Today's Nuze: July 20, 2006

Thursday, July 20, 2006

THE CASE FOR CYNTHIA MCKINNEY

Yes, there is most definitely a case to be made for voting for Cynthia McKinney in the upcoming Georgia primary runoff.

I'll tell you a little secret about how the political class in Washington is reacting to McKinney's stunning failure to sail through the primary process without stumbling into a runoff. Democrats are elated. The Congressional Black Caucus couldn't be more pleased. Republicans are sad. This is a seat the Republican party knows that it cannot win. Georgia's 4th congressional district has been drawn up to be a completely safe Democrat seat. As Republicans see it, as long as there is going to be a Democrat there, it might as well be Cynthia McKinney.

Why are Democrats elated? Why is the Congressional Black Caucus just fine with Tuesday's results? Because they want Cynthia McKinney gone. Simple as that. No -- they certainly won't admit this publicly. They'll show some token support for McKinney, but they want her gone. It's a game for them. If Cynthia loses the primary runoff she will be replaced in congress by a black Democrat, one without her penchant for embarrassing blowups. Think about it! If you were a Democrat wouldn't you be more than thrilled to trade Cynthia McKinney for Hank Johnson? You still have a Democrat, but now you have a Democrat that is not an embarrassment! As for the Congressional Black Caucus -- same thing. You still have a black Democrat ... but one who is not going to make an idiot out of himself on a regular basis.

And why are the Republicans upset? What's not to be upset about? They know they can't win that seat, so isn't it better from their standpoint to have a Democrat in that seat they know is going to continue to be a laughing stock? The Republicans enjoyed making Cynthia McKinney the face of the Democrat Party ... especially in Georgia. The Democrats hated it.

So ... a purely partisan approach would dictate support for Cynthia McKinney in this primary. I don't get to vote. Thankfully, I don't live in her district. If I did I honestly couldn't tell you at this time which way I would go.

SO WHO IS THIS HEZBOLLAH?

If you've been a casual viewer and reader of the mainstream media, you probably know that the conflict currently going on in Lebanon is between Israel and a group called Hezbollah. Do you know Hezbollah? Here's what some Americans may think -- an opinion that could well be garnered from media coverage:

Israel is killing innocent people at random, blowing up civilian targets and murdering peace-loving Muslims by the thousands.

Hezbollah is the name of peaceful political group.

But what you may not know is that this group Hezbollah...which started the current conflict, by the way, is a terrorist organization. We'll start our brief history back in 1983. President Reagan sent 241 Marines and other military personnel to Beirut as part of a peacekeeping force. All were killed when a Hezbollah suicide bomber drove his truck into the barracks on October 23, 1983. Other terrorist incidents Hezbollah is believed to be responsible for include:

The kidnapping, torturing and killing of Colonel William Higgins and Beirut CIA Station Chief William Buckley.

The taking of numerous hostages, including American Terry Anderson.

The 1983 Beirut U.S. Embassy bombing that killed 63 people.

And on and on. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization through and through. They are now supported militarily by Iran. They started the current conflict by kidnapping Israeli soldiers. By not appeasing Islamic terrorism and taking them on squarely, Israel is doing the world a favor. Which would explain why the International media, the United Nations and various European countries are trying to stop them.

Hezbollah's flag. Nice, eh?

JUDGE THROWS OUT WAL-MART LAW

A federal district court judge has overturned a fairly new law in Maryland that required companies with more than 10,000 employees to pay at least 8% of their payroll toward health care costs. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know who that law was aimed at. How many companies do you know of that have more than 10,000 employees in a single state? The target was Wal-Mart.

The state says it is going to appeal the ruling. No surprise there. There are, after all, unions to placate. The purpose was pander to Maryland's union voters by trying to hurt Wal-Mart. The reason the mainly Democratic legislature wanted to punish the company is simple. Wal-Mart is a non-union shop. There's also the fact that other grocery companies, unable to compete in the marketplace, choose to try and legislate against their competition. For the most part, though, this was a union-inspired bill and merely another part of the union-led war against Wal-Mart.

Democrats get millions of dollars every year in forced campaign donations from the checks of union members. The fact that thousands of Wal-Mart employees get paid each week and don't give a cut to the leftist labor unions...that outrages the left. They also can't stand the fact that Wal-Mart sells goods as cheaply as possible and pays wages that are allegedly not enough. But this is a free country. If somebody doesn't think Wal-Mart pays enough, they can and do work elsewhere. It is simply not the role of any government to decide what a company pays its employees.

Here's hoping the appeals court upholds this one and keeps politicians and the unions in check.

BUSH ISSUES HIS FIRST VETO

Yesterday President Bush vetoed the first bill of his presidency. Was it a massive, over inflated spending bill that he should have vetoed on numerous occasion? Was it one of Congress' yearly budgets of late that have featured runaway spending? A new program we don't need? Nope, it was all over stem cell research. Some veto. Yawn.

This is a controversy that has been raging for years and it won't be settled here. On the one side, you have the people who believe embryonic stem cell research is the key to curing multiple diseases and that the federal government should pay for that research. On the other side, you have the anti-abortion crowd. They believe using embryos for embryonic stem cell research would be taking a human life. That's the argument and the crowd Bush has aligned with.

But how about a third position. Embryonic stem cell research is all fine and dandy and should be pursued, but by the private sector. It should not be part of the role of the federal government to conduct medical research. If there indeed is a cure for Alzheimer's or diabetes or any of the other diseases out there, let the private sector invest the money. Imagine how many billions of dollars such a cure would be worth!

