As Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom swore to uphold the constitution of California. In order for him to do that he has to first of all know what the constitution says and second of all interpret its meaning. After consulting with the city attorney Newsom came to the conclusion that the anti-gay marriage law in California was unconstitutional. If he truly believes this to be the case, than under the oath he took when he entered office, he has no choice, but to disobey that law.

But Mathew is wrong. Both the U.S. and state constitutions reserve the interpretation of law to the courts. Maryor Gavin is plainly acting outside his authority.

Posted by bubba138 at 09:19 AM | Comments (0) |

Especially Interesting

I'm glad Kerry is out to fight against special interest:

Sen. John F. Kerry sent 28 letters in behalf of a San Diego defense contractor who pleaded guilty last week to illegally funneling campaign contributions to the Massachusetts senator and four other congressmen...

Between 1996 and 1999, Kerry participated in a letter-writing campaign to free up federal funds for a guided missile system that defense contractor Parthasarathi "Bob" Majumder was trying to build for U.S. warplanes.

Posted by bubba138 at 08:29 AM | Comments (0) |

February 18, 2004

Exaggerated?

Don't even try to tell me the intelligence was exaggerated:

Based on intelligence, Tiahrt said the following was believed to be going on in Iraq during fall 2002:

Saddam had used chemical weapons against his enemies or own people on at least 10 occasions .

According to a defector, Iraq had preserved some of its technological nuclear capability from before the Gulf War and was actively trying to acquire material to complete the program;

The CIA had intercepted a shipment of aluminum tubing with a special oxidized coating used only for the refinement of uranium;

Satellite photos showed the chemical factory, the Fallujah II facility, had heavy activity including excavation work nearby believed to be concealment of chemical weapons.

Iraq was making a concerted effort to conceal capabilities for biological warfare including the manufacture of mobile biological labs.

American jets, while trailing an Iraqi jet, videotaped the testing of a distribution system that could disperse liquid from a flight vehicle.

Defectors reported Iraqi intelligence was training terrorist groups in bomb making and the manufacture of chemical weapons.

Intelligence organizations in Europe indicated there was a connection between Iraqi intelligence and al-Qaida.
These findings have been confirmed by intelligence since the Iraqi war, Tiahrt said.

The weapons were there. We know they we there because they were verified as there twelve years ago. They didn't disappear into nothingness so they must have gone somewhere.

The question remains, where did they go?

It took us over six months between getting UN resolution 1471 and the time we went into Iraq. That six month "rush to war" gave Saddam plenty of time to move his cache of weapons elsewhere.

Posted by bubba138 at 10:26 PM | Comments (0) |

Done With Dean

It is not like this was unexpected:

"I am no longer actively pursuing the presidency," Dean announced to supporters in Burlington, Vermont. But he said he would build a "new organization" to continue advancing his goals for the Democratic Party.

"We are not going away," he said.

It is kind of like having your desease cured but being forced to continue enduring the symptoms.

Posted by bubba138 at 10:53 AM | Comments (0) |

February 17, 2004

Support Volunteerism!

The sweetest thing about this last weekend's same-sex marriages is that the city employees gave of their own time without pay to help the oppressed masses break the state law:

Teng stressed that all city employees working extra shifts through the weekend — including her — were volunteering "out of love and commitment to equal rights." The employees worked without pay to ensure that Newsom's move would not harm the city financially as it faces a record budget deficit, she said.

Did she say a record deficit? I'm sure that had nothing to do with the Mayor's decision to sell marriage licenses that will soon be invalid to the hapless couples. But then again, maybe the deficit had a little influence:

The assessor-recorder, Mabel S. Teng, said on Monday that her office, responsible for issuing the $83 licenses, performed 825 weddings that day, bringing the number of same-sex marriages to about 2,425 since the city opened the gates...

Let's see 2,425 licenses at $83.00 a pop comes to (...hmmm, carry the 2, multiply that...), yep, $201,275.00. Subtract from that the costs involved...oh that's right, the clerks are working for free! So it is pretty much pure profit for the city of San Francisco. And to think, all this money the couples paid out will come to naught because their licenses won't be recognized by any authority outside the city since they were illegally issued.

Say whatever you want about Mayor Newsom, but don't accuse him of not being fiscally conservative.

Posted by bubba138 at 05:10 PM | Comments (0) |

Rosario Marin For Senate

The most important race for California this November (other than the President, of course) is for the senate seat currently occupied by Barbara Boxer. I could go on and on about how important it is to get rid of Boxer but that is so obvious I do not really see the need.

What is important is that California's senators truly represent the people of this state. With that in mind I am throwing all my support (as if anyone really cares) behind Rosario Marin.

Right now, Bill Jones is clearly the front runner. His moderate politics are right in line with Schwarzenegger's, which is why he has the the Governor's endorsement. But I don't think Jones has what it takes to beat Boxer:

Jones is a pleasant fellow, and a "moderate" by California Republican standards (which is probably why Schwarzenegger, who is a "moderate" too, endorsed him). But he lacks entirely the will and ability to "mix it up" that is essential in anyone who seeks to beat Boxer.

The person going against Boxer is going to need to "mix it up." I have no doubt Marin will do that.

Howard Kaloogian suffers from McClintock desease. He's much too conservative and much too unbending to get elected. He'd get flat out killed against Boxer.

The last of the candidates, Toni Casey, is too unknown to make a successful run.

Rosaio's story is the American dream. Her hispanic heritage can only help her in California. She's pro-Bush, has a tough view on immigration (I personally called her office to check this out) and homeland security, believes in reducing our Federal tax burden, supports family values and has plenty of endorsements. As far as exposure is concerned, Marin has been Bush's Secretary of the Treasury for the last three years.

Most importantly, I believe Rosario can beat Boxer.

The primary is coming in two weeks. I strongly encourage you to vote Marin for US Senate.

Posted by bubba138 at 10:27 AM | Comments (0) |

Why Is Clinton Pushing Him?

InstaMan wonders, "I'm not sure why Kerry would be looking for those qualities in a running mate -- or why Bill Clinton would be pushing the candidacy of someone possessing those qualities."

The simple truth of it is because Clark is Pinoccio to Clinton's Gepeto. Clark goes where Clinton wants, says what he wants, and does what he wants. Since Clinton cannot serve a third and fourth term on his own, the next best thing is to do so vicariously through someone else, and Clark is the perfect puppet.

Posted by bubba138 at 09:11 AM | Comments (0) |

February 16, 2004

Didn't I Say That?

Isn't this the point I made last week?

Posted by bubba138 at 07:23 PM | Comments (0) |

My Girls Can Wait

Yes, but it is still rated 'R':

The R-rated movie portrays the final 12 hours of Jesus' life in graphic detail, including the crucifixion and a beating that lasts 45 minutes. But many parents and church leaders plan to have kids as young as 10 see the film, which opens Feb. 25, Ash Wednesday.

Christians taking kids to an graphically violent 'R' rated movie won''t help our reputation for being hypocrites.

Bloody is bloody. If you won't let your kids see "Caligula" because of its graphic sex and violence you shouldn't let them see "The Passion". Both are historically based. Both are bloody. Both are beyond what children shoud see.

I have two girls, ten and thirteen years old. You can bet they'll be staying home the night the wife and I go see Gibson's magnum opus.

Posted by bubba138 at 06:43 PM | Comments (0) |

28 Questions

I very rarely reproduce an entire article, but from time to time one comes along that I want everyone to read the entire text. George Will turned out one of these this weekend:

You abhor "special tax giveaways for the privileged and special interests." When supporting billions in ethanol subsidies, mostly for agribusinesses, did you think about corn-growing, caucus-holding Iowa?

Is the National Rifle Association a "special interest"? Is "special" a synonym for "conservative"?

When you denounce "lobbyists" do you include those for Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club? Is "liberal lobbyist" an oxymoron?

All the Americans affected by laws you pass - that is, all Americans - refuse to pipe down and mind their own business so that you can mind their business for them. Often they hire lobbyists to exercise their First Amendment right to "petition the government for a redress of grievances." Can you despise lobbyists without disparaging that right?

You say the rich do not pay enough taxes. In 1979 the top 1 percent of earners paid 19.75 percent of income taxes. Today they pay 36.3 percent. How much is enough?

You say the federal government is not spending enough on education. President Bush has increased education spending 48 percent. How much is enough?

In January 1991, after Iraq extinguished Kuwait's sovereignty, you opposed responding with force rather than economic sanctions. Have such sanctions ever undone such aggression?

On Jan. 11, 1991, you said that going to war was abandoning "the theory of deterrence." Was it not a tad late to deter Iraqi aggression?

The next day you said, "I do not believe our nation is prepared for war." How did unpreparedness subsequently manifest itself?

