"What's a conservative to do?"

A sentiment voiced by many conservatives this election cycle, I'm certain. And one voiced by Playwriter Girl in a comment to my Huckabee post below. For, despite what the drive-bys would have us believe, there is no real conservative in this year's presidential race. Here are the Republican candidates as I see them.

Huckabee	A Liberal's Republican. Vote for Mike if you want your taxes raised.
Hunter	Solid conservative, but where is he? Where's his passion?
McCain	Nope. Already rejected by Republicans. Besides, Star Wars is passe—we don't need another Luke Skywalker.
Paul	Kook, kook, kook.
Romney	Accomplished businessman and Governor. But waffles too much for my taste.
Thompson	Possibly the most conservative of the bunch. Seems to have little energy. Great statesman, unproven leader.

And that leaves my choice, Rudy Giuliani.

Here is my criteria for selecting Rudy. Line up all the candidates side by side and ask yourself this question: which one of these candidates will the terrorists be most afraid of? For me, it's Rudy. Yes, he's not the most conservative of the bunch, there's no question about that. However, he has stated that he will appoint constructionists to the Supreme Court. While he is personally pro-abortion, he recognizes that it is the people's decision through the governments of their respective states. He is an accomplished administrator, having cleaned up New York City of crime before September 11 and of tragedy afterward. He is an accomplish prosecutor. He led the charge to rid New York of organized crime with tremendous success.

For what it's worth, Mr. Light Bulb recommends voting for Rudy Giuliani as the Republican candidate for President of the United States.

Operation Streamline is working!

30% reduction in crime. What's not to like about this?

The first 45 days of Operation Streamline — a collaborative effort of local, state and federal agencies in Texas — has resulted in decreased illegal border crossings and crime since its implementation Oct. 31 compared with last year's numbers, said Laredo Border Patrol Sector chief patrol agent Carlos X. Carrillo.

"As more and more illegal aliens are prosecuted and incarcerated under Streamline-Laredo, the word is spreading quickly that illegal entry has its consequences," Mr. Carrillo said. "Those found guilty of violating this statute face penalties that can include fines and up to six months in prison."

During the first 45-day period of Operation Streamline in the Laredo sector only 2,833 illegal entries were reported, compared with last fiscal year, when 4,424 illegal entries were reported during a similar period.

And one of the leaders responsible for Operation Streamline is my Congressman, John Culberson. From his web site:

My proudest accomplishment this week was obtaining $80 million in additional funds to significantly strengthen America’s borders. Of this amount, $15 million will be used to expand and support the zero tolerance program I helped implement on October 30 in the Laredo Sector. Under "Operation Streamline," anyone who crosses our border illegally is arrested, prosecuted, and jailed. In the Del Rio sector, Operation Streamline reduced the crime rate by 76 percent, and this year will see the lowest number of illegal border crossings in Del Rio since the Border Patrol started keeping records in 1972! I expect to see zero tolerance implemented in the Tuscon Sector in January and my next target is the Brownsville Sector.

But why is John having to worry about law enforcement?

Since the bureaucrats in the Washington headquarters of the Department of Homeland Security have failed to secure our borders, I have learned to bypass headquarters in order to get results along the border. The Texas border county sheriffs will receive $5 million to work alongside Border Patrol agents. Last year, I was also able to provide $5 million to Texas border sheriffs, and they are using the money to put more deputies on the streets, buy equipment, and reduce illegal crossings. In addition to the funds they are receiving from the State of Texas, this is money well spent in the battle to defend our borders.

Keep bypassing headquarters, John! It seems to be the only way to get things done.

Wait a minute, I thought we were having a conversation...

If I remember her candidacy announcement correctly, and I think I do, Mrs. Clinton's final thought went something like this:

"I'm not just starting a campaign, though, I'm beginning a conversation with you, with America," she said. "Let's talk. Let's chat. The conversation in Washington has been just a little one-sided lately, don't you think?"

How interesting (not really) and typical (definitely) to read this:

Before the brief Christmas break, the New York senator had been setting aside time after campaign speeches to hear from the audience. Now when she’s done speaking, her theme songs blare from loudspeakers, preventing any kind of public Q&A.

She was no more inviting when a television reporter approached her after a rally on Thursday and asked if she was "moved" by Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. Clinton turned away without answering.

Her daughter, Chelsea, had the same reaction when a reporter approached her with a question.

Hillary Clinton’s no-question policy didn’t sit well with some of the Iowans who came to see her speak.

"I was a little bit underwhelmed," said Doug Rohde, 46, as he left her a rally in a fire station in Denison. "The message was very generic — and no questions."

Yep, it's a one-sided conversation alright.

Liberal compassion and tolerance on display...through "Global Warming"

You can write books on liberal hypocrisy, and some already have. Here's an example for the next volume. Scanning through the Drudge Report this morning, I saw this link: "PAPER: Global Warming Will Save America from the Right Wing". And I couldn't resist.

It's a commentary written by Dave Lindorff for the Baltimore Chronicle. First of all, he's a believer in the Religion of Global Warming. Therefore, we know he's incredibly gullible and will believe the wildest of ideas based on little or no evidence. Anyway, the premise of Dave's commentary is that as the sea level rises, as the Religion prescribes, the most affected areas will be:

the American southeast, including the most populated area of Texas, almost all of Florida, most of Louisiana, and half of Alabama and Mississippi, as well as goodly portions of eastern Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. While the northeast will also see some coastal flooding, its geography is such that that aside from a few projecting sandbars like Long Island and Cape Cod, the land rises fairly quickly to well above sea level. Sure, Boston, New York and Philadelphia will be threatened, but these are geographically confined areas that could lend themselves to protection by Dutch-style dikes. The West Coast too tends to rise rapidly to well above sea level in most places. Only down in Southern California towards the San Diego area is the ground closer to sea level.

Hmmm. Notice anything about the future below sea level areas? There's more.

Then there’s the matter of the Midwest, which climate experts say is likely to face a permanent condition of unprecedented drought, making the place largely unlivable, and certainly unfarmable. The agribusinesses and conservative farmers that have been growing corn and wheat may be able to stretch out this doomsday scenario by deep well drilling, but west of the Mississippi, the vast Ogallala Aquifer that has allowed for such irrigation is already being tapped out. It will not be replaced.

Wow. Feel the love.

Finally, in the Southwest, already parched and stiflingly hot, the rise in energy costs and the soaring temperatures will put an end to right-wing retirement communities like Phoenix, Tucson and Palm Springs. Already the Salton Sea is fading away and putting Palm Springs on notice that the good times are coming to an end. Another right-wing haven soon to be gone.

Gee, how did he eve manage to write something while being so overwhelmed with sympathy...never mind.

Here's some advice to you believers in the Religion of Global Warming. Just let us Conservatives (that is, users of brains) do what we want and warm the globe. You continue to drive your hybrids, bring your own bags to the grocery store, and not use toilet paper (please stay out of my nasal sensorium). And in a few years the sea level will rise enough to wipe us Conservatives away. Because, of course, we won't move or anything like that. We'll just stay put here in Houston and allow the water to rise over our heads. We simply wouldn't contemplate moving to higher ground.

Note: I recently read State of Fear. Fantastic blog material on this topic. Stay tuned.

He is born

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

— Luke 2:10-12

Merry Christmas!

What has Ron Paul accomplished? redux

I knew it. It was so incredibly predictable.

But before I continue, I do need to congratulate the Paulaholics. They are very well organized, and they are phenomenally passionate. Those are two outstanding qualities in politics. (Too bad their guy is a kook.) O.K., back to the post.

