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Supreme Court Backs Abortion Protesters

This decision is long overdue. I've always wondered why abortion protesters were the only group in society to have special restrictions placed on their right of expression.

Anti-abortion groups brought the appeal after the appellate court sought to determine whether the injunction could be supported by charges that protesters had made threats of violence. 

The 2004 election broke down approximately 37% Dems 37% Reps yet this poll overweights Dems by a ridiculous 9%. An example of agenda driven polling if there ever was one.


Total Respondents 1018
Total Republicans 272 27%
Total Democrats 409 40%
Total Independents 337 33%


Total Republicans 289 28%
Total Democrats 381 37%
Total Independents 348 34%

That is why I quote Rassmussen exclusively. He is accurate and has exhibited no tendency to manipulate his samples to achieve a desired result. 

Iraqi forces capture Zarqawi aide

Captures and arrests are up. An unintended but positive consequence of the shrine bombing?

Feb 27, 2006 — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Interior Ministry forces have captured a senior aide to al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Iraqi state television said on Monday.

Iraqiya television named the man as Abu Farouq and said he was captured with five others in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Ramadi, west of the capital. 
Saddam ends hunger strike: lawyer

His addicition to Cheetohs/Doritos proved too powerful. Great Satan snack food have been the downfall of far greater men than he.

Deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ended his hunger strike a week ago after foregoing food for 11 days, his lead lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi told AFP Monday.

"I met with my client for seven hours on Sunday. At our request
he had earlier ended the hunger strike he had been on for 11 days and he
has lost four to five kilos," Dulaimi said.

10 lbs???? I've lost more weight just cutting out my nightly bowl of ice cream. 
Iraqi Sunni Bloc to Rejoin Talks on Government

Despite the greatest hopes of al qaida, Iran and the left in this country, unity in Iraq appears to the prevailing sentiment.

The Bush administration has pegged its hopes for dampening the Sunni-led insurgency, and withdrawing some of the 130,000 American troops here, to Sunni Arab participation in the political process.

The return to talks of the Sunni Arab bloc would be a crucial step in keeping on track the formation of a permanent government, which was mired in troubled negotiations even before the attack last Wednesday. The Sunni negotiator, Mahmoud al-Mashhadany, said Sunni politicians now recognize the need to form a widely inclusive government as quickly as possible to succeed the current interim government, dominated by religious Shiites and Kurds.

Powerline comments on The Civil War that Isn't. 

F22 Raptor And speaking of AWESOME..... 

Don Knotts Dead at 81 A sad day. Don Knotts was one of the funniest men to ever grace this earth. Our loss is heavens gain. Godspeed Barn. 
Sunnis and Sadr's Shiites make peace

An encouraging sign of cooler heads prevailing....

The agreement was made in the particularly symbolic setting of Baghdad's premier Sunni mosque Abu Hanifa where the Shiite sheikhs prayed under the guidance of Sunni imam Abdel Salam al-Qubaissi.

The meeting was broadcast on television and the religious leaders all "condemned the blowing up of the Shiite mausoleum of Samarra as much as the acts of sabotage against the houses of God as well as the assassinations and terrorisation of Muslims".

It's one of the first signs of Nationalism and it's a positive unless of course you're speaking from the DNC vantage or the Pat Buchanan wing of the Republican party 
USS Ronald Reagan 

Al Qaeda claims responsibility for Saudi attack

Funny how statements from al qaeda sound so similar to rantings often heard from the left in this country.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group claimed responsibility for Friday's attack on a major Saudi oil facility at Abqaiq, the group said in an Internet statement

The statement, posted by the al Qaeda group in the Peninsula on a Web site often used by militant groups, said two of its members carried out the suicide operation, but gave no details.

"With grace from God alone, hero mujahideen from the squadron of Sheikh Osama bin Laden succeeded today (Friday)...in penetrating a plant for refining oil and gas in the town of Abqaiq in the eastern part of the peninsula, and then allowed two car bombs in driven by two martyrdom seekers," it said.

The statement added: "These plants help in stealing the Muslims' wealth of oil."

Odd a group would so willingly take responsibility for a complete failure. Desperation makes any attempt regardless of how ineffective encouraging I suppose.
Posted by traderrob at 5:25 PM 0 comments 
S.D. House Approves Abortion Ban Bill

Buckle your seatbelts, this ones SCOTUS bound.

PIERRE, S.D. - State lawmakers voted Friday to ban nearly all abortions in South Dakota and sent the measure to the governor, who said he is inclined to sign it.

Under the legislation, doctors in South Dakota would face up to five years in prison for performing an abortion unless it was necessary to save the woman's life.

The bill directly targets Roe v. WadeRoe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court' decision that legalized abortion. State lawmakers believe the nation's highest court is now more likely to reverse itself on the abortion issue because of the recent appointments of Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito.

Planned Parenthood, which operates the only clinic performing abortions in South Dakota, has pledged to challenge the measure in court if Gov. Mike Rounds signs it into law. 
Al Qaeda Leader Killed

Just a guess, they made 10 arrests in the Mosque bombing and somebody squealed. Hopefully we can pick up more today.

"Intelligence reports indicated Abu Asma was in possession of and expected to use suicide vests against the Iraqi people and security forces," the statement said. "He was directly responsible for many deaths and injuries of coalition and Iraqi security forces." 

Lineup set for anti-war concert

I must be old because other than R.E.M there's not a performer named I recognize.

NEW YORK, NY, United States (UPI) -- Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan will be the guest of honor at the 'Bring `Em Home' concert at New York`s Hammerstein Ballroom.

Among the performers scheduled to play March 20 are R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, Bright Eyes, Rufus Wainwright, Fischerspooner, Public Enemy`s Chuck D, Devendra Banhart and Peaches, Billboard.com reported.

Janeane Garafalo will broadcast her Air America Radio show 'The Majority Report' live from the concert.

Guess they have Cindy Sheehan attending to give the whole thing credibility. 
Minnesota Public Radio sues Gore-founded Internet TV network

Difficult to decide who to root for or against on this one.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minnesota Public Radio is suing an Internet television network co-founded by Al Gore, claiming the network's alternative and amateur news reports interfere with MPR's trademark.

