Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Shrewd politics or bad policy

Depending on how you see it, U.S. foreign policy is either taking a bold new direction or heading into treacherous waters in its dealings with the Axis of Evil. For clarification, I see the latter.

It's been announced that the United States will make an about-face and actually sit down with Iran and Syria in discussions about what to do with Iraq. The talks, which were called by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, will put us at the same table with two countries which are at the heart of the insurgency that is currently tearing Iraq apart.

There will be no talking to Iran about its nuclear program, and no chatter about Syria's attempt to overthrow the fragile democracy in Lebanon. Hopefully, they will at least discuss how the Iranian military is taking part in attacks on American troops and Iraqi civilians. It'll be interesting to see how long the attendees of this meeting will be able to keep a straight face.

On the other side of the Axis, Kim Kye-Gwan, North Korea's vice minister of foreign affairs, is coming to America to talk about normalizing diplomatic ties with the United States. This is a situation of people getting ahead of themselves if ever there was one. Kim Jung Il's reactors are still buzzing, and we don't even know how many bombs he currently has, but we're already looking to take the next step in this latest "agreement." Ronald Reagan used to say "trust, but verify." Well, we have no reason on earth to even do the first part in regard to the Hermit Kingdom. But we definitely should verify Kim every step of the way before making his ministers feel welcome in the U.S. like old friends.

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Is Ahmadinejad losing his mojo?

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said recently in reference to Iran's nuclear program that "the train of the Iranian nation is without brakes and a rear gear." Not a very good analogy if you're Iranian. After all, we all know what happens to trains without brakes - they derail.

It turns out that Iran's clerical leaders, who really hold the power in that country, are not too happy with Ahmadinejad's rhetoric, either. He's calling a lot of negative attention to the Islamic nation that sharper, if not cooler, heads there want to avoid.

All the Iranian president's tough talk has brought is another U.S. carrier battle group to the region and a debate over sanctions in the U.N. Security Council. We all know how ineffective sanctions can be, but my guess is that Iran's clerical leadership is more worried about what the U.S. might do unilaterally. After all, there was never a lot of international support to topple Saddam Hussein. But it still happened. And Saddam and his sons are still dead.

It's anybody's guess how the Iran mess will turn out in the end, but one thing's clear - if we keep ratcheting up the pressure, Ahmadinejad might be bumped out of office by his own countrymen. That would level the playing field a bit, to be sure.

Attack on the Big Mac

Two interesting news items out of Britain today –

Prince Charles made a remark that McDonald’s should ban the Big Mac.

British child service officials may take away custody of an eight-year-old boy who weighs more than 200 lbs. if his doesn’t mother improve his diet. The child has trouble dressing himself and is frequently out of school because of health problems.

I’m sure Prince Charles finds it easier (and politically popular) to blame the big, bad corporation rather the consumer, but it is entirely possible to become dangerously obese without ever eating a Big Mac and banning the Big Mac is not going to solve what is essentially a cultural problem. Also, as a thin, healthy woman, I don't see why I should lose the ability to order an occasional Big Mac just because other people made poor decisions about their personal health.

At least the British government has it right in blaming the parent who is too lazy to enforce a healthy diet on a dangerously overweight child.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Don't tell me you were surprised

Al Gore's Oscar win for "An Inconvenient Truth" was a lock last night, if only because he is such a Hollywood darling. And the limousine liberals love to pat themselves on the back for their convenient concern of the environment. The only way Gore's victory would have been in question was if Barack Obama had made a movie about one of his own books.

It was a sad state of affairs, but we can all take solace in the fact that Martin Scorcese finally got what he has so long deserved. I would rather go blind than see Gore's "documentary," but you should all run, not walk, to the nearest theater and see "The Departed."

Friday, February 23, 2007

Kudos to Virginia Foxx

If you did not attend last night's NYYRC meeting, then you really missed out on a fine speaker. Dr. Virginia Foxx, member of the House of Representatives from North Carolina, gave a great talk about working with and mostly against the Democrats and what life is like in the "people's house."

