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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Dole sees McCain as done, cracks on Newt

by RickG | 07/31/2007 9:33 pm | Alert moderator

Our favorite curmudgeon, Bob “where’s the outrage” Dole, admits the candidacy of his favorite, John McCain, is fading, and Fred Thompson is picking up the slack:

July 27 (Bloomberg) — Bob Dole says his preferred presidential candidate, Arizona Senator John McCain, is fading and that his support is likely to be “picked up” by Fred Thompson, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination in September.

“My heart has always been with my good friend John McCain,” said Dole, former Senate majority leader and Republican presidential nominee. “But it’s just not happening, the buzz is gone,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” scheduled to air today.

The blunt Dole also said that Thompson would likely pick up that support, because he is the kind of guy people want “around the living room.” He also dismissed critics who say Thompson is not boisterous enough:

While critics say Thompson is “too easy-going, doesn’t have fire in the belly,” the “Law and Order” actor has “kind of a nice, laid back, easy-going approach,” Dole said. “I’m not so certain people want to hear somebody scream and shout.”

He also took a swipe at Newt Gingrich and his “pygmies” remark:

Dole took issue with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who said earlier this week that the Republican presidential candidates were “a bunch of pygmies.”

“I totally disagree with Newt Gingrich,” Dole said. “I don’t know how he has set himself up as the spokesman for the world, but to say we have got a bunch of pygmies, of course unless he gets in, then there is one that is not a pygmy.”

To say Newt is egotistical is to understate the case. Nonetheless, in fairness to Gingrich, he later explained his remark was meant as a comment on the system, not on these particular candidates. Of course, the explanation didn’t get much play in the MSM.

Still, Gingrich, who is considered in many quarters to be as polarizing as Hillary Clinton, is not what the party needs at this point. As much as I agree with his ideas, and admire his intellect, his nomination would ensure the Democrats’ victory.

Bob Dole has never been one to mince words. While still in the Senate, after an “assault weapons” ban was passed over Dole’s opposition (during the Clinton administration), he - while standing on the Capitol steps - sarcastically remarked: “I feel safer already.”

I confess I’ve always been a fan of Bob Dole. (Here come the “he’s a lobbyist” attacks.) I still am.

Chalk one up for the old codger.


Of Bibles and Sidewalks

by Jeremy 'Panda Man' Weidenhof | 07/31/2007 12:59 pm | Alert moderator

No, folks, the ACLU-types do not always win. Contrary to the dreck shoveled out via the Drive-By Media, there are actually people out there fighting the good fight. From the Alliance Defense Fund:

PLANTATION KEY, Fla. — A judge dismissed all charges Friday against two members of The Gideons International who were arrested while attempting to distribute Bibles on a public sidewalk outside Key Largo School. Alliance Defense Fund Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman represented the two men.

On Jan. 19, police arrested Ernest Simpson and Anthony Mirto and charged them with trespassing after the principal of Key Largo School complained that they were handing out Bibles on the public sidewalk outside the school. Following the initial motion to dismiss filed by ADF attorneys, the state dismissed the charges but then filed new ones under a different statute. At Friday’s hearing, the court granted the request of ADF attorneys to dismiss the new charges.

According to World Net Daily, the Sheriff’s Department saw the arrest a bit differently.

In a statement at the outset of the case to WND, Becky Herrin, of the public information office in the Monroe County sheriff’s office, stated as a fact that the defendants in the case did trespass. She later declined additional comment.

“A copy of our police report (see attached) … clearly states that the people in question were arrested for trespassing on school property – not on a public sidewalk… In fact, they were given the opportunity to step off school property and onto public property, and they could have continued with their activities if they had done so. They chose instead to remain, against repeated warnings, on school property so deputies were forced to arrest them,” Herrin said in a statement to WND.

But the report forwarded to WND revealed the two were arrested while in their vehicle parked near, but not on, school property.

