Scares the Be-Jesus out of me

From National Review Online:

Concentrates the Mind [Mona Charen]

This is from Majority Whip Roy Blunt’s office. It’s a Who Would Be Who in a Democratic majority Congress. It's intended to scare Republican voters into showing up at the polls on November 7. It sure scares me.

Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.)
Elected 1969, 18th term
Rep. Obey voted with the AFL-CIO 100% of the time. Obey voted against the Deficit Reduction Act, against Defense Funding (FY06), against the Legislative Line Item Veto, and against funding the Global War on Terror (FY04).

“Mr. Obey was one of those Democrats who ripped Mr. Clinton for endorsing a balanced budget in 1995. Rather than cut spending, his goal would be to spend less on defense and more on domestic programs and entitlements.” (WSJ, 08/31/06)

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.)
Elected 1970, 18th term
Rep. Rangel voted with the ACLU 94% of the time. Rangel consistently voted against free trade agreements, against the Bush tax cuts, against Pension Reform, and against Welfare Reform.

Rep. Rangel “opposed the Bush tax cuts and recently voted against free trade with tiny Oman. His committee's crucial health care subcommittee would be run by California's Pete Stark (1972), who in 1993 criticized Hillary Clinton's health care proposal because the government wasn't dominant enough.” (WSJ, 08/31/06)

“No question about it.” -Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), when asked whether tax increases across the spectrum would be considered should Democrats take control of Congress. (CongressDaily, 09/26/06)

Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.)
Elected 1964, 21st term
Rep. Conyers voted with the AFL-CIO 100% and the ACLU 100% of the time. Conyers consistently voted against any liability reform, against the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization, against REAL ID, against the Child Interstate Abortion Notification bill, and against Border Protection and Immigration Reform.

“He recently made his plans clear in a 370-page report… the report accuses the Administration of violating no fewer than 26 laws and regulations, and is a road map of Mr. Conyers's explicit intention to investigate grounds for impeaching President Bush.” (WSJ, 08/31/06)

Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.)
Elected 1955, 25th term
Rep. Dingell voted with the AFL-CIO 100% of the time. Dingell voted against exploring for American-made energy in ANWR and OCS, against reforming the Endangered Species Act, and against the Telecom Reauthorization bill.

“The Michigan Congressman would do his best to provide taxpayer help to GM and Ford. But telecom companies would probably get more regulation in the form of Net neutrality rules, and a windfall profits tax on oil would be a real possibility.” (WSJ, 08/31/06)

Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.)
Elected 1974, 16th term
Rep. Miller voted with the ACLU 95% of the time. Miller voted against Higher Education Reauthorization, against Head Start Reauthorization, and against Pension Reform.

Rep. Miller is “the chief sponsor of the ‘Employee Free Choice Act,’ which would make it much easier for unions to organize by largely banning secret elections… The Californian also wants to raise the minimum wage and fulfill the National Education Association wish to spend more federal dollars on local school construction.” (WSJ, 08/31/06)

Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.)
Elected 1980, 13th term
Rep. Frank voted with the AFL-CIO 100% and the ACLU 95% of the time. Frank voted against the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention Act, against Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement, and against Credit Rating Reform.

“…the ascension of Barney Frank (1980) would mean a reprieve for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, despite $16 billion in accounting scandals. His main reform priority has been to carve out a new affordable housing fund from the two companies' profits. And forget about any major review of Sarbanes-Oxley.” (WSJ, 08/31/06)

Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.)
Elected 1974, 16th term
Rep. Waxman voted with the AFL-CIO 100% and the ACLU 95% of the time. Waxman voted against the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act, against the formation of the Bipartisan Katrina Committee, and against 527 Reform.

Rep. Waxman “would compete with Mr. Conyers to see who could issue the most subpoenas to the Bush Administration.” (WSJ, 08/31/06)

Intelligence Committee Chairman Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.)
Elected 1992, 7th term
Rep. Hastings voted with the AFL-CIO 92% of the time. Hastings voted against declaring that the U.S. will prevail in the Global War on Terror, against the 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act, against Supporting Terrorist Finance Tracking, against the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization, and against Border Protection and Immigration Reform.