She voted against that travesty of a non-binding resolution last week, and spoke about the dangerous path Dems want to lead us down both at home and abroad with their policies.

Dr. Foxx took several questions and offered to lend her support to our fundraising efforts in the near future. She is truly a friend of the New York Young Republican Club.

Next month's speaker: Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform.

Hillaryous

Dear Abby:

My husband is a liar and a cheat. He has cheated on me from the beginning, and, when I confront him, he denies everything. What's worse, everyone knows that he cheats on me. It is so humiliating. Also, since he lost his job six years ago, he hasn't even looked for a new one. All he does all day is smoke cigars, cruise around and bullsh*t with his buddies while I have to work to pay the bills. Since our daughter went away to college he doesn't even pretend to like me and hints that I may be a lesbian. What should I do?

Signed: Clueless



Dear Clueless:

Grow up and dump him. Good grief, woman. You don't need him anymore! You're a United States Senator from New York running for President of the United States. Act like one.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Conservapedia

I thought some of you might enjoy this website: Conservapedia is a ‘conservative’ Wikipedia that is supposed to be Wikipidia without being politically correct, though its really more about promoting Christianity than conservative politics, so this is a great site if you're into that kind of thing.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Clinton to Obama: Don't poach my Hollywood friends

Dreamworks co-founder David Geffen should know not to get in between two fighting dogs - particularly when one of the dogs is Hillary Clinton. Geffen held a huge fundraiser last night for Barack Hussein Obama, and made some off-the-cuff remarks to liberal columnist Maureen Dowd.

"I don't think that another incredibly polarizing figure, no matter how smart she is and no matter how ambitious she is -- and God knows, is there anybody more ambitious than Hillary Clinton? -- can bring the country together," Geffen said.

Clinton's campaign immediately went on the attack (do they know any other posture?) and told Obama to denounce Geffen and give his money back, presumably so the media mogul can give it to Hillary. They also accused Obama of embracing Geffen's divisive rhetoric.

What's so divisive about what Geffen said, anyway? Sounds right on target to me. In fact, Clinton's response only further proves how polarizing she is. She is obviously peeved because she thought she was just going to be given the Democratic nomination, and now she is going to have to work for it. Obama doesn't seem to be backing down, so prepare for more fireworks.

Business as Usual in Washington

Marketplace has reported that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who campaigned on ethics reform, is taking a plane full of lobbyists to a resort in Puerto Rico by using a loophole in the new House ethics rules. He's getting around the new rules by having the lobbyists give money to his PAC instead of directly to his campaign.

It was inevitable that the Democrats would slide back on their campaign promises of a more ethical house, but you would think they would at least let the ink dry on the new ethics rules before exploiting the loopholes.

More at Wonkette and Daily Kos.

The Latest Polls

Crain’s New York reported on a recent poll today, among the results:

New Yorkers like Steamrolling Spitzer – he has a 74% approval rating. It should be interesting to see whether he can turn this political capital into actual progress in Albany.

New Yorkers did not look favorably on the legislature’s antics regarding the comptroller election – 69% of voters polled sided with Spitzer. I imagine a similar poll of state legislators would reveal that none of them care because they all have safe seats anyway. I think Hevesi's election shows how difficult it is to knock an incumbant out of an office that the average voter doesn't know much about.

Unsurprisingly, if the primaries were held today, Giuliani and Hillary would win their respective primaries in the state.

NYU College Republicans will find "Illegal Immigrants"

From Gawker.com:

NYU College Republicans, led by the NYYRC's own Sarah Chambers, will be playing a fun game of "Find the Illegal Immigrant" in Washington Square Park. Here are the details (which can also be found at Gawker.com):

There will be one individual with a nametag that reads 'illegal immigrant'. This person has volunteered to do so and is not actually an illegal immigrant. On Thursday people will be signing up to be 'INS' and thefirst person that signed up and finds the "illegal" will get a prize. At the table there will be information and handouts on the subject matter to inform others on the problems that ILLEGAL immigration causes.