The San Francisco-based network, Current TV, and the MPR music station the Current are both transmitted via the Internet. MPR says the similar names creates confusion for potential consumers.

Current TV is a national cable and satellite channel featuring alternative news and "citizen journalism," or amateurs who send in their own news and video. According to its web site, viewers contribute about one-third of the station's content.

According to the lawsuit, filed Feb. 2, the TV channel changed its name from INdTV on April 4, four months after MPR applied to register "The Current" as a trademark, and after it launched the station. 
A Hormonal Reaction

The more that is know about the UAE port deal the more it becomes obvious that it is NOT a bad thing. Knee jerk reactions from the EM, political opportunists on both sides of the aisle and ill informed blog pundits prevailed early on.

The same hormonal driven mentality that permeates the immigration issue emerged illiciting strong opinions based on scant facts. The Democrats reaction was predictable, after all anything that hurts then Bush administration is a good thing even if it means betraying their sacred opposition to "racial profiling" The Republicans ceratinly are not without sin as they also used this issue as an attempt to better their stead politically. Some of the "big name" bloggers also bought into this hyperventilating hysteria without adequately researching the topic. Our readers log on to our sites for our opinions, but they also expect due diligence backing them up. Some who shall remain nameless did their readers a disservice in this respect. After all, if they wanted thinly examined visceral rants they'd be tuning into Kos or the DU.

I believe that when all the dust settles on this thing, there will be alot of egg on alot of faces both Republican and Democrat. Polical expediency underpinned with a dubious rational generally comes back to bite the person(s) involved. Expect some major crayfishing especially from Republicans in the coming days.

For the most complete analysis and roundup check out Sistertoldjah. 

Forced Abortion on Poor Ethnic Women Proposed in Holland

Just the natural evolution.

In related news, the goverment of the Netherlands announced today that they will begin production of "Soylent Green" fulltime.
Posted by traderrob at 9:00 AM 0 comments 

Yahoo!Mail bans Allah and Dirty Harry handles

Feeling lucky, Abdul? Go ahead, make my fatwa.....

This was uncovered by Reg reader Ed Callahan whose mother Linda C-allah-an was trying to sign up for a Verizon email address. She could not get it to accept her surname.

Enquiries to Verizon revealed that a partnership with Yahoo! was to blame. Yahoo! will not accept any identies which include the letters "allah".

Nor will Yahoo! accept yahoo, osama or binladen. But it will accept god, messiah, jesus, jehova, buddah, satan and both priest and pedophile.

Ed Callahan told us: "On one level this is just silliness. But we have a war on terrorism and it's migrating to be a war on Muslims - this just shows the confusion there is between the two and how pervasive this is."

UPDATE: Yahoo! unbans Allah!

Yahoo! has reversed its decision to stop people registering Yahoo! IDs which include the letters "allah".

The Reg was contacted yesterday by a reader - Ed Callahan - who was having trouble registering his mum - Linda Callahan - for a Verizon email address - provided through a Yahoo! portal.

But Yahoo! got in touch with us this morning to say it is now accepting Yahoo! identities which contain the letters "allah". The Callahans will be overjoyed.

Yahoo! said in a statement: "We continuously evaluate abuse patterns in registration usernames to help prevent spam, fraud and other inappropriate behavior. A small number of people registered for IDs using specific terms with the sole purpose of promoting hate, and then used those IDs to post content that was harmful or threatening to others, thus violating Yahoo!'s Terms of Service.

Sounds all well and good except that's it's complete bu!!shit.
Posted by traderrob at 10:50 PM 0 comments 
Port Hysteria

I have mixed feelings concerning the port deal with Dubai but I do have one question for the "we must kill this deal!" bedwetters.....

What do you think the global ramifications will be when a legitimate company (2nd largest in the world managing port facilities ALL across the globe) acting in good faith bids and legitimately wins a contract and our government summarily decrees it invalid simply because it was made by Arabs who we find both untrustworthy and potentially dangerous.

Our stature would suffer irreparably, future global business interests, incalculably. Ask yourselves, are we being prudent or paranoid? 
Let the troops eat your Girl Scout cookies

Great idea...

It's a way to help the Girl Scouts without pigging out. It's a clever cookie caper; Pat Tobey can buy boxes of the cookies without wearing them.

Parents whose kids are selling Girl Scout Cookies often end up helping out by taking the tempting treats to work where co-workers and clients make them disappear. Big problem for Brian Barkley, who is a fitness trainer.

His clients at Functional Conditioning in Arvada are busy working off cookies, donuts and cake from the past--how dare he tempt them with more? Solution -- the Hometown Heroes plan from the Girl Scouts. Clients like Pat Tobey can buy boxes of cookies but keep them away from their own shelves (and thighs) by having the Scouts ship them to Iraq.

Eight-year-old Audra Barkley is doing just that. But as an added bonus, Audra is personally writing thank you notes to her customers who choose to ship instead of eat their Girl Scout cookies. She says she hopes the soldiers open the cookies and feel like they're getting them from people who really care. Sure, there are healthier snacks we could send.

"I suppose you could send them carrots and Ranch [dressing], but that's not fun like the Girl Scout Cookies are," reasons Barkley. And besides, cookies are always portable.

Now there's an 8 yr. old with a career in sales. 

Is the Hildebeast the 2008 version of Howard Dean? Will Democrats conclude she's unelectable and opt for someone else? We shall see.

February 21, 2006 -- Forty-four percent of voters across the country oppose a 2008 run for the White House by Hillary Clinton, a new poll shows.

That's up from 37 percent a year ago, according to the Siena College/Hearst newspapers poll. And while 53 percent said last year that she should go for it, only 51 percent think so now.

By contrast, support for a presidential bid by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is up to 48 percent, from 42 percent last year.

In a recent Gallup poll, 51 percent said they'd definitely vote against Clinton while 16 percent said they'd definitely back her.

Without question these are really rotten numbers. With close to 100% name recognition and only a 16% "definately vote for" figure she could be toast before this thing even gets started. 

'Peace mom' comes to Houston to target President's mom

I would pay good money to watch an 80+ year old grandma kick some peacenik a$$.

