Free kibbles

Coalition forces are defeating al Qaeda in Ramadi. Condoleezza Rice says Bush Administration erred on the number of troops to send to Iraq. Did she just figure that out? Good news on Iraq.

Survey shows Iraqis are unhappy. With terrorists lurking around every corner, it's no wonder. Too bad we waited 4 years to get serious about security. The results of this poll will be very different in 6 months. I just hope the press reports it. Forget 6 months, another survey claims that Iraqis say life is getting better. Why should we trust polls again?

Survey shows Europeans are unhappy as well, since the EU was formed. I wonder if Bush will be blamed.

UK allows schools to ban full face veils.

Norway ends boycott of Palestinian government.

Iran claims US is kidnapping Revolutionary Guard officers in Europe - that they aren't defecting. Iran says it will retaliate. That won't go over well. Are these guys defecting, or are we kidnapping them? Even if they are defecting, the Iranians would never believe it.

US says it has resolved financial dispute with North Korea.

Hysteric predicts "billions will die." Scientists blame Hollywood for Global Warming hysteria. Gore's toxic mining operation. Gore challenged to an international, televised debate on climate change.

Monckton, a former policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher during her years
as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, said, "A careful study of the
substantial corpus of peer-reviewed science reveals that Mr. Gore's film,
An Inconvenient Truth, is a foofaraw of pseudo-science, exaggerations, and
errors, now being peddled to innocent schoolchildren worldwide."

I can't get over the extreme double standard we allow in Washington. Gonzales may be fired over some emails, but Janet Reno had 82 Branch Davidians killed in Waco, and she never lost her job. It's very good to be a Democrat in Washington.

The White House halts publication of earmarks. Congress continues the practice unabated.

The military is unprepared for other conflicts. That's because Bill Clinton cut the size of the army nearly in half. You can cut the army in half in a year, but it takes many years and political will to rebuild it.

Guantanamo prisoner confesses to attacking the USS Cole.

Other ways the FBI abuses the unconstitutional, bipartisan Patriot Act.

Survey of voter ID requirements and effects in 2006 election.

Supreme Court takes up "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case.

Politicians in Tennessee don't have to pay their electric bill.

Canned and foil packed pet food recalled including brands Iams and Eukenuba.

Menu Foods posted a full list of brand names and lot numbers covered by the recall on its Web site. Consumers with questions can call (866) 463-6738.

Obama ad based on old Apple ad. It's cool, but the gushing is unwarranted. It has no substance. There are no ideas.

Lesbian couple kicked out of IHOP for kiss on the cheek.

Christopher Hitchens says that even in hindsight, invading Iraq was the right decision.

Senator claims Plame's testimony before the House contradicts her secret testimony in front of the Senate.

Better late than never, the press is finally catching on to Gore's hypocrisy and hysteria.

Dinesh D'Souza explains why the left hates Bush more than bin Laden.

Free kibbles

Terrorists in Iraq attack with chlorine bombs. Democrats want us to retreat and hand Iraq over to these terrorists.

Palestinians create unity cabinet. Israel continues boycott since Hamas refuses to recognize Israel.

North Korea nuclear deal hits snag over frozen funds.

White House has hazy memories on who suggested firing attorneys. CBS predicts Bush will fire Gonzales. Fired attorneys "chaffed" at administration's crime fighting priorities. That sounds like a good reason to fire them to me.

NASA outlines asteroid deflection plan.

Japanese company admits nuclear power plant mistakes.

Witness claims the White House failed to investigate the Plame leak.

Massachusetts health care update.

FBI document links Bobby Kennedy to Marilyn Monroe's death. Wow.

Duke accuser not cooperative with special prosecutors.

Free kibbles

Plame cashes in for magazine article. CIA desk jockey Valerie Plame claims to have been a covert agent. Like all good lies, this one is based on a grain of truth. Plame had been a covert agent in the past, but she had been riding a desk for 5 years, long past the time requirement for a covert agent as defined by the law that would have made outing her illegal. Plame shoved herself into the spotlight by using her husband, and she's milking her 15 minutes of fame for all it's worth - and it's worth a lot to Democrats. Plame will end up rich as well as famous for playing the victim card.

Rove and Gonzales discussed firings. Why Bush wants to crack down on voter fraud.

China passes property law. This is a big win for freedom in China and a significant step to the end of tyranny there. Too bad we're going the opposite direction on property rights in America.

We recently heard about a high-level Iranian defector. Reason wonders if Iran isn't hemorrhaging defectors.

Pakistani police clash with protesting lawyers. Unrest grows.

Palestinian gunmen fire on UN aid convoy. They must not want any aid.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammad's confession. After all the crimes this mass murderer has confessed to, US Senators are more concerned about attacking the CIA than al Qaeda.

South Florida imposes water restrictions.

The Clinton's are on the defensive: Bill rips the NYT, Book claims Clinton had more affairs (do we need a book to figure that out?), Hillary not VP candidate in '04 because she was too polarizing.

Bush pledges to rebuild Republican party for '08 victory. Are you kidding me? Bush's leadership has ruined the Republican party. With a leader like Bush, Republicans can be beat by even the more horrible Democrats. Republicans need to get away from Bush's big-government incompetence.

Dick Morris says that Newt and Romney are in the way of more viable conservatives.

Voters think the news is biased. Of course it is - that's human nature.

Bizarre castration ritual in sex slave ring - victims don't want to prosecute.

Enormous amounts of water ice found on Mars.

In a bizarre fit of self-censorship, a school in England changed the story of "The Three Little Pigs" to "The Three Little Puppies."

Kent Hate University? Along with the jihadist professor on their payroll, Kent State has a professor who is a member of the KKK.

Send a Fax to your representatives supporting the FairTax!

Free kibbles

Emails may contradict testimony on attorney firings. Emails. The Justice Dept. will always be political. Bush may be turning on Gonzales. Gonzales' Chief of Staff resigns. Ties to White House. Rove involved.

Kalidh Sheikh Mohammad admits to planning 9/11 attacks and others.

Senate shoots down Democrats' attempts to retreat from Iraq.

