Tribute To Fallen Officers

Last week Sacramento County California suffered a terrible loss as two deputies were killed in a helicopter crash while out protecting the public.

The memorial for the helicopter pilot, 36-year-old Joseph Kievernagel, and 29-year-old Kevin Blount, an observer, is being held today at St. John Vianney Catholic Church.

What made the accident even more tragic was the fact that had it happened at almost any other place or time, it might not have been fatal.

Most of Sacramento County is flat, and a controlled landing there would have been easy. But they were over one of the few rugged sections.

There was safety only a few hundred yards away in the form of a nice flat lake. The copter could have landed there with ease.

But it was a hot night and the officers knew the lake would be crowded with people, so they sacrificed themselves rather than risk others.

These men and their brothers and sisters in arms help to keep all of us safe every day and I offer my deepest sympathies to the families of these true heroes.

John Roberts Jr. #2

According to Associated Press, here is his judicial confirmation background.

First nominated for the bench in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush, Roberts was never given a hearing nor confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate. He was nominated by the current President Bush in 2001, but the nomination again died. Bush renominated him in January 2003 and he was ultimately confirmed.


The Senate confirmed his nomination on May 8, 2003, by a voice vote.

Presumably lots of Bush 92 nominees got ignored because he lost and so the Dems held out to give Clinton spots.

But he was confirmed by voice vote.

On the above 2003 nomination, he was approved 16-3 by the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 8, 2003 with the votes of Senators Grassley, Specter, Kyl, DeWine, Sessions, Graham, Craig, Chambliss, Cornyn, Hatch, Leahy, Biden, Kohl, Feinstein, Feingold, and Edwards. The only negative votes came from Senators Kennedy, Schumer, and Durbin.

Still, it's gonna be a war.

If you want proof that he's a good nominee, just check out what the left is saying and doing. If they are this upset, he must be good.

John Roberts Junior

According to almost all news sources, this is the pick.

He looks to be a solid conservative, worked as clerk for Rehnquist.

Wrote a strongly pro life memo while working for the first President Bush.

Roberts, John G. Jr.
Born 1955 in Buffalo, NY

Federal Judicial Service:
U. S. Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit
Nominated by George W. Bush on January 7, 2003, to a seat vacated by James L. Buckley; Confirmed by the Senate on May 8, 2003, and received commission on June 2, 2003.

Education:
Harvard College, A.B., 1976

Harvard Law School, J.D., 1979

Professional Career:
Law clerk, Hon. Henry Friendly, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 1979-1980
Law clerk, Associate Justice William Rehnquist, Supreme Court of the United States, 1980-1981
Special assistant to the attorney general, U.S. Department of Justice, 1981-1982
Associate counsel to the president, White House Counsel's Office, 1982-1986
Private practice, Washington, DC, 1986-1989, 1993-2003
Principal deputy solicitor general, U.S. Department of Justice, 1989-1993

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DISNEYLAND

For the young and the young at heart.

Fifty years ago today, Disneyland was opened to the public.

At this time I think it's worth our taking a little time to consider just how much Walt Disney was responsible for.

To start out, he virtually created film animation. While there were other artists and studios producing animated shorts, Walt was the first one to really make it work. Starting with Oswald the rabbit and then moving on to Mickey Mouse, he gave birth to an industry.

He then created the concept of an animated feature. Nobody thought animation was worth more than a few minutes of cartoons, but Walt showed that it could support a feature length film.

During World War 2, he nearly bankrupted himself by producing films for the military. He also provided, free of charge, unit patches for thousands of units in the Army, Navy and Marines.

After the war he not only produced many hours of family films but also perfected the mix of live action and animation. He created a college to help teach new artists.

Now for most people, that would have been a successful life. But Walt decided to do more.

So he invented the theme park. Up until Disneyland, most amusement parks were a mix of kiddie rides and carnival barkers. There really wasn't a family theme park anywhere.

Today, we take these things for granted, but it was one man who had the dreams and made them reality.

I reprint Walt Disney's Disneyland dedication speech in tribute. I think it captures his spirit well.

“To all who come to this happy place: Welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here, age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America, with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.”

Red China Buying Our Oil Industry

This is a story that hasn't gotten much press but deserves a ton of attention.

Unocal is the United States' ninth largest oil company producing 159,000 barrels of oil and more than 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. It owns oil and gas fields all over the world and also runs a huge chain of service stations.

Right now there is a bidding war over the purchase of this company. Chevron wants to purchase to company and has made an offer of $ 16 billion.

Another company, CNOOC Ltd., based in Hong Kong, has offered to pay $18.2 billion for Unocal, about $2 billion more.

But there is one small problem. Around 70% of CNOOC is owned by the Chinese government. So in essence this is a bid by Communist China to buy a major US oil and gas company.

Now I am always a little concerned about too many US assets being put in the control of foreign companies. But to put one in the hands of a foreign government who is often hostile to our interests ??

Just imagine what could happen if we get into a conflict or dispute with China. Cutting off the Unocal supply could cause chaos to our economy as well as threaten the supply to our military.

Luckily, there is legislation pending in Congress to block the sale if needed. In addition, if Unocal shareholders accept the Chevron bid then the issue is moot.

I would encourage anybody who owns Unocal stock or who knows someone who does to vote for the Chevron merger. We cannot allow our oil industry to be sold off to a potential enemy.

War on Terror Death Toll

Let me make it clear from the start that every single time a serviceman or servicewoman either dies or is injured in the line of duty that it is a tragedy. These brave people are protecting us and deserve all of our respect.

However, I do think it needs to be put in perspective. When we went to Afganistan and Iraq, the naysayers predicted huge casualties, tens or hundreds of thousands of deaths.

Since the start of the War on Terror, we have lost around 2,000 people. Again, this is horrible and I weep for every family.

But it's worth point out that MORE people died on 9/11 than have died in the last 4 years of war.

Happy Birthday Mr. President

Today is President Bush's 59th Birthday. Let's all be sure to wish for him to have a happy one.

Presidential Succession

From time to time I would like to comment on an issue that I think needs to be addressed. I realize at this point readership is fairly small so I don't know what impact we can have, but as they say it all starts somewhere.

Given the post 9/11 world we live in I think we need to consider the issue of Presidential succession.

Of course the VP is the first person to succeed to the Presidency, and right after him is the Speaker of the House.

But next is the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. This is a position that goes to the most senior member of the majority party.

Right now that post is held by 82 year old Ted Stevens of Alaska. If the Democrats were in charge it would be 88 year old Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

Now I am not one to judge purely on age. I am sure both Senator Stevens and Senator Byrd are hard working and able to contribute as well as the next man.

But given that they would take over under pretty dire circumstances (President, Vice President and Speaker all dead), perhaps it would be best if someone a little younger were to step in.

Personally I wouldn't mind removing Congress from the line of succession completely, but I know that Congress is unlikely to do so.

So perhaps we need to make the next in line the Majority Leader. Or failing that we need to have the Senate elect someone more suitable for succession to the post of President Pro Tempore.

Just my two cents.

Ronan Tynan

I am a big fan of the singer Ronan Tynan, a member of the famed Irish Tenors.

In addition to an amazing singing voice, he has a inspirational story.

As a young man he lost his legs but didn't let that stop him.

After being fitted with artificial legs, he went on to become a world class athlete, winning 18 Gold Medals at the Paralympic Games.

He then went to medical school and became a doctor, specializing in helping people deal with the loss of limbs.

For most that would be a lifetime of achievement, but at the age of 30 he began taking singing lessons.

By his late 30's, he had won dozens of major competitions, sold millions of records and had joined the Irish Tenors.

But when America was attacked on 9/11 he once again showed he wasn't done giving and succeeding.

He gave free performances at dozens of funerals for fallen officers and fireman, and his performance of God Bless America has inspired millions.

He peformed the song tonight at the Capitol Fourth Celebration in Washington DC.

Shortly before singing, he announced, with a great deal of pride, that on the next 4th of July, he will celebrate as a citizen of the United States of America.

Given the lack of appreciation in the hearts of many in the entertainment community, I think it is fitting that this immigrant shows how great this nation truly is, by adopting it into his heart.

Sad Changes

It used to be that there were certain days where we all put aside partisan feelings to celebrate our nation.

Holidays used to be special. Days like Inauguration Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, they used to be days where we all agreed to disagree and celebrate the many things we had in common, including love of country.

But that's not the way for some of the left wing web sites and blogs, who spent today trashing America and telling us how evil we are, Bush is, etc.

I think it's sad that they can't spend one day loving their country.

Although this particular problem, does seem to prevail more on the left, I am sure that if a Democrat were in the White House there would also be right wing nuts out there.

But my real issue is why they feel the need to do it on a day like today.

If you were to add up all of the big holidays, from New Years Day to Christmas, you probably wouldn't have more that 10 or 15 days.

Which leaves 350 days to say whatever you want about how awful this country is.

But perhaps you could take those 10-15 days to remember how amazing it is to live in a country where you can say whatever you want the other 350.....

O'Connor Retires

As I'm sure you have heard, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement today. She has been on the court since 1981.

This is a big announcement. She has been the key swing vote, often swinging the wrong way (see the recent Ten Commandments rulings).

Her replacement could turn liberal 5-4 into conservative 5-4.

If you don't think this one is important, check any of the left wing blogs or web sites, they are freaking out like the world has come to an end.

It will be interesting to see who Bush picks and when he announces. Bush is scheduled to visit Europe next week so no nomination is expected until the week of July 10th.

But if I read the Bush White House correctly, they have already reviewed and vetted possible replacements for all of the justices, and O'Connor in particular since she was rumored to be retiring for some time.

Alberto Gonzales and Miguel Estrada have been mentioned as potential names for the first Hispanic justice.

It may be that there will be pressure for Bush to pick another woman, and that could lead to Janice Rogers Brown having a very short stay at her new Appeals Court job.

Other names include

• Judge Edith Brown Clement
• Senator John Cornyn (R-TX)
• Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT)

More details on possible replacements soon.