You may remember, Sheehan got national attention after refusing to budge from outside of President Bush's Crawford ranch last year. Sheehan and her supporters in Houston say they want to send a message to Barbara Bush because she has influence over her son. 
Islam's March Against the West
 

Sieg Heil! Pakistani demonstrators took to the streets in Islamabad. (NOT photoshopped)
Posted by traderrob at 1:47 PM 0 comments 

D J Drummond at Polipundit nails why the left can't get any taction despite numerous opportunities....

The significance of today’s episode (MTP Sunday roundtable) was not that the MSM would try to lie about Bush and his associates; that’s nothing new. But the selection of two such non-events (Katrina/Cheney) in so many people’s minds, demonstrates why the Left is losing so many battles. They just are not being very smart about picking their fights, and so present themselves, accurately, as bitter malcontents with no substance or greater purpose beyond trying to attack someone doing his job. Like Howard Dean, Russert damages his own side by his behavior, and he doesn’t even realize it. Like David Gregory, his ego simply does not allow a better perspective. 
Iran clerics back nuclear weapons

Another signalization we better act against these crazy mo fo's, and soon....

Iran's hard-line Islamic spiritual leaders have issued an unprecedented fatwa, or holy order, approving the use of atomic weapons against the country's enemies.

Muslim clerics for the first time have questioned the theocracy's traditional viewpoint that Shariah law forbids the use of nuclear weapons.

One senior mullah has now said it is "only natural" to have nuclear bombs as a "countermeasure" against other nuclear powers, a reference considered to be the United States and Europe.

The pronouncement was issued by Mohsen Gharavian, a disciple of the extremely hard-line Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, widely regarded as the cleric closest to Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi's group opposes virtually any kind of rapprochement with the West and is believed to have influenced Mr. Ahmadinejad's refusal to negotiate over Iran's nuclear program. 
Cindy Sheehan Leads 100 At Chicago Anti-War Rally

"Leads 100" not exactly what I would call a groundswell....

CHICAGO (WBBM) -- Wearing pink gloves, Cindy Sheehan held a picture of her soldier son Casey who was killed while serving in Iraq.

WBBM Newsradio 780's Nancy Harty reports the anti-war advocate shivered in the cold before a crowd gathered at Independence Park on Chicago's Northwest Side Saturday morning.

She says Congressional Democrats are just as bad as Republicans when it comes to inaction on the Iraq war and urged supporters of peace must hold their congressmen accountable.

Holding signs that said "the war isn't working," about one hundred opponents of the war loudly clapped their gloved hands, chanted and sang songs with pacifist lyrics.

Sheehan says voters should support candidates who advocate withdrawl of US troops from Iraq.

I wonder how many of those "100" were the press. 

Cartoon protest turns deadly......Again

This story getting is monotonous, same people, same story, different location.

NIGERIAN rioters killed at least 15 people today after a Muslim protest against the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed descended into violence, a police spokesman said.

Witnesses said that protesters turned on the Christian minority in the northern city of Maiduguri, burning shops and churches, after police dispersed a rally called to condemn European newspapers that printed the caricatures.

A police spokesman, Deputy Commissioner Haz Iwendi said that army troops and police reinforcements had been deployed to the city and that a curfew had been imposed to bring about a return to order.

"We've arrested 115 people. Some 15 persons were killed by rioters, and 11 churches burnt," he said.

The victims were the first to die in Nigeria as anger over the drawings of Islam's prophet mounts among its 60 million Muslims, roughly half the population. 
Did Cambone Perjure Himself? Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Steven Cabone's statements to the Able Danger hearing committee appear to have been directly contradicted by an affidavit from another witness (Butch Willard). If Weldon has another witness that can refute Cambone's testimony, that's perjury folks.

From Strata-Sphere Weldon has a signed affidavit from a witness that talked to one of Cambone’s staff recently and who said Cambone’s group was going to ‘kill this story’ and Shaffer had no credibility. The name is Butch Willard This is right after Cambone claimed no one was not trying to ‘bring the information forward’. If Weldon is right, Cambone just perjured himself and is in hot water now. The witness is an ex intelligence officer (woman). They moved all this to the closed session! 

Saddam Translator: ABC Re-interpreted Tapes

Once again the EM reports the truth.....as they see it

The FBI translator who supplied the 12-hours of Saddam Hussein audiotapes excerpted by ABC's "Nightline" Wednesday night now says the network discarded his translations and went with a less threatening version of the Iraqi dictator's comments.

"What you heard on ABC News was their translation," former U.N. weapons inspector Bill Tierney told ABC Radio's Sean Hannity on Thursday.

"They came up with something different on a key element regarding terrorism in the United States," Tierney insisted.

In the "Nightline" version of a 1996 recording, Saddam predicts that Washington, D.C. would be hit by terrorists. But he adds that Iraq would have nothing to do with the attack.

Tierney says, however, that what Saddam actually said was much more sinister. "He was discussing his intent to use chemical weapons against the United States and use proxies so it could not be traced back to Iraq," he told Hannity.

In a passage not used by "Nightline," Tierney says Saddam declares: "Terrorism is coming . . . . In the future there will be terrorism with weapons of mass destruction. What if we consider this technique, with smuggling?" 
Lobbyists have given more to Democrats

Regardless of the of the contrived indignation and disingenuous spin from the Democrats, it all boils down to "OK for me, not for thee".

Last year, for instance, Republicans took in 55 percent of the lobbyist money, which roughly corresponds to their majority share in Congress.

Mr. Nick said the figures "take the wind out of Democrat sails" for their charge that Republicans have ushered in a "culture of corruption" that breeds extensive ties to lobbyists.

The latest canard offered up by the left is that "every Dem that has taken money has a consistent voting record, and that regardless of when the money started coming in it has never influenced a vote". Yea, you bet, and if you believe that I have some terrific land in Nevada I'd love to sell you. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts (R) presents Associate Justice Samuel Alito at his investiture on the front steps of the Supreme Court in Washington. February 16 REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

A photo that will likely give the left heartburn for many years to come.
 
One Year Blogiversary! Today marks one year since I began blogging on my own. It's been fun and I look forward to providing my readers with a continuing supply of stories and opinion they won't now or likely ever see in the mainstream press.

Special thanks to Dr. Rusty Shackleford at Jawa who has been kind enough to allow me to post on his terrific site. May he see his long awaited and well derserved fatwa issued in the very near future.