UN powers agree to new sanctions on Iran.

Reporter attacks Drudge Report for using Kuwaiti source on US casualty rates in Iraq. These guys are desperate that good news from Iraq never be heard. It's bad enough they won't report the news themselves, but they're attacking those who do.

US changes status on Macau bank. China claims this endangers the 6 party deal with North Korea.

Chaquita funded Columbian death squad.

Senate budget plan includes funds for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and extends Bush tax cuts. It's one thing to demagogue Bush's policies before an election, but it's another to govern.

The UN knows its human caused global warming propaganda is a fraud, but it's too invested to right that wrong. In order to keep the propaganda alive through our improving climate, it's telling us that it will get nicer before it gets bad. Our current climate is nowhere near as warm even as the medieval warming period, which was a period of tremendous growth in Europe.

Hillary Clinton actually says something that makes sense and isn't a lie! She says that if elected, she will keep troops in Iraq. The left will not like that at all, but any President will have to do the same.

Time's version of how the right went wrong. It was overconfidence and incompetence. They turned into the fat-cat Democrats they decried so long. Power corrupts, and now both parties are thoroughly corrupt.

Newt blasts the ridiculously long Presidential campaign.

Howard Dean expects to win in '08. At least he's optimistic, but as bad as Republicans have become, and they're horrible, the country will not elect an outright socialist, and that's all Democrats are.

Web censorship is spreading around the world.

Boortz says that Mexico runs our border, and not just because of the Mexican drug gangs we fund thanks to the misnamed War on Drugs.

Victor Davis Hanson describes Gen. Petraeus' daunting task, but identifies many generals who turned around campaigns in recent history.

George Will points out that with so many states moving their primaries to Feb. 5, earlier votes in Iowa and New Hampshire will gain in importance, not less, since no candidate can campaign in all those states at once.

John Stossel says that, because of the law of unintended consequences, freedom-stealing safety regulations kill more people than they save. As if we need another reason to reduce government.

Thomas Sowell reviews Britain's recent global warming debunking documentary: The Great Global Warming Swindle.

Ann Coulter says it's not the Generals' fault that Walter Reed was neglected - it's the because government employees can't be fired, so they have no incentive to perform. This is Ann Coulter at her best. I hope she got a serious wake-up call after her indefensible comment about John Edwards.

Clinton, Reno, and Hubble fired all 93 US attorneys. The media ignored Clinton's firings. Media puff piece on the AG who fired attorneys and killed the Branch Davidians. Ken Starr's convictions.

Update on activity of the Yellowstone caldera.

Free kibbles

Kuwaiti news is reporting that the Baghdad security plan has significantly reduced the rate of US casualties. Why did it take 4 years to do? It's funny Drudge had to go to Kuwait to get this report. It's not in the US press. Still, good news about Bush's new strategy is getting out [ETA: Financial Times reports on the success], unlike in Vietnam, and Democrats and the US press will have a harder time hiding the successes and therefore will have a harder time defeating their own country again. But they'll keep trying. Senate takes up the debate to defeat America.

Liberals think that Bush is going to fire Gonzales. I said Bush would handle this all wrong, and he certainly has. The WSJ explains that Billary knows all about firing attorneys.

Reporter claims scientists say that civilization is over because of global warming. This propaganda would be funny if it wasn't so dangerous. Homeowners in UK face penalties if they don't make houses more "green." This is the just the tip of the tyrannical iceberg if the global warming con-men succeed.

I just saw a commercial for nuclear energy. I don't think I've seen one since the 70s. The environmental con-men don't want nuclear energy any more than they want any other kind of energy. More cheap, clean energy ruins their con.

UN claims to have reached breakthrough on sanctions for Iran.

US sets record trade deficit again in 2006, despite strong 4rth quarter (due to falling dollar).

US economic fears, especially housing market fears, make world stocks tumble.

Europe's Galileo sat-nav system in jeopardy because it's a government enterprise.

Democrats suggest monthly oversight hearing for FCC. As bad as the FCC is, this would be worse. It would make the FCC a political arm of the Democrats. Just sell off the spectrum and abolish the FCC already.

Reason discusses the Federal appeals court's overturning of Washington's handgun ban.

Jack Shafer doesn't think that Fitzgerald savaged the First Amendment in his prosecution of Scooter Libby. That remains to be seen, but we know for a fact he savaged Libby and Judith Miller.

Hillary has invoked the "vast right-wing conspiracy" to attempt to garner sympathy again. It'll work again. Playing the victim card always works for liberals. The more liberal, the better it works.

Cassini discovers seas on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

Free kibbles

Mexico complains because border patrol agents put out fire a few steps on Mexican side of the border. They send a million illegal aliens across our border every year, with the help of the Mexican military and government, and they complain when we put out a fire. The futile job of the Border Patrol.

Iran furious at Russia for delaying on nuclear plant. Russia takes a hard line. Bush's strategy of isolation and pressure is working.

Turmoil around Pakistani Chief Justice continues.

Hillary Clinton calls on Bush to explain the firing of 8 Justice Dept. attorneys. Talk about audacity. Or maybe she just knows the fix is in. Her husband, Bill Clinton fired all 93 Justice Dept. attorneys when he took office. Nary a peep from anybody, even though Clinton fired them because he and Hillary we're being investigated by the Arkansas Justice Dept. attorney for their Whitewater scams. The Clinton were the most corrupt administration in history, yet they get away with all this crap because of the liberal media.

[Reno] was not in charge from the beginning. Upon taking office, in an unexplained departure from the practice of recent Administrations, Miss Reno suddenly fired all 93 U.S. attorneys. She said the decision had been made in conjunction with the White House. Translation: The President ordered it. Just as the best place to hide a body is on a battlefield, the best way to be rid of one potentially troublesome attorney is to fire all of them. The U.S. attorney in Little Rock was replaced by a Clinton protege.

Australian and Japan sign security pact.

Zimbabwe opposition leaders in intensive care after being beaten by police.

6 Imams who caused problems before being removed from flight will sue.

Government will spend $1 billion on analog to digital boxes for TVs.

