Alphecca notes some additional amendments that will be on the ballot for a new concealed carry provision in Wisconsin. The additional bill would make it a misdemeanor if an officer drew his weapon on a citizen simply because he possesses a concealed carry permit

First, it is entirely proper that when a cop runs a check on someone that he be informed if the person has a CCW permit. I still maintain, though, that it shouldn’t have been the “deal breaker” because cops should always assume that someone is armed.

I do like the bit about punishing cops who intentionally draw their weapons on someone simply because the person stopped has a CCW. Still, a cop can claim anything he wants to get around the charge. Pretty much any jury will buy any excuse a cop gives for abusive or threatening treatment of someone.

If, as one person quoted in the story claims, these new amendments will make the bill “veto proof” then bring them on. Wisconsinites might soon be able to defend themselves away from home.

Unfortunately, Jeff’s right about what the cop’s will claim. I unfortunately see it on a routine basis. Most cops are good people, but with police in our society essentially exercising the power of God with a firearm, even a few acting independent of the law is damaging.

I like the spirit of the proposed Wisconsin law, but I too question whether or not it would accomplish the desired effect.

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Gary Hart offers his opinion on Iraq.

Should we kneel in awe and reverence or just laugh?

Ezra Klein notes

• Clear areas of enemy control by remaining on the offensive, killing and capturing
enemy fighters and denying them safe-haven.

• Hold areas freed from enemy control by ensuring that they remain under the control
of a peaceful Iraqi government with an adequate Iraqi security force presence.

• Build Iraqi Security Forces and the capacity of local institutions to deliver services,
advance the rule of law, and nurture civil society.

Aren’t touted as objectives but steps. The only question is, considering we’ve shown no facility at doing any of those things, what’s to say we do them now. Was all we were missing really a document counseling us to defeat the evildoers?

Well, actually we’ve shown great “facility” (wouldn’t ability be a better word?) at doing just those things. All that Bush talked about today has been going on for some time. The problem I’ve had with the president is that he has not been effectively communicating the progress that has occurred. He did that well today.

Then from ChristianLibrul

Today’s hogwash was just the first of several goerge will spew between now and December 15

What happens on December 15? Another election in Iraq. He only knows how to (give) campaign (speeches), knows nothing about governing.

Uhh, brilliant. Then The Huffington Post’s expert commentary

Midshipmen catch naps as they wait for more than an hour for U.S. President George W. Bush to deliver an address on the war in Iraq at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland November 30, 2005. Trying to counter critics of his war strategy, Bush vowed on Wednesday that U.S. forces will not cut and run from Iraq but said improvements in Iraqi security forces may clear the way for a reduction in U.S. troops.

Funny that a Democrat would note Bush wasn’t “on time” (whether this is true or not has not been confirmed) on the heels of the least-timely president in recent memory.
Paul Rieckhoff writes

First, there are still no metrics for success. Our troops must know what objective guidelines will be used to declare that a goal has been reached. They deserve to know that their road home is based on hard data and not just a subjective opinion of success.

Second, a timeline for success must be established. Whether that means one year, two years, or five years, our troops need a realistic time frame in which to achieve a well-defined mission. Without that, our Troops and their families cannot prepare to meet the obligation of our commitment to the Iraqi people.

I don’t think either of these are a realistic assessment of how wars are won, and the first alleged deficiency is duplicative of what Bush said today. The “hard data” is when Iraq is secure and free. No Excel spreadsheet of numbers can be decided upon that would effectuate anything – unless of course you list the names of all the al Qaeda fighters in Iraq and delete them one by one as we kill them, until you reach “zero”.

The time frame is open-ended. Period. If we are able to draw all the terrorists in the Middle East to Iraq to die (as it appears we are doing), it could take some time. Every day we spend doing that is worth it.

Much more liberal defeatism can be found here. Just keep scrolling.

Meanwhile, John Kerry calls for fewer troops.

Sigh.

