Hook 'Em Up!

A few days ago, a fairly unique proposal was made that all candidates for an Indiana congressional seat be hooked up to a lie detector during their next debate on October 21. Both the Republican and Libertarian candidates agreed to the proposal, but the incumbent Democrat, by way of his congressional district chairman, declined.

Personally, I think subjecting political candidates for office to a polygraph test while they are "debating" is a great idea. Hairplugs Biden would surely fail. Then again, Biden seems to have gotten so skilled at deluding himself that I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he beat a polygraph test because he actually believed the lies he was spewing were true.

Why an Obama Presidency Should be Feared

Let's hope John McCain listened to or read this particular portion of an excellent speech by his running mate in Johnstown, PA today:

In this same spirit, as defenders of the culture of life, John McCain and I believe in the goodness and potential of every innocent life. I believe the truest measure of any society is how it treats those who are least able to defend and speak for themselves. And who is more vulnerable, or more innocent, than a child?

When I learned that my son Trig would have special needs, I had to prepare my heart for the challenges to come. At first I was scared, and Todd and I had to ask for strength and understanding. But I can tell you a few things I’ve learned already.

Yes, every innocent life matters. Everyone belongs in the circle of protection. Every child has something to contribute to the world, if we give them that chance. There are the world’s standards of perfection … and then there are God’s, and these are the final measure. Every child is beautiful before God, and dear to Him for their own sake.

As for our beautiful baby boy, for Todd and me, he is only more precious because he is vulnerable. In some ways, I think we stand to learn more from him than he does from us. When we hold Trig and care for him, we don’t feel scared anymore. We feel blessed.

It’s hard to think of many issues that could possibly be more important than who is protected in law and who isn’t – who is granted life and who is denied it. So when our opponent, Senator Obama, speaks about questions of life, I listen very carefully.

I listened when he defended his unconditional support for unlimited abortions. He said that a woman shouldn’t have to be – quote – “punished with a baby.” He said that right here in Johnstown –“punished with a baby” – and it’s about time we called him on it. The more I hear from Senator Obama, the more I understand why he is so vague and evasive on the subject. Americans need to see his record for what it is. It’s not negative or mean-spirited to talk to about his record. Whatever party you belong to, there are facts you need to know.

Senator Obama has voted against bills to end partial-birth abortion. In the Illinois Senate, a bipartisan majority passed legislation against that practice. Senator Obama opposed that bill. He voted against it in committee, and voted “present” on the Senate floor. In that legislature, “present” is how you vote when you’re against something, but don’t want to be held to account.

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democrat, described partial-birth abortion as “too close to infanticide.” Barack Obama thinks it’s a constitutional right, but he is wrong.

Read the rest of this speech excerpt here.

Why I Wish McCain Wasn't the GOP Nominee for President

In this video, McCain tells us that even though he thinks he would be a better President than The One, nobody should be afraid of an Obama presidency.(via)

Way to sell yourself John!



Borrowing from Michelle Malkin, we are so screwed.

Ethics and Economics Don't Mix?

I was watching Fox News this morning, and some poll numbers were displayed about which issues are apparently the most important to you and me in this presidential election year. Far and away, the economy finished on top at something like 46%, while ethics was at the bottom with 6% or 7%.

Now if I'm interpreting these statistics correctly, if a presidential candidate holds an economic policy that many or most Americans like, it doesn't really matter if that candidate has made certain decisions in his life that shed a questionable shadow on his ethical makeup.

"My 401(k) is going down the crapper," you say. "I don't care if candidate X knowingly got his political career launched by unrepentant domestic terrorists, or that he used to work for and has given large sums of money to an organization that has engaged in widespread voter fraud." "I like what candidate X has to say about protecting and increasing the size of my bank account, and I'm voting for him!"

You know, Enron, WorldCom and Arthur Anderson were once very successful multi-billion dollar corporations. It wasn't stupidity that brought these companies down.

Connecticut Goes G@y "Marriage"

Given that this country is on the verge of mindlessly "electing" the most radically pro-abortion and ideologically left-wing President ever, I really shouldn't be surprised by this.

Hell in a handbasket.

Yes on 8

NBC Pulls SNL Bail Out Skit From Website

Michelle Malkin has the full story. Basically, some big time money contributors to the Democratic Party didn't like getting skewered in the skit, and so they leaned on NBC to make it disappear.

Somebody, though, was able to save the SNL skit and upload it onto YouTube.



Update: The above video is no longer available as of 8:30 a.m. on October 7, 2008. No surprise, given NBC's reach and the fact that YouTube is owned by Google, which like NBC, is basically an enabler for the Democrat Party.