You guys who have been with me since the beginning a special thanx for you're support. 
Housing starts soar to near 33-year high

Did someone say housing bubble?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. housing starts soared 14.5 percent in January to the highest level in nearly 33 years, as groundbreaking on new single-family houses hit a record, the government said on Thursday in a report showing unexpected strength in a market that had begun to slow.

The Commerce Department said January housing starts climbed to a 2.276 million unit annual rate -- faster than Wall Street economists' forecasts of a 2.0 million unit pace. December housing starts were revised up to a 1.988 million unit pace from an originally reported 1.933 million unit rate.

January's increase was the largest monthly percentage gain since March 1994, when starts rose 17.0 percent.

New construction of single-family homes increased 12.8 percent to a record 1.819 million unit pace in January while multifamily housing starts surged 21.9 percent to a 457,000 unit pace, the Commerce Department said.

Starts rose across the United States, climbing 29.2 percent in the Northeast, 23.7 percent in the Midwest, 16.9 percent in the West and 8.7 percent in the South. 

Letter From Iraq Completely Ignored by the EM

From: Mayor of Tall ‘Afar, Ninewa, Iraq

In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful

Mayor of Tall ‘Afar,
Ninewa, Iraq

Also picked up here

Update: The Mudville Gazette has some background on this letter.
Posted by traderrob at 8:22 AM 0 comments 
Saddam general: WMDs in Syria

The more that comes out, the more it points to Syria....

A former general and friend of Saddam Hussein who defected but maintains close contact with Iraq claims the regime supported al-Qaida with intelligence, finances and munitions and believes weapons of mass destruction are hidden in Syria.

Ali Ibrahim al-Tikriti, southern regional commander for Saddam Hussein's Fedayeen militia in the late 1980s, spoke with Ryan Mauro of WorldThreats.com.

Known as the "Butcher of Basra," al-Tikriti commanded units that dealt with chemical and biological weapons. He defected shortly before the Gulf War in 1991.

Last month, Saddam Hussein's No. 2 Air Force officer, Georges Sada, told the New York Sun Iraq's weapons of mass destruction were moved to Syria six weeks before the war started. Sada claimed two Iraqi Airways Boeing jets converted to cargo planes moved the weapons in a total of 56 flights. They attracted little attention, he said, because they were thought to be civilian flights providing relief from Iraq to Syria, which had suffered a flood after a dam collapse in 2002. [snip]

What we are witnessing now, he said, "is many who opposed the war to begin with are rallying around Saddam saying we overthrew a sovereign leader based on a lie about WMD. This is exactly what Saddam wanted and predicted." 

Retail Sales for January Surge

The Commerce Department reports that retail sales outside of autos soared in January by the largest amount in more than six years.

Compare the coverage of this to the piffling on the Cheney incident. It's quite evident what type of "news" the EM prioritizes.
 
More Media Hysteria

This from DRUDGE


Gregory asked White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan about the Cheney hunting accident.

'David, hold on, the cameras aren't on right now,' McClellan replied. 'You can do this later.'

'Don't accuse me of trying to pose to the cameras,' Gregory said, voice rising. 'Don't be a jerk to me personally when I'm asking you a serious question.'

'You don't have to yell,' McClellan said.

"I will yell,' said Gregory, pointing a finger at McCellan at his dais. 'If you want to use that podium to try to take shots at me personally, which I don't appreciate, then I will raise my voice, because that's wrong.'

'Calm down, Dave, calm down,' said McClellan.

'I'll calm down when I feel like calming down,' Gregory said. 'You answer the question.'

'I have answered the question,' said McClellan, who had maintained that the vice president's office was in charge of getting the information out and worked with the ranch owner to do that.

'I'm sorry you're getting all riled up about.'

'I am riled up,' Gregory said, 'because you're not answering the question.'"

What a punk. Gregory is a self important narcissist and McClellan rightly treats him as such. 
The Cheney Incident. A Big Deal?

The normally lucid John Podhoretz has completely gone of the deep end on this one….

“This story is a very big deal, despite all the mitigating factors – the accident involved a friend, his medical team was right there to help, and all that. Something like this has never happened before, and it is a genuinely disturbing thing to think that the vice president of the United States actually shot somebody last weekend, even for fans of his. It’s disturbing as well that there was a news blackout that lasted nearly a day about this serious incident. It seems beyond question that the vice president is going to have to go before the cameras, explain what happened, and show genuine remorse for his actions, however inadvertent. It’s a difficult challenge for someone as reticent as Dick Cheney. But unless he does so, and makes a good showing of it, he will be damaged goods for the remainder of the Bush presidency.”

His wife better use the plastic sheets tonight because he’s gonna wet the bed for sure.

MM has lots more reax

The press is becoming increasingly unabashed in their bias as this was said by Bill Plante on CBSs Early Show:

"It's not about us, it's not about the reporters. It's about the fact that the White House is expected to disclose any information about what happens to the President and the Vice-President as soon as they can. In any other White House that I've covered, and that's several as you know, the Vice-President would never have this kind of power [to control the flow of information." But if it were up to Dick Cheney, he wouldn't tell us if our shirts were on fire, for heaven's sake."

First, what does this imbecile expect when the media uses stories like this as an IED rather than a microphone. Besides, most of these dim wits wouldn't accept that their shirts were on fire if they weren't informed of the fact by an anonymous source. 

Ted Rall Says He Might Sue Ann Coulter for Holocaust Cartoon Remark

This panty waist has offended millions over his career and now threatenes to sue over an obviously toungue in cheek remark that offended no one but him JEEEEZ.

NEW YORK Columnist Ann Coulter made a provocative remark Friday about "Doonesbury" creator Garry Trudeau and editorial cartoonist Ted Rall. Trudeau is shrugging it off, but Rall is considering a lawsuit.Coulter reportedly said Friday at the Conservative Political Action

Conference in Washington, D.C.: "Iran is soliciting cartoons on the Holocaust. So far, only Ted Rall, Garry Trudeau, and The New York Times have made submissions.

"Giving her remark another twist is the fact that the conservative Coulter has the same distributor -- Universal Press Syndicate -- as the liberal Rall and Trudeau.

When asked Monday if he wanted to respond to Coulter's comment, Trudeau told E&P via e-mail: "Nah."