Rep. Hastings “who, should Ms. Pelosi succeed in pushing aside current ranking Member Jane Harman, would take over the House Intelligence Committee. Before he won his Florida seat in 1992, Mr. Hastings had been a federal judge who was impeached and convicted by a Democratic Congress for lying to beat a bribery rap. He would handle America's most vital national secrets.” (WSJ, 08/31/06)

*Group ratings are from 2004. Key votes are from the 108th and 109th Congress. Wall Street Journal quotes are extracted from “Back to the Congressional Future” editorial, August 31, 2006.

Part II: How NOT to treat a soldier

Comments on the previous post from a friend of mine...

Having lived in the UK and used the NHS I can attest that it is every conservative’s poster child for what can go wrong with a public health care system. In addition there is a huge south asian population in the UK, many of whom do not feel part of British Society. The war in Iraq in particular, but Afghanistan as well, is tremendously unpopular, so much so, that Blair is being forced out by his own party (ya gotta love parliamentary democracies). So it’s not surprising that the squatties (English for grunt) are being harassed while they languish in a squalid hospital. Still it’s appalling and will no doubt result in yet another backlash against British Muslims, further alienating the young and disaffected creating more opportunities for them to become radicalized.

Here in Canada we have followed a similar path. The Defence Medical Centres were closed over a decade ago. The rational was to save money by eliminating “duplicate” publicly funded health care systems (Canada, famously has a nation wide publicly funded health care system). At the time the rational made sense, spend millions on dedicated medical centres or on bullets and boots. We had beaten the godless commies and the probability of an all out war with anyone seemed highly unlikely. Now that we are in a real shooting war again we are getting a lot of seriously injured soldiers being returned to public hospitals. Since the brigade currently deployed in Afghanistan is based not far from Ottawa (where I live) most of the injured are being returned to a local hospital. By all accounts they are receiving excellent care. Though there has been controversies about how reservists (which make up about 30% of our combat arms formations) are treated if they receive disabling wounds. (i.e. they are screwed). The casualty rates would have overwhelmed our paltry military health care system anyways. Furthermore they would have lacked the expertise especially in specialty areas like Neurology.

Only the US has the resources to warrant such an excellent dedicated and parallel system.

As an aside my Regiment (The Royal Canadian Regiment) has just returned from a 3 week standup fight with the Taliban. They report that they now have wire guided AT missiles, mortars, crew service weapons and are not afraid to fight in the open and during the day. It’s getting ugly out there.

How NOT to treat a soldier

From National Review Online

Looking After the Troops [Andrew Stuttaford]

Via the Daily Telegraph:

A paratrooper wounded in Afghanistan was threatened by a Muslim visitor to the British hospital where he is recovering.Seriously wounded soldiers have complained that they are worried about their safety after being left on wards that are open to the public at Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham. On one occasion a member of the Parachute Regiment, still dressed in his combat uniform after being evacuated from Afghanistan, was accosted by a Muslim over the British involvement in the country. "You have been killing my Muslim brothers in Afghanistan," the man said during a tirade. Because the soldier was badly injured and could not defend himself, he was very worried for his safety, sources told The Daily Telegraph... Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, called the treatment of wounded troops "an absolute disgrace". "They should be in completely separate wings even if this means shutting down entire NHS wards. It is a betrayal of our troops having them treated in mixed and open wards. Those who have been injured on operations must be with those who understand their predicament in a secure environment. "The Defence Secretary should be having urgent talks with the Health Secretary to do this otherwise this Government's commitment to our Armed Forces is nothing but talk." There is also resentment among serving troops unhappy about being treated in a NHS hospital that they believe is unsuitable for military patients. Soldiers on operations say they would rather receive a more serious injury and go to the top American military hospital in Ramstein, Germany, than end up in a NHS hospital. They now half jokingly refer to getting "a Boche rather than a Blighty" in reference to the wounds that would send them home. Ramstein has an outstanding unit for brain surgery, and neurological intensive care beds in Britain are in short supply. "The blokes see it that if you are unlucky you get wounded and go to the UK at the mercy of the NHS, but if you get a head wound you get sent to Ramstein in Germany where the US has an outstanding medical facility," said an officer serving in Afghanistan. "It also does not do morale much good knowing that within 18 hours of being wounded you could wake up in a NHS hospital with a mental health patient on one side and an incontinent geriatric on the other." ...In the past decade the seven military hospitals in Britain, Germany and Cyprus have been closed. The remaining military hospital at Haslar, Portsmouth, is expected to be sold to developers next year.