After posting my "what has Ron Paul accomplished" question two days ago, I received an anonymous comment a little over six hours later from a Paulaholic. And it followed the typical Paulaholic response. Let's break it down, shall we?

You are asking the wrong question of Paul supporters. If we wanted an activist government to go out and achieve things, we'd support Socialists like Hilary and Rudy.

Oh so clever. Anonymous equates government achievement with Socialism. And then (correctly) lists Mrs. Clinton and (incorrectly) Rudy as examples of Socialism.

Yes, we do want government and our government's employees and representatives to actually achieve things, like . . . oh, I don't know . . . ending the Cold War or keeping our taxes low in order to fuel economic growth. To a certain degree, I agree with the Paulaholics that government is too big and that it does to much and way more than is constitutionally mandated. But it has to DO something. It has to get something done. There is a minimum threshold of achievement that must be met. Remember this phrase?

...to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity...

Those are some basics that our government needs to achieve. If it doesn't get some of those correct, we have no nation, and all of our discourse will be for naught.

Continuing with the Paulaholic comment.

I'd say in general, Ron Paul supporters hope that he will bring the size of government down in line with its present level of effectiveness, and the cost of that government down in line with that size.

O.K. That's nice. I'd like for every elected representative to pursue that goal. But what has he done that shows us he's capable of (here's that nasty word again) accomplishing that goal? Let's read on.

What Ron Paul did in his career was to stand firm for the philosophy of limited government as his own party stampeded away from it the moment they took power. By definition, the voice in the wilderness is not the leader of the pack. But if we ever find ourselves in a country where a politician can say, "Government is not the solution to the problem, government *is* the problem," without being derided as a racist kook, Ron Paul will be remembered as a great keeper of that flame.

"STAND FIRM." That's all they can come up with! No accomplishment. No record of getting something done. Nothing in history that will give us a clue as to what might actually occur, besides a whole bunch of speaking and standing firm.

And then...

And then...my dear anonymous commenter displays his/her ignorance of true accomplishment. For Anonymous misquotes the Great Accomplisher himself. Here's the correct quote:

In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. From time to time we've been tempted to believe that society has become too complex to be managed by self-rule, that government by an elite group is superior to government for, by, and of the people. Well, if no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else? All of us together, in and out of government, must bear the burden.

Ronald Reagan, in his first inaugural address, spoke of true conservatism when he said this. And, dear Anonymous, Ron Paul is most certainly not a keeper of the Reagan flame.

Predictably, the question remains unanswered; what has Ron Paul accomplished?

Mike Huckabee, a Liberal's Republican

Yes indeed, a liberal's Republican. In fact, we could call him another Tax Hike Mike, Jr. (Sr. being the former governor of Massachusets). Here's an excerpt from a National Review interview with congressman Pat Toomey, president of the Club for Growth:

Kathryn Jean Lopez: Is Mike Huckabee really as bad as you say he is?

Pat Toomey: He’s every bit as bad, and you don’t have to just take our word for it. Jonah Goldberg, you and your fellow editors at National Review, Bob Novak, and John Fund — to name just a few conservative writers — agree that Mike Huckabee is no conservative. You can read the Club’s white paper on our website, but here is a quick summary of Huckabee’s worst hits. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the average Arkansas tax burden increased 47% over Huckabee’s tenure. Huckabee supported (in chronological order) a sales tax hike; gas and diesel fuel tax hikes; another sales tax hike; a cigarette tax hike; a nursing home bed tax; another sales tax hike; an income surcharge tax; a tobacco tax hike; taxes on Internet access; and higher beer taxes. Huckabee also oversaw a 50-percent increase in spending; happily signed a minimum wage increase and encouraged national Republicans to do the same; favors a national smoking ban, farm subsidies, and a federally mandated arts and music curriculum; opposes private school choice; and employs class-warfare and protectionist language on the campaign trail. Huckabee calls himself an economic conservative in the mold of Ronald Reagan, but the above list doesn’t sound like either.

Run away. Run away.

What has Ron Paul accomplished?

Well, I've been away for quite a while, busy with house stuff and work stuff. But now the holidays are here, and it is my goal to blog each and every day until I return to work, sometime the first week of January.

For my first Holiday 2007 post, I altruistically seek information from the Paulaholics. So, for you Paulaholics out there, please answer this question: what has Ron Paul accomplished?

Some disclosure is appropriate: I cannot lay claim to the originality of this line of questioning. I hear the unbeatable Edd Hendee and Pat Gray on AM 700 KSEV and AM 1160 KVCE ask this question every time a Paulaholic calls in. But they never answer the question. They'll start out with "Ron Paul has defended the Constitution..." or "Ron Paul has stood for American principles..." or some other platitudinous drivel. Never do they list an accomplishment.

Therefore, I ask of you, dear Paulaholics on the internet, with sincerity, what has Ron Paul accomplished?


By the way . . . by "accomplished" I mean something in government, not fund raising. He's an incredible fundraiser, no one can deny that.

Book Review: Hell To Pay

The late, great Barbara Olson was a brainy woman. As a passenger on board American Airlines Flight 77, she was among the first to perish in the War Against Terror. In her honor, a yearly lecture is presented at the Federalist Society. Her husband, then Solicitor General Ted Olson, gave the first of these lectures in on November 16, 2001. In summing up his wife's life he said,

It was typically Barbara that when Al Regnery suggested that she write a book about Hillary Rodham Clinton, she literally jumped at the chance. She told me at the time that she wasn't sure that she was a writer, but a friend of ours told her that she didn't have to be a writer to be an author. So, with her legendary energy and limitless self-confidence, she poured herself into the book, finished it in nine months and, against seemingly insurmountable odds, without any previous experience with serious writing, climbed onto the New York Times best seller list during the heaviest competitive time of the year, and stayed there for nine weeks. Ten days ago, her second book, written in about six months and finished just days before her death, opened at number two on the New York Times bestseller list, ahead of Bill O'Reilly, Jack Welch and Tiger Woods. Not bad.

Barbara was everywhere in Washington. A witness for Clarence Thomas at his confirmation, a co-founder of the Independent Women's Forum, hosting Federalist Society members from all over the country in her home, at the epicenter of the travel office and filegate investigations, and the China campaign contributions investigation, the second-most invited guest on "Larry King Live," appearing on MSNBC, FOX, "Meet the Press," "Cross-Fire," "Geraldo," "Politically Incorrect," you name it. Ready to talk about any subject, ready to face down any adversary. She always had an opinion. And she always had that smile.

I could tell you Barbara stories for hours, and I think that you would be glad to listen. But, in short, Barbara partook of everything life gave her. She saw no limits in the people around her and she accepted no limits on what she could accomplish. She could be charming, tough, indefatigable, ferocious and lovable. And all those things at once.

Barbara was Barbara because America, unlike anyplace in the world, gave her the space, freedom, oxygen, encouragement and inspiration to be whatever she wanted to be. Is there any other place on earth where someone could do all these things in forty-five years?

So, sadly, and ironically, Barbara may have been the perfect victim for these wretched, twisted, hateful people. Because she was so thoroughly and hugely an American. And such a symbol of America's values, ideals, and robust ambition. But she died as she lived. Fighting, believing in herself, and determined to succeed. And, if she was the perfect victim, she is also a perfect symbol of what we are fighting for now and for why we will prevail.

Ms. Olson's first book, Hell To Pay, shows us the real Hillary Rodham Clinton. We learn about her first forays into funding Defeat-ocrat candidates with federal tax dollars. We learn about her first acts of enabling her husband's lascivious behaviour. We learn about her exposure to liberalism in law school and her study of Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals. And we learn why children are so very important to her, politically.

