To read this important opinion piece by Mark Steyn visit http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjU5OTJmODE4MGM5YmNiZDEyZDU5ZWU3NThhYjdmNGY. Tweet
Saturday, December 26, 2009
WSJ: "Judges Gone Wild"
The Wall Street Journal explains the Supreme Court case of Caperton v. Massey, which "set out a new standard requiring judges to recuse themselves if there is a 'probability of bias' in a case. That was a marked departure from historical standards, which required a judge to step off primarily when he had a direct financial interest." This has already led Michigan to define "judicial bias down." To read more about this visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704240504574585754116196202.html. Tweet
The Wall Street Journal On John "Kerry Of Teheran"
The Wall Street Journal editorial correctly writes:
John Kerry lost the Secretary of State sweepstakes to Hillary Clinton, but that hasn't lowered his diplomatic ambitions. The Journal reported Thursday that the Senate Foreign Relations Chairman is mulling a trip to Iran, and with the blessing of the Obama Administration. If the mullahs had any sense, they'd send him a government plane. Beset by almost daily demonstrations by a democratic opposition that has been growing despite beatings and arrests since the stolen June election, Mr. Kerry would arrive from Washington to show the Iranian people that at least someone still favors the regime. He would be the most senior American to visit Tehran in 30 years and his trip would convey legitimacy that the dictatorship is especially eager to have at the current moment. The Kerry mission would also look like a panicky effort to persuade the Ayatollah Ali Khamanei to accept the increasingly plaintive U.S. offers of engagement. Mr. Obama has set the end of this month as his latest deadline for progress on nuclear talks before he says he'll seek tougher sanctions against Iran at the U.N. But if a year of personal Presidential letters and Administration entreaties hasn't worked, why would a Senatorial trip? The regime would probably exploit the visit for its own domestic purposes, perhaps adding to its P.R. coup by releasing to Mr. Kerry the three hapless American hikers it has promised to put on trial for having "suspicious aims" as they wandered across the border with Iraq. The Iranians who need support now are the democrats in prison, in the streets, and increasingly in the mosques as the regime loses its legitimacy even among many clerics. Please do them no more harm, Senator.
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WSJ: "All Is Not Calm Over Decorations"
The Wall Street Journal reports on the controversies that have taken place throughout the country regarding holiday displays. To read the article visit http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126161471097003539.html. Tweet
Chinese Dissident Recieves 11 Year Jail Sentence For "Subversion"
Bloomberg reports that "Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo will appeal his 11 year prison sentence for subversion, Hong Kong’s Ming Pao Daily News reported today, citing his wife. Liu, 53, hopes he will be the last person in China imprisoned for expressing personal views, the Chinese-language newspaper cited his wife, Liu Xia, as saying. The former Columbia University visiting scholar was also stripped of his political rights for two years by the Beijing First Intermediate People’s Court yesterday, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Liu helped organize Charter 08, an open letter that urged the Chinese government to hold direct elections and allow freedom of assembly. The Hong Kong paper today carried the full text of his sentence." Tweet
Friday, December 25, 2009
CBO Rebuts Democratic Claims On Medicare
Bloomberg reports that the "Congressional Budget Office challenged claims by health-care overhaul proponents that Medicare savings in Senate legislation would help finance expanded coverage and postpone the bankruptcy of the medical program for the elderly. The nonpartisan agency said the $246 billion it projected the legislation would save Medicare can’t both finance new programs and help pay future expenses for elderly covered under the federal program. Nor could those savings be used to extend the solvency of Medicare, set to run out of money in 2017, the budget office said in a letter to Senate Republicans. 'What we’ve seen is a colossal manipulation” by Democrats 'of the accounting scores of CBO' and the independent actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, said Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, the Republican who requested the analysis from CBO. He called the letter 'a potential game-changer.' The estimated Medicare savings in the legislation overstate 'the improvement in the government’s fiscal position,' the CBO said in the letter. 'The true increase in the ability to pay for future Medicare benefits or other programs would be a good deal smaller,' the budget office said." Tweet
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Milton Freidman In 1978 Discussing The Economics Of Health Care And Increasing Government Intervention
In light of the Senate passing their version of the health care bill, I thought a classic video of Milton Freidman discussing the economics of medicine and dangers of government intervention was timely and worth posting:
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Legal Scholars John Yoo And Erwin Chemerinsky Debating The Legality Of Holding Enemy Combatants At Gitmo
This is an old debate, but still worth posting:
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Senior House Dem: Kill The Senate Health Reform Bill And Start Over
The Hill reports the "Senate's healthcare bill is fatally flawed, a senior Democrat atop a powerful committee said on Wednesday. Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the House Rules Committee and co-chairwoman of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, said that the Senate's bill is so flawed that it's unlikely to be resolved in conference with the bill to have passed the House. 'The Senate health care bill is not worthy of the historic vote that the House took a month ago,' Slaughter wrote in an opinion piece for CNN's website. Slaughter argued that while the House bill is far from perfect, the Senate bill's exclusion of a public option, along with abortion funding restrictions and other measures, make the bill undeserving of a vote. Specifically, Slaughter said, the Senate bill would charge seniors higher premiums, would fail to nix health insurers' antitrust exemption and would not go far enough in extending coverage to people in the U.S." Tweet
Controversy Over Atheist Display That Mocks Religion In Illinois State Capitol
CBS reports: A conservative activist and Illinois comptroller candidate was escorted from the Illinois State Capitol building Wednesday when he tried to remove a sign put up by an atheist group. William J. Kelly announced Tuesday that he planned to take down the sign put up by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and on Wednesday, he tried to make good on his plan. But Kelly said when he turned the sign around so it was face down, state Capitol police were quick to escort him away. Illinois Secretary of State's office spokeswoman Henry Haupt said Kelly was escorted from the rotunda by state Capitol police, who briefly detained him, wrote an incident report, and directed him to leave the building... [K]elly called the sign "hate speech," and said he does not believe it is appropriate for a sign that "mocks" religion to be placed next to a Christmas tree and also near a nativity scene. "I don't think the State of Illinois has any business denigrating or mocking any religion," Kelly said, "and I think that's what the verbiage on the sign was doing." The sign reads: "At the time of the winter solstice, let reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is just myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds." The sign was also on display at the Capitol at this time last year. The group says it filed for a permit to post the display in response to the state's decision to put up the nativity. But Kelly said he believes the problem is not only the verbiage of the sign, but also its proximity to the Christmas tree. "The fact that sign was immediately in front of the tree, I found that to be disturbing because any family and any child would run up to that tree with a smile on their face, and they would immediately see that sign," Kelly said. Haupt said Kelly had been advised not to return to the state Capitol for the rest of the day on Wednesday. The Madison, Wis.-based Freedom from Religion Foundation has placed the sign in several state Capitol buildings across the country. As to Kelly's claims that the sign mocks religion, foundation co-President Dan Barker said: "He's kind of right, because the last couple of sentences do criticize religion, and of course, the beginning is a celebration of the winter solstice."
The sign is there to mock religion and religious people, and the organization which sponsors the sign openly admits the purpose of the sign is to mock people of faith. This sign should not be allowed in the Capitol building. It is not the fault of the religious that those "free from religion" have no holidays and nothing to celebrate. But their lack of ability to celebrate anything at all should not be an excuse to rudely mock all religions in the Capitol building, and to place the sign right near a nativity scene. It's a matter of common decency. Christmas trees, nativity scenes, Chanukah menorahs, or other religious symobls appear in these sorts of places in conjunction with religious holidays that many citizens celebrate. They are not there to mock or denigrate other religions or atheists at all. There is no equivalence between religious holiday symbols and a sign with a message meant to disparage many of the citizens of Illinois as being without "reason" whose hearts are hardened and minds enslaved. It is literally a display of both arrogance and rudeness.
Imagine the sign said this: "At the time of Christmas, let the one truth prevail. There is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, heaven and hell. There is a world to come. Those who have not seen the light of Christianity believe in myths and superstitions that harden hearts and enslave minds." How long do you think that kind of a sign would last? I don't think it would last twenty seconds, and rightfully so. Now, pray tell, how is this sign any different than the one that now stands in the Illinois Capitol building?
