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The Lunch Counter
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Thursday, June 30, 2005
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This is just too good.
In this photo released by World Wildlife Fund-National Geographic, two Thai fishermen show a 293-kilogram (646-pound) giant catfish they caught from the Mekong River in Chiang Khong district of Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand Saturday, June 11, 2005. Thai fishermen have caught this giant catfish believed to be the world's heaviest living freshwater fish but died and was eaten after environmentalists and officials negotiated for its release to allow it to spawn. (AP Photo/Suthep Kritsanavarin, HO)
5:02:33 PM 
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Wednesday, June 29, 2005
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From Power Line blog, which bears repeating. . . That was then.
Mark Levin at NRO's Corner points to the following language, contained in an October 2002 Senate resolution authorizing the president to go to war, for which Senators Reid, Clinton, Schumer, Dodd, Kerry, Edwards, and Biden all voted:
"Whereas members of al Qaida, an organization bearing responsibility for attacks on the United States, its citizens and interests, including the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq;
"Whereas Iraq continues to aid and harbor other international terroist organizations, including organizations that threaten the lives and safety of United States citizens;
"Whereas the attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001, underscored the gravity of the threat posed by the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by international terrorist organizations ... "
Yet the Democrats now claim that it is unconscionable for President Bush to link our military action in Iraq to 9/11 and the war on terrorism. What the Democrats really mean is that it is unconscionable for Bush to keep mentioning an issue that has cost them back-to-back elections because they can't convince the public they are sufficiently serious about it. [Power Line]
11:48:59 PM
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At his public address Tuesday at Ft. Bragg, I didn't see a teleprompter and I didn't see Bush looking at notes. My impression is I saw a confident, competent, leader. He explained it better than I've heard anyone explain it before and with passion and clarity. He said perseverance is key, and we will fight this fight until it is won. When times get tough the proper response is not retreat, it is courage.  His sincere thanks and recognition to the soldiers and families of soldiers and survivors of those lost in service to their country was also genuine. Future soldiers can be proud of taking part in making the world a safer place, encouraging new recruits. So that Americans can have a way to write to a soldier or support them in many ways, President Bush named a website where people can do just that. It is America Supports You.
1:38:14 AM
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Tuesday, June 28, 2005
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What better way to react to the Supreme Court's decision last week to allow developers and politicians to look at private property as the new profit centers for the government, than to do what Mr.Logan Darrow Clements,CEO of Freestar Media wants to do. He is seeking to start the application process to build a hotel on a particular address in the Towne of Weare, New Hampshire that happens to be the present location of Mr. Souter's home.
The proposed development, called "The Lost Liberty Hotel" will feature the "Just Desserts Café" and include a museum, open to the public, featuring a permanent exhibit on the loss of freedom in America.
Freestar Media |
The Tyranny of Eminent Domain
4:08:39 PM
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Monday, June 27, 2005
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Blog the Live 8 Concerts!. This is a fantastic opportunity for enterprising bloggers who can respond on short notice. Bob Geldof and the Live 8 crew are making available backstage passes for a limited number of bloggers to attend, and blog about, all of the upcoming Live 8 concerts. If you are interested in attending either the Philadelphia concert or the London concert--both Saturday night, July 2--send us an email ASAP at feedback@powerlineblog.com.
Here is another remarkable opportunity: The G8 summit will take place at Gleneagles, 40 miles north of Edinburgh, UK, from July 6 to 8. Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines has donated his airplane to fly the Live 8 crew from New York to Edinburgh and back, and up to five bloggers will be given the opportunity to fly to Edinburgh and back with the Live 8 group. The idea is to blog the trip, including the beginning of the G8 summit. The flight departs from JFK in New York at 7 p.m. on July 3; the same airplane will bring the bloggers and whoever else back to New York on July 7. Lodging in or near Edinburgh will also be provided. Again, if you're interested in making the trip, drop us an email. We'll have more specifics on the logistics soon.
Bloggers, please pass this notice on so that it reaches the maximum number of bloggers quickly, as time is obviously of the essence.
And you can check out Technorati's new Live 8 page here. [Power Line]
2:54:30 PM
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And in the things you need to know column. The newly elected President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, took part in the the takeover of the U.S. embassy in 1979. And of all the candidates, he is the most anti-West. And he says he wants nukes. Lemme check with Sen. Joe Biden to see if this is good info or if he is lying. World Tribune
1:05:57 AM
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Sunday, June 26, 2005
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Where the terrorists are gaining ground is in Washington, D.C.
11:24:38 PM
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Some librarians and politicians have stronger principles on protecting reading lists than protecting the lives of Americans. That's the way I see it.