We also see, on almost every page, a combination of shock, amazement, and revulsion at what a person will do for personal power. That's because Mrs. Olson, like so many people, was the anti-Hillary. Where Mrs. Olson would have seen the best in people, Hillary sees either an asset to be used or an enemy to be investigated and crushed. Where Mrs. Olson would answer questions forthrightly, Hillary will evade or prevaricate or do whatever must be done in order to avoid the truth.

A telling excerpt:

There is another side to their early relationship. Hillary was well acquainted with Arkansas long before she moved to Fayetteville. She had lived in Arkansas for part of 1974, when Bill Clinton had decided to run against incumbent Republican Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt. The Clintons and their boosters rarely talk about that race, and for good reason. It was during this time that Hillary learned all too well what kind of husband Bill Clinton would make.

Two legacies were created during this period. First, in the Clinton marriage, the personal fused with the political. The risks that Bill Clinton took with his relationship with Hillary were inseparable from the risks he took with his own career.

The second legacy is the need for what Clinton consultant and friend Dick Morris called "the secret police." Hillary learned about private investigators in her work on behalf of the Black Panthers and the Communist apologists Robert Treuhaft and Jessica Mitford. Now Hillary was constantly checking up on bill, not just to learn the extent of his betrayals, but to assess the danger he posed to their joint political career.

Hillary began her surveillance of bill during this period in simple ways, eavesdropping and checking his desk. While Hillary knew Bill was cheating, she didn't know that Mary Lee Fray—the woman charged with making Hillary more attractive—was also the shepherd who kept the doors revolving so that Hillary never umped into what she called "Bill's special friends." Clinton campaign coordinator Neal McDonald remembered that Bill "had a girl friend in every county."

While Hillary assumed that her intellect would keep Bill at her side, Mary Lee Fray lamented that Hillary "had a weight problem and she wouldn't diet.... She didn't have a body for a dress. So I told her to at least buy some nice underclothes."

If it came to a choice between changing her lingerie or snooping on Bill, Hillary preferred to search for scraps of paper with phone numbers on them and tear them up, mutilating the paper as though it were a Black Panther informant betraying Bobby Seale to "the pigs."

With liberals, and most certainly with Mrs. Clinton, it's all about personal power; accumulating it, maintaining it, and exercising it. This book covers all three. I consider this book an indispensable guide into the mind of Mrs. Clinton. If you want to know how Her Vileness became Her Vileness and why she acts the way she does, read this book.

Finally, Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila has been arrested for smuggling drugs

It's about time.

Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila, the drug smuggler who testified for the prosecution during the trials for Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, has been arrested on charges of bringing more than 750 pounds of marijuana into the United States.

Aldrete-Davila was arrested today at the El Paso border crossing on charges involving what has become know as the "second load," in which he smuggled a second 750-pound load of marijuana into the U.S. after he was given immunity by the prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, for the first load

More than two years after transporting over 750 pounds of marijuana across our southern border, this cretin is finally behind bars. That is, after receiving medical care paid for by United States taxpayers for a bullet wound in his buttocks. And after receiving a Department of Homeland Security border pass card from District Attorney Johnny "Satan" Sutton. And after testifying against Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean, who now sit in federal prison in conditions worse that terrorists receive.

Personal Responsibility - it's outdated

Via NewsMax comes this story about personal responsibility and its lack of being mentioned in the drive-by media.

Major news outlets are largely ignoring personal responsibility in their coverage of a recent increase in loan foreclosures, according to a new report from the Business & Media Institute (BMI).

"Everyone who enters into any kind of financial agreement should be expected to read and understand the documents he or she is signing, and if they don't, they shouldn't sign the papers," the report stated. "This was clearly not the position the evening news programs took."

And here's the first six points of the report:

Irresponsible Borrowers off the Hook: Sixty-two percent of the stories on the three networks ignored the consumer's responsibility for debt. Just as many portrayed borrowers as victims, such as the North Carolina family "living off peanut butter and jelly" just to make the mortgage payment.

Business Gets a Black Eye: Lenders and related companies were blamed for borrowers' debt trouble six times as often as borrowers. ABC and NBC even blamed the National Football League for retired players' financial woes.

A Penny Saved or Spent: While network reporters occasionally complained about Americans' negative savings rate, the ideas of savings and thrift were virtually ignored throughout the nine-month period. Only 14 percent of debt-related stories mentioned a savings or thrift theme.

Scary Words about the Economy: Exaggerated descriptions were often used to describe the economy. the terms "economic tsunami," "chaos," "crisis" and "meltdown" painted a bleak scenario that could undermine consumer confidence. Networks included doom-and-gloom remarks from ordinary people and experts 88 times, and the term "recession" was mentioned 10 times.

NBC the Worst: "Nightly News" blamed business nine times as often as borrowers (19 to 2), and tied with "World News with Charles Gibson" in ignoring the issue of personal responsibility. Both networks omitted it in 66 percent of the stories but NBC outdid itself with its poor coverage.

CBS the Best: CBS was the network most likely to address or promote personal responsibility and also had eight stories promoting savings. The "Evening News" also portrayed fewer people as victims than the other networks.

I am very glad to see this. I've been wondering, as news of banking write downs becomes more common, when someone would talk about the fact that these people (the borrowers) should have known what they were getting into. The fact that they cannot now pay their inflated mortgage payments is their problem alone, not the banks' and most certainly not the taxpayers'.

Awkward

Lesson learned: don't use your Mom as an asset on the campaign trail if she's a little loony. Start at 4:57.

Yikes. John, you're not going to be president. And you certainly won't be president by using your Mom as a campaign spokesperson.

We are drinking from wells we did not dig

My pastor used this phrase this morning to describe our veterans. (He had heard it Friday night at a Veteran's Day event.) It accurately describes the times in which we live. We are blessed to live in a free nation today because so many American Veterans have sacrificed their time, their treasure, and their lives for this purpose.

Nowhere in history can you find a nation that (in the comparatively short span of a little over two hundred years) secures and provides freedom for all its citizens, has been blessed with an incredible level of prosperity, and assists other countries in pursuing both of these.

What a blessing to live in the United States of America, made possible in large part by American Veterans.

If you can read, thank your teacher.
If you can read in English, thank a veteran.

UPDATE - Google, for the first time, has honored America's Veterans.

Mrs. Clinton is no Iron Lady

The effortlessly brilliant Peggy Noonan has compared her vileness, Mrs. Clinton, to the real Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher, and found the former lacking.

In fact, she wasn't so much a woman as a lady. I remember a gentleman who worked with her speaking of her allure, how she'd relax after a late-night meeting and you'd walk by and catch just the faintest whiff of perfume, smoke and scotch. She worked hard and was tough. One always imagined her lightly smacking some incompetent on the head with her purse, for she carried a purse, as a lady would. She is still tough. A Reagan aide told me that after she was incapacitated by a stroke she flew to Reagan's funeral in Washington, went through the ceremony, flew with Mrs. Reagan to California for the burial, and never once on the plane removed her heels. That is tough.

The point is the big ones, the real ones, the Thatchers and Indira Gandhis and Golda Meirs and Angela Merkels, never play the boo-hoo game. They are what they are, but they don't use what they are. They don't hold up their sex as a feint: Why, he's not criticizing me, he's criticizing all women! Let us rise and fight the sexist cur.

Ms. Noonan goes on the write about the reaction we've seen to Mrs. Clinton's whining and her change of tactics in playing the "can't hit a girl" card. And she captures Lady Thatcher beautifully. I recommend a read.

