There will be no driving privileges for illegal aliens in the Empire State any time soon:
A humbled Gov. Eliot Spitzer — facing an insurrection from New York Democrats — is ditching his controversial plan to grant driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants that provoked a massive national backlash.
Spitzer will announce he’s “scrapping the plan” after a meeting of the state’s congressional delegation on Capitol Hill this morning, according to his spokeswoman, Christine Anderson.
Spitzer’s epiphany won’t be enough to save his political bacon though, as NY state voters are ready to scrap him when 2010 comes around.
Technorati Tags: eliot spitzer, illegal, immigrant, new yorkThe Chavistas in Venezuela are taking said maxim quite literally:
The MSM and the Hollywood chapter of the Hugo Chavez Fan Club have yet to comment.
Technorati Tags: chavez, protests, referendum, socialism, venezuelaNot in the biblical sense, but in the fiscal sense.
Earlier tonight, John Stossel felt the love, or something rather.
Surely the Phelps Gang will damn me to hell for this posting…
Once again, Southern California is burning.
I have family members in San Bernardino County who are affected by the fires; so far, they are safe yet ready to evacuate if called for. Sadly, many SoCal residents have lost their homes or face imminent threat of their communities going up in smoke.
For those affected, my thoughts, prayers, and support are with you. To those who want to help the fire victims, please give generously to the charitable organization of your choice.
Technorati Tags: blaze, fire, southern california, windThis time, Move America Forward stepped up — and didn’t back down.
Technorati Tags: codepink, marines, move america forwardIf you missed Meet The Press yesterday, the full interview video and transcript of the interview with Bill Cosby and Alvin Pouissant are online.
Update: The sparks fly at Booker Rising’s comment gallery.
The top four Republican presidential candidates are in hot water with black and Hispanic voters (well, at least with the people who claim to speak for all of them; myself included):
The decision by four top Republican presidential candidates to skip a long-planned forum next week on African-American issues has renewed a debate over whether some GOP contenders are writing off many black voters, with some analysts suggesting the move could hurt the party’s chances in the 2008 general election.
The four candidates leading in most national polls - Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Fred Thompson - have said they have fund-raising or other scheduling conflicts and will not attend the nationally televised forum in Baltimore on Sept. 27. But even some leading Republicans questioned whether the candidates are interested in addressing issues of special concern to African-Americans.
I’m sure they are, but not on the terms defined by Tavis Smiley — where all the debate panelists are on the left, and most of the questioning will be based on “The Covenant With Black America”, a statement defined by its backers to be “a national plan of action to address the primary concerns of African Americans today — from health to housing, from crime to criminal justice, from education to economic parity.”
I’ve read the CWBA when it was announced last year, and most of it consists of proposals and goals based on leftist, collectivist thought. Most of the answers that would be forthcoming from GOP candidates (attendees and no-shows alike) would run counter to what CWBA is demanding, as conservative solutions are mostly rooted in individualism, and not collectivism.
However, I agree with Newt Gingrich, Michael Steele, and others who expressed grave disappointment at the top tier candidates declining to attend. Whether they had legitimate scheduling conflicts or just simply felt that participating in a heavily biased, agenda-driven forum would be a waste of their time is already being discussed, debated, or maligned by pundits everywhere.
Just as I took black Republican no-shows to the 2006 State of the Black Union (another CWBA themed event) to task, I’m doing the same for the Top 4 — especially Fred Thompson, whom I support for the presidential nomination: Show up anyway.
Yes, you’re damned if you do (and of course damned if you don’t), but you’ll earn a lot more respect from those who may not necessarily agree with you. Some may even open their minds and consider your plans and proposals for the future. And just maybe some of those who consider your arguments may come over to your side, lend you their support, and even cast a vote for you.
Well, at least such sincere efforts convinced me a few years ago.
I exhort the Top 4 (especially Thompson) with the following from last year: Hold your head high, present your case, and take the high road. If you’re drowned out by ad hominem attacks and epithets masquerading as “civil dialogue”, then shame on Tavis (and double-shame on the “open-minded”, “tolerant”, and “peace-loving” left-wing intellectuals). Don’t back down — and don’t get intimidated by the haters.
For the sake of political diversity among blacks, browns, and for all Americans who make up our republic, step up and represent.
Update: There’s a lively debate going on regarding the issue over at Booker Rising. Welcome Bookeristas!
Update #2: Cobb posts an open letter to FDT.
Update #3: The conversation continues at RedState.
If you’re not angry right now, you ought to be.
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad requested to visit Ground Zero during an upcoming trip to New York. That request was rejected Wednesday. But a source tells Eyewitness News that the decision may not stop him.
