Crossposted from Flopping Aces

President Bush Inaugurates New Washington, DC Ballpark!

WASHINGTON – MARCH 30: US President George W. Bush walks on the field to throw out the first pitch during the Washington Nationals opening home game against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park March 30, 2008 in Washington, DC. President Bush attended the home opener which was the Nationals first game in their new stadium. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

President George W. Bush throws the ceremonial first pitch before a sold out crowd at the Washington Nationals season opener, as they host the Atlanta Braves Sunday, March 30, 2008, at their new home field at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. White House photo by Chris Greenberg

Residents of Washington who were familiar with what this part of town used to look like (photos here) can only be pleased at the change.

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Iranian Influence on Cease Fire?

The tabloid newspaper McClatchy has a report out today that two lawmakers from the Iraqi government, one from Maliki’s party and another from the Badr party, went to Iran to negotiate a end to hostilities in Basra.

BAGHDAD — Iraqi lawmakers traveled to the Iranian holy city of Qom over the weekend to win the support of the commander of Iran’s Qods brigades in persuading Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr to order his followers to stop military operations, members of the Iraqi parliament said.

The backdrop to Sadr’s dramatic statement was a secret trip Friday by Iraqi lawmakers to Qom, Iran’s holy city and headquarters for the Iranian clergy who run the country.

There the Iraqi lawmakers held talks with Brig. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Qods (Jerusalem) brigades of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and signed an agreement with Sadr, which formed the basis of his statement Sunday, members of parliament said.

Ali al Adeeb, a member of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki’s Dawa party, and Hadi al Ameri, the head of the Badr Organization, the military wing of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, had two aims, lawmakers said: to ask Sadr to stand down his militia and to ask Iranian officials to stop supplying weapons to Shiite militants in Iraq.

Which, if true, is fascinating. On the one hand this means Iran can turn off the internal fighting when and where it wants to. So, as Jules Crittenden puts it, Iraq is Iran’s bitch in the absence of American forces. But the same article does say that some of Sadr’s thugs have said they have no intention of standing down. How much influence then does Iran really have? I’m guessing the coming days will tell us.

On the other hand can anyone still claim Iran is not the one stirring the pot in the first place AND not supplying those who attack our troops? (more…)

Crossposted from Red Maryland

Man, this takes either a great deal of guts or a great lack of foresight:

As lawmakers worked Monday to trim state spending to balance Maryland’s budget for next year, Gov. Martin O’Malley proposed $18.2 million in new expenditures, much of it earmarked for health care, programs for children with disabilities and a fund to help the poor pay their electricity bills.

O’Malley called for additional general fund spending totaling $28.7 million over the next two years but also proposed significant expenditures relying on special earmarked funds, some of which are nearing approval by the General Assembly.

Seriously. The General Assembly is trying to cut $300 million from the budget, and the Administration is trying to sneak in additionally supplementary funds to pay for things that, realistically, we don’t need.

While he makes a hefty salary to do it, I somewhat sympathize with Rick Abbruzzese for having to go defend this:

O’Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese defended the governor’s submission of a supplemental budget request — an annual tradition — at a time when lawmakers are struggling to balance the state budget and repeal an unpopular computer services tax.

“This is a very lean supplemental budget that goes directly to making government more effective and more efficient,” Abbruzzese said. He said the governor focused his spending requests on “core services” such as juvenile services, state police and aid for infants and toddlers with learning disabilities.

Of course, the truly lean supplemental budget would have zero dollars contained in it because of some sort of revelation to the Administration that we have a budget crisis.

I wonder what it is finally going to take for somebody on the second floor to understand that Martin O’Malley cannot tax and spend Maryland into prosperity. This continued reckless spending is just continuing to propagate preexisting problems with our state’s financial posture. It takes a lot of chutzpah to offer a wasteful supplementary budget when we have a budget shortfall during a recession. But what exactly is it going to take for Democrats in Annapolis to act in a fiscally responsible manager?

Credit One Dollar While Raising Energy Costs by Two

Only the most Kool-Aid drinking sycophants believe that Governor O’Malley is actually looking out for electricity ratepayers. While O’Malley was busy procuring a one-time $170 credit, he is also advocating legislation (EmPower Maryland and The Global Warming Solutions Act), which will substantially raise energy costs, both of which will dwarf the $17o credit by orders of magnitude.

by Regina Sztajer

Should Sen. Hillary Clinton keep her campaign in full swing up to and through the Democratic convention in August? Talk about a 100 year war, the Democratic nominees are tearing each other apart while Republican nominee Sen. John Mc Cain is gathering momentum. Hillary didn’t really dodge sniper fire in Bosnia but she sure feels like it’s a battlefield for the Pennsylvania primary. Should Sen. Barak Obama accept the vice presidency as recommended by Bill Clinton ? Try to imagine what it would be like in a White House with a combination of Hillary as president, Bill as her partner and equal and Michelle Obama constantly reminding her husband he is just an errand boy for the Clinton’s. Would the sparks fly? You bet!!!! Then there is first daughter Chelsea, when asked by the press how her mothers presidency is coming along her answer would be… “That’s none of your business!!!” It would be like watching a soap opera!!! Even the terrorists would have problems getting press coverage. High school American National Government students would have a laugh a minute.

