Stories by Erick
Posted at 10:05pm on Jul. 11, 2008 Standby . . .
By Erick
Cue the new site. Less than 50 minutes to go.
Consider this your final open thread on the present site.
[UPDATE 11:00] Momentary delay. We'll be transitioned very shortly. Keep standing by. . .
[UPDATE 12:13] We ran into a slight problem with a last minute compatibility issue. One more hour now.
[UPDATE 1:22 am] Had a glitch in program that doesn't affect any of you, but does affect all the front page contributors. IT is fixing that before launching the site, because it will affect server issues. Once that is done, the site goes live. I think I'm calling it a night.
Posted in Blogosphere | RS 3.0 — Comments (46)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 7:04pm on Jul. 11, 2008 BREAKING: Bank Collapses. Feds cite Sen. Chuck Schumer as "immediate cause" of collapse
By Erick
Federal regulators just seized and shut down IndyMac, a major mortgage specialist.
The Pasadena, Calif., thrift was one of the largest savings and loans in the country with about $32 billion in assets. It now joins an infamous list of collapsed banks, topped by Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Co., which failed in 1984 with $40 billion of assets.
IndyMac specialized in Alt-A loans, a type of mortgage that can often be offered to borrowers who don't fully document their incomes or assets. The company sold most of the loans it originated but continued to hold some on its books. As defaults piled up, IndyMac's finances deteriorated.
The bank will be run by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., a federal regulator, and will reopen Monday.
Now the question is, did Senator Chuck Schumer cause IndyMac's collapse? The Office of Thrift Supervision, that regulates entities like IndyMac, says "the immediate cause" of IndyMac's collapse was Senator Chuck Schumer.
In a written statement, the Office of Thrift Supervision, which regulated IndyMac, said "the immediate cause" of the failure was statements made by Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat. Mr. Schumer in late June publicly raised concerns about the bank's solvency.
"Although this institution was already in distress, I am troubled by any interference in the regulatory process," said OTS Director John Reich.
This is huge -- that a federal regulatory agency would precisely finger a United States Senator as being responsible for a present financial disaster. And why? Because Schumer demands camera time and soapboxes to keep his power. And this time, he stepped up too high.
Now taxpayers will foot Schumer's bill.
Posted in Archived | Banking crisis | Chuck Schumer | FDIC | IndyMac | New York — Comments (14)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 2:45pm on Jul. 11, 2008 Rep. Capuano's Newspeak for Censorship
By Erick
As the Obama candidacy gains momentum, we should all become more accustomed to "newspeak." Out is the word "censorship" to be replaced with the phrase "freedom of speech." The former phrase "freedom of speech' will be prohibited except in classical texts until such texts can be reprinted wherein all references to actual free speech will be deleted.
That, of course, seems the natural progression from Rep. Mick Capuano (D-MA), who calls the internet a "necessary evil."
Rep. Capuano is proposing regulations that would prohibit Members of Congress from contributing content to any site that has commercial advertising. Likewise, Rep. Capuano, though he's peddling furiously away from it, has proposed Congressional approval of new technologies that Members of Congress could only embrace after Congress issues a blessing.
The same thing is happening in the Senate, though Senators are being less vocal about Senator Diane Feinstein's similar proposal.
Congressman John Boehner's office has a post up on this subject. His staff points out that under Congressman Capuano's proposal, members of the House of Representatives could be prohibited from having op-eds in newspapers because those op-eds also appear online.
And it's not just Congressman Boehner and his staff. The Sunlight Foundation disagrees with Rep. Capuano's spin, as do other outside groups.
This has very little to do with actually making sure congressmen are not using their office to endorse commercial advertising and everything to do with Democrats being routinely out-gamed by Republicans in floor fights that are highlighted by Republican congressman on blogs and in YouTube mocking the insanity of the Democrats' congressional track record.
America's Mother-in-Law claims Congress has a "responsibility to ensure that Members and the public understand the need to prevent the misuse of public funds, while at the same time ensuring access to emerging online means of communication." Bridges to nowhere are apparently an acceptable use of public funds while connecting with constituents via YouTube has been perverted to be a misuse of public funds.