So, “…they chose instead to remain, against repeated warnings, on school property…” and were thus arrested while in their car not on school property. Curious. Since both sets of charges were eventually dismissed, one must conclude that the judge found the circumstances rather curious as well. Unfortunately, the persecution was not limited to the charges brought to court. More from WND:

“There was no call for Officer [John] Perez’s angry demeanor, his inappropriate handling of the situation, his abusive treatment of the Gideons, his stopping and arresting them while they were in the process of leaving, his unnecessary towing of the car (parked where many other cars were parked), his handcuffing the men behind their backs, his leaving them cramped in a hot car for nearly an hour (which should never be done to animals, never mind to human beings), nor his mocking the Gideons’ religious beliefs stating ‘now you can pray to Jesus all the way to jail,’” the ADF said.

No persecution of Christians in America. Nothing to see here. Move along.

For further thought, consider what would have happened if these two men had been Muslims handing out copies of the Koran. After the principal of the school had invited the men in to use the new taxpayer-funded foot-washing basins, they probably would have been enlisted to create a new “cultural diversity program” to introduce Muslims to Islamophobic American youths.

Ah, America, the land of the free, home of the politically correct. How much more will we tolerate?


Tuesday Open Comment

by squawkbox | 07/31/2007 12:18 am | Alert moderator

moblog_019fe6cc2fcb5.jpg 

This is unbelievable.  What has our country come to?
Parents seeking sex abandon 1 in 3 offspring
Click the pic for this disgusting story.


Advertising Insert

by BigJolly | 07/31/2007 12:00 am | Alert moderator

munson-bridge.JPG

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Monday, July 30, 2007

Chief Justice Roberts falls, hospitalized - seizure confirmed

by RickG | 07/30/2007 6:42 pm | Alert moderator

The Chief Justice is in the hospital:

WASHINGTON - Chief Justice John Roberts was taken to a hospital in Maine on Monday after falling while on vacation, the Supreme Court told NBC News.

Roberts, 52, fell at his summer home between 2 and 3 p.m. ET off Port Clyde. The court said he was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Normally, I would have chalked this story up to the media’s 24-hour obsession with even the smallest foibles of our public figures. However, this little item made the story a bit more noteworthy:

NBC News reported that Roberts suffered a seizure while playing golf in January 1993. He was not allowed to drive for several months and took the bus to work, news agencies reported at the time.

As to today’s incident, a court spokesperson said she did not know what caused the fall or the nature of his injuries. However, an EMT reportedly said Roberts was conscious and alert during his ride to the hospital.

UPDATE

The Associated Press is now reporting that, indeed, Roberts suffered a seizure and will remain in the hospital overnight.

Doctors called Monday’s incident “a benign idiopathic seizure,” Arberg said. The White House described the January 1993 episode as an “isolated, idiosyncratic seizure.”


Is Fred Thompson’s star (already) falling?

by RickG | 07/30/2007 6:41 pm | Alert moderator

According to The Politico websites, Fred Thompson’s “lackluster” fundraising in June - “only” $3 million - has even some supporters concerned he is flaming out early.

Fred Thompson plans to announce Tuesday that his committee to test the waters for a Republican presidential campaign raised slightly more than $3 million in June, substantially less than some backers had hoped, according to Republican sources.

The article notes that the early rush of support for Thompson as the anti-Hillary may have been, well, early:

But many Republicans have turned queasy as Thompson has ousted part of his original brain trust and repeatedly delayed his official announcement, which is now planned for shortly after Labor Day, in the first two weeks of September.

Some are already saying a prospective Thompson run is a flop. “I just don’t see it anymore,” said a key Republican who had been extremely enthusiastic about a Thompson candidacy.

“That number is really underwhelming. There were indications it could be double that. They’ve been saying that people were waiting for Fred, and the money was going to pour in. He looks like he’s already losing momentum.”

His advisors’ spin seems to be that it was actually a short fundraising month (26 days) and that, hey, he isn’t even a candidate yet.

“It’s not going to be a huge number for a presidential campaign. It’s a testing-the-waters-type number. The number will reflect that goal. He hasn’t been campaigning. He’s been talking to people about whether that figure is the direction he definitely wants to go.”

