Year: 2006

OK, so they’re not all shrill moonbats.

Ben Nelson of Nebraska, a moderate voice in the U.S. Congress, on Tuesday became the first Senate Democrat to announce his support for conservative Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, who is expected to be confirmed later this month by the full Republican-led Senate.

“I have decided to vote in favor of Judge Samuel Alito,” Nelson said in a statement issued by his office.

“I came to this decision after careful consideration of his impeccable judicial credentials, the American Bar Association’s strong recommendation and his pledge that he would not bring a political agenda to the court,” Nelson said.

Arlen Specter looks to obtain the confirmation vote from the Senate sometime next week. Practically no one predicts that Alito won’t be confirmed.

Oh, this is rich.

Former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle is weighing the possibility of running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008.

“I have received a lot of encouragement,” Daschle said in an email today to the Argus Leader.

Daschle didn’t rule out the possibility of an official announcement in the near future. But for now, he said, he has no plans to run for national office.

In his email, Daschle said the primary factors in his decision “would be my family and our mutual decision to consider the rigors of a campaign and reentry into public life.”

Daschle made similar comments over the weekend to another publication. In a Saturday story in the National Journal, Daschle said he was “taking a look at” entering the race.

Analysts see the 2008 race beginning to take shape, with candidates and possible candidates from both parties hinting more openly about their plans.

Larry Sabato, a political expert at the University of Virginia, said Daschle was not in his latest rankings of likely Democratic candidates because he wasn’t convinced Daschle would run.

“I wouldn’t call him the favorite, or even second or third. But it’s early,” Sabato said.

Can you imagine how much video footage there is of Daschle that can be used against him by the Republicans? Why in the world would he want to run for the highest office in the land when he knows that every other quote made by him on ‘Meet the Press’ can be used to help the GOP remind Americans that Daschle is the KING of obstruction? How could he convince a majority of Americans that he’s the right guy for the job in 2008? Talk about a non-starter. I hope this is a one and only attempt at floating this trial balloon.

Next thing you know we’ll be hearing from Terry McAuliffe. Oooh…scary.

The Democratic Party needs new blood, as does the GOP. Trotting out the same ‘ol has beens, like Gore, Kerry, Clinton, and McCain is a mistake.

He boldly goes where no man has gone before.

An online casino has a piece of Capt. Kirk. Actor William Shatner has sold his kidney stone for $25,000, with the money going to a housing charity, it was announced Tuesday. Shatner reached agreement Monday to sell the stone to GoldenPalace.com.

“This takes organ donors to a new height, to a new low, maybe. How much is a piece of me worth?” he said in a telephone interview.

The money will go to Habitat for Humanity, which builds houses for the needy.

GoldenPalace.com low-balled Shatner, so he held out. They eventually came back and accepted his offer of $25,000.00. Way to stick it to ‘em Bill.

I can’t even imagine where this will lead, but I put out at least one prediction. In 2006, Danny Bonaduce will find some body part to auction. It’s only natural.

Mayor Ray Nagin’s comments made yesterday about  New Orleans becoming a “chocolate” city again have been met with raised eyebrows. And like any typical liberal, Nagin came out today to apologize for his statements, saying he never intended to offend anyone (video). Here’s what he said on MLK day:

“It’s time for us to rebuild New Orleans, the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans, and I don’t care what people are saying uptown wherever they are, this city will be chocolate at the end of the day.  This city will be a majority African-American city — it’s the way God wants it to be.”

Later when he was asked to explain just what he meant by the term ‘chocolate’, Nagin back-pedaled.

“Do you know anything about chocolate?  How do you make chocolate?  You take dark chocolate, you mix it with white milk and it becomes a delicious drink.”

Nagin insisted his remarks were not divisive.

“New Orleans was a chocolate city before Katrina.  It’s going to be a chocolate city after.  How is that divisive?  It’s white and black working together, coming together to make something special.”

This excuse is laughable. I for one don’t believe Ray Nagin in the least. What he said on MLK day was what he believed. Just watch him as he’s making his statement. Is this a man making an off the cuff remark? Did he immediately correct himself and explain what he meant? No, of course not. It wasn’t until the uproar became apparent that Nagin decided he needed to clarify his message. And how does he do that? By explaining how chocolate milk is made. Unbelievable.

Let’s hope and pray that the people of New Orleans (those who are left) do the right thing in April and send Ray Nagin packing. The Big Easy can do without the man.

Given the turmoil this trial has already seen, a change of venue is worth a consideration.

Iraq’s president stepped into the debate over the future of the troubled court trying Saddam Hussein on Tuesday, suggesting it be moved from Baghdad to his own Kurdish home region to improve security.

