Kathleen Parker: Illegal License

Mrs.  Clinton proves she does not understand the problem with illegal immigration..    Her husband compounded his wife’s problem by complaining that Tim Russert’s question could not be answered in thirty seconds.   B.J. ignored the fact that Chris Dodd nailed the question in well under thirty seconds.

Kathleen Parker, Townhall, sums up the problem very nicely for Mrs. Clinton:

Advocates for licensing also argue that illegal immigrants can’t get jobs without a driver’s license. Do I hear bingo? Isn’t that the point?

Bingo!  The large majority of United States citizens, neither want illegal aliens on our roads nor in our country.

Says Michael Yon with this photo of his:

A Muslim man had invited the American soldiers from “Chosen” Company 2-12 Cavalry to the church, where I videotaped as Muslims and Christians worked and rejoiced at the reopening of St John’s, an occasion all viewed as a sign of hope.

The Iraqis asked me to convey a message of thanks to the American people. ” Thank you, thank you,” the people were saying. One man said, “Thank you for peace.” Another man, a Muslim, said “All the people, all the people in Iraq, Muslim and Christian, is brother.” The men and women were holding bells, and for the first time in memory freedom rang over the ravaged land between two rivers.

What you’re seeing here is Iraqis , Not Christian OR Muslim, but Christian and Muslim, replacing the cross on the top of Saint John’s church in Baghdad.

More than this; you are seeing people acting as Iraqi neighbors.  Building a sense of community.  Building a life.  Building on the peace that’s been given them, by our actions.

And this is the big story in Iraq, today. It’s a story you will not see in the supposed mainstream press. It’s a story you’ll never hear about except in derisive tones, on Err America.  It’s a happening that will never get any recognition from the Democrat run Congress. It’s something you’ll never hear the democratic party presidential candidates talk about.  It’s something you won’t hear Ron Paul talk about.  It’s a story that you’ll never hear from the any of the people who have been screaming for our capitulation and our withdrawal in that region.

The reason that you will never hear it from those sources, is that they know that had we listened to them, what you see in that picture would not be taking place.

This picture is an illustration of something that I have been saying here for quite some time.  Peace is not an absence of war; Peace is a product of winning the war.

Winning the war is precisely what we have done.  Now what we’re about, is helping with the rebuilding.

Lots more at Memeorandum.

I define “swift-boating” as exposing hard truths about corrupt Democrats. Let the “swift-boating” continue!

Michelle Malkin.

A classic move by the Jawa Report… This is fabulous stuff

BBCT: Fellow Swamp Stomper The Dread Pundit Bluto

I’ve had people hotlinking from here in the past. I solved the problem, but I kinda wish I’d thought of this trick, back then.

What I’d like to know is why they don’t simply post a couple pics stolen from here.

The ensuing howls would be well worth the effort.

I knew I liked Sarkozy…

Don Surber, by way of Memeorandum :

Sarkozy said it here, but meant it for the French to hear

Wow. I just finished reading Nicolas Sarkozy’s speech to Congress.

He waved the American flag in a way that would embarrass George M. Cohan.

Seldom has an American politician as unabashedly proud of this nation’s accomplishments.

Sarkozy does not want to just be friends — he wants to emulate us.

Sarkozy singlehandedly disproved the foolish notion by the Democratic Party that Bush made the world hate us.

But you know, I have to wonder what the reaction of the Democrat party was to this.

Addendum: (David L)

Rob, Say Anything, has the video of the Sarkozy speech.

Gotta love Glenn’s comment about Pat Robertson and Rudy Giuliani, today.

“Evangelical Christian leader Pat Robertson on Wednesday endorsed former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.” Well, it’s only fair — Hillary has to deal with the Mondale endorsement . . . .

I spoke on this, earlier today.

Thing is, it’s the combination of that post, and Reynolds’ comment, that gets me to thinking.

Personally, I don’t know as Robertson’s endorsement of Giuliani is as damaging as Mondale would be to Hillary, or that of Stormfront, to Ron Paul. Still, there are some negatives involved, even amongst dedicated Christian social conservatives, where Rudy is concerned.