Incredible.

National Airborne Day

TO ALL WHO READ THIS:

Say "thank you" to a paratrooper today...those who are willing to jump out of perfectly good airplanes. What are they thinking?

A DAY FOR U.S. PARATROOPERS [W. Thomas Smith Jr.]

Today is National Airborne Day, honoring all U.S. paratroopers and military parachutists (from all services) since the first American soldier leapt from a plane over Fort Benning, Georgia on August 16, 1940.

What's interesting is that all soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who earn the wings of a "military parachutist," must first attend jump school, which is still located at Fort Benning and still conducted by the U.S. Army.

In his 2002 National Airborne Day proclamation, President Bush said, “Airborne combat continues to be driven by the bravery and daring spirit of sky soldiers. Often called into action with little notice, these forces have earned an enduring reputation for dedication, excellence, and honor. As we face the challenges of a new era, I encourage all people to recognize the contributions of these courageous soldiers to our nation and the world.”

Hat-tip: National Review Online

Terror plot while Bush and Blair on "vacation"

As we learn more about the terror threat that has been discovered in Britain, I think we can discount (further) the kooks that complained about "we're at war, and Bush is GTT (Gone To Texas) for a vacation". Tony Blair is also on "vacation"; I suspect they wanted to get out of the spotlight, throw off the NYTimes and the other traitorous MSM who would tell (sorry, "report responsibly to") the terrorists about what we're doing to fight, and get to secure locations so that they could coordinate the take-down of the bad guys.

Some sensible precautions on the part of our gov't (and I'm not being a conspiracy kook when I observe these):

1. Bush and Blair are away from their respective capitols
2. Succession-planning seems to be working fine (as POTUS and VPOTUS are now split up)
3. US Gov't has raised the Terror Level warning
4. Tomorrow is 8/11, so we probably had our antennae up anyway

Interestingly, I have a plug-in to Firefox that displays the current threat level from DHS. It's still showing "Elevated (yellow)". Looking at the DHS website, they have NOT updated the website yet. The announcement of the Threat Level being raised was made about 20 minutes ago now, and DHS still hasn't raised the notice on the site to Orange.

Oh well...just tells you that, in spite of it all, the gov't moves slowly.

More dumb stuff from the NYTimes

Jeez...they get the first 2 paragraphs right...then fall apart with their socialism. I swear you could offer a million bucks for just ONE sensible economics writer over there, and no one could collect the money!

Editorial

Lessons From Prudhoe Bay

Published: August 9, 2006

No sooner did BP announce that a corrosion problem was forcing a shutdown of its pipelines serving Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay than prices again shot up, with oil temporarily gaining more than $2 a barrel, to nearly $77, and gasoline rising five cents a gallon in some cities. Consumers are understandably rankled. But there’s nothing necessarily predatory about what’s going on — this time.

Refineries and gas stations that are not well stocked rush to buy when there’s a sudden shortage, provoking an immediate price increase. Meanwhile, BP and the other oil companies that share in the Prudhoe Bay oil field stand to lose more from the shutdown than they will reap from a spike in prices.

What is predatory is some politicians’ attempt to use the shutdown to realize their drilling dreams. Pete Domenici, the Senate Energy Committee chairman, was quick off the mark pronouncing BP’s travails as yet another reason to drill more at home.

That’s backward, for two reasons.

First, even all-out drilling won’t vaccinate the market from unexpected shortages because there simply isn’t enough potential domestic supply to dent Americans’ demand. The United States holds only 3 percent of global oil reserves, yet uses 25 percent of the world’s oil.

