around: good, bad, people are just tired of having a Bush or Clinton in the White House.
"3) John Edwards: Like the other two candidates, the boyish Silky Pony is too inexperienced to be running for the presidency. However, even though he's as liberal as Obama, he does a better job of hiding it and tends to get more of a pass on the issue because he's from the South. Additionally, he doesn't have Hillary's baggage or shrewish reputation. Although he turned out to be useless in the veep slot during Kerry's 2004 run at the presidency, his demeanor would probably be better suited for the top slot than the VP. Also, he's more charismatic than Hillary or Kerry and would do a better job of exciting the liberal base than either candidate."
"1) Barack Obama: Charisma and a fake moderate tone will only carry you so far. He's way too inexperienced and way too openly liberal to have any shot of winning the presidency. After a year's worth of attack ads and debates on the issues, where he had to discuss things more controversial than 'hope,' he would be beaten into the ground and left far behind the Republican candidate who'd defeat him easily.
"2) Hillary Clinton: Truthfully, Hillary is also too inexperienced to be President and in addition, she's extremely polarizing, has high negatives, and has an enormous amount of baggage. Although she has worked hard to give people the idea that's she a moderate, not a liberal, everyone on the left and right knows she's posturing, so it's doubtful that it will do her much good. Moreover, does the country really want to put itself through the bitter infighting and squabbling another Clinton would undoubtedly produce? I think not. In other words, Hillary would have problems for the same reason that Jeb Bush would have a tough time making a run this time around: good, bad, people are just tired of having a Bush or Clinton in the White House.
"3) John Edwards: Like the other two candidates, the boyish Silky Pony is too inexperienced to be running for the presidency. However, even though he's as liberal as Obama, he does a better job of hiding it and tends to get more of a pass on the issue because he's from the South. Additionally, he doesn't have Hillary's baggage or shrewish reputation. Although he turned out to be useless in the veep slot during Kerry's 2004 run at the presidency, his demeanor would probably be better suited for the top slot than the VP. Also, he's more charismatic than Hillary or Kerry and would do a better job of exciting the liberal base than either candidate."
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Moonbats on parade
In case you haven't heard, a suicide bomber who killed up to 20 people outside the main coalition base in Afghanistan yesterday was said to have been trying to blow up Vice President Dick Cheney. Most of the victims of the attack were cilvillian Afghan truck drivers who were waiting to get inside the base.
How have the moonbats reacted to this news? Well, just like we'd expect moonbats to react. The following comes from just one of the comment threads at HuffingtonPost.com:
Geoman 77: “Cheney's spokeswoman said he was fine. F**k.”
ResistanceIsFutile: “S**t!”
Fantanfanny: “So Cheney is personally responsible for the deaths of 14 innocent people ... and then he waddles off to lunch! What a piece of s**t!”
Irual shows his/her outrage by using a lot of exclamation points: “To [sic] bad they missed!!!!!!!!!!!!”
TBD shows the kind of plucky optimism that made America great: “Better luck next time!”
Pakiman47 waxes wistful: “What a different world we would be living in today if they had succeeded.”
Ncjohn hears history’s echo: “In 1944 Claus von Stauffenberg's bomb unfortunately missed Hitler. I see the parallel and the inherent risk. This is to that what 9/11 was to the burning of the Reichstag. I am waiting for this effort to obliterate Cheney to be linked to Iran just like 9/11 was purposefully linked to Iraq by the ghouls who control our country.”
Jazzman sees the same parallel: “Isn't this the moral dilemma that Deitrich Bonheoffer found himself in when he chose to join a plot to assasinate [sic] Hitler. If we know that Cheney is plotting to light up the entire Middle East region by instigating an attack on Iran, if we know he is lying to do so, if we know that he is launching these wars to line the pockets of his corporate friends, and establish hegemony around the globe, if we know that he intends to hijack civil liberties and destroy constitutional government in this country, should we cheer if someone could stop him before hand?”
How have the moonbats reacted to this news? Well, just like we'd expect moonbats to react. The following comes from just one of the comment threads at HuffingtonPost.com:
Geoman 77: “Cheney's spokeswoman said he was fine. F**k.”
ResistanceIsFutile: “S**t!”
Fantanfanny: “So Cheney is personally responsible for the deaths of 14 innocent people ... and then he waddles off to lunch! What a piece of s**t!”
Irual shows his/her outrage by using a lot of exclamation points: “To [sic] bad they missed!!!!!!!!!!!!”
TBD shows the kind of plucky optimism that made America great: “Better luck next time!”
Pakiman47 waxes wistful: “What a different world we would be living in today if they had succeeded.”
Ncjohn hears history’s echo: “In 1944 Claus von Stauffenberg's bomb unfortunately missed Hitler. I see the parallel and the inherent risk. This is to that what 9/11 was to the burning of the Reichstag. I am waiting for this effort to obliterate Cheney to be linked to Iran just like 9/11 was purposefully linked to Iraq by the ghouls who control our country.”
Jazzman sees the same parallel: “Isn't this the moral dilemma that Deitrich Bonheoffer found himself in when he chose to join a plot to assasinate [sic] Hitler. If we know that Cheney is plotting to light up the entire Middle East region by instigating an attack on Iran, if we know he is lying to do so, if we know that he is launching these wars to line the pockets of his corporate friends, and establish hegemony around the globe, if we know that he intends to hijack civil liberties and destroy constitutional government in this country, should we cheer if someone could stop him before hand?”
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Wise words from Newt
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich has wise words for Republicans who are just spoiling for a fight 'gainst Hillary Clinton (see Sean Hannity's Stop Hillary Express):
"Focusing on an anti-Hillary campaign will also be a dead loser. The Clintons are the most determined and intense politicians of our lifetime. I just read Ambassador Bill Middendorf's A Glorious Disaster: Barry Goldwater's campaign and the Origins of the Conservative Movement, and he reminded me of the ferocity of the 1964 Lyndon Johnson campaign. It reminded me of the Clinton campaign style.
"If a campaign is going to degenerate into a mud slinging contest, the Clintons will always win because they are vastly more ready to jump into the pit. The recent attacks over David Geffen and Barack Obama are just a sample of how quickly and fiercely the Clintons will attack if the campaign is simply about who can 'out negative' whom."
"Focusing on an anti-Hillary campaign will also be a dead loser. The Clintons are the most determined and intense politicians of our lifetime. I just read Ambassador Bill Middendorf's A Glorious Disaster: Barry Goldwater's campaign and the Origins of the Conservative Movement, and he reminded me of the ferocity of the 1964 Lyndon Johnson campaign. It reminded me of the Clinton campaign style.
"If a campaign is going to degenerate into a mud slinging contest, the Clintons will always win because they are vastly more ready to jump into the pit. The recent attacks over David Geffen and Barack Obama are just a sample of how quickly and fiercely the Clintons will attack if the campaign is simply about who can 'out negative' whom."
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Monday, February 26, 2007
Re: Hypocritical doomsdayers (see Gore, Al)
According to the folks at the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, Al Gore’s personal energy use "is his own 'inconvenient truth.'" To wit:
"Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.
"Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).
"In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.
"The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh -- more than 20 times the national average."
You can read the rest of the TCPR's press release here.
"Last night, Al Gore’s global-warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, collected an Oscar for best documentary feature, but the Tennessee Center for Policy Research has found that Gore deserves a gold statue for hypocrisy.
"Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).
"In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.
"The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh -- more than 20 times the national average."
You can read the rest of the TCPR's press release here.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Monday, February 26, 2007
Settin' Chucky Schumer straight
Some numbnut somewhere dubbed Senator Chuck Schumer the "Democratic Karl Rove." When the Wall Street Journal asked Schumer about the comparison, he didn't dispute the notion that he and Karl Rove share certain personality traits. Schumer did add, however, that he's "nicer" than Mr. Rove. Well, how's this for nice ...
During a speech at the National Press Club last week, Schumer said the Republican Party is "controlled by two interest groups that don't represent America." The GOP, says Mr. Nice, is dominated by what he calls "theocrats and economic royalists."
I've been involved in Republican politics for the past fifteen years. I know party leaders, donors, activists and volunteers from Nashville to Washington, DC. I've yet to encounter a single Republican who warrants being called a "theocrat" or an "economic royalist."
