By the Way, Regardless of the Blizzard of Ads Dominating the Internet the Past Few Days...

No one here "stands" with President Obama as he tries to throw American miners and power plant employees out of their jobs.

His face all over the net is reminiscent of Communist portraits of Stalin, Mao, etc. that covered ten story buildings.

Witness For the Prosecution and Congresswoman Capito's Outrage

George Zimmerman may or may not be found guilty. But the prosecution in his trial in retrospect took a huge chance when they billed Rachel Jeantel as a star witness.

She proved a problematic witness on many counts.  Her voice and style of speech flustered the court reporter, jury, and television audiences.  At one point she could not read a letter that she had supposedly written.

The Daily Mail posted a long story detailing the problems undermining the credibility of Jeantel.

Defense lawyers grilled her on her own inconsistent testimony as well as racial slurs used by the victim Trayon Martin to describe Zimmerman.

In other news, now former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested on charges of murder this morning.

********************************************

Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito released a statement yesterday expressing the outrage that she shares with other members of the congressional delegation, as well as many West Virginians.  Obama's proposal to circumvent Congress to impose unconstitutional environmental regulations was called by Capito a "tyrannical . . . job killing plan."

Representative David McKinley and Senator Joe Manchin have released similarly strong statements.

Teachers and Classrooms Scrape For Funds While Educationcrats Reap Hefty Salaries

The average U. S. Department of Education bureaucrat makes twice as much as the higher paid starting teachers.

According to Glassdoor.com statistics the average Education Department employee makes around $85,000 per year.  Program specialists can make over six figures while a contracting officer can earn over $163,000.

Meanwhile teacher salaries lag in many states.  National Education Association statistics show that as of October 2012, West Virginia starting teachers make just over $32,000 per year.  The District of Columbia offers over $51,000 per year, but this pay rate is much higher than many states that rank near them on the list.

Individually, Department of Education hires may be well educated and qualified.  As an institution, however, the Department has failed.  A Cato Institute study shows that student achievement has remained flat or slightly dipped since the Department of Education was founded.

In 2008, Heritage Foundation released a study that found substantial increases in education spending had not been reflected in student achievement.

With all of the spending increases, how is it that classrooms remain underfunded, sports teams get cut, and teacher salaries lag behind inflation?

The problem is federal mandates.  Statutes such as No Child Left Behind have brought burdens to public schools, but have not noticeably boosted achievement.  Increasing federal meddling in schools means that a lot of bureaucrats get cushy salaries while teachers must work harder to meet ever increasing federal demands.

And the federal government has done nothing to make schools better.  Many argue that public schooling is a dysfunctional and dying system.

The answer lies in eliminating the Department of Education and returning primary control of schools to locally elected boards.  Obviously some boards do well and others fail.  But at least they can be held accountable by voters.  Bureaucrats continually fail, but keep their jobs and make hefty paychecks. 

Strutting Our Stuff: West Virginia Needs to Show Off More Often

Our West Virginia congressional delegation and their staffs showed Washington DC that they know how to throw a party.  Last night, the Hart Senate Office Building hosted "Taste of West Virginia Day" to honor 150 years of state existence.

The celebration was kicked off by brief talks from the state's delegation.  Unfortunately, the House of Representatives had scheduled an important vote at the same time, so Representatives Capito, McKinley, and Rahall could not address the assembled crowd as they normally would. 

The pride expressed by each speaker was obvious and genuine.  Politics and agreement on issues aside, there is no doubt that our delegation loves and takes full pride in their state, native or adopted.

Food and spirits attracted a wide variety of people who quickly packed the room.  High ranking military officers in full dress uniform mingled with congressional staffers from all states, representatives of West Virginia businesses, and some local elected officials from nearby counties.

Highlights of West Virginia cuisine included excellent cupcakes from Keyser's own Candlewyck Inn, perfectly prepared angus roast beef from Burlington's Flying W, excellent beer from two Canaan Valley area breweries, and delicious candies from the Greenbrier among many other vendors. 

West Virginians have every reason to take pride in our history and accomplishments as a state.  And we should take our show on the road more often!

Vladimir Putin's Winning Streak

At this point, 2:34 PM Monday June 24, Russia Today's website is almost entirely devoted to the Edward Snowden debacle.

Fox News's site leads with Snowden, but also lists a variety of other stories.  CNN didn't have Snowden covered in any prominent spot.

