This is perhaps the funniest thing I’ve read in some time.

I lied about light blogging. I was perusing some leftist blogs and noticed an angry trend that confirms Power Line and my contentions regarding the similarities between the unreasonable client and the Democratic base. For instance

I’ve been holding off on my thoughts about Alito until I knew what was going to happen. Not like I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I wanted to believe in hope.

I’m not the only person upset tonight. I’ve visited other blogs and found quite a few that have a common thought: F$ck it, f$ck it all!!! Lots of people are quiting the party. When you have 14 Democrats without the balls to stand up, what else can you feel? Others are REALLY pissed off and ready for a take over of this party. When we can’t scare up 25 votes over a person like Alito (an unabashed racist and womanhater, not to mention what else), how can we hope that anything else can stand muster?

The few amount of gay rights we have gained over the years, like WA state getting a gay rights law passed in the last few days is already under attack, and bound to be overturned by an extremist court that only has one objective. Keep the right extremists in power.

And it goes on, and on, seething with unreasonableness. Then there’s the list of the condemned. Complete nuttiness like this

Senate set to turn our civil rights clocks back 30 years today…

not just for women and not just because of his views on abortion rights… but for gays and blacks and everyone who isn’t a pasty white bible thumping moron.

I’m not sure what happened in 1976, but it must have been big. Then there are attempts at self rationalization, “In the kingdom of the fascists, the moderate is the radical leftist.”

The base is practically demanding that the Democratic Party abandon all hopes of appealing to the majority of the electorate. The behavior of the Senate Democrats on the judiciary committee was not that of a party controlled from the reasonable center, but that of a vehicle steered by the braintrust over at MoveOn.org. In short, members of Democratic Underground have crept up from their subterranean lairs, daring sunlight, and have effectuated not only what to fight for, but how to fight for it. Their efforts have resulted in the liberal lion melting down on the Senate floor, muttering something about Judge Alito holding responsibility for children dying of asthma. And this resulted from a smear campaign that should only be reserved for the undeniably wicked.

To its credit, the Democratic leadership did step up, and managed to stop the bleeding. The fact that no filibuster materialized shows that the radical elements don’t completely control the party - yet. But the course of events demonstrates they have sway - and in primaries this year, that sway will likely be amplified.

I have a ton to do today, so blogging will likely be light. Normally when I say that I end up blogging as if my life depended upon it. As usual, we’ll see.

In the meantime, check out Les Jones’ post on potential Google logos stemming from an effort to comply with China’s (real) censorship laws.

I have a ton to do today, so blogging will likely be light. Normally when I say that I end up blogging as if my life depended upon it. As usual, we’ll see.

Those who “feel” they are being censored in the United States need to look a little outside themselves. Via the BBC

The first Russian film based on a novel by the Soviet-era dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn has been shown on Russian state television.

The First Circle (V Kruge Pervom) was written by the Nobel Prize winner more than 50 years ago.

The 10-part TV film depicts the terror of the regime of former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, describing the Soviet Union as a huge prison camp.

Solzhenitsyn returned to Russia in 1994 after spending 20 years in exile.

Solzhenitsyn can tell all those crying wolf here in America what censorship and government oppression are truly about. That is, if they’d listen.

UPDATE More real modern day censorship can be found here.

Here’s more proof that the Bush Administration is soft on corporate corruption.

Cindy Sheehan, shill for the extreme left and committed anti-Semite, appears she might run for US Senate in California. In the meantime, she’s going to do some more camping

CARACAS, Venezuela – Cindy Sheehan, the peace activist who just announced that she is weighing a run for Senate, plans to protest again outside President Bush’s Texas ranch, Venezuela’s president said Sunday with Sheehan by his side.

Hugo Chavez, his arm around Sheehan’s shoulders, told a group of activists that Sheehan had told him that during Holy Week, in April, “she is going to put up her tent again in front of Mr. Danger’s ranch.”

“She invited me to put up a tent. Maybe I’ll put up my tent also,” Chavez said, to applause from activists invited to his weekly broadcast on the final day of the leftist World Social Forum.

I wouldn’t mind terribly if she stayed in Venezuela.

Israel’s acting prime minister has clearly stated where Israel stands after the Palestinean decision to vote an anti-Semitic terrorist group into power

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s acting prime minister on Sunday ruled out contacts with a Palestinian government led by Hamas unless the Islamic group renounces violence, and the defense minister threatened to “liquidate” militants if they attack Israelis.

Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel will stop the monthly transfer of tens of millions of dollars in tax rebates and other funds to the Palestinian Authority if a Hamas government is installed.

Liquidate? I do believe that’s the highest setting. Good.

Power Line Blog has an interesting analogy regarding the weak and late behavior by some Senate Democrats regarding Alito’s nomination and the similarities we lawyers experience with bad clients

All attorneys have had them, clients who take the fun out of practicing law. One sub-species is the client with a losing case who can’t understand why you’re not cleaning the other side’s clock. In fact, some otherwise agreeable clients are like this. Recall the story about the client who asked John Roberts how he could have lost a case in the Supreme Court 9-0, to which Roberts replied “because there are only nine Justices.”

The Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have their own clients from hell — the juvenile left-wing of their party. During the Alito confirmation hearings, Senators Kennedy, Schumer, Durbin, et al. threw the kitchen sink at the nominee. They accused Alito of being unethical, of not caring about poor people and minorities, of associating himself with racists, of supporting police state tactics, etc. And most of them were full-throated about it. That none of the attacks stuck was down to reality, not lack of effort — the personal attacks were bogus and, on the substantive issues, Alito’s views were at least as close to the “mainstream” as those of his interrogators.

Of particular mention is a client a friend of mine had. The guy was charged with aggravated robbery of a convenience store. It turned out that the surveillance camera was perfectly positioned, showing the defendant angrily grabbing the clerk, waving his gun in the general direction of the camera (fittingly for Davidson County, the guy was wearing all orange at the time, too).

He refused all opportunities for a plea bargain. Naturally, the guy lost at trial. Quickly. He was fit-to-be-tied mad at his attorney, not understanding why the jury didn’t buy his side of the story. The reality that no one sensible and sober could believe his side of the story never came to him. So it goes with the Democratic base so rabidly opposed to Samuel Alito. The attacks on him didn’t stick for two reasons 1) they weren’t true, and 2) regardless of their truth, they were too over the top to be believed.

But again - hold out hope. Let there be a filibuster. Further, let Senator Frist require that the Democrats really filibuster, yellow pages and all. It would be amusing, and confirm to the public what indeed they really are all about. Too bad it looks like the votes for cloture are actually there.

Donald Sensing has an interesting post on the great role the most recent failed attempt at a US Dollar coin had on his household

When the Sacajawea coin was first issued my wife was working part time as a bank teller. The US Mint pushed the Federal Reserve hard to get the coins into circulation. The Fed pushed them to the banks. At the time, both my sons were middle schoolers and needed a couple of bucks each per day for lunch money. Despite the rejection of the American public at large for dollar coins, they were perfect for lunch money, easier for the boys to pocket than bills.

So Cathy would buy rolls of golden dollar coins and give a couple each to the boys every day. But my little capitalist sons discovered immediately that while the golden dollars were not made of real god, “there was gold in them thar dollars” that could be gleaned.

In short, my boys were the only kids who had them and a lot of other kids wanted them. So my sons started selling their lunch money coins at profit. Initially, they were getting from their class peers $1.50 per coin. After about a week the margin fell to 40 cents and afterward down, of course, to nothing.

I like it. I sold Now-and-Laters and Fireballs by the locker load in middle school and high school, but never had the chance to deal in currency.

Michael Silence likes it. Young Catherine seemed to as well this afternoon.

As everyone by now knows, Hamas is the government of choice of the Palestinean people. Jimmy Carter certified it, but shockingly even he looked a little worried on ABC this morning. Palestinean President Abbas acknowledges it, and to its credit, the civilized world stands aghast. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has promised to stop any aid due the PLA this year and prospectively. Then there’s Norway

Instead of abiding by the European Union’s list of designated terrorist organisations, Norway chose to subscribe to the much shorter list from the United Nations. Now, as I’ve said before, the UNophilia of this government is almost surreal, and as the UN hasn’t even agreed what terrorism is, its response to the global scourge has been more than lacking. More importantly, Palestinian terrorist groups, including Hamas, are not on the UN’s list of terrorist organisations. Officially, Norway no longer considers Hamas a terrorist organisation.

When Hamas surprised almost everybody, including itself, by winning the Palestinian elections, the EU clearly stated that a dialogue with the new Palestinian government required the organisation to renounce violence and accept Israel’s existence. The United States was, naturally, clear on the same issue. Even Russia agreed with this.

