D.C. prepares to soak its citizens for $200 million

As I related below, Washington, D.C. is planning to build a stadium for the relocating Montreal Expos.  Although the city's government is already cash-strapped, it promises to find some way to squeeze $200 million from its citizens for the new stadium.  That's just the construction costs.  The operating costs come later.

 

Doug Bandow writes in Tech Central Station that there is not yet a recorded instance where a publicly-funded stadium has been anything but a bottomless pit for tax dollars.  In addition, the long-term economic effect on the city in which the stadium is build ends up being a wash -- it leads more to a redistribution of leisure spending from residents than it does to an inflow of spending from outside the area.

 

Never mind the fact that rich team owners could build their own stadiums.  As long as local governments are happy to fleece the citizens in order to attract or retain a sports team, the owners have no real reason to part with their billions.

The future has already been written, thanks to AP's magical mystical time machine

Okay, checking the clock now, it's 2:42 p.m. Central time, September 30. Tonight's debate is still hours away, and the Associated Press already has an article on the wires speaking of the debate IN THE PAST TENSE. Here's how the story begins (Began? Begun? I can never get those time-travel verb tenses right.):

After a deluge of campaign speeches and hostile television ads, President Bush and challenger John Kerry got their chance to face each other directly Thursday night before an audience of tens of millions of voters in a high-stakes debate about terrorism, the Iraq war and the bloody aftermath.

The 90-minute encounter was particularly crucial for Kerry, trailing slightly in the polls and struggling for momentum less than five weeks before the election. The Democratic candidate faced the challenge of presenting himself as a credible commander in chief after a torrent of Republican criticism that he was prone to changing his positions.

UPDATE: Well, that didn't last long. The article has been retracted, so the above link no longer works. All is not lost, though! The entire article has been preserved here.

Some things in Campaign '04 just defy parody

If you're into offbeat election predictors, you could go with the interesting-but-hohum Halloween Mask Sale predictor, or you can take a walk on the wild side with Jackie Stallone's psychic dogs.

The [Los Angeles Times] said the dogs foresee the president will beat Democratic challenger John Kerry by 15 percent.

Jackie Stallone said her animals also predict California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will take advantage of a future constitutional amendment allowing foreign-born U.S. citizens to serve as president, and take on Kerry's running mate, John Edwards, in the presidential campaign of 2008. However, the dogs can't tell yet who will win that race.

How do the dogs get the word out?

Jackie Stallone has said her dogs channel messages from the spirit world and send them to her telepathically.

Dinner table conversations must be pretty entertaining when Sylvester comes home for a visit.

 

Expos possibly coming to DC, landowners may be ejected

Reader RJD alerted me to this article in the Washington Post reporting that the site chosen for construction of a new baseball stadium for the Montreal Expos (provided DC is selected as their new home) happens to belong currently to over two dozen property owners. This followup article indicates that the owners know that there's not much they can do to keep their property if the city wants it, and that the city will come out on the better end of any deals that are made:

Most of the dozen property owners interviewed last week said they are reluctant to sell their holdings but think they are somewhat helpless and resigned to having to do so if Washington gets a baseball team. They said they would try to negotiate the best price for their land, aware that the District has limited resources and is prepared to use the right of eminent domain to force a sale.

UPDATE: The Expos' move to DC appears to be a done deal.

CBS' Late Show mocks CBS Evening News

From the Media Research Center:

      CBS's Late Show with David Letterman on Monday and Tuesday night featured mocking promos for the CBS Evening News, complete with a real CBS Evening News on screen graphic and a realistic-sounding announcer.

     Monday's: "Tonight on the CBS Evening News: The latest on the presidential campaign, based on stuff we heard from a guy at the Steak n' Shake. Only on the CBS Evening News."

     Tuesday's, over matching photos: "Tonight on the CBS Evening News: What do Saddam Hussein, Ralph Nader, Britney Spears and these chickens have in common? We don't know, but we'll make something up by air time. That's tonight, only on the CBS Evening News."

     Not exactly a vote of confidence for the staff of CBS News when one of the shows on your own network finds you a ripe target for ridicule.

