Friday Open Thread.
By Leon H Wolf Posted in Miscellanea — Comments (54) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Let us consider briefly how much worse of a place the world would be without Arlen Specter to protect us.
And now, open thread.
UPDATE: Thanks to Dan McLaughlin for the awesome picture.
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Friday Open Thread. 54 Comments (0 topical, 54 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Agreed. Where would we be?? /sarcasm
"When someone preaches disunity, tries to pit us against each other through class warfare, race hatred or religious intolerance, that person seeks to rob us of our freedom and destroy our very lives. And, we know what to do about it..."
Hat tip to Neal Boortz-- an 80-year-old retired Green Beret in response to an intruder breaking into his house shoots him right between the eyes with a .22, but the bullet bounces off the intruder's skull. His friends afterward put him on mock trial for "failing to use a weapon of sufficient caliber", a charge of which he was found not guilty.
http://bluestarchronicles.com/2008/01/26/retired-green-beret-gets-court-...
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Finrod's First Law of Bandwidth:
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it takes the bandwidth of ten thousand.
Let's talk sense. Benedict Arnold was a war hero but that did not exempt him from condemnation for his later betrayal.
Being a war hero is not a lifetime get-out-of-jail-free card. And becoming President of the United States is not a matter of rewarding an individual for past services.
And I don't think McCain ever will come CLOSE to treason, so... yup, he'll always be that unconventional war hero whose love for his country is unquestioned.
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"If we want to take this party back, and I think we can someday, let’s get to work." – Barry Goldwater
...he was a traitor to his country his analogy was speaking to his betrayal of conservatives and his character and integrity!
The quote was from yesterday's piece titled McCain’s Crooked Talk and as usual Mr. Sowell is 100% correct:
Confronted with his lie on Wednesday night’s debate, McCain blustered and filibustered in a manner reminiscent of Captain Queeg in The Caine Mutiny, when he was caught in a lie during a navy inquiry.
When confronted with any of his misdeeds, Senator McCain tends to fall back on his record as a war hero in Vietnam.
Let’s talk sense. Benedict Arnold was a war hero but that did not exempt him from condemnation for his later betrayal.
Being a war hero is not a lifetime get-out-of-jail-free card. And becoming president of the United States is not a matter of rewarding an individual for past services.
The presidency is a heavy responsibility for the future of the nation, including generations yet unborn. Character and integrity are major qualifications.
The passing years and a friendly media have allowed Senator McCain’s shortcomings in the character and integrity department to fade into the background.
Founder and contributor to The Minority Report and Editor for The Hinzsight Report
Arlen Specter - McCain's kind of Republican.
The Dark Horse Candidate Everyone Has Been Waiting For – Major General Jerry R. Curry
Available for interviews Call: 202-787-1532
Please consider the website of Major General Jerry R. Curry (U.S. Army Ret.), a dark horse candidate who announced his run for the presidency on the Republican ticket in Oklahoma on January 24: http://www.curryforamerica.com/ He is everything that people have been yearning for. Interviewed on January 26 by Kelly Wright on Fox and Friends, it is clear that General Curry is now the only true conservative candidate in the race. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCNUFrG42Z0 )
Many articles written in the last couple of months describe how it is possible that NONE of the current Republican candidates will be the nominee, but rather that a DARK HORSE CANDIDATE will come forward and be nominated.
Just thought I'd throw it out there.
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The Red Sox Republican: Burkeanism, Baseball, and Sundries.
Being as to how I am kinda new to this, what does the
It did not show up. greater than nt less than
It's an indication that there is no text in the comment itself, and that the subject line is the entirety of the comment.
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The Red Sox Republican: Burkeanism, Baseball, and Sundries.
Ah. Thank you. Why, besides the timing, do you think the guy has no chance? Many people are not happy with the choices available.
The guy has no chance because it's too late.
Wasn't Fred Thompson too late? Wasn't Rudy wrong to wait until Florida? Why have both of them dropped out now?
Why have Kucinich, Edwards, etc dropped out? Because if they aren't successful by now, they're not going to get the nomination and they know it.
Somebody new could come in third party at this stage, but not on the Republican or democratic tickets. It's too late.
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I'm not voting for Ron Paul because it's not expressly prescribed in the Constitution.