Until we have marketable alternatives to oil, the only thing that will truly reduce Americans’ vulnerability to oil shocks is reduced demand. According to the nonprofit National Environmental Trust, if Americans had started a 10-year phase-in of 40-mile-a-gallon driving standards in 2001, they would already be saving 267 million barrels of oil a year. That’s nearly twice the amount produced annually at the Prudhoe Bay field.

No matter what Mr. Domenici and other oil company cheerleaders say, the BP fiasco also reminds us why we should not put the fate of America’s wilderness in the hands of the oil companies.

BP has a lot of explaining to do, starting with why the ragged condition of its pipelines went undetected for so long. But it has already reinforced one lesson: True energy security does not entail more drilling, especially in Alaska.

Wars past and present, and the Media

In the bigger picture about our chicken**** media, check out this story...my wife's father was in this battle (RIP TSgt Leonard):

"During World War II, U.S. and German forces fought the battle of Hurtgen Forest. It began Sept. 19, 1944 and ended Feb. 10, 1945. That was one battle in a strategically insignificant corridor of barely 50 square miles east of the Belgium-Germany border. The Germans inflicted more than 24,000 casualties on American forces, while another 9,000 Americans were sidelined due to illness, fatigue and friendly fire. Had live TV beamed this battle to America, there might have been an outcry that the policy was failing and somehow a cease-fire and an accommodation with Hitler should be achieved.

America won that war because the objective wasn't to understand the Nazis, or to reach an accommodation with them; the objective was to win the war. Anything less in this war - against an equally evil and unrelenting enemy - will mean defeat for the United States and for freedom everywhere. That's what Rumsfeld was getting at when he said, "We can persevere in Iraq or we can withdraw prematurely, until they force us to make a stand nearer home. But make no mistake: They are not going to give up, whether we acquiesce in their immediate demands or not."

Rumsfeld is right." -- Cal Thomas

Hat-tip: Rightwing News

Support your local Businessman

I'm working on a Firefighter and Police Appreciation Day for our local cops and firemen. In making calls to a number of businesses in the area to solicite their support, I met with a sales manager for a big insurance company (you'd know the company if I told you the name). I'm a sales guy, and have been a sales VP, so I'm pretty good at spotting classy salesmen vs. the "all hat and no cattle" type. Here's a guy who's the same age as I am, rock-steady, calm, cool, collected, and ready to help with his company's resources in support of the community. I bitched a bit about how hot it was in the restaurant we were meeting in. I complained about this and that, just normal nits and nats. Then I asked him if he had ever worked around cops.

Turns out he's a Lt Col Military Policeman in the Army Reserve. He's already served 2 tours in Iraq. Now, he didn't say a word about my bitchin' and moanin', just said he'd been over there and was glad to be back. See what I mean about the classy and rock-steady part?

Let me tell you -- I was embarrassed. I apologized to him for complaining about a 75 degree indoor restaurant when he'd had his butt on the line sweating it out in 115 degree weather, humping it. I thanked him for his service and for not kicking my tail, and we continued our work.

Does anyone have a crowbar to get the foot outta my mouth? TGFOS (Thank God for our Soldiers). Perspective, folks, perspective.

TGIF's

Thank God it's FOOTBALL Season.

Rush Limbaugh quote

Drugged or sober, ya gotta love Rush...

Overheard [Kathryn Jean Lopez]

Rush Limbaugh today, reacting to the poll that says 1/3rd of Americans think 9/11 was an inside job: "When Elvis hears this it'll kill him!"

Posted at 2:16 PM


Hat tip: National Review Online

The Economy and Taxes

For all of the sneering at "trickle-down economics", as well as the criticism on the left about tax rates and the rich not paying its fair share, Karl Rove is lucid and succinct regarding how the tax burden is born by high-income taxpayers. Read the entire article (by Mr. Buckley, in which he quotes Mr. Rove).

Excerpt From William F Buckley, copyright United Press Sydicate.