For cying out loud, it was a joke Ted! This is oh soooo typical of the left. They can dish it out but they sure can't take it. 
16% Think They've Been Wiretapped

Just a shade higher than the percentage of people that believe that they have been abducted by aliens.

February 12, 2006--One-out-of six Americans (16%) believe that the Federal government has wiretapped their phones. Sixty-six percent (66%) are confident their phones have not been tapped while 18% are not sure.

Politically liberal Americans are more likely to believe their phones have been tapped than moderates and conservatives. Among liberals, 26% believe they have been the subject of a wiretap while just 53% are confident their phones have not been monitored in this way.

Conservatives, by a 77% to 12% margin, say their phones have not been tapped.

Why does this not surprise me. 

Referring to the hunting accident where Harry Whittington was sprayed with pellets from Dick Cheney's shotgun, Howie Carr had this to say....."It’s still safer to go hunting with Dick Cheney than it is to go driving with Ted Kennedy. Or to go to a hotel room with Bill Clinton for that matter." 

Jane Harmon: NY Times Should be Prosecuted

Expect to see more "defections" on the left especially from pols in close races. The public is behind these WTs and they can't afford to be on the wrong side of this one.

In a stunning break with her party, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Sunday that the New York Times should be prosecuted for damaging national security by revealing the National Security Agency's top secret terrorist surveillance program authorized by President Bush.

"If the press was part of the process of delivering classified information, there have to be some limits on press immunity," Harmon told NBC's "Meet the Press."

Moderator Tim Russert then pressed: "But if [the NSA leak] came from a whistleblower, should the New York Times reporter be prosecuted?"

Harmon countered: "Well, it's not clear it was a whistleblower. You have to prove that first."

Mr. Potato Head has been parroting the Dems "whistleblower" and "domestic spying" narratives from the beginning. Too bad for him and the left that both terms are innacurate and the majority of Americans know it. 

Hillary for Prez Says Ousted German Chancellor

An endorsement from a failed candidate who left an economy with .3% growth and an unemployment rate of 10.5% is hardly a positive for her thighness.....

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, a fierce critic of the Bush administration, said Saturday that he's pulling for U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to win the White House.

"I'd be very pleased if Hillary Clinton would become the next American president," Schroeder said to applause from a largely Saudi audience at the Jeddah Economic Forum, which opened here Saturday. "But don't quote me too loud.

I hope I'm not harming her by saying that."Schroeder made the statement during a discussion of global women leaders at a gender-segregated theater where a plastic barrier separated women from men. 
Lobbyist Confirms Talks With Reid's Office

Those who live in glass houses......

One of Jack Abramoff's ex-colleagues confirms he contacted Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid's office on behalf of the influential lobbyist but says he does not believe Abramoff's billing records accurately reflect the extent of his work.

Ronald Platt, a lobbyist who worked with Abramoff at the Greenberg Traurig firm between 2001 and 2004, said he contacted Reid's office in 2001, as the billing records show, about the timing of minimum wage legislation affecting one of Abramoff's clients, the Northern Mariana Islands.

"When Abramoff first arrived at Greenberg Traurig, I did a new colleague a favor by simply asking Reid staffers about when the minimum wage legislation affecting the Mariana Islands would be voted upon by the Senate. I communicated this to Abramoff," Platt said in a statement e-mailed Friday evening to The Associated Press.

The AP reported on Thursday that lobbying firm billing records obtained under public records law from the Marianas showed that Abramoff billed the islands for 21 contacts in 2001 with Reid's office. 

Sunni tribes in Anbar agree to combat foreign fighters

It's called Nationalism and it's steadily increasing in Iraq.

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Sunni tribesmen of Iraq's restive al-Anbar province have agreed to take over combating foreign fighters there and securing the borders, officials said.

The agreement was reached earlier this week in an meeting with US and Iraqi officials, who included US commander General George Casey and Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari.

"It was a very fruitful and constructive meeting," National Security Advisor Muaffaq al-Rubaie, who attended the Tuesday meeting, told AFP.

"The basic principle is that the province's security is the responsibility of the local people and they promised they would kick out the foreign fighters."

In the past week, nine members of the US military have been killed in Anbar.

Tribal leaders will also encourage their followers to enlist in the Iraqi army and police forces.

Osama al-Jadaan, head of the Karabla tribe along the border, also attended the meeting and said his forces were ready to go after the foreign fighters. 
Judge: No credible evidence underage sex always harmful

A Clinton appointee, imagine that.

WICHITA, Kan. - A federal judge hearing a constitutional challenge to a Kansas law requiring doctors, teachers and others to report underage sex between consenting youths said the state presented no credible evidence that underage sex is always harmful.

U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten stopped short of issuing a decision from the bench, but he repeatedly interrupted Thursday's closing arguments by Assistant Attorney General Steve Alexander to challenge his assertions.

"Motives are irrelevant - I want to deal with facts," Marten said. "Where is the clear, credible evidence that underage sex is always injurious? If you tell me because it is illegal - I reject that," Marten said.

The lawsuit filed by The Center for Reproductive Rights, a New York advocacy group, stems from a 2003 opinion issued by Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline's opinion requiring health care providers and others to tell authorities about consensual sex by underage youths.

The group contends that forced reporting discourages adolescents from seeking counseling and medical treatment and violates their rights to informational privacy.

The Attorney General's Office contends the statute requires mandatory reporting because sex is inherently harmful to underage children. In Kansas, the age of consent is 16.

Appears this judge has been reading too much Kinsey. Possibly been spending a bit too much time at NAMBLA's website as well.
Posted by traderrob at 6:58 AM 0 comments 
Consumers gain confidence in economy, their financial well-being

Despite the best efforts of the EM to keep the robust economy under the radar, most Americans know the score....

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 AP — Consumers' confidence in the economy and their own financial fortunes climbed to a 16-month high as better prospects for jobs and wages lifted people's spirits.

The RBC CASH (Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Household) Index, based on results from the international polling firm Ipsos, showed that confidence clocked in at 96.1 in early February, marking a big improvement from January's 78.2. The new confidence reading was the best since October 2004.

The confidence revival also was helped by mild winter weather which meant that home heating bills weren't nearly as bad as many thought they would be, analysts said. 

