About Cheney's "secret" program . . .

One story about the recently-revealed "secret program" (that "Cheney lied about" and Panetta (heroically!) reported and terminated) ominously states that the program was related to "assassinations." Well:

According to the Wall Street Journal, the program which Democrats were so angry about turns out to be an effort “to carry out a 2001 presidential authorization to capture or kill al Qaeda operatives.” Excuse me, but this is the Democrats’ idea of a scandal? Most Americans would not only expect, but demand, that the CIA do everything in its power to kill al-Qaeda operatives before they strike our country. Indeed, the Obama administration itself has reportedly escalated targeted killings of al-Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan using Predator and Reaper drones. These targeted killings are not assassinations — they are legitimate strikes against an enemy that has declared war on us and attacked us where we live.

What exactly is "historic" about her?

Patrick Leahy betrays (here) his identity politics:

Noting that only 101 people get a direct say in who sits on the Supreme Court, Mr. Leahy highlighted Judge Sotomayor's credentials.

"President Obama has done his part and made a historic pick, now the Senate has to do its part," he said.

I knew he failed out of Vandy, but . . .

I knew that he failed out of grad school at Vanderbilt, but was Al Gore really stupid enough to use the phrase "awareness [of "global warming"]" and "driving change through . . . . global governance" in the same sentence?

(Here's the source doc; video at 1m10s)

Here's some historical context for Gore's statements (though the article mischaracterizes Gore's statement, in my opinion).

I know the window for credibly misusing climate statistics is probably closing on Al, but he better not get ahead of himself.

Speaking of maneuvers to the rear . . .

President Obama is getting some razzing (though much of it is the "boys will be boys" variety) for supposedly getting caught ogling a young woman during a G8 photo op, but I, for one, do not believe he is guilty.

Here's a video of the "incident."

On the other hand, Sarkozy (unsurprisingly) does not seem to be acting nobly . . .

Administration's recent strategic maneuver to the rear

Someone is probably keeping track of the Obama administration's various retreats from overheated campaign rhetoric about the GWOT (a campaign, the political one, not the military, which for the Democrats has lasted the past 8 years). Here's one "strategic maneuver to the rear" I spotted in a WSJ article this a.m. in relation to claims that CIA Director Panetta has admitted that the CIA misled Congress:

The flap over Mr. Panetta's recent disclosures reignites a broader debate between Congress and the executive branch over the limits of executive power. The release of the letters came the day before the House is scheduled to debate an intelligence bill that will test those limits once again.

The White House issued a veto threat on Wednesday over provisions in the bill that would require more expansive briefings of intelligence committee members on covert actions, taking a position against Democratic lawmakers and in line with what the Bush administration had advocated.

The provision would raise "significant executive privilege concerns," according to a White House policy statement. The broader bill contains several measures to bolster Congressional oversight of intelligence activities.

[Democrat House Member] Holt said he was surprised Mr. Obama continued to support the practice of more limited briefings.

Exploiting McNair

Mike Lupica (of the NY Daily News) is seizing upon July 4th's high-profile murder (and likely suicide) in Nashville to decry America's "gun culture." ("Steve McNair's famous face becomes just another victim of American gun culture") From the article:

According to the The Tennessean newspaper, McNair had a permit to carry a handgun. The weapon found next to the bodies was a semiautomatic.

There were so many wonderful statistics attached to McNair's career, the most important being the one Super Bowl, the four Pro Bowls to which he was selected, all the games he won. But the last was the only one that mattered. He is the 36th homicide victim in Nashville this year. That is down from 41 at the same time last year.

Only in a country of gun lovers is that considered progress.

Only to a gun grabber is that statistic not considered progress.

Franken doesn't bring me flowers . . .

I was reading an Al Franken story this a.m., and was reminded of what I like about him. Franken said that he wanted to be "the people's proxy" during the Sotomayor hearings. From the story:

"As someone who will have been in the committee a grand total of six days and isn't an attorney I kind of see myself fulfilling a certain role for Americans watching the hearings," Franken said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press.

"So I kind of see myself as people's proxy, not that the other senators aren't, but certainly that's the kind of role I want to play," he said.

