SO ... WHO WON?

Fourteen Senators, seven Republicans and seven Democrats, have reached an agreement to prevent today's scheduled showdown on judicial filibusters.  We'll make this simple.  Without these seven Democrats there can be no filibusters, and without these seven Republicans there can be no vote to change the rules to end filibusters.  These seven Democrats pledged to allow an up or down vote on at least five of the seven Bush appeals court nominees the Democrats have been blocking.

It's a bit hard to say who won here.  Democrats clearly backed down.  They had the votes to block all of Bush's nominees, and agreed to allow those nominations to go forward.  Republicans, on the other hand, had the votes to change the Senate rules to prohibit filibusters on judicial nominees, and have set such a rule change aside.  Both sides can point to both a victory and a loss, and that seems to be the preferred way of doing business in the Senate.

But let's talk more about the Republicans.  They had total and complete victory in their hands, and they gave it up.  Would the Democrats do that?  Of course not!  Democrats play for keeps.  They know that when you have your opponent on the ropes, you don't feel sorry for them, worry about their "minority rights" and offer them something they're not entitled to.  You put your foot on their throat and defeat them by the widest margin of victory possible.  The Republicans gained seats in the Senate in the last election.  They defeated the sitting Democratic leader over this very issue.  They should have voted to change the rules on the first day of business back in January.  Now that they have the votes, it should have been simple.  Slam the door on the Democrats obstruction, just as voters elected them to do.  Reverse the rolls here.  How many of you really believe that the Democrats wouldn't have changed the Senate rules if it had been Republicans filibustering Democratic nominees? 

Maybe we should address this in terms of whether the Constitution won or loss.  Here I would call it a loss.  The Constitution has been losing for some time in Washington.  There is no clause anywhere in the Constitution that gives a minority in the Senate any power at all to block a vote on a judicial nomination.  This is a power that was created by Senators, not established by the Constitution.  The Republicans had a chance to stand up for the Constitution, and they passed. 

Some people will look at the glass as half-full.  There will be at least five appeals court judges out there who make Democrats uncomfortable.  Anything that makes Democrats uncomfortable is a good thing.

But ... what do you think will happen when Bush makes his first Supreme Court nomination?

Question for Jamie Dupree today ... where does all this leave Miguel Estrada?

AND JUST WHAT ARE THE EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES?

The much-ballyhooed agreement says that the Democrats will only block judicial nominees under extraordinary circumstances.  There is nothing in the agreement, however, which sets forth just what these extraordinary circumstances might be.  Well ... remember, we're dealing with Democrats here; the party of big government and soak-the-rich taxes; the party that has openly declared war on the concept of the individual.  So .. might I humbly suggest a few circumstances that Democrats would call "extraordinary" and thus lead to a filibuster:

An "extraordinary circumstance" would arise with the nomination of a judicial candidate who:

1. Believes that the powers of the federal government are actually enumerated in the Constitution and, thus, are not unlimited.
2. Strongly believes in private property rights.
3. Has a history of statements or rulings which indicate a belief that all people should be treated equally under the laws of the United States, with no preferences based on race, ethnicity or gender.
4. Shows a history of basing rulings on the concept of individual rights rather than group rights.
5. Is both a conservative and a member of a minority, i.e., the Clarence Thomas disease.

The time will come when the Republicans are going to have to stand up to yet another Democratic filibuster.   The Republicans will make noises about resurrecting the so-called nuclear option, and the Democrats will be saying that they are sticking to the agreement and that they are only filibustering because of extraordinary circumstances.  I guarantee that the extraordinary circumstances will be among those listed above. 

One thing hasn't changed.  The loony left still must depend on the judiciary to enact much of its anti-individualist agenda.  We will see the filibuster again.

JUST A FEW INTEMPERATE THOUGHTS

• Give it a rest already!  Can you believe that some whiners are protesting because Burger King is tying a promotional campaign to the new Star Wars movie?  Why?  Because the movie is rated PG13.  Is this nation really becoming that much of a nation of security-seeking wimps and whiners? 
• So, Bill Maher thinks that the men and women serving in our military are "low lying fruit."  In fact, the words he used are "Low-lying Lyndee England fruit."  So, here it starts.  Is this our signal that the Hollywood culture and the media thinks that it's time to start denigrating the men and women who liberated Afghanistan and Iraq, and who are putting their lives on the line overseas to fight the war on Islamic terrorism?  It would seem so.
• The two American Idol finalists tonight are white.  Gotta be racism.