Name: Find the Illegal ImmigrantHost: NYU College RepublicansType: Causes - RallyDate: Thursday, February 22, 2007Time: 11:00am - 2:00pmLocation: South side of Silver


Should be fun.

NC Congresswoman Virginia Foxx at February Meeting

THE NEW YORK YOUNG REPUBLICAN CLUB, INC.
HOSTS NORTH CAROLINA CONGRESSWOMAN VIRGINIA FOXX
AT FEBRUARY GENERAL MEETING

New York, NY - The New York Young Republican Club will hold our February monthly meeting on Thursday, February 22, 2007. The featured speaker will be Dr. Virginia Foxx, a Republican Congresswoman from North Carolina who serves on the House Committees on Agriculture, Government Reform, and Education and the Workforce.

Following a successful career in academia, Dr. Foxx served ten years in the North Carolina Senate where she successfully sponsored several statewide and local bills and consistently voted against tax increases and for legislation that would make governments more efficient and less wasteful.

Since her election to Congress in January 2005, Dr. Foxx has been consistently recognized as a top Republican for promoting conservative principles on the House Floor, has helped lead the national movements to enforce our immigration laws and increase accountability within the Federal Government, was one of just 38 Republicans to score a 100 percent approval rating from the American Conservative Union.

Please join us at the Union League Club, located at 38 East 37th Street, on Thursday, February 22, 2007, beginning at 7PM. Business attire required. Please check your coat at the door and turn off your cell phone.This event will be open to media that RSVP to pr@nyyrc.com.

The New York Young Republican Club, Inc., is a not-for-profit political organization that exists to bring Republicans aged 18-40 together to discuss the Republican Party platform and aid the Republican Party in the education of the public about the Republican agenda and the promotion of Republican candidates for office. To find out more about the New York Young Republican Club, Inc. please visit the Website at http://www.nyyrc.com.

Steve Jobs, Friedman, Utah, and School Vouchers

After co-founding, leaving, and then coming back to save Apple in 1997 and doing what I'd like to call "a ridiculously good job", I think it's safe to say Steve Jobs is a rather smart man who knows how to get things done. Which is why last Friday he gave a speech where he declared...

"I believe that what's wrong with our schools in this nation is that they have become unionized in the worst possible way."

Utah has definitely caught on to the right idea by passing a state law that provides school vouchers for all children in the state of Utah, by far the most expansive school voucher system in the country.

This is a superb precedent for the nation and quite frankly, I'm extremely excited to see the teacher's unions in that state lose a lot of power so the children and parents have a choice. The power is no longer in the teacher's hands, but the parents. Milton Friedman, another amazing man who might know a thing or two, had advocated school vouchers for 50 years.

Any person with any amount of common sense knows that to reform our failing school systems we have to break the stranglehold the unions have on our schools and make our education systems adhere to principles of accountability. The charter school and school voucher movement is definitely picking up steam and with that said, these teacher's unions are now only hurting themselves as reform could potentially pass them by. Self-interest and ignorantly blocking personal accountability and responsibility never moved anything forward. The Republican party is one of progress, forward movement, and results that can be measured and observed. The Democrats who cater to unions don't really grasp that concept.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

The Mayor, the Mormon and the Maverick

I'm a little bit behind in my reading, so forgive me for referencing an article from two weeks ago, but you should read this piece in the Weekly Standard.

