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| Wednesday, Sep 29, 2004
Lies about Bush v. Gore John sends this TNR article about Bush v. Gore. These legal article about Bush v. Gore are just packed with lies. Skipping down to one of its claims at random, it says: Scalia wrote, the issues should be regarded as "political questions" to be regulated exclusively by legislatures, not courts. Of course, if Scalia applied the same standard in Bush v. Gore, he would have agreed with Justice Stephen Breyer that it, too, was a "political question" to be resolved by Congress rather than the Supreme CourtThat is not what Breyer said in Bush v. Gore. Breyer not only wanted the Supreme Court to intervene in the election, he wanted to order the Florida judges to do an additional vote recount according to a peculiar scheme that he devised. He declared that the schemes proposed by Gore and by the Florida courts judges were unconstitutional. It was Scalia and the other conservatives who opposed using a judge-concocted recount scheme to the presidential election. A new Vanity Fair article on Bush v. Gore uses info from pro-Gore Supreme Court clerks, and reveals some previously unknown details. Eg, Justice Stevens had originally signed onto Breyer's opinion that the Florida recount was unconstitutional. But when Stevens found out that Kennedy noted that the Court was 8-1 against the constitutionality of the Florida court's recount, Stevens changed his vote. The only one who denied constitutional equal-protection concerns was Ginsburg. Her opinion originally had a footnote explaining away the concerns based on a New York Times report that blacks had encountered trouble voting! Apparently she thinks that some racist hearsay from a left-wing newspaper is reason enough to ignore constitutional guarantees, and to allow court manipulation of a presidential election. Monday, Sep 27, 2004
Larry Lessig, Bush-hater I was just looking at Lessig's blog, and have some observations. Lessig seems very intelligent. Lessig is a hard-core Bush-hater. About 80% of Lessig's posts relate to intellectual property (IP) law. There is not a single post that says that Kerry would be better than Bush on IP law. A couple of posts suggest that Kerry would be worse. There are dozens of posts complaining about IP law policies of the Clinton administration, but none opposing Bush's IP law policies. It is not clear why Lessig hates Bush so much. There is an occasional reference to opposing the Iraq War, but that is way outside his main interests. So why is a smart prof. like Lessig so pro-Kerry? Andy writes: This is a superb question. There is a reason for it, and it is worth debating what that reason is. Lessig is particularly baffling because I think he comes from a Republican family.I don't buy the religion theory. GW Bush is a Methodist. He never calls himself "born again", as far as I know. Clinton is a Southern Baptist, and Kerry is a Catholic. Surely those religions are more disliked that Methodists. Liza writes: I definitely buy the religion theory. Large numbers of people are deeply suspicious of evangelicals in politics. It explains the intense hatred for Bush 43 as opposed to Bush 41, and the vilification of Ashcroft. Bush is considered an evangelical or born-again Christian. Many mainline Protestants, Jews and atheists think it's really dangerous when a politician thinks he's getting orders from God. I wish they would focus their animosity on the real religious threat - Islam - rather than evangelical Christianity, but there is no question their animosity is a real factor in U.S. politics.Gumma writes: You all are missing the importance of body language. It's not what Bush says. It's his body language. That shows him to be Bible-believing sorta fundamentalist Christian.Andy writes: Roger wrote, "Can Liza or Andy document their views? Maybe I've missed it, but I've never heard Bush describe himself as someone who suddenly found Christ, or even talk like an evangelical. Quotes, please?"Liza writes: Okay, Roger, check out the second article I found in a quick google search. This is loaded with actual Bush quotes about his religious views. If this doesn't convince you he's essentially evangelical or born-again, nothing will. He doesn't go out of his way to use those labels, but he doesn't disavow them either.I don't think that Liza knows what an evangelical is. An evangelical Christian believes that it is his duty to preach the Gospels to nonbelievers, so that they may be saved. Those quotes from Bush are expressing mainstream Christian beliefs. No, I don't rely on "common knowledge about Bush". If I relied on common knowledge among academics, then I'd be voting for Kerry. Snopes says that it is an urban legend that Bush is an evangelical. Here, evangelicals say that Bush is "simply mistaken" when he said, "I believe we [Christians and Muslims] worship the same God." Sunday, Sep 26, 2004
