IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP THE PEOPLE OF GREENSBURG, KS

1) Heart to Heart International in Olathe.
Heart to Heart, 401 S. Clairborne, Suite 302, Olathe, KS 66062
Or visit www.hearttoheart.org.

2) Send donations to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund through your local chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Or visit www.redcross.org.
Groups wishing to donate items for Greensburg relief should contact the Pratt, Kan., Red Cross office at (620) 672-3651.

3) Send contributions to your local Salvation Army by marking them "Disaster Relief," visit www.salvationarmyusa.org or call 800-SAL-ARMY (800-725-2769).


I certainly understand that the people of Greensburg are the kind of people with whom I grew up in Twinsburg, Ohio - tough, resilient and utterly unafraid to deal with their own tragedy. But if nothing else, help from others of their countrymen can be a buoy for the heart - letting them know they aren't alone.

I've made my contribution - how about you?

HELL HAS DEFINITELY DEVELOPED A FROSTY ATMOSPHERE!

It must have because, for the third time in as many months, I completely agree with a column written by Susan Estrich! Unaccustomed as I am to this sensation, I think that her current column regarding a protest being lodged against a documentary by the splendid Ken Burns that is due to appear on PBS absolutely nails it!

As she puts it in this excellent column:

"The current controversy centers around Ken Burns' forthcoming film, "The War," which focuses on how the people of four American towns were affected by World War II. Famous historians everywhere have supported the project. Burns, who has created epic "poems" about everything from sports to the Civil War, seems poised once again to capture the country's imagination in a seven-part series.

Of course, I haven't seen it yet. But neither have the people protesting that PBS shouldn't support Burns or air his series because, from those four towns, none of the people who go to war are Hispanic.

I kid you not."

Granted Susan Estrich is considerably smarter than most of the netroots crowd, but when she is catching on to the insanity, could its end be far away?

SERVING SOLDIER IN NEED OF HELP FROM US

This story comes to us via Lonestar Pundit about a soldier who has having to deal with tragedy at home, all while he is protecting us by serving in Iraq. Read about this admirable young person and let's all do what we can to help.

And thanks.

THERE THEY GO AGAIN

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) has announced that she will take President George W. Bush to court if he issues a signing statement as a way of sidestepping a compromise Iraq war spending bill. Mind you, so far as I know, the bill HASN'T EVEN BEEN PUT TO A VOTE AS YET. But clearly, Mrs. Pelosi already knows that it will be unacceptable to the President. And if the silly twits know THAT, why don't they send the President a bill he CAN sign?

Mrs. Pelosi's apparent assumption is that the Senate will be complicit in whatever funding bill the House of Representatives passes, something that is by no means certain.

Mrs. Pelosi's further assumes that the President will not VETO an unacceptable spending bill once again. Unlike Mrs. Pelosi and her various enablers, Mr. Bush has been quite explicit about what he does and does not find acceptable in a funding bill. And unlike Mrs. Pelosi and her fellow travelers, he's pretty straightforward in his reactions to the unacceptable.

Finally, what is it with these Democrats? Aside from the fact that once again they are crying before they've even been "hurt" - here they go again - planning to go to the courts for that which they cannot get in the proper way! Which is strategy of doubtful efficacy.

First, a Federal court would have to grant Mrs. Pelosi and the House of Representatives "standing" and that is by no means certain. Then, in the unlikely event that "standing" was granted, they would have to show "injury in fact" - again, a difficult proposition.

Lawmakers have attempted unsuccessfully in the past to sue Presidents, but courts have rejected such suits.

Mrs. Pelosi, you dimwitted incompetent - just give the President a clean (pork free/non-deadline imposing) funding bill and he'll sign the damned thing. Doing anything else is just playing stupid games - with the lives of our military personnel. Do you honestly think that the American people are not already well aware of your nonsense?

Seditious morons!

YOUR POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS BEARING FRUIT!

NAVY GUY IS HEADING HOME!