"The Rise of the Metro Republicans," by Noemie Emery, looks into how the three Republican front-runners don't fit the traditional conservative mold. I won't critique it, except to say it offers some interesting views into the direction the party may be headed in 2008.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Harry Reid: Foiled Again

Harry Reid's second attempt to pass a non-binding resolution against the deployment of troops to Iraq failed to get enough votes to pass the Senate during a rare Saturday session. Falling six votes short of the 60 needed for passage, Reid still declared victory, pointing out that a majority stood against the escalation. Only a Democrat like Reid could still think he's a winner when he's been embarrased. Perhaps he's just not proving as adept at leading the Senate as he thought he was.

But the battle is far from over. The House passed its anti-troop resolution on Friday. And both chambers will now start debating funding the troops. And Democrats, led by John Murtha, are looking to keep the money from getting to the brave men and women who need it.

Round two coming up.

Friday, February 16, 2007

Pelosi pre-surrenders to Iran

I always knew the Democrats were out-and-out wimps when it came to foreign policy, but now they have surprised even me. San Fran Nan Pelosi, Squawker of the House of Representatives, told the press yesterday that President Bush lacks the authority to invade Iran. ”I do believe that Congress should assert itself, though, and make it very clear that there is no previous authority for the president, any president, to go into Iran,” she said erroneously.

Let's break this one down carefully, because we are dealing with two travesties here, not just one. First, Pelosi has no business, constitutional or otherwise, telling the president how to defend our country. He is the commander-in-chief of our military forces, not Congress, and his job is to protect our troops overseas. The Iranians have been behind a number of attacks on our troops in Iraq. We are gathering proof which addresses this, and if the Iranians don't start making nice, then we have every right to defend our forces by any means necessary.

Second, with her empty-headed comments meant to impress liberal voters, Pelosi is sending a huge signal to Iran that she and her fellow Democrats will actively work to prevent the United States from holding Iran accountable for terrorism and nuclear weapons proliferation.

Pelosi thinks she's saying, "We will not let President Bush go to war against Iran without Congressional approval." What the Iranians are hearing is, "Go ahead, boys. Do your worst. We simply couldn't care less."

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Frankenpuffs runs for Senate

Al Franken, former comedian, and now former radio talk show host on the soon to be former Air American radio, is running for U.S. Senate in 2008.

Franken got bitten by the political bug sometime during his mediocre stint with Saturday Night Live and has become one of the biggest political personalities the liberals have to offer. His foray into the next Senate race in his home state of Minnesota has been talked about for over a year now, and he has been laying the groundwork for a campaign at least that long.

Franken believes he has a better than average shot at defeating current Senator Norm Coleman. Of course he will need to do more than just accuse Coleman of being "one of the administration's leading butt boys" if he expects to gain the respect of voters. And there are a number of, shall we say, more serious Democrats who are interested in taking on Coleman, too. It is unlikely they will be blinded by Franken's star power, such as it is.

Moveon.org wants us to pay..again

Moveon.org has created a petition with over 370,000 signatures already to send to Congress demanding that PBS and NPR be funded permanently with our hard earned tax dollars. Every other non-profit broadcaster (which is what PBS and NPR are) has to raise their own funds, not go to the government to get hundreds of millions of dollars to operate. If PBS and NPR want to exist, they should exist just like every other non-profit radio station does, supported by its listeners.

Click here to sign the petition to oppose being forced to pay for their liberal programming with our tax dollars.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Connie Mack calls out Joe "Hugo" Kennedy

Florida Rep. Connie Mack challenged Chavez lackey Joe Kennedy to a debate over Kennedy's stumping for Citgo's discount oil program.

I posted about Kennedy's antics last week regarding his appearance in TV commercials talking up "our friends in Venezuela at Citgo" and praising Chavez's plan to offer discount heating oil to poor Americans.

Chavez's intent, as I stated, is to drive a wedge between Americans on this issue and embarrass the Bush administration. He does not care one wit about America's poor. Kennedy and his comrades think that Chavez has only the best of intentions at heart. Well, if that be the case, then he should defend his actions by debating Congressman Mack.

And if you believe Kennedy is right in what he is doing, then send him an email at inform@citizensenergy.com. Encourage him to take on Mack's challenge. Let's get this conversation out in the open and let Kennedy explain his actions.

