Pelosi’s Charge?

William Faulkner on Pickett’s Charge::

For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it’s still not yet two oclock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail fence, the guns are laid and ready in the woods and the furled flags are already loosened to break out and Pickett himself with his long oiled ringlets and his hat in one hand probably and his sword in the other looking up the hill waiting for Longstreet to give the word and it’s all in the balance, it hasn’t happened yet, it hasn’t even begun yet, it not only hasn’t begun yet but there is stll time for it not to begin against that position and those circumstances which made more men than Garnett and Kemper and Armstead and Wilcox look grave yet it’s going to begin, we all know that, we have come too far with too much at stake and that moment doesn’t need even a fourteen-year-old boy to think This time. Maybe this time with all this much to lose and all this much to gain: Pennsylvania, Maryland, the world, the golden dome of Washington itself to crown with desperate and unbelievable victory the desperate gamble, the cast made two years ago….

I have not the least doubt that had Faulkner been fourteen on that July afternoon, he too would stepped over the rail fence and into the guns.

From the Associated Press:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged her colleagues to back a major overhaul of U.S. health care even if it threatens their political careers, a call to arms that underscores the issue’s massive role in this election year.

Lawmakers sometimes must enact policies that, even if unpopular at the moment, will help the public, Pelosi said in an interview being broadcast Sunday the ABC News program “This Week.”

“We’re not here just to self-perpetuate our service in Congress,” she said. “We’re here to do the job for the American people.”

Alas two problems.   One unlike George Pickett, Nancy Pelosi is not going to lead the charge.   Pelosi is  from a die hard San Francisco district,  and her seat is not at risk.   Further, unlike the soldiers in the divisions of Pickett, Pettigrew, and Trimble  who put their cause above their personal security.   Pelosi’s troops will not put their political careers ahead  of Mrs. Pelosi’s ideology.   I expect Mrs. Peloso to wave her bonnet.  I don’t expect her would be troops to actually follow her.

Just how dumb is Barack Obama, American Conservative:

I realize I’m just your average Joe Schmo, but I do know the difference between liability insurance and collision insurance. I also know that when another driver hits my car from behind, that driver is responsible for the repairs.

Now honestly if Obama doesn’t know the difference between liability and collision insurance, do we honestly want him running our health care? It’s my health, it’s my choice!

Video:

The difference between liability and collision insurance is high school materials.   And Obama claims to have graduated from college.  Was Dumbo snorting cocaine when they covered auto insurance in high school?

Is Obamacare dead? Ed Morrissey, Hot Air, reports that Obama’s last route, budget reconciliation, may be a no go:

No wonder the Times was so pessimistic about reconciliation.  Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), who runs the committee that would have to run a reconciliation push, says that the budgetary process can’t be used for ObamaCare.

Has Mrs. Pelosi been inhaling too much medical marijuana?

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is questioning whether the conservative “tea party” coalition truly represents a grass-roots movement.

In a broadcast interview, Pelosi calls tea party voters the “astroturf” movement. She says many of those voters have good intentions but that the Republican Party has hijacked the movement for its gain.

Questions:

• If the tea party movement are now would be democrats, will  MSNBC still refer to them as “tea bagger?”
• If the tea party movement, is astroturf, who’s is behind it?   Mrs. Pelosi acused the republcans of hijacking the movement.   So therefore, the tea party can have been fronted by republicans.
• By Mrs. Pelosi logic, such as it is, how can the tea party have both republicans and good intentions?

Does Mrs. Pelosi know of what she speaks?  Hell no.  Does Al Gore?

IPCC to review Algore’s “settled science”, Wall Street Journal:

The IPCC strives to ensure that its procedures for use of published material in the preparation of its assessment reports are followed in all respects. But we recognize the criticism that has been leveled at us, and the need to respond. While embarking on the preparation of its Fifth Assessment Report it was the intention of the IPCC that an independent committee of distinguished experts evaluate means by which IPCC procedures must be implemented fully and that they should also examine any changes in procedure that may be required. The proposal to set up such an independent committee was conveyed to governments by the IPCC Secretariat in a communication dated Tuesday 16 February.