One attendee, Merryll Penson, executive director for library services for the University System of Georgia, said librarians "are not people who want to help terrorists," but want to see reading lists protected from automatic surveillance.
"For a lot of librarians, it's the principle," she said.
Obama's Stand Against Patriot Act Cheered (AP). AP - To the cheers of thousands of librarians, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama on Saturday called for the Senate to rewrite the USA Patriot Act to prevent investigators from scanning library records and bookstore sales slips. [Yahoo! News: Politics News]
10:53:27 AM
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Friday, June 24, 2005
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"Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers." Watching the righteous indignation that Rove's comments stirred up with people like Sen. Charles Schumer and Sen. Hillary Clinton and others, is instructive in who they think they are.
Rove used the L word, not the D word. They called it extremely divisive. However, by assuming the Liberal mantle themselves, they find the shoe fits them perfectly. They are seeing themselves in the mirror and don't like what they see. If the shoe fits, blame Karl Rove.
Now we have some bi-partisanship. These libs don't like what they see in themselves either.
After the attack on 9/11/01, there were liberals (moveon.org and George Soros, and others like them) who where calling for restraint. Their tune was not to respond with the military but to track them down and prosecute them. That's what they were saying at that time. Rove simply pointed that out. While most Democrats were on the side of the President and voted for war, at the time, that support lasted for 90 days. Growing nervous at the amount of support Bush was getting, by January 2002 the anti-Bush nabobs began carping on how things were wrong, how we shouldn't have been there. Kucinich campaigned on it for crying out loud. But that liberal core was that way from the get-go.
It's but another distraction from the aiding and abetting the enemy comments that Dick Durban made last week.
related: RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman: 'Faux Outrage'
7:37:59 AM
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This is the government taking your property and selling it to someone else, with the reasoning being getting more tax revenue. In all cases so far, that 'someone else' has been developers. What was that blurb in the U.S. Constitution about the government being responsible for protecting our private property rights?
Today the Supreme Court gave the go-ahead. Always looking for ways to get money from their constituents, both republicans and democrats are salivating at the tax bonanza that awaits the end of private property rights in this country. This is where your private property begins to be thought of as profit centers for politicians and developers.
In affirming the decision, Justice John Paul Stevens resolved a question that had surprisingly gone unanswered for all the myriad times that governments have used their power under the Fifth Amendment to take private property for public use. The question was the definition of "public use."
It's the old, depends on what the definition of 'public use' is, routine. The majority concluded that public use was properly defined more broadly as "public purpose." This is epitome of an activist judicial decision.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor objected that "the words 'for public use' do not realistically exclude any takings, and thus do not exert any constraint on the eminent domain power." She added: "The specter of condemnation hangs over all property. Nothing is to prevent the state from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall or any farm with a factory."
"The government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more," Justice O'Connor said. "The founders cannot have intended this perverse result."
Let's recap:
The Supreme Court abridges our 1st Amendment rights to freedom of speech in the name of McCain-Feingold, which BTW has failed miserably and nobody cares anymore.
Now, they have rendered the 5th Amendment private property rights a thing of the past.
reference
Update 6/27/05: Developer Wants Hotel on Justice Souter's Land
12:29:41 AM
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Wednesday, June 22, 2005
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Finally, we see public opinion polls on the Democrats' hot topic of the season, the operations at GITMO and Senator Durbin. Contrary to their claims, it turns out only 14% of the people believe what they claim, that GITMO is like a Nazi death camp. What is it going to take for them to realize that they are the ones out of touch, since two elections weren't enough? Below from Power Line.
They're not Buying It. The American people, that is. Rasmussen has the latest poll data on Guantanamo Bay:
A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 20% of Americans believe prisoners at Guantanamo Bay have been treated unfairly. Seven-out-of-ten adults believe the prisoners are being treated "better than they deserve" (36%) or "about right" (34%).
The survey also found that just 14% agree with people who say that prisoner treatment at Guantanamo Bay is similar to Nazi tactics. Sixty-nine percent disagree with that comparison. This helps explain why Illinois Senator Dick Durbin apologized for making such a comparison.
So Americans who think the terrorists are being treated better than they deserve outnumber those who think they are being treated too harshly by almost two to one. But, hey, the Dems are really solid with that 20%! [Power Line]
10:09:33 PM
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A cloture vote of 54 to 38 proves that there are enough votes to confirm Bolton already since 51 is all that's needed. The party of obstruction is alive and well in the Senate, raising the bar from a simple majority to a super majority for Presidential nominees.