Just wanted to share that our family’s beloved “Navy guy” is heading home from service off the coast of Iraq and we couldn’t be more pleased and proud. He may have to go back, but for now he is steaming from Perth, Australia en route to Hawaii and thence to San Diego. His mother will be waiting on the dock, accompanied by her beloved daughter-in-law, when he arrives.

Whoopee!

Clinton announces effort to revoke president's war powers
Seeks to force debate with assistance from West Virginia's Byrd
By Kathy Kiely, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton announced Thursday that she's joining forces with one of the Senate's most skilled parliamentary infighters to try to rescind President Bush's authority to wage war.

Clinton, a New York Democrat seeking her party's presidential nomination, and Sen. Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat who is the Senate's longest-serving member, said they will seek a vote to rescind the authority Congress granted Bush to use force in Iraq in October 2002. If approved, the measure would require congressional reauthorization for troops to remain in Iraq, Clinton said.

Some gal our Senator Clinton! She ought to be indicted for treason and frog-marched out of the Senate in handcuffs with that senile old goat Byrd right behind her, similarly arrayed! She’s only doing this to ingratiate herself with the leftwingnuts in a naked grab for personal political currency! What the hell, who cares if our country ends up under sharia law as long as Hillary Rodham Clinton gets what SHE wants! She is a despicable amoral crone!

(And if you think I'm CRANKY now, you should have read this BEFORE I toned it down!)

These are the kind of people to whom Senators Clinton and Byrd think we should abandon the Iraqui people.

MARK LEVIN EXPLAINS THE DIFFERENCE

Mr. Levin's brilliant monologue explainign the differences between what Conservatives believe and what Liberals believe was reprinted today for our reading pleasure. Go to the Mark Levin Fan site to read it.

FRIDAY'S MUST READ

If you haven't visited "Breath of the Beast" yet, today would be a good day to pay Yaacov a visit. His post today delivers a forthright, stinging and well-deserved smackdown to both Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi that is both delightful and totally "on point".

"ROSARY JOE" BIDEN

Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-De) is a man of many words (many, many, many words). Such is the great torrent of words emanating from Senator Biden’s mouth, that it becomes somewhat daunting to listen closely enough, often enough, to realize that the man is spouting nonsense and stupidities 99.9% of the time.

Just a few of the recent crop of moronic locutions:

On May 1st it was reported that Senator Biden issued a statement accusing President Bush of “practicing the politics of division” when he vetoed the Supplemental Funding Bill. I have a message for Senator Biden: it was NOT President Bush who tried to usurp the powers of the Legislative branch of government. It was however your gang of self-important, pontificating seditionists who have consistently attempted to usurp the powers of the Executive since the 11/06 election! In addition, President Bush was quite honest, right along, about that Supplemental Funding Bill, when he said from the very start that he WOULD veto it if it contained any kind of withdrawal deadlines or “pork barrel” spending riders – and it did, and he did. Did you expect that you could blackmail the President of the United States into signing a BAD law into effect? Or do you and your fellow cowards of the left consider it divisive when the President of the United States insists on retaining his prerogatives as Commander in Chief?

I understand you’ve pretensions of the Presidency in your future, Senator. Trust me when I tell you, no hope in hell, thanks to comments like this one: At the World Affairs Council on May 2nd, you opined that “the Democratic Party has become too timid” – which leads one to ponder what is the name of the planet on which you reside, Senator? The Democratic Party in America is comprised primarily of cynical and self-serving bullies who have done everything in their power to hand a victory to the jidhadist scum that our military has denied them for 4 years.

In another burst of verbal posturing, you’ve also been reported as saying that the Dems in Congress are going to “shove Bush’s veto down his throat” which indicates to me a distinctly disrespectful attitude toward the office of the presidency you so hunger to inhabit, an inability to COUNT since any 2nd grader knows the Dems don’t have ENOUGH votes to override a veto, and the petulance of a toddler whose binky has disappeared! You consider THIS to be presidential?