Earthquake in Cleveland.

Thomas Sowell says Newsweek is not honoring our soldiers, but using them as victims to promote a political agenda.

We Endanger Liberty

We Endanger Liberty

by Mark Luedtke

Democracy is no friend to liberty. Despite the way we throw around the word 'democracy' today, a true democracy is arguably the most dangerous form of government ever devised. America's Founding Fathers knew the dangers of democracy well; the tyranny of the majority is backed by the inherent power of the people and under the guise of populism, it can steal economic and political freedom from the minority. We're each a minority of one, and every individual in a democracy is subject to the tyranny of the rest.

But despite the Framers' efforts, creating a Constitutional Republic with restricted powers for government, the majority in America can still force tyranny on minorities, especially at the local level. The only thing protecting freedom from us is our self-control, but our self-control is failing.

For example, Yellow Springs is considering annexing a contiguous section of land called Fogg Farm to enable growth. In traditional American fashion, citizens of Yellow Springs and their Village Council debated the issue. The people expressed a variety of opinions. The council listened and presented data to the people for further discussion. This is the great American political process in action, and it should result in Village Council making a decision in the best interests of the community at large.

But activists are already calling for a referendum. It's hard to argue with the idea that the people should vote on major decisions affecting the community, and that's why a tyranny of the majority is so dangerous. The individuals who make up the majority always have personal reasons for their positions, more-so than the elected council entrusted with the good of the community.

Real estate in Yellow Springs is unusually high priced for this area. The Yellow Springs newspaper and website claim that's because there's high demand to move to Yellow Springs, but demand is always relative to supply, and that claim hides the real story. Real estate is high because the the community hasn't allowed any new development in decades. Real estate prices have been made artificially high because the people of Yellow Springs have unnaturally restricted the supply of housing by deliberately stunting the community's growth.

Years of policy stunting growth artificially inflated property values. Worse, if the old adage that a community that isn't growing is dying is true, then Yellow Springs is committing suicide. Village Council doesn't want that beautiful, unique downtown strangled by its own people. But any new development would undermine the artificially inflated property values that decades of no growth policy created. It's hard to imagine anybody would buy one of the tiny, old existing homes in Yellow Springs if they could buy a nicer, new home at Fogg Farm, cheaper.

Worse for Yellow Springs, the Fogg Farm developer can still develop the property even if Yellow Springs votes not to annex it. It's possible that Yellow Springs will have no say in the development and be stuck picking up part of the tab for services for the development even if they don't annex it. But the developer's options are limited if Yellow Springs doesn't annex, so annexing is a win-win for both the developer and the community. Yellow Springs would thrive as a result of the new development, and property values would return over time. But a tyranny of the majority could derail the plans.

Annexing Fogg Farm is a no-brainer, but it's hard to imagine Yellow Springs home owners voting to undermine their property values, so Village Council will likely end up at odds with home owners. The result of a referendum will be no growth because of restricted economic freedom and continuing slow suicide for the community.

A tyranny of the majority against Jessica Minesinger of Troy turned ugly. Years ago, the Troy city council approved her Summerfield development, but Troy activists managed to get the zoning issue for Summerfield on the ballot in a referendum. Troy voters voted down the zoning for her development. This ever more acrimonious battle has been going on for years, with Troy's city council approving the zoning change, activists putting it on the ballot, and the majority of Troy voters stopping the development.

This battle expanded into the courts, with each side suing the other. The activists paid fines instead of answering the subpoenas, but Jessica Minesinger is still unable to develop the property, even though she did the hard work to get City Council approval.

Thanks to the growing nanny society and the subsequent change in attitude from self-reliance and self-determination to government domination of our lives, voters have increasingly forgone self-control to force their will on minorities. Both parties are destroying liberty in America, blessed by our votes. We've lost our regard for freedom and desire to exercise vigilance in support of liberty.

The new smoking ban in Ohio, forced on private business owners by a meddling majority of Ohio voters, is an egregious attack on freedom. The self-righteous majority that passed the Constitutional amendment granting government the power to direct private businesses owners in their operations opened the door to a new extreme of government control over private property rights. It turns out that we and our neighbors, wielding democracy like a blunt instrument, are more dangerous enemies of liberty than any overt enemy.

Free kibbles

Global warming skeptics receive death threats. Global warming hysterics scramble to provide alternative theories of why a number of planets and moons are warming, not just Earth. They have one thing in common - the sun. The closed minds of the human carbon caused global warming religion are telling. A theory that has as much scientific backing as human carbon caused global warming, cleric blames global warming on Australians' lack of faith in Allah. Australians undoubtedly receive death threats for disagreeing - a global warming jihad will certainly follow. The great swindle - a skeptical documentary of global warming. Even the New York Times reports that Gore is over-hyping global warming. Wow.

US army Surgeon General forced to resign over Walter Reed scandal. Everybody will love having moldy, leaky hospital rooms when the government, thanks to a misinformed and and misled minority of Americans who just happen to be a majority of poll takers, forces socialized medicine on us.

Russia announces delays for Iranian power plant because of lack of payment. The pressure on Iran is working.

Cheney say's Congress' plan to slow bleed the troops undermines the troops. Duh! Democrats know this too. They just lie about it.

Halliburton moves from Houston to Dubai because of US income tax burden. Every company in America is going this route because of our horrendous tax policy that penalizes American companies and American workers. The solution is easy - adopt the FairTax.

Ahmadinejad plans to address UN Security Council about nuclear program. This is designed to provide Russia and China, Iran's sponsors in their new Cold War of Terror, cover for limiting sanctions.

Debunking the myth of space weapons.

Zimbabwe's opposition leader captured and beaten by police.

Christopher Hitches applauds the Iraqi oil revenue sharing plan, and says it may yet be a model for changing the Middle East. Just like Bush planned and argued before the invasion.

Free kibbles

Lots of illegal immigrants in LA's gangs, but police aren't allowed to check.

US agencies still in-fighting in Iraq. It's ridiculous that after 4 years Bush still hasn't managed to coordinate our inter-agency operations to rebuild Iraq. In Bush's defense, Presidents have been trying to fix that problem for 50 years. I say dump the bureaucracies and start over.