Remember the so-called new tone reported to be coming from the Democrats? In filibustering John Bolton's nomination, thereby preventing a vote on the floor of the Senate, Senate Democrats are back to their obstructionism of this administration, not that they've ever really abandoned it. No new tone. They're tone deaf.
ref: Democrat's New Strategy: See Page One
8:22:48 AM
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His words are "Some may believe that my remarks crossed the line," the Illinois Democrat said. "To them I extend my heartfelt apologies." What he said, is not an apology at all. An apology says two things, first the words 'I was wrong' should be heard. Second, an 'I'm sorry' would be in order.
In Durbinspeak then, he says that he is sorry to those rabid red-staters who may have been offended, while at the same time saying to the blue-staters that he meant exactly what he said.
I don't buy his 'apology.' He should step down from his #2 postion in the Senate, exactly like Trent Lott did and for way less an offense.
7:36:31 AM
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Tuesday, June 21, 2005
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This proved to be a losing platform for the last election. Go get'em Joe. Biden Accuses Bush of Misleading on Iraq (AP). AP - Two days after announcing his intention to seek the presidency, Democratic Sen. Joe Biden on Tuesday accused President Bush of "misleading statements and premature declarations of victory" in Iraq and called on him to change course. [Yahoo! News: Politics News]
9:23:22 PM
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After 5 days of pressure from everyone but his own conscience, Senator Dick Durbin lays out another apology, complete with tears. Sen. John McCain said yesterday that Durbin would be making an apology. Today he did. And now the Democrat's favorite Republican says it's time to move on. Yeah, to what next?
May as well, the damage is done anyway. McCain and Durban and Bill Clinton can be proud of the negative energy they've created and perpetuated in the Arab world over this whole Guantanamo Bay distraction.
AlJazeera.net today "Several US politicians, including former President Bill Clinton, have called for the camp to be either 'cleaned up' or 'closed down'."
What the enemy is seeing.
6:31:57 PM
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Monday, June 20, 2005
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It's been 4 whole days now and not one poll? Why do you think there are no opinion polls regarding Senator Dick Durbin's (D,Il) GITMO comments? It's called circling the wagons.
4:14:57 PM
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Vote buying is a 'way of life' in Sen. Byrd's fine state? Would that be disenfranchising voters, or franchising voters? Don't expect Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, or the U.S. Civil Rights Commission to get involved. Don't expect to see it in the evening news either. The perpetrators are all Democrats, who have a 4 to 1 advantage in West Virginia.
Vote Buying a Way of Life in W.Va. County (AP). AP - According to political lore, just before John F. Kennedy's momentous win in the 1960 West Virginia primary, the Democratic boss of Logan County asked the Kennedy campaign for "35" — meaning $3,500 — to buy votes for the presidential candidate. In an apparent misunderstanding, Kennedy's people delivered $35,000 in cash in two briefcases. [Yahoo! News: Politics News]
3:01:25 PM
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Sunday, June 19, 2005
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Saturday, June 18, 2005
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If that just doesn't top it all. Turban Durban, as Power Line affectionately calls Sen. Dick Durban (D,IL), is complaining that his over-the-top and outrageous and irresponsible comments have garnered some criticism. A LOT of criticism. Borrowing Sen. Clinton's page, Durban claims it (the criticism) is the result of a GOP smear campaign. (remember the vast right-wing conspiracy) Too arrogant to think that what he said was in the slightest way inflammatory, not worthy of an apology.
He'll be the last to find out that many Democrats don't like what he said either. It spans all politics and goes to endangering the war effort. It goes to aiding the enemy.
If he feels he's being smeared, it's because he deserves it. He should be removed from his #2 position in the Senate, if not resign.
For way less, men have paid the price for their words. The name Trent Lott comes to mind.
1:44:09 AM
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Thursday, June 16, 2005
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The Times can pat itself on the back for playing a big part in trying to turn people against the administration via their daily pounding of the war. They stopped actually reporting events long ago. Now it's all about making polls to substantiate their agenda. Then the poll becomes the news. Meanwhile the great unwashed is fed this made-up reality.
I wonder what the POLLS show the public thinks about the New York Times' credibility? What do the polls show about whether they are biased towards the agenda of the left?
There, you've conducted your own poll, and that's all you need to know about the New York Times.