Info on How to Legally Kill Yourself Bill Signed by Ahnuld

Why am I still a resident of this state?

AB 2747 mandates that physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants provide patients diagnosed with a terminal illness – or who have been given a diagnosis of one year or less to live – with “comprehensive information and counseling regarding legal end-of-life options, as specified.”

Specifically the law obligates doctors to inform the patient about the option of “withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments” – including food and water.

Health care providers will be required to refer or transfer the patient if they can not, in good conscience, comply with the request.

Randy Thomasson of the Sacramento-based Campaign for Children and Families (CCF) called the law “a backdoor way” of bringing assisted suicide to a state that has already rejected the practice by referendum.

Saying the issue should be up to the voters, not the Legislature, Thomasson said Schwarzenegger had given his assent to physician- and nurse-assisted suicide by means of starvation and dehydration.

"AB 2747 allows a physician assistant or a nurse to opine that a patient is 'terminal,' and then recommend an unnatural death via 'palliative sedation,'" Thomasson said.

"Depressed patients who succumb to this pressure will be drugged unconscious and die from dehydration, usually within five to 10 days. Nothing in AB 2747 prohibits this horror," he added.

History According to Joe Biden

Television existed in 1929 and FDR was President that same year.

What do you mean you didn't see this gaffe repeatedly played or commented upon in the MSM?

I Am Profoundly Disturbed By This

Based upon a compilation of various opinion polls, Real Clear Politics has Obama leading McCain by a widening average of about 6 points.

It's About Character

So it seems that one of the primary defenses or deflections of Barry Obama's ties with unrepentant domestic terrorists like Bill Ayers is that Obama was just a young child on the playgrounds in Hawaii when said terrorists committed their crimes in the late '60s/early '70s. You see what the Obamaniacs are doing here, don't you? They're intentionally trying to reclassify a problematic issue regarding Obama's character and ideological leanings as an easily refutable issue of historical fact. Don't buy into this blatantly deceptive spin. Nobody is saying Obama supported or enabled Bill Ayers and his cohorts when they tried to blow up federal buildings and plant nail bombs in dance halls almost 40 years ago. What is being raised and questioned is Obama's past willingness (as an adult) to directly associate and do business with absolute scumbags, who to this day, aren't sorry for what they did.

Update: In tried and true Liberal fashion, the Associated Press idiotically cries racism in addition to the above described deflection.

Sarah Palin is Dumb

Right. (h/t)

Joe Biden: Incompetent(Stupid, Ignorant, Dumb, etc.) and a Liar

In last night's debate, he first of all misidentifies Article I of the Constitution as the source of vice-presidential power, and then erroneously asserts that the VP only presides over the Senate when there is a tie vote. Now, maybe if Slow Joe didn't have a law degree, spend three decades in the Senate and serve several years on the Senate Judiciary Committee, I'd give him a pass for his displayed incompetence(dumbness, stupidity, ignorance, etc.). As reality stands, though, Biden deserves to be slammed.

Secondly, Hairplugs outright lied about the Obamessiah never saying he'd sit and kumbaya with crazy world dictators like Ahmadinejad.

Update: Last night, Biden also lied about always supporting "clean coal" and Obama not supporting the Palestinian election that put anti-Israel terrorists in control of Gaza.

Empty Thinking from Supporters of an Empty Suit

Here are some of the reasons that a few of my MBA classmates, one of whom is a fellow attorney, expressed tonight for why they won't be voting for McCain/Palin:

Gov. Palin, in her interview with Katie Couric, didn't name a Supreme Court case other than Roe v. Wade with which she disagreed.

Apparently in the same interview with Couric, Gov. Palin didn't identify a newspaper she read when asked to do so.

During tonight's VP debate, which we watched a bit of during a class break, Palin repeatedly used the word "impact" in one of her responses.

And my personal "favorite":

Palin sounds like a retard.

The Pyongyang Remix

The lack of awareness by Obama supporters is revealing.

Judges: Some of the Stupidest People in the World

The latest illustration:

A federal district court judge in Washington, D.C., ruled today that the Library of Congress discriminated against Diane Schroer when it offered her a job and then rescinded it after learning she was transgendered.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Schroer, said Judge James Robertson's ruling is the first to hold that the federal sex discrimination statute, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, applies to transgendered people.

Other courts that have considered the issue have said Congress only intended for the anti-discrimination statute to protect men and women, but not people who change their sex, the ACLU said.

Robertson disagreed, saying Schroer's case "was discrimination based on sex."