US and Iraq officials meet at Iraqi summit.

Water-boarding is not torture. Neither is sleep deprivation, temperature extremes, difficult positions, etc. These are smart techniques to get answers without hurting the un-uniformed prisoners or war. These are not civilians who have been arrested and imprisoned for crimes. Leftist's bizarre claims are destructive to society let alone security.

ACLU claims that that FBI agents tried to cover up their abuse of the Patriot Act, implying the abuse was intentional.

Bush boosts Columbian ally.

Good riddance to Jacques Chirac.

Hillary compares herself to JFK. Probably because everybody else is comparing Obama to JFK. Note to Hillary, let other people provide the glowing comparisons. When you do it yourself, you just show your natural tackiness. Can this woman be any more of a corrupt loser?

More global warming hysteria.

20 must have Firefox extensions.

Mark Steyn piles on Patrick Fitzgerald, specifically for invoking the cloud over the vice-president in his closing argument, as if it mattered and wasn't largely of Fitzgerald's creation.

Ralph Peters exposes the media bias on Bush's South American trip, and Chavez' attempts to influence it.

Robert Kagan says the new security strategy for Baghdad is working, much to the chagrin of the press and Democrats.

Even liberals know that the Democrats' plan is the worst possible plan.

55% of voters consider character the number 1 issue for electing a President. As if we needed more evidence that Clinton, arguably the worst character ever elected President, and who carried only 43%, only won thanks to Ross Perot's third party runs.

Free kibbles

Israelis just deployed hunter/killer robot, and now the British are employing Skynet satellite. It's happening just like the Terminator movies told us it would.

Coalition troops catch head of al Qaeda affiliated group in Iraq.

Maliki addresses Baghdad summit meeting.

Pakistani lawyers rally to support judge removed by President Musharraf.

Appeals court strikes down DC gun ban. Wow. This is excellent news, and very unexpected. Why did it take over 30 years?

Article smears privatization as cause of Walter Reed's woes. That's complete bull. This is no private facility, and if it had been, the care would have been outstanding. The problem is the huge bureaucracy of socialized medicine for the military - government involvement in the health care business, a problem that will get 100 times worse if Congress passed socialized medicine for citizens. Dennis Byrne explains further.

South Americans complain we don't help them enough. Give me a break. We have created a welfare world just like we created the welfare state, and all it's done is make bad people want bigger handouts. Our response has to be to end all welfare, to individuals and nations. This idea that we keep giving more and more just breeds more and more trouble for us at home and abroad.

Czech President says environmentalism is more a religion that is based on politics than science. Sounds about right. Europe embraces nuclear power. The virtual ban on nuclear power has always been stupid.

AIDS vaccine near. This is going to have huge, unintended social consequences. Look out for a hepatitis explosion next.

Saddam trial judge seeks asylum in Britain.

Nevada cuts Foxnews out of Democratic debate. What a bunch of idiots. That was there chance to reach a far bigger audience, with no interruptions but each other, than they can ever hope to reach otherwise.

It's about time somebody mentions Bill Richardson. He's probably the best of the Democratic field.

Republican House leader Boehner has to go to Democrat's club to smoke.

Open source federal income tax program.

Biofuels driving up the price of beer. Analysis of ethanol.

Free kibbles

Unprecedented violence along US/Mexican border funded by America's War on Drugs.

Federal, state and local law-enforcement officials from Texas to California, concerned about the impact of illegally imported weapons into Mexico, say they already are outmanned and outgunned by ruthless gangs that collect millions of dollars in profits by smuggling aliens and drugs into this country.

The cartels make a lot more money smuggling drugs, mostly cocaine, than they do smuggling people. Our war on drugs is enriching and empowering the Mexican drug cartels and feeding corruption far greater than alcohol prohibition ever did. It also empowers the Taliban to kill NATO allies in Afghanistan, and empowers drug gangs throughout the US. It has also killed and imprisoned millions of Americans. The misnamed War on Drugs is really a war on Americans, and we're funding our enemies so they can defeat us. The only reasonable solution is to legalize and control drugs like we did alcohol.

FBI abused Patriot Act to gain personal info on Americans. Democrats, who supported the bipartisan Patriot Act, act shocked. This corruption and abuse is de rigueur for both parties.

Sharp surge in violent crime in cities. A major part of the problem is that gun ownership is restricted, not vice-versa. These idiots wouldn't be so quick to attack if citizens were armed.

America's trade gap dropped. It dropped on export growth, but that is because the dollar is falling.

Chavez goes on Latin American tour to try and undermine Bush's tour. Violent protests at Bush appearance in Brazil. Right wingers claim these demonstrators are paid for by Chavez and other leftists. Expect tons of coverage of protests, but none of Bush's agenda.

The EU has decreed that everybody in the EU must change their light-bulbs. Again, this is a stupid thing for government to get involved with. They have to come up with enforcement expenses. People will hate the intrusion. The free market would manage this transition much better, cheaply, and happily.

Government bureaucracy is the last great haven of feudalism (no, corporations are not feudal societies - employees are free to move up and to other corporations), so a new bureaucracy to control people's reproductive choices would indeed be a return to Medievalism.

The poor have more leisure time than the rich.

UK man threatened with prison for shoveling sand out of his yard back to the beach from which it blew during a storm. Sweden wants warrantless searches of email crossing it's borders. And people want more government.

Is Discovery burying it's highly successful documentary on the possible tomb of Christ?

Liberal hypocrisy over the use of negative gay slang.

Ratings bust for save the planet show. People don't want to save energy. They want to rail at others about not saving energy just like the hypocritical hysterics - Gore, Kennedy, Hollywood, etc., and their bogus carbon offset schemes. This global warmer furor is the result of the concerted political efforts of hysterics, not science, or even a grass-roots movement. As if we needed a study to inform us that the claims of global warming stranding polar bears was nothing but hysterical lies to promote the anti-human development agenda.

Consistent anti-Iraq war Republican Chuck Hagel to run for President. This is excellent news. It will give America a chance to have a real debate on Iraq that can't be had with Democrats since they chose to invest in our defeat.