According to some Democrats. Oliver Willis in Maryland states

George Bush is an unpopular president from coast to coast. He’s extra unpopular in Maryland, a state that went overwhelmingly for John Kerry, and has consistently voted for Democratic presidents and had Democratic senators. Michael Steele is a Bush lackey, and he wants to be the senator of our state. I don’t think so, and especially not after Steele continues to demonstrate how out of touch he is with mainstream Maryland values by hanging out with Bush and getting his endorsement. The Bush-Steele ticket is a no-go for Maryland.

Mainstream Maryland values? Once you get outside the bastions of limousine liberalism in Montgomery County and the race baiting Democrats of Prince George’s County and Baltimore City the mainstream values of Maryland become, well, overwhelmingly Republican. But what scares Democrats in Maryland most about Steele is that he is a Black Republican who doesn’t care what they think, having already been elected to statewide office with the first Republican governor in the state since Spiro Agnew. His run for US Senate in place of Paul Sarbanes, who is retiring (and who is the least offensive of the two senators representing Maryland), threatens party and racial hegemony in a state not used to seeing real options at the top. This race will certainly be one to watch – to see if Steele can win the seat, and to see how disgraceful Democratic tactics get painting him as some sort of race traitor, some of which is already happening on the Left.

MoveOn.org responds to Bush’s speech with even more adamant calls for surrender. From an email sent out minutes ago

Dear MoveOn member,

In a speech today, President Bush tried to answer the majority of Americans who believe we need to change course in Iraq. But he offered no plans to bring troops home—just flashy public relations.

Bush’s public relations push comes at a tipping point in the Iraq debate. A majority of Americans want troops home in 2006 and former supporters of the war in Congress like Rep. John P. Murtha (D-PA) agree.

Members of Congress are changing and examining their position on Iraq right now. It is critical that they hear from all of us. For the next two weeks we’re circulating a petition calling on Congress to insist on an exit strategy to bring the troops home in 2006. Will you sign? Click below.

http://political.moveon.org/iraq/

We’re planning a nation-wide round of deliveries two weeks from now, when MoveOn members will deliver local petition signatures to Congresspeople across the country. The more people who sign, the more clear the message will be: we expect Congress to act.

Members of Congress are trying to figure out whether the national concern about the war is reflected in their home district. And things are changing fast: just in the last weeks, Senators Obama, Clinton, and Biden have indicated that they’re more open to a quicker exit strategy. A strong showing of support for a plan to bring the troops home will send an important message that our representatives need to do their job.

It hasn’t always been clear over the last two years when Congressional leaders might come around on Iraq. But this might be that moment. Two thirds of Americans want a plan to bring the troops home and, as Congressman John Murtha and a growing group of military generals argue, that is the best course we have. That is why signing the petition is so important.

Two weeks ago Congressman Murtha, a long-time supporter of the war, kick-started a debate on Iraq by proposing a plan to bring our troops home from Iraq starting immediately and taking about six months. Rep. Murtha’s case is simple.

* U.S. troop presence is driving the insurgency, making things worse. Iraq can’t stabilize with U.S. troops there.
* Iraqis want us to leave—more than 80% of Iraqis in one survey.
* The war in Iraq is making America less safe—hurting our preparedness and global alliances.
* The challenges that remain in Iraq can only be resolved politically—not with the military.

We need to push our elected leaders to stand firm and insist on a real plan to bring the troops home—a responsible exit strategy with a timeline that starts now and brings the troops home in 2006.

Please sign our petition so we can deliver it to representatives before they leave for the holiday break.

http://political.moveon.org/iraq/

After you sign it please ask your friends, family and colleagues to sign.

Thanks for all you do.

–Tom, Carrie, Justin, Jennifer and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Wednesday, November 30th, 2005

It is telling that MoveOn considers a strategy focused solely on victory as “flashy public relations”. Anyone who actually listened to Bush’s speech earlier today objectively can only say it was filled with substance. Whether one agrees with what Bush proposed is another matter entirely.

The four bullet points are glittering generalities without a basis. Focus is placed on one “survey”, and MoveOn ludicrously proposes that America fight IED’s and suicide bombers with words. There is no political solution capable of results when dealing with an enemy mired in an irrational hatred, led by an increasingly smaller and smaller band of al Qaeda affiliated religious nuts. How winning in Iraq is making us less safe is also unclear. MoveOn wishes for an American defeat, and makes no representations to the contrary.

