American Elephants


How to end the Larry Craig controversy

mens room

It’s time to end this hullabaloo.

While the media broadcasts, “Larry Craig, Republican scandal!” 24 hours a day, there actually are important scandals and corruption getting swept under the rug (Hillary’s 157th campaign finance scandal, and Democrat 527, America Coming Together, illegally spending $137 MILLION to elect Demcorats.) The GOP needs to end this one yesterday — and I know just the way.

Craig’s resignation will not end the issue. Democrats and the media will continue to milk it for everything they can — whether Craig resigns or not. Already they are subtly, and not-so-subtly, suggesting that Craigs pervy indescressions in an airport bathroom are evidence of a corruptive nature that permeates the entire GOP. Of course its ridiculous on its face, but when has that ever stopped them before?

No, if Republicans want this one to go away, and go away immediately, there is only one thing to do — Senator Craig must switch parties.

The only thing Democrats prize more than attacking Republicans, is what they think it gets them — more power. If Craig were to declare himself a Democrat, this would go from a case of a lying hypocritical Republican being sleazy in a public bathroom and breaking the law to a case of privacy, homophobia and entrapment faster than you can tap your toe.

Of course i say this with tongue planted firmly in cheek, but you know it’s true.



Al Gore’s angry…again

Man Bear Pig Al

Al Gore has been incensed with what he calls the “well-funded climate-denial industry”. There have even been accusations that the relatively small think tank C.E.I. received as much as $10,000 from oil companies to encourage C.E.I. to deny global warming. Roy Spencer, Principal Research Scientist at University of Alabama at Huntsville laughed and remarked that since the government was funding scientists to the tune of $100,000 and $200,000 to prove that the globe is indeed warming, anything the deniers were getting was pretty small potatoes. Dr. Kenneth Green of A.E.I. calls our attention to the following article from Ad Age:

“But now one of the most hotly contended pitches out there is for the Alliance for Climate Protection, the organization formed last year by Al Gore. Four elite agencies — Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Bartle Bogle Hegarty, the Martin Agency and Y&R — are squaring off for the business and are expected to present to the former vice president himself early next month, according to executives familiar with the review. The budget for the “historic, three-to-five-year, multimedia global campaign,” as the request for proposals puts it, is contingent on how much money the alliance raises. Media spending will likely be more than $100 million a year.”

That’s right, $100 million per year. Al Gore, who seems to think it is sinister for other people to spend money in order to communicate their ideas about sound public policy is going to outspend the entire mass of climate policy critics tenfold in order to spread his message of environmental catastrophism to the public.

Will Newsweek damn Gore’s eco-industry funded hysteria campaign to lead a charge back to the stone age? Don’t hold your breath. (h/t Planet Gore on NRO)



Who would have thought?

Santa Barbara

City councils can be really ridiculous.

You would expect people to run for the office of city councilperson because they care about the running of the city, potholes and such, but no-oo. Apparently many serve on a city council because they want to change the world, or practice foreign affairs or just play politics.

Professor James Q. Wilson sent the following summary of an article in the Los Angeles Times to Powerline :

On August 26, 2007, the Los Angeles Times published an article explaining why the city council of Santa Barbara has been prevented from painting a blue line across the city to mark how high the water will be if you believe Al Gore’s prediction that global warming will make the oceans rise by 23 feet. The idea was not defeated because people realize that Gore’s prediction is silly and wrong, but because a Realtor threatened a law suit based on the argument that property values below the line would fall.



A word about the poor…

You probably saw the headline in the New York Times last year about the Swedish economists who said that the average Swedish citizen was poorer than America’s poorest. Well, no. Didn’t happen. The Swedish economists did indeed, but the New York Times didn’t mention it.

The government released its annual report on household incomes yesterday, and if the media did not have Senator Craig to distract them, you would hear a lot more about poverty today. There is a standard poverty theme: the left expresses moral outrage that in the world’s richest country there are still Americans living in poverty. The right, greedy and mean of course, believes that poverty is a result of government meddling.