That being said, I can set Chucky Schumer right straight about who dominates his chosen political party. Indeed, all a feller has to do is check out the financial disclosure forms of a random Democrat politician to learn who dominates the nation's oldest political party. To wit: public and private sector unions; left-wing moonbats (see MoveOn.org and DailyKos); trial lawyers; race hustlers (see Jackson, Jesse); Hollywood nitwits; abortion absolutists (see NARAL and Emily's List); leftist academics who've not yet received the memo about socialism not working; hypocritical doomsdayers (see Gore, Al); and assorted sundry apologists for the welfare state.
During a speech at the National Press Club last week, Schumer said the Republican Party is "controlled by two interest groups that don't represent America." The GOP, says Mr. Nice, is dominated by what he calls "theocrats and economic royalists."
I've been involved in Republican politics for the past fifteen years. I know party leaders, donors, activists and volunteers from Nashville to Washington, DC. I've yet to encounter a single Republican who warrants being called a "theocrat" or an "economic royalist."
That being said, I can set Chucky Schumer right straight about who dominates his chosen political party. Indeed, all a feller has to do is check out the financial disclosure forms of a random Democrat politician to learn who dominates the nation's oldest political party. To wit: public and private sector unions; left-wing moonbats (see MoveOn.org and DailyKos); trial lawyers; race hustlers (see Jackson, Jesse); Hollywood nitwits; abortion absolutists (see NARAL and Emily's List); leftist academics who've not yet received the memo about socialism not working; hypocritical doomsdayers (see Gore, Al); and assorted sundry apologists for the welfare state.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Monday, February 26, 2007
Shhhh ... the surge is working (Part deux)
"More than 100 Iraqi insurgents were killed or arrested and four car bombs were diffused in separate military operations in Baghdad over the weekend," UPI reports.
"The new Iraqi security plan has resulted in the killing or arresting of more than 800 Iraqi insurgents, [Iraqi] officials said."
"The new Iraqi security plan has resulted in the killing or arresting of more than 800 Iraqi insurgents, [Iraqi] officials said."
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Monday, February 26, 2007
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Utterly useless
If you want proof that the Tennessean is utterly useless as a source of news, consider this:
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who's also a GOP presidential contender, was in Nashville yesterday to speak to the 40,000 hunters who gathered for the National Wild Turkey Federation convention.
Huckabee also appeared at a reception at the Nashville home of Terry Saltsman, brother of Huckabee's campaign manager Chip Saltsman, former chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party.
Today's Tennessean makes no mention of Huckabee's campaign swing through Nashville. A GOP presidential candidate, whose campaign manager is the former chairman of the state Republican Party, visits Nashville and the Tennessean can't bother itself to send a reporter to cover the event(s).
Again, the Tennessean is utterly useless as a source of news.
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who's also a GOP presidential contender, was in Nashville yesterday to speak to the 40,000 hunters who gathered for the National Wild Turkey Federation convention.
Huckabee also appeared at a reception at the Nashville home of Terry Saltsman, brother of Huckabee's campaign manager Chip Saltsman, former chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party.
Today's Tennessean makes no mention of Huckabee's campaign swing through Nashville. A GOP presidential candidate, whose campaign manager is the former chairman of the state Republican Party, visits Nashville and the Tennessean can't bother itself to send a reporter to cover the event(s).
Again, the Tennessean is utterly useless as a source of news.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Sunday, February 25, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
President Fred? (Part deux)
As we reported last month, several prominent GOP activists are urging former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson to enter next year's Republican presidential primaries. The Knoxville News-Sentinel's blog has an update:
"Fred Thompson, the former Tennessee Republican senator who's now a Law & Order prosecutor and regular replacement for radio host Paul Harvey, is being urged by supporters to consider entering the presidential race, according to associates.
"'The draft Fred movement is growing,' says one ally. They say that Thompson is flattered by the suggestions, but it is unclear if he is turning away their appeals. The effort is growing among conservative blogs, where several boards are pushing the folksy straight-talker to get in."
"Fred Thompson, the former Tennessee Republican senator who's now a Law & Order prosecutor and regular replacement for radio host Paul Harvey, is being urged by supporters to consider entering the presidential race, according to associates.
"'The draft Fred movement is growing,' says one ally. They say that Thompson is flattered by the suggestions, but it is unclear if he is turning away their appeals. The effort is growing among conservative blogs, where several boards are pushing the folksy straight-talker to get in."
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Saturday, February 24, 2007
Shhhh ... the surge is working
Patrick Ruffini reports on a subject that's receiving no mention from the mainstream media:
"Early indications are that the troop surge into Baghdad is working. It hasn't been reported on widely, but murders in Baghdad are down 70%, attacks are down 80%, Mahdi Army chief Moqtada al-Sadr has reportedly made off for Iran, and many Baghdadis who had fled the violence now feel it's safe enough to return. The strategy that Congress is busy denouncing is proving to be our best hope for victory."
"Early indications are that the troop surge into Baghdad is working. It hasn't been reported on widely, but murders in Baghdad are down 70%, attacks are down 80%, Mahdi Army chief Moqtada al-Sadr has reportedly made off for Iran, and many Baghdadis who had fled the violence now feel it's safe enough to return. The strategy that Congress is busy denouncing is proving to be our best hope for victory."
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Saturday, February 24, 2007
Look! Up in the sky! ...
An asteroid could collide with the Earth in 2029, Sergey Smirnov, a scientist at Russia's Pulkovo Space Observatory, told a press conference in Moscow a few weeks back.
Scientists held a confab in San Francisco to discuss what the world's policy makers should do if an asteroid does indeed start on a collision course with the planet earth. Rich Galen has an excellent take on the subject:
"Given what has been going on here with Anna Nicole and Britney Spears, I don't think it is too far a stretch to believe that God has started the countdown clock running and if we don't get ourselves straightened out, that rock is going to make the dinosaur extinction look like naptime at Hillside Grade School." [Also, see previous post]
Here's more from Galen:
"If you needed any further evidence that the scientists and engineers who met in San Francisco to discuss this asteroid had been smoking some medically-necessary herb, they want the United Nations to do something about it.
"The United Nations, can not, to this very second, figure out how to get food to starving children in central Africa - which is already ON the planet Earth. Maybe I'm being too harsh, but if the UN takes this up there will be two resolutions:
"1. The asteroid will be the fault of Global Warming
"2. The asteroid will be the fault of the United States acting alone (unless Chelsea Clinton is President in 2036 in which case it will have been the fault of George W. Bush)"
Scientists held a confab in San Francisco to discuss what the world's policy makers should do if an asteroid does indeed start on a collision course with the planet earth. Rich Galen has an excellent take on the subject:
"Given what has been going on here with Anna Nicole and Britney Spears, I don't think it is too far a stretch to believe that God has started the countdown clock running and if we don't get ourselves straightened out, that rock is going to make the dinosaur extinction look like naptime at Hillside Grade School." [Also, see previous post]
Here's more from Galen:
"If you needed any further evidence that the scientists and engineers who met in San Francisco to discuss this asteroid had been smoking some medically-necessary herb, they want the United Nations to do something about it.
"The United Nations, can not, to this very second, figure out how to get food to starving children in central Africa - which is already ON the planet Earth. Maybe I'm being too harsh, but if the UN takes this up there will be two resolutions:
"1. The asteroid will be the fault of Global Warming
"2. The asteroid will be the fault of the United States acting alone (unless Chelsea Clinton is President in 2036 in which case it will have been the fault of George W. Bush)"
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Saturday, February 24, 2007
God, help us ...
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel ... sick.
Click here if you want to be royally offended.
Click here if you want to be royally offended.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Saturday, February 24, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
"I'll kiss Hillary Clinton's backside ... "
If a single "mainstream" media outlet mentions this, I'll kiss Hillary Clinton's backside at high noon in the nearest town square:
"Illegal aliens are killing more Americans than the Iraq war, says a new report from Family Security Matters that estimates some 2,158 murders are committed every year by illegal aliens in the U.S. The group says that number is more than 15 percent of all the murders reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the U.S. and about three times the representation of illegal aliens in the general population."
