The Law

00Publius Contributor - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

NC Attny Gen Employee Nailed in Drug Bust… Democrat or Not?

February 20, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Here is a story that is fairly recent and it is perfect for our ongoing game of “Democrat or Not.” Apparently one Susan Freeman of the North Carolina Attorney General’s office has been hauled in after a routine traffic stop by police in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She wasn’t driving on an expired license, didn’t even have a broken tail light. But she did have $150,000 in illegal drugs — 31 pounds of marijuana and one and a half pounds of cocaine — hidden in her car.

So far, I’ve seen two reports about this incident, both from TV websites. NBC 17 from Raleigh/Durham gives us an account and so does News9 of Oklahoma City. Both stories mention that this Susan Freeman works in the NC Attorney General’s office, but neither name that politician or his party.

His name happens to be Roy Cooper, Democrat of North Carolina and two term Attorney General for the state.

So, now we come to the question: who can doubt that if the NC Attorney General was a Republican, both his name AND his party would be trumpeted in every story? So far, however, this story is not being covered but by these few TV outlets.

So, as we’ve come to expect, no mention of any Party connection in a story of criminal actions by public servants when the party in question happens to be Democrat.

And there it is, today’s short and sweet edition of “Democrat or Not.”

And, as usual, it is “not.” Not as in not seeing the word Democrat mentioned, that is.

Continue reading “NC Attny Gen Employee Nailed in Drug Bust… Democrat or Not?”

00Publius Contributor - 2nd Amendment - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Media Bias - News - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - The Law

Stop School Shootings: Permit School Personnel to Carry Guns!

February 20, 2008 by

-By Don Boys, Ph.D.

Here we go again. Another school massacre in Illinois. Six people are dead and 20 others are wounded. Leftists are wringing their hands about what to do and “what to do” is rather simple: permit teachers and staff to carry guns! With that change I think the school shootings would disappear. You will note that plane hijackings have stopped since U.S. Marshals are on board. An armed school staff would be quick, inexpensive, and would not require any government involvement.

Guns are not the problem. People are, so permit good people with guns to protect other good people (students) without guns. The bad guys would not know what professor and staff might be armed. When a shooting starts, the good guy could drop the bad guy and save numerous lives. What sane person could disagree?

A Florida school board proved their insanity by firing a teacher this week for having a legal gun in his truck! The loonies have taken over the asylum.

Liberals booted God from the schools: no prayer, no Bible reading, no Ten Commandments, no speaking of Christ. (The Koran and Mohammed are permitted!) After all, kids might really take Bible teachings to heart. They may decide not to lie, steal, fornicate, rape, and kill! They might honor and obey their parents, the law, and school officials. They might become kind, gracious, fair, honest, and principled! Heavens, we can’t have that can we? After all, we demand a secular society. Well, we have it and our schools have become Ignorance Factories, sex clinics, self-esteem laboratories, and sports clubs. As well as dying fields!
Continue reading “Stop School Shootings: Permit School Personnel to Carry Guns!”

00Publius Contributor - Society/Culture - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

Scum Baggery Runs in the Family

February 6, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

You might remember the terrorist’s best friend, Lynne Stewart? She was the so-called lawyer who was convicted of collusion with terrorists in 2005 for helping Omar Abdel-Rahman to plot with other terrorists as he sat in Federal custody. She ferried secret communications between Abdul-Rahman and his terror pals on the outside while she was pretending to represent him.

Well, the AP reports that it appears that the bad apple doesn’t fall too far from the diseased tree because Stewart’s daughter has been accused of forgery now.

Brenna Stewart was arrested Monday on charges of forgery and falsifying documents she submitted for the time off, in part to attend her mother’s sentencing for helping a convicted Egyptian sheik communicate with the outside, authorities said.

Steven Reed, a spokesman for the Bronx district attorney, said Stewart, 46, faces a maximum of seven years in prison if convicted on the most serious charges.

Liars, traitors and thieves must run in this putrid family!

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Elections - Immigration/Immigrants - News - Patriotism - Race - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

Stop Illegal Immigration NOW Or Immigrants Will Soon Out Vote You

February 5, 2008 by 2 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

I have a neighbor named George. He and his family have been great neighbors. We’ve exchanged gifts, attended parties together, helped each other out from time to time with one thing or another. Our kids have been friends. I like them all. They’re really great folks.

However, all but the father and one son out of a family of six are illegal immigrants by way of Mexico.

Last year, two of their sons got caught up by immigration and sent back to Mexico. George’s wife moved back to Mexico to be with her sons. George stays here with the eldest boy and their daughter. He works hard and misses his wife. Of course, she cannot come back because she was never a legal resident and has no papers.

It’s all a terribly rotten situation for George and his family and I know that I would be highly upset were I in his situation. But, his situation is not unlike that of millions of other families that have a mixture of legal and illegal members living in the U.S.

And therein lies a problem. Yes it is a problem for them, but it is also a problem for anyone interested in stricter border control and enforcing current immigration laws or creating new ones. And it is a problem that looms larger every single day. It is a problem that is born of our own democratic system: Voting.

You see, once a Mexican national (or other immigrant) becomes a legal, voting resident he comes to have his fair, democratic say in the process. Ordinarily, it is a fine thing that a new citizen exercises his newfound duty to become a voter as a new member of our society. But, in this case, if that new voter has illegal immigrant family members, he comes to the polls with a built in prejudice against U.S. sovereignty and border control.

Continue reading “Stop Illegal Immigration NOW Or Immigrants Will Soon Out Vote You”

00Publius Contributor - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - GOP - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

AP Finally Reports Party Label Over Corruption… Guess Which Party?

February 5, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Imagine this! We get to play our favorite game twice in the same day! Yes, it’s time once again for “Democrats or Not,” where we read an MSM story about corruption in politics and try to determine which party the perp is from… because the MSM won’t tell us — usually, that is.

