Maggie's Farm

Judiciary Filibusters

The Repubs have the votes, the power, the ideas, and the future - but they can't govern worth a damn.

The Death of the Environmental Movement announced by environmentalists. In Bidinotto Blog.

Does the Int. Red Cross Hate the US? In WJS

The End of the Repub Revolution? It does look like it. It's tough to get much done in DC. In Intellectual Conservative.

Revenge of the Sith. Fine review of the series, with great attention to detail, by Captains Quarters; another appreciative one by Shape of Days.

Language and the Left. Zide suggests changing the language of the Left, to make it more innocuous. No - dont consider changing the ideas which have been unchanged since 1930. Watch for new keywords to appear.

Sex Ed in Olde Massachusetts

From Right Thinking, in his usual direct, refined style: As much as I often disagree with the social conservative movement, if the facts here are as they state them, this is one of the most offensive things I’ve ever seen.  Not so much because of the content, but because someone thought that this was appropriate material to distribute at a high school.  These same people, of course, would go apeshit if anyone dared to mention God or Jesus in a class, but see nothing wrong with explain to teenagers how to piss on each other, and give a list of clubs where they can go for sex.  This should be national news.  Can you imagine the outcry from the New York Times if a teacher had given out anti-gay material in a class?  This is just despicable.  Sex education is one thing.  This doesn’t just cross a line, it demolishes it.

Will you ever find this story, if accurate, in the MSM? No, because the Left loves this stuff. You figure out why. Read the piece.

Yale Finally Boots God from Campus. View from 1776 has the story. Hey Yale, that's, like, really progressive, like, advanced, Dudes. Forget the past - Yale is really hip and cool now. Like finally catching up with Cuba. Like wow, man. I want to go to Yale - its Very Groovy. Can you dig it?
I suggest that the Chapel be converted to the Sex Ed Center. Let's fill those pews!
At the same time, we see religion returning to Brown, of all places - in NYT. 

Alabama Christian Coalition - Did they use gambling $ to defeat gambling initiatives? It's only fair - everyone has to reveal their sources of $. If true, shameful and embarassing. Everyone is a hypocrite but, jeez.

James Watt was one of the favorite "demons" of the Reagan administration, but what Bill Moyers has done to him in his retirement is beyond shameful. When will that Moyers Generation retire? They are lost in the past. Powerline has the truth, as usual.

Boston Radio station WRKO replaces a Newsweek program with a Pundit Review program. Via New England Repub.

Dean falling flat as Dem spokesman? Party seems to be distancing themselves from the Vermont self-impressed hothead. Pardon me, Vermont. He was raised on Park Avenue and in the Hamptons. In Captains Quarters.

Linda Foley is in hiding? KnoxNews has the story. As Bird Dog says, public figures have to watch what they say - it can go around the world in hours.

VDH new piece - "Our Two Front Struggle." Just read it. It's tough to summarize.

"Remove Christians from society"? Perhaps the ACLU might wish to reconsider their wording? Honestly, this is Nazi-sounding language, regardless of the merits of the case. Story from Right Thinking here.

One thing Canada and the US have in common: A desperate, hysterical, berserko, lying and dying Left. From Belmont Club: What characterizes much of the Left today as exemplified by behavior from George Galloway to Paul Martin is the increasing necessity to maintain their position By Any Means Necessary. While that is dangerous and infuriating, it is a reliable indicator that they have lost control of the system. Things just aren't working the way they used to. And that, despite everything, is cause for hope.

Dying but, alas, not quite dead. Sorry, Canada. You got what you wanted yesterday.

Star Wars is Anti-Bush Propaganda? Lucas says yes, sort-of. Gimme a break.

Four US Nationals Reported Jailed in Guadalajara

Four American citizens were arrested by Mexican military officials yesterday after being caught crossing the border into Mexico in a remote rural area. According to military officials, the four surrendered to an armed Mexican border patrol force without resistance, and are now in the custody of Guadalajara police.