Well, no. The fact is that government statistics don’t really tell us very much about poverty. The “poor”, technically, are a family of four who had cash income in 2006 of $20,614 or less, or a single person who had cash income of less than $1o,294. That isn’t much, but multiple studies show that Americans consume way more than their reported income.

How can this be? Take Joe college kid. He graduated in June, moved back home, took a couple of months vacation, spent a month getting his resume together, getting interview clothes and taking a part time job as a barista, so he could job hunt. After 3 months he found the job he wanted which paid pretty well. His total income from the coffee shop was only $2,340. The new job paid $40,000, but unfortunately he had only a month’s income from it. He is one of the “poor”. And there’s Bob business owner. He had a pretty good income, but some major business expenses to write off, and his wife had heavy medical expenses. By the time he finished his deductions, he had little formal income. You can think of many circumstances which would leave someone with little taxable income.

46% of all poor households actually own their own homes. The average home described as “poor” by the Census Bureau is a three bedroom house with one and a half baths, a garage and a porch or patio. 80% of poor households have air conditioning. Over 60% have more than two rooms per person. In 1970 more than 25% of the poor lived in overcrowded conditions (more than one person to a room) today it is only six percent.

The typical ‘poor’ American has more living space than average citizens of most European cities: Paris, London, Vienna or Athens. 75% of poor households in America own a car, 31% own two or more cars. 97% have a color television, over half own two or more colot TVs, and 62% have cable or satellite reception. About 33% of poor households have both landline and cell-phones. A third have answering machines, but a tenth of the poor have no telephone at all.

The percentage of Americans in poverty is decreasing, and their situation is improving. Sorry, Mr. Edwards, but it’s so.

There is real poverty among us. We are usually urged to think of poor children, because we are more sympathetic towards children, children can do little about their own situation, and because those discussing poverty have an agenda and want to influence us .

There are two main reasons why American children are poor. Their parents don’t work much and their fathers are absent. The typical American poor family, in good times or bad, is supported by only 800 hours of work a year. If one adult in the family worked for 40 hours a week throughout the year (2,000 hours) 75% of poor children would no longer be in official poverty.

Roughly two-thirds of poor children live in single-parent homes. Every year more than 1.5 million children are born out-of-wedlock. If the fathers of these children married the mothers, nearly three quarters of children would no longer be in poverty .

Work and marriage are reliable ways to escape poverty, but the welfare system is hostile to both. The major programs such as public housing, food stamps and Medicaid penalize marriage and reward idleness.

The left wants to eliminate poverty, but they think in terms of government programs. They have been outraged by welfare reform, for they believe it is harming the poor. They want more programs and more generous programs for they care about groups, and hope to woo those groups as Democrat party voters.

The right wants to eliminate poverty, but they think in terms of getting people back to work and discouraging out-of-wedlock childbirth. Republicans think in terms of individuals and recognize that welfare is both demeaning and discouraging, and that only through personal responsibility can one escape poverty. They would rather give people a boost up. They would rather “teach them to fish” as the proverb goes.

Labor unions have invested millions of dollars in the attempt to unionize Wal-Mart, whose employees apparently do not wish to be unionized. The unions have made every attempt to demonize Wal-Mart for paying low wages to their employees while helping those employees to get government health care. Wal-Mart is the largest employer of welfare-to-work women, and for the first year those women are required by the government to have Medicaid, as they begin to get on their feet and learn how to hold a job.

Is Wal-Mart helping women to get off welfare or are they just getting cheap labor? Should society insist that those who are able to work do so? Does giving the poor more money really help? How long should we keep it up? What about those who fail at their first job? There are many hard questions and few easy answers. Playing politics with poverty is not only unnecessary, but cruel.



Nanny Huckabee!

Huckabee Clinton

Mike Huckabee just lost my vote, and I hope yours too.

Governor Huckabee has just demonstrated without a doubt that he is no conservative, and has no clue what the constitutional role of the federal government is or ever was intended to be. He’s proven, probably without realizing it, that he is just another full-fledged, big-intrusive-government, nanny-state politician.