This is a very special edition of “Democrats or Not,” because this time we don’t have to guess which party the violator in question is from. Amazingly, unexpectedly, we have finally found a story where the AP has found the temerity to list the perp’s party affiliation. And we can thank the AP for their bravery in, “Judge Grills E-Mail-Deleting Texas DA.”

An embattled prosecutor (District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal) facing a contempt charge for deleting e-mails was grilled Friday by a federal judge who said he should have known better than to erase material he had been ordered to turn over.

An outrage, I tell you. So, what party does this dastardly, low down, sidewindin’, fourflusher belong to? Which party has the AP valiantly blown the whistle on? (my emphasis)

Since the e-mails were made public, the Republican district attorney has been forced to abort his re-election bid and has faced almost daily calls to resign, including from hundreds of protesters who crowded the courtroom Thursday after marching from his office to federal court.

And there you have it. Story after story has the AP given us where they seem to forget to mention which party their monstrous perpetrator is from. We have detailed so many of those stories here for you. Democrat after Democrat after Democrat has gone unidentified by the AP and other MSM outlets in such stories.

Continue reading “AP Finally Reports Party Label Over Corruption… Guess Which Party?”

00Publius Contributor - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

Texas Vote Fraud Charges, Were They Democrats? AP Won’t Say

February 5, 2008 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Yes, ladies and gentlemen thanks for tuning in to our next episode of “Democrats or Not?” Our favorite game where we read a story highlighting corruption, fraud, and crime by a public official or party member and then we try to guess which Party the perps are from… because the MSM won’t tell us.

Today’s tale come from the Associated Press and concerns charges laid against 4 Duval County, Texas residents who are charged with making up fake mail-in ballots during the 2006 primary. It appears that Lydia Molina, Maria “Kena” Soriano, Elva Lazo, and Maria Trigo are charged with a Class B misdemeanor for possession and handling of ballots assigned to another person.

As the AP tells us the tale:

The defendants are accused of delivering mail-in ballot applications to Duval County residents who were ineligible to vote by mail, according to the news release. Only those who are disabled, 65 or older, or expect to be out of the county during an election are eligible to vote by mail.

The news release says that once the ballots were sent to the residents and completed, the defendants allegedly retrieved them and mailed them to the registrar to be counted without identifying themselves on the carrier envelope.

Well, nasty business that. But, what do we spy is missing from this sordid little tale? Why it’s a party affiliation isn’t it?

We get no party mention in the AP story or the San Antonio Express-News report.

So, how do we find out if these nefarious vote fraud agents are demented Democrats or wascally Republicans?
Continue reading “Texas Vote Fraud Charges, Were They Democrats? AP Won’t Say”

00Publius Contributor - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Media Bias - Military - News - Patriotism - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

Berkley, California Throws Out Marines, DeMint to Revoke City’s Fed. Funding

February 1, 2008 by 4 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Fox News gives us some details of Senator Jim DeMint’s (R, S.C.) efforts to revoke Federal funding that flows into the town of Berkley, California over their recent decision to throw out military recruiters from within the confines of the city.

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., says the City of Berkeley, Calif., no longer deserves federal money.

DeMint was angered after learning that the Berkeley City Council voted this week to tell the U.S. Marine Corps to remove its recruiting station from the city’s downtown.

“This is a slap in the face to all brave service men and women and their families,” DeMint said in a prepared statement. “The First Amendment gives the City of Berkeley the right to be idiotic, but from now on they should do it with their own money.”

“If the city can’t show respect for the Marines that have fought, bled and died for their freedom, Berkeley should not be receiving special taxpayer-funded handouts,” he added.

I say that every patriotic American should support DeMint’s efforts here. On of America’s most unAmerican cities stands to lose some tall Federal cash if DeMint’s plans come to fruition.

DeMint said he will draft legislation to rescind any earmarks dedicated for the City of Berkeley in the recently passed appropriations bill — which his office tallied to value about $2.1 million. He said that any money taken back would be transferred to the Marines.

DeMint’s office provided a preliminary list of items that would be subject to his proposal:

  • $975,000 for the University of California at Berkeley, for the Matsui Center for Politics and Public Service, which may include establishing an endowment, and for cataloguing the papers of Congressman Robert Matsui.
  • $750,000 for the Berkeley/Albana ferry service.
  • $243,000 for the Chez Panisse Foundation, for a school lunch initiative to integrate lessons about wellness, sustainability and nutrition into the academic curriculum.
  • $94,000 for a Berkeley public safety interoperability program.
  • $87,000 for the Berkeley Unified School District, nutrition education program.

Excellent. If they hate the U.S.A. so much, why should they benefit from our tax dollars?

So, call your Senator and tell them to support Senator Jim DeMint’s efforts and let them know that most Americans are patriotic and love their men and women in uniform.

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - News - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Law - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Freshman KY Lawmaker’s Debate Shut Down by Union Flaks

February 1, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

First term Kentucky House member Tim Moore (R, Elizabethtown) tried to start a debate on the efficacy of Kentucky’s prevailing-wage laws last week, but union flacks on the floor of the Commonwealth’s House would have none of it. He was quickly shut down when he tried to re-visit the idea of whether or not contractors that work for the gov’t should be forced to pay union scale even if they are not a union shop.

The Herald-Leader gives us the scoop:

The prevailing-wage law requires contractors who are building government facilities and schools to pay the typical wage for similar construction work done in the region. Two years ago, when former Gov. Ernie Fletcher suggested repealing it, union workers marched on the Capitol several times.

Some Republicans, however, say the law is fiscally irresponsible and unnecessary.

So, Moore brought it up and wanted it debated. Union lovers were aghast.

So Moore decided to talk about the issue instead. But his brief floor speech was immediately met with sharp criticism, mostly from Democrats who represent union districts.

