The Madness of Hamdan

Just a couple more thoughts on the Hamdan case. The American Thinker notes the following about yesterday's Supreme Court decision:

Either five members of the Supreme Court can’t parse the phrase “Commander in Chief” or they haven’t grasped that we are at war. In wartime, finding, killing, capturing, confining and punishing the enemy is the President’s job, his core function. Congress has only a peripheral role in running a war.

I have to admit, I saw this coming back in March, when I posted the following words from Justice Breyer:

"You want to try a war crime. You want to say this is a war crimes tribunal. "One, this is not a war, at least not an ordinary war. Two, it's not a war crime because that doesn't fall under international law. And three it's not a war crime tribunal or commission because (there is) no emergency."

I believe Breyer answered the question for yesterday's majority about whether we're at war or not.

Supreme Court Gives Al Qaeda Geneva Convention Protections

I have to come out of my blogging hiatus specifically for today's Supreme Court Hamdan decision. In essence, the Court said that U.S. military tribunals are unlawful, unconstitutional and un-Geneva Convention. Basically, Al Qaeda members are now free to dismember, decapitate and disembowel American soldiers, civilians or even Supreme Court justices - and we are forced to grant them every Geneva Convention protection. Heck, we taxpayers will even pick up the tab for a high-priced lawyer to defend them.

The outcome, 5-3, is ridiculous. (John Roberts recused himself because he agreed with Bush in the decision while serving on the Appeals Court.) Andrew McCarthy says the following:

Make no mistake: if this happens, the Supreme Court will have dictated that we now have a treaty with al Qaeda — which no President, no Senate, and no vote of the American people would ever countenance. The Constitution consigns treaty-making to the political branches, not the courts, but a conclusion that Geneva protects Hamdan (and, by extension, his fellow savages) would ominously mean that the courts, under the conveniently malleable guise of "customary international law" can rewrite treaties to mean whatever they like them to mean.

Meanwhile, it's helpful to review Mark Levin's column from 2004, where he questions why the Court should be given war-making powers, which Constitutionally, are assigned to the President. He also wonders why, after so many disastrous Court decisions, people view the Supreme Court as the final moral authority on all matters.

The Court does not deserve this kind of deference, certainly not from originalists. From Dred Scott (upholding slavery) and Plessy (upholding segregation) to Korematsu (upholding the imprisonment of 120,000 Japanese Americans and Americans of Japanese ancestry), the judiciary has a record of hostility to individual liberty and the rule of law that does not justify, as a policy or political matter, the kind of reputation for moral superiority over the other branches some confer on it. Judicial review is a separation-of-powers issue, and here the power to manage a war rests with the president.

The sad thing is that all the Court really had to do to justify its ruling is to say that based on foreign attitudes (which the liberal Justices seem to think is as important as the Constitution in interpreting cases), Gitmo prisoners should get civilian trials in the U.S.

*Update*
The full opinions can be found here. In it, Scalia, Thomas and Alito blast the majority's opinion, with Thomas stating:

Those Justices who todaydisregard the commander-in-chief’s wartime decisions, only 10 days ago deferred to the judgment of the Corps ofEngineers with regard to a matter much more within the competence of lawyers, upholding that agency’s wildlyimplausible conclusion that a storm drain is a tributary of the waters of the United States. See Rapanos v. United States, 547 U. S. ___(2006). It goes without saying thatthere is much more at stake here than storm drains. The plurality’s willingness to second-guess the determinationof the political branches that these conspirators must bebrought to justice is both unprecedented and dangerous.

Finally, some moonbats claim that this proves that the U.S. is the one that really has committed "war crimes." Alternet says,

This almost certainly means that the CIA's interrogation regime is unlawful, and indeed, that many techniques the Administation has been using, such as waterboarding and hypothermia (and others) violate the War Crimes Act (because violations of Common Article 3 are deemed war crimes).

Thank you Anthony Kennedy - for validating the liberal viewpoint that the U.S is the evil force in the world and these innocent Al Qaeda members are merely victims.

Last Post For a While

I've decided to take a break from blogging for a while, as time constraints have made it more difficult. Thanks for reading - maybe I'll pick it up in the future again.

Happy Father's Day

Pelosi Needs To Remove Herself

I find it interesting that William Jefferson (D-LA) was removed from his House leadership position (as was Tom DeLay), but no one has mentioned a single word about Nancy Pelosi's illegal violations earlier this year, for which she was fined. Granted, Jefferson deserves to be removed, but Pelosi is a bit sanctimonious in thinking that she has the right to remove others while she slips her own illegalities under the rug. Peter Flaherty of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wrote a good article last month about her actions in "What About Pelosi?" (And of course, we could also talk about Harry Reid's own ethics problems.)