Hey guys – because of the US military presence, Iraq is not on the precipice of disaster but on the front end of a complete and functioning democratic representative government. Of course, this shouldn’t sway you. MoveOn has shown itself to never be a fan of democracy. Any time the people disagree with them in America, the election is “stolen”. Anytime they are ignored for their lunacy, they characterize it as censorship. The people of Iraq are voting in mass numbers, across all religious and demographic groups, and MoveOn wants to pursue a strategy of failure, and damn them to an existence of oppression under the worst of religious fundamentalism.

And the power vaccuum that would result if we left? Well, MoveOn can’t address that. It’s almost as if they want it. Either there isn’t a historian or political scientist among them, or they are actively desiring more danger for the West. It’s either sadism or ignorance. You choose.

UPDATE More MoveOn.org chicanery, caught employing UK troops as US troops for propaganda purposes. Oh well, so much for “going it alone”, and all that.

It’s amazing what can pile up even with working on vacation. More la$

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Eighty percent of college-bound students have yet to pick a major, and many students will change majors two or three times once they are at their chosen institute of higher learning.

Unless you are going into a specialized field such as engineering or nursing (I will argue that an Education degree is useless for those wanting to teach, so I won’t include them in this category), I don’t see how one’s undergraduate major is of any great consequence. Students of any major can apply to law school or medical school (assuming you have the needed science courses, in the case of the latter). And, how many of us are actually in a career now that precisely uses the knowledge gained from our field of study? I think I could tell one of my advisees that he lacks an hour of science for general education requirements without having my Russian Area Studies degree to back me up. Students are so concerned with picking the right major for success, when real success will depend so much more on getting job/internship experience, committing to hard work and meeting the right people.

The University of Wisconsin system has implemented a great plan to encourage students to stop hanging around the campus and graduate already! Students who go more than 30 hours (a whole year of extra work) above the needed credit hours to graduate will face doubled tuition. Chronic coeds who stick around that long are limiting spaces for new students who are ready to get started. Bravo, Wisconsin! Tell those kids to put away the hacky sacs and buckle down!

I happen to be able to sit here for a few minutes and live blog Bush’s war on terror “Plan for Victory” speech at Annapolis

UPDATE A good start, from an expectedly warm crowd. Governor Ehrlich from Maryland is present, as well as Senator John Warner.

UPDATE Bush starts by praising students at the Naval Academy for their role in winning the war. “The enemy must be defeated on every battlefield. The terrorists have made Iraq a central front…”

UPDATE A “clear strategy requires an understanding of the enemy.” He speaks of three enemies in Iraq, starting with the “rejectionists”, consisting of many Sunnis and Baathists who enjoyed the spoils of Hussein’s regime. Bush notes that most Sunnis now have formed political coalitions and are participating in the democratic process.

UPDATE The second group is “smaller but more determined”. Loyalists to Saddam (Saddamists), which seems to be a subgroup of the first group.

UPDATE The third group is “the smallest, but most lethal.” Consists of al Qaeda operatives from other countries, and who are responsible for the atrocities we see. Zarqawi (sp) is mentioned as the leader, desiring a power vaccuum to control the country.

Their desire is to create a “totalitarian Islamic empire that reaches from Indonesia to Spain.”

UPDATE The terrorists in Iraq share the same ideology as the terrorists that have attacked the United States, London, Jordan, Bali and Iraq.

UPDATE If we weren’t killing them in Iraq, they would not be idle. “We will never back down, we will never give in, and we will never accept anything less than complete victory.”

UPDATE Our strategy in Iraq is comprehensive. A free Iraqi society is our goal. Iraqi forces are assisting the effort, holding territory taken from the enemy.

UPDATE The main prong of the strategy is training Iraqi police and military, noting that Iraqis bring knowledge to the fight that we cannot. “They know who the terrorists are.”

UPDATE 80 Iraqi battalians are involved in the fight, with half of them leading where they operate.