“Mostly from Democrats”… imagine that?

Continue reading “Freshman KY Lawmaker’s Debate Shut Down by Union Flaks”

00Publius Contributor - 2nd Amendment - Constitution - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Media Bias - News - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

‘Gun Violence Devastates’ Family… of Drug Dealers, Murderers and Thieves

January 29, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Once again, the faux term “gun violence” is used as if the guns themselves are causing said violence, this time in a Miami Herald story. I have to say, this story by David Ovalle is amazing for the near Olympic grade gymnastics it shows as it twists the “tragedies” of death and casualties visited upon a family in the Little Haiti neighborhood into one blamed upon guns. The story starts off trying to make the reader feel sorry for this family that has seen so many of its members killed or catastrophically wounded by firearms. But as one reads on, one finds that this family is filled with drug dealers, murderers and thieves… not much like a hapless family “devastated” by “gun violence” but more like a bunch of criminals that deserve their fate.

After a headline that whines “Gun violence devastates Little Haiti family,” we get several paragraphs about how this “devout Christian” family is being murdered one by one.

A devout Christian married 54 years, Joe Cooper presides over a family that tallies 10 children, 28 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren…But, bullet by bullet, violence is costing his family.

It all seems so horrible doesn’t it?

The story gives us the body count. Grandson Kelsnic wounded, a cousin brain-dead, grandson Deron killed, Cooper’s son-in-law murdered. What a mess. Those guns roving about Miami are a dangerous gang, huh? Those evil, evil guns must be eliminated so that this poor innocent Cooper family is spared this random horror.

But wait. Innocent?

Several paragraphs down in the story we begin to see that the Coopers are not so very innocent after all.

Continue reading “‘Gun Violence Devastates’ Family… of Drug Dealers, Murderers and Thieves”

00Publius Contributor - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

NYT: AZ Prop 300 ‘Frightening’ Away Illegal Alien Students

January 27, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The New York Times wants you to know that legislators in Arizona are mean to illegal immigrants trying to go to the state’s schools on the cheap. The Times wants you to imagine that Arizona’s new anti-illegal laws are oppressing those poor, illegal immigrant students that come into Arizona expecting to get all sorts of loans and financial breaks just because… well, just because they happen to draw a breath. The Times wants us all to tsk tsk the state of Arizona because it had the guts to finally do something about the billions of dollars lost to this flood of criminal aliens. Somehow, I don’t feel so bad, though.

With the sensational headline, “Arizona Law Takes a Toll on Nonresident Students,” the Times gives us the tale of woe of students that want to steal from Arizona’s educational system. They begin their tale with the experience of Marco Carrillo who was asked by his college counselor if he was a legal resident or not. The Times acts as if even asking this question is somehow mean-spirited or shocking.

“The very first question she asked me was whether I was a legal resident here,” said Mr. Carrillo, 20, now an electrical engineering student at Arizona State University in Tempe. “And I said, ‘Yeah, I am.’ And she said, ‘Oh good, that makes things easier.”

But, see, Mr. Carrillo IS a resident. So, what is the problem here? The problem, as the NYT sees it, apparently is that it is unseemly even to ask. But, Arizona’s new Proposition 300 requires the new focus on citizenship and the NYT is appalled by such a thing,

Such questions have become commonplace in Arizona, where voters passed a 2006 referendum, Proposition 300, that forbids college students who cannot prove they are legal residents from receiving state financial assistance.

To any real American, this seems like a sensible and good rule. If you aren’t a legal resident, why the heck should you get all sort of financial breaks to go to school in Arizona? But, the NYT seems to want to warn us about how eeevil this law is.

Continue reading “NYT: AZ Prop 300 ‘Frightening’ Away Illegal Alien Students”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Media Bias - News - President - Society/Culture - The Law

Happenings Ten Years Time Ago

January 26, 2008 by

-By Michael M. Bates

The president of the United States clenched his jaw, narrowed his eyes and wagged his finger. Glaring at the cameras, Bill Clinton ordered: “I want you to listen to me. I’m going to say this again, I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie, not a single time – never. These allegations are false. And I need to go back to work for the American people.”

It’s been ten years ago this week that Clinton made his forceful denial. A few days earlier, he’d insisted to a National Public Radio interviewer that there was absolutely no basis to allegations that either he or a minion had encouraged a witness in the Paula Jones sex harassment lawsuit to lie. “I don’t know any more about it than I’ve told you,” he said, “and any more about it really than you do, but I will cooperate.”

He was still cooperating the next day when he told reporters that the American people had a right to know what was going on. “I’d like for you to have more (information) rather than less, sooner rather than later. So we’ll work through it as quickly as we can and get all those questions out there to you.” Right.

Mrs. Clinton hastily came to her husband’s defense on national television: “The great story here for anybody willing to find it, write about it and explain it is this vast right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for president.”
Continue reading “Happenings Ten Years Time Ago”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Media Bias - News - President - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

MSM Still Pushing the ‘Impeach Bush/Cheney’ Idea

January 24, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

A recent “news” report in the News & Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina is a perfect example of a pointless story with a predictable outcome all meant for the purpose of furthering a political end — in this case to promulgate the impeachment of President Bush and VP Cheney. Staff writer Cheryl Johnston gives us a report on a “debate” that occurred in Carrboro, NC in which impeachment was the topic. The story attempts to create an air that the issue was fairly and legitimately debated, yet no one at the so-called debate was actually against impeachment. Not only were all present basically for impeachment, but the event was also staged by an impeachment advocacy group and attended solely by impeachment fans. Some, debate. Then the article claims that “Few in the audience appeared persuaded” to turn against trying to impeach Bush and Cheney as if anyone was there to actually hear a real debate and weren’t there as impeachment activists already!