Buchanan the Islolationist

Pat Buchanan, considered a "conservative" by most pundits, could not be further from George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan, than is Howard Dean or Michael Moore. In Townhall, Buchanan takes umbrage with Condi Rice's address to the Southern Baptist convention, where she said,

"Here, ladies and gentlemen, is the choice before our country, before us as Americans. Will we lead in the world or will we withdraw? Will we rise to the challenges of our time or will we shrink from them?"

Buchanan rails Condi for her comments, saying that she was instructing the crowd not to turn isolationist, which he believes in. Buchanan then goes on to defend his argument by saying that isolationists weren't the cause of the Iraq War, of global terrorism, or of the negative opinion of the U.S. in the Muslim world. He's right, but he also fails to mention that isolationism simply ignores the underlying problems that are already there. I believe that the 1990s were something of an isolationist experiment, where we ignored the world's terrorism problems in favor of an era of good feeling. The only difference is that we pretended we were engaged.

We have tried isolationism often in our history and it has never been successful. I don't know how Buchanan still carries the mantra of "conservative" because that term means something very different to me.

Kudlow on Lower Taxes

Larry Kudlow gives us a brief history of the Laffer Curve (when tax rates are cut from a certain level, government revenue increases). Yet he can't figure out why Democrats refuse to pay attention to the obvious historical examples: the 1920s, 1960s, 1980s, mid-1990s and 2000s all show what happens when you reduce taxes. Is it even a question anymore? Read his post.

Larry Johnson Makes Fun of Rove's Mother's Suicide

Everyone on the Left is up in arms over Ann Coulter's mean, cruel demeanor. But they seem to have no problem with people like Larry Johnson, former CIA official and hard Left Democrat, who refers to Karl Rove:

Karl is a shameless bastard. Small wonder his mother killed herself. Once she discovered what a despicable soul she had spawned she apparently saw no other way out.

How dare Karl Rove disagree with John Kerry's "cut and run" approach to Iraq? Or at least that's how some Dems see it. Obviously Johnson is a disgrace. But since Rove is an evil conservative, I guess he deserves anything people say about him.

The "Alleged" Zarqawi Document

...as CNN says, since they still hold out some hope that the document is a forgery.

That aside, the Zarqawi document is a treasure trove of information and provides his thoughts on the Iraq War and the way to move forward. In essence, he admits that Al Qaeda is losing badly and calls it a "bleak situation."

So now we know that the GOP believes we are winning, President Bush and the new Iraqi Prime Minister believe we are winning, and even Al Qaeda believes we are winning. The only people who still believe we are losing in Iraq are Democratic members of Congress and the MSM.

Czech Coalition Government Supports Flat Tax

Another country looks to adopt a flat tax - this time the Czech Republic.

The negotiating teams of the Civic Democrats (ODS), the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and the Greens (SZ) reached agreement on some programme issues, such as the flat income tax, maintenance of two VAT levels and lowering of social insurance payments, the daily Hospodarske noviny writes today. ...The government policy statement wants to replace the present four income tax levels by a single one, but it will not call it flat tax, which is the term the ODS election platform used. "We're discussing how to call this change. It is important for us to maintain some progression and this can be done even with one tax rate," Greens head Martin Bursik told the paper.

Sooner or later Western European nations will wake up to the idea, unless they want all of their jobs heading East.

Marine May Call Murtha to Testify

This would be an amusing development if it is true. A criminal defense attorney for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, one of the marines accused of atrocities at Haditha, said that one of the first witnesses he will call to take the stand would be Congressman Jack Murtha, who has already convicted the Marines in public. The attorney will ask Murtha how he determined that the Marines killed civilians in "cold blood."

FEMA Fraud

The GAO estimates that fraud claims related to FEMA funds for Katrina are close to $1.4 billion, an amount which might actually be understated based on how easy it was for people to get funds.

Prison inmates, including some in Mississippi, a supposed victim who used a New Orleans cemetery for a home address, and a person who spent 70 days at a Hawaiian hotel all were able to wrongly get taxpayer help, according to evidence that gives a new black eye to the nation's disaster relief agency.

Thank God Sens. Vitter (R-LA) and Landrieu (D-LA) didn't get their wish of using $300 billion in taxpayer funds to rebuild the entire area from the ground up.