But Russia Today revels in the twists and turns of Snowden's ability to elude American surveillance.

Putin has been on a winning streak of sorts lately.  His ally, Syria, now receives arms and other support that may push the regime to bloody victory.  The Russian leader put his thumb directly in the eye of Obama by facilitating Snowden's escape.  He managed to split from his wife without much public fuss.  Putin even somehow managed to score a Super Bowl ring without ever suiting up.  The only mark against him is the viral picture of Steven Seagall giving him bunny ears in a photo.

This presidency has never played the diplomatic game well, but now the world has become the Harlem Globetrotters to Obama's Generals. 

From the beginning, Obama wanted to organize the world community.  He failed to realize that diplomacy at its core is a relationship of power and interest.  Choices made for the office of Secretary of State reflect domestic political priorities rather than wise selections.  Former Senator Hillary Clinton turned out to be a non entity (although Obama rarely put his trust in her.)  John Kerry will not do much better.  Diplomats, military officers, and even academics seem to understand the abstract and the reality of power better than legislators. 

Obama also does not seem to understand the limits of power.  One never makes threats or demands that can be easily flaunted.  The US government warned Western Hemisphere nations to not allow a plane carrying Snowden into their airspace.  Fair enough.  But what will we do if one does?  More bluster?  Any tin pot who wants to make the US look bad without consequences can bring this guy to their country, at least in the short term.

The government should have said nothing and just kept quiet tabs, waiting for the pressure to get to him.  He would either turn himself in, or make a mistake.  Snowden has already brought his own judgment into question.  American officials making themselves look like fools will not bring him to account. 

Strangely enough, Obama has the ability to embarrass and even harm Putin if he chooses.  Should the United States ever remove its export restrictions on natural gas, the price will plummet even further.  Gas revenues are most of the foundation of Russia's recent prosperity.  The impact of American shale gas on the global marketplace has seriously weakened Russia's economic position.  Why not turn on the taps full blast and watch American energy might push Putin (and a few oil states in the Middle East) toward irrelevance? Why not build the pipeline that would bring even more US made energy to market?  This would put even more Americans to work in gas and its byproducts.

Putin may be on a winning streak, but it lies within Obama's power to prevail in the game, if he so chooses.

Singularity: It's Not Just For Black Holes Anymore

Around a hundred years ago, give or take a decade or two, Albert Einstein imagined the existence of one of physics' most bizarre concepts, the singularity.  This happens when a large star collapses on itself, creating a point occupying zero space, but containing infinite mass.  Around the singularity point is the black hole, a construct in space with gravity so intense that light itself cannot escape.  As in so many other things, Einstein had worked out in his own mind a revolutionary concept.

Now another unthinkable idea claims the name "singularity" the brainchild (or potential abomination) of Dmitry Itskov. According to Reason.com :

The 32 year-old is the driving force behind the 2045 Initiative to create cyborg avatars into which people can upload the contents of their brains, i.e., memories, personality, dreams, etc. Itskov has organized the second annual 2045 Global Future Congress which will take place on June 15 and 16 in New York City. Participants in the conference include Harvard genetics maven George Church, X Prize visionary Peter Diamandis, MIT computer genius Marvin Minsky, and Singularity prophet Ray Kurzweil, among others.

Mankind so far has been able to manufacture almost anything he has ever conceived.  Star Wars and Star Trek technology in some cases looks downright archaic compared to microbots that technologists assure humanity lurk right around the corner, for better or worse.  But merging technology with the human mind, with all the ramifications involved.  How could philosophers, much less politicians, even begin to work out the ethics and legal issues?


No need.  The singularity is impossible.

It's impossible because nature places limits on man's ability to impose his designs on the world.  A spacecraft cannot breach the speed of light.  A human being cannot run forty yards in three seconds.  None of us will ever find perfection in ourselves or anything else on this earth.

And human beings cannot transfer a divine spark.  For decades biologists and other scientists have worked to recreate the first moment of life, zapping inert amino acids and other muck with simulated lightning.  Never have they manufactured life.

And neither will the computer crowd.

The divine essence, the soul, whatever one wants to call it, comes from God or nature.  Humanity has no power to create or to transfer it from a living organism into anything non-living.  We never will.  Even if, somehow, the knowledge can be downloaded, the life itself and the essence of what makes a person a person will be extinguished when the brain dies.

