Ted Stevens Indicted
Ted Stevens (R-AK), the longest serving GOP senator, was indicted on corruption charges today. The indictment includes seven counts of failing to disclose more than $250,000 in gifts and services from an oil services company that helped renovate his home.
All I can say is: it’s about time!
Ho-hum…
I’ve been digging around looking for something interesting to blog about over the past few days and so far I’ve come up dry. I could write about Barack Obama’s world tour but that’s been done to death and frankly I can’t think of anything hasn’t already been said. So I thought rather than leaving you with “dead air” for another day or two I’d share a few must reads with you.
The first two are from today’s Wall Street Journal:
The Greatest Scandal, Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2008
The profound failure of inner-city public schools to teach children may be the nation’s greatest scandal. The differences between the two Presidential candidates on this could hardly be more stark. John McCain is calling for alternatives to the system; Barack Obama wants the kids to stay within that system. We think the facts support Senator McCain. Read the rest…
Docking Paychecks for Politics, Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2008
The mighty Service Employees International Union (SEIU) plans to spend some $150 million in this year’s election, most of it to get Barack Obama and other Democrats elected. Where’d they get that much money? Read the rest…
The Second two are from today’s New York Sun:
The Tipping Point, By Michael Barone, Creators Syndicate Inc. July 28, 2008
Sometimes public opinion doesn’t flow smoothly; it shifts sharply when a tipping point is reached. Case in point: gas prices. $3 a gallon gas didn’t change anybody’s mind about energy issues. $4 a gallon gas did. Evidently, the experience of paying more than $50 for a tankful gets people thinking we should stop worrying so much about global warming and the environmental dangers of oil wells on the outer continental shelf and in Alaska. Drill now! Nuke the caribou! Read the rest…
Thinking About the Dollar, By Martain Feldstein, Project Syndicate, July 28, 2008
How much further will the dollar fall? Or has it already fallen so far that it will now start to move back to a higher level? Read the rest…
And finally from the American Thinker:
The Operative Term is ‘Hubris’, By J.R. Dunn
He has a seat on his campaign aircraft marked “president”. He has taken a shot at creating his own presidential seal, complete with Latin motto. He has laid claim to personal control over the world’s oceans and seas. He has repeatedly attempted to dictate how and on what level he, his ideas, and his activities may be discussed. He has encouraged a portrayal of himself as a messianic figure, including a portrait of himself as Christ, complete with halo. He is even now completing a triumphant grand tour of the old world, during which he attempted to shanghai an ancient monument for personal use without consulting the host government. Read the rest…
The Champagne Is On Me…
Whew! That was fun… I just finished moving jasetaro.com to a new web host. I won’t get into all the details I’ll just say that over the that over the last couple of weeks its become clear that my old host wasn’t going to be able to me my needs, so I fired them.
So far I’m completely happy with my new hosting provider, InMotion Hosting… Which is something I can’t say about my old host.
Anyway, the champagne is on me. 
Irish Eyes Are Smiling…
Congratulations Padraig Harrington, Champion Golf of the Year.
Harrington fired a 1 under par 69 on Sunday to win his second straight British Open Championship.
Could Iraq Be The Democrats Waterloo?
Democrats have spent virtually every waking minute of the last 5 years predicting disaster in Iraq. They’ve so thoroughly invested themselves in defeat one has to wonder what they’re going to do now that the situation there has improved so dramatically that even the mainstream media has taken notice?
For the moment they seem to be in denial and clinging to the same defeatist mantra they’ve used since 2003. They seem to have completely missed the surge, the Anbar awakening, the collapse of militia groups and the growing strength of the Iraqi government. They keeping focusing on the increasingly rare suicide bombers, coalition casualties, and the difficulties the Iraqi government is having accomplishing a few legislative benchmarks.
I’m not ready to join Michael Yon and say the war has ended but I think we’re finally on the right track.
Take a couple of minutes to read The New Reality in Iraq By Frederick W. Kagan, Kimberly Kagan & Jack Keane in today’s Wall Street Journal and then checkout While America Slept (Part One) at the Mudville Gazette.
