November 4, 2009
Well, things don’t look so good for either of the two principled Dougs out there – Doug Bennett fell behind early and ended up coming in last in the race for city councilor. It was a tough campaign and we came a long way but I guess it just was not enough. And Menino won mayor again. Given these developments, I solemnly believe it is doubtful that there will be any real change to the way things are here in Boston.
As for Doug Hoffman, the most recent polls had showed him out in front by a substantial margin. However, he’s way behind his rival Bill Owens now so Hoffman’s prospects look just about as grim as Bennett’s. The local Republican Party nominated Dede Scozzafava but she was a disappointing candidate for so many people that Hoffman, the Conservative Party nominee, won more support than either of his opponents. Eventually his rising poll numbers forced Scozzafava from the race and she actually had the nerve endorse the Democratic nominee over Hoffman, who was supported by National Chairman Michael Steele, Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin and a host of talk radio hosts. Although Hoffman would have been really good as a Congressman, there was far more at stake here than just one more seat out of 435. This was supposed to be a valuable lesson for the Republican Party not to give in to Conventional Wisdom and play the safe card with nominees like Scozzafava. Now we can only hope her betrayal is noted and she is never considered for a political office again. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in News, Politicians, Sovereignty, States | Tagged 2009 Elections, Activist Judges, Bill Owens, Christie, Corzine, Dede Scozzafava, Doug Bennett, Doug Hoffman, Gay Marriage, Maine, McDonnell, Michael Flaherty, Michael Steele, New Jersey, New York, sarah palin, Tom Menino, Virginia | Leave a Comment »
November 3, 2009
There are a number of decisive elections going on today. Doug Bennett, whom I mentioned in my posts before, is on the final ballot in the running for Boston City Council. Finally, with him, we might just have a voice we can count on in that position. With two city councilors retiring to run for mayor this year, Doug Bennett has a shot as he just has to beat four out of the other seven candidates in the running for the At-Large councilor position. We are also having the mayoral race here in Boston today, with four-term mayor Menino up against challenger Michael Flaherty. My feelings on this race are not nearly as strong, but sixteen years is an awful long time for one politician to be running the show and with all the problems we’ve been having there has to be some accountability here!
The other big Doug I’m pulling for today is Doug Hoffman, a third party candidate running in New York State against Bill Owens, a Democrat. The Republican was polling poorly in the final week and withdrew from the race. I think that a lot of Americans are frustrated with our current situation and our current government – on both sides of the aisle. Doug Hoffman seems like a real reformer who can bring that message to Washington. And who better to bring it than someone outside both party establishments?
I will be watching for the returns closely in these two races. There are also two big state governorships up for grabs – Virginia and New Jersey – the two states of the Connecticut Compromise, how about that? Just for the history buffs out there. These two statewide races may play a big role in what happens next November during the main federal election.
Posted in News, Politicians | Tagged Bill Owens, Boston, Christie, Conservative Party, Democratic, Doug Bennett, Doug Hoffman, Elections, Governor, Jon Corzine, McDonnell, New York, Republican, Virginia | Leave a Comment »
October 29, 2009
It’s official. Obama signed it into law yesterday. Federal “hate-crime” dogma has been extended to include sexual orientation. This is another loss for freedom and another loss for the First Amendment. This law targets not what crime someone commits but who they commit it against and what they think when they are committing it. Hence, it has become known as a “thought-crime,” something which sounds Orwellian in nature. Even more shady is the fact that the provision was not put forward in its own separate bill, but attached to a military spending package. It was not an attractive enough option for proponents to attempt to pass it on its own so they made it an earmark.
According to the coverage on World Net Daily, “U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder admitted a homosexual activist who is attacked following a Christian minister’s sermon about homosexuality would be protected by the proposed federal law, but a minister attacked by a homosexual wouldn’t be.” This is thus not about justice – true justice is blind and unbiased, but about a cheap political coy. At least there is a provision in the bill which exempts religious organizations – that provision passed as part of the bill despite opposition from the secular socialists who formed the backbone of the support for this measure. However, if some activist judge decides to overlook that part of the bill, bad things might happen.