Prof Larry Tribe is a plagiarist Andy writes: After the plagiarism scandal among liberal icons has sullied three "scholars", it has now reached L. Tribe himself. Thanks to John for circulating this article.The plagiarism was probably from Tribe's ghostwriter. Either way, there appears to be some academic misconduct. Yes, Tribe is nothing but a partisan political hack, with no significant intellectual accomplishments. Some of his articles are idiotic. He charges $1 million for each Supreme Court oral argument, so he has gotten rich from his reputation. Update: Tribe has now apologized. There is more info on the Harvard plagiarism blog. John sends this NRO article which says: A bright young man or woman could get tenure at Harvard Law School with a publishing record that would not even qualify him for a job interview at the Harvard History Department.Yes, it is true that law schools like Harvard Law have appalling low academic standards compared to other departments at top universities. Usually, the law professors do not have doctoral degrees, and do not have any significant research accomplishments. Friday, Sep 24, 2004
Dan Rather has a history of lies Bob writes: Ellen Forman's letter to the Boston Globe, linked above, beautifully illustrates the position liberals find themselves in. The media can no longer be counted on to save the day. Ten years ago Rather would have been able to make his story stick, at least through the election, now it was all over in 2 weeks. Rather may even be held accountable for a bogus story he did on Vietnam vets in 1988 as his web unravels.The transcript is from the biased Bush-haters at PBS. Auletta defended the CBS cover-up of the source of the Rather memos, and defended other aspects of CBS's anti-Bush bias. He said: in fairness to CBS, they have Barnes' coming on, the former speaker of the House, saying that he got, he used political influence to get Bush in the National Guard, is a very compelling and important story. And CBS deserves credit for that, but there have been questions about their documents, and about whether they rushed to get that story on the air.Barnes is a Democrat, a Kerry fund-raiser, and a crook. His story was a tired rehash of what he said in the 2000 campaign, and it was rebutted then. It was not news. It was anti-Bush propaganda. Dan Rather's error was not that he rushed the story. The problem is not that there are questions about the documents. The documents have been proved to be forgeries. Rather and CBS knew that the memos were probably forgeries, but went with the story anyway because of partisan political reasons and because they thought that the White House was not going to question the memos. PBS and Auletta are trying to imply that Bush is at fault somehow, but they have nothing on Bush. Thursday, Sep 23, 2004
The Florida judicial supremacists The judicial supremacists on the Florida high court are at it again. See NY Times. If judges want Terri Schiavo dead, they say it is unconstitutional for the governor or legislature to keep her alive. Nobody complains when a governor intervenes to stop the execution of a murderer, so it is a little odd to hear judges complain about saving the life of an innocent woman. Kerry's IP man Lessig's blog says: Word now is that Bruce Lehman, former Assistant Secretary of Commerce, and Commissioner of Patents, is spreading the word that he is running IP policy on the Kerry campaign. In the scheme of extremists, few are more extreme. Of all the government “Czars” in our form of government, he proved himself to be most to be feared.Lessig is depressed because he is a Bush-hater who is disappointed with Kerry's campaign. Lehman was a terrible patent commissioner. He didn't even have a patent background. Clinton only appointed him because of his sexual preference, according to press reports. Newt Gingrich against judicial supremacy John sends this Wash Times op-ed, and says "Newt must have read The Supremacists!" Gingrich says: The truth is that the modern notion of judicial supremacy is an invention of the Warren court. In the 1958 case Cooper v. Aaron, the court claimed that Marbury had "declared the basic principle that the federal judiciary is supreme in the exposition of the law of the Constitution." But as Stanford Law School Dean Larry Kramer has noted, the notion of judicial supremacy is "just bluster and puff... the Justices in Cooper were not reporting a fact so much as trying to manufacture one."These points were all clearly made in Phyllis Schlafly's recent book. Tuesday, Sep 21, 2004
Protect the Pledge from court meddling Congress may strip Court jurisdiction over the Pledge of Allegiance. Good. I hope the Democrats are afraid to vote against it, with the election coming up. John sends this PFAW propaganda, and writes: The Akin bill does NOT "bar the federal courts from enforcing the U.S. Supreme Court's 1943 decision in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette." That's just a flat-out lie.Update: Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said, "Protect the pledge from what?" Read the bill, Nancy. The House passed it. Friday, Sep 17, 2004
