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Friday, October 31, 2003
Gun safety alert My old man - God bless his soul - taught me that when you're hunting, your gun should be either pointed down at the ground or aiming at a target. You don't carry it like a fishing pole. Apparently this bit of common sense escaped John Kerry while he pandered to the pro-gun crowd in Iowa (see picture). Patio Pundit summed up the gun issue perfectly: Kerry vs. Dean on guns: Rove wins [Viking Pundit disclaimer: I used to hunt pheasant and, to be honest, I was a pretty good shot with the clay pigeons. However, I haven't picked up a gun in (oh man, what?) 15 years? Still, I'm staunchly in support of the second amendment, so now you know.] The Generational War takes shape Rich Lowry on NRO - "Operation Please Granny": According to Cato, a male at age 65 will receive, on average, $238,000 in federal transfers during the rest of his life, while paying $167,000 in taxes — a net $71,000 gain. A 25-year-old male will pay $524,000 in taxes during his lifetime and get only $202,000 in transfer payments — losing a net $322,000.Medicare and Social Security are on pace to be 80% of ALL government spending in 2040. Clearly, this cannot go on. The Price of Being Wrong Mona Charen on TownHall: What they [the Democratic presidential candidates] never address is this: President Bush sought the support and participation of the United Nations, returning again and again to that body virtually begging it to uphold its own resolutions. France, Germany and sometimes Russia -- nations that were only too happy to trade with Saddam Hussein's Iraq -- declined to agree. Without France's OK, the U.N. Security Council could not pass a final resolution endorsing the use of force. If Kerry or Dean or Sharpton had been president at the time, would they have permitted France to dictate U.S. foreign policy?Charen's concluding sentence: "But the Democrats prefer endless talk, passivity and truckling to "our allies." Yep. The Hedgehog Report on Kerry's fruitless efforts in South Carolina: "I have said it before, but it appears John Kerry using SC to make his official announcement that he was running for President was a bust." Setting the bar for jobs Now that the economy is showing renewed strength, the left wing is forced to complain about jobs. But they can’t complain too loudly because with capital spending high and inventory levels low, even they realize that the employment picture is going to be rosier. So the trick is to set the bar high for “success”: “And unless we start to see serious job growth — by which I mean increases in payroll employment of more than 200,000 a month — consumer spending will eventually slide, and bring growth down with it.” OK – you heard Krugman – he’s put the stick in the sand. What say you, Christopher Farrell of Business Week? Maybe Snow fumbled dollar policy in recent months, but his widely ridiculed Pollyannaish prediction that the economy will start creating 200,000 jobs a month is a bet on the safe side.The Business Week article is called: “Why the Recovery looks like a Keeper” and it’s got lots of good material, so check it out (hat tip to Terpsboy). What growth? Paul Krugman's climbdown is detailed by Matthew Hoy who titles his post "Denial isn't just a River in Egypt" - while Robert Musil takes note that prolific poster Atrios has made absolutely no mention of the economic growth numbers in a post titled "Valley of Denial" Best headline today: "Democrats Could Be History" Sadly, the Washington Post article is only referring to the Democrats in Kentucky, where "Recent Scandals Might Rewrite Tradition." The Republican candidate for governor Ernie Fletcher appears poised to grab Kentucky for the Republicans, reversing a long-held monopoly by the Democrats. Meanwhile, in the other off-year elections, Haley Barbour is looking better in Mississippi and Bobby Jindal has opened a wide lead in the Louisiana governor's race. Democrats: please do not get rid of Terry McAuliffe. Thursday, October 30, 2003
The hits just keep on comin' Boy, the bad news for the Dems just keeps piling higher: a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll shows President Bush with a healthy 53%-37% approval/disapproval rating, on a poll taken before today's economic numbers. But the poll also confirmed something I've been commenting on for some time now: By more than three-to-one, the public says the Democratic candidates are spending more time attacking President Bush than explaining their positions (61 percent to 18 percent).Always listen to Viking Pundit. He knows. The Economist on Iraq: "It is proving much harder than the Americans expected, but the rebuilding of a shattered country is still going steadily ahead" (Hat tip to American Realpolitik) Best. Show. Ever. Warning to certain people who tape “Survivor” then watch it later – spoilers! OMG – tonight the five members from Drake and the five members from Morgan went to the immunity challenge. In the greatest twist evah, the six tribe members who had been voted off in previous shows returned as a new tribe. Holy cow! “The Outcasts” won the immunity so that both Drake and Morgan had to vote somebody off. Drake – bizarrely – kept that asshat Jon (why? Rupert why?) and voted off Shawn. My only rationale is as they go into individual challenges, Jon is such a weakling, he’s sure to fail miserably. Bring him along as a patsy. Morgan voted off Osten, who insisted that he be eliminated. They didn’t even write down the vote, Jeff Probst simply confirmed the tribe’s choice by voice vote. Jeff could barely conceal his contempt for Osten and I felt the same way. Probst and the producers have to plow through thousands of videotapes every year for people who desperately want to be on “Survivor.” Osten simply gave up because he’s hungry and tired. Boo hoo. Dude, have you ever watched “Survivor?” What a [feline term]. Next week: “The Outcasts” vote IN two members to replace those voted off tonight. Awesome! Gary Larson and “The Far Side” Anthology Given the investment required of any purchaser of The Complete Far Side, even an irresponsible reviewer needs to answer one key question: As it's now been nearly 10 years since Gary Larson stopped producing his panels, do they still seem funny? Given that weird register Larson perfected -- blending American gothic, baby boomer nostalgia and gallows humor, the marriage of "I Love Lucy" and "The Twilight Zone" -- the answer is yes, emphatically yes. The Washington Post review via the indispensable Arts & Letters Daily. Good advice for Halloween travelers: "People need to be careful about incorporating simulated bombs into their costumes," she said. University of Colorado students pinpoint Kerry’s problem Why has John Kerry’s bid for the presidency failed to catch fire? Is it his anemic legislative record? His cold demeanor? His pro-tax policies? His incoherent position on Iraq and foreign policy? Nope. It’s his hair. BOULDER - Is it John Kerry's Beatles-era haircut that doesn't appeal to students sporting today's shorter styles?Howard Dean has short hair – be the Dean. A waffle breakfast for the Massachusetts senator and Democratic president hopeful drew only about 10 people at the University of Colorado on Tuesday, even as several thousand rallied for political rival Howard Dean outside.Ten people plus Kerry. Hey, they have enough for a football team! The waffles were symbolic of what Kerry's supporters say is Dean's waffling on issues.Brilliant. Judicial Update: The Senate failed to invoke cloture (that is, the Democrats filibustered) on the nomination of Charles Pickering - Howard Bashman has many links. Meanwhile, Opinion Journal comes out swinging for Janice Rogers Brown, who is described as "too qualified - and black." Jonah Goldberg on the Corner: "Walk in a wide arc around DNC headquarters today. It's entirely possible that these economic numbers could result in some Democratic defenestration." On that note, the DNC weblog "Kicking Ass" foolishly posted an open thread and one commentator "John Smith" is crowing over the economic numbers. Typical responses include "remove this troll" and "John's off his medication." Hot Hot Hot! The economy that is: “The economy grew at a scorching 7.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter in the strongest pace in nearly two decades. Consumers spent with abandon and businesses ramped up investment, compelling new evidence of an economic resurgence.” Extra: The Poliblogger has a nice GDP graph for you visually-minded people. Plagiarism alert? Maybe just the titles: Richard Cohen in the Washington Post has an article titled “Vietnam It Isn’t” while Tom Friedman in the New York Times has a column called “It’s No Vietnam.” Ed Koch on Paul Krugman From today's NY Post Page Six: October 30, 2003 -- ED Koch says New York Times op-ed columnist Paul Krugman is "lamebrained." The former mayor is irked by Krugman's Oct. 21 column explaining why Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad attacked Jews before a Muslim leadership conference, when he said, "The Jews rule the world by proxy: They get others to fight and die for them." Krugman wrote, "So what's with the anti-Semitism? Almost surely it's part of Mr. Mahathir's domestic balancing act." Koch told us: "There is a French expression, 'To understand everything is to forgive everything.' Using Krugman's logic, we should understand Hitler's needs and forgive him as well. He needed to blame Germany's defeat in World War I on the Jews. Krugman's defenses are lame and his column is lame-brained."Amen. Wednesday, October 29, 2003
“Is this the best you can do? Go after some crazy Internet person?” – Paul Krugman on Hannity and Colmes, 10/17/03 “Is that really the best you can do, Mr. Buchanan?” – Paul Krugman on Buchanan and Press, 9/22/03 “If you get caught between the moon and New York City, the best that you can do is fall in love.” – Christopher Cross, c. 1981. Bill Clinton opens mouth, lies The Big Me was at a fundraiser for the Democrats Monday night rep-re-SENT-ing the Par-TAY: There's more than a little bit of ghetto fabulous -- the ridiculous Hummer limo idling outside, the "In Da Club" lyrics inside -- "I'm into having sex, I ain't into making love / So come give me a hug if you into getting rubbed." This is what's playing when the former president takes the stage.Yow! Irony overload! He decries the Bush tax cut, saying, with his slow slyness, "I never had any idea the new president would take such good care of me. . . . I'm a little embarrassed to live in a huge country that gives me a huge tax cut and runs a huge deficit so that when the baby boomers retire you'll be taking care of them instead of your own kids. I don't think that's right."Let’s review the state of entitlement spending on the baby boomers, shall we? In chilling testimony before the Senate Aging Committee in July, Social Security trustee Thomas Saving said that to maintain current benefits, by 2025 Social Security and Medicare will use up 28 percent of all federal income tax revenue and 47 percent by 2040.And what did Bill Clinton do in eight years to stave off this pending budget disaster? Nothing. Just like only Nixon could go to China, only a Democrat could reform Social Security to avoid the pending train wreck. Clinton was a lame duck president with a budget surplus and a historic opportunity to make fundamental changes to save the cornerstone of Democratic politics. But he passed it up so he could use the entitlement issue for his own re-election (“you gotta do what you gotta do”) and to help get Al Gore elected. If those dopes at the dance club realized how badly Clinton had condemned Generation X, Y, and Z to a state of perpetual income redistribution, they would have asked for their money back. Wednesdays are for W We live in serious times. Every Wednesday, I join other bloggers (below) in urging readers to visit the George W. Bush re-election web page because I believe in W to provide serious leadership. Commenting on the most recent Democratic debate, Dorothy Rabinowitz characterizes the alternative: “Still, it is clear from the unvarying flow of bile emanating from them that the main program on the minds of the Democrats this campaign season is the contest to exceed one another in contempt for the president, for the war the nation has engaged.” And Mort Kondracke notes in Roll Call: “Bush wants to partially "privatize" Social Security and Medicare. Democrats adamantly oppose that. They also oppose means-testing benefits and raising the retirement age. The question is: Besides raising taxes, what are they for?” Yes, what do the Democrats actually stand for? I’ve ridiculed the new liberal think tank (oxymoron alert!) as an anchorless institution with a web site, some stationery, and not much to offer - something CAP leader John Podesta all but admitted in this New York Times article (archived – free – on Free Republic): Podesta gently reminded his audience that a think tank was for developing new policy solutions, not simply repackaging old ones. ''We've got to fill the intellectual pail a little,'' he cautioned, before worrying too much about how those ideas should be conveyed.And there’s this critical point from the same article: It is not so encouraging, however, to some other Democrats, who say that asking voters how they feel about the party on a bunch of individual positions -- deficit spending, a patients' bill of rights -- is not the same thing as having a coherent idea of where you want to take the country 10 or 20 years from now.What do you get with a party that is intellectually adrift with no long term vision? Pronouncements like this: In a night filled with hilariously uncontroversial statements, my favorite was Dick Gephardt's "We need peace in the world, not terrorism."Bravo, Congressman. Visit these other sites in support of President Bush and contact PoliPundit if you want to join our grassroots movement. Flip Flop Splunge Here’s a Washington Times editorial on “Kerry’s Flawed Economics”: "Throughout his political career in Washington, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry has had a difficult time pursuing a principles-based economic policy. That's because his principles constantly change." Tuesday, October 28, 2003