According to the brief military report, the four white males claimed that they were from Minnesota, and were seeking to relocate to Mexico for "fun and sun and work" in Tijuana. They did not have American passports or Mexican work permits.

Entering Mexico without proper documentation, and bypassing offical entry zones, is illegal and punishable by incarceration. It is government policy to provide strict enforcement of the national borders to prevent illegal immigration into Mexico.

The four have not been permitted to communicate with the press or with attorneys. There has been no date assigned for any hearing regarding their status at this time, and the police have thus far refused to release their names or to comment on their condition.

The accuracy of this report has been confimed by neither the Newsweek staff nor by Al Jazeera News Service.

Rush is Back!

It has been quite a while since I listened to Rush for more than a few minutes, but while doing errands at lunchtime today I happened to spend some time with him. He is back to his inspired, wickedly hilarious self. I wondered whether it is because he has gotten past his many problems, but I suspect it is because the Left has been providing so much great material. Anyway, if you haven't heard him lately, and thought he was getting repetitive, give the big guy another chance. Highly entertaining and smart as a whip. The guy is an on-the-air blog...or are blogs off-the-air, would-be broadcasters? Hmmmm.

Rather is gone.

Uzbekistan next domino to fall? In Jane's

Space weapons "may be opposed by our allies." As in who? In NYT.

Mexico protests US not issuing drivers' licenses to illegals. And Fox apologizes for offending American blacks. (See Foxes and Aliens, below)

From New York, Hillary looks like a winner. In The Week.

Auster from 1992 on the Forbidden Topic. Click here: Still "the forbidden topic" after all these years  ( the effects of large-scale immigration on a culture)

Whose side is the press on?  Good one in New Criterion - plus Kipling too.

Bare Naked. Travelwire: The agency in charge of the nation's air security expects later this year to begin using a controversial X-ray machine that will show airport screeners a clear picture of what's under passengers' clothes — whether weapons or just bare skin.Screeners plan to test the "backscatter" machines at several U.S. airports, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says. The refrigerator-sized machines are considered a breakthrough in scanning technology but have been labeled "a virtual strip search" by the American Civil Liberties Union. http://www.travelwirenews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000038/003873-p.htm

Seattle High School Blocks Army Recruiters. What is it with these people? From CSM: "They're spending $4 billion a month in Iraq, but we have to cut our race relations class, which costs $12,500," Ms. Hagopian pointed out. "That's an important class for our kids."

Cannes. From My Way News: The dark underside of the United States has taken center stage in several films at Cannes this year, capped on Monday with a scathing attack of past and present racism in America by Danish director Lars von Trier.

The State of Marriage around the World. Perry Anderson in The Nation: What, then, of marriage? Here, certainly, contrasts remain greatest. In speaking of "the core of romantic freedom and commitment in the modern European (and New World) family system," Therborn implies this remains specific to the West. But while the caste system or Sharia law plainly preclude extempore love, does it show no signs of spreading, as ideal or realization, in the big cities of East Asia or Latin America? The imagination of urban Japan, he shows, is already half-seized with it. Not, of course, that the decline of marriage in Western Europe, with the advent of mass cohabitation, has so far been replicated anywhere else. But here a different sort of question might be asked. Is it really the case that the negative rates of reproduction that have accompanied this pattern are as unwished-for as Therborn suggests? He relies on the discrepancy between surveys in which women explain how many children they expect and those they actually have. But this could just mean that in practice their desire for children proved weaker than for a well-paid job, a satisfying career or more than one lover at a time. Voters in the West regularly say they want better schools and healthcare, and in principle expect to pay for them, and commentators on the left often pin high hopes on such declarations. But once such citizens get to the polling booth they tend to stick to lower taxes. The same kind of self-deception could apply to children. If so, it would be difficult to say European marriage was in such good shape, since there would be no stopping place in sight for its plunge of society into an actuarial abyss.

The 1.2 Billion Dollar UN Makeover

For that kind of money, surely we could built a nice lodge with hot showers for the UN, somewhere in Saskachewan or maybe Manitoba? Or, second best, have Trump do the job for half the money in half the time.