"It is tremendously gratifying to have your faith in this country, and what is fundamentally right and fair, be reaffirmed," Schroer said. "I very much hope that this ruling will help to eliminate the all-too-pervasive discrimination against sexually nonconforming people in all areas."

Chuckles Rangel Calls Palin a Retard

The unquestionably crooked congressman also apparently gets his information about Palin's foreign policy views from an unfunny/Left-wing actress on SNL. Who's "disabled" Chucky?

Matt Damon Buys the Brooklyn Bridge

He really is that stupid. (warning: some profane language)

Ron Paul: Footnote to a Footnote

To say the man is unprincipled, if not an outright crackpot, would be a severe understatement. (h/t)

Former Republican presidential contender Ron Paul has endorsed Don Young in his bid to win an 18th term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Paul, the 72-year-old congressman from Texas whose maverick presidential bid drew wide support in Alaska, sent out a letter to his supporters here urging them to vote for Young.

“Don and I have served together in Congress for many years, and I consider him a friend,” Paul wrote in the letter. “Don has been an outspoken voice against environmental extremists over the years and has strongly opposed the types of federal regulatory overreach advocated in the name of environmentalism.”

Paul and Young are a bit of an odd couple. Paul is a fiscal conservative; Young believes in earmarking federal dollars for Alaska wherever possible. Paul opposes the Iraq war; Young supports it.

The Gaffe Brothers

From The One (h/t):



(Yeah, Obamessiah might not have meant to call Palin a pig, but the partisan crowd there certainly thought he did.)

And the latest from Ardent Catholic Joe (h/t):

“I hear all this talk about how the Republicans are going to work in dealing with parents who have...the joy and the difficulty of raising a child who has a developmental disability...Well guess what folks? If you care about it, why don’t you support [embryonic] stem cell research?”

Why? Here's why.

The Case Against Palin by Liberal Catholics

It's pretty weak, not the least of which results from an erroneous use of terms by said liberals. (h/t)

Gov. Palin technically might be in heresy of the Church (which is unfortunate) but she's no apostate.

First Gen X-er in the White House?

I'll claim her as one of "us", even though she was born just a tad before the commonly held start time.

Numero Uno

Nice, but much more preferable on January 9, 2009.

Kind of Disappointing

Seems Gov. Palin is effectively against school choice.

On Sept. 9, 2006, the NEA-Alaska asked Palin if she supported the use of vouchers, tax credits, or other programs that provide public money for students to attend private or religious schools.

“No,” Palin said. “It is unconstitutional and it is as simple as that.” She also said she would not support amending the Alaska Constitution.

Although the next paragraph after this says that Gov. Palin "wants to give parents as much choice and as many options as possible for educating their children," there isn't anything specific as to what she means by this.

The Nutroots

The reaction by the Left on the selection of Gov. Palin as McCain's VP running mate (here, here and here ) is beyond pitiful.

Catholics Against Biden

A new blog which displays this great quote from The One's running mate:

"The next Republican that tells me I’m not religious, I’m gonna shove my rosary beads down their throat!"

BTW, in addition to his public advocacy for legalized abortion, I would argue that Biden is in a state of mortal sin with those gawd awful hair plugs in/on his head.

The Mainstreaming of Bad Hair Plugs

So Joe Biden, who is as gaffe prone as they come, has been selected by The Obamessiah to be his running mate. I tell ya, if John McCain loses in November now, both he and the Republican Party will officially be beyond lame.

The Suckiness of California Continues

Sexual orientation, i.e., the sex of a person you prefer to have intercourse with, as a protected class in California is an unfortunate reality.

Note: I wrote the "friend of the court" brief mentioned in the linked to press release. Lot of good it did.

The Illogic of Animal Rights Activists

Apparently, the Pope can't really love cats if he continues to wear Ermine weasel furs.

Said weasels, btw, are intolerant carnivores that eat fluffy bunnies and little birdies.

What Do You Call a Lawyer with an IQ of 30?

Your Honor.

Damn Pop Culture

I just couldn't read this otherwise serious story without giggling and thinking of Stiffler's mom. (h/t)

Note to Self

Don't assume that most California Superior Court judges or commissioners, especially in Orange County, are interested in technically correct applications of the law with respect to written discovery responses. These political brown-nosers, who are way too full of themselves, just can't be bothered with actually having to think.

Sports Semi-Celebrity Sighting

In town because his team was playing the Los Angeles Angels O'Anaheim, Boston Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell showed up for Mass at my parish in Costa Mesa this past Sunday.

I'm more than certain that the priest's homily about angels was purely coincidental.

More Obamisms

Dude is either stupid or he's planning on something IF elected. (h/t)

Well, Alright!

The U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals pretty much recognizes the personhood of the unborn in upholding South Dakota's abortion consent law.

