Get the Needles Ready–We’re Back in Business

William Earl Lynd, 53, is slated to die tonight at 1900 hours.  He’ll be the first inmate executed since the Supreme Court ruled that lethal injection was not cruel and unusual punishment.

How anyone could think it is, is beyond me.  Then again, personally I prefer the electric chair.  At any rate, the U.S. is finally back to executing those who deserve it.  Of course, at the rate we execute, we’ll never actually make a dent in the prison population or the violent felon numbers.  I think we’ll know we’re finally executing enough criminals when their deaths don’t make national headlines every single time.

Before you tell me how inhumane I am, consider the actual offense.  Lynd was convicted of “kidnapping and shooting his live-in girlfriend, Ginger Moore, 26, in south Georgia in 1988, after the two consumed Valium, marijuana and alcohol. Prosecutors said she suffered a slow, agonizing death, regaining consciousness twice after being shot in the head.”  This man deserves to die for his crime.

Jose Medellin, another violent felon, is scheduled to die in Texas in August.  What makes this case interesting is that Bush actually overstepped his Constitutional rights and tried to force Texas to reopen his case–along with the cases of 50 more Mexicans accused of violent crimes here in the U.S.  This is just another example of Bush putting the welfare of Mexicans over that of the country he’s supposed to be running, but we’ve come to expect this.

Medellin, by the way, is convicted of participating in a gang rape and strangulation of two teenage girls who accidentally stumbled into a gang initiation rite.  Pleasant, isn’t it?

A Word About Casualties and Proportion

Much has been made about the media’s grisly casualty benchmarks. They feel the need to point out every time we reach another thousand troops killed, even though it takes months for this to happen.

It’s been said before, but the bottom line–still–is that casualties in the Iraq War are nowhere near that of previous wars. In fact, the last time we formally declared war and lost less than 4,000 men and women, it was 1812.

Let’s take a look at actual figures.

Vietnam: 58,195 in 12 years, or an average of 4,850 per year (not accounting for the bell curve of actual casualties over peak time).

Korea: 54,246 in four years, or 13,561 per year.

WWII: 408,306 in four and a half years, or 90,735 per year.

WWI: 116,708 in five years, or 23,340 per year.

Civil War: some estimates are at 625,000, or 156,250 a year.

Now let’s look at Iraq.

4,531. In five years.

That’s less than 1,000 per year. We lost that in an hour on some battlefields, and no one flinched. It is the price of freedom.

When will we stop hearing the tired old argument about casualties?  Liberals need to shut up about casualties.  I’ve lost friends, my friends have lost friends.  We all have.  But they died knowing what apparently people like you antiwar jackasses can’t seem to understand: They died for something.  While tragic, their deaths preserve that much more time that you can freely go where you wish.  Their deaths make it possible for you to road trip to your next rally without having to show papers at a checkpoint somewhere because you crossed state lines.

Just my thoughts.

A New Direction for America… Backwards.

Guest post by Part-Time Pundit.

Today, after months of waiting, the Democrats have come up with an agenda for 2006. First, some noticeably missing items.

Iraq. For as much as the Democrats continue to criticize the President’s mishandling of the war, the peace, or whatever you want to call it, their direction does not highlight any meaningful alternative. How do they believe a free and secure Iraq should be created? Well, if Murtha has his way, apparently by surrendering to Al Qaeda.

National security. Apparently terrorism is not a problem because the polar ice caps are melting. Perhaps we were mistaken, it wasn’t planes that flew into the World Trade Center on 9/11, it was chunks of ice from the North Pole. So while they are ignoring national security, they’re stumping for Gore’s movie.

Immigration. Millions of immigrants took to the streets in protest in recent months. Millions more legal residents have also made their views known. No matter where you stand, this is one of the most charged and important issues on the minds of the people, and on this issue the Democrats are silent.

Moving on to some of the core items of the Democrats platform from items that simply haven’t been on the public radar to making current problems worse…

Raising minimum wage. Despite the fact that every time the minimum wage has been raised unemployment has gone up; they believe that having no job is better than being paid some less than some arbitrary number. There are more intelligent ways to get people earning enough to provide for their families, raising the minimum wage isn’t one of them. There is a finite amount of money in circulation, those wage increases need to be paid for somehow. It ends up being either lay offs, cut benefits, higher prices (and cost of living), or a combination of all three.

Price gouging. Who isn’t against price gouging? However, for as much as that legal term has been thrown around, there has not been any evidence provided to support that it is happening. After about two years of hearing that companies are breaking the law to stick it to Joe Consumer, I’d expect that someone would be able to prove it to nail their ass to the wall for it. However, after two years of complaining they haven’t found any evidence, it is doubtful that giving them a majority will accomplish anything except more hearings with legislators bloviating on TV so it looks like they are “doing something”.

Fiscal responsibility. One of the most appealing parts of the platform is restoring fiscal responsibility, however, the likely way of doing this will be to increase income to the treasury, not reducing spending. One of the key items to pay attention is that they specifically reference the fiscal discipline of the 90s… i.e. when Congress was run by Republicans. Cutting taxes is one thing, you have to cut spending along with it. At least on this point the Democrats are intellectually honest. They’ll at least raise taxes to pay for their spending. If we want to talk about fiscal responsibility, let’s start with earmark reform.

Slash student loan costs. This is pandering at its worst because student loans are almost essentially free. I know, because I have them. My wife’s student loans are consolidated for an APR of 1.65%. In other words, I could take the money, put it in a savings account, and use the interest to pay off the loan and still turn a profit on the loan. I know students who take student loans for the express purpose of using that money and investing it earning 8%+. Student loans are an incredible deal. Inflation is about 3%, which makes those loans essentially trivial interest. The only thing that could be done to make those loans cheaper would be to pay students interest for taking them out.

Stop tax giveaways for outsourcing. If by tax-giveaways you mean that other countries don’t tax the crap out of companies like we do, than you’re right. However, how exactly are you going to start taxing companies that aren’t in the US? Tariffs? Bring the entire world under the United States tax structure? No one is paying businesses to leave the US and outsource, it’s simply far cheaper to hire labor overseas in some industries.

Stop wasteful subsidies, Support stem-cell research. These two items are directly at odds. If there are wasteful subsidies, by all means eliminate them. However, funding stem-cell research (particularly embryonic which is what they are talking about) is in itself a wasteful subsidy. Adult stem cell research is curing people, it works. Private money is coming in hand over fist for adult stem cell research. Embryonic stem cell research does not work, which is why they have no investors and need a handout. While it might give the Democrats yet another chance to kill millions more babies and start treating people less as human beings and more as crops to be cultivated for parts, it remains that this science doesn’t work.

The Democratic platform here doesn’t address most of the issues important to Americans. The three top issues are Iraq, gas prices, and immigration for Congress. Health care is low on the list. Social security is absent. Stem cell research is absent. The minimum wage is absent.

Once again, we’re faced with a party unwilling to tackle the big issues that Americans care about. It would be nice in 2006 to have a real choice between candidates, and it looks like the Democratic party has deprived us once again.

John Bambenek is an academic professional at the University of Illinois. He’s a columnist for the Daily Illini and blogs at Part-Time Pundit.

Supreme Court to Hear Two Affirmative-Action Cases

The Supreme Court announced that they will be hearing two affirmative action cases this fall, which gives conservatives just a glimmer of hope that education and employment decisions might actually be decided by character, skills, and qualifications instead of skin color.

Andrew Cohen of the WaPo says “affirmative action is in big trouble because Sandra Day O’Connor is off the Court and Samuel Alito is on it.”

If you have been waiting for the demise of affirmative action, your time now may be near. If you are have been hoping that affirmative action would last forever, you may soon be very disappointed. And if you think that presidential elections and the impact they have on the makeup of the Supreme Court don’t make a practical difference in the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans you have never been more wrong.

Bush suddenly remembering issues like affirmative action and gay marriage are simply a smokescreen to pacify conservatives in the face of brazenly ignoring us on the immigration issue. That being said, if the Court is going to finally do the right thing, I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Meanwhile, Cohen’s whining about the “carefully crafted standards” of the O’Connor decision in 1993 was discarded nicely by commenter Christopher:

The “carefully crafted” standards of the 2003 Grutter decision were anything but. That O’Connor decision was an invitation to government bureaucrats to engage in racial decision-making, unmolested by the color-blind ideal of the Constitution. The likely outcome [of] the instant case is that such government-sanctioned discrimination is on the way out. If it outlaws race-based preferences, the Court’s promotion of a color-blind Constitution will fulfill Dr. King’s appeal that people to judged on the content of their character, rather than by the color of their skin.

One can only hope.

…The Preservation Of Our Liberty…

From the Vanishing American:

As I write this, it seems to me that our country is in dire peril. Our traditions, our way of life, which are uniquely American, are now being undermined and eroded. Our sovereignty is under attack. I could go on enumerating the challenges we are up against, but we know them all too well, those of us who care deeply about our country and our people.

But the biggest danger sign to me is that we seem to have lost our representative form of government. It appears as though ‘we, the people’ are no longer the repositories of power in our country. ‘Our’ leaders apparently no longer answer to us; they seem not only to be operating outside the will of the American people, but in open and brazen defiance of the will of the people.

There is no better evidence of this than the current borders crisis, in which ‘our’ leaders defiantly refuse to control our borders and enforce the laws of the land. The fact that they have forced this ‘amnesty’ atrocity on us, and our seeming helplessness in trying to stop the open borders juggernaut, suggests that our elected officials have gone rogue. We no longer seem to have representation, except for a few isolated voices in Congress. And one wonders if even these voices in the wilderness will eventually ‘compromise’ away what is left of our sovereignty. There is less faith in our system and our ‘leadership’ than at any time in my memory.

Since we, the people, seem no longer relevant to our electeds, who exactly are they beholden to? Whose bidding are they doing, since they are obviously not doing ours? There are many possible answers to that question. Without wandering into ‘tinfoil hat’ territory and indulging in conspiracy-theory-mongering, it’s hard to explain the behavior of our electeds.

The great Thomas Jefferson said, in 1787, ‘The people are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.’ It is so important to remember this; we can’t expect the government to solve the problem when it seems that our leaders are compromised, and they are part of the problem.

But if Jefferson was right (and he usually was), then it’s up to us, you and me, America.

Read the whole thing.

H/T: New English Review

…The Preservation Of Our Liberty…

From the Vanishing American:

As I write this, it seems to me that our country is in dire peril. Our traditions, our way of life, which are uniquely American, are now being undermined and eroded. Our sovereignty is under attack. I could go on enumerating the challenges we are up against, but we know them all too well, those of us who care deeply about our country and our people.

But the biggest danger sign to me is that we seem to have lost our representative form of government. It appears as though ‘we, the people’ are no longer the repositories of power in our country. ‘Our’ leaders apparently no longer answer to us; they seem not only to be operating outside the will of the American people, but in open and brazen defiance of the will of the people.

There is no better evidence of this than the current borders crisis, in which ‘our’ leaders defiantly refuse to control our borders and enforce the laws of the land. The fact that they have forced this ‘amnesty’ atrocity on us, and our seeming helplessness in trying to stop the open borders juggernaut, suggests that our elected officials have gone rogue. We no longer seem to have representation, except for a few isolated voices in Congress. And one wonders if even these voices in the wilderness will eventually ‘compromise’ away what is left of our sovereignty. There is less faith in our system and our ‘leadership’ than at any time in my memory.

Since we, the people, seem no longer relevant to our electeds, who exactly are they beholden to? Whose bidding are they doing, since they are obviously not doing ours? There are many possible answers to that question. Without wandering into ‘tinfoil hat’ territory and indulging in conspiracy-theory-mongering, it’s hard to explain the behavior of our electeds.

The great Thomas Jefferson said, in 1787, ‘The people are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.’ It is so important to remember this; we can’t expect the government to solve the problem when it seems that our leaders are compromised, and they are part of the problem.

But if Jefferson was right (and he usually was), then it’s up to us, you and me, America.

Read the whole thing.

H/T: New English Review

I’m Ready For An Independent

Peggy Noonan wrote an op-ed that is very smiliar to what I’ve been saying here for months: the two-party system is broken and we need to look for a Third Party alternative. Republicans and Democrats alike no longer answer to their constituency. We disaffected voters need to look for someone who will.

The problem is not that the two parties are polarized. In many ways they’re closer than ever. The problem is that the parties in Washington, and the people on the ground in America, are polarized. There is an increasing and profound distance between the rulers of both parties and the people–between the elites and the grunts, between those in power and those who put them there.

On the ground in America, people worry terribly–really, there are people who actually worry about it every day–about endless, weird, gushing government spending. But in Washington, those in power–Republicans and Democrats–stand arm in arm as they spend and spend. (Part of the reason is that they think they can buy off your unhappiness one way or another. After all, it’s worked in the past. A hunch: It’s not going to work forever or much longer. They’ve really run that trick into the ground.)

On the ground in America, regular people worry about the changes wrought by the biggest wave of immigration in our history, much of it illegal and therefore wholly connected to the needs of the immigrant and wholly unconnected to the agreed-upon needs of our nation. Americans worry about the myriad implications of the collapse of the American border. But Washington doesn’t. Democrat Ted Kennedy and Republican George W. Bush see things pretty much eye to eye. They are going to educate the American people out of their low concerns.

There is a widespread sense in America–a conviction, actually–that we are not safe in the age of terror. That the port, the local power plant, even the local school, are not protected. Is Washington worried about this? Not so you’d notice. They’re only worried about seeming unconcerned.

I’ve said this time and time again - our national security remains vulnerable while politicians posture and preen. Nothing substantial ever really gets done because politicians can’t stand to risk themselves for the country. Can you imagine such selfless service from our current crop of elites, particularly among Senators? I see Congressmen and women as being a lot more accountable to their local districts, and closer to the people that put them in office. Senators, on the other hand, seem completely insulated from reality, and concerned only with their gravy train. They seem completely unaware - or uncaring - of the long-term effects of their partisan policy wars on the future of our country. Such flagrant disregard is irresponsible at best, and treasonous at worst!

Right now the Republicans and Democrats in Washington seem, from the outside, to be an elite colluding against the voter. They’re in agreement: immigration should not be controlled but increased, spending will increase, etc.

Are there some dramatic differences? Yes. But both parties act as if they see them not as important questions (gay marriage, for instance) but as wedge issues. Which is, actually, abusive of people on both sides of the question. If it’s a serious issue, face it. Don’t play with it.

I don’t see any potential party, or potential candidate, on the scene right now who can harness the disaffection of growing portions of the electorate. But a new group or entity that could define the problem correctly–that sees the big divide not as something between the parties but between America’s ruling elite and its people–would be making long strides in putting third party ideas in play in America again.

I’m ready.

White House Compares Illegal Immigration To A Traffic Ticket

SNOW JOB #12 or 13, whichever…he hasn’t been at the White House too long.

Via the Examiner:

The White House on Friday said a Senate bill that would grant legal status to illegal immigrants is analogous to a traffic law that allows a speeder to pay a fine and continue driving.

“If you had a traffic ticket and you paid it, you’re not forever a speeder, are you?” White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said in response to questions from The Examiner.

“So the fact is, you have paid your debt to society,” he added. “And we have come up with a way to make sure that the debt to society gets paid. Then you move forward.”

Hmph. Izzat so? I tell ya, November cannot get here too soon. As for Bush, I guess we just have to grit our teeth and endure until ‘08, when we can elect an Independent by an unprecedented margin.

Breaking News: Shots Fired At Capitol = CONSTRUCTION???

FINAL UPDATE: Did we need more proof that the lawmakers in Washington live in a rarified bubble? How did they mistake “construction sounds” for 6-10 gunshots? Geez.

OR

*conspiracy theory coming up*

Are the proletariat masses being fed a cover story to… ummm…cover up something…?

***************** ORIGINAL POST below******************

Via Gribbit Online:

FoxNews is reporting that shots have been fired at the Rayburn House Office Building. The House is not in session and the Rayburn Building is on lockdown as Capital Police, DC Special Ops, and the FBI Terrorism Taskforce search for a gunman and/or victims of the shooting. Details are still sketchy at this time…

UPDATE via Gribbit: At around 10:50 am this morning, FoxNews had breaking news that shots had been fired at the Rayburn House Office Building. Reports are that gun shots were heard being fired in a garage level of the building and upon investigation gun powder was noticed in the air.

Capital Police immediately put the building on lockdown as they began to search for a gunman or victims of the shots. Announcement ordering all occupants of the building to remain where they were and move to an interior office and stay away from windows. Staffers were advised to keep their “go kits” handy.

There are also reports that a Washington DC Police Special Operations van was on scene and the AP is reporting that 4 ambulances have arrived at the Rayburn Building. FoxNews is also reporting that the FBI Terrorism Taskforce is also at the Rayburn Building.

This story is developing…

UPDATE 2: Someone on Rep. Jack Kingston’s (R-GA) staff is live-blogging.

UPDATE 3: There’s talk of two women who report seeing a white man, about 5′10″ and 175 lbs., who was hiding out in the Rayburn gym with a gun.

UPDATE 4 via HotAir: Major Garrett says not only are they not letting people out of the Rayburn building cafeteria, they’re bringing people in — including a pregnant woman. Meanwhile, the latest police news conference reports no suspects or arrests. But the search continues.

UPDATE 5 via Ogre: There is a shooting range in the parking garage area where the report came from. There is a report of a man with a gun. And, according to police, “the search and massive police deployment was triggered by a single telephone call from an unidentified individual.”

What They Don’t Want You To Hear

In light of the Senate’s flipping the bird to the American people, we are left wondering who in the hell represents us in our own government?! Independent Conservative has an interesting post about how the media has deliberately overlooked the political representatives who ARE speaking up on behalf of Americans. But they can’t get airtime to save their lives, while we are saturated with the images, sound-bytes, and rhetoric of the opposition, like Ted Kennedy and John McCain.

It seems the media loves to highlight politicians that are advocates of amnesty and easy entry for illegal immigrants. Texas Republican Congressman Ted Poe has been saying exactly what Americans have been hoping to hear. But he does not get airtime in the MSM. A Google News search of [ted poe immigration] yields 5 results, but a search on [john mccain immigration] yields 1,850 results. This is not some kind of accident. The voices speaking on behalf of the majority of polled Americans who want the borders secured are being intentionally suppressed.

There are several audio clips you need to hear at Independent Conservative.

Day By Day Cartoon

(click to enlarge)

Great Minds Think Alike?

You know you’re in trouble when Jimmy “The Dhimmi” Carter agrees with you:

Former president Carter, a Democrat and frequent critic of President Bush, sees eye-to-eye with him on immigration.
Carter on Wednesday called the Republican president’s commitment to immigration reform “quite admirable,” saying he agrees with Bush’s support of a system that would eventually grant citizenship to some illegals. …

The law should secure the nation’s borders while “at the same time treating those who are here with respect and giving them some hope for the future,” Carter said.

Yeah, if Bush didn’t think he was sinking before, he’s gotta be worried now that Carter’s on board.

H/T: Captain Ed

Great Minds Think Alike?

You know you’re in trouble when Jimmy “The Dhimmi” Carter agrees with you:

Former president Carter, a Democrat and frequent critic of President Bush, sees eye-to-eye with him on immigration.
Carter on Wednesday called the Republican president’s commitment to immigration reform “quite admirable,” saying he agrees with Bush’s support of a system that would eventually grant citizenship to some illegals. …

The law should secure the nation’s borders while “at the same time treating those who are here with respect and giving them some hope for the future,” Carter said.

Yeah, if Bush didn’t think he was sinking before, he’s gotta be worried now that Carter’s on board.

H/T: Captain Ed

Disaster Looms

This is directly from American Daughter:

The Senate is poised to pass S. 2611 this week, the giant amnesty bill that would change the demographics of our country and start us on the slide into rampant crime, drug culture, and third world poverty. Every thinking American is needed at this moment to phone, fax, or visit their United States Senators and oppose this legislation.

The Senators will try to convince you that this is not amnesty, just a guest worker program with provisions for a path to citizenship. Don’t be fooled. They are giving away our country to people who have not paid for it. The only legislation that makes sense, if we are to remain an educated and prosperous and freedom-loving people, is the “enforcement only” bill from the House of Representatives.

The votes on the floor of the Senate are convoluted. What is actually needed today is a NO vote on cloture for S. 2611 to allow continued discussion and prevent it from going to a vote. If you have the time and can make the effort, follow all the tricky amendments on the scorecard at

NumbersUSA

Otherwise, just find the phone numbers for your Senators here [or use our contact tool in the right sidebar] and tell them how deeply opposed you are to S. 2611.

Disaster Looms

This is directly from American Daughter:

The Senate is poised to pass S. 2611 this week, the giant amnesty bill that would change the demographics of our country and start us on the slide into rampant crime, drug culture, and third world poverty. Every thinking American is needed at this moment to phone, fax, or visit their United States Senators and oppose this legislation.

The Senators will try to convince you that this is not amnesty, just a guest worker program with provisions for a path to citizenship. Don’t be fooled. They are giving away our country to people who have not paid for it. The only legislation that makes sense, if we are to remain an educated and prosperous and freedom-loving people, is the “enforcement only” bill from the House of Representatives.

The votes on the floor of the Senate are convoluted. What is actually needed today is a NO vote on cloture for S. 2611 to allow continued discussion and prevent it from going to a vote. If you have the time and can make the effort, follow all the tricky amendments on the scorecard at

NumbersUSA

Otherwise, just find the phone numbers for your Senators here [or use our contact tool in the right sidebar] and tell them how deeply opposed you are to S. 2611.