Way To Go President Bush

You energized your base by nominating Harriet Miers and then accepting her withdrawal from consideration. Now you have nominated Samuel Alito who interprets rather than makes law. Way to go!

More Prayers Please

Lasr November I requested prayers for Danny, my niece's husband who has end stage heart failure. Prayers have helped him continue to live and if all goes well he will have the Jarvik device implanted on November 7th. L writes, "Well, we finally got the date for Danny's surgery. He'll go in this Thursday to be prep'd and have a swan inserted in his neck to test his pressures, then the actual surgery will be Monday, November 7th. Dr. Jarvik will assist the surgeon and all Danny's prior surgeons (who implanted his valve and defribrillator) have also been invited and accepted the opportunity to view. Danny was told that he could then receive a donor heart as soon as one becomes available and is a match (he's O+ which is a good thing). What a gift that would be!"

Continued prayer will be appreciated.

My Thoughts

As I read the news and consider the multiple problems facing our nation, I am often unable to articulate my fears and uncertainties. I remain totally supportive of our military who have voluntered to do any dangerous job assigned to them in order to protect our nation. Peggy Noonan is a gifted writer that often states the partially formed thoughts I have. At my age, I have seen so many changes in our laws and in the culture as a whole that lead me to fear for the future generations of America.
I encourage you to read this and look forward to any comments you may have.
OpinionJournal - Peggy Noonan

Breaking News

Harriet Miers has withdrawn her nomination as Associate Justice to SCOTUS. I wish her well. It must be a very harrowing experience going through such a hostile process.

Winds of Change

Alaa of THE MESOPOTAMIAN writes, "Rather, Hurricane force 'Winds of Change'; that is what we are experiencing. Do you realize the significance of the results of the constitution referendum? To start with you have the percentages and figures. Of registered voters about 73% turned out to vote. Of these voters 78% voted 'Yes' and 22% voted 'No'. Most of those who voted No were Sunnis. Some of the Sunnis have voted in favor, especially in Mosul. Therefore the percentages really reflect the percentage of Sunnis in Iraq. It is interesting that in Baghdad, roughly the same proportions of Yes & No's as the overall figures, which goes to show that Baghdad has a sectarian mix almost representative of the whole country.

In any case the progress towards democracy is unstoppable and inexorable and total victory is in sight. The enemy is now counting on one and only one forlorn hope, and that is to wear down the resolve of the American and western people, with the help of the MSM, which explains the latest explosions near the Meridien/Palestine hotel, a show staged entirely for the benefit of the MSM cameras that obliged and did their part admirably.

As has been frequently said “defeat and retreat is no option”; and this is truer now than ever with victory in sight, and with a bit of good planning it should not take long, Gods Willing. Personally I haven’t the slightest doubt about it and I am one in the midst of events and one who should know."

Read Alaa's Post THE MESOPOTAMIAN:

Gender

Did you know that many non-living things have a gender; for example...

1) Ziploc Bags -- They are Male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them.

2) Copiers -- They are Female, because once turned off, it takes a while to warm them up again. It's an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can wreak havoc if the wrong buttons are pushed.

3) Tire -- Male, because it goes bald and it's often over-inflated.

4) Hot Air Balloon -- Male, because, to get it to go anywhere, you have to light a fire under it, and of course, there's the hot air part.

5) Sponges -- Female, because they're soft, squeezable and retain water.

6) Web Page -- Female, because it's always getting hit on.

7) Subway -- Male, because it uses the same old lines to pick people up.

8) Hourglass -- Female, because over time, the weight shifts to the bottom.

9) Hammer -- Male, because it hasn't changed much over the last 5,000 years, but it's handy to have around.

10) Remote Control -- Female... Ha! You thought it'd be male. But consider this -- it gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know the right buttons to push, he keeps trying.

Author unknown

Patriot Petitions - Petition to Restore Constitutional Integrity

Patriot Petitions - Petition to Restore Constitutional Integrity: "Petition to Restore Constitutional Integrity
To President George Bush, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, House Majority Leader Roy Blunt and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist:"

If you have not signed this, use link to read petition and scroll on down to sign it.

'War and Peace'

Whenever I tried to forget all about the past and focus on the future, I hear a story that brings the past right in front of my eyes. What happened was so brutal and hard to forget.
We should make the world realize that, not to gain some pity or compassion, but to make sure that it will not happen again anywhere in the world.
I can't keep the story in my heart, for I can't bear the pain all by myself and I wish the whole world could share it with me.
This story is dedicated to all those who oppose what's happening in Iraq, that's to say; the Arab and Muslim world and the (peace activists) in the hope that it will make them pause for a while and reconsider their (noble stand).
This is one example that may help them imagine the (peace) we lived in."