Get used to newspeak.
Posted in Congress | Franking | Internet Censorship | John Boehner | Massachusetts | Michael Capuano | Nancy Pelosi — Comments (5)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 12:22pm on Jul. 11, 2008 Tonight
By Erick
Four years ago on July 12th, RedState turned on the lights.
In August of 2006, we turned off scoop and turned on Drupal.
Tonight, between 10 - 11 p.m., we'll be turning off Drupal and turning on something new. Our official launch of RedState 3.0 will begin Monday and we have a lot of surprises in store for you.
Right now, the new site is at http://beta.redstate.com and your account works there.
If you have a space in your user name, you'll need to use the "_" in place of the space. Your password was transferred. If you are posting a diary here today, you might want to hop on over to the new site and post there too. Tonight, http://beta.redstate.com becomes http://www.redstate.com and this site goes to a read-only archive. Anything posted at the beta site today will transfer over as part of the new site tonight.
While I'm at it, let me extend a big thanks to Neil and Robert for their tremendously hard work under difficult and aggravating circumstances to get us here. Let me also thank Josh, Ben, Mike, Clayton, and everyone else here at RedState for one heck of a great four years.
It's been fun. I hope the new site will make it even more enjoyable and productive for all of us in the RedState Community.
See you tonight at the new site and, until then, I'll be hanging around here.
Posted in Blogosphere — Comments (25)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 3:03pm on Jul. 10, 2008 McCotter in the alley broadcasting a message America's Mother-in-Law doesn't want you to hear
By Erick
Congressman McCotter has a message for you and the Democrats. Of course, he'll have to resort to this method of communication if the Democrats have their way.
Posted in Blogging | Congress | Fairness Doctrine | Michigan | Nancy Pelosi | Thaddeus McCotter — Comments (8)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:35pm on Jul. 9, 2008 The Senate GOP Needs Testicular Fortitude
What do the Senate GOP and Osama Bin Laden have in common? They both cave.
By Erick
The Senate Republicans have a long time pattern: when they are close to victory, they stop advancing.
It has happened again and again. It is not even the fault of the GOP leader. It is a problem that goes through the core of the Senate GOP and has for years.
At a moment when the American public is massively shifting to the position of "Drill Here. Drill Now." the Senate Republicans have ditched a plan to push forward on ANWR.
The Senate GOP should fight on this issue. They can win it. And they should.
But they will not because when Democrats come at them with a punch, the Senate GOP slaps back and then folds. Again and again and again and again.
Perhaps we should add these to the Senate GOP diet. They need a supplement.
Posted in Congress — Comments (81)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:20pm on Jul. 9, 2008 Hating James Dobson: To Heck With His Qualifications, He's a Meanie
By Erick
Rush Limbaugh is in the Radio Hall of Fame and deservedly so. He redefined talk radio. This year, the Radio Hall of Fame is considering Dr. James Dobson, along with Howard Stern, Bob Costas, and Laura Schlessinger.
As you can imagine, the left is going nuts over Dobson's nomination. They do not care about Dobson's impact on the medium. They do not care about how many people listen to him [Ed. -- That is *precisely* what they care about]. They really only care that Dobson is a Christian with strongly held views they consider hateful, i.e. his opposition to gay marriage.
A group called Truth Wins Out is trying to scuttle Dobson's nomination because, according to their Executive Director, "We believe that character counts and nominees should have careers based on honesty and integrity – not discrimination, distorting research and outright lying."
Just to be clear here, this is a pro-gay organization that wants to shut out Dr. Dobson for disagreeing with the lifestyle -- in other words they are intolerant of Dobson's opinion and want to deny him entry into the Radio Hall of Fame as a result.
It's a sad day in America when a man as imminently qualified for recognition in the field of radio as Dobson is would be shut out of the Hall of Fame for exercising his first amendment rights on the radio in a way leftists disagree with.
I'd encourage you to go support Dr. Dobson.