Charles Krauthammer thinks Bush should pardon Libby immediately. How come Clinton can perjure himself and manipulate witnesses in his trial, Sandy Berger can lie about destroying classified documents, and both get a slap on the wrist, while Libby gets a big conviction for forgetting who told him two people were married? The double standard for legal action against Republicans and Democrats is real, and it's huge.

Thomas Sowell thinks Fitzgerald's witch-hunt against Libby exposes what's wrong with the special prosecutor law. Nice article explaining how Fitzgerald went so wrong.

Three terrible candidates

In response to George Will's preposterous claim that McCain, Giuliani, and Romney are all good candidates:

It's dangerous that leading conservatives like George Will have decided that continually surrendering freedom to government year after year is somehow "good," and even comparable to "perfect." Giuliani, McCain, and Romney aren't three good candidates at all - they are three horrible candidates, any one of which will end up being slightly better than the even worse Democrat. Continually voting for the lesser of two evils like these candidates has empowered government to steal our freedom at an ever accelerating pace for nearly a century.

None of these candidates comes close to supporting good government. None support a complete freeze on spending growth. None support the FairTax. None support abolishing the Department of Education. None support getting the government out of the business of health care. None support freedom.

Not only are they terrible for supporting the status quo instead of necessary reform if freedom is going to survive, but they each support further gross restrictions of freedom. McCain would jail Americans for exercising our innate right to free speech enumerated in the First Amendment. Giuliani would jail Americans for exercising our innate right to keep and bear arms enumerated in the Second Amendment. Romney would raise taxes for socialized medicine. We know these things because the candidates already have a track record on these issues, yet George Will and conservatives consider them good candidates.

America needs reform, and these candidates are anything but reformers. America needs to stop the growth of government power in it's tracks, and these candidates will do just the opposite.

It's scary that prominent conservatives can no longer be counted on to fight for freedom, a sad acknowledgment that Reagan was an anomaly, not the norm conservatives claim, and now consider the quick erosion of liberty by anti-freedom candidates as "good," and comparable to "perfect."

Free kibbles

General Petraeus is not following a cautious approach in Iraq. General suggests extra troops should stay until Feb. 2008. More on press conference. Democrats unveil plan to bring troops home in Feb. of 2008 despite, or because of, impact of new measures - insurgent attacks in Baghdad down 80%. Boortz says that even Al Jazeera is claiming Baghdad is greatly improved.

Former Polish Prime Minister denies use of Soviet Gulag for renditio

US intelligence questioning former Iranian Defense commander who basically defected. I wonder if that word is appropriate.

Inflammatory story short on facts claims sexual abuse is frequent for troop in Iraq. It presents only anecdotal evidence, so we'll likely see a rebuttal. But this is why it's insane to send women with men into a combat theater. Soldiers are under enough stress just fighting to survive.

Bush budget cuts VA system, not just slows growth, but cuts.

Pat Buchanan examines student test scores and discovers that teachers are lying about performance.

Bush heads to Latin America, which he has ignored for too long.

Israel accused of using two Palestinians as human shields. This is obviously an exception to general practice, but the world will be up in arms, though it sits quietly by when Hezbollah and Hamas use human shields as normal practice.

The Plame non-affair which has already destroyed Scooter Libby won't die - civil case pending. It's just amazing that Wilson found evidence that Saddam had sought uranium from Niger, reported that finding, then lied about it in an op-ed, and he and his wife who pulled all the strings for his trip end up playing the victims. Scooter Libby gets ruined and Cheney and Rove face a lawsuit. Cheney should be suing Wilson and Plame for defamation, and Libby should be suing for malicious prosecution. This is all bass ackwards. The effect of the Libby trial on journalists and their sources.

How the Senate fakes the Congressional record. They don't really say those things.

China passes law giving people property rights. At the same time, the US keeps limiting them as with the Ohio smoking ban.

Latino employment grows significantly on the backs of illegal immigrants.

Gas prices push $3 again. I should have filled a tanker when it was $2.

Israel unveils first terminator robot. Can Skynet be far behind?

Victor Davis Hanson points out the hypocrisy on the left that we rarely hear about. Ann Coulter exposes the double standard for criminal prosecutions of Republicans and Democrats.

Woman wakes from persistent vegetative state for 3 days, then relapses.

Man to climb Mt. Everest in shorts. Most likely a Darwin awards candidate. Evolution in action.

George Soros buys nearly 2 million shares of Halliburton while decrying Cheney's profiteering.

All Microsoft updates send data from your computer to Microsoft.

Ralph Peters thinks it's a mistake to cozy up to the Saudis... again. Discussion of Wahhabism. Saudi textbook analysis.

Democrat plan, if passed, could force pullout to begin in July! The Democrats are stupidly going to force a constitutional crisis, we're all going to lose, and our troops will bear the brunt of it. Any country would have to be completely foolish to stand by America in a war knowing that Democrats will fight to defeat America every time.

Free kibbles

Captain America dead. That's really bad timing.

RFID passports cloned in mail without opening package. The electronic broadcast obviously makes it less secure, not more secure.

US and UK used Soviet era gulag in Poland for renditions.

Proposed bill to require secure ID for credit cards. This will most likely be used to force the national ID card on the rebelling states, and we'll all lose more freedom. No American should be forced by government to "show his papers" to get a credit card. Businesses can determine for themselves what ID is sufficient for them.

Teacher fired for practicing witchcraft.

Libby isn't the only victim of a witchhunt. Fitzgerald had to play politics to get Libby convicted. This had no place in the trial, and hopefully will enable a successful appeal.

"There is a cloud over the vice president," the prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, told the jury in summing up the case last month.

Blue dog Democrats assert their power.

China and Russia are tightening their alliance against the west. Dead Russian reporter was investigating Russia's arms deals with Iran and Syria.

Even sex offenders can be punished too harshly.

Biotech firms make big money off or your tissue. Why don't you?

Obama's blind trust invested in donor's companies. That would be some crazy coincidence.

Restaurant files libel suit against critic.