Poll Shows Dwindling Approval of Bush and Congress. Increasingly pessimistic about Iraq and skeptical about President Bush's plan for Social Security, Americans are in a season of political discontent. By ROBIN TONER and MARJORIE CONNELLY. [NYT > Home Page]
9:19:32 PM
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Al Qaida is once again getting support from Democrats. Comparing how we coddle our enemy combatants in GITMO to Nazi Germany and Hitler and Pol Pot, on the floor of the Senate, will have already emboldened the enemy and will cost more Iraqi, American, and coalition lives for having done so. Bringing discredit and failure of this war has been their objective since about January 2002. These Democrats, not most Democrats I hope, but these Democrats are calling for closing GITMO, infusing the illegal combatants into our own legal system as if they were a looter or something, and calling for the withdrawl of troops from Iraq on some sort of timetable; a legislative surrender. What more could our enemy ask for?
We should let the prisoners go, which is what would eventually happen if 'tried' under our legal system instead of the military rules of warfare concerning the handling of illegal combatants. We should leave Iraq, surrendering to the fight against terrorism. The message we would send to the struggling Iraqi people with their will to succeed in democracy and freedom, all that stuff we told them we were going to do for them, until they could fend for themselves, a big NEVERMIND, WE'RE OUTTA HERE, HAVE A NICE DAY. Just another example of what they will do, how far they will go, regardless of human cost, to drag down this administration in order to get their power back. Not to mention the message we send to the world, that our word means nothing. The humiliation of losing every election since 2000 has trumped the execution of this war and brought the focus to a propaganda war about how bad things are rather than staying united to fight it, like the greatest generation did in WWII. Transcript of Durbin's Comments AlJazeera News
11:55:16 AM
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You just can't put a pretty face on this story, unless you are a Muslim. The disconnect from humanity and blind faith toward dehumanizing women and the family are about as an offensive position as any to take. If this is the face of Islam, then IT needs a facelift.
It's not hard to understand why women don't like to be raped and removed from families, forced into new families like a slave. The New Delhi government calls it a 'a sensitive religious issue.'
By comparison, it makes the hoopla over the GITMO holding tank look squeaky-clean.
9:27:54 AM
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Wednesday, June 15, 2005
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'Pakistan lifted today a travel restriction on Mukhtar Mai, the woman who was gang-raped in 2002 on the orders of a village council to punish an act attributed to her brother.' Just wondering, does the Koran teach this? I didn't see where the village council was arrested. Yeah right.
'The gang-rape of Ms. Mukhtar, now in her early 30's, was ordered in June 2002 by a council in Meerwala, a dusty farming village in the southern part of Punjab Province. The rape was decreed as a punishment after her younger brother was accused of having illicit sexual relations with a woman of a rival tribe, the Mastoi.'
What happened was, the rapists were let go, and there were no consequences for the village council. Silly westerner to even think that there would be a negative consequence.
How many Muslims are there that are still living in the 12th Century already?
Pakistan Lifts Travel Ban on Rape Victim. Pakistan lifted a travel restriction on Mukhtar Mai, the woman who was gang-raped in 2002 on the orders of a village council to punish an act attributed to her brother. By SALMAN MASOOD. [NYT > Home Page]
Update 6/27/05
The fight continues.
11:37:35 PM
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I understand perfectly now. Democrats rally around Dr. Dean. They say they need a strong leader, one who will strongly represent them. But for the U.N.? Certainly not John Bolton. 
They want a milqtoast liberal, or at the very least someone like Jimmy Carter who will kowtow to the U.N. and Old Europe and put their priorities ahead of our own. In other words, no one Bush would pick.
1:09:10 AM
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Monday, June 13, 2005
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'Senate Democrats develop new filibuster strategy' is the headline of this Washington Times' piece by Charles Hurt. What's new about it? This is according to the ways and means of the Democrat party. Bolton wasn't the first, neither was Alberto Gonzales or Miguel Estrada. This tactic was born from the offices of Sen. Jay Rockefeller and Sen. Edward Kennedy and is the default democrat platform.
The fact that the reporter even calls it a new strategy is puzzling too because way down in his article he notes of its use on Miguel Estrada. Must depend on what his definition of 'new' is. It began, as he states, in the 90's. Headline correction, 'Dems Obstructing Again With Filibuster.'
What has been called the 'collusion memos', outlines the strategy of delaying the President's nominees. You can see this strategy playing out today, to the letter.
From Jay Rockefeller's office.
From Edward Kennedy's office. more
3:47:29 PM
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Sunday, June 12, 2005
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I'm a business woman from Denver. I'm also a former military wife, and have a son on active duty in the Air Force. I founded Treats for Troops in 2003 after security concerns forced the government to suspend popular support programs that allowed citizens who didn't know anyone in the military to send a care package to "Any Soldier."