Sean Penn Likes to "Violate" Her Ann Coulter Doll

Under what circumstances can you make fun of women for their looks? As American Thinker points out, Liberals have no problem attacking a woman's looks if she is conservative (Katherine Harris, Ann Coulter, Paula Jones). Sean Penn apparently goes one step further. According to "Citizen Penn," a plastic doll sitting near the fireplace was supposed to be that of Ann Coulter:

“We violate her. There are cigarette burns in some funny areas.”

As a test, someone should publicly denounce Hillary Clinton or Madeleine Albright solely for their looks and see how the media reacts.

Another (Now Non) Covert Operation Divulged

A combination of State Department officials and the NY Times blew the cover on a covert operation in Somalia to battle Al Qaeda terrorists. Sadly, this is no longer surprising.

Scientists Slam Gore's "Junk Science"

Many climate scientists, including Bob Carter of the Marine Geophysical Laboratory at James Cook University in Australia, disagree with Gore's climate assessment in his new thriller movie, "The Inconvenient Truth."

"Gore's circumstantial arguments are so weak that they are pathetic. It is simply incredible that they, and his film, are commanding public attention."

"The man is an embarrassment to US science and its many fine practitioners, a lot of whom know (but feel unable to state publicly) that his propaganda crusade is mostly based on junk science."

I find it hard to believe that the man who invented the Internet would exagerrate...

Afghan Delegation: Gitmo Humane

After spending ten days visiting Gitmo, a delegation from Afghanistan has repeated what every rational person (outside the MSM and Left) already knows: that the camp is humane.

The head of the delegation, Abdul Jabar Sabhet of the Interior Ministry, said the delegation was given the chance to speak freely with all 96 Afghan prisoners about their living conditions. Sabhet said there were "only one or two" complaints.

"Conditions of the jail was humane. There were rumors in this country about that. It was wrong. What we have seen was OK," he said.

Bush Iraq Visit: "Political Stunt?"

Surely enough, as President Bush made a dramatic visit to Iraq's new prime minister and government, some in the MSM are already labelling it a "political stunt." NBC's Andrea Mitchell said as much on Chrissy Matthews' "Hardball," as did AP writer Patrick Quinn, who said:

Many Sunnis and even some Shiite political parties dismissed President Bush's visit to Baghdad on Tuesday as merely an attempt to associate himself with positive developments in Iraq - formation of the new government and last week's killing of the country's most feared terrorist.

An "attempt to associate himself" with Iraq?? Are you kidding? Bush gets faulted if some Iraqi's vegetables are undercooked and now he supposedly has nothing to do with any of its successes? That's why journalists get a bad name.

PPI Tame; Where's the Inflation, Ben?

The producer price index (PPI) was up only 0.2% in May, which seems to be saying that inflation is still very much under control. While the CPI report comes out tomorrow, the rest of the market is screaming for Ben Bernanke to finish his rate-hiking campaign at the Fed.

Gold finished down another $43 to $567.50 today. Stocks and basic materials have gotten crushed over the past few weeks, signaling the market's thoughts about whether inflation or economic growth is the real concern. (Hint: it's not inflation.)

There's only one thing standing in the way of our economy - and hopefully, Bernanke will soon realize what the markets already have - that it's him.

Warning: Too Much God

When a film has too many "thematic elements" in it, the MPAA often issues a "PG" rating, implying some parental guidance for children is needed. "Facing the Giants" has such "thematic elements," in that it invokes religious faith too much, and is therefore got the "PG" instead of "G" rating. Junkyard Blog has more.

Iraq Polling Improves - As if it Matters

As goes the Iraq War, so goes the public's approval of Bush and the war.

The new poll found that 48% believe the United States probably or definitely will win the war, up from 39% in April. It also found that 47% believe things are going well in Iraq, up from 38% in March.

None of this matters to Bush, of course. I'm confident he will stay the course even if approval ratings slipped to single digits. For the MSM, however, these polls are like the Alamo - if they go much higher, so too does their approval of Bush policies.

CNN is doing its best to prevent that from happening. It headlines the poll with, "Poll: Most still think Iraq war a mistake" ...and praying that the public still thinks we are failing.

48 Years and Counting

Robert "KKK" Byrd has now been in the Senate for 48 years and he's running for an unprecedented 9th term next election cycle. Poliblogger has it right when he says that 48 years is just too long to be in power - even if he is the duly elected official of the people of his state. I mean, how many pork projects can he attach his name to?

IMF Calls For Higher Taxes

The IMF is calling for higher taxes in Latvia to cool off its surging economy. Unfortunately, the IMF seems completely clueless on what causes inflation.