Finally, since you make great pains to let everyone who is willing (or unwilling) to listen that you are a devout Catholic, Senator, apparently overlooking the fact that you are PRO-CHOICE and that your position is in direct contradiction to the position of the Catholic Church on the subject of abortion and stem cell research. Convenient lapse in memory, sir? Or are you just a moron?

Either way, YOU, Senator Joseph Biden, are unfit to serve as a Senator from Delaware, and certainly you are completely unqualified for the Presidency. And the sooner you realize it, the sooner you will quit contributing to ear pollution and global warming from all the hot air you spew. Have you never had an unexpressed thought?!

WORTHWHILE NEW SITE

Recently, the excellent Patrick Ruffini has written about the need to use new online strategies to mobilize against the Democrat-controlled Congress. Today, he has launched WeWinTheyLose.com, a place where conservatives can sign up to keep the pressure on elected officials to stand by our troops and stand for victory in Iraq. This effort is named for Ronald Reagan's simple recipe for defeating Soviet tyranny: "We win, they lose."

The first order of business is a petition against the Democrats' shameless surrender shenanigans. Please sign the petition here: http://wewintheylose.com/?s=email

Might I suggest to Patrick that the NEXT order of business ought to be the Dems' efforts to restore the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" in their attempt to accomplish the destruction of such high profile radio broadcasters as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, our own Andrea Shea-King and others. Their pathetic "Air America" venture certainly couldn't compete in a free market, so the solution is clearly a totalitarian move to restrict the ability of conservative talk radio to survive.

Do they ever think about what it says about them that they cannot compete on a level playing field but must, instead, tilt the field strongly in their favor to even break even?

SINS OF OMISSION? OR PATENTLY OBVIOUS

PARTISAN HACKS AT WORK?

On May 1, 2007 there were two completely related stories appearing on the Internet. Neither story made it on to ANY mainstream media outlet.

Ed Lasky writes ". . .that Senator Frist was hounded by charges that he had engaged in insider trading when he sold shares of the company his family founded, Hospital Corporation of America. Media outlets slandered him with an abandon last seen, well... every day when it comes to people associated with the Bush Administration. But regardless, the charges were trumpeted up by liberal interest groups and a more than willing media." Go here to read more about it.

And in the meantime, Clarice Feldman is writing that the enormous conflict of interest of Senator Dianne Feinstein is similarly being ignored, again by a complicit media who will protect all Democrats until they are forced into not protecting them by an enormous public outcry. In this case, the ethical and conflict problems arise from Senator Feinstein’s subcommittee activities from 2001 to late 2005. Go here to read the complete story.

After reading these two stories, remember the bogus charges filed against Tom DeLay for violation of a law that didn’t even exist, which the prosecutor seems to be reluctant to bring to trial? The charges were filed several years ago, Tom DeLay has resigned from Congress but first, because the Republicans have a "caucus" rule that an indicted Committee Chairman must step down, when Tom DeLay was indicted, that's precisely what he did, even though he knew the charges were completely frivolous and politically motivated. Could it be that Tom DeLay is being “Nifonged”? The Democratic caucus does NOT have the same rule - just FYI.

Questions, I have questions. I have LOTS AND LOTS of questions. One thing I do know - this nonsense has to stop. If one caucus has a good rule (and the one the Republicans have IS a good rule), then both should adopt it. For all that Nancy Pelosi prattles on about the culture of corruption, the antics of herself and her own party's miscreants leaves her no room to open her mouth. From Rep. Pelosi's own questionable doings, to Harry Reid's land deals, to Rep. Jefferson's "cold cash", and so forth - ALL members of Congress ought to be observing the biblical admonition "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone." Truly. Now.

UPDATE: In an article today, Investor's Business Daily takes on this same situation.

HEAD ON OVER TO LIFELIKE PUNDITS . . .

Exclusive music video, interview and pictures of the Face of America Rally for the wounded soldiers that rode from Gettysburg, PA, to Washington, DC. What heroes! Aaron from LLP participated in this one.

BILL OF NON-RIGHTS

Trundle on over to Blogmeister, U.S.A. to read this one!

Brava, Ms. Pam!