This past week a prominent Clintonite likened New Mexico Governor bill Richardson to Judas because he endorsed Obama and a Obama supporter likened Bill Clinton to Joseph McCarthy. Obama’s campaign said Hillary can’t be trusted at all and Clinton’s campaign said Obama can’t be trusted to be commander-in-chief. There is so much snipping going on it’s seems like Bosnia once again with Hillary dodging sniper fire!!!!!! As the Democratic conflict escalates, this week the Gallup poll discovered a high percentage of Clinton backers (28% and Obama voters 19%) say if the other Democrat wins they will support McCain.

There is a real outcry for Hillary to concede because the delegate count is in favor of Obama and the contest is becoming a nightmare wrecking what was to be a promising election year. Clinton may carry Pennsylvania, Oregon Indiana , North Carolina etc. with a growing momentum but fewer pledged delegates. Will party leaders go with a surging Clinton and risk infuriating Obama’s supporters, especially blacks?

“This is going to give Republicans a chance to destroy every thing we’ve been trying to work for for eight years. ” said Ken Foxworth. a Democratic backer of Obama. (News.aol.com 3/29/08 Charles Babington.) (more…)

Crossposted from Conservative Thoughts.

I do not know that I would have the physical and moral courage to set myself up for potential martyrdom in the way that newly baptized by Pope Benedict XVI convert Magdi Allam has. From The mustard seed in global strategy by Spengler in the Asia Times Online:

A self-described revolution in world affairs has begun in the heart of one man. He is the Italian journalist and author Magdi Cristiano Allam, whom Pope Benedict XVI baptized during the Easter Vigil at St Peter’s. Allam’s renunciation of Islam as a religion of violence and his embrace of Christianity denotes the point at which the so-called global “war on terror” becomes a divergence of two irreconcilable modes of life: the Western way of faith supported by reason, against the Muslim world of fatalism and submission.

As Magdi Allam recounted , on his road to conversion the challenge that Pope Benedict XVI offered to Islam in his September 2006 address at Regensburg was “undoubtedly the most extraordinary and important encounter in my decision to convert”. Osama bin Laden recently accused Benedict of plotting a new crusade against Islam, and instead finds something far more threatening: faith the size of a mustard seed that can move mountains. Before Benedict’s election, I summarized his position as “I have a mustard seed and I’m not afraid to use it.” Now the mustard seed has earned pride of place in global affairs.

Magdi Allam tells us that he has found the true God and forsaken an Islam that he regards as inherently violent. Magdi Allam has a powerful voice as deputy editor of Italy’s newspaper of record, Corriere della Sera, and a bestselling author. For years he was the exemplar of “moderate Islam” in Europe, and now he has decided that Islam cannot be “moderate”.

The article continues with this interesting bit:

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Crossposted from Flopping Aces

Is there any doubt why this happened?

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr said Sunday that he was pulling his fighters off the streets nationwide and called on the government to stop raids against his followers and free them from prison.

The Iraqi government quickly welcomed al-Sadr’s apparent move to resolve a widening conflict with his movement, sparked Tuesday by operations against his backers in the oil-rich southern city of Basra.

Al-Sadr’s nine-point statement was issued by his headquarters in the holy city of Najaf and broadcast through loudspeakers on Shiite mosques. It said the first point was: “taking gunmen off the streets in Basra and elsewhere.”

He also demanded that the Iraqi government stop “haphazard raids” and release security detainees who haven’t been charged, two issues cited by his movement as reasons for fighting the government.

Followers handed out sweets in Baghdad’s main Mahdi Army militia stronghold of Sadr City.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh called the statement “positive and responsible.” But he also warned in a telephone interview broadcast on Iraqi state TV. that security forces would continue to target those who don’t follow the order.

Why you ask? Because they were getting their asses kicked from one end of the city to the other:

With the fifth day of fighting in Baghdad, Basrah and the South completed, the Mahdi Army has suffered major losses over the past 36 hours. The Mahdi Army has not faired well over the past five days of fighting, losing an estimated two percent of its combat power, using the best case estimate for the size of the militia.

A look at the open source press reports from the US and Iraqi military and the established newspapers indicates 145 Mahdi Army fighters were killed, 81 were wounded, 98 were captured, and 30 surrendered during the past 36 hours.

Since the fighting began on Tuesday 358 Mahdi Army fighters were killed, 531 were wounded, 343 were captured, and 30 surrendered. The US and Iraqi security forces have killed 125 Mahdi Army fighters in Baghdad alone, while Iraqi security forces have killed 140 Mahdi fighters in Basra.

While the size of the Mahdi Army is a constant source of debate, media accounts often put the Mahdi Army at anywhere from 40,000 to 60,000 fighters. With an estimated 1,000 Mahdi fighters killed, captured, wounded and surrendered, the Mahdi Army has taken an attrition rate of 1.5 to 2.5 percent over the past five days.

It didn’t look too good for them on the political front either:

About 200 demonstrators held a rally to support the military operations in Basra
and Maliki’s government, in Diwaniya on Saturday.

The major political parties in the ruling Coalition remain united in supporting the offensive against the Mahdi Army and the Iranian-backed Special Groups cells. President Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barazani, the president of the Kurdish Regional Government reiterated their support for the operation on Friday, while Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki ratcheted up the rhetoric against the Shia terror groups.

Maliki called the Shia terrorists “worse than al Qaeda” and vowed to remain in Basrah until the operation is completed. “Our determination is strong … those who break the law are punished, and those who draw their weapons in the face of the state are punished,” Maliki said on Iraqi state television.

And the disinformation campaign waged by Sadr, which the MSM fell for hook, line and sinker was highlighted once again:

The Sadrist movement claimed numerous Iraqi policemen and soldiers are defecting. “Groups of Iraqi troops came to us to lay down their arms,” said Sheikh Salam al Afraiji, the leader of the Sadrist movement in eastern Baghdad.