On Jan. 22, 1991, responding to a constituent opposed to the Gulf War, you wrote "I share your concerns" and would have given sanctions more time. Nine days later, responding to a voter who favored the war, you wrote, "I have strongly and unequivocally supported President Bush's response to the crisis." Did you have a third position?

You say the Bush administration questions "the patriotism" of its critics. You say that as president you will "appoint a U.S. trade representative who is an American patriot." You mean the current representative, Robert Zoellick, is not a patriot?

You strongly praise former Treasury Secretary Bob Rubin, who strongly supports NAFTA and free trade. Have you changed your mind about him or about free trade (as you have changed your mind about No Child Left Behind, the 2002 war resolution, the Patriot Act, etc.)?

You oppose immediate termination of U.S. involvement in Iraq, and you opposed the $87 billion to pay for involvement. Come again?

In 1994, the year after the first attack on the World Trade Center, you voted to cut $1 billion from counterterrorism activities. In 1995 you proposed a $1.5 billion cut in intelligence funding. Are you now glad that both proposals were defeated?

You favor civil unions but not same-sex marriage. What is the difference? What consequences of gay marriage worry you? Your state's highest court says marriage is "an evolving paradigm." Do you agree? You say you agree with what Dick Cheney said in 2000: States should have a right to "come to different conclusions" about same-sex marriage. Why, then, were you one of only 14 senators who opposed the Defense of Marriage Act, which protects that right? Massachusetts opponents of the same-sex ruling are moving for a referendum to amend the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. How will you vote?

You favor full disclosure of political spending. Organized labor is fighting new regulations requiring full disclosure to union members of the political uses of their mandatory union dues. As president, would you rescind these regulations?

Praising McCain-Feingold restrictions on political contributions, you said: "This bill reduces the power of the checkbook, and I will therefore support it." In December you saved your sagging campaign by writing it a $6.4 million check. Why is your checkbook's unfettered freedom wholesome?

You deny that restricting campaign contributions restricts speech. How much of the $6.4 million did you spend on speech - broadcast messages?

Billionaire George Soros says he will spend whatever is necessary - just a few million so far, but more coming - to defeat Bush. As one who believes - well, who says - there is "too much money" in politics, are you appalled?

There are 28 more questions where these 28 came from.

Posted by bubba138 at 03:41 PM | Comments (0) |

Newsom's New World Order

Some of the details on how San Francisco's Mayor, Gavin Newsom, orchestrated his illeagal authorization of gay marriages are coming out. I was pricked by this statement especially:

Last Monday, Newsom, top staffers and representatives from advocacy groups met behind closed doors at City Hall.

''We talked about the legal issues. We talked about the politics,'' [communications chief] Ragone said.

I guess we know which of the two won out, don't we?

Posted by bubba138 at 03:29 PM | Comments (0) |

Thud, Thud, Thud

The noise you hear is the pounding of nails into the coffin of the Dean campaign. A couple of weeks ago Howard's camp sent out an email that implied that if he didn't win in Wisconsin, he would withdraw from the race. Of course, showing his traditionally disregard for reality, Howard reversed his position several days later citing encouragement from the grassroots.

Well here we are the day before the Wisconsin primary and things aren't looking good for Dean at all. Although he is polling second behind Kerry, he has an insurmountable (better than twenty point) deficit to make up. His campaign is is shambles and even though a large plank of his platform has been fiscal control, no one seems to know where all that money they've raised has gone. And now Steve Grossman, Dean's campaign chairman, has left the sinking ship.

Whether Dean concedes or not, Wisconsin is his last primary. Even if he continues to limp into other contests his standing will be no better than that of Kucinich or Sharpton.

The question is, what can we learn from the Dr. Dean adventure?

The easy lesson is that, substance not withstanding, the media loves a story. It really doesn't matter to them whether the story has any bearing on reality, or that it will make a difference to the average view, listener, or reader. The only real concern is "will the story sell?" If the answer is "Yes," they will run with it. Dean's story of disgruntled, youthful anger was one that appealed to the press. They saw it as a cash cow and gave it plenty of airtime.

But the most stark, and most pragmatic lesson is that there is no correlation between whoever is on top today and whoever will win a contest. The polls we saw a short three months ago gave the entire nomination to Dean time and time again. Yet once the caucuses (caucusi?) and primaries opened Dean's impotent anger was shown to be exactly what it was: worthless.

Today, the reigning king is Kerry. He's up in the polls, ponying up 52% to Bush's 43% in a head-to-head matchup. He's getting all the press and very little of it is negative. But keep in mind the aforementioned lessons. The press is going to report what brings them cash and being on top today doesn't mean you will be on top tomorrow. In other words, don't bank on Kerry running away with the presidency.

As yet, Bush has been as quiet as a church mouse (Have you ever seen a church mouse? Neither have I. Maybe that's because they are so quiet.) and the press has been equally quiet, if not more so, in getting out his views and visions for the future. He's been holding off, letting the Democrats tear into each other. Why should he spend time, effort, and cash into discrediting the Democratic nominee when he can sit back and watch the Democrats do it to themselves? Once the Bush machine gets rolling, the buzz will shift and the numbers will change.

This race isn't over. It is not over for Kerry and it is definitely not over for Bush. But it is over for Dean.

Posted by bubba138 at 12:18 PM | Comments (0) |

Where Are They?

Finally, someone else is noticing the deafening silence of the California Senate race:

No one seems to irritate California Republicans more than [Barbara Boxer,] the liberal Democrat senator running for re-election.

Yet the four candidates seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Boxer in November haven't been able to harness the GOP's antipathy toward the incumbent.

They haven't generated public attention or significant campaign cash for major advertising in their own campaigns for the March 2 primary. The Republican Senate campaign has come and almost gone with little discussion of the four candidates seeking to replace Boxer.

"The people of California are electioned out," said Republican analyst Tony Quinn

This race is causing me no small amount of frustration. With the Schwarzenegger victory, the Republican party has gained some momentum in California. Unfortunately, the party is squandering it by not making sure a message goes out trumpeting Boxer's vulnerability.

In two weeks Republicans will be selecting the candidate they think is most likely to unseat Boxer. Yet I'd bet that 75% of the registered Republicans in this state wouldn't be able to name even on of the candidates running for that privilege. It so sad that even I, a California news junkie, couldn't tell you whether those running are debating.

The Republican party had a golden opportunity to make a difference in the Senate this election. Sadly, I am afraid the opportunity may have passed.

Posted by bubba138 at 08:41 AM | Comments (0) |

February 15, 2004

Me Too

Metrosexual? Not me. This label works.

Posted by bubba138 at 10:15 PM | Comments (0) |

Show Me Da Money!

Although he dropped out of the race more than a week ago, the Clark camp still wants your cash:

Now that his campaign is over, there have been a flurry of thank-you emails. Traffic-wise, it is not enough to bother me. But one email from Paul Johnson, the campaign manager, really annoyed me:

With a contribution of $100 today, we will add your name to a special plaque to be presented to General Clark, commemorating the American patriots like you who have fueled his campaign and will stand with him in the months and years ahead. Your name will appear alongside hundreds of others who have been integral to the success of our effort and pledge their ongoing support to Wes Clark.

Umm, the campaign is over (making the phrase "success of our effort" a bit strange). Clark and his campaign staff no longer need my donations. While I love Clark as much as the next man, that hundred dollars could be better spent on a contribution to the nominee's campaign, which is most certainly going to need it.

I wonder where he got that idea.

Posted by bubba138 at 03:18 PM | Comments (0) |

February 14, 2004

The Next Bond

I was at a quandry about a good candidate for the next Bond, but no more.

It being Valentines day, the Misses and I decided to have a cozy, on the couch, by the fire snuggle while watching a romantic comedy. (Yes, even heartless Republicans get gooshie from time to time.)

So what movie did we choose? "Down With Love." This is one of the most entertaining movies I have seen in a long time. The '60's gags were non-stop -- my cheeks are going to need physical rehab for at least a week.

The lead male role -- "ladies man, man's man, man about town, Catcher Bloc" -- is fabulously played by Ewan McGregor.

Ewan is the man for the Bond job. Rent the movie. Watch it. You'll see what I mean.

Posted by bubba138 at 10:33 PM | Comments (0) |

February 13, 2004

Why Did They Do It?

The Captain asks:

Bush has provided all of the evidence demanded of him by the people on the left who were and are as virulently anti-military as any group in the US. And now that he has produced all that -- and has ordered the entirety of his military records released for public review -- I want to get an explanation for the following:

1. Why is Terry McAuliffe still the DNC chairman after engaging in slander?
2. Why hasn't John Kerry apologized for equating National Guard service with draft dodging?
3. Why haven't the media apologized for running with a story with a single source, no confirmation, and no proper investigation other than to ask obviously ignorant questions that anyone with any reference to military standards could have explained to them? Failing that, explain the difference between the Bush AWOL allegations and the Kerry infidelity allegations in a way that demonstrates a clear reason why a single unverified source was good enough for publication in one but not the other.

