I guess GOP Chairman Mel Martinez (R)-FL missed the memo about the US becoming less dependent upon foreign oil.

Florida’s U.S. senators are finding themselves in an all-too-familiar situation: protesting yet another bid to explore for energy off the Florida coast.

Republican Sen. Mel Martinez and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson are teaming up to fight a proposal that calls for spending $10 million to conduct a seismic inventory of the “oil and natural gas resources of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.”

“I’m committed to defeating this provision,” Martinez said in a statement. “It might have made it out of committee, but it won’t survive on the floor. Florida’s waters are protected; a survey would be pointless and a waste of taxpayer resources.”

Hey, I’m all for using foreign oil and saving our own resources until we have a monopoly on them but Mr. Martinez’s position doesn’t match up with the general party position or good common sense. This isn’t even the dreaded drilling, which seems to frighten everyone, even though we’ve been doing it for years successfully in the Gulf. It is a survey for crying out loud.

A spokesman for Craig said the two senators are “clearly on the record that we ought to produce more oil and gas domestically, rather than buying it from third-world dictators.”

”In order to make responsible decisions about our future oil development we should know what we have,” said spokesman Dan Whiting.

It would be nice to know if we have a couple of Saudi Arabia’s off our coastline, wouldn’t it? Is it any wonder that the GOP is in trouble on a national level?

Oh for the simple times.

Yep you were right ladies.  And I was wrong.
Squawk

In one of the more bizarre attempts in attacking a presidential candidate, animal rights groups are angry at Mitt Romney for abusing his dog.

Animal lovers hit the roof after it was revealed that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney strapped his Irish setter to the top of his car during a 12-hour family drive from Boston to Ontario, terrifying the hapless dog and causing a health hazard to fellow road-users.

Wow, that sure sounds bad, doesn’t it? What was the health hazard?

After a few miles, Mr Romney’s eldest son, Tagg, raised the alarm. “Dad!” he yelled. “Gross!” A brown liquid was dripping down the rear windscreen.

In protest at his treatment perhaps, Seamus had suffered a diarrhoea attack. The results made driving difficult.

Yeah, one of the most difficult times to drive is when a dog on top of the car in front of you lets go. Forgot to mention how timely this abuse accusation is.

The Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the 1983 incident, which came to light this week, could be investigated for possible dog endangerment.

1983. Whew, good oppo research there boys. But wait, there’s more!

Ingrid Newkirk, an animal rights activist, said Mr Romney had placed the dog under “extreme stress”, causing it to “lose control of its bowels”. The incident verged on dog and child abuse, she suggested.

Child abuse? Get a grip people!

Mr Romney said the row was a fuss about nothing. Seamus enjoyed being on the roof, he said. “He scrambled up there every time we went on trips.”

I’ll bet anyone that’s ever owned a large breed dog would agree with that. Bunch of poodle pushers.

Another communique from the Religion of Peace.

Explosives-Packed Car Defused in London

LONDON (AP) - Police thwarted an apparent terror attack Friday near the famed Piccadilly Circus in the heart of London, defusing a bomb made of a lethal mix of gasoline, propane gas, and nails after an ambulance crew spotted smoke coming from a silver Mercedes outside a nightclub.

But of course, there is no terrorist threat from Muslim extremists. That is all an invention of the Bush/Blair conspiracy. Liberals tell us so.

The British security official said there were similarities between the device and vehicle bombs used by insurgents in Iraq.

The official also said the domestic spy agency MI5 would examine possible connections between Friday’s bomb attempt and at least two similar foiled plots - to attack a London nightclub in 2004 and to pack limousines with gas canisters and shrapnel.

In the 2004 plot, accused members of an al-Qaida-linked terror cell were convicted of plotting to blow up the Ministry of Sound nightclub. A recording made by MI5 captured the plotters discussing an attack on the nightclub, one of London’s biggest and most famous venues.

The discovery of the bomb resurrected fears that followed the July 7, 2005, suicide bombings that killed 52 people on three London subways and a bus and failed attacks on the transit system just two weeks later.

Three of the suicide bombers were British-born men of Pakistani descent, and all four were Muslim. The fact that seemingly unremarkable British youths could become suicide bombers caused soul-searching across the country, and raised fears of a threat from homegrown terrorists.