The charge that only the rich were the beneficiaries of the tax cuts? Rove answers: "If this were true, then logic tells you that the percentage of federal income taxes paid by the wealthy would be falling after the tax cuts." That did not happen: The top 1 percent of the nation's earners, those making more than $317,000 per year, saw their share of the nation's income tax go up (by 1.5 percent), not down. The top 3 percent (making more than $200,000) paid a 5 percent larger share of taxes. Rove quoted a finding of The Wall Street Journal: "For every 100 Americans today, the wealthiest three are paying taxes equivalent to the other 97 combined." (Emphasis mine)

Here's a link to the full article.

Economics Lesson about Oil

Please read this great post from a Senior Lecturer in Economics at Northwestern University.

http://www.knowledgeproblem.com/archives/001709.html


Then, please, read my comments below:

Dear Prof Kiesling:

As a traveling salesman with an economics degree, one of the hardest things to listen to (and keep the ole trap shut) on the rental-car shuttle bus is the price of gas...what people pay for self-service, and what they have to pay the greedy Hertz-Avis-National monopoly (ok, oligopoly, but that's lost on them). Folks DO have choices in price; look at $3.19 for self-serve in Wisconsin, vs $6.00 if Hertz fills the tank for you. This would seem to be the easiest example of how competition could drive pricing down...but NOOOOOO. It's all about greed on the part of Pick-a-Rental, right?

In fact, people make a conscious choice to be LAZY and/or let the employer pick up the price differential in the gas from the rental-car company. "What do I care? It's not coming out of MY pocket." Here is where the old example of employer-paid health insurance comes into play. If your company pays the insurance premium, and you only have a small deductible, what incentive do you have to ask about the price of the MRI when you've only strained your knee? Similarly, what incentives are there for rental companies to lower the price of gas if people pay the going rate, and the employer gets stuck with the bill? I would argue that it is not the oil companies or the rental firms that are being uncompetitive; it's the CFO and Sales VP that approve of the expense who are the real enemies of competition.

Oh well, have to run to turn in the rental car and catch a flight. $6.35 here...but, not my problem...

Meanwhile, back at Camp Inelastic...

Regards,

Texan in Wisconsin

HAT TIP: National Review Online and Knowledge Problem

NYTimes using moral equivalence again

Will they ever stop being traitorous?

From the New York Times:

WASHINGTON, July 21 — The Bush administration is rushing a delivery of precision-guided bombs to Israel, which requested the expedited shipment last week after beginning its air campaign against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon,American officials said Friday.

The decision to quickly ship the weapons to Israel was made with relatively little debate within the Bush administration, the officials said. Its disclosure threatens to anger Arab governments and others because of the appearance that the United States is actively aiding the Israeli bombing campaign in a way that could be compared to Iran’s efforts to arm and resupply Hezbollah.

Just...freaking...unbelievable. We sell munitions to a democratically-elected government that is DEFENDING itself. And the NYT equates that sale with the Iranians supplying a TERRORIST group with weapons that are used to kill and frighten civilians. The Times tries to soften it with the word "appearance". Ptui.

Getting Citizens out of Lebanon Part 3

All are home and safe...if a bit frazzled.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Doug

Getting Citizens out of Lebanon Part 2

I have just seen that the Greek liner Orient Queen has docked in Cyprus. I also received word that my cousin and family were on this ship. Haven't heard from them in Cyprus, but things are looking good. I'll let you know when they step back onto US soil.

Nancy Pelosi and the Pledge of Allegiance

Today, the House voted to forbid federal courts from ruling on keeping "under God" in the Pledge. Good idea, that. Imagine my surprise (NOT) when I read this about Pelosi.

From the Associated Press, as seen on the Fox News web site:

BEGIN QUOTE

WASHINGTON — The House, citing the nation's religious origins, voted Wednesday to protect the Pledge of Allegiance from federal judges who might try to stop schoolchildren and others from reciting it because of the phrase "under God."

The legislation, a priority of social conservatives, passed 260-167. It now goes to the Senate where its future is uncertain.

Click here to see how your representative voted.

"We should not and cannot rewrite history to ignore our spiritual heritage," said Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn. "It surrounds us. It cries out for our country to honor God."