Asked if congress passed a nationwide smoking ban, at the if he would sign it, Huckabee said, “absolutely!” and that he thinks smoking should be banned in all public places and anywhere anyone works.

Nevermind that the entire idea that second hand smoke poses a danger to anyone is complete junk science—it is! In fact, all the most authoratative studies say its not even a danger if you live with a smoker. Its not even the smoking thats the problem.

It’s that Huckabee thinks there is any role whatsoever for the federal government in this issue in the first place. Its that he is willing to infringe upon the liberty of Americans based on fads and entirely phony-baloney evidence. And that he thinks that it is the proper role of government, especially the federal government, to protect Americans from themselves.

Even if you hate smoking, as odds are that you do—why do you have the right to tell me that I cant allow my customers to smoke at my privately owned bar or restaraunt?

Conservatives believe in small government, individual liberty and the free market. If you don’t like smoking, patronize places that dont allow it. If there arent any places that dont allow it, start one! There’s obviously a demand for it. But it is antithetical to conservative principles to use the power of the government to force private enterprise to ban perfectly legal behavior that harms no one but those who engage in it.

And even if you don’t agree with any of that—if you believe its perfectly appropriate for the government to reach into private enterprise and make such decisions for people—why shouldn’t this be left at the state and local level? Where does the federal government have any role in such decisions whatsoever?

The constitution is not an enumeration of the rights of the people, it is a specific list of the few powers the people confer upon the federal government. If you support Huckabee, please show me where the constitution grants the federal government such power, because I know its not in my copy.

And therein lies the danger of Nanny Huckabee. Someone who doesnt understand such a bedrock principle of conservatism doesnt understand the role of the federal government at all. Huckabee is big on health now, whats to prevent him from signing a national ban on trans fats? What other personal liberty will he destroy for the “common good”? He’s just shown that he’s entirely willing to, based on entirely faulty science and fad. And that should scare the pants off any true conservative.

If you have any lingering doubts that this policy shows a fundamental flaw in Huckabee’s understanding of government, Hillary Clinton holds the exact same view.



Another murderous dictator endorses Democrats

Carter Castro

Why is it that, without fail, every evil tyrant, thug, and murderous regime on Earth lines up squarely in favor of the Democratic party? Mahmoud Amedinejad, Osama Bin Laden, Muqtada el Sadr, al Qaeda, Kim Jong Il, Hugo Chavez, and now Fidel Castro:

HAVANA (Reuters) – Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is tipping Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to team up and win the U.S. presidential election…

“The word today is that an apparently unbeatable ticket could be Hillary for president and Obama as her running mate,” he wrote in an editorial column on U.S. presidents published on Tuesday by Cuba’s Communist Party newspaper, Granma. [more]

Castro blasted Bush and lavished praise on both Bill and Hillary Clinton, Obama and his old friend, Jimmy Carter.

When the most evil men on Earth aren’t directly endorsing the Democrat candidates, they’re making speeches that sound as if they come straight from DNC talking points.

Democrat supporters: when evil is endorsing your party, don’t you think its time you re-evaluate your vote? I’m just saying



What to do with Senator Craig?
August 29, 2007, 4:49 am
Filed under: Emerald City Elephant, News, Politics | Tags: ,

mens room

There’s just nothing good about the whole messy affair. That is unless you’re a liberal who finds joy in other’s suffering—which of course is just plain evil.

I think he should step down. And not because he’s a closet homosexual, but because he’s a married man, cheating on his wife, lying to his family and constituents and breaking the law.

And the Republican party should urge him to do so with precisely that explanation—making it very clear to all Americans its out of intolerance for his actions not his orientation.

So far, the best opining I’ve seen on the issue comes from Patrick Ruffini, over at townhall:

…The only hypocrites here are the live-and-let-live left that continues to preach an absolute separation between public performance and private morality, and yet seeks to demolish that wall when it is politically expedient for them, doing so in the most personally invasive manner possible… [read more]

I agree with Ruffini that most Christian conservatives are, “a lot more sophisticated than the hateful outers of the left,” but there does exist a certain segment of Christian conservatives that are simply intolerant of homosexuals period—the ones who turned their backs on Jim Kolbe when he spoke at the Republican convention, for example.