Rather than slowing its economy through higher taxes, the IMF should simply advise Latvia to reduce excess liquidity - or better yet, just keep its mouth shut. The IMF typically does more harm than good to developing countries.

First Amendment For Me, But Not For Thee (Ann Coulter)

The Left is no longer that fond of the First Amendment and would prefer to restrict it, especially if your name is Ann Coulter or another conservative. Gateway Pundit has more.

Budget Deficit Shrinks Again

For the first 8 months of this fiscal year, the budget deficit has shrunk to $227 billion vs. $272 billion last year. Tax receipts have surged 13% over last year, to $1.55 trillion. The CBO now projects that the deficit might be as low as approximately $300 billion, or roughly 2.4% of GDP.

Just imagine if Congress could restrain spending...

The Real Liberal Terror

Jeffrey Lord at The American Spectator writes about liberal reactions to conservative minds. As an example, he notes the following book review:

"The book is one which has the glow and appeal of a fiery cross on a hillside at night. There will undoubtedly be robed figures who gather to it, but the hoods will not be academic. They will cover the face," snarled one, ominously comparing it to a work of the Ku Klux Klan. "This fascist thesis," angrily spluttered another, "...This...pure fascism....What more could Hitler, Mussolini, or Stalin ask for...?" Still others piled on. The book was dismissed as a series of "fanatically emotional attacks" that "succeeded in turning the stomachs of its readers." The author drew howls of outrage, the lesser of which focused on adjectives like "rude" and "obnoxious" before descending into cries of "fascist."

These comments sound like the recent attacks on Ann Coulter (whose book is #1 at Amazon), but they were actually the 1951 reactions to William Buckley's, "God and Man at Yale."

Annan Jumping the Gun on Israel Again?

Kofi Annan is "deeply disturbed" by the killing of several Palestinian civilians, allegedly committed by Israeli forces. But as the NY Sun points out, Annan is relying on less-than-reliable press photographs for his information.

The IDF claims that every artillery shell has been accounted for, and one did not land where the deaths occurred, but that doesn't matter to the UN or to Hamas.

Haditha a MSM Screwup?

Common Sense Junction points to a couple of articles, including this one from American Thinker, that exposes a few interest facts about the Haditha story.

Murtha For Majority Leader

It's not hard to see the reason for Jack Murtha's wacky positions anymore - he announced his intention to run for majority leader if the Dems take the House.

Jim Rose already has a slogan for him, courtesy of Rush.

Reactions to Zarqawi's Death

John Hawkins has posted some interesting reactions (from liberals) to the death of Zarqawi.

The latest theme I've heard from the news today (several times on the radio from ABC News), however, questions how Zarqawi actually died (implying that the U.S. might have killed him if he was still alive after the bombing). It seems that they are trying to say we might have killed an innocent, unarmed man rather than trying him in a court of law.

Powell: Security Fences Don't Work

Colin Powell says that border fences along the US-Mexico border won't work (sort of like his foreign policy approach).

"The Berlin Wall did not work perfectly and the wall that the Israelis are putting up is not going to work perfectly," Powell said. "So, a wall alone is not the answer."

Of course a fence isn't perfect - but if you want a 90-95% reduction in people coming across, a fence is a good place to start. If you don't want a reduction, then a fence is obviously not a place to start.

Letterman: Coulter Should be Fixed Up with OJ Simpson

As usual, when a conservative criticizes beloved liberals, the liberals strike back with suggestions of murder. David Letterman calls Ann Coulter a "bitch" who should be fixed up with OJ (sorry, I forgot the Juice was framed).

I haven't watched Letterman in years, but Ace of Spades sums it up well:

Look, you were big in the eighties. But you're old. And irrelevant. And you can turn nastier and unhinged-leftier all you like, you're not going to become Jon Stewart. Or even Steven Colbert. They're young, you're old. People (for some reason) find them funny; people (for good reason) don't find you funny.

Black Caucus Opposes "Jefferson Treatment"

Although Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) was found with $90k cash in his freezer and have two people admitting to bribing the Democratic Congressman, the Congressional Black Caucus says he should be entitled to a "presumption of innocence."

As is usually the case, the Democrat refuses to resign. You need to be in the GOP or military in order to receive the presumption of guilt.

Dirty Compaign Tricks

What do Democratic campaign staffers do if they want to win an election badly enough (apart from slashing GOP tires and getting dead/illegals/prisoners to vote, of course)?

In Colorado, it appears that they put dog feces in an envelope and drop it through your mail slot. From LGF.