Ultimately, I guess the question needs to be asked, what is the value of such endorsements, on a broad scale? I don’t suppose I never thought of that question before, but it occurs to me that that breaks down to two different questions simultaneously;

• What is the value of such an endorsement to the person being endorsed
• What is the value of such an endorsement to the person doing the endorsing?

It seems to me that the two questions are totally attached to each other.

Let’s take the second question, first, and apply it to the subjects at hand.

As I think I suggested earlier today, Robertson is endorsing Giuliani because Giuliani happens to be in the lead at the moment.  There is an intrinsic value to having picked a winner.  While Mr. Giuliani holds a significant lead at the moment, it is far from a done deal, however.  Ultimately, though, that doesn’t matter in the short term.  In the short term, being seen with the frontrunner, or at least being seen siding with the frontrunner, is a feather in your own popularity cap, if you’re into such things.  I have long since decided that Robertson is one of these. A publicity hound of the first order.

Let’s be fair about that statement; Certainly, one doesn’t spend fifteen years in radio, as I did, and then spend another several years posting opinions on a website, without a certain amount of ego in the mixture.  There’s no denying this.  But every action I’ve ever seen Mr. Robertson take, including his presidential run, seemed to me at the time and since, to be calculated to increase the popularity of Pat Robertson.  Beyond that, his purposes are murky at best, if not nonexistent.  Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why I am so uncomfortable with the man, as a rule. He seems to me someone who is simply trying to maintain his relevancy in a world that has essentially gone by him, two decades gone, now.  And, failing.
As to the value of Robertson’s endorsement to Giuliani, that, too, is short term at best, and in truth probably not worth much at all.  Most dedicated Christians don’t want thing one thing to do with Pat Robertson, for the reasons that I’ve mentioned above.  I’m hardly alone in that. The stated reason for wanting that endorsement, is to swing evangelicals his way.  Yet, how much influence does Mr. Robertson actually have with them? In the end, not much, really.  So, while Mr. Giuliani gets to spend a lot of time in front of the press with, supposedly, the issue of the trust of evangelicals well behind him, the truth is he hasn’t really gained their trust, at all. Once the noise dies down from the endorsement, ultimately he is left only marginally stronger, even amongst the evangelicals that this little exercise was supposed to be about.

By the same token, and, perhaps just as sharply, we might take a moment to examine the Mondale endorsement of Hillary Clinton.  Here again, we have someone who has seen his better days go by him, and upon having a microphone shoved in his face (an instant opportunity for a relevancy recharge if there ever was one) he takes the full opportunity, to, once again, endorse the leader in his respective party.  Many of the same issues that apply to Pat Robertson, also applied to Walter Mondale, as of when he made the statement…. Including that of being the high priest of his particular religion; that being what Anne Coulter dubbed “the church of liberalism”.  The vast majority of the American people, when given a choice, rejected his politics a long time ago.  The high point in his political life was a record setting landslide of a drubbing in a hopeless pursuit of the highest office in the land.  The man was to wacky even for the Democrats, who mostly voted against him.  In other words, even at his high point in life, he was completely irrelevant to America.

So too, for that matter, Geraldine Ferraro, who manages by some miricle, to keep getting dredged up for comment by our supposedly unbiased press.

I will leave it to the reader to sort out the implications of all of this.  I merely point out the associational linkages as I see them.

I’d go ahead and address Ron Paul and his Stormfront endorsement, if I thought he had a brain in his head. The ability of coherent thought on both their parts seems limited to me, and therefore judging motivations for the both of them is not an impossible… just damned near it.  And in the end, useless, since the man won’t even be showing up to the White House on the tour line any time soon, much less as president.  Thank God for small favors.