The answer, in a word: perception.

The Democrats are completely issueless. They are coming to the realization that the side they've taken on every issue for which they have fought in the last twenty years has been the losing one. They won the war on racism, they won the war on feminism and then they lost their way. They have nothing left but to attack the other side. So, that's what they are doing; and doing quite well.

It doesn't matter to the Democrats whether Bush did or did not go AWOL. Their goal is to make him look untrustworthy. It does not matter to them whether Bush did or did not exaggerate the Iraq threat. It does not matter to them that the Clinton administration had the same intelligence on Iraq as Bush or that Clinton, Gore, and Kerry all held the same position that Hussien needed to be removed. All that matters is that they create as much negative, suggestive press as possible and germinate a seed of distrust in the voter's minds. And it is working:

Barely half -- 52 percent -- now believe Bush is "honest and trustworthy," down 7 percentage points since late October and his worst showing since the question was first asked, in March 1999. At his best, in the summer of 2002, Bush was viewed as honest by 71 percent. The survey found that nearly seven in 10 think Bush "honestly believed" Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Even so, 54 percent thought Bush exaggerated or lied about prewar intelligence.

The facts are insanely clear on this issue. Bush could not have been responsible for exaggerating the pre-war intelligence because it was the same intelligence as in the previous administration. Further, the head of the intelligence organization, George Tenet, is a hold over from Clinton years as well. So you see the truth of the matter is not what is important, it is the perception of the voters that is important.

That, Captain, is why.

Posted by bubba138 at 03:58 PM | Comments (0) |

Who Cares?

The big question being bandied about the internet these past two days is "Who cares?" Does it really make a difference whether Kerry did or did not have an affair?

Politically, no. After all, Clinton got away with it and the more the Republicans tried to make an issue of it the worse they looked. Pragmatically, however, I think it will matter. What no one has yet taken into account is the exhuastion factor. People are just plain tired of White House sex scandals.

Remember the process? He did do it. He didn't do it. "I did not sleep with woman, Monica Lewinsky." The blue dress. Grand Juries. Kenneth Star. Paula Jones. It depends on what the meaning of "is" is. Nationwide apologies. Impeachment. Press, press, press. Clinton and Monica. Clinton and Monica. Clinton and Monica. Someone please turn that darned TV off!

If Kerry was involved with this young woman it will make a difference. We all knew Bill had a thing for the young thangs (aka Jennifer Flowers) and we elected him anyways. Then when he got caught doing what we all knew he would, we were involuntarily drowned in the sordid details of it. The last thing the voters want is to have to deal with that again.

Very few care whether Kerry did or didn't boink Alex Polier. Few think it even has any bearing on whether he can do the job as president. But, fewer still want to again live through a sex scandal in the White House. Its a risk the voters won't want to take.

And as for Clinton, his egotistical pursuit of his own sexual needs betrayed every citizen in America who voted for him. Among other things, it restricted his ability to counter terrorism. It’s not hard to predict how history will regard that.

So turning to the issue du jour, considering recent events, anyone with half a brain running for President of the United States must now know absolute monogamy comes with the job description. (If they can’t live that way, there are plenty of other occupations.) So if they disregard this restriction, they show a kind of weakness in character that should alarm all of us.

Posted by bubba138 at 02:41 PM | Comments (0) |

Gore Endorsement Explained

Perhaps Kerry's alledged hanky-panky hasn't been an unknown factor inside Democratic circles:

Well, Sneed is told the real reason former Dem presidential nominee Al Gore did NOT select Kerry as his veepmate was because of allegations of women problems, or marital infidelity involving Kerry's marriage to Heinz, heiress to the Heinz Ketchup fortune, whom he met in 1990.

A top source tells Sneed Gore was talking about Kerry's sexual baggage "with a young woman" as recently as late last week!

"Kerry was the favorite to be Gore's veep, but they worried a female problem could erupt, so U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman was selected instead," said the source.

"In addition to Gore backing Howard Dean for president, because he wanted access to the cadre of Dean youth called the "Deanie babies" when he runs for president again and goes up against Hillary Clinton, Gore chose Dean because he feared the Kerry female mess would rear its ugly head," the source added.

Now keep in mind theat Sneed got this information from a "top source", but the source is left unnamed. It does make sense, however, that Gore -- fresh off the Bill Clinton sex scandal -- wanted to avoid anything remotely similar.

Posted by bubba138 at 02:37 PM | Comments (0) |

Still In The Fight

Joe Trippi, the man responsible for Dean's meteoric political rise (some would say also responsible for the fall), now has his own blog:

This is where I intend to keep, in my own small way, my part in the changing of America and our politics going. I am hoping that others who have ideas and energy to continue building a different kind of politics based on people, grassroots and netroots will exchange them here, and make a difference together in 2004 and beyond.

It should prove for instersting insight

Posted by bubba138 at 01:34 PM | Comments (0) |

Bad News / Good News

The times, they are a-changin'.

While the news of San Francisco's defiance of the law and the will of the people is disheartening, the sun still shines upon California, and believe it or not, Democrats are begining to see the light.

Fabian Núñez, the Democrat's new leader in the State Assembly, is saying some truly insane things:

"For my folks, this election was a wake-up call to look at things differently, ...The new Democratic agenda is one that doesn't necessarily call for raising taxes."

Even Barbara "I never met a tax hike I didn't like" Boxer is getting in on the act. Obviously losing her mind, she's lining up with Republicans on making the ban on internet taxation permanent:

"So much of the technological community is based in our state, and she feels this is a real driving force in the economy," said David Sandretti, Boxer's spokesman. "Making the ban permanent is the best for the future of the industry."

This is nice to hear and a bit surprising. Are the Democrats coming around? Not completely. A careful reading of Núñez's comments raises a question:

"People need to see the cuts, they need to see cuts that are real. They need to feel the pain before you can move forward with any other types of alternatives that bring in new revenues," said [emphasis mine]

So, according to Núñez, this isn't a change in philosophy as much as it is a change in tactics. They still have additional and higher taxes in mind (ie: "other types of alternatives that bring in new revenues"), but they realize they won't get support until people "feel the pain."

Posted by bubba138 at 10:07 AM | Comments (0) |

Here We Go Again

How did you feel about the 2000 Election fiasco in Florida? Was it your belief that, regardless of hanging chads, the most important thing was that the will of the people be followed?

How about Judge Roy Moore in Alabama? Was it clear to you that he was legally required to obey the law and the court order to remove the ten commandments monument?

How about yesterday's spree of same sex marriages in San Francisco? When San Francisco's Mayor Gavin Newsom when he says that "A barrier to true justice has been removed," are you in heartfelt, jumping up and down and cheering, agreement?

If you answered "Yes" to all three of the above questions you are blatantly guilty of political-ideological hypocrisy.

If the will of the people is paramount, as was the argument in the 2000 election, then yesterday's behavior is in stark contrast to the will of the people that was expressed in March of 2000. That's when Proposition 22, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, passed 61.4% to 38.6% -- better than a twenty point margin. More than that, it won 52 of the 58 counties (the six voting against were all, of course, in the San Francisco Bay area).

If the rule of law is the imperative, as was the argument in Alabama, then Mayor Gavin Newsom should be on the hot seat every bit as much as Roy Moore was. He also should loose his job.

But, once again, we will see nothing of the sort. For the very nature of this battle is imposition of the will of the minority upon the majority. The same-sex lobby knows it doesn't have the backing of the common population, which is why it must resort to illegal and unconstitutional -- such as legislating from the bench, ala Massechusetts -- acts in order to get their way.

The same sex lobby justifies thier illegal behavior with the belief that moral justice outweighs both the will of the people and the rule of law. Their goal is to replace society's morality with their own. They have often stated that a society cannot legislate morality -- so they've stopped trying to legislate morality. Instead, they are now imposing it.

Baldilocks is thinking along the same lines.

Posted by bubba138 at 08:27 AM | Comments (0) |

February 12, 2004

Kerry and Fonda: Just a Coincedence?

"Now, Bryon, just because Kerry was in the same crowd with Hanoi Jane doesn't mean they had any association."

No? Try this on for size:

OK. I've been duped.

Posted by bubba138 at 11:30 AM | Comments (0) |

Campaigning All Over the World

Is John Kerry the campaigning to the Iranians as well? The Teran Times is reporting that the Kerry camp has emailed the Iran based Mehr News Agency slamming the current administration's foreign policy and promising that America will view "collaboration with other countries [as] crucial to efforts to win the war on terror and make America safer."

Whether this email really is from the Kerry camp has not been confirmed by domestic sources. I wonder, however, if the media will be as eager to pursue this as they have the legless "Bush was AWOL" canard.