BORDER - a Chris Burgard film

If you live in Houston, Sugarland, or Katy, you really need to go see the film BORDER. It will be in Katy on Wednesday, November 14, and in Sugarland and northwest Houston on Thursday, November 15.

I have seen it. The film will open your eyes as to what really happens on our southern border with Mexico. You will see and hear from eyewitnesses about the Minutemen, Coyotes, and FBI agents investigating the film makers. You'll see infrared footage of a mule train (human mules, that is) carrying millions of dollars worth of illegal drugs into our country. And you'll wonder how many OTMs have worked their way into our country.

Chris Burgard was told that he would never get this film made. He proved Hollywood wrong. Of course, there's no way Hollywood will help him out now. But you can. Even if you don't live in Houston, you can buy the DVD.

Vaccine experts are confused and dismayed? Really?

Sometimes it seems like the world is going crazy.

AIDS vaccine researchers are worried about the future of their field after learning an experimental HIV vaccine not only does not work, but just might make recipients more susceptible to infection with the AIDS virus.

They are worried about their volunteers and the future of AIDS vaccines in general. And they are worried because they cannot understand how a vaccine would make a person more vulnerable.

Really? They can't understand why their vaccine doesn't work? Let me break it down. It's called a virus. We cannot cure viruses. We don't even have a cure for the virus that causes the common cold. We simply let it run its course (and take more vitamin C). And HIV is a whole lot more complex than the common cold virus. How could these people possibly think that they can come up with a virus in only twenty years of trying.

Don't get me wrong, I do have compassion for the sick. And it would be phenomenal for a virus to be discovered. And our country's pharmaceutical industry offers the best hope of that happening. But we're talking about a behaviourally-spread disease here. The best way to cure the disease is to not get it, and the best way to not get the disease is to not engage in behaviour that leads to it.

Pat Robertson has endorsed Rudy

Yes, it's true.

"It is my pleasure to announce my support for America's Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, a proven leader who is not afraid of what lies ahead and who will cast a hopeful vision for all Americans," Robertson said during a news conference with Giuliani in Washington.

...

"Rudy Giuliani took a city that was in decline and considered ungovernable and reduced its violent crime, revitalized its core, dramatically lowered its taxes, cut through a welter of bureaucratic regulations, and did so in the spirit of bipartisanship which is so urgently needed in Washington today," Robertson said.

Mr. Robertson understands what's at stake here. Being pro-life (among many other things) is useless if there's not a freedom-preserving nation in which to be pro-life. I hope other evangelicals will follow suit.

A confession and a list

Here's a confession, dear reader.

Back in April, the Light Bulb household got TiVo. (That's not the confession.) It is both wonderful and awful at the same time. Wonderful because it lets you search and digitally record television shows via an intuitive interface based on your own preferences. Awful because it enables you to record lots of television to watch at some point in the future, potentially filling up any available free time you might have.

Now this technology has allowed the Light Bulb family to do a much better job of recording our favorite programs when we're not around. For Mrs. Light Bulb, one of these programs is (sigh) One Life to Live. Shortly after TiVo arrived at the Light Bulb house, I was asked to set up a "Season Pass" for One Life to Live. This is a feature that enables you to record any and every episode of a certain program whenever it appears. Therefore, an episode of One Life to Live gets recorded by the TiVo almost every weekday for our later viewing pleasure, usually that evening. Notice I said "our". Yes, dear readers, I have become hooked. On a soap opera.

Perhaps it's the morbid curiosity of seeing characters go through situations that could never possibly happen in real life that draws me in. Whatever it is, I'm not proud of it. Nevertheless, there are high points, and here is one of them. Along the lines of Timothy McSweeney's Internet Tendency Lists, I have compiled a list (sure to grow) which I hope you will enjoy. To wit...

Lines I Have Heard Characters Say on the Soap Opera One Life to Live Which I Would Truly Never, Ever Expect to Hear from Any of My Friends or Family in Real Life, EVER

1. Back when my dad was on death row...
   
   
2. Mom, did you send dad back to jail, again?
   
   
3. There's only room for one selfish jerk in this relationship, baby, and that's me.
   
   
4. How many broken marriages to the same man do you need to have before you realize the two of you don't work?

Thank you. That is all.

God Bless Governor Matt Blunt of Missouri

I don't know if he's a Defeat-ocrat or a Republican, but Gov. Matt Blunt is doing the right thing on immigration, so I like him.

Minor traffic violations do not usually warrant a press release from a governor. But when state police stopped a van on a Missouri road for "following too closely" and found it was carrying 10 presumed illegal immigrants, Gov. Matt Blunt was quick to tout the incident as part of a new state program to hunt down undocumented aliens.

"We will make every effort, implement every tool, and take every step to ensure the laws against illegal immigration are enforced," declared Blunt, announcing the arrests as he pursued tough new measures to push undocumented immigrants out of the state.

Way to go, Matt!

But wait, there's more! In Oklahoma!

Oklahoma's new law is widely seen as the toughest in the nation, making it a felony to transport or harbor people without legal status, requires local law enforcement and businesses to enforce federal immigration restrictions, and reduces public benefits for illegal immigrants.

"Illegal aliens will not come to Oklahoma or anywhere else if there are no jobs waiting for them. They will not stay here if there is no government subsidy," said the law's sponsor, Oklahoma Rep. Randy Terrill, a Republican who believes the measure will make illegal immigrants "self deport."

Way to go, Randy! Self deportation! I love it!

Now, Matt and Randy, I have one small request for you. Would you please talk to Governor Rick "39%" Perry? He desperately needs to hear about this.

First television ads from Ron Paul

Ron Paul has launched the first television ads of his 2008 campaign in New Hampshire.

Because...

• he's got cash to burn?
  
• he wants to appear relevant?
  
• he likes seeing himself on television?
  
• his (incredibly organized) supporters voted for television ads in their internal polling?

Pick one. Doesn't really matter. Because...he's a kook.



Yes, I know. You Paulaholics are organized and passionate (see the comments to my previous post on the subject). That's a wonderful thing. I just wish you could be organized and passionate about a candidate who has a chance of winning.

Boo

Remember the 76 border crossings by the MDR-TB-infected Mexican national?

And remember how the Department of Homeland Security said that he used an alias? Well, he didn't.

The Washington Times last week reported that Amado Isidro Armendariz Amaya made the border crossings from August 2006 to June 2007. Homeland Security (DHS) officials had said the Mexican businessman was traveling under an alias.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was warned by Mexican health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on April 16 that the frequent traveler was infected with multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis.

But according to internal DHS e-mails obtained by The Times, Mr. Armendariz did not use a fake name but rather used variations of his own name. For example, he customarily went by his middle name "Isidro," rather than his formal birth name, "Amado."

The e-mails show nine variations of his name in a system that is capable of searching two dozen law-enforcement databases.

In this week's hearing, the Senate committee learned that Customs and Border Protection officials had the name of "Isidro Armendariz Amaya" and the correct birth date in April.

I think I'm understanding better what the term Homeland Security means. It means cover up and/or protect government employees at all costs.

Oh, it also means "protect the travel industry".

Using only three of the four names would create tens of thousands of "false-positive" hits creating a logjam at the border crossings, Mr. Rosenzweig said.

"You know, we've had many, many complaints that the lines on the southern border are already too long. As the type of information we get is less and less accurate, and we widen the field to make an examination based upon the name check, we get more and more people who will be overwhelming our secondary inspection capabilities, extending the line beyond belief and inconveniencing lots and lots of people who aren't matches for any of those," Mr. Rosenzweig said.

