Ladies, ladies ... relax

MoveOn.org and the Comely Camel Campaign are jumping ugly because W and the Pubs have accused them of coordinating the use of soft money. It seems from a substantive viewpoint, that Kerry's ads are running fewer in those states where the soft money is running more heavily.

This is probably more of a warning than an actual accusation. We recall how Bubba abused the FEC rules in the 1992 and 1996 campaigns, but the investigation closed well after the polls.

That ain't gonna happen this time, ladies.

blogger spellcheck update ... "Kerry's" comes back "Kerouac," as in Jack Kerouac, who spoke only an obscure French dialect until age 6 and once said, You'd be surprised how little I knew even up to yesterday. Isn't the world an amazingly small place?

If you give a liberal a cookie

In what can only be described as the dumbest business model ever, Air America has told a Chapel Hill radio station to go pound sand.

Air America, the would-be liberal voice riding the radiowave, has set itself up for a lonely existence. A Chapel Hill radio station wanted to air just two of the liberal offerings - the round headed guy who always seems to have spittle at the corners of his mouth (with the hair of a grade-school kid and glasses to fry ants; his demeanor is so self-righteous I dislike hearing him - but to mute the TV and look at him is great fun), and Janeane (who was funny when she wrote jokes, but became unfunny when she tried to incorporate her "thoughts and feelings").

"Well, no can do, you!! At Air America, you either take everything we have or get nothing!! And the programming runs from 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM!! We want small failing stations that could not survive without us. We will transform those stations into beacons of knowledge and ... and ... "

Wow. Make me yammy (as my daughter, Jourdaine, used to say).

A business runs by having a variety of products. They push every one of them into the marketplace. If one is not received well - off with its head!! The products that are received well get more investment. You refine your offerings over time, you replicate, imitate, break new ground. Whatever it takes to be commercially successful within the ethical bounds of your industry.

You do not accomplish social engineering at the same time. You do not require a customer to purchase every product you have - 17 hours of air time - when they only want 6 hours. Wouldn't that result, specifically in the case of WCHL 1360 AM, Chapel Hill, and generally in every instance, in the firing of most other on-air personalities??

The liberals want to save stations. But let's clean house first. Any chance they had of success just went away. How pathetic. I thought the dems wanted to add jobs?

blogger spellcheck update. first option for "janeane" is "canine." she wishes ... i had a dog once with no teeth. we did everything we could to make him feel useful and important. he was, of course, useless, and important only because we loved him. he finally died and life went on. it was sad but such a relief ...

UPDATE!! Since posting the above this morning, The Star Tribune [Minneapolis MN], specifically Deborah Caulfield Rybak, reports, "The new liberal radio network Air America made a last-minute landing in the Twin Cities Tuesday with the news that WMNN Radio (1330 AM) will carry satirist Al Franken's new show when it makes its national debut today. The 11th-hour deal will put "The O'Franken Factor" on the air from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., although the rest of Air America's programming will not be carried." You can link to it from here, but they want you to join ...

The articles from Chapel Hill and Minneapolis show contradictory policies. Not good for an upstart.

John Kerry's Mystery Theatre - Who Ya Gonna Call?

Instead of our Comely Camel Character saying or doing something worthy of a Scooby Doo team investigation, this time he is promising to reveal his VP pick by the end of May.

This, my friends, is a mistake of Biblical proportions. It is forced, as the article suggests, by a need to raise money. We discussed that yesterday. But their goal seems to be a second message floating around hammering W. Trust me, ladies, it will get real old, real quick. A second warm body raising money? Just recall the DNC/RNC difference - the money isn't there. The masses are giving their nickels elsewhere.

More importantly, I suggest it flatlines the DNC convention. No one will have any reason to watch it. It will be an organized event no different than a large fund raiser (without the net positive cash flow). People tuned in historically to find out who will be the VP pick, to hear the candidate give his or her big speech thereby setting the tone for the campaign. Now, it will be a coronation of a King and Queen about whom almost everyone has a firm, fixed opinion. In the speech, there can be no "reinvention" moment.

The campaign, generally viewed as beginning post-Labor Day, will have begun in June. This hysterically early start of a campaign against an opponent (W) who has a several-fold money advantage is just not smart warfare. Kerry should fight the battle he is fighting today. Maybe people will think W is "piling on" and should stop - maybe "defining the man with fact rather than fantasy" will backfire on W after the 15th issue ad. But changing the battle - adding his VP - gives W more time. Kerry should use tradition to his advantage. Wait until late July and add the suspense of the VP selection. Use his speech to bifurcate the past several months from the ensuing several weeks. Wait until Labor Day to begin the real campaign. It is the best way to conserve cash through maximizing free media.

Perhaps W will be known for the brilliant warfare strategies and tactics that brought Iraq down so quickly (I have read that the Israelis were deeply impressed and are teaching it in their war college - high praise indeed). Kerry may be known for the most ill-conceived and executed political warfare strategy and tactics in modern history.