The Underpants Gnomes and the Center for American Progress In one South Park episode, the boys discover the Underpants Gnomes who sneak into Tweak’s dresser at night and steal underwear. When asked why they do this, the Gnomes reveal their plan: 1.) Collect underpants 2.) ??? 3.) Profit Now John Podesta has launched a new liberal “think tank” that follows the same (il)logic of the Underpants Gnomes: 1.) Form liberal think tank 2.) ??? 3.) Win elections "We don't have a war room, but we do have a communications platform. We've got a lot of terrific talented people who's job it is in the end to get that product, that analysis, that critique — get it out there to the American public," Podesta said.Thus the problem with step #2. Bibliophilism Right Wing News collected the book choices that had “the biggest impact on the thinking” of some right-of-center bloggers and presented the results here. Sadly, I was not asked to participate (I think – maybe I should check my mail) but here are some books I would add to the list: “The Prize” by Daniel Yergin “Parliament of Whores” by P.J. O’Rourke “Battle Cry of Freedom” by James McPherson “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck “Lincoln” by David Herbert Donald Jane Galt: "With Miguel Estrada, and now Janice Brown, the Democrats are pretty clearly trying to keep conservative minorities off the appellate bench, so that they can avoid a high-profile showdown over a potential Supreme Court nomination. Is this the kind of discrimination they've outlawed for private companies?" Getting to the truth of Saudi-US ties That’s the title of this Boston Globe article by James Pinkerton which is in actuality a book review of Steven Schwartz’s “The Two Faces of Islam.” Choice quote: The extreme dysfunctionality of the hypocritical regime in Riayadh has forced the Saudis in effect to export their problems by exporting Wahabi ideology around the world. Lessons from Mogadishu The National Post of Canada has a must-read editorial on the 10-year anniversary of American involvement in Somalia. I’d like to excerpt the whole thing, but I’ll leave you with the concluding paragraphs: Mogadishu, then, should not be seen as an isolated fiasco. What happened in 1993 delivered crucial psychological momentum and recruits to a mad holy warrior who saw both God and history on his side.Hat tip to Real Clear Politics William Saletan on the Detroit Debate An OK review, with this laugher at the end: I can't remember a weirder line from any serious candidate in any of these debates than Edwards' boast Sunday night that he's "written down" his plans. He said it three times. (Trust me, I wrote it down.) What's his point? That he's literate?I caught part of the debate rebroadcast on C-Span last night, but it was a singularly painful experience and I had to turn it off after ten minutes. These guys (and a gal) seem utterly incapable of expressing their own personal ideas. Nearly every question is answered by 1.) an ambiguous statement of fact (like “we need to do more with [fill in issue]”) 2.) an attack on Bush or another candidate or 3.) a complete tangent. CAMERON: Senator Kerry, a question for you on troop strength. We have U.S. forces all over the world in a variety of hot spots; potential crisis in manpower.Umm….troop strength? Kerry was so intent on getting his scripted joke out (early in the debate) that he completely sidestepped the question, attacked Dean, and moved on to some blandishment about the role of the Presidency. The troop strength question hung in the air, undisturbed. Extra: Man, Andrew Sullivan is still pissed about Kerry's "fraudulant coalition" comment and takes his argument over to the New Republic. Monday, October 27, 2003
Right on "How come," I asked Andy, "whenever something upsets the Left, you see immediate marches and parades and rallies with signs already printed and rhyming slogans already composed, whereas whenever something upsets the Right, you see two members of the Young Americans for Freedom waving a six-inch American flag?"From Parliament of Whores by P.J. O'Rourke. “He risked life and limb battling David Wissing’s brother Stephen took some pictures at the anti-war protest this past weekend in D.C. Apparently “Free Mumia” is a sub-category of U.S. policy in Iraq. Extra: Belligerent Bunny Blog has lots of pictures. An excellent roundup on North Korea on ParaPundit that states the obvious: 1.) North Korea will never give up their nuclear program and 2.) Kim Jong Il must go. The most unlikely thing I’ll say today Carole Moseley Braun is more credible on Iraq than John Kerry and John Edwards. At least that’s the assessment of Chris Sullentrop in Slate’s review of the Democratic debate last night: More important, however, Braun continues to be the candidate who best elucidates why it's coherent to have opposed the Iraq war but to support the country's rebuilding and the continuing presence of American troops. "We blew the place up; we have to fix it back," she said, echoing a theme she's returned to in each debate about the moral responsibilities of those who wage war. To my ear, Braun's dovish lucidity on this subject is a harsher rebuke to John Kerry and John Edwards (the two candidates who voted for the congressional war resolution but voted against the president's subsequent $87 billion request) than the similar critique offered by the hawkish Joe Lieberman.I didn’t see the debate, but upon reading the transcript, I chuckled (again) at Senator Splunge’s increasingly untenable claim that he’s been “consistent” with his position on Iraq. His new claim that the U.S. has assembled a “fraudulent coalition” has raised the ire of Andrew Sullivan who asks: “Is John Kerry a serious candidate for the presidency of the United States?” Short answer: No. Longer answer: At this point, he’ll say or do anything to emulate Howard Dean. Extra: Moe Freedman went to the Dems debate and has a brief commentary. Frist’s 3-phase war for judicial nominees If Bob Novak is right, it looks like Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist is finally going to make an effort to get full Senate votes for President Bush’s judicial nominees. As a minimum, it will turn up the heat on the filibustering Democrats going into the 2004 campaign season. Kerry Vote Watch The Senate had a four-day workweek last week and had ten floor votes. Indicating that he has no intention of returning to Washington except for issues that affect his campaign, John Kerry voted just once last week, on the partial birth abortion bill (he voted against the ban). Then Senator AWOL was gone. Days worked: 1 Votes missed: 9 Sunday, October 26, 2003
Moral confusion reigns among anti-war crowd Just last night, I was ranting to my long-suffering wife about how opponents of President Bush cannot simply disagree with him or his policies; it seems to be necessary for these people to compare him to Hitler. Don’t these nutters realize that they hurt their own credibility and cause with such overarching nonsense? This morning, Vinny at Insignificant Thoughts shows that the well of moral confusion is deep indeed. Yikes. Saturday, October 25, 2003
Suggested headline in tomorrow's Boston Globe: "New York Yankees Lose World Series Florida Marlins win 2-0 in Game Six" How many people in Washington today? There was an anti-war rally in Washington D.C. today. Organizers said that 30,000 would attend, but CNN pegged the crowd at 8000, the NY Times said 10,000 and ABC punted and just stated the crowd “appeared much smaller” than the organizer’s estimate. But only the crack reporters at Al-Jazeera have the accurate count: “tens of thousands” and “Some figures put the number of protesters at 100,000.” It’s amazing how the American papers bury the truth. Thank you Al-Jazeera. Friday, October 24, 2003
People don’t like taxes and work less when they’re higher Via Pejman, Two Blowhards review a study on tax rates in Europe and the number of hours worked there and in the United States. Most intriguing, there’s a graph showing a very strong correlation (nearly linear) between tax rates and labor hours. Coup in San Francisco I heard this story on NPR driving home: San Francisco mayor Willie Brown goes on a trip to Asia and appoints supervisor Chris Daly as acting mayor. No sooner does Brown's plane leave the ground and Daly appoints two people to the influential Public Utilities Commission. Apparently it's all legal and binding, so there's nothing Brown can do. Classic left-coast nuttiness. Seven percent?!? Here’s an article titled “New Jobless Claims Fall” (that’s good!), but look here: The economy, which grew at a decent 3.3 percent rate in the second quarter, is expected to show a 7 percent pace in the third quarter, economists predict.Wow….and here’s a Forbes article that hints the same thing. Wow. Krugman, call your office. What would Kerry learn from his blog today? The blog on John Kerry’s website has a recurring feature called “What would Bush learn if he read the paper today?” Today, the comments section answers that question for Senator Splunge: a Zogby poll showing a whopping 23% lead (40%-17%) for Howard Dean in New Hampshire. The responses are about what you’d expect: “it’s early” “those numbers are skewed” etc. The end of the Oil Age? The British magazine The Economist states that there are “ways to break the tyranny of oil” and “governments need to promote them.” But if you read the text of the article, it’s pretty clear that they mean “government” – singular – as in the United States. It’s all up to us to switch over to hydrogen cells and bioethanol. Make no mistake: I’m in full-throated support of anything that will choke off the Saudis (figuratively, I suppose). But some of the alternatives to oil that the Economist lists are not viable, at least right now. For example, ethanol would never survive without the heavy subsidies that the federal government showers on the corn-growing states. Fuel cells need hydrogen and they can only come from other power sources (e.g. nuclear). I think fuel standards can help (disclaimer: I drive a Subaru Impreza) but I’m extremely leery about telling other people what to drive. The Economist strongly pushes a gas tax, but without the perspective of what this might do to the American economy (further disclaimer: I commute >100 miles a day). As I often say: if the answer was simple, the problem would have been solved a long time ago. Sullivan on Krugman: "You can tell he's worried that the economy is picking up and that his predictions of complete catastrophe might seem a little extreme in retrospect. So he's spinning the future. I guess it's better than distorting the past." Religion of Peace update WASHINGTON -- One of the nation's most prominent Muslim activists was indicted yesterday on money laundering and fraud charges hours after authorities unsealed an affidavit alleging that for years he helped fund Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. John Kerry - Comedian "There's no inconsistency in me," Senator Kerry, of Massachusetts, assured one voter at a house party in New Hampshire recently. There goes another one! NY Times Letters page today To the Editor: Thursday, October 23, 2003