Obamisms

And they say George W. Bush is stupid? (h/t)

"I remember, when living for four years in Indonesia as a child, I listened to my mother reading me the first lines of the Declaration of Independence, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they're endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." -- Obamessiah (Harvard Law '91), 6/30/08 - Independence, MO

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. -- The first lines of the Declaration of Independence, 1776

"As we begin our fourth century as a nation, it is easy to take the extraordinary nature of America for granted." - Obamessiah, 6/30/08 - Independence Missouri

2008 - 1789 = 219. Does 1 + 1 = 3 now?

I Want To Believe

Spooky is back!

Schism Here, Schism There...

Rad Trads say "up yours" to Rome, as do conservatives in the Church of King Henry VIII.

Clarification: Conservative Anglicans are specifically saying "up yours" to the liberals within their own communion, although I suppose you could say that their very existence as Anglicans generally expresses the same sentiment to Rome.

Outstupiding Himself Again

That would be Justice Anthony Kennedy, who along with four other boneheads on the Supreme Court, believes that "evolving standards of decency" renders the execution of brutal child rapists unconstitutional.

The abject dumbassness of the Court majority opinion in Kennedy v. Louisiana, which Justice Kennedy wrote, is nicely expressed by Justice Samuel Alito:

The Court today holds that the Eighth Amendment categorically prohibits the imposition of the death penalty for the crime of raping a child. This is so, according to the Court, no matter how young the child, no matter how many times the child is raped, no matter how many children the perpetrator rapes, no matter how sadistic the crime, no matter how much physical or psychological trauma is inflicted, and no matter how heinous the perpetrator’s prior criminal record may be. The Court provides two reasons for this sweeping conclusion: First, the Court claims to have identified “a national consensus” that the death penalty is never acceptable for the rape of a child; second, the Court concludes, based on its “independent judgment,” that imposing the death penalty for child rape is inconsistent with “ ‘the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.’ ” Ante, at 8, 15, 16 (citation omitted). Because neither of these justifications is sound, I respectfully dissent.

Ouch

Here and here.

Pat Buchanan is Horribly Wrong...Again

Victor Davis Hanson lays the smackdown. (h/t)

Eww

Welcome to Calimorrah.

Law of the Land

Happy Father's Day! (h/t)

36 United States Code Section 109. Father's Day

(a) Designation. - The third Sunday in June is Father's Day.
(b) Proclamation. - The President is requested to issue a
proclamation -
(1) calling on United States Government officials to display
the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on
Father's Day;
(2) inviting State and local governments and the people of the
United States to observe Father's Day with appropriate
ceremonies; and
(3) urging the people of the United States to offer public and
private expressions of Father's Day to the abiding love and
gratitude they have for their fathers.

Male BuFu Boy Thinks Gov. Jindal is "Creepy"

He's one to "dish" such ridiculous smack. (h/t)

Boumediene v. Bush

"The Nation will live to regret what the Court has done today."

How Bad is the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals?

One of its "better" judges, the libertarian leaning (natch) Alexander Kozinski, has been uploading explicit porn onto his website. (h/t)

The judge said he began saving the sexually explicit materials and other items of interest years ago.

"People send me stuff like this all the time," he said.

He keeps the things he finds interesting or funny with the thought that he might later pass them on to friends, he said.

Good gawd.

Potential "Kmiecian" Dilemma

So, if John McCain taps Mitt Romney to be his VP running mate, it'll be real interesting to see what Doug "Mental Gymnastics" Kmiec, a high ranking member of Romney's failed presidential campaign who has come out and endorsed Obamessiah, will do.

Silver Lining in G@y "Marriage" Ruling

As a matter of principle, the outright refusal by the California Supreme Court to put a stay on its recent g@y "marriage" ruling until after the November election, when Californians will have voted on the California Marriage Protection Act, is nothing short of an assault on representative government.

As a lawyer who practices in the area of family law, though, g@y "marriage" could potentially be economically lucrative for me. I don't have any hard data to back it up, but I'm inclined to believe that same sex couples, particularly g@y men, have a pretty high break up rate. Plus, I wouldn't have any moral qualms, like I currently do for real marriages, about assisting a homosexual divorce his/her homosexual spouse.

Overall, though, I really do hope my fellow Californians vote to pass the Marriage Protection Act.

Reason #90902932032 Not to Vote Democrat

Given this and this, I'd be willing to bet that if the Dems control both the White House and Congress next year, the price of gas in this country will not be going down anytime soon and will continue to increase.