This is not to say that immortality is impossible.  Scientists may be able to keep a brain alive (and the first image that will come to many minds are the heads in a jar on Futurama) forever.  That is, if the individual can enjoy fulfillment existing as a brain attached to a computer, just sitting in a jar, or tooling around in a synthetic body. 

Literature generally represents earthly immortality as a curse.  One Twilight Zone episode portrayed a man granted the ability to live forever.  He tried to test it by murdering someone.  Expecting capital punishment, he received clemency in a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.  Others have described holders of immortality as being eventually consumed by evil or madness.

A Stephen King character summed it up well "Sometimes dead is better."

It would be wise to pay attention to literature.  Those successful in writing have insight into the human condition that many other lack.  Whatever form immortality takes, it will have consequences on individuals and society as a whole that cannot be fathomed.  The abomination of eternal earthly life will never allow the mind of the individual to travel on and learn the truly big answers waiting.

In any event, we do not in any way need to worry about mind downloading.  With all the amazing and ghastly things that the next century will bring, this will always remain beyond humanity's reach.

The Nation Is On a Bridge to Disaster

In 2009, Obama pushed through Congress an $800 billion stimulus bill.  Democrats promised that the bill would provide funds for needed infrastructure repairs.  The words "shovel ready" entered our vernacular.

But then something horrible happened.  "Shovel ready" meant paying back left wing organizations like ACORN, instead of fixing the nation's deteriorating roads, bridges, sewer systems, and the like.  Today, as the budget constricts, the bills remain unpaid.

Transportation For America, an infrastructure activist group, produced some scary numbers recently.  In their 2013 report entitled "The Fix We're In" it says:

11 percent of all U.S. highway bridges are structurally deficient— bridges requiring significant maintenance, rehabilitation or replacement. And though there are far fewer today than 20 years ago, our progress on repairing them has slowed to a trickle — nearly three times slower in the last four years than 20 years ago.
If all 66,503 structurally deficient U.S. bridges were placed end to end, you could drive from Washington, DC to Denver, CO entirely on deficient bridges. At 55 mph, you’d be taking your chances for over 28 hours on one, long, bad American bridge.

One of the major problems facing bridges comes from faulty rebar.  Bridges use reinforced steel surrounded by concrete.  Until a few decades ago, it was not thought necessary to protect that steel from rust.  Unfortunately, moisture seeped through the concrete and caused the steel to rust.  The bonding of oxygen and metal caused the steel to expand.  This cracks and weakens the concrete, dangerously weakening the bridge.  This flaw forced the replacement of the US 220 bridge over the Potomac River last year.  Many others face the same dire problem.  But because of Obama's reckless spending, money is not currently there.

Just imagine if we could go back in time and revisit the stimulus.  How easy would it have been to take money away from leftist groups engaged in deconstructing America and spend the money on projects to build the nation and make it safer?

Next time you experience apprehension crossing an unsafe bridge, make sure and thank Obama!

West Virginia Day: A Celebration of Courage and Sacrifice

Today West Virginians mark the 150th anniversary of the creation of the state.  Northern state residents will hoist their pepperoni rolls with as much pride as southerners will much on their brown bean soup and cornbread.

But like other holidays, such as Memorial Day, Veterans' Day, etc., how many will stop to reflect on the courage and sacrifice needed for the state to even exist?

When the Old Dominion seceded, Union supporters from the northwestern counties met to form a Union government at Wheeling.  One of the first proposals was to form a new state, at first called "Kanawha" and only later "West Virginia."

Most of these men remained sensible to the fact that their actions meant treason to the government in Richmond.  And less than two years before, the Commonwealth hanged John Brown for treason against it. Proposing and working towards establishment of a new state only stoked their rage further.

As the day of the new state's birth drew near, Confederate forces tried to disrupt its authority.  In one instance, Colonel Imboden seized the Sheriff of Barbour County.  In response, two Barbour County Confederates were swiftly executed.  Brigadier General Robert Milroy and Imboden then exchanged letters threatening higher numbers of mass reprisals.

This was among the more civil exchanges.  West Virginia's civil war was not the conventional movement of armies.  It was weary and nervous backwoods garrisons, dangerous patrols, deadly ambushes, and assassination.  This state's war resembled America's war in Vietnam and Afghanistan much more than Grant versus Lee.  Every official risked capture and imprisonment.  The gentlemanly treatment of Generals Kelley and Crook by Confederate raiders was an aberration, not the rule.  One of the early leaders of the movement, Reverend Gordon Battelle, died on the battlefield defending his work.