Is Zarqawi's Death a Good Thing

David Limbaugh writes that, while pointing out endlessly that we have yet to capture Bin Laden (and before that, Saddam and Zarqawi) the media now tells us that it really doesn't matter.

ABC's Diane Sawyer asked former White House adviser and Bush critic-at-large Richard Clarke whether Iraq was any safer and the war would end any sooner after Zarqawi's death. A glum Clarke said, "Well, unfortunately, the answer is no." He then said Zarqawi only commanded a few hundred people out of tens of thousands involved in the insurgency.

NBC's Tim Russert said the death would probably not "change things on the ground," noting that "foreign fighters are not the only threat that confront Iraq. There is this sectarian violence between the Sunnis and the Shiites, and that is separate above the killing of Zarqawi we're witnessing today."

Maybe we shouldn't have bothered killing Zarqawi - or any terrorist for that matter, since none of it seems not to matter to the media.

Dems Filibuster Death Tax Reform

The U.S. Senate blocked a bill that would have repealed, or at least modified, the estate tax. The bill had 57 of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. Sen. John Kyl (R-AZ) had a good proposal:

A proposal offered by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., would exempt the first $5 million of a person's estate, or $10 million for a couple, according to news reports. The amount over $5 million but less than $30 million would be taxed at the capital gains rate of 15%, while the amount exceeding $30 million would be taxed at a rate of 30%.

Well, the Democrats are living up to their high-tax and filibuster expertise.

Zarqawi Killed By Al Qaeda?

Here's what Strategypage was saying about Zarqawi in its post yesterday. Pretty interesting timing:

Given that Zarqawi has become a loose cannon and that his actions are handicapping Al Qaeda's efforts, it seems reasonable to expect that an accident may befall him at some point in the near future. If handled right it can be made to look like he went out in a blaze of glory fighting American troops or that he was foully murdered. Either way, al Qaeda gets rid of a problem and gains another "martyr."

Victims as Useful Idiots

As Ann Coulter has said, the anti-Left continues to use victims to try to get their Bush hatred across to America. Nick Berg's (beheaded in Iraq) father is the latest example on Fox News this morning.

More Good Iraq News

Iraqi PM Maliki just announced three important Cabinet posts that have been held up for months. What's a naysayer to do? Now they need to come up with another excuse to show how Iraq is a complete failure.

Salaam to Zarqawi

Salaam is good-bye in arabic.

But one thing I just can't understand: Yahoo's headline: Al Qaeda's Zarqawi Killed in Iraq. I think I need to be walked through this. Zarqawi is Al Qaeda's leader. He was in Iraq, and killed there. Also, according to Yahoo: he is

blamed for the beheading of foreign captives and the death of hundreds in suicide bombings

Zarqawi, believed to be in his late 30s, has inspired an apparently endless supply of militants from across the Arab world to blow themselves up in suicide missions in Iraq.

Here's what I can't understand: these same media organizations talking about Al Qaeda killings in Iraq: how is this possible, especially since there has never been, nor will there ever be any connection between Al Qaeda and Iraq.

Can someone please tell me what I'm missing? MSM needs to set the record straight. Is there still no connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda?

*Update*
As you read the AP stories, notice how the reporters are trying to make this news less positive:

But any hopes the Jordanian-born terror leader's death would help stem the violence in Iraq were dimmed hours later when a car bomb exploded in a Baghdad market, killing 12 and wounding 65.

So there's no hope even with his death because of a single suicide bomb that went off? Granted, Iraq doesn't turn to Utopia because of this, but please...

*Update 2*
Surely enough, CNBC's guest Mort Zuckerman and another guest on CNN both said that this news is irrelevant because Bush already blew it. We should give up now because we already lost.

UN Leadership Insults American Heartland

The UN's Mark Malloch Brown, with Kofi Annan defending him, essentially described the American Heartland as a bunch of idiots. (No wonder why the Left loves the UN so much.) His rationale for the UN-bashing in America:

"...much of the public discourse that reaches the US heartland has been largely abandoned to its loudest detractors, such as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News."

“That is what I mean by ‘stealth’ diplomacy: The UN’s role is in effect a secret in Middle America even as it is highlighted in the Middle East and other parts of the world.”

Brown would have more credibility if he came out and told us the truth: that the UN is an inefficient, anti-American, anti-Semitic, terrorist-loving, dictator-protecting, scandal-ridden, bureaucratic, useless, unprincipled wasteland of corruption. Then Americans might give this idiot and his mentor Kofi some credibility.

