Bush to TSA: One Strike and Yer Out!

It's good to see that President Bush has pledged to veto legislation that would allow TSA screeners to enter into collective bargaining. The role of the TSA is so crucial to our safety in the air that it should not have the right to attempt to impose work rules that would hinder the effectiveness (and safety) of the role screeners play in keeping us safe. Recall the Air Traffic Controllers that were fired by President Reagan for striking...this is a great sign that the President will continue to place the safety of the flying public ahead of the right to negotiate mission creep (aka work rules) for this group of employees. Bravo.

(Aside -- I'll get letters from my family on this. My wife's grandfather was a founder of the union at Ford, and was beaten up by Ford goons on many occasions. So that side of the family is still pretty liberal.)

Also, it's great news that a group of Senators has written to the President with a pledge to support his promised veto of this legislation. Here's a copy of the letter from the Senators to the President.

Let's keep the Friendly Skies as the Safe Skies.

H/T National Review Online

Munich Murtha

Here's Jack Murtha, surrounded by the Democrats in Congress, just after passage of the "Run Away" resolution.

But seriously, read Victor Davis Hanson today on NRO:

Do anti-war critics prefer to invade Pakistan? [Victor Davis Hanson]

I was watching the Scarborough cable news show this evening, where the talking heads went on and on about the impending Taliban spring offensive as the inevitable wage of our "taking our eye off the ball" by getting bogged down in Iraq-a country that didn't attack us and was not involved in 9/11 related terrorism.

Putting aside Saddam's violations of UN and armistice accords, and his long record of subsidies and sanctuary for various terrorists, or the 23 writs authorizing the war passed by the Congress, and ignoring the fact that over six decades ago, a much poorer United States fought simultaneously Germany, Italy, and Japan, and then in midst of rebuilding western Europe and Japan contained at the same time both communist China and the Soviet Union, there was no mention of WHY the Taliban was supposedly setting up camps with relative impunity in Waziristan and the other badlands of Pakistan.

Neither the host nor the animated guests offered any solution to how the United States is to engage in hot pursuit into or bombs over a nuclear Islamic country run by a dictator whose illegitimate rule hinges on concessions to Islamists. So until they offer a concrete plan on how to go into Pakistan to get al Qaeda, and why the resulting risks would be worth it, all their bombast about war mongering in Iraq preventing a solution to al Qaeda remains just that.

02/19 10:10 PM

H/T National Review Online

Good (and bad) Date in History -- 1/4/72

Just read Scott's post about his birthday, and I almost spit the beer out the nose when I read at the bottom "and the date is now forever marred by"...

Amen, brother. I would laugh if I wasn't so pissed off.

Read it for yourself here.

Oh, yeah, and Happy Birthday (again).

McCain for Prez --- NOT

I received one of those innocuous "surveys" from the McCain Exploratory Campaign, er, PAC today. I usually toss these in the round file unopened (anything with less than First Class postage goes in the round file at my house). But I thought, what the hey, I'll open it and see what the wacko questions would be. Mostly softballs, like "Do you think we should reduce waste in the Social Security System?". Um, er, ah, let's see...that's a tough one. No, no, yes...a bit. Pages and pages of this palaver. So, against my better judgement, I decided to answer the softballs and ask a few of my own, such as:

1. Since 2001, the Federal Budget has increased 52% ($1.9 trillion to $2.9 trillion). What have you done, Senator, to keep the budget in check?

2. In response to questions about the UN (gawd!), I said "Kick the UN out of NYC and stop our funding until the other nations step up and supply troops for Iraq and Afghanistan" After all, they voted for the meaningless resolutions.

3. "When are you going to repeal McCain-Feingold?" It's only the biggest unconstitutional limit on free speech since the invention of the muzzle. And you, Senator McCain, signed a bill with a Senator that wants us to pull out of Iraq TODAY! And I live in Wisconsin where the popcorn-fart Feingold is from. (You've never heard the phrase 'drier than a popcorn fart'? Must be a Texas thing.)

You know...my own softball questions back atcha.

And, as a loyal Republican, I even sent him a check...for exactly 2 cents. Hey, it's my 2 cents worth. I'll post a copy of the cancelled check if they have the guts to cash it.

Duncan Hunter for Prez! (H/T COB)

NBC's William Arkin -- Dumb and dumber

After the controversy he set off with his use of mercenary to describe US troops, Arkin then tried to weasel out and get by with what might be considered an apology by Hillary or Kerry or Murtha or Harry Reid:

I was dead wrong in using the word mercenary to describe the American soldier today.

These men and women are not fighting for money with little regard for the nation. The situation might be much worse than that: Evidently, far too many in uniform believe that they are the one true nation. They hide behind the constitution and the flag and then spew an anti-Democrat, anti-liberal, anti-journalism, anti-dissent, and anti-citizen message that reflects a certain contempt for the American people.

The above is from a new column written as an apologia. So, he apologises for calling soldiers "mercenary". Then he says the "situation might be much worse..." Gads...they "hide behind the constitution and the flag". Nope. They swear allegiance to BOTH, and stand IN FRONT OF THEM...PROTECTING THEM.

You bet it might be much worse, moron. All of those mercenaries might rise up (as only stupid, undisciplined, and desperate fighters can) and run you off of the road in your...wait, was that a Suburban?

Fox News caught this Greenpeace tree-hugger...loading a full-sized SUV on the way to or from a road trip! "Hey, man, leave me alone while I get outta here in my Suburban...wait, where's the gas station? $2.19 a gallon! That's a crime, man, I should be paying $5 a gallon like our brothers in Eurabia do."

This is your brain...this is your brain on STUPIDITY.

As I've said before, we really NEED morons like this in the world. It sure makes the rest of us plain-ole dumb rednecks look much smarter, don't it?