 

Whites-only business district proposal divides city

There is a city in the northern U.S. that is over 80% white. The fastest-growing part of the population is not the whites, but rather various minority groups. Even worse for the white majority, these minority groups, which include immigrant newcomers, are hardworking and entrepeneurial, and are steadily eating into the employment and business opportunities that traditionally have been enjoyed by the majority. The city was already economically distressed, so the decrease in opportunities for white workers has become a matter of serious concern.

The white-dominated city council, observing this trend with alarm, has endorsed a proposal to create a special business district reserved exclusively for white business owners. The proposal also sets up a government-backed loan program exclusively for whites.

Predictably, leaders of the various minority communities are up in arms. "We are opposed to any government action that distributes public money based on race," said an Asian-Pacific-American representative. Other minority groups have chimed in as well, insisting that the hard economic times are affecting everyone, and that if there is a government program, it should benefit everyone.

Pause.

Okay, time to 'fess up. Everything I related above is true, with one exception. The city, Detroit, is over 80% black. The Free Press reports that the proposal sets up a business district exclusively for black businesses. The loan fund would be reserved for blacks.

The reaction of the immigrant communities was as related above, but what I didn't mention was that the report in which the proposal is given refers to the immigrant communities in what appears to be a deliberately insulting manner:

The report refers to Dearborn as Arabtown, and says Hispanics, Asians and Arabs are classified as whites so they enjoy benefits denied blacks.

Detroit's Latino activists said they were galled by one reference that read: "Even though legal and illegal Hispanics constitute only 3 percent of Detroit's population and 90 percent have been in the country less than 25 years, Hispanics aggressively demand inclusion in local affirmative action programs and in elected positions ... Rather than either distinguishing the situation of blacks and Hispanics, or pointing out that blacks are the majority population and therefore can elect who they wish, local political forces have instead acceded to these demands."

At least one member of the city council recognized the obvious fact that the proposal could not legally be implemented, and so voted against it. On the other hand we have the Council President Pro Tem, who ignored the legal issues because of the perceived positive social impact for the black community, and so voted for the proposal.

I suppose that there are many observations to draw from this story, but there are two that I wish to highlight. First: whenever a society becomes accustomed to the idea of preferences for minority groups, it becomes inevitable that racial favors will be distributed unequally -- in proportion to the political power of each group. If one of the favored groups attains an absolute majority of power, that now-majority group will eventually attempt to manipulate the preference system so that their former fellow-victims are left out in the cold.

Second: In the name of benefiting a favored ethnic group, the clear intent of established law is often ignored. Although it's outside the scope of this particular story, it is also often true that anybody who raises this point is branded a racist. As I probably will be because of the fact that I've reported on this in a disapproving manner.

(Credit: Roger Clegg, NRO)

Something to remember between now and November

Making the e-mail rounds....


THIS IS A NONPARTISAN JOKE THAT CAN BE ENJOYED BY BOTH PARTIES!

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the man.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the senator. "I'm sorry but we have our rules."

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at expense of the people.

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, which really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him. "Now it's time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the head of state joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The senator reflects for a minute, then the senator answers "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder.

"I don't understand," stammers the senator. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now all there is a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning...... Today you voted.

(Credit: Thanks, Dad!)

US Supremes accept eminent domain abuse case

Potentially good news for those who believe that local governments have gone insane with the practice of seizing private property and giving it to someone who promises more tax revenues:

The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to decide when governments may seize people's homes and businesses for economic development projects, a key question as cash-strapped cities seek ways to generate tax revenue.

At issue is the scope of the Fifth Amendment, which allows governments to take private property through eminent domain, provided the owner is given "just compensation" and the land is for "public use."

This is the New London, Connecticut case -- one of the most egregious land-seizure cases currently in the legal system. Look at how New London justifies its intentions:

New London contends the condemnations are proper because the development plans serving a "public purpose" - such as boosting economic growth - are valid "public use" projects that outweigh the property rights of the homeowners.

This logic essentially destroys all barriers to land seizures -- land owners occupy their property at the pleasure of the local government. Even worse, the Connecticut Supremes endorsed the city's claim (emphasis added):

The Connecticut Supreme Court agreed with New London, ruling 4-3 in March that the mere promise of additional tax revenue justified the condemnation.