Our state was born in blood and, until late 1864, lived in fear of the consequences of Union defeat or negotiated peace.  Each military and civil official understood the risks and persevered for principle.

On this day, 150 years after those horrible times, it is right to remember their courage, ingenuity, and, sometimes, sacrifice. This is not enough space to truly respect and honor the statemakers and military men involved.  So take a few minutes and look through the stories collected on www.wvculture.org They are dramatic, interesting, and best of all, true. 

#SNAPchallenge Turns Tables on Liberal New York Pols

In the 1780s, the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette was honestly concerned about the peasantry of her adopted country.  She had a replica peasant village constructed on the grounds of Versailles and watched real peasants try to function within it.  New York liberal politicians channeled their inner Marie Antoinette and decided to live on the $31.50 per person, per week minimum amount granted for food stamps. 

Conservatives, some of whom have actual experience shopping on a budget, satirically blasted the effort. They used the Twitter hashtag #SNAPchallenge originally set up so that the challenge acceptees could show how woebegone they were.

The hilarious results can be seen here.

If you click the link, you can see New Yorkers paying over $1 for a single egg!  Another spent who knows how much on prepacked boca burgers.  One genius sat at his desk eating half a loaf of white bread, washing it down with tap water.

Here's how to feed a family of four on $31.50 in a week.  Remember that in SNAP, each person gets $31.50.

Ham: $13.00
Collard greens: $1.50 for a large bunch
12 jumbo eggs: $2
2 lbs of chicken leg quarters: $5
2 lbs of rice: Maybe $2
Bag of dried split pea soup: $0.50
Bag of dried beans: $1
3 boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix: $2 (Makes 18 corn muffins or a pretty huge batch of cornbread)
Gallon of milk $3.50

This equals $30.50.  Remember that a family of four gets at minimum $126 per week.  Obviously these are estimated prices.  Some areas may be higher or lower, but a person shopping at a discount grocery like Aldi or Shop N Save will likely find prices lower than those listed.

Saving the drippings from the ham and the chicken can flavor the rice and beans and/or provide a fat to cook the collard greens in. The family will want to cut pieces of leftover ham to add to the bean soup and use the bone to flavor the split pea soup. Chicken leg quarters, thighs, and drumsticks are amazingly inexpensive and very good roasted in the oven.

Now this will not give a family the traditional variety of meals.  But it can eat meals that offer nutritional balance.  Also, it is enough food to fill a stomach, but not to gorge.  As far as nutrition is concerned, collard greens and split peas are rich in vitamins. Obviously the meat, beans, and eggs provide protein. 

And remember, this is how to keep a family of four fed on the amount provided for a single person.

Most who have known poverty for any length of time understand how to stretch food out.  Common foods like meat loaf and meatballs emerged because poor people wanted to make a meager amount of meat feed an entire family. 

Liberal politicians shopping at Whole Foods, unaware of how to meet a tight budget, and trying to look as if they understand the problems of the poor tell the rest of us all we need to know about their stewardship of government.

The Nuclear Option: Tennessee Valley Authority Looks Ahead

Eighty years ago, the Franklin Roosevelt Administration initiated the Tennessee Valley Authority.  Roosevelt and many of his supporters saw it as a grand experiment in government steered development of tourist attractions and hydroelectric power.  Tens of thousands experienced it as a grand betrayal of property rights and tradition.  In its eighth decade, it may be showing the hand of government energy planning over the next century.

According to a fiscal year 2013 budget proposal released by the TVA, expanding nuclear power capacity has been a goal of the agency since 2010:

While TVA's mission remains essentially unchanged, the business environment in which TVA operates has evolved.

Facing challenging economic conditions, tougher environmental standards, the need to modernize its generating

system and changing customer needs, TVA recognized it must refine its strategic vision.

 

In August 2010, the TVA Board of Directors adopted a vision that will shape a cleaner and more secure energy future

for the Tennessee Valley, relying more on nuclear power, energy efficiency, and renewable energy, and less on coal-

fired generation.

Does this mean that government's "green energy" proposals are actually a cover for expanding nuclear power use in the United States?  Last month, a nuclear waste storage facility in New Britain, Connecticut was approved by the state to store larger amounts of deadly waste material.  But the facility remains temporary.  Also it lies astride one of the most densely packed population corridors in the world. 

