Bush's Last Minute Conversion

What could be the catalyst for Bush to publicly repudiate the Senate republicans by saying that his judges are being opposed for judicial philosophy, not religion?

I think this is an example of cross-atlantic cooperation, and Bush trying to ensure the Blair wins in Britian to protect the coalition.

The news conference was called at the last minute, and it seems to coincide with bad news in Britian. Blair is being hammered for the war and his relationship with Bush. Having a benign news conference where Bush appears to be reasonably rational, temperate, and pupulist may blunt some of the current flurry of criticism. If nothing else it will swallow some of the news cycle in Britian and leave less bandeidth to hammer Blair.

I suspect we will see more activity fro the President in the next two weeks as he tries to secure his coalition.

Great Time to be a Democrat.

It must be pretty exciting. They have nowhere to go but up. It is almost like being part of a new political movement. There are certain to be gains in the future, possibly significant ones.

In contrast, Republicans can at best hold what they have. Sure, they might get a seat or two on the SC, but at this point that is foreordained. Even getting a filibuster proof majority is no longer an important goal given the nuclear option. They are destined to have significant disappointments in the future, wiht little to celebrate as gains. It is hard to see the excitement on that side of the aisle.

Democrats Killing Filibuster

The Filibuster is a Senate construct that is not in the Constitution. The Senators have simply agreed to allow this option to exist as an exercise in fidelity with each other. It was agreed to for various reasons, but mainly because the Senate was designed to be collegial and deliberate in its actions. The Senate was never designed to be representative of a democracy. Its purpose was to protect the interest of states, not the people.

Over the last 200 or so years, the minority party has been able to take advantage of this agreement without overstepping the bounds where the majority stops agreeing to it. The Majority has always been able to take it away, but left it in place because it recognized that it would some day be in the minority. But at the same time, the majority was not willing to punt the power of the majority for the future use of a filibuster.

So, it is a balancing act. Use the filibuster on key issues, and use it sparingly. When the majority is no longer willing to take it, use it less, or cave. It will be the rare issue that 51 senators feel strongly enough to kill the filibuster forever.

Currently, we have the most monolithic parties ever in the senate. There has never been a time where the republican party, for example, were so closely aligned in their beliefs. The same is true of the democrats too.

So the Democrats are now using a filibuster against a unified majority party that has the ability and will to end the practice altogether. The Republicans know that they will be in the minority someday, but enough believe that the democrats are so wrong in the use of the filibuster to block 10 judges that they are willing to punt the practice altogether. And the Republicans have the power to do that.

Are the democrats insane? What in the world are they thinking about? Not only will they be left with no filibuster for the Supreme Court nominations this summer, but they will have irrevocably changed the nature of the Senate.

Take a step back from the abyss! Save the filibuster! Vote on 10 judges to save the practice for the future!

Gay Marriage Questions...

If a man and a woman are legally married, and the man has a sex change, are they still married?

If an unmarried man has a sex change, can he still marry a woman?

If an unmarried man has a sex change, can he now marry a man?

Anybody know?

Is Harry Right or Wrong?

Sen. Reid:

Religion to me is a very personal thing. I have been a religious man all my adult life. My wife and I have lived our lives and raised our children according to the morals and values taught by the faith to which we prescribe. No one has the right to judge mine or anyone else’s personal commitment to faith and religion.

God isn’t partisan.

Almost all successful religions have a "you are with us or against us" philosophy. I think there is no incentive to belong to a faith that is inclusive of ideas from other faiths.

For example, if you have an open liberal church that says there are many ways to God, and this is one, and a Conservative church which says "this way or hell," I think the obvious solution would be to join the conservative church, since it is included in the liberal church's philosophy as a way to heaven, but the liberal church is not included in the conservative way. If the liberal church is right, the conservative church goers still get to heaven, but if the conservative church is right, then the liberals go to hell.

Additionally, the liberal churches do not incentivize large families to at least replace the old parishioners. By allowing birth control and abortion, the liberal churches have little future. Liberal churches also don't require as much from their faithful, and attendance and observance tends to be less. Like any organization, a religion has to grow or die. There really is no static position.