Response to Supremacists criticism Bruce Fein criticizes The Supremacists in a Wash. Times op-ed. Here is a response. Fein argues that the Supreme Court would never rule against both popular opinion and the Constitution. But that has been false ever since the Warren Court activism of the 1950s. As The Supremacists carefully documents, the Supreme Court has issued unpopular and unfounded decisions in the areas of criminal law, religion, taxes, abortion, school busing, etc. Fein seems to agree that many of those decisions were bad, but disagrees about what can be done about them. In case the Supreme Court exceeds its jurisdiction, Fein says that amending the Constitution is the only legal remedy. But the Constitution already gives Congress the power to limit the jurisdiction of the federal courts, and Congress has used that power dozens of times. There is no need to amend the Constitution to give Congress a power that the Constitution already grants explicitly to Congress. For example, most people are against same-sex marriage. Marriage has always been a matter of state law, and there is no good reason why the federal courts should have jurisdiction over the definition of marriage. The Republic Party Platform endorses Congress limiting federal court jurisdiction so that the federal courts will not mandate same-sex marriage. That would allow the courts to have their traditional jurisdiction over federal cases and controversies, but limit their ability to meddle in certain particularly sensitive political questions. The main point of the book is to attack judicial supremacy. We don't want nine unaccountable judges having the last say on controversial political policy issues of the day, like same-sex marriage and the pledge of allegiance. The book supports the separation of powers, and the checks and balances that are already in the Constitution. I also couldn't figure out why Fein says, "Eight constitutional amendments have reversed Supreme Court decisions." I count Amendment 11, and maybe 14 and 15, but I don't see any way to get to eight. Bob writes: Here is another reason why judicial supremacists get us into trouble. Thomas Sowell has written a book, Affirmative Action Around the World which clearly shows the evil effects of affirmative action in the US and elsewhere. Sowell clearly shows that affirmative action would not be possible in the US without riding roughshod over the Constitution. This interview explains the argument clearly:Sowell said: Small in size but huge in importance, Phyllis Schlafly’s The Supremacists is must-reading for those who want to stop activist judges from taking away the people’s right to choose their own laws and policies.This letter to the Wash Times editor was published: Law from whole clothYes, the Supreme Court issues rulings all the time that are based on neither the Constitution nor the majority. Sometimes, as Lynch says, the court sides with liberal elite opinion. For example, when the Supreme Court knocked out the death penalty in the 1960s, it was just siding with a liberal elite minority. The majority favored the death penalty, and the Constitution approves of it in several places. Wednesday, Sep 15, 2004
The LA Times agrees that the CBS memos are faked, but it cannot resist an assortment of cheap shots at Bush. Eg, it says: Bush gave a smirky speech Tuesday to the National Guard Assn., waxing on about the patriotic sacrifices of the Guard's men and women over the years. All of that is true, but not about him.What does that mean? G.W. Bush served honorably for 4 years in the National Guard. There is some question about how he was excused from some duties during his 5th year, as there is some question about how Kerry was excused from his duties after serving 4 months in Vietnam. But there is no question that Bush flew F-102 fighter planes in the Texas National Guard. The LA Times has another story on the CBS memos today, reporting that Killian's secretary says that the memos are forgeries. But the story tries to put an anti-Bush spin on it by using the headline, "Ex-Guard Typist Recalls Memos Criticizing Bush". Another LA Times story today has the headline, Rather Rides Out Latest Partisan Storm. No, Dan Rather is not riding out the storm. This is the end of his career. He will never be taken seriously again. He has executed a partisan political hoax of the highest order, and he has been caught. For proof that they are fake, see the blogs, such as Peter Duncan. Chris writes: He received preferential treatment to be able to enlist. He enlisted for a six year term. There is no documentary record for his being excused for any of his fifth or sixth year. In fact the written record from the time is quite clear. He failed to meet his commitment. He was removed form flight service because he missed a flight physical he was ordered to complete. There is some evidence that he would have failed the physical but he failed to follow a direct order to complete the physical.GW Bush was excused from his commitment when the Vietnam War ended, and 1000s of others were also being excused from their commitments. He was trained to fly F-102 fighter planes, but those were being phased out, and he wasn't needed anymore. John Kerry was similar excused from his commitments. He was allowed to leave Vietnam after a mere 4 months, because he had 3 phony Purple Hearts. He was excused from additional commitments in 1970 so that he could run for Congress. If you want to make the case that GW Bush benefitted in life from the accomplishments and political connections of his father, then I agree with you. He never would have become President otherwise. Whether he got preferential treatment getting into the National Guard or Harvard, I don't know and I don't care. The Bush-haters at CBS News spent 4 years digging for dirt on Bush's military service, and the best smear that they could find was 4 forged