This decision to expand capacity came despite objections from state environmental protection and local officials.

Federal officials have pushed for years to  expand nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.  Under voter pressure from that swing state, Obama shut down the proposal.  Nevertheless, over 70,000 tons of nuclear waste sits in temporary storage facilities such as the one in Connecticut. 

So why does the TVA propose, with government approval, to expand nuclear power at the expense of coal (which has never rendered large areas uninhabitable for generations)?  As usual, the problem comes from too much government intervention.

Originally, the TVA was meant to promote hydroelectric power.  Against widespread protest, the federal government seized land from farm families who had worked it for generations.  They only received a pittance for the farms that sustained them through the hardest years of the Great Depression.  Government officials demonized the people as obstructing progress when they demanded that their property rights be respected, creating newsreels to accentuate their differences and minimize national sympathy.

Historian John Alexander Williams remarked that "the TVA made very little help available to them apart from information about land elsewhere" despite extensive study on their plight by social scientists.

And now they seek to expand nuclear power despite the fact that the country has almost no room for the deadly radioactive byproducts.

Ever since the beginning, TVA decisions have been based on the dreams of government bureaucrats and have often ignored real world problems.  From the barbaric removal of farmers and their families to the drive to expand nuclear power, the TVA shows big government at its worst.

It's time to privatize the TVA and get government out of the way of safe energy production.

The Egg Bill is Rotten

The radical Humane Society of the United States has teamed up with major egg producers to pass a bill guaranteed to regulate out of existence the small scale farmers who produce and sell eggs. 

The measure is currently part of the much larger and controversial Farm Bill which will direct federal agriculture policy in the United States.  Strict cage standards for egg laying chickens form the main part of the proposal.

Included in this bill is everything from subsidies to food stamps.  With revenue crunches hitting the entire budget, everything in this expensive bill has been up for debate.

So far, most congressmen and agriculture experts see the egg bill as setting dire precedents.  According to an agriculture news site the Capital Press, pork, beef, and other livestock producers fear the egg bill as a trojan horse for more extensive federal interfering regulations for livestock.  Other animal rights groups against all cages for chickens consider the egg bill to be a sell out to big business.

European farmers saw increasing bureaucratic burdens that resulted in a tripling of the price of eggs, according to the Irish Examiner  .  Instead of complying with the onerous regulations, small family farms either went completely out of the egg business or entered the "under the table" trade.

This is why Big Agriculture has teamed with radical animist groups on this measure.  Big Ag does not want the competition so it uses the power of government to coerce small farmers from the field.  It has done so before with EPA and FDA measures.  This attempt to impose more costs is only their latest move.

All of the Above, Including Coal, Makes the Most Sense

If you follow closely the recent rounds of regulations introduced by the EPA, then Utility MACT is high on your radar to watch.

 

Recently, Senator Inhofe (R – OK) introduced a continuing resolution for review of the EPA Utility MACT in order to stop yet another redundant regulation as the main reason the EPA says this is necessary is already covered under the existing mercury rule.

 

So, if it is already covered why would they introduce this legislation? That’s a good question.

 

As with many other laws in Congress, there are other items in the Utility MACT other than Mercury that will affect not only West Virginia but also virtually every state and its citizens.

 

Utility MACT ensures that all new electric generation be limited to natural gas. Although that might be great for Marcellus Shale and oil and gas exploration, that is a dangerous proposition to put all of our electric source in one basket.

 

As much as natural gas is inexpensive today, as the dependence on one source disproportionality goes in one direction, so does its price – up.

 

Not only will utility rates go up, but with the limitation on coal, and the regressive taxes associated with it also will come closure of Coal Power Plants, such as the John Amos Power Plant in West Virginia.

 

Closure of Coal Power Plants mean loss of coal jobs and shutting down of coal mines, which in turn has tens of thousands of jobs just in WV,  not to mention Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania not only mining the coal but the multiple industries and businesses that support the coal industry.

The ramifications of the Utility MACT are endless as the snow ball continues to roll down hill and get larger and larger so will the utility prices and job losses if it is not repealed.

 

If we want to see the Utility MACT go away, one thing we can do is contact Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and ask him to continue supporting its repeal but also that he reminds his colleagues in the Senate that many of their electric power is originated in WV and everyone will be impacted, not just WV.

