by PunditGuy | Oct 31, 2005 | General |
Yeah, this place has been lame lately. I’ve had a lot of real life things happen over the past week and that stuff comes first, so…that’s the reason. Thanks for sticking around though, and for coming back often to see if I’ve posted anything. I know who you are, and I appreciate you all.
Here’s hoping that things get normal again…soon. 🙂
by PunditGuy | Oct 31, 2005 | General |
Have you regretted posing for a picture and then having that picture publicized in some way? Of course you have…everyone has. It can be an uncomfortable thing. Just ask Samuel Alito’s daughter. Her face says it all.
by PunditGuy | Oct 31, 2005 | General |
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced today that he won’t seek out a third term, but…
…he vowed not to allow “destabilization” in Russia following the vote, leaving the door open for drastic action in the event of a crisis.
In an interview with Dutch media on the eve of a visit to the Netherlands, Putin reiterated that he opposes changing the constitution to prolong his time in power _ a possibility that has been widely discussed because his popularity and control over parliament.
But Putin said that the 2008 presidential election will be a “serious, difficult test for Russia” and stressed that full power and responsibility for the fate of the country will remain in his hands until the new president is sworn in.
“I will not allow any destabilization in Russia, in the interests of the … peoples of the Russian Federation,” Putin said in the interview with Dutch Broadcaster Network and financial newspaper NRC Handelsblad.
I don’t think Putin will go that easy, so it’s likely that this announcement is intended to quiet the grumbling among political opponents and others who remain leery of the president’s plans. It has only been 14 years since the fall of Communism in Russia, and many are worried that a modified version of it is taking shape at the hands of Putin. If any suspicions were eased by his initial statement, they were not completely eliminated, as Putin attached the following caveat:
Putin has repeatedly said he opposes changing the constitution to remain in power _ without strictly ruling it out _ and has also hinted vaguely of a continuing role for himself and said he will try to groom a successor.
“Of course, I am not indifferent about whose hands the country that I have dedicated my whole life to ends up in,” Putin said. “But if every new head of state who comes to power changes the constitution as he sees fit, soon there will be nothing left of this state.”
The world will be watching.
by PunditGuy | Oct 31, 2005 | General |
Bush wasted no time in announcing his new (Post-Harriet) choice to replace Sandra Day O’Connor. His nominee is Samuel A. Alito, a judge with “more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years.”
Alito, 55, serves on the Philadelphia-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, where his record on abortion rights and church-state issues has been widely applauded by conservatives and criticized by liberals.
Alito, appointed to the appeals court in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush, has been a regular for years on the White House’s short list for the high court. He was also among those proposed by conservative intellectuals as an alternative to Harriet Miers, the White House counsel who withdrew as the nominee last week.
And so, we start this ugly process all over again. More posturing, more pontificating, more alarm-raising, more false indignation, more ‘over my dead body’ threatening, more ‘I’ll chain myself to the fence’ announcing…more everything.
Bring it on.
Alito Profile
Beltway Reaction
Bloggers: Michelle Malkin | Matt Margolis | ACSBlog | Captain’s Quarters | Myoptic Zeal | PoliPundit | John Hawkins | Hugh Hewitt | Don Surber | Ann Althouse |
Blogs: Outside the Beltway | Gateway Pundit | Sister Toldjah | ProfessorBainbridge.com | SCOTUSblog | RedState.org |
MSM: New York Times | CNN | Ron Fournier | Fox News | ABC News | Catholic News Service | MSNBC | Pravda | CBS News |
by PunditGuy | Oct 30, 2005 | General |
Headlines and Commentary for 10.30.05
AP via CNN – Chavez: Halloween part of U.S. culture of terror
President Hugo Chavez urged Venezuelan parents not to dress their children in costumes for Halloween, calling it a U.S. custom that has no place in the South American country’s cultural traditions. Speaking during his weekly radio and television show Sunday, Chavez called Halloween a “gringa,” or North American, custom.
Why haven’t we adjusted this crackpot dictator yet? For most of us, it’s about the candy, Hugo. And a simple search will reveal that Halloween isn’t an American custom.
AP – Geraldo’s Back!