memos. Kerry is crazy to base his presidential campaign on comparing Bush's military service record to his own. Bush served his country honorably, and went on to do bigger and better things. Kerry was a disgrace to his country during the Vietnam War, and hasn't accomplished much since. On election day, I believe that more people will vote against Kerry because of his Vietnam record, than those who vote for him because of that record. Chris responds: There is no way you can characterize John Kerry’s purple hearts, as well as his other medals, as “phony” without casting into doubt every medal awarded in Vietnam.Other vets with Purple Hearts needed more than a band-aid. Kerry never spent a day in the hospital, and got those awards based on his own self-serving and dishonest accounts. See the Swift Boat Vets for more info. Chris responds: Strange how otherwise intelligent people will listen to total crap and in the light of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” believe it.If Kerry's testimony is taken seriously, then those Vietnam Vets are mostly war criminals anyway. If you don't believe the Swift Boat Vets, then try his treating physician, or his commanding officer: "He had a little scratch on his forearm, and he was holding a piece of shrapnel," recalled Kerry's commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Grant Hibbard. "People in the office were saying, `I don't think we got any fire,' and there is a guy holding a little piece of shrapnel in his palm." Hibbard said he couldn't be certain whether Kerry actually came under fire on Dec. 2, 1968, the date in questionand that is why he said he asked Kerry questions about the matter.Normally, I'd ignore what happened 35 years ago, except that the Kerry campaign treats it as his main qualification for Presidency. Kerry brags about his Vietnam experience, but refuses to answer any questions about what really happened. Bob writes: It is amazing that anyone can be so blinded by hatred and partisanship that they will accept forged documents as evidence and accuse the eye witnesses of lying. Bush signed a form 180 releasing all of his military records, Kerry has not. If Kerry signed the form 180 we might be able falsify or validate the swift boat veterans claims.Chris writes: Where in anything I have said am I referring to the recently released memos?According to this Wash Times story, Kerry claims to have released all of his records, but has not signed a Form 180 for official release of records. Bush has. Bob responds: Thurlow adequately rebutted the charges in the Washington Post story. Thurlow said,I don't get Chris's argument that challenging Kerry's awards means that "all medals awarded in the Vietnam war are completely suspect". If Kerry's Vietnam testimony is taken at face value, then not only are all medals suspect, but all those who served in Vietnam are suspected war criminals."I am convinced that the language used in my citation for a Bronze Star was language taken directly from John Kerry's report which falsely described the action on the Bay Hap River as action that saw small arms fire and automatic weapons fire from both banks of the river.Thurlow is corroborated by other eye witnesses and lack of battle damage reports. Chris responds: Thurlow’s Bronze Star was awarded for the same action for which Kerry received a Bronze Star. If, as he now describes it was a benign rescue action of a boat that struck a mine it means that he is not worthy of the decoration he received since it was awarded for the same action and clearly describes all of the boats receiving fire from both shores. Are we now going to question every medal awarded in Vietnam. Certainly if we accept the Swift Boat Vet’s claims Kerry is not eligible for any of his awards. It seems to me that if the system was that bad in Kerry’s case it is quite reasonable to assume that the majority of other awards are equally suspect.Nothing here involves any Republican slime machine. The Swift Boat Vets have hated John Kerry since the 1970s for reasons that have nothing to do with partisan politics. Dan Rather's libelous attacks on G.W. Bush was exposed by nonpartisan bloggers. There is a Democrat slime machine that includes Dan Rather, CBS News, Michael Moore, MoveOn.org, and many others. They spread deliberate vicious lies. When exposed, they say that the evidence is faked but accurate. It is not accurate. Dan Rather should be facing a criminal investigation right now. I believe that it is a crime to forge govt documents, and Rather continues to lie about the authenticity of the letters. It has been the central John Kerry campaign strategy to win the election by showing that Kerry's military service was somehow superior to Bush's. I don't think that the Republicans ever wanted to open that issue, because nearly everyone knew Kerry was a war hero, and assumed that Bush received privileges by virtue of his father's name. But now that Kerry has made an issue out of it, lets look at it. Bush has released his records, and they include 4 years of distinguished service and an honorable discharge. The evidence against him consists of forged memos. As for Kerry, forget what the Republicans say. I don't even know what they say. Just listen to Kerry. He changes his story repeatedly. I cannot even tell whether he is proud of