The UN is a mockery of itself.

What do the jihadists want?  LGF has the answer: Islam will rule the world and wipe out the Jews - from the horse's mouth.

Did Pepsi Give America the Finger? Powerline has it.

Good eyes. Barlett at RCP caught the similarity in the pieces in the NYT and the WSJ, both on the same upcoming Dem talking point. WSJ a shill for the Dems? Or innocent victim of press releases?

Summers is a Weenie. Larry Summers submits to castration by deranged band of schoolmarms. Now being led around on a dog leash by leather-clad dominatrices. Michelle has the story.

Bad News for Unions and the Dems,  from American Thinker: 

Harold Ickes is right. The situation is very, very serious. The Democrats are losing an important source of strength, and there is nothing on the horizon to replace it.
Read entire.

Dems and Christianity, from New England Republican:

There is a reason why Democrats are called anti-Christian - because they are. AND now they're resorting to McCarthyism to keep the Courts in their bloody hands. For anyone who hasn't noticed -there is a culture war going on and liberals are taking no prisoners. Do Republicans have what it takes to prevent liberals from the Borking that took place in the Reagan/Bush years? I have my doubts....
Read entire.

Angry
primitives
with no understanding of a free press,
with no sensitive multiculturalism, who are freedom-hating and who view non-Moslems as animals. The photo (from Right Thinking) tells it all. And why can't Newsweek spell Koran? I mean Quran? I mean....

Hey, lighten up, you Islamofascists - you should see how Christianity is sometimes treated in the USA. Not that you would care. 

Are these people for real? This nasty, butt-ugly, wife-beater-looking, semi-tough dude needs a makeover, a new suit, a little dental work, an attitude adjustment, and a sales job for IBM. Or maybe Pepsi might feel more congenial?

(I'm sure the photo is a joke - what's with the red beard? Plus who in the ME can spell "apologise"?  And, for that matter, who in the US can spell it?)

"Very Unfortunate."  Indeed, Condi. Fine summary of Toiletgate at Austin Bay. 

Iowahawk does the NYT.

The diseases of the Chavez revolution.

Dr. Bob on the "theocracy" propaganda. An excellent piece. A sample:

I’m an optimist by nature–but optimism is the opiate of fools, they say, and this time I think they’re right. The danger lies in the use of anti-religious fervor for political advantage. Like the blacksmith’s bellows, the left is superheating the political dialog by feeding oxygen to baser instincts. As high heat changes the structure of metal, this rhetorical inferno against the religious right will harden those so disposed to create an indelible association between faith, intolerance and hatred. Fanning religious hatred for political gain is a dangerous game; just ask the Jews.  Read entire.

Paul sounds a similar theme on Powerline.

Newsweek: Beyond Shame and deep into the danger zone: The MSM blew it again ! Isikoff's turn to get blog-swarmed. The disgusting Koran-toilet story explored and corrected by RWN. and Captains Quarters. and many others. Facts never intefere with the anti-American fanatics, but in this case, people have died and will die, and the ME will never believe Newsweek's apology. If I were a real reporter these days, I would be scared. Error is punished.

The motives of the terrorists in Iraq are confusing to the NYT, probably because they do not fit the leftist rebellion model. John at Powerline de-mystifies the issue.

Are we certain that democratization in the ME is a good idea? Another point of view, from View from the Right.

The Radical Disease at Harvard Law. Time to copy the Pine Tree Revolution? Details by Brewton.

Somethings Happening Here, What it is aint exactly clear: Canadian politics.

Ideological Purity vs. Political Reality. Radioblogger has Kudlow discussing new trade quotas. We will soon see similar practicality at work with the base closings.

Harvard debates "gender" - a rational discussion emerges from the Summers hysteria. Audio and video versions. But I still don't get it - what the heck is "gender"?