Time to Eliminate the Internal Revenue Service

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/04/18/leftist-group-posts-confidential-irs-information

Nixon used it against his enemies. It currently targets Tea Party groups and apparently cannot keep conservative tax returns private.

The Internal Revenue Service has too much power over the lives of individuals, businesses, and non-profits. It can interpret laws selectively, subjectively, or not at all depending on who they want to go after.

But there is a simple remedy, one that I have kind of resisted in the past. That is to eliminate revenue based taxation entirely and replace it with consumption taxes. This would take a very specific constitutional amendment that wiped away old taxes and set strict limits on new ones.

Consumption based taxation is much less subjective. It does not require sifting through complicated rules and regulations. The federal government can charge x% on every item purchased. No need for audits or selective enforcement on educational non profits.

It is quite obvious that government cannot be trusted with many of the vast powers that it has assumed. Take the IRS off the list of agencies that can ruin our lives and harass us. Go to consumption based taxation.

House of Representatives Fights Indefinite Detention Provisions

The National Defense Authorization Act has returned to the halls of public debate. Some House Republicans seek to amend away powers that enable the executive branch and the military to possibly indefinitely detain US citizens.

Historical and legal precedent are quite clear on the topic of indefinite detention of citizens. British law, from which American law derives its basic principles, placed suspension of habeas corpus (tantamount to indefinite detention) into the hands of the legislative branch. This followed many decades of kings arbitrarily jailing their political opposition, or extortion victims.

The problematic example is the Civil War. At its beginning, Abraham Lincoln unilaterally and illegally suspended the writ of habeas corpus and was slapped down by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney for doing so. Confederate combatants, however, upon capture were held until war's end.

Additionally, at the request of the state of California and against his intelligence team of J. Edgar Hoover and William Donovan, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the indefinite detention of Japanese-America citizens during World War II.

Obama admitted that he signed the bill with reservations, but faced severe criticism from the Left. Forbes magazine quoted Mother Jones and the ACLU in the following:

“Obama’s signing statement seems to suggest he already believe he has the authority to indefinitely detain Americans—he just never intends to use it,” Adam Serwer writes at Mother Jones. “Left unsaid, perhaps deliberately, is the distinction that has dominated the debate over the defense bill: the difference between detaining an American captured domestically or abroad. This is why ACLU Director Anthony Romero released a statement shortly after Obama’s arguing the authority in the defense bill could “be used by this and future presidents to militarily detain people captured far from any battlefield.”

The NDAA Makes the Status Quo Worse

Glenn Greenwald makes a compelling case that the law gives the government truly frightening powers. He notes that section 1022 exempts US citizens from the requirement of military detention but still leaves the option open to the state.

“The only provision from which U.S. citizens are exempted here is the“requirement” of military detention,” Greenwald writes. “For foreign nationals accused of being members of Al Qaeda, military detention is mandatory; for U.S. citizens, it is optional. This section does not exempt U.S citizens from the presidential power of military detention: only from the requirement of military detention.”

Terrorism is a threat to American security, this is true. But not as threatening as the Japanese or the Confederacy. As the country moves into its second decade since 9/11, there is little justification for these provisions. In fact, they are legally void since they contradict the Constitution’s stance on habeas corpus.

If there is an emergency, Congress can come together quickly and suspend the writ if needed. For now, it needs to eliminate these troublesome phrases from federal law.

Another Nail In the Coffin, Driven In By Hillary Clinton

The Secretary of State's excellent adventure in Colombia is an internet hit. It even outshines Obama making a foolish comment about vacations on the heels of being unable to answer questions about his vacations.

Pictures of her dancing, chugging beer on a couch, and generally feeling very tipsy have flooded the internet, reminding Americans that no responsible adult is minding the store.

Hillary was supposed to be the responsible one!

Why can't she cut loose? Why can't she party? Because her image is our image. We yearn for the days of taciturn statesmen and women taken seriously on the world stage. Now we have ham handed fools churning out one liners and getting plastered. Even the Praetorian Guard gets to chase hookers.

After hours, according to the practice of Benjamin Franklin, Winston Churchill, Prince Otto von Bismarck, and others is when the real diplomacy takes place. Intimate discussions over wine, or whatever, that cut to the heart of issues and lay the groundwork for the official sessions, that is what you do at night. You don't send the old woman to the bar to get her liquored up in public.