I respect their right to believe that homosexuality is sinful, but I have yet to read any passage in the Bible that calls for us to turn our backs on others. I see behavior like that and I have great compassion for the Larry Craig’s of the world. I’ve never experienced that sort of hate from anyone but the left, but I can imagine it would torture a person.

Seems a lot of conservative leaders have been caught in similar scandals lately. Perhaps God is trying to tell us something?



Welcome to Bellevue, Mr. President!

none

On a happier note, two of the best men in Washington DC will be in my home town today. My Congressman, Dave Reichert, and President Bush. The President is in town to do a fund raiser for Reichert, who Democrats are targeting heavily (we live in a swing district). I’ve already gotten a slew of dishonest, sleazy automated phone calls and misleading mailers. The DNC is working hard to take his seat and they’re pouring money into his opponent’s campaign from out of state.

You may remember Reichert as the Sheriff who solved the Green River Killer serial killer case. He was a great Sheriff and he’s a great congressman. If you’re looking for solid, honorable conservatives to get behind, if you want more solid conservatives in congress, make a contribution to Dave Reichert’s campaign.

Reichert is strong on defense, a strong fiscal conservative—as a former highly respected Sherriff, hes a law and order man, who believes in enforcing the law—including immigration law. Reichert is one of the few in congress who has sworn off earmarks! He’s balanced and rational on energy, and the environment, believes in small government and market based solutions for healthcare, and he’s as honest, and ethical as they come. I make him sound like a boy scout, and honestly, he probably was. Reichert is a great man, a great Representative, a good person, and a real up and comer.

I hope you will consider contributing to his campaign. The GOP needs more men like him, and as I said, Democrats are targeting his seat heavily.

I will go down today to show my support, and provide some balance to all the smelly commie hippies that will be there to protest. Hopefully I can get a good look at the motorcade. If you’ve never seen a presidential motorcade go by, try to. They are very exciting to see. The road’s cleared of all other traffic, dozens of police, and the motorcade itself, lights flashing, all travelling very fast, even on surface streets. Anyway, my luck, I’ll be on the wrong side of the building!



Standard operating procedure…
  1. Upcoming election? check!
  2. Republican administration? check!
  3. Clinton administration hacks overseas predicting doom and gloom? check!

I love this! Pay no attention to those positive economic indicators and housing market growth!:

It would be far too premature to judge this crisis over,” Mr Summers said. “I would say the risks of recession are now greater than they’ve been any time since the period in the aftermath of 9/11.”[emphasis added]

Just like Iraq, pay no attention to the good news, everything’s going to hell!



Gonzales Resigns…

Bush and Gonzales

Democrats prove once again that you don’t need facts or truth to be on your side to create a scandal or smear a good man.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose first name many Americans have come to believe is actually “Embattled,” gave his resignation to President Bush last Friday. News accounts say Bush “grudgingly” accepted it. The news was just announced this morning.

Democrats successfully and extremely dishonestly smeared Gonzales name. While Gonzales performance has been far from perfect, there was absolutely no wrongdoing in the US Attorney firings, and contrary to the perception Democrats were able to create, there was absolutely no dishonesty in Gonzales’ testimony.

As a political move it appears utterly inept. If Gonzales was only going to resign now, what was the point of standing by him? The resignation follows too closely on the heels of the Democrats fabricated “scandal” to come off as anything but a major victory for the Democrats and a concession that Gonzales had done something wrong.

I have two theories.

One, as I suggested with Karl Rove’s unexpected resignation, I believe General Petraeus’ report is going to be quite favorable, and that Democrats will be looking to distract the public, or stir up scandal in any way they can. As the greatest current sources of controversy, Rove and Gonzales are obvious targets for Democrats attempts to distract. I think the President may be clearing the board of distractions before the report comes out. It certainly makes more sense than throwing Gonzales overboard after standing by him so long.