"Illegal aliens are killing more Americans than the Iraq war, says a new report from Family Security Matters that estimates some 2,158 murders are committed every year by illegal aliens in the U.S. The group says that number is more than 15 percent of all the murders reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the U.S. and about three times the representation of illegal aliens in the general population."
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Thursday, February 22, 2007
The Victory Caucus
The Examiner's Mark Tapscott has a good piece on the Victory Caucus, which during its two-week existence has become a very popular political Web site. (I mentioned the Victory Caucus' start-up a couple of weeks ago.) Mr. Tapscott is of the opinion that the Victory Caucus "has the look of the election wild card of the 2008 presidential campaign" much as the Swiftboat Vets for Truth were in 2004.
As the Powerline blog Powerline opined, "The true wild card in the 2008 race is likely to be the way the electorate perceives the situation in Iraq. The Victory Caucus is off to a great start as a source of information with which the public might better understand the situation on the ground there."
Be sure to check out the Victory Caucus' Web site. Those fellers are doin' good things, indeed.
As the Powerline blog Powerline opined, "The true wild card in the 2008 race is likely to be the way the electorate perceives the situation in Iraq. The Victory Caucus is off to a great start as a source of information with which the public might better understand the situation on the ground there."
Be sure to check out the Victory Caucus' Web site. Those fellers are doin' good things, indeed.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Thursday, February 22, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Governor Kasich?
The state of Ohio was ground zero for the thumping Republicans took in last November's election. If former U.S. Rep. John Kasich decides to run for governor in 2010, as he's now threatening to do, Ohio's flirtation with left-leaning statewide politicos may be very, very brief.
Ohio's current governor, Ted Strickland, had this to say about Kasich's possible entry into the '10 gubernatorial sweepstakes:
"If I do a good job, I don't think anybody will be able to beat me if I chose to run again. [I]f I don't do a good job, probably a whole lot of people could beat me if I chose to run again."
To paraphrase a line from the movie Fargo, that's a fountain of political prognostication ... that's a geyser.
Ohio's current governor, Ted Strickland, had this to say about Kasich's possible entry into the '10 gubernatorial sweepstakes:
"If I do a good job, I don't think anybody will be able to beat me if I chose to run again. [I]f I don't do a good job, probably a whole lot of people could beat me if I chose to run again."
To paraphrase a line from the movie Fargo, that's a fountain of political prognostication ... that's a geyser.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Wednesday, February 21, 2007
"Go and sin no more ... "
First Things has posted an excellent "Ash Wednesday" essay:
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
"246"
This must be seen in its enlarged size to be fully appreciated:
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Attention Democrats: Economics in action
Congressional Democrats, who've advocated placing price controls on pharmaceuticals and gasoline, should pay particular attention to what's happening in Venezuela. Steve Verdon checks in:
"Meat cuts vanished from Venezuelan supermarkets this week, leaving only unsavory bits like chicken feet, while costly artificial sweeteners have increasingly replaced sugar, and many staples sell far above government-fixed prices.
"President Hugo Chávez’s administration blames the food supply problems on speculators, but industry officials say government price controls that strangle profits are responsible. [Emphasis mine]
"Such shortages have sporadically appeared with items from milk to coffee since early 2003, when Chávez began regulating prices for 400 basic products as a way to counter inflation and protect the poor.
"Yet inflation has soared to an accumulated 78 percent in the last four years in an economy awash in petrodollars, and food prices have increased particularly swiftly, creating a widening discrepancy between official prices and the true cost of getting goods to market in Venezuela.
"'Shortages have increased significantly as well as violations of price controls,' Central Bank director Domingo Maza Zavala told Unión Radio on Thursday. 'The difference between real market prices and controlled prices is very high.'"
"Meat cuts vanished from Venezuelan supermarkets this week, leaving only unsavory bits like chicken feet, while costly artificial sweeteners have increasingly replaced sugar, and many staples sell far above government-fixed prices.
"President Hugo Chávez’s administration blames the food supply problems on speculators, but industry officials say government price controls that strangle profits are responsible. [Emphasis mine]
"Such shortages have sporadically appeared with items from milk to coffee since early 2003, when Chávez began regulating prices for 400 basic products as a way to counter inflation and protect the poor.
"Yet inflation has soared to an accumulated 78 percent in the last four years in an economy awash in petrodollars, and food prices have increased particularly swiftly, creating a widening discrepancy between official prices and the true cost of getting goods to market in Venezuela.
"'Shortages have increased significantly as well as violations of price controls,' Central Bank director Domingo Maza Zavala told Unión Radio on Thursday. 'The difference between real market prices and controlled prices is very high.'"
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Big Jim's blog
Former State Senator and GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Bryson has started blogging. You can check out his blog here.
As I've reported on a couple of occasions, Bryson has U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn's blessing to run for her congressional seat if and when she decides to enter the 2010 gubernatorial sweepstakes. I'm sure Tennessee Front Porch is the first of what will be many attempts by Big Jim to keep his name trippin' off the lips of folks who follow Tennessee politics.
As I've reported on a couple of occasions, Bryson has U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn's blessing to run for her congressional seat if and when she decides to enter the 2010 gubernatorial sweepstakes. I'm sure Tennessee Front Porch is the first of what will be many attempts by Big Jim to keep his name trippin' off the lips of folks who follow Tennessee politics.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Monday, February 19, 2007
I now admire the hell out o' Steve Jobs
From the Associate Press:
"Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs lambasted teacher unions today, claiming no amount of technology in the classroom would improve public schools until principals could fire bad teachers.
"Jobs compared schools to businesses with principals serving as CEOs.
"'What kind of person could you get to run a small business if you told them that when they came in they couldn't get rid of people that they thought weren't any good?' he asked to loud applause during an education reform conference.
This is Jobs' best quip:
"This unionization and lifetime employment of K-12 teachers is off-the-charts crazy."
"Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs lambasted teacher unions today, claiming no amount of technology in the classroom would improve public schools until principals could fire bad teachers.
"Jobs compared schools to businesses with principals serving as CEOs.
"'What kind of person could you get to run a small business if you told them that when they came in they couldn't get rid of people that they thought weren't any good?' he asked to loud applause during an education reform conference.
This is Jobs' best quip:
"This unionization and lifetime employment of K-12 teachers is off-the-charts crazy."
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Monday, February 19, 2007
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Let's say thanks, indeed
The Nigh Seen Creeder urges you to visit Let's Say Thanks. You can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it up and send to a service member who's currently stationed in Iraq. It only takes a few minutes, and you may just brighten some troop's day.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Sunday, February 18, 2007
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Just TRY to zing the Nigh Seen Creeder
Regular readers may recall my e-mail to one David Patterson. Well, Mr. Patterson has decided to engage in a little tête-à-tête avec moi. Here's a snippet from his reply:
"The author of the Nicene Creed espoused some radical leftist ideas. We would all do well to follow His advice."
I replied thusly ...
Mr. Patterson:
If you're referring to Jesus Christ, he'd been dead for 300 years when the Nicene Creed was written (see When Jesus Became God, by Richard E. Rubenstein).
That being said, I've yet to find the Biblical passage in which Jesus says, "Gather ye in a redistributionist welfare state to administer compassion and grace." As salvation comes individually, Christ admonished his followers to help others ... individually.
Agitating for statist policies allows leftists to feel good about themselves without actually having to do the grunt-work that comes along with "doing unto others." "I'm in favor of taking X dollars from Y and giving it to Z. That makes me a GOOOOOOD person!" you and yours say. Such behavior is not very Christ-like, if you ask me.
Try to zing me, theologically, again.
Cordially,
JD
"The author of the Nicene Creed espoused some radical leftist ideas. We would all do well to follow His advice."
I replied thusly ...
Mr. Patterson:
If you're referring to Jesus Christ, he'd been dead for 300 years when the Nicene Creed was written (see When Jesus Became God, by Richard E. Rubenstein).
That being said, I've yet to find the Biblical passage in which Jesus says, "Gather ye in a redistributionist welfare state to administer compassion and grace." As salvation comes individually, Christ admonished his followers to help others ... individually.