Running out of suicide bombers: In Iraq, they are using the mentally ill, and tricking their own people into becoming involuntary suicide bombers - they ask them to transport some bombs from A to B, then remote-detonate them. Surprise! And then comes the really big surprise: There was a slight error in transcription. Instead of 70 virgins in Paradise, you get one 70 year-old virgin. Dang!

Condi supports gun rights.

"Air Force Academy "Chaplain" Morton’s complaints about too much religion at the military academy is creating waves, and earned her hero status in a report in the New York Times Thursday." In Newsmax

New family of rodent discovered for sale in Laotian meat market.

Brussels official claims rejection of EU Constitution would be comparable to supporting Nazism. How can these countries willingly sacrifice their autonomy to wacko unelected bureaucrats?

Taranto yesterday on why the Dems "clients" don't vote for them: Every time the Democrats lose an election, they make a big show of asking questions like these. Then, the next time they lose an election, they once again wonder why the "working class" has forsaken them. Maybe it's as simple as: because they were listening. Read entire.

Tut died of gangrene. Stop whining about your medical bills - you have better medical care than Pharoah.  Click here: Print Story: Tutankhamun died of gangrene on Yahoo! News

The Union-Leader shrewd on filibuster: "PRESIDENT BUSH and U.S. Senate Republicans have the far better case in the matter of Democrats refusing to allow judges to be voted on in a straightforward, up-or-down fashion. The problem is that Republicans aren't very good at public relations "spin" — and the Democrats have a ready ally in much of Big Media. But if the Republicans don't wise up and have the guts to stop the Democrats' current misuse of the filibuster, they will find that a President Hillary Clinton and her pals will have no such problem in suddenly "discovering" that the Founding Fathers never intended judges or other Presidential appointments to be blocked in this manner." Read entire editorial. Meanwhile GOP pulls even in the PR war.  It's live ammo - remember that.

The UAL pension mess explained. Thanks, Prof. Bainbridge.

More on Bolton's enemies: One Janice O'Connell, a Cuba apologist on Sen. Dodd's staff. Bolton was clearly targeted, like Delay, as part of the ongoing pissing contest in DC. Novak has the details. Thanks, Powerline.

Always thought the Americans with Disabilities Act was insane. Right Thinking provides more reason to think so: a day care center run by the blind. When was common sense outlawed?

Stix rips Ellison's neo-feminism, in a piece entitled This is Your Brain on The New York Times: A sample:

Feminism’s contradictions. Back in the 1970s, feminism routinely condemned motherhood. But in recent years, yuppy feminists have discovered that children can be status symbols, just like expensive cars and summer homes (or at least, time-shares) in the Hamptons. Having or adopting a child shows the world that you can “have it all,” even if you rarely see the tyke. After all, what are illegal aliens for? Ellison is writing on the joys of motherhood for women who either have no children, or who neglect their children, but wish to get credit for their illegal nannies’ labors. Read entire in Intellectual Conservative.

The nonsense behind those color code terror alerts revealed by Ridge.

Alien prisoners in the US: The numbers and the cost.

A Necessary War but maybe not a Good War? Wheatcroft reflects on the myths of WW11. Click here: Boston.com / News / Boston Globe / Ideas / how_good_was_the_good_war

Kingdom of Heaven discussed by Chrenkoff.

PC can kill. The perils of political fashion, as outlined by Zinmeister. Click here: The American Enterprise: Political Fashion Can Hurt, Even Kill :

Just as we were assembling this special issue of The American Enterprise on political correctness, the Associated Press transmitted a story across the nation about the latest fashion in marking tests and homework at public schools. For generations, teachers have corrected answers and offered suggestions in red ink. "But that approach meant the kids often found their work covered in red," the story noted. And some parents objected. "Red writing, they said, was 'stressful.'" So schools have put red on the blacklist.

What are schools thinking? Red corrections worked for me. My self-esteem is my own problem, by the way. Plus self-respect is earned, not given. And self-esteem is a meaningless concept, psychobabble. Maybe I needed more red ink - I love incomplete sentences.

Does Al Libbi Matter? Some say not. Make up your own mind.