Oh, then there’s the “hate speech” section of the bill. Careful what you say to a gay person now – you might get sued.
Posted in First Amendment, News, Obama Administration, Religion | Tagged First Amendment, Freedom of Religion, Gays, Hate Crimes, Lesbians, President Obama, Religion, Sexual Orientation | 2 Comments »
October 28, 2009
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20091001/wl_ynews/ynews_wl936
Both he and Couric are unbelievably radical with a habit of compulsive lying. I hate them both. Ahmadinejad is actually worse than Couric on an empirical basis, but I still routed for him in this exchange simply because Couric is able to get away with her nonsense more since it is unfornately not always obvious to everyone.
Posted in News, Politicians | Tagged Ahmadinejad, Couric, News | 1 Comment »
October 25, 2009
I do not routinely watch reality TV shows. In fact, I find them kind of trashy and fake (despite the name.) Nevertheless, I have been watching the second season of Tool Academy since it began. It was somewhat of an unintentional endeavor. There was nothing much else on TV and my friend Carl convinced me to watch an episode or two with him. I ended up watching the next one and the next and hence I got addicted to it. It’s like Law and Order or CSI. I find it overrated but once I start watching I can’t stop. Fortunately I do not see this addiction going past the end of this season finale. And since there are only four contestants less, this season’s days are clearly numbered.
For those of you who have not seen Tool Academy, it is a show on VH1 about guys who were bad boyfriends. They’re girlfriends signed them up for Tool Academy, where they go to learn to be better boyfriends. Each week has a theme like maturity or fidelity. They accompany their girlfriends to a therapy session and then compete against each other in the challenge of the day where one of them wins a date with his girlfriend. At the end of each episode, a guy is expelled from the academy and has to go in front of the mansion where all the girls are standing. His girlfriend then decides to either keep him even though he’s a tool or dump him on the spot and move on. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Culture, Fads, News | Tagged Charm, Final Four, Tool Academy, Tool Academy 2, VH1 | 4 Comments »
October 18, 2009
There was a recent exchange between Glenn Back and Law Professors Duncan Hollis and Chris Borgen. The topic was Harold Koh – one of Obama’s new appointees who has advocated using international law as a precedent for interpreting American law. Glenn Beck pointed out that if we cede our sovereingty to an international body, our Constitution is dead. Law professors Hollis and Borgen interjected, pointing out that Koh only advocated looking at decisions in other countries for educational expertise. Well, first off, America has been doing this for 233 years, I think we have our own educational expertise. Secondly, while Hollis and Borgen are probably right in the short-run, Beck is right in the long-run, which is what actually matters. Accepting Koh’s philosophy is like planing a seed, not giving a shot. If you give a shot to someone, it is a one time stimulant. If you plant a seed, it will grow and grow to something far bigger and harder to escape then what you had originally.
In other words, if we start using foreign law as an “educational basis,” we run the risk of allowing too much foreign law into our own, which would contribute to the decline of the American Constitution and the American sovereign nation. Koh advocates that we see ourselves not as a unique free nation, but as part of a global human rights movement. Koh may be reframing our law in order to further his anti-freedom agenda regarding gun rights. He has advocated a global regulatory agency to outlaw all firearms, something which international agencies from other countries who lack understanding in the gun issue as we do. Other countries have gotten better over time and good for them but America remains the first and the best. If we allow foreign influence into our law precedent than we are merely watering ourselves down. And besides, our Constitution was crafted by geniuses and we would do best to preserve it so we can enjoy such freedom as long as possible. If any manipulative interpretation is made, from foreign law or not, it spells our demise. A living Constitution is a dead Constitution.
Posted in News, Obama Administration, Sovereignty | Tagged Constitution, Glenn Beck, Global Regulation, Gun Rights, Harold Koh, World Government | 2 Comments »
October 15, 2009
That would be a more fitting slogan for certain cartoonists who think that they have some kind of cleverness. In the magazine The Week this week (no pun intended) there was an ad for Sarah Palin’s new book Going Rogue. The caption said “shouldn’t you read a book before you write one.” Now, whatever your opinion on Sarah Palin, she has obviously been the victim of a massive character assasination campaign and the cartoon infuriated me with its grose inaccuracy. Biographical sources on the former governor indicate she was a real bookworm growing up and has read quite a bit, unlike the artist of the cartoon. Or maybe he/she only reads slanted journalists like Katie Couric.
I was unable to find the cartoon I was referring to – its in The Week, page 22, bottom right. Here’s a link to another cartoon I found online:
http://www.moonbattery.com/palin_media.jpg
Posted in Common Sense, Politicians | Tagged Book, Going Rogue, sarah palin | Leave a Comment »
October 14, 2009
A couple of incompetent prison technicians failed in their job to properly administer the execution of Romell Broom, who was convicted of killing and raping a 14 year-old girl in 1984 by an Ohio court. The execution attempt was described as prolongued and painful. The simple Common Sense answer to the problem is to punish those who bear responsibility in the isolated incident: the technicians. Have it be by firing them from their job, possibly blacklisting them so they cannot hold a similar position ever again or whatever. Instead, Governor Ted Strickland has put a moratium on ALL executions in the state.
I know the death penalty can seem gruesome, but some of the arguments against it are just plain senseless. People say they’re more expensive because of the appeals. Well, fast-track them so that the process is cheaper - it’s the appeals that cost more, not the actual death itself – bullets don’t cost more money than paying for food, clothing and shelter for a lifetime. Problem solved. People say that more innocent people are executed in fast-tracked process. Well, require DNA evidence for death penalty cases. Problem solved. I think Texas has the right idea on this issue. We should support good justice, not make things better for rapists and serial killers.
Posted in Common Sense | 4 Comments »
October 13, 2009
“Victicrat” is a word which I have borrowed from the Sage from South Central – Larry Elder, whose Common Sense views on race relations and domestic policy are a continuing inspiration to me. A victicrat is someone who thinks that they, as a victim, have the right to bully the rest of us into accepting things their way. It is often someone who victimizes themselves in order to get ahead and that person is often a selfish self-righteous attention-hog. There have been many cases of victicrats in recent history and Larry Elder can list them pretty comprehensively. He has written a couple books on the matter and also has his own website.
http://www.larryelder.com/home.html
Although I do not always see eye-to-eye with President Obama, with his election I thought that race relations would be more civil and tensions would simmer a bit. However, we seem to be evolving from a nation with victicrats to a fully-fledged victocracy. From Former President Carter’s shindig to Jason Whitlock commentating on the supposed competition between Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck to become the number one “right-wing race divider,” it seems those who put President Obama on a mantle are trying to label everyone who holds disagreement with the President, large or small, as a racist. Despite that the Tea Party protests have numerous black participants, they have been portrayed as hate rallies by certain organizations and media outlets. The Tea Parties are not racist. Rush Limbaugh is not racist. Glenn Beck is not racist. People who say they are are probably racist themselves and have a complete ineptitude in logical debate and Personal Responsibility. People who can’t think for themselves and simply worship the hope and change of the first black President (and his race probably played a role in their voting for him) find it easier to call people racist than to consider the possibility that some criticism might be legitimate. That maybe these critics are simply making their best effort to judge people not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character (and actions.) One of Obama’s new “czars” snuck in through the back door to government, Cass Sunstein, is an openly-proclaimed Socialist who has blamed racism for the lack of Socialism in the US. Although Obama claims not to be a Socialist, I have yet to hear a good explanation for this appointment.
Posted in Collectivism, Common Sense, Craziness, News, Obama Administration, Personal Responsibility | Tagged Cass Sunstein, Larry Elder, Obama, Racism, socialism, Victicrat | 11 Comments »