Awesome! - X10, the Seattle-area purveyor of Web cameras that rose to prominence with the "pop-under" online web advertising segment, has filed for Chapter 11 protection from its creditors in the wake of ongoing litigation. Rupert! He previously worked as a gravedigger and a bartender. His hobbies include scuba diving, camping and coin collecting. His favorite sport is racquetball. He describes himself as strong, smart and brave. Judging from the coming attractions for next week, one of his new hobbies will be kicking Jon's ass all over the Drake camp. Survivor update: they tried to vote off Rupert. Rupert! The only one in both tribes who gets food. Who works. The only person who ought to win Survivor, in the history of Survivor. I hope Drake loses the next immunity challenge so they can boot that loser Jon off. Please let it be so. When Democrats attack Byron York recounts the Senate Judiciary hearing on the nomination of Janice Rogers Brown, who is almost certainly heading for a filibuster for the crime of being black and conservative: In the end, what was striking was how little Democrats seemed inclined to dig into the actual questions involved in the cases Brown has decided; each time Brown delivered a crisp defense of her reasoning, Democrats simply moved on to another sound bite. It was as if Durbin and his colleagues had chosen to make a series of short-form attacks, get the hearing out of the way, and then move on to the more serious matter of filibustering Brown's nomination.This line from York’s review made me laugh out loud: It was an impressive record [Brown’s personal background], even if one had not started out black in 1950s Alabama. But at times Brown's obvious sense of self-reliance and her disinclination to rely on government to solve society's problems seemed to trouble Democrats.Which reminds me of this slightly altered exchange from “Lethal Weapon 2”: Consulate Envoy: I don't think you want toExtra: Matt at Fearful Symmetry has the racist cartoon referred to in the York article. He don’t need no education From today’s Boston Globe: “Kerry spokeswoman Kelley Benander said in a prepared statement. She added that "John Kerry doesn't need any lessons in truth telling from an administration that has consistently misled the American people on matters of national security.” Michael Barone: The two candidates who mixed it up the most were John Kerry and Howard Dean. Dean said that if Kerry felt he was unfit for the office he should tell him personally, and Kerry said that he needed no lessons in courage from Howard Dean. On the campaign trail: “Kerry later dismissed criticism of his remarks as political carping. "I don't need any lessons in patriotism or in caring for America," he said during a campaign stop in Atlanta yesterday. “ And here’s a blast from the past (1996 debate): “I don't need any lessons from you on violence or what it does to our streets," said Sen. Kerry, who later referred to friends of his from Vietnam as examples of decent people who needed help.” Fantasy World Series CHICAGO -- Wrigley Field hosted its first World Series game in 58 years, and the earlier series animosity returned before the game even started when an enraged Manny Ramirez charged the mound during the ceremonial first pitch.Funny stuff - it even includes a Paper Lace reference, an obvious nod to "The Night Chicago Died." The RNC says that Kerry is full of it on his Iraqi pre-war claims. Meanwhile, Duck Season digs up the dirt on pre-screened questions for Senator Splunge at a recent Harvard event. When pressed on Iraq, Kerry sagely intoned: “Life is complicated.” Lileks today: “hell, the administration could put Osama’s head on a stick in the Rose Garden, and Daschle would call it an admission of failure that they hadn’t located the torso. I will never trust these people with national security again. Never, never, never.” “The usual body-piercings, velvet peasant dresses and Che Guevara banners” Down Under blogger Tom Paine at Silent Running has a hilarious rundown of President Bush’s speech to the Australian Parliament. Check it out. Religion of Peace update I’ve always admired Jeff Jacoby at the Boston Globe for his well-researched and forceful opinion columns. Today he recounts the long standing anti-Semitism of Malaysia’s PM Mahathir Mohamad (surprisingly, some of it predates the Bush administration!) Jacoby unflinchingly notes that Mahathir’s screed was warmly received at the Islamic conference: The audience to whom Mahathir spoke -- the presidents, kings, and emirs of the nations that make up the Organization of the Islamic Conference -- rewarded him with a standing ovation.But what about Islamic groups here in the U.S. of A.? On Tuesday I asked six American Muslim organizations -- CAIR, the American Muslim Association, the Islamic Circle of North America, the Islamic Institute, the Islamic Society of North America, and the Muslim Public Affairs Council -- whether they had any reaction to Mahathir's words. Three never replied; two replied by saying they had no comment. Only MPAC condemned Mahathir for his "extremely offensive, anti-Semitic comments."Jacoby reaches his conclusion: The Muslim world suffers from many problems, but none is more crippling than its culture of intolerance. Rampant anti-semitism anywhere is always a sign of grave moral sickness. Until more Muslims are prepared to confront and conquer that sickness in their midst, the Muslim world will remain the benighted backwater that so many Muslims deplore.I’d like to believe Condoleezza Rice’s comment that Mahathir’s comments were not “emblematic of the Muslim world” but the evidence continues to mount that the contrary is true. Wednesday, October 22, 2003
The Cracker Barrel Philosopher urges Ralph Nader to run. But I don’t think he has the Green Party’s best interest in mind! Hmmmm... Razor at FauxPolitik notes on a Boston superintendent who finally passed his literacy test after four tries: "Good example to set for students: Tests have no meaning because you can always take them again." Kerry: Fading fading fading It's no secret that I dislike John Kerry, so I was happy to see that my bete noire is trailing by double digits in every early primary state poll. Kos has the roundup from New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina (where Senator Splunge trails Sharpton!) and summed up Kerry's chances thusly: Continues to fade everywhere, but most importantly in his must-win state of New Hampshire. If he can't garner support in his home media market, he won't compete anywhere else.Buh-bye. More and more, it's looking like Dean. Men stop watching TV. Networks fail to blame awful shows. Lisa: “It's awful being a kid. No one listens to you.” Abe: “It's rotten being old. No one listens to you.” Homer: “I'm a white male, age 18 to 49. Everyone listens to me – no matter how dumb my suggestions are.” {[pulls out a can of "Nuts and Gum" mixture, starts chomping]} Network executives are freaking out because men are not watching television. Excuses? Take your pick: video games, DVDs, Iraq. Jed at Boots and Sabers says “reality shows” but I’m going with the broader answer offered by the Southern Cons of “shows stink!” “Some guy told me” – Bitter discovers that John Kerry is just making stuff up. Extra: Rich Lowry on NRO has "John Kerry's North Korea Lie" Wednesdays are for W This past week, the New York Times (!!!) said: “It is in the nature of modern campaigns to offer sound bites rather than substance. But voters have a right to ask for more and to press the Democratic candidates to present real alternatives to Mr. Bush's policies in Iraq and beyond.” So far the Democratic candidates – and Democrats in general – have cynically offered nothing beyond the policy of “not George Bush.” That’s not a policy, it’s not a vision, and it’s certainly not leadership. Visit W’s re-election web site and do your part to support true leadership. And be sure to visit these other fine blogs who support “Wictory Wednesday”: Kritical Krugman Kommentary Here's a letter to the editor in response to Paul Krugman's latest embarrassment: As a Jew and a Republican, I felt doubly insulted when Paul Krugman connected Muslim anti-Semitism with the Bush administration's war in Iraq and its unconditional support for Ariel Sharon (column, Oct. 21).Has Krugman sunk to a new low with this column, that blames anti-Semitism on Bush's foreign policy? Judging by the blogger posts so far, I would say "yes" - see: Hoy, Musil, Hogberg, Luskin, and Little Green Footballs for more. Court-Assisted Suicide Dahlia Lithwick examines the confused “defense” of John Muhammad in his sniper trial and wonders how the American justice system allows mental cases to defend themselves. Short answer: After Faretta, it is the responsibility of the trial judge to ensure that the accused understands the nature of the charges against him, recognizes the risks of self-representation, and that he "unequivocally," "knowingly and intelligently" waives his right to counsel. Following such a colloquy, the judge is constitutionally bound to allow the defendant to wreck his life.Lithwick also notes that Muhammad is acting as his own attorney because he thinks “that the government wants an execution at all costs, and their state-appointed attorney is a part of that conspiracy.” On point “A” he’s correct, and with good reason. Byron York calls the results of a Democracy Corps poll “stunning.” I think that’s an understatement and York certainly doesn’t hide his shock as he asks: “Don’t the Democrats care even a little about terrorism?” More Dem disarray: Florida Democrats will be holding a straw poll during their annual convention in December, much to the consternation of the national committee because it upsets the New Hampshire-Iowa monopoly. The DNC has asked the candidates not to “participate” but it seems that some are planning stealth campaigns. Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Denial of Service spillover! Wow - I'm pulling in some serious traffic today, and I can only guess it's because a lot of other blogs were shut down by the DoS attack (Winds of Change has more). How's this for a slogan: "Viking Pundit: When nothing else is loading!" Catchy. The Freshness Test Interesting observation from Jonathan Rauch in Reason Online on “who can win in 2004?” (via Political Wire) With only one exception since the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, no one has been elected president who took more than 14 years to climb from his first major elective office to election as either president or vice president.That means Gephardt, Kerry, and Lieberman are past due while Clark, Dean, and Edwards are still “fresh.” Susanna at Cut on the Bias found a notable article from the Kuwait Times - notable in that a Muslim woman was allowed to say something about human rights. Queen Rania of Jordan (who's pretty easy in the eyes) said that women need guaranteed rights to enjoy peace. Nice find. If the U.N says so An involuntary chuckle at the start of this Boston Globe article: “Senator John F. Kerry, questioned repeatedly last night about his position on the Iraq war….” Questioned repeatedly? Why? Isn’t it clear? Kerry would have done nothing, unless he did something, but only if it’s OK with the United Nations: “Kerry did not elaborate, though he said that if he had been president, he would have gone to war in Iraq if the UN supported the offensive.” Therein lies my problem: what would President Kerry do if there was a threat and the United Nations did not give its imprimatur? Would he do nothing? Whatever his answer, you can bet it will sag with conditions, provisions, and equivocation. Is Gephardt the best the Dems can do against Bush? The Washington Post says “maybe” but I’m gonna have to go with Mark Kilmer and say “no way”. And not just because of his tax policy (Gephardt would repeal all the Bush tax cuts) but because Gephardt has the personality of a halibut. More specifically, he has that Al Gore-quality of talking to you like you’re a six-year-old. Transcript of John Allen Muhammad’s opening statement From the WashPost: Muhammad is acting as his own attorney in the sniper trial and gave this bizarre opening statement in his defense. First, he talked at length about catching his daughter with her hand in the cookie jar. Later, he was interrupted by the District Attorney who pointed out that an opening statement usually presents some facts for the defense. Muhammad responded: Regardless of how loud it may get, regardless of how much emphasis may be put on it, it doesn't change it. It's just a theory. It's an assumption. We're looking for facts. We are looking for evidence, and the evidence will show that I had nothing to do with these crimes, that I had nothing to do with these crimes directly or indirectly, that I know anything about these crimes, that I know any times of these crimes or anything pertaining to these crimes at all.Bear in mind that Muhammad was captured in his car, which had a snipers nest built into the trunk. With a snipers rifle. That matched the ballistics to all the D.C. area victims. And so on. John, this ain’t L.A. and you’re not getting the O.J. jury. I’ll go along with that theory Here’s David Brooks in today’s NYT on why the Democrats are not beloved by voters: John Edwards has the most persuasive theory. He argues that most voters do not place candidates on a neat left-right continuum. But they are really good at sensing who shares their values. They are really good at knowing who respects them and who doesn't. Edwards's theory is that the Democrats' besetting sin over the past few decades has been snobbery.Al Gore is mentioned. Let no good deed go unpunished: Oklahoma University student finds another’s ID card, tries to return it, and is accused of “stalking.” Monday, October 20, 2003