Here's to hoping that the U.S. Supremes restore some sanity to the fifth amendment by smacking the defendants silly.

(Credit: ETD)

AP is still shilling for environmental alarmists

Opening paragraph of an AP story on California's crippling new anti-smog regulations (emphasis added):

California air regulators on Friday unanimously approved the world's most ambitious rules to reduce the car emissions that contribute to global warming, a move that could bring sweeping changes to how the rest of the nation fights vehicle pollution.

Given the certainty of this assertion by the article's author, Tim Molloy, I was surprised to see this in the fifth paragraph:

 Heat-trapping greenhouse gases are believed by many scientists to contribute to global warming.

Keep the faith, Mr. Molloy!  Don't let the lack of scientific consensus deter you!

The curse of a "free" car

The consequences of Oprah's car giveaway illustrate just about everything that's wrong with our current income tax system.

The 'Star Wars' guide to Campaign 2004

Swimming Through the Spin has an outrageously funny analysis of which Star Wars characters Sen. Kerry and Pres. Bush most closely resemble.  Be sure to check the reader comments also.

 

(Credit: Best of the Web)

Reuters still shilling for Palestinian terrorists

Read this Reuters article about the family of the Palestinian woman who murdered two Israeli men in a suicide terror attack.  Here's how it begins:

Relatives of Zeinab Abu Salem had little time to absorb the shock after the 18-year-old blew herself up in a suicide attack in Jerusalem.

They rushed instead to empty the family home in the Palestinian refugee camp of Askar near the West Bank city of Nablus, expecting Israeli bulldozers to soon come to demolish it.

Reading the entire article, one would conclude that the woman came from a poverty-stricken family (thus supporting the myth that poverty breeds terror).  However, as it turns out, Zeinab Abu Salem's family is quite wealthy: she was the hostess of a children's program at a TV station owned by her family.

You'd never know that by reading Reuters dispatches, though.  And, as Best of the Web observes, Reuters can't spare any sympathy for the families of the two murdered men.

 

Some schools becoming peanut-free zones

I can certainly sympathize with the decision of this school district to ban peanut (and certain other nut) products -- my son is allergic to peanuts. I'm wondering, though: where were all of these sensitive people when I was growing up? The explanation given in the article does not seem persuasive:

An allergy specialist at Eastern Maine Medical Center says such allergies are on the rise because of an increasingly nut-rich American diet.

"On the rise"... I wasn't aware of any incidences of the allergy more than 15 or so years ago. They may have been there, but they were completely off the radar. I would also be interested in seeing some details regarding how the American diet has been increasingly nut-rich in recent years.

Law and morality

Dennis Prager nails an important distinction between the Left and (much of) the Right: the Left views law as an end in itself, rather than a means to an end.

In fact, since it lacks the self-control apparatus that is a major part of religion, the Left passes more and more laws to control people. That is why there is a direct link between the decline in Judeo-Christian religion and the increase in governmental laws controlling human behavior.

In a way, it might be dangerous if we small-government conservatives got our wish. So much of America has lost its moral compass that it can't function civilly without the heavy hand of law to regulate its behavior.

Texas Hill Country serenity

And now for something completely different.

I've been away from the blog for a few days due to some traveling and to an otherwise hectic schedule. This past weekend I took my wife and son to visit family in the Texas Hill Country. While there, I took this picture of the Guadalupe River at Ingram (about 5 miles from Kerrville). Click on the picture to see more detail. (Hi-res here)

The photo just oozes serenity, so much so that I've made it my desktop wallpaper as an antidote to the many stresses of the day. May it be so for you as well.

Great moments in journalism

Best of the Web credits the New York Times for "what may be the greatest headline ever":

Memos on Bush are Fake but Accurate, Typist Says

Boortz has a plan to save America

From today's Nuze:

How to save the nation? Get the subscription list for People Magazine. Revoke the voter registration of any person on that list.

Let me know if you need me to explain this.