Johnston’s story begins by informing us that “Michael Tomasky had a tough gig Tuesday night in Carrboro.” She is referring to long time Washington “journalist” Michael Tomasky who didn’t argue against impeachment as much as that impeachment is merely impractical. He did not argue that impeachment was wrong, just that it isn’t going to happen so why bother to worry about it all? So much for the contrary position.

Tomasky is a long time leftie writer who penned the books Left for Dead: The Life, Death, and Possible Resurrection of Progressive Politics in America as well as Hillary’s Turn: Inside Her Improbable, Victorious Senate Campaign.

For the pro impeachment position, Tomasky faced Bruce Fein who is an impeachment advocate and lawyer. Fein is also a counsel for the Ron Paul campaign and a writer for Slate Magazine.

Continue reading “MSM Still Pushing the ‘Impeach Bush/Cheney’ Idea”

00Publius Contributor - Congress - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Media Bias - Nancy Salvato - News - President - The Law

A Primary Caucus Primer

January 24, 2008 by

-By Nancy Salvato

While a great number of people do not see the value in the Electoral College (And “W” Takes the Series), it is possible an even greater number of people don’t fully comprehend how each political party selects their candidate for president. During the Iowa Caucus, after I heard several people draw a blank when asked to explain how a Caucus works, I decided it might be time to put together a primer on the nominating process.

The Republican and Democratic political parties < href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_primary>“officially nominate their candidate for President at their respective national conventions, usually held the summer before the election.” In order to win the nomination, a Democrat must win 2,025 delegates out of 4,049 possible and a Republican must win 1,191 delegates out of 2,381 possible. Leading up to the national conventions, there are a series of presidential caucuses and primary elections which take place across the nation. Traditionally, this begins with the Iowa caucus, held in early January of the presidential election year, and is quickly followed by the New Hampshire primary.

“Most [Emphasis mine] of the delegates in each party are awarded based upon election results in any given state.”

“Depending on state law and state party rules, when voters cast ballots for a candidate in a presidential caucus or primary, they may be actually voting to award delegates bound to vote for a candidate at the state or national convention or may simply be expressing an opinion that the state party is not bound to follow in selecting delegates to the national convention.” [Emphasis mine]
Continue reading “A Primary Caucus Primer”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Google - Inernet - News - Scott Cleland - Society/Culture - Technology - The Law

Net Neutrality Blocks Innovation

January 17, 2008 by

-By Scott Cleland

Why net neutrality would block cloud computing innovation; computers must prioritize/schedule apps

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that net neutrality proponents have not thought through the logical and practical implications of their call for mandating net neutrality.

Practically, net neutrality is about codifying Internet architecture design rules for the first time, which would have the real world effect of blocking, degrading, and impairing innovation towards allowing the Internet to support “cloud computing” — the future of computing according to Google, IBM and many others.

Why does net neutrality theory not work in practice?

First, net neutrality is really backward-looking, trying to take the Internet back to the dial-up/pre-broadband days when there was monopoly telecom regulation and not inter-modal broadband competition like there is today.

Second, consider net neutrality’s definition by its primary proponents:
Continue reading “Net Neutrality Blocks Innovation”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Media Bias - News - President - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

Clinton Wins ‘Popular’ Vote in NH, but Obama Won More Delegates

January 9, 2008 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is of passing interest and it brings up an amusing scenario that works to show how the left is filled with hypocrisy. Remember in 2000 when the left had ginned itself into a frenzy that Al Gore barely won the majority of the popular vote, yet lost because we don’t elect a president by popular vote? Since George Bush won the most Electoral College votes, and since that is how we really elect a president, Bush won. Now, recall how the left went mad that that Gore lost yet he got the popular vote?

So, here is the funny thing. Obama won more delegates in New Hampshire than the popular vote winer, Hillary Clinton. Check out the CNN delegate tote board and you’ll see that Hillary only ended up with 11 delegates while Obama got 12.

And now the question: Where are the leftists screaming that the woman who won the popular vote didn’t get the most delegates?

Answer: Because she has so many more delegates than the rest of the field combined, it doesn’t matter that Obama got more delegates than she in New Hampshire.

Result: the left doesn’t care about “fairness” and “democracy,” they only care about winning. If they can USE arguments of “fairness” and “democracy” to further their case, they will do so. If it doesn’t affect their case, they will ignore the issue.

00Publius Contributor - Constitution - Democrats/Leftists - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - The Law - Warner Todd Huston

CBS/WaPost Trots our Has Been McGovern: ‘Impeach Bush,’ ‘Worse Than Nixon’

January 8, 2008 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Will the MSM ever give up their quest to get Bush and Cheney impeached? Seemingly, no. And this time they have trotted out one of the biggest most, irrelevant losers in American electoral history like a performing monkey ready to sing impeachment to the MSM’s organ grinding tune. The Washington Post rolls out George McGovern to beat the impeachment drum making fools of themselves doing it. McGovern gives us all the boring, ridiculous tropes of American defeatism that the left has mired themselves in since their loss in 2000, but he adds a new one to the list when he says that Bush is “worse than Nixon.”

Not content just to let the WaPost give McGovern his platform, CBS uses McGovern’s blather as a launching pad for their own advancement of the impeachment idea.

The former Democratic nominee for president who ran against a president later driven from office under threat of impeachment, today said that impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney is “the rightful course for an American patriot.”

McGovern using the word “patriot” is nothing short of obscene.

CBS goes on to quote more from McGovern’s Washington Post editorial that he thinks “Bush and Cheney are clearly guilty of numerous impeachable offenses,” and that…

“They have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world. These are truly ‘high crimes and misdemeanors,’ to use the constitutional standard.”

Oh, brother. Can anyone take this stuff seriously? Apparently, though, CBS thought it was worthy to report on and that is even sadder than this aging relic of the failed counter culture days imagining that he is still relevant.

