Alito Vote Count

Since it seemed reasonably popular with the Roberts vote I will again be posting a running track of the Alito vote.

Of course no votes have been announced yet but I am guessing the following.

Committee more or less party line vote, maybe one Dem in favor.

Floor vote in low to mid 60's, depending on how well he performs in committee.

Feel free to post your own guesses, although I suspect most will go over to Hedgehog once he starts his contest

Justice Alito, A Good Pick

President Bush has today nominated Judge Alito to the US Supreme Court.

Judge Alito looks to be a very good choice.

His qualifications are enough to make most of us feel lazy by comparison. In fact he seems to be even more qualified than John Roberts was.

He is a solid conservative but not an extremist or a judicial activist.

I am sure the Democrats will put up a fight but given how well qualified he is, and if he can perform well in the confirmation hearings, I suspect they won't take the filibuster route.

Some details on his qualifications and background can be found here

Signs Of The Times

*YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2005 when...*

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't
have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go online before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

16. And now you're laughing at yourself.

Oil Profits Beyond The Pale

I am a moderate to conservative Republican, I am pro-market and a firm supporter of the capitalist system.

But there are times where even I find things have gone too far.

While telling us that they are only raising prices to match increased costs, oil companies are posting record profits, again.

Exxon Mobil reported a TEN BILLION dollar profit for the 3rd quarter alone, which works out to FORTY BILLION a year. That is an increase of 75%

Shell wasn't as lucky, making only NINE BILLION, or a 68% jump

Now maybe I am missing something but if you increase prices to match costs then your profits should remain stable, not increase by 2/3.

If these companies don't tone things down then I think it's time for the government to step in and set some reasonable limits.

Go Ahead Ted, Resign

I know this story broke last week but I've been swamped at work so I am just getting to it.

The Senate has been debating the new Highway Bill, which as usual is filled with pork spending.

Two of the more egregious items involved spending $ 453 million (aka half a BILLION dollars) to build 2 bridges in Alaska.

One would connect the town of Ketchikan, Alaska to an offshore island where only 50 people live. That bridge will cost about $ 225 million dollars. This is despite the fact that the 50 residents of the island already have a perfectly adequate ferry system.

Indeed its is hard to find anyone in the town who really cares about the bridge.

The second bridge, costing another $ 225 million plus, will be built near Anchorage. Again, there is no sign that this bridge is greatly needed.

Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) introduced an amendment which would have diverted these funds to help repair bridges in Louisiana that were destroyed or badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

His basic points were that 1) The bridges in Alaska were not vital and 2) The repairs in Louisiana were.

Seems to me like a very sensible idea.

But Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) threatened to resign if the proposal passed. The Senate bowed to his threat and rejected the proposal.

Personally, I am ashamed that Senator Stevens is a member of the GOP caucus in the Senate. I am equally ashamed of the 80 plus members who voted to keep these idiotic spending proposals in the budget.

So speaking for myself.. RESIGN TED RESIGN.

We'd be better off without you.

Rosa Parks Dies

One of the icons of the civil rights movement has died at the age of 92.

My sympathies to her family and friends.

Parks

Is Fly Over Territory Also Pull Over Territory ??

I was in the SF Bay Area recently on business and noticed what I think may be another symbol of big town/little town or blue/red territory.

I was driving down the street when a fire truck came up behind me, sirens blaring, weaving through traffic. I pulled over to let him pass. This is what I've always done and as long as I can remember it's what everyone does when a fire truck/ambulance/police car comes up with sirens on.

But nobody else did what I did, they kept on driving down the street, and the fire truck had to work his way through the mess.

I've noticed this seems to happen in big towns, but never in small ones.

I wonder if this is another sign of big city attitudes ??

Woman Arrested Over Taxes

Now don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer in pursuing people who evade taxes.

As Oliver Wendell Holmes said:

"Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society"

However sometimes the pursuit of justice can be taken a little far.

In the city of Loveland Ohio, Deborah Combs was driving along the road when she was pulled over by police.

At this point, Combs believes that the officers were over the top in their actions.

“One sheriff approached my car with his hand on his gun. Another from the other side of the car leaned in and said, ‘Are you Deborah Combs? We have a warrant for your arrest.’ I was absolutely shocked."

So how much money did she owe ?

Well the original bill was... ONE DOLLAR and SIXTEEN CENTS.

That's right $ 1.16, less that the cost of a cup of coffee.

When you take into account the various fines and penalties over the last 5 years (the $ 1.16 was owed in 2000), her bill rises to around $ 200.

City manager Fred Enderle says the amount that Combs owes is not the real issue. “Whether it’s $1 they owe us or $1,000, it’s not fair to the rest of the public to not pursue that person,” Enderle said.

Combs admits that she didn't pay the tax but since she has been out of work since 2000 she assumed she didn't have to file, since she had no income.

Medical Humor

For the weekend, some medical humor from across the USA....

A man comes into the ER and yells, "My wife's going to have her baby in the cab!" I grabbed my stuff, rushed out to the cab, lifted the lady's dress, and began to take off her underwear. Suddenly I noticed that there were several cabs - and I was in the wrong one.

Dr. Mark MacDonald, San Antonio, TX

At the beginning of my shift I placed a stethoscope on an elderly and slightly deaf female patient's anterior chest wall. "Big breaths," I instructed. "Yes, they used to be," remorsed the patient.

Dr. Richard Byrnes, Seattle, WA

One day I had to be the bearer of bad news when I told a wife that her husband had died of a massive myocardial infarct. Not more than five minutes later, I heard her reporting to the rest of the family that he had died of a "massive internal fart."

Dr. Susan Steinberg, Manitoba, Canada

I was performing a complete physical, including the visual acuity test. I placed the patient twenty feet from the chart and began, "Cover your right eye with your hand." He read the 20/20 line perfectly. "Now your left." Again, a flawless read. "Now both," I requested. There was silence. He couldn't even read the large E on the top line. I turned and discovered that he had done exactly what I had asked; he was standing there with both his eyes covered. I was laughing too hard to finish the exam.

Dr. Matthew Theodropolous, Worcester, MA

During a patient's two week follow-up appointment with his cardiologist, he informed me, his doctor, that he was having trouble with one of his medications. "Which one?" I asked. "The patch. The nurse told me to put on a new one every six hours and now I'm running out of places to put it!" I had him quickly undress and discovered what I hoped I wouldn't see . Yes, the man had over fifty patches on his body! Now, the instructions include removal of the old patch before applying a new one.

Dr. Rebecca St. Clair, Norfolk, VA

While acquainting myself with a new elderly patient, I asked, "How long have you been bedridden?" After a look of complete confusion she answered... "Why, not for about twenty years - when my husband was alive."

Dr. Steven Swanson, Corvallis, OR

I was caring for a woman and asked, "So how's your breakfast this morning?" "It's very good, except for the Kentucky Jelly. I can't seem to get used to the taste" the patient replied. I then asked to see the jelly and the woman produced a foil packet labeled "KY Jelly."

Dr. Leonard Kransdorf, Detroit, MI

A nurse was on duty in the Emergency Room, when a young woman with purple hair styled into a punk rocker Mohawk, sporting a variety of tattoos, and wearing strange clothing, entered. It was quickly determined that the patient had acute appendicitis, so she was scheduled for immediate surgery. When she was completely disrobed on the operating table, the staff noticed that her pubic hair had been dyed green, and above it there was a tattoo that read, "Keep off the grass." Once the surgery was completed, the surgeon wrote a short note on the patient's dressing, which said, "Sorry, had to mow the lawn."

and finally...

A new, young MD doing his residency in OB was quite embarrassed performing female pelvic exams. To cover his embarrassment he had unconsciously formed a habit of whistling softly. The middle-aged lady upon whom he was performing this exam suddenly burst out laughing and further embarrassed him. He looked up from his work and sheepishly said, "I'm sorry. Was I tickling you?" She replied, "No doctor, but the song you were whistling was, "I wish I was an Oscar Meyer Wiener".

Dr. wouldn't admit his name

New James Bond

For those who missed the announcment, we now have a new James Bond.

James Bond

From what I've seen of his work, Craig could be an interesting choice

Unemployment

Lost in the shuffle of news has been the fact that our economy remains surprisingly strong.

When Katrina and Rita slammed the gulf coast, most economists expected massive job losses and a big ding to our economy.

The latest numbers show that there was a net job loss of 35,000 for the month of September.

But those same reports show that Katrina and Rita cost upwards of 400,000 jobs all by themselves.

Which means that the economy had to gain over 300,000 jobs elsewhere in order to balance out.

That works out to 3-4 million jobs a year

Pretty good news if you ask me.

No To Amendments

Once again there is movement in Congress to pass an amendments to the Constitution. One to ban Flag burning and another to ban Gay Marriage.

It's not often I take what is considered the liberal stance but I do so in this case.

Don't misunderstand what I am saying, I find it very offensive when people burn the American flag. The people who do so are frequently those who spit on the very country that gives them every right to be free.

Similarly, as a Christian I do believe that God intended marriage to be between a Man and Woman.

But that is my personal belief, and it should not be the role of Government to act based on religious belief. Furthermore, as a states rights advocate I do not think it should be the role of the federal government to act in areas like marriage, which are properly the role of the states.

Too often we have seen societies where they started out by stopping unpopular opinion only to see that line slide further and further. Of course I am not suggesting that this would happen in this country.

We have endured for longer than any other free society.

But in times like that I think of Voltaire, who said:

"I disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it"

This statement is part of the core of the American dream that our founding fathers fought for 200 years ago. A society where people were free to say what they wanted without the government stopping them.

It is not the role of our Constitution to protect popular opinion, but rather to protect the unpopular. To do otherwise would be an insult to all those who have fought and died to protect it.

Furthermore, the Constitution is a sacred document in our national government and should only be amended for issues of vital national importance, not for getting votes

So I say NO to any amendment to efforts to use the Constitution as a political weapon.

PC Runs Wild Again

Once again the forces of political correctness have taken a leap off the tower of logic.

In Mason, Ohio there is a tavern called the Pleasure Inn.

In the window of the bar is a sign that reads simply: "For Service, Speak English".

The bar owner says that the sign is largely tounge in cheek.

Personally, I think its perfectly reasonable to expect that if you are in an English speaking country and you want a beer, you are asked to order a beer, not to demand that you be served in another language.

But the forces of PC, represented by the Ohio Human Rights Commission have declared this to be discrimination and are threatening to impose fines and force the owner to hold anti-discrimination classes for his employees.

Now how ridiculous is that.

Mind you, he doesn't care who comes in his bar and indeed according to news reports he has a lot of Hispanic customers.

There is no record of any complaints about discrimination of any kind.

The complaint made to the HRC was not made by any customer, but by a liberal interest group.

All he cares is that you do the common sense thing of learning to speak the language of the country you want to live in.

Progress

To listen to many media pundits you would think the world was going to fall apart any day now, that things are worse than they have ever been. This is especially true with regard to the 'lack of freedom' in the world.

Well let's take a look at history.

200 years ago, around the turn of the 19th Century, there were really no major democracies or republics in the world. The US was starting out but we were hardly a major power and democracy was largely limited to white men.

France was flirting with democracy but wasn't doing very well.

The UK had a pseudo form of Constitutional Monarchy but the King could still do quite a bit and again, voting was limited to white men.

There were a handful of other smaller nations working at it, but with limited success.

The rest of the world is under various authoritarian regimes.

Fast forward 100 yrs and we are at the turn of the 20th century.

Some progress has been made. The USA is a more powerful nation. France is doing pretty well with democracy and the major nations of the British Commonwealth (UK, Canada and Australia) have some freedoms.

But again, voting and freedom is largely limited to white men.

And the rest of the world is either under an authoritarian regime or is a colony with few freedoms.

Now fast forward to today.

Certainly things are not perfect. China and much of Asia remains a problem, Africa and South America have mixed results.

Our efforts in the Middle East are in the very early stages and will require more years to develop. But voting is happening where it has never happened before.

Even in the democratic nations there are issues of inequality.

But all things considered, we've made a lot of progress.

And it's about time people were happy about it.

Miers Meltdown

I must admit to be taken aback at the reaction from the hard left and hard right. While I want to research a bit more into the details of her background and judicial views, I am fairly satisfied she is a good nominee.<.

What bothers me is the knee jerk reaction from the right wing nuts is as bad as the reaction from the left wing nuts.

For the left she is evil and should be rejected because she doesn't hate Bush.

For the right she is evil and should be rejected because in 1988 she gave money to Al Gore. No remember in 1988 most people in Texas were still conservative Democrats and amazingly enough so was Gore.

I am not ready to completely endorse her, but I am not going to reject her just because she doesn't wear a 'Death to Roe' t-shirt to work.

Bush Pick #2

President Bush on Monday chose White House counsel Harriet Miers to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court.

I am not completely sure how to react to this nomination, although she was on the list of possibles she does not have much of a public record yet.

Some Democratic senators reportedly suggested her, which could be a bad sign from a conservative point of view. But Bush has been careful to try and avoid the mistakes of his dad, so I suspect he is pretty sure that she is conservative.

One note, some of the Democrats that are complaining that she has no record as a judge are ones who pushed for a non judicial nominee.