Sex is the most natural act you can perform. It's always green. Automakers correctly claim global warming is a political issue, but I don't know if it will get them a dismissal (like it should).

Free kibbles

Libby found guilty on 4 of 5 counts. One man has been ruined by Patrick Fitzgerald's abuse of his office. Another woman was jailed for months. This decision will have a chilling effect on communication between future White Houses and the press. Juror was upset they weren't judging Rove and other guys, then claims there was no political bias. Potential issue for appeal.

NASA doesn't have the money to find all the near-Earth asteroids. Seems like something we want to find the money to do.

Coordinated suicide bombers attack Shiite pilgrims in Iraq. Sounds like al Qaeda.

Murtha plans to give Iraq 80 days to fulfill promises. I must have missed the event that made Murtha commander in chief. Democrats are going to full around and create a constitutional crisis, and everybody will lose. Liberal Democrats in revolt over Iraq spending bill.

Gonzales claims firings weren't political. Bush is handling this all wrong, and it's going to blow up in his face. He should claim up front that he replaced those prosecutors to better implement his policies. It's stupid to think that the Justice Department isn't supposed to follow the President's policies. You can't help but laugh at the irony that Democrats think it's OK for Clinton to fire all 92 Federal prosecutors, but it's not OK for Bush to fire 8. Democrats are just upset that they lost 8 liberal prosecutors who they could count on to protect Democrats. And they're going to end up making political hay with this issue instead of being exposed as the hypocrites they are.

Dole and Shalala to head commission to investigate Army hospitals all over the country.

CIA thinks bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan.

Russia says it's capable of destroying missile shield.

US and North Korea in more talks.

Stocks rebound.

Congress considers ban on renditions. This article is short on facts.

Rice with human genes. This may sound gross or trivial, depending on your viewpoint, but it's a serious issue. This rice will produce medicine. That means, when it crossbreeds with food rice, and it will, all the rice we eat will have a bunch of medicine in it. That's not healthy.

UK to ban katanas. You've got to be kidding me. I understand that the freedom of British subjects is at the mercy of the government, but this is ridiculous.

Reason wonders where the evidence is that young girls are being harmed by sexual imagery. 6th graders have sex in class with teacher present.

David Weigel says conservatives still haven't owned up to their mistakes in selecting the current crop of Republicans. No kidding. Until they do, we can expect more of the same.

Americans won't elect an atheist.

I wonder if Hillary will fake a Jewish accent to get Jewish votes.

Since Microsoft can't compete with Google on products, it attacks Google on copyright issue.

Reporters want to be like Oprah. Then they aren't reporters any more.

Mike Adams continues to expose Kent State's jihadist professor Julio Pino.

Hispanic groups want to stop illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants take jobs from legal immigrants even more often than they take jobs from ancestral Americans. Actions targeted at illegal immigrants also bleed over to the legal Hispanic community. And illegal immigration hurts the countries vacated. It makes perfect sense that legal immigrants would be against illegal immigration.

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Bush to visit Latin America. I knew he was going to Mexico, but not Columbia. This gives me a while to highlight the world-wide destruction resulting from America's War on Drugs. The prohibition is 10 times worse than the drugs themselves. UN forsees Afghan opium poppy harvest. By the Taliban. Who will use the money to fight NATO troops. Our war on drugs is making our enemies rich and powerful. How stupid are we? Maybe we should just send the Taliban a few billion dollars a year to buy weapons to kill our soldiers instead. It would be cheaper and save American lives compared to the War on Drugs.

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Reason exposes the madness and tactics of Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald of the Libby case.

Judith Miller was tried, convicted and sentenced to prison based exclusively upon written evidence from witnesses whose identities and testimony were kept secret from her and her lawyers. They were given no opportunity to question, rebut, defend her against the secret evidence the courts relied upon exclusively in convicting her.

Prominent global warming alarmist changes mind - says science isn't settled. Supposedly he didn't know that 15 years ago. It's all politics. UK documentary on global warming based on sound science, not hysteria.

The film examines an alternative theory that explains global temperatures, based on research by Professor Eigil Friis-Christensen of the Danish Space Center. The professor and his team found that as solar activity increases, and the sun flares, cloud formation on earth is significantly diminished and temperature rises.

Prices of food are rising because of growing demand from biofuels. You can't escape the laws of supply and demand.

Gasoline prices rise $0.31 for no apparent reason. I know the reason. Oil companies raised them.

Al Qaeda targets Prince Harry. If his presence will put his unit at higher risk, he should not go to Iraq.

Another Russian journalist dies under suspicious circumstances.

US funding supports schools that promote terrorism.

Copyright law is used to shut down website.

More MRI mind reading.

Interview with Clarence Thomas, who doesn't trust the media. Drudge's headline is out of context, and is probably exactly what Thomas was speaking about.

Hillary uses southern accent for speech in South. This is just another way to lie and manipulate - and the Clintons are the masters.

Monitor expedition to the Earth's missing crust under the Atlantic.

Egyptian blogger test government control.

Boortz says that the Walter Reed Hospital story is important because that's what we can expect for all of us under socialized medicine.

Corruption and pork of Republican Senator Thume.

Dinesh D'Souza pulls no punches. He says the left won when we lost in Vietnam, and they're trying to win by defeating us in Iraq. Dinesh claims that our loss in Vietnam empowered tremendous liberal social change, and they think that by defeating Bush in Iraq, they can repeat that success. The left considers Bush the worse enemy than the terrorists.

The Christian Science Monitor thinks government should enforce existing immigration laws to stem the tide of illegals before passing legislation dealing with those already here.

Microsoft considered dropping Mac Office to hurt Apple. It was a Microsoft product, so so what? I bet the bigger issue is that Microsoft planned to break an agreement with Apple.

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China has huge increase in defense spending - and that's all we know about. To quote a Earl Pitts - Wake up, America! There's nothing peaceful about China's actions or goals. We need to win their new Cold War of Terror before it becomes a shooting war, but we have to acknowledge it before we can win it.