Continue reading “CBS/WaPost Trots our Has Been McGovern: ‘Impeach Bush,’ ‘Worse Than Nixon’”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - News - The Law - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

A Riot that Isn’t A Riot – When Unions Go Wild

January 5, 2008 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

OK, so you are a business trying to stave off union thugs and, instead of acting like civilized adults, the thugs put an unauthorized padlock on your driveway gate and then park a trailer in front of the entrance so that your trucks cannot enter or leave the premisses. Then, when the police come to try and restore order, the unions thugs start a street brawl. Of this incident, the police claim “there is no riot.”

So, what’s a business to do?

Somerville – At approximately 1 a.m. his morning, members of Teamsters Local 25 established a picket line at F.W. Russell Disposal Company located at 120 McGrath Highway and Broadway Brake at Broadway and Lombardi Way.

Russell Disposal is the contractor providing trash removal services for the city of Somerville.

Protestors bused into the scene padlocked the front gate and parked a trailer in front of it so Russell’s employees could not enter and the trucks could not leave.

At approximately 8:15 a.m. Thursday morning, acting Chief Robert Bradley gave the order for police to push back the picketers who had been bused into the site. Somerville Police were backed up by Northeastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (a regional force from other cities) which includes a SWAT Team. Officials from Peabody, Concord, Pepperell, North Andover, Watertown, Bedford, Chelmsford, Lexington and Woburn staged in the Target parking lot and marched to the site in full riot gear.

As police pushed picketers back, a scuffle broke out. Ten picketers were arrested.

Continue reading “A Riot that Isn’t A Riot – When Unions Go Wild”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Immigration/Immigrants - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - The Law - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Media Distortion on Illegals Question

December 18, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

We’ve seen so many examples of the media using language to elicit an emotional response to an issue as opposed to just reporting on a story and the issue of illegal aliens is no exception. The AP, though, has outdone themselves with this one titled, “Waukegan immigrants wary of city effort to enforce federal law.” In fact, the title itself is interesting in that it would naturally lump illegal immigrants in with legal ones. Yet, nowhere has the issue of immigration been one aimed at legal immigrants.

According to the Associated Press, for instance, folks who are “foreign-born” are “newcomers” who “feel anything but welcome” in the Chicago suburb of Waukegan, Illinois. Notice the coded words? The AP piece leads the reader to imagine that several of the town’s laws have been specifically written to chase out Mexicans and that the immigrant community (legal or otherwise) in Waukegan is feeling pressure to get out. Yet, upon close examination of this AP piece, one cannot help but realize that the AP does not offer any statistics to prove that Mexican residents are leaving in any numbers, they don’t cite any rise in arrests of Spanish speakers there to indicate possible harassment, nor do they even quote anyone to “prove” their contention but one Yolanda Torrez, a lawyer who specializes in criminal, DUI traffic violations, Social Security and DWL traffic violations cases for Spanish-speaking clients. In the final analysis, the AP offers no proof whatsoever that “foreign-born” residents are afraid or truly being discriminated against at all. They just state it as a fact using a single, biased person’s words to assert it.

After a description of the “sailboats” that gently float in nearby Lake Michigan, and other panoramic language the AP piece goes on to describes how “Mexican groceries” and other ethnic businesses have grown in the suburban town. And then the AP begins the scare-mongering with a grave, “despite their numbers, the newcomers feel anything but welcome.”

AP continues that grave tone with some claims that they make no real attempt to buttress with proof.

Continue reading “Media Distortion on Illegals Question”

00Publius Contributor - Congress - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - News - President - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Law - Uncategorized

Jackson had it right the first time

December 16, 2007 by

-By Michael M. Bates

The first President Bush crafted a 1989 taxpayer-funded plan to bail out the troubled savings and loan industry. As usual, Jesse Jackson jumped on the case, primarily Bush’s.

Jackson spoke of “outraged” taxpayers who would be forced to pay for the “gambling and gambles of others.” “Let those who had the party pay for the party,” said the Rev. “It does not make sense that those who were never invited to the party should be asked to clean up the mess.”

I hate when this happens – and it doesn’t often – but Jesse Jackson was right. Some in the industry had cooked the books, made irresponsible loans, bought members of Congress to do their bidding, and in general acted like the thieves they were. Certainly there were other factors in the thrift crisis, including an increase of insurance up to $100,000 per depositor guaranteed by the government, but the bottom line is many middle- and upper-income people were subsidized by folks living in more reduced circumstances.

They shouldn’t have been required to clean up the mess. And they shouldn’t be required to clean up the mess resulting from the current home loan foreclosure predicament.
Continue reading “Jackson had it right the first time”

00Publius Contributor - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Immigration/Immigrants - Media Bias - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Law - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Santa Cruz Sheriff Says Illegals Aren’t ‘Criminals’?

November 30, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The AP has used the somewhat heartwarming tale of an illegal alien who found an American boy and his mother suffering from a car accident in the Arizona desert and stayed with them until help arrived as an excuse to plead that illegals aren’t “criminals” and should somehow be given a break. The AP tried to pin this wild leap in logic on Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada, but they offer no quote marks around the sentence, so it is hard to say if the Sheriff really said that or the AP was extrapolating and putting words in the Sheriff’s mouth. Still, that this one illegal did something morally right even while he was breaking our laws, does not erase all the illegalities and law breaking that every other illegal immigrant has done over the last 30 years. Nor does it erase the fact that this particular illegal was breaking the law even as he was nice enough to help the little boy and his mother.

Here is the tale:

PHOENIX (AP) — A 9-year-old boy looking for help after his mother crashed their van in the southern Arizona desert was rescued by a man entering the U.S. illegally, who stayed with him until help arrived the next day, an official said.

The 45-year-old woman, who eventually died while awaiting help, had been driving on a U.S. Forest Service road in a remote area just north of the Mexican border when she lost control of her van on a curve on Thanksgiving, Sheriff Tony Estrada said.