COALITION FORCES DISRUPT FOREIGN TERRORIST, AL-QAEDA NETWORKS; EIGHT TERRORISTS KILLED, 10 SUSPECTS DETAINED

Posted: 06 Nov 2007 09:30 AM CST

COALITION FORCES DISRUPT FOREIGN TERRORIST, AL-QAEDA NETWORKS; EIGHT TERRORISTS KILLED, 10 SUSPECTS DETAINED

Ya gotta see this one.

In the past two weeks, THREAT LEVEL reporters have managed to draw the wrath of two different cultural tribes renown for their resolve and certitude: Apple fanatics, and Ron Paul enthusiasts.

Apple fans pummeled Kim for her story on the iPhone’s controversial security model, while Ron Paul boosters went after Sarah for her piece on a recent spurt of deceptive spam promoting the Republican presidential candidate.  Some representatives from each group got vicious, resorting to personal smears, sometimes laced with misogyny.

In other words, just another day at the office; smears and ad hominem attacks are an occupational hazard of journalism. But having two backlashes at about the same time provides us a rare opportunity to compare the religious fervor of two net-savvy cults of true believers.

It’s at Wired… 

While it’s true  that all this is very humorous, all humor has a grain of truth at the center of it, else it would not be funny.   Personally, I find that…. disquieting.

I’ve done some server tweaks, which I think will increase the display performance, several fold.  Mostly the cache values got moved around a bit.  The actual dataload from the front page is a bit higher than I like to see it, but with high speed connection, it’s not an issue.

Let me know if you see any problems.

Until about an hour ago, I had been concentrating on who won and who lost, and trying to make some political “Will of the people” sense about it all.  But no really clear picture came through until such time as I focused on the referendums in each locality, and in each state. At that point, the picture became razor sharp.

Taxes.

In every single case where the taxpayers were given a choice, (As an example, the aforementioned Oregon Tobacco tax hike) such referendums lost, and lost huge.  Upon looking at the local election in the light of the tax issue, the whole thing became even clearer yet. We go to the ChiTrib:

A newcomer with no political experience who was outspent by more than 10-to-1 ended a months-long uphill climb to win office as mayor of Indiana’s largest city.

Republican Greg Ballard scored a stunning upset Tuesday night, beating two-term Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson by a margin of about 5,000 votes. With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Ballard had 51 percent of the vote compared with 47 percent for Bart Peterson and 2 percent for Libertarian Fred Peterson.

…

Ballard, a 52-year-old retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, capitalized on public discontent over property tax increases, a hike this year in the Marion County income tax and the city’s crime rate.

The local media (Radio, and TV, mostly) were stunned and in mourning for the loss of the Democrat Mayor.  Interesting quote from the interview at WISH/8 this morning:

Mayor Bart Peterson raised a lot more money for his campaign, was that ever a concern?

Ballard said, “That’s always a concern because the political experts said it ultimately comes down to money.  Six months ago, I had $10,000 in the bank and he had three million so obviously that, that’s not necessarily true.  It was a unique year, no doubt about that, but money just doesn’t buy elections anymore.  This was, like I said last night, maybe the ultimate grass roots effort.

The issues, again, crime, and the huge tax increases the Democrat administration had placed on the voters.

And the stories keep going like that.

The lesson of course is in the 08 cycle, this is a major theme for the Democrats to use, particularly in light of the Clinton Rangel tax plan we talked about here about a week ago. This is a straight up ‘gimme’ for the Republicans, and they should use it.

I’m pleased to announce that Sister Toldjah has become a Swamp Stomper, effective today. We and she have been firing stuff back and forth over the wall for several months, now. She is without a doubt one of the more unique voices on the right side of the ‘sphere…  and one we’re proud to have with us.

For all the talk abou the Bush Dynasty,  both of Dubya’s campaigns were almost totally devoid of involvement by Bush Senior.

In stark contrast,  whenever Mrs. Clinton snubs her little toe,  Mr. Clinton comes to rescue.   Confront Mrs. Clinton and face the wrath of Mr. Clinton.

Patrick Healy, New York Times:

Bill Clinton‘s suggestion that his wife faced a Republican-style “Swift boat” attack during and after the last Democratic debate drew a rebuke yesterday from Senator Barack Obama, who said, “I was pretty stunned by that statement.”