Combine this with the infidelity accusation and Kery could be toast. It's no wonder Dean rescinded his promise to withdraw after the Wisconsin primary.

The best thing about these hits are that they are coming during the primary campaign and that the Repubs can sit back and watch Kerry get smeared without getting dirty -- at least that is what they'll do if they are smart.

Knowledge of these may be why the Bush camp has been so quiet (almost impotent) during the past few weeks. It is nice to get a quick jump and nice hit, but -- as Dean found out -- the quick hit can fade fast. This year slow and steady will win the race. So far, Bush has been the only candidate that can claim steadiness.

Hat Tip:Neophyte Pundit (again)

Posted by bubba138 at 10:22 AM | Comments (0) |

OUCH!

From Drudge via NeoPhytePundit:

Intrigue surrounds a woman who recently fled the country, reportedly at the prodding of Kerry, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

A serious investigation of the woman and the nature of her relationship with Sen. John Kerry has been underway at TIME magazine, ABC NEWS, the WASHINGTON POST, THE HILL and the ASSOCIATED PRESS, where the woman in question once worked.

A close friend of the woman first approached a reporter late last year claiming fantastic stories -- stories that now threaten to turn the race for the presidency on its head!

In an off-the-record conversation with a dozen reporters earlier this week, General Wesley Clark plainly stated: "Kerry will implode over an intern issue." [Three reporters in attendance confirm Clark made the startling comments.]

The Kerry commotion is why Howard Dean has turned increasingly aggressive against Kerry in recent days, and is the key reason why Dean reversed his decision not to drop out of the race after Wisconsin, top campaign sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

The story is starting to run:

• The Scotsman
• Editor and Publisher

Posted by bubba138 at 10:11 AM | Comments (0) |

Love That Rummy

Like D.F. Moore, I love Rumsfield's style. At the Munich Conference on Security Policy earlier this month, a Palestinian had the temerity to challenge him on the U.S. support of Israel:

Q [Palestinian general]: Mr. Secretary, You talked about countries that were trying to produce weapons of mass destruction. You talked about Iraq and you talked about Iran and North Korea. I have a question, a direct question to you. What are you doing with Israel? As far as Israel is concerned, Israel has more atomic weapons in the region than any other country. Why do you remain silent in regard to Israel? I think it’s important to answer this question because this has to do with the world, the strategy that we are pursuing today. I think that if the position towards Israel were different then the situation would be different in the Near East, and this is a great problem.

Rumsfeld: You know the answer before I give it, I’m sure. The world knows the answer. We take the world like you find it; and Israel is a small state with a small population. It’s a democracy and it exists in a neighborhood that in many -- over a period of time has opined from time to time that they’d prefer it not be there and they’d like it to be put in the sea. And Israel has opined that it would prefer not to get put in the sea, and as a result, over a period of decades, it has arranged itself so it hasn’t been put in the sea.

Advantage: Rumsfield.

Posted by bubba138 at 08:37 AM | Comments (0) |

February 11, 2004

Oona Goota Solo?

The Country Pundit isn't as plussed about the Star Wars DVD release as I am. He's specifically upset about the treatment Greedo received in the rerelease of the original trilogy.

Perhaps he should check out the Greedo Conspiracy.

Posted by bubba138 at 09:18 PM | Comments (0) |

He Will Be Shot

Dead bloggers everywhere. The state is secure.

Posted by bubba138 at 11:54 AM | Comments (0) |

The Toothless Tiger

"The now infamous display during the Super Bowl halftime show, which represented a new low in prime-time television, is just the latest example in a growing list of deplorable incidents over the nation's airwaves," FCC Chairman Michael Powell told the Senate Commerce Committee.

Powell was joined by the four other FCC commissioners, all of whom have called for tougher penalties against broadcasters who violated indecency laws.

The problem has as much to do with the FCC as it does Viacom, MTV, and CBS. Over the years all of television has degraded far beyond acceptable levels of decadence yet not once has the FCC fined a single major network. This problem will never be fixed until the FCC stands up to the media corporations and hits them where they hurt...the pocketbook.

Corporations are amoral. They don't care about right vs. wrong; holy vs. profane. All they car about is cash. I'm not making a judgement here, I'm only stating a fact. They have no problem putting on decent programming as long as it makes money. Therefore, the FCC must do what it should have been doing all along, make indecent programming unprofitable.

Posted by bubba138 at 11:18 AM | Comments (0) |

Kill It Kerry

Kerry never met a military program he wouldn't vote against. If he had his way, we would have never seen stuff like this:

The agency is pushing to deploy experimental systems that could quickly locate the positions of enemy snipers and mortar crews. One of the most startling examples is a ground-based carbon dioxide laser designed to pinpoint a sniper by measuring the movements of dust particles in the air caused by the shock wave of a speeding bullet...

Because the wavelength of the laser light is roughly comparable to the diameter of a dust particle--about one to 10 microns--some of the light will scatter when it encounters airborne dust. The frequency of the scattered light will be higher if the dust particles are moving toward the laser and lower if the particles are moving away.

That's just too cool.

Posted by bubba138 at 11:10 AM | Comments (0) |

Ladies and Gentlemen...

May I present to you, the 2004 Democratic Nominee for President!

Posted by bubba138 at 10:34 AM | Comments (0) |

Wheels Within Wheels

The InstaSatan points out a Tim Blair post under the pretention that he's noting an "interesting observation" about Kerry's economic plan. But what's really going on is this is Evil Glenn's covert way to get people to read this:

Both these men are communists, you know. Welch voted for Nader in the last election, and Layne -- I’ve been to his Reno compound, and he just leaves these incriminating documents lying around, underneath two or three telephone directories, locked inside a safe, encrypted in some Stasi code, and buried fourteen feet deep in his yard -- voted for something called "The Child Porn Coalition for the Death of Jesus Party".

Always trying to keep the competition down. Matt and Ken's hit rates must be up this month, but Glenn's going to take care of that one way or another.

I can just hear him gigling as the puppy blender spins.

Posted by bubba138 at 10:00 AM | Comments (0) |

He Says, She Says

Kerry says the economy isn't improving. The Senate Economic Comittee says:

The economy grew at a robust 4% annual rate in the 4th quarter of 2003. Forecasters see continued growth of around 4% throughout this year.

Kerry says we're losing jobs. The Senate Economic Comittee says:

• Payroll employment increased by 112,000 jobs in January, the largest monthly gain since 2000, and the unemployment rate fell to 5.6%.

Kerry says the Bush tax cut isn't working (I did my taxes on Saturday...it worked for me). The Senate Economic Comittee says:

• Productivity—output per hour of labor—grew at a 2.7% pace in the 4th quarter, above historical averages.

Posted by bubba138 at 09:40 AM | Comments (0) |

But What He's Learning is Right

Sean at "Everything I know is Wrong" is a reformed Democrat who's seeing the light -- and more clearly than alot of Republicans I know:

In my search for a new party I began to really research the facts, something that had been difficult, if not impossible, before the internet (it's a good thing Al Gore invented it). I began to see that the Democratic party never really had stood for the things they said they stood for. Racial equality, individual liberties, civil rights, protecting the weak and poor... none of it. Their record speaks for itself. I felt cheated on a whole slough of levels. The things that I believed in, that I thought the Democrats represented, that they told me they represented, were much more in line with the Republicans. Racial equality, individual liberties, civil rights, protecting the weak and poor.

This latest primary brings it home in capitol letters. With nothing to stand for and a willingness to become whatever the moment demands, the Democratic flip-flopping on issues is unrivaled by anything short of the deck of a North Sea fishing trawler (no offence to North Sea Trawlers). Democratic voters have joined the flip-flopping and scrapped their beliefs, trading them in for a vague idea about which candidate is most likely to beat George Bush.

Democrats, the anti-war party of record, are actually trying to sell the idea that only a military man can legitimately run the country. They are trying to convince the public that Bush's service in the National Guard was not really military service and that he is not really qualified to be Commander in Chief. This after George Bush has run what is, arguably, the most successful military operation of all time. They are trying to convince the public that our economy is in trouble despite all of the evidence to the contrary (and ignoring the fact that Republicans are cleaning up after an economy that began spiraling downward on Clinton's watch and was accelerated by an unprecedented attack on our soil).

I don't think the public is that stupid.

Sean's got a bunch more to say so make sure you go and read the whole thing. He's right, the public isn't that stupid, which is why -- Kerry or no Kerry -- the election in November is going to be a landslide victory for Bush.

Posted by bubba138 at 08:23 AM | Comments (0) |

February 10, 2004

Putin power Grab?

Russia's President Vladimir Putin's biggest political rival has mysteriously dissappeared from the face of the Earth, and there's been a clamp down on investigating it as a murder:

Russian prosecutors on Monday launched and then quickly ended a murder investigation following the disappearance of a longtime critic and election challenger of President Vladimir Putin.