To me, Treats for Troops is much more than a business; supporting our soldiers is a cause I’ve passionately believed in for years. Maybe that’s because over the years I’ve packed, wrapped and sent hundreds of packages to family members in the military. Maybe it’s because I’ve been a military wife, mother and friend. Maybe it’s because one of my sons is still in the Air Force serving his country. Or maybe it’s simply because I know first hand just how much it means to a soldier to receive a package from home. And just how sad it is when you don’t hear your name at mail call.
When I first came up with the idea for Treats for Troops, most people told me it just couldn’t be done. There were too many security concerns. Miles of rules and regulations. Rolls of red tape. But I knew it could be done, because it had to be done. Because the end of the Any Soldier programs just couldn’t’ mean the end of every American’s right to make a difference in a soldier’s life.
10:02:34 AM
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Saturday, June 11, 2005
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Arlene Fizzles
This Arlene isn't all it's being cracked up to be. It's fair to say that if you are near the water you can expect to be flooded if you can't handle a 5 or 6 foot storm surge, at high tide, which today is the highest tide we'll have this month.
Otherwise, for the rest of us its just going to be a rainy day.
12:06:37 PM
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Friday, June 10, 2005
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As for the party of inclusion. . . DNC Chair Howard 'Dean’s comments clearly suggest that the GOP is, if not hostile to a demographic broader than white Christians, at least cool toward including non-whites and non-Christians in the party. If Dean truly believes these statements, then he needs to both review his history texts and spend some time on current events.'
Peter Kirsanow, a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has the right take on what is happening to the Democrat party.
Dean is just what the doctor ordered. Dr. Kervorkian that is.
5:32:45 PM
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Thursday, June 09, 2005
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Making his case today President Bush called for the renewal of those provisions that are set to expire. (Reuters) Obviously, he said, the terrorists' threat will not expire so it should not only be renewed but made permanent. He stated that over 400 arrests of terrorists have been made in the United States since the act was passed. So far, there have been zero abuses of its provisions. Do you think it's important to stop what 400 terrorists could potentially have accomplished? The common thread in the opposition to the Patriot Act is their fear that it will be abused. If you follow this logic to it's ultimate conclusion, they hold to the notion that we would be better off dead without the Patriot Act than to effectively deal with the real threats at hand. This perverse denial of reality defies reason. The reality is, there are people who want to kill us. The reality is, it's going to take physical intervention to stop an attack from occurring. The reality is, shredding a document called the Patriot Act will pretty much guarantee that physical intervention will not occur. How would these people answer this question? Knowing that the enemy is in 68 countries and still in the United States, and knowing that they need money to operate, and knowing they use electronics to communicate, and knowing they fly airplanes, and have in fact used them to kill, and have hundreds of other ways to kill us, and will if given the chance: What would you do that would enable the government to pre-empt an attack here in the United States, better than what the Patriot Act can? You simply have to draw the line that yes, we are a free people, but we are not free to kill.
To Believe This
Is To Ignore This
12:50:35 PM
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Everyone should watch this video of an Islamist demonstration/recruiting session in which various indignities are inflicted on an American flag. Exhortations are shouted to the watching crowd in both English and Arabic. My favorite part is when the leader of the terrorists says something like, "Don’t be afraid...we have a legal permit...come and join us...don’t be afraid to speak out...This is not like the countries back at home where you raise your voice against the government and they take you in for torture. No...this is one of the loopholes of this government. We have the right to put this flag down and step on it."
I guess they haven't been fooled by all that "Gulag" talk. Their idea that the First Amendment is a "loophole" is one that seems to be shared by some on the American left.
World Net Daily has much more on the demonstration and the group that sponsored it.
Via Michelle Malkin. [Power Line]
2:43:12 AM
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Sunday, June 05, 2005
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I like the attitude of the new Iraqi government towards trying Saddam Hussein. Speed it up. They feel they have 12 counts with solid evidence that will be ample for Saddam to get a death sentence. I'm with them, let's git-r-done. The administration's approach 'would have delayed Hussein's trial until at least 2006, and brought him to court on multiple counts of genocide and crimes against humanity, in a trial similar to that of Slobodan Milosevic, the former Yugoslav leader who has been on trial since 2002 at the International War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague.' And after three years Milosevic's trial is still going on. It'd be way too kind to let Hussein live that much longer. Having Saddam pay the ultimate price for his murdering ways is exactly what the Iraqi people want to see. It will serve as a permanent marker that the old Iraq is gone and the fight for freedom is bearing fruit. Iraqi Tribunal Details Plan to Prosecute Saddam Hussein. Under pressure from Iraq's government to accelerate the trial, the court has abandoned the strategy urged by the U.S. By By JOHN F. BURNS. [NYT > Home Page]
4:38:33 PM
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