But the spokesman of Baghdad Operations Command denied Iraqi security forces are defecting en masse. “The registered number that we have [defecting to the Sadrists] is that 15 soldiers were able to escape,” said Major General Qassim Atta in a briefing today in Baghdad. Atta stressed that there are over 50,000 Iraqi security forces operating in Baghdad, and some level of defections should be expected. Atta also said Maliki has “ordered [the military] to prosecute those soldiers according to the Military Punishments Law.”

Either way you look at it, the man was getting beat and wants a time out. Problem is, the Iraqi government seems to be allowing it instead of pushing ahead and taking out the whole of the gang. But I have no doubt in the long run Sadr is done. Maliki still remains in Basra, Sadr’s troops are in retreat, and the sovereignty of Iraq appears to be strengthening, slowly but surely.

Whatever will the MSM do? Ed Morrissey already noted how they spun this fight:

Anyone who follows the news closely in Iraq knew this day would come. The British left a power vacuum behind in the south that the Baghdad government could not fill at the time, and Sadr and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council’s Badr Brigades filled it instead. They have fought each other and some smaller Shi’ite groups for control of the streets ever since 2005, as Steven Vincent tried to warn people just before they murdered him in Basra. The Iraqi government had no choice but to challenge the militias for control of Basra and the surrounding areas, but they waited until the Iraqi Army had enough strength to succeed.

Did our media give anyone this context? No. They reported it as some kind of spontaneous eruption of rebellion without noting at all that a nation can hardly be considered sovereign while its own security forces cannot enter a large swath of its own territory. And in the usual defeatist tone, they reported that our mission in Iraq had failed without waiting to see what the outcome of the battle would be.

I doubt anyone is shocked that our MSM would perform this way. Iraq has been off the frontpage for months now because there was nothing bad to report. They must of gone into a orgasmic shudder when this Sadr fight came up, not understanding that Sadr was no longer a match for the American trained Iraqi army.

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Questioning Gore On His Global Warming Credentials.

Joe Bastardi tackles Gore’s global warming credentials….and rightly so:

I am absolutely astounded that someone who refuses to publicly debate anyone on this matter and has no training in the field narrated a movie where frames of nuclear explosions were interspersed in a subliminal way in scenes of droughts and flood, among other major gaffes, can say these things and then have them accepted… by anyone.

The list of degreed meteorologists, climatologists, scientists, that signed the Manhatten declaration stating their disagreement with Mssr. Gore’s premises grows by the day.

What gets me most is he goes on unchallenged one-on-one on this. Never in all my years of competition have I seen someone elevated to a level that he is, in any thing, without any face-to-face competition to establish credibility.

When someone gets a PhD, his or her thesis is normally attacked, for lack of a better word, in something known as the “orals,” at least it was for those venturing into those waters at PSU.

In other words, a group of people still in a higher academic standing than you, one you want to ascend to, will try to get you to defend what you do in a way where you show what you know, not by some programmed unchallenged remark, but by competition with the people that are criticizing. Why? Because you can defend what you know, if you have worked hard enough. It is typical of the mentality of this person, that he thinks that he should be able to get something for nothing, just go on unchecked, hurling insults at people who have forgotten more than he will ever know.

But you know he DID invent the internet so we have to give him that…..sigh
(more…)

Crossposted from Red Maryland

Wow, for once John Leopold actually told the truth:

Years before he became Anne Arundel County’s chief executive, John R. Leopold sounded a lot like the critics of his current plan to impose perhaps the highest development impact fees in Maryland.

In 2001, Leopold attacked county leaders’ idea of raising those fees “during our current recessionary slump.” He argued that it could hurt commercial growth, dampen the prospect of affordably priced housing and unfairly burden selective homeowners.

“They are insidious, regressive homeowner taxes,” Leopold, then a member of the House of Delegates, wrote in a letter to the Maryland Gazette.

Today, as Leopold tries to balance the county budget amid millions lost in state aid and real estate tax revenue, the second-year county executive acknowledged that he has flipped his position.

We have known Leopold has lied, inflated his accomplishments, and changed his position in order to get whatever political office he is seeking at that particular time over the course of the last 30 years. I am just amazed that Leopold finally had the guts to admit it for once.

What of course is just as disturbing, unfortunately, is the fact that we have this guys masquerading as a conservative Republican who is coming out in support of raising fees that he himself called “insidious, regressive homeowner taxes.” This is something Councilman Ed Middlebrooks noted:

”

Historically, he has been consistent on where he has been on impact fees,” Councilman C. Edward Middlebrooks, a Severn Republican, said of Leopold. “He fought against them, and he thought the transfer tax was the way to go. Then, when he had the opportunity to actually do something, he abandons everything he has said over the years for raising impact fees. How can that be?”