Stents as Good as Surgery at Preventing Stroke, Charlene Laino,  WebMD:

Less Invasive Approach Works as Well as Gold Standard

WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDFeb. 26, 2010 (San Antonio) — A less invasive approach for clearing clogged neck arteries proved just as effective and safe as surgical treatment for preventing strokes in high-risk patients, according to the largest comparison of the two procedures.

Stenting, in which flexible mesh tubes are used to prop open blocked blood vessels, is widely used to clear plaque-clogged coronary arteries, which cause heart attacks. More recently, it has been used to open blocked neck arteries that lead to strokes, but surgery called carotid endarterectomy remains the gold standard.

If stents work well,  save lives, surgeries and saves money in the process why on God’s Green Earth does Dirty Harry Reid want to tax them?

Photoshop of the day, Eric we got one more for the milk carton collection.  Hat tip: Fausta

Kennedy Paul entitlement syndrome,  Ron Paul (R-TX) is being challenged in the primary, and Paul is not taking it like a man, but rather like a Kennedy, Alex Isenstadt, Politico:

“These candidates include three Republicans in my own primary on March 2,”

Congressman, grow a pair.   As Scott Brown might say, it is not your seat, it is the People’s seat.  Hat tip:   Ed Morrissey, Hot Air.

Mrs Pelosi’s Swam, Ja1ed Allen, Hill:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she’s once again sticking by embattled Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) — at least for now.

Pelosi (D-Calif.) said during a Friday press conference that she had not yet read the full report from the ethics committee, which admonished Rangel, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, for improperly accepting reimbursement for two trips to the Caribbean.

More background on Dr. Amy Bishop, Huntsville Times:.

Newt nails Dumbo, video:

Hat tip: Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit.

Paul Ryan deconstructs Obama Care, video:

Hat:  David Freddoso, Washington Examiner.

Yeah, I know, I’ve not written in a while. My schedule, alas is no longer my own in this new role as a student driver for a long-haul trucking company.

I can say that I’m covering huge amounts of ground, covering Ohio, Indiana, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas and New Mexico so far. It’ss a huge country this and you don’t really understand how vast and varied it really is until you drive across it, as I have done this week.

I’m learning quite a bit, and truth to tell the work itself is a blast. But frankly, I miss my wife and my family terribly.  I’m also a little annoyed at feeling so ‘off the grid’.

I’m taking pictures as I go and I’ll post them here as I can.

From here, it’s on to Chicago, and the who knows…..

Dumbo proven right, for once. The dim witted one said that if he were elected  president, the rise of the oceans would stop, Guardian (UK)

Climate scientists withdraw journal claims of rising sea levels

Study claimed in 2009 that sea levels would rise by up to 82cm by the end of century – but the report’s author now says true estimate is still unknown

And who said it would never happen?

Alas he just sounds like he is wrong, video:

Hat tip:  Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit.

‘Rats push back on Dumbo, Wall Street Journal:

Eight Democratic Senators from coal and manufacturing states warned the Obama Administration Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency’s plans to regulate greenhouse gases could hurt the economy.

Dope from Hope half right as well,  Politico

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee blasted the Conservative Political Action Conference Saturday as outdated, nearly corrupt and unrepresentative of the conservative movement.

Huckabee, a 2008 Republican presidential contender and potential 2012 candidate who had spoken at the conference for years.

I agree with Huckabee that the conservative credentials of CPAC are suspect.   However Huckabee remains a big government tax and spend liberal, who just happens to be pro-life.

Bill Bennett spanks Glenn Beck, from Jennifer Rubin, Commentary:

“The first task of a serious political analyst is to see things as they are. There is a difference between morning and night. There is a difference between drunk and sober. And there is a difference between the Republican and Democratic parties. To ignore these differences, or propagate the myth that they don’t exist, is not only discouraging, it is dangerous.”

To aver that there is no difference between democrats and republicans, between the like of Nancy Pelosi and Sarah Palin, is to as politically relevant, and as sane, as Ralph Nader.  Say good night Glenn.