A second, more unlikely possibility—one that I keep my fingers crossed for nonetheless—is that progress has been made in the ongoing, but very quiet leak investigations. Mark Levin reported on his show that subpoenas or warrants had been served… honestly I dont remember the details, but the essence was that those investigations were going forward and that they may actually have been getting close to finding out who leaked top secret information to the press.

If that were true, it could be difficult to bring those cases to prosecution if the man Democrats smeared as firing US Attorneys for political retribution is still heading the Justice Department.

Again, its a stretch, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to see those traitors brought to justice!

One silver lining though, at least the boobs at the New York Times won’t have to worry about misspelling Attorney General Gonzales’ name so often anymore.



Someone ought to tell CNN…

This is refreshing:

Two of the BBC’s most senior news and current affairs executives attacked the corporation’s plans yesterday for a Comic Relief-style day of programming on environmental issues, saying it was not the broadcaster’s job to preach to viewers. [more]

Someone really ought to tell that to CNN (and the rest of the American news media for that matter):Planet in peril

Planet in Peril

Planet in peril? There’s an objective title for you! Fresh on the heels of Christianne Amanpour’s fair and balanced comparison of Christians and Orthodox Jews to Islamofascist Terrorists.

Here’s how CNN describes Anderson Cooper’s upcoming “investigation”:

“CNN´s Planet in Peril takes viewers around the world in a two–part, four–hour documentary that examines our changing planet. This worldwide investigation looks at four key issues: climate change, vanishing habitats, disappearing species and human population growth.”

And CNN wants the viewers to feel involved in their latest piece of journalism activism:

Take action! When you want to help the planet’s ecosystems and wildlife, these are opportunities to Impact Your World. Do something!…

CNN.com is looking for your photos, videos or stories on how climate change is affecting the Earth. Tell us about what you are doing to improve the planet and how you are making your world a greener place.

Notice the poll on the home page where 55% of respondents believe that man is the “principle factor” in global warming, and an additional 26% say man contributes “a lot” to global warming, for a grand total of 81% who believe man plays a leading role in global warming. Eighty-one percent!

Propaganda, thy name is CNN!



Is nothing sacred?

Honestly, is there anything in life that Democrats dont politicize???

Obama campaigns in church



What now Democrats?

treason and plot

At the same time Democrats have been forced by events on the ground to admit that the surge is making great progress in bringing stability and security to Iraq, they have been utterly dismissing that very same progress citing the lack of political headway, thus still declaring the “surge” a failure, and demanding our troops leave immediately.

But in the past week we have learned that, apparently, significant progress is being made towards political benchmarks as well.

First the Italian news service, AKI, reported that the head of Iraq’s largest insurgency has decided to cooperate with the government and join in the fight against al Qaeda. Now, we learn that “top Shi’ite, Sunni Arab and Kurdish political leaders announced on Sunday they had reached consensus on some key measures seen as vital to fostering national reconciliation,” according to Reuters:

The agreement by the five leaders was one of the most significant political developments in Iraq for months and was quickly welcomed by the United States, which hopes such moves will ease sectarian violence that has killed tens of thousands…

Iraqi officials said the five leaders had agreed on draft legislation that would ease curbs on former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath party joining the civil service and military.

Consensus was also reached on a law governing provincial powers as well as setting up a mechanism to release some detainees held without charge, a key demand of Sunni Arabs since the majority being held are Sunnis…

Yasin Majid, a media adviser to Maliki, told Reuters the leaders also endorsed a draft oil law, which has already been agreed by the cabinet but has not yet gone to parliament. [read more]

Interesting, isn’t it, that the mainstream media havent seen these developments fit to report?

So first Democrats demanded a new direction in Iraq—they surfed through an entire election calling for change without ever uttering a peep as to what they would do if they were in power. Nevermind that Bush had already given the American people a new strategy in the surge. Nevermind that the Senate had unanimously confirmed General Petraeus who was entirely forthright in his support for the plan—when Democrats took control of both houses of congress, they finally announced their strategy for the very first time, and declared that the American people had given them a mandate to violate the separation of powers in the Constitution and enact their heretofore undisclosed strategy of surrender and ordered the troops home.