-- Mark Hemingway, The Corner (NRO)
to take more of an interest in what goes on in the NFL? Might keep his squishy self busy and out of more important matters. And as to Specter's remark that destroying tapes having to do with football are the same as the CIA destroying tapes interrogating terrorists, excuse me? All this tells me is that our elected officials have no sense of perspective and no ability to discern what their actual jobs are supposed to be. Every time one of these perpetual politicians opens his mouth in this fashion, it gives the notion of term limits even more validity.
Having said that, I'd like Specter to look into whether or not someone has been tampering with our water meter. My people will contact his people.
Mayor West: MY GOD! Someone's stealing my water!
Meg: But it just went down the drain.
Mayor West: They hit when you least expect it.
(Waters plant.)
Mayor West: SHOW YOURSELVES, COWARDS! I've spent $1,000 of the tax payers money trying to find these thieves and I'll spend $1,000,000 if that's what it takes!
Meg: You know, I think I have my story.
Mayor West: NO! WAIT! You can't print that! Thank God she's just a figment of my imagination.
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NARF
Exactly! on the picture's meaning! Bravo! That or either "if I spread a nasty rumor about her can I be VP?" *grin*
"When someone preaches disunity, tries to pit us against each other through class warfare, race hatred or religious intolerance, that person seeks to rob us of our freedom and destroy our very lives. And, we know what to do about it..."
Haha Arlen.
"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that." - Bill Shankly
A source inside the Maricopa County Executive Guidance Committee (EGC) has told us that District 11 Chairman Rob Haney is moving forward with a resolution opposing McCain at the next EGC meeting on February 7th. The information was provided to us by someone normally opposed to McCain who none-the-less wanted to move on to other issues and opposed bringing forward the motion. Despite some opposition from certain members there are still enough Haney allies opposed to McCain that the resolution has a very good chance of passing at the EGC meeting on the 7th. We are not in contact with all 28 members on the committee but we do know that Haney does have some strong allies and can be very successful at lining up votes. Haney was forced to send out an advanced copy of the resolution because of past complaints from committee members about not having enough time to read the resolutions before the meeting. We were able to obtain a draft copy of the resolution printed below.
STATEMENT OF OPPOSITION TO THE CANDIDACY OF SENATOR MCCAIN FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Whereas, Our National Republican Committee members, Bruce Ash and Sharon Giese have chosen to endorse the presidential candidacy of Senator McCain during the primaries thereby reviving the angst, revulsion and polarization amongst the majority of the Arizona Republican activists who oppose said candidacy; and
Whereas, Senator McCain’s, dual-citizenship holder and Spanish liaison advisor, Dr Juan Hernandez, (who was an advisor to former Mexican President Vicente Fox), has repeatedly stated his “think Mexico First” position and repeatedly, when American interests were at odds with the interest of Mexican illegals, Hernandez has sided against America; and
Whereas, Senator McCain repeatedly proclaims that his Amnesty bill is not Amnesty, refuses to vote to allow drilling for oil in Alaska thereby weakening our national security while causing as steep rise in inflation, buys into Gore’s unproven hysterical rhetoric stating Global warming is caused by human activity, and makes the disingenuous claim that he is pro-life while repeatedly voting for embryonic stem cell research and fetal tissue research with tax payer money; and
Whereas, In a straw poll during the Maricopa County Republican precinct committeemen meeting of January 19, 2008, Senator McCain was voted as the most unacceptable Republican presidential candidate by amassing an overwhelming negative vote of 427 of the 721 ballots cast; and
Whereas, Leading conservative voices, including Delay and Santorum, have warned us that McCain is not a conservative and poses a great danger to the Republican Party; and
Whereas, McCain has demonstrated his ease with the truth by mischaracterizing Romney’s statement on timetables for Iraq; and
Whereas, This grassroots leadership body censured Senator McCain in 2005 for his failure to faithfully perform his duty to uphold the Constitution and for his undermining the Republican mandate of the 2004 election: therefore
Be it resolve, That we, the Maricopa County Republican Committee state most emphatically that Senator McCain is not our favored Republican candidate for President of the United States.