Still, it's pretty sad that this is the best President Bush can do for his first veto. He could have vetoed some of the ridiculous budgets of the past, the prescription drug program, the McCain Feingold campaign finance reform debacle, or other fiscal disasters. Too bad about his weak veto pen....he could of been a contender.

HEY EVERYONE! LOOK AT ME!

Some friend invited us to a Paul Simon concert at the Chastain amphitheatre in Atlanta last night. It was a late night for someone who gets up around four in the morning, but worth every minute. I enjoyed the concert tremendously, but this isn't about the concert. This is about a few self-involved people who seemed to enjoy the fact that they were annoying others trying to enjoy the show.

First -- a word about Chastain. The area in front of the stage is occupied by perhaps 100 tables. People come to the concert with their picnic baskets. They set the tables with tablecloths, candles, wine and other goodies and have a good meal, sometimes plebian, sometimes gourmet. It's not your normal concert venue.

As soon as the show started these two females at the table next to me decided that they wanted to be noticed. They wanted to be part of the show ... so they stood up and started dancing. They would actually turn around with their backs to the stage so that they could make sure that they were being noticed. Oh, they were being noticed all right. The people at the table behind them couldn't see the stage. Remember, the seating area is flat ... not the sloped rows of seats you would find in a theatre. If someone is standing in front of you, you flat can't see. People were trying to sit at their tables and enjoy their goodies while these two completely self-involved women were so determined to make sure that everyone noticed them. At one point a woman from the table behind them asked them to please sit down. They refused. A man at the table in front of them turned around and tapped the husband/boyfriend of one of the women and asked him if they could "hold it down." The husband/boyfriend snapped "Don't put your hands on me." Then HE decided that he was going to get up and join the two women in their dancing routine.

I did manage to take some pictures of the dancing queens. I thought they would enjoy me posting the pictures here on Nealz Nuze. After all, they were so intent on being noticed and seen! We'll see if I can get them downloaded and added a bit later.

So, I'm just a grouch? These women were right, and I'm wrong? There's nothing in the world wrong with them standing up and blocking the view of other concert-goers so that they can do their little dance routine and exhibit themselves? Sorry .. but I just don't get it. There is just no way in hell I could stand there showing off knowing full well that I was upsetting those people behind me who were trying to sit, relax, enjoy their meals and wine, and watch the concert. It takes a special type of self-involved "it's all about me" bore to pull off a stunt like that. It just amazes me that people who should know better can be so completely rude and self-involved.

REDNECK SCRAP BOOK

You know sooner or later we're going to get a picture of someone getting their new home home dragging on skateboards behind a motorcycle or something. More in the Redneck Scrap Book.

READING ASSIGNMENTS

Michelle Malkin wants people who think Hezbollah is only Israel's problem to wake up. Did you know there are currently Hezbollah terrorist cells here in the United States, ready to kill at a moment's notice? Read on.

The governor of Washington State, Christine Gregoire, is sending a bill to the federal government for $50 million. The reason? She's tired of her state taxpayers paying to support 1,000 illegal aliens currently imprisoned there. It's about time.

The Left's favorite Latin American dictator appears to emulating his pal Fidel Castro. A media group says Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is silencing his media critics. Venezuela is having presidential elections in December. I wonder who will win. The only good thing about Venezuela is Cindy Sheehan wants to move there.

This is why Hillary Clinton will cruise to the 2008 Democratic nomination: her ability to raise money like there's no tomorrow. The names of several celebrity supporters have been disclosed, including probably some favorites. Guess you'll just have to separate the art from the artist on that one.

The administration has its critics on the current policy toward Israel. Pat Buchanan says the U.S. allowing Israel to do what it's doing is in violation of International law and anti-Christian. CNN's Lou Dobbs says the current policy is not so smart.

A new poll says Americans are divided on the idea of sending U.S. soldiers to Lebanon to be part of a peacekeeping force. This is a terrible idea, because there won't be any peace to keep. All it will get them is killed. This one is Israel's baby.

More stories are emerging about where your hard-earned tax dollars went following the Hurricane Katrina cash giveaway. The latest: $68,000 for dog booties. Don't forget the money spent on iPods and beer-making equipment. Hey...evacuees get thirsty, you know.

Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is going to be pardoned by the governor of Arkansas. The offense: a traffic citation in 1975. Never has more important business ever been conducted by the governor of a state.

Dick Morris reports on a growing crackdown on democracy in Russia, where it is no longer acceptable to criticize the government there. Putin is continuing to try and take things back to Soviet times.

Oliver Stone has made a movie about the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11. Surprisingly, it's getting praise from people like Cal Thomas, who raves about it in his latest column.

Could Dick Gregory be any more of a fool? He's upset over the Mr. Goodbar candy bar. Oh, and he thinks that crime is cause by lead in paint and that dirty water turns people into violent criminals. .

Victor Davis Hanson (one of my favorites) says that the West is running of choices in the Middle East. Hanson correctly points out that the Middle East problem was never about so-called occupied land -- but only about the existence of Israel itself.

BOORTZ BLAST NEWSLETTER
Everyone is talking about the Boortz Blast newsletter. Do you want yours? Sign up here and we'll deliver it directly to your inbox every 2 weeks. If you signed up but aren't receiving it, either your

company or your spam filter could be keeping it from you. Try using a personal email address and check your spam filter's junk folder for wayward newsletters.

COMMUNITY
If you like Neal and are looking for like minded people to hang out with online or off, check out these places:

Talkmaster Yahoo Group