More money than them

The news has been churned so very often about W raising more money than any candidate in history, and that his lead over Kerry is astonishing. Click on the "campaign cash" link to the right to get very detailed information on every race.

But I found this article of particular interest. Sharon Theimer of the Associated Press reports that, "through last month, the DNC had raised about $56 million, compared to nearly $139 million for the RNC."

I recognize that the campaign finance reform applies to political parties. But, my, the dems raised $246MM to our $250MM last cycle, and it seems as if they are going to be severely crippled this time.

Everyone is saying the 527s will make up the difference. But they seem to be very fluid (sorry for the link - you need to be a paid subscriber to get info beyond that on the screen I provide). $108MM taken in so far; $90MM spent. And the split seems roughly even between dems and pubs.

I just don't see the dems making up the huge financial disadvantage. That is not necessarily good. It means that they will need to get free press to overcome it. Free press comes from playing even more dirty than they usually do. Allegations of public scandal ...

I am not worried, just observant. Instead of leveling the playing field with their dirty politics, they may just as soon implode. Time will tell.

You gotta love this guy

I picked this quote up from lucianne.com. Just had to share it:

"I don't care what the international lawyers say, we are going to kick some ass."
-President George W. Bush shortly after 9/11 disaster

Dems and Jobs

I found this update interesting as we all listen to the dems scream about losing jobs. I got the writing through an e update from Sen. Frist. (If you want to subscribe, go here and select E-mail updates on the right side.)

"Last week we tried to pass a Manufacturing Jobs bill (the FSC/ETI bill). The Democrats are filibustering the bill (cloture vote) so I set it aside until they become reasonable. Their obstruction hurts manufacturing and jobs in America. The Europeans have been authorized to impose $4 billion in sanctions. They began imposing them on March 1. The tariffs started at 5% of the $4 billion authorized and will increase by 1%, or $40 million, a month for every month we do not act. The EU is Tennessee's second largest trading partner, accounting for 21% of all of our exports. $177 million in Tennessee exports are on the sanctions list. That amounts to 7.2% of Tennessee's exports to the E.U. and 1.5% percent of its global exports. As many as 3,450 Tennessee jobs could be affected by this filibuster. This filibuster could have an estimated economic impact of $700 million in Tennessee alone."

Ain't that amazing??

Big Brother and the Holding Company

We live a very protected life in America. When September 11 happened, we arose like a sleeping giant - as we did following December 7, 1941. We have compassion for international problems, but it is never lost on us that the problems reside somewhere else. The WTC attacks didn't change that. We simply realized that we were vulnerable. We will do our best to protect ourselves from future attacks, to solve the problem, and then meander off to sleep again. That is not a condemnation, just a recognition. We strive to help others and to be left alone. Our national mindset reflects the way many of us live our lives. We want comfort, and what better way than to rest in a hammock on a sunny and breezy day.

Israel is a brother country with a different reality. Yossi Klein Halevi writes very clearly about their situation. As a country, they can never sleep. They do not know passive security. Vigilance is the best and most destructive weapon in their mighty arsenal. Remember that old phrase? Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean that they are not watching you?

The American way is to solve problems no matter what it takes. We would have long ago brought the Palestinian issue to a head, even if it required an all-out war that freed the land for commercial farming and theme parks. We simply do not let a festering boil fester. Regardless of the cost, regardless of the international reaction.

But this is not to condemn Israel. Americans are as we are because of our strength and self-sufficiency. Israel does not have that. Israel needs other countries to survive - they need us. That dependence results in reluctant adherence to foreign views. And our political system hands out conflicting views every 4 or 8 years.

Compare what Jimmy Carter advised Israel, v. Reagan/Bush the Elder v. Bubba v. W. That poor country has gone from group hugs to support for whatever it take to survive - kill them all and let He Who Cannot be Named sort them out ... twice!

Israel will survive and so shall we. We will lumber off to sleep, and Israel will be like the kid brother speed. Awake and talking and jittery when we dozed off, and unchanged when we awake.

John Kerry's Mystery Theater: Words of a Feather Stick Together

In today's episode, our hero is gallantly trying to outrun his own words. He bobs and weaves like a master equestrian of French training racing down a wood lined path, freshly consumed champagne diluting his saliva and emerging as that rarest of all things - vintage spittle frothing at the side of his mouth. Our hero is a true aristocrat!

Today's encounter reflects all the way back to 1971 - those dastardly Senate Hearings. A more extensive write-up is available in our hero's hometown newspaper, The Boston Globe. Two issues challenge Chumly to show his riding skill.

(Long-time readers know that "Chumly" is the term of endearment accorded our hero by his well-endowed and presently loving companion, Madam Ketchup, a somewhat tart woman who spreads money as liberally (literally and figuratively) as the working class spreads condiments.)