And in turn, Michelle spanks Bill:, link:

“Even John McCain has said again and again that ‘the Republican party lost its way.'”

“Even John McCain?” The Republican party “lost its way” on core limited government principles because of McCain’s radical progressive agenda. Question for Mr. Bennett: Can you please provide the exact citation and context of the so-called admission you attribute to McCain?

John McCain was the price republicans paid for letting democrats pick our moniness.

Force of Will, video:

Hat tip: Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit.

WWW.JonesToTheGrindstone.COM

Part 1 of a multi-part series

Having the experience of being an Air Force Officer’s wife for fifteen plus years has revealed to me some traits that would create the perfect military wife. If these qualities could be rolled-up into one woman and then some secret military lab could clone that woman repeatedly—the government would have quite the ideal bridal cache to issue to its active duty force.

[Caption: Like a rodeo clown…]

Trait: The ability to successfully adapt to constant change is necessary, for change is the one constant in the military lifestyle.

For example, when the military member is getting deployed there are dates and locations that are initially put forth as “the plan.” The wife cannot count on this original, official itinerary to remain static and unchanged, but should view it more like a first draft. This plan can and will be changed an innumerable amount of times before something is set in stone.

One time, my husband had a two month heads-up that he was going to Camp Victory, Iraq, for six months. Two months notice is excellent. Well, that got abruptly modified to a five day notice. Oh, and the return date kept changing back and forth, up and down—interfering with our date to move to another state.  Those five days were just enough time to squeeze in an Anthrax shot, get some new uniforms, give a good-bye speech to the squadron, and throw a little party at home to wish him “bon voyage.” Well, never mind. A couple of days later the trip was reassigned to someone else. Imagine that guy’s wife’s reaction!

I was RELIEVED that my husband didn’t have to go; but, I had been on pins and needles and running on empty every minute of those five days to get everything done and squared away. Not only had I been needlessly worrying myself to death about his pending Iraqi vacation, but I had to go through the rigmarole of returning the going-away gifts, making a shitload of phone calls to friends and family explaining what had happened, and also telling the kids that Daddy wasn’t going anywhere anymore. Yes, those are all happy activities, but I was completely spent. I had been reduced to a wisp of a person and my story isn’t nearly as bad as some out there.

Having multiple, major shifts in life impacting expectations is mentally and physically draining. The perfect military wife would take the ever-updated news in stride. She would pack his mobility bag with a proud smile, handle the stress in style, throw the best parties in his honor, and send him off with the best sex he’s ever had. However, I have yet to meet a woman like that. Usually the wife is all beat-up, keeping a good front for the children, and trying to make the best of things without crumpling into a wad on the living room floor. In reality, having to deal with the stress is like being a rodeo clown in an arena full of angry bulls—sudden, threatening moves coming one after the other and being in constant need of new strategy. If you aren’t able to adjust to the newest move, you’re shredded.

Yet again, we are asked to believe the UN deserves special exemptions from its own preachings

Claudia Rosett, Pajama Media, via Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit

Missed it by that much, being seen at CPAC, Glenn Renolds, Instapundit.

A short history of a big success, Michelle on Hot Air:

The traffic and popularity of the site[Hot Air] — from 0 to more than 25 million page views a month last fall in the short span of four years, with plaudits too many to track — show that you do, too

Nobody does it better.

William A. Jacobson, ponders on the meme of  “white privilege”“, Legal Insurrection:

It is impossible to disprove “white privilege” because the concept does not rely on proof of discrimination in a particular situation. The absence of proof is proof.

It is true that you can not disprove a theory which is not falsifiable.   However  white privilege is not fact, but merely a possible explanation, of many.   Reference to the success of Hot Air, Michelle Malkin is nether white, nor male.   The theory of white privilege can not explain Malkin’s success.   On the other hand, hard work and talent can.   Back at you bigots

Mrs. Palin goes to Illinois, Lynn Sweet, Sun-Times (Chicago):

Will Sarah Palin play in Peoria? Except for a brief stop in Chicago to tape an Oprah Winfrey show last November, Palin’s first public appearance in Illinois will be April 17 in Washington, a town of about 14,000 near Peoria.