Posted in Culture | James Dobson — Comments (14)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 12:43pm on Jul. 4, 2008 Today is worthy of celebration
By Erick
It may surprise you as it surprised me. There are some people, largely those who lean toward the libertarian view on life, who will not celebrate this day as our Independence Day. They say we are no longer an independent people and this day is not worth celebrating. In their effort to shock people with their near atheist view of American exceptionalism, they profoundly miss the point.
I tend to agree with them. We have embraced a national government at the expense of ourselves and our states. For this very reason, we should celebrate this day all the more.
232 years ago, a group of men pledged their lives, their fortune, and their honor to rebel against a tyrant who refused to recognize them as free people subject to the laws of the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was a very conservative revolution — the men wanted to be recognized as free men like the other British subjects on the island and, when not so recognized, threw off the shackles of tyranny that these free men might be free.
Those who believe we are no longer free fail to recognize that we are no longer free through our own actions. We have, collectively, chosen actions to make us less free. Those who believe we are no longer free should therefore highlight the example of our founders more so than any other group.
Today is not the day to proclaim our Independence Day no longer has any meaning. Today is the day to celebrate our Independence Day to show what might be yet again if a free people chose again to be free of the shackles of a federal government that increasingly seeks to make a free people again dependent.
A Christian in the midst of those who have thrown off the faith has a duty to proclaim the gospel even louder and pray even harder for the lost. One committed to the first principles of this nation has a similar duty when surrounded by those who have forgotten those first principles. And just as Easter and Christmas are the two high holy days for the Christian, Independence Day and Constitution Day should be viewed the same by those disenchanted by our present lack of every day independence.
So celebrate and rejoice. Today is the day a free people rose up and restored their freedom through independence.
Posted in Miscellanea — Comments (7)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:05pm on Jul. 3, 2008 A Belief In Small Government is "Strange and Outlandish"
By Erick
In Georgia's 10th Congressional District, Paul Broun is being challenged in the Republican Primary by State Representative Barry "The Lemming" Fleming.
They had a debate last night.
As you all know, Paul Broun is a small government conservative's conservative. The man takes no prisoners in his quest for limiting government. He has voted against federal medical marijuana laws on the principle of federalism, against federal housing programs on the principle of smaller government, and against funding Planned Parenthood on the principle of life.
Paul Broun is to the House of Representatives what Tom Coburn is to the Senate: a take no prisoners, conservative bad ass.
Paul Broun is a class act. Unfortunately, because Broun believes small government is a hill to die on, his challenger, Barry Fleming, is going after him.
In what I think is a first for a Republican candidate anywhere, Barry Fleming, a Republican, has called Congressman Paul Broun's conservative political philosophy "strange and outlandish."
And this guy wants to replace Paul Broun as the Republican standard bearing in the 10th Congressional District.
We should make sure that does not happen.
Posted in 2008 | Barry Fleming | GA-10 | Paul Broun — Comments (10)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:35am on Jul. 3, 2008 Question
By Erick
In 2003, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the 5-4 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger. In that case, the Supreme Court upheld the affirmative action admissions policy of the University of Michigan Law School.
Justice O'Connor wrote, "Race-conscious admissions policies must be limited in time. The Court takes the Law School at its word that it would like nothing better than to find a race-neutral admissions formula and will terminate its use of racial preferences as soon as practicable. The Court expects that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further the interest approved today."
If the decision were issued today, no doubt the Supreme Court would have struck down Grutter. O'Connor was replaced by Alito and Roberts took Rehnquist's spot. Kennedy had sided with Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas in the minority.
It has not been twenty-five years since Grutter, just five years. But in those five years we have seen the first American-American Presidential nominee for the largest political party in the nation, which also happens to be the same party that historically has been most antagonist to minorities: on the losing side of the Civil War, the Jim Crow era, and the Civil Rights era. It was Senator Obama's political party that implemented Jim Crow laws and that tried to filibuster all major civil rights legislation of the twentieth century.
With Barack Obama's ascendency, are racial preferences still needed? Has affirmative action finally out lived its usefulness? If not now, what about next year if Barack Obama becomes President?
I suspect the history Barack Obama is making will give Justices Roberts, Alito, Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy a second bite at the affirmative action apple.