Meanwhile, Branch, er, Thompson, forges ahead, holding a $1,000 per person fund raiser in Washington tonight.

I don’t really know whose spin is more accurate here. Perhaps Benzion could lend his particularly relevant expertise to the equation.

But it is clear that there are those who want Fred Thompson to look like a has been before he even becomes a could be.

Is it time Fred announced himself, once and for all, in or out?


How NOT to Lift Your People Out of Poverty

by BigJolly | 07/30/2007 9:35 am | Alert moderator

Some people were just born to protest. Rabble-rouse. Stir the pot. Once in a great while, it is a meaningful exercise. Most often, they simply lower the bar for all of “their” people.

Such is the case with Mr. Ernest Johnson, President of the Louisiana National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. This week’s protest? Educating the youth of Louisiana.

Members of the Louisiana NAACP and nearly 100 protesters rallied Saturday at the State Capitol to demand the Board of Elementary and Secondary Schools end its “unlawful” policy of requiring fourth- and eighth-grade students to pass standardized tests for promotion to the next grade.

The tired protest against standardized testing before proceeding to the next grade. Reminiscent of those great orators that have done so much for “their” people, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, Mr. Johnson says the tests are a curse.

“I believe that what happened to the 28,000-plus children (who failed the LEAP test) is a curse for those kids and their families.

Wouldn’t the curse be that the children were so under-motivated and the expectations set for them so low by their parents that they failed to learn?

Johnson asserted many schoolchildren fulfill their classroom requirements but are being held back because of LEAP test failure.

Fulfill their classroom requirements can be translated show up more that half the time.

“I teach my children to do their best, but when they’ve done their best and they come to you and still fail, what do you say?” Rivet said.

You tell them the truth. You help them with their homework. You place high expectations on them and you DO NOT accept failure. And you repeat as necessary.

With so many failures, I thought perhaps there was some justification to the protests, so I looked up a few sample questions from the test. Here is one for an eighth-grader wanting to move on to the ninth grade.

Mei’s bank balance was $42.67. Her deposits and withdrawals since then can be represented as +$50, -$15, -$21, +$16.25, +25. What is her bank balance now?

A. $ 55.25
B. $ 97.92
C. $107.42
D. $127.25

This item requires students to add positive and negative numbers. A calculator would be allowed for this item.

Wow, that’s a tough one. No way an eighth grader should be expected to know how to add and subtract.

Mr. Johnson, turn your focus elsewhere and do something that will actually help “your” people.


Perry Ready for Unfinished Business

by BigJolly | 07/30/2007 7:57 am | Alert moderator

Even the most hard core critic of Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) will have to begrudgingly admit that thus far, in his six years as governor, he has not been the worst in the states’ history.

So call me begrudged. Got that out of the way quick.

Begrudgingly or not, people are filling his campaign coffers with cash.

Supporters responded. Perry pulled in more than $880,000 from June 18 through June 30. Restrictions on fundraising by state officials are lifted once the legislative bill signing and veto period conclude.

There is a lot speculation on why he is continuing to raise money but nothing definitive. The governor simply says that there is some unfinished business in Texas.

“We have a lot of unfinished business in Texas. If we are going to give Texans (tax) appraisal relief, real spending restraint, additional tax relief and honest budgeting, we need to take the debate out of Austin and to the people,” he wrote, urging immediate contributions.

Unreal. Talk about hubris. All of these things could have and should have been accomplished in the 80th legislative session. And he had lawmakers ready and willing to “help him fight” for them.

Until he blew all of his political capital on two things: his ridiculous royal decree that would have forced all of Texas’s little girls to be injected with an unproven vaccine and protecting the taking of land from farmers and ranchers at below market cost for his vision of the Trans Texas Corridor.

Good luck on getting conservatives to forget that, Governor. Begrudging donations or not.


Marvin Zindler, RIP

by David Benzion | 07/30/2007 6:26 am | Alert moderator

zindler.jpg


Monday Open Comments

by BigJolly | 07/30/2007 5:24 am | Alert moderator

soldiers_smile.jpg

TGIM!