Hearing tests for Democrats Recall this exchange on Fox News when Tony Snow was trying to convince Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) that President Bush did not say there was an “imminent threat” from Iraq: GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words and all recriminations would come too late.Now, here’s an excerpt from an article in The Hill: On the House side, Democrats said that Republicans had also charged them with being unpatriotic. Rep. Martin Frost (D-Texas) said last Friday, “Yesterday I heard far too many members on the other side of the aisle come to the floor and impugn the motives and perhaps the patriotism of members who sought to reprioritize the funds in this bill,” adding such remarks would be a “shameful blemish on this institution.”Maybe some Q-Tips would help? Garry Trudeau is losing it, both professionally and psychologically I have a confession to make: I used to be a huge “Doonesbury” fan. I have the large compilation collections from “The Doonesbury Chronicles” up through “Recycled Doonesbury.” Trudeau used to be funny and irreverent. He seriously needs to re-read some of his older strips because now he’s just angry, peevish, and slovenly. Take, for example, yesterday’s Sunday strip which consisted of one character shouting that there is no connection between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein. That’s the whole strip. Ha ha. It would be one thing if Trudeau portrayed the issue through the rhetorical gymnastics of Bush or press secretary Ron Ziegler…oops…I mean Scott McClellan. It certainly would have been funnier and likely would have reached more readers. The primal rant of Mark Slackmeyer, however, comes across as a ploy for attention, easily disregarded. This Sunday “comic” (derived, I believe, from “comedy”) comes on the heels of a previous Sunday request to recall Arnold Schwarzenegger if he’s elected governor. It was a laugh-riot of cut-out fun, including a form to send the California Secretary of State. Judging by Arnold’s win, I’m guessing Sacramento has received maybe eight of these requests. When you’ve lost (convincingly) there’s nothing left to do but accept the will of the people, right? Wrong. Today’s “Doonesbury” strip indicates that we’re about to be subjected to a week of acerbic ad hominem attacks on Schwarzenegger’s character. It will be a week full of unfunny and shrill gnashing of teeth. In the end, nobody will laugh and nobody’s mind will be changed, but Trudeau will feel that he’s made a difference. Seek help, Garry. Pejman was behind Christopher Guest at the movies and didn't make a single reference to Spinal Tap. That's just wrong. Democrats take heat for Iraq vote From Time and the New York Times, no less! Here’s the conclusion to the Times editorial today titled “Waiting for Democrats on Iraq”: It is in the nature of modern campaigns to offer sound bites rather than substance. But voters have a right to ask for more and to press the Democratic candidates to present real alternatives to Mr. Bush's policies in Iraq and beyond.And here’s Joe Klein in Time magazine “Profiles in Convenience” Is it too much to ask that politics be put aside on this one issue of transcendent importance, where lives are literally at stake? Happily, Joe Lieberman and Dick Gephardt did the right thing last week. "I will support the $87 billion," Gephardt said, "because it is the only responsible course of action. We must not send an ambiguous message to our troops, and we must not send an uncertain message to our friends and enemies in Iraq." This will not help Gephardt in Iowa, but it was an act of courage — Lieberman has made a habit of such acts in this campaign — and a stark contrast to the position taken by both Kerry and Clark, the two alleged warriors in the Democratic field.That’ll leave a mark. Kerry Vote Watch The Senate had a full week (for them) meeting four days, mostly to debate the Iraq Supplemental funding bill. Since Kerry has made criticism of the administration Iraq policy the cornerstone of his chaotic campaign for the presidency, he was compelled to show up for two days of work. In the end, Kerry decided to be like Dean and voted against the supplemental for the U.S. troops and to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan. This will almost certainly launch a whole gamut of new “Senator Splunge”-type contradictory arguments about “opposing the war” and “supporting the troops.” Vietnam may be mentioned. Days worked: 2 Votes missed: 8 Sunday, October 19, 2003
Mark Steyn on our friends the Saudis Here's an easy way to make an effective change: Less Wahhabism is in America's interest. More Wahhabism is in the terrorists' interest. So why can't the United States introduce a policy whereby, for the duration of the war on terror, no organization directly funded by the Saudis will be eligible for any formal or informal role with any federal institution? That would also include the pro-Saudi Middle East Institute, whose "adjunct scholar" is one Joseph C. Wilson IV. Remember him? He's the fellow at the center of the Bob-Novak-published-the-name-of-my-CIA-wife scandal. The agency sent him to look into the European intelligence stories about Saddam Hussein trying to buy uranium in Africa. He went to Niger, drank mint tea with government flacks, and then wrote a big whiny piece in the New York Times after the White House declined to accept his assurances there was nothing going on. He was never an intelligence specialist, he's no longer a "career diplomat," but he is, like so many other retired ambassadors, on the House of Saud's payroll. And the Saudis were vehemently opposed to war with Saddam.Interesting..... Saturday, October 18, 2003
Tom Friedman on the change in the Arab World From the Sunday NY Times - a must read: What's up are three big shocks hammering the Arab system. First, with oil revenues flat, there isn't enough money anymore to buy off, or provide jobs to, the exploding Arab populations. Hence the growing need for wives with work. The second is the Iraq war shock. Even with all the problems in Baghdad now, virtually every autocratic Arab regime is starting to prepare for the uncomfortable possibility that by 2005 Iraq will hold a free election, which will shame all those who never have.Friedman also notes on Saudi Arabia elections (for municipal positions only): "Most people thought it would snow in Saudi Arabia before there would be elections." As Sam Cooke once sang: "A change is gonna come." "I'm a Democrat and I have some candy for YOU" From Fox News: Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, toured a community college job training site in Waterloo, Iowa, as he spelled out what he would do to support job training and education and invest in high-tech industries likely to create jobs. He put no price tag on the idea. Classic - I can't make this stuff up. Have I mentioned lately that I love Terry McAuliffe? Here's why: Fred Barnes in the Weekly Standard with The (Finally) Emerging Republican Majority Friday, October 17, 2003
Moral midgets, Jim Jeffords, and the great Iraqi Freak-Out With this post Matthew at Fearful Symmetry jiggered something in my noggin: the Democrats who voted against the Iraqi supplemental bill (like Senator Splunge) have argued that we need to “internationalize” the re-construction of Iraq so that the world can share the burden. But wait a second: this crowd is the first to demand that the “rich” pay their “fair share” when it comes to tax policies in America. Using that logic, won’t the other countries in the world simply look at the United States – by far the largest economic superpower on the planet – and say: “You’re rich. You pay to rebuild Iraq.” Maybe Ted Kennedy can explain to me why this isn’t in conflict with the Democrats’ policy of class warfare and moral vanity. Flipping stereotypes I don’t get over to Trojan Horseshoes too often, but Tony makes a devilish observation that Robin Hood was really a right-winger because he took money back from the rapacious government and gave it back to grateful taxpayers. Nice! Plus he links to an eye-popping vignette that he titles: “Second Amendment 1 / Criminals 0.” And, I have to be honest, while I was reading the account my mind was thinking “Gun-lovin’ Southerner” until I got to about the third paragraph. Gripping stuff. Nick at Duck Season picks up on the Senator Splunge nickname! Soon all America will be using “Splunge” to describe someone who vacillates and prevaricates and avoids real answers. The Iraq Reconstruction bill passes easily: 87-12 Take a look at this rogues gallery that voted against the supplemental bill. Harkin, Jeffords, Leahy, and Kennedy are pretty much fulfilling their stereotypes; Kerry and Edwards just signed their death warrants. Ah-nold and 43 President Bush's comments on the meeting from Best of the Web: We did have a good visit, and during that visit I was able to reflect upon how much we have in common. We both married well. Some accuse us both of not being able to speak the language. We both have big biceps. Well, two out of three isn't bad. We both love our country. Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to be a fine and strong leader for California. I'm proud to call him friend.Cool. Damian Penny sez: "Today, the European Union prepared a harshly worded denunciation of Mahathir Mohamad's anti-Jewish rant - and guess which country blocked it?" Apropos of nothing: did you know that "bete noire" is French for "black beast"? He wants to be our commander-in-chief But first, a slightly altered quote from “Broadcast News”: Blair Litton: "Oh, you think anyone who's proud of the work we do is an ass-kisser. "That’s right, Senator, get right up there and lick that U.N. boot so you can peel off those anti-war Howard Dean supporters. Don’t be shy! You want the job, right? Pay no attention to those nay-sayers like Mort Kondracke: By every standard except the short-term political, Democratic presidential candidates Howard Dean and Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) have made a catastrophic decision in saying they oppose President Bush's $87 billion aid package for Iraq.Ah, but if you vote for the aid package, you’ll never get the Dem nomination, right? Howard Dean is pulling in the cash and people so the first rule is to emulate him: be the Dean. Perhaps I’m being unfair. Let’s look at the FAQ that Senator Splunge has included on the web page explaining his vote against the Iraq-Afghanistan supplemental bill. For brevity’s sake, I’m just going to include the questions and the first sentence of Kerry’s “answers”: WHY DO YOU DISAGREE WITH THE BUSH APPROACH?I sense a theme. Aptly, there is no “Number 2” in this last answer. The great panacea to the Iraq situation is to let the United Nations take charge. This would be the same U.N. that refused to enforce their own resolution against Iraq, but no matter – somehow Kerry would convince them where President Bush failed. But then, what would Kerry do if the United States viewed another country as a significant and growing threat to the safety of Americans and the U.N. flatly refused to help? By Kerry’s own admission, he would do nothing. And that is why John Kerry must be kept away from the White House: he is an unserious person in a serious time. More hysterics from Krugman With startling speed, we've blown right through the usual concerns about budget deficits — about their effects on interest rates and economic growth — and into a range where the very solvency of the federal government is at stake.Oh please: the America-as-Argentina is utter nonsense. Krugman is correct that budget deficits will drive up interest rates and constrict personal and corporate credit. But since the prime rate now sits at – what? – a 60-year low, I don’t think there’s a crisis in the making there. As usual, go and read Matthew Hoy for additional debunking. The Lieberman-as-Robin Hood meme lives on E.J. Dionne in today’s WashPost: “How does it feel for cautious, moderate, mild-mannered Joe Lieberman to find himself suddenly compared to Robin Hood?” But this is the best part of the article: This tax proposal also faces a hard political fact: "The view of many people in this country," Lieberman says, "is that Democrats took their greatest pleasure at taking money in higher taxes from people who were working hard."Those poor misguided fools! Hahahahaha!!!! The NY Times corrects its propaganda From today's Corrections page: An article on Oct. 5 about tensions between the White House and George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence, referred incorrectly to the comment in President Bush's State of the Union address that Mr. Tenet was blamed for not having deleted. The president said Iraq had been seeking to buy uranium in Africa. He did not specifically mention the African country of Niger, though it was identified several weeks earlier — along with Somalia and Congo — in the National Intelligence Estimate provided to members of Congress on Iraqi purchase attempts. Pander Bear From today's NY Post Page Six: October 17, 2003 -- DEMOCRATIC front-runner Howard Dean's bid to court rural Iowans by painting himself as one of them at a forum this week didn't go over too well with Iowa's most influential political reporter, David Yepsen. In a column, Yepsen zinged Dean as the "ultimate panderer" and explained, "The former Vermont governor once referred to 'us rural people' during his remarks." Yepsen had right to be irked. Dean's idea of "rural" apparently means being born to a wealthy family in New York City, attending an exclusive prep school in Rhode Island and studying at Yale. Today's Boston Globe: Heartbreak Again I'm not a huge baseball fan but I would have watched the World Series if either the Cubs or the Red Sox had made it. Yankees-Marlins? Forget it. Thursday, October 16, 2003