No connection with Muslim extremism here. No pattern of Muslim terror attacks against Westerners. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Well, I tried. A bit of a LST/Wordpress problem, I’m afraid. If someone has a clue, let me know, I think that the post size is just too large. Here are a couple of highlights from the past week, but there were many very good comments given the national topics of immigration reform and the recent conservative Supreme Court rulings.

In the category of “Interesting Question” goes:

hamous Says:
June 24th, 2007 at 10:42 am e

Alzheimer’s is probably genetic too. They are getting close to a vaccine that halts its progression. Should we be searching for a vaccine to cure homosexuality? If not, why not?

In the category of “Selling Our Souls For A Buck” goes:

american woman Says:
June 25th, 2007 at 3:51 pm e

We removed morals, remember, those pesky things that no matter how you may be tempted, remind you to NOT cross the line. Also, we removed all shame. It takes shame to keep us in line, once shame is gone, wheeeeeeeeee. We decided our children should be raised by television and child care providers. We women took jobs to be able to have that second car, computer, save for kids education, vacation to disney. We were told me must do this to be fullfilled women. As we see society crumble, it seems to me, we were all sold a bill of goods.

In the category of “I Can’t Seem To Get It Across Either But I’m Not Going To Stop Trying” goes:

texpat Says:
June 26th, 2007 at 10:17 pm e

Somehow, I cannot seem to get across the very real concrete fact that judges are appointed for life, period. Ginzburg has been chronically sick, Stevens is 87 and not well and Souter has been making noises about retiring for a while. No matter how it happened, we got two damned good justices out of George Bush even if we had to beat him like a rented mule. These are not elected officials we can go to the ballot for and we cannot un-elect them. We also don’t get to control the simple twists of fate that bring about the opportunities to replace them. If you are willing to sacrifice the ability to control these seats, fine; I am not.

And in the category of “Once In A While Good Sports News Happens” goes:

hamous Says:
June 28th, 2007 at 11:43 pm e

I wuz there! Great game. Biggio isn’t a Hall of Famer? 3002 hits as of tonight. Every eligible player over 3000 is in the Hall of Fame. He’s ranked 6th in career doubles with 658 behind Tris Speaker, Pete Rose, Stan Musial, Ty Cobb and George Brett. Every eligible player over 530 is in the Hall of Fame. He’s ranked 15th in career runs with 1820. Everyone over 1645 is in the Hall of fame. Besides that he’s an all-round nice guy. Hall of Famer. First ballot. Take it to the bank.

There were many more than this. It was a good week. For commenters. Not for me posting them.

And now, our final fatwa of the week, submitted to Imam Yusuf Kavakci by “Abbas” on 4/29/02.

Abbas (?) asks:

Honored Ustadh,

Often we hear hier in Germany from famous leaders of the Muslim and Christian dialogue that the best solution for Jerusalem problem is a multifaith governance of the city. They say, all (Muslims, Jews and Christians) have the same right on Jerusalem, because Jerusalem is holy for all three religions. Do you consider this a Islamic opinion? Thans salafan

Imam Kavakci–future prayer leader of the Texas state senate–responds [emphasis in bold added by LST]:

This is one of the decisions made by the UN in 1948. It has not been applied up till now. It may not be Ideal from an Islamic point of view, but perhaps that may be better then what is happening in Jerusalem now. We have a fiqhi maxim that I think is applicable in this situation: What cannot be totally apprehended, part of it should not be rejected. Since practically at the moment we cannot get all of Jerusalem and Palestine, it is probably wise to take a part of it.

Listen, Imam, don’t be so hard on yourself. Hitler had the same problem– big, bold dreams that were always seemingly just out of reach. The trick is to work hard, do what you can in pursuit of your goals each and every day, and wake up every morning with a positive attitude.

Besides, you never know when an Iranian-supplied nuclear bomb is going to come along and before you know it, all of Palestine will be yours!

————-

LoneStarTimes.com is challenging mainstream media reporters to ask tough questions of Dallas-area Imam Yusuf Kavakci, who stirred controversy last April with his prayer before the Texas state senate.

Imam Kavakci will be speaking at a Dallas-area Islamic conference this Saturday, June 30th.