THE ANCHORESS – AN APPRECIATION

Sometimes you discover a new friend when you are at one of the lowest points in your life and certainly that was the case when I discovered the blog called “The Anchoress”. My best friend’s 20 year old son had just died of a massive drug overdose (6 or 7 different illegal drugs in his system) and the grief was, to say the least, nearly overwhelming. And then I stumbled upon The Anchoress.

From the first encounter, this site has provided me with solace, pleasure, new ways to spend money (on recordings by the magnificent Bryn Terfel and the books she recommends) and the sheer joy of reading work from a first-rate mind delivered by a quality of writing that can only be described as magnificent. We have some things in common, The Anchoress and I. Our faith. Our love of good music. Our appreciation for cats. Problematic childhoods, although heaven knows mind was idyllic in comparison to hers.

From the excellent Pope Benedict (lover of cats and Mozart), to Bryn Terfel and on to discussions of some of the most reprehensible politicians in kinder terms than they deserve, The Anchoress never fails to enrich my day. If you haven’t discovered her yet, click on the link over on the left and go visit this fabulous gift to the blogsphere. She is easy (and worthwhile) to love, our Anchoress, I promise you.

HOW TO START YOUR DAY ON AN UPBEAT NOTE!

1. Open a new file in your computer.
2. Name it "Hillary Rodham Clinton"
3. Send it to the trash bin.
4. Empty the trash.
5. Your PC will ask you, "Do you really want to get rid of "Hillary Rodham Clinton?"
6. Firmly Click "Yes."
7. Feel better!

P.S Tomorrow do it with Nancy Pelosi or John Murtha or Harry Reid.

I felt so much better after I did it!

IF YOU READ ONLY ONE THING TODAY OR TOMORROW

You need to read this brilliant piece of THINKING and WRITING at Breath of the Beast. This recently-discovered site is ALWAYS provocative and always interesting! And the writing is first-rate all the time.

THIS PROTEST OUGHT TO CREATE AN ENORMOUS BACKLASH!

Immigration Protests Begin Across U.S. to Spur Congress to Pass Reform Bill
Tuesday , May 01, 2007

LOS ANGELES — Fox News
With millions of illegal immigrants taking to the nation's streets Tuesday to demand a path to citizenship, Los Angeles and other major cities are bracing for rally gridlock.

Demonstrators hope the marches will push Congress to answer their calls for action for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants currently living in the United States before the presidential primary season.

Nothing is more sure to make legal American citizens furious than the sight of people who BROKE THE LAW to come here, BROKE THE LAW to get identification papers, driver’s licenses, jobs and housing, BROKE THE LAW to get free medical care that AMERICAN CITIZENS cannot afford while stretching funds for indigent medical care past the breaking point, not to mention the criminals who have surreptitiously entered our country and then committed outrageous crimes against AMERICAN CITIZENS, marching through the streets DEMANDING that we reward their breaking of our nation's laws with PRIVILEGE.

If you are looking for the definition of the Yiddish word "chutzpah" - this is it!

UPDATE: Then there's this 11 year old girl who took a different approach.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

• Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan Castro Wannabe, is nationalizing the oil industry there, as we speak. Of course, the oil fields produce a type of crude oil that requires special equipment and expertise to refine. Chavez has neither the infrastructure nor the personnel to accomplish this. Perhaps we should institute a "Shoot Yourself in Your Own Foot" award for dictators?
  
  
• The Group of 88 STILL believes that they did nothing wrong in their premature lynching of Collin Finnerty, Reade Seligmann and David Evans - who, it turns out, were absolutely INNOCENT because NOTHING HAPPENED. These cretins almost make Cindy Sheehan look sane!
  
  
• George Tenet is running around milking another 15 minutes of fame. Those who have already read (and analyzed) his new book express serious doubts about his veracity! NOTE Christopher Hitchens references it as: A Loser's History - George Tenet's sniveling, self-justifying new book is a disgrace. But Hitchens - what do you REALLY think?
  
  
• Tony Snow is back. YAY!