Gingrich, Cuomo, and Russert Event

The Cooper Union Dialogue Series: A Lincoln-Inspired Event
With Newt Gingrich, Mario M. Cuomo, Tim Russert, and Harold Holzer
Discussion
Wednesday, February 28, 6:30 pm
The Great Hall
7 East 7th Street at Third Avenue
Free and open to the public, limited seating

Newt Gingrich, who served as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999 and represented the State of Georgia for 20 years, and Mario M. Cuomo, who served as governor of the State of New York from 1983 to 1995, will meet to discuss issues facing presidential candidates in the 2008 election. Journalist and host of "Meet the Press" Tim Russert will moderate the discussion. Sharing the belief that national and international issues facing presidential candidates deserve full discussion and analysis in the style of Lincoln's time, Gingrich and Cuomo will issue a challenge to all declared presidential candidates to come to the Great Hall and address the American public in the same manner Lincoln did 147 years ago when he delivered his "Right Makes Might" address at The Cooper Union.

No liberal bias here. Nope. No sir.

Dispute it all you want. It is a matter of record that Democrat presidents get a bigger pass from the media than Republican ones. For just one example, take a look at David Frum's article on liberal bias in economic coverage. Here's a tidbit:

In 1996, Bill Clinton ran for reelection as president. The U.S. economy was doing well at the time: unemployment down to 5.2%, inflation under control at 3%, and overall growth at 2.2%. And the press reported all this good news: According to the 2004 MRC study, 85% of all major economic stories on the economy in the summer of 1996 were positive.

Eight years later, George W. Bush was running for re-election as president. The U.S. economy in 2004 did much better than in 1996: The economy grew at a 3.9% pace, while unemployment and inflation roughly matched their 1996 levels (5.4% and 2.7% respectively). Yet this time, 77% of all major media economic coverage was negative.


There's more where that came from. Take a look at the article.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Brand new North Korea folly

It's pretty shocking to see that the United States is considering paying nuclear blackmail to Kim Jung Il in the form of economic and energy aid if he gives up his nuclear weapons program. I totally expected this kind of poor foreign policy during the Clinton administration, but I expect much better from George W. Bush.

The 1994 Agreed Framework, which North Korea never honored, essentially paid off Kim Jung Il with the necessities to prop up his regime in return for his not pursuing nuclear weapons. The agreement that has been reached just today essentially does the same thing - pay off Kim to keep him from doing what he has already done, and what we hope he will not continue to do, even though he will.

Sanctions that continue to squeeze Kim's regime and an impressive show of force in the Sea of Japan are the only real means of getting him to heel. Anything short of that is sending the message to the world that bad behavior is rewarded. In these times, that is most certainly the wrong message to be sending.

President Bush still has an opportunity to reject this "agreement" on its face. And he should. It is no agreement of any kind. It's an opportunity to see the United States buckle like a belt.

Enticing illegals to stay and prosper (illegally)

Bank of America is expanding its market into the burgeoning illegal immigrant community by offering credit cards to people who do not have Social Security numbers or previously established lines of credit.

This is merely the latest move by businesses to capitalize on the hordes of illegal immigrants coming into the United States. Now, it is the nature of capitalism to find new markets and explore new areas of revenue, but it this is trouble we don't need.

This country already has an illegal immigrant problem that is not likely to be addressed to any satisfaction by the federal government anytime soon. When organizations like Bank of America make it easier to live in the United States illegally by giving these people credit cards, the incentive to naturalize and become a citizen is further neutralized. Just like the incentive to learn English is neutralized by making all our public communications bilingual.

Our Record Trade Deficit

The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record for 5th straight year in 2006. And here's the fine print: our imports are growing faster than exports (so in the long run, the deficit will gradually shrink); and the trade gap with China actually was smaller in December on a month-by-month basis.