Joining him on stage will be …

• His daughter, who has given a speech (starts on page 3 of pdf) in which she praises Palestinian Islamic Jihad sleeper agent Sami Al-Arian; AND
• A man named Jamal Badawi, who has been identified by federal prosecutors as having participated in fund-raising activities on behalf of a HAMAS front-group.

To highlight our challenge, LST is posting a fatwa (or “religious ruling”) issued by the Imam every day this week. Members of the media who would like to access or receive copies of our original source documentation should contact us via email at “lsteditorsATgmailDOTcom.” We’ll be happy to oblige.

Below is our ever-expanding list of questions we challenge the mainstream media to ask Imam Kavakci.

QUESTIONS RELATED TO HAMAS FUNDRAISING

On Saturday, June 3oth, you are scheduled to share the stage in Dallas with a Mr. Jamal Badawi, who has been identified by federal prosecutors as having “participated in fund-raising activities on behalf of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development,” a HAMAS front-group.

• Will you commit to refusing to appear on stage with (and thereby implicitly conferring legitimacy upon) Mr. Badawi?
• Will you use your considerable authority within the Dallas Muslim community to ensuring that Mr. Badawi is disinvited from speaking at this conference?

It was recently revealed that you sit on the board of directors of a group that federal prosecutors have identified as unindicted co-conspirators in the trial of a HAMAS fund-raising sleeper cell set to begin in July.

• Why do you think this group on whose board you sit was identified by federal prosecutors in this way?
• What steps have you, as a member of the board of directors of this group and a respected religious authority in your community taken to ensure that no money raised for ostensibly charitable purposes has been directed towards terrorist groups like HAMAS?
• Do you agree or disagree that HAMAS is a terrorist group? Feel free to offer any explanation you wish to afterwards, but first please just answer with a simple Yes or No.
• Do you agree or disagree that it is improper for charity to flow even to the widows and orphans of HAMAS suicide bombers, since providing for surviving family members only makes it more likely that terrorists will be willing to act?

QUESTIONS RELATED TO SAMI AL-ARIAN

In 2002 your daughter gave a speech (starts on page 3 of pdf) in which she praises Palestinian Islamic Jihad sleeper agent Sami Al-Arian, who she believes is being “persecuted” by the US government.

• Do you agree with your daughter’s assertion that Sami Al-Arian has been persecuted by the United States government?
• Do you agree or disagree that Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a terrorist group? Feel free to offer any explanation you wish to afterwards, but first please just answer with a simple Yes or No.

QUESTIONS RELATED TO JIHAD IN PALESTINE

Imam Kavakci, you have stated that in any country, “people who have been invaded or their homes and lands are taken away from them, have the right to defend themselves, their families, and their properties against the aggressor.”

• Do you believe that in Palestine, Zionists have been aggressors and have invaded and taken away the homes and land of local Arab communities?
• Do you believe that local Arab communities in Palestine have the right to defend themselves, their families, and their property against Zionist aggression?
• What forms can this defense and resistance against aggression take?
• Are there any acts of resistance against aggression that are completely prohibited, no matter the circumstances or whom they are directed against?

QUESTIONS RELATED TO AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI

• Do you completely condemn, or do you sympathize in any way with the teachings of Iranian Revolutionary cleric Ayatollah Khomeini?

QUESTIONS RELATED TO SHEIKH YUSUF AL-QARADAWI

• Do you completely condemn Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi for his advocacy of suicide bombings in Israel and his exhortation to jihad against the Jews, or do you stand by your earlier praise for him as a “quality” Islamic scholar?

QUESTIONS RELATED TO HASAN AL-TURABI

• Do you completely condemn Hasan al-Turabi for giving Osama bin Laden sanctuary in Sudan and instigating jihad against Sudanese Christians and animists, or do you stand by your earlier praise for him as a “quality” Islamic scholar?

Okay, gonna give it a shot. Wife is out of town, nothing going on, thought I’d check out the Dems.

Debate was held at Howard University, a traditional black college. Historical intro by Tom Joyner, a black radio host. Hey, that’s the way he was introduced, got nothing to do with me. I’d have said he was a talk radio host.

The the moderator for the evening came on, Tavis Smiley, a black journalist. Once again, that’s how he was introduced, don’t blame me. Gave props to some “notables” in the crowd, among them Dr. Cornel West, a black professor from Princeton. Once again, it isn’t me. I’d have said he was a professor at Princeton.