Agitating for statist policies allows leftists to feel good about themselves without actually having to do the grunt-work that comes along with "doing unto others." "I'm in favor of taking X dollars from Y and giving it to Z. That makes me a GOOOOOOD person!" you and yours say. Such behavior is not very Christ-like, if you ask me.
Try to zing me, theologically, again.
Cordially,
JD
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Saturday, February 17, 2007
The pro-Dixie Chicks camp is getting (even more) nutty
If this ain't nitwittery, I don't know what nitwittery is:
"So if you're not listening to the Dixie Chicks right now, ask yourself this: Why do you hate the Constitution?"
-- Jim Treacher
"So if you're not listening to the Dixie Chicks right now, ask yourself this: Why do you hate the Constitution?"
-- Jim Treacher
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Saturday, February 17, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Taking leftist fools to school (for the umpteenth time)
I remember it as if it were happening just, er, five months ago ...
During the two months leading up to the 2006 congressional elections, left-wingers everywhere availed themselves of each and every opportunity to tell us that President Bush and his cronies in the oil industry were lowering gasoline prices in order to influence the outcome of the elections. Leftists were also quite convinced, and were ever eager to opine, that gas prices would start to rise as soon as the elections were over.
As anyone who's visited a filling station in recent weeks can attest, the price of gasoline is now cheaper than it was on Election Day 2006. In fact, until the recent cold snap caused a slight spike in the price of oil, sub-$2-a-gallon gas was a regular feature in many locales. Because gasoline inventories have continued to climb in spite of the cold weather, we can expect the price of gas to continue to fall when warm weather returns this spring.
Now that the Bush-controls-gas-prices conspiracy theory has been thoroughly discredited, you'd think leftists would be crawling all over themselves to issue mea culpas. If you're waiting for such to happen, however, you're going to be waiting for a long, long time. You see, waiting for a leftist to say "I was wrong" is a bit like waiting to win the lottery: You know it might happen, but the odds of it actually happening are like a million-to-one.
During the two months leading up to the 2006 congressional elections, left-wingers everywhere availed themselves of each and every opportunity to tell us that President Bush and his cronies in the oil industry were lowering gasoline prices in order to influence the outcome of the elections. Leftists were also quite convinced, and were ever eager to opine, that gas prices would start to rise as soon as the elections were over.
As anyone who's visited a filling station in recent weeks can attest, the price of gasoline is now cheaper than it was on Election Day 2006. In fact, until the recent cold snap caused a slight spike in the price of oil, sub-$2-a-gallon gas was a regular feature in many locales. Because gasoline inventories have continued to climb in spite of the cold weather, we can expect the price of gas to continue to fall when warm weather returns this spring.
Now that the Bush-controls-gas-prices conspiracy theory has been thoroughly discredited, you'd think leftists would be crawling all over themselves to issue mea culpas. If you're waiting for such to happen, however, you're going to be waiting for a long, long time. You see, waiting for a leftist to say "I was wrong" is a bit like waiting to win the lottery: You know it might happen, but the odds of it actually happening are like a million-to-one.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Friday, February 16, 2007
The NEA demonstrates its uselessness yet again
Jill Bader, who is a staffer for Senator Lamar Alexander, sent John Hawkins a letter that Sen. Alexander recently received from the National Education Association. As Hawkins stated on his blog, it's too ironic not to post:
"DEAR SENATOR ALEXANDER: ... We urge you to vote NO on ... An amendment to be offered by Senator Alexander (R-TN) that would provide $99 million for the Teacher Incentive Fund"
Thus, the NEA asked Sen. Alexander to vote against his own amendment. Given that the NEA is de facto in charge of education in this country (what with the hundreds and hundreds of school board members, state legislators, U.S. Reps and U.S. Senators in the NEA's hip pocket), it's pretty scary to consider that (a) they're dumb enough to think that an elected representative is going to vote against his own piece of legislation, and (b) they oppose measures paying their own members more for good teaching.
Good Lord ...
"DEAR SENATOR ALEXANDER: ... We urge you to vote NO on ... An amendment to be offered by Senator Alexander (R-TN) that would provide $99 million for the Teacher Incentive Fund"
Thus, the NEA asked Sen. Alexander to vote against his own amendment. Given that the NEA is de facto in charge of education in this country (what with the hundreds and hundreds of school board members, state legislators, U.S. Reps and U.S. Senators in the NEA's hip pocket), it's pretty scary to consider that (a) they're dumb enough to think that an elected representative is going to vote against his own piece of legislation, and (b) they oppose measures paying their own members more for good teaching.
Good Lord ...
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Friday, February 16, 2007
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Bring me my hasenfeffer!
Apparently, the North Korean government is hoping to solve its mass starvation problem by breeding enormous rabbits. Reason magazine's Tom Palmer explains why it won't work:
"They're not very economical as a food source. Huge rabbits require huge amounts of food to make them so big. The socialist planner wants a big rabbit. The entrepreneur asks whether there is a positive difference between the cost of feeding the rabbit and the value of the rabbit. For the giant ones, it seems that the difference is negative. But that wouldn't stop a good socialist. After all, if you have a giant hunger problem, the answer must be giant foods."
Perhaps the North Koreans were inspired by the picture of German rabbit breeder Karl Szmolinsky's male breeding rabbit at Rich Galen's Web site:
Is that an actual rabbit? Or is it Al Gore in a bunny suit?!
"They're not very economical as a food source. Huge rabbits require huge amounts of food to make them so big. The socialist planner wants a big rabbit. The entrepreneur asks whether there is a positive difference between the cost of feeding the rabbit and the value of the rabbit. For the giant ones, it seems that the difference is negative. But that wouldn't stop a good socialist. After all, if you have a giant hunger problem, the answer must be giant foods."
Perhaps the North Koreans were inspired by the picture of German rabbit breeder Karl Szmolinsky's male breeding rabbit at Rich Galen's Web site:
Is that an actual rabbit? Or is it Al Gore in a bunny suit?!
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Thursday, February 15, 2007
Quote of the day
“If [the Bredesen Administration] want[s] to do something about immigration, they ought to send the National Guard down there to Nolensville Road.”
-- State Sen. Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville)
-- State Sen. Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville)
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Thursday, February 15, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Is this SI or EW?
Why in God's name is Beyoncé on the cover of the 2007 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue? As the folks at The Superficial correctly point out, snagging the spot on the cover of the swimsuit SI is a privilege usually reserved for "the baddest ass of supermodels." So, what gives?
Don't get me wrong, now. Beyonce looks great in a bikini. She just does not belong on the cover of SI. I mean, we're talking about SI here ... not Entertainment Weekly.
Don't get me wrong, now. Beyonce looks great in a bikini. She just does not belong on the cover of SI. I mean, we're talking about SI here ... not Entertainment Weekly.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Here come the Hypocrats
As floor debate on anti-surge legislation continues in the U.S. House today, Rich Galen brilliantly exposes House Democrats for the hypocrites that they most assuredly are. To wit:
"Originally, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer had promised that the GOP would, according to Julie Davis' reporting for the Associated Press, 'have a chance to offer their own measure, but Hoyer - realizing he was being led into a trap 'reversed course over the weekend' and (using the same strong-arm tactics they properly complained about when Republicans ruled) decided that only the Democratic version would come to the floor.
"The resolution on which Republican Leader John Boehner wanted a vote would have committed Congress to continue funding U.S. troops in Iraq; putting, in effect, our money where the Democrats' mouths are.
"But many Democrats - especially those who were elected last November from Republican or marginal districts - know that it is one thing to puff up and say they're against sending 21,000 more troops; it's something else again to say they're going to put those troops at higher risk by cutting off their funding.
"Thus, the reason Hoyer and Pelosi had to - once again - go back on their campaign promise of a more evenhanded management of the legislative agenda was because it would have exposed them for using the war in Iraq purely for political gain." [All emphases mine]
"Originally, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer had promised that the GOP would, according to Julie Davis' reporting for the Associated Press, 'have a chance to offer their own measure, but Hoyer - realizing he was being led into a trap 'reversed course over the weekend' and (using the same strong-arm tactics they properly complained about when Republicans ruled) decided that only the Democratic version would come to the floor.
"The resolution on which Republican Leader John Boehner wanted a vote would have committed Congress to continue funding U.S. troops in Iraq; putting, in effect, our money where the Democrats' mouths are.