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The Department of Homeland Security — making sure you're not inconvenienced. Unless you happen to get infected with MDR-TB. That would be inconvenient.

Kay Bailey Hutchison, RINO Extraordinaire

Earning the designation RINO with distinction, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison voted FOR amnesty this past Wednesday. Fortunately, the cloture vote failed.

The DREAM Act failed in the Senate on Wednesday, dashing the latest and best chance Congress had to pass immigration legislation.

The bill would have paved a path to citizenship for children of illegal immigrants if they attended college or entered the military.

...

The bill would have granted conditional legal status to illegal immigrants younger than 30 who completed two years of higher education or served in the military. To be considered for legal status, they would have needed to have lived in the U.S. for five years and have entered before age 16.

After completing the educational or military requirement, they could have applied for citizenship. The legislation would have affected more than 1 million young people, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

Senator Hutchison, what in the world were you thinking? You represent Texans, remember? We Texas are sick of illegal aliens cheating their way into our country. And we don't need you helping them out. How about you and your fellow RINOs voting to build the border fence quicker? That would be refreshing.

It's a good thing that you're not running for re-election. As for your gubernatorial aspirations, part of me hopes you'll pursue that so I can vote against you. Then again, part of me hopes you'll just go away.

An open letter to Ric Williamson, Chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission

Dear Ric:

Oink oink oink oink. Oink oinky oink oink. Oink oink Public Officials oink oink. Oinker oinker oink, oink oink. Oink oink oink. Oink oink oink. Oinkity oink oink oink. Oink oink, who think, oink oink. Oink oink oink — oinky oinky — oink oink.

Oinker oink. Oink oink talk radio callers oink oink. Oink oink oinkity, oink oink. Oink oink oink oink. Oink oink oink. Oink oinker oinker oink. Oink oink oink! Oink oinkity oinkity oinkity. Oink oink oink oink. Oink are pigs oink.

Oinkity oinkity oinkity oink. Oinker oink oink, oinker oinker oink, oink oink oinker. Oink oink oinky oinky. Oinker oink oink oink. Oinky oink oink disgust me oink. Oink.

Oink oink,

Mr. Light Bulb

76 border crossings by a Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis infected Mexican national led the big parade...

With a hundred and ten red-faced Homeland Security officials close behind.

A Mexican national infected with a highly contagious form of tuberculosis crossed the U.S. border 76 times and took multiple domestic flights in the past year, according to Customs and Border Protection interviews and documents obtained by The Washington Times.

The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency was warned by health officials on April 16 that the frequent traveler was infected, but it took Homeland Security officials more than six weeks to issue a May 31 alert to warn its own border inspectors, according to Homeland Security sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. Homeland Security took a further week to tell its own Transportation Security Agency.
[emphasis mine]

For the record, here's a description of Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. And, from this article, we find out that it can cost anywhere from $200,000 to $1.2 million to treat an MDR-TB-infected individual.

But wait, there's more:

Attempts to identify the subject failed "because information provided to Mexican health officials is not accurate" when an alias is used, Mr. Maier said in an e-mail. "Efforts to obtain solid data ... were achieved on May 31."

Translation: the MDR-TB-infected Mexican national lied about his identity. And that threw those DHS guys for a loop! (More detail here.)

But wait, there's still more:

Other documents reveal that the Mexican government had known for more than five years of the condition of Mr. Armendariz, a businessman from Juarez, a city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas. The officials who spoke on that condition of anonymity said, "Information sharing is still at an all-time low, if not nonexistent, in issues such as these."
[emphasis mine]

And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, here's the stinger:

Homeland Security employees were told in June that they would be fired if the situation with Mr. Armendariz went public. At the same time, DHS officials were preparing to testify before Congress regarding the Speaker case, which had been front-page news across the nation.
[emphasis mine]

Got the full picture now? Let's break it down:

• An MDR-TB-infected Mexican national
  
• crosses into our nation
  
• 76 times,
  
• sometimes using an alias,
  
• putting untold thousands of Americans at risk for contracting MDR-TB themselves.
  
• The cost of treating an MDR-TB-infected individual can range from $200,000 to $1.2 million
  
• and last up to 18 months.
  
• The government of Mexico knew of this health risk
  
• for five years
  
• and didn't tell us.
  
• Our own government knew of this health risk
  
• since June (possibly before)
  
• and ordered DHS employees not to tell anyone about it
  
• probably because they were embarrassed at the ridiculously pathetic job they did in preventing Andrew Speaker from re-entering the country.

I think that about sums it up. Oh, one last thing; Michael Chertoff, please submit your resignation immediately.

Islamic "peace" on display in Karachi

The religion of peace shows its true face to those who dare support freedom and democracy.

Two bombs exploded Thursday night near a truck carrying former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on her triumphant return to Pakistan after eight years in exile, killing at least 108 people and wounding 150, an official said. Party workers and police said Bhutto was unhurt.

Associated Press photographer B.K. Bangash at the scene said he saw between 50 and 60 dead or badly injured people. He said some of the bodies were ripped apart.

An initial small explosion was followed by a huge blast just feet from the front of the truck carrying Bhutto during a procession through Karachi. The blast shattered windows in her vehicle and set a police escort vehicle on fire.

Why Bhutto?

Authorities had urged her to use a helicopter to reduce the risk of attack. But Bhutto, hated by radical Islamists because she supports the U.S.-led war on terrorism, brushed off the concerns.

"I am not scared. I am thinking of my mission," she had told reporters on the plane. "This is a movement for democracy because we are under threat from extremists and militants."

She was squeezed between other party officials at the front of the truck rather than in the bulletproof cubicle toward the rear. Armed guards escorted the truck.

Bhutto recently courted controversy in Pakistan by saying that she would cooperate with the American military in targeting Osama bin Laden, and authorities warned that Islamic militants could launch suicide attacks and roadside bombings against her.
[emphasis mine]

We are at war. Our enemy is known. Our enemy wants to destroy us. Will we surrender, as the Defeatocrats want? Or will we win?

I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but Rick "39%" Perry has endorsed Rudy

Rudy may have thought that getting Rick "39%" Perry's endorsement was a good thing.

Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday won the endorsement of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, despite their differences on abortion rights.

Perry, an abortion opponent, said his biggest concern had been Giuliani's support for abortion rights but that he was satisfied Giuliani would appoint judges who view the issue conservatively.

"The one (issue) that I wanted to hear him give me an answer and look me right in my eyes was that issue of who can I expect, what type of individual can I expect on the Supreme Court," Perry said at a news conference with Giuliani.

"He clearly said ... you can look for people like Scalia and Roberts and Alito. Let me tell you, I can live with that," Perry said, referring to conservative Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts.

Indeed, it's a good thing that Rudy will commit to appoint constructionist judges. And it's good that Perry likes that in Rudy.

But where has this conservatism in Perry been for the past couple of years? Does Rudy really want the endorsement of the man who signed into the law the largest tax increase in Texas history? Does Rudy really want the endorsement of a man who tried to use executive order (a power the governor of Texas does not posses) to force girls to receive a vaccine of dubious safety? More importantly though, there is the possibility that this could mean a cabinet position or, horrifically, the Vice Presidency. Message to Rudy: Rick Perry is a snake. He comes from good roots, but they have been corrupted. He is a sell-out to Mexico. But, yes, he does have a terrific head of hair.


By the way, does it concern the Giuliani campaign that Mr. Perry only received 39% of the vote in his last election?