Abagnale scoffs at inept forgeries

Frank Abagnale, Jr., the legendary con-man whose exploits were recounted in the movie Catch Me If You Can, is not impressed with the quality of the forged documents pushed by CBS.  The following is from an e-mail sent by one of Abagnale's associates:

Though Mr. Abagnale has not personally seen the documents or copies of the documents, from what he has seen on television he believes the documents are forgeries.  He feels this should be evident to anyone of any knowledge of forged documents.

I can tell you that he sent an e-mail to Neil Cavuto of Your World on Fox News Network (he knows him personally) that stated:  "If my forgeries looked as bad as the CBS documents, it would have been "Catch Me In Two Days".

Still an Army of One

Boortz: Despite overwhelming evidence that the incriminating National Guard documents are complete forgeries, "CBS continues to drink the Kerry campaign Kool-Aid."  All for the sake of their star Dan Rather, of course. 

 

Mr. Rather continues his tradition of rushing forth where even his fellow liberals are reluctant to tread.

Democrats doing what Democrats do best

Novak reports that lawyers for the Democratic Party are systematically working to push leftist presidential candidate Ralph Nader off the ballot in as many states as possible.  They have already succeeded in a handful of states, but only one of these states (Arizona) is considered to be a tossup.

 

The Dems are showing that their efforts following the 2000 presidential election were not an anomaly.  It seems to now be a standard part of their campaign toolkit to use the courts to achieve political goals that are not otherwise achievable at the ballot box.  I doubt that anybody will be surprised to see them do the same this November.

Zell Miller answers his critics

Miller has written an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal to respond to the left's fury over his speech at the Republican Convention.  Here's a sample:

A lot has been said about my angry demeanor. I've made enough speeches to know that you're supposed to connect with the audience by telling a joke or a humorous anecdote or some amusing tale. It's a tried-and-true formula that I've used for most of my life. But this was not a normal speech in a normal time.

Today, we are at the most serious moment of history that we may ever know, and I wanted to connect with the seriousness of this moment, not the audience.

Although Miller continues to share many of the values of the Democratic Party, he understands the times better than any other prominent Democrat...and he's man enough to say so, regardless of the political consequences.  For that reason, he has my admiration.

From brouhaha to kerfuffle

In response to Jesse Jackson Sr. and Jr.'s demand for the abolition of the Electoral College, Opinion Journal looks into the Pandora's Box that would be opened by such a change:

Direct popular election would also vastly increase the risk of corruption and electoral disputes. With every vote competing directly against every other vote, dishonest politicians everywhere would have an incentive to engage in fraud on behalf of their parties. And a close race would make the 2000 Florida brouhaha look like a kerfuffle. Every one of the nation's 3,066 counties could expect to be overrun by lawyers demanding recounts.

They also note that the required constitutional amendment is unlikely to gain ratification by a two-thirds majority of the states:

The effort to institute direct popular election of the President is also likely to go nowhere. That's because the Electoral College benefits two groups of states--sparsely populated ones, whose representation in the College is disproportionately high relative to their populations, and closely divided "swing" states like Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, where both parties have a decent shot at winning.

Based on 2000 Census data and election results, only 11 states are both populous and politically monolithic enough that their influence would grow with popular election of the President: California, Texas, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts, Indiana and Maryland. Amending the Constitution to abolish the Electoral College would require the assent of 38 state legislatures, so at least 27 of them would have to vote against the interests of their own states.

 

Can we dispense with the euphemisms now, please?

Lileks on the Beslan massacre:

Hundreds of children dead. Hundreds missing. Children bayoneted for requesting a drink. Children shot in the back as they fled. Does the word "evildoers" still seem so laughably simplistic?

Do the terms guerrilla and "militant" and "gunmen" and every other wire-service euphemisms for Islamist terrorists rise to the challenge of describing the depravities of Beslan?

Even the word "terrorist" seems inadequate nowadays, drained of its dread through overuse. "Monsters" or "devils" would be more apt, but it's wrong to dehumanize the men and women who committed this barbarity. Even dogs know other dogs are dogs. These people don't see others as people at all, but animate meat in thrall to the wrong god. Better off dead, really. And you get gold stars in Paradise for pulling the trigger. How do you vanquish such people?