Our Russian friends are more and more resembling their fathers from the Soviet era. The immortal words of Obi Wan come to mind, "We must be cautious."

Posted by bubba138 at 01:40 PM | Comments (0) |

Fighting Against For Special interest

I'm sure glad we've got a presidential candidate who's fighting for the little guy:

Predictive Networks — now under new management and called Predictive Media — monitors what Internet and cable consumers are viewing and targets advertising accordingly.

As one might expect, such surveillance has raised privacy issues. In 2000, the U.S. Senate debated whether Internet and cable customers should get the opportunity up front to reject such surveillance, a position known as "opt-in," supported by consumer groups and codified into law by Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, D-S.C.

Predictive Networks' CEO, Devin Hosea, met with Kerry and his staff on July 25, 2000. One day later, Kerry introduced a bill that would have enabled companies like Predictive Networks to automatically be allowed to monitor what consumers are viewing — placing the onus on customers to "opt-out" of surveillance if they wanted.

So not only can we not trust Kerry to protect us from outside threats like al Qaeda, but he's willing to sell us out to corporate thugs as well.

Posted by bubba138 at 09:00 AM | Comments (0) |

February 09, 2004

We Did the Right Thing

Comfortable pundits on this side of the pond can say anything they want about whether the war in Iraq was justified. I'll just go along with what the young men who actually did the job have to say:

"I'm glad we got Saddam," said Day, of Tarpon Springs, Fla. "When I grow old I can tell my grandchildren that we liberated this country."

That was a sentiment expressed in dozens of interviews with U.S. soldiers stationed near Tikrit, Saddam's hometown and a center of resistance to the U.S. occupation...

A number of them say Saddam's brutality to his own people justified the war.

"I have a shoebox full of pictures of people who have gone missing over the last 30 years," said one soldier who asked to be identified as Mac. "And people are getting all tied up over the WMD issue. Coming here was the right thing to do."

Posted by bubba138 at 09:48 PM | Comments (0) |

Sullied Sullivan

I stopped reading him months ago. Others are coming to the same conclusion.

Posted by bubba138 at 09:34 PM | Comments (0) |

Classic Kerry

American Beacon nails Kerry:

John Kerry: candidate for change

Voted for No Child Left Behind: now opposes it Voted for the PATRIOT Act: now opposes it Voted for war in Iraq: now opposes it Voted against Operation Desert Storm in 1991: now supports it "Opposes special interests": accepted more lobbyist money than ANY OTHER senator in the last 15 years

If we want a weathervane president, he's our man.

He's got a good economic plan though: just marry a rich heiress - TWICE!

Posted by bubba138 at 09:12 PM | Comments (0) |

Pierce is Out

He is the most successful 007 of all, but Pierce Brosnan is being pensioned off as James Bond.

Producers have decided that, at the age of 50, he is not attracting enough young fans and will be recruiting a successor before the next film.

Names in the frame include Jude Law, Christian Bale, Orlando Bloom, Colin Farrell and Hugh Jackman.

I loved Pierce as Bond. He's the best we've seen since Sean Connery. Still, I'm not very impressed with the short list of replacements.

Of the candidates to take over, Hugh Jackman, who starred in X-Men, was the most fancied by fans, he said.

Wrong. Hugh's an Aussie. This role needs to be played by someone from the British isles. Orlando Bloom and Colin Farrell qualify on that account, but Orlando's short on manliness and Colin is short on charm. Bond must have both.

It's a hard call. Even for me, a life-long Bond fanatic, it's hard to think of a good candidate. This shall require some thought.

I know one Brit I definitely don't want to see getting the part.

Posted by bubba138 at 08:21 PM | Comments (0) |

Why is This Election About Vietnam?

John Kerry reminds me of the old riddle:

"How many Vietnam vets does it take to change a light bulb?"

Posted by bubba138 at 02:28 PM | Comments (0) |

February 08, 2004

Madmen With Nukes?

I'm skeptical.

Posted by bubba138 at 09:46 PM | Comments (0) |

We Got the Finger

"What occurred was unintentional, completely regrettable, and I apologize if you guys are offended"

So sayth Timberlake as he receives his Grammy. The only thing unintentional about his Superbowl performance is through some fluke he didn't expose both Janet's breasts -- that there would be the sum-total of the "wardrobe malfunction."

Instead of holding him accountable for his lewd public actions, they gave him an award. Once again the art-eests have given the decent people of America the finger.

P.S. What's with the sound? You'd think an award show for performers of music would be able to put together a decent sound system. The feedback is so bad Celine Dione just removed her ear-monitor.

Posted by bubba138 at 08:54 PM | Comments (0) |

The Passion

The controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's Passion of Christ is increasing in fervor each day. The media is asking all sorts of questions: Is the film anti-semetic? Does it promote hatred between faiths? Is it dangerous? The problem is, no one is asking the question that matters the most. Namely, is the film faithful to the Biblical account?

Of course, asking this question requires that the inquisitor be familiar with the accounts of Jesus in the Bible. So far, the complaints I have seen about the film focus on two central points. First, that the Jews didn't kill Jesus, the Romans did. The second problem concerns a scene that details the Jews claiming that Jesus' blood is "on their hands." [Apparently this scene may be cut out of the final version.]

The problem with these concerns is that they can equally be applied to the Bible itself. According to the Bible, the Jewish leaders plotted to kill Him long before the trial. Later, they captured, held, and beat Jesus. They tried Him and convicted Him of blasphemy. They took Him to the Roman governor and accused Him of threatening Caesar's throne. Further, the Bible is clear that Pontius Pilate gave the Jews -- a large crowd of the common Jews, not just the leadership -- the opportunity to save Jesus. They instead chose to have the governor release a convicted criminal and declared they were prepared to take responsibility for Jesus' death. The Romans may have been the ones who physically put Jesus on the cross, but the Jews are no less complicit because of it.

Did I make this up? No. Check for yourself, it's in the Bible.

But wait, who was Jesus? Was He not himself a Jew? You bet He was. How about the authors of the New Testament? Yep. They were Jews, too. If the account (and by extension, the film) is anti-semetic, then the Bible itself is anti-semetic. That means the account of Jews being responsible for the execution of a Jew documented by Jews is anti-semetic. Are you starting to see the foolishness of this?

I would like to think that this is all some kind of misunderstanding -- that those who are doing the angst filled hand-wringing over a film they have not yet seen are merely ignorant about the Biblical accounts. I fear, however, this is not the case. These complaints are coming not from informed concern, but from a pointed agenda.

What we see here, disguised as a concern for hate against Jews, is a blatant hate for Christianity. Contemporary Hollywood has no problem making religious movies, just as long as they aren't Christian. As an example, just look to Disney. They've made Prince of Egypt (Jewish), Lion King (Circle of Life), Free Willy (Indian Animism), and Pocahontus (everything is God) just to name a few. God is an OK subject, especially if He's delightfully comic, as in "Oh, God" or "Bruce, Almighty." But introduce Christ, most especially a Biblically accurate one, and no one wants anything to do with it, which is why Gibson had to bankroll this project on his own.

I am convinced the biggest fear people have about this film is exactly what I hope will happen. Audiences, mostly unfamiliar with the Bible, will be so deeply affected by this film they will be driven to the Bible by the power of Christ's passion. They fear more than anything else that people will check out the Christian scriptures and find out that they are true. They are terrified that the razor sharp contrast between their defiant sinfulness and Jesus' pure love in His passion for mankind will slice deep into their hearts, and displays such as that put on by Timberlake and Jackson last week will no longer be debated but will be condemned for the trash that it is.

So ask not whether this film is anti-semetic. Ask instead, "Is this film faithful to the Bible?" If you don't know enough about the Bible account, read it. Then go see the film. I'm convinced that if you do this, and are honest about it, your conclusion will be the same as Peggy Noonan's:

"He is brutally put to death by non-Jewish Roman soldiers, who are portrayed as sadistic in a businesslike way, on the acquiescence of a tired, non-Jewish cynic who then sought to wash his hands of culpability. It is a film that leaves the viewer indicting not Jews and not Romans and not cynical bureaucrats. It leaves you indicting yourself: it leaves you wondering about what your part in that agonizing drama would have been back then, and what your part is today."

Posted by bubba138 at 06:18 PM | Comments (0) |

Dean's Bane: Reality

As Howard Dean's presidential campaign tore through the millions it raised last year, nearly a quarter of it went to the firm owned in part by his former campaign manager.

The campaign paid $7.2 million to Trippi, McMahon and Squier, the Virginia-based consulting and media firm — 23% of the $31 million it spent through Dec. 31, according to PoliticalMoneyLine, which tracks political spending.

This little tidbit of information glaringly shows how out of his league Dean is was in thinking he could be president. He was campaigning on being anti-special interest and having fiscal responsibility and yet he couldn't even control special interests or the checkbook inside his own campaign.