The Case for Kobe

Paul Mirengoff at the otherwise sensible Powerline blog questions a suggestion made in a Sports Illustrated article that Kobe Bryant is a better basketball player than Lebron James:

At age 23, LeBron has demonstrated that he can take a mediocre supporting cast deep into the playoffs. Kobe, when surrounded by a mediocre cast (about which he complained incessantly) during the three seasons before this one, missed the playoffs once and was eliminated in the first round twice, albeit in a tougher conference. Kobe may be better than LeBron, but I couldn't find objective evidence that shows this to be the case.

The emphasis on the curiously downplayed concession by Mirengoff that Kobe plays in a much tougher conference than Lebron is mine. That the NBA Western Conference has been far better than the Eastern Conference in recent years is indisputable. All 8 teams in the Western Conference playoffs this year, for instance, had at least 50 wins, while the Green Booger Boys from Beantown barely got out of the first round of the playoffs against an Atlanta Hawks team that had a below .500 regular season record. Within this context, the fact that most of Kobe's offensive numbers this year are only slightly below Lebron's tells me that Lebron James would not be nearly as prolific as he is if he had played most of his games against Western Conference teams. Indeed, let's not forget that Lebron and his team were easily swept by the San Antonio Spurs in last year's NBA Finals. Let's also not forget that by the time he was Lebron James' current age, Kobe Bryant had won 3 championship rings.

Mirengoff is generally a smart guy, but on this matter, he's way off mark.

Back to the Future

Go Lakers! Beat the green booger bums from Beantown!

Fascinated by Pictures of Dirt

I've never been much of a science guy, but I find these ground pictures of Mars taken by the Phoenix Lander intriguing.

Hope the boys at JPL and NASA get a lot of useful information in the next three months.

The Short on Smarts Circuit

How dumb is the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the most overruled Federal Circuit Court of them all? This dumb.

Only $4/Gallon

Based on this interesting revelation, we could actually be paying a lot more for gas right now.

Also keep the above linked to information in mind the next time you see some politician, most likely a Dem, on television mindlessly demagoguing about "big oil" and price gouging.

Raw Judicial Policy Making

Even supporters of g@y "marriage", at least the more intellectually honest ones, think the recent ruling by the California Supreme Court is crap. (h/t)

[T]he California court's 121-page opinion was dishonest. This was most evident in its ritual denial of the fact that it was usurping legislative power: "Our task ... is not to decide whether we believe, as a matter of policy, that the officially recognized relationship of a same-sex couple should be designated a marriage rather than a domestic partnership ... but instead only to determine whether the difference in the official names of the relationships violates the California Constitution [emphasis in original]."

This was a deeply disingenuous dodge, if not a bald-faced lie, to conceal from gullible voters the fact that the decision was a raw exercise in judicial policy-making with no connection to the words or intent of the state constitution. It is inconceivable that anyone but a supporter of gay marriage "as a matter of policy" could have found in vague constitutional phrases such as "equal protection" a right to judicial invalidation of the marriage laws of every state and nation in the history of civilization….

Holy Crap!

Now I'm going to have nightmares about those South Park looking puppet thingies. (h/t)

If I Learn Nothing Else

Four weeks into my experience as an (FE)MBA student at Pepperdine Univ.(Irvine Graduate Campus), and I discover that the surname of the man for whom the university's business school is named after, George Graziadio, means "Thanks be to God" in Italian.

I don't think Mr. Graziadio was Catholic, in case you were wondering.

Bob Barr is a Full Fledged Idiot

Why I don't take Libertarians very seriously:

The decision today by the Supreme Court of California [regarding the state's law defining marriage as between one man and one woman] properly reflects this fundamental principle of federalism on which our nation was founded...The decision in California is an illustration of how this principle of states' powers should work.

Talk about being clueless and missing the point. Message to Mr. Ron Paul-lite (who, btw, is a trained lawyer): The California Supreme Court's ruling is not an illustration of federalism, but of anti-democratic judicial activism.

Just Awful

I'd like to say I'm surprised about the California high court's ridiculous ruling today regarding the "ban" on g@y marriage in this state, but I'm really not.

The effort to qualify the California Marriage Protection Act for the ballot this November is now even more critical.

C.D.O.

Catholic Dissidents for Obamessiah (who apparently also have reading comprehension issues).

More Mixed McCain

Nice speech on judges; WTF is he thinking here?!

Addendum: The full text of McCain's speech on judges can be read here.

Dallas, Texas?

When you get there, you can go back to the "beginning" without putting in anyone's name or e-mail address.

Tough Guys Wear Powder Blue Ascot Scarves

Welcome to my weekend childhood nostalgia trip.