Norway is alone among countries that, as the expression goes, we like to be compared to, saying we should continue engaging a Hamas government. At the day of the election, I listened in near-disbelief as Sweden’s foreign minister Laila Freiwalds stating Hamas had to radically change its policies to be a partner for dialogue. Sweden has, otherwise, consistently been the most pro-Palestinian (and anti-Israel) government in Europe. Norway’s Jonas Gahr Store, on the other hand, on the same day argued that the election effectively legitimises Hamas and that Norway will continue cooperating with a Hamas-run Palestinian Authority without any preconditions. Norway’s Parliamentary president, former Labour leader Thorbjorn Jagland, also argued that we have to “accept the result of the election” and not “isolate” Hamas by not engaging it in dialogue.

I read this as I watch the United States soccer team thoroughly dominating Norway in an international friendly. Fortunately for the rest us, Norway has yet to demonstrate its relevance to the civilized world, in soccer or otherwise.

(Thanks goes to Little Green Footballs for the link).

There’s more going on in Davos, Switzerland than John Kerry prognosticating on the failed filibuster of Samuel Alito. Apparently former President Clinton is making gay marriage jokes about him and John McCain (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). Michelle Malkin has the rundown, some audio files, and lots of pictures.

RedState has a list of senators uncommitted as to Alito’s confirmation, as well as those who have recently made up their mind here.

Just wanted to pop on for a quick check-in! My first week of motherhood has been wonderful and exhausting. And, it’s fun to watch how smitten Nathan is with his daughter.

Until family members have returned to the eastern time zone and Catherine and I establish some sort of routine, I am certain that my blogging will be quite limited. But, I do look forward to being a regular contributor again very soon. Being a stay-at-home will be a more time-consuming and challenging task than advising students at MTSU, but I’m sure I will manage to find my moments to write. And, I promise the entries won’t be about diapers … well, at least not often.

Next Wednesday, President Bush will be speaking here in Nashville. I will be able to attend. Others will be attending, too, just in a different capacity, and likely not nearly as civily

The King will appear in Nashville on the morning after his State of the Union speech.

Invitations to hear Bushie speak are going out to Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and other business leaders. According to the local paper, business leaders are invited but the topic of Bushie’s speech is a secret.

The newspaper doesn’t say where or when Bushie will speak cuz it’s another secret, but the emails flooding my inbox say he’ll be at:

The Grand Ole Opry Theater (part of Opryland Hotel) at 11:50am, Wednesday Feb 1.

According to one source, Bushie will be speaking to the American Corrections Association. Could be he wants to free up some more of that vast prison space via a few more lethal injections.

Sources also say that Billy Frist will be at the regal event. You may have heard that Dr. Frist is almost as unpopular in Tennessee as Bushie.

Stay tuned for more news of the protest. It’s not a secret, so tell everyone you know!

Sign suggestions welcomed in the comments.

Obviously some people are not all that familiar with how the Secret Service operates. Ah well, I’m sure since President Bush is a “king” he will make sure that the local loons who dislike him with such passion aren’t able to assemble, protest, or otherwise make fools of themselves. Some “king” - he can’t even shut down bloggers who repeatedly disparage him.

UPDATE If you truly have nothing else to do on Wednesday, there is more information available about protesting Bush’s visit in the link above. I encourage all of you who disagree with George W. Bush to go buy some crayons, get your stilts and paper mache dragon suits out, make some pseudo-clever signs, and memorize some chants. This is your chance to do your part to affect the public policy debate regarding, well, whatever is stuck in your craw.

UPDATE Fritz has more. There is talk of meeting for lunch at the Shoney’s on Donelson Pike afterward. Maybe I’ll stop by…

FURTHER UPDATE I just noticed this on Fritz’s post

Nashville Peace and Justice Center and Nashville Peace Coalition have announced a protest against President Bush on the occasion of his talk at The Grand Old Opry, which is scheduled for 11:50 am on Wednesday. The demonstration will be from 10 to noon. Gather on public property atthe entrance to the Opryland Hotel, intersection of Briley Parkway and Music Valley Drive. This is to be an affirming, patriotic event exercising the freedom of speech we may soon lose (emphasis mine).

I certainly would like to see the proof that we’re losing our First Amendment rights.