Read the whole article, then check here to see speculation on how such an atrocity might happen in our country.

The sum of good government

[A] wise and frugal government...shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum ofgood government.

--Thomas Jefferson

(Courtesy of The Federalist's "Founders Quote Daily")

9/11/2001 online

As the events of September 11, 2001 unfolded I remember trying without success to gather information on the Internet.  All news sites were overwhelmed to the point where I just stopped trying.  Secondary news sources like the conservative Free Republic website were similarly overwhelmed -- I don't think I ever got a page load from that site on that day.  On that one day, the broadcast and cable media were a more available source of news than was the Internet.

 

Those who were able to access Free Republic were going nuts as they related what they were hearing on a moment by moment basis.  The Patriot Edition has done the service of compiling links to FR's "live threads" from that morning.  Whatever one's political persuasion, it's hard to read these without feeling a chill while reading as the thread participants come to the realization that the crash of the first plane at the WTC was not just a horrible tragedy...

An excellent question for Bill Frist

Robert Novak relates an interesting exchange between Phyllis Schlafly and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist at the GOP convention:

Conservative leader Phyllis Schlafly responded to a conciliatory gesture by Sen. Bill Frist by gently suggesting that he should be as tough in his day job as Senate majority leader as he was in chairing the platform committee at the Republican National Convention.

 

Schlafly had grumbled that Frist acted like an old-fashioned Soviet Communist in blocking her efforts to modify the immigration and stem-cell research planks. After the platform was wrapped up, Frist approached her to make some friendly remarks. Schlafly responded, with a smile: "I have only one question. Why can't you run the Senate this way?" Frist has been criticized for not being more effective as majority leader.

Given that the minority party has been walking all over the majority party in the current Senate, I would say that Schlafly's question is right on the money.

 

 

The horses are already lining up for 2008

Human Events reports that the names of as many as eleven Republicans are already being circulated as possible successors to President Bush, should he win a second term.  Since VP Cheney's questionable health makes it possible that he won't seek the nomination, the field is considered to be wide open.  Some of these men were gladhanding delegates at this week's convention.  Apart from Cheney, here are the ten that Human Events sees as potential candidates:

• New York governor George Pataki
• Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani
• Virginia Senator George Allen
• Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel
• Tennessee Senator and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
• Massachussetts Governor Mitt Romney
• Colorado Governor Bill Owens
• Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum
• Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge
• NATO Supreme Commander Gen. James Jones (who??).

Conspicuous by their absence are Arizona Senator John McCain (little loved by conservatives) and National Security Advisor Condi Rice (much admired by conservatives).

 

The point was made over at Free Republic that in presidential races, history has favored governors rather than senators and representatives (unless they first served as VP).  Statistically speaking, that knocks out almost half of the above list.  Some of the others have their own albatrosses, for example: Jones (obscurity), Pataki, Giuliani and Romney (socially liberal). 

 

Current events, however, point to the likelihood that the war on terror will still be trumping most other issues in the minds of the voters.  It remains to be seen who will be ready and able to rise to this challenge.

The offense of moral clarity

The Democrats and their media allies have never bothered to hide their distaste for the moral clarity of President Bush's worldview.  Zell Miller displayed a similar clarity Wednesday night, and the media wasted no time loosing their artillery on him (and on Dick Cheney, who was less forceful, but who also said things that apparently hurt the Massachusetts senator's feelings).

 

Tech tangent: 'Disposable' digital cameras?

Reuters reports that CVS Pharmacies are now selling a one-time-use digital camera, similar in concept to a one-time-use film camera.  Pay $20, and you get a camera with many of the features of a normal digital camera: color LCD viewfinder/preview, flash, exposure control, timer, delete.  Pay $10, and you get the above without the LCD. 

 

The camera stores up to 25 pictures (the deleted pictures don't count against this total).  When you're done taking the pictures, you return the camera to CVS and (for an additional fee, presumably) they give you prints and a photo CD.  CVS then "recycles" the camera for use by the next customer.

 

I suppose that those who like 'disposable' film cameras will embrace the new technology as well, but it seems like the early adopters are going to get soaked.  $20 (plus processing) is IMO far too steep. 