Thu 31 Jan 2008
The story about Kerry considering McCain for his VP in 2004 has made it around before. At the time, I didn't think it was a serious consideration by either-- I figured that there was probably greater than a 50 percent chance that the whole thing was just wishful thinking out loud on Kerry's part.
What annoyed me about John McCain in that story was the very delayed denial. He could have come out right at the beginning and said "No, I would never consider being John Kerry's VP" and the whole story would have been a non-starter.
But he didn't.
He let the story kick around and fester for several days before finally putting out a denial.
What kind of good Republican would let a story like that get its sea legs before finally saying something? It's this kind of thing that makes me wonder if John McCain's judgement is sometimes faulty, or whether his loyalty to the Republican Party is sometimes faulty.
And neither of those possibilities gives me any comfort in pondering what he would be like as Commander in Chief.
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Finrod's First Law of Bandwidth:
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it takes the bandwidth of ten thousand.
if that is your problem, then you actually have a whole other problem and are using this as just a means of attacking him.
He went to VMI and defended the Iraq War while Mitt Romney was doing Massachusetts matters. What kind of a CinC would he make, the kind that is willing to stand up for the good of the country no matter the political cost or heat. What kind of CinC would Romney make? Your guess is as good as mine since he has zero experience in such matters.
What you just posted is the definition of a red herring.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor
This is just one side of this particular problem that I don't see mentioned very often.
If I started listing off all the problems I have with John McCain, I might not finish before the general election.
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Finrod's First Law of Bandwidth:
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it takes the bandwidth of ten thousand.
while you list his problems, you overlook all of his positive traits. I don't know any perfect people, but here at Redstate that seems to be what you want from your politicians.
That is the difference between someone like me and someone like you. I remember seeing John McCain go to VMI and give a speech that I believe will become historical record as one of the driving forces of the political turnaround of the war in Iraq, and I realized that this politician is the right type of politician. I realized that he is willing to stand up for the good of the nation even if that means a risk to himself and his party. He was the only one doing it while most of the rest of the folks were running away from the war. After that, I was willing to forgive whatever problems I had with him, because to me, they were trivial compared to his efforts to make sure the war wasn't lost.
You, on the other hand, are willing to overlook his efforts in the war in Iraq and the war on terror, because of other problems you have with him.
Furthermore, you buy what is obviously pandering because that individual is pandering to you. You would rather have someone pander to you, then someone tell you what they really feel.
See, I find that attitude to be troubling.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor
I heard Mike and Mike this morning and he is trying to strong arm Roger Goodell into testifying on the hill about destroying video of the Patriots likely cheating against the Jets. I am not sure how I feel about that. The NFL does enjoy protection against anti trust and they never explained what happened, however at some point Congress needs to know its bounds.
I fully support Congress looking into the steroid issue because you can't ignore systemic cheating in a major sport. This is something different though.
On another note, I would like to offer up my latest piece in my vendetta to hold Vernon Jones, CEO of DeKalb County and major player in the Grady Scandal, accountable. Here it is.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor
Where is baseball rules regulation in the Constitution?
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"If we want to take this party back, and I think we can someday, let’s get to work." – Barry Goldwater
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Finrod's First Law of Bandwidth:
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it takes the bandwidth of ten thousand.
I concur. They act like bullies threatening to break your window if you don't do what they say.
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"If we want to take this party back, and I think we can someday, let’s get to work." – Barry Goldwater
don't allow systemic cheating.
Again, Congress is not deciding playoff structure. You guys are acting as though they are telling them draft order. I am as libertarian as the next guy, however that stops with cheating. Baseball looked the other way while a bunch of cheaters put fans in the seats because they couldn't think of any other way to draw fans to the games. Thus, the cheating spun out of control. If there is systemic cheating in a sport, there is no sport, it becomes the WWE. If Congress sits back while there is systemic cheating and does nothing they aren't doing their duty.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor
that baseball can't control it themselves. I would love for Congress to attend to other matters, however baseball has been so lax that there is widespread cheating. You can't have a major sport in which most of the participants are cheating. If baseball could handle it internally then that would be great. That isn't what happened. Baseball looked the other way and allowed the problem to scream out of control. Congress didn't look the other way when there was accounting scandals, which is another form of cheating, and they simply can't ignore this cheating because it is too widespread. Whether we like it or not, baseball is an integral part of our culture, and the powers that be, have allowed the sport to be ruled by cheating. If they can't control it themselves, then Congress has no choice.