Advertising Insert

by BigJolly | 07/30/2007 12:00 am | Alert moderator

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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”.

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Sunday, July 29, 2007

Dispatch from HammieWorld

by hamous | 07/29/2007 11:48 am | Alert moderator

Last week I was in Milwaukee on business. I was stuck in the airport for a few hours because of weather so I pushed my way into the little bar along with all the other travelers in the same predicament as me. The bartender was overwhelmed as people pushed up to place their order. I had beat the rush and was enjoying my beer while watching the mayhem.

Back behind the crowd trying to get to the bar, which extended well into the concourse, I noticed a soldier walk up. The folks in front of him turned around and when they noticed his uniform gently grabbed him by the arms and pushed him forward in front of them, shaking his hand and patting him on the back. Then the next group in the crowd forwarded him further in the same manner. This went on four or five times until he was almost at the bar. A woman sitting at the bar offered to give him her seat but he graciously refused, explaining he had been on a plane for a very long time. She bought him a beer and he worked his way over to the corner where I was standing. Everyone he passed shook his hand and told him how much they appreciated his service to our great country.

As he settled in the corner I too shook his hand and thanked him. Several of us began talking with him. He was an Army Reserve (obviously no longer reserve) medic from North Carolina. He had been based in northern Iraq for 10 months and was on a two week leave. We all offered him another beer but he explained he hadn’t drank in 10 months and didn’t think it was wise to drink too fast.

As we talked about his service he explained to us that in his opinion the Army provided the best medical care in the world for our wounded soldiers. Everyone I’ve personally met has told me the exact same thing. He finished his Miller Lite and we shook hands goodbye. He started working his way to the gate to take him back to North Carolina. As he went back out through the crowd of mostly new people, they all thanked him and shook his hand, wishing him Godspeed.

As I reflected on that ten or fifteen minutes I was so humbled and proud of that young soldier and the job he is doing for every one of us. And the respect shown to him by all of those people in the airport made me proud to be an American.

A few here make fun of me for living in HammieWorld, like that is some sort of make-believe place where everything is always perfect. The insinuation is I don’t live in reality, my head is in the sand, or someplace darker. Well, those few moments I described above ARE HammieWorld. It’s not perfect. There are bad things that happen to good people every day. I don’t ignore the bad things but I also don’t let them define who I am. HammieWorld is America. It is full of good people just like all those at the bar in General Mitchell Airport. I’m proud and honored to call it my home.


Saturday, July 28, 2007

A Tempest in a B-cup

by BigJolly | 07/28/2007 7:56 pm | Alert moderator

Forget Owen’s tempest in a teapot. Mrs. Clinton is flashing a little cleavage and creating quite the storm about town.

“She was wearing a rose-colored blazer over a black top. The neckline sat low on her chest and had a subtle V-shape. The cleavage registered after only a quick glance. No scrunch-faced scrutiny was necessary,” The Post reported. “There wasn’t an unseemly amount of cleavage showing, but there it was. Undeniable.”

Undeniable. But, inquiring minds want to know, was it a B-cup as reported here:

A Republican operative mocked the controversy as “a tempest in a B-cup.”

Or was it a C-cup as reported here:

Clinton cleavage coverage prompts storm in a C cup

This presidential campaign, lasting 94 years, is getting sillier by the minute. Of course, Mrs. Clinton is never one to let an opportunity “drop”.

Hillary Clinton’s handlers are so outraged - outraged! - at a newspaper story musing over her showing a little cleavage that they’re urging equally miffed supporters to fight back by stuffing cash into her coffers.

Would you believe that The Washington Post wrote a 746-word article on Hillary’s cleavage?” senior campaign adviser Ann Lewis said yesterday in the fund-raising e-mail.

Sort of reminds me of when Little Johnny raised a little coin after Ann Coulter called him a name.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Fred is just sitting back laughing.

fredthompson_jmccarth_8441278.jpg


Wet Weekend Open Comments

by BigJolly | 07/28/2007 5:10 am | Alert moderator

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Be happy someone’s smiling!