Jobless claims slightly up to 277,000

More bad news on the economic front.......for the Democrats that is.

Smoothed average of new claims lowest in nearly 6 years

The four-week average of seasonally adjusted new claims fell to 276,500, the lowest since April 2000. The average number of new claims is nearly 50,000 lower than it was for most of 2005.

"The low pace of jobless claims suggests that the labor market is expanding at a solid pace, and that the economy has been strong enough to absorb higher energy costs," said Sophia Koropeckyj, an economist for Moody's Economy.com.

The four-week average is considered a better gauge of new claims because it smoothes out one-time disturbances, such as holidays, intense weather and strikes. 
Hillary Meter: 43% Will Vote Against

Every time she speaks it's like fingernails scraping across a blackboard.

February 9, 2006--Support for Hillary Clinton's Presidential bid has
slipped over the past month to the lowest levels recorded in two dozen surveys
over the past year.

Today, just 27% of Americans say they would definitely vote for
the former first lady while 43% would definitely vote against. Still,
59% of Americans believe it is somewhat or very likely that she will be the
Democrat's nominee in 2008.

Among Democrats, the number who would definitely vote for Clinton
dropped 11 percentage points over the past two weeks.
 
Justice Department Claims Virginia Beach Police Math Exam Discriminates Against Blacks, Hispanics

Had to double check to make sure this wasn't from the Onion or Scrappleface......

AP) - A U.S. Justice Department investigation into hiring practices at the
Virginia Beach Police Department has concluded that a math exam given to
recruits discriminates against blacks and Hispanics.

The math test is one of a handful of separately times and scored components of the National Police Officer Selection Test used to screen and select entry-level officers. The investigation found that between 2002 and 2005, about 85 percent of white applicants passed the math test, while 66 percent of Hispanic applicants and 59 percent of blacks passed.

Virginia Beach demands that applicants score at least 70 percent to pass,
which adversely affects blacks and Hispanics, the justice department said in a
letter to the city.

"The evidence establishes that Virginia Beach is engaged in a pattern or
practice of discrimination against African Americans and Hispanics on the basis
of their race and national origin with respect to entry-level police officer
positions in its Police Department..." the justice department wrote.

Pardon my insensitivity but isn't a certain level of minimum intelligence a basic requirement for most jobs? 

Three more killed in cartoon protests

I am beginning to believe that these people are just looking for an excuse to riot and murder. I have never in all my life seen a group of people so enamoured with violence and death

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan police fired at protesters trying to storm a U.S. military base on Wednesday, killing three and wounding 20 as anger over cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad flared anew.

The latest deaths in the town of Qalat brought the number of
Afghans who have been killed in similar protests this week to

The trouble comes as NATO countries are preparing to expand a peacekeeping
mission in Afghanistan, and after a wave of bomb attacks on foreign and Afghan
forces and civilian targets blamed on Taliban and al Qaeda militants.

Afghanistan's top religious council called for an end to the
demonstrations, saying people would use the disturbances for purposes of
sabotage. The Ulema Council also condemned the cartoons, as has the Afghan

Posted by traderrob at 12:32 PM 0 comments 
Ex-Officer Spurned on WMD Claim

This is just getting curiouser by the day. First the Sada revelations, then the emergence of secrect Sadaam tapes presently being evaluated by a congressional intelligence committee and now this. What the motivation by the government for covering up evidence of WMD in Iraq or a transfer of said to Syria is a mystery to me. Ideas?

A former special investigator for the Pentagon during the Iraq war said he
found four sealed underground bunkers in southern Iraq that he is sure contain
stocks of chemical and biological weapons. But when he asked American weapons
inspectors to check out the sites, he was rebuffed.

David Gaubatz, a former member of the Air Force's Office of Special
Investigations, was assigned to the Talill Air Base in Nasiriyah at the launch
of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His job was to pick up any intelligence on the
whereabouts of senior Baathists and weapons of mass destruction and then send
the information to the American weapons inspectors gathering in Baghdad that
would later become the Iraq Survey Group. For his intelligence work he received
accolades and meritorious service medals in 2003 and prior years. Before the war
he helped uncover a spy in the Saudi military. He also assisted with the rescue
and repatriation to America of the family of Mohammed Rehaief, the Iraqi lawyer
who helped save Private Jessica Lynch.

Between March and July 2003, Mr. Gaubatz was taken by these sources to four
locations - three in and around Nasiriyah and one near the port of Umm Qasr,
where he was shown underground concrete bunkers with the tunnels leading to them
deliberately flooded. In each case, he was told the facilities contained stocks
of biological and chemical weapons, along with missiles whose range exceeded
that mandated under U.N. sanctions. But because the facilities were sealed off
with concrete walls, in some cases up to 5 feet thick, he did not get inside. He
filed reports with photographs, exact grid coordinates, and testimony from
multiple sources. And then he waited for the Iraq Survey Group to come to the
sites. But in all but one case, they never arrived.

The new information from the former investigator could also end up helping
the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which recently reopened
the question of what happened to the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Like
many current and former American and Israeli officials, the chairman of the
House intelligence committee, Peter Hoekstra, says is not convinced Saddam
either destroyed or never had the stockpiles of illicit weapons he was said to
be concealing between 1991 and 2003.
 

Iran a Growing Danger, Bush Gaining on Spy Issue

More polling data you're unlikely to see reported by the Entrenched Media.

Public concern over Iran's nuclear program has risen dramatically in the past few months. Today, 27% of Americans cite Iran as the country that represents the greatest danger to the United States. In October, just 9% pointed to Iran as the biggest danger to the U.S., while there was far more concern over Iraq, China and North Korea. Nearly two-thirds (65%) believe that Iran's nuclear program is a major threat to the U.S., placing it on par with North Korea's nuclear program, and far ahead of China's emerging power among possible threats to the United States.

The president appears to be making headway with his defense of the government's authority to conduct warrantless wiretaps of suspected terrorists. By 54%-43%, the public believes it is generally right for the government to monitor communications of Americans suspected of having terrorist ties without first obtaining permission from the courts. In early January, the public was evenly divided over this issue (48% generally right/47% generally wrong).