But these fine points will not stop fearmongers like Lou Dobbs from getting very upset that "we're borrowing $3 Bln a day just to pay for our imports."

Truth is, it's glorious that foreigners are buying more financial products than manufactured goods from the U.S. (hence our current account deficit and our capital account surplus). It's taking in massive investments from foreigners. And it's a vote of confidence in the capital markets here.

As Walter Williams wrote in Town Hall that

During [the 10 years of the Great Depression], we had a significant trade surplus, with exports totaling $26.05 billion and imports totaling only $21.13 billion. So what do trade surpluses during a depression and trade deficits during an economic boom prove, considering we've had trade deficits for most of our history?

And it's simply not true that the U.S. is borrowing foreigners' money to pay for their products. Except for T-Bills, the investments foreigners make in the American capital market are not a form of debt we incur. Trade deficit is by no means an IOU run wild.

Pay attention and open your ears

Barack Obama spoke at the University of New Hampshire yesterday where he did not detail any solutions for any of his talking points except for increasing energy efficiency by using a cap and trade strategy. The humor in this lies in a WMUR-TV (virtually the only NH news station) interview with a University of New Hampshire student:

The reporter asked what the student thought of the speech and Barack's healthcare stance. The student replied that they thought Barack had some very good ideas and proposals. The anchors then laughed and said that Barack actually didn't give any proposals and only mentioned the broad concept that small businesses need more and the U.S. need universal health care. They then showed a clip of Barack's brief mention of healthcare where he effectively says nothing.

The question is this; is anyone paying attention to Barack's complete lack of substance yet or are people still naive enough to be seduced by populist appeal? Sadly, the answer seems to be the latter. Time will show us that charisma can only carry Barack so far.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Who said you need economics knowledge to be Comptroller?

Check out the Post’s pop quiz of our new comptroller, former Nassau county assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli. DiNapoli was chosen after the legislature insisted on going with one of their own, rather than one of the three qualified candidates chosen by an independent panel.

If for some reason our AG has to step down, we can look forward to Silver choosing a fellow assemblyman who may not have a law degree, but likes to watch Law & Order reruns.

This might make for a good sitcom - assemblymen are appointed to government posts they're not qualified to fill and wacky hijinx ensue!

Friday, February 09, 2007

Take Take Take...is it yours?

Here's a brief excerpt from an article by Larry Kudlow in the National Review. Click on title above to read the full article. I think the statement below pretty much speaks for itself while Hillary definitely speaks for the Democratic party. I do also believe it's the Democrats in Congress that regularly vote to expand eminent domain powers of the government. Take money from private corporations, take land from private citizens...

At the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee, the senator from New York said, “The oil companies reported the highest profits in the history of the world. I want to take those profits and I want to put them in an alternative energy fund.”

Take? Isn’t that a confiscation of private property? Author P.J. O’Rourke framed it perfectly on a recent edition of CNBC’s Kudlow & Co.: She’s “Hugo Chavez in a pants suit.”

And what exactly would Mrs. Clinton be taking? ExxonMobil’s profits are outsized, but they come on sales of $377.5 billion, making for a profit margin of just over 10 cents on the dollar. This remains well below the profit margins of many industries, including banking and biotech where the margins nearly double those in the energy sector. The numbers are big, but the returns are middling.


Larry was a speaker at our club and is CEO of Kudlow & Company, an economic research and consulting firm. He is also host of his own show on CNBC “Kudlow & Company".

Thursday, February 08, 2007

A Quick Economic Lesson for Hugo Chavez

When you regulate prices, it affects supply. When you regulate prices to the point that suppliers can’t make a profit, you get shortages.

The news out of Venezuela today is that meat and sugar are now only available on the blackmarket at steeply inflated prices. So, while Chavez is busy trying to make Bush look bad by providing discounted oil to the poor in the US, his own people can’t even buy chicken breasts at the market.