Friday, July 27, 2007

Personal Combat and Jousting

by hamous | 07/27/2007 5:59 pm | Alert moderator

If there was any question as to how little science is involved in the global warming debate, check this out:

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency says he will investigate a threatening letter sent by the leader of an EPA-member group, vowing to “destroy” the career of a climate skeptic.

During a Capitol Hill hearing yesterday, Sen. James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican and ranking member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, confronted EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson about the strongly-worded letter written July 13 by Michael T. Eckhart, president of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) that was sent to Marlo Lewis, senior fellow of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI).

“It is my intention to destroy your career as a liar,” Mr. Eckhart wrote. “If you produce one more editorial against climate change, I will launch a campaign against your professional integrity. I will call you a liar and charlatan to the Harvard community of which you and I are members. I will call you out as a man who has been bought by Corporate America. Go ahead, guy. Take me on.”

Folks, this is scary! These are the people our politicians are depending on to provide sound scientific information on which to base decisions that will affect the well-being of our country. Mr. Eckhart doesn’t deny he wrote the email but says its not a big deal:

In a written response sent to Inside the Beltway last week, Mr. Eckhart apologized to “all the public who were offended” by his choice of words. He said he intended his letter to be a “private communication” in the context of “personal combat and jousting.”

Oh, well that’s very different! We didn’t know it was a private communication. Stifling a scientific debate by threatening your opponent’s career is a very, very dangerous road to travel. It also demonstrates that you most likely have a weak argument to begin with if you have to resort to such tactics.


Is GW Bush really the worst ever?

by RickG | 07/27/2007 3:11 pm | Alert moderator

I parted ways with G W Bush several weeks ago and no longer call myself a supporter of his administration. However, there is a lot of kicking the man while he is down, some of it not fair.

What the liberal media does not understand is that conservatives’ dissatisfaction of Bush does not translate into conservatives’ agreement with the MSM or its allies, the seemingly lunatic Democrats (it amazes me how those in congress can be so arrogant when that body has a substantially lower approval rating than the president).

Recently, Bush’s sagging popularity has emboldened his enemies (not limited to Dems and the MSM) to new heights of exaggeration. One of the most notable is the change from calling Bush “one of our worst presidents” to calling him “the worst,” at least in recent times. This would, of course, place him below the man who ran from a rabbit, Jimmy Carter.

Now I have no illusions that W is a “great” president. Obviously, I don’t even think he’s all that good. But when someone, clearly counting on the short memories of the American people, tell us that we’re worse off under Bush than Jimmah, they need to be called on it.

And we want to know your opinion.

As far as our domestic situation, consider these numbers (Carter’s numbers are from his last year in office, 1980; Bush’s numbers are from June 2007):

Carter

Inflation rate - 14%
Unemployment - 7.8%
Prime - 21.5% (highest on record)

Bush

Inflation rate - 2.7%
Unemployment - 4.5%
Prime - 8.25%

Internationally, of course, both were in a mess. Carter was mired in the Iranian hostage scandal (look how far Iran has come in 27 years), Bush is mired in Iraq. Carter was a pathetic, uninspiring (perhaps even depressing) leader, Bush is a lightning rod for literal hatred from several directions. Both administrations had their scandals. Carter turned into a crazy old man, Bush - it remains to be seen.

I suspect most here will still give Carter the distinction of being the worst president in our lifetimes, but I’d like to see your thoughts about where you think Bush stands, both in comparison to Carter and the other presidents of the last 50 years:

Dwight Eisenhower (1953-61)
John F. Kennedy (1961-63)
Lyndon Johnson (1963-69)
Richard Nixon (1969-74)
Gerald Ford (1974-77)
Jimmy Carter (1977-81)
Ronald Reagan (1981-89)
George H.W. Bush (1989-93)
Bill Clinton (1993-2001)
George W. Bush (2001-07)

ADDENDUM/OFFER

If we get a minimum of 20 lists by posters (and we only have a few lists so far, though we have a number of comments), I will tabulate the lists and post the average scores, giving 10 points for highest rating and 1 for the lowest. (Any one of you could do the same thing but I doubt I’ll get any volunteers.) With less than 20 opinions, it aint worth it.