Zarquawi Letter: Sounds discouraged. Text here.

WaPo poll on "nuclear option" here. But who cares? Polls aren't elections. They aren't even news. They are filler, just like here.

Dean supports Sanders for Senate. Oh, man. Get real, Vermont.

Can Air America Fly on One Wing? The latest on this donor-supported broadcaster.

AARP is in in big trouble with me. A classic example of what Bird Dog wrote about last week - non-profits taking in dues and ignoring your wishes at HQ in DC. Their chief lobbyist here. These things deserve to be scandals.

Taking Putin for a Ride, #2 Welch in Reason: "For nearly 15 years, anxious Russologists like Thomas L. Friedman have urged Washington to ignore the security pleadings of the "buffer states," treat Moscow with the deference it craves, and above all else avoid waking up the sleeping bear. Bush has decisively thrown that advice into the dustbin of history. For the moment, at least, it looks like Bush was right."  Read entire. 

Behind the "Get Delay" movement: WSJ names the Leftist organizations here.

Dick Morris Predicts Condi vs Hillary. I predict that neither will be nominated.

Update on Aerospace in Jane's

Krauthammer on the Court: "Have that independence and supremacy been abused? Grossly. What other advanced democracy would radically legalize abortion by judicial decree rather than by democratic will expressed through legislatures or referendums? What sane democracy allows four unelected robed eminences in Massachusetts to revolutionize the very definition of marriage, the most ancient institution in society?

This is not just deeply undemocratic. It is politically crazy. Democracies work as stable social entities because when people are allowed to settle issues themselves by debate and ballot, they are infinitely more likely to accept the results when they lose. To deny them that participation is to risk instability and threaten social peace."  Read entire.

Adscam etc.: Good update on Canadian politics and the effect of adscam.

Who in Congress Takes the most Junkets? Not Delay.

Brawl at NYSE: The playground brawl among the boys from downtown continues at NYSE as lawsuits are filed over the proposed merger with Archipelago Holdings. It looks like John Thain and Goldman Sachs are in bed together again.

"Arianna's Blog Blows": According to LA Weekly.  Surprised?

Dems Slowly Understand Campaign Finance Reform: Yes, it is anti-free-speech. Unconstitutional, too. The solution to free speech is more free speech.

Sweden's Immigration Catastrophe: How soon will they become a Muslim theocracy? And now we have the wacko Islamist vote in the UK - thanks, Powerline.

Another Good Interview with Brian Anderson. Guess he's on the book tour.

Columbia Univ. Senate thinks it's Smarter than US Armed Forces: Damn disappointing, stupid, out-dated, and embarassing. How would they be with Al Quaida recruiting?

Anti-American Mosques in America: LGF is on the story.

Joe Klein on Hillary: He thinks she's a bad idea. But he likes her personally.

Global Cooling: Cooling could camouflage warming.

Bush Takes Putin for a Ride: Surprising photos.

VDH

We seem to post every VDH essay we come across. I guess we place him and Steyn in the pantheon of essayists. VDH's new piece on "presentism." He maybe overstates the case, but he has a point, which is this: if you believe human nature is malleable, history doesn't matter.

Decline and Fall of Germany

Germany's socialist tendencies will be their undoing. Now they blame global capitalism for their economic ills. Does that nation have a thing about blaming? And are they making "Anglo-Saxon" a racial slur? But weren't the Saxons Germans, basically? I will invest nothing in German business. Deutshe Bank, eat your heart out.

"The Germans are hardly alone. French President Jacques Chirac, faced with the possibility that his serfs may reject his precious European Constitution in a referendum later this month, is running around warning that "ultraliberals" with an "Anglo-Saxon" economic agenda are targeting the European welfare state.

But it is this welfare state to which Germans, and the rest of Europe, should be directing their ire. If unemployment is the evil for which the devil of capitalism is to blame, then a system which pays workers almost as much to stay home and watch football as it does to go out and earn a living is largely to blame."

Read entire piece in TCS.