The van vaulted into a canyon and landed 300 feet from the road, he said. The woman, from Rimrock, north of Phoenix, survived the impact but was pinned inside, Estrada said.

Her son, unhurt but disoriented, crawled out to get help and was found about two hours later by Jesus Manuel Cordova, 26, of Magdalena de Kino in the northern Mexican state of Sonora. Unable to pull the mother out, he comforted the boy while they waited for help.

As night came on, Mr. Cordova built a fire to keep them warm and stayed with the boy until a couple of hunters spotted them and called for help. Cordova was taken into custody by Border Patrol agents and slated for return to his country.

OK, it was nice that Mr. Cordova had that pang of conscience enough to stay by this helpless child. It is possible he saved the boy’s life, and if he didn’t really save his life he certainly comforted the poor, scared kid through the trauma which may or may not have made the whole mess less of a trauma on him. For that Mr. Cordova deserves warm congratulations for his efforts and the knowledge that he did the right thing by the child.

But he doesn’t deserve a free pass into our country.

Here is how the AP ends their story (My Bold):

Continue reading “Santa Cruz Sheriff Says Illegals Aren’t ‘Criminals’?”

00Publius Contributor - 2nd Amendment - Congress - Constitution - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - History - News - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - The Law - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Voluntarily Giving up Rights — Boston’s Outrage Against the Constitution

November 27, 2007 by 5 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

The recent outrage against Constitutional liberty by the Boston Police raises some very interesting questions. Can we voluntarily give up our Constitutional rights? Further, can government legally violate our rights even if we ask them to do so? These are questions that we all need to consider before allowing police into our homes, invited or no.

Last week The Boston Globe reported that the Boston police are about to launch a program in “high-crime neighborhoods” where a roving band of policemen will walk door-to-door and ask parents if they have permission to search the home for guns. These police squads intend to conduct searches without warrants, claiming that the invitation by the homeowner is all they need to commence the search.

Like all steps down the road to tyranny, the pavement here is being laid by folks with good intentions, officials who are, after all, only trying to “help” the community. The Commissar of Police, Edward Davis claims that he is giving the folks of Boston “an option” for what to do about gun violence in the city. The cops “ask permission” to enter and supposedly only do so when given the OK. They also target specific homes that have been fingered as troublesome by neighbors and other intelligence sources.

Some community leaders are professing their faith in this new program that is patterned after one instituted, but later abandoned, by the St. Louis police. Boston’s community leaders seem ready to give this a try because the program is supposed to be spurred by community interaction and tips to the Boston PD. It is interesting and instructive, however, to note that some reports about the demise of the St. Louis program claim that one of the reasons they shut it down there was because the St. Louis PD began to rely more on their own intelligence and less on community tips. Meaning, the community was no longer involved and the police there began to act as if it was solely their own resources that should support the program.

It seems the St. Louis PD shut down their program before it got completely out of hand, but the shift from a program based on community involvement to one that relied solely on the supposed powers and authorities of the police is an indication of where the program would have, must have, ended up — as an out of control program run by storm-troopers who imagined they had the right to kick down the door of any home they felt the desire to target.

In any case, whether the people of Boston allow police to roam through their homes or not, this is a clear violation of civil rights, illegal search and seizure laws, and the very Constitution itself. It is also a violation of principles that the Founders held dear, namely that man has certain unalienable rights that government cannot violate, no matter what. Apparently the Boston police don’t much care about such rights.

But you should.
Continue reading “Voluntarily Giving up Rights — Boston’s Outrage Against the Constitution”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - News - Society/Culture - Taxes - The Law - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

City of Chicago Stealing Private Property

November 25, 2007 by 1 Comment

Here is another case of a government misusing Eminent Domain laws to enrich themselves and their developer buddies. This time Richie “King” Daley is trying to destroy the privately held property in Lincoln Square, Chicago so that he and his mob infested pals can build new buildings to make cash.

Help save these property owners’ private property. Go to http://www.savelincolnsquare.com/ and find out about the illicit actions of the money grubbers and corrupt, mob infested Chicago Aldermen and their leader Richie “King” Daley.

00Publius Contributor - Abortion - Elections - GOP - News - President - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - The Law - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Mitt Romeny’s Many Flip flops on Abortion

November 19, 2007 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

I am going to say it straight out. I cannot support Mitt Romney for President. He is not a conservative in any way whatsoever. In fact, he’s not really a Republican. He’s not a Democrat. He’s not an independent or Green. He isn’t anything. He’s a businessman. And that is the beginning and end of his “ideology.”

Mitt Romney is certainly a get-it-done type of fellow, that is beyond dispute. It is also beyond dispute that he is generally a center right kid of guy. But he has no principle that he won’t subordinate for the task at hand. He has no ideals that he won’t bend, ignore or “change his mind” on to win.

Sadly, Mitt Romney has no principles at all.

This abortion issue is the perfect example of his unprincipled desire to win. Watch this video and see how he flips and flops on the abortion issue all depending upon what he has to say to win and depending upon who he is talking to at the moment.

Like I said, Romney is certainly a guy who can get things done. No one can deny that fact. His record shows an able executive. But his is a record of building consensus on whatever is the prevailing opinion on the issue of the day, not one of leading from his own internal principles.

If this were an era in the US when we didn’t face some of the most dangerous times our country ever faced, Romney would be a fine caretaker president. If Romney should have presided over the era that Clinton did, for instance, he might have been just fine. But we are not in such a carefree era. We face some of the toughest decisions that a president will ever have to make and if we have a flip flopper like Romney, if we have a president who will preside by sticking his finger in the air for every major issue and then deciding that he, too, feels that way (just like Clinton did, by the way), well we will be in a world of hurt.