How can one truly call themselves a conservative Republican if you are supporting higher fees and taxes that you know to be morally irresponsible? I mean, raising any fee by a multiple of four is about as far from a consistent conservative viewpoint as one can possibly get. (more…)

There seems to be no end to recommendations regarding how America should defend herself in the face of Radical Islam. I’m not offering new military strategy, but rather, a new idea about who we are as a people, because our self-image will ultimately determine whether or not we will adequately exercise self-defense. Actually, this is not really a new idea of who we are – it dates back to 1776. The evil of Totalitarian Islam, which is defined by Sharia Law and mass-murdering Jihad, will not be defeated by the left wing or the right wing of American politics, nor by military strategy or force alone – this evil will be defeated by the American Declaration of Independence.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Did you notice that part about the consent of the governed, and did you digest that segment regarding the right of the people to alter or abolish any government which does not secure our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness? The Declaration of Independence is our ultimate guarantee of freedom in America, because it states that God is the source of our liberty – not the Constitution or any branch of government – these were created as governing instruments to secure our pre-existing God-given liberty. The Declaration of Independence is the defining statement of the American character, “an expression of the American mind,” as Thomas Jefferson said of it; and a rejection of the Declaration of Independence is the essence of un-American or anti-American sentiment. The sacred values in this document will lead America into a future of security, liberty, creativity and prosperity. The Declaration of Independence is also a declaration of war – it is forever a declaration of war against any form of tyranny including Fascism, Communism and Islamic Totalitarianism.

The Declaration of Independence needs to be publically re-declared by our President, Congress and the Supreme Court – this would again be a shot heard ‘round the world. A mandatory public reading or statement of loyalty to the Declaration of Independence should also be amended into our Constitution as a requirement for any elected or appointed public office-holder at all levels of American government – local, state and federal; and should also be a requirement for American citizenship. I’m thankful for the Constitution which restrains government from infringing upon our liberties, but I truly thank God for our founding fathers and for our Declaration of Independence. In no other nation on Earth is there such a document which lists and defines the source of our sacred human rights; and the citizens of those nations are therefore at a great disadvantage in comparison to us.

America now faces asymmetrical warfare – a new and growing threat to life and liberty. We have already suffered major attacks on our homeland, our embassies and our military forces, and the possibility of nuclear or biological attack is real. The survival of American liberty is not automatic. As in 1776, and during our Civil War, and as it was during World War II, our liberty will be secured through suffering and sacrifice, and through our determination, strength and courage. This is going to be a long war, and we must see to it that government of the people, by the people and for the people does not perish from the earth. When it comes to the preservation of this nation’s life and liberty, we should adhere to our Declaration of Independence, and also recall from 1775 these words of Patrick Henry: (more…)

Editorial: The Washington Times

Gov. Martin O’Malley, the Maryland General Assembly and politicians in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties appear to be laying the groundwork for a population exchange with Virginia and other neighboring states. The trading works this way: Maryland overtaxes tax small- and medium-sized computer businesses, but lays out the welcome mat for illegal aliens; meanwhile, Virginia yanks the welcome mat for illegals, but is prepared to welcome businesses from Maryland. Sound far-fetched? It really isn’t.

Arlo Wagner of The Washington Times recently reported on the fact that months after Prince William County began one of the country’s strongest crackdowns on illegal immigration, officials and residents say that illegals are leaving. That’s not surprising, because Virginia has become increasingly inhospitable to illegals and has barred them from obtaining driver’s licenses.

But Maryland has been moving in the opposite direction, with politicians permitting illegals to obtain driver’s licenses and putting out the welcome mat for them to resettle in the state. In October, when Prince William County enacted legislation allowing police to ask questions about immigration status, Montgomery County responded to reports that illegals were migrating to his county by complaining that Virginians were trying to “shift the burden” elsewhere. In Prince George’s County, Democratic lawmakers boasted about the county’s ability to attract illegals who felt unwelcome in Virginia. The critics, however, were not objecting to “immigration” but to “illegal immigration.”

Since then, there have been numerous reports alluding to how some illegals, feeling unwelcome in Virginia, have moved to Maryland. One front-page article in The Washington Post (March 12) dealt with the problem of fielding soccer teams in Prince William because many of the players, who were illegals, were afraid of being picked up by police. Some of them spoke of fleeing to Maryland.

While Maryland politicians are doing their best to ensure the state remains hospitable to illegals, they look to be in the process of taxing computer firms out of the state. During November’s special session on the budget, the General Assembly passed a six percent sales tax on computer services that threatens to chase away jobs. The tax, slated to take effect July 1, has prompted angry warnings from the companies that they will leave Maryland for lower-tax Virginia and Delaware. The former head of Virginia’s state economic development agency even penned a taunting letter to the Baltimore Sun thanking Maryland for chasing business into Virginia. Mr. O’Malley and Senate President Mike Miller now say they want to repeal the tax and make up the lost revenue by imposing higher income taxes on upper-income Marylanders. Montgomery County, meanwhile, must concern itself with tax increases chasing its residents across the Potomac into Virginia.
(more…)

Crossposted from Flopping Aces

He sounds more like a Clinton every day!

Barack. H. Obama was on the chick-chat show “The View” today offering yet more spin on his questionable 20 year association with the disgraced Reverand Wright. Here’s the video.

With each of his denials, it becomes more clear that Obama did know about Rev. Wright’s hate filled rantings and more to the point, it had a major impact on his character.

“White Man’s Greed”
Obama’s very first service at Wright’s church was … controversial.
By Mickey Kaus
Friday, March 28, 2008

On his radio show yesterday, Hugh Hewitt played excerpts of Barack Obama reading from his autobiography, Dreams of My Father. In one, Obama remembers a sermon by Rev. Jeremiah Wright:

[T]he pastor described going to a museum and being confronted by a painting title Hope.
“The painting depicts a harpist,” Revernd Wright explained, “a woman who at first glance appears to be sitting atop a great mountaintop. Untill you take a closer look and see that the woman is bruised and bloodied, dressed in tattered rags, the harp reduced to a single frayed string. Your eye is then drawn down to the scene below, down to the valley below, where everywhere are the ravages of famine, the drumbeat of war, a world groaning under strife and deprivation.