Mr. Smiley characterized this debate as an open book test on issues that matter most to persons of color. Once again……

Then Deval Patrick, the black governor of Massachusetts. Like I said, it isn’t me! Gov. Patrick’s job was to introduce the candidates. Finally. At last.

Back to Mr. Smiley, who introduced the first questioner, a Crecilla Cowen Scott, who won an internet contest for first question. She’s a black blogger. Go figure. Once again, it isn’t me. After that, Mr. Smiley introduced the others, Dewayne, Michelle and Navarette. Or something like that.

So, how’s about the debate. Debate? Oh, yeah, it finally started. And, about the grades, please remember that I’m grading on a curve. These are libs we’re talking about.

• Joe Biden - C+ - not too bad in context of the whole. I thought he was pretty strong on the first question, which was about race issues and specifically about today’s SC decision removing race from school choice. He was pretty strong in saying that he was the only one that was hard on Roberts and Alito. Did you know that he thinks that mothers should talk to their children as early as the age of 2? Yep. He sure does.
• Hillary Clinton - A - easily and handily won this debate. Zero question about it. She looked good and had far more applause than anyone else. Stuck with the talking points and did it well. Whether Repubs like it or not, she’ll be a formidable opponent. I was hoping she would suck. Didn’t happen.
• Chris Dodd - D - needs to consult Hill’s facelift doctor. Talked about black infant mortality being 2.5 times that of whites. Access to health care is the issue. Tax policy should reflect moral values. Education most important. And still got little applause.
• John Edwards - C - not as much applause as I thought he’d get. Actually said that poverty was the focus of his life. Huh? Whatever. Wants to fund schools earlier than 4 years of age. Raise cap gains tax.
• Mike Gravel - F - strange guy. His Ron Paul moment came at the end when he said that the solution to Darfur was simple, it was about moral judgement and no one on the stage but him had it, the proof is in their lives. Interesting.
• Dennis Kucinich - B - well, I was surprised too. He had his own Ron Paul moments and he looks like a younger Ross Perot and he sounds likes he’s been sucking on a helium bottle. But he got an awful lot of applause from the audience. Focused mostly on ending the war in Iraq, using that money to give everyone free education. Cancel NAFTA, WTO, all black ops, go back to basic human rights.
• Barack Obama - D- - boy, was I disappointed. And I think most people in the room were. I mean, this was a black college, black audience, 3 of 4 questioners were black, the moderator was black and the two special guests were black. And he sucked. Big time. Truly a surprise, I’d never seen him have to talk in a forum like this, just his pop culture icon image. He truly sucked. Watch the debate on YouTube if you don’t believe me. Maybe I expected too much?
• Bill Richardson - F - as bad as Obama was, Richardson was worse. Slow talker, never quite finished a thought. As a conservative, I did like that he said the Dems should be pro-growth on the economy. I think. Not sure he finished the thought. He’s really slow.

Hillary stood out in this group. Head and shoulders above the rest in my eyes. It’ll be interesting to see what the left thinks about it.

All were for ending the Bush tax cuts. All praised Warren Buffet for saying that the rich need to be taxed more. All thought that capital gains should be taxed at a higher level. All thought that we should fund education at a higher level, with Edwards saying we should pay for all people in the world to be educated. All were for ending mandatory sentencing and ending the drug war. All blasted yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling about not using race as a factor in school choice.

Katrina was repeated over and over as an example of how the U.S. failed it’s citizens. All thought that we should pay people to move back there. Hillary has a 10 point plan for it. Obama says that we failed New Orleans long before the hurricane.

I’ll tell you this much. Any conservative that says they won’t vote for a Republican if their specific candidate isn’t nominated in the primary is a fool. Just watch this group and you’ll see why I say that.

——————–

Job Wanted–Prepress production operator seeking day shift position with opportunity to eventually advance into supervisory role. Candidate has over seventeen years experience in the printing industry working in diverse fields from newspaper to high-end clients including Pepsi, Mary Kay Cosmetics, R. J. Reynolds, Donruss Sports Trading Cards, etc.

Applicant has a B.A. in Communication Arts and has a wide range of experiences from graphic design and ad building to preflight and prepress service. Project experience is also widely diverse including packaging, multi-page layout and trading cards. Interested parties should contact candidate with resume request via email at “cchd AT houston DOT rr DOT com”.