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Senate Votes For "Massive Increase" In Debt Ceiling
The AP reports that the "Senate voted Thursday to raise the ceiling on the government debt to $12.4 trillion, a massive increase over the current limit and a political problem that President Barack Obama has promised to address next year. The Senate's rare Christmas Eve vote, 60-39, follows House passage last week and raises the debt ceiling by $290 billion. The vote split mainly down party lines, with Democrats voting to raise the limit and Republicans voting against doing so. There was one defection on each side, by senators whose seats will be on the ballot next year: GOP Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio and Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana. "I would not support raising the debt ceiling because Congress has not adopted a credible process to restrain spending and eliminate red ink," Bayh said a statement after the vote. The bill permits the Treasury Department to issue enough bonds to fund the government's operations and programs until mid-February. The Senate will vote again on the issue Jan. 20. Obama must sign the measure into law to prevent a market-rattling, first-ever default on U.S. obligations."
The federal government, all three branches under the control of the Democratic party, has piled up a staggering record $1.4 trillion deficit for 2009.
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Senator Tom Coburn: "This Congress Will Be Remembered For Its Arrogance, Corruption And Stupidity"
To read Republican Senator Tom Coburn's article visit http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2009/12/24/voting_against_government-run_health_care_99671.html. Tweet
Hamas Terrorists Say They Are Ready For More Fighting
Reuters reports that Abu Ubaida, spokesman for Hamas's armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, said late on Wednesday from the cover of an orchard in the Gaza Strip that "if any battle is imposed on us, we are ready with all our manpower and equipment to confront any Zionist war, any crime and any attack regardless of scale." He also said that "we have the right to use any weapon that we deem suitable and we have the right to get into (Gaza) any weapon that we see as appropriate in the ongoing battle with the occupation," the term Hamas often uses to describe all of Israel. Tweet
Satire On "Imaginary Savings" In Health Care Bill
To see for yourself visit http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/checker.aspx?v=GdaGeueueu. Tweet
9/11 Suspects Meeting To Lay Out Strategy For New York Trial
The Washington Post reports that "Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four co-defendants accused of organizing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks are meeting to plot legal strategy in advance of their transfer to New York and are learning as much as possible about criminal procedure in U.S. federal court, according to sources familiar with the detainees' deliberations. While the five men wanted to plead guilty in a military commission earlier this year to hasten their executions, sources now say that the detainees favor participating in a full-scale federal trial to air their grievances and expose their treatment while held by the CIA at secret prisons. The sources, who cautioned that the detainees' final decision remains uncertain, spoke on the condition of anonymity because all communications with high-value detainees are presumptively classified." Tweet
Yemen Says Fort Hood-Linked Imam Awlaki May Have Been Killed In Raid
Rueters reports that a "Yemeni air raid may have killed the top two leaders of al Qaeda's regional branch on Thursday, and an American Muslim preacher linked to the man who shot dead 13 people at a U.S. army base may also have died, a Yemeni security official said. Nasser al-Wahayshi, the Yemeni leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and his Saudi deputy, Saeed al-Shehri, were believed to be among more than 30 militants killed in the dawn operation in the eastern province of Shabwa, said the official, who asked not to be identified. U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki may also have died in the air strike which targeted a meeting of militants planning attacks on Yemeni and foreign oil and economic targets, he said. If all the deaths are confirmed, the air strike would appear to have struck a severe blow against AQAP, seen as the most dangerous regional offshoot of Osama bin Laden's network. 'Anwar al-Awlaki is suspected to be dead,' the official said of the cleric who was on the run in Yemen, where he was on the government's most-wanted list of terrorist suspects." Tweet
Alan J. Kuperman Of The University Of Texas At Austin In The New York Times: "There’s Only One Way To Stop Iran"
Alan J. Kuperman argues that the only way to stop Iran from attaining nuclear weapons at this point is for military action in the form of airstrikes. To read this important article visit http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/opinion/24kuperman.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1. Tweet