The local community center — called Five Points Washington — booked Palin for a speech and a dinner to raise money for a parking lot, youth scholarships and other projects. The 1,000 tickets sold out in a day. With VIP receptions thrown in, the center’s gross — according to my calculations — should be about $235,000, minus Palin’s fee, which is in the $100,000 ballpark.

To bee or not to bee, Betsy Newmark, Betsy’s Page:

Spelling is not an unnecessary skill

Duke University is going to sponsor the local spelling bee for this region of North Carolina. I’m very happy to see this since we haven’t had a regional spelling bee for over a decade when the school district decided to do away with spelling bees since they thought the bees put too much pressure on the children and celebrated an unnecessary skill in these days of spellchecks.

A spelling bee might be politically dangerous.   From what I have seen, they tend to be dominated by home schooled children of pallor.    As  for me, speling was my best subject.

George Will gets awfully close to the truth.   Anthropogenic global warming is a science.  It is a religion, from the Washington Post:

Last week, Todd Stern, America’s Special Envoy for Climate Change — yes, there is one; and people wonder where to begin cutting government — warned that those interested in “undermining action on climate change” will seize on “whatever tidbit they can find.” Tidbits like specious science, and the absence of warming?

It is tempting to say, only half in jest, that Stern’s portfolio violates the First Amendment, which forbids government from undertaking the establishment of religion.

Hell no, I will not by homage to Al Gore’s religion of the Earth.  Will you”

Will the Senator accept the terms and limitations of Obamacare, WNYC:

NEW YORK, NY February 19, 2010 —New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg, 86, has been diagnosed with stomach cancer.

Lautenberg will undergo six to eight chemotherapy treatments, in three-week intervals, and is expected to make a full recovery, according to a statement released by his office.

No death panels for the senator.  Obamacare will only be for the little people, like you.

More Andy, tell what you really think, video:

Hat tip: Jeff Poor, Newbusters.

How’s that Buddism thing working for ya Tiger,, video (painful):

I think Brit Hume had a point.

Good backgrounder an Amy Bishop,  Kathy Garriott,  American Thinker.  No business would survive using the university style tenure system as a model.    Experience is all well and good, but too much job security produces too little motivation.

General Alexander M. Haig, United State Army, died today at age 85,  from Mark Feeney, Boston Globe:

Alexander M. Haig Jr., who as secretary of state declared “I’m in control here” when Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981, and as White House chief of staff seven years earlier was so much in control as to be effectively running the government during the final days of the Nixon administration, died today of complications from an infection, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where he was surrounded by his family, according to two of his children, Alexander and Barbara.

[…]

After serving on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur in occupied Japan, General Haig saw combat in Korea, taking part in the Inchon landing, and earning his first military decorations. General Haig was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star with oak leaf cluster, Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross with 2 oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with 23 oak leaf clusters, and Purple Heart (for an eye wound suffered in Vietnam).

Salute.

International Atomic Energy Agency pulls head out.  There as been a change at at the head of the IAEA.  Wereas the old head, Mohamed ElBaradei, had his head buried whee ithe Sun never shines nad by the way is alos smells bad, the new head Yukiya Amano, has stopped and smell Iran’s nuclear weapons programs.   Paul Reynolds,  BBC,  explains the difference  between Amano and El Baradei:

Where Mr El Baradei avoids the word “current” and is reluctant to link his “concerns” to “possible military dimensions”, Mr Amano does just that.

Now if the White House will only get the memo, Bridget Johnson, Hill:

“We do not believe they have the capability to enrich to the degree they say they are enriching,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at last Thursday’s daily briefing.

But the IAEA report said that Iran had hit 19.8 percent enrichment on two days last week.

Who we Paleface Bob?

Liz fix, Liz Cheney kicks Kieth Olbermann’s butt in the most lady like manner, video:

Hat tip: Nice Deb.