The first challenge:

1971. If the United States did not withdraw, Kerry said, then US bombing would continue, and "the war will continue. So what I am saying is that yes, there will be some recrimination but far, far less than the 200,000 a year who are murdered by the United States of America . . . ."

2004. Meehan, asked to explain Kerry's comment, said: "During a very emotionally charged time in American history, Senator Kerry was testifying against a failed policy, which resulted in the killing of hundreds of thousands of people. That policy resulted in one of the highest civilian casualty rate in the history of war. In answering Senator [George D.] Aiken's question about the consequences of an American withdrawal and potential additional bloodbath, Senator Kerry used a word he deems inappropriate.

"Senator Kerry never suggested or believed and absolutely rejects the idea that the word applied to service of the American soldiers in Vietnam. While opposed to the failed policy, Senator Kerry insisted that Americans must never confuse the war with the warriors."

Analysis. OK, boys and girls, how'd our hero do?

The first review is on the facts. "200,000 a year" dead Vietnamese. Here's the envelope!! Well, maybe. The war went from 1954 to 1975. Casualties listed for all sides. Approximately 2,000,000 NVA civilians died (more direct cite below). Certainly some years had more intensive fighting and collateral damage than other years. But where our hero comes up short is here: the only source for NVA casualties is ... the NVA!! And here is the 1995 press release, in the original French, followed by the English translation.

Next up the direct, unambiguous statement, "one of the highest civilian casualty rate in the history of war." For this review, let's accept our hero's 200,000 civilians a year number.

World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945. Civilian casualties averaged - not peaked as is required for our 200,000 assertion at 726,000 a year - and that was just for the bad guys! The good guys averaged 2,201,000 a year!! (This number excludes the claim of 10MM dead by the Chinese and reduces it to zero, thus ignoring the war between China and Japan that started in 1937.)

Approximately 8,000,000 combatants and civilians died in WWI ...

Well, let's stop picking on the unfortunate. Just ain't Christian.

Sorry, kids, we are out of time for today!! We will save our hero's Massachusetts Two-Step on just who killed all of this NVA civilians for our next episode. Stay tuned!!!!

A word from our sponsor: How do ask a man to be the last man to vote for a mistake? Wait. Strike that. Can we re-tape. Make-up!! I'm John Kerry and I need you vote ...

blogger dictionary update ... first two entries for Chumly were "comely" and "camel." Let's put the Tennessee Tuxedo reference to the side. Any artists out there that can morph Kerry into a comely camel named Chumly?

John Kerry's Mystery Theater: Employing the Nonexistent

Kerry has proudly proclaimed that he will create 10,000,000 new jobs. I'm happy. That is a lot of jobs!!!! Economic locomotive coming!!!

Ut-oh! Problem!! Seems we only have 8,770,000 unemployed people. Bummer.

Well, let's see. We can bring in more folks from overseas. I just Kerry's immigration policy on his official site. Sorry, no help there. I honestly don't know what his position is; the words are so vague as to be meaningless.

Oh my, we can't forget macroeconomics!! A primer on full employment is helpful. There always has been and always will be a portion of the available work force that is unemployed - between jobs, commitment problems, whatever the basis. Since we are talking about macroeconomics, the trends move glacially - so a 1999 statement that 4.5% unemployment represents "full employment" can't be far off. Let's cut the number to 4.0% to help Kerry's cause. From the current unemployment rate of 5.6%, that would mean that 2,500,000 persons of the present unemployed lot are "employable" ((8.77MM/5.6)*1.6).

Oh. 10,000,000 new jobs. 2,500,000 available American workers. Increase the work force 4-fold through immigration, newly available American workers (over age 16 - but don't forget to net out those leaving through age and death) ... I don't see it. Who does this clown's math? Well, anyway, it sure felt good to hear the speech!!

Yet another installment of John Kerry's Mystery Theater ...

And now a word form our sponsor: "Hi, my name is Richard Clarke. I like sheep and clouds, and most things pretty. My favorite actor is Jon Lovett ..."

ps - blogger spellcheck update - it didn't like "clown's" and the first possessive noun it offered was "colon's." i fought so hard not to hit "replace."

John Kerry's Mystery Theater, Scene 1

The LA Times reports an interesting burglary. Seems a guy in Marin County had 14 boxes of files - the result of an FOIA request to the FBI to divulge Kerry's surveillance details. Three of those boxes have been stolen. Some of the others rifled through. Valuable items like cameras ignored.

The story weaves a "gosh, Timmy, I like Senator Kerry. Who'da done sumptin like this?" understory. But it just doesn't ring true with me. Yes, the unit cost of conspiracies get cheaper as you buy more. But this was clearly a focused burglary - only Kerry files, only certain Kerry files. And it is not what a White House plumber (well, a Republican White House plumber) would do - if we wanted the information to publicly disseminate, we would get it from the same place the victim got it - the FBI.