those medals, or if he is embarrassed by them. Did he want America or N. Vietnam to win the war? He talks about his Vietnam service in all his speeches, but he refuses to answer any questions about it. Does he think that the American soldiers were all war criminals or not? I can understand why the Swift Boat Vets despise him. Bob writes: If Kerry deserves his medals because they were properly approved regardless of what he did to earn them, then why doesn't Bush deserve his properly approved honorable discharge from the ANG?Chris writes: Doesn't this directly corroborate my statement that all medals awarded in the Vietnam War are now suspect?No matter whom I believe, it does appear that some medals were handed out cheaply in Vietnam. Chris sends this "forgeries yet ... accurate" letter. The letter has some other canards about Bush, such as an unsupported accusation from a Kerry fund-raiser with a crooked past. See this story. I think that all the coverage of Bush's National Guard service will help him, because he actually performed much better than most people think. Explaining Bush quotes Mike thinks that he has proof that Bush is irrational, and challenges me to find context for this quote: I mean, there needs to be a wholesale effort against racial profiling, which is illiterate children.That is an easy one. The context was the Oct 11, 2000 Presidential debate. The comment makes perfect sense in context. Bush was complaining about racial minorities not being taught to read properly in the public schools. He followed up with the No Child Left Behind law. Tuesday, Sep 14, 2004
Supremacist judges may raise school taxes John writes: Andy did a good job rounding up the new wave of supremacist litigation over school funding. Good catch about the Bill Gates law firm.Andy writes: According to John's articles, the price tag of this latest example of judicial supremacy does appear to be in the "billions" in many cases. For example, this is from CNN's story:I think that a column on this subject is in the works.In New York, a State Supreme Court judge has ordered the state to revamp its funding system and come up with an additional $4 billion to $10 billion in school aid over the next three to five years. The judge on Aug. 3 named a panel of special 'referees' to come up with a plan. Smart people support Kerry Andy writes: Roger quoted the Daily Princetonian as saying, "To computer science professor Andrew Appel, who has given $4,000 to Kerry this year, the imbalance is not unexpected. 'Does it surprise me that smart people should be supporting Kerry?' Appel said. 'No.'"John replies: A bestselling book about 10 years ago was entitled "Smart Women, Foolish Choices"I've listened to academic types tell me about their support for John Kerry, and for the most part, they give arguments that don't make any sense. They cite arguments that are too stupid for even Michael Moore. Eg, they'll say that Bush lies and he is against same-sex marriage. When I point out that Kerry says that he is also against same-sex marriage, then they say that Kerry is just saying that to get elected. These academics are certainly smart in some ways, but they also lack basic critical thinking skills. Volokh's blog points out that, on average, Republicans have more years of education that Democrats. Yes, there is no doubt that the Democrats are better at attracting low-IQ voters. The question is how they attract well-educated voters. Mike, who has a Ph.D. in Math, cites this MSNBC story: In June 2003, Mahmoud Abbas, then the Palestinian prime minister, said that in a conversation with Bush, the president told him: "God told me to strike at al-Qaida, and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did."Mike writes: There are only two possible explanations for this: the man is stupid, or the man is insane. Frankly, I think he displays more than a little of each characteristic.I think that it is a little disturbing that Mike would cite an anti-American terrorist crackpot for his info on Pres. Bush. Here is more about Abbas: Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), the number 2 official in the PLO and architect of the Oslo Accords, authored and has refused to retract a book claiming that "the Zionist movement was a partner in the slaughter of the Jews." The book is entitled The Other Side: The Secret Relationship Between Nazism and the Zionist Movement. The book also claims that the Nazis may have really killed less than one million Jews. (Jerusalem Post, Jan. 26,1995)Mike sent his 2nd source, an article about the the Amish: A member of the group told Bush that since most Amish do not vote, they would pray for him instead.Most American presidents have said similar things. If Kerry is elected, it is a good bet that he will say that he relies on his faith in God to do his job. Mike also forwards this Bush quote: I also have this belief, strong belief, that freedom is not this country's gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty's gift to every man and woman in this world. And as the greatest power on the face of the Earth, we have an obligation to help the spread of freedom.Mike may be interested to know that all 42 Presidents acknowledged God in their addresses upon assuming office. Sunday, Sep 12, 2004