For the record, I always enjoyed the pre-political Al Franken's work . . . I can hardly believe that anyone wouldn't, so that's no big story, I guess. I think he would be a fun guy to know, as long as he didn't fly off the handle about Bushitler or something when we were hanging out. He's a real intellectual and creative talent and one common trait of a comedian is that they are able to laugh at themselves.

But it is hard for me to look past his decade-long vitriol for, and demonization of, anyone who holds Conservative political views. I guess he is akin to our Ann Coulter, and I'm even tempted as I type this to distinguish her from Franken or to offer a defense of her; but I can understand why some people don't like her.

Sort of like when the class clown becomes teacher for a day, here's hoping that Franken's new job--one in which bomb-throwing is disfavored, will change him for the better. I think it already has, based on the news coverage I've seen of him during his campaign and after the election.

McNair's home

Here's a link to McNair's home-for-sale site. Beautiful home: one room pic has a poster-sized picture of McNair and one of his sons at LP Field; another pic shows the oven bearing a Baltimore Ravens sticker on the glass.

Re. Palin: lame is as lame does

The "Palin Resigns" story comes as a shock, and I think the "lame duck avoidance" rationale she has offered is lame. ("Sarah Palin Says She Will Resign as Alaska Governor" - NYTimes.com). From the article:

Ms. Palin said that she had decided not to seek re-election when her term expires at the end of next year and that, given that, she did not think it was fair to her constituents to continue in office.

“As I thought about this announcement that I would not seek re-election,” she said, “I thought about how much fun other governors have as lame ducks. They maybe travel around their state, travel to other states, maybe take their overseas international trade missions.”

“I’m not going to put Alaskans through that,” she said. “I promised efficiencies and effectiveness. That’s not how I’m wired. I’m not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual.”

What? I think that's a load of moose dung. This smells like quitting to me, and I can't see that it will help her in a run for president. Our country would benefit from more, not fewer, elected officials who are serving without devoting half of their attention and resources to being re-elected.



Update: This John Fund report helped to give context to Sarah Palin's decision. For example, I didn't realize that political enemies had filed 150 FOIA requests and various ethics "complaints," resulting in nearly $500k legal expenses, over the past 9 months. That's wrong. And I suspect that my assessment of her decision may well be wrong, too.

Parody against homosexual adoption in NC?

Hey, did the Onion or Scrappleface dream up the child rape/incest case in Durham, NC? It is even more suspicious, given how little it is being covered by the MSM. This guy is the poster child for all the concerns that people have about endorsing adoption by folks who engage in homosexual activity.

According to the indictment:

On Monday, . . . Det. Timothy Palchak of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, chatted online with a person using the name “F.L.” Palchak said “F.L.” described specific sex acts he had performed on a 5-year-old child and said that he lived in Durham.
. . .

[The perpetrator--Frank Lombard] is asked how he got access to a child so young. "Adopted," he replied, and said that the process was "not so hard ... esp (sic) for a black boy."

In the chat, "F.L.” told Palchak that abusing the child was "easier when he was too young to know what was happening and when he couldn't talk ...He had a little too much Benadryl. Was knocked out."

According to the report, the perp, who again is alleged to have performed sex acts on the child and offered the child to others for the same purpose, is "associate director of Duke's Center for Health Policy" and more specifically directs the "Health Inequalities Program" doing AIDS education -- which gives new meaning to the term "extension program."

But it gets even more cliche'd. I had never heard of a "co-housing" community, but the article gives some context:

Neighbors of Lombard had nothing to say about him Saturday to a reporter who visited Eno Commons, a co-housing community in north Durham.

Residents ordered the reporter to leave the neighborhood, which emphasizes communal life.

A roadblock with a "no trespassing" sign and a Subaru greeted visitors Saturday to Indigo Creek Trail, a private street in the 22-home neighborhood.

Co-housing communities allow residents have a say in the area's design, and they manage and maintain the community together. Decisions are made through consensus, and residents share common space.

Sounds like a corny, Liberal place, frankly. But the website highlights that people of all "affectional preferences" are welcome. And you gotta love the gay-friendliest make of car helping the neighborhood to circle the wagons of one of their own. Nice.

Thanks for the assist, Mr. Lombard!