George W. Bush was man enough to compaign twice without his father running inference for him.   If Mrs. Clinton can not, or will not, campaign without Mr. Clinton’s interference, she simply is not up to the task of being president.

Hat Tip:  Memeorandum.

Some of the trends noted in my reading of last night’s election returns, so far:

So much for the left’s myth that a pro-life stance was the kiss of death for pols:

New Jersey voters had not killed a statewide ballot measure since 1990. The rejection was a defeat for Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine, who campaigned heavily for the plan to borrow $450 million over 10 years to finance stem cell research. “The public understands the state has serious financial issues that must be addressed first,” Corzine spokeswoman Lili Stainton said.

Of course, Cozine never seems to get beyond the money, does he?

Michelle notes that over in the liberaldom of Oregon, voters rejected rasing taxes on smokes by around abuck a pack to… supposedly… pay for health insurance “For the Children”. (Gee… they must hate the children in Oregon)

Funny thing, there seems a trend here… the Govenor, there, Ted Kulongoski, also mumbled nonsense about it being the money, not the principle of the thing.

It’s amazing, the split between the pols and the people.  I don’t think, in my 50 years, I’ve ever seen it this bad.

My reaction? Yeah, right, whatever.

WASHINGTON —Fox- Evangelical Christian leader Pat Robertson on Wednesday endorsed former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has struggled to bridge with conservatives some of his socially moderate policy positions on abortion and gay rights.

The endorsement is a coup for the Giuliani campaign, especially after opponent Mitt Romney recently racked up two major endorsements from social conservatives.

Robertson on Wednesday said Giuliani is the best candidate to handle the War on Terror. He said Giuliani understands the need for a conservative judiciary, and that he is a “true fiscal conservative” who is tough on crime.

Look, I’m a white, Christian social conservative. But frankly I find Robertson offensive. His presuming to make judgments on political matters for me and mine based on a shared faith  is outright offensive to me.  Robertson’s presumtion, it seems to me, is based on the assumption of having authority within the Christian world… authority that he does not have… as should have clearly been demonstrated to him by the margin by which he lost the election he attempted.

I’m not convinced such presumptions… and such endorsements by him, (or anyone in a similar situation) are good for America, or are good for Chistianity. And let’s be truthful, here… He’s not making these pronouncements and having them blasted across the news media because he’s Citizen Robertson, as I might be. He’s got that podium, for good or ill because the press identifies him as being a  religious leader.  First, that he is most assuredly not. But of greater import, what does that have to do with what he’s making pronouncements on, here?

And why did  Robertson decide to endorse Rudy? He’s winning the race, just now. THere are implications there which will explain much of my discomfort.

Yes, I’m quite aware there are those who will point to Jesse Jackson as doing the same thing on the opposite side. Well, I don’t think his influence beneficial, either, and for the same reasons.

There is authority… and there is abuse of authority.  Follow that line of thinking and you’ll see where I’m going.

The only News paper in Washington, Washintgton Times

Voters oppose driver’s licenses for illegal aliens by a nearly five-to-one margin, a new Fox 5/Washington Times/Rasmussen Reports poll finds.
As immigration politics explode into the presidential race, polls show Americans are taking a hard line on benefits for illegal aliens, including opposing driver’s licenses and such taxpayer-funded benefits as scholarships at state colleges for illegal-alien students.
The new poll found 77 percent of the adults surveyed opposed making driver’s licenses available to illegal aliens, while just 16 percent supported the idea.

A couple of thoughts race to mind:

• Can you imagine this kind of story being reports in the New York Times, or it’s outlet, the Washington Post?
• The Clintons for decades, have run their political lives with a finger in the wind. How will she deal with her stated support for the idea of driver’s licenses for illegal aliens,  in the light of the wind blowing the opposite way? Will she be for it, before she was against it?

And one for New York… How long before Spitzer’s head is on a platter?