At its height, many sports writers believe it was up to 80% of the folks cheating. If Congress ignores the situation and pretends it is not happening then they aren't doing anyone any favors.
This isn't Congress getting involved in determining the manner in which play offs are determined. This is Congress getting involved to stop systemic cheating.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor
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"If we want to take this party back, and I think we can someday, let’s get to work." – Barry Goldwater
you can give me all the fancy and nifty lines you want, but that won't change the fact that you aren't actually addressing what I am saying. I would love for baseball to run its own sport. I hate the BCS but I don't think Congress should get involved. I don't think Congress should tell baseball how to run their playoffs. Unfortunately, that stops when baseball can't control systemic cheating. If baseball wants to keep Congress out of its business the only thing baseball needs to do is make sure there isn't systemic cheating. If there is systemic cheating baseball ceases to be a sport and it becomes the WWE. If it is that, then baseball is committing a fraud upon its patrons unless it specifies that the games are pre determined by those that cheated the best.
By allowing systemic cheating baseball committed a fraud upon its patrons, and if you don't think that fraudulent behavior is something that Congress should give oversight to I would recommend you read the Constitution again.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor
then you stop patronizing it. Isn't that what baseball fans should do, rather than begging Congress to look at it?
If they're breaking laws, send the law after them. Otherwise, stop giving them the money that tells them cheating is profitable.
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I'm not voting for Ron Paul because it's not expressly prescribed in the Constitution.
-- Mark Hemingway, The Corner (NRO)
if you are Congress, you can't overlook widespread and systemic cheating, because that is a fraud perpetrated on the patrons. Furthermore, that fraud involves the systemic violation of our laws in order to perpetrate that cheating.
Again, this isn't about Congress telling baseball how to run its playoffs. This is Congress telling baseball control the cheating or we will.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor
I mean, not based on how they operate NOW because that's a total sham.
Isn't it Congress' job to MAKE laws, and the Executive's job to enforce them?
If so, then it shouldn't be Congress investigating...but rather the Justice Department.
Please don't get me wrong...I don't believe baseball should get away with cheating either. But we should have the right people deal with it so as not to continue the warping of the Separation of Powers.
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I'm not voting for Ron Paul because it's not expressly prescribed in the Constitution.
-- Mark Hemingway, The Corner (NRO)
no it isn't however Congress has oversight responsibility over Commerce. Congress cannot simply ignore systematic cheating in a major sport anymore than Congress can ignore systematic accounting malfeasance in major industry.
Yes, if a major sport allows for systematic cheating, which is a fraud perpetrated on its patrons, and tha sport can't control it and furthermore refuses to do so on its own, then Congress has no choice.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor
So I could be missing something. But honestly, that doesn't make any sense. Normally Congress doesn't have the power, but in this case it's just *important* so they should??? Isn't that how we got where we are now?
Is baseball really considered interstate commerce??
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I'm not voting for Ron Paul because it's not expressly prescribed in the Constitution.
-- Mark Hemingway, The Corner (NRO)
What would you call a league that includes teams from several different states that charges money not only to go to their games but to watch them on television which is of course broadcast around the country? (by charging I mean to the networks, and of course they have all sorts of other packages as well) With all due respect, if MLB isn't interstate commerce, what exactly is?
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor
... Laura Ingraham Just Endorsed Romney!.
Lets see, supporting Romney: Ingraham, Rick Santorum, Rush, Sowell, Bork, Levin, Coulter, Hannity, ...
Oh yeah, on the other side: Arnold, Rudy, Perry, Lieberman, ...
Can anybody not see a little trend here that ideological conservaives are united behid Romney, while establishment Republicans and liberal Republicans are lining up behind McCain.
I for one see no problem siding with Lieberman, Rudy and Arnold over the other three.
Frankly, all that ideological conservatives show is that as long as you pander to them, they love pandering. Romney is as Conservative as McCain. The only difference is that he suddenly discovered a whole new set of conservative principle just in time to use those to appeal to a conservative base that ate them all up hook, line and sinker.