"But many Democrats - especially those who were elected last November from Republican or marginal districts - know that it is one thing to puff up and say they're against sending 21,000 more troops; it's something else again to say they're going to put those troops at higher risk by cutting off their funding.
"Thus, the reason Hoyer and Pelosi had to - once again - go back on their campaign promise of a more evenhanded management of the legislative agenda was because it would have exposed them for using the war in Iraq purely for political gain." [All emphases mine]
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Little Bob to GOP: "Check, please!"
The current issue of Nashville Today (sorry, no Web site) reports that several Republican heavyweights have given big bucks to the Bob Clement for Mayor campaign. According to the weekly tabloid, Beth Fortune, State Representative Beth Harwell, and Ted Welch represent the nucleus of a small but growing cadre of GOP voters who're willing to open their checkbook for Little Bob.
I predicted that some big-name Republicans would support Bob Clement. I said as much over a month ago:
"The prospect of a social-crusading, property tax-raising mayor, see At-Large Councilman David Briley or Metro Legal Director Karl Dean, will no doubt lead some Republicans to support Bob Clement. Most of that support, however, will be monetary. Indeed, don't look for there to be roving bands of Republicans for Clement activists knocking on doors and manning phone banks at any point during next year's mayoral campaign."
I predicted that some big-name Republicans would support Bob Clement. I said as much over a month ago:
"The prospect of a social-crusading, property tax-raising mayor, see At-Large Councilman David Briley or Metro Legal Director Karl Dean, will no doubt lead some Republicans to support Bob Clement. Most of that support, however, will be monetary. Indeed, don't look for there to be roving bands of Republicans for Clement activists knocking on doors and manning phone banks at any point during next year's mayoral campaign."
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Tuesday, February 13, 2007
The Victory Caucus
The Victory Caucus has formed to give a voice to those who want to see the U.S. actually win the war on terror. From their mission statement:
"We support victory in the war against radical Islamists. We supported the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and we believe victory is necessary in both countries for America's self-defense."
"We support victory in the war against radical Islamists. We supported the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, and we believe victory is necessary in both countries for America's self-defense."
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Bredesen drops the ball
Governor Phil Bredesen has spent the better part of the last five years trying to make people forget - particularly in East Tennessee - that he's a Democrat. During his re-election campaign last year, he pandered to conservative voters by famously sending members of the Tennessee National Guard to the U.S.-Mexican border to assist federal agents in the apprehension of individuals trying to enter the United States illegally.
Bredesen, who was re-elected in a November cakewalk, has seemingly dropped the illegal immigration in a way that'd impress Tyrone Calico. (For those who don't know to whom I'm referring, Tyrone Calico was a Tennessee Titan who was released because he couldn't hold on to the football.) Indeed, as Bill Hobbs deftly points out , "[I]f you voted for Bredesen because you believed he was going to get serious about illegal immigration, you are going to be sorely disappointed." More from Hobbs:
"[Last] Monday night Gov. Bredesen delivered his fifth State of the State speech, the first since his re-election campaign ad blitz promising to tackle illegal immigration in his second term. And how many times did he mention illegal immigration? Exactly the same number of times he did in his inauguration speech a few weeks ago.
"Which is to say: Not once."
Bredesen, who was re-elected in a November cakewalk, has seemingly dropped the illegal immigration in a way that'd impress Tyrone Calico. (For those who don't know to whom I'm referring, Tyrone Calico was a Tennessee Titan who was released because he couldn't hold on to the football.) Indeed, as Bill Hobbs deftly points out , "[I]f you voted for Bredesen because you believed he was going to get serious about illegal immigration, you are going to be sorely disappointed." More from Hobbs:
"[Last] Monday night Gov. Bredesen delivered his fifth State of the State speech, the first since his re-election campaign ad blitz promising to tackle illegal immigration in his second term. And how many times did he mention illegal immigration? Exactly the same number of times he did in his inauguration speech a few weeks ago.
"Which is to say: Not once."
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Monday, February 12, 2007
Quote of the day
In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, Al Sharpton had this to say about Barack Obama:
"Just because you're our color, doesn't make you our kind."
Ouch!
"Just because you're our color, doesn't make you our kind."
Ouch!
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Monday, February 12, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Hoo-ray for free speech!
"I wonder to what country Gail Carpenter refers when she states, 'In fact, [The Dixie Chicks] don’t belong as part of this country.'... Surely she is not referring to the United States of America, a country that has codified the right of free speech in its Constitution. In our country, we are free to criticize our leaders, whether they be Rhodes scholars or lame-brained frat boys."
-- David Patterson, "Love/Hate Mail," Nashville Scene, February 15, 2007
Mr. Patterson:
You are correct, sir. America is a big, free-speech lovin' place, and Ms. Natalie Gargoyle, er, Maines and the other Chicks du Dixie can stay here if'n they want!
That being said, Rhodes scholars and lame-brained frat boys are not the only persons whom we can freely criticize. Indeed, we have a God-given, Constitutional right to lambaste leftist/statist, Scene-reading shipdits as well.
Cordially,
Joltin' Django
-- David Patterson, "Love/Hate Mail," Nashville Scene, February 15, 2007
Mr. Patterson:
You are correct, sir. America is a big, free-speech lovin' place, and Ms. Natalie Gargoyle, er, Maines and the other Chicks du Dixie can stay here if'n they want!
That being said, Rhodes scholars and lame-brained frat boys are not the only persons whom we can freely criticize. Indeed, we have a God-given, Constitutional right to lambaste leftist/statist, Scene-reading shipdits as well.
Cordially,
Joltin' Django
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Sunday, February 11, 2007
Speaker Pelosi: Cleared for take-off
As I reported last week, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi threw a fit when the Pentagon denied her request to fly on a military aircraft to a Democratic retreat in Williamsburg, VA -- a two-hour drive from Washington, DC.
The Nigh Seen Creeder has learned that Pelosi, who is still steaming and smarting from the Pentagon's careless disregard for her comfort, has decided to take up flying herself so's she'll never have to be at the mercy of the right-wing loons who're currently running the Dept. of Defense. She's even gone so far as to purchase her own plane.
Here's a picture of Pelosi behind the yoke:
The Nigh Seen Creeder has learned that Pelosi, who is still steaming and smarting from the Pentagon's careless disregard for her comfort, has decided to take up flying herself so's she'll never have to be at the mercy of the right-wing loons who're currently running the Dept. of Defense. She's even gone so far as to purchase her own plane.
Here's a picture of Pelosi behind the yoke:
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Sunday, February 11, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Talkin' 'bout Tennessee politics
A former co-worker who now lives in Arizona e-mailed me yesterday with questions 'bout Tennessee politics. I think my answers are well worth repeating. To wit:
Do you think Jim Cooper will run for governor in 2010?
Cooper's name has been bandied about as a possible candidate for gov'na. I, for one, just don't see him jumping into a statewide race. Cooper's turned decidedly leftward since he returned to Congress. It'd be hard for him to make inroads into East Tennessee with the voting record he's now toting around. Plus, I'll bet he still has nightmares about his 1994 campaign for U.S. Senate (Cooper got, what, 39 percent 'gainst Fred Thompson?)
What about [a] Harold Ford, Jr. [gubernatorial campaign]?
Junior ain't gonna run for governor. He likes to run his mouth about national issues too much to be content dealing with TennCare, state department budgets, etc., etc. Steve Gill seems to think that Ophelia Ford will be the consensus black candidate who'll take on U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen in '08. I wouldn't be shocked if'n Junior tried to get his old job back. (I even said as much the day after the 2006 congressional election.)
Is Bill Frist running for governor? If so, what happens to Blackburn's campaign for gov.?
If and when Bill Frist jumps into the race (The Hill recently reported that a Frist for Governor campaign is a done deal), he'll be the GOP "establishment's" choice. It's just a hunch, but I reckon Party Elders will do everything they can to avoid another Corker-Bryant-Hilleary mud-fight. In addition, and you mighta heard about this, the Frists have a little bit of money. A million bucks is a starting point for statewide races these days; Frist can come up with a million bucks before he hits the head every morning.