Romney is not the man for the White House in 2008. He will endanger this country just as bad as any Democrat would.

I urge any reader of this site NOT to vote for Mitt Romney. Thompson is good, Hunter is good… even Giuliani would be better than Romney (though I don’t support Rudy, either). But Romney would be a disaster for this country as well as the GOP itself.

Romney cannot be believed in anything he says as his many abortion stances prove and it isn’t just his abortion flip flops at issue. He has floated back and forth on most of the key Republican principles all his life never coming firmly and finally down on any one side. Our ideal president has been a man of strong character and leadership, not one who is led by everyone else. Romney has no character nor is he a leader, a man with strong ideas.

Vote against Mitt Romney in the GOP primary in your state.

Continue reading “Mitt Romeny’s Many Flip flops on Abortion”

00Publius Contributor - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Media Bias - News - The Law - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

The LATimes Caught in Blatant Anti-Fred Thompson Spin

November 18, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Thompson’s Prosecutorial Record Explained

A while back, the L.A. Times tried to make Fred Thompson’s record as a Prosecutor in Tennessee look bad. They wanted the public to get the impression that he was incompetent or that he had a bad record. Since that time, I was doubtful, but since I could not prove things one way or the other, I had to live with my doubts.

Well, someone finally took the time and looked into Fred’s record to see how his record really stacked up and determined that he was actually quite successful as a prosecutor. My suspicions on the accuracy of the MSM report is justified, after all.

A blogger called Anwyn did some research and actually contacted the L.A. Times writer who basically called Thompson a hack lawyer and Anwyn found that Thompson’s record actually showed a very competent man.

After describing how hard it was to come by the info, Anwyn contacted the L.A. Times guy to see if he had more than he let on in his report:

But Joe Mathews of the L.A. Times does have the numbers at his fingertips, after two weeks of digging 35-year-old files out of their boxes in Georgia for his article. And to my surprise and gratitude, he was willing to share them.

He broke them down by numbers of defendants, so there are more than 88 defendants because there were multiple defendants in various individual cases. In total, 88 cases covered 115 defendants, 34 of whom were moonshiners, 21 of whom were counterfeiters, and 17 of whom were bank robbers. The remainder (43) were various other crimes.

Out of 115, nine never stood in Thompson’s district either because they were never captured, were found dead, or were transferred to a different federal district. So we’ll subtract those nine. That leaves 106.

Out of 106, 12 found the charges against them dropped, 66 defendants pleaded guilty or no contest without going to trial, and 28 went to trial. Of the 28 who went to trial, 22 were found guilty, leaving six who were not convicted.

These numbers suggest that Thompson was a completely solid, if not shining, prosecutor. Of course, you could also draw that conclusion by the very fact of his having served as a prosecutor for three years–incompetence is not encouraged at that level by continued employment, one would suppose and hope. Of the 12 cases thrown out, at least two were the direct result of an error of Thompson’s. Joe Mathews:

Well, now, that is a whole different kettle of fish than the “he’s incompetent” claim, eh?

Once again, a little time taken to really investigate the facts … you know, the what, who, when, and where that the MSM claims is their sacred duty to report… proves that an MSM story is filled with spin, lies, and agenda journalism.

Obviously these so-called journalists assume that no one will be able to take the time to follow up on the facts so they imagine that they can pass off their political agenda as “news.” Only, this time they were caught. But, isn’t that why the Internet so threatens the traditional, dead tree media?

Continue reading “The LATimes Caught in Blatant Anti-Fred Thompson Spin”

00Publius Contributor - Crime - News - Race - Security/Safety - Selwyn Duke - Society/Culture - The Law - Uncategorized

Stereotyping 101

November 18, 2007 by

-By Selwyn Duke

In a racial profiling lawsuit against the Maryland State Police (MSP), a plaintiff’s attorney named Eliza Leighton said that some training documents contain “startling examples of racial stereotypes about Hispanics.” (Just so you know, when leftists use the word “startling,” it usually means, “Man, this truth hurts!”) According to the Associated Press:

For example, one document cautions that Hispanics generally do not hold their alcohol well. They tend to drink too much and this leads to fights. And it notes, Hispanic males are raised to be MACHO and brave, while females are raised to be subservient. Other sterotypes [sic] include the assertion that the weapon of choice for Hispanics is a knife and that Hispanics are reluctant to learn English.

Regardless of the outcome of this lawsuit, we can now expect such information to be purged from the training documents. But, as I wrote about Dr. James Watson’s comments regarding Africans, intelligence and genetics, this is part of a very distressing pattern. Everyone fixates on the fact that such comments constitute generalizations (about groups that are supposed to be immune from such things), as if this is an offense in and of itself. Yet, no one seems to ask the only relevant question.

Are the generalizations true?
Continue reading “Stereotyping 101”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - The Law - Uncategorized - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Dem Lawmakers to be Ousted Over Union Criticism?

November 16, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

There is no room for disagreement among Democrats. If you are a Democrat that has anything at all critical to say about a union, for instance, they don’t just get mad at you and call you names, they arrange special meetings to throw you out of power! See, this is the more “tolerant” and more “adult” Democrat Party we have all come to know and…uh…. love.

In Prince George’s county, Maryland, a little dispute has arisen between the UF&CW (United Food and Commercial Workers union) Local 400 and two members of the Democratic Central Committee, Vice Chairman Arthur A. Turner Jr. and Chairman Terry Speigner.

At issue is the monkey wrench that the union is trying to throw into plans to build a Wegman’s grocery store in the area. This project will bring a lot of tax money as well as jobs into Prince George’s, but because Wegman’s is non-union, the union is trying to deny the area this new commercial development.

We find the story on Prince George’s Gazette.net.

The dispute began in August when a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers union filed an unsuccessful zoning appeal that could have hindered grocer Wegmans from coming to the county. Wegmans, a high-end grocery store chain based in Rochester, N.Y., does not employ union labor.