Utah banning Santa Claus Currently, Utah allows Santa Claus an exception in its aviation code, but it is now considering changing the law. Santa won't be able to fly low over Salt Lake City. Did all life evolve from a single cell? A NY Times Science news story says: Scientists analyzing the genomes of microbes believe that they have reconstructed the pivotal event that created the one-celled organism from which all animals and plants are descended, including people.It sounds fantastic, but it was really just some wildly speculative computer simulation. The article also says: In 1977, shortly after the first DNA sequences of genes became widely available, Dr. Carl R. Woese of the University of Illinois showed that all life originated from three basic types of cell, eukaryotes, bacteria and archaea, the last a kind of bacteria found in boiling geysers and around volcanic fissures in the ocean floor.I am skeptical that all 3 branches originated from a single cell. Evolutionists point to common genes as proof. But there are at least two other possibilities. One is that the genes evolved independently. We know that wings evolved independently several times, so why not genes? Second, we now know that genes can leap from one species to another. So two species could have some common genes, not because of common ancestors, but because both got the genes from the same third species. Bob writes: So, it isn't evolution if ... what? Bacteria and archaae exchange genes by fusion, phage, and just picking up DNA across their membranes and then divide to produce "offspring". Evolution occurs in bacteria and archaae even though they pass around genes through means other than sex as we think of it.Evolutionists would call it evolution no matter what happened! Bob writes, "What do you call it?" I think of Darwinian Evolution and Common Descent as two different theories. Common Descent says that all animals and plants are descended from a first one-celled organism, as described in the NY Times. I think that Common Descent is rather unlikely, based on current scientific knowledge. It certainly is not an established fact. Bob writes: You claimed that because cells swap genes between species that they may not have evolved from a common ancestor. If some of the genes of a cell of species A came from species B then species B is an "ancestor" of species A. It is possible for two species to be ancestors of each other. This does not in any way rule out the theory of a common ancestor. It makes the theory of a common ancestor more likely.This is a good example of an evolutionist changing the definitions in order to imply that the theory was correct all along. Bob replies: "You have a definition? Bring it on." Saturday, Sep 11, 2004
Study shows excellence of Bush appointments A new academic study has shown that Pres. Bush has appointed excellent judges, and that his re-election will help partially correct the left-wing bias of the federal courts in the last few decades. No, that wasn't exactly the spin they tried to put on their study, but that's what the data show. Dan Rather exposed I believe that the Dan Rather memos have now been clearly established to be fakes. But Rather is digging in his heels, and refusing to apologize. Eg, see this blog, and its links. Fox News had former CBS News executive Jonathan Klein on yesterday, and he defended Rather's show (in response to questions from Tony Snow on the O'Reilly Factor): I have a lot of faith in the producer of this segment only because I worked with her for a long time, and she is absolutely peerless, I'd say, in the profession -- she is a crack journalist. She's the same producer who broke the Abu Ghraib story ...Four years!! It seems very likely that CBS News and Dan Rather knew that the memo were faked, and held up the story for maximal political damage to President G.W. Bush. My guess is that CBS News and Rather were planning on releasing the story a couple of weeks before the election, but with Bush pulling ahead in the polls based in part on negative publicity about John Kerry's service record, they felt that they had to do some immediate damage to Bush's service record. Rather has no credibility left. Yes, Fox News is a lot more fair and balanced than CBS News. Klein is the same one who said: Bloggers have no checks and balances . . . [it's] a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas. Thursday, Sep 09, 2004
Republican Platform attacks judicial supremacy The good news is that the Republican Platform adopted by the Republican National Convention in New York City last week really faces up to the problem of the judges. Here is a direct quote from the Republican Platform in the section where it upholds marriage as the union of man and woman: President Bush said, `We will not stand for judges who undermine democracy by legislating from the bench and try to remake America by court order.' The Republican House of Representatives responded to this challenge by passing H.R. 3313, a bill to withdraw jurisdiction from the federal courts over the Defense of Marriage Act. We urge Congress to use its Article III power to enact this into law so that activist federal judges cannot force 49 other states to approve and recognize Massachusetts' attempt to redefine marriage.Here is another direct quote from the Republican Platform where it recognizes that the problem is