Russian intelligence expert shot, right after interview on Polonium poisoned spy. Russia has claimed it wants to assert itself on the world stage (I guess teaming up with China in a new Cold War of Terror is too much like playing second fiddle). Assassinations, extortion, arming radical nations and over the top rhetoric are it's new weapons.

Mahdi army lays low during first security mission to Sadr city.

Pakistan denies US permission to assault al Qaeda bases in Pakistan. This isn't going to last.

Iraqi government linked to torture and bomb attacks. We've known this, but getting hard evidence is crucial to stopping it.

Iran and Saudi leaders meet. This is like Jason teaming up with Freddie.

Danish protests continue at lower scale.

At a time when our schools are failing our students with their "feel good" programs, banning homework is exactly the wrong idea. Schools need to demand more from our failing kids, not less, and competition should be king.

Illegal immigrant stash house raided in Houston.

UK to fingerprint all children.

Spring break party in Acapulco continues despite violent drug war. Wow.

FDA to approve cow drug despite health risks to people. The FDA can't get it right. It hurts people by withholding experimental medicince that might save their lives, but it permits medicine for cows that endangers people. Sounds like a typical day in government.

US soldier makes AP photographer delete photos.

Ann Coulter has become a parody of herself. It's too bad she doesn't know when to stop, because she's smart and funny up to a point. Obviously it was a joke, but it wasn't funny. It wasn't funny when she said it about Gore either. Playing the joke card won't help her any more than it helped Kerry.

Obama and Clinton in Selma to take advantage of the civil rights movement to court the black vote. The hypocrisy never ceases to amaze me that the party of slavery, the party of the KKK, the party that voted against affirmative action, and the party that works overtime to keep blacks trapped in victimhood, act like they're better for blacks than Republicans.

How liberals promote 'racialism.' They also profit from it. We just had a perfect example at the Superbowl, though it could have been much worse, when two excellent coaches were trivialized by the media focus on race. To its credit the media didn't dwell on the coaches race like it had trivialized other individuals, but race didn't need to be mentioned at all.

Giuliani up 25 points over McCain.

Blood moon.

Sky and Virgin in UK media battle. Sky carries Lost, but Virgin has blocked Sky.

Gingrich interview.

The free market will clean up pollution, not government.

Mark Steyn exposes Gore's hypocritical carbon offsets. Oh my goodness, this essay is funny and enlightening.

Al buys his carbon offsets from Generation Investment Management LLP, which is "an independent, private, owner-managed partnership established in 2004 and with offices in London and Washington, D.C.," that, for a fee, will invest your money in "high-quality companies at attractive prices that will deliver superior long-term investment returns." Generation is a tax-exempt U.S. 501(c)3. And who's the chairman and founding partner? Al Gore.

So Al can buy his carbon offsets from himself. Better yet, he can buy them with the money he gets from his long-time relationship with Occidental Petroleum. See how easy it is to be carbon-neutral? All you have do is own a gazillion stocks in Big Oil, start an eco-stockbroking firm to make eco-friendly investments, use a small portion of your oil company's profits to buy some tax-deductible carbon offsets from your own investment firm, and you too can save the planet while making money and leaving a carbon footprint roughly the size of Godzilla's at the start of the movie when they're all standing around in the little toe wondering what the strange depression in the landscape is.

Article investigates if humans are genetically programmed to believe in a higher power. Of course we are. It's been a survival advantage since the dawn of humanity.

WSJ says Italy's indictment of Americans undermines NATO. What they fail to mention is that NATO is finished because the Europeans have abandoned it - it just doesn't know it yet.

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Danish riots as leftists protest eviction. They want a building for free in replacement. Talk about entitlement. Europe is disintegrating, and we're following the same path.

Poll shows Americans support universal health care. I bet they didn't ask if they support waiting months for critical procedures. Socialized medicine sounds great until you the consequences. And that's just the immediate consequences. The growing entitlement mentality is more dangerous than the socialized medicine itself. Just look at Europe.

Bush orders bipartisan probe into veterans hospital scandal. Army Secretary resigns.

Bush promises aid to tornado victims. How come they don't have tornado insurance? Everybody in America should buy tornado insurance, and if you chose not to, and you lose your house in a tornado, you deal with the consequences of your choices. Why does the Federal government have to rebuild houses?

China is against the US selling weapons to Taiwan. That's because they intend to attack Taiwan, as they've threatened repeatedly.

US court refuses to hear torture case, citing national security.

Libby jury asks for definition of reasonable doubt.

Kent State professor denies jihad charges, and asserts right to free speech. Calling people to jihad is far more inflammatory than shouting fire. There is no free speech right to incite people to murder.

Overthinking reaction to storms. Where were kids going to be safer than in a school?

Total lunar eclipse tonight.

A little common sense about the drinking and driving debate.

Charles Krauthammer thinks we should go back to the moon. I agree. Imagine if Columbus had established a floating platform 100 miles off the coast of Spain, and nobody went further. That's what the space station is. Let's colonize the moon.

The US rules of engagement in Iraq limit self-defense of our soldiers. That's outrageous.

Federal welfare corrupts states and the federalist system. Welfare of all types: handouts, entitlements, subsidies, etc., corrupts individuals and states.

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New images of Saturn from Cassini.

National Guard readiness at all time low because of equipment shortages from wars.

FDA denies experimental drugs that might save otherwise terminal patients.

Experts thinks insurgents have won hearts and minds of Iraqi people. Then how come Sunni insurgents are blowing up Sunni non-insurgents in Anbar, who are turning them in? This claim is not supported by the evidence of our eyes.

Al Qaeda kidnaps and kills 18 police officers in Iraq. This is in Diyala province. We can't allow that to become a new safe haven for terrorists.

Russia continues to be upset over US missile defense.

US chooses new nuclear warhead to replace old warheads.

Congress sends out subpoenas to Bush administration. It's about time Congress exercised it's oversight responsibility on Bush. The problem is the Democrats will go way overboard.

The House votes to get rid of secret ballots for joining unions. The hypocritical Democrats actually said that getting rid of secret ballots would stop intimidation. Secret ballots were created to stop intimidation, and getting rid of them will do just the opposite. What a travesty.