Jalal Talabani’s proposal came as a split emerged inside the court over how to choose a successor to Kurdish judge Rizgar Amin; he resigned in protest at political pressure, buffeting a trial already rocked by the killings of two defense lawyers.

“If there are judges here who will feel in danger in future, we are ready to take them to Kurdistan and they would be safe there and guarded very well,” Talabani told Reuters in Baghdad.

Ah, but it’s not that easy. The Kurds hate Saddam, and it’s unlikely that an unbiased court could be constructed in Kurdistan.

Meanwhile, efforts to get chief judge Amin to reconsider his plans to resign are falling on deaf ears.

Hopefully things will turn around soon and everyone will get back to the primary objective – serving justice upon that murderer Saddam Hussein and his thug cohorts.

Former President Gerald Ford is hospitalized in California with pneumonia-like symptoms, his office says.

UPDATE: “He’s doing very well”.

You already know about the comments made today by Al Gore and Ray Nagin, and now we have a presidential hopeful jumping into the moonbat comment ring.

Sounding a little like a preacher, a fired-up Sen. Hillary Clinton lambasted the Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event, predicting the presidency “will go down in history as one of the worst” and saying the House of Representatives is run like a “plantation” where dissenting voices are squelched.

“When you look at the way the House of Representatives has been run, it has been run like a plantation, and you know what I’m talking about,” Clinton, D-N.Y., told the crowd at the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem. “It has been run in a way so that nobody with a contrary view has had a chance to present legislation, to make an argument, to be heard.”

Talk about a double standard. I’m always amazed that Democrats, either white or black, can make racists statements but when a Republican makes comparisons like the one Hillary made they’re immediately branded as if they’re a card carrying member of the KKK.

You’d think so.

In addition to telling a crowd that New Orleans would be “Chocolate” again (no, I’m not kidding, he really did say it – see the video), New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin now claims to know how God thinks.

Nagin: God mad at America, but also at blacks

Mayor Ray Nagin suggested that recent destruction from hurricanes Katrina, Rita and other natural disasters is a sign that “God is mad at America,” and also mad at black communities for tearing themselves apart with violence and divisive politics.

“Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it’s destroyed and put stress on this country,” Nagin said as he and other city leaders commemorated Martin Luther King Day. “Surely he doesn’t approve of us being in Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America also. We’re not taking care of ourselves.”

You just couldn’t help throwing in that reference to Iraq now could you Ray. Oh, and I see you’ve been “talking” with Martin Luther King too. Well, OK, Martin Luther King’s ghost.

Joking that he may appear to have “post-Katrina stress disorder,” Nagin, who is black, talked of an imaginary conversation with the late civil rights leader. They “talked,” he said, while he was thinking Monday about what to say at the ceremony outside City Hall to kick off a walking parade in King’s honor.

“I said, ‘What is it going to take for us to move on and live your dream and make it a reality?’ He said, ‘I don’t think that we need to pay attention any more as much about other folks and racists on the other side.’ He said, ‘The thing we need to focus on as a community — black folks I’m talking about — is ourselves.'”

Nice try Ray. You’ve fallen and can’t get up.

If you believe the poll data from AP—Ipsos, you’d think so. Just under a fourth of the population said they planned to commemorate King’s birthday on Monday. A solid majority of blacks, 60 percent, said they would be involved.

Among the findings:

• Blacks are more likely than whites to commemorate Martin Luther King’s birthday
• Three-fourths of Americans say there has been significant progress toward equality, but only 66 percent of blacks feel that way
• Fewer than one in six whites, 15 percent, planned to commemorate the day
• Three-fourths of those polled say King should be honored with a federal holiday

All 50 states gradually recognized a King holiday, but only one-third of businesses offer a paid holiday today.

In a ‘pot calling the kettle black’ moment, this poll makes about as much sense as the following polls:

• Christians are more likely than Jews to commemorate Jesus’s birthday, an AP-Ipsos poll found
• Muslims are more likely than Christians to celebrate Ramadan, an AP-Ipsos poll found
• Republicans are more likely than Democrats to support President Bush, an AP-Ipsos poll found
• Non-vegetarians are more likely than vegans to eat pizza, an AP-Ipsos poll found
• Gay males are more likely than lesbians to prefer sexual relations with men, an AP-Ipsos poll found
• People who breathe oxygen are more likely than dead people to live, an AP-Ipsos poll found

Someone over at the Associated Press was obviously trying to be funny by letting this headline get through editorial.

‘Bush Marks MLK Day With Gospel Performance’

Gee, I wonder – what songs did Mr. Bush perform? Swing Low, Sweet Chariot?