"Remember how we assumed you were guilty, suspended your team, and fired your coach? Yeah, about that, we're sorry. Are we good now?"

The understatement of the year award goes to Duke University President Richard Brodhead who finally apologized yesterday for his reprehensible actions.

Brodhead, speaking at the university's law school, said he regretted Duke's "failure to reach out" in a "time of extraordinary peril" after a woman accused three players of raping her at a March 2006 party thrown by the team.

"Given the complexities of this case, getting the communication right would never have been easy," Brodhead said. "But the fact is that we did not get it right, causing the families to feel abandoned when they were most in need of support. This was a mistake. I take responsibility for it and I apologize for it."

"Given the complexities of this case..." How complex it is to understand that, in the United States, people are presumed innocent? Not very. The article finishes with this paragraph:

Brodhead said the university is planning a national conference of lawyers, educators and student affairs leaders to discuss how schools should deal with students facing serious criminal charges.

Isn't that a crack up. Just hang up a big sign that says "Don't do what we did" and be done with it. No word yet from the Gang of 88 on their apology ETA.

I have all sorts of offsets for sale

WARNING: Heavy sarcasm ahead.

While pursuing the great Power Line, I came across this post that lead me to this article. Please read them both. Peter Schweizer is a wonderful author, so you won't be let down.

In this article, Schweizer has a fantastic proposal. He argues that carbon offsets are nothing more than a method of purchasing absolution of guilt. From the article:

Say you are wealthy and fly on a Gulfstream G400 jet. The plane will emit 1 ton of CO2 per passenger per hour. Flying commercial on a Boeing 777 will emit only .06 tons per passenger per hour. Wealthy environmentalists feel guilt about this, so they buy a carbon offset to supposedly reduce carbon emissions by an equal amount. The "offset" comes in the form of paying for solar panels or planting trees that "offset" the damage you have done. Buy an offset and — voilà — you are "carbon neutral."

Sounds like absolution to me. And there's already a market for this stuff. Schweizer continues:

Offsets are a brilliant idea: They allow people to carry on with their current behavior, buy their way out of their obligations, and along the way declare their moral cleanliness. As The Seattle Times put it, offsets are basically an "eraser."

We all have areas of our life that we feel guilty about. So why limit offsets simply to the carbon we produce? Why not expand offsets to erase our other sins? After all, why should environmentalists have all the fun?

Here are some suggestions:

• The Adultery Offset.

STOP RIGHT THERE! I read that line and instantly beheld a method of funding two college educations. To wit...

I am hereby announcing ADULTERY OFFSETS for sale to the highest bidder. You may purchase these offsets in daily, weekly, or monthly quantities. I have not committed adultery and will not as long as I am married to Mrs. Light Bulb. Therefore I have an eleven year supply (and building) of offsets. Serious purchasers only may contact me at thelightbulbblog at gmail dot com.

End of heavy sarcasm.

I may have to re-think this sarcasm thing.

Ahmadinenutjob at the Columbia Zoo

The circus came to town...and visited the zoo. But you really couldn't tell the difference.

Columbia President Lee Bollinger opened the program with a blistering introduction in which he lambasted Ahmadinejad for calling for the annihilation of Israel, denying the Holocaust and supporting the execution of children, and told the leader of Iran that he resembled "a petty and cruel dictator."

Bollinger levied repeated criticisms against Ahmadinejad, calling on him to answer a series of challenges about his leadership, blasting his views about the "myth" of the Holocaust as being "absurd," and saying that he doubted he "will have the intellectual courage to answer these questions."

"You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated," Bollinger told Ahmadinejad about the leader's Holocaust denial. "Will you cease this outrage?"

After sitting through Bollinger's rebuke, Ahmadinejad rose to applause, and after a religious invocation, opened his remarks by objecting to the scolding, saying it was insulting to be spoken about that way.

"At the outset, I want to complain a bit about the person who read this political statement made against me," Ahmadinejad said. "In Iran, we don't think it's necessary to come in before the speech has already begun with a series of complaints ... It was an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience here."

He said Bollinger's speech was full of "insults and claims that were incorrect, regretfully," and accused Bollinger of offering "unfriendly treatment" under the influence of the U.S. press and politicians.

He did not address Bollinger's accusations directly, instead launching into a long religious discussion laced with quotes from the Koran before turning to criticism of the Bush administration and past American governments, from warrantless wiretapping to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Just absolutely ridiculous.

This man is the leader of a nation that sponsors terrorism. His nation aids the enemy in Iraq. His government contributes to the death of Americans every day.

Why wasn't he arrested once he left the United Nations?

Why won't the amnesty monster just die already?!?

It's a really bad horror flick, but unfortunately it's not a film...it's reality.

Determined amnesty advocates who lost the fight for “comprehensive” immigration reform three months ago are now attempting to grant illegal aliens “amnesty on the installment plan.” Illegal aliens who entered the U.S. before age 16 and who have lived here illegally for five consecutive years will be the first to qualify under a bill the Senate is expected to vote on this week. Senator Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) will offer his Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act as an amendment to the defense-authorization bill. Later in the month, senators will attempt to extend amnesty to agricultural workers.

I thought that we, the people, made our thoughts known on this subject a few months ago. We were pretty clear, weren't we? Yep, I thought so.

Some questions. Has anything changed since then? Have the illegal aliens already in our country decided to go back to their country of origin and re-enter the United States legally? Have the taxpayer costs for illegal alien medical treatment suddenly decreased? Has the need for bilingual education evaporated overnight? Have drunk-driving illegal aliens vanished from our roads? No, I didn't think so.

Unfortunately, since neither of them can be depended upon to do the right thing as conservatives but instead must be hand-held on every issue of importance like the irresponsible political toddlers that they are, I cannot tell you how the senators from the state of Texas, Hutchison and Cornyn, will vote on this bill. But I know how they should vote, and I have told them so. Have you told them how you expect them to vote? If not, and you live in Texas, click here and here.

Ladies and gentlemen, Fred "the Snake" Hill has left the building.

Oh, happy day.

North Texas Rep. Fred Hill said Tuesday he won't seek re-election to the state Legislature, despite his bid to become Speaker of the House.

I am so grateful to say that I was there. I was there the day that Fred Hill showed himself to be the enemy of every tax payer in the state of Texas. I was in the room when he disrespected all of us who traveled from Harris county, Fort Bend county, Galveston county, and Montgomery county to speak to our elected representatives about how appraisal creep was taxing us out of our homes. His actions that day would, in part, enable me to be able to vote for Dan Patrick as my state senator.

Anyway, he's leaving. Here's a couple of his "thoughts" listed on the Dallas Morning News editorial blog:

• Spent a long time in public life -- 10 terms in the Legislature, two terms on Richardson school board -- and now feels a "need to move on."
  
  
• Sold his paper-products business in July after 35 years of ownership.
  
  
• Will be looking either for a new business or public-service challenge.
  
  
• Does not feel drawn to lobbying, but "you can't say never."
  
  
• Could get involved in two issues close to him: 1) transit goals for North Texas and 2) fight against limiting the property tax revenue that local governments depend on.
  
  
• Does not feel like a major commitment right away

And more "thoughts":

• Republicans on the state and national levels "need to do a better job of putting partisan concerns aside and concentrating on governance."
  
  
• Partisanship is hurting the GOP.
  
  
• An example is the call to curb local property taxes, which makes for great campaign rhetoric but can end up stranging local government's ability to deliver services.
  
  
• Local governments get no support from Austin but have to shoulder the burden of mandates passed by the Legislature. The best government is local government, not central government. "Local elected officials know what's best for their communities."
  