Reason #898238923 Not to Be Enthused About John McCain

Unless, of course, you're a politically correct liberal. What I find particularly egregious in this instance is that McCain has condemned this perfectly acceptable political ad produced by the North Carolina GOP, even though he hasn't actually seen it.

(h/t)

Hillary and Catholics

This blatant act of pandering by Mrs. Clinton is pathetic, though not surprising. (h/t)

An Eyebrow Raiser

This coming Sunday, 60 Minutes will be airing an interview with Justice Antonin Scalia. (h/t) Among a variety of different matters he addresses, here's what Justice Scalia said about abortion:

“On the abortion thing, for example, if indeed I were…trying to impose my own views, I would not only be opposed to Roe versus Wade, I would be in favor of the opposite view, which the anti-abortion people would like to see adopted, which is to interpret the Constitution to mean that a state must prohibit abortion.” “And you’re against that?” asks Stahl. “Of course. There’s nothing [in the Constitution to support that view].”

I'm frankly a little disturbed by this. It seems Justice Scalia either thinks there is no constitutionally protected right to life, or the issue of whether the unborn are persons is totally subjective.

The B-XVI CEO Model

As formulated by Hugh Hewitt, who despite being a fall-away Catholic, is generally irenic toward the Church.

The One Time I'll Admit to Listening to Kelly Clarkson

Papa Ratzi - Plugged In

The Vatican website has all the speeches and homilies Pope B-XVI delivered this past week during his Apostolic visit to the U.S. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if the Pope wrote every last one of these by himself.

Foul!

Michelle Malkin's alter ego blog and Rep. Tom Tancredo mindlessly ascribe unfounded motivations on the Pope for his recent, and subtle, pro "open borders" comments.

Update (4/19/08): Very subtle. Possibly even imagined. (h/t to Michelle Malkin herself, though her "Look, I was raised Catholic" defense to charges of anti-Catholicism, which probably aren't fair, is pretty weak.)

Update Two (4/21/08): More on what the Pope really said and the knee jerk reaction of Congressman Cantankerous.

Continuing a Tradition Like No Other

He throws granny under the bus, calls small town America a bunch of bitter, gun toting, Jesus freaks, and now equates U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, a pro-life Republican, to a domestic terrorist.

Obamessiah: The best the Dems can do.

Like Russell From "Fat Albert" Would Say...

N.C. - No Class. (h/t)

Catholic members of Congress who publicly support the right to abortion will trek to Nationals Park Thursday for a Mass celebrated by a pope who has said such lawmakers should not receive Communion.

Leading these lawmakers, some of whom have repeatedly complained about remarks by Pope Benedict XVI and a few bishops on the subject, will be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the government's highest-ranking Catholic and a supporter of abortion rights. Nowhere in her remarks or her actions this week has she referred to strains with the new pontiff.

Instead, she bent to kiss his ring at the White House Wednesday as Benedict arrived in a blaze of pageantry, and later she spoke glowingly on the House floor about his commitment to truth, justice and freedom. A week before he arrived, the House passed a resolution welcoming him to Washington.

And yes, her spokesman said, she intends to receive Communion from one of the 300 priests and lay ministers who will offer it to the gathered flock of 45,000.

Beer Tax?!

The time has come, it seems, for a suds version of the Boston Tea Party. (h/t)

California Assemblyman Jim Beall, Jr., D-San Jose, said Thursday he has proposed legislation that would increase the excise tax on beer that could generate $2 billion in the state.

"The fallout from alcohol consumption costs Californians nearly $36 billion a year in increased health costs, crime, lost productivity, and injuries from accidents and abuse," Beall said. "It’s time for the beer industry to help us with the staggering burden it has helped to create."

Note that Beall hasn't proposed increasing the taxes on wine which, of course, is a significant industry for California, particularly in the northern part of the state.

An Elitist Liberal Caricature Unto Himself

Obamessiah explains why small town folk in America are angry, crazy gun toters, Jesus freaks, racists, "homophobes," xenophobes or economic isolationists.

You go, Barry!

How Do You Say "Asshat" in Canadian?

Dick Warman.

For some reason, there doesn't seem to be any sort of ACLJ-type organization in Canada. It certainly can use one with idiots like Dick running around.

Hey There America!

The teleprompter must have been on the fritz.

Mr. Terrorist Enabler

Also known as possibly the worst President in the history of the United States.

Former President Jimmy Carter is reportedly preparing an unprecedented meeting with the leader of Hamas, an organization that the U.S. government considers one of the leading terrorist threats in the world.

The Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat reported Tuesday that Carter was planning a trip to Syria for mid-April, during which he would meet with Khaled Meshal, the exiled head of the Palestinian terror group Hamas, on April 18.