exactly what I've been saying -- "judicial supremacy" -- and that we must stop this usurpation of power by the judges: The Pledge of Allegiance has already been invalidated by the courts once, and the Supreme Court's ruling has left the Pledge in danger of being struck down again -- not because the American people have rejected it and the values that it embodies, but because a handful of activist judges threaten to overturn common sense and tradition. And while the vast majority of Americans support a ban on partial-birth abortion, this brutal and violent practice will likely continue by judicial fiat. We believe that the self-proclaimed supremacy of these judicial activists is antithetical to the democratic ideals on which our nation was founded.Then the Platform spells out the remedy: The sound principle of judicial review has turned into an intolerable presumption of judicial supremacy. A Republican Congress, working with a Republican president, will restore the separation of powers and re-establish a government of law. There are different ways to achieve that goal, such as using Article III of the Constitution to limit federal court jurisdiction; for example in instances where judges are abusing their poor by banning the use of `under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance or prohibiting depictions of the Ten Commandments, and potential actions invalidating the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).For more, read the Judicial Supremacists book. Wednesday, Sep 08, 2004
Kerry's gun photo-op was a flop The Drudge Report revealed that the shotgun John Kerry used in his pro-gun photo-op had a pistol grip stock. Kerry co-sponsored a bill last year to ban such guns. Read about it here, where there is also reference to the question about whether Kerry lawfully acquired the gun. I am not sure anyone will believe the Democratic Platform which says, "We will protect Americans' Second Amendment right to own firearms"! Meanwhile, here is GW Bush saying something silly: Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country. -- President George W. Bush, 9/6/04 Tuesday, Sep 07, 2004
So-called censored stories A left-wing group gives its list of the most censored media stories. No. 3 is Bush Administration Manipulates Science and Censors Scientists. It claims that: Twenty Nobel Prize winners have signed a letter to the President condemning the suppressing and distorting of federal science.But here is the letter, and only 12 prizewinners signed it. And the complaint is about scientists in policymaking roles, not about doing science. I commented previously here. Sunday, Sep 05, 2004
Bias at the LA Times Patterico's Pontifications ridicules pro-Democrat bias at the LA Times. When Kerry failed to get a bounce from the Democrat Convention, they attributed it to a lack of swing voters. Now read how they explain the latest polls. Ever since the Swift Boat Vets launched their attack about 5 weeks ago, Kerry has refused all questions from reporters. Kerry is turning out to be a worse candidate than Gore, and possibly as bad as Dukakis. Saturday, Sep 04, 2004
How Bush remade the party John sends this David Brooks column, and writes: How Bush remade the party of Gingrich, Reagan, Goldwater and Taft into the party of Hamilton, Clay, Lincoln, and T.Roosevelt. Dumb letter of the day The Si Valley Mercury News has this dopey letter today: I am distressed by the effectiveness of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads. It is causing me to lose faith in our democracy. Something must be done.She must have a very strange faith in democracy. The judges would have to first consider banning Fahrenheit 9/11. The Swift Vets' book, Unfit for Command, is now No. 1 on both the Amazon and NY Times best sellers lists. Does she want to ban that book also? Japanese-American whiners On Eric L. Muller's blog, liberal japonicus writes: Roger, you wrote: "It is axiomatic that if the alleged victim testifies that no crime occurred, and there is no other witness or physical evidence, then the defendant should go free"The Japanese-Americans were not being punished; they were being temporarily relocated for the good of the country and for themselves. I'll tell you what bugs me about the Japanese-American whining. During WWII, my father was drafted and shipped off to war. He had no choice. So were his brothers and friends. My mother was put to work in an ammunition factory. My grandparents needed ration stamps to buy food and necessities. They were all American citizens. Millions of Americans suffered far worse during WWII. They were killed in battle, or crippled, or had their lives ruined. Most Americans suffered hardships (as did most of the rest of the world). And yet I have never heard any of them complain about it! The only complaints I hear are from Japanese-Americans and their liberal sympathizers. From what I have read, the Japanese-Americans were treated quite well, and have been compensated 4 times. Why aren't they willing to accept this minor sacrifice, when others accepted much greater sacrifices to help win WWII? I accept the argument that the relocation was not a military necessity, and that, in hindsight, it may have been a mistake. But so what? Most war-time decisions are not made out of military necessity. Our leaders made 100s of decisions every day, and some of those resulted in 1000s of deaths. Some were mistakes. Most were not necessary. Michelle Malkin has done an excellent service by documenting the military rationale for the relocation. It was not just pure racism, as our schoolchildren are taught. The Japanese internment continues to be cited today in political discussions about racial profiling, Guantanamo, etc., as if there were a universal consensus that the internment was evil. Malkin must have realized that some people would hate her for writing such a political incorrect book. The book exposes facts that undermine their favorite arguments. Friday, Sep 03, 2004