Marsha, Marsha, Marsha Blackburn is just going to have to suck it up and stay in Washington, DC. If'n I were her, I'd be happy to stay in Washington. I mean, who wants to have to deal with the shipdits in the State House and State Senate on a daily basis? Not me ...
Do you think Jim Cooper will run for governor in 2010?
Cooper's name has been bandied about as a possible candidate for gov'na. I, for one, just don't see him jumping into a statewide race. Cooper's turned decidedly leftward since he returned to Congress. It'd be hard for him to make inroads into East Tennessee with the voting record he's now toting around. Plus, I'll bet he still has nightmares about his 1994 campaign for U.S. Senate (Cooper got, what, 39 percent 'gainst Fred Thompson?)
What about [a] Harold Ford, Jr. [gubernatorial campaign]?
Junior ain't gonna run for governor. He likes to run his mouth about national issues too much to be content dealing with TennCare, state department budgets, etc., etc. Steve Gill seems to think that Ophelia Ford will be the consensus black candidate who'll take on U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen in '08. I wouldn't be shocked if'n Junior tried to get his old job back. (I even said as much the day after the 2006 congressional election.)
Is Bill Frist running for governor? If so, what happens to Blackburn's campaign for gov.?
If and when Bill Frist jumps into the race (The Hill recently reported that a Frist for Governor campaign is a done deal), he'll be the GOP "establishment's" choice. It's just a hunch, but I reckon Party Elders will do everything they can to avoid another Corker-Bryant-Hilleary mud-fight. In addition, and you mighta heard about this, the Frists have a little bit of money. A million bucks is a starting point for statewide races these days; Frist can come up with a million bucks before he hits the head every morning.
Marsha, Marsha, Marsha Blackburn is just going to have to suck it up and stay in Washington, DC. If'n I were her, I'd be happy to stay in Washington. I mean, who wants to have to deal with the shipdits in the State House and State Senate on a daily basis? Not me ...
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Saturday, February 10, 2007
Friday, February 09, 2007
Take that, Hillary
I don't know if this is a legit photo or not. If'n it's Photoshop, it's still pretty funny.
For those who can't quite read the message, it says: "Hillary Special: Two fat thighs with small breast and a left wing."
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Friday, February 09, 2007
Give the Department of Peace a chance?
One of the nuttier political ideas to come down the pike in recent years is U.S. Representative Denis Kucinich's proposed federal Department of Peace. The Alfred E. Newman-looking Kucinich, who's deluded himself into thinking that he could be the next U.S. President, has enlisted a host of celebrities and similarly deluded souls to join him in his peace-promotin' efforts. As the G4 television network reported:
"Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler joined actor Joaquin Phoenix, U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) ... at Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC, Monday night to lobby for the creation of a Department of Peace."
Kucinich has failed to tell us what a Department of Peace would, well, do. Would it stage marches during which participants would warble their way through Aerosmith songs? (Aerosmith is well known, you know, for recording tunes with serious themes. Indeed, "Dude Looks Like a Lady" is biting - biting - social commentary.)
Do we really need a new federal agency, with the requisite bureaucracy and bloated budget, whose sole purpose is to engage in hopeless, misguided idealism? We already have a federal agency that does such ... it's called the U.S. Department of Education.
"Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler joined actor Joaquin Phoenix, U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) ... at Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC, Monday night to lobby for the creation of a Department of Peace."
Kucinich has failed to tell us what a Department of Peace would, well, do. Would it stage marches during which participants would warble their way through Aerosmith songs? (Aerosmith is well known, you know, for recording tunes with serious themes. Indeed, "Dude Looks Like a Lady" is biting - biting - social commentary.)
Do we really need a new federal agency, with the requisite bureaucracy and bloated budget, whose sole purpose is to engage in hopeless, misguided idealism? We already have a federal agency that does such ... it's called the U.S. Department of Education.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Friday, February 09, 2007
Thursday, February 08, 2007
"Increasingly Democratic" ... ?!
As Bill Hobbs reported earlier this week, the Washington Post recently revealed how truly it is about politics in the Volunteer State. The Post had this about Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander:
"[Alexander] could draw a formidable opponent in 2008 as his state drifts increasingly Democratic."
Tennessee. Increasing Democratic? Please. If the Washington Post's writers had read and digested my recent commentary 'bout Tennessee's political environment, perhaps we'd have been spared from its nitwittery. Here's what I said:
Tennessee is not only a conservative state, it is a thoroughly Republican state as well. Yes, but, doesn't Phil Bredesen's big victory last year dispute this notion? Not at all. In 2002, Phil Bredesen was elected on a platform of low taxes and promises to use the power of the market to deal with issues like TennCare. That is, he more or less ran as a Republican. In fact, if an individual knew absolutely nothing about Phil Bredesen except what he or she had seen in the governor-to-be's 2002 television ads, the individual in question would've had to conclude that Bredesen is a card-carrying Republican.
Bredesen's 2006 re-election campaign was chock full of sloganeering on behalf of conservative causes (see illegal immigration), and he easily defeated an opponent will little money and no name recognition. Bredesen, however, had no coattails: Junior lost; Bredesen buds like Bob Rochelle, Mary Parker, and Vince Springer came up well short in their respective bids to defeat GOP members of the State Senate; and Democrats failed to pick up any seats in the State House of Representatives.
The GOP's gaining complete control of the State Senate for the first time in 130-something years has been the topic du jour in the blogosphere recently. Thus, I'll not dive into that subject here. I will say this, however: The fact that a down-the-line Democrat, i.e., Rosalind Kurita, crossed the aisle to support the Republican candidate for Speaker shows that state Democrats currently do not have their heads and their asses wired together. I'm afraid Kurita's defection is only the first crack of many cracks the Democrats will be trying to seal in the months ahead.
"[Alexander] could draw a formidable opponent in 2008 as his state drifts increasingly Democratic."
Tennessee. Increasing Democratic? Please. If the Washington Post's writers had read and digested my recent commentary 'bout Tennessee's political environment, perhaps we'd have been spared from its nitwittery. Here's what I said:
Tennessee is not only a conservative state, it is a thoroughly Republican state as well. Yes, but, doesn't Phil Bredesen's big victory last year dispute this notion? Not at all. In 2002, Phil Bredesen was elected on a platform of low taxes and promises to use the power of the market to deal with issues like TennCare. That is, he more or less ran as a Republican. In fact, if an individual knew absolutely nothing about Phil Bredesen except what he or she had seen in the governor-to-be's 2002 television ads, the individual in question would've had to conclude that Bredesen is a card-carrying Republican.
Bredesen's 2006 re-election campaign was chock full of sloganeering on behalf of conservative causes (see illegal immigration), and he easily defeated an opponent will little money and no name recognition. Bredesen, however, had no coattails: Junior lost; Bredesen buds like Bob Rochelle, Mary Parker, and Vince Springer came up well short in their respective bids to defeat GOP members of the State Senate; and Democrats failed to pick up any seats in the State House of Representatives.
The GOP's gaining complete control of the State Senate for the first time in 130-something years has been the topic du jour in the blogosphere recently. Thus, I'll not dive into that subject here. I will say this, however: The fact that a down-the-line Democrat, i.e., Rosalind Kurita, crossed the aisle to support the Republican candidate for Speaker shows that state Democrats currently do not have their heads and their asses wired together. I'm afraid Kurita's defection is only the first crack of many cracks the Democrats will be trying to seal in the months ahead.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Thursday, February 08, 2007
Rethinking the New Deal
I just finished reading Rethinking the Great Depression, by Gene Smiley. Dr. Smiley, an economist at Marquette University, presents a compelling thesis: New Deal policies undertaken by the Roosevelt Administration actually prolonged the Great Depression. My only beef with the book is that it often overwhelms the reader with statistics. Nevertheless, I recommend Smiley's book to anyone who seeks greater insight into the United States' economic history.