It is this world, a world where cruise ships throw away more food in a day than most residents of Port-au-Prince see in a year, where white folks’ greed runs a world in need, aprtheid in one hemisphere, apathy in another hemisphere … That’s the world! On which hope sits.”

And so it went, a meditation on a fallen world. While the boys next to me doodled on their church bulletin, Reverend Wright spoke of Sharpesville and Hiroshima, the callousness of policy makers in the White House and in the State House. … [E.A.]

Sounds … controversial! Keep in mind: a) Obama isn’t disapproving of this sermon. In the book he weeps at the end of it; b) Demonstrating that at least some blaming of “white greed” for the world’s sins–which Obama now criticizes– isn’t an exceptional topic for Rev. Wright in a few wacky sermons (“the five dumbest things“) that Obama may or may not have missed. It’s at the quotidian core of the Afrocentric philosophy that Obama says drew him to the church; c) Indeed, in his big March 18th race speech Obama reads the passage from his book that describes his emotional reaction to this very sermon (his “first service at Trinity”)–how it made “the story of a people” seem “black and more than black.” d) This is also the sermon that gave Obama the title of his next book, The Audacity of Hope. e) The “profound mistake” of this sermon is not that Wright “spoke as if our society was static”–Obama’s analysis on Feb. 18th. The problem is that “white folks’ greed” is not the main cause of a “world in need.”

I’m not saying voters shouldn’t cut Obama a lot of slack on Wright’s anti-white fulminations. But the Senator should have spoken up publicly against the semi-paranoid “white greed” explanation a long time ago, no? And he could show a little humility. Again, this wasn’t the occasion for him to be lecturing everyone else. …

Update: On The View, Obama suggests Wright has sort of apologized:
“Had the reverend not retired, and had he not acknowledged that what he had said had deeply offended people and were inappropriate and mischaracterized what I believe is the greatness of this country, for all its flaws, then I wouldn’t have felt comfortable staying at the church,” Obama said Thursday during a taping of the ABC talk show, “The View.” [E.A.]
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Tom Maguire is on the case, noting that Obama has now left the rarefied air of transracial elevation and entered conventional political BS-land, given that there is no evidence of any sort of Wright apology (though maybe now one will be produced) or a previous Obama inclination to leave the church. … Meanwhile, Perry Bacon of WaPo tries to figure out which “controversial” or “objectionable” sermons Obama heard. Again, I don’t think this is necessary. Wright’s sermon at Obama’s very first service, highlighted in his book and his 3/18 speech as an epiphanal moment, was controversial and objectionable enough. And it didn’t make him leave the church. It made him join the church. At least a bit of self-criticism seems in order. … [via Instapundit and JustOneMinute]

When the new Reverend in my hometown Methodist Church used the pulpit to promote a petition demanding a Nuclear Freeze, I walked out the door and never went back. But before I did, I sent the minister a letter explaining how inappropriate I found his behavior. Obama could have done the same but failed to do so. It can only be because he agrees with Reverend Wright.

also:

The MSM’s New & Improved Reporting On Iraq

Just like the horrible reporting done during the Burning Six episode now we get even worse reporting as the MSM vainly attempts to make a good thing, that being the fact that Iraqi troops are taking on the gangs of Basra themselves, into a “Iraq is falling apart” story:

In Baghdad, the Mahdi Army took over neighbourhood after neighbourhood, some amid heavy fighting, others without firing a shot.

In New Baghdad, militiamen simply ordered the police to leave their checkpoints: the officers complied en masse and the guerrillas stepped out of the shadows to take over their checkpoints.

Guess what…not true: (more…)

Crossposted from Red Maryland

Have you heard about the results of the meeting the School Board Nominating Commission of Anne Arundel County held on Monday? Of course not. Did you hear about the consensus that was reached? You will be shocked to read it:

“The purpose of the testimony was to further assist the Commission in meeting its statutory obligation to identify, vet, and ultimately recommend applicants to the Governor for appointment to the Board of Education” said Commission Chairman Joshua Greene. Four overarching points were constants in all the testimony given to the Commission regarding what to look for when attracting, reviewing, and selecting potential Board members for appointment: a commitment to serve; an ability to listen to all sides; strong interpersonal and analytical skills; and a recognition that the proper role of Board members is to focus on policy making and strategic planning not school system operations.
That’s right, in the eyes of the O’Malley and Leopold apparatchiks, School Board members should not pay attention to school system operations. Who in the hell thinks that is a good idea? If the point of having a School Board is to oversee the Board of Education, who in the hell thinks that accomplishing that goal is possible if the Commission appointing Board members think that the Board should be neutered? Who then oversees the budget of the school system? Who comments about the growth of the school system if the appointed Board members are powerless? If the Board of Education should not exercise the power that it has, why do we need a Board of Education at all?

The School Board selection process reforms passed by the General Assembly in 2007 continue to haunt the future of our Anne Arundel County schools. Clearly it is becoming apparent that this process continues to be an embarrassment to our schools and our county, and needs to be scrapped for something better. And while we all prefer direct elections of School Board members, we all should be able to agree that almost anything is better than we are going to get from this O’Malley/Leopold Commission….

(more…)

By Gregory Kane: The Baltimore Sun

On Monday, the House of Delegates passed a bill that would establish a Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment. The commission, which will have 19 members, is to issue a report by Dec. 15 of this year on at least seven recommendations.