Taliban official claims Bin Laden is alive.

Justice Ginsburg may have health problems. Bush may get a shot at another Supreme Court Justice, replacing the most liberal, activist Justice on the bench.

Apparently the left thinks it's news that terrorists created the global war on terror.

Even global warming hysterics can't blame humans for global warming on Mars. It's the sun warming both the Earth and Mars. That doesn't stop hysterics from blaming man without any evidence.

Slate says we can't trust our intelligence because of Bush.

Hillary Clinton's senior thesis was locked away from the public by the Clinton Whitehouse, but it's public now. Those Clintons are the supreme masters of lying, obfuscating, and covering up, and 43% of America loves them anyway. At least Bill.

I'm sure Wilson and Plame will be portrayed as heroes instead of the liars they are in a Hollywood movie. Libby jury still deliberates. After this long, and with 5 charges, it's probably going to end in a compromise decision.

Taking DNA from babies.

Reason doesn't trust McCain anymore than I do.

Out of control Duke Rape prosecutor whines that he was busy in his defense.

Sounds like Vista is a typical crappy Microsoft product. Give it a couple years and they'll stop supporting everything else and force everybody to move.

Astronaut has wasabi spill in space. I can't make this stuff up.

Irresponsible legislation

I copied this from the Drudge Report because it doesn't have a permanent link, and I'd hate to see it disappear. If a permanent link appears, I'll remove this post and link it in another entry. Here's the temporary link.

ETA: the temporary link is redirected, but this article was never made permanent, so I intend to memorialize it here.

U.S. COMPTROLLER: PRESCRIPTION DRUG BILL 'MAY BE THE MOST FINANCIALLY IRRESPONSIBLE LAW IN 40 YEARS'; Bill Will Add $8 Trillion to Long-Term Medicare Obligations
Thu Mar 1 2007 13:41:11 ET

That Could Already Bankrupt the U.S.

The U.S. government's top accountant says the law that added a prescription drug benefit to Medicare may be the most financially irresponsible legislation passed since the 1960s. U.S. Comptroller General David Walker says Medicare -- barring vast reform to the program and the nation's healthcare system -- is already on course to possibly bankrupt the treasury and adding the prescription bill just makes the situation worse. Walker appears in a Steve Kroft report to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday, March 4 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

"The prescription drug bill is probably the most fiscally irresponsible piece of legislation since the 1960s," says Walker, "because we promise way more than we can afford to keep." He argues that the federal government would need to have $8 trillion today, invested at treasury rates, to cover the gap between what the program is expected to take in and what it is expected to cost over the next 75 years Ð and that is in addition to more than $20 trillion that will be needed to pay for other parts of Medicare. "We can't afford to keep the promises we've already made, much less to be piling on top of them," he tells Kroft.

The problem is the baby boomers. The 78 million people born between 1946 and 1964 start becoming eligible for Social Security benefits next year. "They'll be eligible for Medicare just three years later and when those boomers start retiring en masse, then that will be a tsunami of spending that could swamp our ship of state if we don't get serious," says Walker.

As life expectancies increase and the cost of health care continues to rise at twice the rate of inflation, radical reform in health care will be necessary, Walker says. He says the federal government is also going to have to find ways to increase revenue and reduce benefits. The alternative is ugly. Walker shows Kroft General Accounting Office long-term projections that assume the status quo continues, with the same levels of taxation, spending, and economic growth. By the year 2040, Walker says, "If nothing changes, the federal government is not going to be able to do much more than pay interest on the mounting debt and some entitlement benefits. It won't have money left for anything else...."

Sen, Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, tells Kroft that this problem is well known among members of Congress: "Yes, they know in large measure, Republicans and Democrats, that we are on a course that doesn't add up." And he acknowledges nobody is addressing the matter. Why? "Because it's always easier not to," Conrad says, "because it's always easier to defer, to kick the can down the road to avoid making choicesÉYou get in trouble in politics when you make choices."

Walker believes the biggest problem may be that everything seems okay now, so people don't have the sense of urgency that's needed to make tough choices. But the longer we wait, he argues, the harder it's going to be to solve the problem. "The fact is that we don't face an immediate crisis and so people say, ÔWhat's the problem?' The answer is, we suffer from a fiscal cancer...and if we do not treat it, it could have catastrophic consequences for our country," he tells Kroft.

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Gore claims the media is too balanced and therefore misses his climate message - he's actually calling for more hysteria. Ex-Canadian Defense Minister says UFO tech necessary to stop climate change. Two peas in a pod.

A former Canadian defense minister is demanding governments worldwide disclose and use secret alien technologies obtained in alleged UFO crashes to stem climate change, a local paper said Wednesday.

US breaks up Mexican drug gang, arrests 400 in the US. While this may sound great, during the 20 months it took to do this bust, about 1 million illegal immigrants flooded to America. LA suburb looks like Mexican shanty town.

Russia and China to make closer military ties. The only surprise here is that it's public.

Head of Walter Reed Army Medical Center removed.

Democratic mommies and Republican daddies - architects of the nanny state.

Democrats finalizing plan that attempts to embarrass Bush about the readiness of the army. If Bush is smart, he'll use this to show how heroic the troops are and make it backfire on Democrats.

Ahmadinejad to visit Saudis.

British troops to withdraw from Bosnia.

Wyoming permanently removes sales tax from groceries.

Stocks down again.

Microsoft official says Google was a wake-up call for Microsoft. Too late, I'd say. All Microsoft has done it's entire history is copy good technology from other companies. From DOS to Windows to Word to Excel to speech recognition and more - Microsoft copied it all, put the original companies out of business using unfair business practices, and got away with it. They're too late to do the same with Google, and they're on the decline.

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has banned political rallies for three months. Tyranny in action.

Fidel's favorite propagandist.

Cameras on drivers and killing Americans for their organs.

Cheney blows own cover when talking on background.

Columbine High School evacuated for bomb threat.

Kent State denies connections to jihadi site. I checked it out a little yesterday, and I can't find any solid link between the professor and the site - just innuendo.

The Drudge Report's impact on America.