Posted by bubba138 at 08:15 AM | Comments (0) |

John Kerry for President?

You must be joking.

Posted by bubba138 at 07:48 AM | Comments (0) |

February 07, 2004

OK, Let's Do It

Kerry wants to make Vietnam service an issue for this campaign. OK, let's do it. Here's what Kerry said about one particular Vietnam draft dodger back in 1992:

As for Clinton's actions to avoid the draft, "the fact is that in 1969, when I gather it all took place . . . there was a lot of war yet to fight.

"I lost a lot of friends after 1969, and as I recall Americans were still being killed up to 1973," he said. "Bill Clinton's name went into the draft. If Bill Clinton's number had been 1 to 120 he was gone. People are forgetting that. I mean, the fact is he put his name in the draft.

"Damn it all, that was a tough time. A lot of people decided never to put their name in the draft. So it's unfair to say he was a draft-dodger," Kerry said.

In case you hadn't noticed, Bush did actually serve in the military during Vietnam, Clinton did not. So the lesson we learn once again is that the rules of acceptable behavior for Democrats are different than for Republicans.

And as Michael Dukakis' former lieutenant governor, Kerry would be a natural target for his Northeastern liberalism.

Posted by bubba138 at 11:29 PM | Comments (0) |

I Want An Investigation

Armed with an unpublished report conducted by anti-chemical activists supposedly linking Agent Orange with veterans’ health problems, Sen. Kerry sponsored legislation in May 1990 to compensate Vietnam veterans for Agent Orange exposure, stating “It is not only appropriate but scientifically correct.”

Sounds OK so far, doesn't it? We can all agree that the U.S. has a duty to take care of our vets. But wait, there's more:

Studies of the Air Force personnel ― the military personel with the highest exposures to the dioxin in Agent Orange ― indicated they are as healthy as other Air Force personnel not involved in the spraying and are as healthy as other U.S. men in the general population, according to Dr. Michael Gough, a 10-year member of the U.S. government committee investigating the Agent Orange controversy

So the Kerry's intelligence was all wrong. But what does it really cost the U.S. taxpayer? Perhaps not so much now, but look what's in the future:

Hoping to grab an easy few billion dollars or so, the cash-strapped government of Vietnam claims that about three million of its citizens have been harmed by Agent Orange. Vietnam has enlisted the help of U.S. environmentalists ― notably dioxin hysteric Arnold Schecter (search) of the University of Texas ― who are eager to blame dioxin for virtually any and every health effect imaginable.

Great. All of Vietnam is going to sue the U.S. because Kerry's bill, based on faulty research, has opened the door. Way to go "Cash and Kerry."

Posted by bubba138 at 11:10 PM | Comments (0) |

"Out of Touch"

From CNN:

John Kerry said Saturday he would challenge the Bush administration as "extreme" and out of touch with mainstream America

Here's the problem that Kerry and his supporters are experiencing. If one stands as far left as Kerry, those in the center will always look extreme:

Kerry is consistently rated one of the 10 most liberal senators -- more liberal on economic issues than 95 percent of his colleagues in a National Journal magazine ranking based on 2002 votes. In some rankings, the Republicans delight in pointing out, Kerry is even to the left of liberal icon and fellow Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Kerry’s campaign dismisses such numerical rankings as misrepresentative, but a look at Kerry’s four terms in the Senate shows that he has hewed closely to the liberal stances of his constituents in Massachusetts

This shows without a doubt that the one who's out of touch in this race isn't the Republican.

Bush on the other hand has applied tremendous energy toward such staunch conservative causes as health care (passing a reform bill that the previous administration never quite got around to), AIDS assistance in Africa, and more recently [let's call it what it really is] amnesty for illegal immigrant workers.

Oh, wait a minute, those aren't quite extreme conservative causes, are they?

Granted, the general public has neither the initiative nor even the interest to investigate Kerry's dubious (at best) voting record. But circumstances in our country have come to a point that may force Kerry to demonstrate exactly where he stands on liberal issues:

By approving marriage between two people of the same sex, the state's highest court just shoved the mother of all wedge issues right under the fingernails of American voters and candidates. That scream you heard was Sen. John F. Kerry's...

Through the remaining primaries and the November election, assuming he becomes the Democratic candidate, will Kerry be forced to embrace gay marriage? Or will he stick to his guns and risk offending a valuable constituency? To many gays, Kerry will be the lesser evil if Bush pushes the Federal Marriage Amendment. But among squeamish heterosexuals, the mind free-associates: Massachusetts, brides with beards, John F. Kerry.

That's a problem Kerry no doubt wishes he didn't have.

It may look good for Kerry now, but in November his liberalism won't help him much..

Posted by bubba138 at 11:01 PM | Comments (0) |

The Progressive Party?

I was just hit by the thought that the "progressive" party can't seem to keep it's mind off the past. We're in the middle of a war in Iraq and against terrorism, and they want to make Vietnam the subject of discussion.

Hey, Democrats! Vietnam is over. Move on. [is that phrase trademarked?]

Posted by bubba138 at 10:31 PM | Comments (0) |

A Doctrine of Pre-emption

Of particular interest is how the charge arose last week that Mr. Bush was somehow "AWOL" during his Guard service. It turns out that Democrat chair Terry McAuliffe raised it on a Sunday TV talk show. He and his coterie have since defended this by saying they know the Republicans are going to come after their man, Kerry, so they are just "sending the message" that they are going to "fight back."

They know this, McAuliffe said, because the Republicans have called their man a "liberal."

Shocking, but true. Kerry is a liberal. His record is there for all to see. But there seems to be a bit of a disconnect between the Republicans calling Kerry what he is and the Democrats bringing up old, unproven charges that the President avoided his military service — all the while saying "they started it!" ...

Will Sen. Kerry join in the fun himself? Asked last week if the President's military record was a fair issue, Kerry said, "I haven't made up my mind."

Guess that means the pollsters haven't told him yet what is "fair."

The whole thing.

Posted by bubba138 at 10:18 PM | Comments (0) |

NEW MARS DISCOVERY!

Opportunity has found dinosaur bones on Mars!

Made you look.

Posted by bubba138 at 02:39 PM | Comments (0) |

Kerry...the Populist

The tales often have one other common thread. Most end with Sen. Kerry inquiring of the lesser mortal: "Do you know who I am?"

And now he's running for president as a populist. His first wife came from a Philadelphia Main Line family worth $300 million. His second wife is a pickle-and-ketchup heiress.

Kerry lives in a mansion on Beacon Hill on which he has borrowed $6 million to finance his campaign. A fire hydrant that prevented him and his wife from parking their SUV in front of their tony digs was removed by the city of Boston at his behest...

It's a wonderful life these days for John Kerry. He sails Nantucket Sound in "the Scaramouche," a 42-foot Hinckley powerboat. Martha Stewart has a similar boat; the no-frills model reportedly starts at $695,000. Sen. Kerry bought it new, for cash.

More...

Posted by bubba138 at 01:59 AM | Comments (0) |

Kill Them If They Can't Take a Joke

To the conservatives Gardian Council and their lackies, resigning in protest from politcial office in Iran is nothing to laugh at:

"Those executive officials who want to resign close to the time of the election should be dealt with like the enemies of God," hardline editor Hossein Shariatmadari wrote in his Kayhan evening newspaper earlier this month.

Under Iranian law, the charge is similar to blasphemy and carries the death penalty.

And what's to stop the conservatives from hanging the resigning reformers? Nothing at all, since they insist on barring reformers from running for office. Because of this, on February 20th the conservatives will again hold a majority in the government, and the theocracy will be maintained.

Posted by bubba138 at 01:26 AM | Comments (0) |

Palestinains and the Olympics

Earlier this month I came across a heart-wrenching story in my local newspaper, The Arizona Republic. It seems that an aspiring young Palestinian swimmer, 17 year-old Raad Aweisat, who had been training at the West Jerusalem YMCA until "Palestinian-Israeli violence broke out more than three years ago," was now training for the Olympic Games in a chilly, hyper-chlorinated, makeshift pool in the backyard of some of his neighbors.

It is undeniably a great story. It trots out the usual villains - the big, bad Israelis, this time aided by the bureaucratic Christians. And it casts Raad, with his pure, apolitical, Olympic dream as the spunky victim.

The only trouble is: it's dead wrong.

This wouldn't be the first time the Palestinians used the Olympics for political gain.

Posted by bubba138 at 01:12 AM | Comments (0) |

February 06, 2004

Why I Bought My DVD Player

One of the primary reasons I moved up to DVD several years ago was to watch the Star Wars trilogy in all its digital glory. Imagine my consternation when, after plunking down my hard earned cash on a player, I found out that George Lucas wasn't going to release the trilogy on DVD until he was good and ready to.