(...)

Some Carter critics called the latest reports typical of the ex-president.

“It’s about par for the course from President Carter, demonstrating a lack of judgment typical of what he does," said John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. "To go to Syria to visit Hamas at this point is just an ill-timed, ill-advised decision on his part."

“I’m not surprised that Carter would do this, as he has been supporting Palestinian extremism for many years,” said Steve Emerson, director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, a watchdog group.

Why I Really Don't Like Shaking Peoples' Hands

You just never know where someone's hand has been.



BTW, Jake Peavy denies he cheated, and that there was anything but dirt on his hand. I, a lifelong Dodgers fan, think Peavy is a lying bastard.

RIP Charlton Heston

He wasn't just a gun rights advocate, but was one of the very first Hollywood celebrities to publicly speak out against racism. Heston also participated in the 1963 civil rights march with Martin Luther King.

Not holding my breath that it'll happen, but I'd be interested to see how much class and restraint the left side of the blogosphere will exercise over the news of Mr. Heston's unfortunate passing.

Update (8:36 am): Well, that didn't take very long. You can always count on the unhinged at DU to come through.

Must Be Something in the Vermont Water

Dem-speak is fun stuff. As noted by Ed Whelan, the term "anti-Catholic" to U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT)apparently means one Catholic, i.e., judicial nominee Robert T. Conrad, criticizing another Catholic, a nun, for displaying contempt toward the Catholic Church.

On a side note, I wonder if Judge Conrad dared the nun he criticized to knock a battery off his shoulder. (Oh, like you weren't thinking that).

Good Gawd

There must be some adage about farting in the forest with nobody around that applies to this. (h/t)

At least Barr won't be running as, and isn't pretending to be, a Republican; unlike a certain Blame America First congressman from Texas who poses for pictures with and willingly takes campaign money from white supremacists.

Speaking of Stupid

Ted Turner is epically so.

I think that they're patriots [the Iraqi insurgents/terrorists] and that they don't like us because we've invaded their country and occupied it. I think if the Iraqis were in Washington, D.C., we'd be doing the same thing: we'd be bombing them too. Nobody wants to be invaded.

I actually heard an audio clip of this quote on the Laura Ingraham radio show this morning, and paraphrasing what one of Laura's producers said in response, Ted Turner is an inspiration for all the intellectually stupid people in this country who aspire to be a billionaire.

Reason 983232938 Why Most Academics are Plain Stupid

Looks as though there's some movement afoot to try and boot John Yoo off of the law school faculty at UC Berkeley over his authorship of the so-called "torture memo." This memo was written in 2002 while Professor Yoo was the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice.

Setting aside the issue of whether certain authorized war time interrogation techniques that the U.S. employs, e.g. waterboarding, is "torture" under all circumstances (it's not, in my view), for these idiot academic leftists who most likely worship at the altar of killing babies in the womb, and probably defend the murderous rantings of Ward Churchill, to be suggesting that John Yoo should be fired from U.C. Berkeley for moral turpitude is beyond chutzpah. Indeed, it's just one more example which goes to prove that any freakin' moron can be a university professor.

Resurrecting the Dragon...In Song and Dance

Aside from the shock of seeing a Chuck Norris column on Townhall.com, I'm just bowled over at the news there are plans to create a Broadway musical on the life of Bruce Lee.

Just all the way around weird. (h/t)

Juuust a Bit High

Odds are that the few people in the crowd who felt the need to boo are BDS liberals. (h/t)

I saw the highlights of this inaugural game at Nationals Park, and as is usually the case for games I miss seeing on television, there was an exciting finish involving a game winning home run in the bottom of the 9th inning.

Paging Professor Kmiec

This quote from Obamessiah doesn't seem to be a real good indicator that he'd accommodate opposing, pro-life, points of view as President (h/t):

"Look, I got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old," he said. "I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at age 16, so it doesn't make sense to not give them information."

Outnumbered

We may need to do a little more "crusading." (via Drudge)

Giving Christianity a Bad Name

It really is disturbing how some people in this world can be convinced that this is exactly what God wants them to do when their children become sick:

A grand jury indicted an Oregon City couple accused of failing to seek medical treatment for their gravely ill daughter who died this month.

(...)

The couple's daughter, 15-month-old Ava, died at home March 2 from bacterial bronchial pneumonia and infection. A deputy state medical examiner said Ava's medical problems were treatable with antibiotics.

The Worthingtons belong to Oregon City's Followers of Christ Church. According to church tradition, when members become ill, fellow worshippers pray and anoint them with oil.