We are officially the laughing stock of the world.

Gregory Kane Declares Baltimore Unsafe For White Tourists

A courthouse should occupy a certain place in the public mind. A place of safety and sanctuary where a person can expect the protection of the rule of law.

Very rarely is this violated. Most West Virginians are aware of the assassination of Sid "Two Gun" Hatfield on the Mingo County Courthouse steps many decades ago. Last month, a tourist visiting Baltimore found himself severely assaulted and humiliated almost on the steps of the court house. Here is the videotape:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIsPBqAQ2qk

Washington Examiner columnist Gregory Kane, a Baltimore native, flat out declared this morning that white tourists should avoid Baltimore. (Kane is black.)

Kane goes on to imply that there is a pattern of black mob violence on white individuals that has failed to excite a community response. And there have been no arrests.


He says:

There, I've said it. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake won't be happy with that assessment. Nor, probably, will Baltimore City Council President Bernard Young and other elected officials.

But I'm not the one they have to sell on how safe Baltimore is for white tourists. That poor white guy in the now-notorious video that's gone viral is.

His name isn't known. Police have only identified him as a tourist from Arlington. According to news reports based on what the man told Baltimore police, he had left a downtown nightclub after drinking and found himself standing in front of the Mitchell Courthouse.

There's a certain, cruel irony in the site of this incident. The courthouse is named after Clarence Mitchell Jr., a Baltimore civil rights icon who was very influential in the civil rights movement. His work as an NAACP lobbyist on civil rights legislation earned him the nickname "the 101st Senator."

Mitchell was one of the most dignified people who ever lived. The white tourist who found himself in front of Mitchell Courthouse in the early hours of March 18 soon found himself surrounded by a most undignified group of black people.

I have a saying about my hometown: Baltimore is a place where 90 percent of the population is in bed by 11 p.m., but the remaining 10 percent who aren't, you wish the hell were...

Any second now, you know that Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Benjamin Todd Jealous will descend on Baltimore demanding "justice" for this white tourist, right?

Just kidding. I live in this city, and I haven't seen this trio yet. I'm especially disappointed that I haven't heard from Jealous, since the NAACP's national headquarters are located right here in Baltimore.

Jealous managed to make his way down to Sanford, Fla., to protest the lack of charges against George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin slaying. He has yet to make the 20-minute drive from NAACP national headquarters down to the site of where the tourist was attacked.

Remember, it was in front of the Mitchell Courthouse, named for an NAACP giant. You'd think Jealous would be incensed that the tourist's attackers so callously shamed the name of Clarence Mitchell Jr., if not about the attack itself.

Jealous talked long and loud about racial profiling in the Trayvon Martin case. But wasn't this poor tourist racially profiled? Was he not singled out, beaten, robbed, humiliated and degraded because of his race?

And he wasn't the first one. There have been several incidents of black hoodlums victimizing white tourists in downtown Baltimore. They just haven't received the news coverage Trayvon Martin's killing has. I wonder why that is?

Oprah Winfrey Versus Liberal Attacks on Ann Romney

According to Oprah Winfrey's blog "Life Lift" stay at home moms are worth quite a bit. She cited a study that measured the total hours per week worked by a mother at over 100. It estimated that a mother's economic worth was a little over $115,000 per year. Not bad. Obviously that figure rises with the number of children that a mother might have to take care of.

Don't tell Obama associate and liberal blogger Hillary Rosen that.

Just as Obama's campaign struggles to paint the Republican Party as anti-women. Just as Mitt Romney struggles to forge connections with average Americans. The liberals gave Romney a gift.

Rosen wrote a blog post that slammed Ann Romney, wife of presumptive GOP nominee Mitt and mother of five boys, as "having never worked a day in her life."

When confronted, Rosen backtracked (read it here http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/04/12/Hilary-Rosen-Does-Not-Apologize ) but refused to apologize to Romney.

Ann Romney responded by saying on Fox News, "My career choice was to be a mother, and I think all of us need to know that we need to respect the choices women make." Then she added, "And by the way, let me give a shout-out to all the dads that are at home raising kids."

Just as George W. Bush softened his roughneck cowboy image with his gracious wife Laura, Mitt Romney's wife will also bring their own family story into the light.

Maybe Americans can't identify with a CEO turned governor. But they do understand that mothers still face challenges, no matter how rich or poor.