Stay tuned, John Kerry's Mystery Theater will be right back after this message from our sponsors.

"Hi, my name is Terry McAuliffe. I have this doormat you may be interested in ... "

ps ... i did a blogger spellcheck for this listing. funny thing - "doormat" is not a word; the first suggestion is "toronto." it's like of sign of some kind ...

"You won't have Kerry to kick around anymore, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference"
John F. Kerry, November 3, 2004

Vietnam Veteran Larry Purdy effectively dismantles Kerry on the latter's war views, dovetailing them effectively with present positions on Iraq. Be sure to read it to the end. I got mired in his assault-like questions early on, but he recovers nicely with thoughtful, provoking insights.

One last post on Clarke

I am not going to expend any more energy on this guy. The story is clear enough to me. Clarke is telling a story to the September 11 Commission that is consistent only unto itself. The liberal press loves it. Some press accounts are offering more information. The straight shooters in the press are presenting informed views..

In summary, Clarke gave a background interview to Angle, linked below. Clarke e'd Condi, linked above. Clarke wrote a book, see amazon.com. Clarke is giving testimony, linked below. Consistency does not exist in any of it.

I don't mind analyzing the news and sharing opinions; I am not going to play cat-and-mouse with a person willing to forfeit his reputation just to sell a few books.

Jim Angle serves of Dick Clarke on a platter

Background interviews can be very direct and revealing. Dick Clarke lays out exactly what happened during the Clinton and Bush administrations - without the fog of book sales clouding his recollection.

Has anyone studied this briefing with the 60 Minutes piece item by item? If discrepancies are blatant, it is yet another example of journalist malpractice.

I will compare the two and write more soon.

Hear, Hear!!!

David Hill womps Kerry for his internationalist flavored policies.

In short, we do not want a UN permission slip to act in our defense, we do not invade other countries to protect oil, and do not think the spread of democracy is a bad thing.

I love direct statements.

As difficult as Dick Morris can be to digest, he nails the issue as well, stating that Kerry is being set up for an embarrassing defeat.

I think Hillary should be more careful in floating trial balloons on signing onto the Kerry ticket. But then again, go for it!! What's the saying? Two birds with one stone, I think.

An usual time of direct attacks

Members of the Senate are not supposed to criticize each other on the floor of the Senate. Some kind of decorum rule. (In case you want further reading, here are the Senate Rules.) The alternative is what pops up occasionally from Asia - wrestling legislators. Truly an ugly site. Not because of physical aggression in government buildings but because the guys are in suits and climbing over desks and just look silly ...

Regardless of what MSNBC says, the rules are changed because Senators Kerry and Edwards have decided to launch without respite against the president. Senator Kerry in particular is attempting to redefine the truth of the relationship between the Senate and Office of the President - for example, all of the source data on Iraq was available to the Senate before any vote was taken - how could W have misled? Did Kerry actually go read the information?

So Senator Kennedy speaks the other day and (I so hate it when he delivers speeches drunk) strings together a litany of otherwise impeachable quality. And now, Senator Kyl responds, point by point. Kyl 1, Kennedy -0-.

The democrats are finding out that their mistreating of republicans in the 1960s and 1970s when they had control of the legislature and locked republicans out of meetings routinely has created their worst nightmare - a student that is smarter than the teacher.

Senator-Elect Toomey?

It is about time the conservative press came out for Rep. Toomey. He is running against Arlen Specter.

National Review itemizes Specter's game - liberal in conservative clothing. Vote one way year in and out, then tell everyone differently at election time. Sounds hauntingly similar to how Kerry acts. Perhaps after Toomey wins a close primary race, Specter can come out of the closet and be Kerry's running mate? A match made in the halls of the Senate.

Richard Clarke, RIP

John Podhoretz writes all that needs to be written about Richard Clarke's allegations against the W administration. The article begs the questions, though, how could these details lay unspoken during the 60 Minutes interview? It is journalistic malpractice.

Condoleezza Rice wrote yesterday very clearly about what occurred and when.

Richard Clarke, darling of the liberal media, that rocket flare exiting stage right is you.

Intelligent consumers

The September 11 Commission is a festering boil being lanced slowly. It is leaking stories designed to make it appear that the WTC tragedy was W's fault for not acting sooner, for not connecting the dots.

The only way to have stopped it was to initiate a war on terror during the Summer of 2001 - if not open warfare, then certainly the mindset and defensive position of war.

President Clinton had videotape of OBL, ignored offers from Sudan to hand him over ... and who knows how much else was available and not acted upon. W enters office and six months later is supposed to act proactively in a war setting. The word "paranoid" would leap to the electorate mind.

I think we are more intelligent consumers of opinion than the media is assuming.