John Kerry prepares to go the Full Howard I’ve said before that Senator Splunge is in a panic and that his increasingly sharper tone against the current policy in Iraq was a direct result of the Howard Dean ascendancy. But, even for all my cynicism, I never thought Kerry would vote against the $87 billion aid package for Iraq and Afghanistan. Sure he would make a lot of class warfare noise about making the rich pay or that he wants Bush to play nice with the United Nations, but Kerry wouldn’t dare alienate the mainstream voters he needs in the general election. Right? Kerry’s campaign must be doing much worse than I thought because he’s trying the Edwards Gambit: appeal to the left wing of the Democratic Party to get the nomination, then backtrack later (assuming you get the nomination). The Kerry blog has a screamer: “Special Announcement from John Kerry at 3PM Today!” that can only mean that he’s going to vote against the aid package. Wow – I guess Kerry didn’t read the Washington Post editorial this morning. Update: First they changed the time to 4PM and now at 4:30 there's still no announcement. Senator AWOL strikes again. Bonus: It's pretty clear that Senator Splunge who voted for the war resolution in Iraq is now going to vote against aid for the troops he helped send over there. Or maybe he just threatened to send the military - who knows with him? Anyway, John Cole praises Dick Gephardt for being a "grown up Democrat" and doing the right thing on the aid package. Hypothetical Democrat to the rescue! Have you heard about Hypothetical Democrat? He/she is the man/woman to beat in 2004. Hypothetical Democrat hates fluorescent lights and rainy days, but loves small puppies. Is fudge-ripple your favorite ice cream flavor? Hypothetical Democrat too! He/she’s the greatest. So you can understand why the Democrats are so excited over Hypothetical Democrat: a poll commissioned by the DNC shows he/she beats George Bush by 46%-42%. How do actual flesh-and-blood Democrats stack up? Not so well – all of the major Presidential candidates would lose to President Bush in the election. Hypothetically. Religion of Peace update At a speech for the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad urged Muslims to study mathematics and science and learn new technologies so they can Mahathir said that "1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews. There must be a way."Of course, nobody at the summit condemned this hate speech, which made this paragraph all the more apt: The summit, held every three years, is the first since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks reshaped global politics and comes at a time when many Muslims — even U.S. allies — feel the war on terrorism has become a war against them.Yeah, there might be a reason for that. Happy Blogbirthday to Bitter and the Bitch Girls!! Bitter's my new neighbor up here in Western Mass, but we haven't gotten together yet. Maybe a beer at the Northampton Brewery? That didn't take long: Steve Bartman Blog (the patron saint of losers) Update: Florida offers asylum. “This is leadership?” The WashPost comes down hard on the Dem candidates in this unyielding editorial: “The Responsibility Gap”: On the wrong side is the rest of the Democratic field. Sens. John F. Kerry (Mass.) and John Edwards (N.C.) say they won't vote for the funding because Mr. Bush hasn't come up with enough of a long-term plan or done enough to get allies on board. This righteous position may make them, or their voters, feel better, but the security of U.S. troops and the long-term interests of both Iraq and the United States still depend on improving Iraqi daily life.Everybody takes a body shot, especially Wesley Clark who refused to take a clear stand on how he would vote on this critical issue. President Bush has raised lots o’cash That’s the seven-and-a-half summary of this threadbare editorial in today’s New York Times: “President Bush’s Run for the Money.” For three paragraphs, the editorial details the various people and techniques behind the President’s hard money draw, all the while hinting at how unseemly it is before concluding: “All of Mr. Bush’s fund-raising seems well within the law.” (What, no Buddhist temples?) Perhaps sensing that the editorial is nothing more than a long whine about how well the Republicans outpace Democrats in raising money, the Times tries to make a point by warning Dems that they shouldn’t abandon the spirit of campaign finance reform and fund private campaigns. Judging by this related WashPost article “3 Candidates' Spending Tops Funds Raised in Quarter” that’s fully what I expect John Kerry to do. Kerry, Edwards and Gephardt are the candidates who have spent more than they have raised, so their campaign coffers are running low. Kerry has stated that he wouldn’t spend his wife Teresa Heinz’s ketchup fortune, but keep an eye out for a “privately” funded advocacy group for Kerry’s campaign if he continues to lag in the polls. The Wall Street Journal reads Viking Pundit (I assume) From today’s Opinion Journal: “In return for cutting taxes further on lower earners, Mr. Lieberman would return to the Clinton tax rate of 39.6% but at a lower income threshold for married couples earning just $150,000, plus another 5% surcharge on those making more than $250,000. No one favors rewriting the IRS code more than we do, but this looks to us like Robin Hood dressed in a business suit.” Hmmm…that sounds familiar. Wednesday, October 15, 2003
Uh uh uh uh - Staying Alive! Nomar Garciaparra triples and scores on a throwing error to ignite a Red Sox rally in the seventh inning. The Red Sox defeat the Yankees, 9-6. Boston will send Pedro Martinez to the mound to oppose Roger Clemens in Game 7. (Charles Krupa - AP) Pedro and Clemens tomorrow, baby. Check your heads! Protest in Saudi Arabia RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 15 — Saudi police arrested up to 150 people for staging a rare public protest in the capital to call for reforms in the conservative Islamic kingdom, the interior minister said Wednesday.I'll bet. Wictory Wednesday: I don't have time to do a full blown post, but go to PoliPundit to see how you can help President Bush and all the other bloggers supporting his re-election. Thanks! Lotsa good stuff in the Wash Post today: Robert Samuelson draws parallels between President Bush’s economic plans and Richard Nixon’s actions before the 1972 election. I didn’t think of that! David Broder points out a critical roadblock for Democratic presidential candidates who want to rollback the Bush tax cuts. The House of Representatives, where all tax and revenue bills originate, will almost certainly remain in Republican hands through 2005. Ergo, there will be no rollback. Since raising taxes is the cornerstone of all the Dems plans, what’s plan “B”? Unsocial Insecurity Just yesterday, I was thinking that if could ask the Democratic presidential candidates a single question it would be this: “Without telling me what you wouldn’t do, explain how you would save Social Security for the generation after the Baby Boomers.” That is, I don’t want criticism of Personal Savings Accounts or the Bush tax cuts. What is the plan to regenerate a system that is going to go flat broke in 2040 (the trouble starts sooner): According to the Social Security trustees, Medicare's expenses start to exceed benefits in 2013, less than ten years from now. Social Security follows suit in 2017. 2040 isn't the date when we need to start worrying; it's the date when we finally give up pretending that Social Security is anything other than a gigantic Ponzi scheme, and the suckers revolt.After he’s re-elected, I sincerely hope that President Bush marshals all of his political will to fix the overwhelming problem of entitlements, whether through personal savings accounts of some other repair. Despite weekly proddings by Tim Russert, the Democrats don’t seem to be willing to even admit that the problem exists. The Chinese into the Final Frontier: GOBI DESERT, China — China launched its first manned space mission on Wednesday, becoming the third country in history to send a person into orbit -- four decades after the former Soviet Union and the United States. Tuesday, October 14, 2003
What to do when you're trailing Al Sharpton When your campaign has hit the skids and you're a percentage point from a tie for the bottom, it's time to try something - anything - to get some attention. Thus: the Edwards Gambit. Meanwhile, Howard Dean continues to throttle Senator Splunge in the must-win state of New Hampshire. Oh, I'm going to sleep well tonight. The latest threat: Pillows WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday confirmed terrorists have discussed using stuffed animals, pillows and clothing to smuggle explosives aboard commercial airliners.There are going to be some unhappy kids when the TSA rips off Teddy's head. So it’s agreed: we should have ideas Martin Devon perfectly encapsulated my opinions on the new Center for American Progress that was profiled in the New York Times magazine this past Sunday, so just go read his post. Outside the Beltway links to a Time magazine article about the secret collaborators that helped U.S. forces topple Saddam “Even my clothes have betrayed me” Hussein. The obvious question is: where are these secret helpers now? If you guys could just let us know where we could find Saddam, that would be great, mmm-kay? Message from member #53731 of the VRWC: Our agent is exposed! From Jewish World Review: "Can anyone argue that Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, Bill Clinton's cash bagman when it was easier to legally (or not) obtain huge sums from contributors, is acting as if he were a double agent for the Republicans?" Initiate extraction to safe house in Crawford, Texas. (Hat tip to PoliPundit – member #27193) The Demoncrat: . "I will plunge the world into eternal darkness, raining blood upon the land, all funded by taxing the top one percent who are not paying their fair share!" This is satire, right? Our friends the Saudis From the Boston Globe: “Saudi Schools teach Hatred of the West” For example, eighth-graders are taught, in a geography book, that "Islam replaced the former religions that replaced it" and that "a malicious Crusader-Jewish alliance is striving to eliminate Islam from all the continents."The Saudi response has been: “It’s only 5% of textbooks – what’s the big deal?” GOP wins slim victories in the House – where are the Dems? This Washington Post article “House GOP Practices Art Of One-Vote Victories” reviews recent legislation that has passed the House of Representatives by a single vote (and the Republican arm-twisting involved). But, in what seems like a glaring omission to me, the article fails to note that Democrats could foil legislation they oppose by just showing up for work. Dick Gephardt, in particular, has missed 91% of all floor votes this legislative session. Monday, October 13, 2003
An encore presentation: Why don't we just tax the hell out of the rich? From John Hawkins' interview with economist Milton Friedman: Milton Friedman: Well, who would provide the funds, the capital, and the entrepreneurship for the new industries? In a world in which there were no rich people, how would you have ever gotten the capital to produce steel mills or automobile plants? You can do it through the state, but the world tried that with the Soviet Union.We're not living in Sherwood Forest here... Everybody loves Robin Hood From Atlas Shrugged: Ragnar Danneskjold: “I've chosen a special mission of my own. I'm after a man whom I want to destroy. He died many centuries ago, but until the last trace of him is wiped out of men's minds, we will not have a decent world to live in.” Hank Rearden: “What man?” Ragnar Danneskjold: “Robin Hood.” Now here comes Joe Lieberman declaring that: gosh if only the “rich” would pay their “fair share” then everything would be super. On the first day of his tour, Lieberman focused on his economic plan. He argued that the administration has shifted tax burdens from the wealthy to middle-income earners.I’m really surprised at Lieberman, who flopped along with Al Gore using the strategy of “the people versus the powerful.” His not-so-clever “class warfare” twist ignores the easily-verified fact that the “rich” are subjected to higher tax rates and – by far – a higher burden of the overall federal tax revenue. The top 1% pay one-third of all taxes, the top 5% pay half, and the top 10% pay two-thirds of all income tax. The top 1% pay an average tax rate of 27% while the bottom 50% pay an average of 4.6%. But Joe Lieberman (and John Kerry) don’t think the rich have been punished enough. Closer?: "We think we have stepped on Saddam's tail but we just won't know for sure until we have him," one official said." Senator Splunge decides he’s definitely against Iraq….maybe The strangest feeling came over me while watching John Kerry on This Week on Sunday (see also here and here). He was rolling out his sharpest rhetoric so far on the Bush administration’s policies in Iraq, using words like “misled” and “fraud” and saying that Bush should apologize to the American people. Somewhat surprisingly, he said he was “inclined” to vote against the $87 billion request for Afghanistan and Iraq. But he was pushing too hard and his responses became long-winded harangues, leaving George S. and George Will sputtering to interrupt: “Senator…..Senator…..Sir?” Sensing that time was running short, Will said “Senator” at least four times to cut off a response that obviously turned into a successful filibuster against a follow-up. But when it was all done, I couldn’t remember a single thing Kerry had said – it had been all bluster and no substance. Maybe once you hear the same talking points over and over, you tune out. But the tone…oh I remember the tone. The message below the surface was: “Howard Dean is killing me with his anti-war rhetoric. I need to distance myself from my Iraq resolution vote as much as possible.” And that’s when it hit me: it’s all slipping away from Kerry. The man who wanted to be president since he was 19 is watching all his aspirations battered, bullied and buried by Clark on the right and Dean on the left. He’s gasping for attention, but nobody can understand what he’s saying. So for all my dislike of Kerry, that strange feeling I felt was pity. He’s going to lose New Hampshire, then Iowa, then South Carolina. All the buzz will be on Dean and Kerry will be an “also-ran.” He’ll try to ratchet up the attacks a little more – maybe call Bush a “traitor” or something – but in a couple of months nobody will be paying attention. Poor John Kerry. Mark Steyn on California and the Democrats At Thursday's Democratic Presidential debate, Jeff Greenfield asked the candidates why it was that only 34 percent of Americans identified themselves as Democrats -- the lowest number since before the New Deal. ''You're looking at the glass as half-empty, I look at it as half-full,'' said former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, demonstrating the command of basic math that has made the federal budget what it is. The Democratic glass isn't half-empty, it's two-thirds empty.Gephardt was using the same arithmetic that said the California race was "tightening." Grocery clerks go on strike over increased medical insurance costs. Insignificant Thoughts is there. Viking Pundit had no idea there was a union for supermarket clerks. Sunday, October 12, 2003