The Challenger disaster was one of my early vivid memories. The teacher going into Space was certainly a big deal. But I was also a young space nut, with my subscription to Odyssey and partially completed Revell shuttle and Skylab models around my room. Unlike many, apparently, I was in school watching the Challenger launch live via satellite feed. Reagan’s speech after the accident was one of his best - one of the best speeches ever, in my estimation. Looking back at it now, those words and that spirit will remain timeless.

It’s simple - they have this unending procilivity for shooting themselves in the collective foot

A final vote on whether to make the conservative federal appellate judge the nation’s 110th Supreme Court justice is scheduled for Tuesday unless opponents win an uphill battle to impose a filibuster.

“The Senate has a constitutional responsibility to hold an up-or-down vote on Judge Alito’s nomination,” Bush said in his weekly radio address. “Throughout its 216-year history, the Senate has held an up-or-down vote on every Supreme Court nominee with majority Senate support.”

The president spoke as liberals led by Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, D-Mass., worked to deprive supporters of the 60 votes needed to limit debate. They faced resistance from some fellow Democrats as well as solid Republican opposition to the stalling tactic.

Unfortunately for the Democrats in the Senate, this move to filibuster is the price of consistency. If Alito truly is as bad as they have made him out to be, they have no choice but to make every effort to stop the coming shredding of the Constitution. Even if acting unconstitutionally is required in order to do so. John Kerry, though, continues to offer priceless comic relief

Kerry, defeated by Bush for the presidency in 2004, called for a filibuster Thursday while attending a world economic conference at a Swiss resort.

Asked Friday if the administration was taking Kerry’s call seriously, White House press secretary Scott McClellan chuckled and said:

“It was a pretty historic day. This was the first time ever that a senator has called for a filibuster from the slopes of Davos, Switzerland. I think even for a senator, it takes some pretty serious yodeling to call for a filibuster from a five-star ski resort in the Swiss Alps.”

It is delightfully appropriate that Senator Kerry makes a political pronouncement from a country that refuses to ever take a side on anything. The fact that he is skiing and not wind surfing is only of minor consequence. The larger point is that some Democrats, particularly those from mainstream Massachusetts such as Double Diamond Kerry, seem to feel there is a political gain to be made by filibustering a confirmable judicial nominee. Robert Byrd has pronounced support for Alito, for the sake of sanity. In total, we now have 58 votes for Alito to be confirmed, two shy of the number needed to put ice on Kennedy and Kerry’s ill-fated decision to push for a filibuster. In the meantime, I do hope they filibuster.

UPDATE

More thoughtful analysis over at RedState.

FURTHER UPDATE The Hamilton County Democratic Party blog thinks that a filibuster is a great idea, too.

Like I said - guns, feet and Democrats. Then they reload.

A petition is circulating in Williamson County to ban To Kill a Mockingbird from the public schools

BRENTWOOD — An anonymous letter arrived yesterday in the mailboxes of Brentwood Middle School parents asking them to sign a petition to have the novel To Kill a Mockingbird removed from Williamson County Schools.

The letter states, “The school has a policy against profanity although the novel contains much profanity, thus contradicting the school’s own policy.” The letter includes seven instances of “profanity” in the book, including derogatory words for women.

It also states “this book contains adult themes such as sexual intercourse, rape, incest …” It contends that the book’s use of racial slurs promotes “racial hatred, racial division, racial separation and promotes white supremacy.”

The words of the petitioner are, well, wrong. We all read the book in Eighth Grade (or there abouts) and I cannot recall a single person going out and buying a white hood and robe after the fact. What’s most entertaining though is the bravado of those seeking to get the petition signed. The return address for the petition is “TKM Petition, P.O. Box 2018, Brentwood, TN”. I’ve got a steak dinner for anyone willing to camp out at the PO Box and learn the identity, or obtain a picture, of the individual pushing this petition. This is the only lead we have

School board member Bill Peach said he doesn’t know who sent the letter but did say a board committee held a closed-door hearing “about a month ago” with a parent pertaining to the book. He would not name the parent.

“Our policy provides for any child or parent who objects to an assigned reading (to be) given an alternative reading,” he said.

Schools spokeswoman Carol Birdsong said a complaint has been filed and that the board would discuss it at its next work session.

Courage of one’s convictions this ain’t. If your threshold of personal offense includes To Kill a Mockingbird, and your 13 or 14 year old is this sheltered, life must be nearly unbearable on a daily basis for both of you. How sad.