Guess what’s at the top of the list of recommendations? You’d be right if you guessed “racial disparities,” and you’d have guessed that even if you had just beamed in from Planet Dimwit.

No. 2 on the list is “jurisdictional disparities.” No. 3 is “socio-economic disparities,” while “the risk of innocent people being executed” comes in at numero quatro. Let us all pause for a moment to ponder why “racial disparities” is at No. 1 while “the risk of innocent people being executed” is fourth on the list.

You would think that preventing the execution of an innocent person would be the No. 1 priority, wouldn’t you? But you kind of figured that, in this state, our legislators – especially those in the unofficial Be Kind To Coldblooded Killers Caucus – would go for the black-folks-as-victims angle first. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for looking at racial disparities. If blacks are given the death penalty disproportionately, by all means let’s look at that.

Oh, that’s right. We already did. The Paternoster study, the gold standard for death penalty opponents, found that there was a jurisdictional disparity – Baltimore County sent more folks to death row than any other Maryland jurisdiction – but that county prosecutors sought the death penalty in every case where it applied, regardless of the race of the accused.

That only left the race of the victims, and it was there that death penalty opponents felt they had scored a coup de grace. “Aha!” they shouted. “There are more people on death row for killing white victims than black ones!”

In their zeal to prove a racial disparity, death penalty opponents forgot about that thing called felony murder, which is how killers end up on death row in the first place. Felony murder is a homicide committed along with another felony like, say, robbery, rape or kidnapping. Bureau of Justice stats for the years 1976-2005 show that whites were 54.7 percent of felony homicide victims (compared with 42.7 percent for blacks) while black offenders accounted for 59.3 percent of all felony murders, versus 39.1 percent for whites.

Perhaps more revealing is the data for “percent of all stranger homicides by racial composition of victims and offenders.” For the years 1976-2005 in this category, blacks murdered whites at a rate three to four times that at which whites murdered blacks.

This, dear readers, is what’s known as a racial disparity. It’s a disparity that should be studied right along with the ones that will show if there is a disproportionate number of blacks on death row, or why murderers who kill white victims are more likely to end up on death row than those who kill black ones.

Let me see a quick show of hands of all you readers who really believe that the new commission will seriously study the racial disparity in felony murders and stranger murders. Anyone? Anyone? (more…)

Crossposted from Conservative Thoughts.

Remember this from a few weeks ago?

Thanks to LA Times – Parents who lack teaching credentials cannot educate their children at home, according to a state appellate court ruling that is sending waves of fear through California’s home schooling families. Advocates for the families vowed to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. Enforcement until then appears unlikely, but if the ruling stands, home-schooling supporters say California will have the most regressive law in the nation.

(more…)

Crossposted from Flopping Aces

You can feel the utter joy coming from the writers at the NYT’s and the tabloid newspaper, Mclatchy, on their reporting of Iraq today. Joy at maybe, just maybe!, the Surge will fail and they can go back to blaming Bush. First, take a look at this doozy of a headline by Mclatchy, written by Leila Fadel and Ali al Basri:

“Battles Wrack Basra, Threatening Success of U.S. Surge.”

Please.

The Times at least put a few opposing voices into their article:

“Maliki Gives Shiite Militias 72 Hours to Halt Fighting”

But in the Times version they attempt to portray a few acts of violence in Baghdad as somehow connected to the attack in Basra. Makes for a better story you see.

This fight was a long time in coming since central-government control of the city has to be restored if the federal government is going to be successful. After the British pulled out of Basra the turf wars began between the Badr Brigades and the Sadr Mahdi Army. A gang war if you will. Sadr asked his Mahdi Army to stand down but they have refused, which is good. The sooner they are defeated the sooner its over, no way the gang can win this thing. Probably the reason Sadr told them to stand down. He understands they cannot win militarily….but thugs being thugs, they continue to fight and be killed.

Good on them.

The Sadrists can blame Maliki all they want. For a federal government to work there must be central government control. No smoke and mirrors and wink-wink baloney.

The fact of the matter is that those who hope we can leave Iraq soon should be praying that the American trained Iraqi troops perform well in this much needed operation. They succeed and we all have proof that they are one step closer to being able to defend their country by themselves.

also:

News From Around the World 27 March 2008

If you do not know about the Global Incident Map website, I urge you to see it, then book mark it.

We start with an unsettling discovery in Colombia

Colombia seizes uranium from leftist guerrillas

BOGOTA, March 26 (Reuters) – Colombia said it grabbed at least 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of uranium from the country’s biggest left-wing rebel group on Wednesday, the first time radioactive material has been linked to the bloody four-decade-old guerrilla war.

The material was found in a rural area long considered a guerrilla stronghold just south of the capital city Bogota. It is being examined by state experts, said a Defense Ministry statement.

The statement did not say where the uranium came from or what it could be used for.

“This appears to have been part of a black market operation that the guerrillas were trying to use to make money,” said Pablo Casas, an analyst at Bogota think-tank Security & Democracy.

“This is new for Colombia and could bring the FARC into the major leagues of black market terrorist transactions,” Casas said.

Information about the uranium was found earlier this month in computer files left behind by top guerrilla leader Raul Reyes, who was killed in a Colombian bomb strike carried out in Ecuador. The March 1 raid sparked an ongoing diplomatic dispute with the neighboring country.
(more…)

Crossposted from Red Maryland

So, here is the proposed tech tax solution:

Gov. Martin O’Malley and top leaders in the General Assembly are lining up votes for a plan to replace Maryland’s new computer services tax with an income tax surcharge on top earners and cuts to transportation and other spending.