What the heck, I'll bite: Jay Solo points us toward a new feature: Carnival of the Capitalists. Just like its more famous sibling, but with more focus on business and economic topics. Looks like there's some good stuff there, so check out the first installment at Business Pundit. Save Terry McAuliffe! A couple days ago I said: “And that’s why I always say that DNC chair Terry McAuliffe is the greatest friend of the GOP.” Yesterday, Dave at the Hedgehog Report notes: “Terry McAuliffe might have been the best thing to ever happened to the Republican Party” as he copies almost the whole article from the American Prowler (American Prospect online). But he cut off one of the best paragraphs near the bottom: McAuliffe has defended his brand of optimistic spin as a necessity in times when the party is down in the dumps with no clear successes in sight. That said, his recent performances aren't helping in the fundraising front. The Democrats trail Republicans badly in almost all categories of fundraising. Things are so bad, the national party isn't in a position to help its state parties.If I recall, the whole reason McAuliffe rose to his current position is that he was sold as a Clintonite who had the magic touch raising money. Now it’s becoming clear that the DNC can’t raise cash and can’t win elections. Which is why I say: Save Terry McAuliffe! PETA asshats - Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy is clinging to life and the nutcases at PETA send him a "Get Well Card" that essentially says it's all his own fault for caging tigers. Just for that I'm going to swerve into a squirrel the next time I see one on the road. Saturday, October 11, 2003
Closer....maybe From Fox News: TIKRIT, Iraq — U.S. soldiers stormed three houses near Saddam Hussein's hometown on Saturday and detained four suspects, two believed linked to the ousted leader's special security force, the U.S. military said. Friday, October 10, 2003
New Smarter Harper's - long before this blog was collecting accolades, my first "blog" (?) was a monthly correction of Harper's magazine's semi-famous Index. I still do it, mostly out of inertia, so check out this month's edition. Then come back here. Instant Karma's gonna get you From the Las Vegas Sun: Child molester beaten by past victim TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A convicted child molester was beaten unconscious by one of his past victims while they shared a jail holding cell, authorities said.And now for the Quote of the Day: "It's such a fluke that these two ended up in the same place at the same time," said the former victim's mother, Judy Coronett. "But think about how (my son) feels. He was finally able to confront Kinder and fight back after 11 years. I think it's damn therapeutic."Damn straight! One Democratic Debate, Nine Losers That’s how Byron York describes the Arizona cage match last night. I only caught a couple of tidbits flipping back and forth from the baseball game, but I did see the moment when a small business owner said she was being squeezed by taxes. Dick Gephardt tried to answer this woman’s question by saying that if she would only support his health care proposal (and the higher taxes to pay for it), the health-care expenses for her employees would drop. The problem was, almost anybody watching could guess that Bobby C's Lounge and Grille, like many small businesses, probably didn't have a full-scale employee health-care plan. Even John Kerry could figure that one out.But wait a second, Byron: I think you let Kerry off the hook. How do we know that Kerry, who has advocated repealing the Bush tax cuts for the “rich”, wouldn’t hike this woman’s taxes? We have no idea how much Joy Clayton makes at Bobby C’s Lounge and Grill – if she’s like many other small business owners, she may be classified as “rich” under the Kerry “plan” (which he’s never really fleshed out beyond the standard class warfare rhetoric). Besides, to paraphrase an old joke: how can you tell a Democrat is lying? When he’s telling you he won’t raise your taxes. Hoy on Krugman: “oops, there I go being a big-meanie” and here's Donald Luskin, echoing my sentiments on those silly right-wing insults: "If those are the three least civil things the presumed spokespeople for the right had said lately (and trust me, if there had been worse, Krugman would have published it), then the right deserves the Miss Congeniality award." Robert Samuelson: the anti-Krugman What makes Samuelson such a credible pundit on economic matters? Why does he succeed while Krugman fails so miserably? Answer: numbers, numbers, numbers. Today Samuelson takes on some myths about budget deficits: Indeed, rising deficits are sometimes helpful. They are now. It is possible to dislike parts of President Bush's tax cuts -- and to see the White House's budget rhetoric as hypocritical -- but it is not possible to think that on balance these policies have hurt the economy. From fiscal 2000 to 2003, the budget has moved from a surplus of 2.4 percent of GDP to a deficit of 3.7 percent of GDP; the shift is worth about $650 billion annually. Tax cuts didn't cause all of this swing. Still, the massive stimulus helped offset the depressing effects of the stock market, Internet and telecom bubbles. Higher deficits didn't raise interest rates. In 2000, rates on 30-year mortgages averaged 7.5 percent; this year, they've been under 6 percent.Years! Percentages! Figures! A thesis, evidence, and a conclusion – so refreshing. Charles Krauthammer on “WMD in a Haystack”: “Hussein was simply making his WMD program more efficient and concealable. His intent and capacity were unchanged.” Sounds like a Clint Eastwood movie: “The Uncorrupt” The Economist lists a survey of countries and their rankings of business honesty. Finland is the cleanest, but you’d better bring your kickback cash to Bangladesh. Krugman phones it in My long-standing complaint about Paul Krugman is that he doesn’t feel that he should deign to present evidence and thoroughly explain his opinions. Instead, he makes a large sweeping motion with his arm and declares: “Isn’t it obvious?” Here’s the opening of his column today: It's the season of the angry liberal. Books like Al Franken's "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them," Joe Conason's "Big Lies" and Molly Ivins's "Bushwhacked" have become best sellers. (Yes, I've got one out there, too.)Nice plug. Subtle! But conservatives are distressed because those liberals are so angry and rude. O.K., they admit, they themselves were a bit rude during the Clinton years — that seven-year, $70 million investigation of a tiny money-losing land deal, all that fuss about the president's private life — but they're sorry, and now it's time for everyone to be civil.Who are these conservatives? Can you name just one who has cried “Uncle?” This is the premise for the whole article and it’s a chimera. Skipping this minor point, Krugman lists all those mean conservatives (which I’ll summarize): 1.) Christine Amanpour criticized Fox News – Fox News criticized her back. 2.) Charles Krauthammer said that Al Gore “could use a little help.” 3.) A Bush advisor said John Kerry “looks French” That’s it. Have you ever in your life seen such thin and thin-skinned whining? President Bush is regularly lampooned as a dullard, a “shrub,” an illegitimate leader, a boy warrior and a traitor. But somebody called Kerry “French” – sacre bleu! And if you’ve ever read a Krugman article, you can really dispense with the remainder of today’s column which is his usual baseless litany of inchoate brickbats; their purpose is never to illuminate or convince, but to carp and kvetch. It’s déjà vu all over again. (Yawn). The line between movies and reality blurs From the NY Post Page Six today: October 10, 2003 -- THE political career of Arnold Schwarzengger was predicted in a 1993 movie, "Demolition Man," in which Sylvester Stallone plays an ex-cop put in a 36-year deep freeze for manslaughter. Touring Los Angeles of the future with a cop played by Sandra Bullock, Sly says: "Hold it! The Schwarzenegger Library?" Sandra: "Yes, the Schwarzenegger Presidential Library. Wasn't he an actor?" Sly: "Stop! He was the president?" Sandra: "Yes. Even though he was not born in this country, his popularity at the time caused the 61st Amendment." The audience laughed in 1993, but no one's laughing now.Heh. Thursday, October 09, 2003
The Viking Pundit lives and blogs in Western Massachusetts. News item: “Massachusetts named smartest state.” Coincidence? I think not. Jobless claims are down The stock market is up The deficit is…still huge. But not as big as previously estimated. Retail sales are way up Meanwhile, somewhere in New York, Paul Krugman is trying to track down the copy boy so he can re-write tomorrow’s column. There’s no shame in watching Survivor Damian Penny is correct: the hapless Morgan tribe will finally win a challenge and “plunder” a member of the Drake team. And it’ll probably be somebody strong like Rupert. How funny would it be, however, if they chose Sandra, who took the Morgan team’s only shelter (their tarp), destroying their camp in the process? Then they could vote her off when (not if…when) they lose immunity. “Schwarzenegger won in a landslide. The Times lost in a mudslide.” Also from the Los Angeles Times letters page: I am an independent voter, and I watched with stunned awe as The Times participated in nothing more than pure partisan politics during the last few days of the recall campaign. The Times, in what was a clear attempt to bolster the Democratic candidates, ran 30-year-old salacious stories regarding Schwarzenegger. They were publicized only because it was clear that Davis was going to be recalled.That is one pissed-off Californian. Because after 40 days, it really stinks? Make up your own punchline to this riddle in this WashPost article: Kerry, for example, is advised by two pollsters, two media and advertising experts, and two speechwriting consultants. He also has two inner circles: one composed of hired hands in Washington; the other of old friends, family members and longtime loyalists in Boston.The Poliblogger adds some thoughts to the story. Fun fact for today: A Google News search on "Red Sox" + "Cubs" + "Apocalypse" returns 27 hits. I expect that hit number to increase dramatically if they both win their next games. The media ignored the real WMD news That’s the title of this must-read article by Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe: But Kay's report was only one summary of WMD findings in Iraq to be released last week. At about the same time that Kay was on Capitol Hill, an international organization called the Iraq Survey Group, or ISG, was disclosing what its highly regarded scientists -- many of them former UN inspectors -- had discovered about Saddam's weapons programs. Far from undermining the administration's rationale for war, many of the ISG's findings strengthened it -- decisively.Still the press hears what it wants to hear and disregards the rest (do do doooo). A lesson that will go unheeded Hugh Hewitt counterspins the Dems on California: WITHIN MINUTES of the release of exit polls from California last night, Democrats had wheeled as one and began the hopeless attempt to spin the disastrous verdict. Senator Dianne Feinstein led the charge, but the refrain echoed throughout the party: This was a verdict on Davis's handling of the budget, a handling very similar to the fiscal mismanagement on the national level.And that’s why I always say that DNC chair Terry McAuliffe is the greatest friend of the GOP. All he offers is smear, anger, and venom. For example: check out the DNC’s blog (with the classy name “Kicking Ass”.) No solutions, no hope, no proposals – all Bush bashing all the time including petty swipes at the new Bush blog. Extra: Robert Musil on blame-shifting in CA. The pundits and the people The Wall Street Journal is applauding the California recall – George Will is not. But the letters to the editor at the New York Times and the Washington Post are overwhelmingly celebrating the election of Governor Schwarzenegger. My conclusion: Bill Simon must have run the most monumentally inept campaign in gubernatorial history to lose to the super-unpopular Gray Davis in the last election. Wednesday, October 08, 2003
Inside the Kerry camp "Look, guys, I'm desperate here. If I don't find some issue that resonates with New Hampshire voters, Dean is going to kick my ass. Then it's going to be an uphill battle in every other primary state." "Well, we can't argue on the issues, because you can't make up your mind. How about if we appeal to New England pride by painting Howard Dean as a New York Yankee fan?" "I like it! Send out a press report. Mention something about clam chowder." "Will do, JK!" "How many times do I have to tell you: it's "JFK", putz." California Recall wrap-up Well, my prediction of 57% for recall was very close (looks like around 55% now) but I way underestimated the depth and width and girth and height and density of disaffection for Gray Davis and his L.T. Bustamante, who were thoroughly whacked at the polls. My advice for Arnold: act swiftly and decisively, even to the point of recklessness. Slash spending at every turn. Put state workers on a four-day workweek. Raise tuition at UCLA. California's bonds are in junk status and there's not a chance of squeezing another tax onto Golden State citizens. At the risk of appearing like a Terminator-style villian: do the right thing for California. Wednesdays are for W I've been away all day, so I haven't had much to add to the Arnold landslide. However, it is "Wictory Wednesday" so it's time to nudge y'all to support President Bush in any way you can. And here are my fellow bloggers who have joined up: Boots and Sabers Bowling for Howard Dean BushBlog.us (unofficial blog) Bush-Cheney 2004 (unofficial blog) Egged ExPostFacto Freedom of Thought The Hedgehog Report The Irish Lass Jarhead Jeremy Kissel Left Coast Conservative Mark Kilmer Matt Margolis The Ole Miss Conservative PoliPundit A Rice Grad Ryne McClaren Slublog Southern Conservatives Stephen Blythe Viking Pundit The Wise Man Says Arnold Wins! Last update tonight – with 25% reporting – Gray Davis recalled 56%-44%, Arnold crushes Cruz 51%-30%. Good night! Tuesday, October 07, 2003