A narrow majority of Americans (51%) say the original decision to use force in Iraq was right, up from 45% a month ago. Overall views of how things are going in Iraq remained level with 13% saying things are going very well, 38% fairly well, 29% not too well and 17% not at all well. 
UK poll: 37% of Muslims in Britain think British Jews are a "legitimate target"

Pretty much dispels the "a few evil doers hijacking a religion of peace" meme. This from Jihadwatch:

And those are just the ones fool enough to admit to the pollster what they were thinking. Tiny Minority of Extremists Update: "Poll shows voters believe press is right not to publish cartoons," from the TimesOnline, with thanks to Interested:

Posted by traderrob at 9:28 AM 0 comments 
Canada's Crime Rate 50 % Higher than U.S.

Missed this earlier.....

Press reports that Canada is a Shangri-la – an America with free health care and less crime – may be short sighted.

In fact, statistics show that the violent crime rate there is double that of the United States.

It seems Canada is looking for a scapegoat, too: Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin is blaming the United States for his country’s violent crime wave. He says his southern neighbor is eagerly bringing guns over the border.

Gottlieb says the blame instead belongs on Canadian crooks getting guns from wherever they can.

"Blaming the United States for Canadian crime is an argument that does not pass the smell test,” Gottlieb wrote. "Canada's experience has simply demonstrated that no matter what kind of gun control law a government passes, that law is doomed to failure because instead of keeping guns out of the wrong hands, the law disarms the wrong people. Canada's gun control scheme has not just failed - it has failed disastrously. Clear evidence of that can be found in a comparison of the crime rates for Canada and America.”

Understatement of the year. 

Ominous Imagery A Danish flag burns in Bethlehem. Preview of coming attractions?

photo via CNN
 
Mrs. Clinton's Wal-Mart

And speaking of hypocrisy, more from the Hildebeast......

Talk about perfect timing. The same day Senate records disclosed that Senator Clinton returned a $5,000 contribution from the political action committee of Wal-Mart, Quinnipiac University released a poll of 1,072 New York City registered voters and found that 51% of them support Wal-Mart opening stores in the city, while a scant 37% oppose it. The poll found that even in union households, 63% said if there was a Wal-Mart in their community they would shop there. Given the well-funded propaganda campaign that has been waged against Wal-Mart by its competitors and the labor unions, the ability of New York voters to see through to the facts is heartening.

So what are New Yorkers to make of Senator Clinton's apparent desire to distance herself from the company? It can't be that there's something intrinsic to Wal-Mart with which Mrs. Clinton has a problem. When Mrs. Clinton's husband was an Arkansas politician and she was the real breadwinner in the family, she served, between 1986 and 1992, as a member of Wal-Mart's corporate board of directors. Now, an aide explained to the Associated Press, Mrs. Clinton has "serious differences" with the company's practices.

Her thighness voiced no opposition to Walmarts practices when she was a board member instumental in setting Company policy, imagine that. Protestor holding sign at the "World Can't Wait" protest yesterday. Does this image bring any particular groups to mind? 
Moral Relativism vs Universal Truth

Today on Fox and Friends weekend co-host Julian Philips illustrated perfectly the misguided reasoning adhered to by many on the left in this country and the world.

In attempting to justify the embassy burnings in Damascus and Lebanon, Phillips matter of factly states "different religion, different culture." In other words how dare us judge them according to our moral philosphy. Regardless of what they do, as long as it is acceptable based on "their" religion and culture it should be OK with us.

What a warped and dangerous view that truly is. It virtually justifies every atrocity perpetrated by man since the beginning of time. There is no such thing as good and evil, only different and different is non pajorative. By this line of reasoning the Spanish inquisition, Stalins massacre of 40,000,000, the Salem witch trials, even slavery would be morally neutral because all were results of an adherence to existing religious and or cultural standards of the time.

What Phillips and people like him refuse to accept or at the least understand is the concept of universal truth. That certain behaviors regardless of how pure of heart when committed are oecumenically wrong. The list of universal truths is not considerable or sweeping it is however inviolate. It's what separates human kind from the beasts of the earth and it's what has been contravened in ever atrocity perpetuated since the first cave man whacked his compeer in the head with a rock.

Who knows what it will take to open their eyes; 9/11 didn't do it. One thing for sure, the longer they make excuses for abhorrent bevavior, the more devastating to all cultures that behavior will become. The American press had no problem with "art" portraying a crucifix submersed in urine. Nor did they take issue with a feces covered Madonna. They made excuses for the idiot who called New York "Hymetown" Now suddenly their heightened moral sensibilities are manifested in the form of complete modesty and discretion. There's a word for that...

h/t Rusty
 
Danish Embassy in Syrian capital of Damascus set on fire

The "religion of peace" continues to illustrate to the world the opposite.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Hundreds of Syrian demonstrators set the Danish embassy on fire on Saturday to protest the printing by a Danish newspaper of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, a Reuters witness said.

The fire badly damaged the embassy's building. Protestors also threw stones at the building shattering its windows.

Skynews has more Perhaps Islamofascists of the world should take some lessons from 8/6/1945
 
Dhimmi Funnies 
Authorities Probe Church Fires In Bibb & Chilton Counties

We'll keep our eye on this one....

CENTREVILLE, Ala. - Authorities say at many as five churches in Bibb County were damaged by fire overnight, including the Ashby Baptist Church on Highway 139 in the Brierfield community. The structure burned to the ground. The pastor of another nearby church -- the Reverend David Hand of the Old Union Baptist Church -- says a fire was discovered at his church at around 4:30 Friday morning. But, he said the blaze was extinguished before it could cause serious damage. Other churches hit by fires early Friday morning include Antioch Baptist and Pleasant Sabine Baptist in Centreville and Rehobeth Baptist Church in Lawley, Ala. Another fire damaged a church in Chilton County late Friday afternoon. An article in Friday's Clanton Advertiser reports a fire gutted the Old New Harmony Church. No one was hurt and investigators with the state Fire Marshal's Office are trying to determine how it started. It's unclear if the church fires are connected. There have been no arrests.

NAWWWW, coincidence. 
Unemployment rate lowest since 2001

This will be hard for the left to spin negatively. Wages respectably up, unemployment significantly down. Look for them to approach it from the "Wage Inflation Signals Seen" angle.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in nearly five years in January, the government reported Friday as employers added a respectable 193,000 jobs to payrolls.