"Culture of Corruption" at Fannie Mae

If Enron's Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling spend the rest of their lives in jail, then perhaps the management of Fannie Mae should as well. Oh, and two key figures at the top of Fannie's management were former Clintonistas Franklin Raines (who likely would have been Treasury Secretary in a Kerry Administration) and Jamie Gorelick (of 9/11 Commission fame).

As The American Thinker points out from WaPo's reporting,

Fannie Mae engaged in “extensive financial fraud” over six years by doctoring earnings so executives could collect hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses, federal officials said yesterday in a report that portrayed a company determined to play by its own rules.

Regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, in announcing a settlement with Fannie Mae that includes $400 million in penalties, provided the most detailed picture yet of what went wrong at the congressionally chartered firm.

Some of the latest info is news to me, probably because the MSM has never mentioned Gorelick or Clinton with Fannie Mae's fraud. The Astute Blogger has more. Where's the outrage from the anti-business crowd (Democrats)? Hillary? Ted? Nancy? Harry? Anyone?

Officer Refuses to Go to Iraq

Lt. Ehren Watada considers the Iraq War "unjust," and is therefore refusing to go to Iraq when his unit is deployed.

"I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression."

Watada will surely become a Cindy Sheehan-esque hero to the Left/MSM. Nevertheless, he should be immediately dishonorably discharged.

*Update*
Michelle Malkin has some interesting info on the story, with lots of emails from military folks, including:

This guy graduated from college and then joined the Army, going to Officer Candidate school, AFTER we had already started the Iraq campaign just to claim it was an "illegal" war when his unit is called to go. Smells funny to me. In my mind either the Army gave a commission to an idiot not aware of current events or he planned this all along.

Meathead Also Loses in CA

Rob Reiner's attempt for universal pre-school by raising taxes failed yesterday, 53.4% to 46.6% (based on the tallies thus far), through a ballot referendum in California.

Let this be a message to Democrats and Republicans alike - even somewhat liberal states like California do not like the government raising taxes to spend more.

Bilbray Wins for GOP

Republican Brian Bilbray defeated Democrat Francine "Vote Even if You're Illegal" Busby yesterday, 49.5% to 45.2% in CA's 50th District. The Democrats said this was a victory just by making the election so close, but if that's true, let's hope we get more Democratic victories like this one.

Bubba, Bush and Brady go Golfing

Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Tom Brady and Jim Nantz golfed in a foursome this week for Gary's House charity in Maine this week. The best part of the story:

Funny thing is most folks thought Bubba would not be invited back this year after last years antics. Reports were that Clinton, who played with 41 [Bush] last year as well, was dropping balls at will as soon as he was out eyeshot and while his foursome swears he shot over 100, easy, he turned in a scorecard showing a "78". Needless to say 41 was not pleased with these antics.

Maybe Bubba should join the Senior PGA tour...

62 Years Ago

From Polipundit:

When the smoke cleared and the Invasion of Normandy was at an end, thousands of men lie dead on the beaches of Normandy, France. The Germans were hit the hardest after the invasion. Over 30,000 men had to be buried, and almost 80,000 wounded soldiers were carried off. The United States was devastated nearly as hard as the Germans. A shocking 29,000 soldiers were picked up lifeless from the beach. One hundred six thousand men were in pain from their wounds. The United Kingdom did not suffer as bad as The United States and Germany. Around 11,000 soldiers were killed on D-Day. Fifty-four thousand British Men were injured. The Canadians had the fewest casualties. Only 5,000 men died during the invasion. This is very low compared to the other countries. Canada only had to care for about 13,000 wounded soldiers.

Thank God today's Democrats weren't in charge of Congress during WWII. Otherwise, we very well might have surrendered 62 years ago tonight.

Democratic Corruption Cont'd: Travel Junkets

Ankle Biting Pundits summarizes the WaPo article about travel junkets that Congressmen took, courtesy of lobbyists. Not unexpectedly, most were Democrats. Another interesting fact I just heard on the radio: of the last five Congressmen who went to jail for corruption, four were Democrats (and that doesn't include likely-to-be-indicted Alan Mollohan (D-WV) and "Cold Cash" Jefferson (D-LA). Not a good idea for them to bring up "culture of corruption."

Patrick Kennedy's Argument for Private Social Security Accounts

In the same press conference, Kennedy also made a strong argument for private social security accounts, even if he didn't realize it. When asked about his treatment, Kennedy responded:

I have insurance. I've always paid for my own insurance. And I will say this, however, though: If you're a member of Congress, you have mental health parity, including drugs and alcohol treatment.