From here the two aforementioned Democrat Party officials sent out an email saying that they were aghast that the union would try to stop this useful community development.
Continue reading “Dem Lawmakers to be Ousted Over Union Criticism?”

00Publius Contributor - Business - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Media Bias - News - Society/Culture - The Law - Uncategorized - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Gov’t Steps In To Assure Fair Union Election

November 4, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

If THIS isn’t the wolf guarding the hen house, what is? After all, expecting the government — known for voter fraud since Aaron Burr strode the halls of Congress — to make sure a union election is run fairly shows how really bad it has gotten for the unions!

Still, that said, the government are pikers compared to the fraud perpetrated by unions over the years. And this story is just another example of union corruption and vote fraud.

Union aims to start with a clean slate

Reformers win Teamsters vote supervised by feds

A slate of reformers has been elected to head the Teamsters’ 12,000-member Local 743, where last month its president was indicted for helping steal the last election.

Members elected all but one trustee of the 743 New Leadership Slate headed by Richard Berg, who received 1,112 votes for president, narrowly beating opponent Reginald D. Ford, who garnered 1,058 votes.

“This is great,” said Berg, who lost in his last bid for president. “It’s been a long time coming. The 743 New Leadership slate has been part of the rank-and-file movement that has been tying to rid our local of corruption and give the union back to our workers. We’ve very pleased.”

The union represents transportation, clerical, food service, nursing home and manufacturing workers.

The election was supervised by the U.S. Labor Department.

In September, federal prosecutors indicted Local 743 President Richard Lopez along with three other union members alleging they schemed to defraud the local by diverting hundreds of ballots that had been returned to the union by mail because the addresses were old or no longer good. The four were accused of changing the addresses in a union database and having the ballots sent to friends, relatives or associates who weren’t union members.

Berg filed a complaint with the Labor Department, which found the ballots had been diverted. In a July settlement, union officials admitted a controller shredded the eligibility list, noting that might have affected the outcome of the election.

“Our first priority is to clean all the corruption out of 743 and then use the resources to give full representation to the members,” Berg said.

Well, let’s hope these rank and file fellows can clean up their union and lead their fellows to a more legitimate representation.

I CAN hope, can’t I?
Continue reading “Gov’t Steps In To Assure Fair Union Election”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Media Bias - Society/Culture - The Law - Uncategorized

Homeless for Hillary No Occident

October 30, 2007 by

-By Michael M. Bates

Some things never change. The Los Angeles Times last week reported that in New York City Hillary Clinton brings fresh meaning to Chinese take out. Her campaign’s hauling in bundles of cash from impoverished Chinese areas. Dishwashers, waiters, street vendors, and other folks not normally considered fat cats are generously donating.

Said a $1,000 campaign contributor: “They informed us to go (to a Clinton fundraiser), so I went.” Ah, doing what you’re told, just like in the old country. “Everybody was making a donation, so I did too. Otherwise I would lose face.”

The Times looked at 150 of those in the Chinese community giving money to Mrs. Clinton. Most aren’t registered to vote. A full third of them couldn’t be located using property, telephone, or business records. Newspaper staffers found some campaign contributors not living at the addresses they supplied and no one there had ever heard of them.
Continue reading “Homeless for Hillary No Occident”

00Publius Contributor - Democrats/Leftists - Immigration/Immigrants - Media Bias - News - Security/Safety - Society/Culture - The Law - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Is Crackdown on Illegals Working?

October 29, 2007 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The New York Times is scolding us mean ‘ol Americans for hurting the Mexican economy. You heard that right, we are hurting them! The Times is mad at us because illegal Mexican immigrants are sending fewer U.S. dollars from here in the states back home to Mexico. The Times is all about the gnashing of teeth and the wearing of sackcloth because our so-called “flagging American economy” and our mean spirited “enforcement campaign against illegal workers” is hurting Mexican families who have grown used to the bounty of U.S. dollars being sent home form their law breaking relatives in the states. Can you say “Oh, Boo Hoo?” The Times even continues to use their new euphemism for this illegal leaching of our money to a foreign nation, calling it “remittances” instead of theft like it should be called.

The Times tries to make Americans feel guilty by claiming that the fact that these “remittances” sent home are drying up means that these poor Mexicans can’t pay for medicine and clothes.

For years, millions of Mexican migrants working in the United States have sent money back home to villages like this one, money that allows families to pay medical bills and school fees, build houses and buy clothes or, if they save enough, maybe start a tiny business.

But after years of strong increases, the amount of migrant money flowing to Mexico has stagnated. From 2000 to 2006, remittances grew to nearly $24 billion a year from $6.6 billion, rising more than 20 percent some years. In 2007, the increase so far has been less than 2 percent.

Yeah… as the old joke goes, “women and children hardest hit.”

And what is causing this dip in “remittances?”

Migrants and migration experts say a flagging American economy and an enforcement campaign against illegal workers in the United States have persuaded some migrants not to try to cross the border illegally to look for work. Others have decided to return to Mexico. And many of those who are staying in the United States are sending less money home.

Somehow the fact that illegal immigrants are having trouble stealing our money and sending it off to some foreign land where it benefits no American does not make me all that weepy. The Times assures us, though, that “in Mexico, families are feeling squeezed.”

… and where is the part where we should care about this, again?
Continue reading “Is Crackdown on Illegals Working?”

00Publius Contributor - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Media Bias - News - President - Society/Culture - The Law - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Hillary Clinton: Biggest Campaign Finance Fraud in History

October 28, 2007 by 1 Comment

Can anyone tell me why this is no where on the MSM? OK, I know it’s because the Media are covering for their queen, Hillary, but, MAN does she have set of steel ones. She is guilty of the biggest campaign finance fraud in American history and the MSM remain silent.