Well, he's soon going to be good and ready:

Our source says next Tuesday (2/10) will bring official word that the Special Edition versions of Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return Of The Jedi will be released in a four disk set on September 21 of this year.

I can't wait.

Posted by bubba138 at 08:31 AM | Comments (0) |

I Guess It Paid Off

Jackson's unscripted flash of flesh during Sunday's Super Bowl halftime send Internet surfers seeking pictures of the snafu in greater numbers over a 24 hour period than searches for "September 11" or Madonna's kiss with Britney Spears.

Justin and Janet's gamble paid off. It looks like they got just the amount of, ahem, exposure they wanted.

Posted by bubba138 at 08:07 AM | Comments (0) |

It Sickens Me

Drawn and Quartered:

was a multimedia form of execution. First the prisoner was drawn to the place of execution on a hurdle, a type of sledge. (Originally he was merely dragged behind a horse.) Then he was hanged. Cut down while still alive, he was disembowelled and his entrails burned before his eyes. (Some references, such as the Encyclopedia Britannica, say this step, and not dragging behind a horse, is what is meant by "drawn," but actual sentences of execution don't support this view.)

Finally the condemned was beheaded and his body cut into quarters, one arm or leg to a quarter. How exactly the quartering was to be accomplished was not always specified, but on at least some occasions horses were hitched to each of the victim's limbs and spurred in four directions. An assistant with a sword or cleaver was sometimes assigned to make a starter cut and ease the strain on the animals. The remains were often put on display as a warning to others.

Our gracious, merciful courts would probably define it as "cruel and unusual punishment," but I think such a penalty would be sometimes appropriate.

Posted by bubba138 at 07:27 AM | Comments (0) |

February 04, 2004

Iran Update

1. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has rejected the postponement of the February 20 elections

2. Student protest rallies have been banned.

3. The latest death toll for Bam earthquake reaches 43,000

Posted by bubba138 at 12:36 PM | Comments (0) |

February 03, 2004

Hard on National Security

Here's the current Democratic mantra:

John Kerry is a national hero. He went to Vietnam. He served in war. This makes him qualified and strong on national security.

Bush avoided war by enlisting in (hiding behind his dad's money) the national guard. He even took undocumented time off (HE WAS AWOL!!!) for a campaign or two. This makes him soft on national security.

What the Democrats fail to realize is that what these men did isn't half as important as what they will do. We don't need to know where they stood on defense, but where they now stand.

Bush has made his position clear. He's come against terrorism like no other President. We are safer today than we were four years ago. A weakened Al-Qe'ada is busy bombing and attacking in Muslim countries, not the USA. Families of Palestinian terrorists are no longer receiving fat cheques from Hussien in exchange for making themselves human dynamite.

Kerry has also made his position clear. He voted against almost every defense bill to come across the Senate in his tenure. He all but checks with Ted Kennedy before casting any votes. He wouldn't have gone into Iraq (but he did make the safe move and voted to allow the President to do so).

No, Kerry is not the man to defend this great country. That position is already filled.

Posted by bubba138 at 10:57 PM | Comments (0) |

The Hardline is Getting Harder

The hardliners in Iran have a fool-proof, two-step plan. First, limit the election so only hardline candidates are allowed to run. Second, throttle the press:

Leading conservative prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi has warned eight reformist newspapers about their coverage of Iran's political crisis, the Culture Ministry said Tuesday.

Mortazavi, the prosecutor for Tehran who shut down dozens of newspapers when he was at Iran's press tribunal, "has written to the Culture Ministry asking it to warn (the newspapers) Shargh, Yas-e No, Nassim-e Sabah, Tossee, Aftab-e Yazd, Etemad, Hambasteghi, Mardom Salari," said the Ministry, quoted by the official news agency IRNA.

Posted by bubba138 at 10:15 PM | Comments (0) |

Clark Wins Okie State

Clark on Fox with Greta:

"I did not vote for war in Iraq. I know how to lead. I'm an outsider. I know how to negotiate treaties. I can run this country and I am learning how to win elections."

Greta: Would you have gone to war?

Clark: "No. Bush got us into a war when Iraq was not an imminent threat. I was told right after 9/11 that this administration was going to take us to war no matter what...blah blah blah..."

Greta: "Who said that? Who said that, sir?"

Clark: "My friends in the Pentagon."

Greta: "What friends? Can you name them? Will you name them?"

Clark: "No, and I'm not going to."

Clark "I'm going to pass the largest working class tax cut in history. We have a President who just doesn't care for Americans. "

Then he launched into a woe story about his dad dying when he was a child and how they never had any money.

So what do we know about Clark?

1. How dorky is it that he said he didn't vote for the war in Iraq? Its easy for him to now say he wouldn't have voted for it, but really isn't it possible he would have? After all, before deciding to shed his Republican robes for Democratic rags he glowingly supported Bush and his administration.

2. He wants it both ways. The Democrats have spewed for months that Bush said there was an imminent threat and therefore he was lying. Now Clark says Bush did the wrong thing beacuse he knew there wasn't an imminent threat.

3. He's baseless. He asserts that Bush was going to war no matter what because his friends told him so. Wow. I have a friend who also told me that Clinton is the anti-christ. That doesn't make it so.

4. Let me echo the Democrats: "How is he going to pay for that massive tax cut?" Further, Democrats recognize anyone with an annual income over twenty thousand a year as wealthy, so what exactly will Clark define as a "working class" family.

5. Clark seems to think we should vote for him because we feel sorry for him. Fat chance.

Posted by bubba138 at 09:33 PM | Comments (0) |

Senate Race

Speaking of state politics, isn't it about time we start hearing from the Republican candidates who are running for Boxer's senate seat? Up until now they've all been as quite as can be, and there are no signs of any one of them getting louder.

Barbara Boxer is feeling quite confident, knowing she is polling favorably and plenty of cash ($8.8 million) to spare. The next closest is Schwarzenegger favorite, Bill Jones, with less than 10% of Boxer's bankroll. This only underlines the neccesity of loud and effective campaigning by the Republican challengers.

At this point, Jones looks like the frontrunner, but it is too early to tell if he'll be challenged by Howard Kaloogian (more here), Tony Casey, or Rosario Marin.

To tell the truth, I'm not feeling very confident at this point in the race that Boxer will be replaced. Electing Arnold may have been the best thing for the state, but it probably diffused enough voter anger to keep Boxer safe for at least one more term. Getting her out will require both a flawless and devastating campaign.

Posted by bubba138 at 12:08 PM | Comments (0) |

A Shakeup in the State Legislature?

Dan Walters has noticed that due to redistricting and other factors the number of women legislators in the state will probably go down:

District-by-district examinations of the 153 legislative and congressional seats up for election this year, conducted by a caucus of Democratic women in the Legislature and the California Elected Women's Association for Education and Research (CEWAER), indicate that the number of women in office will decline sharply this year -- with the extent of the falloff the only question.

"It's possible that we could lose six seats in 2004 and another 17 in 2006," says Assembly Member Lois Wolk of Davis, who chairs the Legislature's caucus of Democratic women...

On paper, it appears as if many women are running for legislative offices this year, but in fact, many of them are in districts assigned to opposing parties.

"A lot of women are running for seats they're not likely to win," says Otte-Michelin [executive director of CEWAER].

Did you also notice that the women of whom Mr. Walters is referring are part of the caucus of Democratic women? So Dan isn't really predicting that women will have a smaller voice in state politics, but that the shrill of Democratic women will be toned down.

Since the most liberal of our state's legislators are Democratic women, this is good news.

Posted by bubba138 at 11:26 AM | Comments (0) |

One would think with the

One would think with the election crisis Iran would have enough on their hands, but I guess they felt a need to keep too close an eye on the 'evil zionist regime.' Too bad for Iran, they got caught.

Posted by bubba138 at 01:08 AM | Comments (0) |

Peace in the Middle East

How's this for a little peace where there was none before:

An Iranian ship has docked at an Iraqi port for the first time in 24 years and lifted crude oil, the head of southern Iraq's Basra offshore loading terminal said Monday.

The tanker Iran Hangam arrived last week and lifted two million barrels of crude oil, said harbour master Captain Moayyad al-Qatrani...

The tanker was the first Iranian ship to dock in Iraq since the outbreak of the 1980-1988 war between the two neighbours.

So now we have commerce between once deadly enemies. Not bad for a 'war of aggression.'

It looks like Iran is holding out an olive branch to Egypt as well.

Posted by bubba138 at 12:51 AM | Comments (0) |

February 02, 2004

Are You Afraid?

John Kerry says:

"That's what they do best is spread the culture of fear," the four-term Massachusetts senator said. "I'm not going to let them put the Democratic Party or any American on the defensive about asking legitimate questions about how we make our nation strong."