If you believe that Romney is a great manager with a history of succesfully running business, the olympics and a state, and you think that is important that is one thing. However, if you believe that Romney is a conservative, then please call me because I will sell you some swamp land.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor
Romney is five times more conservative than McCain. That is exactly why he has conservative support in endorsements an in the primaries. But I get it, your smarter than Robert Bork, Rush Limbaugh, Thomas Sowell, and Laura Ingraham. Romne yduped all tehm, but he's not going to dupe you.
is that Romney since two year ago, or Romney over the course of his career? Obviously, if you take his new found Conservative credentials at face value he is now a fairly conservative individual. Of course, most of those positions have been discovered just in time to run for President. When he was running for Senate in the 1990's he was a fairly liberal guy.
That said, I am not voting for the person that is most Conservative. I am voting for the person best fit to prosecute the War on Terror most effectively. That is John McCain.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor
Well said. Keep in mind that a businessman who spends his time correcting companies does so in order to maintain the company, not the customers. Doing that to a government would ignore the people without whom there would be no government. Oh wait.. same thing with a business... but turnaround artists are short sighted.. they have no interest in the long term, just the short term survival of the company. When they go under, years later its always the current manager's fault, not the 'consultant' or 'business turn around artist' who set up the fall.
Proudly Supporting Patriots At http://www.countryaboveself.com
I see Romney's business acumen as nothing but a positive. I see his success in business, then the Olympics and then as governor as nothing but a positive. I think that this is an excellent reason to believe he would make a great President. I think a history of successful management, which Romney clearly has, is a great indication of success as the President.
That said, I don't believe for one second that any of his new found Conservative positions are genuine. If you support Romney because he has a history as an effective leader, that is something that I find legitimate. If you support Romney because you think he is Conservative, then you prove that you have no problem with pandering as long as someone is pandering to you. You prove that you support the lowest form of politicking, and furthermore, you cede any right to call out any other pandering.
All of you so called Conservatives that lamented when you saw so called moderate Dems pandering to the left and screamed bloody murder that then turn around and proclaim Romney a Conservative are nothing more than the worst kind of hypocrites.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor
Too much credit is given for that. He had help turning that around that is only available in certain areas. No chance he could have done the same thing for an Olympics in Stowe Vermont he did for the Olympics of Salt Lake City.
as a late friend of mine was fond of saying,
if if was a fifth we'd all be drunk
Just like I believe that McCain has been unfairly attacked on many things by people that have other problems with him, this is no less an unfair attack on Romney.
The olympics were in disarray and then he came in and they proceeded with no more problems. Res Ipsa Loquitor (the facts speak for themselves) If you are unwilling to give him proper credit for saving the olympics then you have an agenda that has nothing to do with the olympics.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor
The Punditocracy took it on the chin for me this time. No clear voices out there are blasting Romney for being a fake as we know he is. Hugh Hewitt has been the most blatantly biased.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/02/why_american_evangelicals_are.htm...
These are the stakes.
“.....women and minorities hardest hit”
http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/news/presidential_briefing/?m=200802
I suspect the vast majority of the Moveon.org types were already in the Obama camp, but it appears now that the far left of the Democrat party is officially coalescing around Obama.
“.....women and minorities hardest hit”
On the contrary, I see the recent move toward Obama by many Democrats as a healthy reassessment of that evil couple known as the Clintons. It seems that more and more Democrats are wanting to flush these two out of their bowels.
"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle
While counting our chickens before they are hatched, Mrs. Ezekiel and I were discussing what we would do with the stimulus windfall this summer.
I suggested making some extra payments on the house or the 529 plan. Then my wife said, "well that's not what we're supposed to do with the money." I said, "what do you mean?" She replied "we're supposed to go out and buy something with the money or go on vacation; that's why they're giving us this money."
So what's a family fiscon like me to do? I would guess that many of you all won't qualify (good for you!), but of those of you who do qualify, will you spend it for the purpose President Bush intends or will you use it to pay down debt or invest? What say ye?
"Be intolerant. Because some things are just stupid"
- Ryan Dobson
Every minute they spend talking about the NFL and MLB, is one minute they aren't spending screwing up something important.
Senator, do you think that the NHL has been sufficiently investigated?
Are you sure?
Man is free at the moment he wishes to be. --Voltaire