  
• One regret is not passing legislation letting North Texas have local elections on expanding rail service. The region is becoming too congested and opponents "have to look past the tax issue and focus on the benefits."
  
  
• The expanded Dallas-area House delegation (from one to six counties, beginning in 2005) has worked well for local interests. Passage of the water bill this year is an example.

How stupid. "Partisanship is hurting the GOP." No, Fred, you and your ilk are hurting the GOP by behaving like RINOs instead of conservatives. And you leaving is a giant step in the right direction.

I hope you have a wonderful retirement with your children and grandchildren. (And I truly mean that.) Don't let the door hit your butt on the way out. (And I truly mean that, too.)

Why is Barry Manilow afraid of a little girl?

Ridiculous.

"I had made a request that I be interviewed by (co-hosts) Joy (Behar), Barbara (Walters) or Whoopi (Goldberg), but not Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Unfortunately, the show was not willing to accommodate this simple request so I bowed out," he said in a statement on his Web site (http://www.manilow.com).

"It's really too bad because I've always been a big supporter of the show [The View], but I cannot compromise my beliefs."

In an earlier statement to the news Web site TMZ.com, which broke the news, Manilow said Hasselbeck was "dangerous" and "offensive."

And for those of you who don't know (and I hope that's a lot of you), Elisabeth is the (more) conservative host of the show.

Typical liberalism. They can't defend their beliefs, so they certainly don't want any questions about them. I wonder (not really, but for the sake of argument) what would happen if someone said that Whoopi was "offensive" (which she is).

Algore could fart and win an award in Hollywood...

...and they wouldn't even make him use any carbon credits.

I'm watching the Emmy Awards this evening. And for the category of "Best Alternative Program" or something like that, who did the television academy choose to honor? None other than Algore, because he and another guy started MySpace. (I think. I can't remember the specific award, and I really don't care)

Could these people be any more transparent? Oh, and the applause went on for quite a while, of course. I guess they were trying to bring to life their warped version of reality, if only for 30 seconds on an awards show. I have now had my quota of the loony left for the weekend.

Both Texas senators blew it last night

Both senators from the state of Texas, Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, blew it last night with their votes to allow Mexican long-haul trucks to operate on our roads. Fortunately, the majority of senators got it right.

The U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday to block funding for a Bush administration test program to let Mexican long-haul trucks operate in the United States under 1994's North American Free Trade Agreement.

One day after a fiery truck accident killed dozens in Mexico, the Senate approved an amendment to a transportation spending bill that would cut off funding for the test, which the administration authorized last week to run for one year.

Worse yet, twenty-one other Republican senators joined them. When will they learn?

Never forget, we are at war

And in war, there are only two possible outcomes: we win or we lose.

I vote for us winning.

Governor 39% shows why he's Governor 39%

Rick "39%" Perry spoke in Mexico City this past Tuesday. Talk about not getting it.

Leading a large delegation of Texas executives trying to drum up business in Mexico, Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday criticized the U.S. Congress for failing to pass an immigration bill that would legalize millions of workers.

"I don't think this is that difficult an issue if Congress would have the maturity to sit down and really discuss it and cut out all the mean rhetoric," Perry said during a break in the third day of meetings with Mexican officials and business executives.

"We need those individuals to continue to grow our economy," he said of Texas' undocumented workers, most of whom hail from Mexico. "The vast, vast majority of those individuals want to come and work and take care of their families."

Perry made the remarks in Mexico City, where immigration is nearly as big a hot-button issue as it is in Washington. He spoke at a press conference shortly before meeting with President Felipe Calderon who, like past Mexican presidents, has lobbied for changes in U.S. immigration law that would include a guest-worker program.

Perry's statements seemed to put him at odds with many in the Republican Party's base who regarded the immigration overhaul bill that collapsed in the Senate in June as nothing more than an amnesty for illegal immigrants.

You know you're on the wrong side of the debate when the Houston Chronicle mentions your conservative opponents, even if it is in the fifth paragraph.

But wait, there's more! Now remember, we live in Texas. When people in this state commit heinous crimes, we execute them. As Ron White has so eloquently stated, "other states are trying to abolish the death penalty...mine's putting in an express lane."

Consider the case of Kenneth Eugene Foster. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1996. He drove the getaway car for a botched robbery that resulted in the murder of Michael LaHood. He participated in the needless extinguishing of a human life. What did Rick 39% Perry have to say about it?

"Foster sought to have his death sentence commuted to a life sentence arguing that he did not shoot the victim, but merely drove the car ... that the actual killer was riding (in)," Perry's office said in a statement.

"After carefully considering the facts of this case, along with the recommendations from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, I believe the right and just decision is to commute Foster's sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment," Perry was quoted as saying.

If you have the time, please read the entire article. Let me know if, in the eight paragraphs that form the article, you read a mention of Foster's earlier arrest and probation for shooting two men in 1994.

Worst of all, it might be that Rick 39% Perry commuted the sentence in response to pressure...from the European Union. (see: picante made in New York City)

If you're bored in Houston, it's your own fault.

Houston, my home town, is today's featured article at Wikipedia.


I tell many people who are unfamiliar with Houston this sentence: "if you're bored in Houston, it's your own fault." And it's true. Our housing costs are comparatively low in Houston, so we have more disposable income than in other cities. Here are some places that surplus income can be diverted to:

• the restaurant scene has really stepped up to the plate (sorry, punny) with over 4,000 restaurants featuring of a wide array of cuisines
• the sports scene (such as it is) covers all three major sports (football, baseball, and basketball) with tax-payer-built stadiums
• the museum district featuring the Grand Opera, the Symphony, and Ballet, plus numerous theater stages outside downtown
• Johnson Space Center between Houston and Galveston
• Galveston and its beaches (such as they are) only an hour south of town
• parks throughout and wilderness (camping and hiking) only an hour or two outside of town

Of course, there's a downside to everything. In Houston, there are three big ones: hurricanes, bugs and humidity. For hurricanes, we have satellites that tell us when and where they form and when they enter the Gulf of Mexico. And we all have cars, so we can use our brains and leave the city when needed. For bugs, we have bug spray. And for the humidity, we have air conditioning.

It's not perfect, but it's a great place to live.

Ron Paul is this generation's Woodrow Wilson School of Government flunkee with a Texas Twang Twist

Amazingly there are still a formidable number of people vying for the Presidential nomination on both sides of the aisle. I say amazingly, because I thought a number of them would have been weeded out by now. Indeed, some have been: Tommy Thompson, Jim Gilmore, Tom Vilsack. But there are still eight Defeat-o-crats and eight Republicans in the race, not including Fred Thompson.

Anyway, at Playwriter Girl's Buh-Bye Chemo Pool Party Extravaganza a couple of weeks ago and after the "in an alternate reality" question, some folks and I got into a discussion of the current Republican candidates. And the name Ron Paul was mentioned, which was fortuitous timing for me. You see, earlier that day I had begun thinking about some of the Tier 2 candidates and how to sum them up. I came up with this summation for Representative Paul; he is this generation's Woodrow Wilson School of Government flunkee with a Texas Twang Twist.

Why do I call him this? Like Wilson, he would never have sent American troops into Iraq. (Wilson was forced into joining World War I, but kept us out of it for far too long.) He is an isolationist. Check out this snippet from his web site on "War and Foreign Policy":

Both Jefferson and Washington warned us about entangling ourselves in the affairs of other nations. Today, we have troops in 130 countries. We are spread so thin that we have too few troops defending America. And now, there are new calls for a draft of our young men and women.