I also think that doing these leaks now is the wrong tactic. If the report is due in August, why not open it like a blast furnace door? Why give W and his team time to defuse the bomb? The dems are not very good at politics these days. Talk about playing against the jv ...

You know you are in trouble when ...

When jokes start to pop up about a person, their credibility is no longer an issue - it doesn't exist. Oh well, the dems had a promise of winning the WH for a little while at least.

Q: How many John Kerrys does it take to change a lightbulb?

A: At least four. One to unscrew the old lightbulb. One to simultaneously announce his courageous commitment to replacing the old bulb. One to vote against funding the new light bulb. And one to denounce George W. Bush and America's Benedict Arnold CEOs for leaving everyone in the dark.

Q: Why did John Kerry cross the road?

A: He didn't cross the road. He crossed to the middle to demonstrate his grasp of the nuances and subtleties involved in crossing the road, and was still explaining them to the New York Times reporter when the logging truck hit him.

Link to the full Mark Steyn article.

Variation on a theme - now and later

The media is so funny. Kerry was ahead in the polls a few weeks ago. Reports cite trouble for W. W retakes the lead ... media then cites the evaporation of the Primary Bounce. But the fact that Kerry was up was never attributed to a bounce due to the primaries. It was obvious to seasoned political observers, but clearly that does not represent the target audience of the major media.

Typical media after-the-fact-make-ourselves-look-good lines.

Here is a story that will be re-written post-November. Seems that Idaho's democratic party is missing filing deadlines and fielding less than half a slate of candidates. They claim it is because they are picking and choosing their fights. And the media is not commenting on it.

If you miss a deadline for a US Senate seat, your organization is in disarray. If you are fielding half a slate, then you lack money and enthusiasm. This will be the media story after the November elections: Unorganized, broke, and sad, Democrats seek new agenda.

W wanted to bomb Iraq on 9/11 - comforting news

Richard Clarke, computer nerd who combed the internet to support the anti-terror program, claims as if it were a bad thing that Rumsfeld and W wanted to bomb Iraq as an immediate reaction to September 11.

Richard Clarke - remember the El Shifa pharmaceutical plant that Clinton bombed, thinking it was a VX nerve agent manufacturing facility? This is the guy who planned it.

But let's not destroy the man's character. That would be a tad liberal of me ... let's return the matter at hand.

Rumsfeld and W were focused enough on that tragic day to see the difference between what happened with the planes and a normal crime scene investigation. The hijackings were an act of war and war was what they got.

The liberals can play with this line of thought all they want. The only avenue it can be leading down is that W consciously lied about the intelligence as a precursor to war. That battle is silly - it will not persuade anyone. Those that believe W will not change; those that disbelief will not either. Those that are undecided do not make up their mind based upon one issue eight months before an election, particularly one that has been argued before.

The liberals are looking for an issue, any issue, to take the light off of Kerry. If the stakes weren't so high, it would be humorous. In fact, I do laugh a bit ... then I picture Kerry falling on the slopes and vulgarly blaming someone else (and repeating his vulgarity later) and I begin to chuckle.

50MM and counting

National Review has a wonderful article recounting the accomplishments of President Bush in our country's war on terror. Mr. Hanson counts 50,000,000 people liberated in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I suggest he under counts. Libya is entering a new era. 5MM people. Syria is coming close to a forced awakening. 16MM people.

What other countries will be positively changed in W's second term?

“John Kerry had no personal recollection of this meeting 33 years ago”

First of all, perhaps it should be "has no personal recollection."

This statement and article brings memories of embattled chief executives with hounding investigators and the sounds of testimony before grand juries and congressional committees.

Kerry wrote books during that time, everything else seems to be meticulously documented, yet the meeting at which murder was discussed is a blank.

Maybe we can better understand it by studying DSM IV.

Soft facts

I mentioned a couple of days ago the danger of building opinions based upon soft facts. CBS News, without shock, is guilty of furthering the problem.

Not content with conducting a poll on same-sex marriage to try to find out what the American people truly think, CBS cooks the question before the data has a chance to be gathered.

Ask my teenage children - do you support same-sex marriage? You will get a yes or no. Ask if they support same-sex marriage or do not to such a degree that it should be made illegal by the federal government or should the matter be left to the several states to decide, and the answer (following a predictable condemnation of the poorly constructed question) may change.

That is exactly what CBS News did. It is shameful.

Draw a similarity to capital punishment. Should Mr. Smith be put to death in accordance with state law for killing those six children? Yes. Should Mr. Smith be put to death for killing other people even though we have documented evidence that the execution procedure is repeatedly administered in what can only be termed a cruel and unusual manner? Um, let me think ...

CBS News should be ashamed. An issue like same-sex marriage cannot be a state issue. The federal constitution requires every state to recognize the laws and contracts of all other states. The federal DOMA cannot solve that - it is a legislative act that attempts to change the constitution. Can't happen. State DOMAs cannot solve the issue - they will run afoul of the federal constitution. We are left with one solution - amend the federal constitution to give the feds jurisdiction over the definition of marriage, or leave it to the states. In the latter alternative, four judges sitting in Massachusetts can (and perhaps have) decided the issue for all fifty states' legislatures.