Dozens of children have been buried in the parish cemetery over the past 50 years, and a 1998 analysis by The Oregonian newspaper found that many of the deaths could have prevented with medical care.

Thank Goodness for Women

Because most men probably would be too distracted to pay attention to and actually analyze anything Pamela Anderson (I feel a surge in the hit counter) has to say about politics.

Probing Kmiec

The Anchoress proffers a plausibility, but I find pauli's analysis more compelling.

WWDD?

What Was Dubya Doing?

In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court rejected President Bush's attempt to literally make the State of Texas submit to international law and set aside the criminal conviction of a Mexican national who committed rape and murder.

'K...

Douglas Kmiec, a constitutional law professor at Pepperdine University who until about a month and a half ago was also on the Mitt Romney campaign team, appears to have flipped his lid by expressly endorsing Obamessiah. (h/t)

As a Republican, I strongly wish to preserve traditional marriage not as a suspicion or denigration of my homosexual friends, but as recognition of the significance of the procreative family as a building block of society. As a Republican, and as a Catholic, I believe life begins at conception, and it is important for every life to be given sustenance and encouragement. As a Republican, I strongly believe that the Supreme Court of the United States must be fully dedicated to the rule of law, and to the employ of a consistent method of interpretation that keeps the Court within its limited judicial role. As a Republican, I believe problems are best resolved closest to their source and that we should never arrogate to a higher level of government that which can be more effectively and efficiently resolved below. As a Republican, and the constitutional lawyer, I believe religious freedom does not mean religious separation or mindless exclusion from the public square.

In various ways, Senator Barack Obama and I may disagree on aspects of these important fundamentals, but I am convinced based upon his public pronouncements and his personal writing that on each of these questions he is not closed to understanding opposing points of view, and as best as it is humanly possible, he will respect and accommodate them.

I can certainly see why Kmiec would not want to endorse, much less vote for, John McCain. But he's nuts if he thinks a President Obamessiah will be accommodating to the "opposing points of view" that Kmiec allegedly espouses and believes in.

Gloria in Excelsis Deo

A most blessed and happy Easter to all!

John McCain and The Surge

Oh, not the military action in Iraq, but my hit counter. For the past week, I've gotten a big surge of visitors to this here blog primarily by those of you Googling "John McCain," "pastor" and "John McCain's pastor."

(Heh. That oughtta bump me back near the top of the search result list).

Way of the Cross With a Chinese Flavor

Given that the upcoming Summer Olympics are in Beijing, it's probably not coincidental that Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong was selected to compose the Way of the Cross meditations for this year's Good Friday service at the Colosseum.

Also make sure to check out the awesome artwork accompanying Cardinal Zen's meditations. (h/t Amy Welborn)

Clueless in Berkeley

A classic illustration of how to divert attention away from an otherwise dumb message with a totally avoidable mistake.

False Equivalency Alert!

From the Harvard Law educated Obamamessiah (h/t Powerline):

I can no more disown [Jeremiah Wright] than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.

Borrowing from the Obamamessiah's campaign slogan - Spanish version: Sí usted puede.

Update: Is it Obamessiah or Obamamessiah? Think I'll start going with the former since it seems to have a better flow.

I'm a Wave

Great news for me. I've been provisionally accepted into the MBA program for fully employed folk at Pepperdine University. It's not quite a top 10 program like the one at USC and UCLA, but it seems to be fairly respectable.

Yeah, I'm gonna have to borrow money for this endeavor, but I think it'll be worth it in the long run. And as much as I'd love to be able to go to Malibu for classes, I won't be. Pepperdine has a convenient satellite campus for its MBA program down in the OC. As a matter of fact, it's right across the street from USC's MBA satellite campus.

"Happy" 30th

Nice to see local college, and my sister's alma mater, Cal State Fullerton make the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament for the first time in 30 years.

Interesting that when the Titans were last at the Big Dance in 1978, they made it all the way to the Elite 8, and had beaten teams from the University of New Mexico, which featured future L.A. Lakers great Michael Cooper, and the University of San Francisco, which featured Bill Cartright, a future longtime NBA player and champion himself.

Why No Focus On John McCain's Pastor?

That was the question asked by liberal political pundit Kirsten Powers on Fox News' The Strategy Room today when the topic of Obamamessiah and the well publicized anti-American and racist ravings of his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, came up. I suppose that would be a pretty good question if it wasn't for the fact that McCain, unlike Obamamessiah, hasn't made his pastor a part of his presidential campaign. Nice attempted diversion, though, Kirsten.

Speaking of the Rev. Wright being a part of his campaign, it seems Obamamessiah is now actively trying to erase it from everyone's memory.