A law enforcement source says the Iranian mission to the United Nations has informed the Secret Service that the Iranian president intends to visit Ground Zero Monday at 10 a.m.
The source says regardless of the NYPD’s rejection of the request for a Ground Zero tour, Iran’s president and his entourage will be accompanied by a Secret Service protective detail, a detail provided to all heads of state when they visit the United States.
Once again, President Bush gets wimpy with it:
“This is a matter for the City of New York resolve,” a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House, Gordon, Johndroe, said. He added pointedly: “It seems odd that the president of a country that is a state sponsor of terror would visit ground zero.” Minutes later administration officials were saying privately that a visit by Mr. Ahmadinejad anywhere near ground zero was “not going to happen.
Well, at least Rudy has the stugots to say “Hell no!”…
“Under no circumstances should the NYPD or any other American authority assist President Ahmadinejad in visiting Ground Zero. This is a man who has made threats against America and Israel, is harboring bin Laden’s son and other al-Qaeda leaders, is shipping arms to Iraqi insurgents and is pursuing the development of nuclear weapons. Assisting Ahmadinejad in touring Ground Zero - hallowed ground for all Americans - is outrageous.”
…and Hillary pays some lip service…
“It is unacceptable for Iranian President Ahmadinejad, who refuses to renounce and end his own country’s support of terrorism, to visit the site of the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil in our nation’s history.”
…but where’s Chucky Schumer?
(linkage via Juliette, who’s ready for “The Mother of All Sit-Ins”. If only I can get time off from work to join in…)
It appears that the Goracle’s rhetoric is coming back to bite him, so to speak:
He may be the hero of the environmental movement for his crusade against global warming but Al Gore is about to be targeted by animal rights activists over his carnivorous contribution to greenhouse gases.
Citing United Nations research that the meat industry is worse for the environment than driving and flying, animal rights groups are directing a campaign at the former American vice-president’s diet.
When he delivers a lecture on global warming in Denver next month, protesters will display billboards bearing a cartoon image of Mr Gore eating a drumstick and the message: “Too chicken to go vegetarian? Meat is the No 1 cause of global warming”.
The campaign is being organised by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and is backed by other animal rights groups.
FWIW, Gore shouldn’t kiss up to the vegenazis. Maybe this will be a wake-up call for him to check his own self-righteousness and quit being a hypocrite when it comes to telling others how to live their lives.
The moonbat organization (no linky love for them) ran a full-page ad in the NYT attacking Gen. David Petraeus:
Let’s be clear: MoveOn.org is suggesting that General Petraeus has ‘betrayed’ his country. This is disgusting. To attack as a traitor an American general commanding forces in war because his ‘on the ground’ experience does not align with MoveOn.org’s political objectives is utterly shameful. It shows contempt for America’s military leadership, as well as for the troops who have confidence in him, as our fellow soldiers in Iraq certainly do.
General Petraeus has served this country for over 35 years with honor, distinction, and integrity. And this is not just about General Petraeus. After all, if General Petraeus is “cooking the books,” then the entire military chain of command in Baghdad, and all the staff, military and civilian, who have been working with General Petraeus are complicit, since Petraeus did not write his report in isolation. They are all, apparently, ‘betray[ing] us.’
MoveOn.org has been working closely with the Democratic congressional leadership –as an article in today’s Sunday New York Times Magazine makes clear. And consider this comment by a Democratic senator from Friday’s Politico: “‘No one wants to call [Petraeus] a liar on national TV,’ noted one Democratic senator, who spoke on the condition on anonymity. ‘The expectation is that the outside groups will do this for us.’
Hmmm, I wonder if said Democratic senator coward happens to be from the small town of Searchlight?
Fortunately, not everyone in Congress is drinking the Kool-Aid on this latest outburst from the crazed left. Senator Joe Lieberman brings the smackdown:
“The personal attack on Gen. David Petraeus launched today by Moveon.org is an outrageous and despicable act of slander that every member of the Congress — Democrat and Republican — has a solemn responsibility to condemn.
“General Petraeus has served his country honorably and selflessly for over thirty-five years. He has risked his life in combat and accepted lengthy deployments away from his family to defend our nation and its citizens from its enemies. For this, he deserves the respect, admiration, and gratitude of every American — not the disgraceful slander of Moveon.org.
“It has been widely reported that Moveon.org has worked closely over the past months with many members of the Democratic Party in coordinating their efforts to derail the strategy that General Petraeus has been leading in Iraq.