I don't think a democracy is meant to allow four judges - unelected - to have the power to decide an issue for almost 300,000,000 people across 50 states and an assortment of protectorates.

My EC view and the Jewish people

My best friend was reading this blog and wrote to me - "I am reading your blog... you said... 'My point is this - as an Evangelical Christian, I will support the Jewish people in anything they do.' anything? even that which God commands us not to do?"

It's a good point. Let me explain ... the context within which I was writing was Israeli self-defense, but I likewise mean my statement in its broader sense. I cannot know what it means to live in a country under constant siege, what it means to be a people that has been persecuted for centuries. I can view the decisions they make, see the aftermath, but never truly be empathic.

If Israel believes that they need to target those who are trying to murder their citizens, I defer to their judgment. If Israel wants wall, build it.

Yes, there are things that any person or leader of people can do that violate God's laws and I certainly cannot condone that. But I have watched Israel for many years and haven't seen it yet.

Would I support them if they decided to legalize same-sex marriage? No. If they decided to do any of a number of things of social policy that violated the dictates of the Bible, I can see myself not supporting them.

However, since I live here and they live there ... I am affected only by the international aspects, not their internal policies. So I'm safe? Yeah, I know, sounds like a dem qualification - sorry. For the record, I neither voted for nor later against anything ...

Law enforcement or war?

Indonesnia lost 202 people to terrorism. 33 people were sentenced for the attack, carried out by Al-Qaeda-linked group. Now, those people may walk, thanks to the law under which they were sentenced being declared unconstitutional. Something about an ex post facto provision.

Bummer.

Good thing war tribunals are timeless.

Inclusive when he wants to be

Kerry wants to include all people on all sides of all issues ... but what about his staff? A woman carries a sign reading, "My abortion hurt me" to a Kerry speech.

A staffer approaches the woman, tells her she cannot have that sign "here" and grabs the sign. The sign is then torn into pieces in front of the woman and many on-lookers.

"Here" must be a place where the first amendment is suspended. Too bad.

"I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it." — John Kerry, March 16, 2004. Source.

Christian Zionists

That's a new term for me. I always wondered what I was.

I was raised Baptist but rejected, even as a child, the robes worn by the minister (who was my uncle) and the rituals. I was simply horrified as I observed Catholic Mass. I was confused by who the Catholics thought was God - they seemed to give so much importance to the guy in the collar.

I wanted to read the Bible, to study it. It was only then that I understood why I was in church, why God was important. Yes, I wandered from my roots for quite a long time. I eventually came back after the sobering effect of raising children, after my personalized version of "the life crisis" hit (btw, Psalm 31 is really good when it seems the world has an arrest warrant with your name on it and every person in the world is deputized).

But throughout my life I was always one thing - pro-Israel. Right, wrong, passive, aggressive, at peace, waging war, voting for democrats (horrors!) ... didn't matter. Israel could do no wrong in my eyes. And I still feel that way. If I don't agree with something they do, I accept that I just don't understand their reality. George Harrison said it best. He was asked what it was like to be a Beatle. He said, "I don't know what it is like not to be a Beatle." Never the two shall meet ...

An article popped up today. It's a fine if not breezy read. I don't care for the "nod's a good as a wink to a blind horse" put-down of Kosher food, but it must be his writing style. Don't think I ever read his work before.

The article is about the support of the Jewish people and nation by Evangelical Christians. The point, it seems, is that the breadth and depth of the support is news to the Jewish people. The guy goes on to say that perhaps the relationship is new and needs to mature. His article is generally accurate and I appreciate him putting up with Kosher food to get the interview.

My Dad, gone for a couple of years now, was born in 1930. The re-creation of Israel happened when he was a young adult. His formative years absorbed tense positions on Jewish people - a nebulous group of folks bound by a common heritage but not a physical border.

I was born in 1959. The Jewish people were defending their territory during my formative years. They have had a tough time. Someone help me understand - if your neighbor's dog keeps on coming over and defecating in your yard, what's the problem with putting up a fence? Do you really think the entire issue is that a fence demarcates a property line? If the Arab world took care of their own, the Palestinians would not be living like animals and the unrest would be diplomatic not terroristic ... anyway.

My point is this - as an Evangelical Christian, I will support the Jewish people in anything they do. I have always felt that way, and always will. It sure would be nice if they recognize that my generation of ECs are devoted ... and are Republican.

Iranian underground

The revolt may go nowhere in Iran, but I am sure that many of us said the same thing of the early activities in Poland that lead to the declaration of independence from the USSR.

Here's a site that is tracking things on the ground. I added it to my links on the right.