The government is blaming ‘hoarders and speculators’ and seizing goods in warehouses, but this will only work until those goods are exhausted.

Maybe a US meat company should offer discounted meat to poor Venezuelans and find a no longer relevant Kennedy's to do the public interest commercial.

No Free Speech for College Conservatives

Fox & Friends had a college student on this morning who is spearheading the Terrorism Awareness Project, which aims to educate college students about the threat of terrorism because he feels that many college students underestimate the threat, as is evidenced by their frequent protesting of anything the US does to combat terrorism.

They are placing ads in college newspapers across the country and five colleges have refused to run the ads. Not surprisingly, my alma mater, UC Berkeley, was among the five (though, oddly enough, I watched a report on Fox News last night about students protesting military recruiters at job fairs and Berkeley is one of the few ‘activist’ schools where this did not happen – I suppose they were busy with an affirmative action protest).

The current editorial staff at the school’s paper, The Daily Cal, wasn’t around six or seven years ago when the paper ran an ad by David Horowitz listing reasons we should not award reparations for slavery. The editor got cold feet and had the paper pulled off campus shortly after it was distributed sparking cries of censorship nationwide – even The New York Times suggested that the editor go back to Journalism 101.

We shouldn't be surprised by this anymore, this is standard operation for liberals – broad interpretation of free speech as long as those who are doing the speaking (or flag burning) espouse liberal views.

Update:
Just after posting this, I read this column about a situation at San Francisco State University where the College Republicans are being disciplined for stomping on Hamas and Hezbollah flags during an anti-terrorism rally. Something tells me that anti-war protesters who stomped on the American flag would not be going before the disciplinary committee…

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Sen. Carl Kruger...Mother May I...

...PLEASE CROSS THE STREET?!?!

Email Democratic State Senator Kruger to express your displeasure with his upcoming bill to ban us from crossing the street using electrical devices (ipod's, cell phones, etc). Although it will never pass he is obviously wasting our money by spending time on this. I'm pretty sure New York State has many other pressing issues like education, our budget, and taxes to spend time on. Click on the title of this post to read the article and click on the link below to email him about how ridiculous he is.

Perhaps he can come cook me dinner because I don't eat healthy enough, or at least hire me a cook.

http://www.nyssenate27.com/send_email.asp




Spitzer No Match for Silver

I believe that Spitzer meant it when he said during the campaign he was going to reform Albany – but I don’t believe he realized how difficult it will be for him to take on the biggest roadblock that stands in his way – the state legislature.

As Attorney General, he was in a position of power that made it easy for him to bully Wall Street. Maybe he thought it would be just as easy to clean up the capitol – maybe he even fooled himself into thinking that because the Assembly is controlled by his own party he would be in a position to accomplish this mission.

Just one month into office, he is already finding out that Silver will prove to be a much bigger foe than Grasso ever was and that he has little recourse. Despite supporting Spitzer when an independent panel was chosen to select candidates for Comptroller, Silver changed course when the panel selected three candidates (with actual relevant experience) that were not members of the Assembly. The Assembly has decided that only one of their members will do, experience be damned, and Spitzer can do nothing but issue strongly worded statements that fall on deaf ears.

Spitzer is quoted in the NY Times as saying:
“I do believe that the process that was agreed upon, publicly articulated and agreed upon by the leaders in Albany, should be pursued,” he said on Tuesday morning in Manhattan. “And this is a fundamental test of the integrity of those who entered that decision process.”

Well Eliot, I believe your first mistake was to assume that Silver has integrity. The second mistake – to think that the Assembly as a whole is accountable to voters – the individual members know that come election time, the voters in their district are just going to check the name they know or vote along party lines.

Arnold took office with similar dreams of reforming a corrupt, partisan legislature. The momentum of the referendum gave him a few early victories, but his subsequent attempts to bring reform to Sacramento crashed and burned.