The plan has the backing of Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and Sen. Ulysses Currie, the Prince George’s County Democrat who chairs the powerful Budget and Taxation Committee….

….O’Malley, a Democrat, discussed ways to repeal the $200 million levy in a closed-door meeting with legislative leaders Tuesday night. The consensus that emerged was to try to raise $100 million by creating a new income tax bracket of 6.25 percent for people earning more than $1 million, according to those who attended the meeting.

An additional $50 million would come from the state’s $400 million Transportation Trust Fund, and the rest from additional budget cuts.
So, we are going to go ahead and try to further fleece those Maryland taxpayers who are simultaneously most able to pay more taxes and able to pick up and move someplace that their tax burden won’t be so high? This is what passes for fiscal responsibility in the minds of Maryland Democrats?

What cracks me up even more is the fact that the 6.25 percent tax bracket will be a “temporary” tax bracket. Does anybody really believe that this crew in Annapolis would ever repeal this new bracket?

What’s bizarre is the fact that the tax solution calling for a higher tax bracket is now being joined by $300 million in proposed cuts:

House and Senate leaders began this morning to hash out a deal over the fiscal 2009 budget that is expected to include more than $300 million in cuts, although negotiators largely put off until tomorrow discussions over the most contentious funding questions.

“We’re making good progress,” said Sen. David R. Brinkley, the Senate minority leader from Carroll and Frederick counties, who is one of eight lawmakers on the budget conference committee. “It’s a tough budget year, and there are a lot of hard decisions to make across the board.”

So far, lawmakers and legislative staffers said, the differences between the spending plans are not as formidable as they have been in previous years. They predicted that much of the rancor over budgetary issues will come not from these negotiations, but from the question of how to make up for a repeal of the sales tax on computer services.

So now we are going to cut more money from the budget than the tech tax would raise, but legislative leadership still wants to replace that money with more taxes? Is that logical?

I hope that the taxpayers of Maryland are paying attention to this charade in Annapolis, because I hope that it is becoming clear to them that their elected leaders in Annapolis don’t have the financial interests of the taxpayers first and foremost in their minds…..

Crossposted from Conservative Thoughts.

I am so very glad Cassandra decided to start blogging again. I am no longer denied her astute insights and great writing. Today, she posted something that should be read widely:

In today’s borderless world, some want to resurrect an isolationist stance which became obsolete as soon as international air travel, telephony and the internet erased the barriers that separate America from the rest of the world. We can no longer afford that pipe dream: the very people who argue most vigorously in favor of it are the ones who refuse to allow us to protect ourselves from outside aggressors via electronic surveillance, profiling, aggressive law enforcement, and military intervention. They believe it a legitimate function of the media to publish classified documents, including the vulnerabilities of Marine body armor. And yet, oxymoronically, they argue we can somehow protect ourselves from the outside world while not giving up any of our freedoms.

Barack Obama has said he would not hesitate to go into Pakistan, even against the will of its government, after al Qaeda. What reaction, precisely, does he expect from a sovereign state when it is militarily invaded by a foreign power?

Passive acceptance? What reaction does he expect from the most radical Islamist elements within Pakistan? Would this not give them all the excuse they need to stage a coup and topple a government which at present cooperates with us, if not to the extent we desire?

And if military intervention in Iraq was unrealistic, what bizarre realism governs the Obama Doctrine’s refusal to distinguish between military intervention where there is at least a demonstrable American security interest and situations (like Darfur) where there is none? Who in Darfur ever tried to assassinate a former U.S. President? Who in Darfur ever gave shelter to the architect of a World Trade Center bombing? Darfur doesn’t fund terrorist organizations worldwide. America hasn’t paid tens of thousands of dollars for decades to man a no-fly zone over Darfur. Darfur has no history of using weapons of mass destruction – several times – on its own people and on neighboring states:

“Saddam launched more than 350 chemical weapon attacks across the border. Iraq has since admitted using 1,800 tonnes of mustard gas and 740 tonnes of the highly toxic nerve agents sarin and tabun. It was the worst use of mustard gas since the First World War and the first use of nerve agents. Iranian soldiers often had inadequate masks and little detection and decontamination equipment. Civilians had nothing.”

Does Barack Obama see no moral problem with asking an all volunteer force to give their lives when there is no national security interest to protect?

Because this Marine wife damned well does. I believe in freedom and democracy promotion, but the United States cannot free the entire world single-handed. Where is the much-vaunted realism steely-eyed Progressives have been calling for now? It appears to be a function of political convenience.

BY ALEX RAY

Winds of dissent in Maryland ‘s First Congressional District have wafted north along the Atlantic coastline to our temporary home in Maine . I say temporary because after a winter of 100+ inches of snow with nighttime temperatures all frequently ranging from 15 degrees below zero to plus 5-degrees, my bones have had it with New England winters.

The Sunday Star gave me a wonderful opportunity to rant a few times during the 10+ years that Political Waves ran every week. I would complain about traffic on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge , the lack of parking in Easton , and that the Maryland Democratic majority never met a tax increase they didn’t embrace.

We moved to Talbot County in 1978 and returned to Maine last summer to help care for an ailing family member. God, Alzheimer’s is a terrible disease.

The Star Democrat ran a revealing story recently about a few of Congressman Wayne Gilchrest’s closest supporters and some members of his staff who have formed a group supporting Frank Kratovil, the Democrat challenging Dr. Andy Harris in November’s 1st District congressional election. They held their first meeting in Kent County last week.