AL SHARPTON THE PIMP

...race pimp, that is.  Just as the flap involving Mexican President Vicente Fox is fading from the headlines, Al Sharpton can't let it go.  Al met with Fox yesterday, and came out and said Fox's attempts to play down his comments that Mexicans do some jobs even blacks don't want to do in the United States have only made what he said worse.  Whatever that means.

We've all but forgotten the whole thing, Al. But we know you can't let it go.  You see, Al, we're onto you.  You are a race pimp.... a race warlord.  Your power is derived only when the racism false alarm sounds.  Should a problem be solved, should there ever cease to be racism in this country, Al is out of a job.  So he must continually stir the puddin'.  There can never be a solution to the problem.

Sharpton is insisting Fox apologize, which so far he won't.  Good. There's nothing to apologize for.  Here's a little advice, Al. Take a page from the Jesse Jackson playbook and go shakedown some American corporation that doesn't have a diversity training program or something.

THE POODLE'S MILITARY RECORDS

Back in the 2004 campaign, John Kerry released some of his Military records on his website...and promptly pretended that they were all there.  The truth was he selectively posted the records that made him look good.  The media, ever-eager to see Bush defeated and The Poodle elected, never called him on it.

Well, there is a bit of news today.  During an interview yesterday with the Boston Globe, The Poodle said he has signed the form SF 180, which authorizes his military records to be released.  We'll all finally get to see exactly what the circumstances were surrounding the awarding of his purple hearts, as well as how his discharge went down.  Not that it matters too much since he's not a presidential candidate anymore, but we'll finally know.

Except...as is always the case, The Poodle waffled just a bit. After he and his spokesman were pressed, he reported that Kerry did sign the form, and they would get the records from the Navy, who will send out the records.

This should be interesting....will we all get to see the records when they're released? Probably not.  sKerry still wants to run again for president in 2008.

REDNECK SCRAP BOOK

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear redneck. Happy Birthday to you! The ever growing Redneck Scrap Book.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

Here's the full text of the deal between Democrats and Republicans on the issue of judicial nominees and filibusters.

A recent poll about the filibustering issue in the U.S. Senate found this important fact: most people don't care.  And so it is that the wide gap between what the media obsesses over and people actually care about gets even wider. 

Columnist Keith Thompson can no longer stand idly by and watch the Bush-bashers oppose freedom.  He's leaving the left.  Fascinating column.

Which is worse...Kofi Annan running the U.N. or Bill Clinton?  The latter just may come true.  The rumors are back...the former president may take the helm of the United Nations.  Imagine the interns!

Dan Rather, recently canned from both the CBS Evening News anchor chair and now his perch on the canceled '60 Minutes Sunday' is still defending the producer of the Bush National Guard piece.  The Media Research Center reports.

Thomas Sowell makes a good point: he says if the percentage of the black vote that goes to Democrats ever falls below 70%, it will be all but impossible for the left to win the White House back.  Interesting observations.

What's the best way to fix Social Security?  With the proposal for private retirement accounts all but dead, Republicans are considering raising the retirement age.  Bruce Bartlett says it's a good idea.

Ever wonder where liberals get their ideas for judicial activism?  David Limbaugh has two examples, including that of a judge who believes it is the role of the courts to make new laws.

Professor Mike Adams is depressed....he applied for a job as Director of the Women's Resource Center at the college where he teaches and was rejected.  Adams tries to make sense of the devastating turn of events.

Democratic Chairman Howard Dean has gone completely off his rocker...Bill Murchison says the Democrats are mad because they feel a sense of entitlement to win elections.  They can't believe Republicans are consistently being voted into office.

Morning Sickness: Filling fluorescent light tubes with gasoline and lighting them to make your own lightsabers is a bad idea. Most people know that instinctively. These people...did not.

The FDA is reviewing a new drug to help men with premature ejaculation. Neal has his own remedy.

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