UPDATE The message continues to be that Iraqi military are now effective in fighting for their own security. Bush uses a good quote from an Iraqi private that I was too slow to type, to the effect that the Iraqi soldier is not afraid, but only wanting to kill the terrorists.

UPDATE Forward operating bases are now under Iraqi control (over 12 so far), to include Saddam’s old digs in Tikrit, where a number of missions have been launched.

UPDATE We are also training the Iraqi army to protect against external threats. All Iraqi army recruits receive about the same amount of training as individuals in the US Army. Leadership training is also a focus. A new generation of Iraqi officers is being trained.

UPDATE Iraq has 6 police academies with 1 in Jordan, with 3500 new officers every 10 weeks. They are trained to conduct road blocks, diffuse IED’s, and function with AK-47s. Now Iraqis are training Iraqis, instead of coalition forces doing the job. There is no shortage of recruits. Fatwahs have been issued by Sunni clerics for young Iraqis to join the defense force.

UPDATE Mocks critics who say only one Iraqi battalion is independent from coalition forces. President explains that the standard the Iraqis are being held to by critics is a standard many Western armies could not meet. “They are in the fight today, and they will be in the fight for freedom tomorrow.”

UPDATERegional and base support units have been placed throughout the country. Iraq now has its own small air force. The new Iraqi navy is assisting in protecting ports. Intelligence schools have been founded. We are helping Iraq become self-supporting.

UPDATE Bush notes that some performance is uneven in some areas, but the units are getting better. Now the country takes the force seriously. He mentioned a Lt. from Richmond Hill, Georgia (where I was over Thanksgiving, near Ft. Stewart where the 3rd ID is) training Iraqi troops. They are far better trained and far better equipped than they once were. Our troops will return home to a proud nation.

UPDATE We will stay as long as necessary to complete the mission. Troop presence has been increased from 137,000 to 160,000 in preparation for the upcoming elections. We will increasingly move out of Iraqi cities and conduct fewer patrols and convoys as the Iraqi forces .

Decisions about troop levels will be based on facts on the ground, not by artifical timetables set by politicians in Washington. He quotes Joe Lieberman as saying that an aritificial timetable will discourage our troops, and the Iraqi people. Setting an artificial deadline to withdrawal sends a message of weakness to the world, and would vindicate terrorist tactics.

“America will not run in the face of car bombers and assassins as long as I am your Commander in Chief.”

UPDATE We are also helping them build a democracy worthy of sacrifice. We are 15 days away from a fully functioning constitutional government. Each vote cast sends a message – we will not be intimidated. “The future of Iraq belongs to freedom.”

(ed. this is a good speech)

UPDATE “If by stay the course, they mean we will not allow the terrorists to break our will, they’re right. ”

UPDATE To men and women in uniform, the debate over the war can be unsettling. What’s not in dispute is that the American people stand behind you. We shouldn’t fear the debate in Washington. “I will settle for nothing less than complete victory.”

Victory will come when the terrorists and Saddamists cannot threaten the Iraqi democracy.

UPDATE Mentions the prevailing of freedom over fascism in WWII. Freedom defeated communism in the Cold War. Today, these nations are allies in the war on terror. Today “the unstoppable power of freedom” will prevail over terrorism. By strengthening Iraq’s democracy, we gain an ally. This is a new generation’s call.

“Freedom is the destiny of every man, woman and child on this earth.”

UPDATE A time of war is a time of sacrifice. Corporal Starr who died in Iraq, “Others have died for my freedom, now this is my mark.” (note, if memory serves, the same fallen soldier taken out of context by the New York Times).

UPDATE Encouraging words to the cadets, before finishing up.

This was a fantastic speech. This is where Bush is good.

UPDATE TO POST Hugh Hewitt compiles a list of blogospheric reaction to the speech. Our own Bill Hobbs makes the list for his dismantling of the LA Times’ journalistic credibility.

America Unplugged
By Peter Zeihan

The presidency of George W. Bush is failing.