And, you know, what? It's funny, members of Congress give it to themselves but they don't give it to any other American.

Of course, members of Congress also don't belong to the "Social Security fund" either. Instead, they contribute to their own personal accounts and have various investment choices including bond, stock and other funds (which is the main reason there is no social security emergency.) Hmm...good point, Patches.

Patrick Kennedy's Racist Remarks

One of the funniest quotes of the day yesterday came from Patrick Kennedy's press conference, where he came out with a little racist remark that will likely go unnoticed in the MSM:

I expect at the end of the day to have made sure that I will have done the same thing, in terms of the charges, in terms of bookings, in terms of mug shots, fingerprints, whatever they might have me do, it's what anyone else would have done to them if they were an African American in Anacostia and they were picked up and they were -- stay overnight in a jail, because there was no one else to pick them up.

So, if you live in Anacostia (an area of Washington, DC), then you will probably end up in a similar situation as the Congressman, if you haven't already spent time in jail. Ha!

The Illegal Immigration Bill and the Expat Tax Increase

Many people still don't realize it, but the "comprehensive immigration" bill passed by the Senate last week is unconstitutional because of a tax increase inserted into the bill late in the process. The amendment essentially raises the taxes of thousands of American ex-pats living abroad. Rep. Bill Thomas, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, pointed out that any revenue bill must originate in the House. Robert Novak has more here.

Yup, that immigration bill sure is comprehensive.

A New Race-Based State?

This week the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act comes to the Senate floor. If it passes, which appears likely, Hawaiian natives, will be free to govern the state outside the laws of the U.S. Constitution. The only problem, as Mary Katharine Ham at Townhall explains, is that no one has yet asked Hawaiian residents what they want.

A conservative think-tank in Hawaii, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, commissioned a survey in 2005, which showed that 67 percent of Hawaii residents were against the Akaka bill, and 48 percent of Native Hawaiians surveyed agree.

The Institute’s most recent survey shows that 70 percent of Hawaiian residents want to vote on the Akaka bill before it’s considered on a national level, and 67 percent of residents continue to oppose the Akaka bill.

What a perfect way to separate Americans. Maybe we should adopt this throughout the country - separate states for Hawaiians, blacks, whites, Asians, Mexicans and every other ethnicity. The only problem - well, it seems like Akaka's bill is unconstitutional to me.

Peru Votes Against Chavez

Peru has overwhelmingly voted for Alan Garcia, who campaigned for increasing ties and trade with the US. He is also very outspoken against Venezuela's dictator, Hugo Chavez. As he said:

The vote was a defeat for Chavez's expansionist plans that he is trying to implement in South America

Let's see how the left spins this. Somebody might need to hand Jimmy Carter a hanky.

Frasier Supports President Bush

Kelsey Grammar is distinct from most of Hollywood's stars: he supports President Bush in the war on terror. Grammar told the NY Daily News,

"When mistakes are made [as they surely will be in war], they must be addressed, corrected and condemned without equivocation. Successes, however, must also be acknowledged, and brought to light with the same fervor. I believe that George Bush has taken a valiant stance in a dangerous time for this country."

As for this dangerous time, "I also believe that our enemy is resolute - that we must match his resolve or lose. The rhetoric of our President is not sexy or upbeat; it is simple, direct and accurate. Giving up is not an option," he continued.

Muslim Terrorists Busted Up North

Canadians busted a terrorist plot involving 17 people. Most interesting though, as Michelle Malkin points out, is their description of people involved. Here's how the Canadian police, and one reporter's interpretation, describe the men:

`They represent the broad strata of our community,' the RCMP says. `Some are students, some are employed, some are unemployed.' Aside from the fact that virtually all are young men, it's hard to find a common denominator.

These reporters should lose their license to report accurately. Certainly no sherlocks. But no biggie, as I may have the solved the mystery for our friends that can't find that denominator: they're muslims, aged 19-30.

Carter: A Profile of Nonsense

The worst President in US history gives an interview with Mother Jones. In it, Carter discusses his belief that the true danger to the U.S. are the Christian "fundamentalists," who he portrays Satanically in their support of Bush's unjust War on Terror. Here are just a few of the ridiculous quotes from the interview:

"Jimmy Carter is without doubt one of the most active and influential ex-presidents in American history." (Yeah...)

"Now, I don't think there's any doubt that the elementary principle of fundamentalism has existed for ages, and it obviously permeates other religions as well, such as Islam and Hinduism and others." (The implication that Christian "fundamentalism" is as bad as the Islamofascism.)