Goose Poop Zamboni

by David Benzion | 07/27/2007 10:17 am | Alert moderator

That got your attention.

Awesome name for a band, btw.


JimB and All Of Our LST Family

by squawkbox | 07/27/2007 8:56 am | Alert moderator

praying_hands.jpg

Praying for you and your family jimb; God Bless.

And God Bless everyone else too. We are just as much in need of His Divine Protection every moment of our lives; it just takes a crisis sometimes to pull back the mask of “reality” and remind us of just how obvious and true that fact is.

David Benzion


Border Security Amendment Sails Through Senate

by BigJolly | 07/27/2007 8:37 am | Alert moderator

Conservatives clamoring for tighter security upon our borders got their wish yesterday. The Senate overwhelmingly approved the border security amendment to the Homeland Security spending bill.

The Senate voted 89-1 to add the Republican-backed border security language to a $38 billion spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

Note that this is a Republican backed amendment. The Dems original version included, once again, provisions such as guest workers and a fast track to citizenship for illegal aliens. But, as Sen. Harry Reid (D) noted, Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R) single-handedly stopped that nonsense.

Sen. Cornyn (R) obviously understands the true security needs of our nation. Rather than let the Dems pass a piece of legislation that was more show than go, he made certain that our law enforcement officers in the interior of the nation could do their part in stopping terrorist activity.

Language inserted into the bill by Cornyn gave federal officials more latitude to remove immigrants who overstay their visas — the method used by 19 terrorists who hijacked passenger jets in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

How anyone could have argued with him on that provision is beyond understanding. There are also provisions in the bill for building a fence along the border and once again, Sen. Cornyn (R) is proving that he knows the issues.

Cornyn said he is asking for a government study to determine the impact of the fence on private property owners, and he is seeking technological alternatives for the fence in some areas.

It isn’t just a matter of running to the border and throwing up a bunch of chicken wire to stop people. Sen. Cornyn (R) is first and foremost a representative of the State of Texas and its people. In other words, he understands that he is supposed to represent his constituency as a whole, not just those that have a narrow field of vision.

There are areas where a physical fence makes sense. And there are many areas where a physical fence will harm private property owners, access to water and are a waste of money. Sen. Cornyn (R) understands this and is willing to fight for what is right. Good for him, it’s high time we see politicians do the right thing instead of bowing to the latest political hot wind.

As noted previously, Sen. Cornyn (R) has a lifetime rating by the American Conservative Union of 94.3%, a very high rating. The National Journal composite ratings for 2006 shows Sen. Cornyn (R) is the third most conservative senator, with a score of 90.8%.

In the world of political blogging, most of our efforts focus upon the negative, which is okay because we need to keep forcing positive change. Texas, you have a shining star with this senator. Why not send Sen. Cornyn (R) a note of appreciation for his efforts?


Friday Open Comments Thread

by David Benzion | 07/27/2007 12:16 am | Alert moderator

tedtam.JPG
Smile!
1970’s Tedtam demands it! ;)


Advertising Insert

by BigJolly | 07/27/2007 12:00 am | Alert moderator

munson-bridge.JPG

——————–

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”.

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Get paid to tell us what you thinkRegister 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!

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Thursday, July 26, 2007

Ron Paul, Liberal

by RickG | 07/26/2007 12:07 pm | Alert moderator

I always considered Ron Paul more a kook than a conservative. But even I was stunned when I did some analysis of the American Conservative Union’s lifetime ratings for congresspersons. It was worse for Ron Paul than I thought. He is clearly not among the more conservative of our elected representatives. The results surprised me so much, that I reprint here an edited comment I posted to another thread (the ratings referred to are the ACU’s lifetime rartings through 2006):

Ron Paul has only an 82.3 rating. Ha! Some conservative. Here are some well-known Senators who are (or, in case of those who recently left Congress, were) rated more conservative than Paul:

Kay Bailey Hutchison
John Cornyn
Trent Lott
Lindsey Flim Flam Graham
Bill Frist
Amnesty Mel Martinez
Chuck Hagel
John Sununu (New Hampshire for God’s sake!!)
Libby Dole
Lamar Alexander

(Of course there are many other senators, such as Jeff Sessions and Orrin Hatch, who are not listed here because it is a given they are more conservative than Paul.)