——————–

Get paid to tell us what you think– Register to participate in one of our focus groups; earn money telling us what you think about politics, your community and consumer goods. Click here to learn more and sign-up!

——————–

——————–

Dawn Wolf Design– LST’s full-service graphic designer of choice. Talented, professional, competitively priced; a generous LST volunteer, we could not recommend her more highly. | 713-984-9200 | website

——————–

Congratulations to Craig Biggio 3000 Career Base Hits

In the wake of the Senate’s refusal to proceed with the amnesty abomination, the “US-friendly” and “conservative” new President of Mexico is, well, miffed.

MEXICO CITY — President Felipe Calderon of Mexico today blasted the U.S. Senate’s rejection of the immigration bill, calling the senators’ action “a grave error” that avoided a “sensible, rational and legal solution.”

I’m always fascinated at the chutzpah of leaders of backward and corrupt countries who believe, for some reason, they are qualified to instruct the U.S. on how to conduct its affairs. But Calderon apparently thinks he needs to lecture us:

“It’s a mistake,” Calderon said. “First, because it’s a problem that’s not being confronted. And with this evasive action the U.S. Senate is making it worse.

“Secondly, by closing the door on legal immigration, the only thing the Senate does is open the door to illegal immigration.”

(Is it just me, or did that last sentence sound a little like a threat?)

I’m sure Jeff Sessions is handwriting his apology this very moment.

Calderon also made sure to tell us again that he is opposed to any fence on the border. The Chronicle apparently forgot to include the statements of Calderon about what he was doing to “confront the problem.”

Even so, the Chronicle quotes some obscure Mexican “analyst” to tell us how “realistic” Calderon is on the immigration issue, and how it is the policies of the U.S. which are “complicating the relationship” between the two countries.

And, of course, no story on immigration would be complete without resort to the tired lie of the left:

“The American economy could not prosper or advance without the labor of both Mexican and Central American migrants,” Calderon said.

Yawn.

By the way, Calderon made these statements during a joint press conference with that old U.S. neighbor and pal, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua.

Ah, the company you keep.

Imagine you are a member of the House of Representatives. You and your colleagues have spent like drunken sailors for years. Your members have been the subject of scandal after scandal, Congress after Congress. You and your pals have managed to sink to an all-time low in approval ratings, plunging below 15%.

So what’s the logical response to all of this? Vote yourself a pay raise, of course:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Despite low approval ratings and hard feelings from last year’s elections, Democrats and Republicans in the House are reaching out for an approximately $4,400 pay raise that would increase their salaries to almost $170,000.

Normally, our representatives wouldn’t have had to lift a voting finger, because their raises are generally automatic:

As part of an ethics bill in 1989, Congress gave up its ability to accept pay for speeches and made annual cost-of-living pay increases automatic unless the lawmakers voted otherwise.

But when a couple of pesky congressmen (Rep and Dem) sought to get a direct vote to block the increase, members on both sides of the aisle sprung into action to address this Matter of High Priority. It is so touching to see such a bipartisan effort.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., worked the floor during the vote to make sure there was relative balance between the warring parties in delivering votes. Working through Blunt, Hoyer forced more than a dozen Republicans to switch their votes in support of accepting the raise, including Reps. Mike Pence and Dan Burton of Indiana and Fred Upton, Dave Camp and Vernon Ehlers of Michigan.

(Emphasis added)

It just goes to show that the two parties can work well together when the matter is of such grave national importance, and Republican Blunt framed the issue in lofty terms:

“Every member has some obligation to the institution for the compensation to, as much as possible, keep pace with inflation,” Blunt told reporters Wednesday.

In reality, the most surprising thing about this story may be that 181 members actually supported allowing a vote on the issue (244 voted to prevent it).

Now, I really don’t begrudge these men and women - who have to maintain two households, etc. - a good salary. Like it or not, they are very important to us, since they wield such power over our daily lives, particularly with their taxing authority. But one would think they might have the tact to put this on the back burner for a while, at least until the public’s disgust with its politicians is not the number one story of the day.

But then, I guess they figure since all of you are getting your automatic, annual pay raises, they’re entitled too.

Y’all do get automatic, annual pay raises don’t you?

Most media coverage of the Supreme Court’s heartening rejection of race-based public school diversity schemes will focus on Chief Justice John Roberts perfectly put judicial koan…

“The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.”