"But my own belief is that no one in the top levels in Washington now intends to ever pull all the American troops from Iraq." (We just want oil and to extend our imperialism.)

"I believe that if American troops withdrew, almost immediately the level of violence would decrease." (And the world will be perfect, just like it was when he was President.)

"It used to be that within USAID, we had experts employed by the U.S. government who made sure the money was spent wisely and efficiently. Now that money goes almost exclusively to American contractors who set up offices in foreign countries. They receive the money and dole it out with enormous waste." (We need to give it directly to the efficient users, like the UN and/or corrupt governments.)

Gotta love Carter - he's still the patriarch of the Democratic Left.

BBC Ishaqi Story False

BBC made headlines around the world when they reported that US soldiers committed more atrocities toward civilians, this time with proof on tape.

As Michelle Malkin explains, one must consider the source - it turns out to be untrue.

Horrific images of Iraqi adults and children have fueled new allegations that U.S. troops killed civilians in the Iraqi town of Ishaqi.

ABC News has learned, however, that military officials have completed their investigation and have concluded U.S. forces followed the rules of engagement.

A senior Pentagon official told ABC News that the investigation concluded that American forces in this case properly followed the rules of engagement and that allegations of intentional killings of civilians were unfounded.

No worries - the BBC did its job and riled up the Arab world with false reporting again. Does it matter if the story isn't true?

*Update*

Meanwhile, the AP continues to run with the story without mentioning the fact that the US already determined the video to be unfounded:

The video includes an unidentified man saying "children were stuck in the room, alone and surrounded."

"After they handcuffed them, they shot them dead. Later, they struck the house with their planes. They wanted to hide the evidence. Even a 6-month-old infant was killed. Even the cows were killed, too," he said.

The video included shots of the bodies of five children and two men wrapped in blankets.

Mass. Created its Own Health Care Mess

A report by the Council for Affordable Health Insurance shows how Massachusetts created its own health care mess by its excessive regulations. The result was that many health insurers stopped writing individual policies or discontinued marketing in the state. Ehealthinsurance.com called Boston the least affordable city in the nation for purchasing family coverage. Market Center Blog has more.

Unfortunately, Democrats think that if the government (meaning the collective taxpayer, of course) picks up the tab, then the problem is solved.

Kennedy: GOP Stole 2004 Election Too!

Patrick F. Kennedy, Jr., writing in Rolling Stone magazine, claims that Republicans stole the 2004 election. This is a long but rather amusing article, which uses conversations with Democrats and New York Times articles, among other Left wing publications, as sources for his proof.

Among Kennedy's claims are that exit polls are "exquisitely accurate," and it would have been nearly impossible for them to be so wrong in 2004; that Tony Blair went to bed "contemplating his relationship with President-elect Kerry;" and that Kenneth Blackwell of Ohio (who is running for Governor this year), is an "outspoken leader of Christian right-wing fundamentalists" and helped conspire to commit election fraud and give the election to President Bush.

As a work of fiction, this is an amusing article, but as a serious work, it is also an amusing article. Unfortunately, the Left wing nuts will take this as fact (and conveniently forgot to mention the election fraud in Wisconsin, whereby several Democrats have actually been convicted.) But this is the Democratic party of today: let every dead person, convict and illegal immigrant vote (even twice) and if you lose, just claim the other side stole it!

As Moonbattery points out, RFK Jr. previously showed us "proof" that Hurricane Katrina was caused by MS Governor Haley Barbour's attack on the Kyoto Protocol.

Clinton's North Korea '94 Redux?

This Iranian incentive plan sounds eerily similar to the package Clinton gave North Korea in 1994 to stop its uranium enrichment process. Sure, it will work this time...

Six world powers agreed Thursday on a “significant” package of incentives to convince Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program, British Foreign Secretary Margaret Becket said.

(As an aside, I didn't know there are six "world powers.")

Wilson/Plame Affair Takes Another Strange Turn

As if Joseph Wilson didn't have enough credibility problems, now his wife's supposed boss claims he never even heard of her, nor did he ever have any authority over her.

Reid Won't Accept Tickets in Future

It's just that easy if you're a Democrat and you have taken Abramoff-like gifts. Harry Reid said it was OK for him to accept free boxing tickets (which would have cost more than $1,000), but he won't do so in the future.

I'm sure if Duke Cunningham (or even Tom DeLay) used the same tactic, the MSM would not be as forgiving as they are with Harry Reid.