That being said, the Wall Street Journal has posted a New Deal debate, if you will, featuring economists Brad DeLong and Arnold Kling. A sample (from Kling):
The New Deal is a mythical event in history. Just as we revere the constitution as the basis for our government and we revere Abraham Lincoln for ending slavery and preserving the union, we are supposed to revere the New Deal as somehow providing the basis for our modern prosperity. Yet the policies of the New Deal are quite a mixed bag, to say the least. Most were discarded by 1950. The survivors include agricultural policies that were almost certainly wrong then and are almost certainly wrong now. Most of the financial regulations, such as interest rate ceilings on bank deposits, proved unworkable by the 1970s. Social Security, and its offspring Medicare, are going to be the next great financial crisis in this country.
That being said, the Wall Street Journal has posted a New Deal debate, if you will, featuring economists Brad DeLong and Arnold Kling. A sample (from Kling):
The New Deal is a mythical event in history. Just as we revere the constitution as the basis for our government and we revere Abraham Lincoln for ending slavery and preserving the union, we are supposed to revere the New Deal as somehow providing the basis for our modern prosperity. Yet the policies of the New Deal are quite a mixed bag, to say the least. Most were discarded by 1950. The survivors include agricultural policies that were almost certainly wrong then and are almost certainly wrong now. Most of the financial regulations, such as interest rate ceilings on bank deposits, proved unworkable by the 1970s. Social Security, and its offspring Medicare, are going to be the next great financial crisis in this country.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Thursday, February 08, 2007
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Why?
A Catholic girls' school in Farmington Hills, Michigan, abruptly cancelled a best-selling author's speech about the founder of Planned Parenthood and her pro-eugenics views because the "content could be misunderstood," according to the school's principal.
Daniel Flynn, author of Intellectual Morons: How Ideology Makes Smart People Fall for Stupid Ideas, was invited by the Pro-Life Club at Mercy High School to speak on the foundations of the abortion rights movement, said a spokesman for Young America's Foundation. [Sidebar: I've read Intellectual Morons. It is a quick and entertaining read, and I recommend it highly.]
Just days before the event, however, Principal Carolyn Witte cancelled the lecture, calling the subject "unsuitable for high school students." Witte added, "[The] content could be misunderstood."
"The principal didn't mention how information exposing Sanger's nefarious programs to sterilize large segments of the blacks, Italians and Jews - whom Sanger referred to as 'human weeds' - could be 'misunderstood,' particularly by a pro-life club sanctioned by a Catholic school," Jason Mattera, spokesman for Young America's Foundation told CNS News. Apparently, according to Mr. Mattera, Witte said her students - who're all high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors - were "too sensitive" to hear a topic about the founding of Planned Parenthood.
"While Mercy High School administrators didn't think their students were mature enough to hear a topic related to abortion, the school has brought in speakers to talk about chastity and shown videos regarding sexual abuse," Mattera responded.
My question is this: Why would a school affiliated with the Catholic Church, which espouses pro-life views as a matter of doctrine, cancel a lecture that would reveal the truth about the origins of the largest provider of abortions in the United States?
Why, indeed?
Daniel Flynn, author of Intellectual Morons: How Ideology Makes Smart People Fall for Stupid Ideas, was invited by the Pro-Life Club at Mercy High School to speak on the foundations of the abortion rights movement, said a spokesman for Young America's Foundation. [Sidebar: I've read Intellectual Morons. It is a quick and entertaining read, and I recommend it highly.]
Just days before the event, however, Principal Carolyn Witte cancelled the lecture, calling the subject "unsuitable for high school students." Witte added, "[The] content could be misunderstood."
"The principal didn't mention how information exposing Sanger's nefarious programs to sterilize large segments of the blacks, Italians and Jews - whom Sanger referred to as 'human weeds' - could be 'misunderstood,' particularly by a pro-life club sanctioned by a Catholic school," Jason Mattera, spokesman for Young America's Foundation told CNS News. Apparently, according to Mr. Mattera, Witte said her students - who're all high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors - were "too sensitive" to hear a topic about the founding of Planned Parenthood.
"While Mercy High School administrators didn't think their students were mature enough to hear a topic related to abortion, the school has brought in speakers to talk about chastity and shown videos regarding sexual abuse," Mattera responded.
My question is this: Why would a school affiliated with the Catholic Church, which espouses pro-life views as a matter of doctrine, cancel a lecture that would reveal the truth about the origins of the largest provider of abortions in the United States?
Why, indeed?
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Party o' the people?
"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is proving once again that the Democrat label of 'party of the people' is simply that: a label. Now, the San Francisco liberal is complaining about the size of the House speaker’s jet and requesting one much larger than Republican Dennis Hastert was provided," GOPUSA reports.
"Republicans have accused Pelosi of 'extravagance' and of wanting a plane where she could reward friends and associates. The Washington Times reported earlier this week that 'the Pentagon denied a request by Mrs. Pelosi to fly on a military aircraft to last weekend’s Democratic retreat in Williamsburg, a two-hour drive from Washington.'"
"Republicans have accused Pelosi of 'extravagance' and of wanting a plane where she could reward friends and associates. The Washington Times reported earlier this week that 'the Pentagon denied a request by Mrs. Pelosi to fly on a military aircraft to last weekend’s Democratic retreat in Williamsburg, a two-hour drive from Washington.'"
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Memo to John Edwards: "Those who do not remember the past ... "
If you want evidence that today's crop of Democratic presidential-wannabes haven't a clue about how to win the White House in '08, look no further than "top-tier" candidate John Edward's plan to raise taxes on a whole host of Americans:
"To reduce carbon emissions, Edwards recognizes that people may have to pay more for gasoline. And he is not ruling out new taxes or increasing old ones.
"The universal health care plan he wants is going to be expensive and some people will have to pay more.
"Eradicating poverty, his signature issue, will also require more money from taxpayers.
"And Edwards does not favor any new tax cuts for the middle-class." [all emphases mine]
Not since Walter Mondale in 1984 has a Democratic presidential candidate been so forthright in his desire to burden American taxpayers with additional federal levies. We all know what happened to Mondale: He lost to Ronald Reagan in a landslide.
So, why is Edwards even suggesting a tax increase? John Hawkins has a good answer:
"Because every time the Democrats win an election, they manage to convince themselves that this time, it's not because the Republicans did a poor job, it's because the American people now love socialism and have decided that France is the sort of nation we should aspire to become. They've always been wrong about that before, they're wrong about it this time, and if they continue to overreach on issues like this, they'll pay a big price for it in 2008."
"To reduce carbon emissions, Edwards recognizes that people may have to pay more for gasoline. And he is not ruling out new taxes or increasing old ones.
"The universal health care plan he wants is going to be expensive and some people will have to pay more.
"Eradicating poverty, his signature issue, will also require more money from taxpayers.
"And Edwards does not favor any new tax cuts for the middle-class." [all emphases mine]
Not since Walter Mondale in 1984 has a Democratic presidential candidate been so forthright in his desire to burden American taxpayers with additional federal levies. We all know what happened to Mondale: He lost to Ronald Reagan in a landslide.
So, why is Edwards even suggesting a tax increase? John Hawkins has a good answer:
"Because every time the Democrats win an election, they manage to convince themselves that this time, it's not because the Republicans did a poor job, it's because the American people now love socialism and have decided that France is the sort of nation we should aspire to become. They've always been wrong about that before, they're wrong about it this time, and if they continue to overreach on issues like this, they'll pay a big price for it in 2008."
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Monday, February 05, 2007
Listen up!
In an effort to help the kids of America learn how to pronounce words correctly, the Club for Growth's Andrew Roth has created the following URLs so's our young'uns can hear the exact pronunciations of a few important words:
Tee hee!
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Monday, February 05, 2007
Let the surge begin
A joint American-Iraqi offensive against insurgents will begin in Baghdad when additional U.S. troops arrive in-country. American officers tell the Washington Times that the offensive will dwarf all prior efforts [emphasis mine]:
"It's going to be an operation unlike anything this city has seen," Col. Doug Heckman added. "It's a multiple-order magnitude of difference, not just a 30 percent, I mean a couple hundred percent" larger than previous offensives.
All I can say is: 'Bout freakin' time.
"It's going to be an operation unlike anything this city has seen," Col. Doug Heckman added. "It's a multiple-order magnitude of difference, not just a 30 percent, I mean a couple hundred percent" larger than previous offensives.