And lying out there, shrouded in fog, is the mystery of which candidate will receive the departing congressman’s endorsement. Will Gilchrest return the loyalty Republicans have given him the past 18 years?

Or will bitterness overtake his soul and turn this once immensely popular, mild-mannered Republican leader into a revenge machine, his only goal being to destroy the man whose primary victory forced him into retirement after nine terms in office?

It will be a good character study of the man who has represented the Eastern Shore on Capitol Hill these past 17½ years. I have written many times that Washington didn’t change Wayne and that he would probably be as happy returning to teaching as he has been negotiating with high-powered government figures, including the three presidents under whom he served.

I have always held Gilchrest to be a step above the average member of Congress because I knew the principle reason he held onto this seven-days-a-week job was to help people. He never sought the limelight or glory so many of his counterparts did. Wayne was more comfortable meeting with a group of farmers to discuss their problems than he was appearing on television talk shows tooting his own horn.

The Democrat candidate, Queen Anne’s County State ‘s Attorney Frank Kratovil, loves every minute of Republican discontent. He has been careful to praise Wayne at events throughout the Eastern Shore portion of the 1st District. Gone are the criticisms of Gilchrest with which Kratovil launched his campaign nearly a year ago.

Unfortunately, Wayne has been dangling his endorsement before the hyper-kinetic Kratovil, thereby giving Kratovil a powerful tool to use in raising money and in exciting his base of support. (more…)

Crossposted from Flopping Aces

also:

More Global Cooling

Another couple of years and the Global Warming hoax will be exposed! Science doesn’t lie even if environmentalists do!

Climate facts to warm to
by Christopher Pearson
The Australian
March 22, 2008

CATASTROPHIC predictions of global warming usually conjure with the notion of a tipping point, a point of no return.

Last Monday – on ABC Radio National, of all places – there was a tipping point of a different kind in the debate on climate change. It was a remarkable interview involving the co-host of Counterpoint, Michael Duffy and Jennifer Marohasy, a biologist and senior fellow of Melbourne-based think tank the Institute of Public Affairs. Anyone in public life who takes a position on the greenhouse gas hypothesis will ignore it at their peril. [full interview audio here]

Duffy asked Marohasy: “Is the Earth stillwarming?”
(more…)

by Haider Ajina

The following is good news from the Iraqi media.

From: Azzaman, March 25, 2008

Iraqi oil exports via Turkey surge to 400,000 bpd

By Ahmad al-Taai

Iraq says it has boosted its oil exports via Turkey to 400,000 barrels per day, the highest volume through the twin-pipeline since the 2003 U.S. invasion. But an Oil Ministry source said pumping at this ‘high rate’ was only made possible due to a substantial drop in attacks of sabotage in past weeks. Before the invasion, Iraq used to pump more than 800,000 barrels a day to Turkish terminals on the Mediterranean .

The source said pumping 400,000 barrels a day has been going on for more than a week and that the storage tanks at the Ceyhan terminal in Turkey were now holding more than 7 million barrels of crude. Attacks on pipelines have prevented the country from increasing its exports via Turkey , forcing it to rely mainly on southern oil fields and terminals. The source said 18,000 barrels per hour were being currently pumped from the northern oil fields of Kirkuk to Ceyhan.

The contribution of exports via Turkey has been increasing recently and last month more than 4 million barrels of Kirkuk crude were sold bringing the country 740 million dollars out of nearly four billion.

From : Voices of Iraq March 25 2008

12446 detainees released according to the Amnesty Law

(more…)

Crossposted from Red Maryland

Check out this little nugget regarding the Kevin Clark lawsuit:

Gov. Martin O’Malley, who fired former Baltimore police commissioner Kevin Clark when the governor was Baltimore mayor, will be deposed as part of a court battle to return the police chief to office, Mr. Clark’s attorneys said.

Which means that, theoretically, anything connected to the Governor’s failed years as Mayor of Baltimore could be on the table in the deposition.

One can only wonder exactly what questions Clark’s team of lawyers may cook up to ask O’Malley while he is under oath. Because for better or for worse, nothing may be out of bounds… (more…)

by Ken Blackwell – Columnist for the New York Sun

It’s an amazing time to be alive in America. We’re in a year of firsts in this presidential election: the first viable woman candidate; the first viable African-American candidate; and, a candidate who is the first frontrunning freedom fighter over 70. The next president of America will be a first.

We won’t truly be in an election of firsts, however, until we judge every candidate by where they stand. We won’t arrive where we should be until we no longer talk about skin color or gender.

Now that Barack Obama steps to the front of the Democratic field, we need to stop talking about his race, and start talking about his policies and his politics.

The reality is this: Though the Democrats will not have a nominee until August, unless Hillary Clinton drops out, Mr. Obama is now the frontrunner, and its time America takes a closer and deeper look at him.

Some pundits are calling him the next John F. Kennedy. He’s not. He’s the next George McGovern. And it’s time people learned the facts.

Because the truth is that Mr. Obama is the single most liberal senator in the entire U.S. Senate. He is more liberal than Ted Kennedy, Bernie Sanders, or Mrs. Clinton.

Never in my life have I seen a presidential frontrunner whose rhetoric is so far removed from his record. Walter Mondale promised to raise our taxes, and he lost. George McGovern promised military weakness, and he lost. Michael Dukakis promised a liberal domestic agenda, and he lost.

Yet Mr. Obama is promising all those things, and he’s not behind in the polls. Why? Because the press has dealt with him as if he were in a beauty pageant.
(more…)