But don’t cheat yourself out of reading Justice Thomas’ concurring opinion–it is a beautiful thing to behold (pp. 49-84 of this 185 page pdf).

Excerpts can’t do it justice; read the whole thing.

On the border with Mexico, our hard-pressed agents identify new jobs that Americans won’t do on a regular basis. For example, no lazy American would take a job as an oil filter for a pickup truck, right?

OTAY MESA, Calif. — Customs and Border Patrol officers made a surprising discovery in the engine compartment of a white Ford pickup truck Tuesday morning.

Officers said they discovered three undocumented Mexican citizens…

That would be three “illegal aliens attempting to sneak into the country” for those not versed in their politically correct euphemisms.

…– two women and a man — hiding under the hood as the truck attempted to cross into the Otay Mesa port of entry.

Never fear, legal citizens, our Border Patrol has four-legged agents on the job.

A human-narcotics detector dog alerted officers to the hood of the vehicle. Officers used a crowbar to open the hood because it appeared to be wired shut. Once the hood was pried open, officers discovered two females and a male within the engine compartment.

“Oh, hello, senor Border Patrol Agent. I am Juan, the oil filter. These are my sisters. Maria, she is the air cleaner, and Rosa is the radiator.”

A woman found in the engine sustained burns to her right arm, abdominal area and left leg during the trip, officials said. She was transported to [a] medical facility for medical care.

Yes Americans, because you refuse to work as engine components, these poor, oppressed Mexicans had to take these jobs to sustain themselves. As compensation you had to provide free medical care for the woman who was burned while working as the truck’s radiator. Where is the justice for the undocumented engine parts of our community? Who speaks for them?

Previous Undocumented Car Parts: Seat Stuffing

don’t they understand?

What was Fred thinking? Are you sure he’s qualified to be POTUS?

Arguments, accusations and observations, during and after the amnesty bill debate:

“Americans feel that they are losing their country … to a government that has seemed to not have the competence or the ability to carry out the things that it says it will do,” said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.
…

Sen. Elizabeth H. Dole, R-N.C., said many Americans “don’t have confidence” that borders, especially with Mexico, will be significantly tightened. “It’s not just promises but proof that the American people want,” Dole said.
…

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., called the vote “a victory for fear-mongering and obstruction over a bipartisan commitment to fix our broken immigration system.”
…

Calling up images of Nazi Germany, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) chastised opponents for clinging to the idea that America could simply track down and deport more than 12 million illegal immigrants. “America deserves better,” he said.
“Year after year, we’ve had the broken borders,” said Kennedy. “Year after year, we’ve seen the exploitation of workers.”
After the vote, he said: “It is now clear that we are not going to complete our work on immigration reform. That is enormously disappointing for Congress and for the country.”
…

Sen. Lindsay Graham, a North Carolina Republican who has been a favorite target of the bill’s opponents for his part in writing it, warned his GOP colleagues that today’s vote would be their only chance to get what they wanted out of an immigration bill. Saying Democrats would not go away and would never allow a bill that only includes a fence, Graham told Republicans to “remember this day if you vote no. You will never have this day again…. This is as good as it is going to get.”
…

Cecilia Munoz, member of the national council of La Raza, an Hispanic political organization, said the Senate action left the country with no response to the immigration problem.
“That’s not acceptable … we’ll be back. It’s a question of how long,” she said.
…

“Even if you disagree with this bill, don’t end this debate,” said Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), who urged his colleagues to reject “these voices of exclusion” opposing the measure and not “say we are surrendering to these negative voices across America.”
…

“Our analysis of it was it would not work,” said GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama. “Our analysis was that it would result in 8.7 million more people in the next 20 years here illegally.
…

“What part of ‘no’ don’t we understand?,” asked Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), who said the immigration fight had “reengaged the American people.”
…

Another Republican opponent of the bill, Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana, said the vote sent a crystal clear message “that the American people want us to start with enforcement, both at the border and at the workplace, and don’t want promises. They want action, they want results, they want proof, because they’ve heard all the promises before.”
…

“A big amnesty with inadequate enforcement will cause the problem to grow, not diminish,” said d Vitter, who alongside Sessions led the procedural objections to the bill. Vitter said the vote would reveal whether the Senate as a body was “arrogant” and “out of touch.”
…

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid said the defeat is “not a time for pointing fingers. It’s not a time for casting blame. It’s a time for recognition that immigration is a problem that needs to be fixed.”
…

And Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, said opponents should forget about waiting for a bill that will make illegal aliens go home.
“Amnesty like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, but these 12 million are going to be here whether we legislate or not,” Mr. Specter said.