Fear? What else have the Democrats been using the last eight years? Let's take a bit out of one of Kerry's own speeches:

I have spent months traveling across Iowa and all over America trying to do just that. I've met with folks in homes and diners, listening to them on farms and the factory floor.

I met Myrtle Walck in Council Bluffs. Myrtle's worked all her life, but at 82-years-old she's not finished giving to her country. Myrtle volunteers at a local school each week, teaching kids how to read. And what has her country given her? A $400 monthly Social Security check that just barely covers her two daily prescriptions. I believe Myrtle Walck deserves someone on her side fighting for her.

I met Bob Anderson in Waterloo. Bob's a part of this so-called "jobless recovery" President Bush now brags about-he was laid off about ten months ago from Iowa Concrete. Now Bob's wife was just diagnosed with a chronic illness and their health insurance has run out. I believe Bob Anderson deserves someone on his side fighting for him.

And I met Virginia Noble in Des Moines. Virginia owns a sandwich shop right near my headquarters called Beggar's Banquet. Virginia wants to provide her 11 employees with health insurance, but with prices skyrocketing and premiums rising every day, she just can't afford it no matter how much she tries. I believe Virginia Noble deserves someone on her side fighting for her.

Fear it is. Be afraid of the Republicans because Myrtle only gets $400 a month in social security. No matter that even though Myrtle has apparently worked all her life, the ponzi scheme Social Security system can't pay her an adequate living. No matter that the Democrat's best plan for Social Security is to create a "lock box." No matter that sad as Myrtle's situation is, mine (and yours) will be worse unless we change the Social Security system in ways the Democrats refuse to do.

Fear it is. Be afraid of the Republicans because Bob is jobless. No matter that he lost his job because nobody was watching the shop during the boom of the last administration. No matter that the violations purpetrated by the Enrons occurred during the last watch and were discovered and are being prosecuted during this watch. No matter that the economic slide from which we are strongly recovering started in 2000, a year before Bush was in office.

Fear it is. Be afraid of the Republicans because Virginia wants to provide insurance for her employees but she cannot afford it. No matter that the Democrats are only too happy to pass laws requiring small business owners to provide insurance regardless of the cost. No matter that the Democrats don't care if the required insurance costs put small business people out of business.

Fear it is. Not just Kerry, but the entirety of the liberal left works on this premise. Live in fear because Bush is Hitler. Live in fear because Ashcroft is after your civil liberties.

There is a culture of fear in America, but it's not the Republicans causing it.

Posted by bubba138 at 11:56 PM | Comments (0) |

This Was the Front Runner

Millions of minors watching the halftime show during prime time got an unsolicited show of Timberlake and Jackson bumping and grinding away on stage, topped of with full breast exposure and what does Dean have to say about it?

Howard Dean...dismissed as "silly" a government inquiry into whether indecency rules were broken during the broadcast of the Super Bowl halftime show when pop diva Janet Jackson's bodice was ripped to expose her right breast.

"I find that to be a bit of a flap about nothing," the former Vermont governor said...

"In general, I think the FCC does have a role in promoting some reasonable standard of decency," Dean told reporters aboard his campaign plane. "However, considering what's on television these days, I think the FCC is being pretty silly about investigating this."

Posted by bubba138 at 11:12 PM | Comments (0) |

It's All Fun and Games Until Somebody Gets Hurt

A fake bomb was discovered Sunday at the entrance to the Iranian parliament amid ongoing political upheaval over the mass barring of candidates from upcoming elections, the student news agency ISNA said Monday.

The agency quoted Ali Taala, director of political affairs and security for Tehran province, as saying parliamentary press officers had received a threat of an attack by telephone at about 2:00 pm (1200 GMT) Sunday.

After searching the building, officials uncovered a suspicious package "which contained the necessary electronic equipment but no explosive charge," Taala said, according to ISNA.

I wonder how long before the bombs become real?

Posted by bubba138 at 06:03 PM | Comments (0) |

Its About All Power

The power struggle in Iran continues to get interesting. The Gardian Council has threatened possible prosecution against the reform MPs who have resigned:

"Election officials within the executive, particularly provincial governors, prefects, sub-prefects, must know that, in the present situation, any resignation is viewed as a hindrance to the electoral process and may bring about prosecution," said Hojatoleslam Ahmad Azimizadeh, quoted by the Iranian news agency IRNA.

Why aren't MPs allowed to resign? Because to do so is to display a lack of confidence in the GC...which is tantamount to treason:

"This sort of action against a legal procedure can be viewed as a lack of loyalty towards the Islamic Republic," said Azimizadeh, adding that this was open to prosecution.

He added: "These (MPs') resignations, the tone of the statement which accompanied their action, and the statements of some of the barred candidates, show the Guardians Council carried out its work well, within respect of the law."

So, according to the GC, the very fact that these MPs dissent with it is justification for not allowing them to participate in the electoral process. Somehow in the minds of the GC this is not inconsistant with democracy. As Glenn would say, "More crushing of dissent..."

Posted by bubba138 at 09:40 AM | Comments (0) |

February 01, 2004

How Did It Get Out of the Computer?

Headline: MyDoom worm attacks UNIX owner

Posted by bubba138 at 11:23 PM | Comments (0) |

Give Billy a Job

Here's yet another reason to not elect any of the Democratic presidential candidates:

Dean said he would propose that former President Clinton become the special Middle East envoy.

Kerry said he would also consider Clinton or maybe Carter as his special envoy to the Middle East.

He couldn't get the job done when he was president. What makes Kerry and dean think Billy could get the job done now? Further, if Kerry is to appoint Carter as an envoy, we can pretty much write off Israel's chances of a just settlement.

Things like this ought to accelerate the exodus of the Jewish vote from the Democrat party into the Republican.

Posted by bubba138 at 10:47 PM | Comments (0) |

Fiscal Responsibility

Howard Dean once had the right to attack Bush on the subject of fiscal responsibility. Not anymore:

[the] campaign rolled through $31.7 million last year, before a single vote was ever cast, according to a report released Saturday.

The campaign raised $41 million in 2003 and carried almost $9.7 million into the new year before a spending spree in Iowa and New Hampshire emptied Dr. Dean's wallet without producing victories.

Last week, officials said the campaign, which is not running television advertisements and has temporarily suspended staff salaries, had about $3 million left.

Posted by bubba138 at 09:34 PM | Comments (0) |

Oh, Did You See That Halftime Show?

I saw it. My wife saw it. My 13 year old daughter saw it too. So did Drudge. CBS has expressed surprise, but I'm not buying it. The NFL's statement I am on board with:

Statement by NFL Executive Vice President Joe Browne regarding the Super Bowl halftime show: "We were extremely disappointed by elements of the MTV-produced Halftime show. They were totally inconsistent with assurances our office was given about the show. It's unlikely that MTV will produce another Super Bowl halftime."

Good.

As for Timberlake, he is out-and-out lying about it:

Timberlake said he did not intend to tear the cup off Jackson's black leather bustier, exposing a nipple piercing shield.

"I am sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance of the Super Bowl," Timberlake said in a statement. "It was not intentional and is regrettable."

Bull. This was not unplanned:

While CBS officials pleaded ignorance on the antics, the entertainer had hinted she was planning something outrageous.

A Jan. 28 story on MTV's Web site promised "shocking moments" during her performance in Houston. MTV, which produced the halftime show, is owned by Viacom, CBS' parent company.

CBS should be fined, MTV should be fined and the NFL should be fined. This was done during prime-time and people of all ages were watching. To put this kind of trash on during a the nation's biggest popular event is irresponsible and I would say illegal. Do we wonder why the Islamofascists think we are an immoral people?

Posted by bubba138 at 09:24 PM | Comments (0) |

What a Great Game

That was, unqualified, the best Super Bowl I have ever watched. Sure, the Pats also won on a last second field goal three years ago, but they really controlled the first three quarters of that game. Today's Super Bowl was undecided for the entire sixty minutes...that makes for a good game.

The commercials this year were much better than last year. Here are my ratings:

Funniest: Bud Lite doggy commercial. I was rolling when that mangy dog lunged at the other guy's groin. Classic.

Lamest Attempt at Humor: The donkey leading the Budwiser Clydesdales.

Biggest Groan: Bagpipe player doing the Marilyn Monroe over a street grate. I agreed with the little boy...that was just wrong.

Biggest Waste of Money: Dry SBC monologue droning on about the business advantages of using their services. For this they paid $2.5 million?

Coolest by Far: Pepsi commercial featuring 11 year old Jimi Hendrix.

Most Entertaining: Referee with uncanny ability to ignore the hyper-abusive head coach on the sidelines. The announcers wonder how he can be so calm in the face of such a verbal lashing. The camera cuts to the referee in his home with his wife giving him a brutal tongue lashing -- he stares into space totally oblivious of her complaining.

Those are my picks, what are yours?

Posted by bubba138 at 09:05 PM | Comments (0) |