So Harry and Nancy took on the President—dragging the entire nation down into the muck with them, including the troops in time of war—knowing full well they didnt have the votes to win in the first place. How was that good for anyone? It certainly wasn’t good for the troops. Ahhh, but it benefitted the Democrats politically, and that’s all thats important to them. Unfortunately, the learning opportunity of this fiasco was lost and the American people never seemed to get that Democrats were making an unconstitutional powergrab since the constitution doesn’t give congress the power to direct the troops in war.

Then Democrats declared the “surge” a failure before it had really begun. Harry, Nancy, Chuck and Carl and the whole crooked lot blanketed the airwaves, trying desperately to convince the American people that somehow the surge had utterly failed even though the troops hadn’t even all arrived yet.

Now the troops are there, and winning. The progress is so palpable, that even the New York Times cheif correspondent admits that things are looking up. Other liberals have joined his voice, saying now is not the time to leave. Democrats have really been left no other choice but to admit our troops are indeed succeeding—that the surge is working…

“BUT!” they say, there’s been no political progress, so its really a failure afterall! And Prime Minister Maliki is a miserable failure and hes got to go! Oh, and by the way, we need to bring the troops home right now!

And here is where we find ourselves today—the surge is working, and now there’s real progress towards political benchmarks, accomplished in large part by the democratically elected leader of a democratically elected government that “Democrats” just called for the ouster of.

So, the question then becomes, what will Democrats do to undermine America and Iraq next? How, pray tell, will Harry, Nancy, Hillary, Chuck and the rest of the crooked lot try to convince the American people that all this success is really a failure?

And is there any doubt that they will try?

Michael Ramirez



Four commercials every American should watch

Freedom’s Watch – Veteran

A series of powerful commercials about the importance of winning this war by those who have sacrificed so much for it. They are produced by Freedoms Watch.

Do your part to win the war!

Our soldiers can’t be expected to fight the war in Iraq AND the war at home. We must win the war at home!

Please post these videos to your own blogs if you can—they deserve to be seen by as many Americans as possible. They are a poignant rebuttle to the ceaseless anti-war propaganda pushed on Americans by Democrats and their mouthpieces the mainstream media. You can also e-mail these videos to the people you know by clicking “share” at the end of the video.

Freedom’s Watch asks that if you agree with their message, that you contact your Congresspersons and share your opinions. I’ll add to that, write to your local newspapers, call talk radio and share your opinions there as well—then please do what you can to make sure as many people see these commercials as possible…. Post them, email them, link to me, or you might consier making a contribution to Freedom’s Watch to help them make their commericals available to a wider audience.

Liberals at ABCNews and across the internet are already attacking the commercials and the heroes in them. I can think of no better response than to make certain every American sees them.

The first commercial is entitled “Freedom’s Watch – Veteran”
Iraq war veteran John Kriesel lost both legs in a blast near Fallujah on December 2nd, 2006. It was near the end of his second tour. Listen to why John believes Victory is America’s only choice. (ht/Powerline)

Watch. Share. Write. Give.

Freedom’s Watch – Travis

Laura Youngblood lost 2 family members to al Qaeda terrorists, first her uncle Henry a New York City fireman who lost his life on 9/11, and than her husband Travis died fighting for our freedom in Iraq. Listen to why Laura believes Victory is America’s only choice.

Freedom’s Watch – Robinson

Iraq war veteran Andrew Robinson was on his second tour of duty when he was wounded by an IED in June of 2006. Andrew lost the use of his legs. Listen to why Andrew believes Victory is America’s only choice.

Freedom’s Watch – Jesse

Vicki Strong lost her son, Marine Sgt. Jesse Strong, in Iraq fighting for our freedom. Listen to why Vicki believes Victory is America’s only choice.