Blonds can’t tell jokes. Andrea Fay Friedman, the voice actress who played Ellen on the Family Guy segment which mocks Sarah Palin responds, from Glynnis MacNicol, Mediate:

My name is Andrea Fay Friedman. I was born with Down syndrome. I played the role of Ellen on the “Extra Large Medium” episode of Family Guy that was broadcast on Valentine’s day. Although they gave me red hair on the show, I am really a blonde. I also wore a red wig for my role in ” Smudge” but I was a blonde in “Life Goes On”. I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line “I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska” was very funny. I think the word is “sarcasm”.

In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life.

My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes.

If  there was supposed be joke in Friedman’s segment, I sure didn’t get it.    Comedians tell lots of jokes, because some people get a particular joke and others just don’t.    Now my best one is, while I standing in the frigid New York State weather to say my best droll “global warming.”   So far it has worked every time, but it you don’t happen to get the joke,  I can’t say it was because you lack a sense humor.    I believe all sane people has a sense of humor.   It is an essential survival tool.

Come on Andy, tell what you really think of Rachel Maddow, Kenneth P. Vogel, Politioo

“The left’s Alinsky tactics — that’s you Rachel Maddow — of isolating Sarah Palin or her poor children and beating on them, beating on them, beating on them … [won’t succeed] with the tea party movement. …You can call them racists and homophobes. But those tricks aren’t working anymore, because people are saying, ‘This is ridiculous.'”

Out.

In my years as a youngster I never thought that we would be seriously discussing whether Marijuana should be considered either for medicinal or recreational usage.  And as a conservative, I would have never thought that we would need to spend the time debating the pros and cons without a lot of easy standard lines: “It’s a Gateway Drug”, “Kills Brain Cells”, “Highly Addictive”.

But here we are, and frankly, I’m not prepared to just discard the discussion as unimportant or too obvious to spend time on.  That would be both a disservice and inconsistent with my belief that positions on policy should be reviewed and when challenged, they should be openly and honestly discussed.

I’m not a doctor, nor have I had the time to study this at such a level of depth as to call myself an “expert” on the topic.  But I have discussed this with doctors I know, and I’ve looked at some of the information currently available (here, here, here and here).  I’ve also been around friends that were regular users of Marijuana, and I even took one deep breath of the stuff (from a pipe) when I was younger.  Yes, I inhaled.  Didn’t like it.  And I was a tobacco smoker at the time.

Most of us here in the Midwest tend to just laugh at California for legalizing Marijuana for medicinal use.  We could have more or less predicted that dispensaries would become dealers for all who wanted, not just those that actually needed it.  And as the debate is building here in Iowa, along with a new recommendation from the Iowa Pharmacy Board to proceed with legalizing the medicinal use of Marijuana, many assumptions and absolutes of the past are now being challenged.

My biggest concern about this issue, as with most political issues, is the level of emotion injected into the conversation.  I have watched intelligent people who have a compelling argument fall apart in the midst of the anger and fear that can be associated with issues like this.

“How many people have lost loved ones to the side-effects of drugs?”

“What business is it of yours to tell me what I can do in my own hom”

“How many people have been victims of actions by those under the influence of Marijuana?”

“Don’t you care about people who are suffering?”

“How could anyone possibly think that making Marijuana available to anyone is a good thing?”

“This is part of my religion, and I have the right to practice my religion!”

“We have to protect our children, society, our country’s national interests!”

“You’re living in the Dark Ages!”

And so on.  Don’t get me wrong, fear and anger and love are all very real and important feelings that will naturally have an influence over how you look at this issue.  But allowing them to be too intense will certainly cloud your judgement.