Hillary Rosen just introduced Ann Romney, mother of five, to the media and to the American public. And that will not harm the Romney campaign in any way.

One Heck Of A Ride

Rick Santorum gave it a heck of a go. And as of yesterday, it went.

Few gave Santorum a shot, mainly because he lost his US Senate seat by double-digit numbers. Then came one of the most remarkable primary campaigns in history, more reminiscent of Agatha Christe's And Then There Were None . . . than an election. You had Romney and the anti-Romneys. Fortunately for the now certain nominee, the anti-Romneys one by one made us forget why we didn't like Romney in the first place.

Santorum had tremendous energy, an amazing amount of fight, and a strong fixation on principles. Unfortunately for Santorum, he forgot what this election was about. He found himself led into talking about contraception, pornography, and many other issues that are not at the core of this cycle's concerns.

Americans want to hear how they will be getting back to work, paying less for gas, and how we will pay off the debt without taxing the population to poverty. Porn? Not so big of an issue this year.

Only Newt Gingrich's diversion into discussing moon bases served as a better example of why it is bad to get off focus. (And I happen to think that private moon bases are a good idea.)

Although (and Santorum supporters, please don't shoot me) I grew less and less enamored over Santorum as a candidate, I respected him more and more as an individual. He will make an outstanding leader of some socially conservative organization, a great advocate for traditional values. And that will be his forte more so than being president because it is obviously his passion.

Those who worked for him should look back at their efforts with pride. Who would have foreseen this improbable run a year ago?

Now it is time to get behind the nominee and get the Incompetent One out of the White House

They Are Making Sports Fun Again

Last fall it was Tim Tebow. His optimism, hard work, and gregarious Christianity made him beloved among some fans and despised by others.

Then Jeremy Lin captivated New York City by stepping in for an injury plagued New York Knicks franchise to carry it during a key run early in the season. His Harvard education, positive attitude, and strong Christian faith won him a sudden army of fans and endless band puns on his name.

Now meet Bubba Watson. He just won the most prestigious tournament in golf, at least this side of the British Open. And he reminds you more of a year round resident of Augusta, rather than a member of the PGA traveling road show. He is unassuming, plays for fun instead of profit, is unabashedly Christian, and completely irreverent.

In other words, the anti-Tiger.

Watson, like Phil Mickelson, is completely fan friendly. Unlike Mickelson, he has a strong charisma that will build a good following if he continues to win. These guys together are good for golf in that they make the game more accessible and appealing to the fans in a way that Tiger Woods never could.

Woods was once as consistent as a machine, and almost as friendly. It was hard to really root for him because he radiated so little warmth, like pulling for the drill against John Henry.

Watson and Mickelson are making golf fun again. Friendly with fans, men of good character, these are people that can bring people back to the game.

And these guys, as well as Tebow and Lin, remind us that good people sometimes do finish first.

How the Obama Administration Once Again Gets Marbury v. MadisonWrong

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/117982422/DOJ-Letter-to-5th-Circuit-re-Judicial-Authority

A quick read of Attorney General Eric Holder's statement to the 5th Circuit once again shows that the nation's most influential lawyers fail to understand Marbury v. Madison (1803)

He asserts that the United States Supreme Court cannot overturn duly passed legislation unless there is a very clear violation of a specific constitutional principle. Marbury is one of the cases cited within the document.

Marbury itself, however, is based upon a constitutional interpretation more than a clear violation. Chief Justice Marshall interpreted a clause in the Judiciary Act of 1789 to be unconstitutional because it gave the Supreme Court original jurisdiction in cases of writs of mandamus (orders to government officials to do their job.) Marshall saw no specific phrase in the Constitution that would have permitted that. He reasoned that Congress committed an overreach.

The Commerce Clause simply says this: that Congress has the power to "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;" It was meant to keep states from erecting trade barriers against each other.

So Holder includes Marbury among his citations, even though it establishes an interpretational, not absolute, basis for judicial review and a strict construction of the original seven articles.

The attorney general's response has left the courts no room to support him, now that his statement is on the record. To preserve their judicial review authority, federal judges need to strike down the law in question. In this case, I mean the 5th Circuit (which they likely will.) By extension, this includes the Supreme Court.

Marshall's interpretation in Marbury was made in part to prevent the judicial branch from becoming subordinate to the executive. The Roberts Court may have to assert itself similarly until Obama is gone.