“I do not know whether the Democratic leadership was consulted in any way or informed by Moveon about this personal, political attack on General Petraeus. That is not the point. The point is that when partisan political attacks which have already divided and weakened our nation in many ways are directed at a non-partisan, non-political commander like General Petraeus, everyone has a responsibility to shout, “Stop. Enough.”
“As a member of the Senate Democratic caucus, I therefore call on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to denounce Moveon.org in no uncertain terms for its vile attack on Gen. Petraeus. General Petraeus deserves no less.
They Dastardly Duo won’t denounce the hand that props them up though, being the seditious cowards they are.
In the meantime, let’s hear what the Gen. Petraeus has to say — and hope that his opponents in Congress will call off their attack dogs and heed his recommendations.
Now, give us your GPS coordinates so we can “forward” you a more direct reply.
Before Gen. David Petraeus can even have the opportunity to present his report on the war effort in Iraq, the Dems are already dissing it.
Congressional Democrats are trying to undermine U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus’ credibility before he delivers a report on the Iraq war next week, saying the general is a mouthpiece for President Bush and his findings can’t be trusted.
“The Bush report?” Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin said when asked about the upcoming report from Gen. Petraeus, U.S. commander in Iraq. “We know what is going to be in it. It’s clear. I think the president’s trip over to Iraq makes it very obvious,” the Illinois Democrat said. “I expect the Bush report to say, ‘The surge is working. Let’s have more of the same.’ ” […]
“Are these leaders asking the American people to believe that the testimony of a commanding four-star general in the U.S. Army should be discarded before it’s even delivered?” said Brian Kennedy, spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican.
“If so, these statements completely ignore what’s truly at stake in this war and suggest that neither the commander in chief nor our chief commander on the ground have any regard for the lives of the men and women fighting for this country,” he said. “It’s appallng, and I think the American people — rightfully — will continue to stick by the decisions of our commanders and troops on the ground when it comes to what is best for their safety and security.”
Unfortunately, the Congressional Dhimmicrats are too busy kowtowing to the Kos Kids and kissing enemy posterior to give a damn what the American people think. And don’t get me started on that touched-in-the-head moonbat down in Searchlight.
P.S.: For a good laugh, check out the ‘lolterizt’ postings over at IMAO.
One of the world’s greatest tenors has sung his final aria:
Luciano Pavarotti, whose vibrant high C’s and ebullient showmanship made him one the most beloved tenors, has died, his manager told The Associated Press. He was 71.
Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and underwent further treatment in August 2007. His manager, Terri Robson, told the AP in an e-mail statement that Pavarotti died at his home in Modena, Italy, at 5 a.m. local time.
It’s been a field day for obituaries:
Tom Snyder, a broacaster who defined late-late night TV talk as he invited his viewers to “fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air”, died from complications related to leukemia at 71.
Bill Walsh also succumbed after a long battle with leukemia at 75. Nicknamed “The Genius”, the NFL coaching legend led the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl victories during the 1980s — and went on to inspire today’s coaches of the sport.
Last, but not least, TV investigative reporter and consumer advocate Marvin Zindler died of cancer at the age of 85. Although some may know him for his 1970s investigative report which became the inspiration for the Broadway musical “The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas”, Houstonians knew him best as a selfless crusader who fought on behalf of the little guy. Whether it was helping a person in need or keeping local businesses honest, Zindler was the real deal.
It seems that the socialist thug can dish it out in our country, but can’t take it at home:
President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that foreigners who publicly criticize him or his government while visiting Venezuela will be expelled from the country.
Chavez ordered officials to closely monitor statements made by international figures during their visits to Venezuela — and deport any outspoken critics.
“How long are we going to allow a person — from any country in the world — to come to our own house to say there’s a dictatorship here, that the president is a tyrant, and nobody does anything about it?” Chavez asked during his weekly television and radio program.
The Venezuelan leader’s statements came after Manuel Espino, the president of Mexico’s conservative ruling party, criticized Chavez during a recent pro-democracy forum in Caracas.
Government opponents argue Chavez — a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro — is becoming increasingly authoritarian and cracking down on dissent as he steers oil-rich Venezuela toward what he calls “21st-century socialism.”
If Chavez truly wasn’t a dictator and a tyrant, his government would be more tolerant of free speech — especially when that free speech isn’t always favorable. Also, he wouldn’t go around censoring free expression among native Venezuelans, including shutting down a TV station he doesn’t like.
So the next time Chavez steps on U.S. soil to attack our country and our leaders, I say we tell him to take a Citgo pump nozzle and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine — followed by immediate deportation. What’s good for the goose is also good for the gander.