All I can say is: 'Bout freakin' time.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Monday, February 05, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Hatin' on the NFL ... kos they can
Daily Kos contributor Jason Miller, a self described “wage slave of the American Empire who has freed himself intellectually and spiritually,” hates the National Football League. I'm of the opinion that Miller hates the U.S. of A with equal fervor, but I'll let you be the judge:
"Searching for masculine bliss incarnate?
"Look no further than NFL football and its myriad machismo delights.
"Fierce armor-clad gladiators applying wicked hits, battering each other relentlessly, engaging in bone-jarring collisions, and performing feats of near super-human athleticism.
"Provocatively undressed cheerleaders manifesting our culture’s ideal of feminine perfection.
"Rivers of ice cold beer gushing forth to satiate our desire to numb the mind and lower inhibitions.
"What could better reflect the collective psychosis of the American Empire than our mass obsession with the NFL? Born through violent revolution, expanded by genocide, enriched by slavery, and elevated to hegemony through imperialism, militarism, and economic tyranny, the United States, like NFL football, embodies avaricious savagery masked by a fastidiously maintained illusion of benevolent civility."
Mr. Wage Slave is just getting warmed up. He goes on to quote Noam Chomsky - yes, Noam Chomsky - as an expert on why the NFL is such a force of evil, and then scolds the Joe Six-Packs of the world for watching football rather than “alleviating the suffering of those in need.” (Amazingly, even for the Kos community, most of the folks who've left comments agree with Mr. Miller.)
Before you settle in to watch the Super Bowl, I urge you to read Mr. Miller's anti-NFL rant in its entirety. Be sure to keep this in mind as you read: The Pelosi-Reid-Dean Democrats are taking their marching orders from Jason Miller and the other kids at Daily Kos.
Are you scared yet?!
"Searching for masculine bliss incarnate?
"Look no further than NFL football and its myriad machismo delights.
"Fierce armor-clad gladiators applying wicked hits, battering each other relentlessly, engaging in bone-jarring collisions, and performing feats of near super-human athleticism.
"Provocatively undressed cheerleaders manifesting our culture’s ideal of feminine perfection.
"Rivers of ice cold beer gushing forth to satiate our desire to numb the mind and lower inhibitions.
"What could better reflect the collective psychosis of the American Empire than our mass obsession with the NFL? Born through violent revolution, expanded by genocide, enriched by slavery, and elevated to hegemony through imperialism, militarism, and economic tyranny, the United States, like NFL football, embodies avaricious savagery masked by a fastidiously maintained illusion of benevolent civility."
Mr. Wage Slave is just getting warmed up. He goes on to quote Noam Chomsky - yes, Noam Chomsky - as an expert on why the NFL is such a force of evil, and then scolds the Joe Six-Packs of the world for watching football rather than “alleviating the suffering of those in need.” (Amazingly, even for the Kos community, most of the folks who've left comments agree with Mr. Miller.)
Before you settle in to watch the Super Bowl, I urge you to read Mr. Miller's anti-NFL rant in its entirety. Be sure to keep this in mind as you read: The Pelosi-Reid-Dean Democrats are taking their marching orders from Jason Miller and the other kids at Daily Kos.
Are you scared yet?!
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Sunday, February 04, 2007
Saturday, February 03, 2007
"No purpose other than to undermine ..."
"Senators [Joe] Biden and [Carl] Levin have proposed a harshly worded non-binding resolution against the surge that all the Democrats will support. ... Passing symbolic measures is an honored Capitol Hill tradition. This one serves no purpose other than to undermine President Bush and perhaps demoralize American troops by telling them, in effect, 'More of you are going to Iraq in a mission the U.S. Congress thinks is doomed to failure. Carry on!'"
-- National Review editorial, February 12, 2007
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Saturday, February 03, 2007
Friday, February 02, 2007
Questions for the ACLU
A spied an American Civil Liberties Union bumper sticker on a co-worker's car today. (It could very well be the same co-worker who took such a keen interest in what books I've been reading.) The bumper sticker in question said: "President Bush: Keep Your Hands Off Our Freedom."
The ACLU can fancy itself as a nonpartisan protector of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights all it wants. One needn't possess a PhD in political science, however, to notice that the ACLU is quite selective in terms of the Constitutional battles it chooses to wage. I, for one, have a few questions for them. To wit:
In his seminal legal study Takings, Richard Epstein explores the government's 60-year assault on private property rights. Indeed, Dr. Epstein has spent much of his career detailing how the Takings Clause and the Commerce Clause have been deliberately misinterpreted in order to justify the expanding welfare state in the United States. As he points out, there exists not one single document to suggest that any Founding Father was a champion of income redistribution and/or transfer payments. When will the ACLU speak out against confiscatory taxes and the redistributionist welfare state?
The ACLU has taken a public stand in favor of affirmative action and racial preferences. Where in the Constitution is equality of outcome favored above and beyond equality of opportunity?
As a document, the Bill of Rights is the single greatest enshrinement of personal freedoms known to man. The philosophical origins of the Second Amendment are found in the writings of thinkers from Blackstone to Locke; in the English common law; and in the English Declaration of the Rights of 1689. There is a growing body of scholarly commentary which indicates that the "right to keep and bear arms" is - as the Amendment's text suggests - a personal right. When will the ACLU champion an individual's right to bear arms?
Our nation's universities are becoming Orwellian places in which any statements that challenge the prevailing left-wing orthodoxy are systematically condemned and suppressed. "Speech codes" are the norm, and conservative thinkers are often shouted down or denied the right to be heard at all. Will the ACLU take steps to ensure that First Amendment rights are enjoyed uniformly on our nation's college campuses?
The ACLU's crusades against public displays of the Ten Commandments have been quite eventful; however, the ACLU has yet to explain how such displays support an "establishment of religion." Does the ACLU honestly believe that the Founding Fathers envisioned an absolute removal of religious thought and expression from the public square?
There are indeed legitimate questions to be asked about the Bush Administration's proposals for fighting domestic and international terrorism. However, until the ACLU is prepared to wage a non-ideological and factual defense of Constitutional freedoms, I'm not so sure that its pronouncements condemning the Bush Administration deserve serious consideration.
The ACLU can fancy itself as a nonpartisan protector of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights all it wants. One needn't possess a PhD in political science, however, to notice that the ACLU is quite selective in terms of the Constitutional battles it chooses to wage. I, for one, have a few questions for them. To wit:
In his seminal legal study Takings, Richard Epstein explores the government's 60-year assault on private property rights. Indeed, Dr. Epstein has spent much of his career detailing how the Takings Clause and the Commerce Clause have been deliberately misinterpreted in order to justify the expanding welfare state in the United States. As he points out, there exists not one single document to suggest that any Founding Father was a champion of income redistribution and/or transfer payments. When will the ACLU speak out against confiscatory taxes and the redistributionist welfare state?
The ACLU has taken a public stand in favor of affirmative action and racial preferences. Where in the Constitution is equality of outcome favored above and beyond equality of opportunity?
As a document, the Bill of Rights is the single greatest enshrinement of personal freedoms known to man. The philosophical origins of the Second Amendment are found in the writings of thinkers from Blackstone to Locke; in the English common law; and in the English Declaration of the Rights of 1689. There is a growing body of scholarly commentary which indicates that the "right to keep and bear arms" is - as the Amendment's text suggests - a personal right. When will the ACLU champion an individual's right to bear arms?
Our nation's universities are becoming Orwellian places in which any statements that challenge the prevailing left-wing orthodoxy are systematically condemned and suppressed. "Speech codes" are the norm, and conservative thinkers are often shouted down or denied the right to be heard at all. Will the ACLU take steps to ensure that First Amendment rights are enjoyed uniformly on our nation's college campuses?
The ACLU's crusades against public displays of the Ten Commandments have been quite eventful; however, the ACLU has yet to explain how such displays support an "establishment of religion." Does the ACLU honestly believe that the Founding Fathers envisioned an absolute removal of religious thought and expression from the public square?
There are indeed legitimate questions to be asked about the Bush Administration's proposals for fighting domestic and international terrorism. However, until the ACLU is prepared to wage a non-ideological and factual defense of Constitutional freedoms, I'm not so sure that its pronouncements condemning the Bush Administration deserve serious consideration.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Friday, February 02, 2007