Love him or hate him, Bush has had the most dramatic international impact of any U.S. president in a generation. But as Bush’s fortunes ebb, his ability to control events in Washington and much further afield are fading as well. Geopolitics, like nature, abhors a vacuum, and there is no shortage of players hoping to profit from the political equivalent of U.S. self-flagellation.

American Paralysis

In August, we wrote that the United States was beginning to move “Beyond the War on Terrorism.” We argued that the United States had achieved the bulk of what it had set out to do in first containing, and then pursuing and dismantling, al Qaeda.
(more…)

Oh, how the schools have been financially abandoned! From Mayor Purcell

A request by developer Tony Giarratana for $12 million in city economic incentives for his proposed Signature Tower won a key endorsement from Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell this afternoon.

The Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency’s board will consider the request for tax-increment financing on Dec. 13. MDHA Executive Director Phil Ryan, speaking as Giarratana presented his plans for the 55-story Signature Tower to Purcell, said he expects to recommend approval to his board.

Gee – and here I thought we had to shut down schools. I’m all for downtown development, but don’t dare tell me and the rest of Nashville that our schools are destitute and without resources because of a skyscraper. Get it straight. It’s becoming more and more apparent that we have few leaders in this city.

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The apocalyptic cries of despair, tears of anguish, and pleas for mercy that have been accompanying broad sword actions taken by Metro Schools and the school board to balance the school budget in Nashville have been met with calm reasoning.

Councilwoman At-Large Carolyn Baldwin-Tucker has offered a solution in a letter and an accompanying attachment denoting what ought to be cut instead.

In a seemingly common sense manner, Councilwoman Tucker focuses on 1) new items from this year’s budget and 2) items cryptically marked as “Other Expenses.” My sources say that the school board has not yet granted her the opportunity to speak to them.

I’m glad to see the school board is taking every opportunity to make the best cuts they can.

Yeah, this worked great under the Articles of Confederation

The Tennessee Department of Revenue is encouraging online retailers to begin collecting sales tax for the state two years ahead of the deadline for them to do so.

The state delayed implementation of the streamlined sales tax initiative until 2007 after retailers complained about increased paperwork. Nevertheless, a multistate agreement to move to the system took effect in October, and retailers are being reminded of that.

“We are encouraging online retailers to collect our tax and seek amnesty from past non-collection,” Revenue Commissioner Loren L. Chumley said.

I’m still not sure whether sales tax collections on out-of-state sales are legal under commerce clause case law (yet another worthy law suit). I must be honest and reveal that I haven’t been following it closely, but I would think that such a case would certainly cross my radar. Regardless of that, the Commissioner of Revenue is asking retailers to focus their charitable efforts toward the government.

I love the State of Tennessee, and cannot imagine leaving her, but I will never, ever offer her more tax revenue than she is owed. It is not seemly for a lady of her stature to consume so much.

I never quite understood the boycott. Especially in this day and age, the market is simply too big for a handfull of perturbed consumers to make a difference worth noting. I stop shopping at places for reasons like bad service, or inferior products. But at least I get some real unemotional utility out of the decision. The anti-corporate thing is, well, silly.

For instance, we have some local bloggers protesting corporations but doing business with mom-and-pops (I’m not sure he realizes where big business comes from, but oh well). S-Town Mike notes some “Buy Nothing Day” hypocrisy. There were more but I lost the links.

This all goes back to some erroneous belief that corporations are evil. The free market is amoral, folks. It doesn’t take sides.

Today I have been drafted to help work in one of my Dad’s four stores in Oglethorpe Mall down here in Savannah. The mall is already packed, and that was before 7am. More later.

Blogged from my Treo.

We will be heading down to Savannah, Georgia to visit my family for Thanksgiving today and will not be back until Monday. I expect some downtime, so there will be blogging, but at a holiday pace.

Due to a software issue, there will not be any road blogging like there was on the last trip, but should be outfitted to do so on the way back. But, if anything exciting happens – by all means, email me and let me know.

Happy Turkey Day to all!