Vaccine update Kildare, over on the IsThatLegal blog, writes: Malkin is touting your blog for its supposed insight on vaccination policy. I see your musings on the subject have not been updated in TWO years. In addition, Malkin is linking a speech critical of vaccination policy on your site. A speech from a Stanford prof. who has been DEAD FOR FOUR YEARS.I guess this anonymous poster also thinks that a degree is necessary to have an opinion. For the record, I have a Ph.D., not an M.D. I haven't updated the vaccine pages because the subject is no longer a pressing concern for me. When I skipped the scheduled vaccines for my kids, I did a lot of research on the subject in order to try to be sure that I was doing the right thing. Now, most of the vaccines (that I was complaining about) have been taken off the market because of safety concerns. So for me, the case is closed. Republican platform opposes judicial supremacy Recognizing that judges are trying to replace self-government by "we the people" with the Rule of Supremacist Judges, the Republican Platform states: The sound principle of judicial review has turned into an intolerable presumption of judicial supremacy. A Republican Congress, working with a Republican president, will restore the separation of powers and re-establish a government of law. There are different ways to achieve that goal, such as using Article III of the Constitution to limit federal court jurisdiction; for example, in instances where judges are abusing their power by banning the use of `under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance or prohibiting depictions of the Ten Commandments, and potential actions invalidating the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Bush accepts About the courts, G.W. Bush said in his acceptance speech: And we must protect small-business owners and workers from the explosion of frivolous lawsuits that threaten jobs across our country. ...Kerry's lame response to the Republican speeches was to whine about how V.P. Cheney was not drafted during the Vietnam War. Kerry needs to learn that his Vietnam War experience is a net loser for him. He faked his medals and ribbons, he lied about his 4-month experience in Vietnam, he admitted to war crimes, and he disgraced his fellow soldiers. I'd rather vote for someone who never fought. Wednesday, Sep 01, 2004
Defending the internment A silly law prof, Eric L. Muller, is on the warpath against Michelle Malkin for defending the WWII Japanese internment. Her main point is that decrypted Japanese communications (code-named "MAGIC") and other considerations provided a military basis for the decision. It wasn't just racism. Now Muller and some other nitwits are lobbying to have Malkin blackballed from radio and TV because she is not a professional historian! Muller himself is just a lawyer with no doctoral degree or relevant credentials. He seems to think that Malkin conceded that she was wrong when she said: Eric points out that once the decision was made to evacuate ethnic Japanese from the West Coast, many ancillary decisions were made -- and MAGIC doesn't explain all or even most of them. True, but beside the point. My book focuses primarily on the policies formed in early spring 1942, when the decision was made to evacuate all ethnic Japanese from the West Coast.I say Malkin won that argument. Liberals like to cite the Japanese internment in order to argue against racial profiling, but they cannot even get their facts right. Update: Muller defends himself here. He also complains that Malkin's book is selling very well and she is getting a lot of TV and radio interviews, while his book is not selling and he cannot get equal time on TV and radio. I think that the problem is that Muller has nothing new or different to say; he is just reciting the same myths that already permeate the textbooks. Update: Muller keeps complaining. This time, he claims to have a smoking gun by evidence that FDR told Canada that the Japanese were foolish in thinking that the early 1942 attacks on the Pacific Coast would be effective. But FDR does not say anything about whether future attacks might be effective, or whether the existing security measures were necessary to blunt the effectiveness of possible attacks. Update: Muller is now making Nazi analogies, as predicted by Godwin's Law. Bush v Kerry polls An excellent site summarizing presidential election polls is www.electoral-vote.com. It now shows the red states jumping into a lead for Bush. It is possible that Kerry will only win a few states in the Northeast and West coast, plus Illinois where the Republican party has been decimated by scandal. |