FROM YES TO NO

Here are the 18 senators who switched their votes between Tuesday and Thursday on the immigration bill:

• Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mexico
• Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Missouri
• Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio
• Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas
• Sen. Richard Burr, R-North Carolina
• Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minnesota
• Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine
• Sen. Pete Domenici, R-New Mexico
• Sen. John Ensign, R-Nevada
• Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa
• Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky
• Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska
• Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska
• Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Arkansas
• Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska
• Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio
• Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia
• Sen. James Webb, D-Virginia

Even Rockefeller Republican John Warner couldn’t stomach this in the end.

Senate roll call is continuing even as we speak, but there are already enough NO votes to avoid cloture.

You have been heard.

More to come…

UPDATE

Yes - 46
No - 53

I wonder what Flim Flam Graham will do in retirement.

And GW will have some free time on his hands since he won’t see us at the bill signing after all.

More to come.

UPDATE

WASHINGTON - The Senate drove a stake Thursday through President Bush’s plan to legalize millions of unlawful immigrants, likely postponing major action on immigration until after the 2008 elections.

The bill’s supporters fell 14 votes short of the 60 needed to limit debate and clear the way for final passage of the legislation, which critics assailed as offering amnesty to illegal immigrants. The vote was 46 to 53 in favor of limiting the debate.

Senators in both parties said the issue is so volatile that Congress is highly unlikely to revisit it this fall or next year, when the presidential election will increasingly dominate American politics.

UPDATE

Here are the votes. Even minority leader McConnell saw the light and voted no. Of course, Flim Flam Graham, Trent Lott and McCain still voted for amnesty. Twelve Republicans voted against the American people by voting Yea; 14 Dems, including Robert Byrd and new Virginia Senator Jim Webb, joined the remainder of the Republicans in stopping this runaway train.

Jeff Sessions is a bona fide hero. (During debate this morning, Sessions told his colleagues if they didn’t believe America was against this plan, they should go to their office’s front desk and answer the phones for a while! The Senate switchboard, he said, was shut down by the flood of calls this morning.)

YEAs —46
Akaka (D-HI)
Bennett (R-UT)
Biden (D-DE)
Boxer (D-CA)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Conrad (D-ND)
Craig (R-ID)
Dodd (D-CT)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Inouye (D-HI)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Schumer (D-NY)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

NAYs —53
Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Bond (R-MO)
Brown (D-OH)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Grassley (R-IA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Landrieu (D-LA)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Tester (D-MT)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Webb (D-VA)

Not Voting - 1
Johnson (D-SD)

(Author’s note: For a few minutes, the wrong roll call was posted here. I apologize for the confusion.)

QUOTE OF THE MORNING:

“This immigration bill has become a war between the American people and their government. … This vote today is really not about immigration, it’s about whether we’re going to listen to the American people.”

- Sen Jim DeMint, R-SC (the “other” senator from South Carolina).

Runner Up:

“The American people did the job Lindsey Graham wouldn’t do.”

- Rush Limbaugh

Talk about a bad headache!

Mr Moylan arrived at a Florida hospital on Wednesday, saying he was woken up with a headache so severe he thought he had suffered an aneurysm.

He also reportedly told doctors he thought his wife had elbowed him in the head during the night.

Those elbows can certainly do some damage. But wait!

His wife drove him to the hospital, where doctors said a bullet had lodged behind his right ear.

Well, yeah, that could hurt. And in another example of good, old fashioned Florida law enforcement,

A spokesman for the local sheriff told the BBC a decision had yet to be made on whether to charge Mr Moylan, who is also a convicted felon.

The sheriff’s spokesman said it was “logistically not a useful thing” to arrest Mr Moylan at this stage.

If arrested, he said, Mr Moylan would have to appear in court within 21 days and the sheriff’s office would have to pay any of his outstanding medical bills.

“There is no reason for the public to have to pay for this crime,” he said.

Too bad this guy/gal/thing doesn’t live in Florida.