I don’t pretend to have all of the answers.  However, it seems that the research and opinions of people on both sides of the issue tend to be fairly consistent regarding Marijuana use in these regards:

• The effects of the drug typically last for no more than a few hours.
• The impact on the brain and body during the effected period is not trivial, and apparently not permanent in most regards.
• During the effective period of the drug, memory is impacted and under heavier use hallucinations and delusions may occur.  It is fair to say that while a person is “stoned”, their behavior and ability to reason is impaired.
• The drug has some valuable medicinal effects, including pain relief, nausea control, appetite stimulation

I’m not convinced that withholding access to Marijuana for medicinal purposes is a necessary control for our society.  If the value is real, and managed under the control of a medical professional like any other prescription drug, then I support the use of the drug to help patients in need.  As the use grows, I do hope that improvements in synthetics (Marinol) and other delivery technologies will eliminate the need for patients to smoke the drug, but the current state of delivery technology is apparently in flux, and likely because of the strained legal situation.

Why?  Because I have yet to see any substantive research that leads me to believe we should treat Marijuana unlike other prescription narcotics.  A good friend of mine, a politically conservative doctor whom I trust, supports this view.  I just don’t see any compelling reason to do otherwise.

Using the drug will clearly require not only access controls, but behavior controls for the patient.  Obviously, many patients that would use the drug are not in a position to drive a car or control heavy machinery, but the facts of the drugs impact on behavior need to be taken into proper account whenever it is dispensed.

An entirely separate discussion is required for recreational use of Marijuana.  At this point, I lack the will to address it since the pressure is not on (yet) to legalize the drug for casual use.  I am not naive; medicinal use is certainly an incremental step toward general access for some people involved in the medicinal discussion.  However, I think the recreational discussion does deserve the same thoughtful exchange of ideas and information to reach an informed conclusion, with the added area of how to classify and control the drug for general use, in a category similar to Alcohol and Tobacco.  Wider use will lead to issues with driving, working, public behavior, etc., and I expect that there will be even more emotion involved.  We will talk about this topic in the future.

Marijuana should be treated as any other prescription drug.  Although there are clearly hazards with using the drug, they seem no more of a risk than those associated with narcotics that are routinely dispensed.  It seems unreasonably punitive to restrict access to those who truly need it, and unnecessary to control the drug any differently than any narcotic-classed product.

Poor Joe doesn’t even now the current century, Breitbart:

“I refuse to accept the notion that the United States of America is not going to lead the world economically throughout the 20th Century.”

Hard to believe that Joes doesn’t drink.  So what is his excuse?

video:

Silly Gilly, vudeo

See, I didn’t make any blonde jokes.

But Harold does it better, Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY):

Harold Ford Jr. will be in Rochester today, visiting Nick Tahou Hots on W. Main St. at noon and meeting with Mayor Robert Duffy in City Hall at 1 p.m.

Ford, a former congressman from Tennessee, is considering a run for U.S. Senate. He would compete in a Democratic primary against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who was appointed by Gov. David Paterson last year.

I sure would like to know what, if anything, Harold ate.   At least in knows what Rochester find dining establishment is..

Losing Coal Country, Jennifer Rubin, Commentary:

This report suggests that the Democrats are in for some trouble in Virginia and other conservative congressional districts that had been voting Democratic of late

Blowing the Stack, Andrew Joseph Stack’s diatribe, from Smoking Gun.   Nut job?  Left or right wing?   What’s your call?

The female version of Freddy Kruger is back, from Johnathan Turley{

Crystal Gale Mangum, 33, has been charged with attempted murder and arson. Mangum was the stripper who falsely accused members of the Duke lacrosse team.

Mangum allegedly assaulted her boyfriend, threatened to stab him and set his clothes on fire in the bathroom.

From La Shawn Barber:

I never thought I’d ever write the name “Crystal Mangum” on this blog again. Back in March 2006, the then-prostitute and stripper accused three Duke University lacrosse players of gang-raping her in a small bathroom at a house party. Mangum said the three men beat and choked her, and orally, vaginally, and anally raped her.

Reasonable people knew she was lying. A southern version of Tawana Brawley.

I accused Mangum of lying early on, and I caught heat for it. Unfortunately for them, it added fuel to my fire. Check out the Duke Rape Archives. Lots of stuff. Also see Wikipedia’s entry for more information.

I have nothing good to  say about Miss Mangum, and nothing to add to La Shawn’s description.    I’ll await for some liberal wack job to attempt to link Mangum to  the Tea Parties.