Geraldo Rivera is returning to daily syndicated television, but not to the world of flying chairs, broken noses and transvestite makeovers. His news program “Geraldo at Large” debuts Monday, and the star attraction describes it as an action-oriented half-hour similar to the weekend program he was doing at Fox News Channel.
It’s a good thing my DISH Network has the ability to block programming.
WaPo – Reid Calls for Rove to Resign
The leader of the Senate Democrats today called for White House chief political strategist Karl Rove to resign, saying it’s time for President Bush to ”come clean” with the American people about the administration’s role in the disclosure of a CIA operative’s name. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), speaking on ABC’s ”This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” said both Bush and Vice President Cheney owe an apology to the American public.
Nice try Harry. Now shudupa your face.
Telegraph – Prince Charles schleppin for Islam
The Prince of Wales will try to persuade George W Bush and Americans of the merits of Islam this week because he thinks the United States has been too intolerant of the religion since September 11.
Oh, look who’s trying to be Mr. Politics. Stick with polo Chuck.
AP – Oliver Stone shoots September 11 movie in New York
The towers won’t fall again. Downtown Manhattan streets won’t be coated with ash and debris. Producers of the first Hollywood film about Sept. 11 since the 2001 attacks have begun shooting scenes in the city, but have promised to tread carefully on sensitive ground. The film’s director, Oliver Stone, won’t film thousands of New Yorkers running terrified through debris-filled streets.
Reefer madness.
Toronto Sun – Canada: Home of the beer belly
The Guinness people came to town last week to launch a new can design for their famous beer. While they were here, Guinness brewmaster Fergal Murray said he thought Canada had a “great beer culture.” … Murray wasn’t trying to insult us. But to some, those could be fighting words. Suppose a gun manufacturer … announced the city had a “great gun culture” The fact that it has doesn’t make the remark any less hurtful.
What a wuss.
WLBT – Squirrel Starts Grass Fire
Firefighters in Hinds County spent the afternoon putting out a grass fire just north of Byram. Because of recent dry weather, conditions are ideal for fires to quickly spread.
A statewide burn ban is in effect, but some of Mother Nature’s creatures are not obeying the order. The blaze broke out behind a home at the corner of Terry Road and Brookleigh Drive. The homeowners are lucky a passing motorist noticed the fire.
An Entergy lineman arrived just as the flames were being snuffed out. Within minutes he was able to find what sparked the fire.
“A little squirrel cause all that,” said Russell.
Democratic Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.) commented, “It’s Bush’s fault.”
by PunditGuy | Oct 29, 2005 | General |
Busy with family stuff, household stuff, mini-projects, etc. So, that being the case, this blog will be on the silent side today. All the news hit yesterday, so things are slow anyway. More later this evening.
UPDATE: OK, it’s 8:34 PM, and I’m whipped. So, that’s it for me today. More tomorrow. Oh, and don’t forget to set your clock back an hour. So that really means it’s 7:34 PM right now…unless you’re in the Mountain Time Zone, then it is 8:34 PM…still…like it is here…until I turn the clock back.
Glad we cleared that up.
Gah-nite.
by PunditGuy | Oct 28, 2005 | General |
If I see this word on one more Lefty blog I swear I’ll go postal.
by PunditGuy | Oct 28, 2005 | General |
It really would have been great if Denny Hastert had blogged about the indictment of Scooter Libby today, but then I guess he’d have to be a real blogger for that to happen right? As I suspected in this post from yesterday, Denny’s blog has already stopped being a blog. Today’s post is by his communication director Ron Bonjean, and it’s not really even a post, it’s a cut and paste job.
What a let down.
by PunditGuy | Oct 28, 2005 | General |
Apparently he’s been so useful that the agency has extended his contract for another 30 days. In another 30 days, they could do it again. Supposedly, he resigned from FEMA on September 12th. What a resourceful guy!
Mississippi Congressman Gene Taylor puts it this way:
“I’ve got tens of thousands of people living in two-man igloo tents tonight, and less than a quarter of the people who have asked for FEMA travel trailers have gotten them,” Taylor said. “And at the same time they can find $140,000 a year to pay this incompetent son of a gun; that’s ridiculous.”
Indeed.