Mark Rogers make a good point about the recently released MTSU poll

However, there is another side to the Governor’s 52% that should give him pause. Start with the poll’s point that the Governor is viewed favorably by both parties. If one assumes that the state is roughly divided between the parties, then the Governor’s approval should be in the low to mid 50s in both parties. To win, he needs to increase his support among Democrats while limiting his loss as Republicans return home.

The Governor’s problem is that there are not many ways he can rebuild support among Democrats without endangering his Republican support. The Governor will not call for an income tax to fund more TennCare or more education spending. He won’t backtrack on workers’ comp.

I’m not sure he can do it – that is, build Democratic support without ditching sympathetic Republicans. The 2006 gubernatorial race could be interesting. Well, it could be, if we had a candidate.

A General Sessions victory – they seldom happen in criminal cases. I had a client who had a sister, who was arrested with her. As usual, the warrants used to arrest were substandard, with minimal helpful information. Unfortunately for my client, she was a near twin of her sister, which presented a peculiar ID problem. The charge was aggravated robbery, which in this case meant a robbery with the use of deadly force.

The alleged victim was of Hispanic descent, and did not speak English. The use of an interpretor in preliminary hearings is always interesting, and makes for a different and sometimes difficult dynamic. In this case, the difficulties included determining the difference between left and right. The facts as testified were that the victim was playing the piano. He left the door to the apartment open as he expected his roommates to arrive back from the store. In the meantime, a girl came in and demanded money at knife point. This girl was my client’s sister. The testimony was shaky, and difficult to understand.

The victim could not understand English, but made a positive ID in a photo lineup of my client. Irrelevantly, his two roommates, who were not present for the incident with the knife, made the same ID. The victim however was confusing right and left at the hearing, pointing at the wrong defendant. After the judge (Judge Gale Robinson, a great and fair judge here in Nashville), the DA and we defense attorneys figured out the problem (it didn’t take too long) , we eventually got things figured out. But I wanted to make it clear for the court.

At my chance for cross examination, I asked my client to stand up, pointed at her with a pen, and asked the victim if she was the one who robbed him. His answer was “no”. I asked him if he was drunk during the incident (a previous point of questioning during co-defendant’s counsel’s cross) , and he said no. The negative ID on my client stood.

A quick motion to dismiss once the hearing was concluded and my client was released. In criminal defense you lose 90% of the time, and attempt to mitigate most of the time. In this case, it was a clear win – and for the right reasons.

There are more interesting things that happen but I seldom blog about them. I think I might add those experiences as a common addition to the blog. More good stuff as it happens.

Term limits in Shelby County have been struck down. This is an interesting development and could have further impacts across the state.

As an aside, I am opposed to term limits, as it limits the will of the people. Once I read the opinion I will add more analysis.

Hat tip to Ben Cunningham for the link, who is currently guest blogging over at BillHobbs.com.

Bob Krumm takes on the NIMBY mindset of US Senators who want energy options but do not want the externalities near their constituents. His first comparison is between ANWR and off the coast of Hilton Head Island. Both South Carolina senators support drilling in Alaska and oppose it off the South Carolina coast. Bob notes this as being hypocritical – I don’t think so.

There is a key difference. One option is in the backyard of Hilton Head Island, which is full of people and has rather high property values. The costs to the local economy could be significant. The other option is drilling in the back yard of a bunch of moose and ice. I don’t think the moose would mind as much. Consequently, I don’t think this position by South Carolina’s upper house representatives fully qualifies as hypocrisy.

What is silly is Democratic opposition to drilling where animals are, whether it be Alaska or off the coast of Ossabaw Island in Georgia (though that still may be too close to Hilton Head). I haven’t seen too many studies that show critters suffer from the presence of oil rigs.

Nor is Ted Kennedy’s opposition to wind farms in Massachusetts hypocritical. Wind farms are good in the middle of nowhere. I’ve never been to one, but I understand they are quite loud. I also understand they are terribly unreliable and inefficient because of their unwanted side effects. Ted Kennedy is much more hypocritical on national security than windfarms. He’s guily more of having a bad original idea than anything.

UPDATE Harry Monroe comes down on Bob’s side. Fair enough – I still say the moose have no say. Oil and moose steak for everyone!