It's amazing what a little democracy can do, even if it is in form only.

Kerry lies - it's amazing ...

I have a chance to talk with a lot of young people as a college professor. I find that many times they express themselves in extremes - I hate this or that, that person is a liar, that person a bigot, and so on. I take the time to help them to step back a little and review the facts, to temporarily suspend opinion (both theirs and others).

We usually find that the facts are either hard or soft - hard facts are indisputable, soft facts (like statistics) are open to manipulation. When we then re-introduce opinions, it typically becomes clear that many opinions are ill-informed, conclusory, even unsupportable.

A student told me that W personally scheduled an airliner to whisk OBL's family out of America on September 11, 2001. I was unsure whether to hug him and tell him everything would be ok, or slap him and tell him to snap out of it.

When a politician is called a liar, it is typically very easy to establish that it is merely a difference in reliance upon soft facts coupled with a difference in opinion.

But, oh my, I am grappling greatly with whether Kerry is a liar or not. What a condemnation of a person. But read the first entry in this article.

Kerry says he voted for a piece of legislation. He didn't - voted against it. But it made a politically important statement to that audience to voice his approval. Faced with the facts, his staff could say no more than that he supported an "earlier, more pure form" of the legislation. What does that mean, exactly?!?!?? Once again, Kerry takes credit for supporting the substance of a law he voted against - because, he claims, his vote against it was based upon principle ... the way in which the law was discussed or passed was wrong.

Perhaps it is better said that Kerry is just not ready for prime time. Call it McAuliffe's Revenge. Kerry will twist in the wind, any DNC candidate would twist in the wind for the eight months Terry caused to occur between selection and election. Is that his present to Hillary?

Soviet-style democracy

The issue doesn't matter, only the process. NYC Mayor Bloomberg tossed aside any pretense of independence in the School Board as he replaced two members immediately before a vote. SI Borough President Molinaro replaced a 3d member in similar fashion. (In fairness, there was a distinction - Bloomberg asked his folks to pull the trigger themselves via resignations; Molinaro kept the pleasure all to himself.)

The issue can be argued in good faith - the basis upon which a 3d grader should be promoted. Before last night, it was a rather nebulous approach that resulted in very few kids being held accountable for poor academic performance. Bloomberg has reduced promotion to a single issue - the 3d grade competency exam. As a teacher, I can criticize and support aspects of both schemes ... but regardless.

Boards operate across the country in similar fashion one to another: sunshine laws require open deliberation and opportunity for public comment; board members shift through all of the information they learned and, being the people closest to the facts and circumstances, vote in their discretion what they believe to be in the best interests of their constituents.

But therein lies the issue - most boards view the general public or some segment of it as their constituents ... Bloomberg has a different view. And not unlike Stalin, made sure his view prevailed.

Kerry sinks to new lows

Following the horrible tragedy in Spain, Kerry starts with a new tact. The old message of "it isn't a war but a criminal matter" has given way to "I do not fault George Bush for doing too much in the war on terror, I believe he's done too little."

All of sudden it is a war again ... spoken as if it always was. Why? Because Kerry feels that maybe an attack can sneak through our defenses, that the chance is heightened in light of Spain - in light of it coming just before the election.

Maybe just before our election? Then Kerry can say he told us all about it, warned us beforehand.

This guy is quickly becoming the lowest form of politician.

Kerry is not Teflonman; something has to stick

This is a very interesting article. It seems that on Kerry's watch, he was warned in June 2001 of security violations at Logan. A specific and focused attempt to breach security in exactly the same manner as occurred on the following September 11 was undertaken and completed successfully 9 out of 10 times.

Kerry was given the report and a videotape. And advice that passing it on to the FAA was pointless. He got phone calls and offers to give testimony to Congressional committees. He ignored it all and passed the information onto the FAA.

After September 11, he claims to have just begun an undercover investigation of Logan security. No one but Kerry seems to know what he is talking about.

If these facts were applicable to the White House - these docs given to VP Cheney, for example - we would see the heads of the Administration on poles lining the streets into WDC.

What will the press do with the facts as presented?

Quantifying the obvious

Media Channel presents finely culled data that quantifies the obvious: the major networks present W in negative terms, and Kerry in positive terms.

While not a surprise or shock (depending on your political bent), it is unfortunate. And it is not limited to broadcast journalism. How can the Seattle Post Intelligencer use this headline? An accused spy worked with Democratic legislators for ten years but it is more relevant to state that she is twice removed by blood from a Bush staffer? That's pathetic.

France & Russia about to be unmasked

On February 9, 2004, the WSJ Opinion Journal published an article that should have started a firestorm. The mainstream press should have screamed for heads on platters, taken nothing less than Spanish Inquisition-style trials followed by Salem-like witch burnings. But they were silent. As the saying goes, the silence was deafening ...