I think it’s safe to say we’ve turned the corner in Iraq and it’s time for Democrats to face the reality that not only can we win in Iraq but that victory is close at hand.
Oh Jeez… The New Yorker Strikes Again.
I’ve long considered The New Yorker to be nothing more than quasi-intellectual crap and their latest cover does nothing change that opinion.
The cover, which is supposed to be satirical spoof of the fears and lies about Obama, depicts Barack & Michelle sharing a celebratory fist bump in the oval office. There’s a portrait of Osama Bin Laden on the wall and a burning American flag in the fireplace. He’s dressed in Muslim garb and she’s dressed as a revolutionary complete with assault rifle and bandoleer of bullets.
I agree with the Obama campaign it’s tasteless and offensive… At the same time I have to say: Man Up Barack! As bad as the New Yorker’s cover is it is, as Michelle Malkin notes, no worse than what President Bush or Condoleezza Rice have been subjected to.
A McCain landslide?
The American Thinker is one my daily must reads and this mornings piece by Kyle-Anne Shiver “Could 2008 Be a McCain Landslide?” certainly has me thinking. I’m not ready to join Ms. Shiver out on that limb though, frankly I’m more pessimistic about John McCain’s prospects than she is. That said her analysis is definitely worth reading.
My fellow conservatives…
My fellow conservatives, it’s time for us to face an ugly reality - we had a bunch of lackluster uninspiring presidential candidates to choose from and now we’re stuck with John McCain as our nominee. I’m no McCain fan, I don’t like him and I don’t trust him to stand up for conservative principles. But given the choice of voting for him or Barack Obama it’s a no brainer… I’ll hold my nose and vote McCain.
Yes, we could cast a protest votes and write in Fred Thompson or Newt Gingrich but the reality is neither one of them has a snowballs chance in hell of actually winning. So we’re stuck with the choice between bad and worse, personally, I’ll take bad over worse. There’s at least a chance we’ll be able to influence John McCain in less bad direction but there’s no chance at all we’ll have any sway over Barack Obama.
Yes, I’m sick of having to choose between the lesser of two evils but I don’t see where there’s any other choice.
This isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement but for better or worse I’m voting for McCain and I hope you will too.
Whoops, I’m back…
I had a minor database problem this morning and had to restore from a backup. Unfortunately any comments that were posted yesterday were lost. 
Tell the RNC what you think…
Here’s your chance… Have at them
Here’s my top ten:
- A strong dollar - The value of the dollar has fallen over much of the
past decade and we’re paying for it in the form of higher prices for oil and
gas among other things. Stabilizing and strengthening the dollar will help
reduce the price of gas and other commodities. - Tax cuts - Specifically make George W. Bush’s marginal rate reductions
permanent, reduce the capital gains tax rate, eliminate the “death tax” and
cut the corporate tax rate from the current 35 percent to 25 percent. - Fiscal responsibility - We are not under-taxed, the government spends too
much. Want my vote? End earmarks and balance the budget! - A strong national defense. - Fight for the NSA surveillance program,
protect telecom companies from frivolous lawsuits, preserve the PATRIOT act,
keep the Guantanamo Bay detention center open, fight to win the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq. Make sure that our veterans can live out their lives
in dignity. - Secure borders - This is a very simple thing. Any nation that fails to
defend its borders will eventually cease to be a sovereign nation. Build the
fence, and enforce the laws already on the books! - Increased domestic energy production - End or at least ease the
restrictions on domestic oil and natural gas drilling. - Free Market health care solutions - Just say no to government controlled
nationalized health care. We have to best health care system in the world.
Yes there are problems, yes the costs spiraling upwards but nationalized
health care isn’t the answer. Free market ideas like health savings
accounts, tax breaks for small business owners, and tort reform are better
ideas. - Tax breaks for families who choose to send their children to private or
parochial schools. - Vouchers are a nonstarter with me but allowing parents
to deduct private or parochial school tuition from their taxes makes sense. - Social Security and Medicare reform.
- The appointment of judges who recognize that their job is to interpret
the Constitution, NOT legislate from the bench.
Hat Tip: Michelle Malkin