As we celebrate with the Iraqi people who have apparently voted in sufficient numbers to ratify the constitution, it is good to reflect on one of the reasons this war in Iraq was justified. To free these people who suffered so greatly is a just cause.

War and Peace:

Off The Blogroll

I must have done somthing bad. I paid my dues and I don't think my posts have been out of line but I still cannot update on the blogroll. I didn't see Ogre all of yesterday and yet I know he posted. This morning I again find Neo Progressive updated with the January 31 post and Rooftop blog with 10/6 post. I enjoy those blogs but I was really looking for something a little more timely.

Don't Believe Everything You Read

Success! Your ping has been recorded and your site has been added to the update list.

For some reason, I am no longer able to have my site updated on the blogroll. I posted yesterday and completed the updating form. I then read blogs on the blogroll.
When my blog was not mentioned, I went back to the blogroll update and reposted. I again recieved the same message. Late afternoon, I wrote to Tom asking if there were technical problems since some blogs listed were several days old and one was even from January. Refreshing, changing between Mozilla and IE did not solve the problem.
My last attempt was made at 8;45 pm. Again the same message as above and again I never made the blogroll. Still no Pawigoview on the blogroll at 9:30pm.

The post was not important, just my personal take on Madonna and her new role as an ourstanding mother after being so successful corrupting other peoples children.

Update 9:40 am
The blogroll still refuses to update my blog while including the unmentionables blog with a June 27,2005 post.I give up!

Other People's Children Don't Matter

Madonna Says: “TV is trash . . . My kids don’t watch TV”

LONDON, October 13, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) – "Media icon and pop star Madonna said she does not allow her children to watch television because “TV is trash.”

“My kids don't watch TV,” she said. “We have televisions but they're not hooked up to anything but movies.”

An unlikely moralizer on matters of media – Madonna is famous for quite "trashy" performances and productions, including an explicit pornographic book, Sex, published in 1992 – Madonna has obvious sense when it comes to what her children should be exposed to.

“TV is trash,” she added, according to a This is London report. “I was raised without it. We don't have magazines or newspapers in the house either.”

A study published last fall revealed that teens who view television programs containing a lot of sexual content were twice as likely to become involved sexually at a younger age as teens who watched less."

This is good for Madonna's children AFTER making millions of dollars corrupting the minds of other people's children.

Conversation-GWB and Troops

"You could just feel how badly the media wanted to believe the President's videoconference with 10 U.S. soldiers was 'staged.' And dammit, if the media wanted it to be staged, then staged it will be."
Read the whole post:

Media on the War Front

I have been critical of the lack of accurate news reporting both from Afghanistan and Iraq. My news comes from reading milblogs and Iraqi and Afghani blogs. One of the newsiest and best media reports is written by Michael Yon. He was in Mosul with Deuce Four before taking a break. He has a new, rather lengthy post describing the process he went through to again embed in Iraq. I highly recommend it as a very worthwhile read.LINK

Iraqis Reach Deal on the Constitution

Mohammed at Iraq The Model wrote of the agreement to allow changes to the constitution after the December election. He is pleased by the change and feels he can now vote yes since the elections give Iraqis the opportunity to revisit some of the provisions that have concerned not only the Sunni but other minority groups of differing religious or secular leanings. Reading the comments regarding his post reveal many non Iraqis are happy to read this while the naysayers harp on the lack of following the law in making this change. Over half of the parliment evidently gave a voice vote in support of allowing the changes in hopes of increasing the chance for 'Yes' votes. Copies of the constition are being distributed throughout Iraq and I am certain the media in Iraq will announce and exzplain the post printing changes. I for one am glad that the Iraqi people will have a chance to vote for the initial constitution knowing that it's provisions have a chance of being modified to reflect the peoples views.

Iraqis Reach Deal on the Constitution
: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi leaders reached a breakthrough deal on last minute changes in the constitution Tuesday, and at least one Sunni Arab party said it would reverse its rejection of the document and urge its supporters to approve it in next weekend's referendum."
"Sunni Arabs are hoping to have a stronger representation in the next parliament and want to make major amendments to the constitution, particularly to water down the provisions for federalism, which Shiites and Kurds strongly support.

The other additions include a statement stressing Iraqi unity and another states that the Arabic language should be used in the Kurdistan region, along with Kurdish — issues important to the Sunni Arabs. The fourth underlines that former members of Saddam Hussein's ousted, Sunni-led Baath Party will only be prosecuted if they committed crimes."

Something To Think About

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism .

ScrappleFace: Specter: Senators Not Qualified to Question Miers

ScrappleFace: Specter: Senators Not Qualified to Question Miers: "Specter: Senators Not Qualified to Question Miers
by Scott Ott

"(2005-10-11) -- Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-PA, announced today he will delay confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers until he can locate some Senators who are intellectually qualified to question her on the finer points of Constitutional law."

Scott Ott is in his usual rare form. He obviously read George Will.

Blogger Eats Posts

This is the third post I have written today. I used blogger for one on the South Korean Catholics funding Adult stem cell research which made me happy. The second I composed. The first I saved as a draft, the second I posted and was told 100% file completed. Where they went is beyond my comprhension.

Are We Intelligent?

When the founding fathers wrote the Constitution of the United States, they were intelligent men from diverse backgrounds. They met often and reasoned together. The wording was reworked until it met with general approval of all involved in the writing/signing. I believe they approached this as a straightforward task. Rewording when needed to make the meaning clear to all who read it. I first read it as a pre high school subject for discussion in a history class. I was capable of understanding it as were my classmates. It was pretty clear and not difficult to understand. The constitution and the amendments were written in clear English without nuance.

Evidently they changed the Constitution without notifying the ordinary citizens since according to George Will it is so complex that even the President is unable to truly understand it. Will states "opposition to Miers's confirmation flows from the fact that constitutional reasoning is a talent -- a skill acquired, as intellectual skills are, by years of practice sustained by intense interest. It is not usually acquired in the normal course of even a fine lawyer's career."

The intellectual skill acquired through years of study evidently is to find the nuance not written in the original and to change the meanings of well established and long held understanding on such things as eminent domain. This great intellectual skill found that any government agency can seize property to give to another individual to increase the tax base. It is through the years of practice that lawyers find they know more than the founding fathers and can find new meanings, loop holes and increased power of the judiciary to justify any change they wish to make from the original.

This intellectual skill is beyond what the average lawyer has, beyond the president's comprehension and most certainly far beyond the grasp of the citizenry. It is all a myth that "we the people" can understand the depths of meaning of the constitution and the amendments that our forefathers were asked to ratify by vote. How have we been misled all these years to believe that the constitution was clear.? How could we all be so blind to the hidden meanings so cleverly hidden from plain view? Perhaps President Bush should have nominated George Will or a Senator instead of a woman who is not a constitutional scholar. By all means, we dumb Americans can only benefit from Will's or a hard working, honest Senator filled with integrity. We may need another grand ego that is capable of reading all that fine print that is invisible to us.

When the Judiciary Committee hearings take place, I may find I really am not impressed with Harriet Miers. I am however willing to believe she is competent, with sufficient intellect, until she displays that she is not competent and is in fact lacking intellect needed to read the constitution as written.

Source

The Anchoress Writes

The Anchoress has written her thoughts on Miers' nomination and President Bush's plan. She believes that Bush supporters need to stand firm and trust his first hand knowlege of this woman's view of the constitution. I can only add that unless this woman is a flat out deceiver, she could not have accepted the nomination if she did not agree with GWB's criteria to select someone in the Scalia/Thomas mode. She has been handling the selection process so she must be pretty clear on what GWB is looking for. Maybe I am naive to believe that a truly honest person would not accept
a nomination if the criteria being ascribed to her by the president is untrue. I have also read questions regarding her strength to hold to her views against those who have shown their activist leanings. She would not be the only conservative or are we to fear that a woman will want to please the only other woman on the bench and therefore compromise her own values. Let us learn a little more about her before we forget why we wanted Bush to win.

Read More

SCOTUS

I will wait and see how Harriet Miers proceeds throughout the hearings. I do not know enough about this lady to make a judgement about her. One thing I see as a positive is the fact that she has been an active lawyer mingling with the common people. Someone who is an academic or a currently sitting judge seems to be the choice of many. As a non-lawyer, the idea of someone who has rubbed shoulders with average people, worked in Legal Aid and encouraged other lawyers to work pro bono for persons lacking the finances needed to hire a lawyer may be one of the best
recommendations for her nomination and confirmation. I look forward to the hearings.
I also think the hard won confirmation of Brown and Owens has given us some people of wisdom who will be in a position to serve the districts well. We need qualified people at all levels.

Reflections on Iraq

Tigerhawk covered the speech by General Petraeus' talk at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School For Public and International Affairs. This was not covered by the mainstream media.

The advertised topic of General Petraeus' talk was "A Soldier's Reflections on Iraq,"

"General Patraeus said that they have given the media an enormous amount of information, including countless important metrics for measuring progress, but that it is largely ignored. He observed that the enemy �On many days it is impossible to break through the steady drumbeat of sensational attacks occurring in Baghdad throughout the country. The opening of the new military academy got no coverage at all, even though it was a big event with the whole Iraqi government in attendance.'"

Read More: