Stan Berenstain Dead at 82

A sad note for children and children at heart.

Stan Berenstain, creator of Berenstain Bears series of books has died at the age of 82.

The first book, "The Big Honey Hunt" was published in 1962.

Over the last 43 years more than 200 Bear books were published to help youngsters learn to read.

Mr. Berenstain and his family managed the entire enterprise by themselves until 1997, when they hired an employee to run the computer.

While the books introduced vocabulary words and gentle moral lessons to their young readers they also took on social issues and had pretty detailed characters and plots.

Mr. Berenstain and his wife often produced 10 or more 32-page books a year and did have their critics. Some objected to the traditional, old-fashioned family structure, with a bumbling woodworker father and a stay-at-home mom while others saw hidden political agendas.

Personally I have always found them highly entertaining and think the critics need to get a life.

Happily, the family plans to continue their fathers legacy.

Republicans Win ?? Attorney General Race in Virginia

The closest statewide election of 2005 and one of the closest in Virginia history is headed for a recount Monday after Republican Bob McDonnell was certified as the winner of the attorney general's race by 323 votes out of more than 1.9 million cast.

Democrat State Senator Creigh Deeds is asking for a recount,which is expected to take at least until mid-December.

Deeds had 970,563 votes to 970,886 for McDonnell in the Nov. 8 balloting, according to the State Board of Elections.

Enough mistakes were found during a canvass of results by local electoral boards to shrink McDonnell's lead from about 3,000 votes on election night to his current razor-thin margin.

I have to agree with some of McDonnell's supporters in wondering why ALL of the mistakes corrected seemed to have been in Deeds favor. You would think that odds would have favored a more even outcome.

But even this small margin may hold up. The only recent statewide recount in modern shaved only 113 votes from the winners lead.

Dems Gearing Up For Filibuster ?

There have been increasing reports in the media that Democrats may be getting ready for a filibuster on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito.

Whether this is wise or not remains to be seen. Looking at the Gang of 14, it seems likely that enough of them would oppose a filibuster to make the process difficult.

At least 2 Republicans have indicated that they would support the 'Constitutional Option' if they were forced, and that gives us enough votes to pass it

In additional a couple of the Democrats, including influential Senator Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) have said Alito deserves an up or down vote, so we very well could have the 60 votes needed to block the filibuster outright.

But assuming they try this, the big question is what issue they might hang their hat on.

The early line seemed to be that they would base it on abortion after it was revealed that in a 1985 memo to then Attorney General Ed Meese, Alito spoke proudly of his work in supporting the Reagan administrations opposition to abortion.

“It has been an honor and source of personal satisfaction for me to serve in the office of the Solicitor General during President Reagan’s administration and to help to advance legal positions in which I personally believe very strongly,” he wrote.

“I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion.”

When this memo first came to light there was a chorus of protest from the pro-abortion lobby and from the usual Senators (Boxer et al).

But then the furor seemed to fade somewhat when Alito pointed out that his memo was part of his effort to gain a political appointment, rather than a judicial one. Pointing to 15 years on the federal bench he said that he had not used politics on the bench.

This fact seems to be supported by his voting to strike down a law restricting partial birth abortion because it did not have adequate safeguards for when a mother's life was in danger.

So now they seem to be fishing for a new reason.

Senator Kennedy tried to attack his views on civil rights. To support his argument Kennedy (I kid you not) cited the fact that 41 years ago, Alito supported the Presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater.

This argument ran into a small problem when some reminded Kennedy that another Goldwater supporter in 1964 was non other than Hillary Clinton.

So during an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Senator Joseph Biden said that the chances of an Alito filibuster have gone up, due to Alito’s remarks in 1985 criticizing the Warren Court’s reapportionment decisions.

Once again they are heading back 40 plus years to try and find something, and once again they aren't finding much.

In 1962 the Supreme Court issued a ruling in the case of Baker vs Carr, which set down the principle of "one man one vote". What the case dealt with was the fact that in many states they had not redrawn Congressional districts in decades.

As a result, the districts were out of proportion, with sparcely populated rural districts holding much more power than crowded urban ones. The court ruled that this was unconstitutional.

On the surface, you'd think Biden had something if Alito opposed the idea of equal representation.

The problem is that he doesn't. Alito, like everyone else, supports the idea of equal representation. His issue was with the fact that the ruling went on to require that states follow a specified procedure to get that equality.

He instead supports the idea that each state should be free to figure out how to draw equality themselves, rather than following a process that has led to the mess we have today in our reapportionment process.

Another Supreme Court ruling dealt with the way state legislatures were drawn. Many states followed what is called the Federal model. With house districts based on population and senate districts based on county lines.

Many reasonable people think that the federal system is an acceptable model for the states. The Supreme Court disagreed.

I'm not sure where Alito falls on this issue, but even if he does think the federal model should be an option for the states, it is hardly enough to call him against democracy.

I suspect that in the coming days and weeks we will see more attempts by the Democrats to find a reason to filibuster Alito.

A Great Web Site

Since we are headed into the holiday season I thought I'd post this for all of you.

It's a web site dedicated to sending thank you letters to our troops.

A Million Thanks

Birthday Calculator

A fun site that tells you stuff about your birthday

Birthday

Some Progress

Mandatory funding for two controversial bridge projects in Alaska -- including the ridiculed "bridge to nowhere" -- has been stripped from a federal spending bill, a congressional committee said on Wednesday.

In an unusual move to change "pork" spending, House-Senate negotiators removed the $432 million in required spending during final talks on a yearly bill to fund programs for the Transportation and Treasury departments, the House Appropriations Committee said.

As a compromise, Alaska will still receive the money that had been set aside for the bridges to spend as it likes on transportation needs.

Congressional negotiators were under pressure from lawmakers and fiscal watchdogs to address concerns about mandatory spending on pet projects. The bridges had become symbols of egregious spending during an era of record budget deficits.

The quarter-mile $223 million "bridge to nowhere" span got its nickname because it connects the port town of Ketchikan to neighboring Gravina Island, population 50. That and the other $209 million bridge - dubbed "Don Young Way" in Anchorage - could still be built but now must compete with other transportation funding priorities in the state.

Republican Rep. Don Young of Alaska, the House Transportation Committee chairman, shepherded both projects through Congress within the highway bill over the summer. Thousands of member pet projects were stuffed into the six-year road building measure. Projects included in the long-term blueprint are funded by annual appropriations bills.

Outrage in Seattle

This is beyond ridiculous.....

A citizen-appeals board upheld a misconduct finding against a Seattle police officer who met an intoxicated woman during a late-night call, then immediately took vacation to have sex with her.

But the city Public Safety Civil Service Commission reduced a 30-day suspension to a five-day suspension without pay, saying the original discipline was too harsh.

In a 10-page report released Tuesday, the commission gave this account:

Officer Basney responded to a possible assault June 21, 2004, a caller said he had seen a man hit a woman and knock her to the ground.

He arrived about 10:30 p.m. with another officer. They were told of an argument between two patrons but couldn't find witnesses.

The alleged victim — an intoxicated woman — told Basney she had not been struck. She said a man with her had gotten into a conflict with another man, but both had left. That investigation was ended.

During their questioning, the woman propositioned both officers, suggesting three-way sex, the officers told the commission during an appeal hearing in September.

The one officer declined. But Basney contacted his sergeant and got permission to take vacation for the second half of his shift, citing personal reasons. Seattle police are allowed to take emergency vacation in the middle of shifts, if approved.

Basney drove the woman in his patrol car to the North Precinct but didn't notify dispatchers she was in the car. The woman waited outside the precinct while Basney changed clothes.

He drove her in his personal car to his home and had sex with her. About 2 a.m., he dropped her off near the home of the man she had been with at the restaurant.

That man, who turned out to be the womans fiancee filed a complaint which triggered an internal investigation. Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske suspended Basney for 30 days.

Commission Chairman Joel Nark and Commissioners Herb Johnson and David Bown agreed Basney had engaged in conduct unbecoming an officer. But Nark wrote that Basney should be suspended fewer than five days.

At the September hearing, Basney testified he was embarrassed by his actions but said he shouldn't have been disciplined.

"I was off-duty and on my own," he told the commission.

Remember The Sacrifice !!

SLEEP LAST NIGHT?

Bed a little lumpy...

Toss and turn any...

Wish the heat was higher...

Maybe the a/c wasn't on...

Had to go to the john...

Need a drink of water...

Well.....

Yes... It is like that!

Weather in Baghdad (Weather)

Count your blessings, pray for them,

Talk to your Creator and the next time when...

the other car cuts you off and you must hit the brakes,

or you have to park a little further from Walmart than you want to be,

or you're served slightly warm food at the restaurant,

or you're sitting and cursing the traffic in front of you,

or the shower runs out of hot water,

Think of them...

Protecting your freedom!



The proud warriors of Baker Company wanted to do something to pay tribute To our fallen comrades. So since we are part of the only Marine Infantry Battalion left in Iraq the one way that we could think of doing that is By taking a picture of Baker Company saying the way we feel.

Election Update

Looks like races are going the way we expected.

Kaine wins in Virginia, Corzine wins in New Jersey, Bloomberg in New York.

Election Day

Today is election day in many parts of the country. There are 3 major types or races on the ballot. Mayoral races, gubernatorial races and ballot propositions.

To the degree I know what I'm talking about, here is what should happen.

Mayoral Races

Pretty much all of the contests are in heavily Democratic big cities. Not surprisingly the Democrats are going to win most of these races.

The one big exception to this will be in New York City where Republican mayor Bloomberg is not only going to win, he is going to win big. Some polls have him as high as 70%. That is amazing considering the city is about 80% Democrat.

Governors Races

There are two of them on the ballot, one in New Jersey and one in Virgnia. Both states currently have Democratic governors.

In New Jersey the race looks pretty routine. The state has become a pretty blue state, giving double digit margins to Gore and Kerry.

The Democratic nominee is Senator John Corzine. Five years ago he spent something in the range of $ 70 million to get elected to his senate seat. This year he is spending about $ 40 million to become Governor.

By contrast his opponent for Governor, Doug Forrester has spent around $ 20 million.

So you have the better known candidate outspending the less known one by 2-1. Even in a marginal state that would be enough to tilt the race.

On the other hand, Corzine barely won in 2000 when he outspent by about 5-1.

But the blueness of New Jersey helps, Corzine wins by about 5-7 points.

In Virginia we have Democrat Lt. Gov Kaine vs former AG Kilgore.

On the surface Virginia is a red leaning state, although not as partisan of a state as New Jersey.

It's closer to Minnesota, a state that votes solidly one way in Presidential races, leans that way in others, but still elects members of both parties to statewide office.

There is also an interesting couple of historical trends. Since elections became competetive in Virginia there have been 9 races for Governor. 7 of those went against the party in the White House.

The last time the President's party won a governors race was 1973.

In addition, the Governor's party has won at least one re-election in all 9 races.

These factors taken together would probably result in a pretty even playing field in terms of starting out. The slightly red nature of the state vs the historical shifts against the party in the White House.

Not surprisingly we have just that, a toss up. Most polls give Kaine a slight lead but most are also within the margin of error. There was some reaction against some very strong anti-Death penalty ads run by Kilgore which have added to this trend (he seemed to call Kaine pro-Hitler in the ads).

Interestingly, Kaine is running a campaign that would be Republican in most states. Other than opposing the death penalty he has run a very conservative campaign in which he touts his religious faith more that most candidates of either party would outside the South.

The GOP does have an edge in voter turnout most of the time but this could be offset by anti-Bush sentiment among the Democrats.

A very close race but I think Kaine wins by a point or two.

But the GOP will win the races for Lt. Governor and Attorney General.

Propositions

There are a number of ballot propositions up for voting in California, as well as several other states.

In California the proposals include a series of reforms by Governor Arnold. These reforms would 1) require teens to inform parents if they want an abortion 2) make it harder for teachers to get tenure 3) allow public employee union members to decide if union dues should be used for political purposes, 4) reform the budget process to cut the massive debts we have been running and 5) take the redistricting process
away from the politicians.

These proposals all seem to be to be common sense, so they are all probably going to lose.

The unions have spend upwards of $ 150 million to fight these proposals while the supporters of them have spent little and run few ads. Needless to say the anti-ads have been pretty much lies, but that's politics in the USA.

Three other proposals are also on the ballot. Two would provide some sort of prescription drug benefits while the third would regulate energy companies.

I actually think all of these could lose too, making it a rare 'all lose' election.

In Ohio there is another ballot proposal to reform redistricting, but again it looks like the power structure (in this case GOP instead of Democrat) will defeat it.

In Texas there is a ballot proposal to ban gay marriage, which I suspect might edge by with maybe 60-70% of the vote.

New York hasa couple budget reform proposals, one would give the legislature power to override the governors in a budget fight. This one is going to be close.

I will post updates as the results come in.

Weekend Humor

Just some fun for the weekend.

Jesus and the Democrat.

A Republican in a wheelchair entered a restaurant one afternoon and asked the waitress for a cup of coffee.

The Republican looked across the restaurant and asked, "Is that Jesus sitting over there?" The waitress nodded "yes," so the Republican requested that she give Jesus a cup of coffee on him.

The next patron to come in was a Libertarian with a hunched back. He shuffled over to a booth, painfully sat down, and asked the waitress for a cup of hot tea.

He also glanced across the restaurant and asked, "Is that Jesus over there?" The waitress nodded, so the Libertarian asked her to give Jesus a cup of hot tea, "My treat."

The third patron to come into the restaurant was a Democrat on crutches.

He hobbled over to a booth, sat down and hollered, "Hey there, honey! How's about gettin' me a cold glass of Miller Light!"

He, too, looked across the restaurant and asked, "Is that God's boy over there?" The waitress once more nodded, so the Democrat directed her to give Jesus a cold glass of beer. "On my bill," he said.

As Jesus got up to leave, he passed by the Republican, touched him and said,

"For your kindness, you are healed."

The Republican felt the strength come back into his legs, got up, and danced a jig out the door.

Jesus also passed by the Libertarian, touched him and said, "For your kindness, you are healed."

The Libertarian felt his back straightening up, and he raised his hands, praised the Lord and did a series of back flips out the door.

Then Jesus walked towards the Democrat.

The Democrat jumped up and yelled, "Don't touch me. I'm collecting disability."

Ronald Reagan Plus 25

It was twenty five years ago today, November 4th 1980, that the American people elected Ronald Wilson Reagan to be the 40th President of the United States.

I was but a child at the time but even I remember the excitement of the moment.

We sometimes forget just how bad things were when he came in and just how good they were when he left.

People a hundred years from now will get down on their knees and thank God that Ronald Wilson Reagan was President of The United States in that cruical time

Alito Delayed to January

Looks like Alito hearings won't happen until next year.