The Labor Department said the unemployment rate dipped to 4.7 percent from 4.9 in December, the lowest since a reading of 4.6 percent in July 2001, just before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Economists had forecast that the rate would remain unchanged from December.

The rate was the latest sign of a tightening labor market, which could put upward pressure on wages and prices in the months ahead.

On Wall Street, stock futures retreated and Treasury bond prices fell, raising yields on the expectation that the report makes further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve more likely.

The average hourly wage rose 7 cents to $16.41, a 0.4 percent increase. That was also slightly more than the 0.3 percent gain forecast by economists. During the last 12 months, average wages are up 3.3 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis, the largest 12-month change in nearly three years.

Reuters stays true to form with this "spun" headline: Jan jobless rate drops, job growth disappoints" Reuters convienently bury's this fact...."Previously, the department said 108,000 jobs were created in December but it pushed that up to 140,000 and it said that, in November, 354,000 jobs were created rather than the 305,000 it reported a month ago." which way more than makes up for the January shortfall.

In August of 2003 Nancy Pelosi asked the rhetorical question "Where are the jobs Mr. President"? Well Ms. Pelosi the jobs were being created as you spoke and have been steadily ever since.

In August 2003, the Unemployment Rate was 6.1%.

Sep.: +94,000 Oct.: + 123,000Nov.: + 96,000Dec.: +83,000Sep.-Dec.: + 396,000

Jan.: + 117,000 Feb.: + 94,000Mar.: + 320,000Apr.: + 337,000May.: + 250,000Jun.: + 106,000Jul.: + 83,000Aug.: + 188,000Sep.: + 130,000Oct.: + 282,000Nov.: + 132,000Dec.: + 155,0002004: + 2,194,000

Jan.: + 124,000 Feb.: + 300,000Mar.: + 122,000Apr.: + 292,000May.: + 126,000Jun.: + 175,000Jul.: + 277,000Aug.: + 148,000Sep.: + 17,000Oct.: + 25,000Nov.: + 354,000Dec.: + 140,0002005: + 2,100,000

Jan.: + 193,000 2005: + 193,000

Current unemployment rate 4.7%

Grand total increase since her infamous statement.... 4,900,000

Hat tip/ New Yorker77 at FR. 

It's Boehner! John Boehner was selected as the new House majority leader. It was somewhat of a surprise as Roy Blunt appeared to have the inside track on the position.

Mike Pence (my personal choice) had this to say:"To restore public confidence in our national legislature, the American people rightly expect this Republican majority to take bold steps to put our fiscal and ethical house in order. On this agenda, I am confident that Republicans can unify as an effective force for change under the leadership of Speaker Dennis Hastert, Majority Leader John Boehner and Majority Whip Roy Blunt."

Boehner has a 91% rating by the Christian Coalition and a 0% rating by NARAL. PARIS, Feb 2, 2006 (AFP) - France's respected daily newspaper Le Monde joined a European press campaign for freedom of expression Thursday with a front-page cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed and an editorial defending the right to ridicule religions.

The drawing by the paper's long-time cartoonist Plantu featured a head of the prophet made up of the words "I must not draw Mohammed" written repeatedly in long-hand.

"Religions are systems of thought, constructions of the spirit, beliefs which are to be respected certainly, but also freely analysed, criticised and even turned to ridicule," Le Monde said.

"A Muslim may well be shocked by a picture of Mohammed, especially an ill-intentioned one. But a democracy cannot start policing people's opinions, except by trampling the rights of man underfoot," it said. 
Punxsutawney Phil: 6 more weeks of winter

Living in the midwest, I'll take this winter through April. 

Swearing in Ceremony 
Cindy Sheehan Claiming Police Brutality

It's all about Cindy, she forgot about her son months ago.

"Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan is so angry that she wasn't allowed to disrupt
last night's State of the Union address that intends to file a lawsuit claiming
she was brutalized by Capitol Hill police who suppressed her first amendment

"I have the bruises and muscle spasms to prove it," Sheehan said, in a message posted to several left wing web sites after she was arrested and then released on her own recognizance. Sheehan also contends she suffered emotional trauma, complaining: "I am so upset and sore it is hard to think straight."

The Bush-bashing Gold Star mom says she wants to take legal action, announcing: "Ihave some lawyers looking into filing a First Amendment lawsuit against the government for what happened tonight.

Thinking straight has perenially been an issue for you Ms. Sheehan. 
A Few SOTU Impressions

For the most part I thought Bush's 5th SOTU speech was excellent. His delivery was smooth, passionate and at times elegant.

As usual the high points were concerning foreign policy ie. The war on terror, Iraq, the threat of radical islamofascism, and the danger of isolationism. He did better than usual on domestic policy however, managing to stay away from the traditional "laundry list" of itemized proposals and concentrated on a few more modest themes such as lessening dependance on foreign oil , permanent tax reduction and immigration.

His defense of the Iraq and NSA wiretaps was especially forceful and effective. He deftly dinged the Democrats on these issues without sounding vengeful or vitriolic. He came across as a man who has a crystal clear vision and is committed to see that vision through. Great leaders inspire confidence and I think that's exactly what he accomplished last night.

Noteworthy reactions from the speech came from several sources. Bill Kristol notorious for having a tin ear was "dissapointed" with the speech calling it "squishy" because the Pres didn't mention permanent tax cut 10 times and failed to threaten invasion of Iran a week from this coming Saturday. For the most part both cable and the EM gave the speech high marks. From the blogospere LeShawn Barber who I agree with often panned the speech on immigration issues. She can be right on the mark but can be an insufferable whinebox when she doesn't get her way. Lorie Byrd thought the speech was "good", great at times. The gang over at National Review were complimentary and the unaninimity of support at Free Republic was surprisingly overwhelming. This CBS poll appears to reinforce my initial impressions. 77 percent of speech watchers approved, and 23 percent disapproved,

Personally I think this is one of Bush's top 5 best speeches. He came axcross strong, in control, committed and steady. The Democrats in the gallery came across as petty, spoiled, juvenile, and bitter and as an added bonus, Cindy Sheehan was arrested. When you accomplish all that, what more could one ask for in a SOTU?