They were silent because the alleged facts in the article - Saddam spreading to friends millions of dollars through the UN Oil-for-Food Program - made immediate sense. Order came from chaos. Afterall, in their heart-of-hearts, they (the American press) know they oppose W because he's W - but why is France and Russia doing the same Stonewall Waltz? All of a sudden it was so very clear - the quid pro quo: Russia and France sold weapons to Iraq despite the weapons ban, entered into contracts for the future sale of oil, acted as if Saddam were a rich-but-eccentric friend; individuals in French and Russian governments greased the system by receiving millions of dollars freed up through abuse of the Oil-for-Food Program.

A couple of days ago, the Opinion Journal attempted to re-light the fire. This time they focused purely on the UN role, and the allegation that the administrator of the program, Benon Sevan, personally profited. The flame spread. The UN has agreed to investigate. As you can read, Iraq has already hired accountants and lawyers.

How long will the investigation take? How long before the results are known? I think those questions are relevant to Russia but not to France ... and, personally, I don't care about some career diplomat (Sevan) - he can twist in the wind forever - my focus is to unmask the reasons behind the Security Council stonewalling by France and Russia.

Russia will deny everything to the final day and beyond. When it is irrefutable that someone in their government did take money, did authorize the sale of weapons, then they will allege that the person acted alone. He will be shot ... unless, of course, he commits a KGB-induced suicide in the meantime.

France, I suspect, will try to anticipate the findings and will do a mea culpa. They will adopt the victim position and try to survive. The government will be gutted of infidels.

So the timing of the investigation is irrelevant; the timing is relevant only vis-a-vis a French self-exposure well before our November 2004 election.

So let's help them in the discussions they must be having at this very moment. Do they wait and hope Kerry is elected, or do they rely on W? What if W is re-elected? Do not forgot, monsieur, that W is a Christian. He understands repentance. He works towards the future, not dwelling on the past. Kerry is focused on political expediency - will you be useful to him at the time of your need? Gaze into your crystal ball and let me know what you see.

The choice seems obvious. Now to face your domestic issue - can Chirac disembowel a few politicians and not himself?

McAuliffe's Legacy

DNC Top Talking Head McAuliffe changed the dem primaries to select their candidate early. He didn't want the shortened period they had before to get their message out.

Right thought, wrong time.

Running against an incumbent is different than selecting a president from two wannabes. An incumbent is naturally stronger - so one has to ambush him or her. When two folks are running for what is otherwise a vacant office, a long time to let the candidates fight it out like a championship boxing match is appropriate.

So now Kerry is twisting in the wind. And he knows he has eight months to take arrows. Now he wants W to act like an unknown and debate him every month. Kerry must have cotton mouth as he demands such things.

McAuliffe lost the election for his party before the first caucus vote was cast.

Discovery & Abortion

Phyllis Schafly has a logical, cogent article about the legal process that must be driving the abortion industry crazy.

Planned Parenthood receives a quarter of a billion dollars in federal funds each year, and runs a healthy profit. Astonishing enough ...

But the core of the article concerns the lawsuits against the partial birth abortion ban. The abortion folks have tossed out the phrase "medically necessary" to support why the procedure is required. The government has responded with "prove it." Fair enough ... but not what the abortion industry can handle - most likely because it is not necessary by any measure.

It goes back to the same argument about abortion itself - the "life of the mother" test expanded to the "health of the mother," with "health" covering psychological issues such as depression or anxiety.

I think it is fair to hypothesis that if both sides on any of these arguments would put aside their preconceived positions, let all of the data come forth, use their expansive intellect to analyze it, then come up with an informed joint position, we would have a much better society.

Instead, we have supporters of choice rallying against a proposed law to recognize a fetus as a person for purposes of body counts in murders - because if a fetus is a person for purposes of death, surely the right will use it for life, too. And we have 2d Amendment supporters rallying against child locks on handguns - even though someone's precious child will die as a result.

How twisted the bedfellows of politics.

Just a quick note

I have heard Kerry say over and over again, "I think my speech on the Senate floor could not have been more clear," and "I think I was crystal clear on my position."

The interviewer then drops that line of questioning and moves on. Days later, the conservative media responds by quoting his speech or earlier statement and demonstrates that, in fact, Kerry was everything but clear.

I am reminded of Clinton saying, "I think we all know what we are talking about," when asked about the meaning of sexual relations.

It was a dodge then and it is a dodge now. Too bad for Kerry that he possess the dossier of a legislature - too much public history to hang him on. He also hasn't devoted his entire life to running for president and so has said things that felt good at the time but do not stand up to the test of time.

Getting to Know You ...

Pulled this article from the Kerry for President site. It is very long, but has some wonderful insights from 2002. Seems he doesn't hesitate to use the Lord's name in vain nor to casually use vulgarity.

I am beginning to think that he is Hilary's ideal candidate. Maybe she'll get a 2004 run afterall.