We can continue to fund and fight no-win police actions around the globe, or we can refocus on securing America and bring the troops home. No war should ever be fought without a declaration of war voted upon by the Congress, as required by the Constitution.

Under no circumstances should the U.S. again go to war as the result of a resolution that comes from an unelected, foreign body, such as the United Nations.

Indeed, we should not abdicate our sovereignty to the United Nations, ever. But President Bush's policy of fighting the terrorists over there so that they don't attack us here is the correct one. "No-win police action"? Really. How about 79.6% voter turnout in a new democracy? For me, this issue alone disqualifies Mr. Paul. Additionally, he's the only 2008 Republican Presidential Candidate to have voted against the 2002 Iraq War Resolution.

But wait, there's more. Mr. Paul doesn't get anything done in Congress, because he doesn't work with anyone. Again like Wilson, he's an elitist. Oh, but he has worked enough with fellow representatives in order to make $400 million worth of earmark requests - check out this PDF. Some people describe him as a conservative. Yet his American Conservative Union rating for 2006 (and 2005) is 76. I'm not joking. Check out that link for yourself. But what really seals the deal for me is his 1988 Presidential candidacy. On the Libertarian ticket. Game over.

As I told a party attendee a few weeks ago, when choosing a presidential candidate the only question I ask myself is, "who would the terrorists fear?" For me right now, the only answer is Rudy Giuliani.

Katrina Second Anniversary

I'm hesitant to even mention it, but there will undoubtedly be all sorts of lies told about it, so...

Here's my post on the second anniversary of many citizens of New Orleans not having the common sense to leave their city before a hurricane hit and the governments of the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans deciding to not follow their previously agreed upon disaster plans in order to minimize loss of life and property. Does that sound harsh? Perhaps. Can anyone point out an error in that sentence? Let me know if you can, seriously.

We're bound to hear lots of wailing on the news tonight. For some balance, at Reason Online, Daniel Rothschild is doing a three-part series on "The Myths of Hurricane Katrina". The first one is "a lack of federal money". Should be good.

"In an alternate reality..."

Thus began a question posed to me by Playwriter Girl.

Before I continue, I haven't posted in quite a while, so let me get you up to date. Playwriter Girl has finished chemotherapy (complete with Pool Party) and is now in the radiation stage of her cancer treatment. Furthermore, her first PET scan was negative for disease. God is good.

Now to the subject of this post's title. While at the aforementioned Pool Party, Playwriter Girl began a question to me using this phrase. It seemed ominous at first, but then she continued.

In an alternate reality, where you are a Defeat-o-crat, which candidate would you like to see get the Defeat-o-crat nomination? [my paraphrase]

An alternate reality, indeed.

Well, it really comes down to just three names, doesn't it? Hillary, Barry, and John. But the Breck Girl is fading. I think people are sick of the two Americas hypocrisy. So I could scratch him off the short list. So that would leave Mrs. Bill Clinton and the Audacious Barry Obama.

It was at this point that I asked Playwriter Girl if I would be an intellectually honest Defeat-o-crat or a standard say-anything-and-do-anything-to-win Defeat-o-crat. This makes a difference, you see. If I'm the standard Defeat-o-crat, then it's Mrs. Clinton all the way, personal integrity and lack of accomplishment be damned. It's all about getting her in office. Whereas, if I'm an intellectually honest Defeat-o-crat, Barry is it. He is something new and brings a fresh perspective to the Executive Office, not to mention the fact that he's an incredible socialist. And, being intellectually honest, you'd have to think that getting the first black American into the White House would lend some momentum to the effort. Furthermore, continuing in the intellectual honesty vein, Mrs. Clinton's negatives are just to high. Sure she could win the nomination, but the general election?

And that's where we left it. On the Defeat-o-crat side. Other Pool Party attendees and I continued on the Republican side. More on that later.

Here we go again - Senator Craig regrets his guilty plea

Another day, another Republican politician caught in immorality.

"At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions," he [Idaho Senator Larry Craig] said. "I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

Well, Senator Criag, you should never have had to handle the matter yourself, because you should never have pursued this behaviour in the first place. Your term ends in 2008. Please don't run for re-election.

I ask again, where are the men of character in the Republican party?

UPDATE - Here's the police report on the incident.

Hey Alberto, please take Johnny Sutton with you!

Alberto Gonzales has resigned.

I'm of two minds about this. First, it's sad that a seemingly good man can be forced to resign due to the unceasing din of lies manufactured by the opposition party. This whole mess about the fired District Attorneys has been completely manufactured by the Defeat-o-crats. District Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President - 28 U.S.C. § 541(c). End of story. This is yet another notch in the Defeat-o-crats' belt of criticising away their opponents (Scooter Libby, Don Rumsfeld). Meanwhile, William Jefferson, who was caught with cold, hard cash (litterally), still served in Congress.

And yet, Gonzales has been an absolute disappointment. As our nation's chief law enforcement officer, his performance in stopping the flood of illegal immigration across our southern border has been, to be quite charitable, pathetic. While he and the President went around firing District Attorneys, why didn't they fire Johnny Sutton?

Perhaps he just couldn't take the constant critcism. Hey, Alberto, it's called "Washington, D.C." and they're called "Defeat-o-crats". It's what they do. It's all they know how to do. Deal with it.

Anyway, good bye Alberto. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. And seriously, please take Johnny Sutton with you. Please.

The two words they dare not write

Read this article. Can you guess the two words that the drive-by media just can't seem to write?

The 28-year-old Peruvian national charged in the executions of three college students in a Newark schoolyard is to appear in court this morning for a hearing on unrelated assault and child-rape charges.

Jose Lachira Carranza was named in a 31-count indictment in July that accused him of sexually assaulting a little girl over a four-year period, beginning when the child was 5. He was charged in 2006 with assaulting four men with a chair and a broken bottle in a brawl at a West Orange restaurant.

Poor Jose. Or—as the amnesty-or-bust crowd would call him—poor, hard-working Jose. Committing the murders that Americans just can't seem to commit. Sexually assaulting the five-year-olds that Americans just can't seem to assault. Visiting our country from his native Peru only to find himself behind bars. Where is La Raza? Where is LULAC? Why won't they help this hard-working man return to providing for his family?

Is it perhaps because of those two nasty little words?

More of the usual from Mrs. Clinton

More breathtaking gall*, that is. She doesn't consider herself a liberal.

Early on in the CNN/YouTube-sponsored debate, a California resident posed these questions on his video: "Mrs. Clinton, how would you define the word ‘liberal’? And would you use this word to describe yourself?”

Hillary answered: "You know, it is a word that originally meant that you were for freedom, that you were for the freedom to achieve, that you were willing to stand against big power and on behalf of the individual.

"Unfortunately, in the last 30, 40 years, it has been turned up on its head and it's been made to seem as though it is a word that describes big government, totally contrary to what its meaning was in the 19th and early 20th century.

"I prefer the word ‘progressive,’ which has a real American meaning, going back to the progressive era at the beginning of the 20th century.

"I consider myself a modern progressive, someone who believes strongly in individual rights and freedoms, who believes that we are better as a society when we're working together and when we find ways to help those who may not have all the advantages in life get the tools they need to lead a more productive life for themselves and their family.

Progressive. As if there were anything she was for that would result in progress. I have just one word for this: HillaryCare. Just think "HillaryCare" after almost each phrase that Her Vileness says in the paragraphs above.

Indeed, breathtaking gall.

* a wonderful description used by Peggy Noonan in The Case Against Hillary Clinton.