Paul has the same rating as John McCain!!!!

Plus, there are over 170 - 170!!!! - House members rated more conservative than Ron Paul. That means he is one of the MOST LIBERAL Republican House Members in the United States!

More revealing, of Texas’ 32 members of the House of Representatives, 20 are more conservative than Paul! He comes in 21st out of 32. Imagine, he is not even in the top half of the Texas delegation when it comes to voting for conservative principles!! Thank goodness there are people like Sheila Jackson Lee (7.5), or Ron could be the house liberal.

Who started this myth that Ron Paul was a conservative, anyway? And who exactly is buying it?

UPDATE: RickG, you forgot his hat! (hat tip to LST member The Dude)

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Cornyn Gets The Job Done (the series) UPDATED

by BigJolly | 07/26/2007 10:02 am | Alert moderator

Once again, Texas Senator John Cornyn (R) stands tall to defeat Sen. Harry Reid’s (D) attempts to open the borders.

With Republicans seeking to toughen enforcement before dealing with other immigration issues, Democrats fired back with their own plan: A $3 billion border security increase paired with a huge guest worker program for the agriculture industry and a fast track to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came here as children and are in good standing in college or the military.

Why did Sen. Cornyn (R) block the bill?

But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, objected, saying the amendment should direct the Homeland Security Department to use some of the money to apprehend undocumented immigrants who overstay their visas.

You do remember the guys that overstayed their visas in 2001, don’t you? Seems to me that would be a pretty important part of any border security funding.

In a tense exchange, Reid blamed Cornyn for single-handedly derailing the $3 billion, saying the Texan wanted a political issue to campaign on rather than a solution to illegal immigration.

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, (R) gets the job done. Period. End of story.

UPDATED: In a remarkable turnaround, Harry Reid has stated flat out that he was wrong, John Cornyn was right.

But Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, resolved their differences overnight and announced agreement Thursday morning. Cornyn won a promise to have some of the money used to go after immigrants who had entered the United States legally but had overstayed their visas.

“I was wrong and Senator Cornyn was right,” acknowledged a sheepish Reid.

Cornyn’s battle victory didn’t sit well with the White House:

The measure is opposed by the White House, top Republicans said, and it clearly puts the president in a box. Bush had already promised a veto of the underlying homeland security bill for spending $2.3 billion more than he requested.

Let him veto it. Cornyn will have a veto proof vote on this one.

In case you missed it the first time, let me say it again:

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, (R) gets the job done. Period. End of story.

UPDATE 2: That bunch of RINO’s over at National Review (you know, Bill Buckley’s group) have taken note of Sen. Cornyn’s getting the job done. You should click this link to see sheepish Harry Ried’s mug if nothing else.

As you know — as some know, not very many, Senator Cornyn and I, Senator Graham and a few others, we were trying to work something out on this border security and Senator Cornyn and I were the last two to speak on this issue.

And like a lot of things around here, if you don’t get your way, you kind of throw a tantrum a lot of times, and I didn’t get my way, so I thought I would throw just a little tantrum. And the evening has brought to my attention that I was wrong, and Senator Cornyn was right.

I hate to acknowledge that but that’s basically valid.

And so having said that, Mr. President, and swallowing a little bit of pride that I shouldn’t have had, I now ask unanimous consent that when the senate resumes consideration of H.R. 2638 today, which will be just in a few minutes, that the time until 11:35 a.m. be for debate with respect to the Graham-Pryor border security amendment, and that has the senator from Texas’ language in there.

Repeat after me:

Texas Sen. John Cornyn, (R) gets the job done. Period. End of story.