 

In my own experience, people with digital cameras take far more pictures than those with film cameras, mainly because there is no additional cost associated with additional photos.  With my digital camera, I am likely to take far more than 25 pictures at a given event.  The CVS camera seems to be designed on the assumption that the customer will take pictures sparingly, as if it were a film camera.

 

A customer who uses such a camera for just a few events has already paid for a regular camera of similar quality.  Oh, well... as the saying goes: it's their money.

 

Another significant cultural divide

The Washington Post reports (in an article cleverly titled "From Here to Maternity") that people in the "red" (GOP-dominant/leaning) states are reproducing more rapidly than people in the "blue" (Democrat-dominant/leaning) states. In fact, the fertility rate in red states is above population replacement levels, while the rate in the blue states is below replacement levels. Maybe we should just wait this out*.

Best of the Web sees this as a different way of describing what it calls the "Roe Effect":

If a pregnant woman chooses tomorrow to have an abortion, the result in 2021 [18 years after the article was written] will be one fewer eligible voter--and that's a statement of fact, not a moral judgment. If tens of millions of women have abortions over decades, as they have, it will eventually have a significant effect on the voting-age population.

Not all women, after all, are equally likely to have abortions. It's almost a truism that women who have abortions are more pro-choice than those who carry their pregnancies to term, and it stands to reason that they generally have more-liberal attitudes about sex and religion. It also seems reasonable to assume that parents have some influence on their children, so that if liberal women are having abortions, the next generation will be more conservative than it otherwise would be.

^*Note for the humor-impaired: Just kidding.

Zell Miller, class act

Georgia Democratic Senator Zell Miller gave one of the best speeches heard thus far at the convention.  One reason his speech resonates so well with me is that he is so obviously driven by principles rather than politics, and is willing to go wherever those principles lead him.  You can read the entire speech here.

 

Kerry spokeswoman Debra Deshong said that Miller's speech was "full of lies and distortions".  Does she mean, for example, that Sen. Kerry in fact voted for funding of the B1 and B2 bombers, F14-As, F-14Ds, F15s, Apache helicopters, Patriot Missiles, Aegis destroyers, etc., etc.?  I anxiously await the Kerry campaign's documentation of these and other "lies and distortions".  Of course, Kerry has been running as if he never served in the Senate, so it wouldn't do to keep his voting record in the limelight.

 

Rather than deal with the substance of Miller's charges, Deshong simply dismisses him by saying he is "not a Democrat".  She's quite right in that Miller has no place in the modern Democratic party, which bears no resemblance to the party of Miller's youth.

Bias most egregious

The Reuters news service has long had a reputation among conservatives of having a leftward bias that stands out even among its brethren in the mainstream media.  It came as no surprise, then, to hear that the National Right to Life Committee was blasted in a private e-mail from a Reuters editor writing in response to an NRLC press release on partial-birth abortion:

What's your plan for parenting & educating all the unwanted children you people want to bring into the world? Who will pay for policing our streets & maintaining the prisons needed to contain them when you, their parents & the system fail them?  Oh, sorry.  All that money has been earmarked to pay off the Bush deficit.  Give me a frigging break, will you?

What is surprising, though, is that the editor may in fact face discipline for his indiscretion.

Studiously avoiding commentary on the convention

Let's see, now.  Four days since my last post.  Nothing about the Republican convention.

 

My goal on this blog is to focus not on the rough and tumble of day-to-day politics, but rather on the big ideas and philosophies (often unacknowledged) that drive the debates on the political, cultural and religious issues of the day.  I stray from that goal from time to time, but I feel really bad about it afterwards.

 

Although my schedule has been tight, I have been following the convention second-hand, reading opinion pieces and speech transcripts.  If I see something that pushes my buttons, I'll be all over it.  If you see something that you think I ought to get exercised over, feel free to leave a comment (or contact me privately).

 

Besides, I don't have anything approaching the raw energy and enthusiasm of the various tier-one bloggers, including Neal Boortz, Charles Johnson and uber-linker Glenn Reynolds.  Check them out for some good fine-grain analysis of the convention.