Democrat Congressman Stupak Says That He Has Been Offered "Hush Money" By The Democrat Leaders
To listen to Congressman Stupak for yourself, visit http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/checker.aspx?v=GdaGeuZuaG. Tweet
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Fort Hood Killer Hasan Asked Radical Islamic Cleric Awlaki In First E-mail If It Was Okay To Kill American Soldiers
ABC News reports that in "an interview published on Al Jazeera's Web site, radical Muslim cleric Anwar al Awlaki says that Maj. Nidal Hasan, charged with killing 13 in last month's Fort Hood massacre, asked for guidance about killing American military personnel in his very first e-mail. Awlaki claims that Hasan initiated the e-mail correspondence with a message on Dec. 17, 2008. 'He was asking about killing U.S. soldiers and officers,' says Awlaki. 'His question was is it legitimate [under Islamic law].' The Al Jazeera questioner asks for confirmation that Hasan forwarded this query nearly a year before the shooting. Hasan and Awlaki exchanged as many as 18 e-mails in the year prior to the shooting. As ABC News had previously reported exclusively, Hasan had discussed martyrdom with Awlaki, asking when jihad is appropriate, and whether it is permissible if there are innocents killed in a suicide attack. Hasan also told Awlaki he looked forward to seeing him in the afterlife and sharing non-alcoholic wine." Tweet
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
South Carolina Attorney General To Look Into Bribes In Health Care Deal
WCBD-TV Charleston reports that "South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster said Tuesday that he intends to organize his counterparts in different states to investigate dealmaking that sealed a final compromise on federal health care legislation. McMaster was asked by South Carolina Senators Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint review how Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson was able to spare his state higher Medicaid costs as the Democrat held out for perks for his state in the mammoth bill. McMaster said the language of the Nelson provision appears to give the State of Nebraska a permanent exemption from paying the Medicaid expenses all other states in the nation will be required to pay. 'In other words, if this amendment stands, taxpayers from South Carolina and other states will be paying the bills for the increase in Nebraska’s Medicaid population,' said McMaster. The Nelson provision is unusual in that there is not cut off date or phase out. Many provisions in federal law have a sunset date—say 2, 5, 10, or even 20 years—but this provision will continue in perpetuity. McMaster said that Attorney General Rob McKenna of Washington State has agreed to join the effort. He also said he intended to consult other attorneys general to for a group that would explore legal options. 'In my judgment,' said McMaster, 'Democrats and Republicans alike from every state in the union should be outraged by this deal.'" Tweet
Iran Dismisses US Deadline For Nuke Deal
The Jerusalem Post reports that "Iran's president has dismissed a year-end deadline set by the Obama administration for Teheran to accept a UN-drafted deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel. The deal aims to diminish Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium, easing the West's fears that the material could be used to produce a nuclear weapon. Iran, which denies it seeks to build a bomb, has balked at the terms of the deal. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that 'if Iran wanted to make a bomb, we would be brave enough to tell you.' He said the West can give Iran 'as many deadlines as they want, we don't care.'" Tweet
Democrat Senator Burris Slams Republicans In Reworked "'Twas The Night Before Christmas"
Just a reminder, here was Republican Senator Kit Bond's remake of the very same Christmas song: http://www.stevelackner.com/2009/12/senator-kit-bond.html.
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The Weekly Standard On The Gitmo Recidivism Problem: "Catch And Release"
To read this article by Stephen F. Hayes visit http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/017/359xvtka.asp. Tweet
House Minority Leader John Boehnor In USA Today: "Keep Terrorists Out Of USA"
Congressman Boehnor argues that "importing Guantanamo suspects to Illinois won’t make us safer." To read more visit http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/12/opposing-view-keep-terrorists-out-of-usa.html#more. Tweet
Rasmussen: 46% Strongly Disapprove Of Obama
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday reports "that 25% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-six percent (46%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -21 That’s the lowest Approval Index rating yet recorded for this President." Tweet
Monday, December 21, 2009
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