I wish Eliot the best of luck in his attempts to reform Albany, but I believe he is fighting a losing battle and will soon have to make a deal with the devil.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007


On this date in 1911, the greatest president of the 20th century was born.
Today would have been President Reagan's 96th birthday.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Joe Kennedy - Communist lackey

Joe Kennedy, son of Robert, and one of the heirs of what remains of the Kennedy political fortune, is stumping for Hugo Chavez and proud of it.

Appearing in TV commercials now polluting the airwaves, Kennedy is trumpeting Chavez's pledge to offer 40% off home heating oil for less fortunate urban Americans through Citgo, Venezuela's state-owned oil company.

From a morally equivalent standpoint, it's Chavez using Venezuela's vast oil wealth to reach out and help others. But in reality, it's an attempt to instill the kind of class warfare that helps socialists overthrow countries, and liberals are suckers for it every time. Chavez only engaged in this plan to embarrass George W. Bush, but Kennedy parades around praising "our friends in Venezuela at Citgo." Workers of the world unite!

Kennedy, who certainly doesn't have a brain in his head, appears in the commercial pumping heating oil into the homes of the elderly who are just so glad that he is fighting for their rights. He is the living embodiment of Lenin's "useful idiot," and doesn't even realize he is being played for a fool on the world stage.

For those of you out there who think Hugo is a nice man who should be left alone, take a look at what is happening now, and consider what's to come. Chavez recently gained emergency powers which will lead to an authoritarian regime which he will rule for life. He is nationalizing businesses throughout Venezuela, putting his critics in jail, and reaching out to Iran and other sordid international players to build an antagonistic bloc against the United States. I'll gamble any amount of money that his future plans will include the conquest of his lesser neighbors in the name of "good" socialism. It's a pattern that the Communists have followed for decades, and Chavez is consulting Vladimir's playbook every step of the way.

As for Joe Kennedy, well, he's a private citizen now (thank God!), so he can be a spokesman for pretty much anybody he wants. It'd just be nice if he used a little discretion once in a while. But, then again, discretion is not something that's ever held back a Kennedy before.

Maureen O'Connell for State Senate

Tuesday's the big day in the special election to fill the NYS Senate 7th District seat on Long Island. YRs from across the state gathered in Mineola this weekend to help Republican candidate Maureen O'Connell.

Indeed, there was no shortage of support as Republican state senators from the New York City region and beyond came into headquarters looking to help out.

O'Connell's election is important because the GOP needs to hold the line against Spitzer's cronies taking over the state Senate. If that happens, there will be no stopping him from raising your taxes and taking more jobs away from New Yorkers.

If you live in this district, you must get out and vote Republican!

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Why liberals fear global warming

A bunch of climate-change bills in Congress is gaining support. For some perspective, here's a fine article on the burgeoning "global warming" movement.

Highlights of the article:

"The Left is prone to hysteria. The belief that global warming will destroy the world is but one of many hysterical notions held on the Left. As noted in a previous column devoted to the Left and hysteria, many on the Left have been hysterical about the dangers of the PATRIOT Act and the NSA surveillance of phone numbers (incipient fascism); secondhand smoke (killing vast numbers of people); drilling in the remotest area of Alaska (major environmental despoliation); and opposition to same-sex marriage (imminent Christian theocracy).

"The Left believes that if The New York Times and other liberal news sources report something, it is true. If the cover of Time magazine says, 'Global Warming: Be Worried, Very Worried,' liberals get worried, very worried, about global warming...

"Leftists tend to fear dying more. That is one reason they are more exercised about our waging war against evil than about the evils committed by those we fight. The number of Iraqis and others Saddam Hussein murdered troubles the Left considerably less than even the remote possibility than they may one day die of global warming (or secondhand smoke).

"One day, our grandchildren may ask us what we did when Islamic fascism threatened the free world. Some of us will say we were preoccupied with fighting that threat wherever possible; others will be able to say they fought carbon dioxide emissions. One of us will look bad."