Obama: a divider not a uniter!

Barack Obama

Asked in an interview by the Associated Press which Republicans he would reach across the aisle to work with as president, Barack Obama named Senators Richard Lugar, John Warner, and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma.

According to the AP, Obama said the problem with Washington DC is that President Bush has created a partisan atmosphere.

Uh huh.

“There are some very capable Republicans who I have a great deal of respect for,” Obama said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Some? That’s right, apparently the rookie from Illinois thinks three of his 251 Republican congressional colleagues are capable and worthy of respect. How gracious of you Senator Obama. Thanks!

So when asked which Republicans he will work with, Obama names only three senators, zero represenatives (apparently nobody told the greenhorn cum leader-of-the-free-world-wannabe that the President of the United States of America is generally expected to work with both houses of congress), and we’re supposed to accept that its because President Bush is partisan? The man who invited Ted Kennedy over for movies and pop corn? The man Obama’s fellow Democrats call an incompetent, miserable failure and a liar?

Senator Obama—who has yet to break party ranks on a single vote—can only name three men he’d work with, but Bush is partisan?

uh. yeeaah. Can I interest you in a lovely Minnesotan bridge that’s just come up for sale?

In case you are wondering, here is a list of the Republicans Barack Obama will NOT attempt to work with:

SENATORS: Lamar Alexander, Wayne Allard, John Barrasso, Robert Bennett, Christopher Bond, Sam Brownback, Jim Bunning, Richard Burr, Saxby Chambliss, Thad Cochran, Norm Coleman, Susan Collins, Bob Corker, John Cornyn, Larry Craig, Mike Crapo, Jim DeMint, Elizabeth Dole, Pete Domenici, John Ensign, Michael Enzi, Lindsay Graham, Chuck Grassley, Judd Gregg, Chuck Hagel, Orrin Hatch, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, James Inhofe, Jonny Isakson, Jon Kyl, Trent Lott, Mel Martinez, John McCain, Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski, Pat Roberts, Jeff Sessions, Richard Shelby, Gordon Smith, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, Ted Stevens, John Sununu, John Thune, David Vitter, George Voinovich
REPRESENTATIVES: Jo Bonner, Terry Everett, Mike Rogers, Robert Aderholt, Spencer Bachus, Don Young, Rick Renzi, Trent Franks, John Shadegg, Jeff Flake, John Boozman, Wally Herger, Dan Lungren, John Doolittle, George Radanovich, Devin Nunes, Kevin McCarthy, Elton Gallegly, Howard McKeon, David Dreier, Ed Royce, Jerry Lewis, Gary Miller, Ken Calvert, Mary Bono, Dana Rohrabacher, John Campbell, Darrell Issa, Brian Bilbray, Duncan Hunter, Marilyn Musgrave, Doug Lamborn, Tom Tancredo, Chris Shays, Michael Castle, Jeff Miller, Ander Crenshaw, Ginny Brown-Waite, Cliff Steams, John Mica, Ric Keller, Mike Bilirakis, Bill Young, Adam Putnam, Vern Buchanan, Connie Mack, Dave Weldon, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Tom Feeney, Mario Diaz-Balart, Jack Kingston, Tom Price, John Linder, Lynn Westmoreland, Nathan Deal, Phil Gingrey, Bill Sali, Mike Simpson, Peter Roskam, Mark Kirk, Jerry Weller, Judy Biggert, Dennis Hastert, Tim Johnson, Donald Manzullo, Ray Lahood, John Shimkus, Mark Souder, Steve Buyer, Dan Burton, Mike Pence, Tom Latham, Steve King, Jerry Moran, Todd Tiahrt, Ed Whitfield, Ron Lewis, Geoff Davis, Hal Rogers, Bobby Jindal, Jim McCrery, Rodney Alexander, Richard Baker, Charles Boustany, Wayne Gilchrest, Roscoe Bartlett, Pete Hoekstra, Vern Ehlers, Dave Camp, Fred Upton, Tim Walberg, Mike Rogers, Joe Knollenberg, Candice Miller, Thad McColter, John Kline, Jim Ramstad, Michele Bachmann, Roger Wicker, Chip Pickering, Todd Akin, Sam Graves jr., Roy Blunt, Jo Ann Emerson, Kenny Charles Hulshof, Denny Rehberg, Jeff Fortenberry, Lee Terry, Adrian Smith, Dean Heller, Jon Porter, Frank LoBlondo, Jim Saxton, Chris Smith, E Scott Garrett, Michael Ferguson, Rodney Freylinghuysen, Heather Wilson, Stevan Pearce, Peter King, Vito Fossella, John McHugh, Jim Walsh, Tom Reynolds, Randy Kuhl, Walter Jones Jr., Virginia Foxx, Howard Coble, Robin Hayes, Sue Myrick, Patrick McHenry, Steve Chabot, Jean Schmidt, Mike Turner, Jim Jordan, Paul Gillmor, Dave Hobson, John Boehner, Pat Tiberi, Steve LaTourette, Deborah Price, Ralph Regula, John Sullivan, Frank Lucas, Tom Cole, Mary Fallin, Greg Walden, Phil English, John Peterson, Jim Gerlach, Bill Shuster, Charles Dent, Joe Pitts, Tim Murphy, Todd Platts, Henry Brown, Joe Wilson, J. Gresham Barrett, Bob Inglis, David Davis, John Duncan, Zach Wamp, Marsha Blackburn, Louie Gohmert, Ted Poe, Sam Johnson, Ralph Hill, Jeb Hensarling, Joe Barton, John Culbertson, Kevin Brady, Michael McCaul, Mike Conaway, Kay Granger, Mac Thornberry, Ron Paul, Randy Neugebauer, Lamar Smith, Kenny Marchant, Michael Burgess, John Carter, Pete Sessions, Rob Bishop, Chris Cannon, Jo Ann Davis, Thelma Drake, Robert Scott, Randy Forbes, Virgil Goode, Bob Goodlatte, Eric Cantor, Frank Wolf, Tom Davis, Doc Hastings, Cathy McMorris, Dave Reichert, Shelly Moore Capito, Paul Ryan, Jim Sensenbrenner, Tom Petri, and Barbara Cubin