Opponents said the legislation, which would bar federal courts from ruling on the constitutional validity of the pledge, would undercut judicial independence and would deny access to federal courts to religious minorities seeking to defend their rights.

"We are making an all-out assault on the constitution of the United States which, thank God, will fail," said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

END QUOTE

Sigh...can anyone be a worse Representative than Ms. Pelosi?

Getting U.S. Citizens out of Lebanon

Just found out that my cousin, her husband, 3 kids, and her husband's dad are in Lebanon, visiting the dad's relatives. Will keep you posted on their progress. Please say a prayer for them when you hit your knees each night.

Thanks,

Doug

From the "You Can Only Take so Much BS" file

Is anyone surprised that even Colin Powell would be sickened by eating with Clinton?

Colin Powell Visits Hospital After Falling Ill at Restaurant

Friday, July 07, 2006

ASPEN, Colo. — Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was briefly hospitalized early Friday after falling ill at a restaurant where he was dining with former President Clinton and others, police said.

NYTimes version of Pinko Liberal Crapola

Scott, you posted a great comment earlier re: President Bush's announcement about the economy and the deficit. I watched the announcement live, and a great line from W was to the new Treasury Secretary: "You've been on the job one day, and you're doing great!".

The point is, as you so well stated, the tax cuts help the economy by putting more money into our pockets...and the money doesn't stay there! We spend it. Good for the economy as measured by GDP, jobs, real estate prices (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) etc.

Now look at what the NYTimes says about the announcement today here. Are they on the same planet as the US economy?

Great Obituary

Hope they write about me like this...

Frederic Arthur (Fred) Clark
Frederic Arthur (Fred) Clark, who had tired of reading obituaries noting other's courageous battles with this or that disease, wanted it known that he lost his battle as a result of an automobile accident on June 18, 2006. True to Fred's personal style, his final hours were spent joking with medical personnel while he whimpered, cussed, begged for narcotics and bargained with God to look over his wife and kids. He loved his family. His heart beat faster when his wife of 37 years Alice Rennie Clark entered the room and saddened a little when she left. His legacy was the good works performed by his sons, Frederic Arthur Clark III and Andrew Douglas Clark MD, PhD., along with Andy's wife, Sara Morgan Clark. Fred's back straightened and chest puffed out when he heard the Star Spangled Banner and his eyes teared when he heard Amazing Grace. He wouldn't abide self important tight *censored*. Always an interested observer of politics, particularly what the process does to its participants, he was amused by politician's outrage when we lie to them and amazed at what the voters would tolerate. His final wishes were "throw the bums out and don't elect lawyers" (though it seems to make little difference). During his life he excelled at mediocrity. He loved to hear and tell jokes, especially short ones due to his limited attention span. He had a life long love affair with bacon, butter, cigars and bourbon. You always knew what Fred was thinking much to the dismay of his friend and family. His sons said of Fred, "he was often wrong, but never in doubt". When his family was asked what they remembered about Fred, they fondly recalled how Fred never peed in the shower - on purpose. He died at MCV Hospital and sadly was deprived of his final wish which was to be run over by a beer truck on the way to the liquor store to buy booze for a double date to include his wife, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter to crash an ACLU cocktail party. In lieu of flowers, Fred asks that you make a sizable purchase at your local ABC store or Virginia winery (please, nothing French - the *censored*) and get rip roaring drunk at home with someone you love or hope to make love to. Word of caution though, don't go out in public to drink because of the alcohol related laws our elected officials have passed due to their inexplicable terror at the sight of a MADD lobbyist and overwhelming compulsion to meddle in our lives. No funeral or service is planned. However, a party will be held to celebrate Fred's life. It will be held in Midlothian, Va. Email fredsmemory@yahoo.com for more information. Fred's ashes will be fired from his favorite cannon at a private party on the Great Wicomico River where he had a home for 25 years. Additionally, all of Fred's friend (sic) will be asked to gather in a phone booth, to be designated in the future, to have a drink and wonder, "Fred who?" Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on 7/9/2006.

Hat tip: NRO and Richmond Times-Dispatch