At near-midnight (9 PST) and 14% reporting, it's 56%-44% for recall. Arnold leads Cruz, 52%-30%. Holy cow, did I really say it would be close? I should turn in my pundit badge. Can’t possibly be true: a rumor that Paul Krugman will win the Nobel Prize for Economics? Does. Not. Compute. (Bzzzzzz!!!!) I'm watching ABC News because it's the only network that comes in well on my little TV while I'm on the computer. The ABC correspondants (Jennings, George Steph, etc.) can barely conceal their contempt. As of 11:23 EST (8:23 PST), the recall is 52%-48% with Arnold at 50% and Cruz at 32% - 4.1% reporting. CA Secretary of State web site. From the poorly-named MoveOn web page: "Voting is underway and the recall election looks too close to call." Oh, the hangover tomorrow.... Drudge Siren alert: EARLY AFTERNOON EXIT POLLS SHOW 57% VOTE 'YES' FOR RECALL, CAMPAIGN SOURCES TELL DRUDGE REPORT, 47% FOR SCHWARZENEGGER, 34% FOR BUSTAMANTE, 12% MCCLINTOCK If true, these number almost exactly match the last Survey USA poll - check Real Clear Politics for the link and all the polls. First, the Red Sox win. Then Gray Davis gets booted. What next? US troops seal off Baghdad neighborhood, reportedly search for Saddam Please oh please oh please. CAIR: Friend or foe? What is the deal with the Center for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)? I’d like to believe they’re a group that can help bridge the cultural divide between Islam and the West. This seemed to be Mark Shields view this past Saturday when he presented his “Outrage of the Week” on “The Capital Gang”: SHIELDS: And now for the "outrage of the week." The Council on American Islamic Relations took out a full page ad in "The New York Times" to condemn the attacks of September 11. And on that date since, has sponsored an interfaith day of National Unity in Washington.Fair enough. But is CAIR above suspicion? Senator John Kyl argues otherwise (via Little Green Footballs): In response to our Senate inquiry, groups such as the Saudi-backed Center for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) (whose terror-related activities are being scrutinized by my subcommittee as well as the federal government) have been quick to accuse investigators of Muslim bias. Yet three of CAIR's top leaders were arrested this year on terror-related charges. CAIR declined an invitation to appear before my subcommittee to answer questions.Here’s where I’m confused: if CAIR is truly an organization with nothing to hide, it has everything to gain and nothing to lose by appearing before the Senate committee. The current leaders could deny or disavow the allegations against previous CAIR directors and state unequivocally that they stand against all forms of terrorism. Instead, well, even Mark Shields can draw his own conclusions. Hei Lun at Duck Season sez: 52% for recall, 44%-32% Arnold-Cruz Phew - that seems like a really wide margin. We'll see. John Kerry flogs the myth of Florida Here’s a statement from Senator Splunge’s web site about the California recall: Dear Friend,Even Joe Lieberman (or at least his web page) resisted the urge to compare the legal vote in California to the Florida mess (the one that Bush won). And who are “them”? If the polls are correct, “them” are going to vote Gray Davis out of office today. I guess when your campaign if floundering it’s time to go for the “us vs. them” tactic. It worked for Gore in 2000 and Davis in 2003; it’s sure to be a winner for Kerry and the Dems in 2004. An excellent prediction.... ....because it’s so close to mine! From Steve Hayward on the Corner: So I'll go out on a limb an predict recall gets 57%, Arnold 44%; Cruz 36%; McClintock 14%, with the rest going to the other 130 nut jobs. Tim Blair on John Kerry’s tired old joke – it involves the word “ass” which has become a sophisticated word for Dems. For hardcore recall wonks: Priorities and Frivolities promises – and I quote – “nonstop recall blogging” and here’s the California Secretary of State website with updated results. The California Stakes Here’s Opinion Journal on Gray Davis’ failure of leadership: Mr. Davis, we should acknowledge, did not start out on this same left-wing course. For a couple of years he rode the dot-com boom and governed from the middle, as these columns noted with approval. But then the energy crisis hit, and rather than tell voters the truth he embraced his party's anti-business base to survive. The result has been spending that has climbed 40% in four years, a $38 billion budget deficit, and business and energy costs that have caused tens of thousands to flee the state.The negative population growth in California is a devastating statistic for Davis. Businesses and people don’t leave when everything’s fine. California recall prediction Well, the day has come, and it’s the duty of every good blogger to put their reputation on the line and predict the vote today. I’ll try to be brief: First of all, the recall passes easily, and I’ll stick with the prediction of Real Clear Politics of 57% - 43% for a healthy 14% margin. My feeling is that Gray Davis is so unpopular that the “no” votes will be cast out of some sense of responsibility and not because Californians actually want to keep him in office. Plus, I’m imaging there’s a percentage of Hispanics voting “yes” on recall and “yes” on Bustamante to get a Hispanic into the governor’s mansion. Of this I’m sure: Gray Davis is toast. On the replacement ballot, I believe Schwarzenegger will win, but the vote will be much closer. Bottom line: negative attacks – much as they are bemoaned – always work. Arnold will benefit from the “Ventura effect” and pull in a lot of young voters and I’m predicting that McClintock’s support will fade as Republican voters come home to their best chance to replace the Davis-Bustamante evil alliance. But Bustamante will also benefit from the same “come home” effect in this largely Democratic state. However, in the end, it won’t be enough and Arnold will pull out a slim, but clear, win: 44% – 40% – 12% – 4% (Schwarzenegger – Bustamante – McClintock – others). The tight win will be enhanced by the fact that Arnold will still receive more votes than Davis. Bring on the Yankees Sox beat A's in squeaker, 4-3, will play for AL championship Catcher Jason Varitek signaled "number one" as the Red Sox rejoiced in their come-from-behind series victory last night. They won the game 4-3 and will play the New York Yankees in the American League Championship series. Monday, October 06, 2003
Two surprising revelations about the Nobel Peace Prize committee According to director Geir Lundestad: 1.) They’ve already ruled out Michael Jackson 2.) The committee has a “a left-of-center outlook on world affairs” The Hedgehog Report has a lot of recent polls including 1.) Arnold up in California 2.) Bobby Jindal favored in Louisiana and 3.) an Alabama poll showing Clark ahead of the Dem pack. On the Alabama poll, Kerry isn’t mentioned at all. An oversight, or is he really trailing so far behind Sharpton to bear mention? Hmmmm.... Even more on the L.A. Times: here's Hugh Hewitt in the Weekly Standard and Susanna Cornett in Cut on the Bias. Mark Steyn on California More precisely, he excoriates the L.A. Times: On Thursday, the Los Angeles Times ran an exhaustive account of Arnold Schwarzenegger's wandering hands over the last 30 years, as told by six women, four of whom preferred to remain anonymous. One of the remaining two is a British TV ''personality.'' That leaves precisely one named U.S. citizen, who claims Arnold touched her left breast. In 1975. Not a lot to show for months of opposition research.It's a seventies-flashback morning! The ongoing humor of the New York Times Corrections page From today's edition: An article in The Times Magazine on Sept. 22, 1974, about the movie actor Charles Bronson, who died on Aug. 30 this year, misstated his military record. Publicity material asserting that Mr. Bronson had been a B-29 gunner in World War II, called into doubt by the article, was indeed correct. (The magazine error came to light after it was repeated in an obituary on Sept. 2 and in some late editions on Sept. 1. The more recent error was corrected in this space on Sept. 18.)Better late than never, I guess. Also, in case you missed it, check out this classic from the weekend. Kerry Vote Watch A slow week in the Senate with only nine floor votes taken over four days. Kerry managed to make it back to Washington on Thursday to vote on what must surely be known as the “Shame the Senators Back to Work” motion. The motion was “to commend the Armed Forces of the United States in the War on Terrorism” and it passed 98-1-1 with only Fritz Hollings voting “Nay” while Bob Graham did not vote. Senator AWOL made a couple more votes before bailing out in the afternoon. Days worked: 1 Votes missed: 5 Sunday, October 05, 2003
What curse? Boston ties up series with the A's Boston's David Ortiz connects for a double that drove in two runs in the eighth inning Sunday. It was Ortiz's first hit of the series. From the WashPost: BOSTON, Oct. 5 -- Four outs. Four measly outs separated the Boston Red Sox from another long winter of sad conversations about what might have been.0 and 16! He was due! The Red Sox, who pulled off the 5-4 victory in Game 4 this afternoon in front of a capacity crowd of 35,048 at Fenway Park, will try to duplicate their feat of four years ago when they came back to knock off Cleveland in the American League Division Series after losing the first two games.Me too - go Sox! [BTW - a big thumbs down for the Boston Globe who did not update their web page after the Red Sox win this afternoon. Lame.] Our Savior! Via One Hand Clapping: Jesus Christ keeps BoSox alive I, for one, was elated to see an athlete profess his faith so sincerely. Saturday, October 04, 2003
It just feels that way to California taxpayers From the NYT Corrections page: An article last Sunday about a trend among the states to reduce prison sentences and give judges wider discretion, even as the Bush administration does the opposite for federal crimes, misstated the size of the California budget. It is $71.1 billion, not a trillion dollars. "Yeah, I endorse Kenny....whatever" From the NY Times: EVERY presidential candidate craves endorsements as if each one confers a certain je ne sais quoi to the campaign. At least in the eyes of the endorsed."Now where's my cheese plate? I was promised a cheese plate." Sometimes the last paragraph is the best From a WashPost article about Arnold: But the actor's supporters carried signs that suggested people cancel their subscriptions to the Los Angeles Times. Another placard read: "Gray Davis groped me . . . while reaching for my wallet."Heh. Homicide Bomber Kills 19 at Restaurant in Israel A female attorney no less. Three children dead. Arafat said something. Round and round we go. Friday, October 03, 2003
Here's my five-beer Blogcritics review of "Welcome Interstate Managers" by Fountains of Wayne. Short version: It's awesome - go buy it now. The least-effective smear campaign ever Political Wire links to a snap-poll showing that Schwarzenegger “appears to lose few if any votes over the charges." and Mickey Kaus notes: “Overnight polls show Arnold Schwarzenegger even gaining one or two percentage points since the LAT's grope allegations.” As Carole King once noted: “It’s too late baby, it’s too late.” Least suprising headline today: Saudis ban magazine And it's not Playboy.... Cover of the October 2003 edition of National Geographic featuring an in-depth look at the people of Saudi Arabia. The government of Saudi Arabia apparently doesn't like being the cover feature on National Geographic magazine. Editors of National Geographic said they had been informed by their Middle East distributor that the October issue was banned by the Saudi government. No reason was given for the ban, but that issue carries a lengthy story on the kingdom. Lindsey Graham finds his voice The Southern Conservatives and Zonitics (and probably others – I can’t check all the blogs!) have linked to this excellent blow-by-blow account of the wrangling in the Senate Judiciary over Judge Charles Pickering’s nomination. It seems that everybody was on rhetoric autopilot until Graham let loose – check it out. Stocks Jump After Strong Jobs Report – Democrats saddened NEW YORK — Stocks rose sharply Friday after a report bolstered Wall Street's confidence in the economic recovery by showing that U.S. employers added new jobs in September for the first time in eight months. For the record, I added the last part to that headline. Lieberman soils himself for a laugh "After reading the paper this morning about the pill-popping and skirt-chasing and Hitler-praising, it would be very tempting to point out Republican hypocrisy on values," Lieberman said. "But would that be the right thing to do?" He paused, then added amid laughter: "Absolutely."There goes my last ounce of respect for Joe Lieberman. Was this the Iraqi version of “Heisenberg’s War”? A couple of years back, author Thomas Powers wrote a book called “Heisenberg’s War” where he submitted that German physicist Werner Heisenberg actively hindered the German atom bomb program he was working on at the time. Is it possible, as some have proposed, that Iraqi scientists told Saddam Hussein that the WMD program was going well when in fact there was no active program? As a minimum, it would explain 1.) why there are no large stockpiles of WMDs found (yet) and 2.) why Hussein acted as if there were. Boston Globe: “Kay also speculated that Iraqi scientists may have lied to Hussein, pretending such weapons were being produced, legislators said.”Something to think about….. Charles Krauthammer on “Our Instant Experts”: “On the reconstruction of Iraq, everybody is a genius. Every pundit, every ex-official and, of course, every Democrat knows exactly how it should have been done. Everybody would have had Iraq up and running by now and as safe as downtown Singapore.” Real Clear Politics has the latest composite poll and analysis of the California recall race: “Californians should get ready for Governor Schwarzenegger.” It’s only hate speech if you’re not white The California president of the NAACP – an organization that purports to be opposed to racism – gave a baldly racist speech on Tuesday (see article) which them prompted this response by the head of the Simon Wiesenthal Center: "In the almost twenty years that I've known (Schwarzenegger), he hasn't shown the slightest hint of being racist against Jews or against African Americans or against any group," Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said Thursday in an interview with The Chronicle. "Look, if there are things people find fault with and they don't want to vote for him because of this issue or that issue, that is fair. . . . But it is unfair to try to attach him to his father."What’s fairness have to do with it? For the past week, ever since Arnold surge in the polls, I’ve been thinking that he should get bodyguards. With the kind of rhetoric that’s being whipped up by the CA Dems, who knows what might happen? Being liberal means never having to say you’re sorry Here’s the postscript on Paul Krugman’s column today: Correction: Many people, including Paul Bremer in recent testimony and myself in my Sept. 30 column, have linked Churchill's remark about the "most unsordid act" to the Marshall Plan. In fact, Churchill was referring to an earlier program, Lend-Lease. But one suspects that he wouldn't have minded the confusion.Yes, one suspects that Krugman’s a twit, also. Thursday, October 02, 2003
So it's come to this ABC is reporting and Drudge is screaming that back in 1975, Arnold Schwarzenegger made some complimentary remarks about Hitler. But, hey, what's this very last line in Drudge's update? The author of the book proposal told ABCNEWS that the quotes needed to be seen in context of Schwarzenegger's admiration of powerful men.So this is the bottom, the last card, the Godwin's Law of California politics: the Hitler connection. And of course, the obvious racial profiling (the Aryan physique, the Austian accent) doesn't matter because Arnold is white and Republican. I very seriously doubt that the people of California are going to judge a man by statements and actions from the Ford Administration. Whatever his past faults, nobody can deny that Schwarzenegger is a self-made man who has worked to help people and sincerly wants to save California. The worst damage these last-gasp attacks will make is to surpress the conservative vote slightly, meaning that Arnold wins by only 4 points instead of 6. The Real Clear Politics analysis stands: Schwarzenegger is (still) highly likely to be the next governor of California. Update: Poliblog echoes my sentiment, noting that this will only affect Arnold's margin of victory. War on terrorism update From ABC News: Pakistani army in Al-Qaeda sweep ANGORE ADDA, Pakistan Oct. 2 — Pakistani soldiers swooped down on an al-Qaida mountain hideout in the country's foreboding tribal region Thursday, killing 12 suspected terrorists and capturing 18 others in the military's largest-ever offensive against Osama bin Laden's network.It's a start. Press on. Survivor update A topic to consider: Morgan - the worst tribe ever? It's a fair question. Reward challenge: Osten's boat (Morgan) starts taking on water. His keen strategy is to retreat to a part of the ocean where the water won't flow in so fast. Immunity challenge: Drake's "Troubled Teen Counselor" Rupert is the greatest. He was a rock. I hope he wins the million. How many words in the following sentence would baffle Shakespeare?: "The bidding on EBay is over $200 for this monster-sized Dorito from Texas." (Via Fark - EBay link if you want to bid) Around the blogs John Hawkins brings the hammer down on John Kerry’s idea of patriotism (hint: it involves higher taxes). John Cole sees the media progression of the Plame Affair. Political Wire says: Bustamante likely to drop out of CA governor's race (!!!) and Rantburg notes that "Sex-in-Cathedral Suspect Drops Dead" - The 38-year-old man alleged to have had sex in a public area of New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral has died of a heart attack while awaiting trial. Enjoy these fine blogs. Democrats in Denial That’s the title of this surprisingly tart Washington Post editorial about the Democrats aversion to realistic solutions to the looming Social Security problem: “But to judge by the Democratic presidential candidates, fiscal discipline has its limits: It stops at the edge of tackling the real dangers to the country's solvency, Social Security and Medicare.” This editorial dovetails nicely with an essay from the Cato Institute titled: “Democrats should be asked about Social Security”. An excerpt: And what do the presidential candidates think should be done to fix this problem? George Bush has made his position clear: He would allow younger workers to invest a portion of their payroll taxes privately through individual accounts. White House sources have spent the last several weeks telling reporters that support for Social Security changes will be a central domestic plank in Bush's reelection bid. Whether you support his proposal or not, at least you know where he stands.They favor “mend it don’t end it” and kicking the can down the road. As I’ve said before, I’ve given up on Social Security (I’m 35). As long as the government keeps their grubby hands off my 401(k) everything will be cool baby. But if some hard-strapped federal takes a sidelong glance at the money that I’ve saved up for my retirement, it’s going to be Superfly TNT Guns of Navarone time. Don't like Kerry A liberal acquaintance of mine (oh, he’ll claim he’s a “libertarian” but we know the truth) asked me why I dislike John Kerry so much. Part of the reason is that Kerry (and Kennedy) view Western Massachusetts as an abstract notion – someplace to visit once every six years when an election approaches. Another aspect that bugs the hell out of me is Kerry’s complete inability to take a stand on an issue (thus, the references to “Senator Splunge.”) And finally there’s the reason elaborated in this article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution by another decorated Vietnam veteran: “Two honored Vietnam vets now dishonor their nation.” Happily, I don’t think Kerry has a chance in 2004. He’s going to lose New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina; by then, he’ll be damaged goods and out of contention. Even Kos says he’s “on the bubble” and should maybe think about dropping out for the good of the Democrats. A revolution in progress Jeff Jacoby has a must-read column today in the Boston Globe titled: “Freeing Mideast is worth the cost” "Anyone who knew Iraq before liberation and who visits the country now is immediately struck by the impact that the feeling of freedom has had on almost everyone," writes journalist Amir Taheri, who has been covering Arab and Muslim affairs for more than 30 years. "A society where people hardly spoke to one another, let alone to strangers, is bustling with talk, debates, disputes, and demonstrations for every cause under the sun. Thousands of banned books are on sale in the streets, and over 200 newspapers and magazines have started publication. People are no longer afraid to turn on their radios and TVs as loud as they wish; there is no Mukhabarat" Saddam's secret police -- "to eavesdrop."Check it out. Wednesday, October 01, 2003
All Plame all the time The Washington Post has a snap poll on the Plame affair and a solid majority say it's a serious matter (including 72% of Republicans). The lefty bloggers are in a frenzy over the poll (see!?! see!?!) but let's not kid ourselves. The only reason the Schumers and Calpundits care about the whole scandal is because they want to see the end of the Bush presidency. If they read on into the WashPost article, they're going to be sorely disappointed: Still, a plurality of respondents -- 47 percent -- said it appeared the White House was cooperating with the investigation, as Bush has ordered.Two weeks from now, the only thing Americans will be talking about is the Cubs-Red Sox series. Senator AWOL faces simmering criticism at home From the Lowell Sun (Massachusetts): “Kerry’s Run Keeps Him Away from the Senate” WASHINGTON Sen. John Kerry has missed 61 percent of the 370 roll-call votes in the Senate this session, seemingly putting his full-time job on hold as he crisscrosses the nation campaigning for president.For the record, Kerry's 61% missed vote record does not include votes missed when he was recovering from prostate cancer. Wednesdays are for W Yes, yes, it’s “W”ictory Wednesday again, time to remind readers to visit the Bush/Cheney re-election web page, and/or volunteer and/or donate. Every week there’s another Democratic candidate debate, dutifully covered by the press, that provides an open forum for criticizing President Bush. Rest assured, the candidates don’t have any ideas or answers of their own. (Whatever Bush did, they wouldn’t do that, unless they voted for it, then they would do it, but differently – got that?) But the drumbeat continues on and on, unchallenged, while our President focuses on his job. And that’s why we need to support President Bush now: so that when it’s his turn to state his case (our case), it will be clear and strong. Contact PoliPundit if you’d like to join our growing “W”ictory blogroll: Backcountry Conservative Boots and Sabers Bowling for Howard Dean BushBlog.us (unofficial blog) Bush-Cheney 2004 (unofficial blog) ExPostFacto The Hedgehog Report Jeremy Kissel Left Coast Conservative Mark Kilmer Matt Margolis PoliPundit A Rice Grad Ryne McClaren Southern Conservatives Stephen Blythe Viking Pundit The Wise Man Says "I met Orlando when I was tutoring kids in math at Mandela School..." Joanne Jacobs links to a National Review article on how to write a good diversity essay. Since the Supreme Court ruled that the University of Michigan’s point system was unconstitutional, colleges have sought out other ways to reach a “critical mass” of minority students – thus the “diversity essay.” I’ve been wondering how long it will take until a white student is ejected from a school because he wrote a misleading “black” essay on his admissions application. It’s only a matter of time. Damian Penny gets the lowdown on loony limey Alex Kingston of ER fame (via Tim Blair). The irony of a television star blathering on about the crushing of dissent in America is lost on her. Terry McAuliffe’s shifting job description Here he is in February 2001: “We have to win elections. As your party chair, that's my mission - winning elections.” And here he is on Meet the Press, Sept. 7th, 2003: “My job is the chief cheerleader of the party. We’re going to win everything. That’s my job. My other job is also to raise an awful lot of money.” He probably doesn’t have a future as a prognosticator: MR. RUSSERT: Terry McAuliffe predictions from 2002 on MEET THE PRESS: “I think we’re going to win the House back.” The Democrats last six seats. “We’re going to net seats in the Senate.” The Democrats lost two seats.And this in November 2002: Tim Russert: Now, you said in The New York Times last week, "Jeb Bush is gone." You want to take those words back?And now this: "I support the lieutenant governor out here, he is going to win on question two. It's going to be a great day for us. We win on question one -- no takes the vote -- and Cruz will get the most votes on question two," he said.There you go: the McAuliffe kiss of death. Panic sets in: Election Strategy Challenges Democratic Party Unity in CA "I want every single Democrat in the state, when you go to vote next week, you go vote no on recall. I don't want to hear one single Democrat voting yes on recall," McAuliffe said.Let’s see…there’s denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. I think they’re in Stage 3 right now. Robert Novak comes out swinging From Townhall: “The CIA Leak” To protect my own integrity and credibility, I would like to stress three points. First, I did not receive a planned leak. Second, the CIA never warned me that the disclosure of Wilson's wife working at the agency would endanger her or anybody else. Third, it was not much of a secret.I still think Novak should have kept the name secret but any reasonable person (i.e. non-Democrats) could see that this was more an inadvertent slip than a planned leak. |