Not ready for small time, let alone prime time.



The Great VIOLENT North

Human Candian flag

Canadians are nice, friendly, peaceful people, and Americans are violent pigs living in a crime infested country, right?

Wrong.

Completely 100% bass-ackwards as a matter of fact. Canada’s violent crime rate is twice that of the United States. According to the FBI, there are 4.7 violent crimes per 1,000 Americans—but there are 9.5 violent crimes for every 1,000 Canucks according to Statistics Canada. (HT/Don Surber, Charleston Daily Mail)

I don’t doubt it. I’ve lived in the United States my entire life and have never been victim to violent crime. I’ve visited Vancouver, BC a handful of times and was nearly the victim of an attempted bashing. (Fortunately an ambulance was driving by at the time and turned its sirens and lights on and scared the group of young men that had just started pushing us around away.)

And as Mr. Surber explains, it isn’t just Canada—Norway has over twice as much crime per capita and nearly 20% more violent crime per capita.

But how can that be, you say? The United States leads the world in prison population!

By Jove, I think she’s got it!

We are told that the United States leads the world in its prison population. This may be true. Roughly 1/2 of 1 percent of Americans are in prison.The upside is that is nearly 1.4 million robbers, muggers, killers and rapists who are not out robbing, mugging, killing and raping.

…The prisons are worth every penny.

Prisons keep more children from being molested. Prisons keep more people from being killed. Prisons keep more drunken drivers off the road.

Some say the nation is becoming a “prison state.” I grew up in a high crime area in Cleveland where no one ventured out after dark.

That’s a prison state.

The choice is this: Either have a high incarceration rate or have a high crime rate. Norway and Canada have made their choice. America has made hers. [read more]



How modern liberals think

HERITAGE FOUNDATION:

How liberals think. Funny and right on the money.