That is at least part of why conservative strains of all religions tend to grow, and liberal strains die out.

I think it is also why conservative religions dismiss liberal religions as even being a "faith," while liberal ones will include conservative ones. Conservatives think they are right and everyone else is wrong, and liberals think that everyone is right.

So Harry Reid may think no one has a right to judge the faith of another person, but that is because he is not a conservative faith member. The conservative faith members know better.

Unionize Walmart?

I have read several articles about how Walmart is fighting against unionization, and several groups have suggested or started boycotting Walmart.

I wonder how committed these people really are to unions?

I would suggest that anyone who wants to support unions look in their driveways and see if they in fact have UAW built vehicles there. If instead you have a car built outside the United States (not simply a foreign name plate) then you are part of the problem.

Interestingly, some data suggests that Republicans are more likely to buy American cars than Democrats: buyers of American cars tend to be Republican -- except, for some reason, those who buy Pontiacs, who tend to be Democrats. http://travel2.nytimes.com/mem/ t...757C0A9639C8B63

So far as I can tell, that survey is about nameplates and not country of origin, but I would guess that more American brand cars are built in the US than non-american brand cars.

So, do all you union promoters actually buy union, or is this an academic exercise?Here is the list from the UAW for UAW made cars:http://www.uaw.org/uawmade/ cartr...artruck2004.cfm

To be sure the vehicle you are buying is assembled in the United States, check the window sticker, which will list the location of final assembly, and the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), which is attached to the driver's side of the dashboard. A VIN beginning with "1," "4" or "5" means the vehicle was assembled in the United States.

And here is the AFL/CIO portal to buying American, including internet, telephone, online shopping, and coffee.

http://www.unionlabel.org/

Next, see if your home builder employs/ed union tradesmen. Ensure future purchases are union built.

Also, ensure that you fly on airlines with the strongest union contracts, rather than the cheapest fare on the newest airline with the youngest (and least expensive) employees.

Shop at Union retailers like Safeway.

Making sure that existing unions are strong is the best way to help spread unions in the retail and tech market. But if the existing unions are dying (what was GM's news today?) why would employees at Walmart risk going that way?

For the record, all three of my cars were UAW built American brands, and my home was union built. I typically fly Alaska Air and US Air, not Southwest. I shop mostly at the Commissary, which I don't think is union (but might be because a lot of military-civilians are union), and at Costco, which is not union but treats its employees well.

Supporting unions should start with purchases, not legislation. Anyone driving a Prius or a Volvo should not have the right to complain about Walmart busting unions.

p.s. Oh, and an interesting but unrelated statistic from that same survey: Republican car buyers tended to have more children -- 3.5 on average, versus 1.7 for the Democratic buyers. So perhaps there is a replacement rate issue for the democrats as well.

Can the Far Left Co-exist with Moderate Democrats?

I think "moderate" democrats push the far left off to the green party and other sideshows. The democratic party can either try to include the far left and the left, or the left and moderates, but not all three. This problem is the issue that is keeping the democrats in the minority.

I think the main difference between parties is that the republicans coopted the one or two issues (like abortion and gay marriage) that the far right cares about into its platform, while the republican moderates recognize that nothing can really be done about those issues (because it would require amendments), so they ignore that part of the show. The far left and moderate democrats, on the other hand, differ on policy issues that can be changed, such as whether we go to war, taxation, etc.

If I was part of the far left, I would group moderate democrats with republicans, because they agree with each other and differ with the far left on primary issues. I would feel that the democratic party was not the party that would represent my issues. It makes perfect sense that if the support I give a party will not make my political wishes happen, I won't give that party support. The Far left is in that position with democrats.

False Alarm...She took me back

So long as I am willing to marry her and give her babies, she is willing to overlook my other numerous faults...

So you can stop looking